It didn't sound like a battle. It was too quiet, but there were a lot of men groaning nearby. Lolo managed to open her eyes and realized that she was no longer on a battlefield. She was on a cot somewhere back at the Leader's Lodge. Lifting her head slightly to look around with blurry eyes, Lolo recognized some of the villagers from Pahaad leaning over other cots throughout the room. This was a field hospital. She tried to sit up, but quickly gave up when her head started spinning. No matter. She had a lot that she needed to try and piece together anyway. What were the last things she could remember?

She remembered being in pain, Sattal mocking her, what he'd said didn't seem important enough to try to remember, but why hadn't he killed her? She'd been defenseless.... That's right, someone had stopped him… a bear soldier, and then Fortus. Lolo derived a strange satisfaction from knowing that Fortus had been the one to deliver the killing blow against Sattal. It seemed fitting. But why had she gone down in the first place? She'd been kicked, admittedly hard, but that was all.

While Lolo was pondering everything, a giant shadow fell over her.

"Standig?"

Without a word, he dropped to his knees next to her cot to hug her and cry into her shoulder.

For Standig to have such a strong reaction to her waking up, she must have gone down harder than she’d thought. Either that or…. "Standig, where's Philige?"

Standig lifted his head, pointing to the cot next to her, and Lolo followed his finger.

Philige was unconscious, pale and sweaty. He just looked like he had a fever.

"What happened? What's wrong with him?" Lolo felt the beginnings of panic. "Standig? What happened?!"

“Lolo, you’re awake!” Shanti saw the anxiety on Lolo’s face and sat down to take her hand and explain everything. “You’re worried about the Bear Tribe leader?”

Lolo nodded.

“He was injured. It wasn’t a particularly life-threatening injury, just a flesh wound in his shoulder. Jadu didn’t explain to me what he meant by this exactly, but he said he was able to heal some of the wound before he ran out of energy? Then he had to use a needle and thread. Does that make sense to you?”

Again Lolo nodded. “Then why does Philige look so terrible?”

Shanti sighed. “A number of the dragons fought with poison-tipped weapons. We’ve lost more soldiers to poisoning in the last couple of days than we’ve lost to mortal wounds. Jadu has been working non-stop towards an antidote. He’s managed to find a way to slow the poison, but he hasn’t been able to counter it yet.”

“So Philige is poisoned?”

Shanti nodded.

Lolo glanced at Philige anxiously. “You said ‘days’. How long was I out?”

“I guess it's only been a day and a half.”

“What time is it?”

“It’s a little after midnight.”

“What happened?”

“With the rest of the battle or why did you go down?”

“Both.”

Shanti exchanged a look with Standig. “My understanding is that after you were hurt, the battle didn’t last much longer before the bears had the dragons on the run. They were met at the bottom of the mountain by the Wolf Tribe army, and your brothers saw to it that none of the dragons made it out of Bear Tribe territory alive.”

Lolo wasn’t sure why, but this report made her feel sick. “All of them? The entire dragon army?”

Shanti nodded and swallowed hard. “All of them.”

“But there were over sixty thousand soldiers!”

“Over seventy-five, actually,” Standig corrected her. “Our early estimates were off.” Unlike the two girls, Standig didn’t seem the least bit bothered by how many men had been butchered. In fact, he seemed to be of the opinion that they'd gotten what they'd deserved.

“Any sign of the Dragon General?”

“He didn’t come personally this time,” Standig shook his head.

“What about the Bear and Wolf Tribe casualties?” Lolo looked like she was about to cry.

“Amazingly low numbers all things considered,” Shanti prefaced. “The Bear Tribe lost around eight thousand men, nearly a third of that after the battle from poisoning. We have another ten thousand or so in these field hospitals with injuries. About a quarter of the remaining injured are poisoned.”

Lolo officially started crying. Shanti was right. Considering the odds they’d been up against eighteen thousand total casualties was miraculous, but it was still eighteen thousand men. “And the Wolf Tribe?”

Standig answered this time. “By the time the wolves got here, which they made really good time, the dragons were pretty ragged. The Wolf Tribe lost exactly fifty-two men with maybe a hundred or so additional injuries. Twenty-seven of the wounded men are poisoned.”

