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In some ways, it seemed like a pretty typical year at the river. The salmon were timely and seemed plentiful. The water had been high after the spring melt but was settling back into something easier to fish, both down in the lower river and up at the falls. The bears, however, could tell that there had been some pretty significant changes – notably the shifts in power, with 856 taking a step back from his previous leadership and Chunk taking over as beat #1 in the dominance hierarchy.
But some things just didn’t change that quickly, and this sunny afternoon found a typical scene: 856 settled into the office, and his long-time rival 747 fishing the conveyor. They glared companionably at each other across the far pool, until 856 splashed out to nab a salmon that had caught his attention, exposing a new injury on his flank. As he took his catch back to the safety of the office to eat, 747 called over.
“Hey, nice ass there, you old has-been – who gave you the chomp?”
“Walker, the little shit,” he answered between bites, quickly devouring the whole fish. “Grazer pissed him off and he ran up to chomp the first bear he saw.”
“I can’t believe you let him get away with that. Even when I was on top last year, you wouldn’t have taken that from a too-big-for-his-nonexistent-britches wannabe like Walker”
“Whatever. I’m retired now,” he grumbled. “I hear Chunk got you too the other day.”
“That upstart! I was taking an island nap for the fans. He was probably jealous.”
“Sleeping in the river’s a pretty bold move until he settles in – you should know better than that.”
“Yeah? Well, he can get bent. He takes my fish, I should just let him take my peace and quiet?”
856 didn’t respond immediately. Instead, he looked up from the office, glancing just past where 747 had parked himself. Another bear, long legged and tall, loomed over his former rival from just a few feet away.
Bucky looked over briefly to meet his gaze, then refocused his attention on 747. “Hey bro, any fish over there? I bet there’s fish over there, I’m just gonna come have a look just in case! IF there’s fish we can share, right?”
747 continued to ignore him, shifting his weight uncomfortably as Bucky mooched in even closer.
856 chuckled. “When it comes to peace and quiet, you old flea bag, it looks like Chunk is the least of your worries.”