 
Final Fieretsi: Part I of the Fabula Fereganae Cycle

Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2014 Will Davidson

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

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Chapter I: 'Isn't that a weasel?'

It wasn't just hearing voices that made people think Stefi Valtela was a little strange. And it wasn't just the way she often disappeared into the forest for hours on end. It was her ferrets, the slinky little creatures that looked remarkably like a drunken attempt to cross a snake and a cat.

Yet it was hearing voices that drove her to wander the Sumarana Forest near her home and eventually stumble upon the ferrets in the first place. They were the voices of breezes whispering through leaves, the childish chuckling of mountain-fed streams, and the somber groans of ancient, creaking willows older than anyone she knew.

Sometimes, but only sometimes, she thought she could hear snatches of words amongst their unintelligible chatter. No one else did, and telling others only led to polite smiles that veiled concern or laughter.

She'd first mentioned them as a young girl, when she'd burst into her classroom to announce a woman was in the forest searching for her lost son. An extensive search by the whole school had found nothing but a new wariness towards the girl with cold, unnerving eyes the color of winter starlight. Even now her old classmates, when passing her in the street, would ask if she'd found her son before laughing and hurrying off. But that wasn't the worst part. She could still hear the same whispers from that day, almost as if the mysterious voice were taunting her.

My son... Where is he? I cannot find him. He is curious, but not very wise.

Yet she'd never found a trace of the speaker. Or her curious son.

As she wandered the forest years later, an icy breeze tugged her night-black hair until she anchored it into a rough ponytail with an elastic band. At this time of year, as the days grew warmer and longer, the melting snow from the mountains far to the east flowed into many small streams that wandered the countryside like excited children. Come mid-summer those streams vanished, leaving only dusty footprints.

She lifted her skirt above her knees, even though the tattered thing was nearly more patches than skirt, and knelt beside a stream. She dipped her cupped hands into the icy water, shattering her shimmering reflection as she took a drink. A second time she scooped up a handful, this time showering her face and washing away the last traces of sleep.

As she dipped her hands in for a third time she caught a ripple of movement on the edge of her vision. She turned to face it, the water in her hands now forgotten. It trickled through her fingers with the same ease that a fading memory slips through one's grasp.

It was a sack, she saw, lying beside the remains of some long-abandoned house a short distance away. Only the house's stone foundations and one crumbling brick wall still stood, like the moldering bones of someone long dead. Last autumn's leaves lay about it in deep drifts, and a gnarled elderflower tree loomed over the wall as if quietly observing.

As for the sack, it was probably just something dropped by one of the local kids. They often came to this supposedly haunted spot, urging one another to go deeper into the trees while scaring themselves silly with tales of the Furosans and Otsukuné who would almost certainly kill and eat them if they did.

The sack spasmed and was still again in an instant.

"What the...?" Her attention never wavering, she tiptoed over and crouched beside it. "Hello?" She poked it with a stick.

In reply it squirmed and offered a dry hiss. Then silence. It was then she saw the string choking it shut. Had someone deliberately abandoned whatever was inside? She wondered why anyone would do such a thing, even if whatever it was did make strange hissing noises.

"Is someone in there?" She poked the sack a second time. Harder. It lurched again, only more violently and this time with a flurry of furious chatters that seemed almost like cursing.

"Hold on, I'll get you out." She was more curious than afraid as she fumbled with the impossibly tight knot. Whoever had tied it, it seemed, didn't want the thing inside to escape. Did that mean it was dangerous? Its hisses were hardly reassuring, she thought.

She gave up on the knot and pulled the string as hard as she could. Before she could worry further, the string snapped, sending the sack tumbling a short distance. She hurried over and crouched beside it again. "Hey, come on out."

Slowly, cautiously, a whiskered nose eased into the air and probed at its new freedom. A pointed face soon followed. Its eyes peered out from a dark mask as it surveyed the world laid open before it.

'Isn't that a weasel?' Stefi thought as she stared at the creature before her.

The moment it caught sight of her it skittered from the sack with an icy shriek and puffed its tail like a bottlebrush. It bared its fang-like canines and fixed its inky eyes upon hers, its gaze never wavering as it scuttled backwards, back arched to the sky. Inside those eyes Stefi thought she saw a flash, not of hostility but fear and apprehension. And deeper still something even more unexpected glinted: a spark of intelligence, almost as if the animal was surveying her.

She got down on her hands and knees before it and gave it what she hoped was a reassuring smile. "It's okay, little weasel. I'm here to help."

The animal relaxed and the invisible supports in its tail melted away.

I'm not a weasel! a voice shouted, seeming to echo indignantly through nowhere and everywhere at once.

Stefi sprang to her feet with a gasp and, her panicked heart racing, glanced in all directions. Even towards the treetops and the old house itself. Everywhere, that is, except for the tiny thing before her. "Who's there?" she called to the empty forest. Only her echo replied. Certainly she had heard voices before, but none so hostile as this.

It's me! the same voice called again. It seemed to sigh. Down here, girl. The ferret!

"The ferr... oh. You?" She crouched before the animal, her pale eyes wide with shock and wonder.

Finally, she realizes! And I'm not a damn weasel, I'm a ferret. Big difference. Its voice seemed to come from within her head, mingling with her own thoughts.

She worked her mouth noiselessly for a few seconds until her words overcame the sheer absurdity of the situation. "You're talking and your mouth isn't moving! Is this a dream?" She pinched her arm. After what had happened in childhood, she'd begun to assume, like everyone else, that the voices were just the product of her wandering, possibly crazy, mind. It always went walking with her; sometimes it just ambled a different path towards another world. But ferrets? Those tiny animals, sometimes kept as companion pets though seldom seen otherwise, were thought to be spirits of nature by some. And pests by everyone else.

It's not for me to say. Oh, and thanks for saving us.

"Us? You mean you're not alone?"

The ferret didn't answer and poked its head into the sack. After a few seconds of silence a smaller female wriggled timidly into the light.

Are we free now? she asked. Her voice trembled as much as her elongated body. Just like the other ferret she also seemed to wear a mask over her white face, though she stood smaller than her companion, little more than half his size. Stefi guessed from her quiet voice that perhaps this one wasn't quite as pushy.

The male nuzzled her affectionately, all the while making throaty warbles unlike anything Stefi had ever heard. At first they reminded her of the societal clucks of hens in a yard. At a second hearing they sounded oddly like chuckles, as if they were sharing a private joke.

"Are you two okay?"

At the sound of Stefi's voice the female flattened herself against the ground in shock.

Settle down, the male said. She saved us.

Still she lay hugging the ground as if attempting to melt away into the dirt and leaves. The mountain-born breeze, so gentle and cool to Stefi, ruffled the shivering creature's fur.

"Don't be scared." Stefi scooped up the shaking ferret and clutched her to her chest. "You're safe now." Her voice was barely more than a whisper. "My name's Stefi. What's yours?"

Ge-Gemmie, the ferret's voice squeaked in her head. It stammered like a spoken voice might. Are you here to help us?

"Looks that way." Stefi ran her fingers through Gemmie's down-like sable fur, unable to say no to something so small and vulnerable. Though she'd sought to calm the ferret, its presence, its softness, brought on her a comfort she only now realized she'd been seeking her whole life. Almost, she thought briefly, a sense of completeness. And why not? It was, it seemed, her kind that were the source of the voices she'd always heard.

"So, who's your pushy little friend?" she asked as she continued to stroke Gemmie.

Maya, Gemmie said. Then, staring up at Stefi with her masked eyes, Wait, how can you understand us? No other humans can.

"I wish I knew." Stefi shrugged. "Maybe I'm just weird. Everyone thinks I am, anyway." But what was stranger, she thought: hearing voices or hearing these things, these ferrets?

That's a given, Maya muttered.

Gemmie snuggled closer to Stefi and pressed her nose against her face. Never mind him, she said. He can be like that sometimes. Well, all the time, actually.

Stefi smiled. "I noticed that. But where exactly are you little critters from?" She already knew they might not want to answer, not after having apparently been abandoned here by their previous owners and left for dead.

I don't know where it was... Gemmie hesitated for a moment before continuing. Maya and me were the only ferrets there. She glanced at Maya. One minute we were outside having a sleep in a nice warm hammock and the next we were thrown in a sack. Then later you came along.

"Hmm." Stefi closed her eyes in thought. "How about you two come and live with me? I'll take good care of you." She'd always wanted to have pets, although her mother didn't share the same enthusiasm. They'd once had a dog. He and Stefi's mother's allergies hadn't agreed. He was gone within a month.

Maya shot her a glare, an easy feat with his eyes of depthless black. What about the last human who said that?

"I bet they couldn't understand ferrets like me. Besides, I like you two already. Even you, Mr. Attitude!"

Gemmie planted eager licks on Stefi's cheek with her coarse tongue.

Stefi giggled. "I guess it's settled," she said, unable to say no to Gemmie's tickling display of trust and affection. With the ferret cradled in her arms, she got up and began walking the dirt path towards home.

Hey, what about me? Maya stood frozen with shock at the threat of being left behind.

"You're coming too." Stefi flashed a grin over her shoulder. "Even if you are a pain in the butt!"

When Stefi arrived home she smuggled the ferrets into her room and slid shut the bolt on the door. She let out a pent-up sigh of relief and collapsed on the small bed in the corner. The rusted bed springs groaned despite her small frame. She placed Gemmie and Maya on the blankets and lay down beside them.

"Welcome to your new home," she said and swept her arm before her. "I suppose you two can sleep up here with me. Unless you want to sleep in the clothes drawers." She eyed up their fur, suddenly remembering her mother. "You don't shed much, do you? Or make people sneeze?"

Maya's dark eyes bored through hers. We are very clean, thank you! he said. And rather cute, if I may say so. Well, handsome in my case.

"I won't argue with that," Stefi said and smiled at his confidence. "I just hope mum agrees and lets you stay, that's all."

What if she says no? Gemmie asked, her voice and body shaking in equal measure.

"She won't." Stefi gave her a reassuring pat. "Not if I have anything to do with it."

Stefi watched as Maya slithered off the bed and sauntered purposefully around the room, surveying his new territory as his nose bobbed across the dusty floorboards.

His exploration didn't take long. Stefi's small room, as the ferret soon found, was almost bare except for her bed in one corner and a heavy chest of drawers opposite. The only light came from a cracked window that looked towards the forest. Dust-motes danced in the sunlight now streaming in.

Survey complete, he sidled back to the bed. But when he tried to haul himself up his paws scrabbled feebly on the blanket, unable to find a hold.

"You want help there?" Stefi lifted him up without waiting for an answer.

Thanks.

It was the second of many times Stefi would help out the ferrets. They hoped one day to return the favor.

As it turned out, Stefi's mother allowed her to keep the two ferrets, although she shuddered every time one of the slinky things skittered past or lunged at her feet. At the very least they'd keep Stefi's mind off boys for a while. And it worked. That, or the ferrets scared them away. She bet on the latter.

It wasn't until nearly a year later, when the nights were still dusted with winter's chill, that Gemmie and Maya first started acting strangely. And Stefi again found her life changed forever.

Stefi? Gemmie said as they sat on the back steps outside Stefi's room, sharing raisins and each other's company beneath the twilit sky. All three also shared the same appreciation for that time, when the day itself had ended and tomorrow branched out into a hundred new possibilities.

"What's up, Gem?" Stefi glanced at the ferret's round face with concern. Although a timid ferret, Gemmie had learned to open up, to reveal glimpses of a soul abandoned and hurt in the past. Not so Maya, who was nearly as stubborn as Stefi's father. But it wasn't very often Gemmie spoke that way, in a voice that was a cross between fright and nervousness mixed with a small squeak.

I... Gemmie hesitated for a moment. I feel cold. I don't know what it is, but I can't help feeling like someone's looking for us.

"Looking for you?" Stefi said. "What do you mean by that? Your old owners?"

No, Maya said, not damn likely. I've been feeling it too. It's like something wants to find us. Or wants us to find it.

"You never know," Stefi said with a shrug. "It could be your old owners." She certainly hoped it wasn't, even though such a wish struck her as selfish. What if someone else had once loved the ferrets as much as she now did?

After they dumped us? Maya said. The sharp tone in his voice suggested the matter was now closed. I doubt it.

Gemmie shivered despite the warm air, and her next words filled Stefi with the same chill that wracked her body. I think it wants us dead...

Stefi awoke early the next morning to a small, wet nose poking her face. She pushed the last remnants of sleep away and eased open her eyes to the new day. There, almost sitting on her face, was Gemmie.

"What is it, Gem-girl?" She stretched the sleep from her body, almost knocking Gemmie to the floor.

I'm scared. The ferret's fur stood at full attention, bristling like a hedgehog's spines.

"Did you have a bad dream?"

No. But that feeling I told you about yesterday, it's getting stronger. I'm really scared something bad is going to happen.

"Don't worry." Stefi plucked the ferret from the blankets and ran her fingers across the sable fur until it was smooth once more. "You're safe with me."

No! Gemmie writhed in Stefi's grasp. We're not safe here. We have to go!

"What does Maya think?" She placed Gemmie back on the bed. "Is he feeling bad, too?" Maybe Gemmie was just spooked by a bad dream, she thought. After all, she did suffer recurring nightmares of being trapped in a sackcloth prison.

I haven't seen him all morning.

Stefi hurled the blankets aside and leapt to the wooden floor. She winced at the sudden coldness on her feet. Normally Maya slept with Gemmie at the foot of the bed. This morning his usual spot lay empty except for a few stray hairs.

"Maya?" she called. "Maya?" No answer. She stumbled groggily about the room, still half-asleep, and peered under the bed and even behind the drawers where he and Gemmie liked to hide any ill-gotten loot. Then inside the drawers where a drowsy Gemmie had once vanished for a whole day amongst the socks. Nothing.

She let out a frustrated sigh. "Do you think he could've gotten outside?" she asked Gemmie, her thoughts already out the door.

He might have, but I don't know...

"We'd better go look."

As if on an invisible leash Gemmie followed Stefi into the kitchen of the small house and over to the front door. Still wearing her nightshirt, Stefi slipped her boots onto her feet and, not bothering to tie the laces, stepped outside.

Just like every other day before the sun was truly over the mountains, Sumarana still lay sleeping beneath a thin, misty shroud that hid the forest. The hardpan road snaking its way through the middle of the town and on towards the larger farms and mountain range to the east was empty. No foot traffic or dirriwan-drawn trade caravans were anywhere to be seen.

Stefi glanced along the road but could see no sign of her missing Maya. She called his name. Only her echo dared reply. As any hope of finding him again died with her echoes, so too did the will to stand. She dropped to the steps and hung her head in her hands. By now he could be anywhere, she knew, and one little ferret could easily be swallowed up by the world.

Hey, what's that? Gemmie said.

"What?" She sniffed, unable to hold back the coming tears.

There's something coming along the road! Gemmie said. It looks like Maya! She bounced excitedly and scampered onto the dusty road, her back arched high and head waving as if gripped by a seizure. It was a strange behavior others often misunderstood as aggression and anger, but in truth it was an expression of joy and silliness. Perhaps because, Stefi had theorized, the tiny creatures hadn't the strength to contain the runaway emotions that sometimes descended into streams of bubbling gibberish in her head.

"It is Maya!" Stefi sprang to her feet. Indeed, the small sable ferret scampered along the road towards them, his paws kicking up spurts of dust. He came to rest at her feet.

"Maya!" she said, more relieved than angry as she fell to her knees and took him in both hands. "Where the hell have you been?"

Stefi, he said, his voice as dark as his eyes, I went to the place where you found us, to listen. The voices of the world always seem clearest there. But not today. Something doesn't feel right.

"What doesn't feel right? What's wrong?" she asked as churning dread rose in her stomach. She shuddered, and not because of the cold.

Wait! Gemmie stared blankly off into space. I feel it too...

"What do you feel?" Stefi said. Her fear and impatience grew with every passing second. She placed Maya on the step beside her, where Gemmie soon joined him.

Feregana, our world, She's in pain, Gemmie said, still gazing at nothing.

"Okay then, I guess your old owners really aren't trying to find you." What she'd just said brightened her mood, if only for a second. "But look, it's not like we can do anything if the world is in pain, right?"

We could find the Furosans, Maya said. They might know more about this than two ferrets and some human girl who can understand them.

"Furosans?" she said. "Are they still even nearby?" As a child she had heard the stories of the Furosan race, a people who supposedly bore some features of ferrets. Sure, they had once lived throughout the Sumarana region on Western Feregana's western coast. But now? All she knew for sure was that they were meant to be bad, thanks to the frequent lessons taught by her schoolteachers and hammered home in church. She had always doubted them. After all, ferrets were pretty harmless. But, she supposed, religion could make people believe almost anything.

I think so, Maya said. Sometimes I hear their voices drifting on Fairun's winds. They're merely hiding. If we can find them, they may be able to help us.

"Help with what, exactly? And just where are they?"

I heard no more. I have no idea.

"Neither do I." No one knew for sure where the Furosans of Western Feregana's Sumarana region now lived, if they still lived there at all. Rumors spoke of small settlements scattered throughout the wide-ranging forest, rumors fueled by late-night sightings and exaggerated truths. Yet nothing had been found in a long time. If indeed they still dwelt there, they certainly kept their presence well hidden from humans.

"Okay," she said at last, then without knowing why, "if it will help you and our world feel better, we'll go look for them. But they could be anywhere, I hope you realize. God knows where we would start. Not that He'd be any help."

Without waiting for a reply she turned and headed back inside with Gemmie and Maya trailing behind. No more was said between them.

Back inside she ate her breakfast in silence, prodding her food and barely eating. All she could think about was what Maya had said earlier.

Finding the Furosans was a daunting enough task on its own. Then there were other problems if she actually found them. Would she get them to co-operate with her? Maybe they'd kill her? Imprison her? Enslave her? Were they nice or barbaric? She couldn't be sure. But Maya had seemed so insistent on finding them. Lately the ferrets had been feeling strange, perhaps as a result of whatever was happening to the world outside her hometown. Even at her age, in her mid teens, she knew little of the world beyond the farming town's borders. At least this would be a good excuse to wander further than the forest's fringe.

She muttered a word of thanks and pushed her bowl towards her mother.

"You didn't eat much," her mother said. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong, mum," she said, her voice quiet and almost childlike. "I suppose I'm just tired, that's all." She got up from her chair and shuffled off to her room before her mother could ask any more questions.

'Do I really have to go?' she thought to herself. 'I mean, if the damn world is in pain, what can I do? Talk to ferrets about it?' She let out a half-hearted laugh. That probably wasn't far from the truth. If ferrets really were nature spirits of a kind, could she talk to nature, to the world itself? But that was stupid, right? Crazy talk.

However she looked at it, it seemed that with this strange and utterly useless gift of understanding ferrets she was perhaps the only one who could find the Furosans and figure out what was happening to Feregana. And, most importantly to her, alleviate the ferrets' cold feeling. Maybe, just maybe, she would also find out why she could understand the creatures in the first place.

The decision to leave wasn't as difficult as she'd hoped. After all, what friends she'd once had didn't want to associate themselves with someone who heard voices. Only her parents would miss her, and even then perhaps only her mother. The only thing her father could ever miss was his drink.

She fell back onto her bed. Thoughts of pained worlds and hidden Furosans had her tired out already, and it was still only morning. She still wasn't entirely sure about what Maya had said, but what he had had scared her.

"How could he hear the Furosans' voices?" she muttered aloud. "And why so well at that crappy old ruined house? And what the hell are Fairun's winds?" She thumped the headboard. "I just don't know!"

She sprawled across her bed and stared at the ceiling as thoughts buzzed through her head like the fly bashing itself against the bedroom window.

What's wrong, Stefi? a voice said in her head. Without looking around she knew who it was.

"Everything, Gem. Something's going on with you and we need to find the Furosans to figure out what. Maya seems really worked up that you're in danger."

I feel something too, Gemmie said. Just not as much as he does. Then again, he's always been sensitive to these sorts of things. Just not... The ferret hesitated for a moment. ...my feelings.

Gemmie was wrong about that, Stefi knew. Sure, Maya could come across as gruff and insensitive, yet she'd met few people who were as caring or loyal.

Stefi stayed lying on her back and followed the cracks in the plastered ceiling with her eyes. Perhaps her path searching for the Furosans would be like them, meandering aimlessly across the countryside, sometimes running into dead ends or having to choose between paths. Maybe she'd even meet some nice Furosans and become friends while helping to bridge the gap between her kind and theirs. And it wasn't like they would shun her for hearing ferrets' voices in her head, would they?

With these reassuring thoughts she got up and walked over to her drawers.

What are you doing now? Gemmie asked as she trotted behind.

"Packing. We're leaving now."

To find the Furosans?

"To find out what's going on." She found an old backpack and put in a change of clothes and a blanket. Next she made her way into the kitchen and took a bottle from the cupboard under the sink and filled it with water. She got a loaf of bread and a small packet of biscuits for the ferrets too and added them to her pack, which she then shouldered. Finally she grabbed a kitchen knife from the bench and slipped it into her belt. 'For protection', she told herself. Not that she had even the slightest idea how to defend herself. Still, it seemed better than nothing.

She called to the ferrets. "Gem! Maya!"

Maya slinked guiltily from behind the kitchen cupboards.

"What were you doing there?" she asked, hands planted on her hips.

Just checking my stashes, he said. I had the feeling we'd be going. Will you be telling your mother about this?

Stefi noticed he mentioned only her mother. So even he knew her father likely wouldn't care.

"No, I'll just leave a note. I think it's best she doesn't know we're taking off. I don't think she'd take it too well." Just moments before she'd heard her head out for the shops. She already knew where her father was. The pub.

She picked up a pencil from the kitchen table and scrawled a note.

-Mum

Gone for a walk for a few days.

Taking the ferrets. Don't worry, I'll be fine.

-Love Stefi.

She put the note on the table where her mother would see it and headed for the door. Hanging on a hook were her ferrets' leads and walking harnesses that her father, a leather-worker, had made her when she first found them, before he'd found more comfort in a bottle than in family. She knew she probably wouldn't need them but slipped them into the back pocket of her skirt all the same.

With her heart beating nervously she pushed open the front door and started down the road and away from the house where she'd spent her whole life.

Despite the fact she could often be seen wandering off with a laden pack, she broke into a jog and headed towards the forest's borders, hoping no one would see her. Something about blatantly lying to her mother and the thought she might never return filled her with guilt, a feeling of being almost criminal, so it felt only natural to avoid prying eyes.

The next town along the western road was Albana, nestled in the outskirts of the forest. As good a place as any to start her search, she thought. After all, someone there may have heard something. If she stayed close to the road but inside the forest she'd be fine. Or so she hoped.

Where're we going now? Gemmie asked as she and Maya perched on her shoulders.

"Into the forest so we won't be seen."

She reached the forest and slipped into its shadowy fringes. She hoped to reach Albana by nightfall, but before she carried on she took a minute to turn back and reflect on her decision.

Her path would be a difficult one, she was sure of that. It was paved with uncertainties. Would she find the Furosans? And if so, were they nice? Was such a journey pointless? But she did know one thing: like the cracks in the ceiling, her journey would branch out to many places before its end.

Chapter II: The Lost

The day's end found Stefi still skirting through the trees, keeping the road to her left as a guiding hand while she made her way towards Albana. The sun was just now beginning to head towards the western horizon, and it sent long shafts of dying sunlight reaching through the trees. She still felt no closer to her own destination.

Judging by the time she'd spent walking already, and based on the one time she actually went there, she figured Albana was still a few hours away. And with night nearly upon her she could easily lose sight of the road. Few who got lost in the Sumarana forest were heard from again, rumored to have been killed by the Furosans or some other fell beasts. She wouldn't mind if the Furosans came for her; that would certainly save a lot of searching. But what else might be lurking out there?

Are we nearly there? Gemmie's question cut through her thoughts and brought her back to reality.

"We still have some way to go, Gem-girl," she said. "We'll have to spend the night out here."

But it's scary in the dark, Gemmie said. I wish we were back home.

"I'm sorry, but something strange's happening with you guys and Feregana, and I'm going to find out what it is." Then, returning to her own thoughts, 'But will I find out what it is? Or is this a damn waste of time?'

When night had nearly spread its dark embrace over the world, Stefi sat down at the base of a tree and dropped her pack to the ground with a tired sigh. "We're staying here tonight. I don't want to get lost in the dark or anything." She could barely see the main road. In another half hour it would vanish altogether.

We're still outside. Won't we get cold?

"Don't worry," Stefi said. "I've got this."

She opened her pack and pulled out the blanket she'd packed earlier. She shook it out and draped it around her shoulders like a cloak. Then she fitted both ferrets with their harnesses and tied the leads to her belt. No matter how well behaved they were, like all ferrets they were still subject to the siren song of wanderlust.

Gemmie and Maya climbed into her lap where they quickly fell asleep. There they stirred occasionally with sleepy words. Stefi, however, found sleep to be as elusive as the source of those voices had once been. When sleep finally claimed her though, she couldn't help feeling that somewhere, something was watching from the dark.

Several days from Sumarana lay the town of Joven. It was a place lightly inhabited, a stopover for people passing through or a home for those involved in the burgeoning logging industry. It scarcely made a dent in the western fringes of the Sumarana Forest, and served as one last port of call before all maps of the forest went blank. The roads to the forest's northern borders and the port town of Valraines all led along the western coast and around the forest, although once, long ago, trading routes ran straight through. But that was before the Furosan wars.

Joven may not have been home to many, but to a young man named Sansonis, at least, it was the closest thing left. Home, oddly enough, had once been far to the east, beyond the Sumarana mountain range and in a similar patch of forest once known as Shangara. And family had been the Otsukuné, a race now gone from Feregana, a race who had keenly watched the heavens for centuries. The events of ten years past had left them nothing more than whispers and memories on the breeze.

On the same night that Stefi slept under the stars near Albana, Sansonis's life was about to change; another person called from home by the voice of the unknown.

Sansonis's boots slipped across the moonlit grass as he wandered aimlessly through the trees. Every night was the same. Sleeplessness. Nightmares. And the feeling that somewhere in the forest a voice was beckoning.

He walked in silence, watching the ghostly dance of the two moons' light, blue and gold, as it filtered through the whispering trees. Somewhere out of sight the Altu river bubbled and laughed away obliviously into the night. They were voices, all right, but not the one calling to him.

After some time he stopped and looked at the night sky. Feregana's two moons were both half-full, casting an eerie light on the sleeping world below: Rishka, the yellow moon, and Larnia, her blue sister.

Long ago his adoptive parents had taught him about the three celestial beings who dwelt in the sky and watched over them as they woke by night and slept by day. They'd taught him how Jarahk the sun and blue Larnia had given birth to the Otsukuné, how to read the stars, and most importantly, how to look after himself. A good thing too, now that he was alone.

A strange sound, quieter than the river or the trees, jolted him from his thoughts. Definitely not the wind whining through branches, he thought. It was too regular, too... human, a beautiful yet haunting melody like someone singing. It floated on the waves of the night breeze, teasing his ears and weaseling into his head. Definitely a song. And it sounded almost human. Almost.

He continued, drawn to the sound as if hypnotized, where he at last happened upon a small clearing ringed with bushes. He edged his way closer and gasped at what came into view.

In the clearing knelt a girl perhaps a few years older than himself, soaked in moonlight, her hands clasped before her chest. It was her singing that played around his ears, though set free from a tongue he couldn't understand. Even though the words themselves meant nothing to him, they seemed to excite his senses and evoke visions of happiness, warmth... even love.

The singing, beautiful though it was, didn't hold his attention for long. There was something even stranger about the girl: rounded furry ears sat aside her head, and two strangely fang-like canine teeth gleamed in her mouth when the light struck them. A tail curled out behind her like a furred snake, and Sansonis knew right away that the girl was-

"A Furosan!" He stared in wonder. "They are still here!" As far as he knew, few humans, and none of the Otsukuné, had seen one in the region for many years or knew for sure if they still even lived there. He couldn't have known it then, but she was one of the very people a girl from Sumarana had that morning set out to find.

After a few minutes had passed, the girl's voice fell quiet and silence shuffled into its place. She stood up and, smoothing the wrinkles in her torn skirt, smiled contentedly to herself. Every detail on her round face appeared to shine in the light of the two moons, revealing an expression of unmistakable serenity.

She turned and caught sight of a rather poorly hidden Sansonis as he crouched behind a bush and watched her with wide, gray eyes. Slowly, carefully, she tiptoed up to him and bent down until her face nearly touched his. She said nothing. She only smiled.

"A-are you a Furosan?" Sansonis asked, not sure of what else to say but already knowing the answer. Perhaps a simple greeting would have sufficed, he thought later, yet when confronted with someone whose kind was rarely seen the mind refuses to think straight.

She giggled and nodded that yes, she was.

"What are you doing here?"

In reply she let out a loud squeal, spun around, and sprinted across the clearing as her dirty-blonde hair streamed behind.

"Wait!" he called to her retreating back. "Where're you going?" But the Furosan girl either didn't hear or chose not to. She disappeared with a crash into the trees, shouting what sounded like nonsense to Sansonis: "Kamae!"

Then the only sound that remained was the river mocking him from the darkness.

"Come back!" he yelled, though he already knew the Furosan was gone. But to where he had no idea.

"Damn," he muttered and, understanding pursuit to be pointless, turned back towards Joven. He cast one last glance over his shoulder.

The walk home was plagued by a stubborn thought, one he couldn't convince to leave no matter how hard he tried: what was she doing out here and where did she come from?

And then he realized. She was the one who had been calling out to him in the night. But why?

Stefi awoke early the next morning to the sun shining on her face and the cool morning breeze stirring her hair. Gemmie and Maya still lay dozing on top of her. She carefully removed their harnesses and placed them, still sleeping, on the ground.

She stood up and stretched, easing away the aches that came with sleeping on the ground. Soon enough Gemmie and Maya sprang into action, shivering, stretching, and looking for food. Maya raced over to the pack and began searching for something to eat while Gemmie looked about in shock.

Where are we? she said, still shivering. This doesn't look like home.

"We're in the forest, remember?" Stefi said. "We're trying to find the Furosans."

Oh. That's right.

Maya, meanwhile, pulled the packet of biscuits from Stefi's pack and savaged it, his tail puffed up like a crude brush. He and Gemmie set about eating the spilled food.

Stefi explored her pack for her own breakfast, one that perhaps required less attacking.

"Ready to go?" she asked the ferrets after a small breakfast of bread. She picked them up and put them on her shoulders.

"We should be in Albana soon," she said, "then we'll be able to get you some more food and hopefully some decent sleep. The ground isn't too comfortable, but luckily for you I am."

As she left, what felt like a stolen gaze brushed the back of her neck. She shuddered. The ferrets, however, didn't seem to notice.

Stefi's walking carried her through the rest of the morning and some of the afternoon while the ferrets napped peacefully in the crook of her arm.

A few hours after they'd stopped for lunch, Maya jerked to life and nearly tumbled to the ground. Damn! Did you see that?

"See what?" Her gaze darted through the trees and found nothing.

There's something over there! Something big!

"Hang on," Stefi said and tightened her pack straps. She broke into a run and burst through the trees and back onto the road. Just ahead of her the windows of a town winked with the late sunlight. Albana. She sprinted, spurred on by the promise of safety, while the ferrets clung to her.

When she finally reached the town she fell panting to her knees, her legs burning from the effort. "Has...has it gone?" she asked the ferrets between hurried breaths as a few curious townspeople stared.

I think so, a very shaky Gemmie said. But where are we?

"Unless I really screwed up, we should be in Albana."

Indeed, an old wooden sign to her left, its letters muted by moss, read: "Welcome to Albana."

By now day had slipped into mid-afternoon, and exhaustion born from a whole day of walking and a sudden run seized her muscles.

As she headed into the shady streets of Albana she noticed a small, channeled stream, almost like a miniature canal, flowing alongside the road. It carried with it memories of the natural streams she so loved at home, adding a sense of familiarity that soothed her nerves. Curious, she followed it and came to a small square with a fountain in the shape of a fish sputtering water from its upturned mouth. The weathered, neglected thing had once represented the town's booming fishing industry. But that was before the famed Albana trout had been fished to extinction. Now it was little more than a reminder of a past–and species–lost forever.

"It's quite relaxing here," she said, captivated by the shimmering shards of sunlight the water splashed across the trees.

Albana was quite different from Sumarana, she soon noticed, and not because it sat just inside the forest beneath the shade of the surrounding trees. Many of its houses were so run down they looked on the verge of being reclaimed by the forest, and rotting nets still hung outside some like tattered cobwebs.

Even though it was perhaps the closest town to Sumarana, Riam and Bandārun further south aside, she had only traveled there once before as a child, when the place still thrived. Apart from that one trip she'd never really found any reason to leave home. Until now.

She made her way past the fountain to a two-story building set alongside the town's paved square. A peeling sign above the double doors informed her it was an inn. As good a place as any to stay, she thought. With some trepidation, she opened the door and headed for the main counter. A few people sat at tables around the dimly lit bar area, smoking and drinking in odorous, murmuring clusters like dirty hills huddled beneath a fog.

A voice from behind startled her as she looked about. "Yo, can I help?"

She wheeled around and came face to face with a woman several years older than herself.

"Yo?" the woman repeated. Her facial features were nearly as sharp as the knife she was casually sharpening, and her eyes were just as steely.

"Oh," Stefi said as her voice returned. "I'm sorry, I was just thinking." She pulled her gaze away from the woman's knife as it danced mesmerizingly across a whetstone, a sight both cruel and curious at the same time. "Do you have a room I could stay in tonight? Just a small one will do. I hope this is enough." She pulled some gold coins, part of her life savings hoarded with ferret-like care, from her pocket and held them out.

"Sure." The woman plucked three of the smaller ones from Stefi's palm. She pocketed the stone. "This way, then." For some reason she didn't question why a teenage girl was staying in a musty old inn by herself. Stefi couldn't help but wonder why, and why she was still holding the knife, one moment running her lean fingers along the blade, the next casually twirling it with amazing dexterity.

She hurried from behind the counter and towards a flight of stairs as Stefi struggled to keep up. At the top of the stairs she reached into her pocket and pulled out a bundle of keys. She found the one she was looking for and at the end of a narrow hall opened the door to a small room.

"I hope this is all right," she said and smiled for the first time. "I know it isn't much, but it's all to yourself. Us girls need our privacy, yeah?"

"Thanks," Stefi said, quite touched. Somehow the woman didn't seem so severe anymore. Just very tired. And sad. The dark shadows underlining her eyes only served to make her seem more so.

As the woman turned to leave she hesitated for a moment. "Just don't let those little weasels of yours make a mess everywhere, okay? Boss'd kill me." She sighed, further confirming Stefi's suspicions that something was wrong. "Probably literally, too."

We aren't weasels! Maya called to her retreating back.

But she didn't hear. She only left them alone as she eased the door shut behind her. Her extended arm flashed an ugly purple bruise beneath her sleeve.

It wasn't a very big room, Stefi saw, only slightly larger than her old room back home. A single bed sat up against one wall and a table and hand basin opposite. A grimy window peered out across a courtyard and caught the last of the afternoon sun as it disappeared behind the forest. There was a small open fireplace in one corner, complete with kindling and a box of sulfur matches.

Stefi placed the two ferrets on the bed and lit the fire. In a couple of minutes she had a warm blaze going and sprawled on the rug in front of it. "Hey, you two," she called to the ferrets. "Come here and keep warm."

Gemmie and Maya slid off the bed and wandered over to Stefi.

What is this place? Gemmie said as she glanced about. It's not as nice as home.

"I know," Stefi said and stared into the flames, "but it'll have to do. Besides, it's just for one night. Then we'll keep looking for the Furosans."

She began to wonder if running off to look for a deeply reclusive race had been the smartest thing to do. Perhaps she could have asked for help, seen if anyone about Sumarana knew anything. But then questions would be asked, suspicions aroused. And if it was discovered she was told to find the Furosans by her ferrets...

Her thoughts dissipated as a loud knock shook the door.

"Who is it?" she called instinctively before realizing it could only be one person.

The inn-keeping woman entered, skillfully balancing a tray bearing sandwiches and a jug of water, along with a bowl of mince, in her free hand. "Thought you and the weasels could do with some food," she said. Her smile was forced but kind, her eyes alight with understanding. "I know it's not easy running away."

"Thanks," Stefi said. Then hoping to avoid any further questions about her running off, "And they're ferrets."

"Oh." The woman placed the tray on the table. In the dim light of the fire her features seemed warmer, kinder, softened by the flickering flames. "Then you must've heard about them Furosan lot? They're meant to be ferret-like or somethin'."

"Yes!" Excitement bubbled within Stefi. Perhaps this woman had seen them somewhere, or heard something, working in a place like this.

"Then maybe you've heard some reckon they've seen one over near Joven lately." The woman sat on the bed and, crossing her legs, took a sandwich. "Sounds like a load of drunken rambling to me, but you can't really tell, can you?" An uneasy laugh followed. It was soon silenced by a mouthful of food.

"Really?" Stefi sat up and clutched the ferrets close. "When was this?"

She swallowed. "Some time this morning. One of the regular caravanners who runs supplies and... supplies... for Boss mentioned it. But I wouldn't get myself too excited if I were you. They reckon they're gonna go out and catch it, you know, see where it came from. Church has put quite the reward on its head, too. They're considered impure by Kardin these days, after all. Been kinda tempted to go after it myself."

"That's awful!" Stefi nearly shouted, though she checked the rising anger in her voice. Perhaps that's why she had been sharpening that knife... "They're living things too!"

The woman shrugged. "I know it's wrong, but the thing could be a ticket to a better life for a lotta people around here where there're stuff-all jobs." Her gaze played on the ground, deliberately avoiding Stefi's. "With the reward I could get outta this dump, buy myself a ticket to Sol-Acrima and really live it up. Maybe even open my own bar somewhere." She unsheathed the knife she'd been sharpening and fingered it again. "Jus' don't think I could handle the guilt, though. Or its ferocity." She closed her eyes and slipped the knife back into its scabbard. "Poor girl can't be much older than you, from what I heard. I guess she ran away, too." She sniffed.

"Oh, s-s-sorry," the woman stammered after an awkward silence had filled the room. "Forgive me!" She left, but not before adding in a choked voice, "You need anything, just come down and ask for Savana, all right?"

Stefi turned to the ferrets. "Did you hear that? A Furosan near Joven! And people trying to catch it too!"

They're probably just fierce because people try to hurt them, Gemmie said. I don't think they'll be that bad. We ferrets are nice, but poke us hard enough and we bite.

"I sure hope they're nice." Stefi stood up, fetched the tray, and returned to her spot by the fire. "Here's something for you two." She placed the bowl of mince on the floor. But she barely touched her own food. Something else was bothering her that overrode even her hunger. One of the Furosans, one of the people she'd been looking for, had been seen nearby and now people were trying to catch it, perhaps even kill it, spurred on by money. And if they succeeded, she might lose her chance... Either she had to find the Furosan first, or pray no one else did. She wasn't a praying person, had only really prayed once in her life. So that left just one option.

She fell asleep in front in front of the fire's warm glow and dreamed nothing that night.

The next morning Stefi found the fire dead and the ferrets curled together on the bed. She stood up, rubbed the sleep from her eyes, and jumped beside them.

Gemmie and Maya, propelled into the air by her landing, woke with a start and shivered in the cold light that came through the window.

"C'mon, you two, we're leaving," she said and went to get the last sandwiche left over from the night before. "I'll just get something to..."

The tray was empty except for a few crumbs. Of course. While she had slept, the ferrets hadn't.

"Where is it?" She scowled and advanced on the bed.

Maya scooted backwards until a shapeless pillow stopped his retreat. I got hungry during the night, that's all...

"You can't have eaten the whole thing!"

We stashed it, Gemmie said. I'm sorry.

Stefi sighed. "Of course you did." She shouldered her pack and placed the empty tray beside the door, deciding to leave the sandwich where it was for some unlucky person to find by smell. From experience she knew it would be hidden so well it could take ages to find. That, and asking a ferret the location of its stash was perhaps the biggest no-no in their etiquette. Right after calling them weasels.

"Did you sleep well, love?" Savana asked as Stefi descended the stairs with ferrets in hand.

"Yes, thanks." Then skipping the pleasantries, "You haven't heard anything else about that Furosan person near Joven, have you?"

"No more, sorry, love," Savana said. She smiled brightly despite sporting an unmistakable black eye. "You might want to hurry if you're heading that way, though. It's quite a walk, but all you need to do is follow the main road north and you should make it there soon enough. There's jus' the one road. Easy as. Jus' don't go wandering."

"Thank you, ma'am," she said with a slight bow. "I'd better be going." Then, without quite knowing why, she added, "Good luck." With that she placed Gemmie and Maya on her shoulders and wandered outside, trying her hardest to ignore the tears welling in Savana's eyes.

The road she sought was obvious enough; a helpful sign even told her that Joven lay that way. A quick search revealed a dirt track leading through the forest parallel to but just out of sight of the main road as it continued northwards, flanked on both sides by tall trees. She hesitated. Even some distance from home the possibility of being seen by someone she knew remained, however remote. And if that happened, chances were she'd be sent back to Sumarana and made to explain what on Feregana she was up to. No, until the Furosans were found she'd remain out of sight of the road as much as she could.

The moment Stefi entered the cool shadows of the forest an odd sensation pricked the back of her neck. She shivered.

Do you feel that, Stefi? Gemmie asked with a shaky voice. Something's watching us!

A low growl emanated from the trees as if in reply to Gemmie. Stefi reached to her belt and felt for the knife there. She gripped the handle so tightly that her fingers went pale. "Who's there?" she called more bravely than she felt and broke into a jog.

Another growl was the only reply.

She had no idea what things other than the Furosans or dog-like Otsukuné might lurk in the forest away from her home, and an over-active imagination certainly didn't help the situation. The Otsukuné were killed off by humans years before, but none were still supposed to be around, were they? What if one was still there, just waiting to take revenge and kill her? And not just her, but the ferrets too?

She stopped, her legs trembling too much with fear to carry her any further.

The low bushes to her right parted, withering as they did so, and a creature that looked as if it was made of tattered night stepped onto the path. It gave off the appearance of a dog, yet the cloying smell of something long dead in the ground. With a metallic growl that grated in its throat it padded towards Stefi and the ferrets, in no hurry to leap or attack. Its flesh hung like torn clothing, revealing the stark-white bone beneath. It trained its empty eye sockets upon Stefi's eyes and bared its blackened teeth.

"Oh, great," Stefi muttered, "it's over before it's even started."

A sudden howl echoed through the forest, piercing even the thickest woods. Not a howl of the hunt, her panicking mind thought, but a warning. An intimidation. The undergrowth behind her exploded in a shower of leaves and twigs, and she wheeled about just as a glowing blur of brown and blue streaked over her head like a dying star. She closed her eyes and hit the ground, holding the ferrets close.

She finally forced herself to look and beheld a melee of black and brown, a violent cyclone of claws and blood. Only barely could she make out her savior, yet another dog-like creature drawing dark blood with every heavy slash of its cat-like claws.

With one final blow the russet creature slammed its massive paw on the shadow-dog's head and crushed its skull with a series of sickening cracks that made Stefi wince. The shadow-dog, or whatever the thing was, lay dead. Deader than before, she thought with a shudder.

What's happening? Gemmie asked. She was shaking nearly as much as Stefi. Are we going to get eaten?

"I don't know." Stefi's voice came out muffled by the terror in her throat as she drew herself into a sitting position. The rust-colored creature padded towards her. The shadow-dog's dark blood was still splattered across its paws, and the musty smell of the grave hung in the air. Whether that was its natural smell or the other creature's, she couldn't tell.

"What did you just say?" it asked in a hoarse, rasping voice, sounding much like a seasoned smoker. It sat down and tended to its scratches with its tongue.

"I-I..." she stammered. "Are you going to kill us?"

"No, no, you are too important to kill. You must live," it said and turned its attention back to Stefi. "After all, I would not kill you after having just saved your life, would I?"

"What do you mean?" Stefi asked. "Why did you save us?"

Gemmie and Maya emerged from the warm embrace of Stefi's arms to stare at the beast before them. Now that it sat still, Stefi could better see just what it was. It reminded her of a mongrel collie-dog her neighbors had once owned, only with fur the color of rust and dried blood. An ancient scar zigzagged across the creature's right side and down its flank, revealing twilight-blue skin beneath. Strangest of all it seemed to emit an ethereal glow, much like that of Feregana's blue moon, though it was barely discernible in the forest's subdued light. Both it and the dead creature were missing a canine tooth, she saw; perhaps they'd been knocked out in the fighting.

What is that thing? Maya asked. And what happened to that black dog?

Stefi ignored him and it simply said, "Why would I not save someone in distress?"

She didn't know what to make of its response so she shrugged. "What was that... that thing?" she asked, feeling rude that she hadn't yet thanked it properly. Only now did the strength begin to return to her body as her adrenaline ebbed away.

"A Dazrhug, a terrible being born of death. I have encountered them before, though I did not expect to see one so far west from Fractured Heaven as this. As for myself, I am Rhaka, an Otsukuné of Shangara and perhaps the only one yet remaining on this Side."

Stefi gasped. "Wait a minute. Otsukuné?"

"Assuredly so. Your sense of hearing does not deceive you."

"Why aren't you dead like all the others?"

"Fate decided to spare me. The stars told me I was not meant to die the day the others did. I remain behind for some other purpose, and you, it seems, are a part of that. As soon as I laid eyes on you I felt drawn towards you; I just needed an opportune time to reveal myself. And," he added, baring his teeth in what Stefi took to be a grin, "I always liked to make a memorable entrance."

"Whoa! What you're saying sounds way beyond me."

"It may be beyond all of us. Something terrible is descending on this world."

That's what I've been saying! Maya whooped in Stefi's head. He knows about it too!

Rhaka approached and sniffed the tiny animals. He barely avoided a nipped nose from Maya when he got too close. "Are those your ferrets?" he asked as he backed away.

"Yes. You might think I'm weird, but I can understand what they say. I just hear them in my head." She didn't know why she told the creature something she had never told another. It just felt right somehow. That, and she doubted things could get much stranger than a glowing, talking dog.

At her words Rhaka stiffened and his black eyes locked upon Stefi's. "Then my suspicions were correct."

She stood up. "About what?"

"You are one of the Fieretka. The Fieretsi, even."

"And those words mean...?"

"Then you really do not know. It is said that, throughout history, the Fieretka, a group of Feregana's divided races, come together when the world is in need. One of them holds the power to communicate with beings of pure Furosa. That individual is the Fieretsi, or the ferret-speaker in the first Furosan tongue. Do you know the significance of ferrets in this world?"

"No, not really." Sure, the furry things were important to her, but were small, unassuming animals, even ones thought to be some sort of nature spirits, really that important to the whole world?

"They are what keep this world alive. Feregana, like you and your ferrets, is a living entity. Simply put, ferrets are like its blood. They are the physical manifestation of Furosa, its life force. If they die, the world, and everyone else, perishes with them. But only someone like you is able to talk to them, and Feregana itself, to find a way to prevent that from transpiring."

"Back up a moment. What is going to happen?"

"That is what we need to find out. You are undoubtedly looking for the Furosans, are you not? Why else would you be wandering the forest alone?"

"Yeah. Gemmie and Maya, they're my ferrets, said something was happening to them. The thing is, I have no idea where to find them." She shook her head.

"I can aid you in your search for them, but first I need to find someone important to me. You can help. Think of it as repayment for saving your life."

"Sure," Stefi said with a shrug. "I guess I owe you one. Who is it?"

"Sansonis. My son."

"Your son? But you said the others are dead!"

"He is not an Otsukuné, at least not in body. He is a human. The story is long, and I have neither the recollection nor wherewithal to tell it right now. For now we ought get moving if you do not want to spend another night in the forest. I hear tell he is in Joven, the next town along this road. Will you help me?"

"Of course!" If she helped Rhaka find his son, then perhaps they could all look for the Furosans together. The more people she had with her, the easier the journey would be, she reasoned. And the Otsukuné was certainly more protection than an old kitchen knife.

Without another word she cast a last glance at the dead Dazrhug and headed towards Joven with Rhaka, the Otsukuné with the shimmering aura, close behind.

Chapter III: Kamaes

As Stefi, Gemmie, Maya, and Rhaka walked towards Joven, talk turned to the fateful night that had befallen the Otsukuné all those years ago.

"So," Stefi said casually, "how did it all start? What exactly happened? We humans never really hear the details." Of course she had, and until just one day ago she would have believed them. But school's history books, she realized, may have sanitized the truth somewhat. Just as they had likely soiled the Furosans' reputation to be one of violence and hostility, if people were so driven to hunt them.

Rhaka cringed at Stefi's lack of tact. "It...it is very painful to speak of. I am sure you would feel the same were all your kind killed. But humans did come, killing and burning everything they found: the females, cubs, our dwellings, the forest itself. They took my son Sansonis too. Or perhaps I ought say adopted son. He is human, raised by those not his kind..." He trailed off into silence and no more was said between them. Still, Stefi couldn't shake the nagging feeling that there was something else, that Rhaka wasn't telling her everything.

They continued walking well into the evening, following the road to Joven and hiding whenever someone veered too close to their path from the main road, now more for Rhaka's sake than Stefi's.

Finally, Stefi broke the silence like someone throwing a rock into a still lake. "Where do the Otsukuné live?" she asked. Then checking her tenses she hastily corrected herself, "Sorry, where did they live?"

"Home, Shangara, lies far to the east, beyond the Sumarana mountains in the land of Acharn, inside a forested valley where humans never tread. Some of us dwelt also in this forest of Sumarana, and they were the first to go."

"How did they find you?"

"You can find almost anything if you search hard enough."

Stefi found no response to this, and her silence was like the ripples fading from the lake until only stillness remained once more.

It wasn't long after that that Joven at last came into view. It was a lot like Albana, Stefi found, only it lay further still inside the forest's fringes. There was no fountain. Instead, the deep and lazy Altu river cut through the road ahead, crossed by a small bridge wide enough for two average sized dirriwan or horse drawn carts. The latter were rarely found in the west. Somehow the four-legged beasts had never found as much favor as the more easily trained (and edible) wingless birds of burden.

"I must wait here," Rhaka said as they approached the bridge. "If I entered a human town I would surely draw unwanted attention unto us. I shall be waiting nearby come morning."

"I can't leave you out here by yourself," Stefi said. "You'll get lonely."

"One does grow accustomed to it, especially under my circumstances," he said with a low growl that Stefi took to be a sigh. "Now, company, that is much harder to get used to."

"Well, you won't have to worry about that for much longer. I'm going to help you find Sansonis first thing tomorrow morning. It's the least I can do, considering you saved the ferrets and me."

"I did what I was fated to. It was written in the stars that I would find you. The Three Sisters and the Ancestors never lie. What they foretell has always happened and always will." He glanced skywards even though the trees all but obscured the emerging stars.

"I'm sorry," Stefi said, "but I have absolutely no idea who the Sisters or the Ancestors are..."

"Ah, I forgot. You humans are not versed in the ways of the heavens, finding instead gods in your own being and image. Yet the end of the day draws nigh and you must seek shelter for the night."

"Wait, before I go, what does Sansonis look like? I'll ask if anyone's seen him if you want. You know, keep an eye out for him." Now some distance from home, the risk of being recognized had all but faded. That, and after her near-death experience it now seemed like the least of her worries.

"He would be about your age, possibly older, yet there is one matter that may compound things for us," Rhaka said.

"What's that?"

"He is Kalkic."

Ever since she was a young girl, before Gemmie and Maya had come into her life, Stefi had learnt that the Kalkics were second-class to the rest of Humankind: hated by most, barely tolerated by the rest. However, long before her birth, before even the island nation of Minhera had disappeared beneath the waves, the Kalkics and other humans lived side by side along with the Furosans. A rift created by religious teachings formed between the humans and Kalkics, and many of the Kalkics sought new lands in the far north. Some remained amongst their human brethren, but they were delegated to jobs of low pay and even lower dignity, their land in recent years confiscated by the Sol-Acriman military under a decree by the head of the Church, Karick IV.

"That doesn't matter," Stefi said. "I'll still look. When I was young I used to play with a Kalkic girl, but she had to leave when they kicked her family off their farm."

"You need not say any more. I can see in your eyes–strange eyes, at that–that you do not bear the same irrational hatred and willful ignorance which is oft born of religion. Now go."

Stefi started across the bridge and turned back when she reached halfway. "Would you like me to buy you something to eat?" she called as he slipped out of sight, although she already knew the answer.

"No, thank you. And be careful. You are too important to lose, and so are the ferrets."

She turned her back on the strange creature that had saved her life and entered Joven.

As she walked towards the inn, Gemmie's voice popped into her mind. What's a Kalkic? she asked. Are they like humans?

"You could say that," Stefi said, "but they're also slightly different. They often have blue color in their hair, and their skin is darker than the rest of ours."

They sound pretty, Gemmie said. So why does everyone hate them?

Humans hate everyone! Maya said. Just look at what happened to us, and we're a damn sight cuter than Kalkics.

"True." Stefi smiled. "But it's because of religion. Apparently the god Kardin declared in his holy book that Kalkics and Furosans are bad because they're different to us and not made in His image. I think it's a load of crap. I mean, what's next? Persecuting people with orange hair or freckles?"

I know you're all right, Stefi. It's the others I worry about, Gemmie said with a tinge of sadness in her voice. It was humans who abandoned us and it's taken Maya so long just to trust you.

"I know, Gem-girl, I know."

As she finished talking to the ferrets, she arrived at the door of the inn. Two starfire lanterns hung from the porch. Their cold, stark light beckoned both travelers and moths, and with darkness nearly fully settled, their glare sent Stefi's shadow stretching out behind her. It reminded her briefly of the Dazrhug.

