Finding the right path.

Ekaterina Sat down opposite Patch and pressed her hind feet against his, feeling his warm pads against hers, then his toes curling round hers with comforting strength.

“I could get used to this,” Ekaterina said, leaning forward and kissing the toes of patch’s right foot, now curled round those of her own left foot, his foot larger than hers. Patch, feeling the kiss to the toes of his right foot, plonked his paws on Ekaterina’s head as she leant forward, massaging her ears with the digits of his paws, Ekaterina laughing and lifting her head a little to increase the sensation of patch’s massage to the tender places behind her ears.

“You Rogue!” Ekaterina said smiling, Patch releasing the hold the toes of his left foot had on those of Ekaterina’s right, lifting her right foot up in his paws and blowing on the pads of her foot, Ekaterina giggling like a cub. Indigo, seeing he wasn’t involved, sat down to watch Patch and Ekaterina’s play.

The sound of scuffing paws and feet announced Sita’s arrival. Sita could be light on her feet, but mostly chose not to be so, plus she had recently taken to wearing small bells on a strap around one forepaw so they tinkled when she walked. Patch looked up, and saw she had a tiny bear with her.

“Who’s that?” Patch asked, “Sita, who do you have with you?”

“Well,” Sita replied, “I hoped you’d tell me that. She feels like a cub, all small with the cutest paws and feet, but she says she’s two years old. She can’t be.”

“Come here please,” patch said to the small bear, who looked round her nervously.

“My feet are nearly sticking to the floor with fear sir,” the young bear replied. Patch kissed Ekaterina’s nose, and she moved away.

“come,” patch replied, “I won’t harm you.”

“My feet won’t move, my toes are curled into the floor, and my pads are stuck!” the she bear whimpered, patch seeing her struggling to free her feet.

“I know Sita’s playtimes are great, but this is serious,” Indigo remarked.

“I’m serious too!” the she bear replied, “I can hardly move my hind feet!” Patch padded over to the she bear and found her standing on her hind legs. Smiling, he said:

“Lean on me sweetheart, then I’ll see if I can free those feet. The she bear looked into Patch’s face, her eyes terrified. Patch then knelt, put his paws tenderly around the terrified bear, and said: “Lean your arms across my shoulders, taking weight off your heels and onto your toes, try it.” The she bear did, and Patch cupped his paws beneath the heel and sole pad of each of her hind feet.

“oooooauoph!” the she bear exclaimed.

“Now, now let me lift you off your feet,” patch said.

“but my toes, they,” the she bear protested.

“What about your toes little one?” patch said gently, now stroking the small bear’s back with one paw, having let her stand on her feet once more.

“My toes will still be stuck!” the she bear whimpered.

“When you feel your feet leaving the floor, push off onto your toes, so they leave last,” Patch said, “now, I’ll stand up, then lean down and hold you in my paws, lifting you up, okay?” The she bear nodded, fascination overcoming fear.

“yes,” she mumbled, though it was clear she felt she need say nothing. Patch got to his feet and lifted the she bear up in his forepaws, the she bear lifting her heels off the floor just as Patch advised, then, feeling her toes lifting from the floor, she kicked the air with her hind feet, squealing with cubbish delight.

“now let’s try this,” Patch said, swinging the she bear round in his paws, her hind legs and feet flying out behind her, the she bear laughing delightedly as Patch put her down on her hind feet, then, feeling her sway a little, he sat her down tenderly opposite him and Ekaterina, her right foot in line with his left hind, her left foot in line with Ekaterina’s right hind.

“Thanks,” she gasped.

“You lied about your hind feet being stuck,” Indigo snarled.

“No, no, they were, I promise they were,” the she bear replied honestly.

“Can I touch you stranger?” Ekaterina asked.

“yes, if, if you wish,” the small she bear replied, glancing at Ekaterina’s sightless eyes. Ekaterina touched the she bear’s right shoulder, then her right paw.

“Your feet were glued to the floor with fear weren’t they,” Ekaterina said.

“yes,” the she bear replied, feeling her toes curl and paws ball into fists with emotion at the mama bear’s touch.

“I know that feeling,” Ekaterina replied, “the feeling which makes your toes curl so tightly they ache, but it’s not the urge to curl the toes which the need to push a cub into the world produces, it’s a worse urge than that, in that this urge is driven by fear.”

“yes,” the she bear replied, “my paws are clenching and my toes curling now, but, but the feeling is different, that’s a warm feeling making them do that. When my feet were on the floor though, my toes and pads were cold, stuck to the floor freezing cold! Now they’re warm, though my toes are curled as tightly now as then.”

“You are young,” Ekaterina said, “and I do not think you’ve had cubs yet, so you will not know what curling your toes while delivering a cub feels like.”

“I’ve seen my mama do it,” the she bear replied, “I’ve seen it in a den. Mama curled her toes and moaned and moaned, then she wriggled and I saw her lie on her back, draw up her hind feet and grab them with her paws, then she wriggled and wriggled some more, moaning and yelling, her toes curled tightly and paws gripping fiercely . Mama then kicked furiously with her hind feet, then splayed her hind legs while lying on her side, and I saw a cub born. It was magickal! But yes, I’ve seen toes curling as you describe.”

“that sounds wonderful,” Ekaterina said smiling.

“it was, it was, but, but, then, after that, well, my life wasn’t so wonderful. Nor was the life of the newborn cub, for a male bear found us, he killed the newborn cub, who was only a few hours old. I saw it done, and mama was so distressed she ran away. I was left alone with the male bear, who looked at me, then turned and walked away. I don’t know why he killed the newborn cub and left me. Now though, I’m alone. I wandered for days, weeks, months, and frightened, paw and footsore I found myself here. I know I’m small for a two year old bear, so I attached myself to the group of cubs, and played with them for a day or so, before, well before the she bear cat thing which brought me to you found me. She knew I wasn’t a cub straight away, and brought me to this place. Now I’m here, but where am I?”

“My name’s Ekaterina,” Ekaterina said, “the big bear who lifted you off your feet is patch, and,” she hesitated, “the bear who called you a lire is Indigo.”

“Patch’s paws unstuck my feet,” the she bear said, “can he do that for stuck cubs too?”

“I’m sure he could,” Ekaterina replied smiling.

“My feet wouldn’t move,” the she bear said.

“What’s your name dear?” Patch asked, touching the she bear’s left paw with his.

“My name’s Hattie,” the she bear gabbled, her eyes flicking from Patch to Ekaterina and back again, then she felt the pads of her right foot pressed by those of Patch’s own right foot and his toes curling round hers. Taking a deep breath, Hattie steadied herself ever so slightly pressing back against Patch’s pressure with her own smaller right hind foot.

“I never knew just the touch of another’s hind foot against mine would be soothing, but it is!” she exclaimed.

“Hold Hattie’s left foot with yours Ekaterina,” patch said, Ekaterina curling the toes of her left foot around Hattie’s smaller toes. Hattie looked at her hind feet, her toes now invisible beneath the toes of the two bears, and each bear now held a paw each.

“I’m stuck here for good now!” Hattie laughed.

“You can leave if you wish,” Ekaterina said. Hattie pressed the toes of her left hind foot into the ball of Ekaterina’s foot.

“I don’t want to leave,” she said, “my feet feel warm, and my paws feel safe.”

“You are safe here,” Ekaterina said.

“You mama Ekaterina have curled your toes while pushing to deliver a cub, haven’t you.”

“I have,” Ekaterina said, “and so has Patch here.”

“I knew it, I knew it about Patch!” Hattie exclaimed, “when he touched me, there was more in his touch than a male bear usually gives. Now I know, he’s delivered a cub! he’s pushed and panted, screamed and wriggled, kicked and curled his toes!”

“I have,” patch replied.

“you were able to free my feet from fear because you knew how to,” Hattie replied.

“Yes,” patch replied, “but you also felt safe enough to let me free them, and you, from fear.”

“Well now we have freed Hattie from fear,” Sita mewed, “is she a cub, or isn’t she?”

“Treat Hattie as a cub Sita, treat her like you did indigo when he was first here,” Patch said gently to Sita, who smiled:

“I’ll have no problem playing with her,” she replied.

“Seeing a male bear kill and eat your brother or sister must have been awful,” Ekaterina said. Hattie sighed heavily.

“it was,” she replied, “but I don’t remember much about it, as it was all in a fog of fear. I hope male bears don’t kill their young when they are born here,” Hattie said.

“No,” Titania replied, padding into the lie up, “they don’t. what they do is help mama bear have her cubs. They stroke paws and feet, and encourage mama to push and breathe through her pains.”

“I wish mama had help,” Hattie said, “she really struggled alone, for she wouldn’t let me near her to rub her paws or feet.”

“Mama sometimes doesn’t want anyone to touch her,” Ekaterina said, “though during my last confinement, well, if I’m honest about it,,,” she stopped speaking, unable to articulate her wishes, but Patch knew them.

“I think I’ll leave you lot to it,” Indigo said, walking from the room.

“I’ll go with Sita,” Hattie said, shaking her feet free of the embrace of Patch and Ekaterina’s hind feet and getting slowly to her feet.

“I’ll see you later then,” Hattie said, padding from the room with Sita. Ekaterina took Patch’s paw in hers.

“I know Ekaterina,” Patch said gently, “you don’t have to say anything my dear.”

“Having Sam all alone hurt me Patch,” she replied, “but I couldn’t tell you, in case, in case you didn’t want the cub after we’d decided to have no more cubs. The labour was awful, painful, straining heaving efforts, my toes ached, my legs ached, my insides felt stretched and deformed, I felt deformed, but became more so afterwards.”

“Sita knew you weren’t in your right mind, that is why she saved your cub Ekaterina,” Patch replied, “Sita knew, and told me after of what she had done to save Sam.”

“I’m more grateful than I can tell her, and you for what you both did for me and my cub,” Ekaterina replied, “how you found it in your heart patch to forgive me I don’t know, for what I did was so awful, no, it was worse than awful, it was dreadful, mean and disgraceful. I forgot all you’d ever taught me, all I ever learned about you, and treated you and my cub with disrespect and disgust. Now I am trying to repair the hurt I have caused, but I don’t know if I have the strength to yet.”

“What would give you the strength to rebuild your life?” Patch asked.

“I haven’t been punished enough, I think that’s it,” Ekaterina said, “you’ve been so dam good to me Patch, but I need a slap I think. I know I’ve done you wrong, you told me, but I know I tore at you with my deceit.”

“So you want me to be violent and angry?” Patch asked.

“yes, no, I don’t know Patch, I don’t know!” Ekaterina sobbed. Patch took his mate in his arms and laid her in his lap.

“Ekaterina,” Patch said, “being violent towards you would hurt me even more. I know I can kill if needed, even hurt if needed, but I won’t, I can’t.”

“show me how you felt, give me your emotions, go on Patch, you can do that. You did it for Peter when he disbelieved Anernerk.” Patch held Ekaterina in his paws, and showed her his emotions during that time, Ekaterina feeling his pain at her own actions, seeing him upset and crying privately, then his anger at her when he tried to help her with her mobility, but when he needed help emotionally, she gave him nothing. By the end of half an hour, Ekaterina was exhausted and weeping freely.

“I wouldn’t give myself another chance!” Ekaterina sniffed, “so why are you giving me another chance Patch?” Ekaterina asked.

“Because deep down, I know you aren’t like that,” Patch replied, “though I suppose you are right, you needed to know how it felt for me.” Ekaterina wiped her face with her paws.

“now how do I make amends for what I did?” she asked.

“by being yourself, by being the honest she bear I grew to love?” Patch suggested.

“You never changed,” Ekaterina replied, “I did, I metamorphosed into a mega bitch.”

“now change into a loving she bear, if that’s what you really want,” Patch said. Ekaterina touched Patch’s face with her paws, running them from his ears to his mouth, Patch smelling the salty tears on her pads, and her increased scent.

“I’m slightly fatter than I was when you saw me last,” Patch said.

“Patch,” Ekaterina said, “Can I get paws on with you?”

“I think it’s a bit late to ask that now isn’t it?” he asked smiling.

“Well, um, yeah, I suppose, but I didn’t mean paws on in that way, I meant really paws on.”

“make love to me you mean?” Patch asked.

“yeah, really make love to you, you see, Patch, I want a cub, I want a cub with you now, really want one with you, one last cub. I’ve been considering things, and I know I could deliver the cub safely, if you’d help me.”

“I will help you Ekaterina,” Patch said, “but my paws are bigger than they once were, I might not be able to pull the cub.”

“I’d push and strain and make sure you got your paw into position to pull the cub!” Ekaterina replied earnestly, “no matter how much it hurt, I’d do it!”

“You’re serious aren’t you,” Patch replied, letting his own feelings creep into the foreground.

“you want it too?” Ekaterina asked, feeling his need.

“I do, but only if you’re sure,” patch replied, “for I have vowed never to hurt you Ekaterina, and putting you in danger is not my intention, nor my wish.”

“We were mated well last time, so why not again?” Ekaterina asked, “Patch, I want you to mate with me, take me, love me.”

“I will,” patch replied, “but let’s take it slowly, let’s take our time, do it gradually, not leap in with all four paws, well, not yet anyway. I want to get to know you from nose to paws like you want to know me from my nose to my paws Ekaterina.”

“I would like you to strip off the skin of the lieing mega bitch and show me the one who loves you patch,” Ekaterina replied.

“You mean unzip you from your old coat and paws and reveal you like I did myself for Orbon when he asked me to show him myself as a cub?” patch asked.

“Yes patch,” Ekaterina replied, “but I want to feel it, every bit of it, from you unzipping my coat, to tugging off my paws and feet, for I haven’t the strength to do that. I can’t do it patch!” Ekaterina wriggled uncomfortably in Patch’s embrace, “I need your strength to uncover my true self, who is covered by this soiled coat and has to use these dirty, horrid paws and feet to love one who I do not deserve to touch, be my paws and feet washed in a volcano!”

“wow!” Titania remarked, having heard all from where she had been sitting.

“I know what Ekaterina means,” patch replied, “and she will have her wish.”

“You mean you can unzip her from her dirty coat and paws?” Titania asked.

“Yes,” patch replied, “if she wants it enough. I can grant her wish.”

“I’d like to see this!” Titania said, then, seeing patch’s expression, she covered her mouth with her paw in shame.

“Sorry,” she mumbled.

“it is a private matter,” patch replied, “and you Titania should have left with Sita, Hattie and indigo.” Titania left, her ears, paws and feet burning with shame.

“She looked so unhappy,” Patch remarked to Ekaterina.

“She made a silly comment,” Ekaterina replied.

“She did,” Patch agreed.

“now will you help me? Please?” Ekaterina asked. Patch smiled and hugged his mate.

“I will,” he replied, “but I don’t want to hurt you Ekaterina, unzipping you from your old body will hurt. It’s not like the cub play of pulling off your adult paws and feet. It’s real, it’s a struggle, the first tear, that hurts like hell. I know, I’ve done it to myself. It took a lot of willpower to do that.”

“Awful,” Ekaterina said.

“yes,” Patch replied, “and I don’t want to do it to you.”

“I hate myself for what I have done to you,” Ekaterina replied, “I also know you are not telling me the whole truth either. I want to know your anger in a way I can understand, talking and reasoning doesn’t work so well with me, I’m not on the level you are with that. Show me the violence I expect, and I will understand.”

“You want me to hold you down and rip off your fur and paws?” Patch asked.

“yes,” Ekaterina replied, “well, undress me from these dirty paws, feet and this fêted fur. I am not fit to be touched by you Patch. Do you know why you could return to your cub state so easily?”

“Go on?” patch prompted.

“Because you’d remained true to yourself throughout your whole life,” Ekaterina replied, “you’d done right by others, followed your paws. I didn’t do that, and now I’m dirty and feel uncomfortable too.”

“When I’d finished the first tear, it was easy then,” patch replied.

“Because you’d not lied to yourself like I have,” Ekaterina replied, “it’s gonna be hard for me, every bit will hurt, I know it.”

“it was like pulling off an old suit,” Patch said, “hard to pull off my feet and paws though, as I’d grown into them, the rest was ok, with a little stretching of course.”

“I will want to curl up into a ball and scream,” Ekaterina replied, “but Patch, don’t let me, pull my legs straight, straighten my spine, and pull my feet and paws from me.”

“I will do what I can to help you,” Patch replied.

“Patch, please, put aside your concerns for me for a few minutes, as I need punishment for throwing aside my love for you for so much longer.” Patch ran his paw down Ekaterina’s back, then her chest and belly.

“I can’t do it to you Ekaterina,” patch said softly, “you would scream and cry.”

“Treat it like a cubbing then,” Ekaterina replied, “every contraction, let you tear into me. I will bear it that way.”

“I am sad more than angry,” Patch replied.

“I know,” Ekaterina replied, “Patch, do for me what you did for Jess. She became what she truly was. I want to go back to my old self, to be the bear you loved from when her paws were smaller than your own. I made paw contact with you, you loved me, I loved you, now I have thrown you away, and I want to get back to you, but I have dirtied my fur, feet and paws stumbling through a forest of shit to get back on the right path, and now not even the best wash in the world would cleanse my body. I need more than that.”

“Well I’ll tell you how I did it shall I?” patch asked. Ekaterina, desperate now, snuggled up to him.

“how?” she asked, sounding like a cub.

“I lay on my back and stretched the toes of all four paws and feet, then thrust at the air with my legs and paws stretching my spine every time,” Patch replied, stretching my old skin. I then, when I felt the time was right, sat up and pulled off my old feet and paws. then, when the time was right again, I tore down the front of me with the toes of my left paw, not the claws, for they’d disappeared somewhere. My skin split right down to a soft coat, into which I could not penetrate. I then tugged at my old fur, opening it up. I then wriggled and struggled from my old coat.”

“o help me do that,” Ekaterina said.

“I will help you,” Patch replied, “but it must be you, not me, who makes the tear into your belly fur. You must want enough to struggle free of your present coat and paws.”

“I want it, I want it more than I’ve ever wanted anything,” Ekaterina replied, “well, almost more, the births of my cubs are level with that, pushing to deliver them. That was a tremendous urge. I wanted to do that from my nose to my curling toes and sweating pads.”

“You sound like you want to go through with this,” patch replied, “I’ll help you.”

“yes, please patch,” Ekaterina replied, “please, help me to stretch, to wriggle, to find my inner self.”

“Do you want to do this on the floor? Or with me holding you in my lap?” Patch asked.

“Hold me Patch, please,” Ekaterina begged, “but you’ll need your paws to show me how to stretch, so I’ll have to be an adult bear and lie on the rugs, but I want to feel your touch though Patch.” Patch kissed his mate’s nose.

“Breathe deeply Ekaterina, imagine your fur inflating, your whole body becoming full of air.”

“Like, like that inflatable polar bear I once felt?” Ekaterina asked, “it had rough pads, and bounced away when I touched it with my nose.”

“yes,” Patch replied, “you remember the one? Nanuq got into this silly suit and padded about, he said it was very weird to feel air under his feet and paws, and to be able to bounce off the walls.”

“I remember that,” Ekaterina replied, “he could just about curl his toes in the big paws, as it was specially made, the toes on the inflatable suit were huge, as were the paw pads.”

“Breathe like you are about to push into your tail to deliver a cub,” Patch said, “but when you push Ekaterina, keep your mouth shut, and breathe through your nose. Feel what happens.”

“What if I want to groan and pant with the effort?” Ekaterina asked.

“That’ll come later,” Patch said. You need to shed your skin first Ekaterina. I was breathing like you will while stretching my body. You will stretch your fur, then your body.”

“So you were doing two things at once,” Ekaterina mumbled, “I’ll do one thing, separate my fur and paws from my inner self first. Here goes.” Ekaterina took a deep breath, closed her mouth and breathed out. Her breath didn’t escape through her nostrils, though she felt it flowing into her body.

“This is hard work!” she whimpered after four breaths. Then she tried harder, breathing in and pushing the breaths out, imagining she was pushing into her tail to deliver a stuck cub every time she breathed out. Patch, holding his mate tightly, felt her skin inflate off of her skeleton.

“One more pushing breath,” Patch said, after Ekaterina had been making huge efforts for half an hour. Ekaterina made one more huge effort to push another breath into her hind feet, pushing down hard with her final breath, then she opened her eyes and her mouth. Feeling light headed, she explored her new body, her paws were almost desensitised by the air between her nerves and the outside world.

“I want to get out of this body now!” Ekaterina whimpered, instinctively tearing at her belly with her right paw. to her astonishment, the spongy toes of her right paw penetrated her flesh. Yowling, Ekaterina dug deeper and deeper with her inflated right paw, tearing deeper down, until she could go no further, then she began to tear the fur apart.

“I’m doing this wrong, I should have pulled my paws and feet off first!” Ekaterina wailed, “it’s all gone wrong!”

“I’ll help you pull your paws and feet off in a bit,” patch said, “it’s fine, you’re doing well Ekaterina. Ekaterina tore her skin from her neck down to between her legs, raking the spongy toes of her right paw down her body. Then she struggled out of the coat, her paws and feet still enclosed in their inflated, desensitised coverings.

“I want rid of these horrid hind feet!” Ekaterina screamed, sitting down and tearing at her right hind foot with the spongy toes of her right forepaw, “I can’t free my hind feet, I haven’t the strength!” Ekaterina wailed, thrusting her paw at Patch.

“I can help,” patch said.

“go on then,” Ekaterina replied. Patch raked his claws down the sole pad of Ekaterina’s right foot, the she bear screaming and crying.

“that Hurts!” she yelled, “ow, patch, ow!” Patch tore and tugged at the sole pads and toes of Ekaterina’s right hind foot with his claws, pulling the sole pad and toe pads of Ekaterina’s right hind foot off one by one. Ekaterina, grabbing her foot in her paws, found the contact between her old paws and the new sole pad even more painful. Shrieking, she let go of her foot, Patch quickly tugging off the top of Ekaterina’s old right hind foot. crying and screaming like an injured cub, Ekaterina could do nothing as patch attacked her ferociously, pushing her onto her back and tearing at the sole of her left hind foot with his claws. Ekaterina, pain filling her world, screamed, roared and sobbed, but she didn’t beg him to stop. Patch tore at the sole, toes and tops of both Ekaterina’s hind feet one more time, Ekaterina writhing in pain and drawing up her feet, but her forepaws would go nowhere near her hind feet to protect them, the ravages of Patch’s attacks on her hind feet hitting home every time. When it was over, Ekaterina sat up, her feet throbbing with the most intense agony she’d ever felt.

“What do I do now?” She whimpered.

“Tug off your forepaws,” patch said, “unless of course, you want me to do that for you?”

“I can’t concentrate,” Ekaterina whimpered, “Patch, it’s too painful, all this is too painful!”

“I know,” Patch replied softly.

“My stomach is hurting, my feet are hurting, my paws are burning too!” Ekaterina replied desperately, “what do I do about it Patch?”

“what do you want to do?” patch asked.

“Tear off my paws and bathe my hind feet!” Ekaterina squealed, then more softly, “but that won’t work will it?”

“My anger is spent Ekaterina,” Patch said, “but your transformation is not quite complete yet.

“What do I do to free my paws Patch?”

“Take off your gloves,” Patch replied. Ekaterina, sobbing with fear, tugged at the inflated toes of her right paw with her teeth, finding It slid off easily. She then tugged at her left paw with her teeth, and found that slid off easily too. When she grabbed her feet with her newly freed paws though, Ekaterina found the contact still hurt her. whimpering, she let go of her right foot, fearfully extending it to Patch, who leant down and kissed her sore pads and toes.

“it’s all over now,” patch said gently. Ekaterina collapsed into Patch’s embrace, weeping and roaring with emotion.

“it’s all over now,” Patch said, “you are free from your unclean fur and paws, touch them, touch your body fur, leg fur, paws and feet Ekaterina. You won’t contaminate your new paws and feet.” Ekaterina explored her old skin with sick fascination, then, once she’d finished, Patch stood over Ekaterina, shielding her with his body as her old skin was destroyed in a fire so bright even Ekaterina could see the flames. Patch released his mate, Ekaterina struggling to her feet, finding she couldn’t walk on her tender paws and feet.

“I can’t walk!” Ekaterina whimpered, collapsing into Patch’s embrace, “it’s hurting me too much.”

“Can you crawl?” patch asked.

“I can, I think,” Ekaterina replied, crawling round the room.

“Your hind feet are tender,” patch said, “your forepaws less so.”

“Because my hind feet buried my cub, pounding the ground,” Ekaterina replied, “they needed more of a lesson than my paws did.” Patch kissed her nose.

“now do you feel cleaner?” Patch asked.

“I do, Patch, I really do feel cleaner.” Patch gently kissed Ekaterina’s nose, then kissed the sole pad of her right hind foot, Ekaterina instinctively curling her toes as she anticipated the pain she’d felt before.

“your toes and pads are cute,” Patch said, kissing the bunched pads of Ekaterina’s right hind foot. then, sitting down, Patch gently uncurled the toes of Ekaterina’s right foot with his paw, straightening them.

“My foot no longer hurts!” Ekaterina exclaimed, “but it was so painful only a few minutes ago.”

“I think you know where the pain came from,” patch said.

“I know now Patch,” Ekaterina replied softly, “I’m sorry for what I did.” Patch kissed the pads of Ekaterina’s left hind foot this time, Ekaterina curling her toes with pleasure this time, and giggling like a cub.

“my feet no longer hurt because you have forgiven me?” Ekaterina asked.

“More than that Ekaterina dear,” Patch replied.

“I’m ready to move on,” Ekaterina replied, “my old coat is gone, my old paws and feet are no longer here.”

“But two cute paws and two cute hind feet are,” patch said, “as well as a gorgeous coat.” Patch kissed Ekaterina’s nose and hugged her, the she bear snuggling closer than she’d done before, burying her face and paws in Patch’s fur, which she thought had grown longer and softer.

“I’m enabling you to do what you truly want Ekaterina,” Patch said.

“to snuggle up to long warm fur and bury my paws in it,” Ekaterina whispered, snuggling up to the huge bear.

“Can you reach my hind feet Patch?” Ekaterina asked. Patch put his left arm around Ekaterina, who was now kneeling in front of him, her paws around his neck, he then reached his right paw around to touch Ekaterina’s left hind foot. finding he couldn’t, he asked Ekaterina:

“How much do you want me to touch the pads of your hind feet Ekaterina love? I can’t reach them from the position you’re in.”

“And I don’t want to move, for I want to be cuddled up like this,” Ekaterina whimpered, resting her chin on Patch’s shoulder.

”Could you make me as small as I was when we first met?” Ekaterina asked, “could you help me walk again?” Patch smiled:

“I could,” he replied, “I could do all that.”

“I remember you helping me onto my feet,” Ekaterina said dreamily, “I felt so safe then, so safe.”

“I could help you walk again,” Patch replied.

“I want to crawl first,” Ekaterina said, “Patch, show me my feet and paws, please,” Patch kissed his mate’s ear.

“You want me to take you that far back?” He asked.

“I’m there already,” Ekaterina begged, “ I can’t stand on all four paws Patch, I can’t, it’s too scary, I am a cub again, so please, take me back there, so I can relearn why I loved you so much back then, so, so,” her voice trailed away.

“So you can avoid the mistakes you made before?” Patch asked.

“yeah,” Ekaterina replied, almost sobbing.

“”I will help you to play again,” patch said.

“You will walk again,” Patch replied, embracing his mate.

“Yes, but not yet, let me crawl first,” Ekaterina replied dreamily, “touch my paws and feet Patch, stroke my ears and paws, please,” Patch rubbed Ekaterina’s back with his paw, the she bear sighing deeply.

“Your new fur smells great,” Patch said, all fresh and clean.” Ekaterina kissed his ear.

“I would like you to touch the soles of my feet again,” Ekaterina whispered.

“I will,” Patch replied, “I will trace your pads and count your toes, and make sure your new paws and feet fit properly too.”

“Like you did when you got your new paws and feet from Orbon you mean?” Ekaterina asked.

“Yes, I sort of worked my paws around my feet, pressing, squeezing and kneading my pads and toes, it felt great!”

“What about your paws though?” Ekaterina asked.

“Well just lifting my arms up slipped my paws into their new coverings, my hind feet took a little work to get right,” Patch replied.

“I would love to have witnessed that,” Ekaterina said.

“I could re-enact that for you,” Patch offered, “take my feet in my paws and mould my feet like I did in the shower.”

“I’d like to touch your paws and feet while you re-enact that,” Ekaterina said.. Patch leant over and tickled the sole of Ekaterina’s left hind foot with the toes of his right fore, Ekaterina giggling and leaning into him, shuffling closer to him.

“I love that,” she said, Patch kissing her ear.

“It’s time to do your duty,” Ekaterina whispered.

“I wanted to take it slowly Ekaterina,” patch replied gently, “but if you insist.”

“No not that duty silly,” Ekaterina laughed, “your duty to your community, I just remembered your other role, the one which you were appointed to.”

“I’d rather do my natural duty to my mate,” he replied smiling.

“But the community need you,” Ekaterina replied, “I do too, but I can wait.”

“I need to meet my followers,” patch replied, “I can’t leave them leaderless.”

“I’ll stay here,” Ekaterina yawned.

“You come too,” Patch replied, “after all, you are my mate, and you have a job here which is as important, no, more important than mine.”

“I haven’t delivered a cub in ages,” Ekaterina replied, “you delivered Titania’s cub.”

“We’ll get you back into the swing of that,” patch replied.

“Can you magick up pregnant bears, lions and tigers?” Ekaterina asked.

“No,” Patch replied, “but I’m sure there will be pregnant bears and big cats soon enough.”

“You are spiritual leader, and leader of this community too, I’m just a failed mate to you,” Ekaterina replied miserably.

“Did you go through all that struggle and pain for nothing then?” Patch asked, “all that effort and screaming just to decide you’re a failed mate?” Ekaterina huffed with exasperation at herself.

“You’ll be doing more than physically helping me get on my paws,” she whimpered, “I’m a wreck.”

“What you need is to attend and be paws on at the birth of a cub,” Patch replied, “but we can’t make cubs be born out of thin air.”

“I heard Tess showed little Arjuna how his mum crawled to us and gave birth to him, screaming and pushing with her last strength,” Ekaterina replied, “Arjuna was very upset afterwards. He wanted to meet his mama, but of course, now she’s no longer here.”

Meanwhile, in the soft play room, Hattie and Sita sat on the soft flooring, Sita massaging the pads and toes of Hattie’s right hind foot.

“Who’s leader round here?” Hattie asked.

“You’ve met him,” Sita replied, “Patch is leader.”

“Patch?” Hattie asked, closing her eyes in concentration, “the one with the lovely paws who took away the fear?”

“yes him,” Sita replied, “he’s leader.”

“he doesn’t seem strong enough to be leader,” Hattie replied, “I expect a leader to be stern and rough, demanding of respect at every turn, but he doesn’t demand respect at all.”

“Patch won’t demand anything from you,” Sita said, “he will ask, and he will expect you to treat him with kindness and respect when he treats you so. Patch has been hurt before by those closest to him, but they are coming round to the right path now.”

“What on earth is that?” Hattie asked.

“the right path you mean?” Sita enquired.

“No, Sita, there’s a huge white thing padding into the room, he’s an enormous polar bear, and he’s bouncing on his paws a bit.”

“Ah, that’s Nanuq,” Sita said, “he likes dressing up in this inflatable suit, he’s an impressive polar bear in his bare feet, as it were, but he likes to get into this suit and bounce about all over the place. It’s silly really.”

“he is bouncing on his paws, it looks so funny!” Hattie yelled, “Sita, I wish you could see this, he’s literally bouncing on his toes now!”

“oooah!” Nanuq grunted as he fell over, the inflatable suit cushioning his fall.

“Nanuq’s a huge fat bear now!” Hattie laughed, clapping her paws.

Patch wandered into the soft play room with Ekaterina, Nanuq padding up to them in his oversized suit, rearing onto his hind feet and batting at Patch with his over padded paws.

“You silly old bruin!” Patch said, pushing Nanuq off his feet, the bear landing on his back, the cushioning affect of the air filled suit making his hind legs flex, his hind feet bouncing about uncontrollably, Nanuq laughing uproariously as he watched his paws and feet take on a life of their own.

“your paws and feet are large and very cute,” Patch said, “you can just about curl those toes I think Nanuq. Nanuq curled the toes of both hind feet, the rough pads of the inflatable suit bunching up, the large toes curling over as tightly as Nanuq could curl them.

“come and touch my body and feet,” Nanuq said, Ekaterina touched Nanuq’s hind feet, the bear’s over sized hind feet making her smile.

“Cute hind feet Nanuq,” Ekaterina said, Nanuq wriggling madly, his oversized paws and feet waving with abandon.

“How do you get out of that?” Hattie asked.

“if you notice, my head is not in the suit,” Nanuq said, There’s a fan inside the suit keeping me cool. When I want to emerge, I stop the fan, then pull the plug on the suit and roll about madly, squeezing out all the air, I then unzip myself from the suit, there’s a zip by my belly.”

“Why Nanuq, why wear a silly suit?” Ekaterina asked.

“Because I like to feel air under my feet, and be able to leap about with abandon,” Nanuq replied.

“What about your head?” Ekaterina asked.

“I could put a silly headpiece on, but I haven’t yet,” Nanuq replied, I have done it once though, and it was weird to wear that.”

“What does it feel like to have air under your feet?” Hattie asked.

“You bounce about a lot,” Nanuq replied, getting to his feet and padding about on the padded floor.

“Bet you can’t bounce on your feet like this!” Nanuq laughed, bouncing on his toes, leaping feet into the air with every effort.

“You look so cute doing that,” Patch laughed. Nanuq landed on all four feet, padding to Ekaterina and sitting down awkwardly, Ekaterina exploring him from head to hind feet. Nanuq ended this by putting on the headpiece and inflating that, making him look twice his normal size.

“So now you can leap about and not look where you’re going because you’ll bounce like a ball?” Ekaterina asked. Nanuq smiled and got up, bouncing on the toes of all four paws, then, rising to his hind feet, he bounced on his toes, Ekaterina laughing as his highly padded paws pummelled her shoulder as he bounced on the toes of his over padded hind feet.

“How can you curl your toes and bounce like that?” Ekaterina asked. Nanuq lay down and showed her the joints in his suit, that in fact the feet and paws were inflatable boots and gloves, the joints for the arms and legs were flexible enough for him to walk, and at the headpiece was yet another joint.

“it’s so cool!” Ekaterina said, “a big bouncy bear!” Nanuq laughed merrily at this.

“I’ll never surpass patch as a big bouncy bear though, he’s cuddly and bouncy without being full of air. He’s not false, I am.”

“You are a good bear Nanuq,” Ekaterina said, “you are good to this community.”

“I know you are good Nanuq,” Patch said, “but there is no harm in pretending to be a fat bear, when you are not.”

“I just wanted to see what it was like to be fat and bouncy!” Nanuq said, “I’m not trying to be you patch.”

“are you saying I’m fat?” Patch asked in an aggrieved tone.

“No, no I’m not, oh dear, oh dear!” Nanuq whimpered.

“I’m not fat!” patch wailed, stamping around the play room. Nanuq, appalled at his misjudgement, chased him in his oversized feet and paws.

“Patch, please!” Nanuq begged, Patch turning on the now bouncing, blundering polar bear and knocking him off his fat feet, removing the inflated foot covering from Nanuq’s right hind foot, and tickling the polar bear’s pads, Nanuq laughing helplessly.

“Okay, okay, stop tickling my foot now, please!” Nanuq begged. Patch kissed Nanuq’s pads, the male bear giggling with pleasure.

“Daft old bruin,” Patch said, Nanuq smiling.

“I love this play,” he said. patch replaced the inflated foot covering on Nanuq’s right hind foot, Nanuq getting to his bouncy feet and bouncing on his toes, Hattie laughing at his antics.

“how does it feel in there?” she asked.

“I’m floating on air, it’s great!” Nanuq replied, “my feet feel light and springy, my toes, how wonderful those toes are!” patch could see Nanuq’s joy in his eyes, even though the inflatable head peace devoid him of any expression.

“Can I touch your paws and feet Nanuq?” Ekaterina asked. Nanuq, smiling broadly, sat down, or rather bounced down onto his backside, extending his paws and feet to Ekaterina, who explored them with gentle care.

“I’ll bet your feet are a bit desensitised to the ground,” she said, Nanuq admitted they were.

“I can’t feel much,” he said, “it’s like bouncing about in my own little world.”

“You do that enough anyway, so no change Nanuq,” Koda snapped, “dressing up like you’re a big cub, who the hell do you think you are?”

“he wants a bit of fun, for Eohippus sake Koda, leave him alone will you!” Sita growled, “you really are a pain sometimes.”

“I’m trying to teach my cub how to be grown up, and now I see a grown bear acting more cubbish than a newborn!” Koda yelled.

“I think he’s funny,” Hattie said.

“Nanuq’s a grown member of the community, he’s one of our CCTV operators, and he walks about in an inflatable polar bear costume? Isn’t he happy with his own body? For heaven’s sake!” Koda screamed.

“I think it is time someone took a happy pill,” Nanuq said, rearing onto his bouncy hind feet and patting Koda on the head in a patronising manner, clearly meaning to anger the black bear.

“sod you!” Koda roared.

“now isn’t that nice,” Nanuq replied, “such a nice mannered cub mama Kamchatka bred,” then he turned savage, “you are a thorough disgrace Koda, now piss off out of my sight!” Koda ran off, his mood black.

“I hate that,” Nanuq whimpered, looking thoroughly fed up.

“can you run in those cushioned paws and feet?” Hattie asked.

“Well, no not that well,” Nanuq replied, “my feet are too big and clumsy you see, I’m meant to be a big fat polar bear, without actually putting on the weight. I can also bounce off the walls and roll about without hurting myself, which I love doing.”

“I found the deprivation of touch very hard to take,” Ekaterina said.

“You blew your fur off didn’t you Ekaterina dear?” Nanuq asked. Ekaterina felt her paw taken in the huge rubbery paw of Nanuq’s costume, the grip on her paw surprisingly strong.

“yes, well, I wanted to get rid of my old dirty fur. Patch helped me. I blew and blew and blew into my body, breathing like I did while having a cub, and my body inflated, and then I could emerge, but Patch got violent at one point, and that hurt me a lot, well, it was meant to.”

“You need not discuss private matters with me Ekaterina,” Nanuq said gently, “I won’t ask you about them.”

“Someone said you’d re-enacted cubbings in your time,” Ekaterina said, “Nanuq, could you do that now? make it completely silly, not only become a big male polar bear, but pretend to be a male polar bear delivering a cub?” Nanuq laughed at this.

“I could,” he replied, “but not in your pool Ekaterina, I’d float on the top all the time.”

“You would in that suit of yours,” Ekaterina replied.

“Why is giving birth to cubs and pretending to such a big thing here?” Hattie asked.

“it’s emotional, it’s hard work for both mama and attendants, it has many variations, it enables paw play, encourages gentility and is a lot of fun,” Nanuq said, “and as for males playing the part of the female, well that’s just what happens sometimes.”

“the next thing you’ll be telling me is that you helped a human give birth to her baby,” Hattie growled.

“I did,” Ekaterina replied. Hattie put her head in her paws and shook it:

“No, no, no!” she whimpered.”

“Oh yes,” Moses said, padding up to Hattie, taking her paws from in front of her face with the utmost gentility and kissing her nose, the she bear staring in shock.

“You?” she asked, “you’re, um, the baby Ekaterina helped into the world?”

“yes, a few years ago now,” Moses replied, “but I still watch how she helped my mama deliver me, it is a wonderful video Hattie, you could watch it now if you like.”

“How, um, how, how paws on, did you get Ekaterina?” Hattie asked.

“She got paws on with my mamma’s hands and feet, and then with me when I came out, when mama Janet was pushing and screaming, and curling her toes, and everything! It’s wonderful!” Moses enthused, Hattie’s shock deepening.

“how?” she asked, “Ekaterina, please, tell me how you got paws on with a mama human delivering her cub?”

“She came to me, and I helped her,” Ekaterina replied, “delivering a human cub is similar to delivering a bear cub.”

“I’d like to see that,” Hattie replied.

“follow me, and I’ll show you,” Moses said, tugging at Hattie’s paw. as if in a dream, Hattie followed the bare footed young human to another part of the house, where she sat down and watched the most amazing video she’d ever seen.

“I wanted to help my mama like Ekaterina helped yours Moses,” Hattie said, “my mama did all yours did before she gave birth to my brother cub.”

“I’ll bet they sounded similar too,” Moses said.

“They did, mama panted, groaned and whimpered yes,” Hattie replied.

“mama Janet and I play the stuck foot game too,” Moses said, “it’s a great game that.” Hattie looked down at Moses feet, thinking the young boy’s bare feet well padded and rather similar to her own hind feet.

“What’s the stuck foot game?” she asked.

“Press your hind feet against another players and then pretend they are stuck together,” Moses said, “you use your paws to try and free your feet, it’s a pretend game, a role play game mama calls it. Patch plays it very well too.”

“Can I touch your left hind foot Moses?” Hattie asked.

“yes okay,” Moses replied, smiling as his foot was embraced in Hattie’s paws, Hattie exploring his small toes, then the sole of his foot from ball to heel.

“Your foot is so like mine!” she exclaimed.

“I check the soles of my feet by touch every day,” Moses said, “do you check yours for thorns Hattie?” Hattie smiled as Moses curled his toes with pleasure as she gently stroked the soft skin on the sole of his right foot.

“Your toes are curling and the skin is bunching up, just like my pads do when my toes curl, this is so sweet!” Hattie said, Moses smiling and tightly curling his slightly curled toes, Hattie blowing on the bunched skin on the sole of Moses foot, the young boy giggling with pleasure.

“can I touch your right foot Hattie?” Moses asked. Hattie released her hold on Moses right foot and gave the boy her own left hind foot. Laughing, Hattie curled her toes, just as Moses had done. Moses gently drew circles on the sole of Hattie’s right foot with the forefinger of his right hand, the young bear giggling like a cub.

“That feels great!” Hattie laughed.

“the pads of your feet are rough,” Moses said.

“Yours were smooth,” Hattie replied, “you have cute paws and feet Moses.” Moses laughed and kissed Hattie’s nose.

“My feet know the touch of a bear’s,” he replied, “they stick very easily to a bear’s feet too.”

“Let’s both agree each has cute feet and paws, Moses said. Hattie grinned and kissed his nose.

“would you show me how your mama gave birth to your brother?” Moses asked. Hattie hesitated:

“I saw every minute of it,” she replied, “it was all groans, grunts and clenching of teeth. Then, then she braced her feet against the den roof a bit.”

“There is a den, a birthing den Ekaterina has for use of mamas to be. how if we go in there and you can show me,” Moses suggested, “and I can pretend to be a female bear delivering a cub too.” Hattie laughed at this, but agreed.

Moses and Hattie asked Ekaterina where her birthing den was, Ekaterina asking them why they wanted to use it. Moses told her, Ekaterina hugging the human and the bear in turn.

“I think Sally and Peter might want to hear that tale too Hattie,” Ekaterina said, “peter wanted to re-enact the birth of a bear cub ever since he heard Sally describe her experiences.”

“I’ve met Sally and Peter,” Hattie said, “Sally had something about her which made me think she was part Ursine, and now I know.”

“I’ll go find her,” Moses said, running away.

“he’s lovely,” Hattie said to Ekaterina.

“Moses is a lovely young man cub yes,” Ekaterina replied.

“”Peter won’t feel the same way Sally did when he re-enacts the birth of a cub,” Ekaterina mused, “Sally did it for a reason, Peter is just playing at it. Though I suppose, if Patch gets involved, Peter will feel what Sally felt.”

“I think Moses has cute hind feet Ekaterina,” Hattie said. Ekaterina smiled:

“yeah, I know,” she replied, “I rubbed his mama’s hind feet while she pushed and groaned while delivering him, I felt her toes curling and pads bunching as she strained with contractions, then I caught Moses on his way into the world. That was wonderful!”

Meanwhile, in another part of the house, Hope and faith stood toe to toe, shouting at each other. The argument had started when Faith found Hope playing with Sally. Sally and Hope were crawling about, each tickling the other’s toes. Faith remarked that Hope would do better not to get too close to the humans by tickling their toes, as humans caused her own paws to be set on the bridge too soon. Furious at her remarks, hope broke off her game, padded up to Faith and whacked her across her face with her paw.

“You disgust me!” Hope screamed. This grew into a shouting match, Faith denouncing Sally as horrible, that Kuwaizi’s birth was nothing but a sham, and that Hope was complicit in the deception of the whole community. Hope, apoplectic after fifteen minutes of this, wrestled Faith to the floor, just as Moses ran in,.

“What’s going on? “ he asked. Sally told him, Moses appalled and angry.

“Faith, get up, now!” Moses screamed at the half grown she bear. Faith got to her feet, and Moses whacked her hard on her nose, Faith squealing with pain.

“You know Hope’s not a lire, you know it Faith! You have met Kuaizi, you have met Matoskah, you know Jinghua died! Just because Hope is gentle and attracts others to her, that is no need to become jealous of her!”

“when Sushanti had Baako, Hope was there, all paws on with her and the cub, when Sally had Kuaizi, Hope was there again, I want to be at the birth of a cub, I want to see it and get paws on with it! But noone wants me there!” Faith screamed.

“You need to find your own path,” Moses said, “hope’s is clearly to help others have their cubs, indeed, mama Ekaterina is seriously thinking of training her up to help her. she’s already training Targon, with Mama Targon’s full knowledge.”

“You mean I might be able to help deliver cubs into the world?” hope asked, her argument with Faith forgotten for the moment.

“yes,” Moses replied, “I think mama Ekaterina is going to ask you to help her. she will maybe train you in re-enacting births too.”

“I have always wanted to do that,” Hope said, “ever since I saw Baako born. I’ve not yet asked Patch if I can feel what Sally felt though, I must ask him.”

“but I want that!” Faith roared, stamping her paws.

“find your own path Faith,” Moses replied, “don’t be envious of Hope because she’s found hers.”

“What brings you here Moses?” Sally asked.

“Oh,” Moses replied, Hattie and I were discussing the birth of her brother cub, and she was going to re-enact the birth of her brother for me, and we were wondering if you’d like to come with us and show Hattie how you delivered Kuaizi in the small den in Ekaterina’s lie up. We wondered if Peter would like to come along too.”

“Peter’s playing with the other cubs,” Sally replied, “but I’ll come and show you yes, Hope, maybe there, you can feel what it was like for me. Maybe get into the den and re-enact Kuwaizi’s birth for yourself.” Hope’s eyes lit up.

“Could I?” she asked, dancing on her toes, “I’d like that.” Faith looked down at her paws.

“So I’m not invited?” she asked miserably.

“if you can stop sniping at Hope for her success then yes come along,” Moses replied, “but if you can’t stop sniping, then no.”

“I’ll try,” Faith grumbled.

Sally, Hope, Hattie, Moses and faith padded to Ekaterina’s workplace where they found the den occupied.

The first they knew of this was a wail of agony, then panting and the sound of scrabbling toes as the mother to be fought for a foothold, then the sound of gripping claws and a squeak as the den took the full force of a mama bracing her feet against the left wall of the den to push her back hard against the opposite wall. Peter ran in, having heard about Sally’s re-enactment of Kuwaizi’s birth.

“oaoaoaoaoaoaaow! Oaoaoaoaoaoaaow! The mother screamed hysterically.

“Who’s in there?” Hope asked.

“Where the hell’s Ekaterina? I want Ekaterina here!” the mama screamed.

“Um, I don’t think she knows you’re here, let alone in labour,” Hope replied, “Lily, who is the father of your cub?”

“I’ll tell you if I get through this!” Lily growled, “right now, I want help! My cub’s hurting me!”

“We were hoping to re-enact a couple of cubbings,” Faith grumbled, “now you have got in the way!” Sally slapped Faith, while Hope crawled in to see Lily.

“it’s a bit cramped in here,” she observed, kissing the pads of Lily’s right hind foot as the mother bear relaxed her foothold on the right hand wall of the den.

“Can I help?” Hope asked. Lily groaned deeply.

“kissing my foot helped, I’m not alone now.”

“No, and I’ll help you, Sally will too, and Moses, and Hattie too. We’re all here for you Lily.”

“But Ekaterina isn’t, and if things go wrong, I’ll need her!” Lily whimpered.

“Nothing’s gone wrong yet,” Hope replied, “how bad are the pains?”

“Let me see, now fear is gone,” Lily gasped, waiting for another contraction. When it came, Lily moaned, wriggled, and puffed and blew a little, and curled her toes too, but there was none of the previous desperate bracing of her feet against den walls accompanied with hysterical screaming.

“now that’s better,” hope said, gently crawling up to Lily’s head and kissing her nose.

“Stay with me Hope,” Lily begged, Hope looking down at the mama bear’s huge paws and then up at her half closed eyes.

“I’ll stay,” Hope replied softly.

“Hope’s got all the fun!” Faith roared, stamping around the room.

“We can all see what’s going on in the den on this 360 display, it’s holographic, so you can see what’s happening from any angle. These cameras are amazing!” Sally said, tapping into a computer, an image of Lily and Hope in the den in 3 dimensions appearing on the floor in the middle of the room.

“You can see Lily’s hind feet, look, she’s curling her toes now!” Moses yelled, pointing to the hologram.

“it’s like we’re in there with her,” Hattie said, completely oar struck.

“Great isn’t it,” Sally replied, “I heard Charles Fullbeans talking about it, it would allow more realism in re-enactments, and also enable mothers to be monitored from all angles without the attendant being in the den if the mother to be didn’t want it.”

“You can see every pad, every toe, every muscle straining, everything, it’s amazing!” Moses exclaimed.

“Now let’s sit down and watch Hope deliver Lily’s cub shall we?” Sally asked.

“I can’t believe what I’m seeing,” Hattie whispered. The Hologram showed Lily rolling onto her back, then drawing up her hind legs. Lily, deep in labour now, grabbed her hind feet in her paws, desperately rolling from side to side as she moaned pitifully, then strained deeply into her bottom, ending her effort panting while thrashing at the air with her hind feet and forepaws. Lily strained harder than ever, her hind feet braced against the roof of the den, toes curled into the roof. Yowling, Lily relaxed her pressure on the roof of the den and splayed her hind legs, wriggling madly. Then, gasping, Lily rolled onto her back, grabbed her hind feet in her paws, rolled about, then let go, then splayed her hind legs as she pushed! Hope rubbed Lily’s right paw as she pushed deeply into her tail.”

“how cute, how lovely!” Hattie gasped.

“Lily will be okay with Hope there,” Sally replied, “I know she will be okay, for I’ve had Hope’s care during my labour, and I knew little of what to do. Hope helped me, she guided me, though she didn’t know she was doing so.”

“Lily’s now sitting up in the den, leaning down and cleaning herself,” Moses said, “her hind feet are huge! Her toes are flexing a bit now, and she’s panting a little, now she’s lifting her head and opening her mouth. her squeal of pain, so expressive, while she rocks back and fourth, her paws clamped over her belly! Lily’s now gasping and moaning, her eyes tightly shut and toes curled. Hope’s rubbing the pads of Lily’s right hind foot, and now massaging her curled toes. how cute, how very cute and kind and gentle, and everything sweet!”

“Lily’s now rolling forward,” Sally said, “ her head near the entrance to the den, Hope’s crawling round behind her, Lily now on her paws and knees, now she’s sitting back on her heels, I can see the sole of her right hind foot, and her backside pressing into her heels, Hope massaging the sole of Lily’s left hind foot, now digging her toes into the ball of Lily’s foot as Lily endures a contraction, Hope’s digging in hard, I think that’s an endorphin producing place. Lily’s straining hard, really pushing now, her bottom in the air, Hope rubbing the toes of her right hind foot, now hope’s kissing the heel of Lily’s left hind foot, now Lily’s lowering her head between her forepaws and panting, really panting hard.”

“why are you describing this, we can all see it!” Faith yelled.

“I can’t,” Ekaterina said.

“Oh, I didn’t see you there!” Faith yelped.

“Moses and Sally did,” Ekaterina replied, “I’m not going to get paws on if Hope’s doing a great job,” she added, “I learnt through getting my paws dirty, as it were, and so should she. I don’t think anything’s wrong, for if there was anything wrong, Lily would know, and would ask Hope to find help.”

“Now Lily’s splaying her hind feet and pushing. I can see her muscles straining as she’s pushing hard, really hard, harder still, go for it Lily!” Sally yelled, her toes curling into the tiles on the floor as she watched Lily straining into her tail.

“hooaoaoaoaoaoaoaoaoaooaw! Yaoaoaoaoaoaowwwaoaoaow! Ooaoaoaoaoaoaoaoaoaoaoaoaoaoah!” Lily screamed as she pushed. Then she closed her mouth and bore down hard into her tail, fluid exploding from her as she strained.

“I can see the cub’s paws now, and they are enormous paws too!” Moses said, “but the pads are facing up, not soles down.”

“something is wrong Hope,” Lily gasped, “I can feel something’s wrong!”

“Your cub’s coming backwards,” hope said, “I’ll find Ekaterina, I can’t deal with this.”

“But I want to push, now, oh god, now, right now! Eeeeeeeeeaoaoaoaow!” Lily roared, straining into her tail. Ekaterina opened a door in the back of the den and crawled into the small space. Seeing her via the light in the den, Hope sat back, whimpering with fear.

“it’s all right, I’ll tell you what to do, and you can help Lily,” Ekaterina said, while simultaneously stroking Lily’s right hind foot with her paw.

“how do we get the cub out?” Hope squeaked.

“the trick is to pull the cub into the world gently, help Lily, when she pushes, pull the cub down towards her heels. Go on. Hope gripped the cub’s hind feet, and when Lily pushed, she guided the cub out, Lily grunting with effort and pain.

“the cub’s bottom is coming out now,” Ekaterina said, “push Lily, push hard!” Lily pushed, and Hope felt resistance, then the cub slip free, Lily screaming and grunting as the cub’s body slid into the world.

“Can I catch my cub?” Lily panted.

“No Lily, not this time,” Ekaterina said gently, “Now push, push hard, this will hurt and be hard work.” Lily wriggled, and then sobbing, she bore down hard into her tail, yelling and screaming as she felt the cub’s body emerging.

“aaaaaow! God!Yaaaaw! Eeeeoeoeoeoeoeaowow!” Lily complained, Huuuuuauauauauuwuamph! She panted as she relaxed to ease the cub’s head into the world, Lily ended her labour by screeching as her body was stretched by the passage of her cub’s head.

“all done Lily, all done,” Hope wept.

“yes, all done Lily,” Ekaterina said softly, “you did well.

“I tried to turn right way round mama!” the cub yelled, Lily howling with emotion.

“wow, that was tense,” Sally gasped.

“You’re telling me!” Moses replied SIGHING WITHRELIEF and uncurling his toes from a crack in the tiles they’d found to cling to.

Lily collapsed onto the floor, Hope helping the cub to his mama’s head, Lily licking the cub dry and embracing him in her paws.

“Welcome to the world little one,” Lily said softly, the cub snuggling close to her, Lily sighing with relief and contentment.

“that was traumatic,” Lily sighed, “but it was amazing too.”

“I’ll never forget it,” hope said, kissing the hot damp pads of Lily’s right hind foot, then crawling out of the den after Ekaterina.

“That was amazing!” hope enthused. Ekaterina, sighing with relief, replied:

“yeah it was.”

“I can’t believe how tightly Lily’s toes curled Ekaterina, I’ve tried curling my toes like that, but I can’t do it, I just can’t!”

“Only when you give birth to a cub will you be able to curl your toes like that Hope dear,” Ekaterina replied.

“that was amazing Hope,” Sally said, “you did really well!”

“Lily did well too, she pushed the cub into the world Sally, I didn’t, though I would have liked to help her by doing so.”

“can I go in to see Lily?” Sally asked.

“yes,” Lily called from inside the den, “but it’s a squeeze in here!” Sally smiled and crawled into the den, coming face to face with Lily, the she bear touching noses with Sally.

“how was it?” Sally asked.

“Painful, hard, exhausting work,” Lily replied wearily, “I’m sure I’ve never pushed so hard to deliver a cub before today.”

“I know how it feels,” Sally said. then she laughed suddenly as Lily’s cub tickled the toes of her left foot with his tiny paw.

“your cub’s tickling my toes!” Sally laughed, curling her tickled toes, feeling them catch the cub’s tiny ones.

“You’ve got my paw!” the cub squealed.

“now let my cub’s paw go Sally,” Lily said, Sally doing so, the cub kissing the toes which had so recently held his paw.

“shuffle round, and sit down Sally,” Lily said, backing up and sitting back on her heels, “then you can stroke my cub, if he’ll let you.”

“Can we crawl through the back door and tickle Lily’s toes while she’s sitting back on her heels Ekaterina?” Hope asked.

“I wouldn’t,” Ekaterina replied, “though stroking her pads might be acceptable, try it Hope.” Hope crawled back in to the den through the door she’d left through half an hour before, seeing Lily’s back and below that, the soles of both her hind feet, toes relaxed. Hope crawled up to Lily and breathed on her pads, Lily wriggling a little and curling her toes slightly. Hope then gently massaged the heel pad of Lily’s right hind foot, Lily’s toes curling tighter and tighter as Hope’s paw stroked and massaged her pads.

“Stop it Hope!” Lily gasped, “my toes can’t curl any more to express my pleasure, but I want to curl them more!” Hope gently rubbed the bunched pads of Lily’s right hind foot, Lily whimpering as she struggled to curl her toes a little more than their full range of movement, Hope kissing the mama bear’s toes, Lily gasping and relaxing her effort.

“is that bear making you curl your toes like giving birth to me mama?” her cub asked. Lily smiled and replied:

“yes little one, but this time it’s noticeable, when I pushed against you, I didn’t notice my toes curling in pain, now I notice them, and the pleasure of Hope’s touch is balanced by the pain of keeping my toes curled.”

“Well don’t curl your toes then,” her cub suggested.

“it’s not that easy little one, you’ll find out soon enough,” Lily replied smiling.

“Maybe one day I’ll feel a mama bear curl her toes, and she’ll be pushing against a cub of mine?” Lily’s cub asked.

“Steady on!” Lily laughed, “you’re not yet on your paws, there’s time enough for that kind of talk.”

“Can I crawl round and touch your toes mama?” her cub asked. Lily smiled and agreed:

“come and feel them then little one,” she said, “and don’t you want milk now?”

“I’ll touch your toes, and you tell me if I want milk,” the cub said, “I think Hope could tell when you wanted to push by touching your toes.”

“that was because I was curling them in pain little one!” Lily laughed, “surely I can’t tell if you want milk by the touch of your paw on my hind foot?”

“I’ll try it,” the cub said, crawling round to his mama’s left hind foot, “I’ll touch your toes, there.” Instantly Lily’s toes curled fiercely round her cub’s, the she bear squealing with surprise at her reaction to his touch.

“My toes are out of control!” she screeched as her toes tightened their hold on those of her cub’s tiny paw.

“What do you think mama?” the cub asked.

“I think my toes are going to crush yours, sod the milk, my toes, my toes won’t release your paw!” Lily yelled, wriggling and tugging at her left hind foot.

“Relax mama,” the cub said gently, kissing his mama’s pads, Lily swallowing hard and fighting to relax. Finding she could, her toes uncurled, releasing her cub’s paw.

“I didn’t like that!” Lily whimpered.

“Well I did mama,” her cub said, kissing her pads once more, Lily bracing her paws on the floor and putting her head down between them to see her cub, even if he was upside down.

“but I crushed your tiny paw!” she whimpered.

“I liked it, it was fine,” the cub replied, “and no more did you crush my paw then than you did when you delivered me, now that was a squeeze!.”

“ Let me sit down properly,” Lily said, shuffling round in the den and sitting on her backside, her hind feet out in front, her cub clambering into her lap.

“My labour started hours ago,” Lily said, cradling her cub, who drank busily, “I felt the first contractions, and came in here to deliver my cub. I thought Ekaterina would be along soon, as I thought someone had seen me come in here and would alert her. Seems not. I was disturbed by little humans and a bear or two who wanted to re-enact the birth of a cub or two. You got a real eye full though I think.”

“yes, and it was wonderful,” Peter said, “thank you Lily for letting us be with you during your labour.”

“I hope it was worth watching,” Lily said smiling.

“It was!” Sally said, “and Peter will be re-enacting that, won’t you?” peter laughed and replied:

“No Sally I won’t, well not in public.”

“It’s okay to play at it,” Lily said, “and please Peter, have a go if you feel the need. After all, I’ll see it as celebrating the successful birth of my cub.”

“Okay,” Peter replied, “I will.”

“But do it properly, moan, groan, yell and curl your toes like you mean it,” Lily cautioned, “or I will be very angry!” Sally giggled, Peter grinned.

“I’ll do my best,” Peter replied smiling.

“Can I look at your hind feet?” Lily asked, as you lot got a good look at mine?” Peter and Sally laughed, Hope and Hattie smiling, all sitting down and letting Lily examine their hind feet. Lily settled her cub, then crawled from the den and washed herself before approaching the bears and children. She sat down, and one by one, they all sat in front of her, each unable to stop their toes curling with pleasure as Lily took their feet in her paws, stroking tops, soles and toes. Even Peter laughed like he’d not done since he was very young, curling his toes tightly with pleasure and emotion.

“You have expressive toes and soft pads Peter,” Lily said, “I wonder if you can curl your toes like I did?”

“I’d like to Lily,” peter replied, “I’d like to curl my toes like you did, and hold my feet with my hands too.”

“I heard your feet do not like your hands,” Lily said.

“When my fingers are massaging my toes or my heels, then my feet like them, but when they are gripping my soles, then my feet hate my hands, and my toes curl, and my feet push against my hands, and my hands pull against my feet,” Peter replied smiling.

“So it’s a real fight?” Lily asked. peter stretched the toes of his right foot Lily held in her paws, then curled them tightly, Lily rubbing the sole of his foot, feeling stretching skin, then bunching skin as he flexed his toes.

“yes it was,” Peter replied, “and this is everything I was taught to do with my feet, but never dared do in public Lily.”

“I played with my hind feet often while in my cage at the circus,” Lily replied, “my hind feet were good playthings for me. Play soothed my mind.”

“What other games did you play?” Peter asked, “could you play the stuck foot game alone?”

“I could,” Lily said, “bend my legs towards each other, so my feet touch, sole to sole, toes to toes, then lock my toes together, pressing heels firmly into place, and smoothing over with my paws to ensure a tight seal. Then it’s time to curl my toes a bit, as much as I can, and fight with my paws to free my feet. It takes some doing.”

“I’ll bet you rubbed the soles of your feet a bit,” Sally said. Lily giggled:

“I did,” she replied, “but my toes were stubborn, they wouldn’t let go of each other!”

“More to the point you didn’t want them to let go,” Hope said. Lily looked at her.

“yes,” she replied, “I had to rub the pads of my feet with my paws as much as I could to relax my toes, that took a long time. My toes relaxed, and I was then able to pry my heels and the balls of my hind feet free. It took ages! But it was lovely, felt great, and stretched my imagination, as well as strengthening my toes too.”

“Would you show us how you play that game?” Peter asked, “then we could play it too? We play two player stuck foot games, not single player. Please show us Lily.” Lily smiled and patted the top of the toes of Peter’s right foot with her paw:

“I’ll show you once I’ve examined Moses feet, Sally’s feet, and Hattie’s feet, and faith’s feet, oh and, and Hope’s too.”

“Good,” peter replied, his eyes shining.

“I could imagine these toes curling, and pads bunching as you crawl around, screaming and yelling your head off like I did peter,” Lily said, gently stroking the sole of Peter’s right foot, the young boy curling his toes with pleasure.

“You do have soft pads Peter,” Lily said, “soft pads, Just like your mama’s. I played with Jemma’s toes, she curled her toes, and held her feet in her hands, squeezing her heel pads and sole skin in her hands while curling her toes hard, just as she said she’d done in labour while giving birth to you Peter.”

“could you feel the dents in her pads from her desperately gripping fingers Lily?” Hope asked.

“I could,” Lily replied smiling.

“Are mine and mum’s feet similar then Lily?” Peter asked.

“yes,” Lily said, “and Hope will probably confirm that Sally’s feet are similar to yours Peter. You both have thickly padded heels and rather fleshy hind feet, your toes are also large, though your feet and Sally’s are small, hers slightly larger than yours at the moment Peter, though yours will outgrow hers.”

“At the moment, Sally can curl her toes around mine when our heels are on the ground,” Peter said, “we sometimes lock toes, and push are heels together. It’s lovely that.”

“It’s great we find such pleasure in our own company, and in the touch of paw on foot,” Moses said, “we need no computers, nothing like that, our minds, and bare hands and feet or paws and feet to play are all we need..”

“What name are you going to give your cub Lily?” Moses asked.

“Um, well, I haven’t thought yet,” Lily replied, “I’ll have to think a bit.”

“Who’s the sire of your cub?” Hope asked.

“Ebony,” Lily replied, “I didn’t want to say, just in case, well, in case the cub didn’t make it into the world alive. I would have gone back to him and told him of the devastating news, and we would have grieved in private you see. Now though, as the cub is fine, and I am fine, I can let the world know.”

“Watching you give birth to your cub was amazing Lily,” Hattie said. Lily smiled:

“I am glad you saw it,” she replied, “I want all the world to see the births of cubs.”

“Hope will re-enact the birth of your cub Lily,” Sally said, “I know she will, and Peter will too.”

“Why is it hope gets paws on all the time?” Faith asked, “I have never been invited to get paws on at the birth of a cub! Hope gets paws on all the time!”

“How would you like to be trained up to help mamas have their cubs Hope?” Ekaterina asked, “I mean properly.”

“I’d love it Ekaterina,” Hope replied, “would I get the chance to act out a cub’s birth too?”

“It’s part of the job,” Ekaterina replied, “you need to show mamas and their mates what a cub’s birth will look, feel and sound like, as best you can of course while not actually delivering a cub into the world that is.”

“So I get the chance to moan, kick, curl my toes and scream?” Hope asked.

“yes,” Ekaterina replied smiling, “that you do.”

“I’m looking forward to that already,” Hope replied. Lily explored the hind feet of the other bears and humans, and when all were happy with her exploration, in that it had been thorough and enjoyable by all, Lily got to her feet, picked up her cub, and walked from the birthing den. Ekaterina cleaned the den up, threw out all the waste, then washed her paws before resetting the den for future use. Sally and Peter examined each other’s feet, looking at pink pads and easily curling toes, and touching them too, ending up laughing as each tickled the other’s toes.

“that’s so cute to see,” Hope said to the two humans, who laughed at their own antics.

“What’s going on?” Ekaterina asked.

“Oh Peter and I are exploring each other’s hind feet,” Sally replied, “that ended in peter tickling my toes, and me tickling his.”

“that’s so sweet,” Ekaterina said.

“peter’s got smooth pads,” Sally said.

“So have you dear sister,” Peter replied, “your heel pads are soft too, the stuck foot game is going to be harder than ever to win now, my feet will stick to yours very well indeed.”

“I’ll get ready to re-enact Kuwaizi’s birth,” Sally said.

“Or I could re-enact yours Sally,” Jemma said, padding into the room.

“Would you do that mum?” Sally asked..

“I would, if I could get into the mood first,” Jemma replied, “I’d like to do so, and maybe put that on video too. I’m sure, if the spirits wish it, I will remember everything that happened then.”

“Can we check your feet for thorns?” Ekaterina asked. Jemma sat down on the rugs, Ekaterina checking her left foot for thorns, Hope checking her right. Jemma looked at the two bears, her eyes telling her she had given her means of mobility over to the control of two wild creatures, while her feet told her that those wild creatures had warm paws, and were very gentle, the feelings making her want to curl her toes, which she did, Hope smiling as she felt Jemma’s pads bunch up beneath her touch.

“Follow your paws,” Hope said to Jemma, who smiled.

“I will,” Jemma replied, curling her toes tighter and tighter, her toes curling as tightly as they had while she was pushing hard against contractions during Sally’s birth nearly ten years previously.

“oooooooaoaoaoah!” Jemma exclaimed as her toes curled tightly.

“It’s all right,” Ekaterina said, massaging the sole of Jemma’s left foot, Jemma stretching her toes, then when Ekaterina stopped massaging the sole of her foot, tightly curling them.

“this feels like everything I wanted to do with my feet, but stopped myself from doing as a young adult,” Jemma said, “though as a child I played with my toes, and explored my bare feet with my hands. That is why I used them to soothe me during my labour, they were my first pain relief, massaging my toes, like this. she leant forward, grabbed her bare right foot in her hands and massaged her toes and heel, Ekaterina getting paws on, hope seeing Jemma massaging and squeezing her relaxed toes with the fingers of her right hand, while the fingers of her left pressed into the heel pad of her right foot, gripping even more tightly every time she curled her toes, while her left, so recently massaging there now curled toes, joined her right hand in gripping her foot from the other side, the fingers of both hands holding her bare right foot in a desperate grip, while her toes curled desperately.

“wow, just wow!” Hope gasped, such expression in Jemma’s hands and feet, and I’m not yet looking at her face!” Jemma’s eyes were closed in concentration, her whole world focused through her fingers and the sole of her right foot.

“I’m glad I remained barefoot throughout my early life into adulthood!” Jemma whimpered, her fingers gripping her right foot harder and harder, as her toes remained curled. When they relaxed, so did she, massaging the toes, ball and arch of her foot with her fingers, only for the toes of her left foot to curl suddenly, Jemma squealing and grabbing her foot in her hands, holding onto it desperately as her toes curled tighter and tighter, her fingers massaging and squeezing, gripping and pressing her heel pads and sole as she obeyed her need.

“Wow this feels wonderful!” Jemma gasped.

“play like you’ve just discovered your feet Jemma,” Ekaterina said smiling.

“I am, I am!” Jemma replied.

“What is making her grip her feet like that Ekaterina?” Hope asked.

“I think it’s the need she felt when delivering her man cubs into the world,” Ekaterina replied, “Jemma’s feeling the need to relieve her discomfort, though when she does, she is feeling pure pleasure, rather than the dulling of the physical pain, as there is none, so she’s pleasuring herself really.”

“Oh okay,” Hope replied, “that’s nice isn’t it.”

“Nice?” Jemma gasped, “it feels wonderful! So this is what the urge to grab my feet resulted in without my labour pain. The pleasure was just about keeping labour pain bearable, but without the pain, the pleasure is amazing! I felt an uncontrollable need to curl my toes and hold my feet after playing with my toes for a bit,” Jemma explained, “then, then, my toes curled, and I had to hold my feet with my hands, no, embrace, grip, squeeze and hug my feet all at once with both hands, and press into the pads and soles of my feet with my fingers as my toes curled desperately. When my toes relaxed, I rubbed them with my fingers, as well as rubbing the sole of my foot too. then it was back to gripping my foot hard, as my toes went all curled again. Wow Ekaterina, just wow.”

“Great isn’t it,” Ekaterina said.

“it’s wonderful,” Jemma replied, “I suppose you community members, who are uninhibited about these things, get that feeling all the time, the uncontrollable need to play I mean.”

“yes,” Hope replied, “that is how we keep stuck foot games going for hours, one player’s need to play fuels the other’s need to play, and the glue gets stronger and stronger and stronger.” Jemma laughed delightedly.

“that’s lovely,” she replied, “I wish I could play like that normally.”

“You can, if you want it enough,” Lily said. Jemma looked at the mama bear.

“I saw you giving birth,” she said, “Lily, you were so calm during contractions, yes you screamed and roared, but you didn’t lose control.” Lily beckoned the mama human over, and when Jemma was sitting in her lap, Lily hugged her in her paws, then, as Jemma lay down on her back on the floor and drew up her feet and held them with her hands, Lily kissed the mama human’s gripping fingers and the pads of both her heels, Jemma smiling with innocent pleasure..

“You hold your feet like I did,” Lily said, “you are a mama bear in disguise I think. Can you roar like I did?” Jemma smiled, wriggled a little, took a deep breath, gripped her feet hard with her hands, curled her toes and roared lustily.

“yes, that’s it!” Lily laughed, clapping her paws, while Jemma, getting into her role, wriggled desperately, and groaned and roared some more. Then panting, she let go of both her feet, kicking furiously with both feet, Lily rubbing Jemma’s belly with her paw. then Jemma drew her feet up again, grabbed them in her hands and squealed with effort as she curled her toes tightly once more.

“Push mama Push!” Lily said, Jemma pushing against her hands with her feet, roaring with effort.

“this is wonderful, wonderful!” Jemma panted pushing hard with her feet, her hands flying free, Jemma laughing as her feet kicked free after a struggle where everyone, including Ekaterina, through Hope’s eyes, had seen Jemma’s muscles straining, her arm and leg muscles tensing and relaxing, her toes curling with effort, as well as absolute concentration etched on her face.

“that was amazing,” Hope said to Jemma.

“I know,” Jemma replied, “it felt wonderful at my end too. I felt like a child again, my hands were the enemy of my feet, a grasping enemy I had to defeat.” Peter laughed and hugged his mum.

“I’ve played that game too,” he said, “it’s wonderful isn’t it mum.” Sally grinned broadly.

“I like it too,” she said, Jemma smiling at them both.

“I taught you those hand and foot games,” Jemma replied, “I’m glad you still play them now.”

“I was growing out of them,” Peter admitted, “but now, now I’m growing back into them again.” .”

“how can a human walk on smooth pads?” Hattie asked, “there is no grip there at all.”

“I don’t know,” Jemma replied, “but we do walk on our bare feet without slipping about.”

“I think we bears and you humans have more in common than you think,” Hattie said, “we give birth the same way, we hug our cubs like you humans do, we even make the same sounds while giving birth.” Lily laughed and padded from the room with her cub.

“now what?” Jemma asked.

“Well I was going to re-enact Kuwaizi’s birth, but now I’ve seen the real thing, I don’t think I will,” Sally replied.

“I think Lily’s got soft warm paws,” Peter mused, “she touched my feet, and my toes curled with pleasure!”

“I think it’s time for you hope, to start learning about how a cub is born,” Ekaterina said to Hope, the half grown cub so excited, she turned cartwheels.

“I’m going, now!” Faith snapped, storming from the room.

“Oh dear,” Jemma said, “one unhappy bear.”

“she’s jealous, that’s all,” Moses replied, “she doesn’t like Hope for a lot of things, and being able to charm the cubs from their mother’s is just one.”

“Lily felt secure with Hope helping her,” Sally said, “that was lovely to see.”

“You should know,” Peter replied, “you were as close to Hope as any human has got so far.”

“She helped me by touching my feet when I was in pain yes,” Sally replied, “it felt wonderful!”

“I saw the video,” Peter replied, “it was lovely to see Hope helping you like she did.”

“She caught the cub as it emerged,” Jemma said, “I saw the video myself. At first I couldn’t believe what I saw, but now, now I know what happened. Sally’s always been mad about pandas, and was able to help one in the most amazing way.”

“Kuaizi is a lovely panda,” Sally said, “but unlike Patch, I didn’t actually give form to Kuaizi, I only pushed her into the world, Patch, and Kuruk after him, had to help their cubs become form. That’s why I don’t feel as motherly towards Kuaizi as Patch does towards Sita, or Kuruk towards Faith.”

“I think Lily gave birth to her cub with extraordinary grace and calm,” Jemma said, “she wasn’t the screaming wreck I was when I had Sally.”

“But she did moan, groan and pant,” Moses replied, “that shows her pain and discomfort doesn’t it?”

“yes it does,” Jemma replied, “but she didn’t lose control like I did. I spent a good five minutes rolling about on my back, thrusting at and kicking the air with my feet and curling my toes, legs drawn up while screaming lustily.”

“wow,” Hope said, “I’d like to have seen and heard that.”

“My toes curled like they did earlier,” Jemma replied, “though I could get back into that zone easily.”

“You are a young mama,” Hope said to Jemma, “you could curl your toes easily again.”

“I would show you how giving birth was for me,” Jemma said to the half grown cub, “I could help you understand what it is for older humans. Sally can help with younger humans too. We could also ask Janet.”

“seeing the cubs playing, seeing them crawl about, their tiny feet and paws exploring is so cute too,” Hope said.

“yes,” Jemma replied, “I remember seeing Peter and Sally crawling about together, they had very similar sized hands and feet. They were so cute!”

“Not so cute now though?” Ekaterina asked.

“Well yes, they’re cute now too, but bigger hands and feet they have,” Jemma replied, “though their games are more intricate, the stuck foot games especially.”

“Ekaterina,” Sally said, “would you like to get paws on with my hind feet?”

“Well would you like me to?” Ekaterina asked.

“I know I would like you to get paws on with mine,” Peter said.

“Okay, I’ll get paws on with Sally’s feet, then yours Peter,” Ekaterina replied smiling.

In another part of the house, some hours later, Ekaterina and Hope sat in the warm water of Ekaterina’s birthing pool, talking over Hope’s impending study of birth and labour.

“I think you need to speak to Snowdrop first,” Ekaterina suggested, “she is a similar age to you, and can describe her labour quite well. Then you could ask Lily, and then Janet, Sally and Jemma.”

“Can I ask you?” Hope enquired.

“Well, um, ah, uh, yes, okay,” Ekaterina replied, covering her mouth with her paw.

“how was it for you Ekaterina?” Hope asked. Ekaterina wriggled uncomfortably, the water splashing around her as she slapped it with her free paw, the one not covering her mouth.

“If you don’t want to tell me Ekaterina, I understand,” Hope said softly to the distressed mama bear.

“I’ll get snowdrop,” Ekaterina replied, scrambling from the pool and over to the waterproof phone. Calling snowdrop, Ekaterina could hardly keep the distress out of her voice as she asked her to come to the birthing pool. Snowdrop, thinking the worst, ran in as if her feet were on fire five minutes later.

“What?” she asked, looking round anxiously.

“Ekaterina wants me to hear tales of labour and birth,” Hope said, “I asked her about her labours, but she got upset and called you,.”

“My tale is a scary one,” Snowdrop replied, “I was a young mama, too young really Hope.”

“but Kamchatka’s a lovely bear, a lovely cub!” Hope replied, “you did a good job with her Snowdrop.”

“yeah,” Snowdrop replied, “but I crawled to Patch while in the midst of my labour, screaming and crying like a cub. I shouldn’t have gone to him, I should have suffered on my own Hope. I should have been told to scream and curl my toes through the agony and be left alone to fight for my cub.”

“You think you should have been punished?” Hope asked.

“Though I would not change anything for the world, back then, well, Innokenti and I were just playing, and then, then, when the labour started, it was not play, I knew it was not play,” Snowdrop replied, “Hope, when you see Kamchatka’s birth video, you will see a cub giving birth to a cub. me screaming, crying, squealing and roaring like the cub I was back then.”

“Where did Ekaterina go?” Hope asked, looking round the room.

“I think you frightened her off,” Snowdrop laughed.

“I shouldn’t have asked her about her labour, that’s what did it!” Hope whimpered, “Oh dear Snowdrop, I’ve blown it!”

“I’ll tell you about mine,” Snowdrop said, “I will show you everything on that video, including my rejection of Kamchatka.”

“But you haven’t, you love her!” Hope replied, staring at snowdrop.

“now I do, but in the aftermath of my labour, I didn’t know what to do, and pushed her away,” Snowdrop replied, “though thanks to Sita and Patch, I was given the time I needed, the guidance too.”

“you’re a good mama now though,” Hope said, “I think it was Kamchatka who brought Anernerk to you wasn’t it? You welcomed Anernerk with gentle paws and that shows what mama you truly are.”

“I feel ashamed of my labour, of screaming and crying like a cub,” Snowdrop replied.

“I know I would if I was in your paws,” Hope said, looking down at Snowdrop’s paws.

“I will curl my toes and crawl about when watching that video,” Snowdrop said, thrusting her paw into Hope’s.

“I haven’t seen your cub’s birth video yet,” Hope said.

“Well I scream like I am injured, no, worse than that,” Snowdrop replied, “I can’t scream like that again, well unless I have another cub maybe.”

“You both came through it fine,” Hope said.

“I did everything wrong though,” snowdrop yelled, “I pushed out of time, I rolled about and kicked and curled my toes, screaming and yelling my head off.”

“You were frightened I don’t doubt,” Hope replied gently, “”I’m sure I’d have done the same as you if I was in your paws.”

“No Hope,” snowdrop replied, “you’d never have got pregnant in the first place. You’re too sensible for that.”

“I can do silly things too,” Hope replied.

“you mean?” snowdrop asked, staring at Hope, her mouth gaping.

“No, not that,” Hope replied grinning.

“Oh thank goodness for that,” Snowdrop replied, “you’re even younger than me when I had Kamchatka, having a cub at your age would kill you Hope.”

“I’ve wanted to feel how it is to be in labour for a long time now,” Hope replied, “but Patch would never show me. He refused point blank.”

“I’m not surprised,” snowdrop said, “labour is, is, is the need to give yourself up to pushing more deeply into your tail, no, into the soles of your feet and your toes than you ever have before. It’s all consuming Hope, totally and utterly consuming. You push and scream, strain wriggle and roll about, each huge effort seemingly getting you little further than the last one. Each effort out of proportion to the progress the cub makes towards being born.”

“Oh dear,” Hope whispered.

“I can’t do it justice,” Snowdrop replied, “the pain, the fear, the effort, the aching paws and feet from curling my toes so tightly, my sore throat from screaming and roaring, my sore insides from pushing, the sweat, the tears, the mess, everything. Though, saying all that, I’d go through it all again, it was magickal too.”

“Doesn’t sound it,” Hope replied.

“it was,” Snowdrop replied, “when I could feel my cub coming into the world, it was wonderful then.”

“Kuruk know thing too Hope,” Kuruk said, padding into the room.

“What are you doing here Kuruk?” Hope asked. Kuruk grunted as he sat down in the birthing pool.

“Kuruk hear Hope cub learning about birth of cubs and all that,” Kuruk replied, “Kuruk want tell his story too, how feel give birth to faith cub. Also he hear Sally cub want show how she deliver Kuaizi into world too, now Kuruk want make sure Hope no overdo things, and that sally no overdo things either.”

“Soppy Kuruk!” Hope laughed.

“Kuruk concerned that all,” Kuruk grunted, “but if you no want me here, I go.”

“No Kuruk, stay please,” Hope said, touching her sire’s left hind foot with the toes of her paw beneath the water, Kuruk catching the toes of her small paw in his large toes.

“I’ll bet these toes holding my paw curled tightly while you pushed to deliver Faith,” Hope said. Kuruk smiled:

“They did,” he replied, “and Kuruk want show Hope how they curl big time too.”

“I saw the videos,” Snowdrop said, “Kuruk, you have big feet and paws, and when you opened your mouth to scream and roar your pain, you have a big mouth and huge teeth!” Kuruk smiled broadly, Snowdrop feeling her toes curling with emotion.

“Want a hug Snowy cub?” Kuruk asked. snowdrop, whimpering with fear at her feelings, found herself snuggling up to Kuruk, the huge male bear’s paws enveloping her in a bear hug which she found she more than wanted. As her need grew, Snowdrop buried her paws in the warm fur of her benefactor, Kuruk embracing her tightly.

“lovely isn’t it,” Hope said. snowdrop, now crying, buried her face in Kuruk’s warm fur, The huge male bear rubbing her back with his paw. Leaning over, Kuruk blew gently, Snowdrop laughing as his breath tickled the toes of her right foot.

“My aim good then?” Kuruk asked. Snowdrop wriggling with excitement, replied that it was.

“You still cub at heart,” Kuruk grunted.

“You tickling my toes with your breath felt wonderful Kuruk!” Snowdrop exclaimed. Hope giggled cubbishly.

“I know how that feels,” she said, “it’s great.”

“Kuruk need be near cubs now,” Kuruk grunted, “mama Anook die earlier today.” Hope stared at him.

“Oh dear,” she said, “poor mama. I’m sorry Kuruk, and I will speak plainly, all I remember of her is a screaming rage with heavy slapping paws.” Kuruk looked at his daughter cub.

“Anook died from her rage,” he replied, “the spirits told Kuruk thing.”

“How do you feel about that?” snowdrop asked.

“Sad for Anook,” Kuruk replied, “she good bear at beginning, but she let her anger at a world she no understand consume and ate her. She gone now.”

“She cursed you for delivering Faith into the world didn’t she Kuruk,” Hope said faintly.

“Anook went into woodlands and tried asking spirits to cure me of my belief,” Kuruk grunted, “Simba Kizungu told me that, and everyone knows he never comes back because of what he did on this side of the bridge.”

“Anook died of her anger?” Hope asked.

“yes,” Kuruk grunted.

“it is said you were an angry bear once Kuruk,” snowdrop replied, “so why did you not die?”

“Kuruk furious with humans for taking faith cub,” Kuruk grunted, “it when he meet Patch that he become less angry, then, well, Patch help Kuruk through anger, then make him like cub, then teach him how do what he want most in world. Kuruk not angry bear really. He like mama Kamchatka, soft bear.”

“I know Patch can move Kuruk to tears just by touching the sole of his foot,” Hope said, “I’ve heard of it, though can’t remember seeing it ever.”

“That is so cute,” snowdrop replied.

“Kuruk want cuddle up with cubs now,” Kuruk grunted, “want embrace cubs, play with them, crawl with them and see them born, he see Anook die, and that horrid, he hold her in his paws, and she die of anger, screaming horrid shit at me for being in with the spirits, as she put it. Then she clenched her teeth, curled her toes and collapsed. Anook now gone and Kuruk bury her in woods. Now he want be with cubs, and when he heard Sally cub, and Hope cub playing at having cubs, he want give his story too, and re-enact birth of Faith cub, and see Sally and Hope pretend re-enact a cub’s birth too.”

“Sally was going to show me how it was for her,” Hope replied, “but then I got talking to Ekaterina, as she wants me to be part of her team, but then, then I asked Ekaterina about her own labours, and she got shaky, and ran off, and now it’s all gone wrong Kuruk!” Kuruk settled Snowdrop down on the ledge and hugged Hope, who was crying freely now.

“Ekaterina had hard time of labour with Sam cub,” Kuruk grunted, “she have lots of issues, not all related to his birth. Now patch and she have to get things together. How if you ask snowdrop how she deliver cub into world, or Kuruk tell you how it feel for him. It hurt Hope, but it good feeling when pushing, pushing was so good!”

“I saw the video,” Hope said, “but, well,,,”

“You want Kuruk re-enact it, now?” Kuruk asked. Hope looked down at her paws.

“I can’t ask it,” she mumbled.

“But Kuruk want do thing, he want celebrate birth of cubs.”

“Can we see you out of the water Kuruk?” Hope asked, “see you from your nose to your paw pads?” Kuruk clambered onto another ledge, and got down on paws and knees, his feet and paws half covered by the water, the heels of his hind feet clear of the water, whereas his toes were covered, Hope flicking water onto his heel pads, then blowing into the shallow water next to his heel, making Kuruk laugh and wiggle his toes.

I wonder if someone can help me?” someone asked. Hope looked up from where she’d been closely studying the rather water wrinkled sole of Kuruk’s right hind foot. what she saw made her scream with fear!

“What the hell is that?” she asked. Into the room came the strangest creature Hope had ever seen. It was a flat bear, at least that’s what it looked like. The bear had a body, but it was squashed completely flat. The bear was wriggling along like a snake. And she looked as if the effort cost her dearly.

“I need water, water to bulk out this body!” the bear gasped, wriggling towards the place where Hope stood in the water.

“Go away you horrid thing!” she squealed. The flattened bear flopped into the water, and before Hope’s eyes, the bear’s body began to soak up the water. The water in the pool was sucked into the bear, and she looked more relieved with every passing minute.

“who the hell are you?” Hope demanded of the female bear, who was now very fat indeed, the last of the water in the pool being absorbed into her paw pads, as she padded around the pool, her pads soaking up the water like huge fat sponges. When she was quite done, she shook herself, the water, which had collected in her legs and paws, making them look grotesquely fat and unwieldy, flowing throughout her body, the bear finishing off her task by rolling onto her back and stretching out her legs, her paws and feet huge to Hope, who stared in horrified fascination.

“her paws are even bigger than Kuruk’s!” Hope gasped.

“now, that’s me presentable,” the bear said, getting to her feet and shaking herself, her lifeless fur coming to vivid life as she shook herself from nose to toes, actually lifting each foot off the floor and shaking it, flexing her toes as she did so. Bouncing on her toes a bit, the mama bear sighed deeply with contentment. padding to Kuruk, who wept softly into the now dry tiles, the mama bear knelt and kissed the top of Kuruk’s head as if he were newborn.

“I’m back Kuruk dear,” Mama Kamchatka said, nuzzling her son cub’s ear.

“How you come back?” Kuruk asked.

“With a little help from my adopted cub,” Kamchatka replied smiling, “but the body he found, well, that had been run over by a truck, hence why it was so flat. Patch asked me to find a pool, to make like a snake and find a pool in which to be reborn, so I found one.”

“I found the sight of you padding round, your pads soaking up the water very interesting indeed,” snowdrop said.

“yeah, it was,” Kamchatka replied. Now though, I’m here, and fat, and best of all, I have my lovely paws and feet back. I’ve not played with my toes in ages! I used to love the feeling that gave me!”

“I know,” Kuruk replied, looking up into his mother’s face.

“I’m here to nurture the cubs, to help Sita with her playgroup,” Kamchatka said.

“My cub has the same name as you,” snowdrop said.

“And that is a good thing,” Kamchatka said, “but my real name is not Kamchatka at all, I remembered it while struggling into my body, after having forgotten it for all these years. My mama called me Anook when I was a cub, as I used to mother anything on four paws. Anook, late Kamchatka, suddenly looked very sad, “Kuruk,” she said to her eldest son cub, “do you know why I was so scared during the first year of your life?” Kuruk looked up into his mother’s face, for she was larger than him now.

“Why mama?” he asked, his voice sounding like that of a cub, the cub Kuruk felt he truly was.”

“I lost my first cub, well he wasn’t mine really to lose, when I was four months old. I’d found a starving little cub on the track, and my mama wouldn’t feed him, no matter how I pleaded. She knew he was sick I suppose, but back then I knew no better. I used to spit milk into an old bucket I found and take it to him in a cave I’d found for him. He was a very weak cub, and my mama didn’t like me going there, but strangely she didn’t stop me. I gave the cub some of the milk I didn’t drink, half my milk as it were. The cub died a month after I found him, for some reason he didn’t live, though I tried to save him. So when I had my own cub, I was so worried the same would happen, but of course it’s so different.”

“I’ll bet the cub died from drinking sour milk,” Hope said.

“no,” Anook replied softly, “he died because he didn’t have a mother to look after him. We spent ages cuddled up together, he was weak, not ill as such. I tried to feed him, but my donated milk wasn’t enough for him. I miss him even now.”

“he’ll come to hug you one day,” Kuruk said softly.

“I do hope so,” Anook said.

“I want to hug you,” Hope said to the massive mama bear.

“You were fearing me a minute ago,” Anook said.

“I feared your forming, not you, it’s those paws, they look so comforting,” Hope said, “rather like my sire Kuruk’s, big, and fat padded, and big toes, and just a whole lot of cuddle. Even Kuruk’s hind feet look like they could be gentle.”

“they can be, I know,” Anook said, “now Hope, come for a hug if you want.” Hope crawled to the mama bear, and scrambled into her lap, her fur warm with pads huge and comforting.

“now I think you like that,” Anook said, Hope snuggling into the warmest fur apart from Patch’s, she’d ever buried her paws in.

“How did you become so large?” snowdrop asked Anook.

“I filled out with the water of the birthing pool,” Anook replied, “I had to find a pool where birth was possible, and I found one.”

“All the water is gone!” Hope exclaimed.

“yeah, I know, sorry about that,” Anook replied smiling.

Ekaterina padded into the room, and stopped dead at the side of the pool.

“there’s no water in here!” she exclaimed.

“I, um, drank it all,” Anook replied smiling. Ekaterina stared sightlessly towards the voice:

“ma, I mean, um, who is that?” she cleared her throat, embarrassed at how she nearly addressed the newcomer.

“You were right first time,” Anook said, “but I am not in the body in which you knew me Ekaterina dear.”

“what? How?” Ekaterina asked.

“I needed to come back to guide the paws of the cubs,” Anook replied, “also, to guide the paws of my cubs too.”

“I have gone off the rails a bit mama,” Ekaterina admitted.”

“I know Ekaterina dear,” Anook replied, “but you are making strides now to find the right path with Patch’s help I think.”

“yes, it’s hard,” Ekaterina replied, “we’ve, well, been talking about Sam’s birth and all that. Patch knows now how I felt throughout it, I opened up to him, and he understood.”

“Patch tried to help another bear too, but she was numb to his paws,” Anook said sadly, “she died hating her mate for his belief. She is unable to set paw across the bridge like I did, as she is in another place where noone can reach her.”

“she try turn me from the spirits,” Kuruk grunted, “but Kuruk know the truth of thing, Faith proof of that. Now you come back too mama Anook.”

“Is it strange that my name is the same as your mate’s?” Anook asked. Kuruk smiled:

“You fit it better,” he replied, “you mama to all cubs, she gruff hard pawed bear really, angry and bitter she was.”

“I’m sorry she turned angry,” Hope said, “when I heard my mama had died, I felt nothing much. All she meant to me was hard paws and lots of screaming and yelling at Kuruk.”

“She wanted Kuruk to be a gruff hard bear, and when he wasn’t, she didn’t like it one bit,” snowdrop replied.

“Can I get paws on with you mama?” Ekaterina asked.

“yes,” Anook replied, Ekaterina touching her paw, then her face, then her belly, and down to her left hind foot.

“You’re fat like Nanuq was when he got into that inflatable suit thing,” Ekaterina said.

“Mine isn’t air though, it’s flesh, I’m a fat bear now, before, well I was just large.”

“I like these big paws and feet,” Ekaterina said, “very fitting for a big mama.”

“What are we going to do about the water in the pool?” Hope asked.

“Refill it of course,” Anook said, padding to the taps and filling the pool with water. Sitting back down, she looked at her eldest cub.

“I remember examining you from nose to pads when you were just born,” Anook said, “you were handsome then, and now an even more handsome bear Kuruk.”

“mama Anook, you do best thing for me you could while we together when Kuruk young bear. You teach him be good bear, even though you shit scared, Kuruk grateful for that.”

“You were a caring cub,” Anook said, “you seemed to know I was scared furless.”

“Why did you run off, leaving Kuruk alone Anook?” hope asked.

“I don’t rightly remember if it was a conscious choice,” the mama bear replied, “I just fled one day, and have regretted it ever since. I was young, far too young to have a cub of my own. I knew little, and seeing Kuruk helpless in my paws was frightening. I didn’t know what to do, but I knew killing Kuruk wasn’t an option.”

“I know that feeling too well,” Snowdrop said.

“I believe you do,” Anook replied, “I had noone like Sita to guide me though. I just, well followed my thoughts. Of course I should have followed my paws, but we’re all wiser after the fact.”

“Following your paws is what you did after you came here,” Hope replied, “outside the community, the spiritual dimension is not so strong, or so I’ve heard. That was why Patch was elevated to more than leader of this community. He followed his paws from a small cub. now I can’t say he was a tiny cub, for I don’t know, he might have been a large cub, making his mama push and heave, scream and roar to deliver him, but he had his paws on the right path from the start.”

“I know Indigo’s birth spurred Patch to investigate why his mama made the sounds she did, and ultimately what caused her to reject her first born cub.” Anook said, “I saw that from where I was on the other side of the bridge.”

“Did you know Indigo in his spirit life?” Hope asked.

“I did,” Anook replied, “though now he’s happier.”

“Patch said Indigo had a need to get back to him,” Hope replied softly.

“Patch helped Indigo, and helped me too,” Anook replied, “he is truly Tornassuk.”

“I wonder how Patch is getting on meeting his community,” Kuruk grunted.

“I’m sure they’re loving him from his nose to his toes,” Anook replied.

Meanwhile, in Lily’s lie up, she fed her cub, Patch padding in on his rounds of the community to meet those he led so they could get used to his new fur and paws.

“Hi Lily, and, oh! You have a cub!” Patch exclaimed as he walked into the lie up.

“uh, yeah,” Lily replied, staring down at the cub as if the fact of his being was news to her also, “I can’t quite believe it myself.”

“when?” patch asked, peering closely at the nursing bundle of fur.

“about two hours ago, I thought you’d all be watching the birth, Moses, Sally, peter, Faith, Hope and Jemma did,” Lily replied yawning expansively.

“No,” Patch replied, “I’d love to have seen the birth, now I can see that is. Was Ekaterina there? who helped you? If anyone did that is?”

“Hope helped me, with Ekaterina directing things,” Lily replied, “though Ekaterina never got paws on.”

“I’m glad you had an easy time of delivering your cub,” Patch said. Lily snorted:

“Easy time?” she asked, “he came out backwards!”

“Oh, shit,” Patch replied, his paw flying to his mouth, “oh, sorry.”

“I think you should watch the birth of my cub,” Lily said, “it’s, um, interesting.”

“I shall,” Patch replied, shaking himself, “sorry Lily,” he continued, “I’m usually so up on these things, who’s giving birth, who’s pregnant and all, but lately, well,,,” he paused.

“You have had other things to deal with,” Lily replied, watching as her cub crawled towards Patch.

“yes,” Patch replied.

“I don’t think you want to get too close to him,” Lily said to her cub, Patch sitting down when he caught sight of the cub. Lily’s cub first found Patch’s right foot, touching the sole pad of the huge bear’s foot with his paw, Patch curling his toes in response to the cub’s touch. Then, sitting down, he reached up, grabbed Patch’s toes in both paws and hauled himself onto his hind feet, Patch stretching his toes to give the large cub some leverage.

“Thank you,” the cub said, Patch reached down with his paws and rubbed the cub’s back, the cub holding onto the toes of his right hind foot with both paws, as the toes of his own hind feet curled into the rugs at Patch’s touch.

“that feels wonderful!” the cub said, Patch leaning forward and kissing the paws which held the toes of his right foot so tightly, the cub curling his toes even more tightly into the rugs, then relaxing his toes and letting go of Patch’s, Patch lifting the cub off his feet and laying him on his back in his lap, the cub kicking excitedly with all four huge feet.

“Rub my belly please!” the cub pleaded, Patch rubbing the cub’s belly, then blowing on the pads of Lily’s cub’s paws, Lily’s cub giggling with pleasure.

“You like my paws?” the cub asked.

“I was wondering if you liked my hind feet, the way you were holding onto my toes,” Patch said.

“your hind feet remind me of mama Lily’s,” the cub said, “she curled her toes and squeezed my paw you know. It felt wonderful!”

“mama Lily had to curl her toes to help give birth to you,” Patch said.

“I know,” the cub replied, “her toes curled because she was feeling frightened I think.”

“Partly that yes,” Patch replied, “but also because she was in pain.”

“I felt your pads bunch up like mamas when I touched the bottom of your foot,” the cub said, “is that because you liked my touch?”

“yes,” Patch replied, “I think you curled your toes into the rugs when I kissed your paws?”

“I did,” the cub replied, “then, then I let go of your toes with my paws, and let go of the rugs with my hind feet too, and you lifted me up off the floor, and I swam through the air with my paws and feet, now I’m here!”

“You are indeed,” Patch laughed.

“Does Ebony know I’ve had a cub yet?” Lily asked, “won’t it confuse my cub to meet two males?”

“No and no,” Patch replied, “I’ll call Ebony and make sure your cub knows whom his sire is.”

“Bet my sire isn’t as playful as you are though,” the cub said.

“Get away from here Patch!” Lily yelled.

“No!” Lily’s cub squealed, “I want him here still!”

“Well I want you to go Patch, for you will confuse my cub!” Lily roared.

“I think your cub is more like Patch anyway,” Ebony said, padding in after hearing the squeals of a newborn cub while he was passing the lie up, “didn’t you tell me you wanted no contact with me after mating Lily? Even when I protested I wanted to be with you at the birth of any cubs sired by me?” Lily opened her mouth, then snapped it shut.

“Well didn’t you?” Patch asked. Lily mewed that she’d said something of the sort, but regretted it when labour started, and she’d had help from Hope and Ekaterina. Then she’d realised she needed another set of paws to help her.” Ebony scowled at Lily, stepped round Patch, and cuffed her across her face with his paw.

“You wanted sex from me, that was all!” Ebony screamed, “I gave you that, but would have given you much more. You didn’t want me at the birth of the cub, so you didn’t tell me you were in labour! I would have held you while you strained and pushed, screamed and roared, curled your toes and beat the walls of your den, but no, you let me live ignorant!”

“I should have told you I was in labour,” Lily mumbled.

“I can’t hear you,” Ebony snapped, “Lily, speak up.”

“I said I should have told you I was in labour,” Lily repeated testily.

“Now what do I do?” Ebony asked.

“how about getting paws on with your son cub?” Patch asked, lifting the cub off the floor and passing him to Ebony, who’d sat down beside him. Patch, placing the cub in Ebony’s lap, watched as Ebony embraced the confused cub, then, as the cub recognised the comfort of his sire’s paws, the large form began to snuggle up to him.”

“You helped create him,” Patch said softly to Ebony, who fought back tears.

“it’s okay to cry Ebony,” Patch said, Ebony sobbing with joy at the life he held in his paws.

“I wish I could have done this when Indigo was born,” Ebony sniffed, “but Aga prohibited it, and, and, left my cub to die in the clearing.”

“I know Ebony,” Patch replied softly, “now though, you have your cub here.”

“I would re-enact the birth of our cub for you,” Lily blurted, “Ebony, I would do all that, and you can be paws on. I’d even take harsher pain and harder straining to deliver my cub the second time around as punishment.” Lily looked hard at Patch, who shook his head.

“I won’t, though I could,” he replied, “for the offence was not against me. Only if Ebony wishes it will I punish you in that way.”

“Can I see the video of my cub’s birth?” Ebony asked.

“yes,” Lily replied, “I’ll make sure you see it all. Indeed, if we go into the birthing room, we can see it in three dimensions on the floor of that room.”

“I have heard of such things,” Ebony replied, “though I thought you had to wear glasses for such things?”

“No not this,” Lily replied.

“let’s sit and watch this here,” Ebony said.

Lily and Ebony sat down beside each other and watched the video, from the first scene, the empty room, to Lily padding in, clearly in discomfort, then crawling into the den and settling down on her side to rest. After a few minutes, the on screen Lily, clenched her teeth, breathed hard and pawed at her belly with her paws, thrusting at the air with her hind feet. Then she braced her feet and paws against the den wall in front of her, gripping hard with the toes of all four paws, while she screamed her protest at the pain of labour. Then Hope crawled in, and Ebony found he couldn’t see any more of the video due to tears which blinded him. Sobbing, he hugged Lily, holding her tight as her recorded agonised cries filled the room.

“it hurt you so much,” Ebony sobbed. Lily buried her face in his chest fur.

“yes it did,” she replied, “I screamed and cried like a cub one minute, then roared and growled like a mama the next.”

“the cub’s coming now,” Hope said on the video, Ebony wiping his eyes. Lily rewound the video, watching her cub seemingly sucked back into her body. This made her feel very uneasy indeed. Lily on screen sat back on her heels, Ebony getting a view of her back and the soles of her hind feet, her heels slightly hidden by her buttocks. Then Lily leant forward, until she supported herself on knees and paws as she pushed down into her tail, Ebony seeing a rear view of Lily’s backside as she strained and pushed, Ebony seeing straining muscles and splayed hind legs. The camera cut to a shot of the sole of Lily’s right hind foot as she pushed, Ebony seeing curling toes and bunching, sweating pads. Then he saw his cub emerging backwards, the shot obscured by Hope’s head as she reached up to cradle the emerging cub, Lily screaming and roaring, Hope encouraging her to push gently to deliver the cub’s body, then to pant to allow the passage of its head. Ebony looked at Lily in the flesh.

“I could get into that posture now,” Lily said.

“but the camera missed the whole thing!” Ebony replied miserably.

“I know,” Lily replied, it’s, um, hard for me too. I wanted to catch my cub, but I couldn’t.”

“I tried to turn round mama, but I got squeezed and forced down that tunnel!” her cub said.

“I know little one,” Lily replied, “I pushed hard too!”

“I know, you squashed me!” her cub said.

“I think you did very well Lily,” Ebony replied smiling.

“I wish you could have seen the birth of my cub!” Lily yelled, “bloody cameras! They can get a shot of my curling toes, but not see through Hope’s head!” Ebony laughed despite his attempt not to, Lily screaming at him, setting her cub down, before attacking him in a fit of peak, Ebony and she rolling about on the floor, Lily pummelling Ebony’s body. Patch strode up and put an end to the fight by splitting up the combatants by knocking Ebony off his feet, and more gently stretching Lily out on her back on the floor. Ebony picked himself up and faced off to Patch, who gently lifted the smaller bear off his feet and laid him out with the most tenderness he could muster.

“Now you two,” patch said smiling down at both of them, “don’t quarrel my dears.”

“You completely tied my paws!” Ebony whimpered.

“Your paws are free, look!” Patch replied, manipulating Ebony’s paws, then tickling the male bear’s hind feet, Ebony laughing like a cub.

“I want my feet tickled too!” Lily’s cub yelled. Patch smiled and pushed the cub onto his back, and tickled his toes, the cub squealing delightedly.

“now let’s name this cub,” Patch said, “what would you want him named mama Lily>?”

“I think you should name him,” Ebony said. Lily got to her feet and laid her paw on Patch’s shoulder.

“yes,” she replied, Patch, you name our cub.”

“I think his name should be Orbon, to keep a good name going. He will be told of the bear who carried that name before him, and he will learn of his deeds, but of course, that does not mean he should be held to the ideals Orbon had, it will be his name to b called by until the end of his days.”

“so I am Orbon now then?” the cub asked. Patch smiled and replied:

“yes little Orbon you are.”

“I’m glad I have a name,” the cub said. Patch smiled and kissed little Orbon’s nose.

“Can I groom you little one?” patch asked. Orbon smiled broadly and nodded.

“I’d like that,” he replied. Patch groomed little Orbon from nose to tail, the cub giggling throughout. Orbon’s mirth increased when Patch began gently licking and rasping his pads with his tongue and teeth, then blowing on them to dry them, just as his mother Lily would do, little Orbon shrieking with laughter every time Patch blew on his pads to dry them.

“You can wash my paws every day!” Orbon laughed.

“You’ll be washing your own soon,” Patch replied.

“No! I want you to!” Orbon yelled, dabbing Patch on his nose with the toes of his right hind foot, Patch catching the cub’s tiny toes in his mouth and gently closing his teeth down on them, Orbon squealing with concern, Patch letting go and kissing his pads, Orbon laughing merrily as he realised Patch wouldn’t hurt him at all, and knew how to be very gentle.

“You look so natural doing that,” Lily said, “Patch, the stories speak of you grooming Jess in the same way. Did you groom her like you have Orbon?”

“I did sometimes,” patch replied, “though I also used soap and water, using my paws like humans use their hands. Though sometimes, when jess asked me to treat her like I would a younger cub, I did, grooming her like I would a smaller bear cub. his eyes far away in another place, Patch smiled with memory.

“You’d do it again wouldn’t you patch,” Ebony asked. Patch nodded.

“She’s my cub,” he replied, “I was her guardian for so long, nothing can change that.”

“you would make a good mother for cubs patch,” little Orbon said.

“thank you little one,” patch replied, kissing the top of the cub’s head, Orbon humming with pleasure, as cubs and some adult bears will do if extremely comfortable.

“That is a lovely sound,” Patch said.

“”did jess hum like that when you groomed her?” Lily asked. patch laughed helplessly at this.

“I might have called her my cub,” he said, “but she is human, humans don’t hum with pleasure like bears do.”

“What did she do when you groomed her then?” Ebony asked, “I’m interested Patch.”

“She told me in our own language, which didn’t involve words, that she enjoyed my ministrations, touching my face with her hands as I groomed her body, or leaning over to kiss the top of my head as I worked on the palms of her hands or pads of her feet.”

“that sounds lovely,” Lily said, “I wish I’d had a guardian to do that for me. As it was, I was a circus bear from a very young age.”

“I’ll leave you two to it then,” patch said, getting up from where he knelt on the rugs.

“I don’t want you to go!” Orbon yelled, crawling to patch, then pulling himself paw over paw up Patch’s leg foreleg.

“I must go little one,” Patch said softly into the cub’s ear, “I have others I need to groom too.”

“So your magickal paws never run out of magick?” Orbon asked, his face very concerned.

“Not yet,” patch replied smiling, “and I’ve been playing with others for years now.”

“I’m glad your paws never run out of magick,” Orbon said, much relieved, “I would not like it if your magick ran out half way.” Patch smiled at tissed the top of Orbon’s head, and then asked:

“Orbon, would you let go of my leg please?” Orbon turned his face up to patch’s, and kissed the large bear’s nose.

“You will come back won’t you,” Orbon said sadly.

“I will,” Patch replied softly.

“I know you have others to groom,” Orbon replied, his voice cracking as he began to sob, “but I love you Patch.” Patch smiled and kissed the cub’s closed eyes.

“Follow your paws little one,” patch whispered softly, “for they will guide you far.” Orbon dried his eyes on the long fur of Patch’s leg, Patch kissing the top of his head.

“now let me go little one,” patch said. Ebony watched patch, knowing the huge grey bear had known his destiny from the minute his brother had passed into the world and been left behind by Aga. Even when his task was complete, Patch could not stop, and did not stop his search, his quest to make cubs happy. Ebony saw that Patch didn’t have to do anything special, he was just himself, a big cuddly bundle of fur with big paws, huge hind feet and a gentle smile. But even the gentle smile didn’t matter,” Ebony thought, for even those who could not see found Patch irresistible, his touch stopping the blind cubs, and making them thoughtful. Indeed, he could even speak to those who could not speak, or were unable to hear, Patch could communicate by touch alone, as he’d done with jess, as Ebony knew their language had been a silent one for years, on account of Patch being unwilling to speak Jess’s language in case he was discovered to be more clever than at first thought.

“Let go of his leg Orbon, now!” Lily yelled, dragging her cub’s paws off of Patch’s leg, Orbon squealing bad temperedly.

“Shut your noise!” Lily yelled, cuffing Orbon, the cub as Orbon curled into a ball and protected his head with his paws. Patch looked down to where Orbon’s tiny sharp claws had ripped out chunks of fur.

“don’t hit your cub Lily!” Patch begged. He looked down at his ragged fur “now my name matches my fur,” he observed dryly, “but it will grow back in time.”

“Sorry,” Lily said, “and so will Orbon be!” she added, cuffing her son cub a second time, Orbon howling to the heavens.

“Stop it Lily!” Patch snapped,. Lily raised her paw for another go, when patch walloped her with his paw. Lily screamed lustily and collapsed, holding her head with her paws where Patch’s paw had connected.

“That is how Orbon feels now!” patch snarled, furious and very upset.

“ow, sod you Patch, ow!” Lily roared.

“your cub is not able to tolerate that cuffing,” Patch replied firmly, “he is not a day old yet, but you cuff him like he was three months old! What the hell are you playing at Lily?”

“Ow!” Lily roared, as Orbon’s own pain was transmitted to her through patch, who scaled up the pain to show her how she’d hurt the little cub.

“now learn,” Patch said gruffly, “pulling the cub off my leg was okay, hitting him for damaging my fur wasn’t!” patch roared, his anger as powerful as his tenderness had been only a minute ago.

“this hurts! My head’s exploding!” Lily howled.

“The pain will ease soon,” patch said, “but you will not forget this Lily.” Lily staggered over to the corner of the room and was violently sick.

“it’s bursting my head!” Lily squealed.

“now little one, come here,” Patch said softly to Orbon, who lay whimpering pitifully on the rugs. Patch placed his paws over the cub’s head and Orbon’s whimpering subsided.

“You’ve killed my cub!” Ebony screamed at Lily.

“No she hasn’t,” Patch replied, “but now, now I fear he will have to follow his paws forever.” Lily, opening her eyes after vomiting a second time, saw spots in front of them, then total darkness.

“What the hell’s happening!” Lily demanded.

“the aftermath of your attack on your cub I think,” Ebony replied coldly.

“I can’t see a dam thing!” Lily shrieked.

“you should not have hit your cub around his head Lily,” patch said grimly, “Now though I can soothe his pain, I cannot undo the damage you have done.” Lily threw herself on the floor and raised her head, screaming and howling at the ceiling in her distress.

“that second blow was too much Lily,” Patch said gruffly, “you should not have done that, you are an adult bear, but you have acted in a manner lower than any cub.”

“What will happen now?” Ebony asked.

“Orbon will have to learn to live as Ekaterina,” Patch replied, “his life will be a full one, but he will never see the sun in his lifetime.” Ebony closed his eyes and shook his head.

“What of Lily?” He asked.

“her sight will return,” patch replied, “so that she will be reminded every day of what she denied her cub. Losing one’s sight is cruel punishment for ripping out a few chunks of fur Lily.” Patch sat down and picked Orbon up off the floor, cradling the cub in his lap.

“My head doesn’t ache any more Patch,” Orbon said, Patch stroking his ears and paws.

“I am glad little one,” patch replied gently.

“You are upset inside though,” Orbon said.

“I am upset inside little one, that I cannot deny,” patch replied honestly.

“My paws will guide me now,” Orbon said, “yours have guided you for the whole of your life, and you’re wonderful!” patch covered his face with his paws to hide a rush of tears. Orbon, hearing Patch sniffing and gulping behind his paws, pulled himself up using his forepaws, then climbed patch’s body, then up his right foreleg, until he hung upside down by forepaws and hind, then, kicking hard with his hind feet, and holding onto Patch’s left paw with his paws, Orbon attempted to drag Patch’s paw away from his face, Patch so startled he let his paw drop with the cub’s weight, Orbon landing with a thud on the rugs.

“your paw’s all wet!” Orbon exclaimed.

“I know little one,” patch choked. Orbon licked the pad of Patch’s right paw:

“You’ve been crying,” he said softly.

“yes little one,” Patch replied, “I am crying for what you will never know now, though you will learn much, you will not know all your original path would have shown you.”

“You mean the light in front of my eyes would have grown brighter?” Orbon asked.

“yes, but now it will never do so,” patch replied, “though your life will be enriched by other things.”

“You mean cubs can see light through their closed eyes?” Ebony gasped.

“yes,” patch replied, “the lids don’t completely black out light. If they did, emerging into a lighted world would cause them pain.”

“My head hurts!” Lily complained loudly.

“I’m going with Patch,” Orbon said. Lily padded from the room on her way to Blackberry’s lie up for a painkiller for her throbbing head.

“how are you going to feed Orbon patch?” Ebony asked.

“Like this?” Patch replied, stroking Orbon’s head, then settling back, and holding the cub as a mama bear would. Ebony stared as Orbon seemed to drink from Patch’s breast as if he were a lactating female.

“You’re pretending Orbon!” Ebony yelled. Orbon spat out a mouthful of milk in response, then carried on drinking, Ebony looking down at the white substance, which was definitely milk.

“How?” Ebony asked.

“I can save a cub when I need to,” Patch replied smiling happily.

“Was spitting the milk out wrong Patch?” Orbon asked. Patch smiled and stroked Orbon’s back with his paw.

“No, you were proving a point,” Patch replied, “now finish your drink, and then maybe sleep a while?” Orbon smiled, drank his fill, then curled up in Patch’s lap to sleep.

Meanwhile, in Blackberry’s lie up, Lily poured out her troubles to the black bear, who listened, but wasn’t surprised at the reason for Lily’s headache. Bandaging her head with a cold wet towel to soothe her, he said:

“Patch is sparing the cub from the pain of his sore head, he is showing you what Orbon would feel if he let him. Patch is a companionate bear, but cross him, and he will deal out retribution.”

“He hit me!” Lily yowled.

“I suppose it was proportionate,” Blackberry grunted.

“he said it was to make me feel what my paw made Orbon feel,” Lily moaned.

“You clearly can’t see me,” Blackberry said, “Lily, how long did it take you to get to my lie up?”

“Half a bloody hour!” Lily wailed, “I stumbled into walls, in the end, Eohippus knows how, I blundered into a glass wall, and found the button to summon the monorail. I stumbled in, lay down on the floor and told it to take me to Blackberry, it did, and you found me in the car, holding on to the non slip floor with the toes of all four paws.”

“I take it when your headache goes, your sight will return,” Blackberry replied.

“yes, patch said that,” Lily replied miserably, “I think he said it was so I could be reminded of what I took from my son cub. if only I could turn back the clock Blackberry!” Lily sobbed.

“I wish you’d listened to Patch,” Blackberry said when he viewed the video of the goings on in Lily’s lie up.

“but Orbon made a mess of Patch’s fur!” Lily mewed.

“and hitting Orbon around the head was proportionate to that damage was it?” Blackberry asked harshly, his own emotions rising.

“No, not really,” Lily mumbled, Blackberry lashing out with his paw in a fit of temper, catching Lily on her shoulder.

“ow Blackberry!” Lily yelped.

“You blinded your cub because he ripped out fur, which will grow back!” Blackberry yelled, “I hate you Lily. I know I’m meant to be professional and all that, but bugger professionalism right now, bugger it to hell!” Blackberry attacked Lily, driving her to the floor beneath his paws then whacking her paws and feet with the wet towel he’d first placed around her head to soothe her pain

“Ow, Blackberry, ow!” Lily screamed, “don’t hit my paws, or my hind feet with that towel! Ow, ow, oaoaoaoaoaoaaow!” Lily complained as Blackberry smacked the soles of her hind feet with the now rolled up towel.

“I want to throw you in the skip with the bottle tops as I did Swarupa all those years ago!” Blackberry roared.

“No Blackberry!” Lily pleaded.

“You deserve little better,” Blackberry replied, almost crying, “how could you Lily? How could you hit your day old cub so mercilessly!” Blackberry literally threw Lily out of his lie up, whipping her backside with the towel as she stumbled away.

“Forgive me for losing my temper,” Blackberry prayed, his tears falling onto his clasped forepaws. Throwing himself face down on the rugs, Blackberry wept as he’d not done since he was a cub.

Blackberry lay on the rugs, the video of Lily’s attack on her cub replaying in his mind, the forces put upon little Orbon’s head, everything, the damage caused, and the damage that could have been caused. Blackberry, feeling the enormity of what he knew flooding him, screamed in terror like a cub about to die under a train, who’d just caught sight of the impending roaring death hurtling towards him.

Blackberry’s scream echoed around the room, and then the corridors. Mama Anook, fresh from speaking to Kuruk, padded down the corridor towards Blackberry’s lie up. She was keen to meet the black bear she’d first hugged so many years ago. Hearing him scream, Anook padded into the lie up to find her honorary Grandcub curled on the floor, sobbing into his paws. Sitting down, Anook took the weeping male black bear in her paws and hugged him as if he were an injured cub, holding him firmly and close to her body, but gently too.

“mama!” Blackberry wept, clinging to Anook with desperate paws.

“I am your mama now,” Anook said softly to Blackberry, “I know Ekaterina adopted you, but that was only because I had many cubs of my own, now I have all cubs to think of, and you are one.”

“But there are many more cubs here now,” Blackberry sobbed.

“There are, but I’m that much bigger now,” Anook said smiling, “feel my paws Blackberry, feel my pads, touch my paws and feet.”

“Your pads are thick, your fur is too,” Blackberry sniffed.

“I noticed that,” Anook replied smiling.

“will you have cubs again?” Blackberry asked.

“I might,” Anook replied, “I might Blackberry.”

“I wish,,,” Blackberry started to say, but caught himself.

“You wish what?” Anook asked.

“it’s awful, dreadful!” Blackberry squealed, almost choking, “I wish,” his paws tightened on Anook’s fur, his toes going white with tension.

“I wish you’d given birth to me Anook, “I know who you are. You would not have left me to run wild, you tried not to let me run wild!”

“I wonder what giving birth to you would be like?” Anook asked, her toes curling with anticipation at the thought.

“You could try, you could do it mama Anook,” Blackberry replied, looking up into her face.

“how was it when you pretended?” Blackberry asked.

