Independent Bear settled into his new life in Care-a-Lot with relative ease, or at least he wasn’t given too much time to think about it. Life Heart started teaching him how to control his psychic abilities almost immediately, apparently just as concerned as he was that he might accidentally hurt someone.
He wasn’t asked to help out much with the cubs, mostly allowed to see to his own entertainment, especially once he was taught how to read. He didn’t have many books to read through, other than children’s books or story books that the older bears read to the other cubs.
Something else he was trained in was swordsmanship by Sage Heart. As his power and skill developed he learned he was being trained to help defend them if ever someone came to try and harm them, like the being he’d only heard of named “Dark Heart.”
Unfortunately for his privacy, the Care Bear Cubs were endlessly curious and when he wasn’t being trained one of more of them would follow him around and try to watch him practise, which he refused to do lest he hurt them. He didn’t dislike the cubs but he still preferred his solitude when he could get it.
One day, he decided he needed some real privacy and left the Hall of Hearts early in the morning, after eating breakfast and leaving a note for everyone to read that he had gone to the Forest of Feelings to get some private training done. He had a wooden katana he was training with held in his hand as he headed into the forest.
OoOoO
Take Care had a week full of cub sitting as Noble Heart had been on missions most of the week. She’d grown to love them all, including having Noble Heart as a father figure. But there were certainly times when her patience was tested and this morning had been one of those times. The cubs were hyper, bouncing all over the house and getting into mischief nonstop. Even Gentle Heart, normally the calm and gentle one was found wrestling with Cozy Heart over a toy. This landed them both in time out. Swift Heart had snuck outside again without permission and Playful Heart had made a game sliding down the banister and even managed to get Treat Heart to try it. Treat Heart, not being near as athletic or graceful as the monkey, hand landed smack dab on her face with a nasty bump on her forehead.
“ENOUGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” Take Care hollered.
The cubs currently making mischief froze. Treat Heart was crying, still lying in the floor, and the two in time out were staring at her. They’d never heard her yell like that.
“That’s enough.... you’d better settle and settle down fast! Swift Heart and Playful Heart... you have a time out in the kitchen.” They headed to the kitchen table, sitting at opposite ends
She picked up, Treat Heart and took her to the kitchen, sitting her up on the kitchen counter.
“I’m sorry....” she cried.
Take Care sighed then softened. She didn’t like it when they were hurt. “Looks like you’ve got a nasty bump on your forehead, are you hurt anywhere else?”
She shook her head. “Just my head.”
“Ok... let’s get you some ice. Don’t even think about moving.”
Treat Heart nodded as Take Care found a plastic zip baggie and put two ice cubes in it. Treat Heart put it to her forehead when Take Care passed it to her. “Sit right there while I work on breakfast. I’m keeping an eye on you.”
She didn’t have to cook breakfast. Noble Heart came back from an early morning mission and was immediately informed of the morning’s events. He offered to handle breakfast knowing she really wasn’t fond of cooking anyway.
“I need a break. I’m heading to the forest for a while.”
“You don’t want breakfast?”
She grabbed a banana and a couple of apples and poured herself a thermos of tea... “Nope, I’m good. I’ll be back before dinner.” She grabbed a small backpack, putting a few of her favorite books inside, and at the last minute she grabbed her fishing pole, just in case she got tired of reading, and headed to her reading spot, where the four trees had fallen into a near perfect square.
As she closed the door behind her, she heard Treat Heart ask, “am I allowed to move now?” She couldn’t help but laugh at the statement as she walked away from the house while munching on one of the apples.
OoOoO
Indy didn’t really know where he was going as he walked through the forest. He held up his wooden sword and began slashing as he walked through the forest, working through his forms like Sage Heart had instructed him. He was working up a fair sweat as he finally stopped near the rainbow river.
“I’ve gone this far?” he swiped his forehead and held his bokken over his shoulder. “At least I should be able to practise out here.” He looked around for anything on the bank that was small enough to practise with. A few rocks nearby served as a good start for him as he reached out with his mind and lifted them off the ground and floated them closer, thankfully without them wobbling. He took another deep breath and held his bokken in both hands, more energy flowed through the wooden blade which lit up with a pale blue aura and he struck at the rocks.
“YOW!” he shouted as the charged sword bounced off the rocks, which then fell to the ground and landed on his foot. “OWOWOWOWOW!” Indy dropped his wooden sword and grabbed his injured foot while hopping around on the other. He sucked in air through his teeth until he mis-hopped and fell on his butt. “Ugggggg.” He groaned as he looked around for his sword, then psionically pulled it into his hand. “Enough practise today.” He got to his feet but couldn’t put all his weight on his injured foot and was forced to limp away, using each tree he passed for support.
