Chapter VI: Remembrances

"Grizz? Grizz?"

Grizz paid little mind to the rain as he stepped out from the cover of the trees and into the clearing, making his way towards the tree.

"Seriously?! You're seriously doing this right now?!" Nom Nom shouted as he begrudgingly followed after the bear, wincing as the heavy rain pelted the top of his head. "Have you finally lost your mind?!"

Ignoring Nom Nom's angry shouting, Grizz continued forward, craning his neck as he gazed up at the tall evergreen tree that stood in the middle of the clearing. There was something about the tree that was not only familiar to him, but it also made him feel heavy with fear and apprehension. He placed a paw against the trunk as he searched the deepest depths of his memories for some sort of explanation for this tree's significance.

"Grizz?!" Nom Nom called to him again as he came to stand directly beside the bear, who finally managed to break free of his momentary daze and glanced down at the soaked koala. "What is wrong with you?"

Grizz glanced back up at the tree and then down at Nom Nom again. "I've seen this tree before."

Nom Nom sighed irritably. "Look, I think the lack of protein is finally getting to you. You're probably deranged now."

Grizz turned to him sharply. "I've dreamt about this place!" he snapped. "Something important happened here, okay?! Something I've blocked out of my mind that I can't remember! Or…that I don't want to remember."

The rain began to lighten, though the thunder still rumbled overhead. Nom Nom hugged himself as the wind swept across his small frame.

"What are we supposed to do? Stand out here in the rain and wait for you to remember?"

Grizz continued staring up at the tree as his frustration mounted. There was a quick flash that lit up the sky, followed by a loud clap of thunder, but the bear was not deterred as he took a step towards the tree and carefully began to climb, momentarily dismissing his fear of getting stuck. If it would help trigger some sort of memory from his past, he was willing to do it.

"What are you doing?!"

"I have to figure this out!"

Grizz shimmied his way up the trunk, tightly grasping the first branch within reach and pulling himself up. He tested its strength before putting his full weight on it. "I've been in this tree!" he shouted down to Nom Nom, who was looking back up at him, a paw held above his face to shield his eyes from the rain. "It was a long time ago, but I was here…I was put here!"

"By who?!"

Grizz shifted his gaze towards the top of the tree, brows furrowing. He continued making his way up, wincing as the strong gusts of wind and rain stung his eyes. "That's what I'm trying to remember," he muttered. "I think…"

"Grizz, this is nuts! How many dangerous stunts are you willing to pull in a twenty-four hour cycle?! I'm not saving your butt this time! Do you hear me?!"

Grizz once again ignored the koala's angry shouts as he continued to climb higher. He paused momentarily, sparing a quick, fearful glance at the ground below. A bright flash of light and a loud clap of thunder prompted him to squeeze his eyes shut and latch onto the tree tightly. Images of bright flashing lights and humans in yellow coats suddenly flashed before his mind, and it was then that everything slowly began to piece itself together. He could hear his younger self wailing loudly as he clung desperately to the tree, cold rain drenching him as thunder sounded overheard. He could vaguely recall the face of a human, his features not quite clear, but he remembered his soothing voice. Grab on. You're safe now.

Everything came rushing back to him like a powerful torrent of water, making him wish he had just ignored his curiosity and continued living in ignorant bliss.

"Grizz?!" Nom Nom continued calling to the bear, not understanding why he had grown so still and silent.

Grizz sighed heavily as he slowly and carefully began making his way back down. He kept his back to the koala as his feet touched the soggy ground. "I remember," he mumbled, resting his head against the trunk.

"Remember what?"

"Everything."

Nom Nom started to reply but immediately stopped himself, waiting for Grizz to elaborate.

"My mom put me here. She put me in this tree."

"Why?"

The bear paused for a moment, staring listlessly at the ground.

"….We were running from something. I never saw what it was, though. And I remember it had started storming really bad." Grizz let out a shaky breath. He lifted his head and looked towards the forest. "After she left me here, she disappeared through those trees. She said she'd come back." Grizz could feel a lump forming in his throat. "Not long after she left…I heard a loud noise. It sounded like thunder….I thought it was thunder."

