The Longest Day

  Toklo shrugged. “I found him in the forest. Some old bear had given him a fright.”

  Aiyanna’s gaze didn’t waver. “You’re going to make a better father than Chogan ever was.”

  “I hope so.” Toklo shuddered. He would always be ashamed to be the son of such a jealous, selfish, hostile bear.

  Aiyanna moved closer. “You will never be like him, Toklo.” She glanced at Akocha. The cub was holding up the rabbit while Tayanita admired it again. “It was kind of you to give them your catch.”

  “The rabbit was supposed to be for you.”

  “Don’t worry. I’ve eaten. Hattack caught a deer for us. Wasn’t that kind?”

  “Very,” Toklo grunted. “You should get some rest,” he went on. “You’ve had a long journey.”

  “I napped all afternoon,” Aiyanna told him. She glanced at the darkening sky. Stars were just beginning to appear. “I could do with a walk to stretch my legs.” She beckoned Toklo with a jerk of her muzzle and headed along the beach.

  Toklo fell in beside her, hoping his empty belly wouldn’t rumble. He could catch a fish later. Right now, all he wanted was to walk beneath the stars with Aiyanna.

  “It’s so beautiful here,” Aiyanna murmured.

  “I know.” Toklo groped for something interesting to say. “It looks even better from over there.” He nodded toward Pawprint Island, no more than a shadow in the distance.

  “Have you been to that island?” Aiyanna swung her head toward him, surprised. “It’s a long way out.”

  “I swam there at the last Longest Day.” Toklo tried to sound like it was no big deal.

  Aiyanna brushed her flank against his. “I’d like to see you swim there again. It would make my journey worthwhile.”

  Toklo halted. “Isn’t it worthwhile already?”

  Aiyanna faced him. There was a gleam in her eyes. “Of course. I’m glad I came.” She reached her muzzle forward, stopping a nose-length from his. “Can’t you tell?”

  Toklo shifted his paws. “I wasn’t sure.”

  Aiyanna sighed. “I traveled for a moon to see you, and you’re not sure!”

  “I guess I’m sure now,” Toklo murmured. Her sweet breath was washing his muzzle. He’d forgotten how much he loved the scent of her. They stood motionless for a moment, then Aiyanna turned and splashed into the shallows.

  “Look at the white bears!” she called.

  Toklo waded in beside her and gazed across the water. The white bears were sprawled on the shore as though the day’s heat had exhausted them.

  “I think they had a meeting earlier,” Aiyanna told him. “We could hear their barks across the lake, but I don’t know what they were discussing.”

  Toklo was only half listening. He’d spotted Kallik heading toward them along the beach. Yakone was close behind her.

  Toklo broke into a run. “Come on!” He heard stones crunch as Aiyanna followed him.

  Kallik reached them first, panting a little. “Aiyanna! How are you? Did you come here alone?”

  “No, I came with Izusa, Makya, and their cubs,” Aiyanna replied. Toklo thought she seemed a little shy around the white bears.

  Kallik’s gaze flitted toward the brown bears farther along the shore. “Izusa and Makya are here, too? Great!”

  “Hi, Toklo!” Yakone greeted him with a nod. “How are you? I hear your friends have been fighting over who should be leader.”

  “Kind of,” Toklo mumbled. He didn’t want to be disloyal to the brown bears.

  “It’s good to see you again, Yakone,” Aiyanna told him.

  Yakone dipped his head. “Kallik said she thought it was you.”

  “We had to come and say hello,” Kallik told her. “And we have news!”

  Toklo tensed. “What?”

  “We’ve decided how to choose a new leader,” Kallik announced. “We’ll have lots of trials to test different skills, and the bear who wins the most will lead the Longest Day ceremony.”

  “That’s a great idea,” Toklo barked.

  “I know!” Kallik’s eyes were shining. “The first trial, for swimming, is at dawn. After that, there’ll be contests for stalking and fishing. I don’t think I’ll win. I’m so out of practice. I’ve spent too long away from the ice, living like a brown bear.”

  “You’ll do fine,” Aiyanna promised.

  Toklo glanced at Yakone. The white bear’s gaze had darkened. Why isn’t he saying anything? Was he going to take part? Something in Yakone’s gaze warned him not to ask.

