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sat a while longer in companionable silence. The surrounding forest slowly came to life as the sun rose and warmed the slight chill in the air. Sounds emerged from the forest. Eventually, a familiar form trotted toward them from the edge of the trees. Glancing quickly at Olivia, he watched the pleasure spread over her face as she spotted Aurora. Her expression was the same every day, regardless of how many times she watched her feline companion wake and emerge from the woods. He found it fascinating.
    Because Olivia communicated with Aurora through her mind, it had been slightly unsettling the first time he had watched them interact. They frequently held each other’s gazes for long minutes, obviously holding conversations that only the two of them could hear. Now, though, it seemed quite natural.
    In fact, he acknowledged as Aurora finished whatever she had to say to Olivia and turned to him for a rub on the neck, he knew that he had some kind of connection to the animal himself. It wasn’t telepathic, like she was connected with Olivia. But since he had brought both Olivia and Aurora over from the human plane, he could sense certain things perceived by the animal. It had been James who had realized something was wrong when the Mercesti attacked the three sisters after the Becoming ceremony, even though the Mercesti female known as Layla had been blocking his Gloresti connection with Olivia. It was because he had somehow received Aurora’s angry panther cry in his mind when the animal had heard Olivia’s shout for help that he had been alerted. This knowledge was something he hadn’t shared with anyone. It seemed more useful that way.
    After giving the awesome panther the attention she deserved, he said, “She seems to have fed well last night.”
    Olivia gifted him with one of her throaty laughs. When her humor had calmed, she finished her tea and set the cup to the side. “And what makes you say that?”
    “She seems very satisfied this morning,” he said. Although he didn’t understand her humor, he could appreciate the effect it had on him. For some reason he didn’t understand, the sight of her bright smile combined with her laugh all but cut him at the knees.
    “That’s because she mated last night,” she replied bluntly.
    He froze. “I beg your pardon?” He looked back at Aurora. The panther was staring right at him with green eyes very similar to Olivia’s. If he didn’t know any better, he would have sworn there was humor in the cat’s gaze. Sighing in resignation, he said, “Well, I certainly hope he treated you well.”
    Then he patted the side of her neck and let her lick his hand. The loud sound of her purring filled the morning quiet. When he glanced again at Olivia, he caught her watching him with an expression he didn’t recognize.
    “What?”
    “Nothing,” she responded. She smiled, but he thought it looked a bit unnatural.
    Wondering what he had said to cause the look on her face, he started to push her for an explanation. Then the back door opened and he shifted his attention to Jabari.
    With his dark skin, black eyes and bright smile, the elder made an impression regardless of what he was wearing. Since he chose to adorn colorful robes and togas with equally colorful undershirts sporting rear cut-outs for his wings, he commanded even more attention. When you added the fact that he was the oldest of all the elders in both age and appearance, having gray streaks in his tightly-cropped cap of hair, there were very few Estilorians as remarkable as he was.
    “Good morning, Olivia and James.”
    They issued responsive greetings as the elder took a third one of the chairs on the large porch. When Aurora walked up to him and lowered her head, Jabari reached over companionably and rubbed her behind the ears.
    “Are you ready to begin your training, Olivia?” he asked.
    “Sure,” she answered.
    James sensed her hesitation, but didn’t comment.
    “We will begin with flight training,”