Alexis

"Oh no! Pochi!"

You shouted as your tamed monster, a grey wolf who has been with you through thick and thin, fell down limply after he was struck down. A particularly large brown bear stood on its two hind legs, one paw still hung in the air after slapping your Pochi with a huge ****. Your body was screaming at you to run and protect Pochi, but your more rational mind managed to stop you from committing suicide.

Your mind raced, panic started to settle in after the current turn of events. The bear suddenly appeared as you and Pochi were exploring the forest to gather wild medicinal herbs. The outer part of the forest should not have a strong monster such as them, so it might have moved from the center part. Fortunately, Pochi noticed the bear before it attacked, alerting you as well. The two of you then tried your best to stand your ground and fight, as outrunning the bear was not a plausible option, at least not for you.

It seemed the two of you did quite well and managed to give the bear a difficult time. After all, the two of you had been together for years, and your coordination was little less than superb. The two of you evaded and parried the bear's attacks, slowly but surely wearing and wounding it. Unfortunately, the bear still managed to hold on and finally landed a counter on Pochi, even after sustaining quite a lot of injuries.

The bear growled, snapping your attention back to the matter at hand. It landed on four legs again, breathing raggedly and its posture slacked. The bear's injuries and loss of blood started to get to it, weakening it. The bear glanced between you and Pochi, still laying on the ground, seemingly trying to assess its next action. In that tense moment, Pochi let out a yelp. The bear almost immediately decided to silence your downed beast.

You screamed, not going to let your grey wolf die. You immediately picked an arrow from your quiver, drew the bowstring and released with only a fraction of a second to aim. Your arrow flew, unfortunately only made a shallow penetration on it's shoulder. But at least that grabbed its attention. The bear looked up, growling with heavy breath, before charging at you. You took a deep breath, grabbed another arrow, aimed, and shot. The arrow flew better this time, but the bear only roared in pain as it kept going straight at you.

In normal circumstances, you would never outrun the bear, but it was already wounded and its speed suffered. So you ran, but you didn't intend to just leave Pochi behind. After gaining some distance, you took another shot. You repeated this several times, hoping that the bear would just give up and walk away. Unfortunately, it seemed the bear was too angry and too stubborn to let you off. You started to get out of breath, and your arrows had almost run out. You needed to end this one way or another, so you made a bet.

You took the last arrow from your quiver, concentrating and focusing the last mana you still had in your body onto your arms. You activated one of your ranger skills, Piercing Arrow, and aimed at the bear's head. You waited till it got close, not wanting to miss, and finally released your skill. Your attacked went beyond your expectation. The bear grunted and collapsed on the ground, an arrow lodged deep into its left eye socket, piercing its brain.

You slowly approached the bear, checking its condition. It appeared to be dead, no longer breathing. You breathed a sigh of relief, feeling a little sorry for the bear. But it attacked you and Pochi, so you had no other choice but to-

You immediately remembered your tamed monster and hastily returned to where he was. Pochi was alive, but he might not last much longer without some form of treatment. You brought a weak healing potion, but it would not be enough to heal him. His heavy body made dragging him back impossible, and running back and forth to ask for help would be too late for him.

You decided to stay with Pochi, hugging and stroking its fur. You used your healing potion, making sure Pochi drank it. Even if it could not save his life, at least it should numb the pain somewhat. A tear streaked down your cheek, memories of the times spent with him ran through your head. The two of you grew up together, hunting, exploring, and helping each other in need.

"I'm sorry, Pochi, I've failed to protect you..."

You softly said as your gentle voice started to falter. It pained you greatly to lose someone whom you cared for. Your tears started to fall harder as you hugged your wolf's limp body tighter, refusing to let go as he drew his last breath. Moments later, while you were still busy moping on Pochi's body, you heard a rustle coming from a bush. You looked up, eyes red and swollen, to see what was approaching you. If it was another strong wild monster, you knew you wouldn't survive.

At that moment, you didn't know that you'd be meeting with your destined partner.