Arnas was nervous. His fingers fumbled to finish braiding a feather into his mares' mane, then sighed with relief when it was successfully knotted in. The warrior patted the mare and stepped back, casting a glance over his shoulder for either Izotz or Hibai. He couldn't see either of them, which was worrying-but all at once he had an idea of where his friend might be. Arnas turned on his heel and headed towards Izotz's tent with a purposeful stride. His murroi-emazte was interloper; it stood to reason that he was reassuring her.

Sure enough Renna was standing white and still with her arms folded in front of her, her mouth moving to form words that Arnas couldn't hear. For a moment he wondered what the girl's greater fear was-having her husband guilty of harming someone she cared about, or having him killed by one of her own. Still, it wasn't his place to worry, and he made his presence known with a quiet cough.

"Izotz, we're moving out. There's not time to dawdle."

He said no more, taking a step or two back to let them have their final moment but not so far back that his watchful eye was compromised by anything else. There was too much danger for him to lose his guard even for a moment.

"I'll be careful," Izotz assured Rena, leaning over to take her stiff body in his arms. Of course she wasn't happy about the raid. He wasn't, for that matter, but they needed the weapons, and Hibai had heard that the interlopers were planning war. Hibai wanted to capture a metalsmith and force him to teach them; he also wanted a sacrifice, because there had been little rainfall and the barley wasn't flourishing.

Izotz pulled back from his concubine when Arnas stuck his head into the tent.

"I'll be right there," he called, a little annoyed at the interruption. Arnas had been strange lately, as though he had something he wanted to tell Izotz that he wasn't saying--unusual, given how straightforward he always was. Izotz picked up his belt, sword, axe and bow, nodded to Renna, and they were off.

Gorri was as eager as ever when he swung aboard, and Izotz was glad of it. The ride proved to be a long one, even with Arnas by his side.

"You sure you don't want to get yourself a woman?" he joked, glancing back toward his friend. They weren't pushing their horses too much, so there was time for idle talk, though Hibai rode in his usual stolid silence at the front of them all. Izotz's joking, admittedly, wasn't quite as wholehearted as usual. Renna's fear and anger had troubled him.

Arnas winced. It was so hard to not talk with his friend; to keep such a heavy secret to himself...the urge to confess was overwhelming. Yes, he wanted a woman. Specifically he wanted one woman who right now was in the process of bearing his son-but if he even hinted that he wanted one of Hibaii, the truth would come out sooner or later, and even Izotz would have to be angry with him. So he bit down on his tongue and forced himself to joke back, shaking his head. "And risk dealing with her like you do? No, thanks!"

There was a pause for a moment, then he added, almost to himself. "I like the interloper's yellow hair...but I wouldn't just be taking the hair, I'd be taking the girl, and..I don't really like the idea." Agh, he was getting too philosophical. Izotz was going to wonder.

Arnas twisted in the saddle and looked at his friend, lowering his voice. "Look, Izotz....you know that I would die for you, right? Please, do me a favor and stay close to me today. I don't feel good about this--I just don't. As the son of the chief, you're hardly dispensible, and I..." He trailed off. "This whole thing feels really off."

Izotz raised one eyebrow and twisted on Gorri's back, which made the young horse nervously bunch his hindquarters. Izotz quickly leaned forward, balancing his weight, and patted the colt on the shoulder. In the sudden burst of activity, he almost forgot what Arnas had said, but at last he put on his usual slow smile and turned back to his friend.

"Oh, don't worry, but if it makes you feel better I'll stay close to you. I have plenty of weapons, and I really do not need another woman!"

They had to fall silent soon, as they drew near to the town, the same one they had raided to get Renna. Izotz felt a lump rise in his throat, and he knew that the first thing he would do was make for the house he knew belonged to her. If one of her family was killed...

Izotz let Arnas stay close to him in the fray. He swung off of Gorri right away and set the horse free, and then began his dash toward the Mochrie home, whose door he'd knocked down not a month and a half previously. He could still remember where it was, but now there was smoke... the town had brought out their fire-weapons, called cannons, and the air filled with acrid smoke.

Coughing, he yanked at Arnas's arm and pulled him through the press of people.

"Don't ask me what I'm doing," he said, and paused to cough, long and loud, against the wall of the little house. "I just need to stay here for now--"

Arnas let Izotz tow him through the clouds of smoke, dark eyes darting right and left in search of any threat. It was with some surprise that he ended up against the stone wall of a cottage, but he didn't have much time to ponder his friend's decision before he, too, was racked by a fit of coughing. The smoke was blinding as well as suffocating, so it came as a shock when the wall he was leaning on opened inward right in the middle of Izotz's sentence. The door? They must have leaned on the door....

A male voice sounded above his head, speaking in somewhat hoarse Scalian. "Thomas, get ins-"

The voice froze. The next instant, Arnas felt Izotz's body sliding past his, dragged inward by interloper hands as women's screams filled the air. He struggled to his feet and stumbled inside just as the door slammed shut, wiping his streaming eyes on the back of his hand to better view the scene.

A dark-haired Thiasan man had Izotz by the throat, one arm drawn back. Arnas knew his friend could take care of himself, but he'd promised Oihana-so he barrelled forward, placing himself in front of Izotz to catch whatever knife the interloper had. To his surprise it was only a fist, albeit a strong fist, and he had time to lift up his spear to block the second blow. The man was growling at him in Scalian, his eyes blazing with what could only be fury.

"Get out of my way. He hurt my daughter."

Shock made the warrior freeze. This was Renna's father. Why had Izotz come here, of all places? Instictively he raised his arms to catch another blow, struggling to keep his footing as the furious man tried to tear him away. "Out of my way!"

"John Mochrie!" Izotz shouted, trying to pull the two apart. I am Izotz sem'Hibai. I took your daughter, but please believe me, I have not hurt her." His Scalian had improved by leaps and bounds, though his accent was thickened by nerves. "I have not hurt her, I have made her my--my wife--she is not happy," he went on, with scrupulous honesty, "and she misses you, but listen to me, if we fight one of us will die, and Renna will lose something she cares for. I came here to make sure you weren't harmed, because it's what she would want."

