Most recent chapters will be displayed first. Go back on the blog archive to find the beginning of the story. Thank you!

Friday, April 26, 2013

Chapter Eight


Artem glared up at the dark-brown haired male, her hands on her hips and her black eyes fiercely protective. “No, Roher.” The words were resolute, not allowing for argument, but the male crossed his arms and dared to protest anyway. Many were wary of upsetting Artem for fear of her pranks of retaliation if not her fighting skills - which were formidable as well - but Roher was far beyond being intimated by his former student.

“He needs to learn, Artem.”

“But not now. He’s still too skittish.”

Roher sighed, pinching the bride of his nose between his thumb and forefinger in an exasperated manner before opening his eyes again and raising a brow at the black woman. “And when do you think he will be ready, Artem? When we come across the Cities’ patrols on the plains and they start killing us? He’s fourteen and that is plenty old enough to learn to fight.”

Artem shook her head. “No.” she replied stubbornly and crossed her arms, arching her back slightly in a defiant way as her chin tilted up further so that she could stare her former mentor down.

She wasn’t going to relent on this. SHE was Talis’anarsi’s guardian, not Roher. SHE would decide when it was time for him to learn the skills of the Olonian and right now, she knew he was not ready, no matter what Roher wanted to say about it. Artem knew that the pyro merely wanted what was best for the child, same as he’d wanted what was best for her when he’d taken her under his wing, but this time, the older man had it wrong and Artem was not about to shatter the progress she’d made with Talis’anarsi merely to try and train him to fight.

It wasn’t something the boy was willing to learn right now anyway. Artem had already tried to entice him to do a little sparring with her. The child had nearly bolted at the thought of holding a blade or learning how to fight hand-to-hand. Artem had not suggested the activity again and knew she wouldn’t for a while.

Roher, however, didn’t know of Talis’anarsi’s reaction to weapons and fighting, so in the man’s mind, the boy was old enough to learn, therefore he should be learning.

“Artem, he’s not going to get any less scared by waiting.”

“He’s not going to be any good if he’s cowering and doesn’t trust his trainer either, Roher!”

He was trying her patience and that wasn’t something she had a lot of anyway. Artem could feel the eyes of the tribe on both of them, but she didn’t look away from her friend’s blue eyes, her own black ones hard. She wasn’t going to concede to this argument and Roher knew it. He’d hoped, of course that she might see differently, but in the end he knew that Artem was not going to change her mind.

The man finally sighed, rubbing the back of his neck before he gave his former student a piercing look. “When he is ready, you will train him, right?”

“When he is ready.” Artem agreed in a sort of truce and the pyro shook his head, grumbling under his breath as he left the black woman and she smirked after him, both relieved that the argument was over and yet amused at her friend’s complaining. She shook her own head and moved away from her tent and avoiding the form of Iree - who she could see not three tents away in the middle of camp  - Artem moved toward the outskirts of the tribe’s protective circle of tents. Her black eyes scanned the barren lands of the Iius Plains. She knew that further to the north, farther than she could see, there lay a Dead Forest, a great expanse of dark, dead trees, burnt land and petrified wood stumps. The once great woods dwelled on the slopes of the Zanetor Mountains, but the forest no longer lived.

To the east she could see more than just plains, but also a gray shapes rising up against the horizon like tower square stones. An ancient ruin lurked there, a city of destruction and death, something from before the Great Destruction. The tribe would keep well away from it even as they used it for a landmark like they used the river they had yet to leave. The water lay to the west of them, and Artem could see the sparkle of the blue liquid just walking distance away. The City of Ruuk lay just beyond the river and it was for this reason that Artem knew Roher worried. The Olonian were much too close to the dome-city, but for need of water, they had little choice but to remain in the danger zone, close to the river.

Artem tried not to let her mind dwell on this, however, as she looked back out on to the plains, a red-brown, flat and yet rolling landscape that the black woman saw as ‘home’ where many might only see death and ruin. She had grown up here. Nothing else would ever feel quite the same as the Iius Plains, even if it be ‘better’.

The thought brought a small smile to the black woman’s face, but then she was spitting out her hair as wind, an ever-constant on the plains, pulled at her braids and clothes in a strong gust. It also brought with it faint traces of laughter with it‘s mischief, though and the sound caught in Artem’s ears in a strange way. She found herself frowning slightly, curious as she looked to her right, back east, to see a sight she’d not expected, but rather liked instantly.

Three children ran together in a game of chase not far from the camp, their feet kicking up dust and dirt, their hair blowing in the wind, wild with their movement as they dashed about. Their quick and nimble movements made them appear as dancing deer as they laughed and reached for one another.

The sight was one that made a person want to smile, their own feet itching to run, but Artem had other reasons for feeling a sense of both happiness, but also curious amazement. Her reasons for surprise was not the activity the children were partaking in but WHO the children playing were.

Eka, the twelve year old daughter of Zoso and his wife Sena, running about like a wild horse, her black hair tossing about like a mane was not a startling sight. The black girl was as wild as her father was composed and it was not a rare thing to see her darting about the camp, getting into trouble and getting out of that same trouble with charm that would make a snake-trainer envious. No, it was not Eka’s presence that interested Artem - though, the excitable girl hanging out with the other two child was odd - what interested her were the other two children.

The red-head who laughed again, twirling away from Eka was the thirteen year old sister of Iree. The two looked very much alike, both with a fiery red mane around their faces like a halo of fire and the brightest blue eyes, but they could not have been more different in personality. While Iree was loud, abrasive - if still wise - and quick with her temper, Aenen was quiet, gentle and rarely spoke in anything more than a soft voice and only when spoken to. The two were like the sun and moon, and it was rare to see Aenen interact with anyone, who was not her sister, and especially the children around her.

To see her playing like the child she should be was startling and seeing both Eka and Aenen playing with Talis’anarsi just about boggled Artem’s mind.

The boy had pretty much refused to interact with the children around him. There were three Olonian boys traveling with them, all a little older than Talis’anarsi by a year or two, but the child had shown no interest in them despite the fact that one boy, Kajar, seemed very determined to befriend the abused fourteen year old. Talis’anarsi didn’t seem to be able to see that and he‘d continued to avoid the children. He hadn’t shown interest in Eka and Aenen, the only two girls in the tribe, either until today, so it wasn’t a preference for gender that caused the boy’s behavior.

He just wasn’t comfortable around his peers and didn’t try to get to know them.

Until today, the boy had stayed close to Artem’s side like a wary animal, a kicked dog that only trusted one person and viewed all others as a danger. It had been several days, but the boy had not warmed up to the tribe in nearly the same way he’d done to the black woman. Ever since bathing in the river for the first time Talis’anarsi had been open about his thoughts, questions and answers with Artem, but other adults were not to be spoken to.

When they talked to him he would look up through his black hair streaked with white - something Artem had not expected to see when they’d washed his hair of the dirt and blood and other questionable things - and he would answer direct questions in a subdued, quiet way, but he never initiated conversation.

He was the same way with the children in the tribe…until today. Today he was with both Aenen AND Eka and he was LAUGHING, something she’d never heard from the child.

Artem didn’t understand it and she hated not understanding things. So it was that she found herself walking toward the three and then finally stopping just beyond their invisible circle of play, waiting to be acknowledged as she had not the heart to interrupt the rare display of pure childness from those who should have always been able to just be young.

The black woman remained quiet and still, but it wasn’t long before Eka saw her and shouted a greeting, making her two companions still like startled deer and look over with wide eyes. When they saw who the adult was, Aenen was the first to regain her calm and she offered Artem a small smile but said nothing. Talis’anarsi, however, still remained still, the color having drained from his face and his dark green eyes wide, frozen. He didn’t seem to really see Artem and the black woman felt a spike of worry as she took a step forward.

Aenen beat her to her goal though, as the girl laid a hand on the boy’s arm and spoke in a quiet way. Artem didn’t hear what was said as the wind snatched the words from her, but Talis’anarsi seemed to come out of his fearful trance and he blinked, looking down at Aenen before smiling slightly. Nothing more was said between the two children as they looked up at Artem again and then came running toward her, Eka joining them.

The black woman very soon found herself looking down into three upturned, questioning faces and Artem discovered she wasn’t quite sure what to say….so like usual, she just popped off with the first thought to come into her mind. It was something Roher had never really been able to unteach in her.

“Why are you all playing together?”

Artem realized her voice must have been more demanding than she’d intended as Talis’anarsi immediately flinched back, biting his lip as he looked down, voice quiet. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know that I wasn’t allowed to-”

“No, no, no! That’s not what I mean, little weed. Uhhgh…” Artem rubbed her forehead with the hand not perched on her hip. Damn, taking care of a child, a damaged child, was not easy. Suddenly she felt more appreciative of Roher’s patience with her when he’d been her guardian.

“Of course you can play with us, silly! There’s no rule against it. That would be stupid!” Eka’s voice rose confidently and Artem opened her black eyes once more to give the younger black girl a look. The twelve year old only giggled and grinned cheekily. “What? It would be.” she defended and Artem shook her head again, but couldn’t help letting her lips twitch in a smile. Eka reminded her too much of herself at that age.

“You’re right, Eka, it would be.” Artem smiled at the girl’s triumphant look and turned her black eyes to her own charge who was watching her carefully with those shadowed, dark green eyes, merely waiting. “Talis’anarsi, you are allowed to play with anyone within the tribe that you’d like to. I am not upset over you playing with Eka and Aenen, I am merely curious as to why you have all decided to play together today.” Or at all. They were an unlikely group. Maybe Aenen and Talis’anarsi would have spoken eventually, but Eka? And playing chase? Artem would not have seen that coming, hadn’t seen it coming.

The boy nodded, showing he understood, but he didn’t answer Artem’s question, biting his lip again as he looked at Aenen who remained quiet and then Eka who was also strangely silent now. The fourteen year old seemed to understand that he was the one that would have to speak and Artem crouched slowly, getting nearly eye-level with the three children, but her attention on the boy.

