"I could say the same about you," he said. "What is occludes?"
"In Were-cats, the spine isn't fused to the pelvis," she told him. "The spine extends out as the tail. There's nothing holding the spine to the pelvis except a knob of bone, a modified vertebra, that has tendons running from it to the pelvis under and to the sides of it. We have nerves that run through the center of our spines, and there's a small knob of bone, where the spine bends. Right here," she said, touching him just below the small of his back, right above his own backside, "where the nerves come out of the spine and continue on down to the legs. The pelvis isn't the same shape either. Since it's the spine that fuses the pelvis together in humans, and we're not like that, our two pelvis bones aren't actually fused together like yours. It's one reason why we're so flexible. Because our spines aren't actually attached to anything and our pelvises aren't one solid piece of bone." She turned him around, then turned around herself. "Go ahead," she said. "I won't mind. Feel how it's different."
He was a little hesitant, but he had to admit, he was curious now. He slid his hand under the water and touched the base of her tail, feeling that little knob she was talking about right at the base. There was a indention of sorts a little more prounounced in her back down there. Where in a human, the back flattened out from its lined dimple formed by the spine, it continued on in her back, all the way to where the hips widened and the muscled curve of her bottom began.
"When did you learn all this, Kimmie?" he asked curiously.
"I'm a Wizard, Tarrin," she said pointedly. "Wizardry isn't just about learning how to cast spells."
"I didn't know that."
"Not many people do. A good Wizard is well versed in biology, chemistry, physics, alchemy, herbology, and also ancient history. That's all in addition how much we study the magic itself. We have to know those things because it helps us design magic to affect the physical world. So we study all about the physical world in our studies, from how rocks form to the anatomy of many kinds of creatures."
"Sounds like you don't have much free time."
"It's a good thing we don't age. I don't think I could learn everything there is to know about magic in a thousand years," she admitted. "I don't see how Phandebrass does it. He's only a little over forty, yet he's learned so much in that short time it's almost mind-boggling."
He accidentally slid his hand down to the top of that forbidden area under her tail, then pulled it back quickly with a bit of a blush. "Sorry," he apologized.
"I told you I don't mind, Tarrin," she told him with a smile, looking back at him. "If you stuck your hand between my legs, I wouldn't mind."
That made him blush furiously. "Does it hurt when you sit in chairs?"
"The tail is extremlely flexible," she told him. "I can push it up against my side if I have to. But if we sit up against our tails like that, it cuts off the blood flow and goes numb."
"Huh," he sounded. "It must be interesting to have a tail."
"Well, in a little while, hopefully you'll have yours back," she said. "Though I do like your curiosity," she admitted, wrapping her tail around her arm, like a snake. "You won't be putting your hands on girls' butts in the bathing pool at the Tower," she said with a wink, "but one that knows you may ask you to help scrub her back, just like I did. Think you can handle that?"
"I guess," he answered.
"You did with me, and I'm as good as a stranger," she assured him. "It's the ones that ask you to scrub the front that you have to watch," she told him with a smirk.
"You!" he said loudly, pushing her from behind, but she didn't go far, because her tail was still wrapped around his arm. "You said you'd behave!"
"I am behaving," she teased. "And I got you to relax. That's what I really wanted. I want you to relax around me, Tarrin. I want you to not feel nervous around me, no matter what I do or what I'm not wearing. I want you to feel comfortable with me, even if we're both wrestling naked in a pool."
That caught him a little off guard, and he chuckled ruefully. "Well, it's working," he admitted. "I don't really feel as self-conscious as I did when we started."
"Good," she said wading up to him and, to his surprise, wrapping her arms around him. He'd never been so close to a naked woman before, and the fact that he wasn't wearing any clothes either made it even worse. "Calm down," she said in a gentle tone, looking over at him with a smile and dancing eyes. "Boy, you weren't even close to being this jumpy when you were a Were-cat. I think it's kinda funny."
"You should see it from my side," he said bluntly.
"I did," she laughed. "Do you know what Mist did to me to break me of my modesty?"
