Keshi shook his head violently. "Lake dangerous, will kill you if you give it the chance," he said. It was clear that he believed this to his very being, if only by how dirty he was.

"I see what you mean. I guess the reason why I didn't leave the city was because of the old woman who raised me. I was afraid that if I left her, I'd always be alone."

Keshi smiled at that. "Like I don't leave my bear pack. But I protect them from humans," he said.

"And now I will be."

Keshi paused his carving and looked up at that, a small frown on his face. "Alone not so bad," he said. "You can do what you want, whenever you want. And go where ever you want. You free. Not stuck in closed in human cities," he said. Truly, he couldn't understand why anyone would want to live there anyway. If he loved the woman as family then why not both of them leave the city.

"All well, not much I can do about that now. I just hope she is safe. What are you making?"

"Brother!" Keshi said with a grin, and he held out the lump of wood for Elkan to see. Currently it looked as though a young bear head had thrust through the wood, intricate in its detail.

CRACK!

Keshi's head shot up at that. "Hunters..." he murmured. He dropped the carving and the knife and bolted to his feet before taking off towards the den and the noise, running as fast as he could, tearing the encumbersome robe off and dropping it to the ground, running naked instead as more gunfire sounded, shouts and the unmistakable sound of magic being cast. This was more than just a couple of over-enthusiastic game hunters. But that hardly mattered to Keshi; he had to get to his family to help them before they were hurt. If it weren't for that damn human he would never have been so far from them!

There was a small clearing near a cave that went down into a small hill and Keshi skidded to a halt at the edge of it, eyes wide and feeling the rage at what he saw building up within him. Mother was already dead and one of the hunters was in the process of cutting her fur off her. Brother was lying off to the side, not yet dead but dying and unable to move as another human approached him with a large, nasty knife. Keshi snarled in an animalistic way and charged the man who was approaching his brother, using speed to shove him to the ground, using teeth, nails and strength to claw and batter him at his face and eyes, blinding him and snapping his neck when he tried to struggle. He had hoped to cause him a lot more pain for what he had done but there were more to take his vengence upon.

Leaping up off this human he ran for the one who was skinning Mother. He stood ready for him with the bloodied knife in hand.

CRACK!

Something slammed into Keshi's shoulder, knocking him back off his feet. It hurt but he barely felt it, adrenalin and hatred fueling him. He just got back up again and continued his course.

"Shoot it, damn you!"

"I can't! That was my last shot!"

And then Keshi was on top of this one too, biting and clawing, tasting blood and sweat in his mouth and hearing screams in his ear.

Elkan paused as he heard the electric crackling of powerful magic, and was momentarily stunned when Keshi bolted from his spot, vanishing in just a few seconds. Elkan shot up, grabbed his pack and the carving of 'brother', and flew off after him. "Keshi! Keshi wait!" He yelled, but figured that Keshi was in hunter, or panic mode, and not paying any attention to anything except what was in front of him. After a few yards, Elkan found the bulky robe that Keshi had taken off of the dead Robe, and stashed that into his bag as well.

He followed Keshi until he heard the sound of a rage fueled war cry. "Oh no. KESHI!" Elkan came to the top of the hill and looked down on the scene below. A giant of a bear was dead and half skinned, blood pooling around her head where she had been shot, and parts of her fur singed from the magic. Another bear, further to the side, wasn't dead yet, but very close. Keshi, who had seemed mellow before, was now a torrent of death, his naked body covered in blood, a wound on his shoulder. Elkan didn't know if it was the hunters blood, the bears, or hopefully not, Keshi's own. There was already one dead, but two remained, one Keshi was on top of, biting, the other was trying to gather magic to launch at Elkan's friend.

"Oh no." The horrible sounds that the dying bear made, on top of the screams of agony from the man being bitten to death by Keshi was unbearable. Elkan felt his own anger surging up into his stomach, lungs, and throat. He could feel the white hot rage at seeing his friend in danger and quite possibly injured course through his veins, reaching the very tip of his fingers and toes. Elkan watched, as his magic swirled around him, the magic hunter gather magic aimed right at Keshi's head.

