It was a male raccoon that was almost as large as a human and standing on two legs. The bear didn't think about eating him because raccoon wasn't part of his diet. The two anthros stared at each other for a few seconds until the raccoon spoke in a human tounge.
"Hello. My name is Jack. What's yours?", the raccoon asked. The bear was surprised that Jack spoke human and that he could understand it himself. Jack spoke again. "Just got changed, have you?", he said in an understanding tone, "I know how you feel. A few days ago, I drank from this stream and suddenly, I could grab things and know how to count and spell. Don't worry. You will be able to talk in no time."
The bear felt comforted by this. Jack continued, "There are others like us. I was sent to look for such people. Preditors are not that much of a problem to me. Would like to join us?" The bear thought about this and made his decision.