Bares-claws walks further into the village, trailing silently behind the one the Pathwalker had called ‘Iandee’. It’s a strange name for a Warrior, but he does his best to reserve judgement for now – this is a new village and might easily have new rules. He doesn’t want to run afoul of them on the first day – now he doesn’t have the protection of his master, he doesn’t want to find out the consequences of that. He does feel rather vulnerable without his beasts at his heels – ever since his master gave them to him they have been his shadows when outside his home village. And this is most certainly not his home.

  Kills-a-deer doesn’t seem to be as nervous as Bares-claws is. He’s staring around at everything with wide eyes, advertising the fact that he’s a newcomer as well as if his spikes started talking and shouted it for all to hear. But what can be expected of one barely more than a hatchling? Bares-claws doesn’t blame him for his curiosity, though he’s personally trying to be a bit discreet about it – everyone will already know he’s new; he doesn’t need to make it as obvious as the other Unevolved is.

  It’s just so…different from what they’re used to. This village is bigger for one thing, probably about double the number of huts around. Bares-claws’ village used to be more populous – the remains of huts proves that if nothing else. But at some point it reduced in size and the unused huts were not maintained, soon collapsing in on themselves and leaving only holes in the ground as a remnant of their presence.

  But it’s not the size of the village which catches his attention. It’s not even the number of People just sitting around and chatting with each other – though that is surprising enough. Instead, it’s the colour. Every hut seems to have at least one woven mat decorating its outside wall. Some have woven mats which depict creatures from the forest or other members of the People; others are just repeating patterns with bold colours.

  And then there are all the People sitting and talking. Most of them are doing something at the same time. Bares-claws sees some People using an oddly coloured knife to carve into wood. He seems to be making a bowl – an Unevolved is making something! He’s not just finding the resources for the Pathwalkers to make the object, paying in tokens for it. It seems to be a much slower process: Bares-claws has seen a Pathwalker make the same item within a few breaths where this Unevolved has to shave the wood away bit by bit. That he has the time to do such a thing is probably the most surprising thing.

  There’s another, also using a knife on wood, who seems to be creating…shapes? Bares-claws sees something that looks rather like the big beast which had accompanied the Warrior leading them and then stayed behind with the Pathwalker. What purpose does that have? Is it controlling the beast somehow? Bares-claws wonders. But if so, does that make this Unevolved the Pathwalker’s assistant or something?

  The number of hatchlings running around is surprising too. Given the number of Pathwalkers he knows that this village boasts, he supposes their actual number isn’t surprising. That they’re all running around the village, however, is. Either running or settling down together around shaped pieces of wood that seem to capture their concentration. It reminds Bares-claws of the game of tossing bones which he’s occasionally joined in on.

  But those games were always held in shadowy corners, out of fear that if the Pathwalkers saw them wasting time playing, they would be given more tasks to complete. And most of the time he had been too tired to engage in it anyway, especially once his master had taken him as an assistant.

  They come to a stop. Bares-claws barely manages to catch himself before he runs straight into the Warrior. Kills-a-deer doesn’t and walks right into the Warrior’s back. Bares-claws winces as Kills-a-deer takes a hurried step back. Some Warriors would accept it as an accident. Others….

  “Warrior Iandee, I apologise,” Kills-a-deer says hurriedly. Young as he might be, he’s learnt to be wary of upsetting the most physically powerful among them. “I should have been looking where I was going. Is there anything I can do for you to make up for it?” Sometimes even the Warriors who wouldn’t tolerate such disrespect would be willing to give a task instead of a physical punishment. As a hunter, Kills-a-deer must be particularly keen to avoid physical damage which might prevent him from hunting for days, in turn stopping him from earning his food tokens.

  Then again, Bares-claws thinks bitterly to himself, I’m probably back to being in the same situation now. The Pathwalker promised to find a role for him, but it isn’t likely to be as protected a role as he has been enjoying for the last three great cycles.

  Fortunately, Warrior Iandee appears to be the forgiving type.

  “It’s fine – accidents happen,” he says, waving it off with a flick of his tail. His spikes don’t show any anger, merely a hint of amusement. Bares-claws lets out a silent breath in relief – Kills-a-deer might annoy him with his persistent optimism and innocent naivety, but that doesn’t mean Bares-claws wishes him any harm. Indeed, as the only two here from their hatching-village, they must be allies of a sort. “And my name is actually Eats-dirt,” the Warrior continues speaking. “Use that – and drop the ‘Warrior’ if you like.”

  That was an odd request – and Bares-claws finds himself completely confused. This is a Warrior, not a Pathwalker – why does he have two names? Though the one he gave at least sounds more normal, even if he must have annoyed his broodmother to be given a name like that. Or perhaps eating dirt was just something he regularly did as a hatchling.

