From the Journal of Aframos Longjourney, Pilgrim
With notes by Avos Torr, Scholar of Rheve Library
Rokday, Sixteenth Cycle, Seventh Year, 81st Turn
Twenty-First Day in the Trees
Souja saved us today.
We had been walking along the path, when we saw something glinting in the bushes. We started to look more closely when Souja jumped out of my hood, where she had been sleeping. She stared at the bushes and let out a low growling.
Torne and I both stopped, wondering what was the matter. Finally, Torne took a rock and tossed it into the bushes. There was a snap, and something thrashed around for several seconds. I got a glimpse of large eyes and a very large mouth, before the bushes were still again1.
Torne had no idea what it was, only that it would be a bad idea to investigate more closely. We stayed more towards the middle of the path the rest of the day.
This evening, we both praised Souja mightily, and she basked under the attention, butting her head against us so that we would scratch her lightly behind her ears.
I am glad that she is doing so well. She is is growing quickly, and will soon be too big to sleep in my hood while I walk. She caught another rat2 this evening, and I believe soon she will be moving on to larger prey.
However, Torne is somewhat less happy to see her hunting instincts developing so well. While he was petting her, she rolled onto her back and bit down through the wrapping on his wrist. He yelped, and pulled his hand away quickly, suffering scratches where her claws had been hooked into his arm.
He was only slightly annoyed, though. He knew she did not mean any harm. However, in the future, I suspect that he will be more careful when petting her.