Chapter III: Familiar

The first thing that registered in the koala's foggy brain was the sound of birds chirping loudly. Cracking one eye open, he noticed the purplish hue in the sky and concluded it was very early in the morning. Nom Nom slowly rose into a sitting position, groaning when he felt how stiff his back was. He certainly hadn't expected to get much sleep, but he couldn't have imagined he'd feel this horrible. He looked to his left, expecting to find the grizzly bear sleeping beside him, but he had already moved, leaving a small impression in the ground where he had slept. Nom Nom sighed heavily as he stumbled to his feet, scratching his stomach.

"Grizz, where are you?" he called, annoyance heavy in his tone. He headed for the edge of the woods, though he didn't intend to venture too far. He spotted footprints on the ground that he was almost certain belonged to the bear. "Seriously, where-ACK!" Nom Nom recoiled as he felt himself walk directly into a spider web. He slapped and clawed at his face frantically to rid himself of the sticky, stringy mess. "GET IT OFF! GET! IT! OFF!" Plucking the remnants of the web from his ears, he visibly shuddered, grimacing.

"Hey, glad you're up!" he heard Grizz's chipper voice call to him. Gnashing his teeth, Nom Nom made his way over to him.

"Can't you wake up angry at the world like normal people?" he snapped as he pushed his way through the bushes. The koala cocked a brow as he noticed the bear hunched over on the ground, one paw holding up a rotted log as he sifted through the dirt with the other. "What are you doing, exactly?"

"Eating some breakfast."

"Breakfast?"

Nom Nom made his way over to have a look for himself, though he instantly regretted it. He slapped a paw over his mouth, resisting the urge to gag as he saw the numerous beetles and grubs wiggling and scurrying about in the moist soil.

"Want one?" Grizz asked as he plucked a grub from the ground and held it out to him. That did it.

Nom Nom turned and fled to a nearby tree, placing a paw against the trunk as he bent over and began to heave.

"Dude…you okay?"

"THAT IS DISGUSTING!" Nom Nom shouted over his shoulder, grabbing at his stomach as he gagged again.

Grizz shrugged, popping the grub into his mouth. "Look, this wouldn't be my first choice, either, but you gotta take what's available to you. Insects are a good source of protein. Not as tasty as pizza, but they'll do in a pinch." Grizz grabbed for a large beetle that was trying to scurry away. "You're gonna have to eat something. Maybe you could try chewing grass? You can get a lot of nutrients from the juice," the bear suggested.

Nom Nom wiped the corner of his mouth with the back of his paw as he managed to overcome his sudden nausea, looking back at the bear with a look of surprise at hearing this bit of knowledge, not having expected to hear anything remotely intelligent coming from Grizz of all people. "I'm not a horse," he mumbled as he waved him off. He ran his tongue over the front of his teeth and grimaced. "My teeth feel like they have fuzzy slippers. I've never gone this long without brushing my teeth."

"Here, try using this," Grizz said as he scooped up a pine cone and tossed it to the koala, who caught it easily.

"And…what am I supposed to do with this?" he scoffed as he inspected the object with a look of disgust.

"You can use it as a toothbrush. Just scrape it across the front of your teeth. It kinda works."

Nom Nom looked curious now. "Where did you learn all this outdoor survival stuff, anyway?" he asked as he looked back at the bear.

"I got a lot of it from watching Badger In the Wild," Grizz replied as he got to his feet, dusting the dirt off his paws. "I kinda watch it religiously."

The koala made a face, tossing the pinecone over his shoulder. "You mean that show about the blond guy with the accent who frolics through the woods, going on and on about how great nature is?" Nom Nom sneered. "Please….'I wasn't born on this earth just to stay alive. I was born to be alive'," he mocked as he attempted to imitate the man's accent, which earned a giggle from Grizz. "How much you wanna bet the guy has a trailer he chills in between scenes and eats himself a ham sandwich? It's probably just a big act."

