While Narcissa's house wasn't even close to being one of the largest in the city, it was certainly substantial. Narcissa had promised a proper tour and introductions to her staff at the first opportunity, but Madoc's injury meant postponing that.

The important part right now was the roof, anyway.

Like the inn they’d stayed at, and as far as they could tell most other dwellings in this part of the world, the house was built around all four sides of a rectangular open-air courtyard that was heavily used for everything from working to relaxing. One short end faced the street, with no rooms along that face, only the full-height stone wall that separated the courtyard from the street; the front entrance was barricaded by a wide door of heavy wood with metal hinges.

The roof was flat and readily accessible. The short south section at the front had only a walkway. A slanted tile roof and external wall stretched along the whole of the longer west side, though it was open onto the courtyard and onto the rest of the roof. Evander said the previous owner had been a merchant who needed the storage space, but Kaveri thought the option of shade would be pleasant as well.

The short north arm and long east one were open to the darkening sky; a tall wooden trellis with vines growing up it from long narrow pots along the base provided welcome privacy from neighbours.

On unexpectedly-comfortable wicker furniture, surrounded by more pots of plants of many sizes and varieties, they waited for moonrise: four foreigners and the princess who was now like them and her loyal cousin who had refused to simply go to bed and leave her.

Narcissa’s cook had sent a pair of nervous teenaged maids in white and green to the roof with deep apologies and a rather casual meal: there was wine, of course, and water to dilute it as Enodians always did. There was a variety of fruit, fresh and sun-dried, and a bowl of those olives that were in evidence at every turn here. There were wedges of the usual salty crumbly cheese, and strips of dried salted fish. And of course there was bread, but not the heavier barley variety that was a staple for most people; this bread was paler and finer and lighter. There were miniature bowls one could fill with wine or olive oil, in order to dip the bread, and Kaveri discovered that the oil had been flavoured with a pleasant mix of savoury herbs. It was all normal food for the area, though the quality was clearly high. Even this close to moonrise, it was good to eat something: none of them were so close to a full moon that they didn’t need to eat at all.

Narcissa nibbled absently, careful of her injury, far more interested in asking questions about what they could do and what vulnerabilities and limitations they had. Evander listened silently, eating somewhat more, though Kaveri feared the cook would think no one liked her work, considering how much was going to be left.

Talir rose first, of course, half full and waxing. Tyrel smiled and cupped a hand to drink the yellow light like water, while the cousins watched in fascination.

Bright pale blue Meyar followed her.

Madoc sighed deeply in intense relief as Sanur's first rays washed over him, easing the pain. Though she was waning, she was only a few days past full. At least it didn't take much time or effort when he fixed his gaze on her and changed to bobcat.

The arrow, along with the parts of his clothes not woven of moonlight, clattered to the roof below him. In his bobcat form, there was no trace of the gaping wounds at all. Madoc bounded around the roof happily, revelling in having made it to the end of his ordeal. Tyrel changed to fox to play tag with him, the two of them racing around and dodging the others, sometimes with little room to spare.

Narcissa and Evander watched the transformation and then the game, neither of them showing a great deal of expression to give Kaveri any hint of what they were feeling, but they were certainly paying close attention. Those two, she thought, were too used to controlling reactions and keeping things to themselves.

Mirren unwrapped the bandages from around her hand, flexed it experimentally, and nodded in satisfaction. Though Madoc's example was dramatic evidence enough, she held up her hand and turned it to show that it was intact. “Small things, big things. No matter what it is, they fix it. As long as you can stay alive until moonrise.”

“That looks useful,” Evander said. “Especially if you make a habit of rescuing strangers.”

“What a fascinating cat,” Narcissa said. “A little like the ones in the highlands north of here, but they're more grey with shorter legs and larger paws. And I've never seen a fox with such striking colouring.”

Mirren chuckled. “Some of us blend in almost anywhere, instead.” She changed and bounded over to leap into Narcissa's lap. Narcissa started, then smiled as Mirren turned in circles a couple of times and settled down purring.

“There's much to be said for subtlety. I think it's the world's good fortune if cats with fur like rippled silk are a common sight.”

“You can pet her,” Kaveri said. “It's amazing how often she ends up in a friend's lap wanting that, really.”

Mirren just gave her a slow blink, the end of her tail flicking once. She arched into Narcissa's stroking hand, the princess cautious at first, then less so.