“it was intense, hard work, but not like the real thing,” Anook replied, “I couldn’t really push you know, I just braced my feet against the floor, or if I held them in my paws, braced my feet against my paws while curling my toes for all I was worth of course, there’s rolling about and kicking at the air with my hind feet too, oh, and a lot of screaming. That’s made easier by screaming at one’s self for not kicking hard enough. Indeed the whole straining thing is done that way too. partly the pain of exertion, partly the effort put in, makes for a very realistic labour sound if you moan with the pain of stressed muscles.. Talking of screaming, I heard the most horrendous wailing coming from your lie up. No, not wailing, screaming. As if a cub was in distress.”

“I saw, saw the most awful video mama cam, I mean Anook,” Blackberry whimpered.

“Would you like to show me it?” the patient, gentle sow bear asked.

“I, it’s, it’s of Lily, she, well, I’ll show you.” With that Blackberry, his feet as heavy as lead, padded to the screen and ran the film of Lily’s attack on her day old cub. Mama Anook was shaking with fury after she’d seen the footage.

“I’ll tear her paws off!” she roared.

“I know the damage that blow could have done,” Blackberry whispered, his eyes terrified.

“if it hadn’t been for Patch,,,” Anook said, Blackberry nearly choking on a fresh rush of tears. Running to mama Anook, he threw himself into her lap, and, clinging to her fur as if he was newborn, Blackberry shrieked with sadness and fear. Mama Anook held him tightly, kissing the top of his head and stroking his back with her paw.

“You’re safe now, and so is little Orbon,” Anook said softly to the weeping male black bear.

“I’m weeping like a cub, and I should be so happy really,” Blackberry sniffed, “Targon’s pregnant again, and Titania’s little one is so sweet too. I have a great family Anook, a lovely family.”

“but you are also protecting the cubs of others than yourself Blackberry,” Anook said, “that’s a good thing.”

“I remember the births of my cubs as if they were born only a few hours ago Anook,” Blackberry said, “I remember how it felt to touch Targon, how her fur felt, how her paw pads felt, how it felt when my paw was caught in the toes of her hind feet as she curled her toes in pain, such pain she told me of. She was graceful in labour Anook, Mama Targon laboured with grace and elegance!”

“I didn’t!” Targon replied, padding into the lie up, “I screamed and roared. I was a sweaty mess!”

“You did wonderfully my lovely,” Blackberry said, looking at his mate with undisguised love and affection.

“I will let you get paws on again Blackberry,” Targon said, “I like you getting paws on with me. I remember my pregnancy started after you and I had played the stuck foot game four times, twice on each of our hind feet, and then you chased my hind feet, and then you caught them, and then, oh yes, then you mated with me! Wow! I wanted that so very much!” Blackberry laughed with love for Targon.

“We could play the stuck foot game again my lovely Targon,” Blackberry said. Targon bounced on her toes a bit. Then smiled:

“wouldn’t it be nice if while we were playing, a contraction made my toes curl, and my paws grip your feet hard?” she asked. Blackberry grinned:

“I would love to feel the strength of your commitment to your cubs,” he said.

“You will,” Targon replied, “for I think I’m close to delivering my cubs into the world. A few days I think Blackberry, then my toes will curl for another reason than the pleasure you give me when you hug me or touch my paws and feet. They’ll curl in pain at the efforts of my body to deliver my cubs in response to their will to be born.”

“your toes curled cutely,” Blackberry said, Targon giggling with delight.

“I’m glad you thought so,” she replied smiling.

“I remember catching both our cubs in my paws, all slippery and warm, it was wonderful!” Blackberry said, “I also remember kissing your pads Targon, they were warm too.”

“Covered in sweet and all hot you mean,” Targon said. Blackberry grinned and kissed her nose.

“Now I’m looking forward to helping you through your labour once again my dear,” he said softly.

“Do you play with each other’s hind feet?” Anook asked. Targon smiled:

“Blackberry’s hind feet are so cute!” she said, “his toes curl easily, his pads, now they are cute when they bunch up, just like Ekaterina said, they look like the skin of a Blackberry when he curls his toes.” Blackberry laughed merrily and kissed his mate’s ear.

“Soon your pads will look like the skins on blackberries,” he said, “they might even glisten with the dew of the effort of labour.”

“That’s the most poetic description of bunched up, sweating pads I’ve ever heard Blackberry!” Anook laughed.

“That’s rather cute,” Targon said smiling.

“I wonder if Hope will be at the birth of your cubs?” Blackberry asked.

“if she wants to be there, I’m not stopping her,” Targon replied, “I just want the labour to be long enough for others to share it with me, that is all.”

“It will be,” Patch said, padding into the lie up carrying little Orbon with him, the cub riding on the large bear’s back.

“Are you all right little one?” Blackberry asked, padding up to patch and scooping little Orbon off his back, the cub releasing the paw and foothold on Patch’s fur just in time, then kicking the air with all four paws as he was transferred to the floor.

“Kicking the air with your feet and paws didn’t do much,” Blackberry said.

“No, but it felt good,” was Orbon’s response, the black bear smiling and kissing the cub’s nose and paws.

“Patch said you cried when you saw what mama did to me,” Orbon said, Blackberry looking at patch.

“Why did you tell him?” he asked.

“he wanted to know what the scream meant,” patch said, “we heard you Blackberry. I watched the video and told Orbon what happened, that’s all. Orbon wanted to find you and hug you.” Blackberry sat down and Orbon crawled into his lap, giving him as bigger hug as he could, Blackberry choking back tears.

“it would be great if you could lay your paws on my belly and encourage these cubs to come,” Targon said to Patch.

“I can’t do that,” Patch replied, though I could tell you if your cubs are happy or not.” Targon stretched out on her back, her feet in the air. Patch rested his paws on her swollen belly, Targon wriggling with pleasure as her cubs responded to Patch’s touch by kicking with their paws against the wall of her womb, patch smiling as he felt the thrusting paws and feet, Targon gasping as the cubs kicked and wriggled about inside her.

“They’re lively!” she panted, “now, now, please, cubs, settle down!” Targon begged, clamping her paws over her belly. Wriggling a little, and kicking slightly with her hind feet, Targon breathed deeply, trying to restore calm to her cubs.

“I think your cub’s telling me he’s ready, but has asked constantly, and is now impatient to get out, would you like to have your cubs in the birthing pool?” patch asked, “I’ve heard it’s very nice Targon, all warm and you could swim a little, and then brace your feet when things get bad, Blackberry could be with you at all times, in the water too.”

“I’ll take a look,” Targon said, “I’ve never had a water birth before. I know snowy half tail did it back in the mists of time, but never since has a community member had a water birth I think.”

“Let’s go there now,” Blackberry suggested. Targon got to her feet and padded with Blackberry to the monorail where they called a car to travel to the birthing room. Reaching it, Blackberry and Targon walked into Ekaterina’s dry birthing place, then on to the place where the pool was. As they entered, they heard a moan of pain.

“What’s going on?” Targon asked, unable to see as the pool was on her blind side.

“It looks like snowdrop is in labour,” Blackberry replied, “but she’s only just had little Kamchatka.”

“Snowdrop’s helping Hope learn about birth of cubs,” Kuruk grunted, “Snowdrop’s been at it for hours now. she having a bad time, moaning and padding about, but no actual pushing yet, though she’s tried once or twice.”

“Are you in real labour snowdrop dear?” Targon asked, Snowdrop’s splashing and moaning making her toes curl with emotion.

“I’m pretending, but it’s getting more real by the minute, as I remember bits of little Kamchatka’s birth,” snowdrop replied gasping with renewed pain, then, bracing her feet and gripping the rail on the side of the pool with her paws, snowdrop leant into the wall, roaring and squealing, then yelling lustily.

“oaoaoaoaoaoaoaoaoaooooowaoooour!” she complained loudly, uuuooooaoaoaoow, uuuuuuuoaoaow! I need to push!” snowdrop yelled, bearing down into her tail.

“aoaoaoaow! Pushing hurts!” she screeched.

“does pushing against the cub hurt?” Blackberry asked.

“You bet it does,” Targon said, “there’s the contraction which hurts, then the effort you are forced to make which hurts even more. That’s why I scream and roar Blackberry.”

“Will this bring on the birth of your cubs?” Blackberry asked. Targon laughed.

“I don’t think it will,” she replied, though the warm water might, when Snowdrop is done with it.”

“You mean you are in labour?” snowdrop asked, leaping out of character and out of the pool in an instant, “sorry Hope, this mama needs the pool more than I do!” snowdrop replied breathlessly, shaking herself all over Blackberry and Targon, the two bears soaked from ears to paws by the she bear’s shakings.

“Now we’re wet enough that getting in the pool is a formality,” Blackberry grunted, “thanks snowdrop.”

“Oh, sorry,” snowdrop replied contritely, “but how wonderful it would be if a little swim in the pool brought on Targon’s labour, and then, then she had her cubs in the water too!”

“I don’t know if the cubs will come yet,” Targon replied, “though they were rather active earlier.” Targon got into the water, which was constantly filtered and warmed. Padding about in the nearly shoulder high water, her chin inches from the surface, Targon felt her body floating a little, as the water was a little salty, giving her buoyancy. Only touching the floor lightly with the tips of her toes, Targon crawled through the water, her feet thrusting, her paws paddling.

“thrust with those feet Targon,” Blackberry said, following his mate up and down and round and round, ducking down to see what her legs and feet were doing beneath the water. Lights, bright enough to eliminate everything beneath the water, made seeing what was happening a whole lot easier.

“I don’t know how anyone could wear coverings on their feet!” Targon panted, “I love the feel of the water on my feet!”

“Did she ever wear anything on her feet Blackberry?” snowdrop asked.

“She might have done as a cub,” Blackberry replied, “I don’t know, maybe it’s that, maybe she’s regressing to a cub level as she struggles to bring her cubs into the world. She did this last time a bit. I put socks on her feet at her request, and she tore them off during a contraction, maybe she’s remembering that. Targon didn’t like the feel of the socks on her hind feet at all. Whimpering and roaring, she endured two contractions with them on, then tore them off on the third, screaming about nature meaning her to be barefooted, that the socks meant she couldn’t curl her toes properly, and that she wanted to be barefooted till she died.” Targon paced and paced, and swam and swam, up and down and round and round.

“I’ll never wear socks on my feet, never again!” Targon panted.

“Are you all right Targon love?” Blackberry asked, the sow black bear shaking her head to clear it.

“Was I rambling?” Targon asked.

“You were talking about socks on hind feet,” Kuruk said, “did you wear socks while in labour before Targon?”

“I did, I had a craving to wear socks for a bit, it was when I found I couldn’t curl my toes as I wanted while wearing them I tore them off,” Targon replied, “was I remembering that Blackberry?” Blackberry smiled and hugged her:

“yes you were,” he replied gently.

“My thoughts always stray to my feet and paws when in labour,” Targon said, “I suppose, when my window on the world closes, my one good eye, I become foot and paw focused, and anything which will stop that becomes the enemy. I spoke to Nanuq recently, and his messing about with his inflatable suit came to mind as I was bouncing through the water on my toes. so I gave voice to that too, the thought of having something on my feet while in labour, being unable to curl my toes, hold my feet in my paws and squeeze my toes, or pads, or both is just too horrible. I want my feet and paws free, free to soothe my pain, and to be there for me to work with, or for others to work with for me.”

“I heard something about massage of a mama’s hind feet aiding labour,” Blackberry said, “rub the pads in a certain way, and contractions happen.” Targon smiled and sat on the ledge, thrusting out her right hind foot, Blackberry taking it in his paws, and rubbing the sole pad of her foot, pressing the inside of her heel. Targon closed her one good eye , as the sensation filled her brain, then, as Blackberry pressed his toes into the pads of her heel with gentle pressure, Targon whimpered, gripping her belly in her paws. Blackberry took each of Targon’s hind feet in his paws in turn, pressing the inside of her heel pads alternately, Targon rocking back and fourth as her contractions got going with every pressure on the pads of her hind feet from Blackberry’s paws. Every time Blackberry stimulated a contraction, he waited to see if Targon’s labour continued beyond the lessening of his pressure on her heel pad before inducing another contraction for his mate. It was only when Targon felt a small spontaneous contraction that Blackberry stopped stimulating her labour with gentle pressure on her heel pads. Targon, her one eye closed in concentration, breathed deeply as her body told her her cubs were ready. Whimpering, she rolled onto her belly, then got into a crawling posture, Blackberry kissing her wet pads and toes as she curled them with the beginning of another contraction. Smiling, Targon moaned deeply as Blackberry kissed her bunched pads and curled toes as she endured yet another contraction. After three of these, with Blackberry kissing her heel pads at the peak of each contraction, Targon turned and, smiling with thanks, slipped into the water, the movement making her roar with the first serious pain of labour, as the first hard natural contraction gripped her. padding through the water, half walking, half swimming, Targon laboured properly for the first time.

“yeeeeeeeeeoaoaoaoaoaoaoaoaououuochh!” Targon squealed, aoaoaoaoaoaoaoaoaoaoaouch!” she complained loudly and plaintively.

“It’ll be okay,” Blackberry said softly, snowdrop going to the phone and calling Sally and peter. Kuruk and Hope sat down, watching Targon. Ekaterina, padding in after the two children, sat down to hear How Hope would cope with Targon’s cries and reactions to her increasing labour pain and need to make effort for her cub or cubs.

“How many cubs do you think you’ll have?” Hope asked. Targon grimaced as she felt another contraction building, then panting, she straddled her legs and roared lustily with the pain of labour.

“I think it’s one cub!” Targon wailed, “no wonder it felt energetic, one huge cub, ow, this is gonna hurt, hard work too! hooaoaoaoaoaoaoaoaoaooaw! Aoaoaoaoaoaoaaoaoaoew!” Targon squealed, stamping her feet beneath the water. Then, sitting in the shallow end of the pool, but not on the ledge, Targon plunged her paws beneath the water, grabbed her left hind foot and massaged her pads, the massage stimulating another contraction, making her curl her toes, rock back and fourth, roar and cry.

“So that’s how mama bears stimulate their own labours,” Blackberry said. the massage feels good, but it also stimulates the contractions. Targon, addicted to the massage, and strangely to the pain, kept massaging her pads, then, as the contraction built, Targon reacted by squeezing her foot while screaming, rocking, then pushing, then squeezing her foot in her paws again to continue the self stimulation.

“massage, grip, scream, push, massage, grip, scream, push!” Targon wailed.

“Can I help?” Hope asked.

“yeah,” Targon gasped, “just take my other hind foot, Blackberry, you take my left, Hope my right, and massage one at a time, so I don’t go mad!” Blackberry and Hope massaged Targon’s hind feet, pressing her heel pads, the sow black bear roaring and rocking as her contractions peaked and spent themselves. Sally smiled as she remembered her own labour, holding her feet in her hands as she lay on her back, her fingers pressing into the inside of the pads of both heels, as she took a good grip on both her bare feet. The feeling of the contraction building, then, when things got too painful, Sally let go of both feet, spread her legs and bore down, pushing hard into her bottom like Targon was doing now. she didn’t know what she was doing back then, but Sally realised now, she had been stimulating her own labour.

“roaoaoaoaoaoaoaoaoaoaoaowaoaoor! Aoaoaoaoaoaoaoaoaoaaaaooaoaororororrororororor!” Targon moaned, her hind feet splayed beneath the water. Then she lay back on the inclined bottom of the pool, reaching down with her paws, feeling the cub sliding into her paws, grunting, puffing, then opening her mouth to pant, Targon felt the cub emerging. Wriggling, with Blackberry pressing the heel pad of her left hind foot, Targon growled as another contraction built in her, then she set to pushing down savagely into her tail, harder, and harder, then as hard as she could, screaming lustily as she bore down desperately into her tail, the toes of all four paws curled more tightly than she ever thought she could curl them, forcing the pain through her tail, through the floor of the pool, and away. Puffing, Targon felt the cub sliding into the world, from its head, to the cub’s body, and then, Targon moaned, squealed and roared as she felt the cub’s hips and legs emerging. with a final wriggle and shriek of pain, Targon freed the cub’s hind feet, and Blackberry smiled, lifting the cub from the water.

“You did it Mama Targon!” Blackberry said, as the cub, yelling for food, was cleaned up by Sally, then handed to Targon.

“that was amazing!” Hope exclaimed, Targon grinning at her with pleasure and thanks.

“My king bear helped me deliver the cub at first,” Targon said, “he started the whole process really. I just finished it.” Blackberry, realising what he’d helped achieve, watched Targon feeding their cub through a blur of tears of joy.

“Well done mama,” he sniffed, his day complete. Targon smiled broadly.

“I enjoyed that,” she replied, “though I’m sure it didn’t sound like it.”

“I now know how I stimulated my own labour to help Kuaizi !”” Sally said. Targon grinned at her.

“I watched you,” she said, “you held your bare hind feet in your hands, your fingers pressing into the heel pad of each of your bare feet. I’m feeding my cub, otherwise I’d touch the place on your foot where you pressed.”

“Was it here?” Sally asked, lifting her right foot and grabbing it in her hands, touching the skin on the inside of her heel pad with her fingers.

“Yes, there!” Targon replied smiling.

“no wonder when I gripped my heels hard in my hands, I felt a need to push, so push I did,” Sally said, “then, when I released my hold, the cub slid into the world. Feel it slow down, grab my feet, press down into my heel pads with my fingers, feel a contraction build, press down more, when it peaked, let go of my feet again and splay my legs, while curling my toes in pain, that way I delivered my cub.”

“You did well by all accounts,” Targon said, Sally jumping into the pool, wading across and throwing her arms round the mamma bear, before planting a kiss on her nose, Targon smiling..

“You did so well Mama Targon,” Sally whispered to the mama bear, who gave her cub to Blackberry, then leant forward, pulled Sally into her lap in the water, embraced her, then whispered:

“I think you did well too.” Sally sat opposite Targon, each taking the other’s feet in their hands or paws, and exploring each other’s heel pads in mutual recognition of the power of their bodies to help deliver the next generation.

“that’s so sweet!” Peter said, Blackberry smiling.

“They each know what the other felt,” Hope said, “though I wish I’d been paws on with Targon as she was in labour.”

“You can’t have everything Hope,” Targon said.

“I suppose it was Blackberry’s right to be paws on with you Targon,” Hope grumbled, Sally scowling at her.

“You saw, you learnt from Blackberry,” she snapped, “now Hope, you know how to help a mama with her contractions if they are not doing their job. You know more now than you knew when Targon was without cub.”

“I know, but I wanted to get paws on!” Hope yelled, slapping the water with her paw, something which angered Blackberry so much he threw the cub out of the room.

“Get out Hope, go on, shoo!” he yelled, giving Targon’s cub to Peter, who embraced it tenderly, then roaring lustily, chasing Hope from the room. Sally grinned at Targon as Hope was ejected by force, the sound of her skidding paws and feet as she tried to accelerate on the smooth tiles of the dry birthing den making them smile.

“Blackberry’s pushing her hard,” Targon said, “Hope shouldn’t have said what she did. Now she’s in the shit.”

“what does in the shit mean mama?” her cub asked. Targon snapped her mouth shut.

“I forgot community cubs were more developed than wild ones!” she whimpered.

“it means she’s in trouble, but don’t say that in polite company,” Sally said to the cub, who she realised was male, a large male black bear cub..

“You better leave the pool now,” Blackberry said, returning to the poolside after chasing Hope, “or you’ll have wrinkled pads, and I’ll have to massage oil into them.”

“We’ll stay a little longer then,” Sally said, touching the sole of her left foot with her fingers, feeling her pads already wrinkled by the water.

“You two just want paw and foot massage don’t you!” Blackberry replied with mock exasperation.

“Um, ah, yeah,” Targon replied, “at least I do. Sally might not though.”

“Oh I’m of your mind Targon,” Sally replied, “Blackberry could massage my feet any day. Any bear who can charm a cub from her mother’s womb by pressing the pads of the mother’s hind feet is okay to massage my feet too.” Targon examined the sole of Sally’s right foot, seeing water wrinkled pink sole skin and soft thick pads, with small toes, as Sally was still a young girl in body, despite her experiences.

“Cute hind feet,” Targon observed. Sally smiled, lifted Targon’s foot onto her lap and examined it, from large padded toes, to sole pad, with the arch represented by a half moon cut out of the inside of the sole pad, rather than being an actual arch. Sally traced the half moon arch of Targon’s right hind foot pad with her finger, Targon giggling with pleasure.

“Very cute pads and toes Targon,” Sally replied smiling. Targon stuck her tongue out at Sally, Sally screaming with laughter.

“Daft bruin!” she said to Targon, Targon curling her toes around Sally’s fingers, squeezing them with as much tenderness as if she’d curled the digits of her forepaw around her fingers, the emotion communicated being the same, Sally leaning forward to kiss the tops of the toes of Targon’s right hind foot, as she might have kissed the top of her paw, had she not had her paws full with cradling a busily drinking newborn cub once more.

Titania, having seen the video of her mother’s labour and the delivery of her brother cub, ran in two hours later, having watched it live, and then, fascinated by the under water photography, as well as the surface shots, watched the video a second time. There were underwater cameras and lights which filmed from all angles in the pool, so every bunching pad, every straining muscle was recorded.

“mama!” Titania yelled, leaping into the already crowded pool, Sally stopping her by blocking her advance with her arm.

“Careful,” she warned.

“I saw mama in labour!” Titania yelled, “it was amazing Sally, I saw everything!”

“so did I,” Sally said, having watched partly on the screen, partly the room, seeing the underwater shots as well as the surface and overhead ones.

“Who runs the cameras?” Titania asked.

“I think it’s Royston from the lodge,” Sally said, “he’s got a little suite of rooms there, where he does all sorts of things with cameras. I think that’s his school project, film, editing, that sort of thing.” Titania leapt out of the water and to the phone, screaming at whomever was on control to dial the numbers for the lodge.

“get me Royston!” she yelled into the phone.

“Please and thank you?” Sally admonished.

“Please, and thanks,” Titania said, her face blushing scarlet that a man cub should be more well mannered than herself.

“Hi, Royston, were you responsible for shooting that video of Mama Targon giving birth to her cub?” Titania asked, her toes curling into the tiles with anticipation of his response.

“You were? Titania squealed excitedly, “how wonderful! How perfectly fantastic!” Targon laughed at her daughter cub’s eloquence.

“Oh how perfectly fantastic,” Targon repeated in a rather plumy tone.

“Oh shut up mother!” Titania snapped, almost dancing with delight, “Royston?” she continued into the phone, thank you for that video, it was so amazing, I watched it twice!” Titania literally danced with joy as she replaced the receiver.

“What will you name your cub?” Blackberry asked.

“I like the name Caleb,” Titania said, he’s a lovely cub, and so big and soft too. I don’t know where I got the name from, but he’s so gentle.

“Was your cub overdue Targon?” Blackberry asked, peering at the cub.

“I don’t know,” Targon replied.

“he doesn’t look much like me either,” Blackberry mused. Targon looked down at her paws.

“I, I don’t know that he is yours,” she replied sorrowfully, “Blackberry, I, I didn’t tell you this before, for I was too shamed by the incident. but, well,,,” Targon’s one remaining eye looked scared.

“What happened?” Blackberry asked gravely.

“I was in the woods, walking in the woods, and, and I was trapped, tripped by a foot trap. It was in the dark part of the woods, no cameras. I was tripped, then trapped by a foot trap, and, and someone landed on top of me, and, and, well, put me in cub!” Targon replied miserably, “I struggled with the notion of my pregnancy, as I knew just after we’d played, and mated, I thought, thought I could pretend the cub was yours, but, but now, Oh Blackberry, I should have told you what happened, but I was so upset by it, I hoped, hoped, that when the cub was born, I could look after it and be happy with my lot, and happy I am that I have a lovely male cub here.”

“You should have told me, we could have done something about that!” Blackberry snarled.

“could you Blackberry?” Targon asked, “could you really do what jess did?” Blackberry slammed his paw into the water in frustration.

“Of course not!” he growled, “but, but we did mate! We did!” he insisted desperately.

“that mating was rather a desperate one,” Targon admitted, “the foreplay was wonderful, but the mating was desperate Blackberry.”

“I wanted to prove myself,” Blackberry admitted, “to prove, prove what tests, oh shit Targon! I tested myself, tested my, um, prowess, if you know my meaning, and, and it looked like I couldn’t sire cubs any more! I wanted another cub with you, and you with me, so we mated, little did I know then what I know now, and you didn’t know then what you know now either! I’m infertile, unable to sire cubs with you any more!”

“but I’m your cub aren’t I?” Caleb asked, overhearing the whole heated conversation.

“yes, well no, well,,,” Blackberry replied quickly, regretting his words as soon as they were out, “oh dear!” Blackberry sobbed.

“was your attack on Lily fuelled by your knowledge of the results?” Sally asked.

“yes, a bit,” Blackberry admitted, “she had what I could not have, and to abuse that gift which she had with such wanton violence was too much Sally, too bloody much!”

“Who um, had their way with you Targon?” Peter asked.

“I don’t want to know,” Targon replied, “it was a panda, I think, at least it looks like it was from Caleb’s markings.”

“but he has the paws and feet of a black bear,” Blackberry said, examining the cub closely.

“Of course,” Targon replied, “am I not a black bear Blackberry?”

“Oh, of course,” Blackberry gabbled, sounding very silly. Indeed, some might have laughed a little at his blundering words, but none did.

“So what will you do with your cub?” Titania asked.

“I’ll feed him, groom him, and love him like I want to,” Targon said. Blackberry rubbed the cub’s back, then sat down on the ledge and took him in his paws, sitting the cub on his lap. Caleb looked up into Blackberry’s face, the male black bear shocked to see the cub’s eyes were open.

“You were overdue little one,” Blackberry said.

“I knocked on the door with my feet and my paws, but noone would let me out, until, until someone touched my mama’s feet with their paws,” Caleb said, “I tried to let a set of paws which touched me know I was ready by kicking hard against them, but until my mama got her feet entangled with paws which told her body to tell the door to open, I couldn’t fight my way free.”

“So your labour was induced,” Sally said to Targon.

“Indeed it was,” Targon replied, “I don’t think I’ll be having any more cubs after this experience, I’m too worn out for it.”

“I love Caleb from his nose to his toes,” Blackberry announced, embracing Caleb tightly, “Targon, he’s ours, I don’t care how he was conceived, he’s ours, I was with you before your pains, during them and after them, and I am your mate too! I will look after this, um, big one, with you.” Targon giggled with pleasure.

“he is rather large for a cub,” she said, “I think the cubs need to press a part of the womb with their foot to start labour, it’s a small bit, and this cub’s huge paws and feet were just too big to push through the gap to the switch, as it were.”

“You are right mama, I pressed and pushed with my feet and paws, I rolled and turned this way and that, and curled my toes and kicked with my hind feet and punched with my paws, but nothing happened! When those big paws laid on me from outside, I punched even harder, and you moaned and stopped me punching by clamping your paws over my head mama!” Caleb yelled.

“sorry,” Targon replied contritely..

“it was my fault for not finding that switch,” Caleb replied miserably, “but someone found it, there must be another one, in the soles of your feet mama, or that’s what I think I heard.”

“You did,” Targon replied, “the switch was in the sole of my foot, and Blackberry kept pressing it, until it was jammed on, then the labour continued naturally.” Blackberry laughed at the analogy Targon dreamt up.

“that’s about it,” he replied, “I jammed the switch on, and that kept the door opening until it was wide enough for you Caleb to pass through, and for Mama Targon to push you into the world the whole way,” he said.

“Good,” Caleb said.

“it was amazing,” Targon replied, “the sort of paws on labour I wanted, all assistance without drugs. Not doing it on my own.”

“So if Blackberry hadn’t been there, you would not have laboured at all?” Peter asked. “No,” Targon replied, “I wouldn’t. I think there’s something wrong, and only induction would help me.”

“So Blackberry couldn’t sire cubs, and you can’t give birth to them any more,” Titania said, “good job there was a way of delivering Caleb into the world then.”

“Of course there’s the surgical route,” Blackberry said, “but that’s not so magickal, and leaves scars and discomfort, and is very clinical. The way Targon did it, she was ready in her mind, and I knew how to stimulate her body, so she delivered our cub. now everyone’s safe and well, and we have no tearing and no complications, um,” he looked pointedly at Sally’s and Targon’s hind feet, “I think we might have wrinkled pads to iron out though. Time to leave the pool I think Sally, and you Mama Targon.” Targon and Sally laughed, splashed Blackberry and Caleb, and got out of the pool.

“I like this water,” Caleb said, slipping out of Blackberry’s embrace and paddling across to the other side, while Blackberry waded alongside him, “I like the water, all warm and safe to my body, paws and feet,” Caleb continued, “it’s warm in here, like it was in the place I couldn’t get out of. I knew I needed to leave the place, but I couldn’t do it without help.”

“I know little one,” Blackberry said, “now you are free though, and can stretch your legs and the toes of those paws and feet.”

“I can, I can!” Caleb replied.

“You are a true water cub,” Blackberry observed.

“I like the water,” Caleb replied, “it’s nice and warm and safe.”

“You’ll end up with as wrinkled pads as your mama and Sally,” Blackberry said.

“What about your pads though?” Caleb asked, “won’t they get wrinkles too?” Blackberry reared onto his hind feet and looked at the pads of his paws:

“yes,” he replied softly, “they are wrinkled, though I can’t see the pads of my own hind feet.”

“I’ll help you by looking at them,” Caleb replied.

“Not here though,” Blackberry said.

“Why not?” Caleb asked, “Sit on that place where you and I were cuddling, and I can get in the water and see and touch your hind feet.” Blackberry grinned and returned to the ledge, sitting down as his newborn cub directed. Caleb slid into the water, and gravely examined his sire’s right hind foot, the slightly salty water enabling him to lift Blackberry’s huge hind foot into view.

“the pads are wrinkled, your toes too!” Caleb said, “here, here, here, oh, and here,” he continued, touching Blackberry’s pads and toes with a lightness of touch designed to tickle his foot. Blackberry, surprised, began to laugh, then, as Caleb tickled his toes, Blackberry lay back on the ledge and roared with laughter, waving his paws in the air and kicking the water with his free hind foot, Caleb laughing delightedly.

“Ticklish toes!” he guffawed.

“yes, oh yes they are,!” Blackberry gasped, “stop it Caleb, stop it now!” he commanded, Caleb kissing his sire’s toes where he’d tickled them, Blackberry dabbing the cub’s nose with his kissed toes, Caleb giggling and letting go of his sire’s foot.

“Why didn’t you let Targon and Sally be near you for that?” Titania asked.

“it’s a private time for them,” Targon replied, “I know what happened, “it’s sire and cub time, just like mama needs time alone with her cubs sometimes without sire’s intervention.”

“but Caleb and Blackberry are going to be close aren’t they,” Sally said, “for Caleb knows what Blackberry did for him, and for you Mama Targon.”

“yes indeed,” Targon replied, “if it wasn’t for Blackberry learning what he had, we both might be in trouble now.”

“I think Blackberry and Caleb playing together was so cute!” Peter said, “the emotion of it made me tightly curl my toes.” Sally giggled at Peter’s words.

“now how many other times have you curled your toes with emotion Peter?” Sally asked.

“Oh, every time Targon roared with pain, every time she curled her toes, and especially when Caleb was lifted up from the water,” peter replied. Sally hugged him tightly, then both she and peter left the bears to their own private time.

“No don’t go,” Targon protested when she saw them leaving.

“I wish sire Blackberry would press a switch on your feet that would close the doors!” Caleb added, Peter and Sally laughing and pretending their feet were stuck to the floor by bouncing on their toes, trying not to lift their heels off the floor too much, Caleb laughing merrily at their antics.

“Blackberry found the switch!” he yelled.

“mama, there you are!” Wihakayda yelled, padding into the room quickly. Seeing the pool, she leapt in, and swam across to Caleb, who, seeing her coming, squealed in mock fear, and splashed her.

“Oi you!” Wihakayda yelled.

“you have tiny feet and paws, not like me, look at mine big girl!” Caleb challenged, settling back in Blackberry’s lap and waving his paws and feet at Wihakayda, who waded up to the ledge and blew on Caleb’s toes, tickling them, making the male cub shriek with surprise.

“You tickled my toes big cub!” Caleb yelled, Wihakayda kissing his nose.

“You are my cousin then little one?” Wihakayda asked.

“I don’t know!” Caleb replied, “my mama is Targon.”

“My mama is Targon’s cub,” Wihakayda replied, “that makes me, um, er, related to you somehow.” Targon laughed merrily at this talk, waded across to her Grandcub and kissed the top of her head.

“You are Wihakayda’s nephew I think Caleb,” Targon said.

“I’m confused,” Caleb announced, “can’t we all just say we all look after each other?” Targon smiled at this and kissed her granddaughter’s, then Caleb’s noses.

“You are right,” she said, “we’ll all look after each other.”

“I can’t free my feet from these tiles!” Sally said, bouncing on her heels a little. Blackberry smiled, waving to Targon, who waded from the pool and freed the children’s feet by gently prying their heels from the floor with her paws, then lifting each foot and kissing their heel pads, Sally and Peter leaning on each other and giggling as the mama bear freed them.

“This is so sweet!” Peter laughed.

“it is,” Sally replied.

“I wonder what happened to our teacher from the school?” peter asked.

Cynthia Chartwell finished her day at the school. Very pregnant now, her maternity leave was about to commence. Padding barefoot from the classroom, having tidied everything away, she wondered what had happened to Sally and Peter, who’d not returned to their classes after school had returned from summer break. Now she was about to give birth to her child, conceived nearly a year earlier. Walking down the track into the woodlands, barefooted as usual, she wondered about her charges, were they still in the house? Had they learnt anything since she’d left for Africa? Cynthia felt her unborn child stirring as she walked, then felt pain. Gasping, Cynthia padded into the woods, heading for the only place of safety she knew. Reaching the house, her pain stronger now, she crawled into the vestibule where Sooleawa sat by her pool, her hind feet in the water. Seeing the human crawling in Sooleawa got to her feet and padded across to Cynthia, just as Cynthia endured another contraction, screaming lustily and curling her toes as tightly as she could.

“You’re in labour, oh wow, wow!” Sooleawa said, “though this is not a birth pool I have here, it’s a pool for washing feet, the basin for washing paws.

“My feet need a wash yes, but I’m having a baby!” Cynthia moaned. Sooleawa gently washed Cynthia’s bare feet, as the human curled and relaxed her toes through contractions, then made a leisurely call on her phone.

“Um, is Blackberry in his lie up?” she asked Nuru, who was on control room duty, Sooleawa having had no luck contacting the black bear by directly dialling his lie up.

“he’s in Ekaterina’s birthing pool,” Nuru replied smiling down the phone, “he and Targon had a cub an hour ago.” Sooleawa, tears of joy filling her eyes, gulped back her emotions and said:

“I have Cynthia here, she’s,” then Cynthia screamed as another contraction gripped her, Nuru getting the idea, as he watched and heard the goings on.

“I’ll call Blackberry, now!” Nuru said, punching a button on his consol.

Blackberry, feeling his bleeper vibrating on his wrist, looked down, seeing the name of the lie up in which he was needed. Pressing a button, he listened to the report Nuru had, his face lighting up, then becoming serious.

“Can she walk?” he asked. there was a pause, then, Blackberry again.

“get her in the monorail and send her here, I’ll help her from the monorail. Monitor her the whole way, no, scrub that, send Sooleawa with Cynthia in the car to hold her hand. I’ll see them both here when they get here.”

“What?” Targon asked.

“Cynthia Chartwell’s in labour, and we’re going to see a human birth,” Blackberry said smiling, “and I’ll be present at two births this day! Yippee!” Targon giggled indulgently.

“What about Ekaterina?” Sally asked.

“Don’t mind me,” Ekaterina said, “I’ll stand by and listen to the birthing expert deliver another cub.”

“I’m no expert,” Blackberry said, “I just, well, coaxed a cub from his mother, and might be able to coax another from their mother too.”

“I will sit back and listen with wrapped attention,” Ekaterina said.

“here she comes,” Blackberry said, hearing a wail of pain proceeding the arrival of the monorail. Leaping from the water, he padded to the door of the birthing pool room and opened it. Cynthia crawled in with Sooleawa padding alongside her, the former moaning with pain, the latter confused.

“all I do is wash paws and feet!” Sooleawa whimpered, “I don’t understand all this berth stuff! All I know is Cynthia kept curling her toes and screaming! I’m off!” With that Sooleawa turned tail and ran back to the monorail car, swearing as the car hadn’t waited for her.

“It’s gonna be okay Cynthia dear,” Blackberry said to the labouring woman. Cynthia stared down at the tiles, then up at the bears all around her.

“cubs in here,” she gasped, “cubs can’t see this, ow, ow! Hooaoaoaoaoaoaoaoaoaooaw!” Blackberry led Cynthia, who was still clothed, towards the edge of the pool.

“sorry,” he said as he gently undid the skirt she was wearing, “you’ll have to get out of your lower clothes. You can’t have your cub with them on you know. Blackberry gently undressed Cynthia in the water, dumping the wet skirt and underwear on the side of the pool, while the labouring mother settled into the warm water.

“I didn’t plan on a water birth, but here I am,” Cynthia panted, bracing her heels against the bottom of the pool to brace her back against the side as she felt another contraction build. Breathing deeply, she closed her eyes and felt her fingers and toes curl as she bore another contraction.]

“aoaoaoaow! Aaaaaw!” Cynthia complained, feeling a gentle and cooling paw touching her forehead as she came down from the effort.

“I’m being tended to by a bear!” Cynthia panted as she opened her eyes and realised whose paw soothed her.

“I’ll help you like I helped Janet,” Ekaterina said gently to Cynthia.

“I thought Blackberry was going to help her!” Titania snapped.

“No, I’ll help if she needs pressure on her heels, though I don’t think she needs that,” Blackberry replied, “anyway, Ekaterina’s the midwife round here, and she needs the job.” Cynthia moaned and panted through her contractions, feeling a set of tiny paws taking her left foot gently in their embrace and stroking her toes and the ball of her foot. Blackberry, sitting in the water with Caleb, gently whispered to the cub, telling him how to massage Cynthia’s toes and the sole of her left foot.

“her toes are curling, just like mama’s did!” Caleb said.

“yes,” Blackberry replied, “this human is in the same pain as your mama was.”

“is she going to have a cub?” Caleb asked.

“yes she will,” Blackberry said, “she’ll have a smaller version of peter or Sally, I can’t tell which.” Caleb was happy with that explanation, watching Cynthia’s face, her closed eyes, clenched teeth, and fists beating the water. In his paws he felt her foot pressing into his paws, then being pulled away a bit, then pressing hard into his paws once more, as Cynthia roared and screamed, curling her toes as tightly as she could. Then her hands plunged beneath the water, and Blackberry saw her biceps bulge as she grabbed something beneath the water.

“What is she holding onto with her hands?” Caleb asked.

“her other hind foot I think,” Blackberry said. Indeed Cynthia was, holding her right foot in her hands, the fingers of her right hand clamped around her heel, those of her left pressing into the soft sole skin as she strained, curling the toes of both feet as she struggled.

“Auoaoaoaoaoaoaurgh! Oaoaoaoaoaoaaow!” Cynthia screamed throughout. Cynthia suddenly withdrew her left foot from Caleb’s grip, let go of her right foot, and scrambled onto the ledge, and rested there on her hands and knees, her hands covered by water, and the desperately curling toes of both feet covered likewise. Groaning, Cynthia pushed down hard, then sat back on her heels, bouncing her buttocks on her backside, the t-shirt she wore flicking water as she bounced and settled, grinding her heels into her backside. Ekaterina, unable to help in any other way, kissed the labouring mother’s heels and toes, Cynthia having relaxed her toes for a minute while she panted. Then, as Ekaterina kissed her toes, Cynthia curled them tightly, screaming with pain. Cynthia leant forward and splayed her legs, heaving and moaning, Caleb seeing something emerging from Cynthia’s body. Roaring, Cynthia held on tight to the tiles with the fingers of both her hands, her knuckles showing white. Wriggling, her eyes tightly shut, Cynthia strained lustily as Ekaterina got onto the platform behind her to catch the emerging baby as Cynthia panted. Cynthia suddenly got to her feet, bounced on her toes a bit, then held tightly onto a bar with her hands while squatting, feet flat on the floor, her knees splayed. Moaning deeply, she heaved desperately, Ekaterina hearing all and smiling as she supported the baby’s head and body in her paws as Cynthia, growling with the effort like a mama bear, pushed down hard, while everyone, except Titania, who found she couldn’t watch, observed the birth of a child. Ekaterina helped the child from its mother, Cynthia squealing as she bore down against her child, shoving it into the world. Once the child’s legs and feet were delivered, Ekaterina cleared the child’s airway and expertly washed Cynthia’s newborn baby from head to toe, the baby crying in such a cub like way, Targon had to curl her toes into the tiles to stop herself from running to it and embracing it, before maybe feeding it from her own milk.

“the baby’s a human, not a bear cub!” she told herself sternly.

“thank you!” Cynthia gasped as she sat down on the ledge, her feet in the water.

“hey no problem,” Ekaterina replied, “it happens all the time this, human mothers often drop in to have their children.” Cynthia laughed:

“No they don’t,” she said, “but you can turn your paw to anything it seems Ekaterina.” Ekaterina grinned and handed Cynthia her newborn daughter.

“What will you call your little girl?” Blackberry asked.

“I have a good idea,” Cynthia said, leaning over and kissing Ekaterina’s nose.

“what?” Ekaterina asked.

“I’ll call her after the midwife who overcame her fear of man to step in and give a labouring mother the best care she could.” Ekaterina felt tears filling her eyes.

“thank you, I’m honoured,” she whispered.

“while I was pushing, I also felt the paws of a cub holding my left foot in their embrace,” Cynthia said, looking at Caleb.

“yes, sorry,” Caleb replied.

“No, it was lovely,” Cynthia replied, “I shall tell my daughter of how my labour was eased by the touch of not only the midwife, but by a cub as well.”

“your foot was soft and warm, and your toes curled so tightly mama,” Caleb said.

“yes,” Cynthia replied smiling, “I’m sure they did.”

“They curled like this!” Caleb said, lying back in Blackberry’s lap, lifting his right hind foot in the air, and curling his toes as tightly as he could, Cynthia laughing.

“that’s so cute!” she said, “thanks for showing me little one.” Caleb laughed and waved his paws at Cynthia, who smiled, got up, and left the water.

“Where will you go from here?” Titania asked.

“I’ll go home,” Cynthia replied, “via the doctors of course, but the care I got here was second to none.” Indeed, a human doctor had already been summoned by Charles Fullbeans, and Cynthia was seen there and then, the doctor supervising the passing of the afterbirth. the doctor, whom everyone knew as the mother of Moses Sire, checked Cynthia over, then checked the tiny newborn baby over too in the privacy of the dry birthing den. Doctor Sanchez, finding everything well, viewed the video of Cynthia’s arrival and the birth of her baby girl.

“you fascinate me,” she said to Ekaterina, who stood with pride beside her.

“I learnt my trade the hard way mama doctor,” Ekaterina replied smiling.

“I watched Blackberry too, and the way he handled Targon’s birth earlier,” Doctor Sanchez said, “that was amazing too!”

“I didn’t need to ask Blackberry to help Caleb along,” Ekaterina replied, “though soon after his own birth, Caleb got paws on and helped Cynthia give birth by massaging her toes a bit I think.”

“yes,” Doctor Sanchez said, “I am past child bearing age now, but I think I’d like to have my baby here if I were still of that incline.” Ekaterina smiled and kissed the woman’s hand, Doctor Sanchez returning the kiss to Ekaterina’s left paw.

“now I must go,” Doctor Sanchez said, getting to her feet.

“That doctor’s barefoot,” Titania observed.

“but of course,” Doctor Sanchez replied, “I wouldn’t come in here wearing shoes, most disrespectful, and Sooleawa did check my feet for thorns before I entered too.”

“What if it was an emergency?” Wihakayda asked.

“Then you call an ambulance,” Doctor Sanchez said, I’m no emergency trained doctor, though I did midwifery before I went into general practise.” With that she left, Ekaterina padding around her now empty birthing pool and den, all the sounds replaying in her mind.

“I’m sure I will never forget this day,” Ekaterina thought. Emptying the pool and cleaning it, Ekaterina replayed everything in her mind, once she’d washed the tiles and finished her work, she sat on the ledge in the now empty pool, waiting for it to fill once more.

“To think a mama bear, and a mama human delivered their cubs here today,” Ekaterina thought, “I was present at both births, getting paws on with one, but not with another. I remember the feel of Cynthia’s hands and feet, and of the baby emerging, and of how fragile the little man cub was. As fragile as a bear cub really. I wish I could have seen as well as felt what happened, but I’m sure I’ll get retellings from Sally and Targon, Sally re-enacting Cynthia’s labour from time to time I’ll bet.” Ekaterina kicked her feet in the water, which was just covering her toes as she sat. sitting on the ledge, Ekaterina spun through ninety degrees, grabbed her right foot in her paws and began to play with her toes, the feeling of her paws on the pads of her hind feet triggering the memory of what Sally had said about the inside of her heel triggering contractions if she pressed the heel pad there. Ekaterina felt for the inside of the heel of her right foot, and pressed into the pad. Sure enough, she felt her stomach tighten, whimpering, she pressed harder, the contraction becoming stronger, yelping, Ekaterina let go of her foot, her pain easing.

“wow, oh dear!” Ekaterina gasped aloud.

“it’s all true then,” Titania said, “all true that pressing the heel pad of either foot works to stimulate contractions.” Ekaterina huffed with exasperation that she’d been discovered.

“Noone was meant to see my experiment,” she snarled, “it was private!”

“I wanted to think,” Titania replied, “I came back to walk, to wade, to make sense of what I’d seen. I suppose you were doing the same thing?” Ekaterina hesitated:

“I hadn’t seen anything,” she replied, “but the rest, yes.”

“I remember my labour with Wihakayda, it hurt, god it hurt Ekaterina. I screamed and roared, and cried and kicked with my feet like a terrified trapped cub.”

“Labour makes cubs of all of us, screaming for our mothers,” Ekaterina replied.

“the pain was so complete, so there, I drowned in pain and fear,” Titania said, “but it all came right in the end, I had good help, and support too.”

“Patch helped you didn’t he,” Ekaterina said.

“yes,” Titania replied, “back then, you, well, you weren’t in a fit state to minister to anyone.”

“I was not myself then,” Ekaterina admitted, “though now, now I am, and I’m back for good. Patch helped me as he helped you, as he brought you through your labour, he brought me through mine. Now I’m a new bear, trying to make some amends for my lies and dreadful behaviour. But I don’t’ want to talk about that much here, here is not the place for that kind of talk.”

“how did Cynthia’s baby’s birth feel to you?” Titania asked. Ekaterina wept openly as she remembered it.

“Amazing,” she replied, “amazing Titania.”

“Do mother humans curl their toes as tightly as I did when I had Wihakayda?” Titania asked.

“yes they do,” Ekaterina replied, “they scream and roar too, just like you did.”

“so Humans have painful labours just like us?” Titania asked.

“yes,” Ekaterina replied, “they scream and cry, roaring like lions for hours while pushing to deliver their young, just like us bears.”

“Oh,” Titania replied, sounding like the cub she still was.

“now I’ve finished cleaning here,” Ekaterina replied, “I’m going to rest, and think.”

“I hope you remember this for the rest of your life,” Titania said.

“I will,” Ekaterina said, “and I will ask others to fill in the gaps that I cannot, as I can only know what is beneath my paws at any one time.”

“Oh, I’ll do that for you, gladly,” Titania said, “I think Sally will too, as will Targon if you ask her.”

“Thanks,” Ekaterina replied smiling.

“I’ll never forget the relief on Cynthia’s face when she felt your paw on her forehead,” Titania replied, “she was deep in a contraction, and surfaced to feel your paw on her forehead, soothing her. from then on she felt secure, I could see it.”

“I could feel it,” Ekaterina replied.

Meanwhile, in Blackberry’s lie up, Blackberry lay on his chest, Caleb clambering all over him. Blackberry, his eyes closed, concentrated on the feel of his cub’s paws and feet, the slippage of pad on fur, the grip of toes into his fur, the cub’s clumsy attempts to scramble up onto his back. Blackberry smiled as Caleb, losing his footing entirely, tumbled off his back and, squealing with indignation, landed in a heap on the floor.

“Naughty feet, you didn’t hold me, toes? I blame you! All of you!” Caleb screamed at his hind feet, Blackberry and Targon trying not to laugh, as they could tell their son was deadly serious.

“Try again little one,” Blackberry said softly, kissing his son’s nose and the raging bear’s paws and feet.

“Maybe your kiss on my paws and feet might make them listen to me!” Caleb roared. Targon snorted behind her paws, trying to stifle her laughter.

“You are so funny Caleb!” Targon whooped, giving up the struggle.

“it’s not funny mama!” Caleb whimpered, “my feet didn’t hold me, and I ended up on the floor! Now I hope me yelling at them will make them do the job they’re there for!” Anook, having stayed behind in Blackberry’s lie up throughout the goings on in the birthing pool, now gazed down at Caleb.

“I wish you’d been there Anook,” Blackberry said.

“yes agreed,” Targon replied, “Anook, your presence would not have been unwelcome. Blackberry and I both love you dearly, and you Patch, oh dear, I wish we’d invited you all!”

“But you did,” Anook said smiling, “we saw everything, heard everything too!”

“Did you know how we stimulated my labour? And how Sally stimulated hers when she delivered Kuaizi ?”

“yes,” Anook replied, “I know how it is done now, Blackberry showed us on the video. It’s magickal, a beautiful way to help a mama.”

“It’s so simple!” Targon replied, “take your hind foot in your paws and press your heel pad, and bingo, a contraction. Of course the pain makes you hold onto your foot even tighter, increasing the contraction, until the pain makes you let go, and then you can let the cub surge forward! It’s addictive.”

“I don’t think Cynthia needed that stimulation though,” Anook said, “she was well past that.”

“Cynthia’s labour was as lovely as yours Targon, but so much quicker,” Patch said, “she’s a young human I think.”

“I’m a slow old bear,” Targon harrumphed, “old enough to need constant help to deliver my cub. I needed it rather than wanting it, but it was great to feel everyone paws on with me.”

“How did you feel when you took Sally’s feet in your paws Targon?” Anook asked.

“It was a time of understanding for both of us,” Targon said, Sally smiling and sitting down beside her, the she bear pulling the young girl into her lap and hugging her, “I touched the very pads that had helped Sally to deliver Kuaizi, and she touched my pads which had helped me deliver Caleb. Now I know, I know mamas roll onto their backs and draw up their hind legs, then grab their feet with their paws. It’s comfortable, and the position the paws are in on the soles of the feet stimulate contractions when the mama is exhausted.” Anook thought back to Kuruk’s birth.

“I remember Kuruk’s birth, such a struggle, and yes, I grabbed my feet with my paws in the den much like I’m sure you would have done Targon, had you not had birthing attendants to press your pads, and I know that you did Sally, when you had Kuaizi.”

“I am so excited by the realisation of the power of my own feet!” sally said.

“I’ll watch the video of Kuwaizi’s birth in that knowledge and see what you did to aid her passage,” Blackberry said.

“Oh you know what I did you silly bear!” Sally laughed, “but I know you like watching birth videos and things like that.”

“I do,” Blackberry admitted.

“I wonder,” Little Targon said, padding up to Blackberry, “I’ve been watching all this foot rub stuff, have you, Blackberry?” Little Targon looked suddenly exhausted and miserable, “do you have something for my old complaint? A foot rub for that? Please, please I’m begging you!” she sobbed. Blackberry held the weeping she bear in his paws, rocking her gently in his embrace while she wept.

“I can try,” Blackberry replied, “I can try to ease your pain by massaging your hind feet a bit.” Little Targon, emotional after an hour of pain and struggle, kissed her sire’s nose.

“Thanks,” she whispered, “I’m so worn out with all this!”

“I’ll get paws on right now, but in private, as this is a very personal matter,” Blackberry said. With that he led his daughter cub into a side room, where there was a relieving place. Spreading a rug, then absorbent towels, Blackberry asked Little Targon to sit on the towels. When she was reclining slightly, her back propped against cushions, Blackberry began to massage the inside of the soles of her feet, first her left foot, then her right, little Targon drifting in a dream as her sire worked with soft pressure from his paws.

“This feels lovely, just this,” Little Targon said dreamily, “if this works, Blackberry, if this works, could you help me by doing this every day?”

“I could teach you how to do this for yourself,” Blackberry replied, “you’d be self administering the massage, like mamas in labour do.”

“I suppose it is a kind of labour,” Little Targon replied, “I eat all the right things, but nothing works. Only straining hard, and I don’t want to do that. I must, must now, lean forward, oooah, my stomach is,,,” little Targon whimpered, leaning forward from where she was reclining, Blackberry kissing her nose as it came within range, then little Targon was leaning back again, Blackberry able to get on with massaging the sole pad of her left foot. His daughter cub lay back, her stomach contracting as her need to relieve herself got more urgent.

“Please would you help me while I relieve myself Blackberry?” Little Targon asked, “it’s gonna hurt, I’ll need support, please, oh please!” Blackberry kissed the toes of her left hind foot, the pad of which he was massaging.

“I will,” he replied, “I have a very good seat that allows you to relieve yourself while I can access your hind feet. I have considered your request before this.”

“It’s gonna hurt, it’s gonna make me cry and scream, and curl my toes!” Little Targon whimpered, “and, and I think it’s gonna happen now!” She crawled to the relieving place, and scrambled onto the raised seat, her hind feet resting on a pedestal, while her back was supported, little Targon crouching over a hole. Blackberry was able to access his daughter cub’s hind feet, massaging her pads as she endured her pain and effort to relieve herself. Whimpering, little Targon strained and panted, while Blackberry worked on the pads of her hind feet as he’d done before. Little Targon grabbed a bar in front of her with both paws and held on as her body expelled what it didn’t want, but could not get rid of without help.

“oaoaoaoaoaoaoaoaoao! Yoaaoaoaoaoaoaow!” ooooooooaoh,” little Targon squealed as she relieved herself. Crying, she moaned deeply, then screamed as her body strained for the last time, clearing the plug which led to a flow of matter, Little Targon grunting and puffing, moaning, whimpering and sobbing as she got on with her job, wriggling slightly as she fought her battle.

“It’s okay my little one,” Blackberry said, as his daughter cub finished her task and settled back exhausted.

“your massage helped,” little Targon said, “but there is no way I could do this on my own, I can’t reach my hind feet from here, but the relief when it’s all done is amazing!”

“There’s another seat you can use,” Blackberry said softly, kissing her tear stained cheek, “now, let’s clean you up my dear.””

“Sorry for all this,” little Targon said, “Blackberry, it’s wrong, wrong that you should have to help your grown cub to do this.”

“”I help you because I know how to, and you need my help,” Blackberry replied, “and you know what my dear daughter Targon, “helping you is a pleasure, because I know you are free from pain now.”

“I need to learn how to relieve myself unaided though,” Little Targon replied, “It’s gonna be hard, massaging my own hind feet while sitting over that hole, it’s gonna hurt, it’s gonna make me roar and cry.”

“I’ll show you the stimulus points, and the pain relieving ones,” Blackberry replied.

“will it hurt that much?” little Targon asked.

“today it hurt because you hadn’t relieved yourself for ages,” Blackberry said, helping little Targon off the relieving place and to a shallow bath, where she washed herself.

“so if I, oh, um, play with my hind feet a bit, in the way you show me, then, well, go to the place and sit down, and then play with my feet some more, I’ll be able to do things more easily?” little Targon asked.

“yes,” Blackberry replied, “that’s it.”

“So frequent play with my hind feet is necessary to stop me from having all this pain,” little Targon mused, “it seems the hind feet have a cure for everything.”

“I’m hoping you’ll get relief from this,” Blackberry said, as little Targon dried herself with towels and threw them in the bin before washing her paws and feet.

“thank you Blackberry,” little Targon said.

Meanwhile, in the main lie up, Caleb lay with Mama Targon, after relieving himself for the first time, wanting to stand on his feet and crouch a little as he would when he was older. this done, he’d lain down, his ears tuned to his sister’s cries and moans.”

“is she delivering a cub in there?” He asked. Mama Targon shushed him.

“it’s not very nice,” she replied, “your sister’s ill, and Blackberry’s trying to find a cure for her,” she whispered.

“it sounds like he’s killing her mama!” Caleb replied.

“No he’s not,” Mama Targon replied, though in her heart, she could understand what the cub meant. She could hear her daughter’s cries, and it was only her total faith in Blackberry which stopped her from running in and attacking him. After an age, little Targon emerged, looking far brighter, and much happier.

“What happened to you sister?” Caleb asked.

“I’m unwell, and Blackberry was helping me get better,” Little Targon replied.

“but you moaned and roared like mama did!” Caleb replied.

“yes, I know Caleb, I know, little Targon replied, “It’s all over now. I’m fine.”

“Your legs are shaking, and your toes are curled into the rugs, you’re not fine,” was Caleb’s reply. Little Targon, feeling weaker than she had for a long time, lay down beside her brother cub.

“I don’t know where you got your perception from,” she said, “but Caleb, you are right, I’m feeling drained, sore and weak. Caleb, as he could do nothing else, pressed his paws against little Targon’s belly, the she bear flinching away at first, but then relaxing, as her sore belly began to respond to the cub’s touch. Whimpering, she wriggled a bit, Caleb pressing gently with the flat of his paws.

“there,” Caleb said, “how do you feel now?” Little Targon stared at the young cub in astonishment.

“My belly felt all uncomfortable after the time I’d had,” she said, “but, you pressed it with your paws and it’s feeling fine now. Well Caleb, I’ll come to you when my belly’s feeling out of sorts then.”

“I don’t know how I did that,” Caleb replied, “It just felt the right thing to do.” Little Targon sighed deeply, she knew the constant tension of her illness was making the illness itself worse.

“if I can get this massage of my feet to do the job I want it to,” she said to Caleb, not realising he didn’t know the whole story, “could you tell me how to soothe my belly too?”

“You won’t be soothed unless you want to be,” Caleb said, “you must want it sister Targon.”

“how does he say these things? “Mama Targon asked.

“The thoughts are there,” patch replied, “I’m just helping him out with a few words he doesn’t yet know, but wants to use to express his feelings, that is all.”

“Sounds wonderful,” Mama Targon replied.

“I remember a game you played mama,” Caleb said, “it was played with your hind feet. You and sire Blackberry played it not long before my urges to get out became very strong indeed. I could feel Blackberry’s pads through mine, as if I was hind foot to hind foot with him, as you were. My feet stuck as strongly as yours did, or maybe I was imagining they had. The feeling was amazing, the love flowing through my pads from Blackberry. I think even then he was promising to look after me, and you.” Blackberry stared at his newborn son.

“I played that game shortly after my tests came back,” Blackberry replied, sitting down and burying his face in his paws, “I played the stuck foot game with Mama Targon, and, and, I wished, wished, oh how I wished I could sire a cub with her! I didn’t say anything, but my feet told my true thoughts to a cub, a cub I didn’t know was there, so close to my own paws!”

“I was afraid you’d guess my shame,” Mama Targon replied, “but you didn’t Blackberry. Now though, we know our son felt our love for each other, and for him too, though we didn’t know we had a son cub then.”

“We didn’t even know we had a cub!” Blackberry whimpered, “for we mated that night, and, when you said you felt the stirring of your cubs, I thought you were wrong Targon! You weren’t though, as I know now what you meant.”

“I think you are soft and gentle Caleb,” little Targon said to the large cub, who smiled, rolled onto his back and waved his paws and feet at her.

“those paws and feet are just the cutest!” little Targon said, kissing Caleb’s nose, the cub sitting up and grabbing his right foot in his paws.

“How would it be if I helped you big sister?” he asked.

“Helped me with what?” little Targon asked.

“helped you with your pain, I mean, the other bit of it. The bit that makes you roar and moan like mama did when she pushed me into the water from the place inside her.”

“You can’t help me with that,” little Targon said, “it’s a private thing that.”

“your pain wasn’t private,” Caleb replied, “I heard it, I heard you wriggling about, stamping your feet, and straining too. I heard your muscles complaining, and your toes curling so tightly one time, your claws nearly dug into your pads.”

“how do you know all this?” little Targon asked, while Blackberry stared at the cub.

“I felt it,” Caleb replied, “the feelings made me want to run to you and hold you.”

“I was thinking of you, and wishing with all my heart you would not be afflicted as I had been,” little Targon replied, “maybe that was it. It was while Blackberry was paws off that I curled my toes, that I had the worst bout of pain, that I cried out in my agony to a little cub who’d made a big black bear laugh by tickling his toes.”

“I could help you by pressing the switches that ease your pain,” Caleb said, Little Targon staring at him.

“You’re too young,” she said.

“he’s not,” Mama Targon replied, “he relieved himself while you were away with Blackberry, Caleb, you see,” she took a deep breath, “Caleb knew that’s what you were doing, that you had trouble,” Mama Targon looked at her daughter cub, “I’ll wage the pads on all four of my paws that while you were curling your toes in pain and thinking of a cub, that cub of whom you were thinking was being supported by my paws as he relieved himself.”

“I moaned and wailed afterwards,” little Targon replied, almost weeping, “what did Caleb ask you after he’d finished his task mama?”

“he asked me if you were delivering a cub, for that’s what it sounded like to him.”

“now I know what she was doing,” Caleb replied, “I had no problems, but I felt slightly unwell once, as if someone close by was having problems,” Caleb replied. Little Targon, now completely overcome, grabbed Caleb in her paws and hugged him, weeping into his coat.

“Please help me, please help me if you can!” she begged.

“What do you want to do to help her?” Blackberry asked.

“show her how to massage her hind feet,” Caleb replied, “help her to massage her feet so she gets relief.”

“I’ll show her that,” Blackberry said.

“But you can’t be there all the time,” Caleb replied, “I want to be there for her, and I’ll help her by massaging my feet in the way she must massage hers, and then, if that’s not enough, I’ll get paws on, if she’ll let me of course.”

“that’s so sweet of you,” Mama Targon said..

“if she cries like a cub when she needs help, then she is a cub, and I’m a cub,” Caleb replied, “so Sister Targon is just a big cub, at least that’s what I think.”

“I am where illness is concerned,” Little Targon replied, “my pain makes me cry like a cub and scream as if injured too.”

“I know another cub who screamed like that,” Caleb replied, “I heard him, it wasn’t too long before Blackberry found the key to free me. I heard a scream, then shouting, then a big male bear crying. I think that was Blackberry, the crying bear I mean. The scream was from a cub, I know it, though I don’t know if the cub survived. I heard a male voice shouting at a female one, the voice was angry, hurt, and grieving. I felt sorry for that voice. The female voice, well that was winy, horrid. I thought the female voice had injured the cub, and that the cub belonged to the female voice.”

“Oh god, oh no!” Blackberry sobbed.

“how could you know this?” Mama Targon asked, “I was nowhere near Blackberry while he was whipping Lily with the towel!”

“cubs are attuned to cubs Targon,” patch said, “Caleb was attuned to the sufferings of Orbon as much as he was attuned to little Targon’s sufferings. Adults lose that affinity, but as cubs, we all had that. With our mothers, with our fellow cubs, we all felt their pain. Why is it all the cubs play at birth. Why is it they ask other cubs about their trips and falls, and try to emulate the least dangerous ones? If a cub gets a stone between their toes, or a thorn in their paw, see how many emulate them, and how much pulling of thorns and freeing of stones there is in the playroom, even though no thorns or stones are for the pulling or the freeing. The cubs empathise with their fellow cubs, and with their parents. It is only hard bitten adults who lose that.” Targon stared at Patch, her one good eye registering confusion and a little fear.

“You’re right,” she said, “Patch, are you saying that me stopping Caleb from helping Little Targon is wrong, not his wanting to help her?”

“yes,” patch replied, “watch them, see how he helps her, if he massages her hind feet, and she’s okay with that, it’s fine. If he shows her how to massage her feet, and she’s ok with that, fine too.”

“I don’t understand all this!” Mama Targon whimpered.

“haven’t you ever wanted to re-enact something you saw?” Patch asked.

“well, yes,” Mama Targon replied, “but I’ve never been allowed to, where I used to live, it was frowned upon. I was forced to grow up very quickly, and when I even so much as talked about what I’d seen, maybe the birth of a cub in the next cage or something, I was shushed by those around me. Here though, they don’t just talk about it, they re-enact it do the cubs. They make sense of it that way. They even ask mama how it felt to be torn apart from inside!”

“how did it feel mama?” Caleb asked.

“My labour?” Mama Targon asked.

“yeah,” Caleb replied.

“it was warm, and gentle, and loving, and fantastic, and wonderful!” Targon replied, “I had wonderful help, and now I have a wonderful son cub. I know I roared and yelled, curled my toes and kicked, but that’s all part of it. I knew I wasn’t in real trouble, not once, once Blackberry had opened the door for you to arrive Caleb.”

“I remember, remember my body getting squeezed, then, then more squeezing, and hearing mama panting and moaning, as if my head was part of that moaning and panting. I could feel it. I could feel you mama, panting and moaning, could hear your screaming and roaring, and could hear you swimming, stamping your feet, and whimpering. Then I felt you pushing, and heard you wailing with effort too. you sounded like a cub mama!” Caleb gushed .

“I felt like one, one that could not relieve herself, but had a desperate urge to,” Mama Targon replied honestly.

“so that’s why I thought Sister Targon was having a cub, for she made the same sounds you did!” Caleb yelled.

“yes,” Mama Targon replied, “she did.”

“the most pitiful sound was a low sort of aaaaaow! Sound, though it was longer than that. A long drawn out sound, when mama was forced to really push, but she was too tired. Then, then someone pressed the pads of her foot and mama roared, and pushed hard, before gasping and panting, then pushing again. I came out into the water, and felt mama’s paws around me, then sire Blackberry’s paws, while mama pushed, how she pushed, I think she screamed and cried too. then she roared again, and I was free.” Mama Targon, hearing her cub’s tale, buried her face in her paws and wept.

“Mama?” Caleb asked, “why are you crying? You did so well, you got me out of the room I was stuck in alive.” Caleb crawled to his mama’s side and kissed her tear stained face, Mama Targon unable to stop weeping.

“I felt so much like a cub, so much like a cub when in labour!” Mama Targon wept, “I wanted to scream and cry, really scream and cry. To make, to make the same sounds as Orbon had, as I was torn apart by the force of another life coming into the world. I wish, wish that, that I could help that cub you heard screaming Caleb,” Mama Targon sniffed, “he’s more injured than sister Targon you know, he, he, he was hit by his mama Caleb, she, she walloped him for, for nothing!”

“Could you not take him in your paws, take him away from his heavy pawed mother?” Caleb asked. Blackberry, hearing this plea from his youngest cub, buried his face in his paws, sniffing, trying not to weep.

“I could,” Mama Targon replied, “I want to give birth to him! He’s only a day old! Only a day old, and his mama hit him, hit him for clinging to the leg of a bear, that when you meet him, you’ll want to cling to too. Blackberry knows this bear, I know him, everyone does. All the cub wanted to do was play, just play!” Targon wept.

“His mama hurt her cub for wanting to play with a big bear?” Caleb asked.

“yes little one, she did,” Patch replied softly.

“You’re the one with the soft paws, the paws which made me know I had the strength to break free of that place!” Caleb yelled.

“I have his voice, touch my paws, then, and only then will you truly know,” Patch replied gently, giving Caleb his right paw. Caleb held the huge paw in his smaller ones, and breathed deeply:

“yes, it’s the right paw!” he exclaimed. Patch leant down and kissed Caleb on his nose, the cub tearful.

“you told mama you couldn’t speed up her labour,” Caleb said, “was that because you knew what would happen if you left her alone? That Blackberry would find the key and let me out? Did you know he knew where that key was?”

“I had an idea,” patch replied, “your sire is a very great bear, who learns much and your easy birth was a product of, and then became part of that learning. Blackberry took things slowly, and so did Mama Targon, for you would be okay, both of them had faith in that.”

“They had faith in you, you kept me strong, didn’t you,” Caleb replied.

“If you want to believe that, I wont speak against it,” patch replied, “and thank you Caleb.”

“in how much danger were we?” Mama Targon asked patch.

“Do I really need to tell you that,” patch replied gently, “treasure your labour, and treasure your son, for his arrival wasn’t guaranteed at all.”

“I was losing hope patch,” Caleb replied sorrowfully, “I kicked desperately against your paws, because I was beginning to panic, I felt things changing, things going wrong, I needed out then and there!”

“I know,” patch replied, that is why I urged Targon to look for a birthing pool. She found one, and though she doesn’t realise it, she would have stayed there until you were born. The water was keeping you alive Caleb. Blackberry helped things along nicely with his pressure on Targon’s foot, and the rest is history, but what a lovely history, what a tale to tell the other cubs! What a tale to re-enact with water and foot massage too.”

“I remember every touch on my feet, every push, every moan, every sound, every wriggle and pant,” Mama Targon mused, “I remember every sensation, the feel of Caleb’s head, and his body, and his legs and his hind feet coming into the world, all that. I remember when I curled my toes, when I roared and screamed, all that. I will never forget any of it.”

“You cannot give birth to Orbon Targon,” Patch replied, “for it is not the way things should be. I know that. Show Orbon love, we can all show him love. You, your son and daughter cubs, everyone. Caleb is already showing his sister love and compassion, willing to empathise with her as much as he can, to massage his feet to be at one with her and show her how to massage her own feet to help her ease her pain.”

“I so want to give that poor Orbon cub a new life!” Targon whimpered, padding to the video, and rewinding the last video played. When Targon saw what Lily actually did to little Orbon, she ran out of the room, and was violently sick. Sobbing, Targon vomited twice more, nearly choking.

“I can’t let him stay there!” she screamed when she could speak, “I can’t let that poor cub stay there, not with her, not with that horrid sow bear. She hit him twice, twice for ripping out a little fur! That scream, that poor cub screaming, screaming to the heavens, the sort of scream I hope never to hear again!” Targon, feeling unwell, washed her mouth and cleaned up the mess she’d left before returning to the main lie up. The first indication she had of a cub other than her own in the lie up was when two paws clamped themselves around her left leg. Targon couldn’t see who owned the paws, but they were strong, and had sharp claws. Targon sat down, and swung the clinging form round until it was forced to let go, and landed heavily in her lap with a grunt.

“Let’s examine you,” Targon said, her paws making a rapid assessment, then she looked down with her one good eye.

“it’s little Orbon!” she exclaimed.

“yeah, it’s me, hello,” the tiny cub replied. Targon embraced the tiny form tenderly.

“I saw,,,” she began to say, when little Orbon put his paw over her mouth.

“I know what you saw, I know how it felt to be hit like Lily hit me.”

“If I could, I would turn the clock back two days,” Targon said, “and, and,,,,”

“And give birth to me yourself,” little Orbon finished.

“yes,” mama Targon wept.

“patch said it cannot be,” the cub replied, “though I think it has happened once before. To mama Kamchatka, when she became a mama to a very young cub. that was real, so why not now?”

“We cant all have perfect cubhoods!” Blackberry snapped.

“there’s a perfect cubhood, and there’s being injured by your own mother because you clung to another bear’s fur for longer than she wanted,” little Orbon snapped.

“patch?” Targon asked, “would you? Please? You can, I know you can!”

“I will have to speak with Ebony and Lily, for this will alter the way of things,” Patch replied, “when Alaska was reborn to mama Kamchatka, Alaska noticed little, as Conrad was Kamchatka’s mate anyway. It was for the good of the cub that was done. Orbon is safe, he is here, but Lily, is she safe to be around him. We could ask her to put Orbon up for adoption, that is all I can suggest.”

“I’ll kill Lily for what she did, then it will be fine, won’t it!” mama Targon yelled.

“her offence was not against you,” patch replied gently, “Mama Targon, dear Targon, you can’t kill for revenge, only for protection, and that would have had to have been done by me or Ebony long before this time. I cannot let you give birth to Orbon, I cannot let you Kill Lily. Lily knows her mistake, and will live with it for the rest of her days. This is punishment enough for her. meanwhile, little Orbon can come and go as he pleases, can snuggle up to you, nurse from your breast if he wants, be brother to Caleb too, but you cannot take him in your paws by force as you wish, or by rebirth, only by adoption of Orbon into your family, meaning Lily would revoke all care and immediate access rights to her son cub.”

“make her revoke them Patch!” Blackberry snarled, “she doesn’t deserve Orbon! Lily deserves nothing of him, not even a lock of his fur! She should be scrubbed from nose to tail, and inside her too, to rid herself of all traces of him, then she should be cast out with sandpaper between the toes of all four paws! she injured a cub patch! That is a grave offence here!”

“I understand that,” patch replied, “but the punishment should be proportionate to the harm done. I managed to save Orbon’s mind, and his personality, though not his sight. Lily will regain her sight soon, but she will lose it again before her time. I cannot kill her, for by good fortune, Orbon was not killed.”

“you are too merciful Patch!” Targon roared.

“if I took the hard line you wish, there would be dead bodies everywhere,” patch replied, “I have the power of life and death, but that needs using with extreme consideration. I am not willing to kill Lily to appease you Targon.”

“I will look after this little one then, and call him my own,” Mama Targon replied.

“Thank you,” patch said softly, leaning down and kissing Targon’s nose, then Orbon’s.

“Was my reaction to seeing the film overboard?” Blackberry asked Patch.

“did you permanently harm Lily?” patch asked.

“No, well, I whipped her paws and backside with a towel,” Blackberry replied.

“I’ve seen her walking on her paws, and sitting on her backside since, so no, your reaction was proportionate, proportionate as you are a sire of cubs, and have feelings for them. Now if you hadn’t been a sire of cubs, then maybe, maybe, just maybe I’d take a different view. But as things are, no, you are excused your actions.”

“he does n’alf go on,” Caleb said to little Targon, who giggled:

“that’s just Patch,” she replied, “he dresses his thoughts up in flowery words, now get paws on, and you know the raw Patch, the playful Patch, the, “let’s tickle everyone’s toes,” Patch that we all know.”

“the bear who can soothe a trapped cub with his paws until it is time to be born into water,” Caleb said dreamily.

“yes,” Little Targon replied, “yes even that Patch.”

“the truth is, I hate this,” patch said, “I hate making these judgement calls, but that’s my job sometimes.”

“I remember clambering all over you when I was a cub patch,” Blackberry said, “you had the most wonderful fur and paws, and now, though your paws have changed a bit, and your fur too, I often wonder if you still have that wonderful fur, and those lovely paws and feet.”

“You were still too young to see when you first met me,” patch replied, “Blackberry, is that the time you mean?”

“it is,” Blackberry sniffed, his toes curling with emotion as he screwed himself up to beg something of Patch.

“come to me Blackberry,” patch said gently, “come to me with closed eyes and questing paws, and find what you shall find.” Blackberry closed his eyes and crawled to Patch, the latter sprawling on his back on the rugs. Blackberry felt himself clambering onto Patch’s chest, the bear’s huge paws enveloping him, hugging him, and comforting him.

“I remember playing with your hind feet Patch, playing with your toes!” Blackberry sobbed, “can I do that again?”

“Follow your paws little cub, and see what they might find,” Patch said. Blackberry clambered all over Patch, his body and paws seemingly as small as a cub’s once more, while Patch’s fur was vast, his paws huge and more interesting than Blackberry had ever found paws before. Blackberry tumbled off Patch’s belly and somehow found himself holding the huge grey bear’s right hind foot in his tiny paws, the bear’s foot was huge, with thick pads, and when Blackberry stroked his toes and Patch curled them, Blackberry found huge toes too, warm toes, which curled around those of his forepaws with a warmth he recognised.

“You’re still the playful cub I met all those years ago,” Patch mused. Blackberry, unable to speak, just kissed the pads of patch’s right hind foot, remembering he should always ask first, but words failed him.

“You’re so huge!” Blackberry blurted.

“I’m as large as you imagine me to be,” patch said smiling. Blackberry shook himself, and looked at patch again, measuring him with his eyes.

“You’re normal size again,” Blackberry gasped, “oh thank god for that. I thought, thought I was a cub again, and that you were huge and soft, sorry.”

“Well you are right about two of those, wrong about the first,” mama Targon replied.

“did I clamber all over patch?” Blackberry asked hesitantly, “if I did, I’m sorry.”

“I don’t know,” Targon replied, “I think, I think I saw something, but it was a cub, not you. Or was it you before I knew you, all black fur and questing paws, not white fur like now.”

“Whatever I did, I’m sorry,” Blackberry choked.

“Nothing you did disgraces you Blackberry,” patch replied gently.

“What is he saying?” Orbon asked Caleb.

“I think that’s, “don’t worry about it,” in patchspeak.” Little Targon grinned.

“Patchspeak, I like it!” she giggled.

“Patch always spoke more eloquently with his paws than he did his mouth,” Jess said, padding into the lie up. Patch got to his feet and approached the young girl, reared onto his hind feet and embraced her in his paws. Jess wrapping her arms around the huge bear’s neck and kissing his nose.

“I saw Targon’s labour,” jess said, “it was amazing Patch.” Patch smiled.

“Talk to Targon about it,” he replied, “she’ll tell you all I’m sure, and maybe, just maybe you can embrace her newborn cub too.”

“I watched Sally’s labour, and Mama Targon’s too, they were lovely,” Jess said. Patch smiled broadly, dropped to all four feet, and sat down, Jess exploring him from nose to toes with her eyes, loving him.

“did you see where Sooleawa went to when she left after delivering Cynthia to the birthing pool?” Patch asked.

“She went back to her pool and sat there, shaking so much she created waves in the pool,” jess replied.

Sooleawa sat in her shallow footbath, something she’d never normally do, usually only amercing her hind feet in it. Shaking, she tried to rationalise what she’d seen. She remembered the feel of Cynthia’s bunching pads beneath her paws as she washed her feet, and the feel of her curling toes, as well as the sight of the bunching skin on the soles of the human’s feet. Then there was the ride to the birthing pool, with the human unable to walk, she spent the journey on her hands and knees, head down, screaming from time to time, then moaning and yelling towards the end of the journey. Sooleawa had never seen anything so frightening in her life. Feeling sick with fear, Sooleawa crawled to the phone and spoke to the control room, crying to Nanuq, who left the control room, padded to Sooleawa’s station and sat with her, cradling her in his paws.

“she was screaming and roaring, and her toes, they curled so tightly!” Sooleawa sobbed. Nanuq stroked the she bear’s head and said softly:

“those curling toes and screams heralded the birth of a little female man cub,” both mama and cub are doing fine Sooleawa. Sooleawa wept with relief.

“her pads were sweating, her toes curling so tightly, her pads bunching so urgently!” Sooleawa wept.

“I think you might want to meet someone,” Cynthia said, padding into the small room where Sooleawa worked. Sooleawa looked up, to see the woman she’d last tended to some hours ago padding in barefoot, with a tiny bundle in her arms. Cynthia sat down, her feet in the water, and handed Sooleawa her newborn child, Sooleawa gazing down at the child’s tiny face, hands and feet.

“She’s beautiful,” Sooleawa said, touching noses with the tiny baby.

“I named her Ekaterina,” Cynthia replied smiling.

“that’s lovely,” Sooleawa replied, “I love that name.” Cynthia said:

“Sooleawa, you would know me better by my feet, to prove I’m the same woman whose feet you washed, would you like to touch my pads and toes again?” Sooleawa smiled and shook her head:

“I know you are the same,” she replied, “but if you insist, I will.” Sooleawa waved her paw at Nanuq, the huge male polar bear looking at Cynthia, who smiled and handed Baby Ekaterina to him, the human child quiet, and gazing about her. Sooleawa sat Opposite Cynthia, and took the human’s left foot in her paws, feeling familiar pads and toes, and when Cynthia curled her toes, the recognition was complete.

“I’ll bet you can’t curl your toes like you did earlier,” Sooleawa said, Cynthia smiling and making a valiant effort to curl her toes as she’d done while Sooleawa was washing her feet.

“You can’t curl them like you did, that’s not as tighter curl as you managed hours ago,” Sooleawa said, “but it’s a good effort.” Cynthia, giggling, stretched her toes and tried curling them again, Sooleawa stroking her bunching pads..

“I feel the paws of a cub have pressed your toes and pads,” Sooleawa said. Cynthia closed her eyes, remembering another set of paws, newborn paws, holding her foot so firmly, but so tenderly.

“I think his name was Caleb,” she replied, her eyes still closed, “I pressed my foot into his paws, like this,” Cynthia fitted actions to words, “then pulled it slightly away, curling my toes tightly, like this,” she said, re-enacting what she’d done in the birthing pool, “I think I then braced my foot hard, like this,” she added, pressing her foot hard into Sooleawa’s grip.

“your pads feel young,” Sooleawa said.

“yes, I’m a young human really,” Cynthia said. Jemma and I are a similar age, indeed, we play foot games, we have done since her cubs brought me and her together, as we are now friends.”

“We are friends yes,” Jemma said, walking into the room and sitting down beside Cynthia. Sooleawa smiled as she saw how similar the feet of the two women actually were.

“You two have similar feet, soles and toes,” she said, “I know that, for I’ve touched them. I’ll bet you playing triggered labour too Cynthia, Jemma pressed the pad of your heel, and it brought little Ekaterina into the world hours later.”

“I think it did,” Jemma said, “sorry about that Cynthia.”

“it worked out well in the end,” Cynthia said, “though we must be careful next time, to make sure none of us is pregnant before we press each other’s heels with our fingers.” Jemma smiled and hugged Cynthia.

“but our foot play was wonderful wasn’t it,” she said, “three rounds of the stuck foot game, and we even locked toes at one point. That was amazing!”

“it was,” Cynthia replied.

“”your pads were warm and soft against mine,” Jemma said.

“I thought of our foot play when that cub, Caleb his name was, took my foot in his paws,” Cynthia said, “his touch was gentle and loving, just like yours. That’s why I pressed my foot into his paws, and curled my toes, then withdrew my foot a little, and pushed harder with my foot, curling my toes even harder the second time.”

“Just like you did yesterday when we were playing,” Jemma replied smiling, “I felt you do that, and it was so sweet. You begged me not to let go of your foot when you withdrew it a little too.”

“I think things were getting going even then,” Cynthia replied, “though I didn’t know it at the time.”

“your toes curled so tightly,” Jemma replied, “you whimpered a little too.”

“Did I?” Cynthia asked, “I don’t’ remember, though I do remember your touch, and my world being focused through the sole of my foot and the pads of my toes.”

“We film our times together, so we can look at how we play the games,” Jemma said, “it’s a bit cubbish, but we like filming our games, so we could check the video to see.” Cynthia grinned:

“I’m sure I lost myself in the moment,” she said, “that game became very intense, very focused on hands and feet, toes and touch.”

“it was wonderful,” Jemma agreed.

“So humans play with each other’s hind feet after they become adult then?” Sooleawa asked, “I thought they grew out of that when they were juveniles?”

“Some do,” Jemma replied, but Cynthia and I hadn’t grown out of it, and it was only the social norms that stopped us playing the games, but one hour, in this house, we got talking, and realised we both played personal foot games. Locking the toes of both feet together and prying them loose with our fingers, pressing heels and toes together, and pretending they were glued, then prying them free with our fingers. It was a short hop to talking about stuck foot games, and we opened up to each other, and yes, before you ask, we measured feet, and our toes curled round each other’s. I don’t know whose toes held tightest, mine or Cynthia’s.”

“I think it was a close thing,” Cynthia replied, “and the pressure between our heels was big too.

“that sounds so cute!” Sooleawa giggled.

“it was,” Jemma and Cynthia said in unison, “and we don’t regret a minute of it.”

“I’d love to see your play,” Sooleawa said.

“For real? Or recorded?” Jemma asked.

“for real,” Sooleawa replied, “though only when you have the time to devote to it, like yesterday, for I know how long foot games take to get going. Rushing the game would be a shame.”

“well I can show you the video of last night’s antics,” Jemma said, “my pc is online at home.” She padded to the consol on the wall and tapped a few keys, accessing her laptop at home. Soon Sooleawa was watching a video, seeing a shot of Cynthia and Jemma’s hands and feet, and hearing their voices.

“let’s check each other’s feet for thorns first,” Jemma said on the video. There was a little discussion as to who would check whose feet first, and it was decided that Jemma was the one to check Cynthia’s first. Jemma took Cynthia’s right foot in her hands, pressing her toe pads, the ball of her foot, the sole and heel, before embracing her whole foot in both hands, rubbing with her thumbs on her heel.

“that’s what did it,” the real Cynthia replied, “listen to me now.” Cynthia on screen curled her toes tightly, then moaned deeply, withdrawing her foot a little, before pressing it back into Jemma’s hands, Jemma pressing her thumbs gently into Cynthia’s heel pad, one thumb on the pressure point to stimulate labour. In the room, Jemma looked at Cynthia.

“I’m sorry I started off labour,” Jemma said.

“I needed a push, as it were,” Cynthia replied, “it was no problem.”

“but I might have endangered your little one,” Jemma replied.

“You didn’t, and all’s fine, so stop fussing,” Cynthia said. Cynthia smiled:

“but that foot rub felt so dam good Jemma!” Jemma giggled.

“I always played with my feet as a child, so know how to do it,” she replied, “that’s why I chose you as Peter and Sally’s teacher, for you have similar views to me on play, and so many other things.”

“our feet stuck together though when we first touched heels and our toes, how they locked!” Cynthia said. Jemma grinned.

“that was intense,” she replied, “really intense.”

“now I will feed and settle little Ekaterina for a sleep,” Cynthia said, “and then Jemma, maybe you and I could play?” Jemma smiled:

“and this time, when we check each other’s feet for thorns, I’ll try not to trigger an early labour,” she replied.

“I hope though, that you can trigger childish play and single minded focus on the game,” Cynthia replied, “for I would like that.” Jemma asked:

“Cynthia, what happened when we first touched heels and toes together, that first time we opened up about our playtimes?”

“We were both nervous,” Cynthia replied, “but when our heels and toes touched, our toes locked, and it was as if our feet were glued together, we had to use our hands to free our toes and heels! Yes I remember that!” We played spontaneously, and freeing ourselves took an hour.”

“yes, but it seemed much longer didn’t it,” Jemma replied dreamily, “it took ages, or seemed to, the glue holding our heels and toes together got stronger and stronger I remember.”

“yes it did,” Cynthia replied, “it was kind of cute too really.”

“it was,” Jemma agreed.”

“”I paused the video,” Sooleawa said, “your talk in here is much more interesting than that.”

“if only we could revisit that first time,” Jemma mused, “that strong bonding of two friends in a common game. I remember almost a physical sensation of our feet sticking together, our toes locking tight. Then we had no choice but to play.”

“it is true,” Cynthia replied.

“You are just big cubs really then,” Sooleawa said.

“yeah, and I screamed and cried like one while delivering little Ekaterina into the world,” Cynthia said.

“You were wonderful,” Sooleawa replied.

“I tried my best,” Cynthia said, “now though, it is time for me to go home with my daughter.”

“I’m sorry I can’t see you two play together,” Sooleawa replied.

“When little Ekaterina is settled at home, then we’ll play,” Jemma said. Cynthia left, Sooleawa looking at Jemma.

“Did you and Cynthia really play that first time?” she asked. Jemma laughed:

“yes,” she replied, “it felt wonderful. We got talking about having our feet washed by you, then we got round to discussing the foot play games peter and Sally played, then I asked Cynthia if she played those games. She said she did, and I told her I did too. then, just for a giggle, we measured feet, and our toes locked, and then we just had to play the stuck foot game, as our feet were stuck, and well, it’s rude not to.” Sooleawa laughed merrily.

“I know,” she replied, “I’ve been stuck before too, and it’s taken ages to free my feet. Sooleawa smiled as she remembered, “I think my feet were stuck to Patch’s. we took ages to free ourselves.”

“the stuck foot game is a good game to play, for both adults and cubs,” Jemma replied smiling, “Cynthia and I played it, me and my children played it, patch plays it with Ekaterina too.”

“it is great,” Sooleawa replied.

Meanwhile, in Blackberry’s lie up, Little Targon sat with Caleb, the latter showing the former how to massage her feet to relieve her discomfort.

“press the sole of your foot, mid way between your heel and toes,” Caleb said, “Blackberry told me that’s what soothes constipation. Little Targon nodded:

“While I was sitting in the canvas chair in the other room,” she said, “Blackberry rubbed the inside middle of the soles of my feet with his paws, and wow, that helped!”

“it sounded as if you were in labour!” Caleb said. Little Targon smiled and nodded:

“I felt like it,” she replied, “but when that plug left me, oh heaven, I could push finally, and push I did, right down into my toes!”

“I heard,” Caleb replied smiling, “a sort of ooooooaoaoaowmph sound you made as you pushed.” Little Targon giggled at Caleb’s impression of her.

“I made that sound yes,” she replied, “but there was much groaning, moaning and crying before that.”

“there was, it sounded like you were having a cub!” Caleb replied softly.

“I was pushing hard and getting nothing,” Little Targon replied, “even when Blackberry got paws on, the relief wasn’t instant, I had to endure a few efforts before things moved down, really, I wasn’t pushing, my body was of it’s own free will, I was just suffering, the push came first when I pushed out the plug, then, oh then things got moving, and I could push into my bottom, then my soles, then my toes!” Caleb touched the sole of little Targon’s right foot, then touched her toes, the she bear bouncing on her backside with excitement.

“You do seem brighter,” mama Targon said to her daughter cub.

“I will be, until the blockage happens again, then I’ll have to cry and pant, and heave and push,” she said.

“I’ll help you by showing you how to massage your hind feet to make things easier,” Caleb replied.

“I think we could incorporate that into general paw and foot games,” Little Targon replied, “the urge to relieve myself is never urgent, I have at least some warning. I could run off if things get desperate. But just massaging my feet is so boring, and anyway, if someone else does it, it’s often more affective, as I’m not fearful of their pressure on my feet, but my own, well, I can’t press hard enough to do it.”

“You don’t trust yourself?” mama Targon asked.

“she needs someone to hold her paw,” Caleb said, “and if the sounds you were making were anything to go by, I’m not surprised.” Little Targon looked so upset that Caleb hugged her.

“It scares me!” little Targon wept, “I know I shouldn’t be talking to a day old cub about this, it’s a horrid subject, but I’m as frightened of relieving myself now as if I was a young cub again! It hurts!”

“I’m wondering,” Caleb said softly into little Targon’s ear, “I’m wondering if a warm bath might help, like mama had when she was delivering me into the world. She had to push, like you have to push, and she waded up and down the pool, and sat in the pool too. I’m sure it helped her, so why not you?”

“I couldn’t do that in the birthing pool,” Little Targon replied.

“No,,” Blackberry said, “but there are other baths, with relieving places next to them. You could try that, with Caleb’s help, if he wishes to help you, which I think he does.”

“so I swim, and crawl, and sit back on my heels, and Caleb gives me foot and belly rubs until, until, I’m relieved?” Little Targon asked.

“yes, if you like,” Caleb said smiling, “I’d like you to try it anyway, for if it relieved mama, it’s got to be good for you too, it must help somewhat.”

“what if I moan and cry?” Little Targon asked.

“I won’t worry about that,” Caleb replied, “it seems keeping things inside hasn’t done you any good anyway, so moaning and crying is fine.” Little Targon embraced Caleb, weeping into his fur.

“how can a cub talk so much sense?” Targon asked.

“they do, if only we’d listen,” patch replied gravely.

“Right,” Caleb said when little Targon’s tears dried, “when you feel you need to get things moving big sister, I’ll help you with a bath of warm water, rubbing the soles of your feet, and supporting you while you relieve yourself.”

“Thank you,” Little Targon replied, kissing her brother’s ear.

Jemma, leaving the community house, padded to Cynthia Chartwell’s house, which was just on the edge of the dark woodlands. Ringing the bell, she waited, her friend coming to the door and letting her in.

“Coffee?” Cynthia asked, Jemma accepting.

“how’s baby Ekaterina?” Jemma asked.

“Sleeping like a bear cub,” Cynthia replied smiling, “If we settle down with a coffee, and don’t make too much noise about it, we could play the stuck foot game together.

“the night before last was rather loud wasn’t it,” Jemma said, Remembering their laughter and shouts of encouragement as they tried to free their feet from the glue which kept getting stronger and stronger.

“yes,” Cynthia replied, “I think that game might have sped things up too, and my baby’s birth wasn’t too far off.”

“Seems that way,” Jemma replied. The two women drank their coffee and sat down on the sofa.

“I remember our chat,” Jemma said, “that one where we realised we played childish foot games. We were both nervous as hell talking of it. I think we spoke of why I’d chosen you as teacher for Peter and Sally, about how you were barefoot and enjoyed being so.”

“I then told you of a game I used to play,” Cynthia replied, “where I pressed my soles together and locked my toes together, using my fingers to explore the resulting tangle and ease my toes, the heels and balls of my feet free, while trying not to let my toes curl with the pleasure of the game, for if they did, they’d lock, and I’d be back to square one, as that locked my heels again.”

“I told you of how I used to play at birthing a baby, squeezing my toes and rubbing my soles whenever I moaned or pushed,” Jemma said. We then played your single player stuck foot game, which I found difficult to finish, as my toes kept curling.” Cynthia laughed.

“I remember that,” she replied, “it took you four attempts didn’t it?”

“yes it did,” Jemma replied.

“then, then we decided we’d measure feet, just like Sally and peter do,” Cynthia replied, “and, and then, then we touched heels and toes, and our toes locked. I can remember your pads warm and soft from the games you’d played only a minute previously.”

“You played those games too,” Jemma said, “so your pads were warm also, your toes too, wow, how they pressed against, then locked mine in their embrace!” Cynthia grinned.

“Stuck for a long time,” she said, “we stuck for a long time, finally prying the last toe free after an hour of laughter and setbacks where our feet refused to obey our hands.

“Our fingers kept slipping,” Jemma replied, “especially when it came to me working my fingers between my heel and yours while you pulled, my fingers wouldn’t stay in the gap.”

“it was great when they slipped,” Cynthia said, “we’d whimper and growl, then roar as your fingers slipped, our feet pressing together and toes curling round each others as tight as we could. Of course, we could only do that because your feet are slightly smaller than mine.”

“yes they are,” Jemma replied, “even though I have tried stretching my toes, which doesn’t work.” Cynthia smiled.

“Such fine times,” she replied. Jemma and Cynthia sat opposite each other on the rug in front of the sofa, and smiling, they rubbed alcohol gel on their hands and feet, then took each other’s feet in their hands and explored them from toes to heels, pressing pads and stretching the skin on the soles of their feet to check for thorns. This done, they pressed their heels together, their feet slightly raised from the ground by a bean bag they used to rest their heels on. Jemma felt Cynthia’s warm pads pressing against hers, then felt her larger toes curl round her smaller ones.

“We’re locked here!” Jemma said, tugging at her right foot with both hands, finding her heels and toes locked into and against Cynthia’s.

“Silly cub games,” Cynthia said laughing, Jemma grinning broadly.

“it’s great to play with someone of like mind,” she replied, “playing on one’s own is boring.”

“yes it is,” Cynthia replied, “even if you do urge your fingers on out loud while prying at your toes with scrabbling fingers, while your heels get warmer, and the glue gets stronger as you battle with your curled toes, then try not to make them curl as you free the balls and heels.”

“I fought for an hour once,” Jemma said, “I was nearly there, then when I was within an inch of freeing my heels, I touched the sensitive sole of my right foot, my toes curled together, and I was back to square one.” Cynthia giggled:

“My record was two hours freeing my feet, for the whole thing to be undone by a careless touch to the sole of my right foot. that did it, toes curled, and locked, heels jammed tightly together, game lost to sensitive feet and grasping toes.” Jemma smiled at this.

“now we’re stuck again,” she said, exploring with her hands, “and the glue is very strong.”

“it is,” Cynthia replied, “I think it’s your turn to pull, and mine to work my fingers into any gap you make. So grab the heel of your right foot in your hands and I’ll use my right hand to pry my left foot free as you pull.” This they did, their game quiet, apart from a few grunts of effort and whispered exultations, so not to wake Cynthia’s newborn daughter. By degrees, Cynthia worked her heel free of Jemma’s, each bracing their toes as they worked. Cynthia worked her fingers down into the v between the arch of her left foot, and Jemma’s right, while Jemma tugged and wiggled her heel, trying to free the pad from Cynthia’s.

“this takes some doing!” Jemma gasped, when they were half way done, “the glue is very strong today.”

“understandable,” Cynthia said, jamming her fingers into the increasing gap and holding on tight for a rest, “we’re up for a game, so it’s powerful play.” With that, she dug hard down with her fingers, Jemma tugging furiously at her own right foot, dragging their heels apart.

“done it!” Jemma panted. Then she and Cynthia worked hard to free their toes, and the balls of their feet, gasping as their feet were freed.”

“Half an hour that one,” Jemma panted, “now for our other two feet.”

“I’d better feed my daughter first though,” Cynthia said, as little Ekaterina began to cry.

While feeding her daughter, Cynthia and Jemma watched the video of Cynthia’s daughter’s birth, Cynthia marvelling at how gentle mama Ekaterina was with her.

“the touch of the she bear’s paw on my forehead was lovely,” Cynthia said, “and the touch of Caleb’s paws on my foot was wonderful too. as was the whole thing. They are very good creatures there, from lions to tigers and bears, they are all wonderful.”

“Sally and Peter saw the whole thing too,” Jemma said, “they kept out of the way, but I’m sure they loved every minute.”

“I’m sure they did,” Cynthia replied, “I wondered what they’d been doing since they didn’t come back to school.”

“They’ve been learning here, doing school type things under the tutelage of a formal teacher for formal subjects, their playtimes supervised by Sita and mama Anook, who are great at play.”

“yeah, I have other children to see too, who while their parents don’t mind them going barefoot, don’t like them going to strange houses with strange creatures, even if they would be completely safe.”

“I know, I’m sorry for it,” Jemma replied, “but you can come to the house of an evening, and play with Sally and peter, they really like you Cynthia.”

“Oh I know that,” Cynthia replied, “and I like them, but the rules are the rules, I need to teach for all, and the majority don’t like that big house. I love it myself, and would take my classes in the great room, with playtime in the soft play room, but that would not do for the governors of the school. They’d hate it.”

“yeah, they would,” Jemma replied, getting to her feet and stretching, “it’s late now,” she said.

“wow, is that the time?” Cynthia asked, glancing at the clock which said ten pm, “I’m going to have to go to bed.”

“I’ll see you in the morning,” Jemma replied, “oh, Cynthia, how long are you off school for?”

“Nine months,” Cynthia replied, “are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

“that you come to the community house and spend that time there,” Jemma replied, “I’m sure patch would love it, and you could help teach the cubs, not that Furcone doesn’t do a good job, she does.”

“I’ll see what I think in the morning,” Cynthia replied, “but I am rapidly falling head over heels in love with that place and its community.”

“Maybe we can finish our game in the soft play room,” Jemma said. Cynthia seeing her out the door.

“I look forward to that,” Cynthia said.

A few days later, in Blackberry’s lie up, Little Targon lay on her side feeling awful. Her old complaint had returned with vengeance, and she felt worse by the day.

“I need help,” she whimpered, “but I don’t want to take drugs to help me, I need massage to do it. Thing is, I’m pregnant, Zane got me pregnant!”

“Wow,” Blackberry said, “so you’re in cub, lovely!” Mama Targon stared at her daughter cub.

“Zane?” she asked, “that big fat bear with the huge hind feet?”

“Him,” Little Targon replied, “and he is so gentle too! though I think when the cub is born, I’ll have to push extra hard to deliver the cub’s hind feet, probably a special effort for each.”

“”would you like me to help?” Caleb asked.

“I would like that Caleb,” Little Targon replied, “I, I don’t want to end up like Kuruk’s ex mate, Anook, she was unblocked, and hope came soon after, she couldn’t tell what was labour and what was pain from her constipation. I want to feel the birth of my cub!” Little Targon wept, “I want to feel it free from this other pain.”

“I know,” Blackberry said softly, “if Caleb can do anything he will.”

“I could relieve you, and the foot rubs could start labour, for which you’d need more foot massage, then oh, then, then you’d have a lovely cub too!” Caleb giggled.

“I am not ready for that yet,” little Targon replied smiling, “I need, need so badly to relieve myself though, as it’s hurting me, and I’ve tried hard today.” Caleb held her paw, smelling her scent strong in her fur.

“It would be great if your cub came while I was rubbing your paws,” Caleb said to little Targon, who whimpered with fear.

“It would not be good if she delivered her cub in a dirty bath you idiot!” mama Targon roared.

“I’ll look after them both,” Blackberry replied, “but Caleb is paws on from now on. I’ll stay paws off, as little Targon seems to like his touch a lot.”

“I want to rip Zane’s paws off!” mama Targon screamed.

“that won’t serve any useful purpose,” Blackberry replied, “now mama Targon, please, can’t you be glad for our cub?”

“I am, but she’s got this awful thing that means she can’t even push out, well, you know, so how on earth is she gonna push out a cub?” Targon wailed, “my cub will die giving birth!”

“your last labour was assisted,” Blackberry replied, “and you did not die.”

“yeah, I suppose it was,” Targon replied faintly.

“Now I’m feeling a little silly,” Targon admitted. Little Targon padded to the tub where Caleb clambered about, filling the tub with water, little Targon settling into the shallow bath.

“Things feel better already,” little Targon said, as her brother cub, only two days old, got on with rubbing the pads of her right hind foot, little Targon curling her toes slowly, then relaxing them.

“I don’t know how well I’m doing,” Caleb said after five minutes of massage, in which his sister wriggled, then puffed and blew a bit, then she suddenly closed her eyes, dug the heels of both hind feet into the bottom of the tub and strained deeply.

“yoaaoaoaoaoaoaow!” she whimpered, “I can’t stop it Caleb!” Caleb kept massaging little Targon’s right foot, the she bear breaking wind beneath the water, Little Targon panting and whimpering, then she tried pushing again.

“Huuuuuuuuuuauuuuwmph!” she complained, As she broke more wind.

“You’ll both have to wash your fur now!” mama Targon roared, but Caleb, intent on his work, massaged his sister’s hind feet some more, little Targon roaring and straining deeper and deeper into her tail.

“ayayayayayayaow! Yoaoaoaoaoaoaoaow!” she roared. Caleb rubbed her back, Little Targon growling with pain and effort, the water now very dirty indeed, but it was clear to everyone that Caleb’s paws had worked their magick.

“Push dear sister, push, gentle push,” Caleb whispered softly to Little Targon, the she bear getting to her feet and crouching in the water, then gathering her strength and mewing a reply noone but Caleb caught. Little Targon panted, then strained a little, then suddenly groaning, wriggling and rocking back and fourth, little Targon pushed down hard into her tail and, with a splash, finished her job.

“now both of you need a bloody good wash!” Blackberry said. both little Targon and her brother showered themselves thoroughly.

“Maybe a bathtub isn’t the best place for that,” Little Targon said.

“You’ll have to clean it now too!” Mama Targon snapped, angry with her cubs.

“it’s not fair to make them do that,” Blackberry said, “Caleb was only trying to help his sister out, and he did it. Give him a break mama.” Mama Targon washed out the tub, which was easier to do than she expected. Then she padded back to the den where her daughter and youngest cub were cuddled up together, the latter stroking the former’s back with his paws.

“How did it feel?” Caleb asked. Little Targon, crying softly, didn’t answer at first, but when she could, she replied:

“I’m embarrassed, I’m shocked, but I’m very grateful and feel very loved too,”

“You made it easier, less stressful during the fact. I was able to relieve myself without shame, and only after, when I saw the mess, did I feel bad about it, but then it was cleared up, and I would have cleared up the mess myself too, but others did it. Though I don’t think we’ll try that in the tub again, I think we should try it using towels and absorbent pads.”

“But I thought water would ease things!” Caleb wailed.

“It did,” Little Targon said, “but it’s very messy, and, and, well,,,”

“mama Targon goes mad about it,” Caleb said angrily, “well she can go stuff herself! Then when she’s done that, she can try going through what you do every time she needs to relieve herself! It’s horrible!”

“I wish I wasn’t like this!” Little Targon wept.

“You really shouldn’t talk about your mama like that Caleb,” Blackberry remonstrated.

“I was trying to help my sister, and mama goes mad Blackberry,” Caleb roared, his fur standing on end, “I can’t have that, little Targon’s in pain, you saw her face, you saw her paws, her feet? How hard she was having to push? It hurts her Blackberry. Breaking wind hurt her enough, getting rid of what she had inside her made her scream and roar, you heard that.”

“I did,” Blackberry replied, “but what can we do? We can’t clean the tub every time!”

“I’m eating everything fibrous, everything like that,” Little Targon wailed, “but it still hurts, still makes me scream and cry like a stuck cub.”

“I’ll try working with warm water and pads and things,” Caleb replied, “but surely doing what Little Targon did in the tub to relieve herself, and what mama Targon did to deliver me into the world is basically the same thing? The only problem would be if Little Targon’s cub came into the world while she was relieving herself, that would be a problem , but with daily treatments, that shouldn’t happen, or I can try and stop it.”

“I don’t know!” Blackberry whimpered.

“What I know is this,” patch said, having watched the whole thing without comment until now, “what I know is this. though Little Targon made a mess, though she roared and screamed, and tell me if I’m wrong here please. But she felt better with Caleb, than with Blackberry.”

“yes,” Little Targon whimpered, Blackberry looking devastated.

“but how?” Blackberry asked, “I care, I want to care!”

“You don’t understand her fear, Caleb does,” Patch replied, “you judge her, even though you try not to.. Caleb feels her fear, he’s empathetic to her needs. Little Targon knows she can scream and cry, grunt and make all the noises she needs to, and Caleb will understand every movement, every tear, every effort.”

“Oh,” Blackberry mumbled, “I suppose I don’t judge mama Targon for making a sound when she’s in labour because it’s a correct thing for me to help her, but when my cub’s in distress with her complaint, I judge her, as the social norms say she should be doing this on her own. I don’t mean to Judge her Patch, I don’t!”

“But you do,” Patch replied, “Caleb doesn’t. to him, she’s a cub in distress, and he’s helping her. that is as deep as it is.”

“I’m sorry we didn’t get much paw play in before things got desperate,” Little Targon said to Caleb, who smiled.

“To hear you getting rid of that stuff was all the thanks I needed,” he said, “you did very well by the way, you didn’t shy away from pushing down when you needed to.”

“In the other place, I did,” Little Targon admitted, “I tried not to push because I was embarrassed and pushing hurt, with you Caleb, I wasn’t, I went for it, and it was better because of that.”

“bugger social norms where health is concerned!” Blackberry yelled, stamping his feet in rage, “I will not judge my daughter cub, I will not!”

“I’ll bet you told her to keep pushing too Caleb,” Patch said gently to the male cub.

“I would and did,” Caleb replied.

“I think we’ll do this on our own next time,” Caleb said to the room in general. I think, tender though my time on this earth has been, that I can say that it would be better for little Targon if it was just me and her alone.” Blackberry huffed, but knew the truth of his son cub’s words.

“What did you say to Caleb after he urged you to push little Targon?” mama Targon asked.

“That’s private between me and him,” Little Targon replied.

“when you told her to push, you sounded so cute, as if coaxing a cub even smaller than yourself Caleb,” mama Anook said.

“Did I? Well I’m sorry if I made little Targon feel small,” he replied.

“No, no!” Little Targon protested, “I liked it, it encouraged me, you weren’t shouting at me to push, “just a little push, just a little push,” you said softly. So I gave a little push, and it worked, then I felt like giving a big push, so I pushed like I felt like doing, and wow, that worked too!” Little Targon roared.

“Good,” Caleb said, “so I’m doing okay so far.”

“You made me feel Safe and cradled,” Little Targon said, “not that Blackberry didn’t, but, but, I felt his anxiety, he was scared for me, and well he might be, I’m his cub, you Caleb, you know what it is, you know it’s not scary if taken gently, at least you know that, I need reminding of that when I’m in the grip of it. For I know it when I’m here, all safe and warm, but when I need to push, I forget everything! I just want to scream and cry, and curl my toes and roar!”

“You’re curling your toes even now,” patch said. Little Targon relaxed her toes, panting a little with emotion.

“So you would help her every time she wanted to, you know?” mama Targon asked.

“by her, I suppose you mean Little Targon,” Caleb said imperiously, though he didn’t know he was sounding so, “then yes, I would, every day if she wanted, I would massage her paws and feet, and help her to ease her pain in as much comfort as is possible for her.”

“yes I do mean Little Targon, and that tone is out of order young sir!” mama Targon snapped.

“there has been a lot out of order here,” patch replied, “Caleb’s tone the least of the things, so let’s see if we can just be glad and grateful that Little Targon has someone to share her bad times with, that that cub will hold her paw and do so much more than that for her, and not just because he has been asked to either.”

“I don’t get this at all!” Mama Targon raged.

“he likes caring for others, the paws on stuff,” patch said, “I used to do a lot of that for jess when she was younger. And it is very satisfying when you help your charge out of a tight spot like that.”

“It seems wrong that a cub should help his sister in those situations,” mama Targon whimpered.

“I don’t see you getting your paws dirty mama,” patch said, Targon huffing with exasperation.

“Okay, okay!” she grunted, “Let Caleb work his magick, or whatever you call it.”

“Thanks,” Caleb replied smiling.

“You really did me the world of good,” Little Targon said later that day when Blackberry and Mama Targon were out of earshot, “you know how to massage a poorly bear’s belly and get her back on track, if only for a while.”

“I do my best sister Targon. I am not trained in this type of thing, it’s just that my paws and your hind feet seem to like each other, and my massage of your hind feet seems to soothe your discomfort.”

“it wasn’t just your touch,” Little Targon replied, “it was your words and tone too, when you told me to push, just a little push, I was exhausted, but I pushed, just a little, and then I wanted to push harder, so I did. You helped me do that.”

“so every time she gets blocked up, Caleb will rub her pads and she’ll get relief?” Zane asked, padding into the room, having monitored the goings on from his lie up.

“Um, yeah,” mama Targon replied scowling, having followed Zane into the lie up, “and what the hell are you doing here anyway? You’ve taken my daughter cub from me you thief!” Zane, confused now, sat down, his huge hind paws very prominent indeed.

“now Targon please,” Blackberry said gently, “you’re over reacting to this. Little Targon is pregnant, she’s not dying.”

“All my cubs are getting pregnant!” mama Targon screamed.

“Um, no, I’m not, and never will be,” Caleb replied, Patch laughing uproariously.

“You know what I meant!” Mama Targon roared.

“If your cubs have as big feet as Zane there,” Caleb said, “you’ll have a job to push them out.”

“Yeah, I know,” Little Targon replied, “but I’ll do it.”

“I felt mama Cynthia’s toes curling while she pushed,” Caleb said, “they curled so tightly, so very tight.”

“I’ve watched the video,” Zane replied, the underwater shot of her holding her right foot in her hands was as expressive of her pain and struggle as any sound or facial expression, her fingers, how they gripped, her toes, how they curled!”

“I saw that too,” patch replied, “expressive is the word.”

“her fingers will leave indentations on her pads forever,” Sooleawa said, padding into the room.

“Are you all right Sooleawa love?” patch asked. Sooleawa smiled:

“I was a big woose where Cynthia’s labour was concerned,” she replied, “I went to pieces!”

“it’s all good, all did well,” Blackberry said.

“I heard Caleb got paws on too!” Sooleawa exclaimed.

“yes I did,” Caleb replied, “and it was wonderful Sooleawa, wonderful!””

“But she moaned, screamed and beat the water!” Sooleawa whimpered.

“All part of it,” Cynthia said, padding into the room.

“but, but you screamed and roared, and curled your toes! I know we’ve spoken of it before, but I watched the video, and you curled your toes so much!” Sooleawa said, staring at the young woman.

“Like this?” she asked, Sitting down, grabbing her right foot in her hands and squeezing her heel and sole, curling her toes as tightly as she could.

“yes like that,” Sooleawa replied, Cynthia giving her her right foot.

“Hold it,” she invited, Sooleawa sitting down and taking the woman’s foot in her paws, Cynthia curling her toes tightly, as Sooleawa explored gently.

“cute really,” Sooleawa said, “but then I know that, as I’ve checked it for thorns, and washed it several times now.”

“would you like us to re-enact that scene in the water Sooleawa?” Caleb asked. Sooleawa looked up sharply at him.

“Which one?” she enquired.

“the one where I stroke Cynthia’s left foot while she squeezes and curls the toes of her right.” Caleb replied smiling.

“Um, uh, no thanks,” Sooleawa replied, “it’s too realistic for my liking, I know how easily these humans drop into realistic role play, I’ve seen them playing the stuck foot game, and that made my toes curl!”

“You felt their emotions,” Caleb replied grinning.

“Okay, okay, I did!” Sooleawa replied gruffly, “despite my fear of what I was watching, the emotions got the best of me, and I curled my toes with the mama on screen, I watched everything!”

“So what do we do now?” Caleb asked, “I seem to have invited a human into this place, but I’m only a cub? I’m sorry if I broke the rules!”

“The fact that she came here for help and came back to us means we adopt her as one of us, as a friend of the community,” Patch said softly, “and maybe her female man cub can become a community cub just like Moses.”

“She might,” Sooleawa replied, “but I’m just a silver coated she bear, who holds none of the levers of power here.”

“Noone gets in without your say so,” Patch replied smiling, “I tried to once, and you demanded I let you check my feet for dirt and thorns.”

“Oh all right, all right!” Sooleawa huffed.

“you are lovely Sooleawa,” Cynthia said.

“I was a wreck of a bear when I left you,” Sooleawa replied, “all this birth stuff frightens me a lot.”

“But then you plucked up the courage to watch the video?” Cynthia asked.

“After you came to me and showed me your cub, sorry, baby, then yes,” Sooleawa replied, “then I found pleasure in seeing the video, as I knew all would be okay.”

“So you won’t be present at the birth of my cubs?” little Targon asked. Sooleawa shook her head:

“I can’t,” she replied, “I can’t deal with it in real-time, in case, oh dear,” Sooleawa gulped hard, “in case, well, something goes wrong, and, and, and, you or your cub come close to what I did,,,” Sooleawa stared into space, her eyes unfocused, looking back into a time of fear and terror which only she knew.

“You came through your own birth all right though,” mama Targon said to Sooleawa.

“I was overdue, like Caleb!” Sooleawa whimpered, “I remember everything, I remember being stuck, the fear of that, Caleb and I know that fear mama Targon, you don’t!”

“My cub wasn’t frightened at all!” mama Targon roared.

“are you sure of that?” Caleb asked.

“um, ah, no,” mama Targon huffed.

“I felt fear mama Targon, of course I felt fear!” Caleb roared, “I knew changes were happening, I knew I was dying inside there, and needed to get out!” Targon stared at her cub.

“So you and Sooleawa knew the fear of dying before you lived?” Targon asked. Caleb looked at Sooleawa, the two cubs eyes locking.

“You know it don’t you little one,” Sooleawa asked. Caleb crawled to Sooleawa and took her paw in his.

“I know what causes you not to look at the births of cubs before you know the outcome,” Caleb said.

“So you would deny a cub had ever existed if it didn’t live Sooleawa?” Blackberry asked.

“No,” Sooleawa replied hoarsely, “I just can’t watch the struggle a mama has delivering a huge cub, that is all.”

“Sooleawa,” mama Targon said, her tone softening, “shall I tell you how it felt for me to deliver Caleb into the world?”

“if you want to,” Sooleawa replied, feeling her paws trapped so she couldn’t run from the one eyed sow black bear.

“it was wonderful,” mama Targon replied, “it was a time of caring, of effort, of paws all around me. I felt loved and cared for and about.”

“What about you Caleb?” Sooleawa asked, tugging her paws and feet from the tiles to which the sweat of her own fear had stuck them and turning to the large cub.

“After patch had taken my fear away,” Caleb said, “I felt loved too, for I knew we’d be all right, mama and I. that she would find the assistance she needed to find the switch.”

“My mama couldn’t find that switch little one,” Sooleawa replied, “noone knew of it when I was born, I was dragged out into the world, and now, now I am taunted and jeered at because I check the paws and feet of others for thorns.”

“Do you hate your job?” Caleb asked.

“No,” Sooleawa replied, “I love it. It’s just, well, others think it a bit strange.”

“I wish mama had brought me down to you so you could check my feet for thorns,” Caleb said.

“But you don’t know what a thorn is, and you weren’t born with a thorn in your foot!” Mama Targon whimpered.

“I could have imagined one,” Caleb replied. Sooleawa smiled, realising what the newborn cub was trying to do. Crawling to him, she kissed his nose, Caleb throwing his paws around her in an infantile hug which left Sooleawa tearful.

“You are my sister,” he said, “Sooleawa, you are my sister, as we both know how to get out of tight places.” Sooleawa kissed Caleb’s nose.

“We do,” she replied.

“Would you check my paws and feet for thorns now?” Caleb asked. Sooleawa looked at mama Targon for permission.

“They’re your paws and feet Caleb,” the she bear said. Sooleawa smiled at Caleb and carefully checked his hind feet for thorns, spreading the skin on his sole and toe pads, small though they were. Blackberry approached Caleb, knelt down and placed something near the toes of his right hind foot, Sooleawa intent on working on the cub’s left hind foot. Caleb suddenly squealed, rolled about a bit, then lay still again, giving Sooleawa his left hind foot, and there was a little twig held in the now curled toes of his hind foot. Sooleawa, grinning, gently explored the now afflicted hind foot with her paw.

“You have a stick held tight in your curled toes,” she said, Targon huffing with annoyance.

“how on earth did he get hold of that!” she demanded of Blackberry, who smiled broadly.

“I couldn’t say,” he replied.

“It hurts me a bit,” Caleb replied, “I think someone must have left it on the floor and my toes grabbed it. Would you please help me free it from my toes?” Sooleawa looked down at the tightly curled toes and extremely bunched pads.

“it’ll be a struggle to free,” she said, “it’s well stuck there.”

“I’ll cope,” Caleb replied, Sooleawa gently tugging at the twig with her teeth, Caleb curling his toes around the twig while roaring as if the removal hurt him.

“This twig is stuck fast!” Sooleawa said, glancing up at Caleb, who crossed his eyes and stuck his tongue out at her, Sooleawa screeching with laughter and kissing the cub’s nose.

“Now I’m going to try one last time to free this twig from your toes,” Sooleawa said, gripping the end of the twig with her teeth, and tugging gently, Caleb yowling as he released his hold on the twig.

“there’s your problem,” Sooleawa said, holding up the twig. Caleb giggled as mama Targon turned her head away in seeming disgust at her cub’s antics.

“it was you wasn’t it Blackberry!” she roared, rounding on her mate, “it was you who gave Caleb that twig!” she roared, “you did it on my left side so I wouldn’t’ see!” Blackberry grinned slightly.

“No harm came of it,” he replied, “it’s all play, that’s all.”

“I forget how important play is,” mama Targon replied, “that’s my trouble I think.”

“the problem is,” Blackberry said, “that you wouldn’t like your hind feet caught, as you’ve had that done to you for malicious purposes. Pretending feet are stuck, and getting others to free them after a long struggle yourself is quite a good game here. It’s often played.”

“If, if my foot was caught in loving paws, I might enjoy it,” mama Targon replied.

“Did you see how tightly Caleb curled his toes to hold the stick?” Cynthia said, “I nearly died of cute overload!”

“You find our paws and feet cute?” Targon grunted.

“yes, I do, and so does Jemma, indeed, a lot of humans do,” Cynthia replied, “our paws and yours, and our feet and yours are very similar, so we find them cute. Same with cats, we find their paws and feet cute too.”

“Now it’s time to sleep Caleb,” mama Targon said to her cub, who crawled away from her and hid behind Sooleawa.

“I want to go with Sooleawa to see what she does!” he yelled.

“No, you can’t do that,” Targon replied, padding round behind Sooleawa, Caleb keeping on mama Targon’s left side, so he couldn’t be seen. Mama Targon realising what he was doing, Sat down, completely defeated, only for her cub to clamber into her lap and embrace her.

“Sorry mama, I’ll stop now,” he said, kissing her nose.

“You crawl to my left so I can’t see you, Blackberry also uses my disability to get the upper paw! Can we stop this now?” mama Targon begged.

“Okay,” Blackberry said, feeling very contrite, “mama, that wasn’t meant to seem like that. I just wanted to give Caleb something to grip in the toes of one of his hind feet, that is all. I should have told you what I was doing.”

“I wondered how he got that twig,” mama Targon replied, “I thought I’d been less than careful and he’d picked it up when he’d stood on his hind feet while defecating.”

