Chapter 1: The Beginning

"With one final heave, Vera swung the obstinate bucket over the last unruly hedge and into the clearing. The little bear cub breathed in deeply, happily. Berries. The air was thick with their rich, sweet scent. Eagerly, she made for the nearest bush and tugged the morsels free, popping almost as many into her mouth as she dropped into the bucket. She knew that she was staining her cream colored coat with red berry juice, and that Mother would tease her for splurging on a second breakfast – but she could worry about that later. Right now, the summer berries were just irresistible.

Vera thrust her paw deeper into the bush, knowing that the sweetest berries were often the best hidden. She felt along the rough branch for the soft yet firm flesh…
Something warm and furry collided with her outstretched paw. Not a moment later, the Thing she had touched within the bush was screaming—

"Aaaaah!" shouted Vera in terror, scrambling away.

In her haste, Vera stumbled and fell, then sprang back up again. She fled to the nearest tree, crashing noisily through the undergrowth, and flung herself behind it. The Thing didn't seem to have followed her: The only sounds were the bubbling songs of the sparrows, the soft yet immense rustling of the leaves above her head, the hammering of her heart, and the ragged rhythm of her breath.

She waited a minute, and then dared to peer around the trunk of her tree to look at the berry bush. Sure enough, she saw that a small pair of eyes, frightened and watchful, hung among the thick green bristles. Before she could duck out of sight again, the eyes found her – and then they widened in alarm and retreated into the darkness.

The Thing was afraid of her!

Cautiously, the bear cub made her way back to the bush, making sure to take only a few steps at a time. She could see that the eyes were still there, and that they were growing more and more nervous as she drew closer to their hiding place. Finally, she stopped when she was four paces away, and cocked her head to one side, in an unconscious gesture of curiosity.

"How come…you're afraid of me?"

Two silvery eyes gazed apprehensively back at her.

"It's okay," Vera breathed, drawing nearer. "You can come out now – I'm not gonna hurt you."

The creature inside seemed to retreat farther into the bush.

"Come on, little guy," the bear cub coaxed. "How long have you been in there? Don't you want to come out and play?"

The eyes widened. Vera thought she could see that they belonged to a small, strange face.

"That's it," she said encouragingly as the little face drew nearer, as if it was daring to take a peek. "I won't hurt you. My name's Vera, and I like you."

The little creature poked its head free of the prickly branches – briefly, but long enough for Vera to realize that it had beautiful purple fur, and a small aqua and blue mane. Involuntarily, the bear cub gasped and clapped her berry-stained paws over her mouth. Startled, the little creature ducked back out of sight.

"But you're a baby!" Vera squealed in delight. "Awww…how cute!" When no answer came from the bushes, she went on, "Oh, I'm sorry – I scared you again, didn't I? I didn't mean it. You can come out and I won't say a thing, I promise."

For a moment, nothing happened. But just as Vera was about to sigh and give up, the little creature emerged again, his chubby little face now more curious than afraid.

"That's it," whispered Vera as the strange cub gazed solemnly back at her. "I knew you'd be my friend. Now why don't you come out? You can have some berries," she added hopefully.

Shyly, the little cub shook himself free of the branches. Now that she could see him clearly, Vera had no idea what sort of a creature he was. He had pointed ears that sat on top of his head, rather than on either side of it; and his tail was made completely of very long, thick fur. Yet he seemed to have the same body structure as she did, and he stood erect on his hind legs, just as she did. But Vera knew what it felt like to look different from everyone else, and so she didn't comment on how strange his appearance was to her. Besides, he seemed barely older than a toddler: He was no bigger than an average forest hare, and his face still harbored some of the last traces of infanthood. Smiling, she shared with him a few of her precious berries, and he clumsily tore the first open with uncoordinated fingers.

"Here," she said, placing a second pawful in his lap. "You can finish these, and then we can find your mommy together, okay?"

At this, the little cub opened his mouth, but almost immediately changed his mind as his lips began to tremble.

"What's wrong, little guy? Don't you want to go back to your mommy?"

The cub nodded, but his eyes were full of an anguish he should have been too young to understand. Vera frowned in consternation: The look on his face was unmistakable. She had seen it only once before, when she found a two-week-old rabbit kitten whose parents had been eaten alive by Vultures. "Oh," she murmured, her eyes filling with an uncomfortable mixture of pity and horror. "You've lost your mommy, haven't you?" She didn't wait for her companion to answer. Instead, she went on, as brightly as she could, "Don't worry, little guy – you're safe now. Nothing will hurt you ever again, not while you're in this forest."

She was only met with round-eyed bewilderment.

"Tell you what – you can live with me and my mommy! It'll be wonderful! We can play hide and seek, and tell each other stories, and play Vines, and we can eat all the berries we want. Would you like that?"

The excitement in Vera's voice seemed to do the little cub some good. Or, at least, his small pointed ears perked up, and to Vera he seemed to look somewhat more hopeful.

"Good!" the bear cub smiled, delighted. "We can go find her together. Come on!"

At that, Vera sprang up to her feet and waited for her new friend to do the same – but all he did was stare at her. "Come on!" she said coaxingly.

But the little cub's eyes were darting back and forth to and from the berry bush he had been hiding in not long before. He started edging towards it, attempting to drag her with him. Vera realized that he was shaking.

"Aw, you're still scared, aren't you?" she said softly. Keeping her grip on his paw, she drew herself up to her full height, and she said as authoritatively as she could,

"Look little guy – don't be afraid. Nothing's gonna hurt you here! This forest is magic! Not even No Heart can get you in here." She gestured proudly to the stately trees and vines around her, her eyes bright with childish trust. Suddenly wind gushed over the quiet branches, animating them with far more life than they had harbored a moment before. The loud rustling of the leaves, the treble of the birds perched on the twigs high above, and the chirping of the chipmunks from within the hidden recesses of the bark all swelled into a crescendo, as if singing their agreement with Vera's statement. The little purple cub stopped edging away and blinked up at her again, this time in awe.

"See?" she whispered. "They're all protecting us."

The bear cub smiled at her little companion's wide-eyed astonishment as the forest continued to serenade them with its majestic song. And then like a contented sigh, the wind died down, and the trees were once again the silent, stately pillars that kept vigil over them both.
As the last of the warbling birds fluttered away, Vera found herself hesitating for a moment. But then, when she saw that the little cub was still gazing wonderingly at the trees, she asked shyly, "You wanna come?"

The cub finally nodded, slowly yet firmly, and then tightened his grip on her paw. Grinning in delight, Vera began to pick her way towards the hedge, leading her new friend through the undergrowth. As he fell into step beside her, she began to chatter away about her life in the forest – about how wonderful her mommy was, what it was like to live in a cave, and how much fun it would be to have a new brother. Suddenly, she stopped in her tracks, tilting her head to one side.

"By the way – what's your name?"

The kindness in her voice seemed to have brought some order back into the cub's torn little life. It was probably this, more than anything else, that finally allowed him to speak for the first time.

"I'm Ar – "

Before he could finish, he quickly clamped both paws over his mouth.

"Art? That's what your name is?"

Slowly, with wide, frightened eyes, the little cub nodded.

For a moment, Vera frowned; she knew without a doubt that she had just been told a lie. But seeing the frightened vulnerability in her new companion's face, she decided that now was not the time to press him, or he might just dive right back into the bushes where she had found him. "Okay Art – let's go find my mommy!"