Aris stood over Poseul with a furrowed brow, his fist unconsciously clenching and unclenching. The ancient cat was fading quickly. He was still asleep at this late hour, and his breathing was ragged, dragging in and out with a rasping sound. Aris was struggling to decide what to do. He wanted to let him sleep, but he could tell their time was short, and they still had a ways to go until they reached the river.

He decided to completely break down their camp before waking Poseul. Aris’ heart ached for his dear friend, and he found it difficult to focus on packing his satchel and rolling his sleeping kit. The animal familiar had been with him since his days as a young apprentice, so he had never taken a journey without him. He had to fight back tears as he imagined what it would feel like to wake up every morning without Poseul by his side.

When everything was packed he knelt beside his cat and gently rubbed the fur of his neck. The black fur had grown rough with age, but it was still far softer than most animals. Aris wondered if he had spells for it that he hadn’t revealed. The cat’s eyes finally cracked open, the large yellow orbs focusing on Aris.

“Good morning old friend,” Aris said, “I’m sorry to wake you, but we’re almost to the river.”

The cat closed his eyes again and exhaled deeply. “I’m sorry to oversleep Sire,” the cat said in a low, barely audible voice.

“Think nothing of it,” Aris said. “And you can stop calling me Sire if you like, I think we’re well past the formalities at this point.”

“Honor,” the cat said slowly, struggling to take in enough air to speak, “is not only for…. sunny days.”

“Fair enough,” Aris said, stroking the cat’s back gently. “Do you think you could stomach any food?”

Poseul gently shook his head with his eyes still closed.

“Okay,” Aris said, lifting the satchel onto his back, “we’d best be off then. I’m going to lift you now.”

He tightened his core and reached down to lift the cat, but found him incredibly light. He had lost a considerable amount of weight on their journey. He had once had an appetite that almost bankrupted Aris when he was only making apprentice wages after the mage’s school.

He lifted the cat up and over his shoulder, placing his front paws draping over the front. The cat’s back legs slipped into the leather stirrups they had sewn into his traveling cloak for the purpose. When he was younger, Poseul would ride in the perch with gusto, lifting himself up with his front paws to watch the birds that flew overhead. Now he slumped with his stomach on Aris’ shoulder, unable to hold himself up. But at least he didn’t have to try and walk. The stirrups still bore his weight, and kept him positioned up high where they could at least hear each other speak as they walked.

Aris walked north from their camp and into the forest, carefully picking his way through the foliage to make sure no branches hit his Poseul as he walked up a small incline.

“I walked the perimeter of camp last night after you’d gone to bed,” Aris said as he scrambled up a large stone on the hillside. “I could hear the river pretty clearly as I worked my way north, I don’t think we’re more than half a day’s hike away now.”

Please let there be enough time, Aris thought to himself.

“Thank you sire,” Poseul said, “for doing me this service.”

“Of course,” Aris said, “I’d do anything for you, Poseul. Like I said, I’m here to the very end.”

There was so much he wanted to say to the cat. There were plenty of battles he was positive he wouldn’t have survived without Poseul’s aid. But beyond that, it was the little moments that nearly made his heart burst now as they walked towards the end. Poseul had been there every morning, reading the paper alongside him at breakfast, walking the city streets on errands. He had even been there when he met his wife, Luzanne. Aris had to squeeze his eyes tight to fight back tears as he thought of his wife. She had bawled her eyes out as they tried to leave the city to take this journey. She couldn’t bear to let Posuel go, nor he her.

She wanted to come on the journey, but they all knew it would be too dangerous. Luzanne was six months pregnant, and this journey was a dangerous one. It had taken them weeks to pass through the bad lands, Poseul’s health failing more and more each day. He knew the cat wouldn’t be able to withstand a fight now, so they had been forced to take a long winding route to avoid any sign of trouble on the path.

“Sire,” the cat croaked as they finished the incline and continued north.

If you come across this story on Amazon, it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.

“You don’t have to speak for my sake,” Aris said reaching up and scratching Poseul’s head. “Being in your company is enough.”

“No,” the cat continued, “I must say something.” Aris stopped on the hillside and lifted the cat down from his shoulder, holding him in his arms facing upward so he could look into his face.

The cat opened his eyes, and looked up. “Serving you sire....has been…. The great honor…of my life.”

Aris squeezed the cat gently as a tear rolled down his eye. “The honor has been all mine, Poseul. I will never be able to thank you enough for choosing me.”

The cat laughed, a quiet raspy laugh, but Aris could still make it out. “The others….thought me….a fool. But I chose you… for your heart. And I…. chose well….it appears.”

