A fresh wave of turpentine smell accompanied the words. "You will not speak tous that way." Paws flexing, he took a step toward me—

And I opened my mouth and let out a warbling, blood-freezing howl.

He froze in place, his alien face abruptly stricken as his glacial braincaughtup with his fatal error. I was stationary and he was moving, which meant hehad now violated my territory. I was the injured party, I had given out with theproper Yavannian accusation/indictment/challenge shout, and I was now entitledto the first punch.

By and by, of course, he would remember that I wasn't a Yavanne and thereforenot entitled to the courtesy of Yavannian customs. I had no intention ofgivingthat thought time to percolate through. Taking a long step toward him, Itightened my hands into fists and drove both of them hard into his lowertorso, into the slight depressions on either side of the central muscle ridge.

He gave a forlorn sort of squeak—a startling sound from a creature his size—

and went down with a highly satisfying thud that must have shaken the wholetaverno.

Curled around himself, he lay still.

The other two were still standing there, staring at me with their jaws hangingloosely. I wasn't fooled—flabbergasted or not, they were still in territorialmode, and the minute I stepped onto either's chosen section of floor I wouldgetmauled. Fortunately, that was no longer a problem. The left side of theentrywaywas now free territory; stepping over the downed Yavanne, I passed through theentryway and into the taverno.

There was a small ripple of almost-applause, which quickly evaporated as thoseinvolved belatedly remembered that there were still two Yavanni left on theirfeet. I wasn't expecting any more trouble from them myself, but just the same kept an eye on their reflection in the brass chandelier domes as I made my waythrough the maze of tables and chairs. There was an empty table in the back, comfortably close to the homey log fireplace that dominated that wall, and Isat down with my back to the crackling flames. As I did so, I was just in time to see the two undamaged Yavanni help their unsteady colleague out into thenight.