"It's like after our fight... in the past three days, you grew up like three years."
Ivan's body went stiff. The words, meant as some kind of compliment, hit him like a punch to the gut. His heart hammered against his ribs. Thankfully, the darkness of the night hid the flash of panic on his face.
He forced a sarcastic laugh, a weak attempt to cover his shock. "Is this your way to... compliment me?"
"Shut the fuck up," Marcus grumbled, turning back to look at the river.
"Alright, alright," Ivan said, trying to sound casual. "Is that why you woke me up? To whisper sweet nothings to me by the river?"
"Fuck no," Marcus shot back, annoyed. "Why would I wake you up to compliment you? You're not my girlfriend. I wanted to talk."
Ivan faked a disappointed sigh. "Fine. What is this about?"
Marcus was silent for a moment. "Unfortunately," he said, the word sounding like it was physically painful for him to say, "I kinda trust your competence now. So tell me, about this threat of the bear beast. Do you have any ideas how we're gonna deal with it?"
Ivan thought for a moment. "Well, when I first met Lyraena and Jomana, they told me how they killed the dog beasts. They said they're just big dogs. Their weak point is their nose. A good, solid hit there and they cower completely. They become easy to kill after that."
Marcus nodded slowly, absorbing the information. "Oh, I see. Well, that's valuable. The instructors never tell us the specifics. They just say 'overcome the obstacle'." He turned back to Ivan. "Now back to the bear beast. How are we gonna beat it? What's a bear's weak point?"
Ivan met his gaze. "Well... that's the part where I have no idea."
They stared at each other.
"Oh, fuck," Marcus said, leaning back with a groan. "Seems I had high expectations for nothing. You're still useless."
"How am I supposed to know how to kill a bear when I grew up in the King's Palace, Marcus?" Ivan retorted. "My tutors taught me politics and history, not monster anatomy."
Marcus let out a long sigh. "Alright, that's fine. If you don't have a plan, we'll fight it with brute force. I prefer my style anyway." He stood up, stretching his arms. "Go to sleep now. Tomorrow you'll work here like a slave, not as a guest anymore."
"What about you?" Ivan asked, getting up.
"I always stay the night up. To protect the camp," Marcus said simply. "I sleep by dawn when the girls wake up to take a bath."
"Oh... alright," Ivan said. "Well then, see you later."
As he walked back to his tent, Ivan felt a strange sense of respect. Marcus was doing his part, protecting everyone without wanting or expecting a thank you. He was a real leader, in his own rough way. Despite the chilling conversation, Ivan fell into a deep and immediate sleep.
---
"Hey, wake the fuck up."
Ivan woke up to the words, a smile instantly forming on his face. It was Lyraena's voice.
'Damn, when I marry her, I'll tell her to wake me up exactly like that,' he thought happily.
He peeked out of his tent. "Good morning," he said cheerfully.
"It's noon," Lyraena replied flatly, her arms crossed.
"Why until now?" he asked, surprised.
"Marcus said there's no use waking up a burden who acts like he knows everything. Said we can work better without you."
"Alright," Ivan said, not bothered at all. He crawled out of the tent and stretched. "Is there anything to eat?"
"Can't you smell? Fish."
He looked and saw everyone sitting around the fire, cooking fish on sticks. The smell was good. "Alright, let's go there."
---
After they ate and had a small, tense chatter, Ivan brought the topic back.
"So... to deal with the bear, I think we need to train or do something."
Marcus, who was sharpening a spear with a rock, didn't answer right away. He watched the group, gauging the reactions. He saw some, like Leonardo and the twins, nod in agreement. He saw others, like his own friends, look skeptical.
Finally, he answered. "No."
"What do you mean, no?" Ivan asked, frustrated.
"No means no one is gonna train," Marcus said, his voice firm. He put down the spear. "A day of training won't be any use. It's a waste of energy. Maybe some archery practice for those who use bows, but that's it." He looked at the group. "Other than that, it'll just bring soreness or injuries to our bodies. We don't want that right now. We'll have plenty of that if we survive this bear beast."
Marcus made a good point. It was so logical that everyone stared at him like he'd grown a second head. He wasn't used to explaining himself, usually just threatening people.
He noticed them staring and got defensive. "What the fuck are you all looking at? I can make good points too. I just always choose not to."
He turned back to his spear and started sharpening it again, his point made.
But then, something terrifying happened.
From the other side of the forest, a massive amount of fireworks were released into the sky. One after another, they shot up, red streaks against the gray clouds. Five. Ten. Twenty. So many of them that for a moment, the sky itself seemed to turn red.
Then they heard it. The piercing shriek of the giant eagle beast, a sound of alarm. They saw it flying at full speed towards the area of the fireworks.
Ivan stood up, his half-eaten fish forgotten. His eyes were wide with horror.
"Fuck," he whispered. "Something bad happened there."