Weavespinner

by James Galloway

  "Well, that's that," he said with a nod. "Nothing's broken. The dizziness and disorientation you're feeling will fade after a while. Until then, stay in bed, see if you can take a short nap, and it would be a good idea for you to try to get some food down. I'll have the kitchens send you up something."

  "Thanks," Tarrin said as the Amazon man rose from the side of his bed and started towards the door. "Koran Dar," he called.

  "What is it?"

  "I'm confused about something."

  Koran Dar stopped in midstride, turned around, and sat back down on the bed. "What's troubling you?"

  "It's nothing really serious," he said. "When I got all those gifts, Camara Tal gave me something," he said, pointing to the little steel charm sitting on the bedtable. "She said in her note that she'd been carrying it around for years, and she called it a hope charm. I don't really understand what she was trying to say, but I know there's more to it than that. What does it mean?"

  Koran Dar picked up the little steel trinket, turned it over in his hands a few times, then chuckled softly. "She was carrying this because of me," he said in a distant tone. "I guess it's another indication of just how she feels about me. A hope charm is something an Amazon carries when they have a unfulfilled dream or wish," he explained. "It's said that if you carry it long enough and prove your devotion to Neme, she'll grant your wish. I guess this proves that old story," he chuckled again.

  "What, you reconciled with her?" he asked.

  Koran Dar nodded. "After all this business with the Firestaff is over, I'll be going back to Amazar for a year," he answered. "After that, I'll be resuming my duties here in the Tower. The Sha'Kar already agreed to ferry me back and forth until I can do for myself."

  "That was nice of them."

  "Jenna made them agree," Koran Dar laughed. "She may be young, but that's one steely little girl sometimes. She's definitely your sister."

  "I guess that's a complement," he said uncertainly.

  Koran Dar laughed heartily. "Yes, it is. It's funny that she gave this to you. You're the reason she's not carrying it anymore."

  "Me? Why me?"

  "Because sometimes, Tarrin, the best advice can come from the most unexpected sources," he replied with a smile. "Your reasoning made me think about things. I love Camara very much, but before now, she was never willing to concede anything to me, because of her pride and her social standing in Amazon society. I guess I was never willing to concede anything to her either, because I've always been very indignant about how I'm treated in our society. We were both too stubborn to give a finger, and it cost us years of potential happiness," he sighed. "But then you come along and revealed to me just how she felt about me, and how much she wanted me back. It made me realize just how much I wanted that very thing. We got together a few days ago and put everything on the table. She made some concessions, I made some concessions, and we realized that we've wasted fifteen years on petty bickering and foolish pride. If we'd been honest with each other and done this fifteen years ago, we could have been very happy."

  "I'm glad to hear that, Koran Dar," he said.

  "I guess I shouldn't let you call me that," he chuckled. "At least don't do it when Camara's around. My married name is Koran Tal."

  "You take her name?"

  "Women are dominant in Amazar," he reminded him. "In our society, the man takes the woman's family name."

  "Huh," Tarrin mused, mulling it over. "Well, I'm happy things worked out for you, Koran--uh, Koran Tal."

  "Thank you," Koran Tal said with a smile. "Now then, let me go get that dragon back in here and arrange for a meal to be sent up here. Remember, stay in bed for a while, no excitement, and if you can, see if you can take a short nap. A little sleep will speed along your recovery."

  "I will," he said, accepting the hope charm from the Amazon man and holding a moment. "I think I'm going to carry this with me. Maybe it will help me out."

  "What wish would you put on the hope charm, Tarrin?" he asked. "It won't do anything unless you do."

  "That's easy, Koran Tal. I wish that everything works out alright. That nothing bad happens because of the Firestaff, and after all this is over, we can all go home and live happily ever after."

  "That, my young friend, is the best wish I've ever heard," he said seriously, reaching over and putting his hand on Tarrin's shoulder. "I'll pray to the Goddess for that, Tarrin."

  "Me too," he said, then he yawned. "I don't think me taking a nap is going to be a problem. I do feel a little sleepy."

  "Then lay back and rest, and try to get a little sleep. But not too much," he warned. "I'll tell Sapphire to wake you when the food arrives. After you eat, then you can sleep as long as you want."

