Screams tore across the tribe; spears braced, rocks flung, yet the bear loomed like a wall.
Claw's tail stiffened as he stared, frozen in the moment.
I should act…he thought, swallowing hard.
His paws dug into the dirt, but his body refused to move.
The air weighed on him, as crushing as the beast itself.
Vein's smirk burned through his thoughts, snapping his will into action.
His chest tightened, a growl rumbling unbidden in his throat.
The fear that pinned him down twisted into something sharper—desperation.
He drove his paws deeper, then hurled himself upward with a burst of strength.
"You there! Stop!" Claw's cry broke as he charged forward.
The bear halted, then dropped heavily onto all fours, eyes locking on the leopard.
The ground trembled beneath the bear's weight, each breath rolling like thunder.
Claw's own paws faltered, a chill racing through his chest.
Did he really hear me? Claw's mind reeled.
For the tribe, the sound was nothing but a roar, stripped of meaning.
What a noise! Claw's steps slowed; his gaze cut toward the bear, sharp as a drawn blade.
The bear watched Claw approach with deliberate steps, then clapped slowly, mockery dripping from every beat.
"Hahaha!"
The laughter rolled across the clearing, too human for such a beast.
A hush spread over the grass; the moment stretched thin.
He stopped for a moment, his eyes never leaving Claw's.
"Are you coming to your death, or what?" The bear's smile vanished.
"D… death… does that mean I'll be trapped in this giant body?" Claw swallowed hard, staggering slowly.
"Never…"
"Bear, what do you want with those creatures?" Claw shouted**.**
The bear's features froze, masking his intent, though his voice thundered with rage.
"First of all, why are you approaching me so recklessly? You're breaking the forest rules.
"Second, you leopards are such annoying cowards—you always attack in groups and still call yourselves 'proud'."
His claws scraped the earth, gouging deep furrows into the ground.
"THIRD OF ALL, DO NOT DISRESPECT ME—MY NAME IS GRIZZELER!"
Grizzeler's strike crashed down, but Claw slipped aside, quicker than he understood.
"Huh? How did I do that?"
So this is how leopards move…? Claw kept staring at the ground, lost in thought.
Without raising his gaze, Claw slid away from the swiping paw as if his body acted on its own.
The strike carved a gust that rattled the grass flat.
Claw barely noticed—his body carried him as if dancing to an unheard rhythm.
This body's incredible! Claw sprang backward, avoiding Grizzeler's massive punches.
"Why are you smiling?!" Grizzeler panted, heaving, unable to match Claw's pace.
His breath tore through the air like a broken bellows.
Each step dragged heavier than the last, claws gouging the earth.
"Why are you attacking?!" Claw eased his rhythm, his paws moving in time with the bear's labored strikes.
The bear stopped, exhaling heavily.
Claw's eyes never left Grizzeler's.
"How dare you bare your fangs at me and live?!"
Grizzeler drove his paws into the earth; the ground shuddered beneath the weight.
Dust and splinters of dirt sprayed outward, rattling against Claw's whiskers.
The sound echoed like a drumbeat, carrying deeper into the forest.
Is he retreating? Claw thought.
Grizzeler bolted in a straight line, dust trailing his paws.
Claw kept staring after him, swallowing hard as he watched.
Is he leaving…?
The silence stretched, broken only by the pounding in Claw's chest.
For a fleeting breath, he thought it was over.
Without warning, the bear pivoted, his bulk thundering toward the tribe.
"W… wait!" Claw burst forward in a blur, his body stretching after Grizzeler.
The tribe members watched in fear as Grizzeler's image loomed before them.
"Is this the end…?" the woman's voice cracked as she clutched the baby tighter.
The silence around her words clung to the tribe like a shroud.
Children hid behind their parents, peeking out with wide eyes.
An old man kept staring at Claw's slow pace, moving in rhythm with Grizzeler's charge.
"We will be saved.... just watch." The old man's voice was calm, almost unnatural against the chaos.
Everyone turned to the old man.
"Just tell me, why are you so intent on attacking them?!" Claw shouted beside Grizzeler.
Grizzeler's silence weighed heavier than any roar; his eyes fixed on the tribe.
"Let me ask you a question, leopard…"
"Why are you so intent on stopping me?"
Claw stopped for a moment, questioning himself. "Why…?" he whispered, his pace slowing under the weight of the thought.
As Grizzeler neared, he thought:
This is the first time I've seen a leopard protecting humans… Humans are always prey to your kind… but you, leopard… you're different.
Grizzeler smirked.
His teeth flashed white in the firelight, a predator's grin sharpened with meaning.
"W… why are you smiling?" Claw asked from behind him.
"You may have great senses…" Grizzeler lifted a leg, as if preparing something.
"…but you're so naïve when it comes to a fake-out!"
Grizzeler dragged his foot across the dirt; dust blasted upward, stinging Claw's eyes like needles.
"My eyes!!"
Claw stopped, rubbing his eyes with his paws.They burned red, and then he pushed forward at his highest speed.
His body cut through the air like a blade of light.
The ground seemed to split beneath his paws as he surged forward.
Every heartbeat screamed for him to be faster.
Grizzeler reached the tribe; the tribe's screams cracked the night as they fled.
"Well, well… who's this? Who abandoned you?" Grizzeler sneered at the lone baby as he lifted his claw.