The Quest of Briar di Vail

The sun was setting by the time Briar di Vail remembered the notes from Lore of Beasts that she'd left in the classroom. Most of the other students on the campus had already vanished into various dining halls, but she and her three companions had lingered outside the Great Manor, gossiping about Maggia's older brother and his new romance.

She left Alenne and Maggia listening to Celiane describe a sixth year boy she'd trained with the previous day and dashed back into the Great Manor's classroom wing. Master Machabe's classroom was on the third floor, and she ran all the way. The dining rooms would be closing soon and she was hungry, but she needed the notes to study over the weekend.

When she slipped into the classroom, though, her desk was clean and empty, just like all the others. As she looked around wildly, from the back of the room Whisperwing, Machabe's exotic pet bird, whistled a soft greeting. The papers at the bottom of the gray bird's spacious cage caught her attention, but she shook her head. Machabe was a fearsome teacher, but she was certain that he wouldn't actually use forgotten notes as wastepaper for his bird. Almost certain.

She went to her desk and peered under the chair, her brown hair flopping into her eyes as she bent over. The floor was as clean as if it had just been swept, which was probably true; the janitors had probably come through here already. Would they have thrown away her notes? In his cage, Whisperwing moved about, rustling quietly, and then whistled again.

She crouched beside her chair for a moment, considering, and then looked at Machabe's desk. It was meticulously arranged, just as the bookshelf behind it was. There was a blotter, a sand-sifter, a selection of pens and inks, and a chalk-holder. There were some select books on one side of the desk, and an array of leather folders on the other side. In the center of the blotter was a single folder, and stacked on it were some papers.

"What in the world are you doing on the floor, Briar?" The voice was familiar, a cool, silken drawl that always made Briar's hackles rise. But it was also completely unexpected, and so in turning abruptly to face Edon, she sprawled backwards. Whisperwing whistled shrilly, his wings thumping as he fluttered back off his perch in surprise.

The desk was between Edon and Briar as she scrambled to her feet, but she could just imagine the other girl's eyebrow rising in that supercilious way she had. That image more than the embarrassment of her fall made Briar flush crimson.

Like Alenne and Maggia, Briar shared a suite with Edon. But while she, Alenne and Maggia were the best of friends, Briar wasn't sure Edon got along with anybody.

There was a taller figure, male, behind Edon, and Briar sighed. Well, she wasn't sure Edon got along with anybody in Talence College, anyhow. It was an extremely small school, though, and Edon was as popular with the members of other schools as one of the students of any of the larger glamour colleges.

"I'm looking for my notes," she told Edon sullenly, and moved towards the desk at the front of the room.

"Oh really," murmured Edon as she glided to the desk herself. "What a coincidence." Briar stopped awkwardly in the middle of the classroom as Edon began to shuffle through the paper stack on the folder.

"Did you forget your notes too?"

"Do you think I'd be here now for any other reason?" Edon sorted through the papers carefully in the dim light.

Briar flushed again. Edon never answered a question directly if she could help it. Silently she fumed for a minute; why had such an obnoxious girl chosen to go to Talence, of all schools? Then her stomach rumbled and she was reminded how empty it was. That, in turn, reminded her of her other suitemates waiting for her downstairs.

She moved to the window, saying, "If you see my notes in there, pull them out as well?" Then she shielded her gaze and peered out the window. She could just make out the silhouettes of Alenne and Maggia on the path below. Her stomach growled again.

"Guron, do you hear an animal of some sort in here?" Edon addressed the question to the shadowy boy standing at the doorway.

Briar's hand clenched on the latch to the window and then she flipped it up and pushed the window open. It creaked, as if it hadn't been opened in years. Leaning halfway out the window, she called down to her friends, "Hey! I'll be longer than I thought. You should go get dinner and I'll catch up later."

Below, Maggia cupped her hands around her mouth and called up, "We saw Edon go in with a boy--" and stumbled to one side as Alenne nudged her heavily. Maggia was rarely as adroit as Alenne at anything social.

