The following day, as Da'an went about his work in Silent Falls, he spoke to his fellow Taelons, by way of the Commonality. The others had been curious about what he had been doing at night when most were in their energy showers, and he explained that he had been stargazing and speaking with one of the residents.

In its own way, it was very true, since Phenora lived in the forest.

One of the other Taelons mentioned something that quickly caught his attention.

--We have found that several humans seem to possess certain traits that can normally be found in the Songcrafter caste.--

--Is that so?-- Da'an asked.

--Yes. We have spoken with the Synod about the matter. Quo'on has given his permission to begin a Songcrafter school on the Earth, with the cooperation of the humans, of course. Da'an, would you happen to know of any humans who might qualify?--

He paused for a moment, thinking things over, including the request made by the wind the previous night.

“You'll excuse me if I don't have an instrument on hand to reply with.”

That is all right, I will be brief.

“What do you wish of me?”

That girl should not live in the forest forever. When the time comes, if possible, take her with you.

“I do not know if it is possible, but I will try.”

Thank you.

Now, Da'an replied, --I will see if there is anyone that I find.--

He had a feeling that now was the wrong time to mention Phenora to the Commonality, much less talk to her about possibly attending a Songcrafter's school. That could wait until a later date.

Besides, he honestly did enjoy her company.

* * *

That late afternoon, Phenora left the cave where she was living in and walked out of the forest. Before she left the edge, she used her flute to ask a question of the birds.

When Da'an comes to here, can you lead him to me? I'm going to the spot I mentioned last night.

We will, the cardinal replied.

Phenora didn't like leaving the forest, but for special occasions, like meteor showers or wanting to see an unobstructed view of the sunset or sunrise, she went anyway, regardless of the fact that sometimes the townsfolk would see her and throw things to get her to leave.

As she arrived, she saw that the sun was starting to get low, and a cool breeze was blowing. She sat down on the top of one of the smaller hills and smiled.

I wonder what it'd be like, to make other people listen to what I hear and not hate me, she thought, or even to craft songs full of life, instead of this hollow junk. I also wonder what Taelon music is like, other than the kind from Songcrafters. What kind of instruments do they have? Do they have anything like my flute, or--

That was when she felt something small and hard hit her cheek, cutting it.

“Freak!”

She looked up and saw a pair of boys, both close to her age, as well as some younger girls. All of them were picking up jagged rocks and some sticks.

“What're you doing here, freak?” One of the boys asked.

“I'm waiting for someone, so we can watch the stars,” she replied.

“Yeah, right. Like who, one of the birds? Maybe the wind again?” one of the girls sneered.

“No.”

“Don't matter,” the second boy said with a snort, “You don't belong here, so how about you go back to your forest, like the animal you are, thing?”

“I've got as much right to be here as you.”

“How about we show her how much 'right' she's got?” The first boy asked, and the other three nodded before they started throwing the rocks and sticks they had in their hands.

She whispered under her breath, “Wind...go get help,” and closed her eyes. A barrage of sticks and stones hit her as she tried to shield her face. She felt the wind blow, heading towards the forest.

* * *

Near the same time, Da'an was walking away from his quarters and through one part of the forest, following the cardinal and the blue jay to the destination. He had gone a ways when he heard footsteps, coming from behind him. He turned and saw a familiar fellow Taelon, carrying something in one hand.

“Mit'gai, what are you doing?”

“I saw you leaving and decided to follow. You're spending more time in this forest than before, Da'an.”

“I am going to meet with someone, to watch a meteor shower.”

“Would this happen to be with the human you're spending time with?”

“Yes.”

Before anything else could be said, the wind began blowing and swirling around Da'an, in a very urgent way.

Taelon Da'an, come quickly. Danger.

“What danger?” he asked out loud, putting Mit'gai out of his mind for right then.

She is being attacked, by humans. They mean to cause serious harm.

He blushed blue at this and quickened his steps, almost running.

The healer sensed Da'an's distress and a single thought before a block formed on the diplomat's end, Please be all right!

That was enough for him to decide to hurry without any questions.

* * *

Phenora stayed on the hill, having no intentions of moving. Normally, she would have, but she knew that this night was too important to her and the Taelon to simply give in. She already had cuts on her face, arms and hands.

