"Oh?  That's a shame!  This is troublesome, to be sure, but to turn an entire library to stone--especially one as big as ours--would take incredible talent.  Come, we must find who is responsible and congratulate them.  I expect the archmages will be quite impressed."

Maza swept away from her, leading the way down the hall.

"I lost my loincloth.  And I saved you this."  He raised the plucked wing then dropped it on the ground before her.

He looked about for water, or for his loincloth, and saw neither from there.  Where exactly had he shifted?

"Is there water nearby?"

"Fine!  Blessed Kia, it's about time!  Now."  Raven let the sword point drop.  At last they could get back to what was important!  "Will you finally tell me what you were looking at from up in that tree?  I never saw it!"

"Pepper, language," he muttered, but she was off again, probably didn't even hear him with how distressed she was.

Distressed for good reason, it turned out.  "The whole library you say?  Is...stone?"

Maza's first thought was that this was a sight he simple must see.  His second was a bit of healthy skepticism.  He adopted his very best gently-stern face.  "Now, Pepper.  You know every detail is essential in the application of magic--and in fixing it.  Did you really just find the library like that?"

Razi grunted, his attention all on food, now.  Over the course of minutes, the mass of feathers became a bare, torn carcass.  Longer still, and he had it stripped of meat and was crunching contentedly on bones.  When he was satisfied, he shifted back into his human shape, hefted the meaty wing he'd spared, and went in search of the girl and a stream to wash in.

"I am in fact out," Maza said, approaching from behind her, having just turned the corner on his way to his study.  He wore the cumbersome robes of an archmage.  Couldn't stand them, as it happened, so he compromised with college tradition and tolerated them only when in class or for formal occasions.

Now, this one was, ah...Pepper!  Yes.  "You sound distressed, my dear, what is it?"

Razi heaved a great sigh that rocked his whole chest up and then down.  Oh, how he wanted to say no!  Alas, she needed to collect her sheep and he needed to butcher this roc.

"Yes, we should."  He growled in frustration as he righted himself.  "I am going to eat this roc."

He warned her mainly because it would be gory and noisy and not likely something she would care to see.

"Oh well, I couldn't quite be sure, you know."  Deye yelped as they leaped over a fallen log and jostled his ribs.

"Agh.  Was running away and all that then, wasn't I?  But, well...they..."

Here he had to stop to clear his throat and collect himself.  Even so, his voice cracked.  "They were...eating them.  The guards and...everyone.  I saw them eating them."

Razi wiggled about on his back, too happy to just lay still.  Whenever Tessa reached a place he really liked his put both paws on her arm to keep her scratching in just that spot.  Claws in, of course, though with many things he had to remind himself of that.

He rumbled out some words through the constant purring.  "Mmm, you will put me to sleep like this."

Indeed he could feel the lethargy seeping in.  If she kept this up she would lull him right into slumber.

Nearly the second she began petting him in earnest, a hearty purr rumbled out from Razi's throat.  It would embarrass him to admit it, but he did so love when people petted him.  Craved it, adored it, constantly wanted to ask for it but never could.  Ah, but now he'd found someone just as zealous about providing pets as he was to receive them!

Razi tilted his head this way and that, leaning into her scratches and showing her where he wanted more attention.  Soon the throes of giddy happiness were too much and he rolled over right then and there so she could get at his throat and chest and dare he even hope his belly??

"No, I didn't," Kassian admitted, a wry half-smile twisting his mouth.  Vahni was so good at seeming harmless that even here, even injured, Kassian had never once considered he might be a threat.  He was beginning to understand how Vahni had managed to survive out here on his own.

"Tessa," he repeated, but all his attention was on her hand.  He tried not to get too excited and just lunge at her.  He had to remember what he looked like to a small female human when he was like this.

But her hand was so close.  His tail lashed, and he inched forward, just barely containing himself.  She held her hand out like she was offering her scent, but he had something else in mind.  He jutted his head up into her fingers and rubbed at her hand, trying to get her to scratch at him, and as soon as he touched her his dignity rather went out the window and he nudged forward more, rubbing his head and his ears all about her hand.

