 The progress of the Rhee Wall and the lives of the workers are threatened by a great storm, during which Beric bonds with his new comrades, and after which he concludes that he has finally found a place and a people where he belongs.Like in many Sutcliff novels, the theme of "Outcast" revolves around Beric's struggle to find belonging as he is caught in various degrees of acceptance and descrimination by the various societies through which he travels.Another theme common to other Sutcliff novels is the Celtic native hound strongly featured in "Outcast"; Beric's progress is paralleled by renouncing his native dog in the beginning of the novel, later adopting a mixed-breed dog near the Roman camp by the Rhee wall, and ultimately having his breakthrough moment of feeling accepted when the second dog drops her newborn pup on his feet.