A/N: Here is the next chapter. My inspiration is dying so the next chapters might be a little more spaced out. I've already written 9, 10, and 11 so those will be up within a week each time, as usual but after that I'm not sure... Who knows, maybe I'll get reinspired by the time three weeks go by! Anyway, I owe a lot of my inspiration to you reviews so I give you all my heartfelt thanks...
Stormy Phoenix- Yup, and thanks! I try and make each chapter continue to get better... If I'm getting boring or repetitive please tell me or if you have ideas tell me those too!
Glaciours- Hands out cavities I know... I'm a cheesy person. Don't worry, it won't all be cavities. There'll be some hard packed action and tragedy and whatnot. Maybe not tragedy... How about angst?
mugglepirate- Here are some people! I know I skipped over the road trip but it wasn't important to the plot- these meetings of people are the important ones. I hope you continue to enjoy this story!

:Well… here we are: Raul said as they stepped up in front of the Heraldic Collegium, :And this is where we leave each other to face different obstacles with undoubtedly similar attitudes.:

"What do I do Raul?" Faolan asked as the mare went to her knees for the girl to slip of her back, her feet still bare clad- the cobblestones were cool against her feet. It was early morning and she felt awake enough- she'd slept the night in the saddle while Raul plodded on, and they'd come into Haven before activity had truly started, and no one gave either a second glance.

:Be yourself… well not entirely: Raul said with a wink, straightening up and shaking her saddle uncomfortably, :Just put on your best 'I'm really four' look and they'll do whatever you ask. I'll be taking all the shit, no one will blame you for anything. But remember, they can't take back a Companion's Choice, and a Companion never Chooses wrong. Don't let anyone convince you otherwise Faolan.:

"All right," Faolan nodded and ran a hand through her lengthening hair and then stretched, looking over at the rising sun on the eastern horizon with an awkward twitch of her nose as she added, "I think everyone should be nocturnal. I bet no one knows how great it is."

:You wolf you: Raul teased and Faolan went quiet, only moving to run her hand along Raul's leg nervously.

"I'm afraid," she whispered and Raul pressed her nose against the girl's shoulder reassuringly.

:Someone is coming for you now- the Collegium should already be well up and about- but you'll still get breakfast if you can stomach it: she said and looked up, pricking her ears forward as a Heraldic trainee, looking about thirteen and still half asleep appearing. He peered at Raul for a long moment and then said to her, "You're the one Noland has been speaking of."

His voice seemed strangely unemotional, but Faolan attributed that to sleepiness for his eyes expressed a sort of confused indifference to the world at large. They were pale blue and seemed to be staring off into a different world and not at the one they were in, even when they looked directly at someone or something.

Raul only snorted at him and he looked down at Faolan, and a smile twitched across his lips and he said, "Hi. I'm Christopher Alaska. I suppose you're the newest trainee."

The last bit was said with a lack of confidence, and unsurity that unsettled Faolan and made her shift her weight back and forth from foot to foot. She hoped Raul wouldn't leave soon- her presence, large and powerful, made her sure everything would be all right. Nothing in her past lives prepared her for this- for she'd never been a Herald before.

"Come with me… uh, what's your name?" Christopher inquired, kneeling down to peer at Faolan eye to eye.

"Faolan," she said, meeting his gaze directly and in a challenging manner, daring him to question her right to be there.

"Well… I'm supposed to take you to the Dean meanwhile," he said and straightened up.

"Meanwhile?" Faolan echoed, plucking at her warm and itchy shirt- Raul had insisted she wear one while in the city.

"Never mind," Chris said and turned around to go inside the building and Fao sighed- here was the start of it, the treatment towards her as a child.

:Good luck: she said to Raul and the filly gave a low nicker and then Fao heard her hooves chiming away- chiming for the first time on the hard cobblestone. It was a beautiful noise and Faolan smiled, knowing it'd be a sound she could easily grow used to.

:I'm afraid I'll need it: the Companion said, her mindvoice fading with the distance.

