er female.  I'm just better at hiding it, that's all."
	"And here I thought I found someone I could talk to," Tarrin grumbled.
	"You did.  I think we're good friends," Kimmie told him, patting him on the shoulder.  "But you're a Were-cat, Tarrin.  We can be good friends and mates, and it won't change our friendship."
	He knew she was right.  Tarrin laughed ruefully, laying down on his back and looking at the two females.  "Well, I certainly feel like I'm wanted," he told them.
	"I know of about six females chomping at the bit for when Jesmind parts ways with you, Tarrin," Kimmie grinned.  "I'm just making sure the line forms behind me."
	Jesmind laughed.  "I almost feel jealous again," she said.  "Can't you wait until after we've worn on each other enough to split up?"
	"Too much competition, Jesmind," Kimmie said with a teasing smile.
	"If you can't sleep, Tarrin, I think I can find a way to keep you occupied without having to worry about the sneaky one here trying to talk you out of our mating," Jesmind told him.
	"Well, that sounds like a dismissal to me," Kimmie said mildly.  "I'll wander back to bed now.  Just try to keep it down, you two.  Jasana's still asleep," she said with a wink, getting up and padding past Jesmind, towards the stairs.
	Jesmind came over to stand over him.  "Come on then, my mate," Jesmind said, holding a paw out for him.  "If you have this much nervous energy, I think I can burn it off for you."
	Tarrin laughed, taking her paw and letting her pull him up.  "I'm surprised you're so calm about Kimmie," he said.
	"She said she wouldn't touch you until after I let you go," she told him calmly.  "That's all the assurance I need.  Besides, I like Kimmie.  I wouldn't mind seeing you two together after I release you.  You were both human once, so at least you'd be on level ground."
	"Strange to be choosing my mates for me before you've gotten tired of me, Jesmind."
	"I'm not tired of you yet, Tarrin," she told him with a grin, patting him on the backside.  "Worry more about me and less about who may be sharing your bed after we part."
	Tarrin followed Jesmind into the bedroom, mulling over his conversation with Kimmie.  It had been eye-opening, in more ways than one.  Kimmie had proved to be an intelligent, keenly observant woman whose insights had opened his eyes to many subtle aspects of Were-cat behavior.  He had learned about Jesmind's feelings for him from her, and he found he was very much honored to think that a Were-cat like Jesmind could form such a lasting bond with him.  He had loved Jesmind once, and in a way he still did.  The thought of forming a repetitive relationship with her was very appealing to him.  He knew that time would eventually force them apart, but those partings would always be followed up with reunions.  Just like Thean and Triana.
	Tarrin had seen a great deal of Kimmie, both physically and mentally, and he very much liked what he saw.  Tarrin decided that Kimmie was a friend.  A very good friend.  He added her to that select circle of his closest friends and companions, then turned his attention to Jesmind as the door closed.
 
Chapter 26

	Tarrin was up well before the dawn, but he wasn't the only one.  Both Jesmind and Kimmie were up at the same time as him, Jesmind because he disturbed her sleep.  Kimmie asked him to come upstairs as Jesmind pulled on her shirt and got ready to go wake up Jasana.  When he got there, he found her going through the trunk at the foot of his bed, where he'd kept his clothes.  She had on a pair of his leather buckskin breeches, which actually fit her rather well, and was rummaging through the chest looking for a shirt.  He was surprised that a woman could fit into his breeches, which had been made for a man's hips, but when he took a closer look he realized that they'd been altered somehow.  Kimmie said she'd learned a few magic spells, so he figured that she'd used her magic to change the fit to suit her.
	"I thought I'd ask before I went any further," she said, glancing at him.
	"You're more than welcome to anything that fits.  Or anything you can make fit," he added.
	"You have a sharp eye," she said with a smile.
	"They're my clothes," he countered.  "Magic?"
