Julie began to love her traveling party as a family. She spent many nights joking around with a large family that had taken all of their cats with them from the triangle. Julie also particularly enjoyed the conversation of a boy who had devised many different ways of attacking imaginary enemies with his machete. She, herself, had never pulled out her machete once. She had no use for it, as the waterholes were already cleared out when she reached them, and she had no enemies.

The grasslands gave way to thick forests. Always the travelers stuck with the river. In the woods Julie and her friends devised a game. They would pick up a piece of wood, a pine cone, or a twig, and hit it around in the air between them with their hands, trying to see just how long they could keep it from falling. Sometimes their cerses would even join in, flailing out their long, muscular trunks at whatever the object happened to be. Since the object most often was a twig, the girls decided to name the game "twig." Almost every member of their traveling party, at one time or another, joined in on a game of twig.

Why is twig important enough to mention in Julie's story? Actually, twig was the catalyst of a very interesting part of Julie's life. You see, the travelers had made a quick stop at an outpost in the forest. They bought supplies and shared stories for a few hours, and then were on their way. A few of the people at the outpost joined them on their journey. They rode horses, faster and more irritable than the gentle cerses. One of the people who joined them was a short, seemingly nice and calm young man. He immediately took great interest in Julie's group of friends, originally because he wanted to join in on a game of twig. He charmed Julie, and after the first game of twig they spent more and more time together. Julie neglected her friends, unknowingly, and spent more and more time lagging behind the group with him, holding hands between their steeds.

"You know, you have the most beautiful eyes." He said once, and she blushed, as though he was the first person ever to make that observation. The romance between the two grew, and lasted right up until the day the group entered the mountains.

That morning, Julie was awoken by a scream. Immediately, regaining her old instincts in a second, she raced to see what was wrong. Her blond haired friend was standing, a horrified look on her face.

"My necklace from my mother, Julie! Its pure diamond and he took it!"

"Who?"

"Your stupid boyfriend! He's been staring at it for weeks, you've just been to blind to see it. Now its gone! He stole it right from my neck while I was sleeping!"

Shocked and ashamed, Julie looked around and sure enough she saw that both her boyfriend and his horse were gone. Exboyfriend she though bitterly, racing to her cerse as fast as her legs would carry her. She led her cerse over to where his horse had been tied, letting it get the scent in its long nose.

"We have to find him as quickly as possible," she said, looking deep into the animal's earnest eyes. Her cerse responded immediately by coiling it's strong trunk around her waist and almost throwing her onto it's back; taking off with it's trunk pointed out, sniffing furiously; and running as fast as it's long cerse legs would carry it. Julie grabbed two handfuls of it's long red fur, and flattened herself onto it's back. They continued on like that for a long time, the cerse winding and turning, never straying far from the river bank, and always following it's long, outstretched trunk. Eventually the ground turned to gravel, and Julie saw a great canyon looming up on both sides of the river. Her cerse plunged right on into it, trunk still sniffing, it's legs running faster now. It seemed that the loose gravel of the canyon suited the large padded feet of cerses much better than the rooted, tangled forest floor.

Suddenly he appeared in front of her, the young man on his horse. They were picking their way slowly along the gravel of the stream bed. As soon as they came into sight her cerse let out a trumpet of triumph. Startled, he looked back a moment, and then plunged ahead, sending gravel flying everywhere. The chase was on. When he started galloping away Julie was sure it was all over. She underestimated, however, the power of an aggravated cerse. Suddenly she found herself flying along at a pace unimaginable, gaining on the horse with every step, her cerse emitting huffs and stunted trumpets of aggravation.

Finally the two riders were equal, and just as Julie's cerse reached out and knocked the boy off his steed with it's trunk, the boy reached out and knocked Julie off of her steed as well. They both tumbled down into the gravel at the edge of the river, sending water and small stones flying in every direction. They both stood up, bleeding and dripping, as well as pushing and shouting.

"Give me the necklace!" She stormed. "You thief!"

"What are you talking about?" He yelled back, failing miserably at keeping a straight face. She noticed its chain sticking out from his pocket. She snatched it out, and sure enough, the diamond necklace hung from the chain in her fingers. Not fast enough, though. He reached out and grabbed her forearm, and the necklace dangled in the air between them. In a flash, for the first time in her life, her left hand reached behind her and pulled out the machete from it's holster she had strapped to her pack. She swung the blade towards him, stopping it just before his neck. She tried to hold in her surprise at her beginner's luck of not cutting into herself or him accidentaly. She set her face as hard as she could.

"Let go, you bastard."

He was never given the chance to respond. Just then her cerse's trunk came swinging out of nowhere and knocked him flat, unconscious, to the ground. Julie's mouth dropped open, her right hand holding out the precious necklace, her left hand pointing her machete into midair. Her cerse, half panting, half growling, stood looking down at the boys unconscious body, trunk raised, ready to strike again at any sudden moves.

"Julie!" The call came splitting the air, and Julie turned to see the entire band of travelers making their way up the canyon towards her. Her blond friend was in the front, and came running towards her as they got nearer.

"Thank you so much!" She said, taking the necklace and pulling Julie into a hug. "I'm sorry I doubted you! That was amazing!" She looked at the machete now hanging loosely in Julie's hand by her side. "I didn't even know that could be used as a weapon."

"Neither did I." Julie replied, wiping sweat from her face. "And I hope it will never have to be again."