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[Random the Navigator]

"Oh, come now!" Ngatapa grinned.  "You said it yourself: Kenten was the first in our pongu to befriend you, and you've scarcely been out of each others' company since!"

[Kiyevanie]

For a moment Ni'ka was still confused, then it - finally - dawned on her what Ngatapa was teasing her with.  If she had been blushing before, her tanhi now sprang to full life and the tips of her ears definitely got a rosy touch.  "Ngatapa!!!" she protested, her ears somewhere between tilting back and folding inwards, her voice hovering somewhere between annoyed protest and awkwardness, with a good helping of laughter in there; if he hadn't been one of the respected senior warriors, but more of her age and rank, she'd have probably chased him all over the Commons.  "That...that...that's...  Kenten's my friend!"

[Random the Navigator]

Meanwhile, however, something was gnawing at Ash, eventually breaking through her amusement at Ni'ka's predicament.  She puzzled through it for a while; it was the feeling she'd get back home when she went to the movies and found herself worrying that she hadn't left the porch light on--an errand unremembered, a task unfinished.  Something she needed to say to this man before they parted ways, something urgent...

She chuckled a little more, then cleared her throat, looking uncomfortable.  "Ngatapa..." she began, "there are a lot of little stories like that from our camp, and maybe one day when things aren't so urgent I'll share them with you.  Don't think I'd rather not share them now!  But what I'm about to say, you of all people really need to know."  She swallowed.  "The Blessing...it didn't touch us all equally.  It didn't touch me except for the encouragement I got from witnessing it...  Oh, and you'd be pleased with Rick; his body feels settled now, and we're pretty sure he's done Changing.  At least, I don't feel like I have to worry about him so much...  And I thank you for teaching us that Seeing exercise.  If what you have in mind for Sprout is as good, I'll jump over, crawl under and run through almost anything you want me to!  Well, except bugs; I never did like bugs...and dark wet places...and..."

Ngatapa listened, trying in his turn to pick apart what she was trying to say.  "Ash...would you be more comfortable somewhere a little more private?  The Olo'eyktan's thinking-spot has a vacancy; I'm sure he won't mind us keeping it warm..."

Ash just gave a quick little Enya-like nod.

 -:-

"It's like this," she began once they'd settled into the quiet little nook.  "All this time we've been saying that the way you know someone's been infected is their eyes turn red.  And the way you know they've overcome it is their eyes turning silver.  So what would you make of someone whose eyes flash red sometimes but then return to their normal color?"

"I would be very cautious around that individual," the old warrior replied.  "I would want to know if it happened only once or more than once, seldom or often, and whether there was any change in behavior to accompany it.  Meaning if the person was not an immediate threat, I would observe them closely."  He sighed.  "I must be frank with you, however: I would not encourage my warriors to do the same.  We don't live to be my age by taking chances."

Ash swallowed.  "Okay...now, what if that person acted strangely, but not threateningly?  What if they yelled at people or talked irrationally or accused children of things that even adults wouldn't do, but they kept it at words and kept their hands to themselves?  And after their eyes turned normal again, they were okay except for being shaken up; and they only sort of remembered what they did or said, but they spent the rest of their fucking lives apologising for it?"

Ngatapa lofted a brow.  "Something tells me you speak from experience?" he said gently.

The Dreamwalker seemed to shrink a few sizes.  "Yeah..." she mumbled.

[Kiyevanie]

Ni'ka, wondering at first what Ash had in mind, soon lost her playful mood when she realized what direction the talk was taking.  A part of her, the part that made her a good huntress, the one that had helped her survive everything the Red had thrown at her, understood and appreciated Ash's approach: In just telling the symptoms, she got a neutral, un-biased opinion from Ngatapa.  Because Ni'ka herself or anyone else on the shack just couldn't have that neutral, un-biased opinion.  None of them could ever forget that it was Ash they were talking about.

Her first impulse was opening her mouth to protest, this time in earnest.  "Ash," she started, "you're not infected!  The Tsahiks..."  Her friend just couldn't be.  The woman enjoying the peace of the hot springs didn't have any trace of the Red in her...

But then she shut her mouth again, knowing that her gut feeling was one thing, but Ngatapa needed to form his own opinion.  And something was off; there were still aftereffects of the crystal in Ash.

