As they neared the spot, he took the lead, and Sun watched the forest canopy below her for landmarks that she would recognize from the ground. Then the ground sort of fell away beneath them, and there appeared a steep-sided ravine. The male sira angled down that ravine, and before long, they were above another canopy, several hundred feet below the first. The trees were shorter, but far more dense, and the undergrowth that Sun could see would have been all but impassable. So without air-travel, it was probably almost impossible to make any sort of headway past foliage like that.      And then they came to the landmark that Sshrassa was looking for; a great, old tree at the very center of a huge clearing in both forest and underbrush. The tree's branches spread out over such a vast area, that for a moment, it almost looked as though there was no break in the canopy.      However, as they circled and passed through the outer leaves and branches, it became more and more apparent just how large the clearing and tree both were. And below them...      "Ohh," Sun breathed in awe. It was like a K'd paradise. Plenty of room for their denns, plenty to eat, though Grain wondered how long a single Denn could survive in such isolation. She and her sister would learn later that there was a single portal in or out of the sanctuary, but both ends had a chance to accept or deny a 'transfer.'      Could so perfect a place actually exist? Well, apparently, but appearances may be deceiving. Still, Grain thought as they set down in the middle of a gathering of welcomers, it was better than worrying about mages and predators.      The whole Denn seemed to have been made up of an extensively extended family or two, and it worried Grain that most of them looked related. Isolation was fine, but too much of it was bad for a population, she knew.      Grain checked each newborn anxiously as Riash set them down beside her, but all three were completely unharmed, and had actually slept through the entire flight. Well, except for the times they had set down for a break.      The entire Denn was absolutely entranced, and a few older kittens (which wasn't that hard; Grains were only born a couple of days ago, after all) came forward timidly to sniff their new playmates.      A large buck approached, and Sun watched warily. Grain was keeping such a close eye on her younglings, she might not see a danger coming... only why was she afraid of the buck? Well, he had wings, which was generally a bad thing to have in the old days, but she had long since left those prejudices behind. He was also not the kittens' father, but the idea that he would harm the kittens for that was also an outdated concept. What then? Maybe she just feared that here, where things seemed so strange, there must be some sort of hidden danger. Like it was all just too good to be true. And the sira couple had left already, having done their best for the sisters and kittens.      But no, the buck smiled warmly to both of the newcomers, and noticing Sun's anxiety, seated himself far enough back that he would pose no threat, and kept his wings close, in case that had been the source of her discomfort.      She relaxed, and smiled timidly.      "Welcome to our Denn," he said, and she nodded. Even Grain acknowledged his greeting. "I am Tunneler, and this is ShadowHaven Denn. Please, we have a few denns that you may take, or feel free to dig your own, we all know how mothers are." He winked at Sun, and her smile broadened.      Grain never took her eyes from her now exploring kittens, keeping the three little balls of fluff close, but she turned an ear toward Tunneler. "You have a strange name," she said, and though Sun knew she didn't mean to be offensive, her voice was mistrusting.      Oh dear sister, she thought, not everything different is out to take your kittens from you.      Tunneler took no offense, however, but grinned. "I know it may seem strange to you, but we have all taken names like that here. It's a tradition passed down from out earliest ancestors, the ones who founded ShadowHaven. Not every kitten likes its firstname when it grows to adulthood, so they may choose to discard it. Instead of being 'Gravedancer,' for example, for that is a truly unfortunate firstname for one to be stuck with when one had no part in the choosing of it, one may decide to simply be 'Dancer.' They can choose their own fate, so to speak."      Sun rather liked that, though people had been calling her Sunwarmth almost her whole life, so she had no intention of changing.      Grain was of a similar mindset, and nodded. When her kittens grew, she would most definitely give them the choice. If they remained here that long.      Tunneler was right; there were very many empty denns, and when asked about it, nodded. "They just recently decided to relocate," he said. "If you think there are many here now, you should have seen us before they left."      Indeed, there must have been a good ten to fifteen empty denns, and if even a few of those had once belonged to a pair or a family, ShadowHaven must have been fairly populous! With that thought in mind, the clearing and ancient tree now seemed lonely and barren. Maybe they expected newcomers soon?      They were settled in soon enough, though Sun was startled to learn that, other than Grain's three, there were only four other kittens in the whole Denn, and this was the season for them. In a group this big, there should have been at least three or four litters. That already worried her, but when she saw that all four belonged to one mother, she was even more worried. And then it occurred to her; all of the does here were adolescents. They were as yet unable to bear kittens. The bucks too, aside from Tunneler, were young.      What did it mean?      Grain didn't notice much of this. All she knew was it was her first time being a mother, and she could only do what instinct told her. She herself had very little memory of her own mother, as that doe had died when she was very young. Sun's mother was a different doe, and though the whole Denn had tried to care for her and raise her up, that didn't do much to teach her what motherhood was about.      She was worried too, but only because there were no experienced matriarchal mothers here. At least when she had been with Mount there had been a chance of speaking with those siran mothers. But now? Her only consolation was that she seemed to be doing alright so far. And that wasn't much of an achievement, considering her kittens were still newborn.      Tunneler, for his part, was somewhat relieved that this pair had come. For a while he had wondered whether any new blood would arrive before the younglings reached adulthood. Now all he needed was a few more single does, and maybe another buck or two, and the next generation would be set. He sighed.