"It hurts, but Allia taught me ways to deal with pain," he replied in a sated tone. The warmth of the broth in his stomach was radiating through him in the most curiously pleasant manner, washing over the pain in his chest, and it was making him drowsy.

"Well, that's good to know," she said with a gentle smile. He looked up at her, and realized that her concern was for more than a wayward cub. Triana had genuine affection for him. Perhaps his position and plight had tugged at Triana's heartstrings, her maternal need to nurture children. He was certainly nothing but a raw-boned child to her. And he found that he liked her back. He was deeply appreciative of her help, of her support, but the simple fact that she had some faith in him had touched him. "What?" she asked, noticing his strange stare and quirky, dreamy smile.

"I love you too, mother," he said hazily, then he closed his eyes.

There had to have been something in that broth, because he just couldn't stay awake any longer.

Triana gave the injured cub a startled look, then she chuckled ruefully. The herbs in the broth had been specially prepared to make him drowsy and to dull the pain, to help speed him to sleep. His Were-cat metabolism and regenerative powers would burn their effects out of his system in a matter of moments, but they would have served their purpose of putting him to sleep by then. As they had done.

This one was sharp. She smiled and pressed her paw against his cheek gently, tenderly. "Jesmind was right about you, cub," she said, the stony mask that hid her emotions melting away, showing the mother, the nurturing woman beneath. "You are something special."

In his entire life, he didn't think he would ever meet a woman as pushy and willful as Triana.

She was amazing. Her long years and powerful personality were weapons which she used mercilessly to bully everyone else into doing exactly what she expected them to do. For her, there was only one way. Her way. And she made sure everyone around her was adhering that that singular law.

And she was so intimidating! Her height was only part of it. It was those eyes. She would give someone that penetrating stare, and they would absolutely lose every ounce of their own willpower. That was all it took. Nobody challenged her, nobody objected to her bluntly ordered demands, and nobody dared sass her. She ruled the entire inn like an imperious queen, and nobody had the guts to gainsay her. That intimidation was why. It wasn't that she was powerful, or mean, it was that when she gave someone that look, it was like he could see his own inadequacy when compared to her towering ability. She made people feel that they didn't deserve to have the right to challenge her, and there could be no form of intimdation more effective than that.

What Tarrin thought would be a battle of wills with his intimidating, newly declared bond-mother had lasted all of ten seconds, during one of his more lucid moments. That was all it took for her to utterly cow him with one of her stares. He'd never felt so wrong in his life to think he could dare question her orders, and after he got over it, the speed and thoroughness with which she overwhelmed him stung at his pride. But he wasn't about to try that again. He'd rather eat his own leg.

Over the two days that Triana carefully helped him recover, he found that she wasn't harsh. She demanded others to do her bidding, but she didn't demand more of them than she felt they were willing to give, nor did she compromise their honor or self-esteem. She was a rather considerate and thoughtful woman, once the veneer of her emotionless stare had been stripped away. She was engaging, wise, and she was very adamant in everything she did. She would fold sheets with the same aggressive attempt at perfection as she would when helping Dolanna change the dressing on his wound. Tarrin couldn't help but be impressed by her.

Two days had brought noticable progress. He was much stronger, strong enough to hold up his arms for short periods of time, but still not well enough to feed himself. The pain remained as a dull throb in him, and had not eased for the two days he had been conscious, but Allia's teachings about dealing with chronic pain allowed him to shunt it enough to be able to concentrate on his surroundings. He didn't drift in a sea of pain as Triana worried he would, but on the other hand, he couldn't put it completely out of his mind. What he got was a kind of semi-conscious lull, drifting in his own mind most of the time on the edge of consciousness, but being able to focus to where he could make conversation for reasonable periods of time. But both Triana and Dolanna frowned on him tiring himself with talk, and they kept him as inactive as possible.

It was morning. Tarrin could tell that because the sun was shining into the window, and Allia was sitting by his bed. Triana, for once, wasn't in the room when he woke up, but did enter not seconds after Tarrin opened his eyes, focused himself into consciousness, and then smiled at his sister.

And she wasn't alone. With her was another Were-cat. This one was about Tarrin's height, and she had fiery red hair just like Jesmind and the pattern green eyes that all Were-cats seemed to have. But her face was much sharper than Jesmind's, alot more angular, and her small mouth was a bit severe in its expression. She was still pretty, but her face lacked the delicate quality that made Jesmind and Triana so lovely. She had black fur, just like Tarrin, making her that much more apart from Jesmind. She was also a little more slender, not as wide-hipped, and her figure wasn't as enticing.

"I see you're up, cub," Triana said with a nod and a slight smile, her stony mask cracking for just a moment. "Tarrin, this is Rahnee. Rahnee, this is Tarrin."

"Well, I hope to see you up and about soon, cub," Rahnee said in a surprisingly husky voice. "I don't like seeing one of us on a sickbed."

About all he could do was look at her and nod in response. He had no idea what to say to her.

"I saw Shirazi about three days ago," Rahnee said to Triana. "She had Singer in tow. They should be here today. I also heard from Laren that Mist and Kimmie are also very close by. They should be here any time now."

"That's good," Triana replied to her. "Shirazi and Mist alone would have been enough, but you and Singer just makes it that much better."

"Mist should have left Kimmie behind," Rahnee snorted. "The girl is an embarassment."

"She was turned, Rahnee, just like Tarrin. You know they're always a bit different from the rest of us."

"Hmph," Rahnee snorted.

"Was Laren coming this way?"

"He probably will. With so many females gathered in one place, he'll probably decide to come see if he can't make us compete over him."

Triana glanced at Tarrin, who was staring at the pair of female Were-cats. "Anyone else coming that you know about?"

"Not that I know about, but there's bound to be some stragglers as word gets deeper into the Heartwood," she replied. "It's not often we can gather and welcome a new male. That's worth the travelling time."

"I hope they get here faster. Come on, I'll get the innkeeper to give you some food, and we'll discuss what needs to be done."

"How do you feel?" Allia asked gently after the two left, patting the back of his paw.

"A little better," he replied. "When did she get here?"

"I guess just now," she replied. "I haven't seen her before."

"What did Triana mean about needing done?"

"Triana is very upset with the Wikuni," Allia said in a stiff voice. "She's decided to chase them out of these two cities, by any means necessary. She's calling in your kin to take care of that."

"Huh," he said. "She meant it. Well, I hope it doesn't backfire on her."

"She doesn't seem the kind of woman that gives up on avenging the wronged," Allia said speculatively. "She's very, willful, and the Wikuni really made her mad." Allia leaned back a bit in the chair. "I think I'm glad she's decided to be mad at someone else."