Bernard awoke at the crack of dawn, shortly after the storm ended. He caught himself a few salmon for breakfast before wading into the river. The shallows were easy to handle since he could walk through them, but the river became surprisingly deep toward the middle. Fish tickled Bernard's legs and stomach as he paddled to keep his head above the surface. The current tugged at his fur, threatening to pull him downstream. By the time Bernard reached Uzumati's territory, he was completely soaked and his muscles ached.

The sun warmed Bernard's back as he caught his breath. His bad shoulder throbbed; the cold water had worsened the familiar pain. A brief examination of the bullet wound made Bernard's fur stand on end. The area around the wound was swollen, and the wound itself was leaking yellow pus. His wound had become infected, but he had no choice but to hope the infection would clear up on its own. There was nothing he could do but keep tracking the female bear.

Bernard gave himself a good shake, spraying water everywhere. A crow perched on a branch above him cawed in irritation before flying away. Bernard tensed before scanning his surroundings. He relaxed once he was sure that Uzumati wasn't nearby. Dealing with the mother bear would be tricky enough without irritating anyone else.

This part of the woods didn't seem as full of life as his own territory. There were far fewer rodents running around. The handful that Bernard glimpsed were little more than light brown flashes in the corner of his eye as they rushed to avoid him. The birds here only chirped every now and again, usually whenever he got too close to the branches they were perched on. With the wildlife acting so skittish, it wouldn't take much to spook one animal too many and reveal his presence to Uzumati.

Keeping that in mind, Bernard resolved not to eat anything while he was on Uzumati's land. Besides being rude, that would definitely make Uzumati mad. If he left as little scent as possible, there was a chance that the other bear wouldn't even notice his visit. Taking a deep breath, Bernard realized that his scent could be overpowered by the smell of the mother bear. She had been here recently, likely within the past hour judging from the odor that flooded his nose.

As he followed her trail, the wildlife became increasingly scarce. He couldn't say he was surprised. Much of the undergrowth had been trod upon. Twigs had been snapped, acorns crunched, leaves crushed. The destruction didn't stop there. Strips of bark had been torn off trees, exposing their pulpy innards. Saplings had been bent until they broke, forever stuck as if they respected the force that had destroyed them so much that they didn't dare to stop bowing.

Bernard forced himself not to gag as the stench of two bears assaulted his nose. Whew, that was strong! Those smells were so intense that they could put a family of skunks to shame. He was so distracted by his overwhelmed nose that it took him several minutes to notice the raised voices coming from up ahead.

It was only when Bernard was close enough to see the two grizzlies that their argument registered through the sensory assault. He ducked behind an oak, praying nobody saw him as he watched the confrontation unfold.

The stranger's head didn't even come up to Uzumati's shoulder, but that didn't stop her from snarling at him. Her fur stood on end as she spoke. "Stop lying to me, you pathetic grub chewer. I know what you did. If you don't admit it right now, I'll rip your ears off." She snapped her teeth together.

Uzumati flinched and flattened his ears. "I'm not that desperate. The new guy across the river may be clumsy, but he hasn't managed to scare all of the fish away yet. Like I said, it was probably Arturo. Either that or your cub was so stupid that it got lost or drowned or got taken away by the rangers."

Her claws dug into the soil. "Take that back."

"Why? That other little waste of fur doesn't look too bright either," Uzumati said as he glanced at the cedar tree behind the female. Bernard's eyes widened as he followed the older male's gaze. A tiny ball of fur was clinging to a thin branch near the top of the tree. The cub whimpered as the branch trembled under his weight. "As a matter of fact, I'd say it's only a matter of time before he joins his sister."

The mother charged forward, roaring obscenities. Uzumati ran out of the way, refusing to turn his back on his opponent as he dashed toward the cedar tree. His opponent changed her course and aimed for his side. The older male bolted, misjudged his angle as he fled, and slammed into the tree the cub was in.

A high-pitched cry split the air as the cub's paws slipped. Its mother looked up and watched as it struggled to regain its footing. Uzumati rushed at her with his jaws wide open.

"Leave her alone!" Bernard shot out of his hiding place and slammed into Uzumati. Pain lanced through his shoulder as the force of the impact shook his body.

Uzumati staggered. "What are you doing here?" He growled deep in his throat. "I thought you knew better than to disrespect me like this."

"I didn't mean to offend you," said Bernard. He nodded toward the stranger. She had taken advantage of the distraction and backed up against her cub's tree. "I came here for her, nothing else."

"Huh. I guess you do know something about being a real bear after all. I hope nobody has to teach you exactly what to do with her." He snorted. "Too bad you had to go for the one female who wandered into my territory. I was starting to like you." He lunged at Bernard's front legs.

Bernard reared up to dodge the attack before crashing down on the older bear. Uzumati grunted and crumpled under Bernard's weight as paws battered his shoulders. The older bear struck upward, nipping his opponent's stomach. Teeth sinking into his back convinced him to stop. Bernard bit down as hard as he could, allowing blood to fill his mouth as Uzumati thrashed beneath him.

Uzumati heaved Bernard off of him and roared in pain as Bernard's jaws took a chunk of flesh with them. He backed up as Bernard bared his bloodstained teeth. "Take it easy, kid. I don't want her that badly. She's all yours, as long as you agree to leave my territory once you're done." Bernard spat off to the side to get the blood out of his mouth. "You're tougher than you look, you know that? You make wolverines look docile. I can't say I've seen anyone fight quite like you before."

Bernard ducked his head. "Sorry about that. I'll be out of here as soon as I'm done." He glanced at the wound on Uzumati's back. Blood was steadily dripping down his side. "Are you going to be okay?"

"I'm going to feel this for a while, but I think I'll be alright as long as I take it easy. Don't think that means I'll let you get away with this again though. I'll be keeping an eye on you from now on." Uzumati dipped his head. "See you by the salmon run tomorrow." He retreated deeper into his territory.

The mother bear approached Bernard with her lips drawn back in an expression that gave him the chills. "What makes you think I'm going to let an upstart like you have your way with me? For all I know, you could be the one who killed my daughter."

Before Bernard could respond, a branch snapped overhead. The cub screamed as it plummeted from over twelve feet above the ground.