No

The bear started at the sudden sound, and for a moment, it almost seemed to be on the verge of leaving. Almost. Vrasha held her breath, but that moment passed all too quickly. It swung around, braced itself, and then matched her roar with one of its own.

Needless to say, its was considerably louder and longer. Then, when it was done, it lunged at her with all the speed its massive muscles could muster. Vrasha had time for one shouted exclamation as it hurtled towards her. Her hand released the reins of the horse, and her shield swung round to engage the blow from the creature's left paw. Vrasha braced herself as the impact rang out, and she was torn from her feet by the **** of it and sent careening into a tree. The breath was knocked out of her lungs, and she saw red for a moment as she smashed into the bark. Then, the creature reared up above her, both paws ready to descend, razor sharp claws eager to rend and tear her flesh.

Now, Vrasha had fought a bear once before. It had been tired, hunted for several days. Even so, it had managed to split a shield with one blow of its paws. But Vrasha's shield, now that was different. The runes on the inside of the cap blazed with light, and she raised it again just as the paws descended. Runic magic flashed as the shield absorbed an impact which should have shattered it, but the momentum was carried through, and she was slammed back into the tree with a heavy thud. Again, the breath was knocked out of her, but she had no time to try and recover! The next swipe aimed to tear her heads off, so she ducked low to evade it and it carved into the wood of the tree. The bear roared, chips of wood rained down upon her. Heart hammering, Vrasha sliced out with her sword.

Vrasha's sword was a curved weapon, a slashing blade intended to be used from horseback. It was curved, a member of the same family of blades that contained the scimitar. Such a blade was limited by nature, the powering **** behind it was the muscle of the wielder, and the speed of the strike. Against a human, such a weapon could slash and lacerate, but a bear had heavy fur, and thick fat, and powerful muscles. A blow which would have stained a human red with blood was absorbed with merely a little bleeding. Vrasha cursed, and danced to the side as the bear savaged the tree where she had been.

Breathing rapidly, and thinking even more quickly, Vrasha tried to make space, backing away as the creature came at her with a barrage of claws and paws. Again and again, she blocked with the runic shield, but even enchanted, it didn't save her from the **** of the blows, and her arm began to tire. How soon until it ripped the shield from her grasp? At that point, without its cover, she would surely die.

**** now, Vrasha drew on her inner reserves, feeling the battle-madness surge through her body. Suddenly, she didn't feel so tired. Suddenly, the world was sharp, and bright, and tasted so very sweet.

The bear roared and came at her again, she threw herself forwards, its claw lashed out, but she barely managed to evade it, it nicked her face as it plunged past her body. As she moved past the bear, she turned and sliced with the sword, carving into its side with all of her strength. It snarled, a deep wound now open in its side.

She roared at it again, and threw herself forwards The bear snarled, and rushed to meet her. By any means, the clash should have been one that the bear won easily. It was three or four times her weight, stronger than her, naturally armoured, and possessing weapons which could rip her limb from limb. But it was not used to its prey fighting so viciously instead of running away, and as they closed, it scented no fear on her body, nor saw any in her eyes.

The bear lashed out with a right paw, Vrasha went low, but it caught her shoulder and sent her spinning away. She struck the ground hard, and felt a blaze of pain. Not sharp pain, but dull pain. Her skin had not been sliced, but she'd taken a hit from the thing's paw, and it felt like she'd bruised a muscle or two. Her shield arm felt weak and unsteady as the bear bore down on her again.

She leapt forwards, nimbly slicing at its paw with her blade. She met resistance, and carved through as much flesh as she could before the bear withdrew, its paw now red and bloody.

The two broke apart. Vrasha was gasping, her shield arm hung limply, her sword was ready in her hand. Her eyes still showed no fear.

At this point, the bear decided that it had had enough. It wasn't that so hungry that it was willing to put up with this sort of pain in the ass, or more accurately, the paw and side. It snarled at her once more, and then began to retreat into the forest. Chest heaving, Vrasha watched it go.

"Well, that was...exciting." She grumbled to herself, dropping the shield from her numb hand in order to examine her shoulder with her other one. After a moment, she nodded to herself.

"Nothing's broken or bleeding. Just took a bad hit. It's going to bruise in a few hours, and it'll feel like hell for a day or so. But otherwise, I am fine."

She nodded to herself,. a maniacal grin stretching her features.

Moments like this were exactly what she lived for.