It had been a long brutal winter. With the thaw came new hunting opportunities on the seaside of the mountain away from the hibernation den. The mother bear leads her adolescent cubs towards the mountain pass. They play and nip at each other behind her back causing her irritation at prolonging this inevitable trial. She knew this specific pass well and the post-winter ferocity of its streams. Already they could hear it endlessly crashing against the rock walls and racing to get to the bottom. Maybe they could pause for a few more minutes here. She squatted down and let them both wrestle in the fading snow. Straining her eyes she could just make out the fuzzy brown coat of some poor creature caught in the swirling waters and prayed that they would see the other side.