"So that's how you met the Aeradalla," Keritanima chuckled.
"I told you they lived in the desert, sister," Allia told her mildly.
He then went on, telling them about how Ariana flew him well away from Var and Denai, about how he knew Jegojah was coming for another battle. He related the story of that fight in the abandoned dwarven city in some detail, including, with a few sniffles, how they had animated Faalken's dead body and used it to create a second Doomwalker, and how that had caused him to find High Sorcery once again. He told them about how he freed the souls of Faalken and Jegojah, and how Faalken's soul managed to escape into the Realm Beyond and find peace. That caused all four of them that knew the cherubic Knight to shed a few silent tears as they remembered their deceased companion, and how his loss had affected them all so greatly.
"Hold on," Miranda said after a moment of silence. "You missed something, Tarrin."
"What?"
"How did you get to be so tall?"
Tarrin chuckled under his breath. "I thought that Triana would have told you about that."
"She doesn't tell us anything about anything," Keritanima said sourly.
"Well, I got this way from Shiika," he explained. "When we had our fight, she tried to drain me of my energy. She managed to do that, but it couldn't kill me. It caused my body to age, and I think I've told you that Were-cats only grow taller as they get older. This," he said, holding out his paws, now with fetlocks on the outer wrists, "is because of Shiika."
"Oh. Alright, that explains it, then," Miranda nodded.
Tarrin continued, telling them about Jegojah's warning of the ki'zadun, and the meeting with Andos and Var's promise of bringing in his clan. Then he rushed a little telling them about how they moved quickly out of the desert. He didn't go into great detail about the Elemental, concentrating instead on his haste to get back to Suld as quickly as possible. There was little to tell about what happened until he reached Aldreth, but when he got to that part, he went into some detail, occasionally elaborated by Jesmind, about how he came to meet his daughter and rejoin his long-parted mate.
"It was real touchy there at the beginning," Jesmind said with a smile at him. "He was very angry with me, but I knew I could wear him down. I know all his weak spots."
"I'm sure," Tarrin drawled. "To say I was angry was an understatement. I was furious. But it all worked out," he said, patting Jasana on the shoulder gently.
He went on to talk about the fighting at Watch Hill, and the brief spat between Jesmind and Rahnee, but he was deliberately curt about what happened in Torrian, only stating that he burned down the city to protect their armies from destruction. That was still a raw wound for him, and the others seemed to sense it, because they didn't press him or ask any questions. "After I recovered from that, I summoned an Elemental to bring us to Suld," he said in a tone that told them that he was done. "And here we are."
"Here we are indeed," Miranda nodded.
"That's quite a story, Tarrin," Azakar told him. "I feel cheated that we weren't there to share in your adventure."
"It didn't feel like an adventure from my side, Zak," he sighed. "It was very hard on me."
"It wouldn't be an adventure without hardship," Azakar shrugged. "That will make the memory sweeter down the line."
"I hope so," he said without much enthusiasm.
"Well, the important part is that you're here," Keritanima said calmly. "That the family is back together again. And with some new additions," she added, nodding in the direction of Jesmind and Jasana. "I hope you're over your bout of peevishness, Jesmind, because you have to share him now."
"You're not trying to steal him, so I have no reason to be peevish," she said simply. "What happened between me and Rahnee was a matter of protecting what's mine."
"I love it when she talks about him like he's an object," Miranda said with a cheeky grin.
"He is," Jesmind declared. "He's mine."
"Down, Jesmind," Tarrin chuckled, patting her leg fondly.
"I'll give him the time he needs to do what he has to do, but don't think I'm just going to give him to you," she told them all in no uncertain terms. "He knows what will happen if I think he's ignoring us."
"Mama said she'd drag him home by the hair," Jasana giggled.
"She would," Tarrin said with a straight face.
Keritanima laughed. "I'm starting to think that Camara Tal is going to try to do the same thing," Miranda noted with a sly expression. "Those two are as bad as you two. They'll throw punches at each other, and then you'll see them huddled up in a corner somewhere kissing. If there's ever been a defining love-hate relationship, that one has to be it."
"I never thought I'd hear someone say that a pair of humans are as bad as us," Jesmind said with a laugh.
"I wouldn't doubt it," Tarrin speculated. "I know Camara Tal loves Koran Dar, and I know how adamant Koran Dar would be about staying here. If he went back to Amazar, he'd be little more than a slave. He won't leave here, no matter how hard Camara Tal tries to either lure him out or drag him out."
"Well, since Tarrin and Jesmind aren't going to be any more fun, we'll just have to watch them," Keritanima said with an evil smile.
"It's getting late, and Jasana here is about to fall asleep," Jesmind announced. "You've heard the story, and now it's time for all of you to go."
"Well, that was courteous," Miranda grinned.
"About as courteous as any of my kind gets," Jesmind declared. "If it suits you better, then here. Get out!"
That made Keritanima and Miranda explode into laughter. That seemed to confuse Jesmind, who stared at them like they were crazy or something, then she snorted in the peculiar way Were-cats did to give sound to their frustration or impatience. "I think Jesmind has a point," Tarrin said smoothly, deflecting the imminent outburst from his mate. "It's getting late, and I am pretty tired. I've had a long day, and so have all of you. We can talk again tomorrow, alright?"
"I guess you're right," Keritanima admitted. "I need to go back and see what else the Keeper, Dolanna, and Ahiriya have found out, anyway. Let's all meet for breakfast tomorrow, alright?"
"That's fine with me," Tarrin agreed.
"Let us meet here, where it is familiar to us all," Allia offered. "And we must ensure to bring Dolanna and Dar with us."
"I really want to see them," Tarrin assured her.
"Then we can go throw some of the elder katzh-dashi out of one of the private dining rooms. I have the feeling that there's going to be quite a few people there," Keritanima grinned. "I heard that you brought two other Were-cats with you."
"Thean and Kimmie," Tarrin replied. "Triana took Thean, and Jula's staying with Kimmie for a few days to give Jesmind enough time to get used to her."
"Jula is my very own sister," Jasana announced to them.
"Something like that," Tarrin agreed with a nod. "You, Miranda, and Zak haven't met them, Kerri, but the others have."
"Allia told me about them," Keritanima nodded. "Jesmind is starting to glare at me, so we'd better go," she laughed, standing up. "Come here and give your sister a hug, Tarrin, then we'll run away before Jesmind starts showing us her claws."