"Why not?"

"The tail never moved," she said with a slight frown. "It wasn't Dar's fault, though. He put the tail on, but unless he was there to make it move, it didn't do anything. One of us had to be with him all the time to make it convincing, or at least that was before."

"How did you fix it?"

"Jenna fixed it," she answered. "She used a spell I've never seen before, a spell I didn't even think was possible. She Transmuted him!"

"She what?" Allia asked.

"She changed him, sister," she said in wonder. "Right now, he looks, moves, and even smells like a Were-cat. She even put a lingering weave in him to mimic Tarrin's strength. I don't know what Jenna did, but I can't even tell the difference now. It took the boy a little time to figure out how to move the tail and control the claws, but he's more than a mirror image of you now, brother. I just want to know where she learned how to do that!"

Tarrin knew exactly which spells she used to do that. Actually, it was a rather clever idea. "I taught it to her," he answered. "I taught her all the spells I learned when I was turned. I see she's already putting them to good use."

"And you didn't teach me?" she protested a bit indignantly.

"We'll have all the time in the world for that later, sister," he told her.

"I'm going to hold you to that. It's the least you can do for running out without saying goodbye."

"We were on a tight schedule," he said contritely.

"I know, I'm just teasing," she winked. "How is the desert?"

"Hot," Sarraya said in a grumble. "Hot and sandy."

"I'd say that about describes a desert," Keritanima laughed.

"Me and the Faerie have been having a running disagreement about whose home is more perfect," Allia said with a sly smile. "So far, I'm winning."

"So you say," Sarraya retorted.

Keritanima looked behind her. "Well, I'd better go. Miranda's tugging on my tail for some reason. Kinda stupid for me to look, isn't it?" she added with a wry smile. "I can't see anything but scrub and strone."

"It's a reflex," Tarrin assured her. "Make sure you pass on the message to Jenna."

"Will do. Come visit us in the Heart, brother. It would be nice to see you."

"If I think it's safe enough," he replied.

"I can't ask for more than that. I have to go. You three be careful."

"We will," Allia assured her.

"Bye deshaida, deshida. I love you both. Oh, bye Sarraya."

"I love you too, and be careful, sister," Allia warned.

"I love you too, sister. Keep an eye on our imposters," Tarrin added.

"Well thank you so much for remembering me," Sarraya huffed acidly.

"Being the second helm isn't very fun, is it?" Keritanima said with a wolfish, toothy grin, and then her image vanished.

Sarraya threw her hands up in the air and flitted off, muttering to herself.

"She's having a bad day, isn't she?" Allia asked with a laugh.

Although she pouted for a while after Keritanima disappeared, Sarraya's temper improved during the rest of the day. She became less and less combative, and by sunset she was actually starting to make jokes. She hadn't been doing that before-at least not what was usual for her-and it was something of a good sign.

Tarrin had a feeling that he knew what had been bothering Sarraya. He knew his little friend rather well, and he had the feeling that she'd been just a little intimidated by Allia. That, and she was a little intimidated also by how close he and she were. He realized that she was starting to feel like she was both not needed and not wanted, and for Sarraya, that was somewhat intolerable. It was why she'd been so snippy lately. The first time they'd gone through the desert, he had absolutely depended on her. They traded barbs alot, but they were very close. Sarraya had had that relationship disturbed by Allia, who, she had found out, was not just another Denai. It wasn't that Var and Denai hadn't been competent, but Tarrin's relationship with them had been very distant at the beginning. Even though they were with them, Tarrin still only talked with Sarraya. She'd gotten used to that. And now here was Allia, who had quite literally taken over their group, and in Sarraya's eyes, had stolen Tarrin away from her. Tarrin talked with Allia, and joked with Allia, and all of Sarraya's attempts to interject herself had met with miserable failure. The Selani woman had proved to have a sharp wit that quickly turned the Faerie's barbs and comments, her normal method of starting a conversation, back on her.

They decided to stop early that afternoon, just in case Jenna was looking for him, and Tarrin decided to deal with this little situation. They found a good spot nestled on the leeward side of a rock spire, a rather short and stubby one. After Allia left them to go hunting, Tarrin sat down with his back to a large wind-roundedstone and motioned for Sarraya to land on his knee. "I think you're being just a little silly," he told her.

"What do you mean?" she asked in her high-pitched voice.

"We don't think you're a fifth wheel, you silly woman," he told her with a light smile. "I know that's bothering you."

She flushed slightly.

"And Allia being here doesn't change the fact that we're friends, does it?" he asked.

"What do you mean?"

Tarrin fixed her with a hard look.

She blushed, and laughed ruefully. "Alright, I'm jealous," she admitted, patting his knee. "You're always talking to her, and I can't seem to get a word in edgewise. And I don't know how to talk to her."

"Just talk to her," he said pointedly. "If you try to fence with her, you're going to lose, friend. I think you've discovered that."

Sarraya gave him an indignant look, then flushed and laughed. "She's quite different from what I expected," she admitted. "I thought she was always that quiet and reserved."

"She acts like that around strangers because it's what her honor demands," he told her. "Think about Var. He acted much the same way until he got to know us, if you don't recall. Selani consider it unseemly to laugh or show humor in front of strangers. That can lead to misunderstandings, and that's the last thing two Selani clans or tribes want to have happen. And Allia's a clan princess, Sarraya. She doesn't take her title seriously, but it does require her to act with a measure of dignity. The honor of her entire clan is on her, and she has to live up to it."

"Denai was nothing like that," she mused. "She was so open and bubbly."

"She was also very young and rash," he told her. "Denai is an exception. Var is the rule."

"I understand," she said thoughtfully.

"Now that you've seen the Allia I know, you understand why I like her so much," he smiled. "She's nothing like what she seems to be in company."

"That's no lie," Sarraya laughed. "I never dreamed she had such a sharp tongue."

"You've never seen her in action," Tarrin grinned. "She can cut you in half with it. To my memory, I've never won an argument with Allia."

"Never?"

"Not once," he answered honestly. "She submits when she knows I'm being very serious and when it suits her, but when it's a point of contention that didn't go into those areas, she won every single one of them." He chuckled ruefully. "She's not afraid of me, so my usual techniques for winning arguments don't work on her."

"I think I just may see just how good she is," Sarraya said in an oddly professional manner, flexing her fingers in a predatory manner.

"It's your skin," Tarrin told her.

Their little talk seemed to have had the effect he intended. Sarraya was quiet and thoughtful for a while after Allia returned, dragging a dead juvenile sukk by the leg, and she seemed to be organizing herself as Tarrin and Allia dressed, quartered, and then started roasting the bird over the fire Tarrin had built while she was hunting.