Tarrin found out that any kind of punishment or retribution against Jasana for what she did shouldn't be done when he was angry. That didn't come about because of his own desire, for he had every intention of going into that tent and thrashing his daughter to within an inch of her life, but Fara'Nae had pulled rank on him when he reached the tent, informing him in no short terms that he wasn't to go in there while he was angry. So instead, he dropped Eron off there at the tent and had him go inside, where Allia and Allyn could watch over him, and was relegated to stalking around the camp in an icy fury.

He shouldn't have been too surprised. Jasana was cunning and manipulative, and if Eron made her mad, she'd forego fighting him and instead find a way to make him pay that was much worse. The idea that she had tried to trick Eron into doing something that got him sent home wasn't surprising, it was the method she used to do it that infuriated Tarrin so much. She had put Eron in very real danger when she tricked him into sneaking out of the camp, then put herself in danger when she went after him. How could she have been so foolish, so blind? Tarrin had set down that rule for a reason. Did she think that he did it just to keep the cubs in camp? That was silly. At home, they had free reign to go wherever they wanted, because there was nothing around the house that could really threaten them. But he'd shown them the dangers of the desert, as had Allia, and they were both fully warned about how deadly the Sandmen were. If Tarrin himself respected them enough to steer clear of them, that certainly should have been reason enough for the cubs to fear them.

He stalked around almost all night, pacing circles around the camp as the nervous sentries watched him. He occasionally broke out into strings of potent cursing and swearing, punctuated with waves or stabs of his arms...and the occasional detonating bush or blast of hot wind, or slight tremor of earth or strange lights that sparkled around the Were-cat. Tarrin was so angry that the All had been attracted to him, and despite his attempts to control, it was starting to leak out just a little bit here and there, whenever his pondering caused his temper to rise close to his snapping point. Tarrin was a very dangerous individual when he was angry, even more so because his control of his formidable magical powers began to waver and break down when he was in such a state. One particular rant, as the Were-cat cursed in every language he knew, vile, terrible curses and swearwords, the most potent to be found in each language, particularly frightened the Selani sentries because thin lances of hard rock erupted from the ground behind the Were-cat, driving up from the ground wherever the Were-cat's feet had touched the ground. He left behind him a row of jagged, randomly leaning pillars of rock, irregular in form but all ending in very sharp points, reaching up about twice the height of the Were-cat but in actuality more than half again as long as that, for they all leaned this way or that, interweaving with one another. If that wasn't bad enough, the Were-cat turned and made a slashing motion with his arm, which caused a hundred span long line of rock lances to suddenly shatter, sending dusty debris flying in all directions.

Eventually, however, even Tarrin's anger began to work itself out. He gave up ranting and swearing and pacing to sit on the ground well away from the camp, out in the darkness, and even the Sandmen seemed to sense the Were-cat's dangerous temper and decided to avoid him. He wanted to go back there and administer some sorely needed chastisement on Jasana, but Fara'Nae had ordered him to stay away from her until he got his temper back under control, and he would not disobey. So instead of pacing around, he sat there, arms and legs crossed, tail wrapped around his legs, trying to regain his temper. But without much success. Every time he thought about what happened, every time he remembered seeing Eron trapped by the enveloping Sandman, it got him angry all over again. He tried to do the mental exercises that Allia and Triana had taught him, and had gotten enough of a handle on himself to stop throwing around wild Druidic magic, but every replay of events of his mind set him seething again.

Close to dawn, he finally got annoyed enough to find out why he'd been warned off. "Alright, answer me," he said pugnaciously, knowing that Fara'Nae knew precisely what he was asking.

You agreed to let me deal with her, she answered. I'm dealing with her. I didn't need you going in there and distracting her from what I'm doing by spanking her with a scourge.

A little chagrined, he blew out his breath. "I'm sorry. I didn't realize that."

You were angry, kitten, she said gently. I know how you are when you're angry.

"Did it work?"

Only time will tell, but I will say that her mind is in turmoil, she answered. She is sick with herself that Eron was attacked, and she feels rightful guilt. I think that that is what she needed, kitten. I didn't plan it, but this little episode was exactly what needed to happen to show her that there are consequences for her actions, and they can be dire.

Tarrin narrowed his eyes. "That's why you didn't warn me the instant they left the camp," he accused. "You were going to see what happened, didn't you? You were hoping something happened!"

Guilty, she admitted. But I wouldn't allow Eron to be harmed, kitten. Had you not arrived, I would have come myself and dealt with the matter. It would have been quite traumatic for Allia's tribe, but that would be a paltry matter compared to the idea of your son being harmed.

Tarrin tried to find a reason to be angry over that, he really tried, but in the end, he couldn't argue her point. If a god said she was going to make sure that things wouldn't get out of hand, then he'd bloody well better accept it at face value and move on. He blew out his breath and put his paws on his knees. "I'm sorry."

I can understand your position, she told him calmly.

Tarrin groaned and flopped down on his back on the sandy ground, looking up at the sky, at the Skybands. "How did I end up with a child so stubborn it takes a god to set her straight?" he complained.

It's the mother's curse, kitten, Fara'Nae said lightly. In your case, I'd say it was quite powerful.

"What curse?"

Don't you remember your mother telling you in a fit of anger that she hoped that your children were as troublesome as you are?

Tarrin blinked, and then he laughed ruefully. "Between Triana and my mother, I guess that would be a powerful curse," he admitted.

And just think, kitten, she added. You have three other children.

Tarrin gave out a growling snort, then picked up a small stone from the ground and hurled it aimlessly into the air, a gesture of irritation at the Holy Mother. He heard her cascading laughter, which only annoyed him more. "You really know how to put me in a good mood," he accused.

At least they'll be grown and gone in ten years rather than twenty, she added impishly. Just hang in there, kitten.

Tarrin laid there for a while and considered things. It would probably be best to take Jasana and Eron home now. He'd done what he came to do, and he had no real reason to remain. He didn't want to leave so soon, he wanted to stay and visit with Allia and Allyn more, wanted to get to know her tribe, but he wasn't sure if his heart would be in it. And he wasn't sure if Jasana's heart was going to be in it either. There was no telling how she was going to act, how she was going to feel after a night of Fara'Nae baring the wounds of her soul and forcing her to look at them. It may be best to take her home, take her back to comfortable, familiar surroundings, back to her mother. Who, after hearing about this, would probably give her a thrashing the likes of which she hadn't seen since she turned Tarrin Were. He'd have to wait and see, though. Besides, he wouldn't take her home until Fara'Nae told him that he could. She may not be done with her yet, and she couldn't do anything unless Jasana was in the desert.

So, he guessed it was just another waiting game. He wouldn't take Jasana home until Fara'Nae told him it was alright, but he had the feeling that that wouldn't take very long. In a way, he was glad of it. He wanted a little more time with Allia, and wanted to make sure that Allyn was going to be alright. He wouldn't mind getting to know Kallan and Kaila a little better as well, and figure out why Fara'Nae wouldn't allow the Priestess to heal her. He knew it had something to do with Kallan. Kallan had to learn something, to discover some truth, either about Kaila or about himself. He was curious to find out what it was, and see if he couldn't help it along. Seeing Kaila like that offended his healer's spirit, that gentle side of him that so few people saw. Every time he saw her, his fingers literally itched to do something about it.

The landscape around him began to illuminate as the sun creeped up towards the horizon, but it was a sudden movement at the edge of the low rise upon which he was standing was what caught his attention. It was approaching, and when the figure appeared over the ridge enough, he realized with some surprise that it was Triana. Then again, that shouldn't have been too much of a surprise. She had probably sensed his anger, and come out here to see what was going on. She had a habit of doing that. She padded up to him confidently, and when she reached him, she didn't greet him. She simply sat down beside him and remained silent a moment, studying his features. "What happened this time?" she finally asked.

Without much emotion, Tarrin explained what had happened last night, including telling her about Fara'Nae's campaign to straighten Jasana out. "She wouldn't let me thrash Jasana and vent," he surmised for her. "So I've been stomping around out here trying to calm down."

"I thought that cub learned her lesson the last time," she said in an ugly tone, flexing her claws. "I guess she needs more education."

"I think Fara'Nae believes that will interfere with what she's doing," he answered. "I trust her, mother. She's the reason I shed some of my feral nature. She's doing the same thing to Jasana she did to me, just for a different reason and with a different goal."

If it surprised his aged bond-mother, she didn't show it. "Well, it's not like you can argue," she snorted. "You don't argue with gods. It doesn't get you very far."

Tarrin chuckled. "I've noticed," he agreed. "What have you been up to?"

"This and that," she answered. "I dropped in on Camara to see how things were going, after I tied up some more loose ends of the Hierarchs. I'm trying to get all that business done as quickly as I can."

"Why?"

"You," she answered. "When I train you, I want no distractions."

"I thought you'd forgotten about that," he chuckled.

"Don't even think I'll forget," she said with a flat stare. "I'm just setting things up so we won't be interrupted."

"So, when is this going to start?"

"After Camara has her baby," she answered. "We'd have to stop for that anyway. We both promised to be there."

"So did all the others," Tarrin said. "It'll be good to see them again. At least all in the same place at the same time. I miss them."

"They're your friends, cub," she said simply. "Of course you'll miss them."

"I need to talk to Dar," Tarrin frowned. "I haven't talked to him in almost a month. I'll bet he thinks I've forgotten about him."

"I doubt that," she said with a scoff.

"He'd better have Tiella pregnant," he said. "He's had enough time for it."

"Where are they living?"

"Dar took Tiella back to Arkis two months ago, so she could meet his parents," he answered. "The last time I talked to him, he was fuming over it. His parents want him to marry a rich Arkisian noble, not a Sulasian backwoods villager. For that matter, they hate the fact that he's katzh-dashi. They're trying to make him give it up and enter the family's trading business."

"That'll never happen," Triana said with mild amusement. "Aren't they already married?"

Tarrin nodded. "By the Goddess. But Dar wants another ceremony in Arkis, so it's legal there. Arkis doesn't legally recognize any marriage not performed by a priest of Mikaras." Mikaras was the patron god of Arkis, who was the Younger God of travelling, roads, and also of merchants and those who travelled for a living. "His parents are fighting it with everything they have. They're about to make Dar disown them."

"Then it's their own fault," she stated bluntly. "You have to let cubs find their own happiness. You can't shove your idea of happiness down their throats."

"That sounds hypocritical coming from you, mother," Tarrin said with a sly smile.