  The Warrior must see his confusion as he grunts in amusement.

  “It’s the boss – he gives names to everyone. ‘Nicknames’ he calls them.” Iandee – Eats-dirt – tells them. “We don’t mind – it’s a mark of his favour. Get close enough to him and he’ll give you another name. It’s just one of his oddities – you get used to them after a while.”

  Bares-claws exchanges a look with Kills-a-deer. He’s glad to see that the other Unevolved is just as uncertain as he is over the situation. Seeing as the Warrior appears to be more friendly than most, the older Unevolved dares to push for a little more information.

  “The ‘boss’?”

  “The being you just met – and who you now have a Bond with,” Warrior Eats-dirt tells him knowingly.

  ‘Being’ is right – the hairy creature is clearly not one of the People, though the scaled hide that covers most of his body is relatively similar. But Bares-claws remembers how it felt to be in that odd space, unable to move, watching him come closer and closer, pushing through Bares-claws’ strongest resistance like it was nothing.

  It reminded him of what his master was able to do to beasts on the occasion she’d allowed him to observe, even if he’d felt oddly disconnected from the world around him in a way he wasn’t familiar with. And then, inexplicably, the being hadn’t forced the Bond on him – he’d given Bares-claws a choice. The Bond had snapped into place, feeling similar yet different to when Bares-claws was given the Bond to his beasts by his master.

  Rather than feeling a heady sense of control, he was instead almost overcome by the strong urge to protect the being in front of him – and to obey. The force of the feelings faded only a few minutes later, but Bares-claws knows that they haven’t gone. He could probably cause harm to or disobey the holder of his Bond, but it would be difficult. Is this how his beasts feel?

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  “Hey, listen,” Warrior Eats-dirt continues and Bares-claws snaps his attention back on the Evolved, cursing himself silently for getting distracted. “This village is very different from what you’re used to. Why don’t we grab a carcass and I’ll give you the organs of it all.”

  Bares-claws exchanges another look with Kills-a-deer, the only other one who seems to think that this situation is odd. No one is looking at them or seems to be talking about the fact that there are two Unevolved chatting with a Warrior. And when Eats-dirt goes to grab a carcass from inside a hut and dumps it in front of them, crouching beside it, only the two new Unevolved seem to think that it’s odd.

  “We don’t have any food tokens,” Kills-a-deer ventures. Bares-claws had been debating whether to say anything or just enjoy the food and then deal with the consequences later – he’s hungry and the beast in front of him looks tasty.

  “We don’t use them,” the Warrior says nonchalantly, as if such a thing is completely normal rather than the earth-shattering idea that it is. No food tokens? How does this village work then? Is that why so many People are just sitting around? But then where does the food come from? How do the Pathwalkers get the resources they need? Far from being good news, the thought almost sends Bares-claws into a panic – he doesn’t want to starve or be kicked out to the forest when the food inevitably becomes scarce.

  The Warrior sees his panic and clicks calmingly. “I’ll explain everything. Just sit down and have something to eat. It’s fine, I promise.”

  Not feeling much choice, Bares-claws hesitantly crouches next to the carcass and, upon urging from the Warrior, uses his claws to slice off a piece. Putting it in his mouth, he practically feels his spikes explode. It tastes so good! Before he knows it, he’s stuffing his mouth with meat.

  Once the first edge of hunger is sated, he realises what he’s doing and looks up cautiously, worried that the Warrior hadn’t meant him to eat quite as voraciously as he was. But Eats-dirt seems calm, his spikes rippling with blue and green so Bares-claws just continues. Kills-a-deer is still filling his face, clearly enjoying the meat too.

  As he does so, Eats-dirt starts talking. Much of what he says is incomprehensible. People in this village are given fragments of Energy Hearts for just doing everyday things? Food is available to everyone, at any time? Everyone is required to take a day of rest every double-clawful? And today is apparently that rest day for most – those who aren’t getting it today will get it tomorrow instead. Hatchlings don’t have to go out at all?

  Much of the rest of his words go over Bares-claws’ head – what’s been revealed is just so difficult to comprehend. He mentions something about farming – whatever that is – something else about healing Energy channels, and a check-up which apparently everyone in the village has had and which the two of them will need to undergo with the leader. The leader, this ‘boss’ who is the odd-looking creature from the gates. In one way it now makes so much more sense that Warrior Stabs-a-stone had given the two of them to this ‘boss’. In another, it really doesn’t – apparently the ‘boss’, visibly not one of the People, incapable of bearing or sireing eggs, is capable of using multiple different types of magic, healing and destroying in equal measure. How he became the leader of the village Bares-claws has no idea and doesn’t dare to ask.

