Paths Converging - part one

By Natasha Luepke

Category: Story/Post 10th Kingdom

Rating: PG-13

Summary: In-Laws are met and a dark past is revealed, neither of which belong to the protagonist.

Disclaimer: Leonida, Moon-Thorn, Fenris et al are mine; Wolf and Virginia belong to NBC and other affiliated people. Want to make something of it, you can have my collection of notes on Norse mythology.

Feedback: The wolves will stop chasing you if you drop me a line! Drop me a line and I'll explain that enigmatic comment! Addy is: [email protected].

Notes: Ummm... This story takes place after "Sachi," although you don't necessarily have to have read Luna's stories to understand this one. Luna is Wolf and Virginia's daughter; she has all sorts of crazy adventures and meets Leonida. Enjoy!

Dedicated to Nat.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Through this world I stumbled, so many times betrayed..." -Sarah McLachlan, "Possession"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Excerpt from Leonida Seafarer's As Yet Unpublished Pamphlet On Barding:

             You should never travel alone. Nobles rarely cross borders in the Nine Kingdoms; you'd do well to follow their example. At the very least, a companion can always be use as bait.
              But, it also true that bards, minstrels, poets, troubadours, and storytellers never get robbed. It is common knowledge among thieves that we have no money.
              Nobles are notoriously cheap and you should be glad for a chance to ransack the kitchen.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

   Leonida shifted from foot to foot. Her lute needed a new string, her right boot needed a new sole, her tunic needed mending...
   A dark forest loomed before her. A well-kept sign read, in red, "Now Entering the Second Kingdom." Below it, a weather-beaten sign read, "Beware, Moon's Path."
   The woods were ominous, the path overgrown with thorns. The hour was dusk, so neither sun nor moon lit the way.
   Leonida proceeded into the forest; night awoke and the shadows grew. She saw a flash of red in the underbrush and smelled the stench of rotting meat.
   There was a loud * whooshing * through the trees and Leonida had just enough time to duck a large shape. It growled as it landed a little ahead of her. The night was overcast; all Leonida could make out was an animal the approximate shape and size, if not smell, of a lion. Its eyes burned bright, transfixing Leonida with a hypnotizing red stare. Leonida stood perfectly still, paralyzed. The creature launched a fireball, hitting her in the right shoulder. The spell was broken; Leonida dropped to the ground, trying to extinguish the flames. The creature pounced, forcing Leonida unto her back, breaking her lute in the process. Leonida kicked it in the stomach, taking it by surprise. It rolled off and Leonida reached for the dagger concealed beneath her armpit. She crouched, listening to her heartbeat. The creature hurled another fireball; in the brief burst of light, she was able to make out what was indeed a lion's body with a man's head. She ducked and a tree behind her burst into flames. Leonida struck out with her dagger, catching some meat.  The animal shrieked, then lashed back, catching Leonida on the left shoulder, great barbed claws digging in deep. Leonida gasped as the creature gripped her in a deadly embrace, kicking with its hind legs, causing great rends in her thighs, as well as her shoulders, where it held onto her.
   Leonida finally gave up, and as she neared unconsciousness, the creature released her and snarled, "No, not yet."  The voice was as gravel. It slipped away into the woods.
   Leonida lay gasping, staring at the high canopy of treetops, bits of lute sticking her in the back. The last sound she heard was the howl of a wolf.

   It was his mother for whom the Moon Path had been named, but it was Fenris Carpenter who haunted it. He studied the over cast sky, tossed a stick idly from hand to hand. He was getting old; he should have left home long ago. One of his younger sisters was getting married, for goodness' sake! She was marrying her business partner and would be leaving home for parts unknown in just a few weeks. Kat was his favorite sister, too. Fenris walked on through the quiet forest.   He hid behind a tree when he heard crashing in the undergrowth, then covered his nose when something that smelled of rotting meat wondered by. After the creature passed, Fenris caught the stench of blood, the acrid smell of smoke.
   He found a girl, unconscious, burned and bloody and pale. He carefully scooped her up; she was quite small.
   He eyes fluttered open. "Oisin?" she whispered and then returned to her darkness.
   Fenris didn't say anything. He carried her home, hoping he wouldn't trip.

