He'd been right about his body repairing itself, though. He wasn't half as thin as he'd been this time the day before. His ribs were again sheathed in a layer of muscle, and the little aches and pains had faded quite some time ago. It had only taken a single day with a huge amount of food for his body to restore what had been consumed during his period of near-starvation. He looked healthy, and he felt healthy. He was strong again, strong enough to take his staff out in the field and work with it.
"Man, this is hot," Dar complained as he lathered his hair.
"I like it like this," Tarrin said.
"It's tolerable, but only just," he said.
"For you."
"Hey, I'm the only one that matters," he said with a grin.
"You might think so," Tarrin shot back.
"You mean the world doesn't revolve around me? I'm crushed."
"You look it."
Dar answered that by splashing water at him. Tarrin retaliated by snaking his long tail around the boy's ankle, and then yanking. Tarrin's tail was by no means as stong as the rest of his body, but it was strong enough. Dar disappeared under the water with shocking speed, and then came up spluttering. "Cheater," he accused after spitting out a mouthful of water.
"Oh, did my tail catch on your leg? I'm so sorry," Tarrin said with false sincerity. "Let me help you up."
"That thing is long," Dar remarked, looking behind Tarrin in the water.
"About half again as long as my leg," Tarrin told him calmly. "Long enough to be useful."
"I noticed," Dar said after he stuck his tongue out at the Were-cat.
"It doesn't look it because it moves all the time, and it's always bent," Tarrin said, washing the soap out of the fur on his arms.
Dar laughed. "Your tail reaches farther than your arms."
"I guess it does."
"And you can grab things with it?"
"Yes. It's not as delicate as my fingers, but it's got enough agility to grab things."
"That's the first time I ever heard of the butt grabbing the hand."
Tarrin gave him a face, then laughed. "Wait til it smacks you. Then you can say that it's the first time a butt ever smacked back."
Dar laughed with him as they climbed out of the bathing pool. But it also made Tarrin consider the possibilities. From a combat situation, his tail was a tactical advantage. It gave him a third arm, as it were, one that didn't have an elbow and was as supple as a snake. He made a mental note to ponder that. He was rather sure he'd thought of that once before, but he hadn't pursued it last time. Most likely it had been during his flight from Jesmind, and at that time he was too busy trying to survive.
They went back to their room and dressed, then they stood at the hallway leading to the Hall, waiting for the Mistress of Novices to appear and lead them in. Dar explained that the food was already laid out on the tables, but those unlucky Novices that had pulled kitchen duty, and only awaited them to come in and sit down. They had the same thing for breakfast every day. Cooked eggs, slices of bacon, ham, porridge, bread, milk, and fresh fruit, when it was in season.
Elsa appeared a short while later, and she stopped in front of Tarrin. "You look a whole world better, boy," she noted.
"I feel just fine, Mistress," he assured her.
"Good. You're entering the Noviate tomorrow. Oh, and don't forget to pick up your clothes from the Quartermaster after breakfast. He's waiting on you."
"I'll take care of it, Mistress Elsa," he promised.
"I saw that staff in your room, boy. You're not supposed to have that. Unless, of course, it's of sentimental value."
"I've owned it for five years, Mistress. I made it myself. It's got a great deal of sentimental value."
"Good," she said. "That's all I wanted to hear. And if anyone asks, you'll tell them that. Understood?"
"Understood, Mistress," he told her. Then she led them into the Hall.
"What was that all about?" he asked in a hushed voice. Elsa was only a bit ahead of them.
"We're not allowed to have weapons, except for a personal knife. I didn't think it was a weapon," he shrugged.
"It's very much one, if you know how to use it that way," he told him in an equally hushed voice. "I could teach you, if you want."
"I may take you up on that. It's always handy how to know how to fight with something so ordinary."
"That's the idea," he said. "My mother could whip your tail with nothing but her hands and feet. My father could do it with a leather belt."
"A belt?"
Tarrin nodded. "I've never seen one used quite that way, and I doubt I ever will. He could even block a sword blow with it. He said he learned it because even if you lose everything else, you'll always have your belt."
Dar chuckled. "That's a very smart idea." They entered the Hall and took the closest available seats, but they didn't touch any food. That came after the blessing. "Your mother knows the Ungaardt Ways?" he asked in a whisper.
Tarrin nodded. "She taught them to me, but I'm still not as good as she is."
"I heard that they don't often teach them to women," he said.
"You heard wrong," Tarrin told him. "Even a village grandmother has some training in the Ways. It's a custom."
Many more Novices poured in, many of them still damp from the baths. After the hall was more or less full, Elsa stood up and delivered the blessing in a booming voice. When she was done, the Novices started in on breakfast. Now that he was mended, he didnt' have a quarter of the appetite he'd had the day before, so his breakfast plate was much more reasonable. He did like scrambled eggs, so he put more on his plate than was good for him, then added some bacon and fried ham to it. He didn't touch the porridge, but did have an apple after cleaning his plate.
As he'd discovered the day before, he wasn't required to sit and wait for everyone else to finish. Once a Novice was done with the meal, they were permitted to leave and get about their affairs. Tarrin bid good day to Dar and left the Hall, going straight to the Quartermaster's. The wiry man greeted him warmly when he entered. "Ah, I see you got my clothes," he said.
"Thank you, sir. They were very handy. I don't like wearing robes."
"With that tail, I can understand why. I have your clothes ready for you. Come with me and we'll get them."
The wiry man led him to a shelf some ways back into the huge room. "Those are the same size as the ones you have on now," he said. "Hmm, maybe I should have made them looser. They're already snug on you."