The cubs were absolutely coated in mud, more like little mud balls with eyes than baby bears. They wre giggling and splashing in the muddy puddles, looking up at Kenai with massive smiled on their tiny faces. "Mub!"
Kenai stared at them, silent but wide-eyed. There was a look of exasperation on his face, an intense frown curling the edges of his mouth downwards.
“…yyyyyyeah,” he mumbled through a sigh he hoped didn’t sound too grumpy. Not that Birch and Spruce would know if it did.
“Alright… ok, come outta there.” Kenai stepped closer until his paws reached the edge of the big, slimy puddle. “C’mon, guys. We gotta get you cleaned up so you don’t get all stinky. You don’t want that, right?”
"Tink tink tink!" The pair laughed and cheered, splashing in the slime of the puddle. Birch did clamber out, dripping grime, trying to playfully attack Kenais leg.
“No… not stink. That’s no fun,” he tried to reason with a strained smile, even if he knew it would only make so much sense to the cubs. “Ah… what should- oh! Hey, guys, I got an idea!”
Kenai smiled, but grit his teeth at Birch’s ‘attack’ on his foreleg. Even for a tiny little thing, he was still a bear, and his claws were sharp! Kenai’s fur was in its summer stage, so his legs weren’t as protected by thick, layered fur.
He stepped back, shaking his paw. The sloppy stuff dripped from his claws, but it wasn’t like mud was the WORST thing to have on you.
“Um, we can go fishing for minnows again if you come with me!” the older grizzly offered, making his expression and brown eyes bright. “Wanna go find Koda? I bet we will at the Salmon Run~!”
The cubs were absolutely coated in mud, more like little mud balls with eyes than baby bears. They wre giggling and splashing in the muddy puddles, looking up at Kenai with massive smiled on their tiny faces. "Mub!"
Kenai stared at them, silent but wide-eyed. There was a look of exasperation on his face, an intense frown curling the edges of his mouth downwards.
“…yyyyyyeah,” he mumbled through a sigh he hoped didn’t sound too grumpy. Not that Birch and Spruce would know if it did.
“Alright… ok, come outta there.” Kenai stepped closer until his paws reached the edge of the big, slimy puddle. “C’mon, guys. We gotta get you cleaned up so you don’t get all stinky. You don’t want that, right?”
Verse Two- The Bear Boy. Under the cut for length.
This was going to be… absolutely terrifying.
Going from a small-town Alaskan school that taught kids from preschool to senior year to a giant school only for high schoolers was enough to make the little hairs on the back of Kenai’s neck stand up.
Denahi, his sixteen-year-old brother (well, almost 17), seemed pretty indifferent, if not a little grumpy; he had expressed to their parents, Miki and Tuktu, that he hadn’t wanted to move at all, but had gotten used to it… a little since then.
They’d only been in Toronto for four months, but the Tungilik family had settled in well, despite the boys’ reservations. And now it was September, the month the fourteen-year-old had been dreading/fearing/all of the above.
Denahi pulled his car into the parking lot, and he clapped Kenai on the back as he began to get out. “Alright, Bear Boy,” he half-grumbled, “let’s go.”
Wearing a navy blue sweatshirt and black sweatpants, Kenai sighed, pulling his backpack over his shoulders and reluctantly trudging after Denahi towards the school; kids were already going inside, some being hugged by their parents beforehand, then squirming away.
He checked his watch. 7:44am. Kenai’s heart raced, and he wasn’t even in the building yet.
“Hey!” Denahi hollered, impatiently waving him over, “hurry up! Just gonna stand by the car all day, or what?”
“Yeah, yeah,” the younger boy snapped, rolling his eyes; he brushed his dark hair out of his eyes, hunching his shoulders against the cool breeze. You can do this… just play it cool.
Denahi had already vanished by the time Kenai went up the short set of cement stairs to the doors, but when he slipped through them, he froze. This was only the first hallway, and it was packed with freshman and sophomores. The juniors and seniors must’ve been further back, he assumed.
He bowed his head and pulled his locker number out of his pants pocket. 336.
