Disclaimer: Don't own any of the chars, except Karma, and She is a slightly borrowed creation, though her name has been changed. Any new chars, any names you don't know, they are mine, the plot is mine, everything else belongs to Tamora Peirce.

A/N: All hear this! There is a beta now.. any bad remarks to grammar or spelling should be directed to her.. not me! Thanks go to theaskerofthequestions for pointing out the mistake in spelling. All my books are out in the storage shed and were not handy for reference..thanks again!That being said, i have a shout out as it were... read "The Three Keys" by lorett. Its here on , and is a great work. For those anime fans out there, Dischord has a great Inuyasha fic, "Whatever may come" its worth a read or two!

And now.. on with the show!

Chapter Two: Come and Seek

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Little Karma held her pack close as she paused at the entrance of the wood. She told herself that she could do this. She would show them. She knew the woods like the back of her hand, Daine had taken her out many times, both to meet the inhabitants therein and to learn what was good to eat and what was not. It would not do for the Wild Mage's daughter to die because she ate something inedible or to simply die of starvation because she did not know what WAS edible. She knew there were streams aplenty in this wood, but she wasn't sure about other places, so, like the daughter of her parents, she brought along a water bottle, (several in fact.) Those canteens where at the bottom of the pack, which also held clothes a few pieces of traveling bread, and some dried fruit and jerky. She brought the meat because, while she knew the basics of hunting she couldn't hunt well enough on her own, to supplement that part of her diet. One of her earliest lessons was that no matter how much edible greens could be found, the body will starve itself without the nutrients that meat could bring.

Steeling herself, Karma took a breath and whispered, "I don't want to be found" and the night seemed to hush, before it came alive again with the normal night sounds. She used to play a game, a come and seek game with Daine, and it was one of the ways in which the forest was silent, it would not tell Daine which way Karma had gone, the animals would not tell on her. Resolutely now, she squared her shoulders and marched into the wood, to play the best game of come and seek she had ever played.

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As usual, Daine was the first awake in the morning. The silence from Karma's room wasn't surprising.. The girl could be stubborn, and was probably still sulking in her room. Making her way to the kitchen after freshening up from sleep, she busied herself with making the morning meal, putting water to boil for tea, and sat quietly, waiting for it to be ready. She wondered when exactly Karma was going to come down. She usually didn't sulk for this long, but then again, they normally didn't go at it like that. Numair wandered into the kitchen, kissed the top of her head then sat down with tea.

"Is she up yet?" he asked taking a sip of tea. Daine shook her head "No, I don't think so. I will go up to check on her anyway. I told her you would speak to her about your laboratory. I will call you up after I have talked with her."

At his nod, she went upstairs, slightly fretful. While Karma had a stubborn streak to her, she never sulked this long. Maybe she was still sleeping, tired out from yesterday's events. Yes, perhaps that is all it was. She prayed that is all it was. She knocked on the door softly calling out "Karma? You awake sweetie?" hearing no reply, she pushed open the door and froze. She took in the empty, unmade bed, the general disarray of the room, the clothes hanging out of open drawers, and finally the open window. There was a lump in her throat, so hard, that it was almost painful when she finally screamed out "KARMA!" with such loudness that Numair came tearing into the room, even before the scream had died away.(those long lanky legs of his you know.) He glanced around, blinking, and then looked to Daine mildly confused, before comprehension dawned.

"She's gone?" he asked, rather stupidly. Of course she was gone. He sighed shook his head, and pulled Daine into his arms, resting his chin on the top of her head while she cried. After a few moments, Daine collected herself and pulled away slightly.

"We have to find her. You know as well as I that she could not have been taken. The animals wouldn't have stood for it, even if we couldn't spell the house for fear of others knowing where we both were." There is just a slight trace of panic in her voice, but she pushed on. "It is a shame we can't scry for her, that would make this so much easier. We don't know when she left, or which way she went. Curse me for a fool for getting a cottage built in the middle of a forest. We have to contact Alanna and George, to let them know. I don't think she would go as far as Pirate's Swoop, but you never know what she will set her mind to, and.."

"Daine slow down." Numair said in soft exasperation. "We have covered this many times. Just because we can't scry for her by means of the gift, doesn't mean that you can't find her. Ask the animals if they have seen her, talk to them. Wild magic cannot be dampened or hidden. Remember the battle at Pirate's Swoop darling?" his voice was chiding but kind.

Daine's cheeks colored with a soft blush and she muttered something definitely not nice, then went to the window, leaned against it, and closed her eyes; instantly she was bombarded with hellos and well wishes from the animals both around the house and within as well. After a moment of greeting them in return, she was startled to hear one of the house dogs say –The game is afoot, Daine. She does not wish to be found- After a moment of shocked silence on her part, she thanked the hound, then turned to Numair, whispering, "She doesn't want to be found. They all think we are playing come and seek. She told them she didn't want to be found. What are we going to do?"

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And thus ends another chapter!