“Lirit's the last to rise,” Kaveri observed philosophically to Narcissa, “but she's also the last to set. And while there are fewer full moons, there are also fewer dark moons. It all balances out. If all were full and dark together, we wouldn't be able to help each other through the dark times, and if the cycles were all the same length, we wouldn't have some nights when they're all bright.”

“Enodia has a festival, when all five moons are full,” Narcissa said. “Nearly twelve years, I think. I must admit, I've never thought much about it. It's well-known but not one of the most universally celebrated.”

While waning aquamarine Sahen nudged up into sight, Kaveri told her about Valeyan's domain and the bargain they'd made so they could always find each other.

“That sounds like a sensible arrangement, although possibly choosing to die would be difficult for some of us.”

“The first time you die is terrifying,” Kaveri admitted. “Like falling out of control. After Lirit catches you a few times, it's much less so. It's easier each time to trust her to be there. Somehow we keep getting into trouble, even when we try not to, and knowing that we won't really die, we do tend to put ourselves between others and danger more often than we otherwise might.” She turned towards the east, and smiled. “There's Lirit, just over the horizon. She'll be in sight very soon. Mirren?”

Mirren yawned and reluctantly stood up, only to jump over to Evander's lap instead. He made a sound that was almost a squeak, eyes wide, and stayed very still while she made herself comfortable.

“Pet her,” Kaveri repeated. “How can there be any impropriety in it? Right now, she's a cat.”

Slowly, Evander smiled. “That, I can do.” He ran a hand along Mirren's back, so the striped fur shimmered in Sanur's light, and then delicately sought out the sensitive place under her chin.

Judging by Mirren's escalating purr as Evander grew more confident, he must have a touch she liked.

Kaveri stretched towards her mother happily, as the violet moon's light spilled over the vine-laced lattice. With Lirit waxing towards full the same night as Talir, and under Enodia's clear skies, there was an abundance of light. “I think you'll find you don't need that bandage any longer.”

Cautiously, Narcissa unfastened the lacing at the shoulder of her simple dress, and tentatively eased the bandage away from her skin.

Nothing interfered; it came away cleanly from the unmarked skin beneath.

“It should be long enough,” Kaveri said. “Look at Lirit. Ask her to change you. It feels strange, but there's nothing to be afraid of. She'll always be just as happy to change you back. And she's near enough to full to make it easy.” She demonstrated, bounding down from her chair in raccoon-form.

“What an interesting animal,” Narcissa said, distracted. “Such markings, too. We have nothing similar locally.”

Kaveri changed back to human. “It's called a raccoon, they're very common in some areas. Just ask Lirit, and we'll see what you are. So far, they've done a very good job of giving us other forms that are appropriate to us.”

“Hm.” Narcissa reached sideways to clasp Evander's hand tightly for a moment—more nervous than she was letting on? Then she took a deep breath, and rose to her feet, her gaze turning towards Lirit.

For a very long moment, nothing happened. Narcissa stayed absolutely still, the violet light a halo around her.

Evander, watching her with creases across his forehead, gave Kaveri a worried look.

“It's all right,” Kaveri said softly. “It's... exhilarating, almost intoxicating. That never really changes, but it does get easier to trust that it will still be there when you have time to lose yourself in it. We've all had the same experience of feeling welcomed and immediately loved. Let her enjoy it. It really does help make everything less frightening to get used to.”

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Silently, Evander nodded. Mirren shifted her position on his lap so she could more easily see Narcissa. Kaveri wondered whether having the cat there to pet was calming Evander as much as she suspected. She had no doubt at all that was Mirren's intention.

Around Narcissa, violet light shifted and shimmered and flowed. Hair pins and earrings and bracelets clattered in a metallic shower to the roof, and Narcissa's dress collapsed on top, empty. When the light stabilized, an animal around Mirren's size crouched in the midst of the gold and pale fabric. The long ears were the most obvious clue; the grizzled-grey fur with reddish-brown highlights on her flanks, and the black tips on those ears, were less so. But even in that uneasy low crouch on the flat roof, the length of those limbs was obvious, and that short tufted tail.

“A hare for an herbalist? That makes as much sense as the rest, I suppose.”

Mirren stood up and stretched, with care not to claw Evander, before jumping lightly down. She padded over to give the new hare a gentle nuzzle and a few reassuring licks on her forehead, then trotted a few lengths away and paused to look back invitingly. They were, Kaveri thought, fairly close to the same size, if built quite differently.

Hesitantly, the Narcissa-hare took a step with one forepaw, then the other, puzzling out how to do this.

