Howdy, y'all! :D (pft I'm not from Tennessee xD) This was quick, wasn't it? We're all just speedy writers, I guess. :3 Anywhats, Kiichigo-chan has reminded me to remind all of you that the chapter before this one marked the end of Round One. This means all of us have now written one chapter, and the order will be starting over again, starting with this chapter. So you can now reuse your guesses, people (That is, if you're guessing. 'Cuz you know, we really want you guys to guess. It makes our collective days. Really.). :D That's all for now.

~Gypsy

'The lid of the flesh-pot chattered high,
'The knives were whetted and – then came I...
'So we plunged the hand to the mid-wrist deep
'In a cinnamon stew of the fat-tailed sheep.'

-"The Ballad of the King's Jest" by Rudyard Kipling.

Chapter Six: Festival

Pai stood up to his knees in the brisk-flowing stream, sluicing water over his face and arms. The water was like crystal; he could see the stones that made up the river bed, smashed and diffracted by his own splashing. There was a fish too: a large one, beautifully speckled, beating its tail slowly against the current. Pai straightened up and grinned. This place was perfect.

"These Ikisatashis get more brazen every day," Shio grumbled behind him. "Fetching warriors just to gather wood! And sending you to scout –" He stopped.

"I sent myself," Pai said lightly. "And I don't object to a scouting run now and again."

"You shouldn't have gone, maybe," Shio ventured. A Chief of the Fujiwaras was not to be talked down to or crossed, but he had known Pai since boyhood. "A chief shouldn't be seen running his own errands, especially by a lot like them."

"But he should be willing and able to perform any task he asks of his people, ne?" Pai answered. "Besides, I wanted to see the terrain first-hand, and be sure the job was done well. Admit it: I'm a better tracker than most."

"Only because you've got nothing else to practise," Shio muttered, very quietly. Pai snorted and ducked his head into the water again.

"I mean it, though," Shio said when he had resurfaced. "A tribe without an heir is a floating tribe. Vulnerable."

"I have a successor," Pai pointed out. "Do you object to my sister?" It might have been a very dangerous question, but his tone was still light.

"The people all love Zakuro," Shio assured him. "But the Ikisatashis...they're funny about women. You need to get yourself a girlfriend, Pai."

Pai turned, scaled the bank in a single bound and leapt at him. Shio jumped to defend himself, but a swift kick from Pai knocked his legs out from under him, and next moment both of them were sprawling on the ground.

"Ooof!" Shio gasped as the chief's weight landed across his stomach. Pai cuffed him twice and rolled clear, and by the time Shio had sat up he was back at the edge of the bank, nonchalantly wringing the water from his hair.

"What was that for?" Shio demanded, panting.

"I'll say who needs a girlfriend," Pai growled.

"Pai?"

Both men turned to see Zakuro approaching from the tents. She carried a wide wooden bowl of reddish-brown paste in one hand and Pai's festival cloak rolled up in the other. She set them both down, looked Pai over and frowned.

"You're still sopping wet! When you dragged me over here to paint you up I assumed you'd at least be ready!"

"You talk as though I were unreasonable," Pai said. "It's fitting for you to help me prepare."

"Only because you've got no-one else," Zakuro grumbled. She dipped her fist into the bowl and pressed it to the left side of his chest, leaving a paw-shaped mark. "You need to get yourself a girlfriend."

Pai grabbed her deftly round the waist and tossed her into the river.

"Why are you fighting everybody today, Pai-san?" Shio asked bemusedly.

"I just told you,' Zakuro called, shocked but undaunted, floundering up the bank. "It's because he needs a girlfriend!"

Pai shoved her squarely in the chest, sending her tumbling back into the stream. Shio snorted with laughter and Pai glowered reprovingly.

"Repressed desires!" Zakuro shouted, spluttering up out of the water.

"Repressed nothing!" Pai shouted back.

"Girlfriend, girlfriend, girlfriend!" Zakuro shrieked, splashing him with each word. Pai yelled in protest and plunged back into the stream, feeling his blood rise as the clear, balmy air filled his lungs. This was a good place. He caught hold of Zakuro and hefted her up over his shoulder, pointing her head down towards the water.

"No!" Zakuro cried, legs flailing in the air. "No, Pai, that's not fair – !"

He was about to dunk her when Shio seized him round the shoulders. He felt himself yanked backwards and dropped Zakuro. She jumped on him as Shio kicked his knees out from behind, and all three of them went toppling over in a laughing, thrashing tangle of limbs.

There was a faint cough from the bank.

Pai struggled to his feet, puffing and blowing, and saw Deep Blue standing on the bank. The laughter evaporated. The Cat leader was watching them with the faintest of sneers, or so it seemed to Pai in his current position. He couldn't believe his luck. Deep Blue never doffed his ceremonial panther skin, never relaxed his air of cool detachment, and here was he, Pai, play-fighting in the stream, dripping wet and clad in nothing but a pair of deerskin leggings. Beside him Shio shook his head like a dog, spraying them all with water.

