4
<I think,> mused Keen Eyes, <that I like the water here better than I do in that other place. It does not tug as hard, and it is less salty. The fish are tasty, too.>
Climbs Quickly looked to where his friend lay flopped along a made-log of some material that was very buoyant, and, unlike wood, did not soak up water. Death Fang’s Bane and Shining Sunlight had given each of the People a log of his own, and had demonstrated how they could paddle about on them. This was a good alternative to swimming. Even though a Person’s fur shed water very well, it did eventually become sodden.
The two-legs had made-logs of their own, as well as more elaborate constructions that let them sit in the water as if they were on land, not that Death Fang’s Bane did much sitting. She swam, dove, and periodically surfaced under where Shining Sunlight “napped,” spilling him into the water, whereupon he would chase after her, as if irritated.
The two were behaving like first-year kittens, and Climbs Quickly completely approved. Their mind-glows had darkened increasingly during the long days spent in the arguing place. Their moods on what had proven to be the final day of that vigil had been a strange mixture of triumph and something so complicated he was still trying to sort it out.
<It was as if,> Keen Eyes offered, sensing from the taste of Climbs Quickly’s mind-glow that he was once again thinking over their two-legs recent moods, <they had gone hunting and caught their prey, only to decide it was somehow distasteful, but they wanted it no less. Sometimes I wonder if we will ever truly understand two-legs and what drives some of their actions.>
<I do not think we will,> Climbs Quickly replied, <so I will be content that at this moment they both seem to be recovering from the cost of catching their prey.>
Today the two-legs were on shore, idly batting back and forth a small object over a long net strung between two poles. They didn’t use their hands, but some sort of made thing that gave them the equivalent of longer arms and wider hands. The activity might have been training for some sort of hunting, but since there were no memory songs that showed two-legs hunting in that fashion, perhaps it was just a game. Certainly there was a great deal of laughter, since they kept hitting the small thing farther than they intended and then running after it.
A short time later, a flying thing came to a halt near the nesting place they were using. Seeing it, Death Fang’s Bane’s mind-glow lit with pleasure, and she made rapid mouth noises to Shining Sunlight.
<Visitors!> Climbs Quickly said to Keen Eyes. With visions of clusterstalk dancing in his head, he began paddling toward shore.
* * *
Stephanie and Karl put aside their badminton rackets and hurried to meet the two men and one woman who were getting out of the air car: Allen Harper, Jeff Harrison, and Carmen Telford.
Allen and Carmen were Sphinxians who were studying on Manticore. When Karl and Stephanie had come to take part in the accelerated forest service course, Allen had been working as an assistant to one of the deans and had been assigned to help Stephanie and Karl find their way around campus. He’d been warm and friendly, and had even introduced them to Gwendolyn Adair, whose cousin’s foundation was very interested in promoting the well-being of Star Kingdom wildlife, up to and definitely including treecats.
Since his graduate work was in geology, Allen hadn’t been in any classes with them, but Carmen had been in their classes at the School of Forestry. Her family was very involved in logging, which was one of Sphinx’s major industries. However, the Telfords were already looking to the future, and considered themselves custodians of all the lands where they did their work, not just of their Crown Oak barony. Carmen’s studies were meant to keep the family business abreast of the “cutting edge,” as she frequently joked, of the industry.
The remaining guest, Jeff Harrison, had been in their law enforcement classes. Although a native of Manticore, he’d been fascinated by treecats. As Lionheart had been the first treecat to leave Sphinx, Jeff had made a beeline for him. Stephanie, feeling no threat, only enthusiasm, had accepted his interest, knowing that the time would come when the treecats would need advocates.
Although all three of the visitors were four to five years older than Karl, they had taken the younger pair under their aegis without being in the least condescending, something which Stephanie, in particular, had appreciated. Being fifteen and studying with college and even graduate students, as well as serving law officers updating their training, had been fairly intimidating.
