The platform at Kahnbir Station had seen one flood too many; Clem shifted on the warped bench till he found a hollow and settled back with a sigh. At least with spring on the way, the rains would start slacking off and traffic along the river could get back to normal.
Today the Talia flowed quiet and gentle enough along the dock below the platform. The jungle on either side of the river shimmered as the wind washed past, the sun dancing through the billows above and crackling warm through Clem's fur, the clouds' shadows brushing over the station and shivering wonderfully down his tail.
He closed his eyes and thought about the ocean. So many coatis had moved to the cities along the coast that Clem saw more and more of that great, rolling expanse with every trip down river. The salt scent of it, its crashing waves, the sheer size of the thing made the spins and splashes of the Talia seem so small; Clem could understand folks wanting to move down there. With another sigh, he curled up on the bench and set his ears to catch the whistle and chug of Old Ephram's barge, his eventual ride up river.
But instead of the whistle, voices woke him from his doze: two voices, neither one coati, arguing under the river's rush and the jungle's rustle. Clem rolled to look back down the trail. The high, mewling voice was probably a cat's, but the other ... the other had a lilt to it Clem didn't recognize.
"Oh, sure," this second voice was saying. "Like I wanted to be here in the first place! Like any of this is real!"
"Whine, whine, whine," the cat replied. "Was it me that demanded we come to this stinking jungle? I don't think so. Y'know, I just might be starting to have second thoughts about leading you around like this."
"Might be? You've had it in for me from the beginning, Gherk; admit it!"
"Yeah, right; I enjoy getting my fur pulled out saving folks I hate from boxhounds. Get a brain, Betty."
"And don't call me that! My name's Elizabeth!"
"Then don't call me Gherk!"
"Well, what kind of name is 'Gherkin?’"
"Gherkin is an ancient and respectable feline monicker, Betty, and furthermore--"
At this point, the two rounded the corner of the trail below Kahnbir Station, and Clem sat up and stared. One was a cat, all right, a tabby gliderumbler like the kind who danced the stars between every earth from the Deep Past to the Far Future. But the other, the other had to be a human. Nothing else Clem had ever heard of looked like that: upright like a bear; furless as a lizard but with a terrga's bushy topknot; smooth as a dolphin but colored more like a fish; thin arms and legs wrapped in layers of cloth.
The argument continued as they stomped up to the station platform, the cat's tail lashing the air as she said, "I am doing this, I'll have you know, out of the goodness of my heart! I leave you alone for even two minutes, and, wham! you're gremlin food, you got that?"
"Oh, please! Who was it pulled your tail out of that boxhound's claws on our way here, huh? Who was it--?"
"Hey, who's the professional gliderumbler here?" The cat bent back and licked at her tail. "You humans are a hazard to navigation, pure and simple. You've got no head for reality."
The human stopped on the top step of the platform and stared down at the cat. "Reality? Reality?! Excuse me, Gherk, but reality has very little to do with talking animals and robots and jumping through space from planet to planet! Reality is an alarm clock buzzing at 6:15 every morning so you can maybe get something to eat before catching the bus to school for an extra hour of physics so you can maybe pass the AP test, maybe get into a decent college and maybe get the classes you need so you can get a job that pays more than minimum wage and maybe make a living for yourself!"
She swept an arm over the jungle, the river, the station and Clem himself. "This is nothing but some twisted fever dream, and I absolutely refuse to spend the rest of my life wandering around in it!" The human spun and shouted back down the trail: "Do you hear me?! You're nothing but a pack of cards! Nothing!"
When the human wheeled back, her teeth gritted and her fists clenched, the cat only yawned. "Finished?" she asked.
The human looked like she was about to kick the cat into the river, but with a shudder, she just seemed to deflate. Back onto a bench she dropped and wiped a naked paw over her forehead. "Just ... just leave me alone...."
"Sure thing." The cat came over to the edge of the platform, looked up and down the river, then turned and nodded to Clem. "Howdy, cousin. Any idea when the next barge up river's coming through?"
Clem had to laugh at that. "Up river? Cousin, no one but me is stupid enough to ride up river this time of year, and I only do it 'cause it's my job." He stuck out a paw. "I'm Clemyento Paracas, but, please, call me Clem."
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