“Why do you hesitate, little weed?” she asked gently and the child opened his mouth before shutting it again, seeming to think and then finally speaking. “I am not sure you will believe what I will tell you.”

Artem’s eyebrows rose for a moment before she stuck her tongue in the side of her cheek, thinking for a long moment before she nodded slowly and swallowed before speaking. “You know what, that is reasonable concern, but you won’t know my reaction for sure until you tell me, Talis’anarsi.” She would not promise him she’d believe him, that was not the way the world worked and the child knew it, but she could promise that she would at least listen.

The boy knew that, too, and he watched her for a minute through his black-white hair before finally speaking. Artem noted with interest that Eka’s face had grown stubborn, determined as she slipped her hand into the boy’s and Aenen’s eyes showed a steely quality that the black woman had never witnessed as she took Talis’anarsi’s other hand. They were putting up a united front and while some might have found it amusing or cute, Artem could sense it was something much, much more.

The emotions of the three were nearly identical; scared, determined, loyal, slightly awed and amazed by something she was not yet aware of. They were all the same, though. All three children knew something and whether she believed them or not, they were going to hold fast to each other and their information.

It was enough to make the black woman listen very, very carefully when Talis’anarsi spoke.

“Aenen has drawn something. We have to go to Ruuk.”

“What?” Of all the things the child could have said, Artem had expected NOTHING like that and she had to consciously tell herself to control the volume of her voice and the intensity of her reactions as she took a deep breath and looked back up into dark green eyes from her crouched position.

“All right, kid, I’m listening but you’d better do a heck of a job explaining how you came to this conclusion.”

Talis’anarsi blinked, clearly surprised and Artem raised a brow, pointing to the ground as she lowered herself there as well. “Sit. All of you.”

The three children looked at each other and then promptly did as they were told and Artem sighed silently as she braced herself to listen to something she was already struggling to understand.

-------------------------------

She was trying to be patient, Talis’anarsi could see it clearly and while it made him appreciative to Artem once more, it also made him nervous. What if he explained and she still didn’t believe him?

No. The boy pushed the thought away firmly. No, she couldn’t not believe him. She was involved in this, too. She dreamed of a gold-haired warrior she didn’t know and Artem had found him with his uncle when he‘d dreamed of her, connected with him despite her inexperience with children. No, she would have to understand what he told her, to feel what he felt. She was one of Them, one of the Dreamers. She had to understand.

“Well?”

The black woman was raising her brow in that familiar way to Talis’anarsi and he found it didn’t intimidate him like it had only a few days ago and a faint smile tugged at his lips before he started to talk, pushing the doubt away and keeping his voice steady.

“I have not dreamt since meeting you, but last night I dreamt of a man with white eyes. I could not see his face clearly, but his voice was easy to hear and he told me to talk to Aenen today. He left before I could ask why, so when I woke I looked for Aenen.”

“Do you always do what these dreams tell you to, little weed?” Talis’anarsi could hear the concern, the worry in Artem’s voice and it sent a glow of warmth through his chest that he was unfamiliar with, but liked. It felt like the same kind of warmth that he’d always felt with his parents and his brother and sister. It felt like love and he liked it very much indeed, though he knew if the emotion had come from any other person he would have recoiled, not trusting it. When it came from Artem, though, he couldn’t help but accept it, just like he accepted without question that he could trust her.

The boy smiled a little, his dark green eyes looking directly into Artem’s black ones. “Yes, and they’ve never led me to the wrong thing.”

The black woman seemed to struggle with that, obviously wanting to protest in some way, perhaps give a warning, but in the end she remained quiet and nodded, raising a brow again in a silent encouragement for Talis’anarsi to continue his story.

The child did so after glancing at Aenen and receiving a nod from the girl before she started to dig through the animal-skin bag slung over her shoulder, settled on the ground by her hip.

“I went looking for her, but found her looking for me and she showed me the picture she’d drawn. We got kinda scared after that when we figured out what it meant. Eka-”

“I found them then and made them come play.” Eka grinned at her playmates. “I told you running would help!” The twelve year old girl seemed either oblivious to the other two childrens’ reasons for being scared or she did know and didn’t think it a real reason for concern.

Talis’anarsi knew it was the latter. Eka had seemed to understand everything he and Aenen had told her and more if the boy were to guess, but her personality was such that she would pretend casual before she would admit she was paying attention. It was strange to Talis’anarsi, but he’d spent enough time observing people in the shadows to know their behavior and non-verbal cues. Eka was much smarter and more observant than she let anyone know.

The boy nodded his agreement with the younger girl, unsure what else to do. He’d never been allowed to play with his peers when he’d been with his uncle which meant he’d not had a great deal of contact with another child for seven years. Understanding how to speak with them and interact appropriately was difficult. So he merely smiled at Eka before looking back at Artem who was still waiting with careful patience for him to speak once more.

“Do you still have the picture?”

The black woman’s voice was calm, soothing and Talis’anarsi found himself grateful to the woman once more for saving him. He’d never thought to have an adult actually listen to him or care for him after his parents had passed away. It was wonderful to know he had one he could count on now.

“We do.” Aenen said softly as she drew a precious notepad out of her bag. Among the many treasures that had been passed down through the years, paper was something that was rare. Aenen’s power required that she have it with her at all times, though, so despite her young age, she had been given one of the two notebooks that the tribe had and one of the amazing writing pens that held something to erase the marks with on the end of it. With these tools, the young red-head could draw and then erase when the picture was no longer needed, using the paper over and over again with care.

The girl now hesitated in handing over her necessary paper, but a reassuring smile from Artem saw her giving it to the black woman and then sitting back, nervously watching the notepad until it could be safely in her hands again.

Talis’anarsi, for his part, watched Artem’s black eyes closely, watched as they narrowed in puzzlement and then widened in the beginning of understanding before her gaze rose to meet his, questioning. “Is this the man you saw?”

“It is.” the boy answered with soft confidence and Artem looked away from him again, back toward the drawing. The child found himself holding his breath. Surely she would feel what he felt, understand…

---------------------

The picture was eerie in its detail. Artem had known Aenen was gifted with drawing, but she had never seen one of the girl’s pictures. Seeing as how Aenen’s drawings were depictions of future events that were supposed to happen - but didn’t always come to pass - and she didn’t draw for pleasure, Artem was glad she hadn’t seen any up until this point.

Looking at the drawing now, she could not help but feel like she was being hurled toward something she did not fully understand, something that she could not escape. Artem hated feeling trapped be it by authority, physical means or obligation ones. It was a miracle she was taking care of Talis’anarsi considering her track record of avoiding responsibility!

This picture though, it wasn’t going to allow her an escape. That was her face right there drawn on the picture, looking down at a man with long black hair and white eyes that seemed glazed in a strange way. The man was on the red-brown dirt of the plains and he seemed to be in pain if the way his jaw clenched was any indication. The blood that was on her own hands was another clue and the pale face of a white-haired woman staring with wide violet eyes at the man and looking quite lost clearly indicated that she had no idea what to do. The white-haired female stood at the side of a strange, tan tiger-striped creature that almost looked like a dragorse.

Opposite Artem’s own crouched figure on the paper was Talis’anarsi, standing and looking toward the horizon at something that was not on the paper. He looked scared, but determined all at once, much like she’d seen him that night she’d rescued him.

It was clear that their tribe was nowhere around,  but in the distance, there was a domed-city and a river running by it.

Ruuk.

Artem stared at the whole picture for a very long minute before she finally handed the pad of paper back to Aenen and the girl took it gratefully. The black woman turned her attention to Talis’anarsi, but found she could not answer the pleading question in his eyes just yet as her gaze flickered to Eka.

“And what is your involvement in all this, Eka?”

The young black girl shrugged, picking at her toenails as she spoke nonchalantly. “I think Tal and you should go find him and help him. I saw the man last year. I recognize him.”

Artem’s eyes grew sharp and her voice the same way, and though she saw Talis’anarsi flinch back instinctively, she didn’t spare him a reassuring word, her attention on Eka. “What? Where? Why did you not tell an adult you had seen a stranger, Eka?”

The twelve year old’s brown eyes flickered up to meet black before she looked away again and shrugged once more, resuming picking the dirt from her toenails. “I saw him near the yellow mountains when the tribe wintered there last year. I told my mother about it, but when father went to check he didn’t find the man. They thought I was playing a prank then and no one would listen to me, so I dropped it.”

“Did he say anything to you?” The question, quiet, came from Talis’anarsi and Eka gave the boy a look, tilting her head and letting her wild hair fall about her shoulders as she blinked. “He did. He told me not to run on the loose shale.”

Artem found she could not hold the snort in as she shook her head incredulously. Eka grinned then and the black woman gave the younger girl a look. “Perhaps you should have listened. It would have saved you that broken arm.”

Eka merely looked down in the face of that logic, grumbling under her breath before she stood abruptly, obviously done with the conversation, no matter how fascinating it might have started out. “I gotta go. Mama said I had to be back before it got dark.” The child was already darting away, waving as she ran. “Bye, Aenen! See ya tomorrow, Tal! Tell me what you’re gonna do, okay?” She didn’t wait for a response before disappearing into the circle of tents.

Aenen shook her head at the younger girl. Even at thirteen, the younger sister of Iree seemed more like a grown up then a child and she stood quietly, gracefully. “I should go, too. Please tell me what is decided tomorrow, Talis’anarsi. Please tell me if I can help at all.”

The red-head knew when it was time to leave, to let those who had to make decisions make them and she smiled politely at Artem before departing. Talis’anarsi looked after her before focusing on his guardian and Artem sighed, suddenly tired.

“You truly believe that we need to go to Ruuk to help this man?”

The boy nodded, voice a whisper. “I do.”

Artem made a half grunt, half growl noise in her throat, looking back toward the river for a moment of silence before she finally sighed and answered back. “Then I believe you. I believe that you think we need to do this, but I will need to think about it, little weed. I can’t just make a decision.”

Talis’anarsi dipped his head, looking down and he nodded in a small way. “I understand.”

