Guardians of Ga'Hoole 09 - The First Collier

hagsfiends’ nachtmagen. There had been no sign of Svenka for days. Siv had not really expected any. Svenka had told her that a mother polar bear must remain in the den with her cubs for a very long time to feed the cubs the strange liquid called milk and to share her heat with her babies who were born almost furless.
    But one afternoon as the seconds peeled from the scant minutes of sunlight that remained, Siv was awakened by the sounds of cracking ice. She knew almost instantly that it was Svenka and rushed out of her hollow in the berg. There she was! Magnificent as she plowed through the ice swimming in her usual unhurried way, leaving a jagged path of open water behind her.
    “Svenka! What are you doing here?”
    “I have only come for a very short time.”
    “How are the cubs? How many? Male or female?” Siv was almost hopping up and down with the questions that came bursting out of her. “Tell me—what do they look like? Do they favor you?”
    “Yes, I suppose so, though I can hardly remember their father.” The casualness with which Svenka discussed this father—whoever he was—always disturbed Siv. But she knew that this was the way of polar bears. They did not mate for life as owls did.
    “There were three—one died.”
    “Dear Glaux, how sad,” Siv said.
    “Not really.”
    Siv looked at Svenka, perplexed.
    “You have to understand,” Svenka continued. “Usually we give birth to just two. If there are three, there is always the risk that one will be weak and not survive. It is only because the third one died that I was able to leave for this brief time.”
    “How is it that you could leave?”
    “I tucked First and Second around Third’s body. He was still warm—warm enough to keep them warm.”
    “Oh.” Siv paused. “First, Second, Third? Is that what you call them?”
    “For now.”
    “Why?”
    “We never name them until they have survived three moons. It makes them less…less…I don’t know…”
    “Less lovable?” Siv asked.
    “I guess,” Svenka said softly. “But Siv, they are so cute. It’s impossible not to love them. You should see Second—she has this adorable little snubby nose, and First is a curious little fellow. That’s why I must get back. They can’t swim or walk. But that little fellow can still get into trouble. It’s amazing. I just came to check on you.”
    So Siv caught her up and told her in greater detail about what she thought were Lord Arrin’s plans as well as her own thoughts about magic.
    Resting her elbows on the edge of the berg, Svenka took all this in and then was quiet for a long time.
    “What you say about the nachtmagen is very interesting. When you describe how you were distracted and then amazed, it was very much the same with me. And you are right. Once you let them distract and then amaze you, you are theirs.” Siv nodded. “And you are sure they are coming?”
    “The firthkin is freezing up. When it is completely frozen, there will be no danger for the hagsfiends.”
    “Well, we must not permit that to happen,” Svenka replied abruptly.
    “How can we do that?”
    “Like this!” Svenka said, and gave a mighty push away from the berg, flopped onto her back, and began wheeling her arms around. Soon there were great sounds of cracking and rumbling as the immense field of ice surrounding the berg began to split apart. She swam rapidly around the berg itself until a wide swath of open water lapped its edges. For the first time in days, Siv felt the gentle rocking motion of the iceberg floating on the billowing waters of the firthkin.
    “Svenka,” she said as the polar bear clambered up onto the berg. “This is wonderful. But you know how quickly it will freeze again. Perhaps the night after this when there will be no sun at all.”
    “I’ll come back as often as I can.”
    “You can’t leave the cubs. It’s not fair to them. They are getting older and will be into more mischief.”
    “Indeed!” Svenka sighed. “Somehow, I’ll figure out a way.”
    Siv sighed and felt the wonder of her Glaux-blessed life. True, she had lost her dear mate and possibly her young’un, but had she not been blessed with the mostwonderful friends on earth—Myrrthe and Grank, and now Svenka?
    But she counted on nothing. She knew that Svenka’s first duty was to her cubs. There was no way that she could keep this region of the firthkin ice free and nurse her young’uns. Siv would have to fend for herself. As the night grew darker