Every day, he took her on long walks through the woods, explaining the way everything meshed together to make a living song, teaching her the harmonies and letting her feel the chorus of life around her. Afternoons had them roaming for hours in the meadows and along damp streambeds, finding, naming and observing everything around them. Later, they'd stop along the beach when they were hungry and gather the shellfish found in the shallows, the old man teaching his young student all the things good to eat and how to cook them in seaweed. It took a month of trying before Kimmie could encourage the driftwood to light, but by then she was easy and comfortable with stuffing seaweed-wrapped mussels and clams in amongst the burning coals and eating them hot out of the shell.

All the plants in the morning sunshine had names and uses, some for healing, others for making potions and drugs, some made excellent spices, still others he most carefully taught her could open her mind to absorb all the life force surrounding them. Every day there was something new to learn, some new thing to feel.

When they watched the mating rituals of the birds during lunch one day, Kimmie laughed for a long time saying she felt the joy the birds felt. From there she learned to feel their pains and their hungers, the cold of a wet night and the wonderful warmth of the sun rising on the water sitting on a warm, dry nest. All of it she brought into herself, taking in the life and, sadly, the death around them, learning the balance between the different lives and needs.

Jonathan taught Kimmie how to experience things in the other part of the world when she was attuned to the beach and woods. Controlling handfire was only the first thing. A little harder was when the swimming otters were eating, how good it felt to the small animals to dive for clams and urchins, to feel the simple pleasure of floating on their backs as they cracked the shells open to eat their fill. A bit harder was how to feel the sheer joy of living the sea otters and seals felt as they played in the water, their minds harder to follow when totally consumed with swimming. Much harder was how to see through the eyes of the eagles hunting overhead. Every bit of their concentration went into finding prey to eat and little was left to hold on to.

One day Kimmie was observing a family of rabbits when an eagle swooped down to grab one of the younger ones. It was the hardest thing yet, to accept the death of one for the life of another. It confused Kimmie but she felt the hunger of eagle chicks in their nest and how good it was to feel full of food. The experience showed her the painful needs of the world around her. And it tuned her mind in concentration.

After that Jonathan taught her how to encourage things to happen. He'd taught many how to channel energies through magical means and arcane paths to pour the much vaster stores of energy from around them into making things happen and now it was a new student's turn. It was no easier for Kimmie than any of the others but she persevered and learned rapidly. He was satisfied with her progress.

One afternoon Jonathan was lost in thoughts and plans when Kimmie called out, "Watch me! Watch me!" as she played in the sand. One cartwheel then another and she turned back to see Jonathan staring off in the distance.

"Watch me, Jonathan. I want you to."

"I can't right now. I have to think," her teacher responded.

"Yes you can. You can think later. Come on, watch me, play with me!"

Jonathan had already made his answer and tried to get back to thinking through scenarios, how they were going to enter the world again, what they'd have to do to conceal themselves, where they'd have to hide and a hundred other things that went into his future planning.

"I want you to watch me," Kimmie declared loudly, standing inches in front of him.

"Kimmie, I don't have time for this right now. Maybe later," he told her roughly. ......(cont)