Free Conflict and Courage by Candy Rae Page B

call hasn’t gone out yet. I’ll go to the
commissary tomorrow and try to scrounge some.”
    Sofiya merely
watched from her bed, laid her head down and prepared to fall
asleep. “Ilyei here soon,” she agreed with a certain amount of
satisfaction as her eyes closed.
     
     
    * * * * *
     
     
    “Hiya Emily,”
greeted Brian when she and the said Ilyei entered the stronghold
the following morning. She rode in beside Jim and Larya; Jim had a
soft spot for the gentle girl. Larya and Jim had wished to see with
their own eyes how the Vada base was progressing. “What kept you?
You’ve missed all the fun.”
    “What fun?”
Emily asked as she veered towards him, dismounted and began to
release the straps of Ilyei’s harness. Jim and Larya had led them
south with all speed, only stopping once to hunt; Ilyei had
expressed his need to do so again in no uncertain terms that very
morning by demanding ‘good fresh meat,’ with the emphasis on the
second word.
    : I go now
: he announced, shook himself and began to move away : I
find you later Emily :
    He loped away,
eager to avail himself of the nearby zarova herds. Emily watched
him go, marvelling anew at the grace and inherent strength of her
life-partner. She was convinced that he was the most handsome Lind
of all; a sentiment shared by all human partners for their
Lind.
    “Why, the
arrival of the Weaponsmaster of course!” answered Brian. “He and
Mislya arrived yesterday with Geraldine, Jsei and my brother Louis
and Ustinya. There have been other new vadeln-pairs arriving as
well, cadets like us.”
    “Help me with
my packs,” said Emily as she bent down and picked up the one on the
top. “I can’t manage them and harness both.”
    “You do have a lot,” Brian agreed, reaching to help her.
    “Most of it is
medical supplies for Laura from your father.”
    “I’ll help you
over with it once you’ve got your own things into the barracks,”
Brian promised. He pointed with his free hand towards an almost
finished building. “The Holad section is over there. Laura will
probably still be on her rounds at the moment, showing the new
doctor where everything is and introducing him to everyone.”
    “What new
doctor?”
    “He arrived the
other day. Francis persuaded one from the ship that he was needed
here, how he managed it I can only guess.”
    “Isn’t he
bonded with a Lind?”
    “No, at least
not yet. Seems to be a decent sort of chap though.”
    “And the
Weaponsmaster?”
    “I’ve not met
him yet,” Brian admitted, “he’s been closeted with Francis.”
    “Does he have
family?”
    “On their way,
some vadeln-pairs have gone to fetch them.”
    The two reached
the cadet quarters and Brian stopped.
    “This is the
cadet barracks. Girls one side, boys the other.” He gestured to
each with a wave of an arm.
    “Human or
Lind?” asked Emily with dry humour.
    “Human of
course, nitwit. Does it matter? Most of the grown-ups have their
own dagas outside in the woods although some do have permanent
quarters here.”
    Emily nodded.
She and Ilyei had noticed evidence of this on their way in.
“There’s not really room for everybody within the walls,” she
agreed.
    “Not every
vadeln-pair wants to live inside either,” answered Brian, “you’ll
soon find it’s not exactly private.”
    When Emily
entered the dim passageway inside the cadet barracks on the girl’s
side she could only agree. As she claimed an unoccupied cubicle she
wondered how she and Ilyei would manage living in such close
proximity to the other cadets after so many months of the privacy
of their own daga at Afanasei.
    As Brian helped
her put her things away he continued to chatter. “It’s good that
you have come now,” he said, “with the numbers that are expected,
the back barn has been fitted out with temporary accommodation and,
if you think these are cramped …”
    “This is not?”
asked Emily.
    “Compared with
the barn my friend, these cubicles are