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“When one of the Nox Gadael disappears everyone else simply assumes that they’ve been caught by the hunters, because that’s normal for us,” Monique said, her voice sad, “and there are too few of us for the memory wiping thing to work.” She tilted her head to one side, looking thoughtful. “Although it does seem as though there are more Nox Gadael than we believe there is, because there are packs here we never knew existed.”
Zoe bit her lip, trying not to compare her easy life to that of the Nox Gadael. “It seems impossible, with the number of humans on Earth, that anyone I knew might end up here.” She shrugged. “I don’t know if I’d want them to.”
“That is understandable, considering what humans are forced to give up when they are brought here by the door. We see it as a positive change in our lives, because we would otherwise still be hunted, but for you…” Monique shook her head. “I wish we could affect the door in some way, to only bring those who need sanctuary to Taithmarin, but no one understands the magic that was used to create it.”
“I don’t regret what happened, but it took me some time to get to understand that. I had no real aim in life if I stop and really think about what I was doing, although I was happy being aimless. Now I’m here I realise that there was so much more I could be doing with my time and I plan on making the most of being here.” Zoe smiled, even though she still felt a little sad about who she had left behind. “Making friends was always something I was good at, so the only thing I need to work on is getting used to the calendar here, and then I can get a job.”
“Do you have any magic?” Isen asked.
“That’s something I still need to find out. Joel, my guide, told me that many of the humans who end up on Taithmarin have the ability to use the magic of the world, but it’s not something I’ve experimented with yet.”
Monique wagged her tail. “We know Joel. He often visits us.”
“I liked Joel.” Zoe hadn’t wanted to like him, but it had been impossible not to. “He wants to meet up once he’s done with his latest new arrival so he can see how I’m getting on.”
“If it wasn’t for his work as a guide he would have several puppies by now.”
“How does that work?”
“We don’t tell everyone this, but often young Gadeal puppies connect with one of the other races and they choose to live with that person. It’s a pack thing, we think, although it’s not something we have a lot of understanding of.”
Zoe nodded. “It’s hardly something that would have happened on your old world.”
“Exactly. It doesn’t happen as much with the older Gadael, who have travelled here from our old world, but a few have chosen to live with other races.” Monique gave Zoe that look that made her think the Gadael was smiling. “There are even some Nox Gadael living with the Alati Felis.”
Mirrored from K. A. Jones Writing.
