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As the guard pulled the gate open, she held her clenched fist to her heart Long life to the Pathfinder, she said

And, just like that, she was in She was in She was doing the so soon The big gawdamnn rumble Saba had promised She would listen and learn She’d watch and wait And when Saba gave the word, she’d be ready to ely quiet at the Lanes Tracker comes runnin to meet me But not a soul answersJest her jailbirds twitterin in their cages Lugh! I call Emmi!

There ain’t nobody down none of the alleys between the junkhills The piles of wreckage see all the cooins, but they ain’t inclined to say what they know

Where’ve they all got to, huh? I says to Tracker Eh!

I rattle the rope of the yard bell It yelps awake in a splash of white clatter Nero’s sailin about fer a bird’s-eye view He cas jest as Lugh aht, whistlin an sloshin a pail of water at his side What’s the panic? he says

I bin callin fer ages Where is everybody?

I dunno about nobody else, he says I was seein to the horses Youpot of root ht you gave up yer life of crime, I says

It don’t hardly seeh is it You let him near a cookfire at yer peril His root rateful brat You’ll eat it an thank rins wickedly as he pecks my cheek in passin We can talk plans fer Edenhoot a few ideas

Yer cheerful, I says Where’s Eone by the tiot up, he says Must of headed out early fer one of her wanders in the woods She’ll shohen she’s hungry You better go give that coat of yers a wash, git the salt out I did ood dryin day

Yes, Mother, I says

Hotwhen it’s ready

Spare me the pain, kill me now, I mutter

He heads fer the cookhouse, almost trippin over Tracker Any sniff of a tidbit, he’s windin between the cook’s legs like snakevine A taste of Lugh’s root mash outta cure him of the habit

Me an Nero make our way to the washpond Halfways there, we meet Tommo comin towards us He’s on his way back to the yard, eyes fixed on the ground, hands stuffed in his pockets Frownin like he’s got a heavy load on his mind Nero buzzes him to catch his attention He starts when he sees me Colour patches his cheeks We stop, a couple steps apart

Yer deep in thought, I says

I bin lookin fer Eht at Resurrection, Tommo made sure hiry An I was so ashamed of myself, I steered clear of him too But this makes two days in a row that it’s bin jest us on our own An soin ever since the bridge

He stands his ground in front of aze meets mine steadily No uncertainty No resentht Fer far too long I it another chance like this one I planned an practised in my head what I would say I take a deep breath an set off That night at Resurrection, I says Kissin you like I did I knehat you’d think That it meant I cared fer you like you cared fer me It was selfish an mean I can be like that It ain’t somethin I’m proud of an I’m tryin to improve my character I would like to say that I’m sorry, Toize most sincerely

You told me sorry then, he says