"I don't want to talk about it," Laka said, without another word she turned around and walked into the Plateau's north facing dome. Her soft footfalls echoed gently, the clicking of her long hard white nails on the stone giving her progress away.

How she wished she had some more useful power than what she did. Maybe if she could manipulate Sound like that one elegant Twelve and One male could? She could silence herself.

She had to walk away when she wanted silence of the other type - the silence that only came when she was nowhere near her Tribe and their minds. Other Kin would intrude on her emotional landscape too - but not so badly as her own kind. She would rather not have been going into the mountain, she wanted to be running on the shore but that was a three week walk away to the north, and it was flood season. They hardly wanted to lay out at the beach when it was covered in the silt from the highlands.

Behind her, she could hear Jahkonu's distinct quiet voice complaining that all she ever did was sulk.

Well, he'd sulk too if he were the youngest, skinniest and ugliest of a tribe. He wasn't ugly - and he didn't think she was, but she knew better. Of course she was ugly. Why wouldn't Etehmaro bed her? Because she was ugly. That was it.

Of course, she had no idea that it was more because he was five years her senior and had more ... mature bed-prey in mind. He disguised his thoughts carefully around her, and she let him. She wanted to think that he was holding back because he really did love her, that he really was the mate for her - but something interrupted it.

Laka found herself in the upper passageway of the Dome, and so she exited it out onto the lowest of the gigantic Plateau's ledges. Since they had arrived there were dragons flying in the sky. They knew that dragons didn't really exist. But, Laka could feel them, and sometimes when she did? They made her feel better. The whole Twelve and One tribe bonded their dragons, she'd heard, and come back with them to defend their planet.

What a life! What an amazing thing to do! So ... un-mundane! Like her own life...

***

The sting of the Master's paw across Laka's muzzle made her tears worse. Finally he gave up in frustration and yelled for someone else to deal with her. In the big smelly hut where all the goods that the trading caravan were made, Laka had been thrown in with Jahkonu and the raccoon boy Blae. There were piles of rocks, wood, stone, glass, some gemstones, metals, reeds, clay and colored powders everywhere. On one side of the room was the only exit, where Master stayed and watched. On the other, stone foundation gave way to brickwork, and then above it where anyone would be seen easily started the thatch and wood of the hut itself. A small maze of stone and brick kept each section of materials separate from one another.

They also separated Laka and the pair of boys, and she merely wanted to do her work near them. Of course, Master refused. Laka proceeded to wail loudly enough to wake the dead. Her anger and fear was hardly a match for the Master's powers of control, but he had had enough. He stormed out of the hut, and Jahk and Blae both breathed a sigh of relief.

"It's okay, Laka," Jahk said, "you can come work with us if you want to."

Blae was mortified. "He'll kill us," the nervous banded-eyed Kin said, and he shuffled off to his own section, where he worked with glass beads and thread. None of them needed lots of light to work, but they all wished that Master would find a way to open some air windows to clean the smell out.

Years worth of sweat, urine, stink and leather dyes made the place just about the least desirable location in the Pride's winter camp. It was never empty, this hut, it always had at least one Slave working there, if not a few of the Lion cubs outside if they showed some promise with tools. Of course, the Lions got tools. The slaves were only there because their powers were tuned to this work.

Laka finally dried her tears, and sat down next to Jahk. She fiddled with a piece of wood until it resembled a stork's flying pose, and decided that it would probably need some paint before it could be given away. The idea of 'selling' these trinkets had hardly entered her young mind. She remained innocent for quite a while longer, too.

***

There was a dragon flying overhead now, as Laka gazed off into the misty distance. Had she been there all afternoon? It had been just before noon when she and Etehmaro were having their discussion - he'd asked her why she wouldn't come down to the dustbog and help him pick flowers for Cuhsoyi.

Would she do that?! Why? Laka fumed a bit more, and balanced her walking-stick-slash-fighting-staff on her long legs. It would help if that Kin just found someone else to ply her wiles on. Laka didn't hate Cuhsoyi, she rather admired her as a mother or older sister. But she also of course deeply resented Cuh for being so... pretty? Mature? Confident? Able?

