Eventually the fuss died down and everyone returned to sit around the fire, except that this time, Autumn Leaves and Thunderstorm sat on either side of their new uncle.
“But now, Stormaway,” said Waterstone firmly, “there must be a reckoning. Since, at the time, you were not acknowledged as woodman, your actions then are not accountable to woodfolk law. But we still need an explanation. Were you so angry with your father that you took out your revenge on his, your own, people? Or did you learn your loyalty to your new providers so well, that all past associations became irrelevant? I remember you saying once, ‘I do not know or trust the woodfolk well enough to break faith with Tarkyn’s father.’ What drove you to betray us? You alone knew who Falling Rain was and where he came from. Withou