“So, this is Survivor,” Jeff said, hunkering down to offer the ’cat a piece of celery. Stephanie appreciated that Jeff had shown her and Karl the container first, in a mute request for permission. She granted this readily, having anticipated that their guests would likely bring treats, and so not given Lionheart any celery so far that day. Treecats could eat celery, and did so with great enthusiasm, but there were digestive consequences.
Clearly, Jeff’s fascination with treecats hadn’t ebbed one bit. Stephanie recognized the look of longing that she mentally dubbed “treecat envy.” They were seeing more and more of now that adoptions were occurring with increasing frequency, but that Jeff was a good guy, not one of those who thought of the treecats as up for grabs was evident in how easily Lionheart and Survivor accepted him.
“Yep, that’s Survivor,” Karl agreed cordially. “Looking a whole lot better than when we first met, let me tell you.”
“I’ve seen the images,” Jeff said. “He’s a whole lot less shredded, that’s for sure.”
“The treecats seem to be enjoying their time at the beach,” put in Carmen. “Do they swim a lot back on Sphinx?”
“They definitely swim in rivers,” Stephanie replied. “Scott McDallan calls his treecat ‘Fisher,’ because they met when Scott had an accident when out fishing, and the cat came to help. And because he does a lot of fishing—the pounce and leap sort—of his own.”
“From what I’ve been reading in the Adair Foundation reports,” Jeff added, “treecats are amazingly bright, at least as smart as a dog, I’d guess.”
“At least,” Stephanie agreed.
“The defense attorney for the Wether trial was a first-rate jerk,” Jeff went on. “I’m taking an advanced criminology class with Dr. Flouret right now, great stuff. Flouret was solidly impressed with how you two used what you’d learned in his class, and absolutely livid when Ford tried to undermine the value of your testimony, just because you mentioned that the treecats were uneasy.”
Jeff squared his shoulders and did a pretty good imitation of the professor. “‘If Ms. Harrington had said her dog was uneasy, no one would question the validity of that statement but, because she’s still a minor and treecats are a relatively unknown quantity, perceived by many to be ‘cute,’ Ford took a gamble. Happily, Ms. Harrington kept her head.’”
“I nearly didn’t,” Stephanie admitted. “But that’s over. I want to hear all about all of all of your classes, but first do you want to go for a swim?”
“One vote here for swimming,” Allen said. “This is a gorgeous beach.”
“Another vote for swimming here,” Carmen said, reaching back to grab a streamlined duffle from the air car. “Is there somewhere I can change?”
“Sure,” Stephanie said. “You can use my room if you want. That way the boys can have the beach pavilion. C’mon.” The young women trotted upstairs. When they reached her room, Stephanie darted in to grab her swimming gear from the dresser. “All yours. I’ll change in my folks’ room.”
“Thanks.” Carmen walked over the threshold, stumbled, then caught herself. “What the heck?”
Stephanie swung around to see Carmen had caught hold of the doorframe, a look of astonishment on her face.
“You’ve got the grav up in here,” Carmen said, laughing. “I didn’t expect that in a private house and got caught off-guard.”
Stephanie moved as if to change the setting, but Carmen waved her back, still laughing.
“I keep the grav up for Lionheart, really,” Stephanie hastened to explain. “We started doing this back when Karl and I came to take the courses here on Manticore, and Lionheart came with me. Dad pointed out that we didn’t want Lionheart to get out of condition for higher gees, especially since he’s already functioning minus one limb. So now the protocol is for the ’cats to spend enough time in a room where the gravity can be adjusted to Sphinx norm to keep them in shape. I benefit, too.”
Carmen nodded. “No problem. I do the same in my dorm room, because I don’t want to go home and need to use a counter grav unit like I’m a tourist. Like I said, it just caught me by surprise. I’ll leave it set for Sphinx. Catch you downstairs.”
Before they’d left Landing for Jason Bay, Marjorie had taken herself and Stephanie shopping for the sort of beachwear they didn’t have much use for in Sphinix’s much cooler climate. Remembering how hot Manticore could be, Stephanie had happily agreed, and even let her mom talk her into another swimsuit.
