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Chapter Eleven: Thievery and Jumping Frogs

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Tarai shivered as she and Kayamé huddled together in one of their Hides, feeling like she was caught up in a nightmare. And the day had started out so well...

Three months had passed since they first met Ghenn and Emmaline. The old couple showed no signs of losing interest in them, and the days had gone by in a blur of learning, regular meals, and good company before returning to The Gryphon to sleep. Kayamé had even begun giving Tarai a run for her money in learning — the older girl often found intuitively what Tarai logically concluded, achieving the answer faster but without as much support. And while Tarai unquestionably had a better memory for facts, Kayamé was the one who could apply them to a given situation. Emmaline often joked that they could answer any question or quandary so long as they stayed together, but the Creator help then if they were ever separated!

The girls received more than book learning, too. Along with helping Emmaline sell Ghenn's glass creations, they assisted in the kitchen and cleaning the house, and even began mending clothes. Ghenn also insisted on giving them each a glass-pendant necklace: a trio of teardrops for Tarai, and a delicate swirl for Kayamé.

It was the clothes that got them in trouble. While Tarai and Kayamé spent several afternoons stitching up various snags and holes, Emmaline took two old shirts and transformed them into a pair of dresses. Ecstatic at possessing clothes that fit, they unthinkingly wore them home — and Yin exploded at them.

Tarai shivered again at the memory. She tried to forget it, push it out of her mind, but it was too fresh: Yin bellowing at them about how they would regret accepting a present later, what they would owe when their supposed benefactor came to collect, and how she had idiot children who never thought about consequences and repercussions. And then Kayamé finally lost her temper right back, and Tarai watched the shouting match go on and on until Kay screamed something about doing Yin a favor and leaving forever, so she wouldn't have to bother with them. Angry tears streaming down her face, Kayamé grabbed Tarai's hand and dragged her down the stairs into the darkening streets.

With nowhere else to go, they sought out the nearest Hide. Kayamé had gone especially slow on the way, wary for the gangs that became active at sunset. On the way home they had passed one gang plotting something so intently that only one dark-haired boy had even noticed them; he merely raised his eyebrows in response to their sneaking attempt before returning his attention back to the gang huddle. Luckily, the rest of the trip occurred without incident, which brought Tarai's thoughts back to the present.

Kayamé was beginning to doze, and Tarai realized that she was sleepy too. The Hide was safe — a pile of junk and wooden boards in a back alley dead-end concealed a hollow space between pile and wall just big enough for the girls to stretch out in. If she ignored the cold, she could imagine that she was wrapped in the beautifully woven coverlet she had seen on Emmaline and Ghenn's bed, and then it would be comfortable enough to fall asleep...

Several hours later, Tarai woke at a nudge from Kayamé. The older girl preemptively silenced her automatic inquiry of "What's going on?" with a finger on her lips, and instead motioned for Tarai to listen.

A patchwork of light filtered into the Hide, made by a couple of small torches. Tarai lay quietly, trying to catch the low voices of the torchbearers and company.

"...told you to have it. Where is it, proby?"

"With his coordination skills he probably dropped it on the way," snickered a second voice. A ripple of laughter was quickly hushed by a sharp command from the first speaker.

"I hid it," said a younger boy, his voice on the edge between boyhood and youth, "so that if someone searched me between doing the job and you arriving, I wouldn't get arrested. I may be new, but I'm not an idiot."

This declaration was answered by a non-committal grunt. "Let's see what you got, then."

There was the shuffle of feet on alley-debris, and then Tarai felt her mouth go dry in panic as a shadow fell over the Hide. A few strategically placed boards were removed, and the two girls stared at the intruder — who stared right back in astonishment.

Because he was silhouetted against the alleyway Tarai couldn't see his face, but she did see him visibly recover from his surprise, then point at something behind them and beckoned urgently. Tarai vaguely recalled pushing something out of the way as they went to sleep earlier that evening. Kayamé immediately turned and began searching quietly in the dim light, and Tarai felt relief that her sister processed things so quickly, so she didn't have to worry about reacting instinctively herself.

"What's the hold up, proby?" growled the first voice, which Tarai decided belonged to the gang-leader. She racked her brain for what "proby" meant among the gangs – Kayamé would know, since she always paid more attention to they said, but making noise to ask was out of the currently question.

"Impatience leads to error; patience, victory," Proby responded over his shoulder, going through the motions of moving things around as Kayamé clasped something in her hand and held it up triumphantly.

