James Galloway - The Tower of Sorcery

The majority of his time was spent with Janette, his little mother. Janette doted on him almost too much, and he was the central aspect of her life since the moment she found him under the bush. He adored his little mother with a passion, and was quite content to follow her around, always being near her. When she was bathing, or eating, or doing her studies with her mother, he was always close to her, usually laying by her feet sleeping. Any time her lilac-scent faded from his awareness, he went to find her. And once he knew where she was, he was content to let her be. Janette's parents had taken notice of Tarrin's unusual behavior, but had passed it off as a strange attachment stemming from her finding him and nursing him back to health. But it was more than that. Janette helped keep the pain away, and in her company he found love and acceptance.

There was very little concept of time in the Cat's eternal now, but Tarrin seemed to sense somehow that a considerable number of days had passed since she found him. He had that sensation because, over time, his human awareness became more and more dominant, as if it was too strong for the Cat to totally subjugate. The catlike instincts were slowly taking on a human reasoning, and he started to become aware of things that had no meaning for him earlier. Things changed around the house to help him respark the human awareness, such as Janine's change of attitude towards him. At first, she barely tolerated him. But as time went on, and he proved that he was no threat to her decorations or her daughter, the woman fell into a gruff acceptance of him. She paid him no attention, but neither did she pay him any mind.

It was after Janette's bedtime when Tarrin was laying sedately by the fireplace. When he was not with his little mother, the fireplace was his domain. He would go to bed with her and wait for her to go to sleep, then he would lay by the fireplace until it fell to embers, when he would go back up and sleep at the foot of her bed. There was almost always a fire burning, even in the middle of summer, for light if nothing else, and its dry heat was very pleasing to him. Janette had had to practice the flute before bed, just one of many lessons she went through each day, as her mother turned her into a "proper lady". In that respect, the little girl drove her mother wild. Janette would have been much happier on a farm, because she loved to be outside, loved to crawl through the grass and climb trees and catch frogs. That was rather hard on the pretty silk and brocade dresses Janine the wife had her wear, and it was always a point of contention between them. Ladies did not do such things. What Janine the wife seemed to fail to understand was that Janette was not a Lady. She was a child. And crawling in the grass, climbing trees, and catching frogs were things that children did.

Janine the wife was there, in her favorite chair, reading from a thick book, as Tomas the merchant sat in his favorite chair next to her. Janine the wife was a tall woman, thin and shapely, with a pretty face and her brown hair done up on a bun most of the time, except when she was entertaining, when it was let down in cascading waves. Tomas the merchant wasn't at home very much during the day, off caring for his business. He was a thin, tall man with lanky arms and a gentle face, his brown hair thick and long, and done up in a single tail at the back of his neck. When he was home, he was either working on his papers or spending time with his family. Tarrin rather liked him, because he was a calm, unruffled sort of fellow with a very practical mind.

"You look worried, my love," Janine the wife said to him. The two of them seemed to be deeply in love. They certainly carried on as if they were.

"The Star of Jerod still hasn't come in," he said, biting his lip slightly. "It's three days overdue."

"That's only three days," she said.

"I know, but Bascone usually isn't late."

"I thought Bascone was captain of the Wave Sprite ."

"He was," he said. "He took over the Star two months ago."

"I'm sure he's alright. There's been some rough weather south. He may have been delayed."

"I hope so," he said. "He was carrying Arakite silk, and if I lose that cargo, we're going to take a serious loss."

Tarrin looked into the fire, transfixed by the dancing of the flames. Just as he looked away, the fire popped suddenly. The sound startled him badly. Despite his time in the peace of the house, he still reacted with the reflexes of a warrior. He jumped up and faced the fire, hissing defensively, until he realized that it wasn't an attack. Then, feeling a bit foolish, he laid back down. Tomas the merchant's chuckle didn't help his pride much.

"He's a jittery thing," he remarked to his wife.

"I think her last owner wasn't very nice to her," Janine said grudgingly. "She follows Janette around like a puppy. It's like she thinks she's the only good person in the world."

"He," he corrected.

"I thought it was a girl."

"No, it's a boy."

"Janette thinks it's a girl."

"I know. I don't have the heart to tell her any differently." He shuffled a few more papers. "I hope Bascone puts in tomorrow," he sighed. "My buyers for that silk are getting impatient."

"Bascone's a dependable man," she assured him. "If he's late, then he ran into trouble."

"I know, and that's what worries me," he grunted.

"He's a good captain, dear," she said calmly. "It'd take nothing short of the Gods themselves to sink Bascone's ship."

"I can take the loss on the ship. It's that silk I can't afford to lose." There was a shuffle of more papers. "Oh well, I'll worry about it tomorrow," he sighed. "Shadow," he called.

Tarrin turned his head and looked at him. "He's a smart cat," he chuckled as he motioned to him. Tarrin got up and yawned, then padded over to Tomas's chair, and jumped up into his lap. He settled down as Tomas the merchant rubbed the back of his neck pleasingly.

"Not you too," Janine huffed. "Everyone in this house is in love with that creature."

"I think you keep saying that just to be contrary, dear," he accused. "You're just annoyed that our little girl browbeat you into keeping him."

There was a long silence, then Janine the wife laughed ruefully. "Maybe," she said. "Janette can be a terror when she has her mind set on something."

"She's her mother's daughter," he said fondly.

"Any word of who owns it?"

"None," he said. "I've asked all around the neighborhood, but nobody owned him. Not around here, anyway. Looks like we're stuck with him."

"I think that was a bit obvious," she said dryly.

Tomas the merchant chuckled. Tarrin started purring as Tomas's fingers found all the itches. "I don't mind him," Tomas the merchant said.

"He doesn't like me," Janine the wife said gruffly.

"Try being nice to him," Tomas the merchant replied.

"I am," she said indignantly.

"You don't kick him, or beat him, or dunk him in boiling water. Yes, you're so very nice to him," Tomas the merchant said. Janine the wife laughed helplessly.

"What are you going to do tomorrow?" she asked.

"I think I may send the Sprite out to look for Bascone," he said soberly. "He's using the standard route, so if he's in trouble, Pichet will be able to find him and help him."

"Is Pichet on the schedule?"

"Not right now," he said. "I can't buy that wool shipment until the silk comes in, so Pichet's in port until Bascone gets here. At least this way, Pichet and his sailors have something to do."

Janine the wife chuckled. "They do get rowdy after a few rides in port."

Tarrin tuned them out, putting his head down. Being a cat gave him a great deal of time to think, and lately, his thoughts were becoming more and more sober. He thought alot about what had happened, and his current situation. More and more, he was starting to realize that being a cat was all well and good, but his human awareness made going through the motions day after day to get a bit old. And he'd been thinking of his family.