Disclaimer: Don't own Velgarth, and I just realized that last chapter's disclaimer was odd. No, I don't own Mercedes Lackey, either. She belongs to herself. I do, however, own the Wanderers and our main characters.

And here is an apology for the delay! Real life got in the way. I had to apply to high schools, take finals...wow. My life is busy. So...I'll make this chapter extra-long! Will six, seven pages on Word be enough?...well, that's what you're getting!

Hmm. Have...pie of your choice, and fresh strawberries with whipped cream!

There are rather a lot of reviewers to thank. You can skip to the --------- dashes, if you like.

Cerulean Sky: No, you didn't sound like a bondbird. Much.

Cat McD: What about K'Vala did you not expect?...

Hawk: You can't count on anyone if you can't count on your Company. Unless you're a freelancer, in which case you don't count on anyone. But Tweets is not a freelancer.

Queen's Own: Here's your update. Albeit a bit delayed.

Faeborn2930: Here is more.

Delphine Pryde: Um...thanks.

Shahanna: No, you can't...but Kree will violently attack anyone who suggests Liluye kidnapped him. Muahaha.

Airotciv: Yeah...she's a freaker-outer. Frayley's rather impatient as well.

Prettykittyoreo: Here's more.

Danilion: See chapter 17 for a description of Kree. I don't really want to type it all out again.

Badgerwolf: Send them to a Vale? Well...I have something in mind, but I'll say no more than that.

Ssjbookgirl: Didn't I e-mail you about your story?

Cookxenya: Here is your new chappie.

The Chaotic Ones: You can stop poking me now...

Terryie: Yay! Thank you!

Paige: Um...this is...sometime around Oathbound. But it doesn't really matter, so long as it isn't near the Mage-storms.

Lightning Rain: I know...hehe...the shaman is cool. As for Helia being attracted-saying nothing! Nope. You'll just have to suffer with everyone else. :P

Kathleen McCrory: Uh...this did take a while...sorry!

Muse responsible: Rrissa!

And Kaiya is head of all the scouts. Like Tarma in Oathbreakers, she makes a point of getting drunk with each scout at least once, to learn what makes them tick. Muahaha.

[thoughts] :Mindspeech:

Onto the story!

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We stayed for several days at Kata'shi'na'in, enjoying ourselves thoroughly. Jaonsen in particular required a reputation-both for getting drunk, and for having a taste for wenching. He received quite a lot of teasing from all of our scout-group, from Necia in particular.

Even as everyone else enjoyed themselves, I couldn't seem to find it in myself to be as happy as everyone else. Of course, I knew perfectly well why.

I looked up at Helia from my musings across the table. She was involved in an animated debate with Leon, waving her hands around good-naturedly and insisting on her point of view.

Kree was settled on the table. The innkeeper had blanched upon seeing him, but my entire scouting group-to my embarrassment-had insisted on his presence. But at the same time, I was glad for their vehemence-it meant that I was not looked askance at, at least among the scouting-groups, and it meant that Kree was fully accepted as the thinking bird he clearly was.

Kree, at the moment, was nibbling daintily on a scrap of rabbit Necia was feeding him and luxuriating in the attention.

"But-but-"Helia spluttered as Leon drove home his point. "But-my way is better!"

The entire table dissolved in laughter at her weak response. Even Helia smiled ruefully. "I entered into this knowing I was going to lose," she said, throwing up her hands, "But in compensation, I demand a drink!"

Leon waved for a serving-maid, whom Jaonsen winked at as she brought another beer. She scowled at him. This brought a tirade of ribald jokes from most of the table...but not from me.

I sipped at my beer, caught up in my own thoughts, one hand in Kree's feathers as I preened him absentmindedly. I watched Helia taunting Jaonsen...and she set a hand on his shoulder.

My stomach twisted, and I took a huge gulp of beer to settle it, draining the tankard. A servingman filled it as I held it up, and I took another gulp. Kree roused slightly and looked at me, tilting his head. :Why stomach twisty?: he wanted to know.

I shook my head. "Nothing..." I murmured, staring at Helia, then realizing what I was doing and looking away.

This brought my eyes to Jaonsen, who wasn't much better. Instead of looking after the servingmaid, he looked back at Helia, holding her gaze. "What?" he asked, innocently. "The servingmaid doesn't seem to want me." He pouted.

Helia laughed and patted his arm, but did not say anything. Jaonsen's eyes turned hopeful. "You still love me, right?" he said, his expressive brown eyes wide.

I choked, and coughed hard as Necia pounded me on the back. Kree gave me a dry glare, then settled, grumbling slightly in his throat. Helia didn't even glance at me, but raised her eyebrows at Jaonsen. "My poor neglected fellow," she said, "We shall have to take care of that."

Frayley, who had been sitting quietly, looked at me.

Fiercely, I shoved my emotions deep under the metaphorical rug and nodded to him, though I could not speak. [It's not my business,] I thought, fiercely, [It's none of my business who she sleeps with. None.]

But still...I shoved that thought away as well. The innkeeper was hovering near us. I stood, unable to take it any longer. "I can see our poor fellow is strained over Kree," I said, setting some coppers and, in my distraction, a silver on the table. "I'll just take him...yes. I'll take him. Come on, bird." I held out my arm. Kree hopped onto the gauntlet and held still as I went to the door of the tavern. Taking the staff, I transferred him to that as I walked back to camp.

