ay together.  So Were-cats part ways after a time after they've been mates for a while.  Jesmind and Kimmie don't mind each other because they know that the other one can't hog you.  After you get tired of one, you can just go to the other.  They can share you, and since they can, they don't really see each other as rivals."
	That actually did explain quite a bit.  "Hold on, Kimmie mentioned someone named Mist," Tarrin said.  "Is she really the mother of my son?"
	"She is," Jenna affirmed.  "I've never met her, but I heard Triana say that she was going to go get her a few days ago.  I think she's coming to Suld.  I really want to meet her son.  She named him after father, you know.  Father's so proud of that he's almost walking on air," she giggled.
	"I don't remember her at all."
	"Every time you say that, just remember that it's only temporary," she said, patting his arm.  "You will remember again.  But until then, don't dwell on what you've forgotten.  Just look at it as a chance to do it all again, to meet everyone again, to experience things that used to be commonplace to you and see them for the wonders they really are.  This is your chance to get to know all of your friends in an entirely new way, and when you do get your memory back, it'll make those friendships that much richer and deeper.  Don't dwell on the negatives, brother.  Try to make something positive out of it."
	"When did you get so smart, brat?" he asked with a smile, putting an arm around her shoulders.
	"Blame Spyder, Tarrin," Jenna giggled, leaning her head on his shoulder.  "She made me this smart."
	"I'd rather kiss her," Tarrin told her.

	It didn't take the others long for them to find his room.  After lunch, he settled in, but was rarely alone.  Allia and Allyn came first, and as Tarrin put his clothes away in the trunk, they talked.  Or, more to the point, occassionally ignored them during those silences when they were either kissing or staring into one another's eyes.  After that, Keritanima joined them, bringing in another Wikuni she named Rallix, her husband.  He was a badger Wikuni, with a dark band of fur over his eyes that made him look like a bandit.  But where badgers were bulky creatures, this Rallix was rather thin and scholarly looking.  He was a soft-spoken fellow, and Tarrin rather liked him.  He was quiet while Keritanima talked about how Ianelle had taught her how to Teleport, and now she could jump between her duties as Queen of Wikuna over there and come see him when she wasn't very busy.  Rallix seemed a bit casual about his wife's magical capabilities, but all in all, what else could he do but silently accept it.
	Camara Tal came in just as Allia, Keritanima, and their men were about to leave, and Tarrin found himself, to his surprise, playing the role of sympathetic ear.  Camara Tal had just had another fight with someone named Koran Dar, the Amazon man that was on the Council, who happened to be Camara Tal's husband.  The proud Amazon was surprisingly girlish as she lamented her woes to him, as she admitted that she loved Koran Dar, but he wouldn't come home with her because he didn't want the restrictions of a life as an Amazon man around his neck.  There really wasnt much he could say or do more than assure her that things were going to work themselves out, and hint that perhaps the best way to get Koran Dar back would be to give in to some of his demands.  That seemed to scandalize Camara Tal, but she did have a somewhat thoughtful look in her eyes when she left.
	He was only alone a few moments before Sapphire knocked on his door and invited herself in.  They had quite a nice little talk, and he kept finding himself staring at her and remembering how she had looked when she was a dragon.  He had her tell him all about her lair in the desert and what it was like there.  Then he told her all about Aldreth, and the life he at least could remember before leaving home.  He was in the middle of that when Azakar and a Knight that Tarrin didn't know arrived, a dark-haired knight named Ulger, who had been Faalken's best friend.  Ulger didn't know that Sapphire was a dragon, which was probably for the best, for the man started flirting with her almost immediately.  Sapphire seemed a bit shocked, but she almost seemed to be enjoying it as she excused herself to make another attempt to contact her missing children.  She did reveal that fact just before she left, probably to see Ulger's reaction.  She wasn't disappointed.  Tarrin was surprised that the Knight didn't wet his trousers.  He'd never seen a pair of eyes bug out that far in his life.
