Cat groaned as she climbed up onto the horse.

  I smiled up at her and watched the way she shifted and got comfortable. Yes, unlike Elisabell, Cat would be perfectly fine with riding a horse.

  We were outside of Telmik, at some kind of barn that the church owned or ran. It was a little chilly since it was still early morning, and we were all ready to leave. We had two horses, and our bags were packed, and only Vim was here to see Cat and me off. We were alone, except for a distant fenced in pasture. Horses were walking around within it.

  Stepping away, I smiled up at Vim who patted the horse I’d soon be riding. It ignored him, almost completely as if he didn’t exist, and instead turned to blink at me.

  I reached out to pet the creature, and nodded. “You promise you’ll be quick?” I asked.

  “As quick as I can be. Stay with Lilly until I meet up with you,” he said, and reminded me for the tenth time.

  Nodding, I didn’t bother telling him I knew full well and had no plans to do anything but. Really, I know he worried for me thanks to how deeply he loved, but still!

  “It should only take me a week or two to reach you, by the time you get there. Stay on the main road until you reach Parker. Then head north-east, until you reach that river. Cross over the river, follow its stream, and you’ll reach the forest. The dark forest, and then the Owl’s Nest,” Vim reminded me, once again.

  I nodded. “Right.”

  Not only had he gone into great detail to tell me how to get there from here, he had gone over the map Hands had given me. The map was stupidly detailed, almost to the point it was scary. But although detailed beyond reason, it had no notes or marks for the Society locations. Not a one. It was my job to add them, supposedly.

  A job Vim really didn’t want me to do, yet seemed willing to let me do it all the same.

  “And you. If I find out you ran off with her I’ll track you down and make you wish I didn’t know thirty odd ways to cook a cat,” Vim said as he turned to look at my human companion.

  Cat laughed loudly, making my horse flick its tail in annoyance. I could tell by her laugh, and how loud it was, that she had not believed him at all. She had thought he had simply been teasing her.

  I though had heard the truth.

  “Thirty odd ways?” I asked him gently.

  He flinched and then glanced at me. “Cats aren’t very tasty, honestly,” he admitted.

  “I’m not?”

  His eye twitched as Cat snickered some more.

  We held each other’s gazes for a moment, and he sighed and smiled at me. “I’m sorry we’re separating again so soon,” he apologized.

  Ah. He was going to ignore my comment. Darn. I had wanted to tease him about how he’s really not gotten a taste of me yet, so how would he know if I was tasty or not?

  Oh well.

  Before I could say anything Vim stepped forward, grabbed me by the waist and then lifted me up. I lifted a leg so I could easily be placed onto the back of the horse. It shifted a tad as I was placed down, but didn’t seem to even notice me being put on its back.

  Putting my feet into the little stirrups, I smiled at the strangely comfortable feeling of this horse’s saddle. For some reason I found it very accommodating. Maybe it was the strange cushion fashioned into the leather of it.

  Vim handed me the reins, which I took gently and smiled down at him. From this angle I could see one of the lines in his hair. A scar on the top of his head, that was only visible at an angle thanks to his hair. It looked as long as my hand.

  It was so weird. He scarred up, yet they faded quickly. He no longer had that little scar on his eyelid or eyebrow, from when I had cut his eye with my nail. It had faded a long time ago… yet other scars still lingered. I wonder how that happened.

  A part of me wondered if maybe the scars that lingered on him were given to him not by people, but rather monarchs. Divinities.

  “Ride swiftly, but not so fast that it is strange. Keep to the road, don’t interact with anyone, pay the fees and taxes when you have to, humbly, and if you stop at any inns always stay in the same room,” Vim said as he went to check the bags on our horses, again for the third time.

  Cat giggled nearby. “Yes father,” she teased him.

  Vim glanced at her, but said nothing as he finished checking my bags and went to hers. She didn’t have as many as my horse did, but she still had a few. Most of the bags were full of supplies that we’d need on our travel up north. Sets of clothes, particularly for the cold that would inevitably come, and then of course food and water.

  Once he was done checking on Cat and her bags he returned to my side. The horse jerked a little at his approach, as if startled. I had to pat the creature’s neck to calm it down with a hush.

