Crimson Rebirth

Part 33

 The Raven cawed and led on. This time her path was easier, like steps to a greater hall, or rather, the steps of a path towards the mountain that which was home to the Bear. Each step had its own measure, carefully placed around...

 Herbs? The mountain smelled rich with it. Herbs of all assortments bloomed on this side of the mountain, averted from the path that was woven along. Trees gave off richer smells here, and even berries glimmered under the setting sun.

 The mountain peak itself was incredibly flat, with graze marks along its stone surface. Many a student had come here, learning to manipulate earth, its stone foundation scarring the surface. Behind Gene was a great cave made by two stone slabs that looked as though it was either carved, or shoved upwards from the earth.

 "Hello?" She called out, finding comfort within the scents of the herbs After the Wolverine, the comfort was wanted, necessary even, to calm her down. Whether to calm her from anger or fear, she wasn't entirely sure.

 Gene's eyes fell upon the cave, though knowing it would be rude to waltz into what appeared to be the Bear's home.

 A chuffing answered her, and a shambling crest of creamy fur greeted her sight from the right.

 He was massive, no doubt, and with an unusual coloration; his fur was a gradiant shading from the near cream white crest of his withers to his dark brown paws, covered in dirt no doubt, and smelling of earth. His nose wiggled as his round ears swiveled at sound, his eyes seemingly blank...and glazed.

 Blind...?

 He heard Gene and turned to her, sniffing. He rumbled low, but it was more of a regarding sound than a threat. He plopped his round haunches to the earth, staying his fixated sensory-reliant face upon her.

 Gene blinked in surprise. "When I saw your totem, I wasn't aware that you couldn't see...." She noted, tilting her head. "Yet you opened my eyes to something I couldn't see before. Why?"

 The bear growled low. He sniffed her, but then turned his head to the skies. A soft rumble and the smell of rain told Gene a storm was coming.

 He chuffed and nosed her along inside. He turned to the skies again; they better get inside before they both got wet.

 She moved inside the cave, just as the first big drops of water splashed from above, splattering on the ground outside of the cave. "Rain....... Rain always follows when I meet you, I've come to find out."

 Kumaru nodded. He chuffed and nodded to what appeared to be a makeshift kitchen, a fire pit with a simple row of iron for a grill, and a table for work. Along his walls were herbs, many she could identify from her own home, and many other plants not of Zenia.

 He reached to a large satchel and pulled out a basket that smelled of fish. And as he opened it, there was a unique assortment; salmon, large and plump. Trout, small and lean. As well as crawfish and freshwater oysters, from the earthy smells.

 He had been busy...

 "Need help?" Gene asked, making sure to follow the Bear without getting in his way. "And how did you manage to catch all of this?"

 Kumaru chuckled at her. He raised a single finger; one moment.

 He rested his basket on the table, pulling out each fish with care. He nosed her, showing her how he caught each one.

 The trouts, from their shimmering scales, showed punctures in their lips and gills, revealing they were caught with a simple fishing rod. The salmon had lines crisscrossing theirs, and their fins looked folded, as if smothered together. A net.