The afternoon rains were soaking into the land as Nuri carefully crushed and mixed the separate parts of the plants. She had tightly woven a large basket and filled it with water, to which she added the crushed leaves and stems. To Jack's amazement, the water changed color and he realized she was going to dye the clothing. Fascinated, he sat watching as she dipped sections of clothing in the basket. Nuri added more root to the water, dipping another section in, rubbing the flower petals across the leggings and her dress, rubbing in some sort of pattern.

When at last she was finished her hands were stained several deep colors of yellow, blue, and red, but the clothes looked wonderful. Somehow, the bright colors blended just right and were not overwhelming or garish. The black hide was unchanged, but the white hair was now beautifully dyed. She set them to dry next to the fire on wooden branches she had set up and then began scrubbing her hands in clean water.

"I didn't hear you get up last night." He said it softly though the thought had been on his mind for some time. Nuri paused for half an instant before resuming her cleaning. "You know I don't mind, it's just, you've always kept your distance, and I thought it was...unusual." This remark met with silence, so he persisted.

"At first I thought it was the cold, but the wood for the fire was closer to you so that could not be it, then I remembered the tiger, and thought, 'that's it, she's afraid of him.' So I look over there just now and see that your bed is still next to mine, and then I have to wonder, 'I don't know Jack, maybe she just likes you'." He saw her face flush a deep red and smiled.

Getting her to talk when she did not want to was extremely challenging, but always rewarding when he hit the mark. She finished her hands and dried them on the fringe of her tunic. Her cheeks were still a bright hue of pink but she lifted her head slightly.

"I was hoping that if the tiger came here and I was behind you he'd eat you first."

For a moment, Jack sat unbelievingly, then burst into laughter. He had never heard her try to be funny before and her delivery in English was perfect. He could not stop himself and tears came to his eyes as he roared with mirth, throwing his head back. Watching him was contagious, and Nuri began to smile, then laugh. The more he laughed the more she did until they were both flat on the cave floor wiping tears from their eyes.

"My God, I haven't laughed like that in ages!" Lantern lay relaxed, hands resting on his stomach as he looked over at her. She smiled, her eyes fixed on the ceiling.

"It felt good. I cannot remember when last I laughed."

"Who knew you could tell a joke! You've been holding out on me."

She giggled a little and rolled over to face the fire, her head resting on her hand.

"I have not felt like laughing until I met you. I thank you for that Jack." His response was the slow smile that she had come to love. Suddenly shy, she turned away. "Are you hungry?"

"Always."

The roasted tapir was delicious for Nuri had found some spices for flavoring, pounding down some roots into something like grain to make flatbread so Lantern found himself wolfing the food down like a starving waif. She had called the spices ketumbar, cengkeh, and jahe (coriander, clove, and ginger). Fruit and wild nuts accompanied the meal along with large skins of cold water and hot tea made from a combination of tree bark and herbal flowers.

Sitting back after the meal, enjoying a sense of tranquility and rare peace Lantern was starting to doze off when he heard a slight scuff at the cave entrance and Nuri's frightened gasp. Sitting up his hand on the blade of his knife Lantern's eyes settled on the Tiger, who appeared like mist just outside the circle of firelight.

"Stay calm Nuri. He has not hurt us yet. Do not move." He spoke in low tones, keeping his voice soothing and even. Nuri nodded and settled back down, her hands gripping the hilt of the Mandau blade she faithfully kept by her side.

The large eyes of their feline guest roved cautiously around the cave as if surveying the habitat of the valley's new tenants. Seeming to approve he dropped onto his belly and lay with his massive head on his paws.

Nuri and Lantern glanced silently at each other, her eyes brimming with uncertainty, his cautious but relaxed. She glanced around the cave, now at a loss as to what to do since there was no way she was getting up. Then her eyes fell on the large carcass of the water dragon that she had not stripped the meat off yet. Silently indicating it to Jack, she tilted her head slightly toward the Tiger and watched as his brows went up in surprise. Barely shrugging his shoulders in response Lantern watched as Nuri slowly reached out and pulled the carcass to her.

At her first movement, the Tiger snapped his head up, watching her keenly. A low rumble reverberated through the cave when she took a dagger in her hand but he did not move. Savagely wild eyes followed the motion of the blade as she carved the meat from the bone piling it up in a basket for storage, and every so often moist nostrils twitched as if unable to resist the smell of the meat. At last, the bones were stripped and Nuri put the dagger down, rising to her knees.

The rumbling grew louder as Nuri took the bones in her hands and very slowly advanced toward the large tomcat, still on her knees. His ears laid back and a loud hiss stopped her cold, but when the hiss stopped, she moved forward again. Trembling, Nuri halted just out of arm's reach from the Tiger who regarded her with high suspicion and mistrust, yet he had not risen off his belly. She dropped the carcass and moved back, not even daring to look the hunter in his eyes. Only when she settled back by the fire did the cat even glance at the offering. His whiskers began to quiver as he stretched out his nose and took in a big whiff then his tongue flicked out to sample the treat.

In a sudden strike, the Tiger snatched up the carcass of bones and disappeared into the dark, leaving them to sit in astonishment. With wide eyes, they sat staring into the dark, listening to the large cat enjoy his treat.

"Woman, that was the craziest thing I've ever seen you do!" Lantern snapped at her. "What were you thinking?"

"It was time Jack. I had to know, and he took the gift from me,"

"He might have taken your arm, Nuri."

She closed her eyes at his stern tone, an expression of serenity on her face.

