Lush green grass tickled the three black bears' paws as they trekked across the open area, mountains looming in the distance and trees not too far ahead. Their ears twitched occasionally, as if expecting some sort of danger to pop out, but it was pleasant for now. The biggest of the three took in a deep breath, taking in the surrounding scents, and then exhaled slowly, a smile appearing onto her face. The two little cubs looked at her, puzzled, and inhaled too, realizing what their mother had scented. They started to bounce happily in joy, scampering around their mother in a haste to rush her. She let out a low growl, and pushed the oldest one, forcing him to stop running around like a hare.
"Taluk, stop hopping around like that, or you'll scare away all the prey." She advised him, quickly turning back and focusing on the trees ahead. Taluk huffed, giving his brother one last playful nip before pushing himself up. He followed his mother quietly, careful not to provoke her again. The young cub look behind him, staring at the other little bear as he hopped after them, still in his cheery mood.
"Full of pep..." Taluk muttered, slightly annoyed that his brother hadn't gotten the message as seriously as he did. "Pakoq, stop it! Didn't you hear mom?"
"I can play if I want!" The younger brother smiled, lifting his head up in defiance. The two crouched, as if ready to tackle and rip each other apart, before their mother snarled and pushed them away from each other.
"Stop fighting!" She snapped angrily, "Can't you see we're heading towards the forest for a reason? There's food in there! Look.. just... one of you stay on this side of me while the other stays on the other side." She pushed Taluk to her left, and Panoq to her right, shaking her head in annoyance. Taluk growled, peering around his mother's legs to take a quick peek at Panoq. Panoq just stared straight, obviously annoyed like him. The young cub let out a humph of anger, looking back at the tall trees, which were only a few bear-lengths away.
"Munaq..." Panoq let out a sudden whine, slowing his pace until he was behind her. "I'm hungry!"
"Shhh!" Munaq growled, ready to cuff her cub on the ear. "I though I said to be quiet! Do you want to eat?" Panoq shook his head eagerly, making Munaq sigh and shake her head. "Then stay here."
Taluk did as he was told, sitting onto the short grass as he watched their mom disappear into the trees to fetch dinner. Panoq sniffed, strolling up to his bigger brother.
"How about we continue our fight, bee-brain?" Panoq smirked, teasing Taluk. Taluk just snorted and turned his back on Panoq.
"I'm older than you! I know better!" Taluk frowned, trying his best to ignore Panoq, but he kept on talking.
"Yeah, only a little bit older! You're still a little cub, like me!" The small black bear chuffed, circling Taluk as his stumpy tail wagged in pleasure. "I bet I'm as strong as you are, or even better! I can leap across huge lakes and take down firebeasts with just a glare!"
"As if." Taluk huffed, still facing away from Panoq. He didn't want to give his younger sibling what he wanted, instead he'd do the opposite. His ears twitched, sensing the movement Panoq made. He could tell that he was still circling him, just waiting for him to explode in outrage. I'm not a tiny little newborn anymore! Don't give in!
He already knew he'd do it. The black bear cub leaped, tackling the oldest cub. Taluk gasped, pushed into the ground by the strong push. His muzzle practically dug into the ground like a shovel, making him sneeze. Taluk felt stinging pain in his back where his brother repeatedly pummeled him with his tiny paws, not giving up. Taluk let out a loud roar, not minding that his mother was hunting anymore as he rammed into Panoq, pinning him onto the ground and letting out a low snarl.
"Stop it, you stupid idiot!" Panoq panted, squirming around as he tried to escape Taluk's grasp. Taluk whacked him on the ear, and then released him, galloping about a few bear-lengths away until he thought he was far enough away from Panoq. Suddenly, the bushes lining the edge of the forest rustled loudly, as a huge black bear appeared, charging after them.
Munaq shouted angrily, her eyes burning with fury, "What did I tell you!? I told you to be quiet! Couldn't you have stayed quiet for a few minutes!? I almost caught a huge juicy deer until you started bickering!" She panted as she stopped bellowing, her fur matted with dirt as she glared at her two cubs. Panoq gulped nervously, not saying a word, but Taluk just raised his head and sniffed.
"He started it, mom." He muttered, pointing at his brother, who shot a burning glare at him. Munaq growled, staring directly at Taluk.
"Shut up, okay?" She snapped. "No more arguing, please? It's not worth it!"
Taluk snarled, raising his head, "But, but mom!" However Munaq quickly silenced him, nipping at his ear.
"I said I don't want to hear it! Thanks to you two, we'll have to go hungry for the night." The mother bear grumbled, looking away from them as she trudged onward without looking back. "Come on..."
