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Forward note: "The Will of the Water" is probably one of my most romantic and satisfying stories up to date. It features a lot of the elements I love reading about in romance stories: Witty banter, cute and awkward moments, and emotions that run deeper than both partners care to admit to one another until the opportune moment arrives. It may sound like a rather bland and cliche story, but it may surprise you in more ways than one.

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** ***THE WILL OF THE WATER*****

Kerr found himself inside a cozy little hut equipped with a cozy little bed. This was what three weeks of travel summed up to. A simple, straw stuffed bed surrounded by bare walls build of mudbrick.

Instead of looking around his bare lodging, Kerr crashed into the bed without giving his comfort too much thought. The journey mattered the most here, and the effects it had on him. It wore him out physically, mentally, and emotionally.

It didn't come easy to a nomad like him to part ways with his people. Kerr summoned all of his favors to even manage to acquire the base minimum for the journey. He bought a horse fast enough to outrun the able chasers, hopped in a radish cart headed towards the Rhyvaryi mountains, rode all the way to the border of the Riverlands, then, after days of arduous walking, he found himself here, inside a simple village nestled at the foot of a mountain blessed by the spirits themselves.

Or so the locals claimed. Waterbinders lived inside this village, after all. Kerr had heard many things about them during his travels. Some feared their ability to commune with one of the last primordial spirits. Others called them liars and deceivers, preying on the impressionable.

Kerr, on the other hand, simply did not know enough about this tribe to make up his mind on this matter. They were a tribe like any tribe, and their customs were just normal customs. He noticed that every waterbinder carried a fancy staff and wore the same gaudy adornments, but that was to be expected of any tribe rooted in the old practices.

"I should rest," the young wolf whispered to himself. He shifted onto his side, resting his head on his lithe arm to avoid the strands of straw poking at his sensitive ears.

Yes. It was better to sleep than ponder on tomorrow's initiation. He had very little coin left, nothing in the ways of supplies, and barely any knowledge regarding the trial that loomed ahead of him. If fortune blessed him with its grace, he would pass. If not...

"Sleep. Now."

And that put a stop to the ruminating thoughts.

He slept unexpectedly well. So deep in fact, that he was roused by persistent nudging. Kerr opened his eyes to the chipped, aged canines of a smiling gray wolf.

"Come, come," he said, poking at Kerr's chest again with the butt of his staff. He turned around, waving a hand insistently. "Come, come. The sun is up and you're still down. Is bad fortune, to greet a new day like pups inside den."

Kerr hopped out of his bed. He gave a look around while he stretched, ears twitching when he realized he had nothing to take with him. Within three strides, he followed his companion outside the hut.

The streets looked conspicuously empty for this time of day. A few wolves roamed around the cobbled pathways bearing baskets laden with fruits in their arms or earthen jugs of water atop their heads. Kerr turned his muzzle when he smelled the distinctive aroma of berries, his stomach lurching from their repulsive smell. These waterbinders had some peculiar eating habits if they feasted on fresh fruit.

"Come!" the old wolf called.

Kerr swiftly joined him. Distraction had always been his less redeeming trait and, right now, it forced him to skid to an abrupt stop.

The old wolf was no longer by himself. A snow leopard stood next to him, clutching his hand while she whispered something into his tilted ear.

Kerr barely suppressed his snarl of irritation. "Who is she?"

"Who are you?" She stuck her tongue at him before turning her attention back to the wolf.

"I'm Kerr. Pleased to make your acquaintance. You must be Nasty, and guess what, I haven't heard a thing about you!"

"No names, no names!" The old wolf's jaws clacked together. "Names have no purpose where you're going. Cast them aside, and work together."

Together? Nobody had ever hinted at forced companionship! The insides of Kerr's ears reddened when he realized that a freaking cat wearing a stag's lifeless head over her own was going to accompany him. She looked...odd, and not because of the generous antlers jutting out of the stag's head. She had too much fur on her body and a tail long enough to trip over!

"I don't...don't want that." Kerr stepped over to the wolf. "Can I take my trial alone?"

The wolf's paw seized his, his deceitfully strong grip eliciting a whimper from Kerr. "Together."

"Fine!" Kerr scrunched his muzzle as pain raced through his fingers. "Can you just...let go of me? I'm...yiiip!"

"You're yelping. You're yelping!" The snow leopard giggled, her thin, sonorous voice grating Kerr's ears.

"Shut up, deer head," Kerr shot back. Even pain irritated him less than she did.

"Hmpff." the feline smiled as her verdant eyes shifted upwards. "Jealous of my Moonbrook then?"

"Surprised, actually, and somewhat afraid," Kerr looked away. "Even us nomads of the plains give our prey the respect it deserves."

"Hrrrr!" the cat growled. "That's rude of you to say, when you're wearing a plain pelt!" she pointed a clawed finger at Kerr's loins, the only part of him that was covered with something.

