The sorcerer Mourning Cloak watches as his northern abode and all his possessions slide ruinously down the mountain he had claimed for his own. It is cold in the cave where he takes refuge, colder than a cavern should be, and that suits his mood; very well, he shall rebuild his grandeur and power.

However, first certain scores must be settled and stolen property reclaimed. It will never again be enough to be merely Silver Dagger, the Central Kingdom Court Official. His own magic, even without the assistance of his wand, is enough to alert him to any nearby fugitives attempting to disguise themselves, or hide their tracks, via spells or enchantment. This would not enable him to penetrate the illusion, but to know it exists is enough. He will force them to run until they drop, weeping.

After that... Mourning Cloak has not yet decided the fates of the unfortunates who will soon be in his hands. The male, he has no use for, except as a lesson to show his daughters. But the girls, are they worth the trouble of preserving? He has many nights to sleep on the idea. They will believe themselves to be safe, the fools. There is no sanctuary for them on the face of the earth so long as they have the object he most desires. It never occurs to him that they might use it against him.

For a terrible lucid moment, Silver Dagger wonders if he is so addicted to the wand that now, deprived of it for an indefinite period of time, he will go slowly insane. It is not a comfortable thought, and instantly he banishes it as unworthy of him. Addiction is the excuse of the weak for their inability to handle and control power adequately. The concept does not apply to him. He laughs; he really is too busy to go insane. However, morning is soon enough to begin his many preparations.

The three companions have descended into scrubby woodland, and Jonas judges it is time that he stopped being a dove. Changing back is remarkably easy, like unkinking a knotted muscle. They have taken shelter for the night in a moderately pleasant glade, and here they discuss their tactics for the immediate future.

Summer Wind wants to be gone as soon as possible, to reach the local village or town and sell her valuables, but she does recognize the wisdom of a good disguise. Smoke Cat, however, recalls the many times her father has used magic-detection spells as alarms, and insists that this alteration of appearance must be accomplished by purely ordinary means. Once again, Jason the trickster is in his element. He rummages in his pack for a number of items that are better and last longer than makeup.

Since he carries on a dialogue with a couple of very large rabbits apparently eating cake while doing this, Summer Wind, especially, is not filled with confidence. "You are still drunk," she accuses Jonas/Jason. "This will not work! What's in that bottle?"

The temptation to answer "liquid" is too great for her intrepid hero, and he collapses into a fit of giggles. Finally regaining his poise, he tells her, "That vial is for me; it's bleach. For you I have henna powder to redden your hair."

"And the other, that dark stuff?" the girl asks suspiciously. "Iodine and walnut juice. I'm not sure yet what color you'll come out, but it will certainly be darker than an escaped Paleyit hill princess ought to look."

Smoke has remained silent, assuming that she is doomed to spend the upcoming journey back in the blue gem, since one cannot dye a genie, when an idea occurs to her. "We will need to keep watch at night after this," she says. "How would you feel about a very large guard cat? Unless, of course, you'd like to wish me free..."

Jonas looks ludicrously abashed, and mumbles something like, "I hadn't thought about it."

Silver Smoke, more conscious of her slavery than usual, nevertheless concedes the logic of this. "Internal transformations, like genie to smoke or woman to spirit animal leave almost no discernible trace, and it would be convenient if I could still hide from prying eyes just by evaporating." Her sister and friend both notice her dejection, however.

"Can you shape-shift directly from genie to big cat?" asks Summer Wind. "Since you are a shaman yourself, you should be able to use the animal essence our brother made for you an infinite number of times."

Smoke Cat Watching brightens. "Yes. I think, in fact, that it will be easier to change from genie-woman to spirit-cat and back than it will be when I eventually try it as a fully human person again." Jonas has said nothing. He knows he probably shouldn't trust his tongue while he still sees rabbits.

Clean shaven, with his hair cut and bleached, and having acquired green and brown clothing suitable for a prolonged sojourn in the wilderness Jonas/Jason feels like a new man. And clearly, he now needs a different name... just in case they meet someone looking for a ‘Jason’ who was seen going north.

"I will be... Sinjin, I think," he declares.

"One who spreads the Word," murmurs Smoke Cat contemplatively, wondering what shading this will add to his collection of personas.

Summer Wind laughs happily. "Do I get to choose an alias also?"

Jonas/Sinjin is dubious, apparently, about the ability of a 14-year-old to select a suitable pseudonym, so he exerts all of his charm when he says, "I had hoped, princess, to call you precisely that. In the language of my birth, the word translates into the name Sarah."

"How pretty!" the delighted teenager exclaims.

Privately, Smoke Cat Watching has misgivings about this journey into the wild, especially for Summer... er, Sarah, who has never traveled at all. Still, she is the one with the strongest motivation to keep going. It has been decided that they will cross through the great forest, which will involve a great deal of rugged terrain that the caravans avoid, until they come at last to the steppes. Silver Dagger may guess this to be their eventual destination, but the choice has much to recommend it.

After all, they do have to head for somewhere, and Smoke Cat considers that a depleted sorcerer from the Seo Hán Nì Central Kingdom would have to be more than a bit rash to take a fight to a shaman on her own home territory. And, of course, she also has many friends there, one of whom is expecting a child, and she did promise to be back in time. It is a sign that you are doing the right thing when all indications point in the same direction, she believes, although she would still prefer to dance on it, and not as a genie.

Thankfully for the harmony of the expedition, Sinjin proves to be a patient teacher, and enjoys instructing his young pupil in how to pitch a tent, how to climb a tree taller than those in her gardens, how to tie knots, how to shoot a bow, and how to prepare meat. With a large black cat prowling their campsites at night, most of the meat is provided by that same cat's hunting rather than by the archers, but no one minds this. Sarah is a determined girl and wants badly to be a good companion.

In the evenings, after camp is made and before the two humans go to sleep for the night, Silver Smoke emerges from her genie gem to talk with them and generally be sociable. Twilight quickly becomes everyone's favorite time of day, even if it were not for the added allure of a respite from walking, sometimes scrambling, through dense woods and up or down slopes. However, perhaps thanks to their feline escort, they encounter no worse perils than that and argue remarkably infrequently for such a small company.

