···•••·•••·•••·•••···
“Tell me again why we’re leaving right this minute?” Dawn
inquired as she and Rali led their ifnan through the main gates. Rali waved at
the guards and mounted her ifnan. Dawn followed suit, waiting impatiently for
Rali to answer her.
“Because if we’d waited until my parents and grandparents
had gotten up, they would have tried to convince us to stay until next year,”
Rali replied in a whisper. She understood the draw of staying on for the
year—before they’d arrived she too had wanted to do that very thing. Now that
they’d met up with her parents, though, she’d changed her mind. The only thing
she wanted to do was get away.
“What? You don’t like the idea of being forcibly convinced
to wait around for three seasons, visit with your parents, get bonded and
whatnot?” Dawn shot back, grinning. She wouldn’t have minded waiting around
until next spring, but on the other hand, she wanted to see Xander. They had
every intention of returning to Na’alha when they were through visiting with
the siv and stopping to see Baura.
“No, I don’t particularly want to sit though another set
of embarrassing questions. I cannot believe my grandfather asked me how well we
suited each other in bed,” Rali muttered, blushing at the memory. Waei had simply
delved right into the subject, stating that it was vitally important that they
satisfy each other. Normally Rali wouldn’t have cared, but between the entire
family presence and the fact that everyone kept pressuring them about getting
bonded…well, it was just too much.
Dawn grinned but kept silent. She was excited to be on the
road, even though she hated traveling with a passion. “So…”
“What?”
“What are we going to talk about for the next few weeks?”
Dawn inquired. “I’m afraid that if I start asking questions about Xander,
you’ll strangle me.”
“You have more questions?” Rali asked incredulously. “More
than the ten thousand you’ve already asked—twice?”
Dawn shrugged. “It passes the time.”
“So does music,” Rali hinted. Dawn grinned and pulled out a
cyar’val. Rali did have a point; music helped the hours fly by. Besides, she
hadn’t played much on their trek to Na’alha.
···•••·•••·•••·•••···
“We should dismount here,” Rali advised as she drew her
ifnan to a halt. Dawn complied with the request, dismounting immediately.
They’d been doing the same thing at every siv hold—walking through while
leading their mounts behind them. The tree-dwelling siv weren’t comfortable
around the larger ifnan, especially those in the holds near large forests. At
least this was the last one. In a few short minutes, they would be surprising
Xander and his family. Dawn was more than a little nervous that he wouldn’t be
happy with their unannounced visit.
“So this is Razh,” Dawn murmured, looking around. The vast
majority of the hold was high in the canopy; the only things on the ground were
some places to board their mounts and ladders reaching up into the hold. “Do
you know where they live?”
“Sort of,” Rali replied vaguely. She had information from
the letters Xander had written to Spike over the years. He, Saelen and Pairdra
had settled their family on one edge of the hold, near the river. The kids, now
grown, lived nearby.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Dawn pushed, feeling
really insecure. This wasn’t a small hold. How were they supposed to find
Xander?
“It means that I know what part of the hold they live in.
That should be enough,” Rali reassured her.
It didn’t work, of course. “Why would that be enough?”
“Because there aren’t that many Avrel mak in Razh,” Rali replied.
“And I’m quite sure that there aren’t many families consisting of two warriors
and a builder, living near an academic and another warrior.”
“Oh.” It made sense, Dawn guessed. It still didn’t make
her feel secure. All of a sudden she felt like a fourteen year-old runaway,
just realizing how stupid she really was.
Rali glanced over at Iriya, taking in the nervous anxiety
she was radiating. It was a bit odd how the musician was upset and worried now,
when she’d had no problem seeing Laio after all these years. “Come on.” As soon
as Iriya moved toward her, Rali picked up her pack and took off toward the
canopy.
Dawn flew below and to the left of Rali, carefully dodging
branches as they ascended. About halfway up the mathematician lit on one of the
ladders leading up to the hold, and Dawn took a place just below her. There
were too many obstacles from here to the top for them to fly.
“Are you sure you know where you’re going?” Dawn asked
again as they stepped into the hold proper. The place was a maze of
branch-and-vine walkways, twisting buildings and breathtaking drops. The local
denizens swarmed around them as they stood, their more agile bodies easily
handling the environment.
“It can’t be that hard to find the river,” Rali insisted.
“After all, there’s only one near the hold.” Despite her assurances, the two
dalhari spent an hour figuring out that they didn’t know where they were going.
