Ariana came out of the tent she'd shared with Andos just as the Selani shrugged their packs into place. Her blue hair was dishevelled and her halter was skewed, making it apparent that Ariana was not a morning person. She yawned widely, but her eyes came alert when she saw the five of them getting ready to leave. "You're leaving now? Without waking us up?" she demanded.

"We were going to wake you before we left," Tarrin told her. "Actually, since I can talk to you and not Andos, it's probably for the best."

"Why is that?"

"Your king annoys me," he replied bluntly. "If you do have any other volunteers, tell Andos to have them fly to Suld. The Sorcerers there will be expecting them, and they'll be working out of the Tower."

"I can do that, but I was hoping we could at least eat breakfast together."

"I have a long way to go, Ariana, and I don't have much time to get there. I have to get to Suld before the ki'zadun's army does. I'll be running Var and Denai so hard they may have to stay behind."

"I told you before, you can't outrun a Selani, Tarrin," Denai challenged. "Especially me."

"We'll see about that, Denai," he said calmly.

"If they may slow you down, why are you taking them?" Ariana asked.

"Because they know the desert," he replied. "Right now, I need the fastest route to the closest pass through the Sandshield. Var and Denai can give me that route."

Var nodded. "We are about a tenday and a half from the North Pass, but the weather is going to make it a dangerous journey across."

"Danger isn't an issue now, Var," Tarrin told him bluntly. "Just get me to that pass. I'll worry about how I'm going to cross it."

"Denai is going to have to get you to that pass, Tarrin," Var said mildly. "I have to go back."

"Why?" Sarraya asked.

"My clan should be moving in this direction by now," he replied. "I have to meet them and tell them what's going on. Don't worry, we'll probably be in Suld before you will, Tarrin," Var smiled lightly. "Few can match the speed of a Selani clan on the march."

"I'll miss your company, Var," Tarrin said honestly.

"It won't be for long," Var smiled. "It will only take my clan about ten days to cross what took you a month. You weren't really moving very fast. We'll only be about ten days behind you."

"I want you to make sure your people understand that I'm not asking this of them, Var," Tarrin said.

"We know. That is why we'll be there."

"Good enough, then," Tarrin said. Var extended his hand, and Tarrin clasped it in his paw, swallowing it up. "Safe journey. May you find cool shade and sweet water."

"May the winds ever be at your back, Tarrin," Var told him.

Denai hovered around Var as Sarraya said her goodbyes, then pulled him off behind a tent for some personal farewells, that would probably best be conducted outside the eyes of the others.

Tarrin saw no reason to linger. Everything was ready. Denai could catch up, as could Jegojah, if he chose to do so. He had no reason to stay.

"Be there for me, Ariana," he said calmly. "I'll see you in Suld."

"You're leaving right now? Stupid question," she laughed. "I'll be there waiting for you, Tarrin. You may even see us fly overhead while you're on your way."

She stepped up and hugged him, which took Tarrin off guard. He wasn't used to such intimate contact with someone he still considered a stranger. But he kept his fear and his surprise in check, though the claws on his paws did reflexively extend before he got himself under control Ariana had no idea how close she came to getting hurt.

Tarrin pushed her away, looking down at her with his emotionless expression. "I'll see you in Suld," he repeated, then without another word, he turned and started walking out of camp.

"Tarrin, you clod, at least let me say goodbye!" Sarraya fumed at him.

"You can catch up," he called over his shoulder.

And so, Tarrin walked slowly away from the unnamed ruin of the Dwarven city, alone. He didn't really know why he was so intent on leaving, so much so that he wasn't willing to wait for the others, but it was something strong enough to do.

Sarraya caught up with him a few moments later, and she didn't look very happy. "Do you know that you are the rudest person I've ever known?" she demanded hotly. "Why I ever accepted you into Fae-da'Nar is beyond me!"

"Live with it," Tarrin said in a cool voice.

That effectively shut Sarraya up. She flew along with him in sulky silence until Denai trotted up to them some time later, after they had ascended the shallow valley that held the ruin and found themselves looking out over a barren expanse of windswept desert, with very little vegetation, but many rocks of various sizes to cover the desert floor in their place. "You're mean, Tarrin," Denai accused. "I didn't have half as much time with Var as I wanted."

"You can undress Var later," Tarrin told her, in a manner that even made the Selani blush. "Which way do we go?"

"We want the fastest route to the Sandshield? Does danger matter?"

"No."

"My, you're curt today," Denai huffed, pointing northwest. "Then we want to go that way. It will bring us close to an oasis we'd be better off avoiding, but you said danger is no concern."

"What's wrong with that oasis?" Sarraya asked curiously.

"Nothing, it's a lush place that actually has a small forest, but that means that it's infested with kajat and inu. The trees give them cover, so they can get too close to you before you know they're there."

"The Selani aren't used to that kind of terrain, Denai. I am," Tarrin told her calmly. "I know how to kill kajat and inu."

"We noticed. Were you going out of your way, or did that many actually come after you?"

"Both," Sarraya laughed. "Whever Tarrin felt testy, he'd hunt down a playmate."

Denai chuckled. "Well, are you ready to get left behind?" she said in a swaggering tone to Tarrin.

Tarrin snorted shortly, then picked up into a loping pace.

Denai was a true Selani, and that meant that she knew how to run. She could run at high speeds for long periods of time, and there were only a handful of non-Selani that could keep up with her. Even fewer of them could overtake her, and fewer than that could run her into the ground. Tarrin proved that he was one of those few. The uncertainty with what was going on in Suld had him worried, and he was intent to get there as quickly as possible, now that he had nothing holding him in place. So the pace he set leaving the Dwarven city could only be called murderous, so demanding that even Tarrin had begun to feel the effects of it after a half a day. Tarrin's inhuman endurance, bolstered by his regenerative powers, was put to the test with the pace he set for himself, a pace that left him weak and exhausted by sunset.

The effect it had on Denai was much, much worse. The Selani refused to be left behind, refused to admit that she couldn't keep up, so she pushed herself beyond her limits. Denai's intensely competitive nature had made keeping up with Tarrin a holy crusade, something which would not end in failure. To her credit, she had managed to keep up with him for a majority of the day, but then the effects of the heat and the exercise had begun to take their toll, and she started lagging behind more and more. Tarrin slowed up from time to time during the afternoon to make sure that she was still following, but those were the only repreieves he granted himself. Denai had no chance to rest, no chance to slow down, pushing herself to keep up with Tarrin. By the time they stopped, near sunset, Tarrin and Sarraya already had camp made by the time Denai staggered into camp. And all she did was wobble over to the fire, panting heavily, then collapse in the soft sand. Only her labored breathing assured them that she was still alive.

"Poor thing," Sarraya crooned. "You pushed her too hard, Tarrin."