Backsliding

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By the time Xander and his traveling companions reached the shores of Xós Col Ysdra, the lake that separated La'iv and Scal Ysdra, he had come to terms with his issues regarding loyalty and dalhari customs. He still didn't like the way that the dalhari operated, but there wasn't much of anything he could do—after all, it wasn't just something that the Disiaron did; all dalhari were loyal to their houses in a like manner. Also, it wasn't like the dalhari were aggressive in the manner of the t'kth-vaali; if they had been then Xander wouldn't have been able to set aside his displeasure.

Beyond that, though, Xander found it difficult to stay in a bad mood because the region they were traversing was so enthralling. Once he'd gotten over the fact that it wasn't his own type of forest, he grew to appreciate the unusual joining of lush greenery and violently abrupt mountains. They had traveled through several valleys, each one more vibrant than the last. He could definitely see why the dalhari were so fond of their homeland, and so very protective of it. Unlike the quickly changing forests of Shaen, these mountains had an air of permanence to them. Even the annual upheaval of spring thaw didn't change the stability of the mountains.

"Adyeta?" Hainien whispered from just in front of Xander. He leaned down to answer his son.

"Hm?"

Hainien gestured toward the glassy lake they were nearing. "Their boats are different from ours."

Xander looked up; getting his first unobstructed view of the lake they were nearing. He immediately saw what Hainien was talking about. The boats gliding along the lake were smaller and sleeker than the usual siv trading vessel. "Those boats aren't made for the seas, Hainien. See how big the sails are, and how little the boat is?"

Hainien nodded. "They just stay on the lake, don't they?"

Vaishi overheard the conversation and answered the little siv. "Indeed they do, Hainien. They're called dehe besh, leaf boats."

The child frowned. "Why leaf boats? They don't look like leaves."

Xander grinned. "Why do we call our boats cracaneye—belly bowls?"

"Because they carry things like bellies do," Hainien replied. "But…"

"I believe they remind us of how leaves look when they are swept across water," Vaishi replied. "When we get to Palesti, we can go look at them." Hainien looked up at Xander, who nodded.

"We have to stop for supplies anyway, so I don't see why not," Xander said to his excited son. Vaishi acknowledged the decision and went back in front to lead them into the hold. They would pick up supplies there; but since the weather was mild, at least by dalhari standards, they would sleep by the lake itself, some distance from the hold. Vaishi and Fain had decided that it would be best to avoid spending a lot of time inside a dalhari house until they reached Na'alha, so that Xander wouldn't be too uncomfortable. Since they hadn't promised to stop at the house in Palesti, a detour by the house wasn't necessary.

Shopping was a unique experience in Palesti, one that Fain and Vaishi couldn't wait for the siv to experience. Unlike most holds, the markets in Palesti weren't near the center of town. Instead, they were situated on permanent stone docks at the lake shore. Dalhari merchants sailed their vessels right up to their shops, selling their wares either directly from the boat or on small stands just in front of them.

Saelen and Pairdra stared in wonder at the market. Unlike Xander, they didn’t swim so well. For that reason, the idea of standing over all that water was very uncomfortable. Perhaps they could watch the kids, or the ifnan, while the others shopped.

"What?" Xander asked, noticing their expressions of discontent.

"Um…who's going to watch the ifnan?" Saelen asked. Fain grinned.

"Are you volunteering?" the gold dalhari inquired. Saelen and Pairdra nodded vigorously and took the animals' leads. The others, children included, laughed and walked off toward the docks, leaving the two fearful siv to guide the animals to a nearby green for grazing.

"I want to see the boats!" Hainien begged as soon as they reached the market. Xander groaned. He knew the kids wanted to go look at the colorful, neat little boats, but they needed to get food as well. Fortunately Fain stepped in again to help.

"Why don't you two come with Vaishi and me, while Xander picks up some supplies?" Fain asked the two excited kids.

"Do y'mind?" Mai'zi asked her father, looking very hopeful.

Xander nodded and waved them off. "If y'promise not to bother Fain and Vaishi, it's fine." The dalhari nodded and each took a child by the hand, not wanting to lose the little ones in a sea of strangers. It would be difficult to do, though, since the majority of the shoppers were dalhari and not siv.

