It was deadly silent in the Gunari’s audience chamber. The stable hand that had brought him the news was fidgeting in front of him, nervously fidgeting and resisting the urge to look up. He had his head forced firmly against the floor and waited for the Gunari to grant him leave.

The Gunari himself however was impassively staring at the closed door and almost imperceptibly rocking back and forth in place.

“You’re sure?” he asked, breaking the tense silence.

“Positive, my lord,” the stable boy repeated, “The markings on its face match those in the registry. It’s the Lady Hoshitentou’s personal mount that returned to the nest … By itself.”

The only move the Gunari made was placing his hand on the floor, drumming his fingers on the mat as he thought of ways to put himself at ease.

“What of the Lady Gitori? Her companion?”

The stable boy swallowed hard, then quietly responded, “Nothing of her, my lord. Nor of her hornet.”

Sinking back into his quiet contemplation, the Gunari sighed, then suddenly snapped at the stable boy.

“Sit still, child. I’m not going to behead you for bringing me bad news.”

“My lord?”

The Gunari stood up and folded his arms, “If I killed everyone who brought me bad news, I’d have no court left.”

“Understood, my lord,” the stable boy muttered, trying to force himself to calm down. He was glad when the Gunari finally came to a decision.

“Tell the Lord of the Watch to send out a wing of cavalry in the morning. Have them find out what happened to the Lady Hoshitentou and her companion. … And send me a scribe. I need to send a message.”

“Understood, my lord,” the stable boy said, then hurriedly crawled backwards out of the audience chamber, bumped into the sliding paper doors which he almost broke,

He muttered an apology to the Gunari, who wasn’t listening, opened the door with his foot, then quickly rushed to perform his duties.

Rangu had, to Nana and Rei’s relief, different clothes to wear. Had they not known what was under the wide Giya clothing and wicker hat, they’d have mistaken him for any of the many traveling Emubo that plagued the empire with their directionless violence. Nana was less pleased to see that very much against the laws of the land, the Pagga wore the double blades of the Giya. He had the swagger in his step that was common to the arrogant warrior class, even while leading his human counterparts through the thick foliage.

As such, the misgivings Nana had had about taking the demihuman along were replaced with gratitude at his knowledge of the jungle’s hidden roads and shortcuts. With their native guide, she felt like they made good time.

As they walked in the back of the group, she studied the little sky she could see, trying to find the two moons to calculate the time, but the thick canopies of giant leaves above her made anything more than wild guessing impossible.

Rei looked over her shoulder at the lagging Nana.

“We should rest,” she said, knowing Nana would not listen, “Your legs needs it.”

“Can sleep when we’re home,” Nana panted, clenching her teeth to ignore the pain, “We’re in a hurry, Rei.”

“Nana,” Rei said sharply, “We’re making camp soon.”

“We are not,” Rangu said, stopping to push his way through some vines, “Unless you wish to be food after all.”

“Is that a threat?” Nana demanded, instinctively reaching for her blade and grasping only air as Rei still had her weapons.

“Only if you think I speak for the green ones.”

“The green ones?” Rei asked, stopping to help Nana over a lichen-covered fallen tree.

“The…” Rangu started, then stopped to think before finally shaking his head, “I forget your name for them, but they are always hungry and not

fussy about their prey.”

“Then we keep moving,” Rei sighed, “How long till we rest?”

“Just a short hop,” Rangu said and continued forcing his way through the forest.

'Just a short hop, was not as short as Rei had imagined. She had ended up with the protesting Nana slumped over her shoulder and the walk had been so long that dawn had broken when Rangu finally deemed it safe to rest.

Rei lightly helped Nana down to sit on a rock, then looked at where Rangu had chosen for the respite at the end of their forced march. She smiled wide, dropped the blades from her side, then dropped her dress and jumped in the river. She disappeared under the surface and Rangu looked curiously at Nana.

Nana just shrugged.

“She is not…?”

Rei burst above the water again and screamed in delight as the water had refreshed her.

“Shumen like water?” Rangu asked, confusion in his words, “You do not have…”

He raised one hand to splay his webbed fingers and pointed at it with his other.

“We can’t swim as well as your kind, no,” Nana agreed, “But we still like to swim. Some of us anyway. I’d rather have a hot bath.”

“Hot...water?” the Pagga laughed, “This far from the volcano?”

“Put a fire under it?” Nana offered, slightly incredulous that such a simple concept didn’t occur to the Pagga, then simply sank down on her knees on the bank to drink from the river.

Rangu didn’t pursue the subject, instead he stared at the sky, as if he heard something, though made no further comment to it.

“What’s that noise,” Rei, who was lazily getting out of the water asked, following Rangu’s eyes.

She pointed and, out of habit, Nana tutted her, “Don’t point. It’s ru…”

“It’s rude,” Rei finished impatiently, “Look!”

