The Grey Palace, Rajmuat
Kypriang, the Copper Isles
22 December, 475 HE

Ochobai Crow was blessed with two loving parents, but it was no secret to any of the family that she and her father were especially close. While this was usually a source of joy rather than consternation, it also meant that Ochobai was used to getting her way whenever she argued with her father. Alianne Crow adored her children, but she, unlike Nawat, could be strict with them. No matter how much of a fuss Ochobai made, she eventually had to give up and go to her room to change her clothes.

Grumbling to herself, Ochobai tugged her sarong over her head and threw it unceremoniously to the floor, squeaking as it tugged at the hair at the base of her scalp. Its bright colours had been covered in dirt when she'd tackled Tyaral Drejari to the floor, but a particularly vivid dark patch on the material caught her eye. A black feather was sitting on top of the sarong. It seemed it had not tugged at her hair after all.

Ochobai crouched by the sarong and picked up the feather, twirling it slowly in her fingers. Then she reached up and touched her fingers gently to the top of the back of her neck, where she'd felt the sarong catch and tug. There was a sore spot and a dampness there. She pulled away her fingers and saw the blood.

With a short sigh, Ochobai wiped her fingers on the sarong, grinning when she thought about how the maids would screech if they saw her do it. It was not the first time Ochobai had sprouted feathers; one or two often appeared when she got really mad. They weren't too much of a hassle, but it did hurt when she accidentally pulled them out. Her father was proud of the feathers, but they made her mother anxious, so she didn't talk about them much. Junim and Ulasu simply accepted them as part of what made her herself, like her dwarfism, or Junim's Sight, or Ulasu's dreams.

When she'd stopped the bleeding at the base of her scalp, Ochobai began to search for something to wear. She couldn't borrow anything of Ulasu's because her sister was too tall and slim – and besides, everything Ulasu owned was either pink or skirts, or both. Ochobai had almost twice as many outfits as her sister did, because she got them messy at least three times more often. She chose a luarin-style outfit that consisted of a cotton tunic and breeches and took much more time than was necessary to put it on. Eventually, though, she could delay no longer, and had to walk downstairs to seek out and help her sister.

Ulasu and Pembery were gathered in one of the large sitting rooms in the palace. In the middle of the carpeted floor, a large pile of gifts for the Hetnim family was gradually being sorted through. Saraiyu Hetnim had four children – two boys and two girls – and each of them, as well as their parents, was receiving a lavish present from Queen Dove. Ochobai didn't really understand the logic behind the Queen giving gifts to people who were visiting to celebrate her own coronation, but she was smart enough not to question the logic of the royal family.

"Hi, Ocho," Ulasu said, not bothering to look up as her sister entered the room.

Ochobai grunted her reply and sat in front of the pile of presents. "Who's getting what?" she asked, her eye instantly caught by the sparkly necklace in an open case on the top of the pile.

"The citrine jewellery is for Lady Saraiyu," Pembery answered. "The emeralds are for Sarugani, and the sapphires are for Imiary. The sword is for Mequen, and the toys are for Elsren. The books are for Lord Hetnim. Be careful with the big one; it's over two hundred years old."

Ochobai and Ulasu exchanged a glance at the names of the children – while raka custom decreed that children should not take the names of those who had gone before them, Sarai had named each of her children bar one after deceased members of her family. The other girl, Imiary, was named for a famous raka queen of the Isles. Ochobai wondered if Zaimid had had a hand in naming any of his children.

"Ochobai, would you pass me that book, please?" Ulasu asked. Ochobai picked it up and glanced at the title: Jungle Remedies of Gempang and Kypriang. Screwing up her nose, she passed it to her sister. Ochobai had no interest in books.

Ulasu, of course, was the exact opposite. The moment the book was in her hands, she flipped it open and began to read eagerly. It took a gentle reminder from Pembery to make Ulasu put it in a pile with the rest of the books for Lord Zaimid. Ochobai, meanwhile, was distracted with the jewellery meant for Imiary, so neither of the sisters noticed their brother's presence until he knocked on the door.

"Sorry to interrupt, but have you two seen Mama?"

"No," they answered in unison.

"I think she's downstairs with the King and Queen," Pembery supplied. "Would you like me to take those to her?"

"No!" Junim said quickly, protectively clutching the papers he held. "I mean... Can you show me where she is, maybe? I don't want to interrupt her if she's with Queen Dove, but I'll wait until she's done and then give these to her. They're sort of important."

Pembery glanced uncertainly over to the two Crow sisters. Ochobai elbowed Ulasu, who was deep in another of the books, and said, "We'll be good, Pembery. We'll have it all sorted by the time you get back."

"Are you sure?" Pembery asked doubtfully.

"Yes," Ulasu replied firmly. To demonstrate, she closed the book and placed it on the pile with the rest of them. "I'm sure you won't be long, anyway."

Pembery's face relaxed into a smile. "You're right. I'll be back in a moment, girls. Junim, this way." She led their brother down the stairs, closing the door to the sitting room behind her.

Ochobai turned to Ulasu and waited. The younger girl was tracing the pattern embroidered on the cover of one of the books. Eventually she said in a quiet voice, "Thank you for stopping Tyaral today."

"You saw it before it happened, didn't you?" Ochobai asked with her customary lack of tact. "The storehouse collapsing?"

Ulasu still didn't look up. "I didn't exactly 'see' it," she said. "I just had a... bad feeling. I knew it was going to happen, but he might still have gone in if you hadn't stopped him."

Ochobai gave the crow-shrug, sticking out her shoulderblades. "I could tell you'd seen something bad."

Ulasu nodded. "Thanks."

They went back to their work. No more mention was made of what Ulasu had sensed before the storehouse collapse. True to their word, the girls had sorted the rest of the gifts before Pembery returned with the message that their mother was, yet again, looking for them. This time both of the sisters groaned, reluctant to part with the sparkly jewellery and – in Ulasu's case – the hundreds-of-years-old books. Even so, they didn't waste time going in search of their mother as requested. There was work to be done.