Walking into the bathroom, I'm again reminded of
the Victorian era, as I see the porcelain tub resting on four
feet and a quaint-looking flush toilet, which would probably be
referred to as a 'water closet.' I am rather surprised that they
have running water here, since the lighting seems to be provided
by lamps burning a fuel which is slightly lighter and of a clearer
color than kerosene or oil.
I'm a bit dubious about using the toilet, even though
it must work perfectly, it's just that it looks like something
that belongs in a museum and I don't know how well I trust it.
However, after a few test flushes, it proves to work just as well
as it's modern counterpart. As I'm examining it, I notice that
the tank which is suspended above it, gets its water supply from
a pipe running down from the ceiling instead of up from the floor.
This piques my scientific curiosity and I make a mental note to
ask my rather strange-looking hostess about it.
When I'm ready for the bath, I quickly slip out of
my shirt, shorts and underwear and start the water running, looking
briefly at my reflection in the mirror above the porcelain sink.
I'm 5' 10" and of average build, perhaps a little thinner
than some people, giving me a little bit of the stereotypical
engineering-student look, but I'm also in pretty damn good shape
from the exercising which I find the time to do. I may be somewhat
lean, but I also have a decent amount of muscle tone too. In a
rare fit of flashing vanity, I run one of my hands through my
short to medium length brown wavy hair, ruffling it slightly,
and smiling briefly back at my reflection before I step into the
tub.
A small thought darts across the back of my mind,
'how strange it is to find a tub in her house, since most cats
naturally hate the water.' 'Then again,' I figure, 'we've certainly
changed a lot from our simian ancestors, we've come down from
the trees, learned to like meat, and so on. So why is it so hard
to believe that cats could evolve to a point where'd they'd enjoy
the feel and hygienic benefits of a good bath?'
As surprised as I was to find running water here,
I'm also rather surprised to find that it comes in two temperatures.
The cold is definitely cold, several steps below room temperature,
but the other faucet actually produces warm water. It's by no
stretch of the imagination hot, but it is nice and warm, and by
adjusting the flow, so I get mostly warm water, I'm able to get
a nice and comfortable bath temperature going.
As the water fills up around me, I lean back against
the inclined edge of the tub and relax, enjoying the simple pleasure
of taking a nice bath. Living in the dorm I'm used to showers,
which are nice in their own way, but being able to soak in a tub
like this is certainly a rare and welcome luxury.
I bask in the warm waters for over half an hour,
pondering my situation. It seems that this is definitely going
to somewhat of a vacation and an adventure for me. The thought
of traveling with her into the wilderness is somewhat foreboding,
since there is no telling what might be out there. "Hell,"
I mutter softly to myself, "I'm not totally sure if I trust
her or not. I mean this talk of her strange dreams is a little
bit much to try and deal with right now."
"For all I know, she could be crazy, although
she didn't really look like it." Then as my thoughts quickly
change, I chuckle crazily to myself and almost as if responding
to an inner voice reply, "Yes she did look somewhat cute,
even if she was a cat woman. Well I guess that makes her a little
cuter in some ways. But I really shouldn't be thinking about that
right now should I?"
"And I probably shouldn't be talking to myself
like this either," I chuckle, still trying to come to grips
with all I've already seen this morning. "Well I guess if
any shrink was to look at the circumstances I'm in, they'd be
questioning their own sanity instead of mine..."
After much more thinking, and internal dialog, some
which was spoken out loud, I finally come to some sort of decision.
"I guess there's no way of getting out of it," I voice
audibly, as if trying to finally convince myself that I've made
the right decision. "She's right about at least one thing,
if I let this adventure pass me by, it'll drive me crazy not knowing
what I missed. I'll probably end up regretting it, who knows what
we'll get into, but I've got to experience this for myself."
Pulling the plug out of the drain, briefly watching
the water spiral down it, I then get out of the tub and towel
off. Walking back into the bedroom, I quickly dress in a nice
T-shirt and dockers shorts coming down to about my knees. Then
throwing on my socks and somewhat worn, yet extremely comfortable
sneakers, I stand up and hesitate briefly before heading downstairs.