Then again, neither was Briar. She glanced over her shoulder; the boy had moved slightly into the room, and she thought she recognized him as a Magorethe sixth year. Turning back to the window, she called down, "Yeah, I know."

Alenne shouted, "We'll save you a seat."

Behind Briar, Edon said, "Could these unreadable scrawls belong to you, Briar? Let me see... Who is 'Sandar'? Oh, isn't he that fifth year--"

Panic bloomed in Briar's stomach as she remembered what she'd been doodling in the margins of her notes, and she lunged towards Edon. "Give me those!"

The other girl slipped away with the grace of a dancer, still contemplating the notes. From the corner of the room, Whisperwing whistled again, but Briar barely heard the bird over the blood rushing in her ears. "I'm serious, Edon. Give those back or--"

"Or?" inquired Edon sweetly. Her companion moved further into the room, and Briar stomped her foot in hot fury.

"You're such a bitch, Edon! Why in the world are you always so mean? Why don't you transfer to Marianne or something, where you belong?"

Something flickered in Edon's face, and then she flung the notes at Briar. They flattened and scattered, and as Briar was snatching at them, Edon picked up another stack of papers and stalked from the room, the sixth year boy following after her.

Briar scarcely had a chance to curse under her breath before another rush of air pushed some of her notes away from her snatching hand. Whisperwing whistled again, but not from the corner, and when Briar glanced around, his cage door was open wide.

Dread filling her, Briar slowly turned around to face the open window. There sat Whisperwing, preening his feathers gently. Then he raised his head and tilted it, looking at her.

Briar croaked, "Whisperwing. Whisperwing, go back to your cage..." She took a slow, cautious step towards the gray bird. Machabe loved his pet. Sometimes he let it out to fly around the room or perch on his desk during a lesson. The cage must not have been firmly shut.

The bird hopped along the windowsill, whistling cheerfully, and Briar skipped a step nervously. Then he was out of sight and she hurried to the window and peered out. It was almost totally dark, but she could see the bird's silhouette on the sill just a few feet away, and hear its soft crooning. The lights from the Meadowlands skyland drifting silently above the city were reflected in its eyes.

Down below, a door shut. "Whisperwing," she hissed, and tapped her fingers lightly on the stone casing, trying to attract its attention without startling it. It cocked its head and hopped a step closer to her, and she leaned way out the window, stretching her fingers out. She'd stroked that gray head before. It liked to be scratched right on the crown. She'd gladly scratch it for an hour if it would just hop a few steps closer and onto her hand.

From below, Edon's voice floated up. "Briar, there's no need to jump if you're that upset. I won't tell anybody what you wrote about Sandar."

Briar's hand clenched into a fist and before she could stop herself, she turned and shrieked down at the other girl, "Go the hell away, Edon!" Whisperwing squawked and the breeze from the bird's wings caressed Briar's cheek as it fluttered away. "Whisperwing!" she shouted, but the bird was gone, vanished into the darkness.

"Sweet sky, Briar," called up Edon. "Did you let Whisperwing go? Better find it fast… lucky for you Machabe's gone for the weekend."

Briar slammed the window shut and sank down into the dimness of the classroom for a moment, trembling with rage and nerves. Then she shoved herself to her feet and picked up her scattered notes, one by one. She squared the corners on her desk and looked guiltily at the open cage. If Machabe came back on Northday and the cage was still empty, he would raise ancient hells until the culprit was found. And there was no hiding, not if Edon knew. Old Machabe could always tell when students were lying, too.

Slowly she trudged across campus, every so often muttering, "Whisperwing?" and shielding her gaze against the lamps that were flickering on as the evening settled. As she neared the Statuary, her own dorm, the white light of the wizard lamps was replaced by the softer glow of firelights. The bronze and marble statue collection for which her home was famous began without warning, with a lady carved of marble staring imperiously down at Briar as she walked along. Briar barely noticed, though; she'd been living in the Statuary for four years now, just like all Talence students.