	 Azakar and Ulger had just stopped by to see how he was doing, and they left not long after Sapphire did, to go down to the training field and work out the cadets.  After they left, Tarrin left also, going up to Jesmind's apartment.  He spent the rest of the afternoon with Jesmind, Jasana, and Kimmie--Triana was gone again--and he had a very good time.  Jesmind didn't push him or prod his lost memory too much, content to just let him play with Jasana for most of the time.  He taught Jasana how to play chess, and read a book with her that she'd gotten from the library, a book about the seven thousand year history of the city of Suld.  He found Jasana to be quite intelligent and very affectionate.  Tarrin found having her sit on his lap with her hair just under her chin to be quite pleasant, and it made him realize just what that flash of memory meant.  She seemed to fit perfectly in his lap, and being that close to her, even though she was a Were-cat and he couldn't remember her, he just knew that it was right.  It only took one afternoon for him to find love for his adorable little girl.  After they finished reading through the book, she put her arms around his neck and put her head against his shoulder, and it completely wrapped him around her furry little finger.  He just sat there and held her close for a very long time, marvelling at the fact that she was his daughter.
	She fell asleep like that, and after they put her down to bed for a while, Tarrin sat with Jesmind and Kimmie and they told her about the Sha'Kar island, and Tarrin listened while Kimmie told her about the parts that he didn't remember.
	Jesmind growled a little after Kimmie finished, and it was an eerie sound.  It was not a sound that a human throat could make.  "If only that crazy Wizard would finish already!" she huffed.  "Where is he, Kimmie?"
	"He's still on the ship," she replied.  "He's going to move up here tomorrow, but he didn't want to leave the ship until he finished the book he was reading.  He didn't want the distraction that moving up here would cause him.  Don't worry, Jesmind, he's hard at work on it.  I don't think he's slept for three days."
	"I should go down there and make him go faster," she said with a frown.
	"The more you bother him, the longer it'll take," she said sedately.  "I'm going to go down and help him move up his books tomorrow, and then I'll see what I can do to help him in his research.  But that's as far as anyone's going to be able to go to helping him.  Usually it's just best to stay out of his way."
	"Why is it taking so long?" she demanded.
	"Jesmind, a god couldn't undo what was done to Tarrin," Kimmie said pointedly.  "Does that give you an idea of how difficult this is going to be?"
	"Are you serious?"
	"Would I lie about something like that?" Kimmie countered.
	"I guess not," she snorted.  "It's just--you know."
	"You can't stand seeing him like that," Kimmie said.  "I know, Triana said the same thing.  I can't wait to get him back to normal either, but I have to admit," she said, giving him a smile and a wink.  "I think he's kind of cute as a human."
	"Of course he's cute, but I can't touch him like that," Jesmind said shortly.
	Tarrin blushed.
	Jesmind looked at him and laughed.  "I haven't seen you do that since we first met," she told him.  "Since we met in the forest, after that Wyvern sank the riverboat you were on."
	"Dolanna told me about that, but she didn't know what happened after we got separated," Tarrin said.  "She said that I never really told anyone much more than I'd met you in the woods."
	"Oh, she knew what happened," Jesmind said with a sly grin.  "She just didn't want to tell you."
	"What happened?" he asked.
	"Well, I taught you how to shapeshift," she said, ticking off her fingers as she spoke.  "Then we had our first fight.  Then I seduced you the first time, then you pulled that stunt that separated us on either side of an impassable gorge.  That's the short version of what happened after the Wyvern sank the ship."
	"I, don't remember any of it," Tarrin said after a moment of trying to recall.
	"Don't worry at it, my mate," Jesmind told him calmly.  "It'll come back to you.  You just have to be patient."
	"I think I'm more patient than you, Jesmind," Tarrin told her.
	"Probably, because I'm not particularly known to be a patient woman," she agreed.  "But we just have to have faith.  Besides, I think that Wizard knows that if he doesn't find a way to restore your memory, he'll have about ten angry Were-cats hunting him down.  I don't think he wants to take that risk."
	Kimmie laughed.  "I don't think that's occurred to him quite yet," she said.  "If it does, he may decide that running away is the better idea."
	The apartment door opened, and Dar stepped inside.  "Mistress Jesmind, I'm going to take Tarrin to go get something to eat," he announced.  "Do you want to come with us?"
	"No, that's alright, Dar," she told him.  "I'm not really hungry right now."
	"Kimmie?"
	"I'm fine, Dar," she said with a smile.  "Thanks for asking.  You and Tarrin go ahead."
	Tarrin wasn't particularly hungry either, but Dar looked like he had some other reason to come to get him, so he stood up.  "I'll be back later," he promised, then he hurried over to Dar and let the Arkisian lead him out the door.
	"Did I get here in time?" he asked in a hushed voice as they walked down the hall.
	"Time for what?" he asked.
	"To save you from them," he said with a grin.
