The cub's high-pitched screams echoed through the forest as branches lashed his sides. He flailed his paws in an attempt to grab onto the tree, but his claws did little more than scrape off slivers of bark.

His mother surged forward with Bernard right behind her. She glanced at him and snapped her teeth in his direction. "Leave us alone," she said as she raced to reach her son, sending clumps of dirt flying into Bernard's face as she ran.

Despite the energy she put into outrunning him, Bernard gained on the mother bear and soon passed her as adrenaline flooded his muscles. His shoulder burned, and his legs ached as he strained them to their limits. His head began throbbing as a wave of newfound strength poured into him. "Almost there," Orson whispered as Bernard sprinted forward.

Bernard's legs almost gave out as he came to a screeching halt beneath the cub. He cried out as his weak shoulder broke the young bear's fall. The cub tumbled to the ground as Bernard clenched his jaws and screwed his eyes shut against the black spots dancing in his vision. The mother bear reached her son's side moments later, gasping for breath.

Once the initial shock subsided, Bernard opened his eyes.

The female was nosing her son onto his feet. Her nose twitched as she sniffed for any signs of blood. The little guy's legs shook as he stood up. As soon as he could stand without his mother supporting him, he scurried behind her before peeking off to the side to watch Bernard with wide eyes. Bernard returned his stare, searching for injuries. To his relief, the cub seemed to have little more than messed up fur and a handful of scratches after his fall.

The cub's mother snarled at Bernard. "Stay away from us."

Bernard backed up and bowed his head.

"Take it easy," he said. "I just want to talk to you." He sat down and suppressed a sigh of relief as the pain radiating from his limbs lessened. There was no way he could run away if he was attacked now. Mentioning the dead cub right away probably wouldn't be the best idea. "Is your cub okay? That was quite a fall."

"What?" The female cocked her head.

"I'd be happy to help if you need anything while he recovers. There are more than enough salmon in the river for both of you," said Bernard. "I can catch you some if you're too tired. That cute little cub of yours looks like he could use a nice big meal."

The cub giggled. "He must be sick in the head," he told his mom.

His mother shushed him before addressing Bernard. "As tempting as that offer is, I'm not sure I want my son to be around such a strange male. The last grizzly I met who talked like you was foaming at the mouth."

Bernard snorted. "I don't have rabies. I'm just trying to be polite. Do I really look dangerous to you?" The stare he received in response was all the answer he needed. "It's how I was raised."

The female's eyes widened. Bernard cringed, expecting an assault. "You're one of those freaks who was raised by humans, aren't you?" She relaxed slightly after Bernard nodded. "Most bears like you don't last long out here. No wonder you're so skinny."

"Don't worry about me. I'll have plenty of time to put on some weight once I take care of a few things that have been bothering me." Bernard took a deep breath. "Speaking of which, did you happen to enter my territory sometime before you lost your other cub?"

"No, but we were foraging near a narrow, shallow section of the river the day before she went missing. The wind might have carried our scent to your land."

The cub peeked from behind his mother. "Have you seen her? We were supposed to learn how to catch fish together," he said. "I bet we'll catch more fish than you."

Bernard felt as if someone had shot him in the stomach. How was he supposed to tell this cub that he would never see his sister again? He was bound to find out eventually, but it felt wrong for someone so young to have to hear news like that at all, let alone from a stranger.

The older grizzly misread his expression. She lightly cuffed her son with a paw. "Mind your manners, or Thorburn will eat you." Her cub ducked behind her leg, trembling.

"Who's Thorburn?" Bernard asked.

"He's really scary!" said the cub. "He's a huge bear that used to be a human. Mom says that a cub that didn't listen to his mother died and that his spirit attached itself to a human instead of joining the others in the trees. The cub changed the human into a bear." He shuddered. "He makes human sounds and only hunts cubs."

"That's right," his mother said, "and you know he thinks naughty cubs taste the best. Now, shush."

"Yes, Mom."

"Thank you." She sighed and dipped her head in Bernard's direction. "Sorry about what he said earlier. His ego is the only part of him that's bigger than his stomach."

"No worries." Bernard gulped. He had to get this over with. "I know what happened to your other cub. Have you ever seen those nasty metal traps that hunters use?"

She winced. "Unfortunately. Those things are worse than the hunters themselves. Wait, you're telling me that my cub..." Her voice trailed off as she squeezed her eyes shut.

Her son nudged her leg. "She'll find us, won't she?"

His mother's voice shook as she responded. "The spirits will watch over her and keep her safe until it's time for us to join her."

The cub nuzzled his mother before burying his head into her leg. Her fur muffled his sobbing. "Was it quick?" whispered his mother.

Bernard told her it had been. She didn't need to know about the claw marks near the corpse. "I'm sorry for your loss," he said.

"This is my fault. I should have been more careful," she said before glancing at the sky. "We'd better leave. Uzumati could come back at any moment."

"My offer is still open. I don't mind sharing my territory for a while." Bernard stood back up, stretching his legs. Her eyes followed him, uncertain. "If I wanted to hurt you, I could have easily done so while Uzumati was arguing with you. As for your son, I didn't have to catch him."

"Fair enough. I'll only stay one day though. After that, I need to find a safer place to raise my cub." She muttered something to her son. He scrambled up her leg to situate himself on her back before hiding his face again. "I suppose I might as well introduce the two of us. My name is Nita. He's Mahon."

"I'm Bernard."

They walked to the river, constantly checking for Uzumati's scent as they traveled. Nita crossed the river first, carrying Mahon on her back. Bernard swam behind her. The current pulled him a couple feet downstream. His muscles ached too much for him to fight it. It took all of the strength he had left to haul himself onto the opposite bank. By the time he was on dry land again, his sides were heaving.

Nita waited for him to catch his breath. "I'd like to head farther into the woods if that's okay with you. Uzumati wouldn't exactly be happy to see me again today."

"Sure. You're free to stay there for as long as you need to. I have to take care of something farther upriver, so I might be gone for a while."

She shuddered. "Why would you want to risk running into Arturo? He'll tear you apart if he sees you." She glanced meaningfully at his shoulder as he favored it. "Even a larger, more experienced bear would have trouble with him. They say he gets his temperament from his father, a pure white bear who used to terrorize these woods back when my mother was a cub."

"The human that raised me seems to have wandered into his territory. I've been looking for her for a long time. She was the closest thing I ever had to a mother." He held Nita's gaze, daring her to question him. When she remained silent, he gestured toward an oak tree. "Come on. I'd better show you some of the best foraging spots before I go." Whether he returned or not, he wanted to make sure that at least one bear would prosper here.