~Chapter 3~

Wynne sat on her roof and stared at the sliver of the moon.  Poor little Tana had been so innocent.  She released a keening cry to the stars.

"Aunt Wynne?"  Ana crawled across the beam to her.

Wynne shifted back to her human form.

"Are we going to stay here?"

Wynne knew it was instinct for her kind to avoid the places where one of their own died.

"We may have to stay here a few more days."  Wynne stroked Ana's soft hair.

Ana rested her head against Wynne's shoulder.  "I don't want to stay in there."

"I know."  Wynne felt the same way.

They sat in silence for several minutes before Wynne sent Ana back downstairs.  She shifted again and made her way to a better part of town, where she was less likely to become part of the stew.  Wynne wasn't certain where she was going but she needed to be moving. 

Before she realised where she was she found herself at the Palace gates.

The guard was the same as the night before and remembered her.  She ignored him and made her way to the Herald's wing.

She paused in the garden and tested the air.  He was past the gardens near the river. 

She wove around the bushes and flowerbeds and scaled the walls until she reached the small stable.

He was in a stall half way down the hall.  A few of the Companions stared at her.

"Hey Berry."  Julian scooped her up and scratched under her chin.

Wynne meowed mournfully.

"Bad day?"  He placed her on his Companion's back.  "I wondered where you vanished to."

The Companion turned to stare at her.

She hopped over to Julian's shoulder and curled around his neck.

"Your lucky to be a cat.  When you are tired you can just find a stray beam of light.  We mere humans have to go until we drop."

Wynne gave a meow to contradict him.  How she wished she dared to talk to him, perhaps he would have a suggestion for what she could do about her children. 

She did find his presence soothing, which she needed.

"Shall we go find you something to eat?"  He asked.

Wynne knew she should get back to the littles and leapt from his shoulder and dashed out the door.  At least she was more centred.

~*~

Daire was stunned.  He had three false alarms to date where he thought it was time to find his Chosen and now the little alarm within his mind was telling him to Choose a cat!

He shook his head and went in search of Rolan.  Perhaps he would know what on earth that meant.

~*~

Wynne found the children still awake.  She didn't expect them to sleep.  She could also smell wet clothes and knew she wasn't the only one who had to go for a run.

Shifters, halflings and full bloods, had a phenomenal sense of smell and the scent of death was very disturbing.  They may not know what they smelled but it still disturbed them.

"I'll find a new place tomorrow."  She assured them as she shifted to human.

Their wide eyes met hers. 

"I don't know what to do."  She admitted.  "I'm sorry."

They cuddled together on straw mattress, waiting for the dawn.  When it finally arrived she asked the little ones to gather their belongings and went in search of a new home.  When they returned from classes she had finally found a place and paid for two months with what they had. 

The new room needed to be cleaned and smelled strongly of the previous occupants.  She had purloined a bucket and had done what she could to make the best of it.  The smell had improved marginally.

Her main requirements had been second floor with a window. 

She was very thankful there were no other Shifters in Haven, her parents had warned her it was unpleasant to live in quarters that had a Shifter lived in them before.  The children helped her move their belongings into the new room several blocks away. 

"You want us to go out?"  Kane asked.

"I feel bad for asking, but yes, I paid for two months here which has put us back by quite a bit."

"Should we look for a new house?"  Dain asked.

"I'll take care of that," Wynne assured them.

Ana gave her a hug before she left.

Wynne sank onto the mattress.  She felt horrible everyday she had to send them out and wished she could give them a home with toys and enough food to fill their bellies.

Where bastards out for a quick coin didn't kill innocents like Tana.

She needed to face the facts, as much as she loved the darlings she couldn't care for they the way they deserved.

She had to make a big haul, enough to get them settled in a business of some sort.

And she couldn't be caught, for the sake of the children.

~*~

No one noticed the small black cat that snuck in the open window. 

Wynne, unlike her parents and brothers, had no compunction about using her ability to shift for robbery in her desperate circumstances.  She had left a cloth bag outside earlier, in a hole she could easily access as a cat.

She had the bag in her mouth now as she entered a parlour window and shifted back to human.  She ignored the assorted boxes and the like, they were all too traceable. Instead she made her way to the library where she opened the safe and removed a heavy bag of coins.

Satisfied she slipped the bag out the window, shifted, and jumped out.

It took her most of the night to haul the bag home in her feline form.  There she counted her haul, which was a little more than she expected.  They would either be able to live off this for a year, or go into business.  Wynne wasn't exactly certain what business she wanted to go into yet, her kind had very little aptitude for business which was one of the reasons they were thieves.

At noon the children returned.

Wynne had bought some cheese and fresh buns for their lunch. 

"Did you get a heavy purse?"  Dain asked.

"Yes.  I need to speak with you that actually."

They each took some food and sat on the floor.

"We need to get away from thievery." 

"What are we going to do instead?"  Ana asked.

"I am not certain.  But we have money to establish a business, or move, or just live here for a while."

"What about a bakery?"  Kane asked around a mouthful of bun.

"Are you going to do the cooking?"  Dain asked Kane scornfully.  Ana was the only one among them who had any clue about baking.

"We can't sew either."  Elwin pointed out.

"I can bake."  Ana commented.

"What about a pawnshop?"  Wynne asked.  "Or a tavern?"

"A good tavern?  With good food?  Can we afford that?"  Ana asked eagerly.

Wynne considered it.  "I think we could.  But we would have to live very frugally.  We would need a cook and servers.  You lot would be willing to cleaning dishes and clear tables, right?"

They nodded.

"Excellent, we have a plan."  Wynne smiled.

"We can call it the Black Cat."  Kane suggested.

"How about the Lucky Cat?"  Dain suggested.

"Lady Cat?"  Ana asked.

"No."  Wynne vetoed that suggestion.  "That would make people think we offer services other than food and drink."

They spent the afternoon speculating and dreaming.