Gerben almost forgot what it was like to have another ursurine around. He never bragged about the weight of his bracers and grieves to humans before because it just wasn't the same. They marvelled at the fact that he wore stones but they also looked worried, citing concerns about his joints, the condition of the skin underneath, and just whether or not it hurt. He never thought about how the weight was affecting his body, it was just what all the ursurines did. The stone was smooth underneath and there were bandages separating the stone from most of his skin but he hadn't taken his bracers off in years. It wouldn't be too pretty if he took them off now, with how much sweat must have gotten underneath them over the years.

He didn't miss it until he met Orla. He didn't miss being competitive until he began sparring with Orla.

She was shorter and more agile, her build leaner than his. Not to mention, it looked like her time in Fraedia did her good – she was certainly skilled. Gerben on the other hand, was rusty. He didn't have to fight for his life in Adoss like she did on a regular basis in Fraedia. She was able to predict all of his moves, so the fact that he was bigger and could hit harder meant nothing if he couldn't actually hit her.

"You're kinda boring," Orla said with a smirk, tucking a lock of her hair behind her ear just after sending Gerben to the ground with a hard kick to his stomach. "My cub can beat yours and I can beat you."

"Fat chance," Gerben mumbled, bouncing back to his feet.

"Maybe I hit your head too hard! I've been kicking your ass all day!" she shouted, aiming a punch at his gut. This time, Gerben ducked and tackled her to the ground bu his nose hit the weights she kept in her vests, causing blood to dribble out onto his lips. "Heh, even when you get me you still lose."

"Oh, shut up," he mumbled, getting up to his knees to wipe his face with the back of his hand but he was sure that all he managed to do was smear the blood all over his face. "What the heck do you keep in that stupid vest of yours?"

"Oh, just some extra metal that blacksmiths have lying around," she said, patting her vest down in pride. "I just sow them inside and get on my way. They don't weigh much individually but together, they sure do add up. Will has a hard time even picking it up. Your bracers and grieves are a bit thicker though, so it's hard to say which one of us is carrying more."

He scowled as the blood continued to run. His face had to be a mess. Orla's smile fell a bit.

"You must have really hit my vest pretty hard. Is your face going to be alright like that?" She sounded like a concerned friend, all traces of competition temporarily gone.

"It'll stop soon," Gerben mumbled, holding his nose to stop the bleeding. "I'll just have Iggy help me clean my face after, it should be fine."

"If you say so. This was supposed to be a friendly spar, so I didn't expect any blood. Sorry about that! I'll pay for the drinks next time around!"

"You're a bad influence," Gerben mumbled. "But it's not your fault I whacked my face on your vest. If anything, today made me realize that I'm a bit... rusty."

"A bit?" she asked, breaking out in laughter. She feel to the ground, holding her ribs. "You're just a big softy! A child's play thing!" she added when she finally calmed down enough. Gerben felt his cheeks burn in embarrassment. Had he really been so out of reach with other ursurine? He spent more time entertaining Iggy than he did training.

No, it wasn't a bad thing. He didn't regret making Iggy smile.

"I was playing with a child, so yeah, a child's play thing," he pointed out. "I was just curious about the oracle, so that's why I went in the first place. He wouldn't let me leave though, so I spent the last five years keeping him happy."

Orla smiled a little, pushing herself pack up to her feet. "I see. I would have liked that for my cub. He doesn't smile much. Could you believe that this has been the happiest he has been in a while now that he knows where his sister is? Still, you gotta improve if you want to protect your cub. We're in Fraedia now, so you gotta keep up. How about we transform and you wash your face later?"

"You're on!"

Saikur decided to take Elena up on her offer to just talk. Despite his talk with Igneous, his feelings about himself were still sitting at an all time low, which was actually an impressive feat since he was his mother's son. It was almost a rite of passage to sleep his mother, at least that's what the older guys in the village said. He still felt terrible about his own weaknesses, the ones that Zahreen made so apparent. It still hurt when he spoke too much, and it hurt even more to know that Igneous was worried about him. The poor thing was already so stressed out with Zahan and being the oracle, he didn't have to worry about Saikur too. Making sure Igneous was happy was part of his job as a guardian and it was just what friends did.

"I just don't know what to do. I feel bad because Zahreen makes me feel like shit-"

"He seems to make everybody feel bad about themselves. He knows how to get under people's skin. Just try not to let him bother you," she said, waving her hand. "Or you can listen to him. He seems to get a kick out of it but his teasing is also sound advice."

"Anyway... I feel like shit because I feel like I'm too weak to protect Igneous when it really counts. He would have to depend on somebody who doesn't care about him like I do. I should be the one to defend him but I can't... and then he worries about me. What am I supposed to do?"

