It had been raining all day. Most citizens of the continent's largest city had the good sense to stay in-doors and remain dry, but no one had ever accused Piper of having good sense, at least when it came to the rain. The young woman from the very farthest northern tip of the continent loved the rain. She loved the snow and the sleet, too. She loved just about every kind of precipitation, except for that one time it rained sausages. That had been weird. Even for Rhy'Din.

So while most of Rhy'Din City's citizens hunkered down behind closed doors, safe and secure from the rain (of water or sausages), Piper wandered through the stalls of the Marketplace, lingering the longest in the places where herbs were on offer. With such a wide and varied citizen base, Piper was constantly learning about new plants to incorporate into her healing elixirs, tisanes, and teas.

The rain didn't bother her; she truly did not mind the fact that her blouse and skirt were soaked through. She didn't feel the slight chill or the constant drip-drip-drip of water falling on her head. She was in her element?literally. As she paused to look over a stall that was covered with odd blue-green fungi cheek-by-jowl with blood-red sticks that resembled Terran sugar cane, she chatted amiably with the proprietor, learning the medicinal properties of the woman's wares.

Zahir walked slowly through the strange open-air market, torn between anger at the circumstances that had lead him to end up in this place and intense curiosity about everything he saw. Especially this phenomenon of water falling from the sky. He'd never seen rain before. Snow and ice, certainly, along with the less common, much more dangerous razor sleet and even death hail. But never just...water. There were hardly any people around, and he wondered if they were afraid of the water. There didn't seem to be anything unnatural about it. It wasn't acidic, or tinged with coldfire. It was simply water. Steam rose gently from his exposed skin where the raindrops landed. He didn't care about getting wet; it was a gentle caress compared to the weather he was used to.

Some of the goods he saw on display were familiar, or at least similiar to things he'd seen before, but most of it was wholly new and quite often strange. His stomach rumbled hungrily, but he didn't know what they used for currency here, and hadn't been carrying anything that he might be able to trade for food when he'd fallen through that crevasse and ended up here instead of dead. So he just kept walking, trying to ignore the hollow feeling.

After purchasing one of the fungi and promising to let the woman who sold it to her know how it worked out, Piper left the stall and turned to go back to the WestEnd, where she lived and kept her shop. On her way out of the Market, she passed a rather unhappy-looking man who was gently steaming in the rain. She stopped at stared at him; really, she knew it was rude but she just couldn't help herself. "Well, donnae ye look a bit of a dreep?" she said to him with a gentle smile.

As one of the few people walking around in this water fall drew abreast of him, she spoke something that sounded like it was half-gibberish, half-question. Zahir stopped in mid-step and eyed her. She was dressed very colorfully to his eyes, though not ostentatiously so. Some of the words she'd used sounded like the common tongue, so that was what he replied in. "I'm sorry, I don't understand."

Her gentle smile took on a slightly impish cast and she said very slowly, very succinctly, "You look rather miserable. Can I help?" She tipped her head to the left, hair that was probably the colour of summer-ripe wheat fields plastered to her head giving her a drowned-kitten look and looking at him with eyes the color of still, green waters.

Being that she was the first person who'd spoken to him since he'd found himself in this odd place, he resisted the impulse to point out that the she looked rather bedraggled herself, and instead said, "I'm wet and hungry and I don't know where I am. Can you help with any of that?"

"Aye, I can at that." She gave him a smile and nodded towards a small shop that boasted brilliant paintings in the front window; farther inside the shop, customers could be seen collected around small tables, nibbling at pastries and sipping from an array of tea cups and coffee mugs. "I can help wi' all three, in point o' fact. I was gaun tae have a bit o' tea. Yer welcome tae come, too."

This time around, her words were a little easier to understand. He didn't know what this 'tea' was, but at this point, he didn't really care. She was offering to help, a welcome change from the accusations and insults he'd run from back home, wherever that was from here. "I don't have any money, or goods to trade." He waved a hand at his clothes, which were now steaming along with his skin. "You see everything I now own here."

"Och, dinnae fash yersel'," she said as she turned and headed to the shop. "I donnae mind treatin' a braw lad to a spot o' tea every now and agin." She gave him a wide, cheeky smile and ducked into the shop.

A bell above the door rang out happily as they entered and one of the girls behind the counter looked up and called out, "Evening, Piper! The usual?"

Piper nodded and glanced at the man. "And add another, aye? For the drookit numpty left out in the rain here." The girl nodded and moved around behind the counter while Piper led the stray she'd picked up to a spot near a hearth that was blazing away merrily.

Was she accusing him of speaking nonsense? A momentary flash of anger shot through him, heating his skin even higher than usual. She sat there, speaking some barbaric and practically unintelligible tongue, while he was lost and confused in a world that wasn't his own. Luckily, his clothes were all but dry by this point already, and there was hardly any betraying steam now. His ire didn't last long, though, burning itself out quickly, as it usually did. "We call it the Dying World," he said, then looked down at the plate and picked up one of the pieces of shortbread. He sniffed it, then took a bite. It was good, though unlike anything he'd had before.

She felt it when his ire rose and it drew a brief frown to her face until his mood settled. "Cor! They call it the Dyin' World, aye? Why's that, then?" Her tea was gone, so she picked up another piece of shortbread and chewed it slowly, savouring the taste.

He realized that he had not hidden his anger very well, and felt a slight flush rising up from under his collar. He shrugged, mostly to cover the embarrassment. "Because it is dying," he answered. "A cold and slow death that has lasted for a thousand years."

Her eyebrows did a slow fade into her hairline and she stared at him with a slack jaw. "I never heard a thing!" she exclaimed, forgetting momentarily her attempts at speaking a more common form of the Common tongue. "An' how came ye here? Lucky break, that, aye?"

"Lucky," he agreed, a more-than-mildly bitter smile twisting his lips. "I fell into a crevasse, a crack in the ice," he explained, in case the word was as unfamiliar to her as most of hers were to him. "Very deep. Like I would be falling forever. I thought I would be killed. Instead, I fell here."

"Huh," she said, one brow arching at the bitter bite of his smile. "An' how long hae ye bide here?" She paused for a moment and gave him a somewhat sheepish look. "How long have you been here?" she corrected.

The effort to make herself more understandable, obviously a difficult task for her, drew a smile from him, transforming his face from the mask of unease and suspicion that had covered it since his arrival. "Not long. Less than one cycle."

"O' the muin? Moon, I mean. Or the sun?" She could ask about the tides, which was how she personally measured time when not forced to rely on the sun, but she suspected he would have no idea what she was talking about.

He frowned in confusion. "A cycle of the clock. It is said that the ancients measured time by the position of the Sun in the sky, but no man has seen the Sun in a thousand years, though we know it is there, still, else our world would be truly dead. What is a moon?"

"Ye dinnae ken a muin?" she exclaimed, completely forgetting her attempts to curtail the Borreraig form of Common. "Come wi' me, Mister Zahir. Come an' take a keek at the Lady and her Lover." She stood up and reached across the table, offering her hand to him.

He drew back somewhat when she rose so abruptly, but quickly realized she was not offering any threat. He stared at her hand as though expecting it to grow teeth and bite him, then very slowly and tentatively reached out and took it. It was such a rare thing that someone so casually volunteered to touch him. Her skin felt very cool, a stark contrast to the unnatural heat of his own.

"Well, aren't ye het tae the touch? Are ye fivert? Ye nae well?" Her expression was soft and concerned as she held his hand between both of hers and studied his face for a moment.

He blinked at her uncomprehendingly. He could see the concern on her face, though, and suddenly realized the cause of it. He pulled his hand away and dropped to his side, almost hiding it behind his back. "There is no cause for alarm," he said quickly.

"I see. Ye just run het, then." She nodded and then turned to leave the little shop, headed out into the evening. The rain had stopped and the skies were still mostly overcast, but jagged tears in the clouds allowed for the occasional peek at the stars and the two moons that were circled the planet. Piper pointed to the larger of the two heavenly bodies and said, "'Tis the Lady Arabrab, and ower there is her lover, Trebor. See? Muins."

He stared up at the two large bodies in the sky, mouth hanging slightly open. "Are they...alive? Can they see us?" He felt very exposed, all of a sudden.

"Naw, they're rocks. No life up there. Deid-like, ye ken?" She pointed to a slightly closer-appearing heavenly body. It flashed and twinkled like the other lights in the sky, but was measurably bigger. "That's the space station. People there can see ye. Well, see the city, more like."

Three nights later...


The fires burned low at the moment. Zahir hadn't slept in more than two cycles now. He was standing in the street, near a building he had walked past several times during the night, curious about the many people coming and going. It didn't seem to matter when he passed, dark or light, there were always people about. Many of them strange looking, some clearly not human at all.

Zahir was relatively certain that this was one of the 'public' places he'd learned about last cycle. The question on his mind was whether there was a reason he should try going in himself. While he was naturally inclined to gravitate towards groups of people?safety in numbers, if nothing else?he was also mindful of the events that had led up to his arrival here.

When the door swung open and a small person popped out, he took several steps back, but watched curiously as the person?a woman?left. She seemed very happy, which was a good sign to his mind. A few moments later, another very different person exited as well. He stayed back until the man was gone, then walked slowly towards the stairs, wooden stairs. He stopped and touched them in something approaching wonder.

Piper had been holding out hope that it would rain again but alas and alack, it was not to be. In compromise, she surrounded herself with the colours of the rain?black, grey, white, and hints of blue?in her blouse, scarf, and skirts. Closing the shop early and grabbing a quick bite to eat at a kebab stall in the Marketplace, she made her way lazily towards the Inn, meandering through the streets and greeting everyone she met with a cheerful smile and a happy smile.

She spotted a familiar solitary figure lurking in front of the Inn as she rounded the corner. He looked indecisive, hesitant, and she wondered once more what sort of place he'd come from that he wasn't familiar with all the things she took for granted; the moon, sun, stars, inns, even shortbread biscuits were foreign territory to the man. At least she'd done a little to remedy that situation and perhaps she could further his education even more. She moved closer and stopped. "They dinnae bite," she said from his right side, not ten feet away from him now. "Dinnae tell me ye dinnae ken stairs?" Her disbelief was obvious in her tone and expression.

His attention was rather abruptly split between the sudden appearance of something very large and very horned coming the door, and the familiar voice speaking to him from his right. One sort of outweighed the other, though, and he stared at the huge being.

She moved closer and gave the minotaur a friendly smile, although they'd never met. That was just how Piper was made. "He's a minotaur," she explained to Zahir helpfully. "I know they dinnae hae them in yer Dying World." She turned and watched the creature as he trundled off into the distance. "Are ye gaun tae brave it?" she asked, nodding towards the Inn's double doors.

The creature paid Zahir no attention, though, freeing his gaze to swing in Piper's direction. "I know what stairs are," he said, a little indignantly. "It is the wood that interests me." He tilted his head slightly. "A minotaur." She'd called the being 'He', so he did, too. "He looked...dangerous."

She shrugged a bit, both at his guess as to the creature's temperament, and at the flare of annoyance that rolled off him when he addressed her earlier question about stairs. "I suppose he's a bit like most creatures. Can be either or." She went easily up the steps, her flat slippers making no sound as she moved onto the porch. "Are ye hungrysome? Or lowin-drouth?" Oh, she could have just asked him if he was thirsty, but it was fun watching him try to puzzle out her words.

"Am I what?" Just like before, some of her speech was clear enough, and some sounded like complete nonsense. His eyes followed her as she walked up the steps. Slowly, he followed, stepping tentatively onto the first stair, wincing as his foot came down on the first riser. It seemed very wrong to be trampling all over something wooden.

"Are ye thirsty?" She grinned mischievously and leaned forward to say, "Boo!" in a sudden, loud voice, wondering if the poor man would jump backwards and land on his arse in the street.

He nodded when she clarified and started to reply, but her abrupt yell cut him off. His body tensed as ingrained reflexes kicked in?prepare to fight or to flee. For him, it was usually the first of the two. Blue flames flickered into existence over his fists as they clenched, but though he looked all around, he saw nothing that would have triggered such a shout. When it became clear that nothing was about to leap out and devour his face, he relaxed by slow degrees. First the tense muscles, then the clenched fists. The flames lingered for a moment before winking out.

"An' now yer here an' all is guid, aye?" She paused for a moment behind the bar, chin cupped in her hand as she studied the various drinks, trying to decide what would be best. Perhaps a glass of wine? Something light and fruity. Nodding confidently, she ducked behind the counter and selected two tall, thin flutes and set them on the scarred wooden surface of the bar directly in front of Zahir. Then she moved to the wine racks and pulled out a few bottles at random, reading the labels carefully before moving onto the next.

"Good?" He frowned contemplatively. "It is true that this place seems much safer than the Dying World, as well as far more alive. Yet, for all of its perils, it is my home." He reached out and touched one of the vessels she set before him. He had seen glass a few times before, but never so clear and without flaw.

She watched him for a moment and smiled; it was interesting watching someone experience for the first time things she took for granted. Then she went back to her hunt for the perfect wine. Finally she settled on a Riesling that smelled of apples. After carefully pouring out a bit into the two glasses, she set the bottle down in front of her and pushed one of the glasses towards him. "Try it."

Lifting the glass to his face, he took a cautious sniff. The scent was unfamiliar, but good. He took a sip, finding it to be very light and sweet, like nothing he'd ever tasted before. "This is good," he said. "What do you call it?"

"Wine," she answered promptly before taking a sip of her own. It was as she suspected?light and sweet, a good introduction to the world of alcohol. "Do ye like it then?" she asked, finding herself hoping that he did. She wanted to impress him and couldn't quite understand why his approval was suddenly so important to her.

"Wine," he repeated, drawing out the word, tasting it much as he'd tasted the drink itself. He nodded. "Yes, I like it. What is it made from?"

"Grapes, mostly. I think maybe other kinds hae other things in them." She shrugged, not being an expert in wine-making. "Are ye hungrysome? I could see if I can find ye summat in the scullery."

He didn't know what a grape was any more than the wine itself, but her question brought home a much more pressing need in the form of a loud grumble from his stomach. He realized then that he had not eaten anything substantial for several cycles, since before falling into the crevasse. The shortbread she'd given him before barely qualified as food, and certainly wouldn't fill a hungry stomach. "I believe my 'wame' has answered you," he said, humour showing in his dark eyes.

She smiled at Zahir, a little lopsided smirk dancing about the corners of her mouth. "Aye, it did, at that. Ye want tae come with me and see if there's naught that tickles yer fancy?" She pushed off her lean against the counter before moving to the swinging doors that led into the kitchen.

He nodded and rose from the stool, following her through the curious doors. "I am still unsure of half the things you say, Piper," he said to her back.

