With another sigh, she brushed her hair out of her eyes, wincing as she accidentally exacerbated her throbbing cheek, and strode towards the stables where Mommu had taken Enlil. The other apprentice's lamp threw a pale glow out of the small window at the top of the hut, next to the main house.

She shuffled in, kicking dirty hay out of the way. Mommu had taken the newcomer to see the Master's carriers. Although Master Anu seldom left Mooncliffe for an extended amount of time, he would often use one of his carriers as transport and he kept several in the barns, leaving Mommu and Tia to look after them in his absence.

She stopped a few metres short of the pair. The newcomer – Enlil, she has to remember to refer to him with his name as Master had accepted him as an equal – was gently stroking one of the Master's favourite carriers, a handsome, dignified creature called Aplaa. It seldom took to strangers so she was taken aback to see the carrier nuzzling for attention against Enlil's skinny arm.

He was surprisingly gentle with the creature, rubbing its nose and its chin. She stared at his hands. Those could have been hands that ended her life earlier on that day.

Mommu was brushing the carrier's short, dark brown hairs on its muscular flank, before moving down its long limbs.

Aplaa's pert ears picked up her footsteps. Its large eyes turned to look at her and it bobbed its head in familiarity. Both Enlil and Mommu turned also and their eyes fell on Tia. She gave a small smile and made her way forward.

"I trust supper was to your taste," she murmured out of politeness, sitting on one of the wooden benches nearby. She crossed her legs and leant back, eyeing the newcomer with undisguised interest as her Master was not in the same room. Enlil nodded without a reply. His hair was long, unkempt and badly needing a wash and cut. If she ever returned home that messy, Mommu would have a fit.

Enlil reminded Tia of dogs after a scuffle. His eyes were covered by the hair and most parts of his skin that was visible appeared to be covered in scratches. He was as spindly and thin as the homeless dogs out on the streets of Mooncliffe, too. He raised his right hand, exposing his scar, and stroked Aplaa gently.

"He does not normally take to strangers."

"This one?" His voice coloured, at last, with warmth. "He is a lovely creature. Very lean, and beautiful colouring."

"Aplaa is Master's favourite carrier," Mommu said, appearing from the other side. He gave Tia a grin before leaning casually back against the short wooden planks that fenced the carrier in. "He's the one Master uses whenever he goes out of town."

"And do you have your own?" Enlil's voice held a trace of envy.

"I have Kuri, and Tia has Enusat," Mommu said, stepping back and reaching his hand towards the carrier in the next stall. The creature made a comforting, affectionate noise as it nosed the boy's hand. "This is Kuri," he said proudly, running his fingers through the creature's long, well-brushed, soft grey hairs. "We have both had them for many years now; we raised them from young."

"He is beautiful." Mommu's face flushed pink with happiness.

"Master encourages us to become familiar with our own carrier, for when we go on long journeys." Tia warmed to the conversation. "Although he has yet to take us on a journey further than to Mooncliffe," she admitted ruefully.

She got up, eyed Aplaa and then reached out to grab the carrier treats from the bag that hung behind Enlil's head. To her surprise, he immediately flinched away.

"I am not going to hit you!" she exclaimed, withdrawing her hand. Enlil had blanched visibly and she could see cold sweat congregating on his tanned, weather-hardened face. He averted his eyes and dropped his head so that his hair swept across his features, but she reached out quickly and grasped his chin, tilting his head towards the light. His thick hair parted to reveal pale eyes and large pupils. His face was beaten recently, with fading bruises and half-healed lacerations. Tia narrowed her eyes. "I know you," she said accusingly.

Mommu gazed between the two, chewing his lip nervously. Enlil said nothing but continued to look terrified.

"You're that... person I met this morning in town," she carried on, in the same suspicious tone. She forced him to stare into her eyes and she could see sweat pouring down the side of his forehead. The memory was fuzzy, but those eyes had held panic the last time she saw them.

"What are you going to do – report me?" he retorted, to their surprise. Tia's brown, thin eyebrows disappeared into her hairline and a small smile played at her lips as she dropped her hand from his chin and took a step back. Her gaze held merely amusement and curiosity.

"What makes you think that?" she said, tilting her head to the side. "Master has accepted you as one of his own; it is not my place to judge.I do want to know, however, why this morning's events happened the way they did."

She held his gaze steadily, ignoring Mommu, who looked from one to the other, confused. Enlil clenched his fists and released them slowly, biting his lip.

"The target was not who we thought she was," he said, with emphasis. "There was no need for... continuation. So we desisted."

"I see. That was rather kind of you."

"That was what any civil person would do," he shot back. "Punishment or not."

"Target? What target? What punishment?" Mommu said, exasperated. Tia grinned cheekily at him. The tension in the air dispersed.

 "Nothing," she said innocently, but then added in a sly voice, green eyes bright, "but if Master realises Mommu has not done his studies yet by this late hour, I am not sure what punishment will be in store!"

"Tia!" he protested as she poked him in the tummy, giggled, and sped out of the barn.