  A Pathwalker comes by as Warrior Eats-dirt is talking. Inexplicably, she crouches down next to them and starts eating from the same carcass. A Pathwalker, sharing a carcass with lowly Unevolved?

  Even with all the other surprises Bares-claws has experienced so far this morning, this is enough to make him stare. When she meets his eyes, he quickly tips his chin up to the sky, hoping that she will not take offence at him staring at her.

  “Honoured Pathwalker,” he greets respectfully.

  “No need for all that,” she replies casually. “You can look at me.” Bares-claws dares to lower his chin slowly until he’s able to see her fully. Her scales are very pretty, darker ones making interesting patterns across her hide. “Like what you see?” she asks with amusement.

  Bares-claws feels his spikes go pink at getting caught.

  “My apologies, Honoured Pathwalker,” he stammers, lifting his chin again. He hears a grunting sound of exasperation.

  “It’s not a problem,” she assures him. “Look at me, it’s fine.” Slowly lowering his chin, Bares-claws dares to look at her, though keeps his gaze fixed on her muzzle and the sharp teeth it contains instead of letting it wander anywhere else. “Eats-dirt, have you talked them through the formality – or lack of it – yet?”

  “Not yet, Reducer,” Warrior Eats-dirt tells her. He makes a sound of amusement. “You know, it’s only now I’m explaining everything to People from another village that I realise just how much has changed.”

  “For the better,” Pathwalker Reducer says firmly.

  “Of course, for the better,” Eats-dirt agrees. “No one wants to go back to how things were.” They share a quick look. “Well, almost no one. And even Wind-whisperer wouldn’t want to go back to being a mere Evolved.”

  “Exactly,” the Pathwalker says with visible satisfaction before Bares-claws feels her focus return to him. “Now, regarding formality, you’ll notice that we don’t use a lot of it. Markus – our leader, and also known as Pathwalker Tamer – prefers everyone to use his name. However, he realises that this is difficult for most of us who are used to being more formal with the leader of the village, especially one who can do and has done as much as he has. He’ll accept ‘Honoured Markus’, ‘Tamer’, or ‘Pathwalker Tamer’, but he gets annoyed if too many ‘Honoured’s are thrown around and try not to combine those. I’m happy to be referred to as Reducer or Pathwalker Reducer, and Markus calls me River.”

  “I’ve already talked to them about his habit with nicknames,” Warrior Eats-dirt interrupts.

  “He does have a tendency to give them,” the Pathwalker agrees. “However, just to warn you, Pathwalkers Wind-whisperer, Wood-shaper, and Grower would prefer higher levels of formality – what you’d consider to be normal – as would Warriors Runs-into-a-tree and Chews-a-bone.”

  It’s the oddest sensation. As the Pathwalker speaks, images of the People in question enter Bares-claws’ mind. From the way Kills-a-deer flinches, it’s probably happening to him too. Reducer looks at them knowingly.

  “The mental connection. It does take some getting used to, but it’s invaluable once you have.” She looks up. “Markus is coming over. He probably wants to talk to you.”

  Bares-claws twists his head, seeing the odd creature who had met them indeed walking towards them. With narrowed eyes, he watches the way this ‘Markus’ interacts with those around and once more he is left with nothing but questions.

  The other People – bar the hatchlings – seem to treat his passage with respect, but not fear. Those standing in the way move out of it unless they have something to ask. Markus is waylaid a few times by another villager, but never seems to get angry over it. At least, Bares-claws doesn’t think he does – without spikes it’s hard to tell.

  Even with the delay, the odd creature joins them soon enough, exchanging friendly greetings with the two Evolved Pathwalkers. Bares-claws shuffles to the side to give space to this ‘Markus’. He feels exceedingly awkward, with no idea of how to behave. The Pathwalker said that he doesn’t like too much formality, but Bares-claws doesn’t want him to feel disrespected either. He tries to compromise.

  Raising his chin into the air, Bares-claws greets the apparent leader of the village.

  “Greetings Pathwalker Tamer,” he offers, feeling like he’s making a mistake in not adding the ‘Honoured’ onto the beginning. Kills-a-deer shoots him a glance and then echoes him, apparently throwing his lot in with his fellow Unevolved.

  “Good to see you’re both eating,” the leader says casually. His speech is…odd. What emerges from his mouth sounds nothing like the clicks and grunts it should be, yet Bares-claws understands it nonetheless. He lets out a silent breath. The strange Pathwalker doesn’t seem angry. In fact…next to where he feels his two Bound beasts, Bares-claws feels something else. An odd, foreign sort of emotion. He easily identifies it: curiosity. The leader’s emotion?

  The leader turns his head to look directly at Bares-claws. “I was wondering about the Bonds I felt you had with the beasts. Can you tell me a bit about them?”

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