Wanderer 1

Prompt from DailyPrompt.com

“Krix?”

The wizened goblin sighed and finally gave up on today’s meditation practice. “Yes, Gix?”

“Something came through the portal.”

“Mhm?”

Can’t have been dangerous, at least not obviously dangerous, or it would be the warriors’ problem.

“It’s scared. We think it’s pregnant.”

Krix blinked and straightened up. “What? Carrying child though the portal? That…”

Gix nodded, his expression uneasy. “I’ve called Briz but she said you ought to be here too. Just in case.”

“Right. Right…” Krix found his walking stick and limped after Gix towards the Pens.

Incursions grew increasingly common. Used to be something crossed the portal a few times a generation, now it happened almost every year. Often the wanderer was simply lost and could be calmed and coaxed back through. Other times…

They rarely shared what they were running from. Their fear spoke enough.

“Briz?”

The chief midwife looked up and nodded an absent greeting. Her attention fixed on her patient.

Ah. A critter. That simplified some things and complicated others. Such was life.

Krix leant on his staff and examined the wanderer. A collar. So a person had laid stewardship of the critter. But it was faded and ragged and caked with grime, suggesting that protection had been lost. No telling if the person was searching for their lost ward or had cast her out.

As for the critter herself… while little could be seen as she cowered in the upturned basket, her form was like that of a forest cat’s kitten, albeit larger. And she clearly was not a kitten, for her stomach bulged with lives.

Krix waved at the basket. “A den?”

Briz nodded. “She needs a safe nook. The birthing has already begun.”

“Did passing through cause it?”

“Who knows? Maybe it was meant to happen moons from now. Maybe the birth stirrings are why she was fleeing. Vulnerable and alone. It’s her first time, too.”

“Hm.” Krix set that concern aside. “What does she need?”

“Food. Water. I will try to make her feel safe.”

“I will ask Caz what we have.”

Cats hunted in the forest. They stalked birds and other small creatures. What did the tribe have which would suit?

***

I am exhausted. But my babies suckle at my teats and I have milk to give them.

Three days since I was chased from my alley nest. Darting through a hole led me here, to a place filled with strange sights and stranger smells. I am far from home.

But these… humans? Are kind. The old lady gave me a cave to shelter in, and soft blankets, and hasn’t left my side. The others bring water which tastes of stone and freedom, and meats I relish but do not recognise.

I turn towards her and close my eyes in a smile. She knows my purr now, and that it is a joyful sound. Thankful.

As soon as my kittens are old enough, I will investigate the not-mice I hear.

[I am tempted to call this “Wanderer Part 1” because I am already getting ideas leading on from this story…

ETA: This is officially part 1]

Part 2 here. Archive here.