We arrived at the Guard Station, and the hunters there looked distinctly relieved to see me unharmed.

The younger one who'd been convinced they'd keep me out of mischief jogged over. "Are you okay?"

"Yes," I reassured him. I gestured to the box and two sacks. "Look at what the Saursunes gave us in exchange for some energy."

"Did they really arrive in an airship?" a guard from Briar Village asked.

I wrinkled my nose. "Scared the shit out of me until I realized it was the same one I've traded with a lot lately."

Another guard commented, "You should have bounced the last group out. If the airship used its long-range weapons, you wouldn't have had time to port."

"Had I been near a farm or if it had blaster cannons, I would have." Changing the topic, I said, "Besides, Saursunes have never been seen on that sandbar before, so they came looking specifically for us. And I have a pretty good idea how they found us."

Judging by the sour looks they sent at the spears leaning against the cliff in our storage section, the hunters had already mentioned this. Yet, none of them demanded that I relocate them. I sat on a fur-covered bench since I didn't particularly feel like standing.

"The scanner didn't even blink once, and it was left on all night just in case there was a really delayed tracking signal," a guard grumbled, frowning at the green-lit device in his hands.

A hunter shrugged. "When we suddenly stopped finding trackers, we suspected they were using ones we couldn't detect. This just proves it."

The discussion went round and round, but they all came to the same conclusion: the Saursunes undoubtedly knew where most, if not all, of our villages were and had likely figured out the location of our scanning station when the first tracker showed up.

"They're probably keeping track of who lives in each village," a hunter said, looking thoughtful. "But they're leaving us in peace unless we raid or try something stupid like attacking them."

"If anyone needed more incentive to stop raiding, they now have it," Liam commented as he sat beside me, watching some of the others use the spears to cut the croc torso into sections they could lift into the cart.

In a wistful tone, the guard from Keywa Village asked, "Would you be willing to share some of the crocodile meat? Our village is barely collecting enough to survive, but we have nothing to trade."

I blinked at the unexpected question. "Uh... That's not up to me. You'd have to ask Grant. Have your porters tried visiting the sheep farmer? He seems to bring two sheep for any porter who is willing to trade their energy. He also lets them into the pasture if they want."

She made a face. "We're trying to avoid the Saursunes as best we can."

With an awkward shrug, I told her, "The trades with the Saursunes are the only reason we're not on starvation rations. It's not ideal, but with so many groups suddenly knowing where our crystals are, it's the only way we can feed the village until our gardens start producing."

Her eyes strayed to the spears. "I had planned to ask if we could borrow your weapons, but after hearing how quickly the airship found you, they'd probably show up just as fast."

"And probably in the airship again," I agreed.

She shuddered and rubbed her face tiredly, not seeing any way out of the situation her village was trapped in. At least not any options that didn't involve the aliens we used to run away from.

"Our village isn't doing much better," the guard from Irwin Village said. "We lost almost everything in the flood. The only reason we aren't starving is because the Saursunes have been unusually generous, and a couple of our porters were desperate enough to let them take their energy."

Apparently the Saursunes had figured out which village had been flooded and were giving those porters extra food.

"How is everyone doing?" I asked.

The guard from Irwin Village said, "Food is low, but there's enough to go around. A porter from Hinton Village tried blind porting. First location was near a farm, one they already knew about. Second attempt ended up in a town. She escaped, thankfully."

"Why did she do that?" I asked in bewilderment. Blind porting was dangerous. Half the time, those who tried it were never seen again. Even I had only toyed with the idea during the drought—I'd never attempted it.

In the success stories, they ended up at a new crystal in a climate similar to the place they'd left, likely geographically close-by, but some had ended up in Saursune towns or in far-flung locations. Some had appeared underwater and were fortunate enough to bounce back in time.

The guard shrugged. "They only found one empty crystal that day and were desperate. They've found a few new crystals like that over the years."

They'd also lost several of their porters attempting it, but I didn't say that out loud. Instead, to change the topic, I asked, "Is your village keeping the name Irwin Village or changing it to Catseye Stone Village?"