  "Alright," he said. "Thanks."

  "It's nothing," he said with a smile. "I'll see you later."

  Tarrin watched him leave, then felt the bed tilt in a new way, now rolling over and over like an alligator rolling food to death. It was starting to get strangely entertaining to have the bed feeling like it was spinning, almost like he was flying. He closed his eyes and tried to sleep, letting the spinning of the bed act almost like the rocking of a cradle.

  Tarrin's breakfast with Auli was more or less cancelled by his confrontation with the Were-cats, but he did manage to meet her for lunch. After a nap, a meal, and another short nap, he had awoken free of the dizziness and mild disorientation that had restricted him to bed. By noon, he felt right as rain and ready to get up, and after Sapphire made him walk a straight line up and down five times, she allowed him to get up and go about.

  It was a meal both of quiet relaxation and subdued tensions. Tarrin liked Auli a great deal, but it was a little strange to be there and talk with her with Sapphire hovering over him. He knew that there was no way around that, but he was pretty sure that she'd be discreet if she happened to overhear anything that was private. Auli completely understood why he wasn't there for breakfast, and just laughed and told him better late than never. They took their plates outside and ate in the summer sun in the gardens, where the magic kept the air pleasantly cool and the sun was delightfully warm. Tarrin and Auli weren't the only ones out enjoying the perfect cloudless day, as many Sorcerers also sat with plates or books in their laps, doing their eating or their studying out in the beautiful day. Beautiful days weren't very common in Suld, for the summer days tended to be cloudy, and rain wasn't uncommon during at least some part of the day. At least usually. That summer and the one before had been unusually dry, not quite a drought, but rather a dry stretch that had gone on for two years. The rains weren't as heavy or plentiful as usual, and the winter snows hadn't piled up even half as much as was normal, even though it was more than cold enough to keep it on the ground.

  Tarrin always enjoyed spending time with Auli, and she didn't disappoint him. He just listened to her prattle on about this or that, complaining about the punishment her mother had given her for what she'd done, complaining about how boring it was in the Tower, and then suppressing laughter when she mused aloud about the things she could do to liven up the place a little. She behaved herself immaculately, not even putting a hand on him in passing. She kept him entertained and happily distracted all through lunch.

  That was the enjoyable part. There had been a little discomfort for him at first, since she was who she was. All he could remember at first was that night, and he wasn't sure if he should treat her any differently than he had. She solved that by treating him the same way as always, so he tried to do the same with her. The desire for her was still there, it had not gone away, but he found after spending some time with her that it was easy to control.

  The meal went along fine until his hunter's senses warned him that he was being watched. He didn't look around, but he realized that one of the Were-cats was watching him, and from the burning sensation on his neck, he was pretty sure that it was Jesmind. He didn't do anything about it, but he was a little distracted from then on as he tried to figure out where she was without giving away the
fact that he knew she was there. He knew that was going to be very hard, because he'd come to find out that if a Were-cat didn't want to be seen, they usually weren't seen. They were masters of stealth, just like the cats of which they were part, and there was really no way to find her unless he made a show of it. Furtive scans of the area produced nothing, and that was about the most that he could do. So he kept one eye on the area around him and his ears attuned to Auli's chatter, making sure that the Were-cat didn't jump out and attack the Sha'Kar.

  Things did get very tense when two of the Were-cats showed up in the gardens. It was Mist and Jula, and to his surprise, they was herding along two Were-cat children. One of them was Jasana, but the other, he realized, had to be Eron, his son. Tarrin had never seen him before, and he was amazed at how much he looked like a little version of himself. He had the same hair, the same face, and the same lanky frame that Tarrin had, but he had black fur on his arms and feet and little cat ears poking out from his wild, unkempt blond hair. He was chasing after Jasana, who was taunting him over her shoulder as she skipped along, while Eron tried his best to chase her down without tripping over his own big feet. Eron looked to be about two, maybe three, and though he was much more agile and physically developed than a human toddler, his ungainly movements showed that he was still rather clumsy, still mastering the nuances of moving himself around.

