Honey sighed as he finally convinced Toni not to go tearing away into the dark tunnel. She was angry, and Honey understood that. She was, at the very least, attracted to the young man in the healing field. Honey walked on all fours next to Milis as she walked on her two paws. He never understood bears who chose that manner of traversal, but he didn’t begrudge them their choices.

  “I’d like you to keep watch on the girl so she does not attempt to sneak off to her death. Though I doubt the spiras will allow that. It seems quite set on protecting them, strange behavior on that ones part. Typically they do not care for short lived beings.” Honey spoke, not in the Wordly tongue of the human visitors, but in the old tongue. Tongue wasn't accurate for the way in which bears communicated, but it is the word way of communicating the idea. The old tongue is not just words, it is every sense, touch, sight, taste, intention in all its forms, a form of communication developed by all races that live long enough. True much like nguages used by young races it varied from race to race, but it was more thorough, more eloquent.

  Honey hated the Wordly nguages, each realm often had hundreds, sometimes thousands, of them. What was worse, they were so… so… not enough, it was hard to communicate thoroughly with them. Things could get lost in the saying, so it was pleasant to speak in the old tongue.

  Milis hummed thoughtfully next to him. “It invoked ancient ws, very wise for one of the young kind, and I was so looking forward to ciming the big human man. Maybe while the young girl watched, friend of our kind does not mean I can’t enjoy myself while she watches.” Milis said, her back much straighter now. Honey sighed again and shook his head.

  “You and your strange desire for everything not bear will always confuse me.” Honey said, “I personally had no intention of using any of them, they are her friends and she is ours. I will respect that and aid them, and they are my visitors, understood?”

  “Hmmmm, if that is what you say.” Milis smiled at Honey.

  “No Milis.” Honey paused and turned to the much rger bear. “They are my visitors, say you understand and promise not to act.” Honey was not an imposing bear, he knew that, which is why he learned to use his 'words' at such a young age. He was careful, there were quite a few bears in the city who could not deny him a command if he gave it. A very powerful tool. Milis was one such bear.

  “Fine, they are your visitors, Honey Swete, I understand and promise not to act on or against them.” Milis frowned, “So I can’t sleep with the human man?”

  “No, nor the human woman, nor the gremlin woman, nor the spiras.” Honey affirmed with all three. “In fact, no interactions with them without my presence.” Milis listened and nodded in agreement. Honey nodded back and the two separated. Honey moved back down the spiraling ramps to the honey gde.

  There he turned his way down towards the site of the attack where he found a few daog dragging off the final bodies. He stopped one to ask a question.

  “Daog, how many fallen?”

  “Final count iz 17 daog, 33 zeillean, 173 beez, 2 cluzterz. The cluzterz and beez were zecondary damage az a rezult of a tunneling creature which zealed up the path behind it’z exit but not it’z entrance.” The daolog pointed towards the open tunnel, and a simir size area of destruction across the corridor where the stone was sealed back up.

  “So something tunneled in, then back out, but left its entry open? I suppose the nitha simply followed it here and attacked.” Honey looked at the open entrance and strained his ears to listen. Nothing was coming up yet that he could hear, but nitha were prowlers and stalkers. Master hunters from the dark, plenty dangerous even to a bear, and now they knew this tunnel led here. Honey sighed.

  “Seal it with stone, quickly as you can, I shall see to security for the entrance, the nitha will return. If they do while you work, flee upwards, understood?”

  The daog simply nodded and gestured towards a few others. They would transfer the orders shortly and several other daog were already on their way down by the time Honey began moving upward. Honey made his way up out of Bearbhaile and into the woods.

  Honey lifted his nose upward and sniffed the air, catching the scent he was seeking he trudged off. It wasn’t long, maybe 5 minutes, before he arrived at a hollow tree, he heard a rumble and paused. From between the hollowed roots a furry figure lifted its head, a massive gray bear, old and tired examined Honey.

  “Honey” a deep, sleepy voice growled his name in acknowledgement.

  “Timbear” Honey bowed slightly. The two waited, Honey would not speak first, Timbear was a Warden, you did not commune more than a Warden.

  “Why, tell, have you come to my tree Honey.” Timbear’s question was less a question and more a command. Honey shook his head internally, Wardens.

  “Nitha found Bearbhaile, I request your wardwork.” Honey replied, reminding himself of his word count. Two words to spare.

  “How?” Timbear asked.

  “Followed tunneler.” Honey replied, one word spare.

  Timbear grinned widely, “What?”

  “Unknown.”

  “Where?”

