A Pryktian's Pride Ch. 05

I stood slowly.

The whiskers of it twitched in the sun as it circled the area. Large paws fell silently on the cluttered forest floor.

I put the paper back in my pocket with great care as I stepped backward in a opposite circular stance.

What do you remember about these things? Not much, really. We weren't supposed to encounter anything in groups.

You're not in a group now, focus. The tan fur blended in so well with the shaded areas, I wondered if it knew that or was just born capable of the masking and naturally did it.

Focus god damn it!

I stared at it as it stared back. What did they say to do when faced with a giant cat? Running would instigate a chase I had no hope of winning. Staring it down might delay the chase, but it would pounce soon, and I was beginning to shake with fear.

I needed to be threatening somehow, but my throat was tight, and I was almost frozen if not for my constantly moving feet. I reached for my bag, inside was the knife I took from Grysn. It was all I really had to defend myself.

The moment my hand went over my shoulder to reach for it, the cat lowered to the ground further, hissing at me.

"Hey, buddy," I said at a moderate level, dropping my hands to down to a defensive position. "I don't want to hurt you, so maybe you just don't hurt me, yeah?"

It stopped pacing, its four feet close together, as it's back half swayed back and forth.

I shook my head, moving straight back now. "Please don't."

It's eyes didn't seem angry, I found no malice in them. And at this point being food for some beautiful, wild beast would be more than I deserved. And yet I ran.

I barely heard its swift movements behind me as I used everything in me to propel myself forward. A swipe at my leg and I was screaming as I fell to the ground, a proper meal ready for consumption.

The heat in my leg increased to a burning that was hard to bear, but my throat remained in tact.

"What in Dylikna's grace are you doing?"

I looked up to the beast chewing down on the forearm of Grysn who was fighting to get it off. My mouth was open but I had no words as I watched him finally kick the large feline away from him. His torn shirt dripped with blood under his elbow as he pointed his dagger toward the threat.

That knife was way bigger than the one I'd taken from him. I wonder where he stored that one.

He flipped the knife in his hand as blood ran down his elbow. "I thought you said you'd gone through training to be out here!" His comment made less sense than his anger in this situation.

The cat's white cheeks drew up as it opened it's big toothy jaws in a loud, miserable shriek.

Grysn yelled at it back, then kicked a chunky pebble at the thing's head which it swiftly ducked under.

It gave another, quieter sound, but circled in place, unsure of attacking.

"Get up and start moving up the hill to your right."

I gave a nod he couldn't see, and with great help from my hands, managed to get to my feet. I stumbled up the hill, sliding down several times in the loose dirt. After several paces, I found myself at the top of the small embankment and turned to see Grysn following me, still staring down the wild animal, kicking debris at it as he went.

It paced back and forth, hesitantly staring back at him. Once Grysn was up the hill, it hopped away, glanced back, then ran into the shadows far ahead of us.

I collapsed to the ground, panting. My leg was on fire. Looking down, it was clear why. That thing had torn right through the soft layer of clothing and left several large gashes in my lower leg. Blood soaked into the material around the wound, clinging to it.

"What were you doing?" Grysn shouted as he came over to me.

I really didn't think he was going to follow me. I didn't take much of his stuff. Maybe they were just vengeful creatures by nature? Or maybe something I took had sentimental value to him. Or maybe he really did want to find out where we lived. Then again, if they wanted that, they would've let me go much closer to where they found us, not dragged me almost off the-

"Nal," he said. "Why did you stop?"

I shook my head, mouth hung open as I took in large breaths. "I don't know what you-"

"You stopped," he cut me off, pointing in the general direction I had come from. "You stopped moving and you sat down in the middle of cougar territory. What in the stars were you thinking?"

He was so angry, angrier than I'd seen him so far, and while it was upsetting, it was also frightening. I couldn't think of any reason that he'd be so angry, and thus no options to quell it. I shook my head again.

His mouth twisted into a sour expression before he let himself rest against the trunk of a thick tree in front of me. He closed his eyes.

A bird sang above us, high in the branches. Another's song joined it from several trees over.

I watched Grysn's shoulders rise and fall with his breathing. "Why did you follow me?"

