The first of the people they'd been waiting for to arrive was, of all people, Ariana.
She swooped in about an hour after Tarrin and Jesmind made peace, when Tarrin happened to be outside patching a hole in the stillery building; he knew that his father would kill him if he didn't seal that up before it made the whole stillery fall down. It had been a while since he'd seen Ariana, and he had to admit that the time had been good to her. Her blue hair was tied in a tail behind her, and she wore a tight-fitting vest and breeches that wouldn't flap in the wind as she flew. She had a crossbow hanging from her belt, a curiously small crossbow with what looked to be a metal bowstring and bow arms, and a quiver with bolts hung at her belt from the other side. Her face was still just as brown as he remembered, browned from the sun and wind, and she wore a tinted crystal visor of the same design as what the Selani wore. "Tarrin!" she called with a raised hand. "I told you we'd see each other again!"
"So you did, Ariana," he called, setting down the hammer and coming over to her.
"What are you doing?"
"Patching," he replied.
"Strange occupation for someone who called for an Aeradalla scout," she laughed. "Why in the four winds are you doing that?"
"Because it needs doing," he answered calmly, looking down at her. "Was your flight safe?"
"Boring," she complained, reaching back and smoothing some of the feathers on her wing. "When the message reached us for one of us to come here, I had to do some negotiating to keep Darius from coming instead of me."
"Darius?"
"He was closest," Ariana admitted. "But then I told them I knew you and you were rather tempermental, so it would be best if I was the one to come."
"That actually was a pretty reasonable argument," Tarrin chuckled in agreement.
"They thought so too," she grinned. "So, now what?"
"Now? Now, we wait," he replied. "We're waiting for a few others, and we're leaving in the morning."
"Anything you need scouting before then?"
"Aren't you tired?"
"Naw," she said, adjusting her vest. "I caught a tailwind almost all the way over here. That's easy flying."
"Why don't you come in and have something to eat?" he offered. "You can meet my mate, Jesmind."
"You're married?" she asked curiously. "I never thought you were the marrying type."
"I'm not married," he said. "My relationship with Jesmind is what you'd call purely physical."
"So she's your mistress," Ariana reasoned.
"Whatever makes the most sense to you," he shrugged. "You wouldn't understand, even if I explained it to you."
"Alright," she said, letting it drop. "I'm glad you were outside. I wasn't sure I had the right place. It doesn't look what I was told it would look like."
"It's changed since anyone in Suld has seen it," he explained, leading her to the house.
Jesmind was busy carving up the deer when Tarrin led Ariana into the house. The rabbits were already skinned and cleaned, cut up and waiting to be either stored or eaten. The deer was about halfway ready, for Jesmind was cutting it up into small portions. She glanced towards the door, took one look at Ariana, and immediately turned around and assumed a slightly hostile posture.
"Jesmind, this is Ariana," Tarrin introduced as he stepped in behind her. "She's the Aeradalla scout I had mother send to help us."
"Oh. For a minute there, I thought you were an invader," Jesmind said in a gruff voice. "Come in and make yourself at home. Tarrin, we're going to need a larger pot or something. Thean and the others are going to be hungry when they get here."
"You want that stove now or later?" he asked.
Jesmind seemed to consider it. "No, that would be cheating," she said, mainly to herself. "But I think maybe we should build a firepit outside. We'll roast it there. I don't want all those people running around our house anyway."
"It's good to meet you, Jesmind," Ariana said. "Tarrin said you was your, ah, mate."
"He is," she affirmed with a nod. "Don't bother asking. You're not Were, so you won't understand."
"He said the same thing."
"Sometimes, even Tarrin says something smart," Jesmind shrugged. "Go find a place to dig the pit, my mate. I'll start bringing the meat out in a bit."
"Alright. Come on, Ari, you can help," he said, filing her right back out. Jesmind was in a pecky mood, so it was best to remove any kind of negative influences on her at the moment.
"She was a bit pert," Ariana said with a slight frown after Tarrin closed the door and led her off the porch.
"She's not in a good mood," Tarrin told her patiently. "She lost a fight with me earlier, and it's starting to gnaw at her. It's natural. Give her a while, and she'll be more friendly."
"Things must be interesting for you two," Ariana laughed.
"Usually," he agreed. "If we're not fighting, we're making up. Then we're fighting about something else."
Ariana laughed. "That almost sounds like me and Andy."
Tarrin looked around, and decided that it would be best to dig the pit beside the garden they'd planted earlier, for that ground was always marked for plowing anyway. They wouldn't be tearing up any grass that wasn't meant to grow there for long in the first place. "Do me a favor and fetch the spade from that building over there," he said, pointing to the old shearing shed, which was now a smaller barn.
"You're going to dig?" Ariana said in surprise. "They told me that you're a magician! Why don't you magic it?"
"Because Jesmind takes a dim view when I do that," he replied cooly. "And right now, making Jesmind mad is not a very good idea."
"You're scared of her?"
"Any sane sentient being would be very wise to fear Jesmind," he replied bluntly.
"Well, if you're afraid of her, then I guess it would be best to do as you say," she said with a little smirk.
"Ari, you know how some women like to yell, some like to cry, and some like to throw things when they get mad?" he asked directly, to which Ariana nodded. "Well, Jesmind likes to kill things. And since you and me are the only living things around at the moment, who do you think she's going to come after?"
Ariana's face screwed up for a moment, then she laughed. "I see your point," she said with a quirky grin. "She's just like you."
"More or less," he agreed. "You don't stomp around Jesmind unless you want to lose your foot."
"I'll remember that. Let me go find that spade," she said, shuffling off towards the shearing shed.
Tarrin had some of the larger stones from the bed of the small stream piled up for the firepit by the time Ariana came back, holding a recently cleaned spade. "It's a mess in there," she accused. "I couldn't find it."
"She keeps it right by the door, Ari," he said, looking at it.
"Tarrin, I think I've seen one of those things about four times in my life," she said, putting her hands on her hips. "Forgive me if I couldn't point it out among all that other junk in there."
"I guess that could be a problem," Tarrin agreed with a chuckle, starting to spade up the grass. "I would ask you to go help Jesmind, but that wouldn't be a good idea."
"No, it wouldn't. What can I do to help?"
"Well, you can go get some more stones," he said. "There's some of them in the stream over there."
"No problem."
Tarrin bent down to drive the spade into the ground again, but a scent on the wind caused him to stop short and raise his head. He tested the air with his nose, sorting through the myriad smells that came from living in the forest, isolating that one scent that was new and different. It was a scent he knew, a Were-cat scent. It was coming from upwind, from the south, and he managed to remember who owned that scent just as the figure broke the treeline.
It was Rahnee.
Tarrin's memories of Rahnee were mixed. She had been rather aggressive in her desire to bed him, and given Jesmind's mood at the moment, maybe this wasn't a good time for Rahnee to show up. Jesmind would consider any such talk to be a direct challenge to her claim on him. Tarrin had never gotten past Rahnee's singular bent to get to know her, so he had very little idea of what to expect seeing her alone like that. She spotted him and waved, then trotted over in that ground-eating lope that made Were-cats so mobile. "Tarrin!" she called as she bounded up to him. She looked as he remembered, a tall, rather slender Were-cat female with Jesmind's red hair but Tarrin's black fur. Her hair wasn't as long as Jesmind's, but her face was sharper and more fox-like. "By the furies, cub, when did you get so tall?" she asked immediately.
He was getting very tired of that. "It's a long story you'll hear when everyone else is here, so I only have to go over it once," he replied. "You're looking well."
"Well enough," she replied. "I can smell Jesmind all over you, Tarrin. I take it she's taken you for mate again?"
Tarrin nodded.
"Ah well. More's the pity," she sighed. "At least Thean and Jeri will be here."
"I'm only going to say this once, Rahnee. Do not get frisky right now. Jesmind is in a bad mood, and she'd probably try to rip your head off if you so much as looked at me the wrong way."
"I know, I know," she grunted. "Jesmind's always been very stingy with her mates. It's a flaw."
"At least for you. Now go announce yourself to her before she comes out to see who it is. You don't want to get on Jesmind's bad side at the moment. Trust me."
"Alright," she said, filing past him. Tarrin watched her go, surprised that she gave in so quickly. But then again, this wasn't neutral ground. This was Jesmind's den, and certain customary formalities and such were in effect. Since it was Jesmind's den, the other Were-cats had to accede to her in all things and respect her authority so long as they stood on her ground. Rahnee knew that, knew that Jesmind had laid claim to both the land and to him. And so long as he stood on Jesmind's ground, she probably knew better than to say or do anything stupid.
"Who is that, Tarrin?" Ariana asked as she carried a couple of large, smoothed stones from the stream.
"Rahnee, one of the other Were-cats," he replied. "You'll meet her when she comes back out. She won't stay in the house long. At least if she's smart, anyway."
Tarrin bent back to digging the fire pit as Ariana started laying out the stones as Tarrin directed. He had most of the grass off by the time Rahnee came back out, her face pinched and her eyes flashing. "She was rude," Rahnee said under her breath as she reached them. From the corner of his eye, he saw that Jesmind was watching them from the window, watching very intently. He knew that it would be best to get rid of Rahnee somehow, because Jesmind looked like she was going to come through the wall if Rahnee so much as touched him. "Who is this?" she asked, looking at Ariana.
"Rahnee, this is Ariana, an Aeradalla that's agreed to help us. Ariana, Rahnee."
"A pleasure," Ariana nodded.
"I thought all the Aeradalla died out," Rahnee said in surprise.
"We keep ourselves hidden," Ariana explained, setting down another stone. "The Zakkites keep trying to capture us to power their flying ships, so we stay where they can't find us."
"That's a good reason to stay hidden," Rahnee chuckled with a nod. "Where is Thean?" Rahnee said with a fret. "He should be here by now."
