~ Chapter 2 ~

"I wish I could do that," Ana sighed.

Wynne rubbed her head on Ana's cheek and left by the window.  The night looked much different to these eyes.  Normally her eyesight was far superior to a human's, part of being what she was.

She could smell Kane and Dain; they smelled different from humans, more pleasant and musky, at least to her nose.  She kept a watch out for cat catchers as she made her way back along her route.  None of the people she met were acting like they were tracking someone.

She relaxed somewhat.

She only required a candlemark of sleep to face the day so instead of returning she followed some interesting smells.  If she didn't spend at least some time in this form she started to get nervous and feel like she was crawling out of her skin. 

A man tried to tempt her with a bit of foul smelling meat; she scented the blood and fear on his hands and clothes and avoided him.  The few dogs she met up with could smell she wasn't a cat and generally just watched her, confused.  A few did get territorial but she was much faster than they and escaped easily.

She reached the main road and smelled an older trace of blood and of horse that tugged at her memory; the Herald and the boy from the night before.  Since she had a few candlemarks until she should return she decided to see how the boy was fairing.  The guard at the gate to the palace grounds actually offered her a bit of his sandwich when he saw her.

Wynne's stomach was empty since she hadn't eaten since breakfast.  She daintily accepted the offering and trotted past him into the palace grounds.  The smells here were much nicer than in her area of town.  She could smell flowers and washed bodies, very pleasant.

She followed the scent of the boy until she reached the healers.  Here the smell of pain and sickness almost made her retch.  Steeling herself she slipped in a window.  An injured man was lying on a bed; he was sweating and making weak movements of protest.  He was obviously fevered and having a nightmare.

Wynne hesitated then listened for footsteps, no one was close.  She shifted back into her human form and sat onto the edge of the bed, unmindful of her nudity. 

"Hush."  She said quietly, her voice almost a purr.

The man opened his eyes, they were glazed with the fever, but he wasn't afraid.  "Who are you?" he croaked.

"You were having a nightmare," she explained.

"You're naked," he observed, somewhat dazed.

"Sleep now," she ordered softly as she often did for the children.  He didn't resist as her voice sent him into slumber again, this time with more pleasant dreams.

His eyes closed and she shifted back to a cat.  The door opened easily and she padded down the hall.  It didn't take her long to locate the boy.  She pushed the door open and padded over to his bedside.  The wound on his neck was mostly healed and tears had left tracks on his cheeks.

Her heart went out to the boy.  He was about same age as Ana and he had watched his father be murdered in cold blood.

She suppressed the urge to cry out in shared pain. 

Footsteps in the hall interrupted her.  Wynne leaped out the window in to the garden.

A palace cat took offence at her sudden appearance and hissed a challenge.  Wynne may have been small but she was much more cunning than the fat tabby.  She left her opponent with a scratched face and wounded ego and continued her exploration of the grounds.

This was the first time she had ever been on the palace grounds and had already resolved to visit here more often.  Too bad the children were Halflings and couldn't shift.  They would like it here.  There was a chance that at puberty they may show the ability but it was unlikely.

A very pleasant scent reached her as she leaped onto a wall surrounding some private gardens.  The Herald.

She couldn't resist the impulse to investigate; it was hard to resist most impulses when she was a cat.

His scent was coming from an open second floor window.  Wynne easily made it to his sill.

He was damp and smelled freshly washed.  He also wore only a towel about his waist.  Wynne gazed appreciatively at his nearly naked form.

~*~

Julian sensed rather than saw the movement at his window.  The last thing he expected to see was the cat from the night before.

"What are you doing here?"  He asked.

The cat meowed.

"Julian, are you in there?"  A female voice asked from the other side the door.

"Come in, Reeta."  He invited.

The woman who entered was not conventionally pretty but she could still catch and hold the eye.  "I haven't seen you since you came in."

Julian was surprised that the cat started to growl.

"Isn't she cute!"  Reeta reached out to pet the cat.  "Is she yours?"

"I don't know, it just appeared there."

"Look at those blue eyes, she is exquisite.  Imagine how charming she would look with a blue ribbon around her neck."

The cat didn't look too enamoured of the idea.

"Did you stop by my parents' farm?"  Reeta asked.

"Yes, they sent you a package."  Julian rummaged in his still packed saddlebags, one hand keeping up his towel.  "Here you are."

"Thank you."  She accepted the small box.  "My father made me a set of hounds and hinds pieces and I forgot them.  If you don't want the cat, I'll take her."

The cat's eyes narrowed.

"I don't think he is the kind of cat you keep."

"Is it a male?"  Reeta scooped up the cat and checked under the tail.

The cat took great exception and yowled, started to scratch the offending arm.

Reeta quickly put it down.  "Female.  She certainly doesn't like being picked up.  I better go since I'm leaving first thing in the morning."

"Enjoy your circuit."  Julian said as she left.  "Well, little girl, are you going to let me pet you?"

The cat purred and rubbed her head against his hand.

"So it was just Reeta you didn't like."  Julian observed as he picked her up.  "You need a name."

