Chapter Two: From A Man to A Bear
Once the two brothers arrived, Edward reached his hand to Thomas as told him to grab his hand. However, Thomas shook his head violently as he warned Edward to get out of here. This got Edward confused until Thomas shouted that there was a bear behind him. With that, Edward turned his head and gasped in terror as the bear stood on its hind legs. There, the bear let out a roar as it raised its right paw, ready to knock Edward down, but before it got a chance to do it, the bear felt a hit on the left side of its head as it turned around. It turns out, Gordon threw a rock at the bear as Gordon told the bear to come over here and to get him as he pointed his spear at the angry bear. As the bear went towards Gordon with a growl, Edward managed to get Thomas up as the two went off to save Gordon.
As Gordon was about to charge at the bear, hoping to get the bear down, the bear made its move first as it swiped at Gordon with force, causing him to lose his spear as he fell into the icy crevice. Luckily, Gordon held on to the edge as Thomas spotted him. Thomas wasted no time as he shouted out his name as he sprinted. Once he arrived, he reached his hands to Gordon as he told him not to let go as he struggled to pull him out. Thomas may be smaller than Gordon, but he was determined to save his brother from life and death situation.
While Thomas tried to save Gordon, Edward was struggling to fight against the bear as every move he made with his spear was all in vain as he kept missing at his aim. However, when Thomas saw Edward fighting against the bear, he cried out for his name as Edward turned his head and Thomas's eyes were wide in fear. Edward panted as he was worried about his brother, but before anything could happen, the bear knocked Edward down as Thomas went back to his original goal.
Once Edward was knocked down, the bear spotted Thomas, who was close to getting Gordon out of danger. Edward was weak at this point as he panted with his warm breath formed a mist from the cold breeze. He watched in terror as he knew that his younger brothers were in grave danger from the bear. However, he noticed that the glacier was starting to crack as it seems like it's heading towards his brothers and the bear. Without a moment to spare, Edward took one last deep breath as he roared with all his might. There, he plunged his spear into the frail glacier as it makes a huge cracking noise.
With that action, Thomas got Gordon up as they both saw Edward had his spear on the glacier as the ground beneath him began to get unstable. There, Thomas cried out Edward's name twice in horror as Edward gave his brothers with frown eyebrows and sad eyes as he knew what was going to happen next. The next thing they know, the glacier began to collapse as Edward fell to his demise while the bear tried to get to the safe side, where Thomas and Gordon were, but the bear couldn't reach there in time as it fell too. There, the glacier hit the lake down below as it made a huge crashing sound. Thomas and Gordon's eyes were wide in disbelief with their mouths agape. They couldn't believe what just happened.
When the event was over, the two brothers rush to the edge of the glacier as he looked for any sign of Edward's whereabouts, but only to find nothing. However, as if by miracle, the bear survived the terrible fall as its head popped out of the water while letting out a huge roar. Thomas and Gordon were surprised by it as the bear ran to the edge of the lake to shake the water off its fur. There, the bear ran deep into the forest to get away from any more trouble. When the bear was out of sight, Gordon told Thomas to come with him as they both climbed down the glacier as they were on the pursuit to find Edward. They went to every part of the cold lake; they saw nothing until Gordon spotted Edward's light blue sweater.
With that, Gordon called out for Thomas's name to get him to come here to see what Gordon had discovered, When Thomas arrived at the scene, he picked up the sweater as he and Gordon knew that Edward was gone. However, Thomas couldn't accept the fact as he cried for his name while Gordon looked down as tears escaped from his eyes. The brothers knew that Edward made a huge sacrifice to save their lives, but they didn't expect this to occur as their day went upside down as they were happy at the beginning and now one was gone.
…
The night, at the cliff where Thomas's ceremony was, the cliff was filled with lights from fire as everyone makes way to the top of the cliff as everyone chanted in a sad tone. Everyone knew that Edward had passed away and they came to respect him and his younger brothers. No one had ever suspected this to occur, but unfortunately for them, it did. Once everyone reached the top of the cliff, they watched as Thomas and Gordon walked slowly with their heads down while carrying the sweater and his eagle totem necklace to the bonfire, where Mavis was waiting for them.