"No."
"She made me go naked for almost a year. Then she made me walk through a village in Arkis naked, then she took me to a Druid and had him summon a male Were-cat to deflower me. She seemed to think that the fact that I was a virgin was the reason why I didn't like being naked."
"She didn't!" he gasped.
"Oh yes she did," she laughed.
"Did--Did you let him--"
"Of course I did," she said. "I was getting used to my instincts by then, and if you didn't notice, there are very strong instincts about that kind of thing in animals. I was curious, and truth be told, I was ready for some serious deflowering."
Tarrin felt distinctly uncomfortable talking about sex with a naked woman who had her arms around him.
"Now calm down and give me my attention, and I'll let you go," she told him.
He wasn't sure what she meant, but he did hold still when she pulled him close and hugged him to her. He could feel her body against him in a most intimate manner, and he struggled to not pay too much attention to it. She clapped her hands around him, gave him a gentle squeeze, then let him go with twinkling eyes. "There, it didn't kill you," she grinned.
"I have no idea what that was about," he told her.
"It's simple, Tarrin. I was getting my free feel."
"You're terrible!" he said with a gasp, then he laughed and splashed water in her face. "Taking advantage of me like that! Shame on you!"
Kimmie laughed and splashed him back. "Well, you are my mate, Tarrin!" she shot back. "I shouldn't have to trick you into getting my feels!"
"Oh, you're in trouble now, woman," he said in a dangerous tone, splashing her vigorously with both hands.
In moments, they were laughing and playing in the water like two little kids, splashing one another as quickly as they could. He redoubled his efforts when she shielded her face with her hands and turned around, but realized too late that it was a ploy. Her tail whipped around right along the surface of water and sent a sheet of stinging spray over him, making him stagger back and wipe at his eyes.
"Alright, you two," Triana's voice called. "Out."
"Mother!" Tarrin said in surprise, clearing his eyes. She was standing in the archway, stalking over to them quickly. She was wearing a ragged sleeveless buckskin shirt and breeches, not too far off the color of her fur. She came up to the edge of the pool and glared down at them in a manner that Tarrin did not like to see.
"Are you nuts, Kimmie?" Triana said in an accusing tone. "I thought you knew better!"
"We're just taking a bath, Triana," Kimmie said.
"She hasn't messed with me or anything, mother," Tarrin affirmed, defending her. "We're just playing around, that's all."
"That's not why I'm mad at her, cub," she told him. "Out, both of you. Now!"
They both scrambled out of the pool, and he felt a little silly for a moment. There they were, standing naked at the side of the pool, both of them. Triana was between them and the towels, and neither of them felt like trying to go around her to get to them. She fixed Kimmie with a stern look, then snorted in that strange manner that she did. "Didn't you think that you'd pose a danger to him girl?" she said in a flat voice.
"I know he's fragile, Triana," she said quickly. "I was being very careful--"
"That's not what I mean!" she snapped, which made Kimmie flinch. "
Foolish cub, you're a Were-cat! You just got in a pool with a human, and you unloaded the trees know how much spit into that water! Thank the furies it's a big enough pool!"
Kimmie suddenly paled, looking at Triana in sincere chagrin. "I never even considered--I'm sorry!" she said quickly. "I won't do it again, I promise!"
"I don't understand, mother," Tarrin said.
"She could have infected you," she told him gruffly. "Spit can do it, and it only takes a drop of it in your eyes or going up your nose with the rest of the water. The pool is big enough to where it diluted it down to the point where it was harmless. If that had been a smaller pool, though, you may have been turned again. Not that I wouldn't have been happy to see it, but we're going to play this by Dolanna's rules for now. That means we keep you human so that mad Wizard has a chance to find a cure for your amnesia. Don't get back in that pool until I have a chance to purge it, Tarrin. Now dry off and get dressed, both of you."
"Yes ma'am," he said obediently, and they both rushed past her to their towels.