He looked helplessly between John and Arnas, his hands tight on each man's arms, and realized how ridiculous the situation in which he'd found himself really was. Danger--danger indeed! This was far from danger. It was a farce, and Izotz tried to remember when he would have scorned this old white man and cut him down, and taken his valuable hard-metal. But now, looking into the man's face, he saw only echoes of Renna, and he could do nothing.

John's arm hung motionless in the air, and he fell silent as he stared at Izotz with heartbreak in his eyes. The only interlude in what was now utter stillness was the far-off boom of cannons, and, much nearer, the symphony of women weeping. Arnas chanced a glance into the corner of the room, where a woman crouched with three golden-haired daughters in her arms. All were sobbing; the middle child staring at them in disbelief through her tears. At mother's side, twin boys were motionless with confusion. The brave could not bring himself to meet John's eyes, but all at once the interloper was stepping away. Arnas did not move from his place in front of the chief's son. He didn't trust that Izotz would be safe. Not that he could blame this man for his anger, but....Izotz was important. Crucial.

His thoughts didn't get a chance to travel further, because the interloper was speaking, in a voice completely hollow. "...You made her your wife."

Arnas spread his feet and braced to shield his friend from yet another blow, but John simply turned away, put his face in his hand, and sobbed as he sank against the wall.

Izotz was used to anger. He was not used to sadness. He had never shown it himself; he'd never seen it from his father, and he'd become used to viewing it as a sort of alien female emotion one ought to keep as distant as possible from oneself, or risk infection. And here John was weeping, just as Renna did, and it completely disarmed him. These interlopers, he had long since realized, had very different customs when it came to marriage. Renna had explained that the Living-Dead God who was Three Gods meant for marriage to be sacred. Of course it was sacred to Eguzki too, but He did not require so very much of it. Particularly not when it came to concubines. Izotz had taken Renna's body, then publicly announced that Renna was his, and thrown a pouch with some of their hair in it into the communal fire, and that had been all, they had been sealed in Eguzki's eyes.

Probably telling John that would not comfort him.

"One of our peoples will win eventually," Izotz pointed out at last, his voice cold even to his own ears. "If we win I can take you in and let you see Renna. If you win you will have her back." He paused for a long time. "She is not unhappy. I care for her. I cannot let her come back, but I can bring words from you..." He looked toward Arnas helplessly, but the man stood stolidly between him and the sorrowful John, so Izotz stepped back himself to shut the door as firmly as he could, trying to muffle the sounds. They couldn't afford to bring warriors from either side down upon them. And they'd have to go soon, or Hibai would wonder...

When Hibai wondered, he always came to the worst conclusions. Izotz knew this had saved his life many times, but it still scared him--to think what his father might be thinking of him, and to think that he might be right--

"We will have to go soon--"

"No, wait."

The voice wasn't male. The mother was watching them both with wide eyes, but she disentangled herself from her children and stepped forward, very timidly indeed. Arnas hesitated but stepped aside, letting the pale woman look up into Izotz's eyes. The blue depths reflected vague horror, but she reached out a hand to touch one of the man's curls. Marta drew her hand back after only a moment and lowered her eyes, fighting her tears away as she wiped her eyes on her hand. "She's alive, John. She's alive. That's something."

The woman turned and bolted for a wooden chest in the corner of the room, flinging the lid open as she fell to her knees. Her husband stared, shock and disbelief in his eyes. "Marta, what are you doing?"

"Her dowry, John, her dowry."
"Are you mad?" The farmer's tears faded into anger as he looked at his wife, fire sparking in his eyes. "He rapes my daughter and you're giving him--"
"Hush." But her shoulders trembled. "It's for her. And you heard him, they're married. There's nothing we can do about it."
"Not a Christian wedding-"
"They're married."

Marta's tone was so firm, John fell silent once again. All at once he knew what his wife was thinking-if Renna was not married, then her daughter was a whore. There was no comfort in either thought, but he simply nodded and knelt beside his wife, forcing himself to speak calmly. "Children, if there's anything you want to give to Renna, get it now."

A mad scramble ensued, everyone rushing to find some gift for their taken sister. The youngest girl tugged at her mother's skirts and abruptly started to wail. "Mama, Mama, is sissy coming home? Where's sissy? She hasn't sung me to sleep in--"
"Hush, hush...."

After several minutes things were quieter, a neat little sack filled with gifts swinging off of John's arms. The man handed it wordlessly over to Izotz, and cleared his throat. "Give that to my daughter. And please, tell her....how much we love her. Please."

He stumbled over his words, but all at once the tiny girl moved from her mother's arms and toddled over to wrap her arms around Izotz's leg, looking up at him with wide eyes. "And give that to sissy for me!"

John moved like a snake, snatching his youngest daughter away from danger. His face was hard as he surveyed Izotz, anger and grief masking his face into an expression of granite. "If you ever find you don't 'care for her,' as you put it, bring her back. She does not deserve to be unloved."

Izotz stood frozen and dumbfounded at the family's reaction. He hadn't expected this. Any number of things, but not this... certainly not this. The family's affection was palpable. He took a sack awkwardly in one hand and tried not to look at Marta or John. An explosion nearby shook him out of his thoughts and he backed away hurriedly.

"Don't step outside the building!"

He heard Hibai's cry outside, rallying all of his men, and knew that he would be looking for him. They would not leave without Izotz, the only heir to the chief, and he backed up, tugging Arnas with him.

"Stay here, stay hidden, stay quiet, and we'll say we plundered this house--" Izotz cast about and found a bread knife of hard-metal. This in hand, he pushed the door open and ran outside--and he knew he was running away from what he'd seen inside just as surely as he was running back to his father.

He knew, too, that he had just defied his father for the first time.

"Don't speak a word of this," he whispered to Arnas.

Arnas shrugged in response to Izotz's order, but he couldn't quite quell the rush of joy that entered his heart. Maybe he and Oihana didn't need to fear after all. The warrior glanced back over his shoulder to take one last look at the Mochrie home, then twisted back to clasp his friend's shoulder. He leaned over and whispered his honest opinion, very briefly indeed.
"...I think that was a good thing to do."

There, let him take that where he would. Arnas winced as he withdrew his arm and bumped it on his brand-new bruises, but he gave his friend a smile anyway. There was a glimmer of hope here.

