'I know why you have gone away,' he began nervously. 'And why you must leave again soon….. The mating of the spiders has reached its middle season, and will not end for many days to come. You and your god-friends have many battles yet to fight.'
'Why do you speak this lie?' signaled the Mantis angrily.
'Where do the hill-people hear such a thing?'
'My people know nothing of this,' he answered, as calmly as he could. 'And I would never tell them. Your secret is known only to me, and I tell no one. I swear it.'
Skither remained motionless, puzzled by the presence of the strange and knowing child. Utterly intrigued, he searched the back of his mind for the meaning of their encounter.
'What is it then you would ask?'
'Since you are called again to the holy task, your lair will again be left unguarded. I would ask that you allow the three of us to remain here on the mountain, in the smaller cave above your own. Though each of us alone are small, together we could create the illusion that you had not left it.'
'But how, and for what reason do you do this?'
'My friends and I have only a short march of days before the
Commodore must sleep, and many other predators follow the herds to the
South. If you allow me, I could turn our shared need into shared
help.'
'Go on.'
'I have learned in my youth to make a sound like the flutter of your mighty wings. And Akar could descend daily to the grasslands in plain sight, as if your messenger to the wolf packs below.'