  They saw him and Auli and immediately changed course to come over. Sapphire flapped her wings a few times on his shoulder and reset herself, as if to vault off his shoulder and intercede, but they weren't running and they didn't look belligerent. Tarrin was a bit tense, and Auli looked decidedly nervous as the two intimidating figures approached them at a leisurely pace.

  "I didn't think you'd be out here," Mist told him. "Are you feeling better?"

  "Yes, thank you," he said politely, unable to keep his eyes off the Were-cat boy long. "Is that--"

  "Yes, that's your son, Tarrin," she said with a smile. "Eron!" she barked.

  The boy gave off chasing Jasana immediately, but the girl passed him by when she saw her father. Sapphire evacuated his shoulder to the safety of the back of the bench as the two Were-cat children approached, as if knowing that she was about to get spilled when he bent over to pick them up. They both raced over to him, and Jasana jumped up into his lap and hugged him exuberantly. "Father, you're here!" she exclaimed happily, just as Eron reached Mist. He stopped short and hid behind her leg, looking up at Tarrin in surprise, and then gaping at Auli.

  "Go ahead, Eron," she said, pushing him out from behind her with her large hands. "Go say hello."

  The boy sidled up to him warily, then put his little hands on Tarrin's leg and looked up at him. "Are you my papa?" he asked in a slightly indistinct voice, as if not entirely sure of the pronunciation of the words he was using.

  "Of course this is papa, lunkhead," Jasana said snippishly.

  "Be nice!" Jula snapped in reprimand.

  "Papa!" Eron said, then he climbed up Tarrin's leg using his claws. It was not a pleasant experience. Tarrin reached down and picked him up and held him as Jasana sat in his lap, looking into the child's intensely green eyes. So this was his son. He looked so much like him! He wasn't sure what he was supposed to feel, holding onto his son that way, but he did know that the first bonds of love were forming for him. Though he didn't know him at all, though he'd never seen him before, it really didn't matter. All that really mattered was that this was his son, named after his grandfather. Eron was his child, and he was beautiful.

  "Hello Eron," Tarrin said calmly, holding onto him.

  "Mama said you were sick. Is this what happens when we get sick?"

  "It's a very rare illness," Tarrin said with a smile. "I don't think you'll ever get it."

  "Nuts. I think you look neat like that."

  Tarrin looked at Mist, who only laughed. He was surprised that he could form such complete sentences, and he was supposedly only a little over a year old. He guessed the Were-cats really did grow up fast, both in body and mind.

  "What's it like to not have fur?"

  "Just touch your tummy and you'll know," Tarrin winked. That wink turned into a wince when Eron's claws dug into his hip. "Not so hard, Eron," he chided gently. "I'm not as strong as your mother."

  "Careful, cub," Mist warned. "Remember what I told you. Your father's sick, so you can't treat him the way you do me. You have to be gentle."

  "Alright, Mama," he answered with a nod. "Who's this? Is the the mean lady Aunt Jesmind wants to kill?"

  "I'm not a mean lady!" Auli said indignantly.

  "She's a friend of mine, and your Aunt Jesmind has the wrong idea about her," Tarrin said mildly.

  "Mama said you're trying to steal Papa," Jasana accused.

  "What would I do with him, child?" Auli said with an outrageous grin. "I don't want to marry him, so what would I do with him except keep him as a pet? He's too big, I think he'd tear up the furniture, and I'm not entirely sure he's housebroken. He's really not worth stealing, if you ask me. Too much trouble, he doesn't know any tricks, and he eats too much. If I want to steal something, I'll steal a dog or a cat."

  Jasana looked at her, and then a helpless giggle escaped her. Jesmind may hate Auli, but Tarrin saw that Jasana's opinions of her weren't quite so set in stone.

  Tarrin put them both down after that, when Eron started to fidget too much, and he watched them play in silence for a long moment. He could see almost immediately that Eron was very much different from Jasana. Jasana was a sedate child, happy to sit and read books or play with her toys, where Eron absolutely could not stop moving. He had to run everywhere he went, and he had alot of trouble sitting still for very long. He understood just how hard it was for him when he came back over and climbed into Tarrin's lap as Jasana chased one of the many butterflies in the gardens, chattering on and on and on at such a high rate of speed that Tarrin could barely understand him. He talked about his cabin and the trip to Suld and seeing Triana and being with Jasana again and how big his bed was here in the Tower and how big and scary the Knights looked and how everyone was so nice to him despite what his mother said about humans and how good the food was. Tarrin could barely put in a word edgewise, and eventually just gave up and let him ramble on until he ran out of patience with sitting down, then set him down and let him go chase Jasana again.

