The Hundred Acre Wood

[HeadlessKoko]

Dare he talk more about honor? Oh, he dares when Honey dare slander the name of honor. Unfortunately, the devious miscreant was determined to corner him because before Saekki could pull on Honey's ears for her misdemeanor, she was taking him into her own hands, quite literally and certainly without permission. "What is-," Saekki began to sputter, "Put me down this instant!". His manhood at stake here, the disgruntled tamer roughly shoved at Honey's nose, taking advantage of the bear's sensitive spot to loosen her grip enough for him to roll out and away.

The struggle for his freedom very much would make the rest of the walk lively, but it would take the rest of the short walk for Saekki to tumble onto the ground and pick himself up. Brushing the dust and dirt off of his clothes, he replied to the old topic, "Honor is trust and loyalty. Respect and reputation. Without honor, I have no reason to strive for better in my life. Through difficulties, we grow stronger, and by accepting risks, we open new avenues for power we had never once considered. Our friendship now, for instance, is a result of such honor and risks."

He spoke sharply as he kept on walking. Continued walking, making it a point to walk in front of Honey to show who was leading who. Even when Honey cautiously started eyeing the peaceful grove and uttered a word of caution, Saekki was too riled up on being carried like a girl to notice. Only the booming voice of a giant, louder than anything he had ever heard, could stop Saekki in his tracks right smack in the middle of the grove

No, not a grove, but a paw. Widening his stance, Saekki somehow remained standing as what he once thought was ground tremored and moved up. Up and up until to the face and gleaming eyes of the female the voice belonged to. Undeterred by the size, however, Saekki fearlessly stared down the black as night eyes. He only broke contact to salute the mighty one, bowing down and cupping his hands in front of himself as he said, "I am Ho Saekki and my companion is Honey. We have been sent by the judge of the forest council to prove our good intentions by serving you. Community service, so to speak."

[23 sentences]

Evanescently Magnificient

 

[Evanescently Magnificent]

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The eyes of the great black bear regarded Saekki such that the emotion behind them was inscrutable. For a moment they rested like this without making a move until at last the once-proud warrior got his answer in the form deep exhale from her snoot. Just the power from it being enough to send Honey flying over the edge of the palm. It was all the bear could do for herself to sink her claws into flesh hardy enough to prevent the animal from tumbling backward the rest of the way. Her form left hanging there desperately, while her other remaining paw flailed outward in an attempt to secure her no good, cloth-wearing, sass talking, partner Saekki, from failing over the edge. It really was an unfortunate turn of events that the Honey would have to spin around later. After all there was no way her pride would allow for anything less than the hiding the fact that she cared, in true Tsundere fashion, after their little rumble in the jungle.

Regardless of what action Saekki took, the forceful gust created by the bear would not let up until a near ten minutes later. A greatly bemused tone, hanging about her voice. "Don't tell me, you two were pulled into that fool Owl's court? Mmm let me ask you this.-" As she spoke, the bear let drop the paw that held the two in her grasp and with a little nudge, tumbled them onto a grassy plateau. Then... a miracle occurred, one that would perhaps hold a lot more weight over Honey than it would Saekki. the bear... transformed. It was slow at first, but gradually over time her body would shrink whilst eclipsed in a sort of white light. By the end of it there was only a woman standing there on the plateau with them. Her curves were slender and young, but somehow also carried with them the maturity of a thousand years of life that left her true age indeterminable.

Climbing to her feet, Honey took up a more defensible position. Lips curling in a wince, the bear couldn't help but feel a flustered shame for the brash nudity being so openly displayed is front of her partner. Placing herself in front of in front of the bear turned women earned a raised eyebrow from the advancing raven haired woman but nothing more came of it. "Hmph. You've see me for what I am now, tell me, who do you think is really in charge? Owl's courtroom has no power here, this is my forest. But it does make him feel better when him and his friends can play lawyer. Honestly if you two had just left right after leaving I doubt anyone would have even cared, let alone notice. But now you know the truth and are free to take your leave if you desire."

