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  "I, don't remember any of it," Tarrin said after a moment of trying to recall.

  "Don't worry at it, my mate," Jesmind told him calmly. "It'll come back to you. You just have to be patient."

  "I think I'm more patient than you, Jesmind," Tarrin told her.

  "Probably, because I'm not particularly known to be a patient woman," she agreed. "But we just have to have faith. Besides, I think that Wizard knows that if he doesn't find a way to restore your memory, he'll have about ten angry Were-cats hunting him down. I don't think he wants to take that risk."

  Kimmie laughed. "I don't think that's occurred to him quite yet," she said. "If it does, he may decide that running away is the better idea."

  The apartment door opened, and Dar stepped inside. "Mistress Jesmind, I'm going to take Tarrin to go get something to eat," he announced. "Do you want to come with us?"

  "No, that's alright, Dar," she told him. "I'm not really hungry right now."

  "Kimmie?"

  "I'm fine, Dar," she said with a smile. "Thanks for asking. You and Tarrin go ahead."

  Tarrin wasn't particularly hungry either, but Dar looked like he had some other reason to come to get him, so he stood up. "I'll be back later," he promised, then he hurried over to Dar and let the Arkisian lead him out the door.

  "Did I get here in time?" he asked in a hushed voice as they walked down the hall.

  "Time for what?" he asked.

  "To save you from them," he said with a grin.

  Tarrin laughed. "Actually, we were having a good time," he answered. "But I can go see them again later. What did you want to do?"

  "Eat," he said simply. "Then afterward, maybe we can go do something. Did Jenna show you around?"

  He nodded. "Most of the common places. Kitchens, dining rooms, library, gardens, and some places on the grounds."

  "Well, we could always take a shot at the baths," he grinned.

  "What, you want to see me naked?" Tarrin teased.

  "I already have. I'm more curious to see how you handle seeing girls naked," he countered with a wicked smile.

  "You're evil, Dar."

  "I had a good teacher," he said, slapping Tarrin lightly on the arm. "Seriously, though, you do need a bath. You smell like moldy fur."

  "Then Jasana needs a bath," he noted, sniffing at his arm. "She was sitting in my lap most of the afternoon."

  "How did that go?"

  "Pretty well," he answered. "I like her. She's pretty smart, and she's completely lovable. I think she's got me pretty firmly in hand," he said ruefully. "It's a hard feeling to describe, Dar. She's my daughter. I mean, that alone is enough for me to love her. I look at her, and I don't see the fact that she's a Were-cat. I just see my daughter, and I find that I love her."

  "I should hope so," Dar told him with a smile. "I thought she was going to try to bite you or something."

  "Everyone thinks she will," Tarrin mused.

  "Jasana's got a reputation, Tarrin. Did you know that she first used High Sorcery in an attempt to keep you from leaving her behind in Aldreth? She heard you say that if she used magic, you couldn't leave her. So that's exactly what she did."

  "Nobody told me that," he said in surprise.

  "Jasana's a very dangerous little girl, Tarrin," Dar told him seriously. "She loves you, but don't drop your guard around her. If she decides she wants to turn you, she will. Be very careful."

  "She can't," he told her. "Remember what Triana made her promise? There's no way she's going to get around that. Triana took away every possible way she could do it."

  "You talk like she'll keep that promise."

  "She will," Tarrin said seriously. "Trust me, Dar. She'll break her own arm before she goes back on that promise, more because she knows how much trouble she'll get into more than the fact that she honors her word. Even Jasana has to know that the trouble wouldn't be worth it, no matter how bad may want me to be a Were-cat again."

  "I hope so, but I still say you keep an eye on her, Tarrin," Dar said soberly. "She's the most dangerous thing in this Tower, of that there is no argument at all."

  "I'll be careful," he assured him. "Now I'm getting hungry. Let's go raid the kitchen."