"A plain pelt is much more useful than a second head, and a dead one at that!" Kerr pointed right back at her.

The old wolf's growl silenced them both. "No words, no words. So many words you speak, with so little thought given to them. Do you wish to walk, or to argue until dusk?"

"We'll walk," they both said at the same time.

Kerr preferred the silence over the leopard's incessant yapping. It was constant and soothing, always aiding him when he used to retreat from his tribe whenever emotions held too strong a grasp on him. But right now, with his hand firmly clutched by the old wolf--or waterbinder, as Kerr should call him-- Kerr had to listen to everything around them: the boisterous birds, villagers talking to one another, the sound of his bare feet squelching onto the slightly humid soil. It was downright frustrating!

He wasn't used to so much life enclosed in such tiny pocket of space. Everywhere he looked, a dozen colors expanded before his eyes. The fir trees were absolutely huge. Many insects and animals scurried between their forms or raced along their verdant canopies. The path ahead was slightly barer, though Kerr could still see where it took him. On top of the mountain lay the most impressive waterfall he had ever seen in his life. A dozen rocky formations grew at its mouth, splintering its scintillating flow, like the crooked teeth of an ancient beast. Thinner strands of water poured around the edges, with the streams thickening towards the middle, where the water smoothed down the rock over the course of centuries. He stared at the waterfall for a while. He took so long, in fact, that the monotonous squelches of his feet became as natural as his breathing.

"Why are you naked?"

"Mhm?" Kerr peeked at the snow leopard.

"Aren't you cold?"

"My fur keeps me warm," he said.

She tilted her head to the side. Confused, maybe? Or plain sarcastic? "Those black stripes along your back look strange. Made, or owned?"

"Made," he wasted another breath on her, slightly annoyed by her excitable nature.

"Soot then. Or maybe Earth's tears. We don't use it very often because we have our own spots, but- "

"But in the mountains we keep talking to the snow and howl to the wind to see if it speaks back!" Kerr drawled over the laughter that ensued from the first word he said in her voice. "You want to know how I traveled here too? Or what I ate three days ago during the full moon?"

"I was just curious. No reason to get your fur ruffled," the snow cat said.

Kerr flicked his tail to the side. "Is reason enough for me. You're loud and talk too much. Yap yap yap. That's all you do. So much noise! Can't you hold silent for just a moment?"

"Too many words indeed," the old wolf agreed and released both of their hands.

Kerr smiled. He thought him and the fluffy pest were about to part ways until the waterbinder pointed towards the forest.

"There?" the female asked.

"Why?" Kerr added.

"To speak," the wolf walked ahead of them, beckoning at them with his staff.

By the spirits, even his movements had the grace of water. Kerr followed along on his right. He kept his hands wrapped around his chest after they stopped, waiting for the wolf to find a proper place to rest his back against.

"Grraaaahhh..." he sighed. "Old bones need a bit of rest. My ears do too, but you two are restless. You want to talk talk talk and listen too little. Perk your ears carefully, for there are three rules you must consider before you prove yourselves in the eyes of our tribe."

Kerr shifted his tail back and forth, already stiff with apprehension. The Snow leopard smiled at him. She maintained the same nonchalant pose, sinking her fingers into the bushy fur of her tail when her eyes were not too busy chasing squirrels or insects.

"The rules. Tell us," Kerr urged.

"There's three of them," the wolf said. "First, you must spend no less than three full days and three full nights atop the summit. Roam around if you must forage, but do not climb down the mountain. The water spirit frowns upon those who leave her embrace early, and you will find no home in her territory if you disgrace her gift."

"That's one rule, right?"

"Two, silly," deerhead giggled.

The wolf smiled, lifting two fingers.

Kerr frowned. "What's the third then? Just say it so we can get this trial started!"

"Restless. So restless. Water spirit favors enthusiasm, but old ears do not. The third rule, you know already. Spill no blood. If you must hunt to live, then live to hunt, you shall. As her servants, we are above such savage practices."

"But we're predators!" Kerr said. "What am I supposed to eat if I can't hunt?"

"Concerning yourself with matters of the flesh when you have to deal with matters of the spirit smells of bad fortune, youngling. Eat what you desire, but she will not give you her blessing if you desecrate her forest."

"Yeah. Take that, puppy!" the feline said, jabbing a finger at the waterbinder. "He's right. We're here to talk to the spirit, not tend to your little sooty hide!"

Kerr's lips trembled with anger. "Brilliant advice, coming from that dead head of yours."

Her eyes widened in shock. A whimper left her throat, and she pressed herself into the wolf to seek comfort. Kerr froze when the wolf's icy eyes fixated on him.

He was going to be banished. Or punished. Or...

"You seem disturbed. Speak. Unburden your tongue and let your thoughts loose."

