Ellie came around the coach to stand next to Novek and Ceress, shortly after the last of the bandits had ridden out of sight. She'd stuffed some fabric in her wound to stop the bleeding and was holding it.

  She looked up at Novek. “Well, good thing that ended without more fighting. I was out of shells.”

  Novek rolled his eyes. “You should be carrying at least twice that many.”

  Ellie didn't bother acknowledging the eye roll, “Well, I use the crossbow, primarily. Shells are dangerous this close to a schism — one irregular aether flux and there goes the coach. Or an arm. The powder horn is risky enough, even submerged and hung. Anyway, the coach gun is for intimidation and Ber swarms — sometimes hunting.”

  “Still, you can't span a crossbow of any weight down an arm. I could rig you a spanning belt from your spare tack, if you like. Or attach something to your bench, maybe.”

  “I'll consider it. So, are you going to introduce your friend?”

  Ellie already had to look up to meet Novek's gaze. Ceress was a third of a meter taller, and didn't have the forward posture that the Brin required for balance; her tail was structural, and she leaned back into it now.

  Novek, the paragon of social graces that he was, responded simply, “Ceress, Ellie. Ellie, Ceress.”

  Both Ellie and Ceress elbowed him.

  Ellie walked over to Ceress and stuck her hand out in greeting, “So, Novek's friend, eh? Thanks for the assist.”

  “No thanks necessary. I'm happy to help. That your coach?”

  “Well, most of it. We're down a wheel. Might be some axle damage as well from that drag.”

  “You've got Novek here — I doubt it'll take long to get you back on the road. Got a spare? If not, we can put something together, but it might take a couple of hours more.”

  “Yeah, there's a spare rear wheel, underneath the coach. I'll go make sure it's still there, and let the horses graze while we're working on it.” Ellie turned to check on the horses.

  Before Ellie stepped too far out of range, Ceress continued, “Think I could trouble you for a ride back towards the wilds? Soot over there,” Ceress indicated the draconoid, who was scooping dirt into her mouth at the moment, “is a glider, and it'll be rough getting up to altitude out here without causing a scene. I'd like to avoid any further notice after that show, especially with some cracked or broken ribs.”

  “I can't see why not, I'm headed that way, anyway, to meet up with some, well — friends. You're welcome to tag along, though I don't think your… dragon… will fit.”

  “Oh, don't worry about her. She'll follow low and quiet — it's much easier when she doesn't have to carry my weight.”

  Novek snickered from a few meters away, invisible in the grass, searching for his knives.

  “Shut it, old man.” Ceress showed him a single finger, tipped with a flaming blue claw for emphasis.

  Novek spared a glance as Ceress slowly made her way over to check on Soot, clearly favoring her left side.

  He rose from the grass, Siya still in hand. “Well, one will do I suppose. Let's get to work on that replacement wheel, before we attract any more attention.”

  Ceress eyed the kit. Then Novek. The kit again.

  “Novek.” She drew the name out. “That's not some tiger cub you liberated from some creche. Why do you have a Vodat kit?”

  “Long story. Kidnappers, the parent — or pack member — went crazy somehow, and got themselves killed. Those bandits knew something about the pack, and were trying to acquire their purchase.”

  “We'll get back to the bandits. What do you mean went crazy?”

  “Something happened last night, around dusk, to cause them to… act terrified for long enough to fall off a roof and get speared. They were looking for the kit, at the time. Something similar could have happened at dawn, too, but I wasn't there for that.”

  “Well now. I am now extremely glad you signalled for me. There is absolutely something going on, affecting almost all Ber in the area. We think one of the schisms has gone even more wrong, somehow.”

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  Novek raised an eyebrow at that. They were close to the schisms, and Human population centers — so Ber were relatively scarce, but something making it to the wilds could cause serious trouble.

  Ellie had walked back over in the meantime. “Oh, are you talking about the thing that spooked all the pa'hupa, and that scrav last night? I wasn't there for the scrav itself, but the thousand balls of light was beautiful, if terrifying.”

  Ceress looked at her, “Scrav?”

  “It's a long story, and I can tell you about it while we fix the coach up and ride west.” Ellie turned to Novek, “The spare wheel is intact, and the axle looks fine — the hub didn't come off, so there's no damage. Think you can lift the coach enough for me to slide it on?”

  “Soot! Here!” Ceress called out, and Soot crouch-walked over. She patted the draconoid affectionately. “Soot can hold it up, no problem.”

  Not one to be easily intimidated by an animal far larger than her, Ellie walked over and offered Soot her arm to smell. Not too close, however, as Soot was still drooling a bit of molten metal from her earlier excavation work. “She's a beauty. What is she?”