"NO!" He screamed as he charged down the hill, blue fire engulfing his hands. He headed straight at the man facing Keshi. Pulling back one hand, he made a fist and slammed it into the man's stomach, sending spurts of blood out of his mouth. The blue fire licked up the man's clothing, instantly engulfing him. The smell of singed hair filled Elkan's nostrils as he rained punch after punch down on the man who could have killed his new friend. After several more hits, Elkan calmed down enough to realize that the man was long dead, and that there was a still silence, save for the grunts of pain from the dying bear.

He stood, as as he calmed further, the magic dissipated, leaving him breathless and tired. Ignoring the gore in front of him, he turned towards Keshi and the lifeless body under him. "Are you all-" Now he noticed it. "Keshi, check on your brother." Elkan knew Keshi would never allow him to heal his wound, but if Elkan couldn't do it, well, he didn't want to think of that. If he could get him focused on trying to calm his bear brother, Elkan may be able to give his body enough of a start to fix itself.

Eventually the screams of the man below Keshi stopped. He was still alive, simply unconscious. For good measure, Keshi stomped on his chest as hard as he could, breaking ribs before spitting the flesh and blood out of his mouth and onto the human's face. For a moment or two he stood there, panting. Then he realized he had forgotten about the magic user and he spun around only to see Elkan having killed him with his own magic. He wandered over to Mother and gently stroked her head, the only area untouched by the hunter's blade, nuzzling his face against her still one like he used to.

"Keshi, check on your brother."

Keshi looked up; he would have thought Brother would be dead by now but now his attention was brought to it he could hear the panting and grunts of pain. Standing, running his hand one more time over Mother's head he ran over to Brother and crouched over him. He was in a lot of pain and there was nothing Keshi could do to stop it, as much as Brother kept begging him to help and calling out for Mother. Keshi stood and moved over to the nearest dead human and took the knife that they all seemed to carry and brought it back. A low whine came from Keshi's throat as he seemed to talk with Brother with his eyes. There was nothing he could do, only one thing to make the pain end as quickly as possible. He had hoped he might be able to save Brother, perhaps raise him himself like he did the kitten. It took a little convincing but eventually Brother seemed to agree and, with a slow, long whine, Keshi cut the artery in Brother's throat quickly and neatly before bending over his head, not obscuring his view of the sky and forest but laying with him until his quick breathing stopped. Only then did Keshi allow the heat behind his eyes to form tears and fall as his shoulders shook with silent sobs.

The little black kitten, attuned to Keshi's moods and wearabouts, stood at the edge of the clearing, not coming forward yet but not running away either.

Elkan walked towards Keshi slowly, not wanting to startle him. This was a very intimate moment, and he knew it. As Keshi released his bear brother from the world, Elkan set a hand on his shoulder, just below where his wound was, hoping that it wouldn't hurt and draw attention to what he was trying to do.

"I'm...sorry Keshi." Slowly, Elkan poured himself into trying to fix Keshi's shoulder quickly, but subtly.

Elkan watched as the wound slowly crept closed, the blood receding back into his friends body, the tiny metal rounds being pushed out. Elkan's stomach flip-flopped. Absolutely disgusting.

Keshi felt his shoulder itch and he rose a hand to it then gasped as pain flared out from his touch. And magic, he could feel magic. "Get away from me, get off of me!" he shouted, shoving Elkan back "No magic!" There was a black streak and then the kitten was between Keshi and Elkan, puffed up and hissing at the human. Despite the situation, Keshi couldn't help but smile a little at the sight; as if the little kitten would be able to stop Elkan from doing whatever he wished.

He returned his glare to Elkan. "No magic," he repeated. He didn't want to hurt his friend but if he kept trying to use magic around him he would, if only to make him stop. He watched him for a little while, to make sure he wouldn't before going back to his brother and, while one hand clutched the bullet wound in his shoulder, the other ran through his Brother's fur. He should leave, there was nothing he could do for his family any more but he couldn't just go. Brother wasn't his only sibling, there were others but they had since moved on and were living their own lives. But Mother was the one who had saved his life as a baby, who had raised him. He couldn't leave them.

Elkan raised his hands in surrender. No more magic. So much for helping. He couldn't help but release a little laugh at the little black ball of fur protecting Keshi. The kitten was barely bigger than a hand, and with it's fur all puffed up it was amusing.

