Eshu's Daughter

Ch. 16 – Linguistics

***

The celebration feast lasted for hours. Kit was tired after the long night and snuck off to her dorm room early. Ellie was distracted listening to Jynx enthusiastically describe how a basilisk was made. Ordinarily Kit would have been interested as well, but just now the thought of her bed was much more alluring.

When Kit reached her room, however, her eyes lingered on Grizelle draped in all her kitty splendor over Ellie's pillows. Could she? Kit moved toward the cat and gently picked her up, depositing Grizelle at the end of her own bed. After a moment's consideration she moved to Jynx's bed and lifted the dust ruffle. As always, Kismet was busy playing with the dust bunnies and Kit lifted the puffskein away from his game and snuggled him to her chest. He hummed happily as she set him next to Grizelle. Finally she fished Puck out of his pouch and put him beside the other two.

Puck glowered at the interlopers, but Kit ignored him and climbed onto the bed. Sitting cross-legged she stared hard at the three of them.

"Talk," Kit ordered the creatures. Not one made a sound, but Puck turned his glower on Kit. "Please talk?" Kit tried again, in a less demanding voice.

Grizelle meowed daintily, Puck grumbled and Kismet just hummed. Not an intelligible word between the three of them.

"Right, well maybe one at a time. Grizelle, you go first. Did you have a nice night?"

Grizelle looked at Kit as if she'd lost her mind, but she meowed obligingly. Just a meow. Before Kit could try again, a voice interrupted her from the doorway.

"It's not like she's going to answer you back. Did you hit your head or something?" Ellie asked. She swept over and surveyed the three animals lined up in front of Kit. "You are so weird sometimes." Shaking her head, Ellie lifted Grizelle into her arms.

Kismet rolled off the bed, seeming to decide the interrogation was over. He gave a tiny contented hum before disappearing behind Jynx's trunk.

"I was – I was – well, it was too quiet," Kit said.

Ellie looked exasperated. "Then why leave the feast? It's loud enough up there and people can actually answer you back if you decide to talk to them. Which, by the way, you haven't done all night."

Kit flopped back against her pillows and watched Puck waddle up beside her cheek. "I was tired."

"Well it's after midnight, which makes it officially tomorrow, and neither one of us is getting any sleep until you tell me what happened tonight."

"Come on Ellie," Kit pleaded, but Ellie just tilted her chin up and waited. She shoved Kit over and climbed up on the bed beside her, placing Grizelle on her chest. Grizelle gave Kit a mournful look but didn't offer any help.

"Right, the sooner you get talking the sooner I'm back in my own bed," Ellie insisted.

Kit sighed in defeat, praying she wouldn't slip and say the wrong thing. She'd really rather have this conversation on a full night's sleep but it didn't look like she had the option. And she hated having to keep anything from Ellie. She resolved to stick to the truth as much as possible.

"You already know I went into the Sett," Kit began and Ellie nodded encouragingly. "I really needed to get away so I used one of the exits to leave the Sett. And before you ask, Graham told me the password ages ago, and no, I don't know who told it to him. Anyway, I let Puck down and he took off after a spider into the forest."

Ellie gasped and threw a glare at Puck. "Let me guess. You just had to go running after him?"

"He'd have been monster chow if I hadn't!"

"That is the stupidest thing I've ever heard. Puck is a menace; he can take care of himself."

Kit moved Puck onto her chest and snuggled him, shuddering. "He was nearly killed by about a thousand spiders all trying to get on him and bite him."

Ellie looked at the two of them skeptically.

"There were," Kit insisted. "I barely got him away from them. It was horrible, Ellie. The whole ground was covered with them and they were creeping up my jeans."

Ellie shivered and waved a hand. "Okay, okay. So you rescued Puck. Which was still a stupid thing to do. Then what?"

"We were lost, and a centaur found us and took us back to the castle. That's it really." Kit twitched at the tiny lie.

Ellie's mouth was hanging open. "You saw a centaur? Honestly? What was it like?"

"He was very – well he was cute, you know, but a real grouch. And very bossy."

Ellie laughed. "Are you in love with a horse now?"

Kit scowled at her. "It'd take more than a pretty face, and anyway, he is a horse. I don't see that working out. Besides, if I wanted to be ordered around all the time, I'd date your brother. He's good at being bossy."