"S-sorry. It's nothing. I'm...I'm a bit hungry, that's all." Kerr's gaze drooped, his ears flattened along his skull, and his went between his legs. "It won't happen again, waterbinder."

"Maybe it will, maybe it won't. Worries about the past, worries about the future, worries about the trial. Let loose!"

The wolf's deft hands grabbed him. Kerr yelped, grunted, and clenched his jaws as his fur and muscles were rubbed from neck to toes, leaving him shivering with eerie relaxation. "That's...awwrhh...That felt good!"

The wolf smiled at him. "Energy is like water. It boils if you allow it to heat up. Come now." He pushed himself up with the help of his staff. "There is a long way to walk still."

Kerr's head became lighter with every step he took. All that pent-up anger flowed out of him, allowing his senses to reach further than ever before. No longer were the insects annoying or the birds too loud. Every step introduced Kerr to this brave new world, and he found himself admiring every corner of this lush land until he reached the end of the beaten path.

That was where the wolf left them alone, with nothing in the ways of guidance or supplies. He just said something in his water tongue -which was a series of mumbled slurs-- and then turned tail and headed back to the village.

"He...he left." Kerr's ears drooped with confusion, his wide eyes jerking towards the snow leopard, as if to make sure she witnessed that as well. "He just..."

"He left. You said it once already. Wanna go after him?" The feline poked at his arm. "I bet even that oldie can outrun you!"

Kerr turned around, a snarl plastered over his muzzle. "Why didn't you stop him?"

"Why didn't you?" she poked him right in the chest.

"Grrr..." Kerr stepped away from the bothersome feline, feeling his heart race with that mixture of heated anger he so much hated. "Well, it's done. We're alone now. That's what you wanted, isn't it?" He waved a paw around. "Run around then. Roll in the grass, rub your tail, tidy your ears. Maybe that helps stir the spirit's interest."

"Don't think it will, fluffy puppy..." she walked towards the edge of the cliff, then took a step back. "Meep! Big fall. Very big fall."

Kerr approached her to see what all the fuss was about. A looming pit expanded before his eyes, steaming from the water crashing onto the bottom of the waterfall. Kerr felt his feet slip closer to the deadly edge just by looking at it. He stumbled back, tripping upon his own paws, toppling over onto the dew laden grass.

"Grarh!"

"Chee hee!" the feline laughed, her little fangs glistening with mirth. "You fell on your butt! Big pit scared you!"

"I'm not used to heights," Kerr whined. "Back on the plains we have lakes, not huge holes in the ground."

"Waterfall, silly. And this," she tapped her foot a few times. "This is a mountain."

"We don't have those either."

"What do you have?"

"Silence. Long, beautiful silence." Kerr picked himself up with a growl. "And definitely no annoying cats."

The leopardess giggled. She grabbed her tail, fondling the fluffy tip. "Mrrf. Maybe I should leave you alone."

"Yes! Maybe you should!" he thrust a finger in a random direction. "Scout. Forage. Do something useful."

"And you?"

"I'll search for this stup--I mean this splendid spirit of water or whatever it is."

Of course she laughed. Her ears picked everything. Kerr ignored her as he went about to search for anything that had to do with a ritual. He searched with his eyes first, then shuffled through the grasses with his hands while his feet, too, fumbled through the ankle-deep grass in search of whatever. He knew a rather long while had passed when his back ached in three different areas.

"Mrrrhhh." Kerr rubbed his aching spine while he looked around. Where was that stupid snow cat? Probably hunting squirrels or hurtling down the mountain. Or maybe she overlooked the waterbinder's rules and went to the village. After all, she had the markings of a spoiled cub: clean fur, loud mouth, pesky attitude.

"This is so stupid." Kerr flopped onto the ground to massage his toes and straighten the ruffled fur lining his tail. "Wasted so many things. Waited so many days for...for this..." he grabbed a fistful of grass that he hurled into the deaf, uncaring winds. "Grass and soil and rocks and water. That's all there is to this place. Do water spirits even exist? What if the rumors are right? What if I abandoned my ancestral home for baseless superstitions?"

An eager yowl made his ears and head swerve in the direction of the high pitched sound. The happy snow cat dashed towards him, clutching something beneath the perky mounds of her bosom.

"Berries!" her tongue trailed along her whiskers. "And we have some nuts too. What you wanna eat?"

She padded over to Kerr, dumped her load onto her lap, and began fumbling through it with her unsheathed claws. Every now and then, she skewered a berry that she hurled into her mouth, chewing and purring in the most obnoxious of ways.

"Erm...nothing." Kerr looked away and scratched at his neck. "I'm not the type to eat fruits."

"Why not?" she popped another berry into her mouth. "They're delicious. Here, try this plump one. They are my favorites."

Kerr pushed her squishy, dark colored, vile smelling thing away and flashed his canines at her. "That's downright repulsive. I'm a meat eater. You should be one too!"

