Celta Cats Page 4

  The flowers and dirt reminded them all where they were going, what they were giving up life on Ship for, huge new territory for them all, dirt and plants and playtime in something like a Greensward whenever they wanted.

  Fabulous smells.

  At Peaches’ prompting, they agreed to keep in touch. They had Fam concerns humans would never understand.

  Old dog knew most about the plans for building the City, and drew them a simple map with a claw, showing where they should continue to meet once they were down on Celta and outside the Ship.

  Then the intercom blared: “Landing Sequence Imminent, please go to your secure seats.”

  To show his courage, Peaches waited for all the other Fams to run out of the lounge and to their landing nets before walking, tail up and waving, from the room. He curled the tops of his ears against the shrieking and pulsing warning, continued to saunter down Ship’s corridors. People moved fast, running, panting.

  Though his heart beat quick and hard, he ignored that to show everyone, human and Fam, his bravery.

  Peaches, where ARE you! screamed his FamMan in demand.

  On my way, he replied.

  Translocating you...

  NO! I’m coming! He hated moving through dimensional space. Scary on the ship, easier, maybe, on a planet. Maybe.

  He’d only thought about the planet thing much and OUTSIDE except when he had to. So often, lately, he tried to hide the very scary thoughts.

  So he loped the last meters to a new place Ship and Captain had opened up. They entered a round chamber, the Main Bridge. In the big chair in the middle Pilot sat.

  FamMan Randolph led Grandma Chloe to her seat, a plush seat as befitted her status as one of the colonists who had paid for this trip, and as the Executive Officer of the Ship. He held her hands as she sat, then kissed both her cheeks.

  “Believe,” he said aloud and let the word sing in their minds, backed the word with the complete faith he had. That the very smart Pilot and Ship would land them in a good place to live. That they could live on the new world. He, more than anyone on the Ship, knew about the planet.

  “The Captain made me believe we could discover a wonderful new world and we did. Now believe me that we will live well on that world.” Another squeeze of fingers with fingers. Peaches leapt up onto her lap and leaned against her and sent his purr into her bones.

  We will need You, Grandma Chloe, he sent to her mind, and she relaxed even more when she heard that, felt his sincerity.

  “Yes, Grandmother, you are the head of our family. You know how to live on a planet. We need you, Peaches and me.” One last kiss on her cheek, and Randolph began to pull the safety webbing over her. Peaches jumped down, stood on FamMan’s feet to link better with him as they used their Flair magic to coat more safe spells on Chloe.

  “I love you, Randolph, and Peaches,” Chloe said in a firm voice.

  I love you, too! Peaches replied, along with Randolph.

  All around them people took their seats and strapped in and told each other of their love. The big feeling moving through this chamber, and like a huge wave through the Ship, inundated Peaches.

  He still breathed fast.

  When he reached FamMan’s seat and his sling next to it, Peaches stopped.

  Then, he just stood on shaking legs, shivering with fear. All his guts seemed to have knotted. He didn’t want to live anywhere but here, where he ruled all the Fams, where he was comfortable, where he knew everything about everyone and everything.

  For the first time, ever, he sent to his FamMan, I am afraid.

  “Oh.” FamMan scooped him up, held him close, cradled him and rocked him. Radiated love and comfort with the very warmth of his thoughts and body. Randolph had become stronger, emotionally, than Peaches had noticed. He didn’t know when that had happened, but gratitude at Randolph’s actions filled Peaches.

  Randolph could be strong when Peaches felt weak. Peaches didn’t need to be strong all the time for Randolph or Grandma Chloe.

  “It will be fine,” Randolph crooned whispered.

  Peaches knew what he meant. If Ship got in trouble and couldn’t land, Pilot would blow them up and they wouldn’t feel a thing, it would be so big and fast.

  It will be fine, Peaches agreed.

  After one last long and loving stroke, FamMan Randolph gently placed Peaches in his safety hammock, actually leaned down and kissed him on the nose. Peaches pretended to like that, though, and radiated love back to Randolph.

  Randolph carefully placed Peaches in the sling. “I love you, Peaches.”

  I love you, FamMan Randolph.

