Roz greets the two young bears waiting on the cliff. The sister, Nettle, and the brother, Thorn, mock Roz, argue with each other, and make clear that they see Roz as a monster who does not belong on their island.

Because Roz cannot run, hide, or fight, the encounter quickly becomes dangerous. Brightbill swoops down to defend Roz, calling her his mama, but Nettle laughs at him and knocks him aside with one paw, leaving him stunned.

Roz tries to scare the bears by making herself look large and roaring, but Nettle and Thorn attack anyway. Nettle grabs Roz while Thorn claws and wrestles with her legs, and the struggle pushes them dangerously close to the cliff edge.

Mother Bear bursts from the trees, not to attack Roz, but to stop her cubs. Nettle and Thorn ignore Mother Bear's command, and Thorn twists Roz's foot until it pops off. In the sudden fall that follows, Thorn tumbles over the cliff while Roz and Nettle fall near the edge.

Mother Bear's terrified howl wakes Brightbill from his stupor. Roz then sees Thorn hanging from a tree rooted in the cliffside. Roz tells Mother Bear and Nettle to lower her by her legs, and although Roz has lost a foot, she reaches Thorn, wraps her arms around him, and promises not to drop him.

Mother Bear and Nettle pull Roz and Thorn back up. Thorn, frightened and grateful, leaps into his family's embrace, and Roz's choice to save him changes the meaning of the fight from rejection to rescue.