Xander wandered over to the furthest dock, which looked promising. Well, it had looked that way from a distance. The closer he got, the worse it smelled. By the time he reached the entrance, the odor was almost overpowering.

He looked with curiosity at the people on the dock. They were human! Xander stepped forward and looked around at the wares, surreptitiously studying the people around him. He hadn't seen many humans since the attacks in Ieccra, and he hadn't had any opportunities to interact with them. As he peered about, he found the source of the smell—fish. Once he knew what it was, memories of seafood from Sunnydale rushed back in and the odors became familiar and less offensive.

After a couple of minutes, he noticed the humans looking at him funny. It took another couple of minutes to figure out why—siv weren't their usual customers. Actually, most of the people wandering around were either human or pakra. There were more of the amphibious species here than there had been in Shaen, but at least Xander could recognize them.

"Um…excuse me, but…"

Xander turned around when he heard the stuttered question. "Hi!"

A youngish looking human male stared down at Xander. "Not to offend, but why are you here?"

Xander chuckled. "Not to shop, obviously. Actually, I was just looking at people—humans, specifically."

"Ah," the man said, clearly not understanding.

"I was changed," Xander said. Apparently that explained a lot to the human, because his face cleared immediately.

"I see. Well, then, welcome to Palesti," The youth replied. He trotted off toward a stand, leaving Xander by himself. The siv wandered up and down the dock, watching people and looking wistfully at the fish. He still had occasional cravings for things like hamburgers and steaks, so looking at all that fish was difficult. However, he resisted, knowing from Saelen and Pairdra that he would just get sick.

Eventually Xander pulled himself away and returned to the dalhari-dominated part of the market. He quickly purchased a couple of days' worth of fresh fruit, as well as a larger quantity of dried foods. It didn’t take long, so he sought out and soon found his kids and their keepers, ogling and pointing at the boats sailing across the lake. Xander saw why the kids were so entranced; the bright green and brown crafts were nimble little things that darted here and there like flitting birds or insects. "Enjoying y'rselves?" Xander asked as he joined the group.

"They're neat!" Mai'zi exclaimed, eyes wide. "Can we try that?"

Xander winced. Why did his kids always want to try potentially deadly things? "We have to go soon, Mai'zi. Maybe some other time."

Mai'zi pouted briefly before turning away and looking back at the boats. The adults waited for a few more minutes before pulling the kids away to go find Saelen and Pairdra. It may have still looked like midday, but evening would come soon enough and they needed to be out of the hold by then.

Saelen and Pairdra were resting in a tree near the edge of the green, the ifnan staked out below them. When they saw Xander and the others, they jumped down and gathered up the animals, mounting up to meet the others. "Did y'have a nice nap?" Xander asked when they arrived.

Pairdra snorted. "Better than the docks, I'm sure," He said. Xander rolled his eyes and mounted up, pulling Hainien up in front of him. Mai'zi joined Pairdra and they headed out of the hold.

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That evening the kids were so hyper that even Saelen was threatening to tie them up and throw them in the lake. Mai'zi was chasing Hainien, who was using the ifnan as cover. The animals were unimpressed by their antics and made their displeasure very obvious.

"Mai'zi!" Pairdra yelled, hoping to stop her before she got trampled. The girl stopped, staring back at her frustrated parents.

"But he hit me!" She whined, pointing at Hainien, who was huddling next to Fain's ifnan.

"I don't care! Get over here, RIGHT NOW!" Saelen screamed at the kids. They looked at each other for a moment, and then sprinted off in opposite directions. Pairdra, Saelen and Xander just stared at the ifnan, wondering who they had offended to have such horrible children.

While the siv were battling each other, Fain and Vaishi quietly gathered up their packs and flew up into a nearby tree, close enough to keep an eye on the camp site but far enough away to not be disturbed by the lovely children. "I believe several things are far more clear now," Fain remarked as Vaishi wrapped his arms around him. The golden dalhari leaned back onto his mate, staring up at the stars.

"What?" Vaishi murmured, drowsy.

Fain grinned. "Oh, how it was that two young children could do enough inadvertent damage to send us to the sickbed for weeks."

