Chapter 2

Boy and bear walked together down the road past the village. Soon they were in the woods. In just another day they would reach the border. However for Behr that seemed like a day too long with the way Tino refused to keep his mouth shut.

"And then!" Tino laughed. "You should have seen the look on-"

"Yes, interesting. Tino?"

"Yes?" He blinked smiling over at Behr broadly. Obviously he was having a good time.

"You are not cold?" He asked, mildly curious as the boy had seemed to be traveling lightly. Not even a layer of fur around him. Not that it was that cold right now, but at night…

"Oh no. I don't get cold all that often." Tino hummed, tucking his arms behind his back.

"I see…has anyone ever told you that you talk too much?"

"Uh! No they haven't!" The Finn huffed, cheeks puffing up. "As a matter of fact there has been no reason for me to talk so much before!"

"Mmhmm and why is that?" They both continued walking, Behr watching their surroundings.

"Because I don't have anyone to talk to…" He muttered, slowing in his steps trudging along behind the bear. He stopped as Behr came to a halt and turned around to face him.

"You have no one to talk to? How can that be?" Giving Tino a look of subtle disbelief he watched the boy's inner walls go up and a sad look covered his face. Immediately he didn't like it.

"I don't have any friends." Tino mumbled.

"I don't believe it, you?"

"Sounds strange doesn't it?" He smiled wryly, rocking on his heels. "There are no children my age. The only people I know are my parents and the town people."

Behr nodded his head towards Tino to keep walking. A few more seconds in silence, Behr knew he was going to regret asking as he liked the silence but it unnerved him. And he didn't like that look on the boy's face, it didn't suit him. Once they were walking up at a decent speed again, the Swedish bear turned his head back to his tagalong, hesitantly speaking. "The people in your village. Are they not your friends?"

"We talk but they never want to go fishing with me. Or go adventuring in the woods or anything of the sort…"

"I see." He mused. That was only half true. Someone with a personality as Tino's? He was such an open boy. How could a kid like that not have friends? No matter the age. Other than being a little chatty or clingy in the 'let me come along' sense that is. He almost could tolerate him if not for said chattiness. "What was that?" Behr perked and looked around the woods in surprise and suspense when he heard the unmistaken growl.

"Er, that was me." Tino chuckled softly rubbing his stomach.

"Seriously?" Behr gave him a look.

"I haven't eaten! I can't help that I'm hungry!" Behr sighed and lifted his nose to the air sniffing softly. "What are you doing? Are you scouting for food?" Tino watched with interest. "What is it? Do you smell anything?"

"Will you keep quiet?" He frowned back at the boy. "I cannot concentrate with your idle chatter…" A few more seconds of sniffling he looked in one direction. "I think I smell fi-"

"I hear water." Tino smiled. "Fish!" Without missing a beat he ran into the brush leaving a gaping bear behind him.

"Wait! You-Tino! I said this way!" He galloped after the boy in his head berating the Finn for not even attempting to listen to him. "Ti- …" And of course Tino found the source of water. In entirely the different direction Behr had tried to lead them. How did he do that?

"Wow look at this Behr!" Tino smiled looking at the schools hopping out of the water of the babbling brook streaming through the woods. "All this fish! What luck! Catch us something to eat!"

"…Come again?"

"You're a bear! Catch some fish!" He looked at the animal while gesturing towards the still jumping fish. Yeah-no. That wasn't going to happen anytime soon. Behr gave the water another look and groaned. The fish were looking rather appetizing right now…and Tino was right. He was a bear. So he should be able to catch them no problem!

"Of course…" He sighed and began wading into the water, shivering at the cold momentarily before he felt his body heat up. Probably his body's way of keeping him warm. His entrance into the water didn't seem to deter the fish from their brave displays of acrobatics so he kept wading further and further.

"Behr a big one's coming your way! Catch it!" Tino gasped pointing. With a big growl he lunged forward and snapped his jaws shut tight on…nothing. "You missed it. Quick another, try again!" He pointed off to another direction. Behr jumped again with snapping jaws again yielding the same results. "What are you doing? Stop showing off, I'm hungry!" Tino pouted.

'Easy for him to say, he's not sopping wet trying to achieve something he's incapable of…' The grumbling bear thought to himself. So he tried again. And again. And again. And again. He was beginning to get angry.