As soon as I made it into the cool night air, my eyes blurred. Blinking hard, I walked steadily into the night, my face betraying none of the emotions that twisted and yanked at each other inside of me.

I let Kree take flight as I reached the edge of our camp and wove my way through the tent-setup until I found mine and Helia's. Crouching in front of our firepit, I poked the embers and added some more wood. The blaze crackled as it returned to a respectable size. I stared into it, not knowing what to do now...

The head of the scouts, Officer Kaiya, sat down across from me. "Hello," she said, "Have anything to do tonight?"

I shrugged morosely.

Kaiya leaned back onto her elbows. I watched her, for lack of anything else to do. "You're the one with the hawk, right?" she said, casually. I nodded. "You said something about him being bound to you. What's that about? The only bond I have any experience with is the Oath and my marriage vow to Jesen."

I tilted my head and let my neck-joints pop. "We're bound mind-to-mind," I said at last, "We can speak to each other mind-to-mind, or I can ride in his body. I suppose he could in mine, but he's never expressed a desire to."

Kaiya nodded slowly. "Would you like to go get drinks?" she offered.

[What else is there to do?...] I wondered. [Besides, getting good and drunk might help me forget.] I nodded.

We went back into Kata'shi'na'in, but instead of the tavern the rest of the Wanderers were in-including Helia-Kaiya showed me to a small, quiet tavern uptown.

She said, "Drinks on me," and slapped two silver pieces on the bar. I stared at them-those pieces would buy more than enough beer to get us both thoroughly drunk.

But...I wanted to get drunk. Very drunk.

Kaiya threw back her head and swallowed half the tankard. "That's good," she said, "Actually, the beer's bad, but it's cold, at least."

I took a sip. It was rough, but I didn't mind. I took a gulp or two.

"So...tell me about yourself," said Kaiya.

I paused for a moment, thinking. [She's going to get drunk with me,] I realized through the beer I had already drained, [Well...]

I sent a thought to Kree. He was awake, and was watching a dice-game with interest. :Kree...I'm going to get drunk. If I start talking, will you watch what I'm saying for me?:

Kree listened to me. :You want me to stop talk about wish-mate and love?: he said.

:Perceptive, Kree, perceptive. If I start talking about Helia...stop me. Mentally. Otherwise...let me talk. Thanks. I'll screen you out when I go to bed, so you won't receive my headache,: I added.

Kree sent a brief mental caress of assent and returned to watching the dice- game. His presence in the back of my mind was reassuring-I knew he wouldn't let my tongue flap on anything important. I smiled at Kaiya and took another gulp. "I grew up on a farm. It was crowded there-all my family was there all the time. The tribe was big and loud-everyone loved each other, but it was so big, someone would have to go eventually. You know how it is," I added.

Kaiya nodded. "And?..." she prompted.

"Well...Kendra went to White Winds, and Jemmy went to be Healer-trained, but there were still too many people around. I was bored, so I left the farm life and went into the Pelagirs. Stupid thing to do-I met Kree, and joined the Wanderers."

"So that's the story of your life," replied Kaiya, meditatively. She took another swig of her beer.

I drained the rest of my tankard and waved it around for a refill. A serving maid filled it again.

"So," said Kaiya, after my long silence. "You seemed kind of upset tonight. Anything I can help with?"

I went stiff. Taking another sip or two of my beer, I at last said, "No."

[And she probably can't.]

Kaiya regarded me over the rim of her tankard, dark eyes peering into my face. At last, she said, "There will always be those in a Company who do not get along. But major dissent divides it from within."

There was some sort of advice, freely offered-tossed onto the table, as a matter of speaking. I thought about it for a moment, and with another twist of my stomach counted the amount of people my infatuation with Helia had affected.

[It's affected Helia. She watches me now, and she's worried. Frayley, too. Me, of course, though I'm really the only one it should concern...and Kree.]

Kaiya was still watching me as my eyebrows contracted. I realized what I was doing and took a large gulp of beer to cover it. The alcohol was blurring my senses pleasantly, and my brain was warm. Or at least it felt warm.

Kaiya and I continued to talk, as both of us slowly became drunk. Kaiya was very good at guarding her tongue-I was less so, but Kree nudged me sharply every time I strayed too close to the topic I had asked him to watch for.

"You seem to be close to your tentmate," said Kaiya at last-the question I had dreaded. "Helia, I believe. Good friends with her?"

I nodded. "Good friends," I said, smiling in a way I hoped was foolishly, hoping she would get off the topic.

False hope. "You seem to have had a bit of trouble lately," she said, "Can I help?"

My drunkenness remained intact, but Kree warned me sharply. I Sent assent to him. "No," I said, "Thank you."

Kaiya moved on to safer topics, until we had drunk all the silvers had paid for. Every so often, she would shoot another question about Helia, and I thanked all the gods for Kree.

As we left the tavern, I shielded between us, so he would not receive my headache. Going back to the camp, I stopped at a horse trough and dunked my head until I could think in straight lines, remembering how Helia detested drunkenness.

When I crawled into our tent, she was not there. I sighed around a cold lump in my heart, but was too weary to do anything else but sleep-whatever Helia might be doing.

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The plot thickens again! Until next time! -runs to hide from murderous reviewers- Remember, if you kill me, you'll never know what happens! Eep!

Reviews make the author happy!

-Fireblade K'Chona