Tarrin's body went flying through the closed door, shattering it, and he splayed out on the porch with stars dancing in his eyes. Jesmind stepped through that now empty doorway with an ugly smile on her face, her tail lashing behind her sharply. "You may be bigger now, but I'm not afraid of you, cub!" she sneered.
"I am NOT--" his tail lashed out, sweeping her feet out from under her--"a cub!" he finshed as she crashed to the porch.
Tarrin's anger exploded at that point, driving him to a fury that was almost a rage, but not quite. Tarrin had a great many reasons to be mad at Jesmind, and now that the cards were on the table, he found a release for all that pent-up emotion. He jumped to his feet at the same time she did, and then punched her dead in the jaw with so much force that she went flying across the porch. She hit the rail, bounced up and over it, then disappeared under the porch deck to crash to the ground below. He followed her over the rail, only to be greeted by her claws as she raked him across the face as he came over the rail. Tarrin felt the hot lines, felt the warm blood, and it made him that much angrier.
"Why you--!" he snapped at her, but all she did was grin evilly.
Tarrin more or less lost it at that point. Howling with sudden fury, he fell on the smaller Were-cat with unmitigated savagery. Claws flashing, Tarrin and Jesmind resorted to the natural method of fighting among their kind, claws and teeth. Much like it had been the last time they fought, they raked and tore at one another with mindless fury, with no grace or strategy or plan. Rolling in the yard, the two of them ripped at one another, as years of frustration, anger, loneliness poured out of Tarrin, taking it out on the woman who had caused all those feelings in the first place. He hated her for abandoning him, he was so mad at her for not telling him about Jasana! He was furious that she hadn't been there for him, with him, hadn't let him be a part of his daughter's life, hadn't let him be there! He felt so betrayed that she would do something like this to him!
Tarrin's fury gave him focus, gave him a power that Jesmind couldn't match. He eventually beat her down, pinned her to the ground, then punched her in the face once for every time that he had missed her, he had needed her, every time she had betrayed him. He took all his frustration out on Jesmind, took out all his pain and his indignation and his anger out on Jesmind, showed her how he felt inside with his fists and claws instead of with words.
Almost as quickly as it started, almost as quickly as it happened, it was over. Tarrin's anger drained away when he looked down at Jesmind, seeing her face bloody and bruised, her eyes glazed over. He had won. He rose up from her and sat down hard just beside her, a paw over his face, feeling the blood there. All the anger was...gone. Drained away, as if fighting with Jesmind had given it a way out of him.
Were-cats can try to kill each other, but once the fight is over, it's over, Triana told him once, so very long ago. The fight settles the matter. It's as if it never happened afterwards.
Yes, of course. Just like with Jula, and Jegojah. Tarrin fought them, beat them, and afterward, it was as if they hadn't been enemies. The fight had settled the matter, and it was no longer an issue.
Tarrin flopped down onto his back on the ground, his mind turning it over in his mind. Jesmind had been a little too quick to pick that fight. She had been spoiling for it. But not for her, for him. She had picked a fight with him to let him express all his anger, to give it a release instead of keeping it bottled up inside him.
Tarrin's opinion of her rose by several degrees. She had been willing to take a beating just to make him feel better.
"Ugh," she groaned, sitting up, spitting out a tooth. "Remind me never to sucker-punch you again. Tarrin? Are you alright?"
Tarrin looked up at her. She had blood on her face, dribbling out of the corner of her mouth, and her shirt had been ripped off her left shoulder, leaving her left side bare. He stared up at her woodenly.
"Feel better now?" she asked with a charming little smile.
"You are a witch," Tarrin grunted at her. "I can't even win for losing."
Jesmind laughed. "I thought as much. You needed some exercise."
"I hate you. Do you know that?"
Jesmind laughed again. "I've been Were alot longer than you, Tarrin," she grinned. "I knew you needed some way to let it all out. Unfortunately, this was the only way I could think of." She rubbed her jaw. "Furies, Tarrin, when did you get so strong? I thought you knocked my jaw off with that first punch."