With a little nervousness, and half-hoping to find Sansonis right away, she pushed open the door. Immediately a torrent of voices mixed with the discordant notes of an old piano hit her in a wave of noise. She hurried inside, squeezing past a young man as he left. Although Gemmie was fascinated by the sheer number of people and the exciting goings on (as well as all the new smells and treasures to acquire), Maya muttered rudely about the noise and retreated into Stefi's pack. He scratched about to make himself comfortable.

She scanned the mass of people as she eased her way through the crowd with Gemmie riding proudly upon her shoulder and Maya sulking in her bag. Everyone else appeared to be humans like her, much to her disappointment, although that was to be expected. And most were too old to be Sansonis anyway, or were women. It was much busier than the Albana inn. She soon found out why.

What's that picture there? Gemmie asked as she stared at a large poster tacked to the wall. Stefi followed Gemmie's gaze and found a poster with writing and a scrawled picture of a female Furosan on it. She read it aloud.

"Sol-Acriman Military Decree 76-2112: Reward offered for the capture of Furosan sighted near Joven: 200,000 manyas alive, 100,000 dead. Substantial reward also offered for information leading to apprehension."

Below was some extra writing about where to bring the captured creature and a religious reference reminding the reader of the "offense" she had apparently committed. Stefi didn't bother to read it out.

"So Savana was right about the amount..."

She looked about the inn again and suddenly realized why it was so busy. Few of the people were what she would have considered normal guests. Most were older men and were armed, some with horrible looking traps and cruelly curved blades on their belts. Evidently they didn't care which reward they got. Greed at the expense of another's life had blinded them.

These people all want to hurt the Furosan, don't they? Gemmie asked.

Stefi nodded as a lump formed in her throat. "I can't stay here, knowing most of these idiots want to kill someone who hasn't done anything wrong."

She hurriedly brought some food for herself and the ferrets and left, stifling the urge to tell the patrons where they could stick their weapons. She walked for a few minutes until she found a small alley between two houses. It was sheltered from the elements but not very comfortable.

"We'll sleep here tonight," she said. She fitted Gemmie and Maya with their harnesses and leads before securing them to her belt. After eating, the three slept under the stars, with Stefi leaning against a hard wooden wall while her two friends snuggled inside her blanket. After her earlier encounter, she never wanted to sleep in the forest again if she could help it.

Once again Sansonis found himself called to the same clearing by the voice inside his head. It wasn't so much a command, he thought, but more of a calling, an invitation, though it spoke no words. Whatever it was, he was now certain it was connected to the Furosan girl. In what way, exactly, he couldn't tell.

Sansonis left his usual room in the Joven inn and slipped out the door virtually unnoticed, glancing towards a girl about his own age who shuffled inside as he left. She had ferrets on her shoulders, he saw, but thought nothing of it. All that mattered was getting back to the clearing.

As he'd found earlier, he wasn't the only one to have seen the Furosan girl of late, and word of her presence had soon spread; a substantial bounty was placed on her head just as quickly. Now the inn was packed with people who had come from all over in an attempt to claim the reward and filled every room. He felt a twinge of pity for the girl with the ferrets and hoped somebody would make room for her.

Earlier that day a poster on the town's notice board declaring the reward for the capture of the Furosan had caught his attention. 200,000 manyas alive, 100,000 dead. Either way, it was enough to keep anyone comfortable for a long time. Thoughts of claiming the reward for himself had briefly fallen upon him, but he had dispelled them from his mind and torn the poster down in disgust. Although not without difficulty.

Soon Sansonis had reached the same clearing. Empty. He sat on the moonlight-splashed ground, on the very spot where the grass was still flattened from the other night, and strained to hear the calling in his head. Nothing. It had stopped. Maybe one of the hunters had gotten to the girl first. Or she'd caught wind of the danger and taken off to wherever she had come from. He only hoped it was the latter.

As he sat thinking, a sudden cry from somewhere in the forest winged its way to his ears. It was a shrill, high note at first sounding like a bird or yowling cat, but upon a second hearing more like a cry for help. He stood up and strained his ears in the direction of the sound. There was an element in those two cries that, like the singing, seemed almost human.

He tiptoed towards the cries, careful not to make much noise. Now they pierced the air every few seconds and, he felt, were becoming sobs. He pushed his way through some overhanging branches and there was the Furosan girl again, suspended from a tall sapling by a snare around her right ankle. The trap had no doubt been set by one of the bounty hunters who would return come morning to claim their prize, he realized. Tears streaked her dirty face and she seemed drained of her former energy and happiness.

As the Furosan caught sight of Sansonis, her sobbing stilled and she hung limply, swinging back and forth while staring, never making eye contact, into the forest behind him. Her wild hair, the color of dried flax, swept the ground beneath her.

Sansonis knelt in front of her, his attention drawn to the way her brilliant blue eyes and soft features were accentuated by the moonlight. She seemed so human yet so unusual with her large furry ears, elongated canines, claw-like nails, and, most strikingly, a long tan and black tail. He reached a curious hand forward to touch her.

Without warning, in the time it took him to blink several times in surprise, the girl's gaze darted and stabbed through his. She bared her teeth, let out a sound that was a cross between a hiss and a scream, and raked her claws across his left cheek.

He fell backwards with a cry and clutched his burning face. A strange warmth, and his hand came away sticky with blood. He climbed to his feet and, pressing his hand to his stinging cheek again, staggered backwards.

For a moment hostility towards the girl boiled in his heart and the thought of the reward money crept back into his head, but he forced them deep down with mixed feelings of regret and disgust. Yet the taste, coppery and blood-like in his mouth, refused to leave, as did the dark cloud he felt drawing across his mind.

"It's all right," he said and held up both hands, one now red with blood, to show he wasn't armed. Yet the girl still glared at the two knives on his belt as if they might leap up and stab her of their own will.

"You do remember me, don't you?" he said levelly, breathing deeply to keep his emotions and the darkness in his mind in check. "I saw you the other night in that clearing. It's hard for me to explain, but I felt you calling out to me... in my thoughts." What he just said sounded stupid, he thought. Creepy, even.

She nodded and her angry snarl melted into a crescent of remorse.

"I'm going to get you down," he said. "Just please don't hurt me again."

She averted her gaze with a sniff.

As Sansonis unsheathed one of his knives, the girl winced and her ferret-like tail puffed out in panic, a sight that nearly made him burst out laughing. She let out a small sob.

"Calm down, I don't want the money that's been placed on your head," he said, not knowing if he was trying to convince her or himself.

He took a step back and observed the situation. A nearby tree, a tall and leafy kind with enough branches to make climbing easy, was growing next to the one that had been used to ensnare her. He clambered up, his nimble yet strong Kalkic body making short work of the task. Then, having shimmied out onto a handy branch with the knife clamped in his teeth, he reached out, sawed the soft rope, and dropped her carefully to the ground.

He climbed back down, dropping the knife from his sweaty hand as he did so. He ignored it, focusing instead on the Furosan. He turned his bloody face from hers when he realized how frightful he must look. Even though he'd just saved her, the thought that he'd even considered turning her in weighed heavily on his mind. He only hoped she couldn't tell.

As for the girl, she tugged the remains of the snare from her ankle and rubbed the life back into her numb foot. A mixture of gratitude and regret at having hurt her savior stuck her

as the feeling returned. It was soon joined by surprise that, despite being a human, he'd helped her even though she'd just injured him. Perhaps this meant the stories weren't all true... Then there was another feeling altogether, one that made her heart flutter when she looked at him, despite his bloodied face.

"Thank you," she said, still sitting on the ground and holding her foot.

Sansonis didn't respond, too surprised at her lightly accented Common Language: a universal tongue of trade and diplomacy long ago adopted between Feregana's races.

"I am sorry I hurt you," she added meekly.

She stood up and tore off one of her shirtsleeves with some help from her claws and stepped lithely in front of him, her bare feet making only the slightest sound on the grass. Without a word she stood before him and pressed the sleeve against his cheek, and while holding it against him she stole glances at his gray eyes. He managed a nervous smile in return.

Once the scratches had stopped bleeding she dabbed away the drying blood as carefully as she could and threw the makeshift bandage into the bushes.

"I am sorry," she said again. "I thought you'd set that trap and come to, you know, take me in. I know how you humans hate others who aren't like you, especially us."

"Like I said, I didn't come to harm you," Sansonis said. "Forgive me for asking, but what are you doing around here? This is no place for a Furosan. Or someone like myself either."

At the last part she raised a curious eyebrow. He seemed normal enough, except for the blue streaking his messy brown hair. But that was pretty, she thought, fighting the urge to touch it.

She turned and walked towards the tree while talking softly. "I... I think I came to find you."

Sansonis waited as she crawled into some bushes and emerged a moment later holding his knife. She handed it to him handle first, her eyes refusing to alight on his.

"What do you mean, you came to find me?" he said and resheathed it. "Wait, something called you here, didn't it?"

The girl's ferret-like ears twitched and she smiled. "Yes," she said, "I heard you calling and Lady Cédes said I should go looking, although daddy didn't want me to. So I ran away."

He shrugged. "I wasn't calling to you."

"You were, just not consciously. This is difficult to explain to a human... and I can't be sure until we see Lady Cédes, but I think, no feel, that we're kamaes."

Sansonis tilted his head slightly, a gesture she took to mean he had no idea what she meant.

"It loosely means 'fate-friends'," she said. "I shouldn't say too much to a human, at least not until it's confirmed by Cédes."

"Fate-friends?" he repeated. "And who is Cédes?"

The girl fiddled with her hands and flashed an awkward smile. "Perhaps you should be asking who I am first. And I you."

"Oh! I'm sorry. Call me Sansonis. That's it, just the one name."

"And I'm Ifaut. Ifaut Bayaurun Mafouras, only daughter and child of Phastus III and Rivista of what was once the Mafouras kingdom." She seized Sansonis in an over-exuberant hug that forced the air from his lungs.

"Nice to meet you, Ifaut," he choked, trying to draw breath as odd warbling noises bubbled up from somewhere in her throat.

She released him and hopped impatiently from foot to foot. "So, where do we go now?" she asked. Her eyes shone with expectation.

"I should get back home," he said as his breath returned, "but you want me to see this Cédes, don't you?"

"It is entirely you own decision. Wherever you go, I follow. Even if you should become so possessed by irrationality that you wish to picnic in Sol-Acrima itself, I shall follow you," she said and bowed slightly at the waist, hands clasped before her chest.

"But why?"

"You saved my life. As a bearer of Furosa I'm bound by the laws of Keet the First to follow you everywhere you go until such a chance to repay you arises." She clung to his arm and again made the odd staccato sounds that sounded like rapid-fire "dooks".

"You can't be serious..." he muttered, not quite believing the strange girl beside him.

"Of course I am," she said earnestly. "And because the possibility of us being kamaes is so strong, it is even more important for me to accompany you and ensure your well-being."

"The thing is," he said, feelings of shame welling up from within, "even though I didn't set that trap, I... I thought about turning you in for the reward."

She released him and gave his shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "But you didn't, that's how I know I can trust you. You didn't succumb to the greed many others would have. The reward would have helped you though, yeah?"

"Yes." He nodded, his eyes downcast. "I have to pay to stay in the Joven inn, and three times what others do at that. And few people offer work to someone like myself."

Again she was puzzled by the mention of "someone like him". He certainly seemed nice enough, she thought. Almost cute, even. For a human. Except for those stubby little ears. "Don't worry about having somewhere to stay," she said at last. "I'll look after you myself when we go to see Lady Cédes." Then blushing she added, "I'm a pretty good cook, too."

"Thanks," he said, truly touched by her gesture. "You know something? It's been forever since someone's been this nice to me. I might as well go with you; it's not like I have a life back there anyway. But before we do, I have to get some things from the inn. Will you wait here? I'll be as quick as I can."

Ifaut cocked her head to one side and sniffed. Her ears twitched. "You didn't happen to come walking with friends, did you?"

"No, why?" Sansonis asked suspiciously.

"Someone's coming," she said. Her eyes widened. "I-"

But before she could finish, a shout came from somewhere in front of them and two armed men appeared from the trees. The larger of the two, a brute of a man with more hair on his face than his head, drew a knife from his belt and spat in Sansonis's direction.

"Why am I not surprised to see the Dog here?" he said and sauntered towards Sansonis while fingering his knife. His companion hung back and watched the scene unfold.

Ifaut ducked behind Sansonis and, clutching his arm, peered over his shoulder. "Why did he call you a dog?" In reply he shrugged her off and took a step forward. She couldn't help shaking as the other man nervously grasped the hilt of his short sword.

Despite the fact she had been trained to fight since she was young, fear froze any thoughts of attacking first. These men had weapons and she had never been involved in a real fight before. Still, the anger and fright growing inside balled her hands into fists.

"Leave her out of this," Sansonis said levelly and pushed Ifaut gently away from him.

The man shoved him so hard he staggered backwards and pressed the knife to his neck. "I've always wanted an excuse to kill you, Dog, just like I killed those four-legged devils you used to live with."

Sansonis felt the cold steel of the blade against his throat, smelled the man's sour breath and unwashed odor. But he felt something else. Something new. For ten years he had suffered in silence, not knowing who exactly had killed his family or their reasons for doing so. And it was the first time he had stood face-to-face with one of their killers. As nausea churned in his stomach, he was vaguely aware of that dark cloud again descending over his eyes, blocking out both sight and consciousness.

"And now," the man continued, drawing blood as the knife eased into Sansonis's skin, "for helping this Furosan I can finally kill you, an affront to Kardin and disgrace to the rest of us. And when I'm done I'll have my fun with your little friend there." He jerked his head in Ifaut's direction and two more men materialized from the trees behind her.

"I'll make her talk, find out where the rest of those disgusting things live. Then I'll see if I can make her squeal before I kill her." He grinned, showing his blackened teeth.

For a moment Sansonis felt as if time stood still, frozen by the chill spreading through his heart. And without warning the dark cloud eclipsed his eyes completely.

Ifaut stared in amazement as Sansonis gripped the man's wrist and twisted it backwards effortlessly until, screaming in pain, the man collapsed to his knees and dropped his knife. With an unnatural strength Sansonis's fist collided with the man's gut and sent him tumbling several meters into a tree where he crumpled to the ground and didn't move. The assistant drew his short sword and charged, yelling in rage. But before he could land a blow, Sansonis caught his wrist and stopped the blade's path. The second man flew backwards, propelled by some unseen force, and landed out of sight somewhere in the bushes. His weapon fell at Sansonis's feet.

"What just happened?" Ifaut said, her voice barely more than a panicked squeak. She dashed to his side as the two men behind her drew closer. He didn't respond. He only picked up the sword and strode past her towards the other two. She shivered as the cold aura now radiating from his body brushed her bare arm. And maybe it was just the light, or her imagination, but his eyes seemed completely black, empty of warmth or life. That scared her more than anything.

As the two other men moved to attack him, he parried their sword strokes and countered one with a left hook to the head and kicked the other so hard in the stomach that he fell and remained motionless.

Just as suddenly as the fight had started he dropped his sword and collapsed unconscious to the ground.

"Saun, I mean, Sansonis!" Ifaut rushed to his side and fell to her knees. She seized him by the shoulders and shook him, all the while yelling his name and pleading for him to just wake up already.

After much shaking and yelling, though probably not because of it, he came to, disoriented and not knowing what had happened.

"How did you do that?" She fell on top of him and hugged him tight before he was fully conscious.

"Do what?" he asked and bolted upright. He soon saw the four men lying scattered and unmoving on the ground, though dead or unconscious he couldn't tell. "Did I do that?"

"Yes, but it was like it wasn't you at the same time. You don't remember, do you?" Even though he felt warm again and his eyes were their usual steely gray, an icy chill shot through her back.

"No. All I remember was hearing him say he killed my family and that he was going to kill you too, after he'd done something else..."

Ifaut winced and, taking both his hands, hauled him to his feet. "Now I am twice indebted to you," she said, although she didn't seem too bothered by the prospect. In fact, she smiled a toothy grin. But inside she was worried. What had caused him to attack those men so violently and coldly? Was she also in danger? She didn't think so, but couldn't be sure. After all, these humans were notoriously violent and unpredictable. Just like he had been moments before. "Why did he call you a dog?"

He let out an exhausted sigh. "I'll tell you, but first we need to get far away from here." He took a step forward and stumbled, falling into Ifaut's arms.

"I have you," she said and supported him by threading her arm under one shoulder and over the other.

"Don't worry," he added with a smile that made her heart beat faster. "I'd never hurt you."

Supporting Sansonis, the Furosan Ifaut Mafouras began the long walk back to her home. She'd acquired what she had run away to find. And a new friend.

Chapter IV: Fly by Night

In the last hour of the day, once the blue moon had risen to the top of the sphere of heaven, a cold, wet nose roused Stefi from her sleep. She grumbled and opened her eyes to find Rhaka before her, his blue glow nearly as bright as the moonlight.

"What is it?" she said, not yet realizing it had to be something important for him to risk detection.

"The Furosan has been sighted. Many men from the inn are now pursuing it, clamoring for its blood. If you still wish to see a Furosan, we ought hasten."

"What?" She bolted upright, now fully awake. Gemmie stirred in her lap and Maya awoke muttering something quite unrepeatable. Stefi still didn't know where he had learnt such language, but he did used to keep company with her father.

"You heard correctly. We must leave now. Quick, onto my back."

She removed the ferrets' harnesses. "Can you hold me?" she asked as she eyed him up. He wasn't very large, but the muscles in his legs were certainly bigger than a regular dog's, and his back broader. "And the ferrets?"

"Yes," he said. "It is the only way we could possibly catch up."

Just as he finished speaking, a shout came from down the road and several humans approached. The glowing beacon of Rhaka's aura had alerted them to his presence.

Without hesitation Stefi forced her blanket into her pack and leapt onto the Otsukuné's back. She clutched her ferrets in her left hand and grasped the fur on Rhaka's back with her right. "Go!"

Rhaka took off straight towards their pursuers.

"Maybe we should avoid them!" Stefi shouted.

Rhaka did just that. Without slowing, the Otsukuné cleared them with one great leap. Stefi caught a glimpse of their amazed faces as they sailed over. She laughed at the sheer weirdness of the situation, though whether excitement or fear fueled her laughter she couldn't tell.

Within seconds Rhaka had borne them to the shadowy embrace of the forest. Even so, the night echoed with shouts and cries as more people joined the chase. They were accompanied by the eerie glows of torches even though both moons shone brightly.

"Are you fine up there?" Rhaka asked, not slowing in his stride as he dodged nimbly through the trees that seemed to rush headlong towards them.

"Yes," Stefi called breathlessly. "This is the most excitement I've had in my life!"

"Hold on tightly. I have found the Furosan's scent, but it is trailed by that of a human." He broke into a gallop and Stefi ducked her head to keep her balance.

Maya, caught up in the moment, squirmed his way from Stefi's grasp and clambered onto Rhaka's neck. This brings back memories! he whooped, delighting in the rush of the night air on his masked face as he waved his open mouth back and forth.

"Maya, get back here!"

Maya ignored his human friend, too charged by the night flashing by to listen. Gemmie, somewhat more wisely, sought the safety of Stefi's arms.

Within half an hour they had left their pursuers behind completely, and Rhaka skidded to a halt. Maya's grip wasn't as strong as he thought it to be and he somersaulted, swearing, into the grass.

"What is it?" Stefi asked. She laughed as the stunned ferret composed himself. "Something wrong?"

"Yes." Rhaka's nose skimmed across the grass, divining the scent of two from many. "The human scent. It is that of a Kalkic. Sansonis, perhaps. It has been long, yet the scent brings with it a sense of familiarity across the years."

"Are you sure? Why would he want to go after a Furosan?"

"I do not know. I thought more of him than to stoop this low for monetary gain, but he must be desperate. It is my fault for not seeking him out sooner."

"Don't say that," Stefi said. "He hasn't done anything. Not yet, anyway."

After a short pause he sped once more into the night. And again Maya rode upon his neck. In truth, the ferret hoped to go flying again.

"How far to go?" Sansonis asked his new self-appointed companion.

Ifaut twitched her ears and replied without looking at him. "Hmm... We're at least a day's walk away from home. But it's getting late. Do you need to rest? I'm getting tired," she said and emphasized it with a yawn. "I've been upside for too long and all the tiredness ran from my feet to my head..."

The odd pair had been fleeing for an hour now. All signs of other humans had long since vanished into the night.

"How long were you hanging there before I found you?" Sansonis asked.

"Only a wee while," she said matter-of-factly. "Since a little before lunchtime. But is it still called lunchtime if you didn't eat lunch? Anyway, why do you ask?"

"Never mind."

As she started to make her odd throaty noise again, Sansonis interrupted her. "I feel awkward asking this, but what's that noise you keep making?"

"Oh..." A red flush crept into her cheeks and she turned away for a second. "It's called dooking. Ferrets do it too and we can't really control it. We just do it when we're happy or excited. Our faces can lie, but that always reveals our true feelings. But now you have to answer me something, m'kay?"

"Anything, I guess." He sensed that she desperately wanted to change the subject and hide her reddening face.

"Why did that man call you a dog?"

Sansonis remained silent for a minute, staring at the ground, and Ifaut wondered if he had heard her. The only sounds were their footsteps and the occasional bird somewhere in the night calling forlornly to the darkness.

"Why did that man-"

"I heard you the first time," he said. "It's just that I don't know how to answer. Can we sit first?"

With utmost care Ifaut lowered him to the ground at the base of a tree and leaned up against him. Warm, she thought, and suddenly felt very sleepy.

"I was raised by Otsukuné," he continued.

"Otsukuné? But aren't they all dead?" she said, all feelings of sleep at once gone. Despite her favorite school lessons being lunch and nap time, even she knew the Otsukuné were all but gone from Feregana.

"They are now," he said as a bitter splinter of sadness lodged in his throat. "When I was a child, an Otsukuné named Rhaka found me alongside my dead parents. He said they looked like they'd been murdered. We never found out why. Although I was human and could have made an easy meal, he took me home with him to Shangara and raised me like his own son. He was the only father I knew, and his mate Mido, his own daughters Stafi and Mursa, were my family. Not your typical upbringing, but it was a home at least."

Ifaut stared at him through clouded eyes, blinking away the tears. "I think I can figure out the end," she said. "Even I know the humans came and killed the Otsukuné. But do you know why they did it? I certainly don't."

"No," Sansonis said and shook his head. "That question keeps me awake most nights. I still don't have the slightest idea why. I've tried to find out but all I can gather is that it was for some sort of religious reason. There has to be something more, something beyond just petty religious teachings, something I'm missing..."

"I know!" Ifaut squeaked, her tears suddenly forgotten. "We can ask Lady Cédes! She might know something."

"I hope so. Look, I need to get some sleep, but there's something I have to ask you first. When you helped me out back there, was your debt repaid?"

"When I helped you? I'm sorry, I didn't see anything," she said and giggled. "My eyes were closed."

As Sansonis made himself as comfortable as he could on the cold ground with the warm Furosan girl at his side, he heard her whisper something in his ear. "I've been searching for you for a very long time. You can't get rid of me that easily." She started singing a soft, soothing song in her own language, and again the words, although in another tongue, meant more to him than anything he had heard before. She stopped for a moment and added, "Looks like I still owe you one."

"They are very close," Rhaka said and slowed to a brisk trot. "You had best be prepared if the worst has happened, if he seeks to harm her."

"Then why do they both flee away from town?" Stefi asked as she relaxed her grip on his fur.

Rhaka didn't answer and Stefi, holding the two ferrets, jumped from his back.

An excited Gemmie wriggled her way from Stefi's grasp and perched on her shoulder. She quivered in excitement. I can't wait to see the Furosan! Do you think they'll let me play with them? And give me cuddles? And semlai Calopis quercansas...

"Gemmie, settle down," Stefi said and stroked the over-excited ferret. "You know I can't understand you when you get all hyped up. You stop thinking in real words and start thinking in raw emotions. It's confusing."

I'm sorry, she said as her nonsensical thoughts faded. I'm calm now.

Even though Stefi didn't really believe Sansonis would be trying to capture the Furosan, given they were both heading deeper into the forest, she took her knife from her belt and squeezed the handle tightly in her sweaty hand. Too many strange things had already happened for her to let her guard down. And, perhaps, it was time to be a little less trusting of others.

"Stand back," Rhaka said. "I shall go first." The Otsukuné slunk silently away and Stefi waited, as nervous and excited as Gemmie had just been.

A short way off Sansonis awoke to Ifaut hissing his name. "Is something wrong?" he asked, still half asleep.

She slapped her hand over his mouth to silence him. "I hear voices. Someone's coming." She tried to sound confident, like any reputedly vicious creature should. Her wavering voice betrayed her. She grabbed a sizeable branch from the ground and readied it like a sword in front of her, wringing it nervously with both hands.

A glowing, dog-like creature seemed to melt from the trees in front of her. Instead of moving she stood firm. "If you want to hurt Sansonis you'll have to come through me first," she said, her gaze never wavering.

"Only if he intends to harm you."

At the sound of its voice Ifaut dropped the stick and took a step back. "What did you just say? Wait... you talked?"

"Yes, your ears do not deceive you, young Furosan."

Overhearing them, Sansonis stood up. "I know that voice," he said, a flicker of recognition on his face. "Is it really you?" Stunned, he walked forward and the moonlight revealed the familiar face from his past. But instead of the loving father figure from years ago he saw one full of anger.

"Get away from her!" the Otsukuné growled at him. "Even though you were my son I shan't hesitate to protect the Furosan if you are here to harm her. She seems intent on protecting you, yet I know how easily humans may manipulate the emotions of others."

"B-but," Sansonis stammered, confused at Rhaka's sudden outburst, "I saved her life. I'm not trying to kill her!"

"How can I put my trust in you? How do I know you that have not changed in the past ten years?" he said, still failing to see past his own preconceptions. "You were my son. Yet the current circumstances are stacked against you."

Ifaut planted her hands firmly on her hips. "Don't I get a say in this, dog-face?" she shouted, now more annoyed than frightened.

The aggressive look of bared teeth melted from Rhaka's face and was replaced by one of slack-mouthed shock.

"That's right. He saved my life," she continued. "He even admitted he had the chance to turn me in for a reward. He chose not to. And if you have a problem with that you can just leave us alone. It's not like you were there for him during the last ten years, anyway."

"I...I..."

"That's what I thought! Besides, if he had tried to hurt me I could have taken him out easily!" She smiled and elbowed Sansonis in the stomach perhaps a little too hard. He staggered backwards, momentarily winded.

Rhaka stood in shocked silence. After a moment he managed to compose himself. "I am truly sorry, my son," he said. "I assumed the worst from you, and for no reason. Ten years is a long time, and one can change much in that course. Even those thought dead."

Sansonis felt tears forming in his eyes, and not from Ifaut's elbow. But all the years of loneliness had taught him to repress them, not to let others see signs of his distress, to force sadness and anger deep down inside. "It's all right," he said and clenched his fists. "You're still my father... All the same, this is damn sudden. I don't know if I can just forgive you for leaving me alone and letting me think you were dead all these years. Not yet, anyway. I hope you understand, even if I don't myself."

Ifaut seized his arm and, unmindful of her sharp claws, hauled him aside. "He's your daddy!" she hissed. "Look, I know he was just mean and he abandoned you, but I'm sure you can forgive him. And just look at that sad face!"

"There's no need to whisper," Sansonis said. "He can hear everything you're saying."

"Yes, I can," Rhaka said. "I have my reasons for leaving you alone for so long. Now... now you would not understand. Please trust me that what I did was right."

Behind Rhaka, Ifaut noticed a girl peering timidly from behind a tree. Her attention immediately fell upon the two ferrets she was holding. She released her vice-like grip on Sansonis's arm and with a few lithe bounds landed in front of a very confused Stefi.

"Wow!" she squeaked and seized Gemmie and Maya from Stefi's arms. Her face beamed with a lopsided grin, one sharp tooth hanging over her bottom lip, and she danced in clumsy circles, dooking happily with a ferret in each hand.

"Hey! Give them back!" Suddenly Stefi fell to her knees and clutched her head. Her mind churned, feeling as if it was turning itself inside out as the raw emotional thoughts of her two ferrets and the Furosan girl buzzed about, swarming incomprehensibly. The emotions of one ferret were confusing at best, but two and a Furosan's were crippling.

"Settle... down... ferts..." she managed to say through clenched teeth, and as they calmed she felt her consciousness returning to normal.

Visfdtehjr taudfeost Merek... okay, Stefi? Gemmie's voice gradually came into focus, chaotic noise becoming words.

"Yeah, too many emotions, and you two got so hyped up over something."

Sorry, Maya said. We couldn't help it. It's a Furosan! We found one!

During her mental tumult Stefi had barely even registered the Furosan's presence. Now, as her mind cleared, she saw Ifaut peering wide-eyed with worry at her. She shot her a reassuring smile. "I'm okay, Furosan." She stood up shook her head. "My name's Stefi. The two ferrets you're holding are Gemmie, the smaller one, and Maya, the bigger, more obnoxious one. And you are?"

"Oh! I didn't think playing with your ferrets would make you so upset! Here you go." She handed Gemmie and Maya back. "I'm Ifaut Mafouras, and as you just noticed so clearly, I'm a Furosan. And this," she said, hauling Sansonis to her side "is Sansonis. He saved my life."

Sansonis offered a simple, "Hello," something he wished he really could've said upon first meeting Ifaut.

"I hope you don't mind me asking," Stefi continued, "but why are you two together? You're Rhaka's son, aren't you? And I bet you're the Furosan everyone in Joven's looking for."

Sansonis spoke up. "I see we're well known already."

"Well," Stefi said, "Rhaka's told me all about you already. And in Albana I heard about the Furosan, I mean Ifaut, and everyone in the Joven inn looked set on killing her. Feregana's a small world, huh?" Throughout the introductions Rhaka sat motionless, only twitching his ear occasionally to hear what was said.

Aren't you forgetting something, Stefi? Maya asked. Why we've been wandering around lately?

"Huh? You're right!" Stefi said a little too loudly, causing Ifaut to jump in surprise.

The Furosan cocked her head curiously. "Just who're you talking to? More friends we can't see?"

"Oh, I forgot. You might think this is weird, but I can understand what ferrets say. Maya was just reminding me of something."

Ifaut gasped and began pacing frantically, her tail twitching nervously. "We have to get you to Lady Cédes at once!" she said and flapped her hands in urgency. "Quickly!"

"To whom? But why?"

Sansonis sighed. "She wants to take me to see this Cédes, too. I think it's an Ifaut thing."

"It is not an Ifaut thing!" She stopped her pacing and pouted. "Only Cédes can confirm if Sansonis and me are kamaes, and Stefi's gift is something very important to ferrets, Furosans, and most importantly, Feregana. But maybe we should start at the beginning first. I don't know anything about you yet. Or old dog-face over there."

Rhaka tried to growl threateningly at her, but after the argument before, the terror that once lurked in his throat had dimmed. Ifaut merely poked her tongue out at him.

She sat down and motioned for the others to join her, and after Sansonis had lit a fire the unusual group updated each other on what had already happened: about Stefi leaving home, her meeting with Rhaka, and Sansonis saving Ifaut and the strange events afterwards.

Eventually sleep started to cloud Stefi's eyes, and the ferrets had long since fallen asleep. An occasional word entered her mind from their dreams; not that they were particularly telling. She yawned.

Rhaka said his first words since the fire was lit. "Perhaps now it is time for sleep. Young Furosan, how long will it take to reach your home?"

"It's Ifaut, old dog-face." She yawned widely, revealing her very sharp canines. "If we leave early tomorrow..." She contorted her face in concentration. "...take a shortcut, walk quickly, stop for no more than two naps, we'll make it by tomorrow afternoon. Or is it tomorrow now? But that would make it today, not tomorrow? Anyway, as long as we get there for the festival of Lidae. But now," she said and curled up on the ground, "it's time for sleep, in case you hadn't noticed."

Stefi couldn't have been as tired as she thought she was, since she awoke as dawn first spread her warm caress across the land. Even the birds had yet to wake and start their chorus. Careful not to wake the ferrets, she stood and stretched her aching body, longing for a real bed again. Luckily for Ifaut, she noticed, she had chosen to use Sansonis's chest as a pillow sometime during the night and slept soundly.

Ifaut's last words the previous night–or was it this morning? Now she was starting to think like Ifaut–rang in her head. If they wanted to reach the Furosan's home today then they would have to leave early. It was time to wake the others.

She started with Ifaut, mindful of the fact that she'd likely cause enough unintentional commotion to wake the others.

"Ifaut, Ifaut," Stefi hissed as she nudged the sleeping Furosan with her foot.

"Waah!" Ifaut awoke with a start and dug her claws into Sansonis's chest, her tail puffed and eyes wide. Not surprisingly, Sansonis jerked upright and his resulting yell of pain roused Rhaka and the ferrets. At least Stefi was right about Ifaut waking everybody.

After many apologies, everyone's thoughts turned to breakfast, while the ferrets, their energy overflowing after sleeping, tumbled about in the grass, open mouths waving in mock combat.

"Does anyone have food?" Ifaut asked and mumbled something about protecting Sansonis and not hurting him.

"Sorry," Stefi said as she rummaged through her pack, "I've only got a few ferret biscuits left." She was suddenly glad that they'd soon be reaching somewhere with more food, realizing she'd vastly underestimated how much was needed for her journey.

Ifaut's eyes shone and she crawled towards Stefi.

Stefi hid the pack behind her back. "Only enough for the ferrets."

The happiness fell from Ifaut's face. It was the same look Stefi had seen all too often on her ferrets, especially when she didn't feel like playing when they did, or when she'd reclaimed some of their ill-acquired treasures.

Ifaut sighed. "It's okay. We'll get something to eat when I get home. Should we leave now?" She hauled Sansonis from the ground as he frowned and rubbed the red spots that freckled his shirt.

Stefi called the two ferrets to her and placed them carefully on her shoulders. As they quivered with excitement, she felt the strange sensation in her mind again, though it wasn't as bad as the last time. The murky floodwaters had subsided into a pleasant trickle.

Play hdeetty Furosan fiddrad fun, Gemmie's voice bubbled and Stefi saw a brief flash of Gemmie picturing herself playing with several Furosans. All she kept getting from Maya were not words but images of him surrounded by meat and looking very pleased with himself. Maybe he was trying to tell her something.

"You can finish the biscuits in my bag if you're hungry," she told them.

I'll wait, Maya said. I'm saving my appetite for when we get there.

"For lots of meat?"

How did...?

"I finally managed to make sense of some of those thoughts of yours. You were surrounded by food. No surprises there." She laughed as the others watched her seemingly one-way conversation in wonder. Maybe, she thought, it was because of Ifaut, an intermediary between their two races, that she could now see through the emotions to the pictures underneath.

Rhaka interrupted, speaking more quietly than gruffly. "Come. Let us leave now. Young Furosan, lead," he said.

"Okay, dog-fa- I mean, Rhaka," she said. During the night she had been thinking. Perhaps she'd hurt Rhaka's feelings when she yelled at him and accused him of abandoning Sansonis. And maybe he didn't really have a choice in the matter. Besides, he was perhaps the last of his kind and didn't need to be called something as rude as dog-face. Was that why that man had called Sansonis a dog with such hatred in his voice? Dog was an insult? She'd have to try to watch what she said from now on. Especially if it might hurt Sansonis too.

Ifaut, acting as a guide and strangely distancing herself from Sansonis, led everyone through the forest while muttering and following a path only she could see. Even Rhaka had no inkling of their current whereabouts despite being a denizen of the forest. After following the Furosan's seemingly aimless meanderings for hours, fording several rivers, and climbing many rises, Stefi and Sansonis weren't surprised that no other human had found their home for many years.

Towards mid afternoon they followed Ifaut over a small rise where she stopped suddenly in front of a sheer, impassable rock face that towered high above their heads.

"Ifaut," an exhausted Sansonis said, his voice drained, "we're lost, aren't we?"

Stefi sighed and leaned her hands on her knees. In her whole life she had never walked as much as in the last few days. She felt as if she would collapse at any moment.

"No, no, no," Ifaut said and shook her head. Her hair flared about her and seemed to glow as it caught the late sunlight. "Far from it. Watch. Watch!"

And they did. Ifaut raised her hand, placed it against the cold wall of rock, and spoke in the same language she was accustomed to singing in around Sansonis. For a minute a section of the rock seemed to waver like a far off object on a hot day. Then it vanished into a tunnel-like opening.

"Ta da!" she said and smiled, looking very pleased with herself. "Now quickly, hurry inside before it closes." She clasped Sansonis's hand and pulled him through first, followed by an awed Stefi, Gemmie, Maya, and at last Rhaka.

Although Rhaka wouldn't admit it, he was fascinated by the trick. If only the Otsukuné had had the skill to conceal themselves like this, he thought.

Chapter V: Ariga's Hope

A year had come and gone since Pheia last stood atop the outer walls surrounding Ariga's acropolis, along with her brethren, and defended what little remained of their land. Although the fires that had ravaged the plains had long since died, the smell of stale smoke still seemed to hang in the air. Somehow the Furosans of Ariga had survived the war and managed to rebuild their home from the ashes of a Pyrrhic victory. But in a land still recovering from the wounds of war, the healing process was slow and pained.

As Pheia once more stood atop the walls high above the plains, she turned over the sad prospect of the future in her heart: Ariga's lands had been razed; Minhera had long ago slipped beneath the waves; Alzandia was nothing more than a memory lost to the fog; and the Mafourans hadn't been heard from in a decade as if they had suddenly forgotten their eastern allies. And as for the Acharnians, it was their blatant refusal to stop playing and growing vegetables that had consigned them to whatever history books still acknowledged them.

To make things worse, her father, King Atticus, had never fully recovered from the injuries of war. She had climbed the many stairs to reach this place to get away from the reminders of the war, but they lay across the land, permeated the very air. And it was the furthest she could get away from her father and brother, Richo. She was seeking solitude. She found only isolation.

As she stood contemplating the dire state of everything, of the burned and dying land she and her brother might one day–maybe any day now–inherit, she heard the padding of bare feet on the stone behind her.

"Miss Pheia?" a soft voice said.

Without looking she knew who it was. "Yes, Nrika?" Though the woman behind her had been her maid for many years, she was more sister than servant. "Is it about father?"

"I am afraid so," Nrika said in a hushed voice. "It would be best if you see him now." She turned and left as quietly as she had arrived.

With her stomach suddenly growing heavier, Pheia made her way back down the many flights of stairs from the walls, past many doors that led to rooms even she had never entered. To her brother Richo they represented adventurousness. To Pheia with her fear of the unknown they were gateways to innermost fears.

She crossed the township, the only truly safe place to live in Ariga sheltered within the massive walls. The towering acropolis stood in its center, an island amidst a sea of smaller buildings. And atop it was the stone palace of the Arigan royal family.

Pheia climbed the winding road and hurried past the temples of the elemental guardian Shizai and the lesser Uiverrae to the palace itself. It was a squat building, built more for protection than decoration.

As she entered her father's dim, curtained room, several attendants hastened past her and out the door. She knew then it was serious.

"It's time, isn't it?" she asked. She knelt by her father's bed and clasped his hands in hers.

Atticus stared into her brown, almond-shaped eyes with an unfocused gaze. He said nothing. Instead he nodded deliberately, his pale and gaunt face strained with the effort.

"And our land... to whom is it entrusted?" she asked. She didn't ask it thinking only of the gain, but rather out of concern and even a hope that its responsibility wouldn't fall on her.

For the first time in days her father spoke to her. "As you may have already guessed, I find it most fitting for your brother to rule," he said. Pheia almost sighed with relief. "After his arranged marriage to Ifaut Mafouras, perhaps a stronger alliance may arise, one that might help unite our divided world, one stronger than if you alone were to take my place.

"I have a more important task for you," he added. "We are only just recovering from war, and you know as well as I that we could never truly survive another attack, even if we were to somehow emerge victorious again. Even now I fear the humans are readying for further war, and rumor speaks of a concerted effort to quell pockets of the Acharnian resistance. Our people are spent. There is no fight left. And with my imminent death..." Before he could finish he was interrupted by a bout of coughing. When it finally subsided he continued.

"Minhera is lost beneath the ocean to the wrath of Shizai. The Alzandians, bar the White Demon Cédes and a few remnants, are all but lost to the fog that has enveloped their land. And we have not heard from the Mafouras kingdom in several years. I fear a similar bad fate may have befallen them, just as we are now upon the wane. That would prove disastrous for any hope of a strengthened alliance."

"Don't say that!" Pheia said. "But what can I possibly do?"

"You must seek out the Fieretka and the one who can talk to ferrets, the Fieretsi. They may be our last hope."

Since childhood Pheia had been told about the legend of the Fieretka, a group of Feregana's divided races, and the one among them who could talk to ferrets and manipulate Furosa: the Fieretsi. Until this moment they had been nothing more than a story to her ears. Now maybe her path was going to entwine itself with theirs. Perhaps she would even become a legend herself.

"Then the stories are true! Where might I find them?" she asked.

"You ought to know from the stories I told you to help you sleep. Somewhere in the west, but I do not know where, exactly. And the inexorable pull of Atora's pendulum may be yet to bring them together."

"Then how do I know who they are? Must I ask everyone I meet?"

"Trust in me. You will know when you find them."

He broke into another coughing fit and his breathing became labored gasps. Without saying anything more he reached into his pocket, removed a blue stone about the size of a fist, and handed it to Pheia. She pocketed it without a second glance.

"This... this will help you," he said, forcing out the reluctant words with difficulty. "Now please leave. I need my rest."

Her eyes misting over with tears, Pheia felt a depth to his words that said more than he spoke aloud. She knew right then he was about to die.

Without knowing why, she said, "See you soon. I'll be back as quickly as I can." She spun on the balls of her feet and ran from the room, her waist-length auburn hair streaming behind her. She coldly brushed off the concerned inquiries of Nrika as she went. In truth she didn't want anyone to see her tears.

Pheia pounded up the steps to her own bedroom. Even though she was a member of royalty, her room was simple and practical without needless adornments or many possessions. A wooden cupboard holding everything she owned stood against one wall and a bed lay opposite it against the other. Resting on a rack attached to the stone wall was the large composite bow, nearly her own height, with which she had accompanied the archers defending Ariga's outer walls in the war. She shuddered just thinking about the number of lives she had taken with it and its deadly arrows. Carved on the side were Arigan letters spelling Reda Dei-Latannga, the rough Common Language equivalent of "Deathbringer". A fitting name, she thought, for something that had brought death to so many, although not just at her hands.

She lifted her bow from the wall, strung it, and gave the string a few experimental tugs so that it sang in a high, angelic voice belying its true nature. Satisfied with the tension, she reached under her bed and retrieved an old leather quiver filled with a dozen hunting arrows. Their heads were capped with golden cephei hunting tips, their ends balanced in flight with the shimmering feathers of some long-extinct breed of dirriwan. The bow had been passed through the Arigan line for generations, yet bore no signs of its true age. What it did bear was whispered tales of its origin, supposedly carved from a tree at the Rainbow Bridge.

She placed her equipment on the floor near the door, ready for her departure the next morning, and sat down on her bed. She sighed and unwrapped her faded blue bandanna from around her head, tossed it to the floor, and stretched on top of the soft blankets. From where she lay she could see straight out the window across the bare plains, and, balanced barely discernible on the fringe of the horizon, the thin line of the sea melding with the sky.

The sun rolled lazily towards the distant sea, towards her future and Western Feregana. The sadness of her father's looming death and the excitement of a new adventure mixed oddly inside her, provoking thoughts about the road and sea that lay before her. She'd crossed it once before on a diplomatic visit to Mafouras, but that was long ago aboard the Arigan fleet. Now the remaining ships were moored far to the south, barely maintained in these times. That meant she'd have to make her way to the humans' port town of Leibos and stow away on a ship bound for the west. Before that she would have to cross much open land and hill country, greatly risk being spotted, and, to take a direct route, pass through the human town of Chalja. There was little cover between here and her destination, and she had little choice of where to go.

'Besides,' she thought, 'it's up to fate. Destiny. Perhaps the Uiverra Atora and his accursed pendulum are due to swing back in our favor. Maybe I'll die, maybe I'll succeed.'

Her eyes finally fluttered shut as the sun's last flames extinguished themselves in the watery depths of the sea.

A warm breeze from across the plains wafted through the half-open window. It ruffled Pheia's hair and sent her bandanna fluttering across the floor like a skittish ferret. She yawned and sat up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes and blinking rapidly in the harsh light of the new morning. The sweet sound of birdsong floated on the breeze and danced about her ears as she snatched up the bandana and tied it around her head to tame her errant hair.

She hoped to leave as soon as possible to avoid any second thoughts about going, but most of all to avoid the temptation to see her father again. It would only add more weight to the burden that was the future of her people, and perhaps her world.

She fixed the quiver to her belt and picked up her bow. As she did she felt the familiar chill course through her body as if the souls taken by it still haunted its otherworldly wood, trickling ice-water through her being.

As she walked towards the door she calmly smoothed out the creases in her skirt with her free hand. "Huh?" Her hand hit a lump in her pocket. She reached in and pulled out the turquoise, watery stone her father had given her the night before.

"I forgot all about this thing," she said to herself and turned it over in her hand. Her eyes were drawn as if hypnotized towards the depths of the stone and its viscous, angrily swirling center; aquas and greens in a constant, whirling spiral.

"It's trying to get out!" she gasped and quickly pocketed the thing. As frightened as she was, she wouldn't return the last gift from her father. And contained within it was perhaps the only thing that could keep her people alive.

Even as she walked down the hall with only her echoing footsteps for company, her thoughts kept returning to the mysterious stone and the animal-like substance encapsulated within. Her father as a ruler had many valuable items, but why give her something as precious, as dangerous, as this? She shook her head to clear her thoughts and walked briskly towards a small door in the outer walls where no one else could see her slipping away.

'Time to go,' she thought. It was a beautiful day, if one ignored the fact that the bare plains had once been teeming with people and life.

From high up and out of sight on one of Ariga's walls the melodious voice of a young woman reached her ears. Never before had she felt so utterly alone around her own home. That beautiful, haunting voice only deepened the isolation. But it filled her with courage and hope.

"Ma dahnie las dahkensen mai. Ah noh ji mahdo shigat roh."

We have fought this far and lost too much. We will never give up.

The voices she'd always taken for granted were soon to become but distance memories in her mind. She only wished her and her people's hopes would make it to the west alive.

Chapter VI: Sight Unseeing

After stepping through what was solid rock just seconds before, Stefi marveled at the hidden world she had entered. A quick glance behind her showed that she was closed in, although she certainly didn't feel like a prisoner here. She wondered if anyone could, even if they had been dragged here. Like Sansonis.

A huge town sprawled before her, circled by an evergreen forest of beech-like trees, and cut straight through the middle by a stream that tumbled from a waterfall far to her right. The countless trees scattered about, of light leaves but heavy shade, stretched out their limbs to offer coolness to the inhabitants. Dotted about this massive clearing were many small wooden houses with thatch roofs, and Stefi noticed, with a smile, that many had hammocks strung outside. By the looks of it the Furosans had more in common with ferrets than just appearances, sharing also the inexplicable fondness for hammocks. But most impressive of all was the large stone statue of a ferret, its head looking skyward as it held one leg raised mid-step.

Stefi followed the high curving arch of its back with her eyes and noticed a building not far from it that was different from the others. It was very small, windowless, and made entirely of wood. On its steps sat the most unusual thing Stefi had ever seen: a ghostly white Furosan. There was something about the figure, something that drew her attention, and it wasn't the lack of color in its skin or hair. As she looked–no, stared–nothing else around her seemed to matter. The roar of the waterfall dulled. The figure looked at her with deep red eyes and smiled.

Suddenly Gemmie's voice cut through her mind and snapped her from her trance. Stefi! Hurry up! We'll be left behind! Ifaut, Sansonis, and Rhaka were already approaching the stream.

"Oops, sorry!" she said and hurried after her new friends. But when she glanced back towards the figure there was only empty space. Something had happened when the two locked eyes, and Stefi felt as if, for just a moment, the Furosan had seen through her very being.

She approached the others, puffing slightly, arriving just in time to hear Ifaut's commentary. "And it looks like the preparations are underway. We arrived just in time. Whew."

"Preparations for what?" Stefi asked. She suddenly realized that Furosans were busying themselves setting up decorations and generally enjoying themselves, helped, of course, by their ferrets.

"The festival of Lidae, duh!" Ifaut said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "See that big statue? That's him. He's pretty, isn't he?"

Not as pretty as me though, Maya said.

"Who exactly is he?"

"I'm sorry, I keep forgetting you don't know," Ifaut said as they crossed a wide wooden bridge spanning the stream. She paused halfway and leaned over the railing. "He's a Uiverra, our guardian spirit. He watches over us and helps keep us hidden here. And I know what you're thinking. No, he isn't the statue," she laughed. "That's just an image of him."

"Most interesting," Rhaka said. "The human religion expressly forbids any images of their god, Kardin."

"We're not humans," Ifaut said curtly. "And he's not really our god, because, well, we don't exactly have one. We have Feregana, but She's more like a mother we are close to than some distant, supposedly omni-impotent god like Kardin. And we can touch her so we know she's close. And we have the ferrets. In terms of gods, they're the closest things we have to them.

"But anyway," she said, putting her happy demeanor back on and continuing to walk, "tonight's when we thank Lidae for protecting us this past year."

Rhaka spoke again. "Are we as outsiders welcome here, especially for an event of such importance?"

"I dunno," Ifaut said with a shrug. "We've never had anyone else here. At least not that I can remember. Maybe a long time ago though..." After that she fell silent and presently they approached a large stone building embraced by a copse of trees that displayed a varied palate of greens. Two armed Furosans stood guard outside, each with an equally stern looking ferret standing at attention beside them. Even though the guards were clearly traditional, sporting little in the way of armor and armed only with long poles, the others still felt a little uneasy at the sight of them, as if they might attack at the slightest provocation.

"Wait here a second," Ifaut said and approached the guards by herself. As she chatted to them in her native language, their gazes swept suspiciously over Stefi and Sansonis. But not as suspiciously as Maya eyed their guard-ferrets.

Look at them, standing all important like that, he muttered.

I heard that, Stefi heard an unfamiliar voice say in her head. The two guard-ferrets suddenly appeared at her feet, both sables resplendent in ornamental leather armor, and glared up at Maya.

Umm, what I meant was... do you stand there looking serious all day? he said, trying to save face.

The other one answered. It is our duty to protect those within this building along with our friends. We stand because we must, Maya of Farān, to retain our fragile honor and atone for our failure.

Before either he or Stefi could ask any more of the ferret's strange remark, Ifaut came rushing back. "Come on," she said, "we're going in now." She took Sansonis's hand and led everyone inside as the guards, still casting cursory glances at the two humans, withdrew.

Stefi marveled at the grandeur of the great hall's interior. Colorful frescoes adorned the walls, displaying events both from history and everyday life. The curving backs of ferrets were depicted naturally in the medium; the lively brushstrokes on setting plaster gave them a vitality that seemed to make them leap off the wall. Giant birds soared through the heavens, and various creatures were shown in the forests below. There were no humans.

At the far end of the hall, sitting upon large wooden chairs, were two Furosans. They exuded an aura of royalty, both aged and ageless at the same time, their ears and tails tinged gray like their hair.

Ifaut released Sansonis's hand and hugged them both. She conversed with them in their own language, a tongue that sounded rather like the Common Language punctuated with odd dooks and clucks, and heavy on open vowel sounds. Stefi guessed they must be her parents.

Presently Ifaut's father spoke so that the others could understand. "Humans amongst us," he said in a gravelly voice with a rather heavy accent that contorted his words, "and a supposedly extinct Otsukuné. These are odd times indeed."

No one else knew quite what to say, but Ifaut's father continued. "I am Phastus Mafouras III, king of Mafouras and its surrounds, although that title holds little weight now. And this is my wife, Rivista. You have already met my daughter, Ifaut."

'She's a princess?' Stefi thought. 'Could have fooled me...'

"And you, Kalkic, saved her life, did you not?" His piercing blue eyes stared straight through Sansonis.

"Yes, I saved her," Sansonis said. He was shaking slightly, though in nervousness or fear he didn't know.

"Then I thank you. You have my sincerest gratitude." He stood up and embraced Sansonis, who glanced awkwardly at Ifaut. If anything, Sansonis thought to himself, these people were certainly affectionate.

Phastus released Sansonis and approached Stefi. Much to everyone's surprise he got down on one knee before her. "If my Ifaut speaks the truth... you don't know what this means to us," he said and clutched Stefi's hands in his. "Little did I think that our fate would come to rest in a human's hands. But I can see that your heart is pure."

'No one has a pure heart,' Stefi thought darkly, then spoke aloud. "Please," she said, feeling rude to change the subject in such a situation but finding it necessary to ask about the whole reason she had set out from home, "what's happening to you Furosans and the ferrets? I came all this way because these two, Gemmie and Maya, felt something bad coming and we thought you might be able to help us."

Phastus arose and returned to his seat. "A disturbance is extending its hand across our world and the clouds of war are darkening in the eastern skies over Sol-Acrima. Lady Cédes will tell you everything you want to know and, through no fault of her own, things you will wish you had never heard, nightmares beyond your ken."

"Who is Lady Cédes? Ifaut mentioned her before." She felt her worry rise at what Phastus had said about her.

"Perhaps our greatest asset. Although she will be preparing for tonight's festivities as we speak, she will surely grant you an audience." He turned to Ifaut." And my daughter," he said, "afterwards take our visitors to the guest lodgings. Long have they lain empty and it is time again for their walls to warm company."

Ifaut nodded and, saying nothing more, led them outside and back they way they'd come. By now, it seemed, word of the strange arrivals had spread. Furosans young and old watched from doorways, or halted whatever work they had been doing outside to stare. Ifaut only smiled and waved. Stefi and Sansonis, however, felt more like trespassers than invited guests.

It took them only a few minutes to reach Cédes's dwelling. It was the same windowless building Stefi had seen on arrival.

