**
Kiela woke up the second the water hit her skin. She sat up spluttering, clothes completely drenched. Heru stood before her, holding a wooden bucket. He smiled to himself. "What was that for?" she gasped.
"Oh, I'm sorry," Heru replied, smiling nastily. "I should have boiled it first. Well, too late for that."
Outrage filled Kiela. "What are you doing in my tent?" she gestured to the soaked mattress and the water that dripped onto the floor. "Was that even legal?"
"No." Heru answered. "You have ten minutes to dry off and meet beside my tent. Don't be late."
Kiela made as if to protest, but he was already gone. Grumbling angrily she yanked off her sleeping clothes and pulled a tunic over her head. She stomped off towards the west end of camp. The shifters that she passed avoided her, dropping their gazes to their feet. Kiela squinted to see; the sun hadn't even risen yet. A very irritated looking Lono stood beside Heru's tent. His hair was soaked, and the earth beneath his feet was damp.
"You look like a drowned rat," Kiela observed.
"I could say the same about you, except all the time, not just hen someone dumps water on your head." Lono replied. Kiela snarled at him, but was too tired to say anything else.
Heru stepped out of his tent. He handed both of them a thin wooden stick. "Here are your tools," he said. "I have drawn a circle around my tent, and I have drawn a smaller one near the Abör oak. You have until this time tomorrow to pick up every stone in this area and put them in the smaller circle located there. If you sleep, you forfeit the rest of your time. Any questions?"
"Yes." Kiela spat out. "If this isn't legal, I could simply report you to Ramsea."
Heru heaved out a great sigh. "This again? Answer my question; is what you did legal?"
Kiela bit out an angry "No."
"Then it doesn't matter. I'll see you in about twenty-three hours, and fifty minutes. Don't go over time." With that, he swept away.
Kiela glared at Lono. "This is all your fault."
"My fault?" Lono gasped. "You're the one that spilled the lard!"
"Well you told me to carry that slab of stone! And you suggested running!"
"It's not my fault you were so slow we got caught!"
"I'm not the reason why!" Kiela snarled. "You couldn't run if your life depended on it!"
"Please," Lono scoffed. "You're sluggish. It's a shame you're a wolf, you'd make a better snail."
Kiela let out a roar of wrath. She swung back and punched him in the face. Lono went reeling, cupping his cheek in shock. Blood spurted from beneath his fingers. He snarled and leaped onto her, lashing out with his fists. His blows landed on her chest and drown the breath out of her. They both fell onto the ground, rolling over and attempting to injure the other. Kiela's anger lent her strength and she forced a shift. She seized Lono's arm in her jaws and cut down. Lono moved into his bird shape and flapped over her head, striking out at her eye. They fought, moving in and out f their forms until they fell, exhausted, onto the ground. Kiela wiped blood away from her cut lip. Her face felt swollen. Lono looked even worse than she felt. Bruises littered his face and his arm was torn open from where her teeth had dug in. He hissed in strain and pulled a length of cloth from the hem of his shirt, wrapping it around the wound in a makeshift bandage.
"This isn't helping," he said. "We need to get to work."
Kiela heaved herself to her feet. "I'll start here," she said, gesturing to the area around her, "And you go there." She pointed to the opposite end of the circle. Lono nodded.
"Use the stick to draw a square around areas you've searched." He said. "That way we won't get mixed up." Kiela nodded and sat down. She sifted through the earth and picked out all the stones, from the tiniest pebble to a large rock the size of her fist. When she had a handful, she began the trek to the Abör oak and deposited them into the middle. The entire process took her almost twenty minutes, and she had only done about a square foot of area. Lono worked silently. The sun rose, and heat burned down on them. The tents gave little shade. After a few minutes, Lono discarded his shirt. Kiela moved so that she could take advantage of the little shade there was. She moved to the oak and sifted through the dirt a few more times, but then eventually spoke up. "This isn't working," she said. "It's taking to long."
