Page 50 of Tiger's Trek
She’d only eaten two bites when Max began rubbing his large body back and forth against her leg.
“Here you go,” she said, placing his small dish of discarded bones on the floor.
The cat batted at them a bit, kicking a few out of the bowl and then made another plaintive mewling sound and began kneading her stockinged foot with his paws.
“I know. It’s not much for a cat’s belly, I’ll grant you. But who knows when your master will return? I may end up needing to roastyouover the fire, you know.”
The cat hissed in response.
“Believe me—it wouldn’t be my first choice either.”
Veru took another bite, and another.
The gray cat sat and stared at her with his big green eyes, and Veru decided she wasn’t as hungry as she thought. “Fine, you greedy beggar,” she said. “You’re lucky I have a very soft spot when it comes to felines.”
Placing her bowl on the floor, she removed the spoon and headed over to what served as a kitchen sink in the little cottage. After finding an old scrub brush, a bucket, and a cake of soap, she ladled enough water for herself and Danik to drink into the stoppered bottles provided by Kadam, and then poured the rest into the large cauldron hanging on a hook and swung it over the fire to warm.
She knew the meager amount of water left in the cauldron would only be enough to clean the kitchen, and they’d run out of drinking water if the woman was gone for more than a day, but Veru figured they’d worry about that later. It took her three bucketfuls of water and the entire contents of the cauldron, just as she’d suspected, to clean the sink, the inside of the little window, and the table and counter.
She wrung out the small cloth she’d found in the filthy water and wiped her brow on her sleeve. The cottage was warm. A bit too warm now for her. Even Danik had thrown off his blankets in his sleep. Fortunately, the little sink had a pipe that led outside, so at least she’d been able to discard the dirty water. She only wished she had reserved some water to wash her face and hands.
Heading back to the cabin door, she twisted and turned with all her might, but it still wouldn’t budge. She even tried quietly singing to the house like Danik had said he’d done. Veru’s voice wasn’t as beautiful as her mother’s had been, but it wasn’t bad. Still, the “pretty house” didn’t seem to like what it heard. Sinking into her chair, she wondered what she’d give Danik to eat when he woke. She wanted to put her head into her hands but wouldn’t, knowing how filthy they were.
As she shook out the blanket she’d used and saw the dust and crumbs of meals gone by rain down to the dirty floor, she imagined all kinds of vermin and bugs crawling across her body while she’d slept the night before. Though she’d lived outdoors as a tiger for many months and had eveneatenvermin, there was something about being back in her human skin that made her feel vulnerable.
As a tiger, there was nothing she could do about insects other than jumping into a body of water, but a tiger’s coat was built to slough off most irritants. Human skin wasn’t. Her whole body itched, and she wanted nothing more than to sink into a hot tub like she had when she’d once lived at the palace.
Maxsim hopped up onto the table and nudged the bowl she’d cleaned with his paw. He meowed hopefully.
“You can’t be hungry again already,” Veru said. “You ate my entire breakfast. I’m afraid both of us are going to starve now, unless you want to scare up some mice I can roast over the fire.”
Meow?the cat replied, sitting beside the bowl and cleaning his paw. Veru frowned and thought her eyes must be playing tricks. Steam rose from the cauldron, which shouldn’t be possible. It was empty. She’d even pulled it away from the fire so it wouldn’t scald. If she wasn’t mistaken, she smelled something too... something good. She rose and looked inside.
The cauldron was filled to the brim with thick solyanka. Closing her eyes, she inhaled the delicious scents of garlic and dill, sour cream and tomato. Her mouth watered. Picking up a ladle, she stirred the stew and saw it was filled with thick chunks of potato, carrot, mushroom, beef, sausage, and even bacon.
“It looks like both of us are eating a hearty lunch today, kotenok.”
The ladle froze. “Kotenok?” Veru whispered. “Why did you call me that?”
“What?” Danik asked. “I didn’t.” He rubbed his chest, and his shirt moved, revealing a very strong, muscled abdomen. “At least I don’t think I did.”
Veru quickly looked away, trying to hide the flush that crept up from her neck and colored her cheeks and shoulders.
He dipped a finger in the stew, brushing his lanky form against her body, and she dropped the ladle and moved away.What was wrong with her?
“I was talking to the cat,” he said, sticking his finger into his mouth and sucking off the juice from the stew.
Veru couldn’t help it. She watched his mouth and tongue enjoying the taste of the meal, and something nearly feral came over her. It was almost like her tiger had returned. The overwhelming impulse to attack or leap filled her frame. It was all she could do to suppress the desire. It wasn’t appropriate. Especially for a tsarevna. Instead, she said something banal, like, “That’s as I thought.” She flicked her hand as if dismissing him.
Danik just gave her a confused look, then shrugged and filled a dish of stew for himself.
Picking up the dish with the bones, she tossed them in her refuse pile and selected the nice meaty bits a cat would appreciate for Max, then blew on it to cool it off before setting his plate down. Maxsim slunk over to the dish and licked delicately at the glistening bits of beef before devouring whole chunks like the small, ferocious feline he was. Veru watched him for a moment with a wistful half smile, then waited while Danik ate two helpings and was contemplating a third when he asked, “Don’t you want any?”
“Of course,” Veru replied. “Unfortunately, there’s only one bowl and spoon and no clean water to wash them with.”
“Ah,” he said. “If you don’t mind sharing, then?”
She swallowed and held out her hands for the offered bowl, but he shook his head and rose, bidding her to sit. “Allow me.”