"I don't make you do what makes me happy," she told him. "I make you do what you need to do. There's a difference."

"I'm so glad you think so."

"Watch it, cub," she said in an ugly tone. "You're not too old to spank."

Coming from Triana, that was no idle threat. Tarrin chuckled and leaned back on his paws, looking towards the rising sun. "I don't think you should hang around too long, mother. I may have trouble explaining you to the Selani."

"I have other things to do, and you were on the way," she answered. "I was on my way back from Amazar. It wasn't much of a detour to come find out what had you all ruffled."

"You're going to have to teach me how you do that."

"I intend to," she answered.

"Sarraya's obsessed with learning it now," he warned.

"I know. She keeps pestering me to teach her."

"Think she can do it?"

"I know she can, but I don't like the idea of unleashing a Faerie that can dimension travel on the world," she said with a little trepidation. "As it is now, the havoc she can wreak is confined to a certain area."

Tarrin laughed. "She's not that bad," he objected.

"Oh yes she is," Triana said adamantly. "She behaves when she's around you, cub. Even now, she's afraid of getting too outrageous around you. If I taught her how to dimension travel, you'd have to babysit her."

Tarrin snorted. "Just how do you do it, mother?"

"It's hard to explain. Let's just say that I kind of step between dimensions, into a place that's connected to the real world but isn't quite it, a place where time and physical laws work differently. When you're there, a single step sends you a few hundred spans. You can travel about three hundred leagues in an hour. If you make a day of it, you can travel almost three thousand leagues."

"I'd hate to run into something," he winced.

"You can't. Everything looks just like it does in reality, but it's all insubstantial when you're like that. You can't touch anything."

"Then how can you walk?"

"Because your mind creates a point of reference that your body uses to determine what you're doing," she answered. "There's no such thing as gravity in there. It's all in how you decide it should be. When you decide you're standing on solid ground, you are. If you decide there's no such thing, then you just kind of float there. How I do it is I decide on a path from where I am to where I'm going, then I run along it. I know I'm drifting off course when I suddenly can't find anything under my feet."

"Clever. How long did it take you to figure that out?"

"About fifty years," she replied. "The trick of it is getting in and getting out. You don't have to hold yourself in there. The spell comes only to breach the barrier to get into or out of that place."

"Odd."

"It can be at first, especially when you get used to not breathing."

"What?"

"I told you, time works differently in there," she answered. "You don't breathe, you don't eat, and you don't drink. You don't even get tired. It's like you're suspended in time."

"That's a scary thought."

"It's a little unnerving at first, but you get used to it." She glanced behind them. "I think I'd better go. The Selani are starting to get curious about us, and I have to attend to a few other matters."

"I'll see you when I get home, then."

"Maybe not. When are you going back, anyway?" she asked as she stood.

"I'm not sure," he replied as he got up with her. "I've done everything I had to do here, but that doesn't matter because I can't take Jasana until I'm told by her that it's alright. I'd like to stay a couple of days longer no matter what. I need to make sure of a couple of things before I'll feel comfortable leaving."

"Have you talked to Jesmind?"

"Not in a few days," he answered. "I don't want to tell her what's going on with Jasana just yet. I don't want to hear her screaming at me."

"Why would she scream?"

"It's Jesmind, mother. She'll find a reason."

Triana laughed quietly. "Sometimes I think that girl argues with people for the fun of it," she confided. "Alright, cub. I'll see you when you get home, or whenever."

"Have a safe trip."

"Always," she said with a slight snort as she put her paw on his shoulder, a touch that reinforced the intimate closeness between them. She didn't bear him, but Triana was as much to him his mother as his birth mother was. That touch conveyed all the complex emotions that they had for one another. Her touch lingered, even as she started turning away from him, and she kept her eyes on him until her paw slid from his shoulder. Though she didn't show it or act it, Tarrin knew just how strongly she felt about him. She was his son, as far as she was concerned, and probably her favorite son at that.

He sat back down as she stalked away. He knew better than to try to follow her, and he knew she was putting distance between them so he couldn't sense what she did when she did whatever she did to get into that other place. It wasn't that she was guarding her secret, it was that she was keeping any temptation at all away from him. If he tried it and messed it up, it very well may kill him, or send him hurtling into some other dimension, or something even worse. Druidic magic was amazingly unpredictable when it went wild. It was good to see Triana, but it was just a little disconcerting to hear that she had his training on her schedule. But then again, he'd been somewhat bored the last month or so, so perhaps a little side project was just what he needed. He was curious about Druidic magic, and Triana's claim that it would make him forget all about Sorcery--which he seriously doubted--did pique his interest a bit. He'd give her the chance to try, that was for certain.

Triana's visit drifting out of his mind, he went over what he wanted to accomplish before he left, and most of it surrounded Allyn. He was going to teach him what the Priestess wouldn't, and if he could get away with it, he was going to educate her about not wavering in her duties and taking her to task for being so objectionable and quick to judge. He did want to talk with Kallan and Kaira and figure out what it was going on there, and maybe find out why Dulai seemed so stuck up. The woman had barely said a word to him since he arrived, and her attempts to try to keep Jasana and Eron from playing with her son Zakra seemed very strange.

He was in the desert. If he didn't at least make an attempt to talk to Sapphire, she might get offended. There was no telling with dragons, but he knew Sapphire well enough to know that she'd really let him have it if she found out he was this close to her, and didn't at least contact her and see if she wanted to fly over and see him. He talked to her every few days or so, so he doubted that she'd drop everything and fly over to see him. And if she did, he'd have to wait for her to arive. But that may not be a bad thing; it could give him a very viable excuse to kind of hang around a few days. And it would certainly shock Allia's tribe when Sapphire arrived. Tarrin had to suppress an evil chuckle at that thought.

He did have some information to pass to her, however. She told him that she wanted to know when Triana was going to train him. He wasn't sure why she wanted to know, but she did. Sapphire was mightily impressed with Triana's Druidic ability, and considering Sapphire was a dragon, that was a tremendous complement. Sapphire had talked about the two of them getting together and trading knowledge for a while now, so perhaps she was going to use Tarrin's education as the perfect excuse.

No time like the present. Besides, he wanted to get all the little business out of the way so he'd be able to focus his full attention on the matters at hand. Raising a paw to his amulet, he sighed and called out her name.

"Little friend, you just saved yourself from a serious chastisement," her voice emanated from his amulet, a bit tinny and higher-pitched than normal. Considering Sapphire's exceptionally deep bass voice, an effect from having a throat larger than Jasana, it made her voice seem almost feminine. "And why did it take you this long to contact me? You've been in the desert for six days!"

How Sapphire knew that was beyond him, but he learned long ago that Sapphire had ways of finding things out that he'd never understand. "I've had some pretty serious things going on here, Sapphire," he said quickly. "I've only just managed to sort things out to the point where I can start taking time out to catch up on things. I wasn't going to come and go and never talk to you, my friend. I'm not that stupid."

"I should say so," she said huffily. "So, is this purely a saving your butt call, or did you have something of substance to talk about?" she asked with a little amusement.

"A little of both, actually. Putting the pleasantries aside, Triana's set a date for my training."

"It's about time. When?"

"Right after we get back from going to Amazar for the birth of Camara Tal's baby," he answered. "She's been busy organizing things so she can train me without any distractions. That's why it's taken her so long to get started."

There was a short pause. "She is a rather busy woman. I can understand why it took her that long," she said, mainly to herself, he figured. "That does work for me."

"Why? Are you going to sit in?"

"I'm going to do more than that," she answered. "I'm going to teach as well as learn. I'm not sure if you're strong enough to do what I'm going to teach Triana, but I'm rather certain that she is."

"You should know better than to teach me things I can't use, Sapphire," Tarrin chuckled. "Are you begging for me to get into trouble?"

There was a pause, then Sapphire laughed. "You can get into trouble without any help from me, little friend," she teased. "Besides, I think you can do some of it. You are a Hierarch, by power if not by title. They've never called you before them, have they?"

"The Hierarchs? No."

"I thought not. Given who you are and what kind of record you have, I doubted they'd give you the official title. I'd be surprised if they ever officially dealt with you, since that'd bring your past indiscretions out in the open. You'd be hard to explain being given the title of Hierarch when they go after other Were-kin for breaking the rules. I don't think you've ever met a rule you didn't break."

"It's a part of my roguish charm, Sapphire," he said dryly.

"I know," she said winsomely. "So long as they never speak your name and do their best to ignore you when you're moving around, they can pretend that you don't exist. It works better for them that way."

"Me too, for that matter. I don't think I'd like to be a Hierarch. I don't want any responsibilities."

"You can't avoid them forever, my little one," she said in a motherly voice.

"I'll take your advice to heart, Sapphire. So, want to come see me and Allia now, or wait until we all gather in Amazar?"

"I'll be there by sunset," she replied, a smirk resounding in her voice. "I was in the neighborhood, dealing with a territory dispute between two blues in my domain. You're only a day's detour away."

"You're going to shock the Selani," Tarrin chuckled.

"Good. They know the dragons are here. Maybe it's best we had a meeting."

"How did the dispute turn out?" he asked curiously.

"The land they're disputing is barely a longspan long and not even five hundred spans wide," she said with disdain dripping from her voice. "I swear, both dragons have territories in the hundreds of square longspans, yet they spat over what amounts to a high ridge that's a good spot to bask, which is more than large enough to accommodate five dragons. I spanked both of them for being silly and declared the disputed territory common ground. They both share it."

"Not a bad solution," he said appreciatively.

"Thank you. I'm so glad my decisions meet with your approval," she teased.

"Maybe I'll try to take over your job, Sapphire," he said tauntingly.

"You? The Were-cat who hates responsibility, wants my job? Tell you what, little friend, I'll give it to you. I'd like to see how well you handle it."

"No thanks," he laughed. "When you've had the world set squarely on your shoulders, you tend to shy away from anything that even remotely resembles duty," he told her.

"I can imagine. I'll be there right around sunset, little friend. Oh, do me a favor and don't tell the Selani I'm coming. I want to see what they do."

Tarrin laughed. "Alright, I won't, at least all of them except Allia and Allyn. They can keep a secret. It should be interesting, that's for sure."

"It probably will be. I'll see you then, alright?"

"Alright. Good journey. See you when you get here."

"Watch for me."

She broke contact, and Tarrin had to grin a little. Sapphire's appearance at the camp was going to be very interesting. Nothing else she said was a real surprise, but her coming here was rather interesting news. Tarrin suddenly couldn't wait for her to arrive. If the Selani thought he was bad, they just needed to wait until they met some of Allia's other, more interesting friends.