Then with a wry grin on my face, I mutter "Well, I hope I'll
live to regret this..." and I'm off.
Reaching the bottom of the stairs, I pause momentarily
before my nose picks up the scent of cooked meat coming from what
I assume must be the kitchen. navigating my way through the medium-sized
house, I find her there in the room which is brightly lit from
the sun coming in from the large windows. She is sitting at a
table which would easily seat six with a good variety of food
on it.
Spread out before me are several plates with meat
looking similar to beef, cut in thin strips and fried, eggs whose
size are almost twice that from those of chickens, fresh bread,
and a good selection of fruit. Looking quickly around the room,
I notice a sink which also looks to have running water, what looks
like a refrigerator, and a black cast iron stove, which probably
runs on wood or coal. It is a little warmer in here from the stove
being in use not so long ago, but it is not uncomfortable.
Seeing me look appreciatively at the spread of food
before me, she looks up and smiles. "Please sit down and
join me in a late breakfast Ben. We have a lot to do today, and
we'll need the energy. I trust you had a good bath?"
"Yes I did Marissa," I reply, sitting down
and helping myself to the small banquet laid out in front of me.
"That reminds me, I wanted to ask you about your plumbing.
I'm a bit surprised to see that you have running water when you
obviously don't have electric power for light or heat."
Looking confused, she pauses for a second, and then
understanding jumps into her eyes. "Right, I remember seeing
how far ahead you were compared to us with your technology. At
first I thought the power you were using to create the various
types of lighting devices you use was some kind of magic, until
I was able to search your mind and understand how advanced you
are in terms of controlling the energy of your world. You certainly
have lots of wonders all around you that your people take for
granted."
"Now as for the running water," she continues,
"that is very new, especially here. The idea has been around
for awhile, but no decent means of pumping the water existed for
most places. Then once steam power became practical, in the cities
giant pumping stations were created, and now all of the major
cities have been fitted with the necessary plumbing."
"I had heard a lot about the marvels they were
doing in the cities, so when the railroad was finally completed
here a few years back, I managed a trip to the nearest one and
was fascinated by their technical advancement. I have always tried
to keep up with technology, which has made me a bit of a eccentric
out here, but I decided that I wanted what they had in the city."
"It took some planning, and also a good amount
of money, but I was finally able to do it. I'm by no means rich,
don't let me give you that impression Ben, but I am able to live
rather comfortably based on the funds I charge for the services
I provide using my talent. So, about a year ago, I was finally
able to have one of the few houses in town with running water."
"Well, I'm definitely impressed. It's a really
nice setup you, have given your technology. How do you pump the
water up here though?"
"I'm lucky and have a small, yet quick-flowing
river running through my property. I've had a water wheel installed
and that provides the power to slowly pump the water up to large
holding tanks on the roof. Yes they may look a little garish,
but I've gotten used to them, and they're definitely worth it.
Once the water is in the tanks, it feeds the rest of the house
using gravity. It's not as powerful as the pressurized plumbing
they have in the city, but it sure beats lugging water from the
well and using an outhouse" she says with a quick grin across
her furry muzzle.
"You've probably also noticed that I have a
warm water supply too. That wasn't too hard of a problem to solve.
It's been noted that the sun quickly warms objects of dark colors,
so I had one of the tanks painted black to absorb the heat, and
the other painted white and shaded by a roof to keep it cool."
"Marissa, you are truly a lady and a scholar,"
and taking another bite of breakfast I add, "and an outstanding
cook too." With a wide grin on my face, I continue, "if
you aren't taken, I'm tempted to ask you to marry me right here
on the spot."
Right after finishing saying this, I realize that
this was not the best thing to say to this leopard woman whom
I'd just barely meant. I quickly broaden my smile hoping that
she'll see I was only kidding, not wishing to offend her in some
way. She looks confused or troubled for a short moment, then returns
the smile. "Well Ben, that's certainly a flattering proposal,
but I don't think I could live with the scandal of marrying outside
of my race like that." She finishes up with slightly forced
laughter, and we both silently agree to let the matter die.
