When the haze cleared, Clyde and Rachelle were jumping to their feet.

"Sorry I'm late," I told them. "That Saursune came back and wanted pets while it drained a bit more energy. I'm fine. It just hung around longer than I anticipated."

A guard raised an eyebrow. "It wanted pets? Really?"

It took a force of will to ignore his tone. I shrugged. "Whenever I stopped, it kept shoving its head under my hand, so I'm not sure what else it could mean."

"I have a hard time believing it herded you into the pasture and then wanted pets. Are you sure you didn't try stealing from the pasture and it came to take your energy as payment?"

Propping my hands on my hips, I glared at the guard. "Do you really think I'd risk the lives of twenty people like that? Not a single one of us have ever set foot in a field or pasture until today, and I doubt many others can claim that. And not only that, but if we had stolen anything, we would have left as soon as we reached the crystal instead of hanging around for hours on end. Porting might have addled my brains somewhat, but I'm not an idiot."

The guard actually took a step back. I maintained my glare as he opened and closed his mouth wordlessly.

Clyde chuckled as he lugged a sheep over. "I don't believe he's accustomed to porters being so...spirited immediately after a port."

Without breaking eye contact with the guard, I told Clyde, "Well, this porter is a bit on the feisty side, as Grant can attest." Tapping my foot against the packed sand, I asked the guard sarcastically, "Maybe you want to go to the edge of the pasture? Then you can see for yourself that the spot we picked is a hundred paces inside and not right at the edge where it'd be safer. And with the way that Saursune keeps showing up, you can even say hello to it."

His jaw moved, but no sound came out.

"I'm growing old over here," I drawled.

"That—that won't be necessary," he finally managed.

My foot tapping didn't cease. "You sure about that? And yes, I get cantankerous when someone insinuates that I endangered the lives of those in my care."

"Uh, sorry about that."

The apology put a halt to the tirade I was mentally rehearsing. Not because I believed he was sincere, but because Grant had taught me that continuing past that point would make me look worse.

With a snort, I shook my head and told my hunters, "Let's go before he really riles me up."

Clyde rested his hand on my shoulder with an amused smile. Rachelle gave the guard the stink eye as she came over.

"Home." As soon as the haze cleared, I told the hunters, "I'll come for you in a bit and take you to Roxanne. I don't want to leave the others alone in case that Saursune comes back."

Even as they nodded and let go of my shoulders, I turned my mind toward the crystal in the thicket. The world around me vanished as the villagers surged closer with excited cries.

Cruz and Brielle were gathering more branches and inedible grasses. I sat by the crystal in case the Saursune returned and thought more trades were needed.

How was it only midafternoon?

~

The rest of the afternoon passed slowly, and much to the surprise of Brielle, Cruz, and myself, the Saursune never came back, at least as far as we knew. He had already proven he was good at sneaking around, so it was hard to say.

As the first four wandering hunters returned, we told them the tale about how the Saursune had caught me away from the crystal and brought the sheep in return. Then how it had herded us into the pasture and later curled up around me as it very slowly drained more energy.

Brielle twisted grasses to form the long neck on a goose as the hunters put the carry nets by the crystal and sat down with us. They examined the dozens of hand-sized animals she had made while telling us about their day.

They had a decent haul. Each had three or four carry nets, which was about all they could easily carry through the thickets. Most were filled with greens, although they had caught a few rabbits, a small partridge, several rats, a squirrel, and a snake.

The shrubs rustled as the Saursune finally returned. The returned hunters remained sitting instead of running over to me, probably due to our story. The fact that I couldn't reach the crystal from where I sat was likely another aspect of their decision.

The Saursune trotted over, apparently ignoring the new hunters as he snuffled my hair in what I could only guess was a greeting. He lifted his head and looked around. Tilting his head intently, he trotted toward Brielle.

She sat still as he knocked over the basket in front of her, letting all her grass-woven creations spill across the grass. The Saursune pawed through them in growing excitement and gave a faint snort as he looked at me.

"Sorry, those aren't my handiwork," I told him. "They're just fancy baskets." I really doubted he understood me. Nothing we'd said before had gotten any reaction out of him.