Lono grunted in agreement. "It doesn't make sense to go all the way there and back with only a few handfuls." He gritted his teeth as he moved, and Kiela looked at his bandage. Rusty blood was already beginning to soak through.
"It's a shame we don't have a bag," she said, "I could carry it over in wolf-form." She walked over to him hesitantly. "I don't think you should be carrying anything. That wound looks painful."
Lono shook his head, but she could tell he was lying. "It's okay when I sift, because I'm only using one hand. But when I have to carry... it hurts." He looked at her as if expecting an insult, but Kiela didn't give one.
"I'll take your stuff," she offered. "It will just take longer."
"Wait." Lono said "What is that you were saying about a bag?"
"Just that I could put it on my back. It would help me carry more." Kiela replied.
Lono looked between her, and the shirt on the ground. "Give me your belt." He ordered.
"Why?"
"Don't ask, just give it."
Kiela's tunic was pulled against her waist with a leather cord. She undid it and handed it over, causing the tunic to billow around her like a dress.
Lono grabbed the shirt and sat down. He grabbed the stick and dragged it across a rough stone until it was sharp. Then, he poked it through the hem of his shirt. He fed the cord through the hole and knotted it twice. He then made another hole and pulled the cord through again. Kiela's jaw dropped. He was sewing, turning his shirt into a bag. When he was finished, the sleeves had been sewed shut at the shoulders, and the hem had been closed. The neckline was left open, but the remainder of the cord was tied to it so that it could be shut. Lono filled the shirt's body with rocks.
"Shift," he told her. Kiela did, intrigued. Lono knotted the sleeves around her belly so that it was secure. The rocks were heavy on her back, but it was bearable. Kiela took twice as long to get to the oak and back with the load, but she carried forty times as much. When she got back, she turned to Lono.
"That was smart," she said.
"Thanks." He replied.
By the time darkness fell, all the rocks had been transported. Kiela led Lono to the oak. As soon as they got there, they both frowned. The rocks lay in a haphazard pile, and were not within the two-foot diameter that they had been allotted. Kiela and Lono quickly began piling them up, but once they got to the last few the rocks began rolling down the edges to the bottom.
"Here," Kiela said. "Let's break the sticks in half. We'll put the four halves at the comps points on this circle. Then, we'll stretch your shirt over the sticks and I will catch the stones."
"That might work," Lono replied. Kiela tore the shirt into bands of cloth and wound them around the sticks. When she had finished, the rocks in the pile were obscured from sight until about a meter up.
Kiela snarled in frustration. "I'm sorry. Now we can't reach the top."
"You can't," Lono said. "I can." He shifted and grabbed one of the stones in his beak, flying it to the top.
"That will take so long!" Kiela cried.
"We have time."
"Okay," she said. "Don't carry what you can't hold."
Lono shot her a glance and then grabbed another stone. Dusk had fallen by the time that they had finished, but it was a whole day earlier than they were given.
Lono brought the last stone to the top and then collapsed onto the ground beside her. They both lay on the ground for a while, gazing at the branches of the Abör oak far above them. A feeling of serenity came over Kiela, and she felt content to lie there forever. Lono's voice floated out of the darkness beside her.
"That was smart, using the sticks to stop the stones from falling," he said.
Kiela turned to lie on her side and strained through the darkness in an attempt to see his face, but the night hid it.
"Thanks," she said. "I never would have thought of sewing a bag to hold the stones, and even if I had thought of it I would never have had the skill."
"We make a good team," Lono replied. He let out an outraged cry a few seconds later when he elbowed him in the gut. "Hey!"
"I wouldn't go so far to say that," Kiela said, "But yes, we worked well together." Lono let out a laugh. Kiela relaxed into the grass again. The stars gradually appeared overhead, wining through the blackness. Kiela's stomach growled, and she flushed in embarrassment. Lono shook with mirth.
"Want to get something to eat?" he asked.
"Sure." Kiela stood and offered a hand, yanking him to his feet. "Cooktents?"
"As long as you don't burn them down."
Kiela gave him a shove, giggling. "I thought we'd agreed that was your fault."
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