When the three exit the last scrubby thickets onto the true plains, Smoke Cat Watching calls a halt. There is a monstrous thunderstorm brewing to the west, and it feels very wrong to her. "Wish me free, Jonas," she says, using his real name for the first time in weeks. "It is time to dance."

Almost immediately, Song the Wolf Calling's spirit animal comes to the shaman, all in bone white rather than her standard grey. This is a serious omen. Her cousin and foster sister is either in great trouble or is causing great trouble. Knowing the young woman, both possibilities at once are also an option. As for the storm, it speaks of an imbalance, an unrest larger than one individual's personal problems should account for, but then, Smoke Cat has been gone for months and does not know what has been happening at home.

From the beginning, it has been part of the plan to permanently remove Smoke Cat from the jewel when they reached the Tishat steppes where she would be more effective as a flesh and blood shaman, but there was not previously this sense of urgency. "We must have horses," she announces. "There is much need of haste." Striding over to her little sister, she hugs her first and then asks, "Can you ride? If you cannot, this kind of race is no way to learn. You might be more comfortable in the genie stone."

"I want to learn," says Sarah/Summer Wind resolutely. "However, I don't want to slow us down or get myself hurt by doing it at a foolish time." She looks nervously at the massive thunderheads. Torrential rain when one is imprisoned in a tower is bad enough, but out on a prairie? The girl has never seen so much open space, and it intimidates her more than a little bit. "Perhaps I should go into the blue gem now, for practice," she offers. "Sinjin, you will have to carry the wand for a while."

As the first spatters of rain fall, huge clouds are continuing to gather and amass over the western horizon. "You realize, of course," says Jonas/Sinjin, "that if it pours hard enough, we won't be able to tell where we're going."

"No," the shaman replies, "we won't get lost, but I might have to use my magic; I'm not a natural weather-witch. However, the sooner we start out, the better the chances that we'll find a clan to take shelter with and borrow horses from before the worst of this deluge hits."

"You come with the rain, Storm Crow," says the leader of the first clan they meet, "with two foreigners, one of whom is not what she seems. Why should we lend our fine horses to you?"

Smoke Cat, streaming with water but every inch a shaman, has Jonas hold up the wand. "So that we may more quickly convey this evil thing out of your grazing lands and away." A boy is dispatched to go with them and return the horses after they reach the tents of the next clan, but there is no further argument.

From inside the genie pin, Wind Princess feels that the same actions are being repeated over and over again: get new horses, run, walk, run, walk, find another clan, rest there briefly, get new horses... It isn't always raining violently, but more often than not it is, and she knows that Smoke Cat Watching is worried.

Sarah/Summer Wind was surprised to find herself pale and undisguised once more when she first materialized but then recalls that a genie can't be dyed. Unlike her elder sister, she finds the interior of the jewel to be an emotionally strenuous and tumultuous place, so she focuses all of her attention on events in the outside world. Unfortunately, there isn't much to see. Sinjin most often looks like a drowned rat clinging to the back of his horse, while Smoke Cat seems to meld and flow as part of the animal.

As they approach more familiar lands, Smoke does something quite strange. Whereas before, to satisfy courtesy, she introduced herself fully and had her sister enter the clan's encampment in girl form, she now uses the identity of ‘Storm Crow’ and keeps the existence of a third member of their party a secret.

Summer Wind asks Jonas why this is. "She's afraid that neighboring clans might be hostile and either refuse to help us or take us captive so that we cannot strengthen Sun Horse, I imagine."

"But that sounds like we're walking into a war!" exclaims Sarah, horrified.

Jonas tries to shrug and is too tense to be entirely successful. "Clan squabbles can be rather minor, or very fierce. The rumors we've been hearing are that Sun Horse clan is weak and in disarray. They are still allied with Rolling Thunder, but there is only one shaman shared between the two clans. I would expect horse raiding at the least. This weather may actually be delaying any further breaking of the peace. But really, if you want to know, you should ask your sister," he reminds the young girl gently.

"I don't want to bother her; she has so much on her mind right now," is Summer's reply.

"You don't think she might be lonely, trying to stay strong with so much on her mind?" Jonas asks sensitively.

"I... I'll go talk to her. If she's thinking about defending her people, well, I know more than a little magic, too, even when I'm not a wish-granting genie, and I'd like to be useful." Wind Princess suddenly smiles. "I'll be 15, soon, you know."

When they reach Rolling Thunder territory, however, Smoke Cat's behavior is very different. She sits tall in her saddle not for posturing, but because she feels tall in the saddle. Her enthusiasm is infectious, and Jonas cuts the blond fringe from the ends of his hair and shaves in a spare moment.

The older shaman, Blue Turtle Dreaming is the first to spot them. He is so delighted to see them that he accompanies them all the way into camp before winking at Smoke Cat, complaining legitimately about overwork, and retiring to his tent for a nap.

"It is just his way," her sister explains to Summer Wind. The young Seo Hán Nì girl is shy and anxious now, being surrounded by Smoke Cat's friends and family, and yet knowing nothing of horses, or skirmishes, or anything of their culture, really.

Grey Owl is also thrilled by Smoke Cat Watching's return and extends his happiness to include her newly found half sister and her traveling companion, er... "Jonas," he provides.

However, his wife Springing Doe, now very pregnant, is nearly beside herself with joy. "You are here in time, as you promised! And you will fix everything! I do so much wish I could be there to watch you slap my own little sister upside the head, as she so richly deserves, but I'm too awkward to go on horseback."

"Tell me how things lie?" requests the shaman worriedly, "What exactly has been happening here while I was gone?"

"Oh, Smoke," Springing Doe comforts her, "don't you dare blame yourself for leaving. It was needful for your wellbeing that you go. As it was necessary for me to marry into Rolling Thunder. Besides, I doubt either of us could have prevented Song from behaving like a complete idiot even had we been sitting on top of her yelling at her to think before she acted. She is so independent."