After a few minutes of silently eating, I break the
stillness with a simple question. "Marissa, do you have anything
to drink?"
"Oh, of course, I can't believe I forgot to
get that out. Trying to do too many things this morning I guess."
Going to the fridge, which turns out to be just an insulated metal
cabinet with slowly melting ice in the top compartment to keep
the food cool, she asks with her back toward me, "what would
you like? I have some fruit juice or water."
As she's standing there, bending down slightly, her
muscles are tensed almost perfectly. Admiring her supple curves,
I have to remind myself just where I am and whom I'm leering at.
Pausing a couple of moments, I finally manage to come back to
the present and mumble, "umm... I could go for something
sweet. I'd like to try the juice."
Taking out a glass pitcher filled with a dark-reddish
fluid, she places it on the table and then turns to the cabinets
above the sink. Coming back to the table, she has two china bowls
in her hands, each about as wide as a soup bowl, but only half
as deep. Placing one in front of me, she fills it with the red
juice, then doing the same for herself.
I stare at the bowl and then at her with a somewhat
confused and almost dumbfounded expression on my face. For some
reason, my brain just can't seem to comprehend what I'm supposed
to do with the bowl seeing as I have no spoon handy. She looks
quizzically at me for a moment, then as understanding flashes
again in her eyes, she grins at me, and holds the bowl up for
me to see clearly. Then bringing the bowl to her muzzle, in a
slightly exaggerated motion, her tongue darts out and flicks across
the surface of the liquid.
As I watch her with amusement, curiosity and surprise,
she laps at the juice for about a minute. Then putting the bowl
down, she grins at me once more, and with a chuckle in her voice
asks, "it's a bit different than how you drink isn't it Ben?
I keep forgetting just how many subtle differences there are between
our races. I hope you'll be able to make do with the bowl, since
that's all I have."
Looking at her, I notice she has some juice on the
tips of the fur of her muzzle around her mouth. The sight of the
red droplets of moisture, sitting there glistening on her white
fur is quite adorable. A moment later, perhaps as if she saw what
I was looking at, her tongue darts out yet again and licks over
the fur of her muzzle cleaning most of the remnants of the drink
from it.
Giving her a shrug and an adventurous look, I take
the bowl in my hand and slowly lift it to my mouth trying not
to spill any of it. Then carefully tipping the bowl back I take
a few small sips. The juice tastes wonderful. It's nice and sweet
with somewhat of a citrus taste to it, but also reminiscent of
berries. It's also carefully blended so that it's refreshing and
not too sweet.
After the success of the sips, I become more daring
and try and take larger drinks of this pleasant beverage. It is
there where I make the mistake, forgetting that the bowl is much
wider than a drinking glass. As I'm drinking from the bowl, the
liquid starts to seep around the edges, and before I realize what
is happening, a good amount of it is flowing down the sides of
my chin, to Marissa's obvious amusement.
Bringing the bowl quickly down to the table, I manage
to spill a little more of it on myself and the table, forgetting
to swallow in the process. It's then when Marissa bursts in laughter,
throwing back her head slightly, laughing with a slight feline
hiss, with her mouth part way open exposing her sharp predatory
teeth. This is too much for me to take, and I find myself overcome
with the giggles too. Trying to suppress the laughter as I attempt
to swallow my mouthful of juice doesn't go to well, and I end
up in a coughing fit as even more of the red fluid dribbles down
my chin.
Seeing me coughing, her laughter quickly dies, and
she runs around the table to kneel at my side looking very concerned.
She attempts to help me, but I motion her away, as my breathing
slowly returns to normal and the coughs die down. Looking at me
with remorseful, she softly states, "I'm sorry for laughing
at you like that Ben."
