ELRETH

The three of them, her, Aaryn and Tarkyn, all began walking again, while she and Tarkyn discussed the best way to approach Gar who, she knew, would still be in bed. The question was whether Elreth should go, who he might see as Queen and take seriously, but equally might decide was just his annoying older sister and tell her to come back when the sun was higher. But sending Tarkyn made it an official request by the Guard, and she didn't want Gar to feel cornered, either, because he might decide to look like he was helping, while he actually worked against them.

The best answer would have been to send Aaryn, and Tarkyn was obviously waiting for her to suggest it. But she could see her mate, how distracted he was, itching to find his mother. She didn't want to add to his responsibilities that morning. But also… also, if Aaryn was going to relinquish the leadership of the disformed, she wondered what that would do to Gar. Whether he'd be angry—as Aaryn had been about the idea initially—or whether his training would kick in and he'd agree that the disformed needed to be brought under the same structure as the rest of the tribe. Stop seeing themselves as separate, and apart.

If she'd been forced to gamble, she wouldn't have laid money on Gar taking the side of the hierarchy. He seemed to enjoy doing anything he could to thumb his nose at it. Because their whole lives, their father had been the embodiment of the hierarchy, and Gar did everything he could to taunt and aggravate Dad..

Elreth sighed.

Aaryn brushed her back with a thoughtless hand. She gave him a quick smile, but he was already looking off into the distance, frowning at the trees ahead.

"Look, Aaryn. Why don't you just go?"

Aaryn blinked, then turned back to her. "What? They told me to wait until breakfast—"

"That doesn't mean you have to," she said kindly. Tarkyn was looking back and forth between them, confused. "It's obviously weighing on you. Go find out what's going on. Maybe you'll feel better, maybe not. But at least you'll know. We can handle the rest without you until you're done."

"What's going on?" Tarkyn asked, frowning.

Aaryn sighed. "My mother is missing—or at least, I haven't seen her for a few days, and when I tried to visit her in the middle of the night last night she was gone. The wise women thought they might find her, or find someone who knows where she is. But… I'm worried."

Tarkyn nodded grimly. "As you should be. Next time, call me right away. Even if it's the middle of the night. We would rather send people out and find out it was for no reason, than to wait and wish we'd done it sooner. I'll get a fist on it right away. They can pull in more if a full search is needed."

"I don't know if that's necessary. I was just going to go see if the women had found anything yet, or gotten any news."

"I'll come with you. If they've found her, I'll circle back to the security council. If they haven't, I'll mobilize a team before I do."

Elreth gave Tarkyn a small smile of thanks, but he kept his attention on Aaryn, who sighed.

"Thank you, that would be great."

Then Tarkyn looked at her and something in his eyes burned, flashed just for a second, then was gone. "I think, unless I'm back in a short time, that leaves it to you to speak with Gar. I mean, we could send a messenger, but there's every chance he'll just throw something at them and—"

"I know," she groaned. "Believe me, I know. I'll get to the council and make sure there's no new fires to put out, then tell them what we've decided. And yes, I'll talk to Gar. I need to catch up with him anyway about… several things. So you guys go. I'll tell the others where you are."

When they got to the intersection of trails where the males would turn off towards the center of the City, Aaryn took her hand, squeezing it briefly, and Tarkyn nodded his farewell. Once they were gone, she decided to shift and make her way to the council building as quickly as she could. She needed to run out some of this tension before she talked to the older males. Otherwise she risked losing her patience.

Talking to her brother always made her tense. She wished it didn't have to be that way.

Just before the shift, her mother's face and voice came to mind, that thoughtful, warning look she had. Telling Elreth that her brother was a good male, and more like his father than either of them realized.

Elreth sighed. She could only hope it was true. Because it seemed like for every step she took with Gar's help, there was another she took, dragging his formidable weight behind her.

Then she was in the beast and running, and her thoughts drifted away like dust on the breeze.

*****

AARYN

The walk with Tarkyn was only a little awkward. It occurred to him that the male had probably been through far more challenges than he ever had. So it made sense that he sat more easily with his place in the hierarchy than Aaryn.

He struggled to come up with what to say now that they'd decided their course. How did you talk to a male that obviously had feelings for your mate, but was also obviously willing to respect the relationship? Aaryn decided that addressing it head-on was the best way to go.

"I'm glad I have you alone," he said quietly, letting his eyes scan the trees and buildings ahead. No need to challenge the Captain.

"Oh?"

"Yes. I wanted to say that I appreciate what you do, and your… protectiveness towards Elreth."

Tarkyn huffed a humorless laugh. "You're welcome," he said.

"But I won't pretend not to notice how you feel. Do we need to discuss it further? Do I need to dominate you again? Or will you leave your lingering looks and little touches at home now?" he growled.

*****

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