"Behr calm down! You're never going to catch them by stomping around like that!" Tino huffed but he wasn't going to be settling down no matter what he said. With a huff he looked around to see what could help. If only he brought his pole with him, but it was useless anyway what with a broken line and everything. Oh what was this? An old thin stick caught his attention lying snapped on the ground. Perfect.

Still growling and thrashing in the water, Behr only stopped when a sharpened branch was slammed down in front of him just short of missing his nose. "!"

Tino stood in front of him with a smirk down into the water as he eyed it. Pulling the stick up he grinned as a flopping fish squirmed impaled at the end of it. "And that is how it's done. Lunch!" As he left the water, behind him sat a soaked, astounded and unhappy bear just as a daring fish leaped and slapped him in the face with a flailing fin sliding over the bridge of his nose to fall back into the water. Unamused eyes were half-mast, staring at the direction of the Finn. Never again.

The two of them sat together watching the fish as it cooked skewered over a small fire. Tino's eyes lit up excitedly as he smiled.

"Oh it smells so good." The Swede grunted and nodded, his eyes just as eager to see the fish completely cooked. "I think it's ready." He pulled the meat from the fire and checked over it. With a nod he smiled to Behr and split it in half setting it on the ground in front of him. When Tino received an ungrateful frown he paused just as he was about to take a bite. "What is it?"

"You put it on the ground."

"I did. What's wrong?" He took a bite anyway, cheeks puffed with his full mouth.

"I don't eat off of the ground…"

"…then where do you eat?" The boy cocked a brow once he finished swallowing. "Since when does it matter to bears?"

"Nevermind." Behr sighed and reached gently with his claws dusting the dirt off before taking a bite. At seeing this Tino chuckled somewhat amused. "What?"

"You." He gestured to what the bear just did but Behr didn't see what the problem was. "About not wanting your meat off of the ground."

"Do you know of anyone else who likes to eat their meat off of the ground?" He frowned but continued to eat, even licking his claws clean. The Finn didn't say anything afterwards just silently agreed in his head. After a few more moments in silence, Tino dropped the bones from his meal into the fire.

"So Behr…you said your home was in trouble?" Behr nodded and continued to eat. "But from what?"

He considered telling the boy to keep quiet but then again, what could it hurt? It's just that Behr wasn't one to talk too often and when he did it was something worth saying. Lately he's been speaking needlessly. Maybe because Tino clung to him so closely.

"I don't know…but they are dangerous."

"If you don't know then…how do you know they're dangerous?"

Oh not this again. Behr sighed and groaned. "Because they injured me and killed my men."

"Your other bear friends? Were you scouting for food?" Tino's eyes widened in curiosity.

"No, I-" Giving up, Behr took in a breath and let it out. "Yes, my bear friends…" He looked away, hiding the pained look from Tino quietly mourning his brave men. He only looked back when he heard the other stand up with a grunt dusting his clothes off.

"We better move while we still have sunlight." Tino peered up through the leafy canopy of the trees, squinting as a beam of sunlight came through hitting him in the eye. "Oh better put this out. Hold on." Behr watched as Tino disappeared into the bushes coming back with his cloak soaked with water, twisting it out over the fire, dousing the embers. "That should do it. Come on Behr." Just as the bear was about to sit up and follow Tino he snapped his head around and perked his ears looking all around. "What is it?" The Finn moved closer to the bear.

"Something is coming."

"Is it another bear?" Tino gasped.

"What is it with you and bears?" He frowned up at the boy but turned back around hearing the sound getting closer and closer. "Footsteps." Gazing at the ground where his large paws were, he swore he could feel the vibrations in the earth through his paw pads. "Quick ones. Someone is running this way. Hide!" Behr hissed at Tino, nudging him with his head to urge him along into the brush. Almost as soon as they were hidden a boy ran out into what was once their camp spot panting.

He looked around for something, when he couldn't find anything he settled for an old thin branch large enough to be a club. Right behind the boy ran an older man with a blade in hand.

"One of them…" Behr hissed quietly, snout twisted in a snarl.

"One of what?" Tino whispered, watching the two individuals with mounting interest.

"The dangerous ones. That attacked me…"

Tino and Behr surveyed the scene. No doubt this foreigner was going to attack the boy. The way he laughed at him and closed in on him was a complete giveaway. Not to mention the way the kid grabbed up a makeshift weapon to defend himself with. "We have to help that boy."

"We?"

"Yes!" Tino whispered. "There's two of us and one of him. Come on!"

