e plopped down on a rope coil against the bulwark, wearing one of her usual peasant dresses, a dress that wasn't laced up quite as tightly in front as usual.  The result was that quite a bit of Kimmie's rather impressive cleavage was peeking out from that neckline, a calculated effort to remind him that Kimmie was very much a woman.
	"Well, I'm glad to see you come out of hiding," she said with a smile.  "Did you talk to Jesmind?"
	"I did," he replied evenly, looking down at her.
	"And what did she say?"
	"What could she say?" he challenged.
	"Knowing Jesmind, she probably had quite a bit to say," she said mildly, but her eyes were dancing with mirth.  "But let's skip over all the cursing and the ranting and the raging and get down to the part of her tirade that matters.  Did she tell you yes or no?"
	"It was something like a yes under protest," he replied blanly.  "Triana was there, so she couldn't say as much as she wanted."
	"Triana?  Why was she there?"
	"Following up on what she started," he replied, giving her a slightly accusing look.  "Triana sent you with me specifically hoping we'd get together."
	"She did?  That's surprising, considering you're her daughter's mate."
	"I think Triana wants me to learn some things I can't learn with Jesmind," he told her.  "I think I've already learned some of them."
	"Like what?"
	"Like not confusing love for attraction, I think," he replied.
	"I went through the same thing.  I was all but ready to marry the first mate I had after turning Were.  I was devastated when he rejected me," she said with a little sigh.  "Maybe Triana doesn't want to see you go through the same thing."
	"Maybe.  I can't say I feel very comfortable with it, Kimmie," he admitted.  "I mean, yes, I find you attractive, but I can't help feeling like I'm betraying Jesmind."
	"Tarrin," she sighed in exasperation.  "I'm not asking you to turn your back on Jesmind.  I told you that!  I don't want anything from you other than a good time and a little fun.  You and I are friends, Tarrin.  Good friends.  I told you a while ago that we could be good friends and mates at the same time.  The mating won't interfere with our friendship unless you let it."  She reached up and put her paw on his knee.  "What you have with Jesmind, I respect that, Tarrin.  I'm not asking for that.  I just want your attention and your companionship.  That's why Were-cats usually mate.  For attention and companionship.  Not for love."
	Tarrin was silent a moment, then looked down at her.  She smiled.  "Now, can you give me attention?"
	"I'd be hard pressed not to right now."
	She grinned.  "Can you give me companionship?"
	"What do you mean by that?"
	"Can you be my friend, Tarrin?"
	"I'm already your friend."
	"Then we'll be a good match," she assured him.  "You can go right on loving Jesmind, so long as you don't let her interfere with what we'll have."
	"I'll try."
	"And I'd appreciate it if you didn't shout out her name while we're making love," she told him boldly.  "That really annoys a girl, you know."
	Tarrin looked at her, then laughed helplessly.  He'd always thought he understood what it meant to be mates with a female.  At that moment, he realized how wrong he'd been.
 
Chapter 3

	Tarrin had two new females in his life, and both changed his daily routines dramatically.
