"What about the sikenwire?"

"We'll think of something. Do you think Clave will let us take the CARM?"

"... No."

She felt him shrug. "Okay. We go as loggers?" She nodded (their foreheads brushed) and he said, "I'd guess Clump citizens will all look like jungle giants. We should have a few. Anthon and Debby'll come. A couple of the Serjents for guides. Defenses ... we wouldn't want to risk the CARM in the Clump, but we could take the silver suit."

"Wrong. A lot of citizens don't want anything changed. Clave thinks we're too close to the Clump already. He wants to take us farther west. Mark agrees with him."

"Yeah, I've talked to Mark. Treefodder. Without him we can't use the silver suit . . . Lawri? Clave wants to move us west?"

"What are you thinking?"

"We don't know enough yet. Forget it. Look what you missed when you were a little girl..."

Whatever the disagreements now roiling through Citizens Tree, there was at least this bone of consensus: they all wanted to fly.

The Serjent girls were willing. From branchwood sticks and from cloth that was made on the looms below the branch, they made wings. Karilly worked quietly and skillfully and without words. Mishael and Carlot explained as they went, and corrected the mistakes of the children who emulated them. The work went fast. Citizens would wear their old tunics and pants for half a year longer, for cloth was not made quickly; but twenty-four wings were ready within twelve days.

Jeffer took Mishael, Minya, Gawing, and eight of the older children to the midpoint via the lift. Other children ran with zeal in the treadmill, knowing that theirs would be the next flight.

Jeffer had chosen with some care. These were the children who had not shied back from crossing to the pond on the day of the firetree. Yet there had been lines to cling to then. Today there was only bark, and some of them clung to that.

Rather flew, and was instantly in love with wings. Jill looked like she was facing death, but when wings were bound to her ankles and Rather was already in the sky, she flew. Mishael served as instructor. Jeffer learned how to kick, how to turn. When the sky was filled with winged adults and children, the rest gulped hard and loosed their hold on the bark and flew.

They were in the sky for one full circle of the sun. The adults had their hands full herding them back to the lift. Arth made a game of it, fleeing across the sky until Jeffer and Gawing closed in on him and pulled his wings off. The sun was rising up the east before they had the children rounded up.

Then Jeffer sent the others down without him. He told Minya, "I want to do some maintenance. Start the lift again after you're down."

"Kendy for the State. Hello, Scientist."

"Hello, Kendy."

"How are your refugees?"