Ellie laughed again and gave Kit's arm a quick squeeze. "That'd be the day! Who'd want to snog Spencer. Eughh!" She sobered a moment later. "So that's all then?"

Kit looked determinedly down at Puck, refusing to lie again. But there was other stuff she could tell Ellie, Kit thought with a sudden smile. "Dumbledore's letting me take Care of Magical Creatures lessons next year!"

Ellie gaped at her. "What?!"

"Yeah, I get to take it with Hannah's year."

"Why do you get to do all the fun stuff?" Ellie pouted.

"I wouldn't call being lost in the forest fun."

Ellie looked contrite. "Sorry, you're right. That must have been scary." Suddenly, Ellie's scowl returned and she punched Kit lightly in the arm. "That's the second time you've near frightened me to death. My nerves can't take a third."

"I'm really sorry, Ellie. I never meant to scare you. I'll try not to ever again, I promise."

"You'd better not," Ellie said fiercely. "No more wandering off alone or strolling through the forest."

Kit shrugged, managing not to answer. Ellie sighed and hugged her, dislodging Grizelle. "Having you for a friend is certainly never boring. I'm glad you're okay, Kit." She threw a grudging look at Puck. "And him too."

Kit beamed at her and suppressed a yawn. Ellie caught her at it and stifled a yawn of her own. "I'm for bed. I'll see you in the morning, Kit."

Kit nodded gratefully. "Night, Ellie. Thanks for looking for me and for giving me another chance. I wouldn't know what to do if we weren't friends."

Ellie smiled sleepily at her and mumbled goodnight.

***

Kit was determined to avoid the meeting with Bearach. No arrogant horse was going to order her around, no way. So why was she ditching Ellie and sneaking out of the Sett just after dinner a week later? Her feet didn't seem to be her own anymore and the traitorous things led her right to the edge of the forest.

Kit humphed and scowled hard at the trees. The red light of sunset crowned their dark tops like spilled paint. She searched the shadows at the tree line but there was no centaur waiting there for her. How dare he stand her up! And after she'd taken the trouble to come out here! She swung away from the forest, letting her robes whip around her, and began to stalk back toward the castle.

"Clearly patience is not something they teach at this school of yours."

Kit turned and watched as Bearach sauntered from within the tree line. The solemn expression on his face only made the words more infuriating.

"Clearly being on time isn't something you're used to either. It's rude to keep someone waiting," Kit snapped.

"Hmmmm yes, and you have been waiting so terribly long," Bearach said with a nod. Kit flushed and raised her chin higher.

"Long enough!"

"I would guess twenty seconds. How very short your life must be for that to be a long time. Are you like a fire moth? Born and then dying within the same day?"

"I don't plan on standing here all night. If you've got something to say, spit it out so I can get back to the castle."

Bearach raised an eyebrow at her and tipped his head to one side. "Courtesy and the art of conversation are also not taught I see. Humans truly are barbaric things."

Kit glowered. "I wasn't the one running around the forest with a bow and arrows last week."

"So we add imprudence to your list of deficiencies. Only a fool would enter the forest unprotected."

"I have my wand," Kit said, whipping it out and shaking it so that tiny sparks shot at him. "That's defense enough!"

"And it was working so well when I found you, was it not?"

"You didn't save me, you said so yourself!"

"And your wand did not save you either." The smirk slid from Bearach's face. "Fear spared your life little fox kit, fear alone. You will not be so lucky in the future. Not all creatures fear your kind."

"I can take care of myself. And I certainly don't need you watching over me, or whatever it is you're doing. I release you." Kit waved her hands toward the forest. "You're free. Go back to staring at the moon."

Bearach laughed, a deep whinnying bellow that tumbled across the grass and made Kit's fists clench. "I would like nothing better than to abandon you and your sweet temper. Sadly the choice is not mine. I do not kick against what the fates have decreed. We are to be teacher and student. It is best we both accept that."

Kit snorted and tipped her nose in the air. "And what could you possibly have to teach me?"

"Manners would be a good start, but too ambitious I fear." A crafty look stole across Bearach's face. "Tell me, what do the animals of the castle have to say these days?"

Kit narrowed her eyes. "Nothing I'm sharing with you."

"As I thought. You have not learned the art of listening. How can you listen when all you do is whinny incessantly?"

"I do not whinny!"

"Yes, definitely too much talking. You have already wasted a good deal of time. Better hurry, my fire moth, or your wings will begin to singe. There is a glade nearby where we can practice." Bearach turned and began to move back into the forest. He paused when he noticed Kit was not following him. "Have you forgotten how to walk as well?"