[Random the Navigator]

"Ni'ka, I know I'm not infected," Ash assured her.  "But that wasn't my question.  My question is what Ngatapa or his warriors would do if they saw someone with those symptoms.  Our warriors and sentries have shoot-or-hold-fire drills all the time.  This is a new situation, so Ngatapa of all people should be aware of it, because he's the one who'll be making the new rule."  She turned to the warrior.  "Sorry if my frustrations about this are boiling over; it's just that...well, that Kenten is right; there's no sure way to tell who's the enemy anymore, not without sticking around them long enough to risk getting stung.  And I don't have the right to ask that of anyone here, ever.  I don't want anyone getting hurt thinking the next person with my symptoms is harmless when maybe they're not..."  Her eyes welled up; as much as she'd been criticised for 'patronising' the Na'vi, she just could not let go of her fear for them.

Ngatapa tilted his head.  "Ahh...like that?" he asked, again gently.  "Your eyes are flashing even now.  Let me see what a lullaby or a bedtime story will do for that..."

Ash couldn't help a giggle; the red faded, telling him that the phenomenon seemed to be emotion-based.

"Sounds like someone has an incentive to keep a level head," the old fellow quipped, cupping her chin and smiling.

[Kiyevanie]

"It's tied to emotions," Ni'ka confirmed Ngatapa's theory.  "The not-so-good ones - being sad, or upset, or annoyed.  All that goes well with the Red.  I think it couldn't recognize happiness and love if they hit it over the head with a club."

She bit her lip, thinking about the situation and what to make of it.  "Ash is right; you need to know, Ngatapa, as does Waytelem when he comes back.  I'm not happy about the thought of shooting people when we're not sure of if they're infected or not; I'm just hoping so much that more of Eywa's children can fight it.  But the safety of the Clan is the most important thing."  A smile crept over her face.  "Maybe we'll have to use the place where Andy and his skxwang of a friend were kept, if there are more people out there who show the signs Ash has just described."

[Random the Navigator]

Ngatapa smirked.  "You mean more people who've been shot in the arm with a shard of the demon crystal, which has since been expertly removed?  Na, I don't think we're going to see too many more of those."  He gave a half-smile.  "People feeling out-of-sorts even after a sickness leaves them, yes.  People who've had a fragment of that thing in their own bodies for over a month and still haven't succumbed? ...Not so much."  He patted Ash on the shoulder once again.  "Go on, then; I'm sure you're a one-of-a-kind, and I already know you mean well.  I'll let everyone know you're special so nobody panics."

He turned to go, leaving the Dreamwalker with no doubt at all that said briefing was probably going to be held in very short order.

Ash looked after him, then turned to Ni'ka.  "Well, that was quick..." she said, a little puzzled that he hadn't made a bigger fuss...and then wondered why some part of her had wanted one.

[Kiyevanie]

Ni'ka grinned.  "That's Ngatapa for you.  Why make a fuss if the situation can be solved easily and quickly?"  She winked at Ash.  "And I think he's right - there aren't many people out there in your situation.  Or at how many other people did that evil Tawtute shoot with his gun and a crystal shard in it?"  Her grin widened.  "Just not sure what exactly he will tell the other warriors - maybe one of them will sing you a lullaby in such a situation?"

[Random the Navigator]

"Probably not," Ash grumped, not in a mood for being teased.  "He'll probably file me under 'No action required'; if he tells them to do anything, it'll probably just be to let my little tantrum blow over and get back to work."  Unsaid but plain in her deepening scowl was that she didn't like the idea of word of her weakness being spread all over Hometree.  "Think maybe I'm learning what Enya means about being the wrong kind of 'special'..." she finally sighed.  "C'mon, let's go get some lunch..."

 -:-

[Kiyevanie]

Lunch was a simple affair.  After the food wrap they'd had a while ago, Ni'ka hadn't been very hungry and had settled for one of her preferred roasted sweet roots, which she'd nibbled together with a bowl of water - more for the taste than to fill her stomach.  The two women had spent the time in companionable silence, each of them having enough to mull over for probably half a lifetime.  And of course they enjoyed the warmth of the bonfire.

Ni'ka was just about to suggest that maybe they should go and try to find the Tsahiks when a youth in his mid-teens suddenly appeared before them.  He sported the jewelry and shawl of a Tsahik's helper as well as a remarkable likeness to the old Tsahik who had spoken up in Enya's and Ash's favour that morning.

The boy greeted them politely.  "Oel ngati kameie," he said formally; very obviously this was meant to be an official encounter, not just a boy talking to two other Clan members.  "The Tsahiks sent me out to look for you."  He tried to keep his voice calm and collected, but there was bright curiosity in them as he watched the Dreamwalker and the Changed one.  "They want to talk to you."

