Author's Notes: First of all I would like to thank guest reviewer reader-san for their lovely review. I'm glad you like this story so far, and oddly enough you had a lot of the same ideas I have for this story. I suppose great minds work alike, LOL! Of course to keep up with pacing Ranger Tabes won't be introduced immediately, but she will eventually be included :)

Anyway, thank you to everyone who is reading this story. I know We Bare Bears isn't the most popular fandom on this site, but every view counts to me. I hope you like this chapter, and now onward with the story! :)

Chapter 3

Always Prepared

Adulthood

"Woohoo!" Grizz shouted as he cannonball'ed into a pristine lake.

Charlie and Panda watched from the sidelines to see how long it would take Grizz to pop his head out of the water this time. About thirty seconds later Grizz reemerged with a long light grey fish in his mouth.

"H, guhs! I cau' uh pk!" Grizz mumbled; his mouth full of struggling fish.

"That's great, Grizz!" Charlie shouted encouragingly as Grizz slowly made his way to the muddy shore, "You da bear!"

Panda just watched Grizz lumber his way back with his pike and ate a sprig of chickweed with the root still attached to the plant. Grizz spit out the fish and handed it to Charlie, who then ran off to give it to Ice Bear to cook for their dinner.

"Hey, no fair Pan Pan!" Grizz shouted when he saw what Panda was doing, "You're eating before everybody else!"

"It's not eating Grizz, it's medicine," Panda defended, "It's for my allergies. Also, you know I wouldn't eat the fish anyway. I'm a vegetarian."

"Well you should still wait for us," Grizz huffed as he crossed his arms, "I'm sure Little Bro is making you something special too."

"Yeah, he always does," Panda said fondly, "Okay, Okay. I'll eat the rest of my chickweed after dinner. I can wait. We've only been in this national park for a few days anyway."

"Yeah, I gotta say this one is even more beautiful than the last place we stayed," Grizz declared before breathing in some mountain air, "Ahh, the smell of cedar."

"To be fair it isn't hard to beat our last home," Panda smiled wryly, "Considering it was a desert. Seriously, I will be so happy to not eat fried cactus anymore! If I never see another cactus it'll be too soon."

"Yeah, and that bone marrow stew was pretty disgusting too," Grizz said as he stuck his tongue out, "It looked like jello! Nothing that looks like jello should taste so salty! It messes with my head."

"Come on, let's just go see how everyone else is doing," Panda suggested as he started walking toward their campfire.

The two bears walked on in companionable silence through the underbrush and pond weeds. Grizz was in better shape and would often have to stop to wait for Panda, who struggled to keep up. Panda got thwacked in the face with a marsh reed and adjusted his round glasses to keep from losing them. It was the third pair he had owned in five years and he knew just how difficult they were to replace when broken. The family of woodland giants wouldn't go near a human campsite unless absolutely necessary.

When the duo made it back to their fire they saw Ice Bear swiftly chopping up the now cooked fish with two knives he had snagged a few years ago from a mugger they ran into at Yellowstone. Yeah, Yellowstone was an overcrowded tourist trap and the bears promised to never go back there again. Their dad sat near the fire and clapped whenever Ice Bear did a fancy trick move while slicing.

"Mm, that smells great!" Grizz moaned as he took his seat next to Charlie. Panda sat next to Grizz and watched as Ice Bear scooped up the fish onto flattened tree bark and then added some honey glaze over top for flavor. He handed Charlie and Grizz their fish, and then handed Panda his own plate.

"Ooh, pinecone rosettes with berry sauce. Nice!" Panda exclaimed when he saw his intricately crafted meal, "This'll go great with my chickweed."

"Berry sauce is made from blueberry and juniper," Ice Bear told him before getting his own fish plate and sitting down on the other side of Charlie, "Ice Bear made rope from plastic bottles today."

"That's great!" Charlie commented happily, "Now we can climb anywhere we want. Well, I can. You guys are pretty good climbers already. What did you do today, Pan Pan?"

"I found the perfect piece of maple wood for my new art project!" Panda said excitedly, "This time I'm going for a 3 dimensional piece rather than my usual flat carvings. Oh, Little Bro! I was wondering if you could make me a new knife when you get a chance. I need something very fine and sharp for things like hair and whiskers."

"Ice Bear is on it," Ice Bear replied stoically.

"Hey Panda, what ever happened to that Coke doll you made that looked like a ladybug?" Grizz asked; his mouth full of honey fish.

"It's called a Kokeshi doll, and I gave it to my raccoon friend back in Oklahoma," Panda replied, "So Dad, how long do you think we should stay here? This place is pretty secluded. I don't even know where we are."

"Uh, I figure another few weeks, maybe a couple months if nobody bothers us," Charlie guesstimated, "Yeah, it is pretty nice here. Lots of fish and wetlands."

"Also beehives," Ice Bear pointed out in his quick monotone voice.

"Yeah, it's perfect!" Grizz declared, "Deep enough to swim, and calm enough to not drown. I could stay here forever!"