She pushed open the door and held it for him before slipping in behind and heading for the ice box and pantry. "Och, weel... Ye'll get used tae it. Or would ye rather I tried harder to speak sensible-liek?"

"It is tempting to say yes," he admitted. "But what is life without challenge?" He shrugged, then shook his head. "Speak your strange tongue. I will learn it."

She gave him a huge, happy smile. "Guid. 'Tis verra sair fecht tae remember tae speak proper, ye ken?" She pulled open the ice box and removed lettuce, tomatoes, bread, turkey breast slices, something that looked (and smelled) like cheddar cheese, and a bottle of whole-grain brown mustard and went about fixing them two enormous sandwiches.

He shook his head, a small smile playing over his lips. "I do not ken yet, but I will." He watched her preparations with great interest. Virtually everything she had taken out of the box was unfamiliar, although he recognized some kind of meat. His stomach, meanwhile, informed him in no uncertain terms that it didn't care what the food was, as long as there was plenty of it.

She flashed him another grin. "See? We'll hae ye learnit yet, aye?" She finished her sandwich making and handed him a plate before grabbing a bag of potato crisps and a couple of apples before heading back to their erstwhile spots at the bar.

The next night...


Half a cycle's rest had done wonders for Zahir's mind?and his appearance, too. He felt alert and awake, crackling with energy. He walked down the stairs, finding the Inn to be rather more full now than when he'd gone to sleep.

He still wasn't entirely sure what one was supposed to do in a place like this, so he sort just hesitated at the bottom of the stairs, looking around curiously. He stayed that way for quite a while, watching and listening to everything going on in the room until he saw a familiar figure through the crowd. It was relatively easy to spot her, considering she was the only person on the planet he knew.

It was, thank Llyr, finally raining. Again. While the rest of the people out and about this evening were ducking beneath eaves and huddling under doorways to escape the downpour, the little blonde water witch was s-l-o-w-l-y making her way through the city to the Inn, letting each and every drop falling from the sky hit her. When she finally arrived at the Inn, she was bedraggled and her dress was soaked through to her skin. But she had a huge grin on her face and actually stomped through a few puddles before heading up the stairs and going into the tap room.

She stood just inside the front doors, drip-drip-dripping and forming a little puddle of her own. Of course, no one would notice a little water in the midst of all the other substances on the floor. You know, blood and mustard and spit and other less savoury liquids.

She spotted Zahir across the room and waved at him, flinging droplets of rain water hither and thither in the process. "Oops," she said with a sheepish grin to prone figure on the floor, until she realised that the poor man was dead drunk. Or perhaps just dead. Hmmm... She gently prodded the body with her toe and was rewarded with a groan and a floppy attempt to shove her away. "Sorry," she said to him before squelching her way across the room towards the bar, leaving a trail of wet foot prints in her wake.

He crossed the room to meet her, taking in her sodden condition with a sweeping look. "You are very wet," he said. "Dripping, in fact."

"Aye, 'tis fair plumpit out there," she answered with a somewhat-maniacal grin. "'Tis grand, fair soft weather, though. Ye should come oot wi' me an' enjoy it."

"Go outside now?" He looked past her, at the doorway. "But you just came in." Then he shrugged. "Well, why not? The weather here is much nicer than mine."

She grinned in triumph and grabbed for his hand, firmly twining her fingers with his, and practically dragged him from the tap room and out onto the front porch, where it was decidedly more quiet, less crowded, and of course, less dry. "Did ye bide here all night?" she asked once they were leaning against the railing that looked out over the street in front of the building. The downpour had mellowed somewhat, though there was a steady trickle of water from the porch's overhanging eaves.

How cool her skin felt against his, he thought. It was strange that such a sensation would be pleasurable, coming as he did from a world of ice and snow, but this was different. How, he wasn't sure just yet. "Yes," he said, nodding once they were out on the porch. "I slept for an entire half-cycle. I feel much better now."

"Guid. I dinnae hae tae worrit. Want tae sit?" she nodded towards one of the empty benches that was relatively sheltered from the rain and sat up against the wall of the Inn, commanding a nice view of the streets and the front porch steps.

He nodded and sat down on the bench, which, he noted, was also made of wood. He was beginning to become a little more accustomed to the prevalence of wood and other plant life here in this place. "There is room for you to sit, as well," he said.

She nodded and held up a slim finger. "Aye, inna meenit." She closed her eyes and a faint frown of concentration furrowed her brow. Her clothing and hair became slowly, almost imperceptibly, drier. When she'd lost the bedraggled, drowned-kitten look, she opened her eyes and nodded with a definite satisfied air. "Much better." Then she went and joined Zahir on the bench.

His eyebrows rose as the water seemed to disappear from her. "You are a mage," he said in surprise. He frowned, then. "Why can I not feel your magic?"

She shook her head and arranged her skirts in a most ladylike fashion, tugging them down to cover her knees. "Naw, no' a mage. Cleric. Of the MacLlyr. I know ye dinnae ken him, but he's the god o' the seas. And ye cannae feel my magic acause o' ye bein' fire and me bein' water, ye ken?"

His lips twisted at the mention of a god, but he made no comment about it. "A cleric," he repeated instead, the word strange to him, yet somehow he felt that he had heard it before, long ago. "I do not know what that is."

That was dangerous territory. The MacLlyr had given her so much, had been so kind to her and to her people, but she knew there were jealous gods, selfish gods, and it sounded to her as if his world had more than his share of those. After worrying at her lower lip for a moment, she finally shrugged. "I cannae tell ye the answer tae that. Ye have yer reasons tae hate them. But they're no' all liek that."

"So it would seem," he said. It might have been agreement. "It does not matter, though. Good or bad, they are gone, and what they left behind is a husk of a world."

She had no response to that, so she just reached over and briefly covered his hand with her own, giving it a gentle squeeze before letting go. "I am verra sairy for the state o' things. But ye are here now, aye? An' ye'll be happy here. Once ye get adjusted, like," she added with a quicksilver grin.

His mouth lifted for a moment, despite the mood he was in. It was hard not to be affected by her optimistic outlook. "Perhaps," he said quietly. "Though I cannot help but think of my people, who remain on the Dying World."

"Mayhaps if ye can come here, they can, too."

"It is a good thought," he agreed. "I will try to think of that instead."

She gave him a proud smile and patted him on the shoulder gently. "Aye, 'tis a guid plan. So, do ye hae a plan fer the rest o' forever? What will ye do when ye run out o' nights here? And for clinkers?" Piper always had a plan and she expected that everyone else did, too.

"Clinkers? I am getting better at understanding your odd speech, but some of it still eludes me." He did smile as he said it, though.

"Money, ye ken? Cash, doss, coins, aye?" She hoped they had these things where he came from; though he might be able to get along with bartering for things. Of course, that would presuppose he had some worthy skill he could use.

He wasn't a complete stranger to the idea of currency. Some of the peoples of his world used it, though most found it far easier to trade goods and services among each other. He had seen that most of the inhabitants of this place relied on small metal discs as currency. "I have not given it much thought, to be honest," he said.

"Weel, ye should," she said with a sage nod. "Ye have tonight left here an' then yer oot on yer arse. Where will ye stay then?"

He shrugged. "I have slept outside before. I do not get cold, you see."

She frowned. "Naw, that's nae right. Ye must hae a roof an' walls an' a door. I know ye dinnae think it, but it can be verra dangerous here. Ye must have a safe place."

He frowned. "What do you suggest, then? Your knowledge of this place is much greater than mine."

She shrugged a bit. "I'll think on it on the morn an' tell ye when I see ye in the evenin'. If I see ye in the evenin'. If ye want to see me in the evenin'."

"Yes, I would like that," he said without hesitation.

She smiled and nodded. "Weel, then, I'll see ye in the evenin', an' I'll hae an answer for yer problem, aye?"

"I look forward to it, Piper." He stood, and this time he took her hand without waiting for her to offer it, pressing it to his chest briefly. "Walk in warmth."

She smiled softly and retained the grip on his hand, showing him how people shook hands in Rhy'Din. "Ye might consider this, rather than, uhm, yer way."

"Is my custom offensive? I apologize." Shaking a person's hand up and down like that seemed a very odd way to say farewell, but he supposed his ways would seem just as strange to her.

"Nae offensive exactly," she said, adopting the careful tone of voice again. "Just...weel..." She couldn't very well explain that it made her blood run hot, just like his. She trailed off and shrugged ineffectually, finding comfort in silence.

He assumed that her hesitation was because his parting did actually bother her, and nodded slowly. "Very well. I will do it your way." He shook her hand up and down firmly, then let go.

She gave him a game smile. "Verra guid." Then she stood and slung her bag over one shoulder, settling it across her back comfortable. "I will see ye in the evenin'. Sleep weel, Zahir." She gave him a little wave and stepped off the porch, disappointed that the rain had finally stopped. Oh, well, at least there were still copious numbers of puddles for her to splash in on her way home.

Once she was out the door and out of sight, he turned and walked back to the stairs, up to the room he had for another night, according to her.

"So you are a healer." That made sense to him; the way she'd showed so much concern for him, a completely unknown person, on their first meeting. Her admonition that he needed to get enough sleep. It was very much a healer's attitude. "That is a very important thing."

She nodded. "Aye, a healer. I have a shop where I sell my simples and things. Make guid money at it. But I get tae help a lot of people an' that's what I liek best."

"Yes," he said, smiling at her. "You are a good person, Piper. I have seen this."

She blushed a little at his compliment. "Aye, weel. Thank ye." She fidgeted for a moment, unused to such praise. Then she sat up a little straighter and turned to face the fire mage. "I bin givin' yer problem summat of a think an' I'm afearit I cannae think o' anything tae solve it."

"I, too, have been unsuccessful," he answered, nodding. "But I am not yet ready to give up. It has only been a few cycles since I came here. I cannot expect to understand everything immediately, or instantly find a place to fit in."

"Nae, 'tis true. What about a smithy? Or a lamplighter?" She was trying very hard to think of professions that involved fire.

"Perhaps," he said, shrugging slightly.

"'Tis the best I can do," she said apologetically. "But ye dinnae need tae stay oot on the streets. Ye can stay wi' me."

"Stay with you?" He wasn't repeating her because he didn't understand but because he was surprised at the offer.

She nodded. "Aye, Stay wi' me. I cannae keep ye here; the price is too dear. An' I cannae be worrit for ye either. So ye stay wi' me and we're both happy."

"You do not have to worry about me," he protested halfheartedly. In truth, however, he was happy with her offer. Perhaps it was because of her concern, or maybe because she was the first person to be friendly to him on this world, but he quite liked Piper.

"Guid. I should warn ye of the buildin', though. It's in a verra bad neighbourhood. Dangerous. Lots o' scofflaws bandyin' aboot. But the buildin's verra safe. Protected, like, ye ken? Spirits and guardians and the like."

He nodded. "I am familiar with magical defenses. But I am not afraid of these 'scofflaws', either." He looked curiously at her. "Most healers are not fighters. Why do you live in a dangerous area?"

She smirked. "I'm nae made o' money and my landlord's hae gie me a bit o' earth in the gardens on the roof. Ye'll see."

He reached out, poking her arm lightly. "No, not made of money." He smiled. He'd seen how much she liked humour, and found himself eager to make her smile again.

She chuckled softly. "Do ye want tae see yer new hoose? 'Tis a fair walk an' I'm a wee mite peckish, too."

"Yes, I would like to see the garden you spoke of." He stood immediately, looking down at her. "I will carry your basket," he said, reaching down to pick it up.

"Weel, thank ye." She hooked her arm through Zahir's and leading him down the steps. Nope, no rain yet, though she did cast a hopeful eye to the cloudy skies above. She could feel the moisture in the air and knew that the slightest nudge would send buckets down on them.

"You look at the sky very often," he said, following her gaze. "What are you looking for?" He glanced down at her arm, entwined with his, feeling a surge of heat run through his body. That was normal, of course, but the source wasn't so much.

"Rain," she said simply as they headed down the street towards WestEnd.

"Och, nae.? No' a friend.? More like lord an' master," she said with a wicked grin.? "He allows me tae live here an' sleep in his bed, an' I serve him by pettin' him an' feedin' him an' providing soft places for him tae sleep."

It took him a moment to realize she was making a joke, and then he laughed.? "I can tell from the way he is using you as a bed."

She laughed and dipped her head to press a gentle kiss against the top of the cat's head before gently shooing him off her lap.? "I'll show ye the bath an' the scullery, if ye'd liek."

"Yes, please.? If I am to remain here, I must know where everything is."? He watched the cat chuckling as it gave her a dirty look for making him move.? "You have displeased your lord."

"Aye.? He'll get ower it, though.? I have magic."? She grinned and headed towards the kitchen.? A moment later she'd pulled open a drawer and the cat sprinted in that direction, flying from the floor to the top of the tall counter that separated the kitchen from the rest of the room.? Piper giggled and put a handful of small objects down in front of the cat.? Loud crunching could be heard as the tom gobbled up the treats.

Zahir laughed when the small animal raced for the food.? "Now that is something I can understand.? Getting excited over food."

"Are ye hungrysome?" Piper asked as she gently shoved Rab off the counter after he'd finished his snack.? The tom slowly walked back across the house, a definite air of smug ownership in his stride, and hopped back up to his spot on the bed.? After a brief grooming session, he curled up and went back to sleep.

"Yes, I am," he replied.? "I had some food at the Inn, but it was much earlier in the cycle...in the morning, I mean."? He smiled, pleased that he remembered the word for the beginning of a cycle.

She nodded and went to the modern refrigerator and opened the door, staring into the depths as she awaited inspiration.? Finally, she closed it and turned back to face her guest.? "What do ye liek to et?" she asked.

"What ever I can find, usually.? Food is not as easy to come by in my world as it seems to be here.? We spend a lot of time hunting?the small groups of animals we keep are too valuable to eat."

"Hmmm," she said thoughtfully and then grinned.? "Then I'll make ye what I liek best, aye?? Then ye can decide for yerself."? She returned to the refrigerator, pulled out a small bowl filled with mashed potatoes, and returned for an onion, a steak big enough for two people, plus another bowl filled with green leaves of varying shapes, sizes and colours.

"Yes, I would like that." As she was pulling items out, he walked over to examine the device she was taking the food from.? He could feel the cold rolling out from it?it reminded him of home.? He stuck a hand inside the refrigerator and moved it around, feeling the chilled air blowing in from...somewhere.?

She watched him as she prepped food and then smirked at his seeming confusion.? "It's 'lectric.? Dinnae ask me tae explain.? I cannae.? It's liek how the space station stays up."

"Science, not magic," he said, remembering what she'd said about the space station.? "It keeps your food fresh, as though it were packed in ice."

