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this is a Brother Bear fan fiction ive been writing. it's not completed, but ill post the chapters i have done, here. the finished copy will go on the actual site. it includes my oc and some of the canon characters from the first movie

CHAPTER 1

The bright gleam of morning sunlight peers through an opening in Haley's hut. Her room lights up making the paintings of animals noticeable on the tan cloth walls. She barely opens her violet eyes before shutting them again. The sun's way too bright, and she's not used to the light yet. She finally forces her eyes open, but it's barely a squint She squints as she looks around the room. Once her eyes adjust, she completely opens her eyes.

"Ugh, morning....." Haley moans softly to herself. She rubs her eyes, stands up, and stretches. She straightens out her brown animal-skin night gown and walks over to a wooden desk that Denahi helped her build a few weeks ago. Haley picks up one of her brushes and combs out the knots in her wavy, dark brown hair. She's never trusted anyone with her hair, so she grew it out. It's now down to her hips. She dresses into her warm, animal skin, clothes. She had dyes made so when the clothes where created, she could dye them. The clothes Haley's wearing now are a purple top with black pants and brown boots.

"Haley?" she hears Denahi. Haley turns to seem him peeking into her hut.

"Ever heard of privacy?" She asks, quite annoyed.

"Sorry, it just that Tanana's back...with your totem." He says hesitantly as if he knows how she's going to react, and it's a possibility he may be right. She stands there like a stone statue. Her face scrunched up in disgust, and is turned away from him.

"M-my totem?" Haley stutters. She's been dreading this day since...well, one of her friends left.

"Yes. You should go out and get your tribal chores done before the ceremony." Denahi leaves as fast as he came, leaving Haley alone in her hut. 18 years she's been alone and she still hates it. Maybe her life would be happier if Kenai hadn't left. They've been buddies for as long as she can remember, but now he's gone. He left her in the dust to go live with a bunch of idiotic bears! Her, one of his best friends, and he ditches her for some filthy animals! It makes Haley sick just thinking about it!

Haley snaps out of her thought and grabs her spear and a basket. She's got some hunting to do before her ceremony! She quickly runs out of the hut and down the path that leads to the evergreen forest.

Haley throws her spear into the crystal clear waters of the pond. She catches three fish at a time and puts the little slippery demons into the basket she brought with her. She fills the basket up and hurries down the muddy path back to the village. The sun's so bright! She can barely keep her eyes open.

"Raaaawwwwrrrr!!!!" A voice screams. Someone swings down from a tree and hangs upside down on a branch. The person's face is literally an inch away from Haley's.

The person giggles, "Morning, Haley!"

Haley sighs in relief, "Oh, Leita, it's only you!"

She giggles, "Yep! What're you doing?"

"Getting food for the tribe, duh!" Haley says a little meaner than she had intended.

"No need to be all sassy." Leita pouts.

Haley sighs, "Sorry, it's that Tanana's finally back with my totem."

"Seriously?" She asks excitedly. Haley nods and continues to walk.

"Oh c'mon Haley, what's so bad about getting your totem?" She calls after her. Haley pauses and looks down.

"You know I'm afraid. Afraid of getting that certain totem. People are always saying how that totem was meant for Kenai and me!" she says softly.

"Oh, right. I'm sorry." Leita apologizes. She flips down onto the ground from her branch. She fixes her messy, long, dirty blonde hair, walks over, and places her flawless tan hand on Haley's shoulder.

"Whatever you get, even if it is the bear, the spirits know what they're doing. You just have to cope with it." Her icy blue eyes meet Haley's violet ones. She smiles and Haley smiles back. She couldn't ask for a better best friend.

"Need some help with all that fish?" she asks. She can be such a kiss up sometimes! Whenever Haley's in a bad mood, she always knows how to get her going again.

"Sure, thanks Leits." Leits is Haley's nickname for her. Leita nods and puts some of the fish from Haley's basket into her tan, saber skin satchel. Luckily, she has nothing in there or her bag would've been a mess!

They smile at one another and hurry back to the village.

CHAPTER 2

By the time they arrive back at the village, everyone's buzzing about and squawking about how Tanana's back. Oh, come on! Give the woman a break! They do this every time she arrives from a trip to speak with the spirits. Although she's always kind and stuff, she must be at least somewhat annoyed by the huge commotion they make when she arrives.

"Do they really have to make such a big deal about her arrival?" Haley mumbles to Leita.

"Well she is the most important part of our tribe Haley-" Leita doesn't get to finish.

"She's still a normal person just like the rest of us even though she has a connection with the spirits that no one else has." Haley says.

"You ready for your ceremony, Haley?" Tanana asks her from behind.

"Tanana!" Haley screams in shock and accidentally throws her basket of fish in the air. She quickly runs and catches the basket, nothing falling out. She sighs in relief.

"Sorry, sweetheart. Did I frighten you?" Tanana asks, chuckling.

"N-no! Of course not!" Haley gets up quickly, chuckling sheepishly.

"I hope you're excited because you got a good one!" Tanana says excitedly. Haley gulps. Those are the exact words she had said to Kenai when he got his totem.

Tanana gives a small wave and walks away.

Haley sighs and looks to the ground, "Now I'm positive that I got that totem....."

"So what? I actually think getting the same totem as Kenai would be cool!" Leita says fan-girling a bit. Leita has had a small crush on Kenai since she and her family joined the village when she was 12 years old.

Haley playfully rolls her eyes and walks off to put the fish away in a tree.

"What?" Leita asks as she follows her.

Within an hour, everyone in the village is at the ceremonial den in a rocky mountain that's located near the outskirts of the village. All totem ceremonies and other special occasions are held here. Haley casually walks to the ceremony. She arrives just as the ceremony begins which upsets some of the elders.

"How rude of her to arrive so late to her own ceremony!" One of the elders whispers to her other elderly friend.

Haley scowls. It's her ceremony! She can arrive when ever she wants! She doesn't want to be here anyways. She already knows what she's going to get, why come?

"Haley." Tanana says, snapping Haley out of her angry thought. Haley stands up, walks over, and sits in front of Tanana. Her legs are crossed Indian style and she has an emotionless expression on her face.