	"A cantrip, actually," she told him, pulling out a loose linen shirt that was so worn that it was almost see-through.  She held it up critically, then nodded and started pulling it on.  "I'll feel strange in this, but I can't run very well in a dress."
	"You'll do more than feel strange in that," he said calmly, looking at her bosom rather deliberately.  "You'll be trailing along quite a line of appreciative young men."
	"I think a vest will fix that," she said with a glance down and a laugh.  "You should have thrown it away before it got so thin."
	"I don't have to defend my modesty there," he noted, absently Conjuring forth a buckskin vest that matched the breeches, that should fit her rather well.
	She pulled it on and buttoned it, then held up her arms and made a quick turn.  "Am I defending the virtue of young men now?" she asked winsomely.
	"Looks like it to me," he nodded.  "Come downstairs, we'll be leaving in just a bit."
	Tarrin went downstairs in time to gather up Jasana in his arms.  His daughter looked a little sleepy, rubbing her face before holding her arms out to him.  "Are we leaving now?" she asked in a slightly disjointed voice.
	"In a bit," he told her.  "I think it'd be best if we had something to eat first.  Want to help me go wake up the others?"
	"Umm," she hummed, putting her arm around his neck.
	"It'll take too long to cook," Jesmind said fretfully, looking out the kitchen window.  "If we want to get to Aldreth before dawn, we'll have to leave in just a little while."
	"I'm going to take care of that," he told her.  "It's a special case, so it's not cheating.  Unless you want to cook for nine inside fifteen minutes."
	Jesmind chuckled.  "I think I'll let it slide this time," she told him with a wink.  "Should I bother getting out the dishes?"
	"No," he told her, carrying Jasana out the front door.
	Instead of just going to each building, he decided that it would be much easier to call them out.  "Alright, people, let's get up!" he shouted very loudly from the porch.  "Breakfast is going to be ready in just a bit.  Anyone not at the table doesn't eat!"
	"I could have done that," Jesmind criticized from the doorway.
	"I thought of it first," he told her.
	"We can't fit everyone in here."
	"I'm going to do it outside," he told her.  "Just come out when you're ready."
	Tarrin padded off the porch, then set Jasana down.  She stood by him as he raised both his arms and reached within, through the Cat, finding the core of power that was the All.  He had become so proficient at Conjuring that he could do it almost without thinking anymore, and the speed at which a long table, benches, and a huge meal that would feed twice as many as it was intended to feed appeared was quite impressive.
	"Was that what I'm going to learn, papa?" Jasana asked curiously.  "I felt something strange, but it didn't feel like what you did before."
	"I just used Druidic magic, cub," he told her.  "I'm not sure if you can learn that."
	"Oh."  She looked at the table.  "Is all that real?"
	"Very real, cub," he nodded as Jesmind and Kimmie came out of the house.  "Why don't you find a seat and get some breakfast?"
	"Umm," she sounded, then ambled over to the table and crawled up onto a bench.  Tarrin watched her, considering.  If she felt him use Druidic magic, then she too had more than just a touch of Druidic ability.  Maybe enough to use some magic.  And since her powers of Sorcery had awakened in her at such an incredibly tender age, maybe that meant that any possible Druidic ability also would manifest early.  Either way, he definitely had to talk to Sathon or Triana about that.  Sorcery, he could control.  He didn't know enough about Druidic power to be able to throttle that in another Druid the way Sarraya or Triana could.
	The first of the others to appear was Ariana, floating down from the hayloft in the big barn.  She trotted over with a gleaming look in her eyes.  "Where do I sit?" she asked immediately.  "I'm starving!"
	"Wherever, and feel free to eat as much as you want," he told her.
	In pairs, the other Were-cats came out of their temporary shelters and sat down to eat as Tarrin, Kimmie, and Jesmind did the same.  Jeri was yawning about every other moment, often yawning in the middle of chewing.  Singer didn't look entirely awake either.  Regardless of that, the eight Were-cats showed the Aeradalla that Were-cats could eat, forcing the winged woman to pile anything onto her plate that she even thought she may want to eat.  All of them seemed to forget the simple fact that Tarrin could simply Conjure more, as much as was needed.  Instead of thinking about that, they all quickly claimed the majority of the food spread out on the table, and went about the task of eating it in relative silence.
