"We're going to see my friend, Makalo Jabari," Dakarai said suddenly. "He used to be the blacksmith in the crossroads town we walked through yesterday. He's a great blacksmith and the last time I saw him he was pretty adept at other things as well." He looked up into the clear blue sky, and sighed. "But, with the rise of technology, I guess blacksmithing is just not as in demand as it once was. I haven't seen him in a very long time."

Malikah nodded and reached out to touch the old blacksmith but decided not to. There was always a deep sadness around people as they grew old. Their friends aren't there anymore; all your life and memories fade away. And it's even worse if you have no one to pass those memories and skills onto. Dakarai had nephews and nieces to pass on his skills, but his memories and friendships? He didn't have anyone to share those with. The thought of anyone being alone in their old age always made her sad.

They walked along the road through the day. Dakarai had no new information to give them. They were heading in the right direction, but it was difficult to tell if they were getting closer. Mary joined Dakarai and walked with him.

"You're bothered by something. Haven't figured out the puzzle yet?" Dakarai asked.

Mary looked over at the old man, "What do you mean? What puzzle?"

Dakarai stopped and looked the young woman in the eye, "Don't play dumb with me, girl. I know you stayed up half the night trying to figure it out. Tell me, have you solved the riddle."

"First of all," Mary shot back, "I'm not a 'girl.' Second of all, my abilities are not exactly like yours. They are not riddles that need to be solved. I don't have to stand in front of the Sphinx and answer his question to pass the test."

"Ah, but isn't that why we are here?" Dakarai shot back just as quickly. "You need to unlock the path inside here!" He jammed a bony finger at Mary's forehead, bouncing it hard off her smooth light black skin. "So, in that sense, it most certainly is a riddle."

Mary jerked her head back at being touched and talked down to like a child, "Fine! It's a riddle. And yes, I stayed up almost all night trying to solve it," she lied. "What I'm trying to ask you, is there anything else you can tell me about this ability that I may not even have?"

"I've told you all I can. Earth and self, with water to hold it all together." Dakarai responded. "The three will give you a connection to what it is you're trying to see, and your ability should be able to do the rest. I can't reteach you how to see. I am just an old Bultungin, and up until a few days ago, I wouldn't have been able to tell you if I actually believed that werewolves existed or not. But here we are."

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Mary scowled at the old man. Who the hell was he to talk down to her, much less touch her? She turned away from him and walked after her pack. This was stupid. She may not even be able to do what he says that she should be able to? Who was he to tell her what she was capable of? Had he been to the Mountain? He didn't know anything about werewolves, so he had no right to talk down to her. She focused her attention on the ground as she walked south.

What really pissed her off is that what he said made sense. Why couldn't she, as a Scout, see more than just what small scattered glimpses of the future she got through dreams? It made a lot of sense. And maybe he was onto something. Up until about a year and half ago now, the Mountain had rediscovered an ability to sense and see future unchanged Shape shifters, an ability thought completely lost before that. So why not this?

She threw a glance back at the old man. He was walking with a light step that belied his age. He wore a poker face that didn't give away any emotion at all. Is it possible that he did know more about being a werewolf than she did? Stranger things have happened. As she let her anger towards the old man go, she could see the wisdom in his words and how their technique might work for her. Werewolves and Bultungin were not the same, but it was all she had, and their lives may very well depend on her being able to do what Dakarai had suggested that she might be able to.

As the day slid away towards night, they finally made camp. They ate dried Aardvark that had been saved, while Dakarai started the fire.

When they were all sleep, Mary crept away from the rest of the pack and walked to where she could still see the fire, but was far enough away so no one would notice that she wasn't sleeping. They might notice she wasn't there, but she could deal with that.

Sitting in the dirt, she crossed her legs underneath her and breathed. She dug out a small hole in the tough ground. Then, taking her canteen, she filled it with water. Then she spit into it and swirled it all together. She focused on the water, the calm surface of the water.

The stars moved over head and the earth spun underneath her. These things happened all around her and she focused on the water. The calm surface, the Matriarch, the inner circle filled her thoughts.

She jerked awake.

She almost screamed in frustration. Maybe she should try this during the day? She looked up at the new moon, hanging silent and dark in the night sky. I wouldn't mind just a little bit of help here. The new moon was Asclepius' phase, that of the Healers. Her phase was the gibbous. Maybe this technique would work better during that phase? If so, she would have to wait three weeks for that to happen.

She was just guessing at this point. Anything was possible, maybe she wasn't doing something right? She felt like she was bashing her head against a wall. This may prove to be completely pointless. Filling in the hole she stood up with walked silently back to the rest of her pack to fall asleep.

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