“I wanted Sooleawa to find something wrong with my foot mama,” Caleb said, “and Blackberry gave me the twig.”

Why did you squeal?” Targon asked.

“I squealed as Sooleawa touched the twig, as if it hurt me,” Caleb replied, “that’s all it was.”

“I must try to play more often,” mama Targon replied, “but, well, my situation leads to seriousness. Caleb touched his mama’s paws, then her feet.

“mama,” he said, “you have damp pads, are you all right?”

“I’m frightened by what has been told to me,” Targon replied, “the realisation that you were close to dying inside me, and that you and Sooleawa had similar experiences.”

“You are sweating with fear?” Caleb asked.

“Yes my cub I am,” Targon replied miserably.

“Well I’m here now, and so’s Sooleawa, and we’re fine, so mama, let that fear leave you,” Caleb said.

“though I wanted everyone paws on,” mama Targon replied, “the reason for them getting so paws on in the first place was because I couldn’t push, I couldn’t give birth to my cub! do you know how that feels? To realise that I couldn’t do it on my own?”

“Well you could have mama,” Blackberry said, “but you didn’t know that, for I never got the chance to tell you until things had to happen urgently.”

“So a mama, with a normal sized cub, but who cannot push, can actually make herself push?” mama Targon asked.

“yes,” Blackberry replied, “she has to keep pressing her heel pad though, that does it.”

“Right,” mama Targon replied, “I’ll remember that for next time, if there were to be a next time, which I doubt now.” Blackberry looked unhappy.

“yes mama, sorry,” he replied gruffly.

“I’m sorry too,” Targon replied, “but there it is.”

“how do you play the stuck foot game alone Cynthia?” Sooleawa asked.

“Sit down, and bend your legs towards each other, until your feet touch,” Cynthia replied, “your heels should meet, almost pad to pad, your toes and the balls of your feet likewise. If you have flat soles, the whole sole pads of both feet will touch.” Sooleawa grinned and sat as Cynthia suggested, feeling her heels, soles and toes touching, her toes pressing against each other as if by magnet.

“right, now I’m heel to heel, and toe to toe with myself, what do I do now?” Sooleawa asked.

“press your feet together, and try to pry your toes, then your heels, then the balls of your feet free with your paws,” Cynthia replied. Sooleawa tried it, and found her toes while not locked together physically, were pretty immovable, as were her heels. Indeed, she found the glue getting stronger as she worked, giving up in frustration.

“This was a bad move!” she replied, “it’s like I’m now allowed to do everything I was told I’m not allowed to do with my hind feet, and now I see why, for I’m stuck!” Cynthia grinned and gently helped Sooleawa to free her feet, the silver coated cub grinning throughout.

“You are so cute,” Cynthia said, Sooleawa smiling.

“I’m just me,” she replied shyly.

“”I will try not to be scared of the births of cubs,” Sooleawa said, “but it’s so difficult when you know the pressure the cubs are under when being born.”

“I know I pushed hard into my bottom,” Cynthia replied, “I roared and screamed, moaned and groaned.”

“I saw and heard,” Sooleawa replied, “I’m not having cubs, if I can help it.”

“You never know,” Little Targon replied, “I thought that, and now look at me, barefoot and in cub.”

“Having a cub would kill me,” Sooleawa replied gruffly, “I’m not doing it!”

“Find the right bear, and you might,” Little Targon replied, “find the right bear and you might have your cubs, even if the sire of your cubs has to press your pads with his paws to enable you to push while you sit in a tub full of water.”

“What are you saying?” Sooleawa asked, her eyes flicking towards Caleb.

“Not me I don’t think,” Caleb said, catching her astonished thoughts.

“I don’t know!” Sooleawa whimpered.

“how can you be so certain when he’s only four days old?” patch asked.

“how long had you known Ekaterina before you promised to look after her?” Caleb asked.

“yeah, but I was older than her,” Patch replied, “I promised her early on in our friendship, but you, Caleb, you’re only four days old.” Sooleawa buried her face in her paws, knowing her touch had conveyed more than she’d wanted it to.

“Patch,” she whimpered, “I think we need to talk, you and I, alone.” Patch padded with Sooleawa to his lie up.

“What would you like to talk about?” he asked.

“I, I know I had a brief love interest with indigo,” Sooleawa replied, “but, oh dear patch, tell me, how long was it before you fell head over paws in love with Ekaterina? I mean really in love with her, that you’d protect her as the stories all tell?”

“it was quite soon after we met,” patch replied, “we had a meting of paws, then of hind feet, and we bonded, and, well, the glue hasn’t let either of us free our feet or paws yet.”

“I know,” Sooleawa sniffed, “you have been true to Ekaterina, true from your nose to your toes, and, and, I, I, Patch, I love Caleb, my paws and his, they bonded, I know they did! I’m older than him, I’m nearly five now, and he’s so tiny, so small!”

“I was nearly eleven when I met Ekaterina,” Patch replied, “she was barely six months old.”

“but it’s wrong, it has to be wrong!” Sooleawa whimpered.

“No,” Patch replied, “not wrong to have a friendship, not wrong to play, not wrong to embrace and snuggle. Not wrong to be close, not wrong to help Caleb crawl, then walk, then push him off his newly found feet and tickle his toes until he cries with laughter. Then, from being a friend, if the spirits allow it, you could become his mate.”.”

“You called Ekaterina sister for ages didn’t you,” Sooleawa replied miserably, crawling towards Patch, and looking into his face from close range.

“I did,” patch replied, “and Sooleawa, if your feelings towards Caleb are like mine were towards Ekaterina when she was young, things are fine. Give me your paw. Sooleawa choked on her tears and gave Patch her paw, the large grey bear smiling broadly.

“Like sire, like daughter,” he mused.

“You mean, mean I’m feeling what you did?” Sooleawa asked.

“yes,” patch replied softly.

“I’m confused Patch!” Sooleawa replied, her eyes filling with tears.

“what do you want to do?” patch asked.

“I want to play with Caleb, tickle his toes, chase him, hug him, and curl up with him, to protect him dam it! But his mama does that!”

“I wanted to protect Ekaterina in the same way,” patch replied, and mama Kamchatka let me protect Ekaterina.”

“how do I know what I’m feeling is not just me being unreasonable?” Sooleawa asked.

“Um, I’d see what you feel when he touches the pads of your hind foot without you making eye contact,” Patch replied. Sooleawa looked down at her paws, then felt someone touch the heel, then the sole, then toes of her right hind foot, the paw ran down from heel to toes. Sooleawa cried out as her toes curled suddenly, catching the smaller toes in their embrace. Sooleawa felt a kiss placed on the heel of her right foot, then felt her toes tightening around the toes they’d caught.

“stop it toes, stop it!” Sooleawa whimpered aloud, “you’ll crush his paw, you’ll crush his toes!” Another kiss, placed on the now bunched sole of Sooleawa’s foot made her sob.

“My toes are going to crush those of one I care for, stop it toes!” she screamed. The toes caught in Sooleawa’s pulled her foot back, Sooleawa turning her head a little to see the face of the owner of the paw she’d caught.

“don’t hide your face!” Sooleawa whimpered.

“You don’t need to see him to play with him,” patch said softly.

“But my toes won’t let his go!” Sooleawa wailed.

“Relax your toes Sooleawa,” Caleb said. Sooleawa tried, forcing her toes to relax, trying to stretch them, but Caleb kissed her pads once again, and her toes curled tightly once more.

“Don’t do that!” Sooleawa laughed, Caleb blowing on the heel of her foot in a circular fashion, Sooleawa shrieking with laughter and hanging onto the rugs with both forepaws.

“You rogue!” she squealed.

“you have the most gorgeous silver grey fur and the cutest pink paw pads,” Caleb said, Sooleawa giggling cubbishly.

“I’m glad you like them,” she replied.

“so how do I free the toes of my right paw that are caught by your right hind foot?” Caleb asked.

“I don’t know,” Sooleawa replied, “every time I try to relax my toes, something happens to make them curl again, it’s frustrating!”

“maybe we are just meant to stay like this for a long time?” Caleb asked. Sooleawa breathed deeply to calm her wild need to play.

“Uncurl toes,” she told them, Caleb feeling the strong grip on his paw relaxing. grinning, he ran his paw gently down the sole of Sooleawa’s foot, giggling as her toes caught his own toes in a fierce grip.

“You make my toes do this!” Sooleawa roared with mock anger.

“You make me want to play,” Caleb replied. Sooleawa forced her toes to uncurl for a second time, Caleb smiling, freeing his paw then crawling up beside her and kissing her nose.

“Can you show me what you do in that pool of yours?” Caleb asked.

“Well you haven’t got dirty paws or feet,” Sooleawa replied lamely.

“I would like it if you could maybe dirty up my paws a bit, then help me clean them,” Caleb said.

“You mean get you all muddy and then clean your paws and feet?” Sooleawa asked, “that’s, um, pointless isn’t it?”

“That’s play, or so I thought,” Caleb replied.

“Oh dear, oh dear!” Sooleawa whimpered, “of course, I’m forgetting myself.”

“You know how to play don’t you?” Caleb asked.

“yes,” Sooleawa replied softly, “I know how to play. That was the adult me talking, I need, need help, help to, to remove my adult paws and feet.”

“I can help you do that,” Caleb replied smiling.

“But my paws and feet are so old and wrinkled and adult!” Sooleawa replied in what sounded like genuine distress.

“I noticed they were a little tough,” Caleb replied, “not soft and springy like mine.”

“But I’m washing paws and feet all the time!” Sooleawa whimpered, “my paws and feet should be soft padded!”

“No,” Caleb replied, “I don’t think that’s how it is. You wash with soaps and things that dry out your pads, it’s bad you know, really bad for your poor paws and feet.”

“This is sounding like a health spar consultation,” Patch laughed.

“but my feet and paws are all hard and horrible!” Sooleawa wailed.

“Maybe if you tried to pull off your old feet and paws, it might work out,” patch replied, “Sooleawa, you’ll need help, of course.” Sooleawa stared at Patch.

“could you make that happen?” she asked, “I’ve heard of such things like that, but never attempted it myself.”

“As I said, you’ll need help,” patch replied, then he became thoughtful:

“Well you wouldn’t need help as such, as you have a good imagination,” Patch mused, “you’d need a playmate though to help you.”

“I think, Caleb? Could you? Would you?”

“I’m not part of the group of cubs yet,” Caleb said, “I don’t know those games yet.”

“My paws used to be smooth and soft to the touch, and cub like,” Sooleawa whimpered, “now, now they’re wrinkled and hard, and awful!”

“Your paws and feet do hard work Sooleawa,” Patch said, “well your paws do, your feet, they just dangle in the foot spar the whole day. You get wrinkled pads that way. Then, when you come out, you dry them, and all the oils are washed out of your pads, and you never moisturise your pads at all!” Sooleawa shook her head.

“I know, I know!” she wailed, “but I forget my own paws and feet!”

“you won’t when they become cracked and sore,” patch replied.

“they have before,” Sooleawa confessed, “but once they are healed, I go back to my old ways, and I get sore feet and paws again.”

“Maybe Caleb can help a little,” Patch replied, “you know all the potions for keeping paws and feet in good condition, but you never use any of them Sooleawa!”

“I know, I forget!” Sooleawa whimpered.

“now how if I give you responsibility for the paws and feet of one cub,” patch said, “Caleb’s paws and feet are yours to keep in good condition, as you forget your own. Now I know you’ll remember his, and maybe then, he can be responsible for making sure yours are in good condition too?” Sooleawa huffed with misery at the memory of the last time she looked at the soles of her hind feet. They were hard and looked ancient.

“I felt your playfulness coming out of your pads, even though they are a little tough and dry,” Caleb said to Sooleawa, who smiled at him.

“Great isn’t it,” she sighed, “I’m in charge of keeping paws and feet clean, and I neglect my own feet and paws, even though I have all the lotions and potions to paw, as it were.”

“they say a doctor often neglects his own health,” patch replied, “though I’m glad Blackberry isn’t. he seems to be researching on himself. Though that lead to him finding out things which upset him recently I believe.”

“I heard,” Sooleawa replied, “poor Blackberry.”

“now can I touch your paws and feet please Sooleawa?” Caleb asked. Sooleawa rolled onto her back and lifted her hind feet off the floor, Caleb sitting down at her feet and grabbing each foot in his paws, exploring her tough pads and toes.

“your pads are hard, not tough, hard,” Caleb said, “now Patch’s feet, they are tough, but soft, or so Blackberry said to me.”

“Come and touch for yourself,” patch said, sitting down beside Sooleawa. Caleb compared Patch’s tough, but springy sole pads, with Sooleawa’s dry hard sole pads.

“I wonder who’s the foot and paw specialist here,” Caleb mused, “my paws tell me it’s Patch, but my eyes told me Sooleawa had the job.”

“Patch should have the job after the shocking state of my paws and feet were exposed, “now I’m a disgrace!” Sooleawa wailed.

“You are not a disgrace,” Patch said, “well, not to others, maybe to yourself in the paw and foot department, but that can be cured, if you’d only remember you had paws and feet that is.” Caleb laughed helplessly at this, Sooleawa smiling.

“My toes are feeling a little stiff, is that due to tiredness, or due to my tough pads?” Sooleawa asked.

“or are they so unused to curling with pleasure at playtime that they need a little workout?” Caleb asked.

“I rarely play now,” Sooleawa replied honestly, “not the sort of play which leads to me curling my toes with emotion.”

“Maybe I can help you there,” Caleb replied smiling.

“You could, if you would,” Sooleawa replied gently, kissing Caleb’s nose as he clambered into Patch’s lap and faced her.

“So I’m just a seat now am I?” Patch asked aggrievedly.

“no!” Caleb replied, “you’re a heated seat.” Sooleawa screamed with laughter at this, Patch picking Caleb up in his paws, setting him down on his back in his lap, and playfully tickling his toes.

“he’s tickling my toes Sooleawa!” Caleb laughed, “stop him!” Sooleawa struggled to get her stiff old paws to work, but they couldn’t grip Patch’s forearm to lift the tickling paw off of Caleb’s right foot.

“I can’t, my paws are too stiff!” she roared in anger.

“So you’ll have to get supple and flexible paws and feet to stop me tickling Caleb’s toes then!” patch snarled in mock anger, Caleb squealing playfully.

“Oh dear, my paws and feet really are stiff and in need of a good sort out,” Sooleawa grunted, Caleb rolling off Patch’s lap and crawling to Sooleawa’s left hind foot, the toes of which he tickled, making her shriek with laughter and curl them around his paw.

“My toes are stiff and in need of a work out!” Sooleawa raged as she felt them catching Caleb’s tickling paw.

“cute as,” Caleb said, kissing the tops of Sooleawa’s toes, the she bear looking between her hind feet at the young cub with whom she felt more comfortable than anyone else except Patch.

“Go with Sooleawa to her workplace Caleb, and show her how to care for her paws and feet,” Patch said gently .

“Let’s go to your pool then,” Caleb said. Sooleawa crawled in solidarity with Caleb to her workplace. Sitting on the side of the pool with the young cub, Sooleawa embraced him in her paws.

“now what do we do about your hard pads and tired toes?” Caleb asked, standing on the side of the pool. Sooleawa smiled:

“I must remember my own feet and paws,” she said, “I forget them you see.”

“You remember to look after the pads of others, but not your own?” Caleb asked.

“yeah,” Sooleawa replied softly, “I do, I’m terrible when it comes to my own paws and feet.”

“how do you check another’s paws and feet for thorns?” Caleb asked. Sooleawa was about to reply when Moonshadow padded in from the woods.

“Ah, Moonshadow,” Sooleawa said to the bear who shook himself as rain had begun to fall outside.

“I know I need my paws and feet checked over,” Moonshadow replied. Caleb watched Moonshadow kneeling in the shallow pool, Sooleawa getting in behind him and checking his hind feet for thorns, stretching his pads and toes, Moonshadow bouncing on his heels as she worked, seemingly enjoying her touch.

“oooah!” he exclaimed, pressing his heels into his backside, Sooleawa helping him from the water, then lifting each hind foot in turn and blowing on his toes, Moonshadow laughing helplessly:

“That’s abuse of position Sooleawa!” he laughed, “tickling your customer’s toes is not part of the deal!” Sooleawa grinned and kissed Moonshadow’s nose, the brown bear resting his head against hers.

“I like that though,” he whispered.

“I won’t do that again,” She replied.

“But I want you to!” Moonshadow whimpered, sounding very cub like indeed.

“I’ll check your other hind foot for thorns,” Sooleawa said, checking both feet over once more, Moonshadow giggling throughout.

“Now I’ll dry your hind feet,” Sooleawa said, drying his feet with a paper towel. She then helped him wash his paws before he left her workplace.

“Standing on your hind feet,” Sooleawa said, “do you feel comfortable?” Moonshadow nodded.

“there is no pain in my feet at all,” he replied, “though my toes are still a little tickled by your ministrations.” Caleb giggled at this.

“Sorry,” she replied contritely.

“I’ll come back for more toe tickling,” Moonshadow said, “I like it very much.”

“I like your paws and feet too, very cute,” Sooleawa said, Caleb hiding his face in his paws.

“You do, how lovely!” Moon shadow replied laughing.

“Your paws and feet are those of a cub Moonshadow,” Sooleawa said smiling.

“I am still one of the cubs, well under Sita and mama Anook’s care anyway,” Moonshadow said, “they told me that until my paws and feet grew up, I’d always be a cub.”

“I don’t think they were talking about your physical paws and feet though,” Sooleawa replied, “more your emotional state I think.” Moonshadow padded away from Sooleawa’s workplace with heavy feet.

“She put weights on my feet did that Silver coated bear,” Moonshadow thought, “I didn’t want to leave her.”

“So that’s how it’s done is it?” Caleb asked. Sooleawa smiled and nodded.

“It’s easy work,” she said, washing her paws, “I should remember that when it comes to checking my own feet and paws, but I don’t.”

“It should be pleasurable work too,” Caleb replied.

“It’s boring checking one’s own paws and feet for thorns,” Sooleawa replied plaintively.

“Haven’t you got someone helping you do this job?” Caleb asked, genuinely shocked.

“I haven’t, well, not officially,” Sooleawa replied, “I rely on the good will of others to check their own paws and feet, and I just randomly check a random someone’s paws and feet, a sort of four pawed patrol, as it were. It’s not easy.”

“How if I check the paws and feet of all the cubs, and you do the same for the adults paws and feet?” Caleb asked. Sooleawa smiled:

“You’re too young,” she said, “I can’t give you that job yet.”

“Oh I don’t know,” Sita said, padding into the small lobby from the outside air and shaking water from her fur, “he could shadow you Sooleawa, anyway, to whom are you speaking? I don’t recognise his voice, though his scent is of Blackberry and Targon’s family.”

“ah Sita,” Sooleawa replied, “this is Caleb, he’s mama Targon’s cub, who was born a few days ago.” Sita padded forward, Caleb looking at her and backing away until he fell into Sooleawa’s pool.

“I’m sorry,” Sita said, sensing she had something to do with the huge splash sound, and the cub who was now paddling about in the pool.

“What is that!” Caleb demanded.

“Um, me?” Sita asked.

“it speaks!” Caleb screamed.

“that’s Sita,” Sooleawa replied, “she’s, a, a, um, she’s herself.”

“mama has showed me cats, bears, humans and other things, but Sita’s a mix of cat and bear! How could she be a mix of those?” Caleb asked, his eyes on stalks.

“A mix of bear and human would be more unusual still,” Sooleawa remarked.

“How would that work?” Sita asked, now thoroughly confused.

“I suppose a bear and a human would, um, well, and then, well, then the bear or the human, whomever was the female would,,,”

“Oh yes Sooleawa I know that!” Sita snapped, “I didn’t mean how would the mechanics work!” She became thoughtful:

“A bear with human hands and feet?” she mused.

“don’t even think of it!” Sooleawa snapped, “if you do, we’ll end up with another weird creature, and we already have one.”

“Oi, bitch!” Sita growled.

“I don’t like her Sooleawa!” Caleb wailed.

“Oh dear,” Sita whimpered.

“Sita’s lovely,” Sooleawa replied, “under all that fur I mean, she has a golden heart. Caleb screamed as Sita approached the side of the pool and stood on the edge, with the toes of her large paws over the side.

“You have no claws!” Caleb squealed.

“I do,” Sita replied, “they are retracted now though. I can retract and extend my claws, though you can’t, you’re a bear, I’m a cat bear, sort of.”

“how can you be a cat and a bear all at the same time?” Caleb asked..

“I was born of both,” Sita mewed, “my mama and sire were big cats, but, at the end of my time in the, um, “dark place,” as you call it, something happened to me.”

“What was that?” Caleb asked, his fear forgotten in the face of a good story.

“My mama and sire decided they didn’t love me, and, well, I had to be born, but my mama refused to push, she refused to deliver me into the world.”

“Noone found her switch?” Caleb asked.

“No, she wouldn’t let anyone near her to find it,” Sita replied, “so, so, a bear, who got to hear of this, well, he pushed, he pressed the switch and pushed and roared, kicked and wept until I was born. He then tried to show me to my mama and sire, but they hated the look of me.”

“I’m not surprised they did,” Caleb replied, “maybe you were sick, that’s why your fur is all brown and horrid.”

“I am healthy thank you,” Sita replied gruffly.

“No you’re not,” Caleb replied, “you’re blind, like that other cub, um, Orbon, I’ve met him too. he looks like you do, that is to say he doesn’t look anywhere with his eyes, his ears are always twitching, that’s very annoying.”

“I think you should apologise now!” Sooleawa snapped.

“Apologise for what?” Caleb asked, “this cat bear thing does look strange, and she is blind, and mamas and sires don’t just reject their cubs, Blackberry and Targon have said I am not of them ,but they didn’t reject me. So this Sita, this thing, she must be evil, as her mama wouldn’t even push her into the world.”

“I’m leaving!” Sita choked. Caleb splashed Sita with his paw, the cat bear choking and spitting water.

“That was a horrid thing to do Caleb!” Sooleawa yelled.

“She’s got a dirty face!” Caleb yelled, “I was doing my job!”

“she has spots on her nose and on the soles of her feet!” Sooleawa roared, “she hasn’t got a dirty face, or dirty paws, or dirty feet!”

“How do you know Sooleawa, you haven’t checked them over!” Caleb roared back.

“true, I haven’t checked her feet for thorns, but I will,” Sooleawa replied calmly, “Sita?” Sita, miserable now, sat down, and Sooleawa checked her paws and feet for thorns. Sooleawa saw a twig drop from the curled toes of Sita’s left hind foot as the cat bear sat down.

“You picked that twig up just for me didn’t you,” Sooleawa asked. Sita nodded, saying nothing.

“Why pick a twig up in your toes scruffy cat bear?” Caleb asked, “it’s silly.”

“there aren’t many stones or thorns I need to pick out,” Sooleawa replied, “and sometimes it’s a change to find one. Sita was bringing me a twig to find when I checked her feet over, but now, now her playfulness is gone. She doesn’t want to play any more.”

“Is this the Sita I will be looked after by when I join the cubs?” Caleb asked.

“She is,” Sooleawa replied.

“Well then, I don’t want her touching me!” Caleb whined, “she’s dirty, and horrible, and I hate her, and if I touch her, I might end up like Orbon!”

“don’t be so bloody silly!” Sooleawa shouted.

“I’ll bet Sita’s mama and sire saw what the bear had created and cursed her with blindness so everyone would hate her!” Caleb screamed.

“that’s a dreadful and horrid and disgusting thing to say!” Sooleawa roared, now completely on Sita’s side, and cursing herself fluently for her own words a few minutes previously.

“Even you said she was a strange creature, so why are you now defending that horrid bundle of fur?” Caleb asked.

“I didn’t mean I hate Sita,” Sooleawa replied defensively, “but I wish I’d kept my mouth shut now. Sita is good, kind, gentle, and a wonderful educator and knows how to play.”

“I still hate her Sooleawa!” Caleb squealed. Mama Targon padded in, assessed the situation and plunged into the pool, scooping up her cub and departing smartly for her lie up.

“I’m leaving now I think,” Sita said, getting to her feet.

“Sita, please, don’t, oh dear, Sita, please!” Sooleawa begged. Sita turned her face towards Sooleawa, the silver coated cub seeing a pair of devastated eyes, the devastation having nothing to do with Sita’s sight loss.

“how could you say what you did Sooleawa?” Sita asked. Sooleawa looked down at her paws.

“I didn’t mean it to sound like it did,” She mumbled.

“You know how impressionable young cubs are,” Sita mewed, “now he hates me because of the way I was introduced. I tried to make my story believable, and I am now shown disgust!”

“I didn’t help there,” Sooleawa whimpered, “Sita, dear Sita, I’m sorry.” Sooleawa lifted her head and touched Sita’s nose with hers.

“I should smack you like I would an errant cub,” Sita replied, “but I haven’t got the strength, and you’re not a cub.”

“I acted worse than a cub,” Sooleawa replied contritely, her pads sweating, and toes curling with shame,” I shouldn’t have said what I did.”

“What can I do now?” Sita asked.

“I will undo the damage, I will, I can’t do anything else!” Sooleawa replied miserably, walking from her workplace, leaving Sita alone.

“You can’t leave me here!” Sita yelled, “I don’t know where I am!” Sooleawa ran back to Sita, grabbed her paw and then, sobbing, threw her paws around her and hugged her.

“How can I undo the damage I have done?” she asked.

“Bring Caleb back and tell him to look beneath the fur,” Sita mewed, “I don’t wish to have fur like I do, but I accept my fur as it is, and wish others could too.”

“your fur is beautiful,” Sooleawa replied, “it’s soft, and warm, and visually interesting.”

“It’s dirty brown, has spots and stripes everywhere, and is disgusting,” Sita mumbled, “I’ve seen it, and it’s hideous.”

“You are lovely Sita, so shut up,” Hattie said, running to the cat bear and kissing her nose.

“thank you dear Hattie,” Sita said.

“You played with me yesterday,” Hattie said, “you crawled with me in the soft play room, and you crawled up a slope, and I followed, and tickled your toes, and you turned on me, we rolled down the slope together, and you tickled my toes in return, then we roughhoused on the floor, it was wonderful Sita!” Hattie enthused, bouncing on her toes while she spoke, like the excited cub she was.

“It’s a pity you can’t see what Hattie’s doing Sita, it’s so cute!”

“She’s bouncing on her toes by the looks of it,” Sita said, “it is cute.” Sooleawa stared at Sita.

“No, don’t look at me, look at Hattie,” Sita said, Sooleawa realising what had happened.

“Oooooaw,” she gasped, turning her eyes on Hattie. Hattie, grinning, crawled away from Sooleawa, Sooleawa looking down at the soles of Hattie’s hind feet as she crawled away.

“Cute,” Sita said smiling.

“Does she look as you imagined?” Sooleawa asked.

“She’s cuter,” Sita replied smiling.

“She is isn’t she,” Sooleawa replied smiling. Sita padded to Hattie, and tickled the large cub’s toes with her paw, Hattie screaming with laughter.

“tickle my toes, tickle my toes!” she laughed. Sita blew on Hattie’s toes, the cub shrieking with laughter and banging the ground with her paws.

“You look so cute little Hattie,” Sita said smiling.

“now I must go,” Sooleawa said, “I need to, need to sort my head out.”

“Poor Sooleawa,” Sita thought as her point of view vanished, and Hattie scrambled to her feet, tangled her paws and fell in the water with a splash.

“oops, um, that wasn’t meant to happen,” Hattie said, wading to the side and clambering out.

“I love you Sita,” Hattie said, Sita sitting down, Hattie scrambling into her lap and throwing her paws round her neck.

“I know you do little one,” Sita replied, kissing the top of Hattie’s head, the young she bear snuggling up to Sita.

Meanwhile, in mama Targon’s lie up, Caleb had told his mama all about Sita. Little Targon, furious with him, wanted to wallop him with her paws, but knew she couldn’t.

“Sita is lovely!” she resorted to yelling, Caleb shook his head.

“How can anything that looks as disgusting as that cat bear thing be nice,” he replied, “she’s horrid little Targon!”

“She isn’t!” Little Targon roared.

“One day, one day you’ll learn!” Blackberry shouted, “Caleb, you can’t judge by eyes alone! You can’t do that!”

“I don’t want that horrid thing touching me with it’s paws!” Caleb screamed.

“Sita be a she, not an it, and she be lovely, so shut it!” Sam roared, pounding into the lie up.

“And who on earth are you?”

“One whose life be saved by those paws you hate,” Sam replied breathlessly.

“How could she save the life of a big fellow like you?” Caleb asked.

“she did, when I, when I be young, very young, fresh born,” Sam replied.

“Fresh born?” Caleb snapped, “what on earth do you mean by “fresh born?””

“Exactly what I said,” Sam replied.

“Where on earth did you learn your weird speech?” Caleb asked, “it’s awful!”

“It’s them badgers ain’t it Sam dear,” Patch said, padding in and ruffling his son cub’s ears with his paw, Sam looking acutely embarrassed, but leaning his head into his sire’s pressure all the same.

“I can switch off the dialect, but why should I just to please you?” Sam asked.

“Because you sound like an idiot!” Caleb roared

. “Oooah,” Sam scoffed, “I’s really afeared of you I be, you’s only a cub, so shut your mouth!”

“You’re beginning to anger me now!” Caleb roared.

“Why?” Sooleawa asked, padding in, “I think his language is rather cute.”

“Well I don’t!” Caleb screamed, “I’m born to a mother who is injured physically, I then meet a cat bear who is injured genetically, and now I find another bear who is injured linguistically! So we have one who can only see a bit, another who is a misfit, and a third who can’t talk! Eohippus help me!”

“Eohippus can make you as you were Caleb,” Patch replied, “if you touch a hair on the head of any cubs here, vengeance will be dealt out swiftly and without mercy.”

“Try it! Now!” Caleb roared, utterly incensed.

“No Patch, please no!” Mama Targon begged, throwing herself at Patch’s feet.

“I won’t, yet,” Patch replied gently, speaking only to Mama Targon, “but if he makes trouble, so to hurt anyone here, I’ll have something to say.”

“it’s all your fault for keeping misfits alive!” Caleb roared, “that cat bear thing, she’s horrid in the fur! Sam, he’s horrid in the mouth!”

“I thought you’d learnt from the paws, not the eyes,” Blackberry said to Caleb.

“I did, until that bloody cat bear thing came in, she made my eyes so disgusted my paws wouldn’t touch! Next thing you’ll be saying is that the horrid cat bear has had cubs! Reproduced herself!”

“Well, I didn’t do it without help,” Sita replied, padding in, “but yes, I have had cubs, three, though one died of bad thoughts, so be warned on that Caleb. My other two, Toby and Scruffy Leo, are fine creatures, Leo though, he owes more to my feline side than does Toby.”

“I think you are lovely from your ears to your feet Sita,” Sam said. Caleb was physically sick with disgust.

“She’s horrible!” he squealed..

“One day you may learn not be afraid of Sita,” Sam said. Caleb made exaggerated vomiting noises, as some cubs will do to express their disgust when words fail them.

“now that is rude!” Blackberry scolded, “Caleb, please, Sita has done you no wrong, so try to at least treat her with the respect she deserves as a community member.”

“The bear who delivered her into the world was wrong to have done that!” Caleb roared, “his imagination ran away with him and produced that! That, that horrid thing!” he screamed, pointing at Sita with his paw.

“so you would have let a cub die because its parents hated it?” Patch asked.

“yes, there must have been something wrong with her to make her like she is,” Caleb replied, “I was born late, but that, that thing was born huge, and horrible, and with a hideous tail and paws and a filthy face!”

“I have never heard such words from a cub whom I thought better of!” Patch roared.

“Well isn’t she a mess?” Caleb asked, “noone would mate with her out of choice now would they?”

“Yes they did,” Jet said, padding into the lie up, “I did.”

“You?” Caleb asked, “why? You could have done much better than that, that thing!”

“You will never know what’s beneath that fur,” jet replied, “and I am sorry for it. Caleb, while you were saved by knowledge, your wish to learn is sadly lacking. Wrapped in dull packaging, might be the most precious jewel you have ever laid paw on.”

“she is horrid!” Caleb screamed, “sure, make your cubs with her, but be warned, she’s evil!” Caleb growled..

“you disgust me!” Sam roared, rushing at Caleb, mama Targon fending him off.

“Get away from him!” she growled, “I know you’re upset, and I agree with your reasons, but violence isn’t the way Sam!”

“Sita saved my life!” Sam replied, “she’s just about the loveliest creature I’ve ever met!”

“she makes me sick!” Caleb snarled.

“I think you make her sick too,” Sam said, “she be sensitive creature under all that fur you know.”

“I’ll go, I’m not wanted here,” Sita mewed, turning tail and walking out of the room. Sam ran after her, grabbing her tail in his paws, bringing Sita to a stop.

“who’s got hold of my tail, ow that hurts!” Sita yelled, turning to swipe at the offender with her paw. Sam dodged the flailing paw, ducking round the swiping paw, then throwing his paws around Sita, kissing her nose and embracing her.

“Oh Sam,” Sita gasped,.

“I love you Sita,” Sam said, kissing her nose.

“I know,” Sita replied, “and I love you too Sam.”

“Hattie loves you too Sita,” Sam replied, “I’ve heard her talking about you to other cubs, she’s following her paws. Now that Caleb, having been delivered by the power of a paw, as it were, is denying the evidence of his own paws.”

“I know, but it hurts to be told I’m a misfit, I know that already!” Sita sniffed, “I was rejected by my mama and sire, but the one who really gave me life hasn’t yet turned his back on me.”

“Patch never will Sita, he never will,” Sam replied, “he loves you more deeply than you will ever realise.”

“I know Sam,” Sita mewed, “but sometimes, sometimes I doubt I am worthy of that love.”

“But you are, you are loved, embraced by Patch and the cubs. They all pile in on you when you come into the playroom, the only thing we wish is there was more than one of you so the workload was shared. I don’t know, cloning you might be a good thing, then it would spread the workload.”

“No Sam No!” Sita laughed, “I’d not like to meet myself. Oooah, how scary!”

“Maybe we can bring patch into the playroom and let the cubs clamber all over him too,” Sam thought aloud.

“he’d like that, I know he would,” Sita replied.

“I would like that Sita,” Patch said, padding into the corridor, “so let’s go, and the cubs can all make sure I take my adult paws and feet off at the door.” Sita led the way to the playroom, Patch following her.

“Did anyone tell you how cute you are Sita?” Patch asked. Sita smiled broadly, dropping to a crawling posture, Patch padding up behind her then kissing the pads of her right hind foot. Sita then got to her feet and padded down the corridor, her pads squeaking slightly on the tiles, Sam noticing the sound.

“Your feet are squeaking Sita,” he said.

“My pads must be a bit warm,” Sita replied, “maybe the emotion of the day has made them a bit warm.”

“You’re so funny Sita,” Sam said.

“Do you remember the foot and paw games we used to play?” Sita asked.

“I do,” Sam replied, “you got stuck for an hour once, your feet well glued to the floor.”

“I did,” Sita replied, “and the more I struggled, the firmer my feet were glued.”

“that was the whole point,” Sam replied smiling.

“Your feet got stuck too,” Sita replied. “I had to help you free one foot from the other when you pressed both your hind feet together. I think your toes locked if I remember.”

“They did Sita, they did,” Sam said smiling.

“I remember playing those games with Jess when we were kept in our room for days,” Patch said, “I’d introduce her to foot and paw games, as we had little else to do. Yes we got stuck many a time, and it was wonderful.”

“I’ll bet it was,” Sam replied, “I’ve played with her myself, and she’s got a great imagination. She pressed her feet together, heels to heels, toes to toes, and I had a job to free her feet, as her own hands weren’t strong enough to overcome the glue.”

“that’s so sweet!” Sita said.

“We play often,” Sam replied softly, “she’s a great player of the stuck foot games, thanks to Patch of course.”

“I remember her pads being soft and warm,” Sam said, “she really could play easily.

Reaching the play room, Sita and the others washed their paws and feet with soap, water and alcohol gels, then padded into the room.

“Washing my paws and feet is as good as the play itself,” Sam said, as Sita helped him wash his paws and feet, then he helped her.

“I love foot and paw play Sam,” Sita said.

“Oh, I didn’t know that!” Sam exclaimed, Sita laughing and hugging her adopted cub..

“You have pinkie black paw pads Sita,” Sam said, “and there are spots on the soles of your feet too. please, curl your toes?” Sita did, Sam giggling at the result.

“the spots vanish into furrows of wrinkled pad!” he laughed, “that’s wonderful! Sita, now stretch your toes. Sita did, Sam blowing on her toes, making her tightly curl them.

“I think I have a certain cross bred cat to thank for my spots on the soles of my feet,” Sita said, “I’ve met her, I think, in a dream, she told me to be strong when I was having problems with my birth parents.”

“Dear Fleur, as you call her?” Sam asked. Sita grinned:

“yes, dear fleur,” she replied, “I wish she’d come back over the bridge so I could kiss her nose and her paws and embrace her tightly.”

“Maybe you can one day,” Sam said, “Patch has opened the bridge to others before now.”

“I don’t know if she’d want to come back,” Sita said, “she was tired and exhausted by life, or so the stories say.” Sam smiled:

“I think you were meant to carry on her work,” he said, “she loved cubs.”

Laughter erupted from the interior of the playroom, Sita and Sam entering to find mama Anook lying on her back, her huge paws and feet sticking skywards.

“What happened?” Sam asked. Patch looked at mama Anook, who grinned at him, and Patch started to laugh too.

“What?” Sita asked, “what’s so funny patch?”

“Oh mama Anook!” Patch laughed, padding forward and kissing his adopted mama’s nose.

“Now how do I tell Sita what happened? The full drama of it?” Anook asked.

“I know how I could do it,” Patch replied, “for I know what happened, but Sita would have to let me have control of her body.” Sita padded up to Patch and kissed his nose:

“My body is yours to do with what you will,” she replied.

“Okay,” Patch replied, “here’s what happened. Mama Anook, please, will you get to your lovely feet and marshal the cubs so Sita might have a clear run.” Mama Anook got to her feet, padded to Patch and kissed his nose.

“Your wish is my command my leader,” she said, Patch burying his head in her shoulder with embarrassment.

“Now let me show you,” Patch said, Sita finding herself running, then jamming her forepaws into the rubber tiles, her momentum making her forward roll, and land on her back, with all four feet in the air.

“that’s what I did?” Mama Anook asked, fascinated.

“yes!” Patch replied giggling, “that was so funny! I just interrogated your brain and told Sita’s body what yours did.”

“now I’m upside-down!” Sita laughed..

“You looked so funny mama Anook!” Wihakayda said, clapping her paws.

“I should have leant on my hind feet when breaking to a halt, not on my paws,” mama Anook said smiling.

“I think that was very cute,” Hattie said, padding up to mama Anook then kissing her nose. Jayden, watching all this, tried to emulate mama Anook, running up, jamming his forepaws into the tiles, then landing on his nose with an indignant squeal.

“It didn’t work!” he roared, sitting down to rub his nose with his paws and sniff back tears of pain, while pretending he wasn’t crying. Hattie padded up to Jayden and whispered:

“it hurts doesn’t it,” Jayden whimpered:

“No, oh, all right, yes!”. Hattie embraced him unashamedly, Jayden snuggling up to her.

“I landed on my nose Hattie!” Jayden sobbed, Hattie licking his tears dry, then sitting down, and pulling Jayden into a huge hug.

“That’s so sweet!” Wihakayda said smiling, “I love seeing that.”

“Hattie’s too demonstrative,” Toby mumbled, “too demonstrative for here anyway. That stuff is okay in the dens, but cuddles and things are not good in public.”

“I disagree with that,” Sita said, padding up to Wihakayda and hugging her. the black bear cub smiling and snuggling close.

“Did anyone tell you that you have cute paws?” Wihakayda said to Sita, who laughed.

“Some say I have cute paws yes,” she replied.

“When you lay on your back, you kicked the air with your hind feet like a cub!” Wihakayda replied smiling, “that was so very cute!”

“I’m glad you liked it,” Sita said.

“how does it feel to be in your paws Sita?” Wihakayda asked. Sita sat down and gathered the black bear cub into her lap.

“It’s not your world,” she replied softly, “you, you wouldn’t like my world at all little one.” Wihakayda turned her face up to Sita’s:

“Why not?” she asked.

“I’m unable to see, my eyes don’t work,” Sita replied, “think of everything you see, and then subtract that from your life, that’s what mine is.”

“I saw mama Anook fall over in a comical heap,” Wihakayda replied, “I saw a sunset yesterday, and a sunrise today, and the pads of Jayden’s hind feet as he crawled, and his laughing eyes and waving paws as I tickled his toes, and far much more too.”

“Can you remember watching your birth video?” Sita asked.

“I can, Titania was wonderful, but she did n’alf have to push, was I that big?” Wihakayda asked.

“I don’t know,” Sita replied, “I wasn’t there, I didn’t get paws on.”

“but, but you can see the video can’t you?” Wihakayda asked, then she gasped, and said faintly: “no, no you can’t, you can’t see it.”

“If I turn off the screen and show you your birth video with sound only, that will be how I see it,” Sita replied.

“Okay, show me, please,” Wihakayda said. so Sita did, and at the end, Wihakayda was thoughtful.

“it tells me little,” she replied, “I heard groaning, and mama Titania saying things, and screaming, and a bit of a squelching sound as I came into the world, at least I think that’s what it was, but I didn’t get the cute factor much. Now if someone had told me what was going on, then that would have been different. Sita smiled and fiddled with the video. Wihakayda then heard the same video, but with a voice describing what was going on on the screen. The voice described Titania’s facial expressions, how she moved, how her paws and feet looked, what position she was in, crawling, on her back, on her side, or whether she was kicking the air with her hind feet, holding her feet with her paws, or curling her toes. the description also told of Titania’s straining muscles and clenched teeth as she pushed, then her curled toes as she moaned and wailed.

“So Koda kissed Mama Titania’s hind feet while she lay on her back, and held them in her paws,” Sita said, “that was dangerous.”

“yes, but necessary for her,” Titania replied, padding up to Sita and kissing her nose.

“mama,” Wihakayda said, “Sita’s been telling me about her world. It’s scary!”

“Sita’s world is not yours Wihakayda, so don’t worry about it,” Titania replied, “you will never visit it.”

“I don’t think Orbon thought he’d visit her world either,” Hattie remarked, “but he’s permanently within it now.” Titania stared at her:

“How?” she asked.

“didn’t you hear?” Hattie asked, “mama Lily got angry and whacked her cub so hard, she blinded him.”

“Oh, um, ah, oh,” was all Titania could say.

“So don’t be so certain your cub, or you, will never enter Sita’s world” Hattie said, “for it could happen to you.”

“A world where I’ll never see another sunset?” Titania asked.

“yes,” Patch replied sadly.

“And what would you know of that world to sound so sorrowful?” Titania asked.

“it is only because of Sire Orbon’s grace that I have the sight I have now,” Patch replied.

“oooah!” Titania exclaimed, the full import of what she’d just said hitting home.

“now please do not question when I say it is easy to become as Sita is, and by rights, as I should still be,” Patch replied, “Orbon told me the world of visual darkness was not my world, so he gave me his sight, but take heed of this Titania, those who have lost the gift of visual sight, often see things more clearly.”

“How?” Wihakayda asked.

“Nonsense!” Titania roared, “look at Ekaterina, she went off the rails!”

“She went off the rails when she had visual sight,” mama Anook replied, “it took the loss of her sight to help her find her right path in life.”

“I’m not saying all visually blind creatures are spiritually enlightened, but it helps,” Patch said.

“how does it help?” Titania asked. Patch smiled:

“Titania,” he replied, “what did you do when you needed that little extra strength to push Wihakayda into the world? What do you do when you want to think more clearly?”

“I close my, oh, um,,,” Titania replied.

“Close your what?” Patch asked, smiling as he saw Titania’s toes curling in embarrassment at her gaff.

“I close my eyes,” she mumbled.

“Right,” Patch replied, “Now will you please think before you open your mouth?” Titania looked down at her paws, seeing her toes curled into the rubber flooring.

“Um, yeah, I will,” she replied miserably.

“I think it’s time for you to go now,” Sita said, firmly showing Titania out.

“Leave here, and don’t come back,” Sita snarled, “your views are not wanted.” Titania looked into Sita’s face, then turned and fled.

“I need to play, seriously play,” Sita mumbled, “my paws and feet feel dirty after that.”

“but your paws and feet are clean, we saw them!” Apudo yelled. Sita padded up to the fat lion cub, rubbed heads with her in the customary lion greeting then kissed her nose.

“You may have done,” she replied, “but my paws and feet still feel dirty after dealing with Titania.””

“Can I have a hug Sita?” Wihakayda asked, “I, I, I think, oh dear,” tears filled her eyes, “I don’t know why I’m upset.”

“come here,” Sita said, sitting down and embracing Wihakayda in her paws.

“Your world frightens me Sita!” Wihakayda wept, “but you aren’t scared at all.”

“Sometimes I am,” Sita replied, “sometimes I get lost, and I can’t find my way home.” Wihakayda buried her head in Sita’s fur, breathing in her slightly spicy scent.

“what was it like for you to deliver a cub Sita?” Wihakayda asked.

“It was very paws on, very intense emotions, very tactile,” Sita mewed.

“Was it like Targon’s?” Wihakayda asked.

“No,” Sita replied, “but it was very lovely all the same. I felt everything, I mewed, roared, curled my toes, kicked, all that, and more. It was lovely all three times I did it.”

“Three times?” Wihakayda asked.

“Toby first, then Imogen, who died, then scruffy Leo, who is my third cub,” Sita said.

“one of your cubs died?” Wihakayda asked, sounding like the cub she was, “why?”

“She ran out of the house after an argument, and got run over by a lorry on the road through the woodland,” Sita mewed, “I try not to think of how she treated me.”

“Why did she hate you?” Wihakayda asked.

“My fur, my paws, and my eyes,” Sita mewed, “she hated them all.”

“oh no,” Wihakayda replied, sounding genuinely sorry.

“Toby and Leo though, they are reasonable boys,” Sita said, “I don’t mean everyone should like me, I just wish, wish that Imogen had a reason for her hatred, but she didn’t. she blamed my disability, my fur, and my paws, all things I could not do anything about.”

“Can I look at your paws and feet?” Wihakayda asked.

“yes, of course,” Sita replied, rolling onto her back to present her paws and feet for inspection. Wihakayda sat down on Sita’s right side, taking the bear cat’s right paw in her paws and examining it with sight and by touch.

“You can ask me to curl my toes or stretch them, extend my claws too,” Sita said.

“I like your paws and feet without claws,” Wihakayda replied, “they suit you better that way.”

“I can still curl and stretch my toes,” Sita said.

“Did you get your claws out during labour?” Wihakayda asked.

“No, I don’t think I did,” Sita replied, “I wasn’t angry then you see, just in pain, screaming and crying, pushing and straining, though not angry.”

“Is there video of your cub’s births?” Wihakayda asked.

“I think Leo was born on camera,” Sita said, “for Koda had a head cam I remember, but Toby might not have been born with a den cam.”

“What we need is the birth of another cub, now,” Wihakayda replied, “I know we’ve seen the births of two creatures recently, but I want to see a third cub born.”

“You can’t just pull cubs out of thin air,” Sita laughed.

“I don’t know,,,” mama Anook began to say, then stopped, her paw over her mouth.

“What?” Wihakayda asked, “not you, surely, not you? Patch explained what happened to you, and, and, you haven’t had time to get pregnant,”

“Not me, my, my body, well its previous owner, she was, she had a cub inside her when she was killed,” Anook replied, “I, I was asked, would I, would I deliver the cub into the world, and I said yes I would. I couldn’t say anything else! Didn’t want to say anything else but yes. Now, now, today, I’ve seen milk from my nipples.”

“how did the cub survive the accident which killed its mother?” Wihakayda asked.

“It didn’t, but it was far enough along to have a spirit and be viable for life when it died,” Anook replied, “like Faith, My cub will come across the bridge, and I’ll have to deliver it into the world. Indeed, it has come across the bridge, it did with me. The cub’s inside me, and I will give birth to it soon.”

“but the stories say you’re an elderly mama now,” Wihakayda replied.

“Not now,” Anook said, getting to her feet and flexing her legs, turning a full circle and sitting down again with a grunt, “I’m as young as yours Wihakayda. Though I do have twenty years behind me.”

“I could imagine you in labour,” Wihakayda said, “it would be expressive, very physical, very vocal and involve a lot of movement, a lot of curling toes, clenching teeth and moaning.”

“Oh yes,” mama Anook replied, rubbing her huge paws together with anticipation, “It will be all that.”

“You love it don’t you!” Wihakayda exclaimed, “you love the whole birth thing?”

“I do, I love it,” mama Anook admitted.

“All the tales say you were good with cubs,” Wihakayda replied, “they say you destroyed a human bed while delivering mama Alaska into the world.”

“I did,” mama Anook replied, “proper destroyed it, tore the mattress up, broke the laths, and ended up sitting in the mess straining and crying. Sire Koda helped me out, and I had Alaska soon after. Koda was born by the fire in more tranquil situations. But with him, I had a long slow labour, lots of pushing and little reward for it, as I was older then than I am now.”

“has Koda recognised you yet?” Wihakayda asked.

“No, not yet,” Anook replied, “he uses his eyes too much, I do look different to the mama he knew. Kuruk though, he didn’t need to take more than a glance before he knew whom he was looking at.”

“Ah there you are Wihakayda!” Koda snapped, running into the room, “Titania said she’d been booted out for being disobedient, or something like that. Um, who the hell are you?” Koda asked, pointing with his paw at mama Anook, who sat cuddling Wihakayda.

“don’t you recognise me?” Anook asked. Koda looked her up and down, then approached until the toes of his right forepaw touched the sole of Anook’s left hind foot. Koda stood, his toes bent backwards, resting his weight, it was then he realised to whom the body belonged. A rush of tears overwhelmed him, and he wept quietly.

“I missed you mama, though I never told you,” he sobbed. Anook smiled, set Wihakayda down and scooped Koda up in her paws to hug him, the black bear not resisting her hug.

“You know I sired a cub mama,” he said. Anook kissed his nose:

“I think I’ve been hugging her for the last few minutes,” she said softly.

“I didn’t want a cub at first,” Koda blurted, “when Titania went into labour, I was scared, I nearly ran, it was mama Targon who kept my paws stuck in the room. But then, when I saw Titania in pain, and realised I could help, I got paws on mama, paws on, so paws on!”

“I know,” Anook replied, “I saw.”

“how?” Koda asked.

“Through your eyes Koda,” Anook replied, “patch gave me access to your viewpoint.”

“But I was a coward!” Koda replied, staring down at his paws, “I didn’t face Titania until I was forced to, but then, when I saw her, her struggle, something changed in me. I don’t know what that was mama, but I felt, deep down, deeper down than my stomach, I think it was in the soles of my feet, that I had to be with the mother of my cub through it all. Then, when I felt her straining and pushing, and saw her effort, and saw the cub coming into the world, I vowed to love Titania and our cub.” Anook looked at her son cub, his small stature, and smaller paws and feet.

“How did you get this big and fat mama?” Koda asked bluntly.

“Tact was never your strong point Koda,” Anook said, slapping her grown cub with an admonishing paw.

“ow mama, that hurt!” Koda wailed, but both knew his pride was injured more than his body.

“I filled up with water from the birthing pool,” Anook replied, “that’s why I’m fat.” Koda snuggled into Anook’s hug, feeling something kick against him as he buried his paws in her belly fur.

“What?” he asked, tapping gently on Anook’s belly, the life inside returning the tap to his paws.

“yes, I’m in cub,” Anook said, “it’s wonderful!”

“I heard, heard Targon half regrets giving birth to Caleb, who was not really her cub,” Koda replied faintly, “mama, please? He looked into mama Anook’s face, his eyes haunted. Anook kissed the top of Koda’s head, a gesture that would have annoyed him a few minutes ago, but now, was the most welcome thing in the world.

“I won’t,” she replied, “I will treasure my cub with my heart and all the rest of me too.”

“I’m glad,” Koda replied softly.

“I love you Koda,” Anook said, “don’t ever forget that. “You’re gonna make me cry!” Koda sniffed.

“That’s not a failing Koda dear,” Anook replied.

“I know, at least I should know, but I’m so bad, so bad at letting go recently,” Koda choked.

“You can fall apart with me Koda,” mama Anook said gently, Koda weeping into her fur. “Now I must go,” Koda sniffed after a few minutes. Turning away, he found Wihakayda blocking his path, moving to step round her, she blocked him, then threw her paws around his neck and hugged him, Koda choking on his tears.

“It’s okay to cry sire Koda,” Wihakayda said softly.

“I failed!” Koda sobbed, “I didn’t even recognise my own mama!”

“You recognised her when you followed your paws though didn’t you Koda,” Wihakayda said. Koda wiped his eyes with his paws and sniffed hard.

“I know,” he gulped, “but my eyes didn’t recognise her, nor my nose either, well my nose wouldn’t, as she’s not in her right body, oh dear, oh dear!”

“she’s got more of a body, if the stories are true Koda,” Wihakayda replied, “now she’s big and fat, and those paws and feet! How wonderful they are!”

“I’m well covered, not fat!” Anook roared in mock anger, her cub getting excited and kicking against her belly, making her gasp and clamp her paws over her belly, making her look like the bear who’d eaten all the cake, and was now regretting it.

“is that your cub getting restless?” Koda asked. Anook smiled and nodded.

“That’s it,” she replied, “the cub wanted to join in.”

“labour is gonna be fun!” Wihakayda enthused.

“Fun?” Koda asked sharply.

“yes it will be fun,” Anook replied, “I’m not worried. I’ll just take my time.” Anook crossed her left leg over her right and played with the toes of her left hind foot in her paws, Koda marvelling at how big her hind feet were.

“wow, she’s got big feet!” he gasped, then he looked at his own small paws.

“My body isn’t my original one,” Anook said, catching his thoughts.

“I like your feet and paws,” Koda replied, “mama, they’re big and rather cute.” Anook wiggled the toes of her right hind foot, then curled them, Koda watching the curling toes and bunching pads.

“I’ll bet your toes will curl really tightly when you’re in labour,” Koda said.

“They will,” Anook replied, “and you can be with me if you like Koda, you and Ekaterina, and Kuruk.” Koda felt his own toes curling with emotion at the thought.

“yes please,” he replied smiling. Mama Anook rubbed the sole of her left foot with her right paw, the toes of her paw describing a circle from bottom of heel to base of toes and round to the bottom of her heel again, then she drew her toes down the sole of her foot from the base of her toes to her heel, Koda watching intently. Anook suddenly massaged her toes feverishly, groaning deeply, then went back to massaging her entire foot.

“are you having contractions mama?” Koda asked.

“I might be, only slightly,” Anook replied, gently stroking the toe pads of her left hind foot with the toes of her right paw. Gently curling her toes, she dug into the ball of her left hind foot with her right paw, pressing the now furrowed pad.

“Are you in pain mama?” Koda asked, his eyes concerned.

“A little,” Anook replied, “I suppose it was my foot massage that did it, the cub liked it, and well, he moved excitedly.”

“I hope you’re not going to deliver the cub early,” Koda said, “that would be awful.”

“I’m okay,” Anook replied, dropping her left hind foot off her right leg and taking hold of her right foot in her paws then massaging her pads and toes in a similar manner to that which she’d used to massage her left foot. Koda watched his mama massage her sole pad with toes relaxed then curl her toes, then massage her pads again, the pad all bunched up, then stretch her toes, then massage her sole pad, now taught, for a third time.

“I can see that feels great mama,” Koda said, “your eyes are half closed in bliss.” Anook giggled.

“I won’t press my pads, just stroke them,” she said, “I heard what pressing her heel did to Cynthia, I want my cub to come when he’s ready.”

“How do you know the cub’s male?” Koda asked.

“Just a feeling I have,” Anook replied.

Hattie ran in, intending to throw herself into Anook’s lap, seeing just in time that the mama grizzly bear had her hind legs crossed and was playing with her toes, Hattie jammed her paws into the rubber flooring, screamed at the pain caused to her pads by friction between the floor and her pads, then flipped herself head over heels, her hind feet lashing out kicking mama Anook in her belly, the mama bear unable to move in time what with her crossed legs, and paws on approach to her hind foot. Anook’s paws flew off her right hind foot as the mama bear fell backwards, her paws clamped over her belly as she roared in pain. Hattie, disorientated, squirmed on the floor, then sat up, to see mama Anook draw up her hind feet and grab them in her forepaws. Panting hard, Anook tried to stop the turmoil in her belly.

“You sod, you bloody sod Hattie!” mama Anook moaned.

“I tried to stop my charge,” Hattie whimpered.

“don’t bloody run in future!” Anook roared as another pain gripped her, “ah shit, shit shit!” she screamed, rolling about on the floor.

“What do I do now?” Hattie wailed, “Is there anything we can do to stop her labour?” Anook breathed heavily, then calmed down a bit, her anxious expression relaxing somewhat.

“I’ll see what happens,” she panted, “but that’s not something I want to go through again!”

“but you’ll go through labour,” Hattie said, Anook scowled at her:

“go away!” she snarled.

“It was accidental!” Hattie pleaded, “I didn’t mean to kick you in the belly Anook!” Anook, now attending to her right hind foot with anxious paws, squeezing her toes and massaging her pads, grunted, but didn’t look up from her intense contemplation of her paws as they massaged and played with the toes of her right hind foot.

“You look so cute when you play with your toes Anook,” Hattie said. Anook ignored her, pressing the ball of her right hind foot with the toes of her left forepaw.

“that’s it,” she said, “we’re calm now. Looking up at Hattie, she sighed deeply.

“I hope my cub’s gonna be all right,” she said.

“What was Anook doing that was cute?” Sita asked. Koda ignored her, so Sita continued:

“Can I get paws on with you Anook?”

“Why doesn’t Koda lend you use of his eyes?” Anook asked.

“I could, if Patch will help me do that,” Koda replied.

“Describe what’s going on by looking and speaking what you see,” Anook huffed, “you don’t need any of that spiritual intervention then.”

“Well,” Koda said, “Sita, mama Anook is playing with her toes, is that okay?”

“No no no!” mama Anook snarled, “tell her what I’m doing, “mama Anook’s forepaws are doing this or that, the heel of her right hind foot is resting on her left leg, her toes are curling as she presses her pads,” that sort of thing, for Eohippus sake Koda!”

“I’m no good at that stuff!” Koda moaned.

“I could get paws on?” Sita suggested.

“Um, no,” Anook replied, “just in case, well, just in case I go into labour and have to use my feet for pain relief, it takes quite a bit of pressure to do that.”

“I suppose it does,” Koda said, “I haven’t had to use the pads of my hind feet for pain relief like that.”

“Have you never grabbed your foot when you’ve got stomach pain?” Hattie asked, “I have, and it works, massaging your toes works!”

“I wouldn’t know!” Koda said gruffly, though all could see he’d done what Hattie had, his shifting paws and feet, and averted eyes were a dead give away.

“You must look so cute when playing with your toes Koda,” mama Anook said. Koda huffed and blew his annoyance.

“No I don’t!” he replied, “my paws are hairy and my feet are horrid.”

“I saw you Koda, I saw you!” Wihakayda laughed, leaping about, “you were playing with your toes last night, and mamma asked you if you’d play the stuck foot game with her, and you two played, and it was lovely!”

“You weren’t meant to see that!” Koda snarled, “you were meant to be asleep!”

“It was so cute!” Wihakayda continued, ignoring her sire’s warning tone.

“I would love to have seen that,” Sita replied, “I know how communicative little Koda’s paws are, and when we used to play, his feet would stick easily to mine, I remember his toes pressing into my pads too, such a lovely touch.”

“Stop it, stop it!” Koda moaned, “Okay Wihakayda, me and mum were playing together, and I did get my foot stuck, and I couldn’t free it for an hour, it took me all my will just to get my heel free.”

“You mean you didn’t want to,” Wihakayda replied, “that’s so lovely sire Koda.”

“sire Koda,” Koda mumbled, “now I never thought I’d be referred to as that. Even though I’ve been a sire for months now, it’s still strange.”

“You have the cutest hind paws Koda,” Hattie said, “I’ve watched you play, they are just so cute!”

“No they’re not!” Koda whimpered, but his eyes told her she was right, he had enjoyed his play.

“My feet stuck to Titania’s, I won’t deny that one,” he mumbled.

“You whimpered and struggled like a stuck cub,” Wihakayda said, “I heard you Koda!”

“I didn’t, I didn’t! all right, oh for Eohippus sake Wihakayda! Is there anything you don’t know?”

“I know you and mama mated after you’d freed yourselves from that glue holding your feet,” Wihakayda replied. Koda, frustrated now, stamped out of the room.

“give a quick push and that cub might be born before he gets back mama!” Hattie yelled. Anook huffed her annoyance, transferring her attentions to her left hind foot, scratching her pads with her claws, and massaging the toes of that foot with the toes of her right paw.

“You look like you’re about to burst mama Anook,” Patch said, padding into the room. Mama Anook told patch what had happened.

“Hmm, so where you gonna have this cub?” he asked.

“Here,” Mama Anook replied, “here, where I can punch the walls, and dig my feet into squashy bricks that will enable me to push against them without hurting anyone.”

“We do have squashy bricks here,” Hattie said, some of the cubs pelt the others with them, little buggers.”

“Oi!” Sita snapped, “that’s not good language Hattie!”

“Oh sorry,” Hattie mumbled.

“Now let me find a good set of bricks to brace my feet against,” Anook said, padding into another room where there was a good supply. Getting onto the raised mattress, she lay down, then rolled onto her back to stretch her legs, feet and paws.

“I think I’ll build a wall of bricks against the back wall here,” Anook said, building herself a small wall with gaps in it at her paw height if she was standing on her hind feet. This done in record time, she found half a brick sliced from corner to corner so when it rested on the ground on one of the short sides, the resultant corner was sloped, not at ninety degrees. Anook rested her back against this, her feet out in front of her, bracing her back against her wall, she bent her hind legs, digging her heels into the soft mattress. Pushing hard back with them, Anook tried pressing her back into the wall. Satisfied, Anook threw her head back, her head cushioned by the wall of foam filled bricks as it smacked into it. Then Anook turned around and, facing the wall, braced her hind feet against it, curling her toes into the wall, gripping hard, trying to grip with sole pads and toe pads rather than claws, which Koda noticed she’d cut short.

“Can you hold on with your toe pads and sole pads?” Koda asked. Anook spun round into a crawling posture and looked at him.

“yes, I can,” she replied smiling, “Can you Koda?” Koda looked down at his own feet, then got onto the mattress so Anook could watch his paws and feet. He then crouched, pressing his toes into the mattress, concentrating on the feel of the mattress under the entirety of his toes and sole pads on all four feet.

“I can’t do it mama!” he gasped, sounding like a cub.

“Feel your feet Koda, feel every inch of those feet and paws,” Anook said. Koda tried, but found that by not trying too hard, he felt more beneath his pads.

I don’t want you to go into labour!” Koda suddenly said, “mama, you’ll scream and cry, and beat the floor with your paws, and it will be awful!”

“I’ll be okay,” Anook said to her son, kissing his nose, “you’ll have a half brother soon.”

“what be all this?” Kuruk asked, padding over to them, “Koda, mama Anook ain’t your mama in body, you do know that don’t you?” Koda nodded:

“But I hated seeing Titania in labour, it was scary!” he wailed.

“it’s fine,” Anook replied, “it’s what we were born to do.”

“but you not his mama any more!” Kuruk roared.

“you know who I am,” Anook replied huffing at her eldest son, “I’m Anook, your mother, now my body is not my original one, so technically you are right, but don’t let that get in the way. I’m going to give birth to this cub as mine, I’m going to scream and roar, kick and fight for this cub with every bit of my body until I either succeed, or it kills me. Okay?” Kuruk looked at Anook:

“You think it come kill you labour?” he asked, his fear jumbling his words.

“No,” Anook replied, “but it will be hard, as hard as your labour was Kuruk,” Anook replied smiling.

“Kuruk scream and cry, and curl toes like he want put holes in pads with claws,” Kuruk grunted, “mama Anook do thing too?”

“yes,” Anook replied, sitting down near the edge of the mattress and curling the toes of both her hind feet, Kuruk watching intently, then padding forward, resting one paw on the edge of the mattress, then reaching over with the other and tracing his mama’s bunched pads and curled toes with his own toes.

“that feels wonderful,” Anook said.

“Kuruk know how rub mama’s feet while they in labour,” Kuruk grunted, “he do thing for Grace mate when she in labour with Faith that first time. Now she roar and swear, kick and scream like Kuruk do when have cub.”

“I’ll try not to swear when I have mine,” Anook replied, relaxing her toes so Kuruk’s touched the gap between the ball of her foot and her toes, then curling them to catch his toes in hers, Kuruk smiling.

“Mama have bigger feet than she have when Kuruk young,” he said, “but then he think she have big paws and feet then too. Kuruk love when mama hug him in paws and kiss top of head, then groom from nose to tail.” Anook looked at her son cub, a wild light in her eyes. Kuruk let himself be taken in the huge mama bear’s embrace and Anook kissed the top of his head, grooming soon following. Kuruk submitted happily to his mama’s ministrations, and when it was over, his paws and feet tingled and he felt tearful.

“Mama make feet of Kuruk feel like cub’s feet,” Kuruk sniffed, “all soft and tender, like Kuruk no able to walk on anything but soft floors now.” Anook kissed her son’s nose.

“How do my hind feet feel to you Kuruk?” she asked.

“They soft, and toes big and curl with love,” Kuruk replied, “Kuruk want feet like mama Anook.” Anook helped Kuruk onto the mattress and examined his paws and hind feet.

“You have the most handsome paws and feet Kuruk,” Anook said.

“Kuruk no think that thing mama should be saying to him,” Kuruk grunted.

“Well that’s how I feel,” Anook replied, “maybe some of the desires of the previous inhabitant of this body haven’t quite been flushed out yet.”

“Kuruk think he have nice paws and feet too,” he replied, “Kuruk make sure he look after paws and feet, he bathe them, and oil them like patch do.”

“your paws are very soft,” Anook replied, “and as for your hind feet,” she picked up his left hind foot, traced his pads and then tickled his toes, making Kuruk yelp and curl his toes tightly, “they are soft too, and so clean also.” Kuruk giggled and curled his toes tighter, moaning deeply as if in abdominal pain.

“I’ll be making sounds like that soon enough,” Anook said, dropping Kuruk’s left hind foot and rubbing her son’s belly with her paw. Kuruk, belching, grinned at his mama.

“I remember winding you like that when you were able to be carried easily in my two paws,” Anook said, Kuruk choking back a rush of tears:

“Stop it mama, stop it!” he sniffed.

“Do you remember lying on your back while I tickled your paws and feet, then helped you count your toes from one to twenty?” Anook asked. Kuruk, his eyes blurring with tears, nodded.

“Kuruk want that now, he want it mama!” he begged. Anook pushed Kuruk onto his back and tickled the huge male bear’s hind feet, Kuruk laughing helplessly and waving his paws in the air, Anook blowing on his toes and pads exciting him more, making him squeal and draw up his hind feet, grabbing them in his paws to massage them with the toes of both paws, giggling cubbishly throughout. Then Kuruk sat up, and Anook sat in front of him, taking his paws in hers one by one.

“now how many toes do you have on each paw?” she asked. Kuruk looked blankly at his mama, his mind blank.

“Kuruk no know thing,” he replied. Koda snorted with disgust.

“Why all this cub play mama?” He asked, “it’s all silly and wrong, and you’re telling me Kuruk, that you can’t remember how many toes you have on each paw or foot?”

“it’s fun to watch,” Wihakayda said, “stop being such a wet blanket Koda.”

“but he’s a grown bear, older than me!” Koda snapped, “it’s not a good example to cubs like you to see an adult bear acting this way. He is a disgrace!”

“he’s needing love and affection, just like you needed that earlier Koda,” Wihakayda replied, “I saw you playing paw games with mama Anook, I saw you, so don’t pretend you weren’t. all that feel the mattress with your pads and toes stuff wasn’t a game then? You were loving it Koda!” Koda growled and huffed, but didn’t deny his daughter’s assertions.

“Oh all right,” he huffed, giving voice to his thoughts, “but don’t tell anyone!” Mama Anook roared with laughter and reached over to ruffle her second youngest son’s ears, Koda seeing her paw coming and ducking out of range.

“if this is what being near to giving birth does to you mum, then you should put a cork in it!” Koda complained.

“She’s being good to you, so you no speak to her like that, you hear Koda?” Kuruk roared, leaping to his feet and chasing the black bear round the room. Koda, screaming for mercy, leapt into the foam pit to escape, Kuruk tumbling in after him, Koda narrowly avoiding being crushed as Kuruk landed.

“Now stop it, stop it both of you!” Patch roared. Kuruk and Koda struggled from the foam pit, and carried on their spat, Kuruk knocking Koda off his feet, and rolling him over, before standing over him with one paw on his chest.

“Now you apologise!” Kuruk roared.

“No, no, No Kuruk!” Koda wailed, “don’t crush my chest, I can’t breathe!”

“Get off Him Kuruk!” Patch roared, mama Anook piling in to separate the two warring bears. Rearing onto her hind feet, she pushed Kuruk off Koda by flipping him backwards, then stepped back.

“Now you two!” she shouted, “get back to your corners and leave it, leave it out!” then she clasped her belly with her paws, screwed up her face, and roared in agony.

“now look what’s happened!” Koda yelled, “you’ve started mama’s labour! You bloody idiot Kuruk!” Mama Anook sat down heavily, rubbing her belly with her paws.

“I’m all right,” she gasped, “it’ll be okay in a minute.”

“What’s happening mama?” Koda asked, sounding and looking like the cub he’d once been. His eyes terrified, his toes gripping the tiles, Koda stood shaking as if he’d never seen a bear in labour before.

“You get out!” Kuruk growled.

“No, please,” Koda begged, showing submission to Kuruk, “don’t exclude me, she’s my mama too.”

“You no recognise her until you touch her!” Kuruk grunted.

“Now that’s unfair!” Koda wailed.

“You two, stop it!” Mama Anook roared.

“Bad cub to your mama you be,” Kuruk snarled at Koda, cuffing him with his paw.

“Kuruk, don’t do that,” mama Anook pleaded weakly, “Koda isn’t a bad cub, he never was bad. Yes he made mistakes, but he’s learning from them.”

“Koda silly cub,” Kuruk grunted.

“If you don’t stop it Kuruk, I’ll have the cub in Koda’s lie up where you have no right to enter,” Anook grunted.

“I would love to get paws on too mama,” Mishka yelled, running in and throwing himself at Anook, who caught him in her paws and hugged him.

“how come you caught him?” Hattie asked.

“I saw him coming,” Anook replied. Mishka kissed Anook’s nose and playfully drummed on her belly with his paws, Anook’s cub responding by kicking back against Mishka’s drumming.

“stop it!” Anook laughed, “the cub will come out musical if you don’t stop now.” Mishka grinned and ran his paws over Anook’s belly.

“Do you want to know what position your cub is in now?” he asked. Anook stared at him.

“You know?” she asked.

“At the moment he is sitting on the opening to your womb, his feet and paws facing outwards, I’ll guide your paw so you can touch his.” So Mishka did, touching Anook’s paw to her belly where the cub’s paws and feet were, the cub pressing back against her touch.

“wow!” she gasped, as the cub punched and kicked the wall of his refuge with whichever paw or foot she was touching.

“He’s lively!” she gasped as the cub , kick, kick, kicked, and thump, thump, thumped with his paws or feet in response to her touch. Anook, smiling, tapped on her belly with her paws, the cub tapping back with his, Anook tapping faster and faster until she couldn’t stand the discomfort any longer. It was then, when she stopped tapping with her paws, that her cub decided he was going to kick with his feet. Groaning, Anook lay on her side, stroking her belly, trying to calm the overexcited cub.

“Stop it little one!” she pleaded aloud. The cub, feeling his mum’s distress, stopped his kicking. Instead he began to rub the wall of her womb with his paw, causing Anook to curl up and squeal with discomfort.

“And you can stop that too!” she shrieked. Her cub stopped his massage of her insides, and Anook settled down to wait.

“now we wait,” Kuruk grunted. Anook dozed fitfully and after an hour, she clambered onto the raised mattress and lay down on her left side.

“Are you uncomfortable mama?” Mishka asked, listening to her every move.

“I am, more so in the last few minutes,” Anook replied.

“is it contractions?” Koda asked.

“yes, here, take my paw Mishka, my right paw, and you Koda, my right hind foot,” Anook replied, “and I’ll curl my toes every time I feel one, so you have some idea.”

“could you curl your toes in proportion to the pain?” Koda asked.

“That bloody silly!” Kuruk complained.

“No, I’ll do it,” Anook replied, and she fitted actions to words for the duration of her labour.

“Curling my toes like this, having to get it right to reflect the level of pain is so good!” Anook panted after half an hour, “it takes my mind off the pain concentrating to get the degree of curl right. I love it!”

“Kuruk think it pointless,” Kuruk grunted, “mama should be concentrating on pushing, like Kuruk did.”

“it’s not the same for her as it was for you Kuruk dear,” patch said, addressing his brother in a most gentle fashion, “she doesn’t have to push like you did, as she’s female.”

“Mishka and Koda should not be paws on with her like that, she don’t need it!” Kuruk grunted.

“Maybe she does,” Anook replied, her eyes closed, “maybe, oh ow, aoaoaoaow! Maybe she needs paws on! Ow! Yooooawouch!” Anook yelled, with much curling of her toes.

“I’ll be paws off now so others can see you mama,” Mishka said, kissing Anook’s nose.

“Okay, okay!” Anook panted, her eyes blurred by tears of pain.

“it’s hurting you isn’t it mama,” Koda asked, his voice cracking.

“yes Koda love,” she panted, “but it’s a natural pain, it’s a good pain.”

“but you cried out, you drew up your legs too!” Koda replied, his bottom lip trembling. Kuruk snapped suddenly. Roaring, he scooped up Koda and literally flung him out of the soft play room, the black bear landing on the hard tiles of the corridor with a yell.

“now you stay there you blubbering idiot!” Kuruk roared.

“What have I done wrong? Please tell me what I’ve done wrong?” Koda pleaded aloud, weeping into his paws and wringing them out like a handkerchief.

“You did nothing wrong,” Hope said, padding up to Koda and kissing his wet nose, “Kuruk’s being silly, let’s go in there and you can see what mama Anook’s doing.”

“Kuruk doesn’t want me in there!” Koda sobbed, “but I want to be with mama, I want to be with her Hope!”

“You can be with her, “look I’ll take on Kuruk if he plays up,” hope said. Koda looked at her:

“He’ll hurt you,” Koda said plaintively.

“he won’t,” Hope replied, “I’m tough enough Koda.” Koda followed Hope into the play room, and the scene was as before, with Kuruk watching anxiously as if he were the sire of the unborn cub. mama Anook, looking tense, sat on the mattress, hind legs drawn up, the heels of her hind feet digging into the soft bedding.

“At least we can clear up easily,” Kuruk grunted, “that gonna make a bloody mess when that cub comes out.”

“How are you mama?” Koda asked, clambering onto the mattress and crawling to his mum’s side.

“It’s hurting,” Anook replied, “it’s stiff work, as the muscles aren’t strong enough. Koda, I might need help, a push to my foot like Targon.”

“I’ll do it, I’ll help,” Koda said softly, as Anook closed her eyes and breathed deeply.

“got to push now, a little,” she panted, bearing down slightly.

?”uooouooaumph!” she gasped.

“that’s it mama,” Koda said, follow your body.”

“it’s hard to push when the muscles aren’t really strong enough,” Anook replied, “it’s like trying to blow up a balloon, it all sticks, until you really push, then it inflates a little, then gets easier and easier to push. Now I’m at the deflated stage, and it’s hard Koda, it hurts like hell!”

“Oh mama,” Koda said, kissing her paw and right ear, “if I could I’d push with you.” Anook smiled:

“it would kill you my dear,” she replied.

How if I help you push mama?” Hope asked.

“You can’t, you’re too young!” Anook laughed, then grimaced as another contraction built in her, “You can’t push!” she squealed, “Hope, I, I won’t let you!” she moaned deeply.

“this is too much for you mama, stop it now!” Kuruk roared.

“Stop it?” she asked, “Kuruk, I’m in labour, this isn’t pretend, I’m in pain dam it! I’m having a cub!”

“yeah, and it’s someone else’s cub!” Kuruk roared.

“This is someone else’s body, but I’m here, and the cub is here, and I’m not sacrificing it for convenience!” Anook roared.

“It will kill you!” Kuruk roared.

“It might die of fright if you keep yelling, so shut up,” hope replied. Kuruk glanced at her, then spotted Koda, who stood on her other side, his paws and feet damp with fearful sweat.

“What is that doing here?” Kuruk grunted, scowling at Koda.

“he’s here, under my protection,” hope replied bravely. Kuruk, angered, lashed out at Hope with a paw.

“You will never win that way,” Hope replied, dodging beneath his paw.

“Hope cub Annoying Kuruk Now! Kuruk roared.

“Please, think of the mama who is delivering a cub!” Hope begged. Kuruk snorted and turned away, to find mama Anook playing with the toes of her right hind foot, while crossing her eyes and sticking her tongue out at him.

“mama!” Kuruk laughed, forgetting Hope and going forward to kiss Anook’s nose.

“Mama’s curling her toes again,” hope said, watching the sole of Anook’s right hind foot. Indeed she was, tightly too. Evidence of Anook’s struggle didn’t end with her curling toes, her mouth opened and she screamed lustily too.

“What you want mama?” Kuruk asked.

“I’d like a drink,” Anook gasped, Kuruk padding away to get one for her. Reappearing, he handed his mama an opened can. Smiling she drank the contents and lobbed the can into the corner of the room.

“Don’t want to roll on that when I’m straining,” she panted.

“how does it feel mama?” Hope asked.

“it’s tight, tight around my belly now, oooah,” Anook replied.

“Do you want foot rub mama?” Kuruk asked.

“No, I’ll play with my toes, it’s good at the moment,” Anook replied smiling.

“can I stroke the hind foot you’re not holding onto?” hope asked, scrambling up beside Anook. Anook, looking down at her, smiled gently and let go of her right hind foot, slapping her lap, she invited Hope to scramble aboard, Hope doing just that.

“what if you have a contraction mama?” hope asked, “you can’t grab your feet if I’m in the way.”

“I’ll know before it gets to screaming pitch,” Anook replied smiling. Hope snuggled up to the huge mama bear.

“Can I talk with your cub?” she asked.

“You can try,” Anook replied, “things seem to have calmed down now, so he might chat a bit.”

“how do I talk to him?” she asked.

“he can hear you now,” Anook replied, “he likes having his paws patted too. come, pat my belly with the flat of your paws, and see what happens.” Hope, fearful now, hung back.

“But you’ll have a contraction won’t you,” Hope said.

“if I do, I won’t blame you,” Anook replied smiling.

“Okay, here goes,” hope replied, now the frightened cub she really was.

“Make sure you speak kind words to him when you’ve got his attention,” Anook replied.

“here goes,” Hope said, tapping Anook’s belly with her paw, the cub responding instantly, Anook clenching her teeth and moaning soon after.

“oaoaoaoaoaoaaow! Aoaoaoaoaoaoaaoaoaoew! Aaaaarhgh!” Anook yelled.

“I told you it would happen!” Hope squealed, bursting into tears.

“Shall I show you how to help her?” Patch said softly, padding up behind hope, taking her in his paws ,turning her to face him and lifting her face to look into his.

“How?” she asked miserably.

“When she is having a contraction, go to whichever hind foot she’s not holding in her paws and stroke her pads and toes Hope, that would be good for you and her wouldn’t it?”

“how?” hope asked.

“Good for you because you are helping, and you like that don’t you?” Hope nodded, “and good for mama too, as she gets pain relief, and can feel you are there too, which is nice for her to feel isn’t it?”

“yes, I think it is,” Hope said sniffing and rubbing her eyes with her paws, “I can’t do much though, I only have small paws Patch.”

“You can do as much as I can,” patch replied, “you know you can Hope. Your paws are as good as mine at soothing mama bear.”

“I suppose,” Hope replied uncertainly.

“if you don’t believe it Hope, then mama can’t can she,” patch replied gently. Hope looked up into Patch’s face, the bear’s smiling eyes comforting her.

“how paws on do you wish me to be?” she asked.

“do I need to spell it out?” patch asked.

“You mean, mean I will be able to catch the cub? I’ll be like Ekaterina?”

“Stay with mama Anook, and be yourself,” patch replied, “help her, suggest things to her, like to make sounds appropriate to the pain, deep pain, deep sounds, sharp pain, sharp sounds, that sort of thing.”

“how do I talk with her?” Hope asked, “I can’t guide her, I’m a cub Patch!”

“to Anook you are not a cub, you are her guide in this time of fear and uncertainty,” patch replied, “Hope, take her paw and guide her.”

“But I don’t know where to go!” Hope whispered, “I’m a cub!”

“You will know,” Patch replied, “I have faith you know what to do.”

“But I don’t have faith in myself,” Hope replied, “I can’t do it Patch!”

“Take mama’s paw in yours and see how you feel,” Patch replied. Hope crawled away, to find mama Anook lying on her side on the mattress.

“How are you feeling mama?” Hope asked.

“It’s worn off a bit, but I’m still nervous and frightened,” Anook replied. Hope took her in from her face, closed eyes and anxious expression, which made her want to cry, to her paws and feet , with nervously twitching toes.

“Take my paw Hope,” Anook said, Hope taking the mama bear’s huge left paw in hers.

“Thank you Hope,” Anook said dreamily, “I feel safe now.” Hope looked at Anook’s face, the she bear’s eyes were closed, and her expression had relaxed.

“I know nothing Anook!” Hope mewed pitifully.

“I can rest now, rest until I need to start pushing properly,” Anook replied faintly. Then she clenched her teeth and curled her toes, moaning deeply.

“It’s all right mama,” Hope said, feeling the mama bear’s huge toes clamp round hers with a grip that would have shamed a hydraulic vice.

“ow, ow, oaoaoaoaoaoaaow!” Anook roared.

“What would be more comfortable?” Hope asked.

“I’ll try sitting back on my heels,” Anook gasped.

“Is she in active labour yet?” Hattie asked, “or is this just a little grumbling from the cub.”

“I don’t know,” Anook panted, “whatever it is, it hurts!” Anook got to her feet, squatted and defecated in the corner of the mattress.

“Oh great, you disgusting thing!!” Kuruk roared.

“I can’t help it!” Anook whimpered, straining hard into her tail to clear the blockage, a stream of faeces erupting from her. Hope watched anxiously.

“I’ll get that cleared up,” she said. Anook, padding away from her impromptu relieving place, settled down to endure her pain and discomfort.

“Couldn’t you make it to a relieving place?” Kuruk grunted. Anook closed her eyes and moaned deeply.

“I’ll help,” Hattie said, clambering onto the mattress with a shovel from a locker which she’d seen marked, “cleaning stores,” and investigated. Clearing up the mess, Hattie bagged the resultant spoils and remarked:

“We could put this on the garden.” Anook laughed despite her pain. Hattie padded away, and Hope went to grab the disinfectant to wash the floor, but Patch stopped her.

“Your concern is mama Anook now,” he said softly, “Hope, go back to her, take her paw, and don’t let go of it, or her until she has delivered her cub into the world.” Hope turned her head to Anook, who opened one eye to look at her.

“come back to me,” she whispered. Hope went, hearing her own paws and feet making a sucking sound on the rubber flooring as she walked.

“I’ll bet my feet would be doing the same hope, if I walked,” Anook replied, “I might try it, it might ease the cub a bit.” She struggled to her feet and padded about a bit, her feet making an even bigger sucking sound than Hope’s had. Hope padded behind Anook watching her anxiously. Anook, smiling, lifted her left hind foot and extended her leg backwards, Hope kissing her pads, Anook breathing deeply in and out.

“ooooooooaoh!” she breathed, “ooooooooaoh, that feels good Hope, so good you kissing my pads.” Hope stroked Anook’s pads and toes, Anook breathing deeply, her eyes closed in concentration.

Aaaahh, um, yes, that’s so good!” Anook breathed, “wowowowowowoaoaoh, ooooooooaoh, ooaoaoaoaoh,” Hope smiled as Anook curled the toes of her right hind foot, Hope kissing her bunching pads.

“I’m with you mama,” Hope whispered.

“thank you Hope,” Anook replied, “eeeeeeesh,, oooaaoeeesh,” she gasped as the cub moved inside her.

“Your pads are damp now mama,” Hope said.

“I’ll bet they’d stick to the floor if I let them,” Anook panted, “I might let them you know, it would give me a base to push from.” Hope looked down at Anook’s pads, the wrinkled black pads damp with sweat.

“I love you Anook,” Hope whispered.

“Thank you Hope,” Anook said, putting her right foot on the floor and bouncing on her toes, her pads sucking against the plastic mattress as she bounced on her toes.

“Can you hear that sucking sound Sita?” Hope asked, “that’s mama Anook’s pads on the plastic flooring, they are just damp enough to stick slightly, but not damp enough to lubricate her pad to stop the sucking sound.” Sita smiled:

“Thank you hope love,” she replied.

“Anook’s standing on all four feet now, bouncing on her toes, now she’s squatting with her hind feet splayed a little, her paws between her hind legs, balancing her weight on them, her head raised slightly as she breathes.”

“I could put you in her position Sita?” Hattie invited. Sita smiled and accepted, Hattie arranging Sita’s body so she squatted like Anook. Anook glanced over just as Sita’s body was arranged and smiled:

“So I look like that?” she thought, “wow, powerful.” Anook’s world was shattered by another contraction soon after, and contemplation of her world turned internal as she bounced on her toes, puffing and grinding her teeth. Anook breathed deeply, sounding like the world’s biggest steam train.

“Things are calming down now,” Anook gasped, “I’ll go take a bath I think. I hope, Hope I don’t have the cub in there!”

“We could let you give birth in the birthing pool,” Hope said, “that would be good for you I think.”

“I want to have my cub here though,” Anook replied, “I’ll do it here.” Anook padded about, her feet sticking quite firmly to the plastic rubberised flooring, her progress punctuated by a sucking sound each time she lifted a paw or foot.

“Are your feet giving good grip?” Hope asked.

“they are,” Anook panted, “hope, they really are.” Hope led Anook to a bathroom just off the main playroom, mama Anook crawling beside her. Once there, mama Anook showered herself, sitting down to wash her feet and paws in a jet of water spraying out of the wall. Then she washed her hind quarters with a jet of water from the floor. Anook sighed deeply with pleasure as the water played over her bottom and legs, while another jet played over her hind feet, and a third enabled her to wash her paws.

“oooah, my cub could find this pleasurable,” she gasped.

“He is if you are,” Patch said, watching from the corner of his eye from the doorway, while Hope, sitting nearby, kept a second pair of eyes on Anook.

“Now I’m ready,” Anook replied, “but I’m sad that I lost my sticky paws and feet. That was kind of sweet to be able to make a sound as I walked.”

“You’ll regain them soon enough,” Patch said smiling.

“I can’t go very far now, I really can’t go far at all,” mama Anook whimpered, struggling to her feet and padding from the shower room. It wasn’t three steps before the old sucking sound came from her pads again, mama Anook having to curl her toes into the tiles to pull herself along. Panting, it was clear she was trying not to push. Anook, whimpering, closed her eyes, walking by feel, up the slope to the mattress, and onto it, then, settling her paws and feet, she squatted and gave up the fight not to push, roaring, she bore down into her tail.

“yoaoaoaoaoaoaoaow! Aoaoaoaoaoaoaaoaoaoew!” she roared lustily, her toes curled into the rubber mattress.

“That’s better, that’s better!” Anook yelled, “I needed to push!” She straightened her legs and tried to walk away, physical effort needed to pull her feet from the floor.

“She’s stuck,” Koda whispered to Sita, Mama Anook’s feet are stuck to the floor, Now she’s moving fine, but listen to those paws and feet!”

“Mama’s paws and feet are sticking properly aren’t they,” Sita said.

“they are,” Hope replied, “she’s getting good grip from them.”

“My feet are sticking to the mattress!” Anook gasped, “this is great, as when I really start pushing, I want help!” she roared in a strangled voice, “ow, ow, shit, shit ow!” Anook splayed her hind feet a little as she squatted, her forepaws just ahead of the toes of her hind feet, her neck strained upwards, as if she was howling to the moon. Blowing hard, Anook wriggled where she sat, her feet and paws stationary, the rest of her squirming and rocking. Hope, with a good view of her hind feet and hind end in general, saw Anook’s heels come off the floor as she bounced and pivoted on her toes, then slam hard down as she settled in for another contraction, her toes curled tightly into the rubberised matting.

“You have beautiful hind feet mama,” Hope thought as she watched from a very dangerous position by the mama bear’s right hind foot.

“it’s calming down now,” Anook panted, “I managed not to scream, but I wanted to!” she announced. Hope got to her feet and padded round to Anook’s head, kissing her nose she asked:

“Why didn’t you scream? I would have.”

“blowing was enough for now,” Anook replied, but soon, yes soon I will be.”

“Can you give voice to your pain now?” Hope asked.

“I could,” Anook replied, “it’s a deep pain, like a bad stomach ache, but worse. I’m not pushing yet though, just bracing and rocking, bouncing and puffing.”

“I wish I could help,” Hope said. Anook lowered her head, using her nose to find Hope. Once she’d found her, she whispered:

“But you are helping me, I saw where you were lying, and what you were looking at.”

“Mostly your hind feet,” Hope replied, “with a glance up at the place where your cub will arrive from as you endured a contraction.”

“You would have shouted if you’d seen anything though?” Anook asked.

“yes,” Hope replied, “but all I saw was a little widening of the exit for the cub when you pushed, nothing much.”

“it’s like blowing up a balloon Hope,” Anook said, “these first hours are gonna be hard, as I make muscles work that were atrophied by death. I am determined to make them work though, and to push my cub into the world.”

Meanwhile, in the local school, jess, Janet and Moses were talking the children of Cynthia Chartwell’s class through the goings on live in the playroom of the community house. Jess translated Mama Anook’s words, while Janet translated Hope’s, and Moses helped by showing a girl called Jenny, who couldn’t see the screen as well as the others, by physically demonstrating to her what Anook was doing by bouncing on his toes, crawling about, and also lying on his side and curling his toes while Jenny got hands on with his body, hands and feet. All barefoot, some of the children played with their toes or pressed the heel pads and balls of their feet with their fingers as they watched Anook doing the same. . Cynthia’s replacement was a drama teacher by trade, and was eagerly scribing notes as the children watched avidly, and Moses helped Jenny to understand what was going on by demonstrating what mama Anook was doing on screen.

Meanwhile, back at the house, mama Anook paced and paced, her contractions easing now her paws told her cub that it was safe to be born where she now was. Mama Anook crawled from one side of the mattress to the other and then sat back on her heels, drilling her heels into her backside, while Hope stroked the pads and toes of her hind feet.

Back at the school, Moses followed mama Anook’s example, showing jenny what the mama bear was doing, jenny finding herself playing the part of Hope by stroking his heels and toes like she was the midwife, and he the mama bear herself. Many of the other children watched Moses acting, marvelling at how deeply he got into character.

Back in the playroom, mama Anook breathed deeply, trying to soothe herself, for her cub was pressing hard to be born. Straining experimentally, Anook felt things shift and open up. Huffing and blowing, she got to her feet, wriggled, splayed her legs and squatted, bracing herself to push. Groaning, she heaved lustily into her tail, once, twice, thrice. After this she gave a heart rending cry of pain, as her cub surged into the gap made by her pushes, and then jammed tight, making her want to push again, which she did, roaring into the heavens, her paws and feet immovable on the mattress. Making a sound which sounded like:

“huaouaw!” mama heaved and pushed, while bouncing on her toes during contractions, which came faster and faster. Mama Anook could only make “ooh” sounds now, breathy sounds, powerful grunts of effort as she bore down against a cub which she knew was coming fast, yelling out for help from the spirits, she bore down:

“ooh, Oooh, Oooh, Oooh! Oooh, oooah, oooah!” she gasped as she pushed and wriggled, while keeping her crouching stance. Hope, watching intently, was showered with sweat from the mama bear’s fur, while she had a very good view of the cub’s progress, as well as of its mother’s hind feet. At the end of the most energetic pushes, Anook bounced hard on her toes, Hope seeing the heel pads of her hind feet as she bounced on her toes, but they would soon disappear as she rested hard down on her feet and paws to push hard into her tail again.

“oooah, Oooh, oooah, oooah!” mama Anook panted, her cries becoming more urgent and pleading

“Oooah! Oooh! oooah! Oooah!” she pleaded, in a language only she knew. Then she wriggled, and stood up, Hope catching the emerging cub and helping the cub into the world.

“oooah, oooah!” mama breathed as she eased the cub out into the world. Then, as she licked the cub dry, it began to cry, a loud, insistent demand for food, which mama Anook satisfied by feeding him.

Back at the school, Moses finished his act, and all the children applauded, jenny in tears.

“Thank you Moses,” she said, Moses grinning at her.

“it’s fine,” he replied, “I’ll see, though I can’t promise, but I’ll see if you can meet the mama who had her cub today..”

“Could I meet her?” Jenny asked.

“How else are you to check that what I showed you was real?” Moses asked..

“It felt real,” jenny replied, “your toes curled with real pain, and your hands and feet became damp with effort. You’re not acting that out, you feel the mama’s pain.”

“how did my feet feel?” Moses asked.

“Soft and warm, with easily curling toes, and well bunched pads when things got going,” jenny said smiling, “thank you Moses.”

“Right, now we’ve seen that,” their teacher said, “what do you all feel?”

“how cute that cub is!” one young boy yelled.

“I was playing with my toes like the mama bear did,” another admitted.

“I curled my toes with mama Anook,” a young girl said after a long pause.

“how about if we all become mama Anook for a while?” the teacher asked, “we could imagine what it would feel like to deliver a cub, and pretend we were her. we could roar and curl our toes, and pad about like she did. How would that be?”

“that sounds great!” everyone chorused.

“Okay, you are all mother bears now,” the teacher replied, “every one of you are big and fat, and bursting with cub. you all have heavy feet and paws, and a big bellyache which comes and goes from time to time. You can pad about on hands and feet if you can, or crawl, or play with your toes a bit. Take what you’ve seen and make your own version of the birth story of mama Anook’s cub. If some want to play the midwife bear, they can, or you can all have a go at playing Anook herself. Okay I’ll guide you first, Moses, you were helping Jenny, could you help me now?” Moses smiled and padded forward.

“now Moses , please show the class how you would play the part of mama Anook, and everyone else, watch him. Jenny, I know you can’t see Moses, but I’m sure you can play mama Anook better than most, so you have a think about how you want to play the part of the mother bear.”

“Well I would walk on my hands and feet for a bit, like this,” Moses said, getting down and walking on his hands and feet, “then I would sit down and play with the toes of my right foot, like this,” he said, fitting his actions to his words, “then mama got to her feet and squatted down, bouncing on her toes, her paws supporting her weight in front, like this,” Moses continued, acting the part as he spoke, “then she crawled off the mattress and out of shot, then padded back, her toes gripping the tiles, I think the cub was telling her something then.” Moses walked on his hands and feet again, curling his fingers and toes into the tiles as he padded about, “then she bounced on her toes a bit, then squatted, mama Anook head down to deliver her cub with roaring and pushing, then she made that amazing sound, “oooah, oooah, oooah,” she said, and the cub emerged, but that sound made her able to have the cub, big though it was. It had big feet and paws that cub!”

“thank you Moses ,” the teacher said, as Moses returned to the ranks.

“Now,” the teacher said, “I want you all to practise being mama Anook, imagine you have been carrying a cub for months, you are tired, your paws and feet feel heavy, you feel bloated and fat, and you are in pain. You know the pain will get worse, but you are determined to have this cub. you know the aids mama Anook used, her voice, her paws, her feet, crawling, playing with her toes, sitting back on her heels to push and squatting too, now become mama Anook for an hour. Feel your hands, feel your feet, curl your toes, play with your toes, feel your voices, enjoy making a noise.”

So the children did, and their efforts did not go unnoticed, for in the community house, Charles Fullbeans and Royston watched the video from the school. Laughing merrily at the children’s antics, they called Hope in and showed her the video, Hope smiling at the footage of the children. Hope, staring, ended the viewing thoughtfully.

“so humans re-enact what they see too!” she exclaimed.

“yes Hope love they do,” Anook said, padding in with her cub, cradling him in her paws, feeding him as she walked on her hind feet.

“It’s amazing mama,” Hope said, “the human children really put their souls into the re-enactments. Especially that young girl who can’t see the video, Moses helped her.”

“Moses is great isn’t he,” Royston said.

“Moses is wonderful,” Hope said.. Anook flopped down and cradled her cub, the cub busily feeding, humming with contentment.

“He’s a contented cub,” Hope said, smiling at Anook, who grinned.

“You did very well helping me,” she said.

“But it wasn’t just me was it,” Hope said, “I know that, I know others were helping both of us.”

“I think so,” Anook replied, “for when I pushed, all was fine, then when I relaxed, this little one jammed tight, rather than gliding to a stop as he would. It was like pushing him down a hard rubber tunnel, stretch the tunnel a little and you can push him a little, relax, and he stops and sticks firm.”

“You did wonderfully,” Hope said, “and mama, even the children at the local school were with you, they watched you, and some laboured with you I’m sure, well they played with their toes, and Moses showed a young girl what was happening, I don’t think she can see the screen.”

Back in the school, the thinking time for the children was up, and a lot of the children had taken mama Anook’s part, playing with their toes, squeezing their pads, and curling their toes with imagined contractions. Jenny found herself playing with her own toes, her toes curling beneath her fingers as she played. She found herself moaning deeply like mama Anook did, her toes curling tighter and tighter as she worked, her pads warming up with emotions.

“how are you doing jenny?” Her teacher asked.

“I’m working up to having a cub,” she replied. “my feet might want to stick to the floor soon. That was so cute when mama Anook’s feet did.”

“I thought it was,” a boy named tom replied, “she could hardly move her feet at one point, so stuck was she.”

“I’d love to meet Anook,” jenny said, “but she probably wouldn’t be very comfortable with a human she didn’t know.”

“I could make introductions,” Jess said to Jenny, “she knows me, um, from a previous meeting, as it were.”

Jenny could see a little, but not enough to see people’s faces, or the screen on the TV. She could see the colour and shape of something, but no detail, so her sight was next to useless for distance work. To see anything she’d have to get close enough to touch the thing she was looking at.

The teacher brought the children to order, and said:

“Right, the way we’re going to do this is we’re all going to be mama Anook, we’re going to do what she did, through playing with our toes to crawling about, to sitting back on our heels, to keeping our hands and feet flat on the floor in a squatting posture and wriggling with the rest of our bodies. We are also going to roar, to huff and puff, and to express our joy at the birth of the cub, just as mama Anook did too, okay?” All the children agreed with this.

“right Jenny,” the teacher said, “how about you show us how you would give birth to a cub?”

“Where do you want me to stand?” Jenny asked.

“There’s a small raised mattress here,” the teacher said, “get on that, just like mama Anook did.” Jenny padded to the mattress with Moses guiding her. Once she was on it, she crawled about, getting a feel for how larger surface she had to work in. then she sat down facing the class. She could not see them, but they could see her, her bare feet at their eye level.

“go on Jenny,” the teacher said, “show us how you see the delivery of Anook’s cub. jenny tried to remember the sequence of events that she’d got hands on with, but it had all been such an emotional experience, that she couldn’t remember enough. In agitation, she began playing with the toes of her right foot, her toes curling tightly around her fingers, and stomach tightening with shame.

“I don’t know what I remember,” jenny said. the teacher stared at her.

“Moses did all that for you, just for you to forget everything?” the teacher asked.

“my mind is a bit scrambled,” jenny admitted.

“You are a disgrace jenny,” the teacher said. jenny’s face reddened, and she bent her head down to a close contemplation of her fingers playing with her blurred toes. suddenly she curled her toes tightly, moaning deeply. The teacher stared at her as she went into seeming full blown labour, playing with her toes, and gripping her feet in her hands, while curling her toes tightly during contractions, then crawling around the mattress, ending up sitting back on her heels. Whimpering, she tried to push, and found she could, though it hurt with a burning feeling which made her want to push some more, which she did, drilling her heels into her backside. Moaning pitifully, Jenny got into a squatting posture, her hands on the floor, her feet splayed, heels on the floor. Then she began to bounce on her toes, her warm damp heel pads sticking to the mattress as she settled, her heels making a sucking sound as she bounced on her toes, all the while grunting and puffing. Squealing, she bore down with a roar which started in the soles of her feet and exploded from her mouth in sound which amazed everyone. Then Jenny gasped and began to make the familiar “oooah, Oooh, oooah, oooah,” sound that mama Anook did, pressing her hands and feet hard into the floor while she squatted, then, feeling relief flood her, she got up, her hands and feet damp with sweat.

“there,” she said, “how was that?” the teacher, astonished, helped jenny down from the mattress, feeling her hand shaking in his.

“I thought you said you could remember little?” her teacher asked.

“I don’t know what happened,” Jenny replied, “it just happened for me. I felt close with the mama bear.”

Back in the house some hours later, mama Anook lay in her den, curled around her cub to keep him warm. She’d been dozing on and off, and now was in a dream where she imagined a young girl delivering a cub into the world. The young girl looked lost at the task she had to do, so mama Anook told her what to do to deliver her cub, first play with her toes a bit, that helped things start up. The young girl did, and things progressed through minor contractions, to heavy labour and finally the girl got the hang of it, and mama Anook sat back to watch her make her own cub’s birth story. Anook wondered if the girl she’d seen in the dream was that same one Moses had helped to understand what she herself had gone through hours earlier. Sighing, mama Anook resigned herself to the fact she’d probably never know. Anook explored her cub who slept beside her, he was very fat and large with big feet and paws. mama Anook couldn’t remember straining to deliver the cub’s paws and feet though, though she reasoned she must have done so.” Anook reached out with her paws in another dream to touch the young girl’s hands and feet, she was back, sitting down, playing with her toes, and looking very concerned, her toes in overdrive as she fought with waves of pain. Anook felt her paws touch warm pads, and felt bare human toes curling round those of her left paw. Anook woke with a snort, to see a young girl sitting in front of her, the toes of her left foot curled around those of her own left paw.

“Oh, sorry,” Anook grunted, moving to remove her paw, but the young girl’s hand clamped down on her paw, pressing it to the sole of her foot.

“I heard you had a cub,” Anook mumbled. The young girl released her toehold on mama nook’s paw and crawled to her, throwing her arms around her neck and kissing her nose.

“I followed your example mama,” she said, “and I think I had a cub.”

“You did,” Anook replied, “if my dream was correct.”

“how is it I can understand you and you understand me?” Jenny asked.

“We are talking by touch I think,” Anook replied through the touch on the girl’s back, for she had returned Jenny’s hug, her cub remained sleeping soundly nearby.

“Your pads were soft and warm,” Anook said to Jenny, who smiled:

“I bounced on my toes mama,” she said, “my feet stuck to the mattress too.”

“I know,” Anook replied, “our feet kept our cubs safe didn’t they.” Janet released Anook and sat down opposite her, giving the she bear her right foot, Anook taking it in her paws and exploring it as if it was the most precious thing in the world. Smiling, Anook tickled Jenny’s toes, the young girl laughing helplessly.

“I must be like a cub to you,” Jenny said, Anook making the same cooing sound she had when delivering her own cub into the world.

“I am a cub to you Anook,” jenny said, “that’s lovely that I have a bear mama too.” Anook dropped Jenny’s right foot, and gathered her into her embrace.

“oooah mama,” Jenny exclaimed, as the she bear groomed her and then settled her, “have you looked after man cubs before?” Anook didn’t need to answer in words, though Jenny was sure if she did, she’d understand every word the she bear said. Anook’s cub woke suddenly, and cried out for food. Mama Anook gently set Jenny down and picked up her cub to feed him. Once the cub was busily drinking while humming away, Anook looked at Jenny.

“I have the impression that you can’t see me clearly,” she said, “I do not think though that you are totally without sight, as Ekaterina or Sita are.”

“No, I can see colours and blurred shapes if I am close up to them,” Jenny said, “so I can see you as a black mass mama. If the contrast is good, I can see a pink hand or foot on a black background. That was why when Moses helped me, he knelt on a black mat so I could see his hands and feet a little, though in truth, I touched as well as looked.”

“that is good,” Anook replied smiling.

“What will you name your new cub?” jenny asked.

“I haven’t thought yet,” Anook replied, “I’ll think later, right now, he needs feeding. Jenny asked in plain English:

“Anook, could I please touch you? If it is too forward of me, I am sorry.” Anook smiled and jenny felt the toes of a hind foot tapping the back of her right hand. Smiling she adjusted her sitting position and took the offered foot in her hands, resting the heel on her legs.

“that keeps my paws free,” mama Anook said, “so now both my cubs have contact with me.” Jenny looked up at Anook’s face, but could not read her expression so poor was her sight for one, and the mama bear’s eyes were lowered to her feeding cub for another. Jenny felt something though, that something poured out of the pads of Anook’s right hind foot. a love for her, that was confirmed when the she bear curled her toes around jenny’s fingers as the young girl explored the mama bear’s huge pads and thick toes with her hands.

“I’ll bet these toes curled tightly while you were having your cubs,” Jenny said. mama Anook smiled and curled her toes:

“I guess that’s a yes,” jenny said, stroking the mama bear’s bunched pads, mama Anook pulling her foot away slightly, then returning it as a signal she’d rather have her foot embraced than left alone.

“You have soft pads mama Anook,” jenny said, Mama Anook smiling at her:

“yours are soft too, but then you are a very young female man cub,” Anook replied.

“You called me your cub?” jenny asked.

“I did,” Anook replied, “do you feel uncomfortable with that?”

“No, I, I like it,” Jenny replied, “but Anook, I’m not worthy of that am I?”

“You are not responsible for the mistakes of your species Jenny,” Anook replied, “your body might be of them, but your spirit is not of the silly adults who make those choices.”

“I am glad I met you mama Anook,” jenny said, Anook embracing her fingers with the toes of her right hind foot, love pouring from her pads into the tips of Jenny’s fingers.

“when you have finished feeding your cub, can I hug you Anook?” jenny asked.

“You can,” Anook replied smiling.

“I came to your house and sat down, and you were dreaming about something, you reached out with your paws to touch something, and found my foot, and my toes curled round yours mama.”

“I was dreaming of your labour,” Anook replied, “and I reached out to you to comfort you I think.”

“I know you did,” jenny replied, “I came from the school with Moses, and found you dreaming in your den, and you touched my foot, and I knew if you’d been with me while I was in the classroom pretending to labour, it would have been all right.”

“but I was there, there that first time,” Anook replied, “I helped you while you sat unsure of what to do. I felt your need, for you asked for my help. You asked help from the mama bear jenny.”

“I love you Anook,” Jenny said. Anook settled her cub, and pulled Jenny’s hand towards her, the girl’s fingers held in the toes of her right hind foot. once Jenny was closer to her, Anook threw her paws around the young girl, and hugged her tightly.

“I must go now,” jenny said, “thank you Anook for hugging me, and for understanding why I wanted to re-enact what happened to you.” Anook kissed the top of Jenny’s head and released her, Jenny crawling away until she was out of sight of mama Anook, then getting to her feet, Janet helping her out of the house and into her father’s car.

“Well how did it go?” Her dad asked, “I see the bear didn’t eat you,”

“Bears don’t eat people,” Jenny replied, “I sat down near her, and she took my foot in her paws, and we bonded like that. I took her right foot in my hands, and she curled her toes around my fingers. She seemed to like me touching her, for she pulled me into a huge embrace and kissed the top of my head like she would one of her cubs.”

“how big is she?” her dad asked.

“A small bear Anook is,” jenny replied, trying not to scare her dad.

“I hope she is,” he said.

“You left your shoes at the door!” Anook yelled, running up to the car on her hind feet, brandishing Jenny’s shoes in one paw. her Dad stared, then swore, then sped off in the car, leaving Anook standing on the roadside, staring after the car, and then down at the pair of shoes dangling from the laces in her paw.

“you forgot your shoes,” she mumbled, then she padded back to the house.

Jenny’s parents wouldn’t let her go back for her shoes, the bear her dad had seen had unnerved him, but they could not afford another set of shoes for Jenny.

“I’ll go back with a gun,” jenny’s brother said.

“”the community of which that bear is part is very well known and loved around here,” their dad said, “I don’t think shooting at the bears is gonna be well looked upon by anyone. I think we need to go back and ask for the shoes back. The mama bear, for I think it was her, for she was looking at jenny as she ran on her hind feet, was trying to return the shoes to her I’m sure, now, now I can think clearly.” A knock at the French windows stopped their talk, and Jenny went and pulled the curtains aside so they could look out. Outside stood the biggest she bear her dad or brother had ever seen. She stood on all four paws, a little bag dangling from her neck, one paw raised as if she was considering knocking on the glass again.

“I shouldn’t have left that back gate open!” their dad yelled, as Jenny opened the doors. An ominous click made her dad look round.

“Put that down Jim,” he said, “this bear means no harm to us.” Indeed, mama Anook, seeing the gun, reared onto her hind feet and held her paws up, her eyes begging for mercy.

“Oh shit!” their dad gasped, tears filling his eyes, “it knows what could happen to it. Jenny padded forward and hugged mama Anook, who embraced her tenderly.

“You brought my shoes,” she said, unhooking the bag from around the sow bear’s neck. Mama Anook kissed the top of Jenny’s head, flipped backwards, rolled over, got to her feet and trotted away.

“come Back!” their dad yelled, his son staring at him.

“We don’t want that back here!” he snapped, “why on earth would you want it back here, it’s a dumb brute!!”

“it understood what you held in your hands, I know it did, I saw the fear and understanding in its eyes, and when, when it hugged Jenny, well, the bear, she, she knew jenny, I was sure of it! I saw tenderness in her eyes.”

“Rubbish!” Jim snapped, then, ”oh good, it comes closer, with something riding on its back too, a cub, two in one day.”

“You won’t shoot her you know,” someone said from the fireplace, where their white cat was prone to sleeping. Jim and his dad looked round at the sound of the voice. There was a white cat, a large white cat with a mane and a presence noone could deny once he made himself known.”

“You spoke!” Jim yelped.

“I did, and I claim protection for Anook, her cub and the little girl.” The lion replied.

“What?” Jim asked, levelling the gun at the lion and pulling the trigger! The shot never came, for Jim had been frozen by fear as the lion turned his eyes on him.

“You know me my friend,” Theo said, “we’ve met before, in a dream you had, and it was me who guided you out of that nightmare. Now put that gun down, and let’s have no more of this nonsense. For myself, I like to see a mama and cub playing, don’t you?” Jim looked over at jenny and Anook, the two friends playing together, actually Anook lay on her back, paws and feet in the air, while Jenny and her newborn cub tickled her toes.

“Your guns will never work again,” Theo mewed, “there is an enchantment on you now. I may not be spiritual leader, but there are things that I can evoke that the spirits left me, and protection is one. No gun will work in your hands as long as you live Jim,” Theo said softly. Then the expression on his face became dreadful and he snarled, “You have not the temperament to use one. I will leave now, and you will get down on your knees to mama Anook, confess how close you were to shooting her, and tell her that you wanted her cub’s head as well! You will do this, and she will understand you, and you will suffer her wroth and anger. Now, now I will go. But I will make sure the apology is carried out.” Theo left, and Jim knew he had no choice but to break this peaceful scene in front of him into bits. Jim walked to the door and called out to Jenny:

“Jenny, can you bring, um, your friend here?”

“My friend’s name is Anook, call her, she’ll come to you,” jenny replied, “and don’t talk to her as if she’s a pet bear either.”

“Anook, please, will you come closer to me?” Jim asked, “I need to say something.” Anook got to her feet, looked at her cub, then padded away to hide him. Padding back, she approached Jim warily, the teenager unable to look into the mama bear’s eyes, but even so, their eyes met, and what he saw made him feel the lowest creature on earth. He saw deep intelligence in the mama bear’s eyes, not just enough to know what he had been so close to doing to herself, but enough to realise what it would do to others.

“I am here, what do you want,” Anook said. Jim realised he could understand the she bear, and didn’t think it strange, though all his dad heard was a huffing grunt.

“Anook, Jim said, going outside and finding himself kneeling to get on the she bear’s eye level, “I am sorry for what I was about to do to you and your cub.”

“I know what you were going to do,” Anook said, her eyes more full of sorrow than Jim could bear, “you were going to take my life because you feared me. I am that bear whom Jenny met today, and I came to return her shoes. I tracked the smell of the car here, unfortunately I brought my cub with me, as I can’t leave him, he’s too young for that. Now I regret bringing him as I now know I was leading him into danger. I’m returning your sister’s shoes, then leaving for good.”

“If you’re going, I am going with you,” Jenny said.

“You have your school to attend in the morning,” Anook said gently, turning such a gentle expression on jenny that Jim hated himself even more for what he’d intended to do to her.

“Look,” their dad said, “if you promise mama Anook, to send my daughter cub to school at eight thirty in the morning, then she can go to your den, sorry, home for the night.” Anook looked him full in the face, and the man went to her and she gave him her paw.

“I will send her with Janet,” Anook said. Anook let her paw rest in Jenny’s dad’s hand, her paw heavy and very warm.

“now we will go,” Anook said, Jenny clambering onto the huge mama bear’s back for a ride home, Anook’s cub scrambling into Jenny’s lap to get a ride home himself. Jim and their dad watched as mama Anook padded powerfully out of the gate and ran into the woods, seemingly unable to notice the weight on her back. Jenny experienced the most amazing ride of her life, being unable to see the trees flashing past her, she concentrated on how her body felt, from the wind in her face, to the feel of the air tickling her heels and toes as she raised her legs slightly to feel the air against her feet. Mama Anook stopped as she felt the weight shift on her back.

“Grip with your knees jenny,” she said, “otherwise you will fall off, and by the way, I saw what you were doing, and don’t blame you. so please, until we’re home, grip with your knees, as you are carrying my cub in your arms, and you would not like to hurt him would you? Jenny felt awful about her lack of consideration for Anook’s cub. gripping with her knees, she felt mama Anook padding through the woods with hardly a sound from her huge feet. Jenny laughed as she felt the mama bear padding through the woods, then she heard the sound change as the mama’s naked pads slapped a little as she padded onto the tiles of the vestibule, where Sooleawa waited with her foot and paw wash.

“You three are not getting past me!” Sooleawa exclaimed, rubbing her paws with delight. Mama Anook pretended slight fear, but then grinned.

“Let my charges dismount, and then you can check my feet and paws Sooleawa, please also check Jenny’s feet and paws, and also my cub’s feet and paws too.” Sooleawa took Anook’s cub from Jenny’s arms, and jenny threw her left leg over Anook’s neck, in preparation for sliding off onto the floor. Sooleawa put her Burdon down, and padded back to Jenny, tapping the floor with her paw, then touching the sole of Jenny’s right foot.

“You have about a foot to go for your feet to touch the floor, so slide, I’ll catch you,” Sooleawa said. Jenny slid, and Sooleawa caught her. Settling her with her feet in the pool, Sooleawa found Anook’s cub already washing his huge feet In the pool.

“mama Anook told me how to do this!” he laughed as Sooleawa set paw on him, the cub getting into the water and scooting across it doggie paddle fashion.

“he’s lively!” Anook laughed. Sooleawa checked Jenny’s feet for thorns, jenny laughing as the silver coated she bear’s breath tickled her toes as she inspected them closely.

“I’m using a magnifying glass and strong light to inspect paws and feet from now on,” Sooleawa replied, “some of the thorns are too small to see or feel if not pinpointed. I can see red spots where damage is this way too. Jenny, please, don’t curl your toes, I can’t see your toe pads, or any thorns that might be stuck in the balls of your feet that way, your pads bunch up if you curl your toes. jenny, laughing helplessly, struggled to relax her toes, but Sooleawa’s breath tickled them so much, she couldn’t, indeed, she curled them even tighter.

“Your breath is tickling my toes, I can’t relax them!” Jenny laughed. Sooleawa huffed with exasperation, Jenny screaming with merriment and reaching back to rub her heel, which Sooleawa’s breath had just tickled, accidentally slapping the she bear on the side of her head with her hand. Sooleawa growled in her throat.

“hit me would you?”

“Sorry, I can’t see you that well,” Jenny said. Sooleawa was about to challenge this, when mama Anook rested her paw on her shoulder.

“Sooleawa, please, she can’t see you that well. I’ll vouch for that as truth. She did not mean to hit you on the head.”

“All right,” Sooleawa grunted.

“After all, you would reach back quickly with your paw if I tickled your heels while you were kneeling wouldn’t you?” Anook asked. Sooleawa huffed her acceptance of her wrong doing.

“I’ll make it so you can see what she can shall I?” Patch asked, padding into the room, “I can Sooleawa, you know that.” Sooleawa looked up at the sound of Patch’s voice, but she didn’t see Patch, she saw a grey blob of nothing, an ill defined shape, as if she was looking through a Smokey window with no depth perception at all. Screaming, Sooleawa closed her eyes and shook her head.

“Stop it Patch!” she roared.

“You do not want it then?” Patch asked.

“No, no!” Sooleawa wailed.

“Then be more careful,” Patch replied sharply. Sooleawa opened her eyes, and saw her vision had returned to normal. Sighing with relief, she saw her vision blur with tears, tears she didn’t mind shedding.

“Oh dear, oh shit!” she moaned.

“now complete your duty Sooleawa,” patch said, “and if your breath does tickle Jenny’s toes so that she curls them, rejoice in her merriment, don’t shout at her for it.” Sooleawa wiped her eyes with her paw and tried to focus, but she found it difficult to focus her mind.”

“I can’t do it Patch,” she whimpered, “I must lie down for a bit.” With that she withdrew to a corner of the room and lay down, her face buried in her paws. Anook, glancing over, saw Sooleawa’s body shaking with sobs. Anook didn’t go to comfort the silver coated bear, as she knew Sooleawa’s discomfort was self inflicted, and needed to work its way out of her system, being told everything was all right would not work, as everything wasn’t all right.

“Who will check my feet over now?” Jenny asked. Anook smiled and replied:

“I’ll check your feet by touch, if you will check mine over.” Jenny smiled:

“by touch?” she asked.

“Of course,” Anook replied, “you can check my feet over, then those of my cub too, and I’ll check yours over, then we’re all going to wash our paws, then we’re done.” Mama Anook looked down at the soles of Jenny’s feet, first her right foot, then her left, then she gently pressed the pads of her heel and toes with her paw, then ran it down the sole, Jenny all the while trying not to laugh. Mama Anook then kissed Jenny’s heel, and gently rasped it with her teeth, Jenny’s toes curling tighter than ever.

“oooah,” she gasped.

“Sorry,” Anook said contritely, “I forgot you’re not one of my cubs for a minute.”

“But I want to be!” Jenny blurted, “Anook, I’m sorry, I know,” she replied.

“You spoke from the heart Jenny,” Patch said, “turn to Anook, and tell her what you truly want, what your heart wants.” Jenny felt tears pricking the backs of her eyes, then she felt mama Anook’s nose brushing her cheek.

“Tell me jenny,” the mama bear whispered softly, “tell me what you want, though your pads have already told me I think.”

“Would you groom me like a cub?” Jenny asked. Anook smiled and hugged her.

“You mean wild grooming?” she asked, “rasp and spit?” Jenny smiled and buried her head in Anook’s fur.

“That’s exactly what I mean,” she replied.

“You can shower afterwards,” Anook said, “but yes, I will wild groom you.”

“but what about checking her feet for thorns!” Sooleawa whimpered.

“I think we bears have been picking thorns from paws and feet much longer than you have been washing them in pools,” Anook said shortly. Sooleawa wailed in misery as Anook checked jenny’s left foot over, blowing on her toes to make her laugh, then leading her to her den, her cub crawling after them.

“So do you have two cubs now?” mama Anook’s cub asked.

“yes I do, well, sort of,” Anook replied.

“Did you give birth to the one that carried me while she rode on your back?” he asked. Anook looked at Jenny, her mind racing.