  After a last stroke from nose to tail, Randolph shut the sling and said Flair spell words. Then he took his seat just below and beyond Peaches’ tail. Peaches’ nose pointed toward the front of the bridge where the Pilot and Captain and Captain Lady sat.

  He hung wrapped in a net hammock, kept reassuring himself he could tear it too bits and get out, if necessary.

  “Here we go,” Pilot said with great cheer.

  The Ship tipped. Angled. Down. And his heart seemed to move around in his body and pumped fast, fast, fast.

  And he had to admit to himself that deep in himself he’d lied all the time. To everyone, including himself. He couldn’t imagine life on a planet. Didn’t want to land. Didn’t want to live anywhere but on Ship. Stupid to lie to self. Now he had to battle with his fear during the most dire circumstances of his life.

  He had to believe. So he did. In his FamMan, who he loved. In the love he felt for Chloe and FamMan, the love that helped him believe.

  “Now leaving orbit,” Pilot said.

  “Affirmative,” said the Ship. “We are in good position to land on the peninsula we chose.”

  Going down, down, down was nasty! Horrible fall, with air scrunching Peaches as if all his beautiful fat and muscles and bones should be together. Terrible. He opened his mouth a little and it got stuck that way!

  FamMan and others gasped. Grandmother Chloe grimaced and slowly spit out words, “Gravity pressing against us as we enter. Three gravs, three times the amount of regular Earth gravities.”

  Peaches didn’t like it, decided not to have any more truck with gravity.

  Big fire streams of flowed across the portholes of the ship, like they were encased in fire. Someone screamed and more people did more and more and outside the command room.

  Fams wailed in his mind.

  Peaches breathed so quick darkness edged his vision. Blessed darkness.

  He wrenched his head to look at Pilot.

  She looked the same. Professional.

  Did her fingers hover over the explode button?

  Maybe.

  Air squeezed around him so he couldn’t breathe.

  Blackness swallowed him.

  Slowly Peaches surfaced to thinking instead of feeling. Better to think, ‘cause his whole body felt stomped on and wrung out.

  And he felt heavier.

  Helpless in the net! Gotta get out. Gotta get out!

  Before he flailed and ripped the hammock, he remembered tug-open and closed his teeth around the string and yanked.

  He fell from the sling and barely managed to twist and land on his feet. Hopping onto FamMan’s lap, he stared at Randolph’s slack face. His body felt limp, but Peaches could hear steady heartbeats, and FamMan breathed well. Peaches hesitated to wake him up.

  Glancing over to Grandma Chloe, Peaches noted she looked shrunk. Little and whiter than usual with little brown spots on her face. He stared. Her hair seemed kinkier than usual, too. Odd.

  A stifled moan echoed more in his head than in his ears, which still seemed to ring with swirling air pressures or winds inside the Ship or human mutterings or puppy howls above human hearing but too sharp in Peaches’ ears.

  He turned and saw Captain sitting before an also limp Captain Lady.

  Oh, no! He rushed over, hopped onto Captain and licked the wet tracks on his face. Salty. FamMan not awake yet, either. You did good
, Captain. Captain Lady did good. Pilot did good. Not as good as Cats would have, but good.

  Most people stirred and stood, shaking their limbs. The puppy, thankfully, stopped yowling.

  “The planet outside...Celta...is fully acceptable for Earth-human life.” Ship announced. “Atmospheric pressure has been equalized. Opening all Landing Bays doors.”

  “Wait!” Captain ordered.

  But Peaches heard all the doors of the Ship to outside open. Felt the air change again.

  FamMan Randolph coughed and Peaches rushed back to him. Yes, his steps took more effort. Peaches licked and licked FamMan’s face. Just tired. You just a little tired, but time to wake up now.

  Blinking, then rubbing sticky sticky stuff from his eyes, FamMan opened his lashes and smiled at Peaches. “We’re down.” He looked toward the screens edging the bridge walls, then coughed. “Looks good. Ah, verdant.”

  Ship says We can live fine on planet! Just like You thought! Just like YOU said.

  Randolph petted him. “Good, that’s good.” He moved his shoulders against the safety webbing. “A huge relief.”