Nom Nom became very still and silent as the grim realization set in, and it became very clear that it had set in for Grizz as well, so there was no sense in being cruel by making the bear clarify. Being foreign to such tragic topics, he was completely at a loss. He wanted to say something, but he knew there was nothing of substance he could say to something like this. Nothing at all.

"I waited…and waited, but she never came back…so I started calling for her. I screamed! But nothing." Grizz paused to look up at the tree again. "I can't really remember who it was that found me. It might have been a pair of hikers who probably got caught up in the storm and were trying to get back to town. I just remember all the lights and sirens…and then there was the man who pulled me out of the tree. I didn't really look at his face…I just remember clutching onto his arm and never wanting to let go. For the first time that night…I felt safe." Grizz took a slow step back before lowering himself to the ground. The rain had finally started to let up.

Not knowing what else to do, Nom Nom slowly approached the bear and sat down directly beside him, hardly caring about the mud staining his fur. His gaze shifted between Grizz and the tree as he struggled to find something meaningful to say.

Grizz chuckled softly. "Now I understand why I became so attached to that burrito," he whispered. There was another painfully long pause, which was succeeded by a tired sigh from Grizz. "I understand a lot of things now, actually. Everything felt so familiar to me because…it was my home. That cave we found was where my mom and I slept…and that pond was where we'd sometimes go to play. This whole forest was my home. I guess I kinda always knew that, but… I just never gave it much thought." Grizz heaved another sigh. "Look…thanks for listening…and for putting up with my momentary craziness."

Not hearing a response from the koala, Grizz glanced his way, noticing that he was staring up at the tree, looking absolutely shaken. "Hey…are you gonna be okay?" he asked.

Nom Nom looked over at him with a stunned gape, unbelieving that the bear would be so much more concerned for his emotional state than his own. "Are you?"

Grizz looked down at his paws. "I think so," he said, though there was uncertainty in his voice. "Clearly this has haunted me all my life. Now I can finally put it to rest." The bear hugged himself as he shivered. "C'mon…let's get out of the rain."

ooooooo

The two animals had taken shelter under a large cypress tree, where they sat and watched the storm slowly begin to dissipate. All around them, birds and small mammals finally started to emerge from their shelters to forage for food. Nom Nom occasionally stuck his paw out from beneath the cover of the thick branches to feel how heavy the rain was. Thankfully, it had decreased to a light drizzle, and the sky was beginning to lighten as the dark clouds moved onward. A thought suddenly occurred to the koala, and he looked back at his companion.

"Hey…you said the fire department came and got you down from that tree, right?" he asked as gently as he could. He hated having to bring the topic up again.

"Yeah?"

"Well, we must be pretty close to home, then. I mean, if they were able to get up here so easily, then maybe we can just follow this clearing straight back to the city."

Grizz raised his brows curiously as he watched Nom Nom step out from under the tree. "What're you doing?"

"I'm just gonna have a look."

Nom Nom hastily made his way over to the tree and immediately started climbing, hoping his suspicions were true. As he neared the top of the tree, he spared a quick glance at the ground and immediately held onto the tree a little bit tighter. As he came within just two feet of the very top of the tree, he looked out over the horizon and almost started laughing manically as he laid eyes on the city skyline. "Grizz!" he shouted as he started making his way back down. "Grizz, I see it! I see the city! I see the-WOAH!" Nom Nom caught himself as he felt his foot slip against the moist bark. "I see it! I see it!" he continued cheering.

Grizz rushed out from underneath the cypress tree, meeting the koala at the base of the tree as he finally touched back down to the ground. "Really? Is it close?" he asked hopefully. Nom Nom's face fell slightly as he turned to meet him.

"Well…not exactly. It's not a ten minute walk, that's for sure."

Grizz's shoulders slumped. "How far, then?"

"I don't know…It'd probably take us three…maybe four hours to get there on foot once you add in all the stops along the way."

"That long? Really?"