Artem could have cursed at the withdrawn quality in his voice, but she refrained, merely standing and quietly leading the boy back into the circle of tents when he followed her. She wished she could reassure him right now, but she didn’t know what her decision would be in this. She wasn’t even sure she understood what THIS was! Her life had been turned upside down with Talis’anarsi and now she was beginning to suspect that it was never going to go back to normal. The boy…he was special and he seemed to think SHE was special, too, something Artem could not understand. Sure, she was having strange dreams, just like Talis’anarsi had been having of HER, but the child seemed to understand what was happening in a way Artem did NOT. He wasn’t afraid of the dreams, of the feeling of being watched, of something bigger going on around them, something that had drawn them together and bonded them so quickly.

Artem WAS bothered and concerned by these things and she didn’t UNDERSTAND them. She hated not understanding things, especially important things. She liked answers, but it didn’t seem like anyone wanted to give her any. At not any that she wanted to hear.

The black woman sighed out as she and the child neared their shared tent.

Perhaps reasonable answers would be more forthcoming in the morning after a decent night‘s sleep. She could only hope.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Mrara’s hands grasped the rock she balanced on precariously, the wind whipping her red-brown hair into a frenzy about her face as she looked back the way she’d come. Her pack lay beyond that mountain pass, all she knew lay behind her, tempting her back, but she knew she couldn’t go.

It had only been a few days since she’d left the caves, the fire-ones, but every step away from her home had bound her closer to Cahrn, closer to his side and closer to his pack. She had not known this would happen…not entirely, anyway. She’d suspected it the day she’d come to see the strangers’ pack and everything had been different.

She’d known something was wrong and different that day. The strangers’ animal-hide carriers had been packed. Their stuff had not been settled about the cave and their weapons had been polished and on their bodies. Their sleeping furs were gone and the fire had not been burning, there had been no scent of food.

Something had been wrong, but she hadn’t understood what it was until the one who could partially speak her language had made the sound for the ‘long journey’. Mrara had understood then that the strangers were leaving and her gaze had gone to Cahrn. He had been looking back at her and the message in his gray eyes was clear to understand despite the language barrier between them.

He wanted her with him….and she had found that she wanted to come. She’d known this day would come. Strangers didn’t stay in one place for long periods of times, especially ones who did not build great stones about themselves, but traveled lightly. She’d known this pack of strangers would leave…and she’d known she’d have to decide whether she went with them. Mrara had not know, however, that the day was so close, nor that she would feel so steadfast about her decision when it came time to make it.

The thought of not seeing Cahrn again, though, it was an ache in her chest that she didn’t understand but trusted. He was hers and she couldn’t let him go. Why this was, she could not understand, could not explain but to say it was the mating call she’d always heard was so powerful. And if it was a mating call, then she was to go where her mate went…but not before telling the fire-ones goodbye.

She hadn’t had a way to tell the strangers this, however, and had only watched as they started down the mountain path before she disappeared back into the cave. She’d caught up to them that night, drawn to the light of their fire and the strangers had seemed startled at her presence, but Mrara had paid them no mind, coming to Cahrn’s side, but not close enough that he could touch her. She never got close enough to be touched.

Contact was not needed, though, as the look in the male’s gray eyes and the odd smile expression on his face had been enough of a reward for her. She had not left that night or any of the nights since.

Now, though, she could not help but miss the fire-ones already. She was further from home than she’d ever been and entirely enmeshed with the strangers now. She wore some of their clothes, her own ripped and entirely unfit for the weather when she wasn’t hiding in a lava cave. She ate their food now, too and was starting to pick up new words, that while difficult to say, were becoming more cemented in her mind, a constant.

“Mrara?”

She turned her head immediately at the sound of a voice that drew her out of her thoughts - at the sound her name, something she was fast getting used to hearing - to look into gray eyes and she found herself relaxing a bit as she studied Cahrn, at seeing the question on his face. She glanced back up the path for the last time and then sprang from her rock back onto the main path, rising from her crouch near Cahrn.

He gave her that strange expression again, a slight showing of teeth that made his eyes light up in a happy way before turning away and back to the other strangers who were watching the two of them, waiting. Mrara chirped happily to herself as she followed, very pleased with Cahrn.

Despite their lack of a common language, he simply seemed to KNOW what she needed without a great deal of trial and error. He didn’t try to touch her and hadn’t tried as long as she’d been around him, not even at their first meeting had he tried to restrain her or get closer than she was comfortable with. The other members of the strangers’ pack had all learned in differing ways the boundaries Mrara set up, but Cahrn….he already seemed to know that they existed without ever having to have the rules taught to him.

It was odd. It was unexplainable. It was enduring her to him more and more every day.

He would be a good mate, of this Mrara was sure and despite her longing for home and for the familiar presence of her pack, of the fire-ones, she knew she was where she was supposed to be.

With Cahrn.

It was the only reassurance she had as she joined the strangers’ pack again. She knew she was like them in looks, in intelligence, but she could not call them her people. They were unfamiliar in their speech and in their body-language. They did things she could not even begin to understand and used facial expression she couldn’t comprehend unless she saw the same thing over and over again in the same situation that had brought on the expression in the first place.

The showing of teeth in a happy way threw her off every single time. The baring of teeth was a threatening gesture yet these creatures made the expression to each other all the time without negative consequences. She didn’t understand it and didn’t dare show her own teeth to them unless it be in a growl or hiss. That’s what fangs were supposed to be used for!

It wasn’t just their expressions that confused her, too, but also their language. There were so many words, so many sounds and emotions to go with them. She’d never understand it!

Mrara growled softly, frustrated by even the thought and she ignored the look the red-haired stranger close to her gave her. She wanted to understand them! She wanted to understand Cahrn. She could not be a good mate, a good she-alpha if she did not understand him!

Mrara growled again, louder this time as anger swept through her and the female stranger nearest her with light brown hair grew startled, placing her hand on her weapon. Mrara reacted instinctively to the threat, baring her teeth and taking a defensive stance, growl growing harsher with warning as all her mind could see in that moment was an enemy.

It was Cahrn who snapped her back to reality, but it wasn’t his voice alone that did it. No, it was what he said, his word a snapped growl, translated to ‘no’ or ‘stop’ in the fire-one’s tongue.

Her amber eyes darted to meet his gray ones and Mrara couldn’t help but crouch further in a submissive way at the disapproval in his gaze. It was the last thing she wanted to see and Mrara averted her eyes from his, taking care not to challenge him before she looked toward the light brown haired female she’d almost attacked.

The female stranger was smiling in that strange way, but the expression was nervous if her hands, rubbing against her pants, were any indication of her mood. She glanced away from Mrara and toward Cahrn, saying something the feral young woman could not understand.

She felt the frustration rise in her again and growled softly once more, looking at the ground and then rising back to her feet. She skirted around the strangers and started down the path in the front of the pack now. Perhaps it would be better if she just stayed away from them for now, especially if Cahrn was upset with her.

--------------------------

Caln looked after Mrara with a sigh, running his hand back through his dark blond hair. Perhaps Befni was right. Maybe it WAS time to start making Mrara realize that the people around her were capable predators themselves and that she should exercise more caution with them.

The Enasien had been trying to be gentle, patient, giving the girl no reason to think they’d harm her, but maybe they’d gone a bit too far and made themselves seem weak and easy to push around. That would not gain any respect from Mrara as Caab had explained to him calmly.

Caln knew his brother was right, too. It was just…he knew Mrara understood so little of their language and the reason for why they did what they did. What if it was not authority she needed but more vigorous teaching? Caab was doing the best he could, but the daredevil blond had never been the teaching type. He got too impatient too quickly and while he could explain the things he knew, if the audience didn’t have a clue what he was saying -literally - it wasted the Animal-Speaker’s talent in that area.

Mrara was willing to learn, but she needed a teacher who could speak her language AND the human one, who could draw connections for the feral girl, who could educate her like she needed to be.

Caln knew he wasn’t going to be able to do it. He could admit that about himself, but it frustrated him that there was no on within his group who COULD help in this area. It was frustrating Mrara as much as it was him, too. He could sense it, see it in the way she acted out.

And it was the acting out that had made Befni suggest they start lashing back, just a little, to show the girl that she couldn’t take her irritation out on them. The Enasien were the most skilled fighters in Jagason for a reason and none of his people liked being pushed around.

Caln knew he’d have to give them permission to fight back sooner or later. It wasn’t fair to tell them they couldn’t at least defend themselves if Mrara struck out at them without provocation. He just didn’t like the idea in the least.

“She wants to understand us.”

Caln glanced at Caab as his younger brother came to walk at his side. The younger man - by all of two years - was slightly shorter than his older brother and thinner. His blond hair was lighter than Caln’s and longer. Caab, despite being blunt and mischievous oftentimes, was likely the first person Caln would listen to when the older male was agitated and everyone knew it.

Just like he was listening now.

“I know.”

“You know she came for you. It wasn’t for curiosity or because she was fond of any of us. It wasn’t because she needs us. She came for you, Caln.”

Gray eyes flickered to meet black ones and a dark blond brow rose sharply before Caln looked away from his younger brother again. “Do you have a point or are you just going to ramble until I tell you to shut up?”

Caab grinned, the look more a smirk than anything as he clapped his brother on the shoulder. “My point, oh impatient one, is that perhaps you should try communicating with her alone. She calms when she spends time with you and is better able to tolerate the rest of us.”

Caln looked at his brother fully this time, blinking and Caab shrugged. “You could do it now. We’re almost upon the place where we left the Dragorse. No one would mind if you went ahead, well besides Weln, but she’ll get over it. Just an idea.” he pointed out before falling back and leaving his older sibling to weigh his words, and Caln did. The War-Leader frowned as he looked ahead, the idea circling in his mind until it finally started to make sense to him and he was able to see what Caab had so easily.

His brother was right. The glances Mrara gave him, the way she stayed close to him, the look she’d given him when she knew he was leaving, when she’d come upon them that night… Loyalty. He recognized it now and had to wonder why he hadn’t seen it before. Perhaps it was because she was the last person he’d expected to see such emotion from - they hardly knew each other!