A little chagrined, Kimmie dried off, dressed, and then lavished numerous apologies on Triana, who seemed a little too angry to accept them very graciously. "I had no idea, Triana," she said emphatically. "I mean, I know he's human, but he's still just Tarrin to me. I didn't think about that."
"Well, there was no harm done," she snorted. "Why were you dragging him in there, girl?"
"We were dirty, for one," she said. "And he's a little too shy. You know how they do things in the Tower. He'd be mortified. So I'm trying to get him used to the idea of it, that's all."
Triana swung that penetrating stare in Tarrin's direction, and he nodded in agreement as he pulled his trousers back on. "I see," she said slowly.
"How did it go with Jesmind?" Kimmie asked.
"Badly," she snorted. "First she threw a fit, then she demanded to bring her back with me. She knows I can't do that," she snorted. "Jasana took it alot harder than I thought," she said absently. "But I think it was a reaction to how hysterical Jesmind got when I broke the news. She's curious to see what you look like as a human, cub. That must be an old issue between you two. Jenna asked to come see you, but I told her no again," she added. "I think she can wait a couple more days, and I don't want her confusing you right now."
They told him about that. Jenna was a very powerful magician now, and she'd learned a trick where she could visit people thousands of leagues away. He didn't quite understand how it worked, but Dolanna explained that it was an Illusion that they could see through, kind of like a magical window that bridged the distance. He was quietly hoping that she would visit, that he could see it, but Triana was keeping him out of everyone's sight for some reason. At least that was what he suspected.
"When are we going to leave?"
"That Sha'Kar woman, Ianelle, she said they'll be ready by tomorrow," she answered. "They're having trouble with the human Sorcerers that lived on the island, though. Some kind of minor rebellion."
"Ianelle doesn't seem like the kind to put up with that for long," Kimmie chuckled.
"I agree there. The humans and the youngest children don't want to leave. Dolanna explained what went on here before I got here, so I can understand their reluctance. They're about to go from kings to paupers, and they know it. They don't want to give it up."
"They'd better," Kimmie chuckled. "Or Ianelle will flog them."
"She looked about ready to flog her daughter this morning," Triana chuckled. "Her daughter Auli must be a serious troublemaker."
"Oh, she is, Triana," Kimmie grinned. "Auli was the town's bad girl, and I don't think being freed of the mind control is going to change that much. She's a free-spirited, adventurous girl, and she's probably been pulling on the leash that Ianelle put around her neck."
"I like her," Triana delcared immediately. "Now finish dressing and I'll take you over to Phandebrass," she told Tarrin. "He wants to check something, and it sounds important."
"We're going to the ship?" Tarrin asked hopefully.
"We are," she affirmed. "Now hop."
He did hop. The opportunity to visit this amazing steamship, see it for himself, was an exciting proposition.
Of all the strangers that were his friends around him, the one Tarrin probably felt most comfortable with was Dar. Dar was only a year younger than him--mentally, at least, for Tarrin still considered himself seventeen--he was a boy, which made it a little easier to talk to him, and he seemed as intimidated at some of the things around him as Tarrin did. Tarrin liked spending time with Dar, just talking to him, learning what it was like in Arkis and hearing what had happened over the last two years through Dar's point of view. Dar had once been his roommate in the Tower, so he knew Tarrin pretty well. Tarrin decided that it was only fair that he got to know Dar just as well.
That did, of course, require a little subterfuge. Tarrin didn't like talking about private things like that around the two Were-cats, and he privately bristled a great deal at them treating him like an invalid. He did like Kimmie very much, and respected Triana a great deal, but he felt that they were wrong. He was perfectly safe on the island. The Sha'Kar were all very friendly, calling him "honored one" all the time and doing anything he told them to, even when he didn't mean it. If he got in any trouble, all he'd have to do was yell. They all watched him pretty close anyway, so he figured that him calling for help would bring help to him before he finished shouting.
It was absolutely impossible to sneak out on Triana. She seemed to sense his chicanery even as the plans formed in his mind, and that withering gaze evaporated any fantasy of even trying to slip out of the room while she was in it. Kimmie, however, was much more easy to dupe. It wasn't that she didn't pay attention, but she often got distracted by her books, and she slept more soundly than his bond-mother did.