"Nervous?" Tanana asks her as she puts the ceremonial paint on Haley's face.

"Hardly. I just want to get this done and over with." Haley says sharply, yet quietly.

"Don't be so sour! You're going to love it!" Tanana whispers to Haley, enthusiastically. Haley rolls her eyes and then focuses her gaze back onto the sha-woman.

"Haley, I have been to the mountains where the lights touch the Earth, and the spirits have revealed to me, your totem." Tanana says.

"Whoa. Deja Vu." Haley thinks to herself.

"To become a woman," Tanana continues, "Your actions must be guided by one thing! Haley, your totem is..."

Tanana reaches behind her and pulls out a cloth and secretly opens it. She gently thrusts it in front of Haley to reveal the totem she has gotten, "Love!"

"How did I know?" Haley moans softly to herself, staring down at the little stone carving.

"Love is what connects all of us living things." Tanana says, clasping her hands together happily. Haley isn't paying the slightest bit attention to Tanana. She's just holding her totem in her hand, and observing it. She had known from the very beginning that she was going to get this totem, but now she's suddenly shocked.

After the ceremony concludes, Haley takes a walk down by the outskirts of the village. She's still twirling and observing her totem.

"Haley! Wait up!" A chirpy voice calls from behind Haley. Haley turns around to see a smiling Leita heading towards her.

"Leita! Slow down!" Haley yells. Before Haley can do or say anything else, Leita collides with Haley, sending them both to the ground. Both of them moan as they sit up and rub their heads.

"I told you to slow down." Haley says calmly.

"I tried, but I kinda lost control." Leita chuckles sheepishly. Haley shakes her head in disappointment and stands up.

"I can't believe you got the Bear of Love! I'm so jealous!" Leita chirps as she embraces Haley in a happy hug.

"It's not as cool as you think. It's pretty lame if you ask me." Haley shrugs her shoulders as a way of showing that she doesn't care for the totem.

"Are you kidding?" Leita asks in shock, "You have the famous Bear of Love, and all I got was the Otter of Enthusiasm." Leita is about 6 months older than Haley so she's already gotten hers.

"To tell you the truth, I would've rather gotten that." Haley stares into Leita's eyes. Leita finally realizes that she's actually serious about everything she's saying.

"So you really didn't want to get that totem?" Leita asks softly.

Haley shakes her head, "That's what I've been trying to tell you this whole time. In my perspective, bears are heartless. They take what they want and think that they don't have to give anything in return. Like they took Kenai, they lure their prey in with kindness and keep it forever!"

The words "like Kenai" linger in the back of her mind. She truly believes that those bears had taken Kenai for their own.

"Haley, you know that's not true. Kenai decided to live with the bears because of a decision he made by himself. The bears hadn't really done anything except show him kindness when he had been transformed." Leita says softly, yet very stern.

Haley scoffs, "Sure." Haley walks off, but Leita continues to follow.

"Don't even turn your back on me, Haley!" Leita says strictly.

"Watch me." Haley says coldly. Once more, Haley turns away from her, but gasps at the sight of the tree she had put the basket of fish in.
"T-the fish..." Leita stutters in horror.

"And you thought that bears were kind creatures! Ha! Don't make me laugh." Haley grabs a spear from the nearby weapon hut, and runs into the forest.

CHAPTER 3

"Haley!" Leita calls after Haley. Leita knows that Haley will only be getting herself killed by going after the bear that took the fish. Leita grabs a spear from the same weapon hut, and follows Haley's tracks.

Haley follows a path of bear tracks that she had found by the tree. Her instincts tell her to stay on her toes. She moves quickly and often looks around to be sure no one's following her. No one is around. Well, at least she thinks that. Leita is on her way to stop Haley at this very moment. Haley's instincts then tell her to keep moving. Haley runs quickly and stealthily. If you were to be in the area, you probably won't even hear her. As she runs, she trips over a stone and tumbles down a dirt hill. She lands in a pile of leaves with a loud crunch. A low grunt is heard no more than 10 feet behind Haley. As quietly as she can, Haley turns onto her stomach and peeks behind a small hedge. There, right in front of her eyes is the bear She's been waiting for. The bear's coat is a mocha brown with a blotch of tan covering its right forepaw. It's beady black eyes can tell you your future if you were to bother it, in only one word: death.

Haley glares with an evil smile and whispers, "I have found my prey." Haley picks up her spear and holds it close. She feels around for a rock, not taking her eyes off of her prize. She finally finds an adequate rock and throws it at the bears head. The rock lands right on the center of the bear's cranium. The bear shakes its head as it tries making true pain go away. It looks in Haley's direction and gives an fierce roar. Haley gulps and quickly gets up. She grabs her spear and runs off. The bear follows and chases her to an icy cliff. Haley has no choice but to fight it. Haley is overjoyed that she finally gets to fight her nemesis.

Leita is following Haley's tracks when she hears the scream of a female. She looks up to see Haley hanging onto the edge of a ledge.

"Haley!" She gasps. With her spear at grip, Leita runs up to the cliff to help her friend. Leita soon finds herself at the top off the cliff and peers over the edge to see Haley hanging on for dear life.

"Haley!" Leita yells as she holds out her hand for Haley to grab. Haley grabs her hand and gets pulled up.

"You have to leave!" Haley says in fear.

"What?" Leita asks out of breath.

"The bear!" Haley yells, seeing the bear right behind Leita. Leita screams and pulls her and Haley both to their feet. The bear lifts itself onto its hindpaws and roars at the girls. Suddenly, a rock hits the side of the bear's head. Both girls turn to see Denahi.

"Denahi!" Leita yells in joy.

"What are you doing here?" Haley asks in surprise.

"What does it look like? I'm trying to save you!" Denahi says as he continues to get the bear's attention. The bear begins to make its way over Denahi. Denahi readies his spear as the bear begins to charge at him. Denahi whacks, pokes, and scratches the bear as it attacks him. The girls join the fight.

"What are you doing?" Denahi yells.

"We're not letting you fight this thing alone!" Leita and Haley yell at once.

"You're only going to get yourselves killed!" He shouts back.