But it was there all the same and the more he thought about it, the more Caln remembered about their interactions. And suddenly the things that had not made sense before started to take on a new light - if not completely coming out of the darkness of mystery they were shrouded in.

“Asin, take the lead.”

The four-armed, white-haired man raised a brow, but didn’t comment as he watched his War-Leader surge ahead of the group and down the path. The tribe watched him go, smiling or frowning to themselves, but Weln was the only one who looked ready to follow at her brother’s pace. Caab was quick to set a hand on her shoulder and shake his head. The fifteen year old glared at him, but stayed where she was with the group.

-----------------------

Caln hadn’t expected that Mrara would have gotten so far in the small amount of time she’d been ahead of the group, but by the time he caught up with her, she was already approaching the dragorse the Enasien had left in an small valley along the path. They’d left the dragorse there for the treachery of the path ahead, knowing the animals would stay until their return.

He couldn’t see the wild girl’s face, but he could see in her cautious approach that she wasn’t sure what to make of the creatures even as she was curious about them and unafraid.

The War-Leader found himself smiling as he drew closer on quiet feet and stopped at one of the large standing rocks along the narrow path, leaning against it and crossing his arms as he merely waited for what would transpire.

He wasn’t concerned for Mrara. Sure, the dragorse were dangerous creatures with nasty tempers and even meaner bites, but the wild girl had dealt with dragons, a species related to the dragorse and much more lethal than even the half-dragon, half horse could be.

Caln watched Mrara approach them slowly, her head tilting as she took in the odd nature of the creatures. They were horse-like in their middle-body with long legs, hooves and a long equine neck, but that’s where the similarity’s with the horse species ended. The dragorse’ tail was a dragon’s with a large area of tufted fur on the underside of the lizard-like appendage. The creatures’ hide was that of horses’ except where it was scaled on the legs like socks, on the face, the chest, on the underbelly for most dragorse and on spattered patches throughout the rest of the animals’ body. The ears were horse-like, but long and on the male dragorse were horns of various lengths like that of a domestic goat, sweeping back over their foreheads toward their necks. Along the fronts of their faces, sweeping down their necks and along the tops of their backs were a plate of scales like an armadillo.

The dragorse’ teeth were sharp like a predator and their tongues forked and long like a snake when they flickered out to taste the air, investigating Mrara as she drew closer.

One of the mounts hissed at her, growling in a fierce way at the stranger it didn’t know, and Mrara answered back instantly with a hiss of her own, baring her teeth and snarling back more harshly than the dragorse had.

The animal appeared surprised by the answer and the rest of the small herd of ten dragorse mounts brought their attention to the strange human who’d spoken in a language that they almost recognized. It was almost like a different dialect to them and Caln watched in fascination as the creatures he’d grown up with behaved in a manner he’d never seen toward a human. It made sense, though, didn’t it? Mrara was not entirely human in a way.

The War-Leader smiled at the thought and stayed where he was as Mrara finally stood from her crouched position, appearing much more confident as she stepped toward the dragorse Caln recognized to be the leader of the herd.

It was a pack-dragorse stallion and had been purposely assigned this position by the Enasien despite the creature’s rank inside the herd. Keeping the alpha dragorse at the back of the herd and tied down to two pack-dragorse mares kept the animal in line when they were riding as the alpha was forced to obey the humans. It also stored pent-up anger in the alpha toward the other dragorse of the herd so that when it came to camp, the lead dragorse kept a tight control of the herd when the humans let the creatures be. It was a good system.

Now, though, the dragorse stallion was not tied down and was fully in charge…and he was interested in this strange human that came toward him so boldly. The alpha was a dragorse with a white hide and gray scales. The armor plates along his face, neck and back were a light blue and his horns, hooves and the fur on the underside of his tail were a light brown. He was a surprisingly small male compared to the others around him, but what he lacked in size, he made up in ferocity and cunning.

That intelligence was working now as he watched Mrara and his tongue flicked out toward her before he hissed warningly, stomping a hoof and tossing his head a little, ears back.

Mrara kept walking forward like the dragorse hadn’t done a thing and she hissed back fiercely, a low growl in her throat. The dragorse didn’t seem impressed by her threat, though, and surged forward at the challenge, head extended and jaw open. The dragorse stallion never knew what hit him as Mrara’s hand came out and a resounding cracking sound was heard, echoing against the mountain walls.

The alpha gave a squealing sound of pain, staggering to the side and shaking his head, rearing slightly before settling nervously and looking toward Mrara with a new speculation in his eyes. There was blood running down the gray scales on his face, cut open despite their durability and he seemed surprised by the fact as his tongue came out to lick at the red liquid. The wild girl for her part merely bared her teeth again, a harsh snarl in throat. Her amber eyes blazed and the dragorse stallion danced in place for a moment before he approached slowly, head lowered in a submissive way.

Caln, perfectly still and tense against the rocks he still leaned upon, saw the rock in Mrara’s hand, her fingers clenched tight around it, fall away to the mountain path. She’d used it to add force to her strike against the dragorse. He felt a smile flit across his face. Smart girl.

The War-Leader pushed silently away from the rocks then as the wild girl reached up to touch the alpha’s face, chirping to him in a soothing manner that made the dragorse’ ears come forward in curiosity. Caln chuckled.

“I’d say you’ve tamed him.”

Where the dragorse stallion’s actions had not startled Mrara or fazed her, Caln’s voice did and the wild girl nearly jumped, turning her body around fully to face him, eyes wide, but nothing threatening in her demeanor. It was a strange thing to see considering as how all the other Enasien garnered a negative response from Mrara when they startled her.

Did she know his voice that well?

The War-Leader smiled softly, reassuringly. “I didn’t mean to startle you. I am sorry.” he nearly whispered, knowing the young woman couldn’t understand him anyway, but unable to help talking to her. He watched as her amber eyes lost their surprised look and then chuckled again as Mrara almost pitched forward with the dragorse stallions’ movement. The white-gray creature was growling at Caln and had made to lunge forward threatening, almost knocking the wild girl over.

She growled at the creature now, jabbing her elbow into his scaled chest to make him back up. The dragorse did so, but didn’t seem happy about it and Caln tilted his head, speaking mostly to himself, but wishing Mrara could understand every word.

The brown-red haired girl had every right to feel frustrated. This was annoyingly difficult, not being able to understand each other.

“I think you’ve found your mount, Mrara. He seems quite attached to you already.”

She didn’t understand his words, he knew that, but she’d heard her name and it seemed enough for her as she turned back to face him again after driving the dragorse back to the herd and her eyes seemed to smile in a way her mouth refused to.

It was enough for Caln and he smiled back before beckoning her to follow him.

------------------------

Mrara felt her body become lighter the minute she heard his voice say her name. She didn’t know why, but the burden that weighed on her, an unnamed darkness, seemed to lift as she turned to face Cahrn again.

He was smiling at her and she felt her heart jump and her spirit shine in her face. She loved it when he smiled and when she’d left the group, she’d been afraid she might not see the strange expression again. She had upset him and the others, and while she’d not meant to, not really, it hadn’t mattered. She couldn’t explain that to them.

Now, though, with Cahrn here, just the two of them, it didn’t seem like anything needed to be explained. It never really did when it was just them. Mrara liked it and she liked the sounds of mirth that had come from Cahrn, too. He was amused by the half fire-one and the way the animal acted….and she thought he was proud and amused by her own reactions to the creature.

Yes, that pleased Mrara.

Anything that made Cahrn happy with her made her pleased.

So she followed him because she knew that would make him happy, too, but she couldn’t help looking back at the half fire-ones. She liked the white-gray one. He was the alpha, but he’d recognized that she above him. It was a good thing to see in an intelligent creature. The half fire-ones were not as smart as the fire-ones, that was certain, but they were powerful anyway and she was proud that she’d subdued the leader so quickly. The herd would listen to her now if she insisted it be so.

Her amber eyes searched the herd for a moment, wondering which half fire-one was Cahrn’s mount. Could it be the alpha she’d subdued? No other mount seemed appropriate for him in her mind, but she recalled the way the white-gray creature had hissed at Cahrn and threatened him. That was not a greeting of any kind and none of the other animals had come to greet Cahrn either.

Were none of them his mount?

She felt puzzled by this and wished she could ask for the answer as she followed the gray-eyed stranger. She couldn’t, though, and she soon saw she wouldn’t have to as Cahrn led her into another small valley beside the dragorse’ own. They were only a small way in when Mrara heard a neighing sound, ringing shrilling in greeting along the canyon walls.

Cahrn smiled widely and brought his hands to his mouth, emitting a piercing sound like a falcon’s cry. Mrara nearly covered her ears, but the sound was over almost as soon as it began and then her attention was captured by the black prey-animal that came galloping down the rock-path, its hooves making a loud clamor as it drew near.

Mrara glanced back up at Cahrn as the black animal skidded to a stop not far away, striking the ground with its hoof over and over in a graceful way. She saw that the dark blond was smiling still and he looked down at her with a fond expression before walking forward and taking the animal’s head in his hands, a clearly possessive gesture.

And Mrara understood. For some reason, Cahrn preferred this animal as his mount and not the half fire-ones. She wasn’t sure why, but she accepted it immediately and came forward slowly to look the creature over. It was black-furred all over with a black mane and deep brown eyes that showed a surprising intelligence for a prey-animal. Mrara found herself judging the animal harshly as she slowly circled it like a predator would, ignoring the way Cahrn watched her with an almost questioning expression on his face. She came back around to face the prey-animal and snarled at it harshly, teeth bared and body crouched, but the black creature did not move except to dance back slightly. It’s ears flickered forward and then back and then forward again as it watched her and Mrara found herself thoroughly satisfied with the result of her test.

She straightened and warbled happily, stepping forward to pet the animal as she chirped to it gently, looking over at Cahrn who was still watching her, searching her face like he might understand her actions that way.

