No, she finds a bear instead.

Vrasha wandered for quite some time. She wasn't sure, but it felt like hours. The way the sun danced down through the mottled leaves of the trees cast a hypnotic pattern of green and gold, and the warmth felt pleasant against her skin. She led her horse slowly, so as not to tire the mare, and found that she was quite enjoying herself as she did. Even if she had not yet found the river, Vrasha began to feel the tension ease off her shoulders, and her body relaxed as her muscles uncoiled.

At least, that was the case until the horse suddenly froze in place. Vrasha turned to regard it in some confusion, but the mare refused to be moved, its ears were straight down, it's eyes wide. Vrasha didn't know what had spooked it, but she knew that something was up. Acting quickly, her hand fell to the hilt of the sword, and her other unhooked the shield from beneath her cloak. The shield felt sturdy and heavy, runes inlaid on the inside of the metal cap glowed softly. The sword fit her hand to a T, she had after all wielded it for most of her life.

Now armed, she turned back to face the forest, and just in time too! Something big lumbered from the dark cover of the trees. Something hungry, a large bear. The creature was massive, its fur was thick, and dark. Its muzzle twitched as it noticed her. Vrasha froze, her heart beat quickly as she considered her options. A bear! Usually, they weren't too much trouble, since they would generally ignore if they were well fed. But this one seemed hungry, and it aimed to make a meal of her horse, or even herself.

The creature moved forwards, padding on its massive feet, its claws curled and deadly. Vrasha had seen bears kill people before, it was never pretty. that much muscle and **** moving at that much speed? Having a shield didn't usually help you at all. You just slammed back into a tree and broke your spine. Or else the bear would knock you aside, and then maul you before you recovered.

She glared at it for a moment. Should she release the horse? But then, it would run. If the bear didn't feel like chasing, it would have only one meal left, her.

Could she fight a bear? She'd done it before, but she'd had help, fellow hunters with nets and spears, and the bear had been driven to the point of exhaustion. Even then, it had nearly torn off her arm with the **** of its blows. Could she take one that wasn't so tired?

Did she have a choice?

The bear took another step forwards, she gulped. It definitely knew she was there. With nothing else to do, she strode forwards a step and raised her voice, shouting at the big creature as sharply as she could. It seemed to start, not used to prey shouting back. She hoped this would drive it off. It sometimes worked, if the bear wasn't too hungry, and had never seen it before.

"Shoo!" She snarled at it. "Leave me and this place! We don't want you here!"

The bear seemed to waver for a moment, almost seeming to consider leaving.