Jody enjoys seeing the mother raccoon feed and teach her young. It's in watching this that Jody realizes that Fodder-Wing is alive in all of nature, and he then understands that some part of Fodder-Wing will always be there. Fodder-Wing lives on in the wild animals in nature, just as nature was a part of Fodder-Wing. Jody finally finds peace and understanding of his friend's death. This is part of his journey to manhood that he is able to come to grips with death, not only in animals, but also in humans. Later, when Flag must die, Jody knows that part of Flag will always live on in Jody's memories and in the other wild animals.