"How bad has it gotten, Spring?" Smoke Cat Watching asks sternly. "How much time do we have?"

Grey Owl answers regarding the neighboring clans. They have become feisty, especially to the south, and there will soon have to be a meeting for testing and reckoning. “I believe all that is required there to avert further problems is a show of strength,” he informs the trio. “There is no sign of demon mischief stirring things up.”

"All right. It will be attended to. Thank you," says the shaman with apparent relief.

Now Springing Doe takes over the narrative. Sun Horse clan is heart sick. Not so critically ill in morale that the travelers cannot spend the night, which is rapidly falling, at Rolling Thunder and tell their own tale, but still, sick enough at heart that they should probably leave in the morning.

Smoke Cat sighs. She is glad to hear that their mad dash across the plains was not in vain, but she knows that she has much to do, yet. "Tell me what happened, then, from the beginning."

"For the benefit of our guests, I will say that Star Hawk Burning, the next leader of Sun Horse, is very much in love with my younger sister, and Song the Wolf Calling loves him deeply in return. But neither of them will admit it to the other, for various silly reasons, and that is how the trouble started." Springing Doe rubs her rounded belly in preoccupation. "Wolf Calling also happens to possess a magical talent, a Song of command, that makes a person want to do whatever she asks of them. Before I was married, she would tease Star Hawk with it, basically because he refused to rise to her bait otherwise, telling him to fetch her this or hand her that."

Smoke Cat agrees and elaborates, "He was indulgent with her, like a patient uncle, but not flirtatious, because in his opinion, this game was childish, and a man does not flirt with a spoiled child." The shaman looks at Springing Doe and frowns. "I thought all that had stopped."

"It did," she answers. "Like you, I believed that honor match the two of them fought cleared up much nonsense and opened their eyes a bit. And for a while, things went very smoothly. He was protective and affectionate. She was tender and openhearted, playful, but not maddening."

Jonas, confused, appeals to Grey Owl, "This is all because of a love affair that went badly?"

The other man nods. "Just listen."

His wife continues, "Then Wolf Calling began saying that they must redo the fight, because she hadn't been trying to win, but only to prolong the match, and that made it invalid that he beat her. Of course, he disagreed. So, they quarreled. Often. She went back to using the Song on him. To be fair, I don't think she did it on purpose at first, but it happened that it was in her voice, yet she gave no order. It was like stretching a bowstring taut and giving it no release. He turned away."

"And she thought she had won something, that he had conceded perhaps, and she kept doing it," Smoke Cat Watching guesses grimly. "The cumulative strain would be tremendous."

"It has been," confirms Grey Owl. "He has become reclusive and strange; lately he has developed a terrible fever."

"This has polarized the clan. Some sympathize with her, some with him, some with neither but are bitter in general..." says Springing Doe.

Summer Wind shares an insight. "They set an example."

"Yes," her sister says softly, closing her eyes in fatigue.

That evening, as more rain falls, Smoke Cat, Jonas, and Summer Wind tell of their adventures in the Central Kingdom. Springing Doe and her husband are most alarmed to hear that Silver Dagger might still be alive and hunting for his lost wand and runaway daughters, and they are united in thanking Jonas for all he had done to rescue their friend and save her half-sister. In fact, the expectant mother pronounces that this is the sign she has awaited, and that she will name the baby after him.

"What if it is a girl?" Jonas asks.

The mother-to-be is unruffled. "I think "Little Dove" is a perfectly good name for either sex," she says, much to his chagrin.

It is nearly time for bed, and Wind Princess the semi-genie asks if she can sleep outside the gem for a change. Springing Doe, who has taken a liking to the girl, teases her gently, saying that she only wishes she could float, to take some weight off her feet; then, she would be able to go with them in the morning. She sighs.

Smoke Cat Watching looks thoughtful. "Normally, you wouldn't be able to, since only an individual with a magical talent can be housed in the jewel, but right now you are... a plural person. We could try."

Springing Doe is half hopeful and half anxious. "My baby? But… what effect would that have?"

"I spent a lot of time in there, Spring, studying its properties," says the shaman. "I swear I wouldn't suggest anything that would harm your infant. You find only what you take inside with you. I don't recommend you stay very long in the stone at this point, but as a means of transportation, it should be fine."

Summer Wind is torn. She wants her freedom from the brooch, but she remembers that she can't ride a horse. "But..." begins the girl.

"Yes," the shaman admits, "I almost forgot that detail. Tomorrow you will ride behind me, and if you get into trouble, let go of me and fly. We won't leave you behind," and she smiles an apology at her young sister. "It may not even work."

However, it does work, and the proud parents are quietly elated that their child will be magically talented. They are only quietly elated because Grey Owl is still concerned about the safety of his pregnant wife, and Springing Doe is finding the genie existence to be rather soporific. "It's like being rocked to sleep all the time, only you feel no motion," she says.

Summer Wind does remarkably well her first time on horseback, only taking to the air perhaps a dozen times during the day's trip.

It is late afternoon when they arrive at Sun Horse clan's encampment. Smoke Cat slides gracefully off her horse and strides between the tents while the others are still dismounting. Summer Wind amazes herself by getting down from her mount without flying and pets its soft nose in gratitude.

While the others pay their respects to chieftain White Bear, who has had a severe cough but has recently recovered, the shaman hunts for his daughter, Song the Wolf Calling. She finds her near a small pool where she has been bathing but apparently has lost track of time and now seems to be daydreaming.

Song startles guiltily at her cousin's approach. "I was just... Oh, Smoke, you're back!" she effuses joyfully. "I've missed you so much!" and she runs to her foster sister, embracing her heartily.

"I have much to tell you," Smoke Cat says wryly, yet with affection, the words she had prepared for the occasion deserting her. "But first, Song, what have you been up to?"

"I... I'm..." Wolf Calling gulps suddenly and looks profoundly unhappy. "I've been miserable. He started it, he did, but I've made things so much worse, and I don't know how to set it right anymore," she blurts out.