“Um, no, I adopted her, she was lost,” Anook replied, her mind recoiling at the thought of delivering a human into the world.

“Could you have delivered her into the world like you did me?” Anook’s cub asked. Mama Anook glanced over Jenny, from her head to her feet.

“Um, no, not the size she is now,” Anook replied, her toes curling at the thought of pushing Jenny into the world at the size she was.

“Oh okay,” her cub said. jenny smiled at this.

“I’d like to see you pretend mama, like I did to deliver your cub into the world.”

“I couldn’t, I wouldn’t know where to start!” Anook replied, her toes curling into the rugs.

“Start by playing with your toes, and see what happens,” jenny said, “I’ve acted births before, human ones that is, “I’ll help you re-enact mine as you helped me re-enact your cub’s birth.”

“Maybe later,” Anook said, “I’m still sore from the real thing Jenny. I’ll groom you and my little one, and then maybe we can get some dinner and curl up together for an early night?”

“I wonder how it feels to be snuggled into the hug of a huge mama bear?” Jenny asked.

“Well you soon will be,” Anook replied. Jenny asked:

“Janet said she and Jess wore cat suits here, can I wear one too? it would save my clothes after all.” Anook smiled and padded to a cupboard where she rummaged, and found a cat suit. Jenny scrambled into it, and rejoined Anook a few minutes later.

Mama Anook groomed jenny from head to foot, the young girl giggling as the mama bear worked on her hands and feet. Mama Anook used the rasp and spit method that most bears use, and once she was done, Jenny found herself dry, but smelling strongly of bear, which she didn’t mind, but knew she’d have to shower off before she left for school the next day. Anook used her grooming time to check jenny’s hands and feet for thorns, taking a good look at each hand and foot, tops, palms and soles, fingers and toes. This done, Anook groomed her own cub. then it was time for food, and while Jenny ate a vegetarian curry, mama Anook ate a fish vegetable mix, her cub drinking busily. Once all were settled, mama Anook settled herself.

Mama Anook felt the track beneath her paws, she knew this track well, it was on the way to her den. Padding along, she felt the wind in her fur. Suddenly she felt a blow in her side, a heavy thump into her rib cage. Falling to the floor with a cry of shock, she lay stunned for a moment, then mama Anook felt confusion, then increasing pain. Mama Anook began to whimper and moan, then the pain really kicked in. Mama Anook heard someone screaming, it was a dreadful sound, a cub like sound, a terrible, urgent, plea for help, a scream from the heart of an injured and terrified cub. Crying in pain, mama Anook realised the cries were her own.

“mama, this hurts, make it stop!” she screamed, “protect me mama!” she shrieked into the darkness which enveloped her. choking on tears of pain, mama Anook screamed her last, riding wave after wave of agony. In one last screaming plea, Mama Anook begged the spirits to spare her unborn cub the pain of a horrible death.

“Mama, mama!” Jenny yelled, shaking the mama bear’s shoulder. Mama Anook gasped and choked, her eyes streaming tears.

“Oh god, oh god!” Anook sobbed, “it hurts mama!” she screamed.

“Anook, mama, it’s okay, nothing is hurting you!” Jenny yelled. Anook wiped her eyes with her paws, coughing, sobbing, gasping and sniffing, reality intruding slowly, calming her a little.

“What happened?” jenny asked, “you were screaming for your mama and about an unborn cub Anook!”

“I, I was shot on a track,” Anook sniffed, “something hit me, and I was dying in pain, I cried to my mama, and, and, jenny, the pain and fear was horrendous!”

“oh mama,” jenny replied softly, “but surely your body was found on the road, hence the story of the flat body you dragged into the house?”

“I don’t know how it got run over,” Anook replied, “maybe the one who shot me realised I was in cub, and, and in a bid to cover his mistake, he put my body on the road, and it got hit by a car.”

“What was all that noise?” Blackberry asked, thundering into the lie up, “it sounded like a cub in pain!”

“it was,” Anook replied, “that cub was me.” She told him everything, Blackberry shaking with fear by the end of her tale.

“oh mama,” he whispered.

“I could feel the shot go in, and feel the shock of being shot, then came the pain Blackberry, growing pain, horrendous pain, pain that made me want to scream and cry for my mama.”

“you did,” Blackberry sniffed, “mama Anook, you did, I watched everything, I saw what happened! Your body, it shook as if it had been hit just half an hour after you’d gone to sleep, then you grunted, wailed, then you began to scream and beg for the mercy of all the spirits, then, when the pain got too great, you cried out for your mama in the voice of a cub!” Blackberry buried his head in mama Anook’s fur and both wept like cubs.

“but mama wasn’t shot, was she Jenny?” Anook’s cub asked.

“I don’t understand it very well,” Jenny replied, “but I’ll ask Patch about it. He’ll know.”

“mama,” Blackberry sniffed, “your body was shot when someone else owned it. You felt her fear, you cried out like she did, mama, dear mama, you cried like she did for her dead cub too!”

“I know now,” Anook replied softly, “I know now what happened. I must, must, must try and make contact with the one who owned my body before I took residence. I didn’t see her come across the bridge, at least, no, wait a moment, she came crawling over the bridge, and I tended her wounds, but she kept crying, crying and screaming for her mama and for her cub, and when I touched her where the shot went in, she’d scream and moan like an injured cub. she was a tormented creature, whom noone could soothe.”

“Maybe you can help soothe her mama,” Jenny said.

“I must go to her,” Anook said, getting to her feet.

Padding out into the wood, mama Anook followed her paws to the track, and down it, it was the same track she’d seen in her nightmare, she could feel that beneath her paws. Suddenly she heard something, a terrible thud, then a cry, then nothing for a second or so, then growing sounds of an animal feeling increasing agony. The moans she knew well, then, as the injured creature screamed to the heavens, mama Anook almost tripped over it lying on the track. A mama bear, a mama black bear to be precise, lying with an arrow in her side, still alive, crying in fear and pain, and begging for protection like a cub.

“Help me mama!” the poor she bear screamed. Anook touched the mama bear with her paws.

“I’m here now, I promise I won’t leave you my cub,” Anook said, leaning down and kissing the mama’s tear stained face. The mama bear roared in agony as her pain became acute, then she relaxed, mama Anook feeling spirit ebb out of the tortured body.

“I know you don’t I?” the she bear sobbed. Mama Anook rested her head against the dying mama bear’s.

“You do know me,” Anook replied, “and I have come to tell you something my love. I am here to let you know that your cub was born to me, or you, safely this very week.” The mama bear’s spirit relaxed, her own pain lessening with the news that her cub had been born safely.

“I can rest now,” the mamma bear replied softly, “mama, please, tell me your name.”

“My name’s Anook,” mama Anook replied, “mama, your cub is lovely, a lovely cub with soft paws and a gentle manner.”

“Please,” the mama bear said, “tell him about me, tell him that I fought for him till the last, tell him, tell him I’m sorry he died with me.”

“I will tell him of his mama,” Anook replied, “but I need not tell him, for you can tell him yourself. Touch him through me mama, for when I touch him, so will you now.”

“You can mother him, teach him, but please, let me love him,” the mama bear pleaded. Mama Anook kissed the mama bear’s nose.

“I will,” she replied, “you weren’t far from giving birth were you my love.” The mama bear cried into Anook’s fur.

“No,” she whimpered, “I was going to den up that day, when, when, when I was shot with that stick thing, I felt such pain mama Anook, such pain! I cried to the heavens, begging spirits of cubs and my mama for help. I could feel my cub dying, and I wept for him, and for me. I screamed out in his pain and mine mama Anook!”

“I know dear mama, I know,” Anook replied, “now rest, rest in peace mama bear. I will look after your cub, I promise you that.”

“I know mama Anook,” the mama bear replied, “and I’ve wanted to thank you, but, but the only way I could bring you to me was to show you how it had been for me, to bring you to the place, the place where I’ve lived for these last years, anchored to this place as firmly as the arrow was stuck in my chest. Until now I’ve been here, crying and in pain, the pain tearing me apart a little each day. Now, now you are here, you who took my broken body and laboured it back to life, and, mercy of mercies, agreed to deliver a cub into the world which was not your own. Dear mama Anook, hug me mama, please!” Mama Anook sat down and hugged the body of the she bear, resting the mama bear’s head on her shoulder like she was her own cub, cradling her as if she were still alive, the arrow having vanished from the mama bear’s body.

“is that better little one?” Anook asked, the mama bear snuggling close, and humming peacefully.

“I can sleep here now,” the mama bear replied dreamily, “the pain is gone, I’m in my mama’s paws now, thank you mama, thank you, I love you mama.” With that Anook felt the mama bear relax in her embrace.

“now I’ll go home and tend to our cub,” Anook replied softly, “you will be guided across the bridge by one whom we both love and trust.” Anook left the scene, blinded by tears of grief as if the mama bear had been her own cub.

“mama?” Patch asked, touching her shoulder with his nose.

“O patch, patch!” Anook sobbed, collapsing on the track, Patch cradling her as she wept.

“I know,” patch replied gently, “I know whom you met.”

“her cries of pain, of fear, they, oh Patch, I’ll never forget them!”

“it is memories like that which inform us, and stop us repeating mistakes,” patch replied, “I wish humans would learn like non human creatures do.”

“Tell me Patch,” Anook begged, “tell me, did that mama get across the bridge safely?” Patch hugged her in a renewed huge embrace.

“Mama Anook, she did,” he replied, “and she is at peace now, she is pain free now her cub is born to one who will look after him.”

“I heard her cries Patch,” Anook replied, “I heard her cries in my own, she, oh patch, she begged and pleaded, she was so confused, in so much pain, oh Patch!” Anook sobbed.

“I know Anook, I know how she felt. It was me who guided you two together, so she could show you what happened to her, wake, see her cub, and go to her to tell her the eventual outcome of the story. You had to feel her pain to make you want to go to her and soothe her with the only news that could ever do so. You gave birth to her cub, and now she’s at peace because you strained and pushed, roared and moaned in agony to give her cub life that she could not give him.”

“I will never forget her voice Patch,” Anook sobbed, “never ever forget her voice, her pain, or her confusion. She was like a cub patch, crying like a cub, like a little frightened cub!”

“I know,” Patch replied gently, crying into Anook’s fur, “I know how she felt and how she cried. I wept for her before I got in touch with her to talk to her. it took ages, for she would talk in her calmer moments, then she would cry and scream, roar and beg, then in a lull in the pain of her physical and emotional wounds, she would tell me what she wanted, then she would scream and plead again, her pain and torment perpetual, until you came along that was. Now she is free of all pain.”

“Where is my cub now?” Anook asked.

“he’s back at the house,” patch replied, “come, I’ll take you to him.” They padded back to the house, but half way there they met Anook’s cub coming the other way. He crawled up to her, then scrambled up her leg and set to embracing it, trying to hug her as best he could.

“Oh little one,” Anook thought, nuzzling her cub’s ear, “I haven’t named you yet, and now I know why I didn’t. I will name you not just for you and me, but for your mama, the mama you will never know.”

“You’re upset mama,” her cub said. Anook kissed the top of his head, and breathed warm air over him.

“have they been keeping you warm little one?” she asked.

“No!” the cub wailed, “I felt cold, so I followed your paw prints. I can smell them you know, so I followed them, and I heard you talking to someone, and so I got scared, and stopped where I was, then a big bear walked past me, but he didn’t notice me, then, then I heard you and that bear talking, then you came back here, and I made sure I found your paw, then scrambled up your leg, and now, now I’m going to hang on with my paws, my claws and my pads so we don’t lose each other again mama.” Anook looked down at the upturned face of her cub.

“you were nearly lost once,” she said, “but we will not talk of that.”

“Why not?” the cub asked, “is it something to do with you screaming and crying last night?” Anook sniffed hard, tears welling in her eyes, then trickling down her face and wetting the cub’s face, some falling into his mouth, the cub’s tiny tongue flicking out to lick the water.

“Yuck, that’s horrid!” he spat, but then he paused:

“mama,” he asked, “why are you crying?”

“I met, met the one who was shot,” Anook sniffed, “your mama little one, she, she was shot and died on the track on which your paws padded, and mine are set now. She was in too much pain to bring you into the world herself, so I took you in my paws.”

“Oh,” the cub said, “so what did my mama do to make her die?”

“She didn’t want to die little one,” Anook replied, “someone, someone killed her. I can’t explain it, maybe when you’re older you will understand better.”

“I know of the grey bear who helped me across the bridge,” the cub said, “I know if anyone can tell me, he can.”

“I was shot so I would be forced to seek your mama to tell her her good news,” mama Anook Replied, “I didn’t know where your mama was, nor the end of her earthly tale, but now I know where she died, and freed her from the arrow which shot her and suspended your earthly life little one. Your mama asked me to tell you she loves you.”

“I heard you talking about me,” the cub said, “I know my mama loves me, for I can feel it through your paws. I know you love me too, so it’s sort of double the feeling. It pours from you mama.”

“I’m glad of it,” Anook replied, “and it is for your mama that I cry. She felt she could not face coming back over the bridge, so she told me that if I decided to go, to speak to you, “if you’d made it out alive,”” at least that’s how she put it.”

“the big grey bear guided my paws to you and asked you to help me live,” the cub said, “Now you have let me live, I’m just sorry I hurt you on my way into the world.” Anook smiled:

“it was a pleasure to give birth to you little one,” Anook replied.

“You knew I was not your cub?” her cub asked.

“I knew, for Patch asked me if I could take you in and mother you as my own,” Anook replied, “and I said yes I would. I was frightened in my mind that I would not make it through with the body as battered as the one I had, but my heart said yes. So I knew I’d strain and push, roar and struggle until I was dead to have you safely delivered into the world.”

“You did that mama, you did that,” the cub said, “now you are my mama here, helped by my mama who’s over the bridge in that other place.”

“yes little one,” Anook replied smiling.

“So what are you going to do about feeding me? I’m hungry!” the cub yelled.

“I’ll feed you, and me at the same time, so come home little cub.”

“Mama, please,” the cub said, clinging even more desperately to her leg, his claws digging painfully into her skin, “please mama, please,” the cub began to sob, “please, don’t, don’t scream again like you did last night!”

“I’m sorry, but I couldn’t help that,” Anook replied, “now please, let go of my leg, and let’s go home.” The cub released his hold, slid down her leg, and ended up in a heap on the floor. Smiling, Mama Anook picked him up in her mouth and carried him back to the house. As soon as she got through Ekaterina’s foot and paw check, Anook was ambushed by Koda, the black bear hysterical, screaming and crying.

“What’s wrong Koda?” Anook asked, but Koda was incoherent, clinging, sobbing and wailing.

“What is happening Koda? Please, tell me, tell me what’s happened?” Koda tried to bury his face in mama Anook’s shoulder, then tried to crawl beneath her as he would have done when he was a much smaller cub, Anook stepping over the crawling, whimpering bear so she didn’t trip over him.

“Koda, this is stupid!” Anook’s cub snapped, “you are a grown cub and you’re acting worse than I ever could!”

“Koda, please,” Anook said to the crying bear, “Come, come with me.”

“NO, No, and no again mama!” her newborn cub yelled, “he is not welcome in our den!”

“I will be the judge of that!” Anook snapped, flinging her cub to the floor and then picking him up again, the cub silenced by her anger.

“Now come Coda,” Anook said, while her cub cursed Koda fluently under his breath. Koda, miserable and dejected, followed mama Anook to her den. Settling her cub with a bottle of milk, she sat down, and Koda crawled into her lap, burying his head and sobbing.

“Now tell me what’s wrong Koda love,” Anook said softly, grunting to him as she would a newborn cub, the sound soothing Koda’s terrified mind.

“I thought, thought you were dead!” Koda managed to say after a lot of effort, which included curling his toes and relaxing them a few times in his struggle to regain composure of sorts.

“I was, for a long time, well, my body was,” Anook replied, “who told you I was dead.”

“I saw, saw you on a track, and someone shot you, and you screamed in pain, horrid screams, and then you died! I saw it, I heard it mama!”

“I was outside conversing with a mama bear to whom that happened yes,” Anook replied.

“but it wasn’t that, it wasn’t mama, it wasn’t that!” Koda whimpered, “you were lying on the track, I know, I touched you in my dream, you were lying screaming and crying on the floor, begging to be released from your pain, begging to die mama! You screamed, you screamed out for your mama!” Koda, staring at nothing, but seeing his dream as clearly as if it was happening in front of him, clung to Anook with more desperate strength than ten cubs could manage.

“I had a nightmare Koda,” Anook replied, “let me see something a minute. She operated a remote control which lay by her rug, and soon Koda’s lie up was on the screen, scrolling back, she saw Wihakayda viewing a video from an hour before the timestamp on the screen. It was the video of mama Anook herself, going through her nightmare, just as Jenny had described, the jerk of her body, then the grunt of pain, then huffing with confusion, then the rising groaning and wailing as pain took hold, then horrendous screaming and crying as mama Anook’s pain became unbearable. Throughout all this, Koda was apparently sleeping peacefully. Wihakayda, shocked to her paws, padded from the room with her head hung in shame at witnessing someone else’s private nightmare. Just after this, Koda woke sobbing and crying out for his mama. It was then he lost it, screaming to the heavens and tearing round the house, searching, searching, but never finding Anook, for mama Anook knew now, she was out on the track at that time.

“You assimilated a video into your dreams Koda,” Anook replied softly.

“You always have had a good imagination Koda,” Sita said, padding in, “I’ve never known a bear’s paws and feet stick so fast to mine.”

“I need to turn it off,” Koda moaned.

“I’m sorry you thought I’d died,” Anook replied gently, kissing her cub’s ear and nose. Koda rolled onto his back and whimpered like a cub, Anook kissing his belly, paws and feet.

“I love you Koda,” Anook said, “you and Mishka, and Ekaterina, and Kuruk, and the newest born too. Koda sighed deeply and closed his eyes, his mind soothed.

“Oi!” Anook’s cub snapped, “don’t go to sleep in my place Koda!” Anook’s paw lashed out, smacking her newborn cub with a loud sound.

“Ow mama!” the cub squealed.

“that was only a taste!” Anook snapped.

“How dare you hit your cub!” Sita roared.

“It sounded worse than it was Sita dear,” Anook replied, “look back at Lily hitting Orbon, then see the difference between my slap and hers. She smacked her cub across his head with a flat paw, I cuffed mine with a limp paw, and across his shoulder, not his head, the slap you heard was the air caught in my paw, it sounded worse than it was, and little one is able to complain a millisecond after I hit him, Orbon wasn’t able to, for Lily had injured him so much that all he could do was scream.”

“I still say Koda should get out of my rightful place!” her cub yelled, crawling to Koda and pushing at him with his paws.

“Move out of my way you big lump!” the cub snarled.

“If you wish to feed, I will hold you in my paws and you can drink, but I’m not moving,” Koda yawned insultingly.

“the cub scrambled onto Koda’s chest, and bounced up and down, trying to crush him. Koda lifted the cub in his paws, and mama Anook guided the cub’s mouth to the nipple to drink his fill. Between them, Koda and Anook fed her disagreeable cub.”

“now you are satisfied?” Koda asked, as he sensed the cub finishing his drink. In response, the cub turned his head, spitting milk in Koda’s face.

“Now that’s total disrespect!” Koda roared.

“I don’t care!” the cub yelled, “you are horrid!”

“I didn’t mean disrespect to me, I meant disrespect to mama Anook!” Koda roared, “she made that milk for you you disgrace!” the cub felt mama Anook’s displeasure in the touch of her paws, and became silent, as the full impact of what he’d done began to sink in.

“Oh, woops,” the cub mumbled. Koda dropped the cub, and wiped his face with his free paws, the cub landing on the rugs with a belch.

“Well that winded him anyway,” Anook said. Koda looked at mama Anook, the look in his eyes shocking her.

“it was only Milk Koda,” Anook said.

“No mama, it was more than milk, the gesture was insulting to me, and more to you. your cub took your bounty, given to him freely, and misused it. I admit I yawned at him, but he was insulting me. I could have cuffed him, but I didn’t. he disrespected your hospitality, your body, and your kindness. Now he should pay with isolation for a while.”

“I think he behaved disgustingly mama,” jenny said.

“I agree,” Anook replied.

“So what are we going to do with him?” Koda asked.

“he’s too young to ignore for long,” mama Anook replied, “I can’t really leave him alone for long periods yet. How to teach him that what he did was wrong?”

“ow!” the cub screamed, “mama, don’t bite me!”

“I’m not touching you,” Anook replied.

“Oaoaoaoaoaow! Mama, stop!” the cub screamed.

“He won’t do that again Anook,” a voice said into Anook’s ear as a soft nose brushed it, “I think we’re going to be a good team you and I.” Anook gasped, then closed her eyes.

“Thank you dear mama,” she replied under her breath.

“I hate you mama!” her cub yelled, “you bit me!”

“I didn’t touch you,” Anook replied, huffing slightly.

“Well who bit me then if you didn’t!” her cub screamed, then he paused, and squealed with fear: “My mama came across the bridge to bite me!”

“Maybe she did,” Anook replied.

“This is all very sad,” jenny said. I liked my toes tickled by mama Anook, now that was fun.”

“You do have interesting hind feet jenny,” Anook said, “they are rather like mine.”

“one day I’ll tickle your toes like you tickled mine mama,” Jenny said. jenny knelt down at Koda’s level, the black bear looking at her. jenny felt Patch put a wet cloth in her hand, smiling, she gently washed Koda’s face, the black bear’s eyes filling with tears. Sitting back, jenny waited, and Koda crawled to her, jenny feeling him snuggle close. Wrapping her arms around the black bear, she hugged him like she would her huge teddy bear at home, Koda snuggling close, embracing her with his paws.

“You are all soft and warm Koda,” jenny said, “I want to hug you and stroke your paws and feet like I would my big soft toy bear at Home, but you’re a real and half wild bear, and you might not like that.”

“Try me,” Koda said, “I might like it, how will I know if you don’t try it?” jenny smiled and kissed Koda’s nose, then she rubbed his back with her right hand while holding him close with her left arm, Koda sighing with pleasure, his paws gripping her shoulders as she rubbed his back. Then he began to hum with pleasure, like a cub would.

“You like this?” Jenny asked.

“if rubbing my back feels like this, what will it feel like when you rub my paws and play with my toes?” Koda asked dreamily.

“do you really like me rubbing your back?” Jenny asked.

“Bears don’t lie Jenny,” Koda replied, “now trust your paws, sorry, hands, and treat me like you would your cuddly toy bear.”

“I imagine he’s real sometimes,” she said, “I imagine his reaction to me stroking his paws and feet. Sometimes, I think he curls his toes slightly when I rub his pads.”

“What kind of bear is the one you share your home with?” Koda asked.

“he’s a big black bear, at least that’s what my dad said he was,” jenny replied, “to me, he’s a big black blob of colour, much like you now.”

“Oh thanks!” Koda replied smiling.

“I can’t see you that well Koda,” Jenny said.

“I know,” Koda said, nuzzling her cheek. Jenny explored Koda from his head to his paws and feet, taking each paw and foot in turn and stroking his pads and toes, Koda ending up on his back, his paws and feet in the air. Eyes closed, he concentrated on his paws and feet, and the gentle touch soothing them. Koda felt Jenny’s hands exploring his pads and toes, Koda curling the toes of his hind feet, and clenching his paws into fists of emotion.

“I want to be cuddled, I want to be cuddled!” he thought wildly, “I want to snuggle up and be loved for being a bear, for being a soft creature who wants a cuddle, nothing else, not as a mate, not as a provider of anything but pure uncomplicated love and affection!” Jenny was now stroking Koda’s ears, paws and feet, now tracing the pads of his right hind foot, now counting his toes. Koda wanted to snuggle down and forget the world for a night, to be warm safe and snug.

Jenny went back to school the next day, and Koda watched her leave with a heavy heart. They’d spent the remainder of the night curled together, his paw in her hand, and Koda had slept the most wonderful sleep he’d ever had. Jenny, able to realise her wish to cuddle up with a real bear her size, had slept well too.

Koda followed mama Anook’s faint scent to the house in the afternoon. He knew Jenny’s father and brother were out, for he’d sent two squirrels on ahead to spy for him. They also knew that the key for the door was under a rock. Some humans were so stupid when it came to their security. Prior to his journey, Koda washed himself thoroughly, getting rid of all scent on him, not that he smelt bad anyway, his scent warm and comforting, at least that’s how jenny described it. Koda padded to the door of the house, finding the key where the squirrels had said it was, under a rock by the left hand side. Lifting the key, he slipped it into the lock and opened the door. Creeping inside, Koda closed the door behind him. Standing on the mat, Koda took alcohol gel from a bottle on a cord around his neck, and, sitting down, washed his feet and paws with it. Smiling he snapped the bottle closed and ventured into the house, the scents made him pause, but he knew where he must go. He must look for the big black bear on the bed, jenny had told him that’s where her big soft toy bear was. Koda crept upstairs, moved left, then looked in at the first door he came to, it was a bathroom. Moving left again, he found a cupboard, then a door slightly ajar. Sniffing, he could smell jenny’s scent, and peeping in, he saw the big black bear on the bed. Koda crept into the room, and moved the black form off the bed, hiding him in a cupboard. Koda closed the cupboard, then froze as he heard someone come in at the main door. He heard jenny’s voice, and that of her father coming closer. Koda, feeling sick with fear, sat on the bed exactly as the soft toy bear had sat, and in exactly the same place. Jenny walked in soon after, setting her school bag down on the floor.

“You’re renamed Koda from now on,” she told the black form in front of her, reaching out to touch his fur. Koda remained motionless, his eyes half closed. Jenny’s hand touched his shoulder, then his paw, Koda bit his tongue to stop himself screaming.

“he’s warm,” she whispered, “I must be dreaming!” shaking herself, jenny sat down on the bed and changed from her school uniform into casual clothes. Hardly daring to breathe, Koda kept his eyes focused on the handle of the wardrobe opposite, but he knew he couldn’t keep this up for long, for his mind was racing, and he would give himself away soon he was sure. Jenny left the room for her dinner, closing the door behind her, and Koda, exhausted, lay back on the bed, staring at the closed door of the room.

“I would love to doze now, but what if she comes in before her bedtime, I can’t have her dad finding out I’m here,” he thought miserably, “this could all go horribly wrong, and I could be shot for this!” Koda shivered at the thought of the gun that Jenny had told him of, the gun which mama Anook had so nearly become a casualty of. Koda must have dozed, for he heard the door opening, and jenny coming in. Looking at her, Koda felt sick with fear. Jenny closed the door and padded over to the bed.

“that’s strange, my bear has fallen onto his back,” she thought.

“Come on Koda, I’ll sit you on the other side of the bed to me. You know dad doesn’t like me cuddling with you, much as I’d like to. He says it’s too childish for me now, now I’m nearly nine.” Jenny slipped her hand under Koda’s head, her other arm supporting his bottom, and tried to lift him into a sitting position.

“You’re heavy!” she exclaimed aloud.

“jenny, please,” Koda whispered. Jenny dropped Koda and sat on the bed.

“Koda!” she whispered, “what the hell are you doing here? Where’s my bear?”

“I, I wanted to see you again,” Koda replied hastily, “Jenny, I’m sorry.”

“You will be if dad finds you here!” Jenny hissed, “for heaven’s sake Koda!”

“I wanted, wanted to curl up with you again, to be just an affectionate bruin, to cuddle with you like last night.” Koda replied.

“you can’t, you will be found out, and shot, and then, then, then, oh Koda, then I will lose you, and I would hate that! I love you Koda, you know that, but this was stupid, this was the most dangerous thing you could have done! How am I going to explain this to dad? How did you get in here?” Jenny asked.

“I picked up a key, and used it, that’s how,” Koda replied.

“Koda, this is wrong, so wrong!” Jenny replied, “you are stupid!”

“Look, just settle me where you want, and I’ll shut up until they’ve all gone to bed, then I can get out of here. I’m sorry Jenny, I thought it would be like last night, where we would be all warm and safe, but it’s not like that, I can see that now. I’m feeling sick with fear, you’re not happy to see me, and I’ve put my paw in it.”

“Koda,” jenny replied, touching his paw, “I am glad to see you, and if it was only you and me here, we could snuggle and all would be well., but dad’s here, and so is Jim, and they wouldn’t like a real bear here!”

“I must get out of here now!” Koda replied, getting off the bed. It was then the door opened, and jenny’s dad put his head in.

“Good night, oh shit!”

“Dad,” Jenny said, “meet Koda.”

“But that’s your big bear you’ve had for years isn’t it?” her dad replied, refusing to believe what his eyes had just witnessed.

“Um, no, he’s the same size, but, um, dad, this bear, he’s the bear whom I was curled up with yesterday.”

“the one you said you’d stroked and tickled like you do your big soft bear?” her dad asked.

“yes dad, him,” jenny replied, her face reddening and lip trembling, “He came in here, he wanted to curl up with me again, I wanted to curl up with him, you know I’ve always wanted that, for my big bear to be real.”

“But they aren’t cuddly and placid creatures,” her dad said.

“This one is,” jenny replied, “he won’t hurt me, he won’t make a mess, he’s lovely dad, truly he is.”

“he looks terrified,” her dad replied.

He is,” jenny sobbed, “Koda’s more frightened of what will happen than I am.”

“How?” her dad asked.

“he used a key, the key from under the stone,” jenny replied, her confidence growing, “Koda got in, and found my room, and moved my big bear, and took his place. It was only because he was lying on his back on the bed that I tried to move him, and found I couldn’t that I noticed.”

“but you talk to that bear the first thing after school,” her dad replied, “didn’t you notice he wasn’t the bear you expected then?”

“I thought I felt something,” Jenny replied, “but I thought I was dreaming it. Now, now I know he’s not the stuffed toy bear I had this morning. Please dad, don’t shoot him, don’t shoot Koda!”

“I won’t, I can’t do that,” her dad said, “especially as he’s from mama Anook’s family. I can see that. He has the same intelligent eyes as she does. He’s a clever bear, if a bit small I think.”

“yes, please, please will you act as if this hasn’t happened, as if I’m here, alone with my bear?” jenny asked, “Koda knows he’s been stupid to come here, don’t you Koda.” Koda cast his eyes down at the blankets on the bed.

“he understands you I see,” her dad said.

“yes,” jenny replied, “he does. Now dad, please, Koda will be gone from here by breakfast tomorrow, he won’t have breakfast here, he’ll go before. I’ll put him out in the woods.”

“the question is, when did he last eat?” her dad asked, “I don’t want him making a meal of you my dear.” Koda glanced at jenny, then threw himself on the bed, buried his face in his paws and wept.

“”Oh dear,” her dad said, “what did I say?”

“Koda wouldn’t eat me if I was the only meat in the place,” jenny replied, “he’s crying because you suggested he would, and you believed it of him too.”

“How do I stop that moaning and whimpering!” her dad asked.

“go to Koda, take his paw and apologise to him,” Jenny said. her dad walked across the room and reached out, touching Koda’s shoulder with his hand, the black bear lifting his head slightly.

“Have you come to kill me?” Koda asked. jenny’s dad ran his hand down Koda’s shoulder and foreleg to his paw.

“Koda,” he said, feeling very self conscious, “Koda, I’m sorry for suggesting you’d eat jenny if you were hungry. Koda looked up into the man’s face, sadness in his eyes.

“You love her don’t you,” jenny’s dad said. Koda let his lips draw back slightly from his teeth in an attempt to mimic a smile. Though this was only slightly successful, Koda’s eyes made up for it, for they shone with love for Jenny.

“What would you like to eat?” jenny’s dad asked Koda.

“he can’t answer you in English dad,” Jenny giggled, “but I can understand him. Koda, you tell me, and I’ll tell dad.” Koda shook his head, then looked hard at jenny’s dad.

“I can speak English you know,” he said as clearly as a man, though his voice was deep and full.

“What?” her dad asked, “you can communicate in the language of man?”

“I can, as could my sire,” Koda replied, “now don’t say a thing, please, look, mister, um, whomever, I can’t call you dad, or sire or anything like that.” Jenny laughed and clapped her hands.

“Oh Koda, Koda!” she laughed, “you are so funny!”

“But I can’t call him dad, for he’s not my dad!” Koda protested in English. Jenny hugged Koda tightly and kissed his nose.

“You are so lovely!” she said.

“Well now we’ve got that out of the way,” Koda replied, “and I must say jenny, that you are lovely too. is there any place I can please wash my tear soaked paws, and possibly get a drink, I’m ok hunger wise, but crying makes me so thirsty.”

“You can have a midnight feast if you wish,” Jenny’s dad said, “it’s Friday now, no school tomorrow or Sunday, or Monday, as it’s a bank holiday for us. Koda, come down stairs, and I’ll see if I can find you something to eat. What would you like?”

“I eat anything,” Koda replied, “roots, beans, potatoes, plants, um, chicken, fish, beef, all sorts of vegetables. We black bears are not fussy eaters at all.”

“How if I make you some porridge,” Jenny’s dad suggested, Koda laughing merrily, his laugh a wheezing grunting sound, with wide open mouth, but his eyes were alight with happiness.”

“I’ll eat porridge if you give it to me,” he replied, “but I think that’s a little old school don’t you? I know I chose the best bed in the place and all, but I’m no goldilocks.” Jenny hugged Koda tightly.

“I love you so much,” she said to the black bear, who nuzzled her cheek.

“now let’s find you some food Koda,” Jenny’s dad said.

They padded downstairs, and Jenny’s dad got a dog bowl out from under the sink. Koda stared at it.

“What is that?” he asked.

“Well, I was going to fill it with food for you, and then put it on the floor,” Jenny’s dad replied. Koda padded up to the human, snatched the bowl, and with a look of contempt, opened the kitchen window and threw it out.

“Now let’s try again,” Koda huffed.

“How do you like to eat your food?” Jenny’s dad asked.

“Well, there’s a table over there,” Koda replied, “chairs too, I’ll sit on a chair next to Jenny. How does that sound?”

“You mean, like we do?” her dad asked.

“Yup, like that,” Koda replied, “did Jenny not tell the story of how we welcomed Sally and Peter into the house? She must have been told that one. In short, they sat down in an ornate room with chairs and cutlery, and all sorts. Who served them food? Sid and Kendal, two bears who are food fanatics. Now, please, treat me with dignity sire, or I will be very unhappy, and who knows, I might revert to some very wild ways, and those, trust me, you do not want to see.”

“Well there’s a chair, sit on it,” Jenny’s dad said, pointing to a chair. Koda took jenny’s hand and led her to the chair he’d indicated, then once she was seated, he sat on another chair. Jenny’s dad stared at Koda, who looked for all the world as if he was about to square up to a good meal. Jenny’s dad shook his head and looked at the black bear and his daughter sitting side by side.

“You two look so good together,” he said. then turned his attentions to the toaster.

“What do you like to eat Koda?” he asked.

“Toast, butter and peanut butter,” Koda replied, looking at the jars on the worktop. In disbelief, Jenny’s dad popped the toast and spread butter and peanut butter on the toast. Walking over to the table, he put the toast in front of Koda, who immediately turned to Jenny and said:

“There are two slices of toast with peanut butter here, want one?” Jenny took one, and Koda the other. Jenny’s dad set a jug of milk on the table, with two glasses. Koda smiled, grabbed the milk jug and poured the drinks, tapping Jenny’s glass with a claw to indicate where it was, jenny grinning.

“Thanks,” she said. Koda, his eyes alight with happiness, set to scrunching into the toast and peanut butter, his eyes telegraphing enjoyment.

“how will you drink that milk?” her dad asked, “will you use a straw Koda?”

“No,” Koda replied, pursing his lips slightly, and tipping the glass, lapping up the milk without spilling a drip.

“That way makes lots of noise,” jenny said, trying not to laugh.

“yeah, sorry,” Koda replied, wiping his mouth with his paw, Jenny’s dad giving him a piece of kitchen roll to wipe his paws. Koda wiped his paws and then looked up at Jenny’s dad.

“Thanks for that,” he said.

“You shared the food with jenny,” her dad said.

“yes indeed I did,” Koda replied smiling.

“You are a wonderful bear,” her dad replied.

“he could make a mess of our house dad,” jenny said, “but he chooses not to because he does not want to, not because he is a bear. Bears can make a mess of a place, and some do, but this one doesn’t. he has been brought up like us humans, to be clean as we see clean.”

“How did he get in without leaving paw prints on the carpets?” her dad asked. Koda smiled:

“I washed my feet and paws a little, and wiped them on the mat too,” he replied.

“how do you, um, go to the toilet?” jenny’s dad asked, “I’ve just fed you food and given you drink, so what goes in, must come out.”

“We use squat toilets in the community house, but yes, before you ask, I have sat on a so called western style loo too. and I’ve used that curious stuff called toilet paper also. Remember, my sire was human, and he used to use that stuff, so he taught me a lot, before he died. I never forgot what he taught me, and now I’m using it.”

“And you wash your paws afterwards?” her dad asked.

“Of course he does dad,” jenny said, “he’s almost too clean for words. Koda won’t make a mess of our house. Now, I don’t know about you Koda,” she said turning to him, “but I think it’s time to go to bed.” Koda looked at her.

“I’ll follow you,” he replied. Jenny and Koda padded upstairs to Jenny’s room, Koda visiting the bathroom on the way to relieve himself and wash his paws. jenny waited for him outside, and then she ventured inside to do as he had, Koda waiting for her. once both were sorted, they padded to Jenny’s room and Koda scrambled onto the bed. Jenny clambered beneath the quilt and lay in the dark.

“Koda,” she said, “would you join me here? I mean under the quilt?”

“You mean like last night?” Koda asked, for they’d ended up curled together under a rug or two, both finding it extremely comfortable indeed.

“yes,” jenny said. Koda lifted the edge of the quilt on his side of the bed and worked his way beneath it, smoothing things out as he went, until he was lying on his side, beside jenny under the quilt. Smiling, she turned to him and took his paws in her hands. Koda, feeling the warmth of the quilt enveloping him and making him sleepy, settled his head on the pillows beside Jenny’s.

“You treat me royally jenny,” Koda yawned.

“When you go home,” Jenny replied, “it won’t be the same cuddling with my stuffed toy black bear you know.”

“would you like me to cuddle you now?” Koda asked. jenny smiled and touched his shoulder with her hand.

“yes please,” she replied, Koda snuggling up to her, embracing her with warm paws.

“You are so soft and warm,” Jenny replied, Koda’s nose brushing her cheek. Jenny and Koda fell into deep sleep, sleep that lasted for hours.

“jenny?” her dad called, banging on her door at nine the next morning. Yawning, jenny woke, Koda startled into wakefulness, snorting as he felt instinct flooding him with fear.

“It’s okay Koda, it’s only dad, “shush, shh Koda.” Koda relaxed into the bed, feeling his body relax, the ebb of adrenalin making him feel weak and lifeless.

“yes dad, I’m here,” jenny replied, the door opening, her dad seeing Koda’s eyes looking at him with fear.

“Did I frighten you Koda?” he asked. Koda huffed a little and buried his head in the pillows.

“I think that was a yes,” jenny’s dad said.

“His heart is racing a bit,” jenny said, stroking Koda’s back with her paw, the bear lying on his chest, his paws beneath him, his head buried between the top and bottom pillows.

“You two come down to breakfast when you wish,” Jenny’s dad said.

“I’ll soothe Koda, then we’ll be down,” jenny said, “and dad, thanks for letting him stay.”

Meanwhile, back at the community house, the cctv had been checked, and Koda tracked to Jenny’s place.

“Why did Koda go to the humans place?” Wihakayda asked.

“I suppose he wanted to go, and wanted to be with Jenny for a while,” Targon said.

“We will never see him again,” Wihakayda said.

“Why not? he’ll come back,” Anook said, “he’s just gone to soothe a young girl.”

“he won’t!” Targon said, “the humans live in plush surroundings, and Koda won’t want to come back here, to the hard tiled floors, everything wipe clean, everything sterile.”

“but it’s not sterile here,” Anook replied, “anything but.”

“spiritually no,” Targon replied, “but environmentally it is, all tiles and rugs, that’s it.”

“Easy to clean though, and that’s good,” jess said, padding in with a mop and bucket in her hands, “I don’t mind cleaning, and elected to do it, but the tiles are a godsend, so are the rugs I can just pick up and chuck in the wash.”

“I’ll bet Koda’s sleeping on a bed similar to the one you broke delivering Alaska into the world mama Anook,” Targon said.

“I’ll bet he is, and I’m sure he is loving it,” Anook replied.

Koda and jenny got up at nine thirty, jenny and he sitting on the bed for a long time, her arm around him, hugging him.

“Is this what you and your soft toy friend do?” Koda asked.

“yes, and sometimes we listen to a talking book together too,” jenny replied.

“Well why not now?” Koda asked, “I like a good story.” So jenny switched on the talking book player, and they wrapped the quilt around them, dragging it off most of the bed in the process. Sitting snuggled together, Jenny resting her head on Koda’s shoulder, her left hand in his right paw, they listened to half an hour of the book jenny was in the midst of, Koda hardly listening at all, just enjoying being with jenny, whom he’d grown to like quite a bit.

“You know what made me feel good last night?” Jenny asked.

“What?” Koda asked.

“When you shared that toast with me,” jenny replied, “that toast was all four you, but you shared it with me, that was so sweet of you Koda.”

“I always do that,” Koda replied, “I suppose it comes from sharing food with Mishka, he’s my brother by the way, we get on very well, and I think it’s that.”

“Koda,” jenny asked, “would you please check my feet for thorns?”

“I will, if you check mine,” Koda replied.

“I will,” Jenny replied, “and Koda, all the stories say you play with your toes when happy, but you haven’t yet.”

“Would you like me to?” Koda asked, “for I’m so happy, I could.” Jenny giggled:

“that’s forced behaviour,” she said, “I don’t want that, I want natural behaviour.”

“that’s very deep,” Koda said.

“Our teacher told us about forced and natural behaviours,” jenny replied. Koda smiled, sat back on the bed and took his right hind foot in his paws, jenny hearing a scuffing sound of pad on pad, then a deep hum as Koda soothed himself by playing with his right hind foot. jenny leant over and touched his paws and right foot, Koda catching her fingers between his paw and the toes of his right hind foot, then curling his toes round her fingers, holding them.

“You rogue!” she laughed. Koda smiled, leant forward and kissed her nose, all the while keeping hold of her fingers with both paws and the toes of his right hind foot,.

“Flexible bruin,” jenny said. Koda grinned.

“your feet are cute,” Jenny said.

“yours are too,” Koda replied, “I got paws on with them, and your toes curled tightly.”

“you tickled my toes!” jenny laughed, “but your touch felt wonderful.”

“I love playing with my hind feet, and playing with the hind feet of others too,” Koda replied.

“I know,” Jenny replied, “do you play the stuck foot game Koda?” Koda laughed and hugged Jenny by squeezing her fingers with the toes of his right hind foot.

“Can I have my fingers back please?” Jenny asked.

“yes, but my toes won’t let go!” Koda wailed. Jenny tugged at her fingers, Koda’s toes curling tightly round them as she pulled.

“You’re right, oh dear!” Jenny exclaimed.

“What’s going on in here?” jenny’s dad asked, putting his head around the door.

“Koda’s toes won’t let go of my fingers!” jenny replied. Koda smiled and released Jenny’s fingers.

“I saw what you were doing Koda,” her dad said, “and how did jenny get her fingers trapped by your toes?”

“I was playing with my toes and she got hands on, and my toes caught her fingers,” Koda replied.

“now are you two coming down for breakfast?” her dad asked.

“yes, come Koda,” Jenny said, hugging the black bear, “we’ll check each other’s feet for thorns later.” Koda slid off the bed and onto the floor, getting to all four paws.

“I realise I’ve not yet touched you Koda,” Jenny’s dad said, “may I?” Koda padded up to him and he touched Koda’s shoulder and ran his hand down his back.

“of course, your paws and feet are jenny’s domain, not mine,” her dad said. Koda smiled and padded down the stairs, finding getting to his hind feet, and holding onto the handrail worked best for him.

After washing his paws, Koda sat at the table and Jenny’s dad put in front of him exactly what he and jenny would be eating that mealtime, bacon, eggs, toast, sausages, and a tomato. Koda grabbed the cutlery in his paws and looked at the two humans.

“What are you waiting for?” jenny’s dad asked.

“Can I start on my food?” Koda asked. jenny laughed:

“I told you dad!” she said, “I told you he was polite!”

“yes Koda you can,” her dad said, Koda smiling and slicing into his toast with his knife.

“You do make me smile,” jenny’s dad said, “Koda, you are lovely.”

“No I’m just me,” the black bear replied. Koda consented to using a straw to drink his orange juice as jenny said his usual method was noisy and rather unpleasant. Once he’d mastered the pepper grinder and the teapot, he was well away.

When Breakfast was over, Koda and jenny washed their paws and padded to the sitting room. Sitting down by the fire, Koda looked into the flames.

“I was born by a fire in the community house,” Koda mused, “I remember that.”

“You remember your birth?” Jenny asked.

“I don’t know if it was my birth, but I remember having a liking for the fireside from being very young. Now I’m here, sitting by the fire and enjoying its warmth, for it’s cold out there.” Koda slipped off the sofa and lay down on the hearthrug, crossing his paws beneath his chin and closing his eyes. Breathing deeply, he was soon sleeping peacefully.

“I love this bear dad,” jenny said, kneeling beside Koda and stroking his back with her hand, “He’s so sweet natured.”

“I can’t get over what I saw when I put my head in at your door, Jenny, have you cast a spell over him, he was enjoying your touch on the sole of his foot.”

“That’s what we did the night before, when I stayed over at his house,” Jenny replied, “we got hands and paws on with each other’s hind feet, I tickled his toes and he tickled mine, and it was a lovely time.”

“your school teachers like barefoot play too,” her dad said, “I know your mother never liked you going barefoot, but I don’t mind it. Now though, now she’s left us, and run off with that Australian real estate dealer from the accounts department at her work. Terrible that, but we get along well enough don’t we.”

“I still find it hard at school though,” jenny said, “some of the children ignore me, in fact they pretty much all do. Moses though, he doesn’t, he’s great. Do you know what he did for me when we watched mama Anook in labour as she gave birth to her cub?”

“What did he do?” her dad asked.

“He got down at floor level and let me touch him as he re-enacted what was happening on the screen so I could feel what others could see. He was wonderful dad, but, but, after that, when I was asked to re-enact what I’d seen, as it were, I couldn’t. I think some of Anook’s emotion had found its way to me. In the end, someone, something helped me, and I was able to re-enact what I’d felt. But then I went to see mama Anook, and of course, you know what happened after that.”

“I encouraged you to go barefoot, as you can’t see much,” her dad said, “now you find a bear who goes bare footed all the time too.”

“I play with my big stuffed bear, tickling his toes and making him curl them to make his pads bunch up a little,” jenny said, “I imagine he’s enjoying my attentions. Now I think Koda truly is, he knows I would never hurt him.”

“he looked contented when he held your fingers with his toes,” her dad replied.

“We were playing,” jenny said.

“I know that,” he replied, “I saw that. You pulled at your fingers to free them, and his toes curled tighter round them. That was so cute.”

“he is a lovely bear, I will find my soft toy bear rather dull after he leaves.”

“I’m sorry I disturbed your play now,” her dad said, “I think I will keep my mouth shut, and just watch you two.”

“it was private time that,” jenny replied, “a time for Koda and I to get to know each other by touch.”

“I’ll leave you two to it then,” her dad said, leaving the room, “I’ll be in my study if you need me. Jenny smiled at Koda and scratched behind his ears, the black bear sighing deeply.

“My toes curl with pleasure when I stroke your fur Koda, can you feel that?” Jenny asked softly. Koda sighed deeply again, shifting slightly, then raising his head, fighting to wake up.

“Oh dear,” Koda yawned, “Jenny, are you there? oh yes, you are, hmm, now, now I must try to stay awake. I’m no hibernating bear, but an open fire makes me want to curl up and sleep for ages.”

“Well you can if you want,” Jenny replied. Koda sat up and stretched his paws and feet, Jenny hands on with him, feeling him curl the toes of all four paws, hold them curled, then stretch them.

“That’s so cute!” she said, kissing his nose. Koda smiled and got paws on with her hands and feet, jenny sitting back on her heels as he touched her toes.

“Would you help me by encouraging me to curl my toes and clench my fists?” jenny asked. Koda smiled and helped her to sit down on the floor, then he took her hands in his paws one by one, and she clenched her fingers and stretched them. Then he took her feet in his paws and touched her toes as she curled and stretched them, rubbing the bunching skin on the soles of her feet.

“now is that better?” Koda asked. jenny smiled broadly and hugged the black bear.

“I’m going to miss you,” she whispered into his ear, Koda snuggling close.

“I’ve got a few days here yet,” Koda replied, “so don’t worry about me leaving just yet.”

“your perfect, from your nose to your toes you are perfect,” Jenny said to Koda, Koda smiling broadly.

“Your not so bad yourself,” Koda said, tickling the toes of her right foot, jenny screeching with laughter.

“What’s going on in here?” her dad asked.

“Koda tickled my toes dad, he tickled my toes!” Jenny laughed.

“he’s a naughty cub,” her dad said.

“He’s a lovely cub,” Jenny replied, “he’s a cub under his fur.”

“now what do we do after breakfast?” Koda asked.

“Let’s walk in the wood Koda, and you can teach me how to feel things with my hands and feet. How does that sound?” Jenny asked.

“It sounds wonderful,” Koda replied.

“then, when you and I come back to the house, we can check each other’s feet for thorns, like we do at the community house,” jenny said. Koda smiled.

“I can wash your feet, and you could wash mine,” he replied.

“But what if we meet your family in the woods, and they want to come back here?” Jenny asked, “we can’t give beds to more than one more bear!” Koda laughed and hugged Jenny with tender paws.

“Let’s go out in the woods then,” jenny said, “Dad, I’ll be back for lunch.”

“Just you? isn’t Koda coming back too?” her dad asked.

“he is his own person,” jenny said, “but if he wants to, then yes, but the woods might pull him back to them.”

“No,” Koda replied, “I’m snuggling down in a warm bed tonight jenny.”

“let’s go out and get our feet wet and dirty, then come back to get them clean and dry again,” jenny replied. Koda hugged her impulsively, Jenny laughing merrily.

“I’ve imagined how it would feel to be hugged by my soft toy bear, and now I know how it feels to be hugged by a real bear,” Jenny said, her voice muffled by soft black fur.

“let’s go out into the cold and wet,” Koda said, releasing Jenny, then padding to the front door, and sticking his head out into the cold and wet. Rain fell, and a cold wind blew past Koda’s nose, bringing the scent of someone he knew. Patch padded up to the front door, and playfully tapped on Koda’s nose.

“What a strange front door they have here,” Patch said, grinning at Koda, who was blocking the whole doorway.

“Patch, you silly old thing!” Koda laughed, hugging his brother.

“I came to see if you were all right,” Patch said.

“But you can spy on me in other ways than sight,” Koda replied.

“The truth is that I’m missing the comforts of a warm house,” patch said. Jenny and her dad looked past Koda to the huge bear on the doorstep.

“come in,” jenny’s dad said softly. Koda let patch in, the huge bear padding into the hallway. Washing his feet and paws, Patch padded to the main room, where he sat down by the fire.

“come,” Patch said in perfect English,, “you jenny, and you Koda, come and snuggle with me. Jenny snuggled with patch, Koda looking on with an expression that spoke of confusion.

“Were you worried about me?” he asked, also in English.

“I was prevailed upon to come and see that you were all right yes,” patch replied, “to see with my own eyes I mean, not just ask you spiritually, which I have done, and Koda, you know this.”

“I do,” Koda replied, “when I was asleep earlier, you reached to me in my dreams, and I told you how lovely this place is.”

“You did,” patch replied, “you took me through what you’d done to get in here too, and Koda, that is true black bear style. You broke into a house, and concealed yourself. The best of it was you took the place of a soft toy black bear, making yourself as him for as long as you could.”

“But that’s sneaky,” jenny said.

“I know, it was fun!” Koda replied smiling.

“You felt sick as a dog,” patch reminded him.

“I did,” Koda replied, “Patch, I’ve never been so scared in my life.”

“but you pretending to be my soft toy black bear was amazing,” Jenny said, “when I realised you were real, I was angry, but delighted too. I was angry because you’d put yourself in danger, but delighted you’d come to me. I wanted to hug you Koda, hug you so hugely that I would remember it for the rest of my days.”

“Targon was very worried you’d not come back, as was your cub Koda,” Patch replied.

“I will come back, Tuesday morning when Jenny goes back to school,” Koda said.

“I will tell them that,” Patch replied.

“Will you Patch, please take tea with us before you leave?” Jenny’s dad asked.

“that would be lovely, thanks,” patch replied smiling.

“Patch,” jenny said, “could I please kiss your nose before you leave?” patch grinned and let her kiss him and stroke his head and ears.

“Can I kiss the top of your head?” he asked. jenny snuggled close, Patch kissing the top of her head and ruffling her hair with his paw.

“That feels great!” Jenny exclaimed. Koda, looking at Jenny kneeling between Patch’s hind legs, noticed her toes curling as she was hugged by patch.

“Your toes curled with emotion when Patch hugged you and ruffled your hair Jenny,” Koda said.

“don’t yours curl too when he does that?” Jenny asked. Koda snorted with indignation, but then he saw Patch looking at him.

“Speak truth Koda,” Patch said gently.

“yes, Jenny they do,” Koda replied, “though I can’t remember the last time I snuggled with him.”

“I’ll tear myself away from him, and you can cuddle now,” Jenny said, shuffling backwards, Koda padding to Patch, who picked Koda up bodily, sat him down in his lap, then hugged him.

“oooah!” Koda exclaimed, as he was enveloped by Patch.

“this is how big your need has become to be hugged Koda,” patch replied.

“yes patch, yes,” Koda gasped, snuggling close. Patch embraced Koda with both paws, then held him tight with one paw while rubbing his head and ears with the other, Koda’s eyes filling with tears, the black bear burying his face in Patch’s fur and sobbing.

“now you know how it is to be snuggled,” patch said, “Koda, please, hug me if you want. Koda knelt in front of Patch and patch hugged him, Koda pressing his paws and face into Patch’s chest, the huge male bear kissing Koda’s head. Jenny crawled forward, gently touching the sole of Koda’s right hind foot, feeling the black bear’s toes curling and pads bunching as emotions rushed through him.

“So your toes curl when you are emotional too,” jenny said to Koda, stroking his bunched pads. Koda whimpered with emotion, his paws fiercely gripping Patch’s fur.

“He’ll let go when his need to be hugged is satisfied,” Patch said of Koda.

“Koda’s toes are curling with emotions,” jenny said.

“They are, his paws are clinging to me too,” patch replied, “he’s upset at the moment, but soon, he’ll calm down, and all will be well.” Koda settled after a while, his need to be very close to Patch subsiding into a need for general proximity to him. Settling into patch’s loose hug, Koda looked round him at Jenny, then up at her dad, who’d watched silently throughout.

“Sometimes jenny does that,” he said, “just comes to me for a hug.”

“It’s a need we all have,” patch replied.

“it seems even bears have a need to snuggle up with a big soft bear,” jenny said.

“yes,” patch replied smiling.

“it didn’t pass my notice that when you and Koda were deep in touch conversation that you both closed your eyes,” jenny’s dad said.

“yes indeed,” patch replied, “it didn’t escape mine either. So we communicate in the dark. When mama Anook was in her worst pain, pushing, or straining, she closed her eyes, that is why jenny couldn’t remember what happened after she’d touched Moses. Mama Anook’s emotions were flooding her through the touch of her hand on the sole of Moses foot.”

“ah,” jenny’s dad replied, “jenny told me she’d been told off for knowing little of what went on that lesson, so that’s why.”

“yes,” patch replied. Now if jenny relaxes and plays with her toes a bit, she’ll remember all, and be able to re-enact what happened. But if she tries too hard, she won’t.”

“I would love to re-enact what happened,” jenny said, “but I’m afraid to, in case I end up caring for a cub I have no right to care for.”

“I could act the cub,” Koda blurted.

“you silly!” jenny said smiling.

“Now are we going out in the cold and wet?” Koda asked.

“I don’t know if we really should,” jenny replied, “I know it would be great to walk about in the mud, to feel that sort of thing beneath our feet and all, then to wash our feet clean, just for the fun of it all, but it’s really too cold out there today.”

“we could play the stuck foot game together,” Koda said, “that would involve a full check of pads and toes before we played.” Jenny smiled:

“I forgot about that game,” she replied, “yes, let’s play that game.”

“Patch,” jenny’s dad said, “if Jenny and Koda are going to play the stuck foot game here, how about if you and I retire to my study for a drink and a chat?” Patch smiled and got to his feet, waving at Koda and Jenny as he left the room with Jenny’s dad.

“now we’re left in peace, good!” jenny said, Koda grinning.

“It seems I’m accepted here,” he replied.

“You are Koda,” Jenny said, “I tell you, my dad likes you, he found your invasion of our house interesting. He didn’t see anything to suggest you’d come in, no paw prints, nothing. You fooled us for a long time, until you were forced into the open as it were. Now you’re here, and we love you being here.” Koda smiled and hugged jenny tightly.

“now let’s play by checking each other’s feet for thorns,” jenny said. Koda sat opposite Jenny, his hind feet touching hers, Koda feeling his toes curl around the little girl’s, jenny laughing helplessly as her toes were engulfed by the black bear’s.

“I love the touch of your toes on mine,” Jenny said, “it feels warm and safe.”

“I like the touch of your toes on my foot too,” Koda said, “it’s warm and playful.”

“we’ve never touched toes before have we?” Jenny asked.

“No,” Koda replied, “but I like the touch of your toes on my pads.”

“I need to check your feet for thorns,” jenny said, “but my toes,” she tugged at her right foot with both hands, “my feet and my toes are stuck already!” she whimpered. Koda tugged at his right hind foot, and yes, his foot was stuck to Jenny’s left.

“We’re both stuck firmly!” Koda wailed. Jenny leant forward as far as she could, Koda leaning towards her, meeting her half way, then kissing her nose.

“Thanks Koda,” Jenny said.

“If you feel the need to re-enact the birth of a cub tonight, I’ll help you,” Koda said. Jenny smiled and pressed her toes into the balls of Koda’s hind feet.

“I would roar and moan, squeal and yell,” she replied, “dad would wonder what on earth was going on.”

“he knows you re-enacted it before,” Koda said, “just warn him before hand.”

“But what if my dreams take me to a place where I’m having a cub?” Jenny asked, “then I can’t stop it, it would be wrong to.”

“I know,” Koda replied, “I’ll help you then.”

“I once tried it,” she said, “moaning deeply and then puffing and blowing while playing with my toes, it sort of felt good, and then when I held onto my foot with both hands and squeezed, while moaning deeply , then panting, it felt very good. My toes curled naturally too.”

“The imagination is a wonderful thing,” Koda replied.

“if I can imagine my feet are stuck to a bear’s so completely we can play together, then why can’t I imagine a cub’s birth,” jenny asked.

“You can,” Koda replied, “push into your hands with your feet when playing with your toes, sit back on your heels and press them into your backside, and all the while, roar and moan with increasing effort.”

“I might just try that,” Jenny replied, “it sounds a lot of fun.”

“Acting like you’re having a cub is all right,” Koda replied, “I know Nanuq did it from time to time, and even I’ve done it.”

“The stories said it was you and Titania playing at giving birth to cubs, then you two playing mama and cub that caused you two to rough and tumble, her as the mama and you as her cub and you two became suddenly adult, and mating took place,” jenny said. Koda huffed:

“I wondered when you’d bring that up,” he replied, “yes we did play that way, and yes my denial of her pregnancy blew away when she went into labour. But I have changed, my mate’s labour cries made me change, the sight of her curling her toes, kicking,, straining and pushing made me change my mind, I was all for running off, but then, then, something changed.”

“You grew up,” Jenny said.

“I did,” Koda replied, “but I can still act the cub.”

“I know,” Jenny replied, “Koda, if I pretend to have a bear cub, would you act the cub?” Koda laughed:

“I could,” Koda replied smiling.

“so what did you want to speak to me about?” patch asked, sitting in the chair offered to him by jenny’s dad.

“I wanted to thank you for not restricting Koda’s paws when you realised where he’d gone,” Jenny’s dad said, “he was a little sneaky, but he wanted to meet jenny on her own turf, and impersonated her black bear soft toy to get himself into her notice. He was then able to cuddle with her thanks to you letting him be himself. You let Koda do his thing, and show you how he is. Now he and Jenny will play, and some of that play might involve playing at Jenny having a cub. it’s standard play where I am from. The play might involve her crawling about barefoot and making labour sounds, with Koda helping her by rubbing her soles and toes,” Patch replied.

“so it’s all playtime,” her dad said.

“yes it is,” patch replied, “it’s cute play really, so don’t worry if you hear them playing like that. Koda won’t hurt jenny, and her moans and sounds are just that, play.”

“So how would this birth of a cub work?” jenny’s dad asked.

“Crawling about, then when you want to push against a cub, you brace your feet against the floor, that’s to simulate the pushing. Then, when you want to sit and pant, you sit back on your heels, gasp and groan, pushing your heels into your backside, then you can, when someone else massages your heels and toes, moan lustily as they rub your toes. then it just takes off, and you roar and kick, roar and squeal. Then you can grab your feet with your hands, or paws, and push against your hands you’re your feet that you are holding, a sort of fight with yourself, massaging your toes between contractions, curling your toes and gasping for breath as the emotion and effort takes you with it. You just go with the flow, roar and strain, imagine the birth of the cub you are imagining.”

“have you done this?” jenny’s dad asked.

“I have, I have,” patch replied, “it is something males can do, as well as females. Though it is hard to do at first, if you become completely involved, the thing becomes more than an act. It becomes an experience, so if you see jenny amerced in her act, don’t stop her or Koda, she’ll groan and pant, cry and lean on Koda, she’ll sweat and curl her toes, then she’ll sit back and deliver her cub. She’s a very sweet girl, and wants to re-enact what she’s felt, and enjoy her friend’s company and comfort.”

“I’ll not stop her if she wants to,” Jenny’s dad said, “I’ve seen her playing with her toes, and sometimes she clenches her teeth and squeezes her toes, her toes curling and relaxing, and I wonder if she is imagining having a cub or a baby.”

“Sometimes the pleasure can make toes curl and teeth clench,” patch replied.

“You mean you lose track of time, just absorbed by the touch of pad on pad?” Jenny’s dad asked.

“yes, completely,” Patch replied. Then, sometimes, you want to introduce a little variety, so you push your foot against your hands, or paws, and that leads to more pushing of feet against hands or paws, and you rub with your paws, and that encourages more foot massage, and it grows from there.”

“I remember playing with my toes when I was a young boy, but I stopped that.”

“did you? honestly?” Patch asked. looking Jenny’s dad in the eye.

“Oh all right, no,” he admitted, Patch grinning at him.

Meanwhile, in the living room, jenny played with the toes of her right foot, imagining increasing contractions. Huffing and gasping, she squeezed the ball of her right foot in her fingers, pressing hard.

Aowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwoaoaowwwwwwoaoh!” she moaned.

“How is it feeling?” Koda asked. Jenny, panting, tried to relax her grip on her foot, but as soon as she let go, another pain made her lean over, grip her foot in both hands, hold on tight, curl her toes and roar:

“awwwwwwaoaoaoaoaow!” oaoaoaoaoaoaoaoaoao!” then pant hard, “Koda, I half wish I’d never agreed to this! Now it won’t stop, I can’t stop it!” jenny groaned.

“breathe deeply,” Koda said, stroking Jenny’s left foot with his paws, stroking her heel and bunched pads on the sole and ball of her foot, jenny’s toes curled too tightly for him to get access to her toe pads.

“uuuuuuuuaumph!” jenny complained as her imagined labour continued. Crawling about the room, she felt Koda stroking her heels and toes, jenny stopping to sit back on her heels, pressing her heels into her backside while she panted and whimpered as her pains eased and grew. Koda felt her need to imagine the birth of a cub, and he whispered to her through the touch on her pads, giving her ideas. Jenny’s toes curled in response, jenny roaring with renewed conviction. Jenny rolled onto her back, grabbed her feet in her hands and held on tightly to her heels with fingers clawed into the soft skin on the insides of her heel pads, her fingers digging desperately into the soft skin on the inside of her heels, the pressure making her stomach tighten and toes curl with her pains, jenny moaning with discomfort as she felt her stomach tighten.

“oooah, this is working!” Jenny panted, gripping her heels tightly with her fingers, “oooah, ooaoaoaoaoh, Oaoaoaoaoaow!” she gasped, wriggling and struggling, gripping her heels with her fingers, then squeezing her heels in her hands, releasing her feet and splaying her legs . Moaning deeply, she repeated this several times, draw her feet up, grip her heels in her hands, wriggle, dig her fingers into her heels, then release her hold, splaying her legs, thrusting at the air with her feet. Then Jenny suddenly sat up, bending her legs so her heels dug into the floor. Bracing her heels and curling her toes with every imagined effort, Jenny narrated her own struggle, reaching down, Koda putting himself in range of her hands, jenny ground her teeth and moaned:

“Head’s coming, cub’s head’s coming, must pant, oomph, ow, ow! Oaoaoaoaoaow!” then she moved her hands to Koda’s paws, “paws coming, must push, eeeeoeoeoeoaow! Now Pant, pant for the shoulders, ow! There, now cub’s body, got to push, push gently for that, push Jenny, push! Ow, how this hurts ow, ow, ow, ow! Now cub’s hips and hind legs, eoeoeoeoeoeoeoaoaoaowo!” hurph, erhrhrhrhrhruph, hooooaoaoaoaoaow! Now, now his hind feet, such big hind feet, eoeoeoeoeoeoeoeeoeoaoaoaowoaof! Push jenny, push, push now, curl those toes, dig in those heels and push! Oaoaoaoaoaoaaow!” Jenny screamed. Then jenny, crying with relief, hugged Koda, Koda grinning at her.

“how did that feel?” he asked.

“it was almost real!” she replied, “especially when you helped me by touching my toes while I was sitting back on my heels, that helped things along.”

“I only suggested, you put it into action,” Koda said, “though I’m glad you found it interesting.”

“It was a roller coaster Koda,” Jenny replied, hugging the black bear.

“you really got into it once I’d touched your toes while you were sitting on your heels,” Koda said, “I’m sorry I caused you so much discomfort.”

“You caused me nothing,” jenny replied, “nothing but a flood of imagination which made me imagine the way I would deliver a huge bear cub.”

“sorry,” Koda replied, kissing her nose”

“I should have remembered that holding my feet with my hands, digging my fingers into the pad on the inside of my heel would stimulate stomach cramps,” Jenny said, “that’s how Sally stimulated her labour wasn’t it?” Koda replied that it was.

“I had a little of real labour then,” jenny replied, “woops.” Koda hugged her.

“You did well though,” he replied, you held on till the end.” Jenny grinned.

“it felt great to be able to feel something happening,” she said. Jenny rolled onto her back and drew up her feet, Koda kissing the heel of her right foot, just as he’d done Titania’s six months before.

“Thanks,” jenny said, looking at Koda through the gap between her bare feet.

“Grip those feet harder, you’ll be labouring again,” Koda said. Jenny pressed her feet against her hands, holding her heels with her hands, but with flat fingers, not clawed, digging and pressing fingers as she’d done before.

“Hold your heels with flat fingers, all’s fine, hold them with clawed, digging fingers pressing into heel pads and all starts up,” jenny said.

“I know that,” Koda replied, “for when I’m constipated, I will play with my hind feet, pressing my heels with my paws, that helps.”

What are you two up to?” jenny’s dad asked, “Patch has been assuring me all’s fine, but now I just have to ask.

“I had a cub dad,” jenny replied smiling and sitting up.

“I hope you pretended to have a cub,” her dad replied.

“He’s there,” She replied, waving in Koda’s direction.

“He’s one big cub,” her dad said, as Koda rolled onto his back and waved his paws and feet in the air.

“What were you doing on your back, holding your feet like that?” her dad asked.

“I was holding my heels with my hands,” jenny said, “it’s a position mama bears in labour like.”

“Ah,” her dad said, “I suppose Koda told you that?”

“he did,” jenny said, “in a way he did. He touched my toes while I was crawling, and I sort of knew.”

“as long as it’s acting, and I won’t be overrun with cubs,” her dad said. jenny laughed.

“You won’t,” she replied, “and yes, it was only acting, but it felt great to act out the birth of a cub, even if I needed a little prompting from the side lines.” Koda laughed merrily, and hugged Jenny tightly.

“I love you dearly Koda,” Jenny said, kissing his nose.

“Jenny,” her dad asked, “have you imagined giving birth to a bear cub before?”

“yes I have,” jenny replied honestly, “I did the night when I had the video of snowdrop giving birth to her cub Kamchatka described to me. Remember that?”

“yes now I do,” her dad said, “the next thing you’ll be saying is you want Koda to remain here forever.”

“he can’t dad, “but I could visit him,” jenny said, “and all this playing at having cubs is quite normal where he comes from, the cubs do it all the time. They play at digging thorns from each other’s paws and feet too, it’s so sweet!”

“It’s learning,” Koda grunted.

“You touch each other’s paws and feet don’t you,” Jenny’s dad said.

“We do,” Koda replied, that leads to many games, the stuck foot game being one, Jenny and I were going to play that, but we changed our minds.”

“do you remember when we used to play that game jenny?” her dad asked.

“I do,” jenny replied, “but you said I was too old for games like that now.”

“Maybe I am too old,” her dad admitted. “please, play it with Koda if you want to.”

“I will,” jenny said, “I feel good playing with him, as if, as if he’s my playmate, and I’m his. I know he has a cub and all dad, but I think he’s a young bear at heart. I’d love to meet his cub. Koda’s cub is probably a wild thing who gets her paws into everything.”

“she’s quite quiet actually,” Koda said, “she takes after her mum more than she does me.”

“but she won’t be able to speak to me like you can Koda, will she,” jenny asked.

“Wihakayda can,” Koda replied, “but she’s a little shy of speaking English. I’ll go back home Monday, and maybe then we can meet again sometime in the next few days. Now though, it’s Saturday, and I’m looking forward to two days here, playing with you and being played with. So come on Jenny, we can make our own games. I know you humans have computers and other things, but there must be other games too.”

“There are,” jenny replied, “but they are rather boring, like moving counters round a board after throwing a dice. The only game I’ve played that is tactile is one called twister, it’s a game where you have to cross your arms and legs, and try not to fall over. It’s a bit silly.”

“I remember a couple of bears playing that in the community house,” Koda said, “one, Kenny I think it was, tickled Flocke’s heels while she was balancing on the toes of all four paws.” jenny laughed at this.

“I have a tactile version of that,” she replied, “it’s a fun game.”

“We could play that then,” Koda replied, “you and I, with your dad spinning the stick thing.”

“I’ll tickle your heels Koda!” Jenny laughed.

“You won’t!” Koda grunted, “paws off!”

“that would be cheating,” her dad said.

“but it would be fun too,” Koda admitted, smiling broadly.

“Where’s Patch?” jenny asked.

“he left to go back to the house,” her dad replied, “he didn’t want to disturb you or Koda.”

“I wish he’d stayed,” jenny said, “he seems a bear who would love to play with us.”

“he is a lovely bear Jenny. He stays away from the lie ups, or has done recently. I don’t know why this is.”

“Maybe he feels he can’t play with you since he became Tornassuk,” jenny said.

“tor what?” her dad asked:

“the master of helping spirits,” jenny replied, “the go between this world and that over the bridge.”

“What bridge?” her dad asked.

“it’s a bridge between this world and the spirit world,” Koda replied, “some can communicate with those on the other side of it to this world. Mama Anook was dead to this world, but now she’s back on this side of the bridge, you met her, that black bear? The huge one? Well, the way she came to be living again was a strange story indeed.”

An almighty crash heralded Jim’s entrance into the house. Screaming, he ran into the room and slammed the door.

“Oh shit, shit!” he gasped, “the mama bear I shot has come to life and she’s chasing me!”

“The mama bear you shot?” Jim’s dad asked.

“yes, that one, the one weeks ago, months ago when I went bow hunting in the woods. I shot her, then put her body on the road, as she was in cub, I didn’t know dad, I truly didn’t know! Now she has come back to life and wants to tear my head off!”

“the mama on the track!” Koda exclaimed in perfect English, “the mama on the track whom mama Anook soothed enough to go over the bridge and have peace in her mind. You shot her? you went bow hunting in our woodlands and shot that mama bear?” Jim stared at the black bear in shocked astonishment.

“You spoke to me, you spoke to me!” he screamed.

“I did, and if you don’t answer my question, I’ll break your head!” Koda snarled.

“I went out months ago,” Jim began, “I went out with a bow and arrow I’d bought. I went into the woods by the house and saw a female bear, I shot her, but didn’t make a good job of it. She roared and screamed a good deal, but when she was dead, I checked her over, and she had milk leaking from her teats. I knew I would be in the shit for shooting a mama bear, so I dragged her onto the road so she’d be hit by a car, and cover up my mistake.” Koda stared hard at Jim, Jim unable to remove his eyes from those of the young black bear.

“I hate you,” Koda said coldly, “Jim, for I think that’s your name, I hate you! You shot the mama bear in cold blood, and left her to die! then, though this seems trivial in comparison, in direct contravention of the rules, instead of confessing to your dad, or bringing her to the community house and confessing to Charles Fullbeans, which you know you should do, as we own that woodland, you desecrated the mama bear’s body further. Charles would have told you what to do, and you should have handed the mama bear over to us for decent burial. As it was, things turned out okay for mama bear and her cub, no thanks to you though. This house is on land owned by my community, part of your rent goes to us. You know this. You know the rules placed on you in the woodlands, don’t you Jim! You are not allowed to shoot anything in the woodlands!” Jim listened to the banging coming from the other side of the door.

“That’s the mama bear trying to get in!” he whimpered.

“The spirits are keeping her out,” Koda replied, “but I am quite tempted to open that door and let her in to do what she will with you Jim.”

“I’d give him a five minute head start,” someone said.

“Ah Theo, dear Theo,” Koda said to a huge white lion, who lounged on the hearthrug, “I will leave it to you to order the chase, lions know fairness in the hunt, so you order the hunt. After all, this inhuman human needs to know what it is to be persecuted I think. Koda turned to Jim and said:

“Jim, go out the French doors, and run, run like hell.” Jim fled.

The banging on the door stopped, and Jim screamed as a black form chased him over the garden and into the woods.

Jim ran with the sound of thudding paws and feet behind him, the mama bear gaining on him at every stride. Jim saw the trees crowding in on him, then felt a paw swipe at his legs, then at his backside, then the mama bear reared and slammed him into the earth , Jim screaming as he was brought down. Then horror replaced fear as the mama bear lifted her weight off him, and turned him over with her paws, her breath snorting from her mouth and nose as she panted for air. Jim saw the mama bear’s face, her eyes burning hatred, her mouth open, teeth gleaming. Then he saw her face close up as she leant over him, one paw firmly but lightly resting on his chest. Jim saw her nose close to his.

“Good bear, good girl!” Jim whimpered. The mama bear opened her mouth and let fly with a screaming roar of anger and pain, then she cuffed him with her free paw, her pads smacking him across his face. Jim screeched in agony, the mama bear running into the woods and disappearing into the trees. Jim soiled himself there and then, losing complete control of bladder and bowels. Sobbing, he got to his feet and stumbled towards his house. Anook, watching him go from a short distance away, panted with the release of her anger.

“now I’m done,” she thought, “I’ve told Jim where he can stuff his arrows and guns.”

Jim stumbled into the house and up to the bathroom, stripped off and showered. Embarrassed, he threw his clothes in the rubbish.

Koda and Jenny sat with patch, who’d come back through the French doors soon after Jim had fled through them, Koda laughing as Patch narrated what he could see through Anook’s eyes and hear through her ears.

“Anook is lovely, lovely!” Koda said, clapping his paws.

“she is a wonderful bear yes,” Patch replied smiling at his brother, who danced round the room, then fell over his own paws and rolled onto his back, furiously waving his paws and feet in the air.

“How about if we play that twister game?” Jenny asked, crawling over to Koda and tickling the pads of the young bear’s right hind foot, Koda laughing helplessly.

“I love you Koda,” she said. Koda smiled, looking at her through the gap between his hind legs as he lay on his back, the heels of both hind feet lifted from the floor, legs slightly bent in the act of kicking the air with his feet.

“You are waving these feet about like the little cub I imagine I gave birth to,” Jenny said, Koda squealing like a cub, then making the humming sound all cubs make when content, patch and Jenny laughing indulgently.

“Silly, lovely cub!” they said in unison, Koda hiding his face in his paws. gentle tapping at the living room door made Koda get to his feet and pad to the door, opening it, he saw mama Anook’s cub on the other side.

“Oh, hello little one,” Koda said, getting down to the cub’s level and touching noses with him.

“mama left me here,” he said, “where has she gone Koda?” Koda lifted the cub in his paws and carried him to the fireside, the cub shivering with cold.

“How if I wrap my body and paws around you?” Koda asked, lying down by the fireside. the cub smiled and snuggled into Koda’s warming embrace.

“There,” Koda said, tucking the cub well into the curve of his body.

“you are a natural at that,” patch said. Koda smiled into the curve of his body, his face hidden.

“I like it,” he replied, beginning to groom the cub from nose to tail, the cub humming with contentment.

“Your toes are curling Koda,” jenny said, touching Koda’s right hind foot. Koda smiled with deep contentment.

“My toes give much away,” he replied..

“Your paws are nice and warm,” the cub said.

“has mama named you little one?” Koda asked.

“No,” the cub replied, “I’m just known as little one, or by other names mama calls me, but they are nice names I think.” Koda kissed the cub’s head and paws, the cub snuggling into his hug, Koda rubbing the cub’s head and back with his paws, while the cub dug his paws into Koda’s fur, his small toes holding on tightly to Koda’s chest fur.

“You are soft and warm Koda,” the cub said.

“Now what would be a good name for you?” Koda asked.

“I’m sure I don’t’ know,” the cub replied, “um, well, mama keeps saying she’s lucky to have me. Is that my name then, Lucky?” Koda smiled.

“It could well be,” he replied, for she’s lucky to have you too, as your birth was by no means certain. Mama had to push long and hard to deliver you into the world.”

“mama told me that,” the cub replied, “she said she curled her toes tightly, and showed me too. she has big paws Koda, bigger than yours they are!”

“Well that’s not surprising,” Koda replied.

“your paws are small Koda,” the cub said, “can you stretch them a bit?” Koda smiled and placed his left paw in the cub’s tiny ones.

“I’ll curl my toes, and you rub my pads as I stretch them, okay?” the cub nodded and rubbed Koda’s pads as he stretched his toes.

“Stretch those toes Koda stretch your toes!” the cub encouraged. Koda smiled and kissed the top of the cub’s head.

“I think Lucky would be a lovely name for you,” he replied gently.

“Koda, I think so too,” Anook said, padding into the room through the French windows. Smiling, she looked over the wall of Koda’s body to where her cub nestled comfortably in the curve of the black bear’s body.

“I’ll express milk and Koda can feed Lucky if Lucky wants it,” Anook said.

“I am hungry mama,” Lucky replied, “and I would like Koda to feed me, this time that is.” Koda blew warm air over Lucky’s head and body, his breath ruffling the cub’s fur, the cub whimpering with delight at the attentions of the male bear.

“I love you little one,” Koda said.

“Koda,” Lucky replied, his face turned to Koda with a look of such pain that Koda wondered if he was gravely ill, “Koda,” Lucky said, “I’m sorry for spitting that milk at you, I now know it was very wrong.” Koda could tell the cub yet knew no words to express why spitting the milk was wrong, though he could feel the cub’s remorse.

“I won’t do it again Koda,” Lucky said.

“I know little Lucky, I know,” Koda replied gently.

“Koda, if you want to feed Lucky, here’s the milk,” Anook said, handing him a bottle. Koda kissed the cub’s nose, then offered him the teat of the bottle, Lucky grabbing the bottle in his paws and rolling onto his back to drink. Koda watched as Lucky tightened his grip on the bottle and drank busily, the bottle caving in as he sucked and sucked at the teat. After a minute, he stopped drinking and took a deep breath, air rushing into the bottle, making it expand with a loud pop. Squealing, Lucky let go of the bottle, Koda catching it.

“What was that!” Lucky yelled.

“The bottle made that sound, it is okay,” Koda said, stroking Lucky’s head with his paw.

“Promise me?” Lucky asked in a plaintive tone.

“yes,” Koda replied smiling, “now, I’ll give you the bottle, and drink slowly little one.” Lucky took the bottle and drank from it, taking his time. The bottle contracted and expanded as Lucky got used to suck and breathe, suck and breathe. Lucky got so into this that his paws tightened on the bottle when he sucked on it and released when he stopped sucking. Koda watched him, especially his hind feet, the toes of which curled and relaxed with his drinking. The more eagerly Lucky drank, the tighter his toes curled, drink, curl toes, stop drinking, toes relaxed.

“Did I look like that when I drank milk?” Koda asked himself.

“how am I doing?” Lucky asked when he was half way down his second bottle.

“You’re doing fine,” Koda replied.

“my hind feet ache!” Lucky said suddenly.

“You’re curling your toes every time you drink your milk,” Koda said.

“Am I?” Lucky asked, “do my toes help me drink?”

“Not directly,” Koda replied, “but your toes curl when you are liking something a lot. Mine do too, it’s how we bears are.”

“mama curled her toes while she gave birth to me,” Lucky said, “was she enjoying that?”

“yes,” Anook said, “I was Lucky, I was enjoying your birth.”

“thank you mama,” Lucky said, “but you sounded in terrible pain.”

“I was,” Anook replied, “but I still enjoyed giving birth to you.”

“I think I like my toes curling when I like something,” Lucky said, “it’s nice, it feels nice anyway. The aching in my toes is okay if I know it’s because I like my milk.”

“the pain I was in was okay because I knew I wanted to give birth to you,” Anook replied.

“Koda,” Lucky said, “do your toes curl when you drink from a bottle?” Koda smiled and replied:

“I think they used to, but, let’s see if they do shall we?” Anook shot Koda a questioning look, but he continued: “I’ll get a bottle of water with one of those reusable caps, and I’ll be able to show you Lucky. You can get paws on with my paws and feet.”

“how do my feet feel to your paws Koda?” jenny asked.

“your heel pad and toe pads are soft, the ball of your foot a little firmer than that,” Koda replied, “but when you curl your toes, the whole of the sole of your foot sort of bunches up, well, about three quarters of it, of course your heel pad doesn’t. How do mine feel to your hands Jenny?”

“They feel soft, a little rough too,” Jenny said, “but when you curl your toes, your pads bunch up so cutely.”

“soppy thing you are,” Koda said.

“Your pads are black, jenny said, “mine are pink I think.”

“They are,” Koda replied. Jenny crawled from the room, not wanting to get to her feet. A scuffling sound then jenny laughing made everyone look at her, then at her feet, where Lucky was in the act of tickling her toes.

“was I like that when I was young?” Koda asked, “always tickling the toes of others?”

“You liked paws and feet, just like Sooleawa,” Anook said smiling.

“I liked Lucky tickling my toes,” Jenny said, “it was so cute!”

“Cute? Lucky asked, blowing on jenny’s toes, jenny screaming with laughter.

“I’ve never had so much fun, and all without a computer in touching distance,” jenny laughed, “I never knew my hands and feet could give me so much pleasure.”

“You are playful,” Koda said, “and our paws and feet like to play.”

“It is very silly to play at feet being stuck together,” Jenny’s dad said, “but it’s fun.”

“If you’ve ever felt your feet stick to another’s through friendship, it is very real,” Koda said seriously.

“But there can’t be any glue,” Jenny’s dad said.

“There is real glue,” Koda replied.

“Imagined glue maybe,” Jenny’s dad said.

“now I’m thirsty, Koda said, “where’s that water?” jenny got the water and gave it to Koda. Koda lay down on his back and began to drink the water, his hind feet kicking the air and toes curling as he drank.

“His toes do curl, Koda’s toes are curling as he drinks!” Anook laughed.

“he’s a big cub!” jenny said laughing, “I told you I gave birth to a cub earlier.”

“you did,” her dad said, “how did it feel?”

“It felt great dad,” jenny replied, “pushing my feet against my hands, playing with my toes, curling my toes and pushing my heels into my backside. Screaming and yelling felt good too, really good. My hands like my feet, for they hold them so easily.”

“I always told you hands were made to play with feet didn’t I,” her dad said.

“You did,” jenny replied, “and mine were. My heels slip into my hands, and my fingers grip my heels and a little of my arch so well,” she replied, “it feels wonderful.”

“you played with your feet from a very young age jenny,” her dad said.

“I know,” jenny replied, “and I don’t think I’m gonna stop now, now Koda’s showed me how good it can be.”

“You and he play so easily, it’s wonderful,” her dad said.

“I wish he could stay forever,” jenny replied, “but I know he can’t.”

“”I will stay here for another couple of days, then go,” Koda said, stretching his feet towards the fire, finishing his bottle of water and setting it down on the carpet, “I could get used to this,” he yawned luxuriously, stretching all four legs and all four paws one after the other, before finishing off with an even wider yawn.

“Lazy bruin!” Lucky said, crawling up to Koda and slapping him.

“now that wasn’t very nice was it!” Anook snapped, cuffing Lucky. Lucky rolled onto his back screaming theatrically, while Anook first ignored him, then, after a minute or two, picked him up and walked from the house, taking her cub away from his playtime. Koda sat up, holding his paws, pads towards the fire, warming them.

“I love this place,” Koda said. Jenny’s dad put a cup of tea into Koda’s paw, the black bear smiling and adding:

“I really love this place now.” jenny crawled to Koda and sat down beside him, resting her head on his shoulder.

“I could get used to having a brother bear,” she said.

“I’m here for two days yet,” Koda replied, “I’ll play as much as I can, and cuddle up at nights, for that’s what you and I both seem to want.”

I want that,” Jenny said, “and you wouldn’t be here if you didn’t. I might be only nine, but I know that. I know you can’t tell a wild creature what to do. Well you can, but those ways are horrid. Here, the way you and I speak together, you can refuse my touch, or accept it, same with yours to me.”

“I find my feet sticking to yours with scary speed,” Koda said to jenny, who giggled:

“I know,” she replied, “it’s great isn’t it.” Koda smiled.

“the issue is whether we can free ourselves,” he said, “stick at lunchtime, and we’d be struggling to free ourselves at bedtime.” Jenny laughed at this.

“You did say games went on for hours,” she replied.

“yes,” Koda replied, “Titania and I played once, and we freed ourselves two hours later.”

“You bears have imagination then,” jenny said.

“We do,” Koda replied.

“how if I pretend my feet are stuck to the floor and you can help me free them Koda?” jenny asked.

“We could do that,” Koda replied, “it sounds great. Have you met Sita?”

“I don’t know,” Jenny said, “I remember Anook, Little Lucky, but I don’t remember Sita.”

“Sita is a big cat bear thing, and very playful,” Koda said, “she is our play expert in the community.”

“Do you mean the creature who was Patch’s cub?” jenny asked.

“yes,” Koda replied, “She is so wonderful, I love her from her ears to her paws.”

“I would love to meet her,” Jenny said, “Why speak of her now when she’s not here?”

“She’s good at playing at her feet being stuck to the floor,” Koda said, telling Jenny of the time he and Sita had confusion over where Sita had to put her paws, ending with Koda getting a mouthful of Sita’s tail. Jenny laughed helplessly as Koda told the tale.

“I told her to stick her feet to the floor and she did,” he concluded, “she’s so lovely.”

“I hope you freed her,” jenny’s dad said.

“yes I did,” Koda replied, “jenny, how would it be if Sita came here for a few hours?” Jenny hugged Koda.

“I’d love her to come here,” she said. Koda padded to the phone and put in a call to the community house. Soon there was a knock on the French doors. Koda, smiling, let in the creature who’d just arrived. Taking her paw, he led her on three legs to a clear space on the floor, where she sat down.

“I came here with a squirrel sitting on my head,” Sita said. jenny laughed at this.

“What’s so funny about that?” Sita asked, “and Jenny, I know whom you are, I was told of your presence just in case you wanted to join the cubs. You are right we never met, but I know you were under our roof the night before last.”

“What did the squirrel do on your head?” Jenny giggled, “did it make a mess on your head?” Koda huffed in exasperation, and Sita growled softly, Jenny realising she’d gone too far.

“The squirrel was guiding me here,” Sita huffed, “he knows where this place is, and told me where to turn left and right. They are great helpers are the squirrels. They are up in the trees seeing all.”

“I’m sorry for saying the squirrel messed on your head, that was very cubbish,” Jenny said. Sita crawled to Jenny and touched her arm with her paw. jenny found Sita’s paw to be heavy, much heavier than Codas.. Sita was also much bigger, she was huge. Sita spoke to jenny in English, having learnt it from patch.

“What are you?” jenny asked, Koda’s toes curling with anxiety at this too oft asked question.

“I’m myself,” Sita replied, “a cat bear is the closest I’ve come to working things out. I might ask what you are? I know you are human in shape, but that is not what you are in spirit. Koda spent the night with you yesterday, and I think he knows more of what you are inside your human skin.”

“jenny loves play, imaginative play too,” Koda replied, “she re-enacted a cub’s birth, it was so sweet!”

“I’m sure it was,” Sita said.

“I tried to get into the moment Sita,” jenny said, “I tried to have that cub.”

“I know you did,” Sita replied, “you humans are so wanting to get out of your skins and into that of other creatures. And I don’t mean for warmth either. You pretend to be what you aren’t so often it’s a wonder you ever get a chance to be yourselves. Well I suppose that’s just it, you hate what your species has become, so you pretend not to be yourselves at all.”

“That’s deep,” Patch said.

“But is it not true?” Sita asked, “I see it in Janet, jess, and Moses, they are always re-enacting the births of our cubs, never those of their own kind. Everyone saw mama Cynthia deliver little Ekaterina into the world, but noone has re-enacted that yet.”

“True,” Patch replied.

“I’ll re-enact that if someone tells me how it went,” jenny said, “Cynthia is, I think, who I know as Miss Chartwell. She’s so cool. She lets us go barefoot in class, and showed us your community Koda.”

“I know,” Koda said, “she is a friend of the community now.”

“I played the stuck foot game with her last term, and we got really stuck really quick,” jenny said, “Miss Chartwell’s toes curled around mine as I pulled my right heel away from her left and dug my toes into the ball of her foot.”

“some of my cubs play with me like that,” Sita said, “we play the stuck foot game, and it is wonderful.”

“could I come to your community house and stay like Peter and Sally did?” Jenny asked.

“Well your schooling would be affected wouldn’t it?” Koda asked.

“No if Miss Chartwell was there no,” Jenny replied, “we could do school in the daytime, and then I could stay with the community at night. You do history lessens with the badgers too don’t you?” Patch smiled:

“that would be a great idea,” he replied, “let’s see if Miss Chartwell agrees to this shall we?” he picked the phone up and spoke to the community house. Soon it was plain Miss Chartwell was on the line.

“that sounds wonderful Patch,” Cynthia Chartwell said, “I’ve always said I wanted to give Jenny one to one tuition, as she doesn’t get all the help she should. Yes, I’ll teach her, and we will be barefoot throughout. If it is okay with jenny that is.” Patch explained jenny had asked for the arrangement, which pleased Cynthia.

“Right,” patch said, “I’ll tell her and her dad.” Patch broke the connection, and turned to Jenny, though he had no need to tell her the news. Laughing with delight, jenny hugged Koda, then Sita, then patch.

“Thank you patch, thank you!” jenny exclaimed.

“Don’t I get a say in how my daughter is Educated?” jenny’s dad asked.

“of course,” Patch replied, “but you wouldn’t deny her a more tactile, hands on education would you?”

“No,” he replied.

“Koda,” Patch said, “what happened during Jenny’s labour act?” Koda looked shame faced:

“Patch,” he replied, looking into patch’s face, “I, I, oh dear, oh no!” Koda buried his face in his paws, sobbing.

“What?” jenny asked.

“jenny,” Koda choked, oh jenny, I did something very wrong! I didn’t know I’d done it until you were holding your feet in your hands and really pushing, but then, then I knew, and I couldn’t stop it!”

“Stop what?” jenny’s dad and Jenny asked in unison.

“jenny, you, you felt too much,” Koda sniffed.

“No, it was wonderful, wonderful!” Jenny protested, “it felt real, and that’s how I wanted it to feel, as I wanted to know how giving birth to a cub feels.”

“It felt real, because it was, well sort of,” Koda whimpered, “I, when, oh, um,” he took a deep breath and struggled to continue, tears rolling down his face.

“Koda, don’t cry Koda, please!” Jenny pleaded, touching the bear’s paw.

“I, I gave you the feelings Titania had while delivering her cub,” Koda sobbed, “Jenny, you did deliver a cub. that was why I had to let you get hands on with me, if you reached down after all that effort and found nothing, well, oh jenny, I’m sorry!”

“I felt a cub where I expected there to be one,” Jenny said, “I know I expected there to be a cub, and there was one.”

“that is just it,” Koda said, “if you were acting, properly I mean, you would have been able to remember you were acting.”

“it became real, and that’s what I wanted,” jenny replied.

“I shouldn’t have let it become so real Jenny,” Koda said, “it isn’t right!”

“but I know you’re not my cub,” Jenny said, “now I know. Though it was nice to feel a cub in my hands as I imagined delivering him into the world.”

“Koda,” Patch said, “you and jenny were playing at her having a cub. you mixed real life with her play, and it got out of hand. You mixed the reality of Wihakayda’s birth with the fiction of yours and Jenny’s play, and made something happen that could have been very damaging for jenny. You saved her emotions though by giving yourself up to being the cub until she came to her senses. The connection between Jenny and you Koda is very strong, and stronger still now she has become spiritually bonded with you. You do know that is what’s happened don’t you?” Koda nodded.

“it’s like you with jess,” he sniffed.

“yes,” patch replied, “you have been given the chance to look after a human cub, don’t throw it away.” Koda stared at jenny, who crawled to him and hugged him.

“You mean I’ve got two cubs now?” Koda asked.

“yes,” Patch replied, “though Jenny will have her own free will, she will never forget her Ursine guardian. Koda stared at Patch.

“Did I do wrong Patch?” Koda asked.

“You didn’t exactly bond with jenny the usual way,” Patch replied, “but no, in the end you did the right thing, giving yourself to her, showing her you are as committed to her as she is to you.”

“um, ok,” Koda said, burying his head in Jenny’s shoulder, Jenny stroking his head and ears.

“You’re close to me now,” jenny said to Koda..

“I didn’t mean you to think you’d actually had a cub though,” Koda replied.

“I know I haven’t had a cub,” Jenny said, “but you gave me what I wanted, the sensations as if I had given birth to one. Now I know when someone describes their birth tale, I have some idea of what they are talking about.”

“but you are human, you shouldn’t know about that yet,” Koda said.

“I asked the question, and you gave me the answer,” jenny replied, “that was all you did.”

“Maybe knowing this will make you more careful in later life,” her dad said.

“I think it will,” Jenny replied, “for it was hard work, really hard work.”

“You are very mature for your age,” Koda said, Sita snorting with laughter.

“she made a comment that wasn’t very mature at all,” she reminded him.

“Indeed jenny did,” Koda replied, “but over all, she’s very mature for her age. Maybe that was why her dad told her hugging her soft toy bear was something she shouldn’t be doing at her age?”

“I know now that I needed to cuddle,” Jenny said, “and I still do need to cuddle.”

“how was it that Sally was able to help Kuaizi?” Jenny’s dad asked. jenny told me that tale.”

“In bear years, Sally, and jenny for that matter, are around four years old,” patch replied, “that was why she was able to help Xinhua’s cub. Jenny too, if she was so minded, could help a mama bear deliver her cub, as she has the mind of a four year old mama bear.”

“so you bears cram a lot into four years,” jenny’s dad said.

“yes,” Patch replied, “I was looking after jess from the age of three. I knew how to care for her.”

“what age was she when you started caring for her?” Jenny’s dad asked.

“jess was three,” patch replied, “I took full parenting responsibilities for her pretty much, finding food, playing, comforting, protecting her.”

“how will Titania feel about you showing me what you saw?” jenny asked.

“it’s not like that,” Koda replied, “I described to you what happened during Wihakayda’s birth, what Titania did in other words. It was your need to re-enact the birth of a cub that caused you to do what you did, but I sort of told you too much. So I had to help you out by finishing the tale, giving you a cub to hold onto while you delivered it into the world, then, when you’d calmed down, you were okay, as you knew it was all an elaborate dream, as it were.”

“Holding my feet in my hands felt great Koda, it really felt great!” jenny said, “as did kicking at the air with my feet, hold my feet, squeeze my heels, then let go and kick with both feet. It felt wonderful!”

“it looked as if you were really trying,” Koda said.

“I believed I was having a cub after you touched my toes,” jenny replied.

“I don’t know whether to be sorry or not,” Koda whimpered, “you seem to have enjoyed the whole thing, but I regret my over enthusiastic part in it.”

“Koda,” Patch said, “you gave her ideas, and she wanted to feel how those ideas worked out. You realised she needed a cub to feel in her hands, so you gave her that feeling too, you completed the circle, from wish turning to need, to resolution of that need. Now you and jenny understand each other more deeply.”

“I wish I’d never touched her toes,” Koda whimpered.

“Well I’m glad you did,” Jenny said smiling and hugging Koda, “now, what I want to ask is, why did all the foot play I tried during my acting feel like my foot play that I used to enjoy when I was very young? I held my feet in my hands, kicked with my feet, and played with my toes when I was very young, and now I find myself doing it, and will do when I’m properly having a cub, sorry, a baby, when I’m older.”

“the foot play we encourage in the community is taught to cubs at a young age,” Sita said, “it isn’t discouraged, for we know mama will need it during her most precious time of life, when she’s delivering cubs into the world herself. She needs to know that playing with her toes, holding her feet in her paws and kicking with those feet, as well as curling her toes as tightly as she can is okay. She doesn’t need to worry about whether it’s acceptable or not.”

“is there an age at which it is unacceptable in your community for a female of any species to have cubs?” jenny’s dad asked.

“We encourage the cubs to wait until they are three before they have cubs of their own,” Sita said, “but sometimes, well, nature takes over and they have them at two and a half, that’s a bit risky.” Patch huffed a little at this.

“What?” jenny asked.

“My mate Ekaterina was two and a half when she had our first cub,” he grunted, “as was Snowdrop, and you know how she reacted to labour.”

“she screamed like a cub,” jenny said, “Just as I would have if I didn’t know it was just an act deep down.”

“You moaned and roared, but didn’t scream like snowdrop,” Koda said.

“I wasn’t really going for it, not completely,” jenny admitted, “it looked real, I felt my stomach tighten, but that was with excitement at my own imagination, and yes, my feet felt great held in my hands, but no, it wasn’t real, I know that now. I don’t feel Koda is my cub, I know he gave me the green light to imagine how I would have a cub, and gave me some tips on what to do. I was in control all the time though, if I wasn’t, I wouldn’t have described my cub’s arrival into the world.”

“Snowdrop didn’t do that,” patch replied, “she cried and screamed, roared and yelled. I know, I helped her.”

“You were wonderful Patch,” jenny said, “Why weren’t you angry with snowdrop when she came crawling to you in labour? I know my mum and dad would go mad if I came to them in such a state.”

“I didn’t think to be angry,” Patch replied, “it never entered my head to be. After all, being angry with snowdrop then would not do her, or the cub any good at all. She was in need of help, and I gave her help. It is what happens afterwards that matters. If she wasn’t a good mother to her cub, then I would have said something, but she was a lovely mother to little Kamchatka, and also to Anernerk too.”

“Don’t run off to have a cub just yet jenny,” her dad said half smiling.

“I won’t,” Jenny replied, “but I wonder now what having no control feels. How frightening it is. What the pain is like when you don’t want to push but you have to. My toes didn’t really curl, I mean really curl so they hurt, but snowdrop’s did, I’m sure of that.”

“Hopefully you’ll never find out that at all,” her dad said, “that total loss of control can be avoided with good education, something Snowdrop didn’t have.”

“We did our best,” Sita snarled, “but some just get into situations they can’t get out of, don’t they Koda.” Koda harrumphed with anger.

“I love my mate and my cub!” he yelled.

“Now you do,” Sita replied, “but your mate wasn’t your mate when you put her in cub was she. At least when Patch got Ekaterina pregnant, he’d made a vow to her to keep her and her cubs safe. You hadn’t done that for Titania had you!” Koda got up and rushed from the room crying.

“that was horrid Sita!” patch snapped, walloping her.

“Well,” Sita spat back, “he needs to know he’s as bad as Snowdrop, in fact both Snowdrop and Titania are just as bad as each other, getting into cub before they are ready. That is why we encourage the cubs to play, to ask questions, so they don’t get in cub before their time Patch! You know that!”

“You make me sick!” patch growled, “Sita, what has come over you?”

“I’ve just had some awful news on that front,” Sita replied crossly, “and to hear Koda had done what he’d done here made me so bloody angry! You know Hope? Little Hope?”

“I know her,” Patch said.

“Well, well,” Sita gasped, now almost hyperventilating with anger, “she, she, she’s pregnant with My Toby’s cubs!” Sita covered her face with her paws and burst into tears.

“Hope’s only two,” patch said.

“I know, I Know!” Sita roared..

“At least we know before hand with this and can keep an eye on her,” patch replied, “Hope, why did you do this?” he asked, as if the bear herself were in the room.

“did you ask snowdrop to talk to the cubs?” Jenny asked.

“She did, and she told them how uncontrollable her labour was!” Sita wailed, “and she told them how she’d nearly abandoned her cub too! No wonder hope wasn’t at that lesson, she probably couldn’t stand hearing what a mistake she’d made!”

“I hope she doesn’t do anything silly,” jenny’s dad said.

“Oh god, oh no!” Sita choked, “not that, please not that!”

“what have you said to her Sita?” jenny asked.

“I told her, told her, told her that she was very bad, I hit her, I lost it jenny!” Sita replied, “that was earlier today. I hit her twice, I told her I was upset, that I would expel her from the cub groups, that my son cub was a disgrace, and so was she. I lost it jenny, I know I shouldn’t have hit Hope, but she is so young, and my Toby, my Toby! I told him not to get involved with any bear unless they were two and a half or older! It seems since Koda got in with Titania, and Hope had no chance of courting him, her eyes turned to Toby, whom she liked as he was small, like her. Toby was willing, and Hope was too, and they mated soon after news of Titania’s cub’s birth was announced. Now, now she is days off her due date I think, and, and, oh, oh dear!”

“patch,” jenny said, “we can’t leave hope alone now, please, tell me where I can find her. she can have her cubs here, noone will know where she is.”

“I don’t know where she is,” Patch replied, “she’s blocked me from talking to her, I’ll see if the control room have seen her.” patch got on the phone to the control room, and they searched, but could not find Hope anywhere in the house.

Hope lay on jenny’s bed. Feeling her contractions starting in the early morning, she’d followed Anook to the house so she could be close to Koda, whom she felt safe with. Realising he was busy, she’d gone upstairs, following his scent to Jenny’s bedroom. It was there her contractions had steadily got stronger and more frequent. Ever since she’d told Sita of the impending birth of her and Toby’s cubs, Hope had been beaten by Sita, then Toby, hearing he was next, had run off. Now hope lay on the bed, her contractions coming and going. Roaring in agony, Hope clung to the pillow, screaming into it to muffle her cries.

Sita slammed out of the house, angry and upset. Patch went to get a cup of tea for everyone, and it was while he was in the hallway he heard crying, a cub crying. He knew exactly whom was crying, and feeling strangely calm, he padded to the sitting room and drew the door closed.

“jenny,” he said, “I think you’d better not go up to your bedroom right now. I think you have a mama bear about to have her cubs there.”

“On my bed?” jenny asked quietly.

“yes,” patch replied, “I think Sita’s assault on Hope has brought on her labour.”

“But why come here?” Jenny asked.

“I don’t know that exactly,” Patch replied.

“I would love to get hands on with hope and soothe her, if I can,” jenny said.

“that would not be a good thing to do Jenny,” her dad said.

“Can’t you go in with the video camera and film her though dad?” Jenny said, “that would be wonderful!” jenny’s dad grabbed the camera and gently went upstairs with it.

In Jenny’s bedroom, Koda was soothing hope, whom he cradled in his embrace, the she bear crying and screaming now.

“Koda, Koda!” hope sobbed, “You came up here in tears, but now you’re soothing me, ow Koda ow!” Hope clenched her teeth, then opened her mouth and screamed lustily.

“I was crying over my own sorrows, now though, now they are gone,” Koda said, “Hope, I’m here, I’ll help you. Hold onto me if you need to.”

“But I’ve made a mess already!” Hope wailed, “I’m going to make an even bigger one soon, I can feel it, feel it coming!” Koda looked up at the sound of someone coming in, seeing jenny, he said:

“jenny, you probably know what’s going on here, please, get us some towels, Hope love, can you hold on?” Hope whimpered something, and jenny, wide eyed and open mouthed, ran to get towels, which she gave to Koda, who lifted hope on to them. Hope panted, then another contraction gripped her.

“Push Hope, push!” Koda said, Hope screaming into his fur:

“I’m gonna soil myself!” then she did, though onto the towel, and not all over Koda. Jenny let Hope get on with it, then she removed the old towel and put down a fresh one.”

“What else can I do?” jenny asked.

“Can you wash your hands, and get a damp cloth, and clean Hope up?” Koda asked. jenny, feeling very important, went to get the things. Soon she was back, and as Koda held Hope, jenny cleaned her up. Hope looked round, seeing the young girl’s face for the first time.

“I think I’m turning your bed into my birthing den!” Hope panted.

“I think so too,” jenny replied, “and Hope, take it gently, love your cubs.” Hope looked into Jenny’s face, realising she couldn’t see her.

“touch me if you want,” Hope said.

“Can I?” Jenny asked.

“you pretended to have a cub,” hope replied, “now, now see what you might sound like if you had one right now. I’m too young, I know it now, but I’m here, I’m in pain, and I’m a cub!”

“This labour isn’t a punishment Hope,” jenny said.

“it might as well be,” Hope whimpered, “I’ve been wanting to feel what labour is like, and now I can, I don’t want it! Jenny, I know Koda gave you ideas today and you acted out the birth of a cub. You said you enjoyed the experience, he’s been telling me that. Now, now, feel me struggle, hear me scream, for I’m as you are, a cub, for your own life, don’t do what I did.” Jenny touched the terrified mama bear.

“You’ll be okay,” she whispered, “I promise Hope, you will be okay.”

“aoaoaoaow! Aaaaaw” Hope squealed, kicking with her hind feet and punching Koda with her paws.

“I think it’s time you let her go,” Patch said, “Koda, lie her on the bed and watch from the floor. Koda reluctantly settled Hope onto the bed and got off onto the floor. Hope looked terrified, her hind feet drawn up, her forepaws covering her face, her whole body shaking as she sobbed into her paws. then she wriggled, caught her breath, grabbed a pillow and crushed it, drawing up her hind feet, curling her toes and screaming lustily into the pillow. When she was done, she threw it away angrily, jenny catching the pillow and gently placing it back in hope’s reach. Before she straightened up again, jenny stroked down Hope’s side with her hand, from shoulder to hip, feeling the she bear’s soft fur, and her trembling body. Hope moaned and groaned through a couple of contractions, then she crawled to jenny and clambered into her arms. Jenny found herself sitting on the bed, a mama bear in her lap. Hope, throwing her paws around jenny, begged her to help her.

“You went through this today,” hope gasped, “jenny, show me what to do, please, show me what to do!”

“I was only pretending, it wasn’t real,” jenny said, feeling hope’s desperation.

“but you asked, and Koda told you, and you delivered a cub!” Hope moaned.

“I imagined it,” jenny replied, “but I’m no midwife, this is a job for someone who knows what they are doing, not me. I’m not that person hope.”

“Tell me what you did,” Hope begged.

“I don’t want to hurt you or your cubs,” jenny replied, “all the programmes I have seen say do what your body wants.”

“I don’t know!” Hope screamed.

“what do I do dad?” Jenny asked, “this mama bear is asking me to help her deliver her cubs!”

“I’d get the vet,” he replied, “but I don’t think our local one would be midwife to a bear.”

“I do not think crawling up and down the bed would hurt her cubs,” patch said, “nor do I think playing with her toes would hurt hope one bit. Indeed, Holding her feet in her paws would help her in the latter stages too jenny. Tell her what to do, for she can’t watch you as she’d like, she’ll not be able to open her eyes much soon anyway.”

“Maybe if I just stroke her paws, belly and feet it will be okay?” jenny asked. Hope clung to Jenny and screamed lustily, her paws gripping fiercely.

“sit back on your heels,” Jenny said softly to Hope, who sat back hard, drilling her heels into her backside.

“ooaoaoaoaoh, oooumph.” Hope complained.

“How does that feel?” jenny asked. Hope took a deep breath and strained hard into her bottom.

“eoerrhrhrhrhrhrhrhrhrhoar!” she moaned, jenny feeling her wriggling as she pushed, “it feels better, erhrhrhrhrhaoaoaoaow!” Hope wailed.

“her toes curled hard then,” Koda remarked.

“humph, ow, ow ow Jenny ow!” Hope screamed.

“it’s gonna be okay Hope,” jenny said, hugging the she bear in her arms, Hope wriggling and crying.

“oaoaoaoaoaoaaow! Aaaaaaaaaoaoaoow!” Hope yelled.

“it’s going to be okay,” jenny said, “when hope screamed lustily, throwing herself onto the bed and rolling onto her back, drawing up her hind legs and grabbing her feet with her paws.

“yoaaoaoaoaoaoaow! Yoaoaoaoaoaoaoaow! Yeooeoeoeoeoeoeoeoeeoaow!” hope yelled, gripping her feet with her paws, then thrusting at the air with them, only to bring them back to her forcibly, to squeeze her heels with her paws even harder, then thrust more desperately at the air with both feet. Jenny got hands on, feeling Hope’s feet kick against her hands as she struggled.

“Stay with me Jenny, Stay with me!” hope roared.

“she’s doing what I did,” Jenny thought, “oh no! Did I suggest something?”

“I’m here Hope, I’m here,” Jenny said gently to the screaming mama bear.

“What do I do now?” Hope moaned, “Jenny, what do I do now, ow, this hurts ow!”

“how does it feel?” Jenny asked.

“I really want to go to the relieving place!” Hope screamed.

“That’s the cub pressing down, it’s nearly here,” Koda blurted. Get onto your feet and squat,” jenny said quickly, thinking fast. Hope squatted on the bed, the heels of her forepaws in line with the curled toes of her hind. Getting settled, hope looked at Jenny through half closed eyes in a lull between contractions.

“Push Hope, Push,” Jenny said softly, Hope turning rear on to Jenny and straining hard into her tail, Jenny hearing Hope making a sound like she herself might if she was straining to relieve herself. A sort of strangled moan.

“Push, get angry, push!” Jenny encouraged. hope responded to jenny’s words by straining lustily, jenny cupping her hands as she felt a head and two paws emerging. Hope cried between contractions, jenny gently urging her on:

“now push hope, push down, right down, down into your bottom, go on, push! I’ll catch your cub,” Jenny found herself saying. Hope sniffed, caught her breath, and bore down a third time, the waters breaking all over the bed. Hope bounced on her toes, the bed creaking. Hope, crying, gasped, moaned, wriggled, and then screamed shrilly, bearing down with all her might. Hope bore down, the cub easing into the world, jenny catching it in her hands. The cub was enormous, and kept coming, more and more of it. Hope delivered the cub’s hind feet with a final yell that shook the windows.

“It’s a huge cub!” Jenny laughed as she towelled Hope’s cub dry with a towel Koda threw onto the bed, the cub screaming and roaring for food in a healthy high pitched voice. Hope turned and, seeing the cub in jenny’s arms, reached up to touch it.

“You made that,” jenny said laughing from her place kneeling on the bed.

“My cub, my cub!” Hope sobbed, taking the cub from Jenny and sitting down to feed it. The cub, feeling Hope’s warm body, stopped screaming and set down to drinking.

“wow, just wow,” Jenny said, getting off the bed and standing up, “what a day, what a lovely day!”

“never a dull moment,” patch replied smiling.

“you screamed like a cub, like I would,” jenny said to Hope.

“I know,” Hope replied, “I know I did. I am a cub Jenny, I’m like you! I’m slightly younger than you, around seven in your years, but I’m like you in other ways. I feel pain and fear too. I scream like a cub when in pain. But you, you are no cub, not really, not now. You helped me give birth to my cub, so how can you be a cub like me?”

“I’m still very young,” jenny said, “I only played at giving birth earlier, it was play Hope, it wasn’t real. I don’t know if that was how a birth should happen or not, and you almost copied what I did.”

“So it must have been okay,” Hope said wearily, “for if it wasn’t, I wouldn’t have a cub here now.”

“I suppose,” Jenny said, “but Hope, please, you did all the work, I didn’t do anything!”

“You did,” hope said, raising her head from a visual inspection of her cub, “Jenny, come here please. Jenny padded over to the she bear, who sat on the edge of the bed. Hope whispered to jenny:

“You were wonderful to me, you and Koda. I love you both. Jenny, you helped me, believe me please, you helped me today. If it hadn’t been for you talking to me while I was squatting on the bed, I wouldn’t have been able to push, I was dog tired. Thank you jenny. Jenny kissed hope’s nose, tears rolling down her face.

“I love you hope,” she choked, feeling Hope stroking her cheek with one paw.

“I you too jenny,” hope replied softly.

“What an amazing film!” jenny’s dad enthused, “I got everything!”

“Cameras even here,” hope sighed, “ah well.”

“thank you for letting me get hands on Hope,” Jenny whispered.

“I needed you jenny,” Hope replied, “you told me how to get this cub born safely. I know I’ve seen births, but when its your own labour, thoughts and training go right out of the window. I couldn’t remember a thing, I felt fear, and terror too, and I cried like a cub.”

“I know,” jenny replied, “but you laboured like a mama, good strong pushes.”

“I must have,” Hope replied, “for there is a cub here now., but I screamed and cried, curled my toes and kicked like an angry cub. I was frightened jenny, shit scared!”

“Hope!” Ekaterina admonished, padding in with Sita, having found her way to the house, then blundered into by Sita stamping about outside the door.

“I was scared Ekaterina,” Hope said, “you can’t take that away from me, noone can take this day from me now!”

“I’m not taking anything from you Hope,” Ekaterina replied, “please, tell me what happened.”

“I went into labour,” hope replied, “I wanted to be with your brother, for whom, well, I’ve had feelings for for ages.”

A horrendous crash and then thudding of paws on stairs, accompanied by fearful crying and wailing made Ekaterina turn to the door. Kuruk ran into the room, his eyes wide with fear. When he saw Hope sitting on the bed, he threw himself down on the floor, weeping with relief.

“Kuruk, get up!” Sita snapped.

“Kuruk hear Hope cub in labour, he no know she in cub!” Kuruk wept, “she no tell him nothing! Kuruk hear from squirrel Hope cub in labour!”

“Kuruk,” Hope said, “dear Kuruk, I’m sorry I had no time to tell you. it happened so fast.”

“You have cub now Kuruk see,” Kuruk sniffed, looking up at Hope.

“I did,” Hope said, “and that human with the box in his paws has it all on camera.”

“I look forward to hearing the video,” Ekaterina said.

“I screamed like a cub,” Hope said ashamedly.

“You be cub!” Kuruk replied.

“I know Kuruk, I know,” Hope replied miserably.

“Who help you deliver cub?” Kuruk asked. Koda smiled, then waved a paw at jenny, Kuruk staring in astonishment.

“she help Hope?” he asked, waving his paw.

“yes Kuruk, and her name is Jenny, she was wonderful,” Patch replied.

“Kuruk glad Hope cub safe after giving birth,” Kuruk sighed heavily.

“Koda was wonderful, and so was jenny,” Hope said, “jenny helped me push at the end. I had to get really angry and just bear down as hard as I could.”

“Kuruk know that feeling,” Kuruk replied.

“How is it I can understand every word these bears are saying?” Jenny’s dad asked.

“I’m translating them in your brain,” Patch replied, “I know what they are saying, of course, if one speaks English to you, like I do, or Koda can, then no translation, but if Hope spoke to you, I’d translate. You knew what she was saying throughout her labour didn’t you?”

“yes,” the man replied, “and lovely it was to hear her words too. but the video would have just got whimpers, whines, grunts, and some rather impressive screaming.”

“Impressive it was,” Jenny said, hugging Hope.

“Now what are we going to do now Hope has a cub? where will she stay?” Ekaterina asked.

“Well she’ll come home with us after a few hours I think,” Patch said, “that is unless she wants to stay with Jenny and Koda for a while.”

“I’ll come back to the community house soon,” Hope said, “but Patch, please, let me stay a while. I want to thank Koda and jenny for what they did, and the only way I can is to stay here a bit and let them cradle my cub in their paws.”

“They want cradle you too mama Hope,” Kuruk said.

“Don’t call me mama,” Hope pleaded, “I’m not worthy of that respect, I’m a silly cub. I got pregnant before my time, labour really hurt me because of that. I’m a cub, and need help to look after my own cub.”

Now we need to clean this place up,” jenny’s dad said, “the bed is a mess!”

“Sorry,” Hope replied.

“How do I ask the bears to move from here so I can clean this place?” Jenny’s dad asked.

“Two of us can understand you, so we will communicate your wishes to those who can’t,” Koda said. Ekaterina, Kuruk and Koda left the room. Patch looked at Hope, who sat on the bed, her head down and ears drooping.

“What’s the matter hope?” Patch asked, sitting beside her and taking her paw. Hope didn’t look up, she just stared down at her cub, who was now asleep. Weeping softly, Hope stroked her cub’s head with her free paw.

“I have been so stupid,” hope sniffed, “Patch, what do I do now?”

“You feed your cub, and stop bloody crying!” Sita snapped.

“Sita! Shut it!” Patch barked.

“No I won’t, she’s a disgrace!” Sita snapped.

“Noone has acted disgracefully here,” Patch replied. “Hope gave birth to a cub, that is not disgraceful. She did it with love, and with commitment too.”

“She held back pushing!” Sita snarled.

“I didn’t know how to push!” Hope wailed, “Sita, stop it! Shut up,” then Hope took a deep breath and raised her head, “shut it Sita!” she screamed. Then, handing her cub to Patch, Hope threw herself onto the bed and beat it with her paws, screaming and crying.

“now get out!” Patch growled to Sita, who stumbled down the stairs.

“Hope,” Patch said gently, as her cub fought its way free and scrambled to its mother’s side, “You have a female cub Hope,” patch said softly. The female cub scrambled to Hope’s head and licked her wet cheek.

“Oh little one!” Hope sniffed, rolling onto her side and gathering her cub to her.

“I heard you roaring and screaming,” her cub said, “I heard you when you were pushing against me. You made a moaning sound, a real big moaning sound, a huge groan of pain!”

“It hurt little one,” Hope replied softly, “but I would never change a thing about it. It felt wonderful to push to deliver you into the world. I love you little one, little jewel cub.” Hope smiled as she felt her cub snuggle into her hug, feeling her cub’s warmth and life.

“Hug me mama!” her cub begged, Hope embracing her cub, curling round her, breathing on her to keep her warm.

“Come mama,” Patch said gently, lying on the bed and getting eye to eye with Hope, “How do you feel now about your cub?”

“she’s wonderful,” hope replied, grooming her cub with gentle licks, “she’s lovely from her ears to her paws. I know there’s a lot of her, but that’s lovely. I am looking forward to seeing my labour video Patch.”

“You pushed beautifully,” Patch said.

“Any cute bits?” hope asked.

“I saw you curl your toes a couple of times,” patch replied, I also saw your muscles bunch as you pushed. I think you even curled up and screamed once too.”

“but that was before Jenny came in!” Hope replied, her eyes filling with tears, “Patch, oh patch,” she choked, “did, did you know? Were you there with me? When I was scared? When I cried into the pillows and gripped the blankets with my paws and feet?”

“I told the others I couldn’t find you,” patch replied, “I knew where you were, and when Sita upset Koda, I directed Koda to the place where you were labouring.” Hope looked at patch through her tears:

“I dared to hope once,” she said, “but I was in such a fog I couldn’t concentrate, I just closed my mind to everything but the pain and the shame of being a young mother. The pain was so much patch, it hurt Patch, It really hurt!”

