A horn sounded from the sparring field, indicating that the results for the first half of the exam were in, and having the secondary effect of fanning the flames of the applicants’ jitters. Huo Lohse again secured her hood to obscure her face. She probably looked like a homeless beggar, but, for some reason, that seemed preferable to admitting that she was the lone girl in a literal field of testosterone.

Zhongyan gave her a funny look. “After all the effort you made to look like a girl, you don’t even want to show your face?”

From under the hood, Lolo fluttered her eyelashes at him before confessing, “I don’t want to draw attention to myself.”

“And you’re not doing that by hiding in your hood? People will stare at you either way,” Haowan cut in.

“Perhaps. But I feel better being stared at for being weird than I do for being a girl,” came a somewhat cloak-muffled reply.

“Suit yourself!” The twins chimed in unison.

The applicants went to their tribe leaders to get the test results. Twenty-five applicants were whittled down to ten, but all three wolf siblings made the first cut.

***

For this year’s sparring match test, the chosen fifth year student was a nineteen-year-old young man named Philige from the Bear Tribe. He was handsome in an understated way-- tall and burly, dark brown hair, blue eyes-- and he carried himself with a quiet confidence that elicited a feeling of trust and comfort. Huo Loshe was familiar with Philige’s name from her older brothers. Qingchi had enjoyed being Philige’s sparring partner for the last three summers, and she was oddly comforted by that fact.

The panel of tribe leaders and elders took their positions on the viewing stage of the sparring field while the remaining applicants were sent to the medical tent behind the stage to wait their turn. The disqualified applicants took seats in the stands among a number of villagers that had come to watch the fun. The names of the tribes represented by the remaining applicants were written on small papers and dropped into a cup. Philige was presented with the cup and drew the first paper. The lions were called first with two of the remaining applicants. As was tradition, each applicant was presented one at a time as they walked out onto the field by a representative from the Lion Tribe. The phoenixes were called next with two applicants, followed by an applicant from the small Hawk Tribe and two applicants from the Bear Tribe. The Wolf Tribe was called last.

Wolf Leader Lang stood up from his position on the viewing stage to present his trainees. “Tribe leaders and honored elders, I have the pleasure to present some of my children to you today. We will start with my son, Zhongyan.”

Zhongyan was led to the sparring field. He bowed to the panel and then to his opponent. Philige smiled and bowed back. Then the two squared up for their match.

“Begin.”

Once the fight started, Zhongyan forgot to be nervous, Philige was a very fluid swordsman. His attacks, though quick and decisive, almost had a rhythm to them which made it easier for Zhongyan to predict and block them. While Zhongyan didn’t attack, Philige didn’t gain any ground either. After several minutes, the match was declared over, and Zhongyan glanced at his father who gave him a small wink and a smile. Zhongyan bowed again to Philige and then to the panel before moving into the stands with the other applicants to watch.

The Alpha rose again. “Next I am pleased to present Zhongyan’s twin brother, Haowan.”

Right on cue, Haowan entered the field. Searching the stands for his brother, Haowan almost forgot to bow. Philige gave a little cough, and Haowan returned to the sparring match. He quickly bowed to the panel, and then to Philige. Philige grinned and made his bow.

“Begin.”

Haowan was a little more clumsy at first than Zhongyan had been, but he quickly recovered and also found Philige’s rhythm. As he and Philige circled each other, Haowan even went so far as to add his own occasional attack to the mix. Again, the match was declared over, bows were made, and the Alpha winked at Haowan.

Thinking that they had seen everyone already, the panel stood up and started deliberating over the applicants. Wolf Leader Lang cleared his throat. “If you will indulge me, I have one last applicant to present for your consideration.” The members of the panel quickly apologized and sat back down.

“Please proceed, Wolf Leader. We thought with your two sons, you had finished.”

Ming Lang smiled and bowed slightly to accept the apology. “Forgive me for keeping you. The last trainee I have for your consideration is my daughter, Huo Lohse.”

Surprised whispers circulated the stands like a breeze through a forest.

“His daughter? I didn’t see a female applicant, did you?”

“I didn’t know the wolf princess was here. Isn’t she a little too young still?”

The Phoenix Tribe leader stood up and the whispers stopped as quickly as they had started. He motioned his hand for Huo Lohse to enter, and the still very awkwardly cloaked princess was let onto the field. The jig was up, and Lolo exhaled audibly. Standing before the panel, she finally had to remove her cloak, and the whispers started right back up again, adding to Lolo’s sense of embarrassment. The Old Phoenix shot a dark look into the stand, quickly silencing the renewed chatter. Huo Lohse passed her cloak to her father before bowing deeply to the panel. She then turned to face and bow to her opponent.

“Begin.”