"Hmm…yes, I see how you might think that," Vaishi replied.

"Perhaps as well I can see why Yark chose the punishment he did," Fain added softly. "Not that it wasn't excessive, but the children are a bit…"

"Obnoxious?" Vaishi supplied.

"Energetic," Fain retorted sharply. "Very curious and precocious."

"Incorrigible," Vaishi stated. "The farther we got from Caildin, the wilder they've become. We could barely keep up with them in the market, and it's a good thing you didn't tell Xander about Hainien trying to jump into that boat."

Fain shuddered. "It's a better thing he made it and didn't fall into the lake. How exactly would we have explained a wet child to them?"

"They know their children, Fain," Vaishi pointed out.

"True, but we were in charge of them," Fain replied. Vaishi laughed out loud.

"We were? Really? Just like they're in charge of the kids right now?" Vaishi choked out. Fain elbowed him gently.

"In theory, yes to both. In reality, I wish I had a collar and a bunch of rope," Fain admitted. "Rali can get a bit active at times, but she's nothing compared to this."

"Active? Hells, next to Mai'zi and Hainien, Rali's a prhang roaming the pastures," Vaishi replied. "Laio is going to hate this."

Fain said nothing, since he agreed with Vaishi. Laio and Del were not the type to appreciate out-of-control children, or people for that matter. It was one of the reasons why Laio didn't spend more time in the Agraka.

While Fain and Vaishi were envisioning a harried and horrified Laio, Xander and his mates were combing the lake shore and surrounding forest for the kids. It had become readily apparent that they had circled around to meet and then taken to the trees. Xander, Saelen and Pairdra split up, with Xander taking the shore line in case the kids came back down. As it happened, he was the first to see them, since Pairdra had flushed them out of hiding.

Mai'zi barreled out of the forest toward the lake, Hainien right behind her. She was so focused on getting away from Pairdra that she didn't see Xander until she hit him full on. Xander hadn't been expecting her to just keep running, so he was caught off-balance and fell, rolling backward. Hainien was so close to his sister that they ran right into them also, providing enough momentum to push them into the lake.

Saelen and Pairdra oriented on the trio of high-pitched screams that came from the lake. They ran to the shore, only to find Xander holding the kids by the scruffs of their necks, waist-deep in the icy water. He just made it to shore when they arrived.

"Are y'ok?" Saelen asked, peering at the soaked trio.

Xander whipped around to glare at Saelen. "Are we ok? That water is barely above freezing. In fact, if y'told me that the dalhari have come up with a way to make water colder than ice, I'd believe y'. No, we're not ok. We're cold and wet and there's no fire at the camp site and these two little bastards are going to be beaten within an inch of their lives as soon as I can find something big and painful to do it with!" Saelen and Pairdra stared silently at Xander, not commenting. They knew that when he was mad enough to revert to trade and use those odd phrases he favored, it was best to stay out of the way.

Xander stalked back to the camp site, a squirming kid under each arm. They stopped moving after he threatened to chuck them into the lake a second time. When they got back to the site, Xander ordered Pairdra and Saelen to start a fire so that they could get dried and warm. Once the fire was started, Xander pitched the kids onto the ground next to it and curled himself up right beside the flames, shivering in the cool air. Mai'zi and Hainien stared at him, waiting for the lecture they were sure was about to start.

It didn't come; not because they didn't deserve one but because Xander was too mad to get anything out. They were almost dry before he'd calmed down enough to speak to them. "Tomorrow, Mai'zi rides with Saelen and Hainien rides with Pairdra," Xander said. When Mai'zi started to open her mouth, he cut her off. "Y'don't talk except to ask for something like a rest break or something to eat. No pointing, no yelling and no talking. When we stop y'stay with us—no exploring. We're going to be in Na'alha in a few days, and when we get there y're not going to act like this. EVER. There are no exceptions."

The kids nodded slowly, now avoiding Xander's steely glare. Once he was sure they understood him, he retreated into the tent that Pairdra and Saelen had pitched next to the now-dying fire. After a moment, the kids crawled in as well, huddling together as far from Xander as they could.