And she followed Christopher Alaska inside, her feet silent on the wood floors down fine hallways until they finally stopped before a door and the Herald trainee stopped and knocked.

"Come in," a voice answered and Christopher pushed the door open.

Sitting at a neat desk was a man with wavy brown hair that only came to his ears and sharp blue eyes peering at the two through glasses perched upon a sharp nose. He wore the whites of a Herald and had the air of someone who knows exactly what they're doing.

"This is the Dean of the Herald's Collegium, Jason Ashwater" Chris said softly to Faolan and then said to the Dean, "And this is the, uh, newest trainee, Faolan."

"Welcome to Haven Faolan, why don't you have a seat?" Ashwater said, motion at two chairs in front of the desk. Faolan chose the one with padding, finding it delightfully bouncy as she pulled herself up onto it, "And Christopher, you may leave."

She heard the door close as footsteps fade into the distance and felt very alone- even if Christopher had been sort of distant he had been someone, and not an adult. With a sigh she turned to look back at the Dean, meeting his gaze with her own.

"So," he said, looking her over and Faolan had to remind herself that he was a Herald, and wouldn't send her to be eaten by lions- because he certainly looked like he had it in him.

"Hi," she said, giving her cutest smile and thinking that if she was old enough, she could consider him quite handsome- but the oddest thing about having memories yet being a child was that she was aware of things like that, but felt nothing in response to it, and along with that came the sense that she didn't really care either way.

"Well Faolan, you're a bit young to be Chosen, but we'll see what we can do," he said, with a sort of distant look, different to Christopher's but still 'away.'

"What are you going to do?" Faolan inquired, feeling that she had it much easier than Raul was undoubtedly having at that exact moment- adults didn't expect anything of four year olds.

"Train you, of course," he said with a smile that revealing slightly crooked teeth, but was friendly, nevertheless, "You won't start your Heraldic training until you're ten, but we'll find things for you to do until then. Now, I'll need some information about you, so pay close attention and try your best to answer these well."

Faolan nodded, holding back annoyance at him, at least he didn't use a different voice to talk to her- and it wasn't like they knew she could understand things perfectly well. And as Raul said, that was something they couldn't know.

"Can I have your full name and your parents names?" he asked, picking up a quill and posing it over a sheet of paper.

"Faolan of Dufret. I don't have any parents," Faolan said, wondering if he'd inquire further. It was a lie, she had parents, she just didn't associate with them. It'd be easier to be considered an orphan. Or would it?- she paused… It would be nice to imagine the look on her Father's face to discover she'd been Chosen, instead of freezing to death.

"Well…" Faolan added quickly, fidgeting some to display her indecision, "I mean I have parents but…"

"Yes Faolan?" he inquired and his tone sounded almost fatherly. Fao decided she liked him.

"Mama ran away before I was Chosen and I went after her, but I never found her and then Raul found me," she explained, choosing the simplest words she could think of- she supposed even if she acted the way she did with Raul they'd just think she was a smart kid but Fao didn't want to take chances.

"Would you like us to send word to either of them?" he asked, looking concerned now.

"Both, yes please," Faolan nodded, hiding her smirk. She supposed in any other occasion a child like her would be scarred by the experiences she'd been through- and she almost was, but her memories helped her work through what happened and she didn't need to talk about it anymore than she'd spoken to Raul.

"All right," he nodded and wrote some more things down, "You're from Dufret then?"
Faolan nodded and he then asked, "What were your parents occupations?"

"We were farmers," Faolan said and leaned back in the chair to peer at a ceiling in slightly worse shape than the walls- she supposed they didn't get as good care as the places you could reach easier.

"All right, thank you Faolan," he said with another smile at her, "Christopher will be back in a few minutes to take you to breakfast and then to get you measured for your uniform and shoes and show you to your room."
Faolan nodded and the Dean stood up and came over to stand in front of her, and then, after a moment, he kneeled down and took her hand and said, "Don't worry about anything Faolan. We'll take care of you here."

