Lefeng looked down. “I never had much current. I flowed with my family because it was the life I was born into, and I was good at it. I miss the mountains. There is beauty to them. But I think sometimes I never really cared about anything until I met Chestef. And then… It was less than I cared about em and more that caring for em gave me a reason to not run back to the mountains and let them take me.”
That was not the guarding-one, long-stride, watchful-one Kolchais knew. Not the strong-one who killed a great cat to defend eir family and carried it across the mountains in memory.
“And now?” Kolchais asked.
“I am lost.” The words were so soft they were nearly lost too, even on such a quiet night. “No current of my own and none to follow. I think if I were alone, I would stop where I am. But I can’t do that because you and the others depend on me.”
Hesitantly, Kolchais reached out and put a hand on Lefeng’s shoulder. “I think you mistake yourself. You can create great current when you choose, but what moves you is the people you care for. As long as they are well, you are content and let yourself be carried in the current of others. But when they are in need, you are the riptide, sweeping all from your path.”
Lefeng was silent for a time. “How do you see in me what I don’t see in myself?”
Kolchais laughed. “Well, my spouse-to-be, you are the one who says I am wise about people. Maybe you are right.”