   It had been a long time since Leonida had woken up in a strange bed without the slightest indication as to where she was. Keeping her eyes closed, she stretched out her arms to either side, then immediately winced in pain. At least, she reasoned, there was no one else in the bed. Preferring hearths now, the days of waking up in strange beds were not ones
she wanted to relive.
   She opened her eyes and nearly jumped when she saw someone sitting beside her. It was plump, dark-haired girl, dozing on a stool, slack hands barely holding on to some mending.
   "Good morning, lamby," the girl said, once she realized Leonida was alert. "Ris'll be glad you're up." The girl stood up.
   "'Ris'?" Leonida croaked.
   "Oh!" the girl said. "Fenris, that's my brother what brought you in. Silly goose! I'm Kat."
   Leonida grit her teeth and stretched out an arm to Kat. "How long have I been here?"
   Kat smiled. "Oh, lamby, you've been doing nothin' but frettin' in your sleep. 'When can I leave?' 'Where's my lute?' 'I don't want to hear about anatomical differences.'" Kat shook her head. "I don't even want to know about that. Ris'll have you patched up in no time."
   Kat disappeared, allowing Leonida a chance to check out her surroundings. She was in a small bed in the corner of a large sunny room; a larger bed was in the middle of the room, surrounded by several tables. Leonida could see her torn clothes stacked neatly at the edge of her bed. She leaned against the pillows and took a look at the large nightgown she was wearing. She pulled at the hem and sleeves, sighing as she saw the deep scratches on her thighs and arms.
   Leonida looked up as a woman followed Kat into the room. She was what was best described as "jolly" looking woman and obviously the owner of Leonida's large nightgown. What shocked Leonida was the woman's resemblance to Luna Lewis: same hair, same eyes, same face shape. And Luna resembled her father...
   The woman sat down beside Leonida, balancing a large tray on her knees. "Glad to see you up, chickadee. Fenris has vanished for the moment, but he left some medicines for ya'. Here, Kat, help." The two women began taking care of Leonida's wounds while she began to calculate. Wolf was an orphan. Would he pay to have at least part of his family restored to him? Could be worth quite a lot...
   "Our name's Carpenter," the older woman was explaining. "My name's Moon-Thorn." Leonida would have smiled if the pain weren't getting to her. How perfect was that? Moon, Luna...
   "My name's Leonida," she replied. "Um, I was..."
   "Mercy, lamby!" Kat broke in. "My name's Kathryn but if I was called that all the time I'd go nuts!"
   "Now, Kat," Moon-Thorn began to reprimand.
   Kat looked Leonida up and down. "Lea, you look like a Lea."
   Leonida just nodded her head. "Never had a nickname before. Now, Lady Carpenter, if I may--"
   Moon-Thorn laughed. "Just call me the name Mama gave me."
   Leonida sighed. She wished she were back on the road. "Moon-Thorn, I travel a lot. Something looks so familiar about you. Do you, by any chance, have a brother?"
   Moon-Thorn paused, hand in mid-air. She coughed. "No, no brothers. Just my husband and younglings."
   Leonida sighed. The woman was obviously lying, but what could she do. She tried to work out a plan as Moon-Thorn rattled on.
   "There's my husband, Ted, the carpenter of the family, my oldest boy, Fenris, Kat and her twin Kath, and my youngest, Hati and Tyr, also twins."
   "Oh!" Leonida murmured. "How nice for you. When do you think I'll be on the road again?"
   "The road?" Moon-Thorn repeated. She shook her head. "Ris says you are to stay in bed until he checks on you. You can leave when he says. Oh, and you need to eat, lamby." Moon-Thorn offered up a plate of bacon and rolls.
   Leonida, famished, accepted the proffered plate. "I * do * heal fast," she mumbled around a mouthful of food.
   Kat opened the large windows. "Not 'till Ris says," she said and then stuck her head outside. "Hatiiii! Those eggs are too late already, chickie!"
   Leonida smiled at the unintentional pun. "Ah, Moon-Thorn, I had some gold in my purse, if..."
   Moon-Thorn brushed the hair back from Leonida's face. "Lea, dear, times are hard all around.  I'm sure it's hard for a girl like you to get those coins. I'm just glad Ris found you in time."
   Leonida merely nodded. She had a hard time understanding people with integrity.

~*~*

   Leonida settled back, listening to the sounds of the household: Moon-Thorn cooking, Kat teaching Hati and Tyr their letters, Kathan off hammering. Fenris was nowhere to be found.

