"Nobody's home... Let's wreck the place! Is what I would normally say if the place wasn't already wrecked..." Ares mumbled to himself as he scanned the bear's training ground. He could spy some clumps of dark reddish fur lying about here and there so the bear lived and breathed most of its life in this crooked arena. It ate here, it slept here, it fought here, it would die here... And yet the damn thing was MIA! Ares' luck was truly incorrigible sometimes but there was nothing to be done about it. Still, this must have all been quite surprising for the locals as a bunch of curious squirrels were poking their heads out of the nearby trees and glancing around as if looking for their papa who went to go buy milk. Big bear up and vanishing for a few minutes or hours was a non-issue, he needed to eat sometimes obviously and defecating in his own home would cause sanitary trouble in the long run so it wasn't possible to be completely anchored here, but multiple days of absence? That was pretty unthinkable for anyone who knew the bear. Approaching the arena and seeing the bear training was like waking up in the morning and seeing the sun overhead, only natural... Unless you lived in a strange region where there was no sun, places like that did exist in the wider world, but that was a technicality at best and not the point.
There wasn't really much to do here other than gawk endlessly so the Elliot's engine purred and Bellona hit the gas. Sacred or not Bellona was flooring it and fuming up the island one way or another. Maybe this was good practice for racing in unconventional terrain or maybe she was just having fun but Ares wasn't about to stop her as he felt like he'd be eaten alive if he dared try. This was some of the most fun she'd ever had and interrupting her would bring Ares face to face with a punishment commensurate to his sin. On the bright side, though, it did mean the group arrived at their intended destination at incomparable speed. Bellona joked that Ares drove like a cautious old man but he didn't want to hear it from the woman who grazed a tree three minutes ago and almost knocked a bird nest to the ground for some impromptu floor omelettes. She told him to 'live a little' to which he responded with his preference to 'not die a little'. Thankfully there was no car crash and the keys were comfortably back in Ares pocket so all was well. The group disembarked from the ride, Arse stored it in his Blade, and they made way to the bow which was only a minute or two away by foot. The reason they opted to stop driving was twofold; one bloody big bear might get spooked by the vehicle. He was fully sentient but he was still an animal that lived his entire life in tech-deficient Akarala. If a giant metal machine came ramming through the trees he might attack on impulse so it was for the best if Bellona was manhandled off the wheel even if she showed some reluctance. Reason number two was the major one though as driving any further was literally impossible. A seemingly lengthy river ran horizontally across the Elliot's path so getting out of it was mandatory to progress. Everyone could fly so it wasn't trouble or anything but the Elliot showed its limitations in this instance. Bellona did ask Ares, with puppy dog eyes and all, to bring the Elliot back out once everyone crossed but he made the executive decision to say no and get in his ten thousand steps for the day. Though she was pouty Sandy managed to cheer her up by sharing some hot pockets filled with meat she had tucked away in her spatial ring so that clamour died down not long after it started.
Eventually, the bow was within sight. It wasn't particularly flashy, it hadn't altered the terrain, it was simply perched underneath the leaves of a pretty enormous tree. It wasn't as big as Garmr but it was nearly there and that made it quite sizable compared to the others in the area. There wasn't anything special about the tree that attracted the bow, it seemed to just be content to hover under its shade and wait here for Ares like a child playing hide and seek. Remove the bow and this entire situation becomes incredibly normal for the most part, there really wasn't anything special here... So long as one ignored the meditating eight foot tall bear with a scarred right eye. Both eyes were shut but the one on the right had a massive white gash striking diagonally across the face starting just under the bear's nose and ending somewhere around his ear. The bear was bulky but only comparable to a human and was thin in comparison to most bears. Though most bears were fluffier than this one was, most of its fur was frayed, weathered down, and dry and dusty. The bear's fur was a shade of maroon naturally but darker in splotches at random intervals with most being predominantly centred around the chest. The bear's mannerisms seemed very human and the way it sat cross legged would give anyone pause if they weren't expecting an animal. The appearance of an animal, the bearing of a human, and the presence of something else entirely. Every breath, every heartbeat, seemed perfectly attuned to the whispers of the wind that ruffled his fur. One could be convinced the entire forest was under his jurisdiction, that it moved when his will did and bent according to his orders. Ares definitely felt it, this bear was a contender for Sheryashka's top dog. Well, he was before Ares entered the fray, but it was still a difficult accomplishment to be recognised to that degree. Ares hadn't seen the bear in action but he reckoned it could probably beat Yulo and Hans at least. It was at the peak of the transition realm and more than ready to achieve greater heights if it ever decided t leave this place. It most likely chose not to because this was its home which was drastically different compared to the psychopath stepper in Xasca which simply enjoyed bullying weaklings. If anything the bear had a habit of protecting those who were weaker so that wasn't really an applicable complaint. It had found peace with its life and was simply trying to make the most out of what was available to it. Bahru was right, this bear had a unique spirituality that wasn't present in anybody else Ares had met so far... Massai the fake monk included!
