The Quest Begins (23 page)

Lusa screamed so loud she startled
the brown bear, making him lift his weight off her for a moment—but a moment was all she needed. Wrenching herself free, she scrabbled under the prickly bush, feeling the thorns tug and tear at her fur. She slid out the other side and raced to the nearest tree, scrambling up it so fast the branches and leaves were just a blur around her. She remembered King saying that grizzlies couldn't climb trees like black bears could, and she thanked the tree spirits that he'd taught her to climb so well.

“Come down here!” the brown bear roared. He paced around the bottom of the tree, huffing with fury. Lusa clutched the trunk and closed her eyes, praying to all the bear spirits in the forest that he would go away.

“I'm going to tear you apart, puny cub,” the grizzly snarled. “You'll be sorry you ever came into this territory. I'll show you what a real bear can do. I'll rip your fur off and dig out your heart with my claws.”

Lusa wished she could close her ears, too. She was trembling so hard the whole tree seemed to be shaking. Why couldn't he just leave her alone?
Maybe he's hungry, like Oka was,
a voice whispered in her mind.
Well, he can't eat me!
she retorted.

Darkness fell while Lusa was trapped up in the leaves, and still the grizzly paced below her, snarling. Deep shadows crawled across the forest, with only patches of moonlight breaking through the tree cover here and there. It was nearly moonhigh when the grizzly stood on his hind legs and roared, “Stay away from my territory!” one more time, then dropped down and stalked away.

Lusa was too scared to climb down the tree. The dark forest felt cold and unfriendly, and King hadn't told her what to do
after
she'd climbed a tree to escape another bear. She buried her face in the bark and stayed there for the rest of the night, shivering and too frightened to sleep.

In the morning light she was able to scan the forest floor below her. There was no sign of the grizzly, and she couldn't find his scent in the air, either. She would never forget the earthy smell of his fur. She crept carefully down the tree and ran in the opposite direction from where he'd gone. It meant going out of her way for a while, but she could find another path over the mountain—anything would be safer than staying in that bear's territory!

As she raced through the trees, she passed another one with long scratches on the bark. Now she remembered what King had told her:
Stay away from a grizzly's territory. You'll know where they are from clawmarks on the trees
. She'd been stupid to
forget—and lucky to escape with her fur in one piece.

She decided it would be safer to go back to traveling at night. She hid in another tree, far from the grizzly's territory, for the rest of the day, and climbed down when the sun sank below the mountains. It was harder to find food in the darkness, and hunger gnawed at her belly, but she felt safer among the shadows, so she spent the days hiding in trees for a whole moon. She was steadily climbing higher and higher up the mountain, where the clouds seemed closer to the ground and sometimes it rained for days on end.

At last Lusa reached the top of the mountain, scrambling over a pile of large boulders to emerge onto a wide flat space where there was no more up—only ground sloping down in every direction. She took shelter in a cave just below the peak, looking down at the lights of the flat-face homes. They looked like a sky full of stars spread on the ground. The world was so big…so much bigger than she'd imagined. Why hadn't Oka warned her about that?

She missed Ashia's gentle warmth, Stella's funny stories, even King's grouchiness. She missed wrestling with Yogi and racing around the Bear Bowl for treats. She wondered if they ever looked up at the Bear Watcher at the same time as she did. She wondered if they ever thought of her. She would never know, because she'd never see them again. Resting her head on her paws, Lusa felt cold and sad and hollow while the moon floated across the sky far above her.

The next morning, she emerged from the cave and set out in daylight. She couldn't feel sad forever. She had made a
promise to Oka, and she was going to keep it. There was no way she could go back to the Bear Bowl, so she may as well keep going. She was heading down the other side of the mountain now, far from the grizzly's territory, so she decided not to stay in the cave all day and wait for night to fall again. The daylight would help her watch out for bark scratches…there could easily be other brown bears wandering on this side.

She scrambled over a ridge of boulders and paused, her heart thumping. Far below her, she could see three small lakes laid out next to one another, just as Oka had said. She must be going the right way!