"So will you if we leave you here alone with it!" Haley yells as she dodges one of the bear's swipes. The three of them continue fighting the furry beast. With one large swipe, the bear knocks all of them to the ground. All three are in pain, but Leita is the only one that has enough energy into stand. She knows that the only way. To save her friends is by sacrificing herself. She grabs her spear and lunges at the bear. The bear falls and slides across the icy cliff. Leita runs up to it with her spear ready to stab it, but it stands and hits her across her chest as hard it can. A large, now extremely bloody, slash mark is created. The force of the blow is so strong that it sends her across the icy terrain and straight into the, awake and standing, Denahi and Haley. The bear's hit, though, backfired against itself and then slips and falls backwards into the icy river below. The bear survives the fall, and climbs out onto the river bank. It runs off into the woods.

Haley sits on her knees and looks over the bloody and unconscious Leita with a look of horror wiped across her face. Leita's tan skin and dirty blonde hair is stained red from the blood.

"We have to get her back to the village." Denahi says as he scoops Leita up in his arms. Haley nods and they head back.

When they arrive back at the village, Tanana quickly cleans her up and bandages her wounds.

"Will she be okay?" Haley asks with a great deal of fear in her voice.

"She's alive, but I'm afraid that she's lost so much blood that she's fallen into a coma." Tanana says sadly. Tears well up in Haley's eyes and she leaves the infirmary tent. Her tears are both of sadness and anger. She goes back to her hut and packs a small satchel off daggers, fruits, water, and a comb. She puts on a thick torso, puts on her satchel, and grabs her spear once more. She quietly leaves the tent, but gets caught leaving by Denahi.

"You're going after the bear, aren't you?" He asks.

"I have to. Look what it's done to Leita!" Haley exclaims.

"It's not the bear's fault!" Denahi says. By the tone in his voice, Haley knows that he's blaming her.

"If you hadn't gone after it, you two wouldn't have to have fought it. Leita risked her own life to save you." Denahi says. His words sting her, but she continues to feel the hate towards the bear.

"Killing that bear won't do you any good." Denahi tells her.

"Says the boy that went after a bear after thinking it took his brother's life..." she walks past him and hurries into the dark, cold wilderness.

CHAPTER 4

Haley's been walking all night. She had found the tracks sometimes in the night and has been following them ever since. Since she had left the village the night before, she's been wearing her angry face. Only this angry face is like no other. This face face is full of rage and the urge for revenge. She keeps her spear tight in her right hand. From how tightly she's gripping her palm, her knuckles have turned a bright red and her palm is a ghastly white. Her usually soft violet eyes are now a cold violet that seems to just stare right into one's soul. It's quite frightening actually. Never in her life has she been so angered before, until now. She plays her revenge plan through her mind over and over again so she doesn't forget it. First, she'll sneak up behind the bear. Next, she'll stab and kill the bear. Finally, she'll skin the bear and use it's fur as a blanket. Haley chuckles to herself thinking of how beautiful this revenge plan is.

"Don't you worry, Leita. I'll make sure that your wounds will mean something, and not just a reminder of all of the pain you had gone through." Haley mutters to herself as she hurries through the woods.

After hours of walking, she finds herself by a waterfall. Realizing that she hasn't eaten since last night, she sits down to take a break. She cups her hands and places them into the cool river that sits next to her. She takes a sip, but spits it out in shock after hearing a roar. Haley grabs her spear and ducks down by a nearby boulder. She peers out from the side of the boulder to see the bear hunting for fish in the river.
"It steals our fish and it's still hungry?" Haley asks herself. She chokes on her breath when she realizes she must've talked too loud. The bear picks up its ears and scans the area. Haley breathes short and shallow breaths so it doesn't hear her. The bear grunts and Haley holds the spear up to her chest, reminding herself of the reason she even came on this search for the bear.

"You're doing this for Leita, remember that." Haley tells herself in her mind.

After about 30 seconds of thinking, Haley growls softly and leaps out to attack the bear while it's off guard, but only jumps into empty air. She tumbles to the ground, looks around quickly, and then realizes that the bear has run away. She hears pebbles being kicked around and looks to see the bear running down a dirt path. Haley grabs her spear from the ground and chases after the bear, going as quickly as she can.
"There goes that brilliant plan." Haley mumbles to herself as she chases the bear. She goes fast enough that she soon catches up with the bear. She's not close enough to reach, but she is close enough to see it. Haley stays hot on its trail and soon finds herself at the top of the mountain, cornering the bear. The bear, running fast so it would lose her, almost falls off of the edge of the mountain top. It turns around with an angry grunt once it hears Haley's footsteps.

"This is for you, Leita!" Haley yells as she charges at the bear with her spear. The bear roars loudly as it runs over to Haley to attack. The two collide with the bear grabbing ahold of Haley's spear with its massive jaws. It swings the spear over its shoulder with Haley still hanging on. Both the spear and Haley fall to the ground, almost falling off of the edge. Haley's breath gets heavy in fear as she struggles to get her body away from the cliff. The bear begins charging again and she uses all of her strength to lift herself up, away from the cliff's edge. She's lucky enough dodge the bear. Unfortunately, the bear's able to halt to a stop before it can fall off of the cliff.

"I'm not losing to an animal!" Haley yells. She tumbles underneath of the bear and grabs her spear that was kicked by the bear's paw. The bear swipes at her and gets her right sleeve torn. Haley growls and jumps onto its back and tries choking the bear by pressing the wooden stick part of the spear tightly against its neck. It pushes Haley off and hits her. She's hit into a large stone and rubs her throbbing head. She shakes her head and quickly tries getting her blurry vision to clear up. She hears another roar from the bear and can feel the running movement of it from the vibrations of the ground. Her vision finally becomes clear and she looks to her right to find her spear again. The bottom of the spear has been broken off, but the sharp rock tip is still intact. She quickly grabs it points it in a 45 degree angle while still sitting down. She winces in fear and looks away waiting for the bear's impact. The only thing she feels is the bear toppling onto her after it roars loudly in pain. The bear had run right into the spear. The tip penetrated through its thick body and is now pointing out of the bear's back. Haley uses the strength she has to lift it up enough so she can crawl out from underneath it. She looks at it and breathes heavily. She's out of energy and she's shocked. She has now met her goal. She has killed the bear that wounded her friend.

