When Kat opened her eyes again daylight was streaming in through the open window. She was alone in the room, the blanket still draped over her, and for a moment the previous night seemed impossibly far away. It had to have been a dream... and yet as she felt the blanket against her bare skin and realized she wasn't wearing any clothes, she knew it hadn't been. She felt slightly groggy, but none the worse for wear, all things considered.

A wonderful smell was wafting through the door and into her room, and she could hear the faint sounds of people talking and moving about, so she grabbed fresh clothes from her backpack and changed quickly. When she traced the smell back to the kitchen, she found Sareed bent over the wood stove, moving a large quantity of eggs around in an iron skillet. Paz was already there too.

"Morning sleepy head!"

"Morning." Kat mumbled through a yawn, wiping the sleep out of her eyes.

Sareed was all smiles when she turned to fetch a plate and place it in front of Kat. It was almost as though last night had never happened and they were still just good friends, the kind who shared compliments and conversation rather than... well, sex. She didn't know exactly how to feel about it. A part of her had thought that sex was somehow inextricably bound up with love, but last night had taken that view and shook it, and the pieces were still settling into a new normal.

"Did you sleep well?" Sareed asked.

Paz giggled. "You must have. Your legs were shaking so hard I thought you were going to have a seizure."

For some reason all three of them found this hilarious, and they all relapsed into laughter, Sareed's wooden stirring spoon falling out of her hand and clattering on the wooden floor.

"Alright, what's so blasted funny that ya gotta laugh about it at this hour o' the bloomin' day..." Kamlen said, shuffling into the kitchen wearing the same clothes as the day before.

He plopped himself down next to Kat, who tried not to blush. The two more of the Anywn boys came behind him, with Sareed's younger sister in tow.

"I'll tell the joke later, Kam."

"Why are you making breakfast?" The younger girl asked, clearly unhappy. "You always cook 'em too much."

"Mum's still out, and if you don't like my cooking you can go make your own. More for our guests."

Sareed glanced over her shoulder again, and then took the pan off the flame and went to fetch more plates while the boys talked with Kamlen about something happening later that day- some kind of ball game or other. Annie wandered in, and Kat noticed that she was walking a little differently, as though she had slept in a funny position and was sore. When she sat down at the table, Kat saw that although there were deep circles under her eyes, her expression was soft and calm. Kat was grateful for the boy's chatter. None of them seemed like they were in a mood to talk yet. Kat knew that there were going to be some interesting confessions shared between them, somewhere down the line- because friends don't keep secrets from friends. But now, for some reason, she didn't feel as apprehensive about it as she once would have. What would happen would happen, and they would still be friends.

Sareed chopped the eggs up and began doling them out, which gave them all something to look at besides each other.

A new kind of feeling had settled over Kat. It was a contentedness, a surety... she had never felt it before. She felt like she knew herself better now, herself and others too. Once upon a time she had watched people from a distance, as she suspected Annie had as well. She looked upon their faces, laughing and talking and joking and wondered "what makes them normal, and me weird?". In truth, they weren't such mysterious things after all. In truth, most everyone was a little weird, and if they weren't a little weird they were a little boring. Suddenly she realized she was incredibly thankful that Annie had chosen to take them along. She really was a true friend, in every sense of the word.


A wind had picked up as they slid down the rope and onto the grassy ground, one by one. Their backpacks were packed. Annie had her makeup on. She hesitated for a moment before grabbing the rope. Kamlen was there on the landing with her, seeing them all off while Sareed cooked another batch of eggs. They exchanged a meaningful look, and Kamlen handed her the glass jar with the remainder of the achewater in it. She slid it into her pack, and Kamlen said something that Kat didn't catch.

"Of course." Antimony replied, and slid down the rope to join them.

They spent the rest of the walk back to the bridge in silence, all three of them simply taking in the perfect morning air. Kat had never realized how beautiful this place truly was until she had to leave it. She found herself wondering when she would be back...

Something about windy days always made Kat feel excited, as though the air rushing against her clothes was pushing her onward somehow, or playfully resisting her. The dozens of small noises she had heard and been terrified by on the way in were drowned out by the susuration of the breeze as it fluttered past their ears.

Soon enough though, the trees began to thin and the underbrush receded, until at last the massive face of Gunnerkrigg Court emerged- an unending front of concrete, glass and steel stretching in either direction. This time, Kat didn't look down into the chasm as they crossed the was waiting for them on the other side. They did not walk up the stone steps to the main hall, however. Instead Jones led them left, and to another smaller door on the side. This led into a long hallway with a single door at the far end.

"We do not usually employ this procedure, but the two of you have not been trained as Antimony has, and may have unknowingly taken items with you that are dangerous to the Court."

