laughing and playing, while adults sat and worked at cleaning fish, salamanders, and frogs, or mending nets, or repairing boats. All those not seated in the shade, Oskar noted with bemused interest, carried the by now familiar woven shades to shield them from the sun. Clearly no one went outside, even for a short stroll, without one of the omnipresent shades.
What was it with these otherwise perfectly healthy-looking people that forced them to so assiduously hide from the sun's seemingly beneficent rays? He really must ask the princess the first chance he got, Oskar decided.
That the matter of constant shading involved only sunshine was confirmed when it finally set. When the last direct rays had faded, people immediately began to emerge from the cover of their shelters, and to put down the woven shades they had been carrying. A palpable sense of relief rippled through the community. Cezer, Cocoa, and the others took only casual notice of the change. Only Oskar and Mamakitty, with whom he had been discussing the curious business, wondered at the abrupt transformation.
Ourie beckoned for them to join her, and they soon found themselves seated by the shore of the vast lake. Women of the Slevish, each one more petite and attractive than the next, were seated on the sand or on benches weaving a number of the intricate sunshades that were obviously a vital component of village life. The princess introduced the visitors to these skilled weavers. Those singled out by the greeting smiled ingratiatingly at their guests while practiced fingers flew without pause, effortlessly braiding fronds and leaves into oversize, lightweight sunscreens. So large were the particular examples they were working on that when finished, they would be big enough to shield Oskar or any of his friends from the effects of the sun. Near the back, four women were working together on a most monstrous shade indeed, which Oskar suspected could only be intended for Samm. Interestingly, they worked on into the gathering darkness without benefit of torch or firelight. Drawn in spite of themselves, Cezer and Cocoa sat and began playing with the ends of the bobbing, fluttering fronds.
'Let me guess,' Oskar ventured to their royal hostess. 'A kwavin is one of these sunshades.'
She nodded briskly. 'These we make as gifts to you. It is part of our birthright not to allow the ignorant to perish from their ignorance.'
'That's kind of them, but not exactly flattering,' Taj whispered to Samm.
Stepping forward, Cezer admired both the skilled handiwork and the delicate features of the Slevish women. 'I don't want to insult them by refusing a gift, but I happen to enjoy walking in the sunshine. The weather here is delightful, and I'd just as soon not have to bother with lugging around a shade, or kwavin, or whatever.'
'But you must!' Princess Ourie turned limpid eyes on the charmed cat-man. Gazing into them, he was reminded of a snapper whose head he had once consumed with great relish. 'Without kwavins, you will die even before you reach the Great Rift. Do you not remember what I said about being unable to escape that which you carry within yourselves?'
Cezer responded with a gesture that, had the princess understood its meaning, might have offended her. 'I'm not romping through beautiful country in perfect weather carrying around some stupid sunscreen. If the rest of you want to be polite and do so, that's your business.' He walked down to the water's edge and found a comfortable patch of sand on which to flop. A sliver of silver-yellow moon was rising in the distance, painting the image of a molten staircase on the rippling waters.
Kneeling beside the princess to bring his face closer to hers, Oskar murmured politely. 'Please excuse my friend. He's somewhat headstrong. It's his nature, and he can't help himself. Tell me; what danger do we face that lies within ourselves, and in the depths of this great rift, that requires us to carry sunscreens with us wherever we go? I confess I don't understand.'
'Nor do any of us,' added Mamakitty from nearby.
Oskar's contriteness melted a little of the anger Cezer's intemperate words had engendered in the princess. 'Come in the morning and you will see.' She nodded in Cezer's direction, where the cat-man was lying contentedly on the warm sand. 'Your friend will show you.'
Not even Taj, who was the smallest of the visitors, could fit comfortably within one of the numerous huts, but the travelers did not suffer from their lack of shelter. Night proved as benign as day in this marvelous country, and they slept content and confident by the shore of the lake. Samm in particular luxuriated in near-familiar surroundings, digging in until his body was completely covered by the warm sand. Within the village, all seemed equally peaceful and happy. Nary a child cried, and those natives who worked through the night were careful to keep their conversations to a whisper so as not to disturb their neighbors.