"Yeah, it has a pretty decent variety of berries too," Panda commented with a small smile.

"You know it!" Grizz agreed enthusiastically, "Well anyway, my food's gone. I think I'll go explore some more. Anybody want me to bring back anything?"

"Ice Bear needs more materials for supplies," Ice Bear replied, "No candy wrappers."

"Yeah, if you see any peeling trees let us know," Panda added, "We have enough plates but I could use some more canvases for my drawings. Oh, and if you see any pieces of charcoal lying around-!"

"Yeah, I know. I got your back, Pan Pan," Grizz replied goodnaturedly, "You need anything, Pop?"

"Not really," Charlie replied, "I just need some shut eye. We've been doing a lot of walking lately, and my dogs are barking! Goodnight, fellas."

"Goodnight? There's still a little daylight left!" Grizz whined.

"Don't bother him, Grizz!" Panda reprimanded, "If Dad wants to sleep it's okay. Goodnight Dad."

"Goodnight, Pan Pan," Charlie replied drowsily as he laid his body down on the soft mossy ground, "Goodnight Grizz, goodnight Icy."

"Night, Pop," Grizz reluctantly said.

"Pleasant dreams, Father," Ice Bear replied formally as he cleared away the mess from their dinner.

As Charlie drifted off Grizz took off into the woods. He wasn't about to waste the precious daylight they had left. Panda meanwhile helped Ice Bear collect their tree bark dishes so they could take them into the water and wash them. They would likely also drink some water while they were down there.

Grizz was power walking through the forest with a confident smile and an attitude that said he was ready for whatever came his way. This was just the kind of woods that Grizz preferred. No trails, no hiding, no scaring campers for their supplies, and no strange noises. It was just the sounds of birds, bugs, and the occasional scratching from a forest animal. Just the kinds of things Grizz could handle.

"Hmm, I wonder if those squirrels we met the other day wanna hang out," Grizz thought aloud as he stopped to look around.

Out of all the bear brothers Grizz was the most likely to make friends with the local fauna. He loved making new friends, and it seemed like everywhere they went there were new friends to meet. Charlie shared Grizz's enthusiasm, so they would often be the ones to introduce the rest of the family. Grizz still remembered that one family of wild boars that helped them find the best fruit trees in exchange for a cut. He and his pop had been the only ones that even wanted to talk to them since Panda thought they looked scary and Ice Bear didn't trust them, but in the end it paid off.

Grizz stepped on something thin that crumpled under his foot, and he stopped to see what it was. It was a piece of litter paper that had a picture of a missing child on the front. The part that was important to Grizz however was that the paper was blank on the back.

"Aha! Panda will love this!" Grizz declared, "It's not often he gets to draw with real paper. I'd better get this back to our spot."

Grizz was just about to go back to their plot of land to give Panda the paper when he heard an unfamiliar sound. It sounded like something squeaky was breathing irregularly, so Grizz stood very still to try to figure out what it was. After a few seconds Grizz recognized the noise as the sound of a human child crying. Grizz was used to hearing humans scream in fear of him and his brothers, but he hadn't heard the soft sound of a pitiful cry since he was a cub. He had to check this out.

Grizz followed the sound deeper into the woods. He didn't know what a human would be doing out here. There was no trail for miles, and no campsite. If a human came here they would probably just get hopelessly lost. Then Grizz realized whoever it was probably was lost.

He finally found a tiny human huddled next to a tree. It appeared to be Caucasian with short blonde hair. Grizz thought it was a girl, but he couldn't tell for sure. Either way the kid was dirty and so absorbed in misery that Grizz's presence went unnoticed. This kid also looked injured, as it was wearing gauze over one hand and an eyepatch. Grizz smiled, since he thought the kid looked like a pirate.

"Hey, kid!" Grizz announced himself loudly in hopes of not scaring the child.

His tactic had the opposite effect however as the child was startled upright. When the kid saw Grizz, it only made the panic worse.

"Ah, a bear!" The girl screeched; by now Grizz was sure it was a girl, "Stay back, Bear! I'm warning you!"

The kid then raised her arms as high as she could and howled loudly to try to intimidate Grizz.

"Uh...What are you doing?" Grizz asked in befuddlement.

"I'm making myself bigger to scare you away. Rawr!" The child exclaimed fiercely despite being a sixth the size of Grizz.

"Heh heh, good luck!" Grizz scoffed, "I'm a bear, not a baby deer. I already know I'm the baddest thing in this forest. You can't scare me. Now, just run on home to your mommy and your barbecue grill, and I'll forget this ever happened."

"I...I can't," The kid replied as she struggled to not choke up, "I got lost from my troupe. I've been here for three days all by myself. I tried to ration my provisions, but I only brought enough for one day. I ran out of food and water some time ago, and the cold nights are starting to make me sick. Listen, if you're gonna eat me, just do it quickly, okay? The only weapon I have is a pocket knife, and that won't help me against something as big and fat as you."

"Hey, I am not fat!" Grizz snapped in offense, "Also, uh...what's a troupe?"