The sun started peeking over the eastern horizon, to Tarrin's back, and he leaned on his paws again and pondered on the possibilities for the day, debating how to best approach the Selani Priestess and get his point across without getting into trouble with Fara'Nae, how he was going to find out what was going on between Allia's parents, and what he was going to do about Jasana. But that would have to wait until he saw her. How she acted was going to heavily affect how he dealt with her. The Holy Mother had said she was dealing with it, and he'd need her advice and guidance before taking a paw in the matter himself. He was still rather angry with her, but a night to vent had done much to cool his temper, and the knowledge that Fara'Nae was making sure that Jasana couldn't just convince herself to forget it like she did the last time was very comforting to him. He was actually quite optomistic that maybe this time, Jasana had learned a valuable lesson, a lesson she just couldn't ignore.

He had personal experience about how effective Fara'Nae's lessons could be.

As if thinking about her would make her appear, her scent touched his nose as the morning wind suddenly kicked up, going in the wrong direction, which wasn't an unusual phenomenon early in the morning. He sat up but didn't turn around, waiting to see what she did, and besides, her scent touched off a new spat of anger in him, an anger he quickly moved to suppress. He didn't want to have a conniption out in the open where the Selani could see it. He waited for a long moment, until he sensed her standing right beside him. He looked over at her--even seated, his head was above hers--and was sincerely surprised at how she looked. Her eyes were red and sunken, as if she'd been crying for quite a long while, and her face was sallow and her expression both terrified and haunted. She stood there wringing her paws to her chest, her tail drooping almost limply behind her, dragging the ground, looking at him with such a desperately fearful and pained look that it almost made him sick at himself. He looked into her eyes cooly, aloofly, trying to gauge what he was seeing, whether she was just faking it, but then her jaw started trembling, and she suddenly burst into fits of wailful sobbing. She stumbled forward and literally fell into his arms, and he gathered her up as she clung to him tightly, desperately, as if seeking both solace and forgiveness within his embrace.

Despite everything, she was still his daughter, and he found his anger at her melt away as he heard her cry. There was no way she could engineer that; Jasana was good at stretching the truth and acting to make others do what she wanted, but this kind of feigned emotional response was beyond her capability. It seemed that Fara'Nae's lesson was harsh, poignant, and highly effective. Tarrin put a paw on her back, covering almost her entire back, and it reminded him extremely small his children were compared to him, how small and young and vulnerable. A strong wave of fatherly protectiveness welled up in him, parental duty, and he comforted his child without words, in subtle, gentle, intimate ways that only his children would sense and understand. It was never their father's way to be overt about showing tender emotion, at least in public. Jasana seemed to sense his forgiveness in his touch and manner, and it caused the majority of her wracking sobs to ease. She settled down quite a bit, but still clung to him tightly, burying her face in his shoulder and chest, wrapping her tail around his arm as his paw continued to rest lightly, lovingly over her back, surrounding her with the sense and scent of him.

It was quite a while, well after sunrise, before her grip on him eased, as her needle-like little claws finally extracted themselves from his skin. Her fit of weeping had ended some time before, and she had wanted nothing more than to be held and comforted. "I was stupid," she said in a near-whisper. "I can't believe I did that, Papa."

"You did," he said pointedly.

"I'm sorry," she said with utter and complete sincerity. "I never wanted to hurt Eron."

"But it happened, cub," he told her with gentle focus. "Every time you start thinking about ways to get around the rules or make things the way you want them, you should remember what happened to Eron, and ask yourself if it's worth it. There are some things, cub, that you can never live with. Trust me. I know."

"I always trust you, Papa," she said with innocent confidence.

"Then start listening to me. I'm not telling you things just to irritate you, cub. I'm speaking from experience. I don't want you to have to learn these lessons the same way I did. I don't want to see you saddled with that kind of pain, see it change you like it did me and Mist. You don't have to look far to see it, Jasana. Just look into Mist's eyes the next time you forget what it can be like to live with such pain."

She was silent a long moment, her tiny little claws kneading against his skin rhythmically. "I will," she finally said.

Perfectly played, my child, Fara'Nae's voice touched him. Perfectly played.

Tarrin didn't respond to that. He wasn't trying to manipulate his daughter, he was trying to help make her see the truth Fara'Nae had laid out before her.

But her commendation did bring him some hope in one regard; it told him that finally, Jasana was starting to understand the danger she posed because of her behavior. The episode with turning him Were hadn't worked because nothing negative came about because of it, at least to her. This time, this time something very bad happened, but something that could have been much worse.

As Fara'Nae said, it was the object lesson Jasana needed to learn from her mistakes.

He doubted it was going to radically change her. Jasana was too stubborn for that. But he hoped that it would teach her that there was such a thing as going too far. He could endure her scheming nature so long as she realized that there was a place that she'd better not go.

Tarrin held her for a little while longer, time passed in silence, and then he patted her on her back. "Come on, cub. Allia's probably wondering what happened to you, and it's time for breakfast."

Sniffling a little bit, Jasana pulled away from him, frantically scrubbing at her face with the backs of her white-furred paws. "I am a little hungry," she admitted. "I just hope they don't have any more of that disgusting lizard meat."

"I think there's some sukk left over from last night," he assured her.

He carried her back to the camp, not quite willing to let go of her yet. She'd had her punishment, and now it was time to remind her that she was indeed loved. He wondered absently what Fara'Nae had done, what she had showed her, but in another way, he was glad he didn't know. He knew it had to have been rather severe. He remembered his own education in that regard, and it still made him shiver from time to time in the dark of night.

Allia and Allyn showed constraint when they returned to their tent, and Tarrin hugged his son briefly before they ate breakfast. Allia gave them a breakfast of sukk eggs and the oddly tasty flatbread that the Selani made out of a grain that grew wild in certain parts of the desert, a bread that had a slightly nutty taste. The only milk-giving animals the Selani kept were goats, and Allia's tribe didn't have any, so there was no milk, cheese, or butter. Why they didn't have any was a mystery to Tarrin, but they didn't. So where most races used bread and cheese as a staple, the Selani used bread and meat. There was anything if not an abundance of meat roaming around on the blistering plains of the Desert of Swirling Sands.

Surprising that what most considered a barren wasteland was actually a teeming ecosystem with a surprising abundance of life. The only thing thats made life harsh were the temperatures and the fact that one had to dig for water. And the predators, but that was a different issue, for they had nothing to do with the environment. It was strange also to think that this entire area used to be a lush grassland, much like the fertile plains where the Free Duchies had their city-states. But the Blood War had changed that.

If anything was a good indication of the almost apocolyptic nature of the Blood War, that was it. It was a war that not only wiped out entire races, it laid waste to the very land itself, leaving behind gaping wounds that would never heal.

"I know that you're done with the sukk, brother," Allia told him. "What do you intend to do now?"

"I'm stuck here at least until tomorrow," he told her. "There's somebody coming to see us."

"Who?"

He looked around at them. "This can't leave this tent," he warned. "But Sapphire is on her way here."

Allyn's eyes widened, and Allia laughed lightly. "We should warn my father," she said.

He shook his head. "She told me not to," he warned. "I think she wants to see how the Selani are going to react." He looked to Allia. "Have the Selani seen any dragons?"

She nodded. "Not our tribe, but two other tribes of our clan have. They're from our legends, so legend tells us not to bother them. We avoid them when we see them."

"Well, they're about to get a legend right in their faces," he said bluntly.

"Sapphire is coming!" Eron said with excitement. They knew she was a dragon, and they also knew that she liked to dote on Tarrin's children, and both of his older children were very fond of her. She would even perform magic for them, to both educate and entertain, starting them on the path of the magic-user by piquing their curiosity about it.

"Not a word, cub," Tarrin told him quickly and firmly, thrusting a clawed finger in his face. "If I find out you told someone, I'll take you home and let Mist tan your hide."

"I won't tell a soul, Papa!" he said quickly.

Jasana yawned broadly, her ears laying back reflexively as she showed off her impressive fangs. "I think I'm going to go to sleep," she said wearily, leaning up against her father.

--She didn't sleep at all last night,-- Allia informed him, using the Selani hand code. --All she did was cry.--

"That's fine," he told her mildly, while giving a knowing nod to Allia. "Are you still hungry?"

"No," she replied in a little-girl voice. "I just want to go to sleep, that's all."

"Then off with you, cub," he told her. "We'll clear out so nobody bothers you." Tarrin tucked his daughter in quite tenderly on one of the soft mats, and she fell asleep almost instantly. The adults all looked at each other briefly, then they slipped out of the tent with a stealth that only Were-cats and Selani could achieve.

Allyn had to bow out from them as soon as they left the tent, as he had certain duties to accomplish, which generally entailed working with Selani to come to understand how things worked around the camp. It looked like he was going to be working with the shepards for a while, probably to be educated about the behavior and activity of the sukk. That was something that he had to know, for everyone took their turn watching the flocks, even Kallan. Tarrin only managed to reign in Eron for about ten minutes before he could simply no longer contain himself, and went careening around the camp, asking everyone questions. Tarrin and Allia walked aimlessly about the camp, and they talked. Tarrin listened as Allia told him, in some detail, everything that had happened since they'd come back to the desert, about the resistance that Allyn had encountered from the camp, and the general disapproval she had received from her father over Allyn and Kedaira. Allia hadn't had a very easy time of it, but he knew his sister, and her resolve was absolute. She loved Allyn, and she wasn't about to give him up for anything. The other members of the tribe probably didn't understand how much she loved the Sha'Kar, because she was much more reserved out in public than she was in private. She was much more open here with the Selani, he'd seen, but she was still somewhat reserved because she had the honor of her father to maintain. That meant that she had to be a proper and respectable daughter. That, probably, was the core of the problem, he mused. Since Allia was next in line for her father's position, they didn't want a future leader to be married to an outlander, even if he was related by blood to the Selani. He wasn't a brother, he was more like a cousin. Then again, if Allyn wasn't so radically different from the Selani, they may have accepted him a bit better. A pacifist who relied on his magical powers and was openly soft was an anathema to the Selani.

