help but admire her beauty.
Eventually, his curiosity got the better of him. “If you don’t mind my asking, Nora, you seem to love your homeland so much that I can’t figure out why you left.”
The twinkle left her eye and her smile was erased by the grim set of her lips. “There’s nothing left for me there.” She got up and cleared the dishes.
Darakin wanted to ask but decided not to pry, instead getting up to help her with the dishes.
After the dishes were done, Nora suggested that they take a walk. Darakin, unaccustomed to being cooped up inside for too long, readily agreed.
“Do you think we should take Mrowley along?”
“I don’t know,” she said with doubt in her voice. “It’s kind of dangerous out there for cats.”
“But he’s been on the streets for a long time.”
“Just because he didn’t have a home doesn’t mean it was good for him.”
Mrowley was uncharacteristically quiet during this conversation.
“He had a family but they moved and they didn’t take him with them.”
“No!” She dropped her purse and went over to pick up Mrowley and give him a big hug. “You poor wee kitty. You lost your home and your family, too?”
“What am I missing?” asked the confused mage. “He said there was no room for him and that he was happier this way.”
“I’m thinking that no cat would ever admit to how much it hurts to be abandoned and to have nobody left to love or to love you,” she said as she rocked the cat back and forth.
Darakin looked at the quiet cat. “Mrowley? Care to participate in the conversation?”
Mrowley just blinked back at him, enjoying the loving embrace of a human who cared about him.
“Well, this is the first time he hasn’t butted into our conversation.”
Nora put the cat down on a soft throw blanket and pet him a few more times. She picked up her purse and led Darakin out of the apartment.
Once they were out in the hall, she said, “Let the cat have his dignity. His family up and left him, not caring at all for his safety. If he wants to pretend that’s what he wanted before, that’s fine, but I want him kept safe now. He seems pretty happy being inside now.”
Nora had no idea where this overprotective feeling toward the cat had come from but now that she had it, she was going to keep Mrowley safe.
“You’re right. He does seem happy.”
Darakin let Nora lead him down busy streets. He stared in amazement at all of the products you could buy from the shops they passed. Nora bought them each a hotdog from a street vendor and picked up a newspaper before finding an unoccupied bench in a local park.
“Thish ish good, what’sh in it?”
“Um, it’s um … a blend of some ground meats.” Nora thought of all the horrible stories she’d ever read or heard about the questionable contents of hotdogs and decided not to share them with the mage.
“Oh, like the hamburger.”
“Yeah, sure – like the hamburger.”
Nora picked up the newspaper and started glancing at the stories. “Will you look at this? You’d think I picked up one of those silly rags instead of a real paper.”
“What rags?”
“Oh, there are newspapers here that print sensational stories that can’t possibly be true, you know like space aliens coming here or …” she let the sentence trail off as she looked at the strange man sitting next to her.
“Or mages who come here from another realm of existence?” he smiled sadly at her.
“Yeah, like that. I’m sorry, Darakin.” Trying to change the subject, she went back to the article. “But look at this. I mean really, someone attacked by a lizard man? Here in the middle of the city?”
Darakin looked at the item Nora was pointing to in the newspaper.
Charlie the Chipmunk Attacked by Lizard Man
A man, who had just left a party after portraying beloved children’s icon Charlie
Eventually, his curiosity got the better of him. “If you don’t mind my asking, Nora, you seem to love your homeland so much that I can’t figure out why you left.”
The twinkle left her eye and her smile was erased by the grim set of her lips. “There’s nothing left for me there.” She got up and cleared the dishes.
Darakin wanted to ask but decided not to pry, instead getting up to help her with the dishes.
After the dishes were done, Nora suggested that they take a walk. Darakin, unaccustomed to being cooped up inside for too long, readily agreed.
“Do you think we should take Mrowley along?”
“I don’t know,” she said with doubt in her voice. “It’s kind of dangerous out there for cats.”
“But he’s been on the streets for a long time.”
“Just because he didn’t have a home doesn’t mean it was good for him.”
Mrowley was uncharacteristically quiet during this conversation.
“He had a family but they moved and they didn’t take him with them.”
“No!” She dropped her purse and went over to pick up Mrowley and give him a big hug. “You poor wee kitty. You lost your home and your family, too?”
“What am I missing?” asked the confused mage. “He said there was no room for him and that he was happier this way.”
“I’m thinking that no cat would ever admit to how much it hurts to be abandoned and to have nobody left to love or to love you,” she said as she rocked the cat back and forth.
Darakin looked at the quiet cat. “Mrowley? Care to participate in the conversation?”
Mrowley just blinked back at him, enjoying the loving embrace of a human who cared about him.
“Well, this is the first time he hasn’t butted into our conversation.”
Nora put the cat down on a soft throw blanket and pet him a few more times. She picked up her purse and led Darakin out of the apartment.
Once they were out in the hall, she said, “Let the cat have his dignity. His family up and left him, not caring at all for his safety. If he wants to pretend that’s what he wanted before, that’s fine, but I want him kept safe now. He seems pretty happy being inside now.”
Nora had no idea where this overprotective feeling toward the cat had come from but now that she had it, she was going to keep Mrowley safe.
“You’re right. He does seem happy.”
Darakin let Nora lead him down busy streets. He stared in amazement at all of the products you could buy from the shops they passed. Nora bought them each a hotdog from a street vendor and picked up a newspaper before finding an unoccupied bench in a local park.
“Thish ish good, what’sh in it?”
“Um, it’s um … a blend of some ground meats.” Nora thought of all the horrible stories she’d ever read or heard about the questionable contents of hotdogs and decided not to share them with the mage.
“Oh, like the hamburger.”
“Yeah, sure – like the hamburger.”
Nora picked up the newspaper and started glancing at the stories. “Will you look at this? You’d think I picked up one of those silly rags instead of a real paper.”
“What rags?”
“Oh, there are newspapers here that print sensational stories that can’t possibly be true, you know like space aliens coming here or …” she let the sentence trail off as she looked at the strange man sitting next to her.
“Or mages who come here from another realm of existence?” he smiled sadly at her.
“Yeah, like that. I’m sorry, Darakin.” Trying to change the subject, she went back to the article. “But look at this. I mean really, someone attacked by a lizard man? Here in the middle of the city?”
Darakin looked at the item Nora was pointing to in the newspaper.
Charlie the Chipmunk Attacked by Lizard Man
A man, who had just left a party after portraying beloved children’s icon Charlie
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