The Longest Day (27 page)

Swallowing back irritation, Lusa headed for a shady patch in the forest where she could see the other bears gathering for the trial. “Keep an eye on him,” she called back to Sheena.

Ossi was pacing when she arrived. “I thought you were going to miss the start!”

Pokkoli was studying the slope above them, as though already picking out the best plants to forage from.

With his paw, Dustu drew two lines in the leaf litter where sunshine striped the forest floor. “When the shadow hits this line, you can begin foraging. When the shadow reaches the next line, you must stop. Collect as many leaves, grubs, berries,
and insects as you can. The winner will be the bear who has collected the most variety and best quality.”

Rudi stepped forward. “Each bear should forage alone and bring what they've found back here.”

Lusa felt Ossi's flank brush hers. “We might have to forage alone, but there's no reason we can't forage in the same part of the forest,” he whispered.

“I guess.” Lusa forced herself to sound enthusiastic.
Isn't he going to give me any space?

The bears leaned forward as the shadow slowly moved across the forest floor.

“Good luck,” Ossi whispered.

“Have fun,” Lusa reminded him. These trials weren't about winning, they were about enjoying themselves.

“Begin!” Dustu called out as the shadow hit the first line.

Paws swished over leaves as the bears scampered into the forest.

“Which way should we go?” Ossi asked.

Lusa wanted space to think. She couldn't get Miki out of her head. She was sure she could hear him and Chula barking happily beside the lake. Ossi gazed at her, round-eyed. She couldn't disappoint him. They were friends, after all. “Let's find somewhere cool.”

“This way.” Ossi led her up the slope to a cluster of mossy rocks. “There'll be a few grubs' nests here,” he told her.

Lusa peered past a half-rotted fallen log. She could see the glossy leaves of a cloudberry bush on the other side. “I'll go this way,” she told Ossi.

“Okay,” he grunted. He was already digging in the soil.

Lusa clambered over the log and began to pick cloudberries from the bush. She popped one in her mouth, grunting as the juice burst on her tongue. When she'd gathered a small pile, she left them and padded toward the roots of a spruce. The earth here was soft and damp, and she didn't have to dig far to unearth a fat worm. Working her paws deeper, she uncovered a clump of grubs. They were fat and white, as big as any she'd seen. Happily, she picked a few to take back with her and popped the rest into her mouth. She sat back on her haunches and enjoyed the musky flavor.

A foul scent touched her nose. It made her wince. Curious, Lusa got to her paws. Circling the spruce, she saw an opening in the other side. The trunk was hollow and she looked up, realizing that the needles on the branches were long dead. The stench was worse here, and, screwing up her nose, Lusa leaned in to see what was making such a smell. It was too early in the season for fungi. Her nose wrinkled when she saw a half-eaten squirrel rotting inside the hollow. Maggots wriggled over its carcass.

Lusa pulled away, feeling sick. Who'd eaten this and left the rest to rot?

Her pelt rippling with unease, she backed away from the spruce and scanned the forest. Had brown bears been hunting in the black bears' forest? Not all of them were as friendly as Toklo. Lusa scooped up the grubs and decided to find Ossi. She could look after herself, but it would be easier if she had a friend.

She halted as she reached her pile of cloudberries. A thought sparked in her mind. The stench of the rotting squirrel had reminded her of something. Pausing, she frowned. She'd smelled sourness earlier.

Tibik!

Lusa's heart lurched. It wasn't the heat that made him smell sour. It was infection! How had she missed it?

“Ossi!” Panicked, she called through the trees.

She heard paws thump the ground. “Lusa? Are you okay?” Ossi skidded around a tree and stopped in front of her. Berry juice smeared his jaws.

“Tibik's sick!”

“How do you know?”

“I remembered the smell.” Lusa's pelt bristled with fear. “He's got an infected wound.” She pelted down the slope.

Ossi raced after her. “But he didn't have any wounds.”

“He must have one I didn't see!” Lusa scrambled over the mossy rocks, scattering her grubs and berries behind her. Her thoughts whirled. She knew what herbs would stop infections from taking root, but what could she use to cure an infection that was already sour?

She stumbled to a halt beside Tibik's nest. Sheena jerked around. “What's wrong?”

