You might ask me, do you have other stories
like these? I would answer, akin to these or of the same nature? For, you see,
this is a true story, the others are the subtle phantasms, the delight of my
heart in the darkness, and the things I tell myself so that I will not weep.
How can I tell you how Myrddin came to me, scenting
Rachel, my cat, on the windowsill, her green eyes surveying with mild interest
the baby-winged figure looping awkwardly toward our eyrie ? The glass panes
were no barrier to their bonding, they regarded each other with quiet, animal
caution, then Myrddin simply passed through the window, landing in a soft
somersault on the quilt, dazed by the feel of the downy fabric and the smell of
lilac. Rachel was stunned by the intrusion, retreating to her safe haven under
the bed, crouching watchfully in the shadows. She was unprepared for the
scrambling of smooth, golden talons along the blankets as Myrddin followed her,
trusting this older creature to lead him to safety. After all, Rachel was at
home and seemed happy and unafraid of any harm, surely a tiny being like
himself could find security under the dark cherry bed in one of the clean and
silent corners.
Myrddin hung, tangled in the quilt edge,
his face peering anxiously into the dim light where Rachel knelt like a
mandarin, ears perked forward in absolute feline intensity. Tears blurred his
vision for a moment, fear gripped the trembling heart of him, curious smells
overcame him, no wind, no sunlight, no bird calls, nothing. Just the stillness,
the glowing eyes of his watcher, and the terror that he had done triumphantly
the wrong thing in coming here to this alien place.
II
Rachel rose , stretching her front legs
luxuriously, flexing her claws, then extending the hind ones separately in a
sensuous, unstudied manner, so that her graceful body inched closer to the
dangling dragonet. Myrddin, his body tingling in rapt anticipation, felt the
first fugitive touches of silken, dark fur brushing lightly over him. The cat
massaged his entangled foot rhythmically with her left cheek. Myrddin thrilled
to the soft rumble of her purr, and listened intently to the unfamiliar voice
that seemed to be urging a deep relaxation over him. Gradually his clamped
talon opened, and he squeezed his eyes shut, waiting for the terrible pain of
slamming into the wooden floor below. To his great surprise, he sank instead into
a warm, breathing blanket of welcome. Rachel embraced him tenderly on her belly
with her front legs, then rocked him, lowering him gently to the floor beside
her. Myrddin lay stunned, an opalescent mist of connection eddying to and fro
between them. The gentle cat yawned, showing her pink tongue and white teeth, she
then settled into quiet contemplation, her eyes dreamy and thoughtful. Rachel’s
black whiskers twitched, delicate messages travelling their length to the heart
of her curiosity. The dragonet remained fearful, yet ensorcelled with the
creature before him, his sensitive snout vibrating.