  It didn’t take long for the horse to calm back down, and once it did Vim patted my thigh. “Don’t take the horses into the dark forest, Renn. The bear will hunt them. Leave them with Cat and have Lilly return with you to guide her through the forest,” Vim said.

  I nodded. “Right. Oh… uh… what of the horses then?” I asked.

  “Let them go? They’ll be fine,” he said.

  I frowned but nodded.

  “What a waste,” Cat groaned.

  Vim ignored her as he squeezed my thigh ever so slightly. The squeeze made my tail want to twitch. “If for some reason Lilly denies Cat entry, then simply go to the nearest town and wait there for me.”

  “Plobo,” I said with a nod.

  He frowned. “Plobo?”

  “That’s the name of the nearest village. I passed through it on the way there last time,” I said, reminding him.

  He smirked at me. “I see.”

  “I’ve not been there but I’ve heard of it!” Cat said.

  Vim sighed and nodded again, and then he released my thigh. “Travel fast and sure. I’ll see you when I can,” he said in farewell.

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  I nodded slowly. “I’ll see you later, Vim. Stand tall,” I said.

  “Stand tall.”

  I heard Cat flip her reins a little, to get her horse moving. But I remained still as I stared into Vim’s eyes.

  I wanted to hug him. Kiss him, even. But it seemed he didn’t plan to do any such thing.

  He’d indulge me if I asked for it, I was sure of it… but…

  Well…

  I wanted him to do it. Out of his own desire. Not because I simply wanted it.

  “You’re very tasty Renn. That’s the problem, I don’t want anything else anymore because of you,” he then said with a smirk.

  I squinted my eyes at him as he patted my thigh one last time and then stepped away.

  “Now you two are just as bad as Sillti and Link,” Cat said as she ushered her horse past me.

  “Hmph. I’ll believe that Vim when you do finally take a bite,” I said to him, ignoring Cat this time myself, and then ushered my own horse forward too.

  Leaving Vim behind, I felt my face grow warm as I felt him stare at me. After a few good moments, I turned a little… and found Vim standing in the same spot I had left him.

  He smiled at me, and I felt my face grow hotter as I lifted a hand to weakly wave goodbye to him.

  He waved back, and I sighed.

  Once again separated. Hopefully this didn’t become a habit.

  I mean… I was glad that he trusted me enough to help him, and do things for the Society… but still!

  Looking back forward, since the road we were about to head upon had carts and other people upon it, I shifted a little and reached up to make sure my hat was still firmly pinned to my hair. It was.

  We had a slight journey ahead of us. Not as long as the journey south, to the deserts and rocky hot lands, but it was still a distance. Especially since Cat was human, and still had a very slight limp. It was why we were riding horses and not traveling by foot.

  Vim expected it to take a few weeks for us to reach the Owl’s Nest, Lilly’s home. He believed there was a chance he’d even beat us there, in fact.

  Honestly I planned to hurry, if I could. These horses should help with such a thing.

  “Do you know how expensive these horses are Renn?” Cat asked.

  “Hm…? No. But I know they’re not cheap,” I said.

  “Not cheap at all. Our whole village only has six of them, and two are too old anymore to do any real work,” Cat said with a sigh.

  “Well… If we can find a way to not let them loose you can have them then, once we get you home,” I said.

  “Really…!?” Cat happily turned to grin at me, excited to hear so.

  I nodded. I wasn’t sure why she couldn’t have them, especially if Vim didn’t care if we just let them go free and loose anyway.

  Plus it wasn’t like I’d need them after. Vim didn’t seem to like traveling by horse. Or wagon or cart. Though I’ve noticed he seemed to be a fan of boats, or sailing, for some reason.

  I wonder why one was okay but the other wasn’t. Was it simply the water? Or was it something silly, like the fact you didn’t have to feed a boat?

  “Thanks Renn. What should we name them, then?” Cat asked.

  “Um…” I hesitated. Names. Right. They did name horses… Vim of course hadn’t mentioned any such names. He had simply gotten them from that barn, I think he had even gotten them without telling anyone either. There had been people working the barns nearby, but none had come over to talk to us or even really glanced our way even as we tied our luggage to the horses.

  “Yours has that white patch on its nose. As if it sniffed a bunch of snow. Call it Snow-Sniffer,” Cat suggested.

  I laughed at her. “It does indeed look like it nuzzled snow,” I agreed. It was a burgundy color, similar to my hair, but it had a few small white patches notably one on its muzzle.