Not to mention it was fascinating that these interlopers actually seemed to care for each other; the palefaces who didn't care for anything or anyone. They used horses all wrong and land all wrong and the earth all wrong, but within the family.....maybe it was the Zerui's wrong way. Or maybe just the Hibaii....or maybe just Hibaii.

Thinking made him snap back to attention, and he took an instinctive step closer to his future chief. It wouldn't do to lose him. "We ready to go, you think?"

He pulled his arm around to muffle his coughs, his eyes already streaming from the smoke.

Retreat was painful. Smoke clouded the air, and Izotz saw at least one of his friends groaning, disembowelled, on the ground. But there was no time to stop--the guards were upon them, and he had to find one off with his knife as he tried to protect the sack he carried with him. Doubled over, coughing, he realized Arnas was protecting him--even on pain of his own injury. Izotz felt a hard-metal-tipped arrow graze his arm, and he jerked away. It was a lucky hit, nothing more--the archers couldn't possibly see through all the smoke. Some of Hibai's warriors must have set fire to some houses--this couldn't all be from cannon-fire.

At last they reached the outskirts of the village, coughing, panting, red-eyed and bloodied. Izotz had lashed out and wounded at least two Thiasans, but he hadn't killed anyone--he couldn't, not when he knew Renna had friends here. It wasn't so much that he cared... it was more that he knew he wouldn't be able to face her.

His father was right.

The thought disturbed him so much that as he whistled for Gorri and swung aboard, he hardly noticed--Hibai had a captive, tied up and set on a horse, gagged, bleeding. One of his eyes was swollen shut, and he wore the uniform of a guardsman of rank, Izotz could recognize that much, unused as he was to the use of clothing as code.

"Sacrifice?" he asked Arnas in an undertone, settling the bag containing Renna's dowry in one of the deep pouches hanging from Gorri's withers. "Without Zeru..." Hibai had never gone this far before. "I hope he's right about Eguzki." Something inside Izotz was telling him No. He was starting to listen.

It took a moment for Arnas to respond to his friend; since he seemed to be having problems finding his horse. Arnas whistled again, quickly growing frustrated when his mare didn't come cantering up to him. He tried to look through the smoke but was soon forced to give up. There was no way anyone could see through this; he could only assume that his horse had been struck by a stray arrow or else was bewildered by the noise and the smoke. Either way, there was no time to worry about it now. The young man cast his glance around for another horse he could take....but once again, it was impossible to see. Arnas growled in frustration and hauled himself up behind Izotz, muttering an apology as he snapped his arms around his waist. "I'll get off as soon as I can find a horse."

Perhaps it was just as well. This way, Izotz couldn't get an arrow in the back.

The warrior clung as Izotz guided Gorri into a run, doing his best to not just be dead weight confusing the animal and slowing it down. At last he allowed himself a look at Hibai's captive, and his brow furrowed into a frown. "...Sacrifice. Izotz..." Maybe this was a good time to bring it up. "I don't think this will be good. Even if your father is some kind of prophet, Eguzki's timing couldn't be worse." His voice lowered. "If the Zerui find out, this will mean war. War with the interlopers, the Ekaini, and the Zerui....I hope he was discreet. We can't hold up against that."

He let himself straighten in an effort to shield as much of Izotz' exposed back as possible. "....I spoke with Oihana the other day." Arnas' tone was careful. "She says your father is saying things that worry her. sem'jaun, I hope you trust me. I don't mean to spread baseless rumor; I save this only for your ears. But Oihana says he wishes to sacrifice Renna."

"He wouldn't," Izotz said sharply, stiffening before Arnas. "I don't believe it of him. I don't think he would say such a thing and mean it. Besides, it's against all custom to sacrifice a woman. Eguzki could not possibly be pleased by it. I don't know what you think you're playing at, Arnas, but you must be mistaken."

He sat forward and clucked his tongue at Gorri, ignoring the man behind him. "Besides, he has said nothing to me about Renna, and he would have told me if she were a problem. I am his son." Izotz's breath hissed between his teeth. "If you ask me it's Oihana he should keep an eye on--it's she who's the bad influence on Renna. I think she still worships the Spirits, and I can't say I haven't wondered why she suddenly managed to conceive after twelve years of barrenness! It's either witchcraft or someone else's seed. Maybe Hibai has only threatened Renna to her because--I don't know--as an example, or a warning--" Izotz felt his face growing very red. In truth he was angry at his father, somewhere deep below the surface, but he didn't want to bring it forth. Fear outweighed it and dug deep claws through the surface of his thoughts, blinding him.

"...I'm sure that's all it was."

Arnas' tone was unusually cold; but he couldn't help it. To hear that his own friend was suspicious had sent a chill down his spine like he'd never felt before in his life. It took him a moment or two to recover from the shock, and to compose himself to deal with this insult to his Oihana.

"Yes, you are his son, his only son, and I imagine he would tell you. But I find it difficult to believe that you trust me so little. I don't play games with you. I never have." That was true. Even after enjoying datura he hadn't been in the habit of lying. Arnas made a mental note to himself to avoid smoking the plant around anyone anymore; just in case he said something he didn't want to. Bother. "I simply thought you should know."

He made no mention of his willingness to put his life on the line for Izotz's sake. It was already obvious how much it was appreciated. "As for Oihana, maybe Eguzki is simply deciding to bless a good woman. She's your concubine's friend, you know. Probably her only friend." He couldn't help it; the insuniation that his lover was a bad influence was too much to take. "And she's been a member of the tribe for years; since we were children. It's not fair to mistrust her after all this time. Unless you'd like Renna to be in the same position."

That was cold, but he couldn't stop. "They say she prays to the dead god every night and asks him to destroy us."

"That's not true," Izotz snapped. "I sleep with her. I know it."

Izotz was sure his back felt like stone to his friend, who sat behind him, and he clenched his legs around Gorri's sides. The colt snorted and darted forward before settling back into a comfortable, ground-eating canter.

"Why do you defend my father's concubine, Arnas? Why..." Izotz bit off the words. He did not want to know. To ask could destroy their friendship; to ask could destroy his friend. The only real friend he had, and one he was losing quickly in the sands of mistrust. Surely, though, Hibai's words--he would not sacrifice Renna. It was too... it was insane. It had been a throwaway comment, certainly, born of his mistrust for his own concubine. That was something he had learned from his father.

