Chapter 6
Lord Avhonari rubbed at his forehead with the fingers of one hand, trying to ignore his nephew. This wasn’t easy; Traggen kept yammering on about his many conquests and how dull life was at home. He leaned back against the squabs of the coach, closing his eyes. He was already weary, and he’d only been in his young relative’s company for less than three hours. Worse, they were on their way to his house. He didn’t want to introduce Traggen to Z’sharan, but he had no choice. If he‘d told Traggen that he couldn’t stay at his home as the boy always had before, Traggen would have gotten suspicious and would have come nosing around. He was clever enough that he would have sensed that there was something that his uncle was hiding from him. It was only one step from there to his nephew discovering Z’sharan’s secret. And then who knew what his capricious nephew would do with that information? The most benign outcome with him would have been his blackmailing the pretty wereleopard into his bed.
At least this way he could introduce Z’sharan as a foreign scholar staying at his house, and if he were casual enough about it Traggen wouldn’t be tipped off that there was something different about Z’sharan. Better the boy think that the wereleopard was just a foreign scholar, even if he did try to seduce Z’sharan. Although even the thought of this made Lord Avhonari’s muscles tighten and anger streak through him. His mouth tightened. Traggen could not have decided to come to the capitol at a worse time than this. But of course, the boy had always been good at doing things like this…
The coach turned into the drive of his house. Lord Avhonari was grateful for this fact, even though he would now have to introduce Traggen to Z’sharan. At least he wouldn’t have to listen to his nephew talk anymore. His pounding skull thanked him for the fact that Traggen jumped out of the coach as soon as it stopped and made for the front door without bothering to wait for his uncle. Lord Avhonari descended himself much more slowly, and walked after his nephew with a grim look on his face.
In the front entrance hall, Traggen was talking with a servant. Flirting, actually. The handsome young footman was practically giggling. Lord Avhonari rolled his eyes as he moved across the entrance hall. He’d leave Traggen to his flirtations. Better he find a bedwarmer for tonight among the servants anyway. And one thing he had to say for his nephew – no one who came to his bed was ever unwilling. Traggen was handsome and charming, and could usually talk just about anyone into a liaison with him.
But before he could make it out of the front entrance hall, Z’sharan came padding out of one of the corridors. The wereleopard looked pleased to see him. Lord Avhonari smiled, before he remembered that his wretched nephew was standing not ten feet away. He started toward Z’sharan, to try to draw him away. But it was too late – Traggen had spied the exotic-looking man and came over swiftly to find out who this person could be. Lord Avhonari groaned in the back of his throat as Traggen swept up to them. “Greeting, fair one,” he purred. “I’ve never seen you here before. Who might you be?”
“His name is Z‘sharan, and he is a guest of mine,” Lord Avhonari said austerely. “He is a foreign scholar, and as you know Traggen I have always been an amateur scholar myself…”
“Yes, always burying yourself in parchments. I’ve always said you’ll grow as old and dusty as they are, Uncle,” Traggen chided, never taking his eyes from Z’sharan’s face. “Although perhaps I’m wrong, since this lovely creature is definitely not old or dusty in any way.”
He seized Z’sharan’s hand, looking deep into the golden eyes. The wereleopard blinked as Lord Avhonari tensed behind them. Here was where Traggen’s charm won the wereman over, just as it always did. But to both his and Traggen’s astonishment, the ‘foreign scholar’ withdrew his hand using his startling strength. “Who are you?” he asked in his exotic accent, giving Traggen a doubtful look.
Traggen tried again. “I am Traggen, Lord Avhonari’s nephew. I came to stay with my uncle for a few weeks, and I am very glad that I did. That such an amazing person should be staying with him pleases me very much.”
Z’sharan cocked his head. “Nephew? You are a relative?” he said.
Traggen beamed at him. “Yes! My mother is his elder sister.”
“Oh,” the wereleopard considered this. “You are a cub,” he said after a moment.
Traggen looked offended. “I beg your pardon! I am not a cub!” he cried, glaring at Z’sharan.
Lord Avhonari hastened to clear up a misunderstanding. “Traggen, ‘cub’ doesn’t mean what it does in our lands. Please remember that he’s foreign. He’s not trying to insult you.”
“Oh, I see,” Traggen’s temper calmed down as Z’sharan’s brows drew together in puzzlement. “That’s good, since I wouldn’t want to have to duel such a beautiful creature over my bruised honor.”