  “Hives.”

  That caused Timbear to lift not only his head, having pced it back on the ground, but also his body. Timbear stood, his eyes bore into Honey’s own, then he ughed, a deep rolling ugh which shook the tree he slept beneath. One of the great Wardens of Bearbhaile stood above Honey. Towering even greater than Milis did, and she was one of the biggest within Bearbhaile.

  “You are always a delight to speak with young Honey, short of tongue. I release you of the Wardening. Speak all the details you can. If the hives are threatened, well I would not let your namesake suffer losses. What kind of Warden would I be if I did not act?”

  Honey smiled back and bowed, “I thank you, Great Warden. I delight in our rare chats, though I also fear my tongue might grow long one day.” That got another ugh out of Timbear and, after waiting for the Warden to finish ughing, Honey began the expnation. It was not a long one, Honey knew it was a rare privilege to speak unthreatened by the Wardening. Well, maybe rare for most, Honey and Timbear could almost be called friends.

  He spared no detail, including talking about the four strange visitors who were under his protection. Timbear seemed greatly interested in the “bear spirited human” as Honey described Temate. He did not give the bear the man's name, instead using the shorthand of Mate.

  “Why not let the girl have her vengeance? If she possesses a weapon of Materia it would likely be greatly effective against the nitha, would it not?” Timbear asked.

  “I believe it requires ammunition, like a bow would, and that it is limited and cannot be reproduced here.” Honey spoke his theory aloud.

  “Ah, so it has a limit to how many of the things it could sy, and the nitha tend to live in rge numbers. She would certainly die, especially as she likely cks much in this world's power yet.” Timbear extended the theory.

  “Indeed, it is my understanding she has yet to succeed on the Empowering ritual, I believe she is greatly tethered to Materia in mind, which makes it hard to connect to Idea.”

  “Hm, a great problem for her, but one she will likely overcome, or die painfully.” Timbear shrugged. Then, the Warden stretched and began to move. “I will provide you with wardwork to watch and guard the tunnel, I only ask one thing of you, which is not requisite.” Timbear stopped at the base of a nearby tree.

  “If I may, I will of course assist you, Warden Timbear.” Honey nodded in deference.

  “When the bear man wakes, bring him to me, I wish to meet him.” Timbear looked down at Honey. Honey nodded in agreement and Timbear nodded back. He grabbed the great tree, towering a hundred or more feet into the air, and shook it. The tree quaked, its roots shook out from the ground slightly, and several rge branches fell with a thundering crash to the ground.

  Honey winced, but knew nothing would risk the wrath of a Warden to come investigate, and Timbear had lived here for many years, since long before Honey’s birth. Honey watched in fascination as Timbear examined the branches and took one.

  Timbear stood the branch up, it was about Honey’s height, and half as wide. The great Warden of Bearbhaile, the only one of their Bearbhaile, gently ran its cws down the branches length. He grunted in satisfaction and began to work.

  It was quick work, maybe 15 minutes, as Timbear’s cws danced. A melody of scratching, gouging and cracking filled the air. Timbear’s cws first tore the excess wood off, then began to smooth the wood. A spike of incredibly smooth wood stood after the first 5 minutes.

  Over the next 5 minutes the fingers shaped the wood, etching it into its final base form. A bear stood in the spikes pce, its two front paws held up to a point where the original spikes point stood.

  The final 5 minutes Timbear’s cws detailed and etched the wood. By the end the bear was almost lifelike, shadow giving it depth, intricate tattoos could be seen, somehow beneath the fur. Across its muzzle and cws were swirling patterns that made it appear fierce and prepared for battle.

  As he finished his work Timbear stood and growled low and fierce into the bear totem's ear and it moved. The totem, slightly shorter than Honey, moved with unnatural grace onto its four paws. Timbear examined it once more and then growled into its ear again.

  “It is done, it will only st a week, if you cannot resolve the problem by then return and I will see to providing a longer sting solution. Take it to its duty and give it the command. It is bound to you, it will take no action against a bear, but otherwise it will obey your every command.” Timbear yawned and crawled back underneath his tree. Honey bowed and looked at the living totem bear.

  “Thank you great Warden Timbear, we are honored to receive this wardwork.” Honey said, awe struck by the Warden’s work.

  “Mmmm, you are welcome, it is my duty after all. Now go, leave me to rest, work like that is…” A deep yawn came from Timbear, “...tiring.”

  Honey did not reply, he simply bowed and walked away, issuing a low growl as a command to the totem. It followed dutifully and Honey smiled, this would do. This would certainly do.