She hurriedly passed a small drawstring to Tarai, who handed it up just as a fourth voice ordered their silent protector to quit quoting philosophic tarn and do his job instead.

"But they describe the dung heap of life so well, Denz," said the amateur philosopher amusedly, turning to toss the bag at one of the gang-members Tarai couldn't see since the boy blocked them from view. This meant, of course, that he was blocking her from the gang's view as well, probably on purpose, and she was immensely grateful for it. There was no telling what would happen if they were found by the likes of this boy's new friends. As he replaced to wood to hide the girls, on a sudden impulse Tarai pulled her necklace over her head and shoved it into his hand. He paused almost imperceptibly at the unanticipated move, then palmed the piece of jewelry and retreated back to the ring of torchlight

"'S a small prize for so much work," a new voice grumbled.

"But worth a fortune," the leader gloated. Tarai wondered what their serendipitous protector had stolen, then decided she didn't want to know. "Next time we swipe this shop, I want a multi-job. The more your loot is worth, the bigger your share'll be. Clear?"

A round of grunts and varyingly affirmative responses answered him.

"So, I'm in?" A trial, Tarai realized. Proby had to refer to a probationary member of the gang, being tested before he could join them.

"With that kind of heist?" snickered the voice of Denz, before yelping at an unseen, but distinctly loud, smack.

"He got the goods, and in a sight cleaner job than your beginning," declared the leader. "You're in, Mikael. Don't piss anyone off and you'll stay that way." His voice abruptly sharpened. "Break up. Two at a time, three at most. Don't hang around and don't get caught. Mikael, you're with me. Scram!"

Sounds of movement testified to his orders being obeyed, and after a while the last pair of young hoodlums left the alley. As Tarai's eyes adjusted to the moonlight she saw Kayamé cock her head, listening to the silence.

"They're gone, Ta," she pronounced. Tarai released the breath she hadn't realized she was holding, and slumped against the Hide wall.

"I never want to do that again!" she declared fervently. Kayamé nodded her agreement. So many things could have gone wrong; the entire scenario was a disaster waiting to happen.

"Next time we'll check better to see if it seems like anyone else knows about the Hide before staying."

"Yeah." There was nothing Tarai could think to add, so she settled for concurring. Besides, it was late and she was exhausted. A few hours of sleep hadn't made up for the evening's stress, and she couldn't suppress a yawn.

"Oh, good thinking about the necklace, Ta," Kayamé murmured as the girls settled back down next to each other.

Tarai blinked in confusion. "What?"

"Giving him your necklace. I'm sorry you lost it, but we can recognize him later, if he wears it."

"Oh." The thought had honestly not crossed her mind. "I was just trying to thank him. It was the only thing I could think of before he would have left."

Kayamé smiled at the confession and shook her head affectionately. "Only you would give away your best stuff to a stranger as a thank you."

"I guess it was kind of silly. But I think we'd've died if he hadn't done what he did."

"Not well thought out for sure, but a good idea anyway. It's like how Emma says I see answers – can't explain 'em, but I know they're right. And now we'll know one boy we don't have to avoid in the future, hopefully."

Tarai yawned again, letting her eyelids close. "I guess maybe instinct isn't always so bad, Kay. But thinking is so important to see if something could go wrong..."

"Ta, instinct is good for all the time, but it's especially for when something goes wrong."

Tarai nodded vaguely. She wondered if Kayamé's instincts would know what to do when tomorrow night came... but that was tomorrow. Tonight was tonight, and Tarai intended on getting as much sleep as she could before the sun rose.

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Even though firstmeal was over, the kitchen still buzzed with activity. Liessa oversaw the thorough cleaning of her domain with a broom in hand, already planning midday in her head. Dyani worked at the table standing against the outside wall, kneading dough to make bread for midday. On her right stood Issie, one of the housekeeper-cum-cooks that Liessa employed for help around the house, cleaning the firstmeal dishes in the washtub.

A gentle breeze came through the open window in front of them, cooling the room pleasantly. Dyani leaned into the breeze, away from the hot baking oven to her left. She was adjusting to earlier mornings and cooking just fine, but remained unaccustomed to the warm and slightly stuffy kitchen.

Issie unexpectedly poked Dyani, and she jerked away from the ticklish sensation towards the middle of the worktable, her eyes flying open and an uncontrolled giggle escaping her lips. The teenager smiled at the younger girl.

