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From Scanra With Love
Chapter Seven: Live And Let Live

The Lioness wasn't at all what Daine had expected. For one thing, the red-headed warrior was half a head shorter than Daine herself. For another, the woman was immensely practical in a situation that didn't require her sword. Within minutes of the greeting, Numair was restored to his normal state of health, though he'd received a firm lecture about not overreaching his Gift again for the next four days.

Still rather intimidated by the Lioness, Daine had opted to reunite with George. George was happy to tell her funny stories about their ride out of Corus, and he didn't tease that Daine didn't seem to want to meet his wife. He looked like he had expected just that.

"Me? I'm good at blendin' back into the scenery. It was part of how I lasted so long as the king of thieves. Alanna's never quite learned that trick, but I'll always blame part of that on her hair."

Daine blinked, surprised by the sudden turn in conversation. "Her hair?"

"Nobody with hair that bright could ever've gotten practice lurking about in corners. It caught my eye clear across the crowd, first time I saw her, and I nearly got stepped on by two separate horses to get over and say hello. My Sight told me that I'd need to know her, and I've always listened to my little whisperings."

Daine glanced over. George was definitely right; the Lioness's hair was very distinctly red, a shade that Daine had never seen before. Daine's brunette locks were odd enough in Scanran-blond Snowsdale. Numair was the first person she'd met with black hair; red was entirely foreign. Novel hair or not, Daine still would rather talk about someone familiar. "Numair looks better now."

"My lass knows her business, and she knows Numair. She'll have him out on the carpet for showing off when there was nobody there to even see," George said knowingly, nodding toward the pair. Sure enough, even from halfway across the clearing they could hear that the tone of the Lioness's monologue was displeased. Numair looked entirely unruffled and even nodded in agreement with several points.

"Well—I was here to watch, this time. Not here-here," she added quickly when George would have disapproved. "I can ride along with animals, and this time it was Song. My mind travels with them while my body was somewhere else, and that was with Josua and the queen. I don't know why they're taking so long to get here."

We stopped to rest, Cloud told her, but the pony sounded altogether too sly. Cloud wasn't above being sneaky when she thought it would be better for Daine. We'll be there in just another minute.

"What's the estimate?" George asked, just as if it were normal for a girl to get an update from an animal somewhere.

"Another minute. Cloud said they stopped to rest. I can't imagine why, when it was so close, but maybe Bandit got a little tired from carrying me and Josua both." That didn't seem likely, when Bandit had promised that he would be alright, but it might have happened.

George looked from her to Numair and then didn't say whatever was on his mind. He introduced a new subject before she could ask what he would have said. "Numair is going to underplay whatever it was he did, for all that the man can be vain as a cat when it suits him. He undercuts his own Gift, generally, but here we finally have someone that saw the fight. How'd he end it?"

Song soared down to lightly land on Daine's shoulder. Daine hid a smile. Song could be as vain as a cat, too, but the bird didn't like to hear such things. "This little lady helped," Daine said, preening at the junction between the sparrow-hawk's head and neck. "He turned Inar into a sparrow, at the end, and before Inar knew what happened…"

"Before he knew it, he was lunch." George offered a hand to the falcon. "May I?" he asked. When Song bobbed her head, he mimicked Daine with no fear for the falcon's intimidating beak. "You had quite a bit to do with Inar's sudden defeat, little one."

Daine didn't hide her smile, that time, but Song had always liked compliments. "Falcons can move real fast, and Song promises that her type's the fastest out there. I'd believe it. Sparrow-hawks can eat most anything, but their favorite is other birds. I've seen her take down bigger hawks than her when she gets in a mood."

They might have talked more about the falcon, but Alanna's yell surprised that out of them. Thayet had come to the edge of the clearing, and the knight and the queen ran to each other for a hug that nearly knocked both of them to the ground. George excused himself to walk over to the pair. For a moment, Daine felt very lonely. A second later, Numair was there.

"I imagine you'll have nine tenths of Tortall in your debt, magelet." He looked far better than he had ten minutes before, and he smiled when Daine told him just that. "Alanna knows healing, and she'll always be more patient with wounds than she is with people. You may as well talk to her when you feel ready. She and George might have ridden up together, but they're splitting forces. George will be escorting the queen home, and Alanna has a mission of her own. Jon wants Rathhausak dealt with for his little practice of holding onto hostages, and with the Council of Ten severely weakened, she has a chance of ending Scanra's war with us single-handed."

Daine couldn't help but look at the woman dwarfed by Josua. The guardsman had bowed before joining the queen and the Champion, but he looked comfortable in such grand company.

