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It had come to Diane in the form of a story, and she appreciated that. She disliked formless anxieties; stories that aroused a palpable dread for no apparent reason were somehow easier for her to take. They were at least stories, she could tell them and see if the dread arose only in her or if it were a common reaction. If the former, she could perhaps dismiss it; if the latter, maybe someone else would know the meaning.
She found Mouse in the back of the cave and sat down in human form near her. "I have a story to share with you," she said, something she said often but there was a gravity in her voice that did not match the words. Mouse sensed the unease and settled into Diane's lap quietly.
"Once upon a time there was a King of the Owls. He was a fine predator, and very wise in addition. He had led his people to many victories against their enemy, the Weasels. They had driven the underground dwellers into smaller and smaller hunting ranges, and the Weasels were beginning to starve. So the Owl King used one of his powers to change his shape and infiltrated the Weasel kingdom, spreading a rumor of richer hunting grounds to the East. In fact, the East was the province of wildcats, and the Weasel nation would find slim pickings