Beastly Little Boy

Chapter 23

Bernard spent the rest of the day giving Nita a tour of as much of his territory as they could cover. He made sure to show her many different food sources in an attempt to keep her mind off of the prey animals.

After riding on his mother's back for hours on end, Mahon drifted off to sleep. Bernard took the opportunity to show Nita where he had found the trap and where her cub was buried. By then, the sky had begun to darken.

It took them the rest of the day to get close to Arturo's territory. Nita lowered her son to the ground and nuzzled him before curling around him. She kept her eyes on Bernard after he flopped down several feet away and continued watching him until he fell asleep.

Bernard woke up shortly before sunrise and strolled to the river. He washed his wounds before catching himself breakfast. Once he silenced his grumbling stomach, he began taking his subsequent catches back to where Nita was sleeping.

By the time she woke up, he had already created a small pile of salmon near her. She got up slowly to avoid disturbing her cub, but she couldn't resist nuzzling his forehead. Mahon halfheartedly swatted her in his sleep.

"What's all this?" Nita asked, nosing the food. Her nose twitched as she took in the salmon's tantalizing scent.

"That's just a little something for the two of you to share. Whether you decide to stay here longer or not, I figured it might be a good idea for both of you to rest this morning." Bernard gestured toward Mahon. "Is he going to be alright? Yesterday wasn't exactly a good day for him."

Nita shrugged. "He'll be running around and climbing everything in sight soon enough. I just hope he's learned not to climb onto such thin branches."

"I was talking about his sister. He was crying in his sleep last night."

"I've been through this with other litters. He'll get over it eventually."

Bernard failed to suppress a gasp. "You've lost cubs before? How on earth could anyone get over something so awful?"

"Look at that nest over there." Nita pointed her snout at a cardinal's nest that had four featherless hatchlings in it. The youngsters chirped as they crowded around their father, eyeing the grubs in his beak. The smallest of the bunch was constantly shoved as its siblings vied for their father's attention.

"Why are they bullying that one so much? He's going to starve if they keep that up."

"That's the point, actually. If the weakest one survived, he would take food that could have made his healthier siblings stronger and hurt the entire brood's chances of survival." She glanced at Mahon over her shoulder. "Imagine if I had been the one to die in that trap instead of my daughter. Both of my cubs would have starved to death because of my carelessness. It is better for a careless cub to die and bring her family grief than for one to survive and teach her cubs so poorly that they die before they have a chance to have cubs of their own."

"That's harsh."

Nita nudged Bernard with her paw. "Believe me, I wish every cub could survive. Mistakes happen though. All I can do is guide my children and hope that they learn everything they need to know about surviving on their own." She nosed through the pile of salmon before dragging the smallest fish closer to her son and lying down. "I appreciate your help. A full belly should brighten Mahon's mood and encourage him to learn how to fish for himself."

Bernard bowed his head. "No worries. I had to make sure you two were going to be okay before leaving."

"You are quite a strange bear," said Nita. "I can't say I think it's a good idea for you to trespass into Arturo's territory, especially to try to find a human of all things. Still, Mahon and I wish you the best of luck."