"Aye, that's it exactly.? That's what me Mam an' Da have at hame.? A big metal box wi' ice in to keep cold things cold.? An' they use a big open fire to cook wi', but I can just do this..."? She turned a knob on the range and a small ring of flames jetted up.

His attention was instantly drawn to the fire, and he turned away from the refrigerator without a second glance, leaving the door standing wide open.? He crossed to the range and held out a hand towards the flames, which stretched towards him in greeting.

She gasped in happy surprise when the flames leaned towards him and absently closed the door of the refrigerator.? "Cor, that's bluidy knackie, that is!? Ye wouldn't even need a hob to cook wi', do ye?"

"Is this called a hob on your world?" he asked.? "We call them ovens on mine, though they do not light so quickly and easily as yours did.? Unless I am starting the fire," he added, shooting her a little smile.? He ran his fingers through the fire in much the same motion Piper used to pet her cat.

Her delighted laughter filled the room with the sounds of a babbling brook.? "Oh, aye.? I ken ovens."? She leaned down and pulled open the oven door located below the hob.? "See? Oven?"? She turned away to finish prepping the food before moving to put a well-seasoned cast iron skillet on the fire Zahir had been playing with and frying the onions and mashed potatoes together.

He was reluctant to take his hand from the flames, but that skillet looked quite heavy, so he moved back a bit to watch her cook.? He took a deep breath, and felt his mouth start to water.? "That smells extremely good."

She shrugged a little, uncomfortable with his gratitude, and then left the bathroom, going out to the living area and showing him the couch-bed and getting linens for him as well. While he settled down on the couch, she headed into her own bedroom area and retrieved a nightie. Then she crossed to the bath and took care of brushing her teeth and hair, washing her face and changing for bed. She soon emerged from the bath, fresh-faced with her summer gold hair pulled away from her face into a tight braid, the tail of which fell down her back to almost her waist.? She was dressed in a simple white gown that brushed against the tops of her bare feet. Then she sat down in one of the arm chairs adjacent to the couch.? "What do ye do for fun?" she asked Zahir.? "Do ye hae time for fun?"

"Sometimes.? If there's reason to be happy.? We dance, and make music, and tell stories, especially stories about the ancients, and the time before the God War."? He sat on the edge of the bed as he spoke, eyes looking far away as he thought of those times?some of the few good memories he had of the Dying World.

"Do ye hae books?? Can ye read at all?"? She rose and retrieved an afghan from the blanket chest at the foot of her bed.? It was clearly handmade and done in shades of blue, green, white, and purple.? Once she'd settled back down in her chair, she covered herself with the afghan and cuddled up with Rab once he'd joined her on her lap.

"I can read a little.? The real books were all lost or destroyed long ago, in the dark times after the God War, but some of those who survived and became our ancestors wrote things down.? Those, in turn, were re-written and passed down through the generations."

"I dinnae hae many books, but Missus Lo sometimes lets them tae me.? Her favourites are by a lass name o' Jane Austin.? They're funny books, about lasses who don't quite fit in and finding lads to be marrit tae.? I dinnae think ye'd enjoy them muchly, but I'm certain Mister Lo has summat ye'd liek, if ye'd want."

"Do people here get married often?? Bonding is not very common back home.? Many people live and work together, of course, but actually going through the ceremony of bonding is rare."?

"I guess it's all doon tae where a body's from, aye?? Some folks dinnae ewen hae ceremonies for it, an' in some others, it's the most important ceremony.? It's important to my folk," she added.

He nodded.? "People can be very different.? I have met some from far away places on my world, and their ways and speech are very strange."? He grinned, then.? "Much like your ways and speech are strange."

"Naw, yer speech is verra strange.? Nae mine," she said with a grin.? "Do ye hae family what will miss ye?"

He chuckled at her response, but the laughter died away quickly when she continued.? "No, no family.? I was taken from them when I was very young.? When my abilities were discovered."

"Och," she said softly, her eyes brimming with sympathy.? "I'm verra sairy for that, Zahir.? 'Tis awful.? Where did ye bide?? An' with who?"

He frowned slightly.? This wasn't subject he wanted much to talk about.? But he felt he owed her at least that much for all that she had given him.? "I was given a place to live, alone except for a single servant."? He was silent for a moment before continuing.? "You must understand that my abilities are not normal for the Dying World.? There are many magics, but fire magic is not one of them.? I have never met another."

"An' they locked ye away, then?? Liek some sort o' monster or summat?"

He shook his head slowly.? "No.? Well...not as such.? Many people did fear my power, and considered me...other than human.? Others, however, saw that they could use my magics."

"Use 'em?" she asked with great trepidation.? Others had tried to use her own power and it hadn't been for good.? She hoped that was not the case here.? "Use 'em how?"

"By treating me with deference, giving me gifts.? Food, items, whatever they thought I might like.? I am sure you can imagine.? And then they asked me to do things."

The next morning


Piper woke at her normal time, which was just as the sun was beginning to turn the eastern horizon a rosy pink.? Rab was still sacked out in the hollow of her body and when she glanced at the couch, she saw that Zahir, too, seemed fast asleep.? She smiled softly, happy that the man had gotten some rest.? He clearly needed it.? As quietly as she could, she rose from bed, straightened the bedding and selected her clothing for the day?a floor-length blue denim dress, wooden jewelry, brown leather sandals?and headed quietly for the bath. Almost the instant she began to move across the floor, he awoke abruptly and sat up quickly, looking around in confusion and no small alarm as he found himself in an unfamiliar place.? She let out a tiny squeak of surprise when he suddenly popped up and clutched her clothing tightly to her dress.? "Och, Zahir!? Ye scared the livin' daylight oot o' me!" she exclaimed.

"Piper," he said, realization of where he was flooding back into his mind.? When he saw that he had startled her, he gave her an embarrassed smile.? "I am sorry for scaring you."

Her shocked surprise was quickly followed by relieved embarrassment and she smirked.? "'Tis naught.? Dinnae be worrit.? I'm gaun tae take a bath an' then I'll make ye breakfast."

"Is there anything I can do for you?" he asked, swinging his legs off of the bed and standing up.? "I feel kind of useless here."

She shook her head.? "Nae, yer a guest.? Ye dinnae hae tae do ought.? Ye rest.? Maybe talk tae Rab a bit.? I'll not be long."? She disappeared into the bath, and the sound of the shower followed her moments later, sounding like rain falling on a roof.? Rab was sitting up, staring at Zahir with his dual-coloured eyes, an inscrutable expression on his feline face.

He looked back at the cat silently for a moment.? "Hello," he finally said.? "You look like a fierce creature from my world, although not as large."? The raining sound of Piper's shower made him think of her delight in the rain, and he wondered if she got as excited every time she took a shower. Rab squeezed his eyes shut a few times before flopping over on his side and stretching out and going back to sleep.? Piper came out of the bathroom moments later with a puff of flower-scented steam following her.? She was dressed and completely dry from head to toe.? "Yer turn," she said as she went into the kitchen and began making breakfast.

"I took a bath after you went to sleep," he replied, following her towards the kitchen, then paused.? "Does your culture require bathing in the morning and the evening both?"

She shook her head.? "Nae, only when yer whiffy," she said with an impish grin.? In the kitchen, she had a handful of eggs, a rasher of bacon, a metal canister filled with steel-cut oats, and a small basket of early strawberries.

"Well, then," he said, grinning back at her, "you must tell me if I become 'whiffy'."? He'd figured out the word from the context in which she used it.? "May I help?"

She nodded.? "Aye, that'd be guid.? How do ye liek yer eggs?? Scrambled?? Fried?"? She'd put the heavy cast iron skillet on the hob to warm and had poured some of the oats and some water into a small cast iron cauldron, which was was sitting next to the skillet, cooking.

"We usually boil them," he replied, "but I am willing to try them however you prefer.? I like eggs.? What would you like me to do?"

"Crack them intae a bowl and beat 'em up.? Then add a handful of those herbs there an' a wee dram o' milk."? She pointed with a fork to a pile of fresh herbs that had been chopped already, then laid the bacon in the skillet, where it promptly began hissing and spitting like an angry cat.

He took the eggs and began carefully cracking them into the bowl, trying to avoid getting any of the shell in with them.? He stirred them thoroughly, sprinkling the chopped herbs in, though he paused to sniff each kind curiously before doing so. As he sniffed them, she named them for him.? "Parsley, chives, sweet basil, and a bit o' savoury."

Once the bacon was done, she set it aside and dumped the eggs into the same skillet, using the bacon fat to flavour the eggs even more.? As soon as they were fully cooked, she dropped in strawberries and brown sugar into the oatmeal and then served them plates of bacon and eggs and bowls of oatmeal.? She also made black tea with orange instead of lemon and drizzled in a bit of honey, as well.? "Sit ye doon an' eat," she said once everything was on the table.

She had a large basket full of salad greens and had moved onto the rest of the empty space in the garden.? Still down on hands and knees, she was very carefully planting rows and rows of herbs, marking each row with a hand-made sign.? She glanced up at Zahir and smiled.? "Still want tae help?"

"Certainly.? It is nice to work with and around plants.? A new experience for me.? What would you like me to do now?"

"Ye can help wi' this."? She nodded to the basket beside her, which was filled with tiny newspaper-covered plugs of earth, each with a different tiny green seedling in it.? "Ye jus' dig a hole and plunk the whole thing down in it, then carefully cover it back up and move ontae the next."

"All right."? He knelt down next to her, watching what she did for a moment, and then began imitating her motions.? It was simple work, but satisfying nonetheless.? Much of his life had revolved around destruction and death thus far.? Planting new life was a nice change.

After they'd been working in companionable silence for about an hour or so, a tall dark haired woman appeared at the shrine and knelt in front of it.? She cleared away old, spent blooms and lit some incense before genuflecting three times and folding her leggy body into the lotus position.? Her eyes closed and soon the gardens were filled with the soft, sonorous sounds of her chanting.

Zahir looked up from the plants when the woman appeared, watching curiously as she performed her ritual.? The chanting seemed to penetrate right through his muscles, releasing tension he didn't even know was there.?

"That's Missus Lo," Piper said in a soft voice.? "Her class will be here soon.? We should go an' open the shop up."? They'd done far more work together than Piper could ever have done alone and she was very happy for it.? Gathering their tools up, she filled the now-empty seedling basket with them and then headed downstairs, taking great care not to disturb the meditating woman.

As they passed by the woman, Zahir's footsteps faltered briefly.? For just an instant, he'd gotten a sense of a strange energy coming from her.? It wasn't like his own magic, yet still felt hot.? It was gone so quickly that he wasn't sure he'd really felt it, though.? He shot several backwards glances at her as they went to the stairs and down, though.

Piper, who was unaware of Riley's dual-nature, merely thought the man was appreciating the woman's beauty or perhaps that of the gardens for one last time before they headed inside.? They stopped briefly at Piper's loft to return the tools and baskets and put the salad greens into the refrigerator before heading down to the ground floor to open the shop.

As they went down the stairs again, Zahir's curiosity finally got the better of him, and he asked, "Is that woman...Missus Lo...a mage?"

She shook her head.? "Nae, I dinnae think so."? She stepped into the shop, releasing a heady scent of scores of different plants and flowers into the hallway.? The shop was neatly kept, with clean shelves packed with boxes and jars of dried herbs and flowers.? Bottles in a range of shapes and colours from blue to amber to green and clear lined a table in front of a large window, and tables held still more boxes and baskets of flowers, muslin bags, hand scoops, rolled parchments sealed with wax, and small pots with wax-sealed lids.

"Hmm," he said softly, more to himself than anything else.? As soon as they walked into Piper's shop, however, all thoughts on the building's owner were driven out of his head.? The sheer amount of objects in there was almost overwhelming to his senses, which were much more accustomed to bare walls and sparsely furnished rooms.? He looked in one direction, then the other, shaking his head slightly.? "There is...so much here.? How do you know what is and is not?"

She chuckled softly and turned the sign in the door over from 'closed' to 'open' and then went behind the counter.? "I've been doin' this since I was a bairn.? Plus I've a guid helper.? Ye'll meet her later.? She's a luv."

He stood a little awkwardly near the counter, still looking around in amazement.? "There is another person who works with you?"

She nodded and opened a book that was sitting on the counter next to the old-fashioned cash register.? "Aye, she looks after the shop when I'm on me rounds or seein' some body in the back."? Then she began to carefully count out money, filling the register with a certain amount before locking it back up.? She handed Zahir the book and a pencil stub.? "Do ye ken to write?"

The promise of rain was in the clouds; Piper could feel the moisture all around them, calling out to her.? "Can ye feel the water?" she asked Zahir curiosly as they left the WestEnd and headed north, to cross the bridge that emptied directly into the Marketplace.

He looked up into the sky, then back at her.? "Feel it?? No, I cannot.? I see the clouds in the sky?I would expect snow or something worse if this were back home.? Can you feel it?? Is that part of your power?"

She nodded readily and held out her hand.? After a moment's concentration, a tiny bit of water coalesced in the palm of her hand and she threw it at him with an impish grin.? "See?? Lots of water all around us, just waiting for summat tae tip it over an' send it raining doon."

He sputtered a bit as the water splashed him in the face, then laughed as it dripped down.? "If my face was dirty, you could have just said so."

"Weel, I dinnae want tae be rude, ye ken," she said seriously, though her green eyes sparkled with mischief.? Soon they arrived at the Marketplace and Piper began pointing out various stalls and shops where food was sold?kebabs and falafel, fish, sandwiches, soups, noodles, and more exotic offerings that Piper couldn't identify.? "What would ye like tae try?"

"There is so much of it, so many different kinds that I have never seen."? He pointed to one of the vendors, one with some sort of meat on a stick.? "That one looks good.? What is it?"

"Kebabs.? I think those are lamb, which are wee sheep.? Ye remember sheep, aye?"? She stepped up to the stall and asked for four kebabs and two large glasses of lemonade.? "These are my favourite," she admitted to Zahir after they'd sat down on the rim of the dragon fountain in the centre of the Marketplace.

He took a sniff of the meat, then a small bite.? His brows went up.? "I can see why you like them so much.? This tastes very good."? The lemonade came as something a surprise to him, very tart.? It made his mouth tingle.? "What is this drink made from?? It makes my mouth feel strange."

"Lemons, water, an' sugar.? 'Tis guid on a verra hot summer's day.? I liek tae put berries in it when I make it at hame.? Do ye care for it?"

"I am not sure yet," he replied, and took another drink.? It didn't feel quite as strange that time.? "Yes, I think so.? Are lemons a kind of fruit?"

"Aye, they grow on trees.? They're yellow, liek the sun."? She pointed up towards the yellow disc in the sky.? "Do ye want tae look for more claes, er, clothes?? An' things to shave wi'?? Ye must be startin' tae itch summat, aye?"? She reached out and gently touched his cheek as if to gauge the level of stubble she'd find there.