"Well…your videos are technically an act, too," Grizz pointed out honestly, not intending to actually put the koala down with his words, though he was still met with a dirty look. "No offense. But you know, even if it's all just for show, the information he gives is still good." The bear suddenly chuckled. "You wanna hear a funny story? A couple months ago, I sort of got the idea for me and my bros to live out in the wild after seeing an ad for Badger's show."

Nom Nom blinked. "I'm sorry, come again?"

"Yeah…I saw this twenty second ad for his show on Everyone's Tube, and I just thought…maybe that's what we should be doing."

"Let me get this straight…You dragged your brothers out into the wilderness to live like wild animals based on a twenty second ad you saw before an E-Tube video?"

Grizz grinned sheepishly. "I know…pretty dumb, right?"

"Do you always dive head first into something without thinking about it?"

"Pretty much."

Nom Nom shook his head. "Well…I hope watching that show taught you something about making a fire. I'd feel a lot better if we had a fire to huddle around when it's dark. Not that I want to be out here another night."

"Well, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it."

ooooooo

The sun was much higher now, taking the chill out of the air. The morning dew had finally evaporated from the ground, which came as a relief to the two animals, as they hated having to walk through wet grass. They suspected it was still morning, though it was difficult to determine just how late in the morning it was.

"Do you have any idea what time it is?" Nom Nom asked tiredly as he slowly stumbled along behind his traveling companion.

"I don't know…maybe eleven?" Grizz placed a hand to his stomach as he felt it growl loudly. "I might need to find more bugs to eat," he sighed, hearing Nom Nom make a gagging sound behind him. The trees eventually thinned out, and the pair ventured out into a clearing, where they came upon a large pond. Grizz's face immediately lit up. "Nom Nom, look! Look!" he shouted excitedly as he pointed at the body of water resting before them.

"I see it. It's a pond," the koala sighed, not the least bit interested.

Grizz took a few steps back before making a mad dash, spreading his arms out and belly flopping against the water with a joyous yell. Nom Nom rolled his eyes as he found a grassy spot to rest. The bear resurfaced seconds later, shaking the water from his head. "C'mon, dude! Jump in!"

"Are you kidding me? As if I'm going to risk snorting a brain eating amoeba in that disgusting water!"

"Aww, stop being such a Negative Nancy!" Grizz shot back as he splashed at the koala, who held up a paw to shield his face.

"Knock it off! I'm not getting in! And don't say 'Negative Nancy'."

Grizz shrugged and began floating on his back. "Suit yourself! Have fun being covered in mud!"

Frowning deeply, Nom Nom had a look at himself, noticing the dried clumps of mud clinging to the fur on his legs. He sighed, deciding he was better off bathing in dirty water than not bathing at all. Getting to his feet, he sought out a shallow sandy spot along the edge of the pond and took a few steps out into the murky water. He scrubbed at his legs and splashed water against his stomach to rid himself of as much dirt and mud as possible, all while keeping an eye on Grizz, who he noticed was swimming towards him with a mischievous glint in his eye. "Stay back," he warned.

"What?" Grizz replied innocently. "Afraid I'm gonna splash you? You're already in the water!" Once he was close enough, he splashed at the smaller animal, prompting him to turn and flee back to dry land with a frustrated yell.

"You're the worst!"

"You're already wet!" Grizz laughed.

"That's not the point! People don't like water being splashed in their face!"

Grizz waved him off before venturing back out into deeper water. As he dog paddled his way across the pond, he found himself observing the scenery with a studious gaze. His attention shifted to a spot on the bank, and he stilled as he suddenly saw an image flash before his mind. It was gone as quickly as it had come, but he distinctively saw what looked to be a brown bear standing in the shallow area of the pond, while a young cub trotted around the grassy bank. The vision came and went in just a matter of seconds, but it still gave him pause.

The bear swam back towards the bank where Nom Nom resided. As the water became more shallow, Grizz felt his paws touch the soft, muddy bottom, and he was able to straighten up and walk out, dripping heavily.

"What's up with you?" Nom Nom asked as he raised a brow. "You look like you're in a daze."

"I don't know…this place just seems familiar. I feel like I've been here before."