Laka sighed, she could feel their emotions even from here. It was half a mile away, that dust bog, where those pretty flowers grew. She knew where every flower and vine, every tree and mushroom grew. That was Laka's power. Plants. Wow.

***

Jahk slid himself sideways a bit, and drew in the dirt on the floor of the hut. His picture said 'knife' 'door' 'hide'. She wasn't sure, her eleven year old mind was hardly adept at these picture-words of his, but she thought he might mean that he wanted her to hide something by the door to the hut. Either that or he meant that he had a knife, and was about to go through the door so he could hide.

She blinked at him, her sapphire eyes bright even in the dim Master's hut. She made her symbol - the double arch signifying her face markings - and tilted her head.

"No," Jahk said, quietly, and then added his bent-reed shaped logo, and the door. He made a motion, while he was trying to keep the Master from seeing the symbols, to reach for a jar that had iron in it. He was supposed to be working on a large harness-thing for one of the caravans, a set of jingling tack that would most certainly chase away any small prey in the areas it passed through - what a useless thing that was. What a Human thing to want.

Jahk finally got the point across that he had a knife - he hid it on the flat part of his thigh under the shabby loincloth that he wore - and he was going to use it to escape. She needed to either come with him or stay low. Blae had been killed one night when he failed to work fast enough - and they'd bought two young Sandpiper twins to replace him, but they weren't able to work all day like he had. They were both asleep in their little corner, and were not invited.

"Should I see if he needs anything?" Laka said, glancing from Jahk to the Master. At first Jahk narrowed his eyes and shook his head, but then he got a faint feeling off Laka. It was a private emotion - she had gone past the Master's negation ability and burrowed into Jahk's mind the thought that if she could distract Master long enough he'd be able to put the knife right in.

She had been getting much better at her control - and her senses - because of the Master's eternal presence. If he had only let them alone, not tried to stop them from their communication, she'd never be this good. That would come back to haunt her later on in life, of course. It so strongly tuned her emotion sensing that she would be able to pick the fear off a mouse from a mile away.

But for the moment, Laka stood up and dusted herself off, holding up a pair of items she was meant to be working on. She approached Master - the elder Lion was the second ranked male in the Pride, and certainly the strongest psionic of the whole batch of them.

And Laka was stronger than he. Even at eleven years old.

"Master, I've got a problem with these, I think they should be white, but we're nearly out of white paint. Does anyone have any more?" She innocently held up the items - which were meant to be shorebird accessories and they always loved white - and aimed her mind directly at his.

You will just stand up and hold out your hands. It's good to do that. It feels so good to do that.

Master stood, somewhat groggily since he'd been snoozing (when weren't the Lions snoozing? when they were beating their slaves senseless, that's when), and held his hand out to check what Laka had to say.

In a blur, Jahkonu was behind him, knife blade so sharp it was almost surgical. He used both hands, his slender long arms driving the blade deeply in between the elder Lion's shoulderblades. The fur and long black mane that the Lion had made it unclear if he'd stabbed through or just hit a bunch of muscle.

Until the Lion sagged from his feet, eyes rolled yellow and then white. His gigantic shape landed quietly on the stone and dirt floor.

Suddenly - Laka's world of emotions exploded. She made a whimper, a tiny sound, as she felt three dozen Lions and a score of slaves of different Kin types all around her. Intentely.

One was nursing her cub, proud of him for being her single male child.

Another female was cursing herself for not taking the initiative in the last hunt and snatching the ring-neck for herself.

A male was lusting after two females that stood under a tree talking, they knew he was there and they purposefully egged him on with their tails swishing and making their skirts open a bit.

The sandpipers were awake, terrified now.

Cuhsoyi was nearby - tending the wounds of one young male who had managed to get himself stomped on by a large water buck. Urgently, Laka's mind sought the healer out.

Help me, she said.

They would know any moment - but the Tribe, the Spotted Hand as they called themselves on their journey out of the jungle, were Cheetahs. Fleet of foot and cannier than the Lions that enslaved them.

It appeared that Cuhsoyi took a moment to reverse her healing ability - the only time she'd admitted to doing it - and broke loose a chunk of bone from the Lion - right into his heart.

