Xander finally looks back at me. "Tell me, what is your name?" he asks, sitting down, tail curled around his paws.

"Acorn," I reply quickly.

"How old are you, Acorn?"

I said fifteen moons, right?

"Uh--fifteen moons," I tell him.

"Well, I am Xander, but you already know since Sage has already introduced me." He snorts. "Anyway, why are you here, Acorn?"

"He twisted his leg when we went to the make-shift camp," Nelson began. "Sage fixed him up a bit and we offered to bring him here. He said yes."

Xander looks back at me. "You want to join, do you?"