• As the morning wore on, Jana grew hungrier, until she could no longer ignore her grumbling stomach. Gihan called a stop at noon, and Jana sat down where she was, grateful for the rest.
    "I am going to look for food," Gihan said. "Keep watch until I return."
    Jana nodded, and Gihan headed into the surrounding wilderness. Jana opened her pack and took out a partial loaf of homemade bread and a water-filled canteen. She bit into the bread hungrily, taking a sip of water every few bites to wash it down. She was so preoccupied with eating that she didn't notice Gihan sneaking up on her until he snapped the dead branch he was holding. She jumped up and spun around, nearly choking on a mouthful of bread as she did so.
    "Don't do that!" she said, swallowing the bread. "You could've killed me by doing that!"
    "That is highly unlikely, Jana," Gihan said. "Why were you not keeping watch, like I told you to?"
    "I'm sorry, Gihan," she said. "I was hungry."
    "It is possible to do both," Gihan said. "However, it is not advisable to do so."
    "Why not?" Jana asked.
    "Because the food will take your attention away from your surroundings, and thus, the danger lurking just beyond that hill."
    "What danger?" Jana asked.
    "There is a small pack of coyotes just beyond that hill over there," Gihan said, pointing with one end of the broken branch.
    "How do you know?" Jana asked.
    "I can hear them," Gihan replied.
    "I can't hear anything," she said.
    "Listen," Gihan said. Jana did so, then shook her head.
    "I'm sorry," she said. "I don't hear anything."
    "As a changeling, your hearing should be far superior to mine," he said. "Listen with your heart, not your ears."
    Jana closed her eyes and concentrated hard, doing as Gihan had instructed. Within seconds, she had picked up the sounds of slow, heavy breathing. She opened her eyes.
    "I can hear them!" she said excitedly.
    "Can you tell how many there are?" Gihan asked. Jana concentrated again, and this time, she could distinguish four different breathing patterns.
    "Four," she said. "Wait; another one just joined the group. What is that smell?"
    "Describe it," Gihan said.
    "The coyote?" she asked.
    "No, the smell," he said.
    "I'm not exactly sure how to describe it," she said. "It smells sweet, yet at the same time, somewhat like rotten meat."
    "Sounds like the one who joined the rest has been scavenging," Gihan said.
    "If it was, it found some very rotten meat," Jana said, wrinkling her nose.
    "That is what coyotes do, Jana," Gihan said. "Similar to vultures, they get rid of decaying meat."
    "They can stay away from me, then," Jana said.
    "We need to keep moving," Gihan said.
    "Why?"
    "Coyotes do not just scavenge for food," he said. "They hunt as well, and just three or four coyotes can bring down a full-grown man."
    "Let's get out of here before they find us, then," Jana said. Gihan nodded and picked up his pack. Jana did the same, and they continued walking west.
    As the afternoon shadows began to lengthen, Gihan began Jana's training. He started by telling her the history of the first-known changelings..
    "The first-known changelings were known as shifters," he said. "As far back as the memories of seers go, these shifters could only transform into one animal."
    "I thought changelings could change into any living thing they wanted," Jana said.
    "Luke was mistaken when he said 'any living thing'," Gihan said. "The vast majority of changelings can only transform into animals. However, there have been reported cases where changelings have transformed into plants, and even a few where one has transformed into a non-living object."
    "How many were able to change into plants?" Jana asked.
    "There have been twenty that I know of," Gihan said.
    "How many were able to change into non-living objects?"
    "As far as I can recall, only three such cases have been reported," he said.
    "What were the shifters able to change into to begin with?" Jana asked.
    "Mainly dragons," Gihan replied. "But there were others who could transform into other animals."
    "If the shifters could only change into one animal, how can changelings change into more than one animal now?" Jana inquired.
    "Through interbreeding," he answered. "If one shifter could transform into a bear, and they bred with a shifter who could transform into a lynx, any resulting offspring would be able to transform into both animals."
    "So if it continued, eventually, all changelings would be able to change into any animal they wanted?" she asked. Gihan nodded.
    "Then why did you say I may be one of the last of my kind?" she wondered. "Why is my kind dying out?"
    "They are not physically dying out," Gihan said. "They are being relocated to a place that no one can find."
    "Not even another changeling?" Jana asked.
    "No, it is too dangerous to try and find this place," he said, shaking his head.
    "Then why are we searching for other changelings?"
    "For centuries, it has been the duty of the seers to accompany and protect any changelings they may come across," Gihan said. "It is also our duty to prevent the extinction of your kind."
    "You said my kind isn't dying physically," she said. Gihan nodded.
    "As far as I know, changelings cannot be physically slain," he said. "But they can die from old age."
    "How old is old for a changeling?"
    "The oldest known changeling died two centuries ago, at 250 years old," Gihan said.
    "That's older than any humans!" Jana said, surprised.
    "Thanks to the ability to transform into dragons," Gihan said, "changelings also have a partial lifespan of a dragon."
    "'Partial'?" she echoed. "How long do dragons usually live?"
    "Dragons are capable of living for hundreds, if not thousands, of years," Gihan said.