"Dangerous how?" Paz said.

The door opened into an L-shaped washroom with individual shower stalls. They had dividers between them, but they were only about shoulder-high. Two of the stalls already had towels draped over them.

"One of the things you will be searched for is any seeds, spores or microorganisms you may have picked up during your stay in the forest. Meet us in the next room when you are done. "

"What about Annie?" Kat said. "She doesn't have to decontaminate?"

Antimony snapped her fingers (entirely for dramatic effect), and she burst into flames. The fire raged for about three seconds, and then went out, leaving no soot marks on the ceiling or the floor. Then she gave them a cheerful wave and followed Jones out of the other door.

Kat rolled her eyes.

"She could be a little more humble about it."

"If you've got it, flaunt it." Paz said, giving Kat's bottom a friendly pinch.

They stripped down to bare skin putting their clothes in two piles safely out of reach of the spray. The water came out of the shower head boiling hot, causing Kat to yelp and twist the knob. Gradually the stream became cooler, and she scrubbed herself down, using the liquid soap provided for them. It smelled faintly like lilacs and petroleum. She felt a pair of hands wrap around her from behind. Paz's chest pressed against her back, and her chin rested gently on her shoulder. Kat worried for a moment what would happen if Jones decided to check on them, but by and by she came to the realization that she did not care.

"You are beautiful, chica."

"Thank you. So are you."

She swiveled in Paz's embrace to find that she was wearing a more serious expression than Kat had envisioned.

"I don't just mean looks, Kat." She said, brushing a wet strand of hair out of Kat's eyes and tucking it behind her ear. "You have a beautiful mind. That is the reason I care for you so much. You should never spend another second worrying what other people think."

Kat felt something strange swell in her chest. She understood now why the Greeks had thought that all passions originated in the heart. She wanted to tell Paz that she understood, that whenever she was near Kat felt like she was the bravest person that ever lived. But she was not good with words, so instead she simply said:

"Paz... I think I'm in love with you."

Admitting it felt like going over a waterfall, but as usual Paz has the perfect reply to sweep away all the meaningless words. The kiss seemed to last a lifetime as the warm water flowed over their intertwined forms, washing away the last dregs of doubt and uncertainty.


The days rolled by. Antimony moved between classes in something of a daze. She felt removed from it all, somehow. The routines blended into one another, a blur of pencil, paper and bookbag. She took no notes in any classes, not that she often did anyway. Instead she doodled as her mind wandered back to the warm feeling of Kamlen's arms against hers.

She allowed herself to slip out of her body and float up through one of the glass skylights that had been left ajar. Her etheric projection touched down gently on the rooftop, and she turned her gaze across the divide. It occurred to her that Jeanne must have done this very thing, years and years ago. Except to Antimony's knowledge, Jeanne had not had etheric ability, and looking at the forest with her body's eyes was nothing as compared to what it actually looked like. Life and joy and wildness seemed to radiate out from it in all directions, expressed in colors that she could not name aloud. She had asked Ysengrin once what all the multicolored streamer things were. At times they flitted past like butterflies, and at others they simply lay draped across branches out of reach, as though they had never been alive at all. A far-off look had come into the old wolf's eyes.

"They are memories." He had said. "The forest is rich with them. The ether is strong here. In the Court they suck it out of the water and the air and hoard it away, thinking like fools that they are harnessing it. Here in the Wood it flows freely, and though things may move on from this place... they never truly die. A little part of them always remains here."

She remembered it almost as clearly as if she was there now. They had lain together afterwards, drifting in and out of sleep for hours. She knew it was a secret thing, only for one night, but she could not help but imagine herself in Irial's place- free to throw her arms around that shapely torso and kiss that handsome mouth...

"Carver."

The voice was not loud, but it seemed to crack like a bullwhip. Antimony looked up somewhat suddenly, and she heard a few giggles. Everyone was looking at her, including the teacher.

"I understand if you find statistics a little dry, but please pay attention."

She glanced down at the drawing, seeing it for the first time, and felt her face burn in embarrassment. Kamlen's smile stared back up at her, every line of his disarming smile captured perfectly. She hastily put it away in her bag.

"Sorry sir."


Reynardine looked up at the clock. It was almost time for the rest of the students to get back, and the girls would be meeting up here at five to have their movie night. Time to be gone. He curled his plushy hand around the bookmark, and slid it back into its place between the pages of the book he had been reading. Then he hopped off the table and transformed himself into a wolf. The halls were empty, for which he was thankful, and soon he had slipped down a side corridor, jumping up to turn the door handle with his teeth. He had taken it many times now, and he would take it many times in the future- until he had left the Court or until he was no longer welcome at Jim's for a drink and a long talk about old times.


