Decavo sneers at Felero as he stomps past the smaller boy he so easily dealt with. Decavo’s spirit companion, Zelencia, growls at Wotjeo as the pair advance. Although Decavo is only a little bigger than you, Zelencia is head and shoulders taller than your loyal companion, Wotjeo. You need to win this as fast as possible so you can help your bear brother.

You hear Wotjeo's voice in your mind: "Don't worry about me, take care of yourself. You're still hurt from yesterday!"

You're tempted to argue, but there's no more time for discussion. You lift your hands in front of you like you saw the fighters in Mina’s sparring cave do yesterday. It feels right to you, but you must have done something wrong because it doesn’t slow Decavo down at all. With a terrifying shout, he dives under your upraised arms and tackles you to the ground.

When you hit the ground, all of your bruises wake up and start pulsing with pain as if to remind you of how badly Decavo thrashed you yesterday. So far this is going the same way as your first fight with him. If you don’t want to get beaten unconscious again, you need to do something. Fast.

Decavo sits up and draws back his arm to start punching. His face twisted in a terrible smile.

You desperately force your bruised muscles into action; shoving against the cave floor and trying to roll you to the left. Because Decavo is sitting on top of you, you roll him over too when you move. Now you’re on top and the red-haired boy is on the bottom. Copying the stronger boy, you push yourself up with your right hand so you can punch him with your left; but now that all your weight is to your right, Decavo easily rolls both of you in that direction.

So it goes. The two of you roll around on the ground, ineffectually flailing away. Both of you are too close in to put any force behind your blows and whenever one of you tries to pull back far enough to land a solid hit, the other rolls both of you over again.

Around you, a handful of teenagers have gathered to watch the fight. You catch snippets of their conversation as you grapple with Decavo. “Look at him go. He’s really ferocious.” “Look at her, all beat up and still fighting.” “That’s a real bear. Takes a lickin’ and keeps on swingin'”

The adults, men and women alike, avoid your fight like they avoid all other fights, glancing indifferently at your desperate struggles as they pass by.

Wotjeo isn’t doing nearly as well as you are. You can hear him yelping with pain. You have to do something soon or Wotjeo is going to lose! Wotjeo is the most important person in the whole world to you. He is your brother, your only friend, and your constant companion. You can’t let Decavo’s spirit companion, Zelencia. beat him up!

This time when you roll Decavo over, you keep rolling away from him. As soon as you’ve broken free from the stronger boy, you scramble to your feet and charge toward where Wotjeo is fighting.

You can hear Decavo panting as he chases after you. Desperately you dive forward and belly flop onto his spirit companion. You’re still small, but so is the bear. The impact drives Zelencia to the ground.

Wotjeo, with such magnificent timing an onlooker might also have thought you’d planned this, switches targets and rams into Decavo’s ankles, tripping the boy as he runs after you. The impact knocks Wotjeo down too, but it buys you a few seconds to sit up and land the first good punch of the fight. You hammer your fist into the bear cub pinned beneath you.

Only a moment later Decavo grabs your ankle and yanks you away. Decavo drags himself up your body and grabs your hair. You try to throw him off but he hasn’t pulled back very far and your battered body is too weak to lift both his and your weight at the same time without the leverage advantage he’d been handing you by sitting up earlier. He slams your face into the stone floor of the cave.

Twice.

Thrice.

Wotjeo is the first spirit companion to recover and he leaps on the boy's back. Wotjeo places his teeth against the red-haired boy’s neck, but not biting. Yet. Decavo, displaying absolutely no instinct for self-preservation, starts thrashing. His motions drive Wotjeo’s teeth through his skin and one of the passing adults who’d seemingly been paying little attention to your battle snatches Wotjeo away before Decavo can finish committing suicide by bear bite. “Enough. The girl wins.”

Adults congregate faster than you’d thought possible, wading in and trying to pull you and the other fighters away from each other. The one holding Decavo says, “Fighting is good preparation for dealing with the other tribes, but you should acknowledge defeat with dignity.”

You and Wotjeo let the adults pull you away, but you keep a suspicious eye on Decavo. It’s a good thing you did; the fierce red-haired boy tries to kick you despite being held. You just barely manage to pull your legs out of the way as the adults yank both of you further away from each other. Decavo keeps roaring and swinging wildly.

The adult holding Decavo lifts him up to eye level and roars in his face “Stop!”

The adult’s shout is so loud your ears hurt. That finally pierces Decavo’s rage, and he allows himself to be led away. The fight over, the adults and other observers disperse. You spot another adult releasing Chuno and allowing him to join Decavo but don’t pay much attention because they’re both heading away.

