Janine the wife was there, in her favorite chair, reading from a thick book, as Tomas the merchant sat in his favorite chair next to her. Janine the wife was a tall woman, thin and shapely, with a pretty face and her brown hair done up on a bun most of the time, except when she was entertaining, when it was let down in cascading waves. Tomas the merchant wasn't at home very much during the day, off caring for his business. He was a thin, tall man with lanky arms and a gentle face, his brown hair thick and long, and done up in a single tail at the back of his neck. When he was home, he was either working on his papers or spending time with his family. Tarrin rather liked him, because he was a calm, unruffled sort of fellow with a very practical mind.
"You look worried, my love," Janine the wife said to him. The two of them seemed to be deeply in love. They certainly carried on as if they were.
"The Star of Jerod still hasn't come in," he said, biting his lip slightly. "It's three days overdue."
"That's only three days," she said.
"I know, but Bascone usually isn't late."
"I thought Bascone was captain of the Wave Sprite."
"He was," he said. "He took over the Star two months ago."
"I'm sure he's alright. There's been some rough weather south. He may have been delayed."
"I hope so," he said. "He was carrying Arakite silk, and if I lose that cargo, we're going to take a serious loss."
Tarrin looked into the fire, transfixed by the dancing of the flames. Just as he looked away, the fire popped suddenly. The sound startled him badly. Despite his time in the peace of the house, he still reacted with the reflexes of a warrior. He jumped up and faced the fire, hissing defensively, until he realized that it wasn't an attack. Then, feeling a bit foolish, he laid back down. Tomas the merchant's chuckle didn't help his pride much.
"He's a jittery thing," he remarked to his wife.
"I think her last owner wasn't very nice to her," Janine said grudgingly. "She follows Janette around like a puppy. It's like she thinks she's the only good person in the world."
"He," he corrected.
"I thought it was a girl."
"No, it's a boy."
"Janette thinks it's a girl."
"I know. I don't have the heart to tell her any differently." He shuffled a few more papers. "I hope Bascone puts in tomorrow," he sighed. "My buyers for that silk are getting impatient."
"Bascone's a dependable man," she assured him. "If he's late, then he ran into trouble."
"I know, and that's what worries me," he grunted.
"He's a good captain, dear," she said calmly. "It'd take nothing short of the Gods themselves to sink Bascone's ship."
"I can take the loss on the ship. It's that silk I can't afford to lose." There was a shuffle of more papers. "Oh well, I'll worry about it tomorrow," he sighed. "Shadow," he called.
Tarrin turned his head and looked at him. "He's a smart cat," he chuckled as he motioned to him. Tarrin got up and yawned, then padded over to Tomas's chair, and jumped up into his lap. He settled down as Tomas the merchant rubbed the back of his neck pleasingly.
"Not you too," Janine huffed. "Everyone in this house is in love with that creature."
"I think you keep saying that just to be contrary, dear," he accused. "You're just annoyed that our little girl browbeat you into keeping him."
There was a long silence, then Janine the wife laughed ruefully. "Maybe," she said. "Janette can be a terror when she has her mind set on something."
"She's her mother's daughter," he said fondly.
"Any word of who owns it?"
"None," he said. "I've asked all around the neighborhood, but nobody owned him. Not around here, anyway. Looks like we're stuck with him."
"I think that was a bit obvious," she said dryly.
Tomas the merchant chuckled. Tarrin started purring as Tomas's fingers found all the itches. "I don't mind him," Tomas the merchant said.
"He doesn't like me," Janine the wife said gruffly.
"Try being nice to him," Tomas the merchant replied.
"I am," she said indignantly.
"You don't kick him, or beat him, or dunk him in boiling water. Yes, you're so very nice to him," Tomas the merchant said. Janine the wife laughed helplessly.
"What are you going to do tomorrow?" she asked.
"I think I may send the Sprite out to look for Bascone," he said soberly. "He's using the standard route, so if he's in trouble, Pichet will be able to find him and help him."
"Is Pichet on the schedule?"
"Not right now," he said. "I can't buy that wool shipment until the silk comes in, so Pichet's in port until Bascone gets here. At least this way, Pichet and his sailors have something to do."
Janine the wife chuckled. "They do get rowdy after a few rides in port."
Tarrin tuned them out, putting his head down. Being a cat gave him a great deal of time to think, and lately, his thoughts were becoming more and more sober. He thought alot about what had happened, and his current situation. More and more, he was starting to realize that being a cat was all well and good, but his human awareness made going through the motions day after day to get a bit old. And he'd been thinking of his family.
He missed them. Even with what happened, he loved his family very much, and knowing that they were only across town made it even worse. He knew they were worried about him, despite what happened, and that added to his concern. Allia was probably a wreck by now. Without him, she had nobody, and despite her strength, in this foreign land, a friend to talk to was absolutely vital to her. He just hoped that she met his parents, and that his parents and sister would somehow take his place in her life. Give her someone to talk with. Dar was probably in the Initiate by now; he wasn't sure, because time had a surreal quality to him, caught between his human awareness and the Cat's eternal now as he was. Tarrin hoped that Sorcery was everything the young man dreamed it would be. He had several real reasons to leave, to return to his life and take up his responsibilities.
But the knowledge of what he had done, and his fear of himself, kept him firmly in place. It was better for him to stay here, stay in a place where there was no temptation, no danger. His little mother was the sole reason he hadn't gone totally mad, and wasn't dead at that moment. If not for her, he would be gone. And in her arms, he felt absolutely safe and secure, and knew that nothing bad would befall him. He knew that that little girl was the only thing standing between him and insanity, and he just didn't feel he was ready to go on without her there to soothe his fears and make all the pain melt away. He just wasn't ready to leave.
He wondered what happened to Jesmind. Without him there, she had no reason to stay. And after so much time, if she hadn't found him yet, she wasn't going to find him. He wondered if she was combing the forests and plains around Suld in an attempt to track him down.
The next day taught him that someone was looking for him. Nanna the maid answered the door, where a sober looking young man wearing a coat and breeches of soft gray velvet stood. He was wearing a shaeram. Tarrin hunkered down in the shadow of the hallstand as the man took off his three-corner cap and greeted Nanna the maid politely. "Good morning to you, madam," he said. "I was wondering if you could help me."