Sky Child by T. M. Brenner

pride or stubbornness, but I try my hardest too. I don't want Flot to beat me, even if it would mean so much to him. As hard as he is trying, I don't think he wants to beat me either. I think he just wants me doing my best, so that I have a chance at surviving the trials.
    I lose pieces, and Flot loses pieces. He gets a rock, and this time he does everything he can to protect it. He remembers to protect what is most important to him. I get a rock, and then another rock. Flot looks worried, until he gets another rock, too.
    I can't remember a game we have played where he had a pair of rocks. I can tell that Flot is very happy to get another rock. The question is, will he be able to figure out how to use his pair of rocks together?
    Slowly, I pick apart his pieces, until only my pair of rocks remain. Flot looks unhappy, but he still smiles.
    "Good game," he says.
    "Good game," I reply. "You did very, very well Flot. Once you have more experience with how to use a pair of rocks, I am sure you will soon beat me."
    "I don't know, Sam. It seems like every time I get better, you get better."
    "I have to. I don't like to lose."
    "Sam, have you ever lost at jump stones?" asks Jet.
    "Sure, lots of times when I was first learning. The important thing is to learn from your losses. Sometimes you get more out of losing than you do from winning, because sometimes you just get lucky when you beat someone. Maybe they make a mistake, or don't try very hard. There can be things you learn from victories, but it's your losses that make you stronger. Learn from your enemies."
    "But you aren't my enemy," says Flot.
    "Yes I am, when we play jump stones. That is the point. We play games to war with each other without hurting anyone. They are meant to teach you things more important about yourself, and about others, than what you could learn by talking with them. You learn how they think, and how they see things. You can bet that someone good at jump stones would be good at war," I say.
    "But I have always heard that a game is just a game," says Jet.
    "Games are never just games. The people that say that usually aren't very good at them. It is a way of saying that the game does not matter to them, so if they lose, it doesn't hurt them inside."
    "I try not to let it hurt me inside," says Flot.
    "I know, but it's okay to let it hurt a little, so that it makes you want to be better. It should make you want to work harder, and get better, so that you win, and then the pain goes away."
    "I never thought of it that way," says Flot.
    "Neither had I, until now," I admit.

 

    15
    I spend the rest of the day trying to stay busy. I clean our room, wash my clothes, and bathe in the loud waters. Flot and Jet both go off and get into whatever kind of trouble they can find. Near the end of the day, Ebb visits me.
    "Sam?" I hear her sweet voice say.
    "Ebb, did you get some rest?" I ask.
    "Yes, thank you. It wasn't easy at first, with people walking by my room. But I was so tired from staying up all night that I was able to sleep."
    "I'm sorry that you had to stay up all night because of me," I say.
    "You don't need to apologize Sam. Knowing you are safe is worth it," she says.
    "Have you heard about the trials?" I ask.
    "No, I haven't. What are 'the trials'?"
    "Before I can become the Leader of the Hunt, I have to go through trials to see if I am brave enough, strong enough and smart enough to lead."
    "Are they dangerous?"
    "There's a chance I will die."
    "Can't you refuse?" asks Ebb.
    "Mast says that if I do, they will kill me. I have no choice."
    "Run away then, Sam."
    "To where?" I ask. "There's nowhere to run to."
    "But I don't want you to die," says Ebb.
    "I don't want to die either, but I don't have a choice. Maybe I'll survive the trials."
    "But why take the chance?"
    "Because I can't just take my brothers and leave. I have to think about them too. If it was just me, I might risk living outside of the Crag. I know how to hunt, so I could feed myself, and I