When Thomas and Gordon got close to the bonfire, Mavis collected the items as she placed the item close to the fire as the funeral chanted continued. There, Mavis began to chant to The Great Spirits as the items were burned as the smoke had ascended to the starry sky above. As everyone watched the event with respect, Thomas felt tears escaping from his eyes. He loved his older brother dearly as he always looked up to him and he was his role model. Whenever Thomas was in trouble or feels alone, it was Edward that was there to support and comfort him. Thomas now missed on how Edward would tell him stories and they would play jokes on each other. Edward was much more patient and kinder compared to Gordon and Thomas always felt safe around him. Just knowing that Edward was gone made his heartache as he closed his eyes tightly.
As he kept thinking about all those memories with Edward, he then remembered about the incident earlier as he recalled that the bear managed to survive, but not Edward. How could this bear lived, and Edward have to die? This made Thomas angry as then opened his eyes quickly and narrowed his eyebrows. There, his mind began to be clouded as he believed that the bear was the soul responsible for Edward's demise when in fact, Edward was the one that was willing to sacrifice his life to save him and Gordon. With that, Thomas stormed off as he was preparing his spear and he only had one goal in his mind. That goal was the slay that bear.
…
After the funeral was over, Gordon watched the sky as he kept thinking about all the good memories he had with Edward. Even though Gordon did tease Edward for not being the strongest of the brothers, but he knew that he was the cleverest and was very patient. He deeply missed his compassion and his wisdom. Though Gordon has the totem of wisdom, he believed that wouldn't be as wise as his older brother. As he watched the stars dancing across the cold, dark sky, Thomas walked towards him with two spears, "You ready?", he asked Gordon calmly with a small frown.
When Gordon heard his voice, he turned around as he asked in confusion, "For what?"
"We're going after the bear.", Thomas replied as he tossed one of the spears to Gordon.
Gordon caught the spear as he looked at the spear carefully. Was it right to go after the bear? Gordon thought for a moment as he examined his spear more and he began to make a small frown. There, he sighed as he dropped the spear as looked at Thomas with a serious look, "I know what you're feeling, but killing that bear is wrong."
"Wrong? Our brother is dead, and it's because of that monster!", Thomas spat in anger as his clouded mind made him believe that it was all the bear's fault.
"I don't blame the bear, Thomas.", Gordon replied sternly as he looked away while trying to keep his temper at bay.
"I see.", Thomas replied as he looked away with his eyes narrowed.
Gordon knew that this wasn't the Thomas he knew and love. Thomas was very lovable and cheeky, and now he's of vengeance and hatred. He couldn't blame Thomas for his feeling as he knew that he had a great connection with Edward, but he remembered the wisdom from Edward that revenge was not the answer. There, Gordon sighed as he looked back to his younger brother with a concerned look as he for once spoke with wisdom, "Killing that bear won't make you a man."
When he heard those words, Thomas snapped as he shoved his brother as he shouted, "Oh, so you're now trying to be wise, huh?"
"I'm just trying to follow my totem.", Gordon replied with a stern tone of his voice as then asked a simple question to his younger brother, "Why can't you do the same with yours?"
"You really think love has anything to do with being a man?", Thomas shouted in rage as he's slowly becoming a different person all because of Edward's sacrifice and he believed that the bear was the root cause of it, "A man wouldn't just sit here and do nothing."
Gordon got worried as he looked into Thomas's sky blue eyes and could see it's full of hatred and anger. This broke his heart as he didn't want to lose his little brother. He didn't want his happy and cheeky personality to be replaced with negative emotions as he walked to him and gave him a hug to try and soothe his little brother, "Thomas. Please. Don't upset The Great Spirits."
When Thomas heard those words, he pushed Gordon away from him as he scoffed, "The Great Spirits. Thanks for your wisdom."
There, Thomas walked away from his brother but before he could go anywhere, he was stopped by Mavis, who gave him a small frown and wide eyes as she knew that Thomas has gone through a lot, and he was now blinded by anger. When Thomas saw her, he ripped his totem necklace and threw it next to the now-dead bonfire as he stormed off with his spear. Once Thomas was out of sight, Mavis rushed to the bear totem necklace as she rubbed it to make sure it wasn't damaged. Just witnessing the whole thing, Gordon down to the ground for a moment before he looked up as he whispered to himself, "I got to stop him."
