Chapter 35

Wendy P.O.V.

As we walk back to the campsite Kuma stays in her grizzly form and when the others see us Natsu gets up and walks over.

He rubs the back of his head in embarrassment and glances back at Gajeel and Laxus before muttering, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't've said what I did."

Kuma grunts and rises on her back paws causing Natsu to watch her warily as she wraps her arms around him and squeezes hard enough for his back to crack. Then she drops him and, shifting, walks back over to lay down between Lily and Carla.

"Okay, I think I deserved that." I look down at Natsu as he wheezes this to see him laid out on the ground.

"Oh man, Salamander, I've heard of bear hugs but that was just hilarious," Gajeel holds his sides as he walks up having laughed when Kuma picked Natsu up. "but I think she got her revenge."

I giggle and nod as I help Natsu up and walk to Carla. When I sit down I feel something flick me in the back of my head and I look to see Kuma's tail retreating even though her eyes are closed.

In the month since we left on this trip, Kuma's gained almost all of her weight back, her muscle is returning with each day and her pelt has long since returned to it's healthy shine. Though the tips of her hip bones and a bit if her spine can still be seen under her coat, her ribs are no longer visible and her legs no longer look like twigs about to break at a moment's notice.

Her tail flicks the back of my head again and I lean forward to see her watching me with one eye cracked, so I do the only thing possible, I stick my tongue out at her.

She huffs, closing her eyes and soon I can make out her soft snore as she dozes.

"When is the food gonna be ready?" When Natsu whines I look up to see him sprawled out on one side of the fire, eyes intently watching the food as it hangs over the fire.

"It'll be done when it's done, Natsu." Laxus's words cause him to scowl then, "I could always cook it faster."

Gajeel growls. "Absolutely not, Salamander, last time you tried that shit we went hungry because you burned it to ash."

Natsu groans. "For the last time, Metalhead, I sneezed, end of story."

"Yes, and this is why we don't let you anywhere near the food while it's being cooked. Now shut up!"

I giggle at Laxus's words and watch the fire, a conversation with a shop vendor from a previous town on our trip replaying in my head.

"Pipsqueak."

I look up at the nickname to see Laxus frowning. "I want you to keep Kuma by your side at all times while we're passing through Richfield."

When I tilt my head in confusion he explains, "Richfield is the only town connecting to the Cataloochee Mountains meaning that any and all hunters, poachers, and trappers, have to pass through in order to get there. And since the hunting season is about to start the town will be flooded with them."

Nodding in understanding I look down at Kuma to see her ears pivoting as she listens to our conversation.

Half an hour later the fish is ready and we're eating in silence with Natsu and Kuma fighting over the rib bones of the fish since the meat below the ribs and toward the tail will be breakfast for tomorrow.

"Kuma, that's mine!" I look up and giggle when I see Kuma climbing a tree with the entire rib cage between her jaws as Natsu jumps underneath her branch trying to grab it.

Finally he manages to wrap his hands around the branch and pulls himself up only for Kuma to smack him upside the head with a paw, stunning him and causing him to fall back to the ground.

He scowls and crosses his arms over his chest as he glares at her. "Fine, we'll see how long you can go without those spicy peppers I pick up for you."

This causes her to growl and as I watch she rips off two ribs and drops them on his head.

"Damn you, Kuma, there will be payback!"

She huffs and returns to cracking the bones open while Natsu takes his reward and comes back to sit next to the fire rubbing his head.

"You know, if I didn't know any better I would say you two were twins."

We all stop and stare at Laxus in surprise and he nods. "Yeah, with how often you and her get into fights about food, your love of all things spicy, and the fact that she scares the shit out of you when she uses her flames is enough to seal the deal for me."

Natsu huffs. "Who said I'm afraid of the overgrown furball?"

A fireball hits the ribs in his hands turning them to ash and he growls as he turns back to Kuma. "Yeah, that's right, I said you're an overgrown furball, what're you gonna do about it?"

She lays the cage so that it can't fall off the branch and stands up, then she steps off the branch shifting in midair until she lands on the ground as a fifteen foot crocodile with a lot of pointy teeth poking out of her mouth.

Her scales are dark green but turn light red at the edge and her eyes burn in their usual dark red, light brown coloring. She snaps her jaws shut with a crack that echoes across the clearing and faster than I thought possible for the form she's using, she's running across the clearing at Natsu.

He yelps, jumping up, and runs in the opposite direction toward another tree as smoke starts flooding from her jaws.

"Okay, so you're not an overgrown furball, you're a lizard with a temper."

Halfway to the tree she shifts again and I sweatdrop when I recognize the wide antlers of a moose as she collides with the tree.

"Salamander, if you want to live to see tomorrow morning you're gonna have to stop taunting her and apologize."

Natsu yelps again as the tree starts to tilt. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry, I won't call you an overgrown fur ball, or a lizard with a temper again."

Kuma snorts and turns away allowing Natsu to slide down, but as soon as he touches the ground I hear him mutter, "Yeah, you're a crazy batshit."

Faster than I can blink her hind leg shoots out and I see Laxus and Gajeel flinch as Natsu falls to the ground cupping his family jewels, a whimper escaping him as he rocks back and forth with the pain.

"And that is why..." Laxus states as he watches Natsu with sympathy.

"We don't piss Bear off." Gajeel finishes the statement.

Meanwhile Kuma shifts back into her panther form and returns to her tree and her ribs, the sound of cracking bones equal to the crackling of the flames.

About an hour later Gajeel stands up and yawns. "Well I don't know about y'all but if we're heading out early I'm gonna hit the sack." Then he turns and walks over to where his bag and bedroll are laid out.

"Metalhead's right, we should crash for the night, Happy, you coming?" Natsu manages through a yawn as he gets up and looks over at where Happy and Carla are sitting.

Happy nods and wishes Carla a good night before flying over to where his and Natsu's bedrolls are laid out. Eventually Lily and Carla turn in as well leaving Laxus and I to sit in silence by the fire.

"Have you heard anything from Ember and Ryu?" I shake my head at his question and look up to see him grimace. "Neither have I from Tengyu and Abyssa."

I stand and stretch my arms out behind me. "I think that if they had something important to tell us, or saw something we needed to be aware of they would tell us. Besides," I look him in the eye. "remember they said that if we have any questions we need only ask them."

He grimaces and I walk over to my bedroll after I tie our supplies in a tree. He won't be getting any sleep for a few more hours since he's on sentry duty, then Gajeel takes over until it's time to move out. Tomorrow night Gajeel will switch with Natsu and the night after that Natsu switches me, just so we aren't ambushed by bandits or rune knights or anyone else who wants to fight us.

I yawn as I lay down and it's not long before I fall asleep with the warmth of the fire at my back.


Grizzly out for the night.