"Pai-san," Deep Blue said at last. His tone was perfectly cool. "I was wondering if I might speak with you for a moment about the celebrations tonight?"

"He's not dressed," Zakuro said, somewhat unnecessarily in Pai's opinion. "I need to paint the clan prints."

"I'll need to dry off first or the paint won't stick," Pai said placatingly. "Shall we walk, Deep Blue-sama, and you can tell me what it is you want to say. I'll be back in just a moment, Zakuro."

Before she could argue he scaled the bank and approached Deep Blue. As he did so he did his best to throw off his discomfort. Had any of them ever seen the Ikisatashi leader win a fight or follow a trail, or share a moment with his people? No. And he was slender, for all he might try to hide it beneath his bulky panther hide. Pai stretched his arms above his head, flexing his muscles from shoulders to hips, and then asked:

"Well, Deep Blue-sama?"

"It was a good idea of your sister's." Deep Blue began to speak in a voice that did not carry, at the same time setting a swift course away from the bank and the two Fujiwaras. "Of Zakuro's. Inviting the two native tribes to the feast. We might learn much tonight."

"Actually I was under the impression that Zakuro invited them as guests," Pai said brusquely. "Is it our custom to spy on guests?"

"If possible no, of course not," Deep Blue's tone sounded more soothing than sincere. "And I admire your honourable intentions. All the same, we must put our own people first, must we not? We wouldn't want these natives to become a danger."

"To be perfectly frank, I don't think they're at all likely to become a danger," Pai said. "I never saw a gentler people."

"Hmmm," Deep Blue said, and then he suddenly stopped and put his hand on Pai's shoulder. It was the lightest of touches, but it stopped him dead in his tracks, and he flinched instinctively away. The hand was cold. "Look," Deep Blue said simply, pointing. Pai followed his gaze and saw a small brown bird, perched on a bramble nearby, with a berry in its beak.

"Harmless enough," Deep Blue said, "but it eats and another bird doesn't. It lives and others don't. This is the nature of life." He paused. "All competition is dangerous."

"I see what you mean," Pai answered, shifting away from his hand. "Very well; we shall all keep our ears open. And now I must get back to Zakuro. She is impatient if kept waiting, even by a great chieftain such as yourself."

"Ah, Zakuro," Deep Blue said. "A singular woman."

"Yes," Pai answered, turning back towards the river.

"So self-sufficient, with that wolf of hers...tell me, does either of you look to be married in the near future?"

"No," Pai grunted. He felt that there was some purpose behind this question that was quite unrelated to his own romantic prospects, but he couldn't pin it down.

"A great shame, especially for someone as comely as your sister. But come to the festival tonight, and maybe I can find a woman among my warriors who will take your fancy. A chief ought to be married."

"Mmmm-hm," Pai murmured, lost in a golden dream of shoving the King of Cats into the briskly-flowing stream and watching him flounder.

They reached the river bank, where Shio and Zakuro were sitting side by side in disgruntled solidarity. Deep Blue gave a nod and sheared off towards the camp, and Pai went to join the two Wolves.

"What did he want?" Zakuro growled, standing.

"Just a few last-minute preparations for the festival," Pai answered. "He thinks I should get a girlfriend too."

"If he thinks so then I just might change my mind," Zakuro said. She picked up the wooden bowl and began re-painting the prints on his chest. "But I'm not convinced he does. He's a man who always says one thing and means...just the opposite."

"He offered me an Ikisatashi warrior," Pai said.

"I'll bet he did," Zakuro muttered.

"What do you mean?" Pai asked.

"Nothing. Just that a marriage may bind more things than one. There." Zakuro made the finishing touches to his paint, draped the cloak across his shoulders and smiled grimly. "You'll do."

"Minto-san?"

Lettuce had slipped away from her family and along the moving column of Midorikawas and Aizawas until she found Mint, walking with Ryou and his hunters. She tapped her friend on the shoulder and gestured, and Mint nodded and fell back until they were walking in the gap between two groups, relatively alone.

"What is it, Lettuce?" Mint whispered back.

Lettuce extended her ribbons, tasting the breeze. What they were doing – walking, the whole tribe, towards the camp of the strangers – felt horribly dangerous, though she told herself that rationally speaking it was safe. She could sense all the signs of a tribe preparing to feast: smoke, roasting meat, voices and the yapping of playing dogs. Her people knew the land; if they were attacked they could scatter and disappear. And yet...

"I'm scared."

"Scared of what?" Mint said in a snappy sort of way. "Scared that you'll run into Pai-sama again?" They had all heard the story of Lettuce's first encounter with a Fujiwara, yesterday in the raspberry patch.

