"It's not that easy," Tarrin told him. "I have a little problem called impulsiveness, Jegojah. I tend to fly off on the first idea that seems good, without thinking it all the way through, and I often end up going by the seat of my pants once that good idea pans out on me halfway into it. It's a racial quirk, but it makes me completely incompetent to lead an army. I'd have them charging off at the first notion that it's the best thing to do, and that would get them all killed. I'll leave the strategic planning for those that have the mind for it. I'm just not suited."

Jegojah cackled. "Knowing one's limitations, that's also a sign of a good general, yes," he said. "Jegojah, he would march under the Were-cat's command without hesitation, yes."

"You have nothing to lose."

Jegojah cackled even louder. "True, true, yes," he admitted. "Death, she has already claimed Jegojah."

"Is there a point here, or are you just trying to flatter me?"

The Revenant grinned. "Only this. Tread lightly, yes. Kings, they have egos to match their stations. Treating Andos like a child, it will harden him to ye, yes, and ye may need him later."

"I realized that after I walked away from him," Tarrin answered. "Sometimes it's hard for that side of me to realize that there are other kinds of power than what you can pack behind a fist."

"The Cat, he lives not in that world, no, so it is hard for him to understand," Jegojah said sagely. "But the Human, he knows. The Human, he should be guiding the Cat in this unknown territory. Yes."

And with that, Jegojah got up and wandered off into the night. The Revenant didn't sleep, so he amused himself at night by chasing the Sandmen around, and keeping an informal watch on the camp. They couldn't hurt him, and he rather enjoyed letting them try. The Revenant, Tarrin observed, had a rather strange sense of humor sometimes. But Tarrin had to agree with Jegojah's warning. Andos was a king, and that meant that he had some measure of ego. Tarrin had done more than step on it during their brief exchange, he had ripped it out of the Aeradalla, thrown it on the ground, then stomped on it repeatedly. But Tarrin's Were-cat pride and concept of the world wouldn't allow him to apologize, or even acknowledge that what he had done was wrong. In Tarrin's mind, he was still the dominant, so he could do anything he bloody well pleased. If they didn't like it, they could fight him over it. It was just that simple. The trick was at least getting the Cat to acknowledge that Andos was a powerful man, a man worthy of respect. The Cat didn't have to like him, but it had to respect the power that Andos could bring to bear. It was a different kind of power than the Cat usually acknowledged, an intangible power, but a viable one nonetheless.

He mulled that over for quite a while, until Ariana strode over and sat down beside him. He was curious, so he looked behind her, and saw that she had had to open her wings slightly so she could sit. A good amount of her white plumage was pressed against the sandy ground. Sitting on the ground like that wasn't easy for a being that had a wingspan of some twenty spans.

"It took me a while to calm Andy down," she told him. "What possessed you to talk to him like that?"

"Simplicity," Tarrin replied calmly. "He offended me, and I don't react well to being offended. Laying things out quickly kept him from getting in serious trouble."

"How did he offend you?"

"He questioned my words, and demanded I prove what I was saying. That's as good as accusing me of lying."

"Ah. I'll tell him about that, and warn him to choose his phrases more carefully next time."

"That would be a good idea. It would be a shame for you to lose your king so soon after getting him back."

Ariana laughed. "You certainly don't play around, don't you?"

"I'm too old to play," he grunted.

"Well, I don't know about that. Since we're talking about something related, I just have to know. What happened to you? You weren't this tall the last time we met."

"I came out second best in a fight with a Succubus," he answered honestly. "She drained me, but her power couldn't kill me. It aged me instead. My kind keep growing all their lives, so my body grew to reflect the years the Succubus drained out of me."

"Wow. I didn't know that."

"Very few people do."

"I guess it really is about age, isn't it?"

Tarrin glanced at her. "I guess so."

"Well, I think you look much more handsome now than you did then. Before, you looked like a boy. Now you look like a man."

"I'm thrilled you find me handsome, Ariana," he drawled. "It has drawbacks."

"What?"

Tarrin twisted a manacle. "The fetlocks, for one," he grunted. "They keep itching because of the manacles."

"Then take off those ugly things. Really, why do you wear them?"

"Because they remind me of the price I paid when I trusted someone," he said pointedly, intensely, staring at Ariana with an unwavering gaze. "They're there to make sure that I never make that mistake again."

"Wow, it must have been something pretty bad."

"You have no idea," he shuddered. "And it's something I don't want to talk about."

"Alright, but I think it must be pretty lonely."

"Lonely is far better," he said shortly.

She delicately let the matter drop. "If your city is so much danger, why don't I fly you there?"

"I can't do that," he told her. "My goddess told me I have to get to Suld on my own. I won't disobey her."

"Surely she didn't mean you couldn't get help from me."

"She made it very clear. I have to get there on my own."

"Well, then, that's what you'll have to do," she declared. "You should never disobey your god. It's a very stupid thing to do."

He nodded eloquently. "How did things turn out in the city?"

"Pretty well," she replied. "All that money you gave me ended up being for nothing, because Andy had the Palace Guard reassembled by the time I got back. By sunset the next day, he had full control of the city again, and the Council was in serious trouble. They got arrested for their crimes, and all the property they took was given back. I got my house back," she said triumphantly. "And I hope you don't mind, but I used the money you gave me to restart my trading business."

"I don't mind. We wouldn't have given it to you if we didn't want you to use it."

"Where is the Faerie, anyway?"

"Around here somewhere, but she should know better than to stay out after dark," he said, realizing that Sarraya still hadn't come back from her exploration of the ruins. "Jegojah, has Sarraya come back?" he shouted.

"Not yet. Jegojah, he will go get her," the Revenant called from the edge of camp. "The Faerie, she probably lost track of time again!"

"Most likely," Tarrin said in a quiet tone, agreeing with the undead warrior. "So, how long do you intend to string him along?"

Ariana blushed deeply. "I'm not-"

"Don't lie to me, Ariana," he said with a faint smile. "I'm not human or Aeradalla. I can smell it all over you. You can't hide it from me."

Ariana turned a deep shade of purple.

"It's nothing to be ashamed about," he told her calmly. "But lying to yourself is never a way to honor your feelings. If you want him, go get him. He's not going to fall into your lap. Well, unless you plan it out pretty well."

"I would, but I think he still thinks of me as the little girl he grew up with," she sighed. "I've done everything but throw myself at him, and all he does is laugh and call me silly."

"He doesn't think you're a little girl. Just as your scent can't hide your interest in him, his can't hide his interest in you. I can smell it on him. If you chase him, he won't run away from you."

"Are you serious?"

"Would I lie about something like that?" he said bluntly. "Sometimes I think it's a miracle other races manage to reproduce. You're all so incredibly silly about that kind of thing."