Sora woke to chaos and complaints, and she instantly wished she hadn’t been so insistent that Mari leave, because she definitely did not have everything handled. What she had was a group of people who were wounded, weary, and sad—or healthy, restless, and bored.
Sitting in front of the hearth fire, Sora muddled honey with lavender and poppy pods with one hand as she stirred a rich barley mushroom soup with the other.
“Jenna!” Sora called, trying to be heard over chattering women’s voices and the surprisingly loud baby animal noises the very awake and very annoying litter of puppies was making.
“I’m here, Sora!” Jenna hurried from the back room with Danita shadowing her. “Can I get you something?”
“Yes, more mushrooms. This stew needs to stretch.” She paused as Cammy came racing up to her, huffing doggy laughter with two of Fala’s pups tangled around his feet. “Do that outside!” she snapped at the little blond Terrier, then immediately felt bad, as his head and tail went down and he stared at her with big eyes while he whined pitifully.
“Don’t let him fool you,” Davis said as he hurried to catch his Companion. “Cammy knows better than to play rough in a nest. Er, or burrow. I’m sorry, Sora. I’ll take him and the pups outside.”
“There’s a nice spot in the clearing by the stream where we Gathered last night,” O’Bryan said, ruffling the fur on Cammy’s head before picking up the two rambunctious pups. “I’ll help you take all of them out. Sheena’s already there, trying to catch some fish to add to the stew.”
“That sounds good. Would you also keep an eye out for mushrooms? That’ll help stretch the—” Sora’s words broke off as she felt a warm, soft little body curl up on her feet. She looked down and, sure enough, there was the sun-kissed pup, blinking innocently up at her.
“Where is the other girl pup?” Rose was saying as she limped the length of the long burrow, peering around pallets and into woven baskets, searching for the young canine.
“She’s over here,” Sora said with a sigh.
“I’ll get her!” O’Bryan said. “Sorry about all these canines in your way.” He reached to remove the pup from Sora’s feet, but her hand on his arm stayed him.
“Oh, she’s fine. She keeps my feet warm.”
O’Bryan’s eyes glinted as if he knew a secret Sora was unwilling to share, but all he did was shrug. “No problem. If you get tired of her, we’ll be by the stream.”
“Take Rose, Sarah, and Lydia with you. Go slowly and let them rest in the shade. Fresh air will do them good. I’ll have the poppy tea and a change of dressings ready about the time the stew is done cooking,” Sora said, shifting her feet so the pup could find a more comfortable position.
“I don’t know if Lydia and I can walk down to the Gathering spot,” Rose was saying as she stroked Fala, who kept throwing what Sora interpreted as suspicious glances at the sun-kissed pup who was now soundly asleep on Sora’s feet. “We woke up so stiff this morning that it’s hard to move at all.”
“So, here’s what I read about burn recovery from the Moon Woman journals,” Sora said matter-of-factly. “Yes, if they’re too bad, the patient must remain inside and very still while the dead skin is debrided and then covered with wet, clean cloths soaked in water, honey, and garlic. Rose, you and Lydia were not burned that badly. You’re sore and stiff, but if you stay inside and don’t move the damaged parts of your bodies you’ll remain sore and stiff, even after the wounds turn to scars—tight, uncomfortable, unsightly scars.” Sora almost felt bad for adding the part about unsightly. She’d made that up, but Rose and Lydia were young women, and if she couldn’t appeal to their desire to be healed, then she would try to appeal to their vanity. And, oh yes, the Tribe is very vain with their tall blond bodies and their ability to channel sunlight. “You decide,” Sora concluded, shrugging one shoulder and going back to muddling the tea mixture.
“I’ll join the others outside. And I’ll make sure Lydia and Sarah do, too,” Rose said. As an afterthought she added, “If you get tired of the pup, call for Fala. She’ll hear you and let me know we need to come get her.”
“Will do. And I say again—to anyone and everyone—stay close to the burrow and don’t go anywhere alone. If you see an Earth Walker male, do not try to reason with him. Get me immediately. I’ll take it from there.” Though what she was supposed to do with diseased and dangerous males wasn’t entirely clear to her. Sora’s best guess at how to handle the situation was to knock a male over the head, tie him up, pour poppy tea down his throat, and wait until the moon had risen to Wash him.
