‘Uh . . . thanks . . . Lusa.’ Ujurak’s confusion vanished as he stood in front of her and dropped the prey at Lusa’s paws. Of course he knew who she was, and the other two bears padding up to him were his friends Toklo and Kallik. The long legs he had as a wolf had rapidly outdistanced them. ‘Come and share,’ he invited them.

Toklo growled his thanks as he tore off a part of the goose and retired a couple of paces to flop down and eat the newkill. Ujurak waited for the she-bears to take their share before he settled down to eat too. The goose was a fat one, and there was enough to share among all of them. It tasted delicious, warm in Ujurak’s belly.

‘Thish ish – mmmm – won-erful!’ Kallik said, chewing enthusiastically. She raised her head and sniffed at the air. ‘Can you smell the ice? Soon the sea will freeze closer to shore, and I’ll be able to get back to the white bears’ feeding grounds.’

‘But . . . there’s no . . . shelter . . . on the ice,’ Lusa objected, her mouth full of juicy meat. ‘The wind will blow you into the sea.’

‘No, we dig dens in the snow,’ Kallik explained. ‘Then we curl up together, and it’s so cosy!’ Ujurak saw a shadow of sadness creep into her eyes, and he wondered if she was remembering her old life with her brother and mother. Kallik blinked, and the shadow vanished. ‘And we hunt for seals through holes in the ice. You’ve never tasted anything as delicious as seal!’

‘I’ll settle for the brown earth under my paws, and the prey I can catch on it.’ Toklo jerked his head toward a distant ridge that was thickly covered with trees. Ujurak could see birds wheeling over it and sensed the throbbing life of small animals under the branches. ‘That’s the best sort of place for brown bears – right, Ujurak?’

‘Right,’ Ujurak replied.

‘Look at all those trees,’ Lusa said, pawing a feather from her muzzle. Her dark eyes sparkled with anticipation as she looked across at the tree-clad ridge. ‘I love sleeping in the branches, with the sound of the wind and the bear spirits close by.’

Toklo tore off another mouthful of goose flesh. ‘What – mmm – I like about . . . this . . . place,’ he said, gulping it down and swiping his tongue around his jaws, ‘is no flat-faces. No BlackPaths. No firebeasts. No flat-face dens.’

‘Just open land and sea, wherever you look,’ Kallik said.

‘And all the prey we can eat,’ Toklo added.

Lusa sprang to her paws. ‘What should we do next?’ she asked. ‘I want to find a tree to spend the night.’

‘Let’s rest for a bit.’ Toklo batted a paw at the eager little bear. ‘There’s plenty of time.’