Weavespinner

"Yes, I know," she said with a mysterious smile.

"I'll see to your stew, my Keeper. It should be on the table in a few moments."

"Thank you, Golin," she said. "And go to bed. You have to get up early tomorrow."

With a deep bow, Golin excused himself. Je

"Quite a change from the little sister I remember," he told her honestly. "But I'm glad to see that you're keeping your head about it. Some girls would get wrapped up in all her newfound power. It's good to see you're keeping your feet on the ground, even if your head is in the clouds."

"Why thank you, brother dear," she said with a teasing smile.

They could only spend so much time talking about serious things before the subject changed to reminiscing about life back on the farm, and that was probably the part of the night that Tarrin enjoyed the most. Golin brought Je

Tarrin was mildly surprised. That was a Weavespi

"You're not much of a teacher, Je

"Tarrin, this is Alexis Firehair, Keeper of the Tower of Abrodar. Oh, she happens to be the Queen of Sharadar too," she added nearly as an afterthought.

"I've heard much about you, Tarrin," she said with a graceful bow.

"I'm not much one for ceremonies, Alexis," he told her calmly. "I didn't know you crossed over. I didn't feel it."

"I'm half a world away, Tarrin," she smiled. "And it was about two months ago. Not long after the Weave was restored. I think that was while you were suffering from amnesia."

"It was," he agreed.

"I meet Je

"Be nice, Alexis," Je

"Never," she said impudently, then she looked at the two of them. "Well, I was going to talk to you a while, but if you're busy, I can come back later," she said.

"You're lucky you got me at all," Je

"It's about two hours to noon," she said.

"It's nearly midnight," Je

"I know what time it is there, Je

"I think you were trying to catch me asleep," Je

"You'll never know," Alexis said with a swaggering grin.

"I take it you two are rather good friends," Tarrin observed.

"I'd say we are," Alexis agreed. "Enough to play pranks on each other. Your sister brings out the worst in me," she admitted with a wolfish smile.

"You're like a little girl that never grew up," Je

"I am," she admitted shamelessly. "It keeps things from getting dull. When you're as old as I am, Je

"I won't find that out for another three hundred and eighty four," Je

Alexis winced. "It's not fair to bring up my age like that."

"You're the one who brought it up," Je

Alexis wasn't lying. They did act like a couple of girlfriends when they were together.

Alexis was about to say something else, but she looked beyond them. Tarrin followed her gaze, and to his surprise and delight, Triana was padding into the dining hall. And sitting sedately on her shoulder was a tiny blue-ski

"Tarrin!" she squealed again happily, leaning forward and kissing him soundly on the end of his nose. "It's so good to see you! Triana told me all about what happened, and why you asked me to come back, and-"

He cut her off before she could say anything in front of Alexis. It wasn't that he didn't trust her, but he didn't know her yet, and he knew that their enemies could be listening even now. "Careful," he warned her in Sha'Kar, then he reached up with a finger and very tenderly and carefully pressed it up against her side. She grabbed his finger with both hands and pulled it up her her face, nuzzling it. Tarrin had often marvelled at how exquisitely tiny Sarraya was, how tiny and yet how perfectly formed, and that wonder hadn't simply ceased because she'd been away. Seeing her again only made him marvel at her anew.

"A rare treat for me," Alexis smiled. "I've always wanted to meet a Faerie. How do you do?"

Sarraya looked at the woman, and then her eyes seem to peer through her. "I see you've been teaching them tricks, Tarrin," she said. "She feels far away."

"This one is from Abrodar," he told her calmly. "This is Alexis Firehair, Keeper of the Tower in Sharadar."

"Oh. Nice to meet you," she said casually, then she zipped over and landed on Je

"Only a little," she said wryly in reply. "How are you, Sarraya?"

"I'm well rested and raring for another go," she said with a bright, enthusiastic buzz of her wings. "A couple of months back home, and I'm feeling good as new and ready for action!"

"I think now would be a good time for me to go, Je

"That would be a good idea," Je

"I'll see you later, then. Good to meet you, Tarrin," she said with a smile, and then her projection vanished, and the sense of her raced away from him within the Weave.

"Mother," Tarrin greeted, taking her paw as she approached. "That was good time."

"We would have been here sooner if Sarraya wasn't so fidgety," Triana grunted.

"I've never done that before!" she said indignantly. "It was so bizarre!" she laughed to Tarrin. "It was like were travelling a hundred leagues a second! The whole world went by so fast it was like a blur!"

Tarrin raised an eyebrow at his bond-mother. She just smiled and patted him on the cheek. "Don't worry, I'll teach it to you when we have the time," she told him.

"I can feel it in him, Triana. When did he get so much stronger?"

"Didn't you listen to a word I said on the way, bug?" Triana asked in a tone that, for her, was exasperated.

"It was hard to hear with all that rushing in my ears. And besides, I wasn't paying attention to you," she answered. "I had more interesting things to pay attention to."