A mere ten minutes later, rustling among the shrubs had us turning to the south as the brown Saursune trotted into view. A green male followed behind her with two bags slung over his flanks. He slowed down as the female headed directly for us, just as relaxed as she usually was.

She hummed in welcome as her footsteps slowed, and she bumped her nose against my shoulder. I stroked the faintly warm scales on her neck as I realized that I was beginning to recognize which of their sounds were greetings and which were reassurances.

She sat down and looked between the male and me as he drew closer. Merryl took Callie and retreated to the far side of the crystal with the hunters to watch. He bowed his head to her and gave a reassuring hum. His gaze returned to me as he tip-toed closer, moving with deliberate slowness as if he was scared of spooking me.

I held out my hand with the palm sideways. He touched his snout against my fingers, then pulled back and sat on his haunches. When his hands reached for the bags, my heart sped up even though I doubted he meant me any harm. The brown female hummed and rubbed her head against my arm, not-so-subtly circling behind me to stand between me and the crystal.

I remained where I was as the male set the two bags on the ground in front of him, and opened one. He pulled out a very thin board that looked like a map, complete with trees, a creek, and a crystal. The layout looked exactly like the terrain and creek around here.

The map was fascinating even though it didn't show any other crystals or anything my hunters wouldn't be aware of. He set the map on the grass and pulled out a bundle of sticks out of the bag. When he pried the sticks apart, they unfolded to form a waist-high box-like frame, which he set the map board on. I tilted my head as I tried to figure out how the sticks bent like that without breaking.

Next, the Saursune reached into the other bag and picked out small fist-sized objects. He set the grass-woven figures on the map while watching my expression. My jaw dropped.

The human figures had been meticulously woven with the proper proportions. All had clothes and some sort of accessory. Three had a mini bow and quiver slung over their shoulder. Two had a tiny carry net containing green things in their hands. Two had a shiny bluish-green stone on their chests with thin blue lines trailing down their arms to the pure blue palms on their hands. A child figure had a much smaller stone but no lines.

I glanced over at Merryl, who was watching with wide eyes, as were the two gatherers and the three hunters who coincidentally carried a bow and quiver. Callie stood on her tiptoes to see over the crystal. I turned back as the Saursune put two Saursune figures—one brown and one green—beside the humans.

The Saursune put a grass-woven airship on a section of the forest to the south. The airship had a large opening on the side, letting us see the inside was hollow and empty except for a small crystal spire.

Leaving most of the human figures near the forest crystal, he slid the two Saursunes and one porter across the forest to the airship. He reached into the bag and set a thin piece of wood beside the ship. On it was a drawing that showed a human—the charcoal-like drawing was too vague to identify the individual—resting their hand on a Saursune's shoulder as ribbons of blue—the only color on the drawing—flowed from the porter to the alien.

He set another wood tile on top with a porter putting both hands on a crystal, or I assumed it was a crystal since I'd never seen one with a single fat spire. After sliding both stacked tiles behind the airship, he moved the Saursune and porter figure back to the forest crystal.

Then he set down three small pictures beside the Saursunes and pushed them in front of the porter. Like the magazine pictures, it was like I was seeing the real objects, which showed a sack of corn, a sack of beans, and a sack of some sort of grain.

He looked at me and tilted his head inquiringly. My mind was still trying to catch up with their new version of "communication", although what they were suggesting seemed fairly clear to me.

I looked over at those standing behind the crystal. "It looks like they want me to go to the airship, let them drain some energy, touch a crystal, and then come back in exchange for three big bags of corn, beans, and some sort of grain."

From the drawing, I was pretty sure they actually wanted me to share my energy as opposed to just letting them take it, but this didn't seem like the best time to mention that aspect. Maybe I could use this trip to say the Saursunes tried to teach me how to do it.

"Is it wise to go with them?" Merryl asked, her voice higher in worry. "Especially near an airship?"

"The airship makes me nervous," I admitted, glancing back at the pictures. "But these bags look like the really big ones. There's probably enough in them to feed almost half the village."

This could very well be the only thing we'd bring back with us today. It was one thing for me to eat when I helped collect the food, but going home to eat when I brought nothing back was like taking food away from the children, and that was the last thing I wanted.

Merryl pursed her lips, looking torn.

"You sound like you're already in favor of the idea," Arthur commented, far calmer than I expected.

I made a face. "It's going to take months for these gardens to grow. We need food before then."

Sophia looked between our guests, their map, and me. "Clyde mentioned you were trying to build good relations with the Saursunes. Do you trust them enough to go with them by yourself?"

My gaze shifted to the green Saursune who was patiently watching me, then to the brown female, who gave a reassuring hum.

I glanced back at Sophia. "Had it just been the green one, no. But I trust the brown one. She's helped me every time I've let her, and she put the salve on my wrist yesterday." I lifted my arm to the few faint marks of what had been a nasty bruise.

Sophia shrugged. "That's probably why she came with him."

"No one else mentioned a crystal in that direction," Arthur mused, "and we've searched this area pretty thoroughly. But a Saursune did lead you to those marsh crystals the other day, so there might be something well-hidden around here. And you're right, that much food would be welcome."

Sophia gave me a faint smile. "Your heart is in the right place, but don't let them or us push you into doing anything you don't want to do."

I blinked as I realized none of the hunters or gatherers were trying to talk me out of it. Arthur had given his fairly neutral observations, and Sophia was more concerned if I was comfortable with their plans. They were letting me make the final decision.