"You saw him?"
"I crossed his scent track about half an hour ago," she replied. "He's here."
"Maybe he went to the village first," Tarrin said calmly. "He knows some of the people there."
"I'm of half a mind to go find him."
"That may be a good idea," Tarrin said. "Jesmind probably won't be very friendly unless Thean's here."
"You got that right," Rahnee snorted. "She was very unpleasant when I went to go say hello."
"Go on then. We'll have something for you to eat when you get back."
Rahnee nodded to him. "Besides, I'll get out of doing any work," she said with a grin, then she turned and sauntered off towards the treeline.
"Why do I get the feeling that I don't want to know the whole gist of that conversation?" Ariana asked with a rueful chuckle.
"Jesmind is my mate," Tarrin explained, noting that Jesmind left the window after Rahnee was well on her way. "Rahnee is a lone female in my mate's home territory, and Rahnee is notorious among my kind for her, willingness. Jesmind doesn't like Rahnee being here, because Rahnee will try to woo me away from Jesmind sooner or later. The friction between them stems entirely from Jesmind's instinct to defend her rights and Rahnee's desire to steal me."
"You make yourself sound like a trinket."
"I am," he replied honestly. "I'm a possession, Ari, and right now I belong to Jesmind. Jesmind will fight Rahnee if she thinks Rahnee is trying to get too friendly with me. She'll defend her territory, and I'm included in that."
"You Were-cats are more complicated than I thought," Ariana said, putting a finger to her cheek thoughtfully.
"It's very simple, Ari. It's instinct. Since you don't have our instincts, it may not be easy for you to understand."
"I'll agree with you there. But why would Jesmind be more friendly if this Thean is here?"
"Because Thean is a male," he said patiently. "With another male present, Jesmind won't be as suspicious and hostile, because Rahnee will have someone else to focus herself on."
"Oh. Jesmind wouldn't think this Thean is hers too? He'd be in her territory, after all."
"No," he said mildly. "She doesn't automatically own any male in her territory."
"Ah, I get it now."
"Good. Now go get more rocks."
"Yes sir!" she barked, saluting him sharply, then trotted back towards the stream.
Tarrin had the firepit dug and Ariana had it lined with stones by the time that Jesmind came out with a large tray full of raw meat. "It looks good," Jesmind complemented. "Did your parents keep a roasting spit?"
"I wouldn't be able to find it," Tarrin told her. "I'm going to cheat, whether you like it or not, Jesmind."
"I don't mind this time," she agreed. "But only the spit. We gather firewood the hard way."
Tarrin gave her a sidelong glance. "You're in a better mood."
"Jasana's come out of her room," she said with a slight smile. "She realizes you're not going to kill her now."
"Jasana?" Ariana asked curiously.
"Our daughter," Jesmind answered. "She did something that made both of us very angry with her today. She's been hiding in her room for a while."
"Tarrin, you have a daughter?" Ariana asked with a laugh. "You never told me!"
"It was news to me as well, Ari," he said mildly. "Me and Jesmind already discussed that."
"He nearly took my jaw off," Jesmind complained, rubbing her sharp-chinned jaw in memory of it.
"You hit her?"
"We're not human, woman," Jesmind told her. "Were-cats fight sometimes. It's natural for us."
"Even when you're married?"
"We're not married," she corrected sharply. "Even if we were, we'd still fight."
"Remind me never to get into a relationship with a Were-cat."
Jesmind shrugged as Tarrin Conjured up a nice spit rack for roasting multiple pieces of meat at once.
Working quickly and efficiently, they gathered firewood, started the fire, got the meat spitted on the three spits and started cooking. Jesmind's mood seemed to lighten as they worked, her posture going from hostile and stiff to relaxed and more calm. Jasana probably had something to do with that, as the little girl padded out of the house and edged over to the campfire, standing there with her paws behind her back and a wary expression on her face. Tarrin had just returned from the woods with another load of firewood, and fixed his daughter with a calm, unwavering stare. The little girl looked suitably ashamed and chagrined, so he knelt down and opened his arms to her in an offer of truce. Her entire appearance transformed at that gesture, running into her father's arms and letting him pick her up. Ariana, who had dragged an old toy wagon out of the big barn and overturned it to create a seat, looked at the little girl in surprise.
"Ari, this is my daughter, Jasana. Jasana, that's Ariana. She's here to help us."
"Is that the wicked lady who did magic on you, papa?"
"No, it isn't," he replied evenly. "That's a different winged lady."
"Oh. Alright. Hello, winged lady."
Ariana laughed. "Ariana," she corrected. "And I've been dying to meet you, little Jasana. I wanted to see if Tarrin's child looked anything like him."
"What's it like to have wings?"
"I could ask you what it's like to have a tail," Ariana winked in reply. "It's not something either of us can describe easily, now, is it?"
"Well, I guess not," Jasana admitted. "But I can't fly with my tail."
"You have me there," Ariana smiled.
Jasana squirmed out of her father's arms, then padded over to the Aeradalla and boldly reached out and grabbed her by the wing.
"Jasana, mind your manners!" Jesmind barked.
"I don't mind, mistress Jesmind, so long as she doesn't claw me," Ariana said patiently, looking down at the little girl and allowing her to touch and explore her feathered wings.
"Just Jesmind," she corrected bluntly. "I don't need any silly titles tacked onto my name."
"Jesmind," Ariana repeated with a nod. "It's the nature of children to be curious, and I'll guarantee she's never seen anything like me before."
"Be gentle, Jasana," Tarrin warned. "Her wings are very delicate."
"Why?" she asked.
"Because my bones are hollow, fledgeling," Ariana explained patiently.
"Why?"
"So I'm very light," she replied. "It makes it easier for me to fly."
"That matters?"
"It matters very much. The heavier I am, the harder it is for me to fly. If I weigh too much, my wings wouldn't be able to pull my own weight off the ground."
"Are all things that fly like that?"
"I don't really know," Ariana replied honestly. "I know that most birds have hollow bones, but drakes don't."
"What is a drake?"
"A little flying lizard."
"I've never seen one."
"I'd be surprised if you had," Ariana smiled.
Tarrin tuned them out as Jasana continued to pester Ariana endlessly with question after question, turning his attention to turning the spits and the meat roasting from them. Ariana seemed to be very patient with Jasana, willing to answer any question she posed, and Jasana certainly seemed to take a liking to the winged woman. Even to the point of sitting in Ariana's lap. Jasana was certainly a very affectionate child. Tarrin retrieved one of the dwindling casks of apple wine from the storeroom under the stillery, deciding that this would be a good time for it, but when he came out with it, scents on the wind made him pause in the act of setting it down.
The scents of both Rahnee and Thean reached Tarrin's nose at about the same time as Jesmind rose up from where she was putting more wood on the fire, looking towards the road leading to Aldreth. Tarrin looked as well, and to his surprise, there were five Were-cats walking along that track. Rahnee was leading Thean, and behind them was another male Tarrin hadn't met before. Behind them was Singer and, to his surprise, Kimmie. He would have thought that Kimmie would either stay with Mist or not be willing to fight. Kimmie was an extremely gentle and sedate Were-cat, almost like a house cat, the mildest of them all. She represented the other extreme in the Were-cat spectrum.
Tarrin and Jesmind stood near each other as the five reached the firepit. Then looked just as Tarrin remembered, the handsome face with the scar, the striped gray fur, the tall, stocky body, the sober expression and the light eyes. He was shorter than Tarrin remembered-at the time, Thean seemed towering, but that probably had to do with the respect Tarrin afforded the elder. He was larger than life in Tarrin's mind, just like Dolanna. The other male was shorter and much thinner and more slender than Thean, with tabby-colored fur and brown hair, and wearing a baggy green shirt and strange baggy black pants held up with a sash. His face was sharp, fox-like, alot like Rahnee's, but he had a kind of ferocity about his eyes that made it clear that he was much more dangerous than his slight body suggested. This male looked extremely young, and couldn't be much more than thirty. Singer looked just as he remembered, though she was wearing a torn linen shirt with its right sleeve half torn off and a pair of leather breeches that had dried blood on them. Kimmie too looked just as he remembered, even down to a simple brown peasant dress of similar style as the one she'd worn when he met her.
"Good gried, lad, what happened to you?" Thean said immediately. "Triana didn't say anything about you growing as big as a tree! And you've fetted!"
Tarrin sighed in irritation. "I'll explain what happened to me later," he promised. "You're looking well, Thean."
"You too, lad, outside of the obvious," Thean grinned as they shook paws. "Lad, this is Jeri. Jeri, this is Tarrin, Triana's bond-child. Though calling him a child seems a bit outlandish," Thean added with a wink at Tarrin.
The other male Were-cat looked up at Tarrin with a stiff posture, and his scent radiated his strength. Thean was right; Were-cat males really did put up their hackles when they met. But no matter how much Jeri postured, he couldn't match Tarrin's overwhelming aura of power and confidence, the same aura that surrounded his bond-mother Triana, and made her so intimidating. An aura Tarrin radiated without even trying. "Thean's told me some about you, Tarrin," the smaller Were-cat male said guardedly.
"All the bad things, if I know Thean," Tarrin said with a neutral expression.
That made Jeri laugh suddenly. "Of course. It enhances a male's reputation," he said with a surprisingly disarming smile.
"Jesmind, you're looking as lovely as ever," Thean said with a smile, taking Jesmind's paws. "It's been what, fifty years now?"
"About that, Thean," Jesmind replied, smiling. "You're looking as ratty as ever."
"You really have to tell us what happened to you, Tarrin," Singer said, taking his paw as Kimmie took the other one.
"I kind of miss the smaller you," Kimmie smiled.
"How are you two doing?" he asked.
"Same as always," Singer laughed. "Mother keeps me hunting."
"Where is Shirazi, anyway?"
