Gillwyn walked in front while Cana followed her through the house. She wore her dress again, and the panther's paw was tucked safely once more into her pocket. Cindel had left a smell in the fabric, unfortunately. It stank of filthy mud and body order, all mixing together into a sickly medley. Sour, sweet, and more than a little rancid.

Did Cindel shift into a dog and roll herself in rotten compost or something?

By the grace of the spirits, Cana's nose wasn't sharp enough to pick up the smell.

Cana was walking along in a dreamy haze, a wistful smile playing across her face. It had been difficult for Gillwyn to pull away from their first kiss, but she took solace that there would be a second. And a third. Perhaps a thousandth.

Cindel storming off as she did worried Gillwyn. Not only had she just gathered her younger sister, but Pa would be returning home soon. The predator that killed the creature in the Senwood could still be in the area. As eldest, it was Gillwyn's responsibility to make sure all the Forester girls not safely in town were safely at home. That included moody troublemakers like Cindel.

Her mind went back to the loose pile of entrails and tissue she and Cana had stumbled upon. It had been a recent kill. The more she thought about it, the stranger it all seemed. She couldn't have been far when it happened. Gillwyn had been lying down on the hillside above, no more than three hundred paces away. The ears of weres weren't equal to a kit's but still sharper than an average human.

Gillwyn should have been able to hear it when the predator made its kill. She hadn't. Very few predators in the world could kill something that large so silently.

Unless it didn't make the kill there, Gillwyn reasoned. Maybe it dragged it there. That could be why I didn't see any bones or hide. Just the offal.

She had convinced herself to stop being so blustering paranoid when she came to Cindel's bedroom. She knocked before pushing the wooden door open. As anticipated, it was empty. Empty, save for discarded shifts and dresses flung about on the shelves and floor as if the place had been ransacked. Baubles and possessions were strewn over every available surface. There was enough of a mess that it was impossible to tell if Cindel had stopped in here before moving on.

She only had a towel to cover herself. Winds, as if that would stop her from running off.

Clothes would just fall off of her anyway if she shifted. Strong in the wereblood or not, not even Cindel could match Pa's proficiency at shifting yet.

"This is my fault, isn't it?" Cana asked. Her wistful smile had faded, and she wore a look of concern.

"No," Gillwyn said firmly. "Cindel's doings are her own doing. She blames everyone but herself, so there's no need for you to do the same."

Cana looked down to her feet, pensive.

Gillwyn sighed. "Maybe I should take my own advice. I think we hurt her feelings, coming across her as we did."

"What do you mean?" Cana asked. Her brow was furrowed.

Gillwyn's voice went soft. "I think she feels something for you, too."

Cana put a hand to her chest and gasped. Winds, but she was the delicate type. Gillwyn loved that about her.

"Cindel Forester?" she said, breathless. "Me? No, you must be wrong."

"And maybe I'm worried that..." Gillwyn hesitated.

Cana was perceptive. Gillwyn loved that about her, also. "That I might feel something for Cindel?" Cana ventured.

Gillwyn nodded.

"Winds, Gill, it's not so," she said. "I've only ever wanted to be her friend. Cindel is fascinating, and I admire her, but... Anything more is just not so. What makes you think such a thing when we get on so poorly? Cindel hates me."

"Immaturity mixed with unfocused aggression," Gillwyn said, quoting her ma. "It leads to an unacceptable misunderstanding of the boundaries between positive and negative affection. It is an abusive behavior unworthy of a Forester girl."

Cana took a step back. The corner of her mouth quirked upwards as her eyes traced the length of Gillwyn. "That's scholarly talk, Lady Forester."

Gillwyn chuckled. "Ma's a scribe, you know. She used to lecture me after she caught me pulling the hair of a girl I liked."

Cana narrowed her eyes. The half-smile remained. "When I was seven, a brute of a girl pulled my hair once."

"And I still like you," Gillwyn reported. She took Cana's hand and rubbed her thumb over the knuckles. "I hope I'm better about showing it now."

"You are."

"I'm sorry I pulled your hair."

Cana blushed and had trouble returning her gaze. "As I remember, the next time I saw you, you cried as you apologized and shared your sweets with me."

Gillwyn scoffed. "I didn't cry."

"You did. I've loved you, and only you, ever since."

Cana hugged her, wrapping her arms around Gillwyn's middle and holding on tight. Gillwyn returned the embrace and marveled at how well Cana fit inside her arms, as if that was where Cana was meant to stay forever.

Nothing was perfect. Not even this. Gillwyn feared hurting Cindel with her love for Cana, whether it be that her sister truly was jealous or simply didn't approve. At the least, Gillwyn put to rest her worry that she was a second choice.

