“We only have one week left?!” Lolo jumped out of her seat, knocking her chair over and drawing the attention of the entire class. Remembering herself, she smiled sheepishly and waved to the older students in apology before righting the chair and sitting back down to resume the whispered conversation with her friends. “Do we really only have one more week left?”

Ulana nodded animatedly. “Yeah! Not counting today, there are only two more days of classes, and then we have just a few days of downtime. So not even a full week!”

“That doesn’t seem possible,” Lolo frowned, truly disappointed.

“Well, let’s make the most of it,” Durfein suggested.

The smile returned to Lolo’s face. “Yes!” She paused. “What did you have in mind, Durfein?”

Durfein raised his eyebrows and shook his head. “I was hoping you’d have some ideas, Lolo.”

Lolo looked at her brothers, Haowan and Zhongyan, but they shook their heads too. Sighing a little, Huo Lohse’s brow furrowed as she contemplated ideas for a memorable last few days. “Oh! I’ve got it! Let’s have a bonfire!”

“A bonfire?” Et’zana asked, unconvinced.

Zhongyan smiled encouragingly. “Yeah! Bonfires are fun. You get together with a bunch of friends in the woods to stay up late and play games, tell stories, dance, share some snacks…” he trailed off. “Lolo, let’s hold the bonfire after the last day of classes. That way no one will be worried about falling asleep in class the next day.”

“That’s a good plan,” Fortus agreed.

“Should we invite any of the older students?” Shanti asked.

“We could…. Did you have anyone specific in mind?” Lolo asked.

“Apart from my brother, not anyone in particular, no.”

“We could just invite everyone. I don’t know that they would all show up, but it could be the last hurrah for the whole class. What do you guys think?” Lolo looked around at the rest of the group.

“Well, by the time we finish inviting everyone’s siblings, we might as well just invite the whole lot. I mean, in addition to Jadu, we’ve got the four older Lang brothers, and Ulana’s sisters. Oh! And Philige, too,” Fortus listed them off.

“And don’t forget that if Amidra comes, Galod will get dragged along with her,” Ulana posited.

“Who does that even leave?” Haowan joked.

“Let’s see… Sharisip and Kuchezan, Tamkhee and Sattal, and Insaltus.” Huo Lohse listed them off. “I can see Sharisip and Kuchezan wanting to come, and maybe Insaltus, but I don’t think Tamkhee or Sattal will be too keen.”

“Well, it’s sounding like if we want to invite anyone, we’re going to have to invite everyone, and then they can decide if they want to come or not,” Et’zana summed-up the conversation concisely.

“I guess the question that remains is just: is everyone ok with that, or do we want to keep it limited to the first and second years?” Shanti looked around, hoping someone else would answer.

“I’m fine with whatever,” Fortus dared to be first and was followed by a staggered sound-off of ‘me too’ from most of the group.

“Standig, you’ve been more quiet than usual. What do you think?” Lolo poked the bear next to her.

Still stuck processing that the summer’s exchange was almost over, Standig didn’t have an opinion to offer. He merely looked at Lolo blankly.

Huo Lohse decided to speak for him. “You’re ok to invite the older students too, huh?” No one waited for Standig to respond and instead took Lolo’s word as his opinion, but while the rest of the group continued chatting merrily about plans for the bonfire, Lolo continued to meet Standig’s gaze, searching for the explanation of his current behavior.

The class was dismissed, and the first and second years got busy making sure everyone was invited to join in the bonfire in a couple of days. Lolo snagged the still distracted Standig and pulled him aside, waiting for the rest of the students to leave the classroom.

Once they were alone, she rounded on Standig. “Are you alright?” She was watching his face closely for any chink in his mask. After a considerable pause, Standig sat down in the nearest seat, and Lolo sat down on the desk in front of him. She repeated, “Standig? Are you alright?”

“Yes.”

She frowned at him, still searching his face. “What’s going on?”

He met her eyes, then decided better of it and looked back down. “I just- it’s just that...” he wasn’t sure how to say what he was trying to say. “It’s almost over.”

“You mean the exchange?”

He looked up again and nodded. “Mn.”

“And you’re feeling…?”

“I dunno.” He looked back down as something in his face changed, but Lolo caught it.

“You seem off, Standig. Are you sad that the summer is almost over?”