Kenai couldn’t remember what had happened aside from walking to his designated locker- trying to find it- before he suddenly bumped into someone; he stepped back in shock and made a small startled noise. The kid he’d collided with was a girl, not much shorter than he was, with glasses, bright, fairly short red hair, and was dressed well- she exuded a lot more confidence than he did, for sure.
“Oh, no- geez,” the boy murmured, bending down to pick up one of her books. Wow, super cliché, he thought, gritting his teeth. “Uh, I-… um, sorry about that.” Kenai struggled with a smile, ears burning. He hurriedly handed the book back to the girl. “My bad. Uhh, are you a freshman, too? I-I have no idea where to find the…” He peeked at his schedule, folded up in the same pocket. “…the auditorium. Guess there’s an assembly, then.”
He seemed to remember himself and shifted his backpack, sticking his hand out. “Uh- my name’s Kenai Tungilik. But just Kenai’s fine.”
"Oh no, that's okay! Really!" Mei assured him, bending down to pick up the rest of her books. She offered a friendly smile as she took the book he had picked up from him. "I can be like, such a klutz myself. Especially when I get a little too excited."
As she stood up, she brightened. "Yep! I'm a freshman too. My name's Meilin Lee. But everyone calls my Mei." She looked down at her own schedule, noting that it was the same location. Mei, on the other hand, was looking forward to the assembly. It was the first step to her high school experience!
"I know where the auditorium is! We can walk there together if you want!" The poor boy seemed so lost and she honestly couldn't blame him. While she did exude more confidence on the outside she was just as nervous on the inside. Maybe they'd have some classes together too!
“Oh, yeah!” Kenai smiled, breaking eye contact briefly. He didn’t wanna be creepy. “That’d be great! I gotta find my locker, but… you can just, you know, tell me where the auditorium is. Y-you don’t have to stick around.” He stopped himself again, panicked. “Uh-… no-not unless you want to-!”
He ran a hand through his black hair, blowing out through his mouth. “Man, I’m really… not good at this, am I?” he joked with a genuine wince. “I’m not used to schools this big, and, um, so many kids. I came from Alaska, just a few months ago. My old school was really small back there- but this place almost looks like some kind of… I dunno, college campus or something!”
Kenai found that, slowly, he was beginning to relax. Having Mei around, despite having just met her, made him feel a little more at ease.
“Youuuuu… wanna come with me? I just gotta put my books and backpack away. That’ll only take, like, a second, but man, there are a lot of lockers…!”
Verse Two- The Bear Boy. Under the cut for length.
This was going to be… absolutely terrifying.
Going from a small-town Alaskan school that taught kids from preschool to senior year to a giant school only for high schoolers was enough to make the little hairs on the back of Kenai’s neck stand up.
Denahi, his sixteen-year-old brother (well, almost 17), seemed pretty indifferent, if not a little grumpy; he had expressed to their parents, Miki and Tuktu, that he hadn’t wanted to move at all, but had gotten used to it… a little since then.
They’d only been in Toronto for four months, but the Tungilik family had settled in well, despite the boys’ reservations. And now it was September, the month the fourteen-year-old had been dreading/fearing/all of the above.
Denahi pulled his car into the parking lot, and he clapped Kenai on the back as he began to get out. “Alright, Bear Boy,” he half-grumbled, “let’s go.”
Wearing a navy blue sweatshirt and black sweatpants, Kenai sighed, pulling his backpack over his shoulders and reluctantly trudging after Denahi towards the school; kids were already going inside, some being hugged by their parents beforehand, then squirming away.
He checked his watch. 7:44am. Kenai’s heart raced, and he wasn’t even in the building yet.
“Hey!” Denahi hollered, impatiently waving him over, “hurry up! Just gonna stand by the car all day, or what?”
“Yeah, yeah,” the younger boy snapped, rolling his eyes; he brushed his dark hair out of his eyes, hunching his shoulders against the cool breeze. You can do this… just play it cool.
Denahi had already vanished by the time Kenai went up the short set of cement stairs to the doors, but when he slipped through them, he froze. This was only the first hallway, and it was packed with freshman and sophomores. The juniors and seniors must’ve been further back, he assumed.