"Shut up, shut up, shut up!" Lettuce moaned, burying her face in her hands. It wasn't a phrase she used often and Mint, somewhat surprised, shut up.

"I mean it, though," Lettuce continued. "I'm scared. Not about tonight, but about tomorrow, and the time after. Did you see those warriors that came up to our camp? They could finish us, Minto."

"But why would they want to? There's plenty of land around and no-one in it."

"Yes, but we've got by far the best spot. And those warriors...that Mugi, remember, the Cat, he looked like he'd rather fight than not."

"He was a brute, I'll grant you, but some of them seemed alright. That Ichigo was a pain but she didn't look dangerous, and Zakuro..." Mint paused, staring into space for a moment. "Well, she didn't seem bad at all. And she invited us to the feast."

"Mmm," Lettuce said doubtfully. She fingered the seashell clasp that Pudding had given her, which was fastened in her hair above her left ear. What had happened to her? Had her tribe been scattered? Would a traveller in a few months be encountering Midorikawa and Aizawa children wandering in the woods, completely alone? She shook her head. She was exaggerating, surely.

"And if we get into trouble Kisshu and Masaya can always protect us," Mint went on. "Remember how they went to meet the warriors yesterday? And took them prisoner with fishing spears?"

"Don't make fun, Minto," Lettuce said quietly.

"I wasn't making fun," Mint said. "I thought it was brave. But don't be scared, Retasu-chan." She took hold of Lettuce's hand and squeezed it tightly. "I'm sure it'll be OK."

Lettuce nodded and swallowed, turning to stare ahead again. The ground began to slope uphill, and as they climbed they could begin to make out a flickering glow lighting up the trees and bushes ahead, and then she and Mint topped the rise and they could see the camp of the Wolves and Cats spread out before them.

The tents were arranged in a circle around a roaring fire. It was traditional among the Midorikawas and Aizawas to have a fire for the midsummer festival, but Lettuce had never seen one this big. It snapped and crackled greedily, great tongues of flame licking towards the sky and tossing billows of sparks into the air, and the blue summer evening seemed dark around it. Beside it two men worked, half-naked in the heat, spitting a dead buck and turning it over the flames. A pair of hounds, more wolf than dog, were tussling over a marrow-bone beside one of the tents, but more reassuringly there were also several children, running and play-fighting, clearly excited by the feast. She could not see Pai, or anyone else that she recognised.

As the Midorikawas began to enter the camp, the dogs broke off their fighting and started to bark. One advanced, growling, but a woman appeared out of the nearby tent and cuffed it away. People were beginning to gather towards the centre of the camp, staring at the newcomers but not approaching or speaking. Lettuce felt a bead of sweat sliding down her spine, but then a voice spoke from the other side of the fire.

"Is that you, Keiichiro-san?"

Pai appeared, walking towards them with his hands outstretched in a gesture of welcome, his warriors behind him. Lettuce ducked her head and dropped back to stand behind Mint as he approached them.

"Hai," Keiichiro answered, "with Ryou-san, and our tribes."

Each man made the gesture of his tribe, respectfully bowing his head, and Keiichiro immediately stepped into the role of gracious diplomat.

"We are grateful for your invitation to come and meet the rest of your people, Pai-san. It is an auspicious night for a new beginning."

"Hai." Pai hesitated awkwardly for a moment, and then gestured back towards the people by the fire. "This is Deep Blue, the chief of the Ikisatashi tribe."

A stillness settled over the gathering. Lettuce, who had been staring at her feet, looked up sharply as a man detached himself from the others and moved to stand beside Pai. For a moment her eyes struggled to make sense of the strange shape of his head and shoulders, and then she realised that he was wearing the skin of some great cat, its jaw resting on the crown of his head, its paws hanging over his shoulders. In the firelight the fur looked pure black. As he turned slightly she saw a gleam of white about his throat. He wore the beast's teeth around his neck.

"Deep Blue-sama, I am proud to meet you," Keiichiro said. He and Ryou bowed and gestured again. Deep Blue responded with a faint nod.

There was a ripple of unease among the Midorikawas and Aizawas, and Lettuce heard Kish give a hiss from somewhere to her left, while Mint spluttered faintly beside her. Some of the Wolves were fidgeting as well, and when Pai spoke again it was clear that he was embarrassed by the behaviour of his ally.

"We are all glad of your presence. Our hunters have done well today; please, come and eat with us now."

"Thank you. We have also brought food of our own." Keiichiro gestured to several Midorikawas who were carrying baskets. "There is good fishing here, and plenty of fruit in this season. If the plants here are strange to you, my people will show you which are good to eat."

"Thank you," Pai nodded. "That will be very welcome."

"Come on," Mint groaned quietly, shifting from foot to foot. "Why don't they do something?"

Lettuce nodded; she was feeling more awkward by the second. But at that moment, Zakuro appeared.