"I have no idea. She wandered off before winter. She'll wander back in my direction when she feels like it."
"Mist told me to say hello, Tarrin. Well, actually, she threatened to gut me if I didn't tell you that," Kimmie laughed.
"That's the Mist I remember," Tarrin chuckled. "How is she, and the baby?"
"They're both doing just fine. If not for Eron, she'd be here herself."
"I know, and I'm just fine with her staying to be with her baby," he told Kimmie with a smile.
"Jeri, you're growing again," Jesmind greeted the younger Were-cat with a laugh. "You're almost a half a head taller than that last time I saw you."
"That was when I was eight, Jesmind," Jeri told her. "I'm nearly twenty now."
Tarrin was right; the male was indeed very young.
"I thought you'd done all your initial growing by then," Jesmind told him with a grin. "You're going to be a very tall elder, cub. Maybe as tall as my mother, or Tarrin."
"I hope so," Jeri sighed.
Jasana had gotten up from Ariana's lap, and was tugging at Thean's trousers urgently. The male elder looked down, then laughed and picked her up, holding her over his head. "And this must be Jasana!" he announced brightly. "It's good to meet you, little cub. Your grandmother can't say enough good things about you!"
Jasana giggled and allowed Thean to spin her around, then he boldly passed her to Jeri by literally tossing her through the air. Tarrin was about to intervene, but when he saw that Jesmind was taking no such similar steps, he decided to let it go. Jeri bounced Jasana up in the air a few times, making her laugh, then handed her off to Singer. He watched as all the adults took turns picking up and holding Jasana, handling her and letting her get close to them so she could learn their scents and see that they weren't a danger to her. Tarrin wasn't sure what custom or practice it was, mainly since his bond-mother had been very brief about her conversations about Were-cat society. She hadn't told him anything about things like this. Jesmind allowed the adults to handle her child, and when Kimmie held her in one arm and tickled her with the other paw, Jesmind nodded and turned back towards the fire to turn the meat.
"All of you, I'd like you to meet Ariana," Tarrin announced, motioning towards the seated Aeradalla. "She's agreed to help us."
"An Aeradalla," Thean said with bright eyes. "You and I are going to have a very long talk, madam. I'm dying to hear about where your people have been hiding for the last thousand years."
"I'd be happy to talk with you, Master Thean," Ariana smiled.
"Thean. Were-cats aren't ones for frilly titles and platitudes, madam. It's not us."
"I've come to notice that, Thean," Ariana laughed.
"There's rabbit and deer roasting," Jesmind offered. "You're welcome to it."
"I thought you'd never ask," Singer said quickly, hustling over to the firepit.
Rahnee had been curiously quiet during the initial greetings, and that made Tarrin a bit curious. She didn't look or smell upset-in fact, she looked like she was having a good time now, flirting with Jeri as they ate the offered meal, sitting on the grass around the cheerily crackling fire. He shrugged it off as Kimmie asked him for the fifth time what had happened to make him grow, and he chuckled and put down the bone he'd been gnawing. "Alright, alright. Have you ever heard of a Succubus?"
"I have," Thean replied. "Nasty creatures."
"The winged lady," Jasana piped in. "The winged lady did magic on papa, and it made him grow."
"Well, that's the short of it," Tarrin agreed with a rueful chuckle, scratching the back of his head. "The Succubus drained me, and this was something of a side effect."
"Drained? What does that mean?" Singer asked.
"Succubi are Demons, Singer, and they can drain the life energy out of mortals," Thean told her. "I'm guessing that since Tarrin here is still alive, Were-cats aren't completely vulnerable to that form of magical attack."
"Not completely," Tarrin agreed. "Vulnerable enough to be affected by it, but not so much that it can kill us. She drained me, and I guess a side effect was that it caused my body to age. When that happened, I grew up to the height I would have been at that age."
"That sounds pretty wild," Singer laughed. "When did you meet a Succubus?"
"She was in Dala Yar Arak," he replied. "You'll meet her."
"I will?"
Tarrin nodded. "She's on her way to Suld. Me and her kind of mended our fences. I don't really consider her a friend, but she's not exactly an enemy either. She's bringing Arakite Legions to help defend Suld."
"How can a Demon control Arakite Legions?" Jeri asked.
"When she's the Empress," Tarrin replied calmly. "After I killed the Emperor, she revealed herself and took full control of the Empire."
"You what?" Kimmie gasped, then she laughed. "Denthar's tomes, Tarrin, what have you been doing since we left you in Shoran's Fork?"
"I think a full story is in order here," Thean said with a smile. "You just managed to get me very curious."
"Well, we have time, I suppose," Tarrin shrugged. "I'd rather only go through this once, though, so where are the others?"
"Nikki should be here any time now," Thean said. "I don't know about Shayle."
"They'll just have to suffer," Singer said intently. "I want to hear the story!"
"So do I," Ariana agreed.
"You've heard it," Tarrin told her archly.
"So? It's worth hearing again."
"Alright," Tarrin acceded. "Where do you want me to start?"
"At the beginning, of course," Thean told him. "Where else would a story begin?"
"There are several beginnings to this story, Thean," Tarrin told him patiently. Jasana, who had been wandering from Were-cat to Were-cat boldly, padded over and dropped herself imperiously into his lap.
"Your beginning is the one that matters, lad." Thean laughed. "It doesn't seem right calling you that anymore," he admitted.
"I surely don't feel that young anymore," Tarrin agreed, settling Jasana into his lap and composing himself. "It all started right here. Strange that I'd come back here, that this would be the place that I'd tell this story, but this was where I grew up, this was the place I left behind when Dolanna and Faalken arrived in Aldreth."
And so he told the story. He was relatively thorough about it, not leaving out things he would usually leave out, mainly because of the company. They would understand those parts of it, unlike humans. He didn't delve too deeply into any one part of it, relating the story in a calm, swift manner that related the details yet didn't concentrate on any one part. There were interruptions, however. Jeri broke in when he was describing the intrigue at the Tower. "Why did you bother with that?" he asked. "I would have marched right into the Keeper's office and dragged the truth out of her. Or just left, for that matter."
"I very nearly did that, more than once," Tarrin told him. "But Allia and Keritanima were also there, and I didn't want to put them in any danger. If it would have just been me, I would have been gone long before it got serious."
Thean got involved with it when Tarrin described what happened in Dala Yar Arak, grilling him on the Cambisi and his short interlude with Shiika, and when she drained him. "She should have known that she couldn't kill you, lad," Thean objected.
"No, it certainly seemed to surprise her, Thean," Tarrin replied. "I wondered at first why it didn't, but I think I've figured it out."
"And what's your solution?"
"We regenerate," he shrugged. "That power stems from the Were magical condition, and that magic is drawn from Druidic power. She couldn't kill me because the energy of nature replaced what she took fast enough to prevent it from killing me. Not even a Demon could drain the All."
"That's a logical reason," Thean said after a moment. "Our powers are at least partially Druidic in nature. It's why Were-cats all have Druidic ability."
"At least some of us," Jesmind said shortly.
"You have talent, my dear, it's just never been realized," Thean told her with a smile.
Tarrin then told them about the desert, and about the Selani and the desert creatures. Ariana looked a little uncomfortable when he told them the story of the Cloud Spire, but didn't try to stop him. Then he finished the story quickly. "And here we are," he said in conclusion.
"Here we are," Thean mirrored, taking a drink of the apple wine. "My, this is really good, Tarrin. Where did you get it?"
"My father brews it," Tarrin answered. "It's one of the few casks left."
"Then we should savor it, instead of inhaling it," he said, giving Rahnee a glance.
"You savor your way, I'll savor mine," she replied flippantly, taking another long swallow.
"Hello, the farm!" a voice called from across the meadow. Tarrin looked and saw three horses, all three fidgeting nervously, at the edge of the treeline where the cart track to Aldreth pierced it. The Were-cats were upwind, and so many predatory scents on the wind were upsetting the horses. The men riding them were Garyth, Jak, and Karn.
"Picket your horses where they are and come on, Garyth!" Tarrin shouted. "The horses will get spooked if you bring them any closer!"
They did so, leaving them cautiously grazing on the grass at the edge of the meadow and coming over. Jak and Karn looked a little nervous to be coming into the company of seven Were-cats and a winged creature they had never seen before, but Garyth managed to smile. "Well, some of these faces are familiar," Garyth said grandly, pointing at Rahnee first. "I remember selling you a satchel about two years ago, madam. And I've seen you in the village any number of times, good master," he said, looking at Thean.
"That smith of yours makes some of the most popular tools in the Heartwood, Master Garyth," Thean said politely, nodding towards Karn. "We've been in despair since he closed down his forge."
"Give me a month, and I'll be open again," Karn said in his gravelly voice.
"And we'll help make sure that happens," Jeri said strongly.
"It feels, weird, coming to help humans," Singer laughed. "But we all miss Aldreth. The Woodkin have been in arms since the Dals took over the village. Much of the human goods the Woodkin use here in the north came from here. They're getting tired of having to get things from Arkis."
"You should have said something sooner, madam," Garyth told her. "If you'd have been willing to help, we would have pushed them out long ago."
"We're usually not permitted to interfere in human affairs, Master Garyth," Thean said patiently. "It's a part of our laws. But this is a special case, so the laws about that have been suspended."
"Well, Tarrin, I came to tell you that everything's ready," Garyth said, looking at him. "The Rangers know we're coming, and they're going to gather outside Torrian. We have runners going to tell the men of Watch Hill to quietly get ready. We're going to have to take the garrison there, but once we do, they'll join us on the way to Torrian. We'll be leaving tomorrow at dawn."
Tarrin nodded. "How many men do we have?"
"About fifty," he replied.
"And us," Jeri said in a strong voice.
