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She felt Stargazer's mind before she even reached the door. The link carried the familiar flavor of his particular brand of annoyance. It was the kind that he suffered with in silence, for he knew that even pointing out what he was annoyed about this time wouldn't change anything, since Strong Soul was one of the more headstrong Mrr'tanahn out there. Still, he couldn't hide it from her, and she'd found that it was best to deal with it right away instead of letting it sit until it reached across other links, such as her link to Night Star.

"You're radiating, Stargazer," she said as she came out of the office, shutting the door behind her.

"Your pardon, Keeper," he answered formally, turning to follow her down the hall.

Along the walls of the corridor, other Mrr'tani went about their days, though they all stopped when they felt her presence. It was something that was always in their heads now, she knew, but having her so close that they could see her had an effect on any but the very strongest-willed among them. It wasn't nearly as disconcerting now as it was when they'd first arrived, though, and she smiled back at those who greeted her.

"Good day, Keeper."

"Mother's blessings, Keeper."

One Mrr'tanou in particular stood out in her vision and she turned her eyes to look at him. He was slight and had the look of someone that was used to living on the outskirts of society. His short fur was matted in places and he had a furtive look in his eyes, darting them this way and that as the others in the hallway stopped to murmur at Strong Soul's approach. It was enough to bring her to a stop in the hallway as she reached out with her mind to touch his. She knew immediately which link was his, it was the one with the fear and anger radiating down while he tried to close the connection.

She could tell in an instant that Stargazer had felt what she did and she reached out to lay a hand on his shoulder, stilling his motion into a fighting stance.

"Be still," she said quietly. "I don't feel violence."

Still, Stargazer stood stiffly, his body as tight as a drawn bow. It was the best he could do to relax as she asked.

"You are called Aaron," she said gently, holding her hand out to the Mrr'tanou.

He nodded in response and backed away until his back was against the bulkhead. The fear along the link grew even more as she took a step forward, quickening her own heart in sympathetic response.

"Be calm, Aaron," she said, her voice modulated into the most non-threatening manner she could present. "Why are you so fearful?"

"You are the one they seek," Aaron replied, his voice shaky and high with fear. "You have come to end us."

Strong Soul watched his body and read his feelings through the link. They were disjointed and not nearly as whole and fluid as any of the Mrr'tani around him. She pressed deeper, being gentle and as subtle as she could to avoid scaring him further. What she found was a mind broken deeper than she had ever felt.

"Who has said this?" she asked.

"The master on Firehelm. When rumors came about the Frr'a'tan'lass'i'ah, he said they were true, that she would see into Mrr'tani hearts and those she found wanting would be thrown to the stars. That she would cull the herd of the weak and the sick, keeping only the strong."

Strong Soul nodded and then slowly sank to her knees and then took a seat in the middle of the corridor. The others around her murmured softly and she drew on their links to her, using their sense of family and belonging to calm herself and send that calming energy down the link to Aaron.

"Come," she said, indicating a spot in front of her. "Sit with me, and we will talk. I give you my word that I will not harm you."

The others around him moved away to give him plenty of space, leaving nothing between him and her. She watched his eyes darting from one side of the room to the other, looking for escape. He found none, as the other Mrr'tani surrounding them made a wall of fur and gently smiling faces, each of them feeling the contentment of belonging, of family. Finally, he pushed himself away from the wall and approached her, his steps slow and cautious and his ears flattened against his head, tail straight out behind him.

Strong Soul didn't move a muscle as he approached and sat just out of her reach. When he was down, she opened the gates in her mind further, letting more of the calming energy flow down the link while she examined his mind with hers. It was a gentle caress, and she put as much caring and love behind it as she could, drawing on each of the other Mrr'tani surrounding them. It was clear that they all had love for one another, and with the joining that had been happening since she arrived on Mss'ranaw, it was easy to collect those feelings and let them build inside her, using the strength of those feelings to calm Aaron even further. She watched as his eyes drifted slowly shut and when they were closed, she let hers close as well.