  “Yessss,” Peaches vocalized.

  Grandma Chloe whimpered and Peaches jumped down from Randolph’s lap and hurried over to her. FamMan moved a little slower, too, and Peaches reached her first.

  Cocking his head, he opened his mouth for smell-taste and sensed her more with his Flair. Help her, FamMan! Peaches demanded.

  After a moment’s hesitation, Randolph unlocked Chloe’s safety nets, lifted her small body into his arms and sat down again. Chloe stopped crying, leaned against her grandson and hugged him. “I’ve been so afraid. I didn’t think I would actually make landfall. I thought I would die before we landed and never walk on solid ground again.”

  Ship had always felt plenty solid to Peaches.

  A fascinating scent came to his nostrils, one that tempted. One from outside. He jerked as he realized that if he wanted to be First Paw Or Foot On Celta, he needed to move fast!

  He shot toward the shut door of the Main Bridge leading to the corridor. Come ON! I want out! he insisted.

  Randolph, hand-in-hand with Chloe, came up to stand near Peaches and said, “The Captain and his lady must go first.”

  Peaches huffed, prepared himself to lunge through the door as soon as it opened. But FamMan picked him up and he had to wait and watch as Captain and Captain Lady moved to in front of them. Both Chloe and Randolph bowed to the couple.

  LET’S GO! Peaches yelled mentally.

  The bridge doors opened and people stood in the hall, looking scared, holding belongings in sacks or boxes.

  Peaches wiggled from Randolph’s grasp and hopped down.

  As Captain and Captain Lady proceeded down the hallway, following illuminated floor panels that Ship lit, the humans bowed to them.

  And to him, Peaches, maybe. He trod close at their heels. And just behind him, the female puppy, still thinking she might be Fam to Captain Lady.

  Soon they stood at the last door and looked at white sunshine angling into the huge bay.

  They walked down the ramp to a wide space green with grasslike stuff, and stopped.

  Peaches zoomed after them, the first Fam to put paw on the ground of the new planet! FamMan Randolph and Chloe joined him.

  ZINGING SHOCK! Peaches hunkered down, ears flattened.

  Flair magic surged from the dirt through his pads all the way to the tips of ears and tail.

  Slowly he rose, and a breath that had seemed caught inside him, all the way inside, coating the marrows of his very bones, rattled out of him on a cough. He smelled it—ship air in his lungs—that seemed to hang before him, then dissipated. When he drew in a breath, it brought a dizzying amount of new scents. Green and growing things headier than that of the Great Greensward itself.

  He staggered, his paws crossing...his eyes crossing. Had to stand still to get his balance. Sliding his gaze around, he saw he was the only Fam standing.

  Good. Little steps, kitten tip-toe pad steps.

  The humans seemed to have it easier...and those recently been Awakened walked smoothly.

  Grandma Chloe beamed a smile bigger than Peaches had ever seen on her face. Almost scary. She walked with a bounce in her step.

  No, not truly scary. Nothing, no thing, scared him. All the fright he’d held inside for a long, long time had come out with that last breath containing Ship’s air.

  From the time Randolph had joined the conspiracy to take over the Ship and got them all in danger, to the terror of falling through space to land on this place that might kill them with that first breath.

  To have such fear gone made him feel as exuberant as a kitten!

  More peoples came and cried and laughed, then cheers filled the air.

  He looked around, opened his mouth to curl his tongue in smell-taste sense. Chortled in glee.

  Wonderful place! Tilting his head he stared at the sky not like the GreatGreensward sky and the trees and the bushes more and wilder around him than in the Ship’s park. Better.

  Flexing his claws, he dug them into the earth below, smelled the new and fabulous smell of the planet, their home.

  He opened his throat and yowled approval, shouting with his mind. We have arrived on Celta!

  I HAVE ARRIVED!

  = The End =

  __________________________oo_________________________________

  NOTE: You can see more of Peaches in the story, Heart And Sword, in the collection titled Hearts and Swords. Please note, these stories, as well as the rest of the Celta books that feature Familiar Animal companions, are fantasy romances and not appropriate for children.

