Ryan's face had sleep lines on it when I woke up. She took deep breaths, a strand of hair moving in time with the movement of her chest. I smiled as I watched her. She really did look innocent when she slept.

Her dark hair was tangled in a sort of halo around her head. I sat up, pulling my attention away from her.

I put my boots back on, and walked out into the open air. The whole camp was bustling around me. A rabbit bounded up the street, transforming into a small boy to walk through a doorway. Centaurs moved around mummies, desperately trying not to run into them. A vampire was sitting across the street. He called to me, but I ignored him. The hair on the back of my neck stood up.

I was aware of him behind me, creeping closer. I tried to seem unaware of him. I felt his cold skin against mine and I reached out and grabbed his hand. With a twist of my wrist, he was flying through the air away from me. The movement drew attention.

For future reference, you're going to want to keep your hands off me. I caught the vampire's eye as I walked away, trying not to speed up. I wanted him to see I wasn't afraid. Maybe my voice wasn't as smooth as he'd expected it to be, but that wasn't my problem.

The atmosphere was suddenly humorous as a centaur doubled over in laughter. The mummy slapped my back in congratulations. I didn't look back to see the vampire.

I walked toward the pond. Castor was already awake when I got there, but he put his finger to his lips. Juniper was still asleep, her head in his lap.

"Good morning."

"Good morning, Arriana."

"How are you?"

"Good. Exhausted. How are you?"

"Good." I didn't mention the vampire or my problems with Ryan. I didn't know how to articulate either. And the vampires were more of a threat to Castor than me. At least I was unappetizing.

"How's Ryan?" He seemed to be treading lightly. He didn't care how Ryan was. I saw in his eyes he was asking something entirely different.

"I don't know."

He nodded. "Do you think you'll be able to F-O-R-G-I-V-E her?"

I signed "forgive." "Probably not. Not unless one of us changes our minds."

"Do you want to forgive her?"

"I don't know. I think I want her to be a different person, being honest."

He nodded. "And you'll find that person."

I snorted. "What if I don't want to?"

"Why wouldn't you want to?"

"Being in love... I hate it. It's so messy, M-E-S-S-Y. I don't want to live my life like that."

"It wouldn't be like that if they were the right kind of person."

"No? Isn't it hard? Even for you and her?"

He looked down at her, his fingers running through her hair. "Not like that.

"Then like what? It's still hard."

"C-U-R-C-U-M-S-T-A-N-T-A-L-L-Y it's hard. The conflict is from them. Not us."

I looked at him. I signed the missing words but didn't offer anything of my own.

"Arriana? Aren't some things worth it, even though they're hard?"

I nodded. "But not this."

He pushed another strand of knotty hair out of Juniper's face. "Okay."

"That's all you have to say?"

"It's your decision."

"That's very unhelpful."

A sliver of a smile hovered on his lips. "I know."

Juniper turn over. I hugged me knees to my chest as his attention was completely on her.

I wished me and Ryan were like that. I didn't feel envious, oddly enough. Just a strange longing.

Juniper woke up. "Good morning," she signed, her face still sleepy.

"Good morning."

She didn't say anything more, but I felt more comfortable with her awake. Maybe it made everything less private.

By the time Ryan found us, we'd been sitting in comfortable silence for a while. 

She kissed me on the cheek, her dark hair tickling the side of my nose. I smiled up at her before I could think better of it.

Castor was watching me closely.

Ryan set down a plate of steaming hot food. My stomach rumbled.

"I brought breakfast."

"Thanks." I took the plate as she sat down next to me with her own plate.

She nodded and dug into her plate.

Castor was talking. Juniper's face turned to stone. Castor moved away.

"What just happened?" I asked.

"I told the human he'd have to get his own food."

Castor's face said something more had happened, but he didn't dispute Ryan. I looked between them.

"You like sausage?"

Castor nodded.

I gave him the liberal amount of sausage links Ryan had stacked onto my plate.

He nodded his gratitude.

He started talking to Juniper. Ryan turned to me.

"Why'd you do that? He could've gotten it by himself."

"It was too much food for me anyway. And he's my friend."

She sat petulantly. We ate, and watched as the space around us started to tighten, more bodies pouring into it.

The smaller shifters stayed in their animal forms, birds flying overhead wolves threading between people's legs.

We were all in a circle, and almost everyone one had a view of the former guards when they were herded in.

Castor's eyes flashed, but he didn't move. Juniper held his hand.

I felt a lump in my throat. Ryan was right that they didn't have a case. They didn't stand a chance. I didn't want to sympathize with them. They'd been downright cruel at times.

But I couldn't shake the feeling that what was happening was wrong.

Ryan didn't hold my hand. She leaned forward attentively.

Juniper did her unofficial job and translated for me, slipping her hand out of Castor's. He looked over but didn't object.

"My brethren, we are gathered here to decide the fate of these men, and the fate of ourselves. Do we let our oppressors go or do we dispense justice?"

Ryan lurched to her feet and yelled, her fist in the air. Everyone around her mimicked her, their fists in the air.

The men's eyes were wide with terror.

Castor started to rock, biting his lip.

"Arguments against them?"

There was a cue. I didn't pay any attention and eventually, Juniper stopped signing, her hand returning to its place in Castor's.

The cue with long, and I saw rage growing in the faces around me. The birds began to circle, their spirals overlapping each other. They looked eerily like scavengers.

Ryan looked like she'd watched the show of the year when the cue was finally done.

"Arguments for the humans?" Juniper translated one-handed.

There was a sickening stillness. No one stepped forward. Castor met my eyes. Neither of us moved.

The centaur looked stunned. "No one?"

Still, no one moved. The men in the center finally moved. A young boy, younger than me finally stepped forward.

Everyone around me yelled and protested, and I knew it wouldn't matter even if they heard him, but after a while, we all listened anyway.