The curving path ended in a large courtyard that was crammed with statues of all shapes and sizes. Students from other dorms, other schools, loved to tell ghost stories about the Statuary, but Talence girls had to live there, and they got used to it. The dorm itself curved in a half-circle around the courtyard, rising three floors. Each suite had a balcony and Briar's eyes automatically tracked to her own. It was dark, and she suddenly remembered that she was starving, and she'd missed dinner by now.

The inside of the Statuary had its own collection of statues, although these were smaller for the most part. Some were moved around regularly; Briar stepped absently over a knee-high carved cat that somebody had pushed in front of her suite door. Inside the parlour, she collapsed in an old, padded chair without bothering to awaken the wizard lamp, and covered her eyes.

By the time she heard Alenne and Maggia pushing the cat in front of the door aside as they bickered amiably, she felt a little bit better. She had a plan. She might be expelled if she couldn't return Whisperwing to its cage by the day after tomorrow, but at least she had a plan.

Her friends opened the door. Alenne brushed her fingers across the wizard lamp to awaken it, and then jumped back with a little gasp. Maggia, peering over her shoulder, said, "There you are, Briar. We brought you a sandwich."

Alenne, more perceptive, said, "What's wrong, Briar?" She dropped her bag on the floor by the door and settled down in another chair.

Briar blurted, "I accidentally let Whisperwing go." Then she sank back into the depths of her chair again, the confidence she'd gained from concocting a plan gone as she reconsidered the enormity of what she'd done. Machabe really liked his pet, certainly more than he liked any of his students.

Maggia's eyes were round. "What are you going to do?" Absently, she pulled a parcel from her own bag and passed it to Briar.

Briar fumbled with the string that tied the parcel shut. "I thought… I thought I'd see if Yalaine could help. And birds like to stay in the same place, right? So if I go back to the Great Manor tomorrow morning early, maybe it will be sleeping in a tree outside." She gave up and snapped the string with her teeth. Then she glanced up at Maggia and Alenne. "Will you help me, too?"

Alenne said, "Of course," and Maggia nodded as well.

Briar felt mildly reassured, and her appetite returned with a rush. She ate the sandwich in five bites, barely tasting it, and then went to the double she shared with Alenne to get some cookies she'd made last weekend. After demolishing those, she and her friends set off towards the north side of the Statuary, Briar describing the details of her encounter with Edon as they went.

Along with Talence, three other small schools used the Statuary as a dormitory, one of the healing colleges and the two oracular colleges. Nydene, the girl's oracular college, was the smallest school in the University, and it rarely had more than a handful of students. Right now, it had four. One of them was a first year, and kept under strict supervision. Two of them were sixth years. Yalaine was a fourth year, like Briar, and originally from a farm in the enemy nation Westmarche. In her second year at the University, she'd retreated into the depths of the north wing of the statuary, living alone among dusty classrooms and less popular statues.

It was dark in the north wing, and the statues that populated the darkness were turned to line the center of the halls, as if they were watching those who walked through them. They'd each brought a little lantern, and many of the statues were familiar. Yalaine lived in a housekeeper's apartment on the first floor, at the end of a long hall. Each of the rooms along the hall had its door wide open, and each had its own grouping of statues within. Yalaine's room also had the door open, but only halfway, and when Briar rapped on the door and called, "Yalaine?" there was no answer.

Maggia looked around, wide-eyed, and pulled her shawl close around her dramatically. "She says we should just leave her a note when we come by and she's not home. Or else we could get lost in the statuary." She shivered in delight and cupped her little lantern close.

"Maggia, how come everybody else got over being frightened of the statues when we were twelve, but you revel in it?" Alenne teased Maggia. There was a pad of paper tacked to Yalaine's door, with a stick of charcoal tied to another nail. Briar looked down the hallway again and then sighed and wrote, 'Have you seen this bird? --Briar' and drew a messy little sketch of Whisperwing.

Then she considered poking around the rest of the north wing anyhow. Nydene students were not known for their reliability and she could only guess at when Yalaine would actually read the message. Of course, she couldn't be sure Yalaine would be able to help, either.

"Tap, tap," said Yalaine, behind them.