  Zanth Gets His Boy

  This story was the result of requests by my readers and was previously published in my newsletter ONLY. Zanth essentially saved young Rand Ash’s life as a child, and helped him mature to adulthood (backstory referenced in the first book of my fantasy romance series, HeartMate). By the way, for mature readers who want to follow up (or follow) Zanth, he appears on page 3 of the paperback, HeartMate. Complaining about the chef.

  Druida City, Celta, 369 Years After Colonization, Spring

  Zanth, Fiercest Cat of Celta, Terror of Sewer Rats, deserved a rich life. Now that he knew what rich was.

  In the market on the edge of Downwind, he’d smelled-tasted a plush flavor that whiffed through his nose and sank into his tongue. Unusual. So he followed the pant-legs of the man to find more of this goodness. Away from his Downwind alley and out, out, out! Past crowded city buildings, even.

  To clean smelling places. Big houses with lots of land. No alleys.

  The man went through a gate that smelled of bitter dog, and Zanth abandoned him to explore a wider area.

  He looked into sheds and found one with a broken window that welcomed him. Warm and out of the late spring cold snap. Plump fuzzy cloth-covered things to sleep on. With tassels to play with, though they didn’t taste too good.

  Yes. He deserved rich.

  Over the next couple of days, the sparse game around the shed concerned him, and, sniffing, he figured other Cats—though not smart like he—and raccoons and foxes also hunted in his new space. He ate adequately but not as good as he’d hoped. Muttered grumbly thoughts and cat hisses to himself.

  Days got warmer, almost too warm in the shed, but nights continued cold enough to frost even his tough paw pads.

  Wanting his favorite meal of sewer rat, he did one last sharpening of his claws on the wide door jamb leaving nice wide new wood instead of old boring stain. Yanked off and demolished the last tassel, and marked the whole inside as his. He’d come back later. Because he deserved rich.

  He left the place that night to trot to the busier part of the city, then to Downwind where sewer rats ran free and abundant.

  Soon enough he slunk along the narrow sort-of streets, noted the new odors at the nearest intersection a half block from his alley, then sauntered up to one of the few trash-throw-away pillar containers outside his home
. It loomed tall above him, and no food spilled out. Something in there smelled really, really toothsome.

  Sauntering in, he heard a hiss. Whirling, he confronted a rat!

  While Zanth lounged in his shed place, a giant rat had moved into Zanth’s alley!

  Huge insult!

  Nobody, no rat should be so unafraid of Zanth as to move into his space that he’d kept free from vermin and every-fliggering-one-else for years! How could this happen? Surely his reputation as the fiercest fighting Cat in Druida City should scare others away from his home for more than a few days!

  Rat had the gall to raise his muzzle gums and show his big teeth at Zanth.

  Last thing he’d do!

  A quick fight later, with only a couple of nips and scratches, Zanth feasted on the dead rat. Regular alley rat and not sewer rat, and big, but not as savory as he wanted. Especially since good food odor wafted to him from the tall trash thing.

  Slurp, slurp, slurp.

  Belch.

  Sigh and a little time to groom blood off whiskers before more munching.

  A series of whimpers came from the deep, dark shadows at the end of the alley.

  Zanth froze, fur bristling, head cocked so his best ear could hear. More, sensed the Other. Human and young. Zanth hurrumphed, stalked over to find a crying boy huddled in a corner. Should have noticed him before. He growled in his throat.

  The boy flinched, shrank back when Zanth came close to study him, whiskers quivering. Though young, the boy looked large. Would grow to big man. As big to men as Zanth was to Cats. Zanth approved.

  Dark hair, swarthy skin, light eyes.

  Though the boy and his clothes and the big book he held smell-tasted scorched fire bad, and sewer ripe streaks, and a hint of pee, underlying all that lay the sweetness of rich. And when Zanth’s whiskers touched the kit’s skin, all Zanth’s hair rose in tingling delight.

  He smiled. The boy cringed. Smelled of big Flair-Magic. More Flair magic than Zanth had ever sensed from humans here Downwind. His nose twitched in remembrance of market days in nice part of city. Rich people had big Flair magic and could do big stuff.