"Where do the claws go?" he asked her as those claws fully extended.
"The bones in the tips of our fingers are forked," she replied. "The claw slides up between them. That's why our claws aren't longer than the tips."
"They look it," he said, measuring one of her claws, the one on her middle finger. It was nearly as long as his entire index finger.
"Well, the claws are hooked, so they can be a little longer than the finger as long as they bend in enough for them to fit. They recess all the way back against the joint, and the tip is right at the sheathe when they're retracted," she said, pulling in her claws. "Tap the tip of my finger." He did so. "Feel it?"
"Yeah," he replied. It didn't prick him, but the tip of that hooked claw was definitely there.
"That's why we have such big fingers," she told him calmly. "The rest of the finger is as wide as the tip, and the tip houses the claw."
"I didn't know that," he mused.
"Well, now you do," she said with a smile. "Any other parts of me you want to inspect? Wanna play with my tail?" she asked with a playful smile, bringing her tail around her body and wiggling the tip of it at him.
Before he could stop himself, he let go of her hand and gingerly touched her tail. It was surprisingly thick, with thick fur at its tip. He could feel the bones in her tail, but it wasn't bony. It had flesh on it, and it seemed to shiver a little in his grip as he parted her fur and inspected the skin beneath.
"Having fun?" she asked with a smile.
"Just curious," he told her. "I had a tail?"
"Mmm-hmm," she hummed in agreement. "It was longer than mine, but since you're taller than me, that's understandable. The tail is always exactly half again as long as the leg. It's a proportion true through all of us."
"It must be tiring to keep it up all the time."
"We're used to it," she replied. "Want to see where it comes out?" she asked with a wink.
"Not if you have to pull up your dress," he countered.
"You're no fun today," she accused with a smile. "I'll show you back in our room. Where it'll just be you and me, and you won't have any reason to be embarassed. It doesn't bother me when you look at me, Tarrin. It's nothing you haven't seen before."
"I don't remember seeing it before," he said with a blush.
"Well, I remember showing it to you, so don't worry about it. Trust me," she grinned.
Tarrin cast about for a a change of subject. "How long are we going to stay here?" he asked. "I heard Triana talking about us leaving."
"Probably in a couple of days," she answered. "The Sha'Kar are going to use magic to get all of us back to Suld really fast, but they need time to pack up all their things. So we're waiting for them. It shouldn't take them too much longer."
"They're coming with us?"
She nodded. "Now that the Ward isn't trapping them inside anymore, they're returning to the Tower in Suld." She laughed. "Boy, are they going to be shocked to see them."
Tarrin remembered that they said that everyone thought that the Sha'Kar were extinct. That it was a big surprise when they found them on this island. There were some five hundred or so of them, but that wouldn't be a big deal, Dolanna said. She said that the Tower was big enough to house five thousand Sorcerers, and currently there were less than two thousand there. More than half of the Tower's space was unoccupied, and settling in the Sha'Kar would be very easy.
"They seem nice enough," Tarrin said. "Not that you and Triana let them get close enough to me to find out," he added sharply.
"We're just protecting you while you're in this weakened condition," she said boldy.
"I did just fine before I met you guys, you know. I'm not a pushover."
"Certainly not," she said. Then she casually put her paw on his chest, and pushed. The power behind that hand was irresistable, and he found himself staggering back, tripping over his own feet, then falling down on his backside. He sprawled there for a moment, glaring up at her, but she just smiled down at him. Were-cats were powerful creatures. Kimmie didn't look it, but she could pick up a horse, and probably be able to throw it a goodly distance. Sometimes it amazed him that creatures with such incredible strength could be so exquisitely gentle. "Not a pushover at all," she teased.
"Well, not against other humans," he corrected sullenly as she reached down and helped him up.
"To us, Tarrin, you seem helpless," she told him honestly. "You've lost your strength, your speed, your senses, and most importantly, your immunities and regeneration. You're fragile now, just like the humans, and neither me nor Triana are going to let you out of our sight. You're too important to us. Until you're yourself again, one of us going to be right with you all the time."
