The morning sun hit the couch on which Stripetail was sleeping. He stirred, as an attendant came in.. 'Miss eva is up sire" she announced. "She is ready for her opening classes? "Yes, Sire, and her Ladyship has packed her a lunch.'
_
"That was very nice of Snowpaw" Stripetail said stirring to look at her. The past few months there had been an awkward dance between eva and Snowpaw, and Stripetail understood why. Eva had begun to express her inner feelings for him, and Snowpaw's revival had scuttled that. he had tread lightly, for the most part. He hoped that the coming school year would distract eva so that the unspoken rivalry would not burst out into open conflict. He had enough problems on his plate, without having his wife and young protege at each other's throats. His friend Wayne was having trouble in his new job, that of Head of Dinoton Security. The hours were long, and demanding. He had proposed to Dirah, his girlfriend, nearly a year ago but Dirah had been forced by the minister Trin, who was a fake, to decline, on penalty of execution. The war to restore the true Trin had been bloody, but Wayne had performed admirably as the leader of the rebel group, and Trin had rewarded him handsomely with the high-paying job of head of security. But Stripetail sensed that his friend was still not satisfied.