When Grizzly walked out of his room the next morning, he was thrown into panic. He'd noticed the cub was nowhere to be seen in the living room and hurried into the kitchen, flailing his arms.
"Guys the cub is gone! We have to find them!" Grizzly shouted. Panda burst out of his own room, his eyes wide from panic as well.
"What!" Panda exclaimed, rushing over to his older brother. The only bear not currently panicking was Ice bear, who had yet to leave the fridge. Grizzly rushed over to the fridge to wake him when he tripped over something.
Grizzly let out a confused, "Huh?" Looking down he saw he'd tipped over a box that had been in front of the fridge. He sat up and looked inside. There was the cub, asleep with a fish stick in its paw. Ice bear finally emerged from the fridge but was blocked by Grizzly. Grizzly quickly scooted away. "Oh, sorry, Little bro." He apologized. Ice bear shut the fridge door and fixed the cub's box. Panda had been bent over and panting from his sudden burst of exercise.
"So the cub's still here?" Panda asked. He glanced over at the box. Grizzly stood up, brushing himself off.
"Yeah. So, false alarm." Grizzly said with relief. Panda sighed and made his way over to the dining room table, taking a seat. Grizzly soon joined him at the table while Ice bear started getting breakfast ready. "So bros, I was thinking. Maybe we should give the cub a name. Until we find their mom." Grizzly proposed while they waited for their breakfast.
Panda looked over at the box. "And what do you suggest we call them? We don't even know if they're a boy or a girl." Panda pointed out.
"I don't know, but how does Cubby sound?" Grizzly suggested. Panda made a sound of indifference.
"Sounds kind of boring to me." Panda admitted. Grizzly furrowed his brow in thought. Ice bear came over with their meals and set them down.
"Hey, what do you think?" Grizzly asked Ice bear before scarfing down his breakfast.
"Ice bear suggest girl's name." Ice bear answered. Panda looked at his younger brother in confusion.
"Wait, are you saying the cub's a girl?" Panda asked. Ice bear gave a curt nod. Grizzly looked at Ice bear, swallowing his breakfast.
"How'd you figure that out?" Grizzly inquired. Ice bear looked at the box.
"Cub small, like female Ice Bears." Ice bear answered then sat down to eat his own breakfast. The older two brothers just shrugged, deciding to go with it. Grizzly went back to pondering what to call the cub. His face lit up with a sudden idea.
"Guys, I got it! Let's call her, Zoey!" Panda thought about the name and shrugged.
"Seems like an okay name to me." He agreed. Ice bear said nothing, which the brothers took as an okay to the name as well.
"Then Zoey it is!" Grizzly announced.
A few hours later, Grizzly and Panda were on the couch watching T.V. while Ice bear was out posting fliers for a lost cub. Grizzly was snacking on a bowl of pretzels as he watched an action movie. Panda was sitting next to him, playing on his phone. A sudden crash caught them both off guard. Grizzly jumped up, accidentally dumping over his bowl of pretzels. Panda also stood up, clutching his phone.
"What in the world was that?" Panda asked, looking in the direction it came. Grizzly was scooping up his pretzels now.
"I don't know, Panda. I'll go check it out." Grizzly told him. He set the re-filled bowl on the couch then left to investigate. It had come from the kitchen, and when Grizzly entered he let out a startled gasp. Zoey was sitting in the middle of the kitchen, licking a plate that had been left on the table. The loud crash had come from the table, which she had knocked over. Grizzly sighed but called back to Panda. "Don't worry, Pan-pan! It's just Zoey!" He lifted the table back into place then looked at Zoey. "Huh, I guess you must be hungry." Grizzly mumbled to her. He looked at the fridge, placing a paw on his chin in thought. "And I think we're out of fish sticks. Ah! I know!" Grizzly tried taking the plate from Zoey. She lowered her ears and yanked the plate away from him, growling.
"Mine." Zoey growled. Grizzly's eyes widened. He didn't think the cub could talk. Though, hearing her voice confirmed she was a girl, unless she just had a high pitched voice.
"Zoey?" Grizzly tried calling her by name. She blinked in confusion but it seemed she understood that he was talking to her. "I'm gonna need you to give me the plate back, okay?" Grizzly asked while trying to reach for the plate again. Zoey growled again and stood up.
"Mine!" Zoey roared. She swatted at Grizzly with her claws. He let out a frightened yelp and pulled his paw back. She placed the place in her mouth and ran out of the room on all four paws.
"Zoey! Be careful with that!" Grizzly shouted. He took after her as she ran into the living room.
Panda was sitting down on the couch again, waiting for Grizzly to come back. He let out a startled shout when Zoey came charging in with a plate in her mouth. Grizzly soon followed after.