A weasel darted across her path, and in her excitement, Lusa sprang to her paws and chased it. It moved too quickly for her to catch, but racing through the grass with the wind in her fur helped to lift her spirits again.

 

Lusa was tired, hungry, and pawsore by the time she reached the first lake, but the smooth, glittering surface sparkled like starlight in a bowl and she'd been able to see it through the trees for a long time, calling to her. She plunged into the water with a happy yelp. Now
this
was a real lake—not like the one she'd found in the flat-face enclosure. She wallowed in the water, letting it soak through her fur, soothing her scratches. Tiny silver fish darted between her paws, and she chased after them playfully, woofing with joy.

A skinny long-legged animal was watching her from the bank. Its fur was shaggy and brown and a set of thick antlers
sprouted from its head. Lusa thought it might be a moose, from the descriptions she'd heard from Stella and King. It was nice to see another animal that wasn't trying to eat her.

“Hello!” she called. “Come on in, it's lovely!”

The moose tilted its head, looking down its nose at her. Then it turned and ambled away.

Lusa dunked herself in the water again. When she reached the point where it was too deep for her paws to reach the bottom, she tried waving them in the water and discovered that she could swim. She wished Yogi were there to see. Playing with him was more fun than playing on her own. But she was going the way Oka had described, which meant she was getting closer to Toklo. And when she found him, she wouldn't be lonely anymore. She wondered if he liked swimming, too. Perhaps she could teach him.

 

Lusa stayed by the lakes for five sunrises, splashing in the water and feasting on berries she found growing close to the shore. It was a relief to stop traveling for a while, although she knew she couldn't rest for long. If Toklo had been moving ever since Oka abandoned him, he could still be a long way away.

On the far side of the third lake, Lusa reached the dead forest that Oka had told her about. It was the scariest place she'd been since the firebeast path. The trees were nothing but black, hollow shells, and there were no leaves or berries on any of them. Her paws crunched softly on the dead twigs and ashes as she walked into it.

The strangest part was the silence. Lusa couldn't hear any birds or even the scrabbling of tiny animals in the dirt. There was nothing but the sound of her paws and the occasional hiss of the wind or a tree branch creaking. She shuddered, wondering what had happened to the bear spirits. It felt as if perhaps they were still here, clinging to the place where they had died for a second time. But not in a friendly way; instead, the brittle black trunks seemed to be watching her, waiting for her to get lost and stay there forever.

She didn't dare sleep in the dead forest. There were no bushes to shelter her, and the branches rattled and clacked noisily when the wind shook the dead trees. Lusa kept walking all night and far into the next day. She came to the dry riverbed, with the dead forest stretching around it on either side. Oka had been here. But would Toklo be anywhere nearby?

Lusa stepped into the riverbed and began to follow it. Her paws were sore and black with soot, but she kept going as night fell, determined to get out of that eerie place.

Halfway through the next day, as she was stumbling along on heavy, numb paws, she spotted green leaves growing on one of the trees. She pricked up her ears and trotted faster, searching for more signs of life. Sure enough, bits of green were peeking out of the bark on the next tree down, and the next, and ahead of her she spotted a tree with vines wound all the way around it. It felt as if the forest were waking up around her. As soon as she saw bushes covered in leaves, she scrambled up the riverbank to search for berries. But there
didn't seem to be any on these bushes, as if they'd been eaten off already. She searched the trees for any scratch marks indicating this was another bear's territory, but she couldn't find any.

By nightfall Lusa was back in a living forest, with the whispers of the bear spirits once again murmuring in the breeze. She found a hollow below some tree roots and collapsed into it, too tired even to climb the tree. A group of whorls in the bark beside her looked a bit like Stella, and she pressed her paw to the face, whispering, “Good night, Stella.” She hoped that most animals wouldn't come this close to the dead forest, and maybe that would keep her safe.

