help.:
:That's hardly surprising,: Savil said gently as she looked back, awestruck by the strange beauty of this man. :I'm more than a little amazed that you are able to stand at all. And I'd be happy to help you get to your...?:
:My ekele? My home.: Starwind confirmed her guess.
:Your ekele, then,: Savil continued,/ and you need not call me 'Sister' to convince me to do so.: She flushed a little, wondering how he was reacting to her. :ln fact, I'd rather that you not... think of me ... as your sister.:
Though hardly innocent, Savil had never been so forward with any man before. But there was something about this one, something exotic and compelling about this Starwind that had her heart beating fast, her palms breaking a sweat. She supposed she'd seen it in him the first time he opened his eyes, but she'd been too busy tending to his wounds then to pay it any heed. Now, though, his face all but healed, his elegant movements, those ice-blue eyes, and that mane of snow white hair combined to make an irresistible package.
Or perhaps it was just that she had been out on circuit for a very long time. Or perhaps —
Starwind seemed very well aware of her reaction. :It is the fever of the bondbird, Sister,: he said gently, but firmly. :And I would call you otherwise, if I had your name.:
She sighed — but made a little resolution that the game was not over yet.:/ am Savil, Herald- Mage of Valdemar, Chosen by Kellan ... and at your service-Over the next couple of days, Starwind and his bond-bird, Savil and Kellan wove their way carefully through the mountains back to Starwind's home, the place where his Tayledras clan lived. When they finally arrived, they were met by a small group of Tayledras, Starwind's people, all similarly exotic, most with the same white hair and ice-blue eyes. They greeted Starwind with warmth and relieved enthusiasm, obviously glad for his safe return, but kept Savil at a goodly distance. Starwind spoke with them in a light, musical language at once similar and different to the few words of Shin'a'in she knew, apparently explaining how he'd come to be hurt and how Savil had rescued him. At one point in his telling of the tale, he must have said something shocking, because all of the welcoming party turned at once to look at her, their eyes wide in disbelief. The group then quickly disbanded, leaving the four of them alone again. On the way to Starwind's home, Savil had explained the nature of the relationship between Heralds and Companions. Starwind had not seemed overly surprised, explaining that his people had stories of Valdemar and even kept some fluency in the tongues of other peoples. Accordingly, Starwind directed Kellan toward a meadow rich with herbs and grasses for him to eat before accepting Savil's assistance in the monumental ascent to the Hawkbrother's home.
That home! It was lodged somewhere up in the branches of a tree so huge she could hardly believe her eyes, and to reach it, one had to clamber up a contrivance that was more ladder than staircase. Savil's one real fear was of heights, but somehow she managed to put on a brave front, showing no signs of her fear in climbing up into the ekele. After only one look out the window though, she decided she'd prefer to seek lodgings on firm ground. The vertigo she experienced while in the lofty ekele was simply too much for her.
Starwind chuckled quietly, but unkindly.
:You have the Tayledras' ability at rapport, but not our love of the heights? It is merely foreign to you. Remain here a few days, and you will come to cherish the here-above as we do.:
The mere idea was appalling. :A few days? If I remain here a few days, I'll be in worse shape than you were when we met!: Savil was already quite dizzy from the climb, and getting more nauseous by the moment. She could not help it; now that she was no longer moving, she felt a jolt of fear each time the ekele moved with the wind. Starwind took pity on her, probably because although she could conceal the more obvious signs of fright with jokes, she could not conceal her increasing pallor.
:As you wish, then. I would not care to dwell in a deep cave below-ground either,: he said. :The hertasi keep some rooms here-below, and you are welcome to make your stay in one of them. There are some matters I must attend to — affairs of my people.:
With that, Starwind guided her back down from the ekele and to an oddly constructed building surrounding the trunk of the huge tree, which somehow incorporated a warm spring and much green foliage. As they walked, Starwind explained to her about the hertasi, and how the sentient, elusive lizard-people tended to the Tayledras' needs in exchange for protection. Then he left her to er own devices, promising to return within a couple of candlemarks.
Savil used the time to rest and think, to take in and shelve away all of the strange wonders she'd discovered in the past few days. She Mindspoke with Kellan about it all. While he carried on a lively conversation with her, Savil made note that her Companion didn't seem unduly surprised by any of this.
:There are a great many things we know of, my love, which we are not at liberty to share with you before it is time to do so,: he said, in that infuriatingly patronizing tone he very occasionally used with her. It reminded her of her father and brother — and how they used to pat her on the head and tell her that she would be told about something 'when she was old enough.' And then, of course, having dismissed the mere female, they would go on about their business and never tell her anything' at all.
Savil was about to send Kellan a scorching retort when all of the exertions of the last few days caught up with her. It seemed like far too much effort to go to, and besides, she wasn't in the mood for an argument. So instead of retorting, she ignored him, even to the extent of partly blocking him out of her mind while she searched for a place to lie down. It didn't take long to find a kind of couch, built among all the leaves and foliage, and she fell