Looking back at her through my momentarily watery
eyes, I force a smile and reply, "that's okay, no harm done...
you can't take me anywhere can you?" She smiles back at this,
and I continue "I'll be okay, now that I know what to avoid,
I should be able to take small sips from the bowl without making
a mess like this."
Patting my shoulder lightly, she stands and hands
me a cotton napkin to clean my face with and then returns to her
chair. The rest of the meal passes without event. When we're finished
eating she finally asks the big question I'd been waiting for.
"So Ben, have you thought about coming on the journey with
me?"
"Yes, I have Marissa. I know this is probably
a rash decision, one that I may soon regret, but I have decided
to come with you, no matter how crazy some of it seems. You were
right about the fact that I can't pass up on an adventure like
this. I'd rather go through all sorts of trouble, than not knowing
what I'd have passed up. So for better or for worse, I'll be with
you for the duration."
"That's good Ben, I was hoping I'd be able to
sway your decision. Your talent as a magic user will be very useful
out there, and I think you'll be somewhat understanding of the
situation. At least you'll be a hell of a lot more understanding
than those pompous fools at the guild assembly."
"So when do we leave?"
"As soon as possible, I'd like to leave this
afternoon. We can get packed very quickly and put the house in
order and then be off. Are you ready to leave that soon?"
"I guess so, since I have nothing better to
do. So where exactly are we going, and how are we getting there?"
"We'll be traveling almost due north for about
two and a half weeks. We'll be heading out into the wilderness.
We can follow a road for several days to reach a small town off
that way, but beyond that we'll have to make our own trails. We'll
be walking the whole way."
"What! Walking... but why... why don't we just
use horses or some other animal to carry us there? I can't believe
we're going to walk that far."
"We don't have any animal like the horses you
mention. The only animals we have that are large enough to carry
cargo or pull carriages, are really large, I mean up to my head,
and are very heavy, and also very slow. When they pull a carriage,
it is only somewhat faster than walking, and it's not worth the
trouble or the expense. You look like you're in pretty good shape,
so this shouldn't be too hard on you. Again, think of it as another
part of our adventure."
I'm not too fond of the prospect of hiking all those
miles toward our unknown destiny, but if she's up for it, I'm
pretty much forced to go along. We take an hour or so putting
things in the house in order and loading up our backpacks. By
the time we have our sleeping rolls, clothes and food all packed,
our packs our quite heavy. However, I remember hiking in the mountains
years ago as a boy scout, and my pack was just as heavy then and
I survived, and actually had a pretty fun time.
For food we packed mostly dried meat; our rations
will only last about a week, but she assures me that we can stock
up when we reach the town and also that we can do some hunting
along the way and eat fresh fruit if we come across any. We also
take a couple of metal canteens full of water. We will be traveling
along rivers and streams for most of the journey, so fresh water
won't be a problem.
Finally after all of our preparations, we are ready
to go. We strap on our packs which feel quite heavy until our
backs become accustomed to them and step out into the daylight.
Curious to know what time it is, I check my watch, which says
3:15 PM, but the sun is just barely past its zenith. Realizing
that the time is totally out of sync with the days here, I figure
it's a little after noon from the sun's position and reset my
watch.
Walking out into the warm summer sun, the day is
beautiful and the temperature is almost perfect, hovering somewhere
I guess in the mid 70's. Looking around, I notice the beauty of
the landscape. Her house, is a good-sized residence, painted white
with light blue trim and shutters, and built in a style combining
elegance and functionality.
Her home lies in a big field with neatly trimmed
grass, and trees scattered throughout it. Looking off to the left
a ways down from where we are, I can see the river she described
to me, and the engineering marvel that is the waterwheel-driven
pump assembly. Her estate must be rather large, since I don't
see any other houses nearby.
As we're walking on, my attention is drawn to the
grass and the leaves of the trees. There is something slightly
different about them, and I ponder on it for a few minutes before
I realize that their hues are of a darker shade of green than
on Earth. The color isn't too much different, but is subtle enough
to have caused my confusion, and it is definitely different enough
to be noticeable.
