Bella's routine carries on, though her classwork advances and the birds (and antelopes, and later bears and butterflies, so far all ultimately peaceful after she solves their respective puzzles) develop more of a civilization under her direction. (With random changes that Sue sometimes makes to the landscape; she'll log on one day to find that he's put up a dovecote-tower on a mountain or left a stack of firewood where a forest used to be or taught her birds a choreographed dance.) She has basic infrastructure under control by the time she's seven and has to work out how to solve more social issues: the bears don't like how the antelopes smell, the butterfly eggs can't survive in the northerly villages she shortsightedly settles a colony of them in and the birds won't look after them for free, the antelopes want open spaces and object to urban development, the birds seem to think she's theirs because her avatar is one and she found them first and they sometimes get into spats with the others over this, a butterfly is orphaned in a rockslide and starts following her around like she's his mommy. It's challenging and it's surprisingly devoid of war, but she supposes they handle her training for war in other settings besides this one.

They don't see each other outside of the fantasy game, so they don't talk (though she can write words, sometimes, if there's a reason). He goes into an army - Condor to start, he's traded to Meerkat soon after. He's a little before the rest of his launch.

She's a little before the rest of her launch too; she's getting restless playing in the battleroom with people who've had only as much chance to practice as she has. She gets promoted when she's not quite eight yet, and goes to Flame.