ORIGINS: The first character of the original series had an elephant hidden in one eyebrow and a bear in the other. That’s where this pairing comes from. And the toys that accompany them are built from pieces of their faces. You can think of them as snowflakes that grow around a particle of dust.
Elephant: I have heard that birds don’t fly over Hell. I also read somewhere that someone could stop the grass from ever growing again. Don’t you think that that is what Hell would look like? A place without birds, a place without grass, as far back as the memory of an elephant can go.
Bear: I don’t know. I always thought that we created our own Hell. That in our quest for honey, we tore apart the sky. That we riddled the night with stars, hoping to light a path towards a brighter future, but all we got was something sticky, that kept us trapped right where we were.
Elephant: Did you know that anteaters have panda bears in two of their legs? I would hate to be named after grass, just because that is what I eat. I am all memory. The most important part of my life is the path I follow, it’s my journey and the memories I keep in my heart. And if I could, I would like my name to reflect that.
Bear: I know. I also want to be remembered for who I am, for the best part of me. I’m still looking, but when I find it, I will make sure to sing it as loud as I can. I promise you, it will be the most beautiful swan song you will ever hear.
Elephant: I have heard that some elephants live in circuses, that they have women riding on their backs. Whispering in their ears, what to do, what to say to keep the audience pleased. But I am not worried about that. Because I know that someday the cat will come for my tongue anyway. I know that I won’t be able to repeat their words, even if I were to believe them.
Bear: How can you be so sure that the cat will come for your tongue? I like honey, but that doesn’t mean that I would eat gold coins, it doesn’t mean that I would swallow the sun whole. Just because cats like the taste of birds, and you can write your words down using a feather, it doesn’t mean that the cat will take a bite from your tongue one day.
Elephant: I told a hedgehog that I cherish my memories, and he told me that if that was the case, I would do well to protect them. He told me that he would teach me how to turn my ears into sharp spikes, so that no one could get close enough to me to ruin everything I hold dear.
Bear: That was very nice of him. An angel told me something similar. She said that if I bent all my teeth until they looked like crescent moons, she would give me a kiss. She said that she would bless me. So that I wouldn’t forget how to dream, even after I grew up. Even after winter was over, and I had no choice but to wake up.