My companion latches onto the offer of communication and sends a mix of emotions and impressions down the link. Eavesdropping through the Bond which connects me to Bastet, I access the messages which are passing down her connection with the Tier three raptorcat matriarch. Parsing through the impressions I sense that Bastet is apologising – without actually apologising – for our intrusion on her pack grounds, and is explaining that we are passing through. She’s also promising that no harm will come to the other matriarch’s pack as long as they don’t attempt to cause harm to Bastet’s own pack.

  Bastet skillfully weaves in an impression of threat to the last, attaching the sense that we have faced more powerful opponents and come out victorious. I’m not sure whether that’s actually true – technically, we did come out alright from the confrontation with Raven, but we lost some of our number and it wasn’t exactly a decided ‘victory’.

  Then again, I suppose that survival is a victory in and of itself when facing a more powerful opponent without taking all the precautions necessary. Plus, we’ve all grown stronger since then. Maybe it’s better that I let Bastet get on with it without risking my own concerns coming through to her. After all, the fact that she knows her own kind best is exactly why she’s our lead negotiator right now.

  The other matriarch sends back a questioning feel over why we are flying at all, and why Bastet’s pack seems to consist of so many non-raptorcat races. At least, that’s what I interpret the mass of emotions and non-verbal thoughts to indicate.

  Bastet is pretty honest about it. She sends over a sense of wanting to make into prey an enemy who beat us once and sent us with our tails fluffed in fear, but needing to go on a long journey to reach it.

  And in response to the question over our diverse pack, she sends an impression of me which almost makes me blush. It paints me as one who stepped in to offer support and healing when life and hope were almost lost, and then continually helped her and the last remaining cubs of her pack to grow and, in her case, Evolve. It’s all technically accurate; the reason why it makes me feel a little embarrassed is more because it all seems to be painting me as this altruistic saviour when, in fact, all my actions were very much selfish in nature.

  Still, it seems like Bastet is taking the right approach with the other matriarch as I sense a shift in the raptorcat’s regard. From being geared towards keeping us as far from her pack as it can, her protectiveness shifts towards wondering if we might be of use to her.

  I have a feeling I might know where this is going – I felt the shift start when Bastet sent across her memories of the healing I did.

  Sure enough, the next communication contains a question that even I can confidently interpret as being whether I would be willing to offer healing in exchange for us being allowed to land peacefully.

  Tell her that I will see what I can do, I instruct Bastet before she can ask me. I do not promise that I will be able to heal whatever the issue is, but I will do my best.

  My Companion immediately transforms my message into the emotional impressions with which the whole conversation has been carried out and then waits for the raptorcat matriarch’s response.

  It comes back after a moment of hesitation. Cautious agreement, with the understanding that if any of our pack hurts or looks as if we’re about to hurt a single one of her pack, she will rain down a protective fury.

  Do you agree to this, Raven? I ask, belatedly checking with both the most powerful of our group and our ride.

  I wish to rest, he says frankly. And eat. If I can do both of those without a fight, I will be satisfied.

  We’ll get you something to eat, I promise, though it might not be very tasty. Unless I add some of my mana into the meat, that is. I had probably better keep my mana for whatever healing I’m going to be faced with, though.

  We land relatively slowly, even Raven not wanting to risk restarting hostilities by moving too quickly.

  As soon as we touch down, I slide off Raven’s back, letting the Pathwalkers sort themselves out. My legs almost buckle as my feet hit the ground – my whole body is stiff and aching. But a quick pulse of Flesh-Shaping directing my heart to beat a little faster for a few beats and making sure that all my muscles receive the oxygen and nutrients they need is enough to clear that up quickly, even the sensation of pins and needles barely bothering me after everything I’ve endured. After only a brief pause, I’m able to stride over to where Bastet has also descended from Raven’s back, flapping her wings to slow her fall a little.

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  I see the group of my Bound who were in the capsule have all descended from the structure. They’re clumped together – Catch, Iandee, and Poison all have weapons at the ready, and the rest all look prepared to leap at a moment’s notice. Even the alcaoris hatchlings are bristling with their wings mantled and their jaws gaping wide. I suppose I shouldn’t have been so panicky when Raven let the capsule go earlier – I’d forgotten that his children were in it. He wouldn’t have acted in a way that put them at undue risk. Storm and Ninja look curious to see other raptorcats. Storm has her eyes narrowed and seems to be regarding the other pack in more than a little suspicion where Ninja seems a lot more interested.