“That way you’ll have one to use when the other is wet,” Marjorie said. “That’s practical, right?”
Both suits were dry today, and Stephanie dithered slightly before choosing the newer one. Although cut only a little lower in the neck and higher on the legs than the racing model one-piece she wore on outings to the Y in Twin Forks, the suit’s ombre-pattern green managed to suggest that there was a lot less suit than there actually was. It felt just a little daring, and Stephanie had to resist tying her beach wrap firmly closed before heading downstairs.
She was glad she hadn’t, because Carmen hadn’t even bothered with a wrap, and she’d have had a lot more justification. Carmen’s suit was a two piece that left little to the imagination. What fabric the suit possessed was in a golden yellow that went amazingly well with Carmen’s dark skin and ash-blonde hair. Her build was the somewhat stocky, muscular type common to those born on Sphinx, but Carmen filled out the suit’s triangular pieces front and back in a way that made having extra a definite asset.
I look like a complete kid next to her, Stephanie thought, but at least I don’t need to worry about falling out of my suit. Not that Carmen looks worried. She’s enjoying the effect she’s having on the guys.
But Karl wasn’t looking at Carmen. He was looking at Stephanie, a little grin quirking the corner of his mouth.
“I hoped you’d wear the green suit,” he said. “I like that color on you.”
Stephanie didn’t know what to say. She hadn’t even realized Karl had noticed that she had more than one suit. To cover a sudden fear she’d say something dumb, she tossed off her wrap and headed for the water, hoping it would cool what felt like a full-body blush.
It was a good day. Swimming segued into a game of volleyball, with Marjorie and Richard taking turns rounding out the sides. Then, when everyone was thoroughly sodden, and being dry seemed ideal, they moved onto the wide deck that faced the water and had less a meal than an extended cookout, the theme of which was experimenting with grilling just about anything that had caught Richard and Marjorie’s attention when they’d been at the local farmer’s market earlier that day. There was seafood, finny and in the shell, various burgers, sausages, and a variety of fruits and vegetables, as well as fresh bread.
Failed experiments were tossed to the wave cresters that soared overhead, their high-shrill voices seeming to call, “Me! Me!”
“I’m going to miss baking in standard gravity when we get home,” Marjorie admitted. “I’m getting spoiled by how easily things rise, and how simple it is to make fluffy pastries.”
“Oh, I dunno,” Stephanie said, “I love your double dense cakes.”
“Pick a flavor, and I’ll make one for your birthday,” Marjorie said.
“Is your birthday coming up soon, Stephanie?” Carmen asked. “How old will you be?”
“In January,” Stephanie said. “I’ll be seventeen.”
“Ah,” Allen said, putting on a portentous tone. “How quickly they grow up. Why it seems just yesterday that I was guiding around a wide-eyed fifteen-year-old.”
Stephanie tossed an admittedly fluffy roll at him. He caught it and laughed.
“Seriously, though, it’s hard to remember you’re not even legal,” he said, and Jeff laughed, as well.
“Tell me about it. Try being in class with her! Karl was pretty sharp, too. He only missed out on being labeled a Boy Wonder because Stephanie was even younger.” He grew serious. “Karl, Steph, I was wondering, I’ve been thinking about applying for a post with the SFS. Would you put in a good word for me?”
“Absolutely,” they said in unison, then started laughing.
“It started with the treecats, I’ll admit,” Jeff went on, “but I’ve gotten interested in a lot of other things that belong to Sphinx.” His gaze slid toward Carmen, who did a very good job of hiding that she noticed.
“There are a lot of opportunities on Sphinx,” Allen said, “and still a need for settlers, because not all of us who were born there plan to go back. Nothing against Sphinx, but my field is geology. I want to go exploring. Gryphon is actually pretty high on my list.”
“Tell us about your classes,” Stephanie said. “Seriously, I want to know. College is coming up, and even if I opt for doing courses on the net, I still want to have a sense of what professors are best.”
