Vinny’s eyes were about to burst from his head, and Yacob stared at the beast also. He looked at Wali for reassurance, and Wali nervously looked at the colossal panther. Wali gathered his nerves, “Yes, Honored Spirit. We must beg your forgiveness. We did not know this was your territory.” He said to the cat.

She lowered her head to Wali’s, peering directly at him. “The entire forest is my territory, even though the silly elves think it is theirs.” Her breath was hot on his face, “You smell like him.” She growled.

“Honored Spirit, I do not know what you mean,” Wali said.

“Oh, shit.” Said Trickster into Wali’s mind.

Her eyes widened, and her face got very close to Wali’s. “Come out, come out. Show yourself. I know that you are here. Come out, or I will eat this one first.” Wali’s hair was blown around as she spoke. Her husky whisper carried a severe threat. “He seems like a nice boy. I am sure he will be tasty.”

“Tell her I’m not here.” Trickster said.

Wali closed his eyes with a deep sigh, “Honored Spirit, are you asking for the Wily One? He told me to tell you that he isn’t here.” He said evenly, caught in the middle now between two ancient and powerful spirits. Trickster gasped at Wali’s betrayal.

The big cat raised a paw and placed it against Wali’s chest. The foot was wider than Wali’s chest. Two of the claws slid forward over Wali’s shoulders. Wali was pinned in place, and a third claw hovered in front of his face. Wali knew he would be dead with a simple flex of her murder mitten. She whispered, “Come out, come out, Trickster, or I kill him, last chance.” Her voice was hard, and a wave of killing intent flowed from her.

From behind Wali’s ear, the tiny spider form of Trickster scuttled around to Wali’s nose. Wali himself stood still, barely breathing. He concentrated on being calm, trying hard to manage the screaming lizard brain trying to force him to flee! The other two companions were frozen in place by the killing intent, the aura of a predator she exuded held them still.

Trickster spoke, “My dear child, do I know you?” He asked condescendingly.

“Hah! I knew you were here, you old bastard.” She raised her paw and released Wali, and the predatory aura disappeared. All three of the young men relaxed suddenly. Vinny took a knee, sweat pouring down his face. Yacob sat back on his rump, panting. Wali stepped back. The closeness of the giant panther was still intimidating. “I know you haven’t forgotten me. You stole something precious from me, and you gave it away. I got it back, you know.” She said to Trickster, focusing intently on Wali’s nose.

“Hrmm, I don’t recall. What was it I stole?” Trickster tried to dissemble. Though it was clear to all, he knew exactly what he had done. Trickster was a master storyteller and liar, except when he had been caught in his own web of lies. Then he was like a five-year-old trying to tell lies to a parent.

“You stole one of my stars to give to a lady as a wedding gift. A wedding that you only wanted to be a part of for the gifts. She gave me the star back many years later in exchange for her grandson.” She explained.

“Surely not my grandson.” Trickster hastily added.

“No, she eventually married a man of honor after that fiasco of a wedding.” The she-cat explained. “But for your transgression, I will be claiming this one.” She leaned into Wali, her eyes widening. She seemed to smile, and the tip of a shortsword-sized white fang was revealed.

“You may not! He is mine!” Trickster exclaimed, indignant.

Wali took this moment to interject. “You lie on yourself again, old friend. You are the one who said to me that you would never be bound to me. I am not yours, and you are not mine. Besides, I think a beautiful black feline might be a better friend.” She chuckled while Trickster whirled on Wali’s nose to face him.

“You ungrateful-” Trickster started.

Wali cut him off, “You had your chance. What could any of us do to stop her from claiming me? She is clearly a Spiritual being of timeless origin and powerful beyond what Yacob, Vinny, and I could stop from doing whatever she pleased.” Wali was laying it on thick, and the panther seemed to be eating the praise up. Cats were mostly the same everywhere. Attention and praise were often ways into their good graces.

“You know what, I like you already, kid. What is your name?” She addressed Wali directly.

“I am known as Wali,” Wali replied. “This is Yacob and Vinny.” He said, indicating each of them.

“Wali, while I detest the Trickster, I think that I may….” She trailed off, looking at Vinny and Yacob and seeming to see their distress for the first time. “Ugh, my pardon, boys. Let me see if I can still….” A ripple started at her nose and shot back across her face and neck, going all across her body. Her form shifted as the wave moved across her body, her shape shrinking and twisting.

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When the transformation was complete stood a humanoid figure. Still covered in the shining black fur, but definitely human-shaped instead of feline. She had catlike ears at the top corners of her head, and her face was decidedly feline, with the same golden eyes shot with blue stars. Her body was feminine, but lean hard muscles moved under the fur, not a single ounce of fat was wasted. She looked more like a prize fighter than the waifus of Wallace’s old world.