"I was just trying to help. If that get's infected it could kill you." He kept his voice low and soft, knowing he would probably never be able to sway Keshi towards liking the magic. It would be like trying to get him to swim in the lake.

"We should bury them. So other human's can't come pillage." Saying this, Elkan's voice was stronger. There was already so much blood on his hands, he didn't want to deal with even more people chasing after him, or Keshi.

"Keshi? Are you alright?"

Keshi shook his head, not understanding what Elkan was talking about, not knowing what an infection was or how a wound like this could kill him. Of course if it didn't stop bleeding it might eventually but he doubted it would keep bleeding like it was now forever; the healing had gotten the bullet out and closed any major blood vessels before Keshi could stop him, it was just an ordinary wound now.

"We should bury them. So other human's can't come pillage."

He didn't understand what pillage was but Keshi understood the sentiment behind the words well enough. He had to bury them so that they could grow trees. He just couldn't bare to let go.

"Keshi? Are you alright?"

Keshi sniffed and wiped a dirty arm over his eyes, streaking the grime but Keshi didn't even seem to notice. He nodded mutely. He wasn't really, but he would be alright. As he moved his arm caught briefly on one of Brother's teeth and it moved. Looking inside the mouth he found two of the bear's baby teeth were loose and, feeling a little guilty, Keshi wriggled them until they came loose in his hand. Then, stroking his head a few times, got up and moved back over to Mother. He wanted something to remember his family, and to remember his hatred towards humans for destroying everything he had and loved. He found one of Mother's longest teeth and wriggled that until it came free as well before standing and looking around. There were two trees near the den, one large and one smaller that his eyes fell. Perfect.

Picking up a stick he started to dig at the base of the largest one first with his good hand, his injured one holding the teeth to his chest since, naked as he was, he had no where else to put them and was loath to just leave them on the ground.

Elkan watched Keshi wriggle some teeth from his family. It would be a reminder of them, and in some way, Elkan felt jealous. He didn't have anything to remember his real parents, and only the bag he carried to remember Lady Widow. He watched as Keshi surveyed the area around the cave, then as he began to dig into the ground with a stick, Elkan felt a deep sense of compassion. He grabbed a knife off of one of the men, took a thick, long branch from a tree, and began shaping one end of it like a spoon. After a few minutes, he had it finished, and moved over towards Keshi.

Without saying anything, Elkan went to the other tree next to his friend and began digging. He could see what Keshi had in mind for his family with these trees. It was obvious the cupped branch worked much better than he thought it would, taking big chunks of earth at one time. He cast a glance over to Keshi's area and noticed he wasn't having that much luck.

"Here. You do what you were going to with those," he gestured at Keshi's hand, "and I'll keep digging. Don't strain your shoulder. Oh. Hold on." Remembering the robe in his bag, Elkan ran up the hill to where he dropped his pack, took the robe from it, and headed back towards Keshi with the robe in one hand and the pack in the other. "Eat something." It wasn't a command, persay, more like a very firm friendly suggestion.

Seeing that Keshi understood, Elkan went back to his hole and continued to dig. He had to walk around each bear a few times, to try and get better ideas of how much deeper or wider he would have to dig, and those circles earned him glares from the still slightly poofed kitten.

Keshi looked over at Elkan when he sensed him near and smiled seeing him willing to help. Scooping the dirt out of the small pit he had then continued scraping away at the ground. It was clear his digging tool was now where near as effective as Elkan's but he kept at it, briefly switching hands to try the other but found it hurt his shoulder too much to continue. Hence when Elkan offered to do it for him he nodded greatfully and took the robe and used it to clean the teeth.

when he was told to eat something, Keshi shook his head and said simply, "I'm not hungry." How could he be hungry now? He was burying his family. That hardly left him with an appetite.

Keshi took the freshly clean teeth into the den and found the most recent tool the friendly traders had given him. An awl they called it. Basically a metal spike with a wooden handle. He sat down on the pile of old furs and bored a hole in each of the three teeth before threading a length of leather he had prepared a few weeks ago through the holes with Mother's tooth in the centre before tying it around his neck. He found himself looking around the den, breathing deep the scent of the bears, strong since they had not long left from the winter hibernation. He lay down and curled up on his furs, feeling the tears stig his eyes once more.

