A Bear Named Boo

Rigel

I panted as I struggled to keep up, partly because Rigel's pace was furiously fast, and partly because pain in my hind leg made me short of breath.

Rigel led us along the side of the lake, up to the northern edge. They must have caught Avani, I realized with a sinking heart. He's taking us to her so he can question us all together... and then kill us. 

One of Rowan's eyes was swollen nearly shut. I licked it clumsily as we hurried forward, miserable that she'd been hurt because of me, and worried that this was just the beginning.

The look she gave me warmed my heart and almost made me forget my pain and fear. Almost.

By the time we passed the lake the brief twilight was over. The swamp was far behind, and a golden sun glowed on the horizon beyond a craggy wall of rock in the distance.

We marched past trees that were no more than dark whiskers against chalky white soil. Squinting against the dust borne by a fierce wind, I scanned the area for some sign of Avani or the Grizzlies who had pursued her.  

Abruptly, at the edge of the last stunted trees that bordered a desert-dry stretch of earth, Rigel stopped. He sat, staring at the distant cliffs.

"My daughter was the last Grizzly to cross the border," he said. "She was the last peace emissary."

Rowan and I exchanged a baffled look. A few of Rigel's bears shifted impatiently as they waited for their leader's orders. With his back to us, the wind battering the rough fur on his back, Rigel sat motionless. 

"Did you find Avani?" I blurted out, impatient to know what was happening.

He regarded Rowan and I with eyes as dark as pitch. 

"You have been found consorting with one of the enemy. The punishment for putting us all at risk is death."

My skin tingled unpleasantly, but I suppose I'd been expecting this. Oddly, I didn't feel afraid. I felt detached from my body, as though I was watching myself from a distance.

"So you didn't find Avani," I stated, surprising even myself with my boldness.

Someone cuffed me. My cheek blazed with pain - the bear had hit me exactly where someone else had already left an open scrape. 

"However," Rigel continued, as though nothing had happened. "This is a unique situation."

I shook my head to stop my ears from ringing. 

"We think Avani has been north before," Rigel said. "And we think she was returning this time with a gift for the White Bears. Perhaps as some sort of trade, or initiation."

Rowan and I looked at each other, sharing one expression of disbelief.

"A gift?" I queried. "She didn't have anything with her. We travelled for suns together. I think we would have noticed."

"She had you."

"What, I'm a gift?" I snorted, unable to help myself. "You think... what, you think she was going to sacrifice me or something?"

Rigel wordlessly met my gaze.

My stomach seemed to collapse in on itself.

If Avani really wanted to be accepted; if she really wanted to join the White Bears, what better way for her to prove her loyalty than to bring them a Grizzly?

"I think Avani suspected you would be a valuable gift. I have the same suspicion. If I'm wrong, the White Bears will kill you for us. If I'm right... Maybe there's a chance we can open peace talks once more."