Written in The Stars

The third scroll: Lydia

"Do you know exactly where to go?" Lydia watched in disbelief as the morph led them into the thicket of the forest.

Night had long since enveloped the area, and the dim lights of the city they had abandoned could be seen in the distance. Jhaar, as before, was wearing a hooded robe, and now a small bag with his belongings hung from his belt. He carried only a bow and a quiver of arrows with him.

"Jha'r hort ma'..."

"Huh?"

"Jhaar knows the way"

"Could you speak our language, please?"

"Jhaar obeys," the cat lowered his head slightly.

The girl rolled her eyes:

"You don't have to act like my servant. This is a common request. You'll have to repeat it in another language anyway, so why complicate everything?"

"Sooner or later, Jhaar's companion could have learned jah that way."

After thinking for a moment, Lydia stopped and opened her eyes in surprise:

"How much time are you planning to spend with me?"

The Morph turned to the interlocutor:

"Jhaar will be there until he pays back the debt"

"In your opinion, this may take a long time?"

"In Jhaar's homeland, morphs could remain companions for many years," he finally continued moving.

"Years?" She laughed hysterically. "May the gods protect me from such happiness... I won't last a year with you"

The morph remained silent, and only his moustache moved in an unusual way after this phrase. The lyre approached his muzzle, as if trying to understand what was going on in his head. He was still unperturbed.

"Really?" She raised her eyebrows. "You won't even say anything back to me?"

"Jhaar should be polite to his companion. Jhaar owes her a favor"

Lydia grinned:

"Well, I think I'm starting to like this whole idea"

The girl was very flattered that the morph, until recently so rude and cheeky, was now behaving like an obedient fluffy cat. Lydia, who had felt like some kind of a pushover all her life, now finally felt some semblance of power.

"Does that mean that you also have to tell me the truth?"

"Jhaar is trustworthy"

"Fine" She shook her head. "I wonder how long you've been in Lydia?"

"Jhaar spent about four seasons here"

"It's been longer than I thought..." the girl murmured thoughtfully. "So you've heard about all these attacks on small towns?"

"Yes, Jhaar heard"

"Do you think it's something serious?"

The cat's whiskers twitched several times.

"Time will tell"

His voice sounded unsteady, as if there were a lot more words on his tongue, but he decided not to say them. Lydia didn't stop there:

"Where did you study magic? In Ajha?"

"In Jhaar's homeland, magic is not so good... He took lessons at Elive"

"Did you take lessons from the elves? That's fascinating. One of my friends is from there, only he is not a magician, but an archer"

"Did he teach Jhaar's companion how to shoot?" The morph nodded at her bow slung over her shoulder.