Haley sits on her knees and looks to the ground. She breathes heavily as she tries to regain her breath. A single, quiet crack of thunder fills the air and dark,nearly black, thick storm clouds cover the once blue sky. Suddenly, Haley sees the reflection of blue lights emanating from the sky. She looks up to see glowing, blue orbs floating down to her. The falling orbs are attached to blue, glowing, liquidy-looking strings, and they float around her for a moment. Haley looks at them with a great deal of curiosity. She looks up and sees a giant waterfall coming down from the sky. Sh grabs her spear and runs away from the splash zone of the downpour of water. She stands on a patch of rock that's raised up a few inches from the ground. She breathes heavy again in fear as she tries putting together what's happening. After a moment of realizing that this "waterfall" isn't dangerous, she picks up her spear and trudges through the water that has now covered most of the mountain top. She hesitates before taking the tip of her spear and poking the falling water. The moment the spear touches it, the whole thing explodes into a performance of dancing lights. Mixtures of dark blue, violet, light blue, light pink, and hints of sea green light up the sky around the mountain. Haley falls backwards onto her butt in surprise. She covers her eyes as the spirit of a mammoth gets ready to step on her. She then removes her hands to see that the mammoth can't step on her since it's a spirit. She stands back up onto her feet and looks around her as the spirits of animals continue run around the mountain top. Her instincts tell her to pick up her spear. Every time a spirit gets too close, she points her spear at it as a defense. Suddenly, a giant eagle spirit swoops down in front of her and takes the form of a man.

"Sitka?" Haley gasps, half in shock, have in confusion. Sitka has a very disappointed look on his face. His gaze shifts towards the dead bear and Haley follows the gaze. They both watch as the spirits suck up the body so the bear can join the spirits. Haley turns back to where Sitka is standing to see that he's no longer there. She looks around frantically for him when she's suddenly lifted up into the air, dropping her spear onto the ground. Sitka has now changed back into an eagle and his now lifting Haley up with his talons by her shoulders. He lifts her high into the sky and his wings enclose her whole body. He wings form the shape of a bear head around her. The shape gives a soft roar and then begins to spin around Haley. Haley begins to spin with it and soon transforms into a bear with a mighty roar. She's lowered to the ground and she dizzily gets up onto all fours with a low growl. The spirits disappear just a strike of lightning flashes and a large crack of thunder fills the sky. It begins to rain. Haley shakes her head trying to get her vision to clear. She stands up onto her hind paws and gets startled by a very close lightning bolt that strikes the mountain top. She slips on the wet, rocky ground and falls backwards off of the mountain, and into the river below. She gets knocked out after her head hits off of a boulder. She's whisked away by the fast moving river and soon safely washes up onto the river bay.

CHAPTER 5

As the rain continues to pour down in the dark night, a villager makes his way to the top of the mountain. He had heard the commotion of the fight from a nearby field on the ground and decided to investigate. Right away he recognizes Haley's totem and clothing. He opens his mouth, but no words come out. He picks up Haley's totem and hurries back to the village.

"Tanana!" the villager yells as he hurries into the medical tent where Tanana is still helping an unconscious Leita get better.

"What is it, Koloku?" Tanana asks calmly, walking over to man. Koloku opens his hand to reveal the totem.

"Oh my..." Tanana says worriedly as she carefully takes the totem from the man's wet palm, "Where did you find this?"

"At the top of the mountain. I heard the commotions of a fight between someone and a bear a while ago. I climbed up the mountain only to see shredded clothing and this totem." Koloku says softly, looking down, "I'm sorry Tanana, but...she's gone."

At those very words, Leita's eyes pop open, "W-what?"

"Leita!" Tanana gasps happily, turning back to the poor girl.

"Tanana, who's gone? Why does Koloku have Haley's totem?" Leita asks, getting a bit worried.

Koloku steps forward and looks at her with sad eyes, "I'm sorry Leita, but I think Haley got into a fight with a bear."

"No." Leita says, hoping the next part of the news won't be what she thinks it will be.

"I climbed up and found only her shredding clothing and her totem. Haley was no where to be found." he says, taking the totem from Tanana's hands. He places it in Leita's right hand and closes it. Leita brings her closed up hand to her chest and let's a tear slip down her pale cheek.

"I have to go after that bear." Leita mumbles.

"Definitely not! You're too weak to do anything right now!" Tanana says.

"I don't care!" Leita says, trying her best to be loud.

"Just get some rest, Leita." Tanana says. She leads Koloku out of the tent, leaving Leita all by herself. She manages to fall asleep, but wakes up in the middle of the night. She tries going back to sleep, but just can't. She needs to go after Haley! She manages to get herself up and places her bare feet into her moccasins. She grabs a thick, pelt coat and puts it on over her animal skin night shirt. She puts her hair in a ponytail and grabs a satchel.

Inside of the satchel, she puts in a small dagger, a brush, a clay water canteen, medicine, and extra bandages. She grabs her spear which leans against the wall next to the exit of the tent. She darkly looks at her spear, and wraps Haley's totem around the part of the spear in which the stone arrow and the long handle meet. She caresses the stone totem for a moment and then rushes out of the tent and into the woods following the faint paths that she knows are Haley's from when she ran off earlier.

'Haley is alive! She can't be dead! She doesn't go down that easily!' she thinks to herself.

Denahi frowns as he watches Leita leave. He's been watching her the whole time from the opening in his tent. He sighs and looks at his spear which leans against the wall next to his cot.

"Looks like we're going to have another adventure together." Denahi says softly as he grabs his spear. He looks at it. Kenai's totem is wrapped around it. Kenai had given Denahi his totem to keep as a way of remembering him. It was quite a stupid reason to give it to him, though. Denahi and Kenai are brothers by both blood and heart, and nothing can change that. Denahi and Kenai spent most of their lives together, and also with Sitka, their older brother.

Denahi snaps out of his thoughts and wipes his cheek, realizing he had shed a tear. As much as he had accepted Kenai's decision, Denahi still misses him.

Denahi puts on a pelt coat and runs out of the tent, following Leita.