Take Care passed through the section of the forest the cubs were allowed to play in and then entered the denser sections, tossing the core of the apple aside when she was done. The birds would enjoy it. It wasn’t too terribly long before she heard odd noises. Someone else was here, but who? And why?
She still had a bit of the mentality that it was her forest, and she now had a family to help protect from anything crazy. She knew all about Dark Heart. Noble Heart didn’t hide it from her, wanting her to be fully prepared should something happen.
Then she heard the yelp... and the yelling. Someone was hurt. She took off in that direction. The backpack she had on one shoulder flapping against her and the books inside hitting her square in the back.
She saw him before he saw her, a sliver bear, limping and muttering to himself.
“Who are you? What are you doing here? And... what happened?” The words were out of her mouth before she really thought it through. Her tone might not have been quite as kind as a typical Care Bear, but the look on her face did show one of concern for him.
Indy looked up and was startled to see a red Care Bear the same age as him. The pain in his foot reminded him to prioritise his concerns, “My name is Independent Bear, from Care-a-Lot. I came here to practise without the cubs following me.” He winced again, “and I dropped a rock on my foot while practising.”
“Owww, that sounds painful,” she replied...
She looked down, noticing his foot was even bleeding a bit, but not too badly. Knowing they were close to her reading spot and it would be a great place for him to sit for a while, she pointed it out to him, just off to the left of where they currently stood. “Think you can make it there? It’ll be a good spot for you to sit for a while, and I’ll take a look at it and see if I can help. You can lean on me if it’ll help.” She realized she hadn’t even introduced herself... “I’m Take Care Bear, by the way.”
“Thank you.” Indy accepted her help to prop him up as he staggered over to the clearing. As soon as he sat down, Independent Bear took stock of surroundings. “I think I’ve been here before.”
“Really?” Take Care asked. “You don’t happen to know how it happened do you? I heard noises over here one day, came to check it out and the four trees had fallen. It was... strange. There was such a strong energy left behind. I swear I could feel the remnants of it for weeks after. I know it wasn’t a storm as it was a beautiful day. And I couldn’t find anything in my books to explain it, although it’s not like I have a library of books anyway....” She realized just how nerdy she was probably sounding, but she didn’t let it bother her... after all, those books and the knowledge she’d acquired had helped her to survive on her own all those years. It was important. “I’ve used it as a reading spot ever since then. I can sit here for hours. It’s quiet and peaceful.”
She sat down on the ground and placed her backpack in front of her. A small stack of books, the banana and apple she’d brought along and her thermos soon appeared in front of them, along with a small first aid kit.
Indy held up his foot once he saw the first aid kit so Take Care could get a better look. Her description of the event jogged some memories in the back of his mind. “Actually, I do. I did this.” He saw Take Care’s shocked expression so he continued. “I was running from some people, I always was, and then I just found myself up here in the Forest of Feelings, I didn’t know that what this place was. I was having a bit of a power backup when I got here and I… just exploded, sort of.” He averted his gaze for a moment and took a deep breath before Take Care could ask the questions, “I’m psychic, at least that’s what Life Heart told me. I can do things with my mind and that day I accidentally cut these trees down. I ran when I heard someone coming, I guess that was you.”
“Yeah... that was me...”
For a few minutes, she didn’t say much else. She was too surprised to know what to say. But then again. She’d felt the energy that day. She knew it had been something “different.”
She was also busy looking at his foot. It had been cut by the rock and was already bruising where the full weight of the rock had hit. But since he could put some weight on it... it probably wasn’t broken at least. However, even as she touched it, she could tell it was still seriously painful.
“Hang tight.... I’ll be right back.”
She headed off back into the woods, probably thoroughly confusing him until she returned a couple of minutes later with a long thick leaf of a yellow plant. She broke it open and a thick white goo started seeping out.
“I discovered this helps with pain.”
He didn’t protest, so she applied it and then wrapped his foot with a large piece of gauze from the first aid kit and secured it into place.
“Hope that’s better...” and now she just had to ask.... “So... psychic? Like... You can read minds?”
Indy sucked in air through his teeth as the gauze was tied. “It is, and no I can’t read minds. I have a sixth sense, or at least I’m working on it. It’s supposed to warn me about danger. But I can move things with my mind,” he turned and pointed to a small twig on the ground which levitated upwards and into his hand. “I can channel it through this sword,” he held up his bokken, “To try and cut things. I was trying to do that with the rock, but I’m not strong enough and I, dropped it.”
Take Care took a quick look at the weapon: a long piece of wood carved to resemble a Japanese Katana, but with an edge too dull to cut anything.
“Well... at least you can’t read my mind. That would just be plain weird.”
Take Care thought for a few moments.