"We're very happy to have our Frontier neighbors helping us, good master," Garyth said with quiet dignity, nodding to Jeri.
"Neighbor. That's a very good word," Thean laughed. "Aldreth has always been a good neighbor. We should have intervened long ago. Sometimes our laws are too strict, I think."
There was another scent drifting in on the breeze, and it made all seven Were-cats turn towards the treeline. A human wearing a plain brown robe stepped from the treeline, his hair white and his features curiously ageless. He was being accompanied by a Centaur and a flitting Faerie. The Centaur was very big and very nasty looking, with a horse body that had a human torso attached where the horse's head would be. The horse body was huge, with brown coat and shaggy white fetlocks around the hooves. The human body was large and muscular, with a face that had curiously wide, almost equine features. He wore nothing but a bandolier about his chest, but his horse's back had a packsaddle attached to it that held a large bow, quivers of arrows, and a large, formidable-looking battle axe. The Faerie looked as all Faeries do, a tiny being with bluish skin. This one had blond hair, and wore a tiny little gossamer shirt with a pair of knicker-like pants. This one was a male Faerie, though it was hard to see that until he got very close. The three of them marched across the meadow, through the stream, and reached the gathering of Were-cats, Aeradalla, and humans quickly. "Laws are laws for a reason, Thean," the man said patiently.
"Sathon," Thean said in surprise, as all of them came to their feet respectfully. "I'm surprised to see you here, good Druid."
" Fae-da'Nar is getting tired of your meddling, boy," Sathon said with an amused look at Tarrin. "Having Triana annoy us is bad enough. But to tell Sarraya and Haley to do it as well? Have you idea how angry the Druids are with you at the moment?"
Tarrin gave the small man a surprised look.
"We know all about what's going on, Tarrin," the druid Sathon said calmly. " Fae-da'Nar has met and discussed the problem. We've decided that it's a problem so serious that we must supsend the laws of isolation and help. If the ki'zadun succeed in their plan, they will destabilize the entire world. We cannot permit that."
"What are you talking about, honored one?" Singer asked.
"When the Aldreth humans march south, they won't just have the Were-cats with them," Sathon said. "The Centaurs and some of your Were cousins are gathering in the village, and others are moving this way as we speak. When the humans go, Fae-da'Nar goes with them."
"Though we detest your kind, Were-cat, we will agree not to kill you while the Druids lead us," the Centaur said in a powerful voice.
Tarrin did not appreciate saying such a thing, especially when the Centaur was standing on his home soil and saying that in front of his daughter. "You watch yourself, Centaur," Tarrin said in a flat voice. "You're standing in my territory. I don't care what you think about me, but you'll speak and act with proper respect while standing on my land. Do you understand?"
"Your territory?" Jesmind objected hotly. " Our territory!"
The Centaur didn't look very impressed, but the Druid turned and motioned towards him sharply. "My apologies," he said stiffly.
"Save it," Tarrin snapped.
"An Aeradalla!" Sathon said in surprise, coming over to where Ariana had been sitting quietly. Tarrin saw that the Aeradalla looked a little uncomfortable being surrounded by so many strange beings, but the gentle smile and warm hand Sathon extended to her seemed to make her relax. "It's been ages since we've seen any of you, my lady. We of Fae-da'Nar miss you. Would you tell your rulers that Fae-da'Nar still offers your people their ancestral place among us?"
"Ariana, good Druid. We still remember Fae-da'Nar," Ariana smiled. "Unfortunately, the way of things makes us stay where we are. But I'll be sure to tell our King for you."
"Very good, my dear, very good," Sathon smiled, patting her hand warmly. "Alright then, my children, we have things to do and not much time," Sathon said crisply, clapping his hands. "Jesmind, are you going with us or staying here?"
"Me and Jasana are going, good Druid," Jesmind said respectfully. "Tarrin needs us to be near him right now."
"Alright then, all of you, let's help them get their den ready to be left empty for a while," Sathon instructed. "Thean, you and Rahnee help patch that barn. Jeri, you and Kimmie get to work on that building over there. Singer, I want you to inspect the roof and make sure it's in good repair. Mistress Ariana, I'd appreciate it if you'd help her. Now hop, all of you!"
Tarrin blinked. Just like that, Sathon had asserted his authority over them all, and he saw that all the Were-cats moved to obey him. That surprised him, but the quiet elation he felt at Sathon's presence made him very, very relieved and very, very hopeful.
Fae-da'Nar was going to join the effort. And not just the Were-cats. They'd have a force of Woodkin as well, Centaurs, other Were-kin, and other beings Tarrin probably wouldn't even be able to imagine until he saw them. Tarrin's relief at that thought was tremendous. Now the taking of Torrian and the liberation of the Sulasian army from its trap was virtually assured.
Things were starting to look very good.
"What are you two standing around for?" Sathon said sharply, looking at Tarrin and Jesmind. "Put out this fire and hide that wine before we end up with a bunch of drunken Were-cats!"
Jesmind picked up Jasana as Tarrin chuckled. "Did it occur to you, Sathon, that you don't have to order us around?" Tarrin asked.
"I know, but sometimes Were-cats need a boot to the tail to get them going," Sathon smiled. "I know about you, Tarrin. I respect your authority here. You are a Druid on your chosen ground, and it's not my place to usurp your domain."
That made the Centaur's eyes widen. It surprised Tarrin as well, for he often forgot about that. Tarrin was a Druid, and though he was a Sorcerer, to Fae-da'Nar, the fact that he was a Druid was much, much more important. A Druid's chosen ground was considered holy ground, a place where no Woodkin would start or participate in a fight. Since Tarrin had chosen his home as his chosen ground, that made his farm and it surroundings a place of peace, and it gave Tarrin absolute authority over anyone who entered his chosen ground.
"That's alright, Sathon. I forget about that sometimes," Tarrin admitted.
"I humbly beg forgiveness, good Druid," the Centaur said with surprising humility. "I did not mean to give offense to you here." Of course, the way he said it, giving Tarrin offense somewhere else would be perfectly acceptable.
"Forget it," Tarrin told him bluntly. "You don't like me, I don't like you. That's fine. It shouldn't stop us from being able to work together when it's needful, however."
"Truly," the Centaur agreed with a nod.
"I hope you don't mind me going over your head that way, brother," Sathon said contritely. "But I could see that things needed to be done, and you weren't getting to them."
"It's alright, Sathon," Tarrin told him with a wave of his paw. "I don't consider myself to be much of a Druid."
Garyth, Karn, and Jak still stood where they were, being very quiet and watching what was going on with a slight wildness in their eyes. Tarrin looked at them and laughed. "Alright, I'm sorry we sort of forgot about you three," Tarrin told them with a rueful smile. "Sathon, may I present Garyth Longshank, mayor of Aldreth. Jak Longbranch, Garyth's bodyguard, and Karn Rocksplitter, the village smith."
"It's a pleasure, gentlemen," Sathon said with a smile. "I'm Sathon, the Druid who lives closest to your village. At least I used to be," he said with a smile at Tarrin. "I think you should return to your village, good mayor. Any moment now, a large complement of Centaurs and human-looking Were-kin are going to march into the village. Your calm words will prevent a panic."
"They're not going to be able to get into the village, Sathon," Tarrin said with a laugh. "I put up a Ward that will keep out anything but humans and Were-cats, to protect it from any Dal Goblinoids that may try to come in while we go down to free Torrian. I didn't think that others would be trying to come there."
"Well, that's alright, Tarrin," Sathon chuckled. "We can camp outside the Ward's boundary. There's plenty of open space around the village. And I'll have Mikos leave a herd of his Centaurs here to help protect it from any attack."
"It will be done, Sathon," the Centaur, Mikos, said immediately. "I vow that no Dal or Dal ally will come within a thousand paces of the village while my herd defends it."
"Very good, Mikos. I suggest you go now, so you can tell the others about the Ward, and see to the dispensation of the group."
Mikos banged his fist against his chest and immediately galloped off towards the cart track.
"I think we should go as well, Tarrin," Garyth said. "I'm sure that that Centaur is going to cause a row."
"Alright. I don't know if I'm staying here tonight or if we'll be moving into the village for the night, Garyth."
"We're staying here," Jesmind said firmly.
"Well, there's my answer," Tarrin smiled. "So I'll see you in the inn before dawn. Alright?"
"We'll be waiting, Tarrin."
"I'll be coming with you, Garyth," Sathon told him. "The Woodkin there are going to need a Druid. They're not used to humans. My presence will calm them."
"We'd be happy to have you, good Druid," Garyth said respectfully. "I'll send messengers if anything important happens, Tarrin."
"That's fine," Tarrin told him. "You'd better get going."
"Tomorrow, then," Jak said with an extended hand. Tarrin took it warmly, and it reminded him that before they both had changed so much, Jak had been one of his best friends. He hoped that after it was all done, he and Jak could be so again.
"See you in the mornin', boy," Karn growled in his gravelly voice. "We'll be ready."
"Garyth, why don't you take a couple of casks of my father's wine to Aldreth with you?" Tarrin asked. "I think it would help everyone relax a little right now."
"There's still some left?"
"We hid the entrance very well this time," Tarrin said with a laugh. "We have enough left to give those that want it a taste."
"I haven't had a glass-of course! Let's go get it!" Garyth said exuberantly.
Tarrin led the humans towards the big barn, and to his surprse, the Faerie was following him. He had been silent up to now, flitting along beside him, and he reminded him of Sarraya for a moment. "It's good to meet you," he said in his tiny voice. "I've heard alot about you, Tarrin."
"You have? From who?"
"My wife, Sarraya," he smiled. "She visited the colony a while ago and asked me to come plead her case to Sathon personally. My name is Alix."
"Well, it's good to meet you, Alix," Tarrin said. "Sarraya is one of my best friends."
"She says you're a stubborn pain in the butt, but she loves you anyway," Alix laughed.