“Hope,” patch said, “you know Sita is not impressed with what happened today.”

“she can piss off!” hope snarled, “I know I missed her talking about playing at birthing cubs, and how good that was to give cubs restraint. The reason why I missed it? I was sick, sick with fear of the birth of my cub!”

“You need not be frightened any more,” patch said softly, “Hope, look at your cub, take her in your paws, and love every inch of her body and part of her mind. You know have the power to influence a life, to show your cub what you are, to show her how to be good and gentle.”

“I got my wish,” Hope replied, “I now know what it is to deliver a cub, and now I have a cub too, a cub who looks to me for love and warmth, food and support.”

“Talking of food, you might want this,” jenny said, padding in with a steaming bowl of porridge, and a huge bowl of tea. Hope stared at the food, then settled down to eating it. The porridge was thick and sweet, the tea strong and warm. Hope finished the lot, licking the bowl clean and then licking her own paws.

“I’ll get you a bowl to wash your paws,” jenny said, when Patch explained what hope was doing. Jenny found a bowl and brought it full of warm water for Hope to wash her paws. patch made signals to hope to wash her paws, not drink the water, and Hope washed her paws. jenny then helped Hope to the bathtub, where she ran the she bear a bath and helped her into it. Lowering her cub into the water, hope let her paddle about, supporting her body in her paws, letting Jewel’s legs and paws paddle free.

“now I’ll get washed and dried, and then, then,” Hope yawned, “I don’t know what else will happen.”

“Well, get washed and dried and you will find out,” patch said, smiling at Hope.

Down in the living room, jenny sat with Koda, chatting about the things they’d been a part of that day.

“I didn’t think I’d end up being midwife to a mama bear,” jenny said to Koda, who smiled.

“a cub helped by a cub,” he replied.

“Hope’s no cub, well, not now,” jenny said.

“Oh she is,” Hope replied, padding into the room, “more than you will know jenny.”

“So you will have to grow up fast then?” jenny asked.

“Like Koda,” Hope replied, “I realised I was no longer a cub when I cuddled with jewel on the bed, and she was snuggled up to me tightly. Then I knew it hadn’t been a horrid dream, the labour I mean. I can still remember the feeling of the contractions, and of my cub sliding into the world, then sticking, then sliding backwards, then sliding outwards into the world again as I pushed. The effort was huge jenny, really huge.”

“I’ll bet it was,” jenny said.

“I would describe it, if I had the words,” Hope replied, “but it was too much to describe. a sea of feelings, pain, Emotion, urges and effort.”

“When I felt you straining and labouring, I felt ashamed for acting out a labour,” jenny said.

“Now you’ve felt a bear in labour, you can act even more convincingly ,” Hope said, “and tell everyone from me, take your time with everything, especially having cubs.”

“I was acting, but no matter how hard I tried, I could never moan or scream like you did,” Jenny replied, “when you were pushing the cub out at the end, wow, what sounds you made Hope!”

“I moaned and groaned as I pushed into my bottom,” Hope replied.

“I could always show you how Hope felt jenny,” Patch said. jenny grinned:

“No thanks patch,” she replied, “I think I won’t take you up on that, my act was enough for me to know how Hope felt.”

“What will happen when you return to the community house?” jenny asked.

“I’m in for a rough examination by my mate and cub,” Koda replied, “they don’t trust their eyes you see, they like, um, checking me out by touch.”

“What do you mean?” jenny asked.

“I mean they take me in paw, and run their paws all over me, roll me over, sniff me, touch me with their noses and paws, and basically give me a thorough physical examination. They’re a bit rough sometimes!” jenny smiled and hugged Koda.

“I hope they treat Hope and her cub more gently,” she said.

“I will make sure they do,” Koda replied, “if they don’t, I’ll smack their paws hard.”

“they are a bit bigger and stronger than you,” Hope said.

“I’m a strong bear really,” Koda replied.

“No you’re not,” Hope laughed, “Koda, you’re not strong at all. I gave you protection from Kuruk. Me, a small bear who picked you up and let you see the birth of your young brother.”

“I’ll have to go back to the community house on Tuesday,” Koda yawned.

“I’ll see if I can soften the examination you will get from Titania and Wihakayda,” Patch said.

Patch got on the phone to the house and spoke to Titania. Despite his reassurances, she wasn’t convinced of Koda’s safety. Huffing, Patch put the phone down and looked at Koda.

“wow Koda, are you for it.” he said smiling.

“But I’m fine!” Koda yelped.

“she’s concerned,” Patch said.

“I know, I know!” Koda whimpered, “but she has no need to be concerned at all!”

“I want a full description of his homecoming,” jenny said.

“I’ll be rolled onto my back and explored from nose to tail, and pushed about too!” Koda grunted.

Banging on the door made Koda’s toes curl with anxiety. Suddenly the front door burst open, and the sound of paws on the tiles made Koda whimper. Titania burst in, saw Koda, leapt upon him and rolled him over. Whimpering, she pushed him around with her muzzle and paws, Koda whimpering and protesting.

“I’m okay, I’m okay! Titania! Get off me!”

“I just need to check you over,” Titania said, “you do stink of man, but I don’t blame you for that Koda.” Jenny laughed helplessly as Patch described what Koda was going through at the paws of his mate.

“you’re next human,” Titania said, overhearing jenny.

“but I’m no bear,” Jenny protested.

“mama Anook asked me to check on her man cub,” Titania replied, “and check on her I will.”

“I’m not a bear, I’m not a bear!” Jenny laughed as Titania set upon her, pushing her about like she’d done Koda, who lay on the rugs, exhausted by her inspection of his body.

“You’re tickling my toes, stop it!” jenny laughed as Titania’s inspection reached her feet.

“You’re okay,” Titania said.

“What brought you here?” Jenny asked.

“Koda did, well his absence from the house did,” Titania replied, “I was worried about him.”

“I’m all right!” Koda replied a little breathlessly, “I’ll be okay too until Tuesday.”

“You’re coming back tonight!” Titania snapped, “as is hope, and patch, and everyone except jenny and her sire, who can stay here! Right here!”

“What’s got into you Titania?” Koda asked sharply, “you’re acting like an angry mama bear!”

“that is because I am an angry mama bear!” Titania screamed, “well,” she panted for breath, “well, an, an angry sister bear really, worried from my ears to my paw pads about Targon, Little Targon, she’s, she’s very close to having her cubs, and I’m scared for her. I don’t need my mate to be somewhere else where he could get into danger too!”

“I’ll come back tonight then,” Koda harrumphed, “wasn’t Hope meant to be at the birth of little Targon’s cubs anyway?”

“yes she was, but now, well,” Titania replied, waving her paw at Hope, whose newborn cub was feeding busily.

“so who will help little Targon now!” Titania wailed.

“My mate will,” patch said, nudging Ekaterina.

“um, oh yeah, is she in labour now?” Ekaterina asked. the phone rang, and jenny’s dad picked it up.

“Oh, Charles, it’s you. What? What’s that you say?” he asked, “Ekaterina’s needed, as little Targon’s in labour>? Oh, ok, I’ll tell Ekaterina.” Titania’s reaction to this news was extreme. Her eyes starting from her head in terror, she vomited onto the carpet.

“That’s uncalled for!” Sita roared.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” Titania sniffed.

“Cough it all up, don’t inhale it,” patch said, slapping Titania on her back, the she bear coughing and retching .

“Oh god, oh god!” Titania sobbed, as Patch, gentle to the last, rubbed her back and helped her to rid herself of her Burdon.

“Were you never sick with fear for another?” Patch asked Sita.”

“No,” Sita replied. Koda took Titania to the bathroom, and gently cleaned her up.

“I’m sorry Koda, so sorry,” Titania sniffed.

“You are frightened for your sister, and really that’s not surprising, as she has been pretty fragile all her life.”

“I’m so frightened for her,” Titania whispered.

“”I know,” Koda said softly, kissing his mate’s ear, “now, let’s freshen you up, and get home to little mama Targon.”

“I’ll go home,” Titania replied softly, “Koda, you don’t have to come home. Please, stay with jenny.” Koda grinned:

“Jenny wouldn’t miss the birth of a cub for anything,” he replied, “No Titania, we’re coming home with you to witness the birth of Targon’s cub.”

“let’s go Koda,” Titania said softly.

Jenny, patch, Ekaterina, Sita and the rest of the community members who had witnessed Hope’s cub’s birth padded from jenny’s house and along the track through the woods to the community house. Sooleawa watched everyone pad in.

“Wash your paws and feet all of you,” she said flatly.

“Are you all right Sooleawa?” Ekaterina asked. Sooleawa laid her paw on Ekaterina’s.

“I’m, well, I don’t know how to describe how I feel,” Sooleawa replied, “I’m sort of, well, still a bit upset about my conduct the other day, when I made comment about Jenny, you heard about that?”

“I did,” Ekaterina replied, “but surely that’s forgotten now.”

“Not by me,” Sooleawa replied. A moan of pain echoed down the corridor from Zane and Targon’s lie up. Ekaterina felt Sooleawa’s toes curl at the sound, and heard her whimper of fear.

“Come,” Ekaterina replied, “come and face your fear of birth.”

“No Ekaterina, No,” Sooleawa replied, “I won’t.”

“What happened to you is not the norm Sooleawa,” Ekaterina replied, “dear Sooleawa, have you noticed we came home with one more than we left with?” Sooleawa, who kept a log of who came and went through her station, counted the bears and humans.

“Hope, Hope had a cub?” Sooleawa asked.

“yes she did,” Ekaterina replied, “Now who do you think was midwife to her?”

“I don’t know, how should I know?” Sooleawa replied.

“A human, Jenny helped hope to push, she helped her to push Sooleawa.”

“Like sire Orbon did Dorothy?” Sooleawa asked.

“No,” jenny replied, padding forward and touching Sooleawa’s head with her hand, “not like that, though I would have liked to. I encouraged her to push, to bear down into her bottom, and roar with it too.”

“how could you cope with that?” Sooleawa asked.

“Well I just did,” jenny replied, “and Sooleawa, please, come with me to see the birth of Targon’s cubs.” Sooleawa felt sweat break out on her pads.

“No jenny, I can’t,” she replied miserably.

“Sooleawa,” jenny said, “you could describe what’s going on for me. I know the sounds of a mama in trouble, and one who’s just moaning in pain of natural labour.”

“don’t be too confident jenny,” Ekaterina said, “but yes, you could hold Sooleawa tightly while she keeps an eye on mama Targon.”

“let’s go,” Sooleawa said to Jenny, leading her to Targon and Zanes lie up. Sooleawa’s pads made a sucking sound on the tiles as she walked, jenny smiling at her.

They arrived in Zane’s lie up, to find little Targon sitting in a bathtub that had been screwed into the floor of the lie up. Steam rose from the tub, and the she bear’s eyes betrayed her fear and anxiety.

“the tub is transparent,” Hope exclaimed, “I can see everything! I can see Targon’s paws and her feet, and everything!”

“How long have you been in labour Targon dear?” Ekaterina asked, kneeling beside the tub and resting her paws on the side.

“today,” Targon gasped, “suddenly, one huge contraction! Then, then, oh god Ekaterina, then it got worse! Now it’s ow, so much ow!” Ekaterina leant over the side of the tub and kissed Targon’s nose.

“You’ll be okay,” she said, “tell me, would you like to deliver the cubs in the birthing pool?”

“yeah,” Targon panted, then she roared in pain.

“Okay, let it all out,” Ekaterina said, as Targon screamed and yelled.

“how will I get to the birthing pool, I can’t walk, I can’t walk!” Targon sobbed.

“you could crawl,” jenny said.

“No, no, oh no!” Targon wept, “I cant, I can’t! Human, if you knew what I’m feeling now, you wouldn’t be able to crawl!” Targon plunged her paws into the water, grabbed her right foot in her paws and squeezed her pads hard, her toes curling tightly as she growled and snarled through her pain.

“oaoaoaoaoaoaaow, oaoaoaoaoaoaaow! Aaaaaow!” she screamed.

“Rub those pads Targon, grip those feet when you want to push, and rub your pads when you feel the contraction easing off,” Ekaterina replied.

“Huuuuuuuuuuuauauauauow!” Targon roared, her paws fiercely gripping her right foot, the toes of which she curled tightly while she endured her pain.

“it’s easing now, a little, ow!” Targon gasped, “and it’s only going to get worse!”

“She’s screaming like she’s near to having her cub,” jenny said to Hope.

“Targon has digestive problems that make her very sensitive to pressure,” Hope replied, “she’ll be in a lot of pain with very small contractions.”

“Do you want pain relief Targon?” Ekaterina asked the panting mama bear.

“No, not yet,” Targon replied, “it’s not that bad yet.”

“but you’re screaming and crying,” jenny said.

“I’ve always been a bit like that,” Targon replied, “it helps me cope, the screaming does.

“Can I do anything to help?” jenny asked. Targon looked at her.

“your feet are very similar to mine,” she replied, “I need to push my feet against something. Would you sit opposite me in the tub and press your feet against mine?”

“Heels to heels, toes against toes?” Jenny asked.

“yes, please,” Targon replied, “but when I push against your feet with mine, push back as hard as you can jenny.”

“I could try,” Jenny replied, “but what would that do for you?”

“it would help me I think,” Targon replied, “but you really must push hard back against me jenny. Push my feet with yours please?”

“I don’t know what help I will be,” jenny said, getting into the tub opposite the she bear. Jenny found that she had to bend her legs to get her feet into the position where she could touch heel to heel, and toes to toes with Targon. Both bear and human ending up reclining slightly with legs drawn up, jenny’s feet pressed against Targon’s.

“Are you comfortable?” Ekaterina asked.

“I want to push, now!” Targon yelled, bracing her feet against Jenny’s, the human feeling the she bear’s pads pressing against her toes, her own toes and heels pressing hard against the bear’s rough pads. Jenny realised her feet were slightly smaller than Targon’s, her toes only reaching to the bottoms of Targon’s toe pads when relaxed.

“Push against me Jenny, push my feet with yours!” Targon begged, jenny closing her eyes and bracing her feet against the she bears, her leg muscles bulging as she pushed hard back against Targon’s feet, Targon’s own leg muscles bulging as she repelled the young girl’s feet with hers.

“oooah,” Targon panted, “Jenny, when you pushed then, you were pressing your toes into the balls of my feet. That felt great!” jenny grinned.

“Just like mama Anook pressed the balls of her feet with her paws,” jenny panted, “I’ll do it again if you like, my toes seem to fit well into the space between the balls of your feet and toe pads. I can curl my toes a little, and push a bit like I did a minute back.”

“You almost held my feet with your toes,” Targon panted.

“I suppose I did,” jenny replied.

“your toes digging into the soft skin on the balls of my hind feet felt great jenny,” Targon said, “the effort to push my feet against yours made me forget my inner pain. I’ll have to do a lot of this, for every contraction is extra painful even though I’m just in early labour. I’ll have to concentrate on my feet and only the feel of your feet on mine when a contraction builds, then push through it, but push through my feet, not my bottom, until the time is right.”

“maybe our feet will stick together so firmly, we’ll have to pry them free, like the stuck foot game,” jenny said. Targon grinned.

“Maybe,” she panted, “now jenny, push with your heels and toes, push hard, hard, really hard against my feet with yours, push jenny, dig those toes in and Push!” jenny braced her feet hard against the she bear’s, gripping the balls of the she bear’s feet with her toes, while bracing her heels against Targon’s heels, While Targon wriggled, and then pushed back strongly. Jenny closed her eyes in concentration, but held her own, her feet supporting the she bear’s, the she bear’s feet supporting hers.

“that’s it, that’s it!” little Targon gasped as her contraction eased, “that’s wonderful jenny, Thanks. Targon curled her toes around jenny’s, the young girl smiling.

“Am I really helping?” she asked.

“yes you are,” Targon replied, “if you notice, I’m not screaming now, the pain is just as bad, but I’m able to focus my mind on what your heels and toes are telling me. You are putting pressure on parts of my foot with your toes that help me to cope.”

“is she going to have her cubs soon?” Sooleawa wailed.

“no,” Hope replied, “Targon’s in first stage labour. She’s, well, very sensitive to pain that’s why it sounds like second stage. When she’s really pushing she’ll be screaming her head off more than this.”

“I want no drug type pain relief,” Targon said, “I’ll use pressure on my paws and feet from hands, fingers, toes or paws.”

“is it time for me to push your feet with my toes?” Jenny asked. Targon wriggled, slapping the water with her paws.

“yes, ow yes!” she wailed, “Push Jenny, Push against my feet, dig those toes in!” jenny pushed hard, groaning with effort, just like the mama bear groaned in pain.”

“Oaoaoaoaow!” Targon screamed, curling her toes tightly, jenny feeling her toes fiercely gripped by the she bear’s.

“I’ve relieved myself already,” Targon said, “but it feels like I need to do it again!” she struggled from the tub, squatted and bore down with another contraction.

“Auoaoaoaoaoaoaurgh! Hooaoaoaoaoaoaoaoaoaooaw!” Targon screamed, bouncing on her toes, then “Huuuuuuuuuuuuawumph!” she yelled as the waters broke while she strained hard with her contractions.

“This is all tight, it hurts!” the mama bear yelled, “it’s like I want to defecate, but I can’t!”

“That’s transition,” Ekaterina said, “mama, can I examine you?” Targon squatted miserably, while Ekaterina lubricated her paw and inserted it gently, the labouring she bear groaning with discomfort.

“The cub’s head is engaging,” Ekaterina said, withdrawing and washing her paw, “you’re doing well Targon.” Targon struggled back into the tub, a contraction making her close her eyes and grind her teeth.

“Want me to massage your foot?” jenny asked. Targon, breathing heavily, grunted that she would like her to. Jenny took the she bear’s right foot in her paws and began to massage it, Targon pressing her toes into jenny’s hands. Sally padded in, saw jenny and smiled at her:

“You were in the year below me and peter,” she said.

“I was, and still am,” Jenny replied, “now though, I have my hands full of a mama bear in labour.”

“I know how she feels,” Sally said. jenny, smiling as Targon moaned deeply, then curled her toes tightly and pressed her foot into her hands, replied:

“Maybe you can help her deliver her cubs near the end of things. Right now, she’s just suffering through the first stage I think.” Targon roared, and pushed hard into her tail, jenny feeling the mama bear tear her foot away from her and then splashing water as she got to her feet and squatted. Resting her paws on the side of the tub, Targon panted, then, heaving, Targon strained into her tail. Jenny got hands on with Targon’s hind legs and feet, feeling the she bear bouncing on her toes, the bear’s foot landing full on her hand at one point as she rested during spells of bouncing during contractions. Jenny heard Targon moaning, then she closed her mouth and pushed down hard, jenny hearing the cub slide into the world, a sort of squelching sound as Targon pushed. Targon snarled angrily and heaved lustily.

“eeeeoeoeoeoaow! Aaaaaaaaaoaoaoow!” she wailed.

“your cub’s coming, it’s coming!” jenny encouraged, “Targon, push dear Targon, push!” Targon sobbed as she strained.

“I’m exhausted,” she panted, “I can’t push, I can’t push any more!” Jenny crouched in the tub, supporting Targon in her arms. Smiling, she braced her feet and imagined herself pushing against the cub. Targon moaned, wriggled, and gasped:

“Do that again Jenny, do that again!” Jenny braced her feet and imagined an even stronger effort.

“it’s working!” Sally yelled as Targon roared lustily, “Jenny, you’re helping Targon, push jenny push!” jenny smiled and imagined Targon pushing down hard, feeling her own toes gripping the non slip bottom of the tub, easily finding the gaps in the non slip surface and hanging on tight, her heel pads moulding themselves to the non slip surface.

“Keep pushing jenny!” Sally encouraged, mama Targon dropping to all fours and letting Jenny catch her emerging cub. Jenny sat down, curled her toes and pushed deeply with her imagination, feeling the cub coming with every effort she made, while Targon screamed and panted.

“Jenny’s pushing the cub into the world!” Sooleawa wailed, “I can’t watch this! Targon’s given up the struggle and jenny’s pushing the cub for her! Oh shit, shit shit!”

“It’ll be okay,” Jenny panted, “I can push, I want to push!” Targon, overcome, complained loudly with the pain of labour.

“Eeeeoeoeoeoaow! Oaoaoaoaoaow!” Then Jenny panted and whimpered:

“I wish I could hold my feet with my hands!”

“Get out of the tub and do what you want,” patch said, “Jenny, you are helping Targon now, “do what you feel you need to do to help her have her cub. She’s in a position to deliver the cub into the water, Sally, you get in and catch the cub, But Jenny, get out and get into a position you want to, squatting, or lying on your back with your feet in your hands, or sitting holding your feet in your hands.” Jenny got out of the tub and sat down on the floor, pressing the heel of her right foot with her fingers. Feeling her stomach tighten, she imagined mama Targon pushing down hard, Targon screaming and gasping, jenny imagining the mama bear bearing down hard into her bottom.

“Nearly there Jenny, push!” Sally encouraged, Jenny smiling and rolling onto her back and drawing up her legs, grabbing her damp feet in her hands and holding on tightly.

“Oaoaoaoaoaow!” she wailed as she got into her roll, digging her fingers into her heel pads, the sides of both feet pressed together, her toes curled tightly. , “Eeeeoeoeoeoaow!” she screamed as she let go of her feet and kicked forwards with both legs, splaying them desperately. Targon splayed her legs and the cub shot into the open, Sally catching it.

“umph, oooumph!” jenny gasped, feeling the goings on inside Targon as if happening inside herself.

“yuauauh!” Jenny roared as she felt a need to push once more. Sitting up, then wriggling, and with closed eyes, clenched teeth, curled body, her fingers digging into the soles of her feet and curled toes, Jenny imagined Targon giving one last tremendous Push, hearing Targon yell as the cub slipped free of her.

“Done it!” jenny gasped.

“You have,” patch replied. Sally washed Targon’s cub and examined it. It was male, and quite small.

“The way she was yelling and roaring, I would have expected her to give birth to a huge cub,” Nuru remarked, padding into the lie up on one of his regular internal patrols of the house.

“I am glad the cub was small,” jenny said.

“I am too!” Targon replied, “that was hard work, really hard work!”

“You hardly pushed you lazy fleabag!” Sita snapped.

“I tried, I really tried!” little Targon wailed.

“We all tried Sita, and we succeeded too,” Jenny said.

“You did,” Sita growled, “Targon didn’t.”

“I wanted to Sita,” jenny replied, “I wanted to help Targon if I could, and I could help her. I saw a midwife helping a mama have her baby once, she used long things to pull the baby out. This was like that, but, well, without the long things. I pushed where Targon couldn’t.”

“it was like me!” Sooleawa screamed, “the cub was stuck, and instead of Ekaterina getting her paw in, jenny pushed to free the cub! I told you this was not good! I told you it would end in near disaster!”

“shut up Sooleawa!” Nuru yelled, running to her and whacking her with his paw. Sooleawa ran from the room, glad to get out, even though Nuru chased her from the room, growling and roaring.

“oops,” Targon said, sitting down outside the tub to feed her cub.

“You did well Targon, and you jenny,” Ekaterina said.

“it felt wonderful to help,” jenny said, massaging the toes of her right foot, then pressing the ball, heel and sole of her foot with her fingers.

“I’ll bet your toes ache now,” patch said to jenny, sitting down beside her. jenny laughed.

“yes they do a bit,” she replied.

“What would have happened if noone helped Targon?” Zane asked.

“what use is a question like that?” Sally asked, “Targon was helped. She got physical and emotional help to deliver her cub.”

“I could feel what Targon felt,” jenny said, “though I was not afraid to push, and push I did, well, push my feet against my hands, and that effort helped mama Targon.”

“Thank you jenny,” Targon said.

“I will remember this day forever,” jenny said.

“I remember the day I helped Kuaizi into the world,” Sally said, “that was amazing jenny.”

“did your hands and feet become damp with effort?” jenny asked.

“They did,” Sally replied, “and my legs worked like yours did too. as for my toes? they curled so tightly they ached for hours afterwards.”

“I need to straighten out these toes,” jenny said, massaging the ball and sole of her right foot, her toes curled, her fingers digging into the furrowed skin of the sole of her foot.

“These toes won’t uncurl,” Jenny said smiling, “I think they’re permanently curled now!” Sally sat down opposite Jenny and took the girl’s right foot in her hands, working at Jenny’s curled toes until she relaxed them.

“Thanks,” Jenny said, giving Sally her left foot.

“Working on your feet feels great to me,” Sally said.

“who was with you when you gave birth to Kuaizi?” jenny asked, stretching the toes of her left foot.

“Hope was,” Sally replied, “all that started with us tickling each other’s toes, and we got talking about the births of cubs, and I re-enacted one, which became real, very real.”

“your feet and mine might be very similar in size,” Jenny said, “can we measure feet Sally?” she asked.

“yes,” Sally replied, pressing her feet against jenny’s, the legs of both girls slightly bent, making an arch between them, their heels at the apex of the arch created by their legs.

“We are heel to heel and toe to toe!” jenny laughed. Sally pressed her toes against jenny’s, jenny pressing back enthusiastically. Sliding her feet slightly down Sally’s, jenny pressed her toes into the balls of Sally’s feet, Sally curling her toes around jenny’s. Sally relaxed her toes, and Jenny curled the toes of her right foot slightly, then drew them down Sally’s foot from ball to heel, Sally giggling with delight.

“that feels great!” Sally said, still holding onto the toes of jenny’s left foot with those of her own right.

“Foot play is great!” Sally laughed.

“it is,” Jenny replied.

“your pads are soft and warm Sally,” jenny said. Sally smiled:

“Press your right foot against my left,” she said, then hold onto my toes with yours.” Jenny did, and Sally let go of her left foot, drawing her toes down the sole of jenny’s foot, jelly laughing and curling her toes. Withdrawing her foot, Jenny grabbed it in her hands and rubbed her tickled sole and heel.

“that tickled!” Jenny laughed.

“that was so cute!” Sally said, “the way you curled your toes, grabbed your foot and rubbed it was so sweet!” jenny giggled.

“childish?” she asked.

“yes,” Sally replied, “that too.”

“so I didn’t tickle your foot when I ran my toes down the sole of your foot Sally?” jenny asked.

“No, not like I tickled yours,” Sally replied, “though it did tickle a little.”

“I’m not so good at this touch thing yet,” jenny said, “but it will come I’m sure. Sally, did you want to tickle my foot?”

“I did, a little,” Sally replied.

“Good,” Jenny replied smiling, “it felt great!”

“Your pads are soft and warm, and your toes looked cute when they curled,” Sally said, jenny laughing merrily.

“what would others think of our play?” Jenny asked.

“We’re being watched all the time here, and noone’s complaining,” Sally replied, “truth is, they’re probably loving every minute of our play.”

“I never knew my hands and feet could be so entertaining,” jenny said, Sally laughing merrily.

“I realised that quite soon after I came here,” she replied..

“I think I’ll like it here,” Jenny replied.

“now can we play the stuck foot game?” jenny asked, pressing her feet hard against Sally’s.

“your feet are pressed against mine, so let’s see if our heels and toes are stuck shall we?” Sally asked. jenny reached forward and tugged at the heel of her right foot with her hands, Sally tugging at the heel of her own right foot.

“yes my right foot is stuck!” jenny said.

“so’s mine!” Sally exclaimed. She felt her way around her right foot, testing with her fingers, jenny doing the same to her own right foot.

“We’re firmly stuck!” jenny exclaimed, “let’s try exploring feet that are stuck to each other. You tug at your left, I’ll tug at my right foot.” Sally did so, tugging at her left heel, Jenny tugging at her own right heel, finding they were well and truly stuck together.

“It’s going to take some pulling and easing of fingers into tight spots to free our feet,” Sally said.

“We’ll have to work together,” Jenny replied, “if our fingers fall out of the gap we’ve made, it’s back to square one isn’t it.”

“yes,” Sally replied, “with extra glue too!”

“Great!” Jenny replied smiling, “let’s play!”

“First though, we should have checked each other’s feet for thorns,” Sally replied, “but, well, my feet are too stuck to yours now.”

“Mine yours too,” Jenny replied grinning.

“I’ll pull at the heel of my left foot, if you work your fingers into the gap above the heel pads of my left foot and your right,” Sally said, “Jenny, can you feel the gap?” Jenny explored with the fingers of her left hand, exploring the inside of her own right foot, and Sally’s left.

“yes, got it, now let’s see if I can work my fingers in there,” Jenny replied, easing her fingers gently into the gap.

“now press down as I pull,” Sally said. jenny dug her fingers into the gap formed by the arches of their pressed feet, feeling soft skin beneath her fingers. Slowly, she felt her fingers exploring more and more of her exposed heel pad, as Sally pulled at her own heel. Burrowing with her fingers, jenny concentrated on the feel of more and more of her heel pad beneath her fingers, the sensation warm and pads soft.

“Pull Sally pull!” jenny gasped, digging with her fingers. Sally pulled, her heel coming away from jenny’s with a rush, leaving the ball of her foot and her toes pressed against Jennies. Jenny grabbed her toes and tore them free of Sally’s. Sally grabbing her own foot in her hands and massaging her toes and heel.

“it worked!” Sally said.

“it did, and felt great,” Jenny replied.

“My foot is warm and my toes keep curling!” Sally laughed. Jenny sat back a little and explored her own right foot, feeling her own toes curling at her touch.

“My toes want to curl as tightly as they did when I was pushing against Targon’s cub!” jenny exclaimed, “oooah, I can’t stop them, eeeeoeoeoeoaow!” Sally watched jenny curling her toes a little, then relaxing them, then curling them tighter and tighter. She relaxed them for a second or so. Whimpering, jenny suddenly curled her toes really tight.

“eeeeoeoeoeoaow!” she yowled, eeeeoeoeoeoaow, eeeeeoaw,” then panting, she took hold of her foot in both hands and pressed the bunching skin on the sole of her foot. wriggling a little, jenny let go with a scream:

“hauauauauauaoaoaow!” Sally all the while watched her friend’s struggles with her toes, knowing how she felt.

“My toes went into overdrive after Kuwaizi’s birth,” Sally said, watching jenny rubbing the sole of her foot with her fingers as her toes remained curled until they ached.

“My toes are curling as tightly as they did earlier!” Jenny said, curling them a little tighter still, as if addicted to the struggle to curl her toes as tightly as her body would allow her. Sally touched the toes of jenny’s left foot, Jenny curling them tightly under her touch.

“curl those toes jenny, curl them tight, go on!” Sally encouraged, jenny curling her toes the best she could.

“Can I ask you to do the same?” jenny asked.

“You can, and I will!” Sally replied, “we can have a contest to see who can curl their toes tightest.”

“sounds good, okay, here goes!” jenny gasped, “my left foot first, then my right, then your left and your right foot, okay?” Sally smiled.

“Let’s do that,” she replied. Jenny settled her left foot comfortably, then relaxed her toes. smiling, she curled them slightly, then more tightly, and tighter still, the skin bunching on the sole of her foot. Sally watched jenny gripping her heel with her fingers as she tried to curl her toes as tightly as possible.

“Okay, try your other foot,” Sally said, jenny relaxing the toes of her left foot, and then curling the toes of her right, and they curled tighter than those of her left.

“Hold your heel like you did, then curl your toes again,” Sally suggested. Jenny tried, but couldn’t curl her toes any tighter.

“Now for my turn,” Sally said. Gripping the heel of her left foot with both hands, she curled her toes, and managed to curl them tighter than jenny had hers.

“I suppose your toes are used to curling with emotions and things, so they are stronger and more flexible,” jenny said, touching Sally’s toes as she curled them. Sally giggled.

“Probably,” Sally replied.

“You two look so contented,” Patch said, padding up to Sally and jenny.

“We learnt our play from the best at it,” Sally said, “mind you, we have to free our feet again, as it is still the case that my right foot, and jenny’s left are still stuck together, as we broke off our stuck foot game half way through.”

“Indeed,” patch replied, “you must properly finish the stuck foot game.”

“Though I think my cub like left foot is covered with my adult foot,” Jenny said, “how do I remove that?”

“pretend you are rolling off a sock,” patch replied, “but don’t be surprised if the sock is a bit hard to get off. You could try curling and stretching your toes a little to ease your adult foot off your younger one.” Jenny laughed delightedly and grabbed her left foot in her hands, pretending she was rolling a sock off her foot. she tugged at her foot a little as the imagined sock caught on her heel, then she began to wiggle her toes, then curl and stretch them as she fought hands and foot with a suddenly clingy sock. Pulling her foot back and fourth through her hands, Jenny struggled with her imagined sock, getting it bunched around the ball and toes of her left foot. then she dug her fingers into the ball of her foot, thumbs into the top by her toes and pushed at her foot, as if removing the bunched sock. Patch and Sally saw her suddenly grab her toes and tug, as if the sock was stuck. Twice jenny tugged at her toes, then grunting, she threw the imagined sock away, and settled down to massaging her now exposed young foot from toes to heel.

“You really enjoyed that didn’t you,” Sally said. jenny smiled:

“I did,” she replied, “it’s amazing how strongly my older foot was stuck to my younger one.”

“You will often have older feet covering your young ones,” patch said, “so removal of your adult feet to allow your cub feet to be touched by others is a regular thing.” Sally laughed at Patch’s serious expression.

“You silly Bruin,” she said, Patch snorting with disgust.

“I’ve fought to keep my adult paws and feet young all my life!” he whimpered.

“I know Patch,” Sally said.

“your paw and foot play is funny patch,” jenny said.

“You play convincingly too,” Patch replied, “your foot was stuck to Sally’s wasn’t it.” Sally giggled:

“yes it was,” she replied, “come on jenny, admit it.”

“yes it was,” jenny replied.

“your left foot will be stuck to mine more firmly than ever if we get into the game,” Sally replied.

“I want it to,” jenny said, “my feet liked working with me to bring little Targon’s cub into the world, and now they can help me by getting well stuck to your feet too.”

“We fought for half an hour to free your right foot from my left, now it’s time for me to free my right foot from your left jenny,” Sally said. jenny smiled:

“but I will always remember the way my toes pressed into the balls of mama Targon’s feet and soothed her,” jenny replied, “that felt great.”

“It did,” little Targon said, padding over with her cub in her paws and settling it in Jenny’s lap, jenny’s face lighting up as she felt the warm bundle of fur snuggling close to her.

“Oh mama Targon!” Jenny said, gently exploring the cub in her lap with her hands, “are you sure you want me to touch him?”

“I am,” Little Targon said, “you helped me push him into the world after all.”

“I didn’t push like you did though,” Jenny said.

“You gave me the will to push, and push I did,” Targon replied, “you told me how to push, to push with all that I had.”

“So it was a team effort,” Sally said.

“yes,” Targon replied, “I wanted to push and didn’t know if I could, and jenny told me I could, so I did.”

“Hey little one, there’s no milk here!” Jenny laughed as Little Targon’s cub sucked at her fingers.

“I think your cub’s hungry again Targon,” jenny said. Little Targon took her cub from jenny, and Jenny felt her toes curl with emotion.

“So cute,” Targon said.

“yes your cub is,” jenny replied. Targon laughed:

“No, not him, you,” she said, “or more specifically your toes, curling with emotion like they did, I saw them.” Jenny laughed merrily.

“yes they are curled, and with emotion too,” she replied, exploring her toes with her hands, feeling their curled condition.

“Your toes are very expressive,” Patch said, smiling at Jenny and Sally.

“Patch will be telling Ekaterina of how we play jenny,” Sally said, “he and she will be re-enacting what we do. That’s how he shows her you know, he re-enacts what he sees for her.”

“You mean he acts out what we do?” Jenny asked.

“Yes I do,” patch replied, “I explain what happened, and get Ekaterina to play the other player . We draw lots as to who plays who in a round of the stuck foot game.”

“I love that thought,” Sally said, “toss a coin for who plays my part and who plays yours jenny.”

“I love re-enacting things for Ekaterina,” Patch said.

“it has been told of,” Sally said, “from re-enacting the births of cubs, to acting like the cubs themselves.”

“His pads stick to those of other bears and humans really well,” Sally said, “patch and Peter often play, indeed, it was Patch who lifted the lid on peter’s inhibitions, letting them flow away from him, now he can play like me.”

“What games do you and he play?” jenny asked.

“Oh, toe tickling games, the stuck foot game, the toe curling game, that sort of thing.”

“Cats play with balls of string and that sort of thing, we bears and humans play with paws and feet,” jenny said.

“you wouldn’t catch Nuru playing with a ball of string,” patch said.

“I’ll bet he would if he found one,” Sally replied.

“he wouldn’t do anything so undignified would he?” Zane asked, “A lion playing with a ball of string? That’s just, well, so cubbish it’s unreal.”

“Um, no it’s not,” Tess said padding into the room, “could someone please come free Nuru?”

“You’re joking!” Zane laughed, “you’re joking Tess?”

“Um, no,” Tess replied, “Nuru’s got his paws tied by a string he and our cubs were playing with. Now he’s tied up with it, but he won’t let the cubs go for help, he hasn’t’ even told me, I just saw it on the camera, he’s been like that for ages now! I don’t know why he doesn’t free himself by biting through the string!”

“That’s because it’s binder twine,” Patch said, looking at the screen, “it would hurt his mouth. Stupid lion!”

“I’ll go,” Sally said, “I can get a good set of cutters that will free him in no time. Where did he find the string anyway?”

“the cubs found it in the woods. They said it was just lying about.” Tess replied.

Sally went to the store and got a pair of wire cutters, then she found her way to Nuru’s lie up, where she found the lion very angry and growling with frustration.

“those bloody cubs!” he snarled, “they were watching some movie on the TV box thing, about some lion who’d got tangled up in string and dumped on a table for some reason or other, and they thought they’d do the same while I was asleep! Now I’m tied up here!”

“oh dear Aslan, I mean Nuru,” Sally replied, Nuru snarling at her slip.

“yes that was the lion’s name,” he replied, “now though, I’m stuck here! Have been for ages, and I’m desperate for a piss!” Sally, giggling, freed Nuru, the lion racing off to his relieving place, his sigh of relief loud and eloquent.

“Oh dear, oh dear!” Sally laughed, sitting down, “Nuru, you did look very like the lion in the film!”

“I’ll bet he wasn’t desperate for a piss!” Nuru roared.

“I don’t know,” Sally laughed, “but Nuru, dear Nuru, you looked so cute there! all lost and forlorn.”

“””I’m bloody angry!” Nuru yelled, “now I’ll find those cubs and tear their paws off!”

“Who was it?” Sally asked.

“Apudo and her brothers!” Nuru roared, “those three, I’ll skin them!”

“You touch a hair on them, I’ll break your paws!” Aslan roared, running in and tackling Nuru, who’d just come from the relieving place.

“I didn’t mean it, not really!” Nuru yowled as he was thrown onto his back and left lying with all four huge paws in the air.

“now I’m leader!” Aslan roared into Nuru’s face, the huge lion whimpering with unmistakable fear.

“Oh dear,” Sally said, “I suppose you are Aslan, if you can throw big Nuru onto his back like that.”

“I can, and did, for all to see too.” Aslan replied, “he’s a big softy really, and, well, I don’t want to be leader, but I would rather the pride knew what sort of leader they had in Nuru, that is all.” Nuru mewed like a cub, his paws and feet still sticking skywards.

“Oh dear,” Nuru moaned.

“You do have cute paws and feet, if that’s any consolation,” Sally said. Nuru sighed deeply, his misery complete.

“Nothing about my splendid mane or my stature, just my paws?” Nuru whimpered.

“Um, Nuru,” Sally said, “your mane is gone! A bear snipped that off with scissors. You can blame Wihakayda for that.”

What?” Nuru roared, leaping to his feet and staring at Sally, “you’re not serious? You can’t be serious!”

“I am!” Sally said, beginning to giggle, “they watched the film, and made you as the lion in it when he was on the table.” Nuru’s roar of rage shook the floor!

“I’ll skin them for sure now!” he screamed.

“No you won’t,” patch replied, padding into the room, his eyes shining, “oh, Nuru, did anyone tell you how lioness like you now look?” Nuru, roaring with rage, turned to attack Patch, but the look in the bear’s eyes made him pause.

“you really do look good without your mane,” patch said. Indeed, I’d take it right back to the length of your neck fur.”

“You impertinent bruin!” Nuru roared, but even he could hear his own heart wasn’t in his bluster, for he saw himself on the screen then, Sally having turned the camera view to live feed.

“I’m a lioness!” Nuru wailed.

“if all that defines you as lion is a huge mane, there’s not much to your personality,” patch replied. Nuru snorted:

“But it is my adornment, my maleness!” Nuru yelled.

“it’s just hair,” patch replied.

“Why did Aslan tip me onto my back?” Nuru asked.

“Because he wanted to show you what a lion without a mane could do,” Aslan replied, padding into the room.

“What?” Nuru asked, staring at Aslan, “you have no mane! I mean, oh dear,,,”

“I don’t,” Aslan replied, “it all fell out. Now I am without my mane.”

“Why?” Nuru asked.

“it’s these drugs I’m taking,” Aslan said, “they, well, I, Nuru, I’m not going to live long now, the vet said, well, he said I’d got some thing inside me, some thing that will kill me soon. He was surprised I was able to sire the cubs I did, now though, I will sire no more cubs.”

“Oh Aslan,” was all Nuru could say, staring at the lion whom he’d grown to like a lot.

“Petra knows, and so does Theo, they’re both very upset,” Aslan replied, “I tried to keep it from them, but when they noticed my mane gone, and other hair thinning too, I had to tell them.”

“What will you do, I mean, when it all gets too much?” Nuru asked.

“I’ve got it all worked out,” Aslan replied. I’ve spoken to Patch about it too. he will help me go when I think the time is right.”

“You mean, help you to die?” Nuru asked, his voice a croak.

“yes,” Aslan replied, “the end will be painful, from what I’ve been told. I don’t want that. Right now I’m on drugs to combat the thing, but if they don’t work,,,”

“you’re telling me they haven’t worked aren’t you,” Nuru said.

“yes Nuru I am,” Aslan replied, “it was patch who helped me throw you onto your back, I couldn’t do it alone, not now.” Aslan looked very sad, his eyes staring inwards for a minute, then he recovered his composure.

“now I’ve told my leader, I’ll go,” he said firmly.

“No Aslan, stay a minute,” Nuru said, padding to him and hugging him, feeling the white lion’s body trembling.

“You can hardly stand on your feet can you,” Nuru said softly. Aslan said nothing.

“how much of this is driven by patch?” Nuru asked, sensing the extent of Aslan’s physical frailty.

“I can’t do much now,” Aslan said, “it was all I could do to come here, to do the round of the pride. Now I’m finished here.” Nuru looked down, unable to meet the white lion’s weary eyes. Seeing his huge paws, Aslan’s legs looking even more stick like than usual, Nuru kissed his left paw.

“I remember mama Petra telling me my hind feet got stuck on my way into the world,” Aslan said, “now look at them, one little push and she’d deliver me no trouble.”

“yes,” Nuru replied, “she said she screamed and roared throughout your birth. Now she will scream and roar again, but in grief for her cub.”

“I know that,” Aslan replied, “and I ran from the sound, for I cannot bear it. Theo was distraught too, he,” Aslan hesitated, “I’ve never seen him cry before, but he did, like a cub too. mamas are meant to do that, but Theo’s distress upset me most.”

“he used to do my job,” Patch replied, “that is part of his anguish I think.”

“I told them both to let me go alone,” Aslan said.

“So you’re off now, to, to, to the bridge?” Nuru asked.

“yes, now, now I’ve told you my leader, I will go,” Aslan replied. With that he turned and left with patch.

“go in peace,” Nuru whispered. Bowing his head, he wept like a cub.

Patch led Aslan into the woodlands, where he guided the white lion to the clearing in the midst of closely gathered trees.

“Settle down here Aslan,” Patch said, sensing the white lion’s exhaustion.

“Who will come to take me over the bridge?” Aslan asked.

“You will know him when you see him,” patch replied, “rest now Aslan, and let your mind wander.” Aslan lay down on the grass, and Patch smiled as a white lion padded across the grass towards Aslan. Smiling, he helped Aslan to his feet, and both ran into the woodlands, bounding away from patch and disappearing into the trees.

“he’s gone,” Petra said, padding up to Aslan’s body and touching it with her nose.

“I saw Ancient Simba lead him over the bridge Petra,” Patch replied. Petra looked into Patch’s face.

“I know he didn’t want me here,” she said, “I couldn’t stay away though, I gave screaming birth to him patch!”

“His passing wasn’t painful Petra,” Patch said, “he embraced the call to go over the bridge.”

“What do you see Patch?” Petra asked, “I was abused by the spirits, so I see nothing much now, as they don’t want time to see much.”

“I can see all that have passed from this world and gone over the bridge,” Patch replied, “you could say I live in two worlds, the world that is here, and the world that is over the bridge.”

“I roared as I pushed against his paws and feet you know,” Petra said, “Aslan hurt me on his way into the world,,,” Patch looked at the white lioness.

“and you would go through hell to bring him back?” he asked.

“I would,” Petra replied, “he died before his time Patch!”

“Aslan could come back over the bridge in time, if you and he are agreeable to it,” patch replied, “though it will be hellish Petra, you will labour for days, straining lustily and screaming and roaring yourself hoarse. You will feel every bump in the road, every pad, every toe, every paw, every leg, his head and his shoulders, and his hips, and his hind feet, and everything.”

“I like that kind of birth,” Petra replied, “and I would do it, not only for him, but for his mate and her cubs, as well as myself.”

“If he wants to come back, he can,” Patch replied, “I know his illness took him from his cubs, mate and family.”

“why did he keep it quiet until he was dying?” Petra asked, “Patch, why did Aslan keep it from us?”

“he thought he could work through it,” patch replied, “it was when he was dying that he realised he could not.”

“Independent Aslan,” Petra replied, “but that independence left me and Theo bereft.”

“In time, I’ll help you to reunite with Aslan,” Patch said. he looked at Petra, her large body and thick legs, with big paws and hind feet.

“I would do anything,” Petra mewed, “hours of light labour, then screaming labour, then hard pushing, right down, right down into my tail, toes curled, legs kicking, and mouth screaming. Then roaring and puffing, then yowling and growling, until I have to pant heavily and cry as his body emerges, my legs kicking, toes curled, clawing and scrabbling at the air, sweat flying off my paws and fur.”

“I know Petra,” Patch said, “I’ll help you, and Aslan too.”

“When though?” Aslan said, sidling up to Patch, “I went before my time, you know that, and so does mum.”

“I’ll help her to bring you back,” Patch said, “but it will hurt her Aslan.”

“We both know that,” Aslan said.

“You could feel some of the pain yourself,” Patch said, “cubs are usually anesthetised to it, but I could make it so you could feel, when your nose is cleared, and you can breathe, you can feel your mama pushing and straining.”

“Feel the crush you mean?” Aslan asked.

“yes,” Patch replied.

“So I will curl my toes and scream like my mama?” Aslan asked.

“if you feel that way yes,” Patch replied.

“Imvula told me straining against Apudo hurt her more than me mating with her,” Aslan replied, “she pushed so hard, so deep into her tail. She told me she thought her efforts would turn herself inside out, but she could not overcome the urge to push that way.”

Imvula, lying in her den, wept as she remembered Aslan leaving her for the last time. She remembered delivering his cubs, the horrendous pain and efforts, but she knew she’d go through it all again if she could have her mate back. Imvula braced her feet against the floor and heaved deeply into her tail. The first effort did little, but her second made her gasp and moan as her muscles worked. Growling, she curled her toes with discomfort, remembering her efforts and the labour pains.

“I would help Aslan into the world if I could,” Imvula thought.

Petra lay in her lie up later that day, her body and mind numb with shock. She knew what she must do, she knew it would be a struggle to bring Aslan back into the physical world, could she do it? Could she push hard enough to bring him back?

“I will moan in pain, cry like a cub, scream like a mama in labour, roar lustily, and strain until I nearly turn myself inside out. I will cry, I will moan and scream, and curl my toes so tightly they become frozen like that from hours and hours of constant effort and expression of agonising pain. My toes will curl at the beginning of my labour, and remain curled almost constantly until Aslan is born. My paws and feet will pedal at the air, and I will scream and roar my pain and effort. My eyes will close and I will clench my teeth and breathe through my nose as I push hard down into my tail, opening my mouth to scream and roar at the end of each desperate heaving effort, then to paw the air with my paws and pedal at it with my feet, then to wriggle madly, before my body is stilled, as I give myself up to my muscles tensing to push again, and I dedicate myself to another straining, heaving, sweating, roaring, screaming effort, straining down harder than before, as hard as I can, sweat flying from my fur, tears streaming down my face and flying off my whiskers as I cry and yowl in pain. I’ll then grunt with effort as I obey my urge to push, and then pant, pant, pant, pant as I feel my cub sliding into the world, complaining ooooooooaoh, as he stretches me to my utmost.” Petra wriggled with the emotion of her thoughts, her paws gripping the rugs, her tail lashing with expectation of the coming struggle for her cub.

“This is going to hurt, it’s going to be hard work for me, just as Kuruk’s delivery of faith into the world was hard work for him,” Petra thought. She rolled onto her back, watching her forepaws and the toes of her hind feet on the screen, the camera filming her. wiggling her toes, Petra watched her pads, then curling her toes, she watched as her pads bunched as she curled her toes tighter and tighter.

“You have beautiful paws and feet Petra,” Petra thought.

Meanwhile, in little Targon’s lie up, she and Hope fed their cubs and compared labour experiences.

“I felt fear and terror,” Hope admitted. Little Targon touched Hope’s paw.

“How awful,” she replied, “I didn’t feel fear, just pain, labour pain and a concern that I would not be able to push hard enough to deliver my cub.”

“I’m too young to have a cub really,” Hope admitted, “I am not mature enough in body, and I can’t say about my mind.”

“but you got through it,” Little Targon replied, “and so did I, with the help of a good human.”

“jenny was lovely wasn’t she,” Hope said.

“She helped me with her hands and feet,” little Targon said, her toes curling with the memory.

“She helped me with her hands only,” Hope replied, “though, I’m sure her feet would have come in useful if I’d needed them too.”

“I braced my feet against hers, her toes pressing into the pads of my hind feet,” Little Targon said, “it soothed my pain the pressure did. Her toes soothed me Hope.”

“labour is a whole body thing,” Hope said, “ears listening, paws gripping, toes curling, mouth screaming, muscles pushing and straining, all that and more.”

“You sound like you enjoyed it,” Targon said.

“I sort of did when I learnt to control my pains and efforts,” Hope said, “or was it that Jenny controlled my pains, telling me to push, encouraging me to bear down without fear of the pain, or the sensations of the cub emerging. The cub emerging into the world hurt too, stretching me, making me pant and scream, roaring and yelling my cub into the world..”

“I know how it feels,” Targon said softly.

“At first I denied the pain, I thought it was something I’d eaten,” Hope said, “but a really big contraction made me reconsider things when I’d defecated in the house, and couldn’t defecate any more. It was then I went in search of Koda, to whom I am very close. I found him in Jenny’s house, and went up to the room to lie on the bed. I ended up having my cub there some hours later.”

“I’d like to have seen that,” Targon replied, “before, well, before I had my cub. it would, well, would have helped me to believe I could do it. That I could push, that everything would be okay.”

“I’ll show you the video,” Hope said, “jenny’s dad uploaded it earlier today.”

“I’d like to see it,” Targon said. Hope settled her cub down on the rugs, padded to the computer consol, and tapped at the keys with her paws. soon her own image came up on the screen, then she saw herself lying on the bed, clearly in pain.

“Here you go,” Hope said, Sitting back down. Targon watched open mouthed as Hope gave birth to her cub.

“You’re grabbing your feet in your paws Hope!” Targon said, “it’s amazing! Now, now you’re bouncing on your toes, pushing, pushing hard, so hard, screaming and crying, moaning as your cub comes into the world! Wow!” Hope smiled:

“I know,” Hope replied, I felt it.”

“That was beautiful Hope,” Targon said.

“I wasn’t trying to make a documentary, but yes, it was kind of intimate ,” Hope said. Jayden padded in, saw Hope and Targon with their two cubs, and stopped.

“Am I interrupting something?” he asked.

“No Jayden you’re not,” Hope said smiling at him.

“he has an interesting birth tale too, don’t you Jayden,” Targon said. Jayden sat down heavily, looking very upset.

“did I say something?”

“well apart from reminding me of the fact participating in my birth killed my sire, no,” Jayden replied.

“he wanted to be part of it,” Hope replied, “at least that’s what I remember the story being.”

“he did, and I’ve seen it, and he loved every minute of his union with mama Dorothy and his efforts to bring me into the world. But all I remember is the sire who tickled my paws and helped me run away from Dorothy when she wanted to feed me milk.”

“You didn’t like her milk?” Targon asked.

“It wasn’t that,” Jayden replied, staring at his toes, which were curling with emotion, “it was his mischievous nature, and mine too. it was quite funny to watch Dorothy lumbering after us as we fled. I know it’s wrong, but we always let her catch up.”

“Now that’s all finished,” hope said with genuine compassion.

“yeah,” Jayden replied, looking at her, “and it’s hard sometimes. One night Orbon was there, the next morning, well,,,” Jayden stopped, biting his bottom lip, his paws trembling.

“you could always go to Patch and ask him to play,” Hope said, “wasn’t he told that Sire Orbon wanted him to play with you?”

“yes, but I can’t ask,” Jayden replied, “it’s not fair on patch, he has so much on his paws, what with being Tornassuk and all. I can’t ask him.”

“So now I get to hear what’s been bothering you my half brother,” patch said softly, brushing Jayden’s ear with his nose.

“I thought you could see into other’s minds,” Jayden whimpered.

“Not if you block me,” Patch said, “and you have been. I have noticed you have been upset since Sire Orbon’s death, but you won’t let anyone in to help you.”

“I didn’t think there was anyone,” Jayden said.

“Well I’ll help you if you wish,” Patch said, touching Jayden’s paw with his.

“I know I’m well past drinking mama’s milk now,” Jayden said, “so that little rebellion can’t be tried any more.”

“come here,” Patch said, sitting down and beckoning with his paw. Jayden crawled into Patch’s lap and patch hugged him tightly.

“It’s like being hugged by my sire all over again,” Jayden said. patch smiled broadly.

“He told me to hug you and be a comfort to you,” Patch said, “and I will be as best comfort as I can be to you.”

“he gave you his paws and feet so you could comfort me with what I knew,” Jayden said, “How do I thank him?”

“You are now,” patch said, “I can communicate with Orbon over the bridge, and so can you.”

“Orbon was ready to go over the bridge wasn’t he,” Jayden replied.

“yes he was ready,” patch replied softly, “Jayden, as to Sire Orbon working with Dorothy to give birth to you, and whether that hastened his death, he wanted to help Dorothy, he wanted to push, to curl his toes and to feel your passage into the world.”

“I’ll bet he roared and yelled like mama did too,” Jayden replied.

“he did,” Patch said, “I know, I was there. I helped him and your mum to connect.”

“Thank you patch,” Jayden said. Patch kissed Jayden’s nose and paws, the quarter grown cub snuggling close.

“I like this,” Jayden said dreamily. Jayden clung to patch’s coat with paws and feet, his toes curling into patch’s thick fur.

“You have the most gorgeous face, paws and feet,” patch said to Jayden, who smiled sleepily.

“have you watched your sire helping you into the world?” Patch asked.

“No,” Jayden replied, “I couldn’t watch it.”

“I could re-enact it for you,” patch replied, “Orbon would like that.”

“I’ll think about it,” Jayden replied.

Meanwhile, in the pool complex, Ekaterina and Sita sat in the spar pool, pushing a ball to each other across the bubbling surface. Their toes and pads tickled by the water, Ekaterina and Sita waited for the cubs who were meant to join them in the spar pool, as the water coaster they’d meant to ride was out of action. One of the slides had developed a crack, and was unsafe to ride, closing the whole ride. Ekaterina left the pool, Sita following her.

“I’ve always wanted to see what the coaster is like without the boats,” Ekaterina said. Sita laid a cautionary paw on hers.

“but it’s bust,” she replied, “Ekaterina, it’s dangerous.”

“I won’t go sliding,” Ekaterina replied, “didn’t patch say it was the top slide that was damaged? We can go as far as that, but no further.”

“I don’t know,,,” Sita replied hesitantly, “I’m not so sure,,,”

“I’ll be okay,” Ekaterina replied, “I want to do something a little risky Sita. You remember when I went into the log flume canals, I knew the thing was turned off, but still, I went in there?”

“that was with patch wasn’t it?” Sita asked.

“No, there was another time,” Ekaterina replied, then she stopped suddenly.

“You aren’t going to the water coaster!” Sita snapped, feeling Ekaterina pull her paw from hers. Sita and Ekaterina fought there on the tiles, rolling over and over until they both fell in the spar pool.

“Now I’ll stop you!” Sita snarled, ducking Ekaterina, who suddenly lashed out with tremendous force. Ekaterina fought madly, more madly than she had on the bank, causing Sita to let her go, even when her head was clear of the water.

“I’m bleeding!” Sita yowled, touching her nose. Ekaterina, panting, coughing and crying, sat in the water.

“You bitch, you bitch!” Ekaterina roared, then she used disgusting language that shocked Sita.

“hey, now that is unfair!” Sita growled.

“I’ll duck you, see how you like it you bitch, you horrid bitch!” Ekaterina yelled, attacking and ducking Sita. Sita felt real hatred in Ekaterina’s attack, realising just in time, when her head was under the water, and had been for a minute or so that Ekaterina truly meant to kill her. throwing the she bear off with a strength she didn’t know she had, Sita pinned Ekaterina down, the she bear screaming and yelling at her. when Sita could collect her own thoughts, she tried to soothe Ekaterina.

“Ekaterina, Ekaterina stop!” Sita begged, “please, stop screaming, for eohippus sake! Come on! Calm down!”

“You tried to kill me!” Ekaterina sobbed.

“No Ekaterina,” Sita said, the thought making her feel so sick she nearly vomited, Ekaterina felt Sita’s upset, and tried to pull herself together.

“I only pulled you under for a moment,” Sita said, “Ekaterina, what the hell came over you? You wanted to kill me, and you dam near did it!”

“not you,” Ekaterina sobbed, “not you Sita, someone else, way back. I was attacked way back, and when my head went under, I felt I was going to die, like that time way back. I fought, fought to kill the threat.”

“You nearly did Ekaterina,” Sita said. Ekaterina felt Sita trembling, that trembling threatening to become a violent shaking of her whole frame.

“You dam near killed me,” Sita said, “Ekaterina, that coaster is dangerous, you can’t go up there, you just can’t!”

“I’m going as far as the slide, it’ll be blocked, bound to be,” Ekaterina replied. Sita, too weak to stop her, listened to Ekaterina’s paws padding away.

“I must stop her, but I’m half dead!” Sita thought, her own exhaustion catching up with her. dragging herself from the water, Sita lay on the tiles, giving herself up to the need to vomit the water she’d fought against earlier.

“I feel so ill!” Sita thought. Ekaterina, feeling reckless and adventurous, found her way to the embarkation station of the water coaster. Padding along the still full track, she found her way up the first lift hill, the conveyer belt springy under her paws and feet. Ekaterina found she could climb easily, the belt, made for gripping the rough undersides of the rafts, easily giving purchase to her own rough pads. Ekaterina tried to slide her right foot, but found she couldn’t. climbing was going to be easy. She found her way to the second lift hill, then onto the inside viewing portion of the ride, where the meandering easy river part of the ride was. She had been told that it was an all round view, down as well as left, right and above. Of course, she couldn’t see that, but she remembered riding that coaster when she could see with her eyes, and being too scared to look down. Ekaterina felt the plastic beneath her paws, the water around her feet as she waded. She could feel a slight downhill slope, then her nose touched something. It was a hard thing, getting to her hind feet, Ekaterina explored with her paws, finding a metal gate barring her way. Finding the latch, she undid it, and padded through, closing the gate behind her. She felt the downhill becoming steeper, and felt the need to dig her claws in to stop herself sliding. Ekaterina felt the tunnel narrow as she padded carefully along, then she felt her paw strike out into space. There was nothing in front of her, the floor dropped away. Ekaterina, now terrified, moaned with fear, realising she’d come too far. Panting, she tried to walk backwards, but the water wouldn’t allow that. Turning, she found she couldn’t turn through a full half circle, the tunnel was just too narrow, and her feet would keep slipping. Whimpering, she remembered the talk Patch had been given on the coaster, “extra slick floor and sides,” had the slide, to allow, “a superior ride,” so the brochure had said. Ekaterina knew she’d come too far. Worse still she knew about the drop, the drop into who knows where, onto who knew what hazard. Ekaterina thought of Sita’s warning, or had it been Sita’s warning? “You can’t go up there,” she’d said, but it was not her voice, not while she was giving that warning. Ekaterina thought of a video she’d once seen, a video of a cat, much like Sita, who’d slid down a slide that she was not meant to be sliding down. Ekaterina saw the cat’s toes curling nervously, gripping the slick floor of the entrance to a chute she was in imminent danger of sliding down.

“Oh god! Oh shit!” Ekaterina screamed as she felt her paws and feet slipping. Ekaterina slid down the slide, over the edge of the missing section and down, down she fell. Screaming, Ekaterina felt herself tumbling. She knew the crash must come soon, and it would hurt. Ekaterina landed hard in shallow water, her head striking something soft. Stunned, slightly winded and terrified, Ekaterina lay where she’d landed, her body numb and mind confused.

“Get off me Ekaterina,” Sita mumbled, “ow, my ribs hurt!”

“Where am I?” Ekaterina asked.

“in the shallow end of the big pool I think,” Sita mumbled, “I’m all wet, and, and, you’re lying on top of me, well almost.

“how did I end up here?” Ekaterina asked.

“Screaming, you fell on top of me,” Sita replied, “why you ran towards me screaming I don’t know, I was half asleep.”

“Not running, not running,” Ekaterina mumbled, “falling, I fell, a long way, a long long way.”

“surely not,” Sita replied, “there’s nothing to fall off here.”

“Falling through the air, screaming, crying like a cub, feeling sick with fear and terror,” Ekaterina mumbled, then turning her head to the side she was violently sick.

“That’s a bit extreme isn’t it?” Sita asked, as Ekaterina lost all control, defecating and urinating also.

“Oh shit, oh shit!” Ekaterina wailed as she remembered what caused her to nearly flatten Sita.

“What happened Ekaterina?” Sita asked.

“I can’t tell you,” Ekaterina mumbled.

“you obviously had a dreadful fright,” Sita said, pressing her communicator button and speaking to someone who could clear up the mess on the floor. Jess and Janet came with buckets and mops, a shovel and disinfectant.

“What happened Ekaterina?” Sita asked.

“I, Oh Fleur, I meant Sita,” for Ekaterina was sure she’d heard the voice of the cat whose image had filled her mind, the cat with desperately scrabbling paws and streaming tail as she disappeared down that other slide, had been speaking to her.

“What happened?” Sita asked.

“I went, went where I was not supposed to go,” Ekaterina replied, “I went to the slide. I fell down the slide, off it, into, into, into nothing, nothing, down and down, and down, until, until, until I hit something, landed on something, something soft. At least my head hit something soft, and broke that soft thing too,,,,” Ekaterina, overcome with sorrow as the full enormity of what she’d done and caused hit home, tried to hug Sita, but Sita, in too much pain from a cracked rib, stopped her, pushing her away.

“I’ll have to see the vet,” Sita gasped, but then she wailed in agony, Ekaterina’s world full of confusion and horrendous noise.

Ekaterina could hear people moving about, Sita was carried away, and she was left alone in silence. Ekaterina knew others must have seen her, but noone took any notice of her. she lay on the floor, forgotten and isolated. Misery overtook the she bear as she contemplated her own part in Sita’s hospitalisation.

“Ekaterina,” someone said, “Ekaterina, come with me please.” Ekaterina surfaced from a nightmare into hell. The voice she’d heard was Patch’s, she knew that, and it wasn’t a kind tone.

“Ekaterina,” the voice said again, “come with me please, or do I have to pick you up and carry you, for you will come with me, even if you do not want to.” Ekaterina felt patch roughly picking her up, he picked her up by the scruff of her neck, like a cub! But he couldn’t do that, could he? Ekaterina scanned her memory for her last image of patch, how big was he? How big was she? Could he pick her up like a cub? well he was certainly able to do it now, her paws and feet were hanging in space, and she felt numb, anesthetised like she’d not felt since mama Kamchatka had last carried her in her mouth when she was very young. Then Ekaterina heard Patch speaking to her by her ear, his mouth would not be by her ear, and his speech was clear, as it would not be if he had a mouthful of her fur. Someone else must be carrying her, and it must be mama Kamchatka, now Anook.

“You will come and touch what you did to my cub!” patch roared. Ekaterina’s mind raced.

“Your cub?” she wailed, “Sita isn’t, is, oh shit, oh no!” she wailed.

“You will realise what you did to my cub!” patch roared. Ekaterina realising she was not going to find her paws touching soft fur. Ekaterina was dumped hard onto the floor, and she was nudged to her own feet by a hind foot, yes it was a hind foot, not a paw. the foot pushed at her backside, the bear, for it was a bear, standing on his or her hind feet. Ekaterina got to her feet, and padded forward, until her forelegs bumped up against something, a low bed. Ekaterina didn’t have to ask who lay on that bed. Screaming, she tried to turn and run, but strong paws held her, turned her, and placed her own paws on the body on the bed.

“how?” Ekaterina asked.

“You went to a place she begged you not to go,” someone said, “not only she, but I begged you not to go. You fell from that place, and Sita, hearing you falling, screaming, threw herself into the path of that screaming.”

“Fleur?” Ekaterina asked, her eyes filling with tears.

“yes,” Fleur replied, “it is I. I tried to stop you before you went to that dangerous place.”

“I landed on Sita, and injured her, then killed her by hugging her,” Ekaterina whispered.

“You destroyed a gate to get to the slide Ekaterina,” Fleur’s spirit said, “that gate wasn’t opened easily, you destroyed it.”

“I opened it easily,” Ekaterina said.

“Do you want to be taken to the place?” Anook asked, “taken to see the damage to the gate, the bent gate that you forced. That gate was secure, was bolted to the floor! You bent it and forced it to get past it. You might not have felt like you did, but you did.”

“Why didn’t anyone stop me?” Ekaterina asked.

“You should have stopped yourself!” Patch roared, cuffing Ekaterina. Ekaterina hardly felt the blow, though she knew it had been a fierce one, her inner turmoil was worse than anything Patch could do. She knew Sita had done something Ekaterina herself could never do, and died doing it.

“I want to leave here now!” Ekaterina sobbed, “I want to go to the clearing, to apologise for being a stupid, thoughtless creature!”

“You are thoughtless,” patch said, “you lied to me, and then you put Sita in a position where, due to her own good nature, she has no choice but to throw herself in front of the agent of your own death.”

“Why didn’t you stop her!” Ekaterina yelled, “Patch, why didn’t you stop her from doing what she did!”

“I can’t stop anyone from doing what they do,” patch replied, “I can only re-enact the life which goes on.”

“So you know, oh god, god no!” Ekaterina squealed.

“I know,” Patch replied, “I know what you did, and how Sita felt, her frantic terror as she listened to your screams of terror as you fell, her prayers to the spirits that she’d got herself in the right area to break your fall, for she couldn’t see to catch you. her relief when you landed safely, and finally her pain and bewilderment as she felt the broken rib puncture her lung and her fear as she drowned in her own blood.”

“No Patch, no!” Ekaterina screamed, “I don’t want to hear it, I don’t want to hear it!”

“I could do worse!” Patch growled, “I could make you feel what Sita felt, do you want that Ekaterina? Does your reckless heart want that?”

“No patch, no!” Ekaterina begged, but she knew deep down, deep down her spirit would ask, and patch would answer that question, and she would feel, and it would be the worst nightmare she’d ever had. Ekaterina explored with her paws, exploring from Sita’s head, from her ears, to her face, to her shoulders, legs and paws. then down her body, to her hind legs, and long tail, the tail she knew would never again lash the air. Ekaterina stroked Sita’s shoulder, then rested her head on it and wept like a cub.

“You will leave here now,” Patch said, leading Ekaterina from the room, “you are in Blackberry’s work room. You know where that is, I’ll leave you to find your own way out.” Ekaterina found she could not say anything to patch, though there was much flying round her head.

Leaving the scene, Ekaterina went back to her lie up and lay down, her body and mind exhausted.

“I killed Sita,” Ekaterina thought, “but it doesn’t seem real, though I know it is. I shouldn’t have gone where I wasn’t allowed to go. Now, now Sita is dead, not because she was stupid like me, but because she did what came naturally to her, she saved my life by using her own body as a cushion for my head as I fell. Am I worthy of that? Or should she have called me what I was and let me die?” Ekaterina heard Patch come in to the lie up ages later. He didn’t touch her nose with his as he was fond of doing, he just walked in, put the kettle on to boil, waited for it to finish, made a cup of coffee in an exaggeratedly slow manner, padded over to the sofa and sat down upon it. Ekaterina heard the spoon rattle in the cup as he held it in his paws. Patch was obviously shaking violently. Patch spilt the coffee on himself, at least Ekaterina thought he did for she heard him sipping it, then heard him yell:

“bugger it!” and then heard the cup slamming into the sink from twenty feet away, the coffee spilling and splattering the worktops and tiles.

“I can’t even hold a cup of coffee at the moment!” patch fumed to himself. Ekaterina wanted to help him, but she knew if she got Patch more coffee, she might be the recipient of that beverage, and it would not be given in a friendly way either.

“but I must help him,” Ekaterina thought, getting to her feet and padding to the kettle, feeling the wet floor beneath her pads. Filling the kettle, she knew Patch knew she was there, but maybe he was ignoring her. Ekaterina made the coffee, and carried it to the sofa. Finding Patch with one paw, she found his mouth, guided the cup to it, and gently poured the liquid in, Patch swallowing down the warm drink. Ekaterina could feel him shaking. Suddenly he coughed violently, and Ekaterina realised Patch was crying, unable to drink any more. Setting the cup down, Ekaterina made to lie back down, but Patch grabbed her.

“I wonder if he thinks me bringing the coffee to him was an act to cover up my guilt,” Ekaterina thought, but then she knew that thought was a dreadful one.

“why are you holding me in your embrace when I killed your cub?” Ekaterina asked.

“your punishment is far greater than any blows from my paws,” patch replied, “I hold you in my paws, because I wish to communicate my gratitude for the coffee, for the thought behind it, even in the midst of the outfall of the most thoughtless act to date.”

“I’m not worthy of this,” Ekaterina replied, “I was expecting you to throw the coffee in my face and tell me to go away.”

“how could I do that when the intention behind you bringing the drink was to give me comfort?” Patch asked, Ekaterina realising patch knew her torment, that he knew her pain that could never be healed.

“I’ll go now,” Ekaterina said, “Patch, I, I’m not worthy of your touch, of your acknowledgement even.”

“Sita was only doing what came naturally to her,” patch said, “and for that she cannot be faulted, for it was the right thing, even if it lead to her own death, as it was a good thing to save another.”

“No patch,” Ekaterina replied, “I should have died, Sita should have let me die. It was not she who led me up to the slide, not she who broke the gate. I put her in that position, in the position which asked of her to do something that came naturally to her, but put her in danger. Now she is dead, and I am alive, but do I deserve to be so alive when my own thoughtless act put another in a danger that would end her life?”

“You speak like this, and then, then, you go and throw yourself to the silliness,” Patch replied.

“I cannot tell you how sorry I am,” Ekaterina said.

“I know it,” patch replied.

“How can you talk with me like this?” Ekaterina asked.

“You know how,” Patch replied.

“You’re detached from me as your mate,” Ekaterina said, “but inside you’re crying like a cub and wringing your paws,” Ekaterina said.

“Yup,” patch said, his voice cracking.

“What would you do with me if I was not your mate?” Ekaterina asked.

“A life for a life is pointless,” patch replied. You did not mean to kill Sita. The hug you gave her was one of thanks, and she knows that, as do I.”

“how can I right the wrong I did?” Ekaterina asked.

“You could do it,” Patch replied, “just as Petra would do it for Aslan.”

“You mean, help her back into our world by giving birth to her again?” Ekaterina asked.

“yes,” Patch replied, “it will be hard, it will hurt, and demand more from you than you think you can give, but it can be done.”

“You mean Sita didn’t want to leave this world?” Ekaterina asked.

“she had no choice,” Patch replied, “her heart was broken by the rib, it stopped her heart dead, and the vets couldn’t save her in time.”

“All because I hugged her,” Ekaterina whimpered, “but it wasn’t that was it, it was because I put her in a situation in which she felt compelled to endanger herself on my account. Oh Sita, dear Sita, I’m sorry, more sorry than I can tell you. I don’t need your protection patch,” Ekaterina said, “I don’t deserve it. You warned me, fleur warned me, now Sita is dead because of me. I can’t expect anyone to protect me from myself now.” Patch swallowed hard, picked up the coffee and sank it out of sight in two swallows.

“I’ll show you the gate you damaged,” Patch said, “I think, think there is another issue too, the cctv was turned off on the coaster, as it was out of action, that was a mistake.”

“Who authorised that,” Ekaterina asked.

“Nanuq did,” Patch replied, “and he’s one devastated bear now.”

“Will he be sacked?” Ekaterina asked.

“he’s weeping in his lie up, he’s devastated by his actions.”

“but he would only have recorded what I did, he couldn’t have stopped me,” Ekaterina replied.

“Do you remember what you did?” Patch asked. Ekaterina nodded:

“I remember,” she replied, “I could,,,”

“No Ekaterina,” Patch replied, “I couldn’t bear that. I have seen where you set paw, and it frightens me to look down that tunnel into nothing. It’s a horrid place.”

“Of course, you felt through your paws what mine felt,” Ekaterina whispered, “Patch, I forget you know how I felt.”

“I do know how you felt, and I know how Sita felt too,” Patch replied. Ekaterina sat on the floor, her mind in turmoil.

“I fell into nothing,” she said, “my paws slipped, and I fell, tumbling, and was caught by Sita.. when you promised to protect me Patch, it was protection from others you promised, not protection from myself. From myself, only I have the power of protection. Getting myself into that situation was noone’s fault but my own, and Sita, Sita, she, oh patch,” Ekaterina said, her voice cracking, “she should have let me die. I killed her Patch!”

“I’ll come with you as far as the gate,” patch said, getting to his feet. He and Ekaterina went a slightly different route to the one she’d taken, going through access passages to the top of the coaster, ending up next to the easy river. Padding along a walkway beside the river, Ekaterina could feel and smell the water. They reached the gate, and Patch looked over it, down the tunnel to the missing piece of slide.

“You fell down that?” Patch asked. Ekaterina felt her toes curling beneath the water:

“yes patch,” she mewed. Patch swallowed hard.

“Ekaterina,” he said, “we’re a hundred feet up. The ceiling is very high here.”

“I fell so far Patch,” Ekaterina whispered.

“Ekaterina,” Patch replied, “you fell over 100 feet, no wonder, um,” he stopped, staring into a horror filled few seconds of two lives, lives whose paths crossed shatteringly in the blink of an eye.

“It’s horrid,” Patch whispered, “indescribably dreadful.”

“Patch,” Ekaterina said, nudging him with her nose, “don’t, don’t do anything silly, please?” Patch looked at Ekaterina, seeing the suffering in her face.

“it’s tearing her to bits,” Patch thought, “I won’t add to that.”

“What can I do Patch?” Ekaterina asked.

“To remedy the situation?” patch asked.

“yes,” Ekaterina replied, “I, I didn’t wish to put Sita in that situation, and now, now she’s over the bridge, and I can’t help her at all!”

“go into the woods, sit down in the clearing, and let your mind drift,” Patch replied. Ekaterina shook so violently the gate rattled.

“Sita will hate me forever!” Ekaterina whimpered, “but I must go, I know that.” She padded with patch to the outer door of the pool complex, patch leaving her to walk alone. Ekaterina padded towards the lagoon, her paws hardly making a sound on the woodland floor.

“Ekaterina?” a voice said, Ekaterina feeling a nose brushing her ear. Ekaterina twitched her ears.

“Who’s that?” she asked.

“it’s Sita,” the voice said.

“I’m sorry for falling on top of you,” Ekaterina said softly. Sita pressed Ekaterina’s ear with her nose.

“you have suffered enough,” Sita said, “you know what you did wrong.”

“But I ignored you, I ignored Fleur! I ignored sense, I ignored caution. I have destroyed two lives, yours, and, and Patch’s. I cannot do what I want to, I cannot bring you back here Sita, I haven’t got that strength.”

“Maybe you have,” Sita replied, “I can’t cross the bridge to your side without help. Patch could help you, and he said he would.”

“But I would have to push, to turn myself inside out to deliver you.”

“Are you not doing that already?” Sita asked.

“what?” Ekaterina asked.

“Oh Ekaterina,” Sita said, “I mean spiritually inside out.”

“yes, as much as I possibly can,” Ekaterina replied, “I can’t bare myself like Patch does, when he gave birth to you Sita, he strained with his soul, I can’t do that.”

“Do you want to undo what you did to me?” Sita asked.

“I want to, but I can’t do it Sita,” Ekaterina replied.

“You can endanger your life at will, but you won’t take the leap to bringing another back across the bridge Ekaterina?” fleur asked. Ekaterina choked on a sudden rush of tears.

“I don’t think I could Fleur, I don’t think I could do it!” Ekaterina squealed.

“I think you could, and so does Patch,” fleur replied.

“I wish I could bring you back too,” Ekaterina said.

“Maybe you could,” fleur replied, “I wish I had been in the water coaster with you, I’d have stopped your silliness.”

“You would have sat on me and dug in your claws,” Ekaterina replied, “fleur, I wish you had done that. I wish you’d done that!”

“bringing me back into the world is going to hurt,” fleur replied.

“I remember your paws and feet, huge with badly bitten claws on your paws,” Ekaterina replied.

“I did used to bite my claws yes,” Fleur said, a smile in her voice.

“What can I do to remedy the hurt I caused?” Ekaterina asked.

“You could do what you’ve wanted to do for ages,” Sita said, “have another cub with Patch. Though this time, it will just you helping the cub into the world.”

“I could do that,” Ekaterina replied, “I would love to do it Sita.”

“That settles it then,” Sita replied, “take your time Ekaterina, a cub will be waiting here.”

“but who will help fleur into the world?” Ekaterina asked.

“I’m sure Patch could,” fleur said, “he can yowl and growl like a cat in labour can’t he?”

“yes,” Ekaterina replied smiling, “I’ve heard him re-enacting Swarupa’s labour with Tigger and Namrah enough.”

“Good,” fleur replied.

“Do I hear my name mentioned?” Patch asked. Ekaterina smiled and hugged her mate.

“We were wondering if you would help fleur into the world,” Ekaterina said.

“I will,” patch replied, “I could help her into the world as I helped Sita, Ekaterina and I pushing together.”

“How will it feel?” Ekaterina asked.

“It’ll be a flood of physical sensations, stretching, squeezing, paws and feet aching as toes are curled to their limit, screaming, growling and roaring as you try to get your body into a position to deliver the cub, then much more heaving and pushing, down into your tail, right down, pushing for that little bit more room, then panting, and the agony of stretching yourself to pass the cub into the world.”

Meanwhile, in the soft play room, the cubs had learnt of Sita’s death, and Wihakayda, conscious of her sire’s friendship with Sita, expressed him as being devastated.

Indeed, Koda was. He remembered the first time he’d seen Sita. A running figure pounding the corridor tiles with her heavy feet, her tail the most amazing thing about her. Lying in his lie up, he remembered the cat bear, from the time she’d got confused in the pool complex, and accidentally stuffed her tail into his mouth, to the time she was lying on the floor, roaring and yelling in labour, pushing scruffy Leo into the world. Koda’s tears wet his paws as he remembered Sita, the cuddly cat bear.

“I’d like to play with her just one more time,” Koda thought, “to play the stuck paw game with Sita would be great.”

“I’ve got to get back to your world first though Koda,” a voice said. Koda, though sceptical about the spirit world, knew the voice, and pulled it closer to him.

“Your sister will have to help me into the world,” Sita said, “it’s gonna be hard for her, it’ll be painful, but will be a release for her too. she will return to the bear she once was, the caring thoughtful creature Patch fell in love with all those years ago. First though, Ekaterina will have to labour hard, to push and pant, curl her toes and scream, kick the air with her feet and straddle her legs to the utmost while pushing down hard into her tail. Buckets of sweat will she pour while she struggles, and she will remember everything.”

“I have watched her in labour when giving birth to Little patch and Allie,” Koda said, “Ekaterina is very expressive. From her head to her feet she labours with everything she has.”

“I’ll be hurting too,” Sita said, “I’m gonna feel everything also, every shift she makes, every push, every straining effort. I’ll feel the lot, and when my head is free, I’ll be screaming along with Ekaterina too.”

“Ekaterina’s labour will begin suddenly,” Koda replied, “I know that. It will be gentle at first, but then she’ll be screaming and curling up, curling her toes and roaring lustily.

“I did what I intended,” Sita replied, “I saved Ekaterina’s life.”

“But you lost your own!” Koda wailed, “Ekaterina put herself in that position, you didn’t have to throw your life away for her!”

“I see what you mean,” Sita said, “but it’s not in me to leave her to her fait.”

“But sometimes that’s necessary Sita,” Koda replied, “because of her, the cubs have lost a friend, and so have I!”

“Patch isn’t happy,” Sita’s spirit mewed.

“I know that,” Koda grunted.

“he says bringing me back into the world will be the hardest thing Ekaterina’s ever done. I don’t think he will help her much. He might get things started, but he’ll leave the hard work to her I think. Patch promised to protect Ekaterina from others, not from herself, and this is self inflicted.”

“she’s not going to get any more punishment from patch,” Koda said, “but how is patch feeling inside, he never tells anyone.”

“One day he’ll break and we’ll find he’s crossed the bridge,” Koda replied.

“I hope he has many years on your side,” Sita said, “it’s boring here, we just sit here, and most wish they could be back in the rough and tumble of earthly life. I know Sire Conrad does. He wishes he was back with Sooleawa.”

“She wishes she was closer to him, I know that,” Koda replied.

“I miss my cubs, all of them,” Sita said.

“I remember when I first entered your playroom Sita,” Koda said, “you made sure my paws and feet were clean, rolled me over, and tickled my toes. Now, now, um,” he swallowed hard, “I miss you already!” Sita kissed Koda’s nose as he wept quietly.”

“I think mama Ekaterina will find giving me life back then pushing me into the world harder than anything she’s done before,” Sita said.

“I wish I could look at you now, or better still hug you tight,” Koda said. Sita’s spirit could feel Koda’s need, and smiling, she kissed his nose.

“My old body is broken,” Sita mewed, “so I can’t use that.”

“But when Ekaterina gives birth to you, she’ll have to remember you as you were to bring you back as you were,” Koda replied, “she can’t see you Sita.”

“Maybe Patch can help her there,” Sita replied, “or you could Koda.”

“Me?” Koda asked, “how?”

“I’ve noticed you play acting,” Sita mewed, “just believe a bit more, and you could quite easily help me cross the bridge.”

“Oh, so you do know,” Koda replied shame faced.

“I know,” Sita replied, “you play birthing games with Wihakayda, showing her how Titania gave birth to her, as Titania won’t show her now.”

“Why not?” Sita asked.

“She says she’s ashamed of giving birth so young,” Koda replied.

“But she shouldn’t be.” Sita’s spirit mewed.

“I think her mother is getting a bit preachy over how young she was,” Koda sighed, “Sita, can you show Titania how to love the birth of her cub?”

“She hasn’t abandoned Wihakayda has she Koda?” Sita asked. Koda buried his face in his paws.

“After, after seeing the video of her own birth, Wihakayda asked questions that Titania didn’t like answering. How did it feel, that sort of thing. Titania hit Wihakayda in the end, and bit her too!”

“I never hid anything from my cubs,” Sita said, “I re-enacted birth scenes, told them how it felt, let them touch my feet as I curled my toes as best I could, and even moaned and mewed like I did in labour. It felt good to do that, it reminded me of a lovely time.”

“I’ll bet it helped you to curl your toes a little bit more too,” Koda said.

“Making the sounds did I think,” Sita’s spirit said. Koda stretched out his paws towards where he thought Sita’s body would be, feeling soft fur under his paws. Crying, Koda buried his face in the warm fur, breathing hard, the scent enveloping him, his paws telling him the impossible, his nose filling his brain with scent.

“What’s going on!” Koda wailed, “this is a sick trick, a horrid prank!”

“No it’s not,” Sita said, her voice deeper than it had been, more normal. Then she growled deeply and purred, the vibration coursing through her body, Koda weeping into her fur.

“How did this happen?” Koda sobbed, “I thought coming across the bridge involved rebirth of sorts.”

“I think I can thank Blackberry for this,” Sita replied, “he likes to experiment. Well, I think he cut my body open and investigated what killed me. He managed to stitch up the holes, and the spirits did the rest.”

“So the body was okay after all?” Koda asked. Sita laughed, Koda choking on his tears.

“who could remember what I looked like, Ekaterina couldn’t see me, and I’d never seen myself. Patch could do it, but he is too upset to commit to it really. He may believe with all his heart, but he is devastated by my death, and can’t concentrate much, it takes a lot of concentration to bring someone back over the bridge. Just wait and see what happens when I find him!”

Blackberry padded into his work room and stared at the table where he’d been attempting to sew up the wounds in Sita’s body after working out her cause of death to be a punctured chamber in her heart, the broken rib having pierced it and stopped blood flow, killing her instantly. Blackberry had removed the rib, cleaned the heart, and stitched it together. He then screwed the broken rib together, his nimble paws making short work. Then, with a feeling of closure on the job, he’d stitched the skin before rolling Sita’s body into the mortuary fridge, washing his paws and retiring to bed. He’d returned in the early morning to wash Sita’s fur. Finding her body gone, Blackberry panicked, hitting his emergency button.

Sita, feeling Blackberry’s panic, ran from Koda and into Blackberry’s room, the black bear turning at the sound of thudding paws. Screaming, he threw up his paws.

“No, oh no! Help!” he screeched.

“Blackberry,” Sita said softly to the screaming black bear, “I’m here, you made it possible for me to be here, to stand on my own four feet before you.” Blackberry, his eyes staring, reached out a trembling paw to touch Sita. Touching her nose, he yelped as she licked his paw.

“You are here, you are alive!” he wept, throwing his paws around Sita in a huge bear hug.

“Steady on, you’ll bust my ribs!” Sita laughed, Blackberry releasing her suddenly.

“Did I hurt you?” he asked anxiously.

“No, but let me sit down, and then, well then you can hug me,” Sita replied, sitting down. Blackberry embraced her, burying his face in her fur, kissing her ears, nose and paws.

“You’re soft, and warm, and lovely, and you smell wonderful, and your paws are soft, and your alive here, alive and lovely Sita!” Blackberry sobbed.

“I am here, partly thanks to your questioning mind and skilful sewing,” Sita said.

“I did my best there,” Blackberry replied, “but, but, I think, I think someone else’s wish to have you back with him helped too.”

“Koda really loves me, though I don’t know why,” Sita replied, “I’m a mess.”

“don’t speak like that Sita,” Blackberry said, “you are not a mess, Koda, Patch and I love you from your nose to your toes.”

“My feet stuck to the floor a bit,” Sita said, “I was so excited they made a sucking sound on the tiles!”

“that’s so cute!” Blackberry laughed.

“I used to love that, and still do,” Sita replied, “the sound of my feet and that of others on the tiles. I could gauge how excited a cub was by how stuck their feet were to the tiles. Their pads give so much away.”

“I think you need to see Patch,” Blackberry said, “go to him Sita. Sita smiled and got to her feet, padding away to the monorail. Punching the button, she danced on her toes while waiting for the car.

“Sita?” someone asked. Sita turned, and patch embraced her tightly, kissing her nose and paws.

“I was so upset I didn’t notice you return over the bridge!” he sobbed. Sita kissed his tears away, and smiled:

“You were helping Ekaterina get into the mood to help fleur into the world I think,” she said, “I think that’s gonna be hard for Ekaterina, but she wants to help fleur now Blackberry and Koda helped Sita.”

“it’s going to hurt Ekaterina isn’t it?” Koda asked, padding up behind Patch.

“it will, and she’ll have to do more than she’s ever done to deliver a cub, but she’ll do it,” patch replied.

“How come Sita came into the world?” Koda asked.

“Blackberry’s questing mind and skilful paws made that possible,” Patch said, examining Sita minutely with eyes and paws, “and your wish to have her to hold in your paws of course. Not that I didn’t wish for her to be here too, but you did it really Koda.”

“I love her Patch, I like her playfulness, her fur, her eyes, her paws, her feet, and her tail,” Koda giggled, “even when it’s shoved into my mouth during a confusing five minutes.” Sita laughed, padded to Koda, and kissed his nose. Then, grinning, she pushed him onto his back and kissed the pads of his paws and feet, Koda laughing like a cub.

Meanwhile, Ekaterina, in her lie up, was not laughing. Her first contractions had come on suddenly, and they were hurting her. breathing hard, she cursed herself for telling patch to see to Sita, for she needed him. Or did she really need him. Maybe this was her own battle to fight, she had to push alone. Ekaterina padded to her workplace, her contractions slight, but painful.

“this is gonna be hard,” Ekaterina thought, remembering fleur as she was, a fat cat with big paws and feet, “I know I won’t be able to deliver her as adult, though the spirits are gonna make it hard for me, and I deserve everything I get. All the pain, all the struggle, all the screaming and roaring, everything. Well I’d better get on with it, though I can’t rush it, I have to pace myself. No pushing until the urge comes strongly, plenty of curling toes, screaming, kicking and rolling about, and a hope, a hope that when she comes out, she doesn’t come backwards, holding on with her toes as I push against her.” Ekaterina felt the contractions, marvelling in how her body reacted, her mouth closed, her toes curled slightly, her breath came quickly, and, as the contraction peaked, she opened her mouth to moan and pant.

“oaoaoaoaoaoaaow!” Ekaterina moaned, feeling her toes gripping the tiles.

“ow, ow!” Ekaterina panted, voicing her pain, “ow this hurts! I think I will try and sit down. Or lie down, or something.” Ekaterina found sitting down, leaning over a birthing ball helped her. Legs drawn up, leaning forward with her paws and chin resting on the ball, heels digging into the floor, Ekaterina panted and wriggled through another contraction.

“this is gonna be a long fight,” Ekaterina thought, “huuuuuuuuuuaoaoaoam!” she moaned, wriggling and blowing hard through her nose.

“I’ll bet it will ease off,” Ekaterina thought, “a couple of hard contractions, then rest, then harder and harder pains, closer and closer, making me scream, roar and yell.” Ekaterina felt her toes curling, and knew what that meant. Closing her eyes, she grimaced as another contraction gripped her.

“yeooeoeoeoeoeoeoeoeeoaow! Aoaoaoaoaoaowowowowo!” Ekaterina screamed lustily..

Sita and Patch listened to Ekaterina’s cries, Patch curling his toes with his mate, while Sita, holding his right forepaw, smiled as she felt his labour with her.

“You can’t help her, that’s not allowed,” Sita said, “you know the deal patch.”

“Indeed I do,” patch replied, “and I won’t help her in the slightest, but I know the pain of labour, and my paws and feet will react to her cries.” Sita kissed patch’s nose, patch hugging her tightly.

“I love you,” he said softly to his cub, Sita smiling with pleasure and snuggling close.

“I would like to feel what Ekaterina is doing, but I can’t get paws on with her, just in case I help her,” Sita said, “maybe we could help each other? You could re-enact what you see, and I’ll get paws on with you, so you feel you are labouring with Ekaterina, and I can get an Idea of what’s going on?” Patch smiled:

“sounds good,” he replied.

“she’s moaning deeply,” Sita said, “Ekaterina sounds like she wants to curl her toes and herself into a huge ball.”

“she’s lying on the floor, curled up, her legs drawn up, her paws covering her face, she’s moaning into her cupped paws,” patch said, “now, you can hear her making a sound like Ush, ush?” she’s kicking with her hind feet and pedalling with her paws while lying on her right side, the toes of all four paws curled slightly, she’s pedalling and kicking her way through contractions, not pushing as yet.”

“trying to work the cub down,” Sita said, “but the cub isn’t engaged yet, so that’s not likely to work. She’ll be distracting herself I think.”

“now Ekaterina’s sitting up, panting and gasping, while pawing at her belly, her hind legs out in front, her toes curling and relaxing with her pain I think,” patch said. he fitted actions to words, Sita paws on with his paws and feet.

“Ekaterina can’t go on like this, she’s contracting every ten minutes or so,” Sita said.

“maybe it’ll ease off,” Patch replied.

“Do you know what’s happening?” Sita asked.

“I do, I can see what’s happening, I know how fleur is doing too, she’s fine. From time to time she digs her paws in, making Ekaterina moan and roll about, only digging in her toes though, not her claws.”

“Can you make Ekaterina suffer?” Sita asked.

“I could,” patch replied, “right now, I’m monitoring what she’s doing, and how fleur is. Both are safe, though only one of them knows that. Fleur can play Ekaterina along a bit, and Ekaterina just has to take it. She wanted a reckless journey, and now she’s got one. Ekaterina won’t die, nor will fleur, that’s not the object, but Ekaterina doesn’t know she won’t die.”

“So you are controlling her labour?” Sita asked.

“I am,” patch replied, “that’s what she wants deep down, for me to show her how I feel. I will show her how angry I am with her for what she did to you Sita. While I’m doing that, she can push fleur into the world, and do some good with her wish for recklessness.”

“Will you let fleur control any of it?” Sita asked.

“she’d be more ruthless than me,” Patch replied, “her anger at Ekaterina’s actions is almost boundless, I’m holding her in check too.”

“Maybe it is time for Ekaterina to feel the full force of the upset she caused,” Sita said, “Patch, let fleur take control, make Ekaterina fight for every inch of Fleur’s body.”

“Sadistic Sita?” patch asked.

“No, sad Sita,” Sita replied, “I warned her, and because of her recklessness I nearly crossed the bridge. I can’t let her get away with that, and neither can fleur. Dear fleur is lovely to most, but I think Ekaterina is going to see a side of her she never dreamt existed.”

“fleur?” Patch asked silently, “would you take over now?” fleur replied that she would. Digging the toes of her right hind foot into the wall of Ekaterina’s womb as the she bear lay on her side, resting while panting and sweating. Feeling Fleur’s pressure on her womb, Ekaterina gasped, panted, then roared in pain.

“eoeoeoeoeoeoeeooahsh! Yoaoaoaoaoaoaoaoawaosh! Oaoaoaoaow, ow, ow, ow! Fleur, that hurt, that hurt! Ow!” Ekaterina screamed.

“I want to be born into the world, so get on with pushing!” Fleur snapped, kicking and rolling about. Ekaterina sat up, screaming and crying as fleur had a mad five minutes, paws and feet flying in all directions, Ekaterina roaring and squealing throughout. At the end, Ekaterina was rolling about on the floor, her hind feet drawn up, her paws clamped over her belly, her mouth open in a seemingly constant scream of pain. Then fleur relaxed, letting Ekaterina rest for a minute, before she piled on the pressure by turning hind feet on, and pressing her toes into the opening to the outside world, Ekaterina roaring and yelling once more.

“I can’t push if you’re kicking!” Ekaterina roared, heaving lustily in an attempt to stop Fleur’s attack:

“huoaoaoaoaoaoaoaumph!” Ekaterina roared as she strained hard into her tail, fleur feeling the soles of both her hind feet pressing flat against the opening to the outside world. Fleur explored with the toes of her left hind foot, feeling a slight opening. Turning, Ekaterina puffing and blowing as she did so, fleur explored the opening she’d felt with the toes of her right hind foot with the toes of her left forepaw, wedging her paw in the opening, she tried to enlarge it a bit, Ekaterina moaning in pain.

“You can’t do this, you can’t do this to me!” Ekaterina screamed.

“You didn’t think about that when you forced Sita to put her life in danger for you,” fleur replied angrily.

“No I didn’t,” Ekaterina roared, “I’m sorry fleur, I’m so, so, so, oaoaoaoaoaoaaow!” fleur took her revenge, a revenge born of emotions pent up for so long. Ekaterina didn’t know where to put herself while fleur beat her up from inside, scrabbling with her paws to enlarge the opening into the world.

“heoaoaoaoaoaoaowaow! Yoaaoaoaoaoaoaow!” Ekaterina screamed, crying while rolling about on the floor, kicking the air with all four paws, then sitting back on her heels, pressing them into her backside, her toes curling tightly, pads bunching up. Head down, bracing her paws on the floor, taking her weight on them, then rocking back hard to drill her heels into her backside, Ekaterina roared lustily, finally screaming lustily and crawling quickly to the pool, falling in and finally squatting in the water to gain some relief.

“let me rest fleur, let me rest a minute!” Ekaterina gasped aloud, “I can feel your paws! I know what you want!”

“I want out of here, out into the world!” fleur yelled silently, Ekaterina catching her breath and straining desperately.

“ow, cub’s engaged now, head’s engaged! Yoaaoaoaoaoaoaow!” Ekaterina roared, “Oaoaoaoaow, Aaaaaw!” she complained, stamping her feet. Sitting on the ledge, Ekaterina drew her legs up, so she was out of the water. Panting, she grabbed her right foot in her paws, squeezing the heel pad of her right foot, feeling her toes curling and stomach contracting. Moaning, Ekaterina bore down deeply into her tail.

“Oooooaumph, oooooooaoaoaoaoaaouuuuuumph!” she complained, pressing her heel pads with the toes of her paws:

“Press and push, press and push, moan and wriggle, curl my toes and press and push!” Ekaterina panted, “shit this hurts! It’s so hard!”

“is she all right?” Sita asked.

“yes,” patch replied, “but fleur gave her hell, and that’s before Ekaterina has made any real effort at all. Now she’s making efforts to push, real efforts.”

“fleur, why are you hurting me so much?” Ekaterina asked.

“You need someone to mentor you, just like little Bianca needed someone when she was young,” fleur replied, “Patch can’t do that. He loves you too much to punish you like you need at the moment. He can’t make you understand how unhappy you make him. Now, get me out of here!” Ekaterina pushed down hard into her tail, each effort making her squeal and roar, her teeth clenched as she pushed, her paws and toes balled into fists and curled tightly.

“that’s it, push, push!” fleur roared in Ekaterina’s mind.

“Don’t dig your toes in!” Ekaterina roared, as she felt fleur doing just that.

“you’re hurting me and I’m curling my toes every time you push!” fleur screamed, “ow Ekaterina ow! But don’t stop pushing!”

“I can’t help pushing, I must do it, I must!” Ekaterina snarled and heaved, feeling two paws emerging into the light of day. Gasping, she panted hard, rolling onto her side and drawing up her legs a little, feeling Fleur’s head emerging with a slow intensity which thrilled, but pained her too, making Ekaterina curl her toes and ball her paws into fists.

“you’re stretching me! Oaaoaoaoaoaoaoaoaoaoaaaaw!” Ekaterina shrieked, sitting up on a sloped bit of the ledge .

“ow, you’re crushing my paws!” fleur yelled, pant Ekaterina Pant! Pant! Pant, pant, pant hard!”

“I, I can’t, I want, want to push!” Ekaterina panted, splaying her legs a little and finally, with a roar of effort, giving up to her need to push. Fleur’s head, now freed during Ekaterina’s panting and wriggling, filling the mama bear’s paws as she reached down to catch her cub in them. As Ekaterina heaved, fleur screamed in agony as her body was delivered into the world. The next most painful part of her own birth for fleur was the delivery of her hind quarters and hind feet. Ekaterina, exhausted, relaxed, squeezing Fleur’s hips. Snarling, fleur bore the pain, then screamed as Ekaterina splayed her hind legs as far as they’d go and pushed desperately. Gasping, fleur felt her hips come free, then felt her feet squeezed. Yowling, fleur endured the pain. Ekaterina suddenly caught her breath, wriggled and heaved, Fleur screaming and yowling in agony. Ekaterina, catching her breath, drawing up her feet, legs splayed, and giving one last tremendous heave, pushed Fleur’s huge hind feet into the world, fleur shrieking lustily as she shot forward, off the ledge and into the water with a splash. Ekaterina sat up quickly and plunged her paws into the water, pulling fleur onto the ledge beside her, panting and sobbing with released tension.

“now lick me, lick me dry!” fleur panted. Ekaterina did so, licking fleur from nose to paw pads, the activity soothing her and fleur. As she did so, fleur grew bit by bit. Until, at the end, when Ekaterina got to her tail, fleur was huge, just as she had been when she was adult. Ekaterina explored Fleur’s tail, then turned her attention to her paws, feet, and ears. Fleur wriggled as she was washed, working herself into her body.

“that’s it!” fleur encouraged, “just a bit more on my paws, lick my paws a bit more. Now blow on my fur a bit Ekaterina.” Ekaterina did as fleur asked, and soon she had a huge cat snuggled beside her.

“it wasn’t you who hurt me was it,” Ekaterina said, “you showed me how Patch was hurt, how Sita was hurt, and how I’d hurt others by my actions.” Fleur smiled broadly.

“You’re learning Ekaterina,” she said, “now, let me kiss your nose and paws.”

“I need far more kissed than that, my hind feet, my belly, I ache all over!” Ekaterina whimpered.

“it is your lot to work through that,” fleur said, Now, Ekaterina, paddle with me to the side of the pool. Ekaterina paddled with fleur, the big cat’s feet hardly making a sound, whereas hers splashed and sounded very uncoordinated.

“I know you from nose to toes,” Ekaterina replied, “I know you more intimately than I ever did when you were alive that first time.”

“I loved being washed by you,” fleur replied. Ekaterina sniffed hard, her eyes full of fresh tears.

“Do, do you know I tried, tried to cleanse myself of my old silliness some time ago Fleur?” Ekaterina asked. fleur smiled.

“I remember hearing that,” she replied, “an attempt to get rid of your old coat and paws, to make yourself acceptable to Patch again,” fleur replied.

“yes, and I completely messed up, sullying my coat and paws with my silliness once more,” Ekaterina replied as she and fleur stood on the tiles.

“I fought for my life, to make you fight for yours,” Fleur replied, “now, Ekaterina, love your feet and paws, think before you set paw anywhere, Love Patch with all you have.”

“I will love Sita too,” Ekaterina replied, for she put herself in the path of my own death to save me. I broke her heart fleur.”

“yes you did,” fleur replied, “but now you will try to make amends for what you did. And my job in all this? to keep you safe, as I kept Bianca safe. You remember Bianca? You probably knew her as a large tigress, well I knew her when she was small, we went exploring together when she was still a blind cub. I took her to the pool complex, and one of the first sights she saw was me making a huge mistake and disappearing down a slide.”

“You with the scrabbling paws and feet and streaming tail!” Ekaterina replied.

“yes me,” fleur mewed, Ekaterina leaning down to kiss her ear, fleur rubbing back against her touch.

“that feels wonderful!” fleur purred happily, Ekaterina gulping hard.

“You, you sound like a cub,” Ekaterina sniffed.

“I don’t know what I am, half grown maybe, or maybe full grown,” Fleur replied, “but I feel fresh, my fur, ears, feet and paws feel fresh, pads all springy, you know?” Ekaterina smiled:

“I know, I’ve kissed them,” she replied, “they are lovely paws fleur.”

“I understand you have had a troubled time of it Ekaterina,” fleur said softly. Ekaterina lay down, gathering fleur to her.

“when, when you went over the bridge, I could see, but now, now I can’t, as you know,” Ekaterina said, “Fleur, I lost that too, I lost my sight because I wasn’t true to myself. I lied to Patch about the birth of our cub, and Sita rescued the cub, but, but, I paid for my lies by being thrown into a pit of darkness. I’m not talking about the loss of my sight either, though that is awful. I suppose I am now what I was meant to be, no, the pit of hell is of my own making. I’ve lied to myself ever since I lied to Patch about Sam’s birth. I pretended I had no cub, that I hadn’t gone through labour in the woodlands, but I had, I had gone through labour, and Sita knew it, and so did Patch, and I lied to Patch fleur! Now, Now I’m all messed up, and top it off by killing my mate’s cub. I’m a mess, a dreadful mess, I have fur more disagreeable than Sita’s, and a mind worse than the most evil bear.”

“No,” fleur replied, “your fur, well, that’s just how you feel in your skin, but your mind, that’s not an evil mind, misguided, silly, thoughtless sometimes, but not evil. Ekaterina I know you saved Sooleawa, I know you helped Cynthia Chartwell,.”

“I was doing my job!” Ekaterina whimpered.

“Not just that,” fleur replied, “you were loving your job. You got paws on and encouraged mama to push, and push she did, and she will remember your touch on her hands and feet forever more, for you comforted her.”

“You did my job once didn’t you?” Ekaterina asked.

“I did, long, long ago,” fleur mewed, “and it was a great job. I loved delivering cubs.”

“I love it too,” Ekaterina replied.

“good,” fleur replied, her whiskers brushing Ekaterina’s face., “now come, come with me to Patch’s lie up, where you will meet Sita and Tornassuk.” Ekaterina and fleur shook themselves dry and padded to the lie up.

“How long was I in labour?” Ekaterina asked.

“Twelve hours,” Patch replied.

“it seemed longer,” Ekaterina said, as Patch explored fleur, the tiger snow leopard cross bred cat’s fur soft under his paws, her body warm and eyes shining. When, in a spirit of fun, she rolled onto her back and waved her paws and feet at him, Patch smiled and examined each paw in turn. Beautiful paws they were, large and rounded with furry toes and pads which disappeared under the soft matted fur when fleur curled her toes, which was often, as it didn’t take much to make her want to curl them, either voluntarily or involuntarily.

“You have spotted soles,” patch said, “just like Sita fleur.”

“I think I have a lot to learn from Sita,” fleur replied, “I know I used to hate my fur and paws, but now, now I see it on another, I love her fur and paws, and if mine are similar, I love mine too.”

“Every effort was worth it,” Ekaterina replied, “I remember everything!”

“so do I,” fleur replied, “and yes, I was pushing with my paws in an attempt to free myself.”

“it hurt!” Ekaterina replied, “it felt as if I was being pulled apart from the inside! But it spurred me on to push.”

“it did,” fleur replied, “and Ekaterina, at the end, I really couldn’t help curling my toes every time you heaved, that was agonising! I yowled with you the last couple of efforts to free my hind legs and feet. That hurt!”

“Thank you for not kicking, even if you did wriggle a bit,” Ekaterina replied, “oh, and for not digging in your claws too. your toes were bad enough.”

“I came out forwards, not backwards,” fleur said, “if I’d come out backwards,,,” Ekaterina suddenly felt a need to push, groaning, she squatted and heaved, feeling something sliding into the outside world. Panting, she screamed as she felt the thing’s toes gripping her insides, howling in agony, Ekaterina pushed against the gripping thing, roaring in her efforts to move it,.”

“Oh god, oh god!” Ekaterina panted, “I can’t shift this!”

“Thought you’d have problems,” fleur replied, “even though I was teaching you a lesson, even I or Patch wouldn’t go that far.”

“but Swarupa’s labour involved pushing Tigger out backwards,” Ekaterina replied.

“It did,” fleur said, “but she’d used her cubs as a shield to protect herself, she had to be brought down a peg or two. You already felt pretty shit, and just needed to be taught that your reckless behaviour has consequences for yourself and others.”

“I need to think before I do,” Ekaterina replied, “I never used to be like this, I suppose, having had sight a little, I think I can go places I can’t now.” Ekaterina replied, calming down from her insight into Swarupa’s pain.

“if you wanted to go to the coaster, I would have shown you where you could and could not go. Dam it Ekaterina, I would have even shown you the broken bit of slide that had been removed if only you’d asked. but that’s over now, and you have paid the price for your silliness,” fleur said.

“Paid the price yes,” Ekaterina replied, “but the outcome was a positive one for all of us.”

Anook padded into the lie up. Seeing her, fleur padded to her and rubbed her head against the sow bear’s.

“mama Anook,” fleur purred, Anook kissing the cross bred cat’s nose.

“Hello fleur,” Anook said. fleur looked into Anook’s face.

“I’m glad to be back here,” fleur replied.

“what is all this about Sita having died?” Toby asked, pounding into the lie up.

“Sita’s not dead now though,” patch said. Toby stared at Sita.

“so she’s dead, but not dead?” he asked.

“sort of,” Sita replied..

Meanwhile, in BlackBerrys lie up, Targon stood over Blackberry, whom she’d just smacked so hard he’d fallen on the floor.

“You did what to Sita’s body to find out how she died?” she screamed.

“when Sita, when she died, I wanted to find out what she died of, so, so, I got a knife, you know, one of those sharp things Sid uses to cut up vegetables. Well I got one, and cut into Sita’s body, to see why she died,” Blackberry moaned.

“you horrid animal!” Targon roared, cuffing Blackberry across his face, “why? Why do that? Are you sick?”

“I was interested in why she died so suddenly,” Blackberry wailed, “I cut in, and found why she died, as I told you, a broken rib had stopped her heart. I, I pulled the rib out, and, and, and sewed the heart up, the tear in it I mean, then, wanting to finish the job, I fixed the rib with a plate or two, a plate and screws that I found from an old construction set of sire Koda’s. I put screws in the bone too. then, then I stitched up the skin, and brushed her fur, and Sita looked normal again. I thought I might preserve her body until we could decide what sort of funeral to give her. I put her in a freezer box on my work table and left to go to bed. When I woke and returned to my work, her body had gone! it just vanished! I screamed, which you heard, and, and then, then Targon, Sita walked up behind me, she did, she did I tell you!”

“A likely tale!” Targon snarled, appalled and disgusted at Blackberry’s desecration of Sita’s body. Suddenly Targon felt a paw rest on her right shoulder. Screaming, she whipped round to look at her assailant with her good eye.

“ooaoaoaoaoh!” Targon howled, throwing herself on the floor, “you were dead! I touched your dead body!” Targon screeched.

“I am not dead now though,” Sita replied smiling, “your mate is very clever Targon, he fixed me enough for the spirits to make my body work again.” Targon got to her feet and examined Sita carefully.

“Where is the scar?” she asked. Sita shook her head:

“There is no scar now,” she replied smiling.

Ekaterina lay down in her lie up with fleur.

“I’m hungry,” Fleur said.

“What do I do?” Ekaterina asked, “I want to, but, well, no, that’s just silly, really silly!”

“What do you want to do?” Fleur asked, resting her paw on Ekaterina’s.

“I want to feed you like my cub,” Ekaterina said shamefully, “but, but that’s silly!”

“It’s not,” fleur replied, “I’m your cub, for you gave birth to me Ekaterina,” fleur replied, “so come on, feed me mama!” Ekaterina grinned and rolled onto her side. Fleur snuggled close, drinking from Ekaterina’s milk supply, Ekaterina shocked she could produce milk at all.

“this feels so right, so right!” Ekaterina thought as Fleur’s paws went to work on her belly, pressing and kneading for milk. fleur lay drinking busily, the toes of her hind feet curling and relaxing as she sucked and breathed, sucked and breathed. Ekaterina smiled as she touched Fleur’s paws as they kneaded her belly.

“After my drink, will you rub my belly and paws Ekaterina?” fleur asked. Ekaterina grinned:

“I’d love to,” she replied.

“Fleur’s fur and paws are beautiful Ekaterina,” Patch said, padding into the lie up, “well done my dear.”

“it was hard patch, it hurt like hell!” Ekaterina replied, “but pushing fleur out felt lovely as well. Really pushing, trying hard felt great! I needed to push with everything I had, the urge was so very strong! I wanted to push with my paws and my feet, and my belly, and my toes, and my pads, and everything!”

“I think she wanted to push Patch,” fleur giggled. Patch smiled.

“but it was so overwhelming, so consuming!” Ekaterina replied, “you remember when I was chanting about squeeze my foot, pant and push, squeeze my foot, curl my toes, pant and push? Well that was so necessary!”

“You looked committed doing that,” patch said, “kind of cute too. very vulnerable.”

“I felt more fear than I ever have with my head out of the water,” Ekaterina replied. “Every push, everything was so important to me Patch. It was a wild ride, an intense emotional roller coaster of sensations too. every bump, every bit of fleur I felt passing into the world.”

“I felt every bit of myself passing into the world too,” fleur said, stopping her drinking for a minute, “my hips got stuck, and my feet, my hind feet! Ow! Ow!” she curled her toes at the thought, her legs kicking involuntarily, as if struggling to free her feet.

“that’s so cute!” patch laughed.

“What?” Ekaterina asked.

“Fleur was kicking with her hind feet, I don’t think she knew she was doing it,” Patch replied, “I think it was the memory of her trapped hind feet that made her do that.”

“I miss seeing things like that,” Ekaterina replied sorrowfully, catching her breath as she had relayed to her what Patch had seen. Ekaterina, gasping, felt her own toes curling with emotion as she watched Fleur’s hind feet pedalling at the air.

“That is so cute,” Ekaterina replied softly, “oh fleur, I hope I’m doing right by feeding you like a cub, it feels right.”

“I’m not complaining,” fleur replied smiling and returning to her drinking.

“you and fleur might experience flashbacks about your time together in the pool,” Patch replied, “Ekaterina, and you fleur, talk about it, don’t hide your emotions.”

“My anger is gone now,” fleur replied, “but I have a lot of memories of being pushed into the world that I would like to get straight.”

“for me,” Ekaterina replied, “it was all so powerful, so amazingly forceful that I haven’t quite worked it through in my head yet. I want to remember everything, every little bit. I know it was meant as a trial for me, but it became more than that, it became my duty to deliver fleur. I wanted that more than anything in the world patch. Do you know what I mean?”

“I do Ekaterina,” Patch replied, “as you felt with fleur, I did when Sita was being born. Total absorption, a need to deliver Sita, but also a need to feel the delivery too. to amerce myself in it.” Ekaterina closed her eyes, remembering her own efforts.

“I felt such a need, such a very big need to push as hard as I could for as long as I could,” Ekaterina said, “when I was squeezing my foot with my paws, it hurt so badly, but I needed the time to rest, my foot was soothing me, and then I could push, and push I did, hard, really hard, so very hard. “uuuuuuuuaumph,” right into my tail, then again, panting hard, then another push, “uuuuuuuuaumph,” into the soles of my feet, pushing, pushing, straining hard to deliver my cub. I could feel her inside me, every bit of fleur, every part of her, her paws, her feet, her head, her tail, and when, oh when she curled her toes with pain, how that hurt! But I realised we were both in agony then. I pushed, and fleur curled her toes, gripping with just her toe pads, not her claws. Poor fleur, poor toes, having to fight against my pushes.” Fleur giggled:

“do you want to apologise to my toes now too?” she asked.

“No,” Ekaterina replied, “you couldn’t help curling them fleur. I hurt you very much on your way out.”

“I couldn’t help curling my toes, that’s right,” fleur replied, “but they weren’t curling in pain, they were curling with emotion then. It was once my head was free that I felt the pain of being delivered, or maybe just a little before, when my head was forced down onto my paws as you pushed rather than panted as my head emerged. I screamed at you to pant, and you were so furious with me you yelled back, panting as I wanted, allowing my head to come free. Then I screamed as my body was squeezed, letting you know I was in pain.”

“I was screaming too, screaming while pushing and heaving with all my might,” Ekaterina replied.

“it was an amazing time,” fleur replied, “a time I will never forget.”

Fleur finished her drink, and Ekaterina groomed her thoroughly from nose to toes.

“I can’t believe how beautiful your fur, paws and feet are,” Ekaterina said.

“how do my paws feel to yours?” fleur asked.

“Soft and warm, with toes which easily curl,” Ekaterina replied smiling.

“Your paws, soft and warm, comforting,” fleur replied, “as I knew from way back, way, way back.” Ekaterina knew what she meant.

“Your toes are curling again,” Ekaterina laughed. Fleur whimpering as her toes went into overdrive, curling so tightly they shocked her. Fleur’s toes remained curled for whole minutes, the large cat wriggling with the intensity of the emotions and physical feelings swamping her, whimpering at the pain, but unable to relax her toes, seemingly not wanting to, while hating the discomfort. Breathing deeply, fleur struggled to curl her toes that bit more as Ekaterina worked on her belly fur.

“I can’t curl my toes enough, they won’t curl!” fleur yelled in frustration, kicking the air with her paws and feet as if that might help her achieve her mission. Ekaterina finished grooming Fleur’s Belly, and turned her attention to her paws and feet.

“help me Ekaterina!” fleur begged, “my feet are trapped, I can’t uncurl my toes!” Ekaterina explored each paw and foot in turn, examining bunched pads and tightly curled toes.

“oaoaoaoaoaoaaow! Oaoaoaoaoaoaaow!” fleur roared as Ekaterina soothed each paw in turn by kissing her curled toes, then gently nuzzling as much of Fleur’s bunched pads as she could, encouraging fleur to relax that paw. fleur, overcome with emotions, yowled and wailed her way through Ekaterina’s ministrations.

“My hind feet are very stuck!” fleur wailed, “I can’t move my toes Ekaterina!” Ekaterina gently worked at Fleur’s right hind foot, then her left, the cat wriggling and crying throughout.”

“did I hurt you?” Ekaterina asked when Fleur’s feet and paws were relaxed.

“No mama, no,” fleur replied, “it felt wonderful, too wonderful for words. I could feel your love for me pouring into my paws and up my legs into my belly, which was soon bursting. Then about half way through freeing my right hind foot, my head nearly exploded with emotions. I had to do something.”

“I won’t do it again if you don’t want it,” Ekaterina replied. Fleur looked at her with pleading eyes.

“I would love it if you did,” she replied, “make it longer next time, and maybe my whole body will explode.” Ekaterina smiled, finally catching Fleur’s meaning.

“is it that intense? That lovely?” Ekaterina asked.

“it is, and that thing you call, “it,” is your touch Ekaterina. Your touch made this cat want to curl her toes so tightly they nearly got stuck permanently curled, and then to uncurl them so slowly I had to really concentrate, while my head was full of the most amazing warmth and play. I loved the touch of your breath on my pads, the gentle way you coaxed my toes to relax, nuzzling my pads and toes with gentle care. Then, once you’d relaxed my paw or foot, you washed my pads and dried them. Ekaterina, that felt lovely.”

“I never thought I could do that,” Ekaterina replied, “I knew patch could do that, but I never thought I could.”

“You let yourself follow your paws,” fleur replied.

“Were your feet really trapped fleur?” Ekaterina asked.

“yes Ekaterina they were,” fleur replied, “and you freed them, every one. I couldn’t do it myself.”

“Talking of toes,” Ekaterina said, hugging fleur to her an whispering into her ear, “you curled your toes during your passage into the world didn’t you.”

“yes,” fleur replied, “I was in pain, but I was also frightened by then too. In your womb I was angry, kicking and punishing you, remember? But when I was passing down the birth canal, when my head got stuck in the right place, and you pushed that first time, I felt my anger subside, I knew you wanted to do good, and were having a hell of a time doing it. I was,” fleur swallowed hard, “Ekaterina,” she sniffed, her eyes filling with tears, “I was terrified!” fleur sobbed, “every push,” she sniffed, “every push, every moan, every wriggle you made, I willed you to carry on. I was stuck, but I couldn’t help curling my toes with the pain of being squeezed. My mind was screaming in agony every time! I wanted to yell, but couldn’t until my head was free, until then it was curl toes, curl toes curl my toes! every time! I had to do it that way Ekaterina. Then, when my head came free, I could scream the pain I was in, scream and cry, which I did. But you kept pushing, pushing, panting, heaving, growling, straining, fighting for me. Thank you Ekaterina,” fleur concluded, burying her head in Ekaterina’s shoulder, her whole body shaking with her weeping.

“Looking back,” Ekaterina whispered, “what I thought was your anger at me not pushing enough wasn’t that at all. It was fear you’d be stuck and we’d both die.”

“I was told to give you hell, that only I would know we weren’t going to die,” fleur replied, “so I gave you hell, made you fight and struggle, sweat and cry. Then, when it was time for me to be delivered, I didn’t feel so angry, I knew whom I had pushing me into the world, a frightened mama, who was doing her best, not the reckless bear of old. I was terrified that we’d both lose the game, and so were you Ekaterina. We screamed and fought together down that long tunnel, every inch of that long tunnel.” Ekaterina found herself weeping into Fleur’s coat.