"We're keeping the name Irwin Village, although most porters are using the Catseye Mural location phrase so they don't accidentally end up in the old village. It's still under water."

I blinked. "Catseye Mural?" The porter who'd taken me had called it Catseye Stone.

She grinned at me. "They liked your location phrase better."

I chuckled and shook my head. A whiff of sun-heated croc meat made me wrinkle my nose. I stood up and stretched. "It could take me some time to return, but I'd like to get that meat to the butchers. Who wants to return to the village, and who wants to wait until I can take them to Beyond The Marsh?"

"We'd be of more help with the other porters," Liam said, and the others nodded in agreement.

"Mind bringing us some soap and water so we can wash up?" Cruz asked, examining the dried croc blood on his hands and forearms.

"Sure." I grabbed onto the cart and the crystal. The shimmering danced through my veins in a gentle, welcoming fashion. "Home."

The cart dragged, feeling heavier while I was low on energy, but it wasn't too bad. Even as my sight cleared, I heard several people shouting.

"Natalie's back!"

"They caught a croc!"

I stepped away from the cart as people ran over, exclaiming over the pile of meat.

Grant walked around the growing crowd that began to push the cart away, commenting, "You look tired."

I rolled my eyes at his welcome. "It's been a busy morning, and that sandbar isn't unknown to the Saursunes any longer."

"So there was a tracker in those spears."

"Apparently. Let's go sit in the porter's circle while I take a breather." Away from prying ears, I sat down and told him everything.

He closed his eyes and thought for quite some time before opening them. "It was definitely Citrine, right?"

I nodded. "She has some scars on her arm and hand that make her easy to identify."

His fingers tapped on his knee. "If they hadn't previously noticed you were more cautious around unknown Saursunes, they definitely did this time. I suspected as much when she appeared in the savannah instead of trying to approach Keywa Village's group at Orange Flower."

"So...?"

Grant sent me a sidelong glance. "The climate in those locations is quite different. They aren't close to one another. If the Saursunes had any kind of border or half-way serious competition between the areas, she wouldn't have appeared in so many places, especially when other Saursunes were present. Some might be trying to bribe porters into returning, but overall, they're clearly working together."

I pursed my lips as I thought about that. "Those Saursunes I saw in the trees—they were watching us and probably keeping Citrine and Jasper updated until they were able to arrive?"

He shrugged. "That's my guess. I also suspect those two will show up wherever you go now that they've more or less gained your trust."

I...wasn't too sure what to think at this point. Yes, I trusted Citrine enough to even enter an airship if she was beside me, but it felt weird that other Saursunes would get her to fly so far instead of approaching me themselves.

"The patriarchs are going to have an aneurysm at this rate," I muttered, shaking my head. I could already envision their reaction, which would not match Grant's resigned acceptance. Even easy-going Orson was going to have some reservations.

"I'm hoping it takes them a while to realize the full implications of everything." His eyes had a faraway look that made me wonder if he was looking at the current situation or something in the future.

And what did the future hold? Just over a month ago, I'd run from aggressive Saursunes. Today, I'd gone inside an airship for the fourth time and picked all my trade items instead of just being brought a food gift. Things were changing so quickly it made me nervous.

Shaking my head to chase away such thoughts, I stood up. "I should grab some soap and water for the hunters so they can clean up."

Grant nodded absently, his gaze lingering on the crystal as I went in search of the items. I grabbed a mostly empty jar of soap, which was a dry mix of sand, white wood ash, and crumbled herbs. There was no fat in the soap, which would have been a terrible waste of calories that could be dissolved in soup or fed to a cat or dog.

Once I filled two small buckets with water, I headed to the crystal. Grant was still lost in thought as I ported back to the Guard Station.

A vague tiredness in my legs prompted me to take a brief rest. Porting heavy loads shortly after sharing my energy with a ship crystal didn't seem to be a good combination. At least I'd have all afternoon to rest once I got the hunters to Beyond The Marsh.