	After the meal was nearly over, as only Rahnee, Tarrin, and Thean continued to eat, Jeri yawned again, widely.  Kimmie glanced at the youngling and chuckled, putting her chin on her paws and looking at him.  "Sleepy, Jeri?" she asked.
	He nodded woodenly.  "I didn't sleep at all last night," he complained.  "Rahnee kept me up, and even after we were done, I still couldn't sleep."
	"That's not my fault," Rahnee told him with a nudge.
	"I know, it's just that this is all so interesting," he said.  "I've never been in an army before.  I've never marched off to war before."
	"Neither have I," Thean said absently, taking a long drink of water from a flagon.  "We usually steer clear of things like this, cub."
	"I know the law, Thean," Jeri said defensively.  "But I still can't help but get excited at the idea."
	"What's so exciting about two groups trying to kill each other?" Singer asked.
	"Not that, Singer, the other things."
	"What other things?"
	"Meeting alot of humans in their land," he told her.  "Seeing Centaurs and Were-kin and humans all working together.  Going to do something that really matters, even if I have no idea what that is."
	Ariana chuckled.  "If you have no idea what we're doing, why did you come?" she asked him.
	"Triana told me to come, so here I am," he said simply.
	"Who is this Triana?"
	"My mother," Jesmind answered.  "You could more or less think of her as the ruler of the Were-cats.  We don't have any organized rulership among us, but Triana is the oldest and strongest of us all.  So when she says do something, you do it.  It doesn't matter what it is or how stupid it may seem, you do it anyway."
	Thean chuckled, and Singer nodded.  "Nobody disobeys Triana.  We're not that crazy."
	"She's your queen, then?"
	"That kind of formality is beyond us, my dear," Thean told her patiently.  "But if you want to know who the top cat is in our race, you need look no further than Triana."
	"We obey her because she'll kill us if we don't," Rahnee told the Aeradalla bluntly.  "Were-cats don't take orders well.  It takes someone like Triana to get us to gather and work together like this."
	"Well, if she's not here, how do you decide who's in charge?"
	"If you want to pin that kind of title on someone, look right over there," Thean told her, pointing at Tarrin.  "He's the closest thing to leader we have right now."
	"Why is that?"
	"The same reason we obey Triana," Thean smiled.  "Tarrin can thrash anyone sitting at this table.  In our society, that makes him the dominant, so we'd obey him if he ordered us to do something."
	"Forgive me for saying it, but I don't understand at all," Ariana said with a shake of her head.
	"We're very simple people, Ariana," Thean said patiently.  "We're part animal, so those animal instincts play a big role in how we behave and relate to others.  Strength and power are the keys of dominion in our animal instincts, so that carries over to how we interact with one another socially.  The biggest, strongest Were-cat is the dominant, and that makes him or her the leader if we cooperate like we're doing now.  We obey because we acknowledge that strength.  If two Were-cats were of generally equal strength, they'd probably fight to establish who was the dominant.  Like Rahnee and Jesmind there," he said, pointing.  "If me and Tarrin weren't here, it would come down to them.  Since they're of similar size and age, they'd probably have to fight to determine who was the stronger.  The winner would be the dominant, and everyone else would obey her."
	"I see you put yourself right behind Tarrin," Ariana said with a grin.
	"It's simple truth, Ariana.  It's not something we brag about," he said mildly.  "I know I'm stronger than everyone here but Tarrin.  If he weren't here, I'd be the dominant, so I'd lead."
	"You mean that's all there is to it?  Whoever's strongest rules?  No considering things like intelligence or ability?"
