Keritanima's new cat was a long-haired gray, a large, nasty brute with quite an attitude. But Tarrin had learned some time before that normal cats would treat him with respect, so its greeting was full of bluster, yet strangely honorable. Tarrin had only talked to two normal cats before, preferring to generally let the others be and not tip his hand that he had that ability. Though nobody could hear it, cats did tend to act out of their instincts when engaged in rational conversation with a Were-cat, as if the magical creature could exert influence on their normal cousins and make them more capable of conversation. That would make it somewhat obvious that he was doing something to the animal.

The cat's scratching at his door had awakened him, quite a feat considering that he was still in Allia's room. She was asleep, and Tarrin had been curled up by her pillow. But he jumped down and padded back into his room, then scented the cat on the other side of the door. He changed form and opened the door, curious as to why a cat would be trying to get his attention, and the big gray strutted into his room casually. He was a very big cat, young and strong, wearing an elaborate leather collar studded with jewels. "The she who feeds me put me down here," the cat told him in its unspoken manner. "Your scent made me curious."

It did have Keritanima's scent on it. Tarrin squatted down and crooked his finger at the cat, and it approached and sat down in front of him. "How did you know to scratch at the door?" he asked as his large fingers started to probe the collar. "Did the she put something in your collar?"

"I scratch at her door," the cat replied calmly. "Humans, and the she, are so easy to tell what to do."

There was a note in the collar, cleverly inserted into a flap between the outer layer of leather that supported the gems and an inner layer that protected the cat's neck from the studs and settings holding the gems in place. "From time to time, the she is going to put something in your collar, and tell you to find me. I would be very honored if you would do as she asks. What she is doing is very important, and I need you to bring me what she gives you quickly."

"For a brother, I will do this thing," the cat replied.

"It would make me very happy."

"How do I know the she wants me to find you?"

"She will put little things in your collar and then speak my name to you. It sounds like this in the voice of the humans." He spoke his name, then repeated it three more times, so the cat could fully memorize the sound of it.

"I can do that," the cat told him. "When she puts things in my collar or speaks the sound of that to me, I will come to you."

"I will appreciate it. I will let you back out, so you can find your she."

"She is a strange creature. She smells of predator, but acts like humans."

"She is cousin to the predator you smell, but is not predator herself," he told the cat. "Cats are not food to her."

"This is good to know."

Tarrin stood up and opened the door. "I thank you for bringing me this. Go find your she, and expect rewards."

"I will," it said, then it sauntered out the door.

When he closed the door, he worked to unfold the very tiny note. Keritanima had folded it down to the point where even his clawtips had trouble finding the seams and parting them. Tarrin had to endure the pain of human hands in order to get the note unfolded. His paws were sometimes too large to perform tasks on very small objects.

The note was very short and to the point. Tarrin, I think you and Allia need to bathe.

That was easy enough. The baths were deserted before dawn, and that was when Tarrin and Allia preferred to use them. Both of them had trouble in attracting attention when in the baths. Tarrin, for obvious reasons, but Allia found bathing uncomfortable when surrounded by Novices, because the hot stares of the adolescent boys made her feel aggressive. Allia wasn't ashamed of her body in the slightest, but she took offense to men and boys who were total strangers staring at her in that manner. Even Tarrin had to admit that it was hard not to look, and he had absolutely no romantic feelings for his sister whatsoever. Allia wasn't human, but that only enhanced the fact that she had a body any human woman would kill to have for herself. If she were human, she wouldn't be half as lovely or perfectly formed.

Allia was very easy to wake up. All he had to do was walk into her room. Her Selani senses were sharp; where Tarrin's nose and ears were inhumanly sensitive, for Allia it was her ears and eyes. She could hear a fly walking on the wall, and read an open book from halfway across the Knights' training field. Her luminous eyes opened when he came into the room, and she sat up. "Keritanima wants to talk to us," he told her. "Down in the bathing room."

"Then let's see what she wants," Allia said immediately, sliding out of bed.

Keritanima's lizard Wikuni guards were standing at the top of the stairs that led to the baths, and it was obvious that they were keeping everyone else out. But when Tarrin and Allia appeared, the two nine-span tall monsters simply stepped aside, motioning with their huge clawed hands. The expansive chamber below was empty, except for Keritanima. She was unclothed, a towel on her lap, and she was brushing out her fur with a silver horsehair brush. Keritanima was fully furred, and with her dress off, her fox-fur markings were quite distinctive. The white swath that started under her chin widened to dominate her front, giving way to the rusty red that colored her arms, legs, and back. Her feet and hands were brown, as were the tips of her ears and tail. Though he had seen that before, it gave her an entirely different sense with the humanizing dress removed. She looked much more an animal when not wearing her dress. He knew she was lithe, but she cut quite a figure out of her clothes, sleek and slender.

"It's about time," she said in a calm, if slightly testy, voice. She spoke Selani, and that incited her companions to reciprocate.

"Your cat must have waited a while before trying to get my attention," Tarrin replied.

"So it did figure out to come find you," she said. "Good. I just got it today, and I wasn't sure what it would do. I was about to send Binter to get you."

"Binter?"

"One of my guards," she replied.

"What did you want to see us for, shaida?" Allia asked bluntly.

"Have a seat. Or, for appearance's sake, have a bath," she said. "I just got my fur dry. In this humid air, it takes forever."

"You seem very comfortable sharing your bath with a male," Tarrin observed.

"We're different races, Tarrin," she said primly. "Besides, what I have, you can't see. This fur coat is very good for that."

"Point taken," he said, shrugging out of his shirt. Allia and him quickly undressed, and they slid into the bathing pool just at Keritanima's feet. Keeping up appearances, just in case someone did manage to spy on them. "I assume that you wanted more than just our company, or am I here to marvel at the perfection of the Royal form?"

She laughed. "Much as I enjoy letting my guard down around you two, no, I'm afraid this is business," she told him. "After what happened to you, the Tower is absolutely abuzz with rumor and hearsay. I've already picked up quite a few little tidbits. Miranda didn't know where to begin trying to repeat it."

"Miranda?" Allia asked.

"The maid," Tarrin answered. "Didn't I tell you her name?"

"No, deshida," she replied.

"Sorry."

"Well, I sat down and picked through most of it, and I've come to a few conclusions," Keritanima continued. "What happened with you and that, creature, had a larger effect than just putting pretty lights in the sky. I don't know why, but it's made several Sorcerers very nervous. I found out that the Keeper's in a rage because it got onto the grounds."