With that, he took totem along with his spear as he went off to stop Thomas from his action before things could get worse. Once Gordon had left the area, Mavis sigh to herself sadly as she then looked to the sky with pure sadness as she whispered to Edward, who's now a spirit, and to The Great Spirits themselves, "You left too soon Edward. Your brothers need your guidance."
There, she closed her eyes as the wind blew gently around her as the sky was now flickered by the northern lights as some of The Great Spirits danced across the sky. Mavis could feel the energy as she allowed The Great Spirits to give her advice and she hoped that Edward had listened to her call. She hoped that things don't go downhill for both Thomas and Gordon as she knew that Thomas's mind was so narrow-minded, and Gordon now has to take Edward's place as the big brother.
…
Dawn broke as Thomas had travelled for hours to track the bear down. It was a long journey for him, but he didn't care as he only focused on his only goal. He went past the forest, the waterfall, and the grassland. However, when he arrived at the bushy part of the forest where it was filled with delicious wild berries and some flowers, Thomas examined the area as he knew that bears love berries. However, as he looked around his surroundings, he spotted some pawprints of a bear as he knew was getting closer.
Suddenly, he heard a rustle from a bush nearby as he gasped. There, he ducked down to stay clear from the bear's sight as he took a deep breath. There, he mustered up the courage as he slowly approached where the noise was coming from. However, to his disappointment, he spotted a groundhog, who was looking out for any predators. There, Thomas pointed his spear at the groundhog to scare it as the poor rodent ran away in fear. Thomas growled to himself as he thought he caught the bear. With that, he felt sore in the stomach as he knew he was terribly hungry after travelling for hours. There, he sat down to take one of the wild berries to eat when suddenly, he heard a roar. He gasped as he accidentally dropped his spear. There, he spotted the light green bear, who stood up on its hind legs as it began to use its keen sense of smell to track anyone nearby.
Thomas held his breath as he tried to grab his spear but only to stop his action as the bear began to sniff. He knew that it was a life and death situation, and it was now or never. There, he took a deep breath, shut his eyes tightly and he clenched his teeth. With that, he yelled as he did a roll to grab his spear. Once he retrieved his spear, he noticed that the bear started to run away from him. Thomas narrowed his eyes with determination as he began his pursuit to go after the bear. He was fast but the bear was much faster as the bear tried to get away from him. It was a struggle for Thomas as there were so many obstacles but after a minute of chasing after the bear, he spotted the bear climbing up the cliff that touched the sky. Thomas grinned in satisfaction as he knew that the bear will be cornered from him.
Once they got to the top of the mountains, the bear knew that it had no choice but to defend itself from Thomas. There, they began to have a brutal fight as the bear tried to destroy Thomas's weapon so he would be helpless from it. Thomas kept ducking and running from the bear as he tried to slay the bear. After minutes of fighting, Thomas climbed up a tall rock but only to feel a push as the bear tried to knock it down. This resulted in Thomas dropping his spear as it went to the other side. Thomas knew he couldn't stay there forever as he leaped and went towards the spear. However, the bear was fast and went after him. Before the bear knows it, Thomas grabbed his spear as he brutally stabbed the bear's chest. This resulted in the bear taking one last roar as it roared with agony.
With that, the bear dropped to the ground, lifeless as Thomas looked at the bear with shock. At first, he was satisfied with his action as he thought he avenged his brother but only to realise that he had done something unforgivable. He looked at the bear with an agape mouth and wide eyes as he felt tears escaping from his sky blue eyes. His mind was now clear, but he knew that his moral action was immoral. There, he closed his eyes as he began to scream in anguish, sadness, and anger as he thought he did the right thing, but he didn't What he didn't know was that his older brother, Gordon, was going after him and that he had awoken The Great Spirits, and not for a good intention.
As Thomas looked down to the ground as he sat on his knees, he began to sob until he felt energy surrounding him. He was confused until he opened his eyes and notice that not only the weather had drastically changed to a dark and gloomy condition as the area went pitch black, but he also spotted many blue orbs twirled to the ground below as it began to chant. Thomas gasped in shock as he knew what it was. It was none other than The Great Spirits themselves. He knew of his action, yet he didn't understand the situation. There, the orbs began to form a wave as she splashed against some of the rocks. It glowed in a beautiful yet mystical blue aura as the waves were glowing brightly. Thomas's mouth was agape in surprise as he didn't expect this to occur. He was frightened and what's more, in the center of the blue orbs' water form, was a single streak of blue light that touched the sky.
