The Raven and the Wraith Book 2 (Completed!)

The Raven and the Wraith 2 Chapter 47

The Raven and the Wraith 2 Chapter 47

I could see Riva was not going to reveal herself to this boy. I sighed. This wasn't the first time in my life someone thought I was nuts.

"Who are you? Where are we?" I asked him.

He lifted an eyebrow at that. "I'm Conner. My parents farm is right through these woods. You're on our property."

"Hi Conner. I'm Rahvin. And I have no idea where your parents farm is. Like, are we near Oceanport? I can smell the ocean on the breeze."

Conner looked surprised. "Oceanport? That's like four days ride from here. The closest city is Tamak, on the bay. Which is a few miles from here. You can really smell the ocean right now?"

I blinked. Tamak was close to my hometown city, likely only about a three day hike from here.

"How do you not know where you are? Are you ok? Did something happen to you?" Conner said, eyeing the cat at the end.

I glared at the Werecat Queen. She studiously ignored me. "I'm fine. I just...don't know how I got here."

Conner looked concerned for me. At that moment my stomach let out a very audible grumble.

"Hungry? We're having dinner soon, with some traveling guests, so there's sure to be enough for you too, if you want to eat with us."

I nodded, nearly shocked at the casual kindness. I had fought tooth and nail for my meals out in the streets, and here this stranger was simply, freely offering food, even though he had just met me. I knew it was his parents who had taught him that kindness, as I could see he knew with unquestioning confidence that they would welcome me to their table.

The Werecat Queen looked pointedly at me as we began to follow Conner back through the woods. I stuck my tongue out at her. Her tail lashed the air in irritation, and I fought back a smile. I knew she was trying to make some point about Conners kindness.

The fact I knew that was surprising. I had just met her, yet I already knew her well enough to read her body language.

Conner saw our pleasant, non-verbal exchange and I heard him chuckle.

"You and that cat have a very...different relationship. When did you get her? What's her name?"

"I got her four years ago. Her name is Terezah."

The Werecat bared her fangs at me. I shrugged at her. Terezah meant "Old Maggot" in the ancient tongue.

"My name is Riva, kitten." Her voice rang in my mind with the force of a thundercrack. It took all of my willpower to continue walking normally.

"Terezah? Doesn't that mean wrinkled bug or something?"

I nodded solemnly. "Yep. It's the perfect name for her, too. I got her from a Pantrah Witch for only three coppers. Regretted it ever since. See how she hisses at me?! What cat does that to its owner?!"

A Pantrah Witch was a particularly nasty creature, full of diseases, and known for eating wayward travelers who stumbled into its traps. Every one of them owned a Familiar, a companion creature they used to stabilize their spells. Suggesting Riva was an unwanted Familiar was a pretty vicious blow, but I felt she deserved it, considering how she had let Conner think I was a bit crazy for worshiping a house cat.

"Well, I don't know, she's definitely pretty enough to be worth more than three coppers. We have a lot of cats and I've never seen eyes like hers, or any with such sparkly, silver fur."

"Ah, it's because she's a Familiar. They all are beautiful on the outside, but hideous on the inside." I said wisely.

Riva spun and darted towards me, her ears flat against her skull, her eyes flickering cold fire. I leapt away, unable to restrain my terrified squeak of protest. Conner cracked up laughing, shaking his head at us as I backed away from Riva with my hands out.

"You two are really something else!"

Riva settled down abruptly, her entire demeanor shifting to a very relaxed, happy house cat in an instant. She even moseyed over to Conner and rubbed against his ankles.

"Well, she might not be very nice to me, but it looks like she's taken a liking to you, at least."
I told him.

Conner reached down to pet her, then quickly withdrew his hand at her withering glare.

"She's feisty!"

I couldn't help but laugh. Seeing someone almost pet the haughty Werecat Queen, hearing her called feisty, was too much. The disgusted expression she aimed at me only added to the hilarity. We continued on through the woods for a few more minutes, and then we entered a big, fence-lined field.

"This is our eastern pasture, usually for our cows, but sometimes we have our sheep here, instead. My house is just on the other side."

I could scent the cows and sheep, and also people and woodsmoke and cooking food. The air was rich with familiar and unfamiliar scents, but they all felt peaceful, or natural. It was both comforting, and worrisome. Was I ready to sit down and face a bunch of strangers, a group of normal people, over a meal?

I knew there would be questions. And I knew I wasn't going to be able to answer many of them fully or truthfully. Who I really was, where I was going, and where I came from, were all things I couldn't simply tell people. Not without instilling either fear or fascination, and I wanted neither aimed at me right now.