(Untitled)

[_estsanatlehi_]

She'd had a sneaking sense of Dread all day the day before, strong enough that her concentration was off and she hadn't been able to get into the bar until just now.

It was worse here, and not as bad all at the same time. She didn't like it, not at all.

Something was very, very wrong.

She just couldn't pinpoint what yet.

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[not_ho_chunk]

"Ana", Jay says quietly from his seat by the Bar.

[_estsanatlehi_]

She didn't whip around, not exactly, but she did turn quickly, almost sharply, nodding once before padding over to take the next seat, "Jay."

A pause and then, "What happened?"

[not_ho_chunk]

"Coyote is lost", he says without trying to soften it.

[_estsanatlehi_]

Her jaw tightened a moment, nodding once more, "I see."

She paused again, thinking, if she'd had a rocking chair she'd have been rocking, "And do we know where she's gone? Or who is at fault for losing her?"

[not_ho_chunk]

"The White Rider", he says grimly. "I don't know what started it, but Coyote used more of the wild magic than I've felt in one place for a long time. I woke in time to see her burn."

[_estsanatlehi_]

She sighed heavily, "I was afraid of that."

One foot tapped against the rung of her stool, not quite impatient, just something to help her think, "Coyote is the Fire-Bringer. Always has been."

Of course, that didn't mean she was immune to it.

[not_ho_chunk]

"I think she may have tried now. Why it turned on her... I don't know. But she's gone, and the Rider was there."

[_estsanatlehi_]

Another slow, considering nod, "We will not let this be."

Some more than others perhaps. Family was family after all, and you protected Family to the end.

[not_ho_chunk]

"Kokopelli knows. And the Green Man. We're all in agreement."

[_estsanatlehi_]

Sounded like a hunting party to Ana, "And Raven? Rabbit? Spider? Any of the others?"

This was a case of the more the merrier as far as she was concerned.

[not_ho_chunk]

"Spider's in New York training a shaman. I haven't seen Rabbit for some time. Raven, I think, is gone."

[_estsanatlehi_]

She almost smiled at that, shaking her head, "Typical Raven."

She shrugged then, "Rabbit probably knows, even if he hasn't admitted it to himself yet. It would be difficult not to know. I knew and I was all the way back home."

[not_ho_chunk]

"He may be back. He has no reason to love her, and this ground is not to be so easily ceded. Rabbit, too."

[_estsanatlehi_]

She nodded once more, drumming her fingers against the edge of the bar, "This will take planning. And cunning."

A pause, "And patience I think."

[not_ho_chunk]

"It will. Too much haste will bring nothing but a lost battle. And destruction for us all, if it goes badly."

[_estsanatlehi_]

Another slow nod, "Exactly."

She tilted her head then, "Though too much patience becomes delaying, and delays are not something we should have."