The Longest Day (12 page)

Kallik felt a twinge of jealousy. She didn't like the idea of Toklo and Lusa having adventures without her.

Lusa went on. “Miki's had a bump on his head, but these leaves will soothe it.”

“You sound worn out,” Kallik told Lusa. “Have you had any rest?”

“I was going to have a nap when we got back from finding Miki, but Chula was complaining of pain and I needed to find herbs to make poultices for everyone's cuts and bruises and—”

Kallik cut her off. “Let me help.” She stepped forward.

The male black bears backed away, growling.

“It's okay,” Lusa told them. “Kallik and Yakone are friends.”

“White bears should stick to their own side of the lake,” muttered one.

Yakone dipped his head. “We can leave if you want.”

“No!” Kallik shot him a look. “Not until we've helped Lusa. She's exhausted.” She turned to the black bears. “Has anyone been helping her treat the injured bears?”

“We didn't know how,” one growled defensively.

“We eat leaves, we don't use them for wounds,” protested the other.

Kallik moved briskly past them. “Perhaps it's time you learned how.”

She made her way to the dip at the edge of the clearing, relieved to smell herbs, not infection. “You've done well,” she congratulated Lusa as her friend caught up, Yakone just behind her. “Tell me what I can do to help.”

Chula was lying on her side, her leg wrapped in leaves. Rudi was propped against a bank of earth, his muzzle resting on his belly as he dozed. Sheena stared blankly into the trees while Tibik nestled beside her, his pelt ruffled and full of leaf scraps.

Rudi's nose twitched. He opened his eyes and looked at
Kallik, huge-eyed. “I was beginning to think I dreamed you yesterday.”

A male bear sat up beside him and blinked at the white bears. His head was swathed in leaves. “Why are they here?” he asked Lusa.

“They're my friends, Miki,” Lusa explained. “Do you remember the white bears I told you about?”

Miki shifted backward, his pelt bristling.

Kallik snorted. Behind her, she could hear anxious growls as the other black bears gathered to see what was going on.

“Quick! Climb a tree,” a she-bear whispered.

Leaves rustled above Kallik. She looked up and saw a male cub gazing at her in terror.

Did he think she would eat him? “Lusa needs to rest,” Kallik announced. “She looks like she hasn't slept in days. While she has a break, I'm going to look after the wounded bears.”

Disapproving murmurs rippled behind her.

Chula shifted on her bed of leaves. “I think you should go,” she told Kallik.

“No.” Lusa stared wearily at Chula. “Don't you understand? Kallik and Yakone will take care of you.” She turned to Kallik. “All their wounds need re-dressing. With this hot weather, they could easily turn sour.” Swaying on her paws, she poked the herbs that Yakone had dropped. “These will make good poultices once you've chewed them. Save the largest leaves to wrap Chula's leg and Miki's head.”

Kallik nodded. “We'll wake you when we've finished.”

Lusa looked at her gratefully through bleary eyes and
stumbled away. Kallik peeled a leaf from the pile and began chewing it into a poultice. She could feel the stares of the other black bears burning through her pelt, but she ignored them. Spitting out the green goo, she nudged the rest of the pile toward Yakone. “Chew these. Save the big leaves to wrap wounds.” Lapping up a tongueful of goo, she leaned down and began sniffing Rudi.

The old bear jerked away. Kallik ignored his fear scent. She was going to help him, not hurt him. If Rudi wanted to be afraid, then let him. Smelling a bloody patch of pelt, Kallik began licking sap into it. Rudi growled but held still.

As Kallik turned to fetch more leaf-pulp, she saw Ossi. He was dragging a branch, heavy with cloudberries, into the clearing.

Yakone hailed him with a jerk of his snout. His muzzle was green from chewing leaves. “Ossi!”

Ossi dropped the branch. “You came back!”

“We figured Lusa might need some help,” Yakone told him.

“I was bringing her food.” Ossi nodded to the berries.