Now that Ares thought about it, the bear being here made sense. A lot actually. Becoming a God didn't actually fundamentally change a person's cultivation base and yet they became noticeably stronger anyway. To that end, this was an avenue the ear could pursue to further his martial understanding while remaining on this planet and in this country. Whatever insights he could gleam from this legacy treasure, no matter how faint, could push him over an edge and bring enlightenment. Bully for him but Ares wanted his bow back even still! Yes his priority was sparring with the bear but he wasn't leaving this place without the bow even if he lost the brawl! It was cheap but Ares snickered to himself knowing he could bring out Garmr at any point and whoop himself some bear behind. He wasn't sure it would come to that though... Surely he could beat a bear out in the wilds even once right? If given multiple attempts there was no way he'd lose every single time no? Hand to hand was hardly a specialty of his but he was a living enabler with Dominus' soul hanging about in him so there was no excuse not to at least be innately semi-proficient to some degree. He wouldn't beat masters and experts every single time in pure fisticuffs but he wouldn't lose all the time either... The main reason he lost so much to Veteran was because it was a matter of pressure mastery not combat talent... Ares wasn't sure if he convinced himself or not but either way he felt decently confident in walking up to the bear and having a chat at least. The bear wasn't known for random or senseless acts of violence, especially outside the ring back at his home turf, so just a quick chat was probably fine. What Ares didn't bargain for, however, was a complete lack of interaction of any kind...
"So, uh, hey big guy. I hear you're kind of a big deal but that makes two of us so I think we can get along. I'm here for my disobedient bow so d'you mind if I yoink it real quick?"
"..." The bear's silence was truly deafening. It barely even tilted its head towards Ares and so acknowledgement of his presence, let alone his words, was at an all time low.
"I'm not really getting a communicative vibe from you. I get that, I do. You're a real lone wolf, eh? Or lone bear I guess. Not one for socialising, that's fair... But, like, I dunno, maybe spare me a vowel or two? I'll take a grunt at this point..."
"..."
"Look, I don't want to bother you as much as you don't want to be bothered but I kinda need the bow back... Well 'need' is a strong word but I want it and you are both large and in the way..."
"..."
"Ok, I'm a man of principle so how about a trade offer? I get the bow, you get to meet an actual God instead of some legacy treasure left behind in their wake?" For once, the bear showed a reaction and slightly opened its left eye to peer at Ares. There was a depth in it that was rather profound, and Ares could have sworn he could see a small tide of blood rolling around within the iris, but that illusion quickly disappeared as he shook his head. "Lookie here, ta da! Lizard God!"
"Salamanders aren't lizards!" Ignizz complained to brick-wall Ares as he was summoned onto the man's shoulders. Still, he was proud to be referred to as a God for once so he puffed up his chest and let his tail sparkle in content.
"..." Upon seeing the tiny critter, the bear shut his eyes and promptly returned to ignoring the outside world again.