[Random the Navigator]

Ash returned the greeting, eyeing the lad as she did so.  She was shocked that he didn't look much older than Tali, or that Tali looked almost this one's age...a fresh reminder that Na'vi childhood was short, and that Tali--already Rick's height--would be eligible for Iknimaya in just a few more years, if the world lasted that long.  Suddenly she wanted it to, very fiercely; she wanted to see Tali as a young man.  And in those few years, would she be able to tell the difference in their ages?

"Ahh...I was wondering if they would send someone to fetch us or if we should just find them ourselves," she said.  "I like it better this way; I know I won't be interrupting anything."

And then, just because she was learning to look at people and not just consider their ideas, she asked the young man "Say, are you related to any of them?  The Tsahiks, I mean?  Your face looks a little like that of the one who gave me the most wisdom in the fewest words - that I should listen to the children."

[Kiyevanie]

The boy smiled.  "I'm called Iriyon, and Mohani is my great-grandmother," he said, introducing himself and confirming Ash's guess in the same line, and with warm affection for the old woman showing in his face and his voice.  "And my karyu.  She's teaching me the ways of the Tsahiks, and I'm her strong legs and arms."  Obviously this was an arrangement Iriyon was pretty content and happy with.

"I remember her too," Ni'ka smiled as they walked towards the place the boy was leading them, the same audience chamber they had talked in before.  Talking about the old Tsahik somehow calmed the nerves she was starting to develop.  "And the wisdom of her words."

"She is very wise," Iriyon agreed, then a quick shadow crossed his face.  "But also very old.  This weather isn't good for her bones, although her spirit is strong.  I wish I could do more for her."

For a moment Ni'ka put a sympathetic hand on the boy's shoulder.  As a Tsahik's helper he probably knew more about the balance of life than anyone else, but that didn't mean he couldn't be worried about the great-grandmother he loved.

[Random the Navigator]

Ash bit her lip; like most Westerners confronted by old age and death, she was unsure of what to say.  But she just hadn't gotten the feeling that the ancient priestess was ready to turn in just yet, so she said so.  "I'm not the best judge of these things," she began, "and it'd kill me to be wrong...but she is a strong spirit, and she didn't look or sound like someone who's close to letting it go.  She made a promise to herself and to the rest of us to still be here when the world began to heal again, and she strikes me as a woman of her word.  It's amazing what setting a goal like that can bring someone through..."  Then she blushed, wondering if she sounded too much like a self-help book.

They reached the chamber more quickly than they had before, now that they knew the way and Ash wasn't afraid to be there.  She allowed the youth to introduce her and Ni'ka formally, then made the greeting herself before sitting where Ali'ite beckoned her to...and, to her pleasure, she found herself between the Tompa'tanhi Tsahik and Mohani.

"Thank you again," she said to Ali'ite.  "This helps, really it does..."  She got flustered for a moment, unsure of the protocol. "So, umm, do we talk a little first, or have you already decided?"

"We are deciding," Ali'ite said.  "We have discussed, yes.  But this is going to be your decision as much as anyone's."

Ash couldn't help the look that crossed her face: it very plainly stated ~ Oh, shit... ~

[Kiyevanie]

Ni'ka had been placed on Ali'ite's other side, with Ka'hi sitting right next to her, as if the two guests should be surrounded by the ones they already had a connection to, to feel more comfortable.

She noticed Ash's slightly stunned and unsure look and bit her lip herself.  Of course it made sense for the Tsahiks to include Ash and her in the final process of deciding about their requests.  Ni'ka guessed that the Tsahiks had more or less made their decision already and now just needed to ask a few final questions, to see if their decision would be right, if Ash - and Ni'ka herself - were ready for whatever lay ahead.

Or should there be more involved?  Maybe a test they had to pass before?  Ni'ka swallowed, but sat straight, ready to listen to the words of Ali'ite or whoever would speak to them.  Then she felt a hand on her arm and turned her face to look at Ka'hi.  The Tsahik gave the huntress a comforting smile that seemed to say "It will be alright".

[Random the Navigator]

Ash took a deep breath.  "I, uh, wasn't expecting this...  Ni'ka and I were just talking about leadership styles, and she made it pretty clear that the People normally need a little more guidance than 'Let's just talk it over'...  No offense intended, but isn't that kind of what happened to the Clan, not having that?"