  "He's talkative," Auli noted.

  "He can't sit still a minute," Mist sighed. "It's a phase or something. He's been driving me crazy for almost a month now with it."

  "I'm surprised he can talk so well," Tarrin told her.

  "He's about where he should be," she answered.

  Tarrin looked at Jula, and realized that she was being unusually quiet. She hadn't even said a word yet. He looked to her and then to Mist, and realized that Jula was almost terrified of the short, stocky Were-cat. She was doing a good job hiding it, but Jula tensed up every time Mist so much as moved. "How are you, Jula?" he asked casually.

  "I'm fine," she said in a slightly strained voice. "I'm just watching Jasana for a while, that's all."

  "Have you two known each other long?"

  "Just a couple of days," Mist said, glancing at the blond Were-cat. "I haven't made up my mind about her yet."

  Tarrin was pretty sure that there were any number of subtle levels present in that one statement. It certainly put Jula in a submissive mood, he could tell. She wasn't about to challenge Mist over anything. Then again, they said that Mist was the one that caught Jesmind. She had to be a pretty formidable Were-cat to be able to do that. She wasn't as big as any other Were-cat he'd seen, but Tarrin knew personally that size wasn't everything.

  "I have to get back to my classes, Tarrin," Auli announced. "I'll see you tonight?"

  "After dinner," he affirmed.

  "Don't forget Dar," she reminded.

  "I won't."

  She smiled at him, patted him on the shoulder, then got up and gave the two Were-cats a sidelong glance. Then she saunted back towards th
e main Tower.

  "What are you two going to do?" Mist asked.

  "Three," Tarrin corrected. "Me and Dar and Auli are going to go out walking for a while. That's usually a precursor to her getting us in trouble," he chuckled ruefully. "Of course, we think it's great fun while we're doing it, at least until we get caught. Auli's a very wild-natured girl."

  "So I've heard," Mist said flintily.

  "Don't let Jesmind poison you, Mist," Tarrin said. "If you knew Auli at all, you'd understand why she did what she did. It's not out of her nature. But now she understands how much trouble she got me into, and that's one thing she really regrets. We're not going to fool around again, but we're also not going to stop being friends."

  "I don't think you tried very hard to get away," she noted.

  "I did try, but after she cornered me, I gave up," he admitted. "And by then I didn't want to try anymore. I'm not dead, Mist. Just look at her. Auli is beautiful."

  Mist actually laughed. "She is that," she agreed. "Not much else, but she is beautiful."

  "I'm surprised you're not as angry as Jesmind," he told her.

  "I'm not as foolish as she is," Mist snorted. "Unlike her, I trust you, Tarrin. I know that when you get your memory back, you'll choose to be with us again. I have faith in you, because I know you, and I'm not going to let my jealousy rule me as it is with Jesmind."

  "You know me that well?"

  "Tarrin, anyone that knows you at all knows what you'll do if you get your memory back," she said confidently. "Some of them don't like it, because they want to see you stay human, but they know which path you'll take. That's why I'm not going crazy like Jesmind. That's why Kimmie isn't either. She's busy helping that crazy Wizard with that magic to restore your memory, and it's why she has the patience and concentration to be able to help him. She knows, just like I know. If Jesmind wasn't thinking with something other than her brain, she'd know too. And she'd know how silly she's being."

  "I really don't know what I'm going to do, Mist," he admitted.

  "You can't, not until you get your memory back," she told him calmly. "So what difference does any of this really make? Until they finish their magic, all any of us can do is wait." She looked at him. "And if you want to live a little like this, do some of those things humans do that you can't do anymore, have a little harmless fun, even do a little mattress hopping with wanton Sha'Kar, why should I care? It won't change things. When you get your memory back, who you were will be all you need to make your decision. I believe that with all my heart."