Just seeing the whole ordeal made Thomas scared yet he was curious. The chanted of The Great Spirits continued as they were telling him to go the streak. Thomas was hesitant at first until he placed his left foot gently on the blue orbs' water form as he went slowly approached it with his spears ready in hand in case something bad happens. The voices of The Great Spirits sounded like a choir of angels, but their tone sounded like they were in pain, as if Thomas had harmed them. Once Thomas got close to the streak of light, he was so tempted to touch it, yet he was scared as he didn't know what was going to happen. However, when summoned his courage, he managed to touch the streak of light but to his awe and shock, the blue light drastically changed from lovely blue shades to bright warm colours from red to light yellow. There were so some cool colours, but the warm colours were the dominant colours. What's more, many animals came out as they danced across the aurora. Thomas did cover his eyes until he watched how the animals interact such as the mammoths marching with their herd, the salmons swimming gracefully, and the wolves played with each other.
However, after witnessing the majesty of The Great Spirits have to offer, Thomas spotted a light blue eagle flying towards him as it landed on the ground proudly. There, the eagle transformed into someone that Thomas recognised immediately, "Edward?", Thomas gasped as his eyes went wide in shock.
Edward, who glowed in a light blue aura as he's now a spirit, only gave to his little brother a small frown of disappointment and sadness as he turned his head to the deceased bear. There, The Great Spirits dissolved the bear as the bear ascended to the sky above to join with the others. However, this wasn't over as Edward turned back to his eagle form and used its talons to grab Thomas's shoulders. Thomas gasped in shock as he asked Edward what was going on. He didn't get any response from him as Edward continued to ascend to the sky with Thomas.
As Thomas tried to ask the same question, his mouth went wide in shock as up in the ground, showed a spirit of a bear. Thomas didn't know what was going to happen, but he knew it was big. There, Edward faded away as Thomas was still in the air. There, he closed his eyes as the transformation began to occur. With that, he reached to the beat as he began to twirl. All of the sudden, with a quick change, Thomas changed from a human to a blue bear. Thomas roared like a bear as the chanted was still happening. There, the aurora began to fade slowly as Thomas had slowly descended from the sky as he's now a bear. Once he reached the ground, The Great Spirits left the scene immediately, leaving Thomas all alone at the cliff.
By the time Thomas was back on the ground, he struggled to get up as he felt very dizzy. He didn't know he was now a bear but just getting up made his head spun and he couldn't focus on the situation properly. While trying to comprehend, he heard someone grunted as he spotted someone familiar climbing up the cliff. It was Gordon and when he spotted Thomas's clothes, he gasped in shock as he thought that the bear had consumed his little brother. He trembled in fear as he sat back while looking at him with pure fear in his eyes. Once Thomas was fully awake, he spotted Gordon as he tried to explain everything but before he could, he slipped from the water puddle as he fell off the cliff. There, he landed to a strong and violent current of the river as he drifted away from his brother. He tried to swim to shore but it was in vain as he ended knocking his head to a sharp rock that stuck out the river. This resulted in him being knocked out cold as the current carried the now unconscious bear to shore as he finally rested against the roar while lying on his back.
…
Back at the mountains, Gordon was still in a state of horror as he thought that the bear had killed his little brother. He knew now that he had lost two of his brothers. Once he got out of state, he rushed to Thomas's clothes as he saw his spear next to it. There, he gently picked up Thomas's blue sweater as tears escaped from his cobalt blue eyes. He was devasted as he held the sweater closely and began to cry silently. This could not happen to him. It just couldn't. How could yesterday go from good to disastrous to now tragic? This didn't make sense. As he cried, then placed the sweater down as he began to head back to the village. However, before he could go any further, he remembered the words he spoke to Thomas last night, "A man wouldn't just sit here and do nothing!"
This made Gordon stopped at his track as those words kept playing inside his head. Though Gordon knew that revenge wasn't the answer but, could it be that Thomas was right? There, went slowly went back to Thomas's spear as he then wrapped Thomas's totem necklace around it to honour. Once he did that, he looked at the spear with uncertainty as he wasn't so sure if he should do it or just go back home. It didn't help as the weather was gloomy and the rain was pouring heavily as the thunder roared vigorously. With that, Gordon now had one goal in mind and that was to avenge his little brother.