“Hmm... Your sword is wooden, which isn’t the most sturdy of materials and it’s a bit dull. I know you were using your powers to assist you and I kinda understand the idea of channeling through it. But wouldn’t it make more sense to have a stronger and sharper weapon? Or am I looking at this wrong? And... why a rock of all things?”
She paused again for only a moment. “I’m just curious, I like learning about pretty much everything so forgive all the questions.”
Indy smiled, “It’s fine, it’s nice to talk to someone who isn’t trying to teach me anything, or a little kid who needs my help getting something off a high shelf. As for the wood,” he swung the bokken half-heartedly, “it’s a training sword. Sage Heart says I can’t have a real sword until I know how to use it without hurting myself. I was trying to cut a rock because True Heart and Grams don’t want me cutting down trees…” he stared at his bandaged foot for a moment, “guess I’m still at the ‘hurting myself” phase.”
“A training sword makes sense, I guess. And... Accidents happen... though maybe pick one that’s slightly less sharp next time.”
Indy sighed then turned to Take Care after setting his foot down to make sure it wasn’t going to hurt, “Do you live with the Care Bear Cousins?”
“Yeah, I’m with the cousins now. I grew up in the forest alone. I met them the day they came. Heard Swift Heart crying... he’d gotten caught up in a thorn bush after Playful Heart convinced him to try and climb a tree. I got the thorns out, and kinda scolded Playful for taunting him. Noble Heart wanted to take me in and adopt me right away... but.... that didn’t set to well with me.” She chuckled, “It took a while. Well... really several weeks over the winter... we got some bad snowstorms. It was hard for me to keep a fire going at the cave. So I stayed with them. And ultimately, decided to stay permanently.”
“They’re great. Though this morning was rough and I needed a break. Knowing Gentle Heart... she’s staring out the window begging me to come back.” She smiled. “I really do love looking after them, they’re a lot of fun. Never a dull moment.”
“Do you cub sit? Or spend most of your time training?”
“I haven’t had to cub sit yet, there’s four of them to share the work load, even when Life Heart or Sage Heart are training me.” Since Take Care was opening up, Indy decided to do the same, “I used to live on earth, I don’t remember when I became… like this,” he stared at his human-like hands, “but I know people were afraid of my abilities so chased me. Then one day I was just… here. I ran into this clearing and cut these trees down by accident then I just ran around in the forest to hide from whoever was here until I found Care-a-Lot. Life Heart found me right away and… she was the first person I saw like me, sort of, and the first one who was nice to me. I met the Care Bears then Sage Heart and Life Heart adopted me and started to train me.” He held us his bokken, “they said with my powers I could help protect them, if I practise. The cubs are always asking me to show them psychic stuff but… I’m afraid I’ll hurt them. I ran into the forest this morning so I could get some private practise time without them following me,” he looked down at his foot. “I try to find time to read when I’m not training. I kinda like my solitude.”
“I’m sorry you were chased and treated poorly. And I’m glad you found everyone in Care a Lot. I do hope they aren’t trying to turn you into some kind of soldier though... unless that’s what you want.”
Indy had probably figured out by now she was pretty opinionated.
“You’re more independent. The name fits. I get it. I am too. I honestly don’t remember my life before here. All I remember is waking up here about 8 years ago. I don’t know if the memories were so bad that I blocked them out, or if something or someone wiped them. That’s one question I don’t know if I want the answer too. I have a feeling that whatever happened, it was bad.”
She quickly changed the subject... “There’s a stack of books if you want to read. Or you can practice with your powers... I don’t mind either way. Honestly, I wouldn’t mind seeing what you can do. I really don’t think you’d hurt me. But I get it if you don’t want an audience.”
“I think I’ve had enough practise for today, well mostly.” Indy pointed to the stack of books and levitated one off the stack and into his hands. “As for being a soldier… well I’m not good at looking after kids, or at least I’ve never tried. But… I want to help protect them however I can and if I have these powers I want to do something with them, especially since Life Heart helped me get them under control, so I don’t do this again,” he tapped the log they were sitting on. He looked down at the book, “The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe.”
“Good choice...” She marveled at his ability to move the book with just his mind. “The levitation skill must seriously come in handy. That’s just plain cool.”
“Heh, thanks but I mostly use it to get stuff off high shelves. Or put stuff up there the cubs aren’t supposed to have.” He shuddered at a stray thought, “I’m just happy none of them can do that.” Both bears shared a brief laugh at the thought.
She picked up the remaining few books and rummaged through them. She’d read them all, most of them multiple times, but “A Wrinkle in Time” caught her eye. She’d only read it once and it hadn’t been her favorite... perhaps she should give it another try. She moved back a bit, so as not to crowd him. She respected and appreciated his desire for space. “For what it’s worth, I like what you did here.” Take Care leaned back on the log as she opened her book and began to read.
