Stars Of Memory

Chapter 21

Jīvitaya wakes for what seems to be the tenth time that night, still confused over what happened with Grania. She resigns herself to the sleepless night and sits up to read, grabbing her tablet from its position beside the bed. She starts reading, comforting herself with one of her beloved fictional worlds. There is a tap at the door, and Jīvitaya hesitates before moving to open it. Grania is waiting on the other side, her arms clasped together and her eyes looking past Jīvitaya and into the room.

"Would you allow me to explain the occurrences of last night to you?"

Jīvitaya thinks for a moment, comparing her curiosity and desire to know what happened with the fear she felt when Grania first confronted her. Her curiosity wins, and she steps out of the room.

"Yes, I'll listen to what you have to say."

"Thank you."

Grania leads Jīvitaya outside and to the edge of the woods, where she stops inside the treeline. Jīvitaya plops down to sit in the dirt.

"Talk."

Grania nods. "Last night, when you found me in the hallway, what do you think was happening?"

Jīvitaya huffs. "I was sleepwalking and then woke up in the hallway?"

"That's not what I saw."

Jīvitaya's voice raises slightly. "Then what did you see?"

"You, but you were transparent."

Jīvitaya stands and throws her hands up in the air before turning away from Grania. "What, you're saying I was a ghost?!"

There is silence from behind her, and then in an instant, there is a rush of air and a roar, followed by a scream. Jīvitaya spins around to see Grania with her arm stretched towards Jīvitaya, and what looks to be a black panther's jaws clamped down on her wrist. Grania's hand is splayed in a strange position, almost like she was holding something and was forced to let it go. Jīvitaya's eyes flick down to the ground to see a sparkling knife, presumably dropped by Grania.

"Wha-"

The panther lets go of Grania to prowl closer to Jīvitaya who steps back nervously. The panther twitches its whiskers at her, its eyes sparkling with familiarity. It turns just in front of Jīvitaya and sits on its haunches, staring intently at Grania. She clutches at her bleeding wrist and makes no move to pick up the knife, her eyes wide as she stares at the cat. The panther paws at the knife and picks it up in its jaws, twisting around to drop the knife at Jīvitaya's feet. With a ripple, its form grows smaller and its ears develop pointed tufts on the tips. From the back, and likely from the front as well, it now looks like a lynx, albeit one with pale golden fur instead of silver. Grania starts, and her eyes widen in awe. Jīvitaya grows impatient and speaks, careful not to raise her voice too high. She doesn't want to startle the cat.

"Will you explain what just happened?! As well as what happened last night?!"

Grania takes a deep breath. "Last night, you did something that I think, using a human term, would be astral projecting. That goes against the rules of my planet, where the only magic is shapeshifting," she nods to the panther-lynx, "and our use of nature to maintain the balance. I just tried to kill you for it. I won't apologize, because what you have done is something horrible and wrong, but I won't try again."

Jīvitaya frowns. "Why should I believe you?"

"The Metanmio Cat."

"What?"

Grania points at the panther-lynx thing. "The Metanmio Cat. They are sacred to Gaia, along with all other Metanmio species. While we protect the balance, without them, there is no balance, and the planet dies. If they imprint on a Gaian, that Gaian is protected from harm. You may not be a Gaian, I know that now, but I will still stand by our laws."