The morning passed slowly in the village. After porting so much, I figured it was safe for me to take a short nap, which turned out to be a mistake, since the first hints of restlessness crept in around mid-afternoon.

I wandered over to the crystal to check on my group for the third time, although it wasn't really necessary with Merryl watching them. Grant glanced at me but didn't comment.

"Cedar Meadow."

The air hazed around me, then cleared. Merryl was about ten paces away, the farthest I'd seen her from the crystal so far. She sat on the grass as she helped Callie dig up a dandelion root.

Half of her group were within sight, as were eight from my group, all of whom were keeping an eye on the porter and watching for danger. I sat down in the grass by the duo.

"How many dandelions did you collect?" I asked Callie.

She grinned at me. "Twelve! But we can only take one out of eight, otherwise more might not grow."

I nodded. "Wise plan. Always leave some for others and for the future, especially when digging up the roots." Dandelions might spread like lightning, but other plants didn't, and that theory was what we were trying to teach. Exceptions would come much later.

The cool grass was a welcome change from the fur-covered packed dirt back home, so I hung around and helped Callie collect dandelion roots.

"Saursune by the field!" a hunter exclaimed, already running to try and put himself between the alien and us.

Scrambling to my feet, I spun around to see a green Saursune watching from between two trees. It was only thirty paces away, with the crystal between us. I was pretty sure a Saursune couldn't drain more than one porter at once.

"Get to the crystal!" I hissed to Merryl, keeping between her and the Saursune as I practically dragged her to the bluish-green spires. She resisted momentarily, then realized it was her only escape. With a firm hold on Callie's hand, she ran behind me.

The others had been foraging in the other direction to avoid the field. They weren't going to catch up in time. Releasing Merryl's hand to grab onto a spire, I spun around the crystal to put myself between it and the Saursune. I didn't really care if it drained my energy, but I didn't want it to catch my sister or Callie.

Merryl grabbed onto a spire and hesitated, glancing back at her group, reluctant to leave them. Two of the younger hunters slid to a stop in front of me in an attempt to block the Saursune, who hadn't taken a single step even though it could have beat us to the crystal if it had tried. With a slow blink, it lifted a hand and gently tossed a dead rabbit between us. Then it turned and ambled away, following the edge of the field.

My hand and Merryl's remained on the crystal as we stared at the Saursune and rabbit as more of our groups gathered around us. Soon, the Saursune was out of sight. I exhaled heavily, although still confused by how easily it had left. And why had it brought the rabbit?

A gatherer peered at the rabbit from where she stood. "Is this a thank-you for not touching the field or a warning of what happens if we do? I thought they only brought stuff if they caught the porter and stole their energy?"

One of Merryl's hunters gingerly picked up the rabbit, half of his attention on the forest in case the Saursune returned. "It's not even stiff yet, and we didn't hear its death cry, so I doubt the lizard caught it and just happened to find us shortly after."

I scratched my head. "I'm not sure what you're suggesting. We have over twenty people wandering around the forest. They'd know a porter would be nearby or returning soon."

He glanced at me. "Not just any porter. It knew Merryl was here, so it must have gotten close enough to see her earlier."

"Me?" Merryl asked, bewildered. "Why would that matter?"

He brought the rabbit over and set it among our carry nets, taking his time before replying, "The last one brought you food too and didn't drain your energy even though it had a golden opportunity. At this point, I'm pretty certain that they're providing for you since you're pregnant. There's no way they could have missed how overharvested some areas are."

My sister stared at him, trying to wrap her mind around his words.

One of my older hunters commented, "It isn't the strangest theory around, and it would fit the situation."

"And my presence would have been a surprise, since I wasn't here when it came by the first time?" I guessed.

He tilted his head, considering it. "Very possibly, especially since you were sitting and not as easy to see. Or maybe it decided there were too many of us to try cornering you."

Callie leaned forward, still holding her mother's hand. "A Saursune brought you a rabbit as a present?"

Merryl blinked, at a loss for words as her daughter summarized her understanding of the conversation. The fear that had quickened the child's breath while running had already disappeared, as if she regarded the Saursune's visit as just another new thing in a day full of new things. The terror or crying I had halfway expected was nowhere to be seen.

I took a closer look at the hunters and gatherers around us and was surprised to see that none of their faces were pinched in fear. No one's muscles vibrated with continued adrenaline. Half of them weren't even keeping a super close eye on the direction we'd seen the Saursune go.

None were urging us to leave before the Saursune returned and slaughtered us all.

Had the past three weeks really changed our perspective and expectations so much? A month ago, a porter would not have lingered near a crystal after spotting a Saursune. It would have been a death wish. Yet, here we were, and even our companions were only alert and nervous, not terrified or panicking.

"I can stay here for a while if you want to go back home and rest," I told Merryl.

She hesitated, then looked at the groups clustered protectively around us. Taking a deep breath, she said, "I can stay. As long as that Saursune doesn't try coming close, I'll be fine."