You have a splitting headache, probably from having your face repeatedly smashed into the unyielding stone floor of the cave. There’s something wet and sticky dripping down your face. You wipe it away from your eyes and look down to see your hand smeared with a red liquid. Something about that disturbs you, but you’re having a hard time focusing. You shake your head and push it out of your mind, you need to check on your bear brother. Wotjeo had a worse time of it than you did for most of the fight.

The sticky liquid is still slowly running down into your eyes, making it hard to see. You wipe it away again. You’re more concerned about your brother. Wotjeo really took a beating for you. The second in as many days. You hug him gently and cradle him in your arms like a baby. He’s small enough to be mistaken for one if he wasn’t so furry. He affectionately licks your face. You look him over, and fortunately, he does not seem to have any serious injuries. When you feel under his fur you find many scratches. Wotjeo lets out a pained whuff when you touch them, but when you part his fur to get a better look, they seem small and few are still bleeding. The rest look like they will clot over soon. You nuzzle your bear brother’s belly and wipe the red liquid away from your eyes. Why won’t it stop? It’s so annoying. Where is it coming from anyways?

Felero comes up to you. “You are so tough! It’s amazing. I think I’d be crying up a storm if I was bleeding as much as you are.” He takes his shirt off and rubs your forehead clean then wraps it around your head. The liquid finally stops dripping. Was the liquid blood? You look at your hand for the first time and realize it is smeared with blood you’ve been wiping off your forehead. Weird, you didn’t feel like you were bleeding but your head does really hurt. That was probably bad. Good thing Felero took care of it. You feel like you should thank him. Both of him.

Both Feleros tell you, their voices seeming to echo each other, “Maaaaybe you should learn how to punch before picking another fight. And feed up Wotjeo, so he’s not so small and scrawny. The two of you really got the snot kicked out of you today. Anyways, I’ll see you tomorrow. I have to share my memory of the fight with my mother while it is still fresh.”

Both Felero’s hurry away, each with a spirit companion trotting beside him.

You don’t remember how you got to the training cave, but you do remember the shocked expression on Mina’s face when you got there.

You try to walk towards her but all of a sudden your feet don’t want to work right. When you try to take a step it feels like you’re feet are all tangled together and you fall forwards. Her strong arms catching you is the last thing you are aware of before everything fades to black.

***

The next thing you remember is being in the sky above the valley again, but for the first time, the valley looks the same as it does when you are awake. It does not feel like a dream. Your body is whole and healthy. This is not at all surprising. Wotjeo rubs his furry head against your hand, so you scratch him behind the ears the way he likes. You tell him that you think all the boys in your class are lame, except maybe Felero, and you want to see what else is out there.

Wotjeo points his cute little bear cub paw towards the direction night advances from. "Last one there is a rotten egg."

Laughing you leap to your feet. You are surprised by a sudden wave of dizziness and for a second the whole scene is tinted red as if seen through a curtain of blood. You check yourself, but you are whole and healthy. Your head does not hurt. This is not surprising.

Wotjeo and you race across the sky, chasing the sun. After a long time, you come to a narrow place. Almost all the valley between the mountains to the North and South is filled by the river, broader and slower now than you've ever seen it. The river pours out into a vast body of water. You can't tell how vast though; because a massive storm fills the horizon. Bright flashes of lightning blast from cloud to cloud. Even from the shore, you can hear the horrific howling of the wind. A drop of red falls through your line of vision. You aren't sure you saw it at first, but then it turns into a trickle. You reach your hand up to your forehead and feel a long cut. Blood starts pouring out. Wotjeo leaps towards you and you remember no more.

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***

You wake up and know you are dreaming. Turning your head you can see the mouth of the cave where Mama and Papa live. All is peaceful and quiet.

Wotjeo comes bounding back from the forest with an apricot in his mouth. You sit up to hug him in welcome and he shares the tasty fruit with you. The two of you take turns biting into it, with you holding it for him when it’s his turn. Whenever you finish an apricot, Wotjeo dashes off and returns with another one. Suddenly your head hurts.

Wotjeo leaps onto your chest, and you lay back. He licks your forehead, and the pain fades. He keeps licking, and you giggle because his tongue tickles. You close your eyes and fall back into a dream.

***

When you wake this time, you are back in your bed furs for real with Mama sleeping beside you. Papa comes in, and when he sees you, he rushes over. "You're awake!" He shouts then quickly covers his mouth, looking embarrassed. "Ssshhh, your mother is sleeping."