"I see," the shaman replies neutrally. "You did not think to ask anyone for advice?"

Song blinks hard. "Tears will not help," Wolf Calling mutters fiercely to herself.

"Have you not wept over this, then?" asks Smoke Cat curiously.

Not trusting her voice, Song shakes her head.

Smoke wears an enigmatic expression. "Would it help if I slapped you?” she wonders.

The younger woman is shocked. "What??"

Gently the shaman wipes her cousin's cheeks, as though drying invisible tears. "Cry!" she commands softly.

Wolf Calling stammers something incoherent, sniffles, then buries her head in her foster sister's shoulder and sobs, shaking violently. Finally, the tremors cease and Song stops crying for the time being, just as storm clouds begin to race up from the horizon.

"Let's go inside," Smoke Cat Watching says sensibly. "If we stay out here, we might get wet."

Wolf Calling laughs and pretends to wring the saline from the other woman's vest. "What do I do now?" she asks as they duck inside the tent reserved for the shaman's use.

"Breathe. Refrain from using your talent unwisely! Breathe. Cry some more. Apologize to Star Hawk!" is her foster sister’s counsel.

"Now?" asks Wolf Calling.

"Perpetually, I would say, for weeks. But no, I would not start now. Wait until I can cure his fever, silly child," and Smoke Cat smiles to take some of the sting from her words.

"That's my fault," admits Song.

Smoke is always fair. "Well, yes, but not entirely. Star Hawk has not behaved without blame."

"He's been very good!" flares the younger woman, defensively.

"I'm glad you see that," says the shaman. "A lesser man might have acted quite differently. You owe the spirits, and him, gratitude for that, as well."

Summer Wind has been waiting in Smoke Cat's tent with a message: go to Star Hawk Burning immediately, as his condition has been deliberately understated to keep alarm from spreading through the clan, and especially beyond it. The shaman leaves Song with the girl and Springing Doe, then hurries to obey.

There is a guard posted at Star Hawk's tent, although to the casual eye it seems merely that one of his close friends is lounging by the entrance, whittling. The man nods to Smoke Cat Watching as she passes and looks relieved for a moment, despite the rain that is once again beginning to pelt down.

Inside, Grey Owl and another young hunter are attending Star Hawk, mopping him with wet cloths and keeping him from trying to leave his bed. The fever has progressed, and he is delirious and raving. "Will you need us?" Grey Owl asks, obviously hoping the answer will be "no."

"I don't know yet," Smoke Cat says honestly, and the two men back away to let her examine her patient. His skin is hot to the touch, impossibly hot for a person whose name is not ‘Burning’, but his talent has turned back on itself and is consuming him. "Star Hawk," she calls to him, holding his face in order to look into his eyes. A flicker of recognition surfaces and is swamped again as thunder growls outside.

She takes a deep breath. "Very well," the shaman says to herself. "Grey Owl, would you bring my sister to me?" Smoke Cat doesn't bother turning to see whether he goes. Already she is conjuring snow and packing it around Star Hawk Burning, explaining to the feverish man what she is doing in a low voice, just in case he can hear and understand her; his help would be invaluable if he can give it. She works quickly, and her patient is almost wholly covered in white when Summer Wind arrives.

"Do you think you can layer ice over the snow?" Smoke Cat Watching asks her sister. The girl nods wordlessly. "Good. Do that, please. Everything but his face, hands, and the soles of his feet." Looking into Star Hawk's eyes again, the shaman thinks she sees a trifle more awareness.

"I'm going to conjure fire," she tells him and Summer Wind. "I'm going to pull it from the heat of his body, gathering it a tiny bit at a time like building a snowball out of separate flakes. Do you understand?"

Summer Wind pauses slightly in her work to meet her sister's gaze and smile agreement. The patient, who has quit raving and settled somewhat with Smoke Cat's coming, says nothing either. "Star Hawk, it would help me if you can release that heat, just let it go," she says soothingly.

And then the shaman begins to concentrate, herself. Sweat beads on her forehead as motes of flame appear between her cupped hands. Finally, there is what she deems enough, and she refocuses her eyes and sighs.

Smoke Cat leaves Summer Wind in charge of keeping Star Hawk quiet and chilled for a brief while and takes her fireball outside. She has asked Grey Owl to help Jonas lay out a fighting circle with a black powder he acquired in the Central Kingdom, and it is now ready. "It's too wet to burn," Jonas warns her.

"It will burn if I make it hot enough," the shaman replies confidently, setting down the fever fire. And, hissing and spitting, it runs clockwise until it meets already burnt grass and dies out.

Back inside the tent, Star Hawk opens his eyes, sees the snow, and murmurs, "Cool. Feels good," and lapses into a more normal sleep, his temperature slowly but steadily dropping.

"Let the ice melt," Smoke Cat advises, "and call me if his skin still feels too hot, or if he is not perfectly himself."

"Are you sure?" Summer Wind whispers. "I've never helped heal anyone before."

"You're doing fine," Smoke Cat Watching tells her, "And I badly need a nap."

Later that night, the shaman is alone with her patient when he regains lucidity. "I thought it was you," says Star Hawk. "Thank you."

She smiles warmly and touches his hand, then comments mildly, "You came close to fatally misusing your power. Do you have any idea why?"

"It wasn't like that," he explains. "It took control of me."

"Eventually, yes," Smoke Cat confirms. There's a long period of silence.

"It sounds melodramatic," says Star Hawk pensively. "I used it to remain calm, to keep her from driving me crazy."

"To stay focused," the shaman adds helpfully.

"Yes." Then almost under his breath he grumbles, "And it doesn't matter anyway. She doesn't really want me. The kiss... it was all a trick, just a game to her."

Wearily, Smoke Cat rubs her temples. "And you can't trust her, have any faith in her now."

"No,” he pronounces flatly.

Wolf Calling is awake and sitting up in the shaman's tent when she returns before dawn. Quietly, to avoid disturbing Summer Wind, Song questions Smoke Cat, "Is he going to be all right?"