“I guess so... yes?”

“What are you sad about exactly?”

Standig wasn’t sure. He hadn’t felt this way at the end of last year’s exchange.

Lolo could see the gears grinding against each other in Standig’s head. “I’m going to miss all of you guys. It stinks to have to say goodbye. We should come up with a plan to stay in touch! We could write letters? We have spent the whole summer together, but you’ve never told me much about your home or your family. I promise I will write back.” She smiled warmly trying to disperse the gloomy atmosphere, but her words only seemed to usher in more rain clouds. Standig looked positively depressed. She replayed her comments in her head. “Hey, I'll see you next summer!”

“It’s not that.”

Lolo thought harder. “You don’t like writing letters? Even if you never respond, I will still write to you.”

Standig bit his lip.

Lolo felt like she was grasping at straws. “Don’t you want to go home and see your family?”

Standig twitched.

Unfathomably, she’d hit it. Lolo felt her stomach hollow out. “Why wouldn’t you want to go home?” The tension was palpable as the clouds around Standig’s head became a storm.

When he spoke again, his voice was quiet and icy. “My home is not a happy place, Lolo.”

“But Phil-”

“Drop it, Lolo.” There was a danger in his whisper that instantly silenced her. “Let’s go.” He stood up and moved to the door. Lolo didn’t move; she was a million miles away, her eyebrows knit together trying to understand what Standig had just said, and, more importantly, what he hadn’t said. “Are you coming?”

“What? Oh. Yeah. I’m coming.” She got up still in a daze and followed him on a silent walk back to the main courtyard.

Philige caught the pair as they arrived at the courtyard and clapped his brother on the shoulder before registering his mood. In response, Standig glared at him. Philige moved off apologetically and pulled Huo Lohse aside while Standig continued toward his room.

"What's up with him?" Philige indicated Standig and then saw his brother's dark mood reflected in Lolo's face. "What's wrong with you?"

"Philige, what is the Bear Tribe like?"

The question slapped him across the face. "Why do you ask?"

"Standig told me that it's not a happy place and then shut me down when I tried to get some clarification." Philige visibly tensed as she continued. "Why wouldn't Standig want to go home?"

He opened and closed his mouth a few times trying to find words to answer her question. It was a simple question with a complicated answer, and there was not a good place to start explaining it to her.

"Philige, do you want to go home?"

His face suddenly looked melancholy. The truth was… but how could he tell her that? Having grown up in the Wolf Tribe, a place where families and looking out for each other are of paramount importance, Lolo couldn't possibly understand what life was like in the Bear Tribe. Philige didn't dare try to explain it to her either. "I'm sorry, Lolo. I don't have good answers for your questions. But next year, the training exchange will be held at the Bear Tribe. You will get your answers then."

Even more confused by Philige's inability to answer what seemed like very basic questions, Lolo shuffled off to her room to get changed in contemplative silence.

***

The next day was a final exam of sorts. The trainees were given a couple hours to write an essay detailing the things they had learned during their time in the Wolf Tribe. As the exchange was voluntary and grades were not assigned, the essay didn’t serve much purpose beyond giving feedback to the Wolf Tribe elders on lessons that stood out and held the most meaning to the students, and it was a nice thing to send home to the trainee’s parents and leaders to prove that their time in the exchange was well spent.

The last day of class was set aside for a tournament held in the great field outside the walls of Pack Hall, and the Wolf Tribe civilians showed up in crowds to watch the fun from the sidelines of the makeshift sparring fields. Because much of the Wolf Tribe swordsmanship centered around partner maneuvers, students joined the tournament with their sparring partners and were then assigned matches in a tournament bracket.

Once the bracket was publicized, the trainees crowded around it to figure out who their first competitors were and when their matches would be held. Having won a previous competition, (but mostly because there were an odd number of teams), Standig and Huo Lohse were moved directly to the second tier of the tournament bracket.

“So, Standig, it looks like there will be two or three matches going at any given time. ‘Want to chose which matches you want to watch together?”

“Sure. Who’s up in the first round?”

Lolo consulted the tournament schedule. “It looks like Sattal and Tamkhee versus Amidra and Galod on field one-- that won’t be much of a match. Field two has Kuchezan and Sharisip against Rensui and Insaltus. And then field three will be Philige and Qingchi against Zizai and Jadu.”