There was something in her manner that instantly relaxed the watching tribes. She moved easily, swift but unhurried, paying no heed to the tension around her. Skirting the fire, she scanned the gathering until she spotted Lettuce and Mint, and immediately crossed to them.

"Midorikawa Retasu," she said, embracing Lettuce and kissing her on both cheeks. She turned to Mint and did the same. "Aizawa Minto. Where are Kisshu-san and Masaya-san?" She craned her neck, searching among the Midorikawas until she spotted them, then smiling and nodding. "I am very glad that you could come," she said, the ring of sincerity in her voice. "Well, come on then! Show us what you have brought, and we can eat." She took Lettuce by the hand and pulled. Lettuce gave a squeak of protest as she was drawn towards the fire, into the very centre of the people's focus, but then she realised that the crowd, released by Zakuro, was beginning to break up. The Midorikawa and Fujiwara women moved to the fire and began to bury the shellfish they had brought in the hot ashes, while the men set to work gutting fish and stringing them up to roast. People were taking coals and using them to light smaller satellite fires round the central blaze, more manageable for heating stew and baking bread. Lettuce saw a small boy step up to one of the children from the Sea tribe and say loudly:

"I'm seven summers old! How old're you?"

"Come on," Zakuro said. She led Lettuce and Mint around the huge central fire to a wide circle of seating logs. It was almost empty, the majority of the tribe being busy with preparations, but a group of girls were sitting round a small cooking fire, giggling as they shredded thyme and sorrel into the pot hung over it. Lettuce recognised Ichigo at once. She was chatting to a couple of other girls, also Cats, judging by the reddish tint in their hair. The other four were Fujiwaras, dark-haired and long-limbed like Zakuro. Zakuro crouched down among them, beckoning Mint and Lettuce to the log beside her, and said:

"These are Retasu and Minto, who I told you about. Retasu's Midorikawa, Minto's Aizawa."

"Retasu," one of the Ikisatashi girls said, turning to Lettuce. Lettuce tensed. She had always found girls en masse difficult to deal with.

"Aren't you the girl who stalked Pai-sama through the woods and landed on his head?" the Ikisatashi girl asked.

Lettuce made a faint moaning sound and buried her face in her arms.

"I wish I'd seen that," one of the Fujiwaras laughed. "Pai-sama caught by surprise!"

"It must have been brilliant," the first girl said. She eyed Lettuce approvingly. "Excellent tactics."

"Ano...tactics?" Lettuce echoed.

"She thinks you did it on purpose," the Fujiwara said with an eye-roll. "I'm Gari, by the way. And this is Sudachi, who has a fixation with our chief."

"I tell you, if one could only get to know him –" Sudachi insisted.

"You're absolutely right," Zakuro said. "Shame about the part where he doesn't speak."

Ichigo giggled. Lettuce caught her eye and the red-headed girl grinned. She didn't look so frightening to Lettuce anymore; more light-hearted and girlish than dangerous. Lettuce felt herself begin to relax a little. Gari scooped up a spoonful of stew from the pot and smelled it, and then Zakuro's wolf ambled over and lay down beside them.

"Don't be scared," Zakuro said, as both Mint and Lettuce flinched away. "She won't bite. Really, she won't. You can pet her if you want."

It was the last thing she wanted, but Lettuce made herself lean over and rub her hand between the pricked grey ears.

"Good girl, Suika," Zakuro crooned soothingly, as the wolf stared intently at Lettuce, weighing her up. Zakuro fished a piece of meat out of the cooking skin and dangled it above Suika's head. Lettuce flinched as the powerful jaws opened wide, snapping at the titbit.

"Oy, that's our food!" Ichigo grumbled. Lettuce noticed that none of the other Ikisatashi girls looked completely relaxed either, and that made her feel less like a coward. She scratched Suika's ears more firmly, and the wolf relaxed, letting her tongue loll out, and then rolled right over onto her side. Lettuce and Mint buried their fingers in the cream-coloured fur on her belly and Suika flopped backwards, her expression so like a grin of delight that Lettuce giggled.

"See?" Zakuro said. "She's sweet as honey. Just like my brother, deep down."

"Ichigo!"

A small boy came pelting out of the shadows and leapt on Ichigo from behind, but she rolled with him and allowed the momentum to bring her out on top, pinning him to the ground.

"Aww!" he complained. "Lemme up, hag!"

"This is Taruto," she said to Mint and Lettuce, dragging him up by the arm. "He's a baka and he has no respect."

"Your brother?" Lettuce guessed. Ichigo rolled her eyes.

"Hai, worse luck." She turned to the boy. "Go away."

"Who you gonna dance with then, Ichigo?" he asked, bouncing up and down in her face. "Who you gonna –"

"SHOO!" the three Ikisatashis yelled together. Tart jumped backwards and sloped away, muttering.