"Well, you said you took your brothers out to the woods to live. Maybe you passed through here?" the koala suggested with a shrug.

Grizz shook his head slowly. "No…I would have remembered that. Whenever it was, I feel like it's been years ago."

Nom Nom furrowed his brows as he watched Grizz begin to walk away from him. "Wait, where're you going?"

"I just wanna have a look around," the bear answered quietly.

Not wanting to risk being separated, Nom Nom jumped to his feet and followed after the bear. "Well, wait for me!" he quipped.

Grizz led the way to the edge of the forest, craning his neck to look up at the massive evergreens, and then back down at the various plants and rocks along the ground. Heading a little further into the woods, they were able to pick up on the distinct sound of running water. "Is that a river?" Nom Nom asked as the sound grew louder.

"Yeah, I see it through the trees," Grizz replied. "Man…all this feels familiar to me. It's so weird. I really like it, though. It feels so…calming and peaceful."

As his gaze finally settled on the river, Nom Nom suddenly gained a spring in his step and rushed ahead of the bear. He knelt down to take a drink, confident the water was much cleaner than that from the pond. "This is probably the same river we crossed yesterday," the koala huffed. "We're probably just going in circles now."

Grizz crouched down beside the smaller animal and took a drink as well. "Well…I was thinking," he began as he wiped his mouth with the back of his paw, "…maybe we should just hang out here for a while?"

"What? Stay here?"

"Well, you know…people debate whether it's a good idea to stay put or to keep moving when you're lost in the wilderness. Maybe if we hang out here for a while-"

"But that only works if they know we're out here, remember?"

"Well, maybe they are looking for us out here. I mean…they're going to run out of places to look eventually. They're gonna have to start looking in the woods."

"The city's a big place. It'll probably be days before they even think to start looking for us out here, and the only reason they'll even start looking here is because they think some psycho murdered us and dumped our mutilated bodies out here for the buzzards to eat! And if by some chance they do find us, then it'll probably be too late! You'll probably be dead from starvation, and I'll probably be having in-depth conversations with inanimate objects! I've seen Cast Away! I know how this stuff goes!"

Grizz couldn't help himself as he began to laugh loudly, much to Nom Nom's aggravation. "Dude, seriously, get a hold of yourself. We're not gonna die, we're not gonna go insane and give personas to inanimate objects. We're going to be fine. Come on, take a deep breath."

Nom Nom inhaled through his nose.

"Now let it out. Good. Deep breath...Aaaand out. There, feel better?"

"No."

"Oh. Well…sorry." Grizz got to his feet and brushed the dirt from his fur. "C'mon…let's head back."

"Look, I think we should just keep moving," the other grumbled as he trailed behind the bear.

"I don't think it would hurt anything to just stop and relax for a while. It'll be kinda like camping! Plus that area is big and open; someone in a plane or helicopter might see us!"

"But the chances of that happening-"

"Please, Nom Nom?" Grizz begged as he stopped to look back at the koala pleadingly. "I can't really explain it, but I just really like this place. I don't know…it feels like home to me. I just feel happy here. Can't we stay a little longer? Please?"

Nom Nom's shoulders slumped as he let out a defeated sigh. "Fine. I'm tired of walking through this stupid forest, anyway."

Grizz gave a grateful smile as he turned and continued walking. Reentering the clearing, the bear took off towards the pond again, leaping high into the air and hitting the water with a loud splash.

ooooooo

A few hours later…

"I'm gonna catch a fish if my life depends on it!"

"Your life does depend on it, you dork."

Grizz had been eagerly searching in the murky water for a fish of some kind for quite a while now. Nom Nom sat a few feet away from the bank, well out of splashing reach. In one paw he held a broken branch, its tiny, pencil-thin branches still covered in lush green leaves, which he was currently plucking off one by one and slowly devouring. They were far from palatable, but starvation didn't seem like a better alternative, so he suffered through it. He watched with mild amusement as the grizzly bear slowly waded through the water, his arms raised and his gaze stern and focused as he hunted for his prey.