	That wasn't to say that it was a bad thing.  After abandoning certain misgivings and surrendering to the instincts of it, Tarrin found that he could enjoy time together with Kimmie.  She was actually quite an affectionate female, comfortable with him in ways he didn't think a female would be comfortable with a male after such a short time.  There was no love there, not like with Jesmind, but Kimmie had been so right when she explained things to him.  That they could be good friends and mates at the same time.  Tarrin liked Kimmie, and Kimmie liked Tarrin.  He was attracted to her, she was attracted to him.  It allowed them to share a physical relationship, and to his surprise, it really didn't interfere with their friendship, nor did it change how he felt about Jesmind.  He had been born human, and had been a very naive and young boy when he was turned, long before he could gain any kind of carnal experience.  That sheltered background and its teachings were scrambled by the instincts, warping many of his concepts by jumbling human-taught morality with the pragmatic, nonchalant approach of the Cat.  Jesmind had done absolutely nothing to untangle his conceptions, since it suited her designs to keep him as he was.  Triana had done much to try to show him, but really hadn't broken through to him.  Tarrin knew that to a Were-cat, sex was a casual affair, but he had never really managed to drive that point home in his own mind.  The one woman outside of Jesmind at that time had been Mist, and he'd been very uncomfortable with the idea of a casual mating even then.  He'd only done it for her, not for himself.  In a single day, Kimmie had completely rewritten the book of the complicated levels of relationships between Were-cats.  Kimmie was his friend, first and foremost, just as clever and funny and wickedly smart as ever, and she acted in no way different towards him.  At least in public.  When she got him alone and she was in the mood, however, it was like she transformed into a completely different woman.  But even during those times, she was still Kimmie, just a Kimmie showing a side of herself to him he had not experienced before.  And after their ardor was satisfied, she went right back to being Kimmie again.
	It was most definitely the strangest relationship in which Tarrin had ever found himself, and he found himself completely mystified by Kimmie after they agreed to become mates and she led him back down to his cabin.  Even though both of them were turned, Kimmie showed that she had adjusted to the peculiarities of Were-cat culture much more easily than he had.  Or, more to the point, she had been taught better than him.  He was shocked that Kimmie could literally see him as two different people; as Tarrin, her friend, and as Tarrin, her lover.  She seemed perfectly capable of separating the two sides of their relationship in her mind, something that Tarrin found a little more difficult.
	Sapphire certainly didn't help.  The little drake had completely taken over his life, it seemed, and her promise to be obedient went only as far as when he was watching her.  It was almost like she was testing him, seeing how far she could push his authority, seeing how much power she held in their relationship.  She wasn't vicious or destructive, just stubborn, often resisting his commands or intentionally pestering him when he was busy with something else.  But despite the trouble she caused him at first, he found her presence to be very comforting, and was more than happy they'd found each other.
	Tarrin settled into his two new relationships over the days as they got closer and closer to the mysterious continent of Wikuna, a continent that his sister Keritanima ruled.  That idea still hadn't quite sunk in, even after all that time.  To think that his sister Kerri actually ruled an entire continent!  He couldn't even imagine having that much power.  Even if he could imagine it, he was absolutely positive that he didn't want it.  He saw the long hours that Keritanima worked, even out in the middle of the ocean, constantly going over reports or making decisions, decisions that affected the lives of everyone under her rule.  That was a dreadful responsibility, and it was not something that Tarrin wanted.  It reminded him of the vision he'd had of her, standing on a mound of skulls, crying.  Maybe that was what the vision meant.  That the duties of her station had changed her, saddened her somehow.  They had certainly taken over her life.  She was just as talkative and irreverent as ever, but he could sense the change in her.  She wasn't the carefree, spontaneous girl he'd known in the Tower.  She was different now, more methodical, maybe a little more ruthless.  She was more mature.
	In the five days since consenting to take Kimmie for mate, his routine had changed.  Kimmie slept in his cabin now, but hadn't officially moved in.  She came to him after he finished his time with Allia, then left before breakfast.  She didn't hide the fact that they were lovers, but it was almost as if she wouldn't allow herself to take up residence with him, like it was some kind of violation of the strange rules females had concerning males and other females.  After breakfast, he spent his time with Camara Tal, then with Keritanima and Miranda after lunch, but this was where Sapphire had usurped his schedule.  She interrupted them constantly with demands for attention, demands for food, torturing the Wikuni sailors by chasing them around the deck, and being a general nuisance to the ship.  She had integrated herself with Chopstick and Turnkey, taking over the social hierarchy by winning a pretty nasty little fight with Chopstick, who was the dominate between the two males.  This didn't surprise Tarrin, because Sapphire had been a wild drake, where the males had not.  She was smaller than them--if not by more than a shade--but she was faster, stronger, and more experienced in fighting other drakes than they were.  She ruled the other drakes, and she and the two males would often tear around the ship in endless games of chase, or harass the sailors whenever Sapphire felt bored.  The rest of Tarrin's schedule was generally unchanged, though he did spend slightly less time with Allia at night.  He found it hard to concentrate on Allia when he knew that Kimmie was waiting for her to leave.  Allia, the blessedly understanding woman she was, took it all in stride.  Allia was his most intimate friend, and she better than anyone understood the power the instincts had over a Were-cat.
