A Light in the Dark Forest

So this was the forest. Indeed, he could see why he had heard so many negative things about it. He had only entered but a few moments before and already he could feel as if he was being watched. A school for children was seriously so close to such a place!? He wondered just how many had met their fate here. He couldn't sense life forms in his current state, but he knew that he wasn't alone. Other living creatures were in here, and they were not fluffy fuzzy bunnies. Or maybe they were. But that wouldn't end up being a good thing.

Despite the obvious dangers, he paid the warning signs no heed and continued his trek within the forest. A place with supposed dangerous creatures, a good a place as any to start looking for "it". After all, this was one of the places "it" could reside, assuming "it" was even on this world. While the sun had risen only a few hours ago, the atmosphere under the trees was dark and gloomy, making it appear as if dusk was only around the corner. He kept calm, though, not being the slightest bit afraid of the surrounding area.

It would not be long until he heard a growl and the sound of footfalls. He turned to his right side just in time to see a large four-legged animal leaping out of the bushes towards him. While only about a second passed between the wolf's feet leaving the ground and its body entering melee range of Alistair, he was able to discern precisely where and how the wolf would land - which of course that would be on top of him! - as well as the likely area of his body the wolf's teeth would sink into. His mental reflexes, being the faster, allowed him to step to the side just as the wolf's body flew past his own. Just before the wolf's feet would touch the ground, Alistair's hand went for the beast's tail, and grabbed it, allowing momentum to do its work.

The wolf's body had finally found itself back on the ground, and it now cried out in pain from its tail being yanked so strongly - although, it was the momentum of its flying body that actually did the work!. Alistair quickly let go of the tail and made a jump backwards, keeping his distance from the creature. A smart move, for the wolf had immediately jumped back to its feet and made another lunge at him.

Why was this wolf alone?

It was rabid, was his conclusion. He saw that clearly now. The look in its eyes, the foam in its mouth. It also had several cuts and areas of missing fur along its body. It must've been through a lot. He originally intended to just scare it off, but the rabies would only spread and harm other creatures if he did such a thing. Plus, it was unlikely he would be able to scare something that was rabid.

His mind came to these conclusions fast enough that he still had plenty of time to think of a way to avoid the wolf now lunging at him. Simply by watching it maneuver towards him, he knew exactly how and where the wolf would strike him. Such creatures were easily predictable, and he knew well enough how to handle them. However, if he let the wolf get on top of him, it was likely he was not strong enough to keep it at bay. It could very well kill him.

He wasn't going to allow that.

He would finish it in one blow, and although he preferred not invoking his Mantras as much as possible, he had decided this would be an acceptable situation. At the very last second, just as the wolf was about to connect with his own body once more, he performed a jump to the side while at the same time uttering a silent prayer to Adonai. As his feet touched the ground once again, as did the wolf, his eyes and right hand would both be covered in a golden glow. The wolf paid no heed, instead bounding towards him once more. Alistair did not attempt to dodge this time.

Right under the jaw. That would be sufficient. The rabid wolf was fast, physically faster than Alistair. But definitely not faster mentally. Alistair was able to outmaneuver the wolf just well enough to place an uppercut right under the beast's jaw. The poor rabid creature would feel as if time slowed. A more intelligent being could perhaps feel as if a bomb were about to go off. "The fist to slay one thousand demons...." Alistair uttered. "Fist of Heaven!"

His eyes and fist both returned to normal. The slowed-time the wolf experienced reversed back to normal, and it found itself tumbling through the air uncontrollably until it finally smashed into a nearby tree and tumbled to the ground. If Alistair planned his attack correctly, and it was unlikely that he didn't, the wolf would have a severed spine at the very least.

Indeed, it was certainly dead.

He took a deep breath to calm himself. Hopefully, there wouldn't be too much more conflict like this. He expected to have to hunt at some point - although he had decided not to buy any sort of weapon, strangely enough - but it would be preferable not to have to slay every sort of creature he came across that day. It was at this point he heard commotion coming from nearby. More creatures? You couldn't be serious...

Wait, one of them sounded human. There wasn't, like, feral humans out here, was there? That would be most unfortunate. Regardless, he turned to the direction the noise came from and ran over to investigate. That human (or humans) could be hurt. Imagine his surprise when he saw what looked like a bear mauling some teenage boy. While his immediate reaction was to move and assist, he soon realized that the bear was no longer alive. Apparently, this young man had bested the beast in a duel. Well, that was certainly something to be proud of. Bears were one of the toughest beasts among the Material Plane.

