Daine's explanation of what had happened – her ability to speak to Narsa, that is – was cut short by a loud screech.

Narsa stopped short, throwing Daine and Numair against the front side of her pocket.

"That'll take some getting used to," Numair muttered, and Daine smirked. "Any idea why we stopped?" Numair asked her.

Daine frowned and said, "I'll ask –"

"Oh, no! It's my mother!" Narsa hissed, interrupting Daine. Daine's eyes went wide, as she translated to Numair. He bit his lip. Daine shoved him down, and sat on his back, so her head popped up over the pocket and he remained below, hidden. Numair gave an "oomph!" of protest, but Daine ignored it.

"Tell Mn-aur to hide!" Narsa hissed to Daine.

Already did, she answered smugly, snickering affectionately at Numair's grunts of protest.

---

Narsa took Ain's word, and stood up a little straighter as her mother approached.

"How dare you run away, Narsa," her mother snarled, grabbing her by her floppy ear and dragging her back to the house. "Out to see a boy, aren't you, you little trouble-maker?"

So to speak, Narsa thought dryly, remembering how she was going to get Mn-aur, and heard Ain's mental laughter. Her mother tugged harder.

"Ow!" she cried, "No, no, mother! I went out to take Ain for a walk, honest!"

"You did, did you? Humans don't need walks, you little liar!" and with that, her mother tugged harder, and Narsa nearly fell onto her humans.

"No, no! Look, I have proof!" As carefully as she could, she took Ain out of her pocket. Lucky those bruises your brother gave me healed, already, Ain told Narsa, and Narsa silently agreed. She felt Mn-aur squirm in her pocket; he wasobviously uncomfortable without his mate. Narsa held her human, showing her to her mother. "See? I only took her for a walk – some fresh air, she gets bored in her –"

"IRRESPONSIBLE!" her mother roared, making both Ain and Mn-aur jump.

No offense, Narsa, but I really don't like your Ma, Ain said, sounding afraid. Narsa held her protectively. "You're scaring her, Mother!"

"I should be scaring you young lady, not your pet! You treat it as if it's got feelings, it's JUST AN ANIMAL!"

I resent that, Ain said dryly, listening into Narsa's mind to translate what her mother said.

"How d'you know?" Narsa demanded, "how d'you know she's not more intelligent than you think?"

"Their only purpose is to feed the snakes, that's it. They're no smarter than the minks that made my coat! You must learn this Narsa, that's why I punish you. You must learn that your life – sleeping, eating, et cetera – comes before that of an animal's pleasure! Those humans have a brain the size of your thumbnail!"

Narsa was shocked still, and through her, Ain. was her mother right? Did they really not warrent her attention?Without speaking, she slipped Ain back into her front breast pocket, on top of Mn-aur, and didn't hear his "oomph." She didn't hear Daine's mind calling out to her as she said, "Yes, mother," and meant it.

---

Narsa confessed to buying Numair.

He was put into a separate cage, next to Daine's.

Narsa's mind was closed.

And as Daine explained to Numair what had happened, their hands both reaching through the bars of their cages and clasping the other's, Numair figured it out.

Narsa didn't have Wild Magic.

Daine's Wild Magic still worked.

As humans were not the dominant species in this world, Daine could talk to all creatures lesser in intelligence than she was. However, in the dominant species' case, she could only talk to them if they accepted her as something of an equal.

And Narsa, who agreed with her mother, now, clearly didn't. Lynoss, the shopkeeper, also thought of them as animals.

"Then," Daine said, after Numair had shared his theory, "then the younger the rat is, and the less anyone's drilled into them that we're not equals, the more of a chance I'll have in speaking to them."

"Exactly," Numair said, caressing her knuckles with his thumb. "So, that only leaves one option, only one more rat can help us." His voice was pained.

Daine looked at him through the bars of her cage and his. Her eyes got wide. "Culpus! The one who bruised me! Narsa's little brother?"

Numair smiled, and pulled her hand through the bars of his cage, so he could kiss her palm. "The next time someone says that you've got a brain the size of their thumbnail, I shall bite them."

Daine chuckled, and stroked his cheek.

"Don't bother, I'll do it."

Numair smiled sadly at her, and looked down at her hand, gently tickling her palm. "I wish we were in the same cage."

"So do I," Daine sighed. "I s'pose this is better'n nothing, though. At least we can talk."

"At the very least," Numair agreed softly.

---

Narsa climbed up into her loft bed, and gazed at her humans. It had been three weeks since her mother's chat with her, and she hadn't heard Ain and Mn-aur since. They were animals, then, no more intelligent than the dogs next door, andtheir speaking-to-her was just her imagination.

But they couldn't be. They had stretched one their arms through the bars of their cages so their paws could intertwine. What kind of animal did that?

Confused, she watched them chatter to each other, unable to understand them.

---

BACK AT TORTALL...

Skysong was worried.

Her Ma and Numair had gone missing. She had looked for them, and found that Cloud and Spots were still here, and that Tkaa hadn't seen them.

Carefully, she walked into Numair's workroom. She knew his experiments were dangerous – her Ma had explained this to her many times, so she tended not to interfere.

There were black char-marks everywhere. Had his experiment exploded, and killed them both? She hoped not – she had already lost her trueblood Ma.

No. She didn't smell death. She smelt a spell, and a strong one at that.

Skysong sat up in Numair's chair, and gaped at what she saw.

The entire table was covered in a huge, bronze, star-shaped coin.