Maggia shrieked into her hands as she spun around. Briar couldn't prevent a squeak of her own, and then sagged against the doorframe as Yalaine smiled broadly at the three of them. Alenne was as composed as ever, of course.

"A gray bird? You opened the classroom window and it pushed its cage open and flew out?"

"You know," breathed Briar.

Yalaine nodded at the door behind Briar. "You told me."

Briar glanced over her shoulder at the pad of paper tacked to the door, but her message hadn't changed. But Yalaine always seemed to know the unsaid details of anything anybody told her. It was why she had so few friends, and why Briar hoped she'd be able to help.

"Do you know where it is now? Can you help us find it?"

Yalaine slipped between them and into her room before turning around and shaking her head. "I only know what you know about it. Would you like some tea?" she inquired politely. "I might be able to help you find it. But I need your help in exchange."

"Yes, please," Briar said, following Yalaine. "What do you mean?"

Yalaine picked up a kettle that was hanging over the fireplace and tossed her hair, giving Briar an amused and exasperated look. "My homework this week starts with figuring out what my mentor wants me to do. That part was easy. But what she wants me to do is find an item that her familiar hid. Or tell her how to find it, anyhow. I don't think I can do that without finding Jahane, her familiar, and asking her. Which won't happen, because Jahane doesn't want to be found." She poured tea into four mismatched teacups and began to pass them out.

"It's awfully unfair. I'm terrible at figuring out things that somebody doesn't already know." She gave Briar a pointed look, and Briar had the good grace to look embarrassed, her fingers curling around her cup. She'd known Yalaine for four years, but sometimes she couldn't stop herself from getting excited about her friend the oracle student instead of just her friend Yalaine.

Yalaine settled onto a cushion on the floor and sipped her tea. "I can't find Jahane, but I can find somebody who can find Whisperwing for us." She looked up and smiled at them, her gaze going to Maggia.

Maggia had her nose buried in her teacup. She raised her head hastily. "I've talked to Jahane before. She's cute."

Yalaine said politely, "One may certainly think that." Briar hadn't encountered the familiar of the newest teacher on campus, but she'd heard more than one of Sohlu's students complaining bitterly about Jahane. Maggia was the odd one, as usual.

Briar gnawed on her lip for a moment and then said, "Do you think she'd tell us even if we could find her? Do you think one of the nature kids can find Whisperwing?" Anxiety stabbed through her stomach. "I'm afraid that even if we catch it, somebody will tell Machabe."

Yalaine was silent, swirling her cup gently. Then she said, "Maybe. I was thinking of one of the farmers, though." She blew her breath out. "If you can't find out where it is from Jahane, I'll try something else. I don't know what they want from me," she added irritably.

Briar said, "Can't you tell? I thought you always knew?"

Yalaine shook her head. "Master Sohlu can keep things secret from me. That's why they made her my mentor."

Briar looked inquisitively at Maggia, who blushed and said, "We can go visit Jahane, I suppose."

Yalaine pulled her knees up to her chest. "Excellent. We could meet at lunch tomorrow and go visit Riyad in the afternoon."

They spent the rest of the evening in idle chatter, although Briar spent most of her time curled up in her chair quietly; she was too worried to relax. When it grew late and they rose to make their way back to their own suite, Yalaine said, "There is one thing-" and she looked at Briar seriously. "Don't let your temper distract you, Briar. The bird flew when you let yourself look away."

Briar snapped, "That was Edon's fault!" and then she looked down, embarrassed by her outburst.

Yalaine said softly, "Goodnight, Briar."

Maggia woke Alenne and Briar up before dawn, barely giving them time to get dressed before pushing them out the suite door and closing it ever so softly. In the hallway, she stage-whispered, "Edon came back earlier this morning. I didn't want to wake her."

Alenne gathered her chestnut hair up in her hands and pulled it behind her head, then dropped it helplessly. "Why did you wake us up?"

Maggia set off briskly down the hall and Briar glanced at Alenne and then followed after her. After a moment, Alenne exhaled loudly and joined them at the staircase.