When the trio left well after dark, Stephanie noticed that Carmen took the back seat, rather than sitting up front with Jeff, who was driving.
“I think Jeff has a crush on Carmen,” she said, “but I’m not sure if she does on him or not.”
“It’s hard to tell whether someone is just not interested or playing hard to get,” Karl said. “I mean, you’re pretty intuitive, but you aren’t the greatest about noticing when people have crushes.”
Karl turned and started walking along the beach away from the cottage. He trailed above where the waves left fingers of foam that gleamed with something slightly phosphorescent. Stephanie joined him, walking to his right, a little higher up the beach. The treecats romped along, splashing in the surf.
“You mean like I didn’t notice Anders was falling for Jess?” she said. “Or that neither of us would have taken even a long-odds bet on Trudy and Nosey getting together?”
She wondered if Karl was thinking about Sumiko, his first girlfriend, who’d wanted them to get engaged even though they weren’t out of high school. They’d been childhood friends and foster siblings, but Karl had never realized Sumiko was quite as ready to formalize the relationship as she was. When she’d died in an accident, his grief had been mixed with guilt that he’d disappointed her hopes.
Stephanie was so deeply lost in her thoughts that she almost missed what Karl was saying. When she realized, she couldn’t believe it.
“I was thinking you’ve never noticed that I have a crush on you,” Karl said, his voice low and steady. “A pretty serious one, if I’m honest with myself. And I want to be honest with myself, and with you. I think I’ve fallen in love with you, Stephanie Elizabeth Harrington.”
Stephanie froze in her tracks, then scurried to catch up with him. She grabbed Karl’s arm, conscious of the feel of him in a way she’d never been before.
“Me? Me? I thought, I thought if you had a crush on anyone it was Cordelia.”
Cordelia Schardt-Cordova was the newest treecat adoptee, closer in age to Karl than Stephanie was, and, like him, from a large family of Sphinx natives. Cordelia and Karl had a lot in common, including having been children during the Plague, and having lost people close to them. And they both had treecats, too, which was a definite bonus.
Karl turned to face Stephanie, looking down at her. There was sufficient moonlight for Stephanie to see his face quite clearly. His oh-so-familiar features held a new expression that not so much transformed him as revealed a hidden part of his soul. He looked unwontedly serious, then his lips curved with a touch of a smile.
“You’re not horrible, you know,” he said. “You’re actually really amazing. And you’re much prettier than you give yourself credit for. And I’ve had a crush on you since…Oh, since before you decided to fall for Anders. I was actually working up the courage to talk to you when you made it clear your affections were centered elsewhere.”
He put two fingers under Stephanie’s chin and tilted her head slightly back so that despite the differences in their heights, he could look into her eyes.
“I spent a lot of time resenting that Anders was your first kiss. And then I decided that was stupid, because well…Y’know, Sumiko and I did at least get around to kissing.”
“Oh,” Stephanie said. Her heart was beating impossibly fast, and she wondered if Karl’s fingers had always been so warm, because she could swear they were burning her skin. She wondered if Karl was going to kiss her. Then she realized that, unlike the “heroes” of so many romances dramas, he wasn’t going to kiss her without making certain he’d be welcome. That meant she had to say something, anything…
“I…Oh…I…Do you want to…” She started to say “kiss me,” then chickened out. “Uh, date? Or something? I mean, like boyfriend girlfriend, not just best friends, because you’ve always been my best friend, human friend, I mean…You’re not Lionheart, but you’ve always been more than Jess, and…”
You’re screwing this up, Stephanie, she thought frantically. But then Karl had an idea what he wanted to say, and this came out of nowhere for you, and now you’re comparing him to a treecat, which I’m pretty sure is not what you’re supposed to do.
Karl started shaking and his hand dropped. To her horror Stephanie realized he was trying not to laugh.
