In the Dust settlement, Livira—named for a stubborn weed—brawls with Acmar after he taunts her. Benth breaks it up and declares Livira the winner before Aunt Teela hauls Livira away to water the beans.

Passing Ella’s shack, Livira receives a new wind-weed sculpture. When Livira turns the sphere, a vague figure of a boy seems to emerge within. Ella assures Livira she has other talents, even if wind-weed crafting eludes her.

At the well beyond the bean rows, Livira lowers the bucket into the deep shaft, wary of the steadily sinking waterline. Katrin arrives and asks about the fight. Livira admits Acmar called her a weed and had previously tried to snatch her treasured scrap—a torn piece of marked paper that Aunt Teela dismisses as meaningless tally marks.

While winding the full bucket up, Livira confides her fear of an unchanging life in the Dust and proclaims she will reach the distant city. Katrin doubts the gates will open to her. As they argue, Livira looks east and spots a lone figure wavering in the heat haze, approaching the settlement.