“Understood,” O’Bryan said as Rose, Davis, and Jenna nodded in agreement.
“And Jenna, tell Danita that she’s worked in the pantry long enough. Take her with you to the stream to hunt for mushrooms, and while you’re hunting—stay close to the burrow—I want the two of you to practice hitting targets with the slingshots we brought from Mari’s burrow. None of us should be going anywhere unarmed for a very long time.”
“Good idea. I’ll get her.” Jenna disappeared into the back room that held the birthing burrow’s extensive pantry system.
“Can you use a slingshot?”
Sora glanced up to see O’Bryan watching her with his usual mixture of good humor and intelligence sparkling in his eyes.
“No. I cannot. Or at least, not well. Mari showed me a little, but I’m pretty bad at it.” Sora shook back her thick, dark hair and sighed. “I kept hitting myself with the rocks.”
“Have you considered trying a crossbow?”
Sora met O’Bryan’s gaze. “Earth Walkers don’t have crossbows.”
“But Companions do, and I’m a Companion.”
“You’d teach me?” Sora asked, intrigued. Since the males had attacked her, she had felt vulnerable and frustrated at her lack of skill in protecting herself. It amazed her that just weeks ago her biggest worry had been which tunic looked best and when she would announce Jaxom as her choice of mate. And now … now she couldn’t look at Jaxom without seeing a monster and she was sitting there talking to a sworn enemy about learning to defend herself—the Tribal way.
“Absolutely. It’ll be fun.” O’Bryan grinned. “Just let me know when you’re ready.” He grabbed the other two pups from under Davis’s feet, laughing as they squirmed their way up to lick his face. “Come on, kids! Let’s get some fresh air and let Sora have some peace for a little while.”
In a rush of dog breath–scented air, puppy squeals, and moans from stiff, sore women, people and canines trailed out of the burrow, leaving Sora alone except for one very warm, very sleepy puppy.
Sora breathed a long, slow sigh of relief and debated how bad it would be to make herself a big mug of poppy tea, drink it, and then take the sun-kissed puppy and curl up in the back of the pantry for a quick nap.
“Except I don’t think it would be quick,” Sora told the pup, who opened one dark eye to peer at her before snuggling more firmly against her feet and going back to sleep. “And without a giant batch of this tea, there’s no way I’m going to get any peace at all tonight. So, you rest for me and I’ll keep muddling herbs. Remind me to tell Mari she owes me big when she finally gets out of bed with Nik and shows up here.”
“Do you always talk to yourself like that?”
Sora startled as Antreas and his Lynx seemed to materialize behind her. “Great Earth Mother! Do the two of you never make any noise?”
“We’re not entirely silent; it just seems like we are compared to the noise of canines, Companions, and Earth Walkers. I mean no offense by that,” Antreas said as he leaned against the curved side of the burrow and watched her work the herbs into the honey mixture for tea.
“No offense taken at all. I was just thinking about how nice silence can be.”
“Oh, well, I apologize for interrupting your silence,” Antreas said as Bast padded up to Sora. The big feline sat on her haunches and studied the Moon Woman, much as Antreas had been doing. “Bast and I will leave you alone.”
“No, it’s fine. You don’t have to leave. And I’m not alone.” She gestured at the ball of fur sleeping on her feet. “She thinks it’s her job to keep my feet warm.”
“Ah, the pup. She likes you. Be careful, Moon Woman; if she tells you her name you’re stuck with her for life.”
Sora’s eyes widened in shock. “Oh no, no, no. That’s not possible.”
“Of course it is.”
Sora shook her head quickly. “No. I’m an Earth Walker. That means I can’t be a Companion.”
Antreas shrugged. “Mari’s an Earth Walker, and Rigel chose her.”
“Mari’s part Companion. I’m not. The pup likes to lie on my feet by the fire. She obviously has more sense than the rest of the litter and is as sick of their noise as I am.” Sora glanced down at the sleeping young one. “Had you ever seen puppies before now?”