Maggia explained, "This is the best time to talk to Jahane. I think. I hope."

Alenne made a sour face and turned that look on Briar. "If you get expelled, I bet I'll have to room with her." She jerked her head at Maggia and tugged on her hair again. "The gods only know why a tomboy like you and a eccentric like you are in a glamour college. Sane people would let me brush my hair." After a while, her morning muttering trailed off into silence as they tramped across the dawn campus.

Maggia led them to a collection of bungalows near Lavender House and unhesitatingly went to the third one, where she rapped softly on the door.

A little girl who looked no more than nine years old immediately opened it. She had softly curling, immaculately groomed blond hair, and was wearing a pair of overalls with a duck embroidered on the chest. She gave them a hostile look and Maggia quickly said, "Hello, Jahane."

"Sohlu's asleep. It's dawn. Are you maniacs? Go away before I give you more pimples." Jahane made to close the door.

Maggia crouched down and said quickly, "We wanted to talk to you, not Sohlu."

Jahane looked at them suspiciously. "Why?" But she stepped outside and shut the door behind her.

Maggia opened and closed her mouth, and then looked helplessly at Briar and Alenne.

Her plan never went further than this, Briar thought, and was amused despite her anxiety. "We're looking for something," she said cautiously. But she didn't know what to say after that.

Jahane's blue eyes narrowed. "Oh?" She cocked her head and looked back at Maggia. "I know you. You're the strange girl. But who are your friends?"

Alenne said, her voice cool, "My name is Alenne Leonce and this is Briar di Vail." She tilted her head and looked Jahane over dubiously. "So you're Master Sohlu's familiar. I thought her familiar was invisible, though."

Maggia whispered, "That's Acala. She has two."

Alenne said dismissively, "Ah. We probably want Acala, then."

Jahane snorted. "Can't you girls even keep track of who you want to talk to?"

Alenne smiled like a cat in the cream. "Of course we can. We can keep track of all sorts of things. I have to wonder, though, if Master Sohlu would give something she wanted to hide to a child… or to an invisible familiar."

Jahane scowled at them. "You're here for that oracle girl. Is she really that stupid?"

Maggia started to say something and then covered her mouth, looking wretched. Briar, though, had no compunctions about arguing with the familiar.

"Of course she's not. What do you mean, is she stupid?"

But Jahane just looked at Briar briefly, and said nothing.

Alenne, though, continued thoughtfully. "I mean, if I wanted to lose something, I might give it to a child. But I'm sure Acala is better at hiding things." She nudged Maggia. "We should talk to him instead." Briar watched Jahane's expression steadily darken.

Alenne added, "It's just as Edon was telling everyone. Some familiars are just better than others. Sohlu obviously knows this." She said kindly to Jahane, "We're sorry for bothering you. We had you confused with Acala. We'll have to ask him where he hid the item."

Jahane looked absolutely furious. Her little hands were clenched into fists, and she opened her mouth, drawing breath as if to shout something. But then her jaw snapped shut and she simply glared at them, muttered, "Obnoxious brats," and turned and vanished through the door.

Maggia backed away from the door, into the shade of a tree, looking just as furious as Jahane. "Alenne, I was trying to be her friend! What were you doing?"

Alenne and Briar followed Maggia, Briar saying quietly, "I think she was trying to trick--"

The shadow of the tree darkened around them, and for a moment Briar thought a sunskip had happened. Then, dimly, she could see the light outside the shadow's edge. Inside the shadow, though, the darkness was as deep as the sea. She took a deep breath, and another one, trying to fight down fear. "Maybe angering a familiar was a bad idea..."

There was low laughter around them, trembling against their skin. Amusing one was a good idea, though.

"Thank you," said Alenne, sounding poised despite her tangled hair and shaking hands. Briar didn't know how she did it. The blackness wrapped around them like a living thing.

"Acala," breathed Maggia, curling her arms around herself.

A reward, then. The other one carries the crystal ball on her person, her child form. I could fetch it, if you'd like.

