When you got mated, you went into it alone: You came up to your female with your heart in your throat and your love in your eyes, and you didn’t need anyone or anything else, because it was all about her. When you were performing her Fade ceremony, on the other hand, you had to have your brothers with you, not just in the same room, but as close as you could get them: The weights on his hands and around his neck and the tie about his waist were all that were going to keep him standing. Especially when the pain came.