Then again, after spending most of the day traipsing through a swamp, she would have been grateful for a palm leaf and some non-muddy water. A glance at Willow confirmed what Tara had been fearing--the sensitive redhead was developing a serious sunburn. Even the mud they'd slathered on her skin hadn't prevented the harsh, bright sunlight from frying that translucent flesh. Tara knew she was only slightly better off, though. Already, dizziness was setting in. Of course, that might have been from all the insects that had feasted upon her.

Brial caught sight of several guards and a tulka approaching them, so he slowed up and signaled to Amuin. "Greetings," He called out in trade, for the benefit of their newfound companions. "Sre found these humans in the grasses, in need of assistance."

Amuin studied the guards before turning to the tulka who had accompanied them. As he'd figured, it was Zapuri. At least he'd save any applicable lectures until later. "They fell from the sky, tulka. It was a spell."

Zapuri raised one mottled-brown brow. "A spell? Dzninwalom will be much interested in that information." He then turned to the two human females, who were cowering being Amuin. "You are, of course, welcome in Avare, humans. It is sheer luck that you happened upon Sra Amuin-Brial; they are the last to return before the next storm arrives." With that, he turned to follow the guards back towards the hold proper, leaving Amuin and Brial to bring the humans to their formal introductions.

"Er, what just happened?" Willow asked timidly. "Who's Dzni..." She stumbled over the strangely pronounced name, brow furrowing in concentration. "And Sre, Sra..."

Brial sighed patiently. He and Brial needed to get Willow and Tara cleaned up, fed, their wounds attended to, and presented to the tulfyadyamna. From the looks of things, though, that last bit would have to wait. "Perhaps we should go see Dzninwalom first."

"Yes," Amuin concurred. "Good idea."

•••

"Sra," Dzninwalom began when her two favorite youths entered her home. As soon as she saw the two humans, though, her words changed to trade. "What is this?"

This time, Amuin sighed. "They fell out of the sky. It was a spell. We couldn't leave them there."

Dzninwalom laughed at Amuin's tired curtness. "Brial, you should take this one home. You've overworked the poor thing."

Brial nodded, pushing Willow and Tara forward at the same time. "It becomes obvious that actual work is beyond Amuin's comprehension." Amuin made to argue, but it was obvious that Dzninwalom had already dismissed them.

"We'll procure them something to wear," He muttered as Brial dragged him back out the entranceway.

"Come, sit," Dzninwalom ordered, waving the two girls down. "You've been eaten to nothing! I suppose those two forgot everything I ever told them about anything..."

"They saved us," Tara protested, taking a seat on the mat she'd been given.

"True enough," The pakra murmured, "But they could've done something about the insects. It wouldn't have killed them to." She began dipping water out of a large container, pouring it into a smaller bowl. "Here, clean off some of that mud. I've something better for the bites." After another glance, she continued. "It might help with the burns as well. You're the only humans in Avare, but I've worked with your kind before."

Willow nodded and accepted the water and a clean cloth. It didn't take long to get the worst of the mud off, and whatever Dzninwalom spread over their bites removed the rest. "What is in that?" The redhead asked, curious of the gelatinous stuff being smeared all over her.

"Herbs and such," Dzninwalom said absently. "Now, while we're waiting on food and clothing, tell me... what is this about a spell?"

Willow and Tara shared a glance. How much should they tell this person?

Dzninwalom caught their gazes. "Oh, you'll tell me one way or another. The tulfyadyamna doesn't hold by spells being cast by anyone other than zhaki--witches."

"We're witches," Willow protested, "At least, we were in our world. And we didn't exactly cast a spell..." After a long day of being pulled through mud and bugs and whatnot, she'd had enough. The entire story came spilling forth, in a rather compressed format. "See, a bunch of our friends got sent over here by some crystals, and I wanted to come after them. But Tara didn't, and we argued and by accident we set off the crystal and now we're here and we're supposed to find our friends--especially Dawn, because she's just a kid--but now we're in a swamp and we don't know where to start or what to do or..."

Tara waited until Willow took a breath before interrupting. "We can't do spells here like we did at home, either."

Dzninwalom shrugged. "This world isn't yours, so why should you be able to? As for the other..." The pakra clucked her tongue. "You aren't much more than children, are you?"

"Why do you ask?" Willow inquired.

"Because the entire thing sounds foolish, and children are wont to do foolish things," She replied evenly. "No pakra over forty would even consider it. But that's behind you now; you're here, and here you'll be for some time, I'd say."

Tara frowned. "Why?"

"The seasons are changing; Avare will be isolated until the storms pass for the year." A rustling noise outside the pakra's home signaled them that food and clothing was forthcoming, so the discussion was dropped.

•••

"This is totally weird," Willow said as she and Tara were left alone in a small room in Dzninwalom's house. "And so are pakra."

Tara shrugged slightly. The pakra weren't that strange, but they were certainly interesting. They were very well adapted to their environment--slick, camouflaged skin and webbed digits worked well in the water, and gills assisted lungs with the whole underwater breathing thing. As for the little bit of pakra culture they'd encountered so far... it was a change, definitely. She wasn't used to the structure that was already making itself known. After providing them with basic pakra garments and a strangely satisfying meal of dried fish, Brial and Amuin had explained that they had to go see the tulfyadyamna, which would decide what to do with them.

"I mean... this tulfyadyamna, and then the zhaki Dzninwalom, and Sra-Sre-Sro-Sribbeldybobblydoo..." Willow said absently, curling up on the bed. "And she didn't make it sound like we'd be going anywhere soon. What about Dawn? About finding her and getting back out of here?"