The hunters wet the soap mixture and began scrubbing their arms and hands, rinsing it off with water. Those who had ropeburn removed their makeshift bandages and carefully rubbed the gritty paste against the salve to remove it. None of them would risk infection or permanent damage to their hands by leaving a minor wound uncleaned.

They took their time, and the salve residue didn't seem easy to scrub off. Their slow, confused blinks were my first clue that something was amiss. Liam dipped his hands in the bucket of water, rubbed them together rather briskly, and pulled them out for a better look.

When the other hunters leaned over to peer at his hands, I asked, "Is something wrong?"

"I didn't realize how well that salve worked," he replied vaguely, still inspecting his palms, which I couldn't see at this angle.

Furrowing my eyebrows, I got up and went over. He held his hands out, palm up, so I could see for myself that the ragged flesh and rope burn were gone. All that remained was pink skin to mark the location of the former injury. The others also showed their hands, which were also healed.

"You'll have to show the doctor so he knows how well it works," I murmured, still staring at the smooth skin that should have taken weeks to heal.

I sat on the bench as the guards went to investigate. The first group had already told them about the salve I had received in a trade, so they weren't as dubious as they might have otherwise been.

After a while, I got up and stretched. "Alright, let's go crash Merryl's party. I can try a ten-group and the two sacks."

Most of these hunters weren't used to traveling in a larger group that required the porter to make two trips, and it took them a bit to sort themselves out.

I ported ten to Beyond The Marsh. Merryl was sitting on a hide nearby, and Ariel was stretched out beside her, sleeping. It took me a second to spot Callie, who was helping one of the limping foragers pick plants.

"I'm bringing you some helpers." I told my sister as I sat down next to her, keeping my voice down.

"How did the hunt go?" Merryl asked, watching the hunters move the sacks beside the two they had.

"We got two crocs! And it's a good thing we left those spears at the Guard Station, because the Saursunes showed up at the sandbar within an hour."

Merryl took a second look at the sacks. "How did they get those across the river without getting them wet?"

"You aren't going to believe this, but..." I told her of the airship, how I ported one group out in a panic, and that the remaining hunters recognized Citrine. "It didn't feel right to turn them away after they had flown there, and I had enough energy to get everyone home and trade for some food. I'll let you take the sacks back. There were some comments yesterday about how much I've been bringing back lately."

"At least they know the hunters killed the crocs," Merryl murmured.

I nodded, and Callie finally noticed my arrival. She ran over for a hug and told me about the different kinds of plants the foragers were teaching her about. When the child ran out of things to tell me, I ported back to the guard Station.

I wandered over to the elderly porter in the rocking chair. "Do you mind keeping an eye on the bananas in case the scanner shows something?"

"Certainly," he replied.

As the hunters moved the crate of bananas over, I pulled one out and passed it to him.

"Thank you," he murmured.

I took the last ten hunters to Beyond The Marsh, and as our vision cleared, I saw a blue Saursune sitting at the edge of the clearing. He tilted his head at us, glanced at the hunters I had left on my last trip, looking vaguely baffled, then trotted into the trees.

Liam watched him leave. "You should have seen him staring at Gwen and Chris while you were gone. I think they noticed you have different passengers. Although most of us have been with the same porters the last few weeks. You've left some of your group with Merryl or Roxanne, but you've never taken other individuals with you."

I shrugged and sat by Merryl again. "I'm sure they'll figure it out or get used to it."

With a faint chuckle, he collected a spare bow, quiver, and some carry nets before disappearing into the forest, picking a different direction than the Saursune. Callie jogged over with two leaves in her hands and happily chattered about the differences between them. When I asked her which one had white flowers, she ran off to check.

I stretched out on the furs and closed my eyes.

~

I sat on the resting hides by the crystal as Grant waved over the ten hunters I'd just brought back. He'd already spoken with the first group, but he liked to talk with everyone after we tried something new. Liam walked over with two bowls of soup in his hands.