He froze briefly when she put a hand on his cheek, still a little surprised at the casual way she touched him, not to mention how nice it felt when she did.? "Yes, it would be nice to have something other than this to wear," he said, gesturing at the clothes he'd had when he arrived here.?? "But I do not have any money yet."

"Ye did enough work this morn tae earn some.? Enough for at least a new sark an' trousers, if naught else."

He thought about that for a minute.? "So...I am working for you now?"

She gave him a little grin.? "Cheeky o' me naught tae mention it, aye?"? She chuckled and then shrugged.? "Ye dinnae hae to, acourse, but if I were in yer pairt, I'd not bide away doin' naught.? It would be verra boring."

"No, no," he said quickly, smiling.? "I am happy to be doing work that will help you, Piper, and glad that you want me to be doing so."? Indeed, it seemed he stood a little straighter now.? "Well, if I have earned money doing work, then I would very much like to have new clothing."

She smiled happily and then stood up, depositing their kebab sticks and empty lemonade glasses in the dust bin and then headed towards the closest tailor's shop.? Luckily for them, the owner's wife was a regular customer of Piper's so a barter was in store.

The idea of an entire shop that had nothing but clothing in it was incredible to him.? On his world, everyone made their own clothing, or someone in their family made it for them.? He was amazed at the amount of clothing in the shop, too.? "Surely one person could not make all of this."

He felt like he learned quite a bit about herbs and their healing properties during that day.? Piper never seemed to get tired of explaining about any plant he asked after, and he was a very curious student.? It was strange to spend all of that time in the shop, though, for someone used to being out in dangerous wilderness of the Dying World for most of his time.? He wasn't claustrophobic or anything like that?no one who grew up living in a cavern could really be, but staying inside all day felt a little wrong, like he was neglecting something he should be doing.

As soon as the last patient left, Piper sent Peony home and closed up the shop.? "Will ye come wi' me tae the bank?" she asked Zahir.? "I need to deposit the money we made today."

"Of course," he answered.? "What is a bank?"

"'Tis where the money bides," she answered with a tiny, teasing smile.? They quickly left WestEnd, headed once more for the Marketplace and the First Goblin Bank of Rhy'Din, where she kept her personal accounts as well as the shop's.? Since it was very close to the end of the business day, the bank was busy and Piper and Zahir were forced to stand in queue for a bit. The building was a cathedral to money. Built of marble and shiny brass, the ceilings towered above the shiny-smooth floors least twenty feet in the air, and thick fluted columns supported grand arches. There was a chest-high counter fronting a row of five cages with thick glass separating goblins in natty three-piece suits from the unwashed masses of their customers. A silence akin to what one would find in a cathedral's sanctuary hovered over the cavernous room.

Zahir stared around the building in unabashed wonder, taking in the high ceilings, the rich decor, and the small goblins themselves.? "There is a race of beings on my world who look somewhat like these," he whispered to Piper, leaning close to her.

"Oh?? What do ye call 'em there?" she whispered back as they scootched forward a couple of paces.

"They are called the Gol.? They are very good at making arcane devices.? We trade with them whenever we can, for they have many useful things."

"Here, they're good at making money.? Lots an' lots o' money," she said with a little grin.? Finally it was their turn at the counter and Piper surrendered the bag of paper money, credit chips, coins, and even a gemstone to the tiny man in the cage.? He totaled it all up and gave her a receipt for her bank book.? She thanked him, took the two lollie-pops he offered with a grin, and then headed back out into the late afternoon.

"So," he asked, trying to get the idea of a bank straight in his mind.? "The goblins take your money and keep it safe for you, and you can come and get it whenever you need it?"

She nodded and fell into a slow stroll as they went back towards WestEnd.? "Aye, that's it.? There's summat called 'interest', too, but I cannae explain what it is or how it works.? All I know is that my money grows larger while they hae it.? There's more in my accounts than what I put in."? She shrugged a little and paused as the reached the apex of the bow bridge to lean against the railings and watch the sun set over the water.

"And what do they get in return for this gardening of money?"? He leaned over the railing some to look down into the water, seeing fish moving around here and there under it.

"More money?"? She chuckled softly at his choice of words and leaned her shoulder comfortable against his, enjoying the heat his body radiated.

"I see," he answered, nodding.? He had already seen, in his short time here, how important money seemed to be most of the people.? They watched as the sun slowly sank down to the water, the temperature dropping along with it.

"I love how it sets the water afire," she said softly, nodding to the fiery red and orange streaks the sun set shooting over the waters.? "What would ye liek tae do now?? Are ye hungrysome?"

"It is very beautiful," he said in agreement.? He felt as though he could reach out and touch the flames of the Sun, even though he knew it was very far away.? He shook his head at her question.? "No, not very hungry yet.? Would you like to walk around some more?"

"Aye, we could.? We could go see the Los' hotel.? I haena been there yet.? 'Tis supposed tae be a grand place wi' a verra fancy restaurant inside."

"A hotel is like an Inn, is that right?" he asked.? He thought he'd heard the term before.? "Only this one is much bigger, yes?? But what is a restaurant?"

She shook her head and shoved down those feelings, putting on a happy smile once more.? "Och, nae.? Dinnae be worrit, Zahir.? Just old ghosts what won't lie down an' be deid."

Surprisingly, he understood what she meant immediately.? "It is hard to get away from the past, no matter how long ago that past might be."

"Aye, 'tis true enough, that."? She cast a quick look over her shoulder at the Hotel, and sighed softly.? "He'd have loved it," she said softly, turning back to face front, her eyes lowering to the street beneath their feet.? "Alex, I mean.? My...my love.? He died a year or so ago.? He and his father were...were murdered."

Their worlds were not so different that he couldn't understand love, and what it was like to lose someone you loved.? He turned to face her and reached out hesitantly, putting his hand on her shoulder.? "I am sorry to hear of your loss, Piper," he said.? "Truly."? He didn't know what else to say.

She gave him a slightly wobbly smile and reached up to cover his hand with her own before turning back to continue walking.? "Thank ye, Zahir.? He's the reason I came to the city, ye ken?? He and his Da moved here some ten years ago from Borreraig, my hame, and they did well for themselves.? He asked me tae come, too.? We'd be marrit, start a family."? She sighed softly and shook her head.? "'Tis nae what happened, ayeways."

He nodded in understanding.? After they'd walked another block or so, he said,? "You seem to have done well for yourself, too," he said.? "I know it is not the same, but it is something."?

"Aye, 'tis summat.? An' I coudna done wi' oot Alex or his Da.? Still an' all, I'd rather them still alive than me successful and them deid, ye ken?"? She turned a lopsided, wry smile on him and hugged herself beneath his cloak, cold but not because of the weather.

"I ken well," he said softly.? He didn't say anything else on the way back to her building.? He looked around at the buildings they passed, but his mind was far away, on another world entirely.

"Ye miss yer ain hame, aye?" Piper said once they'd passed through the broken, crumbling wall that surrounded the WestEnd and did absolutely nothing to keep the more unsavoury elements from seeping out into the rest of the city.

"Yes," he answered, though he immediately realized that wasn't exactly true.? "Well, no.? I do not miss my home because it was never truly a home; just a place where I slept and ate sometimes, in between going out to fight.? Yet, I always told myself it was for the good of the people, and it is that which I miss."?

"That's what ye did today, ye ken.? Work for the guid of folk.? All that mixin' an' grindin' and what have ye.? It'll help many people, Zahir."

He smiled, realizing she was correct, and nodded.? "Yes, that does help."? The smile withered around the edges a moment later, though.? "Still, I cannot help but think of my own people, suffering on the Dying World without me to help."

She reached out for his hand as they crossed the street and walked up the front walk of the Zen Gardens.? "Weel, maybe ye can go back there some day," she said once they were inside and headed up the steps to the third floor.

He decided that he liked the way she touched him so freely.? Her skin always felt pleasantly cool to his touch.? He wondered what she thought about the unusual heat of his skin.? "Perhaps," he answered, his mind not really on her words.

"That is good.? Friends are very important.? I have not had any real friends since I was very young," he said slowly.? "Well, not until I met you," he added, giving her a little smile.

She reached out and scratched Rab's head.? "An' here's another," she said to Zahir with a smile.? "If ye'd like tae meet Yaz, I'm sure I could introduce ye twa.? He'd probably be interested in yer magics."

He nodded after a moment's thought.? "Yes, I would like that, though maybe not right away.? I would like to become a little more accustomed to this world first."

"Aye, 'tis a sensible idea.? Weel, what do ye wish tae do for the now?? Are ye hungrysome?"

He chuckled softly.? "I must look terribly thin and underfed to your eyes?you ask me that at least six or seven times a day."

"Aye, weel, ye could use a wee bit more meat on yer bones," she reached out and tweaked his side just over his ribs with a grin.? "But there's naught for ye to do up here, an' I'm worrit ye'll be bored."

He laughed, twisting away from her tickling hand.? "I am quite content to simply sit and talk to you, you know.? It is much better than being out in the wilds of the Dying World, tracking down a pack of Gorgoloth or something like that."

"Cor," she breathed softly.? "What's a Gorgoloth when he's at hame, then?"? Then she held up a finger and rose from the couch, going to the kitchen to put the tea kettle on the hob.? "I'll make some tea an' while the water's heating, I'm going to change my claes.? I'll be back in a moment."

"I will be right here," he answered, leaning back on the couch and making himself comfortable.? He reached out to pet Rab again, since the cat was still lying nearby. She ducked into the bath, changed into a long, loose-fitting skirt, and a t-shirt that had been silk-screened with an aerial photograph of the Amazon river delta.? By the time she exited the bathroom, with her hair brushed and braided, the tea kettle had just begun to whistle.

He waited until she was back from getting the tea before starting his explanation.? "Gorgoloth are dark-skinned beings with hair the color of bleached bones.? They are huge, at least two feet taller than me, and incredibly strong.? They have claws like daggers and sharp teeth as well, but they are not beasts.? They have intelligence enough to use crude weapons and form small raiding bands."

As she fixed them cups of black tea with lemon, milk, and sugar, she said, "An' they attack yer folk?? Threaten them, liek?"? She made up a tea tray with the cups and a little plate of shortbread biscuits and carried over to the couch, setting it down next to the large bowl of fish on the table.? Then she settled back down with her tea and the watercolour afghan.

He nodded.? "They attack anyone they come across, regardless of race or numbers.? If they ever got smart enough to unite, they would probably wipe us out."? He caught sight of the lush green picture on her shirt, and spent the next few seconds staring at her chest.

She frowned and glanced down at her chest and then laughed.? "Oh, ye liek this, aye?? 'Tis a photograph of the mouth o' some big river.? Pretty, aye?"

"I've never seen so many plants and trees in one place before," he said wonderingly.? And then it suddenly hit home where he was staring, and blushed so hotly that his face could've passed for one of the fires he loved so much.

She giggled at his reaction when it dawned on him where his eyes had been lingering.? In fact, she couldn't breathe because of the laughter that bubbled up again and again.? When she finally got control of herself, she said in a breathless voice, "Oh, ye shoulda seen yer face, Zahir!? It was priceless, it was!? So bluidy red!"

He was a bit put out at first by her laughter, but then the ridiculousness of the situation got to him and he started to laugh along with her.? At least she'd thought it funny, and wasn't offended.? "I fear my time around attractive women has been a bit limited."

That shut her up quickly.? Her jaws snapped together with an audible click and she stared at him with big, wide eyes.? "Attractive?" she squeaked.? "Me?? Naw, yer haeing one ower on me."

"I am not," he protested immediately.? "You are very pretty, Piper, inside and out."? He was blushing again now; it was a wonder that he hadn't burst into flames yet, which was entirely possible, in his case.

"Weel," she said reluctantly.? "If ye say so."? Then she fell silent for a moment and sipped her tea, her eyes on the fish swimming around and around in their bowl.

"You do not believe me?" he asked.? "Did your Alex never tell you the same?"? He found it hard to believe that could be.

"I dinnae believe him either," she admitted softly before sighing and finishing her tea.? She leaned forward to set the cup down on the tray.? Then she turned to Zahir, stared at him wordlessly for a moment.? Without warning, she leaned forward and kissed him softly, pressing her lips against his. He stiffened in surprise; Piper kissing him suddenly was one of the last things he'd expected at that moment.? Her lips were cool and soft on his, and his stunned immobility lasted less than a second before he responded in kind.

She gave him a little smirk.? "I hope ye dinnae expect that all the time.? I'm nae that kind o' lass," she said with a lofty sniff.? "'Sides, dinnae ye think it'd be boring, snogging all the time, and doin' naught else?? Our lips would be verra chapped after a while."

His shoulders shook with quiet amusement.? "You have a point," he said.? "But...I do hope that was not the last time," he added softly.

A cryptic smile took up residence in her expression and she rose gracefully from the couch and gathered up their tea cups to take to the kitchen.? "Ye'll just hae tae wait an' see, will ye nae?"

"I suppose I will, at that."? He sat back as she took the cups into the kitchen, and looked over at Rab.? "And what do you think, cat?" Rab squeezed his eyes together and then stared at Zahir for another moment before repeating the gesture. He raised his brows at the cat, then imitated the eye-squeezing, wondering if it was some kind of signal.? When Rab did it back once again, he gave a little grin.? "Are we having some kind of conversation in the language of cats?" he asked.? He glanced towards the kitchen, where Piper stood at the sink, washing dishes and singing a complex harmony with the running water, then back at Rab's mismatched eyes.? "She is quite amazing, is she not?" Rab squeezed his eyes again and then rubbed his cheek along the length of Zahir's thigh a couple of times before flopping over and exposing his belly, tucking his feet up beneath his chin and purring up a storm.

Piper soon finished the clearing up and went back to the couch area. When she spotted Rab upside down, she laughed.? "Och, ye've made a friend for life, ye hae," she said to Zahir.? "What did ye do tae make the auld grumphie show ye his wame?"

"I blinked at him.? Well, he blinked at me first, actually, but I returned it.? Then I, well, asked him a question," he finished a little lamely, a little embarrassed by what he'd been saying to the cat.

"He got ye to play blinkie wi' him?"? She chuckled knowingly and perched on the table next to the fish bowl.? "It's a cat conversation, ye ken?? He blinks tae say, 'I'm braw an' fine.'? And when ye blink back, ye say, 'I'm braw an' fine, too'."

"So I was right," he said, chuckling.? "I had thought it might be a conversation.? Interesting."? He was glad she hadn't asked about his question to Rab.

"Aye, it make him trust ye, ye ken?"? She leaned forward and scritched the cat's belly, eliciting a louder purr and causing him to stretch his front paws out over his head, as if reaching for Piper.