****

Hard as she tried, Tia couldn't fool the Master about her eagerness to practise Wind magic.

Enlil helped them with their tasks the next morning. He fetched water from the well as Tia prepared breakfast and Mommu cleaned the house. It was obvious that she was working as fast as she could to finish the tasks, even though Master Anu had chided her on multiple occasions for rushing her tasks and ruining them: once she had thrown all the scrolls that needed to be disposed of straight into the fireplace altogether and nearly burned the whole room. She mightn't be aware, but she was terrible at hiding how she wanted nothing more than to finish the irksome chores.

Mommu squeezed himself out of the way as she rushed past with gloved hands clutching a small cauldron of boiling gruel.

"Breakfast!" she yelled, slapping the food into bowls and slamming them onto the table. She sprinted to the Master's study room, again narrowly skimming by Mommu, and repeated the announcement. "Enlil!" With another shout, she charged outside, looking for their guest.

The old man smiled fondly to himself. Tia reminded him very much of himself when he was young, many decades ago. Young, boisterous, rambunctious. Headstrong, filled with talent and fearless. A born survivor and a very bad team player, and if she decided to enrol into His Majesty's service, it would cost her dearly as it had he.

Over breakfast gruel, the Master was glad to see that Enlil had gotten on well with the two apprentices. He had changed out of the ragged, dirty clothing he had arrived in and was wearing the same belted pale-blue tunic and baggy trousers that the two apprentices wore. On his wrists were two wrist guards, which hid his slave's brand. After a wash, a good meal and a peaceful night's sleep, his sallow skin had softened slightly and his hair was clean and brushed back. His eyes had a livelier glimmer, although he was still tense, jumping at slight sounds and his lips frequently pressed in a thin line.

"Have you thought more of my proposal, Enlil?" said the Master in a soft voice as the two trainees tidied. He could sense Tia pretending to be occupied with tidying the contents of the nearby cupboard, when she was really listening in. Enlil gripped his cup tightly, staring down at the water.

"I'd... I'd like to stay," the boy said, not meeting anyone's eyes. Tia's arms, stuck inside the cupboard, stopped in their foraging. "I'd very much like to."

"It will be my pleasure. Tia!" the Master said with no warning, making Tia jump. She quickly retrieved her arms, shut the cupboard and scuttled out of sight. He lowered his voice, smiling encouragingly at the youngster sitting across the table from him. "It will be my pleasure to have you here, my boy."

Enlil's shoulders relaxed visibly and a small flush crept up his browned face.

"You should know that each one of us earn our keep in this household," the Master continued, pale blue eyes surveying Enlil's relief. He looked up. His features had brightened considerably.

"I shall attend at once."

****

Mommu's bargain with Asaru the language Master had taken a while to solidify, as the Speaker was so busy, but the boy had been resilient. Mommu hailed from Ratho and he wanted nothing more than to retain his roots, and speaking the language of his parents, who abandoned him as a child, was a start.

So he said. Tia couldn't fathom why he would want to learn anything about the people who didn't want him. It didn't make sense.

She clicked her tongue as she watched the chubby apprentice set off. She couldn't see why Mommu would want to learn a language that was near obsolete but he had been keen to go every week. The dialect was spoken only by the poor, living in isolated clutches on the edges of some big cities – the nearest being Kiramone and Hume – and even for practicality's sake, she could not see the point. Six weeks later, his enthusiasm had not waned.

She crossed her legs and leant heavily on the fence, her chin resting on her right arm. The wind was warm and gentle and it lifted her hair gently from her shoulders and set it down again. She gave a quick glance over her shoulder. The Master was in his study again and she eyed Enlil, pottering unsteadily with another bucket of water from the well.

She liked Enlil, in a strange way. He wasn't easily swayed like Mommu, nor was he funny, but his words were often reassuring and wise beyond his years; so much so she had often just let them wash over her rather than try to understand the complexities of life.  She picked up her basket and vaulted over the wall, beginning to harvest hay for the animals that evening.

When she returned to feed the carriers, she found the Master standing at the edge of the hilltop, staff in hand and standing with his back to her. Tia could hear the wind singing. She hastily passed the basket to Enlil, who went to the stables to feed them for her without a comment. Tia turned back to the Master, her eyes bright.

Several voices, beautifully eerie and inhuman, overlapped each other, wave after wave in harmony. Tingles spread to her core. There were no words, merely the colours of the Wind washing over them, calling to them. The sounds were all over Mooncliffe, yet it was quiet as a mouse for the people who were not tuned to the voices. It was a gorgeous melody filled with extraordinary energy and Tia could feel the life blossoming from inside her.

The song stopped. Tia slowly opened her eyes, her mind blissfully drunk in the music, and let out a contented sigh.

"What is the Wind saying, Master?" The voices were unfamiliar. The old man lowered his staff and a moment passed before he finally turned to look at her. She immediately registered the gravity in his eyes.

"The king has summoned for Council. It is time to travel to Capital."