As Elkan finished the first hole, the smaller of the two, he realized that Keshi was gone. "Keshi?" He called, really hoping he hadn't just wandered off. When the robe was gone as well, he began to search. He looked around where he had left him, then to the other side of the clearing. With no luck, he gulped and headed into the bears den. He figured there were no other bears in there, but it made him nervous anyway. Just inside the mouth cave he found Keshi. Curled up on some furs.

"Keshi..." Elkan stayed standing, but leaned down to brush Keshi's shoulder lightly, and drop the bag in front of him. "I know you don't feel like eating anything, but you need to do it. Please."

He left then, knowing his presence probably wasn't the most wanted at the moment. He moved back to the bigger hole and continued digging. He would need Keshi's helping moving the bears into their graves, but he wanted to wait as long as possible for that. Not something he was looking forward to.

Keshi heard Elkan calling him but, frankly, he didn't care. He felt as though he had just lost everything within only a few moments. His whole reason for being was to protect his pack from humans and now that reason for being was gone because he had failed. He missed Mother, wanted to curl up against her warm fur, feel the heavy weight of a large paw draped protectively across his body, smell her musky scent. And now it was all gone. Because of humans and their greed.

"Keshi... I know you don't feel like eating anything, but you need to do it. Please."

Keshi just shook his head. If he ate he felt as though he would be sick. He would eat later. Maybe.

It was some time later that Keshi managed to pull himself up and outside and the sun was starting to set. He wandered out of the den and saw that Elkan had finished digging the graves. It was time then. He moved to Brother first, being the smallest and lightest of the two. He bent down to pick him up but gasped when holding his weight shot pain through his shoulder. If he couldn't carry Brother how on earth was he going to carry Mother? There was no way he would allow either of them to be dragged to a pit. He looked to Elkan, imploring for help without actually asking. He was loath to ask a human for help but he didn't think he would be able to do it on his own otherwise.

Elkan stood as Keshi came from the cave. He watched him go to his brother and stroke his fur, then attempt to life him. He was a slow learner, apparently. When their eyes met, Elkan saw the question. Keshi wouldn't be able to do this alone, even if his shoulder was healed and not painful. Elkan moved forward to help, gently cradling part of the bear. Slowly they made their way to Brothers grave, and lowered him in as gracefully as they could.

They went over to Keshi's mother next. Her fur, Elkan was surprised to find, was very soft, unlike the smaller bears who's coat was rather coarse. Even more slowly, they made their way to the grave site, but this lowering was less than gentle. Because of her weight, and size, as the boys tried to lower her in, she ended up falling most of the way, landing with a muted thump. Elkan flinched.

Without saying a word, he moved towards his shovel and started to cover up the bears.

Between the two of them they were able to move Brother into his grave with Keshi not using his injured shoulder. Mother was another matter though. She was by far bigger than the both of them, and much heavier too. He had to use both arms and merely gritted his teeth and bared the pain as best he could as they moved Mother to her grave beside her child. He winced when she thumped to the ground far heavier than he had hoped but his shoulder had given out and that, combined with her heavier weight, had made it imposible for the two of them to lower her as gently. He reached down and arranged her fur to be in more of a natural way over her body, a low whine of appology coming from him.

When Elkan started shovelling dirt on them Keshi said, "Wait. I want to do it." His voice was soft and clearly hurt but determined as well. He had to do this. He had learnt very young the lessons of life and death and new that life had to end for new life to begin but that didn't make it any easier when he knew that it wasn't their time yet. He gently patted Brother's fur once more before slowly dropping the dirt on top of him with his hands. It was slow but Keshi didn't care. It was his job to do it since he had failed to protect them in the first place. The hardest part was covering up Brother's face with the dirt even with his eyes closed. Animals told each other apart by scent mostly, sight and body markings second. Keshi, despite his upbringing, was still human and still told others apart by their faces.

When Brother was burried he turned to Mother and stroked her fur for a fair while longer than Brother, ignoring the tears that he now couldn't stop from falling down his face. This was a whole lot harder but slowly he managed it. It was full dark by the time he finished and he remained sitting next to the two graves, silent despite the tears that tracked down his face, his shoulder a throbbing agony now. He knew he probably should clean it, brave the lake side and clean it (the traders had taught him that this was a good thing to do for injuries) since he couldn't reach it to lick it clean, but he didn't want to leave yet, couldn't leave yet.