“it was horrible,” she sniffed, “but, fleur, you know Something?”

“What?” fleur asked.

“I would do it all again, right now. I’ve never felt so complete and so exhilarated. I hated the fear, but loved the challenge. The fear made me sick, but the challenge was the thrill. I loved the push, the effort and the struggle. Every bit of it.”

“do you feel frightened when you attend the births of cubs?” patch asked.

“I do, sort of,” Ekaterina replied, “I know my business, but it’s always an unknown thing birth, and rebirth is the same, unknown too. I didn’t know if it would go well or not. I could only believe it would go well, and ride the storm I’d created.”

“it was a storm, but we both got through it,” fleur yawned, snuggling close, the feel of Fleur’s body against hers filling Ekaterina with joy and gratitude.

“now you need food Ekaterina love,” Patch said. he phoned through to Sid, and asked him to cook a steak with pepper sauce for Ekaterina. Sid came in with the trolley twenty minutes later, the steak cold on the slab. Patch stared at it.

“Are you mad?” he asked Sid, who scowled at him, removing a lid from something on the trolley. a blast of heat hit patch full in the face, and he stared as Sid speared the steak and cooked it there and then on what Patch could now see was a hot stone. The sound was tremendous, the smell even better. Ekaterina closed her eyes, breathing in the scent of the cooking meat.

“Medium rare steak is for you is it Ekaterina?” Sid asked. Ekaterina smiled and replied that it was. Sid made sure he seared both sides of the steak, two minutes each side. Then he warmed the pepper sauce and drizzled it on the steak, before cutting it into bite sized pieces, as he knew Ekaterina hadn’t mastered cutlery yet. Presenting her with the steak, Sid watched as Ekaterina spent a long time just inhaling the exquisite scent of the meat. Fleur, her interest peaked, nudged Ekaterina.

“Can I try some?” she asked, for the steak was very large.]

“yes, okay,” Ekaterina replied, taking a piece of the steak in her mouth, and closing her eyes as the flavours exploded on her tongue. Biting into the steak, Ekaterina savoured the flavours, loving every minute. Sid, smiling from ear to ear, quickly seared another piece of steak and cut it up.

“Just try that on it’s own Ekaterina,” he said. Ekaterina tried the unadorned steak, and was rendered speechless.

“I’m not going to say anything,” she replied, “for I can’t find words expressive enough of how wonderful that meat is Sid!” Sid laughed delightedly.

“Look to your pepper steak Ekaterina, for that is going fast,” he said. In truth it wasn’t, fleur had divided up the pieces and eaten her share with the daintiness of a cat.

“I too am amazed at your cooking abilities,” fleur mewed. Sid grinned hugely.

“Now for your potatoes and vegetables,” he said, presenting Ekaterina with mashed potatoes and gently steamed carrots, cauliflower, and beans. Ekaterina sniffed at the potatoes, and tried some. The taste blew her mind.

“how Sid?” she asked, “how do you do stuff like this?”

“I was trained, I told you,” Sid replied, almost dancing with delight, “I was trained to cook by a human as a sort of party trick. Butt Well, I found I liked it. I genuinely love to cook, and my son cub Kendal is getting into the way of it too. I love creating food that renders everyone speechless. I know my food, I know what goes, and I love creating simple dishes, as well as more complicated ones. Though what I really love doing is soup. I have one here as an experimental thing. It’s a meat and vegetable broth, just right for cold nights.” Ekaterina heard the clinking of a bottle on a metal bowl.

“Ekaterina,” Sid said, “here is wine, try it with a piece of the steak. Ekaterina took a mouthful of steak, then added some wine. The mix transported her to a place she never knew food could. Chewing and swallowing, Ekaterina, never one to take much interest in food before, got up, padded to Sid and embraced him tightly.

“I can’t put what I feel into words!” she said.

“You don’t need to,” Sid replied smiling, “Patch, I’ll get you some steak and sauce. Sid served Patch the food, and patch grabbed cutlery as he was used to using such. Setting to, he cut into the firm medium rare steak, and dipped it in the sauce. Patch inhaled the rich aroma, and transferred the food to his mouth, then began chewing slowly.

“Superb,” Patch remarked, his eyes closed.

“now try the potatoes Patch,” Ekaterina urged, “they are wonderful too!” Patch did, and grinned as Sid filled a glass with wine for him.

“You’ll get me drunk,” patch said. Sid grinned.

“they are too very wonderful,” Patch replied smiling. Sid waited for Ekaterina, fleur and patch to finish their meals, then he cleared the plates and wheeled the trolley away.

“What a day,” Fleur yawned, stretching her spine, legs and paws, “I need sleep now, serious sleep. With that she drank deeply of water in a bowl, curled up and sank deeply into sleep.

“She is lovely from her nose to her toes patch,” Ekaterina said, resting a paw on Fleur’s shoulder.

“You and she did wonderfully Ekaterina,” patch said, sipping the red wine.

“I need to sleep, but I don’t want to,” Ekaterina replied.

“sleep Ekaterina, I’ll look after you two,” Patch said, locking the outside door to the lie up. Ekaterina hugged fleur close, and breathed on her to keep her warm, fleur snuggling close.

Hours later, the bear and cat woke slowly, Patch able to settle down for his own sleep.

Meanwhile, Nanuq lay crying in his lie up, blaming himself for Ekaterina getting onto the water coaster. He knew the CCTV cameras had been turned off for replacement, and hadn’t been turned on again, as they were only half fitted when Ekaterina had ventured into danger. Hearing Ekaterina was fine and Sita had been revived, Nanuq went to patch’s lie up to speak with him. Banging on the door, he stamped his feet in agitation, the door opening, Nanuq falling into the lie up, Patch catching him.

“What’s wrong Nanuq?” patch asked. Nanuq blurted the whole tale to Patch.

“it’s not your fault she went where she did,” Patch replied, “you have no say in where Ekaterina goes. Anyway, all’s fine, all’s fine to the extent that Ekaterina had a cub a few hours ago.” Nanuq stared at Patch.

“How?” he asked. Patch showed him the last half an hour of Ekaterina’s labour video, Nanuq curling his toes and wriggling with the mama bear as she curled her toes and wriggled. When fleur was born, Nanuq had tears in his eyes.

“that was wonderful!” he choked. Patch smiled at him.

“Ekaterina shot fleur into the water,” he replied, “it was as if she was fired from a cannon!” Nanuq grinned.

“Poor Ekaterina must have just wanted to push hard, so she drew her hind feet up and heaved,” he replied. “I must admit, well, no, I won’t go into that.”

“That you have felt the need to do the same during re-enactment?” Patch asked.

“yes, sorry patch,” Nanuq replied, his eyes downcast.

“I know how you feel,” Patch replied gently, nuzzling the bear’s ear.

“Fleur’s fur is lovely!” Nanuq said.

“Can I interrupt you for a minute?” Sita asked, padding into the lie up. Nanuq, seeing her, threw himself at Sita. Hugging her, he wept into her fur.

“I saw you dead, I saw you on the slab, but then you’d vanished!” he wailed. Sita kissed Nanuq’s ears, nose and leaning down, his paws also.

“I’m here now, alive and well too,” Sita purred, Nanuq crying openly.

“You need someone to look after you, both you and Ekaterina need guardians I think,” Nanuq sobbed. Sita kissed his eyes, Nanuq moved to fresh tears by this affectionate gesture.

“Dry your eyes Nanuq,” Sita said, kissing his nose, “or I will tickle your toes until you laugh so hard you forget to cry.” Nanuq smiled and tightly embraced Sita.

“I love you,” he said, kissing her nose. Grinning, Sita opened her mouth, and she and Nanuq touched tongues, as is the ursine way of making friends. Then Nanuq rolled Sita over onto her back and tickled her belly and hind feet, Sita laughing helplessly.

“now we will forgive Ekaterina’s silliness,” Sita said when she could speak again, “for she has a new outlook on life.”

“She has a new cub,” Patch said, “and I think, has done what she wanted to do, that’s have one last cub with me. okay, we didn’t, um, mate, as it were, but I helped fleur into the position to be born by Ekaterina.”

“So fleur is your cub now too?” Nanuq asked.

“she deserves a stable family poor thing,” Sita mewed, “I know her tale, and feel pity for her, not that she’d want it.”

“I’m stiff all over, ow, ow, ow!” fleur complained, waking some time later. Getting to her feet, she flexed her legs, feeling the muscles complaining.

“I’m sure it’ll wear off, but this is serious ouch at the moment,” fleur remarked to Patch, who was now drinking coffee in an attempt to stay awake on watch.

“come, and I’ll massage your shoulders, legs, hips and paws if you like,” Patch invited. Fleur lay down on the rug by the fire, and patch sat down and began working on her body, fleur soon half asleep once more, as the bear’s paws made their gentle but firm way over her body, loving her as well as unscrambling her taught muscles.

“Thanks patch,” she mumbled, drifting towards sleep, “but if I sleep and you get to my paws and feet, I won’t be awake to enjoy it,” fleur added, struggling to stay awake.

“I am looking at your paws and feet now, and your toes are curling and relaxing as I work on your right shoulder fleur, it’s rather cute!” Patch replied smiling.

“My toes go into overdrive whenever I’m feeling pleasure,” fleur mumbled, “my face registers little or nothing, my feet tell everything about my emotions.”

“No,” patch replied, “your face tells your emotions for those who can see it, your paws and feet tell those who can’t see your face and need to get paws on with you. I saw your face and paws during your birth, and I could see various emotions going through your mind. Pain, fear, relief, excitement, all those and more, while your toes curled and relaxed, feet kicked and paws pawed at the air.”

“I was shot into the water by Ekaterina’s last huge push,” fleur said, “that was a shock. Ekaterina can really push when she wants to, I mean really push!”

“I saw and heard,” patch replied.

“I could hear fluid sounds as I was pushed into the world,” fleur said, “a sort of squelching sound as Ekaterina pushed. That told me she was pushing, as well as the pain of pressure on my body of course. She’s really strong!”

“Ekaterina did very well, and so did you,” patch said.

Ekaterina lay on the ledge, pain and fear in her mind. Straining hard, she tried to give birth to a huge cub, the cub was kicking her and that hurt too. Screaming, she rolled about on the floor and lashed out with all four paws, fighting the urge to push. The urge grew and grew, until Ekaterina, shrieking with fear, strained to her maximum to pass the cub. roaring, she woke suddenly, her paws bunched into fists, toes of both hind feet curled tightly and bathed in sweat.

“Shh, Ekaterina, it’s okay,” patch said softly, kissing his mate’s nose, Ekaterina, overcome, sobbing with fear.

“I dreamt Fleur’s birth went wrong!” she sobbed, “that I couldn’t push hard enough!”

“My birth went fine,” fleur said nuzzling her mama’s ear.

“I know now,” Ekaterina replied weakly, “it was Horrid fleur, no matter what I did, I couldn’t pass you into the world!”

“Well you could, and did,” fleur mewed.

“it was hell,” Ekaterina replied, “the dream I mean, not the real thing, well,” she smiled, “that was pretty hard at times, well most of the time.” Fleur snuggled up to Ekaterina, kissing her nose.

“it was hard for me too, being reborn that is. It hurt!” fleur mewed. Ekaterina rolled onto her side, fleur smiling at the sight of Ekaterina’s paws and feet. Leaning into her right hind foot, fleur blew on Ekaterina’s toes, the she bear shrieking with laughter, rolling about on the floor and kicking the air with all four feet, fleur and patch laughing helplessly.

“You look so cute!” Fleur said, Ekaterina smiling at her.

“You blew on my toes!” Ekaterina replied. Fleur smiled broadly and kissed Ekaterina’s nose.

“Now I could blow on the toes of all four of your paws, and the pads too,” fleur mewed.

“I think I’d like that,” Ekaterina replied, though, well, the most I remember about my paws and feet, is during your birth fleur. The increased blood flow to my pads made me feel so much more than usual through my paws and feet. My body became a real body of sensations. Internal and external, emotional and physical. It was amazing!”

“You did so well mama,” fleur replied smiling.

“I screamed and cried like a cub,” Ekaterina replied.

“but you strained and curled your toes like a mama,” patch replied his eyes shining.

“I remember everything Patch,” Ekaterina said, “I could re-enact it, right from here, to the birthing place, to the pool and the ledge, and the birthing ball, and everything. I would let you touch my paws, and my feet, and everything as I re-enacted what happened. Oooah,” she gasped, her toes curling, “I want to do this for you Patch! I wanted you there with me first time around, but, but I knew, I knew I couldn’t have you there with me.”

“I was there with you though Ekaterina,” patch said, “though I couldn’t make my presence felt to you, as you were to tackle this alone.”

“I will remember Fleur’s birth forever,” Ekaterina replied, “it was hard, but necessary work.”

“I love you Ekaterina, and didn’t like seeing you in pain,” Patch replied.

“I know,” Ekaterina replied, “but that pain was necessary, because I caused you much pain too. I know I did, Fleur showed me. she made me hurt deeper than I ever have hurt before, she did it with her paws, stretching me, and kicking me in turns.”

“I watched you from your nose to your toes, and you looked so vulnerable there in the pool,” patch said, “your toes curled so tight, your eyes screwed shut, your mouth open wide, screaming and crying,” Patch replied, “I wanted to help deep down, but I was angry too, really angry, and needed to show you that. I knew Fleur’s birth wouldn’t kill you, but you didn’t know this.”

“I needed to push,” Ekaterina replied, “Patch, I needed that, I needed to feel pain, for you’d shielded me from that for too long.”

“Your hind feet still look like those of a frightened cub when you curl your toes Ekaterina,” patch said, “I remember playing with you when you were a cub, and how much you liked your paws and feet played with.”

“Have they not grown up?” Ekaterina asked.

“not really,” Patch replied, “if you know what I mean.” Ekaterina smiled.

“I play with my toes quite a bit, maybe it’s that,” she replied, “I remember my mama doing that a lot, Kamchatka, as she was then, and Anook now, loved to play with her toes.”

“yes she did,” Anook replied, padding into the room, “Ekaterina,” she said, “I saw the birth of your cub, congratulations.” Ekaterina grinned with genuine pleasure.

“Do you know whose paws yours remind me of Ekaterina?” patch asked. Ekaterina sighed deeply with regret, for she knew deep down whose paws and feet she’d inherited.

“Sire Conrad’s,” she replied, a stab of grief spiking her.

“I loved your sire,” Anook said, “until he, well, that’s another tale.”

“He was lied to,” Ekaterina replied, “but that doesn’t make what he did right, just less likely.”

“he had thick pads and tough small toes for a male bear,” Anook said, “Conrad’s toes curled easily, and yours do too Ekaterina. I must say, mine do also.”

“I remember Conrad used to like being tossed in a blanket, whatever that is,” Ekaterina replied, “he’d never let me experience that.”

“it was a silly thing he and Patrick used to do to the younger cubs,” Anook replied, “get a rug and string it between the paws of two strong bears, then put a cub in the middle of the rug and toss them in the blanket, it was silly, and dangerous too!”

“sounds a lot of fun,” Ekaterina replied absently.

“it was silly, and you won’t do it!” Anook snapped.

“I don’t know,” Patch replied, “she could, in the play room, she’d have a soft landing if she fell, and it beats the water coaster.”

“You can’t let her do that!” Anook growled.

“Ekaterina will be fine, I’ll help her I know how to do the blanket thing,” a voice said. Anook spun round, then screamed in terror!

“It’s Conrad!”

“Um, well, no, not quite,” Nanuq replied, “I know I look like him n’all, but I’m not him.”

“But you do know how to be a tosser?” Anook asked, Patch covering his face with his paws in an attempt to cover his mirth.

“Um, what?” Nanuq asked, smiling broadly.

“To toss Ekaterina in a blanket,” Anook replied, not getting the double meaning in what she’d just said.

“I know how to,” Nanuq replied, “but I will toss her in the blanket in the playroom, not here.” Anook looked at Ekaterina, drinking her in, loving her with her eyes.

“My first cub in the community,” Anook thought, “my first cub here, and she’s still as cute now as she was then.”

“What are you laughing about Patch?” Anook asked.

“What you said,” Patch replied, “Anook, if you haven’t been around the humans, you will not know the double meaning of tosser. It’s adult humour, and yes, I’m guilty of a little dirty humour.”

“but my Ekaterina will still be safe with Nanuq?” Anook replied, “he is a qualified Tosser?” Anook asked, Nanuq roaring with laughter and slapping the rugs with his paws.

“What’s so funny?” Anook asked. Patch told her in ursine, Anook blushing to her ears.

“ooaoaoaoaoh!” she squealed, “I didn’t know that!”

“Sorry,” Patch replied. Anook laughed nervously.

“I’ll let you and Nanuq toss Ekaterina in a blanket if she wants to,” Anook said.

“let’s be careful Nanuq,” patch said to the large male polar bear. Nanuq looked at Ekaterina, then padded to her, knelt and kissed her nose, Ekaterina giggling cubbishly.

“You are so sweet mama Ekaterina,” Nanuq said. Ekaterina smiled, kissing Nanuq in return.

“Can I tickle your toes big fellow?” Ekaterina asked. Nanuq smiled:

“I used to like playing with my toes, and my sire’s toes too,” Nanuq replied, “he taught me how to play with my paws and feet.”

“Are my paws and feet worth playing with?” Ekaterina asked. Nanuq smiled, and took each of Ekaterina’s paws and feet in his in turn, examining them closely.

“yes, they are very beautiful paws and feet Ekaterina,” Nanuq said.

“I wanted patch to massage my paws and feet while I was pushing against Fleur during my labour,” Ekaterina replied sadly.

“You can let him do that,” Nanuq replied, “it would be good for you to do that I think. Maybe you can re-enact the birth of Fleur, and patch can help you by soothing you like you, and he would want to do.”

“I would love him to play with my paws and hind feet, to stroke the pads of my hind feet and count my toes, and draw shapes on my pads too.”

“I’ll do that Ekaterina,” Patch replied, “and I will love doing it too, counting your toes, drawing shapes on your pads, and making your pads bunch up cutely.”

“How do you know I will curl my toes?” Ekaterina asked, “well,” she added laughing slightly, “the likelihood is quite high, for I can’t resist Patch’s touch.”

“your pads are rough but soft,” Patch said, “Ekaterina, I’ll bet you’ve been using some of the oil I use on my paws. ah, yes! That’s where it has gone!” Ekaterina looked guilty, and Patch kissed her nose.

“I’ll teach you how to massage that oil in properly shall I?” patch asked. Ekaterina gasping as he touched the toes of her right hind foot.

“Oh, Oaoaoaoaw! Patch!” she squealed, Anook and Nanuq laughing merrily at her reaction to Patch’s touch.

“I take that as “yes please patch, that would be nice,” patch continued, his eyes sparkling with love for his mate. Ekaterina bit her tongue to stop herself blurting her next thought, as it was very private indeed, and only for Patch’s ears.

“He probably already knows what I’m thinking!” Ekaterina thought, the toes of all four paws curling tighter and tighter by the second.

“Oh god patch, you’re going to wear my paws and feet out!” Ekaterina whimpered, “I can’t stop my toes curling with pleasure!” patch rubbed the sole pads of Ekaterina’s paws and feet one by one, easing her toes into a relaxed state, Ekaterina gently uncurling her toes, easing their tension.

“I suppose I curl my toes to stop myself crying out, but I kind of like it too,” Ekaterina said.

“concentrate on your toes and things are bottled up?” patch asked. Ekaterina sighed heavily.

“You know they’re not Patch,” she replied, “my paws and feet tell you everything. I know that, well, but that’s past now,.”

“that if I’d been there in the pool complex you’d never have gone up to the coaster?” Patch asked. Ekaterina gulped hard, her right hind foot shaking in Patch’s paws.

“you would have shown me how stupid I was,” Ekaterina replied, “now, now it’s all gone wrong! I’m silly, criminally silly! I shouldn’t be allowed out without a guide, for eohippus sake I need one, and it has nothing to do with my sight loss, I know that, and so does everyone else.” Ekaterina buried her face in her paws in an attempt to calm herself.

“It’s all done now, all resolved,” Sita said softly to Ekaterina, padding round to her left side and kissing her ear.

“I need to learn how to play with the cubs too,” Ekaterina mumbled, “I think I need to learn how to play more, use my paws and feet more to play.”

“your pads are so cute Ekaterina,” Patch said, “do you remember the game where we draw circles on pads then rub the circles out?” Ekaterina grinned.

“That game often made me curl my toes!” she laughed.

“Me mine too,” patch replied smiling. Ekaterina kissed his nose.

“Patch,” she said, “I would like to play with your paws and feet sometime, make you curl your toes, you know?” patch smiled:

“Just looking at you makes me curl my toes,” he replied, “but you can’t feel that.”

“If I get paws on I could,” Ekaterina replied.

“yes,” patch said, “and paws on you will get.”

“I hardly touch your paws or your feet for that matter,” Ekaterina said, “they seem off limits to me somehow.”

“Why?” patch asked.

“I don’t know,” Ekaterina replied, “when I touch your paws, I feel, oh Patch, this is going to sound so silly, but I feel everything you feel about me, how upset you are with me, but also, also too, how much you love me too. I’m deeply sorry for the first, and don’t deserve the second!” Patch lay down and held Ekaterina tightly, the she bear crying into his coat.

“Ekaterina,” patch said, “now let’s go on from here, everything is forgiven, truly forgiven. I will not forget, and neither will you, as to do that will lead to further mistakes, but everything is forgiven. Come to me with your paws, touch me, play with me Ekaterina. I know we mated to spite Chowilawu all those years ago, but now it’s serious love between us.”

“You’ve stood beside me for years patch,” Ekaterina replied, “now it’s time for me to do the same for you, or do my best to.”

“Your first lesson is in how to play,” Patch replied, “how to love your paws, and mine.”

“You love my paws, and my feet too,” Ekaterina replied, “I can feel that. It fills me up so my head feels it will explode!”

“I know that feeling too,” Fleur replied. Ekaterina smiled.

“My feet can’t give it back fast enough, but yours do Patch. Love pours from your paws!”

“I’m just me,” patch replied.

“yes, and I haven’t been me for so long,” Ekaterina whimpered.

“maybe now is the time for you to be you then,” Patch said, “Ekaterina, maybe there will be a time when you will let me see you roll onto your back and wave those cute paws and feet in the air, kicking the air with the unbridled joy of a newborn cub.”

“You do it all the time,” Ekaterina replied, “I can’t Patch, I don’t know how.”

“You never let your paws or feet guide you,.” patch said.

“Not like you do,” Ekaterina replied, “I, oh Patch,,” Ekaterina sighed heavily, “little Orbon, he, he was sitting with the cubs a few days back when I came in and sat down during story time. You know Sita has been telling some of the stories, as some of the bears don’t like the badgers much? Well Orbon touched the sole of my right hind foot, I tried crossing my legs like you do, and he touched my foot with his paw. he touched my toes too, and I so wanted to curl them around his, but I stopped myself. Orbon seemed to notice my hesitation, as he sighed heavily and withdrew his paw. My toes so wanted to curl around his, but I stopped them, I fought my feet!” patch kissed her nose.

“If the touch feels good, then react to it as such. Same goes for if it feels bad,” Patch replied.

“My toes wanted so much to curl around Orbon’s and hold them tight!” Ekaterina wailed.

“I know the feeling,” patch said smiling.

“the last time your toes curled round another’s paw, well, hand, fingers, it was Sally touching your left hind foot, you sort of caught her in your toes, as it were.”

“I did, and that felt lovely,” patch replied smiling at the memory.

“Your feet were different then of course,” Ekaterina replied, “you had your own feet then, now you have someone else’s, sort of.” Patch smiled:

“They’re mine now,” he replied, “sire Orbon gave me his fur and paws to do with what I felt right.”

“You have too,” Ekaterina replied.

Meanwhile, in Blackberry’s lie up, Targon was examining Blackberry’s paws. she’d wondered how he could have done what he did with Sita’s body, and while he lay stunned after her whacking him, she took the opportunity to examine his paws. they were unusual paws, unusual that was for a bear. The fifth digit on the outside of each paw was opposable like a human’s thumb. Targon, looking down at Blackberry prostrate on the floor, felt a sudden rush of anger towards the male bear.

“What are you doing with paws like human hands?” she asked. Blackberry, feeling miserable, didn’t answer.

“His mother was Jess, the same Jess who is now human, she spent time as a bear Targon,” Theo mewed, padding into the room.

“You mean his mother was human?” Targon asked.

“In spirit yes, if not in form when she gave birth to Blackberry,” Theo replied, “um, maybe some of her human DNA got mixed with his.” Targon spat on Blackberry and walked out, anger in her manner.

“This means my cubs are contaminated too! yuck!” Targon thought. Blackberry looked down at his paws, moving his thumb, for he might as well call it a thumb now, into the centre of the pad of his right paw.

“I wonder if Koda is the same as me?” Blackberry thought, “and what of his cub, for Titania and he were both born of bears with human spirit, as it were.” Blackberry felt the toes of all four paws curling in fear, the emotion making him physically sick.

“What if she kills my cubs?” Blackberry sobbed, Theo hugging him.

“Titania, Caleb and little Targon are safe,” Theo mewed. Blackberry looked down at his paws once more, turning them pads up and curling the digits up, while moving the fifth digit into the centre.

“Targon will hate me forever now, for being part of the race she hates for injuring her,” he whimpered.

“I don’t think she will,” Theo mewed, “it was the shock of seeing your paws that’s all,” Theo replied, “now Blackberry, dear Blackberry, promise me something.”

“What?” Blackberry asked, very unhappy now.

“Promise me you’ll go to your cubs and give them a huge hug.” Blackberry dropped his head onto Theo’s shoulder, the lion snuggling close. Titania and little Targon padded into the room soon after, Blackberry examining their paws. Indeed, they were like his, mobile with opposable fifth digits.

“mama Targon told us to come to you to be fixed of our affliction,” Caleb said. Blackberry choked back tears.

“You three, you do know, know why we have these opposable digits on our paws don’t you?”

“yes!” Caleb replied, “Jess told us, she has told us of your birth, and of how she ran away from you when she was ursine. She regrets it Blackberry.”

“I don’t see my mobile paws as an affliction,” Titania replied, “they helped me hold onto something when I was giving birth to Wihakayda. Helped me get a real grip they did!”

“Can I look at and touch your paws?” Blackberry asked his cubs. Each sat down and showed him their paws, Blackberry seeing how they could move the digits of their paws like a human could their fingers and thumb.

“My paws are the same as yours,” he said, showing them, “now how about Koda’s paws? are they the same? As he was born of sire Koda, who was human.”

“his paws are the same,” Titania replied, “I should know.”

“Where is he?” Blackberry asked.

“he’s playing with the cubs,” Titania replied.

“does he know of the fury heading for him?” Blackberry asked.

“he’ll defuse her,” Titania said.

Indeed, Targon had bullied her way into the soft playroom, demanding to see Koda’s paws, and he’d shown her them without demur.

“complete with opposable thumbs Targon!” he roared.

“you are a misfit!” Targon screamed.

“I’m born of a human,” Koda said, “just like your three cubs are, as they are born of Blackberry who was born of jess, who while being ursine in form was actually human in spirit. There, now love them as they are, for if you don’t, you will surely die slowly.”

“Stop this!” Sooleawa roared, “can’t you love Blackberry the same way he loves you?” the silver coated cub asked, “for he ignores your injured eye Targon, why can’t you learn to live with his paws? I would love to be hugged by his paws.”

“I only noticed them recently, well, noticed their difference to mine,” Targon admitted, “there was no way he could have done what he did to sew up Sita’s body without the mobility of paw that a human has.”

“So you hate him for what he can’t control?” Sooleawa asked.

“I don’t like humans, and he’s very human, at least in his paws,” Targon grumbled.

“that’s nasty, and horrible!” Sooleawa growled.

“I can’t get the image of jess giving birth to Blackberry out of my mind!” Targon roared, “a human giving birth to a bear? What! Yuck!”

“peter was born of her while she was human,” Sooleawa said. Targon nearly vomited.

“That’s disgraceful!” Targon screeched.

“That’s righting a wrong,” jess said, padding into the room. Targon stared at her.

“you aborted him while you were ursine didn’t you,” she said.

“yes,” Jess replied, “I was turned back to human form, then repented of my actions and gave ursine Peter life. It hurt and was hard work too, but was necessary work.”

“So does he have opposable thumbs too?” Targon asked.

“Um, no, not like Blackberry or Koda,” jess replied.”

“I’m leaving!” Targon roared, “this community is full of weird creatures!”

“See you later then,” Koda yawned insultingly, “you were taken in by us, not born to us, so you can leave quickly too. go now Targon, leave and go into the woodlands. There you will find the road, go along that to the right, and you will find the main road.”

“I’m evicted, just like that?” Targon asked.

“You wanted to leave, you said we were weird creatures,” Koda replied, “Now either you think this, and would not want to be around us, or you are content to live with the diversity, and keep your views to yourself. Which is it Targon?”

“I don’t like the idea of human getting mixed with bear!” Targon roared.

“I lied to myself, and to my cub,” Jess replied, “I thought I was ursine, but I wasn’t. I hurt a lion too by lieing to myself. Theo blames himself for what happened, for he had the ultimate say. Though I did put pressure on him to help me become ursine.”

“now Blackberry can’t help his parentage, so let him live in peace is what I say,” Patch said, padding into the room. Targon stared at the huge grey bear.

“You were loved by Blackberry, injured eye and all, and he mated with you to give you three lovely cubs,” Patch said, “Targon, do you really, truthfully, from your heart, feel we are strange and weird creatures here? If not, here is my paw, take it and tell me honestly you do not feel how your mouth speaks. If you feel how your mouth speaks, , walk away from this place forever.”

“I need time to think,” Targon whimpered, turning and bolting back to her lie up. Throwing herself down on the floor, she rolled onto her back and covered her face with her paws, thinking hard. Targon’s memory reminded her of times when Blackberry’s paws had embraced her, the touch of his paws on her body, paws and feet. Targon gasped as she remembered how he’d cradled her right hind foot in his paws as she pushed hard into her tail to deliver Caleb. His grip was reassuring, all encompassing strength on her pads and his thumbs had pressed her pads, while the other digits had held the furry top of her foot. Targon felt her toes curling at the memory, and they weren’t curling with fear, she knew that. Breathing hard, she tried to compose her thoughts, but the memory of Blackberry’s touch enveloped her, the feel of his paws on the sole of her right hind foot, her toes curled tightly in pain and effort as she pushed hard into her bottom to deliver her cub. Targon felt her pads sweating, she knew she was reliving the feelings, the emotions and sensations she’d felt in the birthing pool.

“yoaaoaoaoaoaoaow! Oaoaoaoaoaow! Aaaaaw!” Targon squealed, her toes curling tighter and tighter, gripping something in them with fierce urgency, squeezing that something harder and harder.

“yoaoaoaoaoaoaoaow! Uoououououououoaoaoaow!” Targon roared lustily. Wriggling madly, she realised the toes of her right foot were gripping something, relaxing them a little, she felt the pulse of whatever it was they held.

“I recognise that feeling,” Targon thought, her heart swelling with the feeling the touch on her toes gave her. whimpering, she realised who’d been touching her foot for almost the entire time she had lain on the floor.

“I left him injured and bleeding on the floor!” Targon thought miserably, “and his touch still does this to me.” Targon sat up and grabbed Blackberry’s paws in hers, pressing them against her right hind foot, her toes curling tightly, as if they could give her any more purchase on the black bear’s paws.

“My feet want to stick to your paws!” Targon whimpered, “but I don’t deserve your touch Blackberry!” Blackberry knew he’d tapped into Targon’s real feelings towards her community.

“I take it you like my paws touching the pads of your hind feet, opposable thumbs and all?” Blackberry asked. Targon couldn’t answer, but her toes curled tighter, her paws pressing his hard against the pads of her right hind foot.

“Oh Blackberry, I’m so sorry!” Targon wept, Blackberry smiling gently.

“I know,” he replied, “I know you are Targon, your pads told me.” Targon threw her paws around Blackberry, embracing him, squeezing him tight.

“I love your paws and feet Targon,” Blackberry said, “well, I love all of you, but your paws and feet tell me so much about your mood and thoughts,” Blackberry said, “the last time I got paws on in a crisis, you needed help, you were feeling vulnerable and exhausted, knowing you needed to push but not knowing if you could. I helped you with that as best I could then.”

“I needed to push Caleb into the world,” Targon said, “I needed that badly Blackberry, and now, now I need a good slapping for saying and doing what I did. I injured you, I hurt my own mate because he was different to me!”

“how do you think I can embrace your paws and feet in the manner you like?” Blackberry asked, “it is because of my opposable thumbs that I can take a good hold of your paws and feet in the way you like me to.” Targon smiled broadly at him.

“If Petra’s cub gets stuck, you might need to use your paws to help her,” she replied.

“Does Ekaterina have paws like mine?” Blackberry asked.

“No, but she’s pretty good with them,” Targon replied.

Meanwhile, Petra lay in her lie up, pain making her curl her toes, close her eyes and clench her teeth.

“oooah, umph, aoaoaoaow, !” Petra moaned softly, “ow, this hurts!” she growled as she wriggled and pawed at the air between contractions..

“Soon I will be yowling and roaring the place down,” Petra thought as she breathed deeply, eyes closed, her body getting used to being stretched. Petra hated the contractions, but strangely, she found them interesting too, the way her toes curled in reaction to each contraction, as time wore on, for she’d been in pain for hours, her eyes closed tightly, and her mouth opened in reaction to different levels of pain and force of contractions.

“Little curl of the toes, slightly closed eyes, lips drawn back from clenched teeth, contraction accompanied by moan of discomfort. Larger contraction, toes curl tighter, eyes tight shut, mouth open in a wail of agony, both ending in panting and gasping,” Petra thought.

“It’s the bigger contractions which make me paw and kick too,” Petra said softly. Feeling pains easing a little, Petra got to her feet slowly and padded about. Feeling that normal walking would not trigger pains she could not cope with, Petra padded to Blackberry’s lie up to tell him of her ongoing labour pains.

Arriving at his lie up, she stumbled in, lay down and roared lustily as a contraction caught her suddenly, gripping her fiercely. Closing her eyes tightly, Petra fought the pain, refusing to push, struggling not to push. Growling rose to roaring, then to yowling and moaning in agony, her feet and paws tearing at the air with curled toes, her legs pedalling like pistons, first slowly, then faster and faster, her toes, with claws sheathed, clawing frantically at the air. Blackberry, surprised in the midst of speaking with Targon, stared at Petra, who’s sweat bathed fur was now more dark grey than white.

“I don’t want to push yet!” Petra wailed, “I’m not ready yet!”

“maybe you are ready to push,” Blackberry said, washing his paws at the sink, “mind if I examine you Petra?” Petra snarled her assent, then groaned pitifully as Blackberry’s paw slid inside her. Gentle though he was, having used lubricant on his paw, Petra still felt uncomfortable.

“You are nearly dilated enough,” Blackberry said, withdrawing his paw and washing it, “another couple of contractions and you can start really pushing Petra.” Petra kicked the air a little, Blackberry’s examination causing her womb to contract.

“I’ve been at this for hours!” Petra wailed as the contraction built and spent, panting, she continued, “the pain has been horrendous when it’s here, toe curling, screaming pain now for about an hour, before that it was moaning and panting a little, toes curling a bit, that sort of thing. My toes ache already, and I haven’t even pushed hard yet!”

“Well don’t curl your toes then,” Targon replied, realising as soon as her words were out how stupid she sounded.

“that’s like telling me not to roar during contractions!” Petra growled.

“yes sorry,” Targon replied.

“now, now, help me to push, meoeoeoeoeoeoeeooaw!” Petra complained. Petra inflated her belly and heaved lustily, screaming and roaring as she strained with all her strength.

“ow, the cub’s head is engaged now, aoaoaoaow, Aaaaaw! Oaoaoaoaoaoaaow!” Petra screeched, kicking hard with all four paws, “Huuuuuuuuuuuuaumph! Oaoaoaoaoaow, Oaoaoaoaoaow!” Petra roared, bearing down hard into her tail.

“Pant to expand the passage Petra,” Blackberry said, Petra panting hard.

“But I want to push now, I really, really, must, must push!” Petra screamed, curling up and bearing down hard with a scream of:

“oaoaoaoaoaoaaow! Oaoaoaoaoaoaaow!”. Petra suddenly stretched out full length, moaning pitifully, then curling her toes, her black pads bunching tightly, closing her eyes and drawing her lips back from clenched teeth, she heaved lustily, then panted, the cub’s paws and then, with Petra’s screams rising to a crescendo, its head emerging, Petra unable to do anything but scream and pedal the air with her feet and paws. Once the cub’s head was in the open, it too began to roar and yell as it was squeezed and bullied into the world.

“ow mum ow!” it roared between Petra’s efforts to free it, the cub’s roaring as loud as Petra’s, “my legs, my ribs, my feet are all being crushed when you push!”

“But I must push, I must!” Petra roared back, panting and heaving. Her cub, squealing lustily, endured her efforts until his hips stuck, then he begged for some rest.

“Mum, Stop!” he begged, “take a break from pushing, I’m ok here.” Petra, exhausted, took a few minutes to catch her breath.

“Okay Aslan, I will,” Petra gasped, having worked out who the difficult birth was aiding.

“I need you to push really hard to deliver my hips, hind legs and hind feet,” Aslan said, “my paws are huge, like yours, and they will be a struggle to bring into the world.”

“My toes ache, my throat does too from screaming,” Petra whimpered, “but when this is over, I want to see as much as I can feel now! My toes, my pads, my body, Aslan’s passage into the world, everything!”

“Your feet are big enough for us to see your pads, and your voice big enough to bust our ears,” Blackberry replied smiling.

“if you let your paws come too close to mine I’ll show you the power of my toes too!” Petra mewed, panting hard. Then she grimaced, splayed her hind legs a little, and heaved deeply down into her tail. Aslan yelped as his hips were compressed, then Petra yowled as she was forced to bear down harder and harder, Aslan screaming like his mama as his hips were forced into the world. Then Petra grunted as Aslan’s legs came free, screeching as his feet jammed tight, Aslan himself roaring in agony as his toes were compressed. Petra, crying with exhaustion, splayed her legs one last time and heaved desperately, feeling each pad and toe of both Aslan’s hind feet leave her body, first his left hind, then shortly after, grinding out of her, his right hind, his toes catching as he’d curled them with the pain of her pressure on his feet.

“Ow mum, ow, ow ow!” Aslan protested.

“And the same to you too Aslan! Relax your toes!” Petra screamed back at her son cub, as a gush of fluid exploded from Petra, helping her to expel his right hind foot from her body.

“oooah, Oaoaoaoaow!” Petra roared as the last effort spent her strength.

“I’m free now,” Aslan said, crawling round to Petra’s head, kissing her nose and embracing her tightly.

“You have soft fur mama,” Aslan said.

“Conditioned by my efforts I think,” Petra panted..

“I’m drenched!” Aslan exclaimed, Petra licking him dry, Aslan mewing and wriggling with pleasure as she worked.

“That feels wonderful mama,” Aslan said as Petra finished her work.

“I needed that,” she replied, “needed to push you into the world, and to clean you up too.”

“I wanted you too do that also,” Aslan replied, kissing his mama’s nose, while Blackberry tried to hide a sudden rush of tears.

“that was wonderful,” he choked.

“I would do it all again,” Petra mewed, “hard though it was, “I’d do it all again.”

“You mean you like straining your guts out?” Targon asked.

“It was interesting yes,” Petra mewed, “I loved every minute of it, from the first contraction to the last. Oh I know I complained, roared, cried, kicked with all four paws, curled my toes, all that, but really, deeply down, I was fascinated by my body’s workings. How, for instance, does curling my toes help me push against my cub? but it does, every time I curled my toes, it helped.”

“Maybe it gave you the illusion you were holding onto something,” Blackberry replied.

“It’s a reaction to pain, you can’t help curling your toes when things get really tough,” Targon said. Petra got to her feet, flexed her legs, then lifted each foot in turn to flex her toes, grimacing as she felt their stiffness.

“I hurt from my ears to my paws!” Petra mewed.

“so do I mama,” Aslan said, struggling to his own feet and flexing his toes.

“Hurts doesn’t it,” Petra mewed, as Aslan whimpered with pain.

“ow mum,” he said, “you really can squeeze you know.”

“I had to push,” she replied, “but probably you curling your toes during my efforts didn’t help.” Aslan growled at the memory of the pain, the intense pain of delivery.

“I couldn’t help that,” he replied.

“I couldn’t help pushing either,” Petra mewed, “it bloody hurt, even though pushing hurt me more, but then, enough of it becomes addictive in a funny sort of way. I got to like the push, the challenge. I suppose that’s why Pakshalika loved having cubs, and Tinka before her. they loved the struggle to deliver and raise their cubs.”

“It takes all sorts,” Targon remarked.

“haven’t you ever wished you could revisit your labour and experience it again without the fear, to feel what it’s like knowing the outcome would be a good one?” Blackberry asked his mate. Targon snorted with disgust at the thought, but Blackberry knew, and she knew he knew her answer.

“I think you Have Targon,” Petra said. Targon hid her face in her paws.

“yes, okay, I have!” she whimpered.

“Good,” Petra said, padding forward and kissing Targon’s nose, Targon looking up into the lioness’s face, then down at her feet.

“No wonder your cub has huge paws, yours are enormous!” Targon said. Petra laughed merrily and showed Targon her paws by rolling onto her back and waving them in the air, Targon grabbing each of Petra’s paws and feet in her paws and examining each from toes to heel, Petra wiggling her toes, then curling them slightly, then more tightly.

“So cute!” Targon said, Petra giggling with delight.

“Petra just loves having her paws and feet handled,” Aslan said.

“yes, I’ll admit I do,” Petra replied, “but noone does it badly here, it’s because the cubs are taught so well I think. I remember ancient Theo, when he first learnt the power of a paw massage when snowy Half tail shoed him a paw massage when he was so frightened and beside himself with worry that she diagnosed he needed actual pain relief. she just suggested it on the off chance, and it helped him . he then used it for everything from comforting cubs, to helping labouring mamas.”

“I’d love to meet him sometime,” Blackberry replied, “he seemed a very nice and gentle lion.”

“I did my best, that is all,” a voice said. Blackberry looked over towards the door, to see a large lion padding into the room. He had brown fur, but didn’t all the stories he’d heard say ancient Theo was now with white fur? Blackberry watched the lion lie down facing him, his paws crossed, his hind legs tucked up beside his rump in the way cats like to lie. Blackberry could just see the pink pads of Theo’s right hind foot as the lion rested, twitching the toes of his uppermost forepaw as if in invitation to Blackberry to play with his paws. The tawny lion had slender legs and fat paws. Indeed, to Blackberry they looked like the legs and paws of a cub had been scaled up and grafted onto the body of a young lion. Even so, to the black bear, they looked very cute, and he could feel his toes curling with the protective emotions.

“touch my paws if you’d like,” the lion said, Blackberry padding forward and taking the lion’s right paw in his left.

“your paws are as lovely to hold in mine as I thought they would be,” Blackberry replied. Theo smiled and Blackberry felt the toes of the paw in his curling, seeing the toes on both the lion’s hind feet curling tighter and tighter, the pads bunching, or so Blackberry thought, as he couldn’t see them, though he could see the lion’s toes well enough.

“Hug me,” Theo invited. Blackberry enveloped the lion in a huge hug, Theo purring with pleasure, his toes curling tighter still, the lion himself seemingly about to curl up with the intensity of emotions.

“I could lie on your lap if you’d like,” Ancient Theo said, crawling to Blackberry and scrambling into his lap, resting his head on his paws.

“I’d like to massage all four of your huge paws,” Blackberry said. tawny Theo pressed the toes of his right hind foot into Blackberry’s left paw, the bear grinning at him.

“Your pads are soft and warm Theo,” he said. Theo curled his toes around Blackberry’s, the bear smiling at the warmth in his pads, and wondering fleetingly how a spirit could have any warmth at all in the pads of their paws? yes, a presence, but no warmth. Then Blackberry looked again, and the lion lying across his lap was white, with big fat paws, and Blackberry recognised him instantly.

“You are Theo, but Theo the white lion, not Ancient Theo,” Blackberry said. Theo smiled.

“You met Ancient Theo for a bit, his pads were imposed over mine, though I did curl my toes, as he would have done in reaction to your touch. You played with Ancient Theo, not me, I was just the scaffold for his fur and paws.” Blackberry explored Theo’s paws, liking them just as much as he had the tawny lion’s.

“you are very like ancient Theo you know,” Blackberry said, “ok, you didn’t have his nervousness, but in other ways, you could fit his paws very nicely.”

“I could,” Theo replied smiling broadly, “indeed, I have been studying Ancient Theo, he was a very gentle creature.”

“I could see you curling up like he did,” Blackberry replied, “Theo, Ancient Theo was a very handsome lion too.”

“I could try,” Theo replied, lying down as he’d felt the need to do before, his left paw resting on the ground, the outside edge touching only, his pads turned inwards, his right paw flat, Theo’s hind legs folded neatly beside him on his left, the pads of his hind feet just visible, the inside pads more than the outside ones. The posture was very comfortable indeed. Theo sighed with pleasure.

“I could get used to this,” he mewed, stretching his paws and hind feet, then getting up, turning a full circle, shaking himself from nose to tail, then settling down again, the posture even more comfortable.

“ooaoaoaoaoh!” Targon screamed as she watched Theo change from a white lion, to a tawny one.”

“My sire was a tawny lion after all,” Theo purred, “but I will still eat vegetables in honour of my mama, who has just given birth to my brother cub.” Aslan laughed merrily, padded over to Theo and kissed his nose and paws.

“I thought for a long time there was something missing,” Aslan said, “now you are big, fat, and cuddly too.” Theo laughed merrily at his words..

“My paws feel better now,” Theo mewed, then grinning, he flexed his fat toes and rolled over and waved his paws and feet in the air.

“wow he looks so cute!” Blackberry exclaimed.

“hmm,” Petra replied hoarsely, “I need a wash.” She padded away to wash, as did Aslan.

“No wonder Petra called you Theo,” Blackberry said, “now you’re, um, in your right fur, you look as Petra saw you when you were first born.”

“She said I reminded her of an old friend,” Theo replied.

“more like her adopted sire,” Petra said, padding back into the room. Theo looked at his mother.

“you don’t need to hide your tears mum,” he said, Petra collapsing in a shocked heap.

“ooaoaoaoaoh, it’s happening again!” she wailed, “I knew I saw similarities in you when you were born to me years ago, and now I know!” Petra sobbed.

“I know I look like Ancient Theo, but I’m not him mama,” Theo said, “though, come to think of it, I’ve followed his teachings quite strictly.”

“he learnt that a gentle nature wasn’t frowned upon,” Petra replied, her eyes full of tears, “he was so gentle, that when, when his son cub betrayed his trust, he died of a broken heart.”

“I know,” Theo replied, “now, let’s go on from here, me with my new coat, and you with your reborn cub.”

“You look lovely Theo,” Aslan said, “all golden fur and gentle eyes, and those paws, how beautiful those are.”

“I do like my paws,” Theo mewed, “and unlike most lions, I like to bathe for pleasure.”

“You got that from Samson I think,” Petra mewed, “he liked bathing for pleasure too.” Theo grinned and shook his mane. The mane falling in long golden locks, Petra staring at Theo in astonishment.

“How do you get a mane like that?” she asked.

“I don’t know,” Theo replied, “but it just grew suddenly, “of course, Samson always had a long mane, well he said he did. Now though, I’m feeling how he did having a mane that is long enough to trip over my own mane if I lower my head a bit, indeed, if I lie down and turn my paws in, I could tickle my own toes with my long mane.”

“That sounds so cute,” Aslan said.

“Is that how you speak about your older brother?” Theo growled in mock anger. Aslan laughed and kissed Theo’s nose.

“You are so like Samson,” he said.

“Well he was my sire,” Theo mewed.

“now are you going to wash too?” Petra asked. Theo looked at her face, her white facial fur stained by fresh tears.

“I could wash your tears if you come with me,” Theo mewed. Petra wiped her eyes with a trembling paw.

“I’ll come,” she replied, padding forward and kissing her eldest son’s nose.

“you look young Theo,” Aslan said, “your nose is pinkie black, your pads are too. Mum’s pads are black, and her nose is also.”

“come my dear cub,” Petra said softly to Theo, who padded after her.

Once in the shower room, they washed thoroughly, Petra laughing as Theo tickled her paws with the shower jets by making sure she got into a position to be tickled.

“You play with me like a cub!” Petra laughed.

“I feel I need to play,” Theo mewed.

“Play means tickle mama’s paws, I see,” Petra replied smiling. Refreshed, Petra and Theo padded back to the lie up where she’d given birth to Aslan, to find the male lion pacing about roaring for milk. Petra fed him, before she and he curled up to sleep.

“wow,” Theo mewed, “I saw the birth of mama’s cub from beginning pacing and small pains with grimaces and slightly curling toes, to roaring and kicking with tightly curled toes and splayed hind legs as she heaved to deliver Aslan into the world, it was amazing!”

“I wish I’d had you with me to rub my belly and paws,” Petra mewed.

“you didn’t need any encouragement to push,” Theo purred, “you did very well all on your own.”

“I screamed the place down though,” Petra mewed, “but giving birth to Aslan a second time hurt like hell, it tore me apart!”

“I felt like I was being crushed by an elephant!” Aslan whimpered, flexing his toes in an exaggerated manner.

“You act like a big cub!” Targon mocked Aslan.

“Well I am,” Aslan replied, “so I can act like one.”

Meanwhile, in another part of the house, Ekaterina, Orbon, Sooleawa and Apudo were playing snakes and ladders. Ekaterina and Orbon, only able to roll the dice, a big foam thing Sooleawa had found, as they could not move their counters due to not being able to feel the squares beneath their paws, got rapidly bored, Orbon finding Ekaterina’s right hind foot near his own left forepaw. Ekaterina, half lying on her side, with her feet tucked up slightly, half played the board game, and half played with Orbon. Smiling, she stretched and curled her toes as he drew ever decreasing circles on the sole pad of her foot and counted her toes, as the game continued. Ekaterina responded to Orbon stroking her pads by curling her toes a bit, making her pads bunch a little. Orbon could feel she was enjoying his exploration of her pads and toes, so he kept it up, wiping the sensory memory of his circles by drawing all five toes of his exploring paw from Ekaterina’s heel, down the sole of her foot to her toes from time to time, prolonging the game. Ekaterina, absorbed with the game going on between her right hind foot and Orbon’s left paw, concentrated as best she could on two things, but knew she was losing the concentration on the board game.

“Ekaterina, it’s your roll of the dice,” Sooleawa said, Ekaterina rousing herself from a pleasurable semi doze. Ekaterina realised she was bored, not with Orbon’s play, but with sitting playing this game which she had been roped in on, as Orbon apparently needed supervision.

“where’s the dice?” Ekaterina asked, half heartedly patting the floor about her with one paw, her right hind foot still signalling play to her that was much wilder and natural than that with which her brain struggled to engage.. Sooleawa pushed the dice to her, and Ekaterina listlessly rolled it, the dice skittering over the board, displacing the playing counters. Ekaterina knew this, for Apudo cursed her fluently.

“will you concentrate!” she snarled.

“I am,” Ekaterina lied aloud, “oh, how good Orbon’s exploration of my pads feels!” she thought, curling her toes, feeling them catch Orbon’s. Smiling she shifted a little, until she was sitting back on her heels.

“No you’re not!” Apudo snapped, “what the hell are you up to Ekaterina?” Apudo looked round Ekaterina, spied Orbon, and scowled at him.

“leave Ekaterina’s toes alone Orbon, concentrate on your game!” Apudo snapped.

“I’m bored here,” Orbon replied, “all I do is roll a dice, and that’s it.”

“Well you can leave!” Apudo yelled, sprinting round the board and cannoning into Orbon, Ekaterina forced to release her toehold on his paw as he was knocked backwards by the angry lion cub.

“Paws, off, her, toes!” Apudo yelled, slapping Orbon in time with her words. Sooleawa, stunned by Apudo’s anger, sat and gaped at her. while Ekaterina, furious now, rounded on the lion cub, grabbing her in a sort of messy rugby tackle and launching her across the board, the counters and dice flying in all directions.

“he’s not concentrating, Orbon’s playing with your toes!” Apudo screamed, as if Ekaterina didn’t know this.

“I let him,” Ekaterina replied, “I like his touch on my pads, and my toes, well they liked it too, curl really tightly they did.”

“you were not concentrating on the game!” Apudo wailed, as if the game of snakes and ladders was the most important thing in her life.

“No,” Ekaterina yelled, “Orbon was counting my toes and drawing circles on my pads, and whenever I curled my toes, he drew his toes down my pads from heel to toes, wiping out the drawing he’d made on my pads, it’s a great game Apudo, maybe you’d like to try it?” Apudo, lying on her back in the mess of the now abandoned game, her paws and feet sticking skywards, growled her disapproval.

“how would it be Orbon if you and I left here and continued our game?” Ekaterina asked.

“half the game was seeing if we could play without the others noticing!” Orbon whimpered. Ekaterina sighed heavily.

“I know,” she said, “and I let the side down, dam!”

“you are the most violent cub I’ve ever met!” Sooleawa yelled.

“Who? Me?” Orbon asked.

“No!” Sooleawa roared, lunging at Apudo and pinning her down under her paws, “this disgraceful lioness!”

“I wanted them to concentrate on their game and they weren’t!” Apudo roared.

“maybe it was because we weren’t involving them enough, so they made their own entertainment,” Sooleawa snarled.

“Half the game was to see if we could carry on our own game without you noticing,” Ekaterina replied, “but I let the side down.” Sooleawa smiled:

“I’ve been watching you and Orbon Ekaterina,” she said, “Orbon had drawn on your pads and rubbed the drawing out several times before Apudo noticed anything. If I’m not mistaken, you were sitting back on your heels to hide Orbon’s activities.”

“It felt wonderful,” Ekaterina replied honestly. Apudo, angry now, got to her feet, booted the dice at Ekaterina, then pelted Orbon with Counters, the quarter grown cub squealing with indignation and fear. Sooleawa, screaming with rage, got to her feet, tore the polythene board from beneath Apudo, and wrapped the lion cub’s head with it.

“I can’t see!” Apudo screamed.

“Join the club,” Ekaterina replied, booting the dice at Apudo, who roared as it hit her. A scuffle began, in which Ekaterina and Apudo, still wrapped in her strange head covering, fought madly on the floor, Apudo now as blind as Ekaterina.

“I’ll pulverise you!” Apudo mumbled from beneath her cowl. Sooleawa, observing the disorder, kicked the dice at Apudo’s hind legs, the lioness yowling as the dice hit her up the backside.

“Who did that!” Apudo screamed, blundering towards where she thought the dice had come from. Sooleawa, seeing her chance, gathered up some of the counters and put them in Apudo’s way, the lion cub’s paws skidding on the counters, Apudo falling flat on her nose.

“Who did that!” Apudo screeched, while Ekaterina and Orbon stuffed their paws in their mouths to stop themselves laughing.

“now leave Ekaterina and Orbon to play their game!”” Sooleawa replied angrily.

“surreptitiously playing with your feet felt great Ekaterina,” Orbon said. Ekaterina giggled with cubbish delight.

“it did,” she replied, “I liked it a lot.” Orbon hugged Ekaterina, the she bear embracing him in return.

“that felt so lovely,” Orbon said, “to play with your toes in plain sight without anyone knowing but us Ekaterina.”

“Sooleawa knew, but she didn’t tell,” Ekaterina replied smiling.

“I’m sorry,” Orbon said, “I started drawing circles on your pads because I was bored of the game.”

“and I curled my toes because I was bored of the game too,” Ekaterina replied.

“your pads are warm and soft,” Orbon replied.

“your touch is warm and gentle too,” Ekaterina said.

“When your pads bunch up, they’re so cute!” Orbon blurted, Ekaterina laughing merrily.

“Is that how you address an adult?” she asked.

“Um, no, sorry,” Orbon replied, his face reddening under his brown fur.

“Only playing with you,” Ekaterina said.

“what’s going on in here?” patch asked, “the place looks like a whirlwind blew through!”

“it did, well sort of,” Sooleawa replied, “a game of snakes and ladders got out of hand.”

“How?” patch asked, “how could a game like that get out of hand at all?”

“It, um, well, became a secondary game,” Orbon replied shame faced, “at least for me and Ekaterina it did.” Patch looked at Orbon, then at Ekaterina.

“What happened?” patch asked.

“it got very terrible,” Orbon replied pitifully.

“How?” Patch asked, padding into the room and nudging the dice with a careful paw.

“I don’t know!” Orbon wailed, burying his face in Ekaterina’s shoulder and bursting into tears.

“It’s okay Orbon,” Ekaterina replied gently, “I’ll explain everything to Patch.”

“What’s going on Ekaterina?” Patch asked. Ekaterina told him everything. “yes, I can see how Orbon and you got bored,” he replied, “but why on earth did you agree to play snakes and ladders anyway? It’s not a game for older cubs.”

“I thought it would be clambering around the playroom, and by the time I knew it wasn’t, I was sat here,” Orbon replied, “I was bored as anything, bored from my nose to my toes patch!”

“Oh shut up Orbon!” Apudo roared.

“No! No I won’t!” Orbon snarled in reply before ploughing on, his small toes curling into the rugs on the floor as he became more animated and furious.

“I got bored, so bored my head nearly burst,” he replied, now gabbling in a manner which made Patch want to laugh and hug him, but patch, realising the cub was serious, kept a straight face, just.

“I got so bored my head nearly burst,” Orbon repeated, and I felt with my paw for the dice, as my boredom had made me slightly silly. Instead of the dice though, I found Ekaterina’s right hind foot, I don’t know what it was doing there, but it was there, and I began drawing circles on her pads and counting her toes. she curled her toes a bit, so I thought she liked my touch. I kept this up until Ekaterina, distracted I think, gave the game away. She lost her dice, or her counters, or the game, or all three, I don’t know, but I got into trouble, and so did she, and we got into a fight, well not me with her, her with Apudo,” Orbon panted hard, “Apudo, she screamed and roared, and rushed about, and a dice hit Ekaterina, and and oh dear! I don’t know what happened after that, there was a lot of throwing of the dice, though noone moved any counters, and then I found counters thrown at me, and Ekaterina got hit by the dice, and it all went wrong!” Patch gently kissed Orbon’s nose, for the cub was now picking nervously at the rugs with his paws.

“it’s Okay Orbon,” patch said softly to the distressed cub.

“What happened?” Orbon asked, “why did Apudo get angry with me and Ekaterina for playing in our own way when we were bored of the snakes game? Did I or Ekaterina do anything wrong?” Orbon asked, his voice cracking.

“You did nothing wrong Orbon,” Sooleawa said softly, her heart going out to him, “you did nothing wrong,” she repeated, feeling her eyes fill with tears at the young bear’s bewilderment.

“let’s go play our game to its conclusion,” Ekaterina said to Orbon, “Orbon, my paws and feet are yours to play with.” Orbon snuggled into Ekaterina’s shoulder as she moved alongside him.

“Do you really want me to play with you?” he asked, “you’re, you’re not just saying that to cheer me up are you?” Ekaterina kissed his ear.

“My paws and feet would tell you the truth soon enough,” Ekaterina replied, “Orbon, I truly enjoyed our game. Now come, chase me, explore my paws and feet, make me curl my toes and bunch up my pads.”

“I don’t want you to do anything you don’t want to,” Orbon replied plaintively.

“but if you don’t touch my toes, I can’t play the game,” Ekaterina replied, “my toes don’t like me much so they won’t curl like they do when you touch them Orbon.”

“it was nice when your toes grabbed my paw,” Orbon replied. Ekaterina nuzzled his ear:

“Would you like them to grab your paw again?” she asked.

“I would,” Orbon replied. Ekaterina padded with Orbon to the large playroom where she crawled about a bit, until Orbon caught both her hind feet and tickled her toes. Then Ekaterina rolled over, sat up and pressed her feet against Orbon’s.

“Your pads are soft and warm,” Orbon said.

“Explore my feet with your paws if you like,” Ekaterina replied. Orbon picked up Ekaterina’s right hind foot and explored it with his paws, from furry top, to naked sole pads and easily curling toes.

“your pads bunch up easily,” Orbon said.

“they bunched up even more when I had my cubs,” Ekaterina said, “I really curled my toes then, curled them in agony I did.”

“My mama wouldn’t tell me about my birth,” Orbon replied, “she wouldn’t say anything about it.”

“I could ask patch how it was, then re-enact it for you?” Ekaterina invited. Orbon gasped as he realised she was serious.

“Would you?” he asked, “would you really do that for me?” Ekaterina curled the toes of her right hind foot around those of Orbon’s left paw in a comforting manner.

“Of course I would,” she replied gently.

“Maybe there is a reason I don’t want to tell you about your birth?” Lily demanded, pounding into the lie up, having monitored the conversation from her own lie up and sprinted to the soft play room.

“Oh,” Orbon replied in shock, “I didn’t think of that.”

“You came out backwards, and nearly died!” Lily roared, “that is why I don’t want to re-enact it!”

“now I know,” Orbon replied, “now I can understand why you don’t want to, rather than it being a flat no accompanied by a hard slap from an angry paw.”

“Lily!” Ekaterina snapped.

“I know,” Lily grumbled, “I’m shit at talking about this.”

“so you let your paws do the talking?” Ekaterina asked, now furious herself, “you know,” she almost choked with anger, “you know what talking with your paws did previously! How could you do that again? How could you?”

“I’m going, re-enact his birth if you want Ekaterina, I don’t want him anyway!” Lily screamed.

“Lily, stop!” Ekaterina commanded, trying to get to her feet, but Orbon held tightly onto her right hind foot, his grip becoming fierce. Lily hesitated, Ekaterina crawling to her, Orbon letting himself be dragged by the she bear, unable to bring himself to let go of her foot.

“Lily,” Ekaterina panted, “tell me this, tell me if you’re serious that you want to abandon Orbon.” Orbon felt her toes curling, and when she relaxed them, he took the chance to kiss Ekaterina’s now damp pads.

“I am serious Ekaterina!” Lily roared. Orbon’s grip tightened on Ekaterina’s right hind foot as he felt her toes curling again, she was getting worked up, he could feel her pulse racing.

“You horrid creature!” Ekaterina screamed, her pads progressing from mere warm to sweating with anger, “I hate you! You mate with Ebony, then you dump his cub! if I didn’t have firstly, a cub hanging onto my right foot, and a disability which means I can’t see you, I’d beat you up for your actions! I will look after this cub, I will I tell you!” Ekaterina screamed, her toes curling tighter and tighter with emotion.

“You’re disgusting!” Lily screamed.

“Speak for yourself,” Sita yawned. Lily screamed and rushed at her, the blind cat bear listening to the snorting breath and thudding footfalls of the she bear, and when she was close, she met Lily, throwing her off balance, then heaving her across the room to where she knew the foam pit was. Crashing into the pit on her back, Lily sank deep, some of the cubs who’d noticed the commotion pelting lily with foam balls, burying her further, Lily’s paws and feet the only things visible for a few minutes before she regained her composure and struggled from the pool, a foam ball hitting her on her backside as she crawled out of the pit.

“You sod, you bloody sod!” Lily screamed.

“Now go, go!” Sita snarled, “or do you want me to arrange a session in the bottle tops like Swarupa had? I can you know.” Lily, having heard the story of how Blackberry had thrown Swarupa into a skip full of bottle tops, and even trod on one herself once, shrank back at the suggestion.

“No, no, oh no!” she begged, running from the room.

“She’s gone now,” Ekaterina sighed, relaxing her grip on the rubber flooring.

“your pads are damp mama, and your toes are curled so tightly,” Orbon said.

“I’ll calm down in a minute,” Ekaterina replied breathlessly, forcing herself to calm down, the mere thought of Lily making her want to punch the floor in anger. Orbon, feeling he could do little else, began stroking the bunched pads of Ekaterina’s right hind foot that he’d been holding onto for the last hour.

“Keep that up Orbon, please,” Ekaterina gasped, her own efforts to calm down failing her miserably. Orbon kept stroking, stroking, stroking Ekaterina’s pads, until her toes uncurled enough for him to count them by touch, then stroke them also.

“thank you Orbon,” Ekaterina said, her paws now flat on the floor, toes relaxed, though she was still on her knees, her head drooping as it had when she was in labour, her whole body aching from emotional exhaustion.

“Are you all right mama?” Orbon asked. Ekaterina, feeling the young cub’s touch on the toes of her right hind foot smiled to herself.

“I’m getting better, thanks,” she replied.

“Can you help me play?” Orbon asked, “I mean, Sita helps me play, for she knows that I can’t see her, but she can’t help after hours as it were.” Ekaterina turned herself around, feeling Orbon’s paws, which had never let go of her foot since he took hold of it over an hour previously, moving round her foot as it turned in his grip. Once she was sitting comfortably, Ekaterina covered Orbon’s paws with hers, one of which was counting her toes by bending each down in turn from their relaxed state and holding them down. Ekaterina felt invigorated by Orbon’s touch, for she knew her paws told him what she really felt, that her paws were honest with him and he liked what they told him.

“yes, I will play with you. Though I think, I think you already know that Orbon,” Ekaterina said.

“I like your touch, and the pads on your hind feet too, and the way your toes curl cubbishly as I touch them, Ekaterina, you feel like a cub with more years of knowing how to be a cub than a cub should have.” Ekaterina whimpered with emotions she could not explain.

“I grew up too fast,” she admitted, “I had to, or, no, I thought I had to. A hind foot massage, or play with hind feet was always a way of doing something else, either calm a labouring mama or to soothe someone, it wasn’t play for play’s sake, I didn’t, couldn’t play for the sake of it, or massage a hind foot or tickle someone’s toes, or allow mine to be tickled just for the sake of being with another. I used to be able to do that, to play for play’s sake, to explore another’s body, paws and feet just because we liked to, and for no other reason.” Orbon traced Ekaterina’s pads, the she bear slightly curling her toes, enjoying his touch.

“your hind foot changes when you sit to when you kneel,” Orbon said. When you knelt in the games room, I felt you were frightened a bit.” Ekaterina choked back tears.

“Orbon,” she replied, “that, that was because that position was the one I got into when I wanted to bear down against fleur while she was coming into the world. You know that tale?”

“I do,” Orbon replied, “now, did you mean to sit on your heels? Why do that when it reminded you of pain?”

“I did it to hide the fact you were playing with my toes from Sooleawa and Apudo,” Ekaterina replied, “Sitting back on my heels feels good, it supports my backside a bit, and was a way of making my pads bunch a little without curling my toes, which I couldn’t do without concentrating hard on your touch, which I wanted to do, but couldn’t, as I was trying to do two things at once, and failing miserably.” Orbon felt the toes of Ekaterina’s right hind foot curling with emotion as she spoke, the words and feelings pouring from her in a flood which he soaked up with his paws, understanding her emotions and conflicts, though not analysing them. He saw her as distressed, but that distress was not to be analysed any further than it took to relieve her. if playing with her toes and stroking her pads did that for Ekaterina, Orbon was happy with the situation. he would ask no further questions.

“Can we measure hind feet?” Ekaterina found herself asking. Orbon smiled and nodded, setting her right hind foot down with gentle care. Then, by touch, he lined his feet up with Ekaterina’s, pressing pads to pads, heel to heel. Then measuring how far his toes reached up her foot. he found the tips of his toes were a little more than half way up her sole pad. Smiling, he pressed his toes into her pads, his claws cut short, as he found they got in his way, and he didn’t need them for tearing up logs for food, so had no need of cultivating long claws. Ekaterina, reaching round with her left paw, giggled as she found Orbon’s toes pressed into her pads.

“I could feel lovely pressure,” she said, “but I didn’t know what from, now I do know, and it feels even better.”

“so your feet are playthings?” Orbon asked.

“yes,” Ekaterina replied, “for me to play with, but even better if others play with them, for they then don’t know what will happen. She took his left hind foot in her paws and traced circles on his pads, Orbon curling his toes tighter and tighter as the circles got smaller and smaller towards the centre of his sole pad. Giggling delightedly, Ekaterina ran all five toes of her paw slowly down from Orbon’s curled toes to his heel, wiping the sensory drawing she’d just done on his pads, Orbon uncurling his toes by degrees as he felt her touch travel down the sole of his left hind foot.

“That feels wonderful,” Orbon exclaimed.

“I thought so too,” Ekaterina replied.

“that feels great,” Orbon said.

“I know it does,” Ekaterina replied, for you drew circles on my pads, I thought I’d repay the drawing.”

“but you got a dice in your face for letting me draw on your pads,” Orbon replied, his eyes filling with tears.

“that was my fault for not concentrating on the board game,” Ekaterina replied, “I’m sorry you got caught up in that Orbon.”

“did the dice hurt you?” Orbon asked. Ekaterina smiled.

“It was a shock when it hit me, but that’s all,” she said.

“You fought the lion cub very well,” Orbon said.

“I didn’t want to,” Ekaterina admitted, “but she hit you, and that won’t do, so I launched myself at her and we fought.”

“I wanted to play with your hind foot, not start a fight,” Orbon wailed miserably.

“I know my dear, I know,” Ekaterina replied softly, kissing his nose and paws.

“I just wanted to play,” Orbon sniffed.

“I know little one,” Ekaterina replied, letting go of his foot and pulling him into a huge hug. Sitting him on her lap, she cradled Orbon in her paws, Orbon feeling contentment and love flooding his senses, and soon he was humming with contentment, warm and safe.

“It’s all warm and comfortable here,” Orbon said, Ekaterina kissing his nose and paws.

“you’ve flipped from cub to mama!” Apudo jeered, exploding from a large tube in which she’d been hiding for half an hour, “which are you Ekaterina?” Ekaterina turned on Apudo, screaming and roaring.

“I’m your worst nightmare!” she replied, settling Orbon down and racing at the place where she thought Apudo stood. Apudo skipped sideways, Ekaterina blundering into the tube in which she’d been hiding.

“ow, bugger!” Ekaterina roared.

“You can’t catch me!” Apudo mocked. Suddenly she screamed:

“you can’t ow, ow! Ow! Oaoaoaoaow! “as Sita, padding noiselessly up behind her, smacked her hard on her shoulder, rolling her over onto her back.

“Now you are upside down kitty!” Sita laughed. Apudo roared and growled her anger at the cat bear’s attack on her.

“Get off me!” Apudo roared.

“I’m not touching you,” Sita said.

“But I am,” fleur mewed, putting her face close to Apudo’s and roaring into it.

“oaoaoaoaoaoaaow! Oooooooaoaoaoah!” Apudo screeched in fear, “It’s, it’s funny furred Fleur’s spirit!”

“No, my body too,” fleur replied, sitting down and washing, her back turned contemptuously towards Apudo.

“how?” Apudo asked.

“Ekaterina gave noisy and hard birth to me, that’s how,” fleur replied, finishing her wash and turning to Apudo, “now you,” fleur said, dabbing at Apudo’s nose with a fat paw, “will keep your paws off Ekaterina. She has done you no wrong, so don’t attack her.” Apudo looked into Fleur’s eyes, and wished she hadn’t.

“I’m going,” Apudo mewed, rolling onto her chest, getting to her feet and slinking away.

“Oh dear,” Orbon sighed, “she’s an angry lioness.”

“I think she’s stupid,” Aslan said, padding into the soft play room, “she’s my cub, but you wouldn’t know it. I thought I’d bred sensible cubs. Seems I’ve bred a troublemaker.”

“don’t blame yourself,” Ekaterina replied, “help her, show her she’s angry, and that her anger will make her ill. Show her it’s not good.”

“But she’s such a bully!” Lucky whimpered, “she bullies me Ekaterina, she slaps me with her paws whenever I get something wrong in a game.”

“What game did she slap you during?” Ekaterina asked.

“We were playing a chase game, and she slapped me after catching me!”

“I can’t think of a game which involves being slapped with paws,” Ekaterina said, “tickled toes maybe, but no slapping.”

“I know!” Lucky whimpered, “I think that lioness is violent, I don’t like her paws, they hurt!” he wailed.

“I think she needs to learn to play gently,” Sita mewed, sticking her head into the tube which Ekaterina had blundered up against, then crawling in. finding the wall, she crawled out backwards, Ekaterina hearing her shuffling. Grinning, she reached in and tickled the toes of Sita’s right hind foot, Sita screaming with laughter and catching Ekaterina’s paw in her toes.

“Who’s tickling my toes!” Sita yelled into the tube. Ekaterina leant down and kissed the pads of Sita’s right hind foot, Sita curling her toes even tighter in response.

“aoaoaoaow,” Sita gasped.

“Sorry Sita,” Ekaterina replied, “I couldn’t resist that.” Sita laughed merrily.

“It’s okay,” she replied, “it was a bit of a shock that’s all. Now, now can I please be let out of the tube?”

“Hold onto my other paw with the toes of your left hind foot,” Ekaterina replied, “hold on tight.”

“No, I’ll release your toes, and you grab my feet in your paws,” Sita said. Ekaterina shook her head.

“I can’t, that’s what Blackberry can do, he’s got opposable thumbs, I haven’t. I can however pull you out if you curl your toes around mine.” Sita did this, holding Ekaterina’s paws in the toes of both her hind feet.

“Pull my feet when I push with my paws,” Sita mewed. Ekaterina tugged at Sita’s hind feet, and Sita pushed with her forepaws, their combined efforts freeing Sita from the tube.

“I could pull on your tail Sita,” Lucky suggested, Sita growling at the thought.

“Paws off my tail!” she growled. Sita flopped onto the floor, her nose almost touching the rim of the tube she’d crawled into. Releasing Ekaterina’s paws and Getting to her feet, Sita flexed her legs and lashed about her backside with her tail. Orbon yawned, rolled onto his back, stretched his legs and then flexed the toes of each paw and foot in turn, sighing with pleasure, he got to his feet, then shook himself hard.

“I’m going out,” he said. Ekaterina was about to ask where, when she heard the door swish open, then close.

“he’ll be all right,” Sita said.

Deep in the wood, just over the road, a bear lay on the ground, he’d been lying there for a long time, seemingly longer than he could remember. The weather was cold, and rain was drenching him. Lying on his chest as he was, his right paw trapped by a foot trap, he couldn’t move very far. Indeed, the foot trap meant he couldn’t get to his feet. Miserable and lonely, the bear thought of his previous life, which he could just remember. He’d been loved once, loved by humans, indeed, the only thing that was dry was his head, as he wore the hat they’d put on him. He’d never complained, indeed, he thought it was the done thing for bears to wear hats. Whimpering to himself, he closed his eyes, certain death would come to him. Ages later, the bear heard something walking towards him.

“hello?” a voice said, a nose brushing his.

“hello?” the bear asked, his voice full of tears.

“Where am I?” the voice asked the bear.

“I don’t know!” the bear sobbed, “I was walking down this track some time ago, and my paw got trapped in a thing, and now I’m stuck here!”

“Let me see,” the voice said, the trapped bear opening his eyes to see who’d found him. When he saw who it was, his heart sank. A fat cub stood on the track beside him, and it was very clear the cub was lost.

“Where are we?” the bear asked.

“In the dark woods, well we call them dark round here, as there are no cameras,” the brown bear cub replied, “trouble is, well, I went wandering off alone, and now I’m lost. I heard your sobbing and came to see you to see if you could help me find the way home, but, well, you’re lost, and trapped too!”

“Um, yes, I, I am, oh dear, oh dear!” the bear said, beginning to cry, “I’m going to die here, we both are!”

“Well, I have a plan,” the cub said, “but, well, it will mean you walking, and if,,,” he stopped, the trapped bear feeling him exploring his trapped right paw.

“Can you feel this?” the cub asked, lifting the trapped bear’s paw and digging his claws in.

“Um, ow!” the trapped bear yelped, “what are you doing?”

“Great,” the cub said, “you can still feel your pads, lovely, now, lean on your paw a bit, that’s it, now just a little tugging here, and, now, roll onto your side, that’s it, and hold still, there!” As if in a dream, the trapped bear, a brown bear, but now plastered with black mud, sat up quickly.

“You, you got me out of there!” he sobbed.

“yes,” the brown cub replied, “now, I know you are lost, and so am I, but you are lost in a different way to me.”

“I don’t know where my home is,” the brown bear said.

“Well I know where mine is,” the cub replied, “and actually, I lied, I’m not lost, I can follow my scent. That was why I came into the dark woods, to test myself.”

“What? Why?” the now free bear asked.

“Can you walk?” the cub asked by way of reply, grabbing the freed bear’s right hind foot in a large set of paws.

“I don’t know,” the now freed bear replied, “I haven’t walked for so long.”

“Well if you don’t try, I’ll tickle your toes!” the cub replied in a playful tone.

“that sounds good,” the older bear replied, “you tickling my toes I mean.”

“it was a joke,” the cub said, “I would never tickle another bear’s toes without asking properly first. It’s rude to tickle the toes of a bear who’s name I don’t know too. Oh, silly me, my name’s Orbon, what’s yours?”

“Figaro,” the mud plastered bear replied, “I know it’s a funny name!” he continued defensively.

“Figaro,” Orbon replied, savouring the name in a manner that Figaro himself had never heard before, as if this cub respected his name, rather than teasing him for it as soon as he learnt it like most others had in his lifetime.

“Well Orbon,” Figaro replied, “I am a cub, half grown, two years old. You’re, um, oh dear, you’re younger than me!”

“yes I am,” Orbon replied, “but unlike you, I know my way home, and can get there.” At the reminder of this fact, Figaro began to cry again, but the grip on his right hind foot was reassuring, so his tears dried, “ my question to you,” Orbon said, “is, um, well, would you like to come home with me. the weather’s awful out here, and, and, well, it’s raining and cold, and you are wet from nose to paws and feet. I know this because you’ve been crying, and your paws are wet, and your feet are wet too, and there has been rain before I found you, and you’ve been lying on the ground and all, so you are wet, cold, and probably hungry too, yes?”

“All three,” well two, and a little of the third,” Figaro said, “I was cold until you took my foot in your paws, now I’m not cold.”

“Right,” Orbon replied, “now, please get to your feet, oh, and by the way Figaro, can you see me?”

“I can, but what kind of a question is that?” Figaro asked.

“I can’t see you,” Orbon replied, “My eyes don’t work.” Figaro felt a stab of pity, but then he revised that, it was he who needed rescuing, and this cub seemed to know where he was going.

“I can walk,” Figaro replied, giving tongue to his feelings, “but, but, this might sound strange, even unusual, or worse, but I don’t want to walk on my feet.”

“Can you fly then?” Orbon asked, smiling hugely.

“No, I didn’t mean that,” Figaro replied, his toes curling tighter by the second, “I mean, walking is boring, now that, now that, that I know.”

“Agreed,” Orbon replied, “but as we have no wings, and it is nasty play weather here, I suggest we play in the warmth of the house. I can get there by scent, so get to your feet Figaro, and follow me.” Figaro reluctantly got to his feet, Orbon biting the strong plastic cable tie off near the bear’s hind leg, but taking the peg with him, which he’d dug out of the ground. Figaro knew how strong this cub was, he could feel strength in his paws as they took hold of, and comforted him through his paws and feet. Following Orbon, who was concentrating hard on following scent, Figaro left the wood.

They padded to the main house, Figaro hard on Orbon’s heels. Reaching the door, Orbon reached up and yanked on a rope, which rang a bell above his head. The bell, ringing loudly, brought Sooleawa padding from her work room. Seeing Figaro she stuffed a paw into her mouth to stop herself laughing.

“Come in,” she said when she had controlled her mirth, “Orbon, Ekaterina wants to see you, she’s furious! I’ll deal with this bear, I take it you found him in the dark woodlands? I know where you went, a bird told me. now get indoors!”

“Orbon! Please?” Figaro pleaded, but Orbon was sent away by Sooleawa who ran the cub into the house without washing his paws or feet.

Ekaterina stood in the entrance, and caught Orbon as he blundered up against her.

“Where have you been?” she asked, “you’ve been away for hours!”

“I, I went to the dark part of the wood mama,” Orbon gabbled, “good job I did too, for I found a trapped bear, his name is Fig, fig, something beginning with fig anyway, and he was trapped by a foot trap, he was cold, and wet, and crying, so I freed him, and told him he could come here for some food and a bit of warmth. Ekaterina, mollified somewhat by Orbon’s tale, huffed a bit, but said nothing more.

“What on earth are these human things on your head and around your neck Figaro?” Sooleawa asked. Figaro whimpered with misery and embarrassment.

“my hat and scarf,” he replied, “I was, was owned by humans who put them on me. I’ll take them off if it’s offending you grey one.”

“My name’s Sooleawa, that’s silver,” Sooleawa spat, “I’m not grey,” was Sooleawa’s terse reply, “human clothing on a bear, what do these humans think they’re doing!” she growled.

“I’m sorry if it is wrong to wear these things!” Figaro whimpered, his distress mounting.

“It’s not wrong, just unusual,” Orbon called through to Figaro, “ignore her Figaro, she’s a windbag!” Sooleawa snorted in disgust, while Ekaterina couldn’t hide a huge grin.

“We can deal with his hat later, take it off for now Sooleawa, so you can get him clean, but give him his hat to take to Patch our leader,” Orbon said, “he must go with his hat and scarf, as that was what he was found with, though I didn’t notice him wearing anything. I suppose though I only touched his paws and feet. At least he wasn’t wearing boots,” Orbon whispered to Ekaterina, “if he had been, which I am sure he’s not, Sooleawa would have gone completely potty.” Ekaterina hissed through her teeth:

“You’re still in trouble, what the hell were you doing in the dark woodlands Orbon?”

“I was scent marking,” Orbon replied, “to see if I could find my way back home by smell. It worked too, I couldn’t see where to go, and Figaro didn’t know where to go, so I followed my own scent home. Good isn’t it.” Ekaterina rubbed Orbon’s nose with hers.

“You’re out of trouble,” she said, “that was a very clever thing to do, but don’t go into the dark woods next time, promise me that?” Orbon smiled hugely.

“I won’t go into the dark woodlands,” he replied, “but who set that trap? I left it outside the door. Ekaterina and Orbon went to the front door and Ekaterina sniffed at the strong plastic and peg.

“hmm,” she mused, “smells of human.”

“I thought that,” Orbon replied, “so humans are trapping in the woodlands?”

“oh no, no, please no!” Ekaterina wailed suddenly, “it can’t be whom I think it is. Mama Anook smelt of this scent after she’d dealt with jenny’s brother. He’s only stopped from shooting things, not from setting traps!”

“Why? Why set traps I mean?” Orbon asked, his fear rising.

“Humans like trapping animals for sport, or because they think they’re a pest,” Ekaterina grunted.

“so you know who trapped me?” Figaro asked faintly, padding up behind Orbon and making him jump.

“I know who set the trap,” Ekaterina replied. Figaro touched the wire with his paw.

“What was that about me going to meet the leader of this community?” Figaro asked.

“Oh yeah,” Orbon replied, “you have to approach the leader alone, it’s a right of passage here. He’s big and scary, and has a bad temper. Ekaterina walked away, fearing she would be unable to hide her smile.

“Patch is big and scary, and has big paws and huge hind feet, and is fierce!” Orbon continued, Figaro looking more and more uncomfortable.

“Stop it Orbon!” Ekaterina yelled from a nearby tree, “Patch isn’t anything of the sort! That poor bear doesn’t know us, and we should do nothing to frighten him.”

“I’ll send him to patch’s lie up though,” Orbon replied, “he can go alone, he’ll be safe.” Figaro looked so terrified that if Orbon or Ekaterina could have seen his face, they would have relented, but they couldn’t. swallowing his fear, he asked:

“how do I get to your leader’s lie up?” Ekaterina showed him to the underground car park, then through a passage to a lift. Figaro, having been around humans, and experienced lots in the two years he was with them, reared onto his hind feet and pressed the button. Turning to Ekaterina, he hugged her impulsively, Ekaterina feeling his fear and terror.

“You really are scared aren’t you,” Ekaterina whispered softly. Figaro broke down, despite his attempts to remain calm.

“Patch isn’t scary at all,” Ekaterina said gently, “I’ll come with you, I know him very well. He’s my mate.” Figaro, crying freely now, clung to Ekaterina.

“Come, let’s go, the lift’s here,” Ekaterina said, leading Figaro into the lift and closing the doors. Pressing the button for the lie up, Ekaterina felt the lift rising. With a ping and an announcement of “doors opening,” the lift arrived at the lie up.

“Oh hi!” a voice said. Ekaterina, smiling, led Figaro out into a well appointed sitting room.

“Who’s that?” Figaro asked.

“that’s Patch,” Ekaterina replied, “he probably knew we were coming, he can see us on the CCTV monitoring the underground car park.”

“why have a car park when you can’t drive a car?” Figaro asked.

“the person who owned the place before us could,” was Ekaterina’s reply.

“I noticed there was some commotion downstairs,” Patch said, “but I didn’t interfere, as everything looked to be calm in the end.” Figaro looked Patch up and down. Now sitting on the sofa, Patch regarded him calmly. Figaro looked into Patch’s eyes, and immediately wanted to run to him and throw himself into his lap, before hugging him tightly.

“Come on then, if you want to,” Patch said.

“come to you?” Figaro asked. Patch smiled:

“but that’s what you wanted to do wasn’t it?”

“yes, how did you know?” Figaro asked.

“if I told you, you wouldn’t believe me,” Patch replied. Figaro felt his toes curling with emotions, then he was running to Patch, throwing himself at the huge bear, clinging to him, hugging him and burying his face in the bear’s thick warm fur in a sudden explosion of need. Patch caught the flying bear and held him tight in a hug which Figaro needed more than anything else in the world. He’d been hugged like this so long ago, that he had forgotten how it felt, but his body hadn’t forgotten the need for a hug from his own kind.

“You’re a cub,” Patch said, “and cubs need hugs.” Patch kissed the top of Figaro’s head, the young bear feeling tears pricking the backs of his eyes.

“yes Patch, if I can call you that, “I need a hug, a cuddle.” Patch looked down at Figaro’s face.

“What are you doing wearing a hat and scarf?” patch asked.

“Orbon found me wearing them,” Figaro replied, “I’m free from humans now, so I could get rid of them.”

“I know how it is to wear clothing,” patch replied, “and if you wish to wear the hat and scarf, that’s fine by me. the only request we make here is that you keep your paws and feet bare.”

“I will do that,” Figaro replied, handing patch the hat. Patch perched the hat on his head and stuck his tongue out, Figaro laughing helplessly at how he looked.

“Oh patch, you silly!” he exclaimed, stuffing his paw in his mouth as if his mouth had spoken out of turn.

“I know,” Patch replied, “but you don’t look silly wearing it.” Handing the hat back to Figaro, Patch rubbed the half grown cub’s back with his paw.

“You have the paws and feet of a young cub,” patch said.

“I am a cub,” Figaro replied, his emotions threatening to overcome him again.

“You have a tale to tell,” Patch replied, “a tale similar to mine I feel.”

“Were you kept by humans?” Figaro asked.

“I was,” Patch replied, “indeed, I looked after a human myself. We were both abandoned, but I made sure she survived by using the ways of the human, including dressing in their clothes and adopting their mannerisms and customs. I also used their cutlery too.” Figaro smiled at the thought of Patch using cutlery.

“I have never learnt all you did,” he replied, “but I was dressed in a hat and scarf by the humans who kept me as their pet. I even had a chair that I would sit in while in their glass house that was attached to their main house.”

“how did u get away from their house?” Patch asked.

“They got a letter one day,” Figaro replied, “my owners, they got a letter from a council, telling them their housing benefit was going to stop. I know, I can read, I read the letter, though I didn’t understand it then or now. what I do understand is that the letter’s words made them cry and go into a panic, and I was taken out and thrown into the woodlands. I was taken into the woods and pushed from the car, and the car sped away. Suddenly I was alone, all I had in the world was a hat and a scarf. I had tender pads on all four paws, as I wasn’t used to walking on woodland ground. While my owners took me for walks, they did it at night, as they could not risk me being seen by others, in case they got into trouble for keeping a bear.. I walked through the woodlands, and got caught in that trap, and if it wasn’t for Orbon, I’d still be in that trap.”

“I don’t doubt you would,” Patch said. Figaro, sitting on his lap, leant into him, Patch embracing him tenderly.

“I think your safe here,” Ekaterina said.

“he is,” Patch replied, “and whomever it was who told him I was scary needs their paws slapped. I saw his face as he entered the car park, and felt so sorry for him.”

“it was Orbon who made out you were scary and fierce,” Ekaterina replied, “I’ll slap him for you.”

“I think he was only playing, but I was scared,” Figaro replied.

“he made you out to be big and fierce and bad tempered.”

“I’m not that,” patch said, switching to perfect English from modern ursine, which he’d been using up until now. Figaro’s expression made him smile.

“how?” Figaro asked, also switching to English.

“Eleven years with the humans,” Patch yawned, “I learnt complex things too. I read newspapers, and listened to the radio, and of course to other live humans. I learnt that way. Ekaterina doesn’t understand much English, so I mainly speak in ursine, so there it is.” Figaro stared at him.

“wow Patch,” he said softly, “are there any ends to your talents?”

“I used to fly a helicopter, fire guns, held licences for all that, and I was good at paw to paw combat. I still could use the paw to paw stuff, but I hate violence, so it’s only the punch bags that get the good news. The guns and other things,,,” he hesitated, “they left me after my sight got too bad. I can only see a little now, enough to see someone coming in the room, but that’s it. My long distance sight has gone. I can see enough to watch a cub playing with their toes etc, but the other stuff is denied to me. though it was only thanks to Sire Orbon that I got some sight back. My own eyes, they were made useless by an eye condition I didn’t know I had until it was too late. I’m grateful for what I have.”

“your touch is like Ekaterina’s and Orbon’s,” Figaro said, “it’s inquisitive, but not intrusive.”

“you are a cub,” Patch said in ursine, so Ekaterina could understand him, “your paws and feet tell me you are a cub, as they are soft padded.”

“My feet are sore,” Figaro said.

“I see Sooleawa washed you,” Patch replied, “how if I bathe your paws and feet and then get some food for you?” Figaro looked up into patch’s face.

“I would be very grateful,” he said.

“how about if we cut the formal stuff and speak plainly?” Patch suggested, “I’ll wash your feet and paws, then I’ll get some food for you. What are you used to eating?”

“I don’t know if you eat this sort of stuff,” Figaro replied, “but I like fish and chips. I used to eat it with the family with whom I lived.” Patch grinned and lifted a phone that rested on the table near his right paw.

“Sid? Oh, hi, Kendal? Yeah I know, you sound like your sire, now, please, can we get down to business?” Patch asked, “how’s things? good. I wonder ,do you have any of that good cod in your store? Right, can you do us three fish and chips? Thanks.” Putting the phone down he grinned at Figaro, who stared at him.

“What? Who?” he asked.

“The what is as you asked, the who is Kendal, a bear who cooks for us.”

“A bear who cooks?” Figaro asked, “like a human you mean?”

“Yup,” Patch replied, “ah,” he said, lifting his nose to the air and breathing deeply, “I smell something.” A rattling sound preceded Kendal, who padded in on his hind feet pushing a trolley. Figaro stared in astonishment.

“How?” he asked.

“I learnt how to cook,” Kendal said. Figaro stared open mouthed at the large grey bear.

“You’re fat!” he exclaimed. Kendal grinned and rubbed his belly.

“I cook, and I have to eat my own food to see if it is good,” he said. Kendal began handing out the plates, Patch and Ekaterina found their plates hot, the fish still cooking as it hit the plates, Kendal’s trolley upgraded to one with gas jets that he’d loaded with the food when it was five minutes from being cooked to perfection. The trolley had cold stores, and hot plates. Patch had wheeled it once, it was so heavy it had an electric motor in it to help aid propulsion. Kendal served the fish, then chips, then mushy peas, the whole lot steaming gently on the plates. Figaro, staring open mouthed, drank in the scene.

“I wish you could see this lovely food!” he said to Ekaterina, who smiled, for Patch showed her it from his point of view.

“Lovely,” she said. Patch gave Ekaterina her plate, and she grabbed a fork, holding it in her left paw, a knife in her right paw. Patch watched her as she tried to put into practise what he’d taught her. Ekaterina wanted to eat like Patch could, and she just about managed with a knife and fork.

“Remember what I told you Ekaterina,” Patch said, “Now you are using a knife and fork, your food is as hot as mine. Blow on your food before you try to eat it.” Ekaterina grunted, remembering burning her mouth on hot chips.

“this looks wonderful, and smells even better than that,” Figaro said.

“I love this,” Ekaterina said, after swallowing her first mouthful of fish. Kendal filled cups with water and wine, then sat down to await further instructions. Patch showed Ekaterina where her drinks were, and all three settled down to eating.

“Would you like a drink Kendal?” patch asked, poising the wine bottle over a cup.

“yes please,” Kendal replied, patch pouring a glass of wine for him.

“Thanks Kendal,” patch said, clinking glasses with the fat grey bear.

“I am not looking forward to tackling Jim about that trap,” Patch said, “he’ll not enjoy that.”

Patch, having finished his meal, looked at Figaro’s right foreleg. The cable tie was still around it, and smiling, Patch got a pair of wire cutters, and gently eased the blade beneath the plastic, squeezing, there was a snap, and the tie was able to be gently eased free. Patch, impatient, snipped another piece away, and freed Figaro entirely.

“Thanks,” Figaro said, “but Orbon truly freed me didn’t he.” Patch replied that Orbon had indeed freed Figaro.

“I wonder if I can face tackling Jim now,” Patch said, “I want to rip his head off, I must fight that wish.”

As it was Patch didn’t have to. Charles Fullbeans, having heard of the foot trap, went to the house and caught Jim, just as the latter was about to leave.

“I wish to speak to you about setting traps in the woodlands,” Charles said by way of introduction.

“I was setting snares to catch rabbits,” Jim said.

“Well, you caught a bear,” Charles replied, “and you are meant to visit a trap every two hours aren’t you? According to the bear, you didn’t visit in four. He was trapped soon after midday, and Orbon found him after dark.”

“So what if I deny the charges?” Jim asked.

“We’ll forensically examine the trap and convict you,” Charles said, “plus, the bears know you did it, they can smell you.” Jim sat down on a kitchen chair.

“what will happen to us?” he asked.

“You’ll lose your home if you don’t adhere to the rules of the woodlands,” Charles said. “we know things are tight financially these days, and trouble paying the rent would be understood and dealt with sympathetically, but shooting or trapping in the woods would not be looked kindly upon. You, your sister, and father would be thrown out of the house. Jenny would probably live with us, as we’ve sort of adopted her, well the community has.” Jim watched Charles leave.

Meanwhile, in the community house, Jenny and Sally played together, crawling round like the cubs, chasing each other, then tickling each other’s toes.

“it’s fun to play like the cubs,” Sally said. jenny smiled as the bell, which sally wore on her right leg so she could hear where she was crawling, tinkled. Sally, giggled as Jenny’s fingers tickled the heel of her left foot.

“I never knew chasing each other’s feet could be such fun,” jenny said. it’s all tactile play, which is great. No wonder poor Orbon and Ekaterina got bored and began to play with each other’s paws and feet during that game of snakes and ladders.”

“your pads are soft and warm,” Jenny said, “Sally, How do you get them so soft?”

“With oils and good treatment,” Sally said, “I’ll help you if you like.”

“but I know my toes will curl big time,” jenny said, “I know they will Sally, I won’t be able to stop them!” Sally laughed at this and sat down, picking jenny’s left foot up in her hands to examine it by touch.

“I heard Ekaterina saying to Orbon that when she sat back on her heels and he touched the sole of her foot it felt different to when she sat properly,” Jenny said.

“it does,” Sally replied, “would you like me to explore your foot from heel to toes?” jenny sat back on her heels, Sally gently exploring the sole of her left foot from heel to toes, jenny bouncing her backside on her heels with delighted excitement.

“This does feel unusual, but good too,” she exclaimed.

“I see many mamas sitting back on their heels while in labour with their cubs,” Sally said, “it helps with discomfort and pain I think.”

“It feels good to push my heels into my bum a bit,” Jenny said, “to sit back hard into my heels.”

“it helps,” Sally replied, “if I’d been a bit more with it while I was delivering Kuaizi, I would have done that, but it was a bit of a whirlwind.”

“You didn’t know what was happening at first, or so the tale says,” Jenny replied.

“It was a game at first, a silly cubbish game. Then, then, it got serious, and I was pushing, and I saw a mama panda dying in labour. I knew I had to help her,” Sally said, getting emotional, “I pushed, I pushed and yelled for her and her cub. I felt the cub come into me, and I screamed and pushed with the intensity of it, my toes and fingers curled, and I wriggled and heaved, then pushed and kicked and pushed some more, and then it was over, and Kuaizi was born.”

“Well done,” Jenny said, hugging Sally.

“Can you show me how Ekaterina was playing with Orbon?” jenny asked. Sally laughed:

“I’ll play Ekaterina, you play Orbon,” she replied. So Sally lay in an approximation of the posture Ekaterina was in during the snakes and ladders game, then invited Sally to find her right foot. jenny did, and Sally asked her to draw circles on the sole of her foot, using all the space. Jenny did so, Sally giggling and curling her toes tightly as the circles on the sole of her foot got smaller and smaller, then stretching her toes as Sally drew four fingers down the sole of her foot from heel to toes.

“so Ekaterina got a dice in the face for that?” jenny asked.

“Indeed,” Sally replied, “Apudo didn’t like the play between Orbon and Ekaterina.”

“can we swap places?” jenny asked. Sally giggled and they swapped roles, Sally laughing as Jenny drew circles on the soles of her feet.

Up in Patch’s lie up, Patch led Figaro to the bathroom where he used the relieving place and then Patch ran Figaro a bath in the sunken tub.

“Am I dirty then?” Figaro asked. Patch smiled and shook his head.

“This is what we do for new community members,” he said. Figaro choked back his tears.

“You mean, mean, Patch, you mean I can stay here?” he asked.

“of course,” Patch replied. Now take off that hat and scarf, and get in the tub.”

“I will,” Figaro said, “I can wash myself though. I know how to.”

“I don’t doubt you do,” Patch replied, “but how would it be if I washed you?” Figaro looked Patch up and down.

“Like a cub?” he asked hopefully.

“If you would like me to wash you like I would my cub then yes,” Patch replied.

“You know I do,” Figaro blurted.

“Ok,” Patch replied smiling. He helped Figaro into the water.

“Now turn round little one,” Patch said, “and step off the edge of the tub. I’ll guide your foot down. Figaro gave patch his right hind foot, Patch gently taking it in his paws and blowing gently on Figaro’s toe pads, making the half grown bear wriggle and laugh helplessly.

“that’s not part of washing!” he yelped, “but it feels good,” he added smiling.

“Sorry,” patch replied, “it felt the right thing to do that’s all.”

“it felt good at this end too,” Figaro replied, feeling his foot enter the water, and then touch the bottom. Once he knew the depth, he stepped down into the pool.

“Now I’m here, how do I wash now?” Figaro asked. patch smiled and helped him to sit down in the warm water.

“This feels wonderful patch,” Figaro said as Patch rubbed soap into his facial fur, the fur on the top of his head, and down as far as his neck. He then washed the soap off by showering Figaro with yet more water. Figaro lay on a ledge in about an inch of water, and Patch soaped his entire body. That felt wonderful to Figaro, but the best part was when patch attended to his paws and feet. Figaro found his toes curling, the soap squeezing pleasurably between his toes with a squelching sound that made him giggle despite his age.

“This feels wonderful!” Figaro exclaimed as patch worked on soaping his left hind foot. patch worked carefully, and by degrees, Figaro was washed, then rinsed, and dried carefully. Figaro, now dried and with his fur sleeker than he’d felt it for ages, padded to the main room of Patch’s lie up, where he found a large fat she bear lying supine on the sofa. Figaro looked at the she bear, taking her in from her large head, huge paws, brown fur and huge hind feet.

“What’s your name?” Figaro asked. Anernerk, dozing until he’d spoken, opened her eyes, stretched languidly and looked up at him. Figaro looked at the she bear, watching how she stretched, first her spine, then her legs, and finally her paws and feet, curling her toes and stretching them powerfully.

“She looks fantastic!” Figaro thought, his own toes curling with a rush of emotions.

“um, what’s going on?” the she bear asked, blearily rubbing her eyes with her huge paws, making Figaro’s toes curl even tighter, “Oh, who are you? Do you live here?” Anernerk asked.

“No I don’t live here, well, I suppose I do, how about you?” Figaro replied.

“No,” that is to say not in this lie up,” Anernerk replied, “I, well, I came here to see Patch, but, well, he was busy, and, and, well,” she seemed confused and flustered, “I lay down on the sofa and fell asleep, crawling takes it out of me, and sometimes I get really tired.”

“Crawling? Why?” Figaro asked, “can’t you walk?”

“I can’t,” Anernerk replied, “it hurts me if I walk on my hind feet.”

“Oh,” Figaro said, reaching out with a paw to trace the pads and count the toes of Anernerk’s left hind foot, the she bear watching him, then catching his paw with her toes.

“check my pads over if you like,” Anernerk said, “it won’t hurt me. only putting my weight on my feet hurts me.”

“So I could trace your pads and tickle your toes?” Figaro asked.

“You could,” Anernerk said, “and I think I’d like that.”

“would you?” Figaro asked, “I’m sorry for touching your toes without asking.”

“that’s what they’re there for,” Anernerk said, “but I can’t play with you without knowing your name can I?”

“My name?” Figaro asked dumbly, “oh, yes, right,” he laughed nervously, “it’s Figaro, and yours?”

“My name’s Anernerk,” Anernerk said.

“So you have to crawl everywhere?” Figaro asked.

“I do,” Anernerk replied, “I can’t walk on my hind feet, they start getting really hot, and then burning me, and it hurts, and it’s horrible!” Anernerk wailed.

“but your feet are bigger than mine!” Figaro laughed, “they’re huge Anernerk, how did you get feet like that?”

“Oh I don’t know,” Anernerk replied, “I suppose I sit about playing with them so much, I stretched them to be that big.”

“that’s so cute,” Figaro said.

“I was Joking,” Anernerk replied, “but, well, if you really want to know, I do play with my hind feet a lot, rubbing my pads and playing with my toes with both paws, you know how it goes, don’t you?” she asked, now fearful that Figaro had never played with his own hind feet and thought her silly for admitting to doing so.

“I know how it goes,” Figaro replied, “I know how it goes, and so do my feet, and all of my toes,” he sang slightly, Anernerk laughing at his tone.

“I’m not a cub!” she laughed, “but that was rather sweet.”

“sorry,” Figaro replied, blushing scarlet, “I didn’t mean, oh hell, that came out all wrong didn’t it?”

“I’d like you to sit beside me, on the sofa here,” Anernerk said, “but my toes have hold of your paw it seems, and, and, I can’t get them to let go!” Figaro kissed her nose.

“Try very hard, and they might,” he replied. Anernerk tried hard to relax her toes, but they wouldn’t relax. Whimpering, she reached forward and grabbed the toes of her left foot in her paws, tugging them straight. In this way Anernerk released her toehold on Figaro’s paw and shifted into a sitting position, Figaro kissing the toes of her left foot as they came closer to him. Laughing, Anernerk invited Figaro to sit beside her. when he was, she hugged him to her, kissing his nose.

“I wouldn’t mind you playing with my hind feet,” she said, “it would be very enjoyable I think.”

“I can’t see your feet now you’ve sat up,” Figaro said.

“oh, I suppose not,” Anernerk replied, “I’ll get down on the floor, then you can see them, and maybe, touch them too?” she asked. Figaro grinned.

“What makes you think my touch won’t burn like you feel when you stand on your feet?” he asked.

“I took your paw in my toes,” Anernerk said, “your pads didn’t burn my toes.”

“I suppose they didn’t,” Figaro said, “Anernerk, do you wish me to touch your hind feet?”

“Go on,” Anernerk said, “if it hurts, I’ll let you know.” Figaro knelt behind Anernerk’s hind feet, and very gently, ran his left paw down the sole of her right foot from heel to toes, Anernerk giggling and wiggling her toes, unable to stop them curling at the end as he pressed the ball of her foot with his paw.

“Oaoaoaoaw! Ooaoaoaoaoh!” Anernerk gasped, wriggling with pleasure.

“I’m I hurting you?” Figaro asked, withdrawing his paw hurriedly.

“No, oh no!” Anernerk gasped.

“I’m sorry!” Figaro wailed, looking frightened.

“No, no, you’re not hurting me, quite the opposite!” Anernerk panted, “I’m sorry Figaro, your touch was almost too much! It made me feel so dam good!”

“I’m glad it made you feel good,” Figaro replied faintly, “I, I could, could touch your other foot in the same way?”

“yes, please do!” Anernerk said, her eyes shining, “but please, rub my pads a bit, count my toes too?” Figaro looked into Anernerk’s face, crawling round to touch her paw.

“Please,” Anernerk said, “take my feet in your paws one by one and stroke my pads, stroke my pads and count my toes until I throw myself on the floor and beat the floor with my paws with pleasure?” Figaro looked into her eyes, her paw hot and getting hotter by the second under his.

“Your feet are hurting you aren’t they?” he asked, seeing tears in Anernerk’s eyes.

“They hurt yes,” Anernerk whispered, “they are burning me, my paws are burning me too! but, but your touch, your touch makes me forget that! So come on, touch my hind feet, rub my pads, count my toes, please?” Figaro crawled to the she bear’s right hind foot and leaning down, breathed on her pads, Anernerk wriggling with pleasure. Then he ran his paw down the sole of her foot from her heel to her toes, Anernerk moaning with pleasure, her toes curling tightly, pads bunching with urgency.

“I love that!” Anernerk panted, “it’s so good!”

“But your paws and feet were burning!” Figaro whimpered.

“Your touch soothes them!” Anernerk gasped, wriggling madly, “Figaro, grab my feet, hold them, stroke them, and don’t let go, no matter how hard I struggle! My emotions towards you make my feet and paws burn, but your touch soothes them! I can’t win either way, if I don’t have your touch, my feet and paws hurt me, and if I do have your touch, my feet and paws get soothed, but my emotions make them even hotter, and I want your touch even more to soothe my burning pads, and it’s all too silly!” Figaro smiled, gently drawing the claws of his left paw down Anernerk’s right foot from heels to toes, Anernerk roaring with emotions she didn’t know she could feel.

“Oh dear, what is this!” Anernerk panted, “this is making me feel so complete!”

“You love him?” Patch asked Anernerk, who glanced up at him.

“I feel like I’ve known him all my life!” she panted, “that’s rubbish, I know, I know that’s rubbish!” she continued, “but, but that’s how I feel! When, when I curled my toes around his paw that first time, things were good, but this is excellent! This feels so wonderful, and lovely, and the pain in my paws and feet is different to that which I have when I stand on my hind feet. It’s a sort of throbbing excitement, not really a pain at all, but the more I don’t have his touch, the more I want, the more I have, the more I need! It’s a vicious circle! But it’s a lovely circle, he loves touching my feet, and I love them touched!”

“You love him I think,” patch replied, “he’s communicating to you and you to him.”

“I don’t want to have cubs though,” Anernerk said, “and neither does he. It’s deeper than that, much, much deeper.”

“How do her pads feel to you Figaro?” Patch asked.

“Soft, and warm, and they are communicating with me, deeply with me,” he said, unafraid to speak his feelings now.

“Your face, fur and paws are beautiful from your ears to your paw pads, you are wonderful Anernerk!” Figaro blurted. Anernerk laughed merrily.

“Now please can I touch your paws and feet?” Anernerk asked. Figaro smiled and nodded.

“I’d like that,” he replied smiling, “Anernerk, did you know you have no claws on any of your paws or feet?”

“I know,” Anernerk replied, “I don’t know why that is though, I’ve never had claws.”

“I think it’s rather cute,” Figaro replied. Anernerk turned and crawled to Figaro, who rolled onto his side, spread his paws wide and embraced Anernerk, the she bear snuggling up to him, pressing herself into his hug, both bears ending up curled together in one big bear hug. Patch watched them, smiling as Anernerk and Figaro fell asleep.

“Hi patch,” Hattie said, padding into the lie up. Patch smiled at the young bear.

“hello Hattie,” he said, kissing her nose.

“Patch,” Hattie said, “can, can you tell me about my sire?”

“Your sire?” patch asked, “I’ve never met him,,,” he took Hattie’s paw in his, sitting down to do so, “your sire,” Patch mused, his eyes closed, thinking hard, “there is something,” patch said, “something about a screaming bear, screaming by a den in a wood, a wood a long way from here. A bear, a brown bear,” Patch said, Hattie’s toes curling at his story, “a brown bear crying at the entrance to a den, where a dead cub lies. The brown bear, weeping for his cubs, for he has lost two. He’s searching, searching for days, seasons even. He weeps at night, crying himself to sleep. He is restless, anxious and haunted by the memory of his other cub, though I can’t see into his eyes to get a look at the cub whom he seeks. I feel him crying out in anguish to anyone who can help. I have offered him my paw, or at least I did in the dream. I don’t know if he took my advice, for I think I know whom he seeks.”

“So do I,” Hattie replied tearfully, “Patch, can you bring him here?”

“he’s a whirlwind of emotions, fear mostly,” patch replied, “he can’t bring himself to hear my message, he fears I am wrong. One more night, one more night, if I’d had one more night with him.” Hattie sighed miserably, giving up hope, “but he slammed the door on me,” Patch replied, “he told me not to give him hope where there was none.”

“but you weren’t teasing him, you weren’t Patch, you weren’t!” Hattie sobbed.

“I know that, and deep down, deeper down than he knows, so does that brown bear,” Patch replied, Hattie’s paw now hot in his.]

“I know you have met my sire,” Hattie replied, “mama told me he was wild, emotional too. he couldn’t watch her give birth to me, for it hurt him to see her in pain, even if it was pain for a good cause.”

“I feel he is near here,” Patch said, “he is emotional. I sense he stayed nearby when your mama was giving birth to you Hattie, even though he could not watch.”

“Is he near here?” Hattie asked. Patch smiled and looked into the distance, as if seeing into a place Hattie’s normal sight could not.

“he’s near,” he replied, “but he’s locked me out, so I can’t calm him. I can only feel a whirlwind coming near, it’s gonna be traumatic when he comes into the house.”

“Traumatic?” Hattie asked, looking nervous, “is he dangerous?”

“No, he’s upset and scared, and very worried,” Patch replied.

“how worried?” Hattie asked.

Sooleawa, bathing her paws in her pool, was reading a book she’d got from Patch’s lie up. Sooleawa had learnt to read, as patch had taught her. Sooleawa heard a scuffling of paws, heavy paws they were, then she heard panting coming near her door. Stepping from her pool, she put the book down and confronted the bear at the door.

“Who are you?” she asked, facing the large brown bear who stared wildly about, sniffing the air.

“I know she’s in here, I know she’s here!” the bear squealed.

“Who?” Sooleawa asked, “and you can’t come in here with those muddy paws and feet either.”

“My cub!” the bear wept, “my cub, my lost cub! I can smell my cub’s here!”

“I’ll wash your paws and feet and you can then see if you can find her,” Sooleawa replied.

“let me go now!” the bear yelled, rearing onto his hind feet and striking Sooleawa in the face with his paw, Sooleawa roaring and rubbing her face with her paw, watching the bear disappearing inside the house.

Patch watched as Sooleawa, having hit a panic button and the computers focused the cameras on the fleeing bear, watched as he came barrelling through the house, right to Patch’s lie up. Patch stopped the now screaming male bear.

“How dare you hit my cub!” patch roared, lunging at the male bear, bringing him down, the brown bear submitting with a heart rending roar of pain and rage.

“I want to see my cub!” the bear roared, while Hattie, looking on, became confused.

“I know him!” she yelled, Patch helping the distressed bear to his feet.

“You have my cub here!” the bear wept.

“I know,” patch replied, “I wish you hadn’t slapped Sooleawa in the face though, it’s not very nice.” The brown bear stared at Patch, then he looked at Hattie, who looked up at him.

“Hi Mecho,” she said. the male bear choking back tears.

“I’ve been looking for you for so long!” the brown bear choked.

“patch guided you here didn’t he,” Hattie said.

“I don’t know!” Mecho said, “I kept having these dreams, dreams where I would see you Hattie, and, and every time I had that dream, I saw a big grey bear who told me he knew where my cub was. I told him he was talking rubbish, but he continued to tell me you were safe, but, but I blocked him out in the end. He told me to follow my paws, and I did, and you’re here!”

“I am,” Hattie replied gently.

“now you’ve seen your cub is safe, come and get your paws and feet washed!” Sooleawa said, padding up behind the newcomer and looking as if she wanted to kick him in the tail.

“Look, silver one,” the newcomer said, “I, I’m sorry for hitting you. You were a barrier to me finding my cub!”

“I didn’t see that,” Patch replied, “but no wonder Sooleawa hit the panic button and focused the camera.”

“My face stings like mad!” Sooleawa whimpered.

“how if you go to Blackberry?” Patch suggested, “he’ll find something soothing to bathe the place.”

“I’m right behind you,” Blackberry said to Sooleawa, touching her shoulder with his paw. Smiling, she turned to him, embracing him.

“I’ll bathe your face and then you can wash Mecho’s paws,” Blackberry said. Sooleawa smiled and kissed Blackberry’s nose.

“thank you,” she whispered.

Blackberry took Sooleawa to his lie up and washed her face, then he put some ointment on her grazes where Mecho’s claws had grazed her, Sooleawa yelping as the alcohol stung.

“that hurts!” she sniffed, tears welling in her eyes.”

“yeah, sorry,” Blackberry replied, and he meant it too.

“Blackberry,” Sooleawa said, “about Figaro and Anernerk, I think they’ll have cubs before long, she likes him!”

“I know,” Blackberry replied smiling, “and he her too. she’s old enough you know, old enough to have a cub that is.”

“yes,” Sooleawa replied, her eyes fearful, “Blackberry,” she sniffed, “I’ve, we’ve, Moonshadow and I, we, oh dear Blackberry, we, we, we mated,” Sooleawa gasped, burying her face in her paws and weeping bitterly.

“I can’t, I can’t give birth to his cubs!” she wailed, “I’m too small, I’ll die!”

“No you won’t,” Blackberry replied.

“I will!” Sooleawa raged, “the cubs will get stuck, and then, and then, and then, then I’ll push and heave, and scream and cry, and then they and I will die in pain! I know it! Even you won’t be able to get your paw in to rescue them! I’m too small to have cubs!”

“No you’re not,” Blackberry replied, “you have come into season, and Moonshadow felt it, as did you, and you two mated. You’ll be fine. Eat well, and you’ll have the strength to push the cubs into the world.”

“what if I want to get rid of them?” Sooleawa asked quickly, “is there anything I can take that will end the pregnancy here and now?”

“I’m not doing that!” Blackberry roared, his gentility flying out of the window, “you can’t ask that of me!”

“but you do know how?” Sooleawa asked.

“Think on it,” Blackberry replied, “Sooleawa, how long ago did you and Moonshadow mate?”

“About two months back,” Sooleawa replied, sniffing hard.

“your cubs will be beautiful,” Blackberry mused, “you a silver grey bear and Moonshadow deep grey, how lovely.”

“But I don’t want cubs!” Sooleawa screamed.

“Did Moonshadow ask you to mate with him?” Blackberry asked.

“yes he did, and we played, silly cub games at first, got our paws and feet thoroughly stuck together, freed, stuck again, and freed again, then we chased each other’s toes, tickling each other’s toes too,” Sooleawa replied, her eyes shining as she remembered, “then, then we mated, he didn’t ask a second time, I just, just, well, just let him in, and he mated with me, and I with him,” Sooleawa said. then continuing faintly, “We, we played like cubs, then, we made cubs Blackberry.”

“I will not do as you wished me to do,” Blackberry replied, “Sooleawa, you were not taken by force, Moonshadow did not dominate you, then force you to mate with him?”

“No, no, he didn’t,” Sooleawa replied, realising she’d have to go through the birth of her cubs.

“I must break this fear!” she exploded, rearing onto her hind feet and slapping her head with alternate paws.

“that won’t do it,” Blackberry replied, “talk to Ekaterina, talk to Lily, even to Jemma and Cynthia. They’ll give you tips.”

“I’m not going to deliver a cub as big as Cynthia’s am I?” Sooleawa asked.

“No,” Blackberry replied, “but the process is the same. They felt what you’ll feel. They curled their toes and screamed like mama bears while delivering their cubs.”

“I’ll ask mama Anook too,” Sooleawa said, “she’ll know how delivering a cub feels.”

“let your body go with it, that’s my advice,” someone said.

“Conrad?” Sooleawa asked, looking round, and seeing noone.

“I heard him speak to me, I heard him speak to me!” Sooleawa squealed, bursting into tears.

“I know Sooleawa, I know,” Blackberry replied hoarsely, gulping hard, for he’d heard sire Conrad’s voice too.

“You mean don’t push at the end?” Sooleawa asked.

“yes, let the cub come at the end,” Conrad replied, “ease the cub out, don’t panic and fight the pain.”

“I won’t,” Sooleawa replied softly, “but what if I really can’t bear not to push? Can I then?”

“yes, but only when it gets really tight,” Conrad replied, “mama Kamchatka didn’t, she panicked and trapped Ekaterina in for longer than she should have been.”

“So if mama Kamchatka had breathed through her contractions, she wouldn’t have a blind cub now?” Sooleawa asked, stunned.

“yes,” Conrad replied.

“so if she’d relaxed, Ekaterina would have slipped into the world, instead she got stuck?” Sooleawa asked flatly, too stunned to realise she’d had this confirmed already.

“yes that’s the case,” Blackberry replied.

“Kamchatka pushed so hard she was exhausted, and relaxing wasn’t on the cards for Kamchatka. That’s why Kamchatka had to push hard throughout. She had no fluid left to lubricate the cub.”

“Ekaterina was dry when she emerged?” Sooleawa asked.

“yes,” Conrad replied, “I was more intent on getting her out than mama Kamchatka’s comfort at that stage. I’m not a midwife, I was terrified for our cub.”

“Ouch!” Sooleawa replied, wriggling at the thought of delivering a dry cub, “that must have hurt!”

“it did,” Conrad replied, “mama told me it hurt her worse than anything else she’d ever felt till that date.”

“So I roll, and wriggle, and kick, and swim, and sit back on my heels, and roar, and rock on my backside, and lie down kicking the air with my feet and paws, and curl my toes, and sit back on my heels, bouncing my backside, and pant, and pant, and pant?” Sooleawa asked, “I don’t push?”

“Only when it becomes unbearable not to push,” Conrad replied, “try everything else first.” Sooleawa turned impulsively towards where she thought Conrad’s voice was, and embraced what she felt her paws come into contact with. She felt shaggy fur, then a gentle kiss on her nose.

“I’ll be with you throughout it all,” Conrad whispered to Sooleawa, who buried her face in Conrad’s thick fur and burst into tears.

“it’s gonna be all right Sooleawa, I promise,” Blackberry said gently, stroking Sooleawa’s head with his paw.

“I know, deep down I know,” Sooleawa choked, “but, but, my fear tells me it’s gonna all go wrong. I must get over that.”

“We’ll all be there for you,” Blackberry said, “me, Ekaterina, and Sire Conrad of course.”

“I need someone with small paws and a lot of strength,” Sooleawa said, “just in case, well, just in case I need help to deliver the cubs.”

“I’ll be as gentle as I can be,” Blackberry replied. Sooleawa hugged him.

Meanwhile Mecho and Hattie snuggled together in Patch’s lie up.

“I love you my Sire,” Hattie said softly.

“I you too,” Mecho replied, kissing her nose and paws.

“ah, that’s so sweet!” Anernerk said, Mecho looking up at the sound of her voice.

“Who are you?” he asked, “I didn’t see you there.”

“My name’s Anernerk,” Anernerk replied, “I live here, I was curled with Figaro, who’s still asleep. Now, I see you are Hattie’s sire?”

“I am, I have been looking for her for years,” Mecho replied.

“I saw you come in, all paws and screaming,” Anernerk said tenderly.

“I attacked a young female bear, ,” Mecho replied, “I’m sorry for that.”

“She’s all right now,” Hattie said, glancing up at a screen.

