The Systems Challenge

Jonas wasn't sure how long the argument would have gone on if Elwin hadn't been so tired already. He kept going, even sometimes working with arguments he'd already used previously. Which Jonas chocked up to him already starting to fall asleep.

When Elwin finally stopped, Jonas could tell that he wasn't really done with his complaints, just that he'd run out of energy to voice them. Which was good enough for him. Whatever shut him up didn't strike Jonas as a problem. After all, it meant that he could put his energy to better use as well.

Such as getting them a place to camp.

Yet, as he looked around, he could see that Kim had already left. Not that he was bothered by that fact. If he wasn't the one who had been arguing with Elwin, he might have left himself. Though, he doubted that Kim had gone very far as he was pretty sure that she was about as worn out as the rest of them.

Though, what he could do for Elwin right them was to help guide him to where they could get a place to sleep.

"Where're you going?" Patrick asked as he yawned.

"To find a place to camp," Jonas merely replied, "While this place is as good as any, I don't think we'd get much shelter if it started to rain here and while it'll probably be a bit of a walk, the sooner we start out, the sooner we'll get there."

"But where do you think we should go?"

Jonas merely shrugged. He really didn't care personally. He was merely wanting to fin d a place quickly. Even though he wasn't sure if he should just head straight towards the nearest trees or not.

"Maybe I haven't a clue," he merely replied. "If you want, you could be the one to pick the direction and decide where would be a good place for us to camp for the night."

"Really?" Patrick asked, sounding surprised.

While Jonas hadn't given the offer much thought, the way Patrick asked his question made Jonas wonder how often Patricia let him decide anything. He suspected it wasn't much to get Patrick to sound like that. Like he wasn't used to be the one deciding things.

Jonas wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not, but it was at least something that he couldn't say that he was surprised at. At least with what little he knew about Patricia.

"Really. Dealing with that useless debate with Elwin was more tiring than I expected. So, you probably are the most alert out of all of us. So you'd be able to then pick up on things we might otherwise miss."

"Got it," Patrick replied, sounding so much like a little boy being entrusted with a simple task that Jonas couldn't help but wonder if Patrick really had been a firefighter before coming to this world.

He wasn't sure if he'd gotten used to essentially being subservient to Patricia or if he'd naturally been submissive towards others who had an air of authority about them. It was possible that both could be true as well. Though, Jonas had a feeling that he probably shouldn't voice those speculations out loud. Even if they were true, he couldn't be sure that he wouldn't get Patrick, or maybe even Patricia as well, upset with him for saying things like that. As from his experience, a number of people tended to have a poor reception of statements like that.

Regardless, Patrick didn't seem to have a problem with taking the lead and Jonas willingly followed him with Elwin easily being pulled along. He wasn't sure where Patrick was going, but was a little surprised to see Patrick find a way under the bear's legs as they lay on the ground. Though they weren't flat on the ground as it turned out that Patrick was somehow able to locate a path under them that all three of them were able to fit under.

When they came out from under the legs, they were a lot closer to the bear's head than Jonas would have expected. If anything, he'd have expected it to have taken a good amount of time to walk around the legs. Though, as he thought about it, since they weren't that long, they likely wouldn't have taken as long as he'd have expected, but it still shaved off a good amount.

Though, as Patrick started to lead them up towards the bear's head, he couldn't help but wonder if something else was around. He hadn't expected the smell of blood to be so strong at this part of the bear, but it felt like it was getting stronger the closer they got to the bear's head.

Though, as they were starting to pass the bear's nose, Jonas suddenly thought he heard a whimpering. The kind he'd have expected from a hurt dog. A whimper that spoke of pain and abject misery.

"Hold on," Jonas said to Patrick. "Do you hear that?"

Patrick stopped and Jonas was pretty sure he was listening. "Uh, sorry, I don't hear anything."

Jonas suddenly felt like he could have kicked himself. He supposed that he was just so tired that he'd forgotten about his increased senses, including hearing, so he wondered if he was just able to hear something that was just otherwise too quiet for Patrick to have heard.