	Tarrin laughed.  "Actually, we were having a good time," he answered.  "But I can go see them again later.  What did you want to do?"
	"Eat," he said simply.  "Then afterward, maybe we can go do something.  Did Jenna show you around?"
	He nodded.  "Most of the common places.  Kitchens, dining rooms, library, gardens, and some places on the grounds."
	"Well, we could always take a shot at the baths," he grinned.
	"What, you want to see me naked?" Tarrin teased.
	"I already have.  I'm more curious to see how you handle seeing girls naked," he countered with a wicked smile.
	"You're evil, Dar."
	"I had a good teacher," he said, slapping Tarrin lightly on the arm.  "Seriously, though, you do need a bath.  You smell like moldy fur."
	"Then Jasana needs a bath," he noted, sniffing at his arm.  "She was sitting in my lap most of the afternoon."
	"How did that go?"
	"Pretty well," he answered.  "I like her.  She's pretty smart, and she's completely lovable.  I think she's got me pretty firmly in hand," he said ruefully.  "It's a hard feeling to describe, Dar.  She's my daughter.  I mean, that alone is enough for me to love her.  I look at her, and I don't see the fact that she's a Were-cat.  I just see my daughter, and I find that I love her."
	"I should hope so," Dar told him with a smile.  "I thought she was going to try to bite you or something."
	"Everyone thinks she will," Tarrin mused.
	"Jasana's got a reputation, Tarrin.  Did you know that she first used High Sorcery in an attempt to keep you from leaving her behind in Aldreth?  She heard you say that if she used magic, you couldn't leave her.  So that's exactly what she did."
	"Nobody told me that," he said in surprise.
	"Jasana's a very dangerous little girl, Tarrin," Dar told him seriously.  "She loves you, but don't drop your guard around her.  If she decides she wants to turn you, she will.  Be very careful."
	"She can't," he told her.  "Remember what Triana made her promise?  There's no way she's going to get around that.  Triana took away every possible way she could do it."
	"You talk like she'll keep that promise."
	"She will," Tarrin said seriously.  "Trust me, Dar.  She'll break her own arm before she goes back on that promise, more because she knows how much trouble she'll get into more than the fact that she honors her word.  Even Jasana has to know that the trouble wouldn't be worth it, no matter how bad may want me to be a Were-cat again."
	"I hope so, but I still say you keep an eye on her, Tarrin," Dar said soberly.  "She's the most dangerous thing in this Tower, of that there is no argument at all."
	"I'll be careful," he assured him.  "Now I'm getting hungry.  Let's go raid the kitchen."
	With a kitchen like the one in the Tower, raiding it was a rather easy task.  The cooks were very quick to offer up any food they wanted, as the katzh-dashi kept no regular schedules and came down to the kitchens whenever they were hungry.  Tarrin enjoyed some roasted goose, a few slabs of roasted pork, and some spiced potatos and a thick meat and vegetable stew.  Dar took a huge bowl of stew as well, but took some of the strange grain dish that they called rice, something not very common in the West.  He filled a bowl with it halfway, then poured his stew over the rice.  Tarrin tried it after he saw Dar do it, and he had to admit that the rice did make the stew taste better.  They washed it down with some hot spiced wine, something of a specialty of one of the cooks in the kitchens, and after that rather large goblet of wine, Tarrin was feeling a little more adventurous, a little more daring.
	"Alright," he said, rolling up his sleeves like a housewife about to tackle the dishes, "let's get this bath out of the way."
	Dar looked at him, then nearly fell out of his chair laughing.
	The wine did help.  Dar led him down into the cellars, and showed him the baths with a grand sweep of his hand.  It was a massive pool, about a hundred spans long at least and fifty spans wide, with one end of the pool steaming.  The air was hot and muggy, from the hot water, and it smelled slightly like sulfur.  Dar told him that the baths were fed by a hot spring, which was why the water was hot and it smelled like that.  It was just after sunset, but the late hour didn't make the baths any less popular.  About thirty people were currently using them, as Novices in white shirts or dresses scurried around with towels in their arms, staring at the two Sha'Kar who were drying their hair without wrapping towels around themselves.  Tarrin already had an understanding of the Sha'Kar, and knew that that was in their character.  Sha'Kar weren't too modest.