  With a kitchen like the one in the Tower, raiding it was a rather easy task. The cooks were very quick to offer up any food they wanted, as the katzh-dashi kept no regular schedules and came down to the kitchens whenever they were hungry. Tarrin enjoyed some roasted goose, a few slabs of roasted pork, and some spiced potatos and a thick meat and vegetable stew. Dar took a huge bowl of stew as well, but took some of the strange grain dish that they called rice, something not very common in the West. He filled a bowl with it halfway, then poured his stew over the rice. Tarrin tried it after he saw Dar do it, and he had to admit that the rice did make the stew taste better. They washed it down with some hot spiced wine, something of a specialty of one of the cooks in the kitchens, and after that rather large goblet of wine, Tarrin was feeling a little more adventurous, a little more daring.

  "Alright," he said, rolling up his sleeves like a housewife about to tackle the dishes, "let's get this bath out of the way."

  Dar looked at him, then nearly fell out of his chair laughing.

  The wine did help. Dar led him down into the cellars, and showed him the baths with a grand sweep of his hand. It was a massive pool, about a hundred spans long at least and fifty spans wide, with one end of the pool steaming. The air was hot and muggy, from the hot water, and it smelled slightly like sulfur. Dar told him that the baths were fed by a hot spring, which was why the water was hot and it smelled like that. It was just after sunset, but the late hour didn't make the baths any less popular. About thirty people were currently using them, as Novices in white shirts or dresses scurried around with towels in their arms, staring at the two Sha'Kar who were drying their hair without wrapping towels around themselves. Tarrin already had an understanding of the Sha'Kar, and knew that that was in their character. Sha'Kar weren't too modest.

  Tarrin would have felt alot more self-conscious if he hadn't drank the wine. But he did feel a little trepidation as Dar got towels for both of them and led him to one of the many stone benches that surrounded the pool, many of which had robes or clothes folded neatly atop them, slippers or leather shoes tucked under them. Dar grinned at him as he undid the belt of his robe, but Tarrin didn't give him any satisfaction. The wine had bolstered his nerve, and he boldly removed his clothes, even paused to fold them up neatly and set them on the bench, then he stood there without putting the towel around himself and waited for Dar to finish undressing.

  "I shouldn't have let you drink that wine," Dar laughed as they slipped into the pool.

  The pool was about waist deep on one side, but got deeper as one moved towards the other side of the pool. It had steps descending into the water at the shallow side of the end closest to the stairs leading back up to the main part of the Tower, but the far end of the long pool was empty, for the water was just under boiling and was much too hot for anyone to use. Tarrin and Dar had slipped in along the side of the pool on the shallow end, then they moved out into the middle into warmer water, which also moved them out more or less by themselves. Dar went back for some soap, and then they went about the business of cleaning up.

  As Tarrin was scrubbing his face with soap, he was startled when someone literally jumped onto his back. The sudden weight nearly toppled him forward as arms wrapped around his neck from behind, and he realized that he was hearing laughter through the soap that had gotten into his ears. He spat out soap that had gotten into his mouth, and then realized that he was feeling the naked breasts of a woman pressing against his back. The mystery woman tightened her grip on him and jerked him to the side. She was trying to dunk him into the water! One of her legs dropped down and got between his ankles, and then she hooked the back of her heel around his leg and tried to yank it out from under him. She continued to laugh, and Tarrin finally got his ears cleaned out enough to identify that voice.
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br />   "Auli!" he barked, twisting aside and managing to make her slide partially off of him. The soap helped in that regard. He broke the grip she had with her hands around his neck, then pushed her out and away. He whirled around and got a face full of water as she splashed him, and as he tried to clear soap and water out of his eyes, she grabbed him by the arm, stepped her leg over his, then pushed him. Her leg kept him from catching himself, and he went under without much resistance.

  He came up with an angry expression, but all Auli did was laugh even more. At that moment, the fact that Auli was with them in the baths hadn't impacted on him. "I'm going to show you an Illusion of the expression on your face!"she said with a riot of giggling.

  "That wasn't funny!" Tarrin said accusingly, tilting his head to the side and palming his temple to shake water out of his ear.

  "I thought it was," she grinned shamelessly. "What are you two doing?"

