Red Hands (editing)

Chapter 12: Silver Spoken

I picked up my pace, marching back up the path toward Abluvion Institute as swiftly as I could manage to place as much distance between myself and my friends as possible. It hurt too much to listen as Pam and Dol fretted over my pain. I didn't deserve to be seen as they saw me, and they didn't deserve to suffer secondhand at the hands of the Bloodhaven brothers. I wanted desperately to share myself with them, to reveal all of my secrets, to pour out my soul and beg for their forgiveness, but I was disgusted that I thought I might be worthy of it, and I was afraid that they might abandon me if I wasn't. Somehow, I'd already convinced Emb that my revenge was more important than his own safety, and I hated myself for it. A part of me wished that I was alone in my vengeance just the same as I'd been during all of those years of my youth, but another, deeper part of me pleaded for a new family to heal what I'd lost. It wasn't just the past that I mourned, but my future. To keep everyone I cared about safe from the same fate that'd befallen the Priestess Zelze, I'd chosen a life of solitude and sorrow.

A rustle of leaves and a flicker of black stole me from my thoughts, and I paused, eyes and ears tuned to the forest on my left. Two glowing eyes stared back at me from a bush, one amber orange and the other pale blue, pupils wide and round as she watched from the dark. A familiar comfort came over me, and I walked carefully forward, crouching on my knees with one hand outstretched on the ground. I kept my eyes diverted from hers and blinked slowly, showing her that I was safe.

The winged black cat slunk out of the woods, her tall tail swishing lazily and a gruff, short meow greeting my ears. She dipped her head to sniff at my hand and then rubbed her soft cheek against my fingers, flopping onto the ground with a yawn that showed off a mouth of beautiful fangs. I sat with her, gently petting the back of her head around her ears.

"Hello again, cat friend," I said reverently. "You've gotta be careful along this road or you'll get yourself into trouble again. Don't want any more scars on your pretty spotted coat, hm?"

At the sound of my voice, the big cat raised her eyes and gave me a slow, comforting blink. With another yawn, she stretched out her body until her paws, bigger than my own hands, lay across my lap. She squinted at me through languorous eyes and began purring, a full body rumble that passed through my fingers as I stroked behind her small round ears. [aws w scales

"I know, dearheart. Probably been a while since a being was kind to you. I know what that feels like, 'nd 'm sorry no one's been nice to you. I can see you're just a big ol' kitten inside. What happened to you? D'you lose your family too?"

A thought occurred to me, and I lifted my hand from the cat's fur. She lifted her face to protest, exhaling hot breath across my legs like she was pouting. I reached into the bag Dol'd scrounged up for me and took out a parcel of dried meat from my bag, unwrapped it, and offered her the treat in my palm. She sniffed at it, then parted her mouth and took each piece in her mouth one by one, whiskers and fur and wet lips barely brushing against my skin as she accepted the food.

"What are you doing up there, pet?" Dol called out.

Disturbed, the winged cat bolted back into the trees, wings carrying her over the bushes until she was lost in the darkness. Sighing, I folded up the parcel paper, tucked it back in my bag, and stood as Pam and Dol came up behind me.

"Nothin'," I said. "We needa get back."

By the time the moon reached the center of the sky, we'd arrived at Abluvion Institute and parted ways, Pam taking the center corridor back to his beastmastery arena while Dol and I scaled the staircases until we settled down in our quarters. I sat in my cot, and Dol rested against the oaken headboard of her bed, her magazine in her hand dropped onto the silken sheets while she watched me with sharp violet eyes. There was knowledge there, and I knew that what we'd experienced in the past week had changed the connection between us. She didn't carry the same stiffness or pride in her face, and my truth was showing through the cracks in my heart no matter how hard I tried to protect her.