Mochrie hadn't gotten a lot of attention from people other than David and Eloise lately. When she saw David coming, though, he could practically see the smile cross her face, even though he knew that bears didn't really smile. He reached his hand out and scratched her head, chuckling quietly as she rubbed against his hand like a cat. "See?" he told Marigold. "She's a nice, cuddly bear."
The bear didn't really make a move at first, but when David started petting along her back, he watched with a slightly bemused chuckle as she practically flopped down on her back to have her stomach scratched. "Just like a great big kitty cat!" he told Marigold.
He was sure that this was all a huge, sort of worrisome, surprise for her, but he turned his head toward the girl for a moment. "Remember all those things we told you about the animal on the way here?" he asked, knowing full well that she did, because sometimes she had the memory of someone twice her age. "We were talking about her. She's even got a name. Her name's Mochrie, but you can call her Moch."
When Leah asked about petting her, David wondered if he should give her space or step out of the way. At first, he considered stepping away, but he didn't. "Like this," he said, demonstrating how to pet her, since she was different from any of the other animals he'd introduced her to. "She's really soft, too."