What are you waiting for? Maya asked once they stood hesitantly outside. Let's go inside.

Stefi entered first, a ferret upon each shoulder, and found herself in a small, dim room. As her eyes tried to adjust, the heady fragrance of incense tickled her nose, and to her left Gemmie sneezed violently in her ear, showering her cheek with a cool spray. The only light came from several spluttering candles scattered about the room. Their flickering flames set the shadows of small wooden carvings dancing upon the walls. Stefi guessed the figures must represent Uiverrae like Lidae.

Ifaut shuffled in after her, fearful of the sanctity that hung thickly in the air, and motioned for everyone to be quiet.

At the far end of the room, kneeling upon a pile of blankets and framed by hanging tapestries, Stefi saw the pale Furosan who had disappeared so suddenly before, the one with the unusual eyes. She looked older than Stefi, perhaps by several years, though her appearance made it impossible to do more than guess at her true age. Her hair, the color of freshly fallen snow and as fine as corn silk, drifted about her knees. Her skin was pale as if she had spent all her life indoors, never knowing the caress of the sun.

As Stefi approached, the Furosan lifted her eyelids to reveal two blood-red eyes in which slightly darker pupils could barely be seen. Yet they appeared to look straight into Stefi's very being, both at what was real and what could be.

"I heard of outsiders arriving here with Miss Ifaut," the Furosan said. Her quiet voice startled Stefi from her daze. "As you likely know already, I am Cédes. Please, sit." She motioned to the blankets in front of her. "What is it I can help you with? Never have I been sought by a human before." Her voice rang with a clear, almost musical quality. Every "r" trilled delicately and she drew out some her vowels as if savoring their feel. Yet an underlying sorrow tinged her words as if she might start crying at any moment.

Ifaut, Sansonis, and Rhaka hung back, awaiting their turn.

"My name's Stefi Valtela. I left home to find you Furosans. Gemmie and Maya, these two ferrets you can see on my shoulders, feel like something bad is going to happen."

Cédes let out a low, sorrowful laugh. "I cannot see any ferrets upon your shoulders, nor indeed you. I am without sight."

"Oh!" Stefi gasped. "I'm sorry if I offended you. Please, forgive-"

Cédes silenced her with a raised hand. "Do not worry, for I have not taken offense. I cannot see with my eyes, yet I can hear and smell the world about me. But you, there is something about you I cannot place. I feel your presence shining in front of me. I...I have never felt something of this sort..." she said and shook her head in bewilderment.

"This is going to sound strange, but I can understand what ferrets say," Stefi offered, feeling that that might help explain it.

At her words Cédes stiffened. "Then you are the Fieretsi, one of the Fieretka! Long have Feregana and myself awaited the return of one like you. I all but knew you were a human, yet this still comes as quite a shock."

"The Otsukuné Rhaka said something about the Fieretsi helping the world, but he didn't seem to know much about it," Stefi continued.

At the mention of his name Rhaka cocked his head and listened intently.

"That is not surprising," Cédes said almost condescendingly, "but I can tell you everything you need to know, and some of what is yet to come. And I assume you have been warned about the... less pleasant things I might also say."

Maya chose that moment to skitter down from Stefi's shoulder and began to explore Cédes's room.

"Maya, no!" Stefi scolded. "This isn't our house. Come back!"

"No, it is quite all right," Cédes said. "He is most welcome to look around. It is a great blessing to have a ferret want to look about one's dwelling."

Upon hearing that it was all right, Gemmie too clambered down and nosed about, fascinated by the new smells and sensations.

"I didn't know it was good to have ferrets sticking their noses into someone else's things," Stefi said and smiled. "Most humans find it annoying."

"Most humans do not realize the true nature of ferrets. Although they are small, they certainly possess greater hearts than many bigger people."

"So, what's happening to them?" Stefi asked, easing the subject back on track as Gemmie and Maya explored Cédes's house. The two ferrets eventually found their way beneath the blankets upon which human and Furosan were seated and cruised the folded waves like sharks, nipping at anything they happened to bump into.

Cédes cast her unseeing eyes downward. "We, like your ferrets, can sense some disturbance approaching from the distant horizon, and we fear the humans may again be treading the path to war. And I cannot shake the feeling that our time is drawing to an end. This is where you as the Fieretsi, Miss Valtela, are to find your purpose."

"Call me Stefi, if you don't mind." Miss Valtela sounded far too formal to her ears. And old.

"Certainly. I meant no disrespect."

Cédes turned to where the other three stood by the doorway and addressed them for the first time, only now seeming to realize they were there. "Miss Ifaut, Kalkic, Otsukuné, you may join us also. There is no need to stand so separated as our respective races already do in this world. Please, sit."

Ifaut shuffled forward, her head hung low as if by an unseen weight, heavy with awe and fear of Cédes. Even so, her tail quivered and twitched. She took Sansonis's hand and sat down.

Beneath the blankets, a slinky form lurched and Maya's needle teeth probed through in excitement and fun.

Once they were all seated, Stefi spoke to Cédes. "I suppose I should introduce the others," she said. "You already know Ifaut, but the Otsukuné is Rhaka and the Kalkic is Sansonis; he saved Ifaut."

Ifaut piped up, unable to contain herself anymore despite knowing she really shouldn't interrupt. "I think he's my kamae," she said. "Can you tell me? You were the one who said I should go looking in the first place!"

Cédes laughed, and at this the formal air was broken. "Dear Ifaut," she said, "you are impatient as always. If what the townsfolk are already saying is to be believed, he is more your pet than kamae. All he lacks, they say, is a leash!" As she laughed at what she had just said, Stefi couldn't help but think she looked hauntingly beautiful, and yet still somehow deeply lonely.

"Hmph!" Ifaut grunted and crossed her arms. "It's not like you to joke about something like this. And if everyone keeps laughing at me, I'll...I'll..." She uncrossed her arms and clenched her fists tight, not in anger but embarrassment.

Cédes just smiled serenely. "You do not need me to tell you if you two are kamaes. Can you not feel it yourself?"

Ifaut relaxed and smiled. "Is that as close as I'll get to a yes out of you?"

Cédes nodded, and the elated Ifaut let out a squeal that startled the ferrets from the blankets. They peered out in fright and watched as Ifaut cavorted about the room and knocked over several ornaments before she dragged Sansonis back outside. Stefi, Cédes, and even Rhaka couldn't help but laugh as Sansonis shot them a worried look on the way out the door. He seemed genuinely afraid.

Once silence had returned, Cédes spoke once more. "As I was saying before Miss Ifaut interrupted, you as the Fieretsi are needed to stand against this coming disturbance which your ferrets have sensed. Do you know the nature of ferrets in this world?"

"Rhaka has already told me a little. He said they're our world's life force or something."

"He speaks correctly," Cédes said and nodded in Rhaka's direction. "Ferrets are composed of Furosa–the essential energy of life, this world, in fact–in its almost pure state, whilst also possessing the life spark and soul that is common to us all. They are the means through which life-giving Furosa is conveyed about the world. Every step leaves but a trace amount, and that is all that is necessary to keep the world alive. Flowers, trees, animals, every living thing is thanks to them."

"So you're essentially saying I can talk to the source of life?"

"Exactly. Fieret in the old tongue means 'ferret', but it can also mean 'life'. Si is one who speaks or communes. And ka means friend. Which is why your current companions, those drawn from Feregana's divided races, are the Fieretka. "

Stefi remained silent for a moment. The weight of what Cédes had said bore down on her. "But how can any of this help the world?"

"With the correct training from me, your skills may extend far beyond just conversing with ferrets." She smiled. "Why, you could even gain the power to destroy armies, nations... even worlds. Or save them. This coming disturbance, whether it is a surging tide of Nefairu, the opposite energy to our own world's Furosa, or something else entirely, it seeks the destruction of the ferrets."

Stefi's eyes widened in alarm. "But why? Killing the ferrets means no life. No life means..." she trailed off, unable to find the words necessary to continue.

"Yes," Cédes said. "And that is why we must stop it, though you alone possess the ability to do so."

Stefi shuddered even though the room was quite warm, and she picked up the ferrets to hold them tight for comfort. She needed to hold something, anything, to reaffirm her grip on reality. Her, possessing the power to destroy worlds? Or being the only one able to save this one? Her gift had always been something that had brought her happiness, if not a little suspicion from other people. Now how could something so joyous, so unassuming, bring about something so utterly unthinkable or even prevent it?

After a few moments of slow breathing she finally spoke again, but the excitement of meeting people who had until recently been the stuff of stories had gone. She felt weary. "How do you know all this?" she asked, her voice quaking. "That something wants everything... dead?"

"I have seen the future," Cédes said. "Though a dead, lifeless world is no real future for anybody."

Rhaka broke his protracted silence with what sounded like a snort. "If you have seen the future," he said, "then surely you ought know whether we are successful in preventing this disturbance."

A frown broke out on Cédes's face and she hung her head. Just when Stefi thought she wouldn't say anything, she spoke again. "Stefi is not the first Fieretsi. She is the final."

Stefi's face grew nearly as pale as the Furosan before her. "But... then that means..."

"We have failed before we have even begun. I have seen your death. You will die, and we cannot stop it from coming to pass."

"Run faster!" Ifaut yelled as she pulled Sansonis along so hard that he felt as if his arm would soon be wrenched from his shoulder. He doubted she would even notice if it was.

"Where are we going?" he said, drawing a breath between each word as Ifaut ran tirelessly. Just as he finished asking, she came to a stop next to the stream that ran through her hometown. She dropped herself on the grassy bank, lowered her bare feet into the cool waters, and swished them in the current. The motions startled the fish and sent them dancing away to seek the safety of the water-weed forests, just as the Furosans themselves sought solitude in this forest of the land. She dragged him to the ground beside her. He resisted the urge to wet his feet.

"I have something for you," she said. Her face beamed with a toothy grin. She reached into her pocket and removed two slender silver chains, each suspending a pendant shaped like a stylized half-ferret head made from a gold colored metal Sansonis had never seen before. "Pick one."

Sansonis pointed to the left half. Ifaut leaned forward, so close he could feel her nervous breath tickling his skin, and fastened the chain about his neck before putting on her own.

"Are these to do with this kamae thing?" he asked.

"Yes. They represent the link between us, two parts of one, the interconnectionyness of our souls. Aren't they neat?"

"Yeah, but what are they made of?" He turned the shiny trinket over in his hand, watching the rays of the sun glint off and dance across Ifaut's soft features. Her eyes glistened in the reflected sunlight.

"They're made of cephei," she told him, "a metal naturally infused with high levels of Furosa. It's very strong but very rare. I had to save up for a long time to buy these. Like a whole year of gardening and cooking for the older people."

"Thank you," Sansonis said. "You're a princess, though. Couldn't you just get them easily from your parents?"

"Yeah, but then they'd mean nothing."

He was suddenly struck by just how precious the little pendant about his neck was, not just in the raw value of its metal, but the many hours Ifaut had put in to earn it when she could've simply asked her parents. "Thanks. I really mean it. This is probably the first real gift anyone's ever given me." Then he did something unusual. He hugged her for a change.

"There's something else I want to ask you." Ifaut's face grew red as he pulled away. "Will you be my dance partner tonight? For the Festival of Lidae?"

Sansonis jerked as if bitten and widened his eyes.

"What's wrong? Don't you want to?" She frowned and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Something seems wrong."

"It's just that, you know, I spent much of my life with Otsukuné who couldn't dance, and the rest among humans who would rather hurt me than dance. So I have no idea how to."

Even though Sansonis seemed downcast, Ifaut laughed. "Is that all?" she asked. "It's not about knowing how, it's about what's in here." She gestured towards his heart, over which the pendant now hung. "And I'm not taking no for an answer, so get used to it."

"Have you ever taken no for an answer?" he asked. He already knew her reply.

"What do you think?" she said in a way that could only mean she hadn't. She stood up, her feet dripping cool water, and offered Sansonis her hand. "And don't worry. I'm not going to lead you around against your will anymore. Especially not on a leash. Let's go. I've gotta get ready for tonight."

"And me? Am I allowed to attend?"

"Only the celebration at the end. The religious ones are pretty strict on just us attending the ceremonies."

Sansonis took her offered hand and the two headed towards the house where the outsiders would be staying. For the first time since Shangara, he felt as if he truly belonged somewhere.

Chapter VII: Festival of Lidae

As Stefi shuffled from Cédes's house with heavy feet, a pall of darkness swirling with threats of death and destruction seemed to follow in her wake. Not even the brilliant banners and streamers now twisting in the breeze were enough to rouse her spirits. But then, like a beam of sunshine to dispel the clouds, Gemmie spoke to her.

Stefi? she said, her voice terribly calm. Please try not to worry too much about what the white Furosan lady said. We can't have you trying to save ferrets wearing a sad face.

"What's the use in trying?" Stefi said. "You heard Cédes as well as I did. We've failed before we've even started."

That's not true! Gemmie said forcefully yet with kindness in her words. The future is but a space on which we are to paint our own futures, no matter what someone else might think or see.

"Wow..." Stefi said, more a breath than actual speech. She plucked Gemmie from her shoulder and held the small sable in front of her face so that their eyes met; inky intelligent upon milky silver. "That's pretty deep coming from you!"

Actually, I heard it from someone else... an old friend from long ago. Gemmie admitted.

"Maya?"

As Maya replied with a straight-faced No (or as straight-faced as a ferret can get), Stefi caught a flash of something unexpected from both of their minds, but only for an instant: an armored ferret?

"Who was that?" Stefi asked them both as the image was quickly shunted from their minds as if the two ferrets were trying to hide something.

A damn fool... Maya muttered.

A damn good friend... Gemmie said.

But after that, no matter how hard she tried, she could coax no further information out of either of them.

Presently Stefi arrived at the guest lodgings, which Ifaut had had the uncharacteristic foresight to point out to her earlier. There she found the Furosan, Sansonis, and Rhaka seated around a warm open fire.

"Stefi!" Ifaut squealed a little too loudly as she rushed over to greet her. "What's wrong? You look sad. Did Lady Cédes say something upsetting? She often does, but she doesn't mean to." She moved, arms outstretched, to give Stefi a hug.

Stefi eased her back. "It's nothing, really. I'm just tired." In truth she was, both mentally and physically.

"Okay. Follow me, then," Ifaut said and led her into a small bedroom that opened off the back of the main room. It was only a simple affair. There were two single beds against one wall and a set of bunks standing opposite, but to Stefi in her state it looked as welcoming as any rich palace's.

"Will this be okay for you?" Ifaut asked as Stefi lowered herself onto the bottom bunk. The two ferrets, being far from tired, set off to explore their temporary home. Two exciting new places to explore in one day. At least Stefi knew they'd sleep well tonight.

"It's fine. Thank you, Ifaut."

"Can I get you anything? Maybe a drink of water? Another pillow? A snack? A cuddle?" Somehow, perhaps because of her ferret-like nature, she picked up that something wasn't quite right.

"No thanks, I'm fine," Stefi said. "Really."

Ifaut wasn't fooled in the slightest. "Okay. Sleep well. I do hope you feel nice and refreshed for tonight." Ifaut left the room, leaving the door open just a little so the ferrets could come and go as they pleased. She sat back down next to Sansonis on an overstuffed and comfortable couch. She sighed.

"Is Stefi not feeling very well?" he asked.

Before Ifaut could answer, Rhaka spoke from his place on the floor by the fire. "She has had a very tiring several days," he said. "And it is not every day that one finds they may be responsible for the fate of the world."

"What do you mean?" Sansonis asked. He and Ifaut had, of course, missed the important information when they'd left early.

Rhaka told them of everything Cédes had said but neglected to mention her final words. Seeing these two young people before him, his own son beginning to feel happiness once more after many years alone, and the Furosan princess, eyes shining with hope and expectancy, he somehow couldn't bring himself to tell them that that they might not have a future.

After he had finished, Sansonis said, "So what happens now? Where do we go from here?"

"That she did not say," Rhaka said. "For tonight anyway we must stay here for the Furosan celebration. It would hardly be polite to wander off in the midst of the festivities. And I have noticed that our entrance sealed us inside. We could not wander off even if we wished."

Ifaut leapt up with a gasp, knocking over a small table as she did so. "The Festival! I have to get ready!" Before anyone could stop her she took off at a sprint, leaving the front door ajar behind her. Sansonis shut it before Gemmie and Maya could slink out.

Rhaka seemed to utter a laugh. It was more a rattling growl than anything. A smile danced in his eyes. "She is certainly an interesting one, is she not? A little strange, but interesting nevertheless."

"You're not the one stuck with her," Sansonis said and smiled. He fingered his new pendant with one hand and gently touched his scratched face with the other. A symbol of affection and a mark of fear.

It wasn't until later on, as the evening had taken hold and peaceful twilight had come on, that Stefi woke from her long nap. Gemmie and Maya lay curled around each other at the foot of her bed, twisted and seemingly knotted into a coil of fur and warmth that made it difficult to discern where one ferret ended and the other began.

"You got up just in time," Sansonis said from the couch as she shuffled into the lounge. "They're about to start things out there. You want to come and watch?"

"Of course!" She hurriedly shook off the last shackles of sleep and bundled the ferrets inside her shirt.

The two humans and ferrets, followed by Rhaka, went outside into the still twilight. Outside of this place of Furosans, from where they had all come, twilight held little to no significance. Here it was the most important time of the day, well suited for a celebration befitting Mafouras's guardian Uiverra, Lidae. Ferrets are, after all, most active at the rising and setting of the sun. How well they would flourish in a world of nothing but twilight, Stefi thought.

Far from where the outsiders sat, nearly every Furosan from Mafouras and the surrounding area clustered about the giant statue of Lidae. Cédes, accompanied by Phastus, Rivista, and Ifaut, led the proceedings, offering up prayers in their native language so that none of the outsiders could understand. Next, small groups of family and friends approached to lay offerings of flowers, food, and small votive items carved in a variety of shapes about Lidae's feet. Even ferrets joined in, scampering with difficulty along Lidae's stone back and tumbling off onto the soft grass and piles of offerings, their backs arched and tails puffed. As each group turned to leave and make way for the next, Cédes and the Mafouras family wished them well and thanked everyone personally; no easy task given the numbers. Yet between the four of them they could recognize everyone.

Once the offerings were completed some time later, Stefi and Sansonis found themselves growing bored despite knowing the importance of the occasion. Many stars had already begun winking in the darkening sky, and now small braziers were being lit about the town and lanterns hung in the trees. Eventually the gathering of Furosans sat down and, with Cédes at their head, began praying, although to the humans it sounded more like singing than any of the monotone prayers they had ever heard.

Presently Stefi let out a yawn and sprawled out on the cool grass, gazing skywards. The blue moon had not yet risen, but the yellow moon was beginning to appear, a light rising eerily from the trees.

"Sansonis?" she said. Her voice startled him over the sounds of the Furosans.

"Yes?"

"You were raised by the Otsukuné. What can you tell me about the stars?" She asked him not only because Rhaka had gone inside to sleep, but because she realized the two had never really had much of a conversation together.

"What would you like to know?" he said. "Admittedly, I don't remember as much as I used to. I'll try, though. Just don't tell dad. He'd be upset if he knew I'd forgotten most of what he taught me."

"What exactly are the Ancestors and Three Sisters?"

"The Ancestors are the stars, the souls of those who passed on in the beginning and became cold stars in the heavens."

"And the Sisters?"

"The Three Sisters are Rishka the yellow moon, Larnia the blue moon, and Feregana, our own green world."

"What did Rhaka mean about them never lying? Do they tell what's going to happen?"

"In a way," Sansonis said and sat silent for a while, thinking. "From their heavenly dances the Otsukuné could catch glimpses of future events and fates. Me... technically I'm Kalkic so I'm not too good at it."

"Nonsense, I'm sure you are. I know! Can you tell me my future?" she asked. Just because Lady Cédes had seen something bleak in what was yet to come it didn't mean everyone did.

Sansonis lay down next to her and proceeded to ask her questions like when she was born, and dates–if she could remember them–of various significant events, including when she first met Gemmie and Maya. At each answer he pointed out a certain star, reciting its name and function while telling her what it meant and to what constellation it belonged.

As it turned out, all of Stefi's answers pertained to stars located within only three constellations: the Great Bridge that spanned the heavens; the Demon Seer, which Stefi couldn't make out as anything other than a shapeless blob with two red stars that almost looked like eyes; and, not surprising to her, the great star-ferret Mustela who arched towards the eastern horizon.

But before he could tell Stefi any more, a familiar face appeared smiling above his. A red flower petal drifted from its hair and landed on his nose like a fragrant snowflake. The face giggled and blew it away while a golden pendant danced above him.

"There you are!" Ifaut said and gave a clear laugh. Sansonis and Stefi sat up, their backs stiff from lying for so long, to notice that the formalities were over and the party beginning.

"I'm sorry you guys couldn't come, but it was Furosans only. I tried begging daddy and Cédes. They wouldn't budge. They're very concerned about traditional stuff."

"Shouldn't you be too?" Stefi asked. "Aren't you going to be in charge one day?"

Ifaut shrugged. "I suppose so," she said, and her ears drooped slightly. "Now you're starting to sound like my parents. I guess I need to take more things seriously. Some day. But tonight we have fun!"

She reached down and, hesitating for just a second and mindful of the Furosans' previous observances, took Sansonis's hand and led him towards the center of town. Still, she couldn't stop thinking about what everyone thought of her and her new "pet" tonight, and tried her hardest to ignore their sideways glances and the laughter they tried to hide behind their hands. It wasn't cruel, she knew all too well, though all the same she couldn't help but feel a little annoyed, and she unconsciously showed this in her ever-tightening grip on Sansonis's hand until he couldn't take any more.

"You really shouldn't let them get to you, you know," he said. "And my hand hasn't said anything against you, has it?"

"I'm sorry." She relaxed her grip yet kept it firm. "I just know they think I'm silly hanging around with you all the time. They even say you're my pet, but you're not! Can't they see we're kamaes?" She sighed loudly and clutched her pendant. "And you know what I overheard someone saying? That your scratches are because you misbehaved..."

"Maybe," Sansonis said, trying to cheer her up, "they're just jealous because you look so pretty tonight."

"Really?" she said, and once again she blushed. "Thanks." So he did notice, she thought with an awkward smile. Instead of wearing her usual rather untidy clothes, tonight she wore a many-layered skirt that seemed to shift with the colors of the evening sky as she moved, a soft pink one minute and deep blue the next, ("It's Minheran," she later told Sansonis) along with a delicately woven sleeveless shirt not quite buttoned right up. And, what took the most effort, many flowers tied painstakingly in her plaited hair.

Sansonis felt quite out of place alongside her in his torn jeans and old shirt that had been worn thin from countless washings. "Perhaps it's me they find so amusing," he said to reassure her. "After all, look what I'm wearing!" This seemed to brighten her mood and soon she grabbed both of his hands and led him to where the other Furosans were eating, drinking, and dancing.

"I don't want to hear about how you can't dance," she told him sternly. "Listen to your heart, not your head!"

Stefi, meanwhile, found herself left behind, still not knowing what Sansonis had seen of her future in the stars. He'd tell her later, she thought. If he didn't forget. For now she was quite content to sit on the house's steps and watch the goings-on in this world that just days ago she never even knew existed. She laughed as Ifaut and Sansonis tried to dance but ended up standing on one another's feet. Both ferrets lay dozing in her arms.

"May I intrude?" came a quiet voice from her right. She turned to see Cédes looking quite sincere, her hands clasped in front of her chest, her head bowed.

"Of course," Stefi said. She was taken aback by such a strange request. "How did you find me?" She guided Cédes onto the step beside her.

"I know this place very well," the Furosan said and hugged her knees to her chest. "It is only when something is shifted that I run into trouble. Literally."

"Did you just make a joke?" Stefi asked her. She smiled even though Cédes's voice had betrayed no emotion.

"I... think so. Is that all right?" Cédes said as her blind eyes searched Stefi's.

"Of course. You don't have to be so formal all the time. Chill out, take it easy."

"Chill... out?"

"Relax," Stefi said. "Sit calmly for so long that you cool down, I guess."

"Oh, okay," Cédes said. "However, I find it most difficult to relax in the presence of one such as you. I just came to see if your feelings have improved after what I said earlier. Now I know you are fine, so I shall take my leave. Please forgive my rude intrusion on your evening." She got up, looking rather flustered as she stood, and started to leave.

"Sit down." Stefi giggled. Cédes obeyed. "As long as we're friends we're equals, okay? I don't want you thinking you have to be nervous around me just because of what I am. That'll only make me feel worse."

"Do you... truly consider me to be a friend?" Cédes asked, her eyes and mouth both wide with surprise.

"Is that really so amazing?" Stefi said. "You must be loved by all the people here. I saw the way they looked at you when you led the praying. Not one looked as if they didn't hold the highest respect for you. Except Ifaut. That girl always looks distracted."

"Th-thank you," Cédes stammered. Her cheeks flushed with embarrassment. It was a startling effect on her pale skin. "I never thought a human could think so highly of someone like me."

Before she could say any more she was interrupted by a low growling sound. "I... I must apologize," she said. "I was so busy with preparations for tonight, and meeting you, that I have not eaten a thing all day."

"Don't worry about it," Stefi said. Many other people may have grown impatient with Cédes's constant worrying and apologizing by now, but Stefi felt there was something about this pale Furosan, some sort of aura of peace, that meant even a hundred apologies would simply leave her smiling.

"Then," Stefi said, "how about we get something to eat? You deserve it."

"That would be nice. Could I please trouble you to lead me? I must have bumped into several objects on my way over that are not normally there."

Stefi linked her free arm with Cédes's, taking care not to disturb the ferrets. As she led her towards the many tables of food spread out under the warm glow of lanterns and braziers, she noticed a soft and content expression on Cédes's face. It was the sort one wears when coming home from a long trip away and seeing a missed loved one, perhaps, or a longed-for home.

The two, with Stefi's sleeping ferrets, found a small table for themselves separated from the crowd and illuminated by a single small brazier providing just enough light to see by and ample warmth to stave off the chilly air. An island all alone in a sea of night.

Cédes had no trouble rousing an attendant to bring them and the ferrets something to eat, and at the smell of it both Gemmie and Maya sprang awake and fell to it as if they had had nothing to eat in days. Cédes only poked at her food as if she couldn't decide whether or not she wanted any, despite the protestations of her stomach.

"What's up?" Stefi asked after swallowing a mouthful of a purple peach-like fruit indigenous to the area that the Furosans called a yuje.

Cédes sighed. "The trees, I suppose. The stars, the moons, the sky. Why do you ask such a strange question?"

Stefi laughed. "It means 'what's going on?'."

"I have been thinking," she said, "about the journey before us, to where it may lead us. I may know the destination, the end, yet I do not know the exact path. And I am both terribly comforted and terribly frightened that there is something out there that I do not yet know."

"You're talking as if you're coming with us," Stefi said.

"Of course. For I am one of the Fieretka also."

"Really? That's a surprise!"

"I do feel out of place and that I may be a burden due to my lack of sight. You will help me, won't you?" Cédes asked.

"Of course. But do you still want to go despite what you've seen?"

"Yes. There is something you must know. What I have seen is the future based upon certain preceding events. Perhaps if we can change those events, we may be able to change the future. But I do not know what must be changed and what must not, or even if it can be. It is sure to be interesting, isn't it?" She smiled slightly, the corners of her mouth twitching. "Perhaps we are heading to oblivion with no way to stop it. Quite exciting, one might think."

Her mood seemed to be somewhat improved by what she herself had just said and she began to eat for the first time that day.

Presently she offered Stefi a bottle from which she frequently sipped containing an amber colored liquid. It looked much like honey, only clearer.

"Blech!" Stefi spat as it passed her lips. "What is this stuff?" It tasted nothing like honey. She set the bottle on the table. The ferrets, drawn by the irresistible odor, gathered around it. Gemmie stood up on her hind legs and grasped the bottle's neck with her paws to get a better look. It toppled over before she could get so much as a single sniff in. Both ferrets began licking at the pool that spread across the table, taking great delight at the unique taste.

"It is wheatgerm oil," Cédes said. "A delicacy reserved for special occasions such as this. Do you find it displeasing?"

"No..." Stefi said, trying not to offend, "It's... interesting. How about you two?" she asked the ferrets and righted the bottle.

Gemmie was too busy to reply but Maya said, It's... It's heavenly. How come you never gave us this before?

"The ferrets like it," she told Cédes.

"Ferrets, like us, love oil. I am just surprised that you do not also enjoy it. You are a rather strange one indeed. I like you."

Throughout the night Cédes and Stefi talked about nothing in particular, making small talk about life and the everyday. The ferrets, full of food and made happy with wheatgerm oil, fell asleep in Stefi's lap.

Shortly after Phastus had announced the final dance of the night, Cédes excused herself. "If you do not mind, may I go to bed? I am growing quite weary." She gave a small, suppressed yawn as if to emphasize

"I'm tired, too," Stefi said. "Do you need help getting home?"

"Need, no. Want, yes."

Stefi carefully balanced her two sleeping ferrets in one arm and led Cédes back to her house with the other. Throughout the town the Furosans had just finished their final dance and were quietly dispersing back to their homes. Many were yawning and weaving from side to side under clouds of alcohol. Others lay passed out beneath trees or draped across hammocks. By now the fires had died down to glowing embers, casting an eerie twilight across the grass and making Lidae's statue stand out as a stark silhouette so that it looked like a monster looming from the night.

Once they reached Cédes's house, the Furosan did something Stefi never would have expected. She threw her arms around her, taking her in a hug of surprising strength but surprising gentleness so that the ferrets weren't disturbed in the slightest.

"Thank you for your company tonight, dear heart," Cédes said. "It was much appreciated."

"No need to thank me," Stefi said with a laugh. "So, what about that training you mentioned earlier?" she added. "Do we start tomorrow?"

"Most definitely," Cédes said. "I shall come for you early tomorrow morning. You have much to learn and we must also prepare for our journey, all of us together. It is sure to be a busy day."

"But we won't be starting too early, eh?" Stefi asked jokingly.

"Let me just say that you ought to go and sleep now. You shall need your rest come morning. Although, in a manner of speaking, it will be morning soon."

Once they had wished each other a good night, Stefi returned to the place she now called home, even if only temporarily. She found her bed from that afternoon and climbed on, too tired to change into the provided nightshirt or even crawl beneath the blankets. She quickly fell asleep with the ferrets in her arms, satiated with the happy times of Lidae's festival.

"Oww!" Ifaut yelped as Sansonis trod on her foot yet again.

"Sorry..." he said, even though Ifaut wasn't apologizing when she did the same. She only seemed to laugh and shrug it off.

And as it turned out, Ifaut didn't know much about dancing herself. Sansonis looked about and noticed that the same was true with just about everyone else. But they were happy. As Ifaut had said, it was now a time for fun, not formalities.

Now truly realizing this, he heeded Ifaut's advice and shut off his head and allowed the sensual assault of the celebrations to bombard his soul: the lively music of the band with its guitar and odd flute and ocarina instruments sounding like the voices of long forgotten forest spirits; the alluring smells of countless tables of foods richer than any that he had ever seen before; the comforting glow of fires and lanterns illuminating small patches in the darkness that whirled past like meteors as Ifaut spun them both round and round.

As the night wore on and the band played song after song, some accompanied by the voices of both Furosan men and women (although not Ifaut's, who refused to sing despite everyone's protestations), Ifaut began to appear increasingly tired. "Last dance soon..." she said and yawned. Shortly after, Phastus announced the final dance of the night and the band struck up its last song, a slow, relaxing melody that seemed almost like a lullaby accompanied by the haunting voices of several young Furosan women.

It all became too much for Ifaut and suddenly the tired Furosan yawned and pitched forward, snoring deeply, into Sansonis's arms. He caught her and lifted her, surprised by how heavy she actually was. Not that she was small to begin with, standing taller than himself.

"So much for the last dance, eh?" he whispered to her serene, smiling face. He carried her back towards their small house. "At least it was a fun evening. And you know what? You've taught me more tonight than the stars ever could."

Sansonis pushed open the door with his foot and stepped over Rhaka. The Otsukuné was sprawled out on a rug before the fire's dying remains. He carried Ifaut into the bedroom. Stefi was already there, sleeping deeply. Balancing on one foot while supporting Ifaut on the other knee, he pulled back the blankets of a bed with one hand then laid her down, careful not to wake her. Several flower petals fell from her hair and onto the pillow and she warbled softly in her sleep. He thought he heard her mumble his name before she returned to her snoring.

He patted her head, seeing her as more of a ferret than Furosan for a second. "Nighty night, kamae," he said and, though he didn't quite know why, kissed her forehead.

She warbled again and settled back down into the deep depths of sleep.

Sansonis lay on the couch and slipped his knives and their scabbards from his belt. He shut his eyes and began the usual long wait for sleep to come. "It was a nice day," he said to himself. "I only wish it could last."

Chapter VIII: Voice of the World

"Sansonis? Sansonis?" The Kalkic awoke with a jerk and instinctively reached for his belt.

"It's okay!" Ifaut hissed in his ear. "It's just me, silly. Why are you so jumpy, anyway?"

His hands eased back from his belt as he realized he'd taken off his knives before going to sleep, something he hadn't done for a very long time. "Of course I'm jumpy. Do you know how hard it is for me to sleep?" he said as Ifaut perched cross-legged on the couch's armrest, an uncharacteristic frown on her face.

"You just left me alone in there..." she said and pointed towards the bedroom.

"No, I didn't. Stefi's in there too, isn't she?"

"That's not what I meant," she said curtly.

He wasn't quite sure what to say in reply. But as he glanced about he noticed that the fire was almost out, reduced to a scattering of embers nestled within cold, dead ash. After feeding it a few more logs he returned to the couch to find Ifaut sprawled over it, her long legs jutting over the end. She grinned mischievously.

"You owe me something, remember?" she taunted and propped herself up on one elbow. "A last dance."

"No, I don't remember," he said calmly, far too tired for something like that. "Though seeing as how you've commandeered my couch as repayment, I guess I'll just leave you to it." He made as if to head into the bedroom.

"No!" She heaved herself upright. "You get back here!"

He quickly obeyed, laughing at her extreme reaction as he did.

"You know," she said, her voice growing quiet, "that's the first time I've heard you really laugh."

His gaze flitted from her ears to her tail. "I don't see how anyone could look at you and not laugh!" he said. "But how about we get some sleep now?" He sat down next to her and without another word the two fell asleep against each other, with Ifaut snoring occasionally in the dark.

A booming knock that seemed to shake the guesthouse to its foundations sounded upon the wooden door three times, slow and steady like a drumbeat. It was all that was needed to rouse its occupants from their sleep.

Rhaka was the first to his feet, followed by the light-sleeping Sansonis. As Sansonis got up to answer the door, Ifaut lolled sideways, snoring gently and blissfully unaware of any disturbance.

"It is Cédes," Rhaka said. "I wonder, what could she be seeking at this hour?"

It was only then that Sansonis realized how early it was, a time that seemed more night than day. The sun's light came cold and weak through the windows, barely able to penetrate the thin fog that the forest and stream had strewn about. He opened the door to find that Rhaka was indeed right, having been guided by his astonishing sense of smell. Cédes stood there, her pale complexion and even paler robes seeming to shine with an otherworldly twilight.

"Is Stefi awake?" she asked, hands clasped before her chest.

"Yes..." Stefi's sleepy voice wafted from the bedroom. She shuffled out like one of the undead, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"Good," Cédes said. "Please, you must ready yourself. It is time for a spot of your promised training. Bring the ferrets." As suddenly as she had arrived, she turned and left, giving Stefi little time to think about what she just said. Stefi tucked the still-sleeping ferrets inside her shirt before rushing, half-asleep, out the door. She soon caught up with Cédes, who was walking with such briskness that she had to jog to keep up.

"So, where are we going?"

"Just keep following," Cédes said. "Are you sufficiently awake? I apologize that you may not have had enough sleep, but if we start early then the rest of the day is free for preparation and travel."

"Yeah..." Stefi yawned. "I'll be fine." She looked around and noticed that only a few other Furosans were braving the early morning. Some were beginning to tidy up from last night's celebration. Others were still sleeping where they'd lain down drunk during the night.

Eventually they came to a small clearing amongst some trees, out of sight of everyone else and ringed with flowers. Stefi saw two wooden staves, roughly half her height, leaning against a tree. One was a rudely cut branch, the other ornately carved with gilded patterns and symbols.

Cédes took them both, one in each hand, and handed Stefi the former. Stefi turned it over in her free hand and glanced somewhat jealously at the staff Cédes held.

"Why do you get the nice one?" she asked jokingly.

"If you were to come into my position, to see through my eyes, so to speak, you would realize that outward appearances count for very little in this world. Here, feel them both," she said and handed hers to Stefi. Stefi placed her just-waking ferrets on the soft grass and took both staves in hand.

"They feel pretty much the same," Stefi said, smiling. "Yours is still shinier. And a little heavier."

"Now you are beginning to think like a ferret." Cédes laughed. "That is a good start."

Stefi handed Cédes's staff back to her.

"Now," Cédes said and cast off her heavy robes, leaving her looking surprisingly vulnerable in only a skirt and shirt, "try to hit me!"

"What?" Stefi said, suddenly taken aback. "I thought this was mental training!"

"The mind and body need to work in harmony for either to prosper. I need to see what you are capable of first. Now hit me!"

Stefi squeezed her eyes shut and took a wild arcing swing at Cédes's head, trying not to think of the consequences. She heard a loud crack and nervously opened her eyes to find that Cédes had deflected her blow.

"How... how did you do that?" she asked in shock.

"I do not rely on my sight as others do. You must learn to use your other senses also, to listen to the world, to hear what it is doing rather than to see, for it gives fair warning to those who pay attention. Now hit me again."

Stefi gritted her teeth and put more effort into her strike, only to have Cédes again bat it away as if she were simply waving away a fly in summer's heat.

"Again."

For several minutes Stefi attempted to land a blow on Cédes, but each time the blind Furosan managed to block or deflect her. Now fully awake, Stefi focused all her strength into her final strike, bringing her staff directly downwards onto Cédes's head. But almost faster than Stefi could see, Cédes stepped aside, thrust her own staff between Stefi's feet, and with a quick flick sent her human friend tumbling to the ground.

"I am sorry," Cédes said with a suppressed giggle. "I could not resist!" She held out her hand and Stefi took it, panting from the effort of her early morning workout.

"That... that was... amazing," she said while catching her elusive breath. "I wouldn't want to mess with you, that's for sure!"

"Ah, but now it is time for me to, as you put it, mess with you. Now block!"

Stefi barely had time to raise her own staff and block Cédes's from hitting her head. "Hey, go easy!"

"No," Cédes said. "Life does not 'go easy', nor will the journey before us."

While Stefi was distracted, Cédes swept a horizontal strike in her direction, forcing her to throw herself to the ground to avoid it. Before she could gather her senses, Cédes thrust the butt of her staff downwards. She only just managed to roll sideways and looked in alarm as Cédes's staff sank into the soft ground. She sprang to her feet and managed to stay there, dodging and deflecting Cédes's increasingly violent blows.

Finally the Furosan relented and stood smiling at an exhausted Stefi, barely showing a trace of exertion herself.

"Is that all for today?" Stefi panted and leaned against her staff for support.

"Far from it," Cédes said and produced a faded red bandana from her pocket. "You are not a natural fighter, so the rest of us must protect you should violence threaten. Now to tie this around your head so that it obscures your vision. First get Gemmie and Maya."

Stefi took the bandana from Cédes's outstretched hand and placed the sleepy ferrets on either shoulder.

What's happening? Gemmie asked.

"Cédes is seeing what I'm capable of. I think it's your turn to help me out now."

She put the bandana on like a blindfold and shut the light from her eyes. Her unease flourished in the darkness.

"We are now on equal footing in terms of vision," Cédes said, "and now you must learn to see the world as I do. And yet you have an advantage. You have two sets of eyes with you. Here, perhaps, you may find a strength beyond physical violence."

Does that Furosan know we can't exactly see as well as you humans can? Maya said.

"I don't know," Stefi said, "but you guys can see her, right?"

If that white hump with a stick is her, then yes, Gemmie said. Too sleepy.

"Are you ready?" Cédes's voice startled Stefi from her ferret conversation.

"Yes."

"Now listen to the voice of the world."

Stefi breathed deeply and slowly, opening her ears that until now had been as if deaf. Deprived of her sight, her sense of hearing compensated, became keen-edged. Then there was something else, a dull chattering noise like wind rustling through dry leaves that seemed to appear somewhere in her mind. She realized it was similar to, although not quite the same as, the sensation when her ferrets thought in raw emotion.

"I hear something strange... I think it's the ferrets but it isn't their thoughts. I can't really describe it, but it's... nice," she said.

"Good. Keep focusing."

Stefi nodded. She felt her mind wander about the clearing and skirt the ferrets' consciousnesses. Slowly and so gradually that she barely noticed it, the strange sound grew, appearing to rise from the ground like mist from a pond. She soon forgot her tiredness and the fact that she hadn't yet eaten breakfast, so sorrowful was the sound that permeated every fiber of her being. It was soon joined by another noise like countless tiny voices whispering and singing in pure emotions that grated against her mind, but in a pleasant way. Its notes rose and fell like the waves of the ocean and lapped at every emotion she had ever felt. One minute the notes lifted her happiness so high on the crest of their waves that she felt as if she were soaring far above the world, but the next she felt herself plummeting into their dark troughs and drowning in despair. Hopelessness flooded into her and she felt as if she was choking on every negative feeling that everyone, everywhere, had ever felt. She felt herself pulled down... down, unable to move or even call out for help. She tried, but the weight upon her chest was so great and her voice so powerless...

Ngdiohewo... Stefi... throkas... back please... She heard Gemmie's garbled voice after what felt like the longest time imaginable, but it sounded so far away, so distant, no longer right beside her.

Suddenly Stefi found herself back home, but everything seemed so cloudy, wreathed in the fog of sleep. She glanced at her hand. It was wrapped around a large kitchen knife. "No, no, no..." she said over and over to herself, "not again, please." The feeling of hopelessness seized her whole being, taking her up in its cold, dusky arms.

The next moment warm arms hugged her and the terrible feeling vanished. She fell to her knees and into Cédes's embrace. "What was that?" she sobbed, tearing off her blindfold now wet with tears.

"I am terribly sorry. I had no idea you would be so in tune, to be able to feel the despair of our world to such an extent. My intent was simply for you to gain a greater understanding of your ferrets' and Feregana's consciousness, to realize there is more beyond the limits of sight. But it all went so wrong..." Cédes stroked Stefi's hair and the two ferrets nuzzled closer to comfort her.

"That's what Feregana's feeling? Hopelessness? Despair?"

"Yes. She must have spoken to you using a past experience that you could understand and relate to, am I right?"

"She did. But I don't want to talk about it, okay?"

"That is understandable. Come, we have done enough for today. Let us return home and prepare our departure," Cédes said and traced her hand down Stefi's arm until she found her hand and took it.

As they returned to the small house that had so quickly become home, Gemmie and Maya spoke. Stefi, it's okay, Gemmie said. We felt it too. But what was happening there?

She doesn't want to talk about it! Maya said sharply.

If you ever want to, we'll listen, Gemmie said so that only Stefi could hear.

"How did it go?" Sansonis asked as Stefi, Cédes, and the ferrets came through the door. When he caught sight of Stefi's pallid face he thought it best to change the subject. "We're ready to leave any time," he added. "I don't know how difficult it is to try and pack bags with ferrets around, but if it's anything like having Ifaut here helping..."

It brought a much-needed smile to Stefi's face and she brightened visibly. "Let me guess, she kept pulling everything out and trying to 'help'?"

Ifaut's face turned an interesting shade of red and she stared at the floor. "But I made you some breakfast," she mumbled and pointed to the table.

"Don't worry," Sansonis said, "she actually cooks really well. I could get used to this!" He patted her head and she turned even redder.

After Stefi and everyone had eaten, Cédes left and told them to meet her at the great hall in half an hour. It took Stefi only a few minutes to pack the supplies Ifaut had organized for them, despite her ferrets' best efforts, so there was plenty of time until they'd agreed to meet Cédes again.

"So, Sansonis," Stefi said as they walked towards the hall in the morning sunshine, "what did you see in the stars last night?"

It seemed to Sansonis that something had already upset her this morning. He couldn't read her face very well but there was something about her puffy eyes, something he couldn't place, that seemed to betray her true feelings. He didn't want to make her sad again. "You will meet a tall, handsome stranger, who'll ride up on a white horse and carry you away into the sunset where you'll live happily ever after." He laughed, but it felt empty, hollow, forced.

"You're kidding, aren't you? You don't have to hide the truth. It's not like I'm a child, you know," she said sternly while still managing a small giggle. "I've never seen a real horse anyway!"

"All right, you got me. To be completely honest..." he trailed off, deep in thought for a moment. "I just don't know. Everything looked okay but then it just ended abruptly." Then he added quickly, "It didn't look bad or anything."

"He is telling the truth," Rhaka said, startling everyone. "Your destiny does seem to vanish from the stars rather suddenly. I do not feel anything untoward about it either."

"What about me?" Ifaut piped up. She bounced from foot to foot, messing her freshly brushed hair.

"I haven't looked yet," Sansonis said. "I can if you really want to."

"How about now? We've got some extra time. Pretty please?" She took his arm and pulled him close.

In reply he pointed to the blue sky now empty of stars.

"Oops!" She giggled and blushed. She soon noticed Rhaka staring curiously at her face, his head cocked quizzically sideways. "What's wrong, ol' dog-face?" she asked cheerfully.

"Why is it that your face keeps changing color? I find it most intriguing."

"I can't help it!" She turned away and hid her reddening face in her hand.

"It happens when you get embarrassed," Stefi said. "Or if your name's Ifaut. Didn't Sansonis ever do it when he was younger?"

"Not that I can recall. Perhaps his facial expressions became too similar to ours."

"And that'll explain why I can't read people very well," Sansonis admitted. All his life he'd struggled to read the faces of his fellow humans, yet they remained nearly as indecipherable to him as Acharn's countless ideograms were to the rest of Feregana.

"But not Furosans, eh?" Ifaut chimed in. "You can read me?"

"Yeah, I can read you at least. Happy Ifaut or embarrassed Ifaut. Simple black and white. Or pink and red. Really, there's no subtlety to whatever you're feeling!"

"What's that supposed to mean?" she shouted and gave him a playful shove. He stumbled backwards and tripped over his feet.

"That's a new one," he said simply. "Was that annoyance?"

As Ifaut pulled him to his feet, Stefi couldn't help but laugh at how hopeless those two seemed sometimes. At least she knew they were both in good hands. However, she felt a stab of cold envy. Even though Sansonis and Ifaut had only known each other for a few days, if you could count their initial night meeting, the bond between them seemed firmly established. How could she ever hope to be close to someone, living like this, holding the future of her world in her hands, and knowing she would die and likely fail? For the first time ever she felt herself longing for a normal life. 'I know what it's like to talk to ferrets, but not to have someone...' she thought bitterly.

Just then Cédes appeared quite suddenly behind them as if she'd materialized from the morning air. She held a staff in each hand.

"Hello, everyone," she said. "Are you ready?"

After a resounding yet somewhat sad "yes", Cédes offered her ornate staff to Stefi. "Here, I have a gift for you. I noticed you liked it earlier," she said and turned her blind eyes away.

"You know I'd rather have the stick. Looks don't matter, remember?"

Ifaut gazed longingly at the staves. "I like the shiny one! You should pick that!"

Ifaut's right! Gemmie said. Take the shiny stick!

Cédes laughed. "I have taught you well already. As you wish. I'll keep the shiny one for myself, even though I am unable to appreciate its–and your–outward beauty." She chuckled at her own joke and handed the stick to Stefi, who took it as if receiving a valuable treasure.

They came to the great hall and Ifaut flung the doors open without knocking. The guards merely sighed as if they were used to it and allowed Stefi and the others in without any questions. This time only Ifaut's father was present. His forehead was creased with worry and he propped his head up on his hand. He seemed weary, tired, and not from the previous night's celebration.

"Daddy!" Ifaut squealed. She leapt onto his knee and hugged him tight.

"You're getting too big for that, little lady," he said.

"Sorry!" She jumped back off.

Cédes stepped forward and knelt before him. She had done this perhaps hundreds of times, but deep down she knew this would be the last. "The Fieretka and I are ready to depart," she said, trying with difficulty to keep her voice from wavering.

"I see," Phastus said. "What have you in mind? I trust you, Lady Cédes, with the guidance and spiritual comfort of our people. But it is a huge request of yours to trust you to the world. And yet I do not know what you intend to do."

"I shall gladly answer, for I have not even told my fellow companions. As you know already, some disturbance is stirring, something that seeks to rid our world of Furosa, or in other words, ferrets. And the humans are growing eager for war. I spent several hours with little sleep last night channeling my thoughts and have determined that our next stop must be Valraines to the north. I feel that there is someone there I must meet who may aid us, but as I have told you, my gift has been in decline for some time now..."

Cédes's last comment was met with a gasp of surprise from the others, especially Stefi, who had assumed Cédes could see anything, anytime. Suddenly Cédes seemed a little less imposing and more vulnerable, more... human, so to speak.

"I am sorry that I said nothing sooner," she said and turned to her companions. "Even some bad news is best left unspoken. I apologize that I do not know more, but the truth can only be learned by heading forward. We will find more guidance in Valraines, the humans' port town to the north."

"Then your way is truly set?" Phastus asked.

"Yes."

"Although you leave for the future of our people, perhaps for all peoples, your absence will hurt us. You know that all too well."

"I do," she said and shuddered. "Once I have left, the Veil will follow soon after, as no others here are able to channel Lidae. It seems that whether I stay or go, I harm our people in some way."

Rhaka interrupted. "And this 'Veil' of which you speak, is it the illusion that keeps you hidden from the outside world?"

"You have guessed well, Otsukuné," Phastus said. "But Cédes has made her decision. Her past has been fraught with such choices, and she herself must know that her future always will be."

"Now, we must really be going," she said hastily, derailing the subject.

"Very well. First, hold out your hand," Phastus said.

As Cédes did, Phastus dug around in his pockets until he found what he was looking for. He dropped something round and smooth into her cupped palm.

She gasped. "Is this...?"

He nodded. "It is all that remains of Raphanos. You must only use it when your life depends on it. Its nature is destruction. Always remember that. You are attuned to the unseen aspects of this world. This will aid your future understanding of them. And perhaps your own self."

"Thank you," Cédes said and carefully deposited the warm stone into her pocket. No one else knew quite what it was. By the way Cédes treated it they guessed it must have been very precious.

"And for Ifaut," Phastus continued as he stood up, "this." He removed a short, straight sword from his belt and Ifaut's eyes grew wide. "My old sword, Djaunsi-Laen."

"Really?" she gasped as she took it from his hands. She fixed the scabbard to her belt and slowly unsheathed it, watching her blue eyes blink in the highly polished blade. The hilt was fashioned into a coiled ferret wrapped securely about the base of the blade, the pommel its pointed face. It would have looked almost comical except for the terribly sharp blade.

"Ooh, shiny!" She smiled and slashed the air experimentally before bringing the blade slicing through the air, only to stop it barely more than a hair's width from Sansonis's neck. "Yes, the silly Furosan does know how to use a sword," she laughed and resheathed it.

"Can I start breathing again?" Sansonis said. Sweat beaded on his forehead.

"Of course, silly," she said and slapped his back so hard he stumbled forward, gasping.

"What does its name mean?" Stefi asked, surprised that a sword could have a name. If it had a name, she thought, its meaning must be something deep and special.

Cédes answered with a giggle. "Mister Cutty," she said. "Ifaut named it."

Cédes's explanation provoked a laugh from everyone. Everyone, that is, except Ifaut. She turned away and muttered, "I was only five at the time..."

"And Stefi,", Phastus continued once their laughter had died down, "all I have to offer you, as well as your other companions, is my faith that you will find a way to help us in time." He stepped forward and embraced her tightly, whispering so that only she could hear, "And look after Cédes for me."

"I will."

"And the Kalkic. I bestow upon you my trust to look after Ifaut." He beckoned Sansonis to come closer and told him quietly, "She is inexperienced in the ways of the world. She knows how to fight, but that is not enough. Please, you saved her once, so I know she is in good hands." Then he glanced about, making sure the others couldn't hear. "Do not get any ideas of anything beyond friendship. And do not encourage her... her heart is too open and far too fragile. It is not for you."

"If that is all," Cédes said, "we ought to leave you to your rest."

"Then go, Fieretka, and be careful. And remember that you all have a home here."

Chapter IX: Departure

Most of the day's traveling passed uneventfully for the newly formed Fieretka. Even though it was only early summer and the sun could scarcely reach its slender fingers through the trees, warm moisture hung uncomfortably thick in the air. The only road to follow had fallen into disuse so long ago that the paved stretches that still remained had been heaved and cracked into minutely moving waves by the relentless, ever-present growth of nature. Only when it forked off did they run into trouble.

"What way heads to Valraines?" Stefi asked.

No one knew.

"There's a stream alongside this one. It might pay to follow it," Sansonis offered and pointed to the road heading north. "The road heads north and the stream has to flow to the sea sometime, doesn't it?"

"Unless it goes into a lake," Stefi said.

"There are no lakes in this forest that we know of," Cédes said. "We shall follow the stream."

And that was the guide they chose to follow. As it and the old road meandered through the forest, Stefi couldn't help but think how similar it was to Ifaut, wandering aimlessly at its own pace but nevertheless happy and bubbling with laughter.

That was another thing she noticed. Ever since they had left Mafouras, Ifaut had remained silent and even refused to eat anything when they stopped for lunch. She sensed something different about her. Something sad. Her suspicions were confirmed when towards late afternoon Ifaut suddenly burst into tears.

"What's the matter?" Sansonis asked as he struggled to get over the sudden shock of Ifaut displaying an emotion other than happiness or embarrassment. Or annoyance.

