In short, Stelar, you are your Father's daughter."

He could hear the other trying not to laugh out loud. He had to suppress a laugh himself. She was like him. "Very well," he said, "We cannot undo what was done. The next question is do we train Helos?"

"He seems to want to learn for the right reason," Bambi said. "He did come all the way here with Stelar. I say we try and teach him and see what happens."

"I agree," Stabo said. "He could be of use to either us or Delon."

"Yes, but with my injuries, I cannot longer teach him to fight," he told the others. "I shall have to depend on the rest of you to do that."

"I can help there, Father," Stabo spoke up.

"I think I can help there also," Young Bambi said.

"And I am not yet dead," Bambi said. "Stranger we can teach him that."

"Then I will teach him what I know about Man," he said. "I just hope I have enough time to do it."

He then looked back at his young daughter. "Very well, daughter, and we will continue your training also. Now go get that young male of yours."

"Father he is not my male," she said.

"Oh, you have been sleeping with him," he said. Stelar looked at him shocked. "My body may not be working, but my nose does," he told her.

"Stelar looked slightly embarrassed. "Do not be ashamed," he told her "You are old enough to decide who you spend time with. You could have done a lot worse."

With that Stelar took off to find Helos leaving him standing there. She was nice to look at. He watched her go and noticed for the first time realized just how lovely his daughter looked from behind. He could see why some young male would be interested in her. He then turned and faced the others. "Then it is agreed we start the training tomorrow night. I will start him out with Man and walking carefully. Bambi will tell him about how to be a good herd leader. I think the fight training we will start in the spring."

The rest of them nodded. It looked like it was going to be an interesting winter after all. He looked at Bambi, Faline and Claris lying close together. "So it begins again," he told them and then added silently "For the last time."

At least he felt happy that Stena son and Veron's daughter had survived even if they had not. It also made him wonder how he managed to live this long. Was he better than the others, or just luckier? In the long run it did not really matter. He was here and they were not and while it grieved him the loss of so much of his family, enough remain to carry on. Perhaps that was the real reason he was here. Maybe the bear was right all along.

It was late evening the next night. He, Helos and Stelar stood alone in the remains of the meadow now almost a bare piece of ground. In front of them were the remains of the Man cave now as dead as the deer the Men inside had used their killing sticks on. The air was chilly and his side hurt, but he could still move and still talk.

"Very well, Helos, this will be your first lesson. Come with me. Stelar you stay here,' he ordered.

He took the young male into the center of the meadow and had him look around. He wanted him to see what had happened.

"This is all a result of Man," he told him. "Man comes, Man kills, and then Man goes away leaving only death and destruction behind. This place used to be a beautiful forest with lots of deer and other animals; now it has almost nothing. The only good thing is that it will grow back. Man can destroy a forest, but he cannot stop it from growing back. New life always comes from the old and even if the old life has passed, the new life will remain. That is the true lesson of the forest."

Helos look around for a moment. "So any children I have will remain, after I am gone."

"That is correct. That is why we teach them and when the time comes, you will teach your children what you learn now. In this way what we know all carries on."

"I think I understand," Helos said looking a bit confused.

"You will," he said, and now for your first lesson. I want you to face where the Man cave had been.

Helos did exactly what he was told and faced the burnt out remains of a past long gone.

"Now what do you feel?. . . . .

THE END

For Now