“Infection!” Lusa puffed. She leaned over Tibik. Heat pulsed from his pelt. He was damp, and when she touched him, he felt as limp as dead prey. There must be a cut somewhere. She ran her paws over his fur, searching for an injury. “Has he trodden on a thorn?” she asked Sheena.

“No.” The she-bear was leaning close, stiff with fear.

Lusa checked Tibik's pads for grazes. They were fine.

The bee sting! Didn't Ujurak once tell her they could get infected? Lusa ran her paws over the patch of fur where she'd knocked the bee away earlier. It felt swollen and even hotter than the rest of Tibik. She pressed the fur aside and saw yellow pus straining beneath the surface. She wrinkled her nose at the foul stench. She turned to Sheena. “The bee sting is infected. Squeeze as much of this pus out as you can. I need to fetch herbs.”

Anger flashed through the fear in Sheena's eyes. “You said he was sick from eating too much honey!” she growled. “You left him and went to the trial.”

Lusa's belly tightened. “I know. I was wrong. I'm sorry.”

Ossi peered into the nest. “How is he?”

“Sick,” Lusa told him. “Stay with Sheena while I fetch herbs.”

She raced into the trees. The usual herbs she needed to prevent infection wouldn't be enough. They might help clean out the wound once the pus was gone, but what would help Tibik fight the infection that had found its way inside? She swerved around a clump of brambles, running half-blind as she tried to think.

Black fur loomed ahead of her. Pulling up, Lusa skidded and thumped into the flank of a male bear.

“Lusa?” It was Miki. “What's wrong?”

“Tibik's really sick!” Lusa blurted out. “I have to find herbs, but I don't know which ones!”

Miki brushed his flank against hers. “Calm down,” he growled. “Take a deep breath and think.”

Lusa stared at him, her thoughts slowing as she drew in a deep breath.

“What herbs did you use for Rudi's cuts?” Miki prompted.

Lusa tried to hold on to her moment of calm. “Those leaves only help the infection of the wound. I need herbs to help the infection inside.”

“Okay.” Miki glanced around. “Let's gather some leaves to help the outer infection. While we do, you can think about what else we need.” He nodded toward the bottom of the slope where the forest opened onto the shore. “Didn't we gather leaves for Rudi there?”

Before Lusa could answer, he walked down the slope. She followed, concentrating on breathing steadily. She could already see the bright-green leaves that would cure the sourness in the pus-filled bee sting. They were growing in thick swathes around the base of a rowan. She stopped as Miki began to tear up pawfuls.

“This is the right stuff, isn't it?”

Lusa nodded. She sat on her haunches beside him and began to rip leaves from their stems. Methodically, she stripped a patch and moved on to the next. She knew they were collecting far more than she needed, but she could feel her mind turning over everything she had learned and kept picking.

She'd had to find flat-face medicine to treat Yakone when his paw went sour. There was no flat-face medicine here, but
there must be an herb that would help. Lusa reached back through all Ujurak had taught her. She pictured gathering leaves beside him from rocky outcrops, in lush meadows, alongside streams.

She paused. There was one herb that grew beside water. Ujurak had told her that if a bear ate enough, it could slow a pounding heart and ease a burning fever. Wasn't that the same as curing an infection?

“That's it!” she barked.

“You've remembered an herb?” Miki's eyes shone.

“It grows near water.” Lusa jumped up and made her way down onto the shore. She raced to the edge of the lake, but there were no plants there, only water and stone.

“Over here!” Miki was heading toward a patch of green where a stream emerged from the forest.

Lusa bounded toward him. Plants grew thickly along the narrow rivulet. Jumping into the water, Lusa followed it back under the trees. Long, thin leaves covered small, round ones. Furry leaves poked out among straggly, paw-shaped ones. In her mind Lusa saw Ujurak plucking a long, limp leaf that trailed in the water. She smelled its musky odor. Opening her mouth to taste the air, she scanned the edge of the water. There must be some here! Tibik's life depended on it.

“Have you found it?” Miki's bark interrupted her thoughts.

“Hush!” A faint scent touched her nose. She plunged her paws into the leaves. Drawing them back, she saw the precious herb floating on the surface of the stream. She leaned in and grabbed the main stem between her jaws, ripping the whole
plant away. The leaves trailed through the water as she looked up triumphantly at Miki.