He bowed his head and pulled his locker number out of his pants pocket. 336.
Kenai couldn’t remember what had happened aside from walking to his designated locker- trying to find it- before he suddenly bumped into someone; he stepped back in shock and made a small startled noise. The kid he’d collided with was a girl, not much shorter than he was, with glasses, bright, fairly short red hair, and was dressed well- she exuded a lot more confidence than he did, for sure.
“Oh, no- geez,” the boy murmured, bending down to pick up one of her books. Wow, super cliché, he thought, gritting his teeth. “Uh, I-… um, sorry about that.” Kenai struggled with a smile, ears burning. He hurriedly handed the book back to the girl. “My bad. Uhh, are you a freshman, too? I-I have no idea where to find the…” He peeked at his schedule, folded up in the same pocket. “…the auditorium. Guess there’s an assembly, then.”
He seemed to remember himself and shifted his backpack, sticking his hand out. “Uh- my name’s Kenai Tungilik. But just Kenai’s fine.”
(🐻) I made a new verse for Kenai, y’all! It’s based off of Turning Red; I’ve been wanting to make a muse that has that sort of ability for a while, so. Here’s the info, haha.
Prior to the family of five- formerly four- moving to Toronto and gaining Canadian citizenship, they lived in Alaska, where the three brothers were all born and raised, learning everything their ancestors did to survive. They had a home, of course, but they spent most of their time outside.
Sitka, at 20 years old, was killed by a bear in an accident; Denahi, 16, and Kenai tried to save him, but couldn’t. Even at the age of 14, Kenai was still filled with vengeance, and, while he barely escaped with his own life, he managed to end the bear’s life after tracking it down. But, as a punishment, he now turns into a bear like Mei does with her panda when he gets angry or otherwise excited!
This verse is private, meaning it’s only available for my friend @memcria, unfortunately. For now, anyway. Sorry about that!
He can be asked questions in this verse by others, though! That’s fine by me. :)
Kenai was surprised, but he chuckled at her reply. “Heh-heh… well, go ahead, then! I’ll be here. Probably gonna talk to Tug if he’s around.”
He took to looking about as Sarabi waded into the water.
Koda laughed gleefully as Bucky splashed him, and then glided the side of his paw quickly across the surface to spray his friend with a ‘wave’.
The cub’s ears lifted when he saw Sarabi, and he beamed. “Woah! Cool!! I didn’t think sabers liked water! You must be pretty brave if you’re all th’ way over here!”
His drippy cheek fur sent little drops Sarabi’s way as his head whirled around to look at Bucky. “That would make us look kinda weird… but it would be super good for catchin’ salmon!” Koda laughed. “Kenai could use teeth like that! He’s not that good at fishin’ yet.”
Kenai, having heard those faint words from his little brother, startled and called, “Koda! Maybe y-you could, uh, teach her how to fish?!”
His voice had a nervous edge to it that Koda didn’t recognize, so it disregarded it as an innocent suggestion. He hadn’t realized what he’d said. “Oh, yeah!! C’mon, Sarabi!”
He started to swim over to the shore near Kenai, nodding for the other cubs to follow him.
He thinks I'm brave! Sarabi rejoiced internally, puffing out her chest as she stood a little taller upon catching up to the group. I guess I am sort of brave, she reflected hesitantly, looking to a sopping wet paw. Mother would have never done such things...
"A-actually," Sarabi started at the commentary on her fangs brightly, "Us sabertooths usually use our big teeth so we can catch big food, like... Like pigs, or deer! I never caught anything that big, but that's what they're for. Maybe it could work on big fish, though ..." She trailed off thoughtfully, trying to recall how large salmon could get. She giggled at the good-natured teasing on Kenai's skills, forgetting the thought quickly as she scampered after the two.
"You don't think I look weird, do you?" She asked the cubs with a head tilt.
"Nahh," Bucky answered dismissively, but gave slight hiccupping pause after, "Well — Okay, maybe a little. But everybody's weird. I'm weird. Koda's weird. We all gotta be a little weird. Maybe you're weirdly good at catchin' fish, too!"
