[hr]
[center][h1][color=00a99d][b]Boris[/b][/color][/h1][/center]

[center][h3][color=1a7b30]Deep beneath the canopy of Sylsashia, many miles east of Nadska.[/color][/h3][/center]
[hr]

[indent]It happened again. Boris had woken in a strange place, just like he had done almost every day for the last few weeks. He was feeling lost, standing in the dim light among the thicket and towering trunks of a forest.

Despite his jilted feelings, this place was a whole lot better than the cold snow fields he had woken in the previous day. He had to admire the august setting, the sweet smell of flora, the slivered rays of misty light that reached down from cracks in the night-like canopy, and the cute little, pink striped lizard staring back at him from atop a nearby log. The lizard wasn’t the only creature captured by Boris’s presence though, for as he turned to survey his surroundings a little more, he caught sight of something even more amazing.  It was a man - or maybe not a man - all covered in hair and crouched on a branch some twenty feet above. 

Boris took a few steps back, staring agape at the creature who seemed just as stupefied by Boris as Boris was by it. It was strikingly similar to a cat in the way that it crouched in a skulking manner, so too its brass-and-coal striped fur, its snub-cob nose and bristled whiskers, its bloodless lips, its small radar ears and gleaming, jade-green eyes. In fact, everything about it seemed a lot like a cat, only much bigger and more human than Boris had seen, ever. 

Boris was chuffed as he quickly came to marvel at the creature. “Wow,” He said, taking a few steps forward again; “Boris hasn’t seen anything like you before, Mr. Cat! You sure do look like a cat, no doubt about that at all!” 

Reacting with sudden defensive hostility, the creature arched its back and hissed in a definite feminine tone - “Human – [i]Leave[/i]!” With a whisk of her tail she moved with fluid, sinuous movement to the base of the branch, where she bared her broken-glass teeth while announcing a second, menacing hiss. 

In wide-eyed wonder, mixed with that of regret, Boris slowly shook his head several times before finding the words to reply. He didn’t expect the creature to actually talk back. 

“Boris sure is sorry for saying you’re a Mister, Mrs. Cat. Gosh... didn’t know you could understand. Boris sure is a dummy….” His mood suddenly swings to one of disappointment, hanging his head in shame. “…Didn’t mean to hurt your feelings… not even a tiny bit. Just never seen a cat person before, that’s all….” 

 The cat crouched lower, paw-like hands almost touching the bark between her feet while angling her head, watching Boris with inquisitive intensity. Then, with balletic grace, she dropped from the branch and landed with phantom-silence a small distance away. 

“[i]Myti.[/i]” Her voice was now subdued, like a predator coaxing its prey.

“Me…” Boris lifted his eyes with a spark of promise. “Me… meet you?” 

She rounded back a little, twisting her face with bizarre uncertainty. “No….” She tried again to clarify. “I [i]am[/i] Myti.”  

“Oh – boy!” Boris’s face lit up as his barrel chest puffed with admission. “Hello Mrs. Myti! Boris sure is happy to meet you – that’s for sure!” 

“No!” She spat, and shook her head at a frenzied speed, as though shaking off an annoyance. “Name’s not Myti. Not my name!” 

“Well, okay then, Mrs. Cat!” He shrugged with a little boy smile. “Whatever you think is best. Boris doesn’t mind.” 

The creature sighed and craned her head low in sombre disappointment. “Just call me Flaxiah…” She pulled her mouth to one side in a conciliated sneer. “Are all humans as stupid as you?” 

“Oh-no!” He informed her as a matter of fact. “Boris was much more smarter, that’s for sure, but now he’s not on account of his father. Uhhh….” He turned his eyes thoughtfully, then looked back at the Myti. “Don’t know who he is really, but he hit Boris too many times and it sure did hurt a lot….” His mood quickly shifted again, giving Flaxiah a pouting doe look.  

Flaxiah’s eyes narrow with a possible hint of sympathy while her crouching poise straightened slightly to a brooding wilt. “Human, you don’t belong here.” She said with a swift flick of her tail. “You need to leave.”

“Alright then, Mrs. Flaxiah.” Boris smiled obligingly, and glanced conspicuously at the place that he’d woken a few minutes beforehand, where his large body had left a deep imprint in the moist foliage. “Doh…, Mrs. Flaxiah?” He bit his lip embarrassed to admit; “Can you tell Boris where he is? This sure isn’t where he went to sleep last night.”   

“You are in Sylsashia. It is a forest. My home.” She explained, and nestled in a seated position before pointing Boris in the direction to go. “The safest and quickest way out.” 

Boris had never heard the name Sylsashia before, though that wasn’t so unusual of late. He hadn’t recognized a place he’d been in weeks. In any case, he really didn’t have anything more to say. He just gave a firm nod, appreciating the help and glad to have met a cat person, then turned to walk away. 

“[i]Human.[/i]” Flaxiah called after him softly, squinting one eye and baring one pointed tooth. 

Boris stopped and turned expectantly. 

“Be careful out there… [i]Boris.[/i]” She expressed a hint of a laudable grin. 

“You can count on that, Mrs. Flaxiah,” He replied, “thank you very much for being nice.” And with that, Boris broadened his smiled and went on his way with a spring in his step.[/indent]