"Yes," says her foster sister, "but apologies aren't going to be enough. I was afraid of this." Both women sigh deeply.

"What then? What can I offer him that he'll still accept?" Song the Wolf Calling asks dejectedly.

"A gift. Something very personal..." Smoke Cat Watching muses, "but also unexpected... Where are your baby teeth?" Smoke Cat inquires suddenly.

"In Father's tent somewhere. I'm saving them to make my baby's rattle; it's tradition," Wolf Calling replies, puzzled.

"Give them to Star Hawk now. That is, unless you were thinking of having some other man's child," says the shaman.

"No! But why would he want them?" asks Song, blushing fiercely.

Smoke grins wickedly in anticipation. "We can arrange that. What I have in mind is a bit strange, but this situation calls for something drastic. Are you willing, Song?"

"I'll try anything," swears Wolf Calling.

That morning, after Sun Horse clan is stirring and while White Bear is out of his tent talking with his elder daughter and her husband, Song the Wolf Calling finds her pouch of baby teeth. Still bemused, she helps Smoke Cat Watching perform her odd enchantment on them and goes to visit Star Hawk.

Song is unsure of her welcome, as she has not been allowed to come near Star Hawk Burning until his fever has abated, but the tent is no longer guarded and there is no one to keep her out, at least. He sees her enter, as he is sitting in a low sling chair that has escaped the mess created by the melting ice, however he waits for her to speak first.

"I never meant... I wouldn't..." Wolf Calling looks down and tries again. "I brought you something," she says abruptly, bringing him the pouch. Inside is a necklace of tiny wolf teeth, a cub's teeth, strung with even smaller beads to space them out. "It's not a very impressive thing for a warrior to wear," Song apologizes. "They're only milk teeth. But well, they're mine, and I wanted you to have something of me." Finally, she ventures to gaze up into his face.

Star Hawk has a stunned expression. "Song the Wolf Calling," he says, "you transformed them. For me."

"Smoke did most of it, actually," Song admits. "I wouldn't have known how."

"Of course," he agrees. Absently, Star Hawk runs a hand through his hair, then flips a thin braid over his shoulder and stares at it for a moment. "A feather. I could give you a feather. But I don't know how."

The young woman smiles at him with more confidence now. "So, you find it an acceptable gift?" she asks. He looks again at the necklace of little fangs.

"You are... unique," Star Hawk answers with a curious, wry tenderness. "It is an amazing gift. And yes, Wolfling, I accept it."

Strolling together in the afternoon, when the clouds have parted, the newly reconciled couple is distressed to see the combat circle Smoke Cat has burned into the turf. "But I don't want to fight anymore," Song the Wolf Calling appeals to her father. White Bear, however, supports the plan.

"This trouble began over a fight between you two. Now, though, it involves the whole clan. So, it will end with a fight between you two, and the matter will be publicly settled," the chieftain tells them.

"Furthermore," Grey Owl says, "this could be exactly the show of strength we need to keep the hostilities with our southern neighbors from escalating. Invite a select few to watch the match; they will see that Star Hawk is healed, Smoke Cat is back, White Bear is well, and we are united." Both combatants acquiesce, although Star Hawk looks obstinate, and Song's face seems down right mutinous... almost.

"Remember, you must each fight to win, even if you don't want to hurt the other or you have now decided that you would rather lose. To do less than your best is to insult the honor and ability of your opponent," Smoke Cat Watching reminds them.

As the lovers leave to spend more time together, Jonas says from behind the shaman's head, "You are the referee, then?"

"No, you are," she says, enjoying his incredulity.

He merely blinks. "Me? Why?"

"Don't worry," Smoke Cat consoles him, "there are very few rules. But this time we will have guests, and an impartial observer from outside the clan will not be questioned."

"You think they might collaborate and try to cheat that way?" Jonas asks.

"No," the shaman replies, "I'm virtually certain they wouldn't do that, but if it occurs to you and me, others will have the same idea."

Summer Wind, exasperated, says resolutely, "When I fall in love, it will not be this complicated!"

The day arrives and a fine mist hovers in the air despite the brightness of the sky; the grass is slick. Star Hawk Burning is pronounced fully recovered, overcoming Song's last objection, and everyone assembles at the ring.

Wolf Calling digs a hole in the mud with one toe experimentally, and once again pulls off most of her clothes. She winks at Star Hawk and says, "They said fight to win."

"I'm not worried," he responds. "I know all your weaknesses now, and I did win before."

"Good luck, then,” Song the Wolf Calling wishes her adversary, giving the impression that she’s humoring him.

This time it is Star Hawk's strategy to draw out the match, knowing that Song will tire first. Therefore, her attacks are quick and brutal. He retreats as often as he can, but there is no doubt he is taking a beating. Then, however, the girl slows and is finally backed almost to the circle's edge. She is guarding high, since the man knocked her senseless last time. So, instead he grabs Wolf Calling by the hips and tosses her backwards; her butt lands well outside the ring, and she skids for good measure.

Smoke Cat Watching is already there to congratulate Star Hawk Burning and make sure that neither opponent is seriously injured. "You will be very sore tomorrow, but this all seems to be superficial. And you have won a fine woman... if she will have you."

"Of course!" Song says indignantly.

"Good," her friend and foster sister replies with a smile. "Star Hawk, give me your vest, please." He winces a little as he removes it.

"Why?" he asks curiously.

"Because we are still in public, and Wolf Calling will need something to wear." Smoke struggles not to appear smug.

"Oh?" Song remarks suspiciously.

"Yes, cousin, you're about to put that on and give me your halter instead. I have need of a length of cloth or cord, and this is my choice,” the shaman asserts.

"You can't be serious!" Wolf Calling objects, nevertheless donning the vest. "Now?" She glances in appeal to Star Hawk, but he simply grins incorrigibly. "You're going to bind us now, with a strip of dirty, sweaty," pulling it from one armhole Song the Wolf Calling inspects the gauze, "blood spotted and grass smeared..."

