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"Yes. Just…wait."

But the bear did not, in fact, go away. It sniffed around our camp, poked its big, wet, wriggling nose into the open backpack less than two feet from Jax, and then peered shortsightedly at Jax, nose going and going and going.

"Hey, bear," Jax said in a low, firm tone. "Hey, bear."

The massive creature was damn near four feet at the shoulder, and would probably clear seven feet on his hind legs; and yes, I knew it was a him, as I had a clear view of his tackle from my position. He lumbered a shuffling half-step closer, giving a low, huffing grumble of curiosity.

"Hey, bear!" Jax said, louder now. "HEY! HEY!"

The bear sank back to his haunches, huffing and snuffling and complaining, one giant front paw lifting in a gesture that some part of me wanted to read as Hey, now, no need for all the fuss.

Jax intentionally crinkled the noisy space blanket, which got the big bear back to all four fat, fluffy, talon-tipped paws, and then, when Jax stood to his feet and lifted his arms overhead, the bear trotted backward in alarm, growling and groaning.

"HEY! HEY BEAR! HEY! HEY! HEY BEAR!" Jax yelled, stomping at the giant creature with his arms raised and his voice loud and booming.

The bear turned and sprinted away faster than I'd have believed a creature that big could move. But then, I suppose that's why they say never try to run from a bear.

I sat against the log, my heart hammering a million miles per second. I pressed a palm to my chest, breathing slowly and deeply in an attempt to calm myself. "Holy shit."

"We're lucky he was just curious and that we didn’t have any food,” Jax said, fists clenching and releasing spasmodically, even though his voice was calm and steady.

"You'd think startling them like that would just make them attack," I said.

"Right? But they're not generally too interested in fighting humans," Jax said. “Even grizzlies will usually run away as a first line of defense. Typically, bears will only attack if they have no other choice, or if it's a mama protecting her cubs. If you’re between a bear and food, though? Watch the fuck out.”

"Wilderness survival training did cover this,” I said, feeling obligated to explain why I froze, "but I've never actually encountered a bear in the wild before. I'd know what to do if it was enemy patrol, but wild bears are outside my bailiwick a little."

Jax sat back down next to me, somewhat heavily. "Hey, you don't need to justify anything to me, Tea. Coming face to face with a bear for the first time is always fucking scary." He laughed, a little too hysterically. "Shit, it never gets any less scary."

"Like crash-landing, I suppose."

"How many does this make?" he asked.

“Depends on what you classify as a crash-landing,” I said. “I dunno. Three? Four? Plus a lot more close calls, hard put-downs, shit like that. Military aviation ain’t for the faint of heart, buddy-boy.”

"Damn, girl, are you a cat? Because you must have nine lives."

I snickered at that, despite myself. "Good one, jerk. Just make fun of my trauma, no big deal." I eyed the smoldering remains of the fire. "Probably should’ve taken turns keeping that fire going, huh?"

Jax poked the ash-coated coals with a bit of stick. "The notion that bears won't approach a camp if there's a fire is a myth, and a dangerous one. Bears are crazy smart and very curious. Even way out here, bears associate humans with food. He's probably encountered hunters before and figured there was a better-than-average chance that we had snacks for him. They don’t like fire, but the desire for food outweighs that caution. So no, keeping the fire going wouldn't have stopped him from coming right up to us."

"Oh. Guess even I have a few things to learn, huh?"

He grinned. "We all will always have something to learn, right?"

"If you’re smart, you're always learning." I moved to my feet and started stowing the blankets. "Might as well get moving. Today we should look for a stream and see if we can catch something to eat."

Jax scattered the coals and covered them with handfuls of dirt while I got the backpack situated; Jax took the bag from me, shouldered it, and tightened the straps. "Lead on, oh commander, my commander."

I shook my head. "No."

He grinned, chuckled. "No?"

"We aren’t doing that."

"Fine, li'l Miss Stick in the Mud. I'll keep my banger fucking jokes to myself, I guess."

I consulted my giant and ugly but useful tactical watch on my left wrist, and the built-in digital compass got our bearings and led the way.