“Are any of my brothers still here?”

Standig nodded. “Qingchi and Lingdao stayed behind with a few thousand soldiers to help dispose of all the bodies. They will want to see you now that you’re awake.”

“What happened to me?”

That look was exchanged between Shanti and Standig again. Shanti’s hold on her hand tightened. “Lolo,” Shanti seemed to have given this conversation a lot of thought but was still struggling to find the right way to say things, “what do you remember about being injured?”

“Sattal kicked me in the gut.”

Standig shot out of his seat to punch the wood plank wall hard enough to put a hole through it, and Lolo startled. “Sattal again?!” His voice was venomous and terrifying, so much so that Lolo started crying anew.

“Lolo,” Shanti’s voice was deliberately quiet and calm by contrast, “did you know that you were pregnant?”

Her stunned silence served as an answer.

“I figured as much.” Shanti took a deep breath. “You were pregnant.”

“Were?”

“You miscarried, Lolo. You lost the baby.”

Lolo's eyes darted back and forth between Shanti's pained, somber face and Standig's angry and bitter expression, trying to accept what she’d been told. She felt numb and empty, and she was caught in a struggle of trying to decide which thing to accept first: that she’d lost a baby, or that she’d had a baby to lose. It’s like her heart was trying to grieve, but her head couldn’t figure out how to do that over someone that she’d never even known existed.

“The baby was a girl,” Shanti continued carefully. “She was stillborn, but Philige got to hold her. He buried her himself before the poison set in. You’ll have to ask him about it when he recovers. I think he named her too, but he wanted to tell you about it first.”

Lolo nodded to acknowledge Shanti, but she was still in shock. “Who knows?”

“The team and your brothers,” Standig answered. “We’ve tried to keep it private.”

“Good. That’s good,” Lolo nodded again. Her empty numbness was finally starting to be replaced by the pain and sorrow of loss, and her body began to convulse as she broke down into heavy sobs.

Shanti, still holding her hand, squeezed a little tighter and rubbed her back with her other hand as Lolo curled up on her side. Standig sat back down next to the cot to place a hand on her shoulder and cry with her.

When she’d cried herself dry, Shanti excused herself to help other patients, and Lolo had Standig help her into a sitting position so she could meditate. She drew a lot of curious looks as she absorbed energy, but most people had to avert their eyes. Her wolf spirit was starving, and meditating provided some much-needed relief.

“Help me move to Philige’s bed?” she asked Standig once she’d finished.

“Why? What are you going to do?”

“The only thing I can do for him right now.”

“Which is what, exactly?”

“Give him a refill.”

“Lolo, you’re in no condition-”

“Please, Standig,” she interrupted his argument. “Maybe it can help him fight the poison.”

He couldn’t argue with that, and his own anxiety about his brother's condition disinclined him to dissuade her.

“I promise to meditate again right afterwards for myself,” she added, pleading her case.

Standig reluctantly agreed and moved her over.

Lolo made the connection between her chest and Philige’s and closed her eyes. Passing energy was exhausting, and Lolo was already exhausted. Like before, it felt like she was being slowly drained of her life-force, and before she’d finished, she had to turn away to spit blood as her nose dripped. Once done, Lolo sat up painfully and swooned. Standig caught her and moved her back to her own bed.

“You need to meditate, Lolo,” Standig said nervously, observing the blood on her face and handing her a cloth to wipe it with. “You promised.”

“I did,” Lolo nodded, barely conscious. “Help me sit up.”

Once again, Standig helped her slowly into a sitting position. She started meditating, and she could feel her tired wolf spirit feeding ravenously again. Extremely lightheaded, Lolo managed to maintain her meditation for just a few minutes before being forced to lie down.

***

“And you let her?!” Lolo woke up to Fortus’s angry voice

“Fortus, you know as well as I do that if Philige dies, Lolo could…. It would destroy her,” Standig argued back. “We’d lose them both.”

Fortus didn’t have a counter argument. “She’s already weak from blood loss and… everything else. Passing energy in her current condition could kill her, Standig!”

