09-02-2008, 06:28 AM
34. Moon
Astin was awakened by the stillness around him. Never had he heard the forest so quiet, even though he had lived there all his life. He sat up from his bed of pine needles and immediately noticed that Cato, the Lupnian woman that he had met just a few days ago was missing.
He stepped over to where she had been sleeping. There was still warmth there under his touch. His eyes looked about the clearing and her footsteps became apparent to him. The grass was pressed gently inward and was still slowly springing back into it's proper place. He followed the path that she had left behind.
Cato had not gone far at all. He merely had to leave the cover of trees to see that she had gone to the small forest lake. Astin's breath was taken away as he saw it. The surface of the lake was completely still save for the tiny fireflies that brushed it's surface. Shown on it's mirror surface was the full moon, huge and swollen. At it's center stood Cato, heedless of the waist deep water that was filling the skirts of her sleeping gown.
He stepped on closer and heard her voice. It was no wonder that the forest was so quiet. Her gentle voice barely crossed the surface of the water, and yet, the forest begged to hear it and hushed. Her voice captured the attention of the night and commanded it. No matter she was saying, it was listening.
A twig snapped under his foot and just like that the spell was broken. An owl gave his melancholy cry as if out of mourning for the loss. Cato slowly turned around and looked at Astin. Even though he knew it wasn't possibly he could have sworn he saw the bright blue of eyes.
As she reached the shoreline Astin quickly offered her his cloak. She smiled and wrapped the white fur around her. They didn't talk, but simply stood for a while and watched as the ripples slowly dispersed to show the perfect image of the moon.
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