 

[HeadlessKoko]

The mighty bear nearly blew Saekki off the raised paw, forcing him to take a wide stance as he grunted and grit his teeth. He could only endure. In the face of the turbulent wind, the yet feeble-bodied warrior raised his arms to shield his face. Even with the lower center of gravity and chakra channeled into his feet, however, the handsome male still couldn't get a grip, and he was only stopped from plummeting to the earth far below by what felt like a furry wall, Honey's powerful, outstretched arm keeping him from falling even while she dangled so precariously. Battered by the breathing gale, Saekki couldn't even turn his head to seek out Honey without fear of tumbling over and truly falling

Only after the long ten minutes finally passed could the tamer finally look to his pet. Exclaiming a "Oh, ******** me!" he found her hanging for dear life on the bear's paw and turned around immediately to pull and grasp at her fur to try and pull her up with his pitiful human strength. He got two, completely ineffective pulls in before the great bar started speaking, to which his head turned but his fingers remained firmly intertwined within his companion's fur. Her remained in this position--crouched and holding desperately--until he and Honey alike were gracelessly tumbled out of the mountain-like bear's paw.

Such a great and mighty beast. Saekki didn't hold a shred of doubt that the mighty one who spoke must be a great man, a male specimen to envy, admire, and respect. The low, feminine voice, he thought, was a little out of place, but the strong did not have to sound harsh.

Therefore, when the hulking behemoth morphed into the fragile form of a delicate beauty, a delicate human female beauty, Saekki was left without words. His eyes grew wide as he simultaneously enjoyed the delicious view and also ascertained that he was looking at the undeniable curves and smooth, supple flesh of a female specimen of his kind. "A... human?" Saekki asked as his head lowered defensively in the face of the unknown, "A shinobi? So was your shape earlier just an act to frighten us into complacency?". A low growl purred beneath each of his words. A wily kunoichi who used genjutsu to change shape and ninjutsu to imitate great strength was far more easier for him to imagine than a female with the strength to knock him off by merely breathing. It wasn't right for something that could take the form of a human woman to be so strong. Proper men found power through force and strength. Proper women found power through deftness and charm. Outliers may exist, but this was the norm and proper path.

Saekki glanced at Honey as these thoughts crushed through his mind. Of course, that mainly applied to humans. Though, even in Honey's case, he would never expect her to overpower a male bear or, for that matter, himself when he was in his prime.

[28 sentences]

Evanescently Magnificient

 

[Evanescently Magnificent]

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The bear woman snorted at Saekki's retort. "Don't you have an inflated opinion of yourself? I'll ask again, what about you is so special that you think I, Ungnyeo, First among these forests, would even need to lie to you? I took this form because it is apart of me as sure as any other. The term bear, human, they mean nothing to me. I just am. Now, I tire of you, take your leave from me before I decide to change my mind." With one final huff, the naked woman removed herself from the conversation before Saekki would have the chance to irritate her further, taking her place at the top of a very large rock.



Sharing a glance with Saekki, Honey wore her confusion as apparent her partner, although it was for an entirely different reason. Dark brown eyes scrutinized the bear-woman's form, searching deeply now for any fault in its appearance. As if there was some secret flaw that would lend itself towards uncovering its discredibility. This was a world where the impossible could become possible yes, the use of chakra to create could any bring to life almost anything, she knew that from personal experience. But it was for that very reason that Honey looked upon this form with skepticism, more so than Saekki even. Honey had sought, no, desired to become human herself. So much so, that the bear had even begun the arduous task of teaching herself to read. A fact she had gone to great lengths to hide.

And not just because she had so frequently indulged in mocking the practice as another useless human skill, but because deep down... even a bear craved that certain kind of interpersonal connection that Honey had since become privy too in her enhanced sentience. After all, how could one not love someone once you knew their story? It all felt silly though, probably because it was, and certainly if you had asked her personally, Honey would never admit it. Preferring instead to play it off as it helping her to understand what she would be fighting most, or to better infiltrate. Whatever excuse that was most convenient in fooling both the asker and herself.