“But it didn’t,” Standig huffed. “And Philige actually looks a little better this morning for it. She did manage to meditate a bit more before she had to rest. When she wakes up again, she should be feeling at least a little better.”

“Let’s hope so,” Fortus said. “Until Philige recovers, she’s the acting Bear Tribe leader, and the Bear Tribe needs a leader right now.”

“By the way, Fortus," Ulana's voice changed the subject, "the tribe leader’s meeting we called was supposed to be tomorrow. I’m assuming we’re going to have to reschedule.”

“Another reason why we need Lolo,” Fortus grumbled. “We need to send out cancellation notices.”

“I’m sure most tribe leaders are expecting that," Ulana sighed. "The attack on the Bear Tribe is big news, and the Bear Queen was the host of the meeting.”

“Guys,” Lolo croaked, “help me up, will you?”

“Lolo!” Fortus snatched her in a hug, sounding infinitely relieved. “You’re an idiot, you know that?! What were you thinking, passing energy to Philige when you can barely stay conscious yourself?”

“It’s good to see you too, Fortus. Sorry to worry you.”

“You’ve got a lot of work to do. Are you up for it?”

“Standig, can you help me get to my room to clean up and change first? Ulana, maybe come with in case I need help?”

Fortus nodded and moved out of the way so Standig could help Lolo up.

***

A cleaned and dressed up Huo Lohse arrived at The Great Hall (with Standig’s arm serving as a crutch) to find the council of elders in chaos, scrambling to get things organized and to prioritize issues after the battle.

“Can I have your attention, please?” Lolo’s voice was too faint to be heard over the racket. “Excuse me!”

“HEY!” Standig shouted on her behalf, and the room settled uneasily.

“Thank you,” Lolo nodded to Standig. “Council, I’m sorry to have left you in a bind the last couple of days. Let’s get started, shall we?”

“Bear Queen, no offense, but you’re not even a bear. And furthermore, you’ve never even come to one of our meetings before now,” a rather cantankerous elder felt obligated to point out. “Where is your husband?”

“Philige is unable to attend himself,” Lolo said flatly. “You’re right. I am a bear only by marriage, and I have not attended your meetings personally. However, Philige has been keeping me up to date on all the issues you discuss here, and I am confident that I can fill in for him until he recovers.”

“What makes you think that you’re even capable of leading our tribe through this crisis?” the elder countered bitterly.

Lolo swayed on her feet a little, leaning into Standig for stability, and Standig, with his short fuse after the last couple of days, had had enough. “You’re talking to our queen!” he growled. “You will treat her with the respect that she deserves! She is the daughter of the former Wolf Tribe leader, and she was educated as a potential Alpha. She is more qualified for the position of the Bear Tribe leader than anyone else in this room, and she is loyal to our tribe, bear or wolf!”

Taken aback, the elder took his seat quietly and said no more.

Lolo cleared her throat, and sat down at Philige’s usual desk before she could collapse on her feet. “Who has the damage report from the battle?”

Someone stood up and started reading off a list of damages. “The trading post was destroyed along with forty-three homes and thirty-eight farms....”

“For a total of eighty-one families displaced? Or were thirty-eight of those destroyed homes the homes of farmers?” Lolo brought up a good point.

“Um, I’m not sure.”

“Does anyone know the answer?”

Silence.

Lolo scribbled something on the paper she'd brought to take notes. “We’ll look into it in a bit. Any civilian casualties from the trading post or the destroyed homes?”

“I don’t know,” the reporting elder admitted again, and Lolo wrote that down.

“Continue.”

“As of this morning’s report from General Starkam-”

“Wait. Any other property damage to report?”

“Some of the forest burned where the dragons marched through, but otherwise, no.”

“What about the smaller tribes the dragons passed on the way to get here? Did they sustain damage?”

Again, she was met with silence, and again, Lolo scribbled on her paper.

“General Starkam’s report?” she asked.

“As of this morning, we’ve lost eight thousand one hundred and seventy-six men. An additional nine thousand, eight hundred and ninety-one men are being treated for injuries.”

