Until the Celebration by Zilpha Keatley Snyder

Dergg tried desperately to hear and understand every syllable of the message that Axon Befal was imparting to his followers. His words were certain to be of great importance, full of wisdom and power.
    But Axon Befal was still speaking too softly for Dergg to make out exactly what he was saying. His tone, however, was abrupt and full of tension, and he seemed to be reprimanding one of the Nekom officers who sat with him at the table. Dergg shivered, glad that the Great Leader’s harshness was not directed at himself. But now, occasional words and phrases became clear, and it seemed that Axon was scolding one whose task it was to train the Nekom in the skill of gliding. Suddenly, Axon Befal’s voice rose, almost to a mighty roar.
    “Twice now we have failed,” he was saying. “And each time we have failed because the Kindar were more agile and possessed greater skill at gliding. First we allowed the old man to escape from beneath the very edges of our wands, and now we have allowed one of the most dangerous and powerful of all the Ol-zhaan to elude us.
    Then one of the others spoke. “Your pardon, Great Leader, but I don’t understand why—”
    But at that point the speaker turned his head and his voice fell, so that the rest of what he said was swallowed in the rustle of the rain on the rooffronds.
    But Axon’s voice was still lifted, and Dergg clearly heard his reply. “You are right in part,” he said. “It is true that his name is not on our list—not yet. And we were not expecting him. Our watcher told us that the woman Geets-kel known as Birta often uses the branchpath we were guarding. It was she whom we were awaiting. But he would have been an even greater prize. Is he not a member of the corrupt Council? And during the hearing against us, he hardened the hearts of the Councilors against our cause. True, he said but little, but that one does not need to speak to influence the people. Don’t you remember, Harff, how he stared at us? He has great power over the people, both Erdling and Kindar. And do you imagine that, once we have come to power, he would not try to turn the people against us? No, it would have been no mistake if we had taken Raamo.”
    At that moment Dergg Ursh lost his balance and sat down suddenly on the muddy floor of the lapan-house. Glancing his way, Axon Befal frowned and gestured for him to approach.
    “Get us some more pan-mead, boy,” he said. “We are thirsty.”
    In the supply room behind the hearth, Dergg Ursh filled his pitcher from the barrel of musty mead and started to leave the room, but suddenly he stopped and leaned against the wall. His hands were shaking, and his head felt large and painful with confusion.
    Had the leader really meant that there had been an attack on Raamo? It seemed impossible. Dergg had taken a special interest in the young Councilor since the first days of the Rejoyning. For one thing, they were almost the same age. And then, in the third or fourth month of the Rejoyning, he had actually seen Raamo, when a group of Councilors had come to speak to the people of Upper Erda. Struggling through the crowd, Dergg had found himself suddenly face to face with Raamo; and as he looked into the clear, deep eyes of the young Rejoyner, he had been stirred and shaken by a strong feeling. He did not know what the feeling meant, but it had been strong and warm and unforgettable. Surely, Axon Befal had not meant what he had seemed to be saying. Surely he had only misunderstood.
    Taking a deep breath, Dergg shook his head hard to clear it of the dark confusion, which had, for a moment, almost overwhelmed him, and hurried back into the main chamber of the lapan-house.
    As he poured the mead, he listened carefully, but they were no longer speaking of Raamo. Instead, Axon Befal was telling his officers of a great new plan that he had recently conceived, a plan that would greatly hasten the day when the Nekom would be welcomed into Orbora and honored by all the people