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front should be the one
they choose.
    Take her, take
this girl.
    What happened
next was something he had never envisaged. A large female, yellow
striped, made a direct path towards him! She came to a halt some
ten paces away.
    : I am Sarya.
You can hear me? :
    Peter Littleman
took a step backwards.
    “I am not a
candidate.”
    : I know. I
have seen you before, you are a teacher. I did not sense your mind
before but I do now, very strong :
    She gazed at
him out of large blue-green eyes.
    : We vadeln?
:
    I must have
got through to her when I wished so hard for Tana , thought
Peter Littleman in shocked and unbelieving surprise and not a
little alarm, it must have augmented my latent abilities or
something.
    : Ceja : Sarya agreed : now we hear each other :
    Peter shook his
head slightly, clearing his thoughts and answered as the full
realisation of what was happening to him hit him, “yes, I would
like the chance very much. I never thought though ...”
    : Good, come
with me now :
    In front of the
amazed gaze of his fellow instructors and his stunned pupils, he
did so, stumbling over his own booted feet in his haste to get to
her side. He glanced back at Tana with a pang of guilt.
    Sarya
interpreted both look and feeling.
    : Peter not
worry, that girl has very strong thoughts. Three argue now about
who will be with her :
    : Three? :
    He had reached
Sarya’s side. The yellow-striped female Lind leant in to him. He
staggered.
    : Yes, here
they come, she will bond with one she makes strongest link to, this
is test, all three feel drawn to the youngling, even I can sense
her, not as strong as I can you, my vadeln, no need to shout your
thoughts by the way, I ‘hear’ you perfectly well without :
    : It’s new
to me : Peter replied, trying to moderate the loudness of his
‘voice’ : I’ve never consciously tried to broadcast what I am
thinking before :
    Sarya looked
over to where the three Lind males were converging on Tana.
    : The girl,
she is of your kin? :
    “No,” he
answered, “but I have been teaching her for some months now and I
so wanted her to find a Lind, I was thinking about her so hard, I
assume it gave what latent telepathic abilities I had a boost.”
    Peter looked
round the field. Some students had met their match. Like Peter they
were standing beside their Lind life-mates in various attitudes,
other Lind were sniffing round the others, trying to find the right
human. A few disappointed Lind were exiting the field. They would
leave Settlement and extend their search throughout the
countryside.
    He noticed that
some students were being passed over with hardly a glance and a
sniff. They stood, some disappointed, others not. He watched as one
of the three who were moving towards Tana veered away and began an
unhurried walk towards another girl who, by the look of her,
couldn’t believe her good fortune as the blue and tan striped male
approached. Her face broke into an incredulous smile as telepathic
contact was made. Fleetingly Peter wondered how the girl would do,
remembering her inept attempts at swordsmanship during the months
past.
    Tana stood
still as the males stopped in front of her.
    Peter held his
breath, he was sure Sarya was doing the same as the scene unfolded.
Tana appeared to waver before the smaller of the two then her hand
came forward as she reached out with tentative fingers towards the
largest blue-striped male Peter had ever seen, a full seventeen
hands in height if he was any judge. The smaller of the two sighed
and stepped back, accepting the inevitable. Tana took a step
forward and placed one small hand on the muzzle of the one who
remained in front of her. He licked it and Tana smiled, a smile of
such joy that Peter felt he was about to cry. He wiped the wetness
away and looked at Sarya.
    “Happy now?”
she asked.
    Peter
nodded.
    “A fine match,
Tavei come from a most famous line. He can name amongst his
ancestors the famous Kolyei and Radya. Our traditions speak much of
them. They