"Don't let her size fool you," Numair warned. "She's been teaching me how to fight 'properly' for the last several years, and she's set her husband at me besides. I doubt I'll ever be able to do more than knock her over."

Daine fingered the edge of her bow absently, drawing a little comfort from the one kind of fighting art she'd ever had a knack for. She had thought that it all had been her father, once, but Weiryn had sworn the talent was all hers. He was proud that she was a huntress, and such a hand with a bow, but it hadn't been any kind of guarantee. "I s'pose I might as well meet her," she said finally. "Her majesty's not bad to know."

"George has yet to like someone that she won't, Daine," he promised, and she believed him. "Alanna's temper is just as bad as all the stories say, but she'll never have reason to be angry with the woman that found Thayet."

Daine might have stayed indecisive if he hadn't offered his hand. She felt braver with the only difference of his hand clasped around hers. "Alright, then," she said. "Let's go say hello."

Walking across the clearing didn't seem to take long enough at all, as Numair let go of her hand when they were close enough to disrupt the group hug. Thayet winked at Daine as the four untangled themselves, George smiled, and Josua nodded to her. The Lioness, by far the smallest of that group, was looking directly at Daine.

The Lioness's purple eyes were sharp, but her expression was kind. "Well met, Veralidaine Sarrasri. All of Tortall owes you a debt, and I include myself in that."

Daine blushed, but didn't look away. "It was my honor, really. I never thought I'd be part of adventures."

"That's the start of the best of them, I think," Alanna said encouragingly. She had the look of a woman accustomed to people being embarrassed for just talking to her. "I'm sure we'll have time to catch up on the road. If it was this easy for me to find the scads of magic coming out of the area, it'll be easy enough for the Council of Nine."

That goaded everyone into action and the necessary business of finding the best way to transport six people on four horses. George's mount had been specifically chosen so that he could ride with Thayet, all the better to protect her. The horse (named after a Corus hostler) was a strong, solid mount with an unexpected amount of speed. Daine was enchanted with Stefan on first meeting, though Alanna's dark-maned cream-colored stallion was quickly jealous. Daine found it very easy to compliment Darkmoon, and was glad that no other horse was so mercenary in seeking attention. Stefan was used to Darkmoon's antics, and Cloud was only amused.

Josua ended up taking Alanna's Darkmoon, while George and Thayet rode Stefan together. Numair kept his seat on Bandit, and Alanna (as the shortest present) would ride Daine's pony. Daine was accompanying the party as a wolf.

Josua knew little of magic, but Thayet was surprised at Daine's second form, and Alanna's eyes widened when the russet-colored wolf emerged from the woods carrying a neat pile of clothing. George quickly distracted both women with stories of Thayet's children. Daine didn't know much about Tortall's heirs, but she liked listening even as she ran ahead to scout their path. The oldest was a quieter boy since the queen's departure, but her daughter had made herself a one-woman crusader to keep her father smiling. Kalasin, it seemed, was the realm's second female page in centuries, and the first woman to openly try for her shield in all of that time. She was not the only girl, however, because young Keladry of Mindelan had joined Kalasin within a week of the announcement.

The Mindelan house had spent years winning the tenuous treaty with the Yamani Islands, but it seemed that a true alliance couldn't come until Tortall wasn't besieged on three fronts. Thayet seemed sure that Scanra was putting most of their hope in the machines that Blayce was making, and George was sure that the Copper Isles would self-destruct given the Rittevon line's frequent mad members and a whispered prophecy throughout the conquered raka people.

Daine caught their names, but missed stories about Liam, Lianne, and Jasson while she conferred with a local wolf pack and made her peace with its leaders. Wolves were very easily convinced that she was no great threat to them, but the necessary formalities took time. When Daine left a new group of friends behind, she heard the latest about Vania, Thayet's youngest child. She had been only three when Thayet had been taken. It seemed that Vania had demanded (and received) lessons in staffwork, and that there might be a second princess that became a knight.

The party didn't travel together for long. At the head of a trail that Daine couldn't tell from the four trails before, George pulled at the reins of his horse. "This is where we part, and Goddess's blessing and Kyprioth's luck to all of you."

Alanna and Thayet hugged again before the party separated, and Bandit agreed to accompany Josua south to Tortall. That left Numair, Daine, and Alanna with a horse and a pony between them, but Daine could easily keep a horse's pace as a wolf.

Traveling on without Thayet and George left the trail much quieter. Numair was still tired from the earlier fight, and Daine didn't think anyone would want to interrupt the hard focus in the Lioness's purple eyes.

