"Miss Rotenmeyer."
The kind woman who had treated him with great care was possibly praying for his well-being. He felt safe crossing the forest, trying to follow the scent his owner had left behind.
Until the trail ended.
Only then did he realize he was in grave danger.
Without direction, without food, without protection. Tenma was in shock, overwhelmed by all his worries.
He had left without any plan.
The trees around him were tall. Very tall, in fact. Gigantic. For someone like Tenma, who had lived almost always isolated in his room, this scenario only meant one thing. Death.
"Of course, I can't die."
Tenma swallowed hard, trying to regain confidence. He had lived through a few adventures in the past. If he had to move forward, he could do it somehow.
Miss Rotenmeyer was waiting for him.
He began to search his surroundings, trying one last time to find any trace of his owner, giving up as his hunger grew.
He hadn't eaten anything since the previous night. And what he had eaten, he had already thrown up.
Tenma started walking, looking for any sign of food. Fruit, vegetables, some kind of crop...
...
"Oh no."
The canine realized too late.
He wasn't a human. He was a dog.
He had been eating meat and kibble that had been given to him before. He had always slept in a friendly bed and could be helped whenever he needed it.
Now, no longer.
...
A shadow passed by a bush next to him. Tenma perked up his ears to try to figure out what it was. But the same shadow passed to another bush. Again and again, consecutively.
Within seconds, he was being circled at high speed by someone, someone who possibly wanted to hunt him.
No. Someone who definitely wanted to hunt him.
Tenma tried to run from the spot, but he was hit hard from behind. He fell against the rocks in front of him with great force, spitting blood, his back in immense pain. It was hard to breathe.
"Miss... Rotenmeyer..."
In front of him, as his thoughts swirled, a beast approached with heavy steps. Almost three times his size, a bear appeared in front of him, roaring loudly.
Tenma tried to escape as his first instinct, breathing heavily. He was very scared; he didn't want a bear to tear him apart. The pain would be horrible.
He tried to stand up, but the bear approached faster. Tenma started to panic, trying to get away as quickly as possible. But suddenly, he felt a horrible pain.
His paw was broken.
And the bear was behind him, stopping and pinning him to the ground with its huge paw.
Tenma began to growl and whine, trying to free himself, but the bear ended his suffering with a fierce bite to the neck.
With indescribable pain, Tenma cried out with all his strength, until he let out a final sigh...
Leaving him dead, ready to be the bear's meal.