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Cuirin'nen'a carried Chap into the stifling city of dark smells and dark corners. She took him to the house on the shore below the stone keep. She fed him goat's milk and shredded partridge. After, he lounged in her lap near the kitchen hearth as she stroked his back. And Chap waited.
When dawn arrived, a bleary-eyed young Leesil came down into the kitchen and saw Chap in his mother's lap. There was so much delight in his face that he tensed with a shudder, as if such a feeling were rare and startling. Chap forcefully wagged his tail, not allowing mother or son to know that he was anything more than a new playmate. Leesil wrestled with the pup upon the kitchen floor under his mother's silent and watchful gaze. Chap's heart eased a bit. He had not lost a mother and siblings after all. He had a brother to watch over-to guide. And in the years that followed Leesil's flight from home, Chap kept hidden the few hints he had of Nein'a's plans.
Lying sleepless in Wy
But Chap also wondered over the fate of the mother who had taken him in.
Nein'a should not be his main concern, as his own path was crucial to the world as a whole in guiding Magiere and Leesil. But he could not turn from this search, as Nein'a's fate mattered much to Leesil. It mattered to Chap, as well.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Wy
"Byrd left these with you?" she asked. "After you searched through his belongings without his permission? He just handed them to you and said, 'Here, show your friends'?"
"Wy
"Where is Magiere?"
Leesil sighed. "Downstairs with Chap and Byrd. Putting out breakfast, I believe."
"Get your cloak," Wy
"We don't need to go out. I'll call Magiere and Chap up-"
"No! I am not saying anything with one of Darmouth's spies nearby, who appears to have his own agenda. There is no telling what Byrd will do with any information he might overhear."
Leesil crossed his arms. Wy
"Meet me downstairs."
Wy
She lifted Tomato and Potato from her bed and carried them downstairs. Byrd had placed a bowl of milk near the kitchen doorway, and she settled them there. Tomato began lapping milk immediately, but Potato sat on his brown rump, blinking sleepily. He noticed his sister's busy tongue and sniffed about until his squat nose led him to breakfast.
Magiere pulled aside the doorway curtain and stepped out from the kitchen, a ratty old hand towel over her shoulder. Her black hair hung down her back over a white linen shirt. Wy
"Did you look at the drawings?" Magiere asked without a "good morning" or a "sleep well?"
Wy
"We need to go out for supplies," Wy
Magiere glanced at Leesil and back to Wy
Wy
Magiere looked at her for a moment, then lowered her voice. "How long? Byrd's busy with a late breakfast."
"Tell him to keep it warm," Leesil said.
Magiere turned back around the bar's end, headed for the kitchen doorway.
A loud hiss and an angry snarl came from the kitchen. The doorway curtain snapped and curled up as something low to the floor raced under it. Tomato scrambled away through Wy
The white blur of Clover Roll boiled from around the bar, and Chap came through on the cat's heels, sending the milk bowl splashing off through the table legs in the common room. Clover Roll jumped for a high table, and Chap charged after, sharp teeth snapping.
"Chap! Stop it!" Wy
She wrapped her arms around the dog's chest, but he was much stronger than she. Her grip slid down to his haunches. His next lunge pulled her feet out from under her. Wy
Byrd came ru
Leesil grabbed Chap by the neck so Wy
"It's not the dog's fault," Byrd said. "Clover bushwhacked him from a cupboard. Must have been waiting there all morning for the chance. Swung down, hanging by one paw, and swiped your dog before he knew what was coming." He wagged a finger at Clover Roll. "You can quit this victim's act. You're the perpetrator here, and if that dog needs a healer, it's coming out of your share this month!"
Leesil pulled Chap down to the floor. Wy
"We need to go out for personal supplies," she said to Byrd, ignoring Chap's low grumble. "It will not take long."
Byrd cocked his head in puzzlement as he lifted Clover Roll off the table. "Dress warmly, as it's bitter out today. And Leesil, keep your face and hair covered, and put some gloves on those hands."
Wy
"Someone want to tell me what we're doing?" Magiere said, and looked directly at Wy
"Not yet," Wy
Chap was more settled, now that they were away from the cats, and trotted with his tail in the air, unmindful of the cold weather.
Wy
The most notable oddity Wy