Then looking up at the sky, which is almost totally
clear, save for a few white puffy clouds, I notice that its hue
too is subtly altered in comparison to what I'm used to looking
at. Instead of being the light blue I had expected to see, the
sky is a couple of shades darker, and with just the slightest
purple hint to it. These differences are strange and a bit jarring
at first, but also serve to punctuate the fact of what a strange
adventure I'm undertaking.
Then I look at Marissa, who's walking in front of
me, and again take in her beauty. Looking at the attractive patterns
of her spots and how they contrast with her snow-white fur, and
seeing her tail protruding from the back of her shorts, further
adds to the exotic beauty of this alien world.
She stands a couple of inches shorter than me, which
would put her at about 5' 8". She looks to be in excellent
shape, and has wonderful muscle tone, especially in her legs which
must support her weight on only the tips of her feet. Her digitrade
feet are certainly out of the ordinary, at least out of the ordinary
for me, but serve to enhance her unusual attractiveness. As she
walks, her tail which is about ten or eleven inches around, sways
lightly in time with her hips, topping off the whole picture quite
nicely. I watch her for several minutes, letting my mind wander
into areas which it probably shouldn't, before I pick up the pace
for a few steps until I'm walking beside her.
"It's a beautiful view, isn't it Ben?"
I'm taken aback for a brief moment, until I realize
that she's referring to the landscape. Then looking at her smiling
in wonder, I reply "Yes it is Marissa. It's nice to just
get out and walk out in the open... Things are a little different
here, a bit different from what I'm used to. It's a little strange,
but also a nice change. The weather is nice too, especially from
the heat wave we were having this past week."
We walk for close to an hour before we come into
town. When I see the first houses appearing in the distance, I
become a little concerned. "Marissa, are we walking through
town? What will everyone think when they see me? They've never
seen a human before have they?"
"No they haven't Ben. In the large cities there
is a better mix of races, but out here, it's pretty much just
felenzi. There have been some strange visitors here before, but
they are very rare, and most of the townspeople are still somewhat
wary of them. It will be okay though, once they see that you're
with me. I have their respect given my talent and the services
which I provide. You'll definitely be noticed, but they'll realize
that you're also fairly important, and will leave you alone."
"I don't know if I really want to be put on
display like that. Couldn't we just walk around the outskirts
of town and avoid it altogether?"
"It won't be that bad Ben, and that detour would
waste too much time; I'd like to get as much distance covered
as possible. You're going to be here for awhile, so you might
as well get used to this, since we'll be no doubt be meeting some
people on our journey, especially in the beginning."
I grudgingly concede, and we walk along the hard-packed
dirt road as the town draws nearer. Coming in to town, it looks
like that of a largish town of Europe in the 1800's, housing I
guess a few hundred cat-people. The streets are lined with cobblestones,
the buildings are mostly made out of bricks, and I see what appears
to be gas or oil lamps on every corner to serve as street lights.
Walking throughout the streets, are cat morphs of
every type imaginable. There are people with coats of every color
and fur markings as you'd see in house cats, and I also notice
a few who look to have descended from predatory stock, such as
panthers and tigers. The felenzi are a bit bigger than humans,
especially the ones resembling the larger cats. We walk by one
tiger who is easily 6' 5", he looks at us, and especially
me, with a passing interest, but seeing Marissa, he politely nods
and passes by.
The rest of the people in the moderately busy streets,
pay me the same attention. As my tourist-like gaze darts around
between the buildings and people, I notice them looking at me,
casting sideways glances as they walk by. As Marissa had said,
nobody bothers us, but I still feel a bit like I'm being placed
on display.
The walk through the town, is definitely somewhat
uneasy for me, but also not without its novelties. Watching all
of the cats walking by is quite an incredible experience. Letting
my eyes freely wander, I take in all of the sights of this wonderfully
new species before me.
