The Hybrid Fateful Sorrow

A Furry Beastlyfriend

[ Early Spring, nine years ago before the fateful day ]

Spring is one of the best seasons where everyone is starting a new life. They tear those old pages for a new one ready to be carved with hopes and dreams of a fruitful life.

As if they were fated to meet each other, Gray and the bear Boris have welcomed the lovely shine of spring. They are both considered beasts, yet having the heart to care not just themselves, Gray to his lovely daughters, while Boris to her newborn and healthy bear cubs, Lily and Hope.

The land that was once covered with snow has started to melt, opening the chance for the flowers, fruits, berries to spurt from their sheltered life as they are raised eagerly as if enticed by the warmth of spring.

Gray and the bear Boris move near the cave door to witness the beauty nature is offering. Pleasant illumination of sunlight, birds are singing, even the little bugs and insects that climb the trees’ trunk.

Bear Boris growled in excitement as she stood leaning forward on the trees to snack on the insects; her bear cubs, Lily, and Hope followed as they stumbled clumsily towards their mama bear.

“That’s not going to work for me, Boris,” Gray said.

Gray looks around the surroundings and notices the green leaves with red lips. He saunters on the wet, melting snow towards the plant. It was delicious-looking fresh strawberries. Gray whistled at Boris, signaling her to come down from the tree and have some snack together with him.

“Hey! Boris! I’m sure you will love this!” Gray yelled.

While the bear Boris continued to munch on the insects hiding in the trunks, her adorable bear cubs could not wait for their mama bear as they skipped towards Gray. The two bear cubs run bouncing; upon reaching Gray, they stand as they hold his legs, helping them reach the strawberries.

“Oh easy now! Lily, Hope, take it easy,” Gray said.

He gazes at the two bears confusedly, as the twin cubs look very similar. He forgot who Lily is and who Hope is. He steps back to fix the situation as the twin cubs fall sitting to the land; with a puzzled look, they gaze at Gray.

“Okay so please growl at me if your name is called,” Gray said.

The twin cubs tilt both of their heads as they listen to Gray.

“Hey, don’t look at me like that, you should be responsible with the name given to you,” Gray said.

Gray stared at the twin cubs, looking for a characteristic that would differ them; seeing the other one has a lighter brown ear than the other, he proceeded to question them.

“So who is Lily? Please speak up,” Gray asked.

The twin bears fall silent until one of them, who has a darker ear, stands up on her own and turns toward the strawberries to continue to eat. At the same time the other cubs which have a lighter ear stayed sitting as she stared at Gray.

“Alright, you are Lily now, and Hope is the naughty one who just ignored me,” Gray said as he smiled.

He was delighted, and his heart was happy even if they were not humans. Gray feels accepted, especially that he is now not alone.

Gray steps closer to continue to eat the strawberries while Lily stands, clutching his legs to reach the strawberries and eat. Although, while he eats, he could hear a grumbling at his back, it was Boris, the brown bear who walks closer to them and sits nearby the strawberry as she pulls the leaves and feeds herself.

“Pretty good, right?” Gray said towards Boris.

The bear growled in agreement as she continued to eat.

After a while, Gray rests his mouth as she steps away and sits on the ground to take a break while he observes the bears continuing to consume the berries.

“We’ll need more than berries for those hungry bellies you all got, how about some good protein?” Gray uttered.

Gray focuses his hearing with his blind colorless eye and his moonlight eye that turns into vermilion red, using his hybrid capability to listen for a nearby stream and bubbling sound. However, he loses concentration once he hears the growling of Boris.

The bear Boris gazes and wanders her brown eyes to the beastly red eyes of Gray.

‘I forgot about my eyes, It will scare my friend,’ Gray thought.

But the bear could not see the color red as she growled and mumbled back towards the plant and continued to gobble the strawberries.

Feeling accepted, Gray stood up eagerly as he called the attention of the bears.

“Do you want some protein to those bellies you all got? Then follow me,” Gray uttered.

Gray started to walk away, sauntering the forest towards the smell of water. At his back were the adorable cubs, Lily and Hope, stumbling at the path Gray left while their mother, Boris, followed behind them.