"I am. I still love meat, but we can't always find food in the mountains. You also heard what the waterbinder said..." she paused to rub an ear between two fingers. "You have to eat something, puppy."

He turned her down a second time and walked towards the bank of one of the shallower rivers that funneled into the great waterfall. "I'll just drink water. You should too, after all that running."

"Rrr, yeah, you're right." She smiled and lowered her bounty on the ground, a soft purr rumbling in her throat. "I trust the squirrels not to steal my catch."

"I'll hunt them if they do."

"Liar!"

Kerr leaped away from the paw meant to seize his tail. He stuck his tongue out at her, then bounded towards the river, gritting his teeth against the icy water swallowing his frame inch by shivering inch. The snow leopardess, on the other hand, waded through the shallows with utmost nonchalance, gaping at Kerr in that infuriating, accusative sort of way.

"Laugh it up. Say it. I'm no fit to commune with the water spirit when my body can't even handle the waist deep waters."

She didn't say anything. She didn't even smile, or grin, or smirk. All she did was splash water in Kerr's direction, pelting him with freezing droplets that made him gasp.

"Don't pretend to know who the spirit wishes to address. She isn't like one of us."

Kerr gathered water in his palms, lapping at it while the snow leopardess waded through the mild currents, her soaked fur sticking to her body and emphasizing her curves. Against his will, Kerr found his gaze drifting away from her.

"How do you know the spirit is a she?"

"He, she, it; to a spirit, terms hold no weight. The meaning behind them does."

Kerr gulped down apprehensively when she began approaching him. The pink colored pads on her palms stood out, as did the crook of her groin. She wore no garments, the lavish fur speckled with intricate rosettes more than sufficient cover for her barely noticeable nipples and sex. Now that water seeped into her coat, pinkness began to creep to surface, the most noticeable being the dainty lips of her sex. The inside of Kerr's ears turned a bright red. His blood began to simmer, and he felt himself stir in his sheathe despite the freezing rushes.

He yelped when she grabbed his paw, eliciting a giggle from the snow cat. "Let's take you out before you turn into an icicle. Sharing my food with you is one thing. My body heat, on the other paw..." she trailed off, throwing him a salacious look that further befuddled Kerr. He had so many retorts hanging on the tip of his tongue, and yet, his efforts revolved around regulating his breath, so that he wouldn't get unsheathed in front of her. By the spirits, why did his body choose to betray him?!

To take his mind off this mighty embarrassing episode, Kerr chose to eat some of her offerrings. Berries gave him an upset tummy. Nuts were even worse due to their bitter undertone, but Kerr gulped them down nevertheless, scrunching his muzzle in an infinite number of ways, even sneezing every now and then.

For some unknown reason, the snowy cat didn't laugh at him. She simply laid down on her side, legs tucked, tail draped over her lap as she rolled berries and nuts through the grass, searching for the riper, sweeter ones.

"So what do you know about their tribe?" Kerr asked, struggling to swallow a particularly sour berry.

"Mine?"

"Theirs." he pointed his black tipped muzzle towards the waterfall.

"Oh, the waterbinders. They're weird people. My family said they are feared by every tribe."

"How comes?"

"Well..." she looked suspiciously at a red berry before throwing it in her mouth. "Eek, it's sour!" she spat it back. "Take the green ones. They're sweet. The reds are really bad."

Kerr nodded and waited for her to continue.

"Waterbinders are the only tribe that still communes with one of the Elder spirits. Or so they claim."

"What do you think?"

"I dunno," she shrugged. "This is the first time I set out on my own. My parents wanted me to see the world a bit and handle problems on my own before settling down, choosing my mate, and do what mates are supposed to do."

"So soon?" Kerr's eyes widened. "You're like...what, ten summers?"

"Fourteen," the feline contradicted him before eating another berry.

"You look...younger. A lot smaller too."

"Uhm, thanks. Glad to know somebody has my back. I don't feel like an adult. Don't want to be one either!"

Kerr's flicked his ears nervously. "I didn't mean it that way. I mean, not in the way you...I mean, you're the first cat I see in fur and...deer."

"Oh, glad you remembered." She poked the head atop her head. "He's Moonbrook. Father hunted him last winter. Said he should watch over me during my travels, so I took him along. Can't hurt to have an extra pair of eyes, right?"

Kerr said nothing. Better remain silent than insult her traditions. Not that she had any trouble handling anger, sadness, or any emotion for that matter. Kerr could fume over the lack of a proper meal, while she would just scamper through the meadow and show Moonbrook the beautiful landscape.

"Don't worry, he likes you," she said as she reached to grab Kerr's hand in a reassuring grip. "I would've known if you were an evil wolf. Moonbrook smells the foul deeds people are going to commit. That is his gift."

Right...Because that was not creepy at all...