He nodded, thinking about it.? "Because most animals stare before they are going to attack.? So if you are closing your eyes, you are not going to attack."? The sight of the large cat on his back with his paws stuck out brought a grin to his face.

"Exactly," she said with a nod, then patted the cat's belly and sat back.? "Do ye fancy a meal in a restaurant tonight?? I dinnae feel much leik cookin'."

"Yes, I would like to see one of these restaurants," he replied, standing.?

She nodded and headed for the door, slinging her bag over her shoulder and exiting the loft.? "It's a fair walk," she said as they went down the stairs.? The lights were on in the dance studios and curious about what was going on, Piper stopped for a moment to peer inside.

"I will keep you warm if it is cold out," he promised on their way down the stairs.? When Piper paused to look through the door, he did as well, wondering what it was that had caught her attention.? Inside, he saw two people apparently in the middle of a fight.? It was a man and women, exchanging blows with incredible speed and force?he could hear the impacts from where he stood.? After a second, he recognized the woman as Missus Lo, the owner of the building and the hotel they'd looked at earlier.? He stared, amazed at the level of skill shown by both combatants.? Despite the apparent fierceness of their fight, he realized that it was a practice, not a true battle.? He leaned his head close to Piper's ear and murmured.? "Who is the man?"

"Oh, that's Mister Lo.? He's teachin' her, though tae my eyes, she's naught much more tae learn.? Aren't they wonderful?" she asked, her voice soft with awe.

"Yes," he replied, nodding several times.? "I have seen many battles in my life, but rarely such skill.? How can they strike each other so powerfully without causing damage?? I think that my bones would shatter from any one of those hits."

Piper shrugged.? "I dinnae ken.? Practise, maybe?? They are here together frequently, working taegether liek this.? I've thought o' asking tae take a class wi' them, but I dinnae hae the skill."

"They teach anyone who wishes to learn?"? He kept watching the two, unable to tear his eyes from it.? As he watched, the fight wound down, and both combatants stood grinning at each other, breathing heavily.? Zahir noted that the two of them seemed to share a racial background; their skin and hair tones were very similar, as were the shape of their eyes.? He saw the way they were looking at each other, too, and smiled.? "I think that they will want to be alone very soon," he said.

Piper chuckled softly and took Zahir's hand, leading him away from the window and out onto the street.? It was warm for the season, though overcast.? No promise of rain hung in the clouds and Piper was saddened by this.? "Aye," she said, shaking off the bit of disappointment and answering Zahir's question.? "They teach anyone who wants tae learn.? An' there's much more tae learn than the fightin'.? Missus Lo is a bonnie dancer.? She teaches wee bairns an' they're verra cute in their wee skirts."

"My people love to dance," he said, voice far away for a moment.? "After every successful hunt, or when the gardens are harvested, they all gather and dance for hours."

"I should liek tae see ye dance, Zahir," she said in a soft voice, a slight blush pinking the apples of her cheeks.? "I hope ye've brought yer appetite wi' ye.? Where we're gaun, they'll feed ye until yer fit to burstin'."

"Then perhaps I will dance for you one day soon.? Or maybe we will dance together," he said.? He shot her a sidelong glance, a little grin tugging at the corners of his mouth.? "My appetite is always with me.? Sometimes it seems I cannot eat enough, no matter how much I have."

"Aye, me, too," she said with a big grin.

Piper turned and ran a ways off, before stopping and turning back to face the fight.? Her mouth worked silently, the words of a spell falling from her lips without a sound.? Moments later a strange, pervasive feeling of calm descended over the embattled group.? The Makos who were on their feet dropped their weapons and looked at Zahir and Piper with a slightly confused expression.

Since his back was to Piper, he didn't see the casting of the spell, only its effects.? When the Makos' weapons fell from their hands, he straightened in surprise and shot a quick glance over his shoulder.? "Did you do that?"

"Aye," she said distractedly. "We need tae go right the now, Zahir."? She moved forward and grabbed the back of his shirt, practically dragging him for a step or two in the direction of the Gardens and the safety of the Foo dogs. He wasn't so vindictive that he wanted to continue the fight when the Makos were so obviously out of it, so he turned without complaint, letting the flames surrounding his hands die out. The two of them ran back to her building, not stopping until they'd passed the entrance and its powerful guardians.?

Once inside, she sagged against the wall, one hand going out to stop an inexorable slide to the floor.? "B*ggeryf*cktoleybumsh*te!" she exclaimed, completely out of breath.

His eyes widened at the stream of what could only be curses poured out of her mouth, and then he started to laugh, quietly at first, but with increasing volume. She stared at him in utter stupidity for a moment and then giggled, mostly at her blue language and the reckless feeling of rebellion letting loose caused.? "Oh, my," she said once the giggles had died down enough for her to breath.? "I hae plain forgotten about that lot."

"That lot of what?" he asked, lost by her colloquialisms once again.

"The bluidy Makos," she said, taking his arm and leading him up the stairs, back to her loft again.? "They sometimes bring their boys by tae be healed after one o' their many dust-ups, an' a week ago or so, they brung me a lad what couldn't be saved.? They blamed me for his dyin'," she explained in a soft voice, maybe shouldering a little of that blame herself, earned or not.

"So they would try to hurt you, and thus ensure that you could never heal any of them again?? Fools."? His voice was sharp with anger, and his blood burned hot with the fires of battle.? He'd been taught to channel that surge of energy, the shakiness that all newcomers to fighting felt, turn it into more fuel for his spells.?

She shrugged as she opened her loft's front door and stepped inside, unslinging her bag from her shoulders and slipping her shoes off.? "Aye, weel, no one ever accused them o' being in possession o' big brains."? She stopped talking suddenly and then collapsed into Zahir's arms, her body trembling with fear and adrenaline and unused magical energies.

He caught her as she fell against him, holding her close.? He felt her shaking, and knew what she was feeling.? "Let it go," he said softly.? "Let it out."

With her mastery over water, she could ensure that there would be no tears shed over the stupidity of the fight or its instigators, no matter how much she might want to cry.? "I haenae been that scared in a verra long time," she said in a choked voice, her face completely buried in his chest, her hands gripping tightly to his shirt at his lower back.

"Shhh," he whispered.? "It is over now."? He stroked her hair slowly, trying his best to be reassuring.? "I would not have let them hurt you."? This was one area of human relations in which he had no practical experience, but he knew what he wanted to get across to her.

"Aye, he will at that."? She headed into the bathroom and seconds after the shower turned on, the large ginger tom hopped up next to Zahir and sat there, blinking at him.

He grinned at the cat and returned the blink, then reached out to scratch Rab's head.? "You should have seen her tonight, Rab," he said to the cat.? "Scared or not, she was great." Rab's front end came up off the couch as he bumped his head into the palm of Zahir's hand again and again, the cat's loud purr filling the loft.

A few moments later, Piper emerged from the bath, a puff of fragrant steam her companion.? Her wet hair was pulled back into a tight braid and she was wearing a shell-pink robe over a white nightgown that hung nearly to the floor.? "I feel human again," she announced as she sat down on the couch behind Rab.

"You look human, as well," Zahir answered.? "And very nice," he added right after.? "Rab and I were having a conversation about the events of tonight."

"Oh, aye?? And did he hae any insights to offer ye?"

"He seemed to be suggesting that next time we get into a fight, I should ram my head into the opponent."?

She giggled at that suggestion.? "I dinnae think that would be verra effective.? Unless o' course, yer head were on fire."

He chuckled.? "It could be, you know."

"Aye?? Weel, that's summat I should liek tae see one day."? She sighed softly and covered a yawn with the back of her hand.? "Do ye miss hame more now that ye had a bit o' a stramash?"

He shrugged slightly, then shook his head.? "I have been trying not to think about it much.? Since there is nothing I can do about it, it will only make me sad."

She frowned softly and then tilted her head to the left a bit in thought.? "There may be," she said hesitantly.? "There's the Nexus in the Inn.? If ye can find some body who can steer ye, I'll bet ye can get hame."

He sat up straight, looking at her intently.? "The Nexus?? What is that?? How could it get me home?"

"It's liek," she frowned as a description of the Nexus eluded her for a moment.? "Weel, it's a bit liek that cravat thingie ye said brung ye here.? There's wizards who can steer ye tae places through it, but they cost dear."

"You mean it is a gateway between worlds?"? Even with this startling bit of news, he couldn't help but give a little smile at the thought of a scarf carrying him to Rhy'Din.

"Aye, 'tis exactly it!? There's a wizard in the Market who can help ye.? Ye can see her tomorrow...if ye want."

He nodded quickly.? "Yes, I would definitely like to speak to this wizard."

She nodded, managing to keep her disappointment to herself.? After a moment or two longer of stroke Rab's head, she yawned again and stood.? "I'm knackered.? I'm offski.? G'night, Zahir."? She leaned down to press a kiss against the fire mage's cheek and then scooped Rab up, carrying him off to bed.? Once she was settled, she turned the light off, leaving the loft lit by the silvery moons and a single soft lamp near the couch.

"Good night, Piper," he replied, feeling a little tingle on his skin where she'd kissed him.? He stood, pulling the couch out into the bed, and then stretched out on, looking up at the ceiling.? Was it really possible that he could get back to the Dying World?? Did he really want to go back, if he could?? After only a few days here in Rhy'Din, he'd already had more freedom than in the five previous years.? Yet, if he didn't go back, who would protect his people?? And what of Piper?? Now that he'd met her, he didn't much like the idea of never seeing her again. With these thoughts in mind, he turned onto his side, the sound of the cat's loud purrs lulling him to sleep.

She watched him wolfing down the breadsticks as if he was a starving man and then lowered her eyes to the menu.? Hmm, what did she feel like eating this afternoon?? When the large jolly man came back to take their order, she'd finally decided on spaghetti puttanesca with shrimp and garden salads.

After watching one of the other people in the restaurant do it, he dipped his breadstick in the marinara sauce and was delighted to find that they complimented each other very well.? After Piper ordered, he stopped eating the breadsticks long enough to ask, "Do they make the food here, or is it from somewhere else?"

She nodded towards the swinging doors that their waiter had just disappeared through.? "Mister Carito's wife, Sofia, is the cook.? She's back there.? There's a large kitchen there an' a walk-in freezer and cooler."? She snagged the last breadstick and gave Zahir a cheeky smile as she made fast work of it.

He chuckled.? "I suppose it is only fair to let you have some."? A moment later, the waiter arrived with their salads, and Zahir dug in with gusto.? He would miss this for certain if and when he returned home.

She dug in as well, eating the salad with its delicious dressing slowly, taking the time to savour the complex flavours and the textures of the different vegetables.? When she was finished, she asked Zahir, "What will ye do when yer at hame again?"

He looked up at her and set his fork down.? "I do not know," he replied.? "I have been thinking about it a great deal.? I cannot go back to the way my life was before, pushed and pulled at the whims of others."

She nodded and pushed a sliver of cherry tomato around her plate, unable to meet his eyes.? "Ye shoudnae be treated liek that, Zahir.? Even if yer the only one o' yer kind."

"Yes, exactly.? I want to help my people, but I can only do that if I am able to decide my own path."

"Guid.? Ye stick tae yer guns liek that."? Their salad plates were swept away, another basket of breadsticks placed in the centre of the table, and their drinks refilled.? Piper reached out and took a breadstick, broke it in half and then fiddled with half of it, not eating it.

He watched her for a moment.? That was unlike her, to play around with food instead of eating it.? "Piper," he said quietly.? "Is something wrong?"

"Och, nae.? Naught wrong, just me bein' a selfish bint."? She gave him a game smile and then dipped the bread into the sauce before popping it in her mouth.

"What do you mean?? You are not selfish?look at how much you have given me."? He reached for another breadstick, but didn't eat it yet, waiting for her to reply.

"I dinnae want ye tae go, Zahir.? I'm awfu' fond o' ye an' I feel like this?" she gestured between them with the other half of her bread, "?is gaun tae be ower afore it starts."

"Oh," he said softly.? He looked down, fixing his eyes on the breadstick.? "I do not know what to say.? I very much enjoy being with you, Piper.? When I am around you, I feel relaxed and happy.? I would not like it to be over, either."

"But I cannae ask ye tae stay, either.? It's yer hame, an' I know if I were stuck away from Borreraig, I'd do ocht tae find my way."? She sighed and put the other half of her bread on the small plate in front of her and pushed it away.? "Will ye nae let me help ye?"

"You have been helping me, Piper.? Already more than I can easily repay.? I cannot ask you to pay the wizard for me.? Especially now."? After what she'd just told him.? It would be bad enough to hurt her by leaving so soon, but to ask her to use so much of her money to let him do so was too much.

She gave him an unhappy look but was saved from further comment by the arrival of their meals.? She picked up her fork and spoon and began to swirl spaghetti noodles into the bowl of her spoon.? The food was, as was to be expected, very delicious but it might as well have been ashes for all the enjoyment she was getting from eating.

He watched her for a minute, wondering what he could say that would help to dispel to the unhappy mood that now pervaded their table.? "Please do not be unhappy, Piper.? I feel it, here," he said quietly, touching his chest right over his heart.

She frowned softly and then put her utensils down and sighed.? "I'm fair sairy, Zahir.? I dinnae mean to be an auld crabbity besom wi' ye.? Tell ye what, I'll take ye to my favourite place after we eat."

He stretched a hand across the table and covered hers with it.? "I would like that.? What is this favourite place?? Or is it a secret?"

"It's nae secret.? It's a wee lake to the south o' the city.? I go fishin' there sometimes or pick wildflowers an' herbs.? It's verra pretty. Peaceful-liek, aye?"

"That sounds very nice.? I have not yet been outside of the city."? He started to eat again, now curious to see this lake.? There were lakes on the Dying World, but they were all frozen, although a few of them had some water left, deep under the ice.

The rest of the meal went quickly as Piper recovered her appetite and ate everything on her plate.? After paying the bill, she and Zahir left and headed back to the Gardens to pick up fishing poles and one of Piper's collecting baskets, as well as give her a chance to change from her skirt into trousers.? Then they headed south into the Glen.

"What is funny?" he asked, looking at her and raising a brow, though hearing her chuckle made him smile.?

She bit her bottom lip to keep back a sudden tidal wave of giggles that threatened.? When she'd gained her composure once more, she carefully explained.? "Fishin's more about being outside, enjoying the water and the sunshine, than it is about doin' anything, ye ken?? Sure, it's verra grand when ye catch summat, but mostly ye do it as a way tae shuck off workin'."

"So you go fishing in order to do nothing?"? That sounded a little strange to him.? He shrugged slightly, though.? Well, why not?? It wasn't like home, here, where you had to spend almost every moment working for survival in one way or another.