It was only after Dawn, ignoring Rali’s protests, asked a kind-looking siv
where they might find the river. After a brief discussion they were on their
way, Rali still fuming.
“We could’ve found it on our own. We were heading in the
right direction, you know,” Rali stated. She didn’t like not being able to do
something, and this was no exception.
“Yeah, but by the time we got there it would be time to
head back to Na’alha,” Dawn shot back, grinning. “Besides, I’m hungry.”
“Then get ready for fruit, fruit and more fruit,” Rali
muttered. She loved Xander and his family dearly, but their diet of fruit and,
well, fruit, got boring after a while.
···•••·•••·•••·•••···
“Where’s Xander?” Saelen asked as he pulled himself up
onto the platform in front of his home. Pairdra was lounging by the door,
peeling fruit.
“I’m not certain. Perhaps he had to meet with one of the
elders,” Pairdra replied, tossing a piece of fruit to Saelen. “Or maybe he
stopped by the kids’ place.”
“Maybe Hainien asked him over,” Saelen hypothesized.
“Anyway, he shouldn’t be too long. When did he leave this morning?”
“
“Is Mai’zi still hanging all over that…” Saelen asked
after a few minutes.
“Yes,” Pairdra snarled. “She doesn’t seem to see that he’s
not worth a half-rotten ghain fruit.”
“Xander might be trying to talk some sense into her,”
Saelen said hopefully. None of them liked anyone Mai’zi had found attractive,
much to her frustration and Hainien’s amusement. The young academic found most
of Mai’zi’s antics amusing in the extreme, which did little to endear him to
his older sister. That didn’t seem to bother Hainien much, since he spent most
of his time at teaching.
Pairdra’s reply was cut off when the two siv heard someone
walking towards the house. As one they got up and peered around the corner,
wondering who it was. They knew it wasn’t Xander, since he had far more grace
than whoever was lurching around on the path. “Dalhari?” Pairdra murmured to
Saelen. “I thought all the dalhari in the hold stuck to the agraka with the
humans.”
“They do,” Saelen replied. “But they’re definitely coming
this way.”
As the dalhari drew closer, Pairdra recognized one of
them. “That’s Rali!” He exclaimed, moving onto the path. “What is she doing
here?”
Saelen followed Pairdra toward their visitors. “Rali?”
Saelen questioned as they approached.
Rali watched as Saelen and Pairdra ran up to them.
“Saelen!” She waved at the siv and pulled Iriya along toward the house. The
four met a few meters from the platform, all chattering at once.
“Where’s Spike? What’s going on?” Pairdra asked worriedly.
“This is Iriya. She’s here to see Xander,” Rali announced,
presenting the cowering dalhari.
“Who’s she? Why does she need to see Xander?”
“Um…could we get out of the road?” Dawn whispered, hearing
someone come up behind her.
“What is this, a party?”
Everyone stopped talking. Xander grinned and looked at the
four surprised people standing in the path. “Seriously, is this a surprise
get-together you didn’t tell me about?” He looked from Saelen and Pairdra to
Rali and Iriya. “Rali? What are you doing…Dawn?!”
Dawn grinned nervously. “Hi, Xander.”
“Dawn?” Xander squeaked, frowning. He leaned closer,
looking at the dalhari. Yeah, it was obviously Dawn underneath those bright
colors. He enveloped her in welcoming hug, even as questions swarmed through
his head. “What…how did…why…would someone tell me what’s going on?”
“We don’t know,” Saelen and Pairdra announced together.
“We do, but we may want to sit down first,” Rali
suggested, gesturing toward the platform. “It’s not a short story.”
The five of them made their way to the platform, Xander
never taking his eyes off Dawn. He was really confused. How did Dawn get here,
and why?
“So spill,” Xander said as they settled on the platform.
“Still Xander,” Dawn murmured. “Do you remember how you
got here?”
“Like I’d ever forget,” Xander muttered. “Anya…she…”
“It was an accident,” Dawn said. “She didn’t know what the
crystal would do. As soon as you disappeared, though, she came to us.”
“And they sent you over here next?” Xander replied
harshly. He loved this world, but he couldn’t imagine Dawn surviving in it,
although she obviously had…with a few changes. He wondered how she’d gotten
turned…
“Not on purpose. They called Wesley to help them figure
out what was going on. He knew a lot about the crystals, but not about how to
get you back,” Dawn said. “I got mad because I didn’t think anyone wanted you
back. So one night I took a crystal and…well, came here.”