"Are you crazy? I'm not going back in there," Kit nodded to the dark outline of the forest and backed up a step.

"There is no need for your fear. Nothing will harm you while you are with me. I, unlike you, am not so foolish as to forget my weapons." Bearach patted the quiver slung at his hip with casual grace.

"I'm not afraid! It's just – just – it's forbidden and I'm not breaking the rules anymore. I've been in enough trouble thank you."

Bearach turned back and cantered toward her. "You must learn to listen, and you cannot do that in your castle. I can teach you, but not here where other humans may see or one of my kind might learn of this. There is only the forest then. You will come to no harm with me."

Kit stared at him blankly. "Why can't anyone see us together?"

Bearach threw his head and gave a dismissive snort. "There are rules and laws for my kind as well. Just speaking with you now breaks every one of them. If I should be discovered teaching you, training you, it would mean both our lives. I would avoid that complication."

"So why bother then?" Kit asked. "I've already said you don't need to. I'm not expecting anything."

Bearach blew out a breath impatiently. "This too I have already answered. Try to retain the knowledge for more than a moment in your little brain. We are meant to be teacher and student. Fate, the stars, all the signs tell me this and I will heed them. That is the greatest law for my kind, to follow that which is foretold to us. My life and yours are intertwined like vines upon an oak. To disentangle them now, before it is time, would cause more damage than is wise."

"What if I don't want to be entangled?" Kit demanded.

"Does the hare ask to be caught in the trap? Of course not. But though it may kick and fight once the snare is set, it cannot break free. You are already bound up in this. Walk away from me if you will, but your fate will still find you. Let me train you and you will be prepared. Refuse and you will see just how cruel the snare can be." Bearach headed for the forest once more and did not look back at Kit. "I am done trying to reason with you. Follow or not, it is your choice. But make up your mind quickly. You have already wasted half our time this night."

Kit struggled with herself, watching Bearach's grey hindquarters disappearing into the forest. He intrigued her. She couldn't deny that. There probably was a lot he could teach her, and how many people could say they'd been taught by a centaur? On the other hand, going into the forest again seemed like a really bad idea. Recalling the amphisbaena's repulsive face Kit shuddered and hugged her arms tight.

And yet… for a week now she'd tried to talk to everything from the lowliest beetle to Filch's cat. All without success. If Bearach really could teach her how to hear them it might just be worth braving the forest. Bearach's tail was only a dull silver outline in the darkness when Kit finally gave in to the possibilities clamoring in her head.

"Wait!" Kit called out, hurrying after him. Her breath hitched in her chest when she moved into the tree-line, but Bearach was there waiting for her, his coat bright even in the darkness. She let out a little sigh of relief and rushed to stand beside him. "I'll come with you," she added.

He only nodded as though he had known she would all along. Kit scowled, thinking perhaps he had. "This doesn't mean I think we've got some greater destiny thing going on here, cause that's just crap," she insisted. "But if you can teach me how to hear the animals talking again, I'm willing to give it a try."

Bearach swung his tail and it flicked Kit's arm, snapping sharply across the back of her hand. "Keep up then little fox kit, there is much to learn this night."

"And that's another thing." Kit lengthened her stride to match his faster gait. "Knock it off with that ‘little fox kit' stuff. It's annoying. My name is Kit. Not human, not fox kit or any of the other insulting things you can come up with."

"It is an insult to be called a fox kit?" Bearach tipped his head and considered her out of the corner of his eye. "Perhaps you are right. A fox kit is cunning and fast, deadly when it hunts and playful with its littermates. I give you too much praise when I name you such."

"Mule," Kit muttered.

Bearach paused and narrowed his eyes at her. "My elders have stomped humans for less insult."

Kit merely smirked and waved her hand ahead of him. "Is that the clearing you talked about earlier?"

Bearach snapped his head back around and nodded grudgingly. It was a smaller clearing than the one Kit had stumbled upon the previous week. Trees crowded in close together and threatened to reclaim the tiny space for the forest. For now, however, the clearing was holding its own and wildflowers romped across the thin grass in the moonlight, looking like a tiny colorful oasis.

"It's beautiful," Kit breathed, feeling the peace of it wrap around her.