"I don't know what I can do to make it easier, but let me know?"  He'd spent a decent amount of time allowing the grieving to cry on his shoulder, but considerably less counseling those left in the wake of a murder and never in a place like Zantaric, where words like justice carried little meaning.

"Will you take me first to the place she died?"

Razi let her ramble.  He didn't mind, even rather liked it.  He was never one for talking much himself but often found he enjoyed listening to others.  His tail swayed back and forth and he blinked at her in long, slow movements.

"Razi," he said.  It came out not quite as it would had he been human.  The r rasped and rolled a bit, and the z wasn't entirely pronounced, but it was close enough.

She couldn't mean...no.  No, that was too outlandish and, well, too amazing to consider.  Gospel put it out of his mind, lest she distract him from what they really needed to do.

What followed their arrival at the barracks was a march of disappointments.  No court mage capable of dealing with a djinn was available for him just then, so it would have to wait.  Possibly for days.  She couldn't stay with them all in the barracks, so he was going to have to pay for inn rooms for them both.  And, lastly and worst of all, the captain ordered him off duty until they could sever the djinn from him.

When it was all over, Gospel sagged back against the wall surrounding the palace, utterly deflated.

Soralyn breathed deeply and drew up.  Even with her arms clasped behind her, she pitched her voice poised herself as one who should and will be obeyed.

"Of course not," she said, her voice even, unrushed.  "This is my servant, and she's merely frightened.  I've loosened your knots, go ahead and slip out if you can...there you have it."

It worked, thank the gods.  The woman calmed and did as Soralyn told her, though she began to shake from the nerves.

"Well done.  Begin work on the next.  Try not to move too much, let them think we are all still tied."  And, finally, she could turn her attention back to the jackal.  "You must turn your back to me.  Swiftly now, or they will see you are not tied!  Place yourself so you might get at more of the ropes."

Speaker watched her closely without giving indication of it.  Oh, she didn't like his turn of phrase, did she?  That left him with a bit of an opportunity.

While she browsed, he wandered away from her, to the edges of the stalls, and wove a bit of fire together.  He held it down at his side, palm hidden from her so that she would not see it as she approached.

"Oh, ah..."  He gave the dagger a genuine, critical look then told the absolute truth with the first real smile he'd worn in front of her.  "As it happens, I wouldn't know a decent dagger from a butter knife!  Though..."

He raised his hand, and a hummingbird of flame burst forth from it.  It flitted about between them, squeaking out a tune of random notes.  "Let there be no confusion.  Forgetting one's responsibilities is sometimes necessary, no?  How will we witness Her will if we are always looking down?"

The hummingbird dove down, straight into the dagger, where it burst into a tiny flower of sparks.  The flower held in the air for a space of moments, then died, leaving behind a red, etched hummingbird upon the blade.  A blessing.

"Oh, almost never!  Only when I can find an abandoned building.  Oh, wait--"

He paused, confused momentarily as his mind went blank in the most troubling way, then padded after Aki again.  "...maybe I did?  I must have.  I recall I like it better!"

"Yeah, thought not." 

Syrae took the lead and Cade let him, arousal spiking as Syrae spread his legs.  He strained lightly against Syrae's hold on his pinned arms.  Enough to be fun, not enough to indicate he actually wanted to get away.

"Hope you're prepared to do all the work if you're gonna keep me pinned up."  Already he was wishing he had his hands free to get at the lacing of his breeches.  He got his feet flat on the ground so he could lift his hips up and slide his erection against Syrae's.

Ruben madee one last cursory grab at a column they passed, but his fury outstripped his stamina.  He'd struggled too hard and for too long to keep it up.  His temper spiked again when the naga had the gall to sling Ruben over his shoulder, but all that came of it was a clenching of teeth and swift resignation.  What was the point?  The naga said one thing that made sense--he was strong.  Ruben would just have to wait until the fool thing set him down.

In all the howling and fighting, he'd completely forgotten where they were going.  "Hurry up then.  Where are we going?"