Dawn woke up early, as usual. After changing into her usual shirt and pants and refreshing, she prepared tea and crept toward Gale's room, only to find it empty. The bedding lay completely unattended, with not even a single crease on it.
Thinking he was already awake, she spread her awareness to find him. Her spiritual sense picked up on the adepts, most of whom probably hadn't slept after Gale's announcement yesterday. Even Jenni was asleep at her study table with her mouth open.
Perhaps he hadn't been back at all, she thought, remembering Gale's tendency to sleep outside, especially in hammocks. She came out of the house, holding onto the serving tray.
It was only a couple of minutes' walk. The first thing she saw was the enormous white crane resting soundlessly. Next to it was the elf woman, her hair dishevelled, skin red, as she ran her palm over her dress to smooth the creases.
