Science Fiction: Welcome to my Worlds

his nose, sniffing. It smelled like grill cakes. No, like the oil his mother cooked them with. Why would cooking oil be on the path?

Above him something coughed. Or growled. Darin looked up and found himself staring into the violet eyes of the biggest hill cat he’d ever seen. Reflex brought his hand out of his pocket with a needler at ready. This was crazy. What was a hill cat doing here at this time of year?

“Shoot him and I’ll drop you like a cheese-stealing rat.”

Startled, Darin almost dropped the needler, catching it with the tips of his fingers. The voice came from across the chasm sounding like it meant business. It also sounded oddly familiar. “I’m not going to let it eat me.”

“Purz won’t hurt you. Unless I tell him to, of course.”

Darin squinted at the bundled up figure across the chasm, sure he’d seem him before somewhere. No, wait, it wasn’t a him at all. What was he thinking. All that training should be of some use. Carefully, he let his mind open a bit and began to pick up impressions of the other. Familiar, and definitely female, though not as he remembered. “Cesily? Is that you?”

Two years ago she’d been a shy adolescent, barely able to speak in the company of adults. Now she seemed assured,