Katrina

Chapter 4- The Jungle

They left the room and crossed the bridge and it restructured instantly. Aerdnah whispered again those words that Katrina couldn't hear, nor did she ask about them. It didn't seem the best time to do so. Once the wall was opened, they went back to that cave and they were followed by all those creatures, but Aerdnah didn't stop. She kept walking as if nobody was there. Katrina looked back and saw how the wall closed and it left her in amazement. She still couldn't believe all that was happening to her was for real.

"Don't get off yet." Said Aerdnah when she felt that Katrina made the motion to get off.

Katrina didn't answer at all. She felt tired, and she didn't feel like saying anything. Just the thought that a long walk awaited them now made her even more tired. They left the cave and there was Muuqe lying on the ground. Was he sunbathing? What kind of horse was this? Thought Katrina.

"Finally!" He said. "Have you already explained everything? Did you agree? What'd you think, Katrina? Are you going to help us?"

Katrina was saturated with so many questions, she just put on a poker face and nodded.

"We must go. And Muuqe, we can't waste any more time. The Roro Oil won't be effective for much longer." Commented the panther, and she began to descend from the cave by some rocks that made a bit of small lake.

When they finished descending, they saw Muuqe behind them.

"Where are you going, Muuqe?" Aerdnah asked sarcastically.

"I'm going with you. Where are you going, by the way?"

Aerdnah rolled her eyes and turned her head to the right, as if indicating a direction. "We're going to see Eanar, Muuqe, and we need the silver potion." She said a little nervously. "I know that the effect of the oil won't last much longer and you shouldn't come."

The horse remained silent, without an expression and then began to make a sad face so that Aerdnah would let him join them. Katrina thought it was very nice and she laughed softly.

"Don't be stubborn. You know it is a long way and afterwards you'll get very nervous at night in the jungle! Stop torturing yourself and torturing us!" And Aerdah continued on her way with Katrina on her back without looking at the horse again.

They'd been walking for a while without saying a word when Katrina suddenly started the conversation.

"Aerdnah?"

"What?" She said dryly.

Katrina thought for a moment that the panther was bitter. She seemed on edge all the time.

"Is Eanar's house far away?" She said, since it was the first thing that came to mind to start a conversation. Katrina liked to talk and couldn't imagine the idea of ​​going all the way quietly to the house of that mysterious creature.

"Are you going to stop asking stupid questions?"

Katrina's face changed. She did not expect that answer. You're stupid... She thought.

"I just wanted to know where it is. I don't care about the distance." She replied, but the panther didn't answer.

They were silent for a while longer and Katrina tried again to start a conversation with the stupid panther.

"Aerdnah?"

She didn't answer, but Katrina kept trying since she was getting bored.

"Can you talk to me about the Council now?"

"What do you want to know?" Aerdnah finally replied.

"I want to know who all is a part of the Council. Do you meet in the room where we were before?"

"Muuqe and I are in the Council and the leader, as you know, is Elcaro. The others you will meet, and yes, we meet in that same place."

"Muuqe is part of the Council?" Katrina asked in surprise.

"Yes, it's more necessary than it seems." Said Aerdnah in the same dry tone as always.

"Have you ever crossed dimensions?" She said suddenly.

"Yes."

"Aerdnah, can you tell me some things about this world?" Katrina asked.

"Like what?"

"I don't know... What's the name, for example. Or how is this dimension different from mine?"

"We are in Dimension Cor, in the Island of the Horses. I don't know exactly what's different from yours because I've never crossed to your world."

"Well, but the Setn... The Sech..." Katrina didn't know how to pronounce that strange word that designated those creatures that took other forms. "Well the Chameleons; these beings who cross over to spy, have they not told you anything about our world apart from bad things?"

"Setnoelamach." Aerdnah corrected. "And yes, we've been told different things. For instance, your day is twenty-four hours, counting the night and day. I couldn't believe that. You wouldn't have time to do anything, right?"

Katrina didn't know what to say. She didn't understand what she meant.

"How long is your day?" She asked curiously.

"We have forty-eight hours of sun and forty-eight hours of night."

"Two days of night?" Katrina didn't like the sound of that because she was a bit afraid of the dark. She didn't want to imagine having to spend forty-eight hours in a row without seeing the sunlight in that jungle.

"When does it get dark next time? Is it tomorrow or the next day?" She asked strangely. She still didn't get used to the idea of two sunny days and two of night.

"Don't worry, today was the first day of sun, so you have all day tomorrow to enjoy it."

"Could you show me the island tomorrow? I'd like to figure something else out." Katrina asked enthusiastically.

"Yeah, sure, why not? It'll be good for you." The panther said indifferently.

It'd been a while since they last talked and they were still walking through the jungle when they suddenly heard a noise behind them. The panther turned in the blink of an eye.

"Who's there?" She asked again, in a loud, authoritative voice.

Muuqe emerged from behind a tall and wide tree.

"Oh, it's you... What the hell are you doing here? I told you not to come!" Aerdnah said in an annoyed voice.

Katrina felt a great relief when she saw the horse. Not only because she was afraid that it was some beast that wanted to attack them, but because she liked Muuqe.

"I know, Aerdnah, but thankfully you're not my mother. I don't have to obey you in everything you say." He answered in a mocking tone. "What is it? Have you already talked about Eanar? Did you tell her the story?" He continued, getting closer to them.

The panther looked at him defiantly.

"What? What story? What do I have to know about Eanar?" Katrina asked curiously and at the same time afraid. She didn't know what to expect.