Perhaps not just that, he pondered. Maybe it was the entire situation. Allia wasn't so, wild, before she left for the Tower. Maybe they felt that Allia had changed too much while she was out among the outlanders, probably the first Selani to spend so much continuous time away from the desert. Maybe they were worried that she had changed, and their resistance to her husband and pet were just the first signs of it. They would probably say something about Tarrin as well, but Tarrin had brands, and that made him untouchable in their eyes. They were a symbol of acceptance from Fara'Nae, not the Selani, and since he was favored in the eyes of their goddess, they wouldn't dare doubt her wisdom in accepting him. As he thought before, it all came down to getting brands on Allyn. Once he had good brands, all this flap would vanish. Allia's doubtful judgement at accepting him would become mysterious wisdom in seeing his potential, and her taking of Kedaira of a pet would be forgotten, since Tarrin had straightened all of that out. Once Allyn was branded and she'd been home a few years, things would return to something approaching normal.

That didn't concern Tarrin too much. Allyn was utterly smitten with Allia, and he would walk through fire if that was what it took to stay with her. That was what made them such a good match. They were very different from one another, but they shared an intense love that would conquer all of their other little problems. With a little prodding here and there from certain involved parties, if it became necessary, but it probably woudn't be so. Allyn would not give up, and the Selani, no matter how much they hated him, would respect him for that tenacity. Allyn would show them a tremendous amount of fortitude and determination, and those would help them accept the Sha'Kar as he became more and more educated about the Selani and his place among them. He'd only been with them six months, and it was a nod to his intelligence that he had come that far in such a short time. He was trying to learn an entire culture, and a very complicated one at that. The Selani only seemed simple and direct people. Their culture was based on one concept, honor, but things got very complicated after looking past that singular concept and one delved into the operation of Selani society. Much like the Sha'Kar language had multiple levels and forms, the Selani were similarly layered, where personality and motivation and ambition interacted with the need for honor in amazingly subtle ways. Status was everything to the Selani, just as it was to the Wikuni and Sha'Kar, their blood-relatives, and what went on concerning one's status was one of the things that made things tricky. Honor had to be given in the eyes of others, though one could easily lose honor by one's own feelings about the subject. Many Selani took honor from themselves for mistakes made when they were the only witnesses. So, the need for community approval made Selani society remarkably complex. For within the community, one had to remember that every member of it was him or herself an individual.

He'd learned that lesson from Var and Denai. They were both Selani, and were strictly faithful to its society. But that common interest was just about the only thing they shared. Var was cautious, careful, sensible, and very logical. Denai was a wild girl, given to rash, impulsive decisions and possessing of a fiery nature that seemed quite un-Selani. But her belief in the Selani culture made her just as Selani as Var, and to an outsider, they would seem to be quite similar to one another.

After a little while, they were joined by Kallan and Kaira. Tarrin and Allia slowed down a bit to allow Allia's mother to keep up, and he was reminded again at the wide variations in Selani. Kaira was another of those strange Selani that didn't seem very Selani, but was in fact Selani to the roots of her hair and the tips of her fingers and toes. She was a delightfully upbeat woman, always quick to smile or laugh, which were both unusual given that Selani saw it to be unseemly to smile or laugh in the face of those not close friends, but her infectiously positive nature seemed to override Selani custom. That, or her extroverted personality made everyone seem to be a friend to her, in which case her public displays of smiles and laughing wouldn't be seen as insulting. It seemed that Kaira was an exception to that rule, much as Denai was an exception to the rule that Selani weren't crazy. Her husband Kallan, on the other hand, was the absolute picture of a proper clan-king. He was almost stiffly proper at all times, haughty in his own way, and he wore an expression of grave alertness, a kind of grim watchfulness one might expect from a ruler always looking for problems or trouble that would inconvenience his people. From what he'd seen, Kallan was an outstanding clan-king, intensely loyal to his people and doing whatever it took to resolve disputes and move his clan towards prosperity. He took personal responsibility for the welfare of everyone under him, and that made him quite approachable by the rest of the clan.

They walked and talked of little things, as Allia's parents continued in quietly grilling him about his own family and getting his point of view of things that their daughter had told them, as well as delicately not asking about what had happened last night. Tarrin saw that their questions were keenly to the point, displaying their intelligence at seeing to the heart of the matter and asking him only questions that really mattered. He didn't choose his words when he answered those questions, he gave them the full, blunt truth, even when it hurt his position in their eyes, and let them draw their own conclusions.

They reciprocated, up to a point, describing the daily life of the tribe from a mundane point of view, which Tarrin rather enjoyed. He knew a great deal about that from his many talks with Allia, but hearing them again from a different point of view put a new perspective on things. It also showed him that Kallan treated Kaila with a great deal of deference, obviously impressed by her quick mind and willing to listen to her advice.

It went beyond that, he saw as they walked along. Kallan was...protective of her. He watched him, watched how he acted around her, and realized that it was so. And that answered his question. The Holy Mother had yet to heal Kaila because she wanted to teach Kallan a lesson about independence. Kaila was injured, but she was still more than capable of handling herself. Kallan didn't seem to want to think that she was capable of living without his attention and aid. The only thing she needed help with was keeping up with the tribe while it was on the move. For everything else, she was probably just as capable as any other Selani, even if she only had one eye and one hand. But Kallan could not see that, or maybe he didn't want to see it. He hovered over her, trying to coddle her, doing things for her that she was more than capable of doing herself. Kaila seemed a little exasperated with her husband for his behavior, but didn't actively stop him or chide him for it. She probably didn't want to bring any dishonor to him by calling him down, even in private. So she simply endured it and waited for him to see what others had probably known all along.

Well, there was a way to deal with that. It wasn't exactly interfering, so he didn't feel that he shouldn't put his paw in.

"I'm afraid I have some things to do," Kallan sighed, looking at them. "Let me help you, my wife," he said, offering his arm to her.

"I think I'll borrow Kaila for a while, kirza," Tarrin said, putting a paw on her shoulder. "If that's alright with you."

"What did you have in mind, Tarrin?" she asked, looking up at him with her single eye.

"Well, I have some more questions, and Allia and Kallan are going to be busy," he shrugged. "Besides, I'd like to get to know my deshaida's parents better."

"Well, you have my consent, but do be careful," he said sternly. "In her condition--"

Tarrin snorted in a manner that no human or Selani could, giving Kallan an absent, almost irreverent glance. "Her only condition is having too much patience," he retorted, then he gave a short swear. "I knew I should have put a leash on that cub!" he announced, looking to where Eron had his entire arm, up to the shoulder, down a hole just on the edge of the camp. There was no telling what kind of poisonous beastie he was trying to fish out of that hole.

"Eron!" Tarrin barked, rushing over towards his cub. "Let go of it right now!"

He missed the sudden hot look Kallan gave his back, as well as Kaila's speculative pursed lips and Allia's slight, knowing smile.

By the time he got to the hole, Eron had already pulled out his paw, and it wasn't holding a poisonous critter, as he had feared. Instead, it was holding a very, very small, very very thin and bedraggled mammal of some sort. It had the same markings as a jackal, but had a much narrower muzzle and larger, triangular ears. It was obviously only a baby, but it was shaking and jerking about in a manner that hinted that it was ill.

"What is it, Papa?" Eron asked breathlessly, holding up the weak little animal. Tarrin looked at it more closely, and saw that it wasn't a jackal. It didn't smell like a canine...its scent was more vulpine than canine. It was some breed of fox, one he'd never seen before.

"It's a desert fox," Kaila said as she managed to reach them. "Looks like a kit. Probably abandoned."

"Why would its mama abandon it?"

"She may have been killed, child," she said simply. "Or forced away. Or the kit could be sick. Fox mothers won't raise a kit if they think it's got a disease."

Eron frowned, looking at the palsied baby with strange intensity. Its head shook awkwardly, as it seemed to try to yip at Eron, its paws wobbling as it tried to struggle in his grasp. Tarrin looked closer and saw that it did have fox-like markings, but where a forest fox would be silver or red, this was had a tawny kind of mottled coat, camoflauge in the desert, similar to a jackal, complete with dark stripes down each of its flanks. Its underbelly was white, and the tips of its tufted, large ears and its bushy tail were black, just like a red fox. Tarrin looked at it and realized that it was terrified at being in the clutches of what it considered to be a large predator, but he also saw that its palsied shaking was not natural.

"It's sick," Tarrin concluded, looking at it. "You'd better put it back in the hole, cub."

"No!" he said with sudden intensity. "If it's sick, then you should heal it, Papa!"

"I can't do that, cub," he sighed. "I can't heal sickness. Only a Priest can do that. It's beyond my power, as both a Sorcerer and a Druid. Only Priests can cure sickness."

"Then let's take it to the Priestess," he declared.

"She wouldn't heal it, cubling," Kaila said gently. "It's against the course of nature. It's not our place to interfere with what the Holy Mother has decreed should come to pass."

"Then she's mean!" he declared vehemently.

"Eron, calm down," Tarrin said soothingly. "Don't get worked up. You've been taught about things like this, cub. It's best for everyone involved if you just put the animal back where you found it. There's nothing we can do for it."

"There is!" he shouted. "I know you can heal it, Papa! You can do anything!"

Tarrin was a bit at a loss here. "Eron, I'm not that powerful," he said with a bit of irritation. "Sorcery can't cure diseases, and neither can Druidic magic. It's just beyond us."

"You haven't even tried!" he accused, holding the shaking fox kit towards Tarrin aggressively.

Giving his cub a stern look, he pushed on Eron's arm until the cub was forced to put the infant fox on the ground. It really was a pathetic-looking thing, all bedraggled and dirty, nothing but skin and bones and trying to get up, but its uncontrollable shaking made that quite impossible. Tarrin couldn't see why Eron would get so worked up over it. Eron was a Were-cat, and he understood that sometimes, they just had to let nature do what nature did. The baby fox was obviously very sick, and it would be best for everyone involved if it were simply allowed to pass away. It would be impossible for it to live like it was, and it would be better for it to die in peace rather than slowly starve to death, as it had obviously been doing.

Curious, though, that no matter how obviously sick the little animal was, it was still trying to get up. It was a spunky little thing, Tarrin had to give it that.

Tarrin looked at his cub, and saw a steely determination there that he had never seen before. What had gotten up Eron's shirt about this little fox? For the first time, Tarrin saw something of Mist in their son. Mist shared that dogged, iron-willed determination he could see in Eron's eyes. He knew that no amount of arguing, persuading, or even ordering was going to change Eron's mind about this.

"Alright, cub, I'll try," he acceded. "But we both agree right here and now that if I can't do anything for it, you don't protest when I put it back." Where he could silently and painlessly put the little animal out of its misery, where Eron wouldn't see it. He didn't want the little baby fox to suffer any more than it obviously had. It would be more humane to kill it, and least if he did it, it would be quick, painless, and the fox would be at peace.