He opened his eyes, staring up into the leaves and limbs above us. "I wanted to make sure you'd be able to get back where you belong safely."

I flinched at his wording. Getting back unharmed would probably only make things worse.

"You were making good enough time, and seemed to have a general direction to follow. I was about to head back, confident you could handle yourself." He let out an exasperated sigh. "Then you just sat down and started reading like you were out on a picnic."

I glared at my feet at his accusations of ineptitude. He was the last person I needed to hear criticisms from. I didn't need him to remind me of what a failure I was. And I didn't need him to watch over me like some demented guardian angel of death. "Why does it matter to you whether I get home safe?"

"I just..." He paused. "Tians were important to my mom, and I've always been fascinated by them. I just wanted to ensure you wouldn't get hurt. I don't like seeing anything suffer."

"You're a hunter, killing things is all you're good at."

His gaze immediately shifted to me, his forehead knit together as he tilted his head to the side. "I'm not that kind of hunter. I don't kill for sport. It's my occupation, nothing more."

He waited for a response, perhaps even an apology. But I remained silent, not breaking eye contact.

"I've never killed any of your kin," he finally said. "If I had known tians would be out that far, I would've taken us around Mount Tript instead of Buum. You haven't been seen this far out in decades. I-" He groaned, rubbing his temples with the hand connected to his uninjured arm.

I listened, enthralled by all the things he was saying, making very little sense of most of it.

He slid down the tree roughly, so that we were almost at the same eye level, both sitting on the bare ground. "Nal, are you returning to your kind or not? I need to know."

"Why?" I asked, quietly. He no longer seemed angry, but I was hesitant to bring him back to that emotion.

"I don't want you to go back," he said, his eyes drifting away from mine. "But I know that is your home. It is your normal, and it is not an easy thing to turn your back on." He grimaced. "Despite how bad normal may be."

I looked down at the tiny ants trailing to a small hill near the base of his tree. Home seemed like such a strange word to call it. But I didn't know it as anything else.

"If you decide to return, I will leave you to your devices. You should have enough in there to make it all the way. But if you don't want to return to that, if you trust me enough to take care of you to the best of my ability, I won't let you go again. So I need to know your decision."

The first night away from the town as we began our scouting mission had been nothing short of breathtaking. More than that, it had felt like the first full breath I'd ever been allowed to take. Despite how the others began to treat me once we were away from the rules and regulations given by the council, it still felt like I was finally alive. There were so many new things I discovered and witnessed.

And it seemed like every single one had gotten me reprimanded. And the last one, well...

Sitting here, in front of this beast I'd understood to be beneath me, talking almost like equals, with no binds, no weapons pointed at each other, no outside influences- it felt very similar to that first breath of fresh air away from the town.

"I don't want to go back." My words came slowly, but strangely clear and steady. "I'm terrified to go back. But I don't trust you."

He nodded, his face turned downward. "I understand."

This choice felt more significant than joining the scouts. Yet no one but us two would ever know about this conversation. If I chose one way or another, I could pretend as though this never happened. Pretend like the path I take was the only one I'd ever been given to walk down. Was that the reason I was so scared? That I was the only one who'd ever hold myself accountable for this betrayal to my people? Or maybe I just didn't want to feel so sure of the choice I wanted. It would feel better if I was more conflicted.

But I knew which one I'd prefer. And I knew it was the wrong choice.

"Trust isn't built in a day. So you may not trust me now, or maybe ever, but," he said, "would you like to try?"

_______________________________

Hanging onto Grysn's neck, my legs held up by his forearms, we trekked through the woods.

I didn't want him to carry me, but he was insistent.

"Nal," he'd said with the return of his patronizing tone. "I sent most of the group home on ahead, but I have people waiting for me and we won't make it back before sundown with you limping the whole way."

"You're bleeding, too," I said in my defense as I forced myself to take another step.

"I am built far tougher than you are, Naldi. And you need to begin listening to me now that your choice has been made."

And that was the end of that conversation.

He did seem to be in less pain than I was, for some reason. But he still grunted and huffed occasionally. I didn't like seeing someone in pain because of me. I did my best to not move around too much and keep most my weight off his wounded arm.

