Burley Bear and Meadow Flower were friends since early childhood. They became inseparable as they reached maturity. They helped each other make sense of the challenging world around them. They hunted together as was the custom in their clan. Burley Bear's first experience with Taelo was when he mistakenly handled White Swan, Taelo's mother too roughly. Taelo swiftly and with no warning knocked him out. When came to, he rushed out to confront the warrior that had knocked him out, he met a slender, lithe, confident young man. Taelo was a member of the people that his clan called the New Ones. He would later learn that they called his people the Others. Just as he was about ready to retaliate, an eagle let out a loud cry from above. At that moment he learned that Taelo was the leader that the Ancients had said would guide his clan to live peacefully and be prosperous. Burley Bear became Taelo's guard. He soon realized that Taelo did not need guarding. Burley Bear realized that he was very fond of his new friend. Together, he, Taelo and Golden Hawk took their journey into manhood. They returned with three buffalo and were greeted as returning heroes by the Elk Clan Later during a long hunt where each person hunted with their partners, He and Meadow Flower hunted with Taelo. She asked several time about the fact that Taelo seem so casual about his skills and capabilities. He explained that Taelo was confident in himself and did not seek to impress others. During the hunt, a crazy saber tooth attacked Taelo and the two disappeared. Just as he was about to give up hope of finding Taelo, he heard his friend ask what everyone was shouting about. The long hunt was a resounding success and as predicted by Broken Spear, the seer of his clan, each member of the hunt team found and hunted with their mate. He and Meadow Flower had known before the hunt about their connection. They enjoyed watching as the same connection was made for each of the other pairs. Sitting on the head rock and sharing the team’s dinner as they watched the sun sink into the sea while holding Meadow Flowers hand brought home to him that his actions had been rewarded with a warmth he knew would be with him for a lifetime.
