Raistlin's Kitten
"Caramon, did you hear something?" Raistlin Majere asked his huge twin brother.
"Hear what?" Caramon questioned as he tossed a branch of wood into their camp fire. The twins were camping in a forest some distance from the Tower of Wayreth, the wizards' tower.
Pine trees of massive heights surrounded the two like a thick fog. The forest was quiet as a grave at the moment; which was unusual for a summer night.
"There it is again." Raistlin said as he looked into the darkness. A weak meow-like whimper sounded once again, but this time louder and closer.
Caramon motioned his brother to remain seated as he got to his feet and headed out into the dark. Surprisingly, the armor-clad man moved quietly when he wanted.
Raistlin waited patiently for his twin to return. It had been several minutes when Caramon appeared.
"What was it, brother?"
"You won't believe me, Raist." Caramon laughed as he held a hand out and there, engulfed in his huge hand, sat a kitten.
Meowing, the kitten tried to jump off of the warrior's hand, but Caramon easily caught it.
Laughing softly, Raistlin watched his brother as the big man tried to calm the kitten; the mage closed his eyes and began to doze.
A sudden hiss and a yelp from Caramon caused Raistlin to jerk awake to find his brother holding his hand.
"What happened?"
Blushing, Caramon mumbled, "The stupid cat bit my hand."
A meow next to his foot caught Raistlin's attention, looking down the mage found himself staring into the kitten's eyes.
The kitten stood on its hind legs and tried to climb onto Raistlin's lap.
Not knowing what to do, the mage reached down and gently picked up the kitten. Placing it on his lap, he began to scratch it behind its ears.
"I think it likes you better than me, Raist." Caramon said with envy. True to his word, the baby cat was purring as loud as it could.
Turning his back to the two, Caramon laid down and went to sleep; a moment later the warrior's snores echoed throughout the forest.
Shaking his head, Raistlin murmured, "Shis-kala-shirak."
Almost immediately, the fire in front of him burned brighter and allowed him to see what the kitten looked like.
The kitten had a shiny ebony fur with silver and red stripes running through it like water. Its paws were the size of his thumbs, its ears the size of his thumb-pad and its tail was as long as the width of his hand. Eyes of molten gold glittered softly as the kitten blinked up at him.
"You are very small, kitten." Raistlin said to himself as he scratched the tiny cat behind the ears, "Best give you a name."
The kitten, the whole while, had purred as loud as it could as the maged talked.
Raistlin couldn't help but smile as the cat purred itself to sleep, and curled up into a ball.
Shifting slowly, the young mage gathered the tiny kitten into his arms and laid it on the hearth beside him. Getting to his feet, Raistlin went to his sleeping gear and laid down for the night.