Stranded Angel
  Autumn 1936
Part 18
by David R. Dorrycott
A story of Angelica Silferlindh ne Popoluma, from Freddy Andersson's Silver Angel comic strip;
Kama and other characters by Freddy Andersson (Used with permission);
featuring Oharu and characters by David Reese Dorrycott
Ada Cronstein, Miss Devinski, Popoluma household, Songmark ,
and characters from Simon Barber's Songmark Academy stories (Used with permission).
Art by Simon Barber & Freddy Andersson
(Edited May 17th, 2012)

South Island.  Angelica looked around her in delight, it was all what Ada had promised.  Still native enough to feel comfortable in only her skirt, yet euro enough to find things like ice cream for sale.   Walking down the beach, eating her ice cream cone, Angelica reflected upon how much her life had changed since leaving home.  She had learned to stand on her own, though if it were not for Ada and the priestess in training who had visited weekly for a time, poor Kama would never have a good supper.  Right now Kama was being cared for by her ‘grandmother,' as such were known here.  This gave Ada and Angelica the afternoon together.  It was a sweet present, one costing the other woman nothing but a little time.

Looking at the shadows, the feline decided that it was almost noon and her Ada was due to arrive very soon now, having managed only a half-day away from Songmark.  There had been problems; her dorm had lost points and only very hard work had granted them the half-day.  Hard work or...  Angelica glanced towards the direction of Main island. Could Kama have had something to do with it?  Not that the feline would ever find out, though.

Abruptly, an errant breeze brought the scent of ripe dates to her nose.  Looking upwards she was delighted to discover that one of the island's many date palms was currently bearing a bumper crop.  Before, she would have simply paid someone to gather dates for her, but now things were greatly different.  Finishing her treat, she looked around until she found a native who appeared to be in charge.  “Are those dates available to anyone?” she asked politely.

Like all males, the fox looked towards Angelica’s bare chest first, but quickly noticing the tailfast ring, his interest changed.  This may be a euro from her accent, but she wasn’t slumming and she knew enough to wear that ring securely.   “If can climb up, may have all want,” he answered in his trained pidgin English.

“Thank you, honored sir” Angelica answered in very good Spontoon, again causing the fox to reevaluate his opinion of the very delectable feline.  Tailfast, and from the twist of those fur-strands to a woman, at that.  ‘Ah’ he thought.  ‘Such a sweet loss to all males, yet her lady is very blessed.’   “Will you need a blade” he asked, this time in almost perfect English.

Reaching behind her, Angelica withdrew her fishing blade from its scabbard.  “Will this do?” she asked seriously, not certain that her fishing blade would be strong enough.  

The poor fox found himself again changing his opinions, which was getting monotonous.  That, he knew, was a night-fisher's blade, its odd hook intended to protect the user from accidentally cutting themselves.  Angelica both wore and held it as one long used to its use.  ‘What is my world coming too,’ he asked himself, ‘When a simple Euro so easily fools me?’  “I am sorry, no, wahini, that blade is too thin.  I will loan you my blade, for half the dates.”

“Half?”  Angelica looked up. It was a very large mass of dates after all, she decided.  Once she would have argued, but even with Ada’s help, half that mass would still be too much for her to eat.  “Done,” she agreed.  Accepting the blade, after returning hers to its scabbard (without looking, which caused the fox to cringe at the thought of what could have been badly injured had she erred) Angelica walked over to the date palm.

Coconut palms usually grew at angles making climbing them easy.  Most date palms, though, grew straight upwards, exactly as this one did.  They also had masses of old leaves half way up causing difficulty climbing.  Placing the borrowed blade in her teeth, the Swedish cat leapt at the palm, her work-hardened claws making light but secure purchase.  Throwing her arms and legs around the trunk Angelica started climbing, heedless of the view she was giving her new fox acquaintance.

Marti Hoele’toemi was returning home when he spotted the lithe cat begin her climb.  Though tailfast himself it had been some time since Helen had visited, this being her third year and free time rare.  Talefast did not mean out of circulation, and he had to admit that the long-haired feline was a sight to behold.  Especially from this angle.  By the time he’d reached the palm Angelica was already at the top, thus he could not see her own talefast ring.  A soft whistle of appreciation escaped his lips at what the native dress did not conceal from this angle while Angelica was soon cutting away the date mass using both paws.  She was using only her legs to hold her securely onto the tree, it was an unconscious display of skill, strength and dexterity that most natives did daily.  It was something Angelica could not have done when she first arrived upon Spontoon.

“Wasting your effort,” the fox warned Marti in Spontoon.  “Left-twisted tailfast.”
   
“Too bad, she is beautiful,” Marti admitted, following the fox’s lead by remaining in his native language.  “More so even than my own tailfast.”

“Ah, and such a heathy lass” the fox agreed.  “Why, I would not be adverse to introduce her to my wife, were she right-twisted.   Whomever her heart belongs too is a very lucky woman. Ah, she comes down!”

