ORIGIN - Two bears of different colors

Zelk was feasting on a huge pile of fish she had next to her. The polar bear had spent a long time collecting food, simply because she wanted to. She was an adult now, and she needed to eat way more than when she was younger. Of course, it was natural to find a bear stuffing their face. It was like an instinct for them. Zelk favored Fornax and Pisces, for both rooms had plenty of water. Wherever there was water to swim in, the bear was satisfied. Zelk was a polar bear, so part of her life belonged to the water. She did not have webbed paws for no reason. It troubled her to not see any other bears in the cave. She remembered that one bear she met when she was a cub, Aegir. Though she wished to see more. Now though, she focused on eating.

@Sergei

Sergei, for the same reasons that Zelk kept to water-filled caves, was now in Pisces. He'd been here before--he thought that this might've been where he'd fought that foul polar bear, once, left it torn and bleeding. Though, it had left him badly wounded, as well.

He wasn't out looking for it, though. He was pacing along the edges of the lagoon, carefully watching its sparkling surface for what lay beneath. After long moments prowling the shore, he went still--watching, watching, then half-leaping in with a thrust of his massive brown forelimbs.

The brown bear came out a moment later with a long, broad fish clasped between his paws: a fish that thrashed, struggling, its silver scales glittering in the bright light. He hauled it back, waddling, and pinned it--then his teeth went to work, lips pulled back to peel flesh from bone.

It was only then that he noticed Zelk--and from here he assumed it was the same white bear that he had fought once before. He let out a short, guttural roar--a warning, perhaps a threat--and dragged his fish back a few yards, eyeing Zelk warily as he ate.

@Zelk

As Zelk ate she noticed a brown bear nearby, that roared at her for no reason. What was his deal? Zelk had done nothing to provoke the brown bear, but his roar did not faze her. She glanced at her pile and then looked back at the bear. Well, the white bear decided to make a generous choice. She picked up some fish in her jaws and walked over to the stranger. Zelk then dropped the fish on the ground, and moved it closer to the brown bear with her nose. "Hello, my name is Zelk. You can have these if you want, I can always catch more." Zelk wasn't sure why he roared at her. Maybe it was to establish space? Though she wanted to show kindness to him and show that she was not a threat, but a friend.

@Sergei

Sergei stood on his hind leg as the other bear approached, abandoning his fish in favor of a threat display. But the moment Zelk spoke, he realized that this wasn't the same bear. Puzzled, he dropped back down to all fours, aggression vanishing--and went back to stripping bits of flesh from his own fish, swallowing it down.

Small, dark, beady eyes watched Zelk from time to time, and between gulps, he said a very few words.

"Thanks. Thought you were other white bear. Sergei," he went on--and then, by way of explanation, "Name is Sergei."

The thickly-accented, rumbled words sounded mostly indifferent, and his gaze was likewise, though just a little suspicious as he tore at his food.

@Zelk

Zelk nodded her head at Sergei. "It's very nice to meet you Sergei. It sounds like the other white bear you speak of wasn't very respectful. I promise I am not anything like the bear you mentioned. I was hoping if we could be friends. If that's all right by you." Zelk actually meant what she had said. She was a kind of bear that treated every gembound with respect, as long as they showed respect. She did not use her size to bully others. Zelk watched the bear for a moment as he ate, then spoke. "Also, next time we meet, I can catch you something if you're hungry at the time." Which of course was very likely.

@Sergei

Sergei eyed Zelk with reluctance and irritation. He didn't like his feeding being interrupted, and he didn't like this stranger intruding on his calm and empty life.

"I do not need friends," he rumbled.

After that, he was silent for a time, eating, mostly ignoring Zelk; he was a loner, and something about the other bear's presence was irritating him, though he couldn't quite put his paw on what. "I catch my own food. If you become wound, then I--perhaps--bring fish. Then if I am wound--you bring fish. But I am not wound," he went on, his language a little broken.

Then he went back to eating, shuffling a little away from Zelk.

@Zelk

Zelk backed away a bit after Sergei finished speaking. She guessed it was time to give him some peace, but Zelk had some words of advice before she went. "Some gembounds may like to be alone. But things are much more better when you have a friend to rely on. Think about it. If you ever need me, I am usually in here or in fornax when I'm not travelling. Enjoy your meal. It was nice meeting you, Sergei." With that she left the brown bear to finish his food, and she hoped to meet him again.

-Exit

@Sergei

Sergei felt himself bristle at the unwanted advice, and swung his heavy head around to glare beady-eyed at Zelk--but the white bear was already turning to leave.

He found himself relieved. He liked his solitude; despite Zelk's words, he felt strongly that "things" would not be "much more better" with others pestering him while he ate.

The bear was quite content alone, and after the stranger had left, he was soon absorbed back in his fishing.

exit Sergei