Lusa curled into a ball, feeling loneliness wash over her again. She had never thought it would take this long to find Toklo. Perhaps she would never find him. She remembered the vast landscape she could see from the top of the mountain, stretching all the way to the sky. The wild was just too big. Why did Lusa ever think she would be able to find the lost cub? She would have to learn to survive alone.

A cold nose was poking into
Toklo's fur. Toklo growled and opened his eyes.

“You came back!” Ujurak cried. The sun was pouring through the leaves and sparkling off the bubbles in the river beside them.

“Yeah, I did,” Toklo said. “But promise me you'll try really hard to stay a bear from now on. I don't want any more flat-faces or salmon or birds to deal with.”

Ujurak bounced on his paws. “I'll work on that,” he promised.

I hope so,
Toklo thought.

They climbed out of the forest into another meadow, dotted with flowers nodding in the rustling grass. The mountain loomed above them. There was hardly any snow left now, even at the top. As he stepped out of the trees, Toklo caught the smell of something musty. He glanced around and spotted a tuft of white hair snagged on a bush. He trotted over to
examine it more closely. It smelled like mountain goat, and his mouth watered at the thought of fresh prey.

“Ujurak,” he hissed. “This way.”

The cub stopped digging for worms and followed him, scrambling over the scattered rocks that had tumbled into the meadow from farther up the mountain. Toklo sniffed carefully, tracking the scent he had found on the hair. It led in a winding path around some bushes, where Toklo found scraps of leaves that had been ripped off as the goat grazed. These signs led him up a steep trail to the base of the rocky peak.

Toklo paused, looking around. The mountain soared into the sky, sharp-edged against the bright blue sky. Far above, Toklo could see small clouds floating past, as white and fluffy as the goat hair. He focused his gaze back on the mountain, following the rocks down and down, looking for movement.

“There!” he whispered to Ujurak. A black-and-white shape flickered among the rocks not far above them. It was the mountain goat…and it hadn't noticed them. It was grazing peacefully on the stubby grasses that sprouted between the boulders.

Toklo edged along the rocky path, his claws slipping on loose stones. It was impossible to hide the sound of his approach. The mountain goat's head popped up. It stared straight at him with its beady black eyes, chewing thoughtfully. And then, with a startling burst of energy, it leaped away, bouncing over the rocks like a leaf on the wind. Toklo growled.

“Let's get it!” Ujurak cried.

Toklo dug his paws in and chased after the goat, determined not to let it get away. This was the first live prey they'd seen in days, and he was getting very bored with eating roots and berries. He raced after the goat, ignoring the flashes of pain as rocks stabbed the pads of his paws. Ujurak wasn't behind him anymore, and he wondered where the other cub had gone. Well, he'd look for him after he'd caught the goat.

The mountain goat sprang over a boulder and darted around a narrow ridge of stone. When Toklo followed it, he saw the goat standing at the edge of a cliff. The meadow was a long way below them, so far that the flowers and the grass blurred together in a hazy green mist. He hadn't realized they were up so high. It would be a long way to fall if he slipped, and he shuddered, thinking about the grisly result at the bottom.

He skidded to a halt about three bearlengths from the goat, his paws kicking up a cloud of tiny stones. The goat eyed him warily, its hooves scrabbling close to the edge.
Surely it's not crazy enough to jump,
Toklo thought. The goat was so close, he could smell the blood pumping in its neck. It would be so easy to sink his teeth in and rip the life out of the goat, feasting enough to keep him strong for days.

But he couldn't risk it. The goat was more sure-footed up here than he was. If he tried to lunge at it, it could easily sidestep and send him plummeting over the edge. Toklo glared at the goat. He was exhausted, hungry, and frustrated, and there was nothing he could do but walk away from the only meal they'd seen in days.

There was a piercing shriek from the sky. Toklo looked up and saw a huge golden eagle swooping down, aiming straight for the goat. It sank its claws into the goat's back and dragged the animal off the cliff. With a bray of terror, the goat toppled over the edge, bounced off a couple of large rocks, and crashed to the side of the mountain below, on a gentle slope that led into the meadow.