Trust no one.

No one... not even Hibai.

"Don't tell me," Izotz said abruptly. They were nearly at the camp, and he squinted; there was Renna, among the women and older men massed to greet the returning group. And there was Oihana. Izotz managed to look away from his own concubine long enough to follow the other woman's gaze. It led to Arnas.

Arnas didn't let himself look over to the banded women, but simply released his friend and slipped off the horse's back with a gruff "Thanks for the ride." He needed to leave, to get out of this mess-he could feel himself starting to sweat. It had been a mercy from Izotz that he hadn't asked more; but it was still too close. Arnas knew that his friend wasn't an idiot; so this scenario only spelled out danger. He forced himself to keep his gaze straight ahead as he strode away, seeking to wash off blood and dust in the stream. With any luck the water's chill would also serve to cleanse memory and fear as well. With any luck time would pass and his defense of Oihana would be forgotten...at least until Hibai died, and he asked his friend to grant him the concubine. The warrior snarled and kicked at a pebble in the way, watching it spin off into the grass. He'd sworn to protect them both, but there was such a conflict of interest here he was beginning to fear that he'd have to make a choice between the two. Arnas rubbed at his forehead, then broke into a run in hopes of leaving all his troubles behind.

Renna watched the returning band anxiously, letting her gaze thread between horses and men to search for her husband. There was so much dust, and blood, and-

She swallowed. Wondering if the blood belonged to her Thiasan kinsmen or her Hibaii husband was not going to help the knots twisting in her stomach. Iztotz couldn't have died. What would she do? Who would take care of her? Her search was so frantic, she barely took notice of the guard slung in front of Hibai. Besides, over the past month or so the girl had learned to tune Iztotz's father out; to push him to the very edge of periphery. It was better than remembering that he existed, and that he hated her.

Her legs nearly gave out in relief when she spied her husband, riding tall and proud on Gorri. He was bloody, like everyone else...he had a wound in his arm...but he was obviously alive, and hale enough to sit straight up in the saddle. Green eyes lit with gratitude and far-off tears, and the weaver picked her way through the chaos to stand at her husband's side. Renna looked up at him and wordlessly offered up one of his little clay cups, filled to the brim with stinging cold water.

Izotz slid down from Gorri's back and moved toward Renna, though his eyes darted to his father. Hibai, however, was not looking at him. He turned his gaze back to his concubine, and took the cup of water she offered, splashing most of it over his smoke-reddened, stinging eyes before he took a drink. He slid down from Gorri and took down the sack her family had given him. Then he dismissed the colt with a pat on the rump before he turned to take Renna in his arms.

He kissed her, not caring that it was in front of everyone. And anyway, all of the women were tending to their men. His mother to his father... Arnas's aunt was nowhere to be seen but then neither was his friend, who had stormed off--and whom he did not want to think about.

"I'm fine, Renna," he told her in Baska, pulling away and kissing her again, on the brow. "An arrow just barely grazed me, it won't harm me if I clean it quickly. But I--I need to talk to you. Come on, we should do it in our tent." He put an arm carefully over her shoulders, while the sack dangled in his other hand, and led her off.

She thrilled the moment he pressed his lips to hers. Renna let herself mold to her husband, a little puzzled that he would be so openly affectionate with her in front of all these people-but then he drew back and offered another kiss, a tender touch to her brow. The weaver studied his face for a moment, trying to keep her heart from leaping out of her body. That's what she'd been working for, all these weeks-to recieve that kind of touch from him. A touch that wasn't sexual, but purely affectionate. Something lit in her eyes as his arm wrapped around her shoulder. He wasn't ashamed of her. He was happy to greet her. He...wanted to talk?

All at once the joy in her eyes faded, but she nodded and let him lead her off. Maybe she'd read him wrong. Maybe he wasn't touching her that way because she was dear to him, but because he had bad news for her. What if her family was hurt; or even dead? She hurried to comfort herself. If that was the case, he was still treating her kindly. It wasn't time to give up hope just yet.

Renna dropped to her knees once she was inside of the tent, smoothing out her tunic. She'd grown used to the feel of the thin fabric by this point, much of it credited to the discovery that she was quite fast when she wasn't being hampered by long and heavy skirts. She'd even grown used to the feeling of having her chest unrestricted, although she still had a habit of crossing her arms over herself when in the presence of other men. What she would never be used to was having a pile of cloth stacked up by the washbasin in preparation for cleaning her husband's wounds. Still, Renna had prepared herself, and she didn't wait a moment before she was dipping the rags in the water and washing the blood and sweat off Izotz's body. The girl focused on his arm for a moment, her touch gentle as she cleansed the wound. Finally, however, the suspense was too much, and she gathered the courage to speak.

"If they're dead, I'd rather you told me now. Are they dead?"

"Dead?" Izotz blinked, incredulous, and withdrew. "No, no, of course not--they--I spoke to them, and told them to barricade themselves inside. They gave you this, they said it was your 'dowry.'" He pronounced the Scalian word with diffidence: he'd never heard it before. And he held out the sack to Renna.

"This tunic will need mending," he said uncomfortably at last. "Or maybe throwing away. Some say that if you are injured in a garment it is tempting fate to wear it again, but some say that it's good luck, because bad things can only happen once time. Still, it's..." Something he wanted to keep, to remember this day, in all its strangeness. Who knew... surely he did not. What it had all meant. Why. Above all--why. Why he found the love of her father so deeply unsettling.

"And they send their love." He dropped his gaze and set to shrugging out of his blood- and sweat-stained clothing, his back to Renna now, whilst he let her dig through the bag. "They're very brave, your family."

Renna barely heard what Izotz was saying; she could only stare at the sack now in her arms. He'd seen her family? He'd spoken with them? He'd tried to protect them.

The girl stroked her fingers lightly over the cotton, a disbelieving smile dancing over her lips. They'd given her this. They'd sent their love. And now they knew that she wasn't dead....

If she hadn't already been on her knees, the girl would have fallen with gratitude. As it was she trembled. But she gathered the presence of mind to lift her head and look at her husband, just barely catching his comment about her family being brave. Renna tilted her head and just looked at him for a moment. But then she reached out and let her fingers trail from his shoulder down his back, pausing after she traced the long scars in his side. She left her hand there, offering a whisper just for him. "Thank you."

