Funshine struggled to lay Grumpy down with his free paw. Grumpy was entirely limp, his eyelids fluttering as he breathed deeply. He looked almost dead.
"What did he say?" Tenderheart demanded, his voice higher than normal.
The yellow bear grimaced as he raised his head. The Care Bears were gathered around, looking frightened and wary with their eyes locked onto Grumpy's prone form. Tenderheart stood closer than the rest, staring at Grumpy with an odd expression. He turned and gazed at Funshine expectantly.
"Well? What did he say?" When Funshine didn't answer, Tenderheart crossed his arms. "You were just speaking Thunderspeak, weren't you?"
"Yes," Funshine said reluctantly.
"Then what did Grumpy just say?"
Funshine looked down as he answered, knowing that Tenderheart wouldn't like it. "He, uh, he said he'll leave soon. Just let him lay here for a while."
"What?!" several bears cried out.
"What does he mean by that?" Funshine didn't answer, so Tenderheart stepped closer. "Why didn't he tell me?" he demanded.
"Because he didn't know how you'd react," a deep, tired voice said.
Everybody parted to see Great Giving and Grams walking through the drenching rain toward them. They stopped by Tenderheart then Great Giving rubbed his belly badge. Tenderheart caught the box and opened it at once. A large tent bloomed over them, covering a large area in front of Share's house. Great Giving turned to Share.
"A nice, big meal for Grumpy would be ideal. He's going to need a lot of food when he wakes up."
Share nodded, and several bears hurried after her into her kitchen. Great Giving looked at Funshine then rubbed his belly badge again. He caught the box and opened it. A neat medical kit came out, and Grams took the kit and walked around behind Funshine.
"Let me see it," she said.
Funshine removed his paw, and Grams began to work on the puncture wounds. Tenderheart knelt down beside him and stared at the blood covering the yellow paw.
"What do you mean, Giving?" he asked slowly.
"You've made your distaste for Thunder Bears very obvious over the years," Great Giving replied. He placed his paws behind his back and sadly stared at Grumpy. "Perhaps I should have told you when he was a cub."
"You knew?" Funshine asked, grimacing as Grams cleaned the deepest of the wounds.
"I did. I spoke with his brother when he left him here. He begged that I make sure he was taken care of. I couldn't understand everything. Something about burns and fear. But I knew enough to know that he was in danger if he went back."
"His parents almost killed him with lightning. They hated him," Funshine said quietly. The Care Bears gasped and began murmuring to themselves. Tenderheart looked sick.
"Ah. I see," Great Giving said, his voice grim.
"Hey, Giving?" Funshine asked.
"Yes, Funshine?"
"Since you've known that he's a Thunder Bear for so long, do you know how he got his belly badge?"
Great Giving pondered his answer. "I wasn't sure what to expect when Grumpy first got here. I watched him closely, wary that he was going to cause trouble. He was lonely for a couple weeks, sickly and hungry. Then he met you. And despite my worries, he cared for you, and you cared for him. I had never thought a Thunder Bear could care. But he loved you when you were cubs, no matter what happened. So when Great Giving Day came around, I granted him his deepest wish."
Funshine stared up at Great Giving with wide eyes. "You gave him his belly badge?" he asked in wonder. "You made him blue? You did all that for him?"
"I did." Great Giving smiled at Funshine. "I've never regretted it. I gave him a blue color to mask his black fur, and I granted him the knowledge of how to speak our language. I couldn't change his natural powers, so I made his belly badge a thundercloud to match his abilities. I wasn't sure if anybody else would pick up on the unusual power, but nobody did. When he began to assimilate into our society, everybody just assumed he'd discovered his power early."
"He never told me who he was. At least, not when we were cubs," Funshine said, staring down at Grumpy's limp form. He was trembling from the wind. "He needs to be dried off. You almost done, Grams?"
"Just about," she said.
"Do you know where his Carry-All is?" Great Giving asked.
Tenderheart had listened to Funshine and Great Giving talk about Grumpy and his belly badge. He was surprised that Great Giving had never told him about Grumpy, though the red bear might have thought it wasn't his place. He certainly seemed to have known about things a lot longer than Funshine. Tenderheart had so many questions, but he could see for himself that Grumpy was soaking wet. A small tremor was visible across the brief flashes of lightning that still lit up the sky.
The rain pounded on the top of the tent, and the wind blew against the cloth walls as Tenderheart made his way to where Grumpy had been before he'd faced the Thunder Bears. Just as he knew it would be, Grumpy's Carry-All lay against the trunk. As he leaned over to grab the magic leather bag, he noticed streaks in the bark of Share's tree. He pressed his paw against them, running his fingers over the scars. It took him a moment to realize that the streaks were claw marks. Grumpy had clawed the tree. Had he been overwhelmed? Scared? Or was it some other emotion that had made his claws come out?
"Tenderheart? The Carry-All?" Grams called.
Tenderheart pulled his paw away from the tree, grabbing the Carry-All and turning to walk back to Great Giving. The rest of the Care Bears watched him, still murmuring amongst themselves as their eyes moved from Grumpy to Tenderheart and back again. Tenderheart's belly grew warm and he had a feeling that they were uneasy that he hadn't known about the Thunder Bear, but he was honestly more concerned about Grumpy.
He handed the Carry-All to Great Giving. The red bear clicked the bag open and rummaged around for a second before he pulled out a towel. With Tenderheart's help, Great Giving toweled off Grumpy then pulled out a blanket. They wrapped him up, and his eyelids fluttered. A soft pitter-patter of rain came from his lips as he curled up in a ball. Tenderheart and Great Giving both turned to Funshine, who was completely bandaged up and staring wearily at Grumpy.