  “Soot's a Que'ren. And this lazy boy is Hekkan.” Ceress stroked the small orange furrball which had returned to napping around her neck after the excitement had abated.

  “Oh! I didn't see him there. What's he?”

  “A Fel'nix. Neither of them are Awakened, but they're both fairly intelligent.”

  “Ah, over there are mine — Kashta's the bay mare with her face in the grass, and Regis is the black stallion preening over there.”

  Ceress took a moment to appreciate the horses. They looked well-kept, and healthy. She approved.

  Ellie's tone went mildly businesslike — she did what coach masters did — got things moving. “Anyway, shall we get things fixed? I need to get back to Nat and Lyn at the riverbed, we're going to be hours overdue at this point.”

  Novek had returned to the cart to prepare to set to work, “Sure. Soot! You want to help?” The big lizard came over to Novek, nuzzled him gently, and then crouched underneath the coach where he indicated.

  “I wouldn't normally be so concerned, but it's just the two of them at the border to the wilds, and Lyn is vulnerable until they regrow their foot from the scrav attack.”

  Ceress stopped cold. “Wait. Lyn? Silverpaw? Yea high?” Ceress indicated just above her knee.

  Ellie thought she heard something in Ceress's voice that wasn't entirely approving. “Yes, you know them?”

  Ceress put a hand to her head, but answered herself more than Ellie. “It's fine. It'll be fine. At least there's a healer.” She then did a double take. “Wait, their foot? What happened?”

  Ellie gave a short account of what she knew while Novek pried the small kit off of him, eventually succeeding in handing it to Ceress. Then, his paws free, he started on the repairs, while keeping one ear turned to the conversation. The information was new to Novek, as well, so he listened to what was said. And for what wasn't.

  The repairs proceeded in earnest. Ellie came and watched with studious intent as Novek subtlely used his talent to speed the repairs. The yellow-orange glow was lending speed and surety to his hands, rather than affecting the parts, in this case.

  Ceress, for her part, immediately started checking the kit over, making soft soothing noises. The kit mostly just stared up at her, unafraid, but clearly a little uncomfortable to be in an even bigger paw than Novek's.

  She dug around in her travel kit for some dried meat, which vanished immediately into the insatiable void. This finally roused Hekkan, who looked down with obvious jealousy at the kit taking attention that should be his by rights.

  The kit took notice, and immediately decided that the other, only slightly larger felinid was destined to be a friend, and scrambled to join Hekkan on Ceress's neck. She reduced the heat of her hackles somewhat — vodat were heat tolerant, but not to the level of a felx.

  Ten minutes of jockeying for position and Hekkan finally relented — he simply didn't have the energy to actively combat the kit's persistence. He reluctantly moved to one side, sharing his portable heater — Ceress — without having to be in direct contact with the young vodat.

  She walked back over to where Novek and Ellie were focused on the wheel replacement and repairs. “So, he's in good shape, overall. Moderately underweight, so you're going to want to make sure he's eating well. He'll need fresh Ber — what kind won't matter — vodat can digest almost anything.”

  Novek answered, without looking away from his work. “He, then? You're sure?”

  “Absolutely. Though he doesn't talk, at all. I can't hear anything from him — but I've never spoken with a vodat, and I know they have their own means of communication, different from most. But he should be able to hear me, regardless, and I see no response.”

  “I'd noticed. The pack-mate, or parent, only indicated. I didn't have time to ask if he was Awakened.”

  “Well, he could be. If so, then it's his choice to answer, or not. I have a feeling you'll know soon enough.”

  Ceress reached up and rubbed both felinids affectionately. Hekkan looked outraged at sharing attention. She ignored that; he gave the same death glare to absolutely anything that meant she wasn't giving him her full attention, regardless of size or threat profile.

  It was only a few minutes more after that for repairs to be finished. Novek spent a few more minutes picking up various pieces from the engagement — including a few of the metal poles that had been abandoned by the bandits. Both too low value and incriminating, he supposed.

  Hekkan was placed back atop Soot, who was then encouraged up into the air, slowly gaining altitude, circling quietly nearby, while they made ready to depart.

  Ellie coaxed the horses back in harness with some minor difficulty — they were reluctant to return, whether from the recent trauma, or the grass they'd been enjoying by the mouthful.

  She winced as she climbed into the driver's seat, her shoulder wound clearly causing some difficulty reaching up. Novek grasped her hand and pulled her up, then sat beside her. Ceress got the cabin to herself, with the sleeping kit, due to her size.

  Ellie snapped the reins lightly, and the horses got underway, turning the coach back towards the road, and their destination to the west.

  “So, I started out in animal husbandry, but ironically there's little call for it in driving and managing a coach. I'm thinking that maybe there's something to this whole mechanic thing — I'd already been considering changing Talents.”