Mrara only chirped at him in a content way. She was well-pleased with his mount. It was worthy of him even if it was a prey-animal. It was a brave prey-animal.

Still, she did like the half fire-ones better.

-----------------------

Caln finally shook his head as he watched Mrara, unable to understand what was going through her mind and knowing it was too complicated to explain or ask about. In the long run, it really didn’t matter right now anyway.

He smiled to himself as he flicked his dark blond hair away from his face with a twitch of his head and stepped forward to croon softly to his mount. He made no further movement toward Mrara, but they were the closest they’d been to each other since that first day in the lava caves when he’d been half delirious with pain. And she hadn’t moved away. It was encouraging and made his chest tighten in an odd way.

Caln tried not to focus on it too much, bringing his attention back to his stallion, Rayenthos, as the horse bumped his nose against his hand, seeking either a treat or a pet, though, a treat would have been preferable. The War-Leader scratched the black fur, whispering nonsense to the horse as he started to lead his mount out of the canyon valley. Mrara followed on the opposite side of the stallion, listening to his voice just as much as Rayenthos did.

The dark blond found it endearing and he gave the wild girl a smile as they came back out in the open and moved toward the dragorse herd. He stopped, and giving the command to stay with a hand held out, he strode quickly to a narrow fissure in the wall, pulling out saddles. After a moment he found the one he wanted and gave a whistle. The alpha dragorse looked up, ears back in displeasure, but he obeyed the human, coming forward to be tacked.

Cahrn completed the task with skill and efficiency, taking the dragorse stallion’s reigns and leading him over to where Mrara still stood, waiting with curiosity and some suspicion as she watched his actions. When Caln stopped before her, though, and held out the reigns, her eyes widened in surprise and she looked from him to the dragorse and then back to him.

The War-Leader smiled a little in amusement and pointed at the white-gray creature and then at Mrara, holding the reigns out further to her. The wild girl’s amber eyes lit up then like the twin suns and she gave a high chirp of excitement before stepping forward and carefully taking the reigns from Caln.

Their hands brushed briefly and Caln wondered if he was the only one who felt the surge of heat, of energy that traveled through his body. When his gray eyes opened after he’d closed them without thought he saw that Mrara’s amber ones were darker than he remembered and she was looking at him as if she had a burning question to ask or maybe something to impart, and wished he could know it simply through eye-contact alone.

Letting go of the reigns completely, slowly, and never taking his eyes off the wild young woman’s own, Caln wished the same thing just as strongly as she did.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Annnnd that is all I have written for now. Updates will probably be a long time in coming, to be honest. Sorry!

Chapter Seven


“Caln, we have to leave.”

His sister’s voice washed over him as if from a distance and Caln nodded slowly, his gray eyes refusing to leave the object of their attention. It was Mrara, as it had been for the last few days without fail. He rarely let his eyes stray from her and she rarely strayed far from his side since that first night. The wild girl took the time to go back to the dragons during the night, but by sunup she was back with the humans, curious, learning and always with Caln.

Today, she’d risked pulling away from his side, though, to speak with Caab, to try and teach the Animal-Speaker a more detailed form of speech in her own tongue. It caused many a laugh from Caab and Mrara would often chirp or warble in amusement for his efforts.

Caln found that it didn’t bother him to see her laughing with someone else…not when her amber eyes constantly sought him out, making sure she knew where he was.

The War-Leader wasn’t the only one who noted this behavior. Caln could tell that Danil was making many silent observations of his own and when the red-haired male spoke it was always in a logical way, always helpful in regards to communicating with the wild girl. Danil’s ideas usually worked, too.

Asin was more along the lines of teasing Caln over the behavior of his ’tamed dragoness’ and Fara joined in often, both of them highly amused to see their leader so focused on ONE girl. Befni didn’t seem to much care, more focused on the mountains around them and wanting to go home. Her brother was waiting for her.

Weln was more wary of the whole thing. She had never seen her brother give a female more than a few minutes of his time, maybe a few days. Oh, he never did anything dishonorable, but he was a flirt and every girl who talked with him, spent time with him knew he would never give them anything serious. The only people Caln gave honest commitment too were his siblings and the members of his tribe - while admittedly giving his friendship more to the males than the females.

To see him so focused, honestly so, on Mrara…it made Weln wonder. And she wasn’t sure if it was a good thing or not. Watching her brother now and seeing that he really wasn’t paying attention to her, she felt her irritation rise and she stood from her place at his side to stand before him, hands on hips.

“Jagason to Caln! Hello!”

The dark blond male started, his gray eyes coming up to meet his sister’s brown ones. He smiled a bit sheepishly at her glare and forced himself to pay attention to her words.

“We have to GO. Winter is setting in and we told the tribe we’d be back before it took a strong hold.”

Nevermind. He really didn’t want to hear what she had to say. Caln sighed, rolling his neck and hearing the bones crack. “I know.”

Weln raised a brow beneath her blond hair. “And?”

Caln resisted the urge to curse as his eyes slid to look at Mrara again. He KNEW what needed to be done. He wasn’t stupid and he wasn’t oblivious to the weather, to the darkening of the clouds day by day, of the biting wind that only gained more and more of an icy quality as the hours passed. He knew all this and what it meant. He just…he couldn’t leave her.

The War-Leader didn’t know WHAT it was that had drawn them together, but Mrara felt it too. The fact that she was so willing to interact with them - well, sort of - despite her obvious wariness of their kind showed that she was pulled by something stronger than her instincts and logic, too.

Caln didn’t want to leave her. He didn’t think he COULD. It had nothing to do with not caring about his tribe members or being weak-willed. It had everything to do with looking into those amber eyes and feeling like he was both lost and right where he needed to be at the same time. It had everything to do with feeling like for the first time in his life….something was RIGHT.

He just didn’t know how to explain that to anyone else. It didn’t really matter to them anyway. His sister was right. They needed to go whether he was ready for it or not.

Caln brought his gray eyes back to his sister’s waiting brown ones and he saw the sympathy in her gaze now, giving testament to the fact that something of his thoughts must have shown on his face. The War-Leader quickly got his face back under his control, making his sibling blink in surprise for the mask, but Weln didn’t comment as Caln spoke.

“We’ll leave tomorrow.”

“Caln, it doesn’t have to be so soon. We can-”

“No.” The dark blond male rose from his seated position in one fluid motion that took no effort at all, something he would not have been able to do just a week ago for the sickness he silently battled. Now, however, the illness had left and it hadn’t come back. It was mystery to everyone….everyone except Caln, but he could hardly explain that it was Mrara that kept the sickness at bay….and that he had no idea HOW she did it.

No, that wouldn’t go over well.

Caln looked down at his sister now, his height much greater than her own and he spoke quietly, for her ears only. “I won’t want to leave a few days from now anymore than I want to leave tomorrow. I don’t want to leave at all if she isn’t coming, too.”

Weln’s eyes widened in surprise for a long moment before she looked thoughtful and nodded slowly, thinking she might understand a little better her brother’s mind. Just a little. “Maybe she will come with us.” It was a slight hope, but it was all she could offer him.

“And how are we to convey to her that request?”

Caln’s voice was tired, frustrated and he shook his head when Weln looked to respond, settling a hand on her shoulder, offering a slight smile. It was a smile that didn’t reach his eyes in the least. “We will leave tomorrow, Weln. Whether Mrara comes with us or not does not have any bearing on my loyalty to the Enasien and the promise I made to Sif.”

The War-Leader said no more than that, sidestepping his sibling as he made his way over to Caab and Mrara. Weln watched him go, feeling both like her words were valid and yet like the greatest jerk in the world. Yes, her brother would keep his promise - she hadn’t doubted that - and Mrara had no influence over his loyalty to their tribe…but what of his happiness? What kind of key did the wild girl now hold to her brother’s heart?

And how likely was it that Mrara KNEW how much she meant to Caln at this point?

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Zefir’enel remained quiet as Bor’sanin led her down the white streets. People bustled about them, oblivious to the fact that they were near not one, but two mutants and the young woman could not help but feel both exposed and yet completely hidden in their presence.

She fingered her brown hair again, making a face, not liking the results of the injection her brother had given her in the least. Bor’sanin had assured her it was only temporary, a new type of serum developed by mutants, for mutants, but Zefir’enel was no happier for knowing that. She missed her white hair already and when she’d looked in the mirror, it wasn’t violet eyes in a pale face that looked back at her but blue ones in a brown-skinned face.

Bor’sanin had brought her new clothes; designer red jeans, a white under-tank and an over-tank that was dark green in color and sparkled faintly in the sunlight. Her shoes were white boots, expensive.

Zefir’enel had looked at her brother like he was crazy when he’d presented the articles of clothing to her. What was she going to do with her tail in skinny jeans!?

Bor’sanin had calmly explained after her outburst that she needed to blend in with the people around them and that her tail was no longer visible. Zefir’enel had checked her tail then and seen that it was true. She could FEEL the appendage, but she couldn’t see it at all. The fact had been disturbing. Actually, it was STILL disturbing. The young woman felt like everyone could see the tail as it wrapped around her leg on the outside of her jeans, staying close to her body out of her fear that it would be hit or touched by someone passing by. She felt like any minute the effects of the serum would wear off and she’d be left with the aftermath of everyone seeing she was a freak.

Zefir’enel shivered, trying to push the thought away as she stayed even closer to Bor’sanin,. To take the place of her previous thoughts came ones less disturbing but equally as serious and the young woman resisted the urge to bring her hand up to the incision behind her ear and under her hair. Bor’sanin had brought a man - perhaps even a mutant, she didn’t know - to the apartment just yesterday to remove the chip. The doctor - well, she hoped he was a doctor - hadn’t spoken a word and Zefir’enel had been forced to trust her sibling when he told her everything was going to be fine and that though the man didn’t speak much, he was trustworthy.

She’d let them put her under anesthesia and the next thing she remembered was waking to find the man gone and her brother at her side. Her head had ached, but somehow she’d felt more…safe? Perhaps it was just psychological, knowing the chip was out and therefore she was untraceable, but Zefir’enel had felt safer all the same.