He refused to answer. He felt...manipulated. Jesmind had robbed him of his anger for her by letting him release it against her, and now it was as if it had never been. It didn't matter now. He had showed her how he felt, and since that was done, there was no need to dwell on it anymore.
She had cleaned the slate between them.
Almost. He was still a little peeved at her at what she did, but he couldn't really blame her for it. But he didn't feel only irritation. He was impressed that she was willing to pick a fight she knew she couldn't win, and do it for his benefit. It showed him that she did care, and that knowledge softened the memories of the anger and betrayal he had felt before.
She reached down and wiped away a little blood from his face with the back of her paw. "I'm just glad you feel better, Tarrin."
"I will in a while," he grunted, sitting up. "You're one brave woman, do you know that?"
"Sometimes we all do things we don't like to do," she smiled. "Believe me, that was something I do not want to experience again."
"You are weird."
"Then we're a matched set," Jesmind grinned at him wolfishly. "Come on. We both need to get cleaned up, and I need a new shirt. Why is that whenever we're together, I always seem to end up out of my clothes?"
"Bad luck, I suppose," he answered.
"Depends on the circumstances," she said with a wink, then she climbed to her feet and sauntered back towards the house.
Tarrin looked at her for a long moment, then blew out his breath and climbed to his feet. Were-cat females certainly kept life interesting. Figthing one moment, flirting the next. And she had the nerve to flirt! Then again, she knew that the fight had settled him down, drained away his anger, so she could act the way she used to back in the Tower. Jesmind usually wasn't much of a flirter, though. Usually, Jesmind's idea of flirting was unlacing his breeches. But he wasn't the same male he was then, and perhaps she was acting differently because of it.
He started towards the house. Jesmind was certainly much different than he remembered her to be. He wondered what other surprises she had in store for him.
Tarrin used Sorcery to clean and fix his clothes, then replaced the door. He was busy hanging it when Jasana padded out in a little brown shirt with holes in it and a pair of sturdy little canvas breeches, grabbing hold of the end of his tail and holding on to it. Tarrin waved a paw at her quickly as he lined up the new door, then slid the hinge pin down into place to hold it.
"Why did you and mama fight?" she asked intently.
"It's what Were-cats do sometimes, kitten," Tarrin replied casually, bending down and sliding the other hinge pin home. "Your mother and I had some arguments in the past. Fighting is a way to settle them."
"I don't like it when you fight."
"I don't like it either," he told her honestly. "I'm sure she told you about when we met, didn't she?"
"Umm," she hummed. He'd learned that was one of her ways of saying yes.
"We fought alot back then, too," he told her. "Your mother and I have always seemed to been fighting, for some reason or another."
"Mama says it's because you're too stubborn."
Tarrin looked at her, then he laughed quietly. "I think it's because your mother is too stubborn," he said with a smile.
"I took the ham off the fire. It was getting burned."
"That was thoughtful, kitten," he complemented her, slapping the dust out of his fur. He spotted a broom in the corner, so he retrieved it and went about cleaning up the shards of wood laying all over the floor.
"Can we eat
now?"
"I thought you said you weren't hungry."
"I guess I am," she admitted.
"Let me finish cleaning up, and we'll eat," he promised. "We have to wait for your mother in any case."
That made Jasana smile for some strange reason, then she bounded off towards his parents' old bedroom.
Tarrin had the floor cleaned up, and was scooping up the debris in a conjured dustpan when a hesitant knock came at the door. Tarrin didn't bother to look at it, using his tail to pull the latch, then pull it open. The scents coming through the doorway were unfamiliar to him, but he knew that they were human, and there was no smell of armor of steel about them, so that meant that they were friendly.
"Tarrin?" the voice of Garyth Longshank called out. "It is you!" he laughed.
Tarrin turned and looked, and saw Garyth Longshank standing at the doorway, but he wasn't alone. Jak Longbranch was beside him, a longbow in his hand, and Karn Rocksplitter stood on the other, his big staff in his hands. "Good grief, son, when did you get so tall?" Garyth asked immediately.