	"Not usually," Thean chuckled.  "Strength and power are usually much more important than age or wisdom.  Though we do consider wisdom to be an aspect of power, it's physical strength that Were-cats consider most."
	"That's twisted, Thean."
	"That's how we do things, my dear.  Since you're not a Were-cat, you don't have to worry about it, now do you?"
	She laughed helplessly.  "I guess I don't at that," she agreed.  "You Were-cats are an unusual breed."
	"Thank you," Thean told her with a smile.  "We like to stand out."
	Ariana glanced at him, then laughed again.
	After breakfast, and after Tarrin banished the remnants of the breakfast and furniture he had created, the others gathered near the cart track leading to Aldreth.  Nobody carried much more than what they were wearing, which gave the scene an eerie sense that they were doing nothing more than taking a quick trip to the village.  The reality was that nobody was coming back here for quite a while.  Tarrin paused to look back at the small farm that had been his home, still was his home, would always be his home, and quietly reflected on the changes it had brought to his life.  He had found a daughter he didn't know he had, and he had patched things up with Jesmind--more or less.  He'd met Kimmie, whose insightful observations of Were-cats and himself had caused him to have serious thoughts about the future.  Truth be told, her idea of forming something of a rotational system of mates wasn't that bad of an idea.  But what was probably most important of all, the farm, being there even for a few days, it had been good for him.  He'd had a chance to rest, to recover, to spend a couple of days without worrying too much about what was coming.  It had been something he had needed.
	He thrusted a finger into Jasana's nose.  "You stay out of it this time," he warned her sharply.
	"Yes, papa," she said demurely, putting her paws behind her back.
	Reaching out, Tarrin made the connection with the Weave, then drew in its might.  His paws limned over with Magelight as he drew in the power of High Sorcery, and he raised them as the first framework of the Ward began to form around the farm.  He wove it with flows of Divine, Air, and Mind, the normal elements of a blocking Ward; Divine to grant the Ward its unique powers, Air to form the physical barrier that would prevent people from crossing it, Mind to establish the parameters of who was allowed to cross it and who was not, and only token flows of the other Spheres to allow the Ward to attain a size and power unreachable with standard Sorcery.  Had Tarrin used a killing Ward, like the one surrounding Aldreth, it would have been built from nothing but Mind and Divine.  Tarrin wove it together with an ease that belied the complexity and difficult process of forming such a large and strong Ward, and then he spun off the seven flows from a nearby strand, pulled them to form a new strand, and then attached it to the core of the Ward.  That gave the Ward an endless supply of power, and would render it permanent.
	The air around the farm shimmered when the Ward was released and became active, and then it quickly vanished.
	"What did you just do, lad?" Thean asked curiously.
	"I put a Ward around the farm," he replied.  "It will only allow Were-cats to pass.  It'll last until either me or Jenna removes it."
	Jesmind nodded approvingly; he told her he was going to do that to protect their home while they were gone.  "Clever, lad, clever," Thean chuckled.  "Jenna is your sister, right?"
	Tarrin nodded.  "She has magical powers similar to mine.  She's the only one other than me who matters that could remove the Ward."
	"I've never quite understood Wards," Thean told him as they started towards the village.  "They seem very much out of character for the nature of Sorcery."
	"We have time," Tarrin told him.  "I'll explain them to you."
	There wasn't any sense of urgency as the eight Were-cats and the Aeradalla walked to Aldreth, for they had left in plenty of time to get there before dawn.  It was almost seemed like something other than what it was, for everyone's spirits were generally high.  It didn't seem like they were marching off to war.  Jesmind did glance back towards the farm on any number of occasions, but she did seem to be at least a little happy about the idea of travelling.  Were-cats liked to wander around sometimes, and the years of staying in one place had probably gotten her to at least partially like the idea of taking a trip.  Tarrin watched her, and told himself that he should go out of his way to make his mate happy and entertained.  He knew she was going against her will, so he should make that up to her.
