Timeweaver

Humans: A Strange Breed

"Ugh, again? You couldn't find anything more disgusting?" Catalina knew it wasn't her place to complain. She, after all, could easily have still been trapped in Gwendolyn's musky basement, or worse: she could have been completely alone.

Flame didn't even respond as they both reluctantly chewed the pale, sickeningly sour berries and squishy fruit. "Why couldn't we have just stayed back in the Golden Forest? I'm sure Gwendolyn wouldn't have dared ventured in there. Darkness seems to be her specialty."

The white wolf swiped a paw over his juice-covered face. "I am your Guardian. I am sworn to protect you, and I plan to do just that, even if my methods do not coincide directly with yours."

"So you mean you're just gonna force me to follow you around," Cat accused indignantly. "Maybe I should have stayed at Gwendolyn's place. At least the food was better there." It really wasn't, but Cat didn't have any other arguments to punctuate her anger.

Flame gave a sort of chuckle. "Oh, you don't have to stay with me at all. Go, head out into the unknown, if you're so audacious. If Gwendolyn doesn't catch you first, there are assuredly plenty of other creatures who wouldn't mind an Animal Whisperer as an afternoon snack."

Catalina wasn't sure how, but she knew Flame was bluffing. She could feel a small tingling in her ears that showed her he did not mean what he said. He cared about his Keep too much - after all, she was the last Animal Whisperer in all of Magdilus, and to be assigned her Guardian was the deepest honor - to let her fend for herself.

In fact, he was already ashamed of how his care of her had gone so far. He hadn't saved her from the witch - Cat had come up with and executed her own plan. He couldn't even provide quality nourishment for the young girl. Although he was a wolf, he was not much of a predator - he only knew of defense - and therefore could not hunt for anything better to give Catalina.

Catalina felt these feelings strongly, as if they were her own. She, too, suddenly felt great shame for how she had behaved. Flame only wanted the best for her and he did know more about this land than she did - although a displaced feeling of vague familiarity lingered at the back of her mind.

She sighed. "I'm sorry, Flame," she said, which elicited a bright look of surprise on the great wolf's face, but was nothing compared to the expression he showed when she finished her next sentence. "Thank you for everything."

He decided not to push the matter and after he had gulped up the last of the berries that had fallen from his mouth, he began to lead the way to a cave he knew about, a place in which he believed they would be well-hidden and safe for the night, juice dripping down his furry chin and questioning thoughts about human behavior churning in his mind.