The Non-Human Society

Chapter Thirty Five - Renn - A Cat's Meow

      "This is as far as I'll go Renn," Lilly said.

I shifted on a heel, to look at her. She was serious.

"Why? Surely saying hello before returning home isn't..." I stopped talking, as I realized the look on her face.

"For the same reason we rounded Bordu instead of going through it," she said.

"Hm... are there that many humans there?" I asked. There were several buildings; most were in the center of the wheat fields. One had a red roof, and was the largest. Maybe many humans lived there?

"No... not usually," she said gently.

"I see."

Lilly smiled at me, and then extended her hand. "It was a pleasure to meet you Renn. May we meet again someday," she said.

Taking her hand I nodded. "Yes. Thank you. I learned... a lot," I said.

She smirked as our hands left the clasp. "You sure asked a lot! Goodbye Renn. Make sure you tell Vim I was the one who guided you," she said.

"I will! Thank you, really," I said, and meant it. Truly, truly meant it.

Lilly turned, and headed back towards the section of forest we had just left.

It wasn't her forest but it was dense all the same. Perfect for her to traverse and head home, to her nest and husband, without needing to worry about running into any random humans.

"Thank you!" I said again, louder. She waved at me but didn't turn around.

"Really, thank you," I said once more, and wished I knew how to properly convey to someone how precious their efforts were to me.

She had not only guided me to the town, but had spent the last two days teaching me well of the Society... stuff that Lughes and Crane really had not been forthcoming about. Lilly had been not just open but wanted me to learn as much as I could.

Looking back before me, at the buildings where the Fox family and Snake family lived, I wondered if there was something deeper to Lilly's aversion of meeting them.

Maybe she had used the humans here as an excuse. She had not shown any avarice towards Vim, but that didn't mean she was on friendly terms with anyone else here...

Deciding not to worry about it, I hurried towards the path that led to the buildings. It looked to be dirt and gravel, but it was large. Large enough for carts.

There weren't any carts, or people, upon it now... but that was undoubtedly because of how early in the morning it was. The sun had only just risen.

It didn't take long for me to reach the path, and I was a little surprised to find how tall some of the wheat was. Most of the field was as tall as I was, and some was even taller.

Wasn't it winter? There wasn't any snow falling anymore, but it was only a few days ago that there was...

As I headed for the buildings, I realized I was nearly jogging. Slowing my pace, if anything to make sure no one found me odd... just in case someone was watching, or if a human appeared somewhere along the road.

"Careful Renn," I warned myself.

Walking carefully, I tried to smell and listen for anything odd.

I couldn't smell anything strange. The wheat smelled, of course, and it was the loudest thing here. There was a light wind that came and went, causing the stalks to brush against each other and sway.

Off in the distance I could hear other sounds. A stream was nearby. Something akin to cows could be heard in the distance too... and...

A creature darted out from the wheat to my right, and I watched as a small cat ran across the path and into the other field.