When Lusa had tended to his wounds, Toklo slid into a doze. The sound of pawsteps roused him, and he opened his eyes to see Aiyanna pushing her way through the vines.

Lusa bounced up to greet her. “Hi,” she said.

“Hi, Lusa. I came to see Toklo,” Aiyanna replied, looking over at him. “Great spirits, what attacked you?” she gasped, her eyes widening as she saw his injuries.

“Chogan,” Toklo told her. “And I attacked him, actually. And won,” he added defiantly.

Aiyanna nodded. “I’m not surprised. Anyway,” she went on, “I came to ask you if you’d like to visit my territory. There’s something I want to show you.”

Toklo stared at her in surprise. Aiyanna had always been so sensitive about any bear going near her borders. What was she up to now? Could it be a trap? He told himself he could beat her in a fight if it came to it, even after battling Chogan. “Uh . . . yes, thanks,” he stammered.

“Come on, then.”

Rising to his paws, Toklo followed Aiyanna out of their denning place and up the hill toward her territory. After a while she turned onto a narrow path that wound between the trees until it reached the dead pine that bore Aiyanna’s scent marks.

Toklo’s heart started to pound, and he halted. I know where we’re going. Aiyanna turned and looked back at him. “Don’t you want to come?”

Unable to speak, Toklo nodded. Aiyanna led him on, past the tree and around a jagged rock into a patch of mossy ground surrounded by berry bushes. An overhanging rock stretched above a small mound of earth and broken twigs. Aiyanna stood beside it and waited for Toklo to join her.

“How did you know?” he asked hoarsely as he padded up.

“Lusa told me,” Aiyanna replied. “And she was right to do so. This may be my territory now, but Tobi’s burial mound will always belong to you.”

When she had finished speaking, Aiyanna slipped away into the bushes. Toklo stood for a long time in front of Tobi’s mound, his head bowed. The pile looked so small and insignificant; his brother deserved a better resting place than that. Working steadily, ignoring the pain of his wounds, Toklo gathered earth and sticks and moss together and rebuilt the mound bigger and stronger than before.

“Sleep well, little brother,” he whispered, patting the last pawful of earth into place. It felt warm under his pad.

By the time he had finished, the sun had set and the first stars were appearing in the sky. Aiyanna still hadn’t returned, and Toklo was reluctant to leave. Sighing, he settled down on top of the mound, laid his snout on his paws, and drifted into sleep.