'I have much to tell you since we last met.'

The boy watched the big animal lick up the precious liquid.

'I have found a friend. She is gentle and modest ... not like the girls in my mother's village. We have exchanged talismans. I gave her mine, which is made in your likeness, and she gave me hers.'

The boy reached into his tunic and pulled out a chain.

'Look, brother, her talisman is a cat.'

The bear looked up but his eye was on the bag. He stuck out a huge paw and the boy responded swiftly, squeezing more honey onto the stone.

'We have tied our soul lights together,' he said. 'We have exchanged our talismans as an expression of our love. We are united but apart.'

He began to sing and the bear was distracted by the mournful sound.

'We are separated by a vast abyss. We belong to different realms. It is not like she is in one wood and I in another. We cannot walk across a meadow and be united. A void lies between us.'

The wailing put the bear in a bad mood and he would have wandered off but for the honey. He growled and the boy squirted a few more drops on the stone. The meagre offering did nothing to pacify the big animal. He bared his claws.

'Peace, bother.'

The boy held up a hand as the bear lurched at him. A paw struck out and he suddenly realised how big and powerful the animal was. Claws ripped through his cheek. He dropped the bag and the bear made off with it. Blood ran onto his tunic. His cheek was cut through and he felt faint. The wound needed dressing but he couldn't go back to the priests of the Duideth. They would want to know how he came to be injured. His thoughts turned to his sister, Adrina. She would know what to do.




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