She just wished she felt that way now. The young woman sighed, pushing these thoughts away as well, bringing her attention back to where they were headed. They were on the first circle again, among the rich and the snobbish. Her brother was leading her across the white bridge-streets toward the center platforms where the shops and stores stood.

Each building was red, but the designs and signs on each one set them apart from each other and Zefir’enel noted that they were entering a clothing store of all places. She cast a glance up at her brother, but his brown eyes told her to remain quiet so she did, following him as they made their way through the store, bypassing clothes and shoppers, a jewelry stand and cashier desks as they ventured further in and toward the back of the store. It wasn’t until they came to doors marked for personnel that Bor’sanin looked around carefully and set his hand on the scanning pad next to the door. There was a faint beeping sound followed by red light that seeped past her brother’s fingers and then the screen changed again to a friendlier blue glow and the door slid open.

Zefir’enel followed her sibling without question, but she could not help looking back, wondering just what her brother had done. Curiosity about what was ahead and another warning from Bor’sanin with a finger to his lips to be quiet had the young woman focusing her mental energy on the path they were taking as they weaved through the darker storerooms that resembled a warehouse.

Towering shelves lined the walls and created aisles, and the sound of hover-vehicles could be heard echoing throughout the large rooms. Bor’sanin didn’t seemed concerned by these things, though, as he pulled Zefir’enel toward a small transporter by a back wall. It was an old model, perhaps used for sending shipments in the past, but now it was seemingly abandoned, but also unmovable unless taken apart and rewired - things that took time and money the store obviously didn’t want to bother with.

Zefir’enel watched as Bor’sanin typed in a code that brought the small platform to life just like the large one that had taken them to the second level had done. She glanced at her brother and got an approving nod before she stepped on the glowing platform and Bor’sanin followed a moment later. Together they disappeared from the warehouse….into a dark tunnel?

The young woman’s eyes tried to adjust to the dimness, blinking rapidly like an owl and then she was blinking again, shielding her eyes as a bright light was shone into them.

“Damn it, Exit! Point that thing away from our faces!”

Bor’sanin’s irritated voice soothed Zefir’enel jumpy nerves and she blinked rapidly when the light was gone from her direct vision before focusing on the grinning black man who looked like he could nearly disappearing into the gloom of the tunnel but for the glow-light he carried that outlined his whip-like figure.

“Who’ve you brought with you, Borin?” Exit’s voice was young and Zefir’enel watched his silver eyes scan her from head to toe before the black man smiled again, both friendly and flirtatious all at once. “Good afternoon, beautiful. Which part of heaven did you fall from?”

Bor’sanin growled, stepping forward and shoving Exit’s shoulder, making the young man yelp in surprise. “That’s my sister, you moron.”

Zefir’enel giggled, unable to help it as Exit winced and then smiled sheepishly at her. “Very sorry, lovely. Hope I didn’t offend you.”

The young woman shook her head, stepping off the platform and holding out her hand. “Not at all. I am Zefir’enel….and your name is Exit?” She asked the question as the black man took her hand, shaking it gently with a smile on his face. He nodded an affirmative. “Yep! I was born Exon’ikiit, but I haven’t been that name in years.”

Well, that was certainly strange. Zefir’enel frowned in a puzzled way and looked up at her brother, studying him as she realized something. “Why did he call you ‘Borin’? Is your name different, too?”

“It is.” Her brother put his hand at the small of her back, guiding her forward as they walked and Exit came with them at the rear. Zefir’enel had to wonder if he was acting as a guard of some kind or maybe an escort. She still didn’t know where she was, but Bor’sanin was still talking so she tried to quiet her mind for now and listen. She needed to learn all she could. The young woman didn’t feel like she had a great deal of time to do so.

“Every mutant who joins the Resistance acquires a True Name to replace their Born Name.”

Zefir’enel wrinkled her nose, confused. “Why? What is wrong with your old name?”

Exit, still behind them, chuckled and Bor’sanin smiled, but let the other man explain as Zefir’enel turned her head a little to the whip-thin male, trusting that Bor’sanin wouldn’t let her fall flat on her face even though she wasn’t watching where they were going, not fully anyway.

“There is nothing ‘wrong’ with a Born Name, but it’s not a name one chooses. It represents an old life and an old way of living. A True Name is given or chosen when a person accomplishes a great feat, overcomes a fear or someone important to them decides on a name that fits and gives it as a gift.”

The young woman thought about that, turning forward again. What they said made strange sense, but something was tugging at her, something they’d not said, something logical… Finally it came to her and to Zefir’enel it almost felt like the idea didn’t come from HER, but from someth-…no, not something. Someone. Definitely someone who was beyond her…and yet connected to her as well.

The sudden feeling of being watched swept through the young woman fiercely and she was hard-pressed not to look around in a suspicious manner. She knew she wouldn’t find anything. She never did. Over the past few days, the dreams had been growing more frequent, more demanding in a way…and then she’d started to feel like she was being observed in the same way she was observing the black-haired, pale-green eyed man in her sleep.

She had grown almost used to it, but this…this was different. It felt like the person watching her was trying to communicate with her this time and though her head said it wasn’t a good idea, her instincts said differently and she found herself cautiously accepting the ‘idea’ that had come into her head so quickly.

“Those on the outside use such names and methods as well. How did those inside the City know this?”

Bor’sanin seemed to stiffen beside her and when Zefir’enel glanced back, Exit’s mouth had dropped and he looked from her to her brother before speaking in barely controlled way. “Dude, what IS her power?!”

Okay, so not so controlled.

“I can-” Zefir’enel started to answer when Bor’sanin cut her off, his expression stern. He’d worn that expression since they’d left the small apartment. She wondered if she’d ever see her smiling brother again…

“That’s for Sea and Tesra to hear first and you know it.”

“But-”

“No, Exit.”

The black man scowled, but the facial expression didn’t last long as he glanced at Zefir’enel and saw she was nervously smiling, apologetic. An answering smile stretched across Exit’s face and he shrugged. “Ah, don’t worry about it, beautiful. We’ll all know soon enough. I just like giving Borin a hard time.” He winked and the young woman chuckled, looking up at her brother who only shook his head and started walking again.

Zefir’enel went back to paying attention to where they were headed and she was glad for the fact as her eyes took in the strangest sight she’d yet to see. The tunnel before them had suddenly widened into a cavern-like place filled with flat, wooden rafts with small houses built atop them. She counted at least five of the houses all circled together. There were strong chains attached to the large rafts and then to the floor. A great deal of length of chain settled in coils between the wood and the large rings they were attached to in the cement of the tunnel and Zefir’enel could not help but wonder WHY? It wasn’t like the houses could be stolen…

The young woman’s currently blue eyes flickered over the ‘cavern‘, taking in the glow-sticks of blue, yellow and white light everywhere, hundreds of them attached to the cement walls and hundreds more dangling from the crisscrossing metal rods and beams of steel above their heads, something she’d not noticed before in the darkness of the tunnel.

Where WERE they?

“Bor-”

“We’re under the streets.”

Zefir’enel’s head whipped around to stare at her brother, mouth open. “What!?”

Exit laughed, walking past her and toward the houses and the young woman slowly followed as Bor’sanin’ nudged her back and prodded her to start moving, too. The black man ahead of her started to talk and explain what her brother had meant.

“The streets are bridges above the second circle, yes? Well, bridges are thick and because there are lights and electronics on the streets, there have to be cables and wires, but those can’t be on the surface. This is the inside of a street. This is where the water comes when it rains up top and where the waste goes when it disappears down the drains.” Exit winked. “And this is where the mutants go to escape the Government.”

“Surely they must know you are here, though?” She couldn’t fathom how they could not and Bor’sanin nodded, confirming her suspicions. “They do, but we are faster then they are and what they destroy, we can rebuild with efficiency. They can’t find all of us at once and when they flood these tunnels, the rafts keep us alive.”

Oh! Suddenly those chains made sense! When the tunnels flooded, the chains kept the rafts from floating away or crashing into the walls. Smart.

Zefir’enel nodded, showing her understanding and watched Exit disappear into one of the houses as she and her brother stopped just short of stepping on to the raft. The young woman looked up at her older sibling, raising a brow. “So, should I call you Bor’sanin or Borin?”

Finally her brother smiled and the blond male shook his head, setting his hand on her shoulder in a comforting way. “Whichever you choose. I shall answer to both.”

“I think I like Borin.” Zefir’enel said it without hesitation and she felt it was true. Her brother had talked about a True Name like it was a great honor and she didn’t want to take that from him. Yes, she’d call him Borin from now on. It was his name now.

“You’ll get your own name soon, you know.”

Zefir’enel gave her sibling a look, but didn’t get to comment as Exit came back out of the wood house with a black woman in tow. Despite the fact that Exit’s hair was black and this woman’s was silver and that Exit’s eyes were silver and the female’s were blue, there was no denying the family resemblance between the two. They had the same mouth, the same nose and same slender build. It was obvious the woman was older by a few years, though as there was a maturity about her that was not apparent in her brother.

“Zefir’enel, this is my sister, Sea. Borin, you already know her so don’t get your feelings hurt just ‘cause I didn’t introduce you, too.”

Exit laughed as Sea rolled her eyes and shoved him out of the way, stepping off the raft and smiling in a friendly way at Borin and then at Zefir’enel as she held out her hand. “I’m Sea. Welcome to the Resistance, Zefir’enel. I trust you have a power, yes?”

“I do. Borin is my brother. He said I would be safe here?”

Sea’s smile widened. “Of course! We take care of our own. Now come inside, tell us about yourself and what’s brought you here.” The black woman turned and went to the door, holding it open as Borin gave his sister an encouraging nod and Zefir’enel passed into the house. She was surprised to find that it was well-lit and well-furnished. The sofa looked old, but comfortable with tasteful green hues in the mostly gray fabric. A table big enough to hold four people and made out of a sturdy wood that looked to be oak stood in a small dining area and the kitchen was simple, but looked welcoming, painted a bright, cheery yellow and the cabinets a brick red.