"Did you ever talk to the spirits?" Kerr deviated the topic.

"Not me." She shook her fuzzy head and stared in the distance, a wistful look plastered upon her face. "My tribe did at some point. Let's see..." she started counting on her pink padded fingers, going over them thrice. "Yes...it must have happened thirty generations ago. That must mean a lot of years, right?"

"That it does..."

"Yep!" her eyes glimmered with excitement, and she added a second hand to her grip, so that she could nestle Kerr's paw between them. "Told you the waterbinders have a special aura about them. After all this time, they still have the water spirit's blessing. Just look around, wolfy! Tell me this isn't the most beautiful mountain you've ever seen."

"It certainly is..." Kerr said, shifting his attention back to his food. His pile of fruits was still considerably bigger, and his feline friend already started stealing when he wasn't looking.

He didn't care much for her thieving habits, or for the food itself, now that she began talking about the waterbinders. Her words disturbed and excited him in equal measure. Spirits were, after all, legendary. Like in her case, Kerr had never heard of anyone in his current lifetime--or in the lifetime of his ancestors-- be able to reach out to fire, earth, wind or water. His band of travelers scorned the spirits. Cursed them for allowing the hyena clans to steal their hunting grounds. As such, Kerr had never been interested in spiritual affairs, or in the ones who claimed to dabble in their affairs. For all he knew, the spirits were as real as the dragons, winged horses or feathered serpents some boasted to had slain in ancient times.

An elaborate lie meant for the ears of the gullible.

This mountain, however, had the chance to prove him wrong. He just needed to find a link to the water spirit before the time ran out. But how--and most importantly why would a spirit bother to reach out to him, a disbeliever?

Kerr ruminated on this perplexing matter, chewing idly on whatever his tongue rolled into his mouth. Before long, he had enough of the tart berries. To get some time for himself, he suggested to the snow leopard that they ought to search for signs--clues--that might teach them a thing or two about the resident spirit. He went up the stream while the snow cat prowled the surrounding forest. He was eager for a discovery, but every rock he turned, every pebble he shifted with his feet, and every patch of grass betrayed his hopes.

Even as the sun began to set, neither of them had found anything of worth. Kerr continued searching until nightfall, too restless and angry at the lazy cat. She lounged by the river's bend, looking at the stars without any care in the world. Did she even need a home? Did she care about this quest at all? The more he thought about it, the more he realized that her only purpose was to taunt him.

If only he could taunt her back by continuing his search...

Exhaustion forced him down onto the ground. Kerr tried to get up, but his muscles protested with a dull ache and his head began to pound.

Kerr chose to sleep alone that night. He didn't need a stupid dead deer to keep him warm. His tail was good enough...

At least until the pale moon climbed into the star speckled sky. The breeze turned sharper and colder up here, forcing Kerr to curl up. Shivers soon claimed his body, and he couldn't help but admit his weakness to the only other being that shared the meadow with him. He crawled towards the feline who, surprisingly, received him with warm words and an even warmer fur. Kerr smiled to himself, feeling oddly distracted by the proximity of their bodies. He had his back pressed against her chest, her arms twined over his torso. Warm gusts of air warmed the fur of his neck and, every now and then, her tongue would poke out to dab at his cheek. That made it particularly hard for Kerr to sleep, so instead, he pondered on tomorrow's plans.

The fruits he ate, however, had plans of their own. Three times he woke up with the same horrendous ache in his stomach, and three times he had to force himself back to sleep. By the time morning came, he was anything but rested.

Everything irritated him, from the buzzing insects to the waterfall's mighty roar. To top it off, his snow leopard companion grew complacent in her quest, finding all manner of reasons to detract Kerr from his quest. She walked from here to there, pointing this way and that, singing stupid songs about the beauty of the waterfall or talking of even stupider things like water nymphs and kelpies.

Even the sight of her was enough to make his stomach twist with nerves, so Kerr headed towards the forest to search for more clues.

Or at least that was what he told her. In truth, he simply required a convenient excuse to let loose part of the burning rage churning inside his belly.

A simple walk did it. With nothing to vent at but himself, Kerr quickly ran out of complaints. Once he cooled off, a feeling of stinging regret seeped into him. The snowy cat shared her warmth with him, and he said nothing but mean things to her. By the spirits, he didn't even know her name yet!

He had to get back--no--had to return with something that would make her reveal that serene smile of hers. Kerr foraged for hours, returning with an impressive pile of forest fruits clutched to his stomach. The feline appreciated the gesture so much she gave him a lick over his cheek, making Kerr stiffen from the tip of his tail all the way up to his ears. He had never felt a tongue brush against his cheek since his parents...since his whole tribe...