Please...help... she thought.

“Move it, crazy!”

“No! Go away!”

Another rock and stick hit her hands and left arm. Suddenly, she heard two soft 'thunk' sounds, followed by gasps.

What the--?

“Just what do you think you are doing?” she heard from in front of her. The voice sounded familiar, but with no melody to the tone. In fact, it seemed to have a whispering hiss to it.

“Um...uhhh, well, we--”

Phenora lowered her hands and opened her eyes. She was surprised by who was in front of her, holding onto a stick and a rock.

Da'an!

* * *

Da'an had cleared the forest and had entered the hilly area when he heard the voices. Within a couple of minutes, he saw the group. Two males and four females, all around Phenora's age. Not only were they trying to get her to leave and calling nasty words, they were throwing not only rocks, but branches, some of which had thorns.

The sight was more than he could bear.

How dare they!

The healer stayed out of sight, but he saw the diplomat blushing a deep blue in a pattern that he recognized as strong anger. Considering what he was seeing, it was no wonder.

Da'an quickly got in front of her and caught a stick and a rock, causing the attackers to gasp.

“Just what do you think you are doing?” he asked, all music gone from his voice, replaced by a hiss.

“Um...uhhh, well, we--”

“We're just getting rid of Freaky Phennie behind you,” one of the boys, feeling more daring, replied and bent down to get another stone.

“Yeah, she's a freak of nature!” one of the girls agreed.

“And what would I be?” Da'an countered and intentionally let his facade slip. Blue, silver and white energies flowed throughout him, and some of them were in different patterns and places than they were the previous night.

“U-uhhh...”

“I will say this only once,” the Taelon said in the same tone, “Return to your homes. Now!”

The pack of six quickly ran the way they had come. Once they were far enough away, he regained his human form, dropped the items in his hands, turned to her and bent down to examine Phenora.

“How did you--?” she started to ask.

“The birds were leading me here, then the wind carried a warning to me,” he replied, his normal tone starting to return until he looked at her hands, arms and face.

The Taelon could easily see that she was bleeding, and the cut on the left arm looked to be the worst. Blood dripped down onto the ground. He gripped her arm with his hand and pressed down. The whispering hiss returned to his tone as he said, “You are injured!”

“It's not as bad as it could have been,” she managed to say before Da'an called out, “Mit'gai!”

The shout had made her shoot a look at him. “What is a Mit'gai?”

“Not what, who. Mit'gai is a healer. He saw me leave for here and followed.”

Right then, he appeared, carrying what looked like some sort of metal briefcase.

“I saw,” he said as he approached Da'an and Phenora, “Is this the one you have been stargazing with?”

“Yes.”

“The two of you must be getting along well.”

“Why?” she asked.

“Because, young human, for Da'an to be this angry is not that common.”

The diplomatic Taelon tilted his head and looked at him from the corners of his eyes, expressing annoyance. Mit'gai did not react but merely knelt beside the two of them and opened his case, then took out some objects and ran one over her body.

“What're you doing?” she asked.

“He is merely doing an examination, to see how badly you are hurt.”

--Gently!-- Da'an cautioned, --She has been treated poorly by the other humans.--

--I can see that for myself.--

“No broken bones,” the healer said out loud, “But the cut on your arm is a little deep for my liking. It and the other injuries need to be tended to right away.”

“So much for the meteor shower,” she said grimly.

“No need to go anywhere. I will tend to them right now,” was the reply as he picked out another device, “Move your hand away.”

Da'an complied as he removed the block from his mind, then the healer ran it over the cut in her arm. The diplomat saw her face scrunch in different ways and said, “This may hurt a little.”

“No, it doesn't hurt. It just tickles!”

Da'an's facade shimmered for a few seconds, patterns changing from what she guessed was anger to something else. At the same time, Mit'gai sensed the subtle laughter from his colleague.

--I ask only that you do not inform the Commonality about either this incident, or her,-- the diplomat stated, --I will inform them about the latter at another time. As you saw, that time is not now.--

--Only because we are old friends,-- the healer grumbled.