Tara stared at the ceiling for a few minutes, counting reeds. "I think our plans might have been changed for us," She whispered. "At least for now."

"But I don't *want* our plans to change!" Willow replied hotly. "And I don't want to be stuck in some grass hut in the middle of a muddy swamp, and I don't want to not be able to do anything, and I don't want..."

"To sound like a five year old throwing a temper tantrum," Tara said under her breath. "Willow," She said more loudly, "Perhaps we should see what this tulfyadyamna says and then work from there. We might well be able to find Dawn...eventually. If her experiences have been anything like ours, she's found someone to take care of her."

"And if they haven't?" Willow retorted. "Then what?"

Tara threw up her hands. "What are supposed to do, grow wings and fly out of here? And to where? We can't to magic, there aren't any boats--remember what Amuin told us over dinner? They're all gone so that the storms won't wreck them. Just what are we supposed to do, complain until our hosts throw us into the swamp just to get some peace and quiet?"

Willow's lower lip began to quiver, her reddened face darkening. Fat, salty tears ran down her cheeks as she lost the battle not to cry. "But I'm scared and I want to go home!"

"Oh, and I like mud and grass and bug bites and dried fish and frog people?" Tara shouted. "What, you think I'm *enjoying* this? I wasn't in the girl scouts for a reason, Willow. I don't *like* getting eaten alive by things that carry diseases!"

"Maybe I should have requested that we land in the non-creepy-crawly part of this godforsaken planet, hmm? Some place with nice, soft beds everywhere, to cushion your I-hate-the-outdoors tush?" Willow screamed madly.

"I never said I don't like the outdoors, and which one of us bitched the whole way back here? It certainly wasn't me!!!!!"

"Excuse me."

Both women turned their heads at once. Dzninwalom stood in the doorway, looking inordinately amused. "As entertaining as this display is, the tulfyadyamna is ready to see you."

•••

The tulfyadyamna turned out to be a group of serious-looking pakra, seated in a semicircle. The building that held the tulfyadyamna was bare of anything but the group itself and their chairs. Tara and Willow stood uncomfortably while the stern council glared first ad Amuin and Brial, then at Dzninwalom.

"Are they Sra?" One tulka inquired shortly.

The three pakra surrounding Tara and Willow shrugged. "What's Sra?" Willow whispered to Brial, who was closest to her.

Brial fumbled for a good word in trade. "Er... mated, but without young?"

"Then I guess we are," Willow said. "Is that a problem?"

"Sra is good," Another tulka announced. "You will stay with Brial and Amuin, but work with Dzninwalom. She says that you have claimed to be zhaki in your own world. We do not have many."

With that, the tulfyadyamna rather pointedly invited them to leave, which they did with great haste. "Are they always so..."

"Unpleasant?" Brial offered. "Usually, at least during this time of year. It's all sunny now, but by tomorrow, there will be nothing but rain for months. It's not pleasant."

"And they're having to deal with bigger things than you right now," Amuin added. "I think some of the Inswawa clan accused the Mvwatka of poaching."

"They can't do that," Dzninwalom replied. "They're on the same side of the hold."

"Maybe that's why the tulfyadyamna is in such a bad mood," Amuin said dryly. "No matter; we can get Tara and Willow settled at our place."

"Fine," Dzninwalom murmured. "Show them how to get to my place; they need to be there a half-hour after sunrise each day."

"Why?" Willow asked. "What are we going to do?"

"Learn," The female pakra stated. "The tulfyadyamna has appointed you as my students, so learn you shall."

"Oh," Tara whispered. "I see."

"Do you?" Dzninwalom called out as she clambered across a woven pathway to her dwelling.

"Come on, we don't live that far off," Brial said, gathering the humans together. "We're in the same clan as Dzninwalom."

"What clan is that?" Willow inquired.

"Shaloquiaila," Amuin replied, "Though she's on the other side of the hold from us."

"Other side of the hold?" Willow echoed. "It doesn't seem that far," She added, since they'd just arrived at Brial and Amuin's home.

"Dzninwalom is Shaloquiaila through her mother's line. We're in the clan through our fathers," Brial explained. "That puts us on opposite sides of the hold."

"How many clans are there?" Tara asked. "And how many sides of the hold?"

Brial laughed at Tara's questions. "In this hold? There are four clans: the Inswawa, the Mvwatka, the Shaloquiaila, and the Tangquoffa. How many sides of the hold there are depends on what you're talking about," He replied, ushering the two women into his home. It wasn't very big, but at least their unused room was larger than Dzninwalom's--and had a larger bed in it.

"Now I'm really confused," Willow muttered. "You said earlier that Inswawa and Mvwatka were on opposite sides of the hold, and they're different clans. But then you said that you and Dzninwalom are on opposite sides, and you're in the same clan!"

Amuin tried to explain. "The Shaloquiaila and the Inswawa are on one side of the hold, and the Mvwatka and the Tangquoffa are on the other. But in each clan, we're separated by lineage."

"What's the point?" Willow asked. "Do you argue a lot?"

"We do," Brial agreed, "But it's also about other things."

"What other things?" Tara inquired, yawning. She was tired beyond belief, but this was kind of interesting.

"Well, you can't pick a mate from the same side of the hold of your own clan," Amuin stated, "Or from the opposite side of the hold of a clan that's opposite your clan."

Willow let her eyes cross. "Dare I ask why?"

"Maybe after you've gotten some rest," Brial answered. "Since you're Sra, it doesn't really matter, does it?"

"He does have a point," Tara affirmed as the two pakra left them alone. The bed was too inviting, and Tara too tired, for there to be any more questions until tomorrow.