The river's roar broke through the whispering silence - the violent pounding of a river in flood. The Grimalkyn had, for once in his life, paused and sat in a half crouch on the riverbank, tail twitching restlessly.
"A token for your passage you have brought?" He asked, as Kataryna came to stand beside him and saw the River.
The River that bordered the Rainbowlands was a terrifying sight indeed. Constantly in flood, the waters rushed past with such speed and fury it seemed all would be torn apart in its wake. Whole trees, complete with birds' nests, floated past and a squirrel chattered at her from one of the branches. She could see the far bank, barely, but it seemed an impossibly long way away.
"A token?" Her hands flew to her pocket and closed about two opates. She could not remember putting them there, but maybe in a dream? She drew them out on the palm of her hand, one yellow, the other blue. Little more then loose change - would it be enough to pay her passage?
"Do you wait for the Lost to come? Make your Tribute, feed the stream."
Kataryna glanced down at the small domed stones in her hand, and then flung them out as far as she could. Instantly the waters devoured them and a great turbulence arose. Water poured back and around as something erupted from beneath. The prow crested first, the carved wooden head of a swan staring at her, and then followed a small, almost dainty boat. Water streamed down its elegant sides and it moved through the turgid water as though it were little more then a still pool. It was empty, but moved with such purpose and direction it was easy to believe it were alive.
As it neared the bank, a sparkle of yellow caught Kat's attention. One eye of the swan glinted in striking yellow, the other a dazzling blue. Her opates.
It reached the bank and stopped, patiently waiting. The Grimalkyn sprang into its berth immediately, but Kataryna could not stop herself from stopping to admire the craftsmanship. The boat was a swan there was no questioning that - every feather had been carved in exquisite detail and the wings nestled at each side looked ready to spread at any moment. She placed one hand on the swan-boat's elegant head. "You're beautiful," she whispered, "exquisite." And for but a moment one of her opates blinked brightly and paled, almost as though the boat were winking at her.
Slightly disconcerted, but pleased, never-the-less, the Lemur sprang into the boat, joining the Grimalkyn on the narrow sitting plank. For all the beauty of the boat, it was not designed for comfort.
"I wonder who carved such a beauty," she mused, and the Grimalkyn shot her a look that said she was mad to ask such a thing.
She sighed and sat back as the swan-boat turned about and made its way smoothly through the current. Above her the sky was not blue, nor grey, but a myriad of colours, blending and merging and swirling together like chaotic clouds. For all the fury of the river, the boat floated in calm, still water. Glancing back she realised that this calm patch was consumed as soon as the boat had passed through it. The Grimalkyn fidgeted beside her, tail twitching, ears twitching, fingers clenching and unclenching as he fought to keep his body still.
Kataryna delved deep for some sort of small talk, but could find none. What was there to be said?
"Who is it I am here to save?" She asked after a time.
"He who wields the power of the light," the Grimalkyn replied, grooming his tail, eyes flaring. "He who must be restored to fight the fight. Without him you will fail and all the world will turn to ice."
"Well I guess I'd better go and find him then," she commented. "But how is it that you can bring me in but you can't bring me out?"
"You are the One who walks the line," he said. "Neither here nor there." One small hand stroked one of her wing feathers. His touch was light and surprisingly cool. For a fraction of a moment he was still, completely and utterly. Then he sighed and his ears drooped, but he said nothing.
Kataryna resisted the urge to fondle his head hair.
They were partway across when motion in her peripheral vision caught her attention. Upon the shore they had left behind, three scrawny Furrae were setting a makeshift raft into churning waters. It took all of their strength for two of them to hold it in place and the first to jump on, then the others followed. Immediately the water seized hold of the haphazard boat, wrenching it cruelly downstream. In vain the Furrae tried to steer it on a diagonal course across the river, before the seething waters grasped the rudimentary rudder and tore it free.
"Can't we do anything to help them?" Kat asked, moving to the tail end of the boat. "Won't you turn back and pick them up?" She asked the swan. It woodenly ignored her.
"Cannot help," the Grimalkyn said, and his tone sounded at least a little sad, "if you do not pay tribute, the torrent you must face."
As Kataryna watched, a wave crested the raft, sweeping one of the Furrae free. For a long moment he clung to the boards, and then was ripped into the river's unforgiving grasp. Like a dejected piece of flotsom, it tumbled him downstream, drawing him beneath to a watery grave.
The remaining two Furrae clung tight, muscles straining. The raft had drifted quite close to the swan-boat - such was the speed it was travelling, and Kataryna could quite clearly see the determination in their faces. There was no fear in their eyes. Perhaps they were beyond fear. Their bodies were pathetically wasted, their fur threadbare and their clothes little more then tattered rags, but still they clung. She scoured the boat, seeking something - anything - to throw to them and draw them into the safety of the swan-boat's smooth passage, but there was nothing and she could do nothing but watch with bated breath and clenched teeth.
A feathery wisp of a finger appeared from the water, drawing a hand behind it, it caught on the edge of the raft, closely followed by another. The raft titled and the Furrae started in fear, slashing at the fingers with the first thing at hand - their teeth. A moment later the creature came into view, dragging itself from the raging waters.
It appeared not unlike them, only where they were half-starved, it was little more then a shadow. Furrae once, from the general shape of it, it was naked safe for clinging pond weeds. Its skin was hairless, as pallid as a slug. The eyes were huge, bulbous and black and transfixed the two rafters in a single gaze. Then one hand snaked out, grasping an ankle aimed at its face. The two skirmished violently, half-obscured by raging waters, but the aquatic beast triumphed and the raging waters swallowed them up. The final remaining Furrae clung desperately to the raft. His eyes lifted, and locked with Kataryna's. Help me, he mouthed, but the waves ripped him away, tossing the raft over and over like nothing more then driftwood.
The swan boat continued serenely on its way through the raging waters and came to a halt against the far bank. The Grimalkyn was leaping from it even before it had fully docked, but the Lemur followed at a more leisurely pace, pausing by the bird's head, she patted it gently.
"Thank you," she said, "you are magnificent."
The Opate-eyes sparked once more and the wooden face looked almost pleased. Then it lowered its head, fanned its wooden wings and glided in a half circle, diving beneath the turgid waters.