	The festive mood changed when they passed the treeline and looked out on Aldreth.  There were so many Woodkin there!  They had camped on the open fields to the north of the village, and there had to be a thousand of them!  Most of them were Centaurs, a veritable army of them, all of them already awake and breaking down the frugal camps they had erected for the night, getting ready to move out.  There were considerable numbers of humans interspersed with the Centaurs, but Tarrin knew that they were Were-kin in human form.  Some of them had erected tents, which were being packed up in preparation to move.  The village was just as busy as the camps outside of it, as the villagers scurried about, wives carrying things to their husbands as they checked their gear or saddled horses or helped someone who was leaving prepare for his journey.  Standing in the middle of it all were Garyth, Jak, and Sathon, as Garyth shouted commands and suggestions to his villagers as Sathon seemed to advise the portly mayor on what was best to take and what was best to leave behind.  To Tarrin's surprise, two more Were-cats stood near to Sathon, and Tarrin recognized one of them as Shayle.  The other turned around, and he recognized that grayish-furred, slight Were-cat as Nikki.  Triana's other two daughters, who were supposed to be in the area, had really been in the area after all.  They had come to the village first, just like everyone else, but for some reason they had stayed there.
	Tarrin and the others moved into the village--or at least they would have if Tarrin hadn't suddenly stopped when he crossed the Ward.  "Stop!" he barked sharply in Ariana's direction.  All of them obeyed him instantly.  Tarrin growled in chagrin when he realized that he had forgotten about the Ward, had forgotten that Ariana wasn't human.  Had she gone five more steps, she wouldn't have lived to take a sixth.  "Ariana, listen to me very carefully," he said with a quiet intensity that got her complete attention.  "I want you to back up, straight back, and don't try to turn around until you've taken at least five steps.  Don't come any closer to the village than this, and don't try to fly over it."
	"What's wrong?" she asked.
	"The Ward," Jasana said in observation.  "Papa made a Ward."
	"It's a killing Ward, Ariana," he told her.  "If you touch it, it's going to kill you.  I completely forgot that it would affect you.  I'm sorry."
	"Well, no harm done," she grinned.  "I guess I should feel happy you think of me like I'm one of your own."  She pointed towards the camp.  "I'll go over there and introduce myself.  Just come get me when we're ready, alright?"
	"Alright.  Just be careful."
	"I know where it is now, so I'll know where not to go," she told him with a smile and a nod.  Then she obediently took five steps backwards, turned, then walked towards the camp.
	"That was close," Tarrin blew out his breath.
	"Close doesn't matter as much when it ends the right way, lad," Thean told him philosophically.
	Tarrin blew out his breath, then he started forward again.
	Garyth held out his hand to Tarrin when they reached him and Jak, and Sathon quickly ambled over from where he was talking with one of the village wives, Mari Twostone.  Jesmind took Jasana in paw and immediately went over to her sisters, then they withdrew a few steps to greet one another and give Jesmind a chance to show off Jasana to them.  "I was about to send a runner for you, Tarrin," Garyth told him as Tarrin took his hand, swallowing it up in his paw.  "Are you and your friends ready to move?"
	"We're ready, Garyth," he replied.  "Are you ready?"
	"They'll be ready in just a bit, Sathon told me," Garyth replied.  "I'm afraid I'm going to have to stay here, lad, so you make sure to remember everything that happens so you'll have a story to tell me."
	"I thought you were going."
	"So was I, but Sathon convinced me that I'd serve Aldreth better if I stay behind," he replied.  "The Centaurs have agreed to obey my orders, and I'm already talking with the leader of the Centaurs that are going to stay about defense."
	"I guess it would be best," Tarrin agreed.  "That way there's someone here that's clearly in charge."
	"Exactly why I asked him to stay," Sathon told him as he reached the Were-cats.  "Mikos is going to command the host to Watch Hill, then the commander of the Rangers that is supposed to meet us there is going to assume command."