In answer she buried her face in his shoulder and sobbed until his shirt was damp with her tears. "It's...it's mummy," she managed to say. "She's dying..."

"What?" Sansonis practically shouted, but in shock, not anger.

"She's dying." Ifaut sniffed. "That's why she didn't see us off. She needs her rest."

"Is there a reason, Miss Ifaut," Cédes said, "that you did not tell us before?" If even she didn't know of Rivista's illness she knew it must be very serious indeed.

"Because you would want me to stay home. Then I wouldn't be able to go out and see the world with Saun... Sansonis." She had started to regain her composure, but a misty veil of tears still obscured her vision.

"I am terribly sorry," Cédes said. "This is all my fault for wishing to leave so hastily. You must have felt pressured to make a rather impossible choice. Can you ever forgive me?"

"Only if you actually did something wrong," Ifaut said and her face glimmered with a faint trace of a smile. "It was my decision to go with you guys and I have to live with that. But I'm not alone, right? Stefi chose to leave home to find us, Cédes to leave even though it means endangering our home, Sansonis to help me, and me to leave my dying mum to see the world." Then she added as an afterthought, "But I don't think dog-face chose to do anything."

"I didn't decide to get dragged along by a crazy girl against my will," Sansonis joked, provoking a giggle from Ifaut. He took her hand. "Though sometimes I'm glad it happened."

"The thing is," Stefi said, "one way or another we're all in this together, whether we like it or not. So no more secrets, okay? We need to look after each other."

Yeah, Maya said. Someone has to look after Gemmie!

Who was it that got us tied up in that sack in the first place, huh? Gemmie shot back.

Maya found no answer but Gemmie continued, Give me to Ifaut. I'll keep an eye on her.

"Ifaut," Stefi said, "Gemmie says she'll help you out." She plucked Gemmie from her shoulder and placed her on Ifaut's. But despite Ifaut being unable to understand anything Gemmie said, she found more comfort in nuzzles, dooks, and warmth than words.

Pheia's first day and night had passed by in utter loneliness. Once she'd left behind the plains of home, depressing though they were, sudden isolation rolled over her. Neither Furosans nor humans had yet settled in these parts that lay between the Furosans' Arigan territories to the east and the human towns and capital city of Sol-Acrima to the west. It didn't help that as well as hearing stories of the Fieretka and other heroes during her childhood, her father also told her of the restless spirits that still clung to this world, unable or unwilling to go beyond the Rainbow Bridge. As a result her first night consisted of nervous glances towards every unfamiliar sound as she sat alone, illuminated by the eerie blue glow from her father's last gift. It wasn't particularly warming in the growing cold.

The following morning, the morning of the Fieretka's departure, Pheia woke early and left immediately without breakfast. In her haste to leave she'd brought only a little food, but she knew how to hunt. She didn't like it, yet she would cope.

After several hours the plains gave way to the mounds of hills rising steadily from the ground like the curving backs of giant sleeping animals. Large chunks of soft white rock littered the landscape like the sun-bleached bones of the same animals, these ones dead instead of sleeping. Despite her uneasy thoughts about them, the landscape was surprisingly teeming with life. At her approach, pheasants shot off in a flurry of squawking and feathers, and rabbits tried to flatten themselves into the folds of the earth. She watched one such rabbit and felt pangs of both hunger and sympathy. Her basic instinct was for a minute overridden by how similar the rabbit seemed to her and her fellow Furosans; a creature wishing to harm no one, cowering before an enemy of greater size and strength but still able to at least hide. Or try to.

"I'm sorry," she whispered and nocked an arrow to her bowstring. As soon as the arrow leapt from the string with a musical twang, the rabbit fired the powerful muscles in its back legs and propelled itself forward.

Pheia had anticipated its every move, knowing that it would run, and had adjusted her aim to ensure a kill. Virtually every animal was the same when faced with such circumstances, as she knew all too well. Even humans.

The rabbit fell with an arrow in its neck and kicked the last of its life into the windswept grass. As she knelt down beside the still-warm body she avoided its blank, accusing eyes as they glazed over. "Thank you for the meat," she said. Even after all the years of killing, she thought, it never got any easier. For that, too, she was thankful.

"Cédes?" Stefi asked after some time, "What do the Furosans believe in?"

"What do you mean?" Cédes said. "Likely the same things as everybody else. Doing what is right, loving others, hopes, dreams..."

"I meant about our world. I've already heard some of the Otsukuné side. Now how about yours? We've gotta do something to pass the time while we walk, don't we?"

"That we do," Cédes said. "Just note that history was never my strong point."

"Will do."

"I have already told you about the nature of our world, that Furosa is its underlying life force and that ferrets are a vital part of its existence. They spread life-giving Furosa about our world, and we believe that we were born from this spread, part ferret ourselves." She smiled and touched her ear with its many piercings. "And when we die, our souls leave this world for a kind of in-between. There we rejoin with the souls of the ferrets we loved in this world, and with them as our guides we cross the Rainbow Bridge into the next life."

"Humans too?" Stefi asked.

Cédes seemed surprised by such a question. "Why not?" she said as if it were obvious that they did.

"The Church tells us that the true believers enter some afterlife of light alongside Kardin, while everyone else, Furosans included, end up in some sort of eternal damnation." She shook her head. "I think I prefer your version, though. It's much more inclusive. And pleasant."

"I think I prefer it too," Cédes said. "After all, we are all essentially the same, are we not? Beings of light and love connected to the world."

"And where do you believe Feregana came from?" Stefi asked.

"Even we who carry some Furosa have no knowledge of the origins of the world. We may have creation myths, of Feregana being created by the other heavenly bodies of the sun and the moons, yellow Ramila and watery blue Larnia. But they are just that: stories we tell to sate the curiosity of children."

Rhaka interrupted her with a growl. "They may be nothing more than stories to you, yet they are the only truth we know of our world. I would ask that you not so disrespectfully dismiss them, Furosan."

"Then perhaps you might enlighten us and my ignorance of history?" she said with a light smirk.

"From the eternal waters of nothingness emerged Jarahk, the father-sun, who fathered the Three Sisters: Rishka, the elder-moon, Larnia, the younger-moon, and Feregana, the youngest of the three. We Otsukuné were born of Jarahk and Larnia, and our very name means 'moon-children'."

Cédes interrupted right back, returning the favor. "But why did Larnia give birth to the Otsukuné with her father? That does not sound very right to me."

"It does not matter whether you think it's right, Furosan," Rhaka said. "As I was saying, Feregana bore the ferrets from her Furosa and the Furosans came from this new distribution."

Cédes turned her blind eyes in Rhaka's direction. "At least we can agree on one thing," she said almost bitterly.

Suddenly everyone stopped and Cédes and Rhaka glared at each other.

Before they could say anything more, Stefi leapt between them and held out her arms like a barrier. "Geez, all I wanted was to hear a story." She sighed. "Why are we arguing over a silly thing that we can't even prove? It doesn't matter if you two have different theories. I believe the world hatched from a giant ferret egg. What matters is that we all acknowledge each other's beliefs and respect them, not force them down other peoples' throats like humans love to do. If it's not hurting anyone, then who really cares?"

"Do you really believe the world hatched from a giant ferret egg? Where is the ferret who laid it now?" Cédes asked with utmost sincerity. "And the ferret that laid its egg?"

"Cédes, Cédes, Cédes" Stefi said as she shook her head in disbelief. "I was being sarcastic."

"What does it mean to be sarcastic?"

She thought it over for a minute. "Well, it's basically when I say something is true when I actually mean the opposite. You can tell by the tone of my voice when I say it."

"Oh." Cédes's mouth hung open. "I was taught to speak only the truth. Even the smallest lie can hurt like the largest knife."

"Now that you're one of us you can say what you like! I'm going to teach you how to have fun and not be so serious."

"You mean praying and meditating?" Stefi couldn't quite tell if this was her first attempt at sarcasm.

"No, not that, silly. Didn't you ever play, run, leap, dance, wrestle with your friends?"

"Not really," she said. "My only real friends were the scripts, Lidae, the fellow temple goers. Although I have played with Ifaut and some of the younger children before."

"Well," Stefi said, "it's time you learned to play like a real Furosan! Why don't you start by taking off those robes? They look uncomfortable."

"Are you sure? I might not be allowed."

"Who's the one that started this Fieretka thing?" Stefi asked, almost demanding.

"You."

"And now that you're away from home, who do you listen to?"

"Since Miss Ifaut is first in line to the Mafouras kingdom, I must obey her for now."

Everyone turned to Ifaut. Sansonis laughed. "Ifaut's sweet enough and all, but she's not exactly leadership material."

"He is right," Ifaut said with an unaccustomed seriousness, cut deep by Sansonis's remark. "I know that I have much to learn before I'm ready to take over from my parents." She sighed. "I vote that we make Stefi our leader. Then someone else can boss Cédes around."

"I second Ifaut," Sansonis said.

"As do I," Rhaka added.

"Miss Ifaut, please forgive me for what could be mistaken as treason. I also believe that Stefi would make a good leader."

You know you're the only one we'd listen to, anyway, Gemmie said from Ifaut's shoulder.

Ifaut smiled and nodded her approval in Stefi's direction.

"Now that I'm leader of this little group, my first order is for you, Cédes, to have fun." Stefi laughed.

"O-Okay," Cédes stammered, "I trust you with my life. Surely I can trust you with this."

Cédes slipped off her robes as if she didn't want to hurt them and carefully folded them. Beneath she wore a light shirt and a skirt over shorts much like any other Furosan would. Her pale skin seemed to shine in the late sunlight, and for the first time in ages the wind of the open world brushed against her. Several golden bangles hung around her wrists, and a long silver chain about her neck.

"Is...Is the world always this marvelous?" she asked and turned slowly around with outstretched arms, jewelry jingling like a heavenly voice. "Such a wonderful feeling. I feel so free and alive! I only wish I could see it..."

"You can," Stefi said. "Take my hand."

Cédes searched with her delicate hand and slipped it into Stefi's when she found it.

"It's a beautiful day," Stefi said. "The sun is shining, the trees are a brilliant green, and the stream is flowing and eddying in little swirls. There are little insects hovering above the surface, like they're admiring their reflections. Do you remember all these sights?"

"Yes," Cédes said and sniffed. Tears welled in her eyes. "I do. When I was a child I used to lie by the stream and watch the little silver fish dancing their quiet dance beneath the water and the birds soaring across the sky upon their wings, and wished I could join both of them in their little worlds. However, I had to spend most of my time in the temple serving the people. It was my destiny. And now that I'm blind I'll never see their wondrous forms again, at least not in the seeing sense of the rest of you. But I have my dreams, and my memories. And you, dear heart." She let go of Stefi's hand and wrapped her arms around her. "Thank you for showing me the world through my eyes again," she said so quietly only Stefi could hear it.

Some time afterwards, once darkness was nearly upon them, they stopped for the night, exhausted after having walked all day with little rest and no naps.

"What about monsters?" Ifaut asked timidly as the light from the campfire slowly waned later in the night.

"Not in these parts, young Furosan," Rhaka said. "Humans have not yet penetrated this far into the forest."

Stefi only rolled her eyes.

After a rather messy and undercooked lunch (cooking was never her strong point), Pheia continued ever westwards, spurred on by new-found energy and a full stomach. As she walked with only the whistling of the wind for company, she began to sing. At first she found herself only humming, but then the words came. Words, she thought, from long ago. A song from her childhood. A song that she couldn't even understand. Yet it seemed to carry emotional meaning rather than a specific message.

"Laure Musrem, Daga Te'a."

The more she sang, the more she felt long-forgotten memories stir. But who had taught her those words, that tune? Memories shrouded in fog seemed to flit through her consciousness, memories whose true meaning could only be guessed at, memories that had been displaced by the horrors of killing to survive and washed away by bloodshed.

"Te'n Laema, Feamat Mus."

Through the veil over her memory she thought she could see someone, an indistinct shape darting in and out of the shadows. She was so focused on her own memories that she barely noticed a real fog rolling across the landscape from hidden waterways that reduced visibility to a few steps ahead.

"Soma Serne, Ue Sae Sem'la."

Even as she felt dew settle in her hair in tiny beads she kept singing and thinking, pushing through two fogs. Which was the thickest? She couldn't tell. Her distant memories and the obscured path seemed to become one, reality melding into fantasy. Perhaps that was why she didn't register the vaguely human form lingering just inside the field of her vision.

"Peper Ter-Ram Tela."

The figure in her head eased closer, mimicking the one beyond the fog of reality. A female form, a girl nearly half her age. But just as the face was about to pierce the mists of her mind, everything vanished. She stopped singing.

"Ah!" she screamed in frustration. "Who are you?" Her voice echoed back in reply. Then there was another answer.

"Over here!" she heard a voice shout and then the noise of piercing air as something struck the ground at her feet. A crossbow bolt.

She broke into a run, the fear of humans flooding her body with adrenaline, and tore through the fog. Up rises, jumping creeks, crushing dry grasses, running wherever she couldn't hear the growing number of voices. Behind she heard the click of a trigger and instantly threw herself into a roll. The bolt grazed her leg but she was quickly on her feet again, mindful of the creeping warmth of blood and the burning in her lungs.

Another figure loomed before her, its eyes wide with surprise, a strange weapon leveled. Had she been any slower, she knew she would have died then and there. But she knew a bow and arrow weren't just useful at range. Without slowing she pulled an arrow from the quiver at her hip and thrust it into the man's leg like a knife, burying the head in the soft flesh until the shaft snapped. The man yelled in agony and anger, twisting on his crippled leg as he fell.

An ear-ringing boom erupted from the weapon he carried, the likes of which Pheia had never seen before. She couldn't tell what hit first: the rolling crack that made her mind reel, or the terrible spike that tore through her like a flaming nail.

She stumbled, screaming, and clutched her right shoulder. Her stomach flipped when she felt a hole ripped through the flesh of her now useless arm, a hole spurting blood with each pump of her tired heart.

"What... why..." she stammered as she felt a new fog, this one between the real world and her memories, creep over her eyes.

As she stumbled over yet another rise, woozy from the loss of blood, she saw lights flickering in the distance; warm lights that reminded her of the home she had left behind only to die in some place she couldn't even name.

"Laure Musrem, Daga Te'a," she managed to choke out in ragged breaths.

Her legs folded beneath her and she collapsed face first on the ground. Defeated, she couldn't even summon the strength to crawl.

"Te'n Laema, Feamat Mus," she continued, hoping even in her last moments to find out who lingered in the mists of her past. Nothing.

"Soma Serne, Ue Sae Sem'la," she sobbed. Her voice grew louder in desperation even as she heard heavy footfalls slowly approaching.

"Peper Ter-Ram Tela," she finished. Then it came. Not a face, but a name. Sohei.

She smiled as the pain, and the world about her, faded. But the hidden face had a name. That at least comforted her.

Through her dying hearing, over the white noise of the fog that obscured her vision, she thought she heard a roar. And then blackness.

Chapter X: Blue Tailed Bandits

Ifaut was the first to wake up the next morning, almost back to her usual self after the previous day. Of course, not even a hundred peaceful nights could truly erase the grief that was now in her heart, but even one helped a little. On a positive note, she thought, she was just that little bit closer to understanding Sansonis's feelings, one step on the bridge to empathy. She still had a long way to go, down a road she hoped she'd never see, one paved with loss and loneliness. She glanced down at Sansonis as he slept and blinked away a few tears of sympathy. Still, maybe she could help fix the shattered and twisted road he had already traversed. Maybe that was the reason why the two were kamaes. Or maybe it was a chance for redemption for what had happened to Saun, the boy so much like Sansonis. Whatever the reason, she doubted Cédes would tell her. This was something only she could figure out.

The sun had already been up for an hour. She yawned and stretched in the warm sunlight as a pleasantly cool breeze ruffled her hair and birds chattered like small children in the trees. All she needed to make this beautiful morning complete was something to eat. Now slightly more cheered, she kicked Sansonis playfully.

"Wakey wakey, sunshine!"

Sansonis groaned as he sat up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

Ifaut beamed down at him. "Can you wake the others?" she asked. "I'm gonna get some fruit to go with breakfast. You said you could get used to my cooking so I'm gonna hold you to it. Then you to me." She laughed and within seconds she had melted away into the trees.

At the sound of Ifaut's voice, Cédes's eyes fluttered open and she emerged from a deep sleep into the real world. "I have found that it is almost impossible to stay sleeping with Miss Ifaut around," she said, her voice tinged with affection, "especially with her infectious energy."

"She's very eager to please," Stefi said as she woke up. Then she muttered to herself, "But a little crazy. Just like the ferrets."

"Yes," Cédes said, "Miss Ifaut is very kind, isn't she? And she is quite skilled at cooking."

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say she had a crush on Sansonis!" Stefi laughed. "What with the way she never leaves his side and all! It's so sweet," she said in a semi-mocking tone clouded by sleep.

"I believe you are wrong," Cédes said. "While Miss Ifaut has accidentally harmed Sansonis several times already, I do not think she wishes to crush him. That would be very out of character for her. Unless you mean by means of a particularly exuberant hug."

"Dear Cédes," Stefi said with a yawn and patted the Furosan's head, "it's a human expression. Now, how can I put this in your terms...?" She thought for a moment. "I know!" she said triumphantly, "'I am of the opinion that Miss Ifaut is exhibiting strong signs of a romantic infatuation with Sansonis.' Is that how you would have said it?"

A childish chuckle chortled up from Cédes's throat and erupted into a laugh. "I could not have put it any better," she choked out, her eyes watering. "I have had suspicions myself. I never said anything through fear that Rhaka had already arranged someone for Sansonis."

Rhaka let out a low growl and slunk off to find his own food. Sansonis shuddered at the thought.

"Was that a joke?" Stefi asked.

"Yes. Am I getting better?" Cédes asked.

"Definitely."

Just then Ifaut bounded up with a crash and tripped over her own feet, sending her armful of wild fruit tumbling into the dust before falling on top of it. As she lay unmoving in the dirt, she thought she could hear someone asking if she felt all right. All she could feel were warm tears of embarrassment pricking at the corners of her eyes.

She scrambled to her feet, trying her hardest to ignore the laughter of her friends as tears burned in her eyes. She snatched up her bag before hurrying off to the stream that marked their way.

But even the cold water couldn't wash away the humiliation. Deep down she knew that her friends' laughter was just a natural reaction. However, as she washed herself and changed, a small seed of doubt was planted in her mind. How could she help everyone, especially Sansonis, if she managed to trip over her own feet and ruin breakfast?

"I'm sorry, everyone," she said as she shuffled back, her damp, dirty clothes clutched in one hand. The same breeze that had seemed so pleasant earlier turned her skin to ice.

"Don't worry about it." Sansonis hugged her, and she clung tight to him for warmth. "Stefi and I still have some food that we can eat. And I have something else for you."

He let her go, opened his pack, and pulled out a blanket. He draped the it about her shoulders. She also found a battered straw hat amongst her belongings and put it on, more to hide her lingering embarrassment than to warm her head. Its floppy brim covered her ears completely.

Just as Sansonis finished handing out a breakfast of bread and dried meat, a cry sounded from the sky above them and a hawk-like bird glided serenely over the trees. It turned a piercing, golden eye to the group below it. Then, just as suddenly as it had appeared, it was gone.

A dumbfounded silence descended upon the Fieretka. It was finally broken when Cédes spoke. "May somebody please tell me what that was?"

"A bird," Stefi said. Then, "Sansonis, did you or Ifaut notice something about it? Something... weird?"

"Apart from the blue ribbons tied to its legs and the creepy way it looked at us?" Sansonis said, deliberately using sarcasm for Cédes's benefit. He remembered how hard the subtleties of voice and tone had been for him to learn, not through conversation with his peers but by observation. "No, nothing weird about it at all."

"That was sarcasm!" Cédes said, her voice full of pride. "So, a strange bird flew overhead, bearing blue ribbons and watching us. It makes me... uneasy."

"Same here," Stefi said. "I get the feeling someone's looking for us. We'd better leave..."

Moments later Rhaka returned from his morning hunting. "I just observed a rather suspicious bird flying past that circled and seemed to observe me. Something about it concerned me so I returned here as quickly as possible."

"That's old news, dog-face," Ifaut said.

Rhaka growled at her with disdain then turned to Stefi. "What do you wish to do?"

Stefi thought for a minute. "I say we follow it. You said yourself there aren't any humans around here. So by rights there shouldn't be anyone nearby except Furosans anyway, and now I'm curious. What do the rest of you think?"

"I believe you are correct. Many of us live scattered throughout the forest. Perhaps they may be able to help. I shall follow you," Cédes said.

"My decision is the same as the white Furosan's," Rhaka said with a hint of contempt. "We have found another thing upon which we can agree."

Cédes snorted derisively.

"I'll follow you, my leader," Sansonis said.

"And where Sansonis goes, I follow," Ifaut piped up. "I hate to say this, Stefi, but according to the laws of the First I must protect him even against the orders of my superior, meaning you."

"Then I'll only need to convince Sansonis to go where I want you to," Stefi said with a smile. "For my first order to our little group as leader, let's follow that bird. Rhaka, lead on!"

As the Fieretka followed Rhaka's last sighting of the strange bird, Stefi grew increasingly uneasy as their path strayed ever further from the stream. None of them really knew their way around these parts, as far as Stefi knew, and the thought of getting lost was ever-present on her mind. Even though she had since discovered that the denizens of the forest were, for the most part, far nicer than their human reputations suggested, other deadly enemies still lurked in the depths: cold, hunger, thirst, all ready to kill the unwary with no concern or pity.

Once the sun had begun its downwards journey, Cédes began to sing in a strangely eerie voice.

"Laure Musrem, Daga Te'a," her clear, piercing voice sang. It sent a shiver down Stefi's back and brought tears to her eyes even though she didn't know what the words meant. Not that it really mattered; Cédes's voice gave them a meaning unique to anyone who heard them.

"Te'n Laema, Feamat Mus, Soma Serne, Ue Sae Sem'la, Peper Ter-Ram Tela."

As Stefi looked at the faces of her friends, she noticed all wore a different expression: Ifaut smiled at something only she could see; Sansonis bit his bottom lip and gazed into the distance; and Rhaka, from Stefi's limited understanding of his very different facial expressions, looked sad yet hopeful with his mouth hanging slightly open. Cédes's face remained blank.

Why is Cédes singing such a sad song? Gemmie asked.

It's not sad, it's hopeful and happy, Maya said.

"Look around, you two. I think you're both right. It doesn't matter what she's saying, the words mean something different for everyone," Stefi said and looked around once more. She was intrigued by how everyone was affected so differently. Different races, different feelings, but the same capacity for emotion. The same ability to feel love, hate, happiness, fear, hope. Even if they all looked different, some more so than others, was that really a reason for hatred? Inside, every one the same on a basic, emotional level. But how easily they could be manipulated by what people believed in on a religious level. She saw how even between her new friends rifts were beginning to form between the basic beliefs of Furosan and Otsukuné. And the closeness between Ifaut and Sansonis, not even bothering with the time-old preconceptions. Emotions are flexible, she realized. Teachings and ingrained beliefs, much less so.

Gradually, almost without noticing, Stefi found herself singing along with Cédes and it was then that she realized the others were singing too. Ifaut's voice soared with the promise of a bright future while Sansonis could barely make himself heard over his kamae's song that put a spring in her step and set her arms swinging. Rhaka emitted a sound Stefi could only hope was his way of singing. Either that or something was hurting him. Maybe it was both?

"Huh?" Ifaut exclaimed after a while. Everyone stopped. Everyone, that is, except the ferrets. "Listen carefully," she said and flapped her arms in an over-exaggerated gesture of silence. At least, that's what Stefi thought it must be. Or a poor impression of a bird. "You hear that? Someone else is singing," she said, eyes wide and tail puffed with fright.

Stefi could still hear her two ferrets in her head, carrying on blissfully unaware. Suddenly it all made sense. "I think you might be hearing the ferrets," she said. Her voice was quiet with uncertainty.

"Impossible..." Ifaut said, and her eyes appeared to grow even wider.

"No," Cédes said. "This is beyond anything I know, though why should it not be possible? Maybe a small piece of what makes Stefi so unique is beginning to rub off on the rest of us."

Everyone stopped talking and stood still, too enamored by the voices of the ferrets to do anything but listen. The high notes seemed to sparkle in the very air and brought everything into such sharp focus that it seemed the world itself was burning from within. Even the birds were silenced as the wind stilled. It seemed nature itself was silenced in awe.

Hey, what's everyone staring at? Maya asked. The song of the ferrets ceased and everything eased back to the way it was.

"You and Gemmie," Stefi said. "For just a moment they could hear your voices. It was amazing!"

"Yes," Cédes said, "a most soothing and beautiful melody. If I were to die right now, I would die happy."

We really touched them, didn't we? Gemmie asked, humbled by what she and Maya had unwittingly accomplished.

Stefi nodded.

"A song truly sweeter than the music of the Three Sisters," Rhaka said. "A song in a voice able to transcend the barriers of age, race, beliefs." He glanced apologetically at Cédes when he said the last word.

After a few moments of profound silence, the bird they'd been following since morning decided to make another appearance. It descended from the sky, perched on the lower branches of a tall tree, and fixed the Fieretka with an oddly intelligent stare.

"You again!" Ifaut yelled and pointed an accusing finger. "What do you want?"

In reply, the bird, a raptor with a rather nasty beak, set about casually preening its broad wings as if it had nothing better to do.

"I think it's watching us," Stefi whispered so the bird wouldn't overhear her. "I'm starting to think someone sent it to watch us..."

"Go away at once!" Ifaut said and followed her exclamation up with a few choice words that made Cédes cringe.

It answered with a piercing cry and, hoisting itself aloft with its broad wings, took off further into the forest.

"That's what I thought!"

She had barely finished when a burst of movement came from the trees, erupting from every direction. Three figures appeared, the lower halves of their faces masked by blue bandanas, and formed a rough triangle that hemmed the Fieretka in. Surrounded.

"Cédes!" Stefi turned to grab the Furosan's arm, only to clutch at emptiness. Cédes was gone.

"They took Cédes!" Her emotions roiled in a tempest of worry and anger. She gripped her staff tightly and prepared to fight. She noticed a flash of steel as their attackers drew knives from their belts. A long stick against knives? She had range, but once a knife gets in close enough...

Rhaka growled and bared his teeth in an angry snarl, taking up a protective position before Stefi, while Ifaut stepped in front of Sansonis. He pushed her gently aside.

"We're in this together," he said and patted her shoulder. The muscles tensed like coiled steel beneath his hand.

"These are Furosans," Ifaut said. "We can't hurt them." She left her sword in its scabbard and took up and empty-handed fighting stance, her hands bobbing lightly before her face. Sansonis did the same.

"Somebody tell them not to hurt us!" Stefi said just as the three masked attackers flew forward.

The tensioned springs of Rhaka's back legs exploded, propelling him towards the largest of the attackers. They both hit the ground hard and within a second Rhaka's teeth were at the Furosan's throat. The Furosan suddenly thought better than to try to take on what he originally thought was a dog and the fight drained from him as he went limp and played dead.

Ifaut became entangled with her target, engaged in a deadly dance to keep the knife from cutting her. Her hands flew as she parried repeated thrusts and checked low kicks, but not quickly enough. She felt a burning caress of steel across the soft flesh of her upper arm and screamed, more in anger than pain. She stumbled backwards and glanced to her right, only to see a terribly familiar expression descend upon Sansonis's face.

"Don't!" she yelled, all too aware of what it meant, but her voice was unable to penetrate the darkness.

With a staff thrust to the stomach that landed only through luck, Stefi sent her target reeling backwards, encouraged the whole time by a hollering Maya.

Duck, now step around 'em, not straight back, aim for the knife hand but keep him back, use your range! he whooped, strangely knowledgeable on armed combat.

Stefi spun around when she heard Ifaut's yell just in time to see a Furosan propelled by an unseen force into the bushes as Sansonis looked on coldly. He staggered and fell to his knees.

"And I thought Ifaut was just exaggerating," she said.

Stefi, turn now! Maya's voice punctuated her thoughts. She turned just as her attacker came back for another round. As she raised her staff again, puffing from exertion, she heard a dull knock like wood on wood. The Furosan's eyes stared in disbelief as it sank to the ground, dropping its knife and clutching its head. A pale outline, like a wavering spirit, shimmered behind the injured Furosan. Stefi recognized the face as it materialized.

"Cédes! You're all right!" she shouted in relief and embraced her before she'd fully reappeared.

"Of course I am. I am sorry I had you worried like that. Let us first focus our attention on these little fools."

"Sure. But why didn't you tell me you could just disappear like that?"

"With my own abilities and those of Lidae, I can conceal the entire Mafouras kingdom. I just used the same principle to hide myself. I would have concealed all of us, but I had no time to prepare."

Rhaka, still snarling, backed off his Furosan, and Ifaut helped a weakened Sansonis. She set him gently on the ground and made sure he was comfortable before she exploded without warning.

"What the firik were you three thinking?" she screamed as the three masked Furosans composed themselves and stood in a sorry looking group, eyes downcast. She scarcely noticed the shallow cut on her arm as she gesticulated wildly, stumbling through two languages as she continued to chastise and berate them. She tore off their bandanas in turn, revealing the startled faces of two young males and one young female, all even younger than Stefi. Scraps of blue ribbon adorned their tails, matching the color of their bandanas.

"You're all just kids!" she screamed before launching into another tirade in her own language.

"That's enough, Ifaut," Stefi said as she laid her hand on Ifaut's shoulder, plunging her into silence. "That's an order."

Ifaut stepped back and, growing ashamed of her rash behavior, stared at the ground.

"Please allow me to speak to them," Cédes said calmly and levelly, the complete opposite of Ifaut. "Leuma, Reilos, Sohei, would you mind telling me why you attacked us?" she asked. There were no signs of anger in her quiet voice.

"Lady Cédes!" they all said simultaneously and fell to their knees, shaking.

"Not only did you almost cause grievous harm to my friends, one of you managed to injure Miss Ifaut."

"That would be me..." the female, Sohei, said and stared at Ifaut with her brown, tear-filled eyes. "I'm sorry. I accept whatever punishment you choose to give me, though I deserve nothing short of death."

Ifaut took in a breath to fuel her next verbal assault but was checked by Sansonis. As he pulled her aside he noticed that she, too, was beginning to cry.

"Cédes, can you handle those three?" he asked. "Ifaut needs her arm looked at." He led her away from the others and bandaged her arm with some cloth from his pack.

"After freeing you from the snare, getting rid of those hunters, and now this, that's three you owe me now, isn't it?"

A trace of a smile appeared on her face. "Yeah... I'm sorry I snapped like that. Pretty crazy, huh? Some princess I am."

"Well, you have been under a lot of stress lately. Then we get attacked by a bunch of kids. Anyone would've gone off."

Meanwhile Cédes was calmly trying to convince the three young Furosans that, indeed, they didn't deserve punishment by death. "What are you three doing out here, far from home?" she asked.

"This is our home now," Reilos, the slightly shorter male with messy blonde hair and a smattering of freckles, said.

"And why is that? You know there is always room back home." She smiled and her red eyes twinkled.

"We prefer it out here," Leuma said levelly, his gruff voice and mannerism reminiscent of Rhaka's despite his young age.

"Yeah, Lady Cédes," Sohei said. She stood up and appeared happier now that they had practically been forgiven. "We like it here. None of us have any family left so we thought we might as well go out into the world."

Ifaut returned, her eyes still moist. "So you attack people? Why?"

"Sentinel told us of humans approaching. I guess he must have seen wrong," Leuma said and held out his arm. The bird descended from a nearby tree, perched upon the Furosan's leather-padded arm, and started preening again. "We acquire from humans who wander too close to Mafouras from Valraines and scare them off," he continued. "Sorry we attacked you."

"What do you mean acquire?" Stefi asked.

It's how we get treasures! Gemmie said. Reilos echoed her a second later.

"What treasures?"

"The shiny gold discs humans are in possession of!" Sohei said and nodded to her two friends.

"What's mine is mine. What's yours is also mine!" the three Furosans said in unison. "The one, and only, Blue Tails!" They struck an odd pose that earned a bitter laugh from Ifaut and a chuckle from Stefi and Sansonis.

"Lady Cédes, now it's our turn to ask something. What brings you and your friends so far from home?" Reilos said.

Cédes didn't reply, but Ifaut slowly and deliberately removed her hat to reveal her Furosan ears and pulled her tail out from her shirt, glowering darkly all the while. "How could you mistake me for a human?" Her voice was level yet dripping with anger.

"A-Again we apologize," Reilos stammered. "We'll make up for this any way we can."

"How about you give us someplace to stay and some of the shiny discs you've acquired?"

"Of course. What's ours is ours. What's ours is also yours." he said and bowed before leading the Fieretka further into the forest.

Chapter XI: A Glimpse of Beyond

After a short walk, the Blue Tails halted.

"Welcome to our humble home," a grinning Reilos said and swept his arm before him.

"There's nothing here," Stefi said. All she could see was an empty clearing and a large oak-like tree spreading its shady branches protectively over the forest floor.

In reply Sohei pointed one finger towards the sky. "Up!" She smiled. Stefi and the Fieretka followed her gaze and a surprised murmur rippled through the group.

"What is it?" Cédes asked. "Not another problem?"

"No," Sansonis said. "Just what I always wanted growing up. A tree house!"

Several meters up, and all but hidden within the embrace of the towering evergreen tree, perched a small house. Its walls, dappled with green and brown paint, rendered it nearly invisible. Half a dozen hammocks hung from various branches, all carefully positioned to make the most of the sunshine throughout the day. Its roof was a patchwork of metal sheets. It could have almost been any house, only it was hidden in a tree.

"Let's get up there. I'm hungry!" Reilos clambered up the rope ladder with a practiced ease, followed closely by Leuma and Sentinel. The bird perched protectively in a high branch and kept watch, living up to its name.

"How does dog-face get up?" Ifaut asked and cast a glance at Rhaka. "I'm not carrying him."

Rhaka grunted in annoyance and sat back on his haunches, tensing his back legs. Almost faster than the eye could follow he released the tensioned muscles and launched himself straight up like a bird taking flight. His claws found a branch and he hauled himself up before springing lithely from branch to branch, finally coming to rest on the unwalled porch of the Blue Tails' home. "I may have the face of a dog," he said and peered down at Ifaut with what could be nothing but a sly grin, "but my legs and paws are comparable to those of a feline."

Ifaut sighed. In a few seconds a grin of her own dawned on her face with all the radiance of the rising sun. "Impressive, cat-feet!" she called after him. "Now how do we solve the little problem of Lady Cédes?"

Sohei appeared at Cédes's side and took her arm. "I'll help Lady Cédes up. It's the least I can do after the way we acted. And you lot are our guests here."

"Thank you, Sohei," Cédes said and followed her to the ladder. After her hands had been guided onto the ropey rungs she managed to clamber up as Sohei came up underneath, awkwardly carrying Cédes's staff in one hand while guiding the pale Furosan with the other.

"I suppose that just leaves us," Sansonis said to Ifaut and Stefi. "Well, ladies first."

"Okey dokey!" Ifaut started forward only for Stefi to halt her by grabbing her tail.

Stefi shot Sansonis a nervous stare, fixing her eyes upon his, and slowly, deliberately, drew his gaze down her body to her skirt before looking back straight ahead, pleading silently. He thought for a few seconds before realization struck.

"Ah, I get it. S-sorry," he stammered and scrambled up the ladder, leaving the two girls and the ferrets alone.

"Hey, what was that about?" Ifaut tugged her tail from Stefi's grasp, leaving behind a few tan and black hairs.

"Notice we're both wearing skirts?" Stefi said as she dusted off her hands. "Did you really want Sansonis sneaking a peek?" she asked before adding, "Wait, don't answer that. I know you'll say yes!" She giggled.

"Hey!" Ifaut scowled. "What's that supposed to mean?" A blush of embarrassment began to creep across her cheeks and she turned to hide her face.

"You know exactly what I mean," Stefi teased in a singsong voice as she sidled in front of Ifaut. The Furosan turned away. "You like him, don't you? It's written all over your face in red, splotchy ink. I don't know much about the whole kamae thing between you, but I know a crush when I see it!"

"Karandhi asalam firik," Ifaut said from behind the wall she had hurriedly erected before her face with her hands.

"Is that Mafouran for yes?"

"No, just a curse on your very soul..."

"You wouldn't!"

"You're right..." Ifaut said quietly, defeated. "I just told you to shove off, or words to that effect. How do you see through me so well, anyway?"

"Maybe it's to do with being able to understand ferrets. Or maybe it's because you're really obvious!" Stefi laughed.

"I am not," Ifaut said and slowly uncovered her face. "Am I?" She locked her blue eyes upon Stefi's.

"Just a tad, but Sansonis is too dense to even notice. You could kiss the guy and he wouldn't even think anything of it."

"Do you think?" Ifaut squeaked, her face fading back to normal as happiness took over.

Stefi laughed. "Joking, Ifaut. What is it with Furosans and humor?"

"I don't know." She wrung her hands and bit her bottom lip. "Can I ask you something? Promise not to mention it to anybody else, m'kay?"

"You can ask me anything," Stefi said. "Can the ferrets listen in?" Gemmie and Maya's ears twitched and they sat up, alert.

"Of course. They won't tell anyone but you."

"So, what is it?"

"Please, Stefi. I feel like I can trust you with this, so don't laugh or anything." She hesitated as if unsure of herself before continuing. "Do you think, if in theory I really liked him, and if in theory he really liked me back, it could work out?" She stared at her feet and wrung her hands so hard Stefi thought she'd break her fingers.

"Sure, why wouldn't it?" Stefi shrugged. "In theory, of course."

"Well, I'm Furosan and he's human, Kalkic to be precise, so..."

"The other Furosans I saw didn't seem too concerned with you hanging around him. They even seemed to think it was cute. And as for your dad, well, let's just say I wish mine was that nice when it came to boys."

Ifaut nodded. "Maybe you're right, Stefi," she said. "And perhaps I should just ignore Richo too."

"Richo?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. Maybe you humans also have the custom of ahiyau, where a father promises his daughter to another man's son?"

"You mean you have an arranged marriage?" Stefi gasped and stepped back so suddenly that the ferrets nearly fell from her shoulders.

"Yes. Please don't tell Sansonis!" she said.

"I think this is too big to keep from him. I mean, hasn't he told you everything about himself?"

"I don't know. I just feel like I'd be betraying him somehow. I couldn't care less about Richo, though. He's from Ariga and they're all a bunch of uptight snobs. But daddy must've chosen him for a reason. He probably thinks it'll bring the Mafourans and Arigans closer together again."

"Would it?"

"Of course. There could be no stronger show of unity. It's just... Ariga's so far away... too far away. I may have to marry Richo for the Furosans, but Saun, I mean Sansonis, needs me too so he can be happy and I can look after him. How can I decide between the one and the many? There's no simple answer. What should I do?" Her happiness faded fast as something she had tried hard not to think about resurfaced. The more she tried to suppress it, the more it grew. She clasped Stefi's hands and Stefi saw that she looked suddenly drained.

"And here I was thinking you were so carefree, Miss Ifaut," she said, using Cédes's name for her with the same level of concern the pale Furosan always bore. "I never knew you carried such a burden."

"Yeah, and so do you. You have the ferrets and the whole world to worry about. Stefi, I'm scared..." she whimpered.

"It's all right," Stefi said and embraced a shaking Ifaut. A current of calm flowed between them and Stefi heard the same strange singing as she did during her brief session with Cédes. The voice seemed to dart through her, Ifaut, and the ferrets.

"I don't know what you just did," Ifaut whispered, "but that noise was nice. I feel much better now."

"You heard it too?"

"Of course. I wasn't meant to?"

"No, it's just that first everyone hears the ferrets singing, then you hear Feregana's voice..."

Ifaut gasped and knelt down, clasping her hands in prayer. She hurriedly spoke a few words in her native language then glanced up at Stefi. "As long as I lived I never thought I'd hear the voice of Feregana!" she said nervously. "You really are special. Well, except when you tease me and be mean!"

"You know it's all true!" Stefi laughed.

At that moment Sansonis called down from the tree house. "Hey, what's keeping you?"

Yeah, Maya piped up, we're getting hungry!

"Nothing," Ifaut called back and hurried up the rope ladder, followed by Stefi. Maybe, just maybe, Stefi's advice might work. In theory, of course.

Far, far away, Pheia floated in blackness, in darkness so thick that no light could penetrate it. It was so utterly overwhelming that with what little of her consciousness remained she felt terribly helpless and alone. Time did not seem to pass wherever this was. If it even existed. Maybe this emptiness was all that there ever had been. But Pheia didn't care. Caring took too much effort. All she wanted to do was sleep.

After what could have been one day or one eternity, a speck of light flared in the distance like a far off star, a mere pinprick of light in the endless void. It looked warm, she thought, and that thought brought with it the sudden realization that she was cold.

"Cold?" she said aloud. Her voice fell flat and empty. "Am I dead? So why am I so cold?"

In answer to her question the point of light grew outwards like a sun exploding at the end of its life, sweeping away the blackness and swallowing Pheia in a blinding light. Even though she squeezed her eyes shut and hid them beneath her hands, it wasn't enough to keep out the terrible whiteness. At least the blackness hadn't hurt.

Just when she thought she could take it no longer, she found herself lying on a grassy plane. As the searing after-images withdrew from her eyes she began to make sense of her surroundings. The grassy surface was in fact a broad field sprinkled with white star-shaped flowers that had no smell. Great trees, each so thick it would take a dozen people to ring them, towered upwards like massive bulwarks, so high that their tops seemed to support the dome of the eerie sky. The cobalt tapestry of the heavens lingered behind the branches of the trees, while poison-green wisps of clouds scurried and turned before the burning white lights of stars. There was no sun. Only permanent twilight.

Pheia propped herself up on her right elbow for a better view, silenced by the landscape that looked so beautiful and yet utterly unearthly. There was something else about it she couldn't place, something that wasn't quite right.

Suddenly the realization that she had just been shot struck her full force and her hand flew to her shoulder, expecting a horrible mass of torn flesh and shattered bone. Nothing. Her arm was fine. She stumbled to her feet, now more scared than relieved. Messes like that don't just disappear...

She spotted her bow a few steps away. As she picked it up and fitted an arrow to the string with fumbling fingers, she realized there was no other sound in the dead, heavy air. No birds sang, no breeze stirred the trees, no insects hummed. Nothing.

"What's going on here?" she shouted, raising her breaking voice to the treetops. It didn't even echo. Now true fear edged its way into her thoughts. Was this death, this haunting, silent landscape that showed no signs of life?

Pheia broke into a run, although she had no idea where she was heading, or if there was even anywhere to go. She couldn't tell how long she ran; time didn't seem to matter. And neither did the physical limitations of her body. She didn't lose her breath even though she'd exerted all the energy she could. Her legs didn't ache. Her feet seemed to float across the grass like birds of prey skimming the waves of the ocean. And every tree looked the same.

Finally, mentally exhausted, she stopped in front of a tree. "Why is there nothing here? Where is here? Tell me!" she screamed at the silent tower of bark and sap. It stood there, unheeding.

"Answer me!" She punched and pounded it with her fists. The bark tore at her hands until they streamed with blood.

"No... pain..." she said, her voice belying her defeated spirit. She blinked and her wounds were gone.

"Argh!" She unleashed a frustrated cry and pulled an arrow from the quiver at her hip. She raised it to her heart.

Stop. I cannot bear to see you in this state any longer, Pheia Inessa Ariga, a disembodied voice said, ringing through her head.

She dropped the arrow in fright. "Who's there? Show yourself!" she said, her voice shaking.

The tree that she had attacked shimmered from existence and in its place appeared a shapeless light, vaguely human or Furosan. What race or gender it was, she couldn't tell. Even its voice was barely a voice at all, but more of a series of thoughts that reverberated through her being.

She gasped and staggered back, letting her bow fall from her left hand. "I really am dead, aren't I?" she asked the light.

Yes, you are. Unfortunately, this greatly hampers my plans for you. You were not meant to die, but the thread of another's fate failed to entwine with yours as it should have. It appears as if I must intervene, though it be against the rules of life. Ought not the souls of mortals, once lost, be allowed to return Home, to Arolha?

"Look, I don't know who or what you are, or where I am, and I accept that I'm dead. But what are these things of which you speak?"

The voice seemed to laugh, a haunting vibration that gently shook the ground and set the flowers nodding. Do you truly accept your death, Furosan? I see into your heart. Your mind is like an open book; I need only flick through pages to see whether you speak the truth or not. I know you speak falsehoods.

Pheia sighed. The light, whatever it was, was right. She was not ready. At least not yet. Somewhere out there were the Fieretka, somewhere out there lay the remnants of the other four elemental guardians, her own stone aside. And somewhere, perhaps, Sohei still lived.

"You are correct, light," she said, placing bitter emphasis upon the final word. "What of everything I had left to do, what of my family, my people? I can't accept death. Not yet."

I see that which you speak is the truth. The laws of life and death usually cannot be broken, but I must make an exception, break the rules. There is still much for you to do on the side of the living.

"Then where am I now? Some sort of in-between?"

Yes. This is a land between worlds, a confluence of lives where the souls of the departed find themselves upon death.

"Where is everyone else?"

Come.

Once more the brilliant light enveloped Pheia, and when it cleared she found herself in another part of the forest altogether, suspended high above the ground, her bow now slung over her shoulder. Alone.

Watch, the voice commanded from nowhere.

Below her stretched a green field like that which she had awoken on before. Heightless trees still scraped the stars, although they left a large clearing, and green threads of clouds still blew across the sky like cobwebs on no breeze. But now a dull, dying sun hung low in the sky. It illuminated a bustle of activity while still allowing the stars' light.

The grass teemed with the shimmering forms of Furosans, humans, and ferrets playing with each other as they tumbled about in the soft grass or dozed in the shade. There was no hunger, no suffering, and both humans and Furosans chatted and laughed happily, forgetful of the hatred they'd held while alive.

Below and to her left a crack seemed to appear in the fabric of existence and a young human male several years younger than herself stumbled out, blinking in surprise at the sight before him. She watched closely.

Somewhere within that scene of happiness she felt her eyes drawn towards a lone silver ferret napping upon the sun-dappled grass. Its ears twitched and it burst into life, stretching its slinky body and yawning to reveal many pointed teeth. The ferret took off, weaving through the feet of the humans and Furosans, sometimes leaping, sometimes tumbling over the other ferrets in its haste. A few of the other souls looked up and grinned with delight, while others pointed and shouted words of encouragement Pheia couldn't hear.

As the young man tried to make sense of his new surroundings, the silver ferret approached his feet, dancing and dooking with joy. The human caught sight of the ferret at his feet and Pheia noticed he was crying. He mouthed something, his face lighting up, and picked up his friend to be greeted by the ferret's eager tongue planting licks on his face. He looked about, the gaze of hundreds upon him, and smiled. The ferret must have said something, for the human nodded and stepped forward. He weaved carefully about the scattered others as they returned to what they had been doing before.

Now that Pheia looked around she saw that the field ended abruptly some distance to her right, opening into a yawning abyss that was really just the night sky and stars, strangely down instead of up. Far on the other side another land shimmered in a haze like one sometimes sees on a hot day, but she couldn't make out any details, only muted greens and blues painted in broad, watercolor brushstrokes. Arolha.

But what really caught her eyes was the bridge. Between the two worlds, spanning the abyss, stretched a flat, glass-like bridge. Every color on the spectrum, and even some she had never seen before, glimmered along its whole length, one moment flowing like the currents of a river, the next waving like grass in a breeze.

As the human set foot upon the bridge, showing no signs of hesitation, Pheia caught a snatch of voices.

I'm sorry I got sick and had to leave you, the ferret said, but I always knew we would see each other again.

"Where are we going?" the human asked as he blinked tears from his eyes.

Home. I'm taking you Home.

And just like that they were gone.

A moment of pure beauty.

Pheia jerked in surprise. The light had once more returned to her side. "Yes," she said, and found that she had shed a few tears without noticing.

But this fate does not yet await you. Somewhere down there lies Lirun, but she must wait a little longer.

"Lirun? You mean little Lirun's down there?"

Yes. The souls of all ferrets await the ones they had to leave behind so reluctantly. Sometimes circumstance is reversed. Either way, she must still wait.

Pheia nodded. "So I will return to life?"

I shall restore you back to the Dream. Do you know why it is that I showed you this place?

"No."

Because this is what you are fighting for. This is what you must keep alive. Beauty, friendship, companionship, love, understanding. My power is fading and with it the bridge that the souls must traverse across the eternal waters of the Fountain. The light seemed to sigh sadly, displaying some semblance of emotion for the first time.

"Does my stone have something to do with all this?" Pheia asked and removed it from her pocket. As soon as the light of the being beside her fell upon it, it glowed brightly, bathing her in a soft blue light.

Yes.

For a moment Pheia's stone shimmered red and cast a halo of bloody light around her.

"Laure Musrem, Daga Te'a," a chorus of voices seemed to sing from the stone as its colors phased between red and blue.

"Te'n Laema, Feamat Mus," they continued

"What's going on?" Pheia asked, quite alarmed.

Though they do not know it, they are calling for you. From far away. Their song has drifted far upon Fairun's breeze to reach this place.

"Who? Who's calling?"

The Fieretka.

Then the other voices died away, leaving only two singing in high, pure notes that pierced Pheia's soul and made her feel as if she could swim across seas and run across continents without tiring.

Soma Serne, Ue Sae Sem'la, Peper Ter-Ram Tela.

As the voices subsided, a fog descended upon her, slowly smothering the mysterious light.

Go now to them. Traverse the unfound Dark Bridge. You will once more walk the Dream, but once your purpose is complete I shall call you back here so you may journey Home with Lirun.

As the fog shrouded Pheia she felt her consciousness once more slipping away, lowering her back into life.

"Wait!" she managed to say, although it seemed to take all her energy to do so. "You never told me who you were!"

I was once known as Yifunis, the smoldering light said, but now I am called the Fieretsi.

Chapter XII: Admission?

Once Stefi had finally made the dizzying climb up the rope ladder and through the hole that passed for a front door, she collapsed onto the wooden floor of the tree house. She didn't dare to look down again.

"Why a tree?" Her body surged with adrenaline and vertigo as they mixed together to make a nauseating cocktail.

"For one, it's cool," Reilos said as he lit a lamp. "Every kid dreams of something like this, eh?" He grinned. "Plus it's well hidden and no one would think to look up."

"Uh-huh," Stefi said and shuffled backwards against a wall. She lifted both ferrets from her shoulder and shakily attached their harnesses and leads. If they wandered near the ladder hole and fell... she couldn't bear to think about it.

Don't you trust us? Maya asked.

"I just don't trust your wandering urges," she said, her voice unsteady. She looked up to find Sohei standing before her, clutching a steaming mug in both hands.

"I know you must feel freaked out. I was the same when the boys insisted on living up here. Actually, it still scares me when it shakes in a strong wind."

"Shakes?" Stefi said nervously.

"Maybe I shouldn't have said that. But it's not windy today, and I brought you something." She handed the mug to Stefi.

"What is it?"

"A human drink we quite like, something called hot chocolate. We don't get it very often, but you're our guest and we need to make up for attacking you. It'll make you feel better."

"Chocolate? I've hardly ever had this!" Stefi said and sniffed the warm, comforting aroma. "It's so expensive! Sometimes I might have it on my birthday but..." Humans still hadn't figured out how to grow cocoa easily, and as such chocolate was a hard to obtain luxury. The secret to its bountiful cultivation had been lost long ago with the island of Minhera.

"Chocolate?" Ifaut squeaked and bolted upright, stumbling forward onto her hands and knees.

"Now, there's plenty to go around." Reilos laughed and set about pouring mugs from a pot warming on a small brazier.

Sohei dispensed them but hesitated when she came to Cédes and Rhaka. "Miss Cédes? Would you like some?" she asked timidly, still upset over her and her friends' earlier actions.

"No, thank you," Cédes said. "I do enjoy it but I shall have strange dreams all night if I drink it."

"And Mister Dog?" she asked Rhaka.

"No. Unfortunately the compounds of that substance are toxic to Otsukuné. On one occasion I sampled it and it wreaked havoc with my digestive sys-"

"Enough, Dad!" Sansonis cut in. He remembered the night all too well when Rhaka and several other Otsukuné had raided the nearby town of Falhafen for human foods. The result of the chocolate on the Otsukuné had been unpleasant to say the least.

Sansonis stared at Ifaut in bewilderment as she scurried to his side and slurped her drink, sounding remarkably like someone walking through deep mud in heavy boots. Afterwards, covered in a sticky brown mess, she looked like she'd done just that. He only wished she wouldn't keep licking her fingers.

"More..." she said dreamily and held out her empty mug to Sohei.

Sohei complied, barely able to keep a straight face as Ifaut noisily gulped her second helping. "She looks really princess-like."

"Sarcasm!" Cédes piped up, uncharacteristically outspoken.

"Huh?"

Stefi answered. "I had to explain sarcasm to Cédes and now she always points it out."

"Wow. That's just great," Sohei said.

"Not... sarcasm?" Cédes tilted her head sideways as she thought.

"Well, I guess you can take that however you like," Sohei said. "Now, anyone want more to drink?"

"Me!" Ifaut shouted. Her eyes were unfocused and she smiled giddily at something only she could see.

"Perhaps," Rhaka added, "I should have mentioned that while that substance is toxic to myself, it can also have an intoxicating effect on some Furosans."

"Who's a clever, clever fog-dace," Ifaut slurred as she swayed rhythmically from side to side. "Such a nimble fat-Keet... nimbly... fimbly... kimbly..."

Sansonis wrested the mug from her hands, prying off her stubbornly clamped fingers with much effort. "You've had enough," he said and handed the mug to Sohei. She looked worried.

"No!" Ifaut protested. "There something I needs to tell you. Too nervous to say without chocolate..."

