The boy wanted to surprise Dusk, and so, without telling her ahead of time, he set off for the borders of the lands. The garden, the place where he had seen the other pixie, seemed like the perfect place to find another present. He’d already given her one of each of the colors of his feathers. It was a longer trek to get there than he remembered, and by the time Gavroche arrived, his tongue was lolling out of his mouth. Phew! He was looking around, hoping that he might see the girl from before. She could help him pick out a flower! Only… what he saw wasn’t the girl, but it was furry… and it was really, really big. Gavroche’s ears fell as he looked up at it, swallowing hard as the grizzly turned and laid eyes on him. Uhh… What did Dusk say about protecting himself again? He set his defenses, a tiny growl bubbling in his throat. He wasn’t gonna run! The bear was unimpressed, taking slow, lumbering steps towards what it thought was an easy meal.
