On their first real adventuring job, rookie partners Jaon and Egg find themselves hiding in a bush after their owlbear hunt goes terribly wrong. What was supposed to be a simple feather-collecting mission turns into a tense standoff with a massive, dangerously close owlbear.
The underbrush barely covered them.
Jaon crouched low, fingers white-knuckled around the shaft of his spear. His breath came shallow, trying not to stir the leaves. Egg knelt behind him, pressed so close their breath tickled the back of his neck but neither of them dared shift.
The forest was silent.
Too silent.
Even the birds had gone quiet.
Then—a heavy thud.
Another.
The branches ahead shook. A low growl, half beast, half bird, rumbled through the clearing like thunder swallowed in feathers. Egg leaned in, voice so faint it barely existed. “Is that… an owlbear?”. Jaon didn’t answer. Just raised one finger in warning, eyes fixed forward. He could see it now… massive. Hulking. Feathers matted with dirt and dried blood. Its beak glinted in the dappled light. Egg swallowed. “It’s not supposed to be this close to the road.”
“It’s not supposed to be this big,” Jaon whispered back. The owlbear’s head twitched. Sniffed. Egg stiffened. Their hand grazed Jaon’s reaching, not for comfort, but for grounding. Jaon didn’t move.A low snort. The owlbear turned, feathers rustling like dry grass. It took a step. Then another. Closer. Right past them.
It paused.
Sniffed.
Jaon didn’t blink. He couldn’t. He could feel Egg’s breath freeze behind him.
One wrong move.
One shift of weight.
Then, mercifully… a birdcall.
Distant.
The owlbear huffed and lumbered toward the sound, the brush shaking violently in its wake. And then it was gone. Jaon exhaled a breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding. Egg let go of his hand. “I hate this job.” Jaon turned slowly. “We still getting that feather?”. Egg gave him a long, deadpan stare. “Gods no.”
