She is 9 years old again. Her dreams are haunted as she goes back to a patch of ground that was one of her few companions. Her toy wooden warriors pitted against each other. One painted pink, the enemy, always defeated by the other warrior, the scavenger warrior toy.

  Then, they came, 5 scavenger girls around her age. They began shouting at her, telling her she didn't belong there, calling her a "Ponu". Panic gripped her; she didn't know what to do. Run back to her tent, to her mother, stand and fight? There were too many to do either option. Instead, she stood there as they formed a circle, pushing her from one to the next, letting her know that she did not belong. One yelled out something, she could not make out, sounding like destroy her? Tears were forming in her panic. She could not scream out and cause trouble for her parents. She looked down at her warrior toy; perhaps it could save her; it always won; it was her only hope, but nothing. She finally lets out "Momma!", barely as tears choke her up. Then one final push to the ground as her sobbing gets louder, a stomp on her toys for good measure. They laugh as they leave her, smiles on their faces.

  The sound of their laughter felt like sharp knives to her, even as they left.

  One of the girls, the only one who was not joining in on the harassment, stays behind.

  She bends down and offers a hand. JaKaelath recognizes her as JaMaya. Her father, Jakol, had been killed years ago by the Ponu when JaMaya was just an infant, so she was the last person JaKaelath expected to offer a hand.

  "Do you want me to get your mother?" JaMaya said. "No, just leave me alone."

  "Can I play?"

  "What?" JaKaelath looked up at her.

  "Your wooden warriors, I wanted to play against you. I don't like fighting, but you looked like you were having fun. I'd like to play it too!"

  JaKaelath is shocked. As she wipes the tears from her eyes, she can only mutter a small, soft "yes, that would be fun". JaMaya smiles.

  The dream fades, just as night gives way to the new day.

  The morning sun cast long shadows across the camp as a runner delivered the summons. JaKaelath, her mind still replaying the silence of the arena, rose from her bedroll and walked toward Janeda’s tent. She didn’t even notice that she was still wearing the Ponu-suit. It felt as natural as a second skin.

  She ducked through the tent flap and saw Janeda sitting by a flickering oil lamp. Janeda's face was worn with wrinkles, but also unmistakable wisdom. At first, a slight look of shock came across the old woman’s face as JaKaelath entered, still wearing the pink suit. But it was gone in an instant, replaced by the familiar warmth of a grandmother-type love. Janeda had been a friend of JaKaelath’s parents and had helped raise her. For a long time now, she has been the local leader of the camp. She was a voice of reason in Kallian’s brutal world.

  “What’s wrong, child?” Janeda asked, her voice soft, gentle, but concerned.

  JaKaelath felt a lump form in her throat. “A few weeks ago, my world felt normal. But now… now I’m so confused,” she began, the words trembling out. “I learned things about myself in the Ponu cave, things that people have suspected my whole life.”

  Janeda held up a hand, stopping her before she could say another word. “Hush now,” she said gently. “I don’t need to hear another word about it.” A memory suddenly crossed her mind. Her own grandparents, she remembered, had died in a Ponu assault during the 4th and so far, last Ponu-Scavenger war. She had seen the women, impossibly quick, their movements a blur. One Ponu had tussled with her grandfather and, with horrifying speed, had taken his own weapon and used it against him. Janeda had never seen anything that fast… and then she caught herself as she thought, “since I saw you in the arena last night.”

  Janeda pushed the memory away, her gaze returning to the young woman before her. She took JaKaelath’s face in her hands, her touch firm and loving. “No matter what the truth is, you are loved,” she said, her voice fierce. “Don’t you think for one second I will turn you over to that monster.” She was talking about Kallian and his horrific machine. “It makes me sick that he even has that thing now.” A single tear rolled down JaKaelath’s cheek. She was loved, and for the first time in her life, that love didn’t come with conditions or suspicions.

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  She informed her that Kallian had left their camp, but he would be back soon. He was furious with what happened in the Arena. He demanded she be turned over to him. But Janeda had told him that as long as there was no proof that JaKaelath was a Ponu, then she was a local, not some external threat, not part of Kallians' jurisdiction. The message was clear: do not admit to anyone what everyone already suspects, and I can protect you.