Then she was gone, reverently emptying the contents of the sack onto her lap. Renna gave a cry of delight as she sifted through the contents, her eyes sparkling. "Look--the necklace of green glass and pearls, for the first bride--soap....oh, it smells like home. A quilt!" She wrapped the down-stuffed comforter around her shoulders, snuggling into the smell of it. "Grandmother's ring....Papa's carvings!"

There they were, a little swallow and an angel with wings stretched wide, made of warm and gleaming wood. Renna cradled the little figures in her hands, tears springing to her eyes. "And my old rag doll..."

It went on that way for a minute or two, Renna crooning to herself over every item that came from home. In the space of no time she was bedecked with glass necklaces and one ring and a polished comb to hold back her hair, and then all at once she had launched herself forward, wrapping her arms firmly around Izotz's shoulders as she laughed. "Thank you so much!"

Izotz sat back on his heels, feeling warm joy welling up inside him as though from some untapped internal spring. Renna's pale skin looked flushed from happiness, and he watched her try on the jewelry her family had sent. It made him feel as though she were more of a proper wife. Almost not a murroi-emazte at all, but one who came with her family's blessing and tribute. At the same time... he had taken her. From parents who loved her.

Izotz wondered what that might feel like. It was an unaccustomed exercise. He was not someone who knew well the art of putting on another's shoes.

Parents who loved her. A family that loved her. If Izotz had been the kind of person who cried he would have.

His mind flashed to Hibai, and Arnas's words echoed in memory.

Oihana says he's been talking about sacrificing Renna.

Madness.

My father is mad.

"Renna, I am... I am only going to say this once." His voice was low; his lips barely moved. "If, tonight, you wish... I can take you partway back to your family and let you go."

The concubine froze, her fingers still on a brightly painted toy horse that had been gifted to her by Jane. She sat there for a moment, stunned, then swiveled to look at him.

"...What?"

Her own heartbeat was roaring in her ears. Renna held up a hand to indicate that she didn't really want him to repeat his statement; she simply wanted a moment to work through it. "...You would do that?"

There was another moment of silence. The enormity of the offer plainly wasn't lost on Izotz's murroi-emazte, because she was completely lost for words. Renna bit on her lip, not knowing what to do with the hope swelling in her heart. She'd been so careful to shield herself from feeling it, from dreaming of being granted her wish-and now that she had, what was she supposed to do with it? The young woman stretched out her hand and fingered the curls brushing her husband's neck, stroking them in her hands. She longed to go home. To be safe and quiet and back with her family; back where she belonged. But that would mean leaving Izotz.

Her fingers trembled. This was, surprisingly, much harder than she'd expected. In her mind she'd always known that if the offer was made she would leap to accept, but apparently mind and heart were divided. Mind knew that she would never quite fit into this world of blood and violence, but heart looked at the man who had taken her and loved him.

She did love him. It was hard not to, when he was so kind but so pretentiously insistant that he could never be capable of such a weak emotion. Every kiss he gave drew her in a little more, every touch to her body, every rare smile. He might have committed the crimes of a man but Renna knew enough to realize that he was very much still a boy, and for weeks now she'd been soothing herself with the thought that this boy might need her. Now his actions were only proving her hopes. He'd protected her family, and had the courage to speak with them (how hard had that been?) and now he was risking his honor and his reputation as man to not only let her escape, but to actively return her freedom. He was changing, and even insecure Renna had to conclude that she'd had some kind of effect on him. The only question now was how much more she could make him change.

"Iztotz, I...I have to think about this."

It was the first time she'd called him by his name, and not simply by "Emaita" or her affectionate "Ema." She felt that she could take the liberty now, because at long last she could consider herself a woman in his eyes. He was letting her go.

There was so much to think about! She loved her family, and she was still homesick, and still totally out of place. But was she needed here? Had she come here for a reason? What would happen if she went home? Would anyone marry her knowing that a Baskari man had defiled her? What if Iztotz had given her a child? There were far, far too many questions that needed answering, and she let her hands slide to cover her face. "I don't know!"

It was almost a wail. But Renna peeked at him, her eyes wide. At least he could answer a few of the questions weighing on her heart-that might make this easier. "Why do you offer? Am I a bad wife? Are you displeased?"

"No, of course you aren't." Izotz shook his head firmly. "At first you were... lacking in certain respects, but you've learned our language quickly, and our customs. But my father doesn't trust you, and I think he may try something. Don't speak of this to anyone," he warned her, looking up now. "Not even Oihana--particularly not Oihana." A flower of anger budded and burst into angry red bloom in his chest. She was the reason for Hibai's suspicion, and Izotz didn't want to think of her and Arnas...

"I offer because I see your family loves you, and we have little love here." He ducked his head. "I said once I don't know how to love; this is because I couldn't have learned from ai-- from Hibai. And I saw how your parents were... they love you, so they gave you up... it's the only way I'll be able to live with myself--if I offer this to you." He watched her. She had always seemed strangely attached to him, all things considered. He knew love was a difficult thing, a kind of plant that only grew in certain, very specific conditions. What he felt for her wasn't love--nor was what she felt for him--but something told him he had to try to approach that sort of feeling--or end up like Hibai.

Cold.

"You'd have to leave soon, before..." Before she had to see the sacrifice. Before he could learn if she was with child (it would be better not to know). "Or you might not have the chance." He couldn't not tell her. "Hibai captured one of your people, a guard--we're having a sacrifice..." Izotz slammed his fist against his thigh, hard enough that it hurt. "What's he playing at! Only the Warlord may make sacrifices. Eguzki will strike us all down."

Renna blanched. She let her hands drop to her lap, looking at Izotz in horror. A sacrifice? Of one of her own townsmen, no less, and performed by her own tribe! All at once the girl decided that there was nothing quite as awful as having one heart in two places, and she knotted her fingers together. "I don't know what to say."

That was certainly true. There was so much to say she didn't know where to start. Should she beg for the life of the captive man? Point out that Izotz knew more about love than he thought he did; and that she knew that he didn't know from Hibai. Or maybe she should explain to him what it was like, having half of a heart on warring sides...or maybe she should do all of that, all at once, somehow.

