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For a h he’s little and skinny, Fusspot see-ago es Like he orthy of respect, even as they had been

"I don’t understand this at all" The Master Herder was a wo her hands "I know the herds have been odd for days, skittish, panicky--I thought it was so many earthquakes I just don’t understand, why us, why our od? We try to pay respect to all the ones we know of, but perhaps we missed one? Our mountains have always been so quiet"

"Nonsense" Luvo actually sounded cross "I know that you ly short-lived, but you are supposed to have minds, and s" He looked at me "Are some breeds of hu time since I’ve heard you be actually rude" Rosethorn kept her voice quiet but direct "I don’t understand what has upset you"

Luvo turned his head knob so his invisible eyes were on hers "I have known you for three or so of your mortal years, Rosethorn I have seen what happens in these situations in which you involve yourself and Evumeimei For reasons which are unclear toin this place to reason with people ill not heed you They will delay your departure until you, and thus Evu until these volcano children find a way out, and lead all their kindred through it? A week? That is very little tie If these ue and deny and quibble as I saw those others do, back in Gyongxe, I ah time Now that I see there is a chance that I--ill survive this volcano, I do not wish the bleatings of human sheep to delay our escape Perhaps I an rown attached to Evumeimei, and to you I would like to see ain"

"We don’t have to sit here and be insulted" This time it was the Master Miner who spoke I kneas the h his clothes were clean and his face ashed, grains of stone orked into his wrinkles I reached out to see what the stone grains were It was like trying to take a deep breath, only to find your lungs won’t open up I hugged Lark’s blanket aroundwould it take my power to co" Theso, Master Luvo, though I don’ta little fellow like you ‘Master’ But I’ve been in the round-shakes, but we’ve weathered the her lover more than usual But she isn’t the volcano sort I’ve seen two of the volcanoes we have in these islands, Sharyno and Kieta Our Mount Grace has never been that sort"

That made me perk up "Never? Never?" I looked at Jayat and Tahar "You know the spell for looking at a thing, right? The one where you tell it to show its nature? My booklike that"

"I know a curst sight lared at thening blanket aroundthe stairs I heard Luvo say, "All of these islands are volcano-born How can you not know that? The lines of power that your reat faults in the earth Those faults lead to the furnaces in which everything was ot the rocks I had collected the day before: mica, obsidian, quartz, and feldspars All had been shaped far below the earth, where they should have stayed I carried the

"It is a small undersea volcano, seventhem about the vent we had found under the ocean I could see the village councilors didn’t believe hi I had noticed in my travels with Briar and Rosethorn People took to theic was ordinary So Briar and Rosethorn talked to plants and played with them like pets At the end of the day, they had dirt under their nails, stickers in their clothes, and a crop to show, like everyone else Unless people witnessed it when they did soravel slope, or turning a tiny tree into a giant one, they seeot invited to randbaby

But Luvo was not like that Luvo was not everyday I wasn’t everyday I was Luvo’s friend, and I had no liking for people They were fine as long as they left me alone, of course I preferred cats and rocks

I put athered that day Azaze and the carpenter moved aside so Tahar and Jayat could see thee Tahar, Jayat Stones don’t lie or make up pretty stories Ask them what their nature is, where they ca chit trying to get out of being in trouble Ask the stones how they got made"

I sat at the table where Luvo stood Even with Lark’s blanket aroundcranky I’d been up at dawn to traipse all over their silly island I had tried to see where their precious source of one Then look what had happened toto blow up again