"He needs food. His stomach hurts," he said quietly. There was a pause then Great Giving turned to Harmony.
"Please go and see how Share is doing with the food. Make sure it's a lot."
"Why?" Harmony asked, looking wary and unsure.
Funshine answered. "He needs more food. You know how Grumpy always eats a lot. He needs to eat that much. He's in pain because his stomach is starting to pull energy from his body."
"What does that mean?" Cheer asked.
Funshine looked at her. "It means his stomach is empty, so his body is starting to break down his muscle tissues to stay alive. He needs food, even if we have to wake him up for it."
Without another word, Harmony and Cheer hurried up the stairs to check on the food. Within a minute, they brought out two full plates of, one full of chicken breasts and the other full of spaghetti. Funshine scooted closer to Grumpy and reached out for the plate full of chicken. Gripping the plate tightly, he grabbed a piece of hot chicken and held it in front of Grumpy's nose.
At once, Grumpy's eyes opened and he lunged up, sinking his teeth into the meat. His yellow-white eyes flashed and he tore a hunk out of the chicken. He chewed only a few times before he swallowed and took the rest into his mouth. After the first couple pieces, Funshine held out the plate and allowed Grumpy to devour the chicken. His paws were trembling as he scooped the food into his mouth. Funshine grabbed the other plate and gestured for the utensils. He knew it was unlikely that Grumpy would actually use them in his current state, and sure enough, he simply dug his paw into the spaghetti, ignoring the sauce as he ate. It was a desperation that Tenderheart had seen only a few times, and only with Grumpy. It was as if he were starving, and based on what Funshine said, that was a pretty close explanation for it.
Within five minutes, all the food was gone, and Grumpy looked blearily at Funshine, making soft noises of rain and thunder.
"More?"
"Nothing else is ready yet, Grumps," Funshine replied.
Grumpy made a hissing noise, kind of like rain hitting burning firewood.
"It still hurts. I need more food. Please."
Funshine shrugged. "I can check your Carry-All."
Grumpy nodded, and Great Giving handed over the Carry-All. Funshine slipped his paw inside and started to dig through the mess. He bumped into several tools, something made of wood, and a cloth that Funshine knew by touch was Grumpy's blanket, but none of that was edible. He finally found something hot and heaved it up. It was a bowl of steaming stew. Funshine was bewildered but handed it over.
"Beef stew," he said. "It's hot."
Grumpy blew out on it, a gush of cool wind flowing over the bowl. As soon as it was cool enough, he placed the bowl to his lips and gulped it down, hardly chewing. The stew seemed to help ease his hunger pangs, and he handed the empty bowl to Funshine.
"I'm tired, Shine. So tired. Where's the Care-a-Van?"
"Too far away, Grumps. How about a ride to Tenderheart's?"
Grumpy frowned ferociously, his mind full of fog. He was supposed to remember something, and it felt important. But all he could think of was a soft, warm bed.
"Does he mind?"
"Do you mind if Grumpy stays at your place, T.H.?" Funshine asked brightly.
Tenderheart smiled at Grumpy, who turned and looked surprised that anybody else was there. He gazed at the crowd, but he didn't seem able to process what had happened.
"Of course not, Grumpy. You're welcome to stay with me. I'm sure Wonderheart would love it, too."
Wonderheart was inside with Share, but Tenderheart knew it was the truth. She wouldn't mind that Grumpy was a Thunder Bear. She would only see her friend Grumpy. Grumpy continued to look around, tired and puzzled at the crowd that was staring at him as if he were weird. He just couldn't think straight.
"See you, Funshine," Grumpy muttered, struggling to stand up.
Great Giving grasped his arm and held him steady. "I think we should beam him to your place, Tenderheart. He's in no shape to walk."
Tenderheart nodded. They both grabbed Grumpy, steadied him, and wiggled their ears. At once, the sensation of teleportation, a swooping of the stomach with the sensation of moving quickly, engulfed them, and they landed in the living room of the house. Grumpy looked dead on his feet, and Tenderheart helped him onto the couch.
"Rest here while I get the guest room ready."
Grumpy made a noise, a rumbling sigh like distant thunder, and he closed his eyes and dozed off. Great Giving walked into the room with Tenderheart, and they made the bed with fresh sheets and blankets. As they worked, Tenderheart thought about everything he had learned. He wasn't sure how to feel about it. What was he supposed to feel or even think about one of his precious Care Bears being a Thunder Bear?
"He needs you to love him, Tenderheart," Great Giving said, adjusting a pillow.
"Huh?" Tenderheart looked up, surprised.
"Grumpy needs you to love him," Great Giving repeated. "He's had a hard time lately. That's why there's been so many storms. He needs you to help him, to accept him, to understand him. Can you try?"
"I don't need to try to love him or accept him," Tenderheart said. "I already do. But understanding might take time."
Great Giving smiled and nodded. "You have plenty. Let's get him in bed."
The two bears helped Grumpy into the soft bed, and he was instantly asleep. Tenderheart stood and watched him for a minute.
"Best prepare some food," Great Giving said. "He goes through it like crazy. I wouldn't be surprised if he's up in an hour looking for some."
Tenderheart nodded. "Thanks, Giving. I'll keep in touch."
Great Giving wiggled his ears and beamed away. Tenderheart stood very still, listening to the storm outside as he watched Grumpy sleep. Then he shook his head. If that was what was going on outside, what was going on inside? With no good answer, Tenderheart turned away and headed for the kitchen. He'd ask later. For now, Grumpy needed sleep.
