Eritopia

A Plan of Action

By the time Bear and the other animals reached the outer fringes of the Inside it was late afternoon. The forest paths narrowed as the hours went by, and Holkelm Avenue was left behind. The crowd thinned as different groups left the main paths to head back to their homes.

The Inside was divided into domains, each governed by a small committee of Elders. With the help of elected animals they managed the day-to-day running of each domain. There were rules and regulations of course, as there had to be, with so many animals vying for living space and food.

It turned out the deer and the monkey lived in Low River Reach, which was to the south of King's Oak, where Bear lived. The Circle and the Occasion was a faint memory by the time they came to say their farewells.

'I'm sure your friend will turn up,' the monkey said, as he stood on the deer's back and patted Bear on the shoulder.

'I hope so,' said Bear, although he feared the Elders weren't going to be pleased he had lost his pupil.

'My dear,' said Anya, 'you mustn't worry.'

'But it's my fault,' said Bear. 'I should have told him not to be so foolish, ordered him to come back with me. I am his teacher, after all.'

'Older and wiser,' nodded the deer. 'How many of us make that mistake? The young have their rights too,' she added, as if recalling her own youth. Then she said, 'When will you go?'

'Where?' For a second Bear thought she was talking of a return to the Circle.

'To the Elders,' said Anya. 'We will back up your story, tell them it wasn't your fault.'

'But it was!' exclaimed Bear.

'Give up if you want,' said the monkey. 'It's all the same to us.'

'We'll come for you at dawn tomorrow,' Anya said.' Get some sleep today and who knows, your friend might even turn up. Then everything will be fine.'

Bear hoped it would be. He had grown to like Not-Bear, of course, but why had the Elders chosen him to be his teacher? Why not some other animal? In the absence of any other he consented to the deer's plan, and they parted.

'Wait,' Bear shouted to their departing backs. 'How will you find me?'

'King's Oak wasn't it?'

'That's right.'

'We'll find you,' Anya called back, as the trees swallowed them up and Bear walked on alone in the gathering gloom.