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Ferdon opened his mouth and closed it again, unsure of what he wanted to say. At that moment, something thumped against the window. He hurried to open the shutter and see what the trouble was. A ginger-colored cat squirmed through immediately and landed with a heavy thud on the floor. It shook drops of water off its fur, then stood up and snagged its claws in Ferdon's leggings, miaowing loudly and showing its sharp white teeth, as if it wanted to tell the magician something.
"Hello, yourself," he said. He knelt and picked the cat up in his arms. The lamplight caught points of green and blue fire from the jewels on the rings in its ears. Ferdon stared in disbelief. Then, slowly, he began to laugh.
"What does this mean?" Eda
"It means that I am lucky beyond measure!" Ferdon exclaimed. "In the space of one hour I have lost a treasured Companion, regained my senses, another Companion has come to me-not as fine a one as Ede nor as well-trained or clever I daresay, but a Companion nonetheless-and I have found you." He set the cat down and folded Eda
"Yes. I love you. I always have."
Outside, the rain began pelting down in earnest. The cat, an unfathomable expression in its greenish-brown eyes, stared and stared at the two of them. Then it sneezed.
Clara's Cat by Elizabeth Moon
The old lady was almost helpless. She had never been large, and her once-red hair had faded to dingy gray. Behind thick glasses, necessary since the surgery for cataracts, her eyes were as colorless as a dead oyster. She had always had a redhead's white skin that freckled first, then burned at the least touch of the sun. Now the duller brown spots of age speckled her knotted hands.
It was going to be easy. Jea
"Did I ever tell you about Snowball?" The soft, insistent voice from the bed broke into her fierce reverie. Yes, the old lady had told her about Snowball… every white cat in creation was probably called Snowball, at least by senile old ladies like Great-aunt Clara. Jea
"I think so, Aunt Clara." Just a little dig, that implication of careful patience.
"He was so sweet." A vague sound meant to be a chuckle, Jea
Oh, god. Jea
Jea
Again that feeble attempt at a chuckle. "I wasn't courting him, dear; we weren't like you girls today. He was courting me. Very dashing, Ben was. All the girls thought so, too." Clara's eyes shifted to her friend Pearl, and the two of them exchanged fatuous grins. Jea
"I didn't," said Pearl, in the deep voice Jea
"Ah… Larry." Clara's head shifted on the pillow. "I hadn't thought of him in…"
"Five minutes?" Pearl conveyed amusement without malice.
"He was so…" Clara's voice trailed off, and a tear slipped down her cheek. Jea
"Clara, I hate to rush you, but…"
The old lady stared at him as if she couldn't remember his name or business; Jea
In the face of the lawyer's obvious doubts, Jea
"Well… yes…" Clara's voice now was the trembling that meant a lapse into confusion, into dismay and fear, as the edges of her known world crumbled. "I mean… I know… but he is a lawyer, and lawyers do have to make a living… and anyway, Jea
The lawyer's face stiffened at the mention of money, and Jea