"If I am, then you are too young for that bracelet you've been eying! You're fourteen--the same as me." His name was the same as hers, too, for she was his twin sister. He refused to use that name now, for he no longer considered himself to be a child. In fact he had already chosen his manhood name: Neq. Neq the Sword--as soon as he proved himself in the battle circle. Nemi bit her lip, making it artfully red. She was full-bodied but small, like him, and could not term herself adult until she had borrowed the bracelet of a warrior for at least a night. After that she would shed her childhood name and assume the feminine form of the warrior she indulged. Between bracelets she would be nameless--but a woman. And twice a woman when she bore a baby. "Bet I make it before you do!" she said. But then she smiled. He tugged one of her brown braids until she made a musical trill of protest. He let go and walked to the circle where two warriors were practicing: a sticker and a staffer.