"Aye.? It's summat my Da taught me."? She grinned cheekily.? "We'd go out fishin' or huntin' and not do anything more than sit and talk.? Mam ayeways knew what we were up to and dinnae say much, even when we came hame empty-handed."

He chuckled.? "It sounds as though fishing can be quite enjoyable.? I hope our time here is."? He looked at his pole, and down the line into the water.? "Am I supposed to do anything, or just it hang?"

"Ye just let it hang.? Maybe check the hook sometimes to see if it's still baited.? Fish steal bait sometimes an' ye dinnae know they were even there."? She leaned back a bit, resting her weight on her hands behind her.? "Do ye hae guid memories of bein' a wee lad?"

"I do not remember much of the time before I was taken away.? A few flashes.? Sitting on a skin next to a low table, eating something.? My mother singing to me."? He shook his head slightly.? "It is hard for me to remember what she looks like, now."

"How old were ye when they came for ye?"? She reached over and dragged the basket she'd brought with her closer to them and fished in it for a large bottle of water.? Twisting the top off it, she drank deeply and then handed it to Zahir.

He took a drink of the water before giving the bottle back to her.? "Perhaps four years," he answered.? "I am not sure, exactly, when I was born."

She blinked at him after putting the bottle back in the basket.? "Ye dinnae ken yer day o' birth?"? Her brows arched higher with surprised shock.? "I thought every body kent his ain day o' birth.? Mine's in the spring, right after Beltainne."

"I was never told," he said slowly.? "Or if my family told me, I was too young to remember.? And once I was away from them," he broke off and shrugged.? The people who had controlled him were not interested in when he was born, only what he could do.? "What is Beltainne?"? He asked, changing the subject.

"Oh, 'tis an ancient Fire Festival.? It marks the half-way point of the year an' the beginning o' summer," she said with a wide grin.? "Ye'd love it.? They do it up big here, with a May Queen an' her consort, the Green Man, an' a big bonfire an' a masque.? Alex an' I went 'afore...weel, ye ken."? Her expression slipped a bit, becoming sad for a moment, before brightening again.? "Peony an' I usually hae a booth at the bonfire an' sell things there, an' she goes to the masque wi' her fella.? Would ye maybe want tae go, too?"

"You will have to explain what a lot of those things mean," he replied, "but I would certainly like to go with you."? He shot her a little grin.? "Especially to a place with a large bonfire."

"A masque is a fancy-dress party.? There's food an' music an' dancin', and ye dress up in pretty claes an' put on a mask so no body kens who ye are."

"Everyone is masked?? How can you know if they are who they seem to be, then, and not an enemy trying to sneak into your camp?"

She laughed and laughed, leaning against him as tears rolled down her face.? When the giggles finally played out, she said breathlessly, "We're nae a camp, Zahir.? We're a city, an' no one's currently tryin' tae steal in and conquer us.? An' it's sort o' fun tae nae ken who yer dancin' wi' sometimes."

He shook his head, feeling a hot blush rising.? "I forgot," he muttered.? "It is hard to ignore the lessons learned over a lifetime.? In the caverns, a person is not allowed to enter while masked.? They must reveal their face, and only then will they be let in, if they are known.? A stranger requires further testing.? Too many of the beings out there can twist perceptions and appear human if they wish."

She nodded and then darted a kiss against his cheek.? "For the most pairt, Zahir, yer safe here.? There's naught tryin' tae conquer us or steal us away in the middle o' the night.? The Makos are sometimes gaupus enough tae try an' kill people, but that's nae ower much.? Yer safe here," she repeated, this time in a soft, urgent voice.

He lifted a hand, touched her cheek gently, pressing warm fingers against smooth skin.? "Thank you," he whispered.? The momentary embarrassment had passed, leaving behind only a warm feeling of contented relaxation.? He did feel safe here, with her.

She whistled softly.? "I'll bet yer poor mam had a fit o' seein' ye liek that."

"Oh yes, she screamed and screamed.? I remember that well.? There is no fire magic on my world, as I mentioned before, so she had no idea what it could be."

"What else can ye do?? Asides from the wall o' fire and the pretty flames on yer hands."

"I can do several things with and relating to fire.? Would you like to see some?"

She nodded eagerly and stuck their poles in notches she'd carved out of the dock years before.

"I will start with something small," he said.? "You must understand that much of my magic is dangerous and not very suitable for peace."? He lifted his hands and made a small gesture.? Four fist-sized balls of orange light appeared above his hands, bobbing gently in the air.? Each seemed about as bright as a torch or oil lantern.

She grinned happily.? "Can ye juggle them?"

He chuckled.? The lights formed a circle and began to spin, slowly at first, then faster until it seemed like a single glowing circle in the air.? "These do not last long, I am afraid."? A few seconds after he spoke, the lights winked

"That was lovely, still.? An' what else can ye do?"? Her own magic was much less showy than his and she was thinking hard about what sorts of things she could show him in return for his display.

He looked around, then stood and picked up an arm-sized branch.? He tossed the branch up into the air and said a soft word as it started to fall back down.? There was a brief sense of hot air, and the branch's descent suddenly slowed dramatically, drifting down towards the ground as though it had become a feather.

She gasped.? "Cor, that's handy.? Can ye throw fireballs?"

He nodded.? "I have two different kinds of fireball.? One is rather more destructive than the other."

"Weel, dinnae do that one," she said in a level tone.

He chuckled.? "No, that one is strictly for battle.? The other, however..."? He stepped off the wooden dock onto the ground and turned to face along the shore of the lake.? He lifted a hand and pointed at a patch of dirt, at the same time murmuring arcane syllables.? A burning globe of fire several feet in diameter flared into being on the ground, then began to roll along.? It wasn't incredibly fast, about as fast as a running person, but it rolled along without regard for dips and bumps in the ground.? He gestured, and the sphere bounced up a dozen feet into the air, then came down and continued rolling.

She laughed and watched it rolling along until it blinked out of existence.? "It looked like a hedgepig all aflame," she said with a grin.? "Yer magic's much showier than mine."

"Well," he said, "that is fire.? Bright and energetic and hard to hide.? You've seen my wall of fire already, so I will not cast that one again.? I can cause my entire body to be wreathed in flames that will burn anyone striking me, as well, but I do not think I should use that one here."

"Nae, ye shoudnae."? She was quiet for a moment and then asked, "An' ye use it as a weapon mostly?"

"Yes, mostly.? Aside from the occasional camp fire or other more mundane tasks, causing damage is really what fire is good at," he answered quietly.

She nodded silently and turned away to face the water for a moment.? "It weighs on ye heavy, aye?" she observed quietly.

He sighed softly.? "I regret some of the things I have done, yes.? I have killed thinking beings who did not deserve it."? He turned to face her, then.? "At the same time, I love the fire and the feeling of using it.? It calls to me, sings to me.? It makes me strong, keeps me going when others would fall.? It lets me help my people."

"Oh, aye.? I ken that.? I dinnae mean ye tae think that I'm condemnin' ye."? She gave him a quick smile, more a lifting of one corner of her mouth than anything.? "But I know it must weigh on ye."

"It does.? When I let it."

"Ye dinnae do that ower much, then," she said decisively.? She reached into the basket and withdrew an apple and her knife once more.? "Do ye want some?"

"Yes, please."? He smiled at her, glad to be talking about something else, especially since it was the prospect of more fruit.? "I wish these plants would grow back home."

The rest of their walk back to the Gardens was quiet as both were contemplating their futures.? Once inside, Piper quickly divided the fish up into steaks, freezing all but two of them, which she wanted to make for dinner that night.? After feedin Rab his own dinner, she took a quick shower, changing into comfortable old clothes.? "I'm gaun tae teach ye take make Grannie MacCrimmon's famous salmon with tatties an' grass," she announced after emerging squeaky-clean from the bath, determined to make the most of their time together, no matter how much of it there was.

"Grass?" he asked, brows rising.? "Like we walk upon?? I did not know that was edible."? He found it hard to keep his eyes from her; she always looked so alive after showering.? He knew it was her affinity to water, but the result was that she practically glowed with energy.? It made her all the lovelier.

She chuckled and shook her head, reaching into the refrigerator and pulling out a small bundle of long green vegetables with spear-like heads.? "They're rightly called asparagus, but we call 'em grass at hame.? 'Tis easier tae say, ye ken?"? She grinned and then began removing all sorts of things from the fridge?feathery green plants, lemons, potatoes, butter, an onion.? "Let's start wi' the tatties.? They'll take the longest tae cook."

He grinned back at her, moving up close so he could see what she was doing, and help her if she let him.? "Tell me what I can do," he said.

She handed him a knife and the onion.? "Slice that up intae wee thin slices.? But dinnae touch yer eyes until after ye wash 'em.? They'll burn summat awfu' if ye get the acid on 'em from the onion."? While he sliced the onion, she started on the potatoes, quickly cutting eyes and soft spots out of them, peeling them and then slicing them thinly, dumping the peels and waste into a large tin bucket she hauled out from beneath the sink.

He chopped up the onion carefully and put it into the pan for her, then went to the sink and thoroughly washed his hands off.? He didn't want his eyes burning, after all.? His own fire was more than enough heat.? "All right.? Now what?"

She added some butter to the skillet, turned the fire on beneath it, and gently moved the potatoes and onions around, coating them with the butter.? Then she added salt and pepper to the skillet, put a lid on it and left it.? "Now for the grass."? She showed him how to trim the tough, inedible ends from the stalks, then how to steam them quickly before dumping them into ice cold water, shocking the vegetables and immediately arresting the cooking, leaving them tender-crisp and beautifully green.

"Complicated," he commented.? "They must be very good, to be willing to go through that process for them."

"They are verra, verra guid," she assured him.? "Now for the sauce that'll go over them an' the fish."? While she coached from the sidelines, he made a creamy lemon-dill sauce, and while everything else finished cooking, Piper grilled the salmon.? Finally, the food was ready and she laid a table for them, complete with candles and her best wine glasses.

"I can hardly wait to eat this," he said as they took the food to the table.? "It all smells so good, and it is probably the fanciest thing I have ever cooked."? Most of his cooking was the kind you did over an open fire with something you'd just killed?something that was probably trying to eat you an hour before.

"My grannie's famous for this," she said as she sat down and poured them both glasses of Reisling?the same wine he'd had at the Inn.? "When the men bring in the catches an' there's salmon in the nets, everyone ayeways begs for her tae make it."

"If it tastes half as good as it smells, I can certainly see why."? He picked up his fork and poised it over the salmon.? "Shall we eat?"

She nodded and took a moment to watch him before digging into her own meal.? It was just as delicious as she remembered.? "Oh, yer a braw fisherman, Zahir," she said with happy satisfaction.? "This is a delicious fish."

"I had a good teacher," he replied.? The lemon and dill went perfectly with the fish, and the asparagus, as she'd said, was very good.? "I think I could eat this for days," he said after a few more bites.

She chuckled softly and nodded her agreement.? The rest of the meal passed in near-silence as they both concentrated on their plates and not on conversation.? After every last morsel had been consumed and the wine bottle was empty, Piper quickly cleared up the dishes and sent Zahir to sit on the couch with Rab, who had been demanding attention all throughout their meal.

As the train passed through the mountains and came upon the valley in which Star's End Spaceport sat, Zahir's eyes grew wider and wider.? The buildings here looked entirely different from those in RhyDin city, like nothing he'd ever seen before.? Many were tall and gleaming metal, some were low and dingy metal, but all were alien seeming to Zahir's eyes.? And when he saw his first freighter lifting off the port itself, his eyes almost fell out of his head.

Piper grinned to see that look of wonder on Zahir's face.? She leaned closer to him and whispered, "Aye, I felt the same way when I saw it for the first time, too."? The train pulled into the station and all the passengers disembarked.? Piper took Zahir's hand and led him to a little information kiosk to get her bearings.? Then she took off confidentially in the direction of the Googolplex.

If not for Piper's hand in his tugging him along, there was every possibility that Zahir would have stood and stared for hours.? "What is this place, Piper?? All we did was cross the mountains, but it is as though I have fallen through another crack and into some other world again."

"This is the infamous space port, Star's End."? She pointed up towards the sky.? "Do ye remember the space station I showed ye on yer first night here?"

"I remember, yes.? Held up by science, not magic."? His attention was drawn again by another ship, this one descending with a thunderous roar.

"Aye," she shouted over the roar of the ship's engines.? Finally she shook her head and waited until they'd moved farther away from the docks.? "Weel," she said when she didn't have to shout to be heard, "this is where people on the planet leave an' arrive from the space station.? An' loads of goods from other planets arrive here, too."

"Other worlds?? Like mine?? They travel back and forth between worlds here?"

She shrugged.? "I dinnae ken how it works, exactly, but aye, it could be other worlds in other pairts, or it could just be planets closer to this one."? They soon arrived at the Googolplex and Piper gave Zahir a moment to take in this sight.? It was like any movie theatre on Earth, only on a massive scale.? Five stories tall, with twenty individual stadium-seating auditoriums on each floor, the Googolplex screened films from all over the known Universe, including the one film Piper had brought Zahir to see.? She pointed to a poster with a comedy and tragedy mask above the words '21twelve studios Presents:? First Annual Jet Li Festival.? Tonight's show: 'Twin Warriors'.'

"What does that picture signify?" he asked, when he'd gotten over the immense scale of the building they stood in front of.? The only thing he'd ever seen that might compare was the great ruin of an ancient temple back home, destroyed when the God War raged.

"It's an advertisement.? It's a picture of..."? She broke off and frowned a little.? "Weel, ye'll see.? C'mon," she said and took his hand again, leading him up to one of the ticketing windows.? She asked for two tickets to the Jet Li film, paid for them, and then handed one of them to Zahir.? "Keep ahold o' this.? Ye'll need it tae get intae the theater."? Then she led him into the vast lobby of the building.? It was filled with people and individuals who couldn't rightly be called people?elves, dwarves, aliens in a rainbow of colours, all shapes and sizes and arrangements of limbs.? The air was heavily scented with popcorn, cinnamon, and other unidentifiable smells.?

Even though he'd seen a variety of beings back home, and even more since arriving in RhyDin, Zahir wasn't prepared for the sheer crush of bodies moving in the huge room.? He gripped Piper's hand a little more tightly, pressing his shoulder up against hers.?? "There are so many here," he said.? "I feel as though I might be swept away."

She gave his hand a tight, reassuring squeeze.? "I'll look out for ye, dinnae be worrit."? They headed towards the concession stands, where Piper got them a large tub of popcorn with extra butter, two blue raspberry Icees, and a box of Sour Patch Kids.? Then she led him to their assigned theatre, which was on the fourth floor of the enormous building.

