"Then you need more rest," he told her. "We'll get out of here and give you some time to sleep it off, cub. When you wake up, come and find me. We have alot to talk about."
"Alright," she said with a little nod. "Tarrin?"
"Yes?"
"Thank you," she said with great sincerity. "For everything."
"No thanks are needed, cub," he smiled. "You'll always be my daughter, even after I let you go, and I'll always be there for you when you need me."
She gave him a glorious smile, and then reached up and touched his cheek. Then she closed her eyes and settled into the bed, and was asleep almost immediately.
Tarrin stood up, and then the two of them crept quietly out of the room. Tarrin closed the door slowly, and then he turned to find Camara Tal staring at him. "Quite a change from the Tarrin I remember," she told him.
"I guess so. I've mellowed a bit since then."
"I noticed. I have to admit, I was one of the ones that was on Allia's side, that we should get rid of Jula. But I'm woman enough to admit when I was wrong. I was wrong about her. Now I feel like an ass for treating her so coldly."
"I appreciate that."
"She almost does seem like a little girl," she mused as they left his apartments. "A scared little girl, trying to cling to those around her."
"That sums up how it feels to be turned very well, Camara," he told her. "It's nothing I'd wish on my worst enemy."
"Speaking of old enemies, did you hear about Jegojah?"
"No, he was here?"
"Here? Tarrin, he turned the battle in our favor!" she laughed. "I'm surprised nobody told you!"
"No, not yet," he replied. "I didn't hear anyone talking about him, either. Where is he?"
"Gone," she replied. "He killed Kravon, and got him right before he was going to use that artifact to raise more undead. Kang told me about it. He caught Kravon and cut him with a sword, then watched him bleed to death. Then he told the men watching to tell you that he got your man, and then dropped dead on the spot."
That made Tarrin feel a little warm. Jegojah had finally caught up with Kravon. Tarrin was glad he didn't kill the man.
"Oh, and Kang said that Jegojah said that he cut Kravon for you," she added. "I think that means something."
"It does indeed," Tarrin laughed. "Jegojah came through in the end, and I'm happy for him. He's finally free of this world, and can go on to his final reward. I wish him well."
"They gave him quite a funeral," Camara Tal chuckled. "He's a hero now. If anything, Tarrin, Jegojah's memory won't be for what he did to us, but what he did for Suld. He went out in style."
"Then that's for the best," Tarrin said soberly. "Jegojah was a man of great honor. It's only fitting that the world remembers him as a hero. In my eyes, he was one."
"How so?"
"He was trapped by the ki'zadun five hundred years ago and forced to serve them," he explained. "His soul was imprisoned in a magical device that sought to twist him and make him evil, but he somehow managed to fight it. For five hundred years, he fought it, and though it did influence his actions, it never broke him. That, my friend, is courage."
Camara Tal was quiet a moment, then she nodded. "I see what you mean. And you're right."
"I'm just glad he can rest now," Tarrin sighed.
"Uh, where are we going?"
Tarrin stopped, blinking. "I'm not sure," he admitted. "Where do you want to go?"
She looked at him, then she laughed helplessly. "I think you'd better go see your family before they come looking for you," she told him. "Jesmind came by the room at least ten times to see if you'd been there, and to check on Jula."
"Jesmind checked on her?" he asked in surprise.
"Something like that. She just asked if Jula was dead or not."
"For Jesmind, that is checking on someone," Tarrin chuckled.
They went to Triana's apartments, and found out that it was quite crowded inside. Triana sat at a chair facing the fireplace, in a room and apartment identical to his own except for the furniture, and there were quite a few Were-cats attending her, so many that some had to stand or sit on the floor. Thean stood by her chair, and Sarraya hovered in the air on the other side of her. Jesmind and Jasana sat on the couch closest to her. Kimmie sat beside them, and Rahnee was beside Kimmie. Shayle and Singer sat on the other couch with Sathon, and Jeri stood behind the couch, leaning against the back. Nikki stood beside him; being the two youngest Were-cats, they'd lost their bids for the available seats. They greeted Tarrin loudly as he came in, standing up and taking his paw in turns, clapping him on the back. Tarrin greeted his Were-cat friends in turn, seeing that they were all well and whole, and still worked up over the battle. He finished with them and knelt by Triana's chair, taking her paws in his and smiling up at her. "Mother," he smiled. "I'm glad you're recovering."
"I'll be up and around by tomorrow, causing everyone trouble," Triana told him with a slight smile.
"At least I'll welcome it," he told her.
"How is Jula?"
"She's sleeping, mother," he replied with a nod. "She'll be just fine after she gets some rest. Just like you."
"Why don't you and Camara take a seat?" Triana offered. "We were listening to Jeri brag about how many Trolls he killed."
"I can't stay too long, mother," he told her regretfully. "I haven't seen Kerri yet, and I'd like to go see her."
"If it's all the same to you, Triana, I have another patient to check on," Camara Tal told her. "I want to go check on the Wikuni. Neme only knows what kind of barbaric medicine they use around here."
"If that's what you want, Camara," Triana told her with a nod. Camara Tal and Triana were old friends, and the tone she used with the Amazon showed it.
Camara said her goodbyes to Tarrin and Triana and left the room, and the Were-cats sat back down. Tarrin sat closest to Triana, with Jasana in his lap and Jesmind beside him. Kimmie got displaced by Rahnee, and was forced to stand behind the couch upon which they sat. Jeri went back to his story, about how him and a Were-bear named Yvan single-handedly beat back a pack of at least twenty Trolls. Jeri described it in lurid blow-by-blow detail, and Tarrin suffered throught it rather well. When he was done, Triana looked to Tarrin. "So, cub, did things go the way you expected? The stories I heard have been fragmented."
"Pretty much, they did, mother," he replied. "The Tower was all that mattered. It's still standing, so we did our job."
"I heard some impossible things about you, Tarrin," Nikki said. "I saw you at the wall, but yet they also say you defended the Tower from Demons. How did you get back and forth so fast?"
Tarrin chuckled. "I can be in two places at once, Nikki," he told her. "Literally. What you saw over the wall was a projection of me. It's complicated, so I won't go into details. But think of what you saw as a shadow of myself, capable of using my powers. The real me was here in the Tower the whole time."
"Oh. I don't understand, but I'll take your word for it," she admitted.
"That must be confusing," Jeri laughed.
"That's one of the old powers, one of the ones the books talk about," Thean said. "And that sister of yours is almost like a folk hero now," he chuckled. "They're singing songs about her already."
"She did do a good job," he said proudly.
"A good job? Tarrin, that little girl almost single-handedly pushed back the ki'zadun. If she hadn't been there, we would have been slaughtered."
"That's my sister," he said grandly. "I need to go see her," he added to himself.