Tribes.

Tribal Symbols

Jo Rondeau, the wildlife vet here, has put us in animal care teams.

One day, we were swimming and Rocco came back from a bear rescue thing and jumped in the lake with everyone. They had found a dead mama bear and two live cubs. He got on this thing about his team being the “Bear Tribe.”

Makayla got some smelly black mud from the bottom of the lake and drew a bear paw on his chest that I had drawn in my sketchbook. (Just an excuse to get near him, really. Pretty obvious.) Gave me an idea.

I drew these other three sigils to go along with the bear paw, signifying the other animal care teams—or tribes. Eagle tribe, for me, Dhani and Ray-Ray, because we’re working in the aviary with injured birds. Otter tribe, for the guys working with wounded small mammals. And Salamander tribe, for the people working with lizards and frogs.

Jo wants us to think up character traits we want our tribe to stand for. That will be interesting. I’d like to grow wings and soar above this whole three-year program, but instead I’m just stuck right in the middle of it. It’s better here, though, than being back in juvenile detention because a foster sister said I viciously attacked her, which was a rotten lie. So there’s that.