"That's Sarraya, alright," Tarrin chuckled. "How was she when you saw her?"
"Tired, but alright," he answered. "Why are they staring at me?" he asked, pointing at the humans.
"They've never seen a Faerie before, Alix," Tarrin said calmly. "Garyth, Karn, Jak, this is Alix. He's a Faerie."
"It's good to meet you," Alix said politely.
"Uh, it's nice to meet you too," Jak said uncertainly in reply.
"Don't worry, I'm just the first of many shocks waiting for you three," Alix said with mischievious little grin. He was a Faerie, alright.
"Actually, I think the first shock was seeing Tarrin's friends around the fire," Garyth admitted with a laugh. "Who was that winged woman?"
"She's an Aeradalla, a very rare race that lives in the desert," he replied. "She's going to be our eyes in the sky."
"I hope the village is ready for this," Karn growled.
"They've dealt with the Woodkin before, Karn," Tarrin said patiently. "It'll be a little different than before, but I think they'll be alright. After the initial shock wears off, anyway."
"It's all very strange," Jak said quietly.
"That about defines my life since leaving home, Jak," Tarrin said with a rueful look.
"No, I mean them coming out of the forest. They don't have any real interest in what's going on, do they?"
"Of course we do," Alix cut in. "The real threat isn't here, it's in Suld. We know that Tarrin has to attack Torrian, and we'll help with that. But as soon as that's done, we're going to Suld. That's where the real battle is going to be."
"What battle?"
"Why, the battle, of course!" Alix said in excitement. "They've brought together all the Goblinoids and alot of the Fa-da'kii, and if they take Suld, the entire balance of nature is going to be disrupted. We can't allow that, so we're going to step in to preserve the Balance."
"The what?" Jak asked.
"The balance of nature," Alix replied. "The clock around which we all revolve. Without the balance, the world would be chaos."
"I'll take your word for it," Jak shrugged. "I'm more interested in what I can see."
"And what can you see?" Alix asked.
"Dals," he growled, his face turning hard.
They retrieved four casks of his father's ale and apple wine, then Tarrin hauled one of the wagons out of the big barn for them. It was a bit weathered and creaky, but it was servicable. Tarrin Conjured the harness they needed to hitch two of the horses to the wagon, then they loaded the casks aboard. Sathon decided to ride with Garyth and Jak, who were driving the wagon, climbing into the back and seating himself. "You keep them busy, Tarrin," Sathon said with a grin. "This is your chosen ground. Don't let them order you around."
"I'm not that bossy, Sathon," Tarrin smiled. "At least not about things that aren't important."
"Do you know the spells of sending, lad?"
Tarrin shook his head. "Sarraya never got a chance to teach them to me."
"What do you know?"
"Conjuring and Creating, mainly," he replied. "I learned a few little tricks outside of that, but I never really learned anything else. I can use Sorcery for anything I need. Druidic magic is just something of a hobby, truth be told."
"That's a very poor attitude, lad," Sathon said disdainfully. "You have respectable talent as a Druid. It's a crime for you to ignore your potential like that."
"I'm sorry, but I always seem to have something more important to do than learn Druidic magic," he apologized. "Given how long it takes."
"Nonsense," Sathon snorted. "I'll take care of that, lad. I'll teach you some of the things Sarraya didn't bother to show you. You understand the workings of Druidic magic, so teaching you the spells won't take long."
"I'll be guided by you in that, Sathon," Tarrin shrugged. "If you think I'm capable of using them, then I'll learn them from you."
"You're easily as strong as I am, lad. Anything I can do, you can do," he said confidently. "This is what happens when you have a Faerie as an instructor, you know."
Alix sniffed loudly.
"Truth is truth, Alix," Sathon grinned. "Your kind can't hold a thought long enough to get it across to other races."
"Well, I don't go around talking about how big and fat and ungainly humans are," Alix said flippantly.
"Well, it was Sarraya or no one, Sathon. Besides, I'm not that disappointed in how she did. Sarraya was actually a good teacher."
Alix beamed at Tarrin.
"She taught you the basics, but she ignored your advanced education," he said insistantly.
"Blame Triana for that," Tarrin told him. "She told Sarraya not to go beyond the basics. She did anyway, but I think that threat kept her from teaching me much more than she did. Sarraya would have alot to answer for if I got to Suld and could do a great deal of Druidic magic that I wasn't supposed to know."
"Oh, I see now," Sathon said with a laugh. "Well, Triana never told me not to teach you," he said with a sly smile.
"It's your neck, Sathon."
"Triana's an old friend of mine, lad. She'll trust that I won't get you killed."
"Pardon me, good Druid, but we really need to go," Garyth interrupted politely.
"Yes, yes, of course," he said with a nod. "Tomorrow then, lad. Sleep well."
Tarrin waved them goodbye as the wagon rumbled around the bend and out of sight. Tarrin sighed, crossing his arms and watching them go, his expectations rising by the moment. With the Centaurs and the Were-kin, Torrian was as good as taken. If they could move fast, they could reach Suld before the ki'zadun did, and play a major part in the defense of the city as well. It made him feel very good to know that Fae-da'Nar was going to come off the fence, finally, were going to take a stand and commit themselves to the defense of Suld. With the katzh-dashi, the Knights, the Selani, the Arakite Legions, Shiika and the Cambisi, Keritanima's Wikuni, Vendari, and gunpowder, the Ungardt, the Sulasian forces that would be available, the Rangers, and now a large force of Woodkin, Tarrin had a very good feeling about the battle to come. It may not number as highly as the force opposing them, but the numbers they did have were widely varied and universally powerful. Just knowing that the Vendari, the Selani, the Ungardt, the Knights, and now Woodkin would take the field on the same side gave him a very relieved feeling. It would be a force that not even the Demons numbering in the armies of the ki'zadun would care to face.
All they had to do now was get there in time.
The realization that Tarrin was a Druid on chosen ground sank in after Sathon left, and he dealt with his Were-cat friends, sisters, and mate afterward.
They kept asking him what they were supposed to do next. Even Rahnee, which surprised him to no end. It was almost as if Sathon's appearance had reminded them of custom, and now they were deferring to him. He found it to be very irritating. So irritating that he told all of them to start acting like they weren't still tied to their mother's tail and do for themselves. The only one that didn't defer to him was Jesmind, but he knew that that would happen just as soon as someone reached up and pulled down one of the moons. Regardless of the fact that he was a Druid on chosen ground, she wouldn't accede to him unless it suited her. Being his mate exempted her from that custom, or at least so he thought she believed.
But things did calm down. Rahnee and Singer hunted up an evening meal of deer for them, and it was roasted over the firepit as the Were-cats and Ariana sat in the blooming night and traded stories. Tarrin listened calmly with Jasana taking turns sitting in his lap and Jesmind's as Thean talked about his travels in Tor and the Free Duchies, and he heard about Rahnee's latest scrape with a small pack of Were-wolves. He listened while Singer described the Ogre she had found in the Heartwood; Ogres and Giants were the only Goblinoids that the Were-kin wouldn't kill on sight. Ogres were larger than Trolls, but were actually quite gentle and amiable beings. Giants were very intelligent, showing a range of emotions and attitudes similar to humans. Singer described helping the lost Ogre, who was little more than a child, find his way back to the mountains which were his home range. He listened as Jeri spoke about his first trip into the city of Tor, and he heard the youthful exuberance and wonder that he himself had once felt when he had seen Torrian and Suld for the first time. Ariana described the flight over from the desert, and the Aeradalla's impressions of Suld and the humans, and their flights over the land and the sea to watch for signs of invasion. Kimmie talked about Mist and Eron, using words full of love and compassion, showing Kimmie's feelings for her bond-mother and Mist's child, who she considered all but a brother to her. Tarrin found that more interesting than anything else, for Kimmie's descriptions of Mist were much different than the haunted, paranoid Were-cat female he remembered. The Mist Kimmie described was a vibrant, content woman with a great deal of energy and a mountain's worth of patience for dealing with her very rambunctious cub. From the sound of it, Eron was going to be just like Jasana.
"I wonder whatever happened to Nikki and Shayle," Thean said, gnawing on a bone absently.
"Maybe they went to Aldreth instead of coming here," Jeri offered.
"It's possible," Thean agreed. "All of you but Rahnee went to Aldreth first."
"So did you," Rahnee pointed out with a smirk.
"Because I knew they'd go there," he said calmly. "I've been here before, Rahnee. My den isn't far from here."
"Mine is too," she pointed out. "I've been here before too. I used to lay in that tree right over there and watch Tarrin and his family," she said, pointing towards the Heartwood. What Tarrin called the Frontier.
"Mist brought me here once," Kimmie said. "To show me what I used to be."
"My mother brought me here too," Jeri added. "I watched a man with a limp plow that field right there. His wife was this very tall woman with a blond braid, and she had a baby and a little boy."
"Tarrin was that little boy," Rahnee told the young male with a grin. "The baby was Tarrin's sister."
"Jenna," he informed her absently.
"I didn't know that was you, Tarrin. How did you end up Were?"
"I thought all of you knew how that happened," Tarrin said in surprise.
"He's young, Tarrin," Thean said with a smile at Jeri. "The young ones sometimes miss the news. They're too busy running around."
"I happened," Jesmind told Jeri. "Someone used a magical object to control me, and they set me loose on Tarrin. We found out later that it was the katzh-dashi that did it, and only to make Tarrin Were."
"They did that to you?" Jeri said in shock. "I would have killed them!"
"I almost did," Tarrin told the young male. "But it turned out that they were just following their own orders. I don't think I'll ever be able to forgive them for what they did to me, but at least a part of me understands why it was done."
