diff --git a/bound_test.go b/bound_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b1f3054
--- /dev/null
+++ b/bound_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,192 @@
+package fakes
+
+import (
+	"regexp"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+)
+
+// This file pins the one-draw rule for dotted sibling tokens. A format that
+// addresses a sibling by path ({place.locality}) draws that sibling once per
+// expansion, so every {place.*} token in the same format reads the same variant.
+// That is what makes a correlated pair — a locality and a postal code that agree
+// — expressible in data, without the row having to be the whole node.
+
+// swedishPlaces is a two-variant sibling whose variants pair a locality with the
+// postal-code prefix that really belongs to it.
+const swedishPlaces = `{"format":"%s","place":[
+	{"format":"{locality}","locality":"Stockholm","postal-code":{"format":"#100 00"}},
+	{"format":"{locality}","locality":"Tranås","postal-code":{"format":"#5#7#3 00"}}
+]}`
+
+// agree reports whether a rendered "postcode locality" pair is a real pairing.
+var agree = regexp.MustCompile(`^(1[0-9]{2} [0-9]{2} Stockholm|573 [0-9]{2} Tranås)$`)
+
+func places(format string) string {
+	return strings.Replace(swedishPlaces, "%s", format, 1)
+}
+
+func TestDottedTokenCorrelatesSiblingFields(t *testing.T) {
+	f := engine(1)
+	seen := map[string]bool{}
+	for i := 0; i < 500; i++ {
+		got := mustRender(t, f, places("{place.postal-code} {place.locality}"))
+		if !agree.MatchString(got) {
+			t.Fatalf("draw %d = %q, want a postcode and locality that pair", i, got)
+		}
+		seen[got[len(got)-4:]] = true
+	}
+	if len(seen) < 2 {
+		t.Fatalf("500 draws produced only %v, want both localities", seen)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestBareTokenBindsWhenTheFormatAlsoTakesAPath(t *testing.T) {
+	// A head any dotted token addresses is drawn once, so a bare {place} in the
+	// same format reads that same draw rather than a second one.
+	f := engine(2)
+	for i := 0; i < 300; i++ {
+		got := mustRender(t, f, places("{place.postal-code} {place}"))
+		if !agree.MatchString(got) {
+			t.Fatalf("draw %d = %q, want the bare token to read the bound draw", i, got)
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+func TestFieldWithoutAPathTokenStillDrawsEachTime(t *testing.T) {
+	// A format with no dotted token keeps today's behaviour: every {word} is an
+	// independent draw.
+	f := engine(3)
+	varied := false
+	for i := 0; i < 200 && !varied; i++ {
+		got := mustRender(t, f, `{"format":"{w}{w}{w}","w":["a","b","c","d","e"]}`)
+		varied = got[0] != got[1] || got[1] != got[2]
+	}
+	if !varied {
+		t.Fatal("200 draws of {w}{w}{w} never varied, want independent draws")
+	}
+}
+
+func TestTwoBoundHeadsDrawIndependently(t *testing.T) {
+	// Binding is per head, so two correlated sets in one format compose instead
+	// of needing a cross product of variants.
+	f := engine(4)
+	seen := map[string]bool{}
+	for i := 0; i < 400; i++ {
+		seen[mustRender(t, f, `{"format":"{p.v}{q.v}",
+			"p":[{"format":"{v}","v":"A"},{"format":"{v}","v":"B"}],
+			"q":[{"format":"{v}","v":"1"},{"format":"{v}","v":"2"}]}`)] = true
+	}
+	for _, want := range []string{"A1", "A2", "B1", "B2"} {
+		if !seen[want] {
+			t.Fatalf("400 draws produced %v, want every combination including %q", seen, want)
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+func TestRepeatRedrawsTheBinding(t *testing.T) {
+	// The binding lives for one expansion, so each repetition is a fresh draw —
+	// and each repetition is internally consistent.
+	f := engine(5)
+	tmpl := strings.Replace(places("{place.postal-code} {place.locality}"), `"format":"{place.postal-code} {place.locality}"`,
+		`"format":"{place.postal-code} {place.locality}","repeat":6,"separator":"\n"`, 1)
+	varied := false
+	for i := 0; i < 40; i++ {
+		got := mustRender(t, f, tmpl)
+		lines := strings.Split(got, "\n")
+		if len(lines) != 6 {
+			t.Fatalf("repeat 6 produced %d lines", len(lines))
+		}
+		for _, line := range lines {
+			if !agree.MatchString(line) {
+				t.Fatalf("repetition %q does not pair", line)
+			}
+		}
+		if lines[0] != lines[1] || lines[1] != lines[2] {
+			varied = true
+		}
+	}
+	if !varied {
+		t.Fatal("40 renders of repeat 6 never varied within a render, want a redraw per repetition")
+	}
+}
+
+func TestNestedTemplateKeepsItsOwnBinding(t *testing.T) {
+	// A binding belongs to the expansion that made it: an inner template's own
+	// place is not the outer one's.