He pinched himself to focus on something more immediate. His yelp led to a drawn-out discussion about how canines produced such high pitched sounds, which soon turned into an extended talk about the difference between the two families. Mhraya--pronounced Meraya or Mraya, with a rolling r--held even stranger customs than the waterbinders. Her tribe celebrated only two seasons, of light and dark, with well-planned and well executed hunts that took place under the watchful eye of the full moon. Each of the hunters took their quarry as some sort of mate, like Mhraya did with Moonbrook, to protect and safeguard their homes against malevolent spirits.

Kerr liked to think that animals had their own emotions. Mhraya made them seem so intelligent, so interesting, so unique, when he had always seen them as a walking source of meat. He didn't argue on that topic. Here, on top of the water spirit's mountain, he vowed not to harm any creature, and that included the fuzzy feline's feelings. His choice paid off when the night's chill rolled in. Kerr settled on his side, preparing to sleep, when he felt Mhraya's hands wrap around his waist. He almost yelped if her squishy pads didn't press against his muzzle, blocking out every sound.

"I like your tail. It's fuzzy, warm, and it tickles. Let me hug it? Please?"

"Mhm!" Kerr nodded.

Her paw pulled back, and the song of the crickets was soon replaced by her mirthful giggling. "Your ears got so warm. Are you embarrassed?"

"Sur--surprised. I never..."

"You never got hugged?" Her hands pulled him closer to her chest.

"I...yes...my tribe...we don't do hugs..."

"Well, you belong to my tribe now, fuzzy tail!"

Kerr couldn't complain when her body practically felt like living silk pressing into his fur. Her purr was a beautiful song, and he soon fell asleep to the repetitive rumbling coursing through her throat.

The next day came sooner than Kerr expected. For the first time in a while, Kerr's senses roused long after the birds took to the skies. Mhraya's indifference towards their joint quest afflicted him in the strangest of ways. He felt relieved, almost happy to just enjoy nature's bounty instead of worrying all the time about the water spirit. He had been searching for two days. They both did, finding nothing that even hinted at the existence of such a powerful spirit. As such, Kerr made the best with the day he had left. He played in the grass with his feline friend, then chased her around the forest. The thrill of the hunt made him feel so alive. He loved to chase, while Mhraya bested him at stalking. They made a game out of it. Whoever successfully tackled the other had to forage the next meal.

Kerr lost, but Mhraya accompanied him anyway. She was so nice. Always smiling, always happy. She always had a joke hidden under her fur that made Kerr's throat crackle with mirth. For that reason alone, he wasn't willing to part with her just yet. Spirit or not, he wanted to remain here with Mhraya and enjoy the treasures of the mountain throughout each of the four seasons.

Sunset came, along with the reminder that he only had one night left before his fate would be decided by a higher power than himself.

"Maybe we should try to speak to her."

"You can try." Mhreya pointed towards the river. "Sit on the bank with your legs crossed. I like to grab my tail. Sitting gives me those unpleasant tingles, so I can make due with some distraction."

"Alone?" Kerr frowned. "You're leaving me...I mean, aren't you coming with me?"

Mhreya scratched at the fluff of her neck. She was definitely feeling lazy, lounging on that fallen tree like that, swinging her feet back and forth.

"Rrrrmm, alright. I'll come," she said, swinging from her perch and down onto the ground.

Kerr smiled.

"But you're giving me your half of the fruits."

"I'll bring you twice my half if we get any signs," he said and stretched forth his hand.

Mhreya rolled her eyes before she accepted his invitation. When they finally crested the top of the waterfall, the sky bruised to a deep shade of violet, instilling a puzzling feeling of melancholy in Kerr. He had so many other things to do, yet so little time to accomplish them!

To add to his frustration, the arts of shamanism completely eluded him. Kerr had to resort to Mhreya's extended knowledge of them, and to the petting that came with it. He stood stiff as a boulder, counting the thumping beats of his heart while she ran her soft padded hands along his body in some sort of inspection ritual.

Kerr thought she was done. Then, she grabbed one of his feet, pressing into his bare pads and flaring his toes apart while a healthy purr rumbled in her throat. She definitely had a thing for paws. She liked them so much that she ordered Kerr on his back so he could give him a proper foot massage. It was infuriatingly ticklish and hardly enjoyable, but Mhreya got a few good laughs while he squirmed like a silly little kitten, as she put it.

When her feline curiosities concerning the intricacies of his canine claws were satisfied, Kerr grabbed a few stones from the river to create a circle around him. He sat in the middle, crossed legged, with half of his tail in his lap. It was a strange, uncomfortable, silly position, but he couldn't claim to know more than Mhreya.

Kerr closed his eyes and focused. She said that if he listened hard enough, the water would start whispering into his ears. Kerr only heard the crashing roar of the waterfall, and the buzzing of the insects that happened to pass by. He tried his best to ignore the distractions, but no matter how hard he focused, the buzzing still remained an annoying thorn in his side, his legs still ached, and the river still refused to talk to him.

"Grrraaah!"