Angelica attempted to return as she had arrived, but now having to hold onto a very heavy mass of ripe dates,  while at the same time maneuvering around those spikes that had once been palm leaves she found her balance suffering badly.  As strong as she now was, halfway down she had to admit it was impossible to complete her mission.  Holding the mass of dates out as far as she could Angelica first whistled loudly, another thing she would never have done upon her arrival to the islands.  Then certain that those below her were warned about the dates immanent fall, she simply dropped them.  It was only a fall of twenty feet, but by the time that ripe mass found the waiting fox he was in for a surprise. 

Working her way further down, Angelica herself was caught by surprise when an old leaf she had used to climb up abruptly gave way.  With barely time to throw the borrowed blade in a safe direction she found herself falling that last fifteen feet.

Marti acted without thinking, stepping under the falling beauty to catch her expertly in both arms.  Angelica’s weight, now more muscle than fat, easily carried the two into the soft sand.  When Marti opened his eyes it was to find Angelica pushing her face out of the sand, giving him a very close up view of those treasures normally hidden from others sight.  Unsuspecting, Angelica sat up, turning to face her savior while shaking her head to clear the worst of that sand.  Then she calmly started brushing sand off her fur, at the same time laughing.

“I was not as good as I thought!” Marti apologized in English.

“Oh, no!” Angelica countered in the same language.  “You were a delightful pillow to land on.  Thank you.  You were very good.”

“Excuse me,” an Texas-accented voice announced.  Both looked up to find an American Tigress studying them.  To Angelica, she did not appear happy.  “Tailfast?  Marti, why?” Helen Ducros asked.  “I’m not good enough for you?”  Turning away, the tigress ran off.

With a quickly thrown apology Marti followed her, leaving Angelica to complete her deal with the now rather messy, but very happy fox.

Much latter, very near sundown, Angelica prepared to board a water taxi taking Ada back to Eastern Island, and Songmark.  She would take the same taxi back to Main Island, then walk the miles back to her home village taking one of the well-used paths over Main Island's spine.  Her home, and where their adopted daughter waited.  Both had full stomachs, with enough dates left to keep Kama happy for days.  “Thank you for coming,” Angelica told Ada.  “Though it is not the full moon, I missed you.  I needed to see you, to talk to you.  Just to touch you again.”

“Ahn you kiss pretty good for it being mid-month, too!” Ada laughed.  She pulled her exhausted love against her, noting that there was no resistance from the feline.  That bothered her a lot more than she every wanted to admit, for the Priestess Oharu had warned them both what would happen if the curse wasn’t completely lifted in time.  Though it would be the best of worlds for Ada, for the Swedish feline it was not what she would ever desire.  Even though by then she would be delighted by her change and Ada’s unconditional love.  Angelica though apparently hadn’t noticed the changes in her, but Ada had.  She couldn’t possibly miss them.  Though Ada loved her feline companion without reservation, she always knew that eventually she would lose her. Perhaps Miss Devinski would have an answer the canine thought... she seemed to excel in the native religion's puzzling ways, and she often seemed to know things that only a Priestess should.  Her thoughts though were broken by another figure stepping into the water taxi. 

“I came to apologize,” Helen Ducros announced to the couple.  “I saw her with my tailfast, saw her own ring and jumped tah conclusions.”

Angelica with a full belly forcing her to nap, barely opened her eyes.  “No problem,” she murmured before laying her head against Ada’s breast.  “I want Ada, even if he is handsome.”

“Helen, this is Angelica,” Ada said in introduction. “She told me what happened, so I already know that it was an accident.  Are you and Marti okay now?”

Helen smiled.  “Yes.  I just needed to apologize to you two.  I didn’t even bother to study her markings, just jumped to a conclusion.  Its something I will not do again.”  She started to leave the boat, then paused.  “May I attend the wedding?”

“I do not think there will be one,” Ada admitted solemnly.  “As much as I would give to have that happen, see me at Songmark and I will explain everything.  And Helen?  Thank you.  Angelica really would never go after your tailfast, there is another that calls to her eye.  A native of her village.”

“Sunday, then.  You’re a very lucky woman, Ada; you know that?  She’s really beautiful. Were I as you, the truth is that I would want her as well.”  Then the tigress left and their taxi started away from the pier.

“Oh, how I very much know,” Ada answered the gathering darkness.  Her free paw absently explored soft curves not covered by restrictive cloth. “Oh, how I wish this dream would never end,” she whispered, bending down to kiss Angelica’s head.

In response the cat purred softly, pressing those soft curves against the warm paw touching them, then she gently pushed Ada’s paw under her covering lavalava, to those places the canine knew so well and would die to know all her life.  Places at this time the feline should be screaming to keep Ada’s paws from not helping her find her way.  But a life with her love, it was not to be.  Yet what had triggered this out of sequence desire?  It was near the dark of the moon, not the full moon.  Again, something she needed to talk to Miss Devinski about, or the Priestess Oharu.  Still, as long as Angelica was offering, Ada was happy to accept.  Until the Curse was broken and she could never touch her love again.

And the Jewess was heart-brokenly aware of this.


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