	Tarrin would have felt alot more self-conscious if he hadn't drank the wine.  But he did feel a little trepidation as Dar got towels for both of them and led him to one of the many stone benches that surrounded the pool, many of which had robes or clothes folded neatly atop them, slippers or leather shoes tucked under them.  Dar grinned at him as he undid the belt of his robe, but Tarrin didn't give him any satisfaction.  The wine had bolstered his nerve, and he boldly removed his clothes, even paused to fold them up neatly and set them on the bench, then he stood there without putting the towel around himself and waited for Dar to finish undressing.
	"I shouldn't have let you drink that wine," Dar laughed as they slipped into the pool.
	The pool was about waist deep on one side, but got deeper as one moved towards the other side of the pool.  It had steps descending into the water at the shallow side of the end closest to the stairs leading back up to the main part of the Tower, but the far end of the long pool was empty, for the water was just under boiling and was much too hot for anyone to use.  Tarrin and Dar had slipped in along the side of the pool on the shallow end, then they moved out into the middle into warmer water, which also moved them out more or less by themselves.  Dar went back for some soap, and then they went about the business of cleaning up.
	As Tarrin was scrubbing his face with soap, he was startled when someone literally jumped onto his back.   The sudden weight nearly toppled him forward as arms wrapped around his neck from behind, and he realized that he was hearing laughter through the soap that had gotten into his ears.  He spat out soap that had gotten into his mouth, and then realized that he was feeling the naked breasts of a woman pressing against his back.  The mystery woman tightened her grip on him and jerked him to the side.  She was trying to dunk him into the water!  One of her legs dropped down and got between his ankles, and then she hooked the back of her heel around his leg and tried to yank it out from under him.  She continued to laugh, and Tarrin finally got his ears cleaned out enough to identify that voice.
	"Auli!" he barked, twisting aside and managing to make her slide partially off of him.  The soap helped in that regard.  He broke the grip she had with her hands around his neck, then pushed her out and away.  He whirled around and got a face full of water as she splashed him, and as he tried to clear soap and water out of his eyes, she grabbed him by the arm, stepped her leg over his, then pushed him.  Her leg kept him from catching himself, and he went under without much resistance.
	He came up with an angry expression, but all Auli did was laugh even more.  At that moment, the fact that Auli was with them in the baths hadn't impacted on him.  "I'm going to show you an Illusion of the expression on your face!"she said with a riot of giggling.
	"That wasn't funny!" Tarrin said accusingly, tilting his head to the side and palming his temple to shake water out of his ear.
	"I thought it was," she grinned shamelessly.  "What are you two doing?"
	"What does it look like?  We're taking a bath," Dar told her.  Tarrin noticed that he was up to his neck in the water.  Dar had bent his knees to let the water conceal himself.  Auli, on the other hand, had no such reservations.  Tarrin had wondered what had been under that dress of hers, and since the water only came up to her waist, he got a good view of some of the things he'd been wondering about.  And he had to admit, they looked even better out of the dress than they did in it.  She seemed to notice where he was looking, but instead of crossing her arms over her breasts to hide them, she thrust her chest out and advertised the fact that she knew he was looking.
	Tarrin did flush a little at getting caught staring, but Auli only grinned at him and splashed him again.  "It's about time I found you two," she told them.  "What's the matter with you, Dar?" Auli asked.
	"Nothing," he said with a blush.  "We're taking a bath here, Auli.  Can you go over there?"
	"I saw you get in the pool, Dar," she grinned.  "I've already seen it.  You don't have to hide it anymore."  She winked.  "By the way, did anyone ever tell you that you have a cute butt?"
	Dar turned a shade of purple Tarrin had never seen before.  That only made Auli laugh harder.
	Tarrin wasn't about to amuse Auli.  He stared right into her eyes and didn't bend his knees like Dar was.  He wouldn't give her the satisfaction the same as he wasn't going to give Dar the satisfaction.
	"Thank the Goddess I found you," Auli said with a sigh.  "It is so boring!" she complained.  "Talk, talk, talk!  That's all anyone has done all day!  Do this, don't do that, go here, you can't go there, this is your room, this is what you can do, this is what you can't do, I'm tired of it!"
	"There's alot you have to learn, Auli," Dar told her.  "It's only helping you to learn it."
	"I know that, but did they have to spend all day boring me to tears?" she huffed.
	"Are you done for today?" Tarrin asked.
	"I am," Auli said adamantly.  "I haven't had a chance to do much of anything.  I came down here to take a bath, and I guess the Goddess favors me, because you two are here.  So, what do you want to do?" she asked with a mischevious grin.
	"I want to finish my bath," Dar said in a slightly hostile tone.