The weaver twisted her hands in her lap, agonizing over what to say. He was also angry with Oihana, for some reason-this was definitely information overload. She shook her head as her mind whirled, trying to sort things out-and all at once the answer came. Renna sighed with the relief of decision, and simply leaned forward. The young woman took her husband's face in her hands and drew him to her, stretching to give him a gentle kiss on the mouth.

She sat back then, just looking at him. "No, thank you." Renna was calm. "I love my family very much. I always will. And I'll probably never completely adjust...but I have no life in Thiasa now." She supposed he deserved to hear the truth. "My parents love me....but they can't support me forever, and if I go back now no man would have me. Worse, I couldn't bear it if they did." She lowered her gaze for a moment, almost mumbling. "Only you may touch me."

Renna fidgeted, then looked up to meet his eyes. "....You're right. We really do have to talk. Is there a way we could, I don't know, go somewhere? Somewhere very quiet; somewhere with no one else around? Please, Ema."

Izotz felt a stab of pain as he leaned forward to meet her kiss. He had been the first to touch her... and he couldn't forget that he'd taken her by force. He didn't have to do that. Arnas was right: she'd been a child, if not in body then in spirit. She hadn't understood the custom, and he'd been stubborn and hungry for power and her body.

"Safe?" He drew back from her and shook his head. "It doesn't get safer than here in our tent. Wait." He set a finger to his lips and surged to his feet, then made for the east-facing tent flap and ripped it open. No one was in sight. He breathed out, then carefully circled the circumference of the tent.

No one.

But it was troubling that he had feared...

"We just need to be quiet," he murmured, coming to squat behind Renna, his lips near her ear. "I have to tell you. Hibai's apparently said something about sacrificing you--there've been rumors about--about him doing away with people who are... who he says go against Eguzki. And right now he's mad at Oihana because--" Izotz swallowed. "Because I think he suspects her child isn't his. So he's taking it out on you. He can't harm Oihana while she's with child, but you... and you're an interloper... he can blame a lot on you, like the fact that we lost a man in the raid today... never mind the man he's sacrificing, I'm almost sure we can't do anything about that--it would mean your life. That's why I said you'd have to leave..."

Green eyes hardened, but she turned her ear to his mouth and reached behind her, stroking lightly down his arm. If anyone came near, as unlikely as he thought it was, they would appear only like any other couple reuinited after a dangerous absence. Renna whispered back to him, shifting on her knees.

"I know what they say about me. The girl with the green snake eyes-there are rumors. Rumors that I cause any mishap in the tribe; that I ask my own God to curse you all, and he listens because there is no rain. Men die. It's true that I pray to him every night...but I ask only for blessings, never to harm. I only help the village women; I never argue or cause trouble or show anger, and I avoid your men friends as much as I can. You have a smart, sensible tribe...but if the chief hates me, it's safest for everyone else to hate me too. I dread what will happen when Oihana gives birth, if something goes wrong....and now you say Hibai has....horrible suspicions..."

That couldn't possibly be true. Oihana was good! She'd never do that- even if she hated Hibai. She wouldn't risk her daughter's safety. "I agree. It isn't safe for me here; not as long as your father is leader. But I don't wish to go."

Renna's tone became firm. "I'm not afraid to die. But if I must die, I'd rather do it attempting to do some good. You're a good husband. One day you will be a good chief-but you're lonely, and sending me away is not going to ease loneliness or guilt or fear or anything else you feel. If I can, I'd like to be here to help you, to keep you company when you need it. You lift me, and I lift you, and we both will rise together."

She managed a small smile, then drew her arm back to start scrubbing at his bloodstained tunic. "And I disagree that there is little love here. Love doesn't have to be you calling me beautiful every time you see me, or bringing expensive gifts, or anything fancy like that. It doesn't have to be a fire. Something as simple as you helping me make bread could be considered love." Renna sighed. "I know you don't love me, and that Hibai didn't teach you what love meant-but you are very capable of it, Ema, and one day you will know that you can feel it, whether with me or someone else. I just hope it makes you happy."

The girl stared at the stubborn stain, her shoulder slumping. "...Is there no way to stop this? The tribe loves you, and respects you. If you speak won't they listen?" She turned to him, pleading. "And might I not see this man, to prepare and comfort him in case they don't?"

"No!" The word came out sharply, and he took her by the shoulders, his fingers digging into her soft flesh until he could feel bone. "No, Renna, you are not to talk to the sacrifice. That's... there would be terrible suspicions, and besides, it's just not done. Not even a woman of the Zerui from birth can talk to him, no one but Hibai can talk to him... it's more than your life is worth, I swear to you, and it would mean your death. As for Hibai."

He forced himself to lower his voice to a whisper once again, and pulled her against him, taking deep draughts of her scent, which calmed him, bit by raveling bit. "The younger men like me, but the older ones only respect me because I'm Hibai's son. If it came to that it would be a battle that would tear the tribe apart, I'm afraid." He felt his stomach sink. Mutiny against his father? This had been totally unthinkable just this morning. But everything had changed, as though he had been reborn in the smoke and flame of the raid. "Maybe I'll talk to Arnas. I'll invite him over. He's respected too, and no one knows--I don't think--" He drew back and shook his head, compressing his lips. This wasn't his secret to tell.

But if he'd noticed, how long could it be before Hibai did?

"Listen, you have to tell Oihana to stop looking at him, stop paying attention to him," he said, leaning toward her once more. "Just tell her that, nothing more, all right? And stay away from the prisoner. We can talk to Arnas tonight..."

Renna winced as he bruised her, biting down on a cry of pain. She simply gave a soft 'mmmm' and turned her head away as he scolded, fighting back tears. He'd never touched her so harshly; not since that first night-and it wasn't even that that she found so upsetting, as much as what he was forbidding her to do. What a horrible way to die, with Hibai as the last thing you heard or saw in the world, and no human comforts. The thought made her chill.

And then Izotz was pulling her to him, but she didn't wish him to touch her now. This reaction reminded her too much of his father; violent one moment and then abruptly gentle, and she did not like it. She wouldn't admit it but the fierceness of his grasp had frightened her, and so the moment he looked like he was drawing away again, she untangled herself from his grasp and scooted back, turning her face away.

