Humans are not rational creatures. Look,” he pointed through the mists to a spot on earth that he had once inhabited, “even the dog pines.”
The council looked down at a liver-colored spaniel that lay with his head between his front paws, his chocolate brown eyes filled with sadness.
“Stay, Shardai. I could make you forget your wearisome human.” Lolita batted her eyelashes at him, her manner coquettish.
The elder said sternly, “Lolita, a council meeting is neither the time nor the place for your goings-on. If you are going into heat, I suggest you join one of your lovesick admirers on the green.”
The council collectively stared down into Catarau’s lush meadow, dotted liberally with catmint and a hundred other herbs and flowers designed to entice a feline’s senses. A dozen toms in assorted colors sat a hundred feet below the council, looking up, waiting expectantly.
Shardai laughed. “You don’t need me little one. But I thank you for the singular honor.”
“Then you are going back?” she asked.
“With council’s permission.”
The elder looked at him gravely. “You know the risk you run.”
Shardai nodded.
“Once you leave this holy place and return to the human’s earth, we can no longer protect you. If you are starved, tortured or gassed, we cannot interfere. “Travel through space is less than a perfect science, especially for cats, and there is no guarantee you will ever find her. Earth is a large place. And even if you find her, what are the odds she will know you?”
“I will know her,” the big cat said quietly. “That is all the matters.”
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