Bast watched her cat, affectionately named Meow, work her way down the branch and gently begin to tap at her bedroom window. This was a little nightly ritual they completed, and it had been the same for most of her life.

Meow had always been there for her. When her mother died or when her father was gone off to fight, she always had her cat. As she closed the window, she noticed a bright light shining in the sky.

“Look, Meow,” Bast said and pointed to the brightening light in the night sky.

She grabbed the cat up and gave it a hug, which the cat accepted very reluctantly. She stayed by the window and began to watch with concern as the dot in the sky became an orb, and the orb transitioned to something else entirely.

Not knowing why and with Meow still in her arms, she opened her bedroom door and stepped out into the courtyard. Quickly hopping from paving stone to paving stone, she followed the fishpond up to the main building where she knew her father would be drinking his tea.

She slid open the door and cried out for him.

“Father!”

Bast regretted startling the older man. He had been lightly snoozing in his chair, and it looked as if her reaction caused him to spill cold tea all down the front of his robe.

“Gods! Bast…” Her father said, shaking the wet tea from his hands and beginning to try and pat down his soaking robe.  She giggled and headed for the kitchen and grabbed one of the towels from under the washbasin. She carried it to her father and handed it over to him.

“I'm sorry, father.”

The old man looked at her affectionately. She looked so much like her mother did at this age, the old man thought and remembered what it had been like in their youth. What he would give for one more day with her.

“It's fine, daughter. What caused you to wake me with a scream?” He asked, handing her back the
damp cloth.

“There's something in the sky,” she said excitedly. Now that she was with her father, the fear of the moment had left and was replaced with curiosity.

“Things fall from the heavens every night, my dear. Nothing special. Go back to sleep,” he said and sat down back in his chair with the intention of falling immediately back to sleep.

“Father...” She said in the tone which she knew he would not ignore.

The man had his eyes closed and let out a quiet sigh. He knew he was going to get up and see what she wanted him to.  Bast helped her father stand, and the trio walked out into the courtyard and took in the cool summer evening.

Bast's curiosity quickly left her when she saw the reaction on her father’s face.

It was fear.