She waited until they were out of sight and then made her way along the edge of the tree line, trying to find the sweet spot that would keep her obscured from passing travellers on the Godroad, yet still be close enough to minimize the chances of meeting any of the Wild’s denizens.

While the suns blazed above her, Pari felt safe. Sometimes the ear-shaped leaves would tilt in her direction, but only for a moment, her presence not enough to wake the forest from its slumber. The smaller inhabitants gave her a wide berth, and aside from the occasional Birdkin, shouting at her from the highest branches, she felt alone.

It took her a while to find the path – the trees had shifted many times since she was last here – but when she did, she was pleased to find it had been used recently. A short walk later and Pari came within sight of a familiar wagon. Time and travel had caressed it a little too eagerly, making it as rough and battered as its driver. The wheels had been repaired more than once, and the roof was mostly patches and thread, but it still looked robust, and Pari found herself smiling at the sight of it.

As a Deathless, she took profound comfort in the familiar, each thing from her last lifecycle that endured was like an anchor, linking her to the present. A large Dogkin lazed in front of the wagon, a fat teardrop of white fur, five legs and just the one tail. Her name was Glider, and she looked up as Pari approached, barking in recognition.

Pari stopped when she saw the Dogkin’s face. The last time she had seen the animal, it was injured, and had struggled to do its duty. Only Varg’s insistence had kept her from killing it. Old puncture scars were visible on Glider’s face, one on the left side of her jaw, the other directly above, on the temple, running down towards her left eye.

To her surprise she saw that Glider’s human eye was open, glaring every bit as effectively as her canine one.

‘It’s only me, you stupid animal.’

Varg’s shaggy head appeared at the front of the wagon. The first streaks of grey had appeared in his beard, which was trimmed shorter than she remembered it. Perhaps that was why he looked a little slimmer, a little sadder, but he seemed otherwise unchanged. He stared at her for a few moments, bushy brows coming together in a monstrous frown.

‘Oh’, she muttered, ‘not you as well.’

His lips moved and she noted they were not forming the shape of her name. He wants to say ‘Priti’, the vessel who lived in this body before me.

‘Pari?’ He eventually asked.

‘Who else would it be?’

He gave her a nod and then jumped down, resting one hand on Glider’s flank. ‘You look … uh …’