His soft hair brushed my cheeks as we moved. I couldn't believe how soft it was, and it took a lot of willpower to keep myself from burying my face in his thick locks. But surely I hadn't gone that mad.

The sun was high in the sky when I'd finally had enough of the silence. "I still have questions."

He sighed, but then chuckled softly. "I suppose you are entitled to a few more questions." He readjusted me on his back as the trees grew tighter together. "What's question one?"

Numbering it like that, made me wonder if there would be a better question to ask first. "Can you read?"

He stumbled, but regained his balance quickly as he stuttered out a response. "Well yes, of course. Can't you?"

I nodded, leaning my cheek against his head for some comfort. "The small words."

"So... that paper-"

"Do you know what it is?"

He nodded. Then shook his head. "I can read it, but I'm not a chemist. That method of writing formulaic structure is rather archaic, regardless."

It was worthless then. I gave away my whole team for trash.

"Why did you give it to me then?"

He didn't immediately respond, focusing on his footsteps. "It seemed important to you. I thought you would want to hold onto it." He sounded as though that statement was no longer true.

It felt fitting, though, to keep such a momento of my failures. It weighed heavy in my pocket, pulling my heart ever lower as we marched toward my new disapproving fate. Despite consciously deciding on this path, I couldn't feel anything but hatred for it. How sick were the stars that they'd solve my biggest fear by making me betray everything I knew. The papers folded into themselves carried more weight in their creases and indecipherable symbols than all the stones in the stream we passed. And I felt it dragging far behind me, urging me back to where I belonged.

I rested my head on his shoulder, hoping it didn't make him uncomfortable.

"What is your home like?" I whispered.

It was one of the first times I've ever asked questions and wasn't immediately reprimanded for it. I took it as a small comfort that he was so willing to answer them. And this time, he didn't ask any in return.

As we walked, he spoke often, leaving me to close my eyes and focus on his words. He told me of his 'small, but modest home,' as he put it. He told me of the new library being built to replace the old one that had apparently grown too small for the city. Many of the buildings, he said, were being upgraded or replaced. They were having a boom of growth, apparently. Many of his words weren't ones I completely understood, but I could get the gist of most of it.

It should have been difficult to keep myself from crying, hearing about their good fortune at the price of ours, but it was so much new, unexpected information, it rendered me blind to the jealous emotions it normally would've given me.

After telling me about his city, I asked him about other things. How long he'd had his horse- eight years, and they were very close now. How often he went hunting in the mountains- a couple times a month in the spring and summer, but it seemed to vary year to year. I asked him about their time keeping, and about his long knife, and about how they made their tents. And after I realized he would give me answers for things, even if he didn't have the fullest answer, I began to throw him simpler questions I'd never gotten closure on. Like why the sun went down earlier in the winter, and where the sky got its color from, and why the black, blobby mushrooms always seemed to grow on the north side of trees. The time seemed to fly by as I bombarded him with every conundrum I could think up.

And before I realized it, that weight I'd felt dragging me into the dirt, was almost unnoticeable.

"Do you know what's down the other side of the mountain?" I asked next, head high and a smile on my face.

He groaned as I accidentally nudged his dry blood covered arm. "Alright, I need a break." He helped me down off his back, and then bent over with his hands on his knees, breathing roughly. He didn't seem to be coddling his arm, that was good. "We're almost there. Will you be okay to walk the rest of the way?"

I looked down the path we were heading, not seeing any distinction from it and all the other directions, but I nodded.

He took a moment, scanning the ground before walking past me to pick up a fallen branch. He held it out to me expectantly.

I took it slowly. It was almost as tall as me, and slightly less thick than my arm. It seemed like a poor walking stick, twisting harshly out of a straight line in three places, but I could still make use of it.

We both drank from the half empty waterskin before starting again.

I followed closely behind him as he weaved his way swiftly between branches. Only a few steps later, I started again. "Do all grayskins track things really well?"

"Nal, you need to stop calling us that," he said. "The Guardianship won't respond well to it. It's bound to make someone angry."

"What else would I call you?"

He looked back at me, checking my expression for any signs of playfulness. There were none. "Drygsons, if you need to address us that way, though you shouldn't need to. We will need to work on your etiquette. "

I repeated his word in my head, trying to commit it to memory. "But do the other grayski-"

He shook his head in front of me with a loud sigh.

