Disclaimer: I do not own the Young Wizards universe; I'm not Diane Duane. I didn't write the awesome poem that I've quoted below; I found it in an old cat-themed day planner of mine.
A/N: This is dedicated to all cats that leave home and don't make it back—whether they're wizards or not—but especially for Rusty. I don't know what life you were on, so I can't say for certain that I'll see you here again, but know that I'll be looking for you in Timeheart.
The Cat and Her Friend
"Outdoors the wild, winds blow, Mistress, and dark is the night.
Strange voices cry in the trees, intoning strange lore,
And more than cats move, lit by our eyes' green light,
On silent feet where the meadow grasses hang hoar—
Mistress, there are portents abroad of magic and might,
And things that are yet to be done. Open the door!"
—Elizabeth Coatsworth, "On a Night of Snow"
"Mommy, is Ginger home yet?" The little girl looked up at her mother questioningly. The girl's eyes, which had once been immune to worry, now were full of sadness only slightly lightened by hope.
Her mother sighed softly, and tried to keep the lack of hope from her voice when she responded. "No, Tammy, not yet," she said.
Tammy's little face started to scrunch up, like she was fighting off tears. Quietly, in a quavering voice, she said, "She's not coming back, is she." It was not a question.
"I don't know," her mother admitted softly. She knelt down to hug her daughter, who was now crying. "I don't know," she repeated, softer, meant for her ears only.
Aarith, sitting in the sunlight on the ledge outside the kitchen window, heard it all. It made her heart break all over again, seeing Tammy crying like that. She wished that she could tell the weeping mother and daughter what had really happened to "Ginger," the orange tabby cat that Aarith had known as Huauw.
But Aarith was a cat, and so she couldn't. She couldn't go in and comfort Tammy, purring and rubbing her head against the girl's legs. She couldn't tell Tammy that the cat she had known had been, in fact, a wizard, leading a double life—being a pet and comforter when at home, saving the world when away.
Well, Aarith reflected, Huauw wasn't exactly a wizard—hadn't been, Aarith corrected herself painfully. But she had been on her way to becoming one.
Huauw had been on her Ordeal when disaster struck. That wasn't anything out of the ordinary; disaster was supposed to strike the would-be wizard on Ordeal.
Disaster wasn't supposed to win.
Aarith had been with Huauw, that day at John Wayne Airport. The single worldgate that the airport sported had been acting up, and Aarith had responded to the Whisperer's urgent warning, as had Rafh, her fellow team member. Aarith remembered her shock at arriving and seeing the orange tabby there—she and Rafh were the only members of their worldgating team. Rafh had already been questioning the newcomer.
"What are you doing here?" he'd said, a bit curtly, not wanting to have to deal with unwanted interference when fixing the gate.
"She told me to come," the tabby had said.
"Who?"
"The Whisperer," Huauw had said simply, and Aarith, who'd had time to catch her bearings (having been slightly disoriented from her sudden wake up and short jump here), understood what the tabby was doing here.
"What's your name?" she'd asked.
"Huauw."
"How long since your Oath?" Aarith had asked, not sure whether she wanted this newcomer to be proficient or not. If Huauw was already a wizard, she'd know basic gate theory, and could help with repairs, but if she was new to the practice, on Ordeal or recently out of it, she would have a wealth of raw power to contribute to whatever spell the team—now increased by one member—would have to do.
Huauw had looked confused at first, but answered, "A few days."
Not a kitten on Ordeal! Rafh had sent to Aarith, moaning. I don't like the looks of this.
Aarith hadn't liked it, either, but it really hadn't mattered; they had a gate to fix. "Follow me," she'd said to Huauw. "I'll explain on the way."
It hadn't been during the travel season, so very few people had been waiting for planes. Aarith had led the way unerringly to the small gift shop located behind the wait area for gates eleven and twelve, all while describing the basic function of worldgates. When the trio had been within a hundred yards, Aarith had felt something wrong. She'd sensed the gate, but it hadn't been where it should have been. She'd started off at a run into the gift shop, dashing inside and heading for the small storage door at the back.
The door had been left open, no doubt by a careless employee. Inside, shimmering like the surface of a soap bubble, was the worldgate—patent, as it should not have been, and lashing about, refusing to stay in one place.
"Rafh!" Aarith had called, without need; Rafh was in the room in a second, snagging the gate interface with one hooked claw, tying it in place with lines of power. Rafh's was a brute force solution, as inelegant as duct tape, and Aarith had known it wouldn't hold for long. Rafh had just been buying her time.
As the main gating technician of her team, Aarith knew more about gate structure than Rafh. She was the one used to dealing with the technical problems, so she had shouted, "Huauw, I need power!", reared up on her hind paws and sunk her front ones into the weave of the gate.
Immediately, the sense of a darkness had overwhelmed her. But it was not looking for her: the marmalade tabby behind her was its target. Or, rather, Its target, for Aarith had felt the same darkness before, when on her own Ordeal and on a few occasions afterward.
The Lone One's presence had pushed at the hyperstrings that that kept the gate connected to its locus, teasing the gate out of place until it had reached the dangerous state it currently occupied. Aarith had wanted to warn Huauw, but there had been no time: the tabby had placed paws on Aarith's back, and was lending her power to work with.
Through this connection, the Serpent had entered, attacking Huauw in an attempt to rid the world of another wizard. Huauw, being young, had power in excess, but Aarith had been using substantial amounts to impose her spell upon the unruly gate. Weakened, it had been all that Huauw could do to banish the Lone Power from her before tumbling over, utterly spent.
Huauw's last thought had not been of herself. It had not dwelt upon her failure in wizardry (though Aarith was not sure it could be considered a failure). It had had nothing to do with the pain she was obviously experiencing.
With the last of her remaining strength, Huauw had broadcast, mentally: I'm sorry, Tammy.
And that thought had led Aarith here. It had taken a few days, but she had found Huauw's Tammy. Now, she wasn't sure why. There was nothing she could do to make the little girl feel better, and being here was only making her feel worse. No matter how often she went up against the Serpent, the loss hurt no less.
Somehow, looking in through the kitchen window at Tammy, who by now was wiping at the corners of her eyes with a tissue, Aarith was sure that this time hurt the worst. She hadn't known Huauw as well as she'd known some of those she had lost to the Lone One in her time as a wizard, but the feeling wasn't of sadness for herself. It was for Tammy, the little girl whose wonderful, brave feline friend had loved her. Still loved her, Aarith knew, whether Huauw had any lives left or not.
There's always Timeheart, Aarith thought, where what's loved, lives. She managed a sad smile. Tammy would have no trouble finding her way to that most central of universes when her time came, and there would be an orange tabby cat waiting for her there, ready to spring into her outstretched arms.