"Pft." Ares, though having gained nothing thanks to Ignizz' uselessness, couldn't help but laugh at the gobsmacked God. Ares covered his mouth and snickered while Ignizz' mouth was stuck open and lava drool leaked out the side. Evidently the bear didn't see Ignizz in a positive light and, to be honest, Ares got where he was coming from so he had nothing to say on the matter. If someone presented Ignizz to him as a Godly being he'd have enough reservations to fully book a restaurant. For Ignizz this must have been rather humiliating because his Godly aura was still there so he was provably a deity it's just that the bear valued the legacy treasure of Thundraga to be worth more than the actual lizard God crawling around on Ares' shoulder in a state of pure disbelief. Before Ignizz could go on a long rant he was stuffed back inside Ares wherein he got into a war of wards with Dominus for the next hour or so. Internal quarreling aside, this left Ares in an awkward spot in the present because his fail-safe was actually just a massive failure in disguise. "Alright, I can't exactly fault you for being uninterested in that particular trade, but I did still hold up my end of the bargain you known? At least let's talk it out before we hash it out? I could very easily just take the bow by force and I know you can sense it too right?" Strong people left strong impressions. Ares admittedly for the wrong reasons sometimes, his ability to annoy people was unparallel when he really went for it, but it was true that a cultivator worth their salt could look at him and see he meant business.
"..."
"It seems I'm dealing with all-time debate superstar so I'm going to have to take a slightly different approach here. Don't begrudge me for resorting to violence but I wanted to spar with you anyway so for me this is killing two Kelo-Kolokos with one brick." This seemed to get the bear's attention as the call for a fight was all too familiar to it. Rather it used to be, it had been a long time since anyone was foolhardy enough to challenge him. Only the youth of the local tribes even dared and that confidence was short-lived usually. After a single session they left and never came back, leaving their pride at the bear's doorstep for him to keep. Maybe if his name was known on a wider scale would he have challengers from across the globe to keep him company but que sera sera.
With a deep sigh, that contained a hint of a growl, the bear slowly rose to his feet in one fluid motion. He lowered and retracted his chest and head while raising both hands in a flexible position to adjust on the fly. He bore strong resemblance to a combination between a large boxer with his stance but what attack came next was entirely dependent on Ares' action instead. A punch? A poke? A chop? A parry? All bets were on and, to be honest, nobody wanted to know more than Ares. "... Magic?" Ares thought he misheard for a split second, the word that came out of the bear's mouth sounded like a grunt if anything. He managed to piece together the question by replaying the indistinct gruff word over and over in his head before shaking it with a small chuckle.
"No no, let's not do that. It wouldn't be any fun if I used magic. If I decide I really want the bow Ill bring out the big guns. This place is your home so it's only fair I let you win a couple rounds first." Ares brought out the Elliot and left it parked near a tree so that anyone who wasn't interested in watching Ares go toe to toe with the bear could relax inside. Nobody left for now, spectating the first few rounds just to see how it went wasn't something they wanted to pass up on, but this would probably go on for a while so they were free to go off and do their own thing in the mean time. This area was pretty safe so unless the Pooka showed up and caused trouble there really wasn't anything to be overly cautious about. Ares rolled his neck, cracked his knuckles, and took up a fairly basic stance. He wasn't underestimating the bear, he just wasn't particularly proficient in anything more complicated and he would only embarrass himself if he tried. "Ready when you are big guy." Six simple words and yet they were a complete mistake. See Ares had made the mistake of thinking 'bloody big bear' would be slow and lumbering so, when the bear slithered into his comfort zone and delivered a lightning fast palm, he was hardly as prepared as he claimed to be. Ares was now in a bit of a predicament because he was still quick enough to react to what was happening but felt tongue tied and twisted figuring out how to respond to it exactly. The bear was strong, there was no reason to be shocked about that, and it was levying that power beautifully to put Ares on the spot. The palm could not be stopped directly, so that was one option that was off the table, and it seemed to possess a mind of its own so avoiding it was impossible to because Ares had no idea where it was even going. The palm almost felt heatseeking so Ares didn't bother trying to dodge as it would follow him to the ends of the universe, it looked like an approaching black hole ready to swallow him up whole more so than a regular bear palm. Deflecting it was the only real path but in being trapped like this, into one single manoeuvrer, he was basically screaming to the bear his next decision and naturally he was hesitant to make it. With no other option left, however, Ares committed to a swipe to try and swat aside the hand but a split second and he was on his rear and kissing his teeth.