Elkan waited until Keshi had finished with his good-byes. It was getting dark now, and Elkan knew only too well what happened in the city when somebody didn't come back from hunting. "Keshi, we're gonna have to get out of here soon. People will come and look for these men."

He looked for a way to describe it so Keshi would understand. It was hard thinking about the things he'd seen people do when they were in mob form. No doubt word of the Robes deaths had spread, and tied in with this just a day after...it wasn't hard to imagine the anger and rumors that were surely spreading like wild fire throughout the city.

"They're like a pack of ravenous wolves, Keshi. Once they get together in a pack, they become angry and destructive. They destroy anything in their path, and right now, we are it's prey. They will kill dozens of other bears, more of your pack and friends. We have to leave. We have to keep them away." He wasn't sure if he could explain it more thoroughly than that. He could just feel the glowing embers of hatred from the city, and it didn't take much for an image of a burning forest to cross his mind.

"Please Keshi. Let's get out of here."



{Gah, not nearly as good as what I had before...}

"Keshi, we're gonna have to get out of here soon. People will come and look for these men."

Keshi ignored the words and remained where he was. He didn't care that people were coming, all that mattered was that his pack was gone. He was alone in the world. As though reading his thoughts the kitten sitting beside let out a small meow. The corner of Keshi's lips twitched. Well, not completely alone he supposed.

"They're like a pack of ravenous wolves, Keshi. Once they get together in a pack, they become angry and destructive. They destroy anything in their path, and right now, we are it's prey. They will kill dozens of other bears, more of your pack and friends. We have to leave. We have to keep them away."

"If they come then I'll kill them all for what they did," Keshi growled. He meant every word of it too. If he ever saw another human that wasn't Elkan or the friendly traders who had taught him what he knew of humans. "And they're no pack," he snapped. "Pack don't destroy things that they don't need." Humans didn't have packs. They were malicious and greedy and destructive. Nothing like pack.

"Please Keshi. Let's get out of here."

Keshi shook his head. "Not yet," he said, his voice full of malice. He stood and turned his back on the graves. He took one of the humans knives then proceeded to do what the humans did to his pack with just as much proficiency. Only when he was done did he hang the skins up nearby in trees, dragging the bodies underneath their skins. It felt good, this vengance, but it didn't bring his pack back. And it still hurt.

"Elkan..." he said eventually, wiping his bloody hands on his dirty, naked thighs. "Where did you plan to go? There's... there's nothing for me here anymore," he said softly, his voice exhausted as his eyes locked on the freshly turned graves.

"If they come then I'll kill them all for what they did. And they're no pack. Pack don't destroy things that they don't need."

"You won't be able to kill them all. Maybe one or two. There are a lot of humans in the city. I didn't mean that they really were a pack, but it's like that. They call it a mob. Humans come together and destroy things when they are in a mob. They'll burn down the forest, kill any of the animals that don't run fast enough....Keshi...what are you doing?"

Elkan watched with silent horror as Keshi skinned the men. It was bad enough seeing the bear half skinned, but this turned Elkan's stomach. He turned his back to it, but couldn't shut out the squishing and slopping sounds that the knife made going through the skin and blood. A shiver ran down his spine. At a moment of silence, Elkan hazard a look over his shoulder, and immediately regretted it. At the sight of the now skinned men, with blood everywhere, their muscles exposed, his stomach unleashed it's meager contents. Sickness brought him to his knees, but he was careful to not be sick on the new graves. He really didn't want Keshi's anger unleashed upon him.

When his stomach was through rejecting his meals, Elkan wiped his mouth and stood shakily. "Elkan...Where did you plan to go? There's... there's nothing for me here anymore."

"Well, I suppose we should get as far away as we can." Thinking about it, he forced his mind to clear, and to not think about what was behind him. "How much dew can you harvest in a morning? We'll need get a lot of water for the trip."

"....Keshi...what are you doing?"

"Returning the favour," Keshi said grimly. "See how these humans feel when they find their 'families' skinned like I have." He glanced over his shoulder with a small smirk when he heard Elkan retching. At least he had moved away from the graves. He didn't see what the problem was, humans were just as much animals as every other creature and they all looked much the same skinned. Keshi skinned his kills as well, it was how he made the fur cloaks that kept him warm and alive in winter since he didn't sleep through it as his bears had but he had never killed an animal solely for their fur. It was always creatures he ate as well and used their bones for tools. Very little went to waste. Not like this. This skinning he had done for vengeance only.


