"I'll try," he promised.

"That's why you and Jesmind fought. But you and Kimmie didn't fight that way."

"Why not?"

"Because Kimmie's not the average Were-cat," she replied. "She knows her place, and unlike the others, she doesn't constantly try to reinforce it. She was turned, just like you were, but she's alot more human than any other Were-cat, even you and Jula. You and Kimmie really got along. I think that's why you fell in love with her."

"That is so strange," he said. "I was in love with two women, and they didn't hate each other?"

"Were-cats don't marry, Tarrin," she said sedately. "You don't really have any obligations, you know, so you were free to love anyone you wanted. Jesmind didn't mind Kimmie, and Kimmie didn't mind Jesmind, because Were-cats can't stay together forever. Triana explained that to me, that Were-cats get increasingly aggravated with mates as time passes, and that their instincts and natures as independent creatures eventually overwhelms the desire to stay together. So Were-cats part ways after a time after they've been mates for a while. Jesmind and Kimmie don't mind each other because they know that the other one can't hog you. After you get tired of one, you can just go to the other. They can share you, and since they can, they don't really see each other as rivals."

That actually did explain quite a bit. "Hold on, Kimmie mentioned someone named Mist," Tarrin said. "Is she really the mother of my son?"

"She is," Jenna affirmed. "I've never met her, but I heard Triana say that she was going to go get her a few days ago. I think she's coming to Suld. I really want to meet her son. She named him after father, you know. Father's so proud of that he's almost walking on air," she giggled.

"I don't remember her at all."

"Every time you say that, just remember that it's only temporary," she said, patting his arm. "You will remember again. But until then, don't dwell on what you've forgotten. Just look at it as a chance to do it all again, to meet everyone again, to experience things that used to be commonplace to you and see them for the wonders they really are. This is your chance to get to know all of your friends in an entirely new way, and when you do get your memory back, it'll make those friendships that much richer and deeper. Don't dwell on the negatives, brother. Try to make something positive out of it."

"When did you get so smart, brat?" he asked with a smile, putting an arm around her shoulders.

"Blame Spyder, Tarrin," Jenna giggled, leaning her head on his shoulder. "She made me this smart."

"I'd rather kiss her," Tarrin told her.

It didn't take the others long for them to find his room. After lunch, he settled in, but was rarely alone. Allia and Allyn came first, and as Tarrin put his clothes away in the trunk, they talked. Or, more to the point, occassionally ignored them during those silences when they were either kissing or staring into one another's eyes. After that, Keritanima joined them, bringing in another Wikuni she named Rallix, her husband. He was a badger Wikuni, with a dark band of fur over his eyes that made him look like a bandit. But where badgers were bulky creatures, this Rallix was rather thin and scholarly looking. He was a soft-spoken fellow, and Tarrin rather liked him. He was quiet while Keritanima talked about how Ianelle had taught her how to Teleport, and now she could jump between her duties as Queen of Wikuna over there and come see him when she wasn't very busy. Rallix seemed a bit casual about his wife's magical capabilities, but all in all, what else could he do but silently accept it.

Camara Tal came in just as Allia, Keritanima, and their men were about to leave, and Tarrin found himself, to his surprise, playing the role of sympathetic ear. Camara Tal had just had another fight with someone named Koran Dar, the Amazon man that was on the Council, who happened to be Camara Tal's husband. The proud Amazon was surprisingly girlish as she lamented her woes to him, as she admitted that she loved Koran Dar, but he wouldn't come home with her because he didn't want the restrictions of a life as an Amazon man around his neck. There really wasnt much he could say or do more than assure her that things were going to work themselves out, and hint that perhaps the best way to get Koran Dar back would be to give in to some of his demands. That seemed to scandalize Camara Tal, but she did have a somewhat thoughtful look in her eyes when she left.

He was only alone a few moments before Sapphire knocked on his door and invited herself in. They had quite a nice little talk, and he kept finding himself staring at her and remembering how she had looked when she was a dragon. He had her tell him all about her lair in the desert and what it was like there. Then he told her all about Aldreth, and the life he at least could remember before leaving home. He was in the middle of that when Azakar and a Knight that Tarrin didn't know arrived, a dark-haired knight named Ulger, who had been Faalken's best friend. Ulger didn't know that Sapphire was a dragon, which was probably for the best, for the man started flirting with her almost immediately. Sapphire seemed a bit shocked, but she almost seemed to be enjoying it as she excused herself to make another attempt to contact her missing children. She did reveal that fact just before she left, probably to see Ulger's reaction. She wasn't disappointed. Tarrin was surprised that the Knight didn't wet his trousers. He'd never seen a pair of eyes bug out that far in his life.

Azakar and Ulger had just stopped by to see how he was doing, and they left not long after Sapphire did, to go down to the training field and work out the cadets. After they left, Tarrin left also, going up to Jesmind's apartment. He spent the rest of the afternoon with Jesmind, Jasana, and Kimmie-Triana was gone again-and he had a very good time. Jesmind didn't push him or prod his lost memory too much, content to just let him play with Jasana for most of the time. He taught Jasana how to play chess, and read a book with her that she'd gotten from the library, a book about the seven thousand year history of the city of Suld. He found Jasana to be quite intelligent and very affectionate. Tarrin found having her sit on his lap with her hair just under her chin to be quite pleasant, and it made him realize just what that flash of memory meant. She seemed to fit perfectly in his lap, and being that close to her, even though she was a Were-cat and he couldn't remember her, he just knew that it was right. It only took one afternoon for him to find love for his adorable little girl. After they finished reading through the book, she put her arms around his neck and put her head against his shoulder, and it completely wrapped him around her furry little finger. He just sat there and held her close for a very long time, marvelling at the fact that she was his daughter.

She fell asleep like that, and after they put her down to bed for a while, Tarrin sat with Jesmind and Kimmie and they told her about the Sha'Kar island, and Tarrin listened while Kimmie told her about the parts that he didn't remember.

Jesmind growled a little after Kimmie finished, and it was an eerie sound. It was not a sound that a human throat could make. "If only that crazy Wizard would finish already!" she huffed. "Where is he, Kimmie?"

"He's still on the ship," she replied. "He's going to move up here tomorrow, but he didn't want to leave the ship until he finished the book he was reading. He didn't want the distraction that moving up here would cause him. Don't worry, Jesmind, he's hard at work on it. I don't think he's slept for three days."

"I should go down there and make him go faster," she said with a frown.

"The more you bother him, the longer it'll take," she said sedately. "I'm going to go down and help him move up his books tomorrow, and then I'll see what I can do to help him in his research. But that's as far as anyone's going to be able to go to helping him. Usually it's just best to stay out of his way."