  “Hm…! And this one shall be called Perch!” she happily declared.

  I smiled at the woman who seemed suddenly young, or at least acting it. “Perch?” I asked. “Because you, a cat, sit upon it?” I asked.

  She nodded happily, grinning at the fact I had understood.

  “Then wouldn’t that work for mine too?” I asked.

  Cat paused a moment, and then her grin turned into a beam of a smile. “It would!” she said with a laugh.

  Enjoying her simple joy, I found myself glad to have her as a companion for this trip. Without Vim it was a little dreary, but she’d at least keep me company and make me smile all the same.

  Not that Oplar, Sillti and Angie, hadn’t been good traveling companions. Not at all. Oplar especially had also been boisterous and full of joy, but…

  Well…

  “I’m glad to be going home, to be honest,” Cat then said as our horses hooves began to make new sounds. We had left the dirt road from the barn and stepped upon a stone one. The main road. Not far from us was a large wagon, heading our way. It was moving slowly though, its huge wheels turning gently as it was pulled by huge oxen.

  “To be honest me too. I look forward to the forests,” I said.

  Granted the north we were heading to wasn’t my true home. Those trees were still that much farther north… but…

  Well…

  I smiled as I thought of the little section of forest that Witch and I had lived in. near those lakes. The same place Cat had grown up, and called home.

  In a way that had been a home too. My home. For a short time.

  “I’m not looking forward to the cold though. I kind of liked this region’s dryness,” Cat noted.

  I nodded. “Yes. It is dry here, isn’t it?” I said. At least compared to home.

  Though not as dry as the south, that’s for sure.

  Guiding my horse next to Cat’s, we both strode alongside the road. Keeping to one side, I noted the many figures in the distance. There were plenty of people upon the road, heading both directions. Some on foot, others not. Telmik like always was a busy place.

  I knew it’d be like this for a few days, and then once we got far enough north the roads would grow empty and almost desolate. And the towns and villages would become far apart, and smaller and more close-nit.

  A group on foot passed us on the road, and I noticed the bags they all carried on their backs. They looked worn and ragged.

  We passed one another quickly and easily, but even during that short time I noticed that they were likely not merchants or workers. They reminded me of the people in that caravan from Hornslo, after the fires. People destitute and carrying all they owned, near the end of a long and tiresome journey.

  “He’s still watching us, Renn.”

  Turning, I smiled at the distant figure. Standing near the barn still was Vim. It looked like he had his arms crossed, and was staring out at us.

  I wonder if he’d watch us until even I couldn’t see him anymore. I knew he could see farther than me, but I never really figured out just how much farther.

  Cat happily giggled as she looked forward again. “He seems very protective, but in a good way!” she said.

  “Some would agree, I suppose,” I said. In truth there were seemingly more who didn’t, thus the vote.

  Although Cat knew of the Society, since I and Vim had explained it, we hadn’t really explained much more. I wasn’t sure yet if Cat was to be considered a member or not, but something told me she wasn’t. And oddly, it seemed that Vim wanted it that way on purpose. And not because he was being his typical secretive, protective self.

  He had hid Cat, her village and family, and Saint Elaine from the Society. Even from Randle, and the Chronicler. Intentionally.

  It made me a little nervous, since it was that very reason we were now traveling without Vim… and why he was obvious studying us even from a distance as we left.

  He was not just watching me leave; he was likely watching to see if anyone followed us.

  Who did he expect to pursue us? One of the members? A churchman?

  If someone did follow us… what would he do? What would I do if he didn’t notice or catch them?

  What would Lilly do, if they followed us all the way to the Owl’s Nest?

  I sighed, and hoped it didn’t come to that. It was one thing to get into a fight, or have to kill and hurt, enemies but… our own people…?

  Vim hadn’t seemed very worried over Randle’s issues, and the things the Chronicler and Celine’s daughter were doing, but I knew better than to assume he had written them off. He just simply worry and fret like we did, us normal people.

  Cat brought her horse closer, and she grinned at me with a mischievous look. “Did you mean that earlier, Renn?” she asked.

  “Mean what?”

  “That he hasn’t tasted you yet? Really? Or…?” her gin widened, and I groaned as I realized my teasing had just backfired onto me.

  Like usual.

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