+	f := engine(6)
+	tmpl := `{"format":"{place.v}{inner}",
+		"place":[{"format":"{v}","v":"A"},{"format":"{v}","v":"B"}],
+		"inner":{"format":"{place.v}","place":[{"format":"{v}","v":"A"},{"format":"{v}","v":"B"}]}}`
+	seen := map[string]bool{}
+	for i := 0; i < 400; i++ {
+		seen[mustRender(t, f, tmpl)] = true
+	}
+	if !seen["AB"] && !seen["BA"] {
+		t.Fatalf("400 draws produced %v, want the inner binding to be independent", seen)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestBoundDrawIsSeedStable(t *testing.T) {
+	tmpl := places("{place.postal-code} {place.locality}")
+	a := mustRender(t, engine(42), tmpl)
+	b := mustRender(t, engine(42), tmpl)
+	if a != b {
+		t.Fatalf("same seed gave %q and %q, want an identical draw", a, b)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestDottedTokenErrors(t *testing.T) {
+	// A path token is validated where every other token is: at New, naming what
+	// is wrong, so a typo can never reach a render.
+	rejected := map[string]struct {
+		file string
+		want string
+	}{
+		"unknown head": {
+			`{"format":"{nope.x}","place":[{"format":"{v}","v":"A"}]}`,
+			`no field "nope"`,
+		},
+		"unknown tail": {
+			`{"format":"{place.nope}","place":[{"format":"{v}","v":"A"},{"format":"{v}","v":"B"}]}`,
+			`"nope"`,
+		},
+		"tail only some variants carry": {
+			`{"format":"{place.locality}","place":[{"format":"{locality}","locality":"A"},{"format":"x"}]}`,
+			`locality`,
+		},
+		"path into a literal": {
+			`{"format":"{x.y}","x":"plain"}`,
+			`"y"`,
+		},
+		"dotted field key": {
+			`{"format":"[{a.b}]","a.b":["V"]}`,
+			`contains a dot`,
+		},
+	}
+	for name, c := range rejected {
+		_, err := New([]string{writeData(t, map[string]string{"cat": c.file})})
+		if err == nil {
+			t.Errorf("%s: New = nil error, want it rejected at load", name)
+			continue
+		}
+		if !strings.Contains(err.Error(), c.want) {
+			t.Errorf("%s: New = %v, want it to mention %q", name, err, c.want)
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+func TestBoundPathIsReachableByFake(t *testing.T) {
+	// Binding changes how a format reads a sibling, not what List and Fake offer:
+	// the sub-fields stay addressable on their own.
+	dir := writeData(t, map[string]string{"address": places("{place.postal-code} {place.locality}")})
+	f, err := New([]string{dir}, WithSeed(9))
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("New = %v", err)
+	}
+	for _, path := range []string{"address", "address.place", "address.place.locality", "address.place.postal-code"} {
+		if _, err := f.Fake(path); err != nil {
+			t.Errorf("Fake(%q) = %v, want it to render", path, err)
+		}
+	}
+}
diff --git a/edge_test.go b/edge_test.go
index c83d92c..e98f24b 100644
--- a/edge_test.go
+++ b/edge_test.go
@@ -120,7 +120,6 @@ func TestNewErrors(t *testing.T) {
 	}{
 		"option name as a field":     {map[string]string{"a": `{"format":"{name} {Weight}kg","name":["Anvil"],"Weight":["7"]}`}, "a", "Anvil 7kg"},
 		"format spelling as a field": {map[string]string{"a": `{"format":"{Format}","Format":["PDF"]}`}, "a", "PDF"},
-		"dotted field via its token": {map[string]string{"a": `{"format":"[{a.b}]","a.b":["V"]}`}, "a", "[V]"},
 		"hyphenated field":           {map[string]string{"a": `{"format":"{x-y}","x-y":["1"]}`}, "a.x-y", "1"},
 		"category named Format":      {map[string]string{"Format": `["1"]`}, "Format", "1"},
 		"folder named Repeat":        {map[string]string{"Repeat/cat": `["1"]`}, "Repeat.cat", "1"},