The y-by was an isnd, of course, not all that far away, linked to a causeway by a stone bridge. It had a dock, which was multi-stepped, presumably to allow for its use regardless of the tide, and several red berry bushes and a fruit tree. It was easily rge enough for the portable house to be opened, and still left the ornithians enough space that they wouldn’t feel crowded. Instead of tethering them, Terenei wove a rope back and forth across the space between the bridge’s end pilrs, and simply left them loose to py in the water on the side that was shallower.
I was surprised there wasn’t a shelter on it, but there were several possible reasons, and it didn’t matter, we didn’t need one.
Heket, as invited, came back to join us for supper. I’d halfway expected her to return to the family she’d mentioned, but to be fair, we were so close to the pce she’d been working that we’d been able to see her, although not well.
Once she’d made her mecha do something I could only think of as a squat and jumped out, several things became immediately clear about Heket. One was that she wasn’t exactly white: her extremities, including her ears and the top of her head and the upper part of her face, were a soft light grey. Another was that, out of the limited number of felids I had any direct experience with, she was the tallest by several inches. She was definitely not a slim little catgirl waif, either, but stocky, with muscle showing under her sleek fur.
The cropped sleeveless top she wore didn’t need to offer support, since so many felid women cked prominent or even visible breasts, but presumably did at least provide a bit of protection; the pants that went with it were akin to the ones I had in felid form, but they ended at her knees, leaving her outer thigh exposed and her lower legs and feline feet bare. Like everyone seemed to, she had a bag, built into a wide belt she fastened just tightly enough to keep it from sliding off her hips, woven in bright yellows and warm browns.
We had all three sets of doors open to catch the breeze from the sea, and had oriented the house towards the south in hopes of getting as much sunshine inside as possible for however long we needed to be here. That made the difference between inside and outside a lot less clear than it had been while we’d been waiting out the storm.
Little bck-and-white Myu explored the inside of the house inquisitively while Heket joined Serru in the kitchen; from the general tone, she knew what she was talking about, well enough that Serru was ughingly deferring to her at points.
Once they left the kitchen to Aryennos to make a sad that he promised would be good for felids as well as humans, Heket migrated instantly towards the hammock-chair, and it was clear in moments that she found it as wonderful as I did in my felid form, wriggling around until she had the cushions in pce properly and then settling in with a contented sigh. I couldn’t help but wonder whether that particur style had been invented by, or at least was common in the homes of, felids. Terenei took the other hanging chair, sitting with his legs crossed, a pce and position he was fond of, which left me the couch with Serru—and, while we ate, Aryennos as well.
Over an excellent meal of lightly-battered and fried fish, and a sad that included boiled eggs and cheese along with greens, and of course rosemint tea, Heket caught us up on the local news. The storm hadn’t been unusually destructive, and there had been no deaths and for the most part only the kinds of damage they were accustomed to. The only exception was the bridges and even some of the causeways, especially anything that would allow travel by nd roughly parallel with the coastline, and entirely south of the Quincunx. No one had any doubt that it was the Zombie King, considering that no less than three zombies had been found colpsed near sites of vandalism, but it was a mystery what his motivation had been and why he’d bothered to do so under the cover of the storm. Most people had at least a small boat they could use to isnd-hop, which made it only inconvenient for the locals and they could see little purpose to it.
We sympathized with the unfathomable logic of the King and Queen alike and the exasperation of having to deal with their behaviour, expressed relief that no one had gone missing to repce the lost zombies, and offered no further information.
Fortunately, the music Terenei had pying in the background caught Heket’s attention, and she wanted to know who it was, and it turned out to be a band she’d heard of in positive terms but had yet to actually hear live, and one of the band members was a good friend of Aryennos’ father’s...
I didn’t have much to add, since my knowledge of local music was, to say the least, limited. I could think of questions to ask, but didn’t, unsure which of them might give me away. The more I discovered that I liked Heket, the more stressed and conflicted I felt and the less I actually spoke up.
