87- Look higher

As the sun finally set, I undressed and set my clothes out on a chair. I could feel my mates eyes on me and shot him a smile. He smiled back, flushing a bit at being caught.

“Like what you see?” I purred.

Milan swallowed nervously, and nodded once. I playfully pivoted in place, then rolled my shoulders.

“I’m changing,” I warned him. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and pictured what I looked like as a cat. I felt itching, something that wasn’t quite burning, and then the uncontrollable urge to stretch. I felt a shifting in my knees and fell to the ground. Not that it mattered, my hands, and shrinking fingers, caught me. I felt needle-like poking before my whiskers erupted from my cheeks.

When it was over, I felt my cat looking around. I could feel just a bit of panic, as it remembered the place from the night before and my frantic attempts to escape. Then, a surge of curiosity and joy as it scented Milan. I nudged my inner cat aside and stretched, taking control back.

‘What do you think?’ I asked, projecting my thoughts to Milan.

He looked caught off guard by my voice in his head, then relaxed and smiled. “You’re beautiful,” he said softly.

I swished my tail and strode to the door. ‘Shall we?’ I tried to hide that I was nervous as hell.

Sure, he said he’d let me change him. But would the Parliament agree? He had agreed so quickly after all…

“Let’s go.” Milan bundled up into a nice big jacket, pulled on a hat and gloves, and then grabbed the skis that he had placed by the door earlier.

As it turned out, the snow was the perfect consistency for cross-country skiing. Milan shushed easily along the top, back and forth, testing it. When he was ready, he picked me up.

We moved along at a nice pace, but it was chilly in the early evening.

‘Can you put me down?’ I asked.

“Sure, are you cold?” Milan asked, as he set me carefully on the snow.

‘A bit,’ I admitted. ‘I'd like to try moving a bit to see if I can warm up.’

I took a couple of experimental steps and was pleased to discover that the snow was hard enough to hold my weight. Although it was quite cold on the pads of my feet. I sped up a little and soon I was moving at an easy trot while Milan skied along beside me.

Despite the chill, it was a beautiful evening. There was no wind to speak of and stars were appearing in the slowly darkening sky.

“So, why the beach?” Milan asked.

“Well, they probably want a private meeting. And I believe the Alpha Parliament is actually on the water. So, they're probably just going to come right up the coast.”

We reached the beach and I promptly fell down through the snow that had settled differently on the sand. Milan quickly rescued me and brushed some of the snow off my fur.

‘Thank you,’ I said with a shiver.

Milan noted the unzipped his jacket and held it open. “If you don’t mind…”

I realized what he was offering, and climbed out of his arms and into his jacket. I curled up, warm and content. I was tucked in so close I could hear his heart beating.

‘Oh, this is cozy,’ I told him.

Milan carefully zipped it back up, leaving just my head exposed. I hooked one paw over the edge of the zipper, so I could watch where we were going.

‘I could get used to this,’ I laughed. I hesitated and then added softly. ‘You smell nice.’

“Thanks,” Milan chuckled.

As we walked, I felt myself start purring. ‘Sorry. I forgot you aren’t fond of cats.’ I made myself stop purring.

“Why are… oh the purring? Don’t worry. That actually felt nice,” said Milan. “You can uh… keep doing it, if you want.”

I happily returned to my purring. It was easy to purr with joy as I snuggled against my true mate. “What happens if you have to change back?” Milan asked. “Will I have time to get you out?”

I chuckled. ‘I can stay like this until sunrise, don’t worry. We’ll be back long before then.’

We went along for a while. The snow on the beach was harder to navigate, and I could feel my mate’s heart pounding as he worked.

‘This is far enough,’ I said, hoping I was right. If the dragon was coming over the water, I knew we’d spot them sooner or later.

“Okay. Now what?” Milan asked.

‘Now, we wait.’ I wiggled down a bit further, aware that I was still purring like a motorboat.

Milan shifted his weight back and forth, obviously slowly growing impatient. I could feel him turning this way and that, looking up and down the beach. Just as I was starting to worry about him getting cold, I spotted a distant, growing spot in the sky. Somehow, I knew.

‘Here they come.’

“Where?” Milan turned his head back and forth again.

‘I should probably warn you…’

“Warn me?”

‘Well, I suppose at this distance, you'll get a little warning anyway.’ I pushed up on his jacket and extended a paw out to the horizon. ‘Out there.’

“A pointing cat,” he chuckled. Nevertheless, I could tell he was looking where I was pointing. “I don't see a boat.”

‘Look higher.’

“Where am…” he trailed off. “What is that in the sky?”

‘That is the representative from the Alpha Parliament.’ I squinted, but still saw only shadow.

‘I'll be able to tell you who it is when they get a little closer.’

“Is that a bird?” Milan asked as the shape move closer.