Nom Nom looked at Grizz seriously. "What'd you wanna do? I mean…it's getting kinda late already, so it's not likely we'll make it there before dark."

"What'd you wanna do? I think you wanna get out of this mess even more than I do."

Nom Nom shrugged. "Maybe…but you look like you're about to collapse, and I'm pretty tired myself. We're running on next to no sleep as it is. I don't think waiting one more day is going to hurt. We can start fresh in the morning."

Grizz nodded slowly. "Yeah…I guess."

ooooooo

Grizz awoke to the uncomfortable feeling of an empty stomach. He had felt hungry all day, but it was becoming harder to ignore.

Pushing himself into a sitting position, the bear opened his mouth in a wide yawn. He looked down and noticed Nom Nom sleeping beside him, a small pile of cypress branches nestled beneath him. It was still fairly light, so Grizz knew he probably hadn't slept more than a half hour.

Slowly and quietly, Grizz crawled out from underneath the tree, making sure not to wake the slumbering koala. Looking upwards, he noticed the sky was a vibrant pink and almost completely vacant of clouds. The rain had left a mild chill in the air, though Grizz didn't seem to mind it. He knew within another hour it would likely be completely dark. He decided to take advantage of the last few moments of daylight he had and go forage for something to eat. He turned and headed back into the woods, making a mark on each of the trees he passed so he could easily find his way back. He only walked about ten yards or so before he came to another clearing, where he came upon a small river, this one was much calmer than the one he had had the misfortune of getting swept away in this morning.

Grizz picked up his pace and quickly made his way over to the edge of the river, suddenly realizing how thirsty he was. He gulped as much water as he could stomach, hoping it would help curb his hunger. He then splashed the cool water onto his face and began scrubbing at his fur, groaning tiredly into his paws. As he let his paws slide down his face, his gaze shifted to his reflection in the water, and he immediately became horrified to see that the reflection was not his own. Though it looked like him, the bear he saw staring back at him looked feral and downright frightening. He gasped and shook his head, certain his fatigue was affecting his vision. Looking down at his reflection again, he was relieved to see his own face reflecting back to him, but he still felt uneasy. Hearing his stomach growl again only furthered his anxiety.

Grizz sighed and lifted his head, his eyes widening as he saw what looked to be a taco stand on the other side of the river, about twenty feet away. Lifting a paw, the bear slapped himself across the face and looked again, finding a tall pine tree in the spot he had seen the taco stand. Great, now I'm hallucinating. Bringing his face down to the water once again, Grizz took another long drink.

"I was wondering where you went," he heard a groggy voice call to him. Wiping his snout, Grizz glanced over his shoulder to see Nom Nom shuffling his way towards him. "I must not have been asleep that long if it's still daylight."

Taking a closer look at the koala's face, it was clear to see how exhausted he was. Grizz could see bags beginning to form under his eyes, and his unkempt fur only added to his weary appearance. He quickly looked away before giving Nom Nom the chance to notice him staring.

"Are you…holding up?"

The question forced Grizz to look his way again. It was obvious he was uneasy about bringing up the subject again. Offering words of comfort had never been Nom Nom's forte, clearly.

"I'm okay, I guess. Although now I really want a taco," Grizz muttered in reply, receiving a confused look from the koala.

"Are you satisfied? I mean…are you glad you know what happened?"

Grizz gave it some thought. "I don't know. Not knowing where I came from or who my family was has kinda always been at the back of my mind. I didn't think about it all the time, but it was usually something I would think about late at night when I was having trouble sleeping. I thought knowing the truth was always best, though I never put much effort into finding out. But honestly, knowing what I know now…I feel like I was better off not ever knowing. I mean, it's not like my life was impacted by not knowing. My life's pretty great now. I got my bros to keep me happy." The bear paused for a moment and shrugged. "I don't know….I guess it's true what they say…ignorance is bliss."

Nom Nom finally chose that moment to sit down beside the bear. "I don't know about that," he replied softly. "While you might not like truth…at least you know and can stop torturing yourself wondering. The truth might hurt, but not knowing hurts more."

