"I see them, Lee.  Give me time, will you?"  Shadith's purple eyes narrowed in a thoughtful frown.  Using Aleytys' farseeing gift, she probed into the machine as it ate slowly through the forest, spewing out lumber and debris.  The sawteeth ripped through the scent glands in the wood, releasing gouts of odor until the stench was as overwhelming as the noise.
Aleytys followed Shadith's exploration, understanding nothing, feeling bewildered and lost in the complex of lines and forces the singer was sorting out to her obvious satisfaction.

Shadith's laughter gently mocked her.  "I call them, you pull them, Lee.  You don't have to worry why."

"Huh."  Aleytys shifted on the uncomfortably knobby branch, looked briefly at the ground, shivered and wrenched her eyes away.  "Well?"

"Just be a good girl and listen."

"Girl!"

Shadith sobered. "Look.  There.  You can see the power flowing like thin lines.  Very close but not touching.  All you have to do is force a conduit from one to the other.  Then, whoosh!  Pieces of machine raining from the sky.  I'll pick the spots.  Mmmm.  At least two, I think."

Aleytys wrinkled her nose.  "It seems such a tiny thing to stop that monster."

Shadith's laughter was full and warm.  "Lee, a short between power lines carrying that load!  Well, it'll be effective.  Believe me.  You won't be disappointed."

"If you say so."  Aleytys backed carefully down the limb to the trunk, then swung down to the forest floor.

Qilasc fingered the nine rule-beads laced on a heavy thong that hung between her high, shrunken breasts.  Tipylexne, reserved and impassive, stood beside her, hands tight on the short powerful bow that was the sign of his manhood.  Behind him, six nameless cludair squatted calm and ready, expert hunters, with only their skills to worry about, not the life or death of a people.

To one side, Gwynnor waited, back pressed against a tree unhappy and tautly nervous.  She smiled at him and, by effort of will, he produced a twitch of his lips in answer.  Slowly, with her help, with the healing effect of the passage of time with the growing familiarity with a naturally dignified and open-hearted people, he was breaking free from his instinctive revulsion for the cludair.  Teaching the cludair boy, Ghastay, the first steps in playing the flute was helping the alteration in his attitude move faster and a good deal more easily.  Aleytys' smile widened as she saw him fingering the flute.  She gazed thoughtfully at the finely crafted instrument, remembering the meeting in the long house...