"Just make sure it doesn't wander back this way!" Sarraya called. "That thing was looking at me like I was the next item on its menu!"

The next day they moved into flatter land, stopped a few hours to wait out a small, savage little squall of a sandstorm, and then moved on through grazing land of thick, tough desert scrub and the occasional needle-lined cactus. The thicker vegetation meant there were grazers wandering the plains, sukk and chisu, as well as the insectoid draka. Tarrin saw his first live kusuk around midafternoon, a trio of them surrounding a youngling, and they also saw their first major predator. A young kajat had killed a chisu and was feeding on it, oblivious to the passing of the two figures and the tiny winged one that rode on the top of the taller one's head. Close to sunset, as Allia began to tire, they passed within a longspan of a small pack of inu. The sharp-eyed predators would usually have gave them a great deal of notice as they passed, the leader of the pack debating if expending the energy to try to run down a swift Selani was worth the effort, but they were already engaged in a hunt, stalking a small flock of sukk that had wandered away from the large numbers of them to the west.

As those days passed, Tarrin watched his sister. She grew more and more expressive, seemed happier and happier, even if she was so tired by the time that they set camp that she had trouble moving. She complained about that lightly when she got up the next morning, teasing him that it was his fault that she was so woefully out of shape. But Selani were amazingly resilient beings, and over those few days, Allia's endurance and stamina had grown by half, and every night when they stopped to camp, she was significantly less tired. The harshness of the desert environment had bred them to be able to build strength quickly. That was why their children could go from riding to running with the tribe and not falling behind in just a matter of weeks.

Sarraya noticed that on the fourth day, as Allia moved off to relieve herself. "Is it me, or is she almost doubling her endurance every day?"

"That's not unusual, Sarraya," Tarrin said absently as he swatted a large venemous wasp with his tail, which was trying to land on his shoulder. The stunned little insect buzzed off irregularly, staggering through the air as it tried to recover its senses after the strong tail smacked it halfway across the campsite. "Selani are very resilient."

"That's not natural."

"I think Fara'Nae tampers with them a little bit," Tarrin chuckled. "That, or five thousand years in the desert has bred some very handy abilities into them."

When they were camped or resting or waiting out the midday heat, they would talk. Allia would tell him stories of the desert and her tribe, what it was like being the daughter of a clan-chief, and she would often describe animals and plants to them. Allia was alot more experienced than Denai had been, and she knew things about the desert that Denai hadn't. It made hearing about animals they already knew just as interesting, because Allia could tell them much more about them. Sarraya also had a turn, but she concentrated on expanding the very hasty lessons that she and Triana had given him. Every day during the noon break and after they made camp, she and him would practice Druidic spells, or he would sit and listen to her as she explained things to him in greater detail. Sarraya was actually a pretty good teacher when it came to Druidic magic, at least if one overlooked her endless badgering and the childish delight she took in berating him when he made a mistake, and Tarrin learned a great deal from her.

Tarrin noticed that Allia seemed to be missing Allyn, but she also wouldn't let that show. He knew her well enough to know that it was bothering her, but he wouldn't say anything about it. She was very happy to be home, even if it wasn't with her intended, and he was going to let her enjoy that happiness rather than try to console her for the missing company of a loved one.

The fifth day on their journey to the Cloud Spire turned out to be quite a bit more exciting than the others. Not long after setting out that morning, they came over a blind ridge and stumbled directly into a rearing kajat. It was a huge one, nearly twenty five spans high, and with a massive, gaping mouth filled with browned and pitted teeth. The wily predator had carefully and wisely selected that spot, knowing that the ridge hid it from anything coming over, and the winds would keep its scent away from its prey until it was too late. Tarrin wasn't really that surprised, since he kept his eyes open and expected trouble at all times, so he reacted smoothly and calmly to its attack. It lunged at them, jaws snapping, and Selani and Were-cat split to either side of it, not even breaking stride as those jaws cracked shut in the air that separated them. The kajat seemed momentarily confused by this, unsure of which direction to turn, then decided on turning towards Tarrin. He picked up into a sprint and angled in along the side of its body; he'd had some experience at this, and he knew that kajats didn't turn very quickly. By staying close to it, he would stay out reach of its teeth and its tail, both formidable weapons.

But the creature roared in pain and turned in the other direction quickly. Tarrin saw Allia right beside its other leg, and she'd stuck it with her sword to get its attention. Then, to his surprise, she ran right under it and between those huge, pumping legs, legs that shook the ground when they set onto the sandy soil, darting aside quickly as one of those tree-trunk sized legs shifted towards her as the monstrous beast made its turn. She angled up and came right by him, motioning with her hand for him to follow, and he did so quickly. The turning animal's tail passed harmlessly over them, and it bellowed in frustration when it made its turn and saw its meal already running away. Tarrin felt the earth shake as the massive predator gave chase, actually catching up with them for a moment or two but it could not keep up with them. It trailed further and further behind, then finally gave up and slowed to a walk.

Allia was laughing in delight as they slowed to a walk, seeing the kajat well behind them and already turning to return to its ambush site. "That was exhilerating," she said in a bubbly manner, sheathing her shortsword after cleaning it.

"That was a pretty dangerous stunt, Allia," Sarraya accused.

"It's an old trick for getting away from them," she told the Faerie lightly. " Kajat are fast runners, but their size makes them ungainly when trying to maneuver. The closer you stay to its flanks, the safer you are. You get away from one by making it commit to turning in one direction, then running away in the other by going underneath it. By the time it turns around again and starts chasing you, you have enough of a lead to escape."

"I've used similar tactics on them, Sarraya," Tarrin reminded her. "Remember?"

"I remember," the Faerie laughed. "I'm sure the kajat does too."

"That one certainly picked a good spot," Tarrin said in appreciation. "I never smelled a whiff of it until it was trying to bite my head off."

"He is mature and wise, deshida. That's why he's so big. That one has alot of experience, so he knows where the best ambush sites lay." She looked around. "I'm a bit hungry. We should stop for a meal."

"There's a fairly big one back there a ways," Sarraya grinned, pointing back at the kajat.

"That would be wasteful," Allia said condescendingly. "Besides, we don't kill kajats. They prey on the inu, and that keeps their numbers in check. Inu are more dangerous to us than the kajats are."

"The inu are the second most dangerous thing out here," Tarrin agreed calmly.

"What's the most dangerous?" Sarraya asked.

"Them," Tarrin said, pointing at Allia.