He made his way over to the collapsed bear which was lying on top of the poor guy, its teeth still inside of him. Blood was everywhere, and he seemed to have difficulty breathing. This wasn't good. It was going to be very difficult for Alistair to push that bear off of the guy, and invoking another Mantra wasn't exactly something he was thrilled to do. Plus, even if he did invoke a Fist of Heaven to push the bear off, it could end up hurting the kid considering the positions. Or even killing him.

"Be still, and calm yourself." He said matter-of-factly. "If you struggle, you shall tire yourself out. Your oxygen intake is lower than it should considering the weight upon you, and you shall only cause yourself to bleed more." He began studying the bear and the position of its body, determining exactly where the best spot would be for him to attempt getting the bear off. Not taking any sort of possible supernatural abilities that this kid might possess into account, Alistair estimated a 62.69846 percent chance he would bleed to death unless he removed the creature and tended to the wound within one minute and fifty-two seconds. That would be difficult.

"It appears to be an adult male grizzly bear, perhaps six years of age. This creature upon you weighs more than 900 pounds." He said it as if he had simply read it off a piece of paper. He then knelt down next to Nakata and examined the fangs. "I am going to attempt to remove the fangs from your body before trying to roll the beast off of you. It is possible it shall hurt slightly, however I must ask that you refrain from moving lest your body is dealt more damage."

And he did exactly as he said he would do. Carefully, he attempted to lift the head of the creature so that the fangs would slowly slide out of the wounds they had created. Assuming Nakata did as Alistair asked of him, there likely would not be any issues. He then would make his way over to Nakata's other side, as this is where he determined the best vantage point to be in order to roll the beast off of him. He studied the beast more carefully, already pushing past the one minute mark. This was not going to be easy.

Well, then. It appeared that bleeding to death was not a valid concern. The supernatural ability of this kid must be regeneration. It appeared perhaps stronger than his own. No matter, he decided just to focus on freeing him from the girth of the giant creature. "Well then, if you feel up to it, do your best to assist me in pushing the beast off of you." He searched for a bit longer to find the best spot to place his hands, so as to have the best grip and position possible. "I shall count to three, and as soon as I say three I ask that you push as hard as you can. Our combined strength shall likely suffice in freeing you." He did not appear to notice Nakata's accent.

Alistair drew a deep breath before counting, and once he reached three, as he said he would, he would attempt to roll the beast off of Nakata, hopefully with his help.

He dropped the bear back to the ground once he saw that Nakata had been freed. He took a moment to catch his breath and stretch while Nakata took the time to recover. He turned to this newcomer and seemed rather delighted when he bowed to him. "Not a problem at all, friend." He said, bowing politely back. "I would ask if you are doing well, but it appears your wounds have already healed. Marvelous! Certainly the pain from the bear was excruciating, however."

"Oh!" He said, apparently forgetting something. He looked Nakata straight in the eye. At first, it may have even been almost overwhelming. The absolute sense of power that came from his eyes were incredible. Not corrupted power, such as that often held by those who used their strength for evil. But pure, completely controlled power that gave the feeling that all troubles were nothing when in the presence of this young man. But as quickly as that feeling would overcome Nakata, it would fade as if it had never happened. Perhaps it was an illusion?

"I nearly forgot to introduce myself! How silly of me!" He bowed politely once more. "I am Alistair Fordren, friend. You may refer to me as Alistair if you wish. In all honesty, the name you reference me with matters not." Not that it was his real name anyways. But no one really had a way of knowing that.

Why was this student out in the forest like this? Most perplexing. The limited knowledge of the surrounding areas he had obtained suggested that entering this forest was heavily frowned upon, especially by students of the school. What was this guy doing out here? He seemed innocent enough, although apparently had slight difficulty pronouncing the English language. Judging by his body structure and the phrases he had difficulty pronouncing, he was able to determine just what his native language likely was. There was no reason for Alistair to force Nakata to have to try so hard, so he decided to make it easier for him.

"I have the ability to sense emotions." He declared, but not in English. In fact, it was in perfect Japanese, not even the slightest hint of accent. While he certainly had a more "western" look body-structure-wise, he spoke as if he had grown up in Japan. "However, I am unable to discern what reason one may have to enter this forest alone. Although I suppose my concern appears somewhat hypocritical, considering I am in the same situation. It is recommended you take great caution here, lest you end up in a situation similar to the one prior."