	The morning was shaping up to be just like any other morning.  Kimmie was sitting on the bed trying to sort out her dress--a bed that now fit him, after he used a combination of Sorcery and Druidic magic to alter its dimensions to fit his frame, as Chopstick, Turnkey, and Sapphire growled and snapped at each other as they fought over a piece of long rawhide leather Tarrin kept in the cabin to serve as a chew toy.  Kimmie had had issues with the drakes at first, finding their presence disturbing, but had gotten used to them.  They didn't sleep in his bed now, sleeping in a cushioned basket Tarrin had placed on the desk, but they did still sleep in the room at night.  Now they curled up with Sapphire instead of him.
	Or, more to the point, they didn't start in the bed.  But they usually ended up there, nestled in the folds of the blankets between or on top of the two Were-cats.  Tarrin thought that that was what irritated Kimmie more than anything else, rolling over and getting jabbed by the small, sharp little ridges and spines that grew from the backbones of the drakes.
	"I know there's an arm in here somewhere," Kimmie growled to herself, holding up the crumpled mass of cloth.  "The trick is going to be finding it."
	"You should be more careful when you take it off," Tarrin suggested.  "I'm getting tired of stepping on buttons."
	"Maybe I should take it off in my cabin and come over here in a robe," she countered.
	"That would work," he agreed.  "Or just bring some clothes in here."
	"No, I won't do that," she said.  "I'm not mates with you, Tarrin.  We're just mates."
	"Someday I may actually understand the difference."
	"You already do.  Hey!" Kimmie snapped irritably when Chopstick bit the end of her tail.  Kimmie snapped it around her body quickly and forcefully enough to drag the drake along with it, pulling it out of bed.  It dropped to the floor and spat out a mouthful of orange-brown tabby fur, then chirped a couple of times and jumped back up onto the bed.  "You bite my tail again, and I'll start biting you, you little creep!" Kimmie threatened the drake.
	"He likes you, Kimmie," Tarrin said soothingly.
	"That's the problem," she growled.  "They'd be alot less annoying if they didn't like me."  She stood up as she solved the mystery knot into which her dress had become tied, then pulled the garment over her head.  It was missing a few buttons on the front, thanks to Kimmie's impatience to undo them.  She settled the brown wool dress into place, at least mostly, not bothering to thread her tail through the hole cut into the back of the dress for it.  She would only wear it back to her own cabin, where she would wash up and change into something new.  "I heard from one of the sailors last night that we should see the coastline of Wikuna today," she told him.  "And then we'll travel north for a couple of days."
	"We turned northwest not long after passing Twinfluke Island," Tarrin recalled.  "We can't be too far from the city."
	"I'll be glad to get off this ship," Kimmie complained.  "I've never liked them.  Something inside me objects to putting myself at the mercy of someone else, where I can't control my fate.  But at least this one is spacious, compared to other ships.  Once I was on a ship from Tor to Arkis, and the cabin I had was so cramped that I couldn't even lay down on the floor without my ears hitting one wall and my toes hitting the other.  I gave up the cabin and slept up on deck with the sailors.  At least there, I could stretch out."  She chuckled.  "And I'm not even tall for our kind.  I'd have loved to have seen someone like you or Triana in that cabin."
	"I doubt I'd have been able to get in through the door," Tarrin said mildly.