The cat gave a little meow.

"How about Soot?"

The cat gave him a disgusted look.

"Something more creative then, how about Darkling?  Smoke?  Blackie?  Spook?"

The cat didn't approve of any of them.

"You are a finicky little thing.  Lady?  Angel?  I know, Blackberry, I doubt you know any other cats named that."

The cat growled but he decided to stay with Blackberry.  "I'll call you Berry for short.  Let me change and I'll see about getting you cream and some fish."

~*~

Wynne watched intently as he changed.  She didn't like the name but it was better than being called 'cat' or something like that.  The Reeta woman had obviously hoped for a dalliance when she stopped in; her attraction and disappointment palatable.

Wynne had been surprised to feel jealous of her and intensely territorial.  Julian finished changing and picked her up gently.  She started purring again and rubbed her head on his tunic.

He had wonderful hands.

A jovial man greeted Julian as he entered the kitchen.  "Who is your little friend?"

"This is Blackberry, she turned up in my room.  She is incredibly thin, is there anything I can feed her?"

"I have some baked fish from supper and some cream, would that be good?"

Wynne mewed her approval.

"It sounds like it is acceptable."

Soon she had a dish of delicious cream and a little plate of fish.  She ate delicately and groomed herself afterwards.

"She's a pretty little thing."  The cook observed.

Done with her meal, she mewed her thanks and padded out the door.  If she was going to get some sleep tonight she had to get home.  She also had to leave before she lost the battle with the urge to spend the remainder of the night with Julian.

About a candlemark later she settled among the children, curled up on Kane's chest, and wished that was the broader chest of her Herald.

~*~

Their foray into housebreaking had brought them enough to replenish their food supply for a week.  Since the next day was even more miserable this was welcome news.  It was a downpour instead just a drizzle and almost no one was moving about outside.

Wynne walked everyone to the temple then set off looking for her own targets.  She kept her head bent to avoid getting the hard drops of rain in her eyes.  She managed to find a tavern that was willing to give her a spot by the fire so long as she played and they got a quarter of her earnings.

Wynne's fingers ached by the time she emerged back out into the rain.  It was nearly dark, but the time had been worth it.  People had been reluctant to face the rain so the tavern was full.  The fact they could listen to some music had been a welcome reason to dawdle and many coins came her way.

When she was a block away from home the scent of the children's fear reached her keen nose.  She ran the rest of the way to the room.  Fear sharpened her senses and she could hear the scuffle inside and smell the unwashed bodies of two men she hadn't met.

Inside the door she release a cat like scream of fury and launched herself at the first of the men who had Tana in his grip.  The twins were already attacking the other man.

The men staggered under the attacks.  Wynne was leaving bloody gouges in exposed flesh and the twins were leaving bruises and cuts where they managed land blows. 

Ana and Tana were the obvious targets.  Tana hung limply in a man's arms but Ana was screaming and twisting in the other man's arms.  Elwin lay unconscious by their small hearth.

The men finally admitted defeat and tried to flee.  Wynne wasn't willing to release what she now thought of as her prey.

"Aunt Wynne!"  Ana grabbed her arm as she started to pursue.

Wynne felt the urge to hunt retreat.  People were watching the beaten men.  She knew exactly how to make certain they didn't return.

"Perverts!"  She screamed.

The neighbourhood did not tolerate children brothels or procurers.  They were considered the lost of scum.  The men found themselves at the centre of a mob crying for blood.

Wynne went back inside, still growling.  Tana and Elwin hadn't recovered yet.  One twin was with each.  Ana was already showing signs of bad bruising but she hadn't sustained any serious injury.

Wynne examined Elwin and knew he would wake soon.  Tana, however was never going to wake.

Wynne suppressed a mourning cry.

"What's wrong?" Ana asked.

"Her neck is broken."  Wynne choked out.  Outside she could hear the Watch trying to break up the mob.  "Stay here."

She went back outside and grabbed the first Watch member she saw.  "Sir, they killed my niece!'

The Watch turned to her and looked back at the mob.  "Hold them when you got them.  They may be murders.  Now, miss, show me where you niece is."

Wynne led him inside.  He knelt next to the small body.

"I assume from your bloody hands you went after them with your bare hands."  He said calmly.

Wynne glanced down at her hands, her stomached roiled at the scent of the blood, and nodded.  "They were hurting my family."

The Watch examined the injuries of the others.  "I'll have a healer come down."

"We can't afford one."  Wynne protested knowing it would only cause hard to answer questions.  Even half-Shifters healed faster than humans.

The Watchman picked up the tiny body.  "I'll have to take her."

Wynne nodded as she watched the dear little girl's pale lifeless body and choked back her mourning again.

The Watchman was touched by the obvious love Wynne held for her niece.  "I'll send word to you."

"Thank you." 

When they were alone again Wynne gathered her family about her.  Ana buried her face against Wynne's shoulder and Elwin laid his head in her lap.  The twins sat one on each side of her.

"I am sorry."  Wynne choked out.

None of them answered her.