"Well, I suppose we should get as far away as we can." "How much dew can you harvest in a morning? We'll need get a lot of water for the trip."

Keshi frowned. "Why would we need to? Dew comes every morning, at least until it gets too hot." He thought about it though and said, "Enough for one day maybe." He had never tried to gather dew for storage since he just drank as he moved. So, as much as he hated it, he said, "Lake water be better for a lot of water. It be dangerous though so be careful."

He went back into the den and couldn't resist pausing to look around one last time. It had been his home his entire life, at least what he remembered of his whole life. It seemed strange to be leaving now. With a sigh he bent down and started rolling up the furs as he had seen the traders do, tying them off and carrying them outside. He put all his tools and carvings into a cloth bag that he had been given a few years ago. He would have to go back to where he was spending the night last night to get the things he had abandoned since he doubted Elkan would have picked everything up but again, he hesitated, not wanting to leave.

Putting his things down briefly, he went to the graves a final time, kneeling down and digging his fingers into the freshly turned earth as though seeking to reach his pack. 'I'm sorry, I didn't get here in time and now I have to leave you again. I promise though, every year on this date I will come back and visit.' He thought, though his voice was mostly whines and maybe a couple of grunts and growls, talking as he would have to the bears.

Finally he stood up and picked his things up again, eyes bright and said, "Let's go."

Elkan marveled at the quick change in demenor. "Ok...Well I suppose we should just head out, away from the city." Elkan grabbed his bag and started walking with Keshi away from the rather disgusting scene around them. "So you've never been outside the forest, Keshi?"

Elkan was at a loss for words. He didn't know what he should be saying at times like these, or much less what to do. But as long as Keshi was alright, he figured he'd just leave the whole subject alone. As far as those Robes were concerned, they probably would scour the forest soon, so the sooner they left, the better off they would be. And once the Robes found these new bodies, they would definitely be out for their blood. Elkan didn't know why he was being chased in the first place, but at least now they really had a reason for wanting to capture him.

They walked through heavy brush, the thistles catching Elkan's clothes and pulling at his skin. "What is the point of flowers having thorns? I mean, really!" Elkan complained as he pulled another thorn from his arm. "What sort of animal steals the flowers anyway?"

"So you've never been outside the forest, Keshi?"

Keshi shook his head. "I suppose I have before I came here but I don't remember much of that," he said. "There was never a need to leave; the forest provided everything I need."

He paused as they passed the area they had camped last night and gathered the things he had dropped, putting them in his bag before continuing.

"What is the point of flowers having thorns? I mean, really!" Elkan complained as he pulled another thorn from his arm. "What sort of animal steals the flowers anyway?"

Keshi smirked at that. "Lots of animals," he said. Pausing, he picked two flower buds that had not yet opened and handed one to Elkan. "Try it," he urged, popping the bud in his mouth, pulling it off the stem and dropping the stem. "It's sweet." It still had some dew caught inside it, and hidden in the shade of the rest of the bush it hadn't opened to loose it to the sun. "The traders gave me something some time ago... sugar I think it was called. The buds taste even nicer dipped in that. They are the favourite of little animals like squirels and flying foxes. And bees like the honey too. So it's how they defend against them."

They kept walking in silence for a little while until Keshi eventually had to ask, "How do you survive and eat in cities if you don't know any of these things?"

Elkan accepted the flower and turned it around in his hand. It was pretty, even unopened. Shrugging, he popped the whole bud into his mouth and bit down. Hearing a crunch, he stopped and opened his mouth, pulling out the bud. Pulling back a few of the soft petals, he spied several spiders.

Shouting in surprise, he tossed the flower away from him, and began wiping at his mouth. "Oh that is disgusting!" He mumbled as he continued to spit and wipe his tongue and mouth.

Hearing Keshi's question, he stopped and shrugged. "You don't need to know any of this forest stuff in the city. Food there is already cooked and ready to eat." Elkan quirked a half smile. "All you have to do is be sneaky enough to snatch it."