Kallik grunted. “She doesn't need food, she needs help looking after these bears. There are too many injuries for one bear to take care of alone.”

“Then I'll help her.” Ossi glanced nervously at the others. “I really don't think you should stay here.”

A she-bear stepped forward, glaring at Kallik. “Aren't there any
white
bears you could go and look after?”

“Dena, hush!” another warned. “Only a bee-brain starts a fight with a white bear.”

Kallik bristled. “We didn't come here to fight. We came to help.” How many times was she going to have to say it?

More black bears stepped forward, indignation sparking through their fear.

“You don't belong here.”

“We can take care of our own.”

The cub wailed from the tree. “Make them go away!”

Frustration welled in Kallik's chest. She only wanted to help! She glanced at Yakone. Could he say something that would calm these bears?

He returned her gaze and shrugged. “We should leave.”

“What about Lusa?” Kallik protested. “How's she going to get any rest?”

“I won't get any rest with everyone fussing about you being here.” Lusa was on her paws and staring wearily at Kallik. “You'd better go.”

“But—” Kallik began.

“Just leave, please.”

Sighing, Kallik stepped carefully over the herbs and headed between the trees. Yakone followed. She felt his flank brush hers as they picked their way along the slope, back toward the white bears' side of the water.

The black bears' fear and hostility seemed to stick in Kallik's pelt like burrs. “Why couldn't they just let us take care of them?” she growled at Yakone. “We've only ever helped them! It's not fair.”

Yakone walked silently beside her.

“Taqqiq suggested that I wasn't loyal to the white bears,”
Kallik went on. “What's wrong with being loyal to all bears? Why is it better to look after a white bear than a black bear? Why can't a black bear learn to trust a white bear?”

Muttering on, she stomped back to the white bears' stretch of shore and climbed down onto the beach.

Illa was standing in the shallows, staring across the lake. She turned as Kallik approached. “Where have you been?”

Kallik met her gaze angrily. “I was trying to help the black bears! Have you got a problem with that?” Was the Star Island bear going to tell her she was wrong, too? “Not that they'd let us help,” she went on. “They were too worried we were going to eat them.”

Illa's gaze flicked to Yakone, and Kallik saw understanding flash between them.
They think I'm crazy.
Fury was like a fire in her chest.

“Yakone.” Illa's growl was gentle. “Go fish with the others.” Bears were diving near the small, rocky island.

Yakone touched Kallik's cheek with his muzzle, then waded into the water.

Illa tipped her head sympathetically. “You sound like you've had a frustrating day.”

“Why can't black bears and brown bears and white bears cooperate?” Kallik sighed.

Illa beckoned her closer with a flick of her muzzle. “Come stand in the shallows. It's hard to think straight when you've got hot paws.”

Kallik realized that her pelt was scorching in the burn-sky sun. She padded down the beach and waded in beside Illa.
The cold water washed comfortingly around her legs.

“It's the nature of white bears to live alone and fight for survival,” Illa reminded her. “That is the way it's always been.”

“But it should change,” Kallik told her. “There are so many dangers now. Firebeasts and flat-faces and poisoned seals.” She felt the weight of it all sweep over her. “We are only going to survive if we learn to work together.”

“Perhaps that's true,” Illa murmured. “But bears are not like trees or the ice. We can't change in a season.”

“But they don't
want
to change,” Kallik complained.

“Why should they?” Illa asked. “Not every bear has seen all you have seen. You can't expect them to understand the extraordinary experiences you've had.”

“But if they don't change, they'll die!”

Illa faced Kallik. “We've survived since the beginning of time,” she told her. “Times may be hard now, but if bears know one thing, it's how to survive.”

The coolness of the water seemed to spread from Kallik's paws, seeping up through her pelt. “But we'll survive more easily if we help each other.”

“True.” Illa nodded. “Why don't we make a start now? You can help me fish.” Without waiting for an answer, she waded deeper and started swimming.