	"You got a Centaur to agree to take commands from a human?" Rahnee asked with a laugh.  "How many times did you have to hit him with the stick?"
	"Mikos doesn't know anything about human style fighting, Rahnee, and he knows that," Sathon said cooly.  "He's smart enough to know when to follow the orders of another."  Sathon ripped a hot gaze across them all.  "And that goes for all of you too," he ordered.  "You'll obey the human commander, or you can go home."
	"I think I can work with the humans," Jeri told Sathon quickly.  "Just tell me where to go and what to do, and I'll be fine."
	"Why should I obey a human?" Rahnee snorted.
	"Because if you don't, you could get a whole bunch of men killed," Sathon said scathingly.  "This is war, woman, not two Were-cats fighting over a male.  Your actions can kill a great many other people."
	"I still don't see why."
	"You'll do it because I say you'll do it," Tarrin told her with an icy stare and an emotionless, ominous expression, drawing himself up to his full height and staring down at the smaller Were-cats with a stance that all but emanated his strength and power.  "Any Were-cat that wants to argue with me about it can speak up right now."
	Rahnee's entire body posture shifted at Tarrin's flat statement.  Her shoulders sagged slightly and she looked up at him with a slightly lowered head.  That was a stance of submissiveness, a posture that told him that Rahnee would obey.  "As you say, Tarrin," Rahnee said with quiet, controlled tones.  Rahnee was proud, but she knew better than to challenge him.  She was older than him, but his sheer strength was something she could not deny or overcome.
	"Do I make myself clear?" he called to the others in a strong voice.
	"Quite clear," Thean said with a nod, and the others nodded or lowered their heads in submission to him.
	"I think you all will do fine," Sathon said with a nod.  "Tarrin understands human warfare, so he'll make sure you all do what you need to do."
	"You'll have to excuse me, lad," Garyth told him with a short smile.  "I need to go talk to the Centaurs.  Jak, you go find Karn and travel with him."
	"Karn's going?" Tarrin asked.
	"He intends to pay them back for burning down his forge," Garyth chuckled.  "Besides, he's a Dal as well, and he knows the language.  Having a Dal along may be useful for our side."
	"It could," Tarrin agreed.
	"I'll go find him, Garyth," Jak said.  "See you later, Tarrin."
	"See you later," Tarrin said in farewell as Jak trotted off towards the inn.
	The Were-cats more or less dispersed at that point, for there was nothing for them to do but wait.  Thean and Singer wandered towards the inn, Rahnee and Jeri moved to follow Jak, but Kimmie stayed where she was, deciding that staying with Tarrin and Jesmind and her sisters and daughter was better than anything else.  Nikki and Shayle came over with Jesmind after the others broke up, Shayle holding Jasana in her arms.  "My goodness, Tarrin, mother wasn't kidding when she said you'd grown," Shayle told him with a smile.
	"A long story," he told her.  "You two are looking good."
	"Thanks," Nikki said with a smile.  Nikki seemed a little different somehow, but he couldn't quite pin down what it was.  She was a petite Were-cat, about Kimmie's size, with Thean's grayish striped fur and her mother's tawny hair and face.  She was wearing what was more or less a standard among Were-cats, a pair of leather breeches and a stout shirt, hers made of brown wool, with loose, flared sleeves.  Shayle was tall and willowy, with strangely narrow hips and a flat chest compared to her sisters--traits that set her apart from the rather buxom and voluptuous females of the Were-cat race--but she had a very cute face with a cherubic smile, and her mother's tawny hair and tabby-orange striped fur.  Shayle was wearing the same style of clothing that she'd been wearing when he met her nearly a year ago, a pair of buckskin breeches and a simple sleeveless leather haltar-like half-shirt that left her midriff bare.  Tarrin liked both of them.  Shayle was very mellow, and Nikki had a youthful exuberance about her, just like Jeri, that was almost contagious in those around her.  "Have things gone alright for you since you left Shoran's Fork, Tarrin?"
