It turned out that he didn't really have to worry about that, for he came across Jenna, Jula, Dar, Allia, and Allyn in the kitchens. They had all also gotten up early, and Dar was wearing a rugged pair of undyed leather breeches and a stout brown wool shirt, with a brown cloak pinned over it. Travelling clothes. Allia was already in her desert garb, a small, simple pack sitting by her feet as she waited for a pair of cooks to finish cooking her some ham steaks. Allyn too was wearing desert garb, but it looked a bit baggy on him, and he didn't look very comfortable. This made Tarrin smile a bit; Allia was already starting her re-education of her husband-to-be. If he even knew what she intended for him yet.

"What is this?" Tarrin asked lightly, pointing at Allyn. He spoke in Sha'Kar, which was actually a necessity when dealing with the Sha'Kar. Only a very few of them spoke any other language, and all of them were original Ancients, like Ianelle. But a thousand years of disuse had made most of them forget most of it, and they had to refresh themselves in its use. Tarrin had heard Ianelle speak Sulasian once before, and she did so with a very strange accent, using archaic words that had fallen out of use long ago. But Ianelle had learned Sulasian back when those words were common. It was a strange testament to how things changed over time, even things that seemed immutable, like language.

"I wanted to see what it was like, honored one," Allyn replied after giving him a graceful bow. "It's not quite what I expected, I admit. These things are alot heavier than they look."

Desert garb, at least desert garb actually worn in the desert, was very loose in fit, and was done in layers. There was a layer of loose-fitting trousers and a long-tailed shirt, and a very full, almost robe-like cloak that went on over the outer shirt. A very long, wide strip of cloth was wrapped around the head, a tail of it hanging down to serve as a veil against blowing sand, and some Selani had cloaks that had hoods for additional protection. Since Allia had silver hair, she preferred to leave it uncovered, flowing out from the bottom of her wrapped headgear, since it was much more effective at reflecting the sun's heat that any cloth. Tarrin had noticed that though white or silver hair were uncommon among Selani, those that did have it tended to leave it out as well. Allia would let it fan out over her back and let it help protect her from the sun's heat. Since her hair was so thick, she could probably go without the headgear, but then she'd have no easy way to wear a veil against blowing sand. When Tarrin first saw it, he wondered how they could wear all those clothes out in a desert and not bake. It turned out that the layers of clothes created an effective barrier against the heat. Tarrin at that time had been thinking in terms of keeping heat in, when the purpose of the desert garb was to keep heat out. Heat created by the body and trapped by the layered clothing was much preferable to allowing the searing heat of the desert in against their skin. In comparison to the desert heat, it was comfortably cool under those layers of baggy cloth. The Selani made their clothes out of a plant fiber that was very light, breathable, and exceptionally strong. It wouldn't accept dye, but the fibers were naturally tan or brown, and in the desert, those were camaflaging colors, the colors of sand and rock.

"It takes some adjusting," Allia told him in a gentle manner, looking at him with open affection. "Don't worry, deshida, you'll get used to the weight."

Tarrin had to suppress a smile. Allia had called Allyn deshida. Next would come the term jisha, which meant beloved, and then dejisha, which meant husband. He wondered if Allyn had any idea the trap into which he had fallen. That Allia was addressing him as a friend as close as her own brother meant that she had obvious designs for him, so obvious that anyone with even a passing familiarity with Selani language would instantly realize it.

"I feel like a bolt dowel," Allyn complained. "Like I have cloth wrapped all around me."

"It can't be too much different than those robes you wear," Jula noted.

"Robes are open, Mistress Jula," Allyn answered. "I don't think I've ever worn something that rides up between my legs. It's almost a nervous feeling."

Jula laughed, and Tarrin smiled. "He fears a sense of restriction," she said delicately to him, winking in Allyn's direction.

"In Allyn's case, that's a real fear," Tarrin told her absently. "He has a bit much to restrict."

Allyn blushed furiously, and Jenna gave Tarrin a shocked look before bursting into laughter. "Tarrin!" she finally managed to say. "Behave yourself!"

"He only speaks truth, sister," Allia said with a wicked gleam in her eye, glancing at her intended in a rather sultry manner.

"You're as bad as he is, Allia!" Jenna laughed.

"Probably," she agreed without a hint of embarassment. "Don't worry, sister. We'll find a good man for you, and then you'll be as bad as us."

"I'm not ready for marriage, Allia," she chuckled, waving a hand before her.

"Who says that you have to marry a man to enjoy him?" Allia asked with pointed amusement.

Jenna blushed to the roots of her dark hair, then laughed helplessly. "You're not as bad as Tarrin, you're worse!" she accused.

"She's young, Allia," Jula told her sagely. "Give her a little time." She then swung her head and looked at Dar, who had been very quiet so far.

"Oh, no, Jula," he chuckled, putting up his hands. "I learned too long ago that I can never get out of these kinds of talks unscathed when Were-cats and Selani are involved. I'm not coming anywhere near this conversation."

"I see he learned alot more than Sorcery in your care, brother," Jenna laughed. "He learned wisdom too."

"He's not as moralistic as you may think, sister," Allia told her with a smile at him. "Dar is Arkisian, and they're quite progressive. Much more progressive than your very strait-laced Sulasian culture."

"You see?" he complained to Jenna. "I try to stay out of it, and they find ways to drag me in!"

"That's because they like you," Triana's gruff voice called as she came up behind them. She put a paw on Jula's shoulder, and the smaller Were-cat female deferred to her almost immediately, stepping aside so she could stand beside Tarrin. "Is everything ready?" she asked, looking at Jenna.

"Kerri has the ships waiting," Jenna answered her. "Miranda went to go wake her up. As soon as we get her Majesty's sleepy backside out of bed, we can get all of them herded onto the ships and on their way. Is everything ready?" she asked in reply.

Triana nodded. "I've made all the arrangements you needed," she elaborated.

"Where is Sarraya?" Tarrin asked curiously.

"Fetching Camara Tal and her husband, but that was too long ago. She probably told them to get up and then got distracted. You know how Faeries are," she said dryly.

"I'm mad at you for stealing Koran, Tarrin," Jenna flared. "He's one of my most trusted advisors."

"You'll live, sister," Tarrin told her. "Besides, you'll have to take that up with him. I'm not pulling his strings. He's going because he wants to be with Camara."

"I heard she's pregnant," Allyn said. "Is that true?"

Tarrin nodded. "Koran's going with her to keep her out of trouble. She'll need him."

Tarrin looked to Triana. "How long are you going to stay here?"

"Not long," she answered. "I want to make sure Mist isn't going to have a fit, and then I'll be off again. I'm getting a bit stir crazy staying in one place so long," she said with a snort.

"I hope Sapphire's ready to go," he said pointedly. They all knew that Tarrin had other travel plans, and Sapphire was part of them.

"She's down the hall, in one of the private dining rooms," she told him. "She's ready whenever we tell her it's time to go. She's too dignified to stand around and wait with the rest of us."