"Something like that wouldn't be easy to forgive," Thean said sagely. "Well, it's getting late," he announced. "We all have an early morning, and I can guarantee that Sathon's going to get us almost all the way to Torrian by tomorrow night. So you all had better get some rest."
"Where are we going to sleep?" Jeri asked.
"We have that big barn right over there, Jeri," Thean told him with a smile. "It's a good thing we patched it up, isn't it?" Jeri laughed. "I'll Conjure any bedding any of you may want, so don't worry about sleeping on the ground tonight."
"We have one spare room," Jesmind announced. "Who wants it?"
"I've seen your house, Jesmind, and I don't think I could fit in there very well," Ariana declined. "The barn over there has a nice large loft, so I'll sleep there tonight."
"I think I'll invite one of these handsome men here to spend a night with me," Rahnee said with a leer. "I don't think you want all that noise in your house, so I'll pass."
"Well, if you're asking, I'll take you up on that, Rahnee," Jeri said with a bright smile.
"I guess Thean should have it," Kimmie said. "He's the elder."
"That's alright, Kimmie. I know how you dislike sleeping rough, so why don't you take the room?"
"If you and Singer don't mind," she said demurely.
"Not at all, Kimmie. What do you say, Thean? Care for some company tonight?" Singer invited.
"I'd be delighted, Singer," he said graciously.
"I call that building over there," Rahnee said quickly, pointing at the stillery.
"This isn't a competition, and that building is rather cramped," Thean told her.
"That's alright. It'll keep Jeri from getting away from me," Rahnee grinned.
"I guess we can sleep in that barn over there, so we don't disturb Ariana," Thean said, looking at the old shearing shed.
"You're not going to disturb me, Thean," she objected.
"Yes we will," Singer said with a wink. "If we don't, then I must not be trying hard enough."
"I-oh, nevermind," Ariana said with a blush. "I just need to get some blankets, and maybe a pillow, and I'll be on my way to sleep."
They put out the fire, said their goodnights, then they separated. Thean Conjured up some blankets for each person as Tarrin carried a sleeping Jasana and led Jesmind and Kimmie into the house. "You can use my old room, Kimmie," Tarrin told her. "It's up the stairs you'll find down that hallway. It may be a little dusty, but it's a comfortable bed."
"Thanks, both of you," she said with a grateful look. "I still don't feel comfortable sleeping outside, and I really don't want to spend a night listening to Rahnee howl," she said, making a small face.
"No problem, Kimmie," Jesmind told her. "You're about the only female I'd let into the house anyway. You're like family to me."
"That's nice to know," Kimmie told her with a bright smile. "Would you like some tea or something before bed?"
"I'm the hostess here, girl," Jesmind said with a smile and a shooing motion. "Now off to bed with you."
"Yes, Auntie," Kimmie said with an outrageous little smile. Kimmie was a delightful surprise, sometimes.
"You," Jesmind said, balling her fist in Kimmie's direction. "We'll see you in the morning."
"See you tomorrow," Kimmie mirrored, padding down the hall.
Tarrin and Jesmind carried Jasana into her room, which was Jenna's old room. They laid her down in her bed, dressed her in her nightshirt as she blissfully slept through the entire process, then they tucked her into bed. Tarrin paused to stare down at his little girl, his daughter, the new focus of his life, and he couldn't help but feel overwhelmed by the powerful love he felt for her. She was such a beautiful child. Beautiful, smart, cunning, sneaky, devious-
But when she was sleeping like that, he could see no wrong in her, no matter how bad she was when she was awake.
Such was the programmed parental response to a sleeping child that usually kept children from being murdered in their sleep.
They slipped out of her room quietly and closed the door, as the ceiling above creaked a bit as Kimmie moved about Tarrin's old room. Then he heard the unmistakable sound of bedsheets being smacked to clear them of dust, and he knew that Kimmie had to be getting ready to go to sleep. Tarrin yawned. It had been a very busy day, and he fully intended to follow suit.
He and Jesmind retired to their room, undressed, then crawled into bed. Jesmind cuddled up against him, nuzzling his shoulder with her chin as Tarrin relaxed, letting the day's worries flow out of him. "If Fae-da'Nar helps, will that make it easy for us to win?" she asked quietly.
"It'll make taking Torrian all but guaranteed," Tarrin answered her. "I don't know how much it's going to help at Suld, but there's no doubt that they'll help a great deal. I need to contact Kerri tomorrow and tell her about this, so she can include it in her plans."
"That can wait, my mate," she said absently, squeezing him just a bit. "You know, I'm very proud of you."
"How?"
"You didn't even growl at Rahnee once today."
"She was behaving," Jesmind said with a grin, looking up at him. "Besides, we're in my home range. When we leave tomorrow, we'll see how well she behaves."
"Just don't kill her," Tarrin cautioned.
"It won't be the first time I've smacked Rahnee on the nose for getting fresh with my mates," she told him bluntly.
"Really? And who was this male you fought over before?"
"Someone you'll never meet, my mate. He died about fifty years ago."
"I'm sorry to hear that."
"He was a very nice male," Jesmind sighed.
"What happened?"
"He was killed in a fire," she replied. "We still don't know what happened outside of that."
Tarrin was silent, pondering that. But that ended when Jesmind threw her arm over his chest and settled in against him. "I don't want to go," she admitted quietly.
"Me either," he sighed. "But it won't be forever."
"It'll feel like it."
"We'll know when it's over, Jesmind."
"I'd rather not find out."
"I can't help that. Blame Jasana."
Jesmind chuckled, leaning her forehead against his cheek. "Let's go to sleep," she said hazily.
"I never thought you'd ask," he told her, pulling her a little closer and letting her closeness overwhelm his senses and lull him off into sleep.
No matter how peaceful he felt, the enormity of the coming day was too much to keep Tarrin asleep all night.
He awoke about midnight, and found that he couldn't go back to sleep. He laid in bed and tried, half to get rest and half to keep from disturbing Jesmind, but it became too much, and he had to get up and move around. Putting on his breeches, he wandered out into the common room and poked the fire back to life, staring into its heart and considering the day to come.
He wondered how the villagers took the Centaurs and the Were-kin. The people of Aldreth were rather steady, but that may be too much for even them. He was sure that there was some nervousness, but he also felt that as soon as Garyth and Sathon made the rounds and calmed everyone down, they would have relaxed. Aldrethers had always been careful to be nice to their Frontier neighbors, and he didn't doubt that Garyth would have urged them to be so now, when it was so obvious who it was that was camped outside the village. The fact that they couldn't enter the village would probably make them even more relaxed. Aldreth's position as the human-Woodkin trading post would make the Woodkin calm, and it gave the humans prior experience for dealing with their exotic guests.
They would be going to war tomorrow. That was a sobering thought. He'd been avoiding thinking about it, understanding the grim reality of that simple statement. Men were going to march out of here, and there was a very good chance that some of them weren't going to come back. Men with lives and families, men with friends and position in the village. They were leaving their homes and families to defend them from another Dal occupation, and they were willing to sacrifice their lives to make sure that their wives and children would be safe. It was too much to ask from them, since they'd already suffered the Dal occupation, suffered watching Dal soldiers kill almost the entire Longbranch family and the herbalist. But then again, that was the very reason they were going. Because of what happened to the Longbranch family and the herbalist. They didn't want that to happen to their families.
There was a shuffling sound, and it made Tarrin look up from the fire. Kimmie was standing in the hallway, yawning. Tarrin had always rather liked Kimmie. She was turned, like him, and as Were-cats went, she was rather unusual. She had blue eyes instead of the pattern green, and she wore dresses and acted a great deal more like a human than a Were-cat. But she was a Were-cat, and the fact that she had come out without any clothes on, carrying one of Tarrin's old robes in her paw, made that abundantly clear.
"Oh," she said mildly. "I heard you moving around, but I thought you went back to bed, Tarrin."
"I couldn't sleep," he said, looking at her. She didn't move to cover herself, because she didn't care. Just as he didn't really care that she was unclothed. Kimmie was a very soft Were-cat, without the muscular definition that most females had, and it made her body look much more human than any of the other females. It made him curious to think that Kimmie had been changed so little by her turning, where he and Jula had been changed so much. Her tabby-colored fur clashed a bit with her fair skin, another stark reminder that Kimmie lived in between her two worlds much more closely than Tarrin or the other Were-cats did.
She shrugged into the robe, which fit her rather well, then came into the room and patted him on the shoulder. "It's alot to think about," she said, as if she could read his thoughts. "What, with everything that's happened and all."
"I know," he agreed, sitting on the floor in front of the fire. Kimmie sat beside him, reaching behind her in irritation.
"Do you mind if I cut a hole in this?" she asked.
"I can't wear it anymore. It's all yours."
Nodding with a smile as Kimmie rose up on her knees, Tarrin heard her claw rip the fabric of the robe, and Kimmie's brown-striped reddish tail slid out from behind her, snaked through the hole in the robe. "Thanks. I hate sitting on my tail like that," she told him, sitting back down again.
"I know how you feel," Tarrin said with a smile. "Kimmie, I've been meaning to ask you something."
"What?"
"Why is that you're so much different from me?"
"I really don't know," she answered, seeming to understand the meaning of the question. "Rahnee and some others think I'm a mutant," she laughed. "I mean, I don't look quite like the other females. I have blue eyes, and I never really got rid of my human habits. Rahnee thinks it's a scandal that I wear a dress," she said with a grin. "Since nobody knows who bit me, nobody really knows why I turned out so different than everyone else."
"When did it happen?"
"About twenty years ago," she replied. "I lived on a farm outside Tor then. I was chasing a butterfly across a field," she said, her eyes turning distant. "I wandered into the forest, and I really don't remember what happened after that. I just remember waking up like this." She picked at the front of her robe absently. "My parents threw me out of the house, of course," she sighed. "I ended up running into the forest, and that's when the instincts started to work on me. I was half mad when Mist found me. I must have struck some kind of chord in her, because she accepted me as a bond-child and helped me regain my sanity."