Bonfire Night


As they slowly walked, arm-in-arm, through the city from the Glen after the crowning of the May Queen and watching the huge bonfires being lit, Piper was quiet, but not broody.? She was thinking hard about the night, about the man at her side, about the future. For a while, Zahir didn't speak either, letting her have the the time she seemed to need.? When they'd walked almost halfway back to her building, he finally decided that the silence had gone on long enough.? "I had a good time today," he said.

She blinked out of her thoughts, turning a sunny smile on him.? "Did ye?? I'm glad.? 'Tis verra different than at hame, as I said.? I like our celebration better, but that may be because I ken more people."

"We do not have any celebrations quite like this at home," he said.? "Ours are always small and do not last long.? We cannot afford to spend to much time on it."? Her smile drew one from him as he continued.? "I would like to see the celebrations of your home one day."

She nodded.? "Mid-summer.? We'll go tae see it.? Aye?"

He nodded.? "Yes."? Then he raised a brow at her.? "You were going to tell me of another tradition for this day, were you not?"

She blushed deeply and nodded, her eyes dropping to the ground in front of her.? "Aye, I was," she said slowly, dragging her feet, so to speak. She was grateful to see the blooming cherry trees that marked the roof of the Gardens building and picked up her pace, trying decide if perhaps she should just show him the other ritual that was observed on Beltainne in Borreraig.

After what she had already told him about the purpose of this particular celebration, he couldn't help but wonder what else there could be to make her blush. He lengthened his stride in order to keep up with her, figuring that she would tell him in her own time if she was going to tell him at all.? "How was your business today?" he asked, trying to change the subject away from one that clearly seemed to be bothering her.

"Oh, we did weel at the booth.? People buyin' up herbs that will help them with...er...ye ken," she said meaningfully as they passed by Harry and Sally to enter the building and climbed the steps to the third floor.? "An' at the store?? Were ye busy or did no one come in?"

"On my earlier trips, there were several people in the store, buying the same sort of herbs.? When I went back in the afternoon, though, there was no one.? I imagine they were all at the celebration, or getting ready for it."

She nodded and pushed open the door to her...their...loft.? She called out a greeting to Rab, who was sacked out on her bed, his odd eyes blinking sleepily at her when he heard her voice.? "Och, ye lazy cheetie," she said to him.? "I want tae be a cat," she said to Zahir, moving immediately to the kitchen to begin assembling a picnic supper for them.

"He does seem to have a very easy life," he said, nodding in agreement.? "However, our conversations would likely suffer."? He joined in the preparations alongside her as he spoke.

She laughed at that one and stepped closer, taking his hands and pulling him against her, her head tilting back to meet his lips. His hands full of forgotten food, he leaned into the kiss, closing his eyes.? Every time her lips touched his, it was like he was slipping into a cool, welcoming sea.? She seemed to tame the fires that constantly leapt and crackled within him, leaving him feeling more relaxed and peaceful than he could ever remember.? He made a soft sound and dropped the food back onto the counter so he could take her in his arms.

She went willingly into his embrace, the smouldering heat of him melting her body against his as she gave herself up to the fires that his touch kindled deep inside her.? Her arms snaked around his shoulders and she clutched him tightly, her kiss slowly becoming hungrier, her tongue slipping past his lips to twist and dance with his. There wasn't anything cool about the sensations rising up him now; in fact they were quickly becoming a match for any fire.? He slid his fingers into her hair, pulling her mouth harder against his.? He could feel his heart speeding up, pushing against his chest like it wanted to touch her, too.

She broke the kiss, her chest heaving as she panted breathlessly.? "Aye, an' now ye ken gaun a-Mayin'," she said with a little grin.? "It's tae be out of doors, though."? She gave him another quick kiss and finished packing the wicker basket on the counter.? "Fetch the blanket from off o' my bed, please?"

"All right," he answered after a second, when his voice came back to him.? He turned away from her?reluctantly?and went to her bed to get that blanket.? "What am I to do with it?" he asked when he returned.

When the storms of their love had passed, she smiled softly, planting a kiss against his cheek before letting him go and falling bonelessly, spent and sated, to the ground beneath him.? "An' that is how ye honour the gods on Beltainne," she said with a smile, reaching up to lazily stroke his face with the back of her hand.

He turned his head and kissed her hand, panting softly.? He lifted himself on his arms and smiled down at her.? "I think I like this celebration."

She laughed softly and hugged him.? "Aye, 'tis one o' my favourites, too."? A soft sigh and she closed her eyes, letting the breezes blow over her passion-heated skin. He rolled carefully off of her and onto his side, gathering her into his arms.? His fingers toyed lightly with her hair, and he leaned his head onto her shoulder, listening to her breath. "I wish we could stay up here, sleep in this bower like the Wee Folk, but I do think we'd scare Missus Lo's class in the morning," she said sleepily.

"You are right, and that would be a bad thing," he said, nodding.? He pushed himself to a sitting position and looked around for his shirt. She, too, sat up, and fished her dress out of the pile of their hastily cast-off clothing.? Slipping it over her head, she quickly did up the buttons and stood, moving around to gather up the left-over food and to pour out the rest of the wine at the base of the tree, whispering a little offering prayer to the Wee Folk as she did so. He folded up the blanket and tucked it under his arm, then walked over and slid his hand into hers, leading her down the stairs and to the loft.

His legs felt a bit shaky going down the stairs, but he managed not to do anything ridiculous, like tumble down them.? At the door to the loft, before she could open it, he put his hand on her shoulder.? "Piper," he said quietly.

She paused and looked up at him with a smiles.? "Aye, Zahir?? What is it?"

"I have...never done that with someone I truly liked before."? It was a small opening into the story lay behind his words earlier.

She gave him a sad smile and stood on tip-toe, laying her hand against his cheek as she kissed him.? She bit back the first words that sprang to mind, namely that she had never made love with someone she did not truly like, in favour of promising, "An' it willnae be yer last."

"I hope not," he replied, covering her hand with his.? "I was not expecting it to happen, but I am glad of it."? He smiled, then asked.? "Are you?"

"Oh, aye," she said with utter sincerity.? "Verra happy, indeed."? She kissed him again and then slipped inside the loft, unpacking the picnic basket to stow everything away in the kitchen.

"Good," he said.? The thought had crossed his mind that her actions were driven more by the ritual celebration than by real desire.? It seemed that wasn't the case, though, for which he was thankful.? He took the blanket back to her bed and laid it out carefully, then went to join her in the kitchen.

Rab, sensing a change in the dynamics of his household, was very solicitous of his people, rubbing himself along their ankles, trilling and meowing, and begging food from Piper.? "Och, ye bluidy gomerel," she said after tripping over him for the third time, "away an' biel yer heid!"

He laughed.? "Maybe he is jealous of the attention I have been getting."? He grinned down at Rab.? "She still loves you, monster."

Rab trilled at Zahir and then scooted out of the way when Piper shooed him gently with her toe.? "Aye, I love ye, ye neap."? After putting everything away, she kissed Zahir again and excused herself to the bath, to take a quick shower and change her clothing. He went and sat down on the couch, listening to the sound of the shower starting up.? He thought of her in there, water streaming down her naked body.? It was a very pleasant image.

She came back out, wearing a bathrobe and apparently nothing else.? "Did ye want to wash up?" she asked, moving into the kitchen to make a pot of tea.? She could feel the bespelled wine still coursing through her veins, whispering its sweet siren song.

He came up behind her and slid his arms around her waist, leaning down to kiss the back of her neck.? "First, I would like to kiss you again," he murmured, lips very warm against her damp skin.

She shivered and turned in his arms, snuggling against his hot skin.? "Ye feel fine," she whispered before raising her lips to him, her hands rising to gently grasp his shoulders.

"Not half as fine as you feel," he replied, tightening his arms around her and pressing his lips hard against hers.? Despite their recent lovemaking, he felt desire rising again with surprising speed.? What was going on here?? Was it because of how he felt for her?

Forget the tea.? Reaching out blindly, she fumbled for the knob that turn the fire off beneath the tea kettle and then grabbed his shirt and practically dragged him towards her bed, still kiss him as they staggered and tripped along the loft's floor. They fell onto her bed, causing the springs to protest loudly and Rab to scramble out of the room, but it was doubtful either of them noticed.? His hands found their way into her bathrobe, confirming that indeed she wore nothing beneath it.

Her mouth ignited the fires inside of him; his blood felt like it was boiling and wisps of smoke were rising from his shoulders and back.? He stroked her hair with a hand that trembled slightly and drew in a deep breath, mind numbed by the intensity of what had just happened between them.? His nostrils twitched slightly as the faint scent of smoke reached them, knowing it came from his own body.

She raised her head a bit, a confused look causing her brow to furrow.? "Do ye smell...? Och, guid lord!? 'Tis ye!? Yer burnin' up!"? She scrambled off of him, fully prepared to manifest some water to extinguish the flames that were consuming him?or her bed.

"No, no," he said hastily, sitting up and holding out his hands to forestall any drenching.? "It is only smoke, no fire."? He blushed, glad that the room was too dim to really see it.? "I...my emotions ran a little...hot."? He didn't really intend the pun, but it was the truth.

She laughed and collapsed forward again, hugging him tightly and covering his face in kisses.? "Ye had me worrit," she confessed before rolling aside, lying on her back and looking up at the ceiling.? "I thought the bed was afire."

"The fire inside me leaps at your touch," he said, turning onto his side to look at her.? "It burns hot, but I control it."

He smiled, reaching out and clasping her hand in his.? "You are very good to me, Piper.? It means a lot."? He was silent, then, thinking about his eventual return to the Dying World.? He knew he would make it back one day, but he did not like the thought of leaving her behind. She felt a flash of worry and regret in him suddenly and pulled him closer, wrapping herself around him and kissing him.? She didn't quite understand where those feelings came from but they drove into her like the sharp blade of a dagger, hurting her as much as they hurt him. He let the worries of the future melt away in the security of her embrace, pressing his lips against hers.? Whatever was going to happen would happen, no matter what he felt about it.? Better to just live in the moment.

Using her lips and hands, she re-ignited the flames of their desire and made love to him once more, fueled still by the be-spelled wine and her own aching need to make this wonderful man who'd come into her life feel more at home in his own skin. When they'd brought each other to blissful release yet again, they collapsed against each other, panting and clinging to each other.? "I have never managed so many times in a night before," he said breathlessly.

She decided it was perhaps past time to come clean with him about the wine.? In a meek, somewhat sheepish voice she confessed, "It's on account o' the wine we had on the roof."

"The wine?" he asked, confusion plain in his voice and on his face.? "It did not seem so strong, to me."

She shook her head.? "Nae, it wasnae stronger than normal, it was...? Weel, it was be-spelled."

"Enchanted wine?? What was the purpose of the enchantment?"? He didn't sound upset, merely curious at this point.

"Ah, weel...tae enhance our evenin'," she said, arching a brow and giving him a rueful little laugh.

"Enhance it," he murmured, then fell silent for a few moments.? "I think it worked," he finally said.? "Just how strong was this enchantment?? It did not...create the feelings we shared, did it?"

"Oh, nae. Nae spell can do that.? It just enhanced what was already there, ye ken?? Dropped our guards, so tae speak."? She laid her hand against his cheek and pressed her forehead against his.? "Yer nae mad, are ye?"

He smiled, looking into her eyes across the inch or so that separated them.? "I am surprised, but certainly not mad.? What made you decide to use this wine, however?"

She chuckled softly and kissed him before settling down with her head pillowed on his chest.? "Do ye ken the words 'liquid courage'?"

"I think I understand."? He ran his fingers through her hair and gave a small, relaxed sigh.? "I am glad you decided to use it, then."

"Aye, an' me as weel."? She closed her eyes and burrowed closer to him, as though she was trying to take up the same space as he was currently occupying.? Soon, there was a soft thud on the foot of the bed as Rab jumped up to claim his usual sleeping space.? "Will ye no stay here, Zahir?? With me an' forget the arsebites who treated ye sae horrible?" she whispered.

"I would like to," he replied with another sigh, this one somewhat less content.? "I truly would.? I think that I could be happy here with you.? Perhaps I do not owe my people any more than I have already given them."? He didn't quite sound like he believed that last sentence, but was trying to convince himself it was true.

"But ye cannae stay," she said sadly.? "Ye woudnae be the man ye are if ye left 'em to their well-deserved fates."

He nodded.? "They do not all deserve such fates.? It would damage something inside of me, I think, if I was to turn my back on them."? He cupped her cheek in his hand.? "And yet...to never see you again would cause me pain, too."

She sighed unhappily.? "Aye, 'tis a tough choice tae make.? I do nae envy ye makin' it, neither."

"Knowing that I will one day have to make the choice, do you still wish me to stay here?"

"Aye, I do.? Verra much.? We cannae help our fates, Zahir.? We can only make the most of what comes while we have it."

"I agree," he said, pressing a kiss against the top of her head.? "Let us speak of something else, then."

"What will ye hear?? Ask anything o' me."

"Do you know much of the world your people came from?"

"Only the stories an' such handed down through the years.? I dinnae ken how much o' it is real an' how much is story now."

Two weeks after Beltainne...


As the earth soaked up the late spring sunshine and gentle rain showers that encouraged flowers to blossom with heady abandon and tender leaves to unfurl and shine with a soft green glow, Piper and Zahir settled into a new and exciting relationship.? They worked side by side in the shop during the day; at night, they explored Rhy'Din.? They played at the Imperial Grand Casino, where Piper's ability to read people's emotions came in very handy and won them quite a bit of money at the poker tables.? They took the train all over the city, getting off at every stop it made and exploring the area thoroughly before getting back on again.? After their explorations, they returned to Piper's loft and just as thoroughly explored each other.

One night, after their explorations had taken them into the back alleys of the Marketplace and they'd discovered a bookstore that stocked tomes from nearly every world in the known multiverses, they were seated at the counter at Bella's Gelato, enjoying peach Bellini and limoncello gelatos and exchanging tastes.? "Next time we'll have tae get chocolate.? Have ye ever had chocolate?" she asked.

He shook his head.? "I have heard you mention it before, but since we have not yet tried it here, I have had no opportunity to do so.? What is it like?"? He was very happy with the two flavours they were currently working on?anything made from fruit had a particular appeal to him, coming from a place so nearly devoid of green growing things. For Zahir, the twin fascinations of exploring a brand new world and learning what it was like to be in a relationship?a real one, between two people who actually liked each other?very nearly served to take his mind off of the bleak world he'd come from, and the people still there.? He'd never had the chance to just enjoy life and be happy where he was before.

"'Tis like..." she said slowly, thoughtfully as her brow furrowed gently.? "'Tis like what I feel in here?" she pressed her hand to her chest, "when ye kiss me.? Warm and sweet and rich."? She gave him a grin and tilted her head to the side, lagoon-green eyes meeting sky-blue.? "Do ye ken?"

