Gone Astray Chapter I: Ambush

It was moments like this that he always savored. The small, mom and pop coffee house was one of his favorite hubs, as he never had to worry about the hustle and bustle of some of the bigger chain shops. It was always calm, with the majority of the customer base being seniors, and it was here that he was able to unwind and clear his mind. In the last year, his life had revolved so heavily around a tight schedule that he hardly had time to stop and take a breath. Sometimes he loved every second of attention, and then on other days, he just wanted to be able to hear his own thoughts. It was rare he had a day like today, not being surrounded by fans, not having his security personnel following his every move, or having paparazzi blinding him with their cameras.

Nom Nom placed his magazine down on the table and reached for his phone, mentally cursing himself for not being able to keep his face away from the screen for more than five minutes. He only looked for a few seconds before he finally convinced himself to turn the phone face down on the table. Can't you just relax for one day?

The koala reached for his still steaming latte and pulled it closer. The milk foam which topped off the beverage remained undisturbed, as he hadn't taken his first sip yet. He brought the cup to his mouth and was just about to test the temperature with the tip of his tongue when he suddenly paused, brows furrowing as he was overwhelmed with the strange feeling that he was being watched. He slowly turned around and let out a loud yelp as he noticed Grizz's paws and excited face pressed up against the window behind him, his hot breath fogging up the glass. Nom Nom cursed under his breath as he noticed some of his latte had sloshed out of the cup and splattered onto the floor. He turned back to shoot the bear an angry glare, but he had already started making his way to the front of the shop. The koala groaned audibly as he saw the grizzly bear burst through the front entrance, the bell hanging above the door jingling loudly.

"Nom Nom! Hey!" Grizz greeted excitedly as he rushed over.

"And here I thought today was going to be a good day," Nom Nom mumbled, though the bear was too overcome with excitement to hear him.

"Hey, man! I haven't seen you in forever! How long's it been, anyway? A few months?"

Nom Nom placed an elbow on the table, propping his head up with his paw. "Weeks, actually," he sighed.

The bear cocked his head. "Wow, really? It feels way longer than that."

"How I wish," the koala muttered quietly.

"What?"

"What?"

Grizz yanked an empty chair out from under the table and quickly plopped down directly across from the agitated marsupial. "Dude, I'm glad I spotted you in here! I'm really in need of some good feedback and you're the perfect critic!"

Nom Nom sighed loudly as he began rubbing his temples. "Can't this wait? I mean…do we have to do this right now?"

"Aw, c'mon! You're always so busy doing your own thing, and it's not like I have your number or anything. I just really really really really really need your opinion on this!"

"Really?"

Grizz giggled loudly. "Okay…so you know I've tried making internet videos, right? I mean, my bros and I tried making cute videos like yours and they just fell flat. My problem was I saw a formula that was working for you and I thought maybe that could work for me! Well…it didn't, obviously, but I think I might have found my niche!"

By this point, Nom Nom had flipped his phone onto its back again and was currently checking the feed on his channel, mumbling a disinterested, "Mmhmm," as he did so.

"Okay, so the other day I was at home, playing video games, and Pan-Pan was…Dude, you're not even listening."

"Yeah, I am," Nom Nom mumbled, eyes still focused on his phone. Frowning, Grizz reached out and pulled the device away. "Hey!"

"C'mon, man. I really want you to hear me out on this one. Okay…so Panda's sitting next to me on the couch while I'm playing video games, but I was so engrossed in the game that I really didn't even notice he was there until I hear him laughing at me. I was kind of making a scene while I was playing. You know….getting angry and shouting at the TV every time I'd get frustrated, and Panda makes the comment that people would probably pay to watch me play video games, just so they can see me overreact to stuff. I sorta just laughed the comment off at first, but after a while, it suddenly hit me! Gaming!" Grizz extended his arms in a dramatic fashion to emphasize his excitement.

Nom Nom arched a brow. "Gaming? What, you mean doing Let's Play videos?"

Grizz nodded his head excitedly.

"Oh, come on. You mean making videos where people just watch you scream and yell while playing some game for twenty minutes?"

"Well, not just screaming and yelling. I'd make all sorts of commentary while I play! Seriously, I'm a gaming fanatic! I've played every genre of game you can imagine!"

The koala waved him off. "Let's Plays aren't really my thing."

"Well, I know they're not your thing, but I think they might be right up my alley!"

Nom Nom shrugged as he reached for what was left of his latte. "Whatever floats your boat. If that's what you wanna do, knock yourself out," he said, taking a sip. Grizz tapped the tips of his paws together anxiously, a pleading look on his face.

"Well…I was kinda hoping to get a more in-depth review from you," he said hopefully. "I'd really like for you to watch me play and give your feedback."

Nom Nom did his best to hide his displeasure at the idea of accompanying the bear to his home. "Look, I've got a pretty busy schedule ahead of me," he reasoned, forcing disappointment into his tone.

"Well…you're not busy right now, are you?"

"Well, I…I…"

Grizz quickly got up from his seat. "C'mon! Just fifteen minutes!" The bear laced his paws together in a pleading gesture. "Please! This is really important to me!" Grizz suddenly got down on his knees, grabbing the attention of a customer sitting just a few tables away. "Please, please, please!"

"All right, all right! Just get up off the floor! You're embarrassing me!" the koala hissed through gritted teeth. Beaming, Grizz leapt to his feet, unable to stifle a loud squeal of excitement. "Wait…are your brothers home?" Nom Nom asked suddenly, a look of dread crossing his face.

"Oh…well, Panda is. When I left the cave, he was in his room doing something on the laptop."

"And the other one?" Nom Nom asked with a hint of fear in his tone.