	"Don't let me stop you, Dar," Auli grinned at him.  "Want me to scrub your back?"
	"I can manage," he said in a sullen tone.  "I'd just be more comfortable if you went over there."
	"Why?" she asked.
	"Because you're a friend of mine," he told her.
	"You told me that you bathe with your friends back in Arkis," Tarrin told him.
	Dar glared at Tarrin.  "Well, they're not Auli," he said.
	Then he understood.  Auli's flirting with Dar had unbalanced him, and it made him a little uncomfortable to be in the pool with her.  Auli seemed to understand it as well, and she laughed lightly.  "Oh, is that all?" she asked him, turning around.  "Alright then, I'll talk with Tarrin.  You go ahead and do whatever it is you need to do."  She reached out and snatched up a cake of soap floating on the surface, then waded up to his side and circled behind him.  He allowed her to put the soap to his back and start lathering.  "What have you done today?" she asked him.
	"Not much," he answered.  "I moved into a room, and I spent most of the day with my daughter."
	"The Were-cat?" she asked.
	Tarrin nodded, pulling the braid over his shoulder again after his nodding made it slip behind him.  	"Sounds like you had a better day than I did," she grumbled.  "I've never been so bored!"
	"It'll get better," he assured her.
	"It better, or I'm going to run away," she said in a slightly sulky tone.  Her hands were very gentle on his back, thoroughly lathering every finger of skin above the waterline.  He didn't jump when her hands slid down under the water, dangerously close to his backside, but she went no further.  She put her hands on his shoulders and pushed, and he realized she wanted him to rinse off.  He did so, and when he came back up, she was already halfway around him.  "Your turn," she said with a challenging smile.  She was daring him to refuse to wash her back.
	But Tarrin wasn't one to back down from a challenge.  Without batting an eye, he put the soap to her back and started lathering her dark skin.  He found it not hard at all to wash her back, mainly because those challenging eyes weren't locked onto his, and he couldn't see anything that would make him feel uncomfortable while he was behind her.  He did notice that her skin was very soft, very silky, and her blond hair stood out against it in a very appealing manner.  She was very slender, but the flesh under her soft skin was surprisingly firm.  He remembered Dar telling him that Auli wandered around alot, and he realized that she was probably in better physical shape than the other Sha'Kar.  All of them were thin and looked very soft.  Auli had she-softness, but she was in better shape than the others of her race.  He scrubbed her back all the way to the waterline.
	"Don't be a coward, Tarrin," she said in a light, soft voice.  "Do my whole back."
	Without a word, he slid his hands under the water and scrubbed with his fingers all the way to the small of her back.  But just as she stopped, so did he.
	"Are you done yet, Dar?" Auli asked, looking at him as she rinsed off.
	"I'm done," he answered.  "What do you want to do after we get dressed?"
	"We'll find something to do," Auli laughed.
	Curiosity getting the best of him, Tarrin reached up and gently pulled Auli's hair away from her ear.  Sha'Kar ears tapered up to a definite point, and they gave her a very exotic appearance, much more than her ethereal features.  He'd seen their ears all the time from the front and the sides, but had never seen one from the back before.  Auli tilted her head and allowed him to look.  "What are you doing, Tarrin?" Dar asked.
	"I'm looking at her ear," he replied calmly.  "I've never seen one from this close before, or from behind."
	"Just remember, I get a turn," Auli told him in a teasing voice.  "And I won't be looking at your ear."
	"Right," Tarrin drawled as he let go of her hair.
	"Well, if we're done, let's get dressed and go do something," Auli announced, wading towards the lip of the pool.  Tarrin moved to follow her, thinking she'd turn towards the steps once she reached the edge, but he was wrong.  She put her hands on the edge of the pool and hauled herself out.  Tarrin paused at the edge of the pool and looked up at her as she climbed out, and his view of her left absolutely nothing--nothing--to the imagination.  She turned around and looked down at him with that same slow smile, seeming to be aware that him looking up at her that way all but made him look right at her most intimate charm.  "Yes, I'm a natural blond.  See?" she said with a wicked smile, pointing to the proof.
	"Auli, you're nasty!" Dar said in a shocked voice, then he laughed in spite of himself.
	"I'm not nasty.  I'm beautiful and I know it, boys love to look at me and I like them to look, so why not show off a bit for boys who'll appreciate my beauty?" she countered with a wink and a teasing smile, striking a little pose for their benefit, a pose like some of the sculptures he remembered in Arlan's room back on the island.
