He looked up at the Kalus placidly, waiting for him
to come down.
Kalus stood regarding the scene some moments longer. Though he slowly
reasoned that the danger was remote, or at least not immediate, a den of
dragons, be they live, dead or sleeping, is not to be entered lightly.
And he could not imagine why the tiger had brought him here. At last he
began to descend, though warily, all the time watching the silent shapes
for any sign of movement or consciousness. There were none. He came to
the dry, earthy disc in the bowl's center, and approached the tiger.
His expression and body language were taut as he said. 'Why, Avatar?
Why, of all the places you have ever been, did you bring me here?'
In mute reply the tiger carefully took one of the buds in his teeth and
plucked it free, as on that night he had done, seeking the moisture and
sustenance within. Then began to chew, curling his lip and tongue in
reaction to the bitter taste. But the taste had been bitter on that
first night as well.
Kalus knelt to examine the plant, and the special part that his friend
had eaten. YOU BROUGHT ME HERE TO TASTE THE FRUIT OF A GNARLED DESERT?
he thought curiously. For so it seemed to him. But looking into the
deep, mysterious eyes of the tiger, and again at the strange plant he
had never seen, he wondered.
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