“So, I’m bad at this!” she said, stomping one foot in irritation. Then, stretching up on her toes and putting her hands firmly on his shoulders, she kissed Karl firmly on the mouth. She’d meant it to be just a little kiss, an introduction to kissing but, somehow, once they got started, she didn’t want to pull her lips away. Happily, it didn’t seem as if Karl did either. He put his arms around her. Half-lifting her off her feet, he repositioned her so that they could sink down onto the sand. That did a lot to get rid of the height problem. Stephanie let her arms slide around his shoulders, pulling Karl to her, and lips were parting and things were happening, and in a moment, it seemed as if stretching out on the sand would be a very good idea…
The cry of a sleepy wave crester coming in to roost on the beach pavilion roof broke the spell.
“Oh, you’re not bad at that at all,” Karl said, his eyes wide, his finger trailing down the side of Stephanie’s face. He kissed her again, more deeply, then drew back. “I think you’re very, very good, and are just going to get better, and we’d better stop or I’m going to be forgetting you’re sixteen and not yet the age of consent, and all sorts of things.”
But he kissed her again, less urgently, then laughed.
“To answer your question…Actually, I do want to date, like boyfriend and girlfriend and all that. Shall we give it a try? See if we can manage both as a couple, and as co-workers without ruining a beautiful friendship?”
Stephanie snuggled close to him, feeling as if she’d always sat in the shelter of his arms, his head lightly pillowed on top of hers. Her heart was slowing down, but she was aware of her pulse beating in all sorts of places where it had never beaten before.
“We’re not going to ruin it,” she said, confidently. “We’re not going to ruin anything.”
Tilting back her head, she kissed him again. Then she let him pull her to her feet, and with his arm around her, they walked slowly back toward the beach cottage, wordless and completely content.
* * *
<Is that bonding, two-leg fashion?> Keen Eyes asked, shaking himself hard, as if to remove the overwhelming sensations that were flooding him from Shining Sunlight along with the droplets of salty water.
<I think it is,> Climbs Quickly confirmed, comparing the sensations to those Swift Striker had shared when Darkness Foe had bonded with his mate.
<Will they mate now? Will we have two-leg kits soon?> Keen Eye’s mind-glow held a fair element of trepidation. Courtesy of Shining Sunlight’s large birth clan, he was all too familiar with the noisy chaos that was the two-leg young.
Climbs Quickly considered what he was feeling from Death Fang’s Bane.
<I do not think that our two-legs will immediately mate. I have never quite understood how and when two-legs are in season, but this feels like an awakening of awareness of a bond, especially on Death Fang’s Bane’s part. She has always been a bit slow in understanding things to do with others of her kind, perhaps because she has no littermates. Until not long ago, she did not even have friends close to her own age.>
<Even Shining Sunlight is her elder,> Keen Eyes agreed. <Or so I believe. It is difficult to tell, when one cannot count the rings on the tail or consult the memory songs for where in the cycle of seasons a kit was born.>
<I am relieved they have reached this awareness of each other,> Climbs Quickly said, basking in Death Fang’s Bane’s happiness. Her mind-glow felt as might the petals of a snowstar, unfolding toward the growing light of day, even if still encased in end-of-winter snow. <When Shining Sunlight began to spend less time with her, Death Fang’s Bane’s enjoyment of what she did was dimmed. I don’t think she was aware of this, any more than one instantly notices when high clouds dim the sun. But that made the darkening no less real.>
<I always felt there was a bond between Shining Sunlight and Death Fang’s Bane,> Keen Eyes mused, <even in the earliest days of my knowing them. I was more astonished to learn they seemed unaware of it than I would have been to discover they were a mated pair with several litters behind them. When I discovered that Death Fang’s Bane’s partner seemed to be Bleached Fur, I was astonished.>
<You met them later than I did,> Climbs Quickly said, <and the change came slowly. You helped. Before you, there was a shadow over Shining Sunlight. When that was banished by his bond with you, I think he began to trust in his ability to shape a bond with another two-leg. But there was Bleached Fur. And then there was not. But even so, Death Fang’s Bane and Shining Sunlight have taken so long to realize what has seemed obvious to all who know them.>
<About time!> Keen Eyes agreed. <About time!>