Chapter 192

With no sun to wake them the following morning, Matis was the first to rise out of their bed. Swinging his legs over the side of the frame, he stretched his back in a greeting to the new day. Looking back, he saw that his wife was still asleep, laying there looking as peaceful and beautiful as ever. Though just past her lay Sheera, whose head rose above the sleeping figure between them, looking to see what was going on. Matis just gave her the sign that all was good, as he knew that right now it was fine for his wife to sleep in a little bit. She generally didn't get much sleep whenever they were out using their tent as it was. As soon as there was any kind of light, she tended to get up and start her day, whether or not she had enough sleep to function.

Getting up, he got himself changed into his exercise clothing before leaving the bedroom. Doors appeared to be open in the entire house. Was that due to them not remembering to close them as they came home? Still a little groggy, he went to the front door to see that it was wide open, with a third set of tracks leading in from outdoors. They were just splotches of mud, so it was hard to tell what exactly had traveled across the hardwood. Slowly and quietly, he followed them in and to his office in the corner. It was one of the few rooms here in the house that didn't have any windows. Grabbing one of the knives from the kitchen, he slowly approached the doorway, before turning the corner, knife raised to face whoever was in there.

As he did, he froze and stared at the boulder that had somehow found its way in through the small doorway he stood in. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he took one more look at the large intrusion, only to notice that it was covered in fur. Realizing what it was that had crawled into his office, he immediately set down the knife on a nearby surface. After all, what good would a kitchen knife be against a grizzly bear. However, he did not set the knife down as well as he had hoped. As he kept his eyes glued to the back of the grizzly bear that lay before him, he only set the knife halfway on the side table beside him. As a result, it fell and clattered along the ground back towards the center of the living room. He froze in place where he stood, waiting to see if the bear had noticed his presence.

It felt as if minutes passed by, in the seconds of waiting to see what would happen. After seeing no movement for a little bit, Matis let out a sigh of relief and slowly started backing up away from the room. Only for the floorboard to loudly creak as he took a single step backwards. A low rumble came from in front of him, as the bear started to rise. Through the legs, he could see a few more prone bundles laying behind the beast. If there was anything worse than disturbing a bear's rest, it was disturbing the rest of one who had cubs with them. They are an extremely defensive species, and were likely to tear anyone who threatens their young to shreds. And here one was, staring straight into his face with their young still huddled in sleeping mounds behind it.

Matis stayed perfectly still, doing his best not to look her in the eyes. As for how he knew that it was female, that was because the young only ever hung around their mother. Right now, he had to do his best not to move or make large noises, as to not antagonize her. He had been in similar situation before, but never this close starting off. His previous encounters had been from meters away, and he had his usual tools and gear for when he came up to them. Which included exceeding helpful items such as bear spray. All he could do now was wait and see what the grizzly would do. Following the steps, he had to wait until the bear got physical first, then lay face down on the ground as still as possible, not making a single sound. Sheera may have heard what was going on, but most likely dismissed it as him having a clumsy morning. It was now just a waiting game, for the bear to strike and then walk away with her cubs in tow.

However, the bear did not act as he thought it would. Slowly, she approached him while sniffing inquisitively. As her head came up to his chest, she poked his chest with her nose cautiously. Sniffing all over his chest, she seemed to be checking for something. That, or something drew her near. Dumbfounded, Matis did not even react as the large bear nudged his chest with her snout, slightly knocking him off balance. Instead of falling over, he reflexively regained his balance and stood back upright in front of the bear. She then let out a huff that sounded of satisfaction, before turning back to her young. She gently roused them from their slumber, before guiding them towards him. As she did, Matis could not help but notice that one of the cubs seemed to have a broken limb. Before he could do anything, the three cubs were in front of him, sniffing with a similar feeling of curiosity that their mother had. Then before he knew it, they seemed to stumble into him, entering his Core just as Sheera had entered Charlene. He looked down at his chest, then back up to the mother bear that was still in front of him. Just as she was entering into his Core as well, he could swear he saw a smirk cross her face. After seeing that look upon her face, he had to wonder how exactly to word the explanation to his wife.

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