Page 49 of The Mentor
“Very funny.”
“Can you even get down from that tree?” Archer asked, and a new wave of fear hit me when I looked down and realized how far up I was.
“I’m scared,” I admitted.
“You’ll be fine, just take it one branch at a time.” With a series of instructions Archer slowly guided me three branches down.
“Hey, is everything all right?”
We turned our heads to see Magni running toward us. “I heard yelling.”
“Kya met a small bear,” Archer explained dryly. “I scared it off but unfortunately she managed to climb into that tree before I got here.”
“It wasn’t a small bear. It washugeand very aggressive,” I pointed out.
Magni frowned and looked at Archer. “Do I need to find it and kill it?”
“No.” Archer shook his head. “It was just a small curious female.”
The two males exchanged a glance. “You sure?” I asked.
“Yeah, I’m sure.”
“But I heard roaring – that’s why I hid in the tree. Surely they only roar when they’re aggressive.”
“Black bears don’t roar,” Archer informed me.
“Then what am I supposed to call the sounds it made?”
“You should worry less about what sounds it makes and more about getting down from that tree.”
“But I’m scared,” I said and searched for a safe place to put my foot.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” Magni didn’t have the same patience as Archer and instead of helping me from below, he quickly climbed up to where I was. “Just do as I tell you,” he said and showed me exactly where to put my foot and what branch to hold onto. With his help, I was down in less than two minutes.
“Thank you,” I said and brushed my hands together. “I’m grateful to both of you.”
“Can you run back to the school?” Magni asked me.
“I don’t think so. Maybe I can jog, but there’s no way I can keep up with the pace of you two if you start running full speed.”
“I’ll jog with you,” Archer offered and turned to Magni. “I’ll make sure she gets back to the school safely.”
My big protector hesitated and I figured it was because he knew how much I disliked Archer after the spanking. “Kya, do you want me to stay with you or are you okay with jogging with Archer?” Over the last month, Magni had eased up and wasn’t hovering as much as he used to.
Grateful that I had survived my encounter with the bear, and thankful that Archer had come to my rescue, I waved a hand at Magni. “It’s fine, sprint all you want,” I assured him.
“Great.” Magni took off with the grace of a panther, leaping over logs and disappearing with a speed that I would never be able to keep up with.
“I’m sorry that you had to come back for me,” I told Archer in a tone that was as friendly as on the night we had met. “I told Shelly it wasn’t necessary, but that was before the bear almost attacked me, and now I’m grateful you came back to save me.” We were walking and I was surprised that Archer didn’t try to hurry me on. Maybe he wasn’t so rude and horrible after all.
“Why do you let the children sleep with you?” he asked, changing the subject.
“Because I don’t like the idea of them crying themselves to sleep. It’s not normal for kids to sleep at their school in the Motherlands, so this is a new situation for everyone. If they were at home, their parents would comfort them after a nightmare or if they were sad about something.”
“But our students aren’t small children, they’re preteens and teens.”
“I know, but don’t forget that many of our students from the Motherlands have experienced something traumatic and will be more sensitive than other children.”