  "What does it look like? We're taking a bath," Dar told her. Tarrin noticed that he was up to his neck in the water. Dar had bent his knees to let the water conceal himself. Auli, on the other hand, had no such reservations. Tarrin had wondered what had been under that dress of hers, and since the water only came up to her waist, he got a good view of some of the things he'd been wondering about. And he had to admit, they looked even better out of the dress than they did in it. She seemed to notice where he was looking, but instead of crossing her arms over her breasts to hide them, she thrust her chest out and advertised the fact that she knew he was looking.

  Tarrin did flush a little at getting caught staring, but Auli only grinned at him and splashed him again. "It's about time I found you two," she told them. "What's the matter with you, Dar?" Auli asked.

  "Nothing," he said with a blush. "We're taking a bath here, Auli. Can you go over there?"

  "I saw you get in the pool, Dar," she grinned. "I've already seen it. You don't have to hide it anymore." She winked. "By the way, did anyone ever tell you that you have a cute butt?"

  Dar turned a shade of purple Tarrin had never seen before. That only made Auli laugh harder.

  Tarrin wasn't about to amuse Auli. He stared right into her eyes and didn't bend his knees like Dar was. He wouldn't give her the satisfaction the same as he wasn't going to give Dar the satisfaction.

  "Thank the Goddess I found you," Auli said with a sigh. "It is so boring!" she complained. "Talk, talk, talk! That's all anyone has done all day! Do this, don't do that, go here, you can't go there, this is your room, this is what you can do, this is what you can't do, I'm tired of it!"

  "There's alot you have to learn, Auli," Dar told her. "It's only helping you to learn it."

  "I know that, but did they have to spend all day boring me to tears?" she huffed.

  "Are you done for today?" Tarrin asked.

  "I am," Auli said adamantly. "I haven't had a chance to do much of anything. I came down here to take a bath, and I guess the Goddess favors me, because you two are here. So, what do you want to do?" she asked with a mischevious grin.

  "I want to finish my bath," Dar said in a slightly hostile tone.

  "Don't let me stop you, Dar," Auli grinned at him. "Want me to scrub your back?"

  "I can manage," he said in a sullen tone. "I'd just be more comfortable if you went over there."

  "Why?" she asked.

  "Because you're a friend of mine," he told her.

  "You told me that you bathe with your friends back in Arkis," Tarrin told him.

  Dar glared at Tarrin. "Well, they're not Auli," he said.

  Then he understood. Auli's flirting with Dar had unbalanced him, and it made him a little uncomfortable to be in the pool with her. Auli seemed to understand it as well, and she laughed lightly. "Oh, is that all?" she asked him, turning around. "Alright then, I'll talk with Tarrin. You go ahead and do whatever it is you need to do." She reached out and snatched up a cake of soap floating on the surface, then waded up to his side and circled behind him. He allowed her to put the soap to his back and start lathering. "What have you done today?" she asked him.

  "Not much," he answered. "I moved into a room, and I spent most of the day with my daughter."

  "The Were-cat?" she asked.

  Tarrin nodded, pulling the braid over his shoulder again after his nodding made it slip behind him. "Sounds like you had a better day than I did," she grumbled. "I've never been so bored!"

  "It'll get better," he assured her.

  "It better, or I'm going to run away," she said in a slightly sulky tone. Her hands were very gentle on his back, thoroughly lathering every finger of skin above the waterline. He didn't jump when her hands slid down under the water, dangerously close to his backside, but she went no further. She put her hands on his shoulders and pushed, and he realized she wanted him to rinse off. He did so, and when he came back up, she was already halfway around him. "Your turn," she said with a challenging smile. She was daring him to refuse to wash her back.

  But Tarrin wasn't one to back down from a challenge. Without batting an eye, he put the soap to her back and started lathering her dark skin. He found it not hard at all to wash her back, mainly because those challenging eyes weren't locked onto his, and he couldn't see anything that would make him feel uncomfortable while he was behind her. He did notice that her skin was very soft, very silky, and her blond hair stood out against it in a very appealing manner. She was very slender, but the flesh under her soft skin was surprisingly firm. He remembered Dar telling him that Auli wandered around alot, and he realized that she was probably in better physical shape than the other Sha'Kar. All of them were thin and looked very soft. Auli had she-softness, but she was in better shape than the others of her race. He scrubbed her back all the way to the waterline.