“You what?” Xander shouted. That was beyond stupid—what
kind of idiot would do that?
“Um…this kind of idiot?” Dawn offered. Xander blanched,
realizing that he’d said that last part out loud. “I was fourteen, Xander…and
not exactly the wisest person in the world.”
“Oh,” Xander said. He thought about it for a moment. “You
came over here to find me?”
Dawn nodded. “Yup. I didn’t find you, though.”
“What happened?” Xander asked.
“I landed in the middle of a desert and hooked up with
some apprentice musicians. After a while I settled in Tereva’diel, in Faion.”
“When did…who…” Xander murmured, waving toward her wings.
“Oh, when did I get changed? After I finished my
apprenticeship at the bardic guild,” Dawn replied. “Don’t worry, I asked to be
changed.”
Xander sighed in relief. He was still shocked to see the
girl, no…woman. He’d never expected to see anyone from Sunnydale again, much
less the youngest Scooby. “So…how did you and Rali end up here?”
“Ifnan?” Dawn joked. Seeing the serious scowl on Xander’s
face, she straightened. “Rali came to Tereva’diel to teach at the university.
We met, and after a while figured out that her father was someone I knew.”
“Spike,” Xander said. He looked over at Rali. The two
dalhari were awfully close to each other… “Dawn, you and Rali aren’t…”
“Yes, and if you ask about bonding, Rali will thrash you,”
Dawn warned. “Just don’t do it.”
Xander grinned. “Spike, Dell, Gaha and Waei, right?” The
two dalhari nodded. Remembering his mates, Xander turned to them. “You two
remember me telling you about Dawn?”
“Of course, and this would be her,” Saelen said with a
smile. “We’ve been listening.”
“Sorry,” Xander whispered. “It’s just…”
“We understand,” Pairdra reassured him. “By the way, I’m
Pairdra, and this is Saelen.”
“You two put up with him?” Dawn inquired. “And you raised
kids with him?”
“Two of them, and they aren’t nearly as bad as he thinks
they are,” Saelen said.
“Are too!” Xander shot back. “And they’re stopping by for
dinner,” He added. “Mai’zi dumped that idiot.”
“Good,” Saelen and Pairdra said together. Dawn grinned.
“Are you three being overprotective fathers?” She asked mischievously.
“No!” They shouted together.
“He was really an idiot,” Saelen added. “I’m not sure he
could tell his tail from his nose.”
“That sounds bad,” Rali murmured. “But you get to meet
Mai’zi and Hainien,” She told Iriya. “They’ll love you.”
“Yeah, they will,” Xander affirmed.
···•••·•••·•••·•••···
It was much later that night before Xander and Dawn had a
chance to talk by themselves. While Rali entertained the rest of his family,
Xander drug the musician outside for a chat.
“I really am glad to see you,” Xander said quietly. “You
seem to have done well.”
“You too,” Dawn replied. “This place, it seems to bring
out the best in you, you know?”
“Yeah, it does,” He said. “After a while, anyway.” The siv
looked up at the night sky, just visible through the leaves. “Do you ever think
about the others?”
“You mean Buffy,
“Do you think…” He paused. “Don’t you think they’d come
after you?”
Dawn’s eyes widened. “Come after me? They don’t know where
I went.”
“Really?” Xander mused. “They’re not stupid. Even if you
did lie and say you were at someone else’s place, like you said.”
“Maybe,” She mumbled. It had occurred to her that they’d
probably figured out what she’d done, but she didn’t think they’d follow her.
“But I doubt they’d cross over—there’s no way back.”
“Hmm. You have answered some of my questions about this
place, though,” Xander added. “But I still think they at least tried to find
you.”
“But that would mean that they’re here somewhere,” Dawn
replied. “Or were. It’s been a long time.”
“And it took you how long to find me?” Xander asked.
“I stopped looking!” Dawn defended.
“I know. Just, don’t be surprised if you wake up and find
an irate Buffy on your doorstep, demanding to know why you pulled the dumbest
stunt she’s ever seen,” Xander warned.
Dawn shuddered at the thought, happy that the scenario
Xander described was highly unlikely. “If that happens, you can just tell me I
told you so, ok?”
“And I will,” Xander promised with a smile. Something told
him his life was going to get more interesting now that Dawn had arrived.
“But she’s still not gonna show up here,” Dawn swore.
“Hmm. So,” Xander said, switching subjects. “When are you
and Rali getting bonded?”