Pio roused herself from sleep and got to her feet. She picked the slumbering Kali up from the deck and carried him downstairs to his bed. His arms were wrapped around her neck, his head tucked into the hollow of her throat. As she laid him down on his bunk, he sighed and said softly, 'Strange songs, Pio. But they work very good.' He rolled to his side and dropped back into slumber.
Pio looked in her cabin - there was Child lying on her bed, her arms wrapped around Daisy. She covered them with a thin quilt and went up to the helm deck.
The sun was still new in the clear sky, and the morning breeze was brisk as she leaned against the balustrade and looked as far out to the West as she could. She shivered as the breeze gusted for a moment.
A voice spoke from behind her. 'Here, I brought this for you. Thought it might warm you.'
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Eldest, that’s what I am . . . I knew the dark under the stars when it was fearless - before the Dark Lord came from Outside.
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