"Wait until you see this," he said, passing me a bowl.

"What's all the white stuff?" I asked, spooning a piece out and tasting it. It was meat. Was...was half of my bowl really meat? Apart from the time we found a recently killed giraffe, I couldn't remember such a thing.

He chuckled at my wide eyes. "Everyone's bowl is like that. Plenty of meat and full to the brim."

"Definitely a successful hunt," I murmured, glancing at the overloaded drying racks. Meat was even drying on stones, unbothered by the round-bellied cats and dogs. Other villages were barely surviving, but we were struggling to find enough room to dry all the meat we had collected in a single morning.

"And like everyone else, you get this," he said, somehow producing a yellow banana from hiding.

"Oh, thank you!" I set it beside me for now, cradling the warm bowl of soup in my hands.

"Grant is thinking of asking us to hunt a croc every couple of days, but apart from Janette, no porter wants to transport those spears anywhere. Most don't want to touch the axes either. They look like a weapon, and the Saursunes show up regularly. Jayce dumped the axes at the Guard Station after he had to bounce four times in an hour."

"It's an easy source of meat," I told him after swallowing a mouthful of soup. "Now that the Saursunes know we hunt there, I'm pretty sure they'll show up faster next time, especially if we create a routine. Will the hunters be okay with the airship appearing each time?"

In a quieter voice, he said, "Most of the hunters are willing to adapt now that they know the Saursunes are friendly, but some are dropping out of the group. Some other individuals are also out of sorts." He turned his head slightly.

I leaned forward to see around him and wasn't exactly surprised to see that the only frowns in sight —which looked a lot closer to scowls—were on three patriarchs. Elsewhere, smiles and laughter echoed off the cliff walls as people shared the bananas and enjoyed a full bowl of meat-rich soup.

I sat back before anyone noticed me. "We finally have food, and they're upset? Why? Many other villages are barely staying ahead of starvation, and we weren't doing much better."

"Because a lot of it is coming from the Saursunes, and they're still convinced it's an elaborate trap."

"Then they're probably thrilled with my trades," I said dryly.

He snorted quietly. "From the bit I was able to overhear, that's currently their biggest worry." He ate some soup, savoring it just like I was.

"Our other option is starvation," I pointed out. "There's a chance I'll walk into a trap one day, but every time we leave the village there's a chance we won't come home. I accepted that years ago. But I won't stand by and watch children go hungry when I can do something to prevent it."

He nodded calmly. "I agree with you. So much has changed, but our duties haven't. We still have to bring back food, and we're succeeding, albeit not in the normal ways. But I'm not liking how Barrett and Tieber keep glowering in this direction."

With a shrug, I said, "Short of kicking me out of the village, their hands are tied. And if they try, I'm sure Grant, Merryl, and Calum will follow me to whichever village I join. They can't afford to lose three porters and the coordinator."

"They might try to keep you in the village, like when you were watching for airships."

I shook my head firmly. "I'm not going to sit here all day. I'd go insane and probably drive everyone else crazy along with me."

He smirked around his mouthful of soup. After swallowing it, he grinned at me. "I wonder how many days it would take before the Saursunes fly over just to check on you."

The ridiculousness of such a thing almost made me snort, but his words made me pause eating as I recalled various events, such as how concerned the fighter had been after I disappeared for three days or when the Saursune had smelled the sandy silt on my pant legs.

I began laughing so hard it was practically a cackle. "They would, wouldn't they?"

"I'd give it about three days," he murmured, the corners of his eyes crinkling in amusement.

I covered my mouth to try and stifle my laughter. "The poor villagers would be terrified. But I wouldn't manage three days without a lot of porting or sharing my energy in some way, so that's not about to happen. One of them would catch a glimpse of me at some point."

He shrugged lightly. "In that case, we'll just have to wait and see what the future holds. I'm here if you need any help."

"Thanks."

Unless the patriarchs suddenly decided to quit meddling and let Grant do his job, I suspected the future was going to hold more than a few headaches.