«They have no wings or beautiful fur,» Fahreeta added, twirling her sleek body in graceful spinning rolls across the sunlit sky to show off her well-shaped wings and the pure golden color of her pelt. «And they break too easily if you play with them.»

«They smell much like prey,» Torasul agreed, «but are not for eating. Is confusing. Makes a cat…» Words gave way to a vivid image of a tairen snarling, his fangs dripping with venom and saliva.

«I… see…» Ellysetta replied slowly.

Rain laughed. The sound came out as a series of amused chuffs. «To the tairen, only the Tairen Souls are true kin. Other Fey are really only kin-by-proxy. Not prey, but not entirely part of the pride either. Wingless, fangless, furless, flightless, two-legged not-prey creatures who might, many millennia ago, have been something distantly related to tairen. In some respects, the tairen regard the Fey rather like that kitten your sisters gave Kieran.»

Her jaw dropped. «They think of the Fey as pets?»

«More like distant relatives. More primitive, less powerful relatives.»

She paused to mull that over. «Do the Fey know that? The warriors are always talking about "the tairen in them."»

«All Fey know where the line is drawn. Those who are not Tairen Souls admire the tairen, appreciate their power and beauty and magic, but they respect their fierceness as well. The Fey have a saying: "The slopes of Fey'Bahren run dark with the blood of enemies, fools, and prey." Which may have something to do with the fact that a tairen's idea of negotiation is a warning growl before he rips and roasts you with fang and flame.»

«I know it must be true, but part of me finds it so hard to believe. Just look at Fahreeta.» Ellysetta pointed to the sleek golden cat soaring and diving through the skies nearby. «She seems so…sweet and playful, like a kitten.»

As if sensing eyes upon her, Fahreeta gave a series of purring roars and flew in dizzying circles around her mate, Torasul. The great male just eyed his cavorting mate with a long-suffering eye and kept flying. She flew too close once, and he swatted out with one large paw, catching the tip of her right wing. With a yelp, the playful golden beauty went tumbling. She broke her fall and righted herself easily, but the tumble left her fur ruffled and her green eyes shooting sparks. Torasul gave chuffing huffs of tairen laughter and blew smoke.

Fahreeta's muzzle drew back, baring a mouthful of gleaming white, razor-sharp fangs. She gave a snarl. Her tail whipped through the air like a giant lash. Large, curving claws sprang from her forepaws. She pumped her wings and, with a scream of fury, shot across the sky towards her mate.

Ellysetta gasped and clutched fistfuls of Steli's white hair, but Torasul only gave his mate an indolent look. Then, with a speed that made Ellysetta gasp again, he folded his wings and drop-rolled straight into his mate's oncoming attack. Torasul's wings spread at the last moment to stop his fall before he crashed into Fahreeta, and the two cats came together in a roar of fury, ivory fangs and curved, razor-sharp claws. Limbs tangled. Each tairen's massive jaw grabbed the other's neck in a deadly grip. Wings batted the air with ferocious speed, then folded tight. They spun together, dropping through the sky, wings and tails twining together.

"Rain!" Ellysetta cried, terrified the pair would kill each other right before her eyes. "Stop them."

Steli glanced down at the tumbling pair and sniffed. «Juveniles.»

Just when it looked as though both Torasul and Fahreeta would crash into the earth below, the pair spread their wings and broke apart, soaring in opposite directions, then circling around. They flew upwards, gaining altitude and speed until both were flying alongside Rain and Steli once more.

Fahreeta resumed her purring and prancing through the sky, taking every occasion to rub wing and fur against her mate. Torasul rumbled happily, then returned to his stoic, unflappable calm and kept his wings pumping in steady flight.

«Oh, aiyah,» Rain sang in tones laden with irony. «Sweet and playful. Very like a kitten.»

Celieria ~ Teleon

"Good morning, my sweet kitlings." Sol Baristani beamed at his young twin daughters as they skipped into the sunny breakfast room in Teleon's main tower. "Don't you both look bright as a summer sky?"

Lillis and Lorelle were both wearing cerulean blue frocks covered with white lace pinafores that tied in big bows at the back of their waists. Their mink brown hair bounced in curling ringlets around their shoulders, and circlets of beautiful, aromatic white bellflowers crowned their heads.

"Good morning, Papa!" Lillis sang. "Look what we found!" She held up a bouquet of the same flowers she and Lorelle wore in their hair. "Aren't they pretty? They bloomed last night all over the garden we planted with Ellie and Lady Marissya."

Sol made a show of inspecting the delicate white bell-flowers. The blooms, each about the size of a baby's fist, nodded on the half dozen slender green stems clutched in Lillis's hand. Each deep bloom boasted six starry petals curled back from a pale pink center accented with shimmering, opalescent veins and deep pink stamens. The flowers were stunning, their aroma an entrancing mix of freshness and heady fragrance, like jasmine drenched in a cool spring rain. Laurie would have loved them.

"Those are beautiful, kitling," Sol agreed, his voice going gruff. "We'll just put them here in this glass, eh?" He poured water into an empty glass and held it out to Lillis so she could put the flowers in it. He set the makeshift vase in the center of the table. "Very pretty. Now, both of you come sit down and eat before your breakfast gets cold." As the girls danced past to take their seats, Sol's eyes widened in dismay. They'd left a crumbling trail of muddy footprints in their wake.