"For both our sakes, I hope you are right. Latenat!"

5

Dusk. It was coming early, as it had been for several weeks. Despite the moist warmth of the spring air, the early nightfalls gave the feeling of approaching winter. The days should have been lengthening as summer approached. But the weather was just plain odd, and no one could figure out why.

The woman in the woods noticed it too. She gritted her teeth as she observed the lengthening shadows. Looking to the overcast sky, she calculated the time until sunset, then returned to her work in earnest.

"Come on, catch! C'mon…" Sparks flew from the flint and steel, into the tinder she had gathered. The woman puffed gently on the sparks, cupping her hands around the weeds to keep out the wind. Another puff brought a smolder, a crackle-and a bright flame. A few more twigs crisscrossed over the grass would do the trick-soon the campfire crackled and popped at the dry pine branches and logs. The woman leaned back with a sigh, basking in the warmth on her face.

She could have easily flicked a finger and produced a steady, hot flame at the end of a digit, but the woman preferred to conquer nature by human means whenever she could. Like many wizards, she was neither strong nor muscular. She knew the limits of her physical strength, and practiced using her mundane talents to their best advantage.

The sorceress checked the pile of wood she had gathered, reassured there was enough to last the night. With darkness setting in so early, the only intelligent action was to make camp just as early. Getting caught in the forest in the dark without food, water, or firewood was downright dangerous. Although it cut the day's travel short, stopping early to set up camp had been the only sensible thing to do.

The woman turned and sat on a fallen tree. She scanned the woods for a sign of her companion, but all was quiet. "Gamaliel, where are you?" she asked softly. She knew better than to shout in an unfamiliar forest, possibly alerting an enemy or wild animal to her position. As usual, she would just have to wait until he returned. Gamaliel was her best friend, but he could be infuriating. She was getting tired of his habit of running off into the woods, leaving her to set up camp. There was work to be done, and she was annoyed at being left with all the chores while he was having fun doing gods-knew-what.

The sorceress swept her waist-length hair forward over her shoulder and began pulling out the burrs, bits of grass, and leaf fragments that had collected there during her trek through the woods. The fire hissed and simmered at her feet, and for the first time all day, she began to relax.

Normally, the woman braided her hair every morning, to avoid such a tangle. "Those blasted goblins," she muttered as she tugged at a stubborn knot in her hair. "If they could have waited twenty minutes to attack this morning, I wouldn't be having this problem." She sighed. "But I guess I should be glad that my hair is the only thing that's a mess, and not the rest of me. Or Gamaliel."

The attack had come at dawn. A band of goblins returning to their lair had cut short her morning routine. There had been only nine goblins, and a quick choice of spells, coupled with Gamaliel's attacks, had dispatched them easily. They both escaped without injury, but that incident had set the tone for the entire day. Monsters seemed to be leaping out from behind every tree, eager to make a quick snack of the sorceress and her companion. She encountered more creatures this single day than she had the entire previous week. Oh, well, maybe that meant her quota was filled…

The sorceress added more wood to the campfire. She scowled at the darkening sky, then swung her hair over her other shoulder, continuing to pull out bits of debris. Her hair shone red in the firelight, redder than usual. It was a deep, rich color, not exactly brown, yet not bright red either. It was a mixture of amber and rusty shades, and always looked different depending on the light. It nearly glowed in the light of the fire.

The flames of the campfire grew brighter and crackled louder. The woman relaxed further. Her hair was nearly done. The fire would soon be ready to cook supper. After cooking, she could collapse into her bedroll. What a day it had been. The fire warmed her sore muscles and lulled her tired mind.

The crackling fire was enough to obscure the sound of leaves rustling in the brush behind the sorceress. A great cat had made its way to the clearing and made no other sound as it watched her. It sat back on muscled haunches, eyes wide, contemplating its next move. The cat sniffed the air.

The animal crept soundlessly to the edge of the small clearing and stopped. Tawny fur glowed golden in the firelight, and green eyes stared at the woman's silhouette against the blaze. The murky daylight was nearly gone except for a pink smear on the horizon. The cat circled the clearing until it was behind its prey.

The huge feline was in position. It silently dug its back claws into the earth, twitched its haunches, and flared its nostrils. In the span of less than a heartbeat, it was airborne. Over two hundred pounds of feline launched through the air without the sorceress ever hearing a warning.

The next thing the woman felt was a great thud against her back and the whump of her chest hitting the ground. It nearly knocked the wind out of her, but her instincts drove her to roll quickly to face her attacker. She saw white fangs and piercing green eyes, felt the cat's hot breath on her face. She gasped for air, then spit out the words as fast as she could find them.

"Will you cut that out? How many times have I told you not to pounce on me like that? By the gods, one of these days, Gamaliel…" She propped herself up on her elbows, removing an enormous paw from her chest. The cat leaned in, touching his damp, pink nose to the sorceress's cheek. He purred at a volume the woman found both ridiculous and infuriating.

"You are such a… a… a cat!" Undaunted, the huge feline rolled off his mistress and lay on his side in the grass, exposing the ivory fur on his belly. Stretched out, he was longer than the woman was tall. He touched her lightly with a paw.

"Oh, so now you want your tummy rubbed. I don't know why I put up with you sometimes." Although she ought to ignore the cat, her hand automatically moved to his great chest and began rubbing. The cat rolled onto his back, still purring at a tremendous volume He stretched, then relaxed, four paws flopping in all directions. The woman laughed at the sight. He lay with his ivory belly exposed, his dark brown paws hanging limply. A bright pink nose shone from his deep brown muzzle. The heavy gold chain with the jade pendant around the animal's neck accented the richness of his fur. The sorceress thought he was a beautiful cat, with his tawny body and dark brown ears, face, tail, and paws.

"All right, you ferocious beast. You've had your fun. Time for supper. I'll set up the bedroll, and you can find us some dinner." The cat lay motionless, blinked, then flipped over and stood. "And Gamaliel, we've had fish the last four nights. Do you think you could find us a nice rabbit or something for a change?"

The cat stared at his mistress as if offended. His words found their way to her mind. If you're dissatisfied with my hunting, mighty sorceress, perhaps you'd like to provide us with some dinner. I'd like to see you hunt in the dark. Besides, I happen to like fish. The cat turned his head and sniffed at the breeze.

The sorceress leaned over and scratched the cat between the ears. "You know I'm not complaining about your hunting. We've never gone hungry, even in the barest climes. But if it were up to you, we'd have fish for breakfast, fish for lunch, and more fish for dinner. We humans like a little variety. So how about a change of pace? I think you owe me after that prank of yours. I just combed all the twigs out of my hair, and now I have to start over again, thanks to you."