"Ah." Sliver merely nodded in acknowledgment of Eliot's reply if not in understanding, and glanced at Nicholai a moment before facing forward again. A few seconds later he continued humming.
---
Meanwhile, in the cart, the dark-furred hands had reached out again to continue unscrewing the back panel of Kassiopea's Voidwalker suit, this time careful to keep the bolts from hitting the floor of the cart.
---
Winter suddenly slowed his pace, which caused his stone construct to slow down as well.
"<Stop>," he said while touching the construct, which did as it was told. Winter approached the cart, watching the tarp next to Kassiopea.
Sliver watched Winter as the cougar stopped the construct. "<Is something wrong>?" he asked, eyebrows raised a little. He spoke a commoner's dialect, different than the warrior's speech Nicholai was learning, with a little of a scholar's accent. The question was a rhetorical one, since he knew his apprentice would alert him to anything requiring his attention. He only asked to let Winter know he was watching.
With a frowning glance at his master, Winter whipped the canvas tarp back to show another feline Kohanian, but an young adolescent female with the markings of a Siamese cat. The kitten was laying on her side with a wrench in one paw and two bolts in the other, her outstretched arm resting behind Kassiopea's back and her eyes closed tight.
"<What do you think you are doing>?" Winter asked harshly. "<I told Master that you wouldn't cause trouble>!"
The girl didn't answer, ducking her head with her eyes still closed.
Winter looked over at Sliver, who had questioning look, then looked back at the stowaway. "<You're not even supposed to be here! Put the bolts back and get outta there, you're walking with me-->."
He was interrupted by squeal and a blur of motion. Suddenly the bolts were replaced and she was standing next to the apprentice while grinning happily.
---
Gem watched and listened, then looked at Sliver. "Wha's this?" The question was sharp. "Did y'know 'bout 'er?"
Sliver nodded, raising his hands. "Yes, and I apologize. We didn't know she was there until just after we arrived at the cottage. I told Winter that she could stay if she didn't cause trouble, and that is why we stopped. It seems she was curious about your..." He paused, looking a little unsure what to call Kassiopia since he wasn't entirely sure what she was. "...We are too far to send her back alone. Forgive me for not telling you earlier."
The kitten's squeal drew a glance from Gem and she sighed. "Look, keep 'er outta th' way an' we'll be fine," she said finally. "An' keep 'er away from that suit. Isn' safe to be messin' wi'."
Sliver lowered his hands and nodded. "You have my word. Now, let's continue, shall we?"
---
The siamese Kohanian was so energetic that Keira was impressed she had stayed hidden for so long. Sliver introduced her as "
Rising Echo" to the group, and she was more than happy to meet each of them in turn, babbling even though none of the Horizon's Key's crew could understand a word she said. Gem doubted she would understand Echo even if the girl had been talking in Trade...
Echo was about Winter's age, and small for her age. She wore clothes similar to Winter but with the addition of many small jugs and containers hanging from her belt. Their personalities, though, seemed polar opposites. While Winter was calm and composed, Echo couldn't spell "calm and composed"! Her emotions were written on her face for all to see, and she seemed to almost have no sense of personal boundries. She surprising Winter by jumping and hugging his back when he turned to start leading the cart, but when he pushed her away Gem noticed Echo looked crestfallen for only a moment before clambering into the wagon and seating herself on top of the supplies. Even when sitting, she kept moving, rocking back and forth with a thoughtful look on her face.