"It is secluded, close to the castle and adequate for our needs," Bearach said, shaking his head. "And just as likely to hold dangerous creatures as the rest of the forest. Perhaps defense should be our first lesson. You are too easily lulled."

"I already told you I can defend myself," Kit snapped, pulling out her wand.

"Prove it then." With no warning Bearach kicked his hind legs and the edge of one hoof caught Kit's wand, sending it flying from her hands. "What will you do now without your magic stick?"

Kit hissed angrily and Puck began growling in the pouch at her hip. Bearach circled her like a hungry tiger, sending occasional kicks at her that never quite connected but came close enough to make her heart stutter.

"Come, show me your great powers of defense fox kit. Show your claws."

Kit watched him carefully, looking for any opening. But Bearach presented none and every time she feinted to the right or left he was there to counter it. Frustration gripped Kit and her temper began to rise as surely than the moon over head. "I don't like your games. Stop it now or you'll be very, very sorry."

Bearach laughed and that was the final insult for Kit. She'd teach him to play with her, to call her names and treat her like a child. Kit closed her eyes and let the darkness claim her, let herself feel the night around her. She could sense power in the tiny glade and she drew it deep within herself. Help, please something come help me. Before she'd even opened her eyes, she sensed that it had worked. Something, she wasn't quite sure what, was on its way.

Bearach paused in his circling and looked at her with concern. "Do not be afraid, I would never harm you. I only meant to prove a point, that you must learn defenses beyond magic –" Bearach broke off and his entire body tensed as they both heard something lumbering through the trees. He moved so quickly that Kit could only blink; one moment Bearach stood two feet in front of her and the next she was sheltered behind him and his bow was in his hands.

Something large and shaggy broke through the trees and considered them with tiny, watery eyes. It looked like a wild dog, except that it was dark green and twice the size of a great dane. Matted fur hung like ropy seaweed from the beast and filled the glade with the smell of decaying vegetation. The dog bared white teeth and seemed to grin at them. Kit trembled and gripped Bearach's side. He never even glanced at her, but kept his eyes locked on the beast.

"What is it about you that draws dangerous animals like a fawn to water?" Bearach said in a low voice. As though this was the time to be making conversation. But he was right. She had drawn the creature here. And she shouldn't be cowering behind Bearach. This was her chance to prove to him just how well she could take care of herself.

Kit stepped away from Bearach and inched toward the beast. "Go. I don't need you any longer. Go back to the forest."

Bearach made an incredulous sound and grabbed Kit's arm, dragging her away from the dog. The creature gave a rumbling growl that shook the clearing and made Kit gag with the scent of its putrid breath. "Let go of me, you're making him angry."

Bearach gave a growl of his own but let her go nevertheless. Kit took a step forward again and Bearach stepped forward also, unable it seemed to let her face the dog on her own.

"Go." Kit tried to sound commanding and assured. The dog tipped its head and appeared to think about it for a moment. With a baying howl it slowly turned away and disappeared back into the forest. She let out her breath and sagged back against Bearach. His body was tense and hard against her, the muscles quivering with pent up energy.

"You brought it here," Bearach said, disbelief dripping from each word. "You called a cu sith down on us."

Kit nodded jerkily and turned to face him. Bearach's face could have been carved from stone, but his eyes … his eyes held so much anger that Kit took a step backwards and began wishing for her wand. With calm efficiency that was all the more frightening for its deliberateness, Kit watched him return his arrow to the quiver and re-sling his bow over a shoulder.

"Are you mad?" Bearach snarled. "How dare you risk both our lives so that you might show off! I would have had to kill that creature in another moment and its blood would have been on your hands." Disgust drew his mouth into a thin line. "Do you honestly believe you can control something like that?"

"It left, didn't it?" Kit said with a glare. She drew herself up and tried not to shake. "You wanted to see how I can defend myself – well there you go. I asked for help and that creature appeared, and when I wanted it to go away, it did. If I'd asked it to it would have ripped you into tiny pieces and then laid down so I could pet it."

Bearach's shoulders slumped and he threw up his hands. He tipped his head back and seemed to implore the moon, "How am I supposed to teach this, this child? She will kill us both." His eyes returned to hers and Kit saw only weariness in them. "The cu sith obeys no one. That it listened now is luck; another night it might have ripped your throat out and gone happily on its way. You have power, but you do not know its limits. You do not know many things."