Gillwyn believed Cana when she said she loved her.

Enough dawdling. Cindel wasn't here, and Pa was soon to return. Winds only knew how he would react to finding his eldest tangled with the Miller girl like this. Bemused, most like, but he was certainly going to disallow them bedding down in the same room.

Together, Gillwyn and Cana gave the rest of the house a brief search. Cindel didn't present herself, so she must have been outside. Before leaving, Gillwyn poked her head into Ma and Pa's bedroom, then sidled inside.

"What are you up to?" Cana asked.

"I promised Cindel I'd take care of this," Gillwyn replied in a whisper. She went to a wooden cupboard over pa's dresser and opened it up. A bottle of fine Gaulatian brandy sat tucked behind a pair of glass tumblers. Gillwyn slid the bottle out then frowned at it in consternation. The bottle was nearly full.

Blustering lightweight, Gillwyn fumed. Here she had me thinking she downed the whole bottle. Hiding in the Senwood over a few sips. That guilty conscience of hers...

Gillwyn returned the brandy, then agonized over if she had put it back in exactly the same spot as she found it. She closed and latched the cupboard before beating a hasty retreat from her parents' bedroom.

"Waste of time," she murmured. "Come on. She can't have gone far. Or, would you rather stay here?"

Cana shook her head. "After everything, I'm not all that keen on being alone. I'll come along."

Leaving the house, Gillwyn took her measure of the air outside. The sun was drifting lower on the horizon. Twilight had begun. The wind was picking up, coming in from the north. There was a scent of petrichor riding the breeze, meaning that a rainstorm was coming, and soon.

Cana tugged Gillwyn's sleeve, then pointed towards the nearby storehouse. "Look. The door's swinging open. Could she have gone in there?"

"Maybe," Gillwyn replied. Her brow knitted together as she led the way. "Can't imagine why. Just a few tools and firewood."

They reached the storehouse door. It was dark within, but Gillwyn's shifter eyes could see inside almost as well as if it were late afternoon. Cana was the only one at a disadvantage.

Gillwyn saw a figure rummaging about and heard wood and metal clattering together. A faint voice was swearing by southern spirits.

"Cindel?"

Silence answered her. For the briefest of moments before it was snatched away by the wind, Gillwyn caught a sharp and acrid scent.

The wind rose up. It now blew hard enough that Gillwyn's hair was tossed about. Cana clutched to her shawl to keep it from being carried away.

"Cindel," Gillwyn called into the dark storeroom. "Is that you?"

Suddenly, a bright light flared within. Once her eyes adjusted, Gillwyn saw her younger sister shaking out a match and pulling a lantern down from its shelf.

"It was too dark to see in here," Cindel said with a frown. She didn't look Gillwyn and Cana's way as she spoke. Now that she was some manner of cleaned up, her untangled hair reached past her waist. "What do you want?"

At least Cindel was keeping her head with Cana around. A were could see in the low light of the storeroom just fine, but saying she'd been seeking out a lantern would head off awkward questions. Gillwyn smiled. There was hope for her little sister yet. "I was worried. Pa will be home soon, and he'll want to know you're safe."

"Safe from what?" Cindel demanded. "The only thing you two smell more of than each other is fear. There's never been a thing in the Senwood I need to be worried about, so what's changed?"

Two steps forward, three steps back, Gillwyn thought. So much for Cindel being discreet. She carried on about smelling things no human should. Maybe they'd be fortunate and Cana would only think it was a strange metaphor.

"Just predator signs," Gillwyn explained, "and Pa doesn't yet know what kind. You know how he walks on the cautious side of things."

Cindel eyed her in a searching manner. She might have suspected there was more that Gillwyn was holding back.

"That's the whole of it," Gillwyn insisted. "So, please, just come back inside."

With a sneer, Cindel turned back towards the wall of the shed. Her eyes looked over the shelf of woodworking tools, past pa's axes, and around the whole of the storehouse. "I'll be in soon."

"What are you even out here for?" Gillwyn asked.

"Looking for something," Cindel said curtly.

If it wouldn't have risked exposing her family's secret, Gillwyn might have taken the Dekaam spike Pa gave her and jabbed it into Cindel's back. She wouldn't be half so troublesome if she couldn't move due to her body's ether being sealed.

"Cindel, please," Cana ventured. "Why not come in, and we'll build a fire. I wouldn't want you to get caught out in the rain."

Gillwyn was a little surprised Cana could tell a rainstorm was coming. The clouds weren't overhead yet, but they soon would be.

The lantern wavered in Cindel's hand. She was giving Cana an inscrutable look. Curious and searching. She looked again to the storehouse walls, then back to Cana. Cindel let out a breath. "Alright. Nothing that can't wait until tomorrow."