Panoq just stared at his brother, the both of them looking angered and scared at the same time. Panoq was the first one to quickly jump up and follow the she-bear, as Taluk slowly tagged along behind them, his ears pinned down to his skull as he stared forward. The three bears marched forward, their black pelts quivering in the bright sunlight as the winds kicked up a bit. Taluk looked up, sniffing the air with intense concentration. He could smell deer, but he guess by the opacity of the scent that the deer had run off. It's Panoq's fault for making mom miss the hunt..
After about what seemed like a moon of walking, Munaq sighed, "Come down.." She sounded a lot gentler this time, all hints of aggression now gone. She stopped and looked at the two little bears, smiling softly. "Let's not stay mad forever, we're all just exhausted and hungry. How about we get some rest for the night?"
"Yeah!" Panoq suddenly squeaked, jumping up and down in the air. "I'm tired!"
"You don't seem tired.." Taluk growled, struggling just to stay up on his paws as sleep tried to overtake him right on the spot. His mother nudged him to get him awake, and stood back up, staring at the golden horizon as the sun started to dip down, half covered.
"Follow me." She turned, slowly making her way towards a small clump of large trees, their green leaves shaking as a small breeze rolled in, tickling their fur and blowing a familiar scent into their noses. The eldest cub shivered, realizing that rain was on the way. Munaq and Panoq knew too, as they all began hustling, jumping into the cover of the vegetation. Munaq whoofed, hoping that that would keep other bears out during the night, as she began searching around for a good place to sleep. She soon spotted a large tree with a hole inside, just big enough for the three of them. She nosed Panoq and Taluk in first, and then followed, squeezing into the packed den.
"Ow! Taluk, you're crushing my paw!" Panoq complained, flinching as pain flashed through his little paw. "Get off!"
Taluk rolled his eyes, positioning himself to where he wasn't crushing his little brother anymore, but then the cub yawned and stretched over his back, quickly falling asleep as soon as he got comfortable. "Just perfect... such a hypocrite.."
Munaq has curled up and smiled, keeping one eye open as she watched Taluk with amusement. "You know, Taluk, he's your little brother. You should show him more respect."
"But mom!" He whispered in complaint, his ears perked up as he stared at his mother, "He's such a little pipsqueak, and he's always trying to pick a fight with me!"
"I don't care." She replied, rubbing her nose. "He's still your sibling, no matter how he acts or what he does. I'm sure if you respect him, he'll treat you with respect as well. Remember that as the golden rule, little one." She flicked Taluk's nose playfully with one of her claws, and chuffed as Taluk smiled a bit.
"Fine, but if that doesn't work out, I'll treat him as if he's such a pile of rocks." He yawned, his eyes growing droopy with tears, as another yawn flew out of his mouth. He rested his head onto his paws, licking his jaws as he felt the darkness of sleep surround him, and take him away into wonderful and sweet dreams.
Taluk snarled, feeling a large paw jabbing into his side. He snapped awake, immediately leaping into a defensive stance, but relaxed when he saw it was just Munaq. Munaq motioned him toward the entrance, telling him to stay quiet as she led him deeper into the woods. Panoq quickly woke up, running after them until he managed to catch up, and slowed down to a slow trot, the two cubs following their mother.
"Where are we going?" Panoq asked, but was silenced almost immediately by Munaq, as she kept on sneaking through the undergrowth. Soon, they reached a small creek, a tiny herd of deer standing on it's banks with their heads dipped low in the cold water.
"Prey.." She murmured. "If you stay quiet, you can watch and see how a real bear hunts." Panoq nodded, struggling not to squeak with excitment. Taluk huffed quietly, watching as his brother kept fidgeting, until he finally stopped. Munaq slowly crept out, creeping around the herd as she slunk past trees and stayed in the covers of the foliage. Once she knew she was close enough, she dug her claws into the ground, and then pushed off with her powerful hind legs, letting out a terrifying roar as she landed on top of a startled doe. The doe let out a shriek, struggling as it tried to wriggle free, but Munaq easily finished it off, sinking her sharp teeth into it's neck and twisting it around, causing the prey to fall limp in her jaws. The dead doe's herdmates panicked, running off in a mad haste to escape, as their hooves thumped against the ground and splashed in the water, the noise quickly fading away as they soon disappeared.
"Nice catch!" Panoq squealed, tumbling out from their hiding place as Taluk followed. The three bears smiled, staring at the delicious food in front of them, as they dipped their heads and ate until they couldn't eat anymore.
"Let's go..." Munaq stood up, leaving the carcass behind as she trudged up the steep hill from where she leaped from. Her two sons followed closely behind, their paws pressing softly into the dirt as they left the forest behind. Munaq kept her head high in pride, leading them north for what seemed like an eternity.
Soon, they saw what they had been heading for, a large lake in the distance, glittering as if it greeted them.
"We've made it to Great Bear Lake."