Kit remembered how bats had ignored her at Halloween, and hung her head knowing there was some truth in his words. She might not have been able to control the dog. But Bearach had pushed her to it. It was his fault she'd gotten angry and called that creature. She looked back at him defiantly. "You asked me to defend myself without a wand and I did. If you don't like it then show me some other way."

Bearach nodded stiffly and drew his bow once more. For a moment Kit thought he meant to shoot her, but he only passed the bow and an arrow to her. "Very well. Try to string that. And do not aim anywhere near me, if you please."

The bow was light in her hands and Kit held it as she had seen Bearach do so earlier, carefully notching the arrow. Bearach looked pleased and Kit felt a small smile tug at her lips. It disappeared a moment later as she released the arrow and it fell at her feet harmlessly while the bowstring whipped back and stung her fingers. Kit dropped the bow with a curse, cradling her hand and scowling as Bearach let out a chuckle.

He handed the bow back to her and corrected her grip this time, helping her to notch the arrow correctly. Her arm trembled as she drew it back and released but at least this time the arrow went somewhere other than her feet. Admittedly, it only traveled a foot or two, but it was still something. Kit beamed and turned to Bearach, ready for his praise. Instead, he shook his head and frowned at her thin arms.

"You will need much practice before you have muscle enough to harm a daisy." Kit spluttered, utterly speechless. Bearach took back the bow and reslung it on his shoulder. He knelt in the grass before her and looked up expectantly. "We will move on to listening for now. Our time is nearly over."

Kit stopped imagining giving him a good kick and dropped down beside him. "I'm ready when you are."

Bearach laughed and handed her wand back to her. Kit flushed, unable to believe she'd left it lying on the ground this long. "Close your eyes fox kit and try to still your tongue for once."

Kit grumbled but closed her eyes and settled into the darkness behind her eyelids.

"Now open your ears and hear the forest around you, focus on each sound and try to separate it from the others. Relax into it, become a part of the forest and just be."

Kit felt rather foolish, but she tried nevertheless. She focused first on the soft whoosh of Bearach's breath so close by, and then other sounds came to her. Somewhere a squirrel was digging at the ground, perhaps burying some special treasure. Birds called to one another from the trees. An owl hooted. Night bugs chirruped and sang. The more she listened, the louder it became, and Kit wondered how she could have had a conversation over all this noise such a short time ago.

"Remember to focus fox kit. Separate out the noises, follow each one in your mind and feel them inside you."

Kit tried to isolate a single noise in all the commotion around her but it was difficult. Finally, her mind fastened on the chattering of a squirrel somewhere close by and she clung to it, considering each nuance of the trilling sound. She pictured the squirrel, trying to imagine what it could be doing, what it could be saying.

The chattering grew louder, as though the squirrel was suddenly using a megaphone. Kit focused on it even more intently, until…

"I know it's here, it has to be here. Where did I leave it? It was the biggest and I'm sure I hid it just here." Kit heard some scrabbling as though the squirrel was digging. "Someone's stolen it! It's that grey squirrel in the next tree. He's been watching me for days. I just know he took it."

Kit's eyes popped open and she laughed, searching the trees for the squirrel. Soon, she located him at the base of a giant oak – he was digging frantically next to one of the roots and pausing to glare at a nearby tree every few seconds.

Bearach watched her and followed her eyes to the squirrel. "What is he saying?"

"He's upset," Kit said, leaning forward to see the squirrel better. "He thinks another squirrel has stolen his nut and now he's grumbling about all the trouble he went through to get the nut in the first place." Kit laughed again and looked back at Bearach utterly enchanted. "I can hear him! I can really hear him!"

Bearach nodded. "You need only listen. When you separate yourself from the world for a moment and listen hard, you can hear many things. With practice you will be able to hear all the creatures."

"But how could I hear the amphisbaena? And the Headmaster's bird, I heard it speaking, too."

"I think your fear and anxiety from that night let you hear them. But I cannot say for certain."

"Can you hear too? If you sit long enough and listen carefully, can you hear them too?" Kit asked.

"I cannot. As I told you on the night we met, only another creature of the same type can understand its language. I am not a squirrel. So I cannot understand squirrel. But I can hear every noise in this forest if I focus closely enough. I can hear the creep of a caterpillar across a leaf overhead."

"But then how…" Kit's tongue stumbled, trying to find the right words. "How can I hear them?"

"It is what you are," Bearach said, sweeping a hand in a gentle arc toward her.