"Annoying brat," Ichigo muttered. Zakuro shook her head.

The meat was done. The men carried the spitted deer into the centre of the circle and began to cut it up, while others brought fish, fruit and stew. Someone passed Lettuce a hunk of bread and a dripping slice of meat, and she suddenly found herself ravenously hungry. She worried for a moment about whether to dig in or behave formally, but it seemed to be a free-for-all. The other girls ate like wolves, tearing off strips with their teeth, using pieces of bread to ladle the rich, tangy stew from pot to mouth, spitting fish bones at the fire. The oysters and mussels had them flummoxed at first, but Lettuce and Mint showed them how to lever the shells open with a knife or crack them between flat stones. The girls squealed when they saw the slimy creatures inside, and shrieked even louder when Lettuce and Mint slurped them out of their shells without a second thought.

"Retasu! Minto!" Kish called, walking over with Masaya following. He was gnawing on a partridge leg, his fingers slick with grease. "This is some party, ne?"

"Hai," Lettuce said, and realised that it was true. She was enjoying herself. The mix of foods, the roaring of the colossal fire, the babble of strange voices were all exciting. Kish folded himself down on the ground beside her and nodded to Zakuro.

"Hello, Zakuro-san."

"Hello Kisshu-san, Masaya-san," she smiled back.

"Hey, it's our warriors!" Ichigo called, laughing. Kish's gaze flicked up to meet hers.

"Hey Ichigo," he said cheerfully.

"Warriors?" one of the other Cats questioned. Ichigo turned to her, grinning.

"Yes, didn't I tell you? When we were on our way to their camp yesterday to negotiate, we didn't pass entirely unmolested. These two jumped out onto the path and demanded that we stop and explain ourselves!" She began to giggle. Masaya was blushing, but Kish held her gaze, unabashed.

"It was worth it to meet you, Koneko-chan," he grinned.

"Koneko-chan?" Ichigo spluttered. Kish smirked at her. "I'll Koneko-chan you!" she declared, jumping across the fire. She grabbed hold of Kish's shoulders, shoving him backwards, but he began to tickle her under the arms and she doubled over, laughing.

"Ooof, I'm too full for this," he grunted, pushing her off him. The group subsided into silence, each of them staring idly into the fire. Most people had finished eating now, and men were moving the log benches, widening the circle to enclose the big fire. Someone gave a drum a few experimental thumps, and there was a whoop from the other side of the ring.

"Ha," Zakuro said. "Time to dance."

A Wolf man made his way into the middle of the circle, carrying a large stringed instrument. He settled himself on the ground, sticking his legs out either side of it, resting the neck on his shoulder, and began to pluck slowly on the strings, rippling up and down. Others joined him, a small group of them, playing their instruments testingly for one another, each finding their place in the ensemble, with no steady pulse or tune as of yet. But the beat grew more tangible, the bursts of music more sustained, and the movement of the people to and fro began to change, shifting slowly from walking to dance. Lettuce felt her own feet jiggling in time with the drum.

Then a woman sang, a long, melismatic note, part song, part wolfen howl, and Lettuce felt the whole gathering move. The different instruments suddenly twisted together into a driving, insistent tune, and the girls around Lettuce all jumped to their feet, so suddenly that she instinctively jumped too.

People began to clap in time. They were moving with the rhythm of the music, and that movement was swiftly turning to dance. The man with the stringed instrument played a long flourish, and the Wolves began to sing. Lettuce had never heard the words they used before, but the chant was short and simple, easy to pick up, and she and Mint were soon singing along, whirling and clapping their hands in time. Lettuce began to relax and move, because the traditions of song and dance were familiar to her, though this was wilder than anything she'd done before. Then suddenly an Ikisatashi boy, maybe a few years older than Kish, dashed forward and sprang, tucking himself into a ball and turning right over in the air before landing lightly on his feet in the centre of the circle. The dancers cheered, applauding his skill, and he turned and held out his hand to a girl at the front of the ring. She took it, and they began to dance wildly, their feet sliding and kicking up the summer dust. Others joined them, in pairs or groups, while the circle of tribespeople kept up the chant. The music was growing more complex and more beautiful, with thicker harmonies and half-shouted descants, and fast, twanging ornaments from the stringed instrument. It was obviously an old, well-known song. It could have as many or as few parts as were available, and everybody knew their task within it.

Later, Lettuce thought, we'll teach them some of our midsummer songs...the Leaping Salmon, and the song of the flood tides...

"Will you dance with us?"

Lettuce snapped out of her dancing-trance, to see two Wolf warriors standing in front of them. The one who had spoken was holding his hand out towards Sudachi, and the other, behind him, was looking almost shyly towards Mint. The other girls, keen to be in on the fate of one of their number, stopped dancing, their attention focused on the men.