--Thank you.--

After a few moments, Mit'gai finished using the machines and asked, “How is it?”

“The spots don't hurt anymore,” she replied as she wiped the blood from her arm. The girl's eyes widened that underneath, there was no broken skin.

“That's amazing! Thank you, doctor,” she replied.

“Mit'gai will do nicely,” was the answer as he put the instruments away, gave the other Taelon something to clean Phenora's blood off his hands, did the same for the young woman and then closed the case. He got up and said, “I'll leave you two to your stargazing.” He made a certain gesture with his hands, which Da'an copied.

Once the doctor was out of sight, she let out a breath and looked at the Taelon as he sat down on her right. “I'll be all right. I'm just surprised that you...did what you did.”

“I was not about to let my friend be further attacked by those children.”

“You mean Mit'gai?”

“I mean you.”

That surprised her, and it showed on her face.

“I haven't had a two-legged friend before, for obvious reasons.”

“You do now.”

She chuckled and quietly said, “Thank you, Da'an.”

Both were quiet, sitting side by side, as they watched the sun set, then began talking about the stars as they watched for the meteor showers.

* * *

As the days passed, Phenora began to look forward to the night-time, when Da'an would appear at the clearing in the forest. She began to relax around him, and as she did, she started asking him a lot of questions. The Taelon had many questions as well, mostly about the area and about her.

Two other things they talked about were outer space and music.

One afternoon, during the second week since the two had met, the young girl was at the waterfall, playing on the flute when she heard nearby bushes rustling in a way that told her that something larger than birds were moving nearby.

She turned her head and saw someone she did not expect, not in this place anyway. She smiled and said, “This place must like you. The animals let you through pretty easily. Or did they guide you?”

“No. This time I merely li tened for the sound of your flute.”

She shook her head and laughed. “You know, this is the first time I've really seen you during the day, Da'an.”

“What about the first day that we met?”

“That doesn't count.” She asked, “So, what brings you over here?”

“Would you like to go somewhere with me tonight?”

“Where?”

“It is a surprise.” She started to give him an uncertain look, to which he added, “A pleasant surprise.”

“In that case, sure. At the usual place?”

“Yes.” He paused and then asked, “About your flute...”

“What about it?”

“Would you please teach me how to play on it?”

She grinned and replied, “I'd be happy to. Want to get started right away?”

Da'an merely sat down beside her with a little smile, making his answer very clear without saying even one word.

“I'll take that as a yes.” She paused, then handed the Taelon her flute. “Remember when you saw me playing on this, how I held it?”

“Yes. Like...this?” he asked and mimicked how she had held it the first night.

“Pretty good. There's a bunch of holes near the top part, including one that's bigger than the rest. See them?”

“Yes.”

“The biggest one is where you put your mouth. That's where you blow into it.”

Da'an nodded and blew into the indicated area, causing a sound that made the human wince.

“Ow.”

“I am sorry,” he said as he lowered the instrument.

“That's okay, it's the same mistake I made when I started learning how to play this,” she replied quickly, “Okay, we'll try this...put your mouth back where it was, but this time, move your finger over one of the smaller holes.” She watched carefully as he complied, putting one of his fingers over a hole in the middle of the row. “Okay...now blow into it, but not quite as hard.”

This time, the note that came out was gentle, but easily heard.

“Not bad. Now, try it with one of the other holes.”

He nodded slightly and did as she instructed.

This is really weird, but nice. Me, a girl everyone calls a freak, teaching a Taelon how to play a flute.

“Good,” she said, got up and went behind Da'an. She bent down then said, “Now, going by the holes starting on the left...when I give a number, that's the hole you cover and play. Got it?”

“Hm.”

“Okay. 1, 3.”

As he played the notes she named, he could not hide his excitement. He always did enjoy new experiences, and being taught how to play an Earth instrument by an outcast human that had fast become his friend was one of them. As he started to get the hang of playing three notes in a row, he felt the concerns and call from the Commonality.

“I am being called,” he said.

“You have to go, huh?”

“Yes,” he replied and handed the flute back to her. “I will see you at 'the usual place', as you put it.”

“See you then, Da'an. I'll continue to teach you another time.”

“I look forward to it, Phenora.”