Daine amused herself by visiting with the wildlife that they passed, or by chatting with Tom. The thin grey tomcat had stayed with them, and was currently curled in Alanna's lap. The cat had easily marked her as a cat person, and there had only been one protest about not needing another cat-friend before Alanna had folded. Cloud said that the cat would be going home with the Lioness, and Daine thought that was the right of it.

Nothing very interesting happened until half an hour to sunset, when they stopped to eat dinner and to make a fire. Song had been able to tell for certain that there was no one on the roads near them for miles around, and Daine would have ample notice of anything or anyone moving through the trees.

While Daine changed back to human, and slipped back into her clothes, she could hear the beginnings of a conversation. When she made it back to their chosen clearing, the topic was very clear. The Lioness was thinking about coming with them, instead of immediately going to deal with Maggur Rathhausak.

"I'm going with my gut," Alanna said as Daine walked into the warmth of their fire. "That says to stick with you. There wasn't any account of Rathhausak at the capital while Thayet was there, and I trust her to be sure."

"We can use your help," Numair admitted easily. "I could use my Gift now, if the need arose, but… not well. Dueling another master takes more than magic, every time."

"I can imagine, Numair. I've had very few proper mage duels, and never with someone of Inar's caliber. Roger and I settled most of our disputes through swordplay with his trickery on the side." Alanna again had the cat in her lap, and Tom was purring very appreciatively.

"I'll welcome the help," Daine said when she was close enough to catch their eyes. "Numair and I would do well enough, but all I've to offer is animal-type magics and my bow."

"If your bow's a third of what your animal-magics can offer, we'll be thankful for it," Alanna replied. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll be calling Jon to let him know that his wife is on the way, and sharing just what Thayet learned."

Daine didn't know what to say in return, and had nothing to say before Alanna vanished into the darkness with a palm full of violet light to guide her path.

"She's looking to give us time to talk without talking over her," Numair said. "That grey cat went with her, so you'll know the moment something's amiss."

The grey cat in question was settled comfortably in Alanna's lap, paying several detailed compliments about the Lioness's exemplary technique in locating the correct part of the ear to rub, not scratch, as the Lioness spoke into a glowing mirror. Daine let her awareness fade back to her clearing alone. Daine didn't like eavesdropping on friends, and Alanna seemed determined that the two of them would be friends. Contradicting that plan was even more frightening than being a friend to Tortall's Champion.

"I think I like her." Daine felt lonely without an animal curled near, but there were no likely candidates in sight. Cloud was resting and in no mood to be cosseted, Song was asleep, and Tom had followed Alanna. She'd have to make do with a two-legger, then, and she wasn't likely to find a better one in Scanra. "I also think she'd be able to make me like her, if she'd the need. I've heard tales that she's stubborn."

"Stubborn isn't the half of it," Numair said with a laugh. He had a very nice laugh, and in the firelight he looked all the better. Daine's half-formed ideas about what she'd like to do with such a man were surely transforming into things that she could do, if he'd the mind to agree. "She's grown quite a bit from who she thought she was going to be. George helped the most, as she tells it, but everyone agrees that her children helped. Her oldest boy is ten years old, now."

"She doesn't look it," Daine said. "None of you do." She caught Numair's hand when he would have touched it to the silver at his temples. She hadn't planned to be quite so bold, but she couldn't turn down such a moment. "I think you're fair handsome, Numair Salmalín." The compliment might not have been enough to make her intentions clear, but she had a solid grip on his wrist and she was kneeling directly beside him. With him sitting on the ground, that left her just tall enough to see straight into his dark

Numair tried to pull his hand away, but he was too surprised to put in much of an effort. "Daine, you are slightly more than half my age," he said when she didn't let go.

"Numair, I'm an adult, and you're an adult, and there hasn't been one mention of a woman or a child or a wedding. Am I wrong?

"You're not wrong, but this isn't right." He pulled his wrist away from her, but he didn't push her away when she leaned closer. "It would be the worst kind of deception if a mutual infatuation led to…" His voice trailed away when he realized just what he had said.

"If it's mutual, then what's the harm?" she wheedled. "I've never met a man like you, and I won't meet one again in Snowsdale. No one's to be harmed by a bit of fun."

Daine thought she saw regret in his eyes when he shook his head and edged a little away from her. "I couldn't, Daine, and I won't," he said quietly. "My days of 'a bit of fun' are long behind me."

There was nothing else to say to that. Daine retreated to her edge of the fire while he fussed with his bedroll, but she didn't bother with her own. She left a neat pile of her clothing near her pack after changing into a wolf. She didn't fall asleep until long after the Lioness undid her own bedroll and bid her goodnight.