“What do you think the world will be like, when we return?” asked Cat. He was trying not to watch Daphne and Skeezicks snuggling up together by Grace and Ea. Marlowe was trying not to watch the fading figure he thought was probably Drunais on the increasingly distant shore.

“The same,” Marlowe said, with a hopeful weariness. As the ship moved away from shore time seemed to stretch out, like fabric stitched at an awkward join. They were moving smoothly over the calm sea, sails full even though there was no wind. Tuc the seal king surfaced to watch them ghost by.

“Do you think…?”

“Yes?”

“I will turn back into an ordinary cat?”

Marlowe shook his head. “I don’t think so. I’m certainly not going to turn back into an ordinary man.”