Grizz gave Nom Nom his full attention, sensing there was something deeper in the meaning of his words.

"I wish I knew where I came from…or who my family was."

"You don't know?"

The koala shook his head slowly, looking down. "No. I was found just wandering around when I was a cub. I can't remember much before that…and it's haunted me all my life. I mean…did I come from a zoo? Was I someone's pet? Did they get tired of me and dump me? What? I don't know! I know it shouldn't matter, considering where I am now, but a baby koala doesn't just show up on the streets of California. I mean, there are days it never even crosses my mind, and then there are other days when it's all I can think about."

"Who found you?" Grizz asked after a brief pause. Nom Nom turned to him, raising a brow.

"What?"

"You said someone found you. Who? Were you taken to some kind of animal shelter?"

Nom Nom frowned and looked away, becoming very quiet. Grizz was certain he had touched on a very sensitive topic and was about to dismiss the question but the koala finally uttered a response, albeit quietly.

"No…The guy who found me was just a regular citizen going about his day. His name was Russ. He was kinda tall…and he wore a baseball cap all the time. He was homeless, and he didn't have a job. Most of the money he had was just what he found on the streets, or from people who took pity on him. When he found me, I couldn't even put up much of a fight, even though I was terrified of him. I was exhausted and weak. Needless to say, if he hadn't found me, I probably wouldn't even be here." Nom Nom paused momentarily, expecting to hear Grizz interrupt him with another question, but the bear seemed to be hanging on his every word, eagerly waiting for him to tell him more.

"He lived in a tent under an overpass, but he spent a lot of time wandering around through the city, sometimes looking for work. I remember when he brought me back to where he lived, the first thing he did was give me what was left of his food and water, which wasn't much. I ate everything that was offered to me as though it was my last meal, and I didn't stop eating until he completely ran out of food." Nom Nom chuckled before adding, "Thus, I was given the name Nom Nom."

"Really?" Grizz asked, cracking a tiny smile at this small piece of information. "I always meant to ask if Nom Nom was your real name or if it was just an alias you used online."

"No…it's my real name." Nom Nom couldn't stop himself from smiling as he recalled the memory.

"Oh my gosh, that is the cutest thing!" the bear giggled excitedly. "So how long did you live with him?"

"I can't really remember. At that age, I didn't really have any grasp of time, but I think it was probably no more than a month." Nom Nom glanced at Grizz curiously as he caught him staring at him out of the corner of his eye.

"Well?" the bear asked eagerly. "What happened next?"

"Well…we became pretty attached to each other. For a while, he would leave me in his tent while he went into town, but he eventually started taking me along. We definitely turned a few heads. I'd always sit perched on his shoulder and he'd just go about his business like having a baby koala sitting on his shoulder was the most normal thing in the world. He had a few favorite hang outs, and he'd usually carry an old tattered book to read, which I'm sure he'd read a thousand times before. But with me hanging out on his shoulder, he didn't get much peace. Anytime someone walked by, they'd have to stop and either pet me or take a picture. It was a little scary at first, but I got used to it after a while. He pulled in a lot of money when I was with him. It was like them seeing that he had another mouth to feed other than his own suddenly put everyone in the giving spirit. No one could resist tossing a few quarters into his hat when they saw me."

Nom Nom looked down at the ground as he began drawing tiny squiggles in the dirt with his claw. "He came up with this game that he liked to play with me…and it always seemed to really entertain the crowds. He would place three cups down in front of me, and he'd place a pebble under one of them, and then he'd move them around really fast and I'd have to try to remember which cup it was that had the pebble. He'd sometimes add a fourth or fifth cup just to make it more challenging. People loved it. They thought it was the cutest thing they'd ever seen. I grabbed a lot of people's attention…including that of a talent agent."

Grizz noticed the sudden change in Nom Nom's tone, and he frowned slightly.

