Date: Sun, 16 Aug 1998 16:57:54 EDT Title: The post that took forever Authors: Watts, Cindy, and Larry *sniff* ::hopefully not a cold too.:: thought Wataru. The rain had cleared up a bit yet, everything was still wet. The party had failed to restart another fire, so they are damp and cold. It was going to be a long miserable day. * * * Deep within that particular cave the party sheltered in, lived a ferocious brown bear. It was wise enough to 'sleep in' today, strangely. What it didn't expect was to find itself disturbed by two or three bipod creatures and a four-legged lizard. Looking up from it's sleeping patch, the bear felt very, very hungry.. * * * "brrr! it's cold. Guys, I'm going in deeper into the cave the wind is freezing" yelled Wataru. "It's that cold?" yelled Chuin. He had given up on the fire and went outside washing the still remains of Bubble's `soap bath'. "Yes it is," Wataru yelled back. Estela, who was still asleep in the cave, surprisingly never woke up with all that noise. Wataru walks deeper into the cave. Midway he checks on Estela. She was sleeping like an angel. "Healing sleeping," mutters Wataru. Rubbing his arms, shivering and growing goosebumps, he walks on probing the cave. * * * All that yelling was doing no good to this "little" brown bear. With it's hearing more sensitive then normal humans, the sound was making it more angry. Pacing back and forth the bear pondered, "should I go out or not?"; "should I go out or not?" Food was certainly on it's mind, yet sleep was there also. "Should I go out or not?" Then it no longer have any option. A scent. Yes, a small scent. Getting stronger,... It saw Wataru. * * * Wataru did not sighted the bear when it picked up its' scent. His eyes were still adjusting to the darkness of the cave. Walking slowly, he headed straight for the bear. When he was finally a meter away from the bear, he realized what he was staring at. "ARGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Wataru's scream alarmed the it. Reacting on instinct and anger, the bear rose up on it's two-hind legs and roared back. "RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaa!!" That was it. Wataru's nerves couldn't handle that kind of intimation. He ran out the cave with the bear in pursuit. "AIIIEEE!" "CHUIN!" "B-BUBBLES!" Chuin and Bubbles ran when as soon as they heard Wataru's echoing cries. They were part way deeper in the cave when they saw Wataru pass them and run out the cave, bear in pursuit. "Wataru!" Bubbles scolded. "It not nice to wake bears! Bears get grumpy when bears get waked!" "Bubbles, tell me something I don't know!" Wataru retorted as he tried to dodge around boulders. "I also know that if I slow down, this guy will pound me into haggis!" "Is girl," Bubbles noted. "Beg pardon?" Chuin asked. "Bear is girl," she explained, while the bear in question and Wataru continued to play tag. "Girl bear always grumpier than boy bear. What it called? Ma- ma-maternal insect?" "Maternal instinct," Chuin corrected. "And the bear would have to be a mother for that, right?" "Would you two PLEASE just help me out here!" Wataru Jumped as the bear dove for him. The end result of which was Wataru landing on the bear, who in turn immediately bucked him off. Wataru rolled on the round, distributing the force of the fall. He was fortunate to have miss the bear's claws and teeth, but the bear was already turning for a second attempt. "Yabsajubru help!" Bubbles lunged forward. "Careful Bubbles!" Chuin warned. "Chuin remember Yabsajubru's bubbles hurt eyes?" Bubbles pulled her head back and bleached out her breath weapon foam. The blob stuck the bear, unfortunately it was only the size of a mans fist. Also unfortunately it only hit its chest. "That was supposed to help!?!" Wataru asked as he put distance between himself and the now yet ANGRIER bear. "Oops," Bubbles said with a face fault and big sweat drop. "What do you mean, 'oops'?" Chuin asked angrily. "Yabsajubru use all bubbles cleaning off rain off Yabsajubru and off Chuin." Chuin wasn't sure, but he could almost swear that Bubbles was blushing. Chuin had to distract the bear or maybe drive it off somehow. He couldn't let it hurt anyone, especially Estela, who was unable to defend herself at this point. ::I don't want to do this,:: he