"A witch?" Kit questioned. "Are you saying any witch could learn these things?"

Bearach shook his head and looked at her with an unfathomable expression. "No."

"If not that, then what? What do you think I am?"

"That is not a question to be answered tonight. You are not ready for the hearing of it and I am not ready for the telling."

Kit huffed out a breath in frustration. "What kind of answer is that? You don't know why I can hear animals at all. That's why you won't tell me."

Bearach tipped his head forward in what might have been agreement. "If you wish to believe that, you may. It is time to go now." He got to his feet and extended a hand to help her up. Kit ignored him and got to her feet on her own.

"Are all centaurs this annoying?" she asked, straightening her robes and adjusting Puck's pouch at her waist.

"There is a time for everything, now is not the time for what you ask. I am sorry that this frustrates you, but perhaps it will teach you patience to wait for your answer. It is a quality you would do well to learn." Bearach moved from the clearing and Kit followed closely behind him, gripping her wand tightly. She hadn't forgotten where she was and that cu sith might still be lurking around.

"You know, you can be a real pain sometimes," Kit muttered. "Acting all mysterious and going on about fate and the stars and all this mumbo jumbo. A straight answer wouldn't kill you."

Bearach laughed. "There is much to learn. You may yet appreciate some of this mumbo jumbo as you call it."

Kit grumbled and slogged through the forest behind him, giving up on conversation for now. When they reached the edge of the forest a short time later, she extended her hand to him formally. "Thank you for teaching me to listen. It's been a lovely time. So sorry we couldn't get mauled together by another creature."

Bearach looked at her as if she'd sprouted another head and Kit dissolved into a grin. "Couldn't resist. Now you know how I feel with you being so darn formal all the time."

"You are a strange creature. You will be journeying from the castle soon. I will not see you again until the fall. You must practice the listening as I taught you tonight and we will meet again when you have returned." Bearach dipped his head in parting and turned to go.

"Wait," Kit said, stepping closer. "Thanks. I really mean it. For everything."

Bearach glanced over his shoulder at her and smiled. "Have fun with your castle creatures. You will have much to tell me when we meet again I think. There is no need for your thanks. What is, is." He cantered back into the forest before Kit could say anything else and she made her way back the Sett full of more questions than when she'd left it. Pausing by the hidden entrance, she pulled Puck from his pouch and stared into his inquisitive face.

"Centaurs are the weirdest things, Puck. Having a conversation with one is like talking to a wall. Only a wall would make more sense." Puck growled in sympathy and Kit snuggled him close. "So when are you going to talk to me then? Or do I even want to know what you'd say?" Puck growled again but as hard as she concentrated Kit couldn't understand him. She gave up after a moment and slipped him back into his pouch with a sigh. Maybe knarls didn't talk.

***

Between packing her trunk and tracking down lost socks and mangled shoelaces, Kit also started searching for Serena. The socks were easier to find. It was as if Serena was deliberately avoiding her however, and as much as Kit hated to admit it, the thought stung. She'd been sure Serena was coming to accept the whole friendship thing. Serena never smiled or sought Kit out, but that just seemed to be the way she was. At least she offered the occasional comment when Kit spoke with her. Except that in the weeks since Kit had come back from the forest, she hadn't seen Serena once. Maybe Serena had learned an Invisibility Charm. In desperation, Kit decided to stake out the library. That was one place she could count on Serena turning up.

Puck tipped her off. He mewled in his pouch as Kit was paging idly through a book of hexes. Looking up, Kit caught sight of Serena's dark hair disappearing down one of the nearby aisles and she abandoned her book to chase after her.

"Serena," Kit called out, risking Madam Pince's wrath but not really caring at that moment.

Serena paused and looked back at her with a blank expression.

"Hey, what's with the disappearing act? I've been looking for you all week." Kit planted herself in front of Serena.

"Why?" Serena asked coolly.

"To say bye. To talk. I wanted to know what you're doing this summer. If you'd like to come visit for a while."

Serena's eyes dropped from Kit's and she turned to look at the line of books on one of the shelves. "I'm too busy to visit. I have studies."

"It's summer vacation. We're not going to have that much homework."

Serena spared her a glance. "I have my own studies."

"You can't study every minute. You'd have fun, I know. Just think about it, okay?"

Serena waved a hand dismissively and pulled one of the books from the shelf. Kit huffed with impatience wanting to wallop her upside the head.