"Wake up, sleepyhead. You're going to fall into the dough."

"Hah!" Dyani playfully threw a pinch of the flour on the table at Issie, which fell to the floor between them in a small white cloud (thankfully Liessa hadn't swept there yet). Issie retaliated by flicking her wet hands at Dyani. "Hey!" Dyani ducked, but still got some water on her face and hair. Before a full-fledged kitchen war could commence, however, a knock came from the doorway.

"Dyani, you almost done?" Erik poked his head in the kitchen, loathe to actually enter the still busy room.

"Almost — wait just a second!" Dyani quickly shaped her thoroughly kneaded dough into a loaf on one of the stone baking platters. It would rise for a few hours, then bake just in time for midday. "May I go, mother?"

Liessa glanced up from talking with her second-in-command, Aya, and nodded. "Well done, Dyani. Go ahead."

Dyani grinned at the praise. Liessa seemed to have softened slightly since the raid, replacing some of her natural sternness with motherly concern for all four of her children — six, now. The extra lessons had been far more enjoyable than Dyani had anticipated, especially since she seemed to have a knack for cooking.

"Shoo, child. I'll not have you be late for school."

With a wave to Issie, Dyani removed her apron, cleaned her arms, and dashed upstairs to the room she now shared with Pax and Saidi. Slipping on her shoes, she snatched her schoolbag from beneath her bed and ran downstairs to where Erik, Kain and Jaeden waited.

"Ready," she announced breathlessly. Kain nodded, and the group set out.

The short walk to the schoolhouse was quiet, with only Jaeden and Erik talking together. Kain led the way, silently watching everything they passed: people going about their business; workers repairing the last of the damaged houses; guardsmen changing shifts; a wolfhound lounging in the morning sun. Dyani concentrated on walking fast enough to keep up with the longer-legged boys. They joined up with several other children en route and exchanged greetings; Jaeden and Erik pulled a trio of boys into their conversation, but no one dared to approach Kain's silence. Dyani sighed. Ever since school had begun again last month (after a sessionbreak full of somber adults and subdued children's play), the quartet had followed the same routine: a quiet walk to school, lessons no one was really interested in, and weapons training three times a week, alternating days between the young novices and the older trainees.

A quiet stillness remained hanging over the town, even though people seemed to be adjusting to the changes wrought in their lives. Most people, at least. Dyani and Erik had tried to draw Kain and Jaeden back to their normal behaviors, but could boast only nominal success. Kain hadn't truly smiled once since coming to live with them, and Dyani had almost lost hope of seeing the distinctive crinkle around his eyes that appeared whenever he found something funny. Jaeden at least had started acting more like his boisterous self, even though Dyani knew he went out of his way to avoid seeing the empty Merin house. Papa had said they would take a long time to act like they used to, but wasn't a three months a long time?

"Dyani!"

The call interrupted Dyani's train of thought, and she turned and smiled at the speaker, glad of the distraction. "Morning, Sean. How's your mother?"

Sean was Dyani's closest friend of her own age, and fellow mischief-maker. He fell in step beside her, waving a greeting to whichever of the older boys were paying attention.

"She's better. The cough's almost gone. Is your mom still makin' you learn girly stuff?"

"Sea-an!" She cuffed him lightly in response to his good-natured teasing, though if any other boy dared make such a comment he'd have gone home sporting a black eye. "I'm getting better, too. Issie says I have a good head for recipes."

"What's that mean?"

"Means I remember how to make stuff after I'm told, I think."

"Oh." He paused and ran a hand through his shaggy blonde hair. "You gonna have to go home right after school again?"

Dyani shook her head. "After we're done with school and training I think I can play. Mama only teaches me in the afternoons on Terrasdays and Airsdays, and today's Woodsday, so I have to go home tomorrow." She brightened as a thought struck her. "But Airsday's my birthday, so I know papa will give me the afternoon free then, too."

Sean grinned. "'Bout time you turned eight, slowpoke. Think you'll get a party?"

"Think so. I think they want to surprise me, but Issie's accidentally talked about it some."

"Great! Maybe mom knows about it; I can ask her tonight."

"Surprise spoiler."

"And proud of it," Sean declared, grinning broadly. "What's the fun of suspense?"