Lord Avhonari made a sound perilously close to a snort. “As you say, Nephew,” he remarked dryly. “Z’sharan, Traggen is considered an adult in this land. He is not a cub.”
The wereleopard looked at him. “I am sorry,” he said to Traggen. “I sometimes have a hard time telling hu…people’s ages…”
Traggen waved a negligent hand at him. “That’s fine, beautiful creature, I forgive you,” he said magnanimously. “And I think that you’ll find that I’m very much a man…” he added with a slight leer.
Z’sharan glanced at Lord Avhonari, and the nobleman moved to rescue his guest from Traggen’s clutches. “Much as it pains me to tell you this, Nephew, Z’sharan and I are working on a scholarly paper together. I very much wish to put some more time in before retiring to bed, so we’ll be going to my study now.”
Traggen’s face fell. “Couldn’t I join you, Uncle?” he asked hopefully.
Lord Avhonari shook his head firmly. “I’m sorry, but we’ll see you in the morning. Goodnight, Nephew,” he took Z’sharan’s arm and drew him away, leaving Traggen standing there looking rather petulant as he watched them walk away together.
Z’sharan looked up at him as they walked. “Lord Avhonari? Don’t you like your sister’s cub?” he asked in puzzlement.
He sighed. “Not especially,” he replied. “The boy is…manipulative and cunning. He couples with anything that will stand still long enough, and he drives me mad most of the time. Especially since his mother sees fit to dump him on me every few months as my eternal punishment for being related to her.”
Z’sharan shook his head. “It is very sad when kin do not get along,” he remarked.
Lord Avhonari shrugged slightly. “Then my family is very sad, because I don’t get along with most of them,” he said dryly. “Most are hangers-on, wanting to sponge off of me in some way.”
At the wereleopard’s blank look, he explained what he meant. “My family wishes me to give them money and take care of them even though they’re perfectly capable of taking care of themselves if they wished to. I get very tired of their endless begging and whining. If your folk don’t have this problem, then you should be grateful.”
Z’sharan startled him by touching his arm. “You have many burdens,” the wereleopard remarked compassionately.
Lord Avhonari looked down at the slender fingers resting on his arm. He cleared his throat a bit. “Erm…I suppose that I do. I’m used to it by now.”
They entered the study, Lord Avhonari closing the door behind them. “I thought that we could talk a bit more before we retire to bed,” he said.
Z’sharan sat down in the chair across from his desk. “I do not mind, but I will not be going to sleep for awhile,” he replied. “I wish to go out later and Change.”
Lord Avhonari looked concerned. “Is that wise? If you’re seen…”
Z’sharan shook his head. “I will not be seen. I can see or smell anyone long before they could see me. I will wait until most have gone to bed before I go.”
Lord Avhonari studied his face for a moment, and then nodded. “I will trust you. Just be careful. You cannot afford to be caught. And…” he hesitated, “I would warn you about my nephew. He cannot find out about your true nature. The consequences of that would be very bad. Please display as little of your true nature as you possibly can around him. You are simply a foreign scholar, a human from another country.”
“I will remember,” Z’sharan said gravely. “I will be careful around the cub.”
Lord Avhonari felt his lips twitch a bit. Z’sharan’s persistence in calling Traggen a ‘cub’ amused him greatly. Apparently the wereleopard was not falling for his nephew’s charm, a fact that pleased him to no end. “What did you do while I was gone?” he asked.
Z’sharan brightened and began to tell him about his tour of the house. He talked excitedly about the music room, wanting to know about the strange stringed instrument. “Ah, that is called a harp,” Lord Avhonari told him. “Would you like to hear it played?”
“Yes! Can you play it?”
The nobleman shook his head. “No, but I can have someone play it for you. My sister can play it, but I am not going to ask her,” the nobleman said with a grimace. “But I know a gifted musician that I can ask to give you a demonstration. I’ll send a note to her tomorrow.”
“Thank you, Lord Avhonari,” the wereleopard said. The nobleman felt his stomach lurch at the way those golden eyes glowed at his simple gesture. Z’sharan was a dangerous creature, he thought grimly. Very dangerous.
Z’sharan slipped out of a back door that Lord Avhonari had unlocked for him. The human nobleman stood behind him and watched as the wereleopard moved off into the shadows, his mouth a little pinched with worry. Never mind that most of his servants were in bed; there were the guards on patrol all night. And he couldn’t very well order them NOT to do so, since that would have looked extremely suspicious. He simply had to have faith in Z’sharan and his abilities.