	"Well enough," he said.  "You're joining us?"
	"If you'll have us," Nikki said cautiously.
	"We have plenty of room for you, Nikki," Tarrin assured her.  "I see you met your niece."
	"Jasana?  Oh, I've dropped by a couple of times since she was born to look in on her," Shayle said, bouncing Jasana slightly in her arms.  "Isn't that right, cub?"
	"Umm," Jasana agreed.  "Auntie Shayle's come to see me three times."
	"You certainly look different, Kimmie," Shayle noted to her.
	"It's not easy to run in a dress, Shayle," Kimmie said mildly.
	"It certainly looks better on you than those gods-awful dresses you insist on wearing," Shayle grinned.
	"There's nothing wrong with wearing a dress," Kimmie said primly.
	"Of course not, but good grief, woman, go look at what's the latest fashion!" Shayle told her with a cherubic grin.  "If you're going to wear a dress, wear one with style!"
	"I like function as a fashion statement, Shayle."
	"And it keeps all the males' eyes off you.  Advertise, girl!  A little cleavage reels them in faster than if you took off your dress and paraded around naked."
	"Really?" Kimmie said archly.
	"Of course.  Even Were-cat males get caught up in the allure of seeing what's being hidden from them.  It's a universal male trait, you know."
	"You're getting bad in your old age, Shayle," Jesmind laughed.
	"You're older than me, sister dear," Shayle said blandly.  "If I'm bad, you're worse."
	"I never pretended to be anything but bad," Jesmind winked.
	Nikki cut them off by approaching Tarrin and boldly grabbing his wrist.  She turned his paw palm up, then tugged at the fetlocks growing from the outsides and lower quarters of his lower forearms.  "What are these?"
	"Fetlocks," Shayle answered.  "That means that your size is a matter of age," she reasoned.  "What happened to you?"
	"Papa was made old by a mean old winged lady," Jasana told her.
	"That's the short of it," Tarrin chuckled.  "This is what happens when you're attacked by a Succubus," he told them, motioning to his height.
	"A Succubus?" Shayle said in surprise.  "How did you ever end up facing something like that?"
	"Not by choice, believe me," he told her.  "I'll tell you about it while we travel."
	"I'd like to hear that story," Nikki said eagerly.
	"You like to hear any story, little sister," Jesmind teased.
	"I can't help it if I like to hear stories," Nikki shrugged.
	"You should read, then."
	"I do.  But there's just something about a story told by a person that makes it better than written on a page.  It's just better, somehow."
	Jesmind was about to comment, but Sathon's magically augmented voice, booming across the village and the fields, interrupted them.  "Alright, let's gather on the road and get ready to move out!" he called.  "Those outside the village, remember to circle around to the south, and don't get within a half-longspan of any building!"
	"Sounds like it's time to go," Jesmind sighed, taking Jasana from Shayle.
	"Time to go," Tarrin mirrored, moving towards the road leading to Watch Hill.  He'd only been in Aldreth for a few short days, but the time had completely changed his life.  He knew he'd come back, someday.  He'd made a promise, and he'd realized that the village and the farm were all the home he had ever known, and the only place where he could go that would feel right to be his home.  He would come back to Aldreth, and when he did, he would come back to stay.  He didn't know what would happen while he was away from the small village, located about as far from human civilization one could get and still be considered in human lands, but what he did know was that the next time he saw Aldreth, it would be through the eyes of a free male.  Unfettered by his quest or the burdens placed upon him, unrestricted by the needs of others.  He would come home free, and he would live the rest of his life free.
	It was much to look forward to.

	Moving at a brisk walk, Tarrin moved at the head of the long column of Centaurs and transformed Were-kin, with the men of Aldreth nestled safely in their center.  Tarrin walked along with Jasana riding on his shoulders, Jesmind on one side and Sathon riding on the back of Mikos on the other