"Mercedes Lackey - Valdemar Anthology - Sun in Glory" - читать интересную книгу автора (Lackey Mercedes)

"Vaguely. There was a storm...and before the storm I was something else. As smart as the mrran,
perhaps. Maybe even less smart. During the storm, I changed. All those of my pack changed."
"In a way, the storm created us as well," I explained. "We make our own food, we are neither
hunters nor hunted. But we are very, very dangerous. Spread the message to your pack: leave us alone.
Soon we shall stop and make a thing called a village. Stay away from it. You are most dangerous when
you pounce, but we are even more deadly when we stop moving."
"I have seen that."
I slipped the knots on its bonds and it shook itself free in a moment. It stood and looked at me.
After a moment it spoke.
"Something in me says I shouldn't respect anything without fur. But I respect your kind if they are
all as smart as you. Is this the right thing to feel, I wonder?"
 "I respect your kind." I replied. "But I do not fear them."
"Then we are equal. And because we are equal, I don't think that our peoples should be enemies."
"Spoken like a true and intelligent predator. If my villagers and your pack can stay friendly, then
when one of you is sick or injured and needs care, I can help."
"Help the injured? Why?"
"Because it benefits everyone. Are you intelligent enough to see that?"
If cats could frown, it did.
"Fighting would bring the pack no benefit," it said eventually. "I assume that you need clear land
and nearby water for your village?"
"Yes, we do. That is why we have not settled down yet. There are too many trees."
"If you continue on for about a day, and then turn east, you will come to the edge of the forest,
where the grasslands begin. There is a stream running close by. We don't like water or open land. You
are welcome to it."
"Thank you, I think we shall like it a lot."
I picked up my pack, but it did not move.
"Just one last question before I go to my pack. Do you know what we were before the storm?"
"You were cats," I guessed. "All that has been changed is your coloring, your intelligence, and your
size. You weren't dark green before the storm, and you didn't have language and reasoning. You
certainly weren't four yards long."
I hoped that I had guessed correctly, but soon it nodded its head and padded for the trees. Then it
stopped and looked back.
"Perhaps, sometime, we should talk again," it suggested. "It could prevent misunderstandings in the
future. If you need to speak to me, just ask one of my people for me. My name is Proouw."
"A good suggestion, Proouw. My name is Errold." I said.
Proouw turned and glided away into the shadows of the forest without another word.
After I had had the meeting with Proouw, I went back to the camp and called a meeting. I
explained what had happened, what he had told us, and what I had arranged. Everyone was very happy
that we would not be hunted by anything so big and intelligent, and that there was a site nearby to build
the village on. It was felt that looking after Proouw and his pack medically was a fair exchange. After the
meeting was over, I just sat and thought. I wondered whether the shields hadn't somehow leaked during
the storm, and changed me like it had changed the cats. The old Errold would have never even thought of
that plan, let alone have insisted that he be the one to carry it out! And the old Errold wouldn't have
negotiated like that with Proouw. But I eventually decided that it was just me doing what everyone did,
adapting as new things happened to me.
After a day of traveling, and after we turned east, we found the spot Proouw had mentioned. It
was perfect for our needs, and everyone immediately started talking about what we would do, and how
the village would be organized and laid out. There was also discussion about what the village would be
called. They eventually decided on a name...Errolds Grove!
It was a big surprise to me, but as they explained, I had done the most in regard to founding it. The