“If nobody was weird somehow, imagine how boring ev’rything would be!” Koda agreed, spinning around with a giggle. “Some a’ the bears here think I’m weird ‘cause I eat the tail fins off a salmon before anything else. They’re chewy, but not, like… BAD-chewy, y’know?”
The brown cub looked sideways, hearing the splash of a fish tail against the surface of the water. When he looked back, his dark eyes were sparkly, it seemed, and wide.
“Hey, I got an idea!” Koda announced, loudly enough for Kenai to hear and chuckle at. “Bucky, we gotta help S’rabi use her teeth forrrr… um, what’s that word again? Man, I just had it- OH, spearing! Kenai taught me that word! It’s like this…”
He demonstrated using two of his claws to plunge into the ripples around him, then lifted his paw, holding the claws together, and mimicked eating a fish to finish his ‘lesson’.
“But how we usually do it is by that lil’ waterfall thing over there! The salmon hop out, an’ then we grab ‘em, fast as we can!!” The grizzly pointed with a paw at one of the feline’s fangs. “It’ll be real easy for you! I bet it won’t even take more than three tries! C’mon!”
He took off in the shallowest parts towards the mini-falls. Kenai, meanwhile, felt an immediate sense of anxiety, having seen the strange looks the other bears gave Sarabi… so he got up and followed the trio, keeping his ears up so he could portray himself as more relaxed than he really was.
“Don’t slip, Koda!” he called, reluctantly sitting within a few running paces away from them. “A-and make sure she doesn’t, too!”
Today was the perfect day for riding. The air was warmer as spring approached, grass and blossoms peeked out from the snowmelt and the sun was bright and inviting. Havski has been excited as they cantered across the bridge and towards open space.
The black draft horse snorted as she picked up her pace into a gallop. Her hooves thudded against the earth. Elsa took in a deep breath, closing her eyes and loosening the reins. She didn’t see there was someone else on the road. Havski was going too fast to stop gracefully. The mare came to a clumsy halt that threw Elsa overhead and landed her hard on her side. Her body skidded across the ground. Havski let out an upset whinnie and began to pace around her rider, who was lying crumpled on the ground.
Kenai, despite having heard fast-moving hooves thundering nearby, originally disregarded it, believing it to be a herd of deer passing by somewhere.
However, he suddenly thanked the Spirits that Koda wasn’t with him- he was crossing a path that was a bit hardened and strange, but now a HORSE was coming at him!
“Woah-ah!!” the grizzly exclaimed, rapidly backing away, ears straight up in alarm. He watched as a human, of all creatures, flew off the horse’s back and skidded a ways on the ground, having landed pretty hard; the mare then started circling the human, seemingly worried.
Kenai was completely speechless. He hadn’t seen a human in a long time- not since he’d went back to his old village to visit Denahi with Koda. But this human wore clothes that were a lot… different than the ones he’d once worn and seen. A lot more colorful, for starters…
Was he… supposed to talk to the horse? Tell her he wasn’t a threat? Just really confused??
Acting on impulse, the young bear let out a few heavy, loud huffs, half-trying to intimidate the mare so she’d run off. He didn’t know if she’d be able to understand him, anyway… and what if she stepped on the human?
“He-hey! Shoo! Get outta here!” he prompted, taking a step forward. “Go!”
#𝓌𝒾𝓃𝓉𝑒𝓇𝓈𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓇𝑒𝒾𝑔𝓃 ( a full time forest cryptid ) ⸻private & mutuals only portrayal of Elsa the Snow Queen of Disney's Frozen & Frozen II, with heavy influences from both novel & film canon. Beloved by jess ( she / her, 42, pst ). est. Nov 2013. Crossovers are highly encouraged!
⸻ a study of the myth archetype, those who must bear the weight of the world on their shoulders, the enduring strength of love, the unbreakable bond between sisters, thrusting yourself towards destiny, making peace with your grief, learning to love yourself, the sacrifices made in persuit of truth, and righting the wrongs of the past.
gummygunk
turnnoffyourmind
theartofmadeline
vaporwave
dailybridgerton
yousharknotpass
annaxmalina