His eyes widened slightly at the description.? "That sounds like a wondrous food, then.? I definitely have to try it."? He shook his head.? "There is such an, an...array of new things to experience in this world.? It seems like more than one person could ever hope to accomplish, trying them all."

"Aye, weel," she said slowly, in a soft tentative voice, "ye could hae the rest o' yer life, if ye wanted.? Ye wouldnae have tae go hame.? Ye've naught there, Zahir.? Yer people dinnae want ye unless ye do for for them first.? 'Tis no way tae live."

He sighed quietly, reaching out to cover her hand with his.? "Your words echo in my heart, Piper, because that is what I have been thinking these past days, as well.? I ask myself why I feel that I owe them anything."? He looked down at their hands, then back up to meet her eyes.? "I realize, though, that it is not a matter of owing, it is a matter of doing the right thing.? If you knew you could help someone, but chose not to do so, how would that make you feel?"

She gave him a sheepish smile and nodded.? "Yer right, o' course.? An' truth tae tell, I'd not have ye stay ayeways.? Ye'd not be the man ye are if ye left 'em in their state, and I'm ower-fond o' the man ye are."? She raised their conjoined hands to her lips and pressed a gentle kiss against the back of his hand.

He smiled at her, nodding.? "That is because you are a good person, Piper."? His smile faded after a few seconds, though.? "Unfortunately, that makes it all the harder.? In our short time together, I have become very...attached to you.? You make me feel good, inside and out, and that is something I have never felt before."? He sighed, shaking his head.? "How am I to turn my back on that?"

She gave his hand a squeeze and another kiss before saying, "There's nae need tae be worrit ower it the now.? It'll happen when it happens, our fare the wells, an' we'll handle it then.? Dinnae let thoughts o' that come between what we have 'til then."

"You are right," he replied, nodding, though a part of him continued to dwell on it nonetheless.? It had only been chance that brought him here.? He'd been wandering aimlessly, almost blindly before falling into that crevasse.? What chance did he have of ever finding it again?? No, far more likely that once he left this world, he would never see it again.? Never see Piper again.? That thought pained him.

Her gelato was gone and with it the warm, happy feeling she'd had that evening.? "I'm fair sairy, Zahir.? 'Tis an awful place for ye to be in, an' if I could, I'd make it easier on ye.? Do ye wish tae go hame?? Er, tae the loft, ye ken?"

He shook his head slowly.? "I am sorry, too, for darkening our bright evening.? I do not want to take the enjoyment out of it for you.? Would you like to do something else?"

"Maybe we could just walk hame?? A stroll, the auld folk call it in Borreraig.? 'Tis a fair, soft evenin', guid weather for walkin' an' talkin', aye?"? She slid off the counter stool and extended her hand to him.

He nodded, a smile breaking through his solemn mood, and took her hand.? "Yes, a walk with you sounds very nice."

"Of medicine?? I found it more interesting than many of the things I had to learn.? It seemed a very useful thing to know, both for myself and for other people I might encounter."

She grinned proudly.? "Aye, 'tis true.? 'Tis far more interesting to learn a bit o' herb-lore than it is to learn, say...cardin' or spinnin'."

"I know what spinning is, but what is carding?"

"It's what must be done tae the wool o' sheep.? Ye see, it comes off the beasties in great big globs an' it's full o' sticks and weeds and the liek.? So ye must brush it tae remove the weeds.? Then ye spin it intae thread and then ye weave it."

"I see.? It sounds like a great deal of work."? He realized that they'd passed entirely through the Marketplace during their conversation and were now on the outskirts of the WestEnd.

"Aye, weel, 'tis the only way tae make cloth.? Weel, that's nae entirely true.? Ye can make it from plant fibres, but I think the same process applies."? She, too, was quite surprised to find herself so close to home.? "We've walked a ways," she commented.

"It is easy to lose track of time when the company is good," he said, smiling.? "I do not even remember what we passed on the walk."

She turned and looked over her shoulder.? "Not much.? 'Tis what we see every day on our way hame from the Marketplace."? She moved closer to him now that they were entering Mako territory.? "Zahir," she said slowly, as a sudden thought occurred to her.? "Did ye notice that there's not been as many Makos about as of late?"

"I have noticed, yes.? Do you think that they have retreated?? Perhaps learned that attacking people who have tried to help them in the past is a bad idea?"

"I can only hope, though I suspect that someone or something that they're afraid of has moved into the neighbourhood."? They were soon walking up the path that led between Harry and Sally's enormous bronze paws and entering the building.

He frowned at her words.? "Something that would scare them away may be dangerous."? He paused between the two statues, reaching out to touch one of them lightly, feeling the power that hummed inside them.

"Yes, or our new dearest friend," she said with a little smile before heading up the stairs to the third floor and their loft.

He nodded.? "That is to be hoped, yes.? Maybe others in the building have noticed as well, and have more information."? He followed her into the loft, closing the door behind them.?

"Aye, I'll ask around in the morning."? She flopped down on the couch and sighed deeply.? Rab hopped up next to her and leaned against her side, his loud rumbling purr filling the loft as she stroked the back of his neck and ears.

He sat down on the couch, Rab in between them, and listened to the soothing sound of the cat's happiness.? "We do not have cats like this on my world," he commented.

"That's a shame.? Do ye no keep any kind o' companion animals?"? Piper couldn't imagine a world without dogs or cats or even very friendly hens and sheep.

"There are dogs in the caverns," he replied.? "They help keep watch for approaching creatures and also go out on hunting trips.? They are useful animals."

"Aye, they are.? My Da had some verra lovely hounds.? He had some that went with him an' the others out huntin', and some that were only for working the flocks.? But I've always been partial to cats.? My Mam ayeways had a wee cheetie or twa around to do her mousin'.? They were spoilt brats," she said with an affectionate smile.

"There are some dangerous creatures on the Dying World that resemble Rab," he said.? "Much larger, however, and with longer teeth and claws.? They are very difficult to spot when they hide in the ice and snow."

"I've heard o' creatures liek that.? There's folk around here that turn into 'em on the full moon nights.? They call 'em Shifters."

"They become the beasts?" he asked, eyes widening.

She nodded.? "Aye, so I've heard.? I've never seen any o' them, but they're tae look liek normal people during the rest o' the month."

He thought about that.? "There have been times when it would have been very helpful to take the form of a beast," he mused.

"Especially in a world like yers, aye?"? She gently nudged Rab over and slid closer to Zahir, resting her head against his shoulder.? "Can ye imagine it?? I wonder if ye'd hae memories o' yer time as a beast?"

"I wonder if you would have the thoughts of a man or of the beast?" he said.? "Would you be able to think, or only react?"? He shook his head slightly.

"We'll ask if we're ever to meet one, aye?"? She paused for a moment and then said, "If they're a person at the time."

He chuckled.? "Asking the beast would not get us far," he said in agreement.?

"Aye, true.? Maybe it'd get us eaten."

"I would give it a bad case of indigestion," he said solemnly.? The serious face cracked a moment later, though, grin showing through.

"Aye, heart-burn liek no body's business," she said with a sage nod, just before his grin was mirrored on her own face.? "I liek it when you're a neap, Zahir.? Smilin' and jokin' does make yer eyes light up like sunshine on the sea."

"Well, I have you to thank for that," he said.? "There has not been much occasion for humor in my past."

"'Tis a shame.? A man wi' such a pretty smile should use it more often."

"I think I have used it more in these past weeks with you than for the rest of my life previously," he said, and then smiled at her, since she seemed to like it.

She pressed a kiss against that smile and slid closer still to him, sliding into his lap and wrapping her arms around his shoulders.? She had just settled into a slow, sensuous kiss when there was a sudden loud pounding at her front door.

He would not be so quick to dismiss a fireball sent to scorch his backside, Zahir though darkly, a thread of anger winding its way through him.? His fingers twitched, but he refrained from clenching them into fists.? "My name is Zahir," he said stiffly, "and Piper is cleric and a healer, not a hedge-witch."

"She is a hedge witch who uses superstition and folklore to treat patients.? This is her fault. She caused the Lady to lose the first Heir and she will cause the second to be lost as well, Your Majesty," Nicolaides whined.

"She may be that, but Alice will not allow anyone else to treat her.? Let us allow the woman the benefit of the doubt. Even if Alice lost the first Heir, the Lady MacCrimmon saved her life, and for that I am eternally grateful."? The King turned to Zahir and nodded.? "Well met, Zahir."

The King was cut off from saying anything more as Piper seemed to notice their presence for the first time since they'd entered the room, and she shooed them out.? "Out, ye blasted men!? Out, an' let me do my work.? Zahir, I hae need o' yer fires."? Then she turned back to Alice and gently coaxed her into a sitting position. The King nodded to Piper and then ushered Nicolaides out of the room, firmly closing the door behind them.

Zahir half-turned towards her, unwilling to take his attention completely off of the stick-thin man until he'd left the room.? "What do you want me to do?" he asked.

"Heat this tae a boil," she said, shoving a large ceramic pan of water at him as she helped the Lady out of her blood-stained nightgown, leaving her in just a thin shift that was moulded to her body by sweat.? That was easily done.? He took the pan and set it down, then thrust his hands into the water and let the ever-present flames within him swell to the surface.? A reddish glow sprang from his palms and steam rose from the water around them, followed by small bubbles.? The water seethed in the pan as the heat increased rapidly and a second later large bubbles were roiling to the surface.? "Done," he said.

The two other women in the room gasped to see the water set to boil so quickly, but didn't comment on it.? Piper decanted some of the boiling water into a cup and plunged a fistful of dried herbs into it.? "Here, my lady," she said in a soft voice.? "Drink this doon.? Quick the now an' dinnae mind the taste.? 'Tis nasty enough, aye?"? The lady in the bed obediently drank down the tea and shuddered at the taste.

"What did you give her, Lady Mac?" asked the youngest of the two maids.

"Oh, just a wee bit o' blessed thistle, red raspberry leaves, an' the lobelia, an' a bit o' willow for the pain, too. Same as last time."? The maids nodded and they all turned to watch the Lady Alice. Zahir thought he recognized those plants as those meant to help a woman in danger of losing her baby, and given the context, it only made sense that Piper would be giving them to her.? He stayed back out of the way, letting Piper have room to do whatever she needed to do.

After thirty minutes or so, Piper checked on the woman's bleeding and made a small satisfied sound.? "Yer bleedin' has slowed, Alice.? I think ye'll be fine for the now."

The Lady's delicate features, so heavily shadowed by pain and loss, lightened and she managed a weak smile.? "Thank you ever so much, Piper," she said in a voice that was reminiscent of delicate birds singing.? Piper nodded and instructed the maids to strip the bed and help the lady take a bath.? Once she was clean and dry, she was to get back into bed and not leave it again until after the baby had been born.?

Zahir continued to hang back as Piper issued her instructions, watching as some color returned to the mother's face.? "Will we stay to make sure she is recovered?" he asked as the maids ran off to do Piper's bidding.

She nodded.? "Aye, 'til the mornin' at least.? They'll have a room for us next door," she said, picking up her bag and going to a hidden door in the wall next to the Lady's bed.? Upon opening it and slipping through, they entered a very utilitarian bedchamber.? There were two small cots made up with plain linens, a small fireplace, a desk, and a single wardrobe.? Piper sat heavily down on one of the beds and stripped off her filthy clothing, leaving them in a pile in the middle of the room.? "I'm shattered," she said, digging through her bag and pulling out a clean though tattered dress and quickly put it on.

He moved around behind her and pressed his warm fingers into the muscles of her neck and shoulders, kneading them slowly.? "You were amazing," he said.? "Telling everyone what to do, and they all did it."

She chuckled softly and let her head hang down, her eyes falling closed.? "They learned the last time I was here what happens when they don't hop to.? They get the rough side o' my tongue."

"You gave a bit of that rough side to the insulting man in black," he said, a little grin curling his lips even as his fingers continued to work.? He willed extra heat into them, letting it soak into her tired muscles.? "Who is that vulture?"

"Oh, he's a man o' learnin'.? A medical doctor wi' a piece o' paper what says he knows more 'n me an' my Grannie put together." She snorted derisively, her opinion of the Doctor Nicolaides plain as day.

His grin faded as he tried to puzzle that out.? "I do not understand," he said finally.? "How does a piece of paper do that?"

"He went tae a school and did his learnin' from dead bodies an' books," she said distastefully. "I dinnae believe he ever saw a person tae the entire time he was away at that school o' his."

"How can one learn to heal from dead bodies?"

She shrugged.? "I dinnae ken but he thinks naught o' my ways and skills.? He fought agin' me healin' the Lady Alice almost from the beginnin', even tried tae tell the King that I was the cause o' the first miscarriage, when anyone wi' twa eyes could tell that it was the size o' the baby and the lady's health that were the cause."

"He is a fool," Zahir said, with an air of finality.

"Aye, an' lucky the King realises it."? She sighed softly and covered his hands with her own.? "I'll lie down for a wee bit, I think.? I'll be checkin' up on the lady throughout the night.? The scullery's just down the stairs an' they'll take care o' ye.? See Bertie, the man who came tae fetch us.? He'll look after ye."

Now that she'd mentioned it, he realized that he was actually very hungry.? His stomach rumbled an agreement to that sentiment.? "All right," he said.? "I will be back shortly in case you need anything."? And speaking of that...? "Do you want me to bring you anything?"

She shook her head and laid down on her side, stretching out along the length of the single bed.? "I dinnae think so.? Not the now ayeways.? I'm too tired tae eat anything."? She gave him a sweet smile and then curled up tightly and closed her eyes.? It was a testament to how hard she'd worked that she was asleep even before he left the room.

He left the room as quietly as he could, even though she was probably too exhaused to notice if he'd crashed straight through the door without opening it.? It took him a few minutes to find Bertie, who lead him to the scullery Piper had mentioned.? Despite the hour, there was an impressive amount of food available, and he quickly stifled the complaints coming from his belly.? He thanked the scullery maid, then went back to the small room where Piper was sleeping.

She was still snoozing away, thought it was now the lighter slumber of someone who was well used to needing to be alert mere seconds after being awoken.? She stirred slightly, shifting from her back to her side and curling up again like a cooking shrimp.

He smiled as he watched her move, then sat down near the small fireplace to watch the flames dance and leap.? It was a sight he never tired of. After a minute, he reached out and let the fire lick his fingers, enjoying the warm, slightly tingling sensation it produced.? He waved his hand back and forth, the flames following the motion as though trying to hold onto him.? He stayed in front of the fire for a while longer, toying with the flames, but the fire wasn't big enough for anything fancy, so eventually he went over to the other cot in the room and stretched out.