Reaching down, he grabbed one in his jaws and trotted over to the crystal. He opened a carry net and pulled out a rabbit, setting the woven grass bunny on top of it. After investigating the other carry nets, he went back to the basket and returned with a squirrel, bird, and coiled snake, matching each one to its formerly living counterpart.

The Saursune sat down and looked at them, then at me.

I tilted my head to try and convey my confusion. "Sorry, but they don't mean anything."

Gathering the animals and matching baskets in his arms, he walked over on his hind legs, making me shrink back. He set everything in front of me and lined up the dead animals before pushing the jumbled baskets in front of me.

He looked at them, the animals, then at me, watching intently.

"I'm sorry, but I don't know what you want." I added my confusion to my tone.

He picked out the squirrel basket and put it on top of the squirrel, then nudged the woven rabbit under my hand. Taking a wild guess, I put it on top of the rabbit. He used his tail to push the bird against my knee.

Once all of the animals were matched, he sat down, gazing between me and them as if thinking hard. Just like with the first grass circle, I was feeling rather lost and confused. Suddenly, he jumped to his feet and bounded away.

"Does anyone know what he was trying to do?" I asked those around me.

They looked just as confused as I felt.

The rest of my hunters returned before the Saursune did, so we weren't any wiser, but I had a feeling that word of the woven animals was going to spread just as fast as news of the circle did. And I had no idea what it might mean.

~

I sat on the resting hides at the Guard Station. It had taken a few trips to help Roxanne and Andre bring my hunters and most of their groups here. They could have managed their people, but it was easier for me to do it. I'd also collected my group from Merryl.

Part of it was to make sure I got some sleep tonight, but I remembered the struggle we'd had this morning with finding crystals, and if pushing my limits now helped us find empty locations in the future, it would be helpful.

The guards had no noteworthy news today. No reports of raids or attacks had reached them. Not a breath was uttered about a knife being found by a crystal, although I certainly didn't ask about it. Someone would have found the knife yesterday, but it must not have been one of our groups.

One of the porters on the other side of the ledge yawned, and like clockwork, I covered a yawn even though I wasn't overly tired.

"Have you been caught lately?" a nearby porter asked me, noticing my yawn. "I don't think I've heard you mention anything lately."

I nodded. "Yeah. The silly thing acted more like a dog and kept sticking its head under my hand for pets." That was more than a stretch of the truth, but it conveyed the important pieces of information.

He gawked at me. "You pet it? Why not run? And why were you so far from the crystal that you got caught?"

If I ignored him, would he go away? Probably not.

"Running is a good way to get tripped and pinned," I informed him mildly while leaning my back against a rock, "and I don't like having dirt up my nose. I can keep collecting food once it leaves. Besides, if the Saursunes circle you a few times, they always bring back something worthwhile."

He shuddered. "Not a chance. They're Saursunes. You know, the same race that wiped out our civilization?"

With a shrug, I kept my voice conversational as I replied, "I remember, but this generation seems to have different ideas, and I'm not about to turn down any food they bring. You're welcome to do it your way—most of the porters in our village bounce too—but two sheep will keep the children from going hungry. As long as we and our groups come back safe, regardless of how the porters react, I think that's all that matters."

Janette sat beside me, the pale marks on her skin slightly red as if sunburned. "A Saursune found me today. It kept putting its head and neck under my hands, just like yours did."

The disbelieving porter stared at her. "You let one catch you too?"

She held out her arms and turned them upside down. "When they save your life, it kind of forces you to rethink a few things. They seem to want my energy, and what harm does it do? It's the only way I can repay them, and the Saursune still brought a couple of rabbits after."

The marks on her arms were a silent testimony about the recent changes. No longer were porters a primary target, well, we still kind of were, but we were no longer in danger.

"But what if they take so much you can't port your group back?"

She shrugged. "They left enough that I could have ported my group back if I had to. Besides, it was early, and my hunters were nearby, so I took a nap."

He shook his head and got up. "That's way too dangerous."

As he left, I laid back on the hides and listened to the murmurs of others. From what I was hearing, many on the ledge seemed to share that porter's opinion, which made sense given how many years we'd run from the aliens. Some were lured by the desperation for food. Janette was probably the only one trying to repay the Saursunes. As for me... Well, I probably needed my head checked.

At least no one had mentioned a Saursune showing up with a woven grass animal.