Anna Petracci, Fantasy Author

Coal followed close behind Ashra as she set off toward the trees he could see in the distance. He could feel a warm, tingling sensation in the spots where she’d healed his wounds. She’d done it so casually, too– as if the magic that he was so impressed by was as commonplace as centipedes in a cave. Maybe for her it was. 

The grass was warm and soft beneath his paws, though Coal was interested to note that it was not as thick or as even up close as it looked from a distance. Little bugs scurried here and there among the blades; it seemed that insects were one thing that dwelt in both his cave home and the outside world. Looking up, Coal saw a pair of large birds circling the sky above. Smaller birds, meanwhile, flitted here and there across the sky and the grassy space, and he saw more over the trees ahead. A rabbit watched them with interest from a low bushy plant they passed at one point.

Neither cat talked as they walked; Coal wasn’t sure what to say, while Ashra seemed focused on her destination. Or maybe she wasn’t sure what to say, either. What did cats of the outside world talk about? Farming? He knew that was a common job. The weather? It would be important out here. Latest jewelry styles? Coal had heard jewelry was very popular among the upper classes. He noted that Ashra wasn’t wearing anything. Politics? The overseers at the mine often chatted about the royal family and others that Coal had no real reference for. None of those topics were things he knew enough about to start a conversation on– well, he knew about jewels, he supposed, but that was it. Would a cat from the outside be interested in talk of mining and cave creatures? Likely not, Coal figured, and he also might give too much away. He still wasn’t sure if it would be wise to share any of his story with Ashra. Though maybe she’d be interested in hearing about some of his fights with cave creatures. She already knew he’d been down in the caves, and she’d seemed impressed by his mention of fighting the cave rat…

Before Coal could decide, though, Ashra halted. A small bird had landed on the ground in front of her. It chirped, and, to Coal’s surprise, Ashra chirped back. He’d heard cats make that sort of sound before, usually imitating a bird’s sound for a story or such, but Ashra seemed to be having a full conversation with the bird. She and it chirped back and forth for a good minute before the bird flew off again. Then Ashra turned back to Coal.

“That was Cheerki,” she explained. “He was asking who you were, since there aren’t really any other cats who live around here.”

“You speak bird language?” Coal asked.

“Yes, well, Common Passerine, anyway. It comes in useful at times, and birds are almost always willing to chat if you want to talk.” She shrugged.

“That makes sense,” Coal replied. Ashra nodded. Then Coal realized that this was a good opening for a conversation.

“How did you learn… What was the name you called it?” he asked.

“Common Passerine,” she replied. She started walking towards the trees again, and Coal followed, beside her rather than behind this time. “It’s kind of a general language that combines elements from multiple songbird languages, and most songbird species use it to communicate with each other. That also makes it more convenient if other animals want to communicate with songbirds too, since that way we don’t have to worry about learning a different language for each species we want to talk with. A lot of other birds use it too. I learned it from a parrot first– parrots are almost always a good start if you want to learn a language since they’re good at remembering and pronouncing all sorts of words– and then I guess I just talked with lots of birds and picked it up more that way.”

“That’s awesome.”

“Thanks. I started when I was fairly young, so it was pretty easy for me. How about you? Do you speak any other languages besides Cat?”

“Well, I know a few words in Rattese, but not enough to really count.”

“Hey, a start counts!” Ashra responded encouragingly. “Especially with Rattese; it’s not easy to learn.”

“I suppose.” Coal smiled back. 

They were about at the trees now.

“Watch your step,” Ashra told him. “There can be thorny blackberry vines and things hidden under the grass and old leaves on the ground.”

“Got it,” Coal replied, focusing on the ground ahead of him. He saw a few of the thorny vines Ashra was talking about and made sure not to step on them. 

He smelled fruit now on top of the scent of decomposing plants, fragrant leaves, and other smells of the forest. Sure enough, after rounding a wide tree he saw the blackberry bushes (he assumed their identity based on the fact that they had black berries growing on them).

“Good, no one ate my berries,” Ashra commented happily, going over to a set of baskets on the ground. “Everyone usually is polite enough not to take food that someone else obviously picked, but sometimes someone will see that it’s unattended and decide it’s free for the taking.”

Coal nodded in response. “I can carry those like we said,” he told Ashra. 

“Thanks. It’s a harness strap, so you can just slip your head through. The main strap goes over your shoulders and then there’s another strap to help keep it from sliding around as much.”

“Right. Makes sense.” Coal walked over and ducked his head under the main strap. It was easy enough to figure out. When he stood, the weight fell comfortably on his shoulders.

“Wait, it doesn’t hurt your cut, does it?” Ashra asked suddenly, looking concerned. 

“No, it doesn’t,” Coal replied, paying attention to the injury for the first time in a bit. “Well, it rubs on it a little, I guess, but it’s fine. I can carry the basket just fine.”

“Well, if you’re sure,” Ashra replied a bit doubtfully.

“I am,” Coal assured her. “Your healing really helped.” He was also used to working through pain; this honestly wasn’t worth noting. 

“All right, then. I guess we can head to my house now, unless you want to grab a snack. I think most of the good blackberries have been picked already though…”

“That’s all right. I’m not too hungry.” Well, he kind of was, but he didn’t want to stop to eat right now. Besides, “I’m not sure how my stomach will do with blackberries anyway. I’m not sure I’ve had them before.” Why did he say that? He was trying not to tell Ashra too much about himself.

“Oh. That makes sense. I’ve got a lot of different foods at my house. Maybe you can find something there.”

“I couldn’t do that. I don’t want to take your food.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Ashra responded kindly. “I have plenty, more than enough to share. Honestly, you might be helping me out. I need to clear out some of my older food supplies before they go bad and so I can store this year’s supplies before winter, and it’s too much for one cat to eat by herself.”

“I guess I can help then,” Coal replied teasingly, pretending to be serious, like he was doing her some great, difficult favor. He watched her closely to see how she’d respond to the teasing.

“Thank you, I much appreciate it,” she replied in kind, also pretending to be solemn. Then she chuckled, and Coal smiled, pleased. 

“Anyway, my house is this way,” Ashra said then, refocusing on the task at paw. She gestured with a paw down a narrow path, marked by trodden-down debris and fewer plants. 

“After you,” Coal replied.

She led the way down the path. Trees and bushes grew more thickly on either side as they got further into the forest. The path meandered between them, sometimes getting fairly wide, other times narrow enough that Coal wouldn’t have been able to walk beside Ashra even if he hadn’t chosen to follow behind her.

It wasn’t a very long walk to Ashra’s house. Soon the two cats were entering a clearing in the trees and the house was in front of them. It was small, Coal thought (not that he had many experiences with houses to draw from), but cozy-looking. It was made from wood with a straw roof. The sides he could see each had one window with matching pink cloth coverings, one of which was closed and the other open.

“Well, that’s my house,” Ashra announced, pausing her walk and glancing back at Coal. “It’s not very big or fancy, but then, I’m just one cat, so it works fine for me.”

“I like it,” Coal told her, coming over to stand beside her. “It looks nice.”

“Thank you. Let’s go in, put those blackberries down, and then get something to eat. Sound good?”

“Sounds good,” Coal responded. 

“Good.” Ashra started walking again, and Coal followed her with his load of blackberries to the little house.