Star Hawk Burning interrupts her. "I want this. It's us. We'll do it properly with feasting and dancing and golden cord later, when we both feel better. But I won you, and you consented, and I want you now. Give me your hand, Wolfling."

Slowly Song smiles as she twines her fingers through his. "I hope your bed has dried." Suddenly Wolf Calling's eyes widen in alarm. "Smoke, he feels hot! He isn't having a relapse of the fever, is he? I didn't do anything wrong!"

Smoke Cat, solemnly winding a complex knot around and between the couple's joined hands, pauses for a moment to look the temporarily nervous bride and eager groom up and down. "No, Song, I don't believe you did anything wrong. Yes, Star Hawk does seem hot, but I think that's normal for him under the circumstances." The shaman finishes her knot.

From slightly behind her, as appears to be his way lately, Jonas says, "You were right. That was easy to referee." He comes even with Smoke Cat and smiles. "How long do they have to stay tied together?"

"Normally, until the end of the ceremony. In this ancient form, until morning," she tells him blandly.

Thinking of the blows exchanged, he remarks, "Awkward. Will they have the sense to cut themselves free if it gets painful?

The shaman cannot keep a straight face and smiles. "I don't know; they're stubborn... so I put a quick-release spell on the knot."

He sobers suddenly. "What am I doing here, Lady Cat?" Jonas asks softly. "You're all so busy doing vital things, contributing to the wellbeing of your clan, and I... what am I doing?"

Smoke Cat Watching gulps, but her voice is calm. "I had hoped that you would stay for a while, remain with us long enough to escort Summer Wind south to the Arcane Academy when the time comes for her to go. We can shield her here for a season, perhaps, but then the wand will have to go to a safer location. She has the resources to attend the Academy after delivering it.”

Jonas is gazing at her wordlessly, and for once she has no clue what he is thinking. Maybe he misses his own family and would like to return to them. When she tries to ask him about how he feels, however, Smoke cannot find the words.

“Still, I would like to show Summer Wind a slice of what normal life was like for me growing up. She has been in a tower and then escaping from it all her life; it’s important to me that she gets to know something of what I mean by home before she begins to travel again," Smoke Cat tells him instead.

"All right,” he says sighing, not sure himself if it’s with relief or resignation. “I'll stay."

In utmost secrecy, the wand is buried in the center of the now abandoned combat circle, deep in the heart of Sun Horse clan territory. Being poisonous, it will begin to kill the grass above it, but the rate at which the brown zone expands should roughly indicate how much power the wand has at this distance from its cave. When the clan moves on to follow the herds, they will scry it each day; when all the plants inside the circle are dead, Summer Wind and the wand will resume the journey south.

As a means of judging such an arbitrary interval as when the danger to the clan becomes too great, Jonas decides that this method is as good as any other and better than most. In the meanwhile, Summer Wind will get an intensive course in how to be an adolescent plains girl. Everyone has something to teach her, but they also try not to overload her, so that she has the leisure to relax and socialize with other people her own age. At first, she is painfully shy and sticks firmly to her family group.

Then, however, curiosity begins to take her prowling around camp, to see what folk are busy doing and how they do it. Summer Wind is like some cautious, wild thing wandering among them, but everyone always makes time to stop and demonstrate their task with a smile. With the horses, the girl is more confident. Once she is shown how to fall relatively safely and broken of the habit of flying off, the horses themselves know best how to teach Summer Wind to ride, and she excels almost with rapture.

The weeks go by, and Star Hawk Burning marries his new wife Song the Wolf Calling with more formality and celebration; Springing Doe delivers her child and Little Dove proves to be a lovely baby girl with soft dark curls; Jonas bows to popular demand and begins telling his stories of the wider world to the delight of young and old alike; and Smoke Cat Watching passes on much information regarding magic and healing to her half-sister who is as hungry for knowledge as she is for companionship.

Summer Wind, though, cannot quite adapt to an existence with vanishingly few trees and no walls, especially in foul weather, which continues to frighten her. She is included in the margins of the clan's youthful society, yet never completely overcomes her shyness with them, much to the dismay of the boys who find her extremely pretty. Perhaps because her brother is the only other child that she’s been accustomed to before, Summer Wind is most comfortable in the company of adults or, rarely, very small children.

Despite a few imperfections, Summer Wind is happier and certainly more contented than she has ever felt in her life, and everyone laments the day when the patch of dead grass finally fills the fighting ring. The last of the caravans are traveling, so Jonas and the young girl will not need to go alone.

Since Jonas is returning to the same region where he left his name and identity behind, he of course assumes a new disguise. This time it is he who dyes his skin with the iodine and walnut juice mixture, and uses the henna on his hair, which he has cropped close to the scalp. He announces that he will now be called only "Suj", explaining that he has dropped the "N" because "Sinjin" had two. White Bear pats him on the head and tells him that makes perfect sense, as though he were a toddler.

Summer Wind has grown a couple of inches since fleeing her birthplace and acquired a moderate tan, and this, along with resuming the name "Sarah", is felt to be adequate protection. Just before she must leave, they celebrate her fifteenth birthday. Along with various useful items, including a good knife and a pair of new boots, she is given her choice of horses. Unfortunately, the mare cannot journey southward with her, since Summer Wind will be busy attending the Arcane Academy upon her arrival, but the girl is nonetheless ecstatic.

Often during these last hours of preparations, Smoke Cat Watching is aware of Jonas, as Suj, standing behind her, and more than once she turns and tries to thank him. "I know what I'm asking you to do, in going back, or at least I can guess," she says to him earnestly. "I would go with you if I could, but the council of elders has decreed that it is too soon after the tension with the neighboring clans for me to be absent from Sun Horse."

"You don't know cities, anyway," he teases the shaman. "This is what I do best, and it's good to feel necessary again, not to be idle..."

"Have you felt idle, then?" Smoke Cat asks him. "Do you not see the role that you have assumed? The clan has had no lore-keeper, no teller of tales, since Talks Over the Left went berserk and attempted to murder Spring and Song."