"Well, I'm not helpless," he protested.
"Maybe not, but it's not going to change anything," she said mildly. "Get used to us, love. We're not going anywhere."
He glowered a little, but said nothing. Because he knew that no matter what he said or did, it wouldn't change things.
"I wonder where everyone else is," Tarrin asked.
"Well, Phandebrass is going through his books back on the ship, looking for information that may help him find a cure for you," she told him. "Camara Tal went with him to make sure he doesn't get distracted along the way. Keritanima and Allia are up at the volcano with Dolanna. Sapphire said she and the red dragon lost alot of scales when they fought, and she wants to find some of them as souvenirs. Binter, Sisska, Miranda, and Azakar are with her. Dolanna is giving Dar his daily lesson, but Iselde and Allyn are with them, so it'll probably be Dolanna doing the learning instead of the teaching. I think Triana went back to Suld for a while to fill in Jesmind on everything."
"How does Triana do that?" he asked. "Isn't Suld across the ocean?"
"I wish I knew how she does it," Kimmie said sourly. "Triana's a very powerful Druid, Tarrin. She can do some serious magic. She won't even tell us what she's capable of. That really annoys me sometimes." She chuckled. "Now that the Weave is restored, maybe me and Phandebrass can engineer a spell that does the same thing. Being able to just appear halfway across the world would be really handy. I'd only be a spell away from you," she said, reaching over and taking his hand gently.
Tarrin still felt a little uncomfortable when she did that. She'd told him she loved him, but he couldn't even remember her. He didn't know her at all, though she certainly seemed to know him. He let her hold his hand because it seemed to make her happy; he wouldn't be cold to her. But it did make him feel a little strange. It was like waking up one morning and finding out he was married.
It wasn't marriage, of course. That seemed one of the stranger things. Were-cat's didn't marry, and males didn't spend their lives with one female. Kimmie told him, in rather lurid detail, that he was the recipient of the love of three Were-cat women. Herself, of course. Then there was Jesmind, who had been his first love. Kimmie admitted that he grew to love her after they started sleeping together. That they slept together just for the fun of it. That shocked his sensibilities, but he kept telling himself that they had a different culture, and by then, it was his culture too. The third woman was Mist, the one he'd healed, who loved him because he had helped her so much. She told him that he'd never really gotten the chance to love her, but she had very much fallen in love with him from the moment he agreed to sleep with her to impregnate her. Because she wanted a baby, and she wouldn't trust any other male but him. They were a bit vague as to why she wouldn't trust any other male, but he'd take their word for it. For a boy raised to believe in the sanctity of marriage, it seemed almost unnatural to him. He had a, a, a harem. Kimmie hadn't gone into great detail about Were-cat society, telling him that it may shock him a bit, but he was starting to understand some things. Triana explained that they were part animal, with the mind and instincts of a cat mixed in with their human ones, so maybe that part of them affected alot of things that the human parts of them didn't. Or affected them differently.
"Well, that would be nice, I guess
," he said awkardly.
"Don't worry, Tarrin. When you get your memory back, everything will make perfect sense," she said with a smile. "I just have to keep telling myself that."
"What do you mean?"
"It kills me to see you like this," she told him honestly. "To me, your very identity was stripped away from you. It's like someone changed you into something else with magic. And everything you knew is locked away. You're like a different person to me. I want to tell you things, but I know you won't understand. I want to be your mate, but that's just not possible like this." He felt her hand tighten over his. "I have to keep myself from biting you every time I touch you. I can't stand it, because I know I could change you back any time, but I can't do it, because without your memory, it would be a very hard adjustment for you."
"Well… do you still like me?" he asked. "I mean, do you like me now?"
"If course I do!" she said. "You're still Tarrin, and there are hints of the Tarrin I know about you. In fact, now that I've seen you like this, I understand those parts of you alot better. The turning changed you alot, Tarrin. I won't lie about that. But seeing where you came from, it's opened my eyes about the true nature of you. I can see the young man that's been buried under the weight of everything we've piled onto you," she said with a gentle, very loving smile. "In fact, given everything that happened to you and all the pressure and duties that's been thrown on top of you, I'm amazed that you've come through it as unscathed as you did. You're a very resilient fellow, my Tarrin," she told him with a wink.