  The other pack is divided in two – five facing us, seven facing my other group of Bound. The matriarch stands before her pack, only a short distance away from where Bastet and I are standing. I hear the Pathwalkers slide off Raven’s back and walk over cautiously to join us. I don’t dare spare the attention to look at them, though.

  Now on the ground, I can see the matriarch more clearly. Her colouring isn’t that different from Bastet’s, though it has some bright green highlights which remind me of tiger’s stripes on her face, flanks, and wings. She’s about double the size of Bastet, which is quite small in comparison to Raven. That still means she stands almost as tall as me, though. And I wouldn’t dare to think that her size is an automatic disadvantage – sometimes small but powerful is a potent package.

  I use the time to let my subtle Inspect seep into her and then return with information. Immediately, I’m glad that we didn’t press the attack – my previous thoughts were more on the mark than I thought. She’s not necessarily more powerful than Raven, but that she’s close to matching him is an indication that she’s probably at least halfway through Tier three as Raven’s species is unusually powerful for their Tier.

  Her specialities seem to be in wind-control and, interestingly, lightning. Was that why she didn’t show off everything she could do in her fight with Raven? She was wary of collateral damage down below?

  The standoff continues, no one seeming to want to be the first to make a move. Not wanting to lose even more time than we already have to, I decide that starting with a gift probably wouldn’t go amiss.

  Reaching into my Inventory, I pull out three Energy Hearts. One of them is a faint, light blue which causes Windy to accidentally project desire over the Bond. The others are the brown of earth-magic.

  My thoughts are that I don’t have any lightning-focussed Energy Hearts. Nor do I have many air-focussed ones, to be fair – it turns out that to determine the affinity of an Energy Heart, it needs to be exposed to that type of magic during its crystallisation process and I haven’t wanted to let Windy near the Pure Energy to do that. However, what is lightning if not a connection between the air and the earth?

  From something I remember reading on Earth, lightning doesn’t even require water in the form of clouds to happen – it can happen without any clouds at all, or in clouds of other substances. But it always has a point in the air and it often has a point on the Earth too.

  So I figure that an earth-focussed Energy Heart might do as well as an air one.

  “Gifts for you in thanks for being willing to hear us out,” I say to the raptorcat matriarch with Animal Empathy active, slowly moving to lay them in front of her. The large feline looks at me for a long moment, then dips her head to nose at the Hearts. Letting out a chirp of satisfaction, a long, sandpapery tongue emerges from her mouth and licks up one of the earth ones. There’s a crunching sound as she chews it, and then it’s gone.

  Tasty, she says to me directly, clearly demonstrating that she’s capable of focussing her thoughts well enough to communicate in mental words, even if she didn’t do so in her discussion with Bastet. You have clearly been well-taught the manners expected to speak with one of my power. Now, you are able to heal, correct?

  “I can heal many things, but not everything,” I tell her cautiously.

  Good. I wish you to heal two of my pack who are not well.

  “Yes, so I understood. Where are they?” I ask.

  In the den. But I warn you, if you even look at the cubs present, my pack-mates will rip out your throat – and that’s only if they can do it faster than I can. She growls threateningly, revealing her teeth.

  I hold up my hands in an instinctive gesture of pacification.

  “I have no intention of doing anything to your pack’s cubs,” I promise sincerely. “As long as you do nothing to hurt any of my pack either,” I add.

  Then my pack-mate will show you where to go, she tells me with a final warning look. Another raptorcat, this one still Tier one, steps forward and cocks her head in a way that reminds me of Bastet when she wants attention. Then she turns around and I step forward to follow her. Bastet joins me, her posture bristling with determination even as I look down at her in slight askance – will the matriarch permit Bastet to accompany me? Casting a glance over her shoulder, Bastet pauses. I do the same, half-turning to eye the matriarch. I sense the two of them having a short discussion, one which apparently Bastet wins as she soon follows me with a slight bounce in her step. It’s more than fine with me as long as the matriarch isn’t about to bite my head off.

  Alright everyone, I tell the rest of the group as the two of us follow the other raptorcat to a hole in the rocky slope. Take some time to rest. Don’t do anything to start hostilities, but be prepared if they do. We’ll be back in the sky as soon as possible.

  here!

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