Indy smiled, “Thank you, I was worried the grown ups would be mad at me for doing this. Promise not to tell anyone?” he asked as he opened the book.
“The secret is safe with me. It’s a crazy act of nature as far as anyone would know. Plus, Noble Heart never comes back here this far anyway.”
For the next two hours, Take Care and Indy sat in silence and read their books, not talking to one another as their minds disappeared into their imaginations. Hunger finally compelled them to look up.
"How long have we been here?" Indy asked.
She looked up at the sky then at the shadows of the trees to try and gauge time. “It’s somewhere around 1:00, I think. It’s hard for me to gauge it exactly,” she answered. “Definitely past lunch time.” Her stomach growled again.
“I brought the apple and the banana with me, plus the thermos of tea. I wasn’t quite prepared for company.” They couldn’t help but chuckle. “But there are tons of nuts and berries that grow nearby.” Pointing the small fishing pole she continued, “or we can fish.”
Indy tested his bandaged foot, it still hurt but not enough to stop him from walking so he stood up and set the book back on the pile, “I foraged here for a while, I still remember what’s good to eat. I’ll gather if you fish, I never fished before. I left a note for the Care Bears so they know I’m out here.”
“Sounds good. I told Noble Heart, I’d be back by dinner and we don’t eat till nearly dark... so I’ve got plenty of time.” She grabbed the fishing pole and headed off towards the Rainbow River. “See ya in a bit.”
Indy waved the set about scouring the area for food. Thankfully he still remembered his foraging skills and found a considerable pile of nuts and berries. He took the chance to practise his telekinesis and levitated them in an increasing ball of food as he gathered them. By the time he was satisfied he had a bundle almost the size of a soccer ball following him around as he set out to find Take Care.
Finding the Rainbow River was easy enough, Indy just followed the sound of the rushing water. Once he was out of the trees he spotted Take Care sitting on the bank, fishing line in the water.
She heard him coming and looked his way, immediately chuckling. At the round ball of berries and nuts he had floating beside him. “Again... that’s insanely cool. I’m almost done. They aren’t biting as well today.... I didn’t collect much bait. Trying to get one more so we have two each. They’re kinda small. Then I’ll get a fire started to cook them.”
Indy nodded, one thing he knew was that he didn’t want to raise his voice to scare the fish away. As if in respond Take Care got a bite on her line. She pulled on the line at a ninety-degree angle just enough to completely hook the fish. Then began lifting him out of the water to the short. “Score.” She added him to the pile with the other three then headed over the small pile of wood and kindling she’d already gathered to work on getting a small fire going, just enough for them to cook on. They didn’t need anything huge that would just be harder to put out.
Indy sat down as Take Care got the fire going and separated the berries and nuts from each other. Once the fire was hot enough they spitting the fish and began to cook them, neither bear being particular about needing to gut the fish.
Take Care really couldn’t think of anything to talk about so they ate mostly in silence. The meal was quite good though; it had been a bit since she’d been fishing and cooked over an open fire. She couldn’t help but think back to being alone in the forest for all those years. She seemed to be a little lost in thought as she ate.
Indy finished off the fish he was eating and pulled a bone from his mouth that he tossed on the small pile of them they had made, “This is nice. I don’t think I’ve relaxed like this… ever.”
She snapped out of her own thoughts when he spoke. “Really? Not even while living with the bears?”
“Nope,” Indy shook his head.
“Too many cubs I guess...” she chuckled. “I know there are more bears than cousins.”
“That’s what True Heart tells me, but it’s not just that. Most days I have to train my psionics and swordsmanship and even when I do have time off the cubs keep coming up to me to ask me stuff.”
“Well... that makes sense.” She answered. “Most days I’m cub sitting while Noble Heart is on missions. And even when he’s home, I really do like hanging out with them. I don’t come to these parts of the forest as much as I used to.”
Indy turned to and smiled at Take Care, “Thanks for helping me with my foot, and letting me hang around.”
“You’re welcome. It’s nice having the company.”
Indy stood up, testing his foot, “I think I’m going to come back here. I hope we can keep seeing each other. It’s nice having someone my own age to talk to.” He offered a hand to help Take Care to her feet.
Take Care accepted his paw... “Thanks. I agree. We’ll definitely see each other again. If I’m not here, I’m at the house.” She pointed in the general direction. “If you want to drop by. If not, we’ll just meet up when we can.”
As she spoke she used her thermos, filling it with water from the river, to put the fire out. She wouldn’t even think of leaving the area until she was certain it was completely out.
“Thanks, I might just come here though,” Indy dumped dirt on the fire to helped smother it. “See you later, I should get home.” He waved over his shoulder as he headed back to Care-a-Lot.
“See ya!” She called as she went back to her reading spot with her fishing pole. She still had a couple of hours and wanted to read a little longer.