He wished rather wistfully that he could follow Z’sharan into the garden and watch him transform again. While his human form was handsome, his leopard form was gorgeous. Perhaps he could have Z’sharan transform for him sometime soon behind locked doors. For now, though, he went back to his bedchamber. If anyone saw him roaming the halls they’d wonder what he was doing. It was not his habit to be up so late normally. And worse, it WAS Traggen’s habit to stay up half the night. All he needed was for his irritating nephew to spy him and ask all kinds of impertinent questions about what he was doing.
Outside in the cool night air, Z’sharan loped swiftly out into the garden. He found a recessed alcove and gratefully shed the rather binding human clothes, laying them on the bench inside of it so that he could come back and retrieve them later. Then he sighed as he knelt on all fours on the stone path, and called the Change. It came to him quickly, his back bowing and his bones crackling as they lengthened and changed shape. His nose and mouth formed a muzzle, and fur sprouted all over his body. His tail snaked out from the base of his buttocks. Soon enough, a leopard stood where a human had crouched just moments before. The beast lifted his head to the night air, his acute senses taking in all of the sights and scents.
He padded away from the alcove and began to explore, sniffing at the stones and the carefully tended flowerbeds. He heard the call of night birds and the rustle of small animals moving about, and licked his lips hopefully. A midnight snack of raw meat would be very tasty and nice. Although if he couldn’t catch anything it would not be a tragedy. The lady in the kitchen had fed him well earlier.
Ah, this was living. Sliding through the night like a fish through water, drinking everything in as he took joy in his muscles and his power. He wandered down the paths for awhile, and then headed for the walled garden. He Changed briefly into a human again and scaled the wall to get back in as he’d gotten out. Once inside, he Changed back to a leopard and ghosted along toward the area where the little deer lived. He felt the urge for a snack of red meat.
He went into a slinking walk when he came across the little herd huddled together sleeping. His golden eyes gleamed with the urge to kill, to feast on fresh meat and blood. Smooth and graceful, he slunk toward the animals silently. When he was within range, he coiled and jumped. The deer he landed on squealed in terror and thrashed as his teeth sank into the creature’s neck. Z’sharan used his weight to hold the deer down as his teeth broke through the skin and found the carotid artery. The rest of the herd awoke and stampeded away at the smell of blood and their dying brethren’s weak cries, but the leopard didn’t see any reason for chasing after them. He had what he wanted.
He worried a piece of meat from the neck, bolting it down as he relished the taste. His tail slapped in pleasure on the ground as he continued to feast on his kill. His eyes went lidded as he lapped up blood. A contented purr broke from his throat as he savored the taste of a fresh kill. The humans’ food was good, but he preferred this. Cooking it stole some of the flavor from the meat.
He ate more than half of the carcass, and then dragged the rest into a bush to hide the kill. If the gardeners found it they might wonder why a deer looked like it had been killed by some large predator. He remembered Lord Avhonari’s warning that he had to be careful, that if any other humans discovered his secret he might end up in another iron cage. And he definitely wouldn’t be able to stand that.
He went to get a drink from the small pond and wash the blood from his mouth and paws. Then he left the walled garden the same way he’d come, touching down lightly on his bare feet outside. He sniffed the air and looked around cautiously, but he didn’t see or smell any guards or other humans. Then he Changed and ran off toward the alcove to retrieve his clothing, so that he could go back into the house. Now that he was full he was ready to go back inside and get some sleep.
Human once more, he dressed and moved off silently toward the house. He kept a careful eye out for any signs of movement. He opened the door just a bit and slipped into the crack, standing in the hallway while he waited for his golden eyes to adjust to the dim light from the lamps burning on the walls. Once they had, he moved off toward the sleeping quarters. He didn’t see anyone else as he made his way to his new room.
He took off his clothes once more and laid them over the chest at the end of the bed before crawling into it and burrowing under the covers. The bed seemed far too large to him; big enough to have half of his clan curl up in it together to sleep. Z’sharan turned over, trying to find a good spot to sleep in. Finally he sighed and slid out of the bed, moving toward the window. Here he found something more to his liking – a windowseat. It was wide enough for him to curl up on, but small enough that he didn’t feel lost. He lay down on it after opening the widow just a crack so that he could smell the night scents as he slept. Z’sharan curled up and went to sleep on the windowseat.