Tanana sighs, and then smiles up at the sky. The lights of the spirits in the colors of pink, green, baby blue, and violet, dance above her.

"Does this remind you of something, spirits? It surely reminds me of something. Something that happened once upon a time." Tanana smiles softly, "Protect those two, spirits. Especially wounded Leita, she's in no condition for this. I have no control of her actions, though, and can not stop her from what she's about to do. Denahi has become a wise young man, and I'm sure he'll make the right choices. He's still young and juvenile, though. So please, give them your protection and your guidance, my dear spirits."

The spirits flash once in response, and then fade. Tanana knows that both Denahi and Leita are in for one big adventure.

CHAPTER 6

Another bright gleam of morning sunlight wakens Haley. She blinks her eyes trying to get her blurry vision to clear. A sudden throbbing of her head makes her moan. She holds her head as she tries making the pain go away.

“Don’t touch that bump! You’ll only make it worse!” Haley hears a soft elderly woman’s voice say. She turns her head to the right to see Tanana soaking a cloth in the river. She takes the cloth out of the water and wrings it out.

“Tanana?” Haley asks herself softly.

“I see that you didn’t enjoy those rapids too much. By the size of that bump, you must’ve been out at least for ten hours.” Tanana says to her.

“Ten hours? Really?” Haley asks in shock. She notices that Tanana has ignored her. She gets up onto her legs, stumbling a bit, and walks over to Tanana. Tanana steps aside and Haley ends up falling into the water.

Haley bursts out of the water, “Whoa! Am I that injured that I can barely walk?”

“Relax sweetheart. You shouldn’t rush anything. And maybe you should try walking on all fours. Bears aren’t made to walk on two legs.” Tanana says innocently.

“Excuse me?” Haley asks in a fearful gasp. As if Tanana could understand her, she points to Haley’s reflection in the water. Haley looks down to see, not her human reflection, but a bear instead. She wouldn’t have even been able to tell that the reflection was hers if it weren’t for the violet eyes her new body still possesses. What’s funny is that she still has a bang over right eye, the exact same way that her human hair was styled. She lifts up the bang to see that she still has a scar over her right eye. She frown slightly and places the bang back down.

“This can’t be happening…” Haley whispers to herself. She squeezes her eyes shut and lifts up her ‘hand’. She opens her eyes again to see that she doesn’t have hands, but a paw! Haley begins breathing heavily as she stands and looks herself over.

“No. No. No. No!” she yells. She falls onto her butt in the shallow part of the river bay. She looks down and hides her face with her paws, shaking her head.

“Haley dearest, don’t be so upset! Sitka must have something planned for you, just as he had something planned for Kenai!” Tanana says, placing a hand on Haley’s furry shoulder.

Haley looks up and glares slightly, “This nothing like what happened to Kenai! I had a good reason, not that Kenai didn’t, but that isn’t the point! I did this out of-” She’s cut off by Tanana pressing her boney finger to Haley’s lips.

“Save your breath, sweetheart. I can’t speak bear, but I have a feeling you want to know how to become human again.” Tanana says, her brown orbs penetrating through Haley’s violet ones.

“Not what I was saying, but true. That’s what I do want to know.” Haley squeaks, her eyes still staying focused on Tanana’s.

“Listen to me, Haley. If you want to become human again, you must travel to the mountains where the lights touch the earth,” Tanana begins drawing a picture of mountains in the sand, “There, you must consult with Sitka. If you’ve learned your lesson, you’ll become human again.”

Haley looks back up, “But what did I do-” Tanana is gone. “Wrong…” Haley finishes speaking with an unamused tone.

“Great. I get my answer, but I’m not sure where to go.” Haley grumbles to herself. She stands up on her hind legs again. She wobbles a bit, but leans on a nearby tree for support mumbling, “This is gonna be a long trip…”

One step at a time, Haley begins walking (on two feet of course) through the woods. She grumbles angrily to herself as she stumbles over rocks, sticks, and (surprisingly) leaves. She eventually trips over a tree root and lands right in front of two little white rabbits. Haley looks at them. Both are breathing heavily in fear. One of them has their paw over their chest.

“A-A bear!” the rabbit with its paw over its chest says. Haley’s heart nearly jumps out of her throat.
“Y-You can talk?” she asks in utter shock.

“Oh no, it’s a crazy bear! She doesn’t even know that animals can speak with one another!” the second rabbit says.

“I’m not crazy!” Haley spats.

“Run!” the first rabbit says as it speeds off, the second following closely behind.

Haley looks into the sky praying for this to be a dream. She gets back onto her hind legs and stands once more. She stumbles around and bangs her head off of a tree.

“Nope! I’m not dreaming!” she mumbles dizzily as she falls onto her butt. She rubs her head with her paw. She looks at her paw, checking for blood.

‘Good. I’m okay.’ Haley thinks to herself. She then places her paw on her face, “What am I saying? I’m not okay! I’m a bear for crying out loud!”

For hopefully the last time, Haley stands up on her back legs and walks again. She accidentally steps into a rope loop on the ground, and is pulled into the air, hanging by her left leg.

“Can this day get any worse?” she grumbles, crossing her arms. Suddenly, the sky darkens and it begins to rain, wetting her dark brown fur.

“Life is truly cruel.” Haley says to herself as she tries getting herself down.

CHAPTER 7

“Hey, eh! What’s that smell?” a Canadian moose asks his brother.

“I’m not sure, eh. It smells like fish covered in dirt, though!” the other Canadian moose covers his nose with his right forehoof. They brothers walk only two feet before seeing the struggling she-bear, Haley, hanging upside down. Her left back paw is tied to a rope that’s attached to a tree.

“A bear!” the younger moose brother yells.

“Let’s get out of here, eh!” the older one says quickly. They turn quickly to run for the hills, but Haley looks up and sees them.

“Wait!” she yells frantically. The two moose brothers turn around to face her.

“Help get me down, will ya?” Haley asks in a spiteful, yet pleading, tone. The two Canadians turn to one another, the older one whispering to his younger sibling, “She can’t hurt us if she’s hanging upside down like that! Let’s leave her!”

“No! I agree that she might hurt us if she’s loose, but we also can’t leave her there!”