Jonas smiles wryly, but it does not quite reach his eyes. "So, as long as I don't try to kill anyone, I'm an acceptable replacement? Your people need you, Lady Cat; I understand."

Smoke Cat thinks she understands, as well. After all, Jason/Jonas distinctly said over a year before that he was not ready to wed, and he has been careful not to do anything that would indicate that he has changed his mind. She bids her sister farewell, and promises to scry for her often, which is not an ideal means of keeping up with someone but is better than nothing. Many tears are shed, and many brave smiles exchanged, and at last the wand is entrusted to Summer Wind and on its way south.

Sarah's journey to the city-state of Jailuha, the trade center to the south, is fairly tame. It is not, as Smoke Cat feared it might be, plagued with outlaws and ruffians drawn to the evil of the wand, nor is the weather particularly inclement. Suj even manages not to lose too much while amusing his fellow travelers.

Once inside the city, however, it is a slightly different story. Twice the girl is targeted by thieves, but each time they are foiled by her companion's vigilance. Thus, the transfer of the wand to the magicians of the Arcane Academy is accomplished without mishap, and the wizards appear genuinely enthusiastic about acquiring the relic for study. Summer Wind, once again calling herself by her true name, is tested for suitability as a prospective pupil, and passes all examinations with ease.

Although the metropolis as a whole is quite intimidating for her, the Academy is very much its own small community, slightly farther south along the shores of Lake Luha, and within its sheltering confines, Summer Wind is able to settle in reasonably quickly. She is young for a student there, but this suits her temperament, and soon she even starts to make a few friends. Periodically Suj shows her the sights and instructs the girl on how to conduct herself prudently in the marketplace, so Summer Wind is not completely bereft of familiar faces.

After a couple of months, Summer Wind masters the subtle art of long-distance scrying, and accidentally discovers that, if she is viewing Smoke Cat Watching at the same time that her sister calls up a vision of her, a stronger connection is formed and they can carry on a brief conversation. This innovation is not entirely novel, but according to lore, the mages involved must each have, for example, a shard from one magic crystal in order to establish a stable link. Seemingly, a blood kinship suffices.

Immediately the sisters set a regular time each week to communicate with each other and share news. Hearing of this, Jonas suggests that they enchant bangles with a tiny bell or chime that will ring when they are being scried, similar to when Silver Smoke warmed the genie jewel as a signal that she wished to be summoned out of it. This brilliant refinement is implemented between the two, as well as relayed to the mages of the Arcane Academy who are delighted with its potential uses.

Sadly, aside from commenting that he plans to spend a while with his family further to the west, this is the last time that Summer Wind mentions Jonas/Suj to her sister. Smoke Cat Watching neither asks after him nor scries for him, attempting to convince herself that she is indifferent to his whereabouts. The season passes, and then another, and still the shaman receives no word from the man. Summer Wind is thriving at the Academy and arranges for Smoke Cat to come soon and visit her there.

The courtesan known as Pretty Girl hears and remembers many secrets, some of which she is willing, for a price, to pass along. She may not be intelligent in the strictest sense, but she is canny and somehow knows just what she can reveal without jeopardizing her popularity and piquant charm.

Pretty Girl is surprisingly not a risk taker and always hedges her bets. Her shallow heart delights in going to parties, and wearing the latest fashions, and being lavished with jewelry, yet what she truly craves is power. Lately she has heard whispers of a certain wand, an extremely magical item, which has been obtained by the Arcane Academy. It is reputed to be steeped in evil, but this does not particularly bother Pretty Girl. What is important is that people will pay to learn about it.

While she has no magic herself, Pretty Girl is acquainted with a fair number of thieves and petty sorcerers. This, however, is not information for the mediocre in skill. She also knows that there is some mysterious key to unlocking the power of the wand which has not been disclosed to her... as of yet. The best course, therefore, is to wait, and bide her time until she can discover why the object is currently inert, and who might want most desperately to be apprised of its location.

It has occurred to her that, as lucrative as it is at the moment, she will not be able to count on being a pretty girl forever. Hence, she needs money, and more than that, she requires influence. Pretty Girl has discovered that she rather enjoys making other people uncomfortable, and that coercing them into doing whatever she wants is pleasant in and of itself. As it is unlikely that she will ever become queen of anything, however, the courtesan is willing to settle for the next best thing.

Several weeks go by before more rumors regarding this interesting subject come to Pretty Girl's ears. Whenever something is found, though, there is nearly always someone who has lost it, and quite often this person will want it back. Apparently, the sorcerer who previously owned the wand is no exception; his name is Mourning Cloak, and he has been journeying from the far east of Visharvé in pursuit of his missing property. Reports say that he is no longer entirely sane, and this is vaguely disturbing.

Dealing with the mentally unstable can be... tricky, and Pretty Girl has gotten into trouble this way once before. Happily, good people tend to assume that you are better and more innocent than you really are if you are able to say that you are honestly ignorant of the details. Therefore, the courtesan will not involve herself unduly in the madman's quest to recover the wand unless he truly can, as he allegedly desires, conquer vast swaths of the world with it. She decides to contact him.

As the first of the caravans begin arriving in the steppes, Smoke Cat Watching makes ready to join a southbound one and visit Summer Wind at the Academy. Indeed, she is almost packed when one coming north stops to trade at Sun Horse clan's encampment. The shaman is aware of a familiar sensation.

Almost before she spies the girl, Summer Wind lets out a happy shriek, slides from her saddle, and tackles her sister, spinning her around and around. "Surprise!" she cries, looking very pleased with herself.

The shaman smiles. "Yes, it is! I was just about to come to meet you. I don't suppose," Smoke Cat adds with a hint of tartness, "that there's any point in chiding you for traveling all this way by yourself, since obviously you're fine." Summer Wind grins broadly and backs a step away.

"I didn't let her come alone, Lady Cat," says someone from behind and slightly above Smoke Cat's head.

The shaman closes her eyes and is silent for a long time. Finally, she says, in a small, strange, tight voice, "I waited." Sure that he is close, she leans back against his chest in spite of herself.