"Do you all know how to track things?"

"No. I've been hunting and tracking and trapping since I was young. My father taught me well."

I nodded. "I was surprised you found me."

I jumped back as he burst out laughing. Not sure what happened, I waited, looking around to see if something funny had mysteriously taken place. When he straightened, his body still shook, as though he was forcing himself to quiet. He turned to me, then laughed again turning back and continuing forward.

"What?" I demanded.

He wiped his face as his laughter slowly died. "I just- you made such an obvious trail. Even with the hour or two of sleep, I managed to catch up with you not long after sunup. "

I frowned. "You were there that whole time?"

He nodded, taking deep breaths to recover from his episode. "It seemed you turned yourself around in the dark for a while."

"Why weren't you asleep longer?" I recalled my plan and tried to figure out what I should've fixed. Every step had worked out exactly as I had wanted. He shouldn't have been up in time to track me down even if I did leave a trail.

"Oh, Nal," he said. "You were adorable. I loved that you attempted to seduce me. Even when you got angry. You really believed I hadn't planned on you running off."

I glared lazily at his feet as I used the branch to support my weight as I walked. My face felt hot and I was glad he wasn't turning around, despite my silence. I could have chosen much worse captors, I suppose. Still, did he have to rub in my failures like that?

"You were playing me?"

He finally did turn to look at me, a big smile on his face that dipped when he saw my glum expression. "No, not at all. I figured you wouldn't want that again. I thought you would just go to bed when I suggested it and run off once I was asleep." His smile softened as he looked ahead, remembering last night with warmth I found quite distasteful. "But you were so insistent. And I knew you would be leaving, so I figured I could enjoy you while you were still with me. Especially when you made that face when I said no." He sighed, contentedly.

I was blushing harder now, wishing he'd stop reminding me. Seduction didn't come naturally to me like it did some. I didn't want it to, under most circumstances.

A familiar curved rock formation wrapped inside of a large fir tree's twisted trunk caught my eye in the distance. We'd be back at his camp rather soon then.

"I'm your pet now?"

He didn't immediately answer, but nodded after a brief thought. "Yes."

My dark reality began to creep back in on me. "Will you make me act like an animal?"

"What?" He stopped momentarily to stare at me with his brows raised and close. "No, of course not." He kept walking at a much slower pace, keeping me next to him now. "You will need to behave a certain way, though. I will keep you safe to the best of my ability, but I can't go against the will of the Guardianship."

"Oh, okay." I knew I'd have to adjust to their way of living, that wasn't surprising. I wasn't excited about it, but it was the obvious next step with the path I'd chosen. "Behave how?"

He considered for a moment. "Speaking openly with anyone should be avoided, unless you and I are alone. You should address me as Master, others will be fine with the typical 'sirs' and 'ma'ams'." I made a face at his use of 'typical' there, but didn't interrupt. "I will likely prevent you from being around many people. There are few reasons you'd need to interact with anyone." He continued on about eye contact and table manners and mumbling.

I took a deep breath, trying to stay positive as I listened. This was what I chose, and I'd deal with it. I could survive with this beast. And if it ended up not being better than home...

Well, at the very least, there was always one sure fire way out. Nothing he'd said so far made it sound like it would be that bad, though. Nowhere near that bad, in fact. The way he spoke of his home, he genuinely loved it. Which was far more than I could say for mine.

"I'll have you ride the rest of the way in the cart. It's small, but it will be easier for you with your leg injured the way it is." We rounded a tree to find ourselves in front of the same tents that had been set up last night, minus a little more than half. "I'll leave you untied, also. Now that the troublemakers are gone, it should be fine." He glanced at me. "Just promise not to attack anyone."

I gave a single nod, and he started toward one of the wagons. Once close enough, he started looking into the surrounding tents. They were smaller than his, but still more comfortable than the one that Sarge got to use. In the second one, a startled yell came out before the young grayskin did.

"Don't do that," Rocni said, crawling out of his tent, semi undressed. "What do you-" He stopped when his eyes landed on me and he pulled back, his face twisting up before addressing Grysn again. "I thought it was gone."

