What A Dream Wants

Soon, one of the figures stopped- tired and plopped on the ground.

"Are we there yet?" He asked.

"Max, the nearest village is only a few minutes away," Lukas told him.

The boy begrudgingly got up, dusting off himself and starting running with vigor.

"Wait up, Max!" His friend Jess started chasing after him.

"Should we go after them?" Olivia asked. "They might get hurt."

"Probably?" Lukas shrugged.

"Nah," Steven said softly. "They'll run out of energy, soon."

"Little kids have tons of energy," Olivia argued, "Plus, what if they run into a beast."

Two screams filled the air.

"You see?" Olivia glared at Steven.

"I don't see anything," Steven replied back... to no one, Lukas and Olivia already rushed forward. He sighed and began chasing after them.

. . .

When he got to the scene of the crime, he noticed a tied-up beast and two scared children.

He had completely missed the action.

"See, everything's fine." Steven pointed out.

Olivia stared.

"Well, what should we do with the beast?" He asked.

The bear, with fluffy golden brown hair, tried to muster the cutest face it could. Its wet eyes quivered and its nose shivered, and it pouted, wishing that death would not be delivered. Oh, why did it have to run into some random cultivators? All it wanted to do was to eat some children. Was that so unfair? As it mulled sorrowfully, it heard:

"We should release it," Lukas said. "It may be a momma bear and was only acting territorial due to its cubs."

The bear nodded its head vigorously.

"Oh, it's a momma bear!" Max exclaimed. "It's okay mommy bear, protect your cubs."

Jess consoled the bear.

The bear was slightly annoyed because it was a male bear, but it pretended to be glad, and let out a smile.

"Steven love bears. So after thinking for a while..." Steven paused, then continued with, "Why don't we just kill it? Bear meat tastes quite gamey, but once the aftertaste is removed, it'll taste amazing. The creamy sizzling smell, along with the deliciously roasted meat that Steven loves."

Steven had an evil glint in his eyes.

"Does bear meat really taste that good?" Max salivated.

Jess wiped his mouth in anticipation. Olivia's stomach rumbled. Lukas coughed in anticipation, also quite hungry at the thought of the sublime meat. Olivia and Lukas all experienced Steven's savory culinary skills before, and now, they looked at the bear as if it was yet another meal.

The bear was scared now. Its muffled whimpers begged them not to eat it. 'My meat is too gamey' and 'I am too meaty and not tender!'

The bear tumbled over, prostrating at Steven's feet.

"See, even it wants to be cooked!" Steven said.

That's not why it rolled over...

The bear started crying.

"Ehh, Steven," Olivia said, pitying the bear. "Let's not eat Momma bear."

The bear agreed, but it was a boy!

"Hmm..." Steven thought out loud. "But, he might eat other people in the future."

The bear agreed, but it still wanted to be freed!

"Okay, let's just tame the bear for the children!" Lukas sighed, not wanting to harm the bear. "Olivia, tame the bear."

The bear whimpered in defeat and lowered its head.

Olivia touched the bear, her hands sparkling gold. The bear was enveloped in a golden light and started to shrink.

Poof.

In its place was a cute cub, blinking. The contract star on its belly indicated that it was tamed.

"Well," Steven started walking, "The village is ahead. Let's get moving."

Jess picked up the bear, hugging it.

"Hey!" Max whined, "I wanna hug the baby cub too."