Zu Mari stared down the beast-soul warrior, Ruxja Cougar, daring him to contradict Zu's cunning deception.

"Zuma Otta, you say?" Ruxja looked around on the ground as though trying to find something he expected. "Then where is your familiar?"

"Out scouting," Zu answered, waving a hand idly at the forest. "I do not need him by my side at all times."

Avashir's hand went to his sword. "You would let your familiar wander free? Away from where you can watch over him?"

"Yes. He is not weak. I have helped him evolve many stealth abilities and he will not be trapped or hunted. He will do his tasks well and return to me when the time is right." Zu said this with absolute conviction, as it was the honest truth. As long as he didn't mention that Death Shadow was an owl, he should be fine.

"I've never seen anyone of your clan so frivolous about their familiar's safety. And otters are hardly known for stealth evolutions."

"Oh, so I need an otter? Hah, no problem. I'll be sure to get one for next time." The bubble of looping time included a river off to the south. If he couldn't find an otter there, then he could always drop the loop and search further away.

"You are not an Otta." Avashir drew his sword, tattoos lighting up with that dark aura.

"What do the different colours of your tattoos mean?" Zu asked. "I notice they are different sometimes." He did not draw a weapon or shift into an attack stance. This loop was clearly not going to be a good one to fight in, but if he could gather more information his next try could be more successful.

If he was going to be a lying deceiver, then by all the heavens, he would be the best lying deceiver he could possibly become!

The question seemed to catch Avashir off guard. He slipped into a defensive stance, while Ruxja drew his twin curved blades and Luzi slipped off into the forest to set up her usual ambush. Zu would have to be alert for her arrows.

"Right now it's all dark and sinister, kinda like my sword's, but then other times I've seen them white, or silver, or other colours."

"You won't distract us, impostor!" Ruxja stepped forward, blades raised to swing.

Zu did not rise to the confrontaiton but continued to stand calmly. "Is this how the Chartreuse Cougars greet their visitors? With threats and violence?"

Ruxja faltered. "Well, you are clearly a liar."

"And what if I am? Therefore you may attack me unprovoked?"

"He did know the ambassador's name," pointed out the blue-tunic warrior whose name Zu had yet to learn.

Avashir snorted, dismissing the claim. "So would anyone who's ever met them. The Otta are hardly known for stealth or concealment."

"If you do not wish to escort me, then at least answer my questions first before you do anything violent."

Heart of Fire and Spirit of Twilight Death made an odd sound in Zu's mind, something like a snort of laughter, but he wasn't quite sure as the sword then immediately fell silent again.

“Not only an impostor, but a spy as well.” Avashir pointed his sword at Zu. “You’ll get none of our secrets.”

“Oh, but I will.” Zu smiled serenely. “I will have all your secrets. Every last one. The entire clan will be nothing before me. I will wring it out like a damp towel on a hot day, until every drop of your power and secret knowledge is mine.” He turned toward the forest. “Death Shadow! Kill the archer!”

Everyone sprang into motion at once. Zu whipped out Heart of Fire and Spirit of Twilight Death, the blade gleaming with eager light as combat was joined. Arrows flew, but Zu knew their angle and what to expect and swatted them away with his free hand, a quick brush of wind essence knocking them off course.

Zu focused on evasion this time, flowing between strikes, measuring his many foes and slipping away. Avashir was the hardest to keep ahead of, though Ruxja’s wild flailing complicated matters quite a lot on its own. Though he knew by now that he would be defeated in the end, that was no reason to do anything but his best. Indeed, he looked forward to the chance to try again, his mind half occupied with plans for how to inveigle himself into their confidences and take their secrets for himself.

Zu Mari did not do things by half. He would infiltrate and he would infiltrate hard.

And for that, he apparently needed to add an otter familiar to his retinue.

The inevitable deadly blow slipped through his defences and Zu found himself back in the center of the amber time globe. This time, he left the road immediately, stepping into the sky to run above the trees straight toward the distant river.

Death Shadow flew ahead of him, a dark speck against the amber-frozen sky, swooping low over the water as he scouted for any sign of their target.

By the time Zu reached the river, Death Shadow was already on his way back, a wriggling otter pup grasped in his claws.

“Here, great master! I have what you seek!”

Zu reached out and caught the squeaking little creature as it dropped from Death Shadow’s talons. It wriggled and squirmed, yipping and trying to escape. Zu held it firmly as he incanted the Familiar Bond spell. The tiny creature’s soul was nowhere near strong enough to resist; Zu dominated it easily. When the connection snapped into place, it stopped trying to escape and lay quiescent, staring up at Zu with its big eyes.

“Are you going to evolve?” he asked. “Death Shadow evolved immediately.”

The otter blinked up at him, giving no indication of evolving on the spot.

“Oh, well. You’ll have to do.”

The otter scampered up his arm and settled onto his shoulder. It smelled like stinky wet fur. Zu wrinkled his nose at the damp pawprints covering his sleeve.

“Behave yourself,” he warned, and the otter squeaked in assent. “What, you can’t talk?”

The otter squeaked sadly.

“Will you be able to when you’re older?” Death Shadow asked. Zu repeated his question. Though he could understand each of his bonded familiars’ voices, they could not hear each other as clearly.

The otter yipped hopefully.

“Good enough for me. Death Shadow, hide out in the forest. You, Little Otter, stay with me. Time to see if you can pull your weight around here.”