"Well. In case I don't see you on the train tomorrow, I'll say bye now. I'll send Toby with notes over the summer, even if you do ignore me. I'm not giving up. Someday you're gonna need a friend and I'll be here."

Not knowing what else to do, Kit turned and tried not to let her shoulders slump. Serena could be so damn stubborn. She'd almost reached the end of the row when Serena's voice caught her.

"I'm glad you made it out of the forest all right, Kit."

Kit turned with a smile but Serena was already engrossed in the book she'd pulled down earlier. Shrugging, Kit headed for the library entrance again. Baby steps, she reminded herself.

***

Just as Kit had suspected, Serena was nowhere to be seen on the school train or when they reached King's Cross. How she managed to get through the barrier without Kit noticing was a definite mystery. Just as well she'd said her goodbyes yesterday.

Ellie and Verity on the other hand, seemed glued to Kit's side. Kit laughed and hugged them both. "No really, I promise, I'll write every week. And I'm sure my mom will want you both to visit."

"We can all meet at my house as well," Ellie offered. "Only we'll have to deal with Spencer if we do. He's worse at home."

Kit watched Spencer slipping frogspawn down the back of Brennan's robes nearby and tried to imagine that. It was rather hard.

"I don't know if I'll be able to visit," Verity said gloomily. "My parents are taking us on holiday to Greece. My dad wants to visit the chimaera reserve on Skelos Island." She gave a dramatic shudder. "Won't that be fun?"

"They must have owls in Greece," Kit reminded her. "So we can still keep in touch."

Verity shuffled her feet and then pulled two small bags from her pocket. "Don't laugh, but I bought you both some Bertie Botts Beans. I thought we could use them like a code. If we need each other we'll send a jelly bean with the note."

Kit accepted her bag and weighed it gently in her hand. It was quite heavy. "Expecting us to rescue you from the chimaeras?"

Verity grinned. "No, but I have a nosy little sister and this way we can send messages without writing everything down. A red bean means we need to meet, green means everything's fine and – ummm – well, we can make up meanings for the others as we go along I suppose."

Ellie giggled. "And a haggis bean means ‘please hex me, I'm evil.' If one of you sends me that or a sardine one, I mean it, I'll set Spencer on you."

Kit laughed and tucked her jellybeans into her schoolbag. "I can't promise that Toby won't eat the jellybeans before they get to you, but I'll try my best."

With one last fierce hug and promises to send loads of candy messages, as well as the regular kind, the three girls finally broke apart. Kit was the last to go through the barrier and her parents were waiting impatiently on the other side.

"Hi, Mom," Kit said, pressed as usual into her mom's shoulder. Her dad was trying to look stern but ruining the effect by smiling happily every other second.

"We've been receiving the strangest notes," her dad said, pulling Kit into a hug when her mom finally let go. "What's this about them sending you home two weeks early, and then deciding not to? And what's a Care of Magical Creatures class and why do I have to sign a waiver so you can attend it next year?"

"Actually, it's a pretty long story," Kit said, already trying to decide how much she could tell them without giving them a heart attack.

"Good thing it's a long car ride home, then," her mom said, pulling Kit into another hug. "I'm so glad you're home."

As they left the crowded London streets behind, Kit settled comfortably back into her seat. She decided she'd have to tell them about the basilisk; the monster was dead anyway, and how many times would she get to tell a story like that, after all? Her own adventures could remain a secret for now.

"It all begins with a monster and two boys in the year ahead of me…"

***

The afternoon sun filtered through the dense leaves and painted lacy patterns across the grass at Kit's feet. The ribbons she'd wound around the willow branches were faded and tattered from too many days beaten by rain and snow, wind and sun. Now they clung like pale ghosts to the sturdy brown limbs. Kit sighed and rested her head back against the willow trunk, hardly able to believe so much time had passed.

She didn't feel like the same girl who had sat here daydreaming about magic just a year ago. Something was different inside, although she couldn't say what. She frowned as she pulled one of the ribbons down and watched it flutter in the breeze. Maybe it was the listening that made things different. The music of her willow had always been sharp and sweet, but now it was mixed in with the chatter of squirrels and grasshoppers, tiny caterpillars and chubby sparrows – all of them engaged in their own conversations and oblivious to the girl listening below.