Letting go of some of my uneasiness and beginning
to feel a little bolder, I notice a cute little orange tabby,
with long flowing red hair coming toward us. She is wearing an
elegant Victorian dress, with the bodice cut slightly low enough
to be a little risqué, guessing at the time frame of their
society. She has her gaze fixed intently on me, with an delightful
mixture of confusion and interest. Feeling just a little bit devilish,
I turn my eyes fully on her and flash her a warm and endearing
smile, watching her walk quickly by, looking just the slightest
bit flustered. Oh what I would have given to have been able to
spend some time with her.
If Marissa had noticed my little game of cat and
mouse, she had chosen to ignore it, as we walked on through the
town in silence. After another fifteen minutes or so we start
coming to the outskirts of the town. Before leaving however, we
pass by the railway station, with a large, black steam engine
and several passenger and freight cars, lying dormant for the
moment, as a few people are boarding and loading it.
Remembering my childhood fascination with trains,
I turn to watch the locomotive as we walk by, slowing our pace
down ever so slowly. It's then when we hear a voice call from
behind us. "Marissa, I can't believe you've gone through
with this. What do you think you are doing?"
Turning around we see a squat little lynx standing
behind us, wearing a maroon tunic. "Tomek," Marissa
replies a little testily, "you've made it clear that you
want nothing to do with this, so I ask you to please stay out
of it now."
"But look what you've gone and done, you've
kidnapped the human, even though I advised you against it."
Then turning to me, "has she told you all about her strange
visions and how much they're disturbing her? You don't have to
go with her if you don't want to."
Before I can think of a reply, Marissa jumps into
action. Almost instantly her body tenses and her fur ruffles up,
standing on end. Gripping the collar of his robe, she pulls him
toward her, extending her retractable claws slightly into the
fabric. She opens her mouth in response to this challenge, pulling
back her thin lips, and exposing her carnivorous teeth. The pupils
in her eyes constrict several notches, as she snarls at him. "Dammit
Tomek! I told you to stay out of this. If you're not going to
help me, then leave me alone. I don't need this from you now."
Pulling his ears back in fear and surprise, the smaller
cat manages to stammer, "I'm sorry... you know how I disagree
with you, and I shouldn't have brought it up now..."
Having won the confrontation, her demeanor quickly
becomes more subdued as she releases the quivering cat. "That's
better... now as you've guessed, Ben and I are embarking on the
journey which I've told you about. You're free to disagree with
me, just don't get in my way. We're going to be gone for quite
some time, close to a month and a half. Would you mind checking
on my house for me from time to time?"
Taking a step backwards, he hastily replies, "of
course I can, and let me apologize once again for interrupting
you two. I'm sure you'll have an interesting journey." With
that he quickly turns and is off shuffling rather quickly down
the street.
Turning to me and seeing what must certainly be a
comical display of surprise on my face, she flashes me an almost
dangerous smirk. "Were you impressed with my little display?
I gather from the look you're giving me, that humans don't act
quite that way."
"Well," I manage to reply, "we usually
don't act that way, unless of course we're stupid drunk in a bar
or something... and we never growl like that. It was certainly
impressive, and to be honest, rather scary. It looked like you
were ready to rip that guy's head off. Who was he anyway?"
"Oh, that was Tomek, the other magic user I
told you about that lives in town. He and I normally get along
okay, but since he has the same attitude as the rest of the guild
over my concern of these dreams, we've had a few lesser confrontations."
"I'm sorry if I scared you Ben, I was just doing
what comes naturally to us. In our society it is quite often for
confrontations like this to occur. Usually no fighting will comes
out of it, it's just a display of force. We also allow people
to have different ideas from us, but don't like them forced upon
us."
As we turn and resume walking, I look at her with
a newfound respect and a little bit of caution. I'm beginning
to realize just how different this world is.
We leave the town and continue walking on the narrow
dirt road for the rest of the afternoon. Early on we pass a few
farm houses, getting more strange looks from their inhabitants.
There is one instance where a little tom cat, perhaps five years
old, comes running out to meet us, with his worried mother trailing
after him.
