A bird shot upward right underneath Toklo’s paws, chattering crossly at him as it landed on a branch. Toklo halted, panting and glancing from side to side to make sure that no other bears had spotted him being so foolish. Oka and Tobi are dead. It’s just me now.

Toklo took a deep breath and dug his claws into the ground. That’s fine. I’m glad to be alone.

He was pleased with what he’d seen of the forest so far. There wasn’t a big river where he could catch salmon – or at least he hadn’t found one yet – but there were streams to drink from and plenty of signs of other prey. He picked up a trace of ground squirrel scent, and his jaws watered at the thought of succulent newkill.

As Toklo emerged into a clear patch on the hillside, he heard a thrumming noise from above the trees. His fur prickled as he cast a wary glance into the sky and spotted a metal bird skimming over the treetops. Then he relaxed as the sound died away, leaving the forest peaceful once more.

Dismissing the metal bird from his mind, Toklo gazed at the forest around the grassy meadow. All this could be my territory, he thought. My home.

A raucous cry from behind him startled him out of his thoughts. He turned to spot a woodpecker clinging to a tree trunk a couple of bearlengths away. Its pale head and spotted feathers stood out clearly against the rough bark.

‘Er . . . hi there,’ Toklo muttered, a bit embarrassed to be talking to a bird. ‘Do you know you’re in my territory?’

‘Chawk!’ the bird replied.

‘I guess you don’t know, or care,’ Toklo went on. ‘But it’s true.’ All those moons of travelling, all the bare and hungry places he had passed through, had brought him here to this place, where he could be a true brown bear. ‘Not a black bear. Not a white bear,’ he informed the bird. ‘A brown bear. The way I was always meant to be.’

‘Chawk!’ said the bird.

As the harsh cry died away, the forest seemed to grow still around Toklo. In the silence, a shiver passed through him. The forest is very big. It’ll take me ages to explore . . .

‘But that’s OK,’ he said aloud, trying to sound confident. ‘I’ve got plenty of time.’

The first thing, he realised, was to make a den. A proper den, not just a temporary place to shelter under a bush or beside a rock. He tried to picture what Oka had done when she had built them a den. Toklo remembered his burning resentment that he had to stay and learn what to do while Tobi was allowed to go off and chase beetles.

Furious with Oka and his brother, Toklo hadn’t paid much attention. He had never imagined that Oka would leave him so soon.