  “I wonder if I can persuade the brown bears to do something like that,” Toklo commented. “Our trials wouldn’t be the same, I guess, but it might stop some of the arguments. At the moment it feels as if the leader of the Longest Day ceremony will be the one who has made the most noise!”

  “You should tell Shesh about the trials,” Aiyanna told him. “If it works for the white bears, why not us?”

  “Have you seen Lusa?” Kallik asked Aiyanna.

  “Not yet.” The she-bear looked at Toklo. “Can we visit her now? I’d love to see her, and we could let her know about the trials.”

  “I’m not sure the black bears will welcome us barging into their camp in the middle of the night,” Toklo warned.

  “But it’s barely dark!” Aiyanna pointed out.

  Yakone grunted. “They weren’t happy when we visited them this morning. They asked us to leave.”

  “I’m not frightened of black bears!” Aiyanna huffed.

  “But they’ll be frightened of you,” Yakone murmured.

  Aiyanna was already heading for the trees. “We’ll be as gentle as rabbits,” she promised. “Come on, Toklo.”

  Toklo nodded to Yakone and Kallik. “Good luck with the dawn trial!” he barked, before turning and trotting after Aiyanna.

  “Look.” Aiyanna had stopped.

  Toklo caught up to her. A half-eaten rabbit lay on the moon-dappled earth.

  “Spare prey.” She looked at him, her eyes shining. “You must be hungry. Eat this.”

  Toklo sniffed the remains. There was a strange scent on them—something close to a bear scent but not one that he recognized from any of the territories by the lake. He backed away. “I’ll catch my own prey,” he told Aiyanna.

  She snorted. “I forgot how proud you were.” There was affection in her voice.

  Toklo felt pleased, but he wanted to move her away from this place. The strange scent on the rabbit also lingered on the bushes around them. “I’ll show you where Lusa’s camp is.”

  He led her through the woods. Soon, he could smell the warm, fruity smell of the black bears, and he looked up, scanning the trees. He knew many of these bears preferred to spend the night above the forest floor. Perhaps Lusa was among them.

  Paws scuffed the earth behind them. He heard a growl and turned to find a sturdy black bear with a patch of white fur on his chest. “Miki? It’s me, Toklo. How’s your head?”

  Miki squinted into the darkness. “Hey, Toklo! It’s good to see you. My head’s still a bit sore, but I’m fine. Have you come to see Lusa?” His gaze flicked uncertainly to the bear standing beside Toklo.

  “This is my friend Aiyanna,” Toklo introduced her. “She knows Lusa, too.”

  “She’s gathering herbs,” Miki told him. He headed away from the camp, beckoning Toklo and Aiyanna to follow with a flick of his snout.

  They found Lusa sifting through a pile of dewy leaves. She looked up as they approached. “Aiyanna?”

  “Lusa!” Aiyanna trotted over to greet her, rubbing her muzzle along Lusa’s.

  “I didn’t know you were coming to the Longest Day!”

  “Izusa and Makya wanted to know what it was all about.” Aiyanna glanced shyly at Toklo. “And I wanted to see Toklo again.”

  Toklo returned Aiyanna’s gaze, feeling warm with happiness.

  Aiyanna sniffed the pile of herbs. “Are these what you eat?” She wrinkled her nose.

  Lusa snorted. “No! They’re for treating the injured bear
s.”

  “Injured bears?” Aiyanna’s eyes widened with concern.

  “Yes,” Toklo butted in proudly. “Lusa’s been looking after bears wounded by a firebeast.”

  “I’m just doing what Ujurak taught me.” Lusa shuffled her paws.

  “We saw Kallik and Yakone just now,” Toklo told her. “The white bears have decided to choose a new leader by holding trials.”

  Lusa looked alarmed. “Do you mean fighting?”

  Aiyanna shook her head. “No, not fighting. Things like swimming, stalking prey, and fishing. The bear who wins the most will lead the Longest Day ceremony.”

  Lusa sat down beside her herbs, resting a paw on the pile. “That sounds like a good idea. Are the brown bears going to do that, too?”

  “If I can persuade them,” Toklo told her.

  “We thought the black bears might want to do the same,” Aiyanna put in.

  Miki spoke from behind them. “I’m not sure we need a leader like you do,” he growled softly. “There’s been no fighting since Hashi died. We’re happy just to be together.”