"You know, the Poppy Rangers," The girl replied proudly, "We're the best junior survivalists in all of California! I've been in the Poppy Rangers for almost a year now, and my little sister joined recently too. By the way, my name's Wallace."

"Some survivalist. It's been three days and you're already a wreck," Grizz snorted, "You can't survive out here alone. You humans don't belong here. This is nature, my domain. You belong in a school or a restaurant or something."

"Hey, I can too survive out here!" Wallace contested, "Ranger Tabes lives out in the woods at the ranger station, and she knows the place like the back of her hand. I'm gonna be just like her someday."

"Not if you stay out here and freeze," Grizz pointed out.

Wallace growled and was about to argue the point some more, but then she started sneezing uncontrollably. Grizz watched her tiny body lurch as she sneezed, and then watched as she shivered from the cold when she had recovered. He felt bad about being a dingle to her, even if she was from the species that kept taking away land from him and his family. She was just a kid after all, and she was doing very well for someone in her circumstances.

Grizz sat down near the tree and picked up Wallace, and she yelped and struggled to break free from the bear's grasp; believing he was going to eat her. Grizz hugged her tight to let her get warm by his fur, and Wallace let herself relax when she realized what he was doing.

"Shh, it's gonna be okay," Grizz soothed the child, "I know things look rough now, but tomorrow is another day. We'll figure out where the nearest city is, and you'll be back in civilization in no time. Just get some sleep tonight. I'll be right here."

"Why are you helping me?" Wallace asked suspiciously, "I thought you didn't like me."

"My family and I have had some bad experiences with humans," Grizz explained, "But no one deserves to be lost and abandoned with no food. Yikes, I think no food is a fate worse than death! I've been in your shoes though, Wallace. Young, lost, hungry, tired, and yet knowing that the only way for things to get better is to not give up hope. Well things are gonna get better, you'll see. We'll get you home to your parents and little sister in no time. For now though, you should rest. My fur will keep you warm for now. Tomorrow I'll show you where I catch fish and pick berries. Okay?"

"Yeah, okay," Wallace replied, her voice already getting sleeping, "Thanks, bear guy."

Wallace feel asleep within minutes, and Grizz realized his arms were going to start cramping up on him from holding the human the way he was. He didn't dare move though, lest he disturb the girl. He just hoped his pop and his brothers didn't come looking for him tonight. Seeing a bear was one thing, but Grizz couldn't let anyone find out about their dad. Even one credible human could send down a firestorm of people ready to take Charlie away forever, and Grizz couldn't let that happen.

Grizz awoke with a start in the dead of night. According to the position of the moon it was somewhere between 1:00 or 2:00 AM. He had fallen asleep sitting up and his lower back hurt from the constricted blood flow. He looked down to see that Wallace was still asleep in his arms. Then he heard a noise, and realized that was what woke him up. It was shouting, soft and in the distance, but the words were clear as day.

"Wallace!"

"Wallace! Where are you?"

Grizz gasped when he realized how many humans were closing in on his position. He could make out the pinpricks of their flashlights, and knew that he couldn't let them wander too deep into the woods lest they find his family.

"Wallace?" Grizz whispered, "Wallace, wake up."

"Huh?" Wallace grunted drowsily as she opened her eye.

"Wallace, people are looking for you," Grizz informed her, "Go to them."

"But...what if they're bad people?" Wallace asked, "What if they wanna kidnap me?"

"By calling you by name? That's ridiculous," Grizz reasoned, "Come on kiddo, just get up. You can go home now. You did it, Wallace. You survived."

"I...I guess I did," Wallace replied softly in realization, "Thanks for everything, bear guy. You rock."

With those words Wallace followed the light of the flashlights to her saviors. Grizz hung back long enough to hear the cheers of joy as the people congregated around the no longer missing child. He could barely make out silhouettes as they hugged each other and one even lifted Wallace onto their shoulders. When they started heading away from him, Grizz decided to head back home.

...

Grizz returned to his part of the forest around 3:00 AM. He was exhausted and ready to hit the stack. Near the lake slept his brothers and dad all together in a pile to keep each other warm. Grizz could hear his pop snoring, Panda wheezing, and Ice Bear muttering in his sleep incoherently. Ice Bear's feet were touching the water of course so that he could keep part of his body cool. He only muttered like that when he didn't get an ice bag to sleep with.

Grizz neatly unfurled the blank paper and tried to flatten it out so Panda could use it for drawing. When Grizz turned the paper over absentmindedly he noticed once again the picture of the missing child, and realized that it was a picture of Wallace. Grizz smiled at the photo of the new friend he'd made and decided he would keep this one. He only hoped Panda didn't mind.

Grizz took his place on top of the sleeping stack and yawned before snuggling his face into Panda's back for warmth. Panda was stirred by this action and barely opened one eye to regard his older brother.

"Hey Grizz," Panda rasped out drowsily, "Where have you been? You were gone all night. We almost split up to search for you."

"I was just out scavenging," Grizz replied vaguely, "Go back to sleep, Pan Pan."