"You mean you knew it'd do this to you?"

"Undootably." She warbled and sucked her fingers.

Sansonis sighed. Ifaut had always seemed so confident before. He wondered what it was she couldn't muster the courage to say without chocolate.

Smiling from behind a mask of chocolate and stupor, Ifaut leaned forward and closed her eyes. "You has some chocolate on your face, silly boy... Let me..."

Her body went limp and she fell forward, her face missing its mark as she collapsed across Sansonis's legs. "Amanein... siduree..." she said in her sleep.

Those two words roused the attentions of the four other Furosans and drew their focus towards their ridiculous looking princess. Even Leuma looked up from where he was feeding Sentinel. Sohei let out a gasp while Cédes and Reilos simply laughed.

"What? What did she say?" Stefi said. "Tell me! It's not fair. I can't understand her!"

Sansonis looked about in shock at the sudden attention. It was then he noticed a smile of realization dawning on Stefi's face.

"Did she say what I think she said?" Stefi asked coyly.

"Yes," Cédes said, and her red eyes seemed to sparkle mischievously in the firelight. "She either told Sansonis that she wants to scratch his face, or, you know..." She began to blush. "And on account of having done the former already..." She left the sentence hanging teasingly in the air.

"I knew it!" Stefi's triumphant shout sent Sentinel flapping about the tree house with a frightened squawk.

"Knew what?" Sansonis asked. He tried desperately to decipher the myriad facial expressions that surrounded him. But there were just too many.

Stefi sighed. "You're dense, Sansonis. The silly girl likes you!"

"Of course she does. I'm her kamae and I suppose I've saved her, what, three times already?"

"True, but I think it's more than that." She winked.

"That's what you two were talking about before?"

"Yeah. It's sort of my fault she drank all that chocolate too. I think I might have encouraged her to just tell you how she felt."

Sansonis didn't know what to say or think. Instead he glanced down at the sleeping Ifaut. As she rose and fell gently in time with her breathing, Sansonis, his heart aching with a new-found emotion, ran his fingers through her soft hair. What was it about him that this strange girl found so appealing? He was nothing remarkable, really; just a much-maligned Kalkic human who had been raised by even more hated Otsukuné. But somehow there was something more comforting about Furosans and Otsukuné than humans. All the races had the same capacity for love and hatred. Only the humans were so irrational when it came to what they believed in. At least with the other two he knew where he stood. And even though he'd only met the Furosan a few days ago, he felt like he'd known her for years.

"You like her too, don't you?" Stefi said quietly as she spied tears welling in Sansonis's eyes.

He nodded in reply, unable to say anything through the choking sensation that seized his throat. Once it finally cleared, he managed to speak again. "I only wish she had as much faith in herself as she does in me."

"Hey, Reilos, how about a story?" Stefi asked later once evening had fully given way to night. Ifaut still lay snoring across Sansonis's legs, and after everyone had eaten, Stefi was in the mood for listening.

"Well, what do you want to hear about?" Reilos asked as he lolled lazily in a hammock. "There's nothing I know that Lady Cédes couldn't also tell you. But I suppose I wouldn't use big words like her, which is exactly why you asked me, eh?" He grinned mischievously and winked at Stefi.

"Not really," she said and returned the smile. "You're more traveled than Cédes, seen more things, I mean experienced more things." She patted Cédes's shoulder apologetically.

"Hmm." Reilos hummed thoughtfully and swung his legs over the sides of the hammock.

"How about Arolha Se-Baht?" Sohei suggested. Leuma nodded his agreement.

"Only if Lady Cédes doesn't mind my shocking telling of it!"

"I will not," she said. "History was never my strong point. Do you know how hard it is to memorize dates when you cannot see? I must have annoyed my tutors to no end! Please, you had better tell us."

"If you insist!" He rearranged himself until he was comfortable in his hammock, while Sohei fed the brazier a few more twigs. The flickering flames bathed the tree house in a warm light.

And yet Sansonis only hoped the brazier wouldn't set fire to the house. Here they were, high above the ground and surrounded by firewood. And if all Furosans were as clumsy as Ifaut...

"All right," Reilos began, putting on an authoritative narrating voice, "far to the east lies the lost island of Arolha Se-Baht. Legend has it that it sits in a place of eternal twilight on the edge of the world, positively brimming with Furosa. It's a strange place, where they say time stands still or can even run backwards."

"They?" Stefi echoed.

"C'mon, every good story has 'them'. You know, the strangers who first told of them, the ones who tell the stories through the generations. They," he said. "But the best part? Anyone who reaches Arolha Se-Baht can make their dearest dreams a reality. And there a Fieretsi like you, Stefi, can easily talk to Feregana Herself."

Stefi started. "Wait... How did...?"

"Cédes clued us in when you and Ifaut were having your little girly talk before."

Stefi turned to Cédes. "Did you know about this place?"

Cédes shook her head. "No. Well, barely. Like I've said before, history was-"

"-never your strong point. Yeah, yeah, I get it already." She didn't mean to come across so harshly, but here perhaps was her ultimate destination. After all, Cédes had said she needed to talk to Feregana to prevent this coming disturbance. So what better place than Reilos's island?

"Allow me to finish," Cédes said calmly. "Yes, it is not my strong point, but religion, spirituality, glimpses of the future... those things are. After all, have you not already heard Feregana's voice?"

Stefi nodded.

"With your natural talent and my future training we may be able to talk to her without embarking on such a perilous journey to the supposed edge of the world. That is why I said nothing of this place sooner. You must trust what I do know, and that is that we need to reach Valraines first, for there I have seen that we shall find ourselves a very useful ally."

"But a useful ally in a place of boats and ships? Don't you think that means-"

"I have not seen that much. I do not even know her or his face. Now, Mister Reilos," she said with a heavy tone that suggested Stefi should be quiet and listen, "I would hear the rest of your story."

Reilos cleared his throat and continued. "As I was saying, Arolha Se-Baht is a place where a Fieretsi can easily talk to Feregana. I know that some have sought that place, but each for different reasons. Every Fieretsi has their own purpose in life, but I'd bet all the chocolate in Sol-Acrima that most actually had nothing to do with the place."

"Do you know what their purposes were, Cédes?" Stefi asked.

"That information would fall into the realm of history."

Stefi sighed and rolled her eyes. "Of course it would."

"But perhaps Reilos may enlighten us?"

"Nope, I'm just as clueless as you are, Lady Cédes," he said with a cheeky grin.

"Clueless, yes," Cédes agreed, "but even though I am blind I am still able to identify fellow Furosans." She smiled.

"You got me there," Reilos said with a shrug.

"If that's where some others have gone, and I need to talk to Feregana to save her and the ferrets," Stefi said, "does that mean it could be my destination too? Maybe if I can talk to Feregana there we can stop this disturbance or whatever is happening. What do you think, Cédes?"

"First we must pursue our goal of this person in Valraines. Then we shall take the adventure that comes our way."

"As good a plan as any," Sansonis said. "Not that I have anywhere else to go. You're the leader so wherever you go, I go." He thought for a moment and ran his hand through his hair. "Great. Now I sound like Ifaut..."

At the sound of his voice Ifaut stirred on his lap, warbling something incomprehensible while drooling a steady stream that spread in a dark patch across his jeans. He longed to stretch his legs out but that would mean rousing the sleeping Furosan. And if he didn't he feared the numbness in his legs would grow permanent.

"Okay," Stefi continued and turned back to Reilos. "How do you get there, anyway?"

"Go east," he said simply.

"East? From where? Isn't everywhere east from somewhere?"

"Go east from Eastern Feregana, at any rate. And stop right before you fall off the edge of the world. That's all I know."

"Do you know, Rhaka?" she asked the Otsukuné.

"No, nor have I heard of this place until just now. I am intrigued and will help in finding it if you so wish, but alas, I have no idea where it is."

Just then Maya spoke to her. Why not ask us? We might know a thing or two.

"What? You know where it is?"

Of course! We're ferrets, remember? We're basically made from that Furosa stuff, so we can feel it. Or something else that's very strong and full of Furosa far to the east. And we can sometimes hear what the world's saying. Who do you think told us to find the Furosans in the first place?

"Great!" Stefi said a little too loudly, drawing curious stares. "What way do we go?" She placed Maya on the floor. The little ferret cocked his head thoughtfully for a moment as if listening to something far away, then began weaving about in a strange figure-eight pattern about the floor.

"What's he doing?" Reilos asked and leaned forward for a better look.

"Showing us the way."

After a moment, Maya stopped, his nose pointing eastwards. That way.

"How can you tell, though?"

You doubt me? he said haughtily. Let me put it this way. You know how we ferrets like to wander off and get lost?

"Yes."

That's because we're following some great call, and it always comes from the east. So of course I know that's the way.

"Is he right, Gem?" she asked the other ferret. But Gemmie was sound asleep. "Now we have a compass, or compasses. Once we hit Valraines and meet Cédes's person, we head east."

"Should we find that to be a necessary course," Cédes put it.

"Agreed," Stefi said. Then, "Have any of you three ever been out that way before? East, I mean," she asked the three Blue Tails.

At this Sohei let out a gentle laugh, clear and delicate. "Haven't you noticed my skin's darker than everyone else's? It means I'm from over there," she said and jerked her thumb in the same direction Maya had just faced.

Before Stefi could reply, Cédes did for her. "Yes, I saw that you were Arigan," she said then added proudly, "See? I used sarcasm!"

"Very good, Cédes," Stefi said, trying to contain her laughter at Cédes's childlike enthusiasm for this new conversational tool. Cédes smiled contentedly to herself and, leaning back, folded her arms. She looked almost smug.

"Lady Cédes, you already know where I'm from, so don't cheat!"

"Hence the sarcasm."

Stefi sighed. She almost regretted teaching Cédes sarcasm. But she displayed an obvious joy in pointing it out and impressing her new human friend, so perhaps it wasn't that bad after all. It was then she realized that just as Cédes had much to teach her, so did she have much to teach Cédes.

"Anyway," Sohei said, drawing out the word lazily as she spoke, "I don't much remember anything of it so I won't be any help there. I came here when I was little. Well, littler than I am now," she added, conscious of her small stature.

"Leuma?" Stefi asked. The Furosan sat on the floor, head hanging sleepily as a dozing Sentinel perched on his shoulder.

"Nope. Can't say I've been overseas either," he said without lifting his head. "I'd like to go, but I don't think Sentinel would handle going on a boat all that well."

"And while I know stories," Reilos added, "that's about all." He yawned.

Sohei noticed this and said, "It's getting late. Perhaps we should call it a day?"

Reilos nodded. "There are plenty of hammocks for you to sleep in, and we've got a nest if you want to use that." He gestured towards a mound of colorful blankets in the corner. Their folds looked almost like gentle, rolling hills.

Stefi and her ferrets chose the blankets, mainly because she didn't feel like being any higher than she already was. Sansonis managed to carry Ifaut, although his legs had already fallen asleep, and placed her gently in one of the many hammocks that hung from the rafters. He found another one for himself nearby. Rhaka stayed where he was on the floor, insisting that it was comfortable enough, while Cédes decided to join Stefi.

"Am I learning well?" Cédes whispered once everyone but she and Stefi had fallen asleep.

"Yes, you are," Stefi said.

"Good. I appreciate your help. We have much to learn from one another," she said. She rolled closer to Stefi and put an arm around her before quickly falling asleep.

Stefi couldn't help but feel just a little uncomfortable and winced despite Cédes's soft touch. Judging by Ifaut's affection towards Sansonis she realized that maybe such open affection was simply normal Furosan behavior. Not that Ifaut would be considered "normal" by any human standards. Still, this wasn't something readily done between human friends, at least. It felt strange, yet also comforting, like hugging a relative not seen in years. Cédes was right. There was still so much to learn.

Everyone awoke early the next morning and, after a breakfast of slightly burnt toast prepared by Sohei and Reilos, readied themselves for departure.

"Before you go," Reilos said, "we want you to have something." The other two nodded at him and he scooped up a handful of gold coins. "These are from all of us, to say sorry and good luck." He divided the coins, a respectable amount, amongst the Fieretka. When he reached Cédes he took her hand and gently placed a few into her palm. She refused them.

"No, do not worry. Your hospitality and story-telling are enough," she said.

"And I guess Rhaka doesn't want any either?"

The Otsukuné shook his head, a gesture he'd picked up from the humans and Furosans.

Reilos continued, "You know, I hate long goodbyes, so let me just say it now. Goodbye." He grinned for a moment before muttering to himself, "Oh, what the firik..." He stepped forward and seized a surprised Stefi in an over-exuberant hug. All she could do was laugh.

"Thanks for everything," she said and drew breath with some difficulty. "I'll tell you all about Arolha Se-Baht when we get back."

"Should we even go there," Cédes cut in.

"I look forward to it." He released her and rejoined his friends.

"I hope everything goes well," Sohei said brightly. "Keep an eye out for my family if you get to the east."

"What do you mean?" Stefi asked.

"Oh, I forgot to mention. My family's still over there in Ariga. I think. They left me here in Mafouras where it was safer but I guess they just forgot to come back for me!" she said with a laugh, lightly masking her true feelings. In truth, she had long since given up hope of them returning for her. If they were still alive.

Leuma offered a lazy wave of farewell, more occupied with Sentinel than the departing Fieretka.

"And remember," Reilos called as they climbed down the ladder, "if you need anything, anytime, just call. The Blue Tails will be there!"

Chapter XIII: To the Sea

Little happened as the Fieretka rejoined the road and stream, and continued on their way to Valraines. Everyone was too wrapped up in their own thoughts to pay much heed to the others, the impact of their journey finally hitting home.

Stefi's mind whirled through a storm of thoughts and worries. Just what was her gift supposed to do to help the world? Everyone seemed to have such high expectations. Cédes said one day she could destroy worlds, while the somewhat cute (so she thought) Reilos had enamored her with his stories of a far away island that could well solve their problems easily.

Cédes was no less worried. Everyone expected her to know everything about Feregana. Truth be told, she barely knew anything. Being blind and hence unable to read severely hampered her love of learning, and she hated annoying her tutors too often. And to top it all off, her duties advising her fellow Furosans who so depended on her and keeping them hidden were mentally exhausting. Even though her gift was now waning and she knew little of the road ahead, she couldn't help but feel like a great burden was slowly being lifted from her shoulders. That, and Stefi had helped her realize there was more to life than praying and sitting inside. She only wished Stefi would trust her for now; what sense was there in attempting a foolhardy journey far across the sea when they could reach the same result here?

As for Ifaut, she felt her feelings pulled one way and then the other as if stuck in some relentless tide. She couldn't remember much of what had happened the previous night, and what she could made her want to kick herself. Had she told Sansonis how she felt, and if so, why wasn't he saying anything about it? Maybe she didn't say anything, or, Feregana forbid, she had and he was too annoyed to speak to her.

"No," she whispered to herself, "just smile and stop worrying. Unless I've scared him now... Oh, I don't know!" She shook her head in frustration, drawing Sansonis's attention. She smiled awkwardly and he returned it before going back to his own thoughts.

Sansonis didn't know if he felt more awkward for Ifaut's behavior or not knowing what he should say–or do–to settle her. What she had said last night also bothered him. Had she been serious, or was she too messed up with the chocolate to have any idea of what she was saying? He sighed, catching Ifaut's attention. She glanced sideways at him with questioning eyes but he just shrugged and muttered, "It's nothing," and continued walking.

And Rhaka, he couldn't have been thinking of anything else, trying to replay the past ten years over in his mind, wondering if there was anything, anything at all, to fill in the large blanks of his memory. But no, the gaps remained, deep pools of blackness devoid of the light of recollection.

What do you think'll happen to us? Gemmie asked Maya. She directed her thoughts to him so Stefi couldn't hear.

Buggered if I know, he said matter-of-factly as he perched on Stefi's opposite shoulder.

What about Stefi? Do you think we'll have to go all the way to this Arolha Se-Boat place?

I don't know! he said. I can't see the future. If I could, she... would still be here with us.

I'm sorry. But you know what else bothers me? Everyone thinks we have some special connection with the world. I don't feel anything special at all. Maybe we're broken?

"Salty!" Ifaut's voice broke the silence and quickly brought everyone back to reality. She sniffed the air and announced her findings again. "Salty! Smell it? It must be the sea!" She bounced from foot to foot.

"Yes, we must be rather close, for I also smell it," Cédes said.

"Right, saltiness aside," Stefi cut in, "we have to be careful when we get there. Valraines is meant to be a busy place, but I doubt they get many Furosans or Otsukuné there."

Ifaut's bouncing stopped and her ears flattened sadly. "I suppose I have to wear my hat again," she said, mindful of what had happened the last time. At least then even some other Furosans had mistaken her for a human. She dug the battered hat from her bag and covered her ears, also hiding her tail under her shirt and pack.

"And I suppose I must disappear again," Cédes added. "Stefi, would you please hold my hand?" Stefi did, and Cédes shimmered for a moment until only a vague outline was left, then even that was gone. "Please make sure not to lose me," she said. "Being unable to see and unable to be seen is quite disconcerting at times."

In reply Stefi squeezed her hand tight lest her touch, as well as her appearance, disappear.

"And dog-face?" Ifaut asked, squirming as Sansonis adjusted her hat. "Did anyone think to bring a leash?"

"Why not use the one you lead my son about on?" Rhaka cocked his head to one side and wagged his tail.

"Okay, did anyone think to bring a leash and a muzzle? We can't have him talking and blowing our cover," she said.

"I am capable of suppressing vocal outbursts, unlike somebody we know," he said. Ifaut glared back at him. But at the same time she was enjoying it. It was all she could do to keep a straight face in light of Rhaka's responses.

"Enough, you two," Sansonis said and held up his hand. "Dad, you keep quiet. Ifaut, shut up. You're as bad as each other."

He bent down and scooped up handfuls of dirt and rubbed them into the Otsukuné's fur. In a few minutes Rhaka was a dusty brown and his blue hue was virtually invisible.

"Now, come," Sansonis said. Rhaka trotted over and stood expectantly at Sansonis's feet.

"Sit."

Rhaka sat.

"Beg."

"Please stop subjecting me to this humiliation."

"Good," Sansonis said. He cracked a reluctant smile as the others laughed.

"Do I make a good dog?" Rhaka asked earnestly.

"Yes. I'd be proud to have you chasing my cat and eating my furniture."

Just then Ifaut sidled in front of Sansonis, head held high. "And do I make a good human?" she asked eagerly and twirled as if showing off a new outfit.

"Yeah, you look pretty, like always."

At the complement Ifaut blushed, ducked back behind him, and clutched his arm.

"And do I make a good..." Cédes disembodied voice trailed from Stefi's side, "...thin air?"

"Of course," Sansonis said. "Very... umm... breathable."

"B-breathable?" Stefi laughed as she stumbled across the word.

"What was I supposed to say?" he asked, worrying until he heard Cédes laughing too.

"How about very invisible?" Cédes suggested.

"Okay. We'll stick with that."

After walking for another half hour or so, the Fieretka found the dark, loamy soil beneath their feet giving way to fine grains of sand. A few minutes after that they crested a small rise. Since Stefi was in the lead she was the first to see what lay before them.

"Wow, it's beautiful!"

The others hurried after her to see what the fuss was about.

"To think something so pretty was so close by..." Ifaut said and removed her hat for a better view. At least no one was near enough to see her. "The sea, Saun," she whispered to herself. "Told you it was nearby."

Just beyond where they stood, the boundary of the Sumarana forest that had been long present like an old friend ended abruptly, giving way to stunted grass and tussocks. The ground sloped away as soil turned to sand and dunes, and then some distance away to cobbled streets. The town itself, a disorganized collection of drab buildings and stalls, sprawled languidly towards the shoreline and spread its reaches along the coast. Everything seemed to be coated in a fine layer of sand, giving the place the faded, washed out look of an old light-etching picture.

In stark contrast lay the sea itself, that vast body of water forever shifting through deep blues and emerald greens; boundless, unknown, unfamiliar. Towards the west the sun was beginning its descent to the watery deep. Its light danced upon the mercurial surface, seeming to cast glittering diamonds and sapphires upon the waters. Many wharves pointed like accusing fingers into the deep natural harbor, where the still waters provided safe anchorage. Only a few ships were moored there.

"It smells nice," Cédes said, "a freshness not unlike that found near the waterfall back home, or after a storm. Does it look as beautiful as it smells?"

"Yeah," Stefi said. "I just wish you could see it too."

Ifaut interrupted, "Then let's get a closer look!" She took off at a sprint, soon leaving the others behind as her bare feet kicked up spurts of sand.

"Shouldn't we stop her?" Stefi asked as Ifaut disappeared into the town.

Sansonis shrugged. "Let her have her fun. She's a grown-up girl, we'll find her eventually."

The Fieretka followed Ifaut's footsteps and slipped into the town that started as abruptly as the forest had ended. The high windows of the stone buildings looked down on them like dead eyes, making them feel even more like outsiders than they already did. A few other people walked the streets but they paid the Fieretka no attention, too wrapped up in their own affairs to notice what looked like two humans and a dog. Cédes, unseen to their eyes, stayed close to Stefi so she wouldn't bump into anyone.

After a few minutes a sudden crash echoed through the narrow streets, followed by a wave of voices and excitement.

"Ifaut..." Sansonis said. He wasn't the least bit surprised. "Stefi, you and Cédes hang back. Dad, we'll check it out. Did you see that old wharf as we came in, a little way to the east?"

"No, but I am sure Stefi did," Cédes said.

Stefi rolled her eyes. "Yes. What of it?"

"If we can't find each other again, we'll meet up there. If bad decides to become worse, we can at least try to escape. And knowing Ifaut..."

Stefi nodded, and Sansonis ran towards the noise while trailed by Rhaka.

As he rounded a corner a large market square came into view. Its late afternoon crowd was clustered about a single stall. Or what was left of it. An assortment of fish and vegetables lay scattered upon the dusty ground, completely ruined. And there, sitting amongst it all, was Ifaut.

Sansonis forced his way through the ever-increasing crowd, while Rhaka trotted along at his heels like an obedient dog. "It's all right, it's all right," he called out, putting on his most authoritative voice. He hoped it sounded confident enough.

He reached Ifaut and yanked her to her feet. Despite the circumstances she was grinning broadly, still clutching a fish in her hands.

"I-" she started. Sansonis cut her off.

"Look," he said. His hand was clamped tight about her wrist. "I don't want to know how you ended up in this mess. Let's just get out of here before someone realizes what you are."

Suddenly Sansonis felt a firm hand fall upon his shoulder. Shaking it off, he spun around to find himself facing a young man roughly his own age. A freckled face peered out from under a messy mop of blonde hair, wearing not an expected expression of anger but a cheeky grin.

"Hey!" its owner said happily. Almost too happily given the circumstances, Sansonis thought. "I couldn't help but notice your little friend had an accident and broke my stall."

"And she's very sorry about it, aren't you?" Sansonis said and tugged Ifaut's arm to make her pay attention. She nodded and stared solemnly at the ground, still clutching the fish. Sansonis felt around in his pockets for some of the coins the Blue Tails had given him and handed them over. "Will this cover it?"

The young man's eyes lit up greedily, glittering like the golden coins in Sansonis's palm. "Sure! Say, you two aren't from around here, are you?" he asked, more interested in the coins than Sansonis and Ifaut.

"No, we're from further along the coast, from Zelbana. We came here to do some shopping and visit friends, but someone," he nudged Ifaut, "got carried away."

"Then you're welcome to stay at my place, if it pleases you. Much cheaper than the inn. I'm Elian, by the way." He stuck out his hand.

"I'm Sansonis, and this is Ifaut."

"Why's he holding out his hand like that?" Ifaut whispered. "Does he want more money?"

Sansonis didn't answer but shook Elian's hand.

"Some fancy ritual for transferring coins between humans?" she said and shrugged.

Rhaka shook his head.

"Then maybe a greeting of sorts? A way of determining who has the strongest hands so a fight doesn't result?"

Rhaka let forth a throaty growl. Knowing what it meant, she fell silent.

"That's some dog you've got there," Elian said and patted Rhaka.

"Better not touch him. He bites."

Elian recoiled in shock. "Anyway, feel free to keep that fish if you want. I can't sell it now. Shall we get going?"

Once the crowd had realized nothing exciting was going to happen after the situation had been defused so amicably, it dispersed with disappointed murmurs and everyone went back to their own business. Rhaka couldn't help but think about how close they'd come to being discovered. All because of that clumsy Furosan.

"Thanks. First I have to find someone else. Do you mind if we turn up later?" Sansonis asked.

"That's fine," Elian said. "It'll give me time to clean up this mess. Look for a small house down by the wharves on the waterfront around sunset. There's a sign that says 'Geron's Boat Repairs.' Can't miss it."

"Should we go and look for them?" Cédes asked as Stefi guided her through the streets and away from the market square.

"Yeah, soon, but let's just wait for the crowds to die down first," she said, feeling strangely like she was talking to an imaginary friend.

Presently they came to the waterfront and Stefi found Sansonis and Ifaut scanning the streets, and Rhaka with his nose to the ground.

"There she is!" Ifaut squeaked excitedly and rushed towards Stefi, even now still clutching the fish. There was no doubt it had seen better days through its now dusty eyes.

"Nice to see you too," Stefi said. "I thought the situation would've turned out..." She looked at Ifaut's beaming face and chose another word to what she was thinking. "...different."

"Look!" Ifaut said and held the fish at arm's length above her head like a trophy. The late sunshine shimmered and danced across its scales like the waters of the sea once had. "Fish!"

"Really? I hadn't noticed," Stefi said as Ifaut thrust her odorous prize in her face. She hated fish.

"Sarcasm!" a disembodied voice at her side piped in.

"Anyway," Sansonis interrupted, "when we're done here, I found us a place to stay. Lucky for us, the owner of the stall that Ifaut... trashed... offered us a room."

"That was nice of him, all things considered," Stefi said and glanced at Ifaut. Now the Furosan was hugging the fish tightly, dooking all the while. She shuddered. She knew from experience that eating fish made ferrets smell strange. Hopefully it wasn't the same for Furosans.

Since they still had a short while until the sun set, the Fieretka made their way to a small wharf away from the bustle of Valraines. They sat at the end, taking in the beauty of the evening sea.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Stefi said dreamily, caught up in its slowly shifting waters and deep colors as it sighed to itself.

"I would guess that it is," Cédes said. "One day, if I find a way to see again, will you bring me back here? Then perhaps we may look at it together."

"That's a promise." Stefi felt something she couldn't see lean against her shoulder, then a wet warmth seeping through her shirt. Cédes was crying.

Stefi put an arm around the invisible Cédes. To anyone watching from a distance it would've looked quite strange. She didn't care.

"Do you think there even is a way for me to see again?" Cédes sobbed, her body shaking.

"I don't know, but if there is I bet it's at that Arolha Se-Baht place. And I'll find it for you," she said. "There's so much to show you, Lady Cédes. This world, it's so beautiful. There's so much to see. There just has to be a way for you to see it."

"I would really appreciate that. I feel so terribly lonely sometimes."

"You have us."

"I know. But I feel trapped in the darkness. Please, help me find a way out..." she sobbed again and could say no more.

Ifaut, meanwhile, exuded happiness, more interested in her new piscine playmate than the sights. She turned the shimmering fish over in her hands, admiring the way the scales caught the sunlight and the simply wonderful smell it gave off. At one point she had gingerly reached out her tongue to taste it, but Sansonis had scolded her and threatened to get rid of the "damn thing" as he called it. No. This was her treasure.

"You know," Sansonis said as she turned it over for the hundredth time, dooking all the while, "it's either that thing goes or I do."

"You wouldn't make me choose!" She glanced at Sansonis, then the fish, then back at Sansonis again. He knew what she'd choose; she looked conflicted nevertheless.

"Just one taste, then let it go."

"You or the fish?" she teased.

Sansonis sighed. "What do you think?"

"Can it be both?" she asked, eyes sparkling.

He shook his head.

Ifaut took one last glance at the fish and, summoning all her will power, hurled it far out into the water, back to where it had originally come from. It hit the waves with a small splash.

"After all that, you wouldn't even taste the damn thing?"

"You said I could choose just one," she said and blushed, her heart thumping nervously in her chest. She sat down next to Sansonis, leaned over, and planted a kiss on his lips with a wet smack.

"Hmm," she said thoughtfully, "not bad. But I think the fish would have tasted better!"

Chapter XIV: Loss of Innocence

As the sun sank below the waves, they set out in search of Elian's house. It didn't take them long to find the place; the sign proclaiming "Geron's Boat Repairs" was painted an obscenely bright shade of red and Elian himself leaned against the stone wall of the shop, casually smoking a cigarette.

"What's that white smoky stick in his mouth?" Ifaut asked Sansonis. "Do you think I can have one too?"

"No. It's a very bad habit to get into," he said knowingly. Even now the smell of tobacco smoke set his heart racing, and he hadn't smoked one of the wretched things in years.

Elian noticed them approaching and ground out the remains of his cigarette on the road. "Glad to see you could make it," he said and turned his eyes towards Stefi. "And this must be your friend. I can see why you wanted to go back and look for her." He winked and Stefi felt a shudder run down her back. Something about him made her uncomfortable, something she couldn't quite place.

Elian opened the front door and led them through a workshop. Sawdust lay in a fine layer on the floor and the scents of many freshly cut woods hung in the air like an exotic, heady perfume. Small boats in various stages of repair lay scattered like wounded animals, holes gaping or entire sides missing altogether. He opened another door at the back of the workshop to reveal a dim, twisting staircase.

"You don't think I live in there, do you?" He laughed at his own joke and led them up the stairs. Cédes trailed Stefi with difficulty, nearly tripping several times on the narrow stairs.

Eventually they came to a small bedroom containing three single beds. Its one window looked out over the darkening sea. Black clouds, pregnant with rain, crawled up the coast and threatened to engulf the moons.

"Looks like rain," Elian said in a tone Sansonis recognized with unease: a kind of perverse pleasure at something yet to come.

"Well, I'll leave you guys to it," he said and left. Stefi waited until the sound of his footsteps had disappeared before she spoke.

"You know, there's something about him that gives me the creeps," she said and held the ferrets close.

"Same here," Sansonis said. "He did seem awfully keen to give us somewhere to stay. Maybe he thinks he can get more money out of us."

"And us more fish out of him!" Ifaut, of course.

Rhaka took up position beside the door. "I shall keep watch," he said, his gaze never wavering from the doorway. "You all get some rest."

"But there are only three beds," Ifaut pointed out.

Sansonis stretched out beside Rhaka and rested his head on the Otsukuné's flank. "Then I'll take the floor."

"But... you'll get cold!" Ifaut said. "We could squeeze in together." She sat down on the bed, suddenly realizing how small it was. It could barely accommodate her and was so short her feet hung over the end. "Well, maybe not."

Stefi helped Cédes, who had since reappeared, into a bed and finally went to her own with Gemmie and Maya.

I don't like this, Gemmie said.

"It's all right," Stefi said and stroked Gemmie's fur, "I'll protect you, no matter what."

Sometime during the night Sansonis felt Rhaka stir uncomfortably beneath his head. Something was wrong.

"What is it?" he whispered so as not to disturb the others.

"Something perturbs me. It has just dawned upon me that perhaps this young man knows more about you and Ifaut than he made known. Can you be sure that she never revealed her true nature during her... mishap?"

"Yes." Sansonis sighed. "If her hat had fallen off or something, she would've mentioned it."

"Would she?"

Suddenly it all clicked into place. Why Elian had been so friendly. Why he had offered them somewhere to stay despite them being total strangers and Sansonis a Kalkic. Why he had so readily taken Sansonis's money. The memory of the wanted poster in Joven sprang to mind.

"We leave. Now!" Sansonis shouted and tore the blankets from everyone's beds.

"Please... just a few more minutes..." Stefi said in her sleep.

"No time." Sansonis shook the sleep from her then roused Cédes and Ifaut.

The Otsukuné and Kalkic filled them in on what was happening. All the while Ifaut stared at her feet, making odd hiccupping sounds.

"Yeah, my hat came off, but only for a second. I didn't think anyone would've noticed in the confusion," she choked out, wracked with guilt.

"Clumsy Furosan," Rhaka growled, but he made no more threatening moves. He knew it wasn't her fault. At least not entirely. The girl invited trouble.

"If I may interrupt," Cédes said quietly, "it is of no use blaming her alone. We are all at fault. We all chose naively to accept Elian's offer of accommodation." She felt for her pack and staff and readied herself to leave. She stood quietly where she was for a moment.

"Bother. It appears that due to my aroused emotions I am unable to conceal myself," she said as calmly as if a little rain had interrupted her walk. "Extra precautions must be taken." She reached into her pocket and removed her stone. Its light cast a sickening red glow about the room, creating straggly shadows that clawed at their owners' feet.

Rhaka led the way back down the stairs. His ethereal glow pierced his dusty coating and the darkness, while the light of Cédes's stone illuminated the rear; moonlight and sunset.

I'm scared, Gemmie said, her voice shaking.

I'm not, Maya said confidently. Just let me at him! He danced angrily on Stefi's shoulder and bared his teeth.

"I think it would be better for you two to hide," Stefi said and deposited the two inside her pack. Maya protested angrily, spouting graphic and quite unrepeatable threats.

When they reached the workshop door that led out to the street, Stefi tried the handle. Locked.

"Now what?" she asked as panic rose in her voice.

"I got us into this," Ifaut said. She shifted all her weight onto her left foot, raised her right, then lunged forward. The wooden door burst outwards with a crash, its lock destroyed.

"But it doesn't look like I can get us out of that..."

At least two dozen armed men stood in a rough half-circle before the boat repair shop, some with short swords drawn, others with crossbows leveled, and all facing two Furosans, a Kalkic, a human, and a supposedly extinct Otsukuné.

"I sense much hostility," Cédes said nervously. With the light of the moons now completely obscured by clouds, only her stone and the dim streetlamps provided light to see by. She was glad, if only for a moment, that she couldn't see what was happening. It gave her less of a reason to be afraid.

Ifaut eased a shaking hand towards her sword's hilt. "Do we fight?"

"No," Rhaka said, "we cannot run the risk of harm coming to Stefi. I believe they may only wish to imprison us. Furosans and myself are worth more alive. For now."

One of the men stepped forward. He was dressed, like all the others, in a deep blue uniform of leather and metal plates. A scar ran through his permanently closed right eye and a sneer of hatred spread across his battered face.

"Sol-Acriman military," Sansonis muttered, his voice heavy with loathing as he clenched his fists so hard his fingers cracked.

"What do you want, Garash?" Rhaka barked. If anyone had still thought he was a regular dog, that pretense was now long gone.

"Told you we needed a muzzle," Ifaut hissed.

"I mean, 'woof woof'," Rhaka said. His eyes never left the man with the scarred face.

"An Otsukuné?" The man laughed haughtily. "Perhaps I hadn't done as thorough a job as I had thought!"

"Then come closer so that I may claim your other eye!"

Seeing the man, Sansonis felt the horrible, uncontrolled darkness covering the light of reason in his mind, just as the moons had been blotted out by dark clouds.

"The Kalkic," the scarred man said and jerked his head in Sansonis's direction. Another man approached from behind, removed a baton from his belt, and struck Sansonis's head with a sickening crack. He collapsed to the ground as blood began to spread through his blue and brown hair.

Seeing her kamae reduced to a bloody heap, another crack sounded in Ifaut's head: restraint yielding to anger. She leapt forward and let out a crazed scream, drawing her sword and sweeping it upwards in the same movement upon Sansonis's assailant. He fell without so much as a shout.

"Ifaut, enough!" Stefi shouted and seized Ifaut's arms. With difficulty she managed to restrain the struggling Furosan and haul her away from where Sansonis and his assailant lay unmoving.

Ifaut let loose a torrent of obscenities in her own language, tears of anger and sadness streaking her face as Stefi pried the sword from her fingers. She let it fall to the ground.

"Thank you for your assistance," the scarred man said and leered at Stefi with his one eye. He struggled to make himself heard over Ifaut's din. "For aiding in the subduing of this crazed monster, perhaps I may be able to help reduce your sentence. But the law does take a dim view on those who associate with Furosans. And an Otsukuné too." The man shook his head and tsk-tsked mockingly.

"I did it so she wouldn't kill you!" Stefi spat at him as Ifaut collapsed, sobbing and dry retching into her arms.

The man shrugged and, adopting a well-rehearsed voice, spoke again. "For the crime of associating with Furosans, as outlawed by Kardin 10:77, and an Otsukuné, as outlawed by the same passage, I hereby place you under arrest. Perhaps you should feel reassured that their charges are much more serious... and with no promise of redemption. Karick IV may yet pardon you."

Defeated, Stefi hung her head low and could do nothing but drop her staff and resign herself to her fate. As she and the others were led away in chains, she caught a glimpse from the shadows of a familiar face illuminated for a second as its owner dragged on a cigarette. It was smiling.

'I'll kill you,' she thought angrily, 'if Ifaut doesn't tear you apart first.'

With no protest Stefi and her friends found themselves shoved and thrown into a squat brick building that passed for Valraines's prison. Stefi and Cédes were forced into a cramped cell barely big enough for one, while Ifaut and Sansonis were placed several cells over. The ferrets were still in Stefi's pack, which lay against a far wall with the rest of their gear. Rhaka lay unmoving, chained and muzzled to the bars outside Stefi's cell. Unfortunately, Ifaut was in no state to appreciate his predicament.

"Ifaut, how are you and Sansonis?" Stefi called out when the soldiers had at last left.

"Bad." Ifaut sobbed and made a sound like she was vomiting. "Sansonis won't wake up and... and I killed someone..."

"It's okay," Stefi said, although she herself wasn't convinced by her words. "You did what anyone would have." What else was there to say? Yes, you killed a man in anger? How can you live with the consequences of such rashness? Instead, she changed the subject. "How's Sansonis holding up?"

"Not good, he's barely breathing. The bleeding's stopped but-" She was interrupted by another fit of dry retching, tossed about in a storm of nausea and grief at the abhorrent act she had just committed.

Stefi fell back onto the stained mattress that passed for a bed in her cell. Just last evening everything had been going so well. Everyone was happy. Now, thanks to one traitorous loser, they were in prison, some in worse shape than others.

At that moment Rhaka climbed to his feet and strained at his chain like a dog on a leash yearning for freedom.

"Don't hurt yourself," Stefi said, but the Otsukuné didn't seem to hear.

He persisted as the muzzle pressed painfully against his face.

"Wait!" Stefi said as she realized what he was doing. "We need to find the keys, right?"

Unable to speak, Rhaka nodded in reply.

"Who better to steal keys than natural born thieves?"

She called out to the ferrets, and after a minute they managed to slip from the pack and through the bars of Stefi's cell.

I should have known, Maya said bitterly once Stefi had explained where they were. Now what?

"I need you and Gemmie to find the keys so we can get out of here."

What does it smell like? Gemmie asked, eager to help.

"Smell like?"

Yeah, we can hardly see anything in this light.

Stefi peered out into the gloom and spotted a desk against a far wall. "I don't know. But if they're anywhere I bet they're on that desk over there." In the light of the lone spluttering lantern she could barely make out anything.

One small problem, Maya said. Ferrets can't climb. Or fly.

Stefi sighed and rolled her eyes. "You had no trouble stealing things back home."

But- Maya began, only for Stefi to cut him off.

"Either find a way or make one!" she nearly shouted and placed the two ferrets on the stone floor.

Challenge grudgingly accepted, Maya said, his voice betraying a meaning quite the opposite.

So, Gemmie said once the two ferrets had found their way to the desk, what's a keys?

It's like an eggy pie with no top, Maya said. Popular things back in the Farān pub, you know. But I don't see how a wannabe pie will get us out of here.

Keys... keys... keys... Gemmie said to herself. No, I'm pretty sure it's that shiny stone Lady Cédes carries.

Maya thought for a moment. It certainly doesn't look like food, he said. But it is shiny. That's good enough. Now, how to get on the desk?

He and Gemmie circled the legs of the desk and its lone chair like sharks tormenting prey, occasionally standing on their back legs and stretching their slinky bodies upwards. They were still too small. Even if they could lift each other they'd barely reach halfway up.

If only we could fly... Gemmie said.

Wait! That's it! Maya said and scurried over to Rhaka. He clambered up the Otsukuné's fur and perched on the scruff of his neck. Stefi!

"What are you doing up there? This is no time for playing!"

Tell Mr. Doggy to run towards the desk as fast as he can! he said as he bounced around in the thick fur.

"Umm, Rhaka?" Stefi said. The Otsukuné tilted his head in her direction. "Maya wants you to run towards the desk."

Rhaka simply nodded in reply, too defeated to even think about doing anything else. He climbed to his feet and took off at a fast run. The chain halted his advance, snapping him backwards and jerking his head around.

Maya, unlike Rhaka, kept going. Propelled by Rhaka's sudden stop, the ferret hurtled through the air like a tiny brown missile until he hit the desktop. He spun wildly as his feet skittered on the slick surface and knocked various articles to the floor as he swept across like a crazy broom.

Hey, watch out! Gemmie said as she narrowly avoided being hit. She scampered to the relative safety beneath the chair. You almost got me with a bunch of jingly metal things! The real keys, of course.

Who cares about them? Maya said, caught up in the excitement and wonderfully chaotic crashing noises. I found the keys! he said triumphantly. He nudged the red stone before him with his nose. It's heavy!

He nosed the stone a few more times and watched as it tumbled off the edge. It clattered to the ground, undamaged.

I see it! Gemmie squeaked and bounded up to the stone. She tried to grab it with her mouth, but the smooth, flawless surface afforded no grip. Thinking quickly, she wrapped her front paws around it and scooted backwards towards Stefi.

We got the keys! she said proudly, at last nudging the stone to Stefi's foot.

Stefi sighed. "Keys? This is a stone. Didn't you see any jingly things? Those things are keys."

That's a keys? Gemmie asked, quite bewildered. Maya said it was food.

Stefi sighed again. "He's thinking of quiche." She picked up the stone and handed it to Cédes. "Can we use this to get out?" she asked as she carefully deposited it in her palm.

"Why yes," Cédes said and gave an uncharacteristic smile. "This should be an opportune moment to put the skills I have learnt to a practical use." She clutched the stone tightly. It flared, burning with an intensity matching only Ifaut's earlier fury. She breathed deeply, then suddenly her eyes burned bright, more ember-like than usual, as if her determined spirit that had long lain smoldering was kindled with the fuel of hope.

"You... you're on fire!" Stefi stammered as a burning aura surrounded Cédes's body.

"Do not fear. It shan't burn you. Now, could you please place my left hand upon the mechanism that the keys would normally release?"

"Okay." She took Cédes's right hand, the one with the stone.

"No, dear heart, my other left hand."

Stefi did and placed it over the keyhole to their cell. "You still feel cold!"

"Of course. The flames of the elemental Raphanos burn only what I wish. Its nature is destruction, but I must never think that it may be truly tamed." A white-hot light enveloped Cédes's left hand and in a moment the lock was reduced to a puddle of glowing liquid metal. She slid the door open proudly.

"Amazing," Stefi said. "I'll let the others out." She jogged over to the desk and picked up the real keys. "Cool," she said with a childlike grin as they jingled in her hand. "I hoped they'd be in a big ring like this." Wasting no time, she unlocked Ifaut and Sansonis's cell. As soon as the door opened Ifaut practically flew into her arms.

"Thank you," Ifaut gasped hoarsely.

Stefi noticed her face was dirty and streaked with tears, and Sansonis's dried blood coated her hands.

Just then Ifaut looked down and saw Rhaka. "I'm sorry, Rhaka," she said and began crying again. "This isn't what I meant about a muzzle." She removed his muzzle and chain and buried her face is his fur. It was so soft and warm, and the smell was reassuring somehow, like Sansonis's. She wished she could just sleep, sleep and wake up much later to find that this was all just some horrible dream.

Rhaka turned and licked her face. Yes, he thought, the young Furosan was trying at best, but he knew her heart was in the right place, her emotion genuine.

"I'm sorry I couldn't wake Sansonis up," Ifaut sobbed as her tears soaked into Rhaka's fur.

"Worry not. Perhaps now we may be able to rouse him."

Everyone crowded into the cramped cell where Sansonis lay motionless on a dirty mattress, his chest barely rising and falling as he breathed. Despite their best efforts, including shouting, shaking, and ferret nips, he wouldn't move.

Finally, Stefi spoke with a defeated voice. "Looks like we'll have to carry him out of here."

Ifaut nodded and, as carefully as if she were handling a newborn child, she managed to sling her kamae over her shoulder. "Let's get out of here," she said through gritted teeth.

The Fieretka hurriedly retrieved their gear, and once more the ferrets were forced to take shelter within the depths of Stefi's pack.

"All right, listen up!" Stefi linked her free arm with Cédes, who still clutched the flaming stone of Raphanos in one hand and her staff in another. She tried to instill her words with confidence, with a tone to rouse their defeated spirits. All she found was a weight in her stomach. "Thanks to that creep Elian we're wanted criminals." She spat out the last word. "From here on out, things might get dangerous. First of all, whatever happens, look after each other. That goes double for you, Ifaut."

The Furosan swallowed hard and nodded vigorously, trying to regain her composure.

"Second, whatever happens, meet up inside the forest where we came from. And third, don't go dying on me."

No one laughed.

"Once they realize we've gone there'll be hell to pay. I'll get Cédes out of here. Ifaut, carry Sansonis. Rhaka, make sure those two get out of harm's way then come back for me and Cédes if we need help. Everyone got that?"

"Yes," several voices said in unison.

And what about us? Maya asked.

"You've played your part. Now just sit tight in there and try to act like good luck charms."

Taking the lead, Rhaka led them through a maze of twisting corridors and other cells, sniffing out a route that would take them out unnoticed. At length they came to a large iron door. Stefi unlocked and opened it, leaving the ring of keys dangling in the lock.

"I never thought I'd be so relieved to see a dark and cloudy night," she said as she breathed in the cool, refreshing sea air. It made a nice change after the oppressive atmosphere inside.

"It smells like rain," Cédes said casually. "I hope we do not get wet."

Before they could enjoy their new-found freedom, a shout from the way they'd come shattered the stillness and jolted them back to reality. It was quickly joined by more voices.

"Company," Rhaka said.

"Okay. Go." Stefi shut the door and locked it, then tossed the keys onto the roof. "That'll buy us some time."

She turned around and, pulling Cédes with her, ducked into a side street and was gone.

"I guess it's just us now, dog-face," Ifaut said, a smile flickering across her face. Then in a second she too had vanished, carrying Sansonis into the shadows.

"What way are we going?" Cédes panted as she trailed Stefi, working her legs so unaccustomed to running.

"I don't know," Stefi said as they came out of the dark side street and into the gloomy pool of light cast by a lamp at a crossroads.

Just then she heard a shout and looked up to see soldiers, similar to those that had arrested them before, hurrying their way.

"But we're not going that way!"

Stefi ran off again, weaving into alleys and ducking behind stalls or whatever else she could find. But just when she thought she, Cédes, and the ferrets were in the clear, another group would catch sight of them. There was no time to rest.

Then, when an exhausted Stefi and Cédes thought they could keep running no longer, they found themselves pursued yet again.

"Don't... they... give up?" Stefi panted and veered off into an alleyway. She was barely managing to hold Cédes upright. She leaned against a brick wall, breathless and with legs on fire, using her staff for support.

"Okay... Say... dees?" she said, unable to draw breath enough for more words.

"Yes, but I fear I may not be able to run any farther," she said. "If I become a burden, leave me behind so that you might escape."

"You already know I can't... won't do that," Stefi said. "That's-" She cut off her sentence abruptly as another group of soldiers rounded the corner and saw them.

They turned and ran again, only to come to a sudden halt a few seconds later.

"What is it?" Cédes asked.

"Dead end."

Cédes felt her heart drop into her stomach. It lurched like she was about to be sick. Very sick. "Perhaps... perhaps that name is befitting of our fate," she said mournfully, making a final attempt at humor despite the dire circumstances.

"No..." Stefi said, shaking her head back and forth. "No... there has to be a way out. There just has to." Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes. Tears not for herself, but the innocent ferrets and Cédes.

"Do me one last favor," she asked Cédes as half a dozen soldiers approached cautiously yet confidently, like hunters approaching a wild beast caught in a trap.

"Anything," Cédes answered.

"Hold me."

Struck by her friend's display of fear, Cédes could do nothing but obey.

As Stefi quivered in her arms, Cédes did her best to comfort her despite her own fear. She stroked her human friend's hair with one hand. It wasn't about to end here, was it? Like this, holding the one human who had befriended her so unconditionally, who had changed her perceptions of a whole race, and who had vowed to find a way to make her see the beauty of the world once again?

"No..." Cédes hissed through gritted teeth as the flood of terror, the flood of adrenaline and fear, trickled out and was replaced with a torrent of something completely new. Rage. Seething. Roiling. Rage.

"I will not allow it to end like this!" she screamed, startling even the soldiers, and pushed Stefi aside. She clenched her fists about her staff and stone, and a blazing, crackling ball of fire erupted and enveloped her left hand completely. She held it in front of her. The soldiers took several steps back.

"My only crime is being what I am. Her only crime, showing compassion for another." As she spoke her red eyes flared menacingly, causing the soldiers to retreat further.

"How does it feel to be the ones fleeing now?" she taunted, her voice dripping with malice. She raised her flaming hand and pointed it towards the clouded sky as a terrified yet awed Stefi watched.

"Ers... Fosan... Sikernin... Yarun!"

A blazing circle appeared on the ground about her, encompassing her and Stefi in its circumference. Fiery symbols within it, their meaning unclear but their very nature magical and otherworldly, scorched the stones that lined the road.

Cédes let loose the fire from her hands with a flick of her wrist. It soared upwards, casting a bloody, unearthly glow over Valraines like a dying sun; a ghastly red in the starless night. As it rose it momentarily lit up the undersides of the heavy storm clouds so that the heavens themselves looked to be aflame. Then it was gone.

Cédes, still blazing with fury, smiled in the direction of the guards as their footsteps drew closer once more.

"Now what?" Stefi asked nervously. Despite Cédes's relative control over the flames of Raphanos, sweat was pouring off her. She only hoped the ferrets could stand the heat inside her pack.

"Now, dear heart, you run."

"What? I'm not going without you!" Stefi tugged Cédes's arm. Cédes shrugged her off.

"Raphanos is coming, gorging himself on my rage. I am losing control," she said, her voice rising nearly to a scream. "Run!"

Stefi nodded resignedly. "If there really is a god, I hope he will be with you," she said and took off, skirting about the soldiers who barely noticed her.

"There is," Cédes whispered, "and she just was."

She struck the ground with the end of her staff and a great boom like a thunderclap resounded through the air and shook the ground. Far, far above Valraines the clouds were rent apart as a burning mass tore through the still night air, falling towards the town like a meteor. A scream of terror arose from the people of the town as what looked to be the end of the world hurtled towards them.

On the edge of the forest, Ifaut laid an unconscious Sansonis on the ground. She raised her eyes skywards towards the object bearing down on Valraines, on Stefi and Cédes.

"I hope they're okay," she said quietly, again close to tears. She stopped herself as she realized she needed to be strong for Sansonis's sake as well as her own.

"As do I," Rhaka said from her side.

The fire slammed into the building that had blocked Stefi and Cédes's escape, tearing it apart in a cloud of smoke and flame and casting a hail of flaming debris upon the surrounding area. Cédes stood unmoving, unharmed, as cinders rained down about her.

From the remains of the building arose a form several times taller than Cédes, four legged and animal-like. Dark flames danced across its burning body as tongues of fire lashed the ground, devouring anything they chanced upon and leaving only ash. The soldiers, deciding that they really didn't want to pursue this Furosan any longer, fled.

"Now, Raphanos," Cédes said, "you may be gone."

The burning beast looked down at her, its eyes two dead coals. Nothing.

"Can you not hear me? Be gone!"

But Raphanos, the embodiment of Feregana's flame and one of the five elemental guardians, either didn't hear or chose not to. It was too glutted by Cédes's own flames of rage: they fueled its fires, kindled its own desire. Cédes's rage incarnate.

"R-Raphanos," Cédes said, "you may stop now." Her rage gave way to fear, the fear of destruction and hurting someone who wasn't involved in this mess.

In reply it unleashed a roaring ball of flame from its great mouth and reduced a house a short way off to kindling and splinters. Then Phastus's words rang in Cédes's head. Its nature is destruction. Always remember that.

"No, this is not what I wanted!" she shouted as tears formed in her eyes. "I just wanted a way out, to protect Stefi!"

At that moment a peal of thunder sounded and the clouds let forth their burden of rain, a heavy, pelting downpour that only a storm born from the sea can bring.

The flaming Raphanos looked up in alarm, its blistering body hissing as raindrops pelted it like thousands of tiny arrows; one not enough to harm it, but many enough to certainly cool its temper.

Cédes turned towards it, almost in pity, as she heard it let out a pained moan and sink, hissing, to the ground. "Now that cold rain has washed away your hot rage, and mine also, please be gone."

Then, in a flash that even Cédes could feel on her eyes, Raphanos was gone. All that remained were the dying flames of its rampage, no, Cédes's rampage, and a woman's wailing rising above the falling rain. The sound of despair reached Cédes's sensitive ears. It bore with it the realization that she was the cause.

With her composure regained and emotions forcibly checked, she veiled herself and stumbled through the driving rain towards the source of the sound, using her staff for guidance. Her robes, weighted with water, dragged through the dust and sand now turned to mud. But she didn't care. What if someone was dead because of her? What if, to save Stefi, others had to die, other innocents?

After a few minutes of feeling her way through the unfamiliar streets she found the source of the wailing. It was a woman sitting amongst the rubble of what had once been her home. Cédes stood beside her and reappeared.

The woman gasped at the sudden appearance of a deathly pale figure beside her. But she didn't scream or cry out. She merely spoke. "Please, help my daughter," she said and led Cédes further into the wreckage. "You can save her, can't you, spirit?"