"...I'll tell Oihana." It was all she could manage to say, and she bit on her lip. Renna hastily lifted a hand to catch her oncoming tears, refusing to sniffle in front of him despite how cruel his tribe could be. Her heart thrummed, and there was some fear as she realized that for the first time she was planning to disobey him. But she couldn't leave this man to die in good conscience-not only for compassion's sake, but he would have had no chance to confess and prepare for it. If he could give her his confession, she could at least find a priest someday, and....

Her overactive imagination was undoubtably making things worse, because she couldn't bear to think of it any more. Renna buried her face in her hands, curling her knees up to her chest.

Izotz leaned forward, contrite, and put one hand gently on Renna's back.

"No, please, I'm sorry. I didn't mean... I only wanted you to understand how dangerous it is, and I had hoped you'd listen to me. I know how much you must want to talk to your kinsman." Among the Zerui they all referred to themselves as kin if they were of the same people.

She didn't want him to touch her, that much was clear; he was reminded of the first few weeks after he'd taken her, when she had shrunk from his touch every night. Before she'd started to welcome it, out of... loneliness, it had to be.

"I'm going to go out for a bit of hunting." They'd missed the night again, as often happened in raids. The sun bled red over the horizon and warmed the tent from the outside. He could feel Eguzki's strength soaking through his skin, but something about him stayed cold.

"I'll be back later with Arnas--we'll all talk." He patted her awkwardly on the shoulder. "Think about my offer--it wasn't easy to make."

She kept herself turned away, making no physical response to him other than a glum nod and a gulp. He couldn't know how much she wanted to talk to her kinsman, because he had never had someone kidnapped and then brutally sacrificed. Killed in war perhaps, but that was different. There at least people had a sporting chance, instead of being murdered like livestock.

"....I promise, I'll think about it. It wasn't easy to refuse."

Renna uncurled enough to reach out and pull her mother's quilt to her cheeks, nestling into the warmth of home. She couldn't help a few tears of frustration pricking at her eyelids. She'd tried so hard to protect herself from this heartsickness, only to have it return worse than ever...somehow it didn't seem quite fair that all of her efforts at being happy could be so easily destroyed with one wrong movement from him. She was trying. It struck her suddenly that if this was never going to change, if she couldn't manage to be strong, then she ought to accept his offer. Even if she was meant to be here, wasn't she entitled to some happiness?

All at once she whirled and seized at the hem of Izotz's trouser, holding him fast as she looked up at him accusingly. "Why do you always do this? Things go well for a day or two, maybe even three-and I can forget and I stop dreaming, but then you do something or say something and then you run away. You leave me here to build myself up again and when you come back it's all better but I-" She was stammering, sudden anger coursing through her blood and taking control of the tongue usually so guarded. "I do it all by myself and it's-n-not fair. It's cruel."

Renna couldn't stop. "And why did you have to ruin me before you offered to let me go?"

Izotz didn't really understand anything of what she said except the last, but that cut him tot he bone.

"I have nothing to say," he said, turning back to her. "I don't know what your people will understand. The first time I was following custom. I shouldn't have. I shouldn't have taken you. But I think your family could understand? If you were to return now? It hasn't even been a season. You're in danger if you stay." And he was in danger if he helped her run away, he did not add. He wouldn't let her know that.

What if it did come to that, after all? What if he finally had to defy his father over Renna's 'escape'? He'd sensed conflict brewing like a stormcloud between himself and Hibai for a long time. Perhaps years.

He looked down at Renna and knew two things. He didn't want her to go. And he had to do his best to convince her to go.

Her fingers tightened around his clothing, the knuckles turning white. "Yes, my family would accept me; they always will. But they will grow old. My sisters will marry other men and move away; my brothers will marry women and eventually they will tire of me. My parents will care for me as long as they can, but what if there's a child? They can't afford to feed me and a baby without the support of a husband. There won't be a husband, because no one wants to marry an unwed woman with a child from another man. People might be kind to me at first but that won't last; it never does. I could weave, and earn money, and either watch my child be ridiculed because of what he is. Or, if there's no child, I could be lonely for the rest of my life."

She tugged at him frantically, then bowed her head against his knee and let her hair fall slack against her cheeks. "I'm sick of pretending."

The sentence was spoken with an eerie calm, and then she was at it again, energy coursing through her like lightening through wire. Renna trembled, unable to stand this stress on her mind any longer. "If you will never care for me at all, I beg you to tell me now so I can end it. Please. Please."

Out of nowhere she started to sob, pawing at him almost frantically. When she spoke again Izotz could hear that the words were Scalian-it was too much for her to manage Baska in her current state. "Why can't you understand? Why is it so hard to realize that I hate my own reflection, and that I can't.....live...like this. I can't. I can't force a smile and still keep lying to myself, because every time I lie I hate myself a little more..." Her words were blurring together. "I should have fought you. God, I should have fought you."

Izotz was taken aback. He leaned over, his hands dropping uselessly to his sides.

"I don't know... Renna, I do care about you, more than..." He shut his eyes, trying to make sure he meant this. "... more than I've ever cared for anyone. For the love of Eguzki, it's why I want you to leave. There's going to be blood here soon. But Renna, you have to tell me--are you pregnant? I thought it wasn't hard to tell... maybe... stay long enough to make certain. And then you can decide again. It's only that it's going to be dangerous, Renna, and better at home and in disgrace than here and dead! I'll give you some of that gold stuff your people value so highly--that should take care of it--please don't think all of this has meant nothing to me. God, it's--"

He had said the name of her God. The one she said when she was getting ready to sleep. This shook him, and he had to look away.

"I don't want you to leave," he said at last, his voice low and as emotional as it ever got, a sort of low, vibrant thrum of sadness. "But you have to consider it."

He'd said the name of her God.

The shock made her heart stutter for a moment, but then there was hope and sudden joy blossoming in her chest. Renna stilled and let her fingers uncurl slightly from their hold on his pant legs, then smiled and touched her head to his knee again as she closed her eyes. There was nothing that could compare to this warmth flooding through her. Nothing in the world that could feel as good. He was telling her that he wanted her, and he was finally, finally being honest.