"The moment he saw me, he wasted no time in trying to buy me off. He told that he felt I had the potential to be something big…and that he could open a lot of doors for me. He tried offering him a hundred dollars for me, but he was quick to turn it down, which shocked the guy. He probably never imagined a homeless man would turn down a hundred bucks, but he wasn't about to just walk away. He made one offer right after another. He managed to get all the way up to five hundred dollars, but Russ still wouldn't budge. When he realized money alone wasn't going to sway his decision, he decided to pull out the big guns."

"Big guns?"

"Emotional manipulation," Nom Nom hissed. "He managed to get it into his head that he was in no position to take care of any kind of animal, given the fact that he was homeless and didn't have an income. He told him that he couldn't provide the adequate shelter and care that I needed, and that if I needed medical attention, he'd have no means of providing it for me. He convinced him that it would be irresponsible of him to refuse to sell me to someone who did have the means to provide for me…and that he was selfish for trying to keep me."

"What? That's not fair!"

Nom Nom glared at the ground. "Well…it worked. Honestly, if that agent hadn't come along, I'm pretty certain some kind of animal protection agency or whatever would have eventually come along and taken me away by force. I mean, I'm a koala, not a dog. I probably would have ended up in some zoo or sanctuary eventually."

"Well, maybe…but still. It sounded like he was taking good care of you."

Nom Nom shrugged. "He did. He cared for me the best he could, in spite of his limited resources, but he was convinced it wasn't enough, so he finally relented and agreed to sell me. He told me that he was only letting me go so that I could have a better life…and that he loved me. And well…the rest is history."

Grizz's face softened with sympathy. "Are you okay?"

The koala's eyes narrowed as he felt his eyes fill with tears. "Fine," he growled as he angrily wiped them away, avoiding the bear's gaze. "I mean…why should I complain, right? I went on to live a pretty great life…though I was a bit stubborn starting out. I didn't want to cooperate with the crew for the first couple of months. They actually had to place me in a room by myself with a hidden camera and a bunch of toys in order to film me doing anything cute. I was finally starting to learn how to speak during that time…and my agent had a bad habit of calling someone a 'Jackass' whenever he got into an argument with them. So guess which word I started calling everyone?"

Grizz nearly doubled over with laughter. "You didn't!"

"Oh, I did. It was a miracle they didn't haul my butt to the nearest zoo and drop me off at the gates. I was just angry…with everyone. I had gotten so used to living with Russ, and I just wanted to go back to him. It took a while for me to finally stop missing him so badly and accept my new life. I even started to like it."

"Did you ever get to see him again?" Grizz asked hopefully.

Nom Nom looked away again. "I went looking for him about two years ago. I started thinking…I had all this money and all these connections. I felt like maybe I could give something back to him after all he did for me, maybe help him get a job. So I went to find him. I thought I'd find him still living under the overpass, but he wasn't there, so I just started checking all his usual hangouts. I could never find him, though. Finally, I went to the Farmer's Market where he usually bought his food to ask someone if they knew where he was." Nom Nom paused again. "The weather had been kind of unusual a few months prior. There were a few days where it got really cold…and it rained a lot. When one of the vendors noticed Russ hadn't shown up for a few days, they went looking for him." Nom Nom let out a shaky breath. "They found him in his tent…dead. He had gotten sick. They said they thought it might have been pneumonia…probably due to being out in the cold and rain."

Nom Nom finally turned his attention back to Grizz, noticing the bear looked close to tears himself. Wrapping his arms around his legs, he rested his chin on his knees. "I think what hurts…more than anything…is the fact that I could have prevented it. If I had just went looking for him sooner…If I had just thought to…" The koala grit his teeth as he managed to stifle a sob. "He may still be here." Unable to fight back his tears any longer, Nom Nom quickly buried his face in his arms.

Grizz started to reach out to place a comforting paw on his back, but he paused and pulled it back, uncertain if Nom Nom wanted to be touched at that particular moment.

"Nom Nom…you can't torture yourself like that," he replied softly. "You didn't know. There's no way you could have known. You can't blame yourself for what happened."

