"Like I said, it's a bear thing." He finally makes eye contact, then frowns when he notices Ruby is shivering. Before they continue talking, he leans over to reach for his bag. There's a blanket packed tight in the bottom that he unrolls and offers to her.

"It's different depending on what kind of bear you are. For polar bears, we rarely get aggressive unless it comes to cubs, mates or personal attacks. Female bears are less available because they take so long to birth and raise cubs. You would not believe the length males go to. Mating rites are fierce as anything, then there's courtship where males follow them across the ice for miles just to be near them," and here he averts his eyes to the side, a little embarassed on top of all the stirred up raw emotions. "It doesn't cross over that well."

"But it's up to me to make myself safe for other people to be around. It's been...seven months since then. I still question myself."