“Sure. Yeah. I’ve visited Tribes and have seen Shepherd and Terrier pups often.”
“Were you also surprised by how not hideous they are?”
“They’re not as attractive as Lynx kittens, but I suppose they’ll do,” Antreas said, clearly amused by the conversation.
“They certainly smell a lot better than I thought they would.…” Sora paused, studying Bast. “She’s pretty. Those long tufts on her ears—what are they for?”
“They increase her hearing. Her eyesight is already incredibly sharp—as sharp as a canine’s nose. Bast can see a field mouse two hundred and fifty feet away at night with little to no moon.”
“Wow, that’s impressive.” Bast had moved closer to Sora and was studying her with the same curiosity. “May I touch her?”
“Ask her. Bast makes decisions for herself.” Antreas chuckled. “Actually, she also makes decisions for me.”
Slowly, Sora reached her hand toward the Lynx. Bast moved closer to her, delicately sniffing her hand. After a moment the big feline began purring and rubbed her face against Sora’s wrist.
“She likes to be scratched around her ears and the ruff of fur that frames her face,” Antreas said.
“She’s amazingly soft,” Sora said, gently scratching the Lynx and even, for a moment, touching the tufts of black fur that tipped her ears. “So, when they call you cat man, is that an insult?”
“Depends on who’s calling me that.”
“Okay, say O’Bryan? Is that an insult?”
“Probably not. Those dog guys”—Antreas laughed—“are strange with their insults. For instance—had Nik been in here and heard me calling him a ‘dog guy’ he would definitely have been offended, but he thinks it’s okay to call me cat man. Do you see the double standard I’m dealing with?”
“I might.”
“Yeah, visiting a canine Tribe is always interesting,” Antreas said.
“Why are you here?”
“I thought I was keeping you company.”
“No,” Sora said, shifting the pup to a more comfortable spot between her feet. “I don’t mean here, in this burrow. I mean, why are you here—attached to a Tribe you don’t belong to—during a major upheaval? Couldn’t you have left during the forest fire? Returned to your—um, burrow?”
“It’s called a den. And, yes, I could have. But Bast wouldn’t let me.”
Sora’s gaze shifted to the Lynx, who was busy grooming herself near the hearth fire. “She’s that bossy?”
“Worse than you could imagine. But that’s the way of it.” Antreas looked around them with an exaggerated long-suffering attitude. “Here’s the deal—humans are in charge of canines. Doesn’t matter if they’re bonded or not. Humans still have the upper hand. But Lynxes? They’re always in charge.”
“What does that even mean?”
“It means that from the time a feline chooses you as her own she takes over your life.”
Antreas focused his gaze on Bast, who was still calmly grooming herself. Sora saw the love in his gaze, though his words seemed annoyed, petulant even. His expression, though, reflected the deep bond he shared with his feline.
“Is that a bad thing?”
Antreas shook his head. “No, not at all. The truth is, Bast has never been wrong. She knows what’s best for me—for us.”
“So, what were you doing visiting the Tribe in the first place? You’re a mercenary, right? Earth Walkers have little to do with the outside world, but we do have a story or two about hiring Lynx Companions to guide a group to new Clan territory.”
“You’re right. I am a guide. I’m also a Warrior.”
Sora’s brows shot up. “You’re a killer?”
Bast made a series of yowls that left no room for speculation about her dislike for Sora’s last questions.
“Hey, sorry.” She spoke directly to the feline. “I’m curious, and I don’t know enough about you or your Companion to know if I’m being offensive or not.”
Bast’s yellow eyes met Sora’s gray gaze. Sora saw an immense intelligence there, as well as compassion—a surprising amount of compassion. The big feline made a rolling meow in the back of her throat. Then, as she settled back into her grooming, her purr filled the burrow.
“In case you didn’t get that, she just forgave you,” Antreas said.
Sora grinned. “I got it. Does that mean I can keep asking annoying and unintentionally insulting questions?”
“Absolutely, if I can ask you to show me how you braid those feathers and beads into your hair.”
