By the time the sun began to lay low to the west, Sathon was teaching his student Druidic spells to communicate with animals. Animals would obey Druids when they were spoken to in ways the animal could understand, even putting their own lives in jeopardy to protect a Druid from attack. It explained some of the things he'd heard about Druids, about how the plants, the animals, even the earth itself would rise up and attack those trying to harm a Druid. From what he'd learned that day, he knew that those weren't stories. That the plants and the animals and the earth itself would rise up at the Druid's beckoning, rise up and defend him from harm. Spells to speak with animals were fairly simple in form, but were surprisingly demanding on the Druid.
When Tarrin left Sathon after the army stopped in a large field by the road and made camp, he was surprised at how much he had learned, and how versatile Druidic magic really was. Sorcery had always seemed to eclipse Druidic magic, but now he knew Druidic spells that had no comparable technique in Sorcery. Sorcery was still much preferred as battle magic, or the creation or manipulation of elemental matter, but Druidic magic was extremely useful when attempting to enact change on living things, something that Sorcery could not easily do without killing the target.
Tarrin hadn't been the only one to receive that education. Jesmind had been close to him all day, as had Thean and Jasana, and both of them had listened studiously to the elder Druid as he granted his wisdom and experience to Tarrin, and indirectly to Thean. Thean had Druidic talent, but even he admitted that his talents barely rated among the Druids. He had enough talent to use Sending, and some minor Druidic spells. He could Conjure and Create, so long as it wasn't a large amount or something exotic or not naturally occuring. He could Summon, but nothing larger than a large dog in size. And using just about any spell outside Sending exhausted him, so he usually didn't bother using magic when he could go about it the normal way. It was much easier on him.
"The old human sure talked alot," Jasana observed as they padded over to where the other Were-cats were gathering, well away from the others, in a narrow corner of the field. "I was starting to wonder if he was going to come in our tent and keep talking."
"Mind your manners, young lady!" Jesmind snapped at her. "You don't say things like that about a Druid!"
"Someone should go hunt up some dinner," Tarrin suggested, looking at the others.
"I need some exercise," Jesmind said stiffly, stretching. "You want to come?" she asked in the direction of her sisters.
"Sure," Shayle said with a grin. "It'll give us a chance to gossip."
"You're not leaving me out," Nikki announced.
"Can I go, can I go?" Jasana pleaded.
"Sorry, cub, but we need to bring food back quickly," Jesmind told her with a pat on the head. "You can go when we have time to teach you what we're doing, alright?"
"It's alright, kidlet," Kimmie told her, coming up behind her and sweeping her off her feet. "I'll help Tarrin keep an eye on you while your mother's out hunting. We'll have fun."
"Awww," Jasana growled. "Hurry back, mama."
"Bring back something big," Jeri called as the three started towards the trees. "I'm hungry!"
"We have our own work to do, cub," Tarrin told him. "Let's get this place set up, so we can start cooking as soon as they get back."
It didn't take long for the camp to be erected. The tents were raised, a firepit dug, and some logs were dragged out and cleaned to serve as seats for the Were-cats. Jeri and Singer grumbled at being tagged for firewood duty, but Singer managed to come back with a rabbit as well as a hefty amount of firewood.
What happened next surprised Tarrin. Singer used the rabbit to quite literally bribe Jeri away from Rahnee. It didn't surprise him that Singer was interested in Jeri, it surprised him that she did it right in front of everyone else, including Rahnee. She offered him the rabbit, in exchange for staying in her tent that night instead of Rahnee's. And he agreed.
"What was that about?" Tarrin asked Thean as Rahnee glared at the two of them.
"Me and Singer parted ways this morning," Thean said in a quiet tone. "She told me that she's always had an interest in Jeri, and having him so close wasn't fair to me, when her mind was on him." He chuckled. "You just witnessed one of the ways that females steal males from other females. Some try to seduce, some literally grab them and drag them away, daring the other female to challenge her over him. Singer used bribery."
"What if the male objects?"
"He certainly can," Thean agreed. "It's part of the danger of trying to steal a male. If you go to all the trouble to steal him and it turns out he doesn't like you, you just ticked off the other female for no good reason. And she will definitely remember what you did to her the next time she catches you alone out in some dark, deserted tract of the Heartwood."
"I don't think I'm going to steal a male any time soon, Thean," Tarrin said dryly.
Thean laughed. "I was speaking in hypotheticals, lad."
"So, Singer just made Rahnee angry."
"Oh, I'd agree with that," Thean nodded, motioning to Rahnee. She looked furious. "Since Jeri agreed openly, Rahnee would lose face if she got into a fight with Singer now. Females may fight each other over males, but it's the male that decides it more often than not. Not that it's going to amount to much," Thean chuckled. "Jeri and Rahnee were just sleeping together. It wasn't a mating in the sense of you and Jesmind. She'll be a little peeved for a while, then she'll get over it."
"So you'd better watch your tail, Thean."
He chuckled again. "Probably. I'm the only available male at the moment, but Rahnee's going to have to contend with Kimmie and Shayle. Kimmie looks caught up with Jasana at the moment," he said, looking to where Kimmie was spinning Jasana around in the air, making the little girl laugh, "and Shayle's out hunting, so Rahnee's going to take her time."
"That's not like her."
"True, but me and Rahnee have had words in the past. She doesn't really like me, but Rahnee is Rahnee. She'd ask a rampaging bear into her bed if she was desperate enough."
"I think that's an unfair view of her, Thean," Tarrin said.
"No, it's not," Thean told him seriously as they drifted away from the others, as Tarrin and Thean took some waterskins towards a nearby stream. "Rahnee is obsessed with sex. She spends her entire life going from male to male, hunting them down and holding onto them until they're about ready to take her face off. That almost single-minded bent is probably what made Jeri leave her, because most males I know don't like how intense Rahnee is." Thean chuckled. "Almost. They all like the way she makes love, but she's like a fly-catcher plant. A sweet lure and promise of great pleasure, but getting away from her is the trick. I know why she does it, but there's no stopping it until she gets pregnant again."
"Her lost children?" Tarrin asked.
Thean nodded. "Rahnee's just as vulnerable to instinct as Mist was. Since she has no living children, having one and keeping it alive until it's an adult has taken over her life. Were-cat females have a human fertility cycle, but it's extremely hard for them to conceive for some reason, and it gets harder and harder as they age. An elder female like Rahnee can mate almost continually, and not conceive for many years."