I found myself prowling around the nesting area on the second night of the festival, trying to find Miyan, Tufani’s granddaughter. She had the honor of being the “goddess” in the tribe wide game of Petition the Goddess the rest of the cohort and I had been drawn into. Only those who were too old, too young to walk, or were too stuck up got the option to not play.

It made sense as the second night had always been one of socialization and mischief and mayhem. The Rookery tribe might not follow the tradition of splitting down into individual tribes on the second night like I was used to in Grislander’s Maw, given that there were no other tribes here, but they certainly had their own games to keep the night exciting.

“Petition the Goddess” hadn’t sounded like the best name for a game when they first explained it, for multiple reasons, but others in the cohort knew their own version of it, and I figured it couldn’t be terrible if lots of people kept playing it and no one was getting struck down for impersonating the goddess.

The Rookery’s version went like this: one person was chosen to be the goddess and went to go hide while everyone else waited around “base”—Tufani’s hut—and counted to a hundred twice. Once all the counting was done the “petitioners” left base to go try and find the pretend goddess. The first person to find her would become the goddess during the next round. However, there was a catch. If the pretend goddess had her eyes closed it signaled that she was safe to approach and the petitioners were supposed to hide with her. That round ended when all the petitioners found where the pretend goddess was hiding. However, if the goddess’s eyes were open, then she was wrathful, and not safe to approach. In that case the finder was supposed to warn everyone else by yelling “She watches!” and everyone had to run back to base before they got tagged by the pretend goddess. If you did get tagged then you had to tie a leather strip around your head to mark yourself as a shamble man and you could tag the others too before they reached base to turn them into shamble men too. That kind of round ended when everyone reached base or was tagged, the first one back got to be the new goddess.

Sometimes people waited to warn everyone else so that they had a better chance to reach base first. Sometimes people tried to trick everyone into thinking the pretend goddess was wrathful when she wasn’t so that they could be the first one to hide with her. Some people purposefully got tagged during a wrathful round so that they could run around and try to tag everyone else.

It was chaotic and took forever given that the pretend goddess could hide anywhere in the Rookery’s giant clearing, both levels, as long as they didn’t go into someone’s home. No one wanted their stuff accidentally broken.

It was fun.

I wasn’t used to being part of such a big game. The only thing that came close was that terrible round of Hunter’s Quarry that Jin put together. This…didn’t have the same stress and stakes as that. I knew that Prevna had become a shamble man last round and she had promised to do her best to make sure I became one too during this round, but that wasn’t nearly the same as being stalked by everyone else in the game.

She even had her hair back in its customary buns. Thankfully.

I shook my head to clear it of wherever that unnecessary line of thinking threatened to go and focused back on the hunt. Trying to track with footprints in the snow was next to useless. So many people had trampled through the area that the snow had become packed down and it would take a better tracker than me to pick out one footprint from the next. Rawley might have been able to do it, but even that was a long shot.

Instead I went from nest to nest, checking each one just in case Miyan decided to curl up inside, while Tufani stumped along in front of me. She was playing, even with her bad leg, and if anyone knew where her granddaughter had hidden away it was probably her. Even if she didn’t, she knew the Rookery better than anyone else.

Tufani stopped walking in the middle of the path. “I’m not a beast to be stalked, girl.”

I froze behind the current nest I had gone to check.

She partially turned and pointed her walking stick in my direction. “I mean you.”

I didn’t want to give up and reveal myself, but it didn’t seem like I had much choice. If I kept her waiting much longer when she clearly knew I was there I’d only look like a fool. I couldn’t help but glare a bit as I stepped out of my hiding place though.

Tufani gestured for me to catch up to her. “Whoever taught you did a decent job, but she seems to have forgotten to remind you not to scamper all over the place if you don’t want to get caught.”

I crossed my arms as I reached her. “Rawley is the best lone huntress in my tribe.” Tufani didn’t look particularly impressed so I ground out, “And she only had a handful of months to teach me.”

That did get the reaction I wanted. Tufani said, “A good mentor then. But that doesn’t explain why you were following me.”

I gestured to take in the rest of the Rookery. “I thought you would know where to find Miyan.”

Tufani chuckled and pointed with her cane again. “Everyone knows she likes to hide in the goddess’s tree. I’m surprised the call hasn’t gone out by now, but she must have decided to do a peaceful round for once.”

“You aren’t playing?” My lips pressed together as I tried to keep embarrassment from showing on my face or in my voice.

“I enjoy a round or two and then duty calls.” Tufani considered me for a moment. “Barra will be able to tell the others where you are before they worry too much and you did well during the test yesterday. You can join me.”

“To do what?” I kept near her side as she started walking forward again.

