| "K'lik! K'lik!" |
| — Kissimi calling for Kallik in Spirits in the Stars, page 140 |
Kissimi (kiss-ee-me) is a small,[1] male polar bear cub[2] with bright eyes,[3] soft,[4] fine fur,[5] and small, soft paws.[6]
History[]
In The Original Series arc[]
Spirits in the Stars[]
- Kissimi is a newborn cub, the son of Sura. Sura is very sick when Kallik, Ujurak, Toklo, and Lusa come, and Kallik thinks she won't live for long. Kallik comes back in the night to check on them and thinks Kissimi is dead until she sees him move slightly. She lets Kissimi drink the last of his mother's milk and then takes him. At the time, he is described as small and without fur. Kallik names him Kissimi, which means "alone".
- Kissimi at first struggles without milk, and is often left back at the cave the bears made when Kallik, Toklo, Ujurak, and Lusa see what happened to the seals and what they can do about the sickness. Later on, he gets very playful and often causes trouble.
- When Kallik leaves him to play at the river, the four bears go onto the ice, and she puts her head in a hole in the ice to see if the water is clean. When she discovers it is, they see Kissimi running after them, excitedly calling Kallik "K'lick".
- But before any of them can stop him, he falls into the hole Kallik was looking into. Toklo is about to crack the ice to get him out, but Kallik stops him, saying he will hurt Kissimi. Ujurak becomes a seal to get him out, and when he does, Kallik scolds Kissimi, who is fearful of the ice hole. They share a fish Ujurak caught, and Kissimi seems to like fish very much.
- The bears always make sure that he is out of sight of the Star Island bears, but at the end of the book, he is given to his mother's sister, Illa, as Kallik knows she can't take him with her on her journey home to the Melting Sea.
In the Return to the Wild arc[]
Island of Shadows[]
- Kallik mentions how she misses him.
The Melting Sea[]
- Kallik talks about him, and wonders if he had learned to catch seals yet.
River of Lost Bears[]
- Kallik argues with Yakone about the bears she lost and mentions him.
The Longest Day[]
- Kallik is overjoyed when Kissimi arrives at the Longest Day Gathering.
Trivia[]
- Although most polar bears give birth to twins,[7] Kissimi is the only cub of his litter.[8]
- His name means "alone" in Inuktitut,[9] as he was alone when Kallik found him.[10]
Quotes[]
- "Kissimi crouched down at the very edge of the river and reached out with one paw to pat the frozen surface. "Ice!" he squeaked. "Ice!"
- —Kissimi, happy about the ice on the edges of the river Spirits in the Stars, page 137
- "Where Uj'rak?"
- —Kissimi asking where Ujurak is Spirits in the Stars, page 343
Family Tree[]
= Male
= Female
= Gender Unknown
References[]
- ↑ Revealed in Spirits in the Stars, page 229
- ↑ Revealed in Spirits in the Stars, page 76
- ↑ Revealed in Spirits in the Stars, page 343
- ↑ Revealed in Spirits in the Stars, page 140
- ↑ Cite Needed
- ↑ Revealed in Spirits in the Stars, page 108
- ↑ Revealed on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polar_bear
- ↑ Revealed in Spirits in the Stars, page 73
- ↑ Revealed on 'Cite Needed'
- ↑ Revealed in Spirits in the Stars, page 79