Danger to the World of Nature

The Melting Ice

Kallik

Kallik and her mother crept across the ice, chasing for the seal. The weather was hotter than usual. It was getting harder to find food. She imagined her teeth, plunging into the rich flesh of her prey. The mist was doing her a favour now and the seal couldn’t smell or hear her. As she got closer to the seal, she felt the ice falling before her paws. Oh no. She thought worriedly. She and Nisa frantically ran to the nearest glacier, but there was none. All of the glaciers had either melted or tumbled fiercely into the sea. They were trapped. What was happening to our home? Oh, Silaluk, please save us

What should we do?

Toklo

Toklo didn’t understand why they couldn’t move somewhere else. The elders had lectured about the great tiger, Arcturus always watching over them and the great tiger Arcturus sending them signs and the great tiger Arcturus blessing them with this blissful tree. But Toklo had never believed the great stories the elders told. He only believed that if they didn’t move now, the flat faces will get them. The other tigers had never seen what happened to the other tigers which had gone missing. They never knew where the other pack of tigers went. Who would listen to a lowly patrol tiger? Why don’t they understand what the flat faces do?!

Land

Kallik

‘It is time to go to land. The signs of Silaluk say so.' Nisa said.
‘Already?!’ Asked Kallik.
‘Yes. Now,' said her mother ‘The ice caps are melting too fast. We will swim to land and in between, we will rest on ice.'
Kallik swam and swam and swam and finally, she found a piece of ice. She climbed onto it and felt like she wanted to sleep there forever. Nisa cuffed her cub lightly. ‘It’s okay little one. You can rest now.'
They continued swimming for land and finally, they were there.
Kallik found how easy it was to sleep. She rested her sore legs on a patch of leaves and fell into darkness.

Who would listen?

Toklo

A few nights before, he saw some Flat-faces with yellow pelts wrapped around them. Toklo had remembered so clearly what the flat-faces did to Tough and Golden. They stole him and tested him with dirty water and poisoned food. Tough had been undoubtedly one of the strongest tigers, but even he had died from the experiment for so long. Golden had died the first few days without drinking or eating anything. Not to mention the trees. The trees had been their only cover when hunting, but the flat-faces had left the rainforest near to bold. The bold forest had left them no shelters and was easier for bears to hunt and eat. Toklo knew they had to move, but a lowly patrol tiger? Who would listen to him?

The strange animal

Kallik

Kallik woke up with a strange animal looking at her face.
‘Ahh!’ screamed Kallik.
‘Woah, Woah Woah! Calm down! I won’t hurt you!’ Said the strange animal.
‘What are you?’ asked Kallik.
‘Well, that’s insulting! My name is Toklo and I’m a tiger! One of the most ferocious animals here! What are you? I’ve never seen an animal like you! Also, did you swim all the way here? Where’s your parents?’
‘ One day, when I woke up, I couldn’t find my mother. and I’m an Ice Bear. I swam all the way here. I’m from the place Where Spirits Dance’

Toklo

‘Are you hungry?’ Asked Toklo when they were walking back to the tiger pack’s territory.
‘A little.' Kallik said.
‘Okay! I think my Pack Alpha would like to share!’
But when they got back to the pack, it was a disaster. Flat-faces were attacking tigers and blood was everywhere. Flat-faces used their loudsticks and shot multiple tigers down. BANG! BANG! BANG! Suddenly, Kallik shot forward and knocked multiple flat faces down. She pounded down two flat faces and scratched them furiously. That made the tigers come back to the present. The tigers pounced forward and grabbed for all the flat faces. Finally, the flat faces fell back and they were safe once more.
‘Who is this newcomer?’ Asked the Pack Alpha.
‘She is an Ice Bear. I found her by the shore and she is very hungry’ Said Toklo. A sudden hush fell over all the tigers.
‘Is she an Ice Bear?’
‘She looks so small!’
‘Legend has it that they have unpierceable skin!’
‘Don’t forget the super-strength!’
‘Okay then. We will give her food. She will also stay with us until the next moon circle,' said the Pack Alpha with kindness in her eyes. ‘You saved us. We owe you a debt.'

The atttack

The shape-shifter

Kallik

Kallik looked around the giant room. There was a flat-face sitting at the desk in front of her. There were metal dens around her and a flying banner on top of her. Flat faces were swarming around her. The flat-face looked in Kallik's direction and smiled. Then, the whole room got blurry. The flat faces were fewer now. Some of them went into one of those metal dens and came back out carrying a whole lot of food. Finally, the flat faces disappeared. Only the same flat-face was here. He was packing his stuff and leaving. Suddenly, he turned into a bear and everything got blurry again.
‘Kallik! Kallik!’ Someone was shouting Kallik’s name but Kallik couldn’t make out who. Then, Kallik’s eyes focused again. Toklo was looking at her with urgent eyes. ‘One of the patrol tigers found out the flat-faces are coming back! We have to get ready!
‘Hey, Toklo. I just had the weirdest……’ Kallik started.
‘Not now! The tiger pack is in jeopardy!’
‘It’s just……’
‘Not now I said!’ Toklo growled.
‘JUST LISTEN TO ME,’ Kallik boomed. ‘I just had a dream of a bear who could shape-shift. I think he could help us.'
‘Really? How?’ Asked Toklo.
‘Just you wait,' said Kallik.
While one of the elders was fighting, he shouted, ‘Run away, kids! Find someone else to help us!’

The Animal People

Toklo

‘Where exactly are we going?’ Toklo asked.
‘A flat-face town.' Kallik said.
An annoying raven was flying in the sky, cawing at them.
‘That’s exactly what you said just now,' Toklo wanted to ask more, but he thought that Kallik would say the same thing over and over again.
Finally, they were at the flat-face town.
‘Wow!’ Kallik exclaimed, ‘All these Flat-faces have the spirit of an animal! Look at that flat-face! He has the spirit of a caribou, and that flat-face has the spirit of a bear!’ Suddenly, the flat-face that Kallik was pointing at turned into a bear. He walked in the direction of Toklo and Kallik. “ Greetings travellers. I am Tinnchu. This is the town of the Animal People. My people have always had the spirit of two animals. I can change from bear to human. The person you want to find is Ujurak. He can take the form of many animals.'
‘Woah!’ Toklo said. ‘How did he know all that?!'
‘No wonder the raven was circling us the whole time!’ Kallik said.
‘What!? There was a raven above our heads the whole time and you didn’t tell me?’ Toklo shouted.
While the bear and tiger were following Tinnchu, they saw a few of those metal dens Kallik saw in her dreams. Some of the flat-faces emerged from the dens and exclaimed in awe.
They stopped at the farthest end of the road. A single metal den was there. Then a young teenage boy came out of it.