Chapter 23
The first thing Isika had experienced, coming back to consciousness, was a tongue bath from a persistent cat. She groaned and put out a hand to shield her face.
Get up, she heard.
Isika opened her eyes. Hera's face was inches from hers. She yelped with a scratchy, creaky voice.
Hera! What under Nenyi’s skies are you doing? she asked.
Then she realized she was lying in shallow, warm water.
From there it was a jumble of explanations. All three Palipa were with her. The cats told her in their own way about the boats coming apart. When she asked how they had found her, they answered with half-lidded stares and their signature slow blinks. Isika sighed. She was wet, hungry, and uncomfortable.
After she had crawled out of the surf and sat in the sunshine for a while, she asked
