Storm's team had remained at home. Surra, his dune-cat, was in heat. She had not become pregnant last time. But this time he was sure she would. After that she'd bear the first dune-cat cubs to appear in the three and a half years since Terra's destruction. Baku the African eagle might take longer to produce her eggs. But she'd accepted the mate Tani had given her from the ark's tissue samples. Hing, the meercat, had had no scruples about a mate. She'd taken one look at the male offered and accepted him with churring approval.
The meercat group of Hing, her new mate, her four adult offspring, and their mates, were producing a meercat population explosion just at present. Not that this was a problem. The all but extinct Arzoran rinces had occupied an important ecological niche on the planet, since it was they who helped keep several desert species of large insect and small lizard under population control. They also ate the eggs of the big solitary venomous yoris lizard, when they could tease a female from her nest in safety.
The rinces had almost died out after human settlement and a rince plague which followed two generations later. Even scientific intervention had failed to improve their survival rate. The meercats were moving into the rince niche and doing it in style.
Hosteen loved to see them. After so long without a mate Hing was making up for lost time. The original group with added mates had been ten. All had mated and produced so that now the group numbered almost thirty. Normally only the dominant female would have bred, but this time at least, they had been encouraged to ignore custom.
Hosteen and Tani had chosen a second site for a meercat home. Once the babies were adult they'd move half of the group there. Later the meercats would move on to form their own new groups. In time they'd spread across Arzor's desert lands. Both settlers and natives would approve of that; the yoris were having a population explosion of their own and needed the meercats to cut back on the big lizard's numbers.
Up ahead of him he felt a surge of excitement from Tani. She turned to beckon him. He reached her and looked in the cage. He blinked as he studied Prauo.
"What on Arzor is that?"
"I thought you'd know."
Logan joined them. "What's that?"
Hosteen snorted. "I've seen many animals but not that one." He studied the longer gold fur, the gleaming black of the shorter, plusher fur that clad the creature's legs, face, and tail. "I really don't know. It's beautiful but I'm certain I've never seen one like it before. I wonder where it came from."
Laris had been listening quietly, unobtrusive around the cage corner. She allowed herself to be seen as the question was asked. The younger man saw her and nudged his brother. The three of them turned to look at her. Prauo was in her mind.
*Good scent,* he said sleepily.
*Don't distract me. They're the kind who'd notice.* Aloud she spoke politely. "You like my cat, noble visitors?"
Logan spoke first. "He's beautiful. None of us have ever seen one like him before. Were did he come from?"
"Fremlyn," Laris began.
The other man cut in. "I've been to Fremlyn. They don't have an animal like this."
Laris eyed him coolly. "I never said they did. I said he came from Fremlyn. Where his home world is, none of us know. I found him as a tiny starving cub when the circus was there. He was on waste ground at the edge of the port. He's been with me now for a long time. For all I know he was some experimental beast and has no breed."
The girl grinned. "My name's Tani, this is Storm, my husband, and Logan, his brother. I'm pleased to greet you."
Laris nodded. "I'm Laris. You seem to know animals?" Her tone was a question.
Tani laughed softly. "Storm is a beast master, if you've ever heard of them."
"I've heard." Laris closed her mind tight.
Logan smiled. "You should have been one as well," he said cheerfully. "That act with the tigerbats was wonderful. But the stuff on the trapeze had my heart in my mouth." He laughed suddenly. "When that carra caught onto your foot just as you swung, I've never seen anything so funny."
Laris found she was smiling too, seduced into verbal carelessness by the honest praise. "It's part of the act but they enjoy it so much. Sometimes we just add in bits. Everyone does. Particularly if we need to stretch the acts because one's missing."
Tani looked interested. "What act was missing, what happened to it?"
"Nothing much." Darn, it was Cregar who was absent and she shouldn't have mentioned it. She covered quickly. "The trainer has a bad cold. He's resting until he gets over it. He doesn't want to give it to anyone else."
Storm said nothing but he'd heard enough lies in his time to know one when it was thrust at him. So did Tani. She changed the subject with more admiration and speculation as to Prauo's origins. Laris could lose herself in that very happily. But she was careful to suggest nothing of the big cat's other talents. These people weren't fools. She thought that Storm had guessed her to have been less than truthful over the missing act she'd carelessly mentioned.
She showed them around the other beasts, accepted an invitation to eat with them, and found she was enjoying herself. It had been so long since she'd had free time. Afterward she returned alone and walked toward her cabin. Prauo's mind voice broke into her thoughts.
*Dedran waits for you. His mind churns.* With that warning she did not jump as she rounded the corridor bend to find the man waiting. She took the initiative swiftly.
"I've made friends with them as you asked. I think I can get them to invite me to their ranch in a day or two. How hard do you want me to push this?"
His posture relaxed a little. "Don't be obvious. But as quickly as you can apart from that."
Laris wanted to keep him pleased with her. Perhaps the possibility of more information would do that. Technology had advanced in the ten generations since Terrans had first settled another planet. She remembered where she had seen one of the tiny card-sized voice and picture recorders. One of those could tape some five hundred hours of recording, for replay on a larger machine.
"What about taking one of the mini recorders? Cregar had one I could use if he's left it behind."
She saw the last tensions leave his body. "Too dangerous. If they spotted it they'd ask questions. Do nothing to alert them. If they ask you to stay a few days, you may. Don't tell them you're a bond-servant either. I want you to get a look at their security precautions if they have any. See as much of their land as you can."
"I want to take Prauo."
His body tensed again. "Why?"
"Because they're interested in him. The girl wants tissue samples." Dedran snickered at that but said nothing. "And I can use him to check out security more thoroughly. They'll think it natural I have him. The man's a beast master, remember. He's inclined to believe that someone with an animal is more trustworthy." She wasn't at all sure that was true but Dedran would believe it. He did.
"Very well. Prauo can go with you if they ask you to visit and if they're happy with that. In the morning you can drop the news that I've decided to stay a while longer. We'll be performing here for a couple of weeks. After that I plan to rest the animals and performers several more weeks before we leave. See those people as often as possible until the season is finished. After that, hint that you'd like to see their ranches."
"Ranches?"
Dedran grinned nastily. "I said your friends have money. There's the main Quade ranch in the basin. But the old man has land in the Peaks country about five hundred miles away, and Storm and his wife have more land running alongside it up there. Quade mostly lives in the basin, but the other three all spend time at the second place. There's some strange tales about that family." Laris flicked a look at him. He was standing there and she could tell that he'd stopped being suspicious of her and was wondering about Storm, Logan, and Tani. She prompted him.