Kallik wished she could be as calm as Illa. Splashing through the shallows, she followed the other bear into the deep water.
Maybe Illa's right. Maybe I can't change everything, however much I want to.

“Eat some berries.”

Lusa ignored Ossi's plea. “The sooner I get these wounds re-dressed, the sooner I can rest.” The cloudberries Ossi had brought smelled delicious. Perhaps they'd give her the energy she needed. But she felt too annoyed to eat. Why did the black bears have to be so hostile to her friends?

“Can't the wounds wait?” Ossi pressed. “You look exhausted.”

“No, they can't wait, not in this hot weather.” Lusa began to peel away the drying leaves from around Chula's leg.

Chula touched her shoulder with a paw. “Eat a berry, Lusa,” she murmured. “You've worked so hard.”

Ossi picked up the berry branch and dangled it under Lusa's muzzle. She shoved it away with her nose.

Miki chuffed with amusement. “Never tell a grumpy bear what to do.”

“I'm not grumpy!” Lusa snapped. She paused as she saw amusement flash in Miki's eyes.

“Just eat the berries, Lusa,” Chula pleaded.

Lusa's fur grew hot. She
was
being grumpy. Tibik was staring at her warily. Who wanted their wounds dressed by an angry bear? At least Rudi was dozing again and hadn't noticed. Ossi offered her the berries again.

“Careful, Ossi!” Miki backed away, pretending to be scared. “You might lose your paw.”

Lusa huffed and sat down. Grunting, she snatched the branch from Ossi and began cramming the berries into her mouth. As their sweetness bathed her tongue, she felt her anger ease. Perhaps it was too much to ask the black bears to accept white bears in their camp. At the last gathering, Taqqiq, Iqaluk, and Salik had stolen their food and taken Miki.
I should be more sympathetic to my own kind.
She ignored the pang of grief that reminded her that soon all she would know was her own kind; Kallik, Yakone, and Toklo wouldn't be part of her life anymore.

She swallowed the last of the berries.

Ossi peeled a leaf from Yakone's pile. “Tell me what to do, and I can help,” he offered.

“Chew the smaller leaves into pulp.” Lusa got to her paws and began peeling more leaves away from Chula's leg. She ran her paw gently over the matted fur. Some of the swelling had eased, and she could feel the bone underneath. “It's not broken,” she told Chula. “But you shouldn't walk on it for a few days.” She looked up and saw relief on Chula's face. “Does it hurt?”

Chula nodded. “Yes, but not as much as yesterday.”

“I want to let the air get to it for a while.” Lusa piled leaves
beneath the wounded leg and rested it on them. “I'll put a new dressing on it soon.”

Ossi nudged her shoulder. “What should I do next?” His mouth was stained green, and piles of chewed leaves sat at his paws.

“Ask Rudi where his cuts are,” Lusa ordered. “Lick the sap into them. Make sure you get it as deep as you can, but don't hurt him.”

Ossi nodded and headed for Rudi.

Tibik looked to Lusa. “Can you give my mother some herbs that will stop her feeling sad?”

Sheena had moved her gaze from the trees. Hala's body had been taken by Pokkoli and Dena and laid beside Hashi's just outside the camp.

Lusa looked down at the cub. “She will stop feeling sad eventually. And so will you.”

Rudi shifted as Ossi licked sap into a cut on his shoulder. “I'm hungry,” he growled.

“I'll bring you food once we've finished,” Lusa promised.

Rudi ducked away from Ossi. “I'm well enough to forage.”

Lusa looked at the old bear. His fur was matted and smeared with leaf-sap, and his eyes were dull. “You should rest for another day,” she advised.

“Pokkoli can organize a foraging party.” Ossi sat back on his haunches and scanned the trees. “Should I go find him?”

“That's a good idea.” Lusa blinked gratefully at Ossi as she pulled the dressing from Miki's head. The swelling behind his ear still looked fiery and there was a gash at the center, but the
wound was clean. Lusa searched his eyes for cloudiness; they were bright and he seemed alert. “Does your head ache?” she asked.