	"Probably," she smiled in agreement.  "What do you think Wikuna is going to be like?"
	"I'm not sure."
	"Do you know that only a handful of outsiders have ever been there?  At least recorded visitors, anyway," she amended.  "From what I've read, Wikuna's cities are cleaner, better organized, and more advanced than cities in the West.  They've even built large, extensive sewer systems, and even have running water in some parts of their larger cities."
	"You know something, Kimmie?"
	"What?"
	"You talk too much," he said bluntly, handing her a glass of water.
	"Call it a personality flaw," she teased, then drained the glass.  "You don't have to answer me, you know.  Just let me prattle on."
	"You're getting to be as bad as Phandebrass."
	"I could never be that bad," Kimmie laughed.  "I'm really fond of him, but he just talks and talks and talks.  Sometimes he talks so much he forgets what he was talking about."
	"That sounds like Phandebrass, all right," Tarrin agreed.
	"But you know something?  If you listen to him, you'd be surprised what you can learn.  I think that man has forgotten more than you or I have ever learned.  I learn more about alot of things by listening to him ramble than I do when he's trying to teach me."
	"I think that's the problem.  He's learned so much, maybe his brain can't hold it all.  It all just leaks out his mouth."
	Kimmie gave him a look, then she laughed delightedly.  "It's a pretty bizarre image, but it does make sense.  In a twisted sort of way, that is."
	"Phandebrass is a twisted sort of person."
	"No argument there."  She tied her hair behind her neck with a bit of leather thong. "I'll see you at lunch?"
	"If you remember to show up," he chided.
	"Blame Phandebrass for that.  He gets so wrapped up in teaching me, and I get so wrapped up in his lessons, I forget what time it is.  And he certainly won't remember."
	"Try."
	"I will, I promise."  She rose up on her toes, but still had to pull his head down.  Kimmie was much shorter than him.  She gave him a quick, intimate kiss, then adjusted the bosom of her dress.  "Alright, see you later," she said in farewell, then opened the door to his cabin and filed out.
	Tarrin watched her leave, and couldn't help but be surprised how different she had made his life, and also how much it hadn't changed.  He had no idea why he'd stressed so much over her.
	Just as he was reaching for the door to close it, he felt a shift in the Weave.  That made him smile; Keritanima had finally figured it out.  That information was proceeded almost immediately by a scream from Keritanima's cabin, a squeal of delight.  Her cabin door was at the end of the companionway, about twenty spans from his door, and the large, surprisingly ornate door opened almost immediately.  Keritanima ran out of her cabin, and her eyes locked on him as soon as she looked up from the floor.  "I did it!" she cried out happily as he stepped into the companionway.  "Tarrin, I got my powers back!"  She jumped up into his arms and hugged him tightly.  "I did, didn't I?"
	"It's just like before, Kerri," he assured her.  "Once you do it once, you can do it again."
	She glanced over her own shoulder, back to her cabin door, and he felt her will push against the Weave.  It responded to her, although it was very resistant, and it finally gave up a flow of Air that she wove into a simple spell to close the door.  "I can do it!" she said with a laugh, but then she blew out her breath.  "But why is the Weave fighting with me?"
	"I told you that it would happen," he reminded her.  "I'll teach you a way to get around that later, but for now, I want you to go up on deck and practice, practice, practice.  As soon as you're used to the new way to use Sorcery, I'll teach you how to weave without that resistance."
	"As you command, Master," she teased as he let her back down onto the deck.
	"Go," he ordered, pointing towards the stairs imperiously.
	"I want to eat first."
	"Have them bring you food.  Go."
	"Alright," she acceded.
	Tarrin took up a place near the mainmast as he watched Keritanima sitting by the bow, weaving spells continuously, weaving many of the spells she knew to see how different it was to weave them without drawing in the power first.  He watched her without much interest, just keeping an eye on her mainly, as he recited spell prayers back to Camara Tal.  "Pay attention," she ordered.  "You just mispronounced thalimasticia.  You almost ended up setting your hair on fire."