The clear, ringing tones of Madam Atri's handbell interrupted Dyani's reply and the idling students slowly gravitated to inside the town's schoolhouse. Though the building was relatively small compared to the nearby town hall, large glass windows flooded the room with light and made it seem larger. The students all crowded inside onto the rows of long benches, two school-levels to a bench. Under Madam Atri's stern gaze (with an additional disapproving frown from her apprenticed assistant, Lael), conversation ground to a halt and lessons began.

Dyani tried to pay attention as Atri taught, she really did, but her mind kept wandering — first to Kain and Jaeden, then the possible party she had told Sean about, and finally settling on a thoughtless fascination with a bird hopping about outside on one of the windowsills. Only a well-timed nudge from Sean brought her attention back in time to focus on the sum Lael was asking her to solve. Twirling a stray wisp of hair around her finger, she painstakingly worked her way to the answer, breathing a sigh of relief when Lael nodded in approval.

"Dyani," Sean whispered once Lael had moved on to the next group of children. "What's wrong with you? I know you do math slow, but you took almost twice as long as normal!"

Dyani glanced around quickly, confirming that Atri and Lael were otherwise occupied and not about to noticed the children's forbidden conversation. "Nothin'," she mumbled unconvincingly. "Just… stuff."

Sean rolled his eyes, but didn't push it. If he got Dyani in trouble, he was guaranteed to pay for it with bruises during training — she tried to control herself, but if she was angry then Dyani tended to unconsciously practice rough. At least this time, it just wasn't worth it. He'd find out later.

Dyani scraped through the rest of the morning on the best of her distracted attention, and breathed a sigh of relief when the dismissal bell rang. Hurriedly collecting her bag, she joined her fellow younger students in their mass exodus for the guards' training area. The older children scattered, except for Kain and a handful of boys who were already determined to join the guards when they were older. They attended training every day rather than three days a week as the other children did.

Dyani enjoyed training more than lessons on any given day, but today she was especially grateful. Staff work required enough concentration to perform correctly that with minimal effort she could blank everything from her mind but what she was doing. She silently recited the positions and routines along with the instructor as the older man called them out, letting the burning in her muscles keep her mind focused.

Peripherally, Dyani recognized Sean moving beside her, and Erik and Jaeden working with their swords under their own group's instructor. The solid 'thunk' of wood against wood filtered dimly through her concentration as well, confirming the presence of the older children as they dueled in a semi-controlled melée. It was comforting, the vague awareness of their presence, knowing that until the time came when she could protect herself properly, her brothers would do it for her.

Training eventually came to an end, and Dyani tugged on Sean's arm. "Come on, let's go by your house and then the river. The boys have been boring." She wrinkled her nose to emphasize her point.

Sean shrugged in acquiescence. She was right. In the past, Kain could occasionally be convinced to join the pair or their other friends, but now he remained close-mouthed and focused on thoughts or goals only he knew. Erik and Jaeden seemed to spend their free time solely in each other's company, whatever their activity.

Following their plan, Dyani and Sean ate a snack provided by Sean's mother, who claimed (to Dyani's embarrassment and Sean's amusement) that Dyani was nothing but skin and bones and needed fattening up. After nearly stuffing themselves, the pair headed to the dammed part of the river, waving absently as they went to the pair of guards who stood at the woodside gate entrance.

The afternoon was gloriously long and wet. Under the supervision of the guard towers and gate sentries, Dyani and Sean played tag in the shallows and poked and prodded a lone frog they found that was too lazy to hop away. In deference to the late fall air, the decided to forgo any actual swimming in the river's lazy current, which was ice-cold. Sean even coaxed a few of Dyani's worries into the open air, but for the most part she couldn't find the words to articulate the, leaving them both vaguely worried and frustrated. Sean initiated another round of tag, and they ran until they were breathless, their short attention spans effectively forgetting their conversation.

As the sun approached the horizon the pair reluctantly returned inside the safety of the town walls - neither child was willing to risk the overkill of lectures and loss of privileges that would result from being found outside at dark. Dyani collected her schoolbag from Sean's house and started for home. Dinner would probably be just about ready when she arrived. Liessa had been planning chicken and dumplings, and an afternoon of hard play had made Dyani ravenous. She broke into a jog, her bag bouncing as she weaved through the last of the evening street-traffic.