  Lusa looked at Miki. “The trials sound like fun, though.”

  Miki blinked at her. “So you think we should have them, as well?”

  “In our own way.” Lusa gazed into the trees. “No one can replace Hashi, but why shouldn’t we find someone who can lead the ceremony? We don’t have to compete like white bears or brown bears. But we can test our own skills like foraging and climbing trees.”

  “See?” Aiyanna whispered to Toklo, moving her muzzle close enough to brush his ear fur. “I told you she’d want to know.”

  Toklo rested his cheek against hers, relishing her warmth. “I’m glad you came to the lake,” he murmured.

  “Me too,” Aiyanna chuffed softly.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Kallik

  Kallik stood at the water’s edge, relishing the cool before dawn. Pale-pink light spilled across the lake and made the bears’ fur glow.

  Tartok stared across the lake. “How far do we have to swim?”

  Salik pushed past him and waded paw-deep into the shallows. “I could swim to the other side of the water if I wanted.”

  Kotori snorted. “If you could do everything you said you could do, you’d have been declared leader the moment you arrived.”

  Manik glared at Kotori. “Salik can outswim a seal.”

  Kallik narrowed her eyes to look farther along the shore. A few brown bears were gazing back at her. Beyond them, several black bears had ventured from the forest and seemed to be staring this way. Was Lusa among them? Kallik couldn’t tell from here. She called over her shoulder to Yakone, “Do you think Toklo and Aiyanna managed to tell Lusa about the trials?”

  He didn’t answer.

  Kallik turned, expecting to find him behind her, but he was hanging back, a few bearlengths up the shore.

  She headed toward him. “Are you really not going to take part?”

  Yakone’s pelt ruffled. “What’s the point? My paw is ruined. I will never be able to swim fast again. Do you want everyone to see me fail?”

  Anger prickled beneath Kallik’s pelt. Why is he giving up so easily? “You lost two toes, that’s all. You’ve still got your paw! Stop acting like a scared cub.”

  Yakone glared at her. “You don’t understand what it’s like! I’m supposed to be strong.”

  “You are strong!” Kallik countered. But Yakone had already turned away. He stalked up the beach and clambered over the ridge.

  Kunik’s gruff call kept her from following him. “Bears, ready! Line up at the water’s edge!”

  Sliding between Shila and Taqqiq, Kallik scanned the other bears. Manik and Salik puffed out their chests, while Iqaluk stood beside them, his brow furrowed in concentration. Tonraq and Nukka looked nervously across the water, while Kotori swung his head confidently one way, then the other, as though sizing up the competition. Illa was lined up next to Tunerq and Imala. Beside Illa, Kissimi shifted from one paw to another, his eyes shining with excitement.

  Kunik climbed onto a rock a few pawlengths from the shore. “Only bears older than one suncircle may take part.”

  Kissimi groaned. “That’s not fair!”

  Manik shouldered the cub away. “You’d never win anyway.”

  Qanniq guided Kissimi toward Kunik’s rock. “Watch from here,” she told him gently, nudging him up beside Kunik.

  “I don’t want to watch, I want to join in!” Kissimi growled.

  Kunik raised his voice. “You will swim to Gull Island.” He nodded to the rocky crags sticking up from the deep water. “You must climb out of the water, making sure your paws are clear before swimming back. The first bear to return will be the winner.”

  Kallik felt Shila tense beside her.

  Taqqiq dropped his head, ready to charge forward. “I’m going to beat Salik,” he muttered under his breath.

  Kallik glanced at him in surprise.

  Taqqiq growled. “He’s always boasting. I’m going to prove he’s not as great as he thinks he is.”

  Kunik lifted his muzzle to the sky. “Ancestors, we know you are with us, even without ice or the darkness that lets us see you. We race in honor of you. These trials will let us decide who will lead the Longest Day ceremony. Give your help to the most deserving.”

  Kallik glanced at the stars, each one fading as dawn pushed the night away. Her heart swelled as she imagined the spirits watching her. I’ll do my best, she promised.

  “Let’s get on with it,” Salik growled.

  Kunik shifted on the rock, staring down at the bears lined up at the water’s edge. “Get ready . . . go!”