"That's fine, Papa, because I know you can heal it. You can do anything," he stated quite confidently, sitting down cross-legged and wrapping his little black tail around his legs.

Tarrin knelt and put his paw over the fox kit, who gave a discordant yipping cry and tried to struggle out from under his paw, but simply couldn't overcome its shaking. Tarrin had seen palsy before, but never as aggravated or as severe as he'd seen it in this little animal. "Stop it," he said irritably, which startled the fox kit so much it actualy subsided, as Tarrin had addressed it in a manner it could understand. It still wobbled and convulsed uncontrollably, but it wasn't as aggravated as it had been before. Obviously, if the kit was trying to move, its palsy was amplified by the attempt.

Setting his will against the Weave, he spun out a weave of healing, a spell that sent fingers of probing flows into the fox kit and assessed its physical condition. The poor thing was starved, cannibalizing its own muscle tissue in order to provide the energy to keep itself alive, and severely dehydrated. If Eron hadn't found it, it would have been dead by sundown. Tarrin looked beyond its physical state, searching deep into it in order to try to figure out what had caused its shaking sickness, so he'd know whether or not he could do anything about it.

Deeper and deeper he delved into the little fox's body, until he was in tune with the very way its brain and nervous system operated...and that was where the problem was. The commands the kit's brain were trying to send to its muscles were getting messed up along the way, somehow. Tarrin looked through its nervous system again, saw that the brain seemed to be working the right way, but what was getting out of its spine was a garbled mess. He backtracked, observing the problem, going up its spinal cord, until he found himself again in the little fox's brain. Something about its brain was causing the instructions to become garbled, even though the commands were being created properly. He searched again, and again, then one more time, a little annoyed that he couldn't find the problem. But one thing was for sure, it wasn't being caused by a disease. This was some kind of defect or disorder, something that he actually could fix. Sorcery couldn't cure diseases, but this wasn't exactly a disease. It was a condition, and if he could find what was causing it, he could correct the problem.

He concentrated his attention to where the spinal cord connected to the brain, then worked backwards. He moved carefully and slowly, observing everything that was going on, doing his best to exclude autonomic operations such as breathing. That was a clue, he realized. The animal's autonomic functions were working properly, it was just motor control that was being affected.

It took him almost ten minutes before he found the problem, a mass of malformed brain matter that was standing between the fox's motor control area of the brain and the brain stem, a very small area in a very small animal. He'd simply overlooked it the last three times he looked, because it was so small. Those impulses had to pass through this defective brain mass, and that was where the signals were getting garbled. A tumor of some kind, but not a malignant one.

Easily corrected.

Weaving flows of Earth, Water, and Divine, the flows of healing, Tarrin snapped them down and released them into the fox's body, right into its brain. The weave was one of exceeding precision, and it performed its assigned task with the careful precision of a blacksmith etching designs onto a masterpiece. The rest of the fox's brain wasn't even touched by the weave as it did its work, attacking the malformed brain matter and breaking it down, the reassembling it to resemble the healthy tissue surrounding it.

The fox seemed to shudder as the spell did its work, then its palsied shaking stopped. Tarrin carefully looked over the work of his spell, making sure that the healed area was indeed healthy and operating as it should, and he was satisfied with the result. The abnormality was corrected, and it should stop the palsy from which the fox kit was suffering.

Tarrin blinked, and then calmly pulled his paw away. The fox kit was laying there, perfectly still, panting a bit. It wasn't shaking. It then started moving, putting its paws under it, then started slinking towards the hole, giving yip-like growls in the direction of the two Were-cats and the Selani, trying to bluff its way to the safety of its hole.

"You did it, Papa!" Eron announced happily, reaching down and snatching up the little fox kit, which growled threateningly and tried to bite Eron, which the cub completely ignored. "I knew you could do it!"

"I thought you said you couldn't cure diseases," Kaila mused, giving him a slight smile.

"I can't. It wasn't a sickness, it was a defect in the fox's brain," he answered. "That, I can do something about."

Eron was hugging the little fox kit, not even feeling its needle-like teeth as the fox bit him on the paw. He held it out to arm's reach and grinned up at it. "Can I keep him, Papa?" he asked breathlessly. "His mama abandoned him, and he needs someone to take care of him!"

"Her," he corrected absently.

"Please?" he begged. "You said last month we could get a cat! Why can't I have this instead of a cat?"

Tarrin looked at his cub, and saw that same look of determination. Eron wasn't about to take no for an answer, and to be honest, Tarrin wasn't entirely opposed to the idea. He could simply tell the fox what it needed to know, so controlling it wouldn't be a problem. Besides, Tarrin admired the little animal's spunk. And in a way, he really couldn't say no to Eron. His son rarely asked him for anything, content with what he got and never complaining about the extra attention that was always afforded to Jasana because of who and what she was. If Eron wanted to keep the fox, if it made him happy, then he saw no reason against it.

"So I did," he admitted. "And the fox is just as good as a cat, as far as I'm concerned. I'll have to ask the fox, though. If it doesn't want to go with you, then that's that, cub."

"Alright," he said, hastily handing the fox kit over to Tarrin. He took it in his paw, ignoring its little teeth as it tried to bite through the thick skin of his pad, and then opened it. Tarrin's paw was so huge that the entire kit fit easily on the pad on his palm, standing there trying to tear a chunk of the thick black pad away with its little teeth. It was certainly a fearless little fox, Tarrin mused with a half smile. He centered himself on the animal, forming an image and an intent in his mind, then reached out and made a connection to the endless energy of the All. It read his intent and saw his image, and then formed a bridge of awareness between him and the fox.

It wasn't easy. The fox was a baby, an infant, and she had very little grasp of the concepts of communication. Tarrin had to communicate with her at a primal level, but it seemed to work. He simply told the fox that her mother was gone, and she was free to come and live with Eron if that was alright with her, that Eron would feed her and care for her and protect her from predators. The fox absorbed that with her infant comprehension and replied that if her mother really was gone, then she wouldn't mind.

There shouldn't be too many problems, he reasoned. The fox was just a baby, but it was very close to weaning, and after asking her, he found out that her mother had been introducing her to meat. That meant that it wouldn't be any trouble to switch her over. All it would take would be instructions about where she could relieve herself, and she'd be no problem at all. And in a way, he sort of liked the idea of having an animal around the house that everyone couldn't talk to. It would seem more like a pet that way.

Tarrin took a moment to explain some things to the kit. Things like them not being enemies, the kit was safe and would be cared for, and they'd be moving to a place much less hot than this, where game was abundant. The fox didn't mind, in fact she seemed rather enthusiastic about the idea. Tarrin had an image of a miniature Kedaira, a powerful, super-efficient predator wreaking havoc on the ecosystem around his house, but he discounted that quickly. Even if the fox got big, the only thing she'd really threaten would be rodents, rabbits, and perhaps birds. And the Goddess only knew, there were more than enough of them around his house. Besides, she hadn't really been taught to hunt yet, which was what her mother would have done. Eron would probably end up being the one to teach her that, and that meant that she'd be more or less as good as Eron was, who admittedly was quite a good hunter even at his tender age.

"She's alright with it, cub," he told his son calmly, handing the kit back, who was no longer trying to tear chunks out of Tarrin's paw. The Were-cat child took the little kit gently, and she gave a short yipping sound, not quite a bark but not quite a whine, then licked him on the face.

"A new pet, eh?" Kaila smiled. "That's not going to cause a problem?"

Tarrin shook his head. "I've been meaning to get one anyway," he admitted. "I was thinking more along the lines of a cat, but the fox will do."

"Rodent problems?"

He shook his head again. "Mice can't get into my house. It's a magic thing," he explained. "I've just wanted a pet. My last one turned out to be a dragon, and I kind of miss having one around. A pet, not a dragon," he corrected quickly.

"A dragon?" Kaila asked in surprise. "However did you manage that?"

"It's a long story," he told her. "I'll explain it to you during the midday rest."

Eron decided to name the fox kit Sandy. This in itself didn't seem to Tarrin to be a very imaginative name, but then again, the one who named it was only two years old, so he guessed he shouldn't have expected anything poetic or clever. Even though he was very much grounded in his Were-cat nature, even he tended to overlook and forget certain aspects of their kind, such as the true ages of his children. It was easy to forget that they were so very, very young. Even though they had the physical maturity and the mental ability of children around seven or eight, they still only had two years of experience, and he'd noticed that that definitely made a difference. Both of his cubs would seem very immature to human children their own size. It would only take ten years for them to grow up, where it was more like seventeen or eighteen for humans, and for them, every day had the possibility to create a significant impact on them.

Jasana had learned that.

"I noticed that you noticed my husband's attitude," she remarked lightly.

"You should step on him, Kaila," he told her. "I'd strangle Jesmind if she tried to treat me that way."

"He means well, Tarrin," she said dismissively. "I've been trying to educate him, but he's rather stubborn."

"Just like his daughter," Tarrin said absently.

"It's love, Tarrin," she chuckled. "He loves me, and he worries about me. I think if he'd married me when I was like this, he wouldn't treat me so, so--"

"Like you're an invalid?"

She nodded. "He'll come around, shida."

"He'd better. I'm not leaving until you're whole, and I plan on leaving tomorrow."

Kaila laughed. "What are you going to do, hit him over the head?"

"If that's what it takes," he said grimly, which only made her laugh harder. Then he pused his lips slightly. "Actually, I might be able to provoke it out of him today. How would you like a few fighting lessons?" he asked.

"I'm trained in the Dance, shida."

"That may be, but Kallan's never seen you fight like this, has he?"

She was about to say something, then she laughed. "Very clever!" she commended. "Nobody else in the clan will spar with me, because my keshida has forbade it." Keshida was the Selani term for husband. "But you've never heard that, have you?"

"I still haven't," he said pointedly. "My father had a stiff leg just like yours, and he was still more than handful for six men in a fight. You'd be amazed how fast someone with a stiff knee can move, if he's had practice with it. I remember watching him move, and we'll make a show out of showing it to you later. Kallan should run out in a tizzy--"

Kaila laughed. "That's a fair description."

Tarrin smiled slightly. "But it won't be his business. If tries to use his authority, I'll just smack the notion out of him. He'll learn very fast that I don't take orders from anyone."

"Our daughter has described Were-cat society to us," she nodded. "That's your way, isn't it?"

