Oliver Burton

"Do I look like a trash digger to you? With this pristine coat? I do not think so." He was utterly appalled at the thought. "I am no filthy black bear.." He snorted out a scoff. "A bear will eat just about anything living if they are hungry enough.. or annoyed." He baited softly, a hollow threat lay within his words. It didn't mean he couldn't scare her a little.. just a little.

He flashed his teeth at her for a little more bravado. But she deflated it like a needle to a balloon. The larger white bear snapped his head up so suddenly, huffing at the little creature that once again poked and prodded against his hygiene. "What are you talking about.. my teeth are pristine, maybe you hit your head when you fell. Do you need medical attention?" He hardly noticed the grumpy man comment, more insulted by the comment of his less than perfectly clean teeth. He ran his tongue over them just to check. Nothing! He didn't even eat anything, clearly, the girl was simply messing with him for her own amusement.

She called him that thing again. And this time it did not go unnoticed. "Mr.-Grumpy-Man?" He let each word fall off a cliff in his mind, it would be too soon to hear that nickname again. "You haven't seen anything yet sweetheart.." He grumbled, clearly he was not grumpy. Well, honestly speaking he truly he was. But who in their right mind wants to be called that! Of all things. "I am not that.." He spoke coldly, wrinkling his nose at the thought. Grumpy.. He could have been far worse. She got off easy if grumpy was all he was. He wasn't sure why the nickname bothered him so much, but as silly as it was, it did.

That girlish squeal ricocheted throughout his head like a piercing nail. He had seemed to please the girl allowing her to come along with him. See, would a grumpy man do that? He thought gruffly. He gave what could only seem like a shrug, the motion lost beneath that thick bone white fur he possessed. Then she managed to call him Grumpy man.. once more. Like a literal slap in the face. Was she trying to get him to snap at her? He grunted in response. It was then he realised maybe he truly was being a bit of a bear to her. But he was a bear, so what was the problem?

She was so... bouncy. Every movement she made it appeared to be as if she was unable to stay in one place. One moment she was here and then she was there and then she paused only to look terribly cute with wide innocent anime eyes. Only now the girl looked as if she were swiftly climbing that tree with more precision than he had given her credit for. Well wasn't she just full of surprises, especially when she leapt into the air like a sugar glider to find her way upon his back with a small thud. He didn't have the heart to move just a little to left and make her face plant on the forest floor. It would seem the russet creature had already had her share of face planting today. He did, however, need to give her points for the plan, exerting far more effort if she had tried to climb him directly from the ground. TADA! She declared proudly, undoubtedly beaming at her conquest.

"I know you are not a bit, it is a pet name of sorts. Little bit seems to suit you." He felt her shift upon his back, there was something about her that made those hard edges soften slightly. What she said next caused a pang within him, a comment he could relate to. Alone. How could someone so bubbly, be alone? He didn't know her, but in that moment he felt like he could relate to her, more than she knew. "I know the feeling all too well." He didn't mind it, not really, or so he thought, he was used to a solitary existence. He was used to only worrying about his own wellbeing and the wellbeing of his sister. However, she only glossed over the comment, even though it resonated with him far more than she was aware of.

He could not imagine her anything but a panda but she was, she was like him, a human beneath all the fur and claws and teeth. Sometimes, there were days he wished that he could simply be the bear and forget his human life entirely, but then there would be so much he would miss out on. All of life's finer luxuries he could certainly afford, along with all the power in the world. "Tell me about it, what do you take in your school, little bit." He grumbled at the sound of him being a grumpy man, he was NOT grumpy. Okay, maybe he was. Why not, he had a terrible day and his beast needed to be let out of his cage. He was not a beast that was meant to be trapped in some confined enclosure like an animal at the zoo. That's what it felt like when the animal inside of him was caged, it made him quick to anger and so very virile. It went against everything that sweet talking tongue he knew he possessed somewhere, nowhere present in this very moment. When he neglected and pushed down the bear he became cranky and as prickly as a bristling porcupine.

"I had a day too.. at work." Was all he said about it, moving toward that babbling creek. He admitted. Moving to Sacrosanct had been a business decision and one based on necessity. "Being what I am does not make it easy when I don't let my inner beast out." He knew he could crush a man's skull beneath his paws, he knew he could tower over them and overpower most beings and everyone that dared to enter his office put themselves at risk without even knowing it. The red panda managed to stay on his back as he walked upon the uneven surface, stepping carefully over exposed roots and moving effortlessly over rocks. He didn't know why he spoke about it, why he told her anything. The fewer people knew about him the better.

He was grateful for the shift in weather, summer wasn't pleasing to his inner bear, he liked the refreshing cool upon his face.

"ok, now go on.. catch one." He couldn't hide the amusement out of his accented voice, an upward quirk of his lips as he challenged her. "A deal is a deal, and I take those rather seriously." He spoke smoothly, the resonant tenors of his voice slip easily toward her waiting mind. He lowered his head so she could slide down to the ground, of course, it would have been funny if he dislodged her into the water but the thought remained vividly in his mind that she was often alone like him. Blast it all to hell, he was going soft. The man with callused skin and a look that could make a man's will bend to his will was helplessly a little panda's plaything.

Once she was off he moved away from the little bit, his rich chocolate eyes fixated upon the water, he could sense that there were still fish swimming downstream toward the lake. Raw fish in his belly sounded remarkable right now.