  At his bark, Kallik charged through the shallows, Shila bumping against her flank. Taqqiq was already belly-deep and, with a leap, dove for deeper water. Kallik chased after him, her paws slithering on the pebbles. She plunged forward, splashing Shila.

  Shila spluttered behind her.

  “Sorry!” Water filled Kallik’s mouth. She closed it and swam.

  Taqqiq was a bearlength ahead. Kotori and Salik were pushing ahead of him, crashing against each other as they fought for the lead. Shila had found her stride now and was neck and neck with Illa. Tunerq dove underwater, bobbing up a bearlength ahead of them. Manik lagged behind Iqaluk, and Kallik felt a surge of pride as she pulled past them. Ahead, the lake frothed. Bear heads bobbed and paws slapped clumsily at the surface as, in the struggle to break from the pack, the bears mistimed strokes.

  Concentrate! Kallik focused on her paws. Find your rhythm and just swim. When she was a cub, swimming had been as simple as running across the ice. But after many moons of trekking through forests and over mountains, her muscles weren’t used to being underwater. Frowning, Kallik forced her limbs to remember what they’d learned at Nisa’s side.

  The craggy island loomed ahead. She could see a small beach below the jutting rocks. No bear had reached it yet, but Salik was close. Kotori was right behind him. Kallik scanned the water for Taqqiq, her heart sinking when she didn’t spot him beside the leaders. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw Iqaluk and Manik pulling closer. Her chest was burning. She gulped for breath, trying not to swallow water. Perhaps she should have paced herself better. Tunerq was falling behind Shila and Illa. Imala trailed at the back.

  Where’s Taqqiq? As Kallik faced forward, white shoulders broke the surface beyond Salik and Kotori. She recognized them at once. Taqqiq! Her brother surged ahead, reaching the island first. Scrambling out of the water, he raced clear of the waves and turned. Salik heaved himself out with Kotori on his tail. As Kotori headed up the beach, Salik turned, his paws still in the water, and followed Taqqiq as he plunged back into the lake.

  “Cheater!” Kallik barked as she felt pebbles beneath her paws. Hauling herself out, she blocked Salik’s way. Iqaluk and Manik scrambled after her.

  Iqaluk stood beside Kallik. “You have to leave the water completely,” he told Salik.

  Manik nodded, panting. “If you want to win,
then win fairly.”

  Frustration flickered in Salik’s gaze. He cast a look at Taqqiq, already forging toward the shore, then bounded up the beach until his paws were clear.

  Kotori was already splashing back into the lake. Salik chased after him, leaping with outstretched paws so that his belly hit the water first, sending up great splashes.

  Illa chuckled as she pulled herself onto the shore. “He might be strong, but he’s not elegant.”

  Shila shook the water from her eyes as she stumbled out after Illa. “Who’s winning?” she puffed.

  “Taqqiq!” Kallik told her proudly. Then she plunged back into the water. Shila, Illa, Iqaluk, and Manik were on her heels.

  The short break on land had let Kallik catch her breath. She pushed forward, cutting through the water as smoothly as an orca. Only Kotori, Salik, and Taqqiq were ahead of her. Kotori and Salik struck out at each other with massive forepaws as they fought over second place. As they splashed and rocked in the water, Kallik slid past them, diving beneath the surface and hoping they hadn’t seen her.

  Holding her breath, she swam until she thought her lungs would burst. Then she felt pebbles scrape her belly. She was nearly at the shore. She pushed up, exploding from the water, and gulped in deep drafts of air. Kunik’s rock was only a few bearlengths away. Taqqiq was just ahead of her, and by the sound of the angry barks behind, Kotori and Salik were close on her tail.

  Kallik’s heart soared as Taqqiq reached the shore first. Kunik leaped down from his rock to greet him. Kallik’s paws hit stones and she fought to find her balance, scrambling out after her brother.

  “How did you pass us?” Kotori’s surprised growl sounded behind her.

  She turned, panting, as the large bear stumbled from the lake with Salik beside him. “I swam under you,” she puffed.

  Kotori dipped his head. ‘Well done.”

  Salik snorted. “If I’d seen you, I’d have swum harder.”

  “Does that mean you weren’t really trying?” Kallik asked innocently. Salik curled his lip at her and stomped up the beach. Kallik trotted to her brother’s side and gazed at him proudly. “Taqqiq! Well done!”