She could see behind his eyes, No matter what the Companions decide. Still, a Choice was a Choice… She supposed the worst they could do was wait and see if she grew into someone who was still a Herald, and not a few of them was expect a repudiation like the one that happened with Trainee Tylendel- except not for murder. And they'd sigh and shake their heads and everything would be back to normal. She hid another grin- boy would they prove them wrong!

There was another knock and Christopher came back in, still looking sort of dazed and out of it. Faolan supposed that was just the way he looked, and not due to just getting up. He looked at her and Faolan slid off the chair. The Dean stood up and gave Fao a reassuring smile, or what was meant to be one, and then she walked over to Christopher.

"Okay Faolan," he said and she nodded and they moved back into the hallway and the shiny polished wood floors that felt odd and flat against her bare feet after dirt all summer.

"First," he said with a sort of wistful grin, "We shall get breakfast and you can meet all the rest of the trainees. Food first. Then we'll do the measurement stuff- my first class won't be for an hour after breakfast since I'm being excused from chores to tote you around until you get used to things."

Or until something else is done about me, Faolan thought cynically to herself but kept it silent.

"What do you like for breakfast, Faolan?" Chris asked, looking down at her as they walked side by side. Faolan's eyes came to just past his waste and she felt short for the first time in her life.

"Uh," Fao said- she'd had oatmeal for meals, and meat, for the last eight months. What did she like? She couldn't really remember eating anything interesting back before she'd been Chosen but in her most recent life… She specifically recalled, now that she thought of it, that she enjoyed cranberry jam on bread, still hot from the oven.

"Cranberry jam on bread," she said after a moment's thought, scratching her arm and wondering what was on the other sides of the doors they were passing.

"Never had it," Christopher said, "But it sounds good. Personally, I prefer eggs. And sausage."

"You should try it," Faolan said with a grin, peering up at Christopher. He caught her gaze and looked down, and a grin came across his face at the expression on her face.

"You know what?" he said, "I think I will. And here we are."

He pushed open a wide door and aromas suddenly assaulted Faolan's nose in such a manner that it felt like tiny scented ants were swarming up her nostrils and screaming scents into her nose. Swamped would accurately describe it. A chorus of voices and the clatter of utensils on plates met her ears- and this too was loud enough to send her into a state of shock. For the longest time the only voice she'd hear was her own, and even back at home they'd never gone to gatherings with so many people. In fact, she hadn't been in a city since being a noble!

"You a farm kid?" Christopher asked and for the longest moment Faolan stared at him dumbly before understanding and she nodded her head.

"You'll get used to it," he said and patted her shoulder, "We're a big family."

"Big is the right word," Faolan muttered, not meaning anyone to hear, but she must have spoken louder than she thought or Chris had excellent hearing for he laughed and lead her through the tables to a specific one among the masses.

"Everyone," Chris said and about five people stopped eating- Fao assumed that was his 'everyone', "Meet the newest trainee, Faolan."

"Bit small to be a trainee, aren't you?" a voice asked. It came from a boy that looked to be perhaps a year older than Chris. His eyes were squinty and his hair, brown and down to his ears, seemed a bit too bouncy to be natural. It wasn't curly, but it just… went up before coming down. Faolan would have nailed him as an ex-noble right away, and he had the air of someone who is used to being the center of attention and knowing everything about someone before they've ever met. But she supposed he had to be okay, because he was going to be a Herald, right?

Faolan tried to come up with a good retort to his comment, but she couldn't really think of any and she wasn't supposed to be acting their age, she was supposed to be acting four, so she said, "I'll get bigger."

"I'm sure you will Fao!" he said with a knowing grin that suggested he was not at all certain of that, but Fao knew what he really wasn't certain of was that she get bigger as a trainee.

"Go easy on her Keanu," another trainee said. His voice had a laid back tone and, indeed, he was sort of flopped in a relaxed manner in his chair. His black hair was longer than Keanu's and fell over his eyes, mimicking the way he seemed to fall over the chair. Now he turned his eyes on Faolan and smiled at her, "You'll have fun here Faolan."