Sometimes it was hard for Kit to hear what the animals around her were saying, but here, in her special place, the animals never seemed to shut up. It made relaxing rather difficult. Shoving to her feet, Kit gave up and began to unwind the rest of the ribbons from the tree so that they wouldn't become entangled in the leaves or bite into the branches as they grew. Soon the willow looked like any other tree, with no sign that it had ever served as a child's playground.

Puck shredded the ribbons that Kit dropped at her feet, creating a tiny nest and then demolishing it with glee. Laughing, Kit grabbed him up and spun in a circle, making them both dizzy.

"Everyone talks to me but you," she murmured, watching his little nose twitch. "I know more about the mouse living in the kitchen cupboard than my own pet. And that stupid raven living in the back yard never stops gossiping now that she knows I can understand."

Puck merely growled playfully and batted at her hand. Kit sighed and put him back on the ground.

"It's weeks and weeks before we can go back to school. I'll never survive it without magicking something."

Puck, however, didn't seem interested in Kit's complaints; he was busy hunting beetles. A sudden hush in the conversations around her caught Kit's attention and she glanced up, finding the willow deserted. She frowned and twisted her head back farther trying to see what had chased away the birds and other creatures. A falcon, glossy brown with a white chest, stared down at her.

"Weeks," the falcon called in a piercing shriek that hurt Kit's ears, "I've heard humans live years. And one like you, much longer. Why are you moaning about weeks?"

Kit shifted uneasily, all too aware of the sharp talons gleaming above her. She snatched Puck up and shoved him back in his pouch.

The Falcon laughed. "I've had a fat hare for breakfast. That briar bush with legs isn't in danger from me."

Kit suppressed a smile at Puck's outraged growl. "All the same, he's better off in his pouch."

"Humans always want to lock things up. Or hunt them." The falcon gave a dismissive shake of its wings. "And they're forever moaning about time. Like you. Time moves faster than a dragonfly, your weeks will be gone soon enough. One day you'll be missing them. Best hunt and fly while you can."

"Uh, thanks for the advice," Kit said with a gracious nod. "I'll try to keep that in mind."

The falcon flexed its wings and stretched, admiring the talons on one foot. "Breakfast was a long time ago. I don't suppose you'd like to trade the briar bush for some more advice?"

Kit choked. "No, thanks. I'm rather attached to him."

The falcon sighed. "Too bad. It was good advice. Ah well, I'll share it anyway. A storm can carry you for miles, but you never quite know where you'll end up. It's best sometimes to stick with a quieter breeze."

Kit thought ruefully of the gossiping raven and how nonsensical its conversations were. And now here was another bird, talking in circles. Maybe the air was too thin up where they flew and it made them a little crazy. Still, the falcon seemed nice enough, other than wanting to eat Puck, of course.

"Thanks again," Kit called up to the falcon with a wave, turning to return home.

"Featherbrain," Puck muttered in his pouch.

Kit began to laugh and didn't stop until she'd reached her front porch. Pausing, she looked up the lit windows and smiled. Maybe it wouldn't be such a long summer after all. It might take her another six weeks just to get Puck to talk again now that she knew he could.

THE END (For now…)

***

End notes: The cu sith is one of the giant magical dogs that haunts the highlands in Scottish legend. Part of the fairy realm, he could often be found guarding fairy mounds. You can learn more about the cu sith in Katherine Briggs' excellent book, An Encyclopedia of Fairies.

And so we've come to the end of Kit's first year and Eshu's Daughter. I can hear some of you wailing now, "but what about …" I know there are still a lot of unanswered questions. I always intended to continue Kit's story at least into her second year. And I'm afraid it's there that most of those answers can be found. Including the meaning behind the name of this story "Eshu's Daughter." Kit and her friends are taking their summer break now, and I'm taking a break from the story as well. I'm currently writing an original fiction piece I hope to have published one day and when I finish that I'll come back to finish Kit's story. I can only beg your patience. We waited three years for JKR to give us book 5, I promise I won't make you wait nearly that long.

Speaking of JKR, I not only fell in love with her world (which of course spawned this story), but with her layered writing style. The mysteries and clues that she leaves us in each book make reading them that much more fun. I must confess that I was unable to resist dropping a few clues and hints within my own story. The answers to many of your questions are already hinted at in the previous chapters if you look carefully.

Finally, I want to thank all the people that have shared Kit's adventures with me. Thank you for reading, for reviewing and sending emails. I can't tell you how much your encouragement and enthusiasm have meant.