I brought a handful of slimeberries back to the camp for Tuck. He could decide whether to take them as an insult or a peace offering. I was secretly hoping for peace.

But Tuck just looked at me. "You think they're better this morning than they were last night?"

I sighed, disappointed. "They get better after the first time, you know. You get sort of numb to the taste."

Tuck looked up at me sharply from the ashes he'd been burying, then quickly schooled his features into a more relaxed expression. "How would you know that?" he asked carefully.

I shrugged. "I don't mind them so much this morning as I did last night. It makes sense."

"Two days," Tuck snorted under his breath.

"Maybe if you weren't so hungry you wouldn't be so touchy." I regretted the words as soon as I'd spoken. They were too bold, even for me. I dreaded my teammate's reaction.

But, though it spread slowly, it was only the boyish grin that returned to his face. I breathed a small sigh of relief, though my head was swimming in confusion.

"You're probably right," he said, and bent back to the ashes. "You'll just have to put up with me. You ready to go?"

I nodded, though he wasn't looking up, swung my pack onto my back, and released the slimy, green berries into a pile on the ground. Spike came rolling over, stared at them for a few seconds, and then made such an obvious expression of disgust that Tuck and I both laughed.

"I'll have to feed her soon," Tuck commented, hoisting his own pack onto his back, "if she's even looking at slimeberries."

"What do puffans eat?" I asked, glad for a safe topic. Tuck grinned mischievously. "You've never seen a puffan eat?" he asked, and when I shook my head continued, "This could be extremely fun."

"Why?"

"You'll see!" Tuck gave the fireplace one last stomp with his foot. "Hopefully the clearing will go unnoticed until it cools enough to hide its age. Or maybe some fellow Cols'll find it and have a night's campground. Lead the way, Spike!" And he began briskly walking after the happily rolling puffan. I followed, completing the procession, still alone and uncertain, but at least a little less afraid.

And so began the longest and most boring march of my life. We started marching when the sun was barely above the eastern horizon. By the time it was midway through the eastern sky I was thoroughly bored. I tried making conversation, just for the sake of keeping myself awake, but Tuck wasn't cooperating. He wasn't rude or snappish; he just answered me curtly and moved on at his brisk pace. His excuse was that keeping track of every detail of the terrain took concentration. He was lying, though, I thought. Just one more mystery.

I didn't bother pressing though, partly for the sake of keeping the delicate peace and partly because I had no breath to waste, trying to keep up with the missioneer and his pet.

When the sun was a little past midway through the sky, things finally started to get interesting. I was beyond relieved, as I'd been ready to collapse partly from boredom and partly because I'd been walking for eight hours straight. I'd never realized just how exhausting walking could be. I was thankful we weren't moving uphill � I don't know if I could have kept up.

What got interesting was that Spike stopped rolling on ahead of us, searching for bouncy mushrooms and whatever other such fun toys puffans enjoyed, and began moving in swift figure eights about our legs. Tuck stopped and knelt down before we could trip over her, and she made a few distressed, wailing noises. Tuck patted her head (or the top of her round body) and settled her down and began walking again. Spike grinned happily.

"What did she say?" I asked, like a child.

"She's hungry," Tuck replied simply. "We'll have to head for the forest."

I didn't care what Spike's being hungry had to do with the forest; I was exceedingly grateful for a change of scenery from the wide green river and tall yellow grass.

It only took us a few minutes to reach the edge of the woods, which was nothing compared to the walking we'd done all morning. Tuck made us travel a considerable distance into the forest before we came to a place he deemed safe for Spike's feeding. I immediately sat down at the base of a large tree to rest my sore legs. Spike eyed me curiously.

Tuck cocked his head at me and half smiled. "So you think it's time to rest?" he asked. Somehow, he didn't seem at all affected by the eight-hour march. "This is where the hard part begins."

I felt my jaw drop. Tuck smiled at my consternation. "Sorry, Bryt..." he laughed. Tears sprang up behind my eyes. I was tired, sore, sweaty, and hungry. Mainly tired. Come on, Bryt, I scolded myself, this is no big deal. Otherwise Tuck wouldn't be happy.

I think I managed to get up and ask what we were doing without revealing any signs of my distress.

"We need to hunt for her," Tuck explained. "Some caipas or red or black saam. They won't be too hard to find; it's killing and capturing them that will be tough."

"Caipa? Saam?" I said in disbelief. "But those animals are bigger than humans. How could a puffan possibly eat something that huge? I never even thought she was a carnivore!"

"Life is surprising, isn't it?" Tuck answered. "Yes, Spike is a carnivore. All puffans are. But you won't see this adorable little balloon chowing down on a stack of dead caipa. No, it'll be a beast the size of a tree that does the dirty work."

It took me a moment to comprehend. "You mean she's going to change to her other form!" I gasped. During the time I'd spent with the "adorable little balloon" I'd almost forgotten that she had the ability to become a giant monster. I looked down at the sweetly smiling ball in disbelief. "No way," I breathed.

"Sorry to disappoint you," Tuck said, not sounding sorry at all. "But at least you should be happy to know these woods are full of caipa herds, and there are both red and black saam. Plus some smaller animals for us. Our first actual food."

I was glad to hear this, but skeptical. "How do you know?" I asked.

"I've spent plenty of time here. Sometimes I practically live in this forest."

"Oh. So are you friends with any saam around here?" I asked nonchalantly.

"Not after last time," Tuck grinned. "But if we can find a herd of caipa, it'll be easier. I was hoping we'd see some at the river. They can be pretty elusive here in the forest. But they never stray too far from water. They'll be around here somewhere."