Tarrin was getting tired of that question. "It's a long story," he said mildly, looking at the three of them, broom in his paws. "Well, don't just stand on the porch. Come in."
"Yer lookin' alot different, boy," Karn told him gruffly. Karn had been one of Tarrin's friends and mentors. The grizzled Dal smith had taught him a little bit about blacksmithing, a little bit about life, and had taught him Arakite. His bald head wasn't quite so bald now, with some peach fuzz about it because he hadn't shaved it lately, but his beard showed alot more gray in it than had been there the last time he'd seen him. Jak was a little taller now, and had the lean-whiplike frame of a man who lived from his bow and backpack. He had a scar on the right side of his forehead, and his brown hair was longer, tied in a tail behind him. The smiles of the young boy were gone, replaced by a haunted emptiness in his eyes that made Tarrin feel sorry for him. Tarrin knew what he felt, knew what it was like to suffer that kind of loss.
"Sit down, gentlemen," he said briskly. "We weren't expecting company for breakfast, but I think we can accomodate you."
"Thank you, lad," Garyth said with a small smile, and the three men settled in after Jak closed the door. "Where is Jesmind?"
"Cleaning up," he replied. "You missed the fireworks."
"What do you mean?"
"We had a disagreement," he said mildly. "Disagreements among Were-cats usually end up with broken furniture."
Garyth chuckled, and Karn grinned knowingly. "That explains the wood laying all over the porch."
"Thank Jesmind for that. She hit me when I wasn't looking."
"That's the best way to hit someone, boy," Karn told him with a gravelly laugh. "I think Dumas is going to be very happy replacing all the things you break."
"I can do that myself, Karn," he said mildly. "So it's an expensive hobby we can indulge ourselves in."
"Well, it's good to see you, lad," Garyth told him. "I'm sure you know why we're here."
"I killed the Dals," Tarrin shrugged. "Now you're either coming to thank me for it, or berate me for doing something so stupid."
"A little bit of both, to be honest," Garyth smiled. "I'm happy to see them get theirs for what they've done, but you know they're going to retaliate."
"They won't be here to retaliate, Garyth," Tarrin told him, taking some plates out of the cupboard. They were the same plates he used to use. Jesmind had truly simply taken over the house. "You're not going to see an armed Dal column in Aldreth again." He set the plates at the table, and realized he was two chairs short to handle them all. Mother had had six chairs at the table, but two of them were missing. So he simply reached within and Created two chairs identical to the four at the table, making them appear in the holes.
"Karas' hammer!" Garyth said in a strangled tone, jumping when the chairs appeared.
"Sorry, I forget you're not used to that," Tarrin apologized.
"You really did learn magic in Suld," Jak finally said, looking at him calmly.
"Actually, that magic was taught to me by a Faerie," he admitted. He was still in contact with his Druidic power, so he Conjured forth a large breakfast for all six of them, ham steaks and boiled eggs and warm, fresh bread and porridge and a pitcher of chilled cow's milk, complete with cups made of clear glass.
"You must make Jesmind very happy that she doesn't have to cook," Garyth laughed as he looked at the food.
"I don't know, I haven't made her a meal like this before," he answered.
"Tarrin! Is that Garyth?" Jesmind called from the back room.
"With Karn and Jak," Tarrin replied. "Come to breakfast!"
"I'm glad you--well, I'm glad things turned out alright with you and Jesmind, Tarrin," Garyth said gently. "She told me that you didn't know about Jasana."
"I'm still not entirely happy with her," Tarrin admitted. "But that's one of the matters we've already settled between us."
"So everything's alright?"
"More or less."
"Are you here to stay, boy?"
Tarrin shook his head. "There are some very serious things happening, Karn. The Dals are only the half of it. There's an army marching on Suld, an army trying to destroy it. That's why I'm here."
"I didn't hear anything about that," Garyth said. "The men down Watch Hill way have been helping the Rangers, and they're passing along news."