More and more, Antimony was convinced that movie night was one of the only things keeping her sane. It had been a long week, worrying about grades and fighting off relentless daydreaming at the same time. It felt like she couldn't win. She found herself genuinely happy at the fact that Paz had joined them again tonight. The atmosphere was much friendlier than last time, and the achewater certainly helped a bit. Only the barest of slivers now wet the bottom of the bottle, the rest had been consumed. They all laughed, booed, gasped and speculated together, and it was wonderful.


They had made a nest of blankets on the floor and rested their heads against the foot of the sofa. Kat was not saying anything at the moment, simply staring up at the ceiling and watching the bulkhead lean back and forth as though they were a ship at sea. She understood now why Mr. Eglamore and her dad acted so silly the times they sat drinking after dinner, and why her mother would shoo her off to bed early. Paz was whispering something in Annie's ear and both of them were blushing and giggling furiously.

"What's so funny?"

"I was just telling her about Sareed's hospitality." Paz said. She was wearing a grin that Kat had seen only a few times before.

Kat was a little flustered, and not just from the drink.

"You told her-?" She said, apprehensively.

"Yes, she did." Annie said.

She too was wearing an expression Kat had never seen... never, except for a few nights ago, pressed against Kamlen. She felt a hand run over her leg softly- a familiar sensation, except this time it was not Paz doing the hanky panky. She looked down at the hand as it wandered over her thigh, stroking it gently. Wherever it touched, Kat felt her skin suddenly grow warm, as though Annie's fingers were on fire. She looked up into her friend's eyes, which were much closer than last she had seen them. Paz was watching them, still wearing that guilty grin.

"I- I don't know Annie..." Kat found herself saying.

She had never noticed how shockingly blue those eyes were... She felt like her words were swallowed up by them as Annie scooted closer. Kat had always harbored a bit of jealousy towards her friend. Antimony was so effortlessly feminine, with her hair and her makeup, and Kat was not. These thoughts were silently snipped into little ribbons and blown away as Antimony did the unthinkable. Their lips locked together, and Kat had no choice but to give in to the pure sensation of the experience, although she could never entirely forget who it was she was kissing- whose hands were caressing the back of her head.

Kat had felt Antimony's body before. When you were sharing a crowded lab table you couldn't help but bump elbows. Sometimes Antimony would hold something teasingly out of reach and Kat would wrestle playfully with her to get it back. But this... this was another ball game entirely.

They broke apart, and Antimony's hands were moving with purpose now, pulling Kat's Vault Tech shirt over her head and tossing it aside, stopping only to allow Paz to pull her sweater over her head. Kat reached out with fumbling fingers and began to unbutton her friend's dress shirt. Somewhere off in the mists of her peripheral vision, Paz was undoing hers as well. Then it came away, and their eyes met again. They both laughed nervously, and Paz scooted up behind Antimony, her clever little fingers quickly undoing Antimony's bra. Paz leaned forward and stole a kiss, and then Kat kissed Antimony again, because why not? The time for thinking was past. She let instinct guide her now, which was not hard as the feeling of Antimony's bare torso touching hers was causing some kind wild chain-reaction in her brain. Common sense, judgement and all the rest of those high-minded ideals were rapidly fading, and a great, throbbing need was taking hold. She had never known it was possible to feel like this, but now that it was happening she found she rather liked it.

She felt Antimony's hand pull down the hem of her pajamas and begin to rub her vigorously. She returned the favor, pulling up Antimony's skirt. Paz helped her dispense with the panties, laying bare a pale mound with a little patch of reddish fuzz lying just above it. Kat ran her fingers through it, her heart beating a double-time in her chest. Everything in her head was screaming that this was wrong, but it felt so good... how could she not? Paz interjected herself here, gently pulling Kat's fingers aside. Then she did something that Kat was not expecting. She stuck out her tongue... and licked Annie. Annie gasped, and Paz did it again, eliciting a similar reaction. The she opened her mouth wide and pushed her face further in. Antimony closed her eyes and moaned, and Kat felt a slight poking sensation as her friend dipped a finger inside her and began to move it vigorously. A warm sensation was collecting at her hips, a tightly packed ball of energy that grew and grew until it shot out into every extremity of her body, causing her to shake. Antimony climaxed a moment later, soaking Paz's nose and cheeks.

The fun continued on after that, long into the wee hours of the morning, until they were utterly exhausted, reduced to a tangle of slim young bodies, kissing and rubbing against one another, reveling in the wonderful sensations and the complete freedom the achewater provided.