"He had some kind of interpretive dance class today. He probably won't be back for another hour. Why do you ask?"

"Uh…no reason." Grabbing his phone, Nom Nom hopped down from his chair. "All right, lead the way," he sighed. Let's get this over with.

ooooooo

Nom Nom had tried his best to distract himself as he and the talkative grizzly bear trudged through the forest. With his phone grasped in one paw, he irritably swatted at buzzing insects with the other, already regretting his decision to humor the bear. He occasionally shifted his attention away from the bright screen of his phone to see where they were, sometimes catching one or two sentences of the chattering bear before becoming engrossed with social media once again.

"So I already bought some of the stuff I needed. You know, like a microphone and set of headphones," Grizz went on, believing the koala to be listening to his every word, despite him making no audible declaration that he had heard him. "I've started checking out some of the gamers on Everyone's Tube and getting some of my inspiration from them. They're really funny! You know, I was thinking…maybe if this thing takes off for me, maybe you and I could do a collab video or something. I see a lot of internet celebs doing joint videos together. I know you said Let's Plays aren't your thing, but it might be fun to try something different. I'm still trying to figure out what video game I should play for my first video. There's this wicked cool game that came out recently that has all these awesome graphics and looks really high-depth and…"

Nom Nom came to a sudden halt, tearing his eyes away from his phone and glancing over his shoulder as he heard an unsettling noise close by. "Woah, hold on…did you hear that?" he asked, whipping his head back to Grizz.

"Huh?" Grizz glanced around, raising a brow. "Hear what?"

"Just shut up for a second," Nom Nom hissed as he moved his head from side to side, listening for the sound he swore he heard.

"What'd it sound like?" Grizz asked in a low tone.

"It sounded like…like a…"

The koala suddenly went rigid with fear when he heard the sound again, realizing what it was.

Growling.

"Don't panic," Grizz whispered to him, having heard the sound as well.

Nom Nom slowly turned his head in the direction he was certain he had heard the growling, his eyes bulging as they were met with the sight of a large, gray wolf stepping out from the bushes, its heckles raised and lips pulled back in an angry grimace. Grizz wasted no time and quickly closed the distance between himself and Nom Nom, stepping protectively in front of the koala. "Just stay behind me!" he said. He spread his arms out and tried to look as big and threatening as possible. "Don't worry, I can take this guy on easily!"

Grizz suddenly caught movement out of the corner of his eye, prompting him to take his eyes off the predator in front of him momentarily. His confidence faltered as he noticed a second wolf step into view, snarling at the duo. "Oh…I uh…see you brought a friend," the grizzly bear laughed nervously. Two more wolves suddenly rushed to the scene, and Grizz knew right then and there that they were in serious trouble. "And….he brought his friends." Grizz could feel Nom Nom's paws clutching tightly at his leg. "Okay, so….I don't wanna cause a panic or anything...but we sorta might be in trouble here."

"You think?!"

As one of the wolves took its first step towards the pair, Grizz reacted quickly, knowing they had no other choice but to run. He turned and scooped Nom Nom off the ground before turning to flee, choosing not to run in the direction of his cave as he wasn't going to risk his brother's safety by leading the predators to their home. "Hold on!" Grizz shouted to the koala as he forced him to his shoulders before dropping down to all fours, knowing he could pick up more speed that way.

Nom Nom held onto the bear tightly as they raced through the woods, leaping over fallen trees and zigzagging in different directions in the hopes of confusing the pursuing wolves. The forest seemed to get denser and denser the further they went, making it difficult to dodge obstacles as they fled. Nom Nom risked a glance over his shoulder, horrified to see that one of the wolves was closing the distance between them and appeared ready to pounce. "AAH! GET AWAY!" he screamed as he hurled his phone at the predator, which struck him right on the snout. The wolf let out a pained yelp and fell back, though the other three were still in hot pursuit of the duo. "THEY'RE GAINING ON US!"

Grizz wheezed and gasped for breath as he pushed himself to move faster, though he knew his energy was fading rapidly. His hope quickly reignited when he noticed a wide, steady-flowing river come into view as they neared a break in the trees. Seeing that Grizz intended to enter the water, Nom Nom quickly grabbed at the scruff of the bear's neck and held on for dear life. Grizz charged into the river without a second thought, not even bothering to slow down. The ice cold water came as more of a shock to Nom Nom than Grizz, as he was too focused on trying to lose the persistent wolf pack to care about the stabbing pain of the frigid river. The water soon reached his shoulders as he ventured further out. He dug his claws into the gravel and sediment as the current pushed against him, threatening to sweep both of them away. Once they made it to the other side, Grizz turned back to see that the wolves had stopped at the river's edge, one of them daring to take a few steps into the water before deciding it wasn't worth the risk. The pack eventually turned and headed back into the forest in search of a new, more easily attainable meal.

Grizz let out a heavy sigh as he collapsed against the bank, breathing heavily. "That was….too close," he panted. Nom Nom slid down from the bear's back and went to sit down on a large rock, trembling slightly. After taking a few moments to collect himself, his fear slowly transitioned to frustration.

"Today was supposed to be my day to just relax," he whined. "So much for that!"

Grizz propped himself up on his elbows as he looked at the koala. "Hey, at least we're still alive!" The grizzly lifted himself into a sitting position, his breathing slowly returning to normal.

"We must have run a mile! Do you even know where we are now?" Nom Nom asked as he observed their surroundings. Grizz frowned as he had a quick look around as well.

"Uh….yeah, sure. I've lived in these woods for years. I can find our way back no sweat. As soon as I catch my breath we'll make our way across the river and be on our way. I can have us back in ten minutes easy!"