"I did not expect to see you here, dear one," Dolanna's voice called. Tarrin looked up, and saw her standing by the table.

"I've been reading," he said as she seated herself across from him. "Haven't been getting very far, though."

"What about?"

"Sorcery," he said pointedly.

"Worry not over it," she assured him. "They will give you that instruction in due time."

"I know, but I have reasons to start thinking about doing it now," he said.

"You worry that much?"

"Let's just call it being safe," he said. "Jesmind is out there, and me being in here makes no difference to her. If I can get in without attention, so can she. She will try, Dolanna. And I'll need every weapon I can get when that happens."

"The Keeper is aware of it, Tarrin," she said. "I do believe that she has already taken steps to find her."

"She won't."

"Give us some credit, young one," she said. "We have more at our disposal than normal spies."

"Be that as it may, I'm not placing my trust in someone I don't know."

She was about to say something, but she held her peace instead. "How was your day?"

"Busy," he said.

"Faalken told me you were on the field. The others were most impressed with you."

"I don't see why. They've seen Elsa, so they've seen me."

"Tarrin, you may not understand this, but you are very fun to watch," she told him with a smile. "You are very graceful, and you move as if you float. When you were out on the field, Faalken said it was like watching a professional dance. He also remarked that you should think of using acrobatics," she said.

"Acrobatics?"

"Tumbles, flips, and such," she said. "You are more than capable of it. I have seen you do such things."

"I'll think about it," he said. "Any word on who my teacher is going to be?"

"Tarrin, that day is some ways in the future," she told him. "There will not be a decision for some time." She stood again. "It is not good for us to be seen thus very often. If I need to speak with you, I will send you a message."

"Alright. Have a good night, Dolanna."

"You too, dear one."

After dinner, Dar and Tarrin sat in the room. Dar was at the desk, writing a series of numbers exercises on a piece of paper, and Tarrin was reading a book he took from the library, a book studying the condition the author called Lycanthropy, which was another name for the condition of the assorted Were-kin. The book named several different species, such as Were-wolves, Were-bears, Were-dogs, Were-boars, Were-rats, and Were-tigers. It also talked about some of the lesser known strains, such as Were-foxes, Were-lions, Were-wolverines, Were-bats, and his own kind, the Were-cats. The book touched on the society of Fae-da'Nar, saying that the Were-kin existed in a very loose association so that there was very little infighting between them. It didn't mention anything about other woodland beings being in it the way Jesmind said they were.

Tarrin hadn't really thought all that much about other Were-creatures, or any other creatures for that matter. He was born human, and though he no longer was, he was more human than anything else. His upbringing made him thus, and while the Cat could alter that, it could not replace it. In the short days since meeting Jesmind, a peace had fallen over him. He had almost no trouble with the Cat, although he could feel it there. It was almost like the Human and the Cat in him had struck a bargain to work together. Tarrin felt that the Human had to give up a few things, which accounted for the Jesmind-like attitudes and mannerisms that had come over him lately. But that was a small price to pay for the peace under his ears. Tarrin did not embrace what he was, but he had accepted it. And he knew that that was an important step.

It was all so strange. When he'd left Aldreth, never in his wildest dreams did he think that he would have ended up the way he did. It was almost like the Favor of the Lady had turned black on him. But in another way, he had to admit that being what he was had saved his life. That Wyvern may have killed him had he not been Were, and capable of the inhuman speed and coordination he'd used to sheathe its poisoned tail. And make the jump to shore, then make the jump that got him out of reach of the Trolls. It was better to live changed than not to live at all.

Rather shamedly, he realized that he hadn't written a letter to his parents. Though they knew of his change, he still thought it was only decent to write to them himself. Best to let them know he was well and whole.

It wasn't easy to write with his huge paws, but he managed to pinch the quill pen between two fingers, and proceeded to write. He wrote simply, honestly, the way he talked to them. He told them about his change, and disclosed much of the journey down in simple, straightforward words. Then he described what it was like as best he could, since it was so very hard to try to explain sensations that a human had never experience.

While he was writing his farewells, the door opened after a single sharp knock. Elsa stood in the doorway, wearing her tunic and breeches, her blond hair damp from the bathing pool. "Tarrin, a word with you," she said in the Ungaardt tongue.

"Yes Mistress?" he asked in kind.

"You'll be presented to the Keeper in the Hall tomorrow before breakfast," she said. "It's a simple ceremony that inducts you into the Novitiate. After that, you'll go to your first class. Someone there will guide you."

"Alright, Mistress Elsa," he said.

"Oh, there's a Selani in the Tower," she said. "You'll be in class with her. She doesn't seem to like humans, so we'd like you to show her around after class."

"I can do that, Mistress," he replied.

"Alright. Have a good night."

"You to, Mistress," he replied, and she closed the door.

"What language was that?" Dar asked.

"Ungaardt," he replied.

"It's like a broken lute," he said sourly.

"I didn't invent it," Tarrin shrugged.

"I should teach you a civilized language," Dar told him. "Arakite."

"I know Arakite," Tarrin told him calmly.

"You do?" he said, looking at him strangely.

"My father speaks it. He learned it when he was in the army. He taught it to me."

"How many languages do you speak?" Dar asked curiously.

"Four," he replied. "The Common tongue, Ungaardt, Arakite, and Dal. I learned Dal from the village smith, Karn Rocksplitter, and enough Dals come down from the mountains to make speaking the language a good idea. They trade with us sometimes."

"Where did you find time to learn all these things?" Dar said in consternation.

"We don't have much else to do once the chores are done," Tarrin shrugged. "We don't have a big farm, so it doesn't take very long. I learned the Common tongue and Ungaardt when I was a baby, because that's what my mother speaks. My father taught me Arakite when I was a boy, and I learned Dal from Karn during the time I was helping him at his forge, after his apprentice broke his leg in an accident. Karn would teach me as he hammered the metal. It gave him something to occupy his mind, because he was such a good smith he didn't have to think about his work."

"This could be handy," Dar said in Arakite.

"Like we'll have to keep secrets," Tarrin said in Arakite with a smile.

"I know Shacean," Dar told him. "Maybe I'll teach you that instead."

"I don't see much use for it," Tarrin said. "I never thought I'd use this language, ever. Except to talk about mother in front of her with father without her understanding."

Dar laughed. "If she's Ungaardt, she probably didn't appreciate it."

"Mother does it to father too," Tarrin said. "I think it's a game with them. Mother doesn't know Arakite, and father doesn't know Ungaardt. I'm the one in the middle."

"Must be a dangerous place," Dar said with a grin.