“Kinda jumpy, aren’t you, handsome?”
That penetrated my panic.
Stifling my shout before it truly began, I looked down on my attacker. From my vantage point, I was treated to a view of a gorgeous golden-olive complexioned face, accented by almond-shaped cat’s eyes, framed by a magnificent tumble of light green hair. I could also see a generous expanse of cleavage.
“Tanda!” I crowed with delight, forcing my eyes back to her face.
“Do you mind coming down?” she called. “I can’t come up.”
I considered swooping down on her dramatically, but decided against it. I’m still not all that good at flying, and the effect would be lost completely if I crashed into her.
Instead, I settled for lowering myself gently to the ground a few paces from her.
“Gee, Tanda, I… slack!”
The last was squeezed forcefully from me as she swept me into a bone-crushing embrace.
“Gee, it’s good to see you, handsome,” she murmured happily. “How have you been?”
“I was fine,” I noted, untangling myself briefly. “What are you doing here?”
The last time I had seen her, Tanda was part of the ill-fated group Aahz and I had seen off to dimensions unknown. Of the whole crowd, she had been the only one I was sorry to see go.
“I’m waiting for you, silly,” she teased, slipping an affectionate arm around my waist. “Where’s Aahz?”
“He’s-“ I started to point up the hill when a thought occurred to me. “Say . . . how did you know I had Aahz with me?”
“Oh! Don’t get mad,” she scolded, giving me a playful shake. “It stands to reason. Even Aahz wouldn’t let you face that army alone.”