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The next morning found Xander awake before the others. He crept out of the tent before dawn, stretching briefly before going to check on the ifnan. As he was returning, he saw Fain and Vaishi landing near the tent. "Did you sleep well?" Xander asked them sheepishly. He'd noticed that they had chosen to sleep in the trees instead of with the siv. It was pretty bad when the dalhari ended up in the trees because the siv were so bad they couldn't sleep. Had it been warmer, the situation would have been different, since the siv would have been in the trees themselves. But without shelter or a fire in the canopy, it was too cold for Xander's family. They just weren't prepared for the weather, nor were they used to it.

"We're fine," Vaishi replied. They'd been awake to witness Xander's sopping wet return, and the lecture he'd given the kids. If they behaved as he'd ordered, they might actually survive Na'alha with all their fur. If not, neither Del nor Laio would be reluctant to reprimand the kids.

"Let me get the others up and we'll get out of here," Xander said, stalking toward the tent. He was not just mad at the kids; Saelen and Pairdra hadn't exactly been the models of support last night, choosing to stay silent instead of helping him. In fact, other than running the kids out of the trees, they hadn't done much at all.

"Oh, we've got some time yet," Fain said even as Xander was yanking open the tent. He didn't even wait for the others to wake, pulling up stakes and collapsing the thing on top of them. When he pulled the top flap off the now shouting pile of siv, he uncovered four very unhappy family members.

"Up," Xander ordered stonily, cutting off any protests he might have received. "We're leaving NOW!"

The kids immediately jumped up and scurried to finish dressing and getting their packs ready. Saelen and Pairdra glared at Xander for a minute before following suit. The dalhari knew that a serious discussion was in the making. Today Vaishi and Fain would be leading and following from a great distance.

Due to Xander's angry insistence and manhandling of his family, the travelers were ready to go just as the sun began to rise. Vaishi led the way, with Saelen and Pairdra just behind him. Xander followed further behind his mates and children, and Fain stayed even further behind him. From the looks of things, it was going to be a very quiet day.

And indeed it was. Other than a few terse requests for rest breaks, the group rode nonstop at a brisk pace all day. Xander had positioned himself to be unavailable to his mates for the argument they were bound to have, so by the time night fell Saelen and Pairdra were steaming. Since they had the kids, who were very much in tune to their parents' emotions, the children themselves were tense and anxious. Xander was still fuming, so only Fain and Vaishi were in any way content. They wisely chose to sleep in the trees again, forgoing the warmth of a fire for a bit of quiet and the chance to sleep.

Xander managed to put off his mates until after the kids had gone to bed. "What's this about, Xander?" Saelen asked seriously.

"The kids are being terrible, and they can't act like that around people, not even us," Xander replied, shrugging.

"Yeah, they're bad, but they're just kids," Pairdra replied.

"Tell that to Fain and Vaishi," Xander shot back.

"They understand," Saelen said.

"But will Spike?" Xander asked.

Realization hit. Xander didn't want to look bad in front of his old nemesis. "They know better than to misbehave in that situation, Xander," Pairdra said softly.

"How do y'know? Did y'tell them not to?" Xander demanded. "Because I don't think y'did, Pai. They're little animals, running around like they've got no sense! It's bad behavior, none of us got away with it, so why should they?"

Saelen sighed. This wasn't going anywhere good. "Xander, they're not behaving well, but we already know that. They can't just change over night. Give them some time. They're just kids, younger than y'were at that age."

Xander nodded, although he didn't completely agree. Yes, they were younger than humans would be at that point, but that was no excuse to be irresponsible and obnoxious. "Still, they've got to learn to behave."

"Yes, but is making the entire family miserable the way to do that?" Saelen asked.

Xander shrugged again. "If it works, it works. It's not just them; somehow we've let them get that way. If it takes changing all of us, so be it."

Pairdra and Saelen glanced at each other. Xander's methods flew in the face of what they were accustomed to; it wasn't the first time they'd run into remnants of his former life, but this was troublesome. Children just weren't treated like this—and families weren't either, unless the person in charge was Yark and power was as important as corrective measures. "But…"

"I'm not budging on this, so just drop it," Xander said firmly, closing the door on that subject.

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