	"Sorry," he apologized.  "It still annoys me that I can't figure out this language," he fretted.  "It doesn't seem to have any kind of pattern at all."
	"Sages and Priests have been trying since there were sages or Priests," Camara Tal told him calmly.  "It works.  That's all I know, and that's really all I care about.  Now, recite the spell that changes stone into mud."
	"I'll never use it."
	"I didn't ask if you were ever going to use it.  I told you to recite it."
	"Alright," Tarrin growled softly, recalling the words of the spell, then repeating them back to her.
	"Good.  Now, recite the spell that neutralizes active poison."  Tarrin recited that one absently, watching as Keritanima Transmuted a coil or rope into stone.  "Alright, recite the spell that causes someone to see you as a friend."  Tarrin repeated it mechanically, watching as Keritanima Transmuted the petrified rope coil into water, then scurried out of the way as it splooshed to the deck.  "Good.  Now cut off your hair and sing the drunken sailor song."
	Tarrin stared at her flatly.  "Why don't you try to cut off my hair, Camara?" he challenged.
	"Just making sure you were still paying attention," she said with a wolfish grin.  "I don't like it when my students are looking somewhere else."
	"I'm trying to keep an eye on my student, Camara," he explained.  "I'm sure she'll be alright, but I can't help making sure."
	"This is my time, Tarrin," she asserted.  "You're mine until lunch.  Now forget Keritanima and recite the spell that lets you use a pool of water to view a distant area."
	Camara Tal ensured that his attention didn't wander for the rest of her lesson, using barbs, harsh tones, and even poking him whenever his attention wandered to Keritanima.  The bell rang announcing lunch, and to his surprise, Kimmie and Phandebrass actually managed to show up.  They all sat in the dining room and ate together.  The dining room was actually a pretty interesting room.  It was above Keritanima's cabin, and had the same large windows across the back wall, showing the sea and the ships trailing the Queen's vessel.  It also showed a darkening sky, as it looked that the ship was about to sail into some bad weather.  The chefs had prepared a main dish with something called rice, some kind of boiled grain, upon which was smothered a rich tangy sauce with meat and various vegetables.  They also had the usual soup, bread, fresh fruit (where they got it was something Tarrin had yet to figure out) and a desert called bread pudding.
	"You're still alive," Camara Tal noted as Kimmie led Phandebrass into the dining room.
	"Not for lack of trying," Kimmie grinned as she sat down beside Tarrin.  "I saw the Queen using magic.  Did you get your powers back, your Majesty?"
	"How many times have I told you not to call me that in private?" Keritanima demanded.  "My name is Keritanima, but you can call me Kerri."
	"Sorry.  Old habit," she said mildly.
	"Say it," Keritanima prompted between spoonfuls of the rice dish.
	"Kerri," Kimmie obliged with a light smile.
	"If I hear you call me your Majesty when we're not in public one more time, I'm going to turn your fur green."
	"Temper, temper," Kimmie teased.
	"Were-cats don't have the right to tease other people about their tempers," Keritanima pointed out.
	"Maybe not.  But who's going to gainsay me?" Kimmie asked with an innocent look.
	Keritanima looked at her, then laughed.  "You're probably the most interesting Were-cat I've ever met, Kimmie.  I don't think any of them have a sense of humor."
	"Were-cats have a sense of humor, Kerri.  It's just not the same as most other people's," Kimmie said calmly, picking up a spoon with an oversized handle.  "I was turned, so I have a better understanding of the nuances of human personality.  Wikuni may not be human, but they're similar enough," she added.
	"That's almost an insult," Keritanima grinned.
	"Centuries of contact between two peoples can cause them to act similarly," Dolanna observed.  "Besides, Keritanima, the Wikuni truly are not that much different from the human race.  Your society and culture is indeed similar to some human cultures, especially in the West."