“I think,” Kaveri said, “hares often use both front paws together, or nearly so, and both back paws together.”

Narcissa's ears twitched, and she tried that. Coordinating the motions seemed to be tricky, leaving the result awkward and not very effective. In a less sheltered environment, she'd be no effort at all for a predator to catch.

Kaveri wondered how that was going to complicate things. So far, she herself was an omnivorous opportunist and the rest were all carnivores; a single prey animal within the mix was probably going to have an impact on dynamics. If nothing else, how would Narcissa feel about hunting hares and rabbits for food between settlements?

On the other hand, the more she thought about it, the more logical it was for an herbalist to be an herbivore. And a hare was going to be able to outrun just about anything, once she was used to her own form. And the various predatory species didn't exactly co-exist peacefully in the wild.

“Try not to think about it,” Kaveri said. “Your body knows how to move already. Relax and don't try too hard.”

Narcissa looked up, far far up from her perspective. Her ears were down flat, and Kaveri wasn't sure whether to read that as a good sign or not, since she wasn't familiar with the relevant body-language. It seemed unlikely to be positive.

Kaveri figured she did her best, but Narcissa was clearly someone who spent a lot of time thinking about things. Letting instinct take over didn't come naturally, which made it a struggle to stop getting in her own way.

Madoc changed back to human and sat down to talk to Evander. Tyrel joined them. Madoc had to be at least twice Narcissa's size, probably more, and Tyrel, like Kaveri, still larger if less so, so Kaveri figured they were deliberately trying to make certain she didn't feel hunted. Besides, someone needed to be available for Evander, too.

Kaveri wavered, but decided that her raccoon form shouldn't be intimidating, and changed to help the princess learn about being, or at least moving as, a hare. Narcissa persisted, and each new bit of ground gained came quicker than the last as she worked this out. She progressed from hopping with some hesitancy to racing from one end to the other down the length of the roof and turning around to pass Mirren still coming the other way. Kaveri didn't even bother to try.

“Talir will set soon,” Tyrel said, startling Kaveri—had that much time passed? They'd been keeping busy: white and green fabric, probably tunics, had been draped over the nearest table, and a tangle of green and white ribbon of two widths lay near it. A good idea, it being unlikely there'd be anything around to fit. Mirren would be able to tolerate something Madoc made for a day or so, but Kaveri would have to do her own or it would be annoying and distracting.

Mirren gave Narcissa a final cheek-rub and changed back to human.

“Possibly Kieran could keep up with you,” Mirren laughed. “The rest of us never will.”

Kaveri changed, too. “Kieran, only in Talir's light,” she amended. “Or for a short distance. All else being equal, I believe a hare can maintain that speed for longer.”

Evander slid gracefully off his chair to sit on the roof, legs crossed; Narcissa hopped over to him and, a bit clumsily, climbed into his lap, his hands steadying her. After a brief bit of experimentation, she arranged herself comfortably, his arm around her protectively while he stroked her fur with his other hand.

The other four traded glances and did a quiet retreat farther down the roof, leaving them alone.

“There's time before Lirit sets,” Kaveri said, in their own language. She didn't need to watch for it: every part of her knew exactly where Lirit was, always. Absently, she began to weave violet moonlight into a simple cloak, since it was at least the light of the right moon. “I hope Evander chooses. There's a very deep connection there and I'm going to feel terrible if we're responsible for damaging that.”

“It was an accident,” Madoc said. “There's really no way to figure out what could've happened differently, because we're never going to know. And it's up to him. Maybe there's someone he's madly in love with and he's going to be torn between a future with her—or him, whatever—and staying with his cousin. Maybe it's religious. Most things in Enodia seem to be. Maybe he's particularly looking forward to getting older and being treated with respect as a wise elder, or has the best job ever lined up after this, or has secret plans to stage a coup and claim the throne. Who the hell knows?”

Kaveri frowned. “I don’t think it’s anything that simple. Or that positive.” With more time to observe, she’d noticed other things. Evander’s emotional expression, compared to Narcissa or to anyone else of any gender they had met in Enodia, struck her as limited and somewhat flat, but that might still be cultural or just individual variation. That would, however, be hard to reconcile with that impression of something missing.

“Narcissa estimated a year or a year and a half to make sure this hospital is firmly established with all the main problems hammered out,” Tyrel said. “Maybe two if she's setting things up for someone else to take over from her. We could even push that as far as maybe, what, five at the outside before anyone starts to notice anything, if we're extremely careful and if not too many rumours get started. The moonladies only know how long it's going to take for us to figure out what's going on with them being here, but we probably won't get far until Kieran's back. There's plenty of time for both of them to get used to us and us to get used to them.”

