Riley was starting to get used to this whole Atlantis being really freaking weird thing. She even didn’t get startled as much as she had at first. Sure, some of the things were a little bit easier to handle than others but what she really wasn’t expecting was to see a green bear sitting at the kitchen table. What was even stranger was it seemed to be moving like it was alive.
“Holy shit you’re a carebear.” The words were out of her mouth and she had no idea this carebear happened to be Emily either. She knew Emily tended to spend a lot of time in the house seeing as Sara lived there, but this was something all new to me.
“Are you here to make sure someone has enough caring? Or sharing? Or care bear glare or whatever it is?”
As soon as Emily had woken up and realized what had happened to her, she’d gotten out of bed quietly and only with a little bit of trouble had opened the door and made her way into the kitchen before Sara woke up to see her standing there as an actual bear. Surprisingly, she didn’t have any trouble getting herself a glass of milk from the fridge despite her fuzzy hands. Her attitude was remarkably positive given the situation, and she hopped up into the chair by the kitchen table.
“This has actually happened before,” Emily said to Riley once she joined her in the kitchen. “Well, kinda. I was more possessed by a bear than an actual bear. And it was the mean one. This time….” Emily looked down at her white belly. There were no markings to tell her exactly who she was, but she was green so that could narrow it down at least a little.
“I’m not sure who I am, but I know I’ll be able to figure it out soon!” She added hopefully. “Atlantis seems to like stuffed bears of all kinds.”
“Emily?” Riley’s mouth fell open as she didn’t even bother to hide the fact that she was staring at her. She did not know that it was actually Emily, she thought maybe care bears had shown up, or it could be a million other things. The fact that it was Emily and she was a carebear, well, that messed with Riley more than she wanted to admit.
“You’re really Emily? Just not sure who you are bear Emily?” That didn’t even make sense. “What do you mean… Stuffed bears? What?”
“Oh. Right, yeah it’s me.” Emily waved her little paw hand. She’d forgotten that in this form no one would really know who she was. She smiled slightly and hoped she wasn’t seriously freaking out Riley too badly. She was still green when it came to Atlantis craziness. Haha, green. Emily was now the green one. Literally.
“I woke up like this. As a bear. A Carebear.” Normally, being transformed into a bear would have made her mood drop, but she felt oddly positive about the situation. “It could be worse. And yeah, stuffed bears. It happens sometimes but not always like this. Usually, it’s just a random teddy bear, but I haven’t been one of those. Like with other stuff that happens here, it normally passed in a day or two.”
Riley opened and shut her mouth a few times as her eyes were still wide and she looked at Emily the carebear. Her roommates’ girlfriend was a freaking carebear. Yeah, that was something really new on her.
“So, does it feel weird? Being a bear? I mean a carebear? And why don’t you have the,” she waved her hand around her stomach. “The little mark, aren’t carebears supposed to have marks? And what do you mean usually? This happens a lot?”
“It’s weird. Like, I don’t feel totally wrong or uncomfortable, but the knowing I’m a bear thing. That feel pretty weird. I thought I’d have trouble moving around and picking up things, but so far I’ve been lucky and haven’t had much trouble.” Even still, though, Emily doubted that she’d be much help going into work today. Unless… she could cheer everyone else on for moral support? Maybe not.
Emily looked down at her white but bare belly and shrugged. “I’m not sure. I think this happened last time. People had to try and figure out who they were before they could change back. I think. I wasn’t really myself at the time, so I don’t remember everything that happened then. It doesn’t happen too often, but it comes around a handful of times. Sometimes like this, teddy bears, or life size bears.” She paused and looked over at Riley. “I’d wager that I’m not the only one who woke up like this today.”
Riley blinked a few times as she tried to let everything she heard sink in. It was a lot.
“Do you want me to run a program and try and help you figure out what bear you are?” She leaned against the counter and took a deep awkward breath in. “And I just said that. I just said, out loud, that I could run a program to help my roommate's girlfriend figure out what stuffed bear she is.
“It’s way too early for a drink,” She grumbled and missed everything Emily said about other kinds of bears.
“So, want me to run that? Or write it and run it?” She asked.
“You could do that?” Emily asked, surprised. “Like… would you need my blood… err, fur sample? Or a paw print or… something?” She was fully aware how ridiculous all of this sounded, but she was so used to Atlantis throwing her and everyone for a loop that it probably wasn’t nearly as weird to her as it should have been.
“But yes. It would be great if you could do that and it work. It could be totally different this time, and we’re stuck like this for a while but who knows. Atlantis never really gives you a heads up on why these things happen. They just do.” She felt a sudden surge of positivity hit her. “It’ll all work out, though! I’m sure of it.”
Riley opened her mouth to say something but the idea of taking fur and a paw print through her for a minute. “No, this is more a,” she paused pulling he computer out of her bag. “Let me search for green carebears who are weirdly positive about being bears and see what pops up.” She said.
