Lusa's Big Oops
Characters from the Seekers Series by Erin Hunter. Lusa/Miki = Black, Toklo/Aiyanna = Grizzly, Killik/Yakone = Polar.
Waiting for the Longest Day around Great Bear Lake, Lusa and Miki decided to go foraging.
"Hey! Look at this!" Miki called.
He was standing beside a small nimble tree, and on the top of the tree was a bee hive overflowing with honey.
"Come on," Miki said, "Let's go get it!"
Miki started climbing the tree. As he did so, it began to tip under his weight until the whole thing was tipped over to the ground.
"Here, hold it down." Miki said.
"Got it," Replied Lusa, putting both paws down on the tree, holding it down.
Now Miki was able to walk along the tree with all four paws on the ground on either side of it. Miki reached the hive and pulled it free with his teeth. The bees buzzed, but through his thick fur, they barely bothered him.
"Okay, hold it for a moment more," Miki said.
Miki took a couple of steps forward, hive in his teeth, only his back legs were over the tree now, one on each side...
...And Lusa's paws slipped.
CRACK! The tree snapped upright, Miki's body nothing to halter its ascent.
Miki crumpled over on the ground moaning in agony, instantly forgetting why he was here.
Lusa held back her breath. She had just hurt Miki in his... Lusa clinched her legs together. Oh no, she was a... She had no idea what he was going through, but even as a she-bear... Ooh, it was just too painful to think. He got hit in the-! She couldn't even finish the thought. It was too embarrassing for her to think about.
Lusa didn't know whether to laugh or pity Miki.
Maybe I should just slip away...
With any luck, he wouldn't remember how he got there anyway.
So Lusa ran to see if she could find her other friends. She'd leave the honey hive with Miki. He deserved at least one good thing after going through what he was going through.
Reaching Great Bear lake, she found Aiyanna resting on the beach. Aiyanna pointed her to a river in the forest a little way off where she found Toklo, hunting in the river for salmon.
"Hey Toklo! How're you doing?"
Toklo looked up. "Lusa! I've been here all morning, but the Salmon don't seem to be ready to be caught here today." Toklo came to the shore and looked at Lusa. "I'm about ready to head to a different spot. Want to come with me?"
"Sure," replied Lusa.
As Lusa and Tolko headed down river, Lusa thought of their journey together. They'd been through so much, that there was a deep inner connection between them that couldn't be broken. He felt for her and she felt for him, and it was nice that they could still be together on this day.
They reached a small waterfall in the river, and Toklo stopped to look. Here, Lusa noticed, the salmon had to leap out of the water to get up to continue on their path up river.
"Hey, do you think...?" Lusa asked, "The salmon are more visible here, perhaps they'll be easier to get."
"Yeah..." Toklo pondered, "If only we could get into the right position..."
Lusa noticed an overhanging branch from a nearby tree dangling over the falls.
"Hey!" Lusa exclaimed, "Maybe we could try that."
Toklo and Lusa made their way across the branch cautiously. It seemed sturdy enough, but it started to droop under their weight.
"Hold back," said Toklo as he continued across the branch until he was overhanging the falls. As a salmon leaped out, Toklo just swiped out a paw and caught it out of midair. "Hey, it worked!"
"Cool!" Said Lusa, leaping in excitement.
"Wait, no-!" But it was too late, Lusa's movement had caused the branch to vibrate, and Toklo lost his grip. Struggling to regain it, he grabbed at the branch, rotating as he slipped further down, finally digging in his claws, where he hung feet first near the edge of the branch over the falls.
Toklo looked up at Lusa. "Don't move a muscle."
Lusa looked down past Toklo, "It's not that far, just let go."
Toklo looked behind him at the falls below. Obviously he saw something Lusa couldn't see past himself, because his eyes filled with fear. "No, just let me climb back up. Just hold steady."
Slowly and cautiously, Toklo began to climb his way back up the branch. But then suddenly Lusa noticed she had an itch.
Toklo came closer and closer, almost out of the danger zone...
Lusa needed to itch. Just a little movement, that's all...
Lusa lifted her paw...
And slipped.
With a cry, Lusa struggled to regain her grip on the branch. Fortunately, she did.
But the branch was now vibrating so violently, Toklo was sprung off, the branch ricocheting under his lost weight.