On the other hand, little Myu decided that I would be the least distracted or something, and invited herself onto my p. I listened, but kept much of my attention on finding all the right spots and speed and pressure and angle to make Myu melt into a purring bck-and-white puddle of fur.
Heket’s closer ear turned intermittently to track the sound, but she didn’t otherwise say anything, just pulled out of her compact bag a spool of string that shaded through several colours and a hook that looked akin to the one my mom used for crochet and resumed working on something while talking. It might have been a toy mouse, from what I could see. I didn’t at any point notice her looking down at it, her fingers working by touch alone.
By the time the conversation had wandered from music to musicians travelling to other people travelling, I might have had an occasional comment to make, based on my time on the road with Serru on foot and now with a rger party and a wagon. I didn’t really see much point, though, when Terenei and Aryennos had the conversation so well in hand, and Serru had more to offer, and Myu was cute and responsive.
Even the most affectionate cat eventually wears down, affection meter maxed out, and Myu finally fell asleep, draped over my p. That took away my best excuse for being distracted. I contempted that, then asked Serru to get the book and pen from my bag, since I couldn’t get up myself. Smiling, she did, and I turned my attention to sketching Myu, trying to capture the boneless contentment in every curved line of her body.
This book was clearly not a specialist item like the one Terenei used for watercolours, but it was a beautiful object in itself. Little in this world seemed to ck decorative touches, and this was no exception. The rigid cover was that stuff that felt like leather, dyed blue and green and gold, the front panel embossed with a design that made me think of waves. Like Terenei’s, it was ring-bound, and the back cover had an extra fp that could be folded out to protect the flipped-back pages that were under your hand while you had it open. Even the pages weren’t quite white, but subtly tinted in a rainbow that progressed through the book. And there were a lot of pages. It seemed almost criminal to inflict my efforts at art on a book that was a work of art in itself.
My first effort was less than satisfying, but the second one was better. I managed to adequately capture her Phantom-mask white face with a white-fingered bck paw tucked halfway across it.
“It’s te,” Heket said, her own ears fttening just enough for it to be visible. “I should have been paying better track of the time than I have been. I should go. My mecha compensates a lot, but my vision’s very bad in the dark and it’s not a good pn to wander around the Gss Shallows if you can’t see where you’re going.”
Serru gnced at me and tilted her head; I was pretty sure I knew what she was asking, and I shrugged.
“You could just stay here,” I suggested. “It’s not a big house and there are limited beds, but I’m sure we can figure something out. If low light is a problem, that might be a safer option.” I really, really wanted to ask why low light was a problem. It was exactly the opposite for me in my felid form. Was it reted to the goggles? Was that something I should know?
“That seems unusual for a felid,” Serru said. “Otherwise, since Nathan and I have a better view of the sky from here, we could have said something.”
Heket shrugged. “It is unusual.” She id the string and hook on her p, then unfastened something at the back of her goggles strap, and caught them in the other hand when they came off. Her slit-pupilled eyes, which of course were just a little rger than a human’s, were a startling light violet. Absently, she rubbed the fur that had been compressed. “There’s very little pigmentation in any of me. That changes how eyes develop. So bright light’s uncomfortable, but my night vision and colour vision are poor. I can manage well enough in the sweet spot, as long as I’m not trying to focus on anything too small or too far away. My goggles keep the light level right and can help with focus, there’s nothing wrong with my ears or my nose, and my mecha has extra features so I’m not pulling out the pnts and leaving the weeds. But...” She hesitated, her tail twitching indecisively. “It’s not really meant for being out at night, and it’ll likely be full dark before I can get to my family’s farm.”
“We definitely don’t want you in danger,” Terenei said. “Especially with zombies about. We kept you talking, and I’m sorry, but please, just stay.”
“Yes, please,” Aryennos said. “We’ll worry all night about whether you and Myu got home safely.”
