a suggestion, sir?”
“Yes?”
“I—er—couldn’t help overhearing what you and your young friend were saying about her sister. Perhaps if you arrive when she returns home from the voyage, she will have gained some maturity, a sense of personal accomplishment that will serve to alleviate part of her anger. If not, you can always return to the beginning of the journey. It was only a moment or two before the end, since Pircifir used his crono to return them just after they departed. Watch now. They should be arriving momentarily.”
They waited for the egg shape indicating the space vessel to reappear on the time map, and for Ariin’s and Pircifir’s dots to emerge from it, but after several minutes, the map remained clear.
“Oh dear,” Twexa said. “This is not how it’s supposed to go at all. I’ll do a forward search.” The time map scrolled so rapidly Khorii felt slightly dizzy. Twexa turned to face them, looking worried. “They’re not here, sir. Neither Pircifir nor Ariin. It’s as if they never existed.”
Chapter 5
G rimalkin dismissed the puzzling disappearance of Pircifir and Ariin and had Twexa direct him and Khorii to the moment just before Pircifir and Ariin boarded.
As Twexa had suggested, Ariin was less than thrilled to see Khorii. “How did you get here? Who’s that with you?”
Grimalkin nodded to Pircifir. “Greetings, brother.”
Pircifir’s stoic face warmed when he saw Grimalkin. “Brother!” He looked at Khorii and at Ariin and back again. “I see you have one, too.”
“You’re spoiling everything,” Ariin told Khorii. “Pircifir thinks I’m one of the Friends in disguise.”
Khorii hadn’t ever been able to thought-talk with Khiindi, as far as she knew, but she quickly transmitted the idea to Grimalkin. She was relieved when he said smoothly, “Yes, this guise is all the rage among the ladies at the moment. You’ve had your nose in your schematics too much to notice the fashion, it seems.”
“I can trust you to keep up enough for us both,” Pircifir replied. “I don’t suppose you would care to come along on this little jaunt, would you?”
Grimalkin grinned ingratiatingly. Pircifir seemed very fond of him. Are they real brothers? Khorii wondered. She didn’t know any of the other Friends on what she considered a truly friendly basis, but presumably they had families, or at least relatives. She looked more closely. Pircifir and Grimalkin were around the same height and had the same tawny coloring, but Pircifir wore his mane quite short, whereas Grimalkin’s flowing locks billowed in the breeze, and he sported a full beard as well, the total effect being that of a ruff surrounding his entire head and making it look four times its actual size. The complete effect was quite striking, even among the Friends.
Of course, with shapeshifters it was hard to say whether their resemblance was natural or assumed, but she hadn’t heard any of the others address each other as kin.
“Exactly what I had in mind,” Grimalkin replied. “We see each other so seldom these days.”
“Come along then,” Pircifir said. He turned to Ariin. “But—”
“I asked first!” she said belligerently. “And it’s really important that you take me.”
“Of course!” Pircifir said. “I was only going to say that you and my brother’s friend will have to share a cabin. You seem to have a lot in common.”
Ariin snorted with outrage, and for a moment Khorii thought she was going to throw a fit, but Ariin controlled herself and marched into the ship without so much as a glance at the rest of them.
This ought to be a fun trip, Khorii mused, shaking her head.
I n his own way, Pircifir was as different from the other Friends as Grimalkin claimed to be. He was more polite, for one thing. Khorii thought it might be because his interests lay beyond Vhiliinyaar, exploring new worlds and finding new cultures and their products just for the fun of it, apparently. Anywhere
“Yes?”
“I—er—couldn’t help overhearing what you and your young friend were saying about her sister. Perhaps if you arrive when she returns home from the voyage, she will have gained some maturity, a sense of personal accomplishment that will serve to alleviate part of her anger. If not, you can always return to the beginning of the journey. It was only a moment or two before the end, since Pircifir used his crono to return them just after they departed. Watch now. They should be arriving momentarily.”
They waited for the egg shape indicating the space vessel to reappear on the time map, and for Ariin’s and Pircifir’s dots to emerge from it, but after several minutes, the map remained clear.
“Oh dear,” Twexa said. “This is not how it’s supposed to go at all. I’ll do a forward search.” The time map scrolled so rapidly Khorii felt slightly dizzy. Twexa turned to face them, looking worried. “They’re not here, sir. Neither Pircifir nor Ariin. It’s as if they never existed.”
Chapter 5
G rimalkin dismissed the puzzling disappearance of Pircifir and Ariin and had Twexa direct him and Khorii to the moment just before Pircifir and Ariin boarded.
As Twexa had suggested, Ariin was less than thrilled to see Khorii. “How did you get here? Who’s that with you?”
Grimalkin nodded to Pircifir. “Greetings, brother.”
Pircifir’s stoic face warmed when he saw Grimalkin. “Brother!” He looked at Khorii and at Ariin and back again. “I see you have one, too.”
“You’re spoiling everything,” Ariin told Khorii. “Pircifir thinks I’m one of the Friends in disguise.”
Khorii hadn’t ever been able to thought-talk with Khiindi, as far as she knew, but she quickly transmitted the idea to Grimalkin. She was relieved when he said smoothly, “Yes, this guise is all the rage among the ladies at the moment. You’ve had your nose in your schematics too much to notice the fashion, it seems.”
“I can trust you to keep up enough for us both,” Pircifir replied. “I don’t suppose you would care to come along on this little jaunt, would you?”
Grimalkin grinned ingratiatingly. Pircifir seemed very fond of him. Are they real brothers? Khorii wondered. She didn’t know any of the other Friends on what she considered a truly friendly basis, but presumably they had families, or at least relatives. She looked more closely. Pircifir and Grimalkin were around the same height and had the same tawny coloring, but Pircifir wore his mane quite short, whereas Grimalkin’s flowing locks billowed in the breeze, and he sported a full beard as well, the total effect being that of a ruff surrounding his entire head and making it look four times its actual size. The complete effect was quite striking, even among the Friends.
Of course, with shapeshifters it was hard to say whether their resemblance was natural or assumed, but she hadn’t heard any of the others address each other as kin.
“Exactly what I had in mind,” Grimalkin replied. “We see each other so seldom these days.”
“Come along then,” Pircifir said. He turned to Ariin. “But—”
“I asked first!” she said belligerently. “And it’s really important that you take me.”
“Of course!” Pircifir said. “I was only going to say that you and my brother’s friend will have to share a cabin. You seem to have a lot in common.”
Ariin snorted with outrage, and for a moment Khorii thought she was going to throw a fit, but Ariin controlled herself and marched into the ship without so much as a glance at the rest of them.
This ought to be a fun trip, Khorii mused, shaking her head.
I n his own way, Pircifir was as different from the other Friends as Grimalkin claimed to be. He was more polite, for one thing. Khorii thought it might be because his interests lay beyond Vhiliinyaar, exploring new worlds and finding new cultures and their products just for the fun of it, apparently. Anywhere
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