A couple of the shamans stiffened; but Ali'ite's smile was no less benign than Ka'hi's.  "Sisters, brothers, she is a child where she most needs to be; of course the nuances escape her."  Then, to Ash, she said "What Ni'ka teaches is true for what the Clans expect from the Elders and the Olo'eyktans.  For matters of action, one needs instructions.  But for matters of the spirit it's a little different.  No one can make policy for the soul.  We can only listen, teach, and help the seeker think things over and hopefully come to her own conclusions.  Your answer to a given question may be radically different than mine...but they are both valid answers."

Ash didn't look particularly comforted by this.  "It'd help if I even knew the questions," she griped; then caught herself; then decided that she had a point and she didn't really need to apologise.  "I'm feeling a little teased here..."

"No one has meant to tease you," Ali'ite replied; it was becoming evident that, while nothing kept the others from commenting, she was the real spokesman for the group.  "And there's nothing wrong with needing a more direct way of speaking; thank you for letting us know that."

"Comes of being a scientist, I guess," Ash smirked, finally appreciating the wry humor of the situation.

[Kiyevanie]

"I can relate to her there," Mohani chuckled.  The old Tsahik by now had one of the warm fleece blankets out of Rick's delivery wrapped around her body and a cup with something warm and steaming in front of her, Iriyon sitting a bit behind her - not in the circle but quite within reach if he was needed.  "There are moments when we need a child to find her own way, but others when more guidance is needed."  She took a sip out of her cup.  "So we'll give you all the guidance we can give and try to put it in the right words, but this is about your spirit and that's why you have to be heard."

Ni'ka listened intently.  The words were meant for Ash; but they rang a chord in her too, and she wondered what kind of guidance her own spirit might need.

[Random the Navigator]

Ash's nose twitched as she noticed the cup.  Naw, that couldn't be...  But the question escaped her before her better manners could intervene.  "Is that...is that hot chocolate?" she stammered; then she broke out laughing: "Don't tell me Enya's chocolate recipe made it all the way out here!!"

Ali'ite just smiled, satisfied that the ice had been adequately broken.

[Kiyevanie]

Now Ni'ka perked up too, leaned in and sniffed the air; then her eyes widened and she started laughing.  "Yes, it is!" she enthused, beaming.

Mohani smiled.  "I owe it to my great-grandson here," she said, sending a short smile in Iriyon's direction.

The boy blushed as he suddenly found himself in the spotlight.  "One of the healers, Tiye, gave it to me," he stammered.  "I asked her for something that warms body and spirit, and then she told me which pods to find and how to prepare them."

Ni'ka shook her head, chuckling at the long way this recipe had come so far.  "It's a hot beverage that Tawtute 'evi love, and my tsmuke loves it as well and missed it," she explained.  "Then 'Iheyu found that pod and Enya recognized the smell...and in the end it was Rick who found a way to prepare it so that it tasted as it should.  Of course Tiye brought that way along."

[Random the Navigator]

Ali'ite's smile grew a little wider.  "Actually, the version *I* heard was that Enya discovered the pods all by herself!  Well, with her Pa'li's help...  And that no one at your camp had ever thought of boiling them.  Also that the stuff has incredible curative powers, at least for Dreamwalkers-Awake..."  She winked.

"Don't remind me," said Ash.  "We were so scared for her that morning!  I'll give her all the hot chocolate the forest can provide if it keeps her from having another day like that one again.  And of course it was something I said that touched it off...and something else I used to say a lot that almost kept her from coming back..."

"Look at it this way," the Tsahik broke in, bypassing the Dreamwalker's guilt trip.  "She got a visit to the 'pretty place' out of it...and she came back with good news of the Heart."

Ash considered; whether about Ali'ite's words or her own, it was hard to say.  But then she shifted a bit and said "Actually, we were thinking about that...everyone at the shack.  We wondered if it would help Eywa if we brought Enya to the Heart in person.  That was an interesting talk; Tiye misread my intentions, I misread her questions, but then we all discussed it in the cabin.  Enya's been there twice now; did you know about the first time?  She was upset then, too, because she'd realised that her Sky Person wasn't coming back for her, and she dreamed of the cave--just the cave, not Na'vie.  But she's been there twice, and we're all convinced that it means something...  There's something in her that the world needs, needs badly, and it might be as simple as to see a child at play.  She decided not to come this time.  But she gave me these to show the Blue Lady..."

