It took more than a bit of convincing before Grant agreed to let me take the small cart. Ariel volunteered to take it on a second trip.

"Are you sure you want to go first?" Ariel asked as we waited for people to bring the smaller water cart.

"Yes. That way Grant will be too busy lecturing me to bother you when you return."

"I won't get far if my legs give out," she murmured, giving the cart a pensive look.

Porting the smaller water cart for her was like me taking a twelve-group before my abilities strengthened. I secretly suspected that her abilities had also increased unnoticed. Normally, she would have declined such a task, but everyone else had ported too close to their limits today for a round trip with a load like this.

Pain was never fun, and I didn't blame her for disliking the task she had reluctantly agreed to.

I patted her shoulder. "I'm not looking forward to it either. The small nap I had isn't going to do as much as I let Grant assume."

We passed several hunters, none of whom offered to come with us. Grant must have told them we were on the last of our strength.

"I've never done well with heavy loads. People are hard enough," she murmured, stopping a few paces away from the cart, which was waiting by the crystal.

I walked over to the crystal, held onto it, and looked back at Ariel, who was still fretting. Two villagers held onto the cart while waiting.

"Just look at the bright side," I told her. "If I don't come back, you get the joy of telling Grant you lost me!"

Her eyes widened. "Natalie! If you don't come back, I'm going to—"

Her words faded out as I directed my mind to Orange Flower without using the location name. The smaller cart was half the size of its bigger cousin and weighed less than a three-person group while empty, but it had been a long day, and what should have been an easy port had me leaning on the cart. I wasn't looking forward to the return trip.

The two men were already jogging for the creek, so I refocused on the task at hand and scanned the area for dangers while they worked. Birds flitted overhead and sang somewhere in the canopy.

When the cart was about half full, a flash of brown caught my attention, and I stared at the distant shrubs. Was it a rabbit? Possibly a bird? My imagination jumping at shadows?

Nothing moved. I remained alert, ready to call the two men back if something showed up. The shade of brown had been eerily similar to the Saursune I'd seen here a few times. If I wasn't being paranoid, and if there actually was a Saursune circling us, what was it doing? Just watching? Trying to figure out how to reach me before I could port away?

Minutes later, I caught another glimpse of brown, just as distant as the first sighting, which convinced me the first time hadn't been a trick of the mind.

"Keep working, but be ready to run if I holler," I told the two, my eyes not leaving the forest. "There's a Saursune circling, but it's the same one that just watched from a distance the last two times."

They paused and stared at me with big eyes, then looked around wildly. When they didn't see anything amiss, they stepped away from the cart with shaking hands. They darted to the river and hastily splashed the bucket into the water before racing back. Their knuckles were white as they held on the cart, gathering up their courage for another trip.

Then it dawned on me. Every time in the past, if a Saursune was spotted, people dropped everything and ran to the crystal to be ported away. Never before had a porter told them to keep working. When had I become so unconcerned by a Saursune's presence? Grant would undoubtedly give me a lecture on this one, and I'd completely deserve it.

As if it knew it had been spotted, a head lifted above the shrubs momentarily, then ducked down. It looked like the same dark brown female. I shifted my weight as I lost sight of her, and I was just about to call the men back when I caught a glimpse to the side, just as far away as she'd been the first time.

She was circling but not coming closer. Was it because of my companions, or because I was so close to the crystal and clearly ready to port away?

Both men were still running but slowing down. Neither of them spotted our distant observer even though I kept catching glimpses of her. Perhaps they assumed I had been mistaken.

Finally, all the jars were full. I didn't see any sign of the Saursune as I knelt down to touch the small crystal. "Home."

The forest faded as my dwindling energy dragged the cart and my passengers with me. The cart weighed as much as an eight-port now, and it was a good thing I was kneeling or my legs would have shook. I leaned my forehead against the crystal, trying to find the energy or ambition to get up.

"I guess that's one way to keep your legs from giving out," Ariel commented as she crouched beside me to check on me. "You okay?"

I lifted my head to give her a wry grin. "If you aren't this tired on your return trip, I'm going on strike."

She glanced over her shoulder. "Sorry Grant, but she's still talking. You can't give her a lecture. Some nonsense about going on strike."

"Does this mean she isn't going to check on that cat before sunset?"

I took the bait. "Give me an hour, and I should be recovered enough for two solo ports."

"That's not how strikes work," he informed me.

His bantering was how he usually determined exactly how close I'd come to hitting the wall, but I let my grin fade. "Maybe not, but tell the people unloading the water to take their time. There was a Saursune circling about four hundred paces away. Same one that's shown up a few times."