That definitely wasn't the response I'd expected. I nodded slowly. "Okay, but if you change your mind, you know where to find me."

Leaving my sister near the crystal, I returned to the village in case airships arrived. Grant was bound to have some words about such a decision, although I wasn't sure if they'd be directed at me for leaving them there or at Merryl for not coming back. If he was really generous, we might both get lectures.

~

Fortunately for Merryl, by the time I went to ferry my groups to the Guard Station, Grant had subsided to unintelligible grumbles. The restlessness was rearing its ugly head, and I was ready for some heavy ports.

"Be back soon!" I told Grant, who nodded without looking away from his notes. "Cedar Meadow."

I tensed as I appeared in the middle of a crowd gathered around the crystal. There was barely enough room left for me to stand, and it had clearly been left open on purpose.

"Wha—"

"Thank goodness you're back!" Merryl exclaimed in a hushed voice. "That Saursune has been watching us for the last hour."

I craned my neck and finally spotted the green Saursune sprawled lazily in the grass by the field. Several devices lay on the ground near it, and as best I could tell, they were pointing this way. Why hadn't she bounced? My heart raced as I did a quick headcount; there were eighteen of us if I counted Merryl and Callie. This was going to hurt.

Those from my group had already grabbed onto my shoulders, and Merryl's six held onto her. I wasn't sure why she hadn't ported away earlier, so I grabbed onto her wrist with one hand to make sure I wasn't leaving her or anyone else behind.

"Guard Station."

The odd network of connected hands created a lurch, as if the ground under my feet gave a single big shake, before the air around us hazed over. I braced myself against the weight as I dragged everyone to safety. Energy drained away in a rush, and the strain—I blinked as the air around us cleared, realizing only a dull ache had appeared in my chest.

My old record of porting fourteen people—which had knocked me unconscious for hours many years ago—had just been smashed.

And it hadn't even sent me to my knees.

It was a good thing I'd rested all day or that port could have easily landed me in hot water. I shook my head to clear the aftereffects of the port. A few of my passengers staggered slightly or swayed, as if off balance.

I pushed the jaw-dropping achievement to the back of my mind as I turned to my sister. "What happened? Why didn't you port away?"

A hunter frowned as he told me, "She wouldn't leave us."

"If it had come closer, I would have," my sister quickly defended herself. "But I couldn't port everyone out, and it wasn't coming closer. Are you okay, Natalie?"

She looked me up and down, the silent question burning in her eyes since I'd transported so many and was—somehow—still standing.

"Yeah. I'm used to porting ten at a time." I met her gaze, begging her to play along while the guards were present and staring at the large group that had just appeared. When she nodded slightly, I sighed in relief, then asked, "Why didn't you come home to alert me?"

She winced and admitted, "I didn't think the Saursune would harm them while I was in the middle of the group, and I didn't want to risk leaving anyone behind."

I rubbed my temple and looked around. "Is everyone else okay?"

A series of yes's and affirmations came from around us.

"Let's go sit down before someone else arrives and knocks us over," I suggested.

Reluctantly, as if they had been so focused on surrounding Merryl for so long it was now a habit, they spread out. I was glad for some breathing room. Callie looked around and ambled over to the elderly porter like the group hadn't just been cornered by a Saursune for an hour.

My sister sat on a fur-covered hide while the hunters told the guards what happened. I listened to ensure they made it sound like Merryl and I had ported at the same time.

I sat beside Merryl and gazed up at the sky. "Going back for the others is going to be fun..."

Her head spun to face me with wide eyes. "You're going back?"

"Not right away. I need a rest after bouncing like that. It'll also be a while before the rest of my group shows up. I'm hoping the Saursune gets bored and leaves."

My comment earned me more than a few frowns from the people I'd just ported.

"What if it sets a trap?" Merryl asked, her voice rising.

I pursed my lips. "I can't just leave twenty people out there, Merryl. Even if I wait a few hours, I have to go back and see if they're there." I wouldn't be able to live with myself otherwise. Changing the topic, I asked, "What was the Saursune doing with those devices?"

Merryl hugged her legs closer. "I'm not sure. It just set them in the grass and watched us."

"Two looked a lot like a scanner," a hunter commented.

I gave him a puzzled look. "And it was there for an hour?"

Several people nodded. What could the Saursune have possibly been scanning for an hour? Us? I blinked as another thought came to me. Or had it been trying to scan how we ported? We now knew the race was able to use our porting energy, but we'd never seen one port.

The idea of Saursunes being able to port shook me to my core. Our lifestyle centered around the crystals and the escape they promised, but if Saursunes could appear right beside us, or worse, blind port into our villages, no place would be safe.

I fervently hoped the ability to port was as impossible to learn as their power-ups were for a porter. Or that it was just something humans could do. Maybe our energies were just different enough? All I could do was hope.

Shaking my head, I muttered, "I'm hoping it will get bored and leave in an hour."