Dilah sat on her windowsill and dangled a ball of colourful feathers on a string in front of her cat and watched her play. The white cat had no name, at least no name known to any elf. Perhaps cats had names for each other, she thought, secret names in a feline language of sound and scent and touch. Perhaps this pretty creature who with her was as playful and affectionate as a kitten was called Ratslayer or Cruelclaws by her own kin. Or perhaps not. Maybe cats had no more need for names than the Silent One herself.

Dilah sighed almost soundlessly. If only she could levitate the toy, how the cat would enjoy it! And so would she. But no. Her lot in life was to be without magic. Once again she though of Leetah's words. She wouldn't break her wow, useless or not. That would be a humiliation. But her other advice... maybe there was some truth to it. Yet she had hesitated, for three days now. And she did not know why. Was she afraid?

No! She feared nothing, absolutely nothing. So she would follow the healer's advice, just to prove herself she was not afraid of losing control, if she wanted to.

There was another question to consider. Did she want what Leetah had called 'becoming truly initiated'? Oh yes. It sounded like it could be a great pleasure. Despite her ascetic ways, Dilah had nothing against pleasure.

Now, who would she trust with this loss of control? Someone so weak he would never use it againt her? Handsome Zhantee, maybe? Or Ahnshen, whom the girls had been whispering about for at least two centuries now? It would have to be a male. Love made them stupid while it made the maidens only wiser. Someone like Maleen would see straight into her heart.

She thought of the Wolfrider. And then she couldn't stop thinking about him. She couldn't stop comparing him to the village males, and always to his favour. He was stronger than them, younger, yet experienced. He knew how to please a girl. And he was handsome. Not to mention that he was already enthralled by Dilah, and hungry for more. Ohh, so hungry. She had seen it in his eyes.

Any maiden would be flattered by such devotion. So it was only natural Dilah thought of him. But why couldn't she stop thinking about him? Surely he was not the best choice for what she planned? She didn't know him well enough. He couldn't be trusted, especially if she was developing some obsession about him. He might think she was in love with him. He might think he had some power over her.

But he had such beautiful silver eyes, a treacherous part of her mind reminded her.

Curse him, curse his eyes! He was a savage. An animal.

Yes... an animal. Such a fierce and hungry young wolf he was...

The toy had stopped moving, and now the nameless cat grew impatient and pawed Dilah's hand.
"Meaow!"

Absentmindedly, she resumed the play. Her arm was tired. If only she could levitate the toy...

Night was falling. Dilah watched two Wolfriders walk past on the path. They were holding hands and whispering endearments to each other. It was the young couple, the girl who had almost got trampled by a frantic zwoot and her dark-haired lovemate, the one with the funny hat. They seemed to notice her gaze and the boy waved his hand and called out:
"Good evening!"
Dilah answered with a smile and a wave. She saw the girl turn to the boy and thought she would whisper the gossip she had no doubt heard about the Mute. But no, she only looked at him, and he nodded. Almost as if they had spoken without words. Then she recalled she had not heard the susurration of their whispers earlier, she had just imagined it from their gestures.

The young lovers went their way, towards the caves. The moons rose, and the wolves began to howl.

Dilah was lost in thought. She was arranging her memories to piece together a realization.

When the Wolfriders had just arrived, Maleen had come to her one day, very exited. She had told there was a mute one among them. A male, no less, although one with a family. The girl had dragged her to meet the grim-faced archer.

"Hi, Strongbow. This here is the Mute, she doesn't want her name said. She doesn't speak. Just like you."
He had glared at Maleen, then turned to stare intently at Dilah. After a moment, he shook his head, a dissappointed expression on his face. His lifemate, the tanner, had come to speak for him:
"Not like him. She can't send, can she?"
"Send? What is that?"
Dilah had turned away from them, showing she was not interested in something the newcomer could do and she couldn't.

She was quite certain she knew what sending was. Savah had never called it by any name, but the Mother of Memory could talk soul to soul even over a distance. Dilah found it disturbing how she knew her deepest, most secret thoughts just by looking at her. Long ago, she had offered to teach her something of that, something any elf could learn if they wanted to. But she did not desire such openness. She had nothing to say to anyone even in voice - what need had she for a mind-to-mind communication? Especially when the only one she would be able to communicate with was Savah?

Now, though, things were different. The wolfriders had that skill, the villagers had not. So, she would have plenty of occasions to flaunt it. And even some reason to. And ohh, how she would make Maleen jealous!

"Silent One?"
Dilah turned. It was the Wolfrider. Skywise.
"You looked more beautiful than ever, just now. When you smiled. You should smile more often."
Dilah lifted her eyebrows, a challenge in her eyes: make me.
"I saw a weird dream today. So I went and asked Savah about it. I told her I dreamed of you, walking into the burning waste. The sky was black, starless. You said you needed no water, for you could make the clouds rain. I said you couldn't but you went anyway. And you vanished into the sky, and then it rained. It rained your blood. I was sure the dream meant you were in danger, but Savah disagreed. She says if my dream means anything it means a change, an not necessarily into a bad direction. She said the blood was not yours, but the blood of a dream you could not achieve. She said it was time for you to sacrifice a dream, and that I had sensed that from you."

Dilah laughed. Her laughter was a silent movement of the mouth, clearly a practiced expression but a sweet sight nonetheless.

"Savah also warned that you would not believe me. That you would laugh at me. But I wanted to see you laugh, Dilah. I wanted to see you smile."

And Dilah smiled. She couldn't help it, any more that she could have ignored the plea of her nameless cat when she pawed at her and begged for attention.

An animal he was. A cute one.