"And you didn't bounce?" he asked sharply.

I cringed but said, "It never came close, and I was right by the crystal, so it knew it couldn't reach me. That's the same one that watched me from a distance in the past." Said aloud, my reasoning was very weak and foolish. I lowered my head. "Sorry, I should have come back. I'm not sure why I didn't."

"Don't risk the villagers like that," Grant said flatly, no emotion in his voice at all. I'd really gone past the boundaries this time. "Ariel can pick a different water source."

With that, he turned and left, possibly too mad to continue a civilized discussion. Ariel hesitated, then stood up and left. That hurt more than porting strain ever had. Gathering my strength, I staggered to my feet and went to the resting hides. As much as I wanted the privacy of my room, I knew I wouldn't make it that far. A gap between two boulders would have to suffice.

I sat on the packed dirt and pulled my knees up, wrapping my arms around them. Why had I stayed? All the rules and common sense said to run! Worst of all, I had potentially endangered two villagers. They hadn't even been hunters!

I rested my forehead on my knees and squeezed my eyes closed, feeling like an utter fool. What had I been thinking? Two weeks ago, the mere sighting of a Saursune was enough for us to abandon a crystal for a month! I'd bounced countless times when I or my group had a Saursune coming after us. Hell, I'd lost some group members to their insane speed and sharp claws in the distant past.

Yet, the Saursunes had brought us food lately and let my group wander without harm.

I wanted to pull my hair in frustration.

My moping was interrupted by a familiar voice. "Would talking help or would peace and quiet be preferable?"

As much as I wanted to disappear and pretend I hadn't fumbled things so badly, that wasn't an option. Even a porter couldn't turn invisible or change the past. Silence would just leave me alone with my thoughts.

I swallowed past the lump in my throat, still not opening my eyes. "It's been a long day, and I just pulled a boneheaded move."

"Is that why Grant looked so upset?" Liam asked.

I winced and told him what had just happened. "—and I have no idea why it didn't occur to me to bounce."

The silence went for so long that I finally opened my eyes. Liam sat on the boulder beside me, absently staring at the crystal in front of us. No one was at the porter's circle behind it, which wasn't unusual since we usually didn't gather until we ate.

"Did you think any of you were in danger?" he finally asked.

"No."

"If the Saursune had been a different color, would you have remained?"

"No." I blinked, surprised by my answer.

"If it had come closer, would you have left?"

"Yes, and taken the others with me," I confirmed. "The Saursunes aren't after them. They're after porters, and I made sure to stand right beside the crystal."

"You're getting familiar with that one and its behavior," he said, meeting my gaze. "There's a big black bear on Blueberry Hill. It's always there, and it always ignores us. Even the gatherers know they don't have to avoid the area if they see it. Yet, if we see a different bear, we pick another spot."

"A Saursune isn't a bear," I pointed out.

"Both can easily kill a human," he replied with a shrug. "The biggest difference is that Saursunes have a past history of hunting humans without being hungry. You just looked at that particular Saursune's behavior instead of the entire history."

"Next time I'm bouncing," I muttered. "How come these things keep finding me?"

"They're finding us because they're watching the crystals more than before." He paused and turned his head. "Grant is coming this way. I'll have to see if I can find a quiet place to chat with some other hunters. The Saursunes are definitely acting strange lately."

With that, he slid off the boulder and walked away. It wasn't long before Grant was close enough for me to see his stern frown.

I was still beating myself up about it, and I looked at him miserably. "Tomorrow, can you please send me somewhere where the Saursunes have never been seen? I have no idea what got into me."

His expression softened, and with a heavy sigh, he took the seat that Liam had just vacated. "I shouldn't have let you push yourself so far. Fifteen ports, most of which had at least eight passengers? It's burning you out and causing you to make mistakes."

"I don't mind porting twenty-four, but I really don't want to see a Saursune tomorrow."

"Your group will be cut back to eighteen." When I opened my mouth to protest, he held up a finger to make me wait. "This is more to appease the villagers who are upset."

"It was still a foolish move." I clenched my hands into fists. "And I don't understand why I didn't bounce."

"The fact you realized it is why I'm not giving you a lecture. Since you're already berating yourself about it, I doubt you'll make that mistake again."

"Not likely," I muttered.

He sighed again. "Come find me if you want to talk more later. I have to reassure the villagers that it won't happen again." As he stood up, he quietly added, "There is a bucket by the far crystal for your cat. Just make sure you wait at least an hour before going and don't go far from the crystal."

He leaned over and ruffled up my hair before departing.