The Guardians of the Woods [#JustWriteIt]

Chapter Six: "The entire forest will be counting on you."

*Photo of King Seward (Photo of Kodiak Bear from Wikipedia, and yes Seward is a Kodiak Bear)

    We had been walking for a while, and I noticed a lot more pine trees. I was hoping the Bear Lands was close. The sun was making me pant, and I felt so uncomfortable. Luckily, the bite was almost going away and didn't hurt anymore. Milu suddenly stopped, and I did the same.

    "What's wro—"

    "Silence." Milu's ears swiveled, and I could see his nose slightly twitching. "Show yourself!"

    I tensed as I saw two Grey Wolves emerge out of a couple of bushes nearby. There was a strong, large male, and a small, but dominant she-wolf. The male was growling while the female examined us. Milu relaxed after he saw who it was.

    The female nudged the male, and he stopped growling. "Ah, Milu! Wonderful to see you," the male spoke in a kind, funny voice.

    "Greetings, Jordan and Katie. What are you doing here in the Bear Lands? Is there something wrong?" Milu asked, sounding more casual than I've ever heard before.

    "No, we just need Keegan. He and Goldie need to come to the meeting tonight." Katie explained.

    "Well, be prepared to see Lily tonight. She's going to bring a message to Adalia," Milu told her.

    "Really? What's it about?" asked Jordan, a little worried.

    "Guardian business. You'll hear soon. Now, we must go and speak to King Seward." Milu started to walk.

    "Alright. Good luck, Milu," Katie said as I noticed her ready to leave as well.

    We left the wolves to go to King Seward. I started to get tired and asked Milu if we could take a break. "Teofilo," he began, "I'll ask King Seward if you could rest and eat when we get there, alright?" I nodded, and we kept walking.

    I noticed that we had gotten to the middle of the Bear Lands because I could see plenty of bears everywhere. A mix of Brown Bears and Black Bears, I wondered which one might be the bear spoken in the prophecy. A black bear, of course. Did they know they were in the prophecy?

    A giant brown bear approached us, and I was terrified. Milu was relaxed, but I couldn't do the same. Milu bowed, and I immediately assumed this bear was a high rank, so I bowed as well.

    "Prince Milu. What brings you the Bear Lands?" the bear spoke in a deep, menacing voice.

    "This fawn has received significant news, and I wish to discuss this in private. May we come to your cave?" Milu asked, lifting his head but keeping the rest of his body still.

    The bear nodded, and we both got up. The bear led us to a large cave, one that I was a bit afraid to enter. "Is it safe?" I whispered to Milu. He nodded, and we walked inside. It felt cold, uncomfortable, and scary. Nobody except us was in here, just like the privacy Milu had wanted. Milu sat down on a bed of leaves in one part of the cave, and I sat next to him on the hard floor.

    "We have found out that this fawn is possibly the next Guardian. He has received a prophecy instructing him on how to find the others. The first part was 'Find the blackest bear that will light up the night,' So we were wondering if you know of any Black Bear cubs that have shown unusual qualities," Milu explained.

    The huge bear pondered for a moment. "We only have six cubs that would be mature enough for the Guardian to show. Two females, and four males. I could bring them to you if you want."

    "That'd be great," Milu nodded. He turned and looked at me. "Also," he looked at the bear again, "Would you mind if Teofilo could rest for a while? He's not used to long journeys, so he's famished and thirsty."

    The bear grinned, "Sure. Just go outside, and there'll be places to graze in. The spring is a little out farther towards the left, so Prince Milu should walk with you."

    "Thank you, King Seward," Milu said, standing up. He started walking out of the cave, and I quickly scrambled to get up and scurried after him. I gasped as my eyes caught a patch of grass that looked like it came straight out of Spring in a dream. I lowered my head and tore out some with my mouth. After a while of chewing, I let the juicy sweetness of the grass bathe my taste buds. Even though I wasn't starving, grazing on this made me feel so satisfied as if I hadn't eaten in days.

    Milu walked in front of me and lowered his head, so he was in my line of vision. "You full yet?" he asked, and I nodded with a mouthful of grass. 

    "Yep," I giggled in a muffled voice.

    He rolled his eyes and lifted his head.  "Come on, then. Let's go to the spring." He started to walk, but I froze and shivered as I sensed the huge King walk behind me. I turned my head and watched as he lumbered past me. As soon as he was gone, I sped after Milu, shivering.

    The spring felt very relaxing, hearing the calming noise of traveling water as we approached it. We came to an edge with a large amount of water, and we both bent down to drink from it.

    "Teofilo," Milu started after he finished lapping the water.

    I stopped drinking and looked at him. "What?"

    "I hope you understand that your life will become a lot more important now. The entire forest will be counting on you. You'll make plenty of friends and enemies, and you'll be different from all the rest. You're going to be very special, Teofilo. Alright?"

    I sighed. "I know. I understand." I was excited to be so important, but I wished that my life could just be normal. Everyone will treat me differently. I have a destiny...I never asked for this, but I'm glad it still happened. Will I live up to everyone's expectations?