"They don't know about it yet," he answered.
"Then how do you know about it? If you don't mind my asking," Garyth said quickly.
"I know alot of what's going on, Garyth," he said wearily. "If only because I'm probably the cause of it all."
That made the three of them stare at him. "What are you talking about, boy?" Karn asked.
"Have you ever heard of the Firestaff?"
"Of course. It's an old legend--" Karn's eyes widened. "You mean it's real?"
"Very real. Everything that's happening here with the Dals, the Ungardt, the wars and the chaos, it's all because of the Firestaff. It's why I'm here too."
"You're looking for it?" Garyth asked.
Tarrin nodded. "There's an army trying to destroy Suld to stop me, because if they destroy Suld's Tower, they can disrupt the Weave and kill most of the Sorcerers. That would finish me along with the rest of them. The Dals are an element of that plan, to weaken the army and make it easier for the other army to take Suld."
"You mean all of this is aimed at you?"
"I'm not quite that arrogant, Garyth," Tarrin smiled wearily, working himself around carefully to his real objective, seeing if Garyth and the villagers would help with Torrian. "Their real objective is to destroy the katzh-dashi. But they really want to stop me, because they're afraid I'll find it before they do. Destroying the katzh-dashi is the key to their success. That it will kill me with the rest of them is simply an added bonus."
They sat there a long moment, absorbing that. "What are you going to do?" Garyth asked.
"We've already planned a counter," he replied. "I have to take Torrian, no matter what it costs. Even if I have to raze it to the ground," he said with a grim look. "I have to break the Dal lines of supply and communication, and those run through Torrian."
"You? Take it alone?"
"Garyth, I can destroy the entire city if I have to. It's within my power," he said bluntly. It wasn't a brag or a boast, it was a simple statement of fact. "I'd rather avoid that, though. I don't relish the idea of slaughtering innocent Sulasians."
That seemed to take all three of them aback, staring at him wildly. Perhaps it wasn't a good idea to say something like that, but the damage was done.
"L-Lad, I'm sure you believe what you're saying, but certainly there's another way," Garyth said carefully.
"Unless you have an army around here, I don't see another way," he said bluntly. He had put it all out there on the table now. He just needed Garyth to see it.
"We have alot of men around here, lad, men willing to give back some of what the Dals handed out t
o them," Garyth told him.
"I don't have time to mass an army of villagers and teach them how to fight as a group, Garyth," Tarrin said urgently, hiding his relief and elation at that statement. He had been depending on just that, but he didn't want to look like he was eager to drag the men of Aldreth into a war.
"How about a brigade of Rangers?"
Tarrin stared intently at Garyth as Jesmind and Jasana came in. Jesmind had cleaned up and changed, even combed her hair, and she sat down next to where Tarrin was standing calmly. Jasana sat down on the other side of him, and immediately reached for the untouched food on the table, food that wasn't even there a few minutes ago.
"I told you, the Rangers are operating in this area," Garyth told him. "About five hundred of them. They've been wreaking havoc on the Dal supply lines running on both sides of Torrian. If I send out the word, I could get them to gather, and they could help us take Torrian back from the Dals."
"Us?"
"I have some issues with the Dals," Garyth said flintily. "They have some blood to answer for."
"Yes!" Jak said fiercely.
"And not just us. Nearly every man in Aldreth and Watch Hill would pick up a bow and march. All they need is the word, and a sense that they'll be able to succeed. I think we can give them both now." He looked at Tarrin intently. "If you can do magic like you boast, we have a good chance. The garrison in Torrian is about a thousand men. I think we could mass a force equal to that size."
"A force of farmers, not infantry," Tarrin countered, making sure Garyth understood the gravity of the situation. "I don't think the Rangers would like it if we sent them in to do all the dying."
"How about a pack of Were-cats to bolster that?" Jesmind offered. "If both mother and Tarrin called, we'd get at least twenty."
"I doubt they're close enough, Jesmind," Tarrin said. "I have to get to Suld. I can't wait more than a couple of days."
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