Tervardi! Elspeth's years of protocol schooling kept her from staring, even though she would dearly have loved to. Along with the gryphons and the hertasi, these creatures were the stuff of legend in Valdemar.
Legend said the tervardi were shapechangers, that they sprouted wings and turned into real birds when they chose. One of them turned, and Elspeth caught sight of a still, serene face with a mouth rimmed by something that was either a small, flexible beak, or hard, stiff lips. The creature gestured before she turned back to her conversation-group, and Elspeth saw the stunted, colorful feathers, the last vestige of her wings, covering her arm.
As she moved hesitantly into the clearing, she realized that the previous occupants were-not ignoring her, but permitting her politely to fit into their group. That was certainly more comfortable than being mobbed and was exactly what a similar gathering of Heralds would have done.
She looked around; there were birds everywhere, some sleeping on perches, some awake and perched on shoulders or poles. The Companions both had joined a small group of mixed humans and nonhumans, along with Tre'valen; somehow, Darkwind and Skif had vanished, she had no idea how, but it left her on her own. With all those people carefully, politely, not looking at her, she felt more conspicuous than she would if they had been staring at her.
She hurried across the rest of the grassy space between her and the gryphons. Odd that of all of that gathering, they were the strangest physically, and the most familiar in every other way...' Sssso!' Treyvan greeted her, extending a taloned foreclaw in a token of welcome. 'You are now Tayledrasss, Clansssssib! Do you feel any different?'
'Well, yes and no,' she replied. 'No-I mean, I'm still a Herald, and I'm still everything I was before.'
'But yesss?' Hydona spoke gently. 'I think perhapsss it isss homesssicknesss?'
She blinked, surprised, and in an odd way, grateful. 'How did you guess?' The female gryphon nodded at the rest of the gathering. 'We arrre the only two of our kind herrre asss well, except for the little onesss. We know how ssstrange you musst feel.' She flushed, embarrassed that she could have missed something so very obvious. 'Of course. It's just that you and Darkwind are such friends, it never occurred to me-' Treyvan laughed. 'If it neverrr occurred to you, then I would sssay that iss a compliment on how well we have come to fit in herrre!' he exclaimed. 'And trrruly, the humansss of the Valesss arrre not that unlike the humansss of our own landsss. ' 'Ah,' she replied vaguely, not knowing what else to say.' Oh, where are the little ones?'
'Therrre.' Hydona indicated another corner of the clearing with an outstretched talon; there, in the shadows, the two young gryphlets were sprawled on the grass, listening sleepily to what appeared to be A very large wolf? , so how could they be listening? except that it wasn't speaking.
'That isss a kyree; they arrre not often in thisss Vale,' Hydona said, as if she had heard Elspeth's unspoken questions. 'It isss a neuter. It hasss taken a liking to the little onesss and hass been kind enough to tell them taless sssince we arrived. I believe it iss called-' She turned to her mate for help.
'Torrl,' Treyvan supplied promptly. 'It wass a great friend of Dawnfire, and iss sstill a great friend of Darrrkwind. Kyree neuterss are often verry fond of little oness of any speciessss; it iss a good thing the childrren arrre both sstrong Mindspeakersss.' And that, of course, was how the kyree was 'telling tales' to the young gryphlets; directly mind-to-mind, as the kyree who helped Vanyel at the last had spoken to Stefen. Elspeth's mouth had gone very dry; this was like being inside of a tale herself, the experience being made even more dreamlike under the delicate illumination of mage-lights and moonlight.
She managed not to jump, as something tugged at the hem of her tunic. She looked down quickly; it was one of the hertasi, carrying a tray laden with fruits and vegetables that had been carved into artful representations of flowers. It offered the tray to her, and she took one; she hadn't the faintest notion of what she'd taken, but she didn't want to offend the little creature by refusing.
It slipped into the crowd, and she bit cautiously into her 'prize.' Crisp and cool, it had a faint peppery taste, and a crunchy texture; encouraged by her success, when the next hertasi came by, this one with a tray of drinks, she took a glass with more enthusiasm.
This proved to be a light wine; she sipped it and continued to chat with the gryphons, deliberately keeping the subject light, asking innocuous questions about the kyree and the other nonhumans, until other Tayledras drifted up to join the conversation. Gradually she began to relax, and to enjoy herself.
When a touch on her elbow made her turn, she found that Darkwind had found his way back to her. He handed her a slice of something breadlike, with something like a tiny, decorative flower arrangement atop it, and slid into the group beside her.
'Your friend Skif and my brother seem to have discovered that they have much in common,' he said by way of joining the conversation,
'And they have gone off to discuss weaponry. Knives, I think.' She shook her head. 'That figures. Offer to talk about knives, and you'll have Skif's undivided attention for as long as you like. Do I eat this, or wear it?' He chuckled. 'You eat it. I think you will like it; it is smoked fish.' She nibbled the edge of it, tentatively. The smoked fish she was used to generally had the consistency and texture of a slab of wood, and tasted like a block of salt dipped in fish oil. She was pleasantly amazed at the indescribable blend of delicate flavors. As Darkwind chuckled again at her expression, she devoured it to the last shred.
'I have been asked,' he continued, both to her and to the gryphons,
'to request the presence of my good friends Treyvan and Hydona at the waterfall, and my wingsib Elspeth at a gathering of the scouts.'
'Ssso?' Treyvan replied. 'What isss at the waterrfall? And whom?'
'Kethra, Iceshadow, and my father, among others,' Darkwind told him. 'And, I am told, a very large selection of fresh fish and uncooked meat and fowl. Some of our more sensitive guests, like the dyheli and tervardi, might be distressed by refreshments of that nature, so we took them out of the way.'
'Wissse,' Hydona acknowledged. 'But the little onessss-'
'Torrl assures me that they are not too far from falling asleep,' Darkwind answered, 'And when they do drift off, the hertasi have promised to keep an eye on them.'
'I am famisshed,' Treyvan said, with a look of entreaty at his mate.
Across the clearing, Elspeth noticed the kyree raising its head from its paws, and looking directly at them.
