Jasper was officially on his last nerve. If he had to deal with one more insane creature in the next three days, he was going to quit. He was done.
The first few taming attempts had been humorous, sure, and he had sort of gotten the hang of it. He'd even started to feel a tiny bit proud of his "skills"—if you could call it that. But now? Now he was just tired. He had barely recovered from the swamp, and yet, here they were again—hiking through an entirely new forest, looking for yet another beast. A beast that Prunella had assured him was "definitely not as scary as the last one."
"Yeah, that's what you said about the giant sheep," Jasper grumbled under his breath.
Prunella, of course, was completely oblivious to his inner turmoil, skipping ahead with the enthusiasm of a child on a sugar high. She was having the time of her life, and honestly, that was the most irritating part.
"Jasper!" she called, not even breaking her stride as she led the way through the dense underbrush. "Hurry up! We're almost there!"
He groaned but picked up the pace anyway, deciding that dragging his feet wasn't going to make the situation better. It was a matter of time now—he was convinced of it. He would either tame this next beast or spontaneously combust from frustration.
After a few more minutes of hiking through the thick forest, they arrived at a clearing. Prunella stopped in her tracks, signaling for Jasper to do the same.
Jasper's eyes immediately scanned the area, trying to figure out what kind of absurd creature they were about to face. There were no signs of giant sheep or owl-toads, but he had learned by now that the real beasts didn't always announce themselves.
"That's it," Prunella whispered, pointing to a massive tree in the center of the clearing.
Jasper squinted. All he saw was a large oak tree with a bunch of vines hanging from its branches.
"Uh, where's the beast?" he asked, genuinely confused.
"Look up," Prunella said, barely able to contain her excitement.
He did.
And that's when he saw it.
A giant bear—no, two giant bears—were perched in the tree, their enormous claws gripping the branches as they casually watched the pair of adventurers. Their fur was sleek and shining, but their eyes? Their eyes were sharp and predatory.
Jasper's stomach dropped.
"Prunella," he said, his voice barely more than a whisper, "those are not just bears. They're... tree bears."
Prunella smiled with confidence. "Yep! Tree bears. They're known for their agility, which is a little unusual for bears, right? But that's why they're so special."
"Yeah, that's real special," Jasper muttered, wishing he had a stronger reason to argue against the situation. "What am I supposed to do, climb the tree and ask them if they want some tea?"
"They're gentle," Prunella said, almost too quickly. "Mostly."
Jasper gaped at her. "You're telling me I have to tame two giant, tree-climbing bears, and you're not even sure if they're gentle?!"
"They just need a little trust!" Prunella said brightly, as if she was talking about a puppy rather than a pair of enormous, potentially bloodthirsty predators.
"Trust?!" Jasper almost shouted. "You want me to trust the bear that could crush me into a pancake with one paw?"
Prunella's smile didn't falter. "Don't worry, it'll be fine. You've handled worse!"
Jasper shot her a look. "What worse, Prunella? You're talking like I've been through some kind of personal growth in the last week. I've been mauled, slobbered on, and almost eaten alive. This isn't growth, it's trauma!"
Prunella laughed. "It's all part of the process. Now, go."
Before he could protest further, Prunella gave him a gentle shove toward the tree. The bears—still lazily watching—didn't seem to care one way or another about his existence.
Well, that was something. At least they weren't charging at him like everything else had.
"Alright, alright..." Jasper muttered to himself, approaching the tree with as much caution as he could muster. He figured if the bears weren't attacking immediately, there had to be a chance. Maybe they just didn't realize they were terrifying.
Or maybe they were waiting for him to make a fool of himself. Either way, it was bad news.
He cleared his throat. "Hey, uh, bear friends," he said, voice shaky. "I'm Jasper. I'm here to... tame you, or whatever. But, you know, not in a bad way. Like, in a let's be friends kind of way. You get me?"
The bear on the left snorted loudly. It sounded like a mix of a growl and a sneeze. The other one, the bigger one, blinked slowly.
"Great, we're off to a good start," Jasper muttered. He stepped closer, feeling like he was walking straight into a trap. This felt wrong, but he couldn't back out now.
He reached into his bag, pulling out the last of his jerky. "I've got food... if you like food."
The bigger bear made a low, almost musical sound. It wasn't exactly a growl, but it was definitely not a happy noise.
Jasper's eyes widened. "Oh, great. I've got an angry bear on my hands."
Before he could process the situation, the larger bear dropped down from the tree with surprising grace. Jasper froze, his heart racing.
"Uh, I didn't mean to upset you," Jasper said weakly, holding out the jerky. "Please don't eat me."
To his relief—and shock—the bear sniffed the jerky, then sniffed him. It looked at the jerky again, then at Jasper.
The tension was unbearable. Jasper could feel the sweat dripping down his neck. He didn't know what was going to happen next, but it was a bad feeling.
Then, the bear did something completely unexpected. It opened its mouth and gently took the jerky from his hand. It chewed slowly, eyeing him with mild curiosity.
Jasper blinked, his jaw hanging open.
"Wait... you're actually taking the jerky?" he asked in disbelief.
The bear blinked back at him, its face utterly unamused.
Prunella, watching from the sidelines, beamed. "See? I told you they were gentle."
"Gentle?" Jasper repeated, still trying to figure out if he was having a heart attack or just experiencing shock. "This thing could've eaten me in one bite!"
"Relax," Prunella called. "You've got this!"
Just as Jasper was starting to get comfortable with the idea that he might not die this time, the other bear leaped down from the tree and immediately tried to climb up him like a tree.
Jasper screamed. "No! NO! Get off me!"
The bear, surprisingly agile for its size, simply perched on his shoulders, like it was a regular thing to do.
"Well, that's new," Jasper muttered, struggling to stay upright.
Prunella was laughing too hard to help him. "You're doing great, Jasper! Now just bond with them. It's all about the trust."
Jasper, feeling the weight of the bear pressing down on his shoulders, sighed. "Trust? With a bear that smells like wet fur and sour berries?"
Somewhere in the back of his mind, he heard a faint voice—probably his own—whimper: Why is this my life?
But he didn't have time for that right now. The bear was comfortable on his shoulders, and the other was happily munching on jerky. Maybe this taming thing wasn't as bad as it seemed.
Then again, it probably wouldn't take much for things to go south. But for now, Jasper was alive, and that was the only thing that mattered.
"Alright," he muttered, rolling his shoulders to get the bear off, "let's try not to get mauled today."