Episode 108
While Brody was stepping into the domain of the black bear’s ultimate leader…
“You lazy rabbit! How long are you planning to sleep? Everyone else is out working hard! Ugh!”
Kernels grumbled to himself, completely unaware that Brody had left while he was away eating breakfast.
Guarding the empty house, Kernels tossed acorns at the window to wake her up.
When that didn’t work, he finally flew over to the door in frustration. Pecking at it to get the rabbit up, he noticed something peculiar: The door was slightly ajar.
His eyes widened in shock.
“Huh? Why is this open?”
Kyle always made sure to close the door when leaving. A chill ran down Kernels’s spine as he pushed the door further open.
Creeeak.
The eerie sound of the hinges only made the empty interior more unsettling. Seeing the vacant house, Kernels panicked, yelling,
“Rabbit! Rabbit, where are you!”
He searched every corner of the hut and its surroundings, but Brody was nowhere to be found.
Realizing he’d have to tell Kyle about this, Kernels screamed in despair.
“Kyaaahhh!”
***
I should’ve realized sooner.
Just hearing about a father with multiple lovers and siblings from different mothers should’ve been a clue that this young bear’s father wasn’t an ordinary man.
While Brody wasn’t particularly afraid, knowing that black bears were generally lenient toward weaker creatures like her, meeting the black bear leader unexpectedly still made her nervous.
As Brody debated whether to leave the cub and return home, they arrived at a massive door at the end of the corridor.
“What if Dad gets mad at me?”
Shanikah hesitated in front of the entrance, seemingly worried now that the possibility of being scolded crossed his mind.
Seeing the child falter, Brody couldn’t just abandon him. Comforting him with a promise to smooth things over, she led him inside.
The chamber they entered was a grand audience hall.
A red carpet stretched from the entrance to the center of the hall, where a high platform stood. On that platform, seated on a throne, was a man.
Brody immediately realized that this man was none other than Walter Alcamon, leader of the black bears.
As the gravity of the situation hit her, the rabbit who had just reassured Shanikah froze, instinctively hiding behind him.
The hall was dimly lit by torches, casting shadows across the imposing figure of the black bear leader draped in his dark fur.
His relaxed posture and confident aura screamed that he was the boss here.
The problem, though, was obvious: Walter Alcamon didn’t seem to know or care that his child had been missing for days.
Instead, he lounged on his throne, surrounded by women fanning him, laughing and chatting as if there wasn’t a care in the world.
Brody’s face twisted in irritation.
Her instincts were right—Walter greeted the hesitant Shanikah warmly when he finally spotted him walking hesitantly down the carpet.
“Oh, my son Shanikah! You’ve come to see me! What brings you here?”
Unbelievable.
Brody couldn’t hide her shock. The man hadn’t even noticed his child had been missing.
She’d heard stories of his hedonistic ways and numerous children, but seeing his carefree demeanor in the flesh was infuriating.
Looking at the crestfallen Shanikah, who had lowered his head with sad eyes, Brody felt her anger boil over.
Emerging from behind Shanikah, she marched forward, raising her paw and shouting.
“Hey, you!”
Her sharp voice echoed through the hall, drawing the attention of everyone present. After a moment of stunned silence, the women around Walter began to laugh.
“Leader, your youngest has brought a rabbit friend!”
“A rabbit? Shanikah must have inherited your charm!”
Walter, chuckling, joined in.
“Haha, Shanikah, why didn’t you befriend a lion from the lower valley or a wolf from the neighboring hills? People should stick to their own kind.”
The mocking tone infuriated Brody further. Ignoring the laughter, she clenched her fists and shouted.
“Stick to your own kind? Is that why you were too busy to notice that your son had run away?”
“Run away?”
Walter, who had been lounging casually, suddenly sat upright.
“What do you mean, ‘run away’?”
Shanikah, clearly disappointed, tugged on Brody’s paw, trying to lead her out.
“Let’s just go, rabbit.”
“No way! I’m not leaving!”
Brody shook him off and continued, her voice rising.
“Yes, run away! While you were busy flirting with your girlfriends, your son was hiding in our valley for days. Alone!”
Her words struck a nerve.
The women quickly slipped out of the hall, sensing trouble, while Walter descended from his throne, approaching Shanikah with a worried look.