"Wait here. I'm pretty sure I hear a wolf or a dog or something. It's quiet, so I can't be sure if it isn't seriously injured. I'll go check, then I'll be right back," Jonas told Patrick.

He didn't think he really needed to explain it all to him, but he figured that it would at least extend a little bit of goodwill between them. After all, he couldn't be sure if it wouldn't be beneficial to both of them later on.

Jonas walked towards the bear's head, though he at first didn't see anything out of the ordinary. Though, as he got closer, he was surprised to find the smell of blood not just increasing, but increasing at more of an exponential rater. It only made him wonder if not all of the aspects of the bear having once been a stellar bear had been lost. Though, he wasn't sure why he suddenly thought that as he continued his approach.

When he got closer, he suddenly felt like something that had been obscuring his vision without him being aware of it was taken away. Around him he could see a bloody mess. He could see a long jagged tear at the bear's throat, making him wonder if that might have been what had really taken the bear down rather than anything else.

He could also clearly hear the whimpering around him. He wasn't sure what was making the sound just yet, but it was clear whatever it was, it was close. It just felt strange that it had taken him so long to even learn of its presence.

In fact, Jonas almost passed it by without having realized it. It was only because of a whimper that he even looked in the direction of the large black wolf. It was larger than any dog that Jonas had seen before, and might even classify it in his mind as a giant wolf or something. He wasn't sure why the wolf was there in this area in the first place, but he could see that the wolf was aware of his presence as the wolf's eyes glittered at him, the reflected light turning a red from the blood at the back of the wolf's eyes through its pupil.

Jonas paused when he realized that. He didn't feel like the wolf was hostile towards him, but he also didn't think that he should reach out to the wolf. Sometimes animals didn't react until they thought something was within reach. Although, in this case, Jonas had to admit that he was already within range, but the wolf was still relaxed.

Jonas looked at the wolf and wondered why it still might be there. It wasn't clear right away, but then Jonas noticed that the wolf's tail went under the bear's head and disappeared. Jonas suddenly realized that might be the reason why the wolf was still there. Though, it still didn't explain why the wolf was so relaxed by him.

Still, as he glanced at the bear's open throat, he couldn't help but wonder if this wolf might either have somehow done that itself or if it knew what had done it and possibly didn't want it to come back. Though, Jonas wasn't sure that he really felt worried about either possibility. Somehow with what he'd experienced so far in this world, he didn't feel like it was that surprising to have happened.

Wondering if there might be a way to communicate with the wolf, Jonas decided to try and free it. Though, he was still willing to accept it if the wolf attacked him afterwards. He wondered if being in this world had destroyed his own instincts of self-preservation or even what was dangerous and what wasn't, but he also couldn't help but feel bad for the wolf being trapped like that.

Jonas tried lifting the bear's head, but couldn't get it to budge. He hadn't really expected it to be that easy. Though, it did make him feel a little self-conscious with having the wolf watch what he was doing calmly.

He couldn't help but feel like the wolf might be able to tell him a few things if we was able to get it free. Such as why it was there in the first place. Why he hadn't been able to notice the bear's throat having been cut like that to begin with. Why he'd barely heard the wolf's whimpers, despite how close it actually was.

Yet, unless he found a way to free its tail, then he was confident that he wouldn't be able to free the wolf. He could call Patrick and Elwin over to help, but he seriously doubted that they'd be that much help in the matter. Though, with how large the bear was, it would probably be easier to find a way to essentially teleport the wolf or something…

Jonas' thoughts trailed off as he looked at the wolf. While he knew touching the wolf was likely a dangerous gamble, he had a feeling the method he had in mind would be the most efficient manner of freeing it from its current predicament. Which would be to pull the wolf with him into his means to travel through the shadows. It wouldn't be far, but he also couldn't be sure that he'd recovered enough MP to do that just yet.

Though, at the same time, he really didn't care to wait around. Not when he would much rather be searching for a place to camp for the night.

So, throwing caution to the wind, he put his hands on the wolf's side, and with the wolf staring at him, clearly wondering what Jonas was doing, he began to pull the wolf with him into the shadows. A method he wasn't really confident he'd be able to accomplish in reality.