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Lord Avhonari rubbed at his forehead with the fingers of one hand, trying to ignore his nephew. This wasn’t easy; Traggen kept yammering on about his many conquests and how dull life was at home. He leaned back against the squabs of the coach, closing his eyes. He was already weary, and he’d only been in his young relative’s company for less than three hours. Worse, they were on their way to his house. He didn’t want to introduce Traggen to Z’sharan, but he had no choice. If he‘d told Traggen that he couldn’t stay at his home as the boy always had before, Traggen would have gotten suspicious and would have come nosing around. He was clever enough that he would have sensed that there was something that his uncle was hiding from him. It was only one step from there to his nephew discovering Z’sharan’s secret. And then who knew what his capricious nephew would do with that information? The most benign outcome with him would have been his blackmailing the pretty wereleopard into his bed.
At least this way he could introduce Z’sharan as a foreign scholar staying at his house, and if he were casual enough about it Traggen wouldn’t be tipped off that there was something different about Z’sharan. Better the boy think that the wereleopard was just a foreign scholar, even if he did try to seduce Z’sharan. Although even the thought of this made Lord Avhonari’s muscles tighten and anger streak through him. His mouth tightened. Traggen could not have decided to come to the capitol at a worse time than this. But of course, the boy had always been good at doing things like this…
The coach turned into the drive of his house. Lord Avhonari was grateful for this fact, even though he would now have to introduce Traggen to Z’sharan. At least he wouldn’t have to listen to his nephew talk anymore. His pounding skull thanked him for the fact that Traggen jumped out of the coach as soon as it stopped and made for the front door without bothering to wait for his uncle. Lord Avhonari descended himself much more slowly, and walked after his nephew with a grim look on his face.
In the front entrance hall, Traggen was talking with a servant. Flirting, actually. The handsome young footman was practically giggling. Lord Avhonari rolled his eyes as he moved across the entrance hall. He’d leave Traggen to his flirtations. Better he find a bedwarmer for tonight among the servants anyway. And one thing he had to say for his nephew – no one who came to his bed was ever unwilling. Traggen was handsome and charming, and could usually talk just about anyone into a liaison with him.
But before he could make it out of the front entrance hall, Z’sharan came padding out of one of the corridors. The wereleopard looked pleased to see him. Lord Avhonari smiled, before he remembered that his wretched nephew was standing not ten feet away. He started toward Z’sharan, to try to draw him away. But it was too late – Traggen had spied the exotic-looking man and came over swiftly to find out who this person could be. Lord Avhonari groaned in the back of his throat as Traggen swept up to them. “Greeting, fair one,” he purred. “I’ve never seen you here before. Who might you be?”
“His name is Z‘sharan, and he is a guest of mine,” Lord Avhonari said austerely. “He is a foreign scholar, and as you know Traggen I have always been an amateur scholar myself…”
“Yes, always burying yourself in parchments. I’ve always said you’ll grow as old and dusty as they are, Uncle,” Traggen chided, never taking his eyes from Z’sharan’s face. “Although perhaps I’m wrong, since this lovely creature is definitely not old or dusty in any way.”
He seized Z’sharan’s hand, looking deep into the golden eyes. The wereleopard blinked as Lord Avhonari tensed behind them. Here was where Traggen’s charm won the wereman over, just as it always did. But to both his and Traggen’s astonishment, the ‘foreign scholar’ withdrew his hand using his startling strength. “Who are you?” he asked in his exotic accent, giving Traggen a doubtful look.
Traggen tried again. “I am Traggen, Lord Avhonari’s nephew. I came to stay with my uncle for a few weeks, and I am very glad that I did. That such an amazing person should be staying with him pleases me very much.”
Z’sharan cocked his head. “Nephew? You are a relative?” he said.
Traggen beamed at him. “Yes! My mother is his elder sister.”
“Oh,” the wereleopard considered this. “You are a cub,” he said after a moment.
Traggen looked offended. “I beg your pardon! I am not a cub!” he cried, glaring at Z’sharan.
Lord Avhonari hastened to clear up a misunderstanding. “Traggen, ‘cub’ doesn’t mean what it does in our lands. Please remember that he’s foreign. He’s not trying to insult you.”
“Oh, I see,” Traggen’s temper calmed down as Z’sharan’s brows drew together in puzzlement. “That’s good, since I wouldn’t want to have to duel such a beautiful creature over my bruised honor.”