"I shall try." Cédes spoke softly, knowing all this pain was because of her.

The woman guided Cédes so that she knelt down and placed her hand on something soft and warm. Cédes ran her hand across the young girl's body, a girl little older than she was when her sight had left her, until she came to her stomach. What she found made her fiery blood turn to ice. A jagged spear of wood jutted from the girl's stomach. The wound oozed blood with each rapid heartbeat.

"No..." Cédes said, barely audible. "What have I done?"

"You can't help her, can you?" The girl's mother sobbed, her face as ashen as the remains of her home.

"No. She is gravely wounded. All I can do now is ensure she makes it safely to the Bridge."

"Then please, Miss Spirit, do what you can."

Cédes groped around until she found the girl's hand and squeezed it softly. The girl, her strength fading, returned the gesture with a weak squeeze of her own.

"Are... are you an... angel?" the girl gasped as she stared wide-eyed at the strange being before her. To her young eyes, how could this beautiful creature be anything but good, anything but one of Kardin's angels?

"Yes," Cédes said, her voice remarkably calm. "I am here to help you find peace."

"Then... if you're an angel, where are your wings?"

"An angel of death has no need for wings."

Cédes felt the life leave the small girl's body with a shudder, the departure of a soul destined for the Rainbow Bridge that divides life from death, this world from the next. The soul of a young girl who would never come of age, would never grow to experience her first love, nor have a family and a daughter of her own. The realization that she had just ended a life struck her with full force, shattering her innocence into tiny shards and staining her hands with blood that would never come off.

Then she wept.

Chapter XV: A Good Start

A strange thing happened to Pheia that night. And it didn't even have anything to do with winding up in a place where the spirits of the dead gathered, which was in itself unusual. It was the dream.

She had seen an unknown town burning under a deep red flame, a pale Furosan enveloped in the fires of rage, and she had felt a soul moving to the Bridge. The feeling was indescribable, almost as if she had seen the person's very life fading away, like every emotion, every little experience, was being drawn out into a singular point and down a drain. It was a feeling so overwhelmingly sad yet surreal that all of Pheia's own emotions felt as if they were mixing with the soul's. She had felt it once before so knew exactly what it was: the spiral of Death.

She awoke with a start, sweating profusely from what felt like every pore. The specifics of the dream had faded already, yet the vestiges of emotion still clung to her, chilling her along with the sweat that soaked her body.

Sweat? Body?

"I'm alive," she said as she ran her hands over herself, making sure this wasn't yet another dream. What was it the light, the Fieretsi, had said? Something about walking the Dream again? But feeling her body, cold with the night breeze, and the hard ground beneath her, she had no doubt this was waking life.

"I'm alive!" she shouted to no one in particular. She reached towards her shoulder with a trembling hand, fearful of what she might find there. To her relief the wound was gone, replaced by a small mound of scar tissue.

She raised her head to see distant lights burning in the soft morning fog. The same lights of the town she had died in sight of. Chalja. She shuddered and suddenly realized she was both cold and hungry. "A town means food," she mused to herself, "though I doubt they will readily give me some." She pondered for a moment, gently nudged towards the outcome of stealing some food by her growling stomach.

"No," she said and glanced downwards. "Stealing, even from humans, is wrong."

She sat silent for a moment as if listening for a reply.

"All right, I concede defeat. Stealing is wrong. Acquiring, however, is fine," she admitted to the imaginary voices of her stomach and head. "Whoever knew dying could make one so hungry?"

As the sun rose over Valraines, Ifaut, still holding Sansonis, glanced about for any sign of Stefi and Cédes's return. The night had passed deep in worry, but now, seeing the refreshing light of the sun and with the rain gone, the events of the previous night all seemed like a bad dream. However, Sansonis was still out cold. Cédes, Stefi, and the ferrets were missing, not found by Rhaka. And the smoldering skeletons of several buildings sent lazy plumes of smoke into the morning air. Even the rain hadn't been enough to wash away the horrible feeling of depression plaguing her. And she loved rain.

As her eyes swept the path leading from the forest to Valraines, she heard steps approaching from behind. She knew who it was without looking. "Hey, Stefi," she said weakly, not bothering to turn around.

"Hey," Stefi said and looked with pity upon the wet Furosan. Ifaut's clothes had been soaked through to the skin and her glistening hair lay dark and matted against her back.

"Where's Lady Cédes?"

"I really don't know," Stefi said. "I haven't seen her since we got separated. But remember, if she doesn't want to be seen, she won't be."

"I know. Just seeing all that fire..."

"Look," Stefi said, trying to cheer Ifaut as much as herself, "if anyone can survive that, it's Cédes. What about you and Sansonis? You look like a drowned rat... er... ferret."

Ifaut cracked a smile. The droplets of water clinging to her face sparkled like morning dew. "We're okay, I guess. Sansonis still won't wake up, but he's alive at least."

"Have you tried kissing him?" Stefi asked, smiling, briefly forgetting to worry about Cédes.

Ifaut glanced away. "Why would I want to try that, now of all times?" she asked nervously and squeezed his hand. "Well, perhaps I would if he were awake..."

"In our kids' stories, the sleeping woman is always woken up by a kiss from a handsome prince."

"Could it work? And where can we find a handsome prince?" The last words prompted sudden memories of her arranged marriage to Richo. She shook her head to get rid of them. She'd only seen a picture of him, and indeed he was rather handsome, but this wasn't the best time to be thinking of him.

"Use your imagination. All we need to do is reverse roles. Maybe the sleeping man is woken by a kiss from a beautiful princess."

The traces of a smile illuminated her face even more than the morning sun. "Am I beautiful?" she asked shyly.

"Right now, no," Stefi said and laughed. "You're cute. That'll have to do."

"Okay, if you're sure..." Ifaut said. She bent forward to where Sansonis's head rested on her lap. She hesitated for a second, feeling Stefi curiously watching her every move. Then she kissed him on the lips with an audible smack.

"Did it work?" she asked as she pulled away.

"Hmm," Stefi said, "maybe it turns a frog into a prince? Or the other way round. I can't remember..."

"No frogs!" Ifaut yelped and returned her gaze to Sansonis.

Suddenly the Kalkic's eyes fluttered as if someone was shining a bright light on them.

"It's working!" Ifaut said and let loose a series of rapid dooks.

"What, he's becoming a frog?" Stefi teased.

Sansonis's eyes shot open. "Who... who's what now?" he said lazily like someone just waking from a long nap.

"You're awake," Stefi said, more restrained than Ifaut. Indeed, the Furosan began singing an upbeat song in her own language. Rhaka, however, simply watched.

"Who said that? Stefi?" Sansonis asked and, sitting upright, squinted.

"Of course it's me. Can't you tell?"

He shook his head and winced at the pain. "My vision's all blurred in my left eye. And I feel like I've been hit pretty hard. I didn't annoy Ifaut, did I?"

"You can thank Ifaut that you're still in one piece, not for the pain."

At the mention of her name, Ifaut stopped singing mid-verse and stood up. "Yup," she said. "I carried you out of there, and I woke you up. I guess I only owe you one now, eh? Though waking you up was not without its... own reward." She shuffled her feet.

"What's she talking about?" Sansonis turned towards Stefi as his vision at last cleared.

"She gave you the kiss of life!" Stefi said and winked.

Sansonis tested his lips with his tongue. "I thought I tasted something funny," he said and pulled a mock face like he'd just tasted something nasty. "And what happens once you're even?" he added to Ifaut.

"Under the laws of the First, once my debt is repaid, I'm free to go!"

Sansonis turned away, but not before Stefi noticed a poorly concealed look of worry written across his face. "So," he continued, eager to change the subject, "where's Cédes?"

In reply Stefi pointed towards Valraines.

For the first time Sansonis saw the remains of the buildings destroyed by Raphanos. "Cédes did that?" He could hardly believe someone so gentle could have wrought such destruction.

"She had to, so we could escape," Stefi said, still looking towards the town. By now a crowd had begun milling about the scene of destruction, sifting through the debris and wondering just what had gone on during the night. But one thing was clear: a Furosan was responsible.

"I had no choice," a quiet voice said from behind them. They all turned just in time to see Cédes shimmer back into existence. Her once-white robes were now streaked with mud and blood.

"Cédes, what on Feregana happened to you?" Stefi gasped and took the Furosan in her arms. To her surprise she didn't sob, didn't shake, didn't show any outward signs of grief. She merely rested her head gently on Stefi's chest as easily as if going to sleep. But her eyes remained open, staring blindly over the town where so much had gone wrong.

"Cédes?" Stefi repeated.

"I took her life," Cédes said, no trace of emotion in her voice. It fell flat and lifeless in the still air, heavy and yet carrying no weight.

Stefi said nothing, struck by what Cédes had said like a slap to the face. She didn't have to. The pale Furosan continued.

"A young girl, she was caught in the fires of my rage, my emotions that I failed to keep in check. So sweet, so innocent, and I took everything away from her."

"You mean," Stefi said, raising Cédes's head and looking deep into her eyes, nearly losing herself to the red depths that had seen so much far from now, "someone innocent died so we could escape?"

"Yes. I did not intend for that to happen. And yet it was the only way I could save you, dear heart."

Stefi swallowed hard and stroked the Furosan's usually soft, pure white hair. It was now damp and dirtied. She turned to face the others. "Can we have a moment alone?" She handed the ferrets to Ifaut and they walked out of earshot.

Stefi continued and held Cédes tight. "Thank you for saving me. I'm just sorry the price you had to pay was so high." She continued stroking Cédes's hair as if comforting a ferret.

"Yes, it was. It is for this reason that I am unable to continue to accompany you. I must return home and seek forgiveness in order to relieve the burden that now plagues my soul. I am sorry."

Stefi felt tears burning in her eyes, not for herself but for Cédes. She had no idea what thoughts were tormenting the Furosan's mind, what weight was slowly crushing her spirit. What she did know was that this was no time for Cédes to leave. Cédes needed her human friend now more than anyone, but more than anything Stefi knew she needed Cédes.

"I can't let you leave," Stefi said, checking her tears. "You stay with me. That's an order."

A shudder coursed through Cédes, although the Furosan was yet to cry. There were no more tears left to shed. Many had already been wept for the innocent life. They were not enough to cleanse her of her guilt. No amount would be enough.

"Do I not offend you, having taken another human's life?"

"Of course not. It was an accident, you didn't intend for it to happen, and I can tell you're sorry. Do I look like I hate Ifaut for doing the same thing?"

"No, for she did not really kill that man. I overheard the soldiers looking for me speaking of his injuries. He will live."

"She'll be relieved to hear that! But what about you? How can I help you find peace with yourself and still be with us?"

"If you order I must accompany you regardless. As for forgiveness, only Feregana can grant me that. I shall have to pray long and hard, focus for many days for any sign."

Stefi pondered for a moment and suddenly realized something, a way to keep Cédes with her and help her find the forgiveness she so sorely sought. "I can hear the voice of Feregana, right?"

"Yes."

"What better way to hear her answer than through me? Who knows, if you train me enough or we go to Arolha Se-Baht, then maybe I can ask directly. For you."

Cédes smiled; just a hint, yet still recognizable as a glimmer of happiness. The clouds of her guilt were finally beginning to part, letting through a few slender rays of warmth.

"I would like that very much."

Once they had regrouped, talk inevitably turned to what to do next.

"Returning to Valraines and attempting to meet with the person from Cédes's vision is quite out of the question," Rhaka said.

Cédes's ears twitched at the mention of her name and vision. It was her idea to enter Valraines, and, in her mind, her fault that events had unfolded as they did. "I sense I am being stared at hostilely," she said.

"No, you are not, Furosan," Rhaka grunted. "I am concerned for us all. What ought we do next?"

A silence descended upon them while they thought.

East! Maya said suddenly from Stefi's lap, where he and Gemmie were now sitting. Why not go to that place where me and Gemmie are called? Arolha Se-Boat?

"Arolha Se-Baht," Stefi said.

"Exactly what I was thinking," Cédes said, unaware that Stefi was talking to Maya. "I wish to put as much distance as possible between myself and what I have done. There also you may speak directly to Feregana and seek forgiveness on my behalf."

"And you others?"

Sansonis nodded. "We're all part of this, whether we like it or not. Personally, I sort of like it, despite what's happened."

"And I follow Sansonis," Ifaut chipped in as she basked in the sun, clad only in her underwear, as her clothes dried. It was a sight that made Sansonis uncomfortable. "I still owe him one more until my debt is repaid."

Rhaka also nodded. "We cannot let this unfortunate turn get us down. In which direction are we to go?"

"Wherever out compasses point," Stefi said. She placed Gemmie and Maya on the ground. "You two, can you show us the way?"

Yes, Gemmie said. She and Maya began wandering in circles, inscribing an irregular, intertwining pattern on the ground. After a moment they stopped, each pointing eastwards along the coast and out to sea.

Ifaut shuddered and, clambering from the ground, clutched Sansonis's arm. "The sea? I'm... not too good at swimming," she said, her voice cracking. "I can sink well, but I can't swim..."

Stefi smiled at Ifaut's assumption. "We don't have to swim," she said and looked back towards Valraines. Bobbing in the harbor's gentle waves was a small sailboat securely tied to an isolated wharf. Her eyes twinkled mischievously.

"We've got some acquiring to do!"

Compared to the previous day, the current one passed slowly and peacefully as the Fieretka waited for the sun to go down and the daytime crowds to disperse. Until then, there was nothing to do but wait. And dry out.

Ifaut, Cédes, and Rhaka, all utterly exhausted from their late night, soon caught up on their sleep in the sun. Stefi, it turned out, had fallen asleep while hiding in an old shed that night.

Sansonis just sat cross-legged, stealing an occasional glance at Ifaut's sleeping form as she slept beneath a nearby tree, while Stefi mentally ran through the plan for tonight. Everything was still.

Finally, Stefi could take the silence, and Sansonis's frequent glances, no longer. "Something's eating at you, isn't it?" she asked casually as she twisted a leaf in her fingers.

Sansonis looked up. "Am I really that transparent?"

"Sort of." She giggled. "I guess I can pick up on these things. Unlike you."

He forced a laugh, more of a sigh than a display of mirth.

"C'mon, you can tell me," she said. "It's to do with Ifaut, isn't it?"

He nodded. "I really am that transparent."

"So," she pressed, "tell me what's on your mind." She lay down and, flicking her hair away from her face, propped her head up on her hands. She wanted to be comfortable for this. Maybe now he'd be able to say how he really felt. Just like Ifaut had several days before.

"All right. It might not be anything, but earlier she said that once she repays her debt she's free to go."

"And you're worried she might?"

"Yes." He shrugged.

Upon hearing his answer Stefi burst into a fit of laughter so hard that tears ran down her face. They were tears very different to those shed earlier. "Do you honestly think that crazy girl could tear herself away from you even if she tried?"

"But she said-"

"I don't care," Stefi said. "She said she's free to go, but does that mean she will?"

"I guess not," he admitted. "It's just that... I've grown... fond of her." He cast another glance at the dozing Furosan.

"You've 'grown fond' of her? You really are your father's son." She giggled then hastily added, "Not by blood, of course."

"How should I word it?"

"Really like? Have a crush? Love?"

Sansonis thought for a minute. "I like the sound of the last one," he said. "That would be nice. But what does love mean, exactly?"

"What? You don't know?" she asked, aghast. "You may have been raised by Otsukuné, but even you should know what love is, dense as you are. It's the same no matter who you are, even though it comes in different degrees. How can I put this? Rhaka loves you as a son, Ifaut as a kamae, maybe more, and myself as a friend."

Sansonis turned away. Stefi could see he was beginning to smile.

"Thanks for putting me at ease," he said, his voice saying he was quite the opposite. "What about you, though? I feel like I hardly know you, all things considered. You know a lot about love, so surely you've got someone you care for back home."

"Not really." Stefi laughed. "There was this one guy but he didn't last more than a week. He called Gemmie and Maya furry potatoes, and that was it. Gone!" She snapped her fingers. "Poof!"

"They look more like furry kumara," Sansonis said. He barely dodged a pine cone Stefi threw at his head. She glared darkly.

"So," Sansonis said, deciding it was better to change the subject than risk more of Stefi's wrath, "do you think we can really steal that boat? I had a brief stint on a fishing boat in Lake Farān a few years back, so I'm pretty sure I can sail the thing, but the real test is getting it in the first place."

"If there was another way I'd take it. Still, I really want to see the sea, to travel to other places. And I've got to get Cédes away from here."

They sat in silence for a moment until Sansonis spoke again. "We all need each other, don't we?"

"Yeah," Stefi said. "You know, maybe we can all show the world how to get along. We're like a little version of Feregana here with all the different races, and we get along fine. Mostly."

"And you're the one who can make it all happen."

She felt her face burning. "I have a lot to do," she said, "but us lot, we're a pretty good start. Maybe there's hope for us yet."

Chapter XVI: Spirit of the Sea

"Let's run over the plan one more time."

Stefi paced back and forth, wearing a track in the sparse grass as the sun finally began to set. With only a little daylight left, and the streets nearly deserted, it was time to "acquire".

"Cédes, are you focused enough to veil us all now?"

Cédes nodded. "We shall be able to see each other, but others may not see us."

"Then how do we know it's working for sure?" Stefi pressed.

Cédes shrugged. "We do not."

"Let's just assume it works, okay?" Stefi said nervously. "I'm not in the mood for something to go wrong again. Once we get to the boat, then what?"

Ifaut shot up her hand and waved it above her head like a child in class who desperately knows the answer. "Then it's me and do-" she broke off and checked herself, "Rhaka's time to shine! We make sure it's all clear." Her excited grin revealed her fang-like canines.

Stefi nodded. "Very good. And if it isn't?"

She slowly lowered her hand, and when it reached the ground she said simply, "Splash!"

Stefi turned to Sansonis. "And once we're in the clear?"

"I cut the mooring line and the wind takes us out to sea. Then I take over and, to use an expression, it's smooth sailing from there. At least I hope so."

"Good. Everyone knows their place," Stefi said, still pacing restlessly and feeling like a general before a great battle. Only, she thought, generals probably don't feel like passing out.

A moment later Cédes announced they were now hidden from outside eyes, provided her concentration didn't waver or her already tensed nerves weren't stretched any further.

Stefi took her arm. "Remember, I've got you. And this time we stay together, no matter what. We all stay together."

"You mean like this?" Ifaut asked as she draped herself across Sansonis's back.

"Not quite..." Stefi said as Sansonis shrugged her off. "Just don't wander off. Hold his hand or something, okay?"

"Still good enough for me!" she squeaked and did just that.

Sansonis sighed. Everyone else was in such high spirits. But there was still a lot of ground between them and the boat, assuming they could even take such a thing. No, he'd save his elation for when Valraines was left far behind. And if the boat did what it was told.

Their second journey into Valraines was as uneventful as the first had been chaotic. And despite Cédes's concerns, no one was even aware that the Fieretka, a group of now wanted criminals and a supposed Furosan terrorist, had wandered back into their midst. It seemed almost too easy.

When they reached the waterfront and the wharf to which the boat was moored, Stefi stopped, causing Cédes to walk right into her.

"Is something the matter?" Cédes asked.

For a moment Stefi could barely move. Her heart pounded in her chest and her breathing grew shallow as she tried to make sense of what she saw. "Do... do you see what's written on the boat?"

Ifaut looked up and squinted thoughtfully, furrowing her brow at the faded letters painted on the bow. Next to them was a roughly painted star-shaped white flower. "Sh...i...p?" she spelled out, carefully dropping each distinct sound while pretending for a moment she remembered how to read human writing. "Wait, that last letter's a 't' sound, yeah?"

"No," Stefi said. "It says 'Valtela'. My last name."

"That's a good omen then, isn't it?" Sansonis said. "Like we were meant to take this?"

Stefi shrugged. "I don't know," she said warily. "I can't help but feel weird about it." She shuddered. Her last name wasn't common by any means, and as far as she knew, only her family in Sumarana and a few relatives in Bandārun bore it. Somehow it seemed wrong to steal a boat with her last name on it, almost like stealing from family. But they had come too far to back down now because of a name.

"Everyone ready?" she asked.

"Yes," Cédes said. "However, due to my heightened emotional state, and yours, I believe we are now visible. I am sorry."

Stefi gasped. "Okay, change of plan. Run!"

The Fieretka sprinted along the small wharf as its boards creaked beneath their feet and the surf lapped close in the receding high tide.

Ifaut was the first on, and she hurriedly ushered everyone else on board until only Sansonis remained behind. He unsheathed a knife and used it to saw through the two mooring lines. The Valtela, free from its shackles, eased out to sea like an escaped animal testing the waters of freedom.

"Hurry up!" Ifaut yelled, her voice shaking in panic as Sansonis scrambled up the boarding plank. She caught his hand and hauled him aboard. The two collapsed in an ungainly heap on the deck, their faces close together.

Ifaut giggled. "What brought this on all of a sudden?"

"Clumsiness," Sansonis said in a way that was almost cold. He climbed to his feet and helped Ifaut up.

Before she could dwell on his reaction, Stefi interrupted. "Ifaut, Rhaka, make sure we're alone here. We're not out of the woods yet."

"Actually, we have been for some time," Cédes said earnestly. "Oh, perhaps it is sarcasm? Or a human expression where the woods are a metaphor for danger?"

"Right the second time."

"Why are the woods used to represent danger? I find them to be rather safe compared to your towns."

A thought suddenly came to Stefi, the reason why the expression may have come about. The woods, or Sumarana forest, contained Furosans, thought by humans to be dangerous. She didn't have the heart to point it out to Cédes.

She didn't have to answer, for a series of crashes and the sound of Ifaut swearing rose up from below deck, muffled by the timbers. Ifaut emerged a moment later, dragging a bundle up the steps by the scruff of its neck. She tossed it contemptuously at Stefi's feet and gave it a swift kick. It moaned.

"Look what I found," she said and hauled it to its feet again. "A plaything! Perhaps a chew-toy for Rhaka and the ferrets?"

Stefi gasped as she saw its familiar face. It refused to look at hers, keeping its eyes downcast the whole time as if the sight of Stefi frightened it. It was Elian.

The look of open-mouthed surprise on Stefi's faced melted away and was replaced by a twisted smile; the corners of her lips rose ever so slightly, contorting themselves into something between a grin and a grimace. "Well, well, well, what have we here?" she taunted as the memory of Cédes's pain came to the front of her mind. The sight of Elian, beaten and helpless, provoked a perverse pleasure she had never felt before. But, strangely, this new feeling didn't disturb her. In fact, she almost relished it. Perhaps this was how Sansonis felt when the darkness seized him.

Elian said nothing.

"This is your boat?"

He nodded weakly.

She laughed. "How very poetic! It looks like the world has a way of working things out."

"I'll... kill you..." Elian muttered so quietly Stefi couldn't hear the words.

Ifaut, however, did. She shook him as easily as if she were a dog worrying a bone. "What was that? I don't think Stefi heard you. Speak up!" She shook him some more.

"I'll kill you, I'll kill you all!" he screamed and strained at Ifaut's grasp.

Stefi tutted and shook her head disapprovingly like a parent witnessing a child's misdeeds. "You are in no position to make threats," she said. "We are." She slapped him across the face. "Now, apologize to Lady Cédes."

"For what?" Elian spat. "For being a dirty Furosan?"

She slapped him again. Harder.

"Because of your betrayal Cédes had to resort to destruction to save us. And it's not just her you should apologize to. Look around."

Elian lifted his head. His gaze brushed over the other Fieretka, never making eye contact. Over everyone, that is, except Ifaut, who still held him by the scruff of the neck. "Apologize? To a bunch of misfits and heathens like you lot? You all deserve to be damned by Kardin."

Now it was Ifaut's turn to face him. She hurled him to the deck and towered above his prostrate form, her hands planted on her hips, her tail bristling. "There's that damn name again! What is it with you humans and your precious Kardin, anyway? How about thinking for yourselves and not thinking something just because a stupid book tells you to?"

Elian said nothing, and Ifaut produced a pouch from her pocket. It bulged with coins and jingled as she shook it.

"Hey!" Elian protested. "That's mine!" He moved as if to stand but Ifaut planted her foot on his chest and forced him back.

"The reward you got for reporting us, eh?" she asked and dangled it teasingly like a finger before a biting ferret.

"Worth every last coin," he said with a dark smile.

Ifaut tossed the heavy pouch to Stefi. She caught it and pocketed it herself.

"I got Sansonis's revenge out of you below deck. Stefi's received adequate compensation. All that's left is an apology for Cédes. And Rhaka to eat his fill."

At the mention of Rhaka, Elian's eyes widened in alarm as his tough, angry façade crumbled. "You wouldn't!"

"Oh, wouldn't I? If Stefi wills it, it's as good as done."

Elian turned his pleading eyes to Stefi. "Don't let the dog eat me! Please!" he begged, shaking all the while.

"I won't, as long as you apologize to Cédes," Stefi said levelly with just a hint of a threat.

Elian's expression switched back to one of disgust as readily as the wind may change direction when the weather is feeling fickle. His hatred for the Furosans, it seemed, overrode even his fear of Rhaka. "Never. I'd rather die!" he shouted and spat at Ifaut.

Stefi sighed. "Ifaut," she said simply, "splash."

Hearing her favorite sound, Ifaut grinned and hauled Elian to his feet. She dragged him to the low railing that surrounded the deck of the Valtela and held him there. Stefi approached and looked into his eyes, hers displaying a genuine pity for the hatred in his heart. Her own hatred towards him was beginning to wane, but like his it would always be there. It was the last traces of this that made up her mind. That, and his refusal to apologize to Cédes.

"Goodbye." She nodded at Ifaut.

The Furosan took a step back, withdrew her right foot, and with a swift kick to Elian's backside sent him, screaming, headlong into the waves below. He hit the water with a satisfying splash.

Speaking for the first time since Elian had been dragged up, Cédes asked, "Do you think he is able to swim?"

As the withdrawing tide dragged the Valtela out to sea, Stefi glanced over the side and saw a small brown object bobbing in the water. It made slow and labored progress against the same pull. "Unfortunately, yes."

Cédes gasped. "Despite what he has done, you cannot truly mean that!"

Stefi's patience, already wearing thin, finally gave out. "And why can't I? Didn't he sell us out for a few lousy coins?" She clenched her fists in anger.

Cédes leapt back as if stung. "Surely you, of all people, cannot wish someone dead."

It was then that Stefi's emotions finally boiled over. "Of course I can!" she shouted so loudly that Cédes fell backwards over her own feet and hit the deck with a thud. "I can talk to ferrets. So what? I'm supposed to save the world from who-knows-what. Who cares? Because of your whole ferret religion you may have seen me as some perfect person who can talk with your god or whatever, but deep down I can still hate people. I'm just like any other human. Hell, even Furosan. I have darkness in my heart, all right? I'm flawed just like everyone else here. I make mistakes. But at least I've never actually killed anyone, like you!"

She tossed her staff to the deck and stormed off towards the bow, where she sat with her head hidden in her hands, partly to hide her shame at her behavior, partly to hide her anger.

It was all Cédes could do to keep back her tears and struggle weakly to her feet, leaning on her own staff for balance. Ifaut hurried up to help, but Cédes shrugged her off and turned away. "I hurt everyone," she muttered. "Everyone I get close to, I hurt."

Ifaut stepped around in front of her and seized her shoulders. "That's not true!" she said. "I think Stefi might feel like you expect too much from her, that's all. I just have to worry about looking after Sansonis. Stefi has the whole world to worry about. Just give her some space, m'kay?"

"B-but," Cédes stammered, "the Fieretsi is meant to be pure of heart. Hatred only creates more hatred. And if Stefi has darkness in her heart-"

"So does Sansonis. And you know what? He's the most caringest guy I know. It's just a part of everyone." She looked up to see that her kamae had already raised the sails and was at the stern steering the boat as the wind hurried it along. Yes, he had a lot of darkness within him. Also goodness, a kindness she felt so drawn in by. The same had to be true with Stefi.

"Anyway," Ifaut continued, "too much good can be bad, can't it?"

"I suppose so," Cédes said.

"Just look at chocolate," Ifaut said and grew excited at her own mention of the word. "It's really, really good. But too much makes me say silly things. In that case, too much good is bad. Now, Stefi is much the same. Sweet, slightly bitter, warm, comforting, silky texture..." she trailed off and, her eyes glazing over in pleasure, salivated at the memory of the delicious beverage.

"I see what you are saying, Miss Ifaut," Cédes said. "That was a very deep analogy, coming from you. Thank you. Like chocolate, too much good is bad. If Stefi were too good, that in itself would be bad."

Ifaut snapped out of her trance. "Chocolate? Where?" she asked expectantly.

"In all of our hearts. Now, I must make amends with Stefi once she has had some time alone." She gripped her staff and used it to guide her way across the unfamiliar deck, leaving Ifaut standing alone.

"So, no chocolate then?"

Though the sun had set, the two moons had risen, providing just enough light to navigate by. Off the starboard side of the Valtela the rocky coastline loomed from the sea, the luminous foam of the waves marking where it touched the water. The stars had begun to wink into existence in the heavens, and Sansonis wondered if it was possible to steer a boat, like one's life, by them. He thought of asking Rhaka, but the Otsukuné had fallen asleep.

Sansonis continued steering the Valtela on its course while Ifaut dozed nearby on a bedroll she'd found in storage. The ferrets, too fearful to show themselves after earlier, remained sleeping in Stefi's pack.

Stefi remained where she'd gone earlier, so wrapped up in her own thoughts that at first she didn't notice Cédes sitting beside her with the slightest rustle of clothing. The two sat in silence for a long time, no words needing to be said between them. Finally, they both spoke.

"I-" they began simultaneously, interrupting each other. Cédes, quite flustered, insisted that Stefi speak first. She did.

"I'm sorry for what I said earlier," Stefi said softly. "What I said I said in anger. I didn't really mean it."

"I know," Cédes said. "Still, your words cut deep in a wound that still has not begun to heal."

Stefi said nothing but took Cédes's hand. She held it gently and rested her head on Cédes's shoulder. "Can you forgive me?" she said after a long silence.

"Of course," the Furosan said. "On the condition that you forgive me also. I perhaps thought too much of you, but Ifaut helped me realize that no one is perfect. Not even you."

"I forgive you, Cédes."

"And I you."

"From now on," Stefi said, "we try to know each other a little better."

"Is that an order?"

"No. A request as a friend."

"I would very much like that," Cédes said. She wrapped her free hand about her friend's waist.

A warm, familiar feeling seemed to well up from within Stefi, like she'd felt this before. Then she remembered. Her mother once held her in the same way when she was younger.

That night she fell asleep in Cédes's warm embrace, comfortable and once more at peace.

While everyone else was still sleeping, Ifaut awoke with the sun's early light on her face. She stumbled from the bedroll and struggled for a minute to find her feet upon the shifting deck. She looked about and saw Stefi and Cédes sleeping against each other at the front of the boat, but nearby at the rear, where the wheel sat, Sansonis slept also. The boat's wheel, free from guiding hands, turned rhythmically back and forth.

Ifaut glanced about her and was at once struck by the cerulean monotony that surrounded them. Countless miles of the sea's ever-shifting plain stretched in all directions; not the slightest bit of land marred its mirror-like surface. No birds flew across the sky or broke the silence with their cries. Even the division between sea and sky blurred until the whole world seemed to be one blue and green plane without beginning or end. Her heart lurched in her chest and she dropped to the deck, trying to find a handhold in the cracks of the timbers lest she fall in and drift away. Blood pumped audibly in her ears as her heart, fueled by fear, raced uncontrollably. So much water. So open. Nowhere to hide. Scary.

She dragged herself along on her stomach to Sansonis and, refusing to look up, shook him awake. "Hey!" she hissed through her clenched jaw that felt like it was glued shut. "You get us back to land at once! Quick! Quick!"

Sansonis moaned as he sat up and looked around, first at Ifaut and then around them. "Oh," he said simply. "That's not good, is it?" He looked up at the sail hanging limp and dead from the mast, starved of wind.

"Not good? It's terrible! What if this thing sinks? I can't swim! Get me out of here!" Her voice rose shrilly with each sentence until it was loud enough to wake the others.

One quick look around was enough to convince Stefi that they were in trouble. "How could you fall asleep and let us drift like this?" she said, panic rising in her voice. "We don't even know where we are, how close land is..." She began to breathe heavily.

"Do not panic," Cédes said. She found Stefi's shoulders and began to knead the tension from them with firm hands. "Is there no way to propel this vessel, other than wind?" she asked Sansonis.

"No," he said with a sigh. "We have to wait for the wind to start up again. But who knows when that'll be, or if it'll take us closer to or further away from land?"

They stood in silence for a minute until a sudden thought hit Sansonis. "Cédes, you have the fire elemental, correct?"

"Why, yes," she said and gave him a look as if he were mad.

"Does that mean there's one for the other elements, like wind perhaps?"

"Of course. There exists also Earth, Water and Lightning, while Light and Dark are theorized to exist. Unfortunately, I am unable to call upon them. Even with their stones it would be futile. I am only able to speak with Raphanos because I am from Mafouras."

"Okay, but could Stefi, with her talking to Furosa gift if she were to be focused enough?"

Cédes gave a small gasp. "Of course! It is certainly worth a try."

All eyes turned expectantly to Stefi. She stiffened. "I'll try, but I can't make any promises, you know."

"That is good enough," Cédes said. She removed a familiar bandanna from her back pocket and handed it to Stefi.

"Just like last time. You need to block out the visual distractions and listen once more to the voice of the world. I know the last time we attempted this it was unpleasant for you, but I am afraid we have few alternatives."

"So... no pressure," Stefi said with a bitter smile. "You guys wait here. I need to be alone for a while."

"No," Cédes said. "You need someone there in case..." she trailed off.

"I'll be okay this time. I have to be." She placed a drowsy ferret on either shoulder. "You two," she said quietly, "I need your help to try and call the wind, or at least try to ask Feregana for help. It'll be tough. Can you help me listen and ask?"

Certainly, Gemmie said. Just please don't leave us again.

"I won't. Help me tune out the bad stuff and ask for help. And if anything happens, bite me so I snap out of it."

That's my job, Maya said eagerly. I have the sharpest teeth!

"That's not exactly reassuring," Stefi said as she blindfolded herself with Cédes's bandana. Immediately her sense of hearing sharpened and the sound of the gentle waves lapping the Valtela reached her ears, steadily growing in volume. The waves' hushed voices ran through her head and began to lap at the shores of her consciousness, and before long she felt her mind swept away and into the sea of murmuring voices that encircled Feregana.

Still with us? Maya asked. Stefi felt his teeth caress her earlobe.

Yes, she said, and realized that now she was talking like the ferrets were, without real words. All about her she felt the gentle waves of every ferret and Furosan's life energy, humming gently with thoughts, waves of warm and soft light.

Then, before her eyes, brilliant colors seemed to bloom from the blackness, giving wondrous, shifting forms to the bubbling of voices and life around her. What appeared to be threads of color weaved themselves about her and amongst each other, dancing and laughing. One flew right before her eyes and she caught a flash of a familiar lop-sided grin.

Ifaut! she said. I just saw Ifaut's life force fly past! She tried to follow it but it had vanished.

As she watched in amazement, absorbing passing thoughts, she heard Gemmie and Maya speaking privately.

I... I just saw her! Gemmie said, her voice trembling with excitement. Kil-

Impossible, Maya shot back. Not only is the fool dead, she must have crossed the Bridge long ago. I told that idiot not to wait for me.

She loved you. Maybe she did wait, Gemmie said. She had to die in Farān, it was her destiny as the last one to fall in defense of home and save us. She died for you. She'd wait. I know.

Shut up. Just shut up.

And who's this? Stefi asked casually despite the fact she was brimming with curiosity.

The ferrets slammed shut their minds, resisting all efforts from Stefi to get them to speak.

Fine. At least help me look for the wind, okay?

She focused her mind, now beginning to make sense of the strange thoughts and murmurs that streaked past her like meteors. That one that just flashed past was a pale young Furosan man who bore a passing resemblance to Cédes. And that one was a small ferret out for a walk. She felt its quivering excitement and nervousness as it whizzed past, and her spirits soared with it on the wings of curiosity and innocence.

Suddenly she felt another presence lumbering straight towards her, not zipping by like the others. She caught a glimpse of a mountainous, shapeless form that radiated a cool confidence and knew, somehow, that it must be what she was looking for.

I've got it! she said. How do we get its attention?

Focus, Gemmie said.

How do you know-

I just do. I'm a ferret, remember?

Stefi obeyed and focused her thoughts on the imposing presence, and right away she felt a chilling sensation spreading across her like someone had just poured icy water over her. The next moment an odd sound entered her head, like someone singing in another language, one without words; the haunting, eerie notes made her feel even colder, and for a moment she feared that she might once again be forced to face her darkest secret.

To her relief, and surprise, she felt herself being jerked like a stubborn dog on the end of a leash. Then nothing.

Chapter XVII: A Favor for Shizai

"That's strange," Pheia said as she made her way through the deserted streets of Chalja early the next morning. The town itself was little more than a narrow valley between two close hills, many of its dwellings cut into the earth in tiers. Warm lights inside houses cast out light, and streetlamps spaced at regular intervals hung high in the fog like ghostly suns. Despite the light there was no one around. Just the all-pervasive fog.

"Hello?" she called, momentarily forgetting she was in a human town. Somehow she knew no one would answer. "Anyone here?" Her voice echoed, channeled through the small valley-like town. The only answer was itself.

She continued walking, peering into house and shop windows to see if there was any sign of life. Still nothing.

A shiver ran through her and she felt eyes on her back even though no one was around. She spun around just in time to see a shape slinking back into the shadows. She fitted an arrow to her bowstring and waited.

"Show yourself!" she demanded, surprisingly not feeling much fear. She had been through too much already to be afraid of a little shadow. The worst it could do, she thought, was kill her again.

The shadow appeared to have heard her, and Pheia watched it draw closer until it stood near a streetlamp.

It was a human girl, perhaps several years younger than herself and slightly shorter. Her long, black hair hung down to her shoulders and shifted restlessly even though there was no breeze, and her scared crystalline eyes swept back and forth across the foggy street before alighting on Pheia. A ferret sat perched on either shoulder, a sight that comforted Pheia slightly.

"Who are you?" She aimed her drawn bow at the girl's chest.

The human girl leapt back into the light of a streetlamp and held her hands up protectively. Pheia gasped and lowered her bow in shock. The light fell through the girl. She cast no shadow.

"Another ghost? I thought I was alive again..." Pheia shuddered.

"A ghost?" the girl asked, equally surprised. "This isn't death, is it?" She surveyed the deserted town about her. "Maybe I took a wrong turn at the wind?"

"The wind?" Pheia said and approached her, slinging her bow over her shoulder. Despite her ghostly appearance, the girl seemed harmless enough. And the sight of those two ferrets helped put her at ease.

"Yeah," the girl said. "Me and my friends are stuck out at sea on a boat with no wind to get us anywhere."

"I don't think I can help you there," Pheia said. She was surprised to find herself believing every word.

At that moment her stone began to glow a brilliant blue and she took it from her pocket. The girl gasped.

"It's just like Cédes's!" she said and hurried over for a closer look.

Pheia stepped back. "How do you know of the White Demon Cédes, human?" she asked and concealed the stone in both hands. Even so, its light seeped out from between her fingers.

The girl laughed. "She's my friend. She has a stone just like yours, except it's red and fiery. It wouldn't happen to be the wind elemental by any chance, would it?" the girl asked and leaned forward, trying to get a closer look.

"No," Pheia said and uncovered it, "it's Shizai, the elemental guardian of Feregana's waters. Or it's supposed to be. I've never seen it do much more than glow. Wait, how do you come to know of these things?"

The girl shrugged. "I guess I can tell you. I'm one of the Fieretka."

Pheia's eyes grew wide in astonishment.

"And judging by your look of surprise, you've heard of us," the human continued.

"Of course!" Pheia shot back, perhaps a little more sharply than she intended. "Who hasn't?"

The human, unphased by her reaction, said, "My name's Stefi, by the way. And you are?"

"Pheia. Pheia Ariga."

At the mention of Ariga the human girl Stefi gave a barely discernible jerk of surprise. "Are you related to someone called Richo, by any chance?"

"Why, yes, he is my brother," Pheia said and felt growing pride that even this human knew of her brother and his exploits.

Stefi shrugged. "Well, if he's anything like you, I don't see what Ifaut's so worked up about."

"Surely you do not mean Ifaut Mafouras, promised to my brother in ahiyau?" Pheia said, her eyes wide with surprise.

"That's the one."

Pheia jumped backwards and almost lost her footing. Princess Ifaut and the White Demon Lady Cédes, known throughout the Furosan world, Fieretka? "Why... how... they are both Fieretka also?" she said, tripping over her words.

"Yes," Stefi said suspiciously and eyed up the Furosan as if she were a bit slow.

"Then," Pheia said hastily, smoothing out her clothes as if it would help rid her turbulent mind of its creases, "we are in good hands."

Stefi laughed and rolled her eyes. "Most of the time."

"If there's anything I can do to assist you, please do not hesitate to ask, for I was sent out by my dying father to aid you."

"Then it's a good thing I found you," a smiling Stefi said. "Do you think your water elemental could give us a lift to shore?"

In reply the stone flared, its light bright enough to pierce the fog and eerily illuminate the ground behind Stefi. Her being seemed to glow with a cool, icy aura.

"I think that means she will," Pheia said, excited by the stone's activity. Never before had she seen it do much more than glow; now, beaming out a healthy light, it seemed ready to come to life. "Do you know how to summon her? Perhaps you can talk to her?"

"I... never said I could talk to ferrets," Stefi said quietly.

"I know. I just assumed from the ferrets upon your shoulders. I can recite the stories of the last three Fieretsi by heart, after all," she said. "The Kalkic Yifunis, flower-loving Pfila of Chaldia, the peace-seeker Astaros..."

"You probably know more about Fieretka than Cédes. History really isn't her strong point. But getting back to the water ferret, Cédes summoned hers when she needed it. Me and my friends need yours, so maybe just think about helping us?"

It appeared that, at Stefi's words, Pheia did indeed think about helping those in need, for at that moment a strange circle like that which had appeared burning at Cédes's feet in Valraines shone upon the road. The watery symbols within were cool and shimmering with tranquility as opposed to burning with rage.

"Now, just tell her to find us in the sea," Stefi said. "I bet she can find us easily enough."

A dozen torrents of water gushed from the symbols, soaring above the tallest of Chalja's buildings. For a moment they seemed to knot themselves together like writhing snakes until they took a strangely ferret-like form. It disappeared with a pop and a shower of gentle rain.

"Well done! And away she goes," Stefi said, grinning. Pheia, however, stared at–or through–her in shock.

"You're fading!" she said in alarm and moved to grab Stefi. Her hands closed on air. "There's so much I need to ask! Where can I find you? Will Shizai come back to me?" She began to panic.

"I don't know, and yes, I bet she'll come back. But what about the wind? Why couldn't I find him?" Her voice was fading as rapidly as the rest of her.

Pheia sighed. "She, Fairun, was lost to the humans when the lands of Acharn fell many years ago. She-" Before she could finish, Stefi, the human girl, was gone.

Pheia stood there, feeling the misty rain of Shizai sprinkling across her. She had finally seen one of the Fieretka, and the Fieretsi too. The stories of Astaros, Pfila, and Yifunis may have ended, and she herself had seen the beginning of the next. Stefi. Still, even she, with her knowledge of the previous Fieretsi, couldn't know that it would all end with Stefi, the Final Fieretsi.

With a great lurch Stefi felt herself back on the deck of the Valtela. She tore off her bandana just in time to feel another lurch as the boat leapt into life beneath her feet and sent her tumbling onto her backside. Behind her she heard a frightened squeal from Ifaut and turned just in time to see a laughing Sansonis hauling her to her feet, where she clung to him and refused to let go.

Stefi looked up to see Cédes with a small smile tugging at the corners of her mouth saying, "You did it."

"All right, everyone," she said once she'd approached the others, "I found us a ride."

Sansonis glanced at the still-lifeless sails. "Not the wind, I take it?"

"Nope, but the next best thing." She spent the next while telling everyone what had happened to her, encouraged all the while by Cédes's polite nods.

She finished by asking Cédes, "Why did you never tell us about Acharn?"

The white Furosan seemed taken aback and, muttering something about history under her breath, replied hesitantly, "It is something we do not like to talk about."

"Why not?" Stefi pressed. Ifaut and Sansonis leaned forward, eager to hear her reply.

"Because they refused to fight. And as a result they lost Fairun to the humans."

"Why didn't you tell me before I went off on this wild goose chase?"

"Goose?" Cédes said as her eyes widened. "I said 'Fairun', not 'Feerun.'"

"'Feerun' means goose," Ifaut said, still latched to Sansonis's arm.

Stefi sighed and felt her frustration mounting. "Let me rephrase that. Why did you encourage me to look for Fairun's help if the humans took it? Her, I mean."

"Because I thought she might still be still be of assistance. But we found help in another form, did we not? And now we know that we at least have the Arigans' support, despite them being, as Miss Ifaut often says, a bunch of uptight snobs." She smiled enigmatically.

Stefi found herself having to agree with Cédes and, staring into those peaceful eyes, her frustration seemed to vanish. Yes, she had still found a way to help them. And learnt something about her predecessors. She only hoped to see Pheia again. She still had so many questions to ask her that Cédes could not answer.

After sailing without stopping all day, Stefi, now growing rather bored, decided to break the monotony by talking to Shizai. With no one needed to steer the Valtela on its course, all everyone else could do was wait.

Ifaut and Cédes were playing rowdily with Gemmie and Maya, but their shrieks of delight were soon drowned out by the air whooshing past Stefi's ears as she made her way to the Valtela's bow. She peered over the front. The wind drove her hair to flail wildly and the waves sprayed her with a fine, salty mist. Just below the surface she could barely make out a giant yet sleek turquoise ferret-form as it dived effortlessly through the water and carried them in its wake. It glanced upwards and with a joyful roll flipped over onto its back to watch Stefi, its sapphire eyes glinting mischievously.

Why, hello there, young kit, it said, its clear voice laughing like a babbling stream. Is the ride to your liking?

"Yes!" Stefi shouted. She struggled to make herself heard over the rushing waves as the Valtela cut through them. The wind whipped away her words before they could reach Shizai.

Yes, she thought, remembering the way she and her ferrets had spoken earlier.

That is good.

Shizai's face emerged into the fresh sea air for a minute as the Valtela crested a wave. She sneezed, a great rushing noise that sounded like a small explosion, soaking Stefi with even more salty water.

Sorry, young kit, the watery ferret's voice giggled in her head. I sneezed!

I noticed, Stefi said, and to her surprise found herself laughing..

What is troubling you? Shizai asked once their laughter had died down. She lay on her back and batted passing waves with her paws.

I was just wondering where you're taking us, Stefi said, feeling somewhat rude. At least they were going towards land, at any rate.

Ah, I was waiting for you to ask me that. I have a favor to ask of you and your companions. Do you accept?

Stefi drew her matted hair from her face. How can I accept if I don't even know what it is?

Because I will only tell you what is once you accept.

And why is that?

Shizai put on a mocking voice that made her words quaver seriously. The ways of the elementals are not to be understood by mere mortals. Do not question what you do not understand! She laughed.

What I understand is you're a big tease, Stefi retorted. She was beginning to like this elemental ferret. Compared to Raphanos, she was so playful, so innocent, though also a tease. She almost reminded her of herself.

Mock me again and I shall smite thee! Shizai lifted her head from the water.

Smite thee then, smiter! Stefi laughed so hard that her own salty tears mixed with the sea spray blowing against her face.

You shall quiver in fear before my might! The elemental stared directly at Stefi with its shimmering, never-blinking eyes. Go on, you can start quivering now!

Stefi gave a half-hearted shake, more from the breeze chilling her wet body than anything.

That's better. Now, do you accept my request? Shizai sank back beneath the waves so that only her nose poked out.

Do I have a choice? Stefi asked.

If you believe in fate, no. What will happen will happen, and has already happened. But if you believe in free-will, then yes.

What if I believe both?

Then just thinking of the mechanics behind the two will make my head explode! She let out a loud sneeze underwater that rocked the boat. She re-emerged, headless. There was a laugh in Stefi's head and Shizai reformed herself in an instant.

All right, Stefi said, I don't want my head to... explode... so I'll say yes.

That is good. But how about your friends?

Stefi raised her head and looked back. The two Furosans were still busy entertaining the ferrets while Sansonis and Rhaka looked on. She already knew what they'd say about it.

They'd all agree, for their different reasons. So on behalf of the Fieretka, Shizai, I accept your request.

Very well.

The force that had been propelling the Valtela so tirelessly ceased and, within minutes, to everyone's shock, the boat glided to a standstill.

"What's going on?" Ifaut squeaked and latched onto Sansonis's arm again, digging her claws in so hard they drew blood. He merely winced and sighed.

"Shizai has a request for us all," Stefi said and noticed that everyone was looking over her shoulder. She felt a watery tap that made her already damp clothes even wetter and turned to see a grinning, translucent, and very wet Furosan. Her long, dark blue hair flowed to her feet, ever-moving like a waterfall and leaving a small puddle on the deck. Her very sparse, very transparent clothing hung loosely about her figure. Stefi couldn't help but think, a little jealously, that Shizai had made her Furosan proportions unnecessarily large and her clothing unnecessarily small.

Ifaut followed Sansonis's gaze and, letting out a low hiss, stomped his foot. He stared morosely at the deck, sneaking the occasional glance when he was sure Ifaut wasn't looking.

Hello, all, Shizai said in her tinkling, musical voice, and the others were amazed to find that they too could hear her.

Do not be afraid. Since you have all accepted my favor through Stefi, I am now required to tell you exactly what it involves. She began to walk slowly and deliberately about the group, staring at each member in turn.

Sansonis, blushing furiously, buried his face in Ifaut's shoulder, much to her delight, while she simply glared. She was not to be bothered by this watery temptress, and neither, if she could help it, was Sansonis. Besides, she thought, glancing over her own body, she gave even this immortal elemental being a run for her money. Now maybe all she needed to do was wear less clothing too...

When Shizai came to Cédes, she caressed her face with a cool, wet hand and whispered softly in her head. I am sorry for my brother's actions. He caused you to take a life, yes?

"Yes, although the blame also falls upon myself, great Shizai," Cédes said and bowed her head.

If it is any comfort to you, I forgive you. She planted a small, wet kiss on Cédes's cheek that caused her to shudder uncomfortably, but also, strangely, to feel better with herself.

When she came to Rhaka she merely patted his head, leaving it quite wet. And when she saw the ferrets there was a popping sound and in a shower of water she became a normal sized ferret and began to play with Gemmie and Maya.

"Ahem," Stefi coughed after a few moments of watery tumbling and leaping, eager to get on with hearing what Shizai wanted. For a great elemental guardian, Stefi thought, she sure was distracted easily.

Oh, sorry.

With another pop she became Furosan-like again, and Ifaut noticed, much to her annoyance, that she'd made certain parts of her body even bigger than before. She gripped Sansonis's arm tight.

"I wasn't looking, honestly!" he said. "Anyone would think we're married, the way you carry on."

"I'm not jealous," Ifaut hissed back.

"I never said you were!"

She glared at him in response. "Well, I'm not!" Then, thinking to herself, 'How can I get him to look at me like that?'

As I was saying, Shizai continued, I have a favor to ask.

"We know," Stefi said impatiently. "Just tell us already."

Shizai waggled her finger disapprovingly. Don't make me smitey! she teased.

"Yes," Cédes said seriously, "she sank Minhera in a single day and night. You must not bring her wrath upon you."

Shizai sighed aloud, an odd bubbling sound, and tears appeared in her sapphire eyes. The infamous 'Wrath of Shizai', she said mournfully. I always get the blame even though I was never there. It was Makora's fault, but do you think anyone'd blame him? No! He was supposed to look after Minhera, surely he wouldn't sink it. It had to be Shizai instead...

"Do you mean," Cédes said, wide-eyed and curious, "that you are innocent? That the wrath of Makora really caused Minhera to be lost?"

Smart and beautiful, Shizai said. But history is history, and people will have a hard time changing their minds about it. Whether it is their strong point or not.

"I believe you, if that is any consolation coming from a Furosan like myself," Cédes said.

It is much consolation, White Demon, Shizai said and gave Cédes a rather wet pat on the head that left her white hair glistening.

But, she said, changing the subject as she noticed Stefi's growing impatience and Cédes's alarmed, blind stare, I have a favor to ask, and we can't keep changing the subject, no matter how much fun it is to talk with you guys. Do you have any idea how long I've been cooped up in that stone?

"The favor," Stefi said, resisting the urge to shout.

Oops, there I go again, Shizai giggled and blushed slightly, a difficult task for someone so cool and watery. To put it bluntly, I need you lot to save my sister Fairun from the humans. That's where we're going.

Stefi nodded. "Where is she, then?"

Shizai, going uncharacteristically quiet, turned away from the Fieretka and didn't answer for a moment. She wrung her hands nervously, causing the deck to become even wetter.

The human capital, she said at last and turned back to face them. Sol-Acrima. She watched the various expressions of shock before her with a touch of sadness. I am all too aware of what they have done to you, Kalkic and Otsukuné, and what happened in Valraines to all of you. And I hate to give such nice people such a difficult job, but she needs to be saved before she dies. Her voice wavered, teetering on the brink of crying.

"We've already accepted," Stefi said and bit her bottom lip nervously, "so I suppose we have to, no matter what."

"Sol-Acrima," Cédes said bitterly, "also the religious center for the worship of Kardin. I could think of no more dangerous place for a Furosan." She turned to where she heard and smelled the others. "Nor an Otsukuné or Kalkic."