"Zoey! Give me the plate!" Grizzly cried out. He looked distressed. Zoey ignored him and ran around the T.V. set. Grizzly looked at his startled younger brother. "Panda! Oh man, I could really use your help!"
"What do you want me to do, Grizz!" Panda cried, watching him chase the she cub.
"I don't know, try blocking her path!" Grizzly replied. Panda nervously set down his phone and tried blocking Zoey. Zoey growled at him but didn't change course. Panda's eyes widened as he bolted away from her. Grizzly growled in frustration.
"No! Panda! We almost had her!" Grizzly growled in frustration.
"I'm sorry man!" Panda cried, now standing to the side. Suddenly, Zoey froze. Grizzly let out a short yell as he skidded to a halt, so as not to crush her. Zoey's nose twitched as a smell caught her attention. She set down the plate and wandered over to the couch. She spotted Grizzly's bowl of pretzels and licked her lips. She leaped onto the couch and started scarfing down Grizzly's snack.
"Hey, those are mine!" Grizzly protested. He quickly picked up the plate and hurried over to Zoey. When he tried to take his snack bowl away, Zoey growled and pulled the bowl closer.
"Mine!" She shouted, then returned to eating. Panda blinked in surprise and looked over at his brother.
"Wait, she can talk!" Panda exclaimed. Grizzly sighed, deciding to just let her have his food.
"I think so? So far that's all she's said." Grizzly answered his brother. He walked away to go put the plate in the sink, leaving Panda with the cub. Panda frowned and went back to where his phone was. He picked it up but watched Zoey nervously. She now had the bowl on top of her head as she continued munching on the rest of the pretzels. Cautiously, he sat down on the couch again. Zoey froze and lifted the bowl so she could glare at him. Panda froze, afraid she was going to attack him. To his relief, once she realized he wasn't trying to take her food, she let the bowl cover her face again and continued eating.
He let out a sigh and went back to looking at his phone. He still glanced at her every now and then. After a few minutes, he felt a gust of hot wind on his shoulder. He looked over his shoulder and let out a startled scream, nearly dropping his phone. Zoey was watching his phone, eyes wide with wonder. Panda let out a nervous laugh once he realized she meant no harm.
"Uh, hey, Zoey. Whatcha looking at?" He asked timidly. Grizzly popped his head into the living room.
"Hey, pan-pan. Everything alright?" He asked, walking into the living room with a new bowl, this time filled with chips.
"I don't know. Zoey just started staring at my phone for some reason." Panda answered. Zoey made an attempt to grab his phone. Panda put it out of her reach. "Hey! No! This is my phone!"
Zoey glared at Panda and made another reach for his phone. "Want! Want!" She cried. Panda stood up, causing her to fall onto the couch. She looked shocked for a moment before getting up and jumping up. She was growling as she reached for the phone. Panda backed up.
"You can't have it! You'll break it!" Panda shouted. Grizzly rushed over to Panda. Zoey growled at both of them and jumped off the couch. Both adult bears widened their eyes.
"Oh no, I think she's gonna chase us again!" Grizzly gasped. Panda took off down the hall to his bedroom. "Hey! Panda! Where you going!"
"To my room! I'm not getting chased by that crazy cub again!" Panda shouted back. Zoey ran past Grizzly and after Panda.
"Oh no." Grizzly muttered then took after Zoey. "Panda! She's after you!" Panda let out a scream and quickly rushed into his room. He didn't have time to close the door as Zoey pushed her way in. He quickly ran to his bed and jumped on top. In his fright, he grabbed one of his stuffed animals and threw it at Zoey. Zoey tripped over the toy and fell on her face. Surprised, she sat up, looking around for what had tripped her. When she saw the stuffed animal on the floor, she got up and growled at it. When it did nothing, she cautiously poked it with her claw. She saw that it did nothing and sat down in front of it. Panda started freaking out once he saw what he'd done.
"Oh no, oh no, oh no!" He stuttered. He crawled to the edge of the bed, hoping she wouldn't ruin his stuffed toy. "Give it back!"
Zoey had picked up the toy animal and was now sniffing it. She gave it a hug and smiled. She noticed panda reaching for her new discovery and scooted away. "Mine!" She growled. She happily returned to snuggling the toy. Panda let out an upset groan just as Grizzly burst into the room. He sat up, flailing his arms.
"Grizz! You have to get my stuffed animal away from her!" Panda cried. Grizzly looked confused but understood what he met once he saw Zoey cuddling a stuffed animal. He tried reaching for her but she growled. Refusing to give up the toy. Grizzly sighed.
"Sorry, Pan-pan. But I don't think they're going to give it back." Grizzly admitted.
Panda blinked before face planting on his bed, letting out a miserable groan.