She went fishing in her pockets and brought out Enya's treasures: her Solanda-badge and her pilfered key to the Avatar longhouse at Hell's Gate.  "She says these have her and her Sky Person's spirits all over them, so letting Na'vie see them is the next-best way for the Blue Lady to meet Enya's Soul-friend.  That's all she wants, is for Na'vie to See the person who was the other half of her Being for so long...oh, and for us to bring her her toys from the 'long wood place'."  She couldn't help a smile.

[Kiyevanie]

Mohani very gently took Solanda's badge out of Ash's hand, treating it with the respect and the care that other people might reserve for holding a little bird with a broken wing.  "This girl doesn't want much," she said, "and most of it is sharing a part of herself and her spirit with a world in need."

"It's how she is," Ni'ka said quietly, remembering the day when she and Enya had spent time at Enya's thinking place, swinging, dangling their legs and talking while their friends were having and giving archery lessons.  "She told me - sharing is part of her, it's something she almost needs to do.  Giving and taking.  She said it's about trading holes for gifts, and it's all in each other's spirits."  She looked down for a moment.  "Solanda was her Soul-friend in a way that's even closer than what we share with our mates, I think.  Those things," she pointed at badge and key, "are what Enya has left of her Soul-friend, besides her memories.  They don't just carry Solanda's spirit, they carry Enya's love."

The respect in Mohani's eyes was still growing and she very carefully handed the badge back to Ash.  "Then this is a great gift this child has given us."  And then a twinkle in her eyes showed up.  "Besides this wonderful hot chocolate."

[Random the Navigator]

Ash grew a lump in her throat as she accepted the item back.  "There's...there's a little more to it than that," she said quietly.  "In a way, Solanda gave us Enya, too--I mean, besides the obvious way of Enya having been formed for her sake.  See, Brenda says Solanda suspected something was wrong at the Sky-camp, she wasn't sure what, but she was talking to the others and trying to figure it out.  But as our leaders put more and more restrictions on the activities of the Dreamwalkers, she became very concerned for Enya.  The new leadership didn't know she was special, you see, and if they found out she had her own spirit, they would try to break it.  Solanda wasn't sure how much longer she could keep her safe.  So we think she 'shared' with Enya one last time, knowing it would be the last time, and took her just as far away from Hell's Gate as she could get.  I think the idea was to drop her off someplace where the Na'vi could find her; she would have known all of Enya's play-places...  She wasn't planning on dying while they were still sharing, but we think the bad people tampered with her link unit..."

A tear slipped down her cheek.  "Solanda died so that Enya could be here, sheltered and safe with the People.  She has to become Na'vi; it's the only life she has left...besides this badge, that key, and her precious shorts.  And her toys; and her work...'Iheyu told me about her two trips to the mountain to find 'old-animal rocks'.  I don't know how much use the Clan has for that skillset, but it gives her a purpose; and 'Iheyu, at least, seems to regard it as another form of lorekeeping.  That kind of goes with the idea of her needing to share with people too, doesn't it?  She offers her Self, her skills, her limbs, her senses to anyone who needs them.  It's just what Avatars do.  I never understood them that way before...  But Na'vie did.  Na'vie got it right away.  And the reason Enya doesn't want to come with us is because it was so hard last time for Na'vie to let her go, and she didn't want to make her sad again.  That woman must be so lonely..."

[Kiyevanie]

"She is," Ka'hi agreed softly.  "I remember going to the Heart for the first time, when I was ready to take on the Tsahik's responsibilities."  She unconsciously let a hand slide over the yellow shawl she was still wearing, a sign of her rank as well as an adornment and a way to warm up.  "It was almost too soon; I was still young, not much older than Ni'ka, only a few years after being reborn in the Clan.  But it had to happen.  Our old Tsahik, my karyu, she never recovered from the first Sky war and the loss of her mate, and her spirit went back to Eywa way before her time."

She smiled faintly.  "So I came to the Heart.  Young, confused, unsure if I was worthy to be there, and that's how I met Na'vie for the first time.  We almost seemed to be of the same age, and still the years she has spent there showed in her eyes.  And the loneliness.  She was wise and kind and took away my fears and worries, yet the whole time I thought that all she wanted was a friend, someone to spend time with."

One of the other Tsahiks nodded.  "That's what I felt too.  She gave such a sacrifice to the People, and sometimes I wonder if we did the right thing in paying her back, with leaving her alone in her solitude.  All that time that has passed, all those songs that have been sung..."  A smile appeared on the woman's face.  "I've seen 'Iheyu's youngest that first day, when you, Ash, and her were playing in the Commons.  For someone as lonely as Na'vie, it must have been hard indeed to let go of someone so full of life and play again.  I think she'll like seeing something that carries so much love - and so much sacrifice.  If what you think is right, this Solanda and Na'vie have something in common: They both sacrificed themselves for people they loved."