	"The eyebrows proved that you're a natural blond," Tarrin said dryly as she hauled himself out of the pool.  He was not going to give her the satisfaction of thinking he'd be afraid to come out of the pool with her standing there.  The cup of wine he drank gave him more courage than he'd usually have, but that almost broke down as well when Auli made absolutely no pretense of excuse.  She grinned at him then boldly looked down for a long moment, then looked him in the eyes again and winked.
	"You're a natural blond too.  And by the way, it should be a crime to cover that up," she said with a very sly little smile, then she turned and sauntered towards her towel.  Tarrin was glad she missed him blushing.
	Auli's boldness took Tarrin a bit aback, but he knew her, thought he had an idea of her personality, and realized that such behavior would be somewhat normal for her.  Auli was Sha'Kar, from a different culture than him, and it was a very different, permissive culture.  The others had told him about that.  Sha'Kar found the nude body to be a very beautiful thing, a work of living art, so they had very little reserve about showing it off, especially Sha'Kar who were very beautiful.  All that nude sculpture in Iselde's house certainly proved that to him.  For Auli, looking was no big deal, either boys looking at her or her looking at boys, because it was little more than the appreciation for the beauty of the form.  That's why it didn't bother her to have both of them see her nude, even to have them see everything, and it was why she wanted to see all of them in return.  Because to her, it wasn't only alright for them to look, she wanted them to look, to see her beauty and appreciate it, and she wanted to look at them in return and appreciate the beauty their forms could offer.  Many of the Sha'Kar were like that, he realized.  The two who'd been there when they arrived weren't making any attempts to cover themselves up either.
	When he understood that, he suddenly did not feel uncomfortable at all in Auli's presence.  After all, she was only admiring him, all of him, and what could be wrong with that?  She only made the remark to tease him.  Were she not in such a playful mood, she wouldn't have said anything.
	Dar wasn't quite so quick to grasp that concept.  He jumped out of the pool and literally ran to his bench, wrapping the towel around him as quickly as he could.
	They dried off and got dressed, Auli in a dress-like robe that was belted at her waist, and then set out to do mischief.  Tarrin had enjoyed the last time they'd been together, and Auli did not disappoint this time.  Dar showed them around the Tower, and it wasn't ten minutes before the Sha'Kar youth used Sorcery to trip a servant trundling down a hallway with a bundle of folded sheets in her arms.  They scrambled out of sight before the plump woman could right herself and cast an accusing gaze across the passageway.
	They ranged from the roof of the main Tower to the lowest cellar they could find, from one side of the fence to the other, sneaking around in the darkness and seeing what doors were unlocked and where they could go.  They ended up walking in on quite a few sleeping Sorcerers and servants, and even Auli wasn't brave enough to invade the barracks of the Knights on the grounds, but aside from locked doors, they spent most of the night, well past a reasonable bedtime, skulking around just to explore.  Auli made it fun to wander around, telling jokes, harassing hapless passers-by with Sorcery, and always speculating what they may find behind the next closed door.  Auli had a rich imagination, if a bit lurid, but she could infuse excitement into every closed door, sparking Tarrin's imagination at what they may find on the other side.  Auli had turned something as simple as exploring the endless hallways of the Tower into something very fun, very exciting, and very rewarding.  When Auli wasn't joking or flirting with Dar, they would all talk, revealing what life was like where they came from and getting to know each other much better.  Auli wasn't bashful about her past, admitting it to Tarrin with a straight face, but she did mention that the mental control that had been put on her had made her like that.  Tarrin assured her that he knew about it and that it didn't bother him, and when he said that, Auli seemed to relax a great deal.  They all found themselves sharing some rather embarassing secrets with one another, even Dar admitting that he had a huge crush on Tiella, something that he hadn't outright said to anyone, but none of them felt very self-conscious about it.  They were all friends, very good friends, and he felt very comfortable saying very personal things to both of them.  Every hour that passed brought the three of them closer together, until Dar stopped blushing when Auli flirted with him, until he felt completely comfortable with her.
	The best part had to be when they crept into the Novices' quarters.  Auli gave both of them a roguish grin, then used Sorcery to open every single door along the long passageway.  Tarrin watched in amused dread as the doors hovered open for a moment, then they all slammed shut in perfect unison, sending a shockwave of startlingly loud sound echoing up the long passage.  The three of them darted away as they all struggled to suppress laughter, laughter 