She hummed tunelessly as she went, recalling the day's activities. She grinned as she thought of the frog, which Sean had dubbed Derek, claiming that the Guardmaster's face mirrored the frog's expression perfectly. Maybe come spring she and Sean could find a bunch of frogs, and see which could jump farthest, and then charge their friends and aed to see the celebrated jumping frog of Ryven town…

The lamp-lit windows of her house shone through the encroaching dusk, and still scheming, Dyani climbed the house steps and went inside for dinner.

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So... Yes, it's been a long time. The characters don't want to be written, I swear! And my muse abandoned me. I'm still accepting applications for a new one. :sigh: .

As always, I'm willing to be influenced as to which of the four character sets will show up in the next chapter. Opinions are gladly welcomed. :)

Last chapter's cameos were Ail/Alan and Ann. :hands out cookies to those who guessed correctly: Guessers of this chapter's three cameo characters will receive chocolate-covered coffee beans, dedicated by my coffee-shop friends.

And to those who know Mark Twain, yes, the allusion was made purposely. After the frog plot-bunny appeared, I found I couldn't resist. No promises whether Dyani's schemes will come to anything, though. I'm sure Liessa would have a heart attack if she knew. :grin:

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Reviewer Responses:

Ara: Glad you like it. :) And yes, you guessed correctly.

;): The whole point of this story is that it's in an alternate universe, so the girls' identities are different than from the canon SM universe. My SM universe fanfics do use their normal names. Sorry it doesn't make as much sense to you; the first chapter has a guide to the name changes.

Serene Amethyst: I'm glad you like the story and the names; I spent a long time looking for different names that still fit the girls. Hope you enjoyed this chapter and the glimpse of Mamoru in Moire.

Whitemoongirl: Yes, Ayn was Ann. Hope you liked this little glimpse of Mamoru – his part will grow in successive chapters, so don't worry about not seeing him again. :)

Fire Lady: Iris gaining normal vision in her Fae form is easily explainable: The Tienchi race of Fae, of which Miki and Iris are a part, don't see like humans or even other Fae. Their magic provides vision that not only reveals the physical world, but also gives a Tienchi an extra degree of knowledge about their surroundings – if a plant is wilting, if a person is depressed... The strength of this quality varies between Fae, and for Iris it's currently an unknown, but it's one of those "it'll come up eventually" things. :) Hope that made sense. If not, the simple answer is "magic". You're right for the two cameos, too. And if Deirdre does finagle herself into a cameo role, she'll be the other SM redhead that you missed. It's not that hard to figure out, but enjoy the mystery. ;) Thank you so much for your encouragement (and extensive review!).

EmeraldSong: I'm glad you enjoyed seeing Aislyn again. (I hope to bring her back more often, but she can be a challenge… heck, all the girls are so complicated they tend to feel like several bundles of contradictions tossed together and tied up in knots.) Neph will return too, but like Mamoru, is a token "mysterious" character, to keep things interesting as time goes on. Where are his loyalties? What is he up to? I don't purposefully set out to torture you, honest, but it's just so easy to do sometimes:sweatdrop:

Iryl: Thanks for the encouragement! I respect you as an author, so it's gratifying to know you like my humble contribution to SM lore.

Merry Faerie: Yin's speech pattern is the result of a rabid plot-bunny, and more something to provide variety than anything else. Cities are melting pots, so accents and ethnicities would naturally abound there... and sometimes it's hard to demonstrate variety without being obvious about it. :) There's probably some reason in her history that explains Yin's crude accent, and it reflects on how little time she's spent with her children that they don't speak the same way. Heh. Hope you're enjoying the story, Merry-san, and thanks for taking the time to comment.

Daydream24: Thank you so much for your kind words. You make me want to write more of this story, even when the scenes are cantankerous and my muse deserts me. I'm really glad to know people are actually reading and enjoying my little SM world. :)

Thallein: Wow. O.o I'm flattered that I sparked such a response in you. I enjoy trying to figure out the details of the characterizations for these boys and girls – there's so many different directions they could develop, and so many facets to their character it's a challenge to strike a balance and not make a stereotyped, un-unique character. I hope each character when they grow up is a reflection of his or her experiences. I hope you enjoy this latest peek into their lives.

Sapphyre3: Thanks for the point about the extremists... they probably do refer to themselves as advanced or enlightened; I believe that only Aislyn refers to them as extremists, and only in the privacy of her own mind. She'd probably have some severe problems if she spoke that way aloud. I'm pleased you're enjoying this journey through childhood – I know I am:D

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See you next time!

Ocianne

7/05

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