Honey was no fool however she knew that such a connection was impossible with... how she was, with her body. That is why her desire burned so strongly now, why she wanted this bear-woman to not just be another form of genjutsu. Even more important, Honey needed Saekki to not ruin it for her. Pulling her tamer in a way that left it to be answered who really was in charge, Honey stared darkly into the black of Saekki's eyes. "Stop please." If the foreign pleading on her lips wasn't enough to alert Saekki of the importance of this subject to Honey then the grave tone with which she delivered her next words surely would be. "I need her, and I can't tell you why. Help me talk to her... and maybe we can apologize?" Emphasize was put on the word 'we' as a preventive measure to soothe any injuries to his pride.

 

[HeadlessKoko]

"Hell if I know y-" Who knows how bad Saekki could have gotten, but Honey tugged at him, forcing eye contact, and spoke over his words, quite effectively silencing him. Defiance added fuel to the fire of anger that burned in Saekki's eyes as he turned around to ask who dared, fangs bared. He didn't care if he knew his loss was certain. Woman, man, just about anything but a child, he would fight them merely to show his mettle. He really was about fight Honey right then and there, too, for the same reason. She held him back? She dared? Though his body may have been broken and shackled, his temper remained as outrageous as ever.

However, hearing Honey whimper changed all that. It did little to ease the human to hear the one creature he trusted in this world to beg to him, but the uneasiness served well in distracting Saekki. For a lengthy moment, his pitch black eyes stared into the deep wells of Honey's, and in time, the fire that glazed the surface of his eyes with the hard glint of anger was extinguished and the cold fury was melted by the warm liquid gaze of the bear.

He sighed and curled an arm around Honey's neck, pulling his face into the bear's thick fur. For a lengthier moment, he kept himself buried in Honey's scent. He had a long way to go yet if his weakness still got to him so easily. They had promised each other that they would be each other's strengths, inseparable as one, and each lived up to that promise time and time again. To bare his fangs at his own strength? What a silly thing he had done.

If Saekki needed her, then he didn't need to know why. He only needed to know how to help his sworn companion, closer to him than a brother by blood. Swallowing his pride for Honey's sake, Saekki turned around and saluted the naked woman, clasping his fists in front of him and bowing. "Many apologies great elder," keeping his head down and back bent, the human spoke with practiced reverence, "This one is young and ignorant, so he begs your forgiveness for his momentary flash of foolishness. Unworthy as this one may be, please grant them another opportunity to prove themselves worthy of becoming your student." Even after finishing, Saekki did not raise his head. Until verbally permitted to do so, he would remain bowed in respect.

Honey had reminded him why he had come all this way instead of merely bolting off. He sought a teacher of great strength to attain great strength himself. Though he did not expect a woman, power was power. Perhaps on a later day, the two might laugh at how perfectly they flipped sides on the debate of whether to stay or to leave. However, right now, Saekki could only reflect on his folly. Patience was yet a skill he needed to learn, it seemed.

Sitting atop the tall rock, one leg pulled up with her arm resting atop it, Ungnyeo's long hair blew breezily around her lithe form. Large swaths of the dark, silky curtain, as black as the midnight fur of the bear she also was, danced, hugged, and clung to her body all at once. From her perch above all, the divine beast scrutinized the unlikely pair through hooded eyes. She had hoped that it would not come to this, that the pair would leave without asking for anything more. She had hoped to chase them away, but alas... It seemed her child, in a completely spiritual sense regarding Honey, was not so easily swayed.

In the brown bear that bowed her head to a human she could have easily snapped in two, mewling and looking pathetic like one of the human women that begged to be pampered, she could only see her foolish young self and the countless other students she had taken throughout the ages. Students who were just like this bear that had fallen for the first human she laid her eyes on. Students of all species who had fallen for a human merely because they were human. She knew as well that, like all those other students, only time and grief will teach the child before her.

Though, before being a teacher to all animals who came to her with that one burning wish, she was a mother, and no matter how jaded a mother grew to be, it was not in a mother's nature to stop caring or trying for her children. Therefore, this time as well, she would try, and perhaps, the grief will strike more quickly, end things before more of this cub's years were wasted.

