Kiela whirled around. A tall man stood behind her. He had long black hair and tanned skin. She gazed at him in shock.

"How do you know?" She demanded. Adrenaline shot through her body, and she was ready to flee if this man attacked.

"Shhh!" he said. "Keep your voice down, or he'll hear."

"Who?" Kiela asked, but the man was too busy examining her.

"Far lot of good running will do with your...condition." Kiela growled at him. How dare he make fun of her wolf? He looked her over.

"I thought so," he said with a contented smile. "Follow me."

He turned around and strode off between the rows of tents.

Kiela had to make a decision. For a few heartbeats she thought about not following him, but then her curiosity won her over and she sprinted between the rows of tents.

"Wait!" Kiela said, hurrying to catch up. "Who are you?" He feet brushed against the crab grass as she stumbled along the beaten trail.

"I am the outcast." He said with a bitter note in his voice. "My name is Pather. Now hurry up before we are spotted."

She bit back an angry retort and followed after him. His long legs forced her to jog to keep up. The path that they travelled was bare earth with strips of grass on either side. Kiela guessed that none could survive where feet so mercilessly walked.

The tents began to thin, and wider spaces were visible. Kiela looked around, wanting to take in everything so that she could leave the village if she pleased.

They reached the edge of the small village, and Pather darted his gaze to both sides. When he saw that the coast was clear he bounded over the open space, into the woods.

Kiela smilled, comforted to have the trees around her once more. She followed at Pather's heels, bringing to her mind the image of a pup trying to cajole an older member of the pack into playing.

The trees loomed around them, and birds sang in their branches. The cool breeze swayed their branders and kissed Kiela's skiing, brining welcome relief front the stagnant heat.

Finally, Pather stopped walking under a huge tree. He sat down on one of the sprawling roots, crossing his legs beneath him. Moss and grass filled the spaces between them, and wildflowers in shades of blue and white surrounded the place. Golden night streamed down from the sunny sky.

Kiela sat down across from him, frowning.

"How did you know that I'm a shifter?" she asked, not seeing any of the beauty of the surrounding woodland. Panic filled her. "Did you tell anyone?"

"No, of course not." Pather replied, shaking his head. "I wouldn't do that. If I revealed your secret, I would also be revealing mine."

She looked at him in shock. This man was a shifter? If she had had her sense of smell, she would've known.

"Why haven't I heard of you?" She asked. "Why are you here?" She grabbed leaved of grass and shaded them between her fingers, mindlessly devoting her frantic energy to the task.

Pather sighed deeply. "Let us just say that I was no longer...welcome in your village. So I moved to Kithnae."

"Do you like it here?" She asked. She couldn't imagine that he would. This place is crazy.

"It's alright" He said. "I like some things and I don't like some things. I can't shift unless I go very far into the woods. I'm a crow, by the way. And the others know that there is something different about me."

Kiela reached for another blade of grass.

"Why?" she asked.

"Because I don't have the Touch." Pather responded.

"The Touch?"Kiela asked. She was getting frustrated at that point, and felt that she was drowning in a sea of her own inadequacy. She brushed off her dress, flinging crushed greenery onto the ground.

"You'll see soon enough." He said, standing.

Kiela rose to meet him. "If you aren't going to tell me anything, then what's the point in you dragging me out here?" She demanded.

"I brought you out here to tell you that you aren't alone." He replied, remaining calm despite Kiela's rising temper. She kicked a large branch, and then winced at the pain in her foot.

"Well, thanks ever so much!" She exclaimed. "Now I know that I'm the only same person in a village of crazies!" She turned around, ready to march right back to her tent and Kym.

A hand grabbed her shoulder and she yelped, spinning around. Instinctively she bared her canines, but Pather only stared at her with mild amusement.

"Like it or not," he said, "you need me. I doubt young Kymir would look at you the same if you did that."

Kiela covered her teeth again, growling in frustration. "What do you want from me?" She asked.

"What do you want from me?" he replied.

She growled under her breath and began pacing, dropping his amused gaze. this time she was careful to avoid any branches. Finally she spoke. "Show me." She said. Pather lead back against the tree with arms crossed over his chest.

"Show you what?" he asked.

"Show me how not to give myself away. Show me how to not be a shifter."

"How can you not be what you are?"he asked mildly.

"Just show me!" She insisted.

"Fine," He answered. "Lesson one."

"What?" She asked in exasperation. "You're going to start now?"

"Why not?" he replied. "The faster you know things, the faster you'll blend in."

Kiela growled again, raising her hackles.

"I don't want to blend in." She said. "I want to go back."

"Other then the fact that Jarvôsk would probably hunt you down and kill you, why don't you?"

"Trust me," She said. "I would rather be dead."

"So why don't you die?" He asked again.

"It's not as simple as that."

"Yes it is." He replied.

"No its not!" She broke off, breathing heavily. A few birds on the village tents took flight, cawing in alarm. Pather just stared at her, not breaking his condescending demeanour for a second.

"I just." She said, and then took a breath. "I guess I do it for my friends. for those I left behind. I feel like somehow, I'm helping them." As soon as she said the words, she wanted to take them back. Had clipping Lono's wing been helping him? She was lucky if he ever spoke to her again. No, she had been selfish. So selfish. And she had to right those wrongs.

Pather appeared indifferent to her internal struggle.

"So help them by helping yourself." he said.

She nodded, but to herself, not to him.

"Fine." She said. "Lesson one."

Pather stepped away from the tree.

"Lesson one is to stop growling. People don't growl, animals growl."

"I don't growl," She said, a hint of a snarl edging into her voice.

Pather gestured at her and she relaxed sheepishly.

"I'll try to make you mad, and you have to hold it back."she nodded. Pather smirked. "Call yourself a shifter?" he asked. "Couldn't even smell that meat was tainted, could you. Do you even have a nose, or did some weasel you thought was a deer claw it off?"

Kiela couldn't surpress the growl, and with a roar of wrath she sprang on Pather. In a flash he grabbed her arm and twisted it behind her back. She growled and thrashed, but her held solid and she could feel her shoulder pulling out of the joint. Kiela ducked, ready to spring upwards when she felt the cold sharpness of a blade resting on her neck. She froze.

"Breathe." Pather said.

Kiela growled in frusteration, but it turned to a whimper as he tightened his hold. Finally, he let her go and she backed away as quickly as possible. The flint blade he slipped into his pocket.

"You clearly need to work on that one." he said. Not trusting herself to speak, Kiela nodded. "I'll see you here tomorrow. Don't growl." She turned away to leave, but he stopped her.

"And Kiela?" Pather said, stepping towards her. "Your wolf isn't gone. It's still in here." He tapped the area over her heart lightly, before shifting into a bird and soaring off into the open air.