Seraph smiled. "No. You are Cormorant - Weather Witch. Not everyone knows when a storm is coming, Rinnie."
"What about Jes and Papa... and Aunt Alinath?" asked Rinnie eagerly. "Lehr is Falcon, and that makes him a hunter, right? What do Falcons and Cormorants get to do if they can't build fires?"
"Papa and Aunt Alinath aren't Travelers," said Lehr.
"We're only half, and we have Orders," Rinnie defended herself hotly.
Seraph held up her hand. "Hold a moment. Let's see. Uhm. Yes. Lehr is right, the Orders belong only to Travelers. Or that's what I always thought until I met your Papa. Tier is Owl - that means Bard. I've thought about it a lot over the years, but the only explanation I have is this: the old Raven who was my teacher told me that the Orders cannot be bred for as we breed for certain traits in horses. They attach to someone suitable to their purposes at the moment of birth." She smiled to herself. Her old teacher, Arvage, would have been outraged at the mere suggestion that an Order would attach itself to someone outside the Traveler clans.
She cleared her throat and continued, "In the Traveling clans, the Owl is responsible for keeping the history of the clans because one of their talents is for memory. But the Owl holds music, too - and music has always been a part of Tier.
"You had some more questions." Seraph clucked her tongue to her teeth as she checked her memory. "Falcons track and have some affinity for weaponry. Cormorants can predict - and, if they are careful, control the weather. There are more things, but I don't know them all. Some things vary from person to person; these things you will have to discover for yourself. Others" - she shrugged - "we might eventually have to find someone to teach you."
"What about Aunt Alinath?" Rinnie asked again.
"Your aunt is exactly what she appears - a solsenti baker."
"What does solsenti mean?" asked Jes abruptly.
"Stupid people," said Rinnie with smug wisdom. "Especially Aunt Alinath."
Seraph said, "Quit snickering, Lehr. In Traveler's speech solsenti means someone who's blind or crippled, but most of us use it to refer to anyone who is not of Traveler blood. Now, what else did you ask, Rinnie?"
"Jes," said Rinnie.
"Jes is Guardian."
"And Guardian is furthest from human," Jes broke in bitterly. "They took the spirit of a demon and bound it to their will. In the night I am this." He stood up and let his cloak fall so he stood before them all, revealed in the light Rinnie held. For a moment he was as human seeming as any of them, but then his shape flowed and darkened. A panther the size of Gura stood before them, his eyes gold flecked with an eldritch light.
It was the speed of the change that Seraph used to gauge whether what she saw was illusion or real. This time she was pretty certain the panther was solid and not created of her fears.
"The Guardian is the caretaker of the clan," said Seraph calmly. "Where danger threatens, in the forests, in the darkness, he adapts to protect us. No magic works on him except his own. In the daytime - and I'm not talking about just when the sun is up, but in safety - the Guardian sleeps, taking part of Jes with him."
Rinnie gave the light back to Lehr and walked all the way around Jes with wide eyes. Seraph could see her son cringe under that steady gaze, though he moved not a hair - but she had more confidence in Rinnie than Jes did.
"You're beautiful," said her daughter in awe, reaching out to touch the grey-black coat.
Lehr watched the cat narrowly, then laughed. "What, did you expect us all to shriek and run away, Jes? No one raised around Aunt Alinath could be afraid of a mere demon."
"I don't get to turn into a panther either?" asked Rinnie plaintively as she sat down next to Jes.
"No, only Jes," replied Seraph.
Lehr frowned. "If I'd known about this, I wouldn't have gotten so mad at you when you took off for the forest all the time," he said to Jes. "I suspect it'll take a few days for all of us to understand what Mother's told us tonight." He paused, then said the important thing. "I think you need to know that I'm glad you are my brother, day or night."