“C’mon, Rutt. You can’t be too sure what bear’s will be like. Big bear was different, but we don’t know where she came from!”

“Tuke! Help her!”

Shocked at his younger brother’s order, he nods, “Okay…” Tuke, the older moose brother, walks over and looks for the peg in which the end of the rope is held at. He finds it and uses one of his antlers to knock the peg out of the ground. Haley gasps as she feels the rope loosen. She screams as she’s thrown up in the air. The moose brothers watch, emotionless. Haley lands on the ground with a hard thud, moaning in pain.

“See you later she-bear.” The brothers say in unison as they turn again to leave.

“Wait!” Haley calls after them, once again.

They turn back to her, “What, eh?”

“Do you know where the lights touch the Earth?” she asks, her heart full of hope.

The brothers look at each other, blinks, turn back and say, “Nope!” Haley’s heart sinks as she buries her face in her paws.

“Sorry we can’t help you, eh! In case we see you again, though, we’ll introduce ourselves. I’m Rutt and that’s my big brother Tuke!” the smaller moose says in a chirpy voice. The tone in his voice reminds Haley of Leita a little bit. She shakes off the memory knowing that this isn’t the time to sulk.

“How’s it goin’, bear?” Rutt asks in a happy tone, although not as chirpy as the younger brother.

Haley growls softly and says, “Don’t call me that!”

“Oh, um she-bear?” Tuke asks.

“No! I’m not a bear at all!” Haley spats at them. The brothers stay silent for a moment, look at each other, and then burst into a fit of laughter. They both fall onto their backs, kicking their hooves around as they laugh hysterically.

“What’s so funny?” she growls angrily.

“N-Nothing! I-It’s just that….” Rutt can barely finish his sentence since he’s still laughing.

“It’s what?” she yells at him.

“You don’t think you’re a bear!” Tuke finishes his sentence just as he takes a breather from all of his laughing.

“Of course not! I’m a human girl!” Haley says, shocked that he doesn’t believe her. Rutt stands up, his laughing has now ceased. The moose brothers look at each other and then turn away to whisper. Although Haley can’t understand what they’re whispering about, she can hear them quite well. She can already tell that they’re not the best at being quiet.

Rutt and Tuke turn back, “So, ‘girly’, if you’re not a bear and you say you’re a human, then how did you become a bear?”

“My adoptive older brother lifted me into the sky and changed me.” Haley says.

The two look at each other. Rutt speaks after another moment of silence, “Well we must be going, bye!” The two run off, leaving the she-bear in the dust.

“Hey! Can’t you even tell me about anyone who can lead me to the mountain?” Haley calls after them. She groans and looks to the ground after she realizes they’re too far ahead to hear her now. She gets up and stands on all fours, realizing she’ll move faster this way. As she stands for a moment, she hears a rustling in the nearby brush. She turns around and narrows her eyes in curiosity.

“Ah!” yelps a small dark brown bear cub as he practically, flies right into Haley. She moans in pain as she stands back up. She shakes her head, trying to shake off the pain. She then turns to the cub that seems no more than a year old in human years. His dark brown eyes match the color of his fur. A thin lining of creamy colored fur along his neck line of fur is the only marking on his body that stands out.

“Who are you?” Haley growls, closing in on the cub that’s now scrambling to his feet.

“I-I’m Koda.” The cub whimpers softly.

CHAPTER 8

“W-who are you?” Koda stutters softly.

“That is none of your concern.” Haley’s growl is low, and dark.

“Koda!” a male’s voice calls from the brush. Koda’s ears perk up and he turns his head towards the brush. An adult male runs out of the brush and towards Koda. The male is large, yet quite small for a bear of his age. He has tan fur covering his body with a darker tone of fur on his legs. His eyes are a blazing auburn that brings his looks together.

“Are you alright?” the older male asks the young cub.

Koda nods, “Yeah, but this female is kinda scary…”

The older bear turns to face the she-bear. His eyes narrow, and the fur on his back stands on end. He growls fiercely and softly begins cornering Haley, his teeth showing as he growls, “Who are you, and what makes you think you can treat my younger brother this way?”

“My name is none of your concern. I don’t care much of that little cub of yours. So you can take that runt and leave.” Her violet eyes darken as she spats at the bear.

“He is not a runt!” the adult male tackles Haley, they go tumbling a few feet further into the woods. He is on top of her, pinning her to the ground. Out of instinct, Haley uses her bear claws to swipe at the bear. He moves his head to dodge the attack. He growls and roars fiercely at her. He gets off of her.

“You’d leave me alone if you know what’s good for you.” Haley says sharply. Koda, in which is standing nearby, watches in horror as his older brother fights with this she-bear.

Haley lunges at the older male, pinning him to the ground. They claw and swipe at each other, both furious with each other’s actions.

Koda finally has had enough of it. He runs in between them both, “Stop!” Both older bears stop and look down at the cub. The adult has no scratches whatsoever, but Haley, on the other hand, has a small cut on her cheek.

“Please don’t fight, this isn’t like you to do this.” Koda looks at his older brother with sad eyes.

Koda’s older brother sighs and looks at him, “You’re right. I’m so sorry, Koda. You know how I get when I feel you’re being threatened.”

Koda smiles and hugs his brother’s right hind leg, “I know.”

Koda smiles and softly trots over to Haley, “Now, what’s your name?”

“Like I said, it’s none of your concern.” She stubbornly turns her ahead away from him.

“Why are you so stubborn?” the older brother spats.

“Who are you calling stubborn?” Haley growls.

“Hey!” Koda yells, “Stop fighting. Now, tell us your name. Please…” Koda looks at Haley with sweet eyes that burn through Haley’s heart like a wildfire.

She sighs, “Haley. My name is Haley…”

“That’s a nice name. Kind of strange actually. No one has a name like that.” Koda says.

“I named myself that.” Haley says softly.

“I knew those eyes seemed a little too familiar…” the older bear finally says.

“Excuse me?” she asks confusedly.

“Haley, it’s me, Kenai.” The older bear smiles softly.