“I'll fetch the other leaves and meet you at Tibik's nest,” he told her.

She nodded and climbed out of the stream. Pounding across the forest floor, she raced for the camp. Was this really the right herb?
Ujurak, help me!

Tibik was moaning when she reached his nest. Sheena met her with wide, frightened eyes. “He's in pain!”

Ossi was crouched beside Tibik. “We got the pus out. The wound's running clear now.”

There was no time to explain what she was going to do. Lusa chewed a mouthful of leaves into a pulp and leaned over Tibik. He wriggled, whimpering as she opened his jaws with her paw. Letting the pulp drop into his mouth, she shut his mouth quickly, then pressed his cheek to make him hold still. “Swallow, Tibik, swallow!”

Behind her, Sheena growled. “What are you doing to him?”

Tibik was twisting beneath Lusa's paws, struggling to open his jaws. She could feel his heart pounding beneath her flank. “I know it tastes bad, but it will make you better,” she whispered. She felt him swallow and let go.

He lifted his head and stared at her, his glassy eyes wide with panic, then collapsed back into his nest and lay still.

Sheena lunged forward and knocked Lusa away. “You've killed him!”

Paws came to a halt beside her.
Miki!
Lusa stared at him desperately as he dropped the leaves on the ground. “I made
him swallow the water herbs.”

Miki looked at Tibik. “How long will they take to work?”

“I don't know.” Lusa watched Sheena stroking Tibik's flank.

The cub was still breathing. She could see his flank rising and falling, fast and shallow. Sheena glared at her. “What did you give him?”

“Herbs that will help,” Lusa murmured, hoping it was true. She grabbed a mouthful of Miki's leaves and chewed them into a poultice. Ignoring the foul flavors washing over her tongue, she lapped them into the bee sting. Ossi was right, the pus was gone, and she could taste only fresh blood beneath the herb tang. “You and Sheena did a good job clearing the wound, Ossi,” she told him as she lifted her head.

She stepped back, her heart fluttering like a captured bird. She stood between Ossi and Miki to watch Tibik. The cub wriggled and moaned as Sheena tried to soothe him with gentle licking.

Please let him be okay.
Lusa stiffened with grief. Why had she gone to the trial? She should have realized how sick he was. She began to tremble. Miki pressed softly against her.

Voices sounded from higher up the slope. Cheery and loud, the other bears were returning.

Leotie came bounding into camp. “Issa found the most!”

“I found the biggest berry!” Dena announced.

“It wasn't a trial to find the biggest berry,” Rudi reminded her.

Issa halted beside the nest. “What's happened?”

“Tibik's sick,” Lusa replied.

The returning bears fell silent. Dustu and Dena padded over while the others retreated quietly into the trees.

Dena crouched next to Sheena. “He's a strong cub,” she told the other she-bear. “He'll pull through.”

Sheena didn't take her eyes from Tibik. “I can't lose him, too.” As she spoke, Tibik stopped whimpering and fell still.

Lusa's heart dropped like a stone. Was he dead?

“Tibik?” Sheena touched her muzzle to his. “Tibik!”

Lusa leaned forward and sniffed the cub's fur, bracing herself for the scent of death. She saw his flank rise, then fall. He was breathing again, gently and evenly. She reached a paw toward him, already feeling less heat pulsing from his pelt.

“He's going to be okay!” Ujurak's herbs had worked! Lusa looked up at Ossi. “Can you find moss and soak it in water for him to drink?”

Ossi nodded and headed away.

Miki stepped forward and touched his nose to Lusa's ear. “You did it, Lusa. You saved him.”

Lusa turned her muzzle and rubbed it happily against his. “I did, didn't I?” She breathed in Miki's warm scent. Pressing against him, she closed her eyes.

“Lusa! Shall I use lake water or stream water—”

Lusa opened her eyes and saw Ossi staring at her in dismay. She pulled away from Miki, feeling suddenly hot. Ossi turned and blundered away through the undergrowth.

Lusa watched him go.
I'm so sorry.
But how could she change what she felt?

She turned back to Tibik. Sheena was curled around her son, licking his ears.
Tibik is safe.
Nothing else should matter. She glanced at Miki. He was staring after Ossi.