Gunnar didn't move an inch as the bear continued to rage about the clearing. Not that he really could move. When that damned hybrid threw him across the pit, he landed with a pretty significant amount of force.
He slowly tried to sit up against a stone and felt the scrapeing of broken ribs. He took shallow breaths as he tried to keep his focus on the bear moving about the clearing. He noticed with a bit of pleasure that the bear was slowing down from his frantic smashing and tearing that it was inflicting on the ground and rocks on the other side of the pit.
At the moment the thought entered his mind to try to slide backward out of the clearing and head toward their camp, the bear seemed to catch a scent. It's head followed the scent around, only to catch sight of Gunnar laying on the rock and dirt across from itself.
Gunnar cursed inwardly and readied his knife as the bear began to surge towards him, only for the bear to suddenly stop roaring and cock its head in confusion. The magma bear was once again scenting the wind, with obvious interest and yet confusion.
The bear slowly shuffled towards Gunnar, taking deep whiffs of his scent as it grew closer.
Gunnar, still gripping his knife, prepared to burst out with a yell and attack the bear in hopes of startling it off or making it hesitate long enough for him to get out and away from the clearing. But even as he started to push himself to his feet, he caught a subtle movement at the edge of the lave pit and froze.
There were two small figures climbing out of the lava, and as they cleared the edge of the pit the great bear turned from Gunnar and went to the small figures and snifffed and licked them. They were cubs!
When Gunnar realized that he was about to try scaring a mother with cubs, a cold sweat started along his back and he slowly settled back into the stone behind him and stayed very still.
The mother lava great bear finished checking over her cubs and turned its head back towards Gunnar before blowing air out through her nose and settling down on her belly and simply watching.
Gunnar froze and simply watched as the two cubs roughhoused and played. He watched and even smiled a little in relief until he noticed that the two cubs were slowly rolling his way.
He shuddered at what the mother might do if they got hurt even by accident. But it was also likely that the two would hurt him as they were about the same size and him in height and probably out weighed him by a good hundred pounds. Cubs, also weren't the best at controlling their elements and he had no idea what element they might have.
Cubs could take a single element or many and from either parent. If their father was an earth bear it would influence their element towards earth as their mother also had the earth element. But if their father was fire elemented then fire might be stronger. With great bear types spanning every element, including lightning, the cubs could have anything.
While his anxiety ran wild and his fear grew, the cubs slowed their play and looked over at him with curiosity. The smell of his anxiety was new to them. They were very well protected right now as they were barely more than infants of their species, so they were confused by this new scent.
The two slowly shuffled, rolled and flopped their way over to Gunnar.
As he tensed up and prepared to make run for it, his eye met the mother's and a clm chant over him. A feeling that was not his own, but was, seemed to give him assurance that no harm would come to him as long as he did not intentionally harm the two young bear.
Then he realized that it was indeed a voice in his head that spoke to him in his mind. A very pleasant and soothing voice at that.
He shook his head in utter disbelief. There was no way.' He thought 'I must be losing it.'
A sound that was almost amusement came from the female great bear before an indeed amused voice came into his head once again.
"You have no need to fear young human. I am in my right mind again after the death of the demon, and you are not insane either. Your blood allows you to understand me."
Gunnar thought for a moment and then spoke slow and low as not to startle the two cubs who were now sniffing around him.
"What do you mean my blood? I know my grandfather is special because of how everyone talks about him like he is. But you're saying that he has a special bloodline?"
The bear chuckled. "If you have not been told their is a reason. There should be someone around who can give some amount of answers. For those of your blood they usually tell you when you begin to awaken, and there is always someone of your blood available to teach young ones."
Gunnar thought for a minute and the old bear-like Narrick and nodded. "I think I know who is supposed to teach me. Its a old man named Narrick."
The bear raised its head and stared at Gunnar for a second. "Is that old bear your ancestor? That man is a one that sends demons running from the very mention of. If he is, you are very lucky."
He shook his head. "I am named after my grandpa. His name is Gunnar Evers."
The great bear froze for a split second then roared with a growly yet musical laughter. "That solitary grumpy old fuck has descendants now?" She rolled over on her back holding her paws to her stomach and then began to shine with a blinding light. When the light faded a tall bearkin woman, who looked to be in her early 30's lay in her place, still curled up and laughing.
Gunnar had frozen when the shining began and his mouth dropped open when the light dimmed and he saw the woman. For a beast to transform into a beast kin meant that they had cultivated their body up to the dark steel, or titanium level to achieve a human or beastkin shape, depending on their own bloodline connection to their godbeast ancestors.