As I exited the tent, Siena and Remi had just reached the little clearing. Both of them looked apprehensive. My jaw tightened with irritation. No trust.

"Don't worry," I snapped. "Everyone is still alive and well." I opened my hands wide in front of them. "No barbecue this time." I stalked past them, not bothering to wait for a reply.

I decided to go to the large cabin that served as an orphanage. Nirrin was clearing toys off the floor when I entered.

"Sember!" She was clearly surprised to see me. I rarely came to find her. I was such a bad friend. "You look awful."

I could always rely on Nirrin to say what she thought without mincing words or worrying about the other person's feelings. She said things as she saw them, and I decided that I actually liked that about her. Sure, it stung sometimes, but you always knew where you stood. I think she was probably the only person left who didn't tiptoe around me anymore.

"Bad day," I said, plopping down on one of the small beds. She doubled over in a coughing fit, and I finally noticed the feverish sheen to her skin. "You're not looking so great yourself. When did this start?"

"Not long." She waved a dismissive hand in the air. "I'm fine."

Sensing she didn't want to talk about it, I changed the subject. "So how was your, uh, meeting with Dozan?" In light of Dozan's gift, I was really curious how that went. Nirrin didn't seem upset at all.

"Oh, he was so charming." Her eyes twinkled. "And such a good kisser!"

"Oh yeah?" I pretended like I didn't know, but Nirrin was right. He really was a good kisser. "What else did you guys do?"

"Ohh . . . you know . . . " She smiled coyly. "This and that."

This was the first time she'd ever not spilled every last detail, so I had a pretty good idea what she meant. "Did you like it?"

Her eyes darted around the room before she whispered, "I loved it." Then she giggled and said, "Dozan is so much fun!"

Fun? Maybe that was my problem. I was pretty serious about my personal space. I debated whether I should tell Nirrin about the source of Dozan's "charm." I didn't want to ruin the cheerful mood she was in, but if it was me, I'd definitely want to know.

"Nirrin, I recently found out that Dozan is Gifted," I began.

"He sure is." She almost swooned saying it.

"Wait, he told you?"

"Told me what?"

This was a little harder than I expected. "Um, Dozan has the gift of"—how was I supposed to describe it?—"seduction."

She gave me a blank stare. "Come again?"

"Umm . . . okay. You know how my gift is fire and heat and all that destructive stuff?"

Nirrin nodded vigorously.

"Well, Dozan has the ability to . . . make you want him."

Nirrin blinked for a moment, then her eyes lit with comprehension. "Really? Huh." She sat on a nearby bed and seemed to think about this some more.

"You're not mad at him?" I watched her, but she didn't seem the slightest bit outraged. Had I overreacted?

Suddenly she grinned. "Well it makes sense! As soon as I touched him, I was lost. Like, in a good way. I forgot about everything except for how he made me feel. It was nice to forget about life for a while."

"So, you don't feel . . . violated?"

"Not at all. I had a good time. I don't think we're soul mates or anything, but I wouldn't mind 'meeting' with him again," she said with a wink.

I once thought I was pretty open-minded, but hearing this from Nirrin made me feel like a prude. Maybe I had overreacted in a big way. Or maybe we just had different views on intimacy. I was two years younger than she was. Maybe I would feel differently about it when I reached her age. It sounded like she and Dozan both used it to escape from something unpleasant. Which led me to wonder, what was Nirrin trying to forget? She always seemed so bubbly. It offset my tendency to brood. Maybe that was why we ended up friends.

"Nirrin, are you happy?" I asked her.

"Of course I am," she said, a little too brightly. "Why wouldn't I be?"

I shrugged. "Just wondering." I picked up a little rag doll and tossed it into the toy box. "Would you tell me if you weren't?" It occurred to me that, as much as she talked, she rarely shared her actual feelings.

Her face sobered, strangely devoid of its usual playfulness. She regarded me, as if wondering whether I was trustworthy or not. "I think I would," she said with a little smile. She busied herself by getting up and smoothing the bed, then said, "You know, no one's ever asked me before."

"That's because I've been an awful friend." I hung my head at the truth of the words.

She gave me a sidelong glance, a teasing glint returning to her eye. "Well I wasn't going to be the one to say it, but . . . "

I laughed and threw a pillow at her. "Thanks, Nirrin."

"For what?"

"I feel less alone now."

Her eyebrows flew up after my admission, and she strode over and hugged me. "Me too," she said when she pulled away. "You have no idea."

Aww friends 4-everrrrrr! Vote?