Jesmind looked away from her mother, the slightest of flushes appearing on her cheeks.

Tarrin was amazed. Jesmind was almost blushing! He never thought he'd live to see that! But then again, even among Were-cats, to hear one's own mother say something like that was a trifle embarassing.

"Now then, as my cub so elegantly pointed out, I'm going to go have dinner with Thean," Triana announced, setting the book on the tea table. "I'll leave this here for you, kitten," she told Jasana in a gentle voice, very much unlike the rough way she always addressed her children. "We'll finish it tomorrow, alright?"

"Alright, Gramma," Jasana said with a bright smile. She was handed off to Triana after she reached for her, then was kissed and snuggled in a way that showed the world just how loving and warm Triana really was. But that break in her stony outward demeanor lasted only as long as Jasana was in her paws. It returned when she handed the child back to Tarrin.

"I'll see you later, mother," Jesmind called.

"Behave, all of you," Triana called as she cut short any further farewells by marching out of the room.

"Well, let's go see if my parents want to go," Tarrin offered. "They're good friends with Tomas and Janine. I think they'd really like to go see them."

"That's a good idea. Your mother's been teaching me how to cook things that you like, so it'll give me a chance to ask her a few questions about that recipe for venison stew."

After collecting up his daughter, he foisted her off on Jesmind and they split up. Jesmind went down to the kitchens to get something to eat, and Tarrin went to the apartment his parents had claimed, which was on the same floor as his own. But to his surprise, the only one there was Jenna. She was sitting on a couch in a room that looked almost exactly like the common room of his own apartment, though this one only had one couch and a rather large tea table separating the couch from the elegantly carved mantle and fireplace. She had that book in her lap, which she promptly closed as Tarrin entered the room. "Hullo, Jenna. Where are mother and father?"

"I have no idea," she replied, a bit curtly. "I think they went into the city. Alot of mother's clan is here, she may be visiting with them."

"Is Grandfather here?"

"Of course he's here, silly!" she snorted. "Who do you think brought us to Suld?"

"Why haven't I seen him?"

"He's probably been drunk ever since you got here," she told him bluntly. "You know how grandfather is."

Tarrin chuckled. That was true. It wasn't that their grandfather was a drunkard, it was just that he was like just about any red-blooded Ungardt ship captain. Work hard on the sea, play hard on the land. That was the Ungardt custom. That was why the Ungardt got roaring drunk every afternoon and caused so much trouble down at the dock quarter.

"Mother may have went to go dry him out."

"Probably. If you don't mind, could you leave? I'm at an important part, and I don't want to lose my train of thought."

"Oh, alright. Sorry to bother you."

Tarrin went downstairs and rejoined his mate and daughter, ate a quick meal, and then they were off. He wouldn't even bother trying to find Sarraya, there was no way he would ever find her. As usual, if she wanted to go, she would probably find him. It had been a while since he'd been in Suld, and most of those times were when he was sneaking around. He couldn't remember more than once or twice walking down the streets of Suld in broad daylight in his natural form. But the place certainly looked and felt different. For one, there weren't just Sulasians anymore. There had always been a few Wikuni in Suld, for it was a port city, but now Suld looked like a bizarre menagerie. Sulasian citizens were very nearly outnumbered by the Wikuni and Ungardt, the Arakites and the Vendari, even a few Selani walking the streets. All of the visitors were armed, some armored, and walked in groups of their own. The Arakite Legions especially; they seemed to not move around unless in a group of at least twenty. They all gave Tarrin and Jesmind a very wide berth, no doubt having been warned about the Were-cats. As much as the people on the streets looked different from what he remembered, it was the feel of them that concerned him. All the visiting soldiers were tense, wary, and the civilians looked downright terrified, scurrying about as quickly as they could in order to get off the streets and away from the multitudes of foreign soldiers that had taken up residence in the city. It gave the city the sense of it being occupied, the same way that the villagers in Aldreth felt when the Dals were there. Tarrin realized that they couldn't help it, for he had a good inkling that few of the foreign soldiers could speak much Sulasian. The language barriers presented by the various armies were formidable; the average Arakite only spoke Arakite, and most common Wikuni sailors knew some Sulasian, but he wasn't sure what their soldiers would know. Selani only spoke Selani, and Vendari spoke Wikuni as well as their own sibilant language, but again he doubted that they knew much Sulasian. Tarrin had never gotten around to learning Wikuni. Denai hadn't known that language, and besides, she'd spent all their free time teaching him Sharadi, the accepted common language of the southern continent of Arathorn. Why a Selani would be fluent in a language she would probably never used still mystified him a little bit, but the Selani were like that sometimes. That inability to communicate certainly made things a little tense. And he wondered how it was going to affect the ability of the command staff to pass down orders. From what he'd heard from Keritanima, Darvon, the overall commander, was being advised by an Arakite Field Marshal, a Wikuni admiral, a Wikuni general, the colonel in command of the Sulasian garrison in Suld, the general of the Sulasian army appointed by the sitting regent, and probably the most meddlesome, the Keeper and Keritanima. And they'd be joined by a Selani, probably the clan's chief, who stood as general in times of war. Tarrin didn't doubt that the Arakite and the Wikuni spoke Sulasian, but the Selani may not speak Sulasian, needing an obe to act as his translator. The different languages were going to make sending orders tricky when the fighting started.

"Are you trying to leave me behind?" came an angry demand as the sound of Sarraya's buzzing wings came to his ears.

"Of course not," he said mildly.

"Then why didn't you come get me?" she huffed at him.

"You didn't tell me where you were," he told her in an even tone. "I knew you'd know I was moving around, and you'd come to me."

I-" she started, then she blew out her breath. "I really hate it when you're right," she growled at him, coming into view before, them, flying backwards.

"It's the feery!" Jasana giggled.

"That's fay-ree!" Sarraya snapped at the child.

"I see you met my daughter," Tarrin said mildly.

"The bug showed up a few hours ago," Jesmind told him. "Almost got her wings pulled off."

"I did not!"

"You would have if I hadn't have stopped Jasana," she said sharply. "What are you doing out here, bug?"

"I'm going with you," she announced. "Tarrin invited me along."

"You didn't!" Jesmind accused.

"Of course I did," he said, letting Sarraya land on his shoulder. "Sarraya's a friend of mine, my mate. Sure, she's erratic, and a little strange, but she grows on you after a while."

"Hey!" Sarraya snapped waspishly.

"We went through alot together," he told Jesmind. "I guess that can't help but make two people friends. Even annoying little pests."

"I am here, you know!" Sarraya ranted at him.

"I guess you're right," Jesmind said with a straight face. "It would have to have been alot to go through to make you friends with someone like her."