Chapter 5: The Wolf and the Wizard

By the time No Heart returned to his castle, he was furious. It was bad enough he had been beaten by those deceptively saccharine Care Bears again, but this time, they had a new member. And of all things, it was a white wolf.

"Beastly!" He roared. "Come here at once!"

The little brown imp, still basking in his own glory, strutted in as proudly as a miniature evil henchman can strut. "You called, Boss?"

"Do you remember why I sent you down to earth a few days ago?"

"Sure I do! To get rid of all those wolves!"

"And how successful do you believe you were?"

"Well…I couldn't find them, but the shadows possessed some human, and he was blasting away at the last one when I left."

"I suppose it would surprise you then, to know that "last one" escaped, and is now another meddlesome Care Bear!"

"But how?" Beastly asked, finally realizing the trouble he was in.

"If you had remained there as I ordered, you would have noticed her hiding under a fallen tree."

"B-but No Heart! You had me fly into the middle of a Minnesota blizzard! How do I find one white wolf in a snowstorm?"

"The Human managed to find her. Even the Care Bears managed to find her and rescue her."

Realizing he had not only lost the argument, but also another chance to capture a Care Bear, Beastly looked up at his master with a blank stare. He knew the wizard was right, but had no idea on what to do about it.

"Every task I send you on, whether it's a mission to destroy the Care Bears, or a simple trip to the grocery store, you manage to fail somehow. Every time, I get nothing but excuses!"

While No Heart was berating Beastly, the furry little minion was fuming. Listen to this jerk. He couldn't have found that wolf any sooner than I did. He just sends me out there so he has someone to blame when those Care Bears come and mess things up.

Reluctantly, he turned his attention back to No Heart just as the wizard was finishing. "…Now leave my sight, Beastly, until I find an appropriate punishment for your latest failure."

Turning away from his master, Beastly muttered under his breath. "Even you can't defeat the Care Bears, you idiot. You've tried more often than I have."

No Heart spun back toward his minion. "That," he fumed, "was the wrong thing to say."

Seeing the look in No Heart's eyes, Beastly squeaked in terror. However, before he could scamper away, No Heart grabbed him by his filthy brown fur and stormed up to the Thunder Pit room. "I believe I've already found the perfect punishment for you, Beastly."

Beastly already knew what No Heart had in mind. "No Heart, you wouldn't!"

No Heart pulled him up until they were nose to nose. "Look me in the eyes, Beastly, and tell me I wouldn't."

Beastly panicked. He fought, pleaded, begged, and bargained, but to no avail. Furious, frustrated, and defeated, No Heart hurled Beastly into the Thunder Pit.

Loyal Heart Dog couldn't understand it.

Here he was, standing at the edge of Patient Heart's yard, searching longingly for a sign of her in the windows. He wanted desperately to see her, if only to simply say hello. However, whenever he attempted to step towards the door, his feet seemed glued to the clouds. I'm a best friend to everyone here. Why am I so nervous around her?

Suddenly he heard a rustle in the bushes to his right. Brushing aside the heart-shaped leaves, he found a long tail connected to an orange body. "Playful Heart!" He yelled, causing the monkey to rocket out of the bushes in surprise. "What in Care-a-Lot are you doing in there?"

Playful Heart blushed bright red in embarrassment. "Would you believe I was trimming these bushes…from the inside?"

The look on Loyal Heart's face warned her not to continue the charade.

"Okay, okay." Playful Heart surrendered. "I don't know if you've noticed, but ever since Patient Heart attacked No Heart from out of nowhere, everybody's kinda nervous around her. Nobody else is quite so…physical, I guess you could say."

"And you wanted to be the first eyewitness to her 'evil' home activities."

"No, no, Loyal, I didn't mean—"

"That's okay, Playful Heart, no need to explain. You'll be quite relieved to know she's not in there. I've been keeping my eye on her to make sure she's alright…or at least, I've been trying to keep my eye on her."

Embarrassed and ashamed, Playful Heart couldn't look Loyal in the eye. "I'm sorry, Loyal Heart. You're right; I shouldn't even be over here. So, any idea where she is?"

Loyal Heart scratched his head thoughtfully. "Were I her, I'd want to be in the most unpopulated spot in the Forest of Feelings right now." A few seconds later, his eyes lit up as he realized where she was. "I'll be back in a minute, Playful. In the meantime, would you kindly do me a small favor?"

"Sure Loyal, anything!"

"Get out of Patient Heart's bushes!"

He found her by the river, exactly where he thought she would be. She sat by the edge, half-heartedly throwing sticks into the passing water. As he approached, Patient Heart was the first to speak. "I did the right thing the other day, didn't I?"

Loyal Heart stopped. "What do you mean?"

"The other day, when I fought No Heart."

"Of course you did. No Heart would have captured all of us had you not been there!"

"So why is everyone treating me like the plague?"

This is where it gets tricky. "Well," he said, "we Care Bears and Cousins tend not to…you know…get…rough, even with our adversaries."

"Even when they get rough with you?"

"Well No Heart usually isn't as physicallyviolent as he was the other day. Personally, I don't think we would have won had you not changed the tactics."

"I wish everyone else shared your opinion." Patient Heart sighed. "Did you see everyone's expression afterward? And the cubs! They're terrified of me now!"

"But you saved their lives, Patient. It'll be quite a bit easier for them to forgive someone if they're still around to do it."

"If they forgive me at all."

Loyal Heart walked the rest of the way to where she was standing and hugged her tightly. "We're Care Bears, Lady Patient. How can we not forgive someone whose job it is to forgive us?"

Patient Heart allowed herself a glimmer of a smile. She hadn't let herself use that term yet. I am a Care Bear, aren't I?

Standing up, she returned Loyal Heart's embrace. "You're right, Floppy." She said, a renewed strength in her voice. And if my family is having a hard time with forgiveness, then it appears I have a job to do."