“Shanikah, is this true? Why didn’t you tell me? Did I do something to upset you?”
Walter still didn’t seem to understand his son’s pain. Shanikah remained silent, tears streaming down his face.
Stepping in, Brody answered for him.
“The problem is that you’ve done nothing. You didn’t care enough to notice he was gone. How could you not realize your own child was missing for days? Is that what a parent does?”
The harsh truth left Walter momentarily speechless.
As if her words had given him permission, Shanikah finally broke down, crying uncontrollably.
To Shanikah, his father had always been a distant figure, someone he rarely saw even once a month.
While his siblings had their own mothers to love them, Shanikah had no one after his mother passed.
The only person left to love him was his father.
Realizing that even his father didn’t care about him deeply saddened and isolated Shanikah.
These feelings of neglect eventually accumulated into a deep sorrow that erupted into tears.
Walter Alcamon, taken aback by the situation, looked at his son with a confused expression before finally pulling him into an embrace.
However, it was evident that he was unfamiliar with the act of comforting a child.
His awkward attempt at hugging Shanikah made him seem more like an older brother than a father. Perhaps his relatively young age as the leader of the tribe contributed to this impression.
With rough hands, he gently stroked Shanikah’s head, trying to console him.
“I’m sorry, Shanikah. I didn’t realize how you felt,” he said.
Hearing this, Brody clenched her teeth, holding back a biting retort about how he could’ve realized if he spent even half as much time on his children as he did with women.
Despite this, seeing Shanikah pour out his emotions into his father’s arms, Brody bit her tongue.
Exhausted from her outburst, Brody plopped down onto the floor.
Once Shanikah had cried himself to sleep in his father’s arms, Brody, still wary of the repercussions of her earlier harsh words, quietly tried to slip out of the hall.
Just as she reached the doorway, Walter’s voice called out behind her.
“Wait, Miss Rabbit.”
Startled, Brody turned around, feigning nonchalance.
“Yes? What is it?”
Walter, still seated on the floor and gazing at his son, finally looked up.
“You were the one who brought Shanikah back, weren’t you?”
“Yeah, that was me. Dragged him here kicking and screaming. You’re welcome.”
She replied curtly, hoping her bluntness would end the conversation quickly.
However, instead of anger or irritation, Walter’s response was unexpectedly sincere.
“Thank you.”
Brody, surprised, studied him for a moment before letting out a sigh.
At least he wasn’t entirely unreasonable. If he could acknowledge his flaws, there might be a chance for change.
Her tense expression softened slightly, and she responded.
“Well, at least he managed to eat properly while he was out. He scavenged honeycombs near the border and caught salmon.”
Walter chuckled faintly at that, though his gaze remained on his son, filled with an awkward mix of pity and unfamiliarity.
After a moment’s hesitation, he spoke again.
“To be honest, I never realized Shanikah wanted my attention. He never came to me, and in our tribe, men typically live apart from their children. I’ve never felt a connection to any of them, and none of my other kids seemed to expect emotional support from me.”
Hunched over and confiding in a rabbit he’d just met, Walter seemed less like a mighty leader and more like an immature parent.
Brody sighed again, holding back her exasperation as she explained.
“No matter the custom, a parent is still a parent. Every child wants their parent’s attention. Your other kids probably gave up on you a long time ago, that’s all.”
“I see.”
Walter nodded thoughtfully, as though considering her words for the first time.
Brody felt her frustration rising again, but she held her tongue.
She had seen the damage neglectful fathers could inflict on their children. She didn’t want Shanikah to grow up feeling the same emptiness and insecurity.
Hoping to prevent that, she made an earnest plea.
“Don’t let Shanikah give up on you. Neglecting a child is like depriving a growing tree of water. It’ll wither. Shanikah has no mother to fill the void your absence creates. That’s why your role is even more important. He needs you now more than ever.”
Walter nodded once more, though Brody wasn’t sure if he fully grasped the weight of her words.
Still, for Shanikah’s sake, she chose to leave it at that.
After a moment of silence, she made another attempt to leave, only for Walter to interrupt her again.
“By the way, I didn’t catch your name. What is it?”
Brody clicked her tongue, frustrated by the second delay, and replied in a flat tone.
“Brody.”
“Brody?”
Walter repeated, his expression suddenly darkening.
