Held against her or not, Tarrin couldn't deny an attraction to Auli. She was very pretty and she had a very attractive figure. But until he felt more comfortable with everything, he decided that maybe it was a good idea not to pursue things with her. He'd be a friend to her, though. She was too much fun to be with for him to avoid her. Besides, he needed to talk with her, get to know her a little so he could figure out if she was just flirting for the fun of it, or if she'd been serious. That look she gave Kimmie certainly looked serious, but then again, not only was she a girl, but she was a non-human girl. Girls were mystery enough, but one from another culture? One that wasn't human? She'd be ten times harder to figure out.

That seemed the best course of action.

The boredom of waiting for the Sha'Kar to get up and get ready at least gave him plenty of time to think about all that. They were all standing just outside the fences in a large open area on the outskirts of town, and they weren't alone. Excited human servants were around them, gabbing excitedly at the times to come, when they would be free of the island. All of them had agreed to serve in the Tower as they gradually adjusted to freedom, since none of them were prepared to deal with the radical shift in lifestyle that would come with freedom. At least they were wise enough to understand that. There were also many Sha'Kar there, gathered with their trunks stacked in the center of the mass. The youngers looked extremely unhappy, since they were about to leave a life of pampered luxury for the demanding life that would come in the Tower.

That had been a rather amusing little event. Some of the youngers had actually tried to rebel the night before, stating flatly that the island was their home, and they were not going to leave it. The elders among them had debated, argued, shouted, even ordered them to give up on the idea, but they were all adamant. They were happy on the island, and they were not about to leave. They would continue with their lives of parties and fun, and not an elder was going to tell them that they couldn't do it. Ianelle, that clever fox, gave in to their demand and told them that they were more than welcome to remain behind, where they would be forever exiled from the culture of the Sha'Kar, and not be visited. For any reason. And then she told them quite absently that since the servants were technically still slaves, and they were owned by the patron or matron of each house, who all happened to be elders, that meant that all the servants would be leaving in the morning. All the serving girls, all the cleaners, all the pages, all the farmers, all the food gatherers, every single human servant. The youngers were more than welcome to remain behind, but they'd have to feed, clothe, and support themselves. They could have their grand houses and their parties, but not much else.

It had been a devastatingly effective tactic. Faced with the prospect of having to grub in the dirt to feed themselves, the youngers had the wind sucked right out of their sails. And the human Sorcerers that had sided with the youngers quickly jumped ship, knowing that any human left behind, Sorcerer or not, would be seen as a servant in the making. That ended that rebellion faster than any other thing possibly could have done so.

For that reason, the Sha'Kar around them weren't all that good company. The youngest looked very put out and surly, and the elders all looked very aggravated with their children. That gave the place a feeling of hostility that put Kimmie and Triana a bit on edge, making them pull in a little closer to Tarrin, which made him hostile. The others with them hadn't come out yet, staying behind with Arlan, Iselde, and Allyn to make sure they'd gotten everything from their manor house that they wanted to take. The only one there was Dar, who in the days since his loss of memory had become one of his closer friends. He liked all the others, and Allia was probably the one he liked the most, but Dar was about his age, and he just felt comfortable with him. Besides, Allia spent alot of time letting Allyn fawn over her. Tarrin had never seen a man more totally enslaved by a woman than Allyn was with Allia. Allia seemed to enjoy it, and Allyn wouldn't take his eyes off of her even if she told him to.

Tarrin looked around and realized that he didn't see any babies among the Sha'Kar. There were plenty of very young Sha'Kar, no more than teens, but very few children and no infants. The youngest he'd seen looked to be about a six year old boy.

Only about half of the Sha'Kar had arrived, around two hundred or so standing or milling around on the grass, muttering or talking with one another. Tarrin stood near to Kimmie and Triana and watched them, listened to them as the older ones talked about the work to come and the satisfaction and eagerness to return to the life so long abandoned, and the younger ones growled and sulked over losing their homes, losing their decadent, pampered lifestyles. Though he'd been there, Tarrin couldn't remember the Tower, so he had no idea what kind of place was waiting for them there. And he was interested in it. It was just one of the many things he was interested in learning.

Tarrin spotted the others, helping the three Sha'Kar with them carry out five large trunks. Azakar carried two, and each of the others was being carried by a Sha'Kar and one of their friends. Dar came right up to him with his single pack slung over his shoulder and greeted him, and they stood together and watched as the trunks were set with the others and the group reassembled. Tarrin saw the remaining Sha'Kar converging on the field from around the large, spaced town, moving in large groups, and he realized that they'd be leaving very soon.

"It looks like we're about to go," Dar noted, mirroring his thoughts.

"It's about time," Tarrin said in Arakite. "Triana got me up at sunrise."

"I know, Dolanna woke me up not long after," Dar said, switching to Arakite himself. "A little packing and a whole lot of waiting."

"Truly. They didn't even have anything to eat," he complained. "Triana had to use magic to get us food today."

"We'll live," Dar chuckled. "They'll have all the food you can eat in the kitchens at the Tower."

"I'm going to feel lost there," Tarrin said. "Except that they won't let me get lost."

"It's a big place, Tarrin," Dar said with a grin. "It's easy to get lost."

"Good," he said with a conspiratorial smile.

A human woman stepped up to them, and it was a very strange looking woman. She had blue hair. She was very tall, buxom, wearing a dress that looked to be made of millions of tiny little blue scales. Her eyes were amber, like Keritanima's, and there was a sinister quality to them that put Tarrin just a little on edge. She smiled when she saw Tarrin, and reached out and took his hand. "I see you're well, little friend," she said, and Tarrin recognized Sapphire's voice.

"Sapphire?" he said in surprise. "Is that you?"

"Do you like it?" she asked, turning around for his benefit. "It was the best spell I could find on such short notice. Am I looking human enough?"

"Well, the blue hair and the yellow eyes are a bit unusual, but yes, you do look human. That's a magic spell?"

She nodded. "Dragons find it useful to sometimes go see what the humans are up to, and it's much easier to move around like this. When we arrive in our true forms, it always causes a panic for some reason. You humans are such jittery little things," she said absently.

"I think little is the key word there, Sapphire," Tarrin said. "It's hard to be nice to someone when they can step on you by accident."

"Probably," she said. "Was your night well?"

"A little boring, but otherwise fine," he said. "Are you going to be staying in the Tower?"

She nodded again. "For a few days. I'm still trying to track down my two youngest, and it'll be easier if I stay in one place. Once I find them, and I'm sure you're going to be well, I'll return to my lair."