"I'm going to help you anyway," I assured her. "We all are. This just makes it easier to stop the Moles."

She nodded. "And putting poison on the arrows will as well. I can learn how to shoot those too, right?"

"Once you actually learn how to shoot," I agreed.

"And if no one is outside when they show up, maybe they'll just leave?"

"Not usually," I said. "They break into the houses and go looking."

She sighed, nodding to show she'd heard. "Zasen, what we need are guns."

"Huh?"

"Guns," she told me. "They hurt more than arrows. They're also running out. That's why they take your dead and the guns. They don't have enough to lose. Bullets are easy to make, but the guns aren't. When one breaks, they have to take parts from another."

"But they all have guns," I pointed out.

She nodded. "Hundreds. Maybe thousands. But they always pick them up. They leave their dead but take the guns, Zasen. That means we need to stop letting them!"

"What we need to do," I reminded her, "is keep them from killing people."

"That too," she agreed. "We need to keep the Dragons safe, kill the Moles, and keep their guns."

I couldn't help but chuckle. "And you, little orin, are ruthless. I think I like it."

For the first time since I'd known her, Ayla actually beamed with pride.

Fifty-SevenAyla

The next morning, Zasen said he had a surprise for me. I was confused. More when he told me it would involve shoes and leaving the house. I tried to explain that I had to work on the calendar, but he was having none of it.

"This is important for you, Ayla, and you're allowed to have important things," he explained.

So I found the nicest dress I had and braided my hair back. When I was done, I asked him if I would be proper for this surprise. A smile touched the corner of his mouth as he looked me over, but it wasn't like he was judging me. There was something softer in his eyes.

"Kanik, think she's proper enough?" he called out.

"Always," Kanik agreed from the kitchen. Then he made his way to the line between rooms. Like Zasen, he looked me over. "I like that dress. It's very pretty. But Zasen? She doesn't have shoes."

"A step ahead of you," Zasen assured him. "Jeera is handling that."

"Uh huh..." Kanik said. "You sent her to Lessa's?"

"Safer that way," Zasen said just as a fist pounded on the door. "And there she is now."

He got up and opened the door to reveal the curvaceous grey dragon on the other side. Proudly, Jeera held up a pair of leather sandals even as she made her way in.

"These are for you, Ayla," she explained, setting them on the coffee table before me.

"Do I get to know where we're going?" I asked.

"No," Jeera said, "See, today is a girls' day out. I have a few things planned for us. You're going to actually get to see the town - not just the bit you can make out from here - and I was thinking we might get lunch. Who knows, maybe we'll even stay out too late. What do you think?"

My eyes immediately jumped over to Zasen. "Is that okay?"

"You do not need to ask me. Ayla, this is a day for you, so of course it's okay," he said before glancing back to his sister. "Try not to shock her too much?"

"We're actually going to be good," Jeera promised.

"Good," Zasen said before shoving a hand into his pocket. "Here."

He then pressed a handful of folded paper into Jeera's palm. She tried to push it back, but he simply wrapped her fingers around it. The woman's tail thrashed once, then stilled.

"I've got this," she insisted.

"And I'd hate for your trip to end because you run out of money," Zasen countered. "All three of us chipped in, because Ayla deserves to enjoy her first time out of the house."

Jeera just chuckled. "Okay, you talked me into it," she relented.

So he leaned in and hugged her. The woman wrapped her arms around his back and returned the gesture in the least demure way I'd ever seen. She crushed her much larger brother against her, hanging onto him for a moment before they both separated.

"I'll keep her safe too," Jeera promised before bending around Zasen to see Kanik. "And we're having lunch out, but not dinner."

"Noted," Kanik said.

So Jeera turned to me, looking down to make sure I had the new shoes on the right way. "Ready?"

"I think so," I admitted, "but I don't know what I'm doing."

"It's okay. You don't have to." Then she placed her hand on my back, guiding me forward. "Bye, Zasen."

"Bye, Zasen," I repeated.

"Have fun, ladies," he called after us.

Outside, the daylight was bright, but I'd nearly gotten used to it. I could see, at least. My eyes wanted to squint a little, but it was no longer painful. But, with her hand on my shoulder, the tailed woman steered me up the street, walking calmly at my side.

"Are you sure it's okay for me to be out like this?" I asked. "The last time, a man got angry."

"And this time I'm with you to make sure no one else will try the same," she assured me.

So we kept walking. When we reached the end of the street, she pointed in the next direction we should go. I turned that way, trying hard not to gawk too much as I took in all the new and strange things around me.

Large structures were everywhere. Over there was the area with the brightly-colored canopies. Trees lined the street in various sizes and shapes. There weren't too many people out, but still some. The problem was how all of them kept turning their heads to stare at me.

"I shouldn't be out here," I breathed.

"They'll get used to you," she promised.