I know, Shizai said and checked her tears. Yifunis almost died there. There the rest of the Fieretka that accompanied her lost their lives, and she was forced to continue on alone. That was at the height of the Kalkic displacement. I doubt their attitudes have softened much since. It took every drop of her will power to hold back her tears. Such behavior was hardly befitting of an immortal elemental being, she thought, but living forever was not as great as some might think. Dying is a way to rid oneself of such horrible memories, a release of the burdens of a lifetime. She had to carry what happened in Sol-Acrima and Feregana's history forever; an eternity to dwell upon what went wrong. And that included the memories of a family and a home beneath a twilit sky far away. It gave her small consolation that even Yifunis would someday cross the Bridge for good.

The elemental felt a warm arm drape itself across her shoulders. She didn't look up. She didn't need to. She knew it was Stefi.

"It's okay," Stefi said, not seeming to care about getting herself even wetter than she already was. "Even god-like beings need to cry once in a while."

Yes, yes we do, although I must admit this is not the time. You do not think it is shameful for an elemental guardian to act like this?

"Of course not. Everyone needs to cry sometimes, you know. But we'll be okay. We've got Cédes to keep us hidden. And you and Raphanos."

I am afraid that once we reach Sol-Acrima I must depart. I can't be away from Pheia and my stone for too long.

"But we'll see you again, right?"

Of course. Now we must be getting on. She turned, about to resume her normal form and start guiding the Valtela again.

"Wait," Stefi said hurriedly and stepped in front of her, "if you ever need to, you know," she said, feeling quite awkward, then forced out the wanted words, "cry, you come see me, okay?"

I will. Now it's time for swimming!

With another popping sound that left Stefi and the Fieretka standing, quite bewildered, in a shower of pure water, Shizai vanished.

The boat lurched beneath their feet and hurried on its way once more, towards Sol-Acrima, where Stefi only hoped she'd fare better than her predecessor.

Chapter XVIII: Holy Capital, Sol-Acrima

For four straight days the Valtela plowed ever onwards towards Sol-Acrima. For four days Pheia continued towards the coast from the strangely deserted town of Chalja. And after four days at sea, boredom began to set in amongst the Fieretka.

Every day, it seemed, Shizai would appear on deck with a pop and a shower of water to babble about the most trivial matters, not even realizing that Ifaut often fell asleep during her ebullient expirations. She longed for the company, and although she went strangely silent whenever the subject of the previous Fieretka was broached, her enthusiasm could not be dammed. She was also more than happy to provide everyone with fresh water since, as they soon discovered, there was little on board. And she was remarkably effective at getting Cédes's robes clean and white again.

Ifaut quickly took it upon herself to provide everyone with fish, despite the fact that she'd never used a fishing rod before. After pricking herself several times on the hook, ("Now you know how I feel!" Sansonis had laughed) she finally managed to cast her line into the boat's wake. Unfortunately, she didn't know that bait was required. It wasn't until several hours later that Sansonis noticed her mistake, a revelation that reduced her to tears, but once corrected she happily caught enough fish for everyone. And enough to satiate her odorous obsession, much to Sansonis's annoyance.

Stefi had mostly remained apart from the others, even the ferrets, turning over the name of the boat in her head and wondering if there was any connection between herself and Elian. Impossible, she thought. Surely if they were related she would have known. Maybe even Elian would have. Eventually Cédes managed to convince her that even if she was it didn't matter. It was only a last name. She was also quick to point out that she herself didn't have a known last name, an unusual thing even for a Furosan. And just because it was painted on a boat it didn't mean it was his name anyway.

Around noon on their fourth day at sea, Shizai appeared with her now comforting pop and shower of spray. A smile bigger than any she'd brandished before lit up her face and her eyes shone like polished sapphires.

Hello, all! she gushed as Stefi and Cédes drew their wet hair from their eyes. Ifaut hurried over, a gasping fish in one hand and rod in the other. Everyone, look over there! Shizai pointed a glistening finger across the bow of the Valtela. The dark shape of cloud-covered land loomed from the horizon, looking like a snowy mountain range rising out of the sea.

We are nearly there, she continued. Sadly, that means our time together is almost up. What I mean to say is, it's been fun.

"It's been fun for us, too," Stefi said as an ache grew in her chest. Even though she'd met and said goodbye to several people already on her journey, it was the water elemental that had made the biggest–and wettest–impression on her; from her cheerful demeanor, her caring nature, to the way she seemed vulnerable despite being immortal. If only Stefi could get her to open up about Yifunis and her friends, she thought she'd be one step closer to helping her. And finding out about her own doomed path.

"You'll go back to Pheia, won't you?" Stefi said. "Then what?"

I'll guide her to Sol-Acrima to meet with you guys. I get the feeling she'll be getting close, but she was intending to catch a boat in Leibos to Western Feregana to find you. I'll just have to give her a little nudge up the coast.

Stefi sat down in the shade of the half-lowered sail and motioned for everyone to join her. As Shizai walked through the midday sun, the light refracted through her watery being and cast a rainbow dancing across the deck. Gemmie and Maya moved to attack it, but it faded from existence as she entered the shade.

"Right," Stefi said, taking charge and putting herself back in the position of elected leader, a role that now grew more comfortable. "Shizai, where exactly can we find Fairun? I know Sol-Acrima is big. Very big. Couldn't she be anywhere?"

Yes, but I believe I know where she may be held. First I must explain something to you.

"You haven't been keeping anything important from us, have you?" Stefi asked.

Perhaps. Shizai's eyes lingered upon the deck as if she suddenly found the grain of the wood to be remarkably interesting. As you may know, the humans are preparing for war, just like when Yifunis was alive. Fairun... The words seemed to stick in her mind and she cleared her throat with an odd gurgle before continuing, Fairun is having her power drained for weapons.

Cédes let out a frightened gasp and clutched the stone of Raphanos tight in her fist. "H-how is that even possible?" she stammered. "Surely only an Acharnian Furosan is able to wield her, just as only a Mafouran can command Raphanos and an Arigan Shizai."

Although I do carry some will of my own, Shizai added. Just not a soul.

Now it was Stefi's turn to gasp. "No soul? You seem so..." She was about to say 'human' but thought better of it. "Furosan."

I know it sounds strange, and I do have feelings and everything just like you. But I am an elemental guardian. Immortal. Don't forget that. The lack of a soul with me means I can never die, though sometimes I wish I could. I get so very tired sometimes. She yawned languidly as if to emphasize it, revealing her sharp, crystalline teeth.

"But what about Fairun? You said she needs to be saved before she dies. And now she's being used for weapons. You elementals can't die," Stefi said, thoroughly confused.

Die, no. Though if our essence is drained and divided, it's as bad as death, if not worse. With her power being drained to create weapons-

"What kind of weapons?" Ifaut interrupted. "A breeze to ruffle hair and lift skirts?"

No. Ships that ply the waters of the heavens, borne upon the winds. Ships that can go anywhere in the world without need for my seas. Ships, she said, that could ferret out the Furosans with no trouble.

"No," Stefi said and clenched her fists in anger. "We can't let that happen! Do you think you could get us there faster?"

While I'm talking to you lot, no, Shizai said with a hint of a smile. But if you really want to hurry, we can. She stood up and began to walk back towards the bow.

"Wait a second," Stefi said. "You still haven't told us where exactly Fairun is."

You will find her, Shizai said. Just follow the flying ships. She turned to Cédes. And I have the funny feeling that my brother may be of some assistance. I'm sure he doesn't mean to be so violent. She took Cédes's hand and trained her blue eyes upon red. Just... be careful. His nature can be destruction, just like mine is peace. But he's a good guy. Really. Look inside yourself to see that.

She released Cédes's hand and addressed the others one last time. Once we arrive I'll be drawn back to Pheia. So I guess this is goodbye. For now. I wish, Stefi, for you to fare better than Yifunis. I expect to see everyone come out of this again.

Then she turned to Sansonis, speaking to him directly for the first time since the voyage had begun. The whole time she'd avoided catching his attention. And when he did spot her glancing at him she'd hurriedly turned away and found something else to focus on. Your name is Sansonis, isn't it? It wasn't really a question.

"Yes," he said warily.

She seemed to study him for a minute, her eyes boring right through him and causing him to shiver. You look a lot like him, you know. You have his eyes.

"Whose eyes?" Sansonis pressed. "Who do I look like? Do you mean a relative? My real dad?"

No, no. But I knew your great-grandfather. Same name, same eyes, same personality. I just hope it's not the same fate.

"Wait," Sansonis said to her retreating back even though he already knew, if his suspicions were correct, that she wouldn't go into any details. "He was a Fieretka too? Why didn't you tell me before?"

Because, she said, it is my fault that he and the others died. I'm the reason why Yifunis had to raise their son alone.

Before he could ask any more, Shizai was gone, and the Valtela began its final stretch towards Sol-Acrima.

In the silence that followed, Sansonis was acutely aware that six pairs of eyes, one unseeing, were being trained upon him. He turned away in discomfort, his mind spinning with the first news of his real family: that his great-grandfather was a Fieretka; that through him he was related to the previous Fieretsi.

"What should I do?" Ifaut hissed in Stefi's ear. "I know there are times when I really should leave him be, but is this one of them?" She bounced hesitantly on the balls of her feet.

"No, go to him. Make sure he's all right. It's a lot to take in, you know."

Ifaut nodded and approached him. "Hey." She patted his shoulder. "Are you okay?"

Sansonis turned to face her and, to her surprise, he was smiling. "Of course I am! This is the first news of my real family. And to think, my great-granddad was a Fieretka too. And my great-grandma was like Stefi. Whoa... This Fieretka thing must run in the family, huh?"

Ifaut stared dumbly, her mouth hanging agape.

"You catching flies now?" He laughed.

She slammed her mouth shut so hard her teeth made an audible clack. "No! I... I just expected you to be upset, you know. I think we all did!" She laughed nervously as her gaze darted about, disappointed that she wouldn't be able to comfort him.

"One more piece of the puzzle has revealed itself," Rhaka said, barely audible. "I, too, have been curious as to your past. When I found your real father dying, he managed only to tell me your name before passing on. Little did I know that it was connected to the Fieretka, both past and present."

"It's great, isn't it?" Sansonis said, uncharacteristically bright. "I bet we'll find more answers in Sol-Acrima. Just think, I may finally find out who I really am."

Ifaut gave him a puzzled look, tilting her head to one side. "Aren't you who you are now? You won't change when you find out more, will you?"

He laughed. "Don't worry. If anything, you've changed me more than anything else!"

She gasped and turned to Stefi for help.

"That's good," Stefi mouthed and flashed a thumbs-up.

Ifaut smiled and latched onto Sansonis so enthusiastically that he nearly toppled over. "I'll help you find out about your past," she said and leaned her head on his shoulder. "But you have to promise me something, m'kay?" She turned her head and gazed almost drunkenly into his eyes, a sickeningly sweet expression on her face.

"What's that?"

"Don't change any more."

"I promise."

"Good," she said and felt a warmth spreading throughout her, a warmth comparable to that when she drank chocolate. But she hadn't drunk chocolate for some time. Then a realization bubbled up to her head, buoyed upon the rising light-headedness she felt. No, she thought, they were kamaes, that's all. It was natural for her to feel close to and protective of him. And how could she feel anything more with him being a Kalkic human? It wasn't right, she told herself. But... why not?

The next moment another wave of warmth hit her, washing away all counter-arguments to her feelings. That was when she let the truth flow through her and she felt freer than she had ever felt before. She was in love.

Sometime that was still closer to midday than evening, Sol-Acrima, seat of the worship of Kardin and the humans' capital city, came into clear view.

"I hate to say this," Stefi said in an awestruck voice, "but it's beautiful."

"And I hate to say that I agree with you," Sansonis added.

"Yup," Ifaut said. "Shiny!"

Before them, sprawling alongside the sea before climbing majestically up the face of a cliff, lay their destination. In front of the city itself was a vast harbor that had formed centuries ago when the hillside had blown itself apart with unfathomable violence. The same explosion had left behind a deep caldera. Any ships moored within were guaranteed a safe resting place, protected from the strong southerly winds by the rocks looming from the water.

Further back from the harbor, and rising in giant's steps hewn from the dead earth, perched the lower quarters of the capital: bustling merchant levels into which scores of visiting ships unloaded their cargoes. They seemed to rise to dizzying heights above the caldera, finally giving way to the truly shining upper reaches that overlooked the sea. The soaring buildings of the rich and the church spires towered high above the sea, palatial in their grandeur and made from materials sourced from all across Feregana: cedar from the Terania Forest north of Acharn; the famed marble of many hues from the eastern Sumarana mountains; and the strangely luminescent stone columns hauled from the storm-riven ruins of Alzandia.

From either side of the crescent harbor two lighthouses reached up the cliff-face, stabbing skywards. They were built from blocks of pink and white Sumaranan marble, and their colors seemed to shift in the sunlight. At each of their tops sat a great array of mirrors. Come night great fires were lit within so that they cast their light over the seas to warn and guide ships through the darkness. And by day those same mirrors cast rays of light across the sea and city.

Stefi, holding Cédes's shaking hand, had nearly finished describing the capital when the Furosan interrupted.

"And are there two towers of light?" she asked nervously.

Stefi blinked rapidly in surprise. "How do you know that?"

"Because... I have seen this place before, in my dreams."

"Like in a vision?"

"No. More of a shard of a vision," Cédes said. "Something not quite whole, if you understand."

"I think so," Stefi said, completely the opposite of how she really thought. Even though she could talk to ferrets, she had no idea of the inner workings of a Furosan's mind. Especially one that could see the future.

As the Valtela drew so close that they could make out the vague shapes of people, there was a great noise like crashing surf and the boat began to slow, now drifting on the shoreward breeze.

"She's gone," Stefi said with sadness in her voice. She had to admit she'd grown, as Sansonis would say, rather fond of the watery ferret. Her knowledge on the past Fieretka (even if she kept it to herself) and their next destination, along with her somewhat strange, changeable emotions had made her a welcome presence. Reflected in her watery eyes Stefi imagined she could see parts of herself, both what was visible and what was not, reflections that could help her through what might well be the most dangerous part of her journey. Reflections, perhaps, that might prevent the present mirroring the past.

At that moment the sun reached such a point that as it shone upon the great mirrors, one of the towers threw a dazzling beam straight at the Valtela.

Cédes screamed, a high-pitched peal that made Rhaka cringe in pain. A golden shaft of light struck her in the eyes with such force that it might as well have been solid. Her legs collapsed beneath her and she fell, still screaming horrifically and with blind eyes burning in agony, to her knees.

"Cédes? Cédes!" Stefi shouted. The Furosan's screaming rang in her ears. She knelt down and tried to wrap a comforting arm about her shoulder. It sprang back just as she touched her. She looked at her hand as her ears felt ready to bleed in pain. It was singed. Cédes was aflame.

Ignoring the pain, Stefi grasped Cédes's shoulder, shaking her until the screaming and flames subsided. The two collapsed in an ungainly heap. Cédes barely moved.

"What... happened?" Stefi panted as she sat up and cradled Cédes's head in her hands.

Cédes turned her red eyes upward, feeling like she was trying to push the world with the effort. "Stefi..." she said. "Everyone..." Her voice fell flat and hoarse from her raw throat. "I have had a vision," she whispered so that the humans had to lean closer to hear her, "triggered by the light from those towers, the light that illuminated the lost shards of a shattered vision containing them. They have reformed, forming a near-legible whole." Tormented by what she had seen, her hands flew to her face and she slapped feebly at her eyes.

Sansonis restrained her, struggling under her surprising strength. The muscles in her arm were taut and strained like bowstrings.

"Fire," she sobbed, although her eyes remained disturbingly dry. "Death at my hands. I cannot continue! Turn back!"

"What is it? What did you see?" Stefi asked. The raw pain in hands had become a distant throbbing, far removed from her body. But she knew it couldn't compare to the anguish of Cédes's mind.

"Two of us will perish in this accursed place," she managed to say. "Two of us will perish through my blame... and there is nothing we can do to stop it."

Chapter XIX: Chasing the Wind

Pheia's continued trip towards Leibos had gone surprisingly well. After dying and then meeting the human girl Stefi in the fog of Chalja, nothing else even remotely interesting had happened. No, the journey had carried on at a disappointing and lonely pace. Not even her stone's glow was there to keep her company. The elemental from within, Shizai, was spending time with the Fieretka now; not that she'd ever shown herself to Pheia. Still, she couldn't help but feel a little jealous.

After leaving Chalja, the rolling hills had begun to flatten out and give way to vast grassy plains. There was little cover and even less shade available, save for scraps of shadow caught beneath stunted trees, but the abundant wildlife was enough to keep her going. That, and the thought of soon meeting the Fieretka in person.

One afternoon she was surprised to hear an odd popping sound overhead, closely followed by a shower of water. She looked skywards. Only a few skinny and starved looking clouds lazed high in the sky. They were certainly not large enough to wring any water from their bones.

Why, hello there, sunshine!

Pheia turned to find herself face to face with perhaps the most beautiful Furosan she had ever seen. She could tell right away that such beauty, although pleasing, was somehow not quite natural. What really gave it away was the way the Furosan's transparent form shimmered with sunlight.

"Shizai?"

Of course, who else? the elemental said as she quivered with excitement.

"If you're here then that means... the Fieretka have made it to land?" she asked and felt herself growing almost as excited as Shizai.

Yup. Right now they should be entering Sol-Acrima. And that is where we too are headed.

"What about Leibos?"

Change of plan, princess. The Fieretka have come to you. Now we just need to bear a little west and we should be there by tomorrow if we hurry. How's that sound?

Pheia didn't answer for a moment. She wanted to say that it sounded dangerous, but she'd already faced death itself. What could be more dangerous? She soon found herself walking again with Shizai at her side.

The elemental stared at her with her moist eyes. We'll be fine, Shizai said, jolting Pheia from her daze. There are worse things than death, but not many

"But... but..." Pheia stammered, "how did you know what I was thinking?"

Shizai grinned and a laugh bubbled from her throat. I have been around for a very long time. The expressions of you mortals always give away what you're thinking, if you care to look for the signs.

"Mortals?" Pheia protested, although she too was smiling. "All right, if you're so good, what am I thinking now?"

Shizai furrowed her brow. Physically impossible. You're more than welcome to try, though.

"I guess this is it," Stefi said. Her voice shook as Sansonis steered the Valtela alongside a vacant dock amidst dozens of other vessels. As they approached, several men rushed over and began to moor their vessel with thick ropes.

"Yes. It," Sansonis said through clenched teeth. "Everyone ready?"

"Yes," Cédes said from beneath a large, dirty cloth that had been tied to resemble heavy robes that obscured her features. "I am sorry I am unable to hide us this time. I am most agitated."

"That's all right. Ifaut, hurry up and put that hat on," Sansonis said. Then, "So that it covers your ears. And dad, no talking, no matter what."

"Understood," Rhaka answered from the end of a rope leash. His glow and scar were obscured by dirt and grease.

"He just talked!" Ifaut said as she repositioned her battered straw hat.

"Same goes for you," Sansonis shot back. "Not one dook out of you, got it?"

She nodded somberly

"Good. And Stefi, why are we here?"

"Real reason," she said, making sure the ferrets were comfortable on her shoulders, "to save Fairun. Real reason, we're making a pilgrimage to the main temple of Kardin, Dai-Rada."

"Two real reasons?" Ifaut asked. "Now I'm confused..."

"What did I say about talking?" Sansonis said.

"Oops. Sorry."

"Perhaps we should have brought a muzzle," Rhaka said slyly, but he too was quickly silenced by Sansonis.

"Why are you so serious?" Stefi asked. "We're all nervous about what Cédes saw, you know. But it doesn't mean she's right." She sounded like she was trying to convince herself as well as Sansonis. Cédes had predicted her death once before. That meant, she thought, she was likely one of the two.

"You don't understand. This place is where every law and habit regarding the maltreatment of Kalkic, Furosan, and Otsukuné ever originated. And then Cédes goes and has a vision of two of us dying. It'll be no picnic." He flashed a glance at Ifaut.

Before he could elaborate, two men suddenly came on board. The shorter of the two, a wide-eyed young man nervously clutching a clipboard and pencil, hung back as a large, weather-beaten man with gray wisps of facial hair clinging to his chin came forward.

"Welcome to Sol-Acrima," the latter said in a tired, rehearsed voice. "Before disembarking into the city you must first complete the appropriate paperwork. First, name of vessel's owner?"

"Maya, Maya Valtela," Sansonis answered in a voice nearly as well rehearsed. "Same as the boat's." The smaller man hurriedly scribbled the answer.

"Reason for visit?"

"To visit the temples, specifically Dai-Rada."

"Even though you're a Kalkic?" the man asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes. Some of us still seek mercy, even if we will never be near to Kardin."

The answer seemed to please the man, because he continued, "And finally, duration of visit?"

"One week."

"Very well." The man sighed as his attendant's pencil finished scratching. "We'll take care of the vessel from here, fee to be arranged and paid on departure." He moved to allow the Fieretka past, adding, "There's been tell of Furosan terrorists in Valraines. Be on the lookout for any suspicious characters."

"So," Stefi said, barely suppressing a giggle as they made their through the harbor and towards the large steps that led to the next level of the lower city, "how long do you think we've got until they realize that boat's not owned by a ferret?"

"Well," Sansonis said, "if Elian's been here before, they'll probably check their records and find out pretty quickly. By then we should be in the upper city where we can lose ourselves amongst the crowds."

"You haven't been here before, have you?"

"No. Why?"

"It's just that you seem to know a bit about this place."

"It always pays to know your enemy," he said with a smile. "I've been thinking about what'll happen here for the past few days."

"When you should've been thinking about something else," she hinted, a twinkle in her eye.

"Like what? Great, I forgot something, didn't I?"

"Just that weird little thing beside you!"

"I didn't forget her," he said and grabbed the Ifaut's hand. She barely noticed; she was too busy staring open-mouthed at everything about her. "She's the one I've been worrying about the most."

For several hours the Fieretka made their way through Sol-Acrima's lower levels, ignoring the constant aural bombardments issuing from merchants urging them to buy something. Several times Stefi and Sansonis found themselves having to restrain Cédes and Ifaut as they were reeled in by the alluring smells that had hooked their sensitive noses. Since leaving the harbor they had escaped the salt tang of the sea and pungent aroma of fish. Everyone, ferrets included, found the new atmosphere of spices, foods, and thousands of unusual goods to be much more agreeable.

"Can't we just buy some food?" Cédes asked. She sniffed from beneath her makeshift hooded robes. "It will be, as you would say, my treat."

"I think we can take you up on your offer," Stefi said with a smile as she took some coins from her hand, her share of Elian's reward for turning them in. "You just tell me what you want."

Cédes followed her nose to a small shop that opened directly onto the street with a sheet of old sailcloth providing shade. Several pots sat bubbling on a stove; their sounds reminded Cédes of the warmth and love of home-cooked food.

"The second one from the right, please," she asked the woman owner, who soon returned with a bowl and two slender wooden sticks. Stefi paid for it.

"So," Cédes said hesitantly as she prodded the chicken and rice dish with the sticks, "how does one use these utensils?"

"Ah, chopsticks!" Stefi said with a laugh. "I heard they're pretty common over here. Come on, let's sit down and I'll show you." She led Cédes to a gnarled old oak girdled with an uneven wooden bench while Sansonis and Ifaut went off for their food.

They sat down beneath the shifting, whispering leaves as patches of sunlight flickered about them.

"Here," Stefi said, "take the first one and rest it across your hand like this." She carefully slid one stick into Cédes's hand. "And just put the other one between your thumb and main finger," she added as she guided Cédes's grasp.

Cédes jerked as a small shock shot up her arm and down her back, tingling under Stefi's cool hand. She gasped.

"What's wrong?"

"N-nothing," Cédes stammered. "I'm just surprised I managed to work it out! You know how clumsy I am." She tried to shake the strange, unfamiliar feeling. But a small part of her didn't want it to leave. And a small part of her wanted Stefi's hand to stay there. And another part, bigger than the rest, wanted to seize her human friend's hand and not let go.

"We're back!" Ifaut's voice yanked Cédes from her thoughts.

"Yes, I'm sure they can see that," Sansonis said. His voice was strained. When the smell of her food reached Cédes's nose, she thought she could tell why.

"Miss Ifaut, is that an entire leg of roast lamb?" she asked.

"Yup!" Ifaut squeaked. "I hope it wasn't too expensive."

"Of course not. As long as it makes you happy. And Sansonis, enjoy your vegetables too, won't you?"

"Of course, Lady Cédes. Thanks again."

Ifaut eyed up Sansonis's plate of stir-fried vegetables as they sat down. "Are you sure you don't want some meat?" she asked, fussing like a concerned mother. "A growing guy like you needs lots of meat. We can't have you getting all weak on us."

"No, I'm fine. I didn't get many veges growing up, so I suppose I'm making up for lost time," he said as Ifaut tore off a chunk of meat and swallowed it without chewing. A startled Stefi hurried off to get her own food before her appetite vanished. "And please chew first," Sansonis said. "What you're doing's just... scary."

"And bad for your digestion," Cédes added.

"Who cares?" Ifaut said nervously. "Life's too short to chew!"

Sansonis couldn't be sure, but a slight tremble in her words made him wonder if she was affected, in her own way, by what Cédes had seen; not that she'd admit it.

Stefi returned a moment later carrying some chicken for the ferrets and a sandwich for herself. "How're the chopsticks?" she asked as she joined Cédes and her nearly empty bowl.

"Even without sight they are easy enough once you have mastered them," she said proudly, her thoughts wandering back to Stefi's touch. The taste of her food was all but unnoticed on her tongue. "And quite a fun way to enjoy food."

Once everyone had finished they continued their journey to the upper reaches of the city, their spirits lifted by the good food in their stomachs and Cédes's vision forgotten for the present. Instead they concerned themselves with drinking in the sights until they became intoxicated by the bright colors and surges of people.

"Hey, look at that sign!" Ifaut's voice fought to rise above the murmuring of the crowds. She screwed up her face in concentration, making her soft features distort. "It says... 'airship reedays'?" she said, putting the utmost effort into reading the human letters, forgotten since childhood, that Sansonis had so patiently helped her relearn aboard the Valtela.

"Rides," Sansonis said. "It's one of those words that sound slightly different to the way they're spelled."

She sighed. "I still think it's a silly way to write. Our way's much better."

"Really?" he asked. "You Furosans use a syllabary for a language that isn't even syllabic! That's silly."

"I agree," Cédes said. "Our language has changed over time but our writing has not. Perhaps we do not notice the difficulties since we are so accustomed to it. But at least we in Mafouras do not cling to an awkward system of ideograms. Can you believe that those of Acharn used to use thousands of signs?"

"And," Rhaka added, "the Otsukuné have always transmitted their ideas without writing. I once thought it was an ideal way, relying on one's own acumen to keep history alive, but now all that knowledge is lost."

Before they could discuss further the advantages and disadvantages of types of writing, and before Ifaut could tell Rhaka to be quiet, a quite exasperated Stefi butted in.

"Don't you remember what we're here for?"

"The real reason or the real reason?" Ifaut asked, looking quite puzzled as she licked her greasy fingers.

"The Fairun reason." Stefi felt her patience wearing thin. "Remember what Shizai said? 'Just follow the flying ships.' Well, here we are. So, Ifaut, what does the rest of the sign say?"

"Airship rides," she said hesitantly, "around the harbor... the perfect trip for-" The words stuck in her throat. She cleared it with an awkward cough and continued, "The perfect trip for lovers." She blushed a bright red. "Only 30 manyas."

"Very good," Stefi said. "But why are you blushing, hmm?"

"I... I was nervous about reading."

Stefi wasn't convinced. "It's all right," she said and winked. "I know reading can be hard." Stefi had managed to read something more difficult than letters: Ifaut's true feelings. Sure, she could tease her for her earlier crush on Sansonis, but really, only a crush can be the subject of good-natured teasing. This now seemed something more, something to be admired rather than the subject of childish giggles.

"Can I help you guys?" A voice startled Stefi from her thoughts and the others from their conversation. She looked up to see a young man perhaps three or four years older than herself. He grinned down at them from his tall frame, his face partially shaded by a cap decorated with various bits of glinting metal. He held out an oily hand in greeting. "You interested in the rides? The name's Djidou Denovian XIII," he said.

Stefi hesitantly shook his hand, much to Ifaut's delight at this strange human custom being repeated again; she pointed and whispered excitedly, "There it is again!"

"I'm Stefi," she said. She withdrew her hand and wiped it on her skirt. "And yes, you could say we're interested in an airship ride. Could you just give us a minute?"

"Sure thing," Djidou said and returned to a bench situated a way back behind the sign, where he busied himself wiping the oil from his hands.

"What do you think?" Stefi whispered. "This looks like our chance but, forgive me for saying so, I don't see how this will help us out. We need to find where Fairun's being kept to make these, not exactly the ships themselves."

"Perhaps he can tell us," Sansonis said, "though it'll probably make him suspicious, especially if he's heard of what happened in Valraines. Still, this is our only lead so far."

"You know," Ifaut said as she bared her teeth and cracked her knuckles, "I can be remarkably persuasive sometimes."

"No!" Cédes's red eyes flared beneath her hooded robes. "We cannot hurt anyone else to further our ends. I am sure we could get him to help us without resorting to violence."

"Fine then," Ifaut said and stared at the ground.

"Hey, Ifaut," Stefi said, giving in to the urge to tease her at least a little, "how about you persuade yourself to open up a little?"

Ifaut responded by blushing yet again and slipping her hand into Sansonis's. She said nothing but stroked his hand with her thumb, wishing that she really could persuade herself to tell him how she felt. She knew she would one day. Provided, of course, she wasn't one of the ones perhaps fated to die here. If only this airship ride was just for her and Sansonis. She zoned out and slipped into the world of her fantasies as easily as falling asleep.

"Persuasion aside," Stefi continued, "I say we take the ride. I'll try and slip in a mention of how they work, you know, put on my feminine charm." She batted her eyelashes and smiled stupidly.

"Does this charm go on a bracelet? Or perhaps a necklace?" Cédes asked.

"My personality. It's a human expression, silly."

"Oh."

"Do what you must," Rhaka said, "provided I can stay firmly on the ground."

Sansonis shot him a stern glance, more fatherly than filial. "Do you really want to be stuck alone in this place?"

Rhaka didn't reply, but everyone understood that he would be going. They counted out some of Elian's reward money, enough for four people to ride, and threw in a few extra coins for Rhaka and the ferrets.

"So," Djidou said and climbed languidly to his feet as they approached, "I take it you've made up your mind?" He took the fare from Stefi and counted it out. Something must have bothered him because he counted it a second time. Then a third. "You know, I'm pretty stupid when it comes to numbers and stuff, but you've overpaid a bit, eh."

"That's for the dog and my two ferrets," Stefi said, her voice so sickly sweet it would put even an emotional Ifaut to shame.

"Animals are free, as long as they don't leave a mess." He laughed.

Rhaka growled and Maya grumbled something about there not being any guarantees once they were high above the sea.

"You keep it," Stefi said and flipped her hair coquettishly, "as a tip for the great flight we're about to have."

Djidou, cocking his head, looked at her with a hint of suspicion. "Thanks," he said. "Meet me up in the airship docks in an hour. You know where they are? Of course not, you've gotta be tourists, dressed like that." He spoke rapidly while packing up his temporary workstation. "Just keep heading upwards, second level down from the upper city, can't miss it. I'll see you up there soon."

He hurried off, leaving the Fieretka standing there feeling like a wind had just blown past them and ruffled their clothes.

"He seems all right," Sansonis said. "He was pretty concerned about the money, but not in the same way as a certain other person we trusted. And Stefi, please do us a favor"

"What's that?"

"Maybe learn a little something from Ifaut?"

"What do you mean?"

Ifaut answered. "You were laying it on a bit thick. Be a bit more subtle, silly." Then thinking of her own way of expressing her true feelings, she let loose a high, clear laugh. "More subtle than this though!" she said as she seized Sansonis in a hug, and with all eyes and ears trained on her she added, "I love you."

Chapter XX: Where "Weasels" Dare

It didn't take the Fieretka much more than an hour to find the airship docks right where Djidou had said they would be. But it would take them all, especially Sansonis, much longer to forget Ifaut's little confession. Stefi was hardly surprised, but Cédes's bumbled reaction in her own tongue had caused her to worry. Once the pale Furosan had finished, looking quite out of breath, Stefi said to Ifaut, "Does that mean she approves?"

"You know what?" Ifaut whispered back, "I could barely understand her myself. She said something about it not being right, though she doesn't really care." She smiled broadly. "It doesn't matter to me!"

"And Sansonis? You okay?" Stefi asked with a wink.

The Kalkic shrugged and didn't respond. Such behavior was hardly surprising from Ifaut, but to admit love? And even then, what sort of love? Friendship? Romantic? Obsessive? He would have bet on the last one. Even if the others knew better.

"I'll take that as a yes."

They carried on in silence trying to find Djidou's ship. Before them lay yet another level like the ones they had already passed through, only it was swept clean of the shops and crowds. With only one more level above them before the city settled out and sprawled inland, the sky somehow seemed more open. Its welcoming expanse spread out ready to accept large objects that looked as if they could never even get off the ground, let alone stay up there. Far above the sea and away from the crowds the very air seemed clearer, not choked by the smoke and smells of the lower city.

Four ships sat on the bare ground liked beached whales, their hulking forms lounging in the sun. But they looked like distant relatives to those that went by sea. While the basic designs were the same, the contraptions looked strange and foreign. Like ships of the sea they had wooden hulls, only the bottoms were flat with long skids incorporating leaf springs–one at the bow, two at the stern–to allow them to land upon the ground. And they were somewhat smaller, with all unnecessary weight removed to aid in flight. While they had masts and sails, collapsible stabilizing wings of wood and heavy fabric swept back from port and starboard, and large engines perched on the stern, each wielding long, dangerous looking propellers that could easily decapitate the unwary.

"Just how do these things stay in the air?" Stefi mused.

"Because they're so damn ugly that the ground doesn't want 'em back," a soft voice answered from behind.

Stefi turned to find herself face to freckled-face with a Kalkic girl whose gray eyes were framed by thick-rimmed glasses. Her hair, the blue of the evening sky, fell in twin fountain-like pigtails to just below her shoulders.

"That makes sense." Stefi shrugged. She eyed up the Kalkic girl as she emanated a sense of familiarity, a familiarity she couldn't quite place. "Don't I know you from somewhere?"

The girl also shrugged. "Probably." She cocked her head at Stefi and studied her thoughtfully for a moment. "Ah well, it'll come to me. You're the one's Djidou sent, right? Come aboard," she said and motioned towards a ship that was smaller than the rest. It was much smaller than the other ships, about the same size as Elian's vessel that they'd left far below, something that looked like it could zip with ease through the sky and dive through the clouds. The strange name Viva was emblazoned on the side, painted to resemble flames. An odd touch, Stefi thought.

"Djidou will be here in a moment," the Kalkic girl continued as she approached a ladder leaning against the smaller airship. "Right, everyone up after me," she said and scurried up out of sight.

Ifaut watched her go then turned to Stefi. "Sansonis should go first," she said and let go of his hand, "because Stefi and me are both wearing skirts."

Sansonis sighed and climbed up, where he was soon joined by the others, and Ifaut once more caught his hand in her possessive grip. Her act was quickly noticed by the Kalkic girl, who flashed her a smile.

"It's good to see there're more Kalkic and human couples. I thought me and Djidou were the only one."

"N-n-no," Ifaut stammered, "I'm not-" But before she could finish, Sansonis stomped on her foot. Even she realized that it meant to shut up.

"Yeah, because I'm the Kalkic." Sansonis forced a laugh as his heart thumped at the near miss.

The girl smiled. "And just between you and me, I think other humans are a bit strange. Maybe that's why we like them, eh?"

Again Ifaut made to point out that she wasn't human and again Sansonis silenced her with a gentle elbow.

"Oh yeah," the Kalkic girl continued as she looked about, "I haven't even introduced myself. I'm Lisé Adnamis, but most everyone just calls me Adnamis. I guess you could also call me Djidou's girlfriend."

Everyone else introduced themselves, except for Rhaka and Cédes, who were introduced as Sansonis's dog and Stefi's elderly grandmother respectively.

"And judging by your getup, you're tourists, yeah?" Adnamis continued.

"Yes," Stefi said. She looked over herself. "But what's wrong with our clothes, anyway?"

"Oh, nothing, nothing!" Adnamis shook her hands dismissively. "The style's just different, that's all." Indeed, compared with the Kalkic girl, the others were dressed quite modestly. Her clothing, shorts and a shirt cut off just above her pierced navel, reflected the warmer Sol-Acriman climate. "That, and your accents stand out a little, especially Sansonis's girlfriend's."

"I-I'm not his girlfriend," Ifaut stammered as her eyes darted about nervously, seeking something to change the present course of the conversation.

"Oh, sorry," Adnamis said, "I just assumed..."

"Don't worry," Stefi cut in, "it's complicated. For what it's worth she might as well be."

"Yeah, I know how it is. People still don't accept me and Djidou but I don't really care anymore. It can be difficult, living here of all places, but you can't beat the lifestyle. And when the airship technology improves we're going to set out and find the others."

"Others?" Stefi echoed.

"Kalkics. Not all of us stayed behind when the church first kicked us out." She turned her vacant gaze out over the sea and sadness crept into her voice. "Most of us headed north to new lands, but what happened to them... I don't know. Do you, Sansonis?" she asked hopefully.

He shook his head. "No idea, but I have Ifaut and the others, if that's any consolation."

"Yeah, I have Djidou and I suppose that's all that really matters. I'm still curious, though, and he promised me we'll go searching once he can make these things run longer."

Stefi saw her chance to find out more about Fairun and seized it with both hands, thankfully leaving her "charm" behind. "How do these fly?" she asked in what she hoped was an innocent voice. "I mean technically."

"For that you'll have to ask Djidou. After all, he had a hand in perfecting the current technology."

"Too true." Djidou's voice mounted the airship's deck railing a second before he leapt aboard. "Our guests getting curious, are they?"

Adnamis nodded. "Maybe you can explain how this flies."

"All right," Djidou said absently, his eyes skimming over the Fieretka before landing back on the Kalkic girl. "Come with me for a minute." He led Adnamis out of earshot, where the two spoke in hushed tones. All the while they kept casting glances over their shoulders.

"I don't like this," Stefi said as a heavy weight fell into her stomach. "I don't like this at all."

"Neither do I. I feel most uncomfortable," Cédes said. "They seemed trustworthy but perhaps we are again mistaken."

They watched intently, or in Cédes's case waited, as the two continued to talk. Then, before they could react, Djidou shot towards the helm in the middle of the airship and slammed a button on the console there. Immediately a shudder ran through the ship as the engines roared to life and whatever was taken from Fairun freed it from the bonds of gravity. The airship jerked a little, testing its freedom before lurching into the air with such force that the Fieretka were thrown from their feet. Within seconds the ship was heading out to open air and away from the city. Even if they had been foolish enough to jump there hadn't been enough time. They were trapped. Again.

Once the Fieretka regained their footing, Ifaut drew her sword and Sansonis a knife, while Stefi gripped her staff in preparation for a fight. It wouldn't come.

"I'm really sorry about that," Adnamis said as she approached, hands held out to show she was unarmed. "We know exactly who you are and probably why you're asking how these fly."

"Then you must know," Stefi said, "that we aren't afraid to fight."

Adnamis just laughed. It was a reaction that took all the strength from Stefi's hands. "We are afraid to fight, you know. Stefi, my childhood friend, we need you and your friends' help."

"Childhood friend? Help?" Stefi gasped and dropped her staff as realization took hold. "Of course! You're Lisé who used to live in Sumarana. You and your mum just up and left when we were little and everyone said you had to leave your farm. I didn't recognize you!" she blurted out. She stumbled forward and embraced the Kalkic girl. "I always wondered what happened to you..."

"Dad's land title was always tenuous, and when he died we came here. But mum... she died shortly after. Then I met Djidou. The rest can wait. We need your help."

"Help?" Stefi said again and released her. She picked up her staff.

"Yes, your help," Djidou said. "We know what you did in Valraines. We know what you're capable of."

Stefi, her suspicions increasing, quickly leapt back on the defensive. "How do we know we can trust you? If you know what we did in Valraines, then you must know why we did it."

"The papers said you were a rogue human siding with a Kalkic and Furosan terrorist group, that you just wanted to kill people," Djidou said. He stared into the slightly clouded sky that reflected in his blue eyes. "Frankly, I think it's crap."

"Crap?" Ifaut and Cédes both piped up simultaneously.

"Nonsense," Sansonis hissed.

Djidou turned to them with a smile. "See? That's what made it so easy to recognize you guys. That, and your clothes."

"What's wrong with them?" Ifaut shouted. "If anything, you look weird." She pouted at his singlet and narrowed her eyes.

"Nothing's wrong, little kitty. They're just different..."

"Kitty?" Ifaut roared, her face growing a different kind of red than it normally did. "Kitty?" She leapt forward only for Sansonis to grab the tip of her tail as it slipped from her shirt and pull her back as if she was on a leash. The force knocked the hat from her head, revealing her Furosan ears.

"See these?" she shouted, still straining at Sansonis's grasp until her tail was pulled taught. "Do these look like the ears of a firiksa kitty?"

"Oh, definitely!" Djidou laughed, only fanning the flames.

Ifaut leapt forward again, now tugging even harder, her claws stretched towards the airship pilot's throat.

"Ifaut, stop," Sansonis said.

She paid no heed.

Sansonis sighed and let go. Free from his hand, she lurched forward, tripped over her own feet, and landed on her stomach, her limbs splayed in imitation of one of the starfish on Valraines's beaches. She didn't move.

"Is... is she going to be okay?" Djidou said and stifled a laugh.

"No," Sansonis said, his face dead straight. "This is what she's always like. But it makes her interesting." He hauled her to her feet and she collapsed, embarrassed, into his arms.

"As you were saying about needing our help," Stefi said impatiently.

"As I was saying, we know you, or at least one of you, are capable of great destruction. We need to use that to blow up something big. Very big."

"Another airship?" Stefi asked.

"Close. Bigger."

"Your ugly face?" Ifaut hissed.

Djidou grinned. "Even bigger, little kitty."

"Let me guess," Sansonis grunted as he restrained Ifaut again, "an airship factory?"

"Bingo."

Then Cédes spoke. Her eyes smoldered like two embers in the darkness of her hood, and her voice was heavy and threatening anger much like a storm cloud threatens a deluge. "Even if I were to believe this remarkable coincidence, Mister Djidou, I shall not use my... capabilities... for any more loss of life. There must be an alternative to 'blowing up' a factory. And yet I must caution you that, even if I should be inclined towards destroying something so big, I find it doubtful that a human has the same goals as us."

Djidou laughed bitterly and Adnamis shot him a worried look. "Believe me, fiery kitty, I want to destroy that place as much as you guys, if not more. It's that damn stone."

"Do you mean the stone from which you humans drain the power to make these horrible machines fly?" Cédes said.

"That stone. I was the one who started all this. Now I have to stop it somehow."

A laugh of disbelief forced its way from Cédes's throat. "Ha! If you are the wretched excuse for a living being who started this... this terrible deed, why seek now to stop it?"

"The dreams," Djidou said. The smile was gone from his face that was now shadowed ominously beneath his cap. "That stone, whatever it really is, is dying. At first I thought it was some long lost Furosan technology. Until it started screaming in pain in my dreams and begging to be released."

Cédes clenched her fists. "You have got what you deserve, miserable human. We seek to save the stone for Fairun's own good, yet you seek to destroy it to unburden your own selfish being. I refuse to help you." Cédes turned her back to the human voice that so enraged her and fueled her anger, growing increasingly livid that the one responsible for Fairun's pain now stood near enough to spit upon. She said no more, fearing that if she did the flames now arcing between her fingers would grow in ferocity; the flames that now had nothing to do with the stone safely packed in her pocket. But they were nothing compared to the tears of conflict that marred her face.

'If my anger is so great that even it wishes to cause destruction, by Feregana,' she thought, 'what have I become? My unbridled rage might yet be that which takes two of us to the Bridge.'

"Doesn't like humans much, does she?" Djidou said.

"No, she loves humans," Stefi said coldly. "How could you tell?"

She almost expected Cédes's clear voice to pipe in "sarcasm". Nothing came. She suddenly felt very alone despite the presence of her friends.

"Then we need another plan," Djidou said. "I think I understand, even if we did blow the crap out of that factory, it would end its suffering in the wrong way. You guys need it whole, don't you? For something a tad more important than making flying ships, that is. That's why you're here."

Stefi nodded. "We can't tell you everything, at least not yet, but it's very important that we save her. Can you at least go in and grab the stone first?"

Djidou shook his head. "Sorry, no can do. Not just anyone can walk in there and take it. Besides, I quit working there over a week ago. Thought it might stop the dreams. It hasn't. Maybe it means I'm supposed to do something about it."

"You can start by telling us what they're doing with her," Stefi said as Djidou settled the ship onto a steady course above the open ocean. She was so worked up she didn't even register how high up they were.

As the Fieretka sat down to listen, Cédes still retained her distance, though more out of fear than anger. One ear twitched occasionally, snatching words from the crisp air.

"This stone, this Fairun as you call it, is hooked up to a machine that drains its energy. We found that the stone itself had the power to make things float on air. Leave it on a table long enough, and soon enough its power leaks out and the table starts to rise. Then we found out how to drain its power into ordinary stones that could act like miniature versions of it. They were smaller, but they were strong enough to lift ships, so we made a few adjustments and bam! You get this thing. And by regulating the energy output we can change altitude and even power those propellers. But like a sea ship we still need the sail to conserve energy."

"That's terrible," Stefi said while shaking her head. "Do you think you can keep draining her power forever?"

"No, and that's precisely why I hear those damn screams whenever I try to sleep, isn't it? I tried to tell the other researchers. Those idiots just laughed. So I quit and started out offering tours on my own to make a living. It's not like I was needed once the technology was pretty well perfected, anyway."

"Look, we're running out of time," Stefi said. "Can you get us the stone somehow?"

"I know damn well we're running out of time." Djidou punched the wheel and shook his sore fist. "The nightly screams are getting worse, and when I left the stone seemed... sick." He looked up for the first time in ages, finally making contact with Stefi's coldly intimidating eyes. He glanced at the ferrets on either shoulder, then back at Stefi's eyes, then back at the ferrets again. "Wait, weasels are little thieves, aren't they?" His voice wavered under Stefi's glare.

"I don't know, but ferrets are," she said warily. "Why?"

"Then we have another way."

Tell me again, Maya muttered the next morning as he scuttled through a narrow metal tunnel, how we got talked into this.

Because the humans and Furosans are all too big, Gemmie said, her voice quivering with excitement. Her tiny nose zoomed along millimeters from the dust carpeting their confines. She sneezed and her head jerked violently.

And why do I have to wear this itchy thing? he complained as the leather contraption he was wearing left tracks in the dust like a sled might in snow.

Because you're twice the size of me. Gemmie sighed. Now shut up and look for the keys.

The itchy thing, as Maya called it, was his old walking harness that Djidou had reinforced and modified in a few minutes to carry a tough drawstring pouch. Stefi, remembering with a smile the "keys" episode in Valraines's prison, had insisted that the ferrets have an easier way to retrieve Fairun's stone once they'd found it. And despite Maya's protracted protestations, the harness and pouch had been fitted to him since, as the bigger of the two, he was better able to get it out again.

A few minutes after Stefi's hesitant hands had slipped them into a ventilation duct, the two ferrets came to a crossroads of sorts. The narrow tunnels that provided fresh air to the immense facility riddled its walls like rabbit warrens, the perfect size for the ferrets' tubular bodies. In fact, were it not for the stark, unnatural nature of the surroundings, one could almost believe that the little creatures had been custom-designed for such an infiltration.

What way do we go? Gemmie asked. Three separate tunnels branched out before them, illuminated by the cold light that seeped through a grate to their left.

I don't know. You'd think Mr. Weasel could have told us the way.

Do we split up? Gemmie asked. She was nervous at the prospect yet still excited at the many paths waiting before her.

No way! We'll have to try them all. I remember the last time we all split up. Maya's nose sifted the air with loud snorts, filtering the dust to find hidden traces that might reveal the stone's position. The middle one!

And would that be because it smells like food?

If ferrets could blush then Maya would have turned redder than Cédes's eyes. As it was his gaze darted across the floor as it often did when Stefi or Gemmie poked his thoughts.

Yes. Where there's food there's people, too.

No, Gemmie said, taking charge of the situation. We have to stay focused on the keys. But... we do have to pick a way to search first. It might as well be the one that smells good.

The two ferrets scurried off down the center tunnel, skimming and bobbing across the metal floor like stones across a lake. One minute they fought for traction as they scrabbled up rises and the next they slid out of control down slopes, reveling in the new piped playground. And the scent of food grew ever stronger in their noses, a trail of breadcrumbs leading the way.

There it is! Maya said as a grate suddenly broke up the monotony of the floor. The alluring smell of cooked food wafted up through its bars. And from somewhere in the room came a low, constant hum, like the heartbeat of some otherworldly beast.

Yes, Gemmie said, but we're supposed to be looking for the keys, remember?

Oh yeah, the bigger ferret said as he came out of his daze. But look! People! Maybe we can follow them.

They both moved onto the grate to get a better look, careful not to let their feet slip through the gaps. They were perhaps too careful. They didn't notice the creaking beneath them.

"Listen up," one of the vague forms beneath their feet said in a deep voice that demanded respect. "As you all know, the Furosan stone has begun to show severe signs of instability. And with our head researcher gone, the re-stabilization process has run into a wall. However, at the behest of His Holiness Karick IV, we are to rectify the situation immediately despite the risks posed to the stone. The Alzandian assault preparations must continue regardless of our safety. And the stone's."

Oh no... Maya muttered. That name. He couldn't be behind this... just couldn't. His usually confident voice wavered and dissipated like smoke. Ki... la... ra.

Maya... Gemmie licked his face comfortingly with her scratchy tongue. It's okay.

More than any of the Fieretka the male ferret had reason to truly fear and detest the name of Karick, the earthly connection to the human god of Kardin. Karick IV, head of the church and instigator of the attack against Gemmie and Maya's hometown of Farān. A monster that had felled both the human and animal resistance, all in the name of a so-called God. The very resistance composed of Farān's animal occupants and forged in the fires that razed their home. The resistance led by Maya.

Before the man beneath them could continue, the grate beneath the ferrets' feet gave way with a terrible clang.

Chapter XXI: To Save Ferrets

Pheia sighed, yet the shimmering being beside her seemed not to notice. "I thought you said it'd take only a day to reach Sol-Acrima."

Shizai smiled as the afternoon sunshine diffused through body her and cast rainbow shards on the ground. Even an elemental can be wrong, princess. I'm sorry. I suppose I misjudged the distance. Either way, the Fieretka can wait a wee bit longer.

"Are you sure?" Pheia's voice betrayed her frustrated feelings. "How do we know they haven't tried to save Fairun already?"

I know these things, Shizai bubbled.

"Yes," Pheia shot back, "but you do not know the distance to Sol-Acrima."

We all have our weaknesses. Yours is impatience. Mine, a bad sense of direction... and judgment

Pheia's interest piqued at the mention of an immortal elemental having some sort of weakness. "You, having a bad sense of judgment?" she asked incredulously.

Yes, the watery Furosan said. Let me tell you about Yifunis.

"Do you mean the Fieretsi? The one I saw when I died?"

Yes. Now listen...

"What the hell was that?" a man shouted as a metal grate crashed to the floor behind him. Instantly all eyes were drawn to the spot. And the two stunned ferrets sitting astride the fallen grate.

"Get them!" another voice added, and a rain of hands descended from the sky.

Run! Gemmie shouted. She skittered across the tiled floor and slid sideways under a metal cabinet. But Maya hadn't followed. His harness and pouch, the very things that were supposed to save Fairun, were caught.

Hold on! Gemmie cried and, claws slipping on the sleek floor, tried to make her way back to her friend.

No, you get out of here! the bigger ferret said as he puffed his tail and bared his teeth with a hiss. The half-dozen humans surrounding him took a step back.

But- Gemmie began, her own tail puffing in panic.

No butting. This is just like Farān, Gem. I had to leave Kilara behind. Now you have to leave me. Just trust me on this and go get Stefi and the others. It's their turn to save the keys now.

W-what about you? Gemmie's panicked voice stammered, her feelings torn between the conscious desire to save her friend, no matter how hopeless the circumstances, and the instinct to flee.

There are plenty of fingers to taste! he whooped as he sank his teeth into someone's too-curious fingers and drew blood. I'll be fine. I promise.

Gemmie scuttled away as Maya was snatched up as if a many-headed hydra had just plucked him for its meal.

"Those weasels sure are taking their sweet time," Djidou muttered as he popped a sulfur match on his thumbnail and lit a cigarette. He leaned casually against the back wall of the research facility and glanced at the open ventilation shaft. No one had seen them earlier sidling through a back alley behind the towering building.

"For the last time, they're ferrets," Stefi said, her voice as stressed and strained as the rest of her. "They do things in their own time or not at all."

"But it's nearly lunchtime and I'm hungry. You don't think something could have happened, do you?" he asked and exhaled an acrid yet silky cloud of smoke.

Ifaut watched it with wide eyes. She poked Sansonis and pointed. "Look! He has the smoky sticks too! Are you sure I can't have one?"

"Very sure," Sansonis said. Before he could say more, Stefi caught their attention.

"Shh!" she hissed and held up a hand for silence.

The ensuing quiet was marred by Ifaut's, "Are you really sure?"

"Yes! Now shut up, would you?"

The Furosan withdrew her inquiries as her ears drooped beneath her hat.

"Be quiet!" Stefi strained her ears, even though it was only her mind that could hear what she wanted to.

Stefi... a breathless voice sounded, wafting on the unseen and unfelt breezes that carried conscious energies about Feregana.