Papa scoops you up in his strong arms and carries you over to the fire then tenderly holds a bag of water to your lips until you drink. He cuts up several fruits and starts cooking a big piece of meat. "I'm so glad you're awake, Pūmiè. You've been sleeping for two days. We were worried you might never wake up. Head injuries are tricky that way."

He peers closely at your face then brushes his fingers across your forehead. "There's no scar! It's a miracle! Bless the spirits. Your forehead was split so wide open I thought someone had tried to scalp you until Mina told me what happened. She got the story of your fight from a Guard woman who saw it and reported it to Mina. Congratulations on your victory! I’m very proud of you for challenging one of the boys who hurt you. You’re going to grow up into a tough strong Silver Bear just like me one day! Keep working hard and strike back against anyone who tries to hurt you. It’s better to be friends if you can, but a Silver Bear doesn’t let anyone get away with hurting her."

You are ravenously hungry and eat everything prepared for you. There is never enough food to really satisfy you, so you are used to being hungry, but after not eating anything for two days because you were unconscious, both hunger and thirst are a demanding ache in your gut.

Papa starts making seconds, a rare treat, and Wotjeo ambles over to join you, yawning. He looks even thinner than before. His skin hangs loosely in places as if he just lost a lot of weight. You scoop him into your lap, and you nuzzle each other. You share your second meal with him, feeding him a piece than a piece for you. He curls up and goes to sleep in your lap immediately after eating the last bit of meat.

Papa hugs you and tells you how proud he is of you again. "No training tonight. You should rest as much as you can, Pūmiè. I'm proud of you for winning that fight, but it was luck as much as anything. You stay away from that boy until you learn how to fight better. Decavo might not be as big as Bato or Chuno, but people like Decavo don't know when or how to stop and that makes them much more dangerous."

***

When you return to class, all your fellow students are already there. Bato looks pretty much the same as the first day. However, Decavo has even more bruises than you do. He must have gotten in a fight with someone else. You certainly didn’t hurt him that badly.

Elder Minaro sarcastically greets you: “So good of you to finally join us, little butterfly. Felero and Chuno have surpassed you while you were sleeping. You will have to work hard to catch up.”

Elder Minaro spreads his glare out evenly across the classroom. His voice drills caustically into your ears: “While I have no problems with you beating yourselves unconscious, the Matriarch has decreed that I must continue wasting my time teaching you mudbrains an additional day for each day your injuries prevent you from being here. I have no desire to lose any more time on you than I have to. I have many important tasks I cannot attend to while teaching cubs, so I have a decree of my own for you. There will be no more fighting until my lessons are complete. If one of you attacks the other, I will personally instruct you in the true meaning of strength by beating some sense into you.”

Elder Minaro cracks his heavily scarred knuckles menacingly. Decavo and Bato both glare at you and you glare right back. This isn’t over for any of you. Elder Minaro’s voice lashes out like a whip, and you all look back at him: “Do you understand?”

The boys’ shouts of “Yes, Elder Minaro” mingle with your own.

The Elder may be old, but he’s still terrifying. Your plans for revenge will have to wait. Papa and Mama will be pleased, but you’re a little disappointed. The adults may have said you won, but it was you, not Decavo, who spent the next two days unconscious. You know in your heart that was a draw at best and a lucky one. You still haven’t paid him or Chuno back properly for beating you up. Felero will probably be pleased the fighting is over for now though. Probably Mina too. Come to think of it, pretty much everyone you know is fine with you getting revenge, but they all want you to give yourself time to get stronger first. This might be for the best, however much you want to teach those bully boys that being half butterfly and a girl doesn’t make you any weaker than them.

You find it hard to meditate after your head injury, and it takes you several tries to regain the clear mental image of the inside of the tin vein. Even when you do manage to reach the vision of the cube lattice with one internal node that you had before your fight with Decavo, your head throbs painfully and you quickly lose your focus. When you can hold it for as long as it takes two fingers thickness of a candle to melt Elder Minaro huffs out an impatient: “Finally!”

Elder Minaro hands you a silvery-white lump of not-rock. “This is a piece of tin. Tin is a soft, malleable, ductile and highly crystalline silvery-white metal. When a bar of tin is bent, a crackling sound known as the ‘tin cry’ can be heard.”

