Bearclaw Valley bear with me

Ico — who in his essence was the very opposite of a bear — had spent his first few days in the Valley remaining as small as possible... which wasn't hard. He slept beneath a mostly-fallen maple tree in the forest, he ate only what the others left, and although he patrolled the borders as required he had thankfully not yet met any trespassers. And he certainly hadn't met any bears, which was the key reason to lie low.

The other reason was that he couldn't shake off the prickling feeling that Merrick and Fields would soon realise he was as useless as a dodo with a pilot's license. Ico's days here were surely numbered.

Despite being wary of the bears, and shy of everyone else, Ico was still very curious. And so he'd already managed to explore much of the Valley; right now, for instance, as dusk began to darken the horizon and he drank from a stretch of river he'd only just discovered. But as he lapped at the cool water, he saw something Great reflected there... and he froze.

Was that a bear...?