“Kenai?” Haley nearly chokes on her own breath. Just a few moments ago, she was trying to kill him. Now, she realizes that this bear is the boy she had been missing for the past 5 months. Kenai nods and tilts his head upwards to reveal his totem that was hidden by the fur around his neck.

“It is you…” Haley says in a gasp.

“Yeah. Look at you, you look so different…” Kenai circles.

“Really, you think? Maybe it’s because I’m a bear?” she spats unintentionally. Kenai’s eyes widen and chuckles sheepishly, “Yeah, that might be the reason.”

“So this is your human friend you told me about?” Koda asks. Kenai tousles the fur on his head, “Yeah, buddy. Only, she wasn’t my friend, she was more of a sister.”

Her cheeks burn. She can’t believe Kenai mentioned her to his bear buddies. Kenai and Haley go back a long way. Back to when She was just a baby. Tanana had found her wrapped in cloth by a tree in the middle of the forest. She took care of Haley until Sitka was old enough to take care of his brothers by himself. That’s when Tanana passed her down to the three brothers to be raised by them. Shes about a year younger than Kenai, but they grew up as not only best friends, but as siblings.

“What happened to you, anyways? Why are you a bear?” Kenai snaps Haley out of her thoughts. No way can she tell him that she killed a bear. Kenai would probably be infuriated by her and ditch her. So, she lies, “Sitka decided that maybe I should get more time with you.”

“You saw Sitka?” Kenai asks in shock. Haley nods hesitantly, “Yeah! He surprised me with the transformation, though. One minute I’m walking through the woods, I’m a bear the next. Makes me kinda irritable, ya know?”

“Well, maybe Kenai and I can lead you to the mountain!” Koda exclaims, “We were actually going to the Salmon Run and the mountain is right next door to it!”

“Seriously?” Haley asks the cub. This is too good to be true. Not only does she keep her secret from Kenai, but she also gets to turn back into a human.

Kenai is faking a smile. To him, seeing his unrelated sister right here in front of him makes him enthusiastic. The fact that she’s changing back, though, breaks his heart. He says, “We better get going. It’s almost dark and it’s a 4 day trip.”

“4 days?” Haley asks, her breath getting caught in her throat again. Maybe this won’t be as good as she thought it would be. Suddenly, her ears perk up. She turns her head to see the leaves of some bushes in the brush rustling about. She squints her eyes to see what’s causing the movement. There’s a yell as a figure in a dark animal skin cloak jumps out of the brush. Haley turns her head to see that Kenai and Koda have disappeared. She turns back to the figure. Haley’s feet are moving slowly, guiding her body backwards, away from it. The figure flips off its hood. There, in the dimmed evening sunlight, is a very angry Leita.

CHAPTER 9

“Leita!” Haley gasps in delight. Haley forgets that humans can’t understand her. Leita raises her spear and points it at Haley.

“L-Leita!” Haley stutters, “It’s me, Haley!” Leita yells in fury as she goes to stab Haley. She misses. Haley is pulled by her scruff into a bush. She turns her head and realizes that it was Kenai who had grabbed her.

“Kenai!” Haley cheers happily.

“We can say our thank yous later! Let’s go!” Kenai nudges her to run. They both start running with Leita hot on their trail.

Kenai and Haley run like the wind as they try to get away from the monstrous Leita. Haley turns around once and swears that she sees froth coming from Leita’s mouth. Never in her life as she seen her friend so angry. Not even the time when she had stolen Leita’s locket that had been given to her by her passed father.

Kenai suddenly pushes Haley into a hole in a cave that’s hidden by brush and trees. Haley gets onto her paws again and looks up to see a quivering Koda in the back of the cave.

“Stay quiet,” Kenai whispers as he follows Haley into the cave. All three bears get down onto their stomachs. Haley sees the shadow of Leita stop by the entrance of the cave. The brush and trees hide Leita, but her shadow is still visible. Haley’s heart is beating so fast that she’s afraid Leita might hear. She silently, and nervously swallows. She closes her eyes hoping that Leita won’t walk in and kill them. Fortunately, her prayer is answered, and Leita’s shadow leaves the cave.

Kenai sniffs the air and then looks at Haley and Koda with a smile, “It’s ok. She’s gone now.”

“Yay!” Koda cheers as he jumps into his brother’s arms, “Does this mean that Haley’s coming with us now?”

Kenai looks at Haley and says, “She doesn’t really have much of a choice now.”

Haley pays no attention to Kenai or Koda. She’s playing with her claws and is mumbling softly to herself, “Leita tried killing me. She didn’t even stop to listen. She just…went for the attack. It’s so unlike her.”

“Even if she had stopped to listen, she wouldn’t have understood you,” Kenai, who had heard everything said, puts Koda on the ground, walks over to his friend, and sits next to her.

Haley looks up, “She wouldn’t have?”

Kenai chuckles and lifts Haley’s paws up to her face, “You’re a bear, remember? They can’t understand us.”

“Oh, right,” Haley says softly as she gently pulls her paws away.

Kenai frowns and looks at her, “I know this is hard right now, but it’ll get better. I promise.”

“How is it going to get better?” Haley spats, “I need to turn back into a human and my best friend is trying to kill me! We all know that she’s skilled, Kenai! She may not be the hunting type, but when she decides she wants to kill, she always gets her prey!”

“Can you at least try looking to the positive side?” Kenai spats back.

“What positive side? There is no positive side! I’m a bear, Kenai! I’m a beast that only kills and tears families apart!” Haley yells.

“Y-You think that bears are b-beasts?” both Kenai and Haley hear a voice choking on tears speaking behind them.

Kenai turns to his younger adopted brother, “K0da, I’m sure she didn’t mean that.”
“Yeah, well you’re wrong!” Haley says sharply as she shoots a burning glare right at Kenai. She runs out of the cave.
Koda wipes his nose with his paw and sniffles, “Kenai, why does she think that bears are so horrible?”

“I’m not sure Koda, but we better go get her. It’s getting dark and she could get hurt,” Kenai replies to his little brother. Koda nods and climbs onto Kenai’s back. Koda holds onto him as Kenai runs out of the cave, following Haley’s tracks.