“How many of those being treated are poisoned?” Lolo asked.

“Sorry?”

“You know about the poison, right?”

More silence, more notes.

“I know Jadu Bhuje from New Pahaad is working on an antidote to treat the poisoned soldiers. I will ask him directly about his progress and report back to you tomorrow,” Lolo added. “Really quickly, the displaced families, where are they currently staying?”

“Here in the Leader’s Lodge.”

“From the village projects, how many homes are currently available?”

“The-the village projects?”

“The homes you’ve been working to build in close proximity to main roads to help condense our population of civilians.”

“Oh, that! Well, uh, the Bear Tribe leader has been tracking that project personally. We don’t have all the details readily available.”

“Who is the project manager?”

“His name is Erbar.”

“And where can I find him?” Lolo was getting annoyed by how not forthcoming these elders were being, but they honestly didn’t seem to know the answers to her questions. She was frustrated by the inefficiency. No wonder Philige was always in meetings. He had to be responsible for knowing everything! “Fine,” Lolo sighed and wrote down “find Erbar” on her paper. “Moving on. What is the plan for informing the families of fallen soldiers and for troop recovery?”

“You would need to speak with General Starkam about that,” someone said unhelpfully.

Huo Lohse had to work really hard to not roll her eyes. “Ok. Have you made any plans to rebuild the trading post? Or help the displaced families rebuild their homes?”

“Not yet.”

“Are there any other pressing matters of business to discuss?”

“Nothing pressing, no,” someone finally said after another awkward silence.

“Alright.” Lolo looked down at her paper and counted off items that needed addressing. “Let’s form seven temporary project committees. I will need volunteers. Standig, take down the names of our committee members, please.”

Standig nodded and found writing supplies.

“The first committee will be responsible for the trading post project. You will talk to merchants and civilians for feedback on things to improve with the new build, including things like location (perhaps look into relocating the trading post closer to the Leader’s Lodge), accessibility, infrastructure, etcetera, and you will help to coordinate the hiring of architects and builders to make sure the trading post is rebuilt in a timely and efficient manner. I need eight volunteers to start.”

Lolo formed committees to reach out to all the small tribes between the Dragon and Bear Tribes, identify and advocate the needs of the displaced families staying at the Leader’s Lodge, coordinate efforts to inform and honor the families of fallen soldiers, represent the field hospitals and medical personnel from New Pahaad, advocate the needs of injured soldiers, and find and coordinate efforts with Erbar, specifically to provide alternative and hopefully more readily available housing options to the displaced families. By the time she was done, nearly every elder had an assignment.

“Meet with your committees and discuss your assigned issues. Identify a group leader from among you to be responsible for preparing your reports. Delegate all other necessary assignments. Today, gather the information you need to give me a full report on your respective issues at tomorrow’s meeting. Ask lots of questions, people! We need more information in order to move forward. I need to know what all the needs are, the numbers of people involved, who we can talk to about any problems we run into, what resources are being requested from us, what resources are already available, and anything else you can think of that might be important. Dismissed!”

The elders got up to shuffle around the room and group up in their committees.

“Standig, I’m not feeling well,” Lolo whispered. “Can you help me get back to the field hospital?” She was getting nauseous and clammy, and her head had started spinning again.

“Yeah, you don’t look good,” Standig observed, offering her a hand.

Lolo stood up to accept it and promptly fainted. Standig caught her before she hit the floor, but her collapse didn’t go unnoticed. The elders were immediately concerned.

“What’s wrong with the Bear Queen?”

“She was injured in the battle,” Standig stated coldly as he scooped Lolo up to carry her out.

“She doesn’t look injured.”

“Well, she is.”

“Then why is she here instead of your brother?”

“He was injured too, and he’s unconscious and poisoned. You really didn’t know that?!”

“We figured that might be the case, but no one informed us directly.”

“What have you all been doing since the battle?” Standig was annoyed at best.

“Just trying to keep things running.”

Standig shook his head. “Then carry out your committee assignments well, and we’ll see you again tomorrow. I’m going to take the queen to get some rest and medical attention.”