“There won't be if we mess up and she gets killed,” Mirren said grimly. “Even if no one sees it happen, her absence would be awfully hard to cover. I really like this hospital idea, I think it will do a lot of good, and it won't happen if she dies.”

“Then we'll keep her alive at all costs,” Madoc said. “Full weapons at all times. Staying alert, and not leaving her alone even in her own office outside of here.” He gestured to the courtyard. “We need a net over that, otherwise we might as well leave the door open. A few lessons in emergency self-defence for both of them. I'm not sure whether it's worth looking at invisible armour, with those insane bow things around, but maybe just something light to reduce odds of a quick-kill shot with a knife or something. What's her name, Hermia, might have ideas on that.”

Kaveri handed the hastily-woven cloak to Mirren to hold, and started rapidly on a simple tunic, willing it to turn white as she worked.

“And we make sure any attack hits us first,” Tyrel agreed. “That's done all the harm it can do, except to Evander. We should probably talk to them about being ready with an explanation in case of a public quick kill, though. I doubt anyone's going to connect two foreigner couples renting rooms with the strangers who were involved in the whole dramatic rescue, at least. 'Veri, I did make you one, just in case we ran out of time. Evander helped us get the details right, but you can skip the lacing for now and do it right tomorrow, apparently.”

“Good, because I don't think I have time for anything elaborate, and, well,” she shrugged and didn't bother to finish. They all preferred their own work, or at least made from the light of their own moon. “This will be extremely basic.” Draped neck, so long, so wide—she knew her own proportions very well. Add very short sleeves, and she held it up to look. “Good enough.”

“Sanur's down,” Mirren said. “Not much longer, and she may take a little longer than normal.”

“I'll go,” Kaveri said, trading Mirren tunic for cloak and folding the latter over one arm. She walked quickly back towards the cousins.

“Sorry,” she said gently, “but Sanur has set, and if you don't change back soon, you'll be a hare all day. It's exactly the same as before: look at Lirit and ask.”

Narcissa, with some help, untangled herself and hopped a couple of lengths from Evander. She sat up on her hind legs, nose sniffing at the air, her raised ears swivelling. Kaveri figured those wide-spaced eyes must offer a nearly full-circle view of her surroundings, though she wasn't sure how acute it might be. From childhood attempts at stalking wild hares and more recent experiences, she was certain that both hearing and smell must be giving Narcissa a completely new perception of the world.

The hare looked at the violet moon, and a moment later, was human Narcissa, entirely naked, her long hair tumbled loose around her.

Narcissa did have a nicely toned body, Kaveri observed, and she'd been right about the pleasant curves.

Kaveri tossed the newly-made cloak around her, and smiled. She'd have to be blind to miss the pure radiant joy in Narcissa's wide eyes and parted lips. She thought, from Evander's thoughtful expression, that he saw it too.

“Lirit wants me to trust you,” the princess said. “It did occur to me that it might be a trick, but she says I should trust you, and your family, but not those others. And I don't think Lirit would lie. I hope she wouldn’t, at least.”

“That's uncommonly direct,” Kaveri said, startled. “Although rather useful, since the consequences otherwise could be drastic. She's obviously not pleased at all with the other ones.” She looked at Evander. “We all need at least a little rest, and you've had no sleep...”

He smiled wryly. “You think this is the first late night I've ever had? Under the circumstances, if we're a little late to the hospital in the morning, most will understand.”

“We need to do something,” Madoc said, joining them. “The courtyard is wide open to any spirit-creature that can fly or climb. We can, with a little time, make a net to put across it that will slow down anything, but there's nothing to anchor it to.”

Evander considered the edges of the courtyard. “Wooden beams, secured on top of the edge all the way around, with hooks or rings or something driven into them?”

“That would do it.”

“I'll get workmen in as soon as possible to take care of it. Quite likely we can get someone in tomorrow, to at least determine what can be done and what will be needed.”

“Later,” Narcissa said firmly, stooping to gather her shed dress and the pile of hairpins and earrings. “To bed, all. It's been a trying day and an exciting night, but we all need to be ready to face a new day. Gather the food onto the trays, please. It will attract birds and insects if left up here, and will be wasted. As long as it’s indoors, it will be fine for the short time until Acantha wakes to start breakfast.”