Meanwhile, Sooleawa stared at Blackberry, her toes curled into the tiles at the entrance to his work room.

“I’m gonna hate delivering my cubs,” Sooleawa said.

“We’ll all help you,” Targon said, padding into the room, her pads squeaking slightly on the recently mopped floor.

“Even the humans can help, jenny was great with Hope when she delivered Jewel,” Blackberry said.

“and so were you when you helped me deliver Caleb,” mama Targon reminded him, “as was Jenny helping little Targon, and yes I have forgiven her for delivering a cub so young.”

“What did she name her cub?” Sooleawa asked.

“I don’t think she has yet,” Blackberry replied.

Little Targon pinned Koda down to his lie up for a very special purpose. She couldn’t think of a name for her cub, and wanted his help with reading the internet. Banging on the keyboard, he consulted the internet, looking alternately at her cub and the screen.

“this is no dam good!” Koda raged, thumping the keyboard with his paw, making it jump on the desk.

“Who’s banging about mama?” Targon’s cub asked. Targon was about to answer when her cub wriggled free of her embrace and crawled towards Koda. Koda got off the chair and sat on the floor, the cub scrambling clumsily into his lap.

“hello little one,” Koda said, kissing the cub’s nose. The cub, giggling, rolled onto his back and waved his paws and feet at Koda, Koda blowing on the cub’s small pads and tiny toes.

“That tickles!” the cub laughed.

“I know,” Koda replied.

“What’s your name?” the cub asked. Koda told him.

“You are sire Koda now though,” the cub said, “you had a cub, I’ve met her! she tickled my toes yesterday!”

“That’s Wihakayda all over,” Koda said smiling, “she is rather tactile, is good with her paws is my cub.”

“What name will I have?” the cub asked.

“I think we could name you Avonaco, Koda replied, “it means lean bear, and you are quite a slim cub.”

“Thank Eohippus he is,” little Targon said, “if he was any fatter, well,” she paused, wriggling with what Koda took to be real discomfort at the thought of delivering him into the world if he’d been any larger.

“I’ve always wondered what it is like to deliver a cub,” Koda said, “well not always, since mama Titania had Wihakayda. It seemed so much effort and pain to deliver something so small.”

“it’s like the most horrendous effort to relieve yourself you’ve ever had to make,” mama Targon said, “then after the cub is through transition, it just stretches you more than you can bear, making you scream and push with all your strength. But that transition is horrid, that hurts so much!”

“Sooleawa will be happy to hear that,” Koda sighed, “she’s got in cub to Moonshadow.”

“Lovely,” little Targon replied, “they’ll make good parents I’m sure.”

“it’s the bit before that Sooleawa’s worried about I think,” Koda said, “she doesn’t like seeing births. I think she forced herself to witness one live once, but she can’t stand them mostly. I think it stems from her own delivery, she got stuck poor thing, and she’s scared it will happen to her cubs.”

“Poor Sooleawa,” Nanuq said, padding into the room, “she is so scared she’ll not be able to have the cubs safely.”

“I know who she really wants to be with her while she has her cubs, but he can’t be there,” Koda replied.

“Who’s that then?” Nanuq asked.

“Sire Conrad that’s whom,” Koda replied, “he’s very dead though, and he can’t help her now.”

“Maybe when Ekaterina gets paws on with Sooleawa he can talk to her that way,” Nanuq replied, “after all, it has been said Ekaterina has Conrad’s paws.”

“Indeed,” Koda said, “small paws and hind feet with compact toes which easily curled in response to pleasure or pain, I know, I have been close to Conrad’s and Ekaterina’s paws and hind feet.”

“I know you have too,” someone said. Koda turned his head, stared, and screamed.

“it’s Sire Conrad!” the polar bear grinned broadly.

“now I’ll go to my cub and help her by way of thanks to her for what she did for me,” he said.

Sooleawa lay down in her lie up, suddenly feeling very much in cub. her stomach churned with nerves, and her toes could not stop curling tightly and relaxing suddenly until they hurt, Sooleawa closed her eyes and clenched her teeth as her discomfort increased, the cycle repeating itself until she was exhausted, even then, sometimes she’d be forced to curl her toes beyond exhaustion, whimpering and crying as they went into spasm, Sooleawa wriggling, then rolling about in agony.

“Stop this, stop it! I can’t cope with this!” Sooleawa yelled aloud, “if this is what labour is like, then I’m finished now! I don’t want it!” Sooleawa rolled right, stretching out all four limbs, groping at nothing with curled toes and bunched fists. Crying, she endured her pain. Sooleawa thought of Conrad, remembering him, loving her memories, memories which made her cry out in abject grief. Sooleawa felt paws enveloping her, warm paws, small paws for an adult bear, but they were warm paws, lovely warm paws.

“Conrad?” Sooleawa sobbed, “is that you?” her answer came in the form of a kiss to her nose.

“Relax Sooleawa, I’m here now,” Conrad said softly, rubbing her back with his paw.

“How?” Sooleawa asked.

“Don’t ask,” Conrad replied, “I don’t know., but I’m here, at least until your cubs are born.”

“I don’t want you to go,” Sooleawa replied, “Conrad, don’t leave, please!” Conrad curled round Sooleawa, embracing her tenderly.

“hug me Conrad!” Sooleawa begged, Conrad embracing her with tender care.

“I’ll stay here as long as you need me,” he whispered.

“How about forever?” she asked, “Conrad, you know, you know I was serious about being buried alive with you when you went into shock that first time don’t you.”

“Yes my dear, I know that,” he replied, “now, be calm Sooleawa, you are exhausted, your paws ache, and your head is discomforted.” Sooleawa touched the male bear’s face, ears and paws. then she opened her eyes and looked at Conrad, something she’d dared not to do before this.

“Conrad is real, he’s here, I can see his fur, and his paws, and his face, and everything!” Sooleawa thought.

“Kiss my nose Sooleawa, please,” Conrad pleaded, Sooleawa embracing him in her paws and kissing his nose.

“were you with mama Anook while she delivered the cub of that shot bear?” Sooleawa asked.

“I was,” Conrad replied, “I soothed her pain a bit too, though she doesn’t remember me I don’t think.”

“if you went to her, she might,” Sooleawa replied.

“she wouldn’t want to see me, she hated me,” Conrad replied.

“She didn’t, not in the end,” Sooleawa replied, “you know she came back don’t you?”

“yes,” Conrad replied, “but she wouldn’t want to see me again.”

“I wouldn’t be so certain of that,” Sooleawa replied, “you didn’t hear what was happening in Ekaterina’s birthing pool last week. Ekaterina had a difficult time with mamma Anook. She thought she was in labour, and she cried out for you while she pushed and rolled about.”

“Was she reliving Ekaterina’s birth?” Conrad asked.

“I think she was,” Sooleawa replied, “in the end Ekaterina had to bully her out of the pool to stop her flashback as Ekaterina was too scared to let it continue, but now Anook is walking around in a dream, as if she needs to continue the agony to end it.”

“I’ll find her and help her,” Conrad replied, “but we had no birthing pool when Ekaterina was born. Why would Anook experience it there>?”

“Maybe she just wanted to feel your touch so much she thought that if she put herself in that situation you’d touch her paws and feet from across the bridge,” Sooleawa replied.

“I’ll go to her,” Conrad replied, “but I am here for the duration of your pregnancy Sooleawa.”

“Thank you,” Sooleawa replied, watching Conrad pad from the room, loving him from his nose to the pads of his hind feet.

Conrad followed mama Anook’s scent to her lie up, where he lay down beside the mama black bear. Taking her right paw in his paws, he felt her exhaustion, her sleep born of physical exhaustion.

“mama,” Conrad whispered, “I’m here, I’m back for you.” Anook reached out with her paws, grabbing Conrad and embracing him.

“You are here, you are here!” she wept, “I can release myself now.”

“Do you have nightmares about Ekaterina’s birth?” Conrad asked.

“I do,” Anook replied, “I know what I did wrong Conrad, I know what I did wrong!”

“You can’t undo what you did,” Conrad replied, “but you can describe how it felt to me, labour like you did, and relax instead of straining yourself to exhaustion.”

“I want to explain how it felt, I really want to tell you Conrad,” Anook said.

“I know you pushed, I know you panicked and heaved and curled your toes, and screamed, and roared. I watched your labour with sympathy.”

“Can I touch your paws Conrad?” Anook asked.

“You can,” Conrad replied. Anook sat opposite Conrad, and touched his hind feet with hers, noticing that her toes barely reached his, the tips of her toes touching the balls of his feet. Pressing her toes into Conrad’s pads, Anook felt Conrad’s toes curling around hers. Wriggling with excitement, she cried out with emotion as Conrad’s feelings flowed into her pads and from there to her nerves and to her brain. Anook realised something then, she loved Conrad, she loved him deeply, so deeply it hurt her as much as Ekaterina’s birth had.

“I love you Conrad!” Anook said, embracing him with her paws.

“I love you too, and I won’t leave you again,” Conrad said softly, “I need you, you need me. come, let me embrace your paws, and your feet, and your body.” Anook gave herself to Conrad, the male bear embracing her, kissing her nose, then her paws, then her belly, then the pads of her hind feet, Anook wriggling and kicking the air with her feet like an excited cub.

“cute that is,” Conrad said, letting Anook kick his paw with her right foot.

“you soppy bear,” Anook laughed.

“Now I love your face, your paws and your feet,” Conrad said. Anook looked at Conrad.

“You came back for Sooleawa didn’t you,” she said.

“I did,” Conrad replied, “but maybe, just maybe, if you want me to, I could stay a little longer.”

“Are you healthy now?” Anook asked.

“the polar bear who’s body I took over marched my old body pretty closely,” Conrad replied, “I can stick around as long as those who need me here need me to stay.”

“how about forever?” Anook asked.

“Noone can go on forever,” Conrad replied, “it was that I found my paws on the bridge before my time that I’m allowed back here. Now I’m here, and you are here, and we can join paws!”

“You don’t understand what your touch does for me Conrad!” Anook replied.

“I do,” Conrad replied smiling, “for you do the same for me. you make my pulse race, and toes curl, and my eyes fill with tears of love for you.”

“I love you Conrad!” Anook blurted.

“I you too, from your nose to your toes,” Conrad replied gently.

“Why did I ever leave you Anook?” Conrad asked, “look, I know if I hadn’t little Koda might not have been born and all that, but I am regretting what I did!”

“I know mama,” Conrad said, “and Koda is lovely, I love him, even if he does think spirits don’t exist.”

“he thinks he’s sceptical, but he’s not,” Anook replied smiling.

Meanwhile, Koda watched what was going on in Anook’s lie up on the screen in his own.

“the computers could be mocking all this up,” Koda thought, I’m going to touch Conrad, I’m going to touch him, and kiss his nose, and his paws. Koda fled from his lie up, along to mama Anook’s lie up, and burst in.

“Hi Conrad!” Koda babbled, “I want to touch you! can I touch you? please?” he asked more soberly. Conrad sat up, then back, and spread his paws in the classic mama bear posture, Koda seeing this, and running to him, throwing himself into Conrad’s embrace and burying his face in the polar bear’s fur, feeling Conrad’s paws around him, Koda breathing deeply as he was enveloped in Conrad’s embrace.

“can you teach me to play?” Koda asked.

“I’m not very good at playing,” Conrad protested. Ekaterina, padding in, scented Conrad, trotted up to him and kissed his nose.

“You are here, you’re here, able to be hugged and played with,” Ekaterina yelled, pushing Koda out of the way, Koda snorting with indignation and whacking Ekaterina, the two grown bears scrapping on the rugs.

“Stop it you two!” Anook snapped, “there is enough space for both of you!”

“I can hug both cubs,” Conrad replied, “now you two, stop fighting each other!” Conrad separated the scrapping bears and sat them down on opposite sides of the room, Ekaterina and Koda feeling like naughty cubs.

“they look like they’ve been cuffed by their sire Conrad,” Anook giggled.

“Well they have,” Conrad replied.

“What do we do now Ekaterina?” Koda called over to his sister, “we’re in the naughty corners!” Ekaterina sighed heavily.

“I suppose we have to wait for the adults to make their decisions, after all, we acted like silly cubs.”

“come in closer you two,” Conrad said, “slowly though Ekaterina, and you Koda. Koda and Ekaterina padded forward, Koda hardly feeling the rugs beneath all four of his feet. While Ekaterina took her time, placing her feet carefully, exploring the rugs with her toes, then gripping with her toes with every step, exploring her footing from the grip of her toes to how her sole pads sent information to her brain with every step, enjoying |walking bare pawed. She found Conrad’s leg with her paw, and scrambled into his lap, Koda finding himself dispossessed yet again.

“I’ll sit and wait,” he huffed.

“hello my dear cub,” Conrad said to Ekaterina, Ekaterina swallowing hard, trying desperately not to weep.

“I remember you playing with me, sheltering me in the early hours after my birth,” she choked, “such big paws you had then, not now though, they are smaller!”

“Only because yours are larger little one,” Conrad said gently.

“I’ve made so many mistakes!” Ekaterina said, “I wish I could become little again, so, so I could repeat my life and do things better, make it all right. I hurt those I shouldn’t have Sire Conrad.”

“You’re making amends now though aren’t you,” Conrad replied.

“I’m doing my best,” Ekaterina replied, “but it’s not easy.”

“I hear you are trying to help mama Anook to understand what happened to her and you all those years ago,” Conrad said.

“yes Conrad, I am,” Ekaterina replied, “but, but, when she moans and cries, I can’t cope! I know she’s reliving what’s going on, and I have to stop her, it makes me sick, sick to stop it, and sick to listen to it, I know mama needs to describe what happened, but it’s awful!”

“You know she squeezed you so much you lost your sight,” Conrad said softly.

“I know that now,” Ekaterina replied, “but I can’t let mama Anook get to that point in her labour, where she’s straining and pushing, panicking so much she hurts me.”

“she hurt herself too,” Anook said, “Ekaterina, I hurt every day because of what I did. What I thought was a stuck cub wasn’t, I pushed too hard when I shouldn’t, and damaged you.”

“you pushed on my head when you felt the pain, when I now would tell mamas to pant?” Ekaterina asked.

“yes,” Anook replied, “I didn’t know I had to pant, I wanted to push, as it hurt not to.”

“so that’s why you got into midwifery and re-enacting the births of cubs,” Ekaterina said softly.

“yes,” Anook replied, “that and the need to know how to do it properly, so I wouldn’t do things wrong again.”

“but mama, I never held my disability against you, ever!” Ekaterina said.

“I hated myself for what I’d done then, and still hate myself now,” Anook replied, “you and Mishka, both of you, the worst of it was, you helped your brother into the world, the blind leading the blind, while I could not push, too far gone and finished to help in the second instance, and too active in the first.”

“mama stop! Stop this!” Ekaterina squealed, “it’s not your fault, Mishka doesn’t hold anything against you, and neither do I.”

“I thought he was dead,” Anook sobbed, “I thought Mishka was dead, and I let you put him in that cold place.”

“We both screwed up there,” Ekaterina replied, “I’ve never forgiven myself for that. I should have checked for signs of life!”

“Stop it both of you!” Mishka roared, pounding in and slapping first his sister, then his mother, “I don’t want this talk! I’m who I am now, Ekaterina is who she is, and Anook, you are who you are. We can’t change the past. Now stop it, stop all this! yes things were done that should not have been done, but we came out alive didn’t we? Ekaterina and I use our paws rather than our eyes, and I know, because patch told me that Ekaterina walks more slowly now than she did when she was with sight for that small disastrous part of her life. That’s not because she can’t walk quickly in a place she knows, for she walks slowly even in her own lie up. She is feeling the ground with her paws and feet, just like I do.”

“I’ll try,” Anook replied.

Sooleawa sat in her lie up, trying to compose in her mind what she would like her cub’s story to be.

“So all I do is lie back and let it happen?” she thought, “but it won’t be like that, it’ll be very active indeed, though I will only push when I really want to. I won’t be forced into it. I’ll ask Ekaterina how she gave birth to Fleur. Then again, maybe I won’t, no I won’t, Ekaterina probably won’t tell me anyway.”

“are you all right Sooleawa?” Ekaterina asked, padding into her lie up.

“I’m concerned, exhausted, and despite Conrad’s arrival, still fearful,” Sooleawa replied. Ekaterina sat down and embraced Sooleawa.

“I’ll help you deliver the cubs,” she said, “if you don’t want to push you don’t have to. Your body will know what to do.”

“Will it?” Sooleawa asked, “Ekaterina, did yours know? I know you’ve had cubs, did your body know what to do?”

“yes,” Ekaterina replied, “it knew what to do, and I knew what to do too. Every birth is different, you might not do what I did, I ended up delivering fleur in a reclining posture, legs splayed. You might deliver your cubs standing in a crouching posture, or on all fours. It’s up to you.”

“I might even deliver my cub lying on my back, holding my feet in my paws and splaying my legs with every push like Sally did,” Sooleawa replied.

“You might, but I doubt you’ll choose that posture, and if Sally had known what she was doing, she wouldn’t either, well not for the final delivery. Mid pushing stage it’s a good posture, as it feels comfortable and hind feet are good paw holds, but for actually delivering the cub, reclining or squatting in a crouch, or kneeling on all fours is good,” Ekaterina replied.

“Can you teach me some of those postures?” Sooleawa asked.

“I don’t like coaching births,” Ekaterina replied, “I will re-enact one, so you can see how postures work, but to teach you what I think is good for you is not my way.”

“I don’t want to fail this,” Sooleawa replied.

“Oh you’ll have the cubs,” Ekaterina replied laughing slightly.

“No Ekaterina, I’m serious, I don’t want to fail this,” Sooleawa said gravely.

“You mean you don’t want to fail me, that you fear making a mistake that I will punish you for, don’t you Sooleawa.” Sooleawa gulped hard, her eyes filling with tears.

“I need help!” she wailed, “I don’t know anything, I must be taught to do this! I know bugger all Ekaterina!”

“I won’t judge how you labour to deliver your cubs,” Ekaterina replied, rubbing Sooleawa’s back, “You can do what you want to do. Walk about, bounce on your toes, sit back on your heels, growl, roar, scream, cry, shout, beat the floor with your paws, swim, kick, roll about, lie on your side, back, or front, curl your toes, stretch your toes, play the stuck foot game with me until a contraction makes you grab my foot in your paws and crush it, all that and more, much more.”

“You make it sound like a game,” Sooleawa replied.

“it can be,” Ekaterina replied, “labour can be interesting, feeling your body do its natural thing. Ask Petra about that, she could write a thesis on her labour experience delivering Aslan. She remembers it all.”

“So fear isn’t good?” Sooleawa asked.

“It’s natural to be concerned, but Sooleawa,” Ekaterina replied, pulling the small she bear onto her lap and hugging her tenderly, “tell me, Please, tell me my dear, why do you have the scent of terror about you?”

“I, Ekaterina, I, I,” Sooleawa choked, then, burying her face in Ekaterina’s thick chest fur, Sooleawa burst into tears.

“I know,” Ekaterina said softly, “I know those feelings, churning stomach, curling toes and clenching paws to the point of exhaustion. Sooleawa, dear sweet cub, I’ve done it, I’ve felt it. I doubted myself for years, feared what I need not have feared. Made myself sick over things.”

“Did you throw up?” Sooleawa asked, “were your feet and paws aching? Did you clench your teeth so hard you thought they’d break?”

“You know the answer to those questions,” Ekaterina replied.

“You did, you did, you do know,” Sooleawa replied.

“I did all that, and my paws and feet ached horribly for days after a bout of acute fear. My fear wasn’t to do with the birth of cubs, it was triggered by something else.”

“it was while you were estranged from patch wasn’t it?” Sooleawa replied.

“I kept those fear laden times secret,” Ekaterina replied, “I knew Patch wouldn’t find out, for I’d banned him from my thoughts. I was in private misery, but now, no, no, I’m not here to talk about my struggle with my own issues.”

“Go on,” Sooleawa replied, “if you want to go on, please do.”

“I had a private nightmare, a private dread that, that, well, that I would have a birth experience that matched my own birth, where I would do harm to my cubs while delivering them. It never happened, I’ve had a few cubs, and apart from little patch, who was born and just needed a little help to breathe, if only I knew it, I have had trouble free labours. My private fear was of mucking it up, of harming my cub. and when I got pregnant with Sam, I did what I feared I would do. I failed my cub. I’ve never forgiven myself for that. I did what no mother should do, I buried my cub like something I didn’t want. And I’ve been miserable ever since, even though I met Sam in later times.”

“You seem confident while doing your job,” Sooleawa replied.

“yeah, I am,” Ekaterina replied, “I am confident then, it’s what you don’t see that is the real me. the heavy eating, weeping, vomiting wreck of a she bear, a bear who is not fit to be called mama. What I did to Sam was more than disgraceful Sooleawa.”

“So you threw yourself into your job to blot out those feelings?” Sooleawa asked gently.

“Yup, but I’m talking about me again! This isn’t right, not talking like this here, not with you about to have cubs and all, it’s wrong!”

“No it isn’t,” Sooleawa said softly, “Ekaterina, please, if you need to talk, I’ll listen.”

“but my psychological shit will poison your mind and cubs, and I can’t have that,” Ekaterina replied.

“talk to me if you wish Ekaterina,” Sooleawa replied gently, “you’re sweating, like I was.” A gentle rain began to fall on Sooleawa’s head, and she realised Ekaterina was weeping, silently sobbing, her pain too great to articulate. Sooleawa, realising now was a time for quiet, just rested her head against Ekaterina’s chest, listening to her heart beat, and her gasping breaths.

“this isn’t right, not now, not here!” Ekaterina raged aloud, “not here! Not now!”

“You want to go back to that clearing and lay the fear to rest?” Sooleawa asked. Ekaterina turned her head and vomited copiously.

“I’m not fit to be here, not like this!” Ekaterina choked, sniffing and coughing, “I shouldn’t have come, this is all messed up! The gates are open and the animals are running loose, and I can’t round them up!” Ekaterina screamed, “the rain on my fur, it’s raining, it’s bloody raining and I’m in pain, lying fearful on the grass, my body contorted by contractions. Toes curling, paws clenching, breathing hard, make it stop, eohippus make it stop! I didn’t want a cub! patch and I were not meant to have a cub!” Sooleawa stared at Ekaterina, wondering what on earth was the matter with her. Ekaterina was in another place, Sooleawa could see that much. Ekaterina closed her eyes tightly, then began to speak in a weird tone:

“More rain, wet paws, wet feet, wet fur, wet ears, wet nose, wet tears, curled toes, open mouth, screaming inside as I strain hard, so hard, toes curling tighter, body tired, mind hating its own, straining harder, trying harder to deliver this cub. wishing it would be over, dreading discovery. I kick, I kick with my feet, and paw at the air with my paws. the rain is harder now, wet pads, wet toes, wet ears, wet fur, sweaty wet fur, painful mind, I don’t want to be alone, I want patch with me, but I’m scared to get him! Rain soaked sweaty dirty fur makes me feel dirty outside, my mind dirty within. I push down, then sit up and push down again, feeling the cub slide down. With a roaring sob, I rock back and fourth, my heels pressing into the damp ground with every forward roll, pushing me off into a hard backward thrust. One, two, three, four times, then ow, ow, pain, horrendous pain! On my feet, then squatting, then back on my heels, sitting back on my heels, driving them into my backside, toes curled, paws clenched, claws of paws dug into the floor, head down I push, I push so bloody hard! Ekaterina pushed Sooleawa away, and got to her feet, then knelt, sitting back on her heels, her head down, paws splayed before her, Sooleawa watching in fascinated horror.

“I can’t have this cub!” Ekaterina screamed, pressing her heels into her backside, “but I must push, Oaoaoaoaoaow! Oaoaoaoaoaoaaow! Yayayayayaoaoaoaow!” Ekaterina crouched, feeling under her for her cub, crying, sobbing, hardly able to catch her breath as she bore down savagely.

“eeeeoeoeoeoaow! Yeooeoeoeoeoeoeoeoeeoaow!” Ekaterina protested. Then she sat down, and Sooleawa went to her to comfort her. Ekaterina’s paws enveloped Sooleawa, the mama bear screaming in fear.

“not again!” she wailed, “not again! I can’t bury another cub!” Sooleawa shrieked with fear at the look in Ekaterina’s eyes. It was a terrible sound, a sound she’d not made since she was a frightened cub. Ekaterina’s reaction was instant, she embraced Sooleawa, grunting to her like a wild mama bear would her distressed cub. Ekaterina shook from nose to tail as she frantically groomed Sooleawa.

Sooleawa’s scream brought Patch running into the lie up. When he saw what was happening, he knew what Ekaterina had just experienced.

“post traumatic stress,” patch thought, “poor Ekaterina, and I knew nothing of this.”

“Oh patch!” Ekaterina exclaimed when she’d come to her senses, “how, how much?”

“enough,” Patch replied, his eyes filling with tears.

“I couldn’t,,,,” Ekaterina said, “Patch, I couldn’t bring myself to tell you. I didn’t want to tell Sooleawa, it just came out of me!”

“I know, I know,” patch sobbed. Then he ran to Ekaterina, threw his paws round her and hugged her.

“he’s amazing,” Sooleawa thought, her heart swelling with love for the huge grey bear, “Patch’s tears aren’t for himself, they’re for me.”

“I could have told you, couldn’t I patch,” Ekaterina said, sounding like a cub, “I could have told you all of it, the truth I mean, not that made up shit I did years ago.”

“yeah, you could,” Patch sobbed.

“you would have understood too,” Ekaterina continued.

“yeah,” Patch sniffed, “”why didn’t you say something Ekaterina love?”

“I couldn’t bring myself to,” Ekaterina replied honestly, “shame, deep shame stopped me. but now I’m ashamed for not telling you, for I know that hurts you more Patch.”

“I know now,” patch choked, “Everything fits.”

“yes Patch,” Ekaterina replied, “I can’t undo what I’ve done to you.”

“I promised I’d protect you, and when it really mattered you wouldn’t let me help!” patch wept, crying like a cub.

“I thought I could sort it on my own,” Ekaterina said lamely.

“not this, not this!” patch choked, “I know I said find your own paws, but I didn’t mean this.”

“I know now,” Ekaterina replied faintly, “but I should have known all along. Patch, please, dear sweet Patch, I need you, I need your help, I’m a lost cub now,” then almost in a whisper, “please? I’m so sorry,” then suddenly shouting, screaming and crying, “Please Patch!” Patch sat down, leant back a little and hugged Ekaterina in his paws as if she were a cub. Ekaterina, burying her face, sobbed into his fur.

“We go on from here Ekaterina,” patch said, recovering himself with a huge effort, “we go on from here, and if you feel like this again, come to me, talk with me, and I’ll help you through.”

“It’s my fault really patch,” Sooleawa said, looking ashamed, “I asked her to go on talking when she tried to keep the lid on things. I made her visit that place.”

“you didn’t make me visit any place,” Ekaterina replied, “I chose to talk, chose to go on, but, but, now, now, I’m glad I did. Thanks for asking Sooleawa, you’ve helped a lot.” Sooleawa stared down at her paws, which she saw were shaking violently.

“I feel stronger now,” she said suddenly, “stronger now I know fear is all right.”

“it’s fine, as long as it’s controlled,” Conrad replied, padding in and sitting down beside Sooleawa.

“that was horrible Conrad,” Sooleawa said, “I couldn’t believe at first what I was seeing, Ekaterina went to pieces!”

“I wasn’t there when she was in trouble,” Conrad replied, “she didn’t want me with her. she saw delivering Sam into the world as something to be ashamed of, as if having a cub could ever be shameful act?”

“maybe she thought it was because she’d promised Patch she’d give birth to no more cubs, they’d taken precautions, and she was delivering a cub despite all that.”

“I’m not ashamed of my impending confinement, I’m just scared it will all go wrong!”

“It is unlikely to go wrong,” Conrad replied gently, “but in case it does, you will have all help.”

“So can I practise labour positions?” Sooleawa asked.

“You can,” Ekaterina replied, struggling to take control of herself, “you can practise.”

“So crawling about, sitting back on my heels, practising positions won’t harm my cubs?” Sooleawa asked.

“No,” Ekaterina replied, “and you will get used to the feel of postures you might want to use.”

“What postures did you use?” Sooleawa asked.

“I have used every one I can think of,” Ekaterina replied, “squatting, leaning over a birthing ball, on all fours hind legs splayed, sitting back on heels, sitting with hind legs bent, heels digging into the floor, all that. I’ve crawled, I’ve lain on my back and kicked, I’ve grabbed my feet in my paws and hung on tight to my feet with my paws.”

“”I will practise my positions,” Sooleawa replied, “I want to ease the cubs out, I don’t want to push unless I need to.”

“Following your body,” Ekaterina replied, “that’s nice, I wish I learnt to do that.”

“Oh Ekaterina,” Sooleawa said, the look in the she polar bear’s eyes making her want to weep.

“let me hug you Ekaterina,” Sooleawa said, going to the mama bear and hugging her.

“Thank you Sooleawa,” Ekaterina said gently.

“I look forward to having my cubs,” Sooleawa said.

“You won’t be the only one having cubs,” Ashley replied, padding into the lie up, “I’m in cub too, and Moonshadow mated with me also! He’s a full blooded male that’s for sure!” Sooleawa wasn’t surprised, Moonshadow was very ready to have his gentle way with prospective mothers to his cubs.”

“so we’ll be delivering our cubs together?” Sooleawa asked, “how wonderful Ashley!” Ashley wasn’t so sure:

“I am not looking forward to delivering my cubs,” she replied, “it’s gonna hurt like hell!”

“We could try working out together,” Sooleawa replied, “crawling, kicking, rolling about, curling our toes, all that, oh, and moaning, panting and screaming lustily too.”

“You mean get rid of our inhibitions before we give birth?” Ashley asked.

“yes, I do mean that,” Sooleawa replied, “and I think Ekaterina would agree with that?”

“yes I would,” Ekaterina replied.

“So it wont hurt my cubs?” Ashley asked.

“No it won’t,” Ekaterina replied, “explore your paws, your feet, your feelings while you crawl, your feelings as you kick the air with your feet and hold your feet with your paws.”

“how does kicking the air with your feet feel Ekaterina?” Ashley asked.

“Try it,” Ekaterina replied, “lie on your back, bring your feet up towards you, and try kicking the air. It might help if you wave your paws about too, and wriggle your body, that helps also.”

“The wriggling is a product of kicking with your hind legs,” Patch said, “I should know, I do it often.” Ekaterina smiled broadly.

“you kicked the air while imitating a cub for my benefit,” she said, “thank you Patch.” Patch sat and watched Ekaterina, wanting to embrace her and kiss her nose and paws, but conscious she had a job to do, he contented himself by rubbing her back with his paw as she sat facing Ashley and Sooleawa.

“Oooooaw,” Ekaterina gasped, her paws clenching and toes curling with emotions, “Patch, please, not here!” Patch grinned hugely, his eyes sparkling. “

“I’m doing nothing,” he said, kissing Ekaterina’s nose.

“Yes you are, you know you are!” Ekaterina replied half laughing.

“You need this I think,” Patch replied.

“I want it too, and much more, but not here, not where everyone can see!” Ekaterina replied breathlessly.

“oh come on, it would be lovely to see you two snuggle together,” Sooleawa said.

“No, I draw the line at that!” Ekaterina whimpered, “Patch, stop this, stop it now!” Patch kissed her ear, Ekaterina sighing with relief as he removed his paw from the base of her spine, where he’d been massaging her back.

“You Rogue!” Ekaterina laughed.

“I’m doing nothing,” Patch replied smiling.

“You know what you’re doing!” Ekaterina laughed.

“I should tell my paws to be quiet then,” Patch replied.

“No patch,” Ekaterina replied, “I don’t want that.”

“I’ll touch your paws and feet later,” Patch replied.

“You make my toes curl as tightly as they do when having a cub,” Ekaterina replied.

“Your paws are soothing instruments, your feet playthings Ekaterina,” Patch replied.

“No patch, yours are those, my paws are those of a confused adult, my feet are clumsy and fumble footed.”

“You can use your feet to play though,” patch reminded Ekaterina, “you did with Orbon.”

“I know,” Ekaterina replied, “but that was different, I wasn’t thinking straight then, oh that sounds so bad doesn’t it? NO, what I mean is, I wasn’t thinking, I was playing, natural play with Orbon. My feet led the way as it were, leading my brain.”

“You looked beautiful doing that,” Patch replied, “I watched it, I saw it, and I loved it, until Apudo ruined it for both of you.”

“My mind was in a spin, I wanted to play with Orbon, but I was roped into that game of snakes and ladders, it was terrible really, but my right hind foot, that, that let me play with Orbon. It felt great to feel his toes drawing circles on my pads, and to feel my toes curling in response. It was so cubbish, and not a bit boring, I didn’t need silly dice or a plastic mat. Just his paw touching my foot, and it was lovely!”

“You looked so young then,” Sooleawa said, “Ekaterina, you looked so young for a minute then.”

“I’m young, sort of,” Ekaterina replied smiling.

“if only you’d let your paws and feet speak your true mind, you’d be rolling about like Orbon does, getting your paws tangled with your feet and making hours of fun from two paws and two feet.” Ekaterina giggled playfully and grabbed her right foot in her paws, curling and stretching her toes while rubbing the sole pad of her right foot with the toes of both paws.

“That is so cute!” patch laughed.

“is it?” Ekaterina asked.

“it is,” patch replied, “I remember you playing with your toes when you were a cub, and now I see you can play with your toes as then, but your toes are bigger, as are your cute paws.” Ekaterina smiled broadly.

“I’m glad I can still play in the way you like,” she said.

“I only like it if you do,” Patch replied.

“I do,” Ekaterina said, “I suppose you can see that too?”

“I can feel it, even though I’m not touching you,” patch replied.

“how about if you get paws on with my paws, while I play with my hind feet?” Ekaterina asked.

“Can I do that?” Patch asked.

“I’d love you to,” Ekaterina replied.

“how sweet!” Sooleawa laughed.

“it’s cute isn’t it,” Ashley replied, her eyes shining.

“I’ll bet Patch would crawl after Ekaterina, tickling her toes with his breath all the way to their lie up,” Sooleawa said. Ekaterina giggled:

“he’s done that before, and it feels great!” she replied.

“I like watching Ekaterina’s hind feet, the way her toes move and pads bunch as she crawls, and then making her laugh and curl her toes as I blow on them,” patch replied, Ekaterina letting go of her right hind foot, turning to him, throwing her paws around his neck and burying her head in his shoulder, laughing helplessly.

“You soppy old softy,” she said, kissing his ear.

“Patch curled his toes with emotion when you did that Ekaterina,” Sooleawa said.

“I know,” Ekaterina replied, “I can feel what he does you know. He’s so sweet.”

“I’ll leave you to it,” Patch said, getting to his feet. Ekaterina stopped him with her paw, got to her feet and rubbed noses with him.

“Why not stay a while?” Ekaterina asked.

“You and Sooleawa were chatting about the birth of her cubs, and you have Ashley to speak to also,” Patch replied, “Midwifery isn’t my thing any more.”

“But you used to do that job,” Ekaterina replied, “don’t you like seeing the births of cubs any more?”

“I love it,” Patch replied, “I just don’t want to step on your paws, that’s all.”

“You won’t,” Ekaterina replied, “mind you, speaking of paws, a hind foot massage would be very good about now. my toes curled really tightly during my flashback, and my paws and feet ache so much now!” Patch smiled:

“I think Sooleawa could do with a paw and foot massage too,” he replied, “her toes curled tightly too.

Some hours later, Figaro and Anernerk sat on the floor of Patch and Ekaterina’s bedroom, snuggled up together. Figaro looked Anernerk over from head to toe, loving every part of her from her large head to her huge paws and massive feet.

“I love the look of you,” Figaro said, Anernerk giggling softly.

“and I like the look of you too,” she replied, “though your even better by touch.” Figaro laughed helplessly.

“I love you Figaro!” Anernerk said. Anernerk crawled to a strange wheeled machine by the door which Figaro hadn’t noticed. Smiling, she clambered onto it, sitting on a platform on the floor, which she’d unfolded from the side, Anernerk pressed a button on a strap round her neck, that raised the platform to the level of the seat. Anernerk slid over onto the seat of the machine, pressing another button that folded the lift away. Anernerk fitted her hind feet into pods and pressed a button, air blowing over her pads to keep them cool. Then, grinning, she pressed the starter, the machine whirring to life. Figaro stared in fascination.

“Your transport awaits!” Anernerk said. Figaro stared at the machine.

“Me?” he asked, “ride on that? With you?”

“yeah,” Anernerk replied, “how else do you think I get about long distances. Yes I crawl within rooms and from one room to another, but we’re going into the woods now, this thing has an electric and petrol driven engine. And runs on solar power too. goes like a racer and is lovely to drive. Patch got it for me with a grant he managed to apply for by speaking to Charles. They proved my disability, and now I can get about on my own somewhat. I can get this into a special car on the monorail too. I have to use my pendant to call it though, otherwise I can’t get it in.”

“I’ll come,” Figaro said, padding over to the scooter and sitting behind Anernerk.

“Hold on tight, here we go!” Anernerk said, twisting the throttle in her right paw, a motor sound rising as she increased her speed, then falling as she decreased it, the pair driving forward then right out of the lie up. Turning left, she accelerated to the monorail, pressing her pendent as she approached it, the doors sliding open just as she reached them, Anernerk driving smoothly into the car.

“You will turn through a right angle on this,” she said, “but it’s all right, the control panel will come down in front of me, and the wheels will lock into place, watch.” Indeed, as the doors closed behind them, Figaro felt the wheels lock, then felt the whole scooter turn through ninety degrees, then saw Anernerk presented with a control panel. She pressed buttons with her paws, and Figaro watched her at this intently.

“She even uses her paws with grace and elegance,” he thought, his toes curling with pleasure, “I love the way she uses her paws!”

“ok, that’s done,” Anernerk said as the car moved away slowly, then gathered speed. Figaro pressed his hind feet against the footrests, moving them back a little and curling his toes a little. Anernerk watched the counter counting down to the end of their journey. When it hit zero , the car stopped, and the doors opened. Anernerk pressed a button on the panel which slid it out of her reach, then turned the scooter to face the open doors. a click signified the release of the wheels and Anernerk engaged the engine, driving out of the monorail car. Figaro yelped as the cold air hit him, as Anernerk had driven out of the car into the woods. Anernerk switched off the cool air blowers and pressed a button which switched on a conventional engine as she drove into the woods, taking the track at increasing speeds.

“This thing can do fifty at a stretch!” she called back to him as she raced round the tracks, “Hold on!” she yelled as she topped a rise and the scooter left the ground. Anernerk landed the scooter and whizzed through a puddle in the track, soaking Figaro.

“Hey!” he yelled.

“sorry,” Anernerk replied. Racing down a track, Anernerk saw a stop sign thrust out at her from a bush. Knowing she should not disobey those, she slowed, her heart sinking as she saw patch emerging into the light of day.

“what did I tell you about racing that scooter!” Patch yelled, “it’s a mobility aid, yes it’s duel fuel, but that’s to enable you to go into the woods like anyone else, it’s not so you can race and muck about!” Anernerk, conscious Patch could fly helicopters once, lowered her eyes.

“I know, I’m sorry!” she mumbled. Patch held out his paw and Anernerk gave him the key to the scooter.

“I will not take the key,” Patch said, “as that would be like taking your legs from you Anernerk, but please, don’t race the scooter, and especially not with Figaro on board when you are not wearing head protection!”

“Oh,” Anernerk replied, seeing Patch’s expression, “I didn’t’ think.”

“maybe you will think a bit more after this,” Patch grunted.

“I will, and I’m sorry,” Anernerk replied, looking up into Patch’s face. The grey bear handed her the key to her scooter, and Anernerk looked down at the key.

“I don’t deserve it really,” she mumbled, “I have abused it.”

“Just be careful,” Patch replied, “that’s a high powered machine. You spent ages getting your licence for it, and I would hate you to hurt yourself or kill another track user.” Anernerk knew she had practised for ages to learn to drive her scooter.

“yes Patch,” she mumbled, “is there any chance you’d get any of your licences to fly returned to you?” Patch looked pained.

“No Anernerk dear, none,” he replied flatly, “I can’t even drive one of these things legally,” he continued.

“Oh Patch,” Anernerk said.

“I have sight enough to see you and others, that’s all I need,” Patch said.

“but you would like to drive my scooter, or better fly again?” Anernerk replied.

“yeah,” Patch said hoarsely, “fly mostly. I worked so dam hard for that chopper licence.”

“Stories say you did,” Anernerk replied, “Patch, would you tell me another tale, the one about how you brought your brother back across the bridge?”

“that one?” patch asked, looking steadily at Anernerk, “it’s a tale that is difficult to understand, even for adult community members.”

“you’ve always said the cubs are more open minded,” Anernerk replied, “Figaro and I would love to hear how indigo came to live here.”

“Take a slow ride back to the house and I’ll join you there,” Patch replied.

“but you’ll have to walk,” Figaro said, “and that’s not fair! How fast did you run to get into a position to stop Anernerk with your sign?”

“I had to guess where she’d go,” Patch replied, “yes, it was a sprint to get here.”

“if you walk before us, I can’t speed,” Anernerk said gruffly.”

“I could always wave my red sign about like the humans did when the first cars came onto the roads,” Patch said. Figaro laughed at this.

“It would keep Anernerk going slow that’s for sure,” Figaro said.

“Ok, let’s go home, sensibly,” Patch replied, following Anernerk who drove with the utmost caution and circumspection. Patch watched her go, smiling to himself.

“I loved getting her that scooter,” he thought, “eohippus keep her safe on it. Padding back to the house, Patch thought about Anernerk and Figaro.

“They are great together,” he thought. Anernerk rode back to the house, stopping her scooter in a tyre wash. Pressing a button, she watched as the wheels were washed and then dried. Once the wash has completed, she drove the scooter into the parking place, then crawled to Sooleawa’s foot and paw wash. Sooleawa, back at her post, washed Anernerk’s paws and feet, then turned her attention to Figaro’s. Once his paws and feet were cleaned, she looked towards the door.

“Is Patch coming in?” she asked, “I saw him go out.”

“I’m here Sooleawa,” Patch replied, padding into the lobby carrying his stop sign. Sooleawa laughed as she caught sight of the sign.

“What is that Patch?” she asked. Patch explained, Sooleawa harrumphing with annoyance at Anernerk, who’d long since mounted her scooter and growled away from the lobby with Figaro riding pillion.

“One day, she’ll knock someone down with that bloody thing,” Sooleawa grunted.

“”I have warned her to use the horn and to keep the sound of the engine on,” Patch said.

“You mean it doesn’t make sound normally?” Sooleawa asked.

“the scooter is almost silent, but of course, with blind community members walking around the passages, she can’t go silently, or she would maybe knock Ekaterina or Orbon, or even Sita down.”

“That would be a dreadful thing,” Sooleawa replied.

“but we can’t take her scooter away,” Patch replied, “it would be like taking her mobility from her.”

“she’ll have to be restricted in the house then,” Sooleawa said, “is there a way of limiting the speed of her scooter within the house?”

“Indeed there is,” patch replied, “to only four miles per hour. She can’t go any faster than that in the house, and if she barrels into the house, she is gently restricted to the requisite speed, then she is flashed a note on her consol telling her she was speeding.”

“I’m worried about Ekaterina, Orbon and Sita,” Sooleawa said, shifting her paws and feet uncomfortably, “I don’t know if Anernerk can be trusted with her scooter.”

“I hope she’s sensible with it,” patch replied, “I had a lot of trouble getting it for her.”

“I hope she’s sensible too,” Sooleawa replied.

Anernerk swore as her scooter was throttled to four miles an hour as soon as she entered the large main corridors, the silent scooter making a growling noise as the speed was reduced.

“What a dreadful noise!” Figaro complained, “I know I heard it before, but this is worse!” he was about to ask why an electric scooter would make such a dreadful noise, when he saw Ekaterina stop as they passed.

“That’s why it makes such a dreadful noise,” Ekaterina said, catching Figaro’s words.

“oh, ok, um, sorry!” Figaro yelled back over his shoulder.

“now I’ll park up in Snowdrop’s lie up.” Anernerk said, turning into the lie up. Snowdrop and little Kamchatka watched Anernerk park up and power down her scooter.

“That’s been a great liberator,” Anernerk said smiling. She pressed a button, and the lift platform extended from the right of her scooter. Anernerk slid over to the lift, then operated the lift, lowering herself to the floor, crawling off the lift, Anernerk folded it, Figaro’s eyes on her all the time.

“I love that,” he said smiling.

“You just like watching her don’t you,” Kamchatka said smiling. Figaro grinned, getting off the scooter, kneeling, and blowing gently on Anernerk’s toes, Anernerk giggling delightedly.

“You soppy thing!” Anernerk laughed.

Ekaterina padded into the lie up, having followed Anernerk’s scooter.

“I hope you follow the rules and keep your motor sound going Anernerk,” she said, “please remember that there are community members who can’t see you coming on that thing, and as it’s electrically driven in the house, it’s too quiet to hear very well. That was why Patch imposed, one, a speed limit, and, two, that while you were driving in electric mode, a sound would be issued from the car to denote its speed and position.”

“it’s a vulgar sound though, very nasty!” Figaro complained.

“So is another sound I can think of,” Ekaterina replied grimly, “Anernerk, you keep that scooter making sound, do you hear me?” Ekaterina said forcefully. Anernerk sighed heavily.

“yes Ekaterina,” she replied. Ekaterina, unhappy she’d not made her point stick, though feeling powerless to press it further, left the room.

“Patch,” Ekaterina said when they were alone in their lie up some hours later, “I’m worried about Anernerk finding the switch to turn off the sound of her scooter in the house. I won’t be able to hear it, I know that, and Sita can’t hear it either! Well she can hear it a bit better than I can, but only just. One day, as tests showed when you were applying for the scooter, for you know they aren’t fitted with sound makers, and you had to get one fitted specially for use in the house, one day, if Anernerk learns how to turn off the noise, Sita, or me, or Orbon will be injured or killed by that machine of hers, and she’ll be riding it too! and what if she turns the sound off, and some poor cub doesn’t hear her coming,” Ekaterina fell silent, her imagination spawning such horrors which took her breath.

“I tried, tried to speak with Anernerk, and with Figaro too,” Ekaterina choked, her fears rising, “I tried Patch, but, but, dear Patch, they ignored me, and I fear I might have set Anernerk’s paw to mischief too! she’ll be trying to find the way to disable the noise, and it’ll be awful, and, and, oh no!” patch cradled Ekaterina as she wept into his fur.

“I’ll talk with her Ekaterina,” Patch said gently but firmly, “I promise. I too fear what you fear. Indeed, it is something that has played on my mind, as the switch is accessible, if only Anernerk knew where. It has to be there in these times of safety, as the sound maker is a separate device to the main scooter. It has different sounds, and can also be used as a loud hailer too. come Ekaterina, dry your eyes, and I’ll show you something. Anernerk isn’t the only one with one of these things. Ekaterina got to her feet, and patch guided her to a scooter.

“You can’t drive one of these, can you?” she asked, “you’re not as well sighted as you were, the whole community knows that.”

“I can drive it slowly,” Patch replied. I’ll take you for a drive in the woods.”

“but you can’t!” Ekaterina whimpered, moving away from the scooter, “you can’t drive one of these things can you?”

“Ekaterina my love,” Patch replied, “I’ll let you into a secret shall I?”

“Ok,” Ekaterina replied.

“I had my eyes checked by the vet. He said though he didn’t know how they’d got to be as good as they once were, that they were as good as they once had been.”

“You mean you can see all now that you used to be able to in the days of flight?” Ekaterina asked, now more puzzled than ever.

“yes,” patch replied, “Now Ekaterina dear, I presented the authorities with this information, and they tested me, but they said that it was impossible for an eye to go from losing sight, as mine had been, to regaining it. Some ministry wonk won’t give me my licence back!” Patch raged, “but I can drive, I’ve been given that licence at least. Though Anernerk doesn’t know that yet. I’ll be round every corner she can find me. I can’t fly, but I can drive, and I can spy cubs playing with their paws and feet, and on my mate doing same in the cutest manner too.” Ekaterina laughed at this last, and settled herself on the scooter, Patch giving her a helmet.

“Put this on, and I’ll connect it to the scooter,” Patch said. Ekaterina felt a helmet placed on her head, and she grabbed it, adjusting it for comfort. Now she felt like a cub again, a feeling she’d not had since patch had played with her when they’d first met.

“I’m sitting in front,” Patch said, “or will be when I’ve settled your helmet. Is it comfortable?”

“Strange, but yes, comfortable enough,” Ekaterina replied. Patch plugged a flex into the scooter, and Ekaterina found she could hear her mate’s voice better as he spoke to her.

“now I’ll sit in front.” Patch said, settling himself. Ekaterina found footrests with her hind feet, and settled her feet on them. the seat supported her back and around her rear end, and was very comfortable. Ekaterina, feeling in front, found a place where she could hold on with both paws, which she did. Patch, now settled, remembered something.

“Ekaterina,” he said, “if you feel down by each of your feet, you can pull a strap over them, and clip it into the end of the footrest. Then, to your right, is a buckle, pull that, and you can clip it into a catch on your left side. They are safety restraints. Well the two on your feet are really just for a sense of security. Your breast restraint is more important. Ekaterina found all three restraints, and dutifully clipped herself in. she found the wearing of such not uncomfortable, though unusual. How fast did patch mean to make the scooter travel?

“You won’t go at Anernerk speed will you Patch?” Ekaterina asked. Patch promised he wouldn’t.

“now Ekaterina, for the neat trick this sound maker can be used for,” Patch said, his voice sounding like that of an over excited cub, “you hear this?” he switched on the sound maker, and Ekaterina heard it test itself. Running through its repertoire of different sounds, from engines to sirens, “it can do something else too. Listen.” Patch pressed a button and spoke into his microphone. What he said made Ekaterina’s teeth clench and toes curl in its vulgarity as a loud speaker broadcast his words very loudly indeed.

“You foul mouthed thing!” Ekaterina yelped.

“Oh don’t fuss!” Patch laughed, “I’ve heard you say words like that.”

“yes, and last time I did I was in labour!” Ekaterina snapped in reply.

“Dear Ekaterina,” Patch replied, “not just while you were in labour. Do you remember that card game with Sita, when she beat you at poker?” Ekaterina squirmed, the memory of her intemperate language discomforting her.

“Oh all right!” she growled, “then too, and I was wrong then, and when I was in labour also.”

“Swearing helps reduce pain,” Patch replied, “so swearing while you were in labour was okay. I must admit, I was a little foul mouthed a minute back, but when we go riding, and someone needs telling of our arrival, I can do so, in ringing tones too!”

“Does Anernerk know of the shouting box yet?” Ekaterina asked.

“No, but I’ll tell her, maybe that will keep the sound maker on, and she will keep us all safer.”

“Not if she swears like you do,” Ekaterina grunted.

“Better that than those other sounds you fear and dread,” Patch replied, “those other sounds we both fear and dread,” he thought to himself.

“yes indeed, you’re right,” Ekaterina replied. Patch pressed the button to engage the motor and twisted the throttle. Ekaterina felt herself move forwards, then turn right, then left, the sound of the motor rising as Patch, keeping to the restrictions he set for Anernerk, motored towards the monorail. Parking the scooter in the car that arrived, he punched their destination into the panel and they rode to the outside world. Patch motored gently out of the garage and down the track. Seeing Sita walking down the track towards him, he pressed a button and called to her.

“Sita, stop there, I’m coming towards you on a scooter. Sita stopped walking, and Patch drew alongside her.

“What on earth is that!” Sita asked.

“What on earth is what?” Patch asked.

“What you’re riding on,” Sita replied.

“It’s a scooter, you know Anernerk got one don’t you?”

“yes,” Sita growled, “I’ve been ramming it into her she needs to keep her sound on when she’s riding around the house. She nearly ran me down once!” Ekaterina squealed in anguish.

“I knew it would happen, I knew it would!” she wailed.

“yes, it nearly did Ekaterina,” Sita replied, “Anernerk has been reprimanded once.”

“I’ll bet she doesn’t understand why you were so upset when you got hold of her after the event though,” Ekaterina growled.

“she doesn’t like the sound it makes. She understands the petrol engine, but not why the electric battery powered system should make any sound at all.”

“now we need to educate her,” Patch replied.

“We can’t disable her like we did Koda to show him,” Sita said, “she’s already got one disability.”

“Sita dear,” patch replied, “the greatest disability anyone can have is in their mind when it is closed to reasoned argument. Anernerk is lovely, but is also silly and unwilling to learn here. I will make her understand why she should keep her travel sound on while riding in the house.”

“I’m just glad you know how to use yours,” Sita said, her toes curled into the track.

“I’m not so silly as not to,” patch replied, “now uncurl those toes from the track.” Sita grinned and gently complied, uncurling her toes one paw at a time, then shaking each paw and foot with care, the sand flicking off her paws and feet.

“You have cute feet and paws Sita,” patch said, Sita smiling broadly, padding forward and resting her head on Patch’s arm.

“I know you have a passenger,” she said, “but I’d love to ride home with you.”

“I’ll walk,” Ekaterina said.

“No, I won’t hear of that,” Sita replied, “I’ll walk.”

“No you won’t!” Ekaterina snapped, withdrawing her feet from the clips and getting off the scooter, divesting herself of her helmet, she approached Sita.

“yes I will!” Sita replied laughing slightly. Ekaterina touched her paw, and Sita threw the polar bear onto her back.

“hey!” Ekaterina yelled, her paws sticking skywards.

“Now will you let me walk?” Sita asked, “or do I have to tickle your paws, and then your feet too?” Ekaterina laughed up at Sita, Sita leaning down and kissing her nose and paws.

“now let me get up, please!” Ekaterina laughed. Sita let her get to her feet.

“Now do I knock you down and tickle your toes?” Sita asked.

“Um, no thanks,” Ekaterina replied, then she thought some more, “Oh go on!” she said, rolling onto her back, Smiling, Sita pinned Ekaterina down with her paws, then blew on her toes, Ekaterina screaming with laughter.

“Now I must get up, I must!” Ekaterina said, wriggling madly, Sita letting her go.

“now shall we walk back together?” Sita asked, “that way we can get paws, and feet on with the ground.” Ekaterina was happy with that, leaving Patch to drive his scooter back to the house, while they, loving their contact with the floor, walked back slowly and carefully.

Ekaterina and Sita padded into the house and washed their paws and feet in companionable silence, Ekaterina finishing her task and embracing Sita, who let her pull her close.

“Your scent is sweet to me Sita,” Ekaterina said.

“some say it’s like spice and slightly sweet,” Sita replied, “sort of coconut and spices. I don’t know where I get that from. Maybe it’s my heritage.”

“My scent is boring, rather flat some have called it,” Ekaterina replied, “yours is of the place where your ancestors come from, cats, bears, the wild woods and mountains, and of course, Patch’s wild earth scent that he had, even after years of living with humans.”

“I know that scent,” Sita replied smiling.

“he holds me together Sita,” Ekaterina replied, “Patch holds me together when I want to go to peaces. Do I deserve that? I have treated him like shit, and he comes to me in my hours of need to comfort me with his paws and his strength.”

“He loves you Ekaterina,” Sita said, “he has shown you anger though, and has punished you for your actions.”

“Only because I insisted,” Ekaterina replied, “I insisted he let his anger flow over me and do its worst to me.”

“Ekaterina,” Sita said, “please, think about the feelings you felt when you rolled on your back on the track and presented me with your paws and feet to play with as I wished. You enjoyed that didn’t you?”

“I did,” Ekaterina replied, “and I try to remember that feeling, that spontaneity, but it’s hard to remember the feelings. They seem hard to remember, those feelings, the consumption of my mind with those feelings. I loved your touch, but it’s hard to remember the feeling, to hold it close to me with all four feet and paws”

“You need reminding of that feeling?” Sita said.

“I think I might,” Ekaterina replied, “I know your feelings are genuine, Patch’s too, I just can’t retain them in my mind, my paws and feet forget them, forget the touch.”

“Please hug me Sita,” Ekaterina begged, Sita embracing the she bear in her paws, Ekaterina shaking in her embrace.

“I’m so cold!” Ekaterina wept.

“I will snuggle up to you tonight, to keep you warm and safe,” Sita said.

“My paws and feet are freezing!” Ekaterina sobbed, Sita holding her close.

“come now,” Sita said, “Ekaterina can you walk or crawl?” Ekaterina crawled after Sita, the former following the sound of the latter’s padding paws and feet. Ekaterina could hear Sita’s feet, her pads making a slight sucking sound on the tiles, being still a little tacky from washing in the warm water. Ekaterina laughed as Sita’s tail whacked her nose, as Sita balanced herself on her toes, bouncing on them briefly.

“You silly!” Ekaterina said, taking the end of Sita’s tail in her teeth and gently nibbling it. Sita giggled and Ekaterina let go of her tail.

“You’re bouncing on your toes aren’t you,” Ekaterina said. Sita grinned.

“I was,” she replied, holding my tail out behind me let you feel what I was doing when you took hold of it.

“I could feel your rear end rising and falling as you bounced on your toes,” Ekaterina said.

“I wonder if you could get paws on with my hind feet as I bounce on my toes?” Sita asked. Ekaterina giggled and cupped Sita’s right hind foot in her paws, Sita bouncing on her toes, Ekaterina able to get paws on. At one point, she rested her left paw, pads up, under the sole of Sita’s foot, Sita bouncing her heel on Ekaterina’s pads, Ekaterina giggling as Sita’s pads pressed her own pads. Ekaterina gently pulled her paw from beneath Sita’s foot, gently drawing her toes from the ball of Sita’s foot to her heel, tickling the cat bear. Sita, laughing like a cub, lifted her foot, Ekaterina blowing on her toes, Sita hopping about on her paws and one hind foot, Ekaterina laughing as the bell Sita habitually wore around her right hind leg jangled merrily.

“making me hop like a rabbit!” Sita growled, “I’ll bet you liked that Ekaterina.”

“it was funny!” Ekaterina replied. “Pity I can’t see your pads.”

“You could explore them, properly,” Sita said, “my feet are huge, and I could curl my toes, if the feeling is right.”

“I think your pads are cute,” Ekaterina said, now, if you would only roll onto your back Sita?” Sita laughed, lay down, and rolled over onto her back, Ekaterina grabbing Sita’s right hind foot and blowing on the pads of her foot, Sita giggling cubbishly and curling her toes to lessen the affect of Ekaterina’s tickling breath.

“now touch my pads,” Sita said, feeling Ekaterina sit down properly where she was in the corridor, rest Sita’s heel on her leg, and explore the sole of her foot with her paws, Sita curling her toes tighter and tighter as Ekaterina worked from her toes to her heel. Sita’s excitement grew as Ekaterina went from exploration of her pads to drawing circles on them and counting her toes, Sita laughing delightedly and sitting up by springing into a sitting position, flicking her tail beneath her and sitting on her backside.

“You can bounce like a spring!” Ekaterina laughed. Sita grinned.

“I often bounce on my backside while the cubs tickle my toes,” she said, “it makes them laugh.”

“I heard Amy saying horrid things about you Sita,” Ekaterina said, “she called you fat ass, and said you were disgusting.”

“I am a little padded,” Sita replied, “but I eat sensibly, and I need the padding to protect me from bundling cubs.”

“Your feet are big and pads warm and slightly fat,” Ekaterina replied, “have you got springs in your pads too? Sita laughed merrily at this and kissed Ekaterina’s nose.

“now let me have my feet back,” Sita replied, “and we can play somewhere more fitting.”

“but I don’t want to give you your foot back,” Ekaterina replied, “it’s too good to play with!” Sita gently removed her foot from Ekaterina’s grip and crawled away, Ekaterina chasing her and tickling her heels, Sita squealing with laughter.

“Now let’s go to the playroom,” Ekaterina said, blowing on Sita’s toes, the cat bear playfully smacking Ekaterina round her head with her tail..

“have you got paws on with the rest of me recently?” Sita asked. Ekaterina thought for a minute.

“I don’t think I have,” she replied.

“Would you like to?” Sita asked.

“would you allow me to if I wanted to?” Ekaterina enquired.

“Um, yeah, of course I would,” Sita replied pretending she had hesitation in the granting of such a liberty, witch Ekaterina knew deep down she hadn’t.

“I’m big, and fat, and strong, and I love playing with my own hind feet by holding them in my paws.”

“I haven’t explored your paws recently either,” Ekaterina said.

“Hmm, my paws, now there’s a thing, or rather two things,” Sita replied, “there is something that patch gave me from birth which I have kept hidden, as noone commented on it, even though it was in plain sight. I suppose I am so unusual, not the average bear, or cat for that matter, that I never thought it strange until recently. Ekaterina, come to the soft play room, and I will show you my paws. tell me what is different about them, um, compared to yours for instance.” Ekaterina thought she already knew.

“Sita, are your paws like Blackberry’s?” Sita laughed merrily, Ekaterina feeling her heart leap.

“they are like Blackberry’s, they are like Blackberry’s!” Ekaterina laughed, tears springing to her eyes.

“You like my paws before you’ve even felt them,” Sita said.

“I know I will, I know I will!” Ekaterina replied. Sita crawled to the playroom, and to the adults only part of it. Lying down comfortably on her side, she let Ekaterina explore her. Ekaterina explored Sita’s head, legs and paws. As she explored the pads of Sita’s left paw, which was uppermost of her two paws, she found her own paw engulfed in the same way Blackberry held her paw. Ekaterina explored her held paw with her free one, and realised that what Sita had said was true.”

“your paws have opposable thumbs!” Ekaterina exclaimed.

“They do,” Sita replied, “I’ve known it for a long time, but never thought it unusual, as I am not a bear, or a cat, I’m Sita. A Sita, as I’m the only one, can have a range of abilities.”

“I know that,” Ekaterina replied, “you are a wizard at play, and you seem to be a huge favourite of all the cubs.

“They accept me as I am,” Sita said.

“I wish everyone did,” Ekaterina replied, “but there are some, as you know, who will make comment about appearances.”

“I like my fur, legs, face, paws and feet,” Sita said. my fur keeps me warm, my tail keeps me balanced, and my paws and feet keep me from slipping over. Though I do find sliding my paws difficult from time to time, especially when excited, then they stick to the rubber flooring, but that’s another game, working my paws and feet free when they get stuck is. My feet stick more easily, and are harder to free. I suppose because I can throw my head about and use that weight to free my paws. my feet though, it’s sort of throw my weight forward onto the toes of all four feet, and try to lift one hind foot at a time, heel first if my hind feet get stuck.”

“you have such an imagination Sita, it’s so cute,” Ekaterina replied.

“I love my imagination, and that my feet and paws comply with it is even better,” Sita replied.

“Your feet and paws don’t have minds of their own silly Sita!” Ekaterina laughed.

“Sometimes the toes of my hind feet grab my paws, and I can’t free them for ages,” Sita replied, “I think my hind feet do have their own minds, well that’s what I believe anyway.”

“that’s so sweet,” Ekaterina said.

“yeah,” Sita replied, “my toes get stuck too! they are really hard to free.” Ekaterina laughed helplessly and hugged Sita.

“I love you so much,” Ekaterina said. Sita purred with pleasure as Ekaterina embraced her.

“You haven’t explored my hind legs, feet or tail,” Sita said.

“Your paws were too interesting,” Ekaterina replied smiling, “though I will explore your hind legs and feet.”

“My pads liked your touch last time,” Sita mewed, Ekaterina feeling Sita’s paws around her, hugging her tightly.

“Your paws and feet are lovely Sita,” Ekaterina said, “they pour love into me.”

“Do they?” Sita asked, “that’s good.”

“Everything is so visual today, that some forget to touch,” Ekaterina replied.

“Well I don’t,” Sita replied.

Meanwhile, in Sooleawa’s lie up, Sire Conrad held the silver coated she bear close, soothing her as she panicked about the birth of her cubs.

“I know it will go wrong, I know it will!” she wailed.

“if you can’t push enough to deliver the cubs, Blackberry can help you, he’s good at that.”

“I want to see the things he can help a mother to be to have her cubs with,” Sooleawa said.

“Some of them are not very nice,” Sire Conrad replied.

“how did he learn all this?” Sooleawa asked.

“he learnt it to further his mind, and to care for his community,” sire Conrad said, “Blackberry has an eager and questioning mind. It is thanks to that mind Sita is here today, well that and Koda’s wish to have her back,” Conrad laughed, “he loves her so much Sooleawa.”

“Back to cubs for a minute,” Sooleawa said, “I must talk to Blackberry about my labour.”

“At this rate you’ll be miscarrying those cubs due to stress!” Moonshadow exploded, his eyes flashing anger.

“What the hell are you doing here?” Sooleawa yelled.

“I’m making sure you don’t lose my cubs!” Moonshadow shouted, “Can’t you just go into hibernation or something!”

“No I can’t!” Sooleawa roared in reply, “you are horrible Moonshadow! If I’d known you’d be like this, I would have never consented to having your cubs!”

“If you lose those cubs I’ll destroy you!” Moonshadow yelled.

“Touch a hair on her and your death will be slow and painful,” Conrad replied softly, “I can make sure of that.” Moonshadow, a small bear for his breed, stared at Conrad, who wasn’t a small bear for his.”

“oh, all right!” Moonshadow raged, backing down, “you win!”

“You are disgusting!” Conrad growled.

“Sooleawa had a difficult birth and can remember it all,” Conrad continued, “so she’s bound to be anxious. Let her speak and be spoken to with the concern she feels and others feel for her.”

“Ay? What does that mean?” Moonshadow asked.

“Leave her alone!” Conrad snarled.

“I’m going!” Moonshadow growled, leaving the room as fast as he’d come.

“He wasn’t like that when we mated!” Sooleawa wept, Conrad hugging her tightly and kissing her nose and paws.

“I will keep you safe,” Conrad replied softly.

“if only you could keep my cubs safe too,” Sooleawa wept. Conrad held her close, then hugged her tightly with one paw, rubbing her ears and head with the other.

“I’m here for you,” he whispered.

“I know, thank you!” Sooleawa sobbed.

“I’ll speak with Blackberry,” Conrad said.

Later that day, sire Conrad did as he’d promised. Blackberry, seeing the bear coming into his lie up, got to his feet and touched noses with him.

“I know what you will ask of me,” Blackberry said, “I saw your talk with Sooleawa, and also Moonshadow’s disgusting comments. We will lock down the birthing suite here so he will not be present at the birth of his cubs.”

“the instruments she wants to see are not very nice,” Blackberry replied, “but I suppose if she wants to see them, it would not be difficult to show her them. the vacuum thing is a bit different to the one humans use to help their man cubs along. You attach straps to the cub’s head and forelegs, get tension right on the straps and use the ratchet to pull the cub as she pushes.”

“Oh no!” Conrad replied, “that sounds awful!”

“Better than a dead cub,” Blackberry replied, “I’ve explained the dimensions of a typical community cub, and the inventors of this thing made one for me. they even got a large stuffed toy bear cub, and let me practise using the device.” Conrad felt his toes curling and teeth clenching as he imagined something pulling him by head and paws.

“ugh!” he moaned, “that sounds dreadful!”

“It’s okay,” Blackberry said, I’ve been pulled by a larger version of the device. They put me in a tight tunnel and strapped me up with this, it was strange, but an interesting time. I’ve been pulled both forwards and back.”

Conrad fainted with shock.

“Oh dear,” Blackberry remarked as he brought Conrad round, “Are you all right Conrad?” Conrad moaned pitifully.

“That device thing was bad enough, and you tell me you’ve experienced it?”

“yeah, I did!” Blackberry replied, “it works fine. They, um, had a tunnel which can mimic the contractions of a labouring creature, that helped them make the device. Of course, they didn’t put the contractions into action when I went down the tunnel, they only let the device pull me, but they tested the contracting tube with large soft toy cubs on the smaller scale models before giving me the device.”

“I know some who would think that very scary,” Conrad replied.

“I wasn’t too joyous until I felt the machine’s power,” Blackberry replied, “it pulled me, and I’m a fully grown male bear. I was strapped up and the machine gently eased me out of the tight tube.”

“that thought makes me feel sick!” Conrad whimpered.

“it gives me hope,” Blackberry replied.

Sooleawa paced round her lie up, listening to her own paws and feet as they padded over the tiles, she preferring tiled floors instead of the wall to wall rugs the rest preferred, though her bed was very sumptuous. Most community members slept on the rugs, curling up and snoozing comfortably, but Sooleawa, liking to be cocooned, slept on a mattress she’d found in a room which had belonged to the first Sire Koda. She’d also found a duvet and pillow. Feeling very unsettled, Sooleawa relieved herself in her relieving place, then washed herself thoroughly before getting into her bed, hiding her head under her duvet, tucking in her paws and drawing up her hind legs, finally wriggling and trapping the bottom of the duvet under her hind feet. Curling her toes and clenching her paws, Sooleawa felt warmth course through her pads as she exerted herself, trying to get warm.

“Curl toes, relax, curl toes relax!” she told herself, the control over her own toes calming Sooleawa.

“got to get into practise with my toe curling and paw clenching,” Sooleawa thought, gripping the duvet in the toes of her hind feet and in both paws, wriggling madly to warm herself, “but I feel sick, sick with fear and dread of what is to come. All I want to know is what could happen to me. is that wrong?” whimpering, she buried her head in her duvet. Breathing hard, she tried to calm herself.

“I’m feeling sick!” she thought. Scrambling from her bed, the duvet turning from a comforting presence to a fearful object as it clutched relentlessly at her paws and feet. Whimpering with distress as her need became more urgent, Sooleawa fought her way free, and, sweating profusely, ran for relief. Gagging, she ran to the relieving place, knelt, and vomited copiously, her paws gripping the tiles, her toes curling tightly as she heaved and retched. Crying with fear and anxiety, Sooleawa gave herself up to her body’s needs.

“oaoaoaoaoaoaaow! Ahauauauauauauaoah!” Sooleawa screamed as she vomited her breakfast. Four more times her stomach convulsed, her paws gripping, back arching, sweat flying from her fur, trickling down the soles of her feet to be caught in her curled toes to be flicked off as she leant forward, drawing her hind legs beneath her to vomit, only to relax into a more comfortable posture on all fours until the next time, legs drawn up under her, sitting on her heels, head down, knees splayed, vomiting with force, while tears threatened to choke her as she struggled to rid herself of her meal, until she was heaving but nothing came up. Exhausted, but knowing she should get away from the place, Sooleawa clawed her way from the relieving place, scrabbling paws and toes fighting to pull her away from her relieving place before she collapsed. Sobbing like a cub, she lay on the cold tiles, her sight blurred with tears as she fretted. Sooleawa felt hot all over, and could feel her damp paws and hind feet. Taking a deep breath, she tried to compose herself.

“I’ve done myself no good with that,” she thought, “stupid bitch you are Sooleawa, doing that to your cub!” this mental self punishment made her feel dreadful all over again. The tiles were cold, the bed seemed a long way away, and Sooleawa knew she was dirty and needed to wash before she clambered into bed. Groaning, she crawled to her washing place, and washed her face, paws and feet in warm water. Still sobbing slightly, she crawled to her bed and onto it, pulling with her paws and pushing with her feet to lever herself onto the mattress. Listlessly Sooleawa contemplated the discarded duvet which lay in a tangled heap beside the bed.

“I want the duvet over me,” Sooleawa thought, “but if I need to be sick again, it will restrict me. I don’t want a duvet for comfort, I need another living creature!” Sooleawa realised she had closed her eyes, for a nudge made her open them with a start. Beside her, lying on the tiles was Sire Conrad.

“You were crying in your sleep Sooleawa,” Conrad said gently.

“I threw up Conrad,” Sooleawa replied, “this fear is making me sick!”

“I know,” Conrad replied, “I came to you as fast as I could. When I got to you you were asleep, but I do know you vomited, I saw you doing that. They haven’t removed the camera in this room yet, as it was only recently converted to a lie up with a relieving place. Before you ask, I wasn’t spying, I was watching out for you.”

“I don’t care if you were spying,” Sooleawa replied “honestly, I’m past caring who sees me doing anything now. my thoughts are with my cub or cubs. I’m terrified I might do something to harm my cubs Conrad! I don’t mean to do anything to harm them, or it if it is one, but, but, I don’t know what to do so not to harm them!”

“come with me, eat and drink, and relax mama Sooleawa,” Conrad replied smiling and taking her paw in his.

“Now let’s find food,” he said softly, kissing Sooleawa’s nose.

“It was horrible Conrad!” Sooleawa said half sobbing.

“I know, I saw only your back view and the soles of your hind feet, but that view was enough, along with the sounds of course, to tell me what was going on.”

“I was sweating so much it poured off my pads and got caught in my curled toes!” Sooleawa replied, “I felt it!”

“I saw that,” Conrad replied gently. Your pads turned from light pink to darker pink in a matter of seconds.”

“I feel awful!” Sooleawa whimpered. Conrad led her to the kitchen, where he found Kendal making soup. Quickly grasping the situation, he made Sooleawa a balanced broth which she gratefully consumed, Getting through two bowls worth before she was full.

“that’s wonderful stuff,” Sooleawa said, wiping her mouth on a tissue, “I was feeling really shit up until then.”

“Once you have rested a while, I’ll take you to see Blackberry,” Conrad replied, “he’s got some instruments he’d like to show you.”

“I don’t know now if I want to see them,” Sooleawa replied, “it would only upset me.”

“Maybe you’ll feel differently nearer the time,” Conrad said.

“I wonder if there can be pain relief,” Sooleawa replied, “not just paw massage I mean, though that is good. Isn’t there some gas thing I heard of?”

“yes there is,” Blackberry replied, padding into the room to get some food, “it’s called entonox. It’s a fast acting, but short duration pain reliever, and yes, I have been taught to use it. About the only thing I can’t do is surgically remove a cub, yet. And that is because they won’t teach me! they say a bear can’t do these things! the vet and human doctor praised me for my knowledge of cleanliness and empathy with patients, but they would not teach me how to do things that were invasive. I told them I’d fixed Sita, but they didn’t believe me. I’m trying to teach Ekaterina how to use the gas and air, but she can’t get the hang of it. I’ll have to help with that, while she teaches aids by helping with birthing postures, that sort of thing.”

“Do you know birthing postures?” Sooleawa asked, her eyes wide with fascination.

“Not at the dining table, please!” Kendal complained.

“Can I try this enter, whatever it is before I go into labour?” Sooleawa asked.

“yeah, ok,” Blackberry replied.

“Not here though!” Kendal protested.

“Of course not here,” Blackberry said, sitting down and attacking his bowl of broth with a spoon held in the thumb and first digit of his left paw, Sooleawa watching him in fascinated silence.

“I don’t like being stared at while I eat,” Blackberry snapped.

“I was looking at your paw,” Sooleawa replied, as if that made any difference at all.

“Makes no difference!” Blackberry growled, resting his spoon in his bowl, then stirring the soup slowly.

“if you can’t stop staring at me,” Blackberry said, “I’ll eat this in my lie up, or send you back to yours Sooleawa.”

“Sorry,” Sooleawa said, staring down at her paws. Sooleawa heard the spoon clink against the side of the bowl as Blackberry began spooning up the soup, while Sooleawa tried watching him from the corner of one eye. It seemed though that Blackberry knew when she was watching him, for a harrumph, followed by no more activity with the spoon would indicate he’d seen her spying on him.

“I thought you weren’t embarrassed about your paws,” Sooleawa said bravely. Blackberry made a sort of choking sound, and pushed his bowl away, hiding his face in his paws. Sooleawa felt her toes curling, instantly, she knew she’d hit a raw nerve.

“I’m going back to my lie up,” Blackberry said, getting to his feet.

“Blackberry, don’t, please, stay a while,” Sooleawa found herself saying, her eyes full of his own which were frightened and confused.

“I’m going back to my lie up, don’t follow me!” Blackberry roared, turning and crashing into Sita, who’d come in behind him, and was looking for a way round him when he swung round to face her.

“Watch where you’re bloody going!” Blackberry ranted, cuffing Sita, who reacted how she always did to preserve herself. Growling, she reared onto her hind feet and engulfed the threat in a big hug, bearing it to the floor. She was about to get up when Blackberry’s anguished moan, then his paws enveloping her made her pause.

“Blackberry?” she asked the now freely weeping black bear.

“Hold me, just hold me Sita!” Blackberry wept.

“hey, shh, what’s up?” Sita asked, suspecting she already knew.

“Not here,” Blackberry sniffed, snuggling close to Sita.

“Kendal,” Sita said from where she lay prone on the floor with Blackberry trying to bury his face and paws deeper into her fur, “could you please have some more of that broth sent round to Blackberry’s lie up in about half an hour? Two helpings, and make sure we have plenty of tea, bread and butter too?” Kendal nodded, realising what the cat bear was about.

“I’ll take a pot of tea now, follow us to his lie up please Kendal,” Sita continued. Sita got to her feet, Blackberry now too weak to stop her. helping him to his hind feet, she wrapped her arm around his shoulders and supported him from the room. Finding the way to the monorail, she punched a button and helped him into the car. Blackberry, half conscious , watched Sita as she told the car where to go. Soon he was in his lie up, and Sita was plumping the cushions on the beanbags on the floor. Smiling, she indicated for Blackberry to sit, and he flopped exhausted onto the beans.

“You know don’t you,” Blackberry whimpered.

“About your paws?” Sita asked.

“yes,” Blackberry replied, staring down at his own paws, which were balled into fists.

“I know, I also know how it feels to have paws like yours,” Sita replied, holding out her paws for inspection. Blackberry looked at Sita’s paws, and saw her move her thumbs into the centre of the pads of her paw.

“I don’t know whether my paws are a blessing or a curse,” Blackberry replied.

“Let me hold them, please?” Sita said. Blackberry gave her his paws, Sita moving so she sat opposite him to hold them more comfortably. Sita sat on the bean bag, her hind legs tucked up beside her, leaning forward slightly, his paws in hers, their noses almost touching.

“she makes my toes want to curl! Oh help!” Blackberry thought. He closed his eyes to stop himself from drinking Sita in, but the urge got stronger and stronger. Gasping, he opened his eyes.

“Sita, don’t!” Blackberry whimpered.

“I’m not saying anything,” Sita replied.

“but I am,” Blackberry blurted, “many things! I can’t stop my paws from telling you how I’m feeling!”

“You are a frightened cub wanting a hug,” Sita replied. Blackberry felt tears welling in his eyes, then running down his face. Choking, then coughing, he tried to breathe, but sobs stopped him.

“come,” Sita said, as Kendal rolled a trolley into the room, “come for a hug Blackberry, and tell me what’s troubling you.” Blackberry ignored Kendal, who set out the tea things, and snuggled up to Sita on the bean bag, Sita moving alongside him now, Blackberry half sprawling in her lap.

“All this knowledge I now have,” Blackberry began, “it scares me Sita. I want to know so much, and the worst of it is, I understand so much! A bear should not be like this! Patch, he’s clever, and brave, and intelligent, but I know he’s not scientific, well not in the way I am. He knows things to be true, because he believes them, his spiritual sightings, all that. I can’t see those, but I know the mechanics of delivering cubs, of illness and disease. I was given the medic’s job, and now I’m in it with both paws! is this right? Should I be here? I was born a bear, I don’t know who I am, or what I am!”

“you’re a bear with very special talents and abilities,” Sita said, stroking Blackberry’s back with her paw, “you have been blessed with an enquiring mind, a mind that is open, that is possessed of a gentle, almost cub like personality in that you like mischief and playtime. Don’t lie, I’ve scented you in the playroom with the cubs. You like their playtime, and have never forgotten it from when you were a cub.”

“No Sita, no I haven’t,” Blackberry replied, “I loved playtimes, I loved playing with Patch, clambering over him when I was small enough to do so,” he laughed slightly, “Patch was lovely to clamber over, he was an animated climbing frame with lovely paws and feet, and the most wonderful hug.”

“I know that hug,” Sita replied.

“it pours from you too,” Blackberry said, “Patch’s hug is what is driving me to tell you all this, for I know you, like he, understands me, and won’t judge me for what I say. Sita, what do I do with Sooleawa? How do I reassure her everything’s going to be all right with the birth of her cub?”

“You can’t be entirely sure can you,” Sita replied.

“No,” Blackberry admitted, “it’s not entirely certain there will be no complications, first time mama and all that. So what do I tell her?”

“Show her your instruments, let her get paws on, let her understand what will happen to her and her cub if this, or that happens. Show her your treatment bed, the straps to hold her feet if you need to pull the cub with your ratchet thing, as well as the gas and air she might want to use.”

“I don’t want to use the straps to pull her cub,” Blackberry whimpered, “it’s not nice that, I’ve had it done. The poor cub feels as if it’s being stretched!”

“ouch,” Sita mewed, wriggling slightly at the thought, “that’s not good, but if mama’s pushing while you’re pulling, then that’s fine, for the cub is forced towards the outside air.”

“yes, but I don’t know if I can use the ratchet thing when Sooleawa’s on all fours, I suppose I could, if she held onto something with her paws and braced her feet, like maybe put blocks she can push against with her feet as I pull and she strains into her tail. But that is nasty! I don’t want that to happen.”

“You’d rather a live cub and mama though,” Sita said, “Blackberry, don’t be scared of your knowledge.”

“I’m not, but to practise that on a realistic, if not entirely accurate model is different to trying it for the first time on a real mama. The model didn’t breathe, or curl her toes, or moan, or panic, or sweat profusely with fear. Yes it pushed, and I got used to using the traction and everything, but it wasn’t real as it were.”

“I understand it’s hard for you, but you’ve been given a remarkable talent, use it Blackberry. You know how things should be, so make them as they should be if they are not as they should be. do anything you need to do, for Sooleawa’s care is in your paws, and she will do anything you ask her to do to save her cub if needed.”

“I’ve been looking into something else,” Blackberry confessed, “it’s a birthing hammock. It supports the mama in whatever position she wants to be in, it’s raised off the floor at an angle, and mama wears bands on her legs, she can stick there on the hammock if she wants, she’s supported the whole way. She can kick, she can pedal the air with her paws and feet, she can brace her feet if she wants, she can hold on with her paws, she can lie on her side, all held by these elasticised bands with Velcro on them. the Velcro won’t slip sideways, but lifting off is easy, so mama can move about freely. I have been hiding it. Sita, it would help if I need to use the pulling ropes too. would you, would you take a look? I mean run your paws over it? I know it looks barbaric, like a rack, but, but, I think it could help mamas. Sita got to her feet.

“Let’s eat first, then you can show me,” she said. So they did, Blackberry now very excited. Soon they’d eaten, and Blackberry took Sita to the birthing rooms, where he’d taken up residence with Ekaterina, as their trades were very similar. Blackberry showed Sita the hammock, it was a frame about seven feet long, angled at a comfortable angle, though Blackberry said it could be adjusted with the mama lying on it if needed. Sita found the hammock could be raised or lowered by hydraulics, the operation smooth and silent. Sita felt a strange thrill of adventure, making her paws tingle and hind feet damp with anticipation.

“Blackberry,” she said, “Imagine I’m in labour, how would you put me on that hammock thing to deliver my cub??” Blackberry looked startled:

“You mean, you mean you want to try it?” Blackberry asked. Sita looked very uncomfortable, squatted down and groaned deeply.

“yeah, yeah, I’m in cub!” she squealed. Blackberry started laughing, but then he stopped, seeing she wanted to be treated like a mama in labour. Blackberry put bands around Sita’s arms and legs. He then helped her onto the hammock. Sita, eager to lie down, scrambled onto the hammock, whimpering with pleasure as it embraced her body.

“What if I want to kick with my hind feet?” Sita said. Blackberry raised the hammock a fraction, and Sita kicked, feeling the hammock flexing to her efforts. It seemed no matter what she did, she couldn’t fall off the hammock. Her fur seemed stuck to it. Even rolling about, which she tried, didn’t dislodge her. Sita rolled onto her back and kicked and thrashed with all four feet, only her body supported by the hammock, and she didn’t slip an inch.

“what if I want to pedal the air while pushing?” Sita asked. Blackberry operated the hammock, rolling it up so only Sita’s body was supported. Sita waved her paws and kicked with her feet, once or twice drawing up her legs and thrusting desperately with her feet, and even once, drawing up her hind legs and grabbing her feet in her paws and holding on tightly while wriggling madly and screaming, all the while feeling supported and completely safe. Then she got on all fours and again felt completely safe. Even when Blackberry, in a moment of mischief, tickled her toes with his breath, and she reacted by sitting back on her heels, she still felt safe.

“ow, ow, owowowowowow!” Sita moaned, panting hard, “I almost wish I had a cub to deliver, this is too bloody comfortable not to deliver a cub right now!” Blackberry giggled.

“You approve then?” he asked.

“It’s lovely!” Sita said, lying full length on the now extended hammock, “it embraces my paws, my feet, my body, everything! There’s even a bar to hold onto with my paws, and, and, if I pull myself up, I can even rest my chin on a pillow up here between pains. Can you bring me something to brace my feet against? Blackberry saw Sita was high up on the frame now, still lying full length, but about four feet in the air, her feet level with his eyes if he stood close to her on all four paws.

“yes I can,” Blackberry said, looking at Sita’s feet, the soles of which faced him. He brought the blocks up to her feet, and Sita braced both her feet on the blocks, digging her toes into the rubberised matting on the block, as it now hid the soles of her feet. Sita pushed off with her paws, settled her feet more comfortably into the rubberised block, feeling the block rotating to embrace her feet, pads, toes and all.

“this feels so good!” Sita yelled, trying to move her feet, which she couldn’t do. Sita growled deep in her throat, grabbed the top bar with her paws, brought her legs up a little, Blackberry bringing the blocks up to meet her feet again.

“I wan’a push!” Sita screamed, heaving lustily with her hind feet, bearing down into the blocks with her whole body. Pressing, pushing, curling up into a ball, grinding herself into the blocks supporting her feet and the hammock supporting her body.

“euuuuuauauauauauauauaoaaoaoaoah! Eueueueueueueueeueueueueoaoaoaoaoahah!” Sita yelled as she heaved and strained.

“Blackberry!” she panted when she had recovered enough, “that is amazing! Wow, just wow!” Blackberry, his eyes shining, helped Sita off the birthing bed. Sita, exhausted but happy, hugged Blackberry.

“that is lovely!” she exclaimed, “I don’t care what it looks like, I will speak of that very highly.”

“You looked like you trusted it,” Blackberry replied.

“I did, I trusted it with my life,” Sita said.

“the more one pushes into it, the firmer it sits in its moorings,” Blackberry said, “it’s firmly fixed anyway, but the more one pushes with feet or paws, for the bar can be pushed down too if mama wants to push down with her paws, indeed it can be a real workout, as we can put resistance in if she wishes, as I did with your feet when you pushed the blocks Sita.”

“that was wonderful!” Sita replied, , her words tumbling over each other, “a complete physical sensation from my paws to my feet! Wonderful! No matter how I pushed with my feet, I always felt supported, I pushed with my heels, and my toes, and the whole soles of both my feet, I curled my toes, and put all my weight through the blocks, labouring down till I was almost curled up. I felt safe.”

“it works using your fur or hair,,” Blackberry said, binding you to the hammock.”

“that felt wonderful!” Sita said, kissing Blackberry’s nose, “have you tried it?” she asked. Blackberry blushed from his neck to his ears, though Sita couldn’t see it.

“yes I have,” Blackberry replied, “I didn’t believe my findings at first, so I had to get a second opinion.”

“You have got a winner here,” Sita said, kissing Blackberry’s nose, she smiled broadly, “You have the paws to soothe, the mind to explore, the love for all cubs.” Blackberry looked down at his paws, then up at Sita, kissing her nose and paws again.

“You can do it Blackberry,” Sita said to the black bear. Blackberry lowered the hammock to a bed position, Sita getting into it and resting there, her body supported. Sita then got onto all fours, bracing her paws and knees against the bed, her head lowered slightly.

“I could moan and yell in comfort here,” Sita said, and, and if I rock forward and back,” this she tried, harder and harder, faster and faster, the hammock supporting her, the whole structure supporting her efforts, the hammock sliding back and fourth with her thrusting efforts. Blackberry gently eased the hammock to a halt, and Sita found herself even more stable.

“ooaoaoaoaoh, this feels great!” she yelled, much excited.

“I can raise and lower you while you’re on the bed,” Blackberry said, raising Sita to her former position, Sita staying where she was on the bed the whole time. Sita tried rocking back and fourth as she had on the flat bed, finding her feet pressing into the block, supporting her as she braced them as she leant back on her backside.

“We can even put a hammock behind your backside if you want,” Blackberry said, we can adjust the hammock to fit, so you can deliver the cub through the webbing. It’s to allow mamas to deliver in whatever position they feel most comfortable with.” Blackberry fixed the hammock up behind Sita, and she sat back in it, feeling her backside supported, but knowing that if she was to have a cub, Blackberry or the midwife could reach everything they needed to, and Sita herself could push as she wished, the cub’s passage unobstructed by the webbing.

“This sort of holds my hind legs apart enough to deliver the cub too!” Sita said, it’s great if you have a mama who can’t get the hang of splaying her hind legs to deliver her cub. My legs are comfortable, my feet are comfortable, my back is comfortable, my paws are comfortable!” she wriggled slightly, trying to feel unsteady, but she didn’t feel unsteady at all., “this is lovely!” Sita exclaimed, Blackberry grinning like a cub.”

“you could also sit the other way, sit in the hammock with your feet drawn up and push the cub into the world,” Blackberry suggested. Sita turned round and sat in the hammock at the foot of the raised bed, her feet drawn up, her paws wrapped around her knees. She felt comfortable there too, her legs splayed to allow the passage of the cub, her feet and back and backside supported.

“it seems a pity I’m not in labour,” Sita said wistfully, “I almost wish I were. It would be lovely to deliver a cub here.”

“Well Sita,” Blackberry said, “maybe you could go to Sooleawa and tell her of your findings. Ekaterina won’t try this new hammock, she thinks she’ll fall out of it.”

“Not any more I don’t,” Ekaterina said, padding from the birthing pool, where she’d been lying and listening to everything.

“Do you want to try it out like I did Ekaterina?” Sita asked.

“I couldn’t, not like you did,” Ekaterina replied, “you, you believed, believed that, oh it doesn’t matter!” She raged in frustration.

“I gave myself up to pretending I was having a cub so much that it was almost real?” Sita asked.

“yes, and I can’t do that, for if I do that, I end up thinking of Sam’s birth, and all the shit comes back, and I hate that mental shit!” Ekaterina whimpered.

“You could always remember my rebirth,” fleur mewed, padding into the room and kissing Ekaterina’s nose.

“I could try that,” she replied, but, now, now, I’m focused on Sooleawa’s impending delivery.”

“That’s not for weeks yet,” Blackberry replied.

“all right, the answer is no!” Ekaterina snarled, swiping at Blackberry with her paw.

What’s up Ekaterina?” Blackberry asked playfully. Ekaterina lost her temper, running at Blackberry and attacking him. Blackberry would have lost the fight, had Sita not waded in on his side, picked Ekaterina up and threw her towards the hammock, where she landed in its embrace, sticking there.

“I hate you!” Ekaterina screamed, lashing out with all four feet.

“Slam-dunk!” Sita yelled, Blackberry trying not to laugh.

“Not you as well!” Ekaterina snarled.

“You threw her!” Blackberry giggled.

“I know,” Sita replied, now feeling shame at her actions.

“You saved me from a pasting,” Blackberry groaned, getting to his feet, “I must admit though, I didn’t give a good account of myself.”

“I can’t get out of this net!” Ekaterina roared, kicking and wriggling madly.

“it’s the birthing hammock,” Sita said, “it’s really good for labouring mothers that. I should know. Ekaterina, now furious beyond endurance, rolled onto her chest, got onto all fours, braced her feet against the blocks, grabbed the bar with her paws, and pushed backwards with her feet, screaming and roaring with the effort. Sita, having placed the blocks at Ekaterina’s feet, felt the mama bear’s hind feet as she pushed against the blocks, while Ekaterina pushed hard with her hind feet, screaming and cursing. Exhausted, Ekaterina collapsed gasping and sobbing into the hammock, her head cradled in the webbing pillow,.

“I’ve had enough now!” Ekaterina panted, “make it stop! This anger is killing me!”

“I’m sorry Ekaterina,” Blackberry said, padding up to the side of the hammock and touching the mama bear’s paw.

“I seem to be swinging between two states,” Ekaterina mumbled, acute pleasure, or raging anger. Is there no mid point?”

“You controlled your response this time,” Blackberry said.

“I did?” Ekaterina asked.

“your anger at Sita for laughing at your being netted was taken out on the hammock, not on Sita,” Blackberry replied.

“Oh, yes, I remember,” Ekaterina replied faintly, “huge pushing with my hind feet, swearing and roaring too. I hate my mouth when I get angry. Where did I learn those words?”

“You were swearing in context too, and you didn’t repeat yourself once,” Sita said, stifling her giggles by covering her mouth with her paw and turning them into a fit of sneezing.

“was I? oh no!” Ekaterina moaned, her bad language seeming to grieve her.

“As I said, swearing reduces stress,” Blackberry said, “which, if you ask me, is a, “blank,” good thing.” Ekaterina yelled at him to:

“Wash your mouth Blackberry!” Blackberry giggled cubbishly at her, and helped her from the hammock.

“Can I help you to the floor?” Blackberry asked. Ekaterina let him guide her hind feet to the floor, then she dropped onto her paws. smiling, she hugged Blackberry tenderly.

“now I will go,” she said, “and thank you Blackberry.” Padding to the door, Ekaterina had another thought, turning back, she asked:

“would you like me to bring Sooleawa to the birthing hammock?”

“if she wants to come to it yes,” Blackberry replied smiling.

“I’ll come with you Ekaterina,” Sita said.

Sooleawa paced round her lie up thinking hard. She felt better after her meal, and wondered if she would ever get over the trauma of delivering her cubs. She imagined she’d feel the contractions forever in her dreams after the cubs were born. Sighing heavily, she closed her eyes, pacing about by the information given to her by her ears, paws and feet. Because she was not used to using her ears as Sita or Ekaterina did, Sooleawa blundered straight into Sita, as the latter padded into her lie up on silent feet.

“Oh, Sita!” Sooleawa exclaimed, her eyes flying open as she blundered into the cat bear.

“I want to show you something Sooleawa,” Sita said kissing her friend’s nose, “something that might soothe you during your coming labour.” Sooleawa looked at Ekaterina, who’d sidled alongside Sita.

“How did you know?” she asked.

“Know what my dear?” Sita asked, her gentle comforting tone making Sooleawa want to cry.

“that, that, that I was thinking of the pains of labour?” Sooleawa asked.

“We didn’t know,” Ekaterina replied, “Blackberry showed us something he had installed in the place where we both work now.” Sooleawa felt Sita’s paw covering hers, the cat bear’s touch squeezing her heart, making tears well in her eyes and run down her face.

“Ekaterina,” Sita said, “I think we had better show her what we have both experienced. To help Sooleawa to overcome her fears. To show her we all care, that we are all holding her paws as she’s in labour.”

Meanwhile, in another part of the house, Amy spoke to Orbon, Amy expounding her view of Sooleawa’s coming confinement, and the fuss around it as:

“A lot of fuss about nothing carrying on around a nobody.” Orbon, having met Sooleawa, and liked her, challenged Amy’s view.

“Sooleawa’s scared because of her own birth, don’t you know how that went?”

“I do,” Amy replied, “but it’s all blown out of proportion. She was never in danger.”

“You might not think so,” Orbon replied, “but I have spoken to Ekaterina, who was midwife at Sooleawa’s birth, and knows how it went. If it hadn’t been for Ekaterina’s physical strength and gentility, Sooleawa wouldn’t be here today, and neither would her mother.”

“I still think it’s a load of fuss about nothing!” Amy yelled, “I have seen the video, you only heard it, I saw the lack of help Bramble gave Sooleawa as she was pulled from her body. Bramble didn’t care!”

“No,” Orbon replied, “that is untrue, Bramble was too exhausted by straining herself beyond endurance, to help in the birth of her cub, that was until the very end, when she drew up her feet and heaved desperately into her tail at Ekaterina’s suggestion, as Ekaterina wanted Bramble to feel she’d had a part in the birth of her cub.”

“But Bramble abandoned Sooleawa,” Amy replied, “that is shown by Bramble rejecting her cub after a day or two.”

“No,” Orbon replied, then more crossly, “no, you’re wrong!” Slamming his paw on the rugs, “Sooleawa was adopted by Patch and Ekaterina to give her stability!”

“how would you know, you weren’t even born then!” Amy yelled, cuffing Orbon across his face, knowing he could not see her to dodge her attack. Squealing, Orbon threw up his paws to protect his face.

“that was disgusting!” Petra screamed, running in and cuffing Amy with both the back and pads of her paws. Amy fell theatrically to the floor screaming and crying.

“Get off me, Get off me!” she howled.

“You are disgraceful!” Petra roared, her voice shocking Orbon to his pads..

Meanwhile, in the birthing suite, Sooleawa stared in some anxiety at the hammock.

“how can this help me?” she asked.

“it enables you to feel secure and safe during a land based delivery,” Ekaterina said, “or you can use the birthing pool if you wish, or a combination of both.”

“how are we going to get her from one to the other?” Blackberry asked.

“Can’t you wheel this thing?” Ekaterina enquired.

“Um, no,” Blackberry replied, “that model cost too much, and I didn’t like the feel of it anyway. Sooleawa could crawl to the birthing pool I suppose.”

“I could move to the pool during the crawling stage of labour,” Sooleawa said, “after the first couple of pushes that is, when the cub is getting well down to being born.”

“Okay,” Ekaterina replied, “I know the crawling urge, it’s like you can’t shift a bowel movement, it’s a desperate need to crawl.”

“I want to know this Ekaterina,” Sooleawa said, “how painful are contractions?”

“It is the most painful thing you will ever go through,” Ekaterina replied, “you will feel urges and needs you never knew you wanted or needed. You will become a slave to your nature, and every wish and thought will be towards delivering your cubs.”

“oooah,” Sita said, “that’s almost a too graphic reminder for me, as I know it is true myself.”

“Can I try the hammock?” Sooleawa asked.

“yes, of course,” Blackberry replied, helping Sooleawa into the hammock, now lying flat again like a bed. Sooleawa bounced in the hammock, the springs helping her. she rocked back and forth, pressing her paws into the hammock, thrusting with her knees and hind feet.

“She’s got a vulnerable look in her eyes, a cub’s face, beautiful fur, and gorgeous paws and hind feet,” Blackberry thought,.

“you’re thinking about me,” Sooleawa said to him.

“I was,” Blackberry admitted, “was it that obvious?”

“You looked concerned, almost sad,” Sooleawa replied, “almost as if, as if you wanted to hug me like a sire would his cub,” Sooleawa replied. Blackberry, his paws resting on the rails of the hammock, looked down at the bed supporting Sooleawa’s weight.

“I’m sorry,” he mumbled.

“it’s okay,” Sooleawa replied, “after all, isn’t it the community way that we all look after each other?” Blackberry smiled, relieved at her take on his concern.

“You looked vulnerable while you rocked back and fourth in the hammock,” Blackberry said, “something in your eyes, in the grip of your paws, and how you held your head as you tested out the hammock.” Sooleawa looked at Blackberry, then rolled onto her side, holding out her paws to him. Blackberry looked at her.

“I’m glad I got the double version of the hammock,” he thought, scrambling onto the raised bed and lying down beside Sooleawa, feeling her paws enveloping him.

“I feel like a cub,” she whispered, “a frightened cub! how did I get into this?”

“You mated with Moonshadow,” Ekaterina grunted.

“I think she knows that!” Sita snapped.

“I’m so scared!” Sooleawa sniffled, “I don’t know if I can do it Blackberry! I was sick earlier, horribly, violently sick.”

“I know,” Blackberry replied gently, “nerves can do that.”

“I’m terrified Blackberry, so frightened!” Sooleawa choked.

“I know,” Blackberry replied, “Sooleawa, you will be okay, I will be with you, Ekaterina will be too, as will Sita.”

“What help can I be?” Sita asked, “I’m no midwife, that’s Ekaterina’s or Hope’s job.”

“Just stay with her Sita,” Blackberry replied.

“I’m no good at this midwife stuff,” Sita complained.

“I’m not asking you to get your paws dirty,” Blackberry said from his supine position in the hammock.

“So I just rub her back, or stroke her paws or feet?” Sita asked.

“Please don’t be so worried about that,” Ekaterina said to Sita, nuzzling her ear.

“but I’m no good at this,” Sita whimpered.

“You can practise on me if you like,” Ekaterina replied smiling.

“You mean you could pretend to have a cub?” Sita asked, “but what about your issues around delivering cubs?”

“They, um, have been laid to rest,” Ekaterina replied without ranker, “I can pretend now, I want to go back to the old ways of teaching mothers to be how things are.”

“if she just wants to be left alone, as in paws off, I’ll feel really left out, as I can’t see her,” Sita replied candidly.

“I know how you would feel if that were to be the case, but labour is for Sooleawa to do what she wants, not for us to get paws on when she doesn’t want it,” Ekaterina replied.

“I’ll want paws on, I know I will want paws on,” Sooleawa commented.

“your feelings might be different when you’re in labour,” Sita said.

“No they wont,” Sooleawa replied, “I’ll be terrified, crying, screaming, and feeling as vulnerable as a cub.”

“I felt vulnerable too,” Ekaterina thought, “I felt vulnerable during my last labour, giving birth to fleur. I thought I might die! I pushed and strained so hard, I did everything I could to deliver fleur. I curled my toes so hard they ached, nearly broke my teeth grinding and clenching them, and wore my legs and arms out kicking and thrusting with my feet and paws. Not to think of how I strained and heaved inside, bearing down, pushing and straining. I screamed and roared so loudly I was hoarse.” Ekaterina felt a paw on her shoulder, turning her head, she felt Sooleawa kiss her nose.

“Why am I sitting back on my heels?” Ekaterina asked, “I was standing on my feet a minute ago.”

“You were wriggling and whimpering Ekaterina,” Sooleawa said.

“Oh dear, was I?” Ekaterina asked, looking ashamed.

“You were,” Sooleawa replied, you crouched, bounced on your toes a bit, then wriggled as if about to push a cub into the world. You then got onto all fours and rocked back and fourth a bit, before sitting hard back on your heels, your toes curled tightly. you were whimpering and panting throughout.”

“Oh no!” Ekaterina choked, “Sooleawa, I’m sorry, that was so selfish.”

“You didn’t know you were doing it,” Sooleawa said, “Ekaterina, Dear Ekaterina, what’s on your mind?”

“NO, it’s not for me to divert from your needs Sooleawa,” Ekaterina replied.

“Please Ekaterina,” Sooleawa begged , “please, tell me what was happening to you.”

“I don’t feel right telling you what I went through,” Ekaterina replied, “Sooleawa, it’s too awful, the fear, the terror, the pain! I was being punished remember? I was punished for my selfish actions. Your labour is not going to be like mine. You will not fear for your life as I did, or if you do I will be sorry for it.”

“”I want to know how it felt Ekaterina,” Sooleawa replied, “I’ve seen you upset twice now,,,” her voice trailed away in a sob, “I don’t like it Ekaterina!” Sooleawa sniffed, “please tell me Ekaterina, show me what happened?”

“I don’t want to put the fear into you too,” Ekaterina whispered, “I know I could if I got into things, if I got into re-enacting, if I began to explore that time again. Some things are best left unexplored, unexamined, under wraps.”

“please tell me Ekaterina,” Sooleawa pleaded.

“I can’t do that,” Ekaterina whimpered, “I won’t do it Sooleawa, I can’t put you through that! You’re having cubs of your own, and my mental shit can’t become yours too. I won’t allow that.”

“you said last time it helped,” Sooleawa pressed, “won’t it help again?” Ekaterina breathed hard:

“if my fears become yours,” Ekaterina whispered, “I will kill myself.”

“You will not do that,” Sooleawa said gently.

“it hurt me to deliver fleur,” Ekaterina replied, “at first it was just small pains, but then it got worse, as fleur beat me with her paws, and fought to find her way out. I think she jammed a paw in the opening to the outside world, then pushed at it. That made me scream and roll about. But then, then she turned and got a hind foot in that gap, pushing hard with her toes! that really hurt! I screamed and kicked and roared! This was before I really began to push, before that, I crawled about, moaning and crying, and using a medicine ball to lean on during the worst contractions. All was ow, very ow, and worse.””

“Ekaterina,” Sooleawa said, kissing the she bear’s nose, “sit down, and I’ll get us some tea.”

“how if we go to the birthing pool,” Ekaterina asked, “there it is warm, and we can talk about Fleur’s rebirth, as most of it happened in the water.”

Ekaterina and Sooleawa adjourned to the birthing pool, where Ekaterina began her tale.

“have you seen the video?” she asked. Sooleawa said she had, and that it had made her cry.

“It made me cry too,” Ekaterina replied.

“How did you get through Fleur’s birth?” Sooleawa asked.

“I don’t know,” Ekaterina replied, “I must have found reserves of strength I didn’t know I had.”

“how did it feel to push? To bear down into your tail?” Sooleawa asked.

“Like the biggest need to relieve myself I’d ever had,” Ekaterina replied, “though worse than that, as what I was pushing against is a body, not waste matter. It’s a real fight.”

“Since that fight, have you been mentored by fleur?” Sooleawa asked.

“I’m calmer,” Ekaterina replied, “the fact she’s following me round the place keeps me in check from doing anything silly.”

“but to be punished by her, then to accept her guidance seems rather strange to me.”

“she wasn’t punishing me, Patch was, he was showing how distressed he was over how I’d been towards him for such a long time,” Ekaterina replied.

“Once that punishment had been dealt, you were then able to deliver fleur?” Sooleawa asked.

“yes,” Ekaterina replied, “it was her wish to come back over the bridge, as she was bored on the spiritual side.”

“I wanted to feel firm ground under my paws again,” fleur mewed, padding into the room and slipping into the water.

“Fleur’s beautiful,” Sooleawa thought.

“you are admiring me I think?” fleur asked. Sooleawa smiled broadly.

“You have as interesting fur as Sita,” Sooleawa replied.

“how long is it till you have your cubs?” fleur asked.

“a month away yet,” Sooleawa replied, “but I need to get into practise with labour positions etc. I don’t know whether I’m having one cub or more.”

“comparing my labour to anything you might feel is not a good thing to do really Sooleawa,” Ekaterina said softly, “I can help you to express your pain, to adopt good postures, and to breathe deeply, but that is about it prior to the birth. During it I can help you remember postures, breathing, that sort of thing. It will be down to Blackberry to monitor the cub’s well being with a monitoring machine he has. He can also pull a cub if he feels the need to, if the cub is in distress or something like that.”

“What if I can’t push?” Sooleawa asked.

“yes, then too,” Ekaterina replied gently.

“Ekaterina,” Sooleawa said, “I was violently sick, I sweated so much sweat flew off my fur and pads as I threw up.”

“Fear is a horrible thing,” Ekaterina replied, “I know it very well Sooleawa.”

“have you ever been so frightened you’ve been sick?” Sooleawa asked.

“yes,” Ekaterina replied, “I’ve eaten lots to anesthetise the fear, then been sick with that fear. Mine was through the guilt of lieing to my mate, but I have done it yes. I know what it is like Sooleawa.”

“it’s not good for my cubs is it?” Sooleawa asked. Ekaterina hugged Sooleawa.

“No Sooleawa love, it’s not good at all,” Ekaterina said.

“how can I feel good about having a cub?” Sooleawa asked.

“Why are you feeling bad about having a cub?” Ekaterina enquired.

“it’s the fear that, that, well, that it will become stuck on the way out into the world. That I won’t be able to push enough, that I’m too weak to do anything to help the cub,” Sooleawa replied.

“We can help, with lubrication and easing the cub if you can’t push,” Ekaterina replied, “Blackberry has things, things that, well, that will pull your cub. he wants to show me them, he wants to put me in a tube and pull me out of it with these ropes! He says he’s been pulled with the ropes himself!”

“Now I would like to see that,” Sooleawa replied, “see the ropes I mean, and know how they work.”

“I’m terrified of that stuff,” Ekaterina replied, “I know I put my paws to the test to get you out and all, but that was natural help, not this rope thing.”

“How you squeezed your paw in there I’ll never know,” Sooleawa replied.

“it was a tight squeeze, but I did it,” Ekaterina replied, “these ropes though, ugh, how horrible.”

“I’ll bet they are better than a dead cub,” Sooleawa replied.

“how safe did you feel when you were on all fours being sick?” Ekaterina asked.

“I knew I could get on with vomiting,” Sooleawa replied, “that I wouldn’t fall. My body seemed to know stability. I was able to rock back and fourth as my body wanted. Okay, being sick was horrid, but my body knew how to keep itself stable.”

“that Hammock should help you too,” Ekaterina mused.

“So what ‘you’re saying is this,” Sooleawa said, “if I can throw up and trust my body to do its thing, I can labour the same way?”

“yes,” Ekaterina replied, “just go with your body.”

“But I have a month of this fear to go,” Sooleawa replied, “I’m quite literally shitting myself with terror Ekaterina!”

“would it help if you watch births, if you watch how others coped?” Ekaterina asked.

“Can I ask them?” Sooleawa replied.

“Noone but you will be able to conquer your fear,” Ekaterina replied, “but yes, you could ask Sita how she laboured, and ask Anook too. they had normal deliveries, as did Jemma and Cynthia, though those two are human, and humans have it worse than bears when delivering their cubs, though we do make much the same sounds and feel the same pains.”

“I’ll bet humans curl their toes like we bears do, and are sick too,” Sooleawa said.

“We are,” Jemma replied, padding in and sitting down on the edge of the pool. Ekaterina smiled and turned to her, speaking to her in community dialect, which Jemma understood perfectly.

“I watched Sooleawa’s struggle in her lie up,” Jemma said, “and yes, I had the same issues with my first cub Sally. I was scared, and at one point, vomited like Sooleawa did. Same posture and all.”

“How was Sally’s birth?” Sooleawa asked.

“it was amazing,” Jemma replied, “I went with the birth, and did everything Ekaterina suggested you do. I laboured for hours, but I was free to do what I wanted. I was free, barefoot, and unencumbered by clothes or inhibitions.”

“so I should learn to scream and roar?” Sooleawa asked.

“You won’t need to learn, I didn’t have to learn that,” Jemma replied. Sooleawa looked at Jemma, taking the woman in from head to bare feet.

“I saw Peter’s birth,” She said, “that was amazing too.”

“it was,” Jemma replied, “it was liberating to do again what I wanted. I went my own way, and Sooleawa, please, go yours. Do what you want to do. Please though, look after your cub. your fear is understandable, but what happened to you is not the norm. You will be amazed at how you cope.”

“is there anything I shouldn’t do?” Sooleawa asked.

“Don’t hold your breath during contractions, breathe whatever happens,” Jemma said, “as you are breathing for your cub too.”

“so that’s more moaning and roaring?” Sooleawa asked.

“yes, plenty,” Jemma replied, “I’ll ask my friend Cynthia to speak to you about how she was helped by Ekaterina and Blackberry during little Ekaterina’s birth shall I?”

“I’d rather speak with a bear now I think,” Sooleawa replied, “but thank you Jemma for being so honest with your account.” Jemma smiled and impulsively hugged Sooleawa.

“Do what you feel,” Jemma said to the silver grey she bear.

“and what if I push, and I scream, and I roar, and curl my toes, and kick and roll about, but, after all that, my cub doesn’t make it?” Sooleawa asked.

“Then we will help you to grieve for that cub how you want to,” Ekaterina replied, “but it is most unlikely to come to that Sooleawa.”

“how often do cubs not make it through birth?” Sooleawa asked.

“here we are very good at delivering cubs,” Ekaterina replied, “you should know that yourself.”

“how long did it take you to learn the trick you used to pull me into the world?” Sooleawa asked.

“I didn’t learn it, I made it up as I went along,” Ekaterina replied, “knowing what I knew about birth, I just thought about what to do, and did it. Blackberry though, he’s learnt how to do things properly.”

“Why didn’t you learn to do things like he has?” Sooleawa asked.

“I never got the chance to learn like that,” Ekaterina replied, “I knew how a cub came out by feeling it coming into the world once or twice when mamas had their cubs, and that was that. I relied on mama to tell if something was wrong. Blackberry though, he can test for wrong, as it were.”

“Blackberry’s just got a bit of paper,” Blackberry said, padding into the room, “Ekaterina knows her stuff without paper.”

“Ekaterina,” Sooleawa asked, “do you mean to tell me that you hadn’t ever pulled a cub before you helped me into the world?” Ekaterina smiled, and Sooleawa covered her face with her paws.

“Ekaterina’s a safe set of paws I think,” Blackberry said, while Sooleawa fought with emotions she hardly understood.

“I was frightened too Sooleawa,” Ekaterina admitted. This was an emergency I’d never come across before, and I had no time to consult anyone. I just got my paws dirty, and did what I thought was best.”

“Thank you for not giving up,” Sooleawa sobbed.

“now let’s get out of this pool, for my pads are as wrinkled as prunes!” Ekaterina said airily.

“yes, sorry,” Sooleawa mumbled, wading to the poolside with half closed eyes, straight into Ekaterina’s hug, the mama bear positioning herself on the side of the pool to hug Sooleawa as she tried to climb out of the pool.

“Oooah,” Sooleawa exclaimed, Ekaterina kissing her nose and embracing her.

“now remember Sooleawa,” Ekaterina said, “you have power, use it.”

“I have a bucket of fear and worries,” Sooleawa replied, “but I must overcome those for the sake of my cub.”

“Now I’m looking for some way of getting wrinkles out of paw and foot pads,” Ekaterina said.

“You have wrinkled pads anyway Ekaterina, but I don’t. mine are flat. Though they do become wrinkled after lots of time in water. Maybe I can dry them out, and then, then, well, I could rub some cream into them to hydrate my pads a bit,” Sooleawa said half laughing.

“you should be the expert in that,” Sita replied, padding into the room and helping Sooleawa from the pool.

“I should be,” Sooleawa replied, “and it’s my job to keep paws and feet clean, but recently, I’ve not been thinking about my own paws and feet.”

“Well let one of us rub oil into them,” Blackberry said.

“or two of us,” Sita replied, “for we could take a foot each, then work on your paws.”

“My feet need serious attention,” Sooleawa replied, “my paws are okay though. I washed them often in lotions and things, my feet though, they are suffering from seriously dry pads and curling my toes is difficult too, as if the skin on my pads won’t bunch up so easily as it once did.”

“I think your toes are tired,” Ekaterina replied, “mine are, and I’m not going through what you are.”

“Can we use that hammock to help Sooleawa?” Sita asked.

“It’s washable, so yes,” Blackberry said, “that way, Sooleawa can roll about and kick with her feet, and act like a cub if she wants without worrying about falling off as she’s enclosed slightly.”

“I think I’d like that,” Sooleawa replied.

They adjourned to the dry birthing chamber, everyone shaking water from their paws and feet.

“you shake your paws and feet so cutely Sita,” Blackberry said. Sita felt her toes gripping the tiles as he kissed her nose and touched her paw with his.

“do I?” Sita asked, his touch consuming her from her head to her feet.

“I think so,” Blackberry replied.

“but you’re with mama Targon, not me!” Sita thought, “Blackberry, this is wrong! But, oh dear, it feels so write too!”

“mama Targon doesn’t like me after she found out about my adaptations,” Blackberry replied, “I love her, but she, um, she,” he cleared his throat, “she is seeing indigo now. I know it. As for my cubs, who all have opposable thumbs like me, well, she sees them as freaks of nature now. Little Targon and Titania, both unclean as far as she’s concerned.

This was true, Mama Targon had tried to love Blackberry, but when she thought of his paws, no matter how loving his touch was, they repelled her. Targon felt her loyalties swinging another way, towards another bear, Indigo, who had everything she wanted in a bear, lovely fur and paws, a good nature, and nothing unusual . Targon had turned her back on a bear whom she saw as an unsuitable mate.

Blackberry and she had come to blows about Indigo’s association with mama Targon only the day previously. Mama Targon had told Blackberry she was leaving him for Indigo, as Indigo was “all bear,” as mama Targon put it. Blackberry, feeling alone, had reverted to his old coping mechanism of drift and play, work and roam. Fortunately he’d had Sooleawa’s problems to distract him from his own, though her fascination with his paws while he was eating his soup hadn’t helped matters, and now Sita was speaking gently to him in a most becoming manner, and she was beautiful and all, both within and without.

“I could just be male, and take her, but that isn’t my way, I want to play with her, to get to know her!” Blackberry thought, “and yes, she does shake her paws and feet so cutely, sort of cat like, but her feet are so heavy, she can’t quite shake them like a cat, so they sort of clomp about, she’s heavy footed sometimes, and that’s very cute I think.”

“you’re thinking about me Blackberry?” Sita asked. Blackberry turned his eyes full on the cat bear.

“if only her feet and paws were still wet so she’d shake her paws and feet dry one more time!” he thought, “I love that!”

“Um, yes Sita, I was,” Blackberry replied.

“I knew it,” Sita mewed, “though unlike patch, I can’t tell what your thoughts are. Give me your paws though, and we can communicate then.” Blackberry gasped at this.

“can I explore your paws with mine? Maybe too explore your feet with my paws?” Blackberry asked clumsily.

“yeah, of course,” Sita replied smiling.

“that smile’s worth the clumsy fumbling words,” Blackberry thought, “I can’t string two sentences together!”

“and if you want me to get my paws and feet wet again, well you’ll have to help me do that,” Sita said suddenly. Blackberry yelped as if he’d been stung.

“I’ll definitely help you wash your paws and feet, yes,” he gabbled.

“You big softy Blackberry,” Sooleawa laughed, “I can see what you are about. Ever since Sita’s left the pool, you’re watching her walk, you’re watching her legs, her feet and paws, and the way she shakes them dry after almost every step. The tiles are a little wet here, and Sita doesn’t much like the feel of the water on her paws, so she’s shaking them dry like a cat might, but her feet and paws aren’t like a cat’s, they’re too heavy, so she’s rather clumsy and heavy footed. She keeps nearly tripping over her own toes!” Sita, embarrassed, growled at Sooleawa to:

“Stop it! I know I almost trip over my own toes!” Blackberry, totally exposed now, padded up to Sita, picked up her left paw, and kissed the furry top. Sita, now completely confused, followed her paws. she kissed Blackberry’s ear clumsily, then padded back to the pool, got in and waded across it, getting out and padding towards him, unable to stop shaking the water from her paws and feet, first her left paw, then her right foot, then her right paw and left foot. then a pace forwards, then the water would run under her pads from the furry tops of her paws and feet, and Sita, tickled by the drops, would shake her feet and paws some more. Blackberry watched her, while, Sita, playing to him, began huffing and mewing in complaint about:

“Silly paws, silly feet!” she ranted, “they’re like sponges! I hate the way my fur picks up water on my paws and feet! It’s like every time I step, more squeezes out onto my pads, yuck! But I can’t shake my paws or feet dry very well, they’re too heavy, and, and, I trip over my own toes!” Blackberry loved her antics, and that was plain for all to see.

“Sita’s very silly indeed,” Ekaterina proclaimed.

“No she’s not,” Sooleawa replied, “she’s flirting with Blackberry, playing with him, she loves every minute of her antics.”

She’s so cute!” Blackberry thought. Blackberry kissed Sita’s nose, Sita giggling with pleasure.

“You lovely Sita,” Blackberry said, smiling at the cat bear.

“Can I kiss your nose Sita?” Blackberry asked. Sita giggled and kissed Blackberry’s nose.

“I could grow to love you Blackberry,” Sita replied, “could you love me?” Blackberry choked on a sudden rush of tears.

“mama Targon, big Targon that is,” he said, “she doesn’t want me any more.” Sita frowned:

“Is her rejection of you because of your paws?” she asked gently.

“yes,” Blackberry replied heavily, “my paws, she hates my paws, and worse, that I bred cubs to her that have the same paws I do.”

“You have beautiful paws,” Sita said gently, “lovely paws, beautiful paws.”

“So do you Sita,” Blackberry replied, “and, and if we have cubs, if we have cubs, they will have the paws that you and I have.”

“I love my paws Blackberry, water logged and all,” Sita replied smiling.

