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LADI SAT BY the edge of a riverbank, watching the mother bear speak in low growls and whispers to her three undamaged cubs. The scars and matted fur borne by the mother from her terrible ordeal were jarring in comparison. The beasts had stopped to rest and get water here. There were hundreds of them, and they helped each other as they raced for the first kingdom of Adalu. Each of them bore the scars of life as a caged slave.
“I never got your name,” Ladi said to the mother bear.
“My friends call me…” She growled, and Ladi shook her head, unable to imitate the sound. The bear laughed. “Yes, I know, hard for your small throat to make those sounds. I will give you something easier. Call me Osa.”
“Osa. I like it. My friends call me Ladi.”
“Ladi.” Osa struggled some with the ‘l’ sound,
