The tension slowly left my muscles in a fashion similar to when I escaped a predator. Each time I glanced at the airship, its presence bothered me less. It was back to being a boulder. At least for now. After all the effort they went through, I was fairly certain they'd get me to share energy with the airship crystal in the future.

The green Saursune appeared in the doorway with large sacks hanging off both shoulders. He came outside and touched the side of the airship to close the door, then strolled over to us.

With a yawn, the brown female stood up and shook herself off. I took the hint and also got to my feet. I didn't need any prompting to start walking back the way we had come. The green Saursune took the lead again. Four sacks had been strapped together in pairs that hung across his shoulders.

The sacks were the same size I had thought they were, although I wasn't sure why there were four instead of three. Maybe to make up for startling me earlier? Each of those sacks weighed as much as Callie, although the green Saursune didn't seem to mind the weight.

It took us about fifteen minutes to walk back. A hunter spotted us first and must have said something since Merryl stood up with a relieved smile. The others came into sight from where they had been digging garden patches.

The green Saursune angled away from my sister and stopped on the other side of the crystal, crouching down until the sacks rested on the ground enough for him to wiggle out from under the straps. He quickly collected the grass-woven figures, map, and stand. With a bow to her and me, which I awkwardly returned, he trotted into the forest and quickly disappeared from sight.

The female gazed around the clearing and wandered in a different direction. Once I got closer, Merryl ran over and wrapped me in a hug.

"I'm so glad you made it back! Are you okay?"

"Just tired. That was scarier than I thought it would be. It's one thing to think about going near an airship, but when it's right in front of you..." I shook my head.

"Let's sit down. What happened?"

I glanced at my niece. "Hey, Callie. Why don't you ask Sophia if she will help you start a small fire and pop some of that grain for a snack?"

The girl spun around to face the old gatherer. "Can we? Please?"

Sophia smiled at her. "Sure. If you can gather firewood, I'll set up a firepit."

Callie scampered off to find twigs and wood. I sat down beside Merryl as the other four gathered around.

I kept my voice low. "Well, it turns out the crystal was actually inside the airship, and just like that woven figure, the ship was hollow inside."

"Did you go into it?" Merryl asked in bewilderment, glancing between the grain and me.

I made a face. "Only because I could see the crystal from the door and it was only a few steps inside. By the way, it's not a normal crystal. It looks similar, but you wouldn't be able to port to it. As best I can guess, it stores energy."

My sister leaned forward. "Stores energy? What do you mean?"

"Let's see if I can explain this... Do you remember how I occasionally mentioned that I felt porting energy as being separate?"

"Yes."

I twisted the truth a bit. "It took a lot of those picture cards, miming, and some drained energy, but they showed me how to share energy. I'm not sure if it will work with other porters, but it works on Saursunes and that strange crystal on the airship."

Merryl's eyes went wide. "Really?"

I nodded, then glanced at the crystal behind us. "I wonder..." Leaning back, I put a hand on the crystal. Light shimmered through my veins as I carefully pushed some energy to my palms, but nothing happened and the energy didn't go anywhere. I grumbled, "Apparently it doesn't work with regular porting crystals."

"Do you think it could be possible for us to store porting energy for when we run out?" Merryl asked me.

"I don't know," I said quietly. "I've never encountered a crystal like that. I'm not even sure if we can share energy among ourselves. Even if we could, I think we'd only get an extra port or two because our bodies get hit by porting strain roughly the same time we run out of energy." Or in my case, my legs could give out after numerous back-to-back ports even if I had energy to spare.

Merryl hesitated, then asked, "Can you try sharing with me?"

I bit my lip. "I guess?"

She held out her hand. I took it and watched her closely as I carefully pushed energy to my palm. There was nothing there, and once again, my energy didn't go anywhere. When I stopped trying to push it past my palms, it drifted back to where it had been.

I sighed. "It's not working. The energy just stops. But the next time you port, try to feel how your energy drains away. The way it flows out of your hands feels similar. Be careful if you try to share with a Saursune when petting them. I couldn't figure out how to tell how much energy was left, and if you give away too much, it's probably like hitting your limits."

She frowned. "So what else happened?"

With a shrug, I said, "Nothing really. Once they showed me how to share energy with the crystal, the brown Saursune took me to the edge of the clearing and got me to sit and rest for a bit. The green one brought the sacks, and we came back. What's in the fourth bag, anyway?"

Sophia raised her voice from beside the tiny fire she built on our new garden. "There's corn, beans, millet, and peanuts."

Since everyone had been digging and not collecting the few greens around here, I said, "Mind giving everyone a handful of peanuts and popping some of the other stuff?"

"Thanks," Sophia replied. "I was going to ask. We haven't found much to eat the few times we took a break."

The hunters had fed me many times, so why couldn't I feed them? For once, I could confidently say there was more than enough for all of us to have some.