"Well, I guess you can thank my parents. They raised me."
"I've met them."
"You have?" he asked in surprise.
"Mmm-hmm," she nodded with a smile. "Your mother reminds me of Triana. They have the same 'do it my way or die' sense about them."
Tarrin laughed. "That's my mother, alright," he agreed. "No wonder I liked Triana so much." He cleared his throat. "Uh, do they, uh, know about-"
"Of course they do," she told him with a grin. "Triana told them. They understand, Tarrin. They know you embraced our society, and that included embracing some of our more outrageous customs," she winked. "I had to as well. Don't forget, I was turned too. It was quite a culture shock, now that I remember," she said with a fond chuckle.
"Oh. I, I guess that's alright."
"Elke adores your daughter Jasana, and Jenna's the one who's been training her in Suld," she said. "And Triana told me that Mist brought Eron to Aldreth to meet them. She adores him too. Mist is quite taken with your parents. She even stayed the night with them. I never thought I'd see her do that," she mused, shaking her head. "So, your parents and your sister approve, Tarrin. They love you the same as they did before. They adjusted to your turning just as well as you did."
That had been a more surprising part of the tale. Jenna was also a Sorceress, but she was actually one of these sui'kun that Dolanna described, seven special Sorcerers that are tied to the Weave in ways that regular Sorcerers are not. Jenna had come to Suld and helped defend it against an invading army, and had remained behind after they won the battle to help train Jasana, who was also a sui'kun. She was on the Council in the Tower and everything, even though she was only thirteen-no, she was almost sixteen now. He couldn't forget that. She wasn't a little girl anymore. She was a young woman now, a very strong Sorceress, and had a position of importance among the katzh-dashi. Tarrin wondered how much of a fit his mother threw when she left home. Elke was very attached to Jenna, since she was her youngest child. In Elke's eyes, Jenna would always be her baby girl, no matter how old she got. She'd still be calling her janni, which meant baby in Ungardt, when Jenna was married and had children of her own.
"Well, that's a relief," he said sincerely. "I'm a little hungry."
"Me too. Let's head back and raid the kitchen," she smiled.
They raided the kitchen as well as any pirate raided a fat tradesman, but the pickings didn't suit Kimmie. The Sha'Kar were primarily vegetarians, raising a large number of assorted fruits and vegetables on their farms. Tarrin didn't mind that, for his mother had a big garden herself and they had alot of vegetables when he grew up. But Kimmie was primarily a carnivore, and she wasn't too fond of mutton. That happened to be the only real meat available on the island. She growled quite a bit about Triana leaving and not being able to use her Druid magic to make something edible appear, then made do with a piece of mutton that had been cooked the night before to feed the visitors.
After eating, Kimmie literally dragged him back to the huge room that the Sha'Kar had given to him to use while he was there. She didn't tell him what she was up to, but he could tell that she had some kind of mischief on her mind. That suspicion was justified when she closed the door behind them, leaned against it, and gave him a knowing smile.
"What?" he asked.
"It's time you found out."
"Found out what?"
"Where it comes out," she winked at him.
Tarrin blushed to the roots of his hair, backing away from her.
She laughed delightedly. "Calm down, silly," she told him, coming off the door and walking towards him. "Nothing's going to happen, I promise. But I do want to take a bath. Why don't you join me?"
"J-J-Join you?" he stammered.
"You saw the pool, Tarrin. It's huge. It can fit ten people, so I think you and me can manage to squeeze in it without too much trouble. And nothing's going to happen. I promise you that," she said, holding up her hand to emphasize her statement. "Nothing can happen. You're too fragile for me to be frisky with you. I'd break your arm by accident."
"B-But we'll have to take our clothes off and-"
"Get used to it, Tarrin," she warned. "We're going to the Tower, and didn't they tell you about how the Tower works?"
"No," he said hesitantly.