Zefir’enel took a closer look at the sink, though, seeing that there was a faucet. It puzzled her and she turned to look at her brother, Exit and Sea, brows furrowed. “How do you get running water down here?”

Sea chuckled, moving to sit on the couch in the small living room. “Del. She is a Water-Controller. We have tanks full of water and we collect more every time it rains up top or the tunnels get flooded. Anyway, Del can make the water push through the pipes we have in this house for showers and dishes and such. It takes effort for her so we’ve all learned to be quick about our business. The pipes are on a loop, going from the tanks to the shower or the faucets and then back to the tanks again. Del purifies the water on the way back to the tanks so we can reuse it.”

“Wow.” Zefir’enel wasn’t sure what more she could say as she sank down on the couch beside the black woman. She watched as Exit flopped down on the love-seat, his thin body taking up more room than it should have. Borin took a seat on the arm of the love-seat, not even attempting to take a normal seat and try to move Exit. That wasn’t what made the young woman tilt her head at him, though. It was the smile on his face. It was a strangely proud…strangely happy….no, not happy…lovestruck smile! Her brother had a girlfriend! Or at least a crush!

Zefir’enel felt the smile on her face grow sly and she raised a brow, looking at Sea. “So, this Del. How old is she?”

“Twenty-three.”

“And is she involved with anyone?”

Sea looked puzzled for a moment, looking over at Borin, but when she saw the way the Firefighter was glaring at his sister, the black woman got it and a grin grew on her face as she looked back at Zefir’enel. “Why yes, yes she is.”

Zefir’enel’s smile widened. “Oh?”

“Oh, for the love of the twin suns! Del and I are dating, Zefir’enel! I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you about it until now! Geez!”

“See? Was that so hard?” Zefir’enel poked fun at her sibling, ignoring his baleful look and Exit started laughing so hard he had to hold his sides as they started to hurt. Zefir’enel looked around at the three other people in the room and suddenly she felt like she belonged. It was strange. She didn’t KNOW the two siblings and she’d just gotten here, but it felt like for the first time in her life….this place was right were she belonged.

At least for now.

The young woman blinked at that thought, startled by it. That…hadn’t been her! What did the ‘person’ mean by “for now”? She didn’t have any other place to go, thankyouverymuch! The voice or the person or whatever that made the random thoughts pop in her head didn’t deign to answer her snapping mental tone and Zefir’enel decided to ignore him.

Him?….Yeah, him. It felt male…sounded male in a way. Definitely a male. Besides, it was easier thinking of the voice or person in terms of gender. Less confusing.

“So how were you discovered?”

Zefir’enel jolted out of her own head, realizing that a conversation had been started without her knowing it and she blinked, forcing herself to focus on what was happening around her. “I’m sorry, what?”

The young woman ignored her brother’s worried look, knowing what he was thinking. She didn’t really have a way to tell him she wasn’t having a vision without just saying it, though. So she said nothing and paid attention to Sea who’d asked the question instead.

“How were you discovered? Most mutants don’t realize there are safe places for them until their powers are revealed and one of us gets to them in time.”

“Oh! Umm…Borin discovered me…or rather, I revealed what I could do to him.”

Sea blinked, surprised. “Really? That’s unusual. Most mutants don’t trust their gifts to family members.”

Zefir’enel shrugged, glancing at Borin with a slight smile, but a fleeting haunted expression in her blue eyes. “I didn’t really have a choice. I hadn’t planned on telling anyone, but Borin would have died had I not said something.”

The young woman could almost FEEL how Sea stiffened and she saw Exit sit up, instantly serious and alert. “Borin, what happened, man?” The concern on the black man’s face was touching to see and Zefir’enel noted the same expression adorned Sea’s face as they watched her brother. It made her wonder how long Borin had been here, known these people. How long had he been living two lives?

“Nothing, thanks to Zefir’enel. She got to me before anything could happen. I think, because of HOW she was able to warn me, however, she should see Tesra.”

Sea’s eyebrows rose as she glanced at Zefir’enel and when she glanced at Borin again, the Firefighter nodded. The black woman turned her full attention to the newest mutant then. “What IS your power, Zefir’enel?”

The young woman looked around at the three who watched her and then down at the brown hair she twirled around her finger, suddenly nervous. The words felt like they didn’t want to come out of her throat, but she made them, voice quiet. “I have visions of the future…and I have a tail.” She looked up to see the reactions, unable to help it and was met with wide eyes by Exit, something like excitement and yet awe in the expression on his face.

His silver eyes flickered down to the lower half of her torso, like he was looking for the tail she spoke of and Zefir’enel, despite her sense of extreme self-consciousness in that moment, smiled slightly. “Borin gave me some kind of injection. You can’t see it right now.”

“Can you control them? How do you know they are true visions and ones of the future?”

The questions, almost demanding from Sea, had the newest mutant recoiling slightly and then feeling defensive. She set her hand on her tail to keep the ‘invisible‘ appendage from lashing out, feeling it starting to twitch in a warning manner due to her own nervousness and the beginning of irritation.

“No, I can‘t control them yet, but I’m learning. It’s a relatively new development in my life.” She raised a chin in a somewhat proud and defiant way. “My visions always happen unless I stop them somehow. THAT’S how I know they are real and the fact that I CAN stop them means they HAVE to be in the future. I think that is logical and proof enough.”

The black woman nodded and offered a smile. Zefir’enel noted that it was shaky. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to snap, it’s just… You’re a Seer!” She nearly breathed the last word and Zefir’enel’s eyes flickered around, uncertain as to why this was such a big deal. She wasn’t afraid of showing her lack of awe about her own gift, either.

“Yeah…so?”

“Moon, Seers are extremely rare in the mutant world, even among those outside of the Cities. It’s a powerful gift.”

“How do you know that? How do you know there aren’t MANY more like me outside the Cities?” the young woman demanded of her brother, feeling like a weight was settling on her shoulders that she didn’t want in the least and wasn’t ready for, didn’t appreciate. She nearly glared at Borin, but he just looked back at her with a sympathetic expression and an understanding one, seemingly well aware of how uncertain she was becoming.

“Tesra is a mutant here who can sense any and all types of powers in Jagason, both within the Cities and without. That is how we know that there ARE people outside the Cities and some of the extent of their powers. None of them have been Seers. Tesra would have known that immediately.”

Zefir’enel raised a brow and crossed her arms. She moved her leg subtly to set it over her tail to keep the thing pinned. The last thing she needed was for it to hit someone in the eye…or just hit anyone at all. “So why didn’t she know about me?”

“She did. She just didn’t know WHAT your power was. Tesra told us there was a great power within this City, something she couldn’t identify with certainty and the last time she said that about someone, it was the Seer Calon. He was killed around forty years ago.”

“How do you know she said that?” Zefir’enel’s voice was small now, but still trying to hold on to the stubbornness. Those around her seemed to know why she was doing it, though, and Sea was gentle in her next words. “We have written records that have been kept by mutants for nearly sixty years now.”

Zefir’enel felt the fight go out of her, unsure what she could say in the face of this type of logic and the young woman sighed, looking down at her hands as she uncrossed her arms. “Can I see her? Talk to her?”

“Of course.” Sea assented quietly, but she settled a hand on Zefir’enel’s. “But first, will you allow me to help you control your gift? Tesra is very sensitive to other people’s powers and she is an older woman. I am not saying you would hurt her…”

Zefir‘enel nodded, cutting Sea off, though, it appeared like the other woman didn‘t want to continue her line of thought anyway. “I understand. Do what you need to do.” The young woman closed her eyes, bracing herself for she knew not what, but Sea did nothing at first and Zefir’enel peeked an eye open after a moment to see the black female grinning.

“Relax, Zefir’enel. It’s not going to hurt.”

Releasing a breath she hadn’t really been aware she was holding, Zefir’enel tried to do as she was told, relaxing her body as Sea put a hand on her forehead. The young woman felt a subtle glow of warmth seep into her skull until it wrapped around her entire head and then it was gone more quickly then it had come. Zefir’enel opened her artificial blue eyes then to see that Sea’s eyes were a vivid violet.

The change startled Zefir’enel and she pulled back slightly, staring. Sea smiled, but it was Exit who spoke, breaking the awkward silence - something Zefir’enel noted he did often and seemed quite good at.

“Well, now we know what color YOUR eyes are, beautiful.”

Borin smacked the black man lightly as he rose off the arm of the couch and held out a hand to his sister to pull her to her feet. “Sea’s power isn’t permanent and it takes effort for her to control your gift. We should go see Tesra now.”

“Okay.” Zefir’enel nodded in a small way and looked down at Sea with a tentative smile. “Thank you.”

The black woman only smiled back, nodding back, but she didn’t speak and Zefir’enel wondered just how much control the other female had to exert to keep the visions under control. Zefir’enel knew that they were powerful - she had to live with them - but she knew she wasn’t really aware of HOW powerful they were yet. Maybe Sea would be able to help her figure that out later?

Borin led her out of the house quickly after that and Zefir’enel noted that Exit didn’t follow them, perhaps staying behind to encourage his sister, and the young woman suddenly felt nervous all over again. She followed her brother as he took her to the last raft-house in the group of dwellings and then stopped on the front ‘porch’, opening the door, but making no move to go in. At Zefir’enel’s puzzled look, Borin spoke quietly.

“Tesra finds it hard to focus on one person if there is more than one person present and she is fragile now that she is old. It would be better if you saw her alone. Do not worry, she won’t bite.” The teasing dig on the end of the sentence had Zefir’enel straightening her shoulders and casting her brother a scathing look as she marched into the house without hesitation.

It was only as the door shut behind her and she was out of eyesight of her sibling that Zefir’enel felt her nervousness come back and she hunched in on herself a little as she looked around. Everything was warm about this home, simple but warm. The colors were soft greens and blues and while the house was set up almost identical to the one she’d left, if smaller, Zefir’enel felt like this place was more welcoming. It exuded safety and the young woman found herself relaxing again as she moved forward slowly, looking around and being careful not to bump into or touch anything.