Giving an exaggerated yawn, Ungnyeo swung both of her legs up atop the rock she sat on and lied down on her side, back to Saekki and Honey. "I am tired, but also hungry," she spoke, not even sparing a look at the pair, "Whatever shall I do?". Showing no concern for who saw, she lazily scratched at her belly and then picked her hair, the very image of sloth.

[46 sentences]

Evanescently Magnificient

 

[Haffon]

[And so the story continues...]


In all their time together, Honey had never felt a moment pass between them that could have sparked a sense of fear or even cowardice from Saekki. For so long their bond had been one of mutual reliance: a friendship, but also something that felt deeper than what that word could ever imply. It was not something that Honey thought she could ever understand, but then again there were plenty of things she felt comfortable not understanding. Why she was still here facing down a spiritual giant, such as Ungnyeo had laid claim to, wasn't one of those things.

The chaotic torrent of emotions that plagued the bear now was unlike any she had ever felt before. A proverbial break in the armor that was her grounded personality, and worst of all? She couldn’t even explain why it was that she suddenly felt this way. Ungnyeo was frightening yes, and of course Honey didn’t want Saekki to get hurt because of her decision, but so far as could be seen there was no indication that the concord between the two parties was to be threatened. Leaving this anxiety that buried itself in her gut completely irrational. She had been presented with an opportunity to learn what would only come once in a lifetime. All just to have her exaltation ruined by nothing at all. It's this place. It has to be affecting me somehow.

The write off came casually to her. Of course it couldn’t have been anything to do with herself or repressed emotions. All she needed to do now was to keep it together, and more importantly; never let Saekki see her inner struggles.

With a clear resolution, Honey raised her paw to swat her troubled thoughts away; when she found herself pulled into Saekki’s grasp instead. The floundered state that her emotions had left the bear in, would now strike Honey with a shock that was cool enough to freeze her tongue in her mouth. Their proximity, and Honey’s lower position, forced the bear's snoot to interlock around her tamer’s neck even as he did the same with her.

It was a moment of purest simplicity, and it did much to recenter the bear. Letting her reflexive wit rest behind silence, Honey tentatively allowed herself the luxury of just enjoying where she was in the moment. A desire to preserve the moment without having to worry about words taking it from her. Honey's dark chocolate tipped nose pulled in Saekki's scent: a crisp forest rain during those first lights of a spring sunrise. The breath brought with it sensations of her childhood home.

By the time that the hold between finally broke, Honey had... not gotten better in the slightest. Saekki’s efforts at rekindling had worked briefly, but now that it was done Honey only felt as though she had traded one set of demons for another. Anxiety shifting into mild nervousness, anger into annoyance, and to top it all off… there a twisted gut-wrenching feeling. Though these new butterflies were at least manageable she supposed.

Even more so, when Saekki did the unthinkable and actually listened to her request! His common snarkiness that had long since grown on her was removed from his speech. Idle fantasies burned of just what he would be like were this the norm filled her head, but were snuffed out just as quickly. Honey preferred him as he was, anything less brought boredom and insincerity. Though it did work wonders for getting her want she wanted.

With Ungnyeo suddenly taking a lounge full position that was commonplace among the overindulged, it was her neglect to respond to Saekki's apology that inspired hope she could be won over yet still. All it would take would be to sell her dignity for food. Easy enough, but first: Honey turned her disgust from the navel diving away so that she could whisper to Saekki. Though that might have been too kind a description for the physical berating Honey actually gave. A swat, playful enough for someone her own size, struck the man in his shoulder. "You big dummy. At least give me some warning before you grab me like that. I was- hm no, nevermind. We should focus on where we are going to find this food."

A rumbling in her own stomach betrayed her own hunger and suddenly the bear felt a twinge of panic. How long had it been since either of them ate anything? What a terrible guardian she was! Well, this was something was she was going to change immediately. A quick glance around the plateau offered little in the way of five-star meals, though the bear managed to spot bush some yards off that was adorned with plump berries. The little fruits shiny black surface instantly snapped to mind Honey's most basic survival instincts. Yellow and white, say goodnight. If it's red, you might be dead? Then there's blue, purple, and black. Those could make a tasty snack!

