*Chuff*

“Don’t shoot!” I shouted at my dad.

I recognized the cub in front of me that was illuminated by the two flashlights. She’s grown since the last time I saw her. Those rabbits near the den were easy for her to hunt and it showed. The cub was now a six inches taller and fatter too. I was very worried that she didn’t learn to survive when I left her, but here she was in front of me and she was sniffing the collapsed grill. I was both relieved and dismayed. Relieved that she was okay, and dismayed that she followed me here. I’m positive she won’t go back to the forest even if I forced her.

“I know that little runt.” I said my voice was full resignation. I glanced at my frowning Dad, and he lowered his rifle after hesitating briefly. I heard the click of my dad engaging the safety on his rifle.

“You deal with it. I’m getting some coffee.” My Dad shook his head and left me with the cub. Dad wasn’t a morning person without his caffeine. He turned on the porch lights and the area we were in was illuminated a little. I turned off the flashlight and stored my rifle.

I was scratching my head in frustration when I was suddenly bulldozed by the cub. I landed on my butt on the grass and the bear was pawing my armored chest for attention. Sighing deeply, I scratched the cub in the neck and she grunted in pleasure. I really can’t be mad with the cute runt. I was about to stand up when she wrestled me back to the ground. I got scared at first, but relaxed when I realized she was just playing around. I think I pissed in my pants a little. I knew she wouldn’t stop pestering me unless I wrestled with her, so I played with the cub. My chest burned hot and I stopped the mock-fighting with the bear. I broke away from her bear hug quickly and stood up. I was looking at my chest and I frowned at the sensation. I also felt something from the cub, it was like she was happy. This was getting weird and I rubbed the vest on my chest in worry. I thought about why this kept happening. Maybe the Bear Core in me reacted because of the cub. I was also puzzled that I felt the cub’s mood. I saw Athlan’s creepy smile in my imagination and I hastily tried burying my concerns in my mind. I don’t want to deal with the elf right now.

“Enough! You stinker!” I admonished the cub and gently slapped her nose with my hand. Thankfully, she got the idea and settled down. She smelled bad and I’ll bathe her later.

“What am I gonna do with you?” I asked to no one in particular. The cub tilted her head as if she understood what I was saying. No, that’s just my imagination. I shook myself when I walked to the back porch and sat on the steps to think. What wrong with me?I need to stop thinking about it.

The cub saw my old basketball near the steps and she ran towards it. She sniffed the ball and started playing with it. I was watching her with amusement when I heard the back door opening.

“Is that the bear’s cub?” Dad asked when he came back holding a cup of coffee. He emphasized the word THE. He sat beside me on the steps.

“Yeah. I think so. Probably.” I shrugged. Great Bears were rare in our area. They mostly live north in Alaska and Canada. I took off my vest and tossed it on the floor of the porch.

“Why is that bear here? This is too much of a coincidence.” His eyes narrowed at me. I winced at his gaze.

“Uh. I might have fed her a little.” I said in a low voice, not meeting his eyes. I fed her more than a little.

“I bet you’ve been feeding her a lot.” My Dad guessed and he examined the bear’s body. “Like, almost every day for a month.” He accused me. I’m so grounded. Are they still allowed to ground me? I’m an adult now.

“You knew?” blurted in surprise and I looked at him with my mouth open. “I wasn’t really trying to keep it a secret.” My voice very contrite.

“No, I didn’t. But I was wondering why you were sometimes late for dinner. You also had a lot of dirt all on your shoes every time you came back. I thought you and Frank were hunting again, so I didn’t say anything. I didn’t want your mother to worry.” He explained.

“I found her after I killed the wolf. She was so weak, Dad. I felt sorry for her. I was keeping the bear alive by feeding her but I left her like a month ago. I didn’t know she would follow me here.” I gave my dad a rueful smile.

“But, that’s a long way from here!” My dad's face was amazed at the cub. The bear’s den was pretty far from here. I visualized her route and found that it was doable if she kept following the edge of the park. She probably hunted small animals while she traveled to here, judging from her body.

“Well. She’s a crafty one. I wonder how she tracked you? Smell? Maybe.” Dad thought out loud. The bear was finished playing with the ball and she came to me asking for rubs. I rubbed the runt and she chuffed happily. I think my Bear Core and her has something to do with it, but I didn’t say that. I wonder if I should tell Doc Athlan about it. Sorry, no thanks.

“So, what are you gonna do?” He asked looking at me rubbing the bear. I didn’t know how to answer that question. We were quiet for a long time lost in our thoughts. I felt attached to the cub and I don’t think I can leave her again. She’ll be safe here and when she grows up, she will probably leave to find a mate. I looked at the pup and decided to keep her. She’s my responsibility now.