  "Don't be a coward, Tarrin," she said in a light, soft voice. "Do my whole back."

  Without a word, he slid his hands under the water and scrubbed with his fingers all the way to the small of her back. But just as she stopped, so did he.

  "Are you done yet, Dar?" Auli asked, looking at him as she rinsed off.

  "I'm done," he answered. "What do you want to do after we get dressed?"

  "We'll find something to do," Auli laughed.

  Curiosity getting the best of him, Tarrin reached up and gently pulled Auli's hair away from her ear. Sha'Kar ears tapered up to a definite point, and they gave her a very exotic appearance, much more than her ethereal features. He'd seen their ears all the time from the front and the sides, but had never seen one from the back before. Auli tilted her head and allowed him to look. "What are you doing, Tarrin?" Dar asked.

  "I'm looking at her ear," he replied calmly. "I've never seen one from this close before, or from behind."

  "Just remember, I get a turn," Auli told him in a teasing voice. "And I won't be looking at your ear."

  "Right," Tarrin drawled as he let go of her hair.

  "Well, if we're done, let's get dressed and go do something," Auli announced, wading towards the lip of the pool. Tarrin moved to follow her, thinking she'd turn towards the steps once she reached the edge, but he was wrong. She put her hands on the edge of the pool and hauled herself out. Tarrin paused at the edge of the pool and looked up at her as she climbed out, and his view of her left absolutely nothing--nothing--to the imagination. She turned around and looked down at him with that same slow smile, seeming to be aware that him looking up at her that way all but made him look right at her most intimate charm. "Yes, I'm a natural blond. See?" she said with a wicked smile, pointing to the proof.

  "Auli, you're nasty!" Dar said in a shocked voice, then he laughed in spite of himself.

  "I'm not nasty. I'm beautiful and I know it, boys love to look at me and I like them to look, so why not show off a bit for boys who'll appreciate my beauty?" she countered with a wink and a teasing smile, striking a little pose for their benefit, a pose like some of the sculptures he remembered in Arlan's room back on the island.

  "The eyebrows proved that you're a natural blond," Tarrin said dryl
y as she hauled himself out of the pool. He was not going to give her the satisfaction of thinking he'd be afraid to come out of the pool with her standing there. The cup of wine he drank gave him more courage than he'd usually have, but that almost broke down as well when Auli made absolutely no pretense of excuse. She grinned at him then boldly looked down for a long moment, then looked him in the eyes again and winked.

  "You're a natural blond too. And by the way, it should be a crime to cover that up," she said with a very sly little smile, then she turned and sauntered towards her towel. Tarrin was glad she missed him blushing.

  Auli's boldness took Tarrin a bit aback, but he knew her, thought he had an idea of her personality, and realized that such behavior would be somewhat normal for her. Auli was Sha'Kar, from a different culture than him, and it was a very different, permissive culture. The others had told him about that. Sha'Kar found the nude body to be a very beautiful thing, a work of living art, so they had very little reserve about showing it off, especially Sha'Kar who were very beautiful. All that nude sculpture in Iselde's house certainly proved that to him. For Auli, looking was no big deal, either boys looking at her or her looking at boys, because it was little more than the appreciation for the beauty of the form. That's why it didn't bother her to have both of them see her nude, even to have them see everything, and it was why she wanted to see all of them in return. Because to her, it wasn't only alright for them to look, she wanted them to look, to see her beauty and appreciate it, and she wanted to look at them in return and appreciate the beauty their forms could offer. Many of the Sha'Kar were like that, he realized. The two who'd been there when they arrived weren't making any attempts to cover themselves up either.

  When he understood that, he suddenly did not feel uncomfortable at all in Auli's presence. After all, she was only admiring him, all of him, and what could be wrong with that? She only made the remark to tease him. Were she not in such a playful mood, she wouldn't have said anything.

  Dar wasn't quite so quick to grasp that concept. He jumped out of the pool and literally ran to his bench, wrapping the towel around him as quickly as he could.