Watching with Blossom as the strange warriors streamed in through the greeting hall entrance, Heart felt an odd combination of dismay and relief. Indigo Cloud had never had this many visitors in its entire history, at least as far as their still existing records said, and it was daunting. But if the attack did come the way the visions had suggested, the Fell were going to get an unpleasant surprise.
Vine, who stood nearby, said, “They’re showing off. They’re not really this organized all the time.”
Heart snorted. He was clearly jealous. “Keep telling yourself that,” Blossom told him, unsympathetic.
The Opal Night warriors all seemed to be on the large side, with strong lean muscles and good conformation. Heart could tell they spent a lot of time in the air, a lot of time hauling and carrying, and maybe fighting, too. It was a contrast to the Emerald Twilight warriors Heart had seen, who all seemed very sleek and well-fed and strong, but not this intimidating. And each group that entered was well-behaved, jostling each other good-humoredly. They all stopped to stare up in admiration at the tree’s great well. The enormous space spiraled up through the trunk, with balconies and round doorways leading off into the upper levels. They pointed out the curving stairways and the carved pillars, and the waterfall dropping dramatically down to its pool.
Floret, Aura, and Selene managed the influx, greeting the warriors rapidly and sending the different groups off with an Arbora soldier or teacher to take them to their quarters. The Opal Night warriors caught on to this system immediately, with one from each group going to join the crowd around the three female Indigo Cloud warriors and politely shifting to groundling to wait for their attention, while the others dumped their packs on the floor and settled down to wait. The younger Indigo Cloud warriors who weren’t on patrol or helping Floret were gathered on the balconies, watching and, Heart hoped, learning some decorum. So far none of them had made any trouble, but maybe that was because Blossom kept catching the gaze of her warrior clutchmate Fair and making motions indicating that if he and his friends started anything that she would finish it.
A group of smaller, rounder figures entered next and Heart stared in surprise. “They brought Arbora!”
“That’s a relief.” Blossom craned her neck to see the newcomers. “We can use the help.”
The Arbora seemed pleased to be here, regarding the greeting hall with approval as they shed their packs. One saw Heart and Blossom and came forward, the warriors parting for him respectfully. Heart went to meet him, Vine and Blossom following her. As the stranger reached her, he said, “I’m Auburn, mentor of Opal Night.”
It was even better that Opal Night had brought another mentor. Heart named herself, Blossom, and Vine, and said, “All of you are welcome here.” That was especially true; Arbora of different courts didn’t get a chance to meet much, except on the occasional trading visit.
Auburn thanked her politely, and added, “I wanted to ask after the warrior Chime, who visited at Opal Night with us once.”
Blossom said, “Chime isn’t here. He went with the sister queen’s party to the sel-Selatra.”
Auburn took that in with a worried expression. “I hope they are all well.”
“So do we,” Heart admitted. “The waiting hasn’t been easy.”
Vine leaned in to ask, “How did so many warriors move so fast?”
Auburn turned to him, explaining, “Small groups of warriors travel ahead, carrying some of the hunters and a mentor. They prepare camps, and hunt for game, so food and places to rest are ready when the larger groups come through. We’ve done this before on a small scale, but never with quite so many warriors. The mentors had to consult the old Suspended Forest Travels and Recorded Court Movements. Not a book anyone has much reason to look at nowadays, but very helpful.” He glanced around. “I should get back to the others and help move the supplies.”
Blossom kicked Heart in the ankle and Heart said hurriedly, “I hope you and the other Arbora will join us in the teachers’ hall later.”
Auburn thanked her for the invitation, and returned to the Opal Night Arbora.
Heart turned to Blossom, who spread her hands helplessly. Blossom said, “Don’t look at me, I’ve never heard of a court moving that many warriors, let alone like that.”
Vine asked hopefully, “Do we have that book?”
Heart sighed. It was obviously not only the Indigo Cloud warriors who were going to feel inadequate during this visit. “I’ve never heard of it. We should probably try to trade for a copy.” Much of the court’s library had been lost during the chaos of the long journey from the Reaches so many turns ago. Heart and the other mentors and teachers were still coming to the realization of just how much must have been left behind along the way.
Blossom gave Vine a poke. “Floret’s glaring at you.”
Heart looked. Floret was glaring and would have been flicking spines if she wasn’t in her groundling form. Vine muttered, “All she had to do was ask, I’ve been standing right here,” and went off to join her.
“Aeriat,” Blossom sighed. “Sometimes I wonder what our ancestors were thinking.”
Heart absently agreed to this sentiment, much expressed among older Arbora. “I just hope they’re all settled by the time the other queens get here.” The messengers had been sent just after Malachite had left to follow Jade and the others. With Indigo Cloud and Opal Night both experiencing the dreams and visions, it had been obvious it was time to convince the other courts the danger was real. But the messengers had brought back the news that the mentors of Emerald Twilight, Sunset Water, and some other allies had begun to have similar visions. Arranging the meeting of the queens at Indigo Cloud had been easier than anyone had anticipated.
Now the only problem was Pearl. She had seemed to agree that a meeting of allied queens was a good idea, but Heart knew from experience how quickly Pearl could change her mind. And just because Pearl thought something was a good idea didn’t mean she actually wanted to do it. “How do you think this will go?”
Blossom said slowly, “That depends on what kind of day Pearl is having, doesn’t it? If she’s down, it’ll be a disaster. But you know, she’s been better since the day we got here, and even better than that since Jade had a healthy clutch. So the chances are good.”
Heart hated relying on luck. Flower, the mentor who had taught her, who had been so important in the fight to bring the court here to safety, had tried over and over again to help Pearl. It’s melancholia, Flower had told her, there’s nothing to be done but wait and hope. It was the product of Pearl’s consort Rain’s death, the death of so many clutches, of Pearl’s sister queen, all the others, from the illness and misfortune that had haunted the old colony. Being away from the Fell influence on the old court had helped immeasurably, but Pearl was . . . still Pearl. And Heart didn’t know how much help Celadon was going to be. “I wish Jade was here.”
Blossom leaned against her shoulder in brief comfort. “Me, too,” she said, and went off to help the soldiers show the waiting Arbora to their guest quarters.
South, the Drylands
They had been flying all night, taking advantage of a strong south wind, and Moon was relieved when Stone circled down to the valley. It wasn’t an ideal place to stop and rest, but at least it was there.
The terrain was mostly barren sandy ground with sparse grass, punctuated by low rises and some scrub brush and one lone tree. Moon came in low, tasting the air and catching the scents of dryland flowers and sand.