"I need you to dress her wounds," Grysn said, ignoring his comment. "She will be in the cart for the remainder of the journey, so it will be your responsibility that no one else has access to it."

The boys eyes widened, pleading with Grysn, who was not budging.

"She is coming willingly, she will distribute no bad luck to you, I'm certain." Grysn sighed, seeing this promise not having much effect. "Nal, just tell him you need your leg taken care of and you have no curses for him, or whatever it is he wants to hear. I need to check on the others." And shaking his head, he left, leaving the two of us to stare at each other.

I shrugged, leaning heavily on my crutch. "You know I'm not a witch, right? I don't have magic or anything."

He narrowed his eyes at me slightly, but walked over to the side of the wagon and opened up a compartment there. He motioned for me to sit on the ground near his feet.

I waited as he took out several jars and some rags. We were silent other than my startled shouts as he sanitized the area with a sweet smelling water. He mumbled something about it not being very deep, but was otherwise speechless as he coated most my leg with a clear, viscous substance and wrapped it in genuine bandages. And clean ones, at that.

As he put the things away, I stood with the help of my branch and asked him which way to Grysn's tent. With a confused look on his face, he pointed and I left.

I couldn't tell if it felt much better, but it hadn't been that bad in the first place. Just hurt to walk on. I was just thankful they had enough medical knowledge to not chop it off. Only having one leg would make running away a lot harder.

Oh, I guess I don't have to worry about that so much now.

Sighing I entered Grysn's tent and waited. It was about sundown when he finally entered, carrying a bowl of food with a concerned expression on his face that eased once he saw me. He handed me the food. "Next time, stay where I leave you until I come back. Never go anywhere alone."

I nodded, drinking up the soup.

He sat down and watched me as I ate, his regular smile not present. "It'll be a few more days before we get to Mristenport. And it'll take some time to make my home comfortable for you. That'll be my priority after presenting you to the Guardianship." He wasn't so much talking to me as he was listing off a todo list for himself, it seemed. "Lyn will be our first stop," he said looking at my leg.

He took my empty bowl from me immediately after I took my last sip and got up to take it back to where it belonged.

Before he took his second step, I reached out and grabbed his pant leg. He looked down at me. "Did I make the wrong choice?"

With a gentle smile, he knelt down and patted my head. "You chose what you thought was best. It is my responsibility to ensure it remains the right one."

________________________________

Riding in the cart was bumpy and lonely and I enjoyed every second of it. I wasn't allowed much privacy or space regularly. Having several days mostly alone was, well, a little difficult, but also really nice.

Grysn made sure I got at least two meals a day, sometimes sitting with me while we ate, just to talk ask each other more questions. At night I slept in his tent, but he no longer undressed me or played with my body. He said that I'd feel more comfortable continuing that part when we were in my new home. While I mostly agreed with that, I wasn't about to outright say so.

And then it was back down the mountain.

Our scouting mission took us several days away from Thurnup, but this mission had been my very first. I'd never been out of town before this last couple of weeks. I was thankful for the blindness the closed wagon gave me. It was nice to cry a little bit, also. Just a little. I tried to not dwell on the negatives of this situation. Despite the unknowns of it all, I knew for certain that I could figure out how to make the best of this circumstance.

But the symphony of sounds that began to filter through my wheeled fortress, came too sudden, even if we took one day longer than Grysn had expected. I huddled up against the back of the cart and shifted between holding my hands over my hears and putting my ear to the wood to make out each specific sound. There were some very loud sections we traveled through, with yelling and hammering and innumerous voices all clambering over each other, and then there were very quiet areas where I could distinctly follow the bits of conversations happening on the other side.

I assumed I'd be getting out soon after the noises began to clearly originate outside, yet we continued on for what felt like hours. But eventually we stopped.

At the front of the cart, I caught about half of the argument between Rocni and Grysn about meeting back up with the others as Grysn came around the cart to the back. "Yes, that will be acceptable," he said as he worked to undo the latch. "I won't be longer than a quarter hour." The doors opened and Grysn motioned for me with a sour face.

I hurried out, as Rokni argued back. "They won't listen to me, you have to be there."