thought. ::But I have no choice.:: A green glow began to form around his left hand and form into a ball of light. He pulled back his hand, then pushed it forward. The ball of energy hit the bear on the chest, exactly where Bubbles had hit the bear. It had the desired effect. The bear stopped pursuing Wataru and started towards Chuin. Thankfully, he was near his sword. He grabbed the hilt and pulled it free from the scabbard. Unfortunately, his hands were still a bit soapy and he lost his grip of the sword. He felt his heart stop as the sword flew away and clattered across the floor of the cave. He formed another ball of energy and hit the bear on the chest, but did nothing to deter the bear, who was getting angrier at the annoying animals that had invaded it's home. Chuin collapsed to his knees, his head spinning. He tried to form one more ball of energy, but his vision was fading. "Father Planting, please help us," he muttered, before passing out. Chuin was out cold badly but Wataru had no time to think nor care. He needed some methods of driving off this bear somehow. Remembering how, once he fought off an angry dog by barking back more louder then it, Wataru tries this attempt. "ARGH!!!" he shouted at the bear. It drew the bear's attention from the lying form of Chuin, but now it decided to chase after him again. "Bubbles why don't you--"and that was Wataru's last words before he slammed into the outside wall of the cave which rendered him unconscious. Bubbles was now the only hope of keeping the bear outside the cave, and away from all the unconscious humans. She stomped up to the bear that was ready to rip Wataru apart. "BAD BEAR!" she shouted. "Wataru sorry he wake you, but you no need to eat Wataru!" The Bear turned to the rather indignant creature making some rather annoying noises at it. It didnÕt LOOK threatening, but her meals werenÕt going anywhere soon. She moved away from Wataru and growled at Bubbles. "Now Bear!" Bubbles sternly said, still not acting like there was any real danger. "If Bear go back to sleep, Yabsajubru get Bear nice berries." The bear lunged at Bubbles. She pivoted on her hind legs, and snapped her tail like a whip striking the bear in her right eye. The bear howled in pain. Bubbles looked back to see what she had done. "Yabsajubru sorry, Bear!" She apologized. "Meant to hit nose, not eye. Bear is ok, yes?" She stepped closer to console the injured bear. The bear, however, pinched her wounded eye closed and glared that the pink thing coming back for another run. These creatures were so RUDE! They wake her up, and donÕt even have the decency to let her eat one or two of them. She stood to her full height bearing her long claws and gangs and roared at the little pink thing. "Oohh!" gasped Bubbles. "BearÕs teeth all yellow! Bear no chew on roots after eating!" (scientific note: this is how some primitive cultures "brush" their teeth.) The bear swiped at Bubbles, who ducked. The follow through of the blow struck the stone opening to the cave, splintering the bearÕs claws down to the roots. "Why Bear still mad?" Asked Bubbles. "Yabsajubru apologize! Maybe Bear go back in cave, Bear go to sleep? Does bear want just be back in cave?" Bubbles started backing into the cave, and the bear followed. The bear forced the pink thing deeper and deeper into the cave. She was going to have this rude, abusive, insolent thing cornered soon enough. Then she could eat and go back to sleep with out worrying about these invaders. After they were well past Estela, Bubbles pause a moment. The Stalactites were especially thin and pretty in this part of the cave. The red soil mixed with some of the lime stone giving them an nice muted purple color. They looked like stone icicles hanging from the ceiling. The bear, noticed the pink thing stop, and decided it needed more encouragement to move back further in the cave. She let our a mighty roar that echoed and reverberated off the walls. The very ground seem to shudder at the volume of the beast. "Look out!" Warned Bubbles, pointing above the bear. The bear looked up just in time to see where a stalagmite have shaken loose and it plunged from the high ceiling into the skull of the bear. "Ewww!" Protested Bubbles. "What a mess! Yabsajubru wait for others to help Yabsajubru clean up Bear."