	"I say, that's an interesting observation," Phandebrass said.  "I should study it, I should."
	"How would we be similar?" Keritanima asked, a bit tartly.
	"Your culture is very similar to the kingdoms of the West," Dolanna told her.  "The Wikuni personality is dominated by greed, which is a common human trait.  And you wear clothes," she added with a smile.
	"Wear clothes?  How is that a commonality?"
	"Think about it, Kerri," Dar told her.  "All Wikuni are covered in fur, or feathers.  Why do you need to wear clothes?"
	"Because we'd be naked if we didn't," Keritanima said.
	"Yes, but since you have fur, who's going to see it?" Camara Tal pressed.  "I'd just see some fur-covered curves.  Not anything that would matter."
	"We're not that covered, Camara Tal," Keritanima said.
	"Yes, you can see the important parts," Miranda said with a grin at Keritanima.  "A woman's nipples aren't covered in fur, or else she couldn't nurse.  And neither is--"
	"That's about far enough.  Tarrin wears clothes," Keritanima interrupted.
	"That's a practice mainly for your benefit, Kerri," Kimmie smiled.  "When we're alone, it doesn't matter if we wear clothes or not."
	"Of course it's not for you two.  I've seen you sneaking into Tarrin's cabin lately," Keritanima winked.
	"I'm talking about all Were-cats, Kerri," Kimmie said, unperturbed.  "Were-cats have learned to wear clothes as a nod towards strange human customs, and it's a practice that's more or less caught on.  But some Were-cats won't wear clothes when they're not in human lands."
	"Which ones?" Tarrin asked curiously.
	"Shirazi is one you'd know," she replied.  "She says it doesn't feel right to hunt wearing clothes."
	"We're drifting off the point here," Camara Tal said.  "What it comes down to, Kerri, is that the Wikuni don't need to wear clothes, but they do.  That shows a similarity between humans and Wikuni."
	"Well, alright, I'll give you that," Kerri admitted.  "Maybe there are some similarities between us and the humans."
	"Maybe we should give up clothes," Miranda chuckled.  "It would save me a fortune on my wardrobe."
	"You're welcome to give them up any time you feel like it, Miranda," Keritanima told her acidly.
	"It would be a liberating experience, I think," Miranda mused.
	"I wouldn't want to be jiggling in the wind, that's for sure," Keritanima grunted.
	The tone of her comment caused everyone at the table to laugh.
	"Jiggling isn't for the weak," Kimmie said with a grin.  "It took me a long time to get used to that part of Were-cat culture."
	"Jiggling?"
	"Nudity," she replied.
	"I keep forgetting you're like Tarrin," Keritanima admitted.  "You're alot different from the other Were-cats I've met."
	"I'm more or less unique," she replied.  "I managed to keep most of my human mannerisms after I was turned.  It drives the others crazy," she laughed.
	"I saw how they acted towards you," Allia said, finally speaking.  "It was almost dishonorable."
	"I'm used to it.  I'm the black sheep among the Were-cats.  Triana respects me, Jesmind likes me, and Mist loves me.  That's all I really care about."
	There was a rumble of thunder.  "Well, looks like we'll be staying below decks the rest of the day," Keritanima said, looking out the large windows.
	They finished up lunch, and then Tarrin went with Keritanima when she went back to her cabins.  To his surprise, Dolanna, Allia, and Dar also came along.  "We need to learn about your powers, so we can better understand them," Dolanna had told him by way of explanation as she seated herself on the bed with Allia, and Dar sat on the cushioned chair in front of the desk.
	"Well, I guess it won't matter much," he said.  "Kerri's not the kind to get distracted.  I think she actually does better when people watch."
	"Our sister likes the attention," Allia pointed out with a slight smile.
	"You mean she's a ham," Dar laughed.
	"I'm a Queen.  I'm supposed to thrive under pressure," Keritanima said tartly.
