It was still night by the time Shalimar awoke and the owl was hooting and watching over her from the nearest tree. The moon was still high and the stars were dancing around it. By simple guess, Shalimar would say that she was only sleeping for half an hour, but everything was not as it should have been.
"Brennan?" Shalimar called out, sitting up straight. "Brennan?" She repeated, but louder that time. Still no reply. Now I'm worried, Shalimar thought, he wouldn't just leave me. Would he? Shalimar stood up and shouted his name again. The silence gave no serenity to Shalimar, it just increased her worries. Using her feline feral eyes, she looked through the darkness that was night. There wasn't a living creature she could not detect, but the one thing she was hunting for wasn't there. I can't just stand here, Shalimar thought, I'm going to find him. With that final thought, Shalimar ran off, further into the forest.