Emily never seemed like the doom and gloom kind of person anyway, but the excitement that came out of her mouth with it all working out seemed kind of intense to her. “So, how many times a month do people usually turn into stuffed things?” She asked as her computer turned on.
“Um, not every month.” Emily stood up in her chair to peer over at Riley’s computer screen, but her stuffed, stubby legs weren’t quite tall enough so she slid back down in her seat. “Every couple of months maybe? I’m not sure. You kinda stop keeping track after a while.”
The thought hadn’t occurred to her, but Emily wondered exactly how much extra positive she seemed. It felt so natural and normal to her in this state that it was hard to know what was her normal self or what was the Carebear magic.
“I didn’t even watch the Carebears when I was little. I was more of an Alvin & The Chipmunks, Ducktales kind of person. Occasionally some My Little Ponies.” She paused and looked at Riley. “We had those here too once. My Little Ponies.”
Riley tried not to laugh watching Emily try and stand up, so she turned the computer a little bit so Emily would have a better view. “That’s still often enough to be really freaking weird.” She didn’t mind some of the weird Atlantis stuff she’d seen, she wasn’t sure how she’d feel being a bear though.
“Yeah, I was more into Wiley the Coyote,” she shrugged. “Okay, so these are the green ones.” Riley moved the computer again to show pictures up next to each other.
“Bashful Heart Bear, but you don’t seem very bashful to me,” she shrugged. “Do-Your-Best Bear, Good Luck Bear, Oopsy bear and Gentle Heart, but it seems to have pink too. We’ve also got Beastly, but Beastly isn’t actually a bear. Any of those hitting a nerve?”
“Those are a lot of bears.” Especially since those were supposed to only be the green ones. Emily looked at the program Riley was running on the computer now that she could see a little better. There were pictures, and she looked at them and then down at herself a couple of times. Looking at Oopsy bear, there was a spot of hair on the top of its head. Reaching up to pat her head, Emily didn’t feel anything that much there.
“Do Your Best or Good Luck Bear? Maybe?” She really had no clue, but those sort of sounded familiar. “I bet we can figure this out with some luck.” That made her pause. “Oh. Well, I think I know which one it is now. And look,” she pointed to the screen and then to her arm. “Do Your Best bear is kinda… more bright green than I am.”
“I had no idea there were this many carebears, I kind of thought there about seven of them, not hundreds.” That might be an exaggeration but it sure as heck seemed like there were a ton of them. She was surprised as she looked at some of the other names that pooped up with green in them but they were clearly not Emily.
“With some luck?” She laughed. “I think that alone should give you a clue about what bear you are,” Riley said standing up straight and looking at Emily. She kind of expected something to happen when they figured it out but what she really wasn’t sure, and frankly a little nervous about it.
“Right.” Emily looked down at herself, her bear self, and waited to see what would happen. At first, nothing did. Wasn’t this supposed to be what helped turn her back into herself? That’s how it happened the first time, anyway. “Or, I maybe I have to say it? Since I wasn’t totally clear.” She looked at Riley and shrugged, not sure what else to do. “I think I’m Good Luck Bear?”
Again, at first nothing happened. Emily was watching herself to see if anything changed but it didn’t start with her body. It started with some kind of tingling in her skin. “Wait, what’s going on…” She held up her paws and within several seconds they started to resemble hands again. Kinda furry, green hands to start but eventually they shifted back into her own, normal hands.
Standing up on her own two, sturdy legs, Emily held her hands to her face and didn’t feel fur. “Am I me? I’m me again, right?”
Riley’s mouth fell open again, damn it, she was going to have to stop doing that. Watching Emily turn from green bear to herself was probably one of the most uncomfortable things she’d ever seen. She watched as Emily’s head went from fuzzy and green to her normal head, with human hair, not bear hair, or fur.
She nodded at the question and opened her mouth to say something but heard a shaking sound and turned to see the bear that Emily had been a second ago, with the little four-leaf clover and everything.
“Thank you for freeing me!” The bear said. “I wish you both good luck for the rest of your days!” And with that, it just disappeared.
“Is it too early in the morning for a drink?” Riley asked.
Emily jumped in surprise of hearing the actual Carebear’s voice in the room. It seemed so cute and harmless standing there, and being possessed - if that’s what this really was - by a cute little Carebear hadn’t been that bad all things considered. Thankfully, Riley had been there to help narrow it down for her.
“Um.” She started; her eyes still not having left the spot where the bear had disappeared. “Still better than being possessed by a pixie.” Blinking, she looked at Riley. “All things considered? Definitely not too early. Come on, I’ll help with breakfast now that I can reach the stove.”
Riley was never going to get used to this place.
“I’m making bloody marys,” she informed Emily figuring that was probably better than something sweet right now. The bear was a little too good and sweet and she was still finding this whole thing too weird for words.