Her smile was a bit conspiratorial. “Check on the Carvers.”

My step faltered before I caught myself, but I still didn’t have words when I caught back up to her. Carvers? Less was known about them than even the whisper women. No one knew how they were chosen or made; how they learned how to carve mazes that trapped the body but not the soul; why the goddess allowed them to chop down Her trees in the first place when no one else dared to hurt as much as a branch.

They weren’t a group you just…checked on. I hadn’t even thought there could be any in the area. Carvers were like someone from a Picker band claiming Sanctuary: everyone knew it happened, that they existed, but absolutely no one expected to ever come face to face with either.

I frowned. “We can’t just go see Carvers.”

Tufani raised her eyebrows at me. “Why not?”

I hated that kind of look that clearly said whatever answer I gave was bound to be wrong. I set my shoulders back and lifted my chin. “Because the goddess wouldn’t like it.”

“Bold claim, but the goddess hasn’t seen fit to strike me down in the years past.”

I tried a different tactic. “Why do you have to go check on them?”

Tufani’s smile took on a sharper edge. “Because I don’t have black lips?” When she saw the barb hit home she waved it away. “It’s true, mostly they deal with the Scales, but my duty to visit is more…social than Tamer business. Magda would tan my hide if I didn’t visit at least once a year after she set me straight all those years ago.”

Her expression had softened with nostalgia, but I kept my tongue behind my teeth and didn’t pry further. If I kept pushing for answers she might think better of her whim to take me along and I didn’t want to miss this chance.

We approached a large storm bird settled on the runaway the birds used to fly off the cliff. Something moved by the bird and I stiffened as a tribe member who looked vaguely familiar stepped out from behind the bird’s other side. After a handful of moments of sorting through my memories I realized that he was the tribe member who had directed Miyan to lead us to Tufani when we first arrived at the Rookery.

“How’s Cloud, Douwan?” Tufani asked.

“Still going strong just like you, mother,” the man replied with a slight smile.

“Good enough for one more?”

Douwan’s gaze flicked to me. “She’s going too?”

Tufani nodded. “It’ll be good for her. Let her friends know that she’s with me once you get back, if Barra hasn’t already.”

Douwan looked like he wanted to protest but he patted Cloud instead. “She’ll be fine. Won’t you, girl?”

The bird leaned into his attention while I privately wished I could protest Tufani’s statement too. The cohort weren’t my friends.

Tufani focused on me. “You got two options. You can either hang from Cloud’s beak or, if you promise to do everything in your power not to headbutt me, you can join me in the saddle.”

I was still sore from the inane lesson Tufani had taught us the night before and I wasn’t exactly keen on getting back up on a bird so soon after being flung every which way, but I refused to miss this chance.

I also refused to hang like a dead fish from a bird’s beak again if I could help it. “I won’t headbutt you.”

I’d make it work. One way or another.

Douwan produced extra saddle ties for me from somewhere and got Tufani’s cane tied in place among the couple of jugs and sacks already tied to the saddle. Tufani had me climb up the ladder first before she settled on the saddle after me. It was a bit of a tight fit as the saddles were made for only one rider, but I knew better than to complain and Tufani didn’t look like she even noticed as she rolled up the ladder and got it secured.

Then we tied ourselves to the saddle and Tufani doubled checked my handiwork twice. After that she got us situated as well as it was going to get—which meant she was laying half on top of me in the saddle while I squished to my right as much as I could. She apparently didn’t like the “trick riding” that some of the younger fliers did, which included sitting up in the saddle. That was more dangerous and made you less attuned to your bird’s movements according to the Tamer.

My skin crawled a bit at the body contact, but it helped that her hands were occupied with the saddle’s handles and that she had little choice in the contacts I did. It was very…impersonal. Part of me wanted to ask if I could switch to the bird’s beak but my pride wouldn’t allow it. I might not be used to being so close to someone else but I could handle it. Prevna had helped with that.

I realized that I didn’t know how the fliers got the birds to go until Tufani said, “Let’s go smooth and steady, alright, pretty girl? We got a new passenger with us tonight.”

Then she tapped her foot down on Cloud’s back twice. Cloud rose up on her feet, shook herself a little bit—I held the handles in a death grip—and then began to run. I pressed my head down against the saddle so that I’d be less likely to accidentally hit Tufani in the jaw. Long, jostling moments passed and then there was a moment of weightlessness before Cloud’s wings flexed and we were flying.

I peeked over the side to watch as Cloud gently circled higher and higher. Part of me felt bad disappearing without a word of warning again, but hopefully I’d have a story that’d make for it at the end of this.

Tufani pressed her left foot down on Cloud’s back again and Cloud banked in that direction, and just like that we were leaving the Rookery behind.