He led the bear and the cubs to the nearby river. Hearing the gushes of water, Boris mumbled happily as she headed up to the water immediately along with her cubs.

Boris stands in the middle of the river as she waits patiently for the passing fish. Then, with her sharp teeth, she pounces on the water; by the time she raises her mouth, a fish is caught inside, flapping as it tries to get away from her clutch.

Boris walks closer to Gray, who watches them from the riverfront. Then she places the fish near Gray and returns to the river, seeing her cubs playing in the water. The bear Boris moved closer to her cubs and proceeded to teach them how to fish.

“This is nice,” Gray let out.

The bear Boris has grown accustomed to Gray’s appearance, smell, and voice as they spend most of their time together either hunting for food or sleeping back at their cave with the bear’s cubs Lily and Hope.

Gray would continue to speak at her with just about everything he could say while she growled back at him, acknowledging his existence.

[ Early Autumn, eight years ago before the fateful day ]

A year and a half have passed, they still stick together, and their bonds have grown stronger as Gray comes back to the cave as he carries the lazy yearling cub Lily while Hope follows at his back.

It was the end of summer and the coming of autumn; as the fall started, the air turned crisp, leaves changed, and fell from the trees. Their hunt for food is once again active; Boris and the cubs would eat non-stop, putting on more weight as they prepare themselves for the cruel winter.

Even though Boris bonds strongly with Gray, she doesn't feel the same about other humans, just like Gray, who still hates the cruelty of people and their disgusting desires.

While in his Devil form, Gray showed his fishing skill with his light-speed movement and sharp-inch nails. He could seize a hundred fish in just a minute filling the basket with salmon. At the same time, Boris, and her yearling sit at the riverfront with their tongues out and their excitement to the basket that Gray holds.

They growled in anticipation as they greeted him on his return. Gray poured the basket filled with salmon to the ground near them as they eagerly munch the fish filling their bellies to their hearts’ content.

Gray was about to return to the river to fill the basket once again as he knew it would not be enough for his gluttonous friends. But while he was in Devil form, he could hear a woman cry for help. Of course, a human asking for someone to save them, Gray wants to come to their aid, but he knows interacting with humans has always caused the tragedy in his life.

Gray stood unmoving as he asked himself.

“Forget about them, you are happy now. Don’t break this chance that you got,” Gray uttered.

“Everyone moves on with their lives even without you intervening. Let’s pretend, sleep it off, forget about it,” Gray added.

The bear Boris stands at his back and playfully holds Gray’s shoulder. She purrs while she licks his cheeks.

“Hey now stop Boris! But hey, you are my best friend, what do you think? Should I go and save these pitiful humans?” Gray asked.

The yearling Lily and Hope clasp Gray’s legs and hold on to it as they stand.

“Oh now you two as well! You don’t want me to go right or —” Gray said as he turned around.

Dragging with him were the bears as he turned his body, seeing they had finished devouring all the salmon. The hugs and embrace were meant for him to get some more of those delicious fish.

“Oh, how about you work those bellies now and fish some salmon, otherwise you would always depend on me,” Gray let out.

Gray once again heard another cry for help from his keen hearing while his feet instinctively moved towards the sound, he questioned himself.

“What’s wrong with you!” Gray said.

“Galiet, you might regret this if you disregard it. This might linger in your mind for a long time. Maybe you should go,” Käresta said.

He once again heard an ear-splitting cry.

Gray instinctively plunges towards the wailing sound, hopping from tree to tree as he soared the sky, leaving his furry best friend.

“You want to play the hero again, don’t you?” Rassa said in his mind.

“Be quiet Rassa, this is what Galiet wants,” Wolfvir said in his mind.

“I just don’t like loud noises,” Gray said.

Gray glides towards the ground upon seeing a ravaged caravan. As soon as he sets foot on the dirt, the fresh blood invades his nose from the mauled dead body of a couple, possibly a wife and a husband.

“Hmm, I smell something, cloudberries?” Gray uttered.

Not long after, he heard the wail again ahead to the caravan’s path; Gray dismisses the smell as he immediately sprints and leaps towards the cry. However, he heard a low whine after gaining distance from the caravan, but what’s ahead is trouble and his current priority.

“Wait for my return, my furry best friend!”