AN: I have to admit, and no offense to anyone, but I often felt scared about being judged for writing Disney-based stories but you know, a lot of them are really artistic with such a rich history. Although much different than my usual stories, I hope you enjoy this one. I hope to write for more Disney stories as well in the future.

This story takes place a few years following Brother Bear it does not include the sequel.

…..

Natural Predators

Chapter One: Your Own Story

It had been two and a half years since Kenai had placed his hand – no paw on the wall to mark his print and prove his 'manhood'. It had been two and a quarter years since Denahi had last seen his younger brother. The loneliness and knowledge of being a lone wolf was setting in. He was meant to reflect on the loss of his family. He sat on the mountain and overlooked the nature below him. His arms were wrapped around his knees. This was where he had last seen his brothers in their human forms. This was where he had acknowledged that life would never be the same and he had to follow his totem.

It just felt lonely to him. He took deep breaths as he wrapped his arms around his knees as if he were a scared child. Sitka had always been there to comfort him when he knew he had made a mistake. He had always fooled around with Kenai when he had no other outlet than to exert this energy.

Now he was alone.

As he sat there, he was approached by a man that he didn't recognize from his own village and his heart beat painfully in his chest as he stood. "I'm warning you," he said as he looked at the man defensively, "Your village may think that I'm weak in my determination to leave the bears alone but that is far from who I am."

"You feel that you are a warrior, but I have more knowledge than you do about the future, my boy," the man laughed and Denahi steadied his footing. He wasn't going to let anyone take advantage of him. He would protect the bears when he could but the most important bear to him was his brother who had chosen that lifestyle. He cared about Koda too but not to the extent of the bear who shared his blood.

"I feel that I don't have to listen to your analyzations," Denahi bit back as he looked at the man with the intensity that a wolf might possess.

"Your brother has tried to visit you in the past but a gentle bear makes a nice throw rug," the man said as Denahi's eyes narrowed and he struggled not to hit this stranger for attacking his family with such claims, "or at least the surrounding villages tend to think that."

"And what do you know about them?" Denahi whispered bitterly, "You dare to insult my brother again and I -"

"I know that your deepest wish is to see your brother again and to be able to talk to him again. If you follow my words and my plans for your future then I will bestow that gift upon you," the man said and Denahi laughed as he assumed a fighting position.

"You're a liar," he said as he spat onto the ground, "Get away from me now."

Denahi felt his body freeze as the man walked forward and touched his chest with one hand and his head with the other. Before Denahi could shake him off there was some type of light that he had felt within him.

"What have you done to me?" he growled as the man stepped back.

"You are to go on a journey where you will learn the magic needed to help your village and after that you will return and be given a special position within your community but first you must spend sixty days within nature to learn what you need to…" the man said and Denahi glared at him before hearing someone else close by.

"This will never do to climb up here. All the good food is gone. This is a waste of time," a voice said and Denahi spun around but froze as he saw a couple of raccoons. He saw their mouths move and heard the voices from in them. His eyes widened but he looked down at his arm where a tattoo was of a wolf facing a bear. Was this really happening?

"Human. There's a human up here," the second raccoon said and Denahi walked closer to them. He opened his mouth but the creatures had scurried away. He looked behind him to see the man had disappeared but his eyes caught onto an eagle soaring above him.

This was apparently the destiny that the spirits were giving him.

Okay, nature, sixty days, he could do this.

…

…..

Choosing an area next to the water, Denahi set up camp. Luxury wasn't important but he could at least have a tent and a blanket on which to sleep. He would have to follow the laws on the wilderness if he was to complete this journey that he had been told to go on. He looked up at the sky before going into the tent and drawing it closed.

Could animals stop talking? Being able to communicate with them all was giving him a little bit of a headache.

He soon closed his eyes as he fell asleep but managed to keep alert. The last thing that he wanted was to be attacked by some kind of animal.

…

…

"Okay," Denahi smiled to the bear who was lying down next to him and watching the river. "I want to see you catch salmon, little brother," he laughed as he rubbed Kenai behind the ear. "How will I know that you'll be okay if I don't see you feed yourself."

Kenai looked at him before giving a soft mutter and Denahi sighed.

"You have to try at least," he said. Kenai had made sure that Denahi knew he understood human speak but Denahi didn't have a clue on what his precious brother was saying. "Come on, how long have you been a bear? Less than a month? Don't feel embarrassed, okay? We can try again."

Kenai looked at him and rolled his eyes before approaching the river bank and putting his paw into the water hesitantly. He swiped down and scooped up a fish before throwing it on the ground behind him.

Denahi picked it up before going over to his brother and wrapping his arms around his shoulders as far as they could go. "Okay, maybe you're better than I thought," he said as he lost control of his strong offense and kissed Kenai on the head, getting fur in his mouth.