“Hello?”

There was no immediate answer, but a woman with dark brown hair streaked with gray and kind brown eyes soon appeared from the area of the kitchen and the older woman smiled upon seeing Zefir’enel, revealing a wrinkled face.  “Ah, they have found you. Good. I knew they would.” she said kindly before bustling back into the kitchen and Zefir’enel blinked, but smiled despite herself as she followed the woman into the kitchen, peeking her head around the wall before her body followed.

The smells of fresh cookies and something like stew tickled her nose in a wave of deliciousness and Zefir’enel blushed as her stomach growled. Loudly. The woman - she had to have been Tesra - laughed at the sound, her old face crinkled in amusement.

“Would you like a bowl of stew, dear?”

“Oh, I wouldn’t want to-”

“Nonsense. Everyone is family in this place. After all, we are all we have. Now sit down and eat something. You look half-starved.”

Zefir’enel knew that particular comment wasn’t true in the least - she wasn’t that thin - but she took a seat at the small, rickety table anyway and after Tesra had ladled a bowl of food and set it before her, the old woman sat in a chair opposite the young woman.

Her brown eyes met Zefir’enel’s blue ones kindly. “Now, what is your name, dear?”

“Zefir’enel. Sea told me that you don’t know what I can do…but that you could sense me?

“Yes, that is true. My gift is to know all the powers that reside in Jagason. It’s easier the closer the people with gifts are, but if I concentrate I can sense those far away as well.”

Zefir’enel tilted her head, confused and rightfully so. And she felt like she could express that confusion to this woman, like Tesra wouldn’t judge her for it and would be patient. It was nice to feel like she had someone she could confide in completely. But then, maybe it was just the fact that Tesra was so motherly and warm that made it easy to want to trust her.

“How do you not know what my power is then?”

Tesra didn’t lose her warmth, but she did seem to grow more serious and Zefir’enel took her cue from the strange older woman, wondering how it was that it almost felt like they’d known each other for…well, forever. There was no awkwardness, no distrust or wondering what the others’ motives might be between them. There was just calm acceptance, like they’d always known they’d meet, that this discussion would happen and in a way….Zefir’enel felt like she had know this. In some way, she’d known she’d have to meet a mentor at some point. Her gift was just too….strange for her to handle on her own forever.

And Tesra seemed to be easily sliding into the role the young woman needed without effort. So Zefir’enel listened to her with reservation.

“I can distinguish the kinds of powers around me, child. I can also determine the stronger powers in a group and the strongest powers among a group of strongly gifted people, but there are three powers that even I find impossible to name properly.”

“What do you mean?”

“There are three gifts in this world that are so powerful that they look like nothing more than bright suns to my gift. There is no way to see past the brightness and intensity these powers exhibit to determine what they are specifically.”

Zefir’enel looked down at her stew, untouched, and sighed out slowly before tucking her brown hair behind her ear. She really didn’t like seeing it that color. “My power is one of the three, isn’t it?”

Tesra nodded slowly, her smile encouraging as she set her soft and wrinkled hand over one of Zefir’enel’s from across the table. “It is, child, but you are not alone in this category.”

The young woman looked up at that, eyes wide, face hopeful and that hope shone through in her voice as she leaned forward slightly in anticipation. “There are more? More Seers like me?”

“No, not Seers, child.”

“Oh.” Zefir’enel sat back again, feeling the excitement plummet, but it didn’t disappear entirely as the young woman held on to it, frowning a little in thought before she spoke, looking sidelong at the older woman with the wise brown eyes. “But there ARE others with enough power to remain un-categorized by you, yes?”

Tesra smiled in an almost secretive, but proud way, like a teacher looks at a student who‘s answered the question correctly. “Yes.”

“Who are they?”

“If I knew that, young one, I would have known who you were!” the older woman laughed and Zefir’enel blushed again, ducking her head and letting her hair fall forward. Tesra chuckled, patting her hand in a grandmotherly manner. “Eat, Zefir’enel, and then we will talk.”

Tesra rose then and went back to her cooking and Zefir’enel did as she was told, thinking all the while. When she finally finished her stew, Tesra knew it and came back over, sitting once more. Zefir’enel felt more awake now, better able to think logically and put that to good use as she rested her arms on the table and looked at the older woman.

“How do you know that the other powers you sense AREN’T Seers? You didn’t know I WAS one.”

Tesra nodded, conceding that this question was a wise one, but Zefir’enel could already sense that the older woman had an answer she wasn’t going to like all that much. “I know because there can only be one Seer in Jagason at a time, child, and you are here. Therefore, you cannot be out there.”

The young woman sighed, sitting back and looking around briefly in a vain attempt to distract herself from the weight she suddenly felt pressing down on her. The only Seer? Only ONE?! How was she to learn then? Who was going to teach her? Did that mean she had some kind of responsibility to everyone else if she was the only one who could see the future? How could she do a job when she didn’t even have control of her own power!?

Zefir’enel felt like she might cry and realized her breath was hitching dangerously when Tesra reached across the table again and took her hands. “Shhh, child. It’s not all that bad. You are not alone and no one has asked anything of you yet. Shhh…”

“How am I not alone? There is no one else with my power.” Zefir’enel whispered and she turned her head to wipe her nose on her tank-top. She didn’t like it anyway and would have loved to be out of the high-class clothes and back in her cargo jeans and primary-colored tank-tops and shirts. She felt herself in those things, less like someone important and more like someone who could blend in. She liked it that way when she felt insecure.

“Oh, child. No, there is no one like you with the ability to see the future, to have visions, but there is one who shares the same burden of power that you now do.”

Wet blue eyes looked up and into wise brown ones. “What?”

Tesra smiled gently and in her voice was hope and courage, and she seemed to offer them freely to Zefir’enel now, like lifelines if only the younger woman would grasp them.  Zefir’enel was unsure she wanted to yet, though, not until she knew what it was the other woman spoke of.

“The Three Great Powers are these, Zefir’enel; Sight, Knowledge and Time, and there can only be one of each in existence at a time. If you are the Seer for Jagason then the other Great Power I sense must be a Knower.”

Zefir’enel tilted her head, eyes narrowing, tears stopping as she paid attention to what was being said, as curiosity took over. “A Knower?“ Tesra squeezed her fingers in an excited way, but gentle. “Yes. The person cannot be a Seer because you are here and they cannot be a Timeless because they do not sporadically show up and disappear on my gift’s radar over the course of days or even years. This source of power is steady. Therefore, it must be a Knower that I sense, a Knower that dwells outside the Cities.”

“Tesra…what is a Knower?”

Zefir’enel felt a bubble of something like excitement and yet an incredible nervousness, anticipation and some fear rising up into her chest. She sensed that in this answer lied a key to something important, something she needed to know.

“A Knower is an individual who covers the areas your own power lacks; the past and the present. They know what has happened in the world and what is happening, but they cannot see what will happen.”

“It sounds like an incredibly hard burden to bear.”

Tesra nodded, looking saddened. “It is. Many Knowers can go insane over time. Their gifts give them little rest and many have run themselves ragged trying to work situation they can see in the present to better the future. They can never fully tap into the full potential of their power, either. There is so much to hear, so much to see and understand. Not even their minds can absorb so much information without stop or without filters. Much like your own gift.”

Zefir’enel nodded slowly to show she understood, but her mind was racing. Oh, she understood completely now! She had to leave. She had to leave this City and find the Knower. They were pieces to the same puzzle and they could help each other, she knew they could!

But what made her think that the Knower WANTED her help?

The thought, unbidden and completely running against the stream of thought her own mind was taking nearly made Zefir’enel jump out of her skin and her eyes widened and then closed as she tried to regain some control of her thundering heart.

The voice. He was back and he didn’t sound happy. But why? It wasn’t like she’d been thinking about meddling in his life! She didn’t even know who… Wait. Understanding dawned on her mind like the twin suns rising and Zefir’enel’s eyes flew open with new clarity and understanding.

The voice…he WAS the Knower!

It really had taken her long enough to figure it out.

Wait, that wasn’t her thought! That stupid- Get out of my head! She snapped the command waspishly in her mind and literally FELT, for the first time, the departure of something subtle but definitely THERE in her mind. It was strange, suddenly feeling it gone and Zefir’enel almost reached out for the presence, the feeling before restraining herself with self-control. No, she didn’t want someone in her head, especially someone who knew exactly what she was doing!

“You seem far away, child.” Tesra’s patient voice brought Zefir’enel back into the present and she blinked, smiling a little in an apologetic way. “I’m sorry. I was…well, I was speaking with the Knower.” Zefir’enel said it in a sort of helpless way. If the older woman was going to think her crazy at least they could get it over and done with now rather than later.

Tesra only chuckled, though, standing and patting her hand. “I suspected as much. The Knower tends to be drawn to those who share his or her sort of power. It only makes sense that you shall meet during your life-time and before your meeting have some mental connection.”

“So, this is…normal?”

The older woman nodded, walking toward her counter and speaking over her shoulder as she pulled more cookies from her strange little heating device. “Oh, yes. Now, the connection you share with the other five is unusual but we shall see what comes of it.”

Zefir’enel blinked. “The other five? What-”

A knock at the door silenced her question and Tesra stood, straightening as she turned with a smile. “I am afraid our time is up, child. I must speak with another mutant now, but I trust you will come again?”

The young woman smiled back politely and stood, bringing her bowl to the sink where she acted on impulse and leaned down to kiss the older woman on the cheek. “Thank you, Tesra. I will be back.” she assured and then left the small house. Her brother met her on the porch and Zefir’enel smiled at him, genuinely.

She wasn’t sure what was going to happen now, same as before, but she felt more confident about the future for today at least. Though, she’d feel a lot better in decent clothes and with her skin, hair and eye-color back to normal.

Time to bug Borin!