Lost and Found

Chapter 6 - Bear Talk

The bear stared back at Nya and Pat. They didn't move. It didn't move. No one moved a muscle except for the birds in the trees who escaped with their wings in seconds.

Why hadn't it eaten them yet? We're just standing here, thought Nya. Actually it'd probably be a good idea to leave.

"Back away slowly," Nya whispered, taking one step back. Pat followed her. Two steps. Three... The bear growled. The stopped. Pat swore under his breath.

The bear growled again. Then  it turned and began to walk away from them back into the trees. Nya sighed with relief. Maybe it had just had some brunch and wasn't hungry.

But the bear looked back at them and growled, as if, well, as if trying to get them to follow. Nya looked at Pat.

"Do you think we should follow the crazy bear?" she said, glancing at it's giant growling form. Pat voiced what she was thinking.

"It'll probably tear us to shreds if we don't. What choice do we have. Come on, it might be trying to help us." Pat walked cautiously towards the bear, who, once seeing that they were following, began to make it's path through the trees again.

Help them? It was a giant bear. But it wasn't an Umbra, and it was true, what else could they do? Nya hastened to catch up with Pat. At least she had a friend with her this time.

~

They had been walking for what seemed like miles. Nya's legs were sore, and the sun was hot overhead. Her stomach was growling. It must be around midday, according to the sky.

Pat looked pretty worked out too, wiping his forehead with the back of his hand. The bear looked like a bear, forever the same pace, never seeming to tire. Nya wished she was a bear.

"How much...longer...do you think...the bear's gonna...walk for?" asked Pat between breaths. A break would be nice, thought Nya. But the bear turned around and growled, even jerking it's head forward in a little 'follow me or else' motion.

Pat put his hands up in surrender. "Hey I was just asking. No offence or anything, Mr Beary." The bear huffed.

"Come on, can't we just have a little break?" Nya didn't know why she was talking to the bear. But surprisingly the bear stopped, looked at her strangely, shrugged (could bears even do that?) and sat down, beginning to groom itself.

She turned to Pat about to comment on the bear's weird behaviour, but Pat was looking at her strangely too, his mouth hanging wide open.

"What?" Nya said.

"You, you just growled. At the bear." Pat pointed back and forth between her and the bear like an idiot.

"No I didn't, I just asked if we can have a break. You okay?" Maybe the heat was getting to his head.

"No, you growled at it. You spoke to the bear. I'm not kidding." Pat spoke with such shock and seriousness that Nya almost believed him. Almost. She couldn't speak to bears. That's just stupid. But she was curious. Nya the Bear Whisperer didn't have the best ring to it but it was something.

She watched the bear lick it's black furry paws and spoke to it. "What's your name?" Nya listened carefully to her voice found that it was coming out in growls. What the? She was even more surprised when the bear answered in a low gravelly bear kind of voice.

"Finally! I've been waiting the whole walk for you to ask! Do you know there's these things called manners? Humans tend to use them to each other, and barely then, but oh no, us animals get forgotten! We're just the beasts of the forest! Oh yes, fear us, avoid us! Don't mind our little lives! We'll just stay here while our forest home gets burnt alive by evil! Don't expect us to know enough to help! It's Beringar by the way, but you can just call me Berny." The bear began to licking it's back.