Toklo sprinted down the mountain toward the fallen goat, leaping from boulder to boulder. As he got closer, the eagle swooped in and landed on the goat, digging its talons into its flesh. With a caw of triumph, the eagle stabbed at the prey with its beak and tore off a strip of meat.

“Hey!” Toklo shouted. “That's my prey! Get away from it!” He galloped up to the goat and stood up on his hind legs, roaring.

The eagle shook itself, and suddenly there was a shower of golden feathers onto the ground at Toklo's paws. Black fur sprouted along the eagle's back and down its legs as its wings shrank into sturdy round paws. And then Ujurak was standing there, panting and looking very pleased with himself.

“Did you see that?” he cried. “I chose what I wanted to turn into! And it was something useful! And I killed some prey for us!”

“Hmm,”
Toklo grunted. “Yes, all right, well done.”

Ujurak turned back to the goat, using his claws to peel off the skin. “I can't believe I did that!” he babbled. “I was chasing after you, and then I thought, wouldn't it be great if I could turn into something that could catch this goat easily,
and then I
did
! It was amazing!”

Toklo eyed Ujurak warily. “I still like you better as a bear.” It all seemed very unnatural to him, but he was too hungry to care how they'd caught their first real meal in days. He crouched beside Ujurak and tucked in.

 

A cool wind trailed through the dense forest, making the trees murmur and the leaves dance. It was late in the day, close to sunrest, and the air was heavy with the possibility of rain. Toklo's skin prickled under his fur, as if the fire from the sky was skittering along his whiskers. He kept his nose low to the ground as he led Ujurak through the woods, searching for food with half his attention while looking for shelter with the other half. They would need a warm, dry place to spend the night if a storm was coming.

He could smell something strange not far off, like burned trees and wood ash. Luckily their path led away from the scent; he didn't want to get closer to it unless he had to.

A small shape darted out from under a bush, and both bears jumped. Toklo realized it was a hare as it raced away. Ujurak let out a startled yelp, and Toklo turned around. Long ears were sprouting from the top of Ujurak's head as the cub shrank and his hind legs stretched and got skinnier, folding under his body.

“No, no!” Toklo yelled, but it was too late. Ujurak had turned into a hare—and not on purpose, Toklo was sure.

“Wait, stay there!” he commanded, but Ujurak-hare was already off and running in the direction the first hare had
gone. Toklo sighed, watching him disappear into the shadows. Now he wouldn't be able to kill and eat any hares, just in case it was that butterfly-brained cub.

A roar sounded from somewhere close by, and Toklo's fur stood on end. There was another bear in the woods!

Toklo leaped to his paws and started running. He burst into a clearing and saw a hare trapped against a stand of thick bushes. Facing it, claws outstretched, was a scrawny black bear cub about half Toklo's size. Her fur was thin and her roar was weak from hunger. She was clearly starving—and ready to eat anything, including the Ujurak-hare.

“NO!” Toklo bellowed, launching himself across the clearing. He bundled into the black bear, knocking her over and pinning her to the ground. She fought back, biting and scratching more fiercely than he had expected. For such a skinny bear, she had surprising strength.

“You can't eat that hare!” Toklo roared at her.

“Yes I can!” she yelped. “I caught it!” One of her paws swiped his nose, leaving a stinging claw-scratch on his muzzle.

“Ow!” he growled. He shoved her paws down and held her in place with his weight.

“Wait! Stop!”

Toklo glanced over his shoulder and saw that the hare had changed back into a bear cub. Ujurak was standing on his hind legs, waving his paws at the fighting cubs.

“Don't hurt her,” Ujurak pleaded. “Look at her. She's half starved—she's no threat to us. Let her go, Toklo.”

The black bear stopped struggling. Toklo looked back
down at her. She was staring at him with enormous eyes.

“You're Toklo?” she said.

“Y-yes,” he said.

The black bear scrambled out from underneath him and got to her paws. “I'm Lusa,” she said. “I've been looking for you.”