Page 50 of Sun Warrior

The curtain that separated the burrow’s two rooms moved, and then Danita emerged, carrying a basket filled with potatoes, mushrooms, and a variety of dried vegetables. She paused. Bast left her side and padded to Davis. The room fell silent as everyone watched to see what the feline would do next. Mari could see that Davis was holding very still and Cammy moved quickly so that he was lying between Rigel and Laru, who were curled up resting before the door.

Bast put herself between Davis and Danita, then made a rolling chirp sound that called to the girl. Danita nodded and, without looking directly at Davis, she walked to him and, with Bast still standing protectively between them, passed him the basket of vegetables over the big feline’s body.

“This should help stretch the stew,” Danita said.

“Thank you,” Davis said, taking the basket carefully.

Bast chirped at Danita again before padding to the pallet. She jumped up, making room beside Mari. Then the Lynx glared pointedly at Nik, who was sitting on the other side of Mari, and hissed sharply.

“Okay! Okay!” Nik said. “I’ll help with the food.”

As soon as Nik left the pallet, Danita hurried over to sit snugly between the big feline and the Moon Woman.

“You’re going all out, aren’t you?” Antreas said to his Lynx. Bast made a coughlike sound in reply, which had her Companion shaking his head, though Mari thought he didn’t really seem annoyed at the feline.

“Did you stop the forest fire?” Danita asked Mari.

“I did. Well, with Nik’s help I did,” Mari said. “It did a lot of damage first, though. So many people were killed—” she began, and then closed her mouth. She had no idea if Davis’s family had escaped the blaze. Quickly she changed the subject. “Where’s Jenna?”

“Before Sora left to try to find you, she sent Jenna out to collect as much aloe as she could find. She brought one big basket of it back here but went out again to collect more. I was just starting to worry abouther. It’s almost dark, isn’t it? I can feel the sun setting.” Absently, Danita rubbed her arms, which hadn’t yet begun to flush gray with the setting sun.

“Don’t worry. Jenna’s smart. She’ll be back any moment, and I’ll Wash the both of you.”If I can,Mari added silently.I’m so tired that I feel used up.

“That’s okay, Mari. Sora Washed Jenna and me last night. We’re fine. And, um, you don’t look so good.”

Mari brushed a limp strand of blond hair from her face and sighed. “I’m just tired.”

“Here, this will help.” Nik handed her a steaming bowl of stew with a big hunk of Sora’s fresh bread. Mari barely took time to thank him as she shoveled the food into her mouth.

“Danita, would you like some stew, too?” Antreas asked.

Mari felt the girl’s body startle and begin to tremble. Bast reacted instantly. She leaned against the girl, purring loudly. With a motion that already appeared automatic, Danita stroked the feline. Then she answered Antreas, in a clear voice that hardly shook at all.

“No, thank you. I can wait until extra is ready. Feed yourselves and the animals first.”

Which was exactly what the men were doing when the door to the burrow opened, letting in a cool evening breeze that carried with it Jenna and the scent of smoke. The young woman almost fell over Laru, who was closest to the door.

“Rigel! You’re back, so Mari must—” Jenna began happily as she turned to put down the basket filled with aloe plants and noticed that the canine she’d tripped over was much larger than Rigel. “Oh! Mari?” Jenna’s wide gray eyes darted around the burrow, taking in the men, the canines, the Lynx, and finally Mari.

“Jenna!” Mari met her at the door, hugging her tightly. “All is well. They’re friends,” she whispered, and felt the tension relax from her friend’s body.

“Hi, Jenna,” Nik said. He was sitting at Mari’s favorite spot behind her desk, mouth partially filled with bread dunked in stew.

“Nik, I’m glad to see you’re safe,” Jenna said. She lifted one dark brow at the other men and the Lynx.

“This is Davis, and his Companion Terrier, Cameron,” Mari said.

“Hello, Jenna. And we call him Cammy most of the time. Well, unless he’s in trouble.” Davis grinned at his Terrier, who barely looked up from his bowl of stew.

“And this is Antreas. His Companion is Bast, the feline who has decided to stay protectively close to Danita,” Mari said.

Jenna nodded a greeting to Antreas, but it was Bast who had her full attention. “I’ve never seen a feline before. She’s lovely.”

“She’s a Lynx,” Antreas said. “And thank you.”

“I’ve heard rumors of Lynx Companions, but I thought they were mostly just tall tales made up by Storytellers to amuse Clan children,” Jenna said, moving closer to peer at Bast, who returned her gaze steadily. “But she’s most definitely real.” Jenna glanced at Antreas, smiling incredulously. “This gives me hope that maybe the stories of Wind Riders across the mountains to the east are true and Whale Singers in the oceans to the north and west, too.”

“I can’t tell you about the Whale Singers; I’ve never met anyone from that Tribe, but Wind Riders are definitely real.”