"Did you hear it?" Mhreya lounged on her side, watching him with her playful green eyes.

"I only heard what I always hear, insects and owls and whatever creatures live in that forest."

"Maybe you're not listening to the right things."

"What am I supposed to listen to? You said it will work!"

"I said it MIGHT work. We aren't spirit talkers, puppy. It takes years of training to even--"

"Don't call me like that." Kerr pushed himself onto his feet, thrusting a hand in her direction to keep her in place. "And please don't follow me. I need to be alone for a while."

He walked towards the edge of the mountain, his gaze drifting to the flickering lights that shone in the village below. For a moment, Kerr reminisced about the blazing bonfires, the cheerful dancing, and the good mood that accompanied most of his nomadic nights. It was the only time when the plains resonated with the howls and cries of his species. During the day, they were as tranquil as the waterbinders.

Was that why they earned the water spirit's favor? Due to their calm and unperturbed nature? It somehow contradicted the roar of the waterfall, showing that even the most soothing of waters had a voice as loud as a dragon's roar.

Kerr stepped carefully around the edge of the cliff. He wanted to muster the courage to take a few steps forward and look into the lake stretching at the foot of the mountain. But the more he stared at the little huts and their flaming lights, the quicker his heart started to beat.

He shuddered when something warm clutched his hand.

"You're wet..." Mhreya smiled and entwined her fingers with his. "Feels so squishy and warm!"

"I...yeah...I'm...I'm afraid..." Kerr's gaze drooped.

He found his chin grabbed by her gentle paw. Mhreya slid along his neck, making his jaw stiffen until her hand wrapped around his neck, offering him the same confidence and playfulness that shone in her verdant eyes.

"Come. I'll hold you."

"Grrr..." The claws of Kerr's feet dug into the ground. "Don't...I don't want to...it's..."

"Come on, puppy. There's nothing to be afraid of. It's just a silly waterfall."

A big, frightening pit more likely, deeper than the void forming within his guts. He remained planted into the ground like the fir trees of the forest until Mhreya licked along an unsuspecting ear.

"Mhhrraahhh!"

"I'll do it again if you don't come."

"Blessed spirits! You are as witty as the rumors say!"

"And beautiful. And brave. And quite skilled at surviving in the wilderness, but none of that matters. Right now, I'm just a curious cat that desperately wants her friend to prove he's not just a silly puppy."

Kerr shook his head. "It's too deep. Too far. What if..."

"I'll hold you!" his moistened pads squelched as her grip strengthened. "We won't fall. Even if we do, I promise you won't be alone."

That was an encouraging thought. Kerr opened his mouth to speak. Only a frail whimper came out, latched with uncertainty.

"Do you trust me?"

No. Maybe. Possibly, but not with something like this. Kerr's thoughts rampaged like an untamed waterfall. His instincts warned of impending danger, while that little brave portion of his mind trusted Mhreya's oozing confidence and the strong hand that grabbed him.

He wasn't alone.

Kerr took a step forward.

He wasn't alone.

He had her at his side. Her suave scent emboldened him, the silky warmth of her fur washed away the cold shivers running through his trembling flesh, and her confident grip gave him the strength to break through the debilitating weakness inflicted upon him by his rampaging instincts.

Those short, shaky, humble steps felt like the hardest steps of his life, but he did it. He stood just a foot away from the edge of precipice, bathed by the cold mist rising from the surging waters.

"You did it!" Mhreya gave him another fond lick over the cheek. "I told you, puppy. I told you it's easy. Now look."

Kerr did look, but not below. He stared at her, the only face he felt comfortable gaping at.

"Spirits...it's your first time, isn't it?"

He blinked once, apparently enough for Mhreya to make up her mind. She pressed her fluffy head into his chest, bridging his clattering chin between two fuzzy ears.

"You're so cold...It's the first time for me too, you know... the mountains near the FrostFangs are the biggest in the whole world, but I've never seen a waterfall before."

"Then...why do you want to look?" Kerr forced himself to speak.

"My mother told me a legend once." Mhreya nuzzled him comfortingly, her hand slowly pushing his head lower and lower.

Kerr's eyes slowly rolled away from the village. He soared above the fishing boats on the lake's shore, glided above the rippling waters until his gaze aligned with the strands of silvery water falling through the stony gaps. This wasn't just a waterfall. It was a primordial beast that, even after thousands of years, it still poured its life giving waters to sustain the waterbinders living below.

If spirits had a physical shape, Kerr imagined them looking like this waterfall. Frightening to behold from up-close, but at the same time eerily beautiful.

"It's quite a look, isn't it?"

"It is..." Kerr curled his stiff fingers tighter around hers, his soaked pads almost freezing due to the cold mist rising from below.

"I like it too. Not as much as my mother though. She traveled around the world to seek the gateways that led into the spirit realms."

"What are these gateways?"

