Knowing it impossible to return to sleep after the heart-hammering chaos of the past several minutes, I find my way to the kitchen. Enos follows shortly thereafter, the amusement of earlier absent from his features.

I dry my Incarnate on a discarded towel as it squirms defiantly against me. The lizard seems unable to differentiate between friend and foe, equally rebellious to either. Despite the humor it has caused, I have a growing resentment for it. And not just for its apparent uselessness.

My of yet unnamed Incarnate has gotten into no shortage of trouble in the few short days it has lived with us. He has been nearly trampled under no less than a dozen feet, found himself in the most inconvenient places, in discord with the most inconvenient of characters. He has annoyed teachers, embarrassed friends, angered social superiors. The one positive is that I have caught Mab snickering more than once at his fearless antics.

The lizard is an indomitable agent of lawlessness. He makes me stand out in a place where I have tried so very hard to fit these past years. I thought the reptile would be the answer to my prayers for conformity, yet he has been anything but. I would wager I have earned more enemies in the last week than I have in the rest of my lifetime combined. And he bites.

The poor twins are covered in nip marks. Even Enos has suffered his fair share. Corsa's tabby has taken to depositing him in the empty wash basin just to celebrate a few hours of peace. Apparently the cat was off duty tonight.

Enos joins me at the table and clears his throat. My signal to pay attention. I release my Incarnate and hear his clawed feet skitter across the table. He is off again to wreak more havoc. I look worriedly after him but know better than to ignore the impending lecture. Enos has already fixed me with his paralyzing stare.

"You have no control over that thing," he tells me as if I don't already know. I begin to speak, and he interrupts. "Tell me what happened tonight."

"He must have gotten out of his cage." None of the other kids have to keep their Incarnates in cages, I note with bitterness, but mine has proven to be unworthy of trust.

"You are fifteen years old, Kalyn. Almost a man. You cannot keep making excuses."

"He didn't hurt anyone..."

"No, but he could. He is young now, but he will grow. No monster starts out that way. They start small. They grow. If no one stops them when they can..." Enos shakes his head. "You have to control yourself, Kal. You and yours. You are not a kid any more. You have responsibilities. From here, you will only have more."

"I'm trying," I plead.

"Try harder." His expression is serious. "I say this not because I don't care for you, but because I do. You have potential, Kal. The potential to be good or... not. Take charge of your path before someone else does." He stands to leave, but I stop him.

"I couldn't breathe," I say suddenly. "When he was in the water. I was drenched, I thought with sweat, but..." Enos pauses, thoughtful.

"Some share more than a bond of friendship with their Incarnates. I have seen hunters who can communicate without words. Elders have knowledge of things a human cannot possibly know. There are rumors of a great warrior who could control his Incarnate, inhabit him. A mighty leopard. Do you know what happened to him?" I shake my head.

"He destroyed my wife's village." Enos considers this, then reluctantly resumes his seat. "It is important to listen, to be in touch with your Incarnate, your nature, but it is also important to control it so that it cannot control you. There is danger in these things. I worry for you. Especially now. This thing is small, but it will grow. You need to grow, too, Kalyn. It is part of you, but it does not always do what is best for you." I murmur my agreement, but my curiosity has not been sated.

"A leopard destroyed Avi's village?"

"That was why she was here. She came with her father, seeking refuge. I had to marry her to convince the Elders to let her stay. Her father lived in the camps until he too passed. We were all each other had. And then Corsa."

"Weren't you afraid? To marry a girl you hardly knew?" The sound of Enos's laugh startles me.

"With a girl like that... I knew I had to take advantage of the opportunity while I could. Half of the village was scandalized at the thought of my marrying an outsider. The other half were just mad that I got to her first." He smiles to himself. "But, no. I knew. I am not saying that things weren't hard. Things will always be hard, but I loved my Avi more than life. We always found a way to make it." Silence swallows us.

"You're thinking of that blonde girl." The observation unsettles me, but Enos grunts. "You are not nearly as sly as you think." He considers with a shrug. "The girl seems nice enough, but I would watch out for her father. A man like that... He won't let you get away with his prize that easily." This time when Enos stands, he does not wait for me to argue. "It is late. We had best be off to bed."