"Hai," Sudachi blushed, putting her hand in the Fujiwara warrior's. Despite what she had said about Pai earlier, she seemed perfectly happy with this invitation. A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush, Lettuce reflected, and who really wants to be the wife of a chief, when it comes down to it?

Sudachi stepped out to stand beside the warrior, who was now waiting for his friend. The other man turned to Mint, cleared his throat gruffly and said:

"I'm sorry, I don't know your name..."

"Aizawa Minto," Mint stammered.

"Will you dance with me?"

"Ano..." Mint stared at her feet. "I...I would like to, but you must ask my guardian for permission first. Sorry," she whispered, meeting his eyes, "it's the way of my tribe."

He swallowed his disappointment quickly, and smiled. "That's fine; I understand, Minto-san." He hesitated, and then the two of them moved off to join the dance.

"Wait," Ichigo said the moment they were out of earshot. "You're not allowed to dance?"

"Of course I'm allowed to dance!" Mint snapped back. "Just not without my next of kin knowing and consenting first! And I wouldn't be bothered either, except that for me that's Ryou-san, and he...well, he can be strict."

"Oh," Ichigo said, and turned away, beginning to move to the music again.

"Will he let you dance with one of us?" Zakuro asked quietly.

"I don't know." Mint sounded subdued. "He's my cousin, you see. His father and mine are both dead, and he...he takes my protection very seriously."

"And he doesn't trust us," Zakuro said.

"No, no, Zakuro-sama, he –"

"It's alright," Zakuro said, with a wry grin. "If I were him I wouldn't trust us either. I know we must look quite scary to your lot."

"No, not really. I think you look...impressive, a bit. Noble. And special." Mint ducked her head shyly.

"Thanks," Zakuro said, grinning more broadly now, and then she backed out into the circle and began to dance alone. Suika bounded over and stood up on her hind legs, resting her paws on Zakuro's shoulders. She growled playfully and Zakuro growled back, gripping the thick fur and mock-wrestling two and fro. Mint watched her for a moment, then turned back to Lettuce.

"I don't think Ryou-san is going to like the idea of me dancing with a Fujiwara, really, but he's sure to let me dance with someone. He knows everybody in our tribes well, after all. I'll go ask now. Hey, Kisshu –"

But Kisshu was on the far side of the cluster of people, unable to hear her call over the music, and at that moment Ichigo put her hand on his arm. She said something, laughing, and then began to pull him into the middle of the circle. He followed, wrapping an arm around her waist as he went, beginning to move together with her. They joined the whirling dancers and were gone.

"Minto-san..." Lettuce whispered. Mint was standing stock-still, staring after them; she had not moved or spoken. Masaya appeared on her other side and looked at Lettuce, his face just as horrified as hers.

"Minto?" he said, touching her shoulder.

"That bitch!" Mint cried suddenly. She began to sob.

"Oh, Minto-chan," Masaya said. "Don't cry, it's alright..." And he pulled her into his arms.

Deep Blue and Pai stood apart from the dancers, outside the circle of firelight.

"How would you say the festival is progressing, Pai-san?" Deep Blue asked quietly.

"Everybody seems to be getting along very well."

"Hmm," Deep Blue murmured. Was it Pai's imagination, or did he detect a faint note of displeasure in the Ikisatashi chief's voice?

"There is Keiichiro, by the fire," Deep Blue continued. "He hasn't moved all evening. He looks thoughtful, don't you think?"

"I expect he is wondering how relations between our tribes will progress in the long run, just as we are." Pai's tone was vaguer than it had been a moment ago; he had just caught sight of Lettuce and the boy who had accosted his embassy – Masaya – standing on the far side of the fire from them. Masaya was embracing a dark-haired girl, and Pai's eyes flicked instinctively away, landing on Lettuce instead.

"Where is Ryou?" Deep Blue asked suddenly, his tone sharper. "I don't see him."

"Just there," Pai murmured, nodding his head forwards. The Aizawa chief was storming towards the place where Lettuce, Masaya and their friend stood.

Lettuce jumped backwards with a yelp of shock as Ryou appeared out of nowhere, seizing Masaya's shoulder and wrenching him away from Mint.

"What do you think you're doing?" he shouted. "You think just because we're among strangers you can touch an Aizawa woman?"

"I'm sorry, Ryou-sama, I meant no harm –"

"Get away from her! Get away and keep away!"

"Ryou," Mint protested, "you know Masaya, he's my close friend. Of course he wouldn't try any –"

Ryou rounded on her.

"You're right. I hold you partially responsible, Minto. You clearly can't be trusted any more than Masaya here. Go home."

Mint gaped. "I will not! That's not fair!"

"Please, Ryou-sama," Lettuce broke in. "Please, don't punish Minto-san, and don't be angry with Masaya. They weren't doing anything wrong, and I was right here..."