Encouraged, Jonas brushes aside her hair and puts his hands on her shoulders. "I know," he says. "I'm sorry." Seeing her family gathering, the man asks, "Is there somewhere else we can talk?"

"Why?" The question is hard, brittle.

"Because," he replies very softly, "there are things I've been waiting over a year and a half to say to you, my Catkin" and his breath tickles her ear.

"A new name," Smoke Cat remarks with no inflection at all. "What's yours this time?"

"Jonas," he tells her, and stretching his luck, runs his hands down her arms and around her waist. The shaman's eyes are still closed, and she has been motionless, concentrating on her breathing, but at this she quivers. "I'm done changing it," the man explains. "I don't owe anyone. I'm not running from anyone. I'm free, and my name is Jonas."

At last, she turns to face him, still held tight, and looks him in the eyes. "Gift from God," says Smoke Cat Watching. "I like it."

"Good," he murmurs, kissing her forehead, her cheekbone. Lifting one hand, Jonas cradles the back of her neck, drawing her even closer to him with the other. Then he nips the tip of her nose with his teeth and her eyes fly open again.

Smoke Cat starts to say... something... before her lips become busy returning the kiss that this time meets her mouth. And although it is a very nice kiss, it is not quite the perfect one that either of them has been waiting for, because suddenly Summer Wind is jumping up and down, and Star Hawk is thumping Jonas on the back, and Wolf Calling is teasing the shaman that she must have many sons so that she can name them all after their father.

"Thankfully," Jonas says, "Little Dove is taken."

"So," asks Smoke Cat, "if you're not running from anyone, why didn't I hear from you?" Jonas looks abashed, yet underneath this is a bright enthusiasm. Before he can answer, however, the shaman reaches out and catches Summer Wind, who was attempting to sneak away and greet her mare, by the sleeve. "I had no word from you, either," she says to her young sister.

"It was extremely secret," Summer Wind excuses herself. "Although I would have told you anyway, if it weren't for Jonas," adds the girl, gleefully shifting the focus back to him.

"I wanted to be sure it would work, first," he explains, conscious of many eyes on him. "If it didn't... well, I was just going to stay gone, fade away..."

Smoke Cat exercises restraint and neither chokes him nor tells him what she thinks of that plan. "What is it, exactly, that fortunately does work?" the shaman asks patiently.

"It's easier to show you," Jonas replies, rummaging in his pack. He takes out what appears to be a wad of heavy fabric. "I need a wall. Can we go to your tent now?" And, of course, everybody follows them, crowding inside, waiting for the man to do something miraculous. Smoke Cat Watching and Summer Wind, however, are perhaps the only ones who are not surprised when he actually does. What he unfolds is a hole.

It's a big hole, the size and shape of a doorway, tacked up over head high at the top, but only a few inches deep. At the back there is a lattice screen. "Summer, if you please," Jonas says grandly, not able to resist a little theatricality. She takes out a small mirror.

"They're ready," the girl confirms, and begins to concentrate, passing her hands back and forth in front of the shallow opening. Initially, another mage becomes visible through the screen, doing the same thing. Then, apparently satisfied, Summer Wind and the other magician step aside as the screen blurs and vanishes, leaving an amazingly normal seeming portal to someplace else hanging in Smoke Cat's tent.

No one speaks for a moment. "It's stable?" the shaman inquires finally.

"And safe," Jonas says proudly. "I've passed through one of these dozens of times, testing it under various different conditions. This goes to a special room in the Arcane Academy. That's where they all come out as of yet."

"I see," says White Bear. "This… creation is your idea?" Jonas nods. "It strikes me as immensely convenient, potentially very profitable, and also dangerous in the wrong hands," the older man comments.

"Yes," answers the inventor, "that is why it is still so secret."

"And you will explain to Smoke Cat Watching, at least, how this doorway of yours works. But after it is closed," pronounces the chieftain. Summer Wind, therefore, thanks her fellow magic student, and obediently collapses the tunnel.

As her family files out of her tent, discussing how soon Summer Wind will ride to Rolling Thunder clan to tell Springing Doe and Grey Owl the news, Smoke Cat whispers to Jonas, "Someone actually paid you for an idea?"

He grins. "Strange, isn't it? But yes, they paid me exceptionally well, in fact. Of course, in all modesty, it's really a very good idea."

"Perhaps you should tell me how it works," she says.

Jonas explains as he takes down the sheet with the hole and folds it back up again. "You've seen the portable hole and the screen that Summer Wind lived behind for so long in action, so that part isn't new. It's combined with a little scrying magic, and then, once the two screens are congruent and overlap, you implement the inside-of-the-bag-is-bigger-than-the-outside spell, and the ends expand to meet each other directly."

"I see," replies Smoke Cat Watching and, despite not having attended the Great School of Magic in Jailuha to study magical theory, she does see.

"Apparently I think of implementing magic differently from those who can use it," he adds. Tucking the coarse fabric away in his pack, Jonas changes the subject abruptly. "I bought you a dress."

"Oh?" Smoke Cat remarks neutrally, "All by yourself?"

His lips twitch, but he doesn't quite laugh. "Summer consulted about the size, so it should come close to fitting," he admits, and he shakes out a length of red silk.

"This is..." the shaman surveys the floating sheer panels, the delicate beadwork, "impractical."

"I know," Jonas says, smiling. Then, shyly, almost as though it is an afterthought, "Marry me?"

"It's also extremely beautiful," Smoke continues, reaching out to take the dress and hold it up to her shoulders. "And yes, of course. I thought it was already settled."

She gazes into his hazel eyes, so full of light and clarity. Jonas is still gravely serious. "The dress is not a bribe," he says, carefully laying it aside. "One kiss... is not a contract."

"I know," the shaman answers simply, resting her wrists loosely crossed behind his neck.

Finally, the man smiles and strokes her hair. "So… love, then?" Jonas asks.

Smoke Cat Watching, rising onto her toes and soft as a willow catkin, whispers against his lips, "Love."