"It's Gemmie," Stefi said. She suddenly wished her gift was a two-way conduit between ferrets rather than just a receiver. Sure, she had spoken to them with her mind before, but only when they were sitting on her shoulders. She continued to listen but only snatches reached her ears.

Stefi... got Maya... running... Help us! Help!... They're coming for... Help!

Then her voice went silent.

The strength left Stefi's legs and she fell to her knees. At the thud of her falling and the sound of her sobs, Cédes moved to comfort her, shoving Djidou out of the way when she bumped into him.

"Stefi," she said, feeling that even one word was too many for the occasion, just another weight to press down on Stefi's heart. Although she herself had never befriended a ferret, she had only to imagine what would happen should she lose Stefi. She knew that she wouldn't even have the fortitude to cry. "It will be all right, Stefi. We'll save the ferrets for you. And for them." She knelt beside her.

Stefi sniffed. "Cédes... you will find them, won't you?" She wept unashamedly and her tears fell to the ground. They hesitated for just a second before draining into the dust.

"Of course, dear heart."

Stefi felt a comforting warmth spread through her body like a mild liquid flame. At once her troubles seemed lessened, dissolved by the sensation that seeped from friend to friend.

"Well!" Djidou exclaimed and let out a low whistle. "A flaming Furosan that doesn't burn humans! Now there's a new trick."

"Yeah," Ifaut added. "And she's not even using the stone like last time." She latched onto Sansonis's arm with both of hers. Her fear manifested itself in her grip.

"That is because," Cédes said, her voice rising with every word, "this rage is all my own!" Suddenly her kneeling form and Stefi's were enveloped in a surge of flames. Although tongues of flame licked their huddled forms, both sat impervious to their raging heat.

As Djidou and Adnamis made to run, Sansonis and Ifaut held them back.

"Don't worry," Sansonis said. "We should get ready to find the ferrets. Trust me." Already he could feel the darkness descending over his mind, only this time it was conscious, called for. Ifaut wasn't in danger, but the ferrets, his fellow Fieretka, were. And that was enough. With Ifaut still clinging to him like a child to its mother, the curtain of darkness only covered some of his consciousness, held at bay by her touch. He only hoped it would stay that way.

Ifaut nodded in agreement. "And you can always trust Sansonis. Trust me."

Before Djidou could respond to her strange logic, a sudden blast of heat, its force like a searing gale, knocked him backwards. Cédes stood slowly above Stefi's prostrate form. The heavy makeshift robes that had been used to cloak her appearance were now burned away to reveal her Furosan features and blazing eyes.

"Do you still want my help, Raphanos's help, to destroy this place, human Djidou?" she asked, her voice taking a mocking tone that felt unnatural as it winged on her peaceful voice. She took her staff and clutched it near the center with both hands.

"Yes," he said in awe. "You mean you have another one of those stones?"

"Yes," Cédes said and revealed a ghastly grin. Her canines gleamed in the morning light. "Lots of power. Plenty of power. For that is all that matters in this world, isn't it? Not the power to love, to look after your friends, but the power to kill and bend others to your will. How naïve I was before I set out into this wide world, how I believed that others, perhaps even humans, felt the same." She gave her staff a sharp twist, moving her hands in opposite directions. "Yes, we both desire power. But now you shall see both how very similar and very different our uses of it are." Cédes pulled the two halves of her staff apart, revealing two long, thin, double-edged blades that sheathed themselves upon each other.

Stefi's weak voice rose from the ground like a lifting fog to reach the others' ears. "Now that's a new trick," she said, inspired by the sight of her friend before her, ready to do whatever it took for the sake of her and the ferrets' safety; a friend who could see naught and yet more than most others.

"Mister Djidou," Cédes continued, her arms stretched outwards and down so that the tips of her twin blades nearly brushed the ground. "Once the ferrets are safely back in Stefi's arms..." She took a breath, held it, then let it out slowly as if reluctant to continue. "...you may have my help to burn this terrible place to ashes."

After taking many deep breaths, and fortified by her friend's burning resolve, Stefi finally managed to take charge of the situation. And yet the thought that her ferrets might be dead dulled her usual confidence. "Djidou, do you know where they might be holding the ferrets?" she asked.

"Probably in some sort of storage room..." he said and thought for a moment. "It all depends where they were caught. In other words, I don't know." He shrugged.

Stefi nodded. "Cédes," she said, "do you remember when you said that with the right training I could even destroy worlds?"

"Yes, a power our human friend would be rather interested in acquiring, I might think," she said bitterly.

"Look, this isn't the time for anti-human sentiment," Stefi shot back. "Right now he's our only hope of finding Gemmie and Maya."

Cédes snorted. "I wish to save them as much as you do, but cast your mind back to when we last trusted a human."

"I already have. And even if this is some stupid trap on his part, I walk into it willingly if it means I might be able to save them."

"And I shall be at your side. But as for you using that sort of power, it might very well kill you if you were to use it now, even to break into or destroy some place like this. We must rely on my own, although it frightens me to no end and I wish not to harm anyone if I can help it."

"Don't forget us!" Ifaut piped up. She took the hands of Stefi, Cédes, Sansonis, and herself, then clasped them together. "I'm not just here for Sansonis, you know. The ferrets are important to me too. So are all of you. You're the bestest friends I've ever had!"

"That's right," Sansonis added. "We're all Fieretka, aren't we? Even if I can't control this... darkness... I'll help out. As long as Ifaut helps me."

"Of course!" she squeaked. "What about dog-face?"

Rhaka growled, but his eyes twinkled. "I will help too."

With tears of happiness in her eyes, Stefi spoke. "Thanks, everyone. This could get dangerous, more dangerous than Valraines. I just want you to know that I appreciate your friendship." She took a deep breath, held it, released it. It didn't help. Her tumultuous mind refused to still. "Here's how it'll go. Adnamis, you and Djidou get that airship ready. Once we have the stone and the ferrets we'll want to get the hell out of here in a hurry."

"No," Djidou said. "I'm going with you. I suggested using the weas... the ferrets, and I know where the stone is. It's only fair that I go in. Adnamis can prep the ship herself." He turned to face the Kalkic girl. "Ady, go get me a gun, will you? Then meet us on the roof."

She nodded and jogged off into the morning.

"What's a gun?" Stefi asked. "And why the roof?"

"What? You've never seen a gun?" Djidou laughed. "Now I really know you're not from around here. It's the latest in Sol-Acriman weaponry, a weapon that can shoot out a small piece of metal with deadly accuracy. They'll replace the bow and arrow and completely revolutionize warfare."

"Hah!" Cédes scoffed. "Stop gloating over your ever-more imaginative ways to kill others. Do they happen to be manufactured in this very place, by chance?"

Djidou nodded solemnly, seemingly ashamed of the enthusiasm he'd used when describing the new arms. "That's another excuse for you to blow this place sky-high, I suppose. As for the roof, there's no way we'll be waltzing back out the front door once they know we're inside."

Stefi craned her neck skywards. "It's a long way to climb, but we can make it. I think."

At that moment Adnamis came running back, her glasses fogged with her panting breath. She handed a strange weapon to Djidou. Its long, cold barrel was made of a metal that barely reflected the sun's light, and at the other end was a wooden stock. Stefi shuddered at the sight of it as its new form radiated a maligned, calculating evil.

As Djidou took the thing he slid something into the base near the stock and slid shut a bolt. It clicked like the lock on a cell, signaling death for whoever crossed its path.

"Ready," he said levelly and gripped the rifle with both hands. "Adnamis," he added, "meet us up on the roof, all right?"

The Kalkic girl nodded, pecked Djidou on the cheek, and hurried off yet again.

"Now that that's sorted," Stefi continued, "we have ferrets to save. Me, Cédes, Djidou, and Rhaka will go in and find the ferrets and the stone. Ifaut, you and Sansonis keep an eye on the front door and make sure we're not followed."

"And if you are?" Ifaut asked timidly.

"I believe you're capable enough to slow them down. If it gets too much then stall them as much as you can and head to the roof. We'll wait for you there."

"I hate to always be the negative one," Sansonis said, his entire right eye now nearly as dark as the pupil, "but there's a chance we may not follow." He looked at Ifaut, really looked, and saw she was biting her bottom lip. Her deep blue eyes, although dry, threatened to let forth a torrent of tears at any moment. He knew they wouldn't. Sure, she might be a bit fragile at times, but right now she couldn't look any stronger. Or more beautiful.

"We'll wait," Stefi said, interrupting his thoughts.

"I know." He turned to Ifaut and took her shoulders.

The Furosan slowly raised her eyes and when they found Sansonis's her face burst forth in a smile. "Don't worry, I'll look after you," she said with unexpected happiness. "I owe you one, remember? And I'm not about to go back on my word. It's not quite the picnic in Sol-Acrima, but I'll follow you all the same." She took his hand.

Now it was Sansonis's turn to cry. His one dark and one steely eye shone with encroaching tears at his kamae's display of unwavering loyalty, something he was sure now went beyond mere Furosan custom. He was quick to check them. If she was brave enough to confess her love, whatever sort it may be, then he had to be brave enough to show strength. He swallowed his sadness. It left a nasty taste in his mouth.

"We're ready." The Kalkic nodded and, using the hand not claimed by Ifaut, took a knife from his belt. Ifaut did the same with her sword.

As Stefi turned to leave, a thought came rushing back to her, what Cédes had said yesterday. It was as they left the two kamaes standing there hand in hand that the full understanding hit her, what the two had undoubtedly been thinking but she had somehow forgotten: two of them were going to die here in Sol-Acrima. And she knew now it was those two.

Chapter XXII: All Our Dreams Torn Asunder

A huge wall of iron, more like a city's gates than doors, loomed potent and foreboding above those chosen to rescue the ferrets. A large lock adorned its center, but, glancing at Cédes, Stefi realized there would be no need for keys. The Furosan could open any door.

"This is the only way in," Djidou said, and then added so quietly that the others barely heard him, "or out." He rummaged about in his pockets and removed a variety of tools: a lock pick, a hammer, a screwdriver, and several tools Stefi had never seen before. "If you'll just give me a moment I should have th-"

Before he could finish, an explosion knocked him off his feet and scattered his tools in all directions. He looked up to see the doors blown inwards, their metal that was moments ago cool and solid now warped and melted, and Cédes lowering an outstretched hand.

"We do not have a moment," she said and breezed past with Stefi in tow. Once through the blasted doors she stopped, her ears twitching. "Stefi, can you hear them now?" she asked.

Stefi shook her head and, realizing that Cédes couldn't see it, said, "No."

"Then quickly, put your blindfold on. Just like when you found Shizai, listen for them. It will be hard to filter out two little ferrets from the whole world, but I believe you can do it."

Stefi hurriedly obeyed and, despite Djidou's protestations that having two blind members would utterly cripple them, she shut off the world from her eyes. Immediately the voice of the world sprang to her ears, the infinite threads and traces of each Furosa-bearing being weaving their way about her.

As Djidou and Rhaka hurried them onwards through the corridors of the building, Stefi plied through the endless voices, the voices at the same time both one and many. Nowhere could she find Gemmie and Maya's.

"Hey!" A startled voice cut through the eerily peaceful air, jolting Stefi's concentration. "You're not supposed to be here!" It was answered seconds later by a rolling crack that echoed off the walls, then a scream of pain.

"C'mon!" Djidou said. "They know we're here. This guy won't be walking for a while but that won't stop the others. Let's hope kitty and the Kalkic do their job."

"Heh. Heh heh." Ifaut's nervous laughter grated against Sansonis's ear. "Here they come. Are you ready?"

Indeed, at least two dozen soldiers like those at Valraines hurried from the nearby streets, short swords and crossbows already drawn, attracted by Cédes's opening of the door.

"More than ready, kamae. Do you think you can handle them?" He grinned. It was an eerie sight with his darkened eye.

"Heh. Of course not. But I think we can!" She leant forward and her lips briefly brushed his, sending a painful yet pleasurable tingle throughout his body like nothing he'd ever felt before. He wanted it to continue. Now wasn't the time. Later, perhaps. Later when the ferrets were safe in Stefi's arms and Ifaut in his. Or more than likely he in Ifaut's.

"For our friends," he said as half a dozen crossbows leveled directly at him and Ifaut.

"Yeah, for our friends."

Then the calm ended. And the storm began.

The Fieretka who had entered the building along with Djidou hastened up staircases and through winding corridors. Each time they came to a possible place where the ferrets might be, Djidou kicked open the door with his weapon at the ready, while Rhaka crouched in preparation to strike and Cédes blazed with ferocity. But after many rooms, still nothing.

"Wait!" Stefi shouted and brought everyone to a halt. "I hear something!" She strained her ears. There it was again.

Stefi... Gemmie's faint voice came. Find us... room... up... with shiny keys...

Hearing the familiar voice, Stefi laughed with relief. "It's Gemmie! They're near the stone." What Gemmie still referred to as keys, of course.

Djidou nodded. "Follow me. We're going upstairs."

"To the airship already?" Rhaka asked.

"Soon. The stone's always kept high up, near the roof. It likes being near the sky."

"Then we must hurry," Rhaka said and cocked his head. "For here come several men from below now."

Stefi swore and tore off her bandana. "Dammit! Didn't those other two do their job?"

All at once several crossbow bolts flitted towards the kamaes upon fletches of death. Ifaut darted backwards with a squeal. The bolts never found their mark. Through her wide eyes she saw them ricochet harmlessly away before Sansonis's outstretched hand.

"I didn't know you could do that!" she said and laughed nervously.

"Neither did I..." the Kalkic muttered. "Guess that's two you owe me now."

Before they could further ponder Sansonis's strange act, the swordsmen advanced.

Ifaut sprang forward, sword extended and tail bristling. "No one tries to hurt Sansonis but me!" she yelled as she slipped amongst the men, her sword dancing, slicing air and flesh with equal ease. Although she had never truly fought before, she found the movements surprisingly natural. Her lithe body flowed under blade and limb, delivering short slashes and low kicks whenever an opening presented itself. And she found, much to her disgust and excitement, that she was having fun. It was just like playing, but the danger only heightened the fun, made it worth winning. Because the alternative was not good.

Sansonis found the experience considerably more difficult. With only short knives and the terrible, unpredictable darkness at hand, he had to act defensively.

As one soldier attacked he stepped with the arc of the blade's swing, catching the hand that held it and wrenching it back so hard that the soldier hit the ground. Now, with a long sword in one hand and a knife in the other, he entered the fray alongside Ifaut. Each blade seemed to swing of its own accord, the darkness inside him knowing just what to do. For now, as long as it kept Ifaut safe, he was content to let it be.

After felling several more soldiers, he waded through the sea of blood and steel to find Ifaut at its center

"Hey," she panted, her chest heaving as the remaining few soldiers withdrew. "Come to help me out? I feel dizzy..."

"That's just the battle rush," Sansonis said as he took hold of her. Her body was soaked with sweat, and drops of blood splattered her skin. And she was warm. Very warm.

"Did... did I do good?" she asked breathlessly as she surveyed, through unfocused eyes, the dead and wounded Sol-Acriman soldiers sprawled on the ground.

"Yeah. Yeah you did. Are you hurt?"

She laughed giddily and stretched out her arms. "I dunno. I can't feel anything except sickness!"

"Good. C'mon, we're going before more of them show up." He took her hand and pulled gently but she remained rooted to the ground.

"Sansonis," she said, her voice calm yet cracking. She sheathed her bloody sword and, with her newly freed hand, touched Sansonis's chest. It came away sticky with blood. "You're hurt!"

The Kalkic looked down to see a slash in both his shirt and skin, dark with blood. The next moment stinging pain hit, now making its presence known.

"It's all right," he said. "I'm fine."

Her wide, blue eyes seemed immune to his easing words. "No, it's not all right. We're going to the others now. We've done what we can here."

Four men burst forth from the stairwell door, sending Stefi sprawling backwards onto the floor. The force sent her staff skidding across the floor out of reach and her head hit the unforgiving floor. Hard. But before she could get up, a heavy foot landed on her stomach. Lying on the floor with the air forced from her lungs and her head ringing from the fall, the world about her exploded in a distorted mass of color and sound.

A loud crack splintered her thoughts. It was followed by a terrifying roar and several dull thuds like heavy sacks had fallen to the floor.

"Say... say..." Stefi gasped, unable to draw enough air to call to Cédes for help. But the Furosan must have heard, for a few seconds later a blast of light and heat knocked the weight from her, and delicate yet strong hands found hers. They pulled her to her feet.

"Come, dear heart." A reassuring voice penetrated the painful haze that enveloped her head and Stefi found herself stumbling up the stairs. She didn't know how either she or Cédes made their way up the zigzagging stairs, one blinded by nature, the other by pain, but she was aware of more shouts as they were spotted. And each time Djidou's gun barked out searing metal, Rhaka's teeth and claws found their mark, Cédes's flames scorched flesh and clothing.

"This... this is it," Djidou panted as they finally cleared the stairs and entered a long hall of gray tiles lit only by high windows that filtered the morning sunlight. And at the end, like a silent, imposing creature, loomed two tall iron doors.

"Stefi is bleeding," Rhaka said matter-of-factly, although the Otsukuné too appeared to be. The blood was not his own.

Stefi felt the back of her aching head. Her hand came away sticky and her black hair clung to the congealing blood. "I'll be okay..." she said as the world began to settle back into its proper position. "The ferrets... they need me."

"Not in that state, they don't," Djidou said. "I'll fix you right up." He leaned his weapon against the wall and carefully tied Stefi's bandana about her head like a bandage.

"Thanks." She looked up to see a foreign expression written across Cédes's face. Even though she still couldn't read the Furosan like she could read humans, she could've sworn it was jealousy. But why?

Suddenly Cédes breezed past and, leaving a cold wind in her wake, continued down the hall alone.

"Hey!" Stefi called to her back. "What's the matter?"

"The ferrets must be saved," she said brusquely. "And after climbing two hundred and seven stairs I would like to get this over with now." She stomped onwards, so blinded by emotion she forgot to feel her way and walked straight into the doors.

Stefi giggled despite the circumstances as Cédes took a few puzzled steps back.

"Of course I saw it," the Furosan muttered. "I was just too busy to stop."

"That's sar-" Stefi started, only to be cut off as Cédes blew the doors inward. "-casm..."

Djidou readied his gun once more and he, Stefi, and Rhaka hurried after Cédes as she picked her way through the glowing, twisted metal.

"I bet she saw that those doors had a very obvious handle too," Djidou said as they slipped in after the pale Furosan.

In the middle of the room sat a large machine, a beast of metal bristling with tubes and other strange looking pieces of machinery. It seemed to be an affront to nature and Feregana itself. And right in the middle of the monstrosity, upon a pedestal and hooked up to several wires, was the dim stone of Fairun.

Stefi's eyes were drawn elsewhere, towards a prize much more important: a cage in the corner holding two frightened sable ferrets. "Ferts!" she shouted, and a great weight lifted so suddenly from her heart that she felt she might float away. She ran over and tore the cage open, and the ferrets flung themselves into her arms.

Stefi! Gemmie said. We were so scared. But look, we found the keys.

"Yes, yes you did. And I'm very proud." She sniffed as tears and emotion welled up from inside. "You know, this is the second time I've saved you two from being trapped," she teased.

Yeah, but you took your time both times, Maya shot back jokingly.

"I know, and I'm sorry," she said. Her eyes clouded with tears. "It won't happen again." She buried her face in their fur and took in their warm, comforting aroma, a scent more reassuring than any other.

Djidou, meanwhile, contended with both the device holding Fairun and an angry Furosan.

"Destroy this whirring contraption and just take the stone," Cédes said as she listened to the new and irregular mechanical noises of switches being flipped and buttons pushed. She didn't like anything about this device, from the hum that made her want to grind her teeth down to the unnatural, metallic tang–almost blood-like–that it gave off.

"I would," he said, "if someone would just relax already. If we just pull it out now, the unstable power flow could destroy the entire stone. And us. I never imagined they'd still have the damn thing hooked up. The poor ferrets couldn't have taken it anyway..."

Cédes let out a "Hmph" in reply. "If this someone is you, then heed your own advice and relax. We cannot afford any..." She trailed off as understanding hit her. "Oh. You were referring to me."

Djidou sighed. "Yes."

"And referring to me impersonally is another form of human humor?"

"Yes. And annoyance."

The Furosan thought for a moment then turned to where she smelled Rhaka's presence nearby. "These humans certainly have strange ideas of humor, do they not? The things they say, such as sarcasm, are hardly funny at all. Except due to their own absurdity."

"Young Furosan," the Otsukuné said and wagged his tail, "we have found another thing upon which we can agree."

At that moment Djidou let out a triumphant cry and pried the stone from the device. "Stefi," he said, "I think this belongs to you."

Stefi shifted the excited, writhing ferrets into one hand and plucked the stone from Djidou's. The moment her fingers brushed the cool surface a pained roar like a gale shot through her and foreign images erupted in her head like a thousand stars bursting into being. Shattered and disconnected shards of sight flashed past: a young man and his sandy-colored ferret; a small town on a vast plain near a forest; people wearing faces ranging across the whole spectrum of emotion, and a hundred more sights that made no sense. And just as suddenly it was over.

"Did you guys see that?" Stefi gasped, breathless and still getting over the shock.

"I did," Cédes said, and an awkward silence followed. At length Stefi broke it.

"Aren't you going to say 'sarcasm'?"

"No. But in all honesty I saw nothing. Why?"

"I touched the stone and... never mind," she said. She knew very well what she'd seen: the stone's true owners. It wasn't hers, as Djidou had said. It belonged only to the people of Acharn.

"Mr. Djidou," Cédes asked as they turned to leave, the ferrets and Fairun's stone now safe, "could that whirring monstrosity be used again for the same purpose?"

"Yeah, why do you ask?"

His only answer was a deafening boom and blast of heat that nearly knocked him and Stefi to the ground. They all turned to see the draining device was now little more than a pile of twisted, smoldering metal.

Cédes gave him a bitter smile, raising the corners of her mouth just enough for one pointy canine to stick out. "Curiosity."

"C'mon, Ifi," Sansonis said as another group of soldiers hurried through the streets towards them. He clutched his kamae's hand and pulled. Maybe now she'd know what it felt like.

"Please, take it easy," she whimpered, and her eyes moistened with tears.

"Why?" he shot back a bit more harshly than he intended. "You always drag me around. And if we stay here, we'll die."

The Furosan sniffed, a sound that for some reason grated against Sansonis's already raw nerves.

"This is no time for crying!"

Ifaut took in a sharp breath as if she'd just been punched in the gut. "Are... are you angry?" she asked and broke into a jog behind him.

"Yeah, but at those people who want to kill us, not you." He flashed what he hoped was a reassuring smile over his shoulder.

"I... I don't wanna stop because I'm tired," she continued. "You're losing a lot of blood. I'm worried."

He gripped her hand even tighter and she was aware of what the strength behind his grasp meant. She didn't have to ask. 'I'm fine,' it told her. 'It's better than losing you.'

The odd pair made to enter the blasted doors of the facility, but a terrifying sight met their eyes. Several dozen men, more than a match for even twenty of them, barred the way, more formidable than the cold metal Cédes had torn asunder. It was nothing compared to what they saw overhead.

As if in slow motion, Djidou's ship, their only means of escape, pulled away from the building like a sea-faring ship leaving its moorings. Its sleek form rose into the air and began to head towards the sea.

"They... they..." Ifaut sniffed. "They left us behind..."

Chapter XXIII: Awakening into Dreams

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Pheia breathed as her destination at last came into clear view with the new day. Of course she'd seen it the night before; she couldn't have missed it even if she wanted to. Even during the night the city blazed under countless lights to ward off the blackness, as if it frightened the humans rather than soothed and relaxed them.

Yes, Shizai said, her normal bubbling-brook voice subdued to a trickle, it is on the outside. I have seen the hideous true face beneath the shiny mask laid bare.

"What happened with Yifunis..."

Yes. I fear that history may repeat itself with you or Stefi.

Pheia nodded. "It's strange. Even immortal beings worry about things."

Probably more so than you who are fated to die. What I'd give for a life of only one hundred years.

"Just how old are you, anyway?"

Old enough not to answer, not old enough to retire from this line of work, it seems.

Soon they reached the towering gates of upper Sol-Acrima where the barren hills ended abruptly and the city began. Cyclopean masonry walls ran about the outer limits of the capital to far beyond the northern horizon, either keeping the people in or potential intruders out. Their weather-worn bulk, tall and ominous, served as a psychological deterrent as well as physical.

"Who would've thought the gates would be open?" Pheia asked in disbelief. Indeed, the tall gates yawned open before them, flanked on either side by guard towers.

I think it's because no Furosan would be stupid enough just to wander straight in.

"What about me?" Pheia shot back.

The line between stupidity and bravery is pretty blurry. You're on the bravery side. Just try and keep a straight course, princess.

"How do I get in bravely but not stupidly? Fight?" She unslung her bow from her back and fitted an arrow to the string.

You're crossing the line, Shizai said. Try again.

"A watery distraction?"

Exactly. But as an elemental I cannot act in a potentially harmful way under my own volition.

"Then you have my permission to do whatever it takes to prevent history repeating. Just try not to kill any innocent humans, please."

Shizai laughed, but it felt forced, unnatural. I'm not Raphanos, you know.

The next moment a sudden disturbance rippled through the guards on the gates. They gathered up their weapons and within a minute the gate lay wide open and abandoned. All Pheia could do was stare in disbelief.

"How did you do that?"

I didn't...

Their eyes met and at once the same word passed their lips and mind. "Fieretka."

With a watery pop Shizai disappeared and returned to her stone once more. Go! she urged. Call me if you need me.

And with that Pheia broke into a sprint, bow in her left hand and an arrow held ready in her right, and was swallowed up by the great human city.

"We can't just leave them!" Stefi protested and tugged at the airship pilot's arm. Far below she saw Ifaut and Sansonis's shocked faces staring skywards, both disbelief and the limitless sky reflecting in their eyes.

"I'm sorry." Djidou's gaze played across the deck but refused to meet Stefi's. Nor could hers bear to look any more at those two left below in the city.

"They knew the risks," Cédes said, her voice barely audible. "And yet they still agreed to help free the ferrets from their confines."

Djidou nodded. His miserable face was hidden in the shade of his cap. "I know. If we waited then we'd stand no chance of outrunning those." He pointed towards the stern of the ship. Only a short distance away five large airships were drawing ever closer, looking like lumbering whales but moving much faster.

"All this..." Stefi said. "All this for a stupid stone." She glared at the dimly shining rock in her palm. Its deathly pale yellow light was barely visible in the sunshine, almost as if it would die at any moment. Knowing all that the wretched thing had caused and created, she almost wished it would.

A moment later Sansonis and Ifaut vanished behind the looming structures of the upper city, like two grains of sand swallowed up in an ocean of buildings.

"I'm sorry," was all Stefi could think to say.

"Do you think we can handle all of these?" Sansonis asked as Ifaut pressed her sweaty back against his, her weapon wavering in her hand.

"Of course," she said. Her tears were now forgotten. "As your kamae it's my duty to ensure your safety. And if I save your butt here then my debt oughta be repaid, yes?"

Sansonis nodded. "Only if we do dinner or something afterwards."

"But we eat dinner every night," she said, quite puzzled.

"I mean just the two of us. Something nice."

"Then we have a deal."

Despite the fact that the two were far outnumbered and exhausted from the previous fight, they managed to fend off their attackers, each fueled only by the desperate urge to protect the other. But Sansonis's wound sapped his strength, and no longer could he hold his sword and knife defensively high. Panting, and with blood and sweat pouring off in equal measure, every incoming blow necessitated lifting the heavy steel to deflect imminent pain, every opening, frenzied thrusts of his knife.

"Sa... Sanso... nis..." Ifaut's voice came in ragged gasps as a lull opened in the battle. "I can't take any more. Not even for you..." Every muscle in her body burned with white flames and her matted hair took on a strange pink shade from the blood that seemed to hang in the air like a fog. Her hat was now long lost, revealing her distinctive ears now also damp with sweat and blood.

Then, as the calm eye of the storm passed over, a new rain fell. A deep boom echoed above the city, drawing all eyes skywards, and the flaming debris of what was once an airship pelted the buildings like a meteor shower.

"Ifaut, run!" Sansonis shoved his way past the distracted soldiers. Ifaut, tearing her frightened gaze away, found the energy to obey.

A moment later another explosion rang out. It was quickly followed by an unearthly roar. Following in its wake, a flaming object tore across the sky, twisting and turning sinuously as it followed a second wounded airship that drifted towards the hills.

"Raphanos!" Ifaut squealed. "Cédes is helping us. So that's why they left! I thought they'd forgotten us!" She bounced excitedly like a happy ferret kit, a pitiful sight with her ragged appearance. Even now the sunlight glanced off her hair, seeming to illuminate her face. And still her zest for life radiated from her beaming face, refusing to be dampened by her first bitter taste of war.

"It had to be done," Cédes said. "I do not like it, but it is our only hope." She was referring, of course, to Raphanos. Moments before, an argument had ensued with the pale Furosan's emotions torn between fighting or not, between killing so that others may live or dying. An impossible situation, she thought, until Rhaka had told her sagely, "This is war. They are willing to kill. We must be willing to live."

Once the flames of Raphanos had erupted from an inflamed Cédes, fueled by her own willingness to live, the elemental being, destruction incarnate, fell upon the pursuing ships.

Raphanos tore the first ship to pieces almost instantly, reducing it to flaming shards and splinters as he collided with it headlong and flung the debris across the upper city. Amidst such destruction it also created an opportunity for Sansonis and Ifaut to escape.

The second ship's death was much more agonizing. The flaming beast tore off its stern. The force of the blow sent it spinning in a half circle. Deprived of its flightstone-driven engines, it sank slowly towards the nearby hills like a wounded beast, all the while trailing a plume of black smoke. Sensing a chance for fun amidst the chaos, Raphanos gave chase, dancing and twisting through the air. But he was so distracted by the chance for fun that he didn't notice the other three ships slipping by.

Stunned and angry cries of "Furosan!" flitted past Pheia as she sprinted through the streets and knocked people to the ground in her haste. She hardly noticed. Or cared. That ominous explosion and the smell of smoke propelled her forward. She didn't know where Stefi and the Fieretka were, but it had to be where the commotion was coming from.

She rounded a corner to find a sight that, even after the Arigan war, made her blood chill. There, outside a towering building, dead and wounded human bodies were strewn across the paved street. Their blood was pooling into the gaps between stones. Pheia retched as the coppery smell reached her nose and drew out dark memories of the war. Differences aside, humans and Furosans all bled the same color. She barely managed to suppress her meager breakfast as it threatened to come back up.

"The Fieretka did this?" she said. "Stefi seemed so nice."

You're one to talk, princess, a voice said in her head.

"Yes, but that was war. I had no choice but to kill if I wanted to live," she said, trying to justify her past actions like she had done so many times to herself during sleepless nights.

This is now a war, too. I'm sure they had to do this.

Pheia nodded and continued on, now sure she was on the right path. Even if it was red with blood.

"Where are we going?" Ifaut gasped.

"After Stefi and the others," Sansonis said.

"How we do that? I can't fly!"

"We steal an airship. C'mon." He readjusted his grip on Ifaut's slippery hand and willed himself to keep running.

"You can't fly one!"

Sansonis knew very well that he probably couldn't. But to his mind, fogged by pain and utterly exhausted, it seemed the best idea at the time. And it was certainly better than trying to run from the city wounded and on foot. "You're probably right," he said. "Though Djidou showed me the basics last night. And do you think we have a choice?"

Suddenly Ifaut's legs locked up and the two skidded to a halt.

"If I had a choice then it would be to go someplace quiet and be away from all of this damn mess. There's a nice place near home with a small creek and lotsa flowers. I choose to go there," she said wistfully, a touch of sorrow in her voice. Her shining eyes turned to the sky and fixed themselves on something far, far away. "This is... crap."

"I know I'm a damn mess right now," Sansonis said and glanced at his bloody chest, "but am I that bad?"

Ifaut smiled. "I don't mean you. I mean this place, this situation. It's no place for a princess. Or anybody else," she added hastily.

He nodded in agreement. "Once we're out of here we'll go to your little special place."

"For dinner, too?"

"Yes," he said and rubbed his aching forehead, though out of pain or nervousness he didn't know. "I'll cook. And see if I can get you some chocolate."

Ifaut brightened at the mention of chocolate. "Really? But then I'll owe you one thousand!"

"Stop thinking in terms of debts," he said. "We can do nice things for free, you know. Like this..." He hesitated for a second, his mind conflicted by an act he'd never done before. Would he do it right? Was there a wrong way? Did one have to learn how to do it first? He placed his hands on her shoulders. Before he could finish, a voice stopped him as his face neared Ifaut's.

"Human, unhand her at once. I don't want to kill you, but I will if I must!"

A startled Sansonis looked up to see a Furosan perched atop a low wooden building. A drawn bow quivered in her left hand as her right prepared to let fly an arrow that was aimed right at his already wounded chest.

"Hey, Browny!" Ifaut shouted back, referring to the other Furosan's darker skin. "You can't talk to him like that!"

"I will talk as I please," the bow-wielding Furosan said. "You annoy me already, yet I still do not wish the human to harm you."

"I'll have you know he's saved my life a few times already! He won't hurt me. Sure, he looks a bit strange, but he's harmless enough. And he's mine."

"Saved? Then why is he taking hold of you?"

Ifaut sighed. "Because we have to find Stefi and the others," she said exasperatedly, only now realizing what he had been about to do.

At that the Furosan's bowstring and hostile attitude slackened. "Stefi? You two are Fieretka? Where might I find her?"

"She and the others are getting out of here on an airship," Ifaut said.

"She is safe, then?"

Ifaut nodded. "For now."

Pheia, for indeed that is who the other Furosan was, sighed with relief and leapt down to join Sansonis and Ifaut. "Very good," she said. "Then how may we reach her?"

Speaking to her for the first time, Sansonis said, "We plan on taking one of those flying ships. But we need to hurry."

"All right, human. Let's go. I'll aid you two as best as I can."

"It's Sansonis," the Kalkic said with a certain amount of hostility. After all, she had just threatened to kill him for touching Ifaut. All things considered, though, he thought it was certainly understandable.

"Apologies. My name is Pheia. Pheia Ariga."

Ifaut's ears twitched at the Arigan Furosan's name. "Richo's sister?" she asked.

"Yes, although I am a princess in my own right," Pheia said with some disdain to the dirty Mafouran before her. "Are you one of those silly kits with an infatuation for him?"

There was something about Pheia that Ifaut couldn't quite place, something that made the darker Furosan look down on her. Perhaps it was her association with a human. Or maybe her very untidy appearance. Whatever it was, she didn't want to complicate things by revealing that she was the one arranged to marry her brother. And that any feelings for Richo couldn't be farther from her mind. "No, I only know his name. I'm Miaun," she said. "Now, Browny, if you don't mind we really should find an airship. Right, Sansonis?"

The Kalkic nodded and the three hurried through the streets, tension crackling between the two Furosans as they headed for the lower city.

"Another ship closing fast!" Stefi shouted. Her voice was nearly drowned out by the whining of the ship's two engines.

Cédes nodded and whispered something in her own tongue that Stefi couldn't hear. Raphanos appeared to hear, for just as the elemental's second victim plowed into a hill and half-buried itself as it broke apart he turned tail and streaked with a roar back towards Cédes.

The air filled with a terrible symphony of sound: Raphanos's crackling roar, screaming engines, shouts from the city. Then the chorus was joined by a staccato bang from the nearest ship.

"Get down!" Djidou yelled and he and Adnamis threw themselves on the deck. Stefi, hesitating for a second, heard something scream past her ear and narrowly miss Gemmie.

What was that? the ferret squeaked. It was hot!

"They're shooting at us!" Stefi threw herself flat and clutched the ferrets beneath her.

Can't breathe! Maya protested, but Stefi ignored him. She looked up to see Cédes still standing defiantly at the ship's stern, hand and staff ablaze.

"Cédes, get down!"

"I am fine," she said calmly as she ignored the bullets, searing points of death, whining past her. In a spray of scarlet blood and pain, a piece of metal punched a neat hole through her left ear. She didn't even flinch.

A moment later a boom that shook Djidou's ship echoed across the sky and the guns fell silent.

"We have only two more to worry about," Cédes said, her voice weighed down by despair. The knowledge that she had just killed many humans fell heavily on her heart, and even knowing that this was because of war and necessity did little to alleviate her anguish. Raphanos didn't care. The mounting deaths only seemed to lighten his spirit.

"You're bleeding!" Stefi gasped. A river of red flowed through Cédes's hair and down one side of her face, creating a frightful half-mask.

"I know. My ears have been pierced before. I shall cope."

"It's not just that. You're hurting. I mean really hurting. I'm worried."

"I am touched by your concern. Let us first get you to safety and then we can worry about me."

It might have been the stress. It might have been seeing her friend shot and her ferret nearly so. Perhaps it was abandoning Sansonis and Ifaut. Whatever it was, Stefi snapped. "It's not about me!" she shrieked. "Don't you see? We're all important in this!"

"But as the Fieretsi you are first amongst us. My safety is nothing compared to yours."

"You just don't get it, do you?" Stefi's voice rose to a scream before bottoming out into a whisper. "You're my friend. I... I love you."

"I love you too," Cédes said and flashed a pained smile. "Love means doing whatever it takes for friends. Even if, to save the ones we love, we must harm ourselves and others." She flicked her wrist and Raphanos twisted towards yet another airship. His fiery jaws snapped at the ship's hull and came away with a mouthful of flaming splinters. The ship gave a lurch and spiraled out of control towards the still waters of the harbor, all the while shadowed by a flaming ferret looking for more fun. It smacked against the waves and sank with such speed that those aboard barely had time to shout for help.

"One more to go," Cédes said weakly, and Stefi noticed much of the Furosan's pale hair was now dyed red.

"No. Make that two. One more's decided to join in," Stefi said as yet another ship lurched from its moorings.

After knocking out several airship-dock workers, Pheia motioned for Sansonis and Ifaut to take the ship.

"Aren't you coming with us?" Ifaut asked, halfway up the ladder.

"Not yet, Miaun. You and the human, I mean Sansonis, need to get away from here."

"And you? Why not come with us?"

"I don't know," Pheia said and avoided eye contact. "Something tells me I have to stay here, to prevent history repeating itself."

"Do you mean Yifunis?"

"Yes. Shizai told you?"

In reply there was a popping sound and a watery Furosan appeared in their midst. You called? Shizai said brightly, her sapphire eyes twinkling.

Pheia nodded. "Help these two out of here. And watch out for Raphanos."

Raphanos? Shizai looked up just in time to see her burning brother tear a chunk from a ship. Oh. He's here. Don't worry. I'll keep him off Ifaut and Sansonis.

The Arigan Furosan started. "Ifaut? Ifaut Mafouras? Then you're my brother's... I thought you said..."

Ifaut laughed nervously. "Yeah, I kinda lied about that... well, bye!" She scurried up the ladder and out of sight.

"She's a princess?" Pheia asked Shizai in disbelief. "And the one promised to my brother in ahiyau?"

I've said too much already, Shizai said and glanced away. Perhaps we should focus on the task at hand first.

"But she's so... so... messy and un-princess-like!"

Enough! Shizai squirted Pheia with a jet of water from her fingertip. The true measure of a princess lies not in her appearance, but her deeds. Now, your orders?

"Protect them. And me. She's weird and he's a human, but make sure they live."

Soon the rising roar of the airship's engines made normal conversation nearly impossible. Sansonis punched a button on the console and eased forward a lever that removed the protective shielding from the Fairun-based flightstone. As the nullifying Nefairu-infused metal casing within the bowels of the airship withdrew, divine energy radiated forth from the creation born of science and nature. It lifted the heavy craft upon the wings of impossibility.

"Easy..." he reminded himself, trying to keep the lever on an even course.

"Hey, are we away yet?" Ifaut's voice snapped him from his concentration and, startled, he lost his steady hand. There was terrible shudder as energy flooded the ship and strained the engines, and in a second the two found themselves in an ungainly heap upon the deck and the ship already speeding out to sea.

"We are now," Sansonis said as his heartbeat thudded in his ears and adrenaline flooded his body. "You know," he said and took the wheel, steering a course towards Stefi and the others, "you're lucky we didn't blow this thing up."

She gasped. "Really? I'm sorry!"

"Don't worry. We're nearly in the clear." He removed one hand from the ship's wheel and found Ifaut's warm, reassuring grasp. He looked into her eyes and was shocked to see them wide and the pupils dilated.

"Raphanos... he thinks we're one of them!" she screamed as the sinuous, flaming beast hurtled towards them. She squeezed Sansonis's hand and gritted her teeth in preparation for the blow. It never came. Instead a hissing roar and a cloud of warm steam enveloped them, dampening their already wet clothes and making breathing difficult. When the steam cleared they could see, tumbling towards the sea, Raphanos and Shizai in her giant, watery ferret form.

"She saved us, but she looks hurt!" Ifaut said.

"And Raphanos?" Sansonis shouted back.

"He's reeling, but not so bad. Shizai's... Shizai's lost a leg!"

"Of course. His flames must have evaporated her body."

"She can reform, right?"

"I hope so. And I hope she can't feel pain."

"What is going on?" Cédes asked as a new sound joined the battle. "I feel... is that Shizai?"

"Yes," Stefi said. "She's fighting Raphanos. It's almost like she's protecting that other ship that just arrived." She fell quiet for a moment and a new thought hit her. "No, it couldn't be Sansonis and Ifaut, could it?"

"Perhaps," Cédes said. "But Raphanos... he is no longer listening." She staggered and fought to keep standing, using her staff for support as blood and strength left her body. "Why... why must I endanger our friends to save us?"

Stefi could find no answer. Instead she watched helplessly as the last of the hostile ships drew closer, unimpeded by Raphanos.

There was a muffled boom as Raphanos let loose a flaming ball from its mouth, aimed at the ship it perceived as hostile in all its anger. Shizai, thinking quickly, threw her slender form before it. She disappeared in another hiss and cloud of steam.

Aaahh! A tortured, pained scream rang through their minds, and the steam cleared to reveal a sight that made Stefi's blood chill. Half of Shizai's head was gone, blown away in a hot cloud. It didn't reform like it had when she was playing around the Valtela. Something was terribly wrong.

"Why won't she heal?" Stefi shouted.

"It is no ordinary wound. The only thing that can truly harm an elemental is another elemental," Cédes said in a shaky voice. "Although we creatures of flesh and blood can be hurt by many things." She tottered on uneasy feet and fell to her knees.

Stefi hurried to support her. "You need to rest. You've lost too much blood. Stop pushing yourself."

"Perhaps... perhaps this is my punishment for Valraines and now taking the lives of those aboard the flying ships. I deserve this."

"No. You had no choice, and Valraines was an accident. We'll find forgiveness, won't we, Gemmie and Maya?"

Very faintly Cédes could hear a yes in her head. It was enough for her strength to trickle back. "Thank you, everyone. But I believe I can hear another problem. Look."

And there, just meters off their stern, was the pursuing ship.

"Djidou, get us out of here!" Stefi cried and pulled a weakened Cédes to her feet.

"I'm trying!" He turned around to see the closing ship. "Oh hell! It's the Resolve."

"And that means?"

"That means it's the most powerful experimental warship in the fleet. Heavily armed, very fast, very deadly. Very expensive, too." He pointed to where a row of cannons protruded from the hull. They stared like dark, gaping eye sockets. "Hold on to something!" he shouted as he spun the wheel hard to port and pulled back on the lever that regulated the flightstone.

In the seconds that followed, far too many things happened for time to keep up and it seemed to grind along in the process. The ship's engines died and it plunged downwards, sending Rhaka skittering across the slanting deck until his teeth found purchase on a railing; the Resolve's six port cannons all barked a deafening salute; and Djidou's ship rocked as the cannons found their mark.

"Adnamis, how badly are we hit?" Djidou shouted as he restarted the airship and it lurched back onto a straight course. Something was different. The ship was slow to respond.

"Starboard engine's gone," Adnamis said calmly as she assessed the damage. She peered over the railing, holding her glasses on her face. "We have hull damage, but it doesn't look like all their shots hit. My expert assessment: another bombardment and we're screwed."

"All right," he said and cleared his throat before addressing the others. "Guys, we have about a minute until they shoot again. Then we're dead. Whitey, can't you help?"

"No, Mr. Djidou. Look."

As Raphanos made yet another attempt to destroy Sansonis and Ifaut's ship, a gravely wounded Shizai summoned the last of her power to halt her destructive brother. She hurled her translucent bulk at Raphanos and sank the remains of her watery teeth as best as she could into the flaming flesh and scrabbled to pull him back with her paws despite the searing pain. Twin anguished screams rang through the minds of everyone nearby as Shizai's body exploded in a giant cloud and Raphanos's flames finally died, leaving behind a blackened mess. Both sapped of their strength, their remains, now little more than two misshapen masses, plummeted into the open sea. They sank beneath the deep-green waves with a towering splash.

Suddenly a blackened and cracked head thrashed above the water's surface and vomited one last fireball in its death spasms towards the target that so enraged it.

Ifaut, still staring over the side of her ship, felt her heart drop into her stomach and her stomach rise into her throat. "Oh no..."

She rushed over to Sansonis and, seizing him in both arms, stumbled over to the side of the ship. She looked into his gray eyes and could do nothing but smile. "Thank you for making me happy," she said.

Then she hurled herself and Sansonis from the ship towards the sea far, far below.

The two ferrets, Gemmie and Maya, surveyed the chaotic scene through their tiny masked eyes. They clung to Stefi's shoulders as she fell, weeping and drawing in gasping breaths, to her hands and knees.

What happened? Gemmie said. She was vaguely aware that another blast of warmth had just flashed somewhere behind them.

"If... Ifaut and Sansonis are dead!" she choked out, her face twisted in grief.

That's impossible! Maya shot back. They can't be! The funny ferret-girl and the blue-haired guy, dead?

Gemmie seemed hardest hit. B-b-but, she stammered, I wasn't there to comfort her.

Just then they felt Stefi's body pulled forward to Cédes's as her head came to rest on the Furosan's chest.

"Stefi, I am sorry. I have failed you." Tears ran down Cédes's face. They streaked the drying blood and washed away her hopes for the future in one ebbing tide. "I have failed Ifaut and Sansonis, the ferrets, everyone. Especially you."

Stefi took her Furosan friend in her arms and the embrace was returned. "You haven't failed me, silly," she said and smiled through her own tears. "All I ever expected was for you to be here till the end. And you've fulfilled all my expectations and more. Thank you."

Alongside them the indifferent, deadly cannons prepared to fire once more. In that moment the ferrets knew that Stefi, weighted with grief and failure, had accepted the inevitable death Cédes had foretold.

Maya, Gemmie said, directing her thoughts at only the other ferret. It's time. Stefi knelt emotionally distraught beneath them; Cédes bloodied; Sansonis and Ifaut dead; Rhaka utterly dumbed in grief.

I know, he said. Kilara can't have meant any moment but this. 'To ensure the safety of the Fieretsi. That is your highest purpose.' She died for us to make it this far, and damned if I let my girl down now.

Yeah. Let's go.

The two ferrets turned to face Stefi, only for a second. Her face, pressed so near to Cédes's, showed all the markings of despair and the complete lack of hope. And that's how they knew it was time. The path was written clearly by their best friend. All doubt was gone. Only determination remained.

For the safety of the Fieretsi, Maya began.

And for the Fieretka, Gemmie continued.

For Feregana,

Mother to us all.

"Huh?" Cédes's ears pricked. "The ferrets are talking!"

Stefi nodded. "You hear them too? What are they saying? It makes no sense."

Cédes listened intently, still clinging to her human friend.

To keep the Dream alive,

And the hopes of all who live there.

What little color that was in Cédes's bloodied face drained away and left her even whiter than usual. "They are Awakening!" She shuddered. "You have to stop them! They cannot Awaken just for our sakes!"

"What? Awaken?" Stefi asked, quite puzzled. They weren't asleep. Nothing was making sense. Nothing.

"They are going to sacrifice themselves in order to save us."

Stefi gasped and a feeling of nausea boiled up in her stomach. She only just managed to keep it down. "Gemmie, Maya, stop right now. That's an order!" Her cracking voice fell dead and lifeless, the command barely registering in the ferrets' little ears.

For those we love,

And so they may continue to love...

They cast one last look at Stefi as she turned to each of them, inky black eyes lingering upon her own. "No!" she said weakly. The ferrets didn't listen. Their minds were set, their hearts steeled for the task ahead.

The two ferrets spoke together: We Awaken from the Dream.

"No!" Stefi cried, screaming from the bottom of her lungs and weeping from the deepest depths of her heart. The two fuzzy bodies that had once been so warm, so busy, so vibrant with the joy of life, tumbled limply from her shoulders, all traces of their life gone. They hit the deck with muffled thuds. Their black eyes, now devoid of their sparkle, stared at nothing.

Now, time itself really did stop, stilled across Feregana. Both airships stopped, their engines stalled in time. The waves of the ocean froze in awkward positions. Even the plume of smoke issuing from the remains of the starboard engine had ceased billowing and resembled an ethereal black pillar. And the ship that had been carrying Sansonis and Ifaut hovered, split in two, just above the waves; the flames consuming it were snapped frozen like melted stained glass. Only those aboard Djidou's airship seemed immune to the effects of whatever had just happened.

But Stefi barely noticed those things. Or the tear that rippled through the very fabric of reality. At first it appeared to be merely a lightning bolt, but it moved far too slowly through the cloudless sky. A sudden flash illuminated the deck, bathing it in the calming, otherworldly twilight of another sun.

Thank you, Stefi, she heard two familiar voices say. She looked towards the source of the light.

Don't cry, Gemmie said, her voice quiet and gentle. Please don't cry. This was our purpose.

Yeah, Maya said, still displaying his characteristic attitude to the very last. It's been an honor walking the Dream alongside you. But now it's time to wake up so you can keep being safe.

"What do you mean?" Stefi asked, her voice barely more than a whisper.

Our dream is over. Yours is just beginning, Gemmie said. So don't be sad. Smile.

"But I'll see you at the Rainbow Bridge, like Cédes told me about, won't I?"

There lies no Bridge for us. We are gone from the Dream. Only nothingness awaits, Maya said.

Gemmie piped up. Just don't forget to smile for us once in a while.

Then the shining light was gone.

"What did they mean?" Stefi asked and turned to Cédes.

"They no longer exist."

There was a tinkling like thin glass shattering and the Resolve broke into countless tiny pieces that danced away like dust on an unseen breeze. Then, with a sigh, reality settled itself back into its rightful place. Only now it was all the more lighter.

###

Coming soon: Awakening into Dreams: Part II of the Fabula Fereganae Cycle

Gemmie and Maya are dead. No, worse than dead. Sansonis and Ifaut, gone. Now with only two of her companions left, Stefi, the Final Fieretsi, is left drifting ever westwards aboard a crippled airship. There she finds Alzandia, home of the Alzandian Furosans, and Cédes's original home. But there is no warm welcome for Cédes from the people who were once glad to be rid of her long ago.

With the coming confluence of all five elemental guardians and the encroaching eternal twilight, Feregana looks set to change forever. And, beyond the bounds of the world, two lost souls may be the only ones who can prevent the past from repeating.

Chapter I: Time to Love, Time to Mourn

Stefi tore the bandana from her face and let it flutter lifelessly to the deck.

Cédes approached, perturbed by the silence radiating from Stefi. Did it mean she was recovering? Too upset to talk? Wanting to talk? Only one way to find out.

"They're really gone, aren't they?" Stefi said as a warm hand found her back.

Cédes didn't reply, but she slipped her arms about Stefi and rested her head on her human friend's shoulder. An honest answer would only provoke grief, a false answer empty hope. All she could do was listen.

"I've been listening," Stefi continued. Her hollow voice spoke as if to the night stars. "But there's nothing. Nothing. I've tried everywhere. But how can they be gone? It just doesn't feel possible, you know..."

After several moments had passed in silence, Cédes felt it was time to finally speak. "They may be gone, but they will always be in our memories. The ferrets chose to save us, knowing the price of their actions. The best way to honor them is to give them the mourning they are due and carry on."

"Not just them," Stefi said, "Sansonis and Ifaut too. It's not fair." She began to sob again and broke free from Cédes's embrace. "It's just not fair!" she screamed to the stars. They remained silent, uncaring, deaf to her protests. "Gemmie and Maya, I can almost accept. But those two? They had no choice!"

"They knew the risks, and still they fought," Cédes said. She found no comfort in her own words.

"It still isn't fair," Stefi said, her voice returning to normal. "They were finally being honest to each other. Ifaut, she was so nervous about her feelings when we were with the Blue Tail kids, and to see her finally be true to her own heart and Sansonis was..." A fragment of a smile showed on her face. "...cute."

"Yes," Cédes said with a smile of her own. "I have known Miss Ifaut for most of her life. Something most unfortunate happened to her when she was rather young, an incident that caused her to lock away her feelings for fear of the same thing happening. Only now, with a Kalkic human of all people, has she begun to feel love once again."

"What happened?"

"That is not for me to say. Even in death she still has her privacy. Just allow me to say that it is the reason for her overprotecting attitude towards Sansonis."

"You're talking like they're still here," Stefi said, noticing Cédes's odd choice of tenses.

"Indeed they are. They are not truly gone. The imprints they have left on our souls are still there. Perhaps the tides of time may erode them so that they become less vivid, but they will always be there if we let them."

Cédes's words relaxed Stefi's weary eyes. She closed them, picturing for a moment Ifaut laughing while Sansonis looked on curiously, not quite understanding the joke but appreciating her smile.

"I can still hear them, and I won't forget. I couldn't forget Ifaut even if I wanted to, especially the way she treated Sansonis like a pet. Not that he seemed to mind."

"That is how we should remember them," Cédes said, "forever young and happy."

"You're right. Ifaut would have been dragged kicking and screaming into old age."

###

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