Here we go!
~Chapter 8~About an hour had passed since Kenai, Koda and Kia had gotten off the mammoths. Koda was still laying on Kia's back, fast asleep as she and Kenai kept on walking. Kia frowned as they trudged on. Kenai glanced at her and noticed her expression.
"Is everything alright, Kia?" he asked her, " You look...disturbed."
The white and brown sow shrugged. "Oh, I'm just getting a little tired, that's all." Was her answer.
"If you want, we can stop for a little while." Kenai replied, looking concerned.
Kia smirked. "Kenai, I'm fine. I-" Before she could finish what she was saying, she crashed into a tree, and she fell down.
Kenai worriedly ran over to her. "Kia, are you okay?" he asked.
Kia nodded, dizzliy. "Maybe we should stop for a little while." she replied, as she waited for everything to stop spinning. Kenai nodded, laughing and helped her get up.
"Hey, what happened?" asked a small voice.
Kia and Kenai whirled around and saw Koda lying on the ground. Apparently he had fallen off Kia's back when she'd had that collision with the tree.
Kia chuckled. "I'm sorry, Koda. I guess you must have fallen off!" She said, smiling apologetically.
Koda chuckled and sat up, rubbing his head. "Aww, that's okay." he said good naturedly. He got back to his feet and walked over to Kenai.
Kenai looked at the little bear. 'Uh, Koda. We're going to stop for a while and rest."
The brown bear cub nodded. "Ok. Besides, I'm hungry. I think I'll go look for berries." He added, starting to walk away.
Kenai nodded. "Ok, just don't go wandering too far, Koda. We don't want to lose you."
Koda grinned. "Don't worry, Kenai. I won't go far." Having said that, the grizzly cub scampered off, into the forest.
Kia laughed, and sat down, beneath a tree. "Where does he get all the energy?" she chuckled.
Kenai joined her, a smile on his face. "You know, I'm not really sure."
Kia smirked. "Wherever he gets it from, he doesn't ever seem to run out!"
Kenai laughed. "I know what you mean!"
A cool, refreshing breeze started up, gently ruffling through the two grizzly bears' fur. Kia let out a happy sigh and lay back on the grass, looking up at the sky. She glanced at Kenai, who seemed to be enjoying himself, too. He turned and looked at her.
"Hey, you want to go walking a little? Koda will be gone looking for berries for awhile, so there's no reason why we can't go somewhere too." He smiled.
Kia thought about Kenai's offer, than she nodded, after a moment's hesitation. "Ok, sure."
The two bears got up and started walking through the forest. As they were walking, they heard the many chirps of birds over them, and the cries of a lone wolf in the far distance.
Kia, hearing the wolf, shuddered. "How close do you think he is, Kenai?"
Kenai looked at her. "He's not close, Kia. That wolf's cries are just echoing throughout this forest."
Kia shrugged. "Um...okay, I trust you..."
About an hour had passed now, since Kenai and Kia had gone walking. Kia began to grow uneasy. "Uh, Kenai. I think we'd better head back. You know, just in case Koda's waiting for us."
Kenai was about to respond, when they heard a noise in the bushes up ahead. They walked cautiously over to the bush. They peeked inside and saw....
"BOO!" came a yell from the bushes.
Kia screamed and fell over backwards. Kenai gasped and hurried to help her up. "Kia, are you alright?"
Kia took a deep breath. "I'm fine...just- a little..shaken up."
Suddenly, a small animal jumped from the bushes, laughing uncontrollably. "You two should have seen your faces!"
Kenai recognized the voice and glared at the animal. "Koda!"
Koda laughed as he walked over to his brother and Kia. "I'm sorry, you guys. I couldn't resist!"
Kia blinked and stared at him. "Wha...how'd you know where to find us?"
"I had just finished eating some berries when I saw you two walk by. So I decided to follow you. But when you started talking about that howling wolf, I couldn't help myself! I had to play a joke on you!" The cub finally laughed so hard he fell over. "And boy, did I ever scare Kia!"
Kia snarled at him. "Did not!"
Koda snorted. "That's why you were like, this..." Koda stood up on his hind legs. He let out a shrill, girly shriek and stumbled than fell over backwards, causing Kenai to laugh. Kia glared at them both. They might find this funny, but she sure didn't! She got up and started to walk away.
Kenai noticed and ran after her. "Kia, come back! It was only a joke!"
Kia turned to face him. "Well, it wasn't very funny!"
Koda frowned. "I was only pretending to be a wolf, I mean come on, it's not like there really
was a wolf!"
Kia sighed and put her paw on her head. "You just don't get it....I never thought you were a wolf...I thought you were a
hunter!"
Koda's ears drooped and he lowered his gaze to the ground. "Oh, sorry..." he mumbled.
Kia stared the cub in the eye, trying to determine whether he was telling the truth or not. She realized he was in fact, being honest, and she rolled her eyes, turning away from both Koda and Kenai. "S'okay." she mumbled over her shoulder. "Let's just get moving."
Koda looked at Kenai, as if asking him if they should leave now. The older bear nodded, and they followed the white bear.
About a minute later, she stopped, and turned to them. "Uh....I just realized, I don't know the way to this 'Salmon Run', so you need to lead the way..." she said feebly.
Kenai chuckled, and started walking alongside her, followed close behind by Koda.
~*~*~*~*~