* * *

A few hours later, when it was near sunset, Phenora was quickly going from the waterfall to the clearing, carrying her flute and a small package with her.

This is going to cut it close. I should have never taken that nap!

Within a few minutes, she arrived at the clearing and saw Da'an sitting on the stone.

“I'm sorry, Da'an! I took a nap after the flute lesson and I slept a little too long. Have you been--”

“I have not been waiting long. To be honest, I was delayed as well.”

That calmed her down a little, but also made her curious. “How come?”

“I was getting a couple of things in the town. Are you ready to go?”

“Go? Go where, and how?”

“The where is my surprise. As to how, follow me,” he replied and offered his hand to her, which she took and went with the Taelon.

They soon came out of the forest and over to the set of strange buildings where she had first seen Da'an. A short distance away was something that almost looked like a helicopter. It was made from the same material as the buildings, and the part in the front was round.

“What is this?” she breathed.

“A shuttle. You enter from here,” he replied and demonstrated by walking in directly from the front. She quickly followed suit. Inside, there were some things that almost looked like seats.

“Sit down back here,” Da'an said, gesturing to a seat in the back left. As soon as she did, he moved something that looked like an armrest up, to the right, and then down until it rested on her legs.

“Some kind of a seat belt?”

“Yes, it is,” he replied, “After we take off, whatever you do, let your body relax, hold onto your things tightly and do not close your eyes.”

“Ok, will do. Da'an, are you gonna get in trouble for this? I mean taking me somewhere in the shuttle.”

He looked at her with a bemused expression and answered, “I highly doubt there will be any problems,” before he took his seat in the pilot's chair. He moved his hands in front of them in a way that she definitely did not understand and watched as the opening covered itself in something that shimmered for a moment before becoming clear again, then some kind of display showed on the screen.

Just what kind of surprise has he got in mind? She wondered, then heard what sounded almost like an engine starting up. The young woman then watched in wonder as the shuttle lifted easily and gracefully into the air. After they were high enough, she heard him talking about entering ID space.

She jerked backwards a little as the shuttle went forward and went into what looked like some warped place. All she could see in front of her was the setting sun and a continuous ripple.

Good thing he told me what he did, I would have hurt my neck and gotten a little dizzy.

To her surprise, a couple of minutes later, they were setting down and her friend had uncovered the opening and was putting the fancy seat belt back to where it was.

As he got a couple of packages out from somewhere, he gestured for her to come out of the shuttle, which she did.

“Oh my....”

Da'an had taken her to what looked like a island. They had set down near a beach, and in front of them was the ocean. The sun was about to start setting, giving the otherwise blue water an almost fiery look.

“Just where are we?” she asked.

“This would be what you humans call the Caribbean.”

“And we got here in only a few minutes! Amazing!”

He stepped out from the shuttle and then stood to her left and closed his eyes for a moment, tipping his head as though he were listening to something. Before the Taelon could say anything, she was already speaking.

“It...it sounds almost like the waterfall. But it's also like it's got a lot of smaller lifesongs within it. It's...almost like some kind of sound tapestry, interweaving into each other.”

“Yes. That is what I hear, too. In quite a way, it applies to anything that is alive.”

She looked right at him. “You mean our two species? Or everything else?”

“Both. Stars and planets, plants and mammals, ocean and land, Taelon and human,” he replied, pausing before he added, “You and I.”

“I can hear the music of the sunset adding into it,” she added, “It's amazing to hear.”

“Yes, it is.” Da'an then took one of the packages, a long, thin, rectangular case, and opened it. She looked in his direction, her eyes going wide.

Inside the case was a new flute.

“And here I was going to ask when your birthday was, so I could see about getting you one. Da'an, how did you--”

“I have my own ways,” he said before closing the flute case and setting it down, “The second item, though, is for you.”

“For me?”

“Yes. I found, from Dennis, that today is your own birthday.”

That surprised her and she let out a laugh. “It is. That makes me 17 as of today. Do Taelons have birthdays?”

“Yes, but we do not observe them in the same way that you do,” he replied, then carefully gave her the second item, a relatively small box, and held her flute and other item for her while she opened it. “I am not that good at wrapping boxes...something I will have to practice.”

