Chapter 15 every witch needs a cat...

The warm feeling of someone sleeping with me brought back memories, the good ones of me and my sister, curled together on chilly days, curled together in a patch of sunlight. this felt similar but somehow different because the person I was currently cuddling with was not my sister. I curl in tighter, relishing the feel of the woman pressed up against my side, the curves of her breasts pressed against my own, the weight of her on top of me. Unconsciously I started nuzzling her, rubbing my face against her own, breathing in her scent...

“That tickles,” Sarena chuckled and I found that I had been purring unconsciously. I opened one eye and looked over at her, she still had an arm over me, across my body her fingers lightly on my shoulder, as well as a leg draped over my own as her head rested on my shoulder. “I might have to keep you,” she smiled reaching behind her she patted the tail we were both laying on, my tail.

“She thinks every good witch needs a cat...” I smiled softly back at her, she smiled back at me, and the two my hand around her waist pulled her a little closer before she sighed and pulled the blanket off the two of us and sat up. As she pulled away I couldn't help but think I had just lost something, an opportunity missed…

“Your name was Rin right? I seem to remember you referring to yourself like that...”

“Her full name is Rinmua of Tribe Jurina of the upper Pontiff, ”I answer, standing up and straightening my tail out. Running a hand through the fur that had become tangled, the claws on my paws extended ever so slightly to act like the teeth of a comb. “Harland insisted on calling her Rin-”

“Yeah, said it was easier right?” she chuckled to herself. “He did the same thing to me, my full name is Sarena Demiova, but he always used to call me Seri,” her face fell slightly, at the memories. “We used to be the best of friends, but then I made some dumb decisions.” I reached over and picked up the clothes that my sister had given me and wrinkled my nose at them, painted in blood as they were. I walked them over to the creek and started to scrub them in the water with the lye soap. It was a long process, one that I went about vigorously scrubbing, the small creek turning brownish red as the blood was scrubbed off of the cloth.

“She wonders where the rest of your group is? Are you like her the last of your team?” I ask, not looking at her, I already knew the story, about how she had bed one of her fellow adventurers, so I decided to change the subject so she didn't have to talk about it.

“They told you didn't they?” she asked, her voice is soft, “told you I was involved with Hamin?” slowly I nod my head. “And that Leah died because of it?” once again my head bobbed up and down. “Well they don't know the full details,” she took a deep breath, in it was the slightest of quavers. “I was pregnant,” I froze, my hands stopping their vigorous washing. “It is exceptionally rare for my people to get pregnant, especially at my age,” I looked back at her eyebrows raised.

“At your age?” I asked looking at her curiously. She couldn't be a day over twenty.

“What do you know about my people Rin?”

“She knows nothing,” I admit.

“I am 179 years old Rin and am considered a matron, meaning I am well past the age I could be expected to get pregnant or to give birth, most of my people give birth at around the same time a normal human would, at around the age of 14 through 30 or so, but I was never able to do that, I had never gotten pregnant, it is a condition of my people, many have theorized that it is due to the long lives my people live, that way there is no inbreeding when multiple generations are all still alive, but whatever the reason after the age of forty the chances of pregnancy decrease exponentially as age increases. I was 175 and I got pregnant, which was to my knowledge an unprecedented thing for my race, and something I had resigned myself to never experience.” I slowly looked back at her, her eyes were closed, her face raised to the ceiling of the cave, she wasn't crying now, but there was a shiny line of wetness that had streaked its way down her cheek toward her chin that caught in the light of the crystal. “I was so happy, so very very happy.” her eyes opened and she looked at me. “Hamin was to, or so I thought, he maid these r promises to me, to me and my baby, to be there to be the father, so when the kobolds attacked, and I found I could only save one I chose him, chose the father of my child, how could I do differently? There was no way I could save both, I knew this, they might have thought I could have, but there was no way I have been in many battles, many fights.” she sniffled, “I broke Harland’s heart, abandoning his wife like that.”

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Everything clicked.

Leah was Harland’s wife, and he blamed Sarena for her death, the bad blood between the two had deep, this was for sure much deeper than I had thought originally.

“To make matters worse I was hit in that fight,” she placed her hand over her stomach, and I felt my own tighten at her words. “I lost the baby, and Hamin moved on, and I was left alone,” she sniffed, “I do not regret my decisions then, I would do them again, I just regret the outcome.” she laughed and wiped her face with the palm of her hand, “why am I telling you all of this?” she laughed weakly.

“Rin is from the Jurina tribe,” I say, turning back to my washing, though my hands are nor scrubbing on their own,” She is the second daughter of the tribe Shaman, but she was born without magic, she has none, can't even see magic being formed.” I sighed to myself, “Her older sister Turu is skilled, however, and as the older sibling she was to stay with the tribe, Rin being the younger, however, was to be sent to other tribes to make sure there was no inbreeding, it is the way of our people, keeps all the tribes allied together. The issue is that Rinmua is not attracted to men,” I glance over at her and she is staring at me, I go back to scrubbing. “She knows her parents love her, but she also feels she has let them down, not being able to take up her father’s craft, always in Turu’s shadow, so she left.” it is hard to say, I know they are proud of me, but I still feel it, a deep gnawing thing in my core.

I look back at her, she has this thoughtful look, like she is going over what she has said and done with me, there is a slight blush in her dark cheeks. “Now listen Rin-”

“Rinmua assumes nothing,” I say, “she knows the difference between companionship and something more,” I smile, “she just wished to tell someone, she doesn't know if she will survive, and she thought that since you were sharing she could do the same, she knows she is a freak.” I give her a little smile.

“Your not a freak,” she snapped at me, and I glanced up at her. “Don't ever say that again, because it isn't true, do you hear me?” I apparently hit a nerve when I said those words, her face is dark and foreboding, the amethyst of her eyes deep and dark shining with an intensity I have not seen before. “Do you hear me?” she practically snarled. I nod my head. “Good,” she sighs and points her face to the sky. “Listen, this is not the place to be discussing things like this, let us first get out of this hell hole and then we can have a discussion.” she nodded to herself as though she has come to some sort of decision, one which I am not privy to.

“A discussion? About what?” I ask, completely confused at the turn of events.

“You are the first person I have told any of that too, I have to make sure you don't spread that around, ruin my reputation and the like,” she chuckled at the confused look on my face. “After all, it's like you said, every witch needs a cat...”

What just happened?!?