Sora’s surprise was genuine. “For you?”
“Well, yeah. My hair’s long enough, isn’t it?”
“Sure, but it’s a woman’s thing—decorating our hair.”
“Who said?”
Sora hesitated. Who had said? She moved her shoulders. “I’m not sure.”
“So, it’s a rule we can break?” Antreas said.
“Yes, I think it is.”
“Good. Then ask away.”
“Okay. Are you a hired killer?”
“At this moment … no. Have I been hired to use my blades and my wits to solve problems in the past? Yes. Next question.”
“Is that why you were staying with the Tribe of the Trees? Because they’d hired you to be a killer?”
“Great Stormshaker, no! Gods, I didn’t even consider that anyone would think that.” He ran a hand through the thick chestnut-colored hair that fell to his shoulders. “Bast and I came to the Tribe of the Trees in search of a mate.”
“A mate? There are more Lynxes in the area?” Sora asked.
“No, not a mate for her. A mate for me.”
Sora sat up straighter. This was really getting interesting! “Your mate? But don’t you have females to choose from in your…” She hesitated, trying to find the correct word. “Pack? Clan? Tribe?”
“Chain. Lynxes are solitary, but when we Gather we call ourselves a Chain. And no. According to my Lynx, none of the females in our Chain were good enough to be my mate, so I did what all Lynx Companions do when their feline isn’t satisfied with the available mates. I began to travel. The Tribe of the Trees was hosting me in my search for a mate.”
“Wait, wait, wait!” Sora was fully involved in the conversation now. “Are you telling me your cat chooses your mate for you?”
Bast growled low in her throat and sent Sora a yellow-eyed glare.
“Sorry,” Sora amended. “I meant your Lynx. She chooses your mate?”
“She does,” Antreas said on a sigh.
Sora hid her smile. “And that’s a bad thing?”
“No!” Antreas said at the same time Bast grumbled and hissed softly. “Or maybe yes. Initially. It’s complicated.”
“Hey, I’m muddling an enormous amount of poppy tea to drug a bunch of people—partially to alleviate their pain and partially to shut them up so they’ll sleep. I have time. Explain.”
“Well, okay. A Lynx is never wrong about her Companion.”
“Seriously?”
“Seriously. Oh, she can be wrong about other things.” Bast coughed twice, and Antreas added, “She wants me to tell you that she’s rarely wrong about other things, either.”
“She’s definitely opinionated.”
“To say the least. But Bast and I have an additional issue to deal with. A female Lynx almost never chooses a male human as her Companion. As in it’s so rare that my Chain has never had it happen. Well, before Bast chose me, that is.”
“That’s weird. Why’d she choose you?”
“I have no idea. The only answer I’ve ever been able to get from her is that I belong to her.” He shrugged. “And that’s good enough for me. But because she did, that has made the choosing of my mate unusual.”
“How so?”
“Well, sometimes I think she and I are looking for different aspects in a mate. For instance, the night of the forest fire I was content in my bed entertaining a delightful young Tribeswoman when Bast interrupted. She decided the girl wasn’t for me. Then she decided we were going for a run. As annoyed as I was with her, I followed her—and because I did, I was saved from being killed in the blaze.”
“She knew?”
“She always knows. I won’t lie. Lynx Companions never lie; it’s part of the oath we swear to our felines when we’re chosen. And I won’t pretend I was being a hero by staying and then returning to help the wounded. I wanted to leave—to return to the snug safety of our den in the eastern mountains.”
“Who wouldn’t? That’s what I would have wanted to do,” Sora said.
“Yep, as did I. But Bast refused, like she refused to let me wallow in bed and be burned to death the night of the fire. Even though I don’t always understand why she wants me to do something—or not to do something—there is always a reason. And that reason is always what’s best for me, even if I don’t see it as best at the time.”
“Huh. So, she’s here because she’s still looking for your mate?”
“That’s what she’s told me.”
“But shouldn’t she be looking for someone who can be a Companion to a male Lynx?”
