"That can wait until after you tell us your side of the story," Singer told him. "We heard some of it from Jesmind, but she didn't see everything. So tell us!"
"Yes, tell us!" Jeri agreed.
"Later," he said dismissively. "Actually, I just came to see mother and gather up my family. I have to go see Kerri, my mate," he told Jesmind. "Do you want to go with me?"
She looked to her mother, then she nodded. "We'll go with you," she agreed. "Then we go home."
"Alright. I'm sorry to cut things short, but I have a few more people to see tonight, and we don't have much time."
"We have all the time in the world. We won!" Jeri objected.
"Tarrin has something else to do, Jeri," Triana told him. "I felt it, and I know what it means. I'm surprised you're not herding everyone on a ship and leaving right now, Tarrin."
"I have two days," he told her. "We have to leave by then, but I'm going to aim for tomorrow afternoon."
That made Jesmind's eyebrow rise, and he could tell that she was going to have something to say about that when she got him alone.
"Well, I won't slow you down, cub," Triana told him. "I know you probably have alot of things to do, so I'll let you get to them."
"I appreciate that, mother," he said with a grateful smile, standing up. "I'll have time to tell you the story tomorrow, at least I hope so," he told his Were-cat friends. "Until then, you'll just have to wait."
"You're mean to us, Tarrin!" Jeri laughed.
Jesmind collected Jasana and stood up, then gave Tarrin an impatient look. She obviously didn't feel like waiting until they were alone. Tarrin stood up, and looked to Thean. "Do you know where my parents' apartment is, Thean?" he asked.
"Yes, I do."
"Would you do me a big favor and either go there or tell one of the others how to get there, and tell my sister and parents to meet me at Keritanima's apartment?"
"I'll do it for you, Tarrin," Rahnee offered. "I know where their apartment is."
"I appreciate it, Rahnee," he said with a nod. "Camara, I hope you don't mind, but I'd like you to come with us. We have to make some plans."
"I figured as much," she said. "I'll come see you tomorrow morning, alright, Triana?"
"I'll be fully rested by then," she scoffed.
"Well, I'm going to go with you, Tarrin," Sarraya announced, finally speaking. "I have to talk to you."
"That's fine with me," he assured her.
"I'd better go track down that mad Wizard," Camara Tal sighed. "I'm sure we'd rather have him with us."
They left, and Tarrin could tell that Jesmind was bristling. She didn't want to go off on him in front of Sarraya, as it was a purely personal issue, but he could tell that she was mad. Jasana could as well, holding onto her mother's neck tightly to reinforce her contact with her mother, the contact that helped her control her parents when necessary. Tarrin had noticed that about her; she could calm either of them down by touch alone. Jasana's calming influence kept Jesmind from losing her temper, and Tarrin suddenly hoped that he wasn't going to be alone with his mate any time in the near future.
It took only a few moments to reach Keritanima's apartment. Like the others on that floor, it looked almost exactly the same as his own, with the large common room with the two bedrooms split off from each side and the glass-paned door leading out onto the balcony across from the entrance. But where Tarrin's apartment had three couches, Keritanima's had two plush chairs flanked by two couches, with a tea table in the center and a small stand between the two chairs. All of the furniture was upholstered with soft, shining leather, leather that contained feather cushions. Keritanima sat on one of those chairs with her feet propped up on a footstool, with Szath and Azakar standing behind her chair protectively. Miranda sat in the other chair, her lap full of knitting. Dolanna and Allia sat on the couch facing the door, and Dar and the Keeper were sitting on the one before them.
They all greeted him loudly and happily as he entered without knocking, but the happiness died away when they saw the pensive look on his face. "Whatever is the matter, dear one?" Dolanna asked.
"I hate to break up the festivities, but I need to talk to all of you," he said immediately. "We'll wait for Jenna, my parents, and Camara Tal to track down Phandebrass, though."
"Uh oh, it sounds serious," Keritanima said with a weak grin.
"How are you feeling, sister?"
"Weak as a kitten, but otherwise fine," she replied. "I do feel a little, weird, though. I can't quite put my finger on it, but I think it'll clear up after I get some rest."
Room was made on the couches, and Tarrin and Jesmind were sitting on the very long couch with Allia and Dolanna. His Selani sister touched his face warmly in greeting, smiling at him, then patted him on the leg and allowed Jasana to climb up into her lap. "We were trading stories, trying to piece together a complete chronology of the battle," Keritanima told him. "Now that you're here, you can add your part of it."
"It wasn't much, sister," Tarrin said. "If you want to talk to the one who did it all, talk to Jenna."
"We were with Jenna, Tarrin," Allia reminded him. "It was what happened here on the grounds that we have missed."
"It wasn't all that much, sister," he shrugged.
"I think you are not being honest, dear one," Dolanna said with a light smile.
"I really didn't do much, Dolanna," he objected. "I defended the icon from a few Demons, then I projected out to the wall to help you, then I helped Camara Tal defend against the final assault. That was about it."
"You are being vague, dear one."
"I know I am," he said simply. He didn't want to get sidetracked quite yet, so he wasn't about to go into detail about what happened to him during the battle.
The door opened, and Tarrin's parents came in. Eron was carrying Jenna in his arms, who was in a nightshirt. She looked drawn and exhausted, but she did manage to smile as she was carried into the room. Tarrin rose and greeted his parents with warm hugs and a slap from his mother for not visiting them sooner, and then more room was made. Elke and Eron Kael found seats on the other couch, but Miranda gathered up her knitting and gave Jenna her chair, then pulled a simple wooden stool from one of the bedrooms and set it on the other side of Keritanima's chair and seated herself.
"You look tired, sister," Tarrin noted.
"I feel tired, Tarrin," Jenna grinned wearily. "I've never worn myself out like that before."
"You want me to fix that for you?" Sarraya asked.
Jenna stared a the Faerie for a long moment, then she laughed. "That has to be Sarraya."
"I forgot, you haven't met her yet. Mother, father, Jenna, this is Sarraya. She's the Faerie that helped me get across the desert. She's a good friend of mine."
"Pleased to meet you," Sarraya said, bobbing slightly in the air before landing on Tarrin's shoulder and making herself comfortable. It had been a while since she'd used him for a chair, but it immediately felt right to him.
"I guess we should thank you for helping our son, Sarraya," Eron said mildly. "I know he can be a handful sometimes."
"You have no idea," Sarraya said in an obviously melodramatic turn of voice. "Anyway, like I said, yo want me to pep you up, Jenna?"
"Ah, no, thank you all the same," Jenna said carefully. "I'll be fine after a night's sleep, Sarraya, really. Thanks for the offer, though."
"If you need me, just call," she offered.
"I'll remember that."
"Now if Camara could drag Phandebrass up here, we could start," Tarrin fretted. "It's starting to get late, and we're all tired."