"He does not mean to harm me, and I will not fear him anymore."

"All the same, please do not do that ever again."

"Do not worry Jack, I have the answer that I needed."

The stars were twinkling brightly in the ebony sky as Lantern banked the fire and prepared for bed. They had been quiet for the last hour, neither wanting to break the spell of silence that hung over the valley. Nuri had moved her bedding back to its original place and he had said nothing, just smiling to himself. He had to admit though, that seeing her face before getting up in the morning sent warmth rushing through his veins. He could not imagine life here without her; indeed, it was becoming increasingly impossible to imagine life without her at all. Never having felt this way about anyone before, slowly the thought was dawning on him that it was probably love.

Not ideal.

Shaking his head, Lantern dropped onto his bedding and turned away from the fire. It's no good anyway, he told himself, you've seen her husband. The thought of Topan sent fury flowing through his body. Lantern knew that soon, much sooner than either of them liked to think about, Topan would come to reclaim what was his. Grumbling under his breath Lantern closed his eyes and thought of the sea as he drifted to sleep. Somehow the rippling waves turned into hair the color of a raven's wing, flowing all around as he was drawn irresistibly toward a pair of lustrous amber eyes.

Nuri had watched surreptitiously as Jack had prepared to sleep. His face was dark and withdrawn and the set of his shoulders and the tense muscles along his neck and jaw suggested inner turmoil. He was frustrated, thinking about something that he was unwilling to share with her. She watched him until he fell asleep then lay down quietly, gazing at the smooth skin of his back. He gave so much to her and asked very little if anything in return. It was possible that he was becoming tired of caring for a woman who was not his, reminded day after day that they were fugitives in this land because of her.

The thought that he may not want her anymore caused a rush of tears that she refused to cry, stifling them behind a hand tightly pressed to her mouth. Jack was the first person other than her parents that she cared about more than herself and the idea of being the cause of his agitation tormented her. What if he changed his mind about protecting her? What if he simply could not decide how to tell her? Turning abruptly onto her back, her gaze roamed the rocky surface, her mind reaching for answers she did not have. When at last she fell asleep she was plagued by restless dreams where she paced an empty beach, frantically calling out but no one was there to hear her cries.

A shrill squawk of one of the valley's early risers snapped her eyes open just after sunrise the next morning. The fire was burning brightly, which told her that Jack had been up to refuel it, and looking around for him revealed he was already gone. A smile lit up her face when she saw his old clothing folded next to his bedding, and looking at the drying rack, she saw his new leggings were missing. Grabbing her new dress Nuri hurried out of the cave and down to the water. Approaching the pool, she called out to him, not wanting to startle him with a sudden appearance. He was not at the river either, and slightly puzzled but glad she was able to bathe right away, she threw her old dress to the ground and plunged in.

Reveling in the clear cool water, she splashed, playing like a child. Her fingers had wrinkled when she finally had enough, wading from the pool to dry out in the sun. She was so relaxed she closed her eyes and was drifting to sleep when a sudden feeling of alarm snaked through her body. Sitting up Nuri looked around, wondering what had caused the change when she noticed the quiet. Not a creature was stirring, the birds were silent, the monkeys strangely hushed, and her heart began to beat faster. The Tiger?

Jungle folk were only silent in the presence of an intruder, someone of whom they did not approve, and hastily getting to her feet, Nuri pulled the new dress on. Where was her blade? How many times had Jack told her to always carry it? Fear began to creep into the edges of her mind. Where was Jack? Why would he disappear without telling her? He would not go hunting again until they were in need.

The silence pressed in as she hurried back to the cave to retrieve her weapon. The weight of the blade in her hands brought some sense of calm but the hush that lay over the valley like a blanket frightened her badly. Something had changed, but Nuri could not tell what it was. This was not the presence of the Striped One, this was something different that made her blood cold.

Scanning the surrounding area, she slipped from the entrance immediately swallowed by the jungle as she headed toward the far end of the valley. There was a waterfall there and a high rocky ledge that gave a breathtaking view of the valley. Occasionally Jack and she went there to relax and enjoy the spectacular view. Perhaps she would find him there now.

Her senses were on high alert as she walked, and though she saw and heard nothing the feeling that danger was stalking her could not be shaken. The birds hardly moved as she passed beneath their perches, not one of them making so much as a chirp. When at last Nuri came to the base of the falls the sun had reached its midday point. The rumble of the water should have soothed her, but today it made her more aware that she could no longer hear what was happening around her. Studying the ground for traces of Jack, she headed up the steep trail that led to the ledge overlooking the valley.

Her heart sank as she found the place empty. Despair and fear took hold and she cupped her hands to her mouth filling her lungs.

"Jack?" her voice echoed faintly across the jungle, and she called again. "Jack!"

She cried for him repeatedly, but he did not answer. Heart pulsing in her breast, Nuri tried to ignore the horrible truth in front of her. Although this valley had been a haven, it now felt cramped and ominous, closing in around where she stood. Frustrated tears flooded her eyes as Nuri's knees gave and she sank to the ground, face turned to the heavens. Had he left her? What had she done? Yet, perhaps it was worse, perhaps the Tiger-?

"No," Nuri shook her head, unwilling to even contemplate the thought. "No, Jack...you'll come back."

Hope kept her on the ledge for hours, long after her tears dried, hope that Jack would appear telling her he had been looking everywhere for her, that he would never abandon her. That he was alive. Her hope dimmed then washed away with the afternoon rains and the setting sun. As darkness crept across her hidden world, she faced the painful truth. He was gone.