Cindel took a step towards them.

Before Gillwyn realized what was happening or even heard a sound, Cana was ripped from her side. Something strong shoved Gillwyn forward into the storehouse. She lost her footing and fell to her hands and knees. Then Cana's startled yelp turn into a scream.

"Don't you move," Pa ordered.

Gillwyn looked up and saw her pa. He'd placed himself between Cana and the storehouse, concealing her with his body. He held his powered bow, and he had an arrow knocked and drawn to his ear. Pa was aiming at Gillwyn.

"Pa?" Gillwyn's voice was weak. No more than a faint whisper.

"Stop it," Pa hissed. "Don't speak. Don't move or even breathe, or so help me I'll loose this arrow."

Cindel, brow furrowed, stepped towards him.

The arrow snapped to point at her, stopping Cindel in her tracks.

"Stay back!" Pa shouted. "Winds and storms. I can't tell. Winds and storms. A father should be able to tell."

It was then that Gillwyn saw her pa's face clearly. His bulging eyes were red from weeping. Tears ran openly in tracks down his dirty cheeks. Pa's hands were stained with blood. They trembled as they held the bow. The weapon's clockworks whirred and ground together, begging to release the arrow.

"Goodman Forester, stop!" Cana cried. "What are you doing? Stop it!"

Pa leaned his head towards her. "Everything will be alright, girl. Don't worry. I won't let it hurt you."

It?

"Pa, what's wrong?" Cindel demanded. "Please. Just calm down."

Gillwyn couldn't take her eyes from the arrow as it drifted to point again at her chest. She found that she couldn't breathe, and Pa's threat had killed her voice.

Pa sobbed. "I went into the Senwood. I found what was left." His voice broke, and he took three gasping breaths before he found it again. "It was a girl."

Gillwyn's heart felt as if Pa's arrow had found it. A girl. She didn't yet fully understand.

"Something else," Pa rasped. "A Dekaam spike buried in the remains. And... A wolfskin. The flesh gone. The bones, the guts, all gone. Only the skin."

A proteurim weapon using the arts of the old masters. A skin. Only one of the races of shifter needed just the skin. They could become anything— anyone— so long as they had the skin.

"Skindancer," Gillwyn mouthed.

Outside the storehouse, the sun darkened as its fading twilight was covered by a storm cloud. The first drops of rain began to fall, and the wind howled.

Gillwyn's blood became ice in her veins. Slowly, she turned her head to look at Cindel. Her little sister...

She was not Gillwyn's sister.

My sister is dead? she thought. Numb and in shock, her thoughts felt slow and cumbersome. We didn't find an animal. We found... what was left of Cindel.

And now a skindancer had her skin. A disguise. A costume. It wore Cindel as Gillwyn would wear a cloak.

"You don't know me."

Gillwyn remembered what Cindel said in the washbasin. Winds, Gillwyn had bathed her sister's murderer. She'd been alone with it. Spoke with it as if it were her flesh and blood. Gillwyn wanted to vomit.

"Pa," Gillwyn murmured. "It's looking for..."

"I said not to speak!" Pa wailed. "Don't you dare! Don't you use my Gill's voice!"

Pa thought it was in her. Gillwyn shook her head, eyes tearing up. Cindel stepped towards him again.

"Back!" Pa repeated. Covering her with the bow. He started away, guiding Cana behind him. "I can't tell," he whispered. "A father should be able to tell. Winds and storms."

Gillwyn crawled away from the creature wearing Cindel's body. She shrank back until she was pressed against the storehouse's wall. The skindancer... did the same. The beast mimicked Gillwyn's horror. It wore a terrified look in Cindel's eyes and seemed ready to try to claw its way out through the wooden wall.

"Papa," it wailed. "Papa, please. Don't leave me alone with it!"

Pa's face was stricken. His shoulders shook from crying. "I can't tell," he whispered once more.

Cana's voice was shaking like a leaf. "Goodman Forester?"

Pa sniffed and a measure of strength returned to his words. "Run, girl. I'll see you safe to Goodman Wizard's home. It can't hurt you there."

Gillwyn looked to Cana, and their eyes met. She saw confusion. Terror. She also saw... disgust. Cana looked at Gillwyn and saw a monster.

She saw a shifter.

Gillwyn's heart broke into a hundred pieces. Her sister had become a plaything for the darkest side of the proteurim. She saw hate in her love's eyes. Her own father didn't know her and would kill her if she tried to escape. Once pa took Cana and his threatening bow away, Gillwyn would be the next to be skinned and worn.

Gillwyn began to cry, out of grief and out of fear. It killed Cindel. It will kill me. Winds and storms, it killed Cindel.

