By the time Kenai and Koda arrived at the river, Nita was already with the cubs. Two were on the ground, while the third was in Nita's arms. She looked up at him. "This one's really sick, Kenai. He was hurt by a hunter, and it got infected."
Kenai looked at the cub, his eyes softening as he saw it. "Poor thing."
Koda was studying the cubs on the ground. The male looked pretty ruffled up, he thought, but the girl looked friendly enough. He decided to introduce himself. "I'm Koda," he smiled, "who're you?"
"I'm Toni," the girl answered, then she nudged the boy. "And this is my brother, Aliko." She looked toward Nita. "And that's Keno, our other brother."
"He looks bad," Koda remarked. "I hope he gets better."
"We do too," Toni replied.
"Where's your mom?" Koda asked.
"Why do you want to know?" Aliko snapped, his fur bristling.
"Chill, dude," Koda said. "I was just asking."
Toni glared at her brother. "Stop, Alik. They're just being nice." She turned to Koda. "We... We lost her, in something called a forest fire." She cringed.
"I'm sorry," Koda looked down. "I lost my mom too." He brightened up. "But Kenai took care of me. I'm sure he'll take care of you too!" He looked at his brother and Nita.
Nita cradled the cub, Keno, to her as she looked at Kenai. "Come on, Kenai. You can say we're just gonna leave these cubs on their own! They're even younger than you said Koda was when you found him!"
"I didn't say that," Kenai protested. "Of course we're not gonna leave them." He lowered his voice. "But how're we gonna take care of a sick cub? Unless you know a lot about medicine from when you were in your village. I know I don't."
Nita sighed. "Then what are you saying?"
"I'm saying that we need to think about this. Do you know how we could get his shoulder better?"
"Of course I don't, but we can still feed him and take care of him and hope for the best, you know. Everything doesn't have to be made complicated, Kenai. Tender loving care heals almost everything."
Kenai huffed. "Fine.
"Wait, you're saying we get to stay with you?" Toni sounded hopeful.
Nita smiled down at the cub. "Yes, that's right. All three of you are coming with us."
"Where are we going?" Aliko asked, a little suspicious.
"Crowberry Ridge!" Koda replied excitedly. "You'll love it; there's every kind of berry you could imagine there! Black berries, huckle berries, blue berries -"
"Red berries, even?" Toni asked, almost as excited as Koda was.
"Of course!" Koda answered. "And I can show you all the best berry bushes; my mom took me there once, back when I was littler. She showed me all the best places to find berries, and a bunch of neat hiding places! We could play hide and seek all day long!"
"What about Keno?" Aliko sounded hesitant now.
"He'll be fine; we'll take care of him, I promise," Nita said comfortingly.
"But before we go anywhere, we're gonna fish." Kenai said. "We'll stay here for tonight, too, and leave in the morning."
"Alright!" Koda exclaimed, turning to the younger cubs. "You guys know how to fish, right?"
"Of course we do," Aliko remarked, sounding offended. "We're not helpless, you know."
"He never said you were," Toni growled. "Stop acting like such a prickly-pine!" With that, she bounded for the river, Koda beside her.
Aliko muttered something, but no one heard as he trailed behind the two, with Kenai following him.
After they fished, and were full, they settled down for the night. Kenai had brought back two fishes; one for Nita, the other for Keno. Keno managed to take a few bites, but then went back to sleep, curled up beside Nita. Nita quickly ate her fish, then settled down herself. Kenai laid down behind her, resting his head on her shoulder, while Koda snuggled up in front of them, and Toni and Aliko curling up together diagonal from them. Soon, all of the bears where asleep.
a hair longer; 690 words this time. not that it really matters. ugh, i'm so sorry guys. really, i am. Protector has been hit with writer's block, and to top it off i've had Rescuers Down Under and Madagascar 2 on the brain XD. went to go see it the other night, and i've fallen in love with Zuba and Florrie. Bernie Mac did awesomely as Zuba, may he RIP T.T. how i can even think of doing another Madagascar story is beyond me, but when inspiration hits, it refuses to go away. and i've become obsessed with Jake from RDU, i've already planned a trilogy for him... oh, the trials of being a writer XD. but i promise to you all; i will strive to be better at updating, and making my chapters LONGER.