Lord Avhonari made a sound perilously close to a snort. “As you say, Nephew,” he remarked dryly. “Z’sharan, Traggen is considered an adult in this land. He is not a cub.”
The wereleopard looked at him. “I am sorry,” he said to Traggen. “I sometimes have a hard time telling hu…people’s ages…”
Traggen waved a negligent hand at him. “That’s fine, beautiful creature, I forgive you,” he said magnanimously. “And I think that you’ll find that I’m very much a man…” he added with a slight leer.
Z’sharan glanced at Lord Avhonari, and the nobleman moved to rescue his guest from Traggen’s clutches. “Much as it pains me to tell you this, Nephew, Z’sharan and I are working on a scholarly paper together. I very much wish to put some more time in before retiring to bed, so we’ll be going to my study now.”
Traggen’s face fell. “Couldn’t I join you, Uncle?” he asked hopefully.
Lord Avhonari shook his head firmly. “I’m sorry, but we’ll see you in the morning. Goodnight, Nephew,” he took Z’sharan’s arm and drew him away, leaving Traggen standing there looking rather petulant as he watched them walk away together.
Z’sharan looked up at him as they walked. “Lord Avhonari? Don’t you like your sister’s cub?” he asked in puzzlement.
He sighed. “Not especially,” he replied. “The boy is…manipulative and cunning. He couples with anything that will stand still long enough, and he drives me mad most of the time. Especially since his mother sees fit to dump him on me every few months as my eternal punishment for being related to her.”
Z’sharan shook his head. “It is very sad when kin do not get along,” he remarked.
Lord Avhonari shrugged slightly. “Then my family is very sad, because I don’t get along with most of them,” he said dryly. “Most are hangers-on, wanting to sponge off of me in some way.”
At the wereleopard’s blank look, he explained what he meant. “My family wishes me to give them money and take care of them even though they’re perfectly capable of taking care of themselves if they wished to. I get very tired of their endless begging and whining. If your folk don’t have this problem, then you should be grateful.”
Z’sharan startled him by touching his arm. “You have many burdens,” the wereleopard remarked compassionately.
Lord Avhonari looked down at the slender fingers resting on his arm. He cleared his throat a bit. “Erm…I suppose that I do. I’m used to it by now.”
They entered the study, Lord Avhonari closing the door behind them. “I thought that we could talk a bit more before we retire to bed,” he said.
Z’sharan sat down in the chair across from his desk. “I do not mind, but I will not be going to sleep for awhile,” he replied. “I wish to go out later and Change.”
Lord Avhonari looked concerned. “Is that wise? If you’re seen…”
Z’sharan shook his head. “I will not be seen. I can see or smell anyone long before they could see me. I will wait until most have gone to bed before I go.”
Lord Avhonari studied his face for a moment, and then nodded. “I will trust you. Just be careful. You cannot afford to be caught. And…” he hesitated, “I would warn you about my nephew. He cannot find out about your true nature. The consequences of that would be very bad. Please display as little of your true nature as you possibly can around him. You are simply a foreign scholar, a human from another country.”
“I will remember,” Z’sharan said gravely. “I will be careful around the cub.”
Lord Avhonari felt his lips twitch a bit. Z’sharan’s persistence in calling Traggen a ‘cub’ amused him greatly. Apparently the wereleopard was not falling for his nephew’s charm, a fact that pleased him to no end. “What did you do while I was gone?” he asked.
Z’sharan brightened and began to tell him about his tour of the house. He talked excitedly about the music room, wanting to know about the strange stringed instrument. “Ah, that is called a harp,” Lord Avhonari told him. “Would you like to hear it played?”
“Yes! Can you play it?”
The nobleman shook his head. “No, but I can have someone play it for you. My sister can play it, but I am not going to ask her,” the nobleman said with a grimace. “But I know a gifted musician that I can ask to give you a demonstration. I’ll send a note to her tomorrow.”
“Thank you, Lord Avhonari,” the wereleopard said. The nobleman felt his stomach lurch at the way those golden eyes glowed at his simple gesture. Z’sharan was a dangerous creature, he thought grimly. Very dangerous.
Z’sharan slipped out of a back door that Lord Avhonari had unlocked for him. The human nobleman stood behind him and watched as the wereleopard moved off into the shadows, his mouth a little pinched with worry. Never mind that most of his servants were in bed; there were the guards on patrol all night. And he couldn’t very well order them NOT to do so, since that would have looked extremely suspicious. He simply had to have faith in Z’sharan and his abilities.