"You've really fallen hard for him," she mumbled, looking sympathetic. "And really, there's no easy answer. You know becoming stronger probably isn't going to help you, right? You will probably always feel like you can't protect him, no matter how strong you become. I don't think you even trust yourself to protect him and I don't think you ever will."

Well, that was an unwelcome revelation. He didn't want to think that deeply about anything – he was only just coming around to understanding the fact that his feelings for Igneous were probably beyond platonic and that his admiration was probably more like a strange obsession. He was already emotionally exhausted as of late, so perhaps he shouldn't have gone to see Elena after all. Elena wasn't the type to just say what people wanted to hear, she just said what she thought, whatever came to mind. He frowned.

"Then... what do I do?" he asked.

Elena frowned. "I don't know what to tell you. You have to find a way to build your self-esteem. You can't build your entire identity around how useful you are to Igneous. Can you describe good things about yourself without them being related to Igneous? I know that it sounds bad but..."

"No, I know. Igneous was my everything in my childhood and I know I was only his only friend too. Back then, at least. He seems to have lots of friends now but I never really tried to make other friends," he mumbled slowly. He was on nice terms with his brother's children but even when he wasn't with Igneous for the few years after Igneous left the village, Saikur was working to be with him again. He trained so he could by his side. Elena lit up.

"Well, there you go! Go make some more friends! Maybe you could go train with Garath and Cyrus or something. They both use axes, right? Although, I feel like it's easier to count the number of people who are hard be friends with, so there are a lot of potential friends. You just have to get yourself out there. Just start talking to people more," Elena said, clapping her hands together.

Saikur wasn't really sure if he was interested in making more friends. Elena gave him a look though.

"Promise me you'll try, okay? You'll make Igneous worry less if he sees you can be friends with other people. Or made you can try to grab his attention by making him jealous," she added with a smirk.

Saikur felt his cheeks burn. "I'll try making friends. I'll go train with Garath and Cyrus, just like you suggested."

"Don't let me keep you then! Off with you then! Go make some friends!" she said, practically pushing Saikur out her tent. He righted himself, took a deep breath, then left.

Arder was just about to take a nap for the night, sneak in some sleep before he was expected to take over for Iniabi for the nightly patrols. He set his sword down next to his bedroll and he was just about to crawl into his bedroll when he heard somebody call to him from outside of his tent. He frowned for a moment. It wasn't like he didn't want to help whoever was on the other side of his tent flap but he needed at least a little bit of sleep before his shift to be alert and he was already kind of tired as it was.

He poked his head out. It was Will, or at least that was what he thought the boy's name was. Arder only ever saw him when he was training with Mira and he only ever seemed to speak to the female ursurine and to Mira, so he only heard his name in passing. Arder had the feeling that Will didn't like him too much, that or he was overly defensive of Mira. Maybe even a combination of both, he wouldn't be surprised about that at all. Either way, Will always looked far too serious for somebody as young as Will was and that was coming from somebody who was barely an adult himself.

"Can I help you?" Arder asked.

"Why are you training Mira?" he asked simply.

"Because she asked me to," Arder mumbled. "She wanted to be able to defend herself." He hoped that his answer would satisfy Will and for a moment, he looked to be contemplating Arder's answer. Arder almost retreated back into his tent completely before Will seemed to decide that it wasn't enough.

"She shouldn't be on the battlefield at all," he growled. "She's had a hard life already." Will looked away, a scowl on his face. Arder frowned for a moment, then crawled out of his tent, sensing the conversation wasn't going to be over as soon as he wanted it to.

"That's probably part of the reason why she wants to train then. I don't know what happened to you guys but if you have a problem with her trying to protect herself, then maybe you should go talk to her about it. I already said I would help her train and I'm not going to go back on my word, especially if it's not her decision," Arder said, folding his arms in front his chest. "You could tell us you know."

"Tell you what?"

"What happened to you and Mira. You guys were separated for some time, weren't you? We could help you two better if we knew what we were dealing with. It might make you feel better too."

"We don't need your help!" Will said with a hiss, prompting him suddenly flee from his tent in a huff. Arder shrugged and retreated back into his tent. Maybe if Will was upset with him, then he won't interfere with Mira's training. It could only help Igneous and Darren if everybody in their group could do something in a punch, just in case something slipped past them. He just couldn't understand why Will would be so against his sister being able to defend herself. It wasn't like she was going to be picking fights.

Perhaps he should ask Orla or Mira, he thought to himself as he crawled back into his bedroll.

Hopefully I can get the new chapter out before the new year but no guarantees. I didn't end up writing a lot, since I was busy with school and one of my cats died a month after my grandpa did.

As, always, feel free to suggest more supports that you want to see!