Ridahne tied her hair back loosely with a piece of cloth and with a wave, ushered Mitaja out of the way. The cat lay beside the horse, which was so used to her presence that he didn’t even notice.

“I could help you get down, yeah.” She let that statement hang for a moment before, with a glimmer in her amber eyes she said, “but I think I might let you hang there for a bit until you learn your lesson.” Of course she said this as she stalked back to her horse with long legs and took a coil of rope from the saddle. “Everyone underestimates the wild...” she said as she  began climbing the tree the human was stuck in. She’d climbed things her whole life, so a knobbly tree with vine clusters was no problem for her long limbs and practiced fingers. “Nobody seems to realize how dangerous it is, because the woods and mountains don’t seem so scary when they’re close to home or on the road. But when you begin to get really far out there, the realization eventually dawns that there is no one to help you when you fail. You got lucky this time.”

Ridahne tossed the rope over a higher branch and with one of the dangling ends she tied a secure loop around one of the human’s ankles. She would have gone for the waist usually, but the ankle was what she could reach... she hoisted the rope until tension was taken off the vines and then with a practiced hand, she drew a knife from behind her back as if it had come from nowhere and sliced the remaining vines in one swift swipe. Her rope held firm and she lowered the young stranger down to the ground one fistful of rope at a time. She then deftly descended, sheathed her large knife, and began coiling the rope.

Mitaja swept in then, sniffing the human’s face with her large black nose. The cat’s face had black streaks under each eye as if she had once cried ink, and each foreleg had two black rings just under the elbow. And then, after the cat had given him a thorough sniff, she began to purr and push her large head under the stranger’s hand. 

“Mitaja likes you. That’s something.” Ridahne leaned against her horse, inspecting the human with her bright eyes.  “You don’t look too beat up. How do you feel?” Her eyes traveled up and down, assessing her condition, when she noticed the boy’s hands. They were slim and smooth, not rough like a boy’s would be—not one of that age. And it occurred to Ridahne that she’d mistaken the human for a boy. 

“Oh...you’re a girl? Apologies, I mistook you. Probably safer like that on the road though. Speaking of, what is a girl who doesn’t know how to use a knife, disguised as a boy, doing all the way out here? Where are you going? If it isn’t far, you can—“

It was like she’d been struck by a stone. [i]“You will come upon her in the wild.”[/i]

Ridahne stopped dead, mouth open, sharp eyes fixed on the girl. Could it be...? Finally? Her eyes narrowed and she took a very slow, very measured step forward. “What....are you doing out here...?” She asked slowly. Suspiciously. She knew. And she could see worry spreading across the girl’s face, but she couldn’t afford to have her bolt...

“Mitaja, hold!” The trained hunting cat leapt onto the human, pinning her down with her great weight, though beyond that she did not move. Ridahne came closer, her whole look and tone growing suddenly intense. “She won’t touch you until I tell her. So answer me honest. Where are you going and why?” She had to make sure it was really her. And tact was never one of her strong points—this was the only way she knew. She had to know. 

Please, Great Tree, let this be her.