There was a moment of perfect silence, and the dawn-touched campus seemed as far away as the stars. And then Alenne said, "No, thank you. We just wanted to know where it was."

It was rapidly getting colder in the shade of the tree and Briar hugged herself. Acala's voice made her think of midnight and velvet. Very well.

The shadow abruptly returned to normal, and Briar scrambled into the sunlight and collapsed on the grass. Alenne followed her, falling to her knees, and said faintly, "I don't think... it was invisible, exactly."

Maggia threw her arms around Alenne's neck. "Do you think Yalaine has to deal with that?"

Briar said, "Do you think Sohlu does? Let's get out of here before he comes back."

"I was hoping to trick her, you know. I thought, by the end, she had it on her, but she wouldn't confirm it." Alenne murmured as they walked back to the Statuary.

Maggia reached over to squeeze Alenne's hand. "You were wonderful. And this way she doesn't know we know, so she can't hide it someplace else. Yalaine will do well on her homework, and we'll find Whisperwing this afternoon."

Briar hoped Maggia was right. If Yalaine's farmer kid friend wasn't able to help, she would go to Tremble House, where all the nature students lived. They might tell on her to Machabe, but he'd surely be more likely to forgive her if she returned his bird to him.

Yalaine came by their room before noon, and Maggia swooped down on her, announcing, "Jahane is holding on to the crystal ball. You should have seen Alenne. She was amazing."

Mildly, Alenne asked, "I thought you were trying to be friends with Jahane, Maggia."

Maggia shrugged dismissively, "I'll bring her candy sometime. She's very greedy. And I bet she remembers you a lot more than me now." She flashed Alenne a smile and turned back to Yalaine.

Yalaine's look of surprise was replaced by a triumphant grin. "Excellent!" She raised a big shoulder bag. "I have lunch in here. Now we just go see Riyad and we'll be able to relax by suppertime."

"Why the packed lunches?" Alenne asked as they set off.

"Riyad works through lunch sometimes. And he's kind of ill tempered. So I thought this might cheer him up. "

Briar got a queasy feeling in her stomach. "What school does he go to?"

"Yiviere."

Briar's breath hissed between her teeth, "Um. I don't know if this is such a good idea."

Yalaine looked at her curiously and her eyes widened. "I hadn't thought of that."

"What?" said Maggia, impatiently.

Briar stomped ahead a few steps and then turned and walked backwards, looking at the others. "We're glamour students."

"Yes," said Maggia uncertainly. "But we're Talence students. It's not like we attend Marianne or something."

Briar shrugged. "But he attends Yiviere. They're really prickly. They hate everybody."

Alenne said, "Well, they get harassed a lot." She paused as Briar skipped absently over a root. "Maggia has a point. We're not Marianne students. We can do more than just comb our hair and coo at him." She patted her own groomed hair absently. "Diplomacy and so forth. Yalaine, why do you think he specifically can help us?"

Yalaine said uncertainly, "He likes birds. He was a shepherd before he came here, and he has these little pipes."

"Is he on the master-track?" Briar asked. The master-track was for those with the capacity to become true wizards. They often had the ability to learn advanced wizardry techniques or had peculiar gifts. Yalaine was on it, as almost all Nydene students were, but the three roommates were not.

Yalaine nodded. "I think so, although I don't think his familiarity with birds uses any techniques."

Despite Yalaine's caution, Briar felt mildly reassured. If he could use magic to find Whisperwing, maybe she wouldn't have to go to the nature students. This Yiviere student might be mean to her, but so was Edon, and the nature students were just plain unpredictable.

Their destination was Rainbow Garden; more specifically, one of the gardens behind the agricultural complex. Six small greenhouses sat on clean green lawns, and in the wide strip of grass between the two rows was a large structure built of netting. In front of it was a large pond, in which several swans swam. The garden seemed to be completely empty at first, until Briar realized shapes were moving inside the netting structure.

"Birds!" The netted structured stretched over several small trees and inside were a plethora of birds.

