"Are you trying to leave me behind?" came an angry demand as the sound of Sarraya's buzzing wings came to his ears.
"Of course not," he said mildly.
"Then why didn't you come get me?" she huffed at him.
"You didn't tell me where you were," he told her in an even tone. "I knew you'd know I was moving around, and you'd come to me."
I-" she started, then she blew out her breath. "I really hate it when you're right," she growled at him, coming into view before, them, flying backwards.
"It's the feery!" Jasana giggled.
"That's fay-ree!" Sarraya snapped at the child.
"I see you met my daughter," Tarrin said mildly.
"The bug showed up a few hours ago," Jesmind told him. "Almost got her wings pulled off."
"I did not!"
"You would have if I hadn't have stopped Jasana," she said sharply. "What are you doing out here, bug?"
"I'm going with you," she announced. "Tarrin invited me along."
"You didn't!" Jesmind accused.
"Of course I did," he said, letting Sarraya land on his shoulder. "Sarraya's a friend of mine, my mate. Sure, she's erratic, and a little strange, but she grows on you after a while."
"Hey!" Sarraya snapped waspishly.
"We went through alot together," he told Jesmind. "I guess that can't help but make two people friends. Even annoying little pests."
"I am here, you know!" Sarraya ranted at him.
"I guess you're right," Jesmind said with a straight face. "It would have to have been alot to go through to make you friends with someone like her."
" Excuse me!" Sarraya shouted.
"Did you hear something, beloved?" Jesmind asked with a slight smile.
"I think so, but I don't know if it was worth noticing," Tarrin replied blandly.
"Alright, that's it! I'm leaving!" Sarraya shouted, flitting into the air and then vanishing from view as she flew away, cursing vociferously and making all kinds of remarks about Were-cats.
"How long do you figure?" Jesmind asked quickly.
"I'd give her five minutes," Tarrin chuckled. "Maybe ten. Sarraya's a bit more touchy than the average Faerie."
"What was that about, mama?" Jasana asked.
"Something you'll learn when you're older, cub," she replied. "The quickest way to keep a Faerie from causing trouble is to offend it. That way it's so busy being mad it forgets to pull pranks and steal things from passers-by."
"You made her mad on purpose?" Jasana asked in surprise.
"Of course, cub. Faeries are flightly little annoyances. Were-cats sometimes don't get along with Faeries, so we've learned how to keep them from making us mad. That's how we do it."
"We keep from getting mad by getting them mad first?" she asked uncertainly.
"That's pretty much well right, cub," Jesmind chuckled. "You'll understand it better when you're a little older, I promise."
"Oh. Alright."
Obviously, they made Sarraya a little more angry than they thought, because she didn't come back. He fretted over that for only a few moments, however. Sarraya was rather flightly, and by tomorrow, she'd probably have forgotten about it. Tarrin remembered the way to Tomas and Janine's house, and it was exactly as he remembered it. The fence, the house, the garden, everything, it was just as it was when he was there last. There was a new addition, however, and that was a pair of armed guards standing at either side of the door. To his surprise, they were Ungardt, two rather large Ungardt in their fur vests and leather breeches and horned helmets, each holding a spear and a shield. Both had their hair in the pattern Ungardt braids, one with red hair and the other with blond hair. Both, he had to admit, were rather handsome men, though they were curiously clean-shaven. That was unusual in Ungardt their age. Most young Ungardt warriors favored the beard. Tarrin approached them with Jesmind holding Jasana, a bit wary of two armed men within striking distance of her daughter, and the two Ungardt seemed to sense the unease of his mate, picking their spears up from where their butts were resting on the ground.
"Hold and stand down," Tarrin said in Ungardt, holding out his paws. "I come with no malice this day."
"You know the words and the phrases, and you have the sound of a countryman, but you look like no Ungardt I've ever seen," the redheaded man said dubiously.
"It's a long story, but my mother is of the blood," he said smoothly. "Why did Tomas hire you to guard his house? No one would want to hurt him!"
"We were sent by Anrak," the blond said.
"Anrak Whiteaxe?" Tarrin said in surprise.
"The very one," the redhead said, in equal surprise. "You know the name?"
Tarrin laughed. "He's my grandfather!" he announced.
"You are Tarrin? Daughter of Elke Whiteaxe?" the blond asked quickly. Then he too laughed. "Anrak said you'd been changed, but I thought it was a wine dream!"
"You are a clansman!" the redhead announced with a sudden bow. "I am Garstad, and this weak woman here is Thale. King Anrak has told many a story of you, Prince Tarrin."
Tarrin hadn't heard that one before, but he remembered that technically, he was a prince. Anrak, his grandfather, was a clan king, and his mother was a princess. An irregularity in translation made Sulasians think of Ungardt clan leaders as chiefs rather than kings. That was why a Sulasian would call an Ungardt leader a clan chief.