   Fenris was seated atop the fence that kept in the Carpenters' scraggly sheep. He adjusted his straw hat, then went back to writing in his little book. He kept track of everything, from livestock to what was planted where. He also kept a section aside for herb lore and medicinal recipes. He bit down on the piece of straw in the corner of his mouth. That girl, something about her... He sketched her face into his notebook. Ignorant of her name, he referred to her as "Vixen," because of her red hair. He wondered if she was a half fox; there was definitely something not-quite-human about her. She glowed. He wondered what her eyes were like.
   He held his right hand before him, level to his chest, palm open. He murmured a few words; in truth, while only a novice, Fenris was a fairly powerful magician. Leonida's faint image flickered above his palm. She was awake, eyes roving around the room his sisters shared.
   Green. Green, and lovely, and dark, and deep. Green like healthy grass at midsummer. Green ringed with brown, or perhaps blue. She was a girl who'd known loss.
   He closed his palm.

   Leonida rolled her head back and forth. She wasn't as fast a healer as she'd like to be; her wounds were bothering her already. She sighed. Here she was, stuck in some little town, in some backwards kingdom, attacked and left for dead, and cared for by a family of wolves...really helpful ones. And every minute stuck in bed she could be earning money. She closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep...

   ...She stirred stew in a large iron cauldron set above a wood-and-stone hearth. Wiping her hands on her white apron, she called, "Bil! Hiuki!" Two little children ran in, laughing. Their features were never quite the same dream to dream.
   "Mutti! Mutti!" they greeted her with kisses.
   "And where is your father?" she asked, kissing the tops of their heads.
   "Right here, Leo," she heard his voice say, saw the hair like a fawn's, the eyes liquid as a deer's...

   Fenris gently tapped Leonida's shoulder, waking her. She smiled at him, still trapped in the cozy confines of her dream.   "Little Vixen, glad to see you awake," he said softly.
   "What?" she snapped, fully awake now. She shifted away from him, from his touch.
   Fenris returned his hand to his lap. "Sorry," he murmured, blushing a little. "No offense, miss. A vixen is a girl fox. I didn't know your name, and the hair..."
   Leonida smiled and moved a little closer. "Sorry, automatic reflex, you know? Are you Fenris?"
   He smiled back. "Yes." His voice was low and soft and also just a little gravelly. He sounded as if he spent his life coaxing small animals from hidey-holes. His dark brown hair was short, his long pants and striped short were clean, and Leonida had never seen anything like his suspenders before. His eyes were black.
   "How are you feeling?" he asked as he rummaged through a burlap sack.
   Leonida curbed the urge to say "Speak up!", answering instead, "Better, dear sir. Ready to hit the road."
   He looked up, studying her face. "Oh, Little Vixen, those wounds are deep. One on your shin goes straight to the bone. I don't want you walking anytime soon."
   "Bone?" she squeaked. "But I don't feel it."
   "Mmm, I know a thing or two about medicine. Anything itchy yet?"
   "Yes."
   "Good." He handed a few clay jars as well as several pieces of cloth. "I'll leave you to do your legs, or I can fetch Mama or Kat, if you like. I'll do your shoulders."
   He helped her up and pulled back the neck of the nightgown, commenting that she was "healing nicely."
   She held her long hair out of the way and tried to think of something to say while a strange man rubber her back. "My name is Leonida," she finally offered.
   Never stopping, Fenris murmured, "Lovely name, though you look more a fox than lion."
   She nodded. "Thank you, then, for bringing me in. Do you know what attacked me?"
   "I wish I did, Little Vixen."
   She studied him. He had the dark features, but hadn't used a single food metaphor. Wolf or no?
   He patted her on the shoulder, said he'd see her later, and left, silent as a shadow.

~*~*

   Moon-Thorn suggested Leonida join the family for dinner. Ted, tall and strong, scooped Leonida up and deposited her in an overstuffed chair at the kitchen table, in between Moon-Thorn and Fenris. With the exception of Ted and Fenris, the Carpenter family was loud and talkative. While she listened to their chatter, Leonida studied the family: Fenris, Kat, and Kathan were dark like their parents; Tyr and Hati, however, were very fair, with sandy hair and blue eyes. Moon-Thorn resembled Luna, who resembled Wolf, and Kat resembled Moon-Thorn, but no one else resembled the Wolf-Lewis pack. Leonida sighed. No reunion, no reward, no book deal...
   After dinner, Leonida wove a tale, figuring she had to earn her keep some how (she worried over the Carpenters' generosity). She told a tale her grandmother had often recited, about the Little Mermaid. Hati was interested in the ladies' clothes; Tyr wanted more action. The rest of the household just said it was good story.
   Moon-Thorn and Fenris tucked Leonida in that night.
   "I'd never heard that tale before," Moon-Thorn commented.
   Leonida smiled thinly. "It's quite popular where I'm from."
   "Where is that lamby?"
   Leonida shook her head. "Just a little fishing village."
   "Tomorrow I'll braid your hair, hmm?" Moon-Thorn continued.
   Leonida nodded, suddenly very tired from the day's events. Moon-Thorn nodded understandingly and left the room. Fenris left, as well, though he returned later, to check on her as she slept...

