The rest of the night was spent with Maia regaling the others with tales of her world, the technology, social media, and unfortunately politics. The others were understandably amazed by the advancements that our society had made without magic or really any sort of meaningful collaboration between nations. They were fascinated by smartphones, the last cellphone they had heard of was the Motorola Razor from the early 2000s, which some of you might not even know about. Unfortunately, most of what she told them went from good to better to bad to worse. Clara wanted to know about how the different genders were treated, Thatcher mostly wanted to understand the advancements in space transport (he decided he also hated Elon Musk), and Zephyra strangely wanted to know about fast and junk food. Zephyra really was the only one to get any good news. She was determined to learn how to make “nacho fries.”

The hardest part was when they asked about Maia’s personal life. She didn’t really know what to say. She spent most of her time behind some sort of screen, working or watching Netflix. She wasn’t close with most of her family, having very different values and interests than them. Maia didn’t stand out at work, mostly doing data entry and keeping to herself, though often eavesdropping on the office gossip. She also didn’t have any close friends, unless you counted Marshmallow. He counted himself as Maia’s best friend, and considered her his. He enjoyed their in-depth discussions on the state of the world and the shows they watched together. He thought very highly of Maia, though she didn’t know quite how much, because despite her love for him, she didn’t believe he could be advanced enough to really understand her. She was wrong, obviously.

Cats are like people; some are extremely smart and some are extremely dumb, but most are somewhere in between. However, they are much smarter than most humans give them credit for, but know how to hide it to keep their place as much beloved and doted upon “pets.” The ancient Egyptians were the closest to understanding their four-legged companions. Though it was during this time, cats felt more comfortable being themselves around humans. Magic was more readily accepted, and though they were not gods, they enjoyed the appreciation they found with the Egyptians. Unfortunately, cats became associated with evil, because any time there is something different in the human world that isn’t easily understood, it is written off as malevolent. This isn’t to say there are not evil cats in the world; as stated before, cats are like humans in that all are different and have their own thoughts and wishes. However, it should be stated there are many more humans with ill intentions than cats.

Maia was coming to appreciate the fact that while there were bad people and creatures in the Between, they were far fewer than the ones in her world.

Clara still issued a warning to her that night, “Most of those you encounter are friendly or at least intrigued by humans, but there are select groups that don’t believe we belong in the Between. They don’t think we deserve to be in this place of magic, or they have their own prejudice against us. Not every human that comes here is a good one. Some cannot turn back from the seed of hate that grows from being wronged and use this place only to gain power.”

Maia nodded in understanding and sipped her cider thoughtfully. Zephyra and Clara left to double check the supplies before bed, and she was left alone with Thatcher and Trelli. Thatcher’s glowing form above the map studied the fire wishfully. He could no longer feel the warmth emanating from the smoldering coals, nor smell the smoke of the firewood.

“Clara’s right, you know.” He said suddenly.

“Hmm?” Maia inquired, having settled comfortably into her chair, cradling Trelli against her chest.

“You can’t trust everyone you meet here. You got lucky with Clara, but you should still be on your toes. Otherwise, you could end up like me.” He said bitterly.

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“I take it you weren’t always a map then?” Maia asked, sitting forward with interest.

“No, I wasn’t. I was human once, decades ago now.” Thatcher answered looking back at the fire longingly.

“How did you become, well, you know?” Maia gestured inarticulately.

“We have definitely not known each other long enough for that conversation, and I don’t think I’d tell you if we knew each other for a lifetime.” Thatcher said, giving her a side eye.

“Well, okay then.” Maia said wryly, “And on that note, I’m going to bed.” Maia was one of those people who desperately wanted to be liked, though she refused to show it. She had started to get excited about their journey, but now she was reminded that men who don’t know how to process their emotions are everywhere, and it is impossible to be liked by everyone.

~

Despite the night ending on a sour note, Maia slept well, and woke up early. She headed into the common room where Zephyra and Clara were already having breakfast. Clara gifted her a purple quilted coat with a long pointed hood, and Zephyra added she would be making sure Maia wore it even if there was a slightly cold breeze. Clara also had packed her outfits for several different climates and a crystal she said would act as a flare if she needed it. After Maia ate, they went to the stables, which were the size of a football field. The stalls varied in size, from a mailbox to something that could hold at least one elephant, maybe two. Near the entrance was a large wooden caravan hooked to what seemed to be a lion.

“I have one more fellow traveler for you to meet, Maia.” Clara said, passing to the front of the animal. The legs were indeed shaped like a lion’s, though they were an iridescent black, but its head looked like a crow.

“This is Bessie.” Clara said, giving the animal a scratch beneath its chin. “I guess you can take the girl out of the farm, but not the farm out of the girl, because I named her. She’s a griffon and she has agreed to accompany you on your travels.”

Maia gasped, “This is the best day of my life! A griffon?! I’m so honored to meet you, Bessie!” Maia, who had been a mythology kid growing up, as well as an avid lover of anything cute and fluffy. Yes, in her eyes, griffons qualified as cute. If you saw them as cubs, you would have to agree with her.

“But I thought griffons had wings? Well, I guess that not everything you read is true.” Maia said thoughtfully. Bessie let out a plaintiff croak.

Clara gently pulled her aside and whispered, “Actually, Bessie’s mom fell in love with a jaguar. It was a whole thing and that’s how she ended up with me. She’s rather sensitive about it.”

Maia said loudly, “Wings are overrated though. Look at how majestic and wonderful Bessie is! Look at those clouds!” Bessie seemed to preen at this and let Maia stroke her head. Griffons are really magnificent creatures, though how they originated with the long standing war between birds and cats, no one knows.

“Now, you have enough supplies for a month, but Zephyra has coin if you come across anything you need…or if you just want a neat souvenir,” Clara said with a wink.

Thatcher announced it would be a few days to Shiverdawn impatiently, and they began to say their goodbyes.

“I’m sure Zephyra and Trelli will take good care of you, but travel safely. You are welcome back any time. I hope you find what you need.” Clara said, giving Maia a tight hug.

“Thank you for everything, Clara. I hope I can see you again. Maybe I could take some vacation days.” She chuckled sadly. Maia wished that she knew someone like Clara in her world. Maybe she wouldn’t have felt quite so lonely if she had. Clara also wished she had known someone like Maia in their world, but she knew she was home in the Between. Maia and Zephyra sat in the front of the caravan behind Bessie with Thatcher laid out between them. Trelli had several more small pouches tied around her tiny waist as she flew to Maia’s shoulder.

They waved to Clara as they headed off down the wooded dirt road. Maia had a long road ahead of her with no idea where it would lead, but for the first time in her life, not knowing was exciting.