"Well, it's about the only thing we've found so far." Shachi bent over, hands on his knees, to inspect a tall berry bush in the thick snow. The leaves were very...well, bushy. Underneath the small green clusters were bunches of little purple berries. Summer stooped to pick out one, rolling it between her fingers in thought.
"It looks to be the right one. Bearberry bushes don't have any mimic plants either, so…"
"Mimic plants?" Shachi asked, glancing in her direction. She squished the small berry between her thumb and finger and watched the dark purple juice run down her hand.
"Yeah, you haven't heard of them?" When he shook his head, she continued. "They're plants that have evolved to look almost exactly like other plants but they're deadly."
Shachi looked back at the bush with a shudder. "Well, I guess it's comforting to know there aren't any of those for this kind of bush."
"Hmm...I say we gather the berries and then check with Casper when we get back. He'll know for sure."
Taking out a canvas sack from his coat pocket, Shachi began collecting the small berries, Summer helping him.
"Bepo!" Law shouted, struggling to keep up with the polar bear. While Bepo's body was made for this type of climate, the captain's shoes slipped and slid all over the snowy ground. But what worried Law wasn't the chance of falling and breaking his neck.
He hadn't seen his first mate ever act like this before. Even now, when he called out to him, there was little to no response. Something in Bepo had awakened, some animal instinct that even their friendship couldn't overcome. Whatever it was up ahead, Bepo was set on finding it.
They continued running towards a large hill in front of them, gently sloping upwards but somehow being just as difficult as a mountain to Law. The good news was that it seemed Bepo was slowing down, and Law just managed to climb onto his back as he loped up the slope.
"What is it?" Law shouted over the swirling wind. Eyes squinted, he gazed out over the hill but couldn't see anything.
"There!" Bepo exclaimed, though to himself or his Captain, Law wasn't sure. Either way, Law was able to make out a white body further below them in the snow, and apparently that was what Bepo had been looking for.
They descended the hill quickly, Bepo bracing his legs so as not to tumble forward. Law was thankful of this, for he was still hanging on tightly to the bear's back. Once the ground had evened out, Law jumped off Bepo's back and watched as the bear continued towards the white mound of something.
"Hey! Are you alright?" Bepo called out, coming beside whatever it was and brushing off the snow. To his surprise, Law realized it was another polar bear, slightly smaller in size than Bepo. The bear was laying on the ground, seemingly sleeping or unconscious, and Bepo tried to heave the animal up to its feet.
The bear gave a strangled roar, and Bepo cocked his head. Law watched the exchange with interest and bewilderment. "Can you communicate?" He asked his first mate.
With a nod, Bepo continued to listen to whatever the bear's roars translated to. All the while, Bepo struggled to lift the bear to its feet.
"She said that the plants have become harder to find on this island and that she won't make it through hibernation" Bepo told Law once the bear had stopped. "She's asking for us to help her."
Law raised an eyebrow. Normally he wasn't one to save every dying animal he came across. It just wasn't practical. But the fact that this was a polar bear, and a female bear at that, made it important to Bepo and Law wouldn't let his companion down.
"Can she walk or must we drag her?"
"Can you walk?" Bepo asked, and the bear gave a tired moan. Nonetheless, she forcefully pushed herself to her feet. The snow beneath her feet made her slip a little, but she retained her balance.
"She says she'll walk for as long as she can." With a nod, Law led the way back to the submarine.
"Hey, hey look at that!" Shachi whispered, pointing somewhere in the bushes. Summer followed his finger and spotted two small hares sniffing around on the ground. They crouched down to avoid making noise and scaring them away. Summer placed the bag gently on the snow, carefully watching the animals.
"Do you have any ranged weapons?" Summer whispered, and Shachi got out his gun. With a roll of her eyes she shook her head. "Really? No slingshot or small bow and arrow? You gotta go all the way and use a freakin' pistol?"
"What? It's the only thing I have." He shrugged, checking the ammo.
"That's gonna be so loud." Summer took the gun and aimed it at the hare on the left. It was chewing a small blade of grass that had somehow managed to poke through the snow. Putting it in her sights, she breathed evenly.
"Come on, Summer-chan, I want meat!" He whispered, and though she wasn't looking she could practically see him salivating at the thought. With a smirk, she pulled the trigger.
The little animal dropped dead without suffering, but the other one instantly hopped away into the brush. Shachi was up and running a second later.
"I'll get it!" He yelled, sprinting towards the escaped hare. Summer was left behind to clean the one they had killed. She only shook her head and laughed, watching his figure comically try to catch the hare.
"Only you could be bested by a rabbit, Shachi." She muttered, kneeling next to the dead hare. Her shot through it's heart had killed it instantly, and she was only glad it hadn't suffered in death. Taking out her knife, she set to work on the little creature.
The bear only made it a mile or two before collapsing to the snow in exhaustion. From there, Bepo had to carry the polar bear on his back, with Law hanging onto one of her enormous paws in an attempt to help in some way. Law didn't realize how far they'd walked until they had to return.
No one really spoke on the way back. They were too focused on getting the bear back to the submarine. The majority of Law's time was spent watching the strange interaction of his first mate and the animal. Strange only because Bepo had never really taken an interest such as this in anything but the crew. And it slightly worried him.
ns 15.158.61.16da2