      ...The day was bright, the birds chirped. She had no children yet; indeed, Leonida was little more than a child herself. She paused on slippery rocks waiting for someone.
      "Almost there, Leo," she heard him say.
      She turned around, watching him. But the rocks were slick, and he slipped.
      "Oisin!" she gasped. She scooted on her knees to where he had fallen. He had disappeared beneath the bright blue waves. Leonida, an expert swimmer, dove in after him.
      Once in the water, her legs turned to lead, her light summer skirts dragging her down. The water turned black, and burned her eyes. She made the mistake of opening her mouth to call to Oisin; choking and sputtering, she reached the surface.
      She returned to the depths and found only grinning mermaids. "Farther into the deep does he reside. Look, these are pearls that were his eyes. Why did you not do as you were bade? Now his bones are coral made!" they sang in shrill chorus...

   Leonida woke up in a dark room in a small village on the outskirts of a backwards kingdom. She heard an owl hoot, she heard Kat and Hati snore, and she heard the howl of a wolf.

   "Moon-Thorn, may I ask you a question?" Leonida asked later that morning.
   "Go ahead, lamby," Moon-Thorn responded absently. She was concentrating on Leonida's tangles.
   "Are there wolves around here?"
   "Wolves?" Moon-Thorn's hands faltered but an instant. "Wolves are near non-existent in the Second Kingdom. Why, Lea?"
   "Uh, I, uh, heard a wolf howl, that night I was...attacked. Then I hear it again last night. I thought I should tell you, because I figure you must keep livestock and you know what wolves can do..."
   "Mmm," was Moon-Thorn's only reply.

   Fenris, meanwhile, was on the front stoop, perusing a book, so he was the first to see her arrive. It was always quite a show whenever she put in an appearance. The Carpenters land was farthest from town, a buffer between forest and village. Their land was also the worst, though Fenris had been able to improve it somewhat with magic. Still, there was an air of scruffiness surrounding the Carpenter farm.
   Star Kapchen, on the other hand, was the richest woman in town, the mayor's wife. She was sandy-haired and blue-eyed, like her niece Hati and nephew Tyr. She always arrived in style, driving her own one- or two-horse carriage.
   "Auntie Star," Fenris said as he helped from the driver's seat.
   She sniffed disapprovingly as she smoothed her bonnet and red riding dress. "Fenris, you know what I said about saying that."
   He nodded.
   "What did I say?"
   He sighed. "Not to call you 'auntie.'"
   "Good boy. Now, where is your mother?" She smoothed her skirt one last time, crinoline crinkling.
   "With one of my patients. Braiding her hair, I believe."
   " 'Patient'? Is that what you call her?"
   "Or by her name."
   Star tossed her head, blonde sausage curls bouncing. "Fenris, darlin', surely you know how girls like that make their money."
   Fenris sighed. "She's a bard."
   "Mmm-hmm. And why isn't she at home, raising a family?"
   "Why aren't you?" he muttered under his breath.
   "Star!" It was Moon-Thorn, come to save Fenris. "What a lovely surprise. Come in, come in..."