"They have one really big bathing pool for everyone. You bathe in public, and you do it in front of girls. If you're going to go red being in here with just me, I think you're going to get very smelly if you stay in the Tower for very long." She took him by the hand. "I know it won't be easy for you, but trust me. Don't you trust me, Tarrin?"
"I-Yes, I think I do," he told her as she took his hand in her paw.
"Alright then," she told him, pulling him towards the archway.
It wasn't easy, but he knew she wouldn't lie to him, so he realized he'd better get used to the idea of it. She undressed first, and she watched him the entire time, keeping his eyes on her by all but daring him to look away with her gaze. She pulled her dress over her head and then modelled for him a little bit, even turning around to show him exactly where the tail did come out of her back. He was surprised a little, but it was the fact that he couldn't take his eyes off her bottom that got his attention more than the striped orange tail that protruded from her back just above that bottom. Her bottom was gorgeous.
Gritting his teeth, he quickly pulled off his clothes and all but jumped into the pool as she slid in herself. She didn't stare at him while he was doing so, and he realized she did that on purpose. She was doing exactly what she said, helping him get used to the idea. She took up the soap and started lathering the fur on her arms. Tarrin relaxed a bit at this and waded away from her, to the other side of the pool, where it was very nicely hot.
"Lucky you," she told him. "I can't go over there."
"Why not?"
"It's too hot. It's about one step from boiling on that side."
"It doesn't feel that hot to me," he protested.
"You're sui'kun, silly," she said, splashing at him. "Heat can't hurt you."
"It can't?" he asked in surprise, looking down. He put his hand in the water and felt it. It was hot, alright. Steaming a little. But it didn't burn.
"Not a bit. Think about it, mate. You were in a volcano. Do you think you would have lived long in there if you could get burned?"
"I guess I didn't think about that," he said, mulling it over. So, he couldn't be hurt by fire. "You mean I could put my hand in a bonfire
and it wouldn't hurt?"
"Tarrin, you could go swimming in the lava in the volcano and it wouldn't hurt," she chided. "Now come over here and wash my back."
Tarrin accepted that little bit of news like he accepted everything else they'd told him so far, believing it no matter how outlandish it seemed, and did as she asked. He began to relax with her a little, not feeling nervous about lathering soap on his hands and scrubbing her shapely back. "I meant to ask something," he said as was rinsing her back clean of the soap.
"What?"
"You said you were turned, like me."
"Yup."
"Where did you live before that?"
"Tor," she answered. "About a hundred years ago."
"A hundred?" he asked in surprise.
"We don't grow old, Tarrin," she told him. "Triana told you that."
"I guess I wasn't paying attention when she said it," he admitted. "You don't grow old at all?"
"Not at all," she said, turning her head enough to where she could see him out of the corner of her eyes. His eyes fell on her cat ear, though, and the smooth skin where her ear was supposed to be. She seemed to notice it, turning around and facing him. "Go ahead," she said with a smile, leaning her head down and presenting one of those ears to him. "I know you're curious."
He was, in fact. He pinched the ear, felt that it felt just like a cat's ear, soft yet springy. He looked down inside it, saw that it looked just like the interior of a cat's ear as well. He ran his fingers along the interior edge of it, and was a little startled when her ear flicked, twitching under his touch. She giggled reflexively. "That tickles," she complained, and he almost jumped when her tail wrapped around his leg. He moved instead to where a human ear would have been, feeling nothing but smooth skin, but the bony ridge that was usually just above the ears in a human was indeed there.
"Alright," she said with a smile, turning him around so his back was to her. "Hand me the soap."
She scrubbed his back for him thoroughly, and yet she was very gentle, and her claws never so much as broke his skin. She did run them up his back, and felt very odd to feel those four points sliding up the skin of his back. "Now it's my turn to check something," she said boldly. He jumped when her fingers traced down his spine, coming to rest right where a tail would have been coming out of him were he still a Were-cat. He struggled to remain calm, and did become calm when he was sure that that was indeed the focus of her inspection. "That is so weird," she told him. "The bone even occludes back into the pelvis."
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