“She could stay here. Hunt in the woods. I’m afraid other hunters might find her.” Our property was large enough, about 150 acres of woodland. My great-grandfather bought this place back in the 20’s. The bear had space for herself here when she gets bigger. She could hunt those feral pigs and other animals for food.

“A bear can’t be a pet. Usually. Although, a great bear is smarter than a dog. I don’t know. Maybe.” My Dad rubbed his chin while staring at the bear. At least dad was open to the idea. Then he snorted. “Crazy Russians.” I had an idea though.

“I’m gonna try teaching her commands. Like, ‘no’ ‘stay’, ‘come’, and ‘don’t kill’ Hehehe.” I chuckled and my dad shook his head laughing.

“Yep, good idea but forget housebreaking her. She’s not coming inside the house. And if she shows signs of being too aggressive. She’s gone.” He warned me and his eyes were hard. I nodded. I understood what dad was saying between the lines. I’ll do it myself.

“Okay. Well, let’s see if she tries to follow you inside. I’ll cook breakfast” My dad made his decision. The sun was rising now and it was getting brighter outside.

The cub tried to follow me inside the house, but I said no forcefully and slapped her nose. She was making pitiful noises but didn’t try to get inside. To reward for listening, I poured some milk into a large bowl and gave it to her. She was laying down on her belly outside the door, giving me a sad face but she cheered up when I gave her the milk. I closed the door and left her loudly licking the milk. After we had our breakfast, I tried teaching her some commands.

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I was teaching her to stay when mom came out on the porch carrying the laundry. She screamed when she saw the bear and dropped the clothes on the porch. The little cub wailed and went behind me cowering.

“Is...is...is...That’s a BEAR! GET AWAY FROM IT!” She yelled and went back inside. She opened the door halfway and poked her head out. “WHAT ARE YOU DOING BRIAN! GET INSIDE!” She yelled. I winced at her voice. The poor cub was trembling. I got on my knee to give her an assuring hug and rubbed her.

“You’re scaring her Mom! Look! She’s shaking!” I gave mom a reproving look. I rubbed the cub and told her it was okay in an assuring tone. Mom got over her shock and was staring at the scene with wide eyes.

“Come here, mom. It’s okay. She’s friendly.” Mom was made of sterner stuff and she edges closer to us. My mom walked slowly to us and her face was a little pale. I could tell my mom was extremely nervous.

“It’s okay, Mom. Give her a rub.” I told mom and she came closer. She gave the bear a tentative touch. After a while, mom was rubbing her as if the cub was like a dog and made baby sounds at the bear.

“She’s so cute hon! What’s her name.” I looked at her blankly. A name? I can’t think of one at the moment. Beara? No, that’s just corny.

“I’ll think of something.”

“Better do it quickly or else she won’t respond to a name.” She advised me still rubbing the cub. “I didn’t know you were a bear expert, Mom.” I gave her a crooked smile and she ignored it.

“I think your name will be Cuddles. Because you’re so cuddly, you little baby, you.” she said to the cub in baby talk and squeezing the bear’s ears. I was horrified of the name.

“Not Cuddles!”

--

I was in the woods on our property and I was trying to move without making any sound. I crouched behind a bush and I was raising my head slowly to take a peek. Good, they were still there. We’ve been waiting for two hours now and we finally saw a herd of large feral hogs gathering near the feed spreader. I installed the spreader a week ago and it was finally paying dividends. The feed spreader automatically scatters corn every day in a small area. They were good at attracting animals and it made my life easy hunting them. I borrowed it from Bob, our neighbor and the way things were going, I was going to buy one for me.

I accidentally brushed my hands on the leaves and it made some noise. I froze instantly and I checked the hogs to see if they were spooked. Nope. Their heads were down eating the corn and were unaware of my presence. I slowly relaxed and took a deep breath. That was close. I looked back to my silent hunting partner, who was hiding behind a tree. I nodded to myself, satisfied that my companion wasn’t making a sound. Hera was eagerly eyeing the pigs but was waiting for my command. I felt a sense of anticipation from where Hera was hiding. I slowly raised my hand and pointed at the pigs.

“Go” I whispered and thought of the word in my mind.