   Leonida sighed. She had been with the Carpenters what, a couple days? It felt like weeks. Instead of spending the afternoon with Kat, she was stuck with Kathan. Kat had snuck off to see Mikhail, her fiancé, meaning Leonida was stuck going over lute plans. Kathan was nothing if not dedicated; he asked Leonida about every little detail concerning her smashed lute. Their intense discussion was interrupted by voices from the kitchen.
   "What should I have done? Left her to the wolves?" Leonida had never heard Moon-Thorn angry before.
   "Didn't ya', Moon?" The second voice was a bit more higher-pitched.
   "What's so wrong?"
   "You know people will talk."
   "They've been talkin' all our lives."
   Kathan turned to Leonida, a bit of a smirk on his face. "That would be Auntie Star. Things always heat up a bit when she's here."
   Auntie Star? Hmm; this latest bit of news set Leonida to thinking. "Is she your father's sister, or your mother's?"
   Kathan laughed. "Mama's. Shh-they always have great...discussions." He quietly opened the door to the room a little wider. Leonida liked this Carpenter child.
   "Well, Star, she's here. We'll keep her until she's back on her feet. Literally in her case, poor lamby."
    "Huff puff, Moon, I can't believe you still say things like that!"
   Moon-Thorn laughed. "You too."
   Leonida grinned. Fine, Moon-Thorn could deny it for whatever her reasons, but Star had just supplied irrefutable proof. Things were looking up.
   "Tell me, Kathan," Leonida whispered, "what is your aunt like?"
   Kathan shook his head. "She has a large dislike of humanity. And you, apparently."
   Leonida nodded. "Well, nevertheless, I want to speak with her."
   Kathan raised an eyebrow. "Sure, Lea, sure."
   "What's going on?" It was Fenris, sticking his head in the window.
   "Ris!" said Kathan, surprised. "Nothing. Nothing at all."
   "Mmm. What would Mama say if I told her you were listenin' in?"
   "Nothin','cause you won't tell her!"
   "Whoa, listen you guys-I need to know: Are you wolves?"
   The boys stared at her.
   "No, of course not," Kathan managed.
   Fenris narrowed his eyes.  "You know us for but a few days and then accuse us of something that heinous? We're not wolves."
   Leonida bowed her head. "I'm sorry, Fenris."
   "You should be," Kathan broke in. "Know what kinda' trouble you can cause, throwing out questions like that?"
   "I didn't, and like I say, I'm sorry." But Leonida wasn't sorry. She didn't believe Fenris. Fenris and Kathan left, leaving her to devise a new way of find fame.

   Star left long before supper, before Leonida even had a chance to set an eye on her. Kathan forgave easily and chattered on about the lute he was building as if nothing had happened. Fenris, however, was still angry. Leonida wondered what exactly the penalty was for being a wolf.
   After supper, Leonida insisted that she tell another tale.
   "Do you know the tales of Luna?" she began. The family collectively shook their heads.
   Leonida perceived no reaction from Moon-Thorn, or anyone else, at the mention of Wolf. Could Fenris have been telling the truth?

   "This isn't worth it," she muttered to herself in bed that night. "I'll drop this wolf thing. There probably isn't any reward anyway. If Moon-Thorn doesn't want to be reunited with her family, fine. I'm * so * ready to move on, anyway. Less baggage this way." Outside her window, she heard a wolf howl.

      ...The hearth was cold. The beds were rumpled and covered with dust. Leonida kneeled and ran her hand through the ashes.
      "It really is a lovely house," said a voice behind her. Leonida stood and turned.
      "Yes," Leonida replied. "The kettle would go here...the children would have slept over there...Oisin and I would have slept here..."
      "Why did you leave?" The speaker was Virginia Lewis, and though Leonida was surprised to see her in a dream, she refused to show it.
      "It was never mine. Okay, I'll bite, are you here to show me The Way?"
      "Well, yeah, actually."
      "Aren't you in the Tenth Kingdom?"
      "Well, yes," Virginia answered, obviously a little unsettled. "That's why I'm in your dream."
      "Well?" Leonida asked. "What is it? Do my people need me? Are the Carpenters really wolves? Is there a crisis somewhere? Do you know what attacked me?"
      "I have some to tell you-wait. Carpenters? Wolves? Attack?"
      Leonida crossed her arms.  "Sure. I was brutally attacked, then taken in by this real kind family which I think belongs to your husband."
      "Huh."
      Leonida adjusted her doublet. "Oh, yeah. I'm sure Wolf would love to meet 'em--"
      "Of course!"
      "So, I mean, would there be, like, a reward involved?"
      "Leonida!"
      Leonida shrugged. "Well, just asking. Anyway, I don't have actual confirmation that they * are * wolves..."
      Virginia snorted. "Well, then. Back to the point of this
intervention."
      Leonida sighed. "What is this? You my fairy godmother? A lost girls counselor?"
      "Well, yes, actually."
      Leonida uncrossed her arms. "I would have been perfectly happy to be a fishwife, you know. I didn't want to be great, or to have rousing adventures. So, I get used to the idea that I have no choice, but then..." She put her head into her hands.
      Virginia reached out. "I'll be back, but you've used up all of your time for today."
      Leonida shook her head. "Whatever."

