Undine didn’t want to push to hard to soon and have the human think she was imagining or going crazy like they sometimes did. Hertia crouched down and pet the sleek coat of the cat closing her eyes to better feels the sensation. She let her fingers drift under the coarser overcoat poking her fingers into the soft dander fur underneath like little dandelion seeds dancing on her fingertips. She smoothed out the fur on her back rubbing the underside of her ear making the cat’s little grey head tilt and nuzzle in reaction and she purred even louder. She had no idea why this cat liked her so much but every time she had come into this forest this little kitty had poked it’s head out for a brushing and every time she had come out more soothed for the encounter than the cat she was petting so she began to look forward to it. “So 18 today, I don’t feel much like celebrating and not sure what battle I came to fight but I feel kinda silly now with only a cute little cat to pet and no father to spar with. Undine looked pointedly back into the bush where James stood transfixed by this woman and the amazing things she did with Undine’s ears, he was so jealous. Being half lynx he was of a human face with feline characteristics. He had the ears with tufts and fur that surrounded the bottom half of his face similar to a beard of a human but of much softer and more abundant fur. He blinked remembering the sight he’d seem in the looking glass of bright yellow eyes with the upright oval slit like a feline. He looked at Undine and saw a lot of his features mirrored back at him.
Except for the long black hair he was “kitty” as she proclaimed Undine to be. He chuckled. “Ya right” he ran his hand through his hair and looked at the highly manicured nails. He took so much time grooming “must be the sat thing” as he proceeded to clean his nails for the 10th time that day. As he played with his nails the voices drifted overt o him from across the clearing. “Kitty why do you come visit me, I know you have a home and a family, but yet you are always here” Hertia smiled as she stroked Undine’s head. Undine simply kept her quite and purred. She would have to tell Hertia soon about her destiny before she was taken away unknowingly. She sighed and Hertia took it as a coo and began to scratch behind her ears… she wasn’t making this any easier by stalling, but she thought about the prophet and the future she’d been shown. The reason she was here and wanted to give Hertia just that one moment more of normalcy. She was a teenager in the twentieth century and nothing she could say or do would prepare her for Valiconia, especially since it was not of her time. Undine stood up and began to walk down the path again, as she did she stopped to wait for Hertia meowing to encourage her to follow (heaven’s this was embarrassing) and slowly she realized and started to follow. As the two walked down the path Hertia continued to talk to the cat in front of her forgetting for just a moment that the animal could not understand one word and just bared her soul. “Why is it I can talk to a cat but I cannot talk to my own mother. We have been distant strangers since papa died last year and I cannot bring myself to say anything to her about it.” Undine stopped to smile and walked a circle around Hertia’s legs getting a brush from the gentle finger tips of the human on her way around.
“I still can’t really believe he’s gone, it seems like just yesterday we were in this field talking and sparring, I am not sure why the heck I brought this sword along either… I am rusty and haven’t used it since the day he passed… but yet I cling to it”. She sighed “maybe it’s time to let it go”. Undine having walked along silently up to this point could not stand it any longer. She nodded to James who stood just off the path to be ready in case she tried to bolt, took a few good licks to make sure her coat was as smooth and respectable as she could manage and started to speak. “May name is Undine, and yes I AM speaking to you… please do not run or pretend you don’t hear me. I have one very important question, what makes you think that the sword is of no use?” Hertia stopped dead in her tracks and stared wide eyed at the cat. “Did you just speak to me? Tell me I am not imagining this!” Undine took the time to clean her front paws before answering, “Yes actually I did, and I have been watching over you since your father began bringing you to this grove and I realized you had some special talent and could speak to the animals. You were not ready to hear back from them before your 18th birthday as your talents will not culminate until then” Hertia walked the rest of the way into the clearing, as she did so flash backs of her father and her sparring came back unbidden and her eyes glossed over with tears. She walked slowly and deliberately to the rock on the far side of the clearing and sat down to gather her thoughts. First off there was a cat talking to her and she was not surprised to hear it. Second she was missing her father so badly she didn’t even realize that she wad walked all the way here. She was supposed to be at home by now for the birthday party. She looked up to the west and saw the sun shining low on the horizon, just over the trees, making them look as if they were on fire. She realized despite how she felt when she had gotten out of bed this am she was not willing to leave this place just yet. “Why now?” was all she said. Undine stalked slowly across the field and reached out to bat at a dandelion. “Because everything has it’s time and yours was not up yet, see how the seeds catch the wind? They are ready to sore because it is time for them to. They cannot be plucked from the stem before that and after they are recreated and bring their special gift to other places far away” Hertia looked baffled at the cat who now sat down before her feet. “You are quite the philosopher aren’t you?” and chuckled. Undine smiled and hopped up onto her lap to get more petting “Behind the ears please, that was positively blissful” and Hertia laughed whole heartedly as she scratched behind the little cat’s ear. “So you are Undine then? I didn’t imagine that?” and Undine purred a return “yes”.