After the meal, Bren escorted me to a different cabin in a different part of the woods. A bearded man chopped wood out front. He set his axe down when he saw us and wiped his brow with the back of his hand.

"Newcomer?" he said with a cheerful smile, revealing perfect teeth. His dark beard was neatly trimmed. He looked like a nicely groomed version of a Plainsman.

Bren nodded. "Davin found him wandering the berry patches."

"Davin, eh? Must have been quite the welcome." He paused, looking at the bow I clutched in one hand and the makeshift sack in the other. When I gave no response, he continued. "What's your name, son?"

I resisted the impulse to tell him I wasn't his son. That I had a father, even if he was dead. "Remi."

"Remi, I'm Galen. What brings you to us?"

I peered up at him. "Are you the chieftain?"

He smiled and shook his head. "We don't have chieftains here. This is Foresthome. Everyone has a say."

No chieftain? What kind of place was this? So far, no one looked like they wanted to harm me, much less eat me. These weren't monster people at all.

Then again, they didn't know I was an Aberration.

Galen seemed to note my lapse into silence. "Bren, thank you for bringing him to me. I think Remi and I need to have a talk, man-to-man."

My shoulders straightened at being called a man.

Bren nodded. "I'll leave you to it, then." She turned and, after walking only a few steps, paused again. "Nirrin, what are you doing here? Get out of those bushes!"

"Remi said I was a smart warrior, so I'm protecting him from the dumb ones!"

"Is that so?" Bren eyed me with a smile. "Don't go giving this girl ideas, Remi. She will run with them." Sliding a hand behind the little girl's back, she guided Nirrin back to the commons.

Galen grinned at me. "Already making friends, I see."

I shrugged. I wasn't sure a chatty four-year-old latching onto me like a tick was an actual friend.

At my continued silence, Galen said, "Walk with me." He headed down a path into the woods.

Not knowing what else to do, I followed. The towering trunks around us gave me comfort as we walked.

Galen sighed. "I'm not sure how to go about this, so I'm just going to come right out and ask. Are you Gifted?"

When I didn't answer, he turned and saw the perplexed look on my face.

"Gifted," he repeated. "With special abilities."

My heart slammed against my chest. They knew. And now they were going to eat me. Or something. Something bad.

I didn't answer. Didn't wait. Didn't want to know what they were going to do to me. I lurched off the path and darted through some underbrush. Branches and thorns scraped my sides as I ran, but I didn't care.

"Remi, wait!"

I did not wait. I discovered a majestic tree looming over the others and decided to climb it. I flung my belongs away and scrambled up as high as I could go. Fear raced through my veins like swollen rivers after a rainstorm. I would not be a captive again. I would not.

When Galen came wandering in my direction, I activated my camouflage. Invisible ants crawled up my skin until I was well-hidden against the bark.

"Remi?" He glanced around below me.

My breath came in ragged gasps. Images of Pode lunging at me filled my brain.

"Remi, I can hear you. I just want to talk to you. We're all friends here."

Appalled, I held my breath.

"Remi?"

My lungs ached from the effort. Panic required a lot of air.

Galen seemed to give up looking for me, and just continued talking. "I know that haunted look, Remi. I'm very familiar with it. I was an Aberration too."

I allowed myself to suck in a breath. What did he mean, was?

"There are no Aberrations here. No one in Foresthome uses that word. You and I are Gifted."

There was that word again. Gifted. Like having these weird abilities was a good thing.

I remained still.

"You know what I can do?"

I leaned forward with curiosity, hanging onto a branch to keep from falling out.

"I can sense danger." When he heard no response, he went on. "When a person with bad intentions comes near me, or if there's a threat to my home, I get this queasy feeling. It used to make me throw up when I was little. But I soon learned what it meant."

I was so caught up in his story that I forgot about my panic. My breathing returned to normal.

"That's how I know you're a good guy. And that's why people trust my judgment. If I say you're no threat to Foresthome, then it doesn't matter what you can or can't do. You'll be accepted here."

By this time, I was weak from keeping myself hidden from view. My grip on the tree nearly slipped, so I let my camouflage go.

When I did, Galen spotted me. "There you are! I had no idea you were up there."

I gulped and stayed where I was. The residual effects of my panic kept me wary.

"Why don't you come down and we can talk about where you want to live?"

Where I wanted to live? So soon? Part of me didn't trust this guileless hospitality, and I shrank back. They must want something from me. Now that this man knew I was an Aberration, they must certainly want to use me.

"Remi, you're safe with us." He extended a hand toward me.

I shook my head and scooted around to a different branch, making it harder for him to see me.

He dropped his hand. "Very well. I'll give you some time to adjust to the idea." He turned around and headed back.

I couldn't believe it. He might have looked like a Plainsman, but he didn't act like one at all. He didn't try to drag me down or smoke me out. He just... let me be.

Trust can't be forced, but they can be encouraged. Kind of like votes. ;)