It was Rahnee.

Tarrin's memories of Rahnee were mixed. She had been rather aggressive in her desire to bed him, and given Jesmind's mood at the moment, maybe this wasn't a good time for Rahnee to show up. Jesmind would consider any such talk to be a direct challenge to her claim on him. Tarrin had never gotten past Rahnee's singular bent to get to know her, so he had very little idea of what to expect seeing her alone like that. She spotted him and waved, then trotted over in that ground-eating lope that made Were-cats so mobile. "Tarrin!" she called as she bounded up to him. She looked as he remembered, a tall, rather slender Were-cat female with Jesmind's red hair but Tarrin's black fur. Her hair wasn't as long as Jesmind's, but her face was sharper and more fox-like. "By the furies, cub, when did you get so tall?" she asked immediately.

He was getting very tired of that. "It's a long story you'll hear when everyone else is here, so I only have to go over it once," he replied. "You're looking well."

"Well enough," she replied. "I can smell Jesmind all over you, Tarrin. I take it she's taken you for mate again?"

Tarrin nodded.

"Ah well. More's the pity," she sighed. "At least Thean and Jeri will be here."

"I'm only going to say this once, Rahnee. Do not get frisky right now. Jesmind is in a bad mood, and she'd probably try to rip your head off if you so much as looked at me the wrong way."

"I know, I know," she grunted. "Jesmind's always been very stingy with her mates. It's a flaw."

"At least for you. Now go announce yourself to her before she comes out to see who it is. You don't want to get on Jesmind's bad side at the moment. Trust me."

"Alright," she said, filing past him. Tarrin watched her go, surprised that she gave in so quickly. But then again, this wasn't neutral ground. This was Jesmind's den, and certain customary formalities and such were in effect. Since it was Jesmind's den, the other Were-cats had to accede to her in all things and respect her authority so long as they stood on her ground. Rahnee knew that, knew that Jesmind had laid claim to both the land and to him. And so long as he stood on Jesmind's ground, she probably knew better than to say or do anything stupid.

"Who is that, Tarrin?" Ariana asked as she carried a couple of large, smoothed stones from the stream.

"Rahnee, one of the other Were-cats," he replied. "You'll meet her when she comes back out. She won't stay in the house long. At least if she's smart, anyway."

Tarrin bent back to digging the fire pit as Ariana started laying out the stones as Tarrin directed. He had most of the grass off by the time Rahnee came back out, her face pinched and her eyes flashing. "She was rude," Rahnee said under her breath as she reached them. From the corner of his eye, he saw that Jesmind was watching them from the window, watching very intently. He knew that it would be best to get rid of Rahnee somehow, because Jesmind looked like she was going to come through the wall if Rahnee so much as touched him. "Who is this?" she asked, looking at Ariana.

"Rahnee, this is Ariana, an Aeradalla that's agreed to help us. Ariana, Rahnee."

"A pleasure," Ariana nodded.

"I thought all the Aeradalla died out," Rahnee said in surprise.

"We keep ourselves hidden," Ariana explained, setting down another stone. "The Zakkites keep trying to capture us to power their flying ships, so we stay where they can't find us."

"That's a good reason to stay hidden," Rahnee chuckled with a nod. "Where is Thean?" Rahnee said with a fret. "He should be here by now."

"You saw him?"

"I crossed his scent track about half an hour ago," she replied. "He's here."

"Maybe he went to the village first," Tarrin said calmly. "He knows some of the people there."

"I'm of half a mind to go find him."

"That may be a good idea," Tarrin said. "Jesmind probably won't be very friendly unless Thean's here."

"You got that right," Rahnee snorted. "She was very unpleasant when I went to go say hello."

"Go on then. We'll have something for you to eat when you get back."

Rahnee nodded to him. "Besides, I'll get out of doing any work," she said with a grin, then she turned and sauntered off towards the treeline.

"Why do I get the feeling that I don't want to know the whole gist of that conversation?" Ariana asked with a rueful chuckle.

"Jesmind is my mate," Tarrin explained, noting that Jesmind left the window after Rahnee was well on her way. "Rahnee is a lone female in my mate's home territory, and Rahnee is notorious among my kind for her, willingness. Jesmind doesn't like Rahnee being here, because Rahnee will try to woo me away from Jesmind sooner or later. The friction between them stems entirely from Jesmind's instinct to defend her rights and Rahnee's desire to steal me."

"You make yourself sound like a trinket."

"I am," he replied honestly. "I'm a possession, Ari, and right now I belong to Jesmind. Jesmind will fight Rahnee if she thinks Rahnee is trying to get too friendly with me. She'll defend her territory, and I'm included in that."

"You Were-cats are more complicated than I thought," Ariana said, putting a finger to her cheek thoughtfully.

"It's very simple, Ari. It's instinct. Since you don't have our instincts, it may not be easy for you to understand."

"I'll agree with you there. But why would Jesmind be more friendly if this Thean is here?"

"Because Thean is a male," he said patiently. "With another male present, Jesmind won't be as suspicious and hostile, because Rahnee will have someone else to focus herself on."

"Oh. Jesmind wouldn't think this Thean is hers too? He'd be in her territory, after all."

"No," he said mildly. "She doesn't automatically own any male in her territory."

"Ah, I get it now."

"Good. Now go get more rocks."

"Yes sir!" she barked, saluting him sharply, then trotted back towards the stream.

Tarrin had the firepit dug and Ariana had it lined with stones by the time that Jesmind came out with a large tray full of raw meat. "It looks good," Jesmind complemented. "Did your parents keep a roasting spit?"

"I wouldn't be able to find it," Tarrin told her. "I'm going to cheat, whether you like it or not, Jesmind."

"I don't mind this time," she agreed. "But only the spit. We gather firewood the hard way."

Tarrin gave her a sidelong glance. "You're in a better mood."

"Jasana's come out of her room," she said with a slight smile. "She realizes you're not going to kill her now."

"Jasana?" Ariana asked curiously.

"Our daughter," Jesmind answered. "She did something that made both of us very angry with her today. She's been hiding in her room for a while."

"Tarrin, you have a daughter?" Ariana asked with a laugh. "You never told me!"

"It was news to me as well, Ari," he said mildly. "Me and Jesmind already discussed that."

"He nearly took my jaw off," Jesmind complained, rubbing her sharp-chinned jaw in memory of it.

"You hit her?"

"We're not human, woman," Jesmind told her. "Were-cats fight sometimes. It's natural for us."

"Even when you're married?"

"We're not married," she corrected sharply. "Even if we were, we'd still fight."

"Remind me never to get into a relationship with a Were-cat."

Jesmind shrugged as Tarrin Conjured up a nice spit rack for roasting multiple pieces of meat at once.

Working quickly and efficiently, they gathered firewood, started the fire, got the meat spitted on the three spits and started cooking. Jesmind's mood seemed to lighten as they worked, her posture going from hostile and stiff to relaxed and more calm. Jasana probably had something to do with that, as the little girl padded out of the house and edged over to the campfire, standing there with her paws behind her back and a wary expression on her face. Tarrin had just returned from the woods with another load of firewood, and fixed his daughter with a calm, unwavering stare. The little girl looked suitably ashamed and chagrined, so he knelt down and opened his arms to her in an offer of truce. Her entire appearance transformed at that gesture, running into her father's arms and letting him pick her up. Ariana, who had dragged an old toy wagon out of the big barn and overturned it to create a seat, looked at the little girl in surprise.