"Oh, I see you, you little rascal," Grizz hissed. He dove forward, submerging himself briefly. He resurfaced just seconds later, a face-splitting grin on his face as he held up his prize, its wet scales gleaming in the sunlight. "I got 'im! I got 'im!" he cheered as the fish thrashed wildly in his paws. "I'm a natural born predator!" he cheered triumphantly. "Eat your heart out, Badger!"As if offended by the bear's smugness, the fish suddenly broke free from his grip, spinning through the air and striking Grizz across the face with its tail before dropping back into the water with a loud splash.

Nom Nom spat the leaf he had been chewing from his mouth as he doubled over with laughter, while Grizz stood rubbing his stinging cheek. "Oh, that hurts!" the koala gasped as he clutched his stomach, tears stinging his eyes as his laughing fit continued. "Some predator!" he teased.

With his pride in pieces, Grizz slowly made his way out of the water and shuffled over to the cackling marsupial, plopping down with a frustrated sigh as he crossed his arms.

"Oh, man," Nom Nom sighed, wiping a tear from his eye. "I needed a good laugh."

"Well, I'm glad you found it entertaining," Grizz huffed bitterly.

"C'mon, lighten up," the koala chuckled as he lightly punched Grizz on the arm.

"I had 'im! He was right there in my hands!" The bear clutched his stomach as he felt it rumble. "Man, I'm starving…and he was a good size, too."

"Don't you think you should build a fire before you catch the fish?" Nom Nom inquired dryly as he observed one of his claws. "I mean…I'd imagine you want to cook it, right?"

"Hmm…Well…I guess that's an idea." Girzz considered the thought, touching his paw to his chin. "It won't be easy to do without matches." A look of excitement suddenly came to the bear's face as he leapt to his feet. "Oh! I know! I can try to make a fire bow!"

Nom Nom looked up at him. "A what?"

"A fire bow. I saw Badger make one on his show! It's kinda like the two stick method, but it's a bit more complex."

Nom Nom snickered. "I don't think complexity is one of your strong points."

"It's not that hard. I just need the right tools to make it. It looked really cool, and I wanna see if I can make one!" Grizz rose to his feet and began surveying the land for the proper necessities. "Okay…so I'm gonna need the bow itself, a baseboard…a spindle and a rock to bear down on the spindle. What's gonna to be tricky is finding something to use for string…"

"Well, have fun with that."

Grizz glanced down at the koala. "Actually, I could use your help with this. We're also gonna need tinder to get the fire lit. If you'll get that, I'll get everything else to make the bow."

Nom Nom rolled his eyes as he got to his feet. "Fine, whatever. Just get a bunch of sticks, right? Simple enough."

"No, that's kindling. We need tinder first."

The koala arched a brow. "Wait, what's the difference?"

"Combustibility. Kindling is what you'll use once your fire's a decent size. We'll work up to that, but we need tinder first. So aim for dry stuff, things that are really thin and wispy. Just pretend you're a bird making a nest!" the bear added with a laugh. "Just gather everything up into a bundle."

"Thin and wispy? What am I looking for here?"

Grizz shrugged. "I don't know…something like scraped tree bark. I think I remember Badger saying cedar bark works best, and there's plenty of cedar trees around here."

The koala mumbled every complaint imaginable as he got to his feet and begrudgingly began his assigned task. Grizz took to his own search, deciding to first look for a suitable bearing block. "How long do you think it'll take you to make a fire once you've made this bow thingy?" Nom Nom called back to him.

"Uh…it could take a while, especially considering I've never tried this before."

"How long are we talking? Like are we talking twenty minutes here, or can I read all of Moby Dick in one sitting before you create a single spark?"

"Dude, tone down the sarcasm a bit, I'll do the best I can."

Nom Nom sighed in frustration as he returned to his task, which proved to be more of a chore than he first anticipated.

Author's Note: Okay, so from here on out, this story is going to be taking some dramatic turns. It's gonna be taking some emotional turns, to suspenseful turns, to emotional again, and then back to suspenseful again, and...yeah. It just keeps going. Sit tight. It's gonna be kind of a roller coaster.