“Stormshaker, no! Unlike canines, Lynxes don’t live with their mates. It’s like your Clan. Our males are solitary. The kittens stay with their mother in her den until they’re about a year old, but then they go out to choose their own Companions and make their own dens, usually far away from their mother’s territory so that they don’t overhunt the food supply. Lynxes don’t mate for life, but Lynx Companions do.”
“That doesn’t make any sense at all,” Sora said.
“But it does. It saves us from being alone. Lynxes enjoy a solitary life, but humans don’t. Well, most of us don’t. If it were up to me, I’d never let any of Bast’s kittens leave our den—or if I did they’d all stay close.” He shrugged. “As far as I know, I’m the only male Lynx Companion who feels like that, which is probably why I’m bonded to Bast. I’m not normal.”
Sora snorted. “Well, you’re definitely in the right place for not normal.” She pointed to the ball of dark fur sleeping on her feet. “This is definitely not normal for an Earth Walker.”
“Yeah, which makes my point about Bast always being right.”
“I see what you mean. Bast is going to find the perfect mate for you—someone to stay with you forever,” Sora said, thoroughly enjoying the conversation.
“Exactly!”
“Bast! There you are! I’ve been looking—” Like a whirlwind Danita rushed into the burrow, deflating quickly when she realized Antreas was there, too, and had been in conversation with her Moon Woman. The young woman stopped and bowed respectfully to Sora. “Forgive me. I didn’t mean to intrude. I just thought Bast might like to help me catch crawfish in the stream. I remember you said you liked to add them to the stew.”
At the appearance of Danita, Bast’s aloof demeanor changed dramatically. Kitten-like, she padded to the girl, purring and rubbing against her as Danita giggled and played with the tufts on her ears.
Sora sat up straighter, looking from Danita’s bright young expression to Antreas’s glower. Ah, now this is interesting. “Oh, you didn’t interrupt. And I would love crawfish to add to the stew, but first you might like to get in on this conversation. Antreas was explaining to me why he and Bast were visiting the Tribe of the Trees.”
“Really?” Danita looked up from tickling Bast around her neck.
“Really,” Sora said.
“No,” Antreas said.
“No? You weren’t telling Sora why you were visiting the Tribe?” Danita said, looking vaguely confused and only semi-interested in what Antreas had to say.
“Yes. No. It’s just not common knowledge, that’s all,” Antreas sputtered.
Bast coughed at him.
Sora bit her cheek to keep from laughing. When she was certain she could keep a straight face, she said, “Not common knowledge? The Tribe didn’t know Bast is on a search for your mate?”
“Mate?” Danita said.
“Um…” Antreas said.
Bast coughed again and rubbed against Danita’s legs, weaving around the young woman and purring loudly.
Then Danita utterly surprised Sora. Instead of asking Antreas anything, Danita went to her knees and took Bast’s face between her hands, speaking intently to the feline. “Are you really looking for a mate for Antreas?”
Bast’s purr got several decibels louder and she rubbed her face against Danita’s hands.
Danita shook her head sadly. “No,” she said so softly Sora had to strain to hear her. “Not me, Bast. I can’t.”
“Wait; no one said she was choosing you for my—”
Danita stood and whirled to face the cat man. “Don’t! I know you think I’m a child, but don’t treat me like I’m a stupid child. Your Lynx likes me. A lot. That’s obvious to everyone, but you need to know that I am absolutely not interested in being your mate. You’re not even nice. And I’ve decided I don’t like men.”
“But you can’t refuse to—” Antreas began, looking offended. Danita held up her hand, stopping him.
“I can refuse you anything. You’re not my Moon Woman. You’re not even a Clansman. Don’t you ever try to tell me what to do!” Bast’s pitiful meow had Danita going to her knees and putting her arms around the big feline. “Oh, don’t be sad! I think you’re wonderful! Please say we can still be friends, but me mated to your Companion? No, Bast. I’m even less interested in him than he is in me. Want to chase crawfish with me?”
The Lynx coughed a yes, and when Danita started for the burrow door the feline followed her, pausing only to throw a yellow-eyed glare over her shoulder at her Companion.
“I think you’re in trouble,” Sora said.
“Yeah, for sure.”