Eva-Lotta Toumi looked down at the straw dummy she'd constructed for her former self, Jay. She felt a surprising amount of emotion as she regarded the crude structure. For the first time in her life she knew she was making the right choice, that this was who she truly was. But he'd kept her going for years, in his own way. Protected and nourished this dream until she was strong enough to live as Eva. She discovered she would miss things about being Jay.

She shook her head. This is all just a stupid ritual. No need to get teary eyed. No one was really dying or being laid to rest. It was just a way to mark the transition, for herself and for the others, between her former life as Jay and this. Her body would go on. In time she'd change it, if she could. If not, she'd learn to adjust some other way. But she'd live as a girl, live as Eva from now on.

She heard a vehicle coming up the drive and ran to the porch to see who it was. It was Michael Kallioski's vehicle, Eva's mother at the wheel. To Eva's shock, Michael himself was in the passenger seat. He came?

Corey appeared at the door of the cabin long enough to see that his father was there. He turned and bolted back inside. Eva shook her head.

It was a good sign that he'd come. No, it was amazing. There was still hope. If only Corey didn't bolt entirely.

Eva rushed down to hug her mother. "He came?" she whispered to her mother.

"Yes," Mom replied. Johann had come out of the cabin to greet the new arrivals. "You are important to him, believe it or not," she chided. "And he loves his child, too. It's just tender right now."

Eva shook her head. "I just wish he weren't so angry."

"He's not. He's scared. Don't forget."

"Come on, let me show you," Eva said, taking her mother's hand and leading her around the cabin to where they'd hold Jay's sending off.

Mom laughed and wrapped her arms around Eva's shoulder when she saw it. "You always had a flair for dramatics. I'm glad that's not changing."

She'd constructed a fitting Viking burial for her former self, complete with straw dummy dressed in one of Jay's more "masculine" outfits and piled on a bonfire built to resemble a dragon ship. "Expect even more dramatics," Eva replied.

"It'll be sad," Mom admitted, "losing my son." Before Eva could react, mom brushed her hair tenderly. "But at least I get a daughter out of the bargain. I've brought a couple of gifts for after. For Eva." She shook her head. "Eva-Lotta. I like it. Very Scandinavian. Actually Dad and I discussed Eva as a possible name, if you had been born a girl."

"Part of why I chose it," Eva said. "That and, well it plays into some visions I've been having."

"Your dad sends his regards," mom went on as they headed back towards the cabin. "And his apologies. He has duties at the conclave, but he was on the edge of telling the matriarch to go take a flying leap and coming anyway."

"Oh no," Eva said. "I've only met her a time of two, but even I know you don't tell the matriarch to take a flying leap."

"She's a remarkable lady, yes."

"Anyway it's okay. I know he's here in spirit. And maybe we can do something like this again later on."

Back in the cabin it appeared that Corey and Micheal had gotten through a mumbled greeting without fighting, which was progress. Supper was a quiet but not quite somber affair and at times, almost cozy. They spoke of small things, how the conclave was going, how Eva's training was going, the new chicken coop that Corey and Sofia had almost framed in.

After supper they retired to the bonfire pit and Eva's funeral rite. Michael produced a bottle of homemade heather mead. "Fitting for the occasion."

Eva glanced once at her mom, and then at Johann and Sofia. Eva and Corey weren't of age to drink but none of the others were looking askew at the gift, so Eva figured this one of those times when human rules didn't apply. She smiled and hugged Michael. "Thank you for thinking of me."

"Jay was a remarkable person," he said. "But I expect Eva will prove as interesting. I shall have to inform that child of mine to take proper care of her new lady." He said it lightly and for a moment it was like old times again. It made Eva sad and determined that she'd somehow find a way for the two of them to make peace.

She glanced over at Corey and caught her brittle look. It wouldn't be easy. But Eva swore she'd find a way.

Eva said a short speech before lighting the fire. She thanked Jay for being the persona that protected her, kept her alive until she was strong enough to be herself. She choked up a couple times over the speech. "And with love and thanks, I now let you go," she said. She held the bottle high and poured a measure on the ground. "Hail Jay Toumi!"

"Hail, Jay!" the assembled crowd called. Johann lit the fire. As the flames grew, she felt a moment of almost unbearable sadness and lost.

A feeling that was broken by her mother declaring, "Hail, Jay Toumi! And vive Eva-Lotta Toumi!" There was a second cheer. Corey rushed in and hugged Eva hard, followed by her mother, Michael and the others.

Later she found herself alone on the porch with Michael.

"I'm sorry," she said quietly.

Michael shook his head. "You shouldn't be sorry. You have made an incredible self discovery. You are becoming who you truly are. You should celebrate it, not apologize for how it might affect others."

"Thanks, but that's not what I meant. I'm on a path, your son is too. I know it worries you."

Michael's face fell and he looked sad. He sighed. "It's just, you guys think you know the risks, the pain of losing someone you care about."

A cold wave of suspicion washed over Eva. "Who? Who did you lose?"

"She was the brightest of our generation. So lovely. We all had crushes on her, to one extent or another. 'A thief's eyes' the saga say, eyes that steal your heart. But she did worse than that. How Ghost stood it, I can't say."

"She left him for another," Jay said. "What does that have to do with Corey or I? I don't have feelings for Amanda, not like that. Or any of them."

"That's not half the story. Not half. Leaving him, for what ever reason, I could have forgiven that."

Not if history is anything to judge by, Eva thought, but she kept it to herself. "Then what?"

Michael gave her a long look as though he wasn't sure he should answer. "The man was of another clan. And she was murdered for it."

Eva shuddered. "The others followed her, murdered her? Who? Ghost?" it was barely a whisper.

"No! We wouldn't. We hated her, but we loved her, too. That's the hardest part, isn't? No matter how much we hate, we still love the other. We can't escape it." He leaned in close. "But these other clans, they aren't like that. They know something worse than hate, indifference. They can just turn it off and do unspeakable acts."

"Who?" Eva persisted.

"You've met them already. Faced them."

"The Sons of Garm? But why?"

"To send us a message. We deal with the other clans at our peril. That is why you must stay out of this fight. Or they'll kill you too."

"Because we are friends with a few werewolves? A bear?"

"Not just a bear, Amanda."

Eva's brow scrunched. "What? Amanda?"

"I've said more than I should already," Michael said. "Just, think, please. I'm not trying to be...I don't want your friends hurt. But your involvement, they'll find out who you are. They'll hunt you. I'd do anything to avoid that if I could."

Eva's mind was reeling. "They've hunted the bear clan before, when they can. But Amanda's parents. Uncle Darren. They've never been this persistent before, have they? What is it about Amanda?"

"That's not for me to say." With that Michael turned and strode off.