He nodded. "Nobody here can make me obey them, so in my mind, it means I rule all of you. Because I can definitely make you do what I say. Well, everyone but Allia, but that'd be a coin toss as to which of us would win."

"A very odd society, if my observation doesn't dishonor you," she said quickly

"No offense taken Kaila. It's the way we are. We don't get offended if people think it's strange, because to others, it is strange. They don't have our instincts, so they just can't understand it the way we do."

"Why do it later?" she asked. "It's still some hours until it gets hot. We can do it now."

Tarrin glanced at Eron, who was scratching his new pet behind the ears with doe-eyed wonder. Jasana was asleep, and Kallan was off attending to clan business, meaning that he couldn't get in their hair until they'd gotten off to a good start.

"You have a good point," he agreed. "Eron."

"Yes, Papa?"

"You can wander around, but stay inside the camp's perimeter, and don't get under anyone's feet."

"Alright. I just want to play with Sandy anyway."

"Well, move off a bit, cub. Me and Kaira here are going to need a little room."

"Alright."

After Eron moved to a safe distance and sat down near a scrub bush, attracting Kedaira's attention, who ambled over and inspected the fox kit with a few prods of her snout, Tarrin and Kaira stood side by side. At first, he was just going to talk to her a while to make it look like he was teaching her something, but Kaira wouldn't have that. She made him actually teach her what he was talking about, and he ended up describing how his father had learned how to move on his stiff leg, how he kept it bent and kind of shuffled along in a rolling gait that let him cover some impressive distance. It had never failed to cause his father pain when he did it, but it was very effective, allowing him to fight using his sword more than long enough to dispatch his adversary. A pensioned Sulasian Ranger was a nightmare in a fight, with some twenty-odd years of experience under his belt. He even copied his shuffling stance for Kaira, slithering along in the dusty soil and demonstrating how quickly he had learned to move, even on a partially lamed leg.

"Since your stiff leg is on the same side as your missing hand, that would be a good leading side," Tarrin noted. "That puts your good leg where it can give you the most maneuverability. That also puts your power on your good side."

"You were well trained," she said appreciatively. "A proper analysis."

"Allia didn't play around when she taught me, Kaira."

"Obviously."

"How much mobility do you have in your knee?"

"I can bend it about halfway," she replied.

"That's more than enough, as long as you're careful not to get into a position where you have to duck or squat. At least where you can't do it from the waist, that is."

She nodded and backed up a few paces, then practiced with the shuffling style of moving a little bit. She picked it up quite easily, probably because Tarrin figured she had thought about it herself. "Alright, come at me," she said with a teasing smile. "I think I can take you."

"Famous last words," Tarrin said with a narrow-eyed smile, spreading his feet and hunkering down into his wide-pawed, back-arched fighting stance, a form that caused his dangerous paws to lean forward over his middle and legs, which was where most enemies would attack someone of his size.

Just because she didn't have a left hand didn't mean that she couldn't use her left arm. Tarrin noticed that immediately, as she actually lightly jabbed at him with it as she shuffled in and out, proving she had quite a bit of mobility. But her injury still slowed her, and her missing hand made her left arm shorter than her right, meaning that there would be very little force behind any blow coming from her left. Tarrin let her practice, slapping away her left arm and right hand consistently, backing up or sliding forward to simulate a retreating or advancing foe, even retaliated with a few slowed swipes of his massive paws, giving her a feel for defending. He hunkered down even more, retracted his claws, and tried to imitate a Selani, using the same forms and trying to move with the same speed, putting his arms more at a level of a much smaller Selani, at least trying to give her something familiar with which to practice.

At least, it was practice until she kicked him. He never saw it coming, never even considered it a possibility, until she locked her stiff knee and rotated into one of those spinning kicks of which the Selani were so fond. He was so surprised by it that he didn't even think to try to dodge, and the sole of her boot smacked him smartly in the side of the head. Despite the fact that she was nowhere near as strong as him, she hit him in the head, and the raw impact of the blow was enough to make him see stars. She had managed to come around with some considerable momentum, and that gave her foot some respectable power when it struck him. Tarrin staggered back and shook his head to clear the cobwebs, getting the ringing out of his ears just in time to swat her foot aside as she tried to kick him again. A little irritated that she struck him, his Were-cat pride stung by being injured by a partially disabled enemy, Tarrin got a little bit more aggressive than he intended. He turned on her with a flat-eyed snarl and rose up to his full height, then darted in to smack her to the ground and reassert his dominance over her. But Kaila turned out to be a surprisingly slippery foe, slithering away from him with a grace and mobility that was impressive given that she had a lamed leg. He got a little more aggravated when he failed to land a blow against her, but then his anger dimmed and his warrior's analytical mind took back over. He was impressed by her, that even with her injury, she could manage to avoid him when he meant to hit her. She was much slower than other Selani, for she was lamed, but she was well trained and was aware of her lack of speed, compensating for it as best she could. She had the advantage of having seen Tarrin fight once before, so she was familiar with how fast and powerful he was, where Tarrin could be nothing but surprised with whatever Kaila showed him.

Tarrin discovered very quickly that Kaila's legs were much more dangerous than her arms. She could kick with either foot, and despite having a stiff knee, she was more than capable of launching her feet at him from almost any angle. She was as limber as any Selani, meaning she could form a straight line with her legs and kick absolutely straight up, giving her the flexibility required to keep him guessing, and her long, long legs eliminated Tarrin's advantage in reach. Her legs were as long as his arms, meaning that he couldn't keep her outside her own reach but within his own. To get close enough to hit her, he had to put himself in harm's way. Kaila's feet became her primary weapons, forcing the Were-cat to evade or block a rapid series of lightning-fast kicks at his head, sides, chest, legs, and ankles. She ranged her feet up and down, far and wide, using her feet and shins to block as well as attack, kicking aside Tarrin's paws as they reached for her--which he allowed, not wanting to take advantage of his overwhelming strength advantage, behaving like he had normal strength--then reversing her momentum with impressive speed and turning a block into a counterattack.

Tarrin got over his short peeve and started taking Kaila seriously. She may be injured, but she was definitely a capable opponent in a fight. Were it not for his strength advantage, he'd have to really work to beat her, lame leg, missing hand, and missing eye notwithstanding. It was obvious to him that Kaila had worked after her injury to come to terms with the limitations of her injuries, and had adjusted her fighting style to eliminate them as best she could and turn a disadvantage into an advantage.

A very impressive woman.

"Stop at once!" Kallan's voice roared over the dusty plain, and both of them paused to glance at him, sprinting towards them with all speed, Allia rushing up from behind. "What do you think you're doing, Tarrin!?" he demanded as he reached them.

"At the moment, I'm losing," he said with a slight frown. "I can't get past her legs."

"Are you insane? How dare you spar with my wife when she's in this condition?" he raged, his hands drifting towards the longswords strapped to his back.

"Well, seeing as how I haven't even touched her yet, but she's marked me a few times," he said, rubbing his jaw, "I'd say my condition is worse than hers."

Kallan glared at him, sputtering a few times. "She's not--"

"Not what?" Tarrin asked, his eyes boring into the smaller Selani. "Not capable? If you think that, then sit down and watch. She's almost as good as you, even with her condition," he said sharply. "The only problem she has is the fact that you think she's made of glass. I can assure you, kirza, your wife has more steel in her than glass."

"I forbid it!" he shouted.

Without batting an eye, Tarrin backpawed Kallan, sending him flying. He landed on his back in the sandy soil, sliding a few spans before coming to a stop. "I think you have something to learn, Kallan. And if I have to beat you senseless to make you understand, then that's fine with me," Tarrin told him calmly as Kallan sat up, wiping blood from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand, giving Tarrin a dangerous glare. "Your wife may be injured, but she's by no means disabled. Just sit there and watch. If you try to interfere, I think both of us will sit you back down. The hard way."

Kallan's eyes flashed furiously, but he never had the chance to do anything about it. Tarrin simply raised a paw and pointed a finger at Kallan. He reached within, through the Cat, touching the All. It read his image and intent, and responded effortlessly. Roots, vines, and barked tendrils suddenly erupted from the ground and quickly ensnared the Selani clan-king, thoroughly tying him up. Tarrin asked the vines to hold onto him until he told them to let go, and they responded by getting a good grip on their victim, but not doing any injury.

Better, Tarrin thought, to remind him that Tarrin wasn't just a Selani-trained warrior.

"Now sit there and keep out of trouble," Tarrin told him with almost insulting dismissiveness, turning back to Allia's mother. "Ready?"

Kaila had a mischievious glint in her eye, sliding her feet apart again.

With Kallan literally tied up, he had no choice but to watch as Tarrin and Kaila sparred. Kaila continued to use her feet as her primary weapons, striking with the speed of a viper, striking at Tarrin's legs, sides, chest, and head faster than any human could punch. Tarrin continued to defend as he tried to get used to it; Allia kicked all the time, but she didn't use it as her sole means of attack. This was new, different, and not a little disconcerting, forcing Tarrin to take in a form of fighting he'd never seen before and learn how to counter it. Kaila's stiff knee seemed to have vanished as a disadvantage as she slid under his reaching paw and lifted her lamed leg up and over his arm, then slammed the sole of her boot into his cheek as he tried to knock her leg high with his arm rather than get out of the way. To his shock, she grabbed his paw with her good hand and pulled him taut, using her grip on his arm as leverage to press her foot against his head, seeking to make him yield before she broke his neck. Tarrin had used this very same tactic against Jegojah once, and he knew how effective it could be so long as Kaila kept her balance. Tarrin knew the counter for this rather unconventional tactic; digging his claws into the earth beneath him and pushing against her foot with his entire body, pressing into her attack. He had to lock the muscles in his neck to keep her from twisting his head around, but his inexorable forward movement managed to push her past her center of balance, making her either let go or risk falling down. She let go and pushed off from his head with her foot, rolling on the ground and coming back up easily. Tarrin shook his head once, sharply, which caused his neck to pop with a loud, rather chilling crack, then he squared off against the Selani once again, feeling he had enough familiarity with her to deal with her now.

With more confidence, Tarrin batted aside or blocked Kaila's kicks, and saw that fighting with her would play into her strength. Her weakness was a missing hand and a lamed leg, as well as a blind side, so he knew he had to come at her using those. The sum of those traits dictated using grappling moves, Ungardt locks, holds, and throws, bringing her disadvantages to their most negative impacts on her ability. A missing hand would make grabbing at him harder, and a lamed leg meant that she couldn't apply leverage against him as effectively as she could if she were whole. The missing eye was the means by which he would get inside her dangerous feet and get within grappling range of her.