One of the greenhouse doors opened, and a boy appeared. He was older than the four of them, although not by much, and his face was as swarthy as any farmer's, and made darker by the scowl he was wearing. He saw Yalaine, and his scowl lightened, but then deepened again as he looked over the rest of them.

Yalaine called, "Riyad. We brought you some lunch?"

He closed the greenhouse door behind him. "Why?"

Briar, impatient and anxious, couldn't stand the thought of playing word games with him, as Alenne had played with Jahane, and stepped forward, pushing her hair out of her face.

"Hi, my name is Briar. Yalaine wanted to introduce us because she thought you might be able to help me find a bird."

He took a few steps closer. "What do you need a bird for?"

She flushed. "Not any bird. I accidentally released Whisperwing, Master Machabe's pet. He's out of town today, but he'll be back tomorrow and I'd really like him to never know what happened."

Riyad stripped off the gardening gloves he was wearing and crouched down easily beside the swan pool. One of the swans swam over to him, but he ignored it.

"I know that bird."

"Can you help me find it?" She took a few more steps, until she was standing in front of the pond as well, and crouched down to face him.

"How did you lose him? He's a pretty easy bird to catch when he's out of his cage, very friendly and affectionate." His voice was unfriendly and suspicious.

She looked down at the ground, digging her fingers into the turf lightly. "Somebody made me mad and I yelled at her and scared it off."

She could feel his gaze on her. Then he said, "He'll come back in his own time. Leave the window open and when he gets bored or hungry he'll come home on his own."

Panic gripped at her insides. "But I need to put it back today. Machabe will be back tomorrow. He'll be really upset."

"Probably," the boy agreed. "I wouldn't expect good marks from him again. Who knows, you might even get suspended." He didn't sound particularly sympathetic.

Briar thrust herself to her feet and stomped away, to where the other girls were spreading out a blanket and unpacking the lunches. He did not follow her, so, after an exchange of looks with the other girls where Yalaine looked at her expressionlessly, Alenne sympathetically, and Maggia worriedly, she took one of the sandwiches and went back to him, walking this time.

Taking a deep breath, she knelt down again; he hadn't moved from his perch beside the pond except to scratch the swan lightly on the back. "Here, have a sandwich," she said, as calmly as she could. He accepted it, took a bite, looked at her silently.

"Can't you give me any more help than that? Please?" she asked carefully.

He smirked. "Why should I? Because you delivered me lunch?"

Briar's voice raised again. "Because it's the nice thing to do? Because you're not a mean person?" She paused for breath and lowered her voice, "Are you?"

He swallowed the last of his sandwich. "Nice, mean, not in my vocabulary. Got any more sandwiches?"

Silently, Briar went back, picked up two more sandwiches, and delivered them to him. He ate them both as quickly as the first one, while looking up at her. "Please?" she tried, one last time.

He stood up so swiftly she stumbled backwards. "You ought to be responsible for your own actions." His eyes, she realized, were as gray as storm clouds, as gray as Whisperwing.

Briar's breath hissed out as she clenched her fists behind her back. Yalaine's voice echoed in her head, as loud as spoken, The bird flew when you let yourself look away. Your temper. She unfolded her fists, finger by finger, as she looked up at him.

Then she shrugged, trying for a lightness she didn't feel. "Well, I think I am. But I'll figure something else out. Thanks for letting me know that Whisperwing will come back on its own. Now I don't have to worry that it's gone forever." She tried to laugh carelessly, but it died in her throat. "Anyhow. Thanks."

She turned and walked away, as casually as she could. Sitting down on the blanket, she picked up a sandwich of her own with trembling fingers. Alenne had a strange expression on her face and Briar snapped, "What's your problem?"

Yalaine crossed her eyes and said, "Oh, Briar, you were doing so well, too."

Savagely, Briar tore into her sandwich. Through a mouthful of food, she said to Yalaine, "He's probably nice to you. It's okay. Nature students, here I come."

