The soft and steady pitter patter of the rain grew louder as the wind picked up, swirling a few sopping, rogue papers around the feet of people hurrying down the streets. As time went by, a pattern emerged in the precipitation. The wind would pick up and with it, the rain would slant and pound angrily at the ground, and then only moments later the wind would die down and the pouring rain would turn to a soft drizzle. This pattern left people disoriented as they jogged down the streets, covering their heads with whatever they could find in order to stay dry.
The scene was set: groups of people hurrying into stores and apartment buildings in order to get out of the rain. However, amidst this chaos was an oddly peaceful exception. Walking lethargically down the side of the sodden streets was a full grown, ram-horned kodiak bear and a petite figure wearing a grey hooded jacket that appeared to be a size too large. The figure was about half a foot shorter at the bear's shoulder; however, the beast walked as if he were following the hooded mass. The figure carried what looked to be a plain wooden walking stick. The person did not seem to use the stick to aid in their walking; however, they would drive it into the ground every once in a while and propel themselves forward -as if it were a useless hiking pole.
The pair strolled past a small bakery just as the wind picked up and they died down once again. The bear stopped short, shook his wet fur out, and then cantered to meet the figure's pace once more -but not before earning a few distasteful glares from victims of the splash. "Maybe you should get out of the rain too, Val," the beast said to his hooded companion with a look of slight pleading on his furry features.
The person looked sideways at the bear with a grin and a lock of long, platinum blonde hair fell from the hood to hang in front of her cerulean blue eyes. She pushed the lock away and looked forward again, continuing to stroll down the slippery streets at a sluggish pace. Around the toothpick that she gnawed on, the girl spoke quietly, "Calm down Mica. It's not that bad out," The girl paused and spit out her toothpick before reaching into her pocket and producing a second pick. She then continued in a more chastisising tone, "Besides, we'll be there soon anyway."
The bear, Mica, grumbled unhappily and nudged Val with the top of his large, soaking head. Val chuckled and side-stepped her companion, pushing his wet snout away from her already drenched form. She gave the dripping -now pouting- creature a once over and then huffed, turning her head away from him in a cold-shoulder fashion. "You know by now that pouting like a lost puppy will get you no where."
Mica dropped his pout and rolled his eyes at Val -well, as much as a bear can roll his eyes. "I was only trying to protect you from getting sick." Mica gave a short pause here and then continued, "Ya know, like a good guardian would do?"
Val glanced over in Mica's direction to see that the beast's face was slightly contorted in an attempt to hold back a laugh. As he stole a quick glance in her direction, Mica noticed her looking at him and he could no longer hold back the laughter. He burst out in a low, huffed guffaw that had earned a large, joyous grin from Val. She shook her head at her companion's childish antics and replied in a sarcastic tone, "I mean, I wouldn't know what having a good guardian is like."
Mica's brow furrowed and he shook off the drops of rain that were beginning to drip into his eyes. "Hey, girl, I'm the best thing you've got." He looked down at the girl as if trying to intimidate her; however, Val looked back up at him with the face of a rebellious teenager.
Mica began to chuckle at Val's little angry face and failed to notice the wooden staff coming at him until it had whacked him over the head. In reality, Mica's head alone weighed more than Val's entire weight and therefore, the smack probably did not hurt the giant bear. However, Mica had enough heart to momentarily stop walking in order to rub the top of his head with one massive paw. Val knew that Mica was wildly exaggerating, but that did not stop her from acting superior when Mica jogged to fall back into step with her. "Maybe one of these days you'll start thinking before you talk like that," she said in a serious tone.
They walked in silence for a moment until Val felt a large mass nuzzling itself in the crook of her neck. Val turned her head out of surprise to find Mica burrowing his muzzle in between her shoulder and her neck. When Mica finally picked his head up, he looked at her as if he were a giant puppy who felt guilty for digging up the flower garden. "I didn't mean it, Val," he said in an almost pleading tone.
Val nearly chuckled at his guilt. She didn't care that he had said something rude; however, she held back her chuckle, feeling guilty herself for making Mica feel this way. She did not say a word, but she draped an arm lazily around the beast's neck as they continued to walk. There had not been an outright acceptance of the apology, but there was unspoken meaning to the friendly gesture that Val was making. She was a woman of few words and any creature that was as close to her as Mica was knew that small gestures were Val's main way of communication.
The two walked in silence until a prolonged gust of wind howled past them and shattered the silence. Val shivered and Mica attempted to move closer to warm her; however, his sodden fur only chilled Val further. She shuddered and was forced to pull her hood up again as the wind knocked it off of her head. The wind and slanting rain eventually slowed to a drizzle, but Val had already made a decision to hurry to her brother's house before the rain could become bad again. "Alright, you win, Mica. It's time to get out of the rain. Let's hurry up and get to Luke's." The bear did not boast that he had been correct. He simply nodded his furry head and bumbled after his companion as she began to jog ahead.
RPG