"That must not have been easy."
"No, it wasn't," she admitted. "Mist was very erratic back then. I could tell she was afraid of me, but something wouldn't let her abandon me. It was very nervous for both of us at first." She leaned down on one paw and stared at him evenly. "I realized that she'd kill me if I ever got her mad, so I was always very careful. I came to understand her, though, and even to love her like my own mother. I can't tell you how happy I was when she opened up to you, Tarrin. You made her open up to me, too. I can never thank you enough for that."
"It was for her, Kimmie."
"I know. That's what makes it so wonderful," she smiled.
"I'm surprised you came here, you know," he told her.
"Why?"
"You don't seem like the type, that's all."
"I know," she chuckled. "I'm really not all that great of a fighter, Tarrin. I know that. The others tease me about it all the time, but it doesn't bother me as much as it bothers them. Even though I have the strength and the claws and the hunting mentality, I'm just not the kind to kill anything I don't intend to eat. I just don't have the heart, I guess."
"Then why did you come?"
"Because you needed me," she said with simple logic. "Even though I'm not much of a fighter compared to other Were-cats, I'm still a Were-cat. That gives me certain advantages against humans."
"True enough," he agreed, leaning back a little.
"My turn. What's it like?"
"What?"
"I understand things more than the others, Tarrin. You're both a Sorcerer and a Druid. You're tall as Triana, and you have a sense about you that makes everyone afraid of you. You may be Were now, but you were once human, like me, and I know that it makes you much more human than you look. It must be lonely."
"It would be if I didn't have friends who knew me beforehand," he admitted.
"I'm not talking about just that, Tarrin," she said, looking at him. "I know how hard it was. How hard it is. You're different from the others, like I am. They're nice enough to you, and you know they accept you, but you always feel like you'll never quite be a part of them, like you were once a part of the human culture."
Tarrin lowered his eyes. He had felt like that for a long time, understanding it back when he'd first met Kimmie. He'd told Thean how alien they all felt to him, like he didn't quite belong. Time had buried that memory, but she had excavated that old knowledge within him. "I did feel that way when I first met all of you," he admitted. "But alot has happened since then. This, for one," he said, holding out his paw, where the fetlocks dangled from the outside of his wrist. "It did more than change my body. I actually feel as old as I look now, even though I'm barely nineteen. It's like I've lived a thousand years in the last two."
"Well, from what I heard, you did alot in those years, Tarrin," Kimmie told him with a smile. "That can't help but make it feel like it's been longer."
"It's more than that," he said. "I look at you, and all I can think is how young you are, how young you look. And the truth is that you're older than I am. It confuses me sometimes, because I'll be thinking about how young people are so different, when I'm actually one of them myself."
"You are who you are," she told him. "Whatever makes you feel comfortable is what you should be."
"You should hire out as a sage, Kimmie."
She laughed. "I've just been there, Tarrin. I stopped trying to please the others a long time ago. I found that this is who I am, and if they don't like it, that's their problem, not mine." She looked him in the eyes. "That's what's most important for us, Tarrin. If we don't feel comfortable about ourselves, it upsets our balance, and that makes it hard for us to cope with the instincts. Both sets of them."
"You're right about that," he agreed.
"I tried being the pattern Were-cat female, but I found it wasn't my style," she revealed. "I was born human, and most of me likes to act that way. And that works for me. I know that you're alot different."
He nodded. "I'm a pattern Were-cat," he chuckled.
"Not quite," she smiled. "You still have alot of human in you. I can see it in the way you act."
"I guess I'll never get rid of it."
"Don't get rid of it if you'd miss it," she warned.
"I know."
She laughed. "The others think that humans are so soft and pliable, but they've never experienced the full force of human instinct," she told him. "Natural Were-cats are born with more Cat than human, and it shows in all of them. For me, the human instincts are actually the dominant ones. They're just more willing to work with the Cat than the Cat is to work with the human."
"I'm not so sure about me," he said. "In me, they're more or less equal."
"I know," she told him. "But I can see the human in you, where the others can't. I know what to look for, after all."
"You know, you seem to know a great deal about that, from both viewpoints."
"I kind of studied it for a while," she told him. "I observed Were-cats, and I kept a journal for about ten years so I could have a record of everything I was feeling. Since it defines us, I thought it would be a good idea to understand how we act as much as possible. I thought that it would help me find my balance."
"Did it?"
"Not a bit," she laughed. "The problem was that I was trying so hard I was missing the simplest answer."
"What is that?"
"To just be," she replied. "Be whatever suited me most."
"I wish I'd have figured that out sooner," he grunted.
"How long it takes isn't as important as it happening," she reminded him. "Why is Jesmind going with you?"
"Jasana," he told her. "Jasana is a Sorceress, Kimmie."
"Really?"
He nodded. "And she's powerful. She's easily more powerful than I am. She can't control that power, so she absolutely has to stay near me, because her life depends on it. Since I have no choice but to go, she has to go too. Jesmind agreed to come with us."
"That must not have been easy," Kimmie noted.
"Actually, it was easier than I thought it would be," he said with a snort. "I made her understand that Jasana's life depended on it. Once I got her to see that, she more or less gave in. But she's been cranky all day," he chuckled. "I think she feels like she gave in too quickly now that it's over."
"Jesmind has an ego, Tarrin, as well as about a lake full of pride. And let's not mention how stubborn she is."
"She's just like me," Tarrin grinned.
"I know. I'm surprised you two didn't kill each other, especially since I know that you didn't know about Jasana."
"We did come to blows," he admitted. "When did you find out about that?"
"Jesmind brought Jasana over to visit with Mist a few times," she replied. "She and Mist struck up quite a friendship. Nearly surprised me out of my dress to see her warm to a stranger the way she did, but I guess she and Jesmind have something in common."
"What?"
"You, silly," Kimmie grinned, smacking him lightly on the arm. "They both have a child by you. They almost looked like a couple of sisters."
"What is Eron like?"
"Loud," Kimmie said with a wicked little laugh. "Loud, energetic, unmindful, and he always knows exactly what will get him in the most trouble. Mist has so much patience with him that I still can't believe it. I thought she'd start tearing her hair out a long time ago."
"She's been waiting for this for a long time, Kimmie. I don't think much of anything about being a mother would upset her."
"You're right there," Kimmie agreed. "It makes her a wonderful mother. Eron is going to grow up with nothing but happy memories."
"That's all that matters in the end," Tarrin said distantly, thinking about Mist and the son he had never seen. "I hope I get to see him before he gets too big to hug."
"He's about the same size as a two year old human," Kimmie told him. "He can walk, but he's still a little clumsy. He's learning to talk a little better every day. He's reached the full sentence stage." She scratched her neck. "He's got absolutely huge paws. He's going to be monstrously tall. Just like his father," Kimmie added with a light smile and a nudge.
"What does he look like?"
"Well, he has black fur," she began, "but since both you and Mist have black fur, that was going to be more or less a given. His hair was stark white when he was born, but now it's a kind of sandy blond. He looks just like you, Tarrin," she told him. "It's almost like you were turned into a baby and stuck with Mist. He has Mist's stockiness, but his face is all yours."
"I hope I can see him soon," he said again.
"I'm sure you will," Kimmie told him. "I don't see much packing in here. It's surprising that you're all leaving in the morning."
"We talked about that before you got here," he said. "I convinced Jesmind to leave it all here. I'll seal the farm with a Ward when we leave to keep everyone out, and I can Conjure anything we may need on the way. That way we didn't have to spend days packing and preparing to leave. We can leave carrying nothing but the clothes on our backs. I've learned that that's the most efficient way to go about it."
"Jesmind is one thing, but Jasana's another. How much did she want to take?"
"Everything, of course," Tarrin chuckled. "Jesmind's the one that told her we're leaving. She told me that she had to all but threaten Jasana to leave it all alone. Given that we're leaving, I'm surprised she fell asleep so easily. I thought she'd be too wound up to sleep." He rubbed his jaw. "Then again, now that I think about it, she hasn't shown much excitement about it to me."
"From what I heard, you were pretty mad at her, Tarrin," Kimmie said. "Maybe she doesn't want to look too eager to go when she knows that you're angry about having to take her in the first place."
"You may be right," he agreed after a moment. "You know almost as much about Were-cats as Triana does."
"Well, thanks," Kimmie smiled. "I'm the thinking Were-cat, Tarrin. They tease me about that, too. They all say I'm too busy sticking my nose in books to do what Were-cats are supposed to do."
"That's their loss."
"My feelings exactly," she said with a broad smile. "Especially since they don't grill Thean the way they do me."
"He's not turned."
"That about sums it all up right there," she said. "Be glad you're so tall, and so formidable, and you're a Druid, Tarrin. You're going to avoid alot of the snubbing I endured, from the Were-cats and the rest of Fae-da'Nar. I had to take it, because I have to admit that I'm not really as strong as most of the others. I look like a human female, and I'm really as weak as I look for Were-cat standards. Since I'm smaller than most, and weaker than most, and I don't like to fight, it means that I've had to simply accept whatever abuse they decided to dish out."
"They don't do that now."
"Not like they used to," she told him. "After I started studying Arcane magic, I really didn't see the others all that much anymore."
That made Tarrin give her a quick, startled look. "You're studying magic?"
She nodded. "I'm not doing that bad, either, considering that I'm teaching myself. I've learned to cast a few of the easier magic spells."
Tarrin was startled by that, but then he realized that she was a Were-cat. That meant that she could transcend the restrictions on magic set forth by the Elder Gods. She had the Druidic touch that all Were-cats had, but she also had the capability to learn other kinds of magical ability.
"I'm surprised, Kimmie," he said honestly. "Nobody told me about that."
