When Jarsa came fully into the clearing, she first slowed a bit to get a feel for what was going on, though she knew that with Narrick there nothing short of a full scale invasion would be a problem.
Seeing Narrick holding Gunnar by the shoulder and feeling the slight pulse of earth and fire mana now slowly being pulled into Gunnar's body and then circulated. She nearly fell over as she tripped over her own feet with surprise.
As she steadied herself, she nearly fell over again as she saw the bearkin woman and the felt the power coming off her and the two cubs. Why was a titanium ranked beast in the survival training area?!
But as she saw the relief flood Gunnar's face and then the tension drain from his body, she shook herself and continued her explanation, directing it to Narrick.
"When we got to the entrance to the cave, the other three went inside to deal with the teleportation platform and any other demons or crystoids that may be present. I followed the trace of demonic mana so as to find the vampire and the boy, though we assumed you had gone to deal with it."
She turned her attention to Gunnar and said with a smirk. "Boy, you are gonna have a hell of a story to tell, I just know it."
As the very last of Gunnar's adrenaline finally drained he felt like he had been drained of all his energy. He staggered a little even with Narricks support, but still gathered a bit of energy to smirk back at Jarsa.
"Do you think that they will count this as passing survival training?" The sarcasm practically dripped from his tone.
Jarsa and the great bear woman both burst into laughter. Even Narrick smiled a bit in appprieciation of the fortitude shown by the young boy.
Narrick began to speak with a nod of acknowledgement. "If I have my say, they will pass you both with flying colors, young Gunnar. You and the girl both did wonderfully, her use of the traps to buy herself time; as well as your own decision to split up and even to lead the demon here to the bear's territory both show great tactical insight. The base itself and the traps as well as the stash sight were masterfully built and maintained."
As Jarsa finally stopped laughing she nodded as well. "His path here and the way he used the terrain to stay ahead of the demon was nearly as perfect as if I had done it myself. He used the slope to gain momentum and his blood to trigger a prey drive in the vampire. He then used an old lava flow as a slide to stay ahead of the damned thing. He has great decision making ability under such immense pressure."
Gunnar shook his head and smiled a bit wryly. "I just knew I couldn't let it go after Cassie, that would cut off our only chance at survival and reinforcements. Everything after that was done on the run, I didn't have lot of decision making time. If we had done more recon of the upper slopes before going up there we would have seen the demon's influence before this. I should have done better."
Narrick slapped the boy on the back, making him gasp in pain, and grinned as he said. "That's what the lessons are for boy! You are only twelve, you can't be expected to think of absolutely everything right out of the fucking gate. You lived this time so you learn! That's the way of things."
Gunnar then turned to the great bear woman and bowed slightly in her direction. "First of all, I must properly introduce myself. You know I am named Gunnar but my full name is Gunnar Ull Everforge. I thank you for not being to ill with me leading that demon here. I am sorry for endagering your cubs by bringing that thing here and I thank you for saving my life."
He stepped forward and undid his seax knife from his belt and gave it to the woman. "If ever you are in any trouble, take this knife to the Forge clan. They will know it is mine based on how it was crafted, so they will give you aid in any way they can."
She took the blade and smiled. "My name is Ella. It was the name given me by my mate when I gained my beastkin form. I will not turn down your gratitude and bear you no ill will. You had no way of knowing what was here, no way of knowing I had cubs. You are just a cub yourself, so I do not mind lending a hand."
She turned to Narrick and bowed her head at him before taking the cubs and herding them back into the lava pit. Before she could enter, Narrick called to her and said. "This area will be safe for the time it takes you to bring the cubs of age, it will be under my protection."
Ella turned and bowed again, then shifted back into the form of a Great Bear, and entered the pit.
After she entered the lava, Narrick turned to Jarsa and Gunnar a beckoned them to follow. Gunnar, being exhausted, gave a long sigh then began to drag himself across the ground in the direction that Narrick had gone. In a normal day it would have taken him maybe an hour to cover the distance from here to the camp, but as he moved he realized that even being injured he was moving a little faster than normal.
His brows knotted as he thought for a second and then muttered, just now realizing. "I broke into the Tin rank didn't I?"
Jarsa chuckled and responded "That's what I would like to know. I can sense the mana in you, as well as another kind of energy that feels similar to my own families bloodline energy, but older and stronger."