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snob who wasn't worth their
time.
    The boys all seemed to have decided he was
best given a wide berth. They were unfailingly polite, but none of
them ever gave any kind of indication they considered him a friend.
It was like he moved at the center of an invisible bubble that kept
all of the mundane concerns of the world at arm's length.
    Speaking of movement, Betreec had long since
decided she could watch him move for hours. The current debate in
the dormitories after hours was whether I'rone moved like poetry,
or whether his graceful motions were more deadly in nature.
Personally Betreec was among those who thought he was probably the
closest she was going to ever get to a snow leopard.
    The thought of the mountains' single most
deadly predator sent chills down her neck, and Betreec spared a
brief moment to thank the Goddess that the massive animals only
rarely came up high enough to become a threat to the supply
caravans and traveling Guadel.
    The guard trainees, and even some of the
candidates liked to try and impress the daughters by recounting
bloody stories from fights against snow wolves and bag'ligs. It was
a bit childish since none of them had ever been involved in
anything of the sort, but all of the stories seemed to agree that
snow leopards were among the most vicious creatures ever
created.
    Adult snow leopards had been known to wipe
out small packs of snow wolves. Even large packs would often steer
clear of their feline rivals unless they were particularly hungry.
On the rare occasions when a Guadel family happened upon the scene
of such a fight, they generally found the scattered remains of not
only the snow leopard, but also two or three members of the pack
who'd fallen in the struggle.
    Still, what was terrifying on such a large
predator was somehow comforting and highly desirable on I'rone's
barely smaller frame. Almost despite herself, Betreec began
fantasizing about being married to I'rone. The walking dream
quickly expanded beyond just the marriage ceremony and on to what
it would be like to walk the circuit with him. They would be
unbeatable of course. I'rone was already one of the best swordsmen
in the Capital, but once she linked with him, augmenting his speed
and strength with the magic she'd spent the last few years
learning, he'd be a match for any three normal men.
    Imagining the circuit was nice, but the real
anticipation came from the events leading up to the wedding.
Betreec was deep in a fantasy where I'rone crept into the girls
dormitory to tell her he had to have her for his wife, when the
object of her musings stopped and handed her a water skin.
    "Have you been able to sense her yet?"
    Betreec felt herself blushing. She quickly
tapped into the fiery power that made her a Daughter, and then cast
her senses out in an effort to detect life in their immediate
area.
    "No, there isn't anyone else alive around
us."
    I'rone grunted as he accepted the water back
from her, taking a carefully metered drink of his own. His demeanor
wasn't any more welcoming than it'd been before, but the act of
having responded to one of his questions emboldened Betreec more
than she would have expected.
    "What did Javin mean by telling us not to
cross any streams like that?"
    "Flowing water is especially dangerous in the
cold. Even gurra wool loses some of its ability to insulate when
it's wet. Plus the rock can get very slick. It's likely we'd slip
and fall, completely submerging ourselves in the water if we
weren't careful."
    I'rone seemed ready to lapse back into his
normal silence, but as they came to an area of the tunnel littered
with a veritable obstacle course of fallen rock, he reached back
and took her hand to help her navigate the hazards.
    "Also, if the child were to somehow get into
moving water much deeper than our knees, she'd just be swept away.
Javin wanted to be sure we knew not to assume those risks when
there was no chance of finding the child alive on the other side of
the stream."
    The paired bits