What an amazing dream, I thought as consciousness returned to me. In that moment I was certain that I had arrived in Boston and somehow made it to my assigned dorm without remembering it. Running on too much coffee and not enough food could do that.

As soon as I had the cash, I'd have to get better sheets, the dorm supplied ones It felt like crap, so threadbare and rough, it was like sleeping in a pile of straw. At least it was warm. I rolled over and stretched out into a star shape.

My hands and feet brushed against gritty stone. I inhaled. The air felt rather dry, and carried a hint of old smoke, and beneath that another sent. A pleasant musk, which permeated my bed, and yet wasn't me, it was Dan.

Eyes opened, I sat up and looked around. I was in the cave from my dream. Though the fire pit had been racked. My eyes still refused to focus on nearby objects. Not that I needed eyes to sense that I still had fur, claws and a tail. With a thought I extended my claws and flexed them several times. "It wasn't a dream. I'm still Tabitha."

The far side of the valley was bathed in bright sunlight, though the colours still looked dull to my eyes. Closer to home Dan had left cloths out for me as promised. The top garment was a simple suede halter top which laced together with a leather cord down the front.

Beneath that I found a skirt made from multiple overlapping panels. There was even a hidden slit that accommodated my tail. Like the halter it was made from suede and finished with cord laces. The ensemble was plain but well made. Even without needle or thread, or even scissors, Dan had done a wonderful job. The corded seams looked like neat flat braids, the edges were perfectly straight, and everything fit just right. Best yet, the halter even made it look like I had a slight bust.

It was a super cute cave girl outfit, pity I had no mirror to admire myself with. "Some beads would make it even cuter," I said, just to hear my voice, "I must keep an eye out for pretty stones."

Tip-toeing to the entrance of the cave, I closed my eyes and breathed in. Dan's scent was everywhere, but I could still pick out the freshest trail. I headed down hill into the foliage, taking care to avoid sticks, loose rocks and anything else that might reveal my location. It took a lot of focus, but potential obstacles leaped out at me now that I was thinking about it. But then stealth was probably a class skill for me, just like Leather work was for Dan.

While lush compared to the surrounding desert, the valley floor was far from a jungle. Large patches of grass and flowers were occasionally interrupted by trees. Some of them looked ordinary. Straight trunks maybe ten feet tall with a loose canopy overhead. The others were more exotic. Perhaps the most common species looked like a fractal. The main trunk about three feet tall, then it split into seven evenly spaced branches. Only the upward pointing tips of the smallest branches had leaves. Growing in dense bunches they blended together to give the tree an umbrella like appearance.

Tracking Dan took the best part of an hour. I found him crouching at the edge of a mossy glade, with a simple wooden spear in his hand. The ground dipped down here, trapping enough moisture for ferns to grow. Even the Umbrella trees were particularly dense, giving both him and me plenty of cover from the goats. There was five of them, including two kids.

I circled downwind, taking even more care to move silently than scaled one of the trees, squeezing up into the spaces between the branches and leaves above. From my new shadowed perch I could see all five goats and the spot where Dan was stalking them.

With a smile on my face, I waited for him to make his move. Fortunately I didn't have to wait long. I'd just gotten into a good ambush position when he leapt up out of the ferns and cast his spear. It stuck one of the billy goats in the shoulder, causing the animal to buck and bleat in pain. The rest of the tribe jumped at the sound and took off running.

All four of them passed under my hiding place. I let the kids and their mother past then dropped onto the other female, still without making a sound. My clawed hands curled about its neck. it staggered under my weight, then my claws dug into its throat and it was all over.

Meanwhile Dan's spear thrust had missed everything vital, leaving his Billy goat injured but still alive. It bleated in pain from the spear still stuck out of its shoulder. Despite this, it faked left. When Dan followed, it jerked right and sprinted for the trees.

"Mya!" I yelled, jumping out into its path.

Eyes rolling, it dropped its head and charged.

I vaulted at the last moment, doing a half twist in the air and grabbing the spear with both hands. My paws touched the ground a moment later, and I lunged, pushing the weapon deeper into its shoulder.

Dan reached into the melee with his large hands and snapped its neck. "Where the devil did you come from?"

I skipped around Dan, then grabbed jumped up and pulled him into a hug. "I Just wanted to thank you for the outfit, then I saw you hunting and though I'd help."

He Pushed me off and ran a hand through his hair. "Don't you? I could have killed you."

"As if, you didn't even see me, besides this way we have twice as much meat." I said pointing to the other Goat.

Dan made me carry it all the way back to camp. Worse yet, he spent the whole trip lecturing me about proper hunting procedure and ways to signal your presence without spooking potential prey.

We dumped both animals near a refuse pit that Dan had clearly used before, then he left me to guard our catch while he went for tools. Skinning and gutting the goats was just as gross and messy as I expected it to be.

"for a cat girl you sure are squeamish." Dan said.

I pulled my hand out of the goats chest cavity, along with its lungs. and flicked them onto the pile of offal. We'd already eaten the livers and set aside the kidneys for cooking later, but that still left a fair few internal organs. While all of it was edible in theory, we didn't have the tools to cook them properly. The blood had soaked into my fur all the way to the elbows, making it feel sticky and uncomfortable. "It's like I have two minds sometimes. Part of me is still the trans girl from Indiana. Back there I’d never had to think about where hamburgers came from. Then there is another part of me that has no problem eating raw rat while it’s still warm."

Dan shivered at that. He crouched over the other goats hide with a flint scraper in his hand. "You ate raw rat, seriously?"

I rolled up to standing, taking care to keep my arms away from my new cloths. "It was the first thing I did when I got here. I saw movement and my hunting instincts just kicked in. Afterwards I nearly lost my cookies."