Yalaine started to nod and then her gaze focused behind Briar. Riyad's shadow fell over the blanket and Briar began choking on her sandwich. As Maggia pounded on her back, he crouched down to pick up yet another sandwich and said quietly, "If you mix crushed walnuts with apple juice and sugar, and hang that in a tree near his home, he might come to investigate. It's his favorite treat. It's not very good for him, so don't let him have too much."

He stood up and said, "Thanks for lunch, Yalaine. I have to get back to work now, though." He didn't move at first, though, staring down blankly at the sandwich in his hand. Then he shook his head and repeated, "Thanks," absently before walking back to his greenhouse.

Eyes wide, Briar stuffed another sandwich into her mouth, looking after Riyad. Then, swallowing, she turned back to Yalaine. "What was that about?" she hissed.

Yalaine had a peculiar smile on her face. "I shouldn't say." If anybody else told Briar that, with that smile on their faces, she'd not have accepted it. But it was Yalaine, and she couldn't help what she knew sometimes, so Briar reluctantly let it go. Besides, she had a bird to catch!

It was still the lunch hour, and both apple juice and sugar were easily gathered from the dining hall. Walnuts were a more uncommon commodity, but Maggia, in a flash of brilliance, led them back to Machabe's classroom and poked through his bottom drawer, over their protests at the invasion of his desk, until she found a bag of them. Then they made a little cup from some paper, and crushed the walnuts by virtue of putting them under a chair leg and sitting on it. The apple juice leaked through the paper cup at first, but two more layers of paper and liberal amounts of sugar fixed that. They made three more cups like the first, and then went outside to nestle each lure in the crook of nearby trees.

Each of them took up a station under one of the trees, and waited. Briar brought some homework from another class, but the excitement of the day combined with the tossing and turning she'd done the night before caught up with her, and she soon found herself gazing dreamily up into the branches, her hands under her head and her feet stretched out, thinking of nothing much.

"Don't you have a bed, Briar? I thought I saw your unmade one this very morning." Edon's unwelcome voice broke into Briar's reverie and she sat up, shaking grogginess from her eyes. This time Edon was with two Marianne girls that Briar vaguely recognized from other encounters with her fourth suitemate.

Edon was standing there with her arms crossed, giving Briar a tolerant, patronizing expression. "Did you ever find Whisperwing?"

Briar snapped, "I will soon, no thanks to you." The Marianne girls tittered and Briar wondered what Edon had told them.

Edon moved her shoulders in a complex shrug that conveyed her lack of interest in Briar's opinion of her. "I would have caught the creature before it flew away. It's not hard, you know. It likes to be scratched right here." She pointed to the center of her forehead. "And you know Machabe never opens his window. Guess that's the reason, huh?" She grinned at Briar.

Briar shot to her feet. "If you hadn't been so obnoxious--" and a fluttering overhead caught her attention. Her words dying unspoken, she looked up slowly.

There in the crook of the tree perched Whisperwing. It pecked up a few kernels of sweetened walnut, and then cocked its head to look down at the girls.

"Here's your big chance," said Edon, conversationally.

Briar took a deep breath, and another one. On her third one, her fury at Edon retreated and she reached up. With one hand, she picked up the cup of food, and she held out the other one to make a perch of Whisperwing. It clicked and whistled as she took the cup of food out of reach, and then easily stepped on her hand. The rough feet of the bird felt as pleasant as silk on her hand, and slowly, she lowered both hands close to her chest, allowing Whisperwing another bite of food.

She cooed to him softly, and took a step away from the tree. Glancing up, she saw the Marianne girls, surprised and annoyed, and Edon, as calm and smooth as ever. "Excuse me," Briar said pleasantly, marveling at how calm her own voice was. "I have to go put Whisperwing back in its home now."

She walked past the three other girls and towards the door of the Great Manor. When she was almost there, Edon called, "I'm impressed, Briar. I'll be really surprised if you can keep it up, though. Remember, deep breathing exercises!" More quietly, but loud enough for Briar to hear, she told the Marianne girls, "You should see how she flies off the handle about the least little thing."

Briar stopped. She thought about saying something. Then she scratched Whisperwing on the head with one finger, hooked the building door open, and went inside.