"Oh," Ryou snorted, but his expression softened very slightly. "You were here."

"He was only trying to comfort her," Lettuce pleaded.

"Comfort her?" Ryou repeated. "About what?"

"Ano..." Lettuce faltered. "That is, uh...Kisshu...uhm..."

"Thanks, Retasu," Mint muttered.

"What has been going on here?" Ryou demanded, his voice rising again. Lettuce darted forward and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Please, Ryou-san," she said beseechingly, "nobody's done anything wrong..."

Zakuro left the dance, panting, and immediately spotted her brother brooding in the shadow of the tents. He wore his post-encounter-with-Deep-Blue expression, and he was staring intently past the fire. She headed over to join him.

"Having fun, onii-chan?"

He threw her a withering glance and then went back to his staring.

"What are you watching?"

"A little confrontation," he answered, pointing. Zakuro looked in the direction he indicated and saw the Aizawa chief, bearing over Mint. Even over the sounds of music and dancing, her sensitive ears caught the angry tone of his voice.

"Oh dear," she murmured. "Minto-san's in trouble."

They watched as Lettuce moved to intercede, placing a hand on his shoulder and speaking words they couldn't catch. As she spoke, Ryou seemed to subside a very little.

"The Aizawa chief seems soothed by Midorikawa Retasu," Pai observed.

"He does indeed. Your point?"

"There is no point," Pai said hastily. "I was merely speculating. It's useful to know the relationships between these people for future –"

"Uh-huh," Zakuro said sceptically. "If you're so worried, you could always intervene."

"What are you talking about, Zakuro?" Pai demanded, but she was already walking away. Pai shook his head and turned back to the scene they had been watching.

"Ryou."

Keiichiro appeared at Ryou's shoulder, and Lettuce thanked her stars. She knew that he was about the only person to whom Ryou would listen.

"Leave the children alone now," he said reasonably, taking Ryou by the arm. "I can vouch for Masaya and for Lettuce. If they say that it was innocent, then I'm sure it was. And please lower your voice. People are staring."

Ryou glanced uneasily round, and saw that they had indeed begun to attract curious attention. He sighed and relaxed.

"Very well. Maybe I was mistaken. Minto, you don't have to go home. You may stand by that tree and watch the dance."

"That's complete –" Mint began, but Keiichiro cut her off.

"Minto, please do as your cousin tells you," he said, then turned his back to Ryou and mouthed, "I'll try to bring him round." Mint nodded and stumped off in the direction of the tree Ryou had indicated. The two chieftains walked off in the opposite direction, and Lettuce and Masaya were left on their own.

"Oh, Masaya-kun," Lettuce breathed.

"It's OK," Masaya said, rubbing a hand through his hair. His voice was shaky, but he tried to smile. "...do you want to dance?"

"Do you?" she asked.

"Not really," he admitted. They both turned to watch the dancing again. The clapping circle that had begun the celebration had broken up, the most enthusiastic dancers all out in the middle, around the musicians – while the less energetic – lounged around the log seats, talking and eating. She and Masaya stood a little way back, in the darkness beneath the trees that edged the camp. She felt sad for Masaya still, but also strangely peaceful. It felt safe and quiet in the shadows here, observing the party but not part of it. Somehow, though, she felt a little wistful...

"Excuse me?"

Lettuce turned and found herself face to face with Pai.

She gave a gasp and began to start backwards, but came up against Masaya's shoulder and managed to hold her ground. But only just. She had stared at her feet when Pai welcomed them, but she couldn't avoid looking at him now. In the dusk his eyes looked black, highlighted with glints of reflected frame. She took a deep breath, focused on the warmth of Masaya's shoulder pressing into her back, and managed to speak.

"Pai-sama."

"Midorikawa Retasu," he returned, inclining his head. He raised one hand, extending it a little way towards her. "Dance with me?"

She felt as though she was plunging downwards. The blood roared in her ears, and she couldn't seem to form a coherent thought, much less a sentence. Dance with him? How could she say yes? But equally, how could she reasonably say no?

But he wasn't growing angry at her lack of response. She blinked though her confusion, and saw that he was looking past her now, questioningly, at Masaya.

"I'm sorry," he said. "Is she your –"

"No!" Masaya said hastily, backing away with his hands spread out in front of him. "No, no, we're not..."

Lettuce looked at him desperately, but it was too late; he'd already denied it. Don't leave me like this! she wanted to howl, but he was already hurrying away towards the fire. She watched after him for a moment, then gritted her teeth and turned back to Pai.

"Retasu?" he prompted, surprisingly gently.

"Hai," she said, because there was nothing else that she could say. "I would be honoured to dance with you, Pai-sama."