"Gross. Come strait back once you've cleaned up. You still need to slice that goat up and get it over the fire to smoke."

"Yes dad." I said, sticking my tongue out at Dan before skipping back down to the water. Getting my fur clean felt so great, even if it left my arms somewhat waterlogged. What the hell, I thought, tugging at the laces of my top. Moments later I was back in the water, swimming and diving. Afterwards I found a nice grassy spot and just lazed in the sun to dry. I'd never understood why cats spent so much of their time lazing about, but now it felt like the best idea I'd had in a long time.

A shadow blocked my sunlight. I rolled over and opened one eye only to see Dan standing over me. His arms stained with dark blood. The smell of wood smoke rolled off him in waves so strong that my nose itched. "You need a bath." He glowered down at me, grinding his teeth in large circles which made his tusks wobble. "The goats all done, thanks for asking." Heat rose to my checks. If not for my fur I'd my face would undoubtably be bright red. "Oh, I'm sorry. The water was so cool and I got distracted."

With a shrug, Dan turned his back on me and headed for the water, casting his loincloth aside. "Whatever."

I snapped my eyes shut, the blood positively pulsing in my cheeks. What the hell was wrong with me, I wondered. Blowing work off and going swimming? That wasn't like me, not like me at all.

At some point the Dan finished his bath and went past where I lay in the sun. I kept my eyes shut and feigned sleep as he passed. "Dan, I'm really sorry, I'll do better next time."

"The meat is going to take all night, you can have first guard shift." He said, then his shadow was gone again leaving me alone.

I waited for a slow count of fifty before rolling over and slipping back into my cloths. Then padded back to our work site. Dan had turned the hides into a makeshift smoke house. Inside, thin strips of goat meat hung from a matrix of branches above a lightly smoking fire. I settled down a ways away and scanned the clearing, hearing and finding nothing.

The fire didn't really need tending. Time passed, the sun set and the air cooled. Sounds of night life came to me from the distance. Small animals scuttled through the grass. Occasionally something squeaked, but nothing approached me or the smoke house.

I sat closer to the smoke house hugging my knees to my chest. Like a normal cat my fur wasn't entirely even, with the fur on down my front being a fair bit thinner than that on my back and limbs. I was still sitting like this when Dan showed up, with another animal hide draped over his shoulders. He paced around the smoke house. "Get some Sleep Tabby."

"Night Dan." I said as I uncurled from my spot and took off back towards the cave at a run. The moons were up providing enough light for my cats eyes. Back in the cave I found a flat piece of wall and marked two dashes with charcoal. One for each day I had spend in this world. Dan had gathered more rushes While I was swimming, so we now both had a comfortable place to sleep.

The next few days were a blur. Dan and I started talking again, which was good, and we had enough food to get by on for a while. We spent the mornings exploring, scouting not just the valley but also the surrounding desert. Afternoons meanwhile were for swimming and just lazying about in the sun.

On the sixth day I washed my cloths and hung them up to dry on top of an umbrella tree. That's when it stuck me, I'd remained in my cat girl form all this time. Weirdly, I wasn't even tempted to change back. After all the last time I did that, I ended up fighting a giant chicken.

My eyes came to rest on the smoke trails that still marked the western sky. The problem was that Dan seemed certain that his wife would show up in the valley. He was ready to wait forever, but how did he know? Even if she had spawned nearby, there was no guarantee that she would find the oasis. Then there was the problem that I had appeared days after Dan had. I worried at the problem all day.

That evening Dan surprised me with two eels that he had caught in the deepest pond in the valley and baked in the coals. The flesh was a little gritty but full of flavor. "Dan, have you considered, that your Linda might have not found this valley?"

At my words Dan grew still, gazing into the fire. He continued eating his eel, as if I hadn't spoken at all. I shifted closer, moving around the fire until we were almost shoulder to shoulder. "We're supposed to fight evil, or something aren't we?"

"It's too dangerous for a little girl."

I flicked the eel bones into the fire where they sizzled for a moment. "We're the same age Dan, no matter what I look like. Besides, If someone tries something I'll scratch their eyes out."

"You think you can do it, Tabby?" He said, finally looking at me. "Kill someone I mean, kill them before they kill you. This place is like the Wild West. No courts, no prisons, no due process, just swords and lynch mobs. That's what Hod told me, anyway."

I hadn't thought about it. Could I kill in self defense? Truth be told, I'd seen no real violence worse than a punch up at a rowdy bar. Sure stuff got broken, but no one was out to kill. It was just something to pass the time when you ran out of booze money. "Yea, I think I could. Maybe that's why Katia gave me this body. It knows how to kill, even if I don't."

"And could you live with yourself after?"

I stood up, stretching out my arms and legs. Outside the sun had set and valley was dark, already the heat of the day was fading into a clear cloudless sky. "Either way, eventually we die and face the gods. This is our second chance, and I will not waste it even if that means killing bad guys."

Dan flicked the remaining bones from his meal into the fire too, then stood. His shoulders drooped, as he strode to his sleeping spot, and fluffed up the rushes. "Good night Tabby."

"Good night," I said, settling into my bedding. "I'm leaving in the morning Dan, I'd like you to come with me, but I'm going even if you don't."

Neither of us slept much that night. I could still hear Dan tossing and turning long after the fire had burnt to embers. His final question stayed with me. Could I do it?

And then I prayed. I didn't get on my knees, or anything like that, but I prayed. I prayed to the goddess who had made me. Somewhere out in the far distance a lion roared, the sound echoing through the night. I took it to be the goddesses answer, what I'd told Dan was the truth.