To Kaila's shock, the Were-cat took a quick step back, the dropped down onto all fours. Tarrin was completely comfortable thusly, and the Selani learned very fast that a Were-cat was by no means ungainly when operating on four limbs when two were much longer than the others, as she made several tentative attempts to kick him in his suddenly vulnerable head. Tarrin slinked aside each time, moving effortlessly on his paws and feet, looking more like a cat in movement than a humanoid while he did so. The sudden radical shift from a vertical base to a horizontal one eliminated much of Kaila's opportunity to kick at him, since now everything she could kick was at her waist level or lower. Kaila stared at him in confusion, trying to puzzle him out, then she laughed. "Alright, then," she declared, advancing on him.

Kaila wasn't dumb. She tried to get around his front, to his flank, but at the same time Tarrin tried to circle around to her blind side. She was too smart to let that happen, so the two of them circled crazily around one another even as Kaila tried to kick his sides and head or stomp on his paws, and Tarrin tried to grab hold of her legs or whip her feet out from under her with his tail. Both proved to be too fast for it, and both knew it was coming, so they took steps to avoid it. Kaila knew she couldn't allow herself to be grabbed, and it was blatant after mere seconds what Tarrin was trying to do. Their unusual dance continued for several long moments, as Kaila couldn't land any real good kicks, and Tarrin couldn't get a grip on her or get into her blind side.

To her credit, Kaila never made a mistake, but Tarrin was just too fast for her. He slipped under several fast kicks at his head and shoulder, then suddenly reversed momentum and literally slid on his side on the ground as Kaila tried to pull her foot back in for another strike. He slid into her blind spot, then whipped out a clawed paw and managed to plant it right on the Selani's backside as he literally slid right under her. Claws got an instant grip on her loose breeches, and Kaila gave a short yowl when they dug into skin as well, then he pulled her down and back as his other arm swept her feet out from under her. She landed heavily on her side, then found herself getting pulled into the Were-cat's clutches literally by his clawed grip on her butt. He let go and quickly got over her, replanting that paw on her upper chest as his tail lashed out and wrapped both of Kaila's very dangerous legs by the ankles. He raised his other paw over his head and smiled down at her. "Do you yield?"

She laughed helplessly. "That was a dirty trick, hooking your claws in my butt!" she accused, then she laughed again. "I yield, you sneak!"

"It was guaranteed that you wouldn't try to pull free if I grabbed you there," he told her with a slight, sly smile as he stood up, then helped her to her feet.

Kaila laughed again, rubbing her posterior gingerly with her single hand. "That hurt," she complained. "But it was alot of fun. I haven't had a good spar in--" she started, but then seemed to remember that Kallan was there, and fell silent.

Tarrin looked to Allia's father. He still looked mad, but there was a look of surprise in his eyes, as well as a hint of uncertainty on his face.

That would do. Tarrin planted the seeds by forcing him to watch as Kaila quite capably fought against him. Now it was up to Kallan to make them bloom.

With a single gesture of his paw, Tarrin caused the vegetation restricting Kallan to return to the earth, ending his spell, and Allia helped him stand up. "You should go see the shaman, Kaila," he told her. "I think I punched a few holes in you."

"I'm sure I'll have trouble explaining things, given where they are," she chuckled. "You'll spend midday with us?"

"If you'll have me," he answered calmly, glancing at Eron to make sure he wasn't getting into trouble, which he wasn't. The fox was hopping around Eron's legs, trying to catch the Were-cat's tail as Eron laughed and kept it away from her. If that fox was good for anything, at least it was keeping his hyper cub's attention grounded in one place, keeping him from trying to fish anything exceedingly venemous out of small holes. Kedaira was standing close to them, watching the game with intent eyes. He wasn't sure if the inu thought the fox kit was a meal, but he rather doubted it. She wouldn't attack any animal that Eron was playing with, and she had standing orders not to attack any animal within the boundaries of the camp.

"Of course we will," she said with a wave of her handless arm. "Excuse me while I go have my butt healed before I end up staining my breeches," she said with yet another chuckle, then limped off in the direction of the center of camp.

Tarrin crossed his arms and looked over at Kallan, who still looked both angry and surprised. "Well?"

Kallan glared at him for a moment, a reflexive reaction over getting so completely overwhelmed, then he sighed. "I, I think I understand what you were trying to say," he admitted, a bit ruefully. "Her only problem is me, isn't it?"

"Not completely, kirza, but she's not as fragile as you think she is. She does need a little help, but she doesn't need you to hold her hand and keep her out of danger she's more than capable of handling herself."

"Your wisdom surprises me, Tarrin," he admitted. "When I look at you, I see--"

"I know," he shrugged. "Few people think I have half a brain, and even fewer think I do after they see how I act. I don't know what it is about this that makes them think that," he said, holding up his paws.

"I meant no dishonor," he said quickly.

"There's no dishonor in truth, Kallan," he said sagely. "No man can be offended by the truth, unless he's of weak character."

"Truly," he agreed.

"I've told you, father, my deshida is much more than he appears," Allia said with a smile at Tarrin.

"I won't discount you again, daughter," he said calmly. "I'm going to go ensure your mother wasn't seriously wounded, then go on a round of the flocks."

"I'll see you at midday, then," Allia said. "I'm going to stay with Tarrin."

He nodded, then gave Tarrin a grave, respectful look. Then he turned to follow his wife's steps towards the shaman's tent.

"Did you plan that?" Allia asked after her father was out of hearing.

"Of course we did," he said with a slight smile.

Allia gave him a look, then laughed delightedly.

All in all, it was quite a good day, so much so that it seemed only a moment passed between his short spar with Kaila and sunset. But it had been rather eventful.

After making sure Kaila was alright, Kallan got very quiet and pensive. They saw him walking along the edges of the flocks, not really paying much attention to them, as it was apparent that he was deeply in thought. Tarrin felt that that was a good sign, so much so that he'd be willing to leave without healing Kaila. He was rather sure she'd be whole by the end of the ride. Tarrin spent that time with Allia, telling her about what he'd been noticing here and there in the clan about Allyn, and telling her that she'd better teach him what the Priestess was supposed to be teaching him if she wanted him to learn any of it. She was a bit surprised to learn that instead of teaching Allyn, the shaman was doing nothing but making him perform heavy labor during the time that he was with her. That made her a bit mad, but he knew his sister. She wouldn't gainsay the shaman, but then again, she wasn't going to depend on her either. She'd spent too much time with Tarrin to be mystified or overwhelmed by the sense of magical power the shaman used to keep the tribe in awe of her. Allia would teach Allyn what he needed to know herself. Since she was the daughter of a clan-king, she knew all of it just as well as the shaman did.

After the midday heat came down with its full force and made the Selani retreat to their tents, Tarrin spent a productive few hours with Allia's family. Jasana had awakened by then, and she was just as quiet and pensive as Kallan had been, sitting on his lap with a look of moody thought on her face, so much so that she didn't even say much about Eron's new pet. Kallan was still trying to come to terms with what he'd learned, so he wasn't very active in the conversation. Dulai again remained stiffly formal and very standoffish, and continued to keep her son Zakra away from Eron, which was even harder now because of the Selani child's interest in Eron's pet fox. But Allyn, Kaila, and Allia were very involved, and they spent a midday talking about the coming Gathering, the prospects for the harvest at the village, and the growing tensions with the neighboring clan, Clan Kishenin. There had been reports of border raids, which meant that warriors from Clan Kishenin were sneaking into Faedellin territory and trying to steal livestock. That was the extent of clan frictions between the Selani, since Fara'Nae forbade them from fighting one another. It was yet another aspect of the Selani's deep-seated need for competition. Luckily for the tribes who had been attacked, they had thwarted all four attempts, a matter of honor for Faedellin. Kallan had already given permission for the attacked tribes to retaliate, and they would be sneaking off into Kishenin lands over the next few nights to try to steal some of their livestock. If it escalated, which it probably would, one clan would challenge the other, but it would be nothing more than a series of formalized challenges where Selani would battle in the Dance, and all results would be non-lethal in nature. Selani didn't have war, but they did like to fight, so they made up excuses to do so, and made sure that none of their ideas caused Selani to fight another Selani to the death on a clan level. Personal challenges of honor were acceptable, which often ended up being fatal, but clans could not battle clans. Such challenges were often quite a reason to celebrate, as rival clans gathered and traded information, stories, and goods, even as their warriors challenged one another. That was the formal and noticable activity. Behind the scenes, the clans' thieves secretly tried to steal the other clan blind. Such a challenge could turn into quite a chaotic situation, given with all the activity, both obvious and underhanded, that went on during one.

Tarrin found this aspect of Selani society both amusing and clever. Selani were warriors, but they only had each other to fight. But they couldn't do that, as it was against the will of their goddess, so they engineered activities that allowed them to satisfy their love of fighting while still obeying the will of their goddess.

Allyn recanted what he'd done that day with the flocks, and explained what he'd learned about sukk. He mentioned that the shaman had yet to call him in for the day's lesson, but Allia's silvery eyebrows furrowed and she told him tersely that when she summoned him, to let her know. Tarrin sensed an impending brawl there, but it wasn't his business, so he was going to stay out of it. Now that Allia was aware of Allyn's troubles with the tribe's shaman, he was more than confident that his sister would deal with it without requiring his intercession in the matter. Allyn was in very good hands.

All in all, a very refreshing and entertaining conversation. He had finally even managed to get Dulai to talk, when he asked her what she specialized in doing for the tribe. Dulai was the tribe's obe, much to his surprise, translator and advisor for her brother, and he asked her quite a few questions about the role of obe he'd never had the chance to ask Denai. His interest in her job caused her to warm up to him somewhat, even to the point where she finally stopped calling Zakra back when he inched closer and closer to Eron. Tarrin found out that Dulai was quite an intelligent woman, and though she still seemed somewhat reluctant to be friendly, at least she was willing to talk to him.

After the heat of the midday waned and the Selani were again able to move around, Kallan and Kaira walked off towards the edge of camp together. Tarrin was confident that certain truths were going to be exchanged there, and he was content with it. Kallan wasn't a fool, he was just being blinded by his love for his wife. Now that he'd had his eyes opened, his opinion of his wife's condition could not help but change.