"Special places, such as this waterfall. Mother said that whoever immerses with the element of a particular spirit will enter their realm and be granted eternal life."

"Did she...?"

"No." Mhreya stroked his neck while her head rubbed up and down, working some delightful heat into his shivering muscles. Kerr let out a frail, continuous whimper.

"Should I go slower?"

"N-no. It feels...good. Please..." he nuzzled along an ear, making it twitch playfully. "Please continue..."

She resumed her ministrations. "Mother was just a traveler. A spirit talker or a binder would have jumped into that lake below without a second thought, but we're not like that. She taught me to trust what my senses feel. Nothing less, nothing more."

"And your father?"

"Just a hunter interested more in his own belly than some fickle rumors spread around by dreamers."

"It's not fair to call them that." Kerr stiffened. "What if she hears you?"

"My mother?"

"The water spirit," Kerr added.

Mhreya released a rumbling growl at that, more akin to laughter than spite. "I'd like that. Means she cares about us. It means the spirits are still with us..."

"You don't believe in them..." Kerr's voice faded to a whisper.

"I do. I mean I want to. When I look below and see how far the water travels, I want to believe there is a higher power guiding it. That we aren't alone in the world."

"Jump, and maybe we'll see."

That was a bad joke, and Kerr realized that when the feline playfully nipped at his chin. He stumbled back, just like the last time when he had approached the waterfall's edge.

And Mhreya was there to steady his clumsy paws. She pressed him to her breast, making Kerr's heart leap in his chest.

"I...we should...I mean..."

"Yes, I know." She unwrapped her hands from the shivering canine and stepped back, flashing a smug grin. "Hugs terrify you more than big waterfalls."

"It's not like that."

"Then how? Prove me wrong and I'll believe you."

Kerr surged forward, intent on wrestling that pesky feline into the dirt. He put all of his bristling energy to use by practicing tackling techniques with her through friendly sparring. Mhreya loved close physical contact. She thrived in the heat of contest, eager to prove what her capable paws could do. Kerr, on the other hand, found himself pinned time and time again under her weight, drowning his embarrassing defeat in gulps of cold water.

Afterwards, he tried to forget the innate shame of being bested by a female by practicing the spirit talk Mhreya taught him. Like last time, he heard no whispering, no songs, no guidance. Nature was his only steadfast ally, and when Kerr opened his eyes, he was awestruck by how many glimmering stars appeared in the darkening sky. It was quite a sight to behold, to be in the bosom of nature, surrounded by so much life.

Regret stirred in his chest. Without the spirit's guidance, the waterbinders would send him back to the plains, where...

"Not today."

"Hmh?" Mhreya brought her curious muzzle closer to his.

"It's nothing." Kerr pointed towards the deer she left behind when they went to see the crashing waters. "We shouldn't leave him alone like that."

"Moonbrook doesn't get lonely, silly," Mhreya purred in that feline way of hers. "He loves my company, sure, but he'll be fine as long as he can watch over us."

"He's watching the stars more than he's watching us, it seems." Kerr's eyes widened, his amber eyes lighting up with glee. "We should do that too!"

"Oh, so exciting!" Mhreya grabbed his hand and dragged him towards her stag. "I want to hear your customs. And your thoughts. I always wondered what stars really are, but my parents always link them to spirits. Spirits here, spirits there. It gets kinda boring."

"It does," he said, striding after her to keep up with her agile paws. "Let's look first and talk later. I need a bit of time to think."

Mhreya agreed, and soon the two of them lay on their backs, Kerr with his hands entwined above his chest, Mhreya with her lengthy tail clutched between her caressing paws. Her tip flicked every once in a while, making Kerr's lips stretch into a faint smile.

It felt difficult to divert his attention between her and the sky. Both had proven equally enigmatic for him, and a single night wasn't enough to decipher either. So, Kerr's focus shifted towards the stars, hoping that, in some way, they would reveal their secrets to him.

The plains offered a similar view, but up here, on top of the mountain, Kerr felt a bit closer to the enigmatic dots that shone with a cold, soothing brilliance akin to frozen water drops. The stars always blinked back at him. Did they acknowledge his presence? Could they try to communicate with him like he had tried to do with the water spirit? Kerr never found answers to such questions. Stars were akin to spirits in only one regard: both had proven to be out of his reach.

** ***End of the excerpt*****

End note: I really hope you enjoyed the excerpt of this long story enough to consider making a purchase, should your financial possibilities allow it. Compared to commissions, these published works take me a lot of time and effort for very petty earnings. The reason I keep at it is because I strive to make my portfolio accessible to all sorts of budgets while also trying to earn my bread in the process. Such is the life of the freelance artist. But I wouldn't change it for anything else in the world, as it gives me the best reason to produce something not for myself, but for the enjoyment of many ^^

*Where to buy "The Will of the Water": *

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