Faolan only smiled back at him sort of nervously as Christopher pointed out another black haired trainee, this one quite skinny, that Faolan thought was a boy until she spoke up. Her name was Ranae. The other two had names that Faolan didn't quite catch, but both were interested and curious by her. In fact, Faolan realized as she let her eyes scan the room, most people were casting discreet glances in her direction.

"Sit, sit Faolan, and help yourself," Chris said, reaching over to another table and plucking up a clean plate for her and setting it down before her on the table. Faolan climbed into the chair and found that when sitting, her chin only came about three inches above the table. She moved up to stand on the chair and, leaning on the table, reached across her plate to pluck a roll from a plate in the center of the table.

"I didn't know they Chose kids that young," Ranae whispered to Keanu and Fao decided she'd have to get used to the idea that people would assume she couldn't hear them or didn't understand.

"The Companions know what they're doing," Keanu said with a bored yawn and stretched before returning to poke at a few piece of sausage left on his plate.

"But it's odd, don't you think?" Ranae inquired, nudging Keanu, her dark eyes nervous and she moved her arms in a way that seemed to Fao as if she would knock something over any minute.

"I suppose," Keanu shrugged and speared a sausage.

"So… Faolan," Tobie said from across the table. Faolan looked up at him from her roll, which she'd been methodically peeling the layers of bread off of.

"Huh?" she inquired, pretending she hadn't heard Keanu and Ranae's quiet discussion.

"Where you from? What do you think of being Chosen?" he asked. His plate was empty but for some crumbs and Fao assumed he'd finished eating.

"Uh," Faolan said, "Dufret. We were farmers."

"A lot of us were," Tobie nodded, "Me, my father was a blacksmith. I was learning the lay of the job when ole' Charan Chose me."

"Only gonna be one four footed animal whose hooves you'll play with now, huh?" Faolan asked with a grin, finishing her roll and reaching for another. They were sweet, and buttery, and Faolan found them immensely pleasing.

"Yeah," Tobie agreed then asked, "Who Chose you?"

"Raul," Faolan said with a grin, wondering how the filly was coping. As she looked around at those sitting around her, she felt it strange to realize that all of them had lived previous lives, lives that affected them strongly but which they could not touch, or access. All they knew were the short years they'd lived in one life. Raul was different, in that way. She was wise beyond her years and Faolan knew it had to do with being a Companion… or something. She certainly knew a great deal more than any of the Heraldic trainees did sitting around her, or any of the human adults she'd known in this life.
"Is she a young Companion?" Keanu asked suddenly, and then, by way of explanation, added, "My Companion, Daveigh, told me your Companion's age corresponded to your own. Seems to be something of a… surprise… in the Companion's Field."

"Yeah," Faolan nodded, feeling like she should be suspicious of Keanu's words, but quashing that and forcing herself not to act hostile. Mostly, little kids didn't act very hostile.

"Maybe it's the war," Ranae poked Keanu and he turned back to her.

"Why would it be the war? She won't be able to assume Heraldic duties for at least ten years… that doesn't make sense," he hissed back at her.

"You done?" Christopher asked. He must have eaten before getting her, because he hadn't touched anything and his plate was clean.

Faolan looked up at Chris and nodded. Full, she now felt like a good nap. Going on her old nocturnal scale, it was nearing the time she'd usually go to bed. Presumably no one would mind if she slept odd hours since they could pin it on her age, and she doubted she'd be given chores at her age, either. The way Chris had mentioned being dismissed from his chores made Faolan suspect it was something all trainees had to do.

"Yes," she said, and Christopher pushed out his chair and stood up, "All right guys. I'm taking Faolan off to show her around and get her uniforms and stuff."

"Okay, see you Alaska," Tobie said and waved a hand good bye.

"Later Alaska," Keanu nodded.

"Have fun," said Ranae with an uneasy smile.

"We will," Christopher, or Alaska, or whatever he went by said and led Fao out once more, through the curious eyes of the trainees and Heralds.