Grysn tilted his head at the young grayskin, before his hand came up to rub his crinkled forehead. "I understand, boy. I will be there before your father arrives."

Huffing, Rokni nodded, heading back to his seat after sending me a quick but cold glance.

My eyes watered in the new harshness of my surroundings, but I tried to blink them into submission as I scanned the buildings around me. There were a couple that were only one story, but most of them rose three, four, one of them might've gone all the way up to ten. And the cobblestone streets were so wide. Several open carriages traveled down them, along with a couple enclosed ones. And there were dozens of grayskins, just walking. In groups, alone, wearing all assortments of dress.

A tug on my arm led me back to look at Grysn, a hand over my mouth that I didn't immediately realize was mine. "Come, I need to leave quickly. Gawking can be saved for afterwards."

Reluctantly, I followed him into the large two story structure he'd unloaded me in front of. The tall fence his horse was hitched to wrapped far back around the building to enclose several smaller ones. He led me threw the front opening of the barrier and up steps into the main building.

I was shaking suddenly as I took in the architecture and well manicured trees and- oh Shila above.

"Is that..." I stood on the porch, staring up into the lighting source that hung above me, swaying precariously in the soft breeze.

"Nal, please, we will have time for your endless curiosities and inquiries very soon." He dragged me by the arm through the door where my mouth hung open at even more curious things. "Lynaten!" he shouted as we entered.

Grysn finally gave up and left me to stare at the large landscapes held within golden frames on the walls. "Lyn, I have to rush, are you here?" he called, moving further into the foyer.

I transitioned to staring at the giant vases, or maybe urns, guarding the doorways to both sides, standing almost equal height to the dark reddish dressers dotting the hall. And above, a giant, crystal chandelier. The prisms sparkled with the light flooding through them, and I couldn't take my eyes away.

I'd seen an unbroken lightbulb once. Some of the Family homes had remnants of when electricity was still being used for mundane things. I'd never seen one on, though. I had assumed even simple lanterns to be advanced for their kind, but here I was in a building larger than the old church, even the townhall, lit to brilliance by way of genuine, electrically powered lights.

"Master Grysn!" A pleasant voice called around the corner Grysn walked by.

I heard the light footsteps rapidly approaching, but was too enthralled by the light switch near the front door to pay much heed. There were much better things to look at than grayskins. And the screws were so shiny, I just had to twist my nail into them to see if I could make one spin.

"Lady Lyna is tending to Mriken currently. Would you like me to ta-" Her voice stopped in a gasp.

I looked up from my investigative unscrewing and my mouth fell open in a similar manner as the girl's.

Her shocked expression quickly turned to a large smile as the blue skinned girl addressed Grysn, keeping her excited eyes on me. "She's from the mountain, isn't she?" Her long black curls swirled around her waist as she turned back to Grysn, nearly jumping in place.

He laughed softly, petting her on the head. She was shorter than me by about a head, so he had to stoop down quite a bit to look at her. It was a pitiful sight, despite her smile. "Is she too busy? I'm afraid I don't have the time to wait."

The girl shook her head, waving a hand for us to follow. "Please, come with me."

My mouth remained unhinged as Grysn pulled me along as he followed her. I looked up at him for answers, but received none as he spoke with the girl. "Is Mriken ill?"

The girl shook her head as she bounced ahead of us. Her loose fitting clothes were nearly sheer, so despite her being almost completely covered in fabric, it was all too easy to see how she must look without any at all. I was clearly in too much shock to care, though. "His eye has been giving him a difficult time as of late."

Rounding several corners as they discussed names I had no hope of remembering, we eventually came to a room covered in metal and glass, scientific instruments crowding the shelves and tables throughout. At a table near the back, a grayskin taller than Grysn wrapped a long stretch of bandage around the head of another blue skinned person. This one was less lively than our host, however. And his gray hair and beard gave me an indication that he was likely older than anyone I'd ever known.

"Don't you touch it anymore, now, you hear me?" Her ward gave a grumbled reply before leaving, giving us no more than a bored glance as he passed us. Shaking her head, the grayskin turned toward us slowly, wiping her hands on a cloth. "Who was it, Solkri?"

