Heart Fate Excerpt -- Reading

This is the excerpt I used for my Mile Hi Con reading. It is right after Lahsin's (heroine) Passage and Tinne (hero) sensed she was having a hard time and came and stayed with her. Strother is a dog.
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An itching came at the back of his mind, someone probing for him. He had to leave. G'Uncle Tab be concerned, and it was nearly time for Saille Willow's training.

Tonight was one of the nights that he was supposed to spend in T'Holly HouseHeart. He'd looked forward to the serenity of that, but now he didn't know.

He wanted to stay with Lahsin.

Just being in her presence eased some soreness within him.

That might be a dangerous sign that they were becoming too close. Close enough that he was in danger of more than caring.

He looked around for a memo sphere, didn't see one but there was a writestick and papyrus on the bedstand table. Lahsin's pretty penmanship showed notes on Passage. Tinne didn't read them, but turned the papyrus over and wrote: "No self-defense training tonight. Rest. See you tomorrow evening." He hesitated long over the closing, then scrawled his first name.

When he opened the bedroom door Strother rose from the place he'd been lying across the hall. He inclined his head gravely at Tinne and trotted in gracefully. The bad leg was Healed, moving as strongly as his other three.

He was tall enough to look over the bed. His nose wrinkled. **Smells not like herself. Scared sweat.**

"Passage," Tinne said. The emotional upheaval over Strother might have sparked it.
Strother gazed at Tinne. **This is a good person.**

"I think so."

The dog nodded, studied Tinne from wary eyes. **You are a good person, too, despite you have a cat Fam.**

Tinne bowed. "Thank you."

A half-smile formed on Strother's muzzle. **Famcat did not stay with you when times were hard. Came back afterwards. I tell her that. Not loyal like a dog.**

With a chuckle, Tinne shook his head. Strother was more intelligent than he appeared.

Strother studied Lahsin. **She might be a good FamWoman.** Tinne heard loneliness in the sentence. **I could help her. I am big and strong and tough and mean to bad ones.** He lifted and rotated his once-crippled leg. **My leg is good now. I could leave, but that would not be loyal.** His gaze slid to Tinne. **She helped me. She fed me. She took me to D'Ash.**

"She paid for your Healing with her skill."

The dog snorted. **Pay, pay, pay. Humans obsessed with pay. Doing what feelings say to do is more important.**

Tinne stared.

**Cats think of this 'pay' stuff, too.** Strother's lip curled.

That was true.

**My feelings say to stay and become Fam to Lahsin. I like her very much.** He hopped onto the chair Tinne had vacated, curled up and watched Lahsin. **She will love me. That is best.**

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May you enjoy time with friends today.
Robin