~

Haley trips and stumbles over brush and twigs. She twists her right forepaw after tripping over a rock, but ignores the pain. She’s too upset to think. Her brain feels like mush. She feels bad for what she said in front of Koda, but feels no different about bears in general. She truly hates them, and she believes that they will always be her enemy.

She collapses at a river bay and rests for a moment. She looks at her hurt paw. It’s only now that she thinks about the pain. She winces as she uses her nose to prod it. ‘It’s sprained,’ she thinks to herself.

“Haley!” Kenai exclaims in exhaustion as he bursts from the forest and hurries to her side.

“Oh, you’re back,” Haley mumbles as she turns away and lays her head on the ground.

“Of course I am, I wasn’t gonna let you get hurt when you don’t know how to act in this condition, but it seems I’m a little too late for that,” Kenai says, referring to her paw.

“What are you talking about? I’m fine!” Haley says.

“No you’re not. You twisted your paw, “Kenai says.

“No I didn’t!” the she-bear says stubbornly.

“Just let me look at it,” Kenai says softly. Haley goes to say no, but looks into her friend’s soft amber eyes. She sighs and nods lightly. Kenai sits next to her and checks her paw. He grabs a large leaf from a nearby bush and wraps her paw in it.

“I’ll help you walk until we get to the Salmon Run, alright?” Kenai asks with a small smile.

She smiles a tiny smile, “Alright, Kenai…Thank you.” Those last two words fill Kenai’s heart with joy. He’s finally getting her to crack that shell of sadness.

CHAPTER 10

A crack of thunder is heard in the night sky. Haley rests peacefully on the far end of a deep cave Kenai had found. It was closer to the river bank where Haley had stopped. He had thought it would be better than going back to the other cave that was farther away since Haley had sprained her paw just a few hours earlier.

A second boom rolls across thee black sky and Koda’s eyes snap open. His fur stands on end in fear. He gets up and backs away from the opening of the cave only to trip over Haley.

“Please don’t wake up,” Koda whispers to himself.

“Too late,” the whispering moan of Haley grabs Koda’s attention.

He turns to her and bows his head in shame, “I-I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you.”

Haley sighs, rubs her eyes with her paws, and sits up, “Why are you up so late?”

“N-No reason…,” Koda says. He then jumps into Haley’s furry arms when the next loud crack of thunder echoes through the night.

“You’re afraid of thunder?” Haley asks the young cub, looking down at him with a raised eyebrow.

“I can’t help it. It’s so loud. It reminds me of the yells of hunters when they come looking for bears like me and Kenai,” Koda says. He blushes in embarrassment.

Feeling for the cub, Haley talks softly to him, “You know, I used to be afraid of thunder.”

“You were?”

“Yeah. When Kenai and I were both humans, I’d always wake up in the middle of the night from a thunderstorm. Kenai would grab his blanket and he’d wrap it around the both of us. He’d tell me funny stories until I fell back to sleep. Kenai was the best,” Haley smiles lightly to the cub.

“Wow, I didn’t think that someone like you would be afraid of anything,” Koda says astonished.

“Everyone is afraid of something, Koda. Even me. I’m afraid of losing the people I love,” she says, looking to the ground.

It’s silent for a moment. Koda then looks back up to her and says, “Maybe you don’t necessarily hate bears. Maybe you’re afraid of them. I’ve heard that some, not all, bears are really mean and hate humans. You’re afraid of what we can do, not what we will do.”

Haley looks at Koda, “Maybe you’re right.” She places Koda onto the ground and lays back down.

“Good night, Koda,” she says softly. She closes her eyes and drifts off to sleep. The young cub lays next to her and ends up falling asleep as well. Haley moves her head so it’s protectively in front of the sleeping cub. Koda smiles in his sleep. It’s about time they’ve started getting along.

The next morning arrives quickly. The outside is still wet from the storm last night. The air is moist and thick from the fog. The sky is purplish-pink due to the fact that the sun is just beginning to rise overhead. Kenai is the first one to wake up. He notices that Koda isn’t snuggled into him like usual and is stricken with a bolt of panic. He relaxes when he sees Koda sleeping soundly into Haley’s stomach.

“Would ya look at that?” Kenai whispers to himself with a small smirk. He notices how Haley is wrapped around Koda in a protective position. He smiles and then silently leaves the cave for a quick run to the nearby stream.

Koda yawns softly as he wakes up only twenty minutes after Kenai leaves. He rubs his eyes groggily with his dark brown paw. His dark eyes scan the cave as he looks for his big brother.

“Kenai?” Koda says worriedly.

Haley wakes up with a moan, “Koda, go back to bed…”

“But Kenai’s missing!” the young cub exclaims. Haley opens her eyes and looks around the cave. She squints as she looks to the opening of the cave to see Kenai’s paw prints molded into the mud.

“I think he just left to get some food, Koda. After all, he is the older bear. He doesn’t want you going out by yourself, and I don’t even know how to fish with these claws!” Haley explains.

Koda’s ears flatten on his head and he smiles sheepishly, “Yeah, that’s right…”

She chuckles, “It’s alright to be worried, Koda. You just have to look around and get the facts before you jump to conclusions.”

“Breakfast!” Kenai’s voice startles both bears as he places the three salmon on the ground.

“Food!” Koda races over to the small pile of fish and scoops one up into his mouth. Haley walks over and picks one up in her mouth as well. She normally doesn’t eat fish, but her transformation must’ve given her the taste for it. She wants to devour it as soon as the fishy aroma reaches her nostrils. She sits down on the ground where she originally lay and begins to calmly eat. She tries to keep herself from totally eating the fish whole due to the fact that she’s starving. She sighs in content as the last morsel of salmon slips down her throat.

“Man, that was the best thing I’ve eaten in days!” Haley says with a small giggle.

“I’m glad you enjoyed it,” Kenai replies as he tosses his fish bones to the side.

“Me too! This is great!” koda manages to say through a filled mouth. The two older bears turn to the youngest cub to see his cheeks puffed out from all the fish he’s put in his mouth. They both break into laughter. Koda swallows all of the fish in his mouth and stares at them in confusion.

“What’s so funny?” he asks.

“Nothing, Koda, “Kenai says as he wipes a tear of joy from his eye, “Nothing at all…”