Kenai looked back at him with a smile before lightly pushing him backwards with his wet paw.

Denahi fell down, it didn't hurt at all and he saw Kenai looking over him with a smile. "Maybe you could teach me some of these bear things," he said, "I'm always willing to learn."

He saw Kenai lay down next to him and Denahi rolled to the side and wrapped his arms around the bear, playing with his ear. "I still love you, little brother," he said and Kenai growled again before his eyes started sliding shut. "Okay," Denahi smiled, "You get some rest, I'll keep watch."

…..

…..

"I'm telling you, back off!" a very familiar voice said and Denahi sat up. Kenai? He looked around to find that the tent was being surrounded by three much bigger bears. He had made a mistake in coming here. Why didn't he pick a cave or somewhere sensible. "This prey is mine. This hunter is mine. I found him first."

"You really think that you can take all of us on?" one of the bears said as Denahi watched the shadows.

"I'm not going to leave without trying. A bear has got to eat," he roared, "So back off! Leave!"

Denahi stood up, grabbing his hunting pikes. His eyes widened as he saw one of the other bears swipe at his brother's shadow. Was he really going to let them kill his baby brother in front of him?

Kenai backed away and entered the tent before looking at his brother. Denahi smiled faintly as he watched the bear and noticed that he had been injured. Kenai tried to wink at him, feeling that his brother wouldn't understand. There was something in his eyes which seemed to hint to the feeling that Denahi had forgotten about him. He would never forget his brother

Kenai approached him before pushing him down gently, making sure to pin him onto something soft which wouldn't injure his back. "Denahi," he growled, "I know you don't understand but you have to play dead. If these bears thi-"

"I can understand you," Denahi said as Kenai's eyes widened.

"What?" he asked stunned before shaking his head, "We can discuss this later. You have to act dead, okay?" he pleaded. "I need to pick you up," he said before opening his mouth but managing to cover his teeth. "It might sting," he warned him before Denahi lay down and Kenai picked him up in his mouth. Glad that they were able to coordinate the effort so that Denahi was limp.

Denahi kept his eyes closed as he felt Kenai running through there were a few attacks on them. Denahi couldn't look back at his brother but he knew that he was using all his energy up to protect him. It took about ten minutes or so until Denahi was on the ground, hopefully for a good reason.

"They won't find us here," Kenai said as he looked around at the cave, "Most bears are scared to enter this cave. They say it's haunted," he tried to explain as he pushed Denahi with his nose. He saw his brother struggle to push himself up and Kenai used his head to provide balance and support for his human brother.

"You saved my life," Denahi said before looking at the injuries. He had slept with his pack on in case he needed to run and he knew that there were some medical supplies in there. "Your leg," Denahi said as he started to wrap some bandages around it.

"Well, what are brothers for," Kenai smiled before looking at him excitedly, "You said you could understand me?" he asked before looking down, "Do you mean you can understand the words I'm saying or - do you just understand the growls? You remember that much about me?" he asked and Denahi continued to see to the wounds.

"I went to the top of the mountain. I met someone, an older man, he made a deal with me so yes, I can understand all the words you're saying," he said as Kenai slumped forwards in exhaustion. "Are you okay? Tell me where it hurts, can you stand?" he asked and Kenai looked at him.

"I've really missed you, Denahi," he said with a sigh. "All of that running took a lot out of me but I'm okay. Thank you for cleaning my wounds," he said as Denahi sat beside him and let his hand run through his brother's fur.

"What are brothers for?" he asked, "And I've really missed you as well. Speaking of brothers where's -"

"Koda's doing well for himself. Impressing a lot of the female bears right now. I believe that everyone's been telling me it's mating season though it's…it's been difficult for me to mate," he said as Denahi laughed.

"So I don't get to hear the pitter patter of little paws," he teased. Denahi looked straight ahead of him as he thought about the man's words, "Kenai….if I had known about the villagers," he said his voice coated with sadness. "I thought you had moved on, I thought that you had forgotten about me."

"Hunters' traps," Kenai said sadly. "I was scared for my life and it's not just the other villagers, there are people within your village who want to harm me. They think that my true form left when I became a bear. I hoped that they weren't seeing the difference but after the initial shock had passed, they wanted me to keep away. I heard them say that I was after their children. Children who used to look up to me."

"I'm sorry, if I had known that you had tried to come then -" Denahi whispered before hearing Kenai give a soft growl as his eyes closed.

"We're together now, do me a favor and keep an eye open for me? You might be targeted by other bears but we both know how dangerous human can be against those of us in the animal kingdom."

"You get some rest, little brother," Denahi told him. "I'll talk to you when you wake up," he said as he gently ran his hand over Kenai's head and looked into the darkness.

Thank the spirits for his brother.

End of Chapter One

Thank you so much for reading