Eqahkali hissed and spat at the female who had him dragging her goods to a cart. He dropped them - and then set the cart aflame. Jahkonu tossed him what looked to be a spearhead, minus the wood handle, and the two of them turned on the female angrily.

Laka was almost helpless. But... almost? Not quite. She would not go without paying these Lions back a little. They hurt her - they bound her - they did not own her now.

Etehmaro scooped Laka up, running toward a quick-hooved Loper - they were bigger than goats, but better tempered, almost like tiny horses. They were apparently quite good eating - not that the cheetahs would know, they were never offered nice cuts of any meat. But for the moment, Eteh instructed her with a careful mind command: ride west - follow the sun and wait when you cannot see the village any longer.

"But - you -" Laka started to say, but Eteh slapped the behind of the Loper, and it carried the young girl out of the village.

***

Laka hardly noticed that the sun was down. Her fur and the warm air of this world kept her from being cold, but she did feel a breeze. Bread was being baked, probably by the Crow tribe nearby. They loved corn bread, and they would share it if asked.

Why do you think that he does not like you?

A voice, not a Kin voice, asked.

Laka startled and then stood, glancing around. She could feel ... something. Then she turned her eyes upward, where a simply gorgeous tawny-red and tan striped dragon sat looking down at her from the next ledge up. He was quite a ways up, another third of the gigantic face of the Plateau. But she could see him quite clearly, of course. She would like to see him in the daylight - Cheetah vision faded with the depth of night, but this was just sundown.

"Who are you? And what business is it of yours what I think?" Laka said, suddenly realizing what he'd said.

I am Felinruad, hatched at Moire, and my rider is Irole of Twelve and One. He announced, spreading his wings. They were massive, dwarfing his body. He looked like those wings could sail forever on the breeze.

They can, I can. He said.

"Sorry," Laka said, "I didn't mean that to be public knowledge. I ... I'm a bit sleepy right now and that always makes my mind kind of bubble out of my head."

Felinruad gave a low, long dragon chuckle. That is a good reason to keep your voice down. You do not want everyone knowing I am here, do you?

On impulse she turned, looking down where their Dome opened up. They had a fire going, and apparently everyone but Laka was down there trading some kind of story of the day.

"Actually... I don't mind. They are my friends." Laka said.

That is a very mature thing to say, Laka of the Spotted Hand. My rider thinks that it is high time to deliver your tribe to dragon sands - you Cheetahs seem to get along well with dragons. He adjusted his great wings, and waited for Laka to breathe in again. She'd been holding her breath.

"... Should I get them? Do you mean right now?" Laka asked.

Well... Perhaps in the morning, everyone is too tired and sleepy, like you, to make a good decision. I will come back in the morning.

He opened his wings, and made to leap from the ledge, when Laka blasted with her mind, WAIT!

The great dragon paused and checked his launch - it was almost too late, he almost fell instead. Yes?

Can you - would you ... takemetothebeachtothenorth?

Would I what? He paused again, and then deciphered what she'd asked. Of course, the beach. It isn't all that nice right now, but if that is what you want, we can do that. I would have to take you back here shortly, though. I am still needed by my rider.

"Oh - of course, I didn't mean to - If you're busy I won't interfere." Laka said, embarrassed suddenly that she'd tried to command a dragon belonging to someone else!

I do not 'belong to' him, I am no posession. Just as you even as a Slave were not really the posession of those Lions. Felinruad told her with a faint bit of annoyance coming through, But I will come back in the morning. We can go to the beach when the day is warmer.

He did spread his wings again, and then flew over the Plateau. Distances that on foot would take days to reach were mere wingbeats for this great dragon. She was in awe. She'd spoken to a dragon.

She. Had. Spoken. To. A. DRAGON.

And more over, she'd botched it. She tried to ask him to do something he didn't have time for. What a totally selfish thing, what an idiot!

"What an idiot!" yelled Jahkonu from the ground, "we get it! Laka, come eat!"

She stood in silence, stunned, and then bolted down to the camp site as quickly as she could - her mind the whole way was fixated on tomorrow morning! Tomorrow morning you will get to meet Felinruad and they're going to take us for dragons!

What would tomorrow morning bring?