“Perhaps next time you get stuck, you could try getting down all on your own,” Conleth said encouragingly—and then had a brief, terrifying vision of a newly confident Nancy leaping from the dining hall roof. “Though please make sure I’m standing nearby first. Just in case.”
Nancy screwed up her nose. “I can’t always rely on you being around, though. I mean, it’s not like you can come home with me.”
“That’s why we’re working on this now. By the end of the summer, I’m sure your parents will be impressed with your progress.”
And hopefully, much less likely to suffer from premature heart failure,he didn’t add. His own had certainly missed a few beats during some of Nancy’s more extreme feats of inadvertent agility. He hadn’t even known it was possible for a mountain goat to balance on top of a flagpole.
A thoughtful look crept across Nancy’s face. “If I work really hard on my climbing, wouldyoube impressed?”
“Your climbing is already excellent,” Conleth said dryly. “It’s the descending that still has some room for improvement. But leaving aside technical matters of linguistics, yes, of course. As amatter of fact, I’m already proud of you for being brave enough to rescue yourself, rather than relying on me to get you down.”
“And if I keep managing to get myself out of trouble, you’d be even more impressed, right?” Nancy’s voice took on a sweet, wheedling tone that made ice run down Conleth’s spine. “I mean, like, really,reallyimpressed. If I proved I can get down safely no matter how high I jump, you wouldn’t have to worry anymore that I might fall and hurt myself. So we’d be able to do more activities.”
Conleth had the sinking feeling that he had just made a critical error.
“Like mountain climbing!” Nancy continued, inevitably. “If I keep improving, will you take us out on a proper expedition up Thunder Mountain as a reward? Please, Conleth? Pleeeeease?”
The sensible answer would have been to tell her he’d think about it—meaning, of course, for about five seconds.But there was more than mere hope in Nancy’s expression. This was something she desperately wanted, and he had a hunch it wasn’t simply some childish whim.
“Nancy,” he said slowly, mind working. “Why is it so important that we go climbing this summer? I would have thought you had plenty of opportunity to do that sort of thing back home. Aren’t there other mountain goat shifters in your family?”
“Yeah, loads. We go on expeditions all the time.” Nancy dug a toe into the ground. “But I never actually get to go up the mountain. My parents say it’s too dangerous. I always have to stay at base camp with the little kids and my aunties. It’s not fair. I just… I just really want to prove to my family that they don’t need to keep treating me like a baby.”
Only a sheer monster would have said no after that. “I can’t make any promises, you understand. As your counselor, I have to make sure you’re safe. But that doesn’t mean wrapping youin cotton wool and never letting you take any risks. If we work together on developing your skills, and you show me you won’t get stuck or fall?—”
Nancy’s ear-splitting squeal of joy cut him off. She launched herself at him, flinging her arms around his waist in a heartfelt hug. This would have been a lot more endearing if she hadn’t also delivered a solid head-butt to his sternum in the process.
“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” Nancy babbled, her enthusiastic embrace squeezing the last traces of air from his lungs. “I’ll work really, really hard! You won’t regret it, I promise!”
Conleth was already regretting many things, but he wasn’t about to dampen her enthusiasm. He extricated himself from the hug before she could crack a rib in gratitude. “This doesn’t mean we’ll be planting flags at the top of Thunder Mountain tomorrow, mind. We’ll have to start small and work our way up. Literally.”
Nancy squinted speculatively up at the branch. “If I practice a lot, I’ll improve faster, right?”
Conleth pinched the bridge of his nose. “Nancy, do not jump back into the tree.”
“Nancy!” Estelle hollered, streaking past with a flag flapping from her hand and a wombat hot on her heels. “Stop standing around and move your butt! We’re getting crushed out here!”
“I’ll put together a proper plan to help you practice under safe, controlled conditions.” Conleth gave Nancy a light push towards the chaotic brawl on the field. “We can work on it in your free time, outside the scheduled activities. Now go help your friends. They certainly need it.”
“Okay.” Nancy dashed after Estelle, calling back over her shoulder, “Thanks, Conleth! You’re the best!”
“You couldn’t have said that while Paige was in earshot?” Conleth muttered under his breath.
Unfortunately, she was all the way on the opposite side of the field, refereeing the game of Capture the Flag along with Buck, Moira, and Ragvald. Dodging screaming, overexcited kids—along with several snow leopards, a panda, and an alarmingly uncoordinated giraffe—Conleth made his way back to them.
“That took longer than normal,” Paige greeted him. “Is Nancy all right?”
“Yes, although we might not be.” He took a prudent step back as a zebra galloped past. “I’ll explain later. Is anyone else concerned that the campers appear to be hell-bent on a species-diverse re-enactment of the Battle of Thermopylae?”
Buck shrugged. “No one’s lost a limb yet. And the kids are having fun.”
This was notentirelytrue. Hetta was sitting alone, well back from the brawl on the playing field. Since the nature hike, they’d managed to coax her into a few more activities, but Capture the Flag was well past her limit.
“No luck persuading Hetta to join in?” he murmured to Paige.
She shook her head. “One of us should keep her company.”
He eyed Hetta speculatively. “Let’s both go. It’s a good moment to talk to her in private, while the other kids are distracted.”