Tarrin spent the afternoon with his children. Kedaira followed them around like a puppy as they wandered the camp, talking to Selani from time to time, and Tarrin had a serious talk with his daughter. Jasana was still upset over what happened last night, but she was upset with herself, not with him or with Eron. That was a good thing, he knew. Jasana had seen in herself what others had seen, what she was incapable of seeing in herself, and she had been surprised by it. Tarrin had had a few of those epiphanies in his day, when he looked in the mirror and found what stared back at him to be terrifying. What Jasana saw in her mirror scared her to death, because it had almost cost her her brother's life. He didn't like seeing her go through it, but it was better for her to suffer a little now than to really suffer later after she did finally do something that got someone killed. It was a positive sign, and though it wouldn't be as forceful in her mind as it was now later on, after time and Were-cat mentality dulled the edge of the memory, it would still be there. Jasana's personality would revert back to her usual scheming self, but he hoped that she'd finally be able to recognize the line that she dared not cross.

"Why is Dulai so aloof?" he asked Allia as the sun began to set, as he and Jasana and Eron walked with her and Allyn along the edge of the sukk flock.

"She's always been like that," she answered. "Our family has been ruling the clan for nearly three hundred years now, and I think she takes a little offense at you and Allyn being brought into it without her approval."

"She's snippy because she doesn't approve of us?" Allyn asked.

"No, she's snippy because she never had the chance to approve of you before you became part of the family," Allia elaborated. "Dulai's always been very proud of the family's honor. Maybe too proud," she frowned. "I think she's afraid that you or Allyn were going to damage the family honor."

"Not a bloody chance!" Allyn said hotly.

"That's my Allyn," Allia said with a smile, patting him fondly on the backside.

"I guess she decided that I couldn't be all that bad, after thrashing Kallan."

"I think she was a little mad at you for that," she laughed in reply. "You may be part of the family by clan law, but remember, Dulai probably still thinks of you as an outsider. In her eyes, her brother got thrashed by an outlander, not a member of the family."

"I didn't think of it that way," he admitted. "I don't--"

Tarrin stopped as the sukk all started giving out frightful, keening squawks, flapping their useless wings and starting to scatter in every direction. Tarrin glanced a huge shadow race by, blocking the sun for an instant, and he realized that the birds had seen Sapphire, and were on the verge of panic. Tarrin turned and shouted in a booming voice "STOP!" as he waved his arms to get their attention.

It hung there a moment. Instinctual fear battled with the birds' instinctual trust of a Druid, and then they all started to settle down a little. "Settle down!" Tarrin barked at them, intending for them to understand him. "What you just saw won't attack you!"

"What happened?" Allyn asked.

"Auntie Sapphire just flew over us!" Eron said in excitement, pointing. Allyn followed his clawed finger, as did Tarrin, and they saw the majestic blue dragon banking several miles away from them, turning and descending as she prepared to come in for a landing.

"We'd better go calm down the clan before they start throwing javelins at her," Tarrin grunted.

"They wouldn't attack her. They're not that crazy," Allia told him.

"Papa, Aunt Sapphire said not to say anything," Jasana reminded him. "I think that means we can't tell them what's going on. That would be saying something."

"She has a point," Allyn acceded after a moment. "I wouldn't dare mince words with a dragon."

"Neither would I," Tarrin agreed with a nod. "At least we could kind of drift over in that direction, so we're the first things she comes across. Odds are the tribe might come as close as Selani get to panicking when they realize she's coming right for them."

They cut through camp, a camp that was very quiet and very tense. They'd seen the dragon turn and descend, and now the monstrous form had dropped out of sight, behind the low ridge that stretched across the western desert. Warriors were ducking into tents and coming out with weapons, as the youngers were sent off to tighten up the flocks in case a hasty retreat was ordered. The Were-cats, Allia, and Allyn moved quicky through the camp and started towards the rise, with the setting sun in their eyes, as Sapphire's titanic footsteps started quivering the ground under them. If there was any indication how huge and massive the dragon was, that was it. She was so big that her every footstep was felt by anything within a longspan. Kedaira started following them curiously, and Tarrin took a moment to warn both her and the fox that they were about to see something that they'd be terrified of, but in this case it wasn't a threat to them.

By the time they reached the base of the low ridge, Sapphire came into view. Just her head, a head that had to be a hundred spans over them. Her head and neck ambled into view as she crested the rise, and then she looked down at them with those yellow eyes of hers, eyes that reminded him briefly of Keritanima in a strange way. Though he wasn't afraid of her, he couldn't help but feel....intimidated by her immensity.

If he was intimidated, the Selani were downright terrified. He heard a Selani scream in fear for the first time in his entire life, and there wasn't just one scream. Bedlam erupted in the camp behind them as Selani scrambled around, unsure as to whether to form up and attack the gigantic monstrosity that had ambled up to their camp, or turn and flee in panic. Fleeing in panic was highly dishonorable, and Tarrin felt that their honor was the only thing keeping them from doing just that. Sapphire watched them with intent eyes, then she looked down at Tarrin again as Kallan, the shaman, and Dulai started moving towards the dragon at a wary rate of speed. She took a few more ground-eating strides forward, until most of her body was visible, and then she sedately sat on the top of the rise, craning her neck down it to bring her head within twenty spans of those standing at its base.

"Tarrin," she said amiably, in Sha'Kar. "How are you, my little one?"

"I'm doing quite well, Sapphire," he replied with a nod, then she brought her head all the way down until her snout was just before them. Eron and Jasana broke out into choruses of "Auntie Sapphire! Auntie Sapphire!" and hugged the gigantic dragon's nose, which for them meant that they pressed up against it with their arms outstretched. Sapphire nuzzled the two Were-cat cubs, only knocking them down twice, then reared back a little to look at them without having to cross her eyes. "Allia, you're looking very well," she noted. "Glad to be home?"

"Home is the best place to be, Sapphire," she smiled. "How was it for you?"

"Ugh," she said, making a sour face. "The brood destroyed the cave and scattered our hoard all over the desert floor! They wanted to heat it up so it would keep the cave warmer at night! It took me almost a month to get everything back to where it was supposed to be!"

Allia laughed as Kallan, Dulai, and the shaman finally reached them. "Children do tend to turn everything upside-down."

"Daughter!" Kallan said in surprise. "You know this beast?"

"Of course I do, father," she said absently. "This is Sapphire."

"Do you speak Selani, Sapphire?" Tarrin asked her quickly, since Kallan and Allia were speaking it.

"I caught a Selani a few days ago and lifted it off of him,"she answered in flawless Selani. "He seemed a bit terrified of me, but it didn't last long. After I explained what I needed, he calmed down and allowed me to do it. Then afterward, he wanted to fight me. He was quite respectful about it, but he was very insistent. What foolishness!"

"You'd be the ultimate challenge to a Selani warrior," Tarrin told her with a sly smile. "The more dangerous the enemy is, the better."

"If he could defeat you in fair combat, his honor would have no equal," Allia laughed.

"As if he'd ever have a chance," she said primly. "You are Allia's father?" she asked Kallan directly.

Kallan swallowed visibly, then stepped forward. "I am," he replied in a surprisingly steady voice. "How do you know my daughter?"

"I travelled with her and Tarrin for some time," she answered. "She's a very good friend of mine." She glanced at Allyn. "Keritanima asked Kimmie to ask me to tell you that Iselde wants to know how you're doing," she related to him. "She wants to talk to you, but you told her not to contact you. Well, she's getting worried about you."

"That sounds rather roundabout," Allyn said with a slightly nervous smile. Tarrin could smell the fear all around him. Allyn was very nervous, and Kallan, Dulai, and the shaman were absolutely petrified. It was saying a great deal about Kallan that he could manage to speak so evenly to Sapphire. Tarrin didn't often notice the effect Sapphire had on those not familiar with her, since he was so familiar with her.

"That Wikuni knows better than to ask anything of me. Every question from her mouth sounds more like a command," the dragon said with a snort, the wind it caused racing over them. "She asked Kimmie to do it because she knew Kimmie wouldn't mind asking." She glanced at Allyn. "Well?"

"Uh, I'll contact Iselde tonight," he promised.

"You should never ignore family, Sha'Kar," she chided him. "Family is all we have, and all that we are."

"I will be guided by you, great dragon," he said quickly.

"Naturally," she drawled, looking to Kallan again. "Have your warriors put away their swords, Selani. If I had come to fight, you'd be dead already."

Those words would have incited immediate response from Kallan, had they come from anything other than the five hundred span long behemoth looming over him like a mountain ready to fall on top of him.

"Wh-What does bring you here, honored one?" he asked hesitantly.

"They do," she said, nodding towards Tarrin. "I don't get to see my little one very often, so I'm here to see him before he goes home. That I get the chance to see Allia as well is just a welcome bonus." She looked to Tarrin. "I will be staying for dinner," she stated. "And we'll catch up on the goings on I've missed."

Kallan blanched, but he wasn't crazy enough to object. Nobody told a dragon what they couldn't do. "A--A--As you wish, honored guest," he stammered, taken aback by this bit of news.

Sapphire reared her head back, and then she closed her eyes, muttering under her breath in the language of the Wizards' magic. Her massive form then wavered, and then it seemed to disappear. Kallan gasped and Dulai took a step back, then they stared slack-jawed at the tall, shapely woman with dark hair and a blue dress that exactly matched the color of Sapphire's scales appeared over the rise and started down towards them. Tarrin recognized her immediately as Sapphire's human appearance when she used magic to change her shape. She strode down the rise effortlessly, then imperiously held out her hand to Tarrin when she reached them. Jasana and Eron clamored around her, as Eron held up his new pet fox for her to inspect, which was writhing wildly to get away from the human-bound dragon, as Jasana begged her to show her magic. She silenced both of them with a tut and a wave of her hand, and both immediately fell silent. They always obeyed Sapphire without question, because they had already tasted her temper once before. That was a lesson that neither of them ever wanted repeated. Tarrin took her hand with a gentle smile, swallowing her smaller hand up in his huge paw, and then she gave Kallan a regal look. "Now then, take me to your tent," she told him. "I'd like to rest a while before dining. And it had better be good," she warned in a dangerous voice, glancing at Kallan, as if she would eat him if the meal served wasn't to her liking.

"A--As you command, honored guest," he repeated. It seemed to be all he could say as he experienced the full force of both Sapphire's intimidating size and her forceful personality.

"Now then, let's not stand here like sukk," she prompted. "Take me to the camp."

"Of course, my friend," Tarrin told her, moving to do exactly that.