"Hello, where are you guys going," he asks
excitedly. Then turning to me he innocently asks, "what's
wrong with you, what happened to your fur?"
Just then his mother reaches him and picking up,
and with a pleading look on her face apologizes to us. "I'm
sorry for his behavior, he's always been so full of energy and
is always trying to talk to travelers." She shoots a couple
of furtive glances toward me, but obviously knows better than
to make anything of it. We accept her humbly apology, and as she
turns with her son and walks quickly back to the house, he looks
at us over her shoulder, waves and shouts a simple "bye."
The rest of the afternoon was pretty much uneventful.
We walked for five hours or so, going at an easy pace, and stopping
often to rest, before we finally stopped at a clearing off the
side of the road near a small stream.
It feels so incredibly good to get the weight of
the pack of my back. I drop it on the ground, and stretch out
my tired muscles; I know I'm going to be sore in the morning.
Walking over to the stream, we kneel down for a refreshing drink.
We both use our hands to scoop up the water, but instead of gulping
it down like I do, Marissa again laps it up with her tongue. Once
more, I find this secretly amusing, enjoying her display of feline
characteristics. Then I remember how she had looked when confronting
Tomek and quietly shudder.
After getting some wood for a fire, Marissa sits
me down for another magic lesson. Again she takes my hand and
helps me to conjure up the power flowing through me. This time
it is a little easier, and I don't get scared when I feel the
energy charging within me.
Once the glowing sphere appears in my hand, she slowly
lets go of my hand, keeping only two fingers gently touching me.
"Okay Ben, this morning you had trouble sustaining the flow
without me there to help you maintain it. Can you feel what it
takes to control it?" She quickly removes her fingers from
the back of my hand, and I see the ball shimmer slightly and then
begin to fade. As she does this I also feel the absence of the
controlling presence she was giving me.
Waiting a moment, she then touches my hand again
and the ball jumps back to full brilliance, as I feel her energy
come into contact with me once again. "So can you feel what
the difference is Ben?" As I nod at her excitedly, she continues,
"this is what you need to learn to try and control. It will
be difficult at first, as is learning any new skill, but you are
very gifted and I think you'll learn fast."
We spend a little under an hour with this lesson,
repeating it over many times. Each time she pulls away, I gain
a little more control over the energy within me; finally after
getting a little bored with the exercise, I'm able to completely
sustain the spell without her help.
Beaming at her with my accomplishment, she returns
the smile and congratulates me. "You're coming along very
well Ben, faster than most students, but that could be because
you're older and have better developed mental skills and a longer
attention span. Now let's try for a neat finale to this simple
parlor trick. It has no real use, but can impress some people
who don't know too much about magic, also it's the easiest to
learn."
She instructs me to concentrate on sending more energy
to the ball in my hand, and then bringing my hand up and quickly
spreading my fingers, causing the energy to quickly dissipate.
This takes a couple of tries to get the effect quite right, but
after I do it is rather impressive. When I spread my palm out
like that and the energy is no longer contained, it is released
in a small flash of light and sparks spreading quickly out several
inches and then dying out. Upon seeing it work correctly, the
only comment I think of making is a not too eloquent "cool!"
"Pretty impressive isn't it? You will soon be
able to learn how to use your magic for useful purposes, such
as healing or defensive fighting spells which might come in very
handy on this trip. This is enough for tonight though... well
I can show you how to start the fire."
We get up and move over to where we had stacked the
wood for tonight's fire, placing them in a small pile, she has
me sit down in front of it. Then sitting down behind me, she reaches
her arms around me and grabs my forearms slightly above my wrists.
This position startles and confuses me, until I realize that she
plans to channel her energy through me.
As she explains the procedure, I try and keep my
mind from wandering off from the subject at hand, and ignore her
presence so very near to me. "Okay Ben, I'm going to be using
my energy to start the fire, since you don't have anywhere near
the control or power yet to do it. However, I'll be directing
the energy through you, so you can learn what it feels like and
hopefully soon will be able to replicate it."