You bend the lump of tin, and it makes an entertaining crackling sound. You do it several more times, and surprisingly Elder Minaro waits patiently until you look back at him then continues in an unusually gentle tone. “White tin, like the piece I gave you, is malleable at room temperature. The tin ore in these outcroppings is the same kind of tin, but less pure. The white parts of the lattice you see when you move into the ore are tin, the other colors are rocks. Stay away from them and don’t follow the white too far either. These deposits run deep, and you can get lost in them if you stray too far.”

You squeeze the lump in your hand. It takes some effort, but you can leave impressions of your fingers in the soft metal. It reminds you of the second tier of the pyramid during your trial to join the clan last winter.

Elder Minaro almost sounds like a nice person when he resumes his explanation after you are done playing with the tin. “As I told you last week, Tin is the second tier of cultivation. Our smiths melt it together with copper to create bronze. Bronze practitioners, like myself, are the second highest rank of cultivator. From such humble beginnings is strength formed. In theory, you too can reach such a high rank.”

His voice resumes its usual harshness “Before you can reach Tin, you must first reach Ore. Focus and work hard in my lessons and you will do so soon. Slack off or idle your days away outside my lessons and you will be mired in obscurity and weakness forever.”

Behind his back Bato, Chuno, and Decavo all glare at you. You don’t know what they’re angry about, but you glare right back at them. Still facing you, Elder Minaro snaps: “I told you to meditate, not glare. The next time you disobey me, I’m going to throw you into the wall.”

Frustration and anger burn inside you at the unfairness for a moment before Elder Minaro turns around and directs his displeasure at the glaring boys. The Elder’s voice lashes out like a whip and drives them back to their practice. “That goes for all of you, especially you Decavo. My lessons are not one of your childish games! You think being punched hurts? If you do this wrong, you will feel like you ran into a wall. A wall covered in spikes that pierce you in a million places until you bleed out and die. There is a reason we wait to teach you until after you’ve passed the trial. There is a reason the time of an Elder is spent on little cubs who aren’t yet worth anything to the tribe.” Decavo and Chuno look chastened and start meditating again. Bato arrogantly ignores the Elder and continues glaring angrily at you.

Minaro’s voice lashes out again. “Your father will not protect you, boy. If I have to throw you into a wall to teach you obedience, your father will be the one apologizing to me for the trouble you caused, not the other way around.” That finally gets through to the leader of your bullies. He closes his eyes as if meditating, although as soon as Elder Minaro turns back to face you, Bato resumes glaring at you and trying to distract you.

You do your best to ignore him and focus on the lesson. Elder Minaro’s voice returns to his relatively patient personal instruction tone, as he talks you through the process of meditating on the tin outcropping until you once again seem to be standing inside the tin ore. All around you is a disorganized lattice of white. The lattice looks like it wants to be rows of cubes with another node at the center, but some of the nodes have been replaced by patches of different colors distorting the shape of the lattice.

You hear Elder Minaro’s voice: “Move to the closest node but don’t touch it yet. Inside this node are dozens of small lumps like the piece of Tin I gave you earlier. The surface of the node is like water, easily pushed through. Put your hand inside and pull out one of the lumps.”

You reach out and rest your hand against the node. The node vibrates beneath against your palm, but the surface remains smooth. That’s weird. Should the surface have ripples like a pond after you threw a rock in it? How can it stay smooth and vibrate at the same time? You push the questions aside and focus on Elder Minaro’s instructions.

You try to visualize the surface of the node as being like water. Slowly you get the hang of it and the opaque surface of the node turns translucent. Your hand sinks into the translucent orb as it would into a pit of mud. Inside of the node is a slow-moving sea of tin-white liquid. You scoop some of it up and when you pull your hand back out of the node the pool of fluid in your palm transforms into a solid lump.

Elder Minaro’s voice echoes in your head “Good. Keep the eyes of your body closed and reverse the process that brought you here until you can see your spirit brother with the eyes of your spirit.”

It’s tricky trying to do everything backwards, and several times the lump of tin starts to transform back into a liquid and flow away. When it does you focus on visualizing it as a lump until it settles down. The effort is exhausting. Finally, you are back outside. Wotjeo leaps up and gobbles the tin out of your hand like any other treat.

He tells you: “Yummy! I want more! This is too slow! Visualize me following you, and we can skip the whole back and forth trip.”

Elder Minaro, apparently unaware of the byplay grudgingly says: “Not bad. Do it again.”

Wotjeo is your beloved brother who always helps you. You instinctively want to do anything you can to help him.

Elder Minaro is a mean old man who did nothing to help you when you fought nearby, but he is also an Elder and your teacher.

You aren’t sure which of them you should listen to.