ORIGIN

Five minutes earlier, it had started to rain.

Not here--not in the caves. Somewhere beyond, somewhere linked to this place, through that shimmering gap in the air.

It had been unexpected. Which was unexpected in and of itself; they could usually predict the weather well enough. Maybe it was just that time of year. There'd been a lot of swearing, a lot of scrambling to get things under a protective, oiled sheet of leather. Maaaaaybe he'd accidentally knocked something through.

It had been an accident. One of the things they'd only just gotten, too--damn. Maybe she wouldn't notice.

---

In any case, it was just a little damp when it tumbled out at Aerys's paws. But the water hadn't penetrated; rather, it was beaded along the outside.

It looked like sealskin fur. Maybe it was; the white was certainly almost translucent in places, a glossy, almost oily sheen to it. There was a faint, gray pattern on the bag's back, but most of it was just white. It was shaped like a very large satchel, over a foot long and almost that tall, and a large flap of the same stuff--white leather, with short, sleek, white fur atop it--folded over the open top and was latched in place with a little button made of animal tooth corded in pale leather. A beautiful tooling of beadwork--red and blue, set in a framework of grey--formed a pattern down the middle of the bag, along the top and down the front.

A broad, supple leather strap could be used to carry the satchel, and was adjustable, with a buckle made of bone. (Metal simply got too cold to touch, where the bag had been made.)

No one came to claim it. Just the bag tumbled out, lying at Aerys's feet: hers to take.