“Thank you old friend,” Aris said. The cat nodded and closed his eyes, so Aris placed him back into the shoulder saddle. “It won’t be long now.”

The cat grew quiet after that, but Aris could still hear his labored breathing as they made their way through the forest. The sun had started to rise above the canopy, and Aris began to sweat through his tunic in the humidity. He reached up to scratch the cat’s head again, and found his head was starting to get cold. He quickened his pace, walking as quickly as he could without jostling him.

Finally the roar of the river became audible, and Aris breathed a sigh of relief. He wound his way over one more hill and suddenly the river was visible. The River Trisane. He had never seen it before, and hadn’t been entirely sure it was real. But the legends all said you could bring your animal familiar here at the end and see them off to the other side. It had been Poseul’s final wish, and they had finally made it.

Poseul had actually asked this of him fifteen years earlier, before they had spent a lifetime together. Aris had sworn it then, a child’s promise, not really knowing what it would mean. But now, nothing could stand between him and that promise he had made to his dearest friend.

Aris carefully picked his way down the banks to the side of the river. He lifted Poseul down and gently laid him on the sandy soil at the rivers edge. He took off his pack and his tunic, folding the cloth on his bag. He looked out over the river. It was endless dark forest on the other side; it didn’t look terribly different from the wooded shore that they stood on, it just seemed more shaded, like it was under a cloud. But he could feel the magical energy of the other side. This was not a river you could cross and stay in the land of the living. He would only be able to take Poseul so far, but he would do everything in his power to see him across.

“Alright old friend,” Aris said, rubbing his hands together, “are you ready to cross?”

“Yes sire….and thank you.”

“Don’t thank me yet,” Aris laughed, reaching down and lifting the cat back up, “I’m not sure which of us is the worse swimmer to be honest.”

He carefully stepped down into the water. It was freezing, but crystal clear, and he could make out the bottom through the water that rushed by. The current was quick, and the river bed quickly dropped off from where they were standing, until it was some ten feet deep. They said this river was fed by Tarisuq, the most ancient of the mountain ranges. Those magical mountains to be impassible too. There was a reason civilization ended before the badlands.

He stepped into the river until he was right on the edge of the drop off. He placed Poseul on his back to ensure the cat’s head would stay above the water. Then he gently dropped into the river on his stomach and began to swim.

The current was fast, and before he knew it they were several yards downstream from his gear. He didn’t let that concern him, because it didn’t matter where Poseul landed, only that he made the crossing. Aris swam hard, pumping his arms in front and back to the sides, using the best stroke he knew to keep his back stable and Poseul above water.

His arms started to ache and his skin began to grow numb from the frigid water. As they reached the halfway point, the old cat started to perk up, and Aris could feel him lifting his head up on his back. With ten feet to go, Aris began to feel the pull of the bank ahead, and knew he could go no further if he wanted to see his wife again.

“I’m sorry old friend!” he yelled over the surge of the water. “This is as far as I can go!”

“It’s alright,” the cat answered, all the slowness gone from his voice. “I’m ready. Thank you Aris.”

The cat launched himself from Aris’ back and began to paddle ahead. Slowly and painstakingly at first, so slowly that Aris thought the current might best him. But as he continued to near the other side his limbs grew stronger, his paddle more firm.

Aris strained his muscles against the current to stay where he was so he could see Poseul off. Finally the cat reached the other side and pulled himself off onto the bank. He saw the cat shake his whole body, knocking off both the water and his many years of age at the same time. He shook hard and finally stood up on his back two legs, the bonds of the world falling off him. Poseul turned back toward the river and waived.

Aris lifted his right arm and gave a long wave, but when he stopped paddling the river pushed him downstream hard and he lost his balance, rolling through the water. He finally got his head back above the current and blinked the water out of his eyes, yelling, “Goodbye Poseul!”

He paddled hard trying to get one last look at his friend, but the river was taking him downstream at speed. He turned around one last time and thought he caught a glimpse of a woman in a white dress picking up the black cat and placing him on her shoulders. He thought he recognized her, but just then he went over a group of rocks in the river and was pulled over a stretch of shallow rapids.

Later that afternoon, after he had finished the hike back to his gear, Aris sat drying on the beach. He stared across the river at the other side, but there was nothing there now. Only the dim light of the eternal forest. He closed his eyes and pictured that final wave goodbye. The cat he had known his whole life had looked so full of life again, so strong and sleek as he finally stood.

He opened his eyes and stood, lifting up his pack. “Goodbye old friend,” he said in a quiet voice, “I hope I see you again.” Aris turned and left, walking back into the forest to begin the long journey home.