"Umm," she hummed in answer, though her spirit wasn't quite awake yet. Jasana was not an early riser. "Except you and mama woke me up," she accused.

Tarrin didn't answer that. "Blame your mother," he finally told her.

"I did," she replied. "She promised not to be so loud next time."

"Well, that's good," he said delicately. Jasana wasn't a human girl. Her mother had already explained all sorts of things to her that a human girl wouldn't learn for a long time. Sex among the Were-cats didn't hold the same social stigma that it did among humans. That was why Jesmind had been willing to engage him with Jasana in the same tent. He'd usually have been resistant, but trying to fend off a frisky Jesmind was about as easy as turning a mountain inside out with a shovel and a pick. A pair of Were-cats wouldn't just mate in a public city street, nor would they in a social gathering; they did have some human moral traits. But mating in the presence of an intimate family member wasn't considered such a big deal, so long as they were discreet about it. Jesmind usually was discreet… except when she got-he steered his thoughts away from that.

It just showed him again how little he really knew his mate. He didn't know what her favorite foods were, or what kind of literature she liked, or even why she didn't seem to like magic. Jesmind had always been something of a fixture in his life, but she had always been… mysterious. He had gotten used to thinking of her as a mystery, and to his own discredit, hadn't bothered to try to solve her. He knew some things about her. That she was willful, stubborn, independent, direct, and bold. But she was also an exquisitely tender, loving, compassionate, caring person with those around which she felt comfortable. He understood her outward personality, could predict or deflect impending explosions of temper, and could calm her down when needful, but he still hadn't come to learn about the woman hiding within the Were-cat. It was her inner personality, the true tides of emotion that drove her, that he did not yet know or understand. Since they'd been together, he'd had his mind so occupied by other things, he had simply accepted her presence without taxing himself by her too much. That was his own mistake, and he was ready to admit it. She was more than just Jesmind, or the woman he slept with. She was his mate, and that implied certain responsibilities he had towards her, much more than if she were nothing but a single night's tryst.

She stepped out of the tent and stood beside him, putting a paw on his shoulder. He reached up absently and patted her paw, then put his arm around her waist. That seemed to surprise her, tensing up for just a moment before leaning in against him. "Morning," he told her in pleasant tones, gripping her waist gently. "Sleep well?"

"You should know," she replied with a glance and mischevious little smile.

"Keep that happy mood, mate," he told her. "We're going to be doing some unusual travelling today."

"Don't remind me," she grunted.

"It won't be so bad. I think you may actually like it."

"I hope so," she said.

"Trust me. It's a, wonderful feeling, looking down on the land below," he said in a dreamy kind of way. "You feel so free, Jesmind. Like the entire world is open to you."

"I feel that way already," she shrugged.

"I guess I'm not as lucky as you, then."

"Can we go now, papa? Can we can we can we can we?" Jasana asked, seeming to wake up and get to be her usual bubbly, energetic self.

"As soon as a couple of certain someones stop playing around and get their tails out here!" Tarrin said in a loud voice.

"I'm coming, don't get your tail in a knot!" Kimmie shouted back in reply, coming out of the tent while still in the act of putting her shirt on. Thean came out just behind her, shouldering the pack that he carried with him everywhere. Thean was a very transitory Were-cat male, having no permanent den or territory. He spent his life on the road, travelling from city to city and place to place. He had few possessions, and those that he did have were carried with him in that battered old backpack. Thean was much different from some Were-cat males, like Laren, who had a very well established territory and rarely left it.

"Did she wear you out, you old gray rascal?" Jesmind asked with a smile, looking at the gray-furred male as the pair joined them.

"Oh, yes, she did," Thean grinned at her. "We stayed up til nearly midnight debating the role of Arcane magic in the downfall of the Torian empire, and its effects in modern politics. Kimmie has some very insightful ideas. It was a very productive night." He looked at the smaller female. "I don't often get the chance to talk about magic with an actual Wizard. Since Kimmie also happens to be one of us, it makes it easier, since she understands what I'm asking after."

"You knew I studied magic, Thean. All you had to do was come find me and talk."

"I know, but our paths never seemed to cross, Kimmie," Thean sighed. "It's not easy for two Were-cats to meet when both of them are always moving around."

"True," she agreed. "Alright, we're packed and ready, Tarrin. What now?"

"Now it's my turn," he said. "Are we ready to go, Jesmind?"

Jesmind pointed at a large pack laying near her feet, which contained the totality of the scant possessions that they had brought along. Tarrin Conjured everything else they needed.

"Alright then," he said, letting go of her and stepping away from them. But then he stopped, and turned and looked back at them. "Jasana," he called. "Come here, cub."

Jasana looked up at him in curiosity, then wandered over as Jesmind scowled deeply in his direction. Almost as if she realized what he was about to do.

Jasana padded over to him and looked up at him with an intent expression. He dropped down into a squat and looked down at his cub so she didn't have to crane her neck so severely to look up at him. He reached down and brushed her strawberry blond hair from her face as the wind began to pull at it, and she reached out and took hold of his paw in both of hers. She too seemed to sense that he was about to tell her something important. He looked down into those luminous eyes, so large on her small face, and fell in love with his little daughter all over again.

"Are you going to show me how to do magic, papa?" she asked with eager eyes.

He smiled. "That's right, cub. What I've seen the last couple of days has shown me that if I don't, you're going to start doing it whether I teach you or not. So it's better to show you what you're doing now, instead of having you try to flounder around and make mistakes that might get someone hurt." He tapped her on her nose, which always made her giggle. "Now then, the first thing you need to do is learn not to be afraid of it," he told her. "There's alot of things you're going to be able to do, and some of them may seem scary right now."

"Like the dark place."

"Like the dark place," he agreed. "Well, what you have to remember is that the shining lady is everywhere in the magic. She's in the magic, and she's also in the dark place. She's everywhere, and if you trust her and listen to her, she's going to help make sure that you don't make a mistake that could get you hurt. Alright?"

"Umm."

"Now, I'm not going to just show you what to do and set you loose, cub. It doesn't work that way. All I want you to do right now is watch. Watch and feel what I'm doing. Feel how I do things, but don't feel around at how the magic acts towards me. My magic is alot different from yours right now, and it's not going to act the same way towards you that it does towards me."

"I saw that already."

"Good. I'm not ready to start teaching you how to throw spells quite yet, because you need to learn alot more about the magic and how it works before I let you, alright?"