“They’re here!” she cried. “They’ve come! The pride has come!”
Rain was already heading for the door. Together, with Ellysetta’s primary quintet ringed around them, they raced out of the fortress and through the outer gate to greet the approaching tairen.
“Steli! I’ve missed you so!”
The great, snow-white tairen lowered her head and purred contentedly, blue eyes whirling sky-bright, as Ellysetta flung herself against Steli’s neck and stroked the thick, soft fur.
Two other tairen, Xisanna and Perahl, had flown with her from Orest. Rijonn, the Earth master of Ellysetta’s quintet, had fashioned a lair for them in the side of one of the newly heightened hills near Kreppes. Small by tairen standards, the lair was nearly as large as all of Kreppes. Rain, Ellysetta, and the tairen fit inside with enough room to move freely about.
«Steli missed Ellysetta-kitling, too. Human city not so fun without you. Too much prey-scent, but Fey-kin says not to eat. Makes Steli…»An image of a snarling, slavering tairen filled Ellysetta’s head.
“I’m sorry we had to leave you, Steli, but thank you for staying behind to look after Orest for us.”
«Mrr… scratch there. So good.»The tairen’s purring grew so loud the soil around her began to vibrate. Gleaming ivory claws sank into the dirt, and the great cat’s sleek tail thumped the ground, raising clouds of dust.
“Why did you leave, Orest, Steli-chakai?”Rain asked.
She cocked her head to one side.«Rainier-Eras and Ellysetta-kitling are here, not there.»Her tone made it clear she thought the answer should have been obvious to even the thickest skull.
Ellysetta smothered a laugh. The tairen were in a mood for mischief.
Rain sighed. “And if the Army of Darkness does indeed strike here, as we believe, we will be grateful for your presence, but Orest was still under attack when we left. Which tairen will speak to Lord Teleos on behalf of the pride now that you are gone?” Tairen did not, as a rule, speak to humans. They didn’t speak to Fey either, except for the Tairen Souls. They considered it beneath their dignity. Steli had only agreed to do it because Rain asked her to.
«Ah.»Steli’s nose twitched.«Fahreeta talks.»
Xisanna snorted.«Talks talks talks.»
Huah. Huah.Perahl and Steli chuffed with tairen laughter.
“You’re telling me Fahreeta agreed to stay behind and speak with Lord Teleos on behalf of the pride?” Fahreeta was a proud, preening beauty, the last tairen Ellysetta could imagine lowering herself enough to talk to a human, not even one with as much Fey blood in his lineage as Dev Teleos. “I can’t believe it.”
«Mmm,»Steli confirmed.«Fey-kin tells Fahreeta she so pretty, so brave, sooooo beautiful. Fahreeta likes the Fey-kin now. Says she and Torasul will stay, and she will talk to the Fey-kin. She even lets the Fey-kin pet her fur and purrs to him all the time.»Blue eyes gleamed with sly humor.«To-rasul likes the Fey-kin not so much.»
“Oh dear,” Ellysetta said. She didn’t need the perfectly rendered picture of one very large, very cranky Torasul to know what that meant.
Fahreeta was a flirt of tairen proportions. Sleek and beautiful and well aware of it. Her mate, Torasul, had more than a tairen’s supply of patience—which was good, else his mate’s constant teasing would drive him mad—but, as the Water master Loris v’En Mahr occasionally reminded his own whirlwind of a mate, even the vastest of seas eventually broke upon the shore.
«Not worry. Steli warned the Fey-kin not to pet Fahreeta so much else maybe Torasul decide the Fey-kin looks tasty-tasty.»She snickered and sang an image of Dev Teleos’s face as Steli explained that Fahreeta’s mate might eat him in a fit of tairen jealousy.
Rain frowned in concern. “Lord Teleos does not understand pride ways. Perhaps I should sing to Sybharukai and ask her to send other tairen to Orest,” he suggested. “Just in case Torasul loses his temper.”
Huah Huah.The other two tairen fell on the lair floor, rolling on their backs, their great bodies shaking with laughter. The bright, vivid tones of tairen speech filled the lair, so richly vibrant the sounds actually shimmered gold and silver in the air.«This is a very good joke, Steli-chakai. Rainier-Eras so worried. He thinks Torasul will really eat the Fey-kin.»Tairen tails swirled and twined together, and large paws batted the air.
“This is a joke?” Rain arched a brow and his arms crossed over his chest. “You are joking?”
Huahuahuahuah.Steli’s eyes squeezed shut, and her head bobbed up and down as wheezing snickers escaped through her nose.«So good joke. So good.»
Ellysetta clapped a hand over her mouth to hide her rapidly widening grin. “Oh, you wicked cat!” she exclaimed, then ruined the scold with an irrepressible laugh.
«You need to move now, shei’tani.»The command, sent on tight weave of Spirit, came with a tug of Air that pulled her away from Steli’s side.
As soon as she was clear, Rain sprang. The sparkling gray mist of the Change billowed out.
“Mraawwrrr!”Steli squawked and tried to scramble away, but she couldn’t move quickly enough to avoid Rain’s pounce.
Black and white tairen, limbs tangled, wings tucked tight against their bodies, rolled across the floor of the small lair, wrestling for supremacy. The other two tairen, still laughing, scooted to one side and watched with eager amusement, occasionally dodging to miss a flailing limb or tail as necessary.
Finally, Rain had Steli pinned, his fangs clamped around the back of her neck. Instantly, he released her, roared his victory, then padded over to Ellysetta’s side, chuffing and blowing smoke in smug triumph. Steli hopped to her feet, sniffed, and went off to a corner of the lair to groom her ruffled fur.