There was no smile to show whether he was pleased by her acceptance or not. He just took her hand and led her back towards the dance. They had arrived during a short break in the music; the musicians were swigging water and flexing their fingers, while the dancers stood about, catching their breath. She and Pai took their place among them, and the firelight fell across his head and shoulders. At their first meeting she had been distracted with shock and fear, but now there was no immediate danger to stop her from really seeing – and she found herself, for a moment, unable to look away.

He wore a headdress of what looked like eagle feathers, but longer than she had ever seen before, and a kind of bright, burnished tan in colour. Like Deep Blue, he had a string of wolf fangs around his neck, and a long cloak hung from his shoulders, patterned with earthy red and green. Beneath it he was naked from the waist up, and his chest was stamped with paw prints in red ochre, drawing the eye. She took in the shape of his muscles, his dark, puckered nipples and the line of hair that cut down across his belly, and a sudden flood of hot-and-cold shivers gushed across her skin, twisting her stomach so sharply that she nearly gasped in shock.

"They're golden eagle."

"Nani?" Lettuce jumped and blushed.

"The feathers come from a bird called the golden eagle," Pai explained. "They lived in the mountains where we used to hunt."

As he spoke the music began again. The frantic beats and chords had slowed now, and only the man with the stringed instrument was playing, accompanied by a wooden block that gave a hollow toc when struck. They began to move slowly with the music. Lettuce noticed that Pai moved almost awkwardly, in contrast with his earlier grace, and this made her feel the slightest bit braver.

"They must be splendid," she said, "golden eagles."

"Yes," Pai nodded, "but they're dangerous too. Very large; they can blind a person who strays too close when they're nesting. But they have their honour too, like all the beasts of prey. There were many creatures like that in the high mountains. The wolves, of course, and cats." He paused, thoughtfully. "It was a beautiful place."

"Why didn't you stay there?" Lettuce asked, because she thought he sounded wistful.

"Do you wish we had?" he asked, looking directly into her eyes.

"Ano..." Lettuce floundered. "No, of course not...I mean, I –"

Pai seemed to decide that it was an unfair question, and cut her off. "It was a good place, maybe," he said, "for a young hunter. Not so good for a family. It was cold."

His voice faded away, and at that moment the man with the instrument began to sing.

Listening carefully, she now realised that the words were in a dialect of the language she used, but so strange and distorted that she couldn't pick out more than a phrase here and there. As the dance led them close past the players, she thought Pai glanced at the singer sharply, but he was playing with half-closed eyes, lost in his song. It was beautiful. She could hear rhythm and expression in the words, even though she couldn't understand what they said.

"Have you been down to the sea, Pai-sama?" she half-whispered.

"I've seen it from a distance," he replied, "but I haven't had the chance to get close."

"It's beautiful too," she said. "Maybe you'll be happy here."

"Maybe." His fingers brushed very lightly over her hair, finding the seashell clasp. His voice took on a more direct note. "Who gave you this?"

"I –" Lettuce stiffened. It seemed an innocent enough thing to ask, but she remembered her promise to herself not to answer any more of his questions. "A friend."

"A friend?" he echoed, barely moving now. Lettuce stuck out her chin and looked him in the eye.

"Yes."

"A friend," he said again, a statement this time, giving a slight nod. His face cleared a little – of what? Sadness? Suddenly she wondered if there had been a different purpose behind his question than the one she'd seen.

"What is the use of these?" he asked suddenly, gesturing towards her ribbons. As he reached out to touch them she instinctively drew them back under her hair. At the same time she felt a flash of anger. Was that why he had asked her to dance? So that he could pump her for yet more information?

"That's my secret," she answered shortly.

"I'm sorry." He seemed genuinely abashed. "I keep frightening you, don't I? But I'm honestly just curious. You don't have to answer." He smiled at her, a friendlier smile than the one he'd given her when they first met in the forest. It reminded her suddenly of Suika's toothy grin, and she felt a spurt of sadness. He was without a doubt the most overwhelmingly handsome man who had ever asked her to dance, but she couldn't enjoy it because she couldn't trust him. At that moment the singer played a long, slow ripple on his instrument, bringing the song to a close, and abruptly she found that she was near tears. The dance was over, and all she had done was worry. She could smell Pai's sweat, and the damp clay scent of the ochre, pulling her in. But the dance was ending.

At that moment the singer called out.

"Hey, Pai!"

As they turned towards him he waved. Lettuce looked at him in surprise; his mellow, dreamy singing was thoroughly at odds with the jaunty grin he was wearing now.

"So you decided to take my advice, Pai-san?" he asked, looking at Lettuce.

"Go away," Pai called back. He turned to Lettuce.

"That is Shio," he said, with something very close to an eye-roll. "He's a baka."

Lettuce found herself smiling in response. Behind them, the man named Shio laughed and began to play another tune, faster and more cheerful. Pai's arms settled around her once more, and Lettuce blinked in surprise.

Apparently, they were to dance again.