Finally, she opened the link to him fully and enfolded him in the embrace of her thoughts. Together, they drifted among the web of links to the other Mrr'tani.

Come with me, she thought to him. Look here in my mind and you'll see that your master was telling you lies.

She felt him looking through her thoughts, his mind curiously plucking and testing the links with the others. Every one he touched, she felt the love and adoration that the others held for her and she knew that he was feeling it too. He touched her link with Stargazer and she felt his unwavering devotion and the instinctive urge to protect her. With a calming pulse down that link, she stilled his immediate reaction.

He cares for you, Aaron's thoughts said in her mind. But he respects you, too. You are as strong as they say.

Others believe that to be true, Strong Soul said, but I have never considered myself so.

All of the others, they respect you as well.

Strong Soul let her smile be felt throughout the minds near her. Little by little, she pushed in against his mind, surrounding it with her own and probing at the cracks and fissures she found. Each time she probed, she found new trauma, another injustice done to him by his former master until they all added up and left him broken. With the energy of the hundreds of Mrr'tani on Mss'ranaw, though, it was possible to begin healing those fractures. Slowly, she opened another link, this one with First Spark.

She felt the curiosity of the younger Frr'a'narr'ah at what she was letting her witness, and her willingness to help in any way she could. It was the willingness of a healer, something that First Spark would have been had she not been blessed with the gift.

Together, they touched Aaron's mind, finding each of the cracks and letting their energy pour in, letting him feel the loving sense of the community and the family of Mrr'tani. Both were distracted, though, when another presence joined them.

This is how it is meant to be, Catcher of Souls' voice said in their minds. You have found his suffering before it could burst from him and engulf his tribe, and you have begun to heal him. You are learning, Keeper of Hearts.

There wasn't time for Strong Soul to respond before the presence was gone, disappearing as quickly as it had appeared. There was nothing left to do for Aaron, though, and First Spark and Strong Soul both pulled their minds back from his, returning to their own minds and their own thoughts.

When Strong Soul opened her eyes, Aaron's were already open and watching her carefully. His eyes were clearer and much steadier as she held his gaze.

"Be at peace, Amber Shards. You are home and you are safe."

She held out her hand and he took it, not moving his eyes from hers.

"You are Mrr'tani just as I. The Mrr'tani are one now, no longer divided by the colors of our fur or the clans of our mothers. We are one clan, one family, and we shall heal even the most broken among us. Come and meet your brothers and sisters."

She didn't know where the words came from, they simply rolled off her tongue. All around her, she heard the gasps of the other Mrr'tani and the slow murmur of astonishment that joined in the feelings through the links in her head. There was shock and there was awe, but there was no disbelief. All knew what she said was true.

Together, she and Amber Shards stood and she took him in her arms and turned back down the hall. Fire Thrower's door was open wide, and the administrator stood with tears in her eyes and her ears perked high atop her head.

"Welcome, brother," she said when Amber Shards stood in front of her. "You are home."

Strong Soul brought her arm around Fire Thrower, including her in the embrace before finally letting go of both of them to turn back down the hallway. As she strode forward, the assembled Mrr'tani parted in front of her, leaving a clear path. Hands brushed her arms and shoulders as she walked through, each Mrr'tani wanting to touch her, to reassure themselves that she was real. Stargazer, though she could still feel the annoyance in the back of his mind, was just as stricken as the rest of them, and when she stopped in front of him she could see the pride and awe in his eyes, a sight that made her chest swell.

"He was right, you know," he said.

"Right about what?"

"You're just as strong as they say you are, you just haven't accepted it yet. You remind me of Fire Walker."

"She told me you'd say that," Strong Soul said with a smile.

"She is wise even now. You should listen to her."

"I am, and that's why we have to leave. I'm not needed here as much as I am out there."

"She said that?"

"In a dream. Come on, we have things to do before we go."

"Indeed we do, my Keeper."

He took up his position just behind her and they walked down the corridor back towards the Pride. In the back of her mind, she felt Catcher of Souls smiling, and she wondered just what she was going to find when they left the safety of Mss'ranaw.