	"You should have been born a performer, Keritanima," Dolanna told her.
	"And miss out on all this luxury?  No thank you," Keritanima replied.
	Tarrin was confident that Keritanima was fully used to Weavespinner ways, so he sat her down and explained, in fine detail, the give and take nature of true Weavespinner magic, that in order to have the magic obey her, she had to give back to the Weave.  "You make it sound like a religious experience," Keritanima accused.
	"It is a religious experience, Kerri," he said firmly.  "Using Sorcery is a way we worship the Goddess.  You have to show her your love when you use her power.  When you do that, the power will obey you completely.  If you don't, it fights you and makes Sorcery much more demanding."
	"I've never been all that religious."
	"Do you love the Goddess?" Tarrin asked bluntly.
	"Well, yes, of course," she replied after a moment.  "She's proved she'll be there for me."
	"Then that's all it takes.  Will it kill you to show it, Kerri?  That's all it takes."
	"It seems so alien."
	"No, it's you not wanting to show any weakness, not even to the Goddess," Tarrin said flatly.  "Love is not a weakness, Kerri.  It's probably the greatest strength you could ever possess."
	"Where I come from, Tarrin, love is a liability," she said sharply.  "Excuse me if I don't go all gushy on command."
	Tarrin put his paws on her shoulders.  "I've told you what to do, sister," he said in a reasonable tone.  "Actually, I can't teach you any more about this.  It's something you have to do for yourself.  It's up to you to find your own harmony.  And until you learn how to weave without resistance, I won't teach you anything else."
	"That sounds like a threat," Keritanima said dangerously.
	"It's reality.  I won't teach you anything else until you learn how to use Weavespinner magic the right way, because the spells Weavespinners use that regular Sorcerers don't are too demanding.  You won't be able to use them unless you can weave without resistance.  And I can't train you in joining the Weave because we have to stop before we can do that.  So I hate to tell you this, sister, but you've only got one option in front of you."
	"I hate it when you're right," Keritanima growled at him, her eyes flashing.  "Alright, I'll humiliate myself for the Goddess' benefit.  What choice do I have?"
	"Love is not humiliation, Keritanima," Dolanna said gently.  "To think it so dishonors the love you have for your brother and sister."
	"That's different," Keritanima said quickly.  "They're my friends.  They're here."
	"Is not the Goddess always with you?" Allia asked.  "Does she not comfort you?  Did she not bring you peace of mind when you were taken from us?  It is dishonorable to the Goddess to think she would see your love as you humiliating yourself.  She is not like that, and you know it.  You are just too arrogant to allow yourself to place yourself below another."
	"That's cruel, sister," Keritanima said in a quavering tone.
	"You get nothing but the truth from me, sister," Allia said calmly.  "I still love you despite the fact that you are arrogant.  Just as I love Tarrin despite the fact that he is not the same man I knew when I branded him."
	Tarrin forgot sometimes just how observant and wise his sister was.  She had seen right to the core of the matter.  Allia knew Tarrin and Keritanima probably even better than they knew themselves.  She was quiet and inobtrusive, but she proved again and again how she always knew exactly what to say when it mattered.
	"Well, now that I've been dressed down by my own sister in front of Dolanna and Dar, I guess I can get started," Keritanima said in a hurt tone.
	"Arrogance is not a bad trait in a monarch, Keritanima," Dolanna said calmly.  "Actually, it is a job requirement.  We do not think less of you for it."
	"I don't think you're arrogant, Kerri.  I always thought of it as confidence," Dar assured her.  "I've wished sometimes I could be more like you."
	"Well, someone appreciates me," Keritanima said with a toothy grin, though her eyes were still a little injured.  "Alright, brother, exactly how do I do this?"
	Tarrin instructed Keritanima in how she would have to use the power, just as Spyder had instructed him.  "Sorcery isn't magic, Kerri.  It's art.  You