It was later that day, while Kimmie had her nose buried in a book that Triana had brought back from the ship, a book that Phandebrass had asked her to study, that he seized the opportunity. He was still excited from visiting the ship, meeting Captain Jalis and the crew and getting a very thorough tour of the amazing steam engine from Donovan, the ship's inventor and lead engineer. He'd even brought back the rest of his things from the ship, which someone had thoughtfully shrunk so they would fit him again. He didn't want to sit around the room and be bored, because Kimmie was too involved in that book. He had nothing to do, no one to talk to, and Tarrin was not the kind of boy that could sit still like that for very long. He wanted to go out and look around, and he wanted to find Dar and talk with him for a while.
While Kimmie was busy reading, Tarrin put on a comfortable pair of leather breeches and an old buckskin shirt like the ones he used to wear, functional clothes that were rugged and well suited for wandering the forest, put the hawk-hilt dagger in his belt that he'd won during the staffs competition right before he left--that dagger showed the wear of hard travel, another striking physical reminder that two years of memories had been taken from him--and proceeded to use every dirty trick his father ever taught him to escape from Kimmie's watchful eye. The key, of course, was not to tip her off that he intended to leave, and she was sitting right in the middle of the room, where the opening of the door would alert her immediately. So he required a diversion. That diversion came when he told Kimmie that he wanted something to drink, and opened the door and asked the serving girl that was permanently stationed right outside the door to bring back a tray with tea for both of them. She returned a few minutes later with a tray holding a teapot and two cups. She poured both of them a cup, and just as he expected, Kimmie didn't say a word, didn't even look down, feeling around until she found the cup and picking it up without her eyes ever leaving the book.
So, when the serving girl left, Tarrin crept out behind her, a finger to his lips and a mischievious look in his eyes. She grinned at him and nodded, then waved silently to him as he crept down the hall with his heart pounding a little with the excitement of it. Triana was going to kill him when she found out, but
he'd take the punishment just for a little time to himself. They were smothering him with all that attention.
After he got far enough away to suit him, he broke into a dash, tearing through the house as Iselde and Allyn stared after him in surprise when he came around a corner and nearly knocked them down. He skidded to a halt and scrambled back to them. "Where is Dar?" he asked in a hasty tone. A little confused, both of them said nothing and pointing to a door in the wall. "Thanks," he said, rushing over to the door and opening it. He found himself staring into another one of those huge, stunningly beautiful bedrooms, but one could take only so much beauty before getting numb to it. Dolanna and Dar were sitting on a pair of backless chairs, sipping tea. Dolanna's back was to the door, thankfully, and Tarrin waved madly until he had Dar's attention. Dar noticed him and realized that there was no Were-cat with him, then nodded when Tarrin beckoned him. He excused himself from his mentor, setting his teacup down on a little table between them and hurrying over to the door. "What's the matter, Tarrin?" he asked.
"Nothing. Come on!" he said with a conspiratorial smile. "Kimmie's going to realize I'm missing any minute now, and I need time to get away!"
"Get away?" Dar asked in confusion. Then it dawned on him. "Oohhhhhhhh!" he hissed. "Alright, come on!"
Tarrin and Dar ran, barely able to keep a straight face, through the house, through the entry hall, and then out the front doors. Dar paused to use his magic to obliterate their scent trails--he was fully aware of the keen senses of their hunters--and they dashed along the lush grassy lawn and out the gate. Dar paused to obliterate that scent trail, then they ran at full speed along the white stone pathways, often having to go around the stately Sha'Kar, who would stop and stare after them in confusion. They headed towards the middle of town then abruptly turned east, towards the treeline as Dar concealed the signs of their passing. They ran across the grassy clearing between the closest manor and the trees, then plunged into the wood like adventurers diving through some killing trap. They looked behind themselves and then started laughing. Dar was winded, but the run was nothing to Tarrin, who waited for his friend to catch his breath, then they started off through the woods.
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