Ni'ka nodded to those words.  She had felt Na'vie's loneliness out of Enya's words, even though she hadn't met the ancient girl herself.  "I can't even start to imagine," she whispered.  She too had felt cut off from everything that once had been her home, the people and places and memories she loved.  But she had been caught by friends, had a new family, a Clan she could be part of; even Lor had come back.  Being without all that for eons...  "I wonder if she's sometimes just tired of it all," she wondered, then looked back to the Tsahiks.  "So I think it does make sense to go there, not only for Ash's or my problems, but to just be there, be company - I don't know - just to be someone to talk to?"

[Random the Navigator]

Ash nodded.  "That's kind of what I was telling everyone at our camp - that Na'vie must be lonely for a friend, and that granting her this wish might do the world a lot of good...because when Vrrtep is defeated it's going to have to start over again, which'll make it a young world, and by playing with Na'vie Enya has shown it how to be a child again."

Ali'ite smiled a little; she'd been silent for much of this exchange, but hardly inactive.  Instead she'd been observing, getting a feel for the dimensions of the situation, weighing matters, and seeing how the conversation trended.  Now she said "You know that's a lot of hope to place on the shoulders of a child, do you not?"

"That's what Tiye and I had our last falling-out about," Ash admitted.  "She said the same thing, and I got so bent out of shape about it that I stormed out of the building in a rage, never mind that this body was weak from my neglect...  Thank the Ancestors for Silronsem's quiet wisdom; she actually managed to calm me down!

"I was of a much sounder mind when I made the proposal about Enya to the rest of our group that evening.  But by then I wasn't trying to hit anybody over the head with my ideas; I just suggested, and listened, and learned more about those people in two hours than I had in the previous six weeks.  And I learned that things didn't have to be my way to be good; and I learned that more than one person can be right; and I learned that other people are much more than a means to an end, that sometimes the best way to receive their gifts is to just let them be instead of making them part of some big plan.  I still think Enya seeing Na'vie again would help a lot of things.  But I can only speak for me--not for Enya and not for Na'vie.  Who knows what Na'vie really wants or needs?  Maybe we ought to just go over there and ask her?  We've all received her gifts; maybe it's time we offered her ours, whichever ones she picks, so she'll finally get something back?"

[Kiyevanie]

"I like that," Ni'ka smiled.  "I wonder if anyone ever asked Na'vie that: what she wants for herself."

Mohani smiled at the Dreamwalker and then at the dark huntress as if she was proud of them.  "That's a good question," the old Tsahik said.  "We have asked the First Child all kinds of questions, and we've told her about our needs and the needs of the People.  The time might have come that the People ask Na'vie about her own needs as well.  She is the Great Mother's First Child, but maybe we have forgotten about the 'child' part in that."

Hope shone up in Ni'ka's eyes.  "So - are we going?" she asked, her ears perked up and her tail swishing eagerly, by now even more about a chance to give something than about her own worries and spiritual need.

[Random the Navigator]

Ali'ite did not answer this directly.  Instead she regarded Ash for a few moments; not long enough to make the Dreamwalker squirm, but definitely an assessing gaze.  Then she asked: "Tell me, Ash...have you gotten what you came for this morning?"

Ash looked puzzled by that, then annoyed; when she replied, it was with borderline sarcasm.  "I don't know yet.  I'm still waiting for you guys to tell me--or, 'scuse me, to 'guide' me to my own answer."  She caught herself and adjusted her tone, but again stuck to her guns:  "Look, can't you at least let me know what's been discussed?  Are you going, are we going, or was the whole idea of a joint pilgrimage the next worst thing to ridiculous, or...?"

But Ali'ite seemed unmoved.  "Let me rephrase that," she said evenly, but not unkindly.  "Have you gotten what you needed this morning?  Has anything come to you here that you were missing before?  Either of you?  You both feel different than you did at our first meeting today, and Ash, you feel much different than when you first came to us for tutoring.  How so, if not because you have become more complete?  We Tsahiks are going, yes.  We've been considering it for quite some time.  How much of your burden do we carry with us, and how much has already been lifted from you?  I hope much of it, as we were wrong to put it on you in the first place...  Has your visit to Hometree filled a need, even a little bit?"

Ash paused to consider her reply...but then she noticed that the Tsahiks were eyeing both of them.