Grizzler blinked, startled, his paw half-raised in confusion.
"Eat you? I'm not even hungry," he muttered, blinking as if the idea itself tasted bitter.
W… what is this bear thinking about? Eating? Me?!
Yes, eating me! He didn't eat the honey, so now he's frustrated! Ivy thought.
Ivy's heart stumbled in her chest, uncertain if she should run or stay perfectly still.
"You wanted to go home, remember? I'm not hungry for you, deer. Go if you think you can make it alone." Grizzler turned his back.
Ribbit. Ribbit. A sound of a frog came from the empty trees.
When Ivy tried to move, her legs folded beneath her like a newborn fawn's.
What should I do…? Ivy thought.
Her legs trembled, refusing her will.
"See? If I keep you here, you'll only end up hurt… or worse," Grizzler murmured.
A wet croak echoed behind Ivy, making her ears flick.
Ribbit. Ribbit.
"What are you thinking about, little deer? Ribbit, ribbit," the frog in the swamp said.
"Thinking about? Don't you see that hungry bear?" Ivy said, pointing at Grizzler, who was hunched over, grumbling to himself, "Can't reach it… can't reach it!"
"This bear's heart is good, ribbit… I can feel it," the old, skinned frog said as a bubble rose from the mud.
"H-how could you tell?!" Ivy shouted.
"Who even are you?" Ivy snapped. "You just crawl out of the mud and start talking?!"
Ivy's tail flicked, half in fear, half in irritation.
The frog smiled before speaking.
"I've seen beasts of every kind. A bear with a stone heart wouldn't wait to devour you," croaked the frog, eyes half-closed in memory , as if savoring the moment.
"The Frog of Wisdom, at your service. Call me W—"
"Little deer?" The frog turned around, but there was only him.
Another voice bubbled from the muck. "Don't worry, buddy, I heard you!"
"So, you came after all," Grizzler said, hands folded behind his back, watching Ivy descend.
Ivy's hooves scraped the earth, unsure whether to trust or flee.
"Take me home! I don't want to hear anything else!" Ivy said, her voice trembling with fear.
I shouldn't let this deer know anything about my secret… or the thing I haven't even discovered yet, Grizzler thought.
He clenched his claws behind his back. The name "Claw" burned like a scar in his mind.
The silence stretched, thick enough to choke on.
It's so… Grizzler thought, turning his head to the side.
... Embarrassing… Ivy thought, burying her face in Grizzler's back.
Then Grizzler broke the silence with a question.
"So… it was too hard for you, huh? I mean… being with two beasts," Grizzler said, his voice rougher than he meant.
He paused. "I'm glad you survived." His voice softened.
Ivy went quiet for a moment; her eyes darkened.
God, I made it worse, Grizzler swallowed.
Ivy pressed her forehead against his fur, hiding from the weight of his words.
"What do you know?!" Ivy shouted.
Grizzler stiffened; the sound of her voice struck harder than claws.
"Stop playing the victim!" Ivy's voice trembled.
"You brutally killed a creature ... something kind who wanted to save me… just for honey?!"
Her voice cracked between rage and heartbreak, each word dripping like sap from a wounded tree.
"You killed Claw!" Ivy's eyes shimmered with tears that refused to fall.
But I am the Claw you're talking about… Grizzler thought.
A single leaf fell between them, curling as it touched the ground.
"I'm not playing the victim, though," Grizzler said, closing his eyes as guilt consumed him.
Ivy's eyes shut tight; the words themselves overwhelmed her.
"If I could move, I'd leave you here already!"
"I still have things to discover!"
"Discover, huh…" Grizzler's voice cracked, half laugh, half sorrow.
Once they reached the hill's edge, Grizzler lowered Ivy gently onto the grass. The sun bled into the trees.
The light painted the grass gold, stretching their shadows side by side , touching, yet apart.
A quiet breeze brushed between them, heavy with the scent of pine and dusk.
"You what?" Ivy lifted her head.
"That Claw they spoke of ... the so-called king of the forest .. was a monster, wasn't he?"
"S-so what?" Ivy said, her eyes refusing to meet Grizzler's.
"But now you call him kind," Grizzler murmured, his eyes half-shadowed by the fading light.
"Little deer… don't you think even beasts can change?" Grizzler asked, his arms half-raised in quiet surrender.
The frog's words of wisdom snapped back into Ivy's mind.
She could almost hear that lazy croak again:
"This bear's heart is good, ribbit… I can feel it."
Words echoed inside her, soft as ripples across still water.
"I… I'll think about it," she murmured between bites of grass.
A grin tugged at Grizzler's muzzle.
"Then let's sleep."
Thud!
Grizzler collapsed into the grass, arms behind his head, gazing up at the stars.
Fireflies blinked over the field like drifting embers.
A deep rumbling rose from Grizzler's belly, loud as distant thunder.
"I think I'm hungry too," he said.