It was difficult, Oskar reflected as he lay down among his companions, to envision what danger could so unsettle the princess and her apparently contented people. That they dealt daily with whatever it was he had no doubt. That it was serious in nature he also conceded. He simply could not imagine what it was. If it was as deadly dangerous as Ourie insisted, it seemed unlikely it could be deflected by something as simple as a woven sunscreen. Try as he might, he could not resolve the apparent contradictions.
His head beginning to throb from the effort of trying to envision the unimaginable, he put everything aside in favor of getting some serious rest. In his former body, sleeping was something he had always been good at.
He felt soft skin brush up against his shoulder as a limber shape sat down next to him. Cocoa tried to sit back on her haunches, only to discover, as always, that in her present form she was in possession of too much leg and not enough haunch. She settled for stretching the former out in front of her. Despite the time she had already spent in human form, she found the position unnatural. Afraid of sitting on her tail, she was constantly shifting her seat, even though there was no longer a long, multicolored tail to sit on.
'You know, Oskar, I always liked you. I realize that cats and dogs aren't supposed to get along, but I always admired the way you carried yourself through life.'
'Really?' He continued to gaze out across the lake. Meeting a cat's eyes was always dangerous. 'How was that?'
'Indifferently, I mean,' she hastened to add, 'nothing ever seemed to trouble you.'
He shrugged, his head resting on his crossed forepaws (hands, he reminded himself angrily—hands!). 'As long as I got a table scrap or two, and the occasional bone, I was happy.' Now he did turn to face her. In the silver-yellow moonlight, she was as graceful as she had ever been. 'I always felt that cats think too much.'
Her expression was contemplative. 'Maybe you're right,' she eventually replied. 'Though I never thought of it that way.'
'Don't stare at things so long,' he suggested helpfully. 'And don't worry about your appearance so much. You'll find life is easier to take.'
She considered this advice. 'I don't know if I can do that. Cats are just—serious. Dogs are—'
A voice interrupted them from behind. 'Goofy,' Cezer concluded, before rolling over and turning his back to them. Oskar had the feeling the swordsman would have sprayed them then and there, had not his plumbing undergone a preemptive sea change.
'Mister Sarcasm,' Cocoa muttered. Her smile returning, she lunged forward and rubbed her nose against a startled Oskar's, then rose and moved off to join Mamakitty. 'See you in the morning.'
Reaching up, he slowly wiped the tip of his nose with the palm of one hand. Cats, he mused. Who could comprehend them? Their actions and antics had often bemused even Master Evyndd.
All the more reason, he told himself, why he should not try to.
Dawn saw the breaking of a cloudless morning. As Oskar awoke, it was to the bustle of tremendous activity within the village. It was almost as if the inhabitants were striving to accomplish as many of the day's tasks as possible before the sun was fully up. Sure enough, the instant its rays began to cast the first shadows within the community, activity slowed and did not resume until the Slevish had picked up their thickly woven sunscreens.
With appropriate ceremony, the special kwavins that had been finished during the night were presented to the bemused travelers. Oskar and his companions were politely thankful for the gifts, Cezer included. Mamakitty and Cocoa had promised to scratch him severely if he did not respond in a courteous manner. Hiding his disdain, he smiled fatuously while accepting his own screen from two of the little women who had produced it.
'Remember to beware,' Princess Ourie warned them, 'if you truly intend to try and cross the Great Rift. That which dwells within you also dwells within it.' She indicated the kwavin he was balancing on his shoulder. 'Keep always the sun off your selves.'
'We'll be careful.' Though he spoke with assurance, Oskar had not the slightest idea what she was talking about.
Those villagers not presently engaged in purposeful work had assembled to see the strangers on their way.