  Janeda pulled her close, wrapping her in a warm embrace. “You are strong, JaKaelath,” she said, her voice low and encouraging. “Remember what I told you when you were a little girl? Don’t let the others bully you because of your size. You have a fight in you. It's the same fight your father and mother had.” She pulled back with a smile.

  JaKaelath giggled and hugged her back, her heart a knot of conflicting emotions. She was loved, and in this one small space, she felt safe. But a fight was coming, a battle for her identity and her life. This was a battle she wasn't sure she could win.

  Days later, the sun beat down on the five scavengers as they approached the abandoned town. JaKaelath was with her friends and former friends, JaMaya, Kragon, Joric, and JaLena. She wore her scavenger clothes, but the Ponu-suit was a secret layer beneath, a quiet defiance. As they walked, JaMaya came up beside her with a look of concern. “Are you okay?” she asked quietly.

  JaKaelath looked at her friend. “Yes,” she said, her voice soft but distant. “Just… so much has happened recently.” She was not ok, however and did not know if she would be. Yet, she looked at the concern on her friend's face and tried to reassure her.

  Their mission was simple: run off a small group of Ponus who had made a home in the abandoned town. These were "wild" Ponu, not from the cave city. They most likely didn't even know about the cave city. They had already been warned, and now they were to be forced off or captured. As they crested a hill overlooking the town, Joric smirked. “Looks like the problem is solved,” he said, pointing down.

  Below, they saw the women, cornered and trapped. A few "Sky Reapers", the monstrous, unfriendly Dowath, were circling, searching for them. The Ponus were hiding, but they all knew it was only a matter of time before they were found. Joric turned to leave. “Let’s go. They’re as good as dead anyway.”

  But JaKaelath felt a fire ignite in her stomach. “We can’t just leave them,” she said, her eyes scanning the landscape. She spotted a hidden path that led to the town’s edge, a small chance at escape. “I have to go down there. I can lead them out.”

  Kragon’s face went pale. “That’s suicide,” he said, his voice laced with panic.

  JaKaelath ignored him. She began to shed her scavenger clothes and boots, letting them fall to the ground, leaving her in only the light pink of the Ponu-suit. “They’ll think I’m not a scavenger this way,” she said, her voice firm. “They’ll trust me.” Before her friends could object, she turned and ran, her bare feet agile on the rocky slope. Kragon stared after her, torn. He knew going after her would only make them all targets. His only hope now was that JaKaelath actually knew what she was doing.

  From the hilltop, the scavengers watched in stunned silence. They saw Kaela, a beacon of pink, manage to make it close to the Ponu women. The Ponus saw her, and just as Kaela had predicted, the suit instantly made them see her as a friend. Kaela signaled to them, making a gesture meant to tell them to follow her. They understood. The four women, now including Kaela, almost indistinguishable from a distance, moved with a quiet, synchronized precision. They made their way to the edge of the small town, then, on Kaela’s signal, they made a desperate dash for the treeline. They made it.

  The scavengers on the hill were shocked. They followed the path the Ponus had taken, their expressions a mix of disbelief and grudging respect. They found JaKaelath walking toward them, her face flushed with a quiet triumph.

  Joric shouted. “Where are the Ponus?”

  “They left,” JaKaelath said simply. “I told them a safe direction to travel, to the cave.”

  “Those were supposed to be our prisoners!” he screamed, his hands clenched into fists.

  JaKaelath had a firm and satisfied look on her face. “They were scared and hungry,” she said. “They didn’t deserve to be in a cage.”

  Joric lunged, but Kragon stepped between them, putting his hand on his friend's chest. “Careful, Joric,” Kragon said, while smiling, “Or you two could have to settle this in the arena again.”

  Joric’s fury turned to a frustrated roar. “F*** off, Kragon,” he snarled, turning away in disgust.

  They walked back to the scavenger camp in silence. JaKaelath was back in her scavenger clothes, but glowing with the quiet victory of her mission. She found JaMaya later that evening. “Yes,” she said, with a small smile on her face. “I think I’m okay now.” Her confidence was back.