Unfortunately, she couldn’t help but make an incredulous expression when she heard the cat’s reply to her question. [i]The [b]talking cat[/b] is here for [b]me[/b]. Riiiiiight![/i] She couldn’t help but be skeptical. Sure the talking cat felt strangely familiar, but that was it. How could she trust a talking cat she had just met. She didn’t know a thing about it. A little quiet voice inside her was telling her that she shouldn’t just believe [b][i]everything[/i][/b] a talking cat said, but her current experiences were null. Sure that little something inside her was saying that she shouldn’t belief the talking cat, but at the same time it felt familiar and it didn’t tell her just [b][i]why[/i][/b] she shouldn’t trust the cat. God, if this was how amnesiacs felt, she pitied them.

Almost unnoticed, the cat moved closer to her while her instincts and reasoning were playing tug of war with her thoughts. Suddenly she realized she was staring right into the cat’s eyes. Somehow she couldn’t take her eyes away and it was as if she was falling into a sea of sapphire. Absentmindedly, she felt something inside her. The sense that something was seeing all that she was intensified, but she sense no malice or judgement. She possessed enough sense to wonder why she wasn’t panicking, before it dropped away, or maybe it was her that had fallen out of its gaze. She blinked at the creature before her, confused.

[i]What the hell just happened? What did that cat do to me![/i] The sense that something had seen into the deepest part of her unnerved her and her fear warred with indignation. [i]What the hell did that cat just do to me!?![/i] Her temper started to flare, but stopped just as quickly. Like a wind blowing out a candle, her exhaustion blew out her anger. Instead she sighed. So the cat had done something to her, seemed to have peered inside of her, what did that change? Well, clearly that was digging into someone else’s business, and she wasn’t sure she wanted anyone being able to know that much about her. It made her feel insecure. She wanted to feel upset and suspicious but she was too tired now. She was too tired to really argue with herself at least. She might as well give up and resign herself to arguing with herself all the time. 

Sure she had conflicting emotions, and sure that was uncomfortable as hell and made her upset. Sure she felt like she was starting to get a headache, and this whole confusion business was starting to make her sick. But what could she do? [i]Too bad I can’t just knock myself out and get some rest. Hell, I’m tired. If my brain and instincts would just shut up for a few minutes, maybe I could just lay down and sleep.[/i] All her energy at the thought of getting some of that stuff that protected her from all the fears and troubles drained out of her. Offhandedly she thought to herself that she wouldn’t care if a man found her now. She was so damned tired. He could do whatever he wanted so long as she could rest, that was the measure of her exhaustion. 

She considered just walking off into the bushes near the path and just falling like a felled tree behind them. That grass was starting to look so inviting. The cat’s words drew her out of her contemplation of the grass’ quality as a sleeping spot. There was something that could make it stop? Make what stop? The exhaustion? The confusion? Did it matter? She took the crystal vial from the cat and examined it. Was it water? Was it some kind of medicine or drug? Was it poison? Did she really care? Not really. If it was poison, she would be able to rest in death probably. She didn’t really believe in an afterlife or gods or anything. [i]Life is bad enough. If there’s an afterlife then I must be in hell.[/i] She only spared a moment to examine the thought, but all motivation to discover herself vanished. Was it a drug? If so what could it do to her. A myriad of images and knowledge followed that thought and she almost threw it away. She looked at the vial warily, and then forced her body to move.

“Thanks.” she said and then forced her sluggish body to move. She had wasted too much energy on her emotions. For now she was going to go find a relatively safe place, somewhere off the damned path. If she was going to go fall down from the drugs or water or whatever it was, she was going to at least do it in a better location. The drug could make something stop. Was it her exhaustion or was it her emotions or something else? Perhaps her fear of men? Well, it didn’t matter. She wouldn’t know for sure until she tried it, and she was far gone enough that she was willing to give it a go. When she’d found a good area with soft plush grass and a thicket, she examined the vial again. It only took her a moment to get up her courage this time. She quickly opened the vial and downed whatever was in it. 

On her tongue the water was clear, crisp, and somehow cold. It was refreshing, and she felt as if energy was bubbling into her body and mind. [i]It’s fizzy like soda bubbles[/i] she thought to herself, but she wasn’t referring to the water. She was referring to the energy she was starting to feel inside of her. The haze of exhaustion disappeared and she wished there was more. She was feeling far more alive now. Her sincere wonder at this sudden change calmed her mind and soothed her. For a moment she forgot about worrying or danger and simply revelled in this feeling. A thought intruded on this peace. [i]If it only takes this much water to make me feel like this, how would it feel to have more?[/i] She turned her head to look for the cat. She had to find that cat. She needed more of this. She didn’t want this feeling to fade.