Toklo plummeted straight.
Where his body plopped itself right on top of a rock at the foot of the fall, back legs spread on either side.
Toklo gave out a howl of agony, sliding off the rock, and onto his side in the water, front paws clutching to ease the pain of his injury.
Oh no! Not again! Lusa thought, once again clinching her legs at the thought. Ooh, it was so weird to think of Toklo this way.
As much as they'd been through together on their great journey, Lusa decided she was suddenly glad she had never been him if this was where his life was headed afterward. This is one thing she didn't want to feel for him.
Lusa discreetly slipped back down the tree, Toklo's moans persisting in the background as he writhed in the water. Poor Toklo. Ooh that must hurt.
As Lusa fled back to the lake, she was suddenly stopped by Aiyanna. "Hey Lusa, how's Toklo doing?"
Lusa hesitated, "He's doing great, he's doing wonderful."
Before Aiyanna could ask anymore questions, she fled toward the White Bear section of the lake.
Out of the three that shared the full journey together, Toklo was vulnerable in the way he'd just demonstrated. At least with just her and Kallik, she wouldn't have to worry about doing that same mistake again.
When Lusa reached the white bear stretch of shore around Great Bear Lake, she had no trouble finding Kallik. Lusa rushed up to her, suddenly feeling awkward for why she was singling Kallik out among the other bears, but she pushed that thought to the back of her mind.
"Hey Kallik," Lusa said reaching her, "Want to go on a walk together?"
"Lusa!" Kallik shouted, excited to see her friend. "Of course. Should I invite Yakone along?" Kallik asked.
Lusa's heart filled with fear. "No!" She shouted. Kallik looked at her funny. Lusa didn't mind the company of male bears, but Yakone was the only he-bear Lusa was close to who didn't regret his exisitance today, and Lusa wanted to keep it that way.
If only Yakone knew he was doomed to enter into a world of pain before this day was up.
Stop it! Lusa scolded herself, nothing's going to happen to Yakone. It's just a coincidence that Miki and Toklo got hurt the same day. Two is hardly a prelude to an inevitable curse.
Still, it couldn't hurt to be careful.
Beside, they could have just a girl to girl talk. Nothing wrong with that.
"No," said Lusa, caliming herself down, "Just you and me this time."
As they made their way up a slope away from Great Bear Lake together, they heard shouting.
"Hey, Kallik, Lusa! Wait up!" Shouted Yakone, chasing up the slope after them. Apparently he noticed them leaving, and decided to follow them, "Mind if I join you?"
Lusa paused in her steps, not knowing what to say. Self-consciously, she turned to address him, but suddenly, her foot slipped on a rock, and sent it tumbling down behind her.
"Are you okay?" Asked Kallik, catching her.
But Lusa turned to watch. The tumbling rock had upset the dirt on the slope, and it began to crumble, it's magnitude gain as it traveled down, rocks and branches tumbling down everywhere!
A large log was headed straight for Yakone. He tried to dodge around it, but he slipped on the crumbling ground and began to tumble downhill!
CRACK!
Yakone was brought to a stop, colliding right into a rock, the tree crashing into his back, pinning him to the rock, back legs on either side.
With a cry, Yakone slumped forward onto of the rock, moaning in agony.
"Oh no, not again!" Lusa moaned.
Right in the... No Lusa couldn't think about it, clinching her legs.
Kallik looked at her partner for a moment, stunned. Then suddenly she burst out laughing.
"Kallik..." Started Lusa uncertainly, "Do you think he'll be okay?"
"Of course," replied Kallik, "I wouldn't want to be him right now, but he's going to be alright."
"But I keep doing this today... I keep hurting everybody and ruining their lives. And it's all my fault."
Kallik looked at Lusa, "Don't worry about it, these things happen. Just be glad it won't happen to you."
"But what about Yakone?" Lusa asked.
The Earth shifted again, moving the log free from his back and unpinning him from the rock, and allowing him to roll on his side where he lay there moaning.
"He'll be okay," Kallik assured her, "Can't do anything to help him now, he'll have to finish suffering on his own. Let's finish our walk."
Kallik took one last glance back at Yakone and chuckled.
As they walked away, Lusa couldn't help but think about the day, three friends she cared for dearly, but would never want to be. And Lusa wondered, "I wonder if I'm going to get anyone else today."