She looked up, her eyes tired, but immediately widening at the sight of me. I grimaced as she squealed. Her hands flexed in strange ways, dropping the rag she'd held moments ago, eventually fanning her face and holding her cheek in the strangest of manners. Her squeaking noises lasted longer than I ever would've hoped, but she quickly came toward us, wiggling her fingers in an uncomfortable, grabby way. "You finally got one! Oh dear, oh dear," she said, raising one of my arms and looking at my finger nails before tilting my head and peering inside my left ear.

Compliant, compliant, compliant.

"I'd like to think you're giving her to me, but I know you better than that." She raised my shirt and I gasped before quickly forcing it back down, but she paid no mind and lifted my chin side to side.

"She's from Buut," he said.

She squished my cheeks and looked at him, a range of emotions dancing across her face as she pulled back from me and crossed her arms, thoughtfully. "Can I assume you're keeping her?"

He nodded. "I will be presenting her to the guardianship as soon as an appointment can be made."

She nodded back, absently. "Will you be breeding her?"

My breath caught in my throat as I reeled back, but Grysn's hand on my back stopped me from moving further. "Not at all. But I need her taken care of while I handle some business. She needs to be bathed and a wound on her leg attended to. I've re-bandaged and washed it daily, but I'd like to stave off any possible infection."

"Full check up and bloodwork would be wise, also," she agreed. "Do you plan on returning before nightfall?"

"Of course." He looked down at me, before bending down to speak. "Lynaten is a friend. I trust her completely. You will be safe here. Can you behave?"

I looked up at the strange grayskin. Her head was shaved on both sides, with long hair growing in the middle, almost resembling a horse's mane. I bared my teeth in a forced smile that I shifted back to Grysn. "I guess?"

He tilted his head, unimpressed.

Swallowing, I nodded.

He stood back up. "She's uncomfortable, but she's quite intelligent."

I raised an eyebrow at him, somewhat offended that a grayskin would have the gall to compliment my intelligence.

"Could she borrow some appropriate clothing for the time being?" Grysn asked, turning to leave already.

"Not a problem."

"Thank you, Lyn. You're the best." He gave me one last reassuring smile before seeing himself out.

I stared at the empty space he previously occupied, shaking out of my wits. He left me with some freak apparently obsessed with my people. Wonderful.

Breathing slowly, tasting the scent of rosemary on each inhale, I turned to face my temporary captor. Her skin took on a much lighter pigment than Grysn's, contrasting strangely with her bright red hair. It didn't seem natural to have hair that red, yet her roots on the shaved portion of her head seemed just as vibrant that I had to assume it was.

"So," she said, bending at the knees until she was squatting before me. "You are from Thurnup then?"

Again, my mouth dropped open. "How do you know my home?"

She tilted her head, her hair threatening to slide to the other side. "It's been several years, decades even since we've gained any tians from Thurnup, but we certainly know about it."

I glanced at the girl beaming a few feet behind Lyn, scanning her bright colors. Both her and the older one had skin that was brighter than even the healthiest of the Family people. The blue was as strong and vibrant as cornflowers.

Lyn shook her head. "No, my dear. Solkri, nor any of the others are from your mountain." She turned toward the girl. "Darling, will you take our guest to your room and help her bathe and give her something nice to wear?"

Solkri bobbed her head excitedly before grabbing my hand and nearly running off with me. Lyn barely had time to move out of the way before we were down the hall. My leg was much better, but I still felt like I was lopsided as I struggled to keep up with the girl. We raced across the house, diving between doorways and rooms, weaving between several grayskins tending to the house, and then suddenly we were outside, heading to one of the other buildings within the fences.

The stone path led through the grassy courtyard, branching off to each of the additional structures at several spots along our way. Several large, blossoming trees decorated the area, and there were many like Solkri, like me, lounging around and playing games in the sunlit patches between them. A few turned toward us, a couple doing double takes as we passed. They had the same brilliance that Solkri possessed, though the shades of blue ranged in tone.

Before I could examine them more completely, I was being ushered into one of the back buildings, about a third the size of the main estate, and then dragged further until I was behind a slamming door, with Solkri grinning at me as she blocked my only way out of the room. Her smile grew, her petite, round face transforming into a connivingly confident mask.

"So," she said. "Let's get you ready."