Chapter 42
Kuma P.O.V.
The passage is a long one, but with every footstep it becomes brighter until on the walls of the cave I can make out hand prints and claw prints. The others seem to notice them as well because out the corner of my eye I see Wendy run a hand over one of the lower ones.
My heart throbs when I come to a special cluster and I rise on my hind feet, a groan escaping me as I reach out with one paw to touch them. As I lay my paw over top of one my eyes are drawn to the fur along my paw shrinking and I snort in surprise when I realise I'm finally falling out of the shift and back into my human form.
The Exceeds let go and I grin when I realize the slayers and Crystal are too occupied by the prints to notice what's happened to me. I turn around quickly, raising a finger to my lips and the Exceeds get the idea as Carla zips hers closed, Happy sticks a fish in his mouth and Lily shakes his head in amusement.
I decide to give them a quick history lesson and turn back to the wall. "These prints were from my pack. When someone mastered their bear form they would leave their mark here and we would throw a celebration."
Out of the corner of my eye I see them tense as one and the next thing I know I'm buried under a dog pile. I open my eyes and I grin when I see Crystal and Wendy smiling at me.
"It's good to see your ugly mug again, Bear." I look up and smile when I see Metal Piercer and Lightning Rod smirking at me.
"It's good to have two feet instead of four again, Metal Piercer." He snorts, looking away and I take Crystal's arm when she offers to pull me to my feet. Natsu walks up, grinning, and my eye twitches when he messes up my hair. As he steps back I growl, grabbing him by the arm and flip him through the air so that he slams down on his back.
"Natsu, this is your last warning, touch me again and Lucy will be calling you her girlfriend." He wheezes, the air having been knocked from his lungs and when he nods I turn away.
A glance at the other males tells me they learned the lesson and I walk up to Wendy. She frowns in confusion and I lean forward wrapping my arms around her, her returning the hug only a second later.
I pull away and turn to the others, albeit a bit hesitant to show them what remains of the valley.
"You guys can go if you want. There's something I have to do, though, before I can leave here for good."
They look at me in surprise and I look up at Laxus when he snorts. "Bear, you're a dumbass if you think we've come this far not to finish the trip with you. It's time for you to stop being selfish and let us in. We're your family and we're here for you from beginning to the end."
My eyes start to sting and when I feel something run down my cheek I reach up to find that I'm crying. More follow the first and when I wipe then away I see Crystal stalking up to Laxus.
"You dumbass, you done made her cry." He looks from Crystal back to me, his expression horrified, and I can't help the laugh that escapes me.
"It's alright, Vaca." She stops mid step, turning back to face me and I shake my head in amusement. "It's alright, Crystal, everything's alright."
When Laxus' expression relaxes I take a deep breath, wiping the rest of the tears away and grin as I look at my family.
"Come on, let's go. I'll show you the valley, but I can tell you right now it ain't much to see."
I turn away, putting one foot in front of the other as I walk the rest of the way out of the cave. The brighter light makes me squint, my eyes adjusting to it after having been in the caves for a few days. When they do adjust, my breath is stolen from the beauty of the field of wildflowers as far as I can see.
Here and there I can see small copse of young trees, none older than three or four years, and among those I spot the white tail of a rabbit as it nibbles on a flower. A shadow covers the ground and I look to see peregrine gliding soundlessly on the thermals, on the hunt for its next meal.
I know from experience that a cliff sits a hundred feet ahead of us, over three hundred feet of wall leading farther into the valley. Grinning I walk up to the edge as the others emerge from the cave and when they see me I turn with my back to the cliff, salute them, and the world falls away.
The wind pulls at my arms, amusement radiating from the elders and when I'm twenty feet from the ground I shift, allowing the wind to catch my wings and pull me back into the air. As I fly past the edge of the cliff I roll and can see the others stepping back, their shoulders dropping in relief.
"Kuma, you do realize one of these days you're gonna give your family a heart attack, right?"
I roll my eyes at Mitsuki's words and barrel roll as I turn, preparing to land in front of them. "Kinda, sort of?"
I get the sense of her shaking her head but push it away as I slide to a stop in front of Wendy, the rest of the feathers from the shift returning to hands and fingers.
When a hand settles on my shoulder, I look over to see Crystal standing there, watching me with a grin. "Burro," I arch my eyebrow and she pats my shoulder. "Next time you do that I'm pushing you off the ledge."
My grin turns challenging and I reach up to grab her forearm. "Vaca, I'd sure like to see you try."
She laughs and I turn back to the slayers unsure of what to say or do next. That is until Natsu walks up to the edge and looks over it. When he turns to me he grins.
"Well what are you gonna do?"
I look up, getting an idea of how much sunlight is left then look to the north where the glacier walls hide part of the valley from view on the horizon. "If memory serves there's a lake that holds a good amount of fish. The ground around it should be good enough to set up camp."
"Where? I don't see any lakes." I sigh and turn to Lightning Rod.
"It's a six hour flight to the north. We won't have to face any of the northern winds, though, since the glaciers keep them out of the valley and I doubt any of the Exceeds are gonna be able to fly over a mile high where the coldest winds blow."
Everyone's expressions change. Flashing from intrigue to doubt to incredulous. The last being Laxus' as he stares at me.
Grizzly out for the night.