“That's fine, I never saw why people put fancy wrapping on presents anyway.” A curious look was on her face as she saw what looked like a fancy, portable music system and some small, square things to go with them.

“Examples of Taelon musi , and something to play them on,” he explained.

Now a smile lit her face as she said, “This is really sweet of you. Thank you, Da'an.”

He nodded to her and replied with a small smile, “You are welcome. Phenora, there is something I would like to ask you.”

“What is it?”

“If I were to tell you that we Taelons are starting up a Songcrafter school, here on your planet...would you be interested in attending?”

“A Songcrafter school? You mean like the one you were in for a while?”

“Yes. It has been discovered that several of your species have the same gifts that you do, and a good number of them are your age.”

“You're serious?”

“Very.”

“Where will the school be at?”

“From what I have been told, it will be in San Francisco, in the state of California.”

“That's a long ways away.”

“Yes,” he agreed, “You would have to leave the forest and live elsewhere.”

She blinked, thinking, That thought scares me. I'd be at the mercy of the humans, and they hate me! The girl then then asked, “For how long?”

“The studies are for four years, although after half that time, you would reside with your Patron, whoever that may be.” He paused and added, “I will not lie, the Songcrafter's school, here and on Taelon, is competitive, and the challenges will be difficult. But, if and when you graduate, you would be able to do things, like taking what you hear now, and playing it so that everyone else could hear.”

“That'd be great....then people would stop being so hateful...maybe.” She was silent for a moment, then asked, “You sure the Taelons don't have any problems with humans becoming Songcrafters?”

“We would not be setting up such a facility if there were any.”

“I see. So, say I were to agree...what would the process be?”

“First, you would undergo some tests, to find if you have the aptitude necessary. Although I doubt that you will have any problems with that.”

“What then?”

“Then, there is a waiting period. During then, Taelons select from amongst the candidates who they will become Patron to. As I stated before, you cannot begin studies without one, and if yours were to pass into the next level before you begin your third year, you would be expelled. If it happened after that time, you would only be expelled if a Second Patron either was not arranged or if he ascends as well.”

“Hey, you never explained what that meant. What's passing into the next level?”

Da'an was silent for a moment before he replied in a quiet voice, “Your word for it is 'to die'.”

“Oh.”

I'm scared...but I want to make this ability something that isn't a curse. I really do...I want to show the world what real music is like!

“Phenora, you don't have to decide immediately--”

“Yes.”

“Excuse me?”

“I said, yes. I'll go. At the least, I'll see if I have what it takes. I mean, they may not pair me with a Patron.”

“I believe they will.”

“Oh, that reminds me...Da'an, do you read books?”

“As often as I can.”

“That include human books?”

“I have not read any as of yet, but I intend to.”

“Then I've got something for you too. It's the thing that you've got in your hands, other than the flute.”

She took her flute back and went to set her present in the shuttle while Da'an opened it. When he looked inside, his face changed colors as he felt surprise.

Inside were a set of four books, and it looked like they had been used before, but were in very good condition. He opened one and saw handwriting, just inside the cover.

This book belongs to, he read, then saw a name that had been scribbled out. Right beside the scribbles, he saw the next word: Da'an.

The other three books had similar writing in them, although they did not have the scribbled out part.

“Mit'gai came to the edge of the forest to check up on me the day after the meteor shower,” she said as she came back, “So I asked him how to spell your name.”

“Are these books originally yours?”

“They were mine. They're yours now.”

“Phenora, I cannot--”

“Consider it a start to your human books collection. I insist.”

He nodded and sa d, “This is a precious gift, indeed. Thank you,” and then quickly went to the shuttle to set the set near the pilot's seat. Once he came back, he raised his own flute and started to play what notes he could hear from the ocean. It sounded a little clumsy at first, but that did not last for long.

He wouldn't have been a Songcrafter student if he wasn't able to catch on, I guess. It's okay, I don't mind at all.

Phenora smiled and raised her own instrument, playing counterpoint to his point. The notes from the two flutes intertwined, just like the ocean and its living things within.

Times like this are precious, both thought, It's a shame they don't last as long as they should.