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Elina spotted the bear and froze. She may have no idea where she came from, but she was fairly sure wherever it was bears were not traditionally seen indoors. Her pounding heart and sudden inability to move also suggested that whoever she was, she had been taught a healthy respect for bears. She looked between the creature and the man in front of her. He'd muttered something whilst she was staring at the bear, but she hadn't caught it. Elina jumped when his fingers brushed against her hair. She batted him away instinctively, her eyes still fixed on the bear. Bears, it seemed, had a habit of monopolising your thoughts. It came closer, barrelling into the back of the man's legs. He collided with her chest, and strong hands closed around her upper arms. They didn't fall over, but it was a near miss. Elina pulled herself free and staggered back a couple of paces. She kept the man between her and the bear and then stared at him.
"Y-your bear?" she repeated, her brows arching, "who has a bear!?". He said it in the same way most people said I'm sorry about my dog. The bear was hiding, badly, like a young child caught stealing cakes. Elina took a deep steadying breath. A pet bear. She could process that. It wasn't that much stranger than an underwater castle and growing gills was it? Elina looked back at the man and managed a smile. The front of his shirt was even wetter after their second collision. She started to giggle.
"I'm sorry," she wheezed, pressing her hand against her chest to try and regain composure, "I wasn't expecting...I don't...hmm..." Elina eyed the bear again, and then, in the silence, the man's original question finally trickled through her subconscious. She frowned at him.
"I'm wet," Elina said gesturing in the direction of the nearest window, "because I swam here." As if on cue, a family of sea turtles swam past, casting shadows across the red of the carpet. "It wasn't a fashion choice. I look like a rat someone drowned and resurrected." Setting her hands on her hips she looked him up and down. "I think the better question might be why aren't you wetter? She pointed out of the window again. "There's a lot of water out there."
The bear was peeping out from behind its hiding place. When he caught Elina looking, it withdrew again, hiding its face. She raised an eyebrow.
"I have another important question for you," she continued, crossing her arms across her chest. The wet fabric of her dress felt cold and clingy beneath the warmth of her skin. "How exactly does one go about teaching a bear manners?" Her imagination helpfully conjured for her a picture of the bear sitting smartly at a trestle table with a drinking horn in one paw and a slab of meat in front of it on a metal plate. She would pay a lot of money to see that.
"Is she friendly?" Elina asked at last, crouching down and holding out her hand. She decided to pretend it was just a particularly large dog. It was easier for the mind. "Hey," she called to the bear, "are you going to come and say hello?"
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