Quietly she started to laugh and lifted her hand to wipe at her eyes, shaking her head. "Why didn't you just say so? I'm sorry..." The weaver rose and looked at him, her smile dancing as she pulled him close for an embrace. "I didn't mean to sound crazy, but I've been worrying myself sick about you all day, and then you tell me that Oihana is in danger and I am in danger and an unknown kinsman is in danger, and then you offer to let me go--too much at once, Ema. Too much at once."

She laughed again and then nestled on his chest, enjoying the rythmn of his heart. Renna slowly became serious again, although she did not move from her place in his arms. "..It's a little too soon for me to know if I'm pregnant. I missed my cycle, but extreme stress can do that....so I don't know. And I will consider it; I will-but there are many things to consider. It's not easy to choose between two good things."

The girl kissed him on the cheek, looking up into his eyes. "I'll wait. Wait to see if there's a child-if there's even a suspicion, Hibai can't touch me. You said so yourself. If we publish a suspicion he can do nothing."

"That's true," Izotz said slowly. He was still taken aback by her abrupt change of mood, and made uneasy when she said she had missed her cycle. It wasn't as though he hadn't assumed it could happen--and it would protect her--but Izotz knew: if his only heir were by a Thiasan concubine, he would lose respect from the tribe and from all of the Zerui. The pressure to take a wife wasn't just Hibai's, he saw, swiftly and brutally judging himself. It was his own need for acceptance that prompted him.

Still, he held her while she got over the strange mixture of moods that seemed to have seized her. Ever inscrutable, though she was so transparent! Izotz prided himself on understanding people, but he did not understand her.

Nor had he understood his father.

"But my father... you see, women are never to be sacrificed," Izotz said, and sighed. "At least, not officially. There's talk that he had a woman killed at the will of Eguzki, but for a Zerui to sacrifice a woman is just... except my father doesn't consider himself Zerui." He stomach seemed to flip as he contemplated what this could mean. It could mean the loss of sanctity of all life--when the purpose of sacrifice was in order to sanctify it! But surely his father wouldn't go so far as to sacrifice or kill a pregnant woman? Eguzki's wrath would come down on them if he did, Izotz knew it in his marrow. "I need to do something," he murmured, speaking more to himself than to Renna, though he held her close, one hand tangled in her hair.

It was about her, but it wasn't only because of her. Renna had been the catalyst, but Izotz had felt wrong with his father and with his tribe for a long time, somewhere subterranean, somewhere he didn't want to acknowledge, but had to. Something must be done had become the much more dangerous I need to do something. And he would.

Renna sighed, her relief fading as her thoughts returned to the mysterious prisoner. But she leaned into his hand and stared out to the side, her eyes focusing on the walls of their tent. ".....Please. Please do something. This is all wrong."

She shifted. "Why is Hibai the only one allowed to speak with the prisoner? Why do you kidnap women and wed them by force, but consider killing them wrong? What is killing a helpless victim supposed to do? How is it done? I don't understand."

The girl shook her head, wishing she wasn't so eager to hear all the morbid details, but she couldn't help it. This was a matter too close to heart to simply pretend that it wasn't happening-whatever man Hibai had captured deserved her attention and her grief, if no one else would give it. "Is it supposed to be some kind of honor to be murdered with no chance to defend yourself? What did the man look like? Did you see?"

"I barely saw," Izotz said, frowning and shaking his head. He declined to add that many of the interlopers were hard to distinguish by their facial features alone.

"No one can speak to sacrificial victims but the one sacrificing him, who will treat him as an honored guest... it's to wed your soul to his, so that you can feel the pain and strength of his death when you take his life, and he becomes part of you. And we can take women because women of the Ekaini and the inter--the Thiasans are considered 'rescued.' The Ekaini know it, and for the women we take from them, once they are taken, they don't... they would never resist. It's marriage. And we don't kill helpless victims." He felt self-righteous now; Zerui customs had always made sense to him, even if his father's interpretations did not.

"When we capture people in the battlefield it's risking our own lives. It's much easier to kill someone right there than capture him and bring him back. It's an honor for the victim, because he was a strong fighter and couldn't be easily killed, and so special care was taken to select him as a captive. And we know that our enemies will kill us on the battlefield as easily as blinking an eye... when the Warlord captures a man, he is letting him live, so his blood can feed Eguzki and the tribe--not sentencing him to die for no reason, not splitting his belly while he lies wounded on the field as your people have done! But only the Warlord should sacrifice. Only the Warlord, and only once a year, and though at first I thought Hibai was right to do so, that it would make us stronger, I think his heart is pulling him to it for the wrong reasons." Izotz sat back, away from Renna, and watched her, amazed that someone didn't understand what was so clear to him: right and wrong, what pleased Eguzki and what did not.

But the clarity about his father, and the clarity about Renna, were new.

Renna frowned. "I don't see how it's rescuing when a girl's status is lowered, and her children can't inherit, and she must share a man with women who are higher than her. Thiasans don't do that." Well, that' wasn't quite true. "Thiasan's SHOULDN'T do that. It happens sometimes, that a man is married and he takes another woman on the side, but it's wrong. Women may be inferior to men but they do deserve some respect; we work hard." She folded her arms. "We make food and clothes and children and keep the house nice and work the fields and care for the animals, and in this society we hunt too. You men hunt and kill each other. I don't see why I, or anyone else, should be proud to be forced into servitude to someone who will eventually forget all about us. I don't see why I should be proud to bear children who will never be recognized as having a father, and who could never ascend to any position of worth. Would you be proud of that? Hmm? What if I had captured you, and made you come home and put on lots of clothes, and then said that you were my husband but not really because I was going to get married to someone else? And then I did, and I only remembered you when it was convenient. Would you like that?" She tossed her hair.

"As for sacrifice. I think it's.....nice that you treat him with honor and that you....want to make him a part of you, but it's also very silly. Spilling blood does no good for anyone. It will make the Ekaini angry, and the Thiasans angry, and now even your own Zerui angry...and human nature is to destroy anything that annoys it. The Warlord won't be happy about this; he'll see it as usurping his position. The rest of the Zerui will agree. My people will want revenge and they'll take it, and the Ekaini..well, the Ekaini have little love for you anyway, and you for them, but you'll need each other when things get worse so you have no choice but to make them happy. And I bet you a hundred horses that killing this warrior of mine is not going to bring you rain."