The Red And Savage Tongue (Historical Fiction Action Adventure Book, set in Dark Age post Roman Britain) by F J Atkinson

them as food, preferring instead to hunt familiar prey such as deer or salmon.
         Today was different, and its hunger overrode its caution, so it decided to investigate the source of the noise. It padded cautiously through the beech wood and stopped fifty yards from a wide girthed tree, under which sat two small figures. Mad with hunger, it decided to feed and bounded up towards them.
     
    The second morning after Dominic and Murdoc had left them, Tomas and Ceola had spent the day around the base of the beech tree. Tomas had told Ceola all about his village and his friends, all of whom were dead, but had made her giggle when t elling her of his past mischief making and escapades.
         Ceola, in her turn, had told Toma s all about life in her village. How she had loved to accompany her father into the fields on warm, sunny days. Throughout their chatter, they mentioned neither the invaders nor the loss of the people dear to them, having now driven all the ghastly images from their conscious awareness.
         Ceola saw the bear watching them from a distance. She had been listening with amusement to Tomas as he recounted an amusing tale from his youth, when she held up her hand to silence him and said, ‘Look over there Tom, we’re being watched.’
         Tomas immediately sprang to his feet. ‘Quick!’ he urged, ‘climb the tree.’ He lifted Ceola onto the rustic ladder and looked over to the bear, which had started to move towards them.
         He had barely climbed out of reach himself when the bear arrived with a rush of unbridled power at the foot of the tree. Leaving the ladder in place and pushing Ceola ahead of him, he made sure they both completed the climb up to the lofty platform.
         Ceola screamed as the bear leapt high and clutched the wide girth of the tree with its claws. It hugged the trunk with its limbs and began to shuffle up, its hide rippling as the powerful, underlying muscles flexed and contracted. She screamed again as its huge head appeared over the rim of the platform.
         Then, Tomas remembered the bow and arrows left for them by Dominic. He grabbed the bow, shakily notched an arrow, and pulled back as far as his strength would allow. He let go and the arrow hit the bear in the shoulder. As it tried to swipe the arrow away with its other limb, the bear lost its grip and fell from the tree.
         Ceola and Tomas looked down at the stunned, but still very dangerous brown bear. Tomas’ action had saved them for now, but the arrow was a mere pinprick to the animal. Again, it looked up at the terrified children.
         Tomas still gripped the bow and notched another arrow as the bear rocked on its haunches as it again prepared to leap. Ceola scrambled to the edge of the platform as a shouting came from a distance in the forest. ‘It’s father and Dominic,’ she screamed. ‘They’ve come to fight the bear!’
         Murdoc and Dominic had entered the clearing just as the bear had fallen from the tree. Fearing the worst , Murdoc ran towards it with his spear at his shoulder. ‘Hey! Hey!’ he shouted, as he slowed to a trot twenty paces from the bear. The animal now studied Murdoc, but flinched as an arrow ghosted past Murdoc and again entered its shoulder near to its existing wound.
         Dominic now joined Murdoc , who was readying himself for a suicidal rush at the bear. He placed a restraining hand on his arm. He had already tried the noisy approach and realised it was the wrong way to go about scaring a bear. ‘Hold your ground and crouch low so as not to be a threat.’ he said. ‘And don’t look it in the eyes.’ He looked to the ground and silently slipped an arrow from his quiver and notched it into his bow. The bear stood still, continuing to observe them warily.
         Deft and quick, Dominic again loosed an arrow, hitting the bear in its shaggy chest. This time it jumped back, then turned and quickly loped into the forest, not