I wasn't so sure about them being reclusive, but the name described the cat pretty well. It most certainly was a cat. Its fur was dark brown marked with rows of even darker dots and streaks. And its tail was quite long. And although it was no larger or possibly even a little smaller than most house cats otherwise it was a ferocious little predator as I had learned first hand. The little beast had gone straight for my eyes. That she had attacked at all had me stumped. Was the spell alone to blame? Or had we disturbed her territory in general?

Now that Eldtide had her bespelled and quite literally by the nape of her neck she had been neutralized as a threat though. My Gorgon companion even went a step further, scratching the small creature behind the ears and under the chin with one of her writhing braids. Before long the little thing even started to purr. Eldtide looked at us. “I'm going to step away for a bit to release her a bit further away. Mind the fire in the meantime and put the pot on to boil the stew.” She didn't wait for a reply. She just disappeared in between the trees like a living shadow.

“Sorry … about that.” That sounded incredibly lame even in my own ears. I doubted that I could have messed this up worse even if I had tried. I turned towards the fir and put some of the larger pieces of wood on, to busy myself. Well, at least nothing permanent had happened to the ferocious little creature. Not as far as I could tell anyway. That was a small relief at least. I was no stranger to hunting and by extension to killing, but any death that would have been a result of my thoughtless blunder would have been utterly pointless.

Kaele set the pot down next to me. I hadn't even noticed her approach. As I looked up at her she grabbed my chin. A frown marred her face. Would she scold me? No, she just shook her head in the end. “Let me get the healer's kit from my pack. We better clean up those scratches the little thing gave you before I cast that healing spell on you again.” She paused briefly to rummage through her bag. “Regeneration isn't terribly effective against infections. So we have to take care of that the old fashioned way.”

Khuzan shook his head as well. “Please, don't do that again. Not unless it is a dire emergency or without warning us first at least.” Then a mirthful smile spread across his face. “Maybe you should spend some thought on the tale you might tell your mother. You know, just in case this leaves some scars.” His grin seemed to almost split his face in half by now. “I couldn't keep my mouth shut and then a cat almost scratched my eyes will most likely not earn her approval.” I winced. He was right in that regard. Mother would not be thrilled to hear something like that.

I winced again as Kaele started to dab at the scratches in my face with a piece of cloth that had been soaked in some strong spirits. I put another piece of wood on the fire and held perfectly still otherwise as Kaele worked on my face. Khuzan put the pot on the fire while we were busy stirring its contents every once in a while until Eldtide returned. The cat wasn't with her anymore and she seemed to be in a good once more. That dinner was finally on to cook met with her approval as well. She nodded and sat down at the fire with us.

“All's well, that ends well.” She sounded pleased with herself. “These curious little cats are quite smart. They have opposable thumbs too. As far as I know they are the only felines with that particular trait. There are even rumors that they use simple tools.” She was smiling now as she took the wooden spoon from Khuzan's hands to stir the stew instead of him. “You should have seen her scurry up the trees once we were far enough away.” She pointed up at the branches above us. “Supposedly they hardly ever leave the tree tops and spend most of their lives up there.”

We looked at each other, then at her. It was Kaele that spoke up on our behalf. “It sounds like you are quite enamored with the creature. Almost as if you wanted her to be your animal companion.” She put away the piece of cloth she had used to clean the scratches I had received. I could feel her pluck on the flow of the Mana surrounding us. She closed her eyes briefly, probably visualizing the spell matrix. Then she spoke the spell's name, triggering its effect. “Regeneration.” There, you should be good to go. She slapped my fingers away as I wanted to prod at my wounds. “Leave them alone!”

Eldtide picked up the conversation again while my sister stored away our medical supplies in her bag once more. “Well, our little surprise visitor sure would have the spirit of a proper companion for a ranger. She would be a little on the small side though.” Her attention seemed to be focused on the stew as she kept talking. “I was hoping to find a companion that is a bit larger. A Dire Wolf maybe or a Shadow Fox if possible.” Just then a cold wind blew through the forest, sending shivers down our spines.

Khuzan looked up. “Seems the weather is turning faster than we expected. Better get all our gear into the tent. Don't want any of our stuff to get soaked if it gets really bad.” He was right. I followed his gaze. The sky had darkened a lot faster than was usual this time of the year. Thick, dark clouds covered much of it now. They looked to be heavy with rain. I really didn't like the looks of it. I didn't look forward to what lay ahead of us either. In theory the tent was large enough for four people. With all our packs inside it would get a little cramped though.

We would have to manage somehow. We would manage somehow! Another gust of wind blew through our campsite. The smell of rain was heavy in the air. “Help me with the pot.” I turned to face Eldtide and nodded. We put a sturdy branch through the handle of the pot to lift it out of the fire pit. The stew was bubbling and boiling and the pot itself was entirely too hot for the touch. Together we carried inside. We would eat in the tent, just to be safe. The Gorgon dug some wooden bowls from her pack and started filling them with vegetable stew.

I returned outside for one last quick trip. The fire had burned down but with the wind picking up in strength I wanted to make sure that there would be no burning embers flying far and wide. I shoveled some sand we had gotten from the creek onto the ashes. Then another idea struck me. I looked around and found a piece of cloth. Kaele and Eldtide had used it to wipe the knives used to dice the vegetables. I grabbed it and lifted one of the larger stones from the fire pit. Eldtide had been right. These stones preserved the heat of the fire nicely.

“Uwah! Hot, hot, hot! Out of the way! Coming through!” The thing was still damn hot! I could feel the heat burn my fingers despite the cloth and my innate resistance to it. I rushed back inside and placed the hot and heavy piece of rock on the ground inside, between the four of us. Khuzan grinned. “Nice idea. We might need a few more though.” Then he handed me my bowl. “Here, have something else to warm you up from the inside. No need to hold back. There is enough for a second helping for everyone.”

I gratefully accepted the bowl and a spoon that Eldtide handed to me. “Thank you for the meal!” With these words I started to dig in. “Oh, thish ish shoo good! Too bad we had no meat though.” That earned me a round of laughter and an elbow to the ribs. Then I focused on the food again, only stopping once the bowl was completely and truly empty. Before I could set it aside though it was promptly refilled by Kaele. She refilled the bowls of the others and her own as well, scraping even the last bits of vegetable out of the pot as she did so.

I didn't have to think very hard why she was so keen on emptying the pot. Once we were all done she carried it back outside, depositing it in the fire pit. It should be safe there, not that I actually expected the wind to blow away the heavy thing. More importantly though it was out of the way now, so we had a little more room inside the tent. It still was a bit cramped though. It was a good thing that all four of us were pretty close friends. Otherwise the night probably would have gotten a bit awkward.

A gust of wind blew the tent flap open. It carried the first drops of rain with it. I looked outside. I bit further down the valley it was already coming down pretty hard. The rain came down in thick sheets there, obscuring the rest of the world behind wavering, gray shrouds. Before I could close the flap again the first lightning strike tore the sky asunder. That had hit not too far away. Almost instantly thunder shook us almost to our core. Kaele yelped. She had never been good with thunderstorms. Well, this was promising to become one really long and interesting night.