I feel the power building again, it seems that she
is doing this slow for my benefit, so I can take it all in. Then
as the energy reaches full power, I feel it shoot down my arm
and out my hands, shuddering slightly at the power of it. Then
as I watch in amazement, the wood quickly begins to smoke and
then bursts into flames. As she releases my hands and stands up,
I sit there watching the fire in wonder as I let a "wow"
escape from my lips.
We have a simple dinner of dried meat, which somewhat
resembles beef in taste and texture, and some fruit from nearby
trees. There is something about eating after a good day's workout
like that, even if it isn't anything fancy, it still seems like
the best meal I've had in such a long time.
Sitting there eating, I watch the sun setting, lighting
up the sky with brilliant reddish hues. Then something strikes
me funny about it's position. "Marissa, we've been heading
north all day right?"
"Yes, well not do north, but pretty close to
it, why?"
"Well then wouldn't that make the sun setting
in the south right now?" I asked somewhat confused.
"Yes, of course, why wouldn't it be setting
in the south?"
Then as soon as she's saying this, the explanation
hits me. "Of course, how stupid of me, I keep on forgetting
I'm not on Earth, although I don't know how I could do that since
I'm traveling with a cat woman." I reply smirking at her
quickly, "on Earth the sun sets in the west and I'm still
a little confused and surprised by all these subtle differences."
Smiling back at me she replies, "I realize this
is pretty strange for you, but you're doing well adjusting to
everything. Give it time and in a few days this will seem somewhat
normal for you."
After dinner, we're both pretty tired from our first
day of exercise, so we roll out our bedding and prepare for bed.
As I nestle into my bedroll and blanket, I gaze up at the sky
and see that a couple of stars have come out and also a gibbous
moon has risen in the north. It looks pretty much like ours, being
white and having many craters on it, but it is also about one
and half times larger than ours. Turning to look at Marissa lying
in her bedding, across the dying fire from me, I remark "the
moon is beautiful here. In fact everything so far has been beautiful.
I realize we're going to run into some hard times along the way,
so I just wanted to tell you how much I appreciate things right
now before I start complaining when things get rough."
She turns to look at me with a warm look on her face,
"Thanks Ben. I'm glad you're enjoying this so far, and we
should have lots of adventures ahead of us. I agree with you,
the moon is really beautiful, it's always inspiring romantics
and poets and the like. It's also how we measure our calendar,
since it has a regular cycle. Each month is one cycle of it's
phases, which is thirty-two days, and then a year is simply ten
months. The weeks work out easily too, being four weeks to a year,
and eight days in a week."
"That's neat, but how did you work out such
a simple lunar calendar without the seasons getting messed up.
We can't go by the phases of the moon, because if we did, we'd
be celebrating Christmas in July after twenty years or so."
"What do you mean by seasons?" she asks
me sounding rather confused.
"Seasons are periods of similar temperatures
and weather, such as summer when it's hot and then winter when
it's really cold. Don't you have temperature changes here?"
"No, the weather will change, sometimes getting
cooler for a few days, but is always pretty much like it is today.
It must be rather strange for your weather to change like that."
"Wow, it must be great to have this weather
all year round, not too hot or too cold, it's perfect. But it's
kind of strange that you don't have any seasons here. I wonder
if we're on the equator, or if your world isn't tilted like ours?"
She doesn't seem too interested in this topic, and
simply replies, "I don't really know what you're talking
about, and it's getting late and we need the rest. Goodnight Ben."
With that she turns away from me; I reply "goodnight
Marissa," and turn my gaze up at the sky once again, watching
it darken as more stars come out. It takes me awhile to finally
wind down all my scattered thoughts and fall asleep. Just before
I do, I notice that a second, smaller moon has risen in the south-west.
It is about half the size of the larger moon, and has a pinkish
tint to it. I find this a little unusual, but by now, it's not
really too surprising.
As I watch the sky, consciousness slowly drains away
from me and I pass into a comfortable sleep.
Copyright 1994, Will A. Sanborn - was1@shore.net