Arthur and another hunter passed around the peanuts as Callie darted all over the place to collect twigs for a hand-sized fire. Sophia propped a flat stone just above the flames and put a handful of corn on top. One of the hunters gave her a pottery cup to boil water and millet in.

Movement had me turning my head, but I relaxed when I saw it was just the brown Saursune returning. She ambled over, laid down beside me, and scooted closer until her side was against my back. Merryl watched uneasily as the Saursune rested her head on her hands.

"She's not touching my energy," I quietly told Merryl. "I think she's just keeping an eye on us like they've been doing ever since Janette was hurt."

My sister blinked and sat up. "That's about the time the Saursunes started showing up so much! Roxanne was commenting on how much they've been hanging around lately."

The Saursune lifted her head to glance at Merryl, scanned the area, and lowered her chin to her hands again. Her eyes followed Callie as the child kept bringing sticks to Sophia. The other gatherers and hunters went back to digging the garden plots.

I nodded, most of my attention on the Saursune and my niece. "That's what the hunters mentioned. They seem to be standing guard, and the theory fits."

"That explains so much," Merryl mumbled as she looked at the Saursune as if seeing her for the first time.

I grinned. "Congratulations. You now have someone babysitting you."

She snorted. "Look who's talking. If she's babysitting anyone right now, it's you."

"At least she won't give me a lecture like Grant. Although I probably wouldn't understand her even if she tried."

The first kernel of corn popped, which made the Saursune tense as her eyes followed the white puffball striking Sophia's shoulder. The old gatherer caught it as it fell and held it out as Callie ran over.

"Careful, it's hot," Sophia murmured, keeping an eye on the suddenly watchful Saursune.

Callie blew on it a few times and popped it in her mouth. "It's good!" She jogged back to the bush she had been searching for dead twigs to keep the fire going.

The Saursune lowered her head as she watched my niece bring more sticks and eat every piece of popcorn. Sophia put another handful of corn on the stone and hobbled over to a bush to help the child find enough firewood.

One of Merryl's group returned—they didn't stray nearly as far as my twenty wanderers did—and he left a squirrel by the fire before coming over to Merryl.

He passed her several handfuls of greens, which was all he had in his carry net. "There's not much, but I figured it's more than what you might find here."

"Thanks," Merryl replied. "Here, take some peanuts."

She shifted to her knees and scooped some nuts into a small pouch. He blinked in surprise and glanced at the sacks by the crystal. Still, he took the offering with a grateful nod and went searching for more greens. Callie scampered over and split the plants into eight equal piles, proudly showing her mother.

"Good job," Merryl told her.

With a big smile, Callie gave a meager handful to each of us. Sophia set an armful of sticks beside the fire, her back to us, and moved the squirrel in front of her where we couldn't see it. I raised an eyebrow at the small, quick movements of her shoulder blades. Was she doing what I thought she was doing? Surely she wouldn't use a knife a mere thirty paces from a Saursune...

Soon, she shifted to the side so she could see us and skewered chunks of meat onto green sticks and propped them beside the fire. No trace of her knife was visible, and the Saursune didn't seem to think anything was amiss.

Sophia checked the cup of millet and pulled it away from the flames to cool. Right as Callie finished her leafy snack, the third handful of popcorn started popping. The energetic child munched on two pieces as she brought one to her mother. She also gave one to me, which I took with a quiet thank-you. The Saursune lifted her head and scanned the area, her gaze analyzing each person in sight.

Callie brought the last piece of popcorn over and held it out to the Saursune. The brown female blinked slowly at her and reached to gently take the offering in her lips. She bowed her head and crunched the treat between her teeth.

With a giggle, Callie scampered back to Sophia, who passed her a wooden spoon and the small cup of cooked millet. The child eagerly sat beside the old forager and blew on the steaming kernels to cool them down enough to eat.

The Saursune sat up and looked around the clearing again. I didn't see anything unusual or hear any bird alarm calls, although that didn't mean much. She got to her feet and circled the area, frequently sniffing the ground. Most of her attention was given to the grass and only a cursory sniff to the garden plots. Her widening circles took her behind bushes until she disappeared from sight. Soon, she returned to the edge of the clearing and examined the area again.

"What's she looking for?" Merryl quietly asked me.

I watched the vaguely agitated female. "I don't know. Maybe the youngsters are back? But she's sniffing the ground, not the air."

The Saursune watched Sophia and Callie for a while, then scanned the area again as her tail swished behind her a few times. The motion was so rare that it stood out; I wasn't sure what it meant, but something was clearly bothering her. She circled the area and began the widening circles as she disappeared into the forest once more.

Merryl glanced at me, and I shrugged. I nibbled on a few peanuts although the Saursune didn't return. While keeping an eye on my surroundings in case a predator was near, I went to help dig a few more garden plots.