"No Tino wait-why do you never listen to me?!" He shouted watching Tino hop out from the bush.

"Leave him alone!" Tino shouted, both individuals turning around to face him.

"Oy, another little brat." The pirate turned his attention from the smaller boy to the more brazen one only for a moment before turning his back on him determined to go after his previous prey. "Get out of here boy. I think I hear your mum calling ye."

"I said leave him alone!" He taunted the man and held his ground.

"Oh a stubborn brat." He chuckled, turning from the boy to Tino. "I said scat ye little mouse or I'll make you regret being here today."

"Is that so?" Tino frowned at him. "Then come at me-if you think you're brave enough!"

Brave or foolish, the man didn't know which one. And whether or not it was the first brat he was chasing or this one, someone was going to die either way. He cackled and waved his blade in Tino's direction. "Ye know what? If that's the way ye want it." And began to run in Tino's direction.

"Right. Didn't think about that." Tino gasped to himself, frozen in shock.

The smaller boy gasped and went to run to the Finn but stopped in his tracks when he heard the unmistakable growl of a wild animal. Both the privateer and trembling boy looked up in horror as a bear leapt from the bushes, jaws wide in a roar. "Blimey!" The man gasped jumping ten feet in the air before falling onto his back.

Behr snarled and advanced on the man, blue eyes wide and angered. The pirate scampered back in fear, turning over on his hands and knees, jumping up and running off into the woods. Something didn't seem right…Behr frowned at the way the pirate had ran mulling over the events that had just happened. "…they understood each other…" Only the sound of the scared boy shouting snapped him back to reality.

"G-Get away! Quick!" The boy shouted at Tino who just laughed. "What is wrong with you?! You'll be eaten!"

"No I won't." Tino again giggled and looked back at his new traveling companion reaching to pat his head. With a grunt Behr let the boy pet him for sake of appearances, ears flopping back. "He's a good bear."

"H-He looks angry…"

"That's how he always looks. He's nice, I promise. A little grouchy that's all."

It took a few more moments for Tino to calm the boy down and accept that the bear wasn't going to be eating anyone. He sat him down and checked him over for wounds. "Th-That was scary…"

"It was." The violet eyed boy nodded. "It will be fine now. Don't worry. What were you running from exactly? Who was that?"

"I-I don't know. I was s-separated from my brothers. We were going back home…I tried calling out for them and then I happened upon this group of men talking strangely at first. One of them, in a red coat-" Behr snapped his head up. "I-I heard him talking about going on the road to Sweden's castle."

"He won't get far." Tino smiled and pat his hair down. "They'll be overrun by the prince. He'll throw them out of the country!"

"You haven't heard…" The little boy smiled wryly and curled up. "The prince has gone missing."

"…what?" Tino whispered, eyes saddening. "H-He can't, he…he's what protects Sweden and…and Finland. Where is he? Where did he go?"

Shaking his head the boy held himself tighter. "That's what my brothers and I are doing out here. W-We think those men have something to do with his disappearance. Oh! My brothers! I-I have to go now!" He jumped up immediately moving to run off.

"W-Wait! It's dangerous out there! What if that man comes back?" Tino jumped up with him.

"I-I'll be fine." He smiled nervously. "Thank you again for saving me!" Tino sighed as the kid disappeared into the bushes, slumping back onto the log he was sitting on.

"He didn't even tell us his name…" The Finn drew his legs up hugging them. "The prince is missing…I wonder if he's all right…what do you think Behr? …Behr?" He perked his head up looking around. "Behr? Behr where did you go?!"

"Stop shouting, I'm behind you." The Swede muttered as he moved around to where the other boy could see him. "I must hurry to Sweden. Come."

"Behr. Wait." Tino swallowed thickly.

He turned to look back at Tino. "We're losing the light. Hurry." He grunted and walked through the trees, the Finnish boy hurrying along behind him.

Author's Notes:

Oh my who was that boy? You'll have to wait to find out~ Another chapter yey. It was hard as hell to concentrate on writing some innocent story filler while my brothers and sister watch Wrong Turn 4 in front of me. I feel like I've been hazed or something, now I'm no longer the uncool big sister that doesn't like horror movies, I'm the uncool big sister that sleeps a lot because she has graveyard shifts. Effed up shiii-that's why I don't like horror flicks.

Also Happy belated Canada day and Independence Day! :D