The bear had been holding back a lot and it wasn't even close so naturally Ares felt a little dispirited. Down but not out, though! He knew going into this he would be pushed around a bit, he wasn't so arrogant to think he could just be the best at everything he tried immediately, but he still wanted to do better than this! More importantly, he was actually aggravated that the bear wasn't taking him seriously. Veteran went all-in from the start every single fight, this was a big difference in treatment. Ares wasn't particularly happy with this so he looked over shoulder and called out to the group. "Me and this guy are heading back to the arena first, bring the Elliot with you at your own pace." Ares stood up and dusted himself in front of a bear who raised an eyebrow at Ares' declaration and current movements. The bear had no intention of moving from this place as he wished to keep studying the treasure so what made Ares think he was going to go back to the arena with him? Why was Ares strolling towards the bow as if he could just snatch it and walk away? The bear didn't understand any of it until Ares transformed before his very eyes into a behemoth creature that hardly seemed of this earth. "Hmph." Garmr's snort was enough to shrivel the bear's fur as it took a moment to steady its breathing. Credit where credit was due, the bear did try to stop Garmr from approaching the bow, and his effort wasn't half-bad compared to everyone else who'd ever gone up against the beast, but it wound up going poorly overall no matter how anyone looked at it. The bear dashed in Garmr's path, feinted a stomach blow, and swept the legs... Only for his leg to bounce right off Garmr's fur and stumble him backwards. A massive fist came crashing down but the bear palmed it to the side and jabbed pressure points to tickle Garmr but the bow had already been clutched and seized by the other hand at this point so now the bear had Garmr's full attention and these small wins meant nothing.
Ares fiddled about tracking down the tricky bear who was adept at avoiding his every blow but, after a long back and forth, Garmr managed to catch the bear by its leg and drag it back to the arena over his shoulder like a slung net full of fish. Interestingly, the bear seemed quite accepting of this result. There was a fire in its eyes that seemed to indicate it wanted to keep battling the giant wolf and overcome it. It might have even been possible if Ares gave it enough time but the two had come to a mutual understanding of sorts during the silent dash back to the arena. Ares would train in his human form against the bear and, in return, he would let the bear both study Thundraga's bow from time to time as well as fight Garmr. Ares didn't expect much from the latter, even if the bear could learn to outclass Garmr in technique now the whole point of this training was that Ares himself improved. As Ares grew in hand to hand Garmr would benefit in the exact same way by proxy and become harder and harder to beat so realistically there was no point. Still, the determination the bear was oozing seemed very real and if it became a bargaining chip in Ares' favour he wasn't going to spoil the bear's mood and say no.
"... Name?" The bear, after being put down back in the training ground, asked Ares... Or so he thought.
"Ares."
The bear shook its head. "No, big wolf. Name."
"Tsk, I am that big wolf. Whatever, Garmr." Whether or not the bear nodded because it understood Ares was Garmr, or simply because it got the name it wanted, Ares didn't know and he didn't want to ask.
"My name... Grove." Ares had questions. Did 'Grove's' parents name him that? Did he call himself that because that was where he lived? Did others call him that because he was synonymous with the grove that appeared around him? It was hard to tell but the bear didn't seem intent on answering any more small talk, it just wanted to fight Ares to get to Garmr. It was disrespectful but at least the bear would take fights with Ares seriously from now on so that was something. This was going to turn into a mutual beat down between bear, human, and wolf but it remained to be seen who would overcome their respective adversary first... It had been a while since Ares last had a meaningful training arc of his own but this one mattered a great deal because the very idea of a martial arts Garmr was particularly appealing. He didn't have to copy whatever Grove's style was but so long as he walked away with something usable and effective Garmr would level up here in a very meaningful way. That being said, Grove was actually closer to beating Garmr than Ares was to beating Grove. It was impressive that Grove landed a few hits. Meaningless ultimately but impressive regardless as this marked the first combatant who didn't fold immediately upon seeing Garmr and his raw power. There would be others but Ares raised the importance of his training with Grove a notch above what it was previously purely because of that interaction. If mastery over hand to hand could enable Grove to survive against Garmr to some extent then there was a lot to gain here if he studied well. It was a bit strange to be mentored by a bear, and also indirectly mentor the bear too funnily enough, but it's not like the rest of Sheryashka had been any less weird so far!
And thus, the battles between the silent and rude bear and the talkative and rude wolf commenced!