"I don't advertise it," she said. "After all, it's really nobody's business but mine, isn't it?"
Tarrin laughed. "You're right about that," he agreed. "How long have you been studying?"
"About five years now, I'd guess," she replied. "It took me nearly four just to understand enough of the basics to cast my first cantrip. I've managed to learn how to cast four different spells," she said proudly.
"Well, congratulations," he said with a genuine smile. "Maybe I should introduce you to Phandebrass."
"Who's he?"
"A Wizard, and a Wizard you don't take lightly," Tarrin told her. "He acts a bit scatterbrained, but I've seen his magic in action. He's a very capable Wizard. Who knows, maybe he'll tutor you."
"I'd really like that," she said sincerely.
"Well, we're going to Suld, and that's where he is. So let's wait and see what happens."
"You're so nice to me," she told him.
"We're both turned, so we have to look out for each other," he replied, reaching out and patting her on the shoulder. "I think I should think about going back to bed soon. Jesmind is going to realize I'm not there in a little bit."
"She loves you, you know," she told him with a gentle smile. "She hasn't quite figured that out yet, because it's not exactly normal for a Were-cat to fall in love with a mate the way she has."
"I'm not sure she can love like that, Kimmie. Were-cats don't seem to be capable of forming those kinds of bonds outside of family."
"No matter how much Cat someone has, there's still human there too, Tarrin," she said patiently. "The Were-cats work so hard to be the Cat, they forget that the human instincts are in there too. Any Were-cat can love like that, but the fact that there are so few males makes it kind of inconvenient. They know that they can't keep their mates, so they work very hard not to let those kinds of feelings form. Half the time, a female and male part because they're getting too close."
Tarrin had never thought about it that way before. He nodded in understanding, knowing that Kimmie was right. Kimmie had proved to him that she understood the inner workings of Were-cats much better than he did, much better than just about anyone except Triana did, so he would accept her words as truth. The fact was, he felt that she was right without taking that into account. It also explained a great deal.
It also made that truth smack him in the face. Jesmind loved him. It suddenly made her entire pattern of behavior apparent to him. Everything she had done, everything she was doing, it all fit into a pattern of a woman who loved a man, yet wasn't sure if she could have him. Trying to keep him close to her, even if he wouldn't feel for her as she felt for him.
"What should I do?"
"Nothing," Kimmie replied. "Jesmind may love you, but she also understands our society, and Were-cat behavior. She'll be your mate, hold on to you for a while, but she knows she'll eventually have to let you go. You'll start wearing on each other if you stay together too long. It's another Were-cat peculiarity," Kimmie smiled. "We may be human, but the Were need to be alone for a while will always win out. You two will be like Triana and Thean are. They love each other a great deal, but they can't stay together all the time like married humans. So they come together, renew their relationship and enjoy it for a while, then they part for a while when it starts straining on them. That way, they always keep their love alive without letting their Were impulses destroy it."
"I didn't know Triana felt that way about him."
"It should have been obvious, Tarrin," Kimmie laughed. "Didn't you see the way they looked at each other when you met Thean?"
"I was a little overwhelmed with other things at the time, Kimmie," he said defensively.
"I guess you were at that," she admitted with a smile. "You're guaranteed never to be alone, Tarrin," she chuckled. "Jesmind and Mist are going to fight over who gets to keep you next, I know that."
"Mist?" he said in surprise.
"You're the only male she would trust enough to be mates with, Tarrin. And she does like you, a great deal. In her own way, she loves you as much as Jesmind loves you. Is it a stretch to think that she'd want you for mate again, after Eron is grown and on his own?"
"Well, no," he admitted after thinking about it a moment.
"Mist isn't the only one. I'd like to have a turn," Kimmie said with a slight, shy smile. "I like you. We can relate to each other in ways the others wouldn't understand. I think we could be good mates."
"You'd better keep that to yourself around here, Kimmie," he said seriously.
"Jesmind knows I wouldn't dream of trying to steal you, Tarrin."
"You just did."
"No, I didn't. I told you that after you and Jesmind part, I wouldn't mind being your mate. There's a difference. I won't even think about it until after you and Jesmind part ways." She looked at him. "But when you do, don't make yourself too hard to find," she said with a smile.
Her admission surprised him, but he also knew that it didn't change the way he thought about her. He'd become accustomed to both the strange ways of females and his own Were-dominated feelings on such subjects.
"That could be quite a wait."
"If anything, Tarrin, we have time," she told him. "I figure Jesmind will manage to keep you for about ten years or so, and only that long because of Jasana. By then, you'll really start to gnaw on each other's tails, and you'll split up for a while. After you're free, you're fair game." Kimmie picked up a small twig that had fallen out of the woodbox, then tossed it into the fire. "Face it, Tarrin. You'll never be able to have a marriage the way humans do. But you were human, so part of you will want that. So I suggest you choose two or three females you really like, and form something of a rotating relationship with them."
"Listen to you," Tarrin chuckled. "And why three?"
"Well, Jesmind, Mist, and myself, of course," she said with a sly smile. "Any more than that, and we'll be having fights over who gets the next turn."
Tarrin laughed.
"Well, I'm not joking about it, Tarrin. Part of you wants a permanent relationship, but you know you can't have it. So form a permanent relationship, but just with different females. You can stay here, and we'll come to you. That way you feel like you're in a marriage-"
"It's just that the woman I wake with every morning changes."
"Variety spices life," she winked.
Jesmind padded out of the hallway. She too was nude, looking down at the two of them with just a little jealousy in her eyes. "I didn't think you'd be chasing after my mate, Kimmie. I'm surprised," she said in an ominous tone.
"I won't touch him so long as he's yours, Jesmind," Kimmie told her sedately. Years of putting her life on the line with Mist had made Kimmie all but unflappable. "I never hid the fact that I'm just as attracted to him as you and Mist are, you know that. Furies, woman, you've heard us gossip about him over the table when you came to visit with Jasana. I'm talking with him about after you and him split up."
"Oh. That's alright, then," Jesmind told her with a yawn. "You two should go back to bed."
"Gossip over me?" Tarrin said in surprise.
Kimmie gave him a wicked smile. "Jesmind and Mist were, comparing," she said with a naughty catch in her voice.
"Comparing?"
"Of course," Jesmind told him with a fanged smile. "We were curious what the other thought about how well you-"
"That's enough of that," Tarrin interrupted. "Jasana may hear you."
"She heard us the first time," Jesmind told him bluntly. "Mist feels a bit cheated," Jesmind told him with a mischievious look. "You were injured when she had you. She wants another go at it with you healthy, so we can do a full comparison."
Tarrin actually blushed.
"I might give it to her," Jesmind mused. "I'd lend you to Mist, since she's such a good friend now."
Tarrin stared at the fire. He knew if he looked Jesmind in the eye, he'd lose his composure.
What was it about Jesmind that always made him feel like that same naive little boy he'd been when she found him?
"After hearing the glowing stories about you, a girl can't help but be curious," Kimmie pressed relentlessly.
"You too, Kimmie?" Tarrin groaned.
"Don't let the blue eyes fool you, Tarrin," Kimmie smirked. "I'm just as hot-blooded as any other female. I'm just better at hiding it, that's all."
"And here I thought I found someone I could talk to," Tarrin grumbled.
"You did. I think we're good friends," Kimmie told him, patting him on the shoulder. "But you're a Were-cat, Tarrin. We can be good friends and mates, and it won't change our friendship."
He knew she was right. Tarrin laughed ruefully, laying down on his back and looking at the two females. "Well, I certainly feel like I'm wanted," he told them.
"I know of about six females chomping at the bit for when Jesmind parts ways with you, Tarrin," Kimmie grinned. "I'm just making sure the line forms behind me."
Jesmind laughed. "I almost feel jealous again," she said. "Can't you wait until after we've worn on each other enough to split up?"
"Too much competition, Jesmind," Kimmie said with a teasing smile.
"If you can't sleep, Tarrin, I think I can find a way to keep you occupied without having to worry about the sneaky one here trying to talk you out of our mating," Jesmind told him.
"Well, that sounds like a dismissal to me," Kimmie said mildly. "I'll wander back to bed now. Just try to keep it down, you two. Jasana's still asleep," she said with a wink, getting up and padding past Jesmind, towards the stairs.
Jesmind came over to stand over him. "Come on then, my mate," Jesmind said, holding a paw out for him. "If you have this much nervous energy, I think I can burn it off for you."
Tarrin laughed, taking her paw and letting her pull him up. "I'm surprised you're so calm about Kimmie," he said.
"She said she wouldn't touch you until after I let you go," she told him calmly. "That's all the assurance I need. Besides, I like Kimmie. I wouldn't mind seeing you two together after I release you. You were both human once, so at least you'd be on level ground."
"Strange to be choosing my mates for me before you've gotten tired of me, Jesmind."
"I'm not tired of you yet, Tarrin," she told him with a grin, patting him on the backside. "Worry more about me and less about who may be sharing your bed after we part."
Tarrin followed Jesmind into the bedroom, mulling over his conversation with Kimmie. It had been eye-opening, in more ways than one. Kimmie had proved to be an intelligent, keenly observant woman whose insights had opened his eyes to many subtle aspects of Were-cat behavior. He had learned about Jesmind's feelings for him from her, and he found he was very much honored to think that a Were-cat like Jesmind could form such a lasting bond with him. He had loved Jesmind once, and in a way he still did. The thought of forming a repetitive relationship with her was very appealing to him. He knew that time would eventually force them apart, but those partings would always be followed up with reunions. Just like Thean and Triana.
Tarrin had seen a great deal of Kimmie, both physically and mentally, and he very much liked what he saw. Tarrin decided that Kimmie was a friend. A very good friend. He added her to that select circle of his closest friends and companions, then turned his attention to Jesmind as the door closed.
To: Title EoF