“I might be biased, but I’m thinking match three.”

“I was thinking either two or three too, so let’s do three.”

“Who is in the second wave?”

“Um, Lingdao and Sarnai versus Fortus and Shanti or Haowan and Ulana versus Zhongyan and Et’zana. Match two?”

“That would be my choice. And then we get a lunch break before the next round of matches, right?”

“Oh! And that’s when Durfein is unveiling his big project! He’s been so secretive about it, I’m excited to see it.”

An hour later, Lolo and Standig joined the crowd gathered around field three where Philige and Qingchi were preparing to battle Zizai and Jadu.

“Any bets on how this turns out?” Lolo asked.

“My bet is on Philige and Qingchi,” Standig declared confidently. “They’re a bit older, and have a really strong partnership.”

“Don’t count out Zizai and Jadu! They have unusually good non-verbal communication, and every bit as good of a partnership. But I think you are right. I think experience will be a big factor in this match, and Philige and Qingchi have the clear advantage there. At home, Qingchi’s one extra year on Zizai usually gives him the upper hand.”

“What if Qingchi squares up against Jadu?”

Lolo’s eyebrow came together in thought. “I don’t know Jadu or his sword style well enough to give an accurate prediction there. I mean, apart from the one time Shanti introduced us, our relationship has been relegated to a polite acquaintanceship. Jadu's interests lie… elsewhere, but he seems to hold his own alright. I dunno! If Zizai can keep Philige’s attention and hold out long enough against him to let Jadu deal with Qingchi, we might have a real match.”

“Well, we are about to find out.”

On the field, a moderator called the match to order. The two teams positioned themselves across from each other, Philige across from Jadu, Qingchi across from Zizai, and the moderator gave the start command. Right out of the gate, Zizai and Jadu decided to test Lolo’s theory and pulled a switch attack, pitting Zizai against Philige and Jadu against Qingchi. While Zizai began a game of cat and mouse with Philige, Jadu and Qingchi entered a furious battle. Qingchi’s technique was a little more refined than Jadu’s, but Jadu fought with a calmness that made each stroke of his sword look easy. Ultimately, they were very evenly matched.

Seven minutes into the competition, Qingchi was getting frustrated with his lack of progress against Jadu while Jadu’s composure remained untainted. “Philige!” Qingchi called out to his partner who was similarly frustrated by his failed attempts to engage Zizai in any meaningful combat.

Philige rushed Jadu with Zizai following hot on his heels to engage Qingchi and take the pressure off of Jadu. A minute later, Zizai and Jadu positioned themselves to pull another switch attack, and Qingchi was once again forced to contend with Jadu while Zizai flirted Philige back out of position and moved to screen him off from the match between Jadu and Qingchi. Zizai’s wall effectively kept Philige from helping his partner for another eight minutes before Philige managed to engage Zizai in a proper fight and beat him. With Zizai down, Jadu lost to the combined strength of Philige and Qingchi, concluding the wildly entertaining-to-watch match.

“I have to hand it to Jadu and Zizai,” Standig commented to Lolo after the cheering died down enough to be heard, “that was a solid strategy, and they held out a lot longer than I anticipated.”

Lolo, energized by the epic match, bounced on the balls of her feet, her eyes twinkling. “The match lasted long enough, the next match we were going to watch might have already started. Let’s go!” Lolo grabbed Standig’s hand to lead him quickly through the crowds toward field two.

By the time Lolo and Standig got there, Haowan and Ulana had already been sparring against Zhongyan and Et’zana for quite a while. The twins had paired off; evenly matched, they were just biding time while the girls duked things out. Et’zana, who had studied swordsmanship from a tender age, had a clear technical advantage over Ulana who had only picked up the sword recently, but Ulana had a lot more raw talent and energy and nearly a foot of height on the petite sphinx princess. For this reason the girls were also very evenly matched. Eventually, Ulana simply overpowered Et’zana which ultimately decided the competition in Haowan and Ulana’s favor.

“That was a good fight if less entertaining than the first one,” Lolo said as she and Standig made their way back to Pack Hall for a picnic lunch in the main courtyard. “Ulana’s made a lot of progress as a swordsman this summer.”

“Mn,” Standig agreed.