Nana looked up to see a dozen hornets skimming over the jungle. They neatly flew in a v-formation, from which the occasional hornet broke off to swoop over the trees, then to return to the squadron.

Even from the ground they could see the banners carried by the two fliers following closest to the leader. One was the personal flag of the Gunari, a stylized orange flower with the red silhouette of a bee on it. The other was a black field with three sets of three orange dots in a triangular formation. Nana knew it as the heraldry of the Third Wing of the Gunari’s personal cavalry.

“Oh,” she said, “I wonder if they’re searching for us.”

“For your sake I’d hope they send someone else for us,” Rei laughed, “That’s probably Shoko.”

“So?”

“So, she hates you.”

“She wouldn’t leave me to rot. I owe her a duel.”

“You’re in no condition to fight, Nana.”

“As much as Shoko dislikes me, she won’t force a duel when I’m wounded. She’s not without honor.”

Rei cast Nana a dubious look.

“Besides,” she continued, “It’s all academic anyway. They won’t see us.”

Rangu looked at Nana, then back to the sky. He shook his head, which was clearly a gesture that did not come natural to the Pagga. He had most likely taught it to himself put humans at ease in his presence. Nana made a mental note that the Pagga might come into contact with her own kind more often than she had realized.

“For you, I hope they see us, but shumen rarely look properly.”

One of the hornets broke off from the group, sharply raced over the trees as close as the rider dared. Rei put a hand up to wave, hoping that the unexpected movement along the river would catch their eye, but she never finished the motion.

The rider rolled over its axis, did a few loops and other tricks, in short, making a spectacle of themselves. When they were doing show off, they returned to the group.

“They won’t find us,” Nana sighed, her tone definite, “They’re just playing around and pretending to be looking. …If they’re searching for us to begin with. Might just be a practice flight.”

“Anyway,” Rei said, dejected, “Guess we’re walking.”

“Looks like,” Nana agreed, attempting to get to her feet, “So we better get moving.”

Rei quickly stepped next to her and forced her down before she had a chance, “We’re resting first. Rangu, can you find something to eat?”

“For you or me?”

“Both.”

The pagga’s tongue shot out of its mouth, he used it to grab bug that had been hovering above the water. He swallowed, then tapped his hat in acknowledgment of the task before disappearing back into the jungle.

“Nana, get some sleep,” Rei said firmly.

“Yes, mother...” Nana replied with some irritation.

Rei gave her a placating smile, then sank back down on the riverbank, watching the group of hornets in the distance.

“Well, even if they were searching, they clearly weren’t looking hard enough, Nana. … Nana?”

Rei smiled when she saw she had fallen asleep.

Rangu had brought the women some berries and other fruits every so often, but aside from that, the day had been rather fruitless.

Nana and Rei had taken turns sleeping, unsure if they could trust their newfound companion, but if Rangu took any offense to that he hadn’t shown it. He hadn’t bothered them as they regained their energy, instead option to practice with the stolen blades when he wasn’t collecting fruit. Nana had watched his clumsy strokes with mild contempt, while Rei had taken the time to offer him some pointers, though the pagga’s gangling limbs didn’t seem to be suited to the the styles she had learned when she was younger.

“Think we can leave yet?” Nana asked, ripping another strip from her dress to change the bandage on her leg, “I’d rather not stay in the jungle longer than we have to.”

“Your kind shouldn’t,” Rangu agreed, then frowned, “What’s that noise?”

Nana and Rei shared a look, then listened carefully, hearing nothing but the sounds of the jungle’s night creatures waking up.

“What do you hear?”

“Singing,” Rangu continued, then darted his tongue upstream, “That direction.”

“You can just point next time,” Rei said dryly, “If you want to blend in anyway. What song?”

“I don’t know,” he replied, “Pagga don’t sing. That is your habit. But I can tell you what they’re singing?”

Nana and Rei nodded. The Pagga looked flabbergasted, then remembered it meant assent for the humans.

He listened carefully for a moment, then relayed what he heard.

“There is… a woman. The tone is happy, but the text is sad. She sings for her child, who was taken by… By….”

“Pagga?” Nana suggested.

Rangu’s face fell slightly, as far the two women could tell anyway, “Sounds like, yes.”

“Minami’s Lament,” Rei and Nana said together. The Pagga didn’t reply, unsure what it meant, though Nana and Rei knew. Minami’s lament was a common song, popular with river sailors of all kinds. The rhythm was perfect to stroke the oars of the riverboats to and the full song had over two hundred verses, which generally changed by province, so the sailors rarely got bored of it.

“Probably hosseru,” Nana said, “Which means we can commandeer their ship.”

They stood up and waited for the oncoming boat.

“Oh,” Rei said, her excitement at rescue fading, “It’s Susume.”

The first of the boats they saw was a flat barge that held the massive rainbow shelled snail that they had last seen when leaving Choukishi.

“They made good time,” Nana sighed, “Unlike us… That tantuo storm…”