Hera burst from behind the tree instantly, as fast as a bullet. Although she’s around four feet at the shoulders in height now, her speed always surprises me. I watched Hera charge at full speed, she was as silent as a ghost with her padded paws. Hera finally reached the herd and fell on the gathered hogs. The pigs squealed in alarm but it was too late and Hera jumped on a hog’s back and violently wrestled it with her clawed paws. We sometimes play-wrestle for fun, but watching the real one made me question my sanity. I shuddered at the scene I was witnessing. Even though she was outnumbered, the other pigs were scared of her. When the other hogs saw the predator in their midst, they scattered in every direction. When Hera’s hog fell on its side, she quickly clamped her jaws on her victim’s neck and shook her head. Hera then let go of the hog after she crushed the windpipe and severed the arteries. The hog was trashing on the ground and Hera roared in victory. I laughed at her very cute roar and maybe in a few more months or a year, it would sound terrifying. She was sniffing the trashing hog and looked at me to see if I was watching her. I stood up from where I was hiding and ran to the now dead pig.

“Good job, Hera!” I rubbed her shoulders and I was smiling with pride. This was our first successful hunt together. I’ve been trying to teach her patience and how to select her prey wisely. The first time we tried hunting, she just charged at the very first hog she saw. Hera was fast but the hog was alert and saw her charging and got away. That hog was larger than her too. I was getting frustrated with our failures and was planning on hunting the pigs myself for her food. There were no rabbits in our property and hog hunting was much more difficult.

I looked at the kill and I was elated with the hog she chose to bring down. The juvenile sow was just the right size for her to dominate it and the larger ones were too difficult for her due to their bulk. I was overjoyed that she can hunt these hogs now. Feral pigs were pests and I hunt them whenever I had the time. Oh yes. The Hog Slaughter Era is coming.

I gave Hera another rub and I could sense she was content with the kill. I stopped worrying about sensing her feelings for a while now. Hera’s Core and her mother’s Core inside me were connected somehow. But, there was no point in worrying about something I didn’t understand and I just rolled with it. It was a good teaching tool for her though.

I quartered the hog into smaller pieces and gave the heart and liver to the waiting Hera. She also learned to wait for me to give her the food. She was noisily eating the organs while I stored the meat in my storage. It’s a good thing time runs slowly inside the pocket universe or dimension or whatever…It made the meat fresh for a long time. When I was finished storing the meat in my storage, we walked back to the house and I barbecued the meat after marinating it.

Hera was a well-behaved bear and I didn’t have that many problems disciplining her. We were worried that she might attack our neighbor's animals but she never wandered to other people’s property. I made her a large bear house in the backyard using thick plywood. I insulated it and added padded floor mats for her to sleep on. I might take her out and meet other people in the future but I decided to take it easy. Frank was still terrified of Hera when she jumped on him for some play-wrestling when he wasn’t looking. Maybe much later.

I was grilling the meat when I was reminiscing our graduation ceremony. It was weird. I didn’t feel excited or I didn't get a sense of accomplishment when I took my diploma. I only felt...glad. I was glad that it was over. I saw my friends jubilant faces and I felt jealous that I didn’t feel that way. I asked Dad about it and he said something about my ambitions were just high. I get what he was saying. Graduating was just a stepping stone for me and I can’t wait for the next one. Who knows, I might be sleeping under an alien sun and breathing the alien air in the future.

“Here you go, you greedy guts.” She was eyeing the meat on the flames and I gave her large share of the meat. She loves them grilled for some reason. I eyed the munching bear and hoped she didn’t require her meat cooked all the time.

“Mom! Dad! Food’s Ready!” I shouted at them, placing the meat on a plate and setting it on the outdoor table we had in the backyard.

--

“Hera! Stay!” I ordered her forcefully and she just tilted her head. I massaged my temples. I’m too young to get migraines.

Today was my formal job interview at the sheriff's office and I didn’t want to be late. I was wearing my best suit. My only suit actually. As I was about to drive off when I saw Hera chasing the truck and I had to stop or she’ll follow me all the way to town. This was the first time she did this and she always stayed at home when I left the house.

*chuff*

The cub made a pitiful noise and she blocked the truck with her body. I thought I trained her better, but apparently, it wasn't enough. Or she was just ignoring the training. I glared at the cub.

“You can’t come, Hera!” I pleaded with the cub. I looked around to see if we were alone. Why was she acting this way?

“They might shoot you.” I added with a low voice and tried to scare the runt.

*chuff*

Hera moved away from the truck and it looked like she was going back to our backyard. I sighed in relief. I went back inside the truck and was about to turn the keys when I heard a lot of scraping sounds and heavy thud on the back. I turned to look behind and I saw Hera sitting on the truck bed. Hera’s red collared head was looking at me and her tongue was hanging out.

*chuff*