I nodded slowly. "I'm not going to pretend I'm not nervous, but I don't think they'll hurt me. The crystal has me curious, and I think sharing my energy is well worth three sacks of grain." I managed a shaky grin. "We just aren't going to tell the villagers about this or they might demand I stay in the village."

Sophia's smile was shaky and concern lingered in her eyes. The others were too worried to accept my forced humor just yet. I was kind of surprised when none of the hunters or gatherers suggested coming with me, but most of them had some sort of injury that affected their mobility. I wasn't sure how tolerant the Saursunes were of our companions, so I decided not to suggest it, regardless of how grateful I'd be for their company.

"Please be careful," Merryl whispered, giving me a quick hug.

"I will."

Gathering my courage, I turned to the green Saursune and bowed my head. His jaw parted slightly in excitement as he took a few steps away and looked back at me. The brown female walked alongside me and paused when her shoulder was near mine.

The first few steps were the hardest, then it kind of resembled the hike two days ago when we followed the blue Saursune for almost seven hours. They gave our new gardens a few brief glances and didn't seem to care that they were leaving the map and straw-woven figures behind.

The brown female plodded beside me as the green male led the way, close enough I could have reached out and touched his tail. I missed having my hunters with me, but strangely enough, it got easier once the others were out of sight. I didn't have to worry about them or what they saw or thought.

My emotions were all jumbled up—I was following two Saursunes to an airship. Grant would have a fit when he heard about it, and my companions and sister were likely questioning my decision even if they hadn't argued against it.

Yet...this would make sure the children had enough to eat. I also kind of wanted to see where this crystal was, and I trusted the brown Saursune enough to take me there and back safely.

I exhaled slowly, still trying to come to terms with what I was doing. It earned me a glance from both Saursunes, and I attempted to give them a smile. The green one made a few rumbles and hisses as he looked at the female, which she answered in kind. I wondered if our language was just as indecipherable to them as theirs was to us.

We continued walking as the Saursunes guided me through the forest without straying from my side. I tried to memorize various landmarks in case I had to find my own way back. Occasionally, I scuffed my feet in the leaf litter to leave visible traces.

As we entered a clearing, the sight of an airship sitting on the ground made my feet freeze. It was one thing to see a woven basket and understand they wanted me to accompany them to the real thing—but now the real thing was in front of me, and it hit on an entirely different level.

The green Saursune continued walking toward it while the brown one remained beside me, humming a reassurance. The airship took up a quarter of the space in the forest clearing—at least six times as long as I was and half as wide. It was probably the smallest airship I'd ever seen, not that I had seen many, but it was still big.

Airships had always meant danger; if one was spotted, we had to run to the crystal or evacuate the village if at all possible. Airships had heralded death if we couldn't get away or hide fast enough.

Or perhaps that was just in the past? I struggled to force my mind to even consider the idea.

An airship had taken Janette from wherever they healed her to a crystal. The brown Saursune had arrived on this particular airship. The green one was apparently willing to trade more food than I could have possibly hoped for.

Taking a deep breath, I took a better look at it. Like other ones I'd seen, it vaguely resembled the space shuttle I'd seen in magazine pictures, but much wider and brown. It sat a mere handspan above the grasses, so I couldn't see if it had wheels or if something else was holding it up.

A nudge against my shoulder made me jump and remember the Saursune beside me. She ducked her head under my hand and took a step ahead, pausing when my palm was on her shoulder.

My footsteps dragged as I slowly walked beside her, oddly grateful she was with me since I didn't think I'd be able to follow her green companion without some sort of moral support. She kept glancing at me as we gradually made our way toward the green Saursune, who waited beside the airship.

The eighty paces between us seemed like an impossible distance to cross. My palms grew sweaty, and my heart raced with each step I took. I couldn't pull my eyes away from the airship. It looked far larger up close; yet, somehow not as big as I'd expected. I wasn't sure how thick its walls were, but I doubted a Saursune could stand on its hind legs inside.

The brown coloration matched some of the darker cliffs I'd seen in the desert. I tried to convince myself it was just a strange boulder. It was on the ground and not moving. No aggressive Saursunes were going to emerge from it. It was just a boulder.

Surprisingly, the mind trick seemed to work just enough that I was finally able to tear my eyes away from it and glance around the clearing. My mind automatically assessed the plants, but all of the edible ones had been harvested since we were only a fifteen-minute walk from Orange Flower.

Where was this other crystal? The sketch made it seem big, although the Saursune had moved it behind the airship, so maybe it was on the other side? But that didn't seem right. We would have located any spire even a handspan high this close to the Orange Flower crystal, especially in a meadow that had been so thoroughly picked. I glanced around with growing unease.

When we reached the green Saursune, he touched the side of the airship. I skipped back as part of the wall slid away to form a doorway. I stared at the opening; like the woven basket, the area inside was open and seemed oddly bare. There were no chairs or controls like in the magazine pictures. Just light brown walls, a dark brown floor, and what looked like fur cushions in the corners and scattered along the far wall.

The green Saursune stepped inside and walked to the middle of the space before looking back with a reassuring hum. When I stared at him blankly, he gave a quiet keen and trotted to the doorway and back to where he had been standing.

They wanted me to go inside? My mouth went dry.

So much for pretending it was a boulder.