Tarrin thought about that. Pelan was the small kingdom created after the Selani war with Yar Arak, placed between them as a buffer between the two bitter enemies. The Aeradalla certainly didn't live in either Pelan or Arak, because of Arakite custom of enslaving non-humans. That meant that they had to be coming from the other direction, from the desert. "Pelan? It would be safer going to Arkis."

"True, but we don't trust Arkisians. And Pelan is closer, and distance is serious when you have to fly back with what you've bought," she pointed out.

"That would put your home somewhere in the Desert of Swirling Sands," he realized.

"Where else is it safer from sea-going enemies than in a desert?" she pointed out with a smile and a wink.

"Do the Selani know about you?"

"Of course they do," she replied. "We trade with them, remember?"

"Allia's never mentioned the Aeradalla."

"The Selani? I think she's from a clan very far removed from our home. We don't go that far to trade, and as you may have noticed, Selani clans don't communicate with each other very often."

"I guess so," he agreed finally. "Her clan territory borders Arkis." The fact that Selani don't talk is relatively well known in the world. Those who knew the Selani knew that the thirteen clans were generally rivals with one another. Though their Goddess forbade warfare between clans, there nevertheless existed real aggression and hostility between rival clans. Raiding and abductions were a common occurance along borders between clans, and though there is no killing, there was nevertheless a state of bloodless war that raged between Selani clans. It tended to be a war of prestige and honor, where the objective was to gain honor over other clans. It was the one aspect of Selani culture that Tarrin could never quite understand. Selani clans would battle each other in wars of intrigue and one-upsmanship, steal each other's food, water, and livestock, even occasionally battle each other in the Dance in a form of non-lethal combat, yet turn around and give food, water, or aid freely to the very same clan who had suffered a crisis or emergency. That the Selani seemed to hate each other, yet maintained an exceptionally powerful racial unity, seemed illogical. Allia explained that it was one way that the Selani kept in shape and fighting trim. The Holy Mother, Allia told him once, put her children against one another to make them stronger against those from the outside. Selani were clannish and very territorial, but would quickly dissolve those boundaries when an event occurred that threatened Selani lives. Even the lives of the most bitterly rival clan. "My brother the enemy," Allia had called it one time. Odd.

"There you are," she said with a chuckle. "We never go that way, because we don't trust the exiled Arakites. I doubt her clan has ever seen us."

"Probably not."

"You are unusual. Dolanna called you Were-cat. Is this so?" Tarrin nodded. "We have long debated whether to return to Fae-da'Nar. I doubt that they remember us anymore."

"I wouldn't know," he told her in a quiet voice. "I'm not Fae-da'Nar."

She gave him a startled look. "A Rogue? You are very brave, Tarrin of the Were-cats. Few challenge Fae-da'Nar and live. Their power is formidable."

"I've never seen that power," he told her, leaning against the rail. "They've tried to kill me, but they haven't been able to do it yet."

"You are lucky, then. A single Druid is usually all it takes."

"I can deal with Druids," he told her. "Not that I want to, but they don't really leave me much choice."

She leaned against the rail with him. "It's not my place to speak for you, but if you have any way to reach an agreement with Fae-da'Nar , I suggest you find it," she advised.

"It's gone too far for that, Ariana," he sighed. "I wanted to at one time, but it's too late now. My bond-mother put her own needs over mine when mine were much more important, and it made me Rogue. Then I damned myself in Fae-da'Nar 's eyes when I killed innocents protecting myself from another one of them. I didn't ask for them to be an enemy. I've tried to resolve it without killing any of them. But it's too late for that. The next time Fae-da'Nar crosses my path, one of us is going to die."

"Sad words," Ariana consoled. "Sounds like a twist of fate."

"There's nothing but twists in my fate anymore," he grunted. "I think about it sometimes, standing up on a deck and looking into the stars. I've lost my way, Ariana. I don't really know what I'm supposed to be anymore, or where I'm supposed to be, or what people expect out of me. I feel like a stranger. And I have no idea why I'm talking about this to a complete stranger. I shouldn't really be talking to you."

"Why not?"

"Dolanna calls me feral," he told her.

"Ah, say no more," she said lightly. "I guess I should feel honored that you'd deem me worthy enough to confide in."

"I guess you're just a non-human face," he sighed. "I guess I just don't trust humans anymore. Not after everything they've done to me. And to think that I used to be one." He shivered slightly. "I've never met one of you before, so I guess I haven't decided yet if you're a friend or foe."

"Well, that's a gentle way to put it," she said with a slight smile.

"Now that I've bared my soul to you, when are you planning to leave?"

"Well, I was waiting to talk with you," she replied. "To thank you and to tell you of my debt. I guess that since that's done, I can return home. It will be a long flight, but I'll enjoy every minute of it."

"It must be something else to fly," he said, looking up at the sky.

"There's nothing like it in the world," she said dreamily. "I should get some rest. I'll be flying out with the dawn.

"I think I'd better go back down to my room pretty soon too," he said ruefully. "It's starting to become work standing here."

"I didn't realize you were ill," she said in concern.

"Not ill, just weak," he replied. "Doing what I did really drains me."

"Do you want help?"

"No, I'll be alright. Besides, it looks like you wouldn't fit in the companionway with those wings."

"Alright. If I'm not here when you wake up, I just want to say thank you, and may your gods speed you on your journey."

"Thanks. Have a good flight home, Ariana."

She took his paw, smiling at him warmly. "If you ever need me, just call, and I'll come," she told him seriously. "It's the least I can do for someone who saved my life."

"I don't see when I'll need you that bad, but I'll remember it, Ariana,"he told her. "I hope we meet again."

"We will," she said with a smile. "Trust me. We will."

Tarrin gave her a curious look, watching her move towards the large lean-to style shelter that was made for her on the deck. For some reason, he had to agree with her.

Absently swatting some insect that landed on his back with his tail, he turned and looked out over the calm seas, both paws on the rail. The memories of what had happened had started unveiling themselves, and they worried him. He understood why Dolanna wanted to talk to him so badly. He remembered weaving together strands. He knew how he did it, and he could do it again. The amount of energy it required had been staggering, but it was something that he could accomplish.

He had no idea how he knew how to do it. In his rage, he was completely subjugated by his animal instincts. Perhaps they had some sort of mystical connection to the Weave that he didn't understand. Perhaps they could sense things that he couldn't when in control of himself. Maybe it had just been blind luck. Whatever it had been, it had worked, and worked too well. He had wanted more power, faster, and that was exactly what he had gotten. The fact that he used that power to destroy meant nothing to him; they had nearly killed Miranda and Sisska, so there was no mercy. Not that he was ever overly merciful in the first place. Regardless of why he had wanted it, the fact that he had managed to call it forth wouldn't leave his mind.