Internally, Wali had a moment of joy. A cat-girl! He had been waiting to meet one for the last sixteen years.

When she smiled at Vinny and Yacob, she said, “How’s that?” Her voice still had the same predatory and sultry tone but had lost much of its depth.

Yacob stood up and pulled a spare cloak from his Void bag. “Perhaps some clothes?”

She seemed embarrassed, “Oh, right! I forgot you mortals like to hide yourselves like this.” She took the cloak and wrapped it around herself. She sat cross-legged in front of Yacob and Vinny, motioning for Wali to join them on the ground. “Now, you two need to know one thing. I have claimed this one.” She pointed to Wali. “He’s mine now.”

“I am not. I refused for many years to be claimed by a god, and I still refuse to be claimed.” Wali said, a bit perturbed.

“Hush, I’ll deal with you in a moment.” She said. Trickster had fucked off the moment eyes were off of him. She turned to Yacob and Vinny, “Is he your friend?”

Yacob replied, “My best friend.” His tone was defensive and protective of Wali, who sat there stymied.

Vinny shrugged, “I think so, he seems like a good chap, but I wouldn’t be laying down my life for him.” He glanced at Wali, who gave him an appreciative look for the honesty.

“Good enough, then you two have nothing to fear from me. I protect what is mine, and friends of what is mine is my friends too.” Her tone was pure honesty backed with possessiveness. She turned to Wali.

“You, dear child, do not need to worry so much. I stake my claim on you as the first in line. Trickster took one of my stars, and now I am taking one of his in return. You get very little choice in the matter. Where you go, I go. What you do, I will also do. I sense there is something about you, a sleeping greatness. I want to see that greatness and be a part of it. I have wandered the forest far too long, and I grow bored and tired of these same old haunts. You smell of wanderlust, it is like a fine cologne. It calls to me.” She purred as she said the last words, and an electric tingle went through Wali. Both threat and invitation.

Wali was speechless for a moment as he took all of that in. “I will not promise myself to you in any way. We have just met.” She smiled at the response.

“Yes, but we have time, I think.” She hopped to her feet, more graceful than any human could ever be. “We’re wasting daylight. Where are we going?”

Vinny finally shook out of confusion over the situation, “Wait a minute. Let me get this right. Some old kerfluffle between you and one of his totems means that you are claiming him and are now going along with us?”

She replied, “Yes, that’s the short version.”

Vinny could only shrug. Everything normal had been dropped on its head since he had met these two young humans. “All right then, I guess that works.” He stood.

Wali stood and offered a hand to Yacob to help him up. Yacob accepted and turned to the cat woman, “Uh, so what’s your name then?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” She teased.

“Actually, yes.” He said bluntly, completely missing the teasing.

She pouted for a moment, “I guess you can call me Sas’cha. It was a name I used long ago when I walked the lands of you mortals.”

“Sas’cha.” Wali said, “That’s a pretty name. Thank you for joining us, and thank you for not eating us.”

She could only laugh at the thanks. “I wouldn’t eat you. You mortals taste like the garbage you eat. Cabbage and turnips and other nasty green things.”

The three guys laughed at her words. “I guess we head out then; Marsai is in that direction,” Vinny said, pointing. His internal compass was 100% dead to rights on that point.

“Marsai? The forest witch?” Sas’cha asked, curious.

“That’s the one.” Said Vinny with a resigned sigh. “She’s the one that cursed me and the one these two want to go see for some reason.”

“I know her well,” Sas’cha said with a great smile. Her fangs gleamed white in the morning light. She turned to Wali, “What business do you have with Marsai?”

Wali shrugged, “My mentor Longtooth told me I should go see here when I left the Colri lands.”

She looked hard at him, then seemed to shrug, “Longtooth was a child when I saw him last, but that explains some things. Marsai was his teacher so long ago. Well, let's go then.” She said as she turned and walked in the direction Vinny had indicated. The men just gaped for a moment, Wali for the longest. They each broke from their reverie and followed her into the rainforest.

The day went by quickly. Sas’cha walking with them quieted the rainforest around them. Her mere presence was enough to still the calls of the monkeys and birds above. The predator walked below. The boys, though, fought to keep up with the pace she set. She passed through the natural snares and roadblocks they had to cut through. She would range ahead and wait for them on a branch or log.

That evening Yacob raised a pillar of earth, and they set up the tent. They ate a brace of some pink feathered bird that Sas’cha had caught. She ate hers raw and bloody, and the others cooked theirs into a thick, hearty stew with some of the Ancestor Truffles and some other tubers Wali had found along the way. As they bedded down, Wali was startled when the lithe and furry form of Sas’cha shamelessly lay down atop him. Curling her body into his, he was about to speak when she put a clawed finger to his lips. “Shh, you are warm.” Wali held his tongue and was soon asleep, oddly comforted by the warm weight curled on his side.