“maybe I need to love my paws too,” Blackberry replied softly to Sita, who reared onto her hind feet, meeting Blackberry paw to paw, he rising to his hind feet too. Blackberry felt Sita’s damp paws embracing him, and he kissed her nose with commitment.

Targon stared at Blackberry kissing Sita on the screen in her lie up. She knew she’d cast the first stone in the breakdown of their relationship. She wanted Blackberry to soothe her, and she began to give him nothing in return except disgusted looks and hatred whenever he touched her with his paws, even though those paws gave her pleasure. Revolted by the look of his paws, but soothed by their touch, Targon knew she’d pushed Blackberry away, and that he was really a very complex bear, he loved deeply, cared deeper still, and he’d been the rock for Targon for years, now she’d moved on, wanting another mate.

Blackberry, feeling lost and alone, threw himself into work, and his isolation burst upon him when he’d blundered into Sita and abused her, only to get love and tenderness in return. It was as if Sita had torn away the window dressing of the confident bear, and touched the miserable lonely creature inside. Sita had said Blackberry was a cub who needed a hug, and that he was, but he was also a male bear who wanted a mate, and Sita knew that too.

“Sita,” Blackberry whispered, “please, tell me this, when you sat opposite me on the beanbags, you said you felt a cub who needed a hug, was that all you felt?”

“No,” Sita replied, “but I didn’t want to get it wrong. I played safe, knowing a hug could be anything you wanted it to be, but proposition to me could only be one thing.”

“Targon has moved on to Indigo, they are mated and she’s in cub again,” Blackberry blurted, “I’m alone, and so are my cubs, as Targon hasn’t just abandoned me, she has them too. she doesn’t like them for how they are, not who they are. They can’t change their paws, and neither can I!”

“I love your enquiring mind, your sensitive nature, your paws, your hind feet, your fur, everything,” Sita replied, “I’m unattached to anyone. I don’t know if that is how all disabled creatures are, all except Ekaterina that is, but maybe, just maybe, I’ve found someone special now, someone really special who will love me and my cubs, in return for me loving him and his cubs.” Blackberry buried his face in Sita’s fur, begging her silently for strength. Sita held him tightly as he leant into her, for her physical strength was twice his.

“I will Sita, I will!” Blackberry sobbed.

“I didn’t mind getting my paws and feet wet again,” Sita said, “I liked it.”

“You big softy,” Blackberry replied laughing, “I liked it too, that is so lovely to watch. The way you shake your paws and feet dry is so lovely.” Sita whispered into Blackberry’s ear:

“You know that hammock, would it take two grown adults without breaking?”

“it would,” Blackberry replied, “it’s rated for two fully grown polar bears, and we don’t weigh as much as they do.” Sita let Blackberry drop to the floor, then she squeezed his paw with hers.

“I think that Hammock is going to be put to, um, other purposes than allowing a mama to deliver a cub,” Sooleawa said, “it might be witness to the making of a cub, who knows.” Sita smiled:

“Is it that obvious?” she asked, knowing very well that she’d telegraphed her interest in Blackberry far and wide.

“It’s so sweet!” Sooleawa said, “I think, I think you should try to make a go of things.”

“We might just do that,” Sita replied. Sita kissed Blackberry’s nose, Blackberry laughing merrily.

“Now let’s go to the hammock and see if it can hold us,” Sita mewed. Blackberry led Sita to the hammock, then helped her into it, clambering in himself.

“I don’t feel good here,” Sita said, “I think it is good for mamas in labour, but not for me. she struggled from the hammock, Blackberry following her. Sita ran from the room, Blackberry following her. Blackberry followed Sita to the soft play room, where she sat down, Blackberry sitting down beside her.

“So I can still make males chase me,” Sita said.

“yes,” Blackberry panted, “wow, Sita, you can really run!”

“You know what?” Sita asked, “that hammock felt good after all.” Blackberry huffed in exasperation.

“I don’t think I can go back there, not now,” he said. Sita smiled, leant over and kissed his nose.

“So where do you want to, um, make cubs?” Blackberry asked. Sita grinned and took Blackberry’s paw in hers. She heard Blackberry gasp as she touched his paw.

“How do we make cubs?” Blackberry asked, Sita roaring with laughter and hugging him tightly.

“You are so silly!” she said, kissing his paws.

“Now I don’t think you need help in making cubs, you’ve made two previously I think,” Sita mewed, Blackberry smiling at her.

“Now let’s take making cubs slowly,” Blackberry said.

“You said you didn’t know how to make cubs,” Sita mewed playfully.

“Oh put a paw in it Sita,” Blackberry laughed, kissing her nose and paws, Sita purring with pleasure.

“I would like you to take things slowly,” Sita replied, “touch my paws and feet, rub me down from nose to toes with your lovely paws, all that and then check my paws and feet for thorns before you mate with me.”

“I’ll do that,” Blackberry said, her request thrilling him.

“And what would you like me to do for you before we mate?” Sita asked.

“Just let me get paws on with you?” Blackberry replied, “I like that. Of course, I like my paws and feet explored too, but if you don’t want to do that, that’s fine.”

“I’ll explore your paws and feet,” Sita mewed, “I like your paws, and your feet too.” Blackberry sat opposite Sita, picked up her right hind foot and drew circles on her pads, Sita curling her toes tightly, Blackberry drawing the digits of his right paw down the now furrowed skin on the sole of Sita’s foot.

“that feels wonderful!” Sita mewed.

“I think it also looks cute too,” Patch said, Blackberry looking over to where he lay on a mat near the opposite wall. Sita grinned:

“I didn’t notice him there,” she said, “I didn’t scent him.”

“I’ll not get in your way,” Patch yawned, “I’m liking it a good bit lying here, watching you two play.”

“NO, it’s okay,” Sita replied, “this is a public place after all.”

“I measured your feet and Blackberry’s by sight,” patch said, “Sita, you have bigger feet than Blackberry does!”

“Do I?” Sita asked. Blackberry pressed his hind feet against Sita’s, Patch shoving a cushion beneath their heels.

“yeah you do!” Blackberry replied, “that’s sort of cute really.” Sita curled her toes around Blackberry’s, her toes engulfing his, Blackberry pressing his heels against Sita’s, Sita pushing back strongly.

“Sweet that,” Patch said smiling broadly.

“your pads are warm and soft Sita,” Blackberry said to the cat bear. They are light brown in colour and you have spots on your pads too, the rest of your skin is brown too, though no spots there, except on your nose. You have brown fur as a base colour, with lighter fur and black stripes and spots. Very cute indeed.

“I know I’m a visual mess,” Sita said.

“But by touch, you are all there, all together and beautiful and with your paws and feet on the ground.” Sita laughed, rolled onto her back, kicking the air with her feet and paws.

“how can I describe how that makes me feel,” Blackberry said smiling, “you’re so beautiful Sita, all of you, from your mind to your fur, feet and paws, and I love the way you kick the air with your feet and paws.”

“Do you?” Sita asked, “I’m so glad you like all of me, my body, mind, feet and paws.”

“I have watched the births of all your cubs,” Blackberry said, “and Sita, you even give birth gracefully.”

“I’ve always embraced birth,” Sita mewed, “and I’m glad you like how I labour too.”

“maybe you could talk to Sooleawa after all,” Blackberry said, “you have had three successful deliveries of healthy cubs.”

“but I’m no midwife! I told you that!” Sita snarled.

“Sita,” Blackberry replied, “dear sweet Sita. What do you do if a cub is anxious about getting an injection? You know we’ve been immunising the cubs here for ages now.”

“I have talked to them, and shown them the syringes and needles, made it a non event for them,” Sita replied.

“Well can’t you play a game with Sooleawa, I don’t know, crawl round the room, get her to practise her breathing, crawling, curling her toes, even screaming and roaring?”

“I suppose I could,” Sita replied, “after all, my cubs are always playing at delivering cubs of their own. Yes, and before you ask, I have encouraged them, quite shamelessly too sometimes.”

“I’ve heard Hattie screaming her head off and moaning lustily as she sits back on her heels,” Blackberry replied, “I’m expecting a cub to emerge every time I see one of the youngsters doing that. Even Apudo has had a go. And she gets really violent sometimes, waving her paws and feet about in her struggle.”

“She roars and screams too,” Sita mewed, “that is scary stuff.”

“I’ve noticed her pretending more and more that she is having cubs,” Patch said, “maybe Apudo is very stressed and needs to take it out on something.”

“I think she does,” Sita mewed.

“maybe you could teach Sooleawa by play?” Patch said, smiling at Sita and Blackberry.

“I’m looking forward to paw and foot play and mating Blackberry,” Sita said.

“I would say the same,” Blackberry said, pressing his toes into the sole pads of Sita’s hind feet, “but my feet seem stuck to yours Sita! I can’t free them, and I need to to mate with you!” Sita grabbed her left foot in her paws and tugged, finding it firmly stuck to Blackberry’s smaller foot.

“I’m stuck from toes to heel Sita!” Blackberry whimpered, Sita curling her toes and tugging furiously, her effort making no headway. Growling, she tugged harder, but her foot would not come free of Blackberry’s.

“I’ll try my other foot,” Sita panted, grabbing her right hind foot in her paws, feeling her toes curling instantly.

“ooaoaoaoaoh! Arurururururururug!” ,! Foot stuck, both feet stuck!” Sita roared.

“Mine too!” Blackberry whimpered, wriggling and tugging madly at his left foot, pressing his toes into Sita’s pads, her own toes curling round his as he tugged at each heel of each hind foot in turn with both paws.

“I’m stuck here!” Blackberry gasped, “Sita, the glue is so strong, I can’t free my feet!” Panting hard, Sita grabbed the toes of her right foot and tried to force them to uncurl by tugging at them, a fight she lost.

“let me rub the toes of each of your feet in turn,” Blackberry said softly, “I could maybe uncurl your toes then.”

“the more you touch my toes, the more they curl!” Sita whimpered, “I’m stuck firmly here!”

“We both are,” Blackberry replied, gently trying to uncurl the toes of Sita’s left foot with both paws.

“this is silly!” Blackberry whimpered, “how on earth can my feet become so stuck?”

“You want to play don’t you?” Sita asked.

“yes, but I didn’t know I wanted it this much!” Blackberry gasped, “Sita, I know now why you say your hind feet have minds of their own, your toes won’t let go of mine, and, and, my toes, they keep pressing into your pads, and your pads are so soft, and so warm too!”

“You press your toes into my pads, and my toes curl tightly!” Sita wailed, “I can’t stop them doing that!” Patch covered his mouth with his paw to stop himself giggling with pleasure at their words.

“Your pads are soft too!” Sita mewed, “but your feet are so small compared to mine, that they stick from toes to heels so easily!”

“I know!” Blackberry grunted, “but I wouldn’t have it any other way!”

“but we must free ourselves sometime soon,” Sita replied.

“Why?” Blackberry asked, “we could make a half attempt at it, get our heels free, then lose grip and back to square one.”

“I can’t even get purchase on my own pads!” Sita roared, scrabbling at the furry tops of Blackberry’s feet with both her paws, the black bear laughing helplessly as she tickled him.

“You rogue!” he laughed, leaning forward and kissing Sita’s nose.

“work at the gap made by the arches on the insides of our hind feet Blackberry,” Sita mewed, “get your paw in there, work with your paws at your right foot, while I tug my left free.” Blackberry grabbed his left foot in both paws, taking a good hold of his foot where he could get the toes of his left paw into the gap made by the arches of his right foot and Sita’s left, then he pushed with the toes of his right foot, pulling at his heel with his right paw, while digging with the digits of his left into the space between their tightly pressed pads. Sita huffed and growled as she fought to pull her left foot free of Blackberry’s, but it just wouldn’t come free, no matter how hard she pulled.

“I’m exhausted!” Sita mewed, after she and Blackberry had fought to free their feet for an hour, and got absolutely nowhere.

“patch,” Blackberry panted, dragging at his left foot for the thousandth time with both paws, while the toes of Sita’s right foot curled, trapping his, “is there anything you have got which will free our feet?”

“here is sweet smelling powder,” Patch replied, “that, rubbed into your paws and dusted on your hind feet might do the trick.”

“Can you get some?” Blackberry asked. Patch, smiling, padded away and came back with a huge tub of talcum powder .

“now shake it on your paws and feet, and work it well in,” he advised. Sita got paws on with the tub, explored it, took the lid off, and, closing her eyes and mouth, tipped the contents over her head. Blackberry, laughing helplessly, sneezed as the powder shot up his nose.

“Oh Sita, Sita!” he laughed, as Sita, frantically rubbing the talcum powder into her own and Blackberry’s hind feet, set about freeing them. Blackberry picked up pawfuls of the talc and worked it between all his toes and the gaps made by the arches of his and Sita’s pressed pads. This way, working the talcum powder bit by bit into the growing gap as they worked at freeing their feet, Blackberry pressing with his toes while Sita worked her paw into the growing gap, they were able to free Blackberry’s right foot, then his left. Once they were free, Blackberry rubbed talc into Sita’s pads, and she rubbed it into his. Then she rolled on her back and then over onto her chest, covering herself in white talc, to Blackberry’s huge amusement.

“I didn’t mean you to use the whole tub!” patch laughed as he watched them.

“We’re going to have to clear this lot up, what a mess!” Blackberry giggled.

“yes it is!” Anook snapped, running in, “what on earth is going on here?” patch looked at Anook, and she sat down quickly. Blackberry, feeling roguish, threw a pawful of talc at Anook. It burst on her nose, covering her quite well while she sneezed explosively, Patch laughing so hard, he had to sit down.

“Oh dear, oh dear!” patch guffawed, Anook harrumphing at the state of Blackberry, Sita, and her own fur and paws.

“Sita, Sita looks like a polar bear!” Blackberry laughed.

“this isn’t funny!” Anook roared, as Sita padded up to her and shook herself hard, covering Anook in talc before pushing her onto her back into a drift of talc.

“Now stop it, stop this!” Anook complained, now white from nose to hind feet.

“Oh Sita,” Blackberry laughed, “mama Anook, oh, oh dear! She’s, she’s white, white from nose to tail!” Anook tried to keep her expression stern and angry, but when patch showed her what she looked like, she couldn’t help smiling.

“now you two need to clear this lot up!” Anook said, shaking herself, talc flying everywhere.

“there you are telling us to clear it up, and you shake everywhere!” Sita mewed, shaking her paws and feet in the manner Blackberry loved.

“I’ll find a broom or two,” Patch said. Patch padded to a cupboard and dug out brooms, Anook and Blackberry sweeping the talc away, Sita smiling at Patch.

“I am sorry I emptied the lot over my head,” she said, “I didn’t know there was so much in there!”

“now you need to wash,” patch said smiling, gently sweeping his broom over the toes of Sita’s paws and feet, Sita giggling as the broom tickled her toes.

“why are the brooms so soft?” Sita asked.

“It’s so we don’t scratch the rubber flooring,” patch replied, “well, I could get a vacuum cleaner and use that.”

“is that the noisy broom?” Sita asked, “I’ve heard it,” Sita mewed, “it sucks on my paws, feet and tail if I get too close! I hate it!”

“Who plays with the vacuum cleaner?” Patch asked.

“Koda does,” or rather Wihakayda does,” Sita mewed.

“yes, true,” jess replied, padding into the room, bouncing on her toes on the soft flooring, Patch grinning at her.

“Do you remember when we used to play the stuck foot game for hours?” jess asked Patch.

“yes I remember,” patch replied grinning, “we got our feet really stuck.”

“You mean the tales are correct?” Sita asked, “that you and jess played together for years>?”

“We did, even here,” Patch replied smiling. Jess grinned.

“I’m a few years older now,” she replied, “but I still wish I could play the stuck foot game with you patch, just one more time.”

“Do you play with Janet or Moses?” Patch asked.

“yes we play,” Jess replied, “Sally and jenny play together too, and I’ve played Sally at the stuck foot game. It’s not a game where anyone wins though, it goes on as long as the players want it to.”

“We know,” Blackberry replied smiling.

“I know you know Blackberry,” jess said, “I saw you and Sita playing. That was a wild game there.”

“I loved it,” Sita replied, “I know my toes curled tightly, but I loved Blackberry pressing his toes into my sole pads.”

“You two looked lovely playing together, and now it ends in a mess!” jess said, digging out a vacuum cleaner and switching it on. Sita squealed with fear and ran away from the cleaner, Blackberry following her.

“it’s the paw sucking thing!” Sita yowled like a cub.

“What?” Blackberry asked, feeling Sita shaking with fright as he embraced her.

“Some of the cubs think it’s funny to put the sucking tube on my pads and feet while I doze!” Sita whimpered, “it’s horrible! They like to hear me scream when they turn the motor on!”

“It’s not funny at all,” Blackberry replied, “Sita, I will speak to the cubs.” The sound of the vacuum cleaner starting up made Sita’s toes curl in fear.

“it’s okay Sita love,” Blackberry said, hearing her panting and whimpering.

“My toes can’t curl any tighter as I’m standing on my feet, but they want to!” Sita mewed, her eyes terrified.

“it’s okay Sita,” Blackberry whispered, smelling her strong scent.

“”It’s horrible Blackberry,” Sita whimpered.

“I know,” Blackberry said, covering her now sweating paw with his, feeling her toes curled into the rubber flooring.

“All done Sita,” jess said, putting the vacuum cleaner away. Sita huffed, relaxing a little as the danger passed.

“I hate that noise, and also the sucking tube on my paws and feet when the cubs attack me,” Sita replied.

“They give a new meaning to the stuck foot game,” jess said, Sita growling softly.

“I prefer the original version,” Sita spat.

“your toes are still curled,” jess said, looking at Sita’s paws and feet.

“Oh, um,” Sita replied, gently uncurling the toes of each paw and foot in turn, lifting and shaking each paw and foot in turn as if they felt stiff.

“My feet and paws are so heavy!” Sita mewed, “I’m used to them mostly, but sometimes they tire me out.”

“You played energetically with your feet earlier,” jess said.

“maybe Blackberry’s touch helped me do that,” Sita mewed, “but now, now I’m tired.”

“I think you two are worn out,” Patch said. Sita smiled.

“I don’t know,” she replied, shaking her paws and feet to loosen her joints, then curling and stretching the toes of all four feet, “I could revive, a little, in a tub of warm water.”

“I think that would be very nice,” Blackberry replied, “Patch, is there anyone who can help with that?”

“You can help yourself to that,” Patch replied, “there is your own bathtub, or even Sita’s.”

“Okay,” Sita replied, “Blackberry, let’s go to my tub.”

“Okay,” Blackberry replied.

Sitting in the filled tub, Sita and Blackberry relaxed.

“that stuck foot game got really intense,” Sita meowed, rubbing her right foot in her paws, flexing her toes and rubbing the ball and heel of her foot.

“Are your feet still hurting?” Blackberry asked.

“they are a bit,” Sita mewed, “I know how Sooleawa felt after her panic attack. No wonder she felt exhausted after her vomiting attack.” Sita mewed, “my toes ached after my brief flirt with the fear of the vacuumed cleaner my toes are feeling bad, but Sooleawa’s constant fear is draining her mind and her body of energy. Poor thing.”

“Can we get her in here and maybe you can ask her to massage her own feet with her paws?” Blackberry asked, “if your massage does well for your toes, maybe it will do well for hers?” Sita smiled and picked up a phone which she’d had installed by her tub.

“Hi, Sooleawa?” Sita asked, holding the phone to her left ear, “you’re in your workplace? Well come to my lie up will you? “yes I know your toes hurt, mine do too, oh why? Why do my toes hurt? Well come to my lie up, and I’ll tell you. yes, bring your tired toes too.” Blackberry laughed at this as Sita replaced the receiver.

“She’s coming,” Sita said, just as Sooleawa walked into the lie up. Soon she joined them in the tub, and Sita had paws on with Sooleawa’s right hind foot.”

“So your reasons for getting me here, dragging my tired toes here was to get paws on with my feet and soothe them?” Sooleawa asked five minutes later.

“yes,” Sita replied, “my feet were tired after the stuck foot game with Blackberry, “I’m all tired toes and paws.” Sooleawa laughed merrily at this and kissed her nose.

“You were playing well with Blackberry,” Sooleawa replied, her eyes sparkling, “I saw your play, and it was lovely.”

“it sort of just happened,” Sita said, “my toes wouldn’t let go of Blackberry’s.”

“My toes didn’t want yours to let go either!” Blackberry blurted.

“your pads stuck to mine very strongly indeed!” Sita mewed, while Sooleawa shook with delighted laughter.

“You are so cute, both of you!” Sooleawa laughed, splashing Sita and Blackberry with her paws.

“Oi you!” Sita laughed, while Blackberry coughed and sneezed water.

“You sod!” he gasped. Sooleawa held Blackberry as he coughed water.

“What did you do to him?” Sita asked.

“I got a bit enthusiastic with the water,” Sooleawa said ashamedly.

“You nearly filled me with it!” Blackberry replied.

“I’m sorry Blackberry,” Sooleawa replied miserably. Blackberry smiled and hugged her.

“Now I’m glad you enjoy the fact mine and Sita’s feet stuck together for ages,” he said, “but be careful with your paws.”

“I watched your struggles to free each other’s hind feet,” Sooleawa replied, “and all that antics with the talc too!”

“I’ll have to wash properly,” Sita said, “shower I mean, the talc won’t come out of my fur properly without me showering.”

“You made me laugh with that talc,” Sooleawa replied, “Blackberry, how did you hit Anook on the nose with the pawful of talc?” Blackberry looked ashamed.

“I didn’t mean to hit her nose, I meant just to make it burst on her chest or something, but she lowered her head, and it hit her nose.”

“I think she’s going to have to scrub her fur and paws quite hard,” Sooleawa said.

In another part of the house, Koda stared at his cub. Wihakayda looked scared, knowing he’d seen what she did not want him to see.

“Wihakayda,” he said coldly, “can you tell me what this means?” he showed her the video of Sita’s den, Sita was asleep, and Wihakayda padded into shot with a hand held Vacuum in her paws. she extended the pipe, then put it against the pads of Sita’s right hind foot as the cat bear lay sleeping on her side. Wihakayda turned the Vacuum on, the suction grabbing Sita’s pads and pulling at them, the motor racing with a scream which woke Sita, who, feeling her foot being tugged at, and hearing the awful noise, panicked and lashed out with her free paws. roaring and screaming, she fought her way free, tugging at her right foot, while Wihakayda stood back out of range. Sita sat up, grabbed the tube and pulled, but couldn’t free her foot at first. Snarling she pulled harder and harder at the tube, then, realising she was getting nowhere, she felt her way up the metal tube to the plastic one. Snarling, she pulled the plastic tube off the metal one, the suction vanishing, the metal tube falling off her right foot. Sita, crying with fright, ran from her lie up and into the woodlands to calm down. Koda glared at his cub after the video ended.

“So you thought that was funny?” he asked.

“No,” Wihakayda protested, knowing what was coming.

“I think you did,” Koda replied angrily, “you did it again, here!” he showed a similar video, where Sita was sleeping, Wihakayda crept up and attached the tube to Sita’s right paw this time. Switching it on, she stepped back, clearly amused at Sita’s reaction. The cat bear woke screaming. Tugging at her paw with her free paw, she gasped, freaking out completely. Tugging at the plastic tube again, she dropped the metal tubing.

“Who’s doing this!” Sita roared, Wihakayda dodging out of the room on silent feet. Sita explored the vacuumed cleaner, then she stamped out of her lie up, shaking with fear and sweating with fright. Wihakayda crept back in and retrieved her instrument of torment, her eyes sparkling with merriment at her prank. Koda growled deep in his throat, flicking to another video, Wihakayda seeing him bury his face in his paws. Wihakayda watched as the video showed her padding into the room where Sita was again asleep . Smiling to herself, Wihakayda put the vacuum cleaner behind Sita and fed the end of Sita’s tail into the tube. Smiling, she turned on the motor, Sita screaming as the vacuum sucked her tail into the tube, jamming painfully as it reached a thicker part of her tail that could not be sucked in. the tube blocked, and the fur, now thicker, was compressed, blocking the pipe completely. Sita, screaming and roaring, turned-on the loathsome object and tugged at it, trying to free her tail. Yowling, screaming and crying, Sita yanked the pipe off the tube, and ran to the door, the tube clanking behind her on the tiles of her lie up. Squealing with fear, Sita ran to Koda’s lie up, where he freed her. Wihakayda heard the real Koda whimpering, looking at him, she saw he was crying.

“Sita is your friend isn’t she,” Wihakayda said, realising why Koda was so very much more upset.

“yes,” Koda choked.

“I’m sorry,” Wihakayda whimpered.

“You’re sorry you got caught you mean!” Koda sobbed, “Wihakayda, did you not look at the first video? For there is three days between that and the second one, and then between that and the third and again between that and the last. I’ll bet you watched Sita’s fear and enjoyed it didn’t you!” Wihakayda mumbled something, which Koda didn’t catch.

“Speak up,” he snarled.

“I said yes I watched,” Wihakayda confessed. She had no choice, as she knew Koda could request computer logs, paw prints were scanned in to the system whenever anyone used the computers, Wihakayda knew this and knew she could be found out.

“You disgust me!” Koda yelled, running to Wihakayda and cuffing her hard with his tear soaked paw.

“Ow Koda that hurt!” Wihakayda squealed.

“No it didn’t, not as much, as much as what you did to Sita!” Koda sobbed, “you not only tortured her, you watched it again and again, I know, I read the logs!”

Sita sat in the tub with Sooleawa and Blackberry. The three of them in the tub meant that space was limited, but they were comfortable, enjoying the spar feature when Sita turned a tap, the jets tickling their pads and toes.

“You were terrified earlier Sita,” Blackberry said softly to his mate, “what happened with the sucking tube?” Sita felt her body reacting to the question itself, her toes curling, breath shortening and probably pads sweating, though she couldn’t feel that, as she was in water.

“I’m sorry Sita,” Blackberry said, rubbing her back with his paw, “I shouldn’t have asked that.”

“I, I think the videos show well enough,” Sita choked, almost crying. Sooleawa shocked at Sita’s disintegration, hugged the cat bear.

“It’s a horrid thing to do,” she said.

“What is?” Sita asked, “Sooleawa, until you have seen the videos, don’t comment.” Sooleawa felt stung by this, and harrumphing, she left the tub in outraged disgust at Sita’s comments.

“Who the hell does she think she is!” Sooleawa raged to Koda, who she met in the kitchen, as she wanted a drink of water.

“who?” Koda asked. Sooleawa told him of the goings on in Sita’s tub.

“You are right not to comment,” Koda snarled, “I have seen what you have not, and horrid is a mild term for what happened to Sita. I’ll show you the videos, but please Sooleawa, don’t punish me for crying when I watch them.” Sooleawa remembered Koda was good friends with Sita.”

“Oh, are they bad?” she asked. Koda looked at her with reddened eyes.

“You’ve been crying,” Sooleawa said.

“buckets,” Koda replied gruffly.

Sooleawa saw the videos a few minutes later, and realised why Sita had brushed her off, and why Koda was so upset. Wihakayda had watched Sita’s reaction in all four cases, and gone back for more, until Sita had caught her during the fifth video, the blind cat bear managing to beat Wihakayda with the vacuumed tube.”

“That beating isn’t enough!” Koda roared, “I want Wihakayda to feel what Sita did! I want Patch to make her feel the fear and terror Sita felt!”

“he could make her feel it,” Sooleawa replied, “I know he could.

Patch, having seen Sita’s reaction to the vacuum cleaner, investigated what happened to cause that fear, just as Koda had done. Furious and tearful, he set to thinking about how to make Wihakayda truly repentant. He hated to take away her sight, but felt he had to do it to make her feel Sita’s fear of the roaring, sucking tube. Of course, Wihakayda had no tail to speak of, and that couldn’t be replicated, so that was out of the question, but sucking at her paws and feet with some sort of force would not be difficult. Patch knew how Sita had felt, so he could project that into Wihakayda’s mind, as he’d done for Peter when he refused to believe that Anernerk felt pain when she stood on her hind feet. Patch realised he’d have to teach Wihakayda a lesson when she was asleep.

Sita lay in her lie up after her bath, Blackberry rubbing her paws and feet with his paws, Sita loving his touch.

“You have lovely paws and feet Sita,” Blackberry said, “lovely by touch and by sight too. they are cute when relaxed, but even cuter when you curl your toes and your pads bunch up.”

“you make my toes curl and pads bunch up,” Sita said, “I love it when you do.”

“would you touch my hind feet with your paws Sita?” Blackberry asked. Sita replied that she would.

“Just lie down for a few minutes and I’ll try to make your toes curl as tightly as you make mine curl,” she replied. Blackberry sat down opposite Sita and gave her his right hind foot, Sita’s paws exploring his pads and toes, counting his toes and drawing circles on his pads, Blackberry giggling and curling his toes with pleasure.

“I like these feet,” Sita said, “they have toes which curl really easily, pads which bunch really cutely.” Blackberry laughed merrily.

“I am glad you like my hind feet,” he said.

“I love your pads and toes,” Sita said, “I love your feet and your paws Blackberry.” Blackberry wriggled with pleasure, pressing his feet into Sita’s paws as she worked.

“That’s cubbish,” she laughed.

“I’m sorry,” Blackberry replied. Sita blew on his toes, making the black bear squeal and bounce about.

“Hey!” he yelled, laughing helplessly.

“Sorry, that was cubbish too,” Sita mewed, Blackberry grinning at her.

“It felt lovely,” he replied, “even if it did tickle me.”

“the amount of curling your toes are doing, they will be as tired as mine were,” Sita mewed, Blackberry giggling.

“how can you get so much pleasure from just playing with each other’s hind feet?” jenny asked, padding into the room.

“Don’t you get pleasure from that too?” blackberry asked.

“yes,” jenny replied, “but we can make up games, Sally and I that is, silly toe counting games, stuck foot games, that sort of thing.”

“You can’t see the games we play,” Blackberry replied, “so I would not blame you for thinking we can’t make complicated games. We do though.” Jenny sat down and drew circles on the ball, sole and heel of her right foot with the fingers of her left hand.

“You miss seeing all that,” blackberry said to her, “Sita, how would it be if we played the stuck foot game again, and let jenny get hands on with us?” Sita grinned hugely:

“Do I get to throw talc about again?” she asked.

“No, that would mean use of the howling menace,” blackberry replied, “and I know you don’t like that.”

“The howling menace?” jenny asked, “um, a vacuum cleaner?”

“yes,” Sita replied, outlining what happened to her.

“I sometimes put the tube to my hands or feet to feel the affect,” Jenny admitted.

“If I was told about it, I might allow that too,” Sita mewed, “but some cubs like to frighten me awake with the tube, sucking my paws and feet with it, and sometimes even going for my tail!”

“you put the tube against your heel and toes to feel the suction jenny?” Blackberry asked.

“yes,” Jenny replied, “it’s silly I know, but sometimes I do.”

“Maybe if Sita did that, she’d realise it couldn’t hurt her.” blackberry replied.

“sucking up my tail hurt,” Sita mewed, “I’d not do that again.”

“Maybe not,” Blackberry replied, “but you could be desensitised to the sound by feeling how powerful the suction really is, rather than fretting over how powerful you imagine it is.”

“I suppose,” Sita mewed uncertainly.

“At the moment Wihakayda’s prank on you makes you come out in a fearful sweat and causes you anxiety,” Blackberry replied, “What would help that would be to feel what power the vacuum really had wouldn’t it?” Sita sighed heavily, agreeing with him.

“I’ll tell you what,” Jenny said, “I’ll do it too, and so will blackberry. We’ll all feel the suction of the vacuum on our paws and feet. How would that be? that way you’re not alone.” Sita smiled, realising what Jenny wanted to do.

“thanks,” she replied, crawling over to Jenny and embracing her in her huge paws.

“I like you Sita,” jenny said, “I’ve wanted a hug from you for a long time now.”

“Why didn’t you ask me?” Sita asked, “I’d have given you a hug if only you’d asked.”

“Can I hug you too?” Jenny asked, and also stroke your paws and feet?” Sita laughed:

“Of course!” jenny kissed Sita’s nose, the cat bear purring loudly.

“would you like to get paws on with my hind feet?” Jenny asked.

“I would,” Sita replied.

“Do you think my feet could stick to yours?” jenny asked.

“They might,” Sita replied, “if you really want to play with me that is.”

“I know Moses and Sally play together,” jenny said, “and I and Sally have played too.”

“would it not be easier to play with Blackberry?” Sita asked, “as he has smaller feet than I do.”

“I want to play with you though,” Jenny said. Sita smiled and sat down opposite Jenny, taking the young girl’s right foot in her paws, counting her toes, then tracing the ball, sole and heel of her foot, jenny laughing as Sita’s touch made her curl her toes. Sita then drew circles down the wrinkled skin of the sole of jenny’s foot while she held her toes curled, Jenny curling her toes tighter and tighter as Sita stroked the sole of her foot with her paw.

“This is fun!” jenny giggled, Sita blowing on her curled toes, Jenny squealing with laughter and pulling her foot slightly away, Sita letting go.

“Hold onto my foot,” Jenny said, “hold onto it Sita, and don’t let go. Sita did, and Jenny pulled hard, curling her toes while twisting her foot this way and that, relaxing her toes for a second, then curling her toes tighter than ever and tugging harder than before, trying to pull free of Sita’s grip.

“I’m not even gripping hard,” Sita remarked as jenny gave up exhausted.

“You know how to hold my foot firmly but not hurt me don’t you,” she said.

“yes,” Sita replied, “you learn how to when you’re in the play business. There are many cubs who like their paws and or feet held while they struggle to free themselves. I used to do it, and do sometimes play those games. It’s risk without the risk.”

“It’s cute,” Blackberry said smiling.

“Were your feet really stuck to Blackberry’s?” jenny asked. Sita grinned.

“yes her feet were,” blackberry replied, “whenever I tried to pull my foot away, her toes would curl and trap my toes! plus my pads were well stuck to Sita’s. of course, she couldn’t get any hold on her foot to free it from mine. Whenever she tried, I got dragged as I can’t hold on tight enough while she pulls her foot away from mine.”

“So you two can imagine your feet are stuck, while I have to ask for my feet to be held to imagine it?” Jenny asked.

“it would seem that way,” Sita replied, “but if you want to play this way, it’s no problem.”

“I find mine and Sally’s feet stick well,” jenny said, “Moses and mine don’t so well though.”

“I’m sure if you believed your feet were stuck to mine, they would be,” Sita replied.

“I saw you really trying,” Blackberry said smiling, “Jenny, your eyes closed, teeth clenched and toes curled as you struggled to free your foot.”

“It was like pulling against very warm clamps on each side of my foot,” jenny replied, “my foot seemed to sink into Sita’s pads, not giving me any wiggle room at all! I curled my toes and pulled, but nothing happened.” Sita giggled:

“I just held on gently,” she replied.

“Oh I know,” jenny said, “but I couldn’t free my foot from your paws.”

“You should try freeing your toes from hers when you are foot to foot with her,” blackberry said, “her paws might be strong, but I think her hind feet are even stronger. Wow!” jenny laughed as Sita let go of her right foot, and she sat down opposite the cat bear, pressing her small feet against the cat bear’s larger hind feet. Jenny got hands on, marvelling at how large Sita’s feet were compared to her own. Jenny laughed as Sita’s toes curled, catching her own with their tips, as her foot was smaller than Blackberry’s.

“I want my toes to be caught in yours Sita!” jenny said.

“Well we are heel to heel on the floor at the moment,” Sita replied, “if you lift your foot up a bit and rest your toes nearer my toes, making sure your toes are just below mine, pressing into the ball of my foot, I can then catch your toes in mine.” Jenny did, her heel now pressing into the pads about an inch or so up Sita’s sole pad, Sita’s toes curling, gripping Jenny’s toes in a warm embrace.

“it’s nice this,” jenny said. Sita smiled, reached forward and tickled the tops of Jenny’s feet with her paws, jenny laughing helplessly.

“Your pads are warm and soft Sita!” Jenny exclaimed.

“I hope they are,” Sita replied, “I take good care of my pads.”

“now shall I find the vacuum cleaner?” blackberry asked. Sita groaned:

“Not yet, let us play a bit blackberry.” Jenny grabbed her right foot in her hands and tugged at it, feeling Sita’s toes flexing with her efforts, tightly holding her own toes.

“wow, you have strong hind feet too!” Jenny gasped.

“that’s what blackberry couldn’t free his feet from,” Sita said. jenny grinned:

“he didn’t want to,” she said, “and neither do I. My pads like yours, my toes like yours! The more I press my toes into the ball of your foot, the harder your toes curl to hold them!”

“I can’t help that!” Sita whimpered.

“that’s lovely,” jenny replied, Sita uncurling her toes, Jenny trying to move her foot by sliding it down Sita’s pads, finding she could not do so.

“I think my foot is stuck!” jenny laughed, “I can’t move it!”

“I think we are glued,” Sita purred.

“I think we are!” jenny exclaimed.

“How can you be glued?” blackberry asked.

“didn’t your pads get a little warm?” Sita asked.

“They did,” blackberry replied, and , oh yes, that sort of helped imagine I was stuck, though I really wasn’t.” jenny and Sita laughed.

“our pads are a little warm, and they grip a bit, which is sort of nice,” Sita said.

“it’s a sign you’re trying hard to play,” blackberry replied.

“I’m not trying,” jenny said, “it’s just happening now.”

Sita giggled playfully, jenny tugging at her right foot, easing her heel free while pressing her toes hard into Sita’s pads, Sita helping by curling her toes to hold on tightly to Jenny’s toes with her own toes.

“Now let my toes go,” Jenny said, Sita letting go by uncurling her toes, jenny’s foot slipping free.

“Can we play the other foot?” jenny asked. Sita smiled and pressed her right foot against jenny’s left.

“Can I try holding your toes with mine?” jenny asked. Sita smiled:

“if only my toes were smaller, or yours larger, you could do so,” she said.

“can I get hands on with your hind feet?” jenny asked. Sita smiled and replied she could. Jenny took Sita’s right hind foot in her hands, exploring from toes to heel, Sita bouncing about on her backside like a cub, while blackberry watched, very amused by their antics..

“your toes are bigger than mine!” jenny exclaimed, “though I think, if I tried, I could hold your toes in mine.

“how?” Sita asked.

“If I stretch my toes, they get bigger,” jenny said. blackberry laughed so hard he rolled onto his back and waved his feet and paws in the air.

“I think we amused blackberry,” jenny said.

“You’re both so cute!” he laughed..

“I wish that were true,” Sita mewed. Jenny drew her finger down Sita’s pads from toes to heel, Sita shrieking with laughter and curling her toes.

“You’re playing with Sita and that’s lovely,” blackberry said. Sita crawled away from jenny, jenny chasing the tinkling bell on Sita’s leg, jenny catching up with Sita and tickling her toes, Sita screaming with laughter, banging her paws on the floor, blackberry nearly choking with laughter at her antics.

“You and jenny are well suited,” he said “crazy about foot and paw play.”

“You’re not crazy about foot and paw play too?” Sita asked, giggling as jenny tickled the heel of her right foot.

“I am, but you’re more so,” blackberry replied smiling.

“I think we should both tickle his toes for that,” jenny said, Sita laughing and pouncing on blackberry who squealed in mock fear, Jenny approaching him as Sita pinned him down. Jenny tickled the toes of blackberry’s right hind foot, Sita releasing him when jenny had hold of his right hind foot, so she could tickle the toes of his left hind, blackberry thrashing about with his paws, laughing helplessly.

“You rogues, both of you!” blackberry laughed, wiping tears from his eyes with a shaking paw.

“Let’s leave his poor toes alone now,” jenny said, crawling to blackberry’s head, throwing her arms around his neck and kissing his nose, Blackberry sitting up and embracing the young girl in his paws, pulling her close.

“I love you both,” jenny said.

“We feel close to you too,” Sita said.

“have you got paws on with Sita yet jenny?” blackberry asked, “I mean hands on, with her whole body, to get a feel for how big she is?”

“I’ve touched her feet and her paws, as you know,” jenny replied, but I haven’t got paws on with the rest of her. Would she let me?”

“I would,” Sita replied. Jenny turned and Sita slapped the tiles with her paws, jenny crawling over to her and exploring her with her hands, gently stroking her face, from her nose, to her ears, then her mouth, Sita opening her mouth and licking jenny’s hand, jenny giggling. Jenny ran her hands down Sita’s neck, to her shoulders, then down her forelegs to her paws, Sita briefly grabbing jenny’s hands in her paws. then jenny started from Sita’s shoulder, running her hands down Sita’s body, across her back and chest, then her belly, Sita wriggling with pleasure. Then Jenny explored Sita’s hips, hind legs and feet.

“Don’t forget my tail,” Sita yawned. Jenny explored Sita’s tail, Sita playfully lashing about with it.

“Your tail could be a very good weapon,” blackberry yawned.

“I don’t want to use it like that,” Sita mewed, “I’m not a violent creature, I was not brought up to it.”

“No, I know,” blackberry replied, “when I hit you, you engulfed me, suppressed me, and would have let me go, if I hadn’t clung to you like I did.”

“yes,” Sita replied. Blackberry looked at Sita, loving her from her nose to her toes.

“You are very big and solid,” jenny said. Sita snorted:

“solid?” she asked.

“yes, noone could break you if they fought with you, that’s what I mean, I don’t mean fat.”

“I’m that too,” Sita mewed, “but it’s kept in check by regular work outs in patch’s pun bag room. He fitted bells to his bags so I could punch and kick them and hear them coming back at me.”

“I liked it when my foot stuck to yours,” Jenny said to Sita, who smiled broadly.

“you also liked struggling to free your foot from my paws I think,” Sita mewed, Jenny laughing:

“I did,” she replied, “I’ll let you hold my other foot in your paws and fight you even harder to free it, curled toes, bunched pads and all,” Jenny added.

“You like that struggle?” Blackberry asked.

“I do,” Jenny replied, “it’s a great game to play.”

Patch woke in his lie up after a long sleep. His paws and feet felt heavy, and lifeless. Yawning, he rolled onto his back, stretching his limbs to the ceiling, then flexing his paws and feet, curling the toes of each paw and foot in turn, a slow curl of the digits, then hold them tightly curled, then stretch the toes strongly. This way he woke his paws and feet from their slumber. Getting to his feet, he bounced on his toes, then padded to the relieving place. Finishing his business, Patch washed his paws and then went to the shower, letting the jets wash his body. Pressing a button, he dropped to all four feet and lifted a hind foot, letting a jet from the wall behind him play over the sole and toes of his foot, stimulating the naked pads of his right hind foot. Patch curled his toes, feeling the water running down the sole of his foot and off his toes. Patch smiled at the sensation, pressing his tows against the wall just below the jet, feeling the water containing up and over his foot and land on the back of his leg. Bouncing his toes against the wall, patch braced his paws, lifted his other foot, and balanced his weight on the flat of his paws and balls of his hind feet, jets playing over the naked soles of his hind feet, Patch smiling at the sensations produced by his pads.

“What are you doing Patch?” Ekaterina asked, the sound of the water jetting sporadically onto the tiles telling her he was doing more than just having a shower.

“get paws on and you can find out,” Patch invited. Ekaterina padded over the wet tiles, finding her mate with his hind feet against the wall, his paws flat on the floor. Ekaterina touched his hind feet as he bounced on his toes, the jets squirting up catching her full in her face, making her cough.

“Um, ok,” Ekaterina choked.

“I was enjoying that,” Patch said, “until you choked on the water. He patted Ekaterina’s paw as she recovered.

“I couldn’t do what you do,” Ekaterina replied, “I haven’t got the balance.”

“there are jets in the floor too,” patch replied, “I was playing with the jets that, um, wash your rear end. There are others which wash your paws and feet and your back and head too.”

“A real nice setup,” Ekaterina replied smiling. Patch switched on the jets, Ekaterina laughing as she was soaked by the water from all directions except ahead of her. Water drummed on her back, head and rear end, and thrilled her paws and feet with jets from the floor.

“This is wonderful!” Ekaterina laughed, bouncing on her toes, the water thrilling her paws and hind feet.

“I thought you’d like it,” patch replied. Ekaterina giggled cubbishly, feeling the water pounding her pads, thrilling her senses.

“I was talking to Sooleawa earlier,” Ekaterina said, “she’s looking forward to her cub’s birth now.”

“We will help her in any way she wants us too,” Patch replied smiling. Ekaterina and patch washed each other, then padded to the drying room.

“I love your touch on my paws and feet,” Ekaterina said to Patch as he worked on drying her paws and feet with gentle care.

“I think we should dry our feet and paws then find a drink,” Patch said, Ekaterina kissing his nose.

“You are so sweet to me,” she said, “but I don’t deserve it.”

“I love you Ekaterina,” patch said gently.

“I don’t deserve anything from you Patch,” Ekaterina said. Patch hugged her tightly.

“Ekaterina, please,” Patch whispered softly, “please, let me help you.”

“I feel so bloody useless!” Ekaterina whimpered, “I don’t know if, well, if I’m any good for you any more. I used to know it, to be certain of it, but after, after what happened in the clearing, I don’t know.”

“Ekaterina,” Patch said softly, “please, can you trust your paws? do you trust your paws?”

“I do, a little more than I used to,” Ekaterina replied, “But, but sometimes my silly head gets in the way of my paws.”

“Tell me what makes you doubt yourself,” Patch said gently.

“I promised I’d always speak truth to you after you promised to protect me, and I didn’t do that,” Ekaterina replied, her eyes terrified.

“I know you didn’t,” Patch replied, “but that was not because you didn’t truly wish to. You were taken advantage of during a time of spiritual and physical weakness, you’d just delivered Sam into the world. The labour was horrendous, and you were convinced to bury your cub alive.”

“I hate myself for that,” Ekaterina replied miserably.

“that self loathing will kill you Ekaterina,” Patch replied, “and I don’t want that, nor does Sam.”

“He knows?” Ekaterina asked.

“Ekaterina,” patch replied gently, “who’s cub is he? Do you think he might not have inherited some of what I have?”

“Oh god!” Ekaterina whimpered, “I am probably an open book to him and all, in my sleep, I probably spill everything!”

“Sam hugs you while you’re asleep,” patch said, “I have seen him at it.”

“he knows,” Ekaterina choked, “he knows that, that if he touched me in my waking moments, I’d break down and cry myself to death.”

“he knows this, and knows it is genuine too, as do I,” Patch replied.

“If he were to touch me now, I’d cry so much I’d shrivel up and die,” Ekaterina whimpered.

“how about if Sam touched your paw and pleaded with you to forgive yourself as he has forgiven you?” Sam asked, padding up to his mother and placing his paw on hers.

“In my dreams I feel the freedom of having forgiven myself for what I did,” Ekaterina replied, “of having made peace with myself and my cub, but then I come crashing back to wakefulness and know I cannot forgive myself.”

“Forgiving you doesn’t mean what you did was not wrong,” Sam replied, “it means we will let the past be the past and carry on from that past. You tried it earlier mama, but it didn’t really work. Only when you are asleep do you have peace. That peace comes from a meeting of minds, a meeting you have already spoken of.”

“but I can’t, not here,” Ekaterina replied.

“Why not here?” Sam enquired, his tone gentle and coaxing.

“Because it’s a fantasy that’s why,” Ekaterina replied, “What I did to you was so monstrous it can never be forgiven, much less forgotten.”

“But you did not forget,” Sam replied, “you hated yourself for what you did to me in that clearing, and hating yourself for your actions means you knew they were wrong. Now you can set your paws on the right Path, and maybe give a cub the love he wants and needs. Contraception fails sometimes,” Sam continued, “and I know, that if you’d gone to patch, screaming in the agony of labour and delivered me into his paws, fluid and all, he would have accepted you, and me too.”

“I know that,” Ekaterina said faintly, “I know he would, and I knew it from the minute I’d walked out of that clearing. The hatred of myself for what I’d done ate me so that I had to eat to remain the weight I was. To give me energy.”

“You were over eating,” Sam grunted, “but that is not unexpected, as I have found out from talking to Blackberry. That bear knows so much, he explained what happened in that clearing. Psychological stuff and all. The shock of labour when you thought you weren’t pregnant, the fear and distress which led to you doing what you did, all that, and more, and even more interestingly, how a grey bear could find it within him to stick by a mama who did what she did. That’s even more interesting than the explanation of your actions mama, as blackberry said he didn’t understand how Patch could have found it within him, scientifically that is. Spiritually he understood, or so he said, but scientifically, there was no explanation. Patch is not uncritical, so Blackberry says, but he has a route to see the real being in someone.” Ekaterina rested her head on Sam’s shoulder, the half grown bear smiling at her.

“Let’s find some food,” patch said softly.

“I’d rather find out how you know what you know,” Sam replied.

“I can’t tell you that, because I don’t know myself,” Patch replied, “now Sam, food!” Sam grinned and padded with his mama and sire to the kitchen, where they found Kendal stirring yet another soup. It smelt strong, and Sam grabbed a spoon from the drawer and watched for Kendal to turn his back. Grinning, he dipped the spoon in the soup, just as Kendal turned back and saw what he was up to. Kendal’s paw smacked down on Sam’s paw with such force that he dropped the spoon in the pot and upset the pot. Sam leapt clear, screaming at Ekaterina and Patch to get out of the kitchen. The soup missed Sam’s paws by inches, Kendal swearing and cursing Sam.

“You don’t steal my soup!” he roared, smacking Sam as if he were a cub. Sam pinned the sheaf bear down in the soup mess on the floor and roared into his face. Kendal terrified by his aggression.

“You upset my soup!” Kendal whined.

“You nearly burnt my paws by slapping the spoon out of my paw!” Sam yelled.

“Stealing the soup was not a good move Sam,” Patch said.

“Now I’ve lost the lot!” Kendal wailed, “worse, it’s all over my fur as you rolled me in it you little shit Sam!” Kendal got to his feet then grabbed a poker from the wall which he used to stoke the fire in the stove and beat Sam with it!

“That’s out of order!” Patch roared, snatching the poker and throwing it away from Kendal. Sam noticed that even when he was under attack, Patch didn’t dare use the poker on Kendal.

“What power has my sire got?” Sam asked himself, “if he’d rather not use it to defend his cub, it must be huge!”

“go on, hit me with that poker if you dare!” Kendal screamed, dancing about on his paws in the soup mess on the floor.

“if I did,” patch replied, “the poker would burn you with the anger I feel at your actions. I do not want to brand you with the poker.”

“You lie!” Kendal shrieked.

atria, “I may hide the truth, but If it is found, I never lie about it.”

“Can you really burn him with the cold poker?” Sam asked. Patch picked up the poker and Sam watched as he touched Kendal’s shoulder with the tip. Kendal screamed and flinched away. Sam knew he wasn’t acting.

“You burnt me!” Kendal roared.

“if you had left it at slapping my cub I might not have been so furious!” patch replied, “but you beat him with the poker! I will talk to Sam about stealing the soup, though I don’t think he needs much telling that it was a wrong thing to do. Your violence told him that.”

“I won’t have anyone interfering with my soup!” Kendal screamed. Sid waddled In, looked at the mess with disgust and replayed the video from the last few minutes.

“Substitute Sam for Kendal, and you have the same scene which took place two years ago,” he mused, “no flying soup though, as I let Kendal take his spoonful, then reprimanded him for it. It’s a minor offence, as he didn’t put the spoon back in the soup, and I’m sure Sam would not have either.”

“No, I wouldn’t have done that,” Sam replied. Sid turned his gaze on Kendal, who now looked ashamed.

“I don’t know what to say,” he mumbled.

“Well sorry might be a good start,” Ekaterina snapped.

“I won’t apologise to that thief their!” Kendal yelled.

“he is no more a thief than you were,” Sid yawned, “either you apologise to Sam for beating him with the poker in a totally disproportionate attack on his person, or I tell you to leave my kitchen, and train him instead.” Kendal knew his sire was serious, and valued his position.

“I’ll throw him in prison,” Patch said. Kendal knew of the dungeon where Mishka was once imprisoned , and didn’t want to go down the chute into the dark place.

“I’m sorry!” Kendal grumbled.

“I think we should dry the soup on his fur and make it hard to wash off,” Ekaterina said. Patch hassled Kendal into a drying room, making him stand there until he was well dried, the cheese smell of the soup very strong.

“now wash,” Patch grunted, shoving Kendal towards the tub. Kendal filled the tub, and got in, the scent of the cheese now nauseating.

“I’m gonna throw up,” Ekaterina said, Patch watching as she ran for the relieving place.

“now look what you’ve done!” Kendal yelled.

“Shut it,” patch growled, “and I didn’t do anything!”

“You put me in this place so my fur got stiff and horrid!” Kendal screamed. Patch thrust the soap into Kendal’s paw, then handed him a brush.

“Scrub your body with that,” he grunted. Kendal did, and Patch helped him scrub his back.

“I’m finished with cooking I think,” Kendal whimpered.

“that’s Sid’s decision, not mine,” Patch replied. Kendal left the tub, and Patch let the water out, flushing the tub with hot water so the soup didn’t block the pipes.

“Now soap your body under the shower,” Patch grunted. Kendal went to the nearest shower wigwams by the kitchen. The shower, relieving place and tub were down a short passage off the kitchen. Once he was clean, Kendal padded to a drying room and dried his fur.

“now I’m feeling better,” Kendal grunted. Patch watched as Kendal cleaned up the mess, then, sensing the punishment had gone on long enough, he hugged the distraught bear and helped him to sort the food out for the next batch of soup.

“Thank you Patch,” Kendal said.

“I think I need to give Sam a hug too,” Patch replied, “he needs it after what you did.” Kendal looked miserable at Patch’s words, watching him pad from the room. Patch found Sam and Mishka playing together in his lie up.

“Patch!” Sam yelled, breaking off his play with Mishka running to him with sparkling eyes. Suddenly the sparkle went out of Sam’s eyes, and he skidded to a halt at the last minute. Sam looked uncertain, his toes curled into the rugs, his eyes scared at the intensity of his emotions.

“Why stop like that?” patch asked, “Sam, your poor pads must be burning with the friction.”

“I didn’t know if hugging you was the right thing to do, you are my leader after all,” Sam replied. Patch touched Sam’s paw with his, then covered it.

“I am sire first, leader second,” Patch said softly, “Sam, please, don’t stop your run like that again. Promise me?” Sam felt tears pricking his eyes as Patch gripped his paw.

“I won’t Patch,” he choked.

“now can I look at your paws and feet?” patch asked.” Sam rolled onto his back, presenting Patch with sore looking pads. Patch looked closely at Sam’s pads, then padded to a chest which he opened. Sam watched as best he could, seeing patch lift a potion from the chest. Padding over to Sam, now walking on his hind feet, Patch sat down and then dropped a little of the potion on the pads and toes of all four of Sam’s feet, Sam unable to stop himself curling his toes a little as patch rubbed the potion into his pads.

“ow, aoaoaoaow!” Sam squealed as the potion worked its way into his skin, making it feel cold, then deliciously cool. “My pads really were burnt by the rugs weren’t they,” Sam said more normally. Patch smiled:

“That’s good stuff that,” he replied. Mishka crawled over to Sam and kissed his nose and paws, the older bear grinning at him.

“You nearly set fire to the rugs!” Mishka laughed. Sam embraced Mishka, pulling the bear’s head onto his chest. Mishka giggled, now half lying across Sam.

“You soppy old bruin,” Mishka said, knowing Sam would slap him playfully. Mishka squealed theatrically and rolled over, playing dead, his paws and feet sticking skywards. Patch padded over to Mishka and looked down at his brother.

“Now if I do this,” patch said, blowing on the toes of Mishka’s right hind foot, and watching with delight as Mishka revived suddenly, yelping and kicking the air with his feet.

“I love those paws and feet Mishka,” Patch said. Mishka grinned and stretched his paws up to Patch, Patch blowing on his pads, and gently resting a paw on Mishka’s belly. Roaring with theatrical ferocity , Patch lowered his head to Mishka’s, and at the last minute, switched off the noise and kissed his brother’s nose.

“would you check my hind feet for thorns?” Mishka asked, “I think I have a thorn in the pads of my left hind foot.”

“I’ll just check that one over then,” patch replied.

“Oh no, you have to check the other foot too!” Mishka replied, Sam pushing a pen into the gap between the toe pads and ball of Mishka’s right hind foot, Mishka grabbing it by curling his toes, “I think I have something wrong with that one too! there’s smoothing caught in my toes!”

“I’ll check both your feet for thorns,” patch replied smiling.

“Mishka’s feet are very much like mama Kamchatka’s were, before she turned into a black bear I mean,” Sam replied, “she gave courageous birth to him, and he is truly the last of the first Sire Koda’s cubs.”

“he is indeed,” Patch replied.

“Though I don’t want the leadership, not at all!” Mishka said, “I hate the thought of that.” Mishka backed this up with furiously waving paws and kicking feet, looking like a cub having a tantrum, Patch and Sam laughing at his antics.

“Silly cub!” Patch said, rubbing Mishka’s belly with the paw which had rested on it for a few minutes, Mishka belching loudly.

“Oops, sorry!” Mishka said, covering his mouth with his paws.

“Mishka’s so cute, from his head to his feet,” Sam said. patch glanced over at him, smiling broadly.

“I’m glad this community brings up cubs to express their minds,” he replied.

“Mishka’s hind feet are large, but cubbish too. Maybe there is still a little cub in him, that is expressed through his pads and toes?” Sam laughed:

“Mishka is a cub from his nose to his toes Patch,” he said, “his paws and feet are very much affected by this situation I think.”

“I won’t be sending him to Blackberry for a cure for that though,” Patch mused, “it’s nice to play, don’t you agree Mishka?” Mishka smiled and then laughed as Patch blew on the sole pad of his right hind foot, Mishka’s toes releasing the pen, which ran down his pads, making him squeal, sit up quickly and grab his foot in his paws to furiously massage his tickled pads.

“That’s sweet,” Sam said, Mishka smiling to himself at the pleasure his play gave him.

“I still think he’s a big cub, even more so now,” Sam said. Mishka tightly curled his toes, Sam grinning at him.

“have we got film of mama Kamchatka delivering Mishka into the world?” Sam asked.

“She delivered him on the grass outside the back door of the house,” patch replied, “there are cameras out there. I would think we have pictures of it yes.”

“But that was a terrible time,” Mishka whimpered.

“it was a difficult birth,” Anook replied, padding into the room from the passage, “but I will let you show it Patch. He is your brother, and his birth needs to be celebrated.”

“Did we get footage of Sooleawa’s birth?” Patch asked.

“We did,” Sam said, “and wonder of wonders, she’s watched it too. Sooleawa watched her own birth to settle her nerves over her own impending confinement.”

“I watched Mishka’s birth,” Anook said, “it made me curl my toes and grab my feet with my paws and hold on tight.”

“I’ll bet it did,” patch replied, padding to Anook and kissing her nose.

“of course, my body and feet are slightly different now than they were, but I could still re-enact what happened, “ mama Anook replied, “sit me on that grass, and I could remember the whole thing.”

“But that was a terrifying time,” Mishka replied, “you don’t want to remember that do you?”

“I have already gone through it once since the first time, and it is scary, but is the way things happened,” Anook replied, “I don’t hate the memory of birth of my last natural cub.”

“it’s a hard time,” Mishka replied, “I have been shown what happened, Ekaterina showed me the postures you used mama, and she told me what she had to do to get me out.”

“You are a handsome cub Mishka,” Anook replied.

“I might be that,” Mishka replied, “but I’ll bet you can’t sit down and curl your toes as tightly as I can curl mine?” Anook smiled and sat down opposite Mishka.

“Okay, here are my feet,” Anook said, “the best of three each, with patch judging by sight and touch.” Mishka giggled cubbishly, Anook’s heart melting at the sound.

“I’m looking forward to this,” he replied, “we have one attempt each per try, no toe exercises before the game starts okay?”

“Okay,” Anook replied, “but my toes have been curled into the rugs already, a reaction to how cute you looked playing with your own toes Mishka. Am I still allowed to play?” Mishka crawled to his mama and scrambled into her lap, Anook embracing him tightly.

“Okay, my paws and feet are now as weak as they were when I was born!” Mishka said snuggling into his mama’s hug. Anook looked down at her cub, examining him from ears to paw and foot pads, Mishka letting himself be pushed about by Anook’s paws. she finished her exploration by kissing the top of his head, his nose, and then the pads of all four of his paws, Mishka gulping hard as emotions swamped him.

“I love that mama,” he choked, “carry on mama, hold me mama!” Anook held Mishka tightly, squeezing him to her breast, her paws holding him firmly, Mishka finding it hard to move, but that’s what he wanted, pushing himself into her hug, Anook rubbing his belly, Mishka’s back to her. Mishka braced his heels against the floor and pushed back, Anook leaning forward against his pressure, her paws pulling hard, her eyes closed with concentration and pleasure.

“it’s hard mama, hard to push myself into your hug as much as I want to!” Mishka sniffed.

“I know,” Anook replied, “it’s difficult to pull you into my hug as tightly as I want too, but I will try to give you what you need.”

“If it’s too much,,,” Mishka whimpered, his words cut off by the pressure of Anook’s paws increasing. Mishka whimpered, pushing back harder than ever with his hind feet. Mishka curled his toes, Anook kissing the top of his head, Mishka’s paws bunching into fists as Anook hugged him.

“Now that’s better isn’t it?” Anook asked. Mishka smiled and replied that it was, wriggling with pleasure.

“Are your toes curling as tightly mine are when you hug me mama?” Mishka asked.

“They are Mishka love,” Anook replied, her world focused through her paws and the feel of his fur beneath her chin as she rested it on his head.

“I love you mama,” Mishka said, leaning his head back so Anook could lean forward a little and kiss his nose. Mishka was just about small enough for her to do this comfortably.

“You two are so sweet to each other,” Sam said.

“I could hug my Grandcub too,” Anook mused, her eyes still closed.

“I’m still held tightly in your paws though mama,” Mishka whimpered, “and I don’t want you to let me go! Not yet! Not yet!” he yelled, the second accompanied by a protest involving Mishka pushing back against Anook by drawing up his feet a little and pushing back hard with his heels, pushing himself into her embrace once more.

“All right, one last big squeeze,” Anook said, settling herself comfortably, her legs bent a little, her heels and backside giving her good balance. Mishka leant back, pushing with his hind feet, Anook bracing herself, pulling with her paws and leaning into him, trying to make the space between her paws and belly smaller, Mishka wriggling and pushing hard with his heels the whole time, his paws clamped over his mama’s paws, trying to increase her embrace. Anook relaxed her paws after two minutes of the biggest hug she’d ever given her son cub. Mishka, exhausted, turned to his mama, knelt and kissed her nose, then threw his paws round her neck and embraced her tightly.

“I love you mama,” he whispered to her, Anook kissing his ear and then tugging gently at it with her teeth, Mishka giggling and snuggling close.

“I’m sorry for not being around when you were growing up, I had no choice,” Anook whispered.

“You’re here now, and have filled me up from my feet to my ears with your hug,” Mishka replied.

“I thought I had,” Anook replied, if I hadn’t poured my love into you, I would have exploded as your love poured into me.” Mishka smiled but didn’t laugh at his mother’s words.

“I liked your touch on my paws,” Anook said, “the effort you put in to press yourself to me as hard as you could was cute too.”

“I felt you brace your heels and settle yourself mama,” Mishka replied, “you leant into my back as I pushed back against your belly. We were trying to get as close to each other as we could.”

“I know,” Anook replied, “and we got close, we love each other so much, I know that.”

“it was a good time,” Mishka said. Anook pushed Mishka onto his back, examining him by sight and touch from nose to paw and foot pads. Even though she knew how his fur and pads felt, she ran her paws over Mishka as if she was meeting him for the first time after hours of hard fought labour and delivery.

“I love you Mishka,” Anook said softly, “you are young enough for me to hug like a cub, but I know, I know there is one other who would love a hug, but she dared not ask.”

“Ekaterina?” Mishka asked.

“yes Ekaterina,” Anook replied.

“I’ll find her,” Mishka said, scrambling away.

“She won’t come to me!” Anook called to Mishka, who yelled back that she might.

Mishka padded to Ekaterina’s workplace, to find the she bear sitting on the ledge in the birthing pool, her hind feet dangling in the water.

“hello Mishka,” Ekaterina said, feeling him sidle up to her, listening to his feet on the wet tiles, and then wading through the slight covering of water on the ledge. He sat down and took her paw in his.

“Mama Anook wants to know if you would like a cuddle,” Mishka said. Ekaterina sighed heavily.

“I would,” she sighed, “but I’m too old for all that!”

“No you’re not,” Mishka replied softly, “go to Anook and let her hug you. I think you need it.”

“I do,” Ekaterina replied, “but I can’t ask it of her.”

“Why not?” Mishka asked.

“I’m too old, and I can’t ask my mama, not now,” Ekaterina whimpered. A wading sound made Ekaterina turn her head, and then she felt a kiss to her nose.

“Come Ekaterina,” Anook said, touching Ekaterina’s paw.”

“I can’t ask you!” Ekaterina whimpered, her toes curling with emotion.

“You can,” Anook said, “if you want a cuddle, come to me Ekaterina.” Ekaterina felt herself slide off the ledge into the water, Anook leading her to the other side of the pool and back again to the ledge, Anook sitting down on the ledge, Ekaterina snuggling up to her.

“Would you rub my paws and feet?” Ekaterina asked. Anook smiled and nodded.

“I will,” she replied. Anook waded with Ekaterina to the dry birthing den, where she settled Ekaterina onto a soft bed in the birthing den. Smiling, she took each of Ekaterina’s wet paws and feet in her own paws, first examining the tops, then the soles.

“You have wrinkled pads and toes,” Anook observed, “how long have you been in the water?” Ekaterina smiled to herself as Anook worked, closing her eyes once or twice as her toes curled with pleasure.

“oooah, ooooooooaoh,” Ekaterina gasped as Anook worked on her hind feet.

“Don’t you like this?” Anook asked. Ekaterina smiled:

“I love it, that’s the problem, it’s too good!” Ekaterina replied a little breathlessly.

“I haven’t hugged you yet,” Anook said.

“Don’t,” Ekaterina sniffed, “please don’t.”

“why not?” Anook asked, “you said you’d like me to do so earlier.”

“if you do, I’ll break down and cry, I know I will!” Ekaterina choked, “I have done so much wrong that I don’t deserve my mate’s affections, let alone my mama’s.”

“I’m here for you, no matter what you did.” Anook said. Ekaterina moaned as if in pain.

“I know you lied to Patch, I’ve met Sam, I know what happened Ekaterina, I know it all, I’ve seen your distress afterwards too. come to me Ekaterina. Maybe I can help you, hold you and rid you of that self hatred and guilt.” Anook replied gently.

“I don’t deserve to be absolved of my crimes,” Ekaterina whimpered.

“You weren’t responsible for what you did,” Anook replied, “you were mentally unbalanced, not in your right mind.”

“it’s killing me mama,” Ekaterina choked.

“I know,” Anook replied, “Ekaterina, do you want to get rid of this forever? I can help you, if you really want me to help you.”

“I need it, but I’m terrified of it,” Ekaterina replied, “terrified that, that, I’ll do the same thing again!”

“You won’t, I am certain of that,” Anook replied.

“If you hug me, I’ll be wrung out like a cloth, and shrivel up to die,” Ekaterina replied, “mama, do you know what my greatest wish is?”

“Tell me Ekaterina dear, tell me my dear cub,” Anook pleaded.

“It’s to be a cub again, so I can undo all the shit I’ve caused!” Ekaterina sobbed.

“I can’t make you a cub again,” Anook replied, “but if you are willing to let me set your paws on a path, I’ll help you feel better.”

“but I’ll be pouring my mental shit into you mama!” Ekaterina sobbed.

“I can let it out of my feet,” Anook replied.

“hug me mama, take me, and hug me, no matter how hard I fight with my paws and feet,” Ekaterina whimpered. Anook sat down and guided Ekaterina into her hug, embracing her hugely. Ekaterina moaned as if in labour, breathing hard, then she curled her toes and strained desperately.

“that’s it, push the guilt away,” Anook said softly, as Ekaterina struggled and sobbed. Roaring, she kicked Anook. Anook keeping paws on, Ekaterina roaring and screaming, curling her toes and beating the floor with her paws.

“Let it go Ekaterina, don’t fight it,” Anook said, getting paws on with Ekaterina’s head, body, legs, paws and feet, while Ekaterina rolled about on the floor, straining and heaving as if in labour. Panting, Ekaterina sat back on her heels while Anook touched the toes and pads of each of her hind feet in turn, Ekaterina crying and squealing. After five minutes of a terrible fight, she lay exhausted on the floor.

“it felt like giving birth, it hurt!” Ekaterina whimpered, “but it feels great to be rid of my shit.”

“Now get to your feet, get to your feet and go to your mate, kiss his nose and hug him,” Anook replied. Ekaterina kissed her mama’s nose and padded to the den entrance.

“She doesn’t realise how beautiful she is,” Anook thought, “dear Ekaterina, let your paws be your guide.” Ekaterina turned back, as if she’d felt Anook’s thoughts. Padding into the den again, she padded up to her mother and hugged her, and Anook smiled at her touch. It was that of a young bear, who’s heart was light, and who could be tipped into play at a moment’s notice. Ekaterina was no longer the heavy footed, heavy pawed she bear who doubted she deserved any respect at all.

“Hug me again mama,” Ekaterina begged, Anook hugging her daughter cub, kissing her nose and paws, Ekaterina laughing merrily, a strange sound to Ekaterina, but she knew it was genuine.

“I could roll onto my back and kick the air with my feet and paws right now!” Ekaterina laughed. Anook pushed Ekaterina onto her back, and stepped back.

“You are free to kick the air now,” Anook said, “you’re safe Ekaterina.” Ekaterina went mad, kicking with her hind feet, waving her paws about and wriggling like an excited cub until she was so exhausted she couldn’t lift a paw.

“You look so cute Ekaterina,” a voice said, Ekaterina shocked to her paws by who’s voice she heard.

“Patch?” she asked, “how much, how much did you see?”

“All of it,” Patch replied, “I felt compelled to watch my mate’s Burdon lifted from her.”

“You helped Anook didn’t you,” Ekaterina replied, “you helped her to unlock my mental shit and release me from the pain and guilt.”

“yes, I helped her do that,” Patch replied, “but I was the flusher, as it were, keeping Anook immune to the affects of it. Though you did it really, you let the stuff go, flow into Anook, who gave you back the love she feels for you Ekaterina. You kept purging yourself of your guilt and worry. Now you are clean of that, you can carry on and be whom you really are, the Ekaterina I know and love, the playful bear, the caring bear, the bear who leapt in with all four paws to help a stuck silver coated cub.. Oh, and a she bear who can find it in herself to lie on her back and kick the air with her feet and paws in the cutest manner.”

“Did you find it cute? Or just embarrassing?” Ekaterina asked.

“I found it cute, and very loveable too,” Patch said, taking his mate’s paw.

“I know you did,” Ekaterina replied, “deep down that is.”

“I loved it,” Patch replied, “you have cute feet and paws Ekaterina. I thought so when you first lay down close enough to me for me to see your paw pads, and think so now years later.”

“You talked by touch from the start, I remember,” Anook said.

“We did,” Ekaterina replied smiling, “I remember that first touch.”

“You had the cutest paws of all the cubs,” patch replied, “and now, now, he added, kneeling and taking hold of Ekaterina’s paws and feet one by one, examining them closely, “you have the cutest paws and feet of the adult bears too.” Ekaterina pressed Patch’s paw with the toes of her right hind foot, which he held in his paws. though his talk was all of her paws and feet, Ekaterina knew what he really meant.

“We touched, and my paws stuck to yours, then my hind feet did, and I was bonded for life,” Ekaterina said smiling.

“You and I work well together,” Patch said. Ekaterina curled her toes tightly in patch’s embrace, loving her mate’s touch.

“We do,” Ekaterina said, “even if I fall over my paws and you have to pick me up all the time.”

“I don’t mind picking you up,” Patch said, “I get to check your pads and toes for thorns every time you fall.” Ekaterina choked back tears.

“that makes it even more unbearable for me,” she choked, “I didn’t deserve your help.”

“Now you do, and please don’t talk like this,” Patch said softly, “you have repented and most of all, forgiven yourself for what you did. Now take off those old paws and feet, and touch me with your young paws.”

“if I crawl from here, will you follow me?” Ekaterina asked.

“Try and find out,” Patch replied. Ekaterina gulped hard, turned onto her front, her right foot still held in Patch’s paws, Patch letting her foot rotate in his slight grip.

“now, now I’ll crawl,” Ekaterina said softly, Patch tightening his grip on her right foot as she tried to withdraw it. Ekaterina squealed and tugged harder, patch holding on tighter.

“I can’t crawl!” she yelled cubbishly, “my foot’s stuck!”

“Oh, is it?” Patch asked, blowing on her pads, Ekaterina screaming with laughter.

“Stop that!” she laughed, wiggling her toes to ease the tickling of Patch’s breath.

“now I’ll follow you,” patch replied smiling.

“You’ll have no choice if your paws are stuck to my foot!” Ekaterina replied, struggling to free her foot, “I can’t move my foot at all!” Patch smiled, released his hold, and followed Ekaterina out of the room at a crawl, sometimes blowing on her toes to make her laugh.

“now let’s go back to our lie up,” patch said. Ekaterina giggled as Patch blew on her toes. Every time he did that, she couldn’t help curling her toes, and they were beginning to ache, but she didn’t want to stop curling them, or tell him to stop touching her hind feet, or blowing on her toes.

“You make me act so silly, my toes are tired from curling with pleasure, but I like the play,” Ekaterina said.

“I’ll stop tickling your toes,” Patch said.

“I don’t know if I want that,” Ekaterina admitted.

“Well crawl a bit, and I’ll keep paws off. If you want me to get paws on again, tell me,” Patch replied.

“I always loved your touch on my paws and feet,” Ekaterina replied, “patch, it connected with me in a way I understood from a young age, and understand now, even if I don’t follow my own paws much.”

“Crawling is okay,” Patch said, “but my knees ache. I’ll walk.”

“Come with me Patch, come to our lie up, don’t leave me here alone!” Ekaterina begged. Patch helped her to her feet, then padded with her to their lie up. Once they were lying together, Patch took Ekaterina’s paw in his, holding it tenderly..

“I remember when you used to hold my paw when I was a cub,” Ekaterina said, “patch, I remember your paws were huge then, at least I thought so, mine were so tiny!”

“You were a young cub when I first met you,” Patch replied, no more than a few months old I think.” Ekaterina kissed Patch’s nose, sighing deeply as she remembered their first meeting.

“I told you to follow your paws, I was so young then, guiding you, but I needed guidance all along.” Patch kissed his mate.

“I remember how you held onto my paw,” he replied, and your frustration when you couldn’t get to your feet.” Ekaterina giggled.

“I think, think I need help to do it now,” Ekaterina said. Patch got to his feet, and slipped his paws beneath Ekaterina’s body, lifting her, Ekaterina pushing with her paws and tucking her hind legs beneath her, pushing herself into a crawling posture, then patch lifted her further, Ekaterina feeling her knees come off the floor, and her legs straighten. She stood on her feet and swayed slightly.

“it’s like old days,” Ekaterina said smiling.

“Your feet and paws look like they did when you were younger,” Patch said.”

“I do try to keep my feet and paws in good condition,” Ekaterina replied, her eyes shining.

“You have really cute paws and feet Ekaterina,” Patch replied.

“I think your paws and feet are very cute too,” Ekaterina said. patch giggled and sat down, then gently lifted Ekaterina’s right hind foot in his paws, looked down at the sole of her foot then kissed the sole pad, Ekaterina laughing merrily.

“You big softy!” she laughed.

“You have stroked the soles and counted the toes of both my hind feet too,” Patch said, “last time was, um, last night.”

“I thought you were asleep!” Ekaterina replied, shocked he’d noticed her explorations.

“I’m glad I wasn’t,” Patch replied smiling. Ekaterina curled her toes tightly as patch’s paw stroked the sole of her right foot while she stood on three feet.

“My toes want to curl so tightly!” Ekaterina whimpered, wriggling with pleasure.

“Your pads look cute when they bunch up,” patch said, Ekaterina laughing merrily.

“I love how you describe my pads,” Ekaterina said.

“your toes are curled tightly, here, here, here, here, and here,” Patch added, touching her curled toes with his paw, Ekaterina squealing with delight.

“You know how to play with me!” she laughed, Patch kissing her pads once more, Ekaterina bouncing cubbishly on the toes of her three free feet, Patch laughing merrily.

“this is great!” Ekaterina laughed, bouncing so hard that her right hind foot flew from Patch’s grip and she fell head over paws, Patch getting to his feet and catching her hind feet half way ,holding her in a handstand for a few seconds, then gently lowering her feet to the floor.

“come here Patch!” Ekaterina said, turning on patch and enveloping him in a huge hug.

“You liked that didn’t you,” patch said, kissing her nose.

“I did, I did, and I want more, much more!” Ekaterina laughed.

“your delighted squeal as I counted your toes was lovely,” patch said.

“Did I squeal with delight?” Ekaterina asked, running to the consol and rewinding the video. Listening to herself, Ekaterina laughed at her own antics.

“I was wrapped in play,” she said, “but I mean every minute of that. I love everything you did, blowing on my pads, kissing them, and counting my curled toes. I loved it patch, more than loved it!”

“I know,” patch replied smiling and embracing his mate, Ekaterina wriggling with pleasure..

“I love you mama bear,” patch replied, Ekaterina burying her face in his shoulder.

“You are my king bear,” she said.

“you’re my queen bear too,” patch replied, “my princess, my first love, and my first ursine playmate.” Ekaterina felt tears choking her.

“Oh patch, dear Patch!” Ekaterina laughed.

“I love you Ekaterina,” patch said, Ekaterina kissing his nose.

“don’t speak patch,” she said, “touch me, touch my ears, my paws, my feet, every bit of me. Make me laugh, make me squeal like a delighted cub like you did earlier, please?” Patch smiled:

“but I told you I counted your curled toes,” patch said, pushing Ekaterina onto her back and taking hold of her left hind foot, “here, here, here, here and here,” he counted, “one, two, three, four, and five toes, all curled tightly with pleasure, and a big sole pad, wrinkled with the effort of curled toes, wrinkles too many to count, at least ten wrinkles on the sole of your foot.” Ekaterina, crying softly, covered her face with her paws.

“I love this,” she sniffed, “Patch, you never lost your touch. I’ve missed this so much, so much!”

“Well don’t miss it any more,” patch replied, drawing circles on Ekaterina’s bunched pads, Ekaterina whimpering excitedly.

“it’s so nice to play again,” Ekaterina sighed.

“your pads pour the need to help you play into me,” patch replied, “not that I need to be told to play with you. I love playing with your paws and feet.”

“But my pads tell you what my mouth may not,” Ekaterina replied, “and I like that.” Patch kissed her nose, Ekaterina smiling with pleasure.

“You make me smile from my ears to my pads,” Ekaterina said.

“you make me smile too,” Patch said, “I watch your midwifery videos, I watched how you helped Janet, Cynthia and Bramble, you are gentle and caring.”

“Will they accept a cub attending to them?” Ekaterina asked, as Patch counted the toes and drew circles on the sole of her right hind foot, Ekaterina curling her toes tightly in response.

“They will accept that,” patch replied.

“You make my toes curl so tightly with pleasure!” Ekaterina gasped..

“I wish I’d been there at Sam’s birth,” patch said, Ekaterina grabbing him in her paws and embracing him tightly.

“So do I,“ she replied, “I wanted you there, but I was so frightened to ask you to be there. that was a very dark time.”

“I saw a video of the clearing,” Patch said, “it made me cry.” Ekaterina squealed with shock:

“How?” she asked.

“You told me what happened in your sleep,” Patch replied, “you let me in Ekaterina. I felt your pain, your terror, your struggle.”

“So you knew,” Ekaterina choked, “you knew all along. Oh Patch, Patch, I’m sorry, sorry I didn’t come to you afterwards and present my cub to you.”

“Sita presented my cub to me in secret,” Patch replied, “he was cute then, and remains handsome now.”

“So now I know why you were so understanding of my lies,” Ekaterina said, “you knew I was weakened in spirit when I was convinced to lie. Of course, when you touched me, that broke me, and I confessed all, all that you knew already, for you and Sita had saved my cub.”

“Please don’t speak of that now,” Patch said, stroking Ekaterina’s belly with his paw, “it’s all over now. you can play properly now.” Ekaterina clamped her paws over Patch’s, pressing his paw against her belly.

“I could play, I know how to play,” Ekaterina said, “it’s easy play is, easy when you know how to play.”

“Love your paws and feet, use me to learn how to play.” Patch replied, “we could go to the soft play room and climb the ladders like you did when you were younger.” Ekaterina closed her eyes, thinking hard.

“I remember flying down a slide on a chair thing,” she replied softly, “but I’m too old for that now surely.”

“You’d be strapped by your paws to the handles, your feet free,” patch replied, “of course, we could strap you in like the cats are, around your belly and hind quarters.”

“I think I could ride it the first way,” Ekaterina said.

“Okay,” Patch replied. Ekaterina laid her paw on his.

“I would much rather roll about on the floor with you though,” she said, “I’d love to struggle free of your paws, then like you to chase me and catch me, then tickle my toes and pads, and then grab hold of me and hug me and kiss my nose and paws!” Patch smiled and hugged his mate.

“I could do all that,” he replied, “and I would love to do it”

“come on then!” Ekaterina urged, bouncing on her toes.

“I’m coming, I’m coming!” Patch replied with mock exasperation. Ekaterina giggled cubbishly, rolled onto her back and pedalled the air with her feet, Patch laughing merrily.

“You do have the cutest paws and feet Ekaterina,” Patch said, “also, you close your eyes when kicking the air with your feet too, which is so sweet!”

“I remember doing that,” Ekaterina replied, “I remember closing my eyes to make my energy go into my feet and paws. I remember doing that while pushing into my bottom to force Sam into the world, struggling to push against Sam in my efforts to give birth to him.”

“I close my eyes too while kicking the air with my feet,” Patch admitted.

“love your paws and your feet,” Ekaterina replied smiling, “especially when you’re asleep, and I’m tracing the pads of your hind feet with my paws and counting your toes.” Patch laughed merrily, leant down and kissed his mate’s nose. Ekaterina stretched her paws towards patch’s face, patch kissing her paw pads, Ekaterina dabbing his nose with each paw in turn, Patch breathing on her pads, warming them.

“if I stretch my feet to the sky, will they become warm too?” Ekaterina asked. Patch smiled:

“Stretch those feet to the sky, and find what happens,” Patch said. Ekaterina stretched her feet to the ceiling, patch blowing on her toes and then kissing her pads, Ekaterina laughing helplessly.

“I love that!” Ekaterina laughed, curling her toes to catch Patch’s breath on her bunched pads.

“Now you know what will happen if you stretch your feet to the sky,” Patch said, Ekaterina giggled cubbishly:.

“It’s lovely,” she replied smiling.

“paw and foot play is something you and I learnt the art of very quickly,” Patch said, “of course, I had practise playing with jess when she was very young. We used to communicate that way. I’d take her hands and feet in my paws or touch her feet with my feet and feel her moods.”

“Your paws always communicated easily,” Ekaterina said, “Patch, did you and jess play the stuck foot game?”

“We did, and she pretended to have a cub too, when she was pretending, I’d help her by showing her what a mama bear would do during her labour. Jess used to love that play. She’d roar and scream, curl her toes and kick the air with her feet and punch the air with balled fists.”

“that sounds so cute,” Ekaterina said, regretting even more her lies and deceptions, “I wish, wish that I’d never lied, for I’d be able to watch what you watch.”

“Your paws will tell you much,” patch replied, “Ekaterina, “the next time you hear two cubs, or two humans playing foot and paw games, go up to them and touch their hands and feet. They’ll not stop their play.”

“So I could get paws on and explore?” Ekaterina asked.

“yes you could,” patch replied.

“I saw mama Janet and Moses playing the stuck foot game a few days back,” Sam said, “They were really stuck, his toes stuck firmly to the ball of her foot, their heels stuck too. Every time Moses pressed his toes into the ball of Janet’s foot, her toes curled, trapping his toes as he pulled at his heel with his hands, it was so cute!”

“It sounds cute,” Ekaterina replied.

Meanwhile, in Ekaterina’s birthing den, hope and Sooleawa sat together, Sooleawa feeling uncomfortable. Hope, remembering her own labour when giving birth to Jewel, suggested to Sooleawa that when she felt pain, she might want to close her eyes, curl her toes and give voice to her discomfort, as well as ball her paws into fists, then, when she felt pain easing, she might want to relax completely, uncurl her toes, relax her paws, and breathe deeply with her eyes and mouth open.

“oaoaoaoaoaoaoaoaoao!” Sooleawa moaned as she curled her toes and punched the air with her paws, rocking back and fourth, pushing off with her heels, then slamming forward to grab her feet with her paws and hold desperately onto her toes with both paws as she panted, then she curled her toes again, balled her paws into fists and repeated the rocking back and forth, Sooleawa squealing as her contractions built then spent themselves. Hope watched Sooleawa, from her eyes to her feet.

“You are doing so well Sooleawa!” Hope said to the labouring mama bear. Sooleawa crawled round the room, Hope following her:

“Rub my feet Hope, rub my heels and press the balls of my feet with your paws, please!” Sooleawa begged, Hope doing as she asked, Sooleawa roaring and curling her toes so her pads bunched under Hope’s touch.

“oaoaoaoaoaoaaow, oaoaoowowowowowoaooaof,” Sooleawa moaned as she laboured. Hope, sick with fear, looked at the door, Sooleawa screaming at her not to leave her.

“I won’t leave you Sooleawa,” Hope replied, her paws sweating with the fear of her first unassisted delivery. Sooleawa groaned deeply and writhed in agony.

“Remember what I said about curling your toes and clenching your paws during a contraction, then relaxing them once it’s over,” Hope said, wishing she’d done the same during her own labour and delivery of jewel, rather than screaming and crying like she’d done for most of her time in labour. Hope admitted to herself that she’d lost control, and if it hadn’t been for Jenny’s reassuring presence, and her touch, she would never have got through delivering Jewel. Sooleawa sat during a lull in her efforts, squeezing the pads of and playing with the toes of her right foot with her left paw.

“I’m glad I’ve got a bit of a rest,” Sooleawa panted, “it’s hard you know Hope.”

“I know it,” Hope replied smiling. She kissed Sooleawa’s nose:

“You’ll be okay,” she said gently. Sooleawa felt another contraction building, her toes beginning to curl, and her breath coming faster. Opening her mouth, she roared lustily.

“aoaoaoaoaoaooaeieieieieiieieieieirh!” she yelled.

“You’re doing really well Sooleawa,” Hope said, looking down at her own toes, which she was shocked to see were curled as tightly as Sooleawa’s.

“your toes are curled as tightly as mine Hope!” Sooleawa panted.

“I know, I’m labouring with you I think,” Hope said.

“Please, would you roar and scream with me?” Sooleawa asked. Hope hesitated:

“I don’t know,,,,” she replied, “is it right?”

“Yes it is,” Sooleawa gasped, “Come on Hope, help me roar this cub into the world!”

“How are you feeling Sooleawa?” Hope asked, watching the silver coated she bear wriggling and then sitting back on her heels, driving them into her backside, then bouncing her backside on them grunting and moaning as she did so.

“I’m okay,” Sooleawa replied, “it’s easier to labour when I’m moving about.”

“You’re doing well,” Hope said, “Can you feel any urges to push yet?”

“No, it’s just pain at the moment, no need to strain into my tail, no urge to push like I have when I need to defecate.”

“your pads have changed colour from light pink to a darker pink,” your fur to a dirty silver grey,” Hope replied.

“Can I wash?” Sooleawa asked.

“You can,” Hope replied, “We could go into the birthing pool and I could rub you down from nose to feet.” Sooleawa smiled at the thought of this.

“yes please!” she replied.

“Okay, let’s go,” Hope said, “Sooleawa, you can walk, or crawl.” Sooleawa crawled to the birthing pool, Hope following her, crawling too, touching Sooleawa’s toes with her paws from time to time, Sooleawa responding by wiggling her toes when Hope touched them.

“I like you touching my toes,” Sooleawa said, “Hope, it feels good!” Hope followed Sooleawa into the water, the grey she bear swimming across the pool, then resting her paws and chest on the ledge, her feet dangling in the water. Hope touched her paw, Sooleawa smiling at her, then grimacing as another contraction gripped her. Getting to her feet, Sooleawa bounced on her toes, the water splashing as she bounced, Hope watching her closely.

“Okay, I really, really need to push!” Sooleawa roared, straining hard, a plug of mucus and fluid bursting, then flowing from her as she strained into her tail, squealing with effort and pain.

“it’s okay Sooleawa,” Hope said softly, rubbing the she bear’s paw with hers. Sooleawa wriggled uncomfortably.

“The cub’s head is moving down!” Sooleawa wailed, “I can feel it Hope!” Hope gently inserted her paw and felt the cub’s head resting on its paws.

“yes,” she said, “it’s there all right, on the next contraction Sooleawa, push as long and hard as you like.” Sooleawa settled herself, and when the need to push became too much, she pushed down deeply, hard down into her tail, her roar of effort bouncing off the walls.

“That hurt!” Sooleawa screamed, stamping her feet and paws. Hope led Sooleawa back to the dry birthing den, and set up the hammock, Sooleawa scrambling into the hammock, sitting in the cradle of the birthing hammock. yelping, she rested, then sat back on her heels in the hammock,, pressing them into her backside. Then she stood up suddenly, crouched down and heaved, wailing pitifully.

“the cub’s coming, it’s surging inside me!” Sooleawa sobbed. Hope sat down and cupped her paws beneath Sooleawa’s hind quarters, as Sooleawa sat down in the hammock, the straps supporting her legs as she pushed, kicking with her hind feet between efforts. Hope watched Sooleawa’s efforts, from her face, full of concentration, to her straining belly and swinging hind feet with their curling toes and bunching pads. Sooleawa’s legs stiffened as she strained, then relaxed for a minute, then the soles of her feet became visible to Hope as she kicked hard during the lulls in her efforts. Hope smiled as she saw the cub’s head and paws emerging.

“when you feel the need push, that’s it, push, push, push, push!” Hope said softly. Sooleawa growled as she bore down into her tail, the cub emerging slowly.

“The cub’s coming now!” Sooleawa groaned, pulling herself onto the main hammock, rolling onto her back and kicking the air with her paws and feet, screaming her head off for a few contractions. Resting on the bed, her paws flat on her belly, Sooleawa sniffled a little, then got to her feet with a moan of pain. Roaring, she squatted, the cub sliding into the world, Sooleawa roaring and crying as her labour hurt her.

“Nearly here, nearly done!” Hope said by way of encouragement. Sooleawa panted, splaying her legs a bit further and put her head down, , pushing down hard, feeling the cub slide free. Moaning and Panting, Sooleawa felt the cub sliding into the world, so slowly, so very slowly, but to moan her discomfort and pant felt so good after hours of pushing. Groaning loudly as she felt the cub’s hind feet slide free, Sooleawa heard Hope grunt with satisfaction as she caught it. Sooleawa turned and looked at the cub lying on the netting.

“Did I give birth to that?” she asked, “it’s so huge! No wonder I had to push so hard and make all that effort, all that screaming and curling of my toes to deliver such a huge creature! And from such a tiny place too.” Sooleawa remembered exploring her body with her paws, exploring her reproductive area with her paws, wondering how on earth she was going to squeeze a cub into the world through such a tiny opening. Now she regretted not having got paws on during her cub’s birth to feel how it was she could have delivered her cub into the world. The cub’s paws and feet made a scrabbling sound as it dragged itself over the hammock, its paws and feet scrabbling for purchase in the weave of the hammock. Sooleawa stared at the cub’s expression of concentration, and its scrabbling paws and feet, and turned away from it.

“mama!” the cub yelled, scrabbling faster with feet and paws. Sooleawa found her eyes drawn to the pathetic creature.

“I don’t know what to do!” she wailed.

“imagine yourself in your cub’s situation, what would you want your mama to do?” Hope asked. Sooleawa gulped back tears, sat down and gathered the cub to her, feeling the cub’s paws and feet gripping her fur, then the cub nursing from her milk supply.

“That’s it,” Hope said smiling. Sooleawa looked down at the cub in her paws, a large female.

“What are you going to name her?” Hope asked.

“I don’t know,” Sooleawa replied, exploring the cub, who now lay on her back, her feet and paws in the air. Sooleawa groomed the female cub, the cub laughing and pawing at her nose with her small paws.

“I love you!” Sooleawa whispered. Her cub waved all four small legs, Sooleawa feeling her toes curling with emotions, her breath catching in her throat.

“how could I have ever thought of leaving you alone?” Sooleawa whispered.

“You are so cute little one,” Hope said, padding forward to the side of the hammock and looking over into Sooleawa’s lap, where the cub lay on her back, her paws and feet sticking skywards.

“She’s very cute indeed,” Sooleawa said, blowing on her cub’s feet and paws, the cub screeching with laughter and wriggling madly.

“I don’t know what to name her!” Sooleawa whimpered.

“Don’t fret about it yet, her fur’s not yet dry,” Hope replied smiling.

“You mean she might die?” Sooleawa squealed.

“No, I didn’t mean that,” Hope replied gently, “I meant don’t worry, as she is barely born. Just relax and hug your cub, explore her, love her with your paws and your voice, and draw her closer to you.”

“I fought so hard to deliver my cub!” Sooleawa whimpered, “don’t let her die!”

“She won’t!” Hope said, “she’s waving her paws and kicking with her feet, and screaming her head off too. tickle her toes, maybe she wants that.” Sooleawa blew on her cub’s toes, the cub screaming with laughter.

“You did so well Sooleawa and you Hope,” Ekaterina said, padding into the room with Blackberry and Sita.

I hope it wasn’t too bad,” Ekaterina said to Sooleawa, who grimaced.

“It was awful,” Sooleawa replied heavily.

“how does it feel?” blackberry asked.

“it feels like you need to shift what’s hurting you, then when you push, you can’t shift that thing, so you push harder, and that hurts more, but you can’t help pushing harder and harder,” Sooleawa replied, “then, then the cub surges forward, and that hurts, so you push some more, you can’t help it, and that hurts too, so you get angry, and push and push and push. See?” Blackberry looked round him to see Ekaterina’s, Hope’s and Sita’s toes curled into the floor, all three looking very uncomfortable at their own memories of labour.

“That sounds dreadful,” Blackberry replied, “I was re-enacting what you were doing so Ekaterina and Sita could get a sense of what you were up to. Of course they could hear you well enough.”

“I’ll bet you didn’t curl your toes as tightly as I did,” Sooleawa said.

“I tried,” blackberry replied smiling. Sooleawa then saw how exhausted he was.

“You really did have a go didn’t you,” she replied incredulously.

“I had a go yes,” Blackberry replied, “even kicking the air with my paws and feet when you did.”

“You did so well Sooleawa,” Ekaterina said smiling, “and you hope too! You helped mama Sooleawa by encouraging her with your voice and your touch.”

“I needed that encouragement,” Sooleawa replied wearily, “I needed all the help I could get.” Ekaterina padded to the hammock, and Sooleawa placed her cub in the she bear’s paws. Ekaterina explored Sooleawa’s newborn cub, carefully exploring from the cub’s nose to her toes, the cub laughing and trying to push all four of her paws and feet at once into Ekaterina’s paws.

“I can’t stroke all four of your paws and feet at the same time!” Ekaterina laughed, kissing the cub’s nose.

“But I want it, I want you to!” the cub roared. Ekaterina giggled and kissed the cub’s paws and feet, smelling her scent, her newborn scent, Ekaterina catching her breath as she remembered the last time she’d smelt that scent.

“mama Ekaterina looks like she could have another cub right now,” blackberry remarked. Ekaterina sniffed hard, blinking back her tears.

“Oh dear,” Ekaterina said, swallowing hard, her paw held tightly in the cub’s tiny ones. The cub squeezed Ekaterina’s paw in hers, drawing up her hind feet and curling her toes in her efforts to squeeze the mama bear’s paw.

“Heuuuuuumph!” the cub gasped, Ekaterina laughing merrily, her tears falling on the cub’s belly and drawn up hind legs.

“that’s so sweet!” Blackberry laughed, as Sooleawa’s cub thrust at the air with her hind feet and wriggled madly in an effort to redouble her hold on Ekaterina’s paw.

“You are so cute little one,” Ekaterina said, the cub’s scent strong in her nostrils, as the little creature struggled to hold onto Ekaterina’s paw.

“I’m sure if she could get hold of both your paws and both your feet she would,” Sooleawa said, “my cub wants to hold your paw forever I think Ekaterina.” Ekaterina smiled broadly:

“She can explore all four of my paws if she wants, clamber all over me if she wants to also.”

“you want her to don’t you?” Sooleawa asked. Ekaterina lowered her head, and covered her eyes with her free paw, trying to hide her emotions.

“It’s so wrong!” Ekaterina sniffed, “no Sooleawa, I can’t ask it, but I want it so much!”

“you mean you’ll let me touch your other paw, and your feet too?” Sooleawa’s cub asked. Ekaterina shook her head, but Sooleawa went up to her, kissed her ear, then her nose and said:

“yes, you can touch her paw, and her feet,” Ekaterina rested her head on Sooleawa’s shoulder and burst into tears.

“thank you,” Ekaterina sobbed. Sooleawa kissed her wet nose once more.

“My cub needs someone who knows what she’s doing to teach her mother how to look after her,” Sooleawa replied.

“You mean like a nanny?” Sita asked.

“yeah, well, sort of like that,” Sooleawa replied, “at least until my cub is crawling, then, of course, she’ll come to your playgroups Sita.” Ekaterina scooped the cub into her hug, then sat down on the floor and rolled onto her back, the cub letting go of her paw and scrambling over Ekaterina’s belly, tumbling off and feeling her way to her hind feet, then exploring Ekaterina’s left hind foot with her paws.

“your foot likes my paws!” the cub laughed, Ekaterina curling her toes to trap the cub’s tiny paws. the cub, feeling her paw held by the toes of Ekaterina’s foot, began laughing, but then squealing and tugging at her now trapped right paw.

“Your toes have got my toes!” she yelled, tugging furiously. “Eeeeoeoeoeoeoeaowow! Eoeoeoeoeoeoaoaoaow!” the cub roared as she made efforts to free her paw, tugging and screaming. Ekaterina, feeling the cub’s need to play, sat up and grabbed the curled toes of her left foot in her paws.

“My toes won’t let go of yours, I must try and uncurl them with my paws!” Ekaterina gasped, panting as she tugged at her curled toes with one paw, then the other, then both paws, while the cub seemingly got more and more distressed, Ekaterina’s and the cub’s squeals of effort, one to free the other filling the room.

“Stop mama Stop!” the cub yelled after five minutes of Ekaterina screaming at her toes, begging them to let go of the cub’s paw, and the cub, screaming at her paw to tug harder to free itself.

“What?” Ekaterina asked, while Sooleawa stood by, looking concerned.

“just pant a bit,” the cub said, “that’s what mama did to let me flow into the world, maybe that’s what your toes need to let go of mine?”

Ekaterina felt the cub’s free paw exploring her own larger paws, then felt her dig with her toes between the digits to the curled toes of Ekaterina’s massive hind foot holding her own smaller paw.

“your paws struggling to uncurl your toes to free me are rather sweet,” the cub said, Ekaterina laughing at her words.

“I was only playing,” she replied, “but, but,,,”

“it was real, to me at least,” the cub said.

“To me too,” Ekaterina replied, delighted the cub could play so easily.

“So pant hard, and maybe, maybe your toes will let go of my paw?” the cub asked, “but,” she said, “maybe I don’t want them to now.” Ekaterina smiled and leant forward, kissing the top of the cub’s head.

“Ekaterina,” Sooleawa exclaimed, “your feet! You shave the hair between your pads?”

“I do,” Ekaterina said, “it is so I can feel the ground more with my pads, otherwise, I lose sensation. It’s because I can’t see my surroundings. I shave my paws too. it’s all right. I can feel your cub’s touch with more of my pads if I shave the fur on the sole of my foot. yes if I was on the snow, shaving the hair on the soles of my feet and paws would make them freeze, but I’m not on the snow, so I can give attention to my sensory need. You though Sooleawa, and most of the bears here who are not polar bears, have naked soles, or a little hair on the soles of their feet. Now I must try and uncurl my toes. oooah, ooaoaoaoaoh!” Ekaterina moaned as she panted to release the hold her toes had on Sooleawa’s cub’s paw. Sooleawa’s cub laughed as the toes of Ekaterina’s left foot uncurled, letting her paw go, while at the same time, the paws which had struggled to uncurl those toes enveloped her and lifted her into Ekaterina’s lap, then hugged her.

“I love your touch!” the cub laughed, snuggling into Ekaterina’s hug.

“Who’s cub is she?” blackberry asked.

“We’ll both take care of her,” Sooleawa replied, “I think I like Ekaterina’s playfulness.” Sooleawa’s cub reached up to Ekaterina’s face, Ekaterina gently blowing on the cub’s pads.

“I love you,” Ekaterina said to the small grey cub, the cub snuggling closer to her.

“Ekaterina and your cub truly believed they couldn’t free themselves,” Blackberry said, “that was so cute! Ekaterina tugging at her curled toes with her huge paws, your cub tugging at her trapped paw, both screaming their heads off, Ekaterina screaming at her toes, and the cub squealing and roaring as she tried to free her paw.”

“but my cub’s paw wasn’t really stuck was it?” Sooleawa asked uncertainly.

“No!” her cub laughed, “but it felt good to pretend it was, Mama Ekaterina’s toes were so warm and gentle. I think she thought her toes would never let go of mine you know.” Ekaterina laughed and gently groomed Sooleawa’s cub.

“hadn’t you better find food now?” Ekaterina asked. the cub, warm and safe, as well as interested in everything around her, sighed heavily.

“But play is so fun!” she whimpered.

“If you don’t have food, you can’t play,” Ekaterina said, pushing the cub towards Sooleawa. The cub drank her fill of Sooleawa’s milk, then settled down to sleep beside her.

“I don’t want to steal your cub,” Ekaterina said to Sooleawa.

“No, I know,” Sooleawa replied, “but, well, the way you played with her was an instant hit. How do you do that?”

“I don’t know how,” Ekaterina admitted, “my toes really were trapping your cub’s, and she felt her paw to be trapped by my toes. we both wanted to play the way we did. Everything was play, from the tugging, to the screaming and distress. Basically the more we fought, the more tightly my toes curled, and the more the cub’s paw refused to be let go by them. Of course, I was tugging at my toes with my paws, adding a little theatrical angle to the show. Then we both relaxed, and my toes uncurled, freeing your cub’s paw. it was wonderful play!”

“We loved it,” Sooleawa’s cub said sleepily, “I loved Ekaterina’s touch on my paw, her toes are cute.” Ekaterina laughed merrily at this and grabbed her right foot in her paws, playing with her toes in a very cub like manner.

“I think Ekaterina’s regained her playfulness,” Patch said, walking in and kissing his mate’s nose.

“Patch,” Ekaterina said, “can we go to our lie up and play silly foot and paw games?” patch nuzzled her ear:

“yes,” he replied, “but first, first I have to say hello to someone.” Sooleawa’s cub crawled over to Patch and scrambled into his lap, giggling as his paws embraced her.

“I watched your birth,” patch whispered, “your mama did very well little one.” The cub snuggled up to him.

“I know she did,” the cub said, “oh and nanny Ekaterina’s a great playmate too. her toes grabbed my paw!” Patch laughed, knowing how that felt, as well as having watched their game.

“I know how that feels,” he replied, “it’s lovely.”

“Does she grab your paws with her toes too?” Sooleawa’s cub asked.

“She does,” Patch replied, his eyes shining.

“but you must grab her paws with your toes in return too, you do don’t you?” the cub enquired.

“yes I do,” Patch replied laughing.

“now what shall we call this cub?” Ekaterina asked.

“How about calling her Yamka, it means Blossom, and is native American, just like Sooleawa’s name is, though it is from a different tribe I think.” Sooleawa grinned at this, got off the bed, and padded to where her cub sat in Patch’s lap. Sitting down, she snuggled up to Patch.

“I like that name, Yamka, it’s nice, and she did blossom too, when Ekaterina played with her, she responded immediately. Now I hope I can play as well as Ekaterina can, otherwise Yamka won’t find me very much fun at all.”

“I’ll leave you two to it,” Patch said, setting Yamka gently down in Sooleawa’s lap, Yamka looking very lost.

“They’re going aren’t they mum,” she said. Sooleawa replied that they were leaving for their own lie up.

“What will they do there?” Yamka asked, “will patch and Ekaterina Play?”

“They might, or they might not,” Sooleawa replied.

“I need my paws and feet shaved,” Ekaterina said, “the fur is getting a little long.”

“How far do you shave it?” Sooleawa asked.

“Back to smooth skin,” Ekaterina replied, “it’s better that way.”

“it’s nice to help my mate get her feet and paws in trim,” Patch mused.

“It is nice for me to have my feet and paws attended to,” Ekaterina replied similarly.

“it’s a bit difficult sometimes,” patch said, “I can’t hold the razor easily at some points, so Blackberry cleans up the job I do.”

“You do well,” Ekaterina replied, “it’s nice to feel you rub the cream into my pads and fur, then to shave the fur and pads. It’s lovely! I love it, right?” Patch laughed merrily.

“I know you do,” he replied, “I only wish I had Blackberry’s paws.”

“Why?” Ekaterina asked.

“So I could do what he can, so I can hold the razor properly,” Patch replied. Blackberry choked back a sob, tears rolling down his face.

“Patch,” Sita said, “do you mean that?”

“do I really have to answer that,” patch replied, “you know I would never say something like that unless I meant it Sita.”

“sorry,” Sita mewed.

“Come here Blackberry,” patch said, blackberry padding up to his leader, his sight blurred by tears.

“what can I do for you?” blackberry sobbed.

“Give me your paw my brother,” patch said, blackberry giving him his left paw, Patch holding it in both of his and examining it by touch and sight, first the top, then the pads, moving blackberry’s fingers and the opposable thumb with gentle care.

“blackberry,” patch said, “would you do something for me?”

“What?” blackberry asked.

“Can I have paws like yours?” blackberry nearly attacked patch.

“You want my paws?” he screamed, “Why? Why would you want my paws!”

“Not your paws,” patch replied, “paws like yours. Blackberry, dear blackberry. I would like to have what you have. I would like to be able to grip like you can. To give pleasure and care like you can.”

“but I would be deforming you, I can’t do that,” blackberry said.

“Not if you think of my paws as being deformed already,” patch replied, “you are then correcting them.”

“Your touch tells me you are sincere, that you do not intend to abuse me with your words or wishes,” blackberry replied, “but I can’t give you what I have.”

“is it impossible?” Patch asked, knowing that it wasn’t.

“No,” blackberry replied, “I have a scan of the inside of my paw, and of Sita’s too. we were playing with an MRI scanner. I know the structures.”

“Please, would you do it for me?” patch asked.

“I could,” Blackberry replied, “but it’s major surgery, it’s reconstruction! That’s a lot of work!”

“have you ever handled plasticine?” Patch asked.

“yes patch, I have, but, but how, how can that bear any relation to what you want me to do with your paws?”

“Could you make a paw like mine, then transform it into a paw like yours?” Patch asked.

“I could,” blackberry replied, his tears now dry, his eyes intent and bright.

“You remember how it was when I was moulding my own hind feet in the showers when Orbon gave me his body?” Patch asked.

“I saw the end of that,” blackberry replied, “you were sculpting your feet with your paws as I would plasticine. Though it was a bit crude, as you can’t do the delicate work I can.”

“yes,” Patch replied, “my feet are how I want them, but I couldn’t do with my paws what I really wanted. Blackberry, can you sculpt my paws so they work like yours?”

“how?” Blackberry asked.

“With your paws of course,” Patch replied, “look at the picture of your paw, then take each of my paws in yours and close your eyes. Then start sculpting and moulding my paws one by one.”

“You really trust me enough?” blackberry asked.

“yes,” Patch replied, “but I feel you don’t trust yourself.”

“I’m shit scared!” blackberry wailed.

“Do you know why Sita has paws like yours?” patch asked.

“Haimati birthed her that way,” Blackberry replied.

“no,” patch said, “she didn’t. I did. I gave her the tools to give her the abilities to do what she needed to do. I, unfortunately, was born with no thumbs. I am a bear in the traditional sense. Now, blackberry, I’m asking you to give me what you and Sita have.”

“but you could do that yourself,” blackberry replied.

“I don’t know how it feels to have paws like yours,” patch replied, “if you sculpt and mould my paws for me, you can tell me how it feels. What I should feel in my thumbs for instance.” Blackberry, feeling sick, looked down at Patch’s right paw. Patch let go of the black bear’s paw, and held out his own large left paw.

“Try it,” patch said. blackberry knew the layout of his paw, he knew it like the back of his own paw, but he felt uneasy about performing the service Patch had asked of him. Blackberry took patch’s paw and explored it. Carefully, he explored the pads, and digits, the sides and top, planning. He found his paws were super sensitive, and before he knew what he’d done, he’d moulded Patch’s paw in a likeness of his own, checking it by touch. Then he attended to Patch’s right paw in the same way. Blackberry finished his work after half an hour, gently touching all the surfaces of Patch’s paws, Patch bringing his thumbs over the tops of Blackberry’s paws and holding his fingers against the palms of his own newly sculpted paws. blackberry, brought out of his trance by the sudden pressure, shook his head and stared at his handiwork.

“they’re beautiful paws,” blackberry mumbled, “such beautiful paws Patch.”

“Now do you know how much you value your paws?” patch asked. blackberry looked up into patch’s face.

“What do you mean?” he asked rather cubbishly.

“You poured your love into sculpting my paws,” patch replied, “if you did not love your own paws, how could you bring yourself to sculpt their likeness on another?”

“I couldn’t have done it,” Blackberry replied, “unless, unless,” he stopped.

“You love your paws now, and know what they can do, for you have been shown by someone who loves theirs .” Patch replied, “you transmitted your love for your paws into your work on mine. Now Blackberry, now my brother, you have given me the means to love more with my paws, to do for Ekaterina what I have been longing to do for so many years., and for that, I thank you.” blackberry saw Patch flex his fingers, then link them together, twiddle his thumbs, and clap his paws.

“Now come here blackberry,” patch said, patting his lap with his paw. blackberry clambered into Patch’s lap without comment, surprised he could fit, and he fitted beautifully. Patch embraced Blackberry, the black bear snuggling into his hug, burying his face and paws in the thick fur. Patch smiling, breathed on blackberry’s head as if he were a mama bear, his paws embracing the fully grown black bear with tenderness.

“I will never forget this,” patch said, blackberry breathed in his scent, knowing every word was true.

“I love you Blackberry,” patch said softly. Blackberry, crying openly, clung to the grey bear’s fur with desperate paws..

“”Now promise me this,” Patch said, “Blackberry, please, love your paws, and your feet too. please?” blackberry promised he would, sniffing hard.

“Now I must go,” blackberry said hoarsely.

“I love your paws,” patch said, “and I love mine even more now I can do with them what I want to do with them.”

“You changed your paws to help others,” blackberry said, “Patch, are you comfortable with your paws? they are your paws and noone else’s.”

“I am comfortable with my paws Blackberry,” Patch replied, “the frustration has gone from them, now I know I can do what I wish to do, I can hold my mate’s paws and feet how I want to hold them, and how she wants me to hold them. for you have helped her shave the hair on the soles of her feet, I know she likes how you cradle her foot in your paws. I could not, until today, do that. Now I can do it, and for that I am grateful.”

“You got opposable thumbs so you could help me shave my paws and feet?” Ekaterina asked.

“I did my dear,” patch replied, “so I could cradle your foot and help you to shave the fur that stops you from sensing the ground with the whole of your sole pads and toe pads. Plus I can play with my own hind feet that much easier too.”

“that’s sweet, so lovely,” Ekaterina said, clearly trying not to cry.

“I did it for both of us,” Patch replied, “now though, I can introduce more varieties into our foot and paw play Ekaterina.” Ekaterina padded to patch, and he hugged her tightly.

“now come with me to our lie up, and I’ll help you regain sensation in your paws and feet,” patch said.

“you make helping Ekaterina shave sound like making love to her patch,” Sita said.

“Maybe it is just that,” blackberry replied, “maybe shaving her paws and feet so she can touch and feel with them is part of their love making, or can be now Patch can use that razor properly. I told him how to use it while I was moulding and sculpting his paws Sita.”

Patch and Ekaterina left the birthing dens, padding down the corridors and then riding the lift to their lie up, where Patch ran a bath. Once this was done, he got shaving cream and a new disposable razor from a cabinet while Ekaterina sat down on a special couch that kept her hind legs straight out in front of her, her heels cradled in depressions in soft wipe clean cradles. Patch moulded the foam to hold her heels one at a time, Ekaterina loving the touch of his paws as he moulded the foam to hold her heels snugly but comfortably. Once this was done, Patch, his mate’s hind feet at his eye level, washed her hind feet, then rubbed the shaving cream into her pads and toes, Ekaterina unable to stop her toes curling with pleasure at this ministration. Patch looked at the soles of his mate’s feet, taking in strong toes, thick sole pads, and the fur that grew between her toes and in the gap between her toe pads and sole pad.

“I’m going to shave off the fur between your toes, and the fur here,” patch said, touching the part of Ekaterina’s foot between her toe pads and sole pad where the joints of her toes met the main part of her foot, and the circle of hair around her sole pad, “I will shave it right back to smooth skin. Do you want that?”

“I do, I do!” Ekaterina replied giggling as patch’s touch thrilled and tickled her.

“You like me shaving your paws and feet don’t you,” patch said.

“I love it patch!” Ekaterina replied, wriggling with pleasure, “I wish that we’d started it earlier than this, I wanted to feel things with my paws and feet when I was a cub too, but noone knew how to shave my paws and feet then, now though, now I can feel so much with my paws and feet!”

“your paws and feet know how to play, they always did,” Patch replied, “but you suppressed their will for so long.”

“now let me get on with this,” patch said, fitting a bowl beneath the pedestal, then gently drawing the razor down the sole of his mate’s foot, shaving the hair back to bare skin by gently working with the razor with and against the grain. Washing each foot after shaving, he gently dabbed on antiseptic to cleanse the area, then let Ekaterina swing her feet off the pedestal and she joined him in the tub.

“Now you can shave my paws while we’re here warm and comfortable in the tub,” Ekaterina replied. Patch threw away the old razor and got a fresh one, then taking her right paw in his left, he shaved Ekaterina’s right paw, shaving the pads, making sure only naked pad remained.

“This is intense treatment,” Ekaterina replied, “but it’s necessary, and I like it.”

“I love grooming you, playing with your paws and feet and generally making a fuss of you,” Patch admitted, Ekaterina giggling with pleasure and trying to give Patch all four of her paws and feet at once.

“I can’t embrace all four of your feet at once my love,” Patch replied, pushing Ekaterina onto her back and splashing water over her pads and toes, Ekaterina laughing helplessly at his antics.

“I love you handling my feet and paws,” Ekaterina said, “pressing my pads with your paws, bending my toes, and massaging my pads. I can curl my toes you know, unaided too!”

“I know you can,” patch replied, as Ekaterina curled the toes of her left hind foot around the fingers of Patch’s right paw, squeezing his finger tips tightly.

“I love what you do to enable me to feel my world,” Ekaterina said. Patch smiled:

“I love that you let me touch you, rather than touch a bundle of fur on your paws and feet,” Patch replied, “I love touching your toes, and your sole pads, drawing circles on your pads, making your toes curl and uncurl with pleasure.”

“I wish I had naked pads like you patch,” Ekaterina said, “I know you can now shave my pads, and that is lovely, but, but, it would be nice to have pads like yours, or like Mishka’s, naked pads, so I can touch the ground with my whole foot and paw.”

“We could wax your pads,” patch replied, “but that would hurt you, and I don’t want to do that.”

“I’m not in the pain game,” Ekaterina replied, “maybe shaving every day would be the way to go.”

“maybe it would,” Patch replied smiling. “Well we could do that, I could shave your paws and feet every day.”

“I wouldn’t object to that,” Ekaterina replied, “I’d love it, and my feet and paws would too.”

“You now have naked soles and paws,” patch replied, “you have beautiful paws and feet too. I love your pads hairless, because I know when I trace your pads and touch your toes, you can really feel my touch. You can also feel the touch of cubs as they play too.”

“I loved it when Yamka let me play with her paws using my feet,” Ekaterina said.

“your toes curled round her paw and held it, and she loved that,” patch replied, rubbing the ball of Ekaterina’s foot, then the underside of her toes, just below the pads in his paws, massaging them.

“patch,” Ekaterina whispered, “could you make my soles hairless? Please?”

“I could try,” patch replied. “for, for I did it for Sita. She has naked pads and toes. I made that happen for her.”

“could you make it happen for me? is it justifiable?” Ekaterina asked.

“it is justifiable,” Patch replied, “My lovely pure Blossom, it is very justifiable. The hair on your feet and paws blinds you to your world further than is bearable for you. I can feel that, I know that. Ekaterina,” Patch said, gently stroking the ball of her foot, this will be the last time I will have to shave your pads, and the last time you will feel hair on the soles of your feet.” Patch touched every part of the sole of both Ekaterina’s feet and paws, Ekaterina sobbing with relief. Patch then drew his paws down the soles of all four of Ekaterina’s feet, Ekaterina curling and stretching her toes twice, once lightly curling and stretching, and a second time, tightly curling and violently stretching her toes.

“now I will wash your feet once more,” patch said. Ekaterina exploring her feet with her paws, finding she couldn’t feel her pads as well as she used to be able to.

“I’ve lost sensation in my paws and feet patch!” she squealed, bursting into tears.

“Ekaterina,” patch replied gently, “my lovely Ekaterina Adsila, pull off those gloves, take off those socks, and then join me here, bare pawed and barefooted in the bathtub.” Ekaterina, half choking on her tears, got out of the pool and dried her paws and feet. She explored her wrists with her nose and mouth, feeling a join where there should not be one. Closing her eyes, she took the lifted skin, for it was skin, in her teeth and pulled the glove off her right paw, then off her left. It didn’t hurt, not like that last time. Then it had been hell, but not now. Ekaterina, squealing with excitement, knew what she must do to free her hind feet once and for ever. Breathless, she explored her right leg with both paws, yes, there it was, a sock on her right foot, and one on her left, the top just above her ankle joint. Gasping with excitement she explored her feet some more. . patch, watching her, his eyes shining, said:

That’s it Ekaterina, socks off before you bathe.” Ekaterina giggled, and it sounded like the giggle of a cub. Ekaterina pulled off her right sock, then her left, throwing her gloves and socks away. Patch stood up on his hind feet in the water, lifted his mate up, then placed her in the tub so her paws and feet were submerged, and she sat on the bottom of the pool.

“My paws and feet are stinging a little,” Ekaterina gasped, “but, but, I can feel so much now! I can touch things now!”

“I know Ekaterina love,” patch replied, “you have wanted to get back in touch for years, and now you have done it. Now you can play with everyone naked pad to naked pad, as you want to play.”

“To have naked paws and feet has been a dream of mine,” Ekaterina replied, “I need them Patch.”

“I know,” Patch replied gently.”

“Thank you patch,” Ekaterina said, her eyes shining into his, her toes curling round his under the water, their heels touching.

“I can feel with the whole of my foot, from my toes to my heels!” Ekaterina yelled, her voice that of a young she bear who’d just found out the delights of playing with her own feet.

“You were not truly bare pawed,” Patch replied, “but now you are truly bare pawed, as you are meant to be. Love it Ekaterina, embrace it, play with your feet, and let them play with you, for they will.”

“I will Patch, I promise!” Ekaterina said, Patch bent his legs, lifting his feet out of the water, so they could touch paws and feet at the same time. Bending and splaying their knees a little, they touched each other’s paws between their legs, both holding onto each other’s toes, Patch’s right foot holding the toes of Ekaterina’s left, the toes of her right foot holding those of Patch’s left. In this way, they could just about touch forepaws.

“maybe if we press our toes together, it would be easier,” patch suggested, so they did, the balls of their feet and toes pressed together, while they held paws as best they could over their braced toes.

“This is so much fun!” Ekaterina laughed.

“I agree, it is,” Patch replied laughing.

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