Toklo shook his head. “We need to find leaves for Yakone, and food for all of us,” he reminded Lusa. And when the mother bear turns up, she might not believe that we’re only playing.

As Toklo padded away, followed reluctantly by Lusa, the feelings of amusement and admiration he had felt for the cubs faded, and black depression crept over him.

Bear cubs shouldn’t have to hide when their mother goes hunting! They should be able to play, and learn how to hunt for themselves, like Tobi and I did. This should be bear territory, but it’s turned into a forest of wolves.

Chapter Ten - Lusa

CHAPTER TEN

Lusa

Lusa dug down into the ground and unearthed a pawful of juicy fern roots. “Tasty!” she mumbled as she chewed them.

She was keeping a lookout among the trees beside the den, while Toklo hunted and Kallik watched over Yakone. Three sunrises had passed since Lusa returned with the flat-face herbs, and the white bear still did nothing but sleep. Lusa had given him the rest of the white seeds, and dressed his wound again with the green sticky stuff. There was no more pus oozing out of it, although it still looked red and angry. But Yakone hadn’t moved and didn’t seem to want to wake up. Kallik was starting to look exhausted with worry, and Lusa was afraid she would get sick, too.

She turned over a fallen tree branch and licked up the grubs that she found underneath, then padded in a wide circle around the den, sniffing the air for wolves and looking for their pawprints.

“Nothing,” she murmured with a sigh of relief.

As she approached the den once more, she heard Kallik calling out, her voice full of excitement. “Lusa! Are you there? Come and see who’s awake!”

Lusa scrambled down into the den to see Yakone half sitting up. He was chewing on a squirrel bone from a recent catch of Toklo’s, and he looked much better, though he had a confused expression in his eyes.

“How do you feel?” Lusa asked him, exchanging a delighted glance with Kallik.

“Strange,” Yakone replied, rubbing one paw over his ears. “Like someone’s given me a new head. Everything feels like it’s under water.”

“And your paw?” Lusa prompted him.

Yakone looked down at the injured paw, still in its leaf wrapping. “I haven’t looked yet,” he admitted.

“Come on.” Lusa gave him a gentle shove. “You know you have to one day. It might as well be now.”

“Do you remember what happened?” Kallik asked.

“I remember the trap,” Yakone growled with a shudder. “And I know I lost half my paw. But I don’t really remember what the wound looks like.”