That made her smile. “I think Myu would be quite happy to stay, and I could sleep comfortably right here in this chair. Yes, and thank you. I should go out and fold my mecha, just to keep wandering wildlife and possibly zombies out of it.” Her eyes, I noted, did track and focus, but they did it erratically and moved more than I’d expect with normal vision.
Presumably a pregnancy potion would make sure no one was ever born with a congenital heart defect or hemophilia or any of the genetic quirks that made even reaching adulthood problematic. The baseline for “healthy” even at birth, however, was obviously not as clear-cut as I’d initially assumed. I didn’t know much about eye development, but it was pusible that a ck of menin would account for her striking coloration, including pale blue eyes letting the red of the retina show to create violet, and that the same ck of menin could have an impact on retinal development. So a variation could exist that wasn’t, in itself, dangerous, but could have secondary consequences.
It was an odd contrast with the ck of biological necessities I was used to, like the need to bathe and shave and the details of passing waste, but if things like concussions and dislocated joints and broken bones could happen, then clearly physiology was still a thing, just modified.
My attention came back to her, and to Myu, as Heket extricated herself from the hammock-chair and paused to put her goggles back on; Myu abandoned me to follow her outside.
“I need to go feed the ornithians,” Terenei said. “I don’t think we need to bring them in overnight, the weather’s wonderful now, so they can roam around the isnd for the night and enjoy themselves. Although possibly they’ve already found those berry bushes...”
“I’ll help,” Aryennos said. “Extra hands are easier, since they’ll want petting too.”
Neither said that they’d be keeping an eye out for Heket, but I suspected they would. She didn’t strike me as someone who would welcome being fussed over or patronized, but there was no harm in being avaible to help a new friend out.
“You’ve been very quiet,” Serru observed, as we migrated towards the kitchen to clean up the dishes. “I know why, but are you all right?”
“I’m fine. Honestly. It’s good to see you and the other two having fun, and I think I learned a lot by listening. I like Heket.”
“And Myu.” She piled the dirty dishes in the sink and turned on the water, then turned to find her bag.
“And Myu. My family has always had pets. I don’t, I wouldn’t be good at looking after one right now, but I’m maybe looking forward to Grace’s cats being around.”
“One more thing you’ve been pushing into the future, in favour of helping others now.”
“Yeah.”
“Despite no certainty, in your world, that you will live long enough to have that future.”
“Uh... yeah.”
“Hm.” She returned to the sink with soap and a small towel; she handed me the tter. “Well, we could have far worse conditions for waiting in, if we’re forced to dey our journey. A pleasant location and good local company.”
I decided not to follow up on what she’d said. “It sounds like they’re all over the bridge repairs.”
“If the damage is as extensive as it sounds, then it’s quite likely we’re waiting for a boat ride. A possibility to consider is that there are far more boats that could take, say, you and I alone across the damage to the area of the Quincunx, and Terenei and Aryennos can wait for a rger boat that can hold the wagon and ornithians, and they can catch up with us there. The pattern so far suggests waiting for you for something over two cycles, so it’s not impossible that you could be done before there’s a rge boat avaible.”
“Um. They won’t get lost?”
“The Quincunx gates are a reasonable ndmark to use when telling others that you intend to meet up with the other half of the party. I would not suggest anything that could leave them in danger.”
“I’m not entirely comfortable with separating that long. What if the Zombie King decides to target them?”
“They’re both more used to urban life,” she admitted. “I certainly wouldn’t leave the two of them for long. But if they have the house, and considering the way the ornithians reacted previously to zombies approaching, I think they’d be as safe as otherwise. We’ll be without you while you’re in the Quincunx anyway. It’s a possibility, at least. I’m quite sure they’d understand why you’d want to save time.”
“I’ll think about it. I’m not sure that extra couple of days is worth risking their safety. Or yours, since you’d be completely alone, but that worries me less.”
She fshed me a smile, and concentrated on making sure that the pan she’d fried the fish in was scrubbed clean.