The first attack, Huo Lohse dodged, spinning away from Philige’s thrust. He moved to follow her and brought his sword down over her head. She blocked it and pushed him back. He swung low at her legs; she jumped over his attack and struck his sword with a backhanded sweep of her own, using the momentum of his own attack against him. Her counterattack was as powerful as it was unexpected, and for the first time all day, Philige was in trouble. She had disrupted his rhythm and, more importantly, his balance. He stepped back, recovered, and thrust again. Having anticipated this move, this time, Huo Lohse deflected it across his body and grabbed his sword arm with her free hand, pulling him forward and, once again, off-balance. Philige stepped forward to catch his momentum as Lolo spun into position behind him. Before he could stand upright again, Lolo kicked him squarely in the back of the leg he had just caught himself with. He went down hard, catching himself with his sword. Huo Lohse lifted her sword to his shoulder to accept his surrender.

“I yield!” Philige panted through a surprised, but genuine smile. He had not expected to find a worthy sparring partner among the young applicants.

Lolo circled Philige to face him and offered him a hand up, which he accepted. Someone from the village started clapping in the stands, and a few others joined him before they all awkwardly fell silent again. Huo Lohse bowed to her opponent then turned to bow to the panel. As she rose from her bow, she caught a glimpse of her father beaming at her and shaking his head slightly from amusement and the Bear Tribe leader scowling.

The Old Phoenix stood up again and dismissed everyone so the panel could confer. Philige turned to Huo Lohse as if to say something right as her brothers bounded up and tackled her, nearly knocking her off her feet entirely despite her efforts to brace herself against their enthusiasm.

“What was that, four attacks?!” Zhongyan gushed. “I’m glad to see that we’re not the only ones you can brutalize, but the likelihood of you leaving us in the dust just went up exponentially.”

“Ah, man, juniors to our own baby sister.” Haowan moaned comically.

Philige cleared his throat.

“Oh hey!” Zhongyan acknowledged him. “Thanks for coming out today, man.”

“Yeah, thanks,” Haowan added.

Philige wasn’t used to such boisterous social interactions, but he found them quite pleasant to watch. “Oh, sure. My pleasure. Um. I actually wanted to talk to Huo Lohse, if you don’t mind.”

“Ooo,” Haowan teased. Philige’s ears went pinkish and Lolo punched Haowan in the ribs. “Oof! Lolo, that hurt!” Haowan dropped to the ground dramatically to try and milk it, but Lolo simply stepped over him to approach Philige.

“What did you want to say?”

“Oh, well...” Philige started, “I actually just wanted to introduce you to my brother. He’s about your age, and I think you two would be great sparring partners.”

“Sure!" Lolo beamed. It had been a real challenge finding people her age to spar with. Her sparring partners were mostly her brothers, but each set of twins seemed content to spar with each other most of the time, so she was often the odd person out. "Did he come with you?”

“Yeah, he’s in the stands over…” Philige looked around and pointed, “there!”

“Lead the way!”

She followed Philige to the top of the stands. There, in the very back, sat another handsome young man with warm brown hair, blue eyes, a sturdy build, and an unreadable expression on his face.

“Huo Lohse, I’d like you to meet my brother, Standig Tragen."

"Wait. Philige, you're a Tragen?" Huo Lohse made the connection awkwardly. "Standig Tragen… as in the Standig Tragen that got admitted into the exchange last year as a fourteen-year-old?" The two brothers looked at each other, one amused and the other still unreadable. Lolo turned to Philige again. "That would make you… the crown prince of the Bear Tribe!"

"That's me." Philige laughed a soft, pleasant laugh. "And, yes, that's him," Philige said, indicating his brother.

Huo Lohse picked her jaw up off the floor and did her best to recover her dignity. How had Qingchi failed to mention that his sparring partner was a Tragen? "It's a real pleasure to meet you two. I've heard about you from my older brothers… but apparently not very much." She made a quick bow to each of them.

Standig stood up. Though he was still growing, he too was quite tall-- a full head taller than Huo Lohse. He made his own curt bow before sweeping past her and leaving the stands.

"Did I say something wrong?"

Philige sighed. "It's not you, Huo Lohse. Standig has never had an easy time making friends, and he'd rather not have friends at all than try and fail."

"That seems kind of lonely."

"He has a pretty solitary existence, yes."

Lolo's pack sensibilities were offended. "That's just awful! That's awful. Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Well, yes, actually." Philige wasn't quite sure how to continue. "He needs... friends. You-"

"... could be that friend!" she finished for him.

Philige smiled and nodded, relieved that he didn't need to spell it out. "Yes, though he probably won't make it easy for you."

Lolo's characteristically chipper laugh bubbled up to the surface. " Don't worry, Philige. I'm a wolf. 'A wolf is only as strong as her pack,' so once a wolf adds someone to their pack, they never give up on them. Whether he likes it or not, I'm going to adopt Standig."

Philige was taken aback by the boldness of her declaration. Not sure what to think, much less say, he only managed a nervous laugh. Used to this kind of response to her abrupt resolutions from her brothers, Huo Lohse slugged Philige in the arm and took her leave.

Philige sat down on the bench thinking and rubbing his arm once her back was turned. He chuckled to himself. "Ready or not, Standig, you've got a friend now, and this one stings a little."