   Leonida woke up; all she saw were the sleeping forms of Hati and Kat.

~*~*

   Leonida wasn't even sure how long she had been with the Carpenters. She had gathered that she had been unconscious for a day or two, but she was no longer sure how long she had been awake. While she spent her time either in bed or in the kitchen, she was treated like a functioning member of the family. She was asked for advice about Kat's upcoming question and begged by Hati and Tyr for help with their listens. Whenever someone had a free moment, they would wander off to find Leonida so that she might tell them a tale.
   Leonida took her spare moment to reflect upon that last phenomenon. She was a bard, sure, but not a particularly good one. She was fast running out of stories.
   "Ah, Oisin," she muttered, "what I wouldn't give to have you here."
   "Oisin?" murmured a low voice from the doorway.
   "Fenris! You haven't said anything to me since Star left!" Leonida had realized that Fenris was a quiet person, but every since she had asked him about being a wolf, he'd refused to say anything to her.
   He sat down beside. "That's the second time I've heard you say that word. I'm curious as to what it means."
   Leonida was * not * interested in discussing her past. "What word?"
   "Let me see your back," Fenris ordered; she leaned forward. " 'Oisin.'"
   Leonida laughed. "Oh, what a silly word! Ush-een. If I * did * say
something like that, I must have been delirious."
   "Mmm-hmm," was Fenris' reply.
   "Well, it's nice to have you speaking to me again," Leonida chattered on, trying to let down a few of the cackles of her heart.
   He shook his head. "I just can't imagine what would make you ask a question like that."
   She picked at the blankets. "Seemed like a good reason at the time," she muttered.
   "What?"
   She sighed. "Nothing."
   Fenris stood. "Keep that with 'Oisin' then. You're healing nicely; not too much longer."
   "Oh, what do you think of this?" Kat interrupted them. Leonida closed her eyes. Kat was holding cloth swatches.

~*~*

      ...Oisin had been gone for several days. Storms raged and Leonida and the children spent most of the time huddled in the center of the bed. Leonida would yell above the storm so that the children wouldn't be as frightened.
      "Then the Little Mermaid was made human!"
      And after a week, the storm subsided and Oisin came home, bearing gifts from the market.
      "This is for you," he said, fastening a cloak around her shoulders. The cloth was red; the inside fur-lined.
      "So soft and warm," she said happily. "What is it made from?"
      "Oh--wolf fur..."

   Leonida sat up. This was too much; she had to get out. She pushed back the blankets and hoped she wouldn't cry out in pain as she left the bed. Fenris was a good healer, though; she felt as if she'd only fallen into a thorn patch, not tangled with a lion-like creature.
   She stepped as silently as she could out of the room, down the hall, and out through the kitchen.  She found herself in the backyard. She tried to picture the house in her mind: the front door led to the parlor, off of which was Moon-Thorn and Ted's room; follow the hall, and Fenris, Tyr, and Kathan's room was opposite Hati and Kat's room. At the back of the house was the kitchen. The breeze rustled Leonida's nightgown; the moon illuminated the yard. She could see sheep and a henhouse. Wolves indeed; Leonida nearly laughed aloud. She could also make out a few scraggly rows of crops. She sat on the porch and tried not to pick at her scabs.
   "Little Vixen!" Fenris said, surprised.
   She jumped up. "Shouldn't you be asleep?"
   He smiled; he was sprawled lazily across the porch railing. "I don't sleep. But you should be."
   "I was having unsettling dreams."
   " 'Bout Oisin?"
   She huffed. "I don't really appreciate that, Fenris."
   He shrugged. "Sorry. But you bring in a beautiful stranger, she says nothing about her past...you start to wonder."
   She crossed her arms and leaned against the support post. "Same as how I wonder whether or not you're wolves."
   He lifted his head. "I told you not to be bandyin' about accusations like that."
   "I was using that example to illustrate a point. I believe you, Fenris."
   He nodded. "If you rest up, you can probably leave day after tomorrow."
   She let out a breath. "Great."
   "You shouldn't travel through the village, though."
   "No?"
   "You met Star; they don't like strangers."
   "I've spent my life being a stranger."
   He nodded and looked away.
End Part One.