Nom Nom suddenly lifted his head, glaring at the bear through tear-filled eyes. "YOU THINK I HAVEN'T TOLD MYSELF THAT A THOUSAND TIMES?!" he cried, wiping at his eyes angrily. "But it doesn't matter! Because you can't! You can't look me in the eye and tell me it wouldn't have made a difference! Do you know how many times I thought about trying to find him?! It crossed my mind so many times, but I never got around to it because I would always get distracted with something! And finally when I do decide to try to find him, it's too late!" Nom Nom continued wiping at his eyes with both paws, but his tears wouldn't cease. "He was the only person I ever cared about," he finished with a squeak.

Grizz didn't hold back this time. He reached out with both arms and quickly pulled the smaller animal against his large frame, somewhat surprised the koala did not resist. "Look, maybe it would have made a difference, but you can't keep spending your life blaming yourself over it. You didn't know, Nom Nom! We all have things we wish we could go back in time and change, things we would have done differently if given the opportunity. Beating yourself up over whether or not you could have changed the outcome of a tragedy…the only thing you're accomplishing is destroying your mental health."

Grizz squeezed Nom Nom a little tighter as he felt him clutch at his fur, his body still shaking with quiet sobs. "I know what you're thinking. There's this little voice in your head that's telling you that…maybe you didn't care about him, or you stopped caring. But you know that's not true. You did care about him. You still do…otherwise it wouldn't affect you like this." Grizz felt Nom Nom still slightly under his paws. "I know it's not easy to accept these things, but it's all you can do. You need to let go."

Nom Nom pulled away to glance up at the bear momentarily before pulling himself out of his arms, shaking his head as he did so. "This is pathetic. You literally just found out your mother was killed, and here you are trying to comfort me over something I found out about years ago."

Grizz furrowed his brows as he replied, "I don't see how that makes my pain more valid than yours." His shoulder slumped slightly. "But honestly…I had kind of accepted a long time ago that my mother had probably died. I wasn't sure…and I had always held out hope that maybe she was still out there somewhere. And…" Grizz felt himself about to cry, and he quickly took a calming breath to stop himself from doing so. "…I had thought about looking for her, too. But I could never bring myself to do it, because…somehow I just knew. You didn't know about Russ, so it was like having the rug ripped out from under you." Wiping at his eyes, the bear smiled gently. "We both had people who cared about us…and who were willing to make difficult choices for our own best interests. The best thing we can do is acknowledge what they did for us…and just try to move on."

Nom Nom slowly nodded his head, sighing softly. "Thanks."

Grizz smiled. "Do you feel a little better after talking about it?"

"I guess." The koala exhaled again. "I just wish I could have said something to make you feel better," he stated with a shrug, his gaze falling to the ground.

"You didn't need to say anything. You listened…and that's all that matters to me. Besides, as horrible as it was…something good did come out of it: my brothers. They filled that void that my mother left behind, and I couldn't be happier now. A bad situation can always bring something good, just remember that. Oh…and about the whole thing with not knowing where you came from…Don't worry about it." Grizz smiled warmly. "I know it bugs you, but it doesn't matter where you came from. All that matters is where you're going."

Nom Nom snorted at hearing this. "I don't even think I know where I'm going anymore. I know Russ would be ashamed of me if he saw me now."

"Listen…you didn't exactly have the best role models growing up. You were surrounded by a lot of Hollywood types who were mostly concerned with schedules and making money. It's no shock a lot of that rubbed off on you. I'm not saying how you acted was okay…but it's understandable."

The koala sighed again as he wiped away what was left of his tears. "I've literally been doing this all my life. Even before I was in a studio with a video camera in front of me…people were still gushing and fawning over me on the streets. I guess that's why I'm so afraid of losing it. I don't know how to do anything else. If I lost my job…I'd be lost."

"You'd be fine," Grizz replied confidently. "You can always come to me for help."

Nom Nom wanted to respond to that, but instead he just stared down at his paws. He had never felt so humbled in his life.

The pair fell into a brief silence.

"Look…I'm really sorry for getting us lost out here."

Nom Nom shrugged. "Honestly…even though I was pretty angry in the beginning, it's actually been kind of nice not having to keep up with schedules and having to appear at events. Even so, I'll still be glad to get back to civilization. Going this long without the internet…just feels unnatural."