Though in her mind it came out less as a rhyme and more of an unconscious knowledge from a place in her life that Honey rarely spoke of. Nudging Saekki in its direction, the bear wasted no time in barreling towards her find. "There! Where there are berries, there must be water, and where there's water there is bound to be fish." The great Achilles heel of all bears was sure to win over their new teacher. But first, two great paw fulls of blackberries, where all but a few to be dumped onto Saekki so that he might manage to get anything at all into his stomach.

As much as she was willing to sacrifice herself, there was no force on earth that could have moved that bear until she saw Saekki eat. Secretly, a piece of her hoped he didn't just so that Honey would have an excuse to feed him as a mother would. A few of the precious fruit even hung by a pierced nail as a lingering threat of airplaning it into his mouth if best came to best. "Eat. I promise they're safe. Once you get fed enough to have energy, I think we can start looking for a source of water nearby for fish. What do you think?" All in all, Honey felt quite confident in her estimation. A perfect conclusion whose only fatal flaw was that it was of course, much too reasonable for this storybook land.

Flying high above their heads, and defying any sense of logic, was a large school of fish, where each bore a set of wings that looked to be made of clouds. The sight of it was so bizarre that it was enough to make the bear second guess her knowledge of editable fruit. "Saekki." She spoke calmly. "Tell me you see what I see. Because I was certain that fish couldn't fly last time I checkKkKkKk-" Flying fish wouldn't be the only odd occurrence in one day. Not when there was even more fun to be had with flying bears. Particularly of the Honey variety, as an invisible force lifted the animal into the sky with ease. Though it was less of a flight and more of an extended jump that ended with the bear tumbling back down to the ground. Panicked calls echoed through the air as vertigo shoved its foot through the door.

 

[HeadlessKoko]

Saekki hadn't wanted to, but he had stayed with the large brown bear for long enough to know that resistance was futile, so while he watched Honey float off, he was snacking on some berries provided by the very bear that had just gone balloon.

Therefore, it was through a mouth full of blackberry goo that his string of expletives at seeing the flying fish and then the flying bear came through.

"What the ******** is happening?" easily summarizes the general gist of his shouts. He was quick to react to the emergency, but slow to come to a solution, already in pace with Honey's floating as she started to fall down but with absolutely no idea how to stop her. His body reacted automatically, and forgetting that what he had become was but a sliver of what he had once been in the past, his raised a hand up above his head, his energy flowing out to form spell circles of various sizes with varying inscription. Pretty little baubles, they were, but with his current weakness, they were little more than baubles. Force his energy through as he might have tried to, he couldn't summon up the gale he envisioned cushioning Honey's fall to the ground. Only a stiff breeze came out, a noteworthy attempt, maybe. It would ruffle Honey's fur for certain and perhaps slow her fall, but it wasn't something that could stop a bear that weighed several tons.

The realization of his weakness dawned on Saekki once more, and with it, his face turned a ghastly pale shade.

[11 sentences]

Ffionn

 

[Haffon]

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I'm going to die because Saekki is dumb.

Honey thought with grim realization, as a sad puff of wind blew in her face. For some reason, she had always assumed that she would die from a honey overdose. Or heck! Nearly anything else but crash landing on top of Saekki. It all felt like a cosmic joke—that she would find a teacher right before her death.

Well, if this was to be her end, then she refused to spend it feeling sorry for herself. With earth churning to her command, Honey tossed Saekki aside just before she hit the ground. The explosion of dust that followed created a smokescreen that spread wide across the mountain, in a manner that would have been impossible for a single falling bear to create.

Only when the thick of the smoke cleared would Honey's body—or rather— her several bodies would appear. Each of them a different embodiment of the same Honey that Saekki knew and loved. One curled up asleep and snoring loudly, another already on its feet and swatting at the flying fish, a third making it's way to a bushel of wildflowers, the remaining four set into pairs. One of which was a Honey trying to lift another Honey into her arms. While the other appeared locked in a battle of pictionary.