"You're way too cheerful," I grumbled, but I was glad for it.

"How are you at shooting that bow?" Tuck gestured to the weapon slung across my back.

"I hit the center nearly every time at Training."

"Ever try a moving target?"

"Yeah. I miss sometimes, but I can do it."

"Good," Tuck said. "'Cause I'm not so good with a bow and arrow."

"Subtlety's not your thing, is it?"

A smile slowly emerged on Tuck's face. "No, I guess it's not."

I smiled to myself, pleased to have uncovered another small clue.

"So now we go find a herd?" I asked, dropping my pack so that only my bow and quiver remained on my back.

"Yup," Tuck stepped over to a tall, green tree and grabbed the lowest branch. I watched as he pulled himself up and began climbing the tree.

"Why..." I started to ask, then stopped. The tree was tall, and the woods weren't yet dense. Of course it would be easier to spot a herd from the top of a tree.

"Come on up!" Tuck shouted down to me. "We'll need to work together to reach the top."

Though I was still dead tired, I was excited. Climbing had always been one of my favorite exercises, and it was like second nature to me. I dropped my bow and arrows next to my pack, didn't bother taking my rope since Tuck had his, grasped the thick, chest-high branch, and began my climb.

Tuck had paused about a third of the way up the tree, and I reached him quickly.

"Not bad."

"Thanks," I smiled at the compliment. I was out of breath, despite having made the climb look easy.

"Now comes the hard part."

"I was really not hoping you were about to say that."

Tuck just grinned boyishly.

Working together, with the help of the rope, we managed to get me a little above the top of the trunk.

"See anything? Look for movement," Tuck advised. I turned carefully in a circle, which was a little frightening fifteen meters above the ground, but the gigantic tree was sturdy.

I had rotated almost a full 360 degrees before I saw them � if I'd turned to my left instead of my right I'd have spotted them instantly. A whole herd of caipa! I didn't know what size caipa herds typically were, but his one looked enormous. I couldn't count the number of beasts I saw, and there were probably more further on. They were headed toward the river and had stopped to munch on some slimeberries.

"We got some," I said quietly down at Tuck.

"All right! First try! Let's go!"

That was easier said than done. We'd needed each other's help just to get up, and it was hard to help each other going down. Often climbing down is more difficult than climbing up. It's almost always more dangerous, and it's less exhilarating. I still enjoyed it, though.

Unfortunately, between the downward climb and walking the vast distance between the tree and the herd, most of my adrenaline had drained and I was once again struggling to stay awake. I hoped I'd be able to keep my eyes open while I aimed my arrows.

"Ooof!" I felt something slap me across the chest. Great � I'd sleepwalked into a tree branch. I tried to open my eyes.

"Bryt!" Tuck spoke quietly but urgently. Then he got impatient and slapped my forehead. "Wake up!"

I woke up. "What time is it?" I asked. Then I realized that I hadn't walked into a branch, but into Tuck's arm.

"Quiet!" he hissed. "The caipa have excellent hearing!"

"Caipa? You mean we found them?"

"Yes." Tuck didn't sound happy. "Do you think you can hit one from here?"

I looked. Through the trees and bushes I saw many caipa, most with their necks stretched to the ground, either drinking or grazing. I should easily be able to hit one. I wasn't sure if I could be trusted in this state, but here was a chance to prove myself. I nodded.

"Then do it."

A still target. Not too far away. I just had to be perfectly silent. I could do it. I reached for an arrow, drew it well back in the bowstring, aimed...released!

I did it.

The injured animal emitted a sort of honking sound, and the herd began scurrying about in confusion.

"Hit them!" Tuck yelled. "We'll need at least two or three."

I rapidly fired two more arrows. Both struck their moving targets.

"Yeah, Bryt! All right!" Tuck shouted jubilantly. The herd was gone � caipa can move very swiftly � but the three injured beasts had been unable to run away. They're really very frail animals, despite their strong legs and thick, yellowish fur.

I moved closer, now with plenty of time, and aimed an arrow straight through the head of the stillest caipa. It collapsed and died instantly.

One of the others found a new reserve of strength and took off after the herd. Tuck, which'd already been running toward the wounded animals, followed it.

The third caipa was staggering, obviously suffering from internal injuries. But it didn't fall. Its movements were wild and unpredictable. It has to fall soon, I told myself, or it will recover and run off like the other had. I couldn't let that happen. I had a job to do, and had to prove I could do it. I made a prediction as to where the head would be, and shot. Miss! I cursed silently and aimed again, this time for the body, just trying to bring it down, not kill it. Hit! The animal cried out and fell. There was no longer any threat that it would escape.

It was lying on the ground, twitching. I leaned over it and drew my knife to finish the kill. I picked out a spot in its skull into which to thrust the blade. I raised the knife � I caught a quick movement and felt two powerful hooves shove me backward. I fell on my back. The caipa at first tried to get up and run, but, clutching my side, I got up first, threw my body on top of the bleeding animal, and forced my knife all the way through its head to the ground. I fell away, and my bloody knife slid out of the dead caipa's head. I grimaced at the pain in my side, but at least nothing was broken. The animal in its weakened state had only been able to inflict superficial damage. I leaned back on my hands and waited for Tuck.

I waited for about ten minutes, I thought. My mind's not so great at tracking time. The knife in Tuck's hand when he arrived was bloody, too. In fact, he had dark brown caipa blood all over him. It smelled terrible.

"Did you get 'em?" he panted as I came into his view.

I nodded. Tuck grinned halfheartedly. "Good. Then let's get out of here before things start to get messy."