"True that," Grizz chuckled. As he looked towards the sky, he took note of how quickly it had darkened in the last twenty minutes. The once pink sky had now shifted to a purplish blue. "'C'mon…let's get some sleep," Grizz stated as he staggered to his feet. Nom Nom did the same, and the two slowly started heading back towards the trees.

Grizz winced and clutched his stomach as his hunger pangs reminded him that he was teetering on the edge of a potentially dangerous situation. Fear began to plague him as he once again recalled what had happened to his brothers. He glanced worriedly at Nom Nom, and his concern only escalated. He knew the koala would stand absolutely no chance of surviving if he were to suffer the same fate that his brothers had. He had meant to try and find something to eat, but his conversation with Nom Nom had distracted him.

"Hey, uh, listen…I've been thinking…" he began before Nom Nom had a chance to take his place back under the cypress tree. The koala turned to him, his brows raised curiously. "I think it might be better if you slept in one of these trees. You know…just to be safe."

"Safe? Safe from what?"

As if on cue, they were suddenly interrupted by the sound of a wolf howling. Grizz quickly took advantage of this. "From wolves! No offense, but you wouldn't have much of a defense against a predator like that. Wolves can't climb trees, so there's no chance they'd be able to get to you."

"Why are you so concerned now?"

Grizz felt himself beginning to sweat.

"I…just wasn't really thinking before. After that first close call we had, I figure it's best that we don't take any chances, right?" Grizz could only hope that his reasoning sounded sensible.

"Well…what are you going to do?"

"Don't worry about me. I'll just sleep down here. I've got better odds against a wolf than you do. No offense."

"Look, I really don't think-"

"Nom Nom, would you please just get in the tree?!" the bear snapped, startling the koala. Easy, Grizz. Don't start panicking. "S-Sorry. I just really think it'd be best."

Though he still looked somewhat unconvinced, Nom Nom finally shrugged in acceptance. "Fine, whatever…If you really think I should…"

The bear relaxed somewhat when he saw Nom Nom shuffle his way towards a tree and began climbing.

"Uh… I think you should climb a little higher than that," he added as he noticed Nom Nom settle himself atop the lowest branch of the tree.

"What? Seriously?" the koala quipped. "How high?"

"Uhh…at least ten feet. Maybe a little higher."

Nom Nom started to open his mouth to protest, but he simply shook his head and continued climbing, muttering curses under his breath. "Okay, how about now?" he asked irritably.

"Yeah, that's good!" Grizz turned and crawled back under the cypress tree. "I'll just sleep right here," he muttered, resting a paw against his rumbling stomach. He knew he stood little to no chance of getting any sleep tonight, not with his hunger as intense as it was. Still, he laid himself down into the soft dirt and closed his eyes, his thoughts momentarily drifting to his brothers and wondering how they were faring without him.

Author's Note: This chapter has left me feeling mentally exhausted. I mean, aside from it being just a really long chapter to read through multiple times, this chapter was kind of a turning point for the main characters and I've spent a lot of time working on it. While they're two very different characters, I wanted them to have something very deep and personal in common that they could both relate to. Grizz's backstory is mostly just based on fanon theories, which I personally believe to be true. Nom Nom's backstory, however, came out of nowhere honestly. It kinda just hit me all at once. I have this weird habit of taking characters we know little or nothing about and giving them the most tragic, detailed backstory and I don't know why DX It's becoming a reoccurring them in a lot of my stories. I mean, the accepted headcanon for Nom Nom seems to be that he once lived in a zoo. This is more than likely true, but given the fact that it's widely accepted that Grizz's mother was killed, I wanted to come up with something a bit more tragic in order to really bring the characters closer together. Heh...I know I'm cruel, but this is the kinda stuff I live for.

But as I said, this chapter has been exhausting and I just want to finally put it behind me. My apologies once again for the late update.

And for those that are wondering, yes, Panda, Ice Bear and Charlie will be making another appearance soon.