He wished rather wistfully that he could follow Z’sharan into the garden and watch him transform again. While his human form was handsome, his leopard form was gorgeous. Perhaps he could have Z’sharan transform for him sometime soon behind locked doors. For now, though, he went back to his bedchamber. If anyone saw him roaming the halls they’d wonder what he was doing. It was not his habit to be up so late normally. And worse, it WAS Traggen’s habit to stay up half the night. All he needed was for his irritating nephew to spy him and ask all kinds of impertinent questions about what he was doing.
Outside in the cool night air, Z’sharan loped swiftly out into the garden. He found a recessed alcove and gratefully shed the rather binding human clothes, laying them on the bench inside of it so that he could come back and retrieve them later. Then he sighed as he knelt on all fours on the stone path, and called the Change. It came to him quickly, his back bowing and his bones crackling as they lengthened and changed shape. His nose and mouth formed a muzzle, and fur sprouted all over his body. His tail snaked out from the base of his buttocks. Soon enough, a leopard stood where a human had crouched just moments before. The beast lifted his head to the night air, his acute senses taking in all of the sights and scents.
He padded away from the alcove and began to explore, sniffing at the stones and the carefully tended flowerbeds. He heard the call of night birds and the rustle of small animals moving about, and licked his lips hopefully. A midnight snack of raw meat would be very tasty and nice. Although if he couldn’t catch anything it would not be a tragedy. The lady in the kitchen had fed him well earlier.
Ah, this was living. Sliding through the night like a fish through water, drinking everything in as he took joy in his muscles and his power. He wandered down the paths for awhile, and then headed for the walled garden. He Changed briefly into a human again and scaled the wall to get back in as he’d gotten out. Once inside, he Changed back to a leopard and ghosted along toward the area where the little deer lived. He felt the urge for a snack of red meat.
He went into a slinking walk when he came across the little herd huddled together sleeping. His golden eyes gleamed with the urge to kill, to feast on fresh meat and blood. Smooth and graceful, he slunk toward the animals silently. When he was within range, he coiled and jumped. The deer he landed on squealed in terror and thrashed as his teeth sank into the creature’s neck. Z’sharan used his weight to hold the deer down as his teeth broke through the skin and found the carotid artery. The rest of the herd awoke and stampeded away at the smell of blood and their dying brethren’s weak cries, but the leopard didn’t see any reason for chasing after them. He had what he wanted.
He worried a piece of meat from the neck, bolting it down as he relished the taste. His tail slapped in pleasure on the ground as he continued to feast on his kill. His eyes went lidded as he lapped up blood. A contented purr broke from his throat as he savored the taste of a fresh kill. The humans’ food was good, but he preferred this. Cooking it stole some of the flavor from the meat.
He ate more than half of the carcass, and then dragged the rest into a bush to hide the kill. If the gardeners found it they might wonder why a deer looked like it had been killed by some large predator. He remembered Lord Avhonari’s warning that he had to be careful, that if any other humans discovered his secret he might end up in another iron cage. And he definitely wouldn’t be able to stand that.
He went to get a drink from the small pond and wash the blood from his mouth and paws. Then he left the walled garden the same way he’d come, touching down lightly on his bare feet outside. He sniffed the air and looked around cautiously, but he didn’t see or smell any guards or other humans. Then he Changed and ran off toward the alcove to retrieve his clothing, so that he could go back into the house. Now that he was full he was ready to go back inside and get some sleep.
Human once more, he dressed and moved off silently toward the house. He kept a careful eye out for any signs of movement. He opened the door just a bit and slipped into the crack, standing in the hallway while he waited for his golden eyes to adjust to the dim light from the lamps burning on the walls. Once they had, he moved off toward the sleeping quarters. He didn’t see anyone else as he made his way to his new room.
He took off his clothes once more and laid them over the chest at the end of the bed before crawling into it and burrowing under the covers. The bed seemed far too large to him; big enough to have half of his clan curl up in it together to sleep. Z’sharan turned over, trying to find a good spot to sleep in. Finally he sighed and slid out of the bed, moving toward the window. Here he found something more to his liking – a windowseat. It was wide enough for him to curl up on, but small enough that he didn’t feel lost. He lay down on it after opening the widow just a crack so that he could smell the night scents as he slept. Z’sharan curled up and went to sleep on the windowseat.
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