Qeya River you don't want to breathe the light of the others

yes, said the stone-blue of the hard eye.

"not yet," sun eater murmured, watching again the swooping of the killdeer birds and their squalling to one another. "need my trust. then i tell you." it warmed him to see her intelligence, to see her grasp what he meant to make of the saatsine. 

to become traders, first you traded among one another.

now he stretched languidly. "i not teach till i trust. want learn? listen. dziidghesdaa."

and to listen, she must be close enough to hear. he stalked off, wondering if she would come after him.

already he had set sulukinak to finding out about the grey man and the woman. he did not need to ask. he needed only to wait. the choice of when her lessons began belonged to ash.