All she could smell was the acrid stench she now knew the source of. It had been watching them. For days. Waiting. Seeking its chance to catch one of the girls alone, skin them, become them, and then...

Gillwyn's jaw clenched in rage. She looked at the monster and screamed at it. "What do you want?"

The skindancer cowered. The deceiver. It was said that the skindancers were favored by the old masters. Those of the modern age remained pure, true proteurim, undiluted by human blood. They were closer to demon than mortal.

"Pa, it's a liar," Gillwyn cried. "It wants something. It's looking..." Her breath caught in her throat.

Pa had already gone. He'd taken Cana, the one girl he could save, and fled.

She stared out into the rain. Gratitude. All she felt for her pa right then was gratitude. He saved Cana.

And Gillwyn still had her knife and Dekaam spike.

With a wrathful shout, she threw herself to her feet and pulled her knife free. The spike was in her off-hand, ready to plunge into the first nerve cluster she could find. Brandishing her weapons at the thing that murdered her sister, she prepared to go out fighting like a Forester.

It remained against the wall of the storehouse, weeping and hiding its face. Shaking like a leaf, it cried and whispered for its papa.

Gillwyn wasn't about to be deceived again. She lunged at it, and the Dekaam spike struck hard into the side of its neck. The skindancer gasped and fell onto its back, chest heaving. The ether it held within its body was gone. Like an old man getting his cane kicked out from under him, the skindancer was crippled. It raised a pitiful hand up to ward her back. Gillwyn raised her knife in both hands.

"Papa, come back," it whispered. Tears fell from its eyes. "Don't leave me."

"He's already gone," Gillwyn snarled. "It's only you and me, so there's no point. I know who I am!"

It continued to shake and cower.

Gillwyn hesitated. Why did it continue the charade? She saw the monster and knew its nature. Why... did it...

"Cindel?"

It smelled like Cindel, but it wore her skin. It would smell like Cindel. A weres greatest asset was their sense of smell, and it was useless in identifying a skindancer. She could only detect its stench fleetingly. The absence of the scent wasn't evidence of absence.

But Cindel was here. Her little sister lay at Gillwyn's feet, weeping and terrified. Gillwyn knelt down and pulled out the spike. "Is... Cindel is it you?"

Cindel whimpered and opened her eyes. Winds and storms. It was really her.

Gillwyn snatched her and held Cindel to her chest. Sobs of relief wracked her body. Pa was wrong. The skindancer hadn't taken one of his daughters. Then who?

Pa? It was only his word that said the skindancer had taken a girl. But no. Why would he hold back from loosing his arrow? Why would he have given Gillwyn the means to defend herself? Why would he tell them of the skindancer at all? More than that, she had seen him change into the megarach. Even if it wore a were's skin, the skindancer wouldn't be able to use it to shift.

Gillwyn's heart clenched.

"Found her on the road while I was coming out of the Senwood," Pa explained while cocking his head in indication behind him.

"No."

"I wouldn't want you to be caught out in the rain."

"Not her."

"Winds," Cana whispered, covering her face with a sleeve. "What is that?" If Cana could smell it, it must have been stronger than Gillwyn thought.

"It can't be true."

"I've loved you, and only you, ever since."

Holding her sister in her arms, Gillwyn screamed until her throat was raw.

Cana Miller was dead, and the skindancer now wore her. It was alone with pa, closer than ever to whatever dark purpose had brought it to the Senwood. The master deceiver had removed two shifters from the gameboard without touching either of them.

"Do you want to kiss me?"

Gillwyn covered her mouth to stop herself from throwing up.

"I can't shift, Gill," Cindel whispered. "I can't."

The Dekaam spike had stolen her ether. Her abilities wouldn't work until it replenished. Gillwyn lay Cindel down. She rose to her feet and gripped her knife until her knuckles cracked.

"It's after Pa," she said. "It killed Cana and tricked everyone. Pa thinks it's in one of us."

"It isn't, right?" Cindel asked through her panting.

"If I was a skindancer, you'd be skinned already," Gillwyn snapped.

"Yeah, likewise," Cindel growled back. "Winds, where'd you even get pa's Dekaam from?"

"He gave it to me earlier."

"So... he doesn't have one anymore?"

Gillwyn clamped her eyes shut. "Maybe the one the skindancer used to... kill Cana. I don't know."

Cindel pushed herself up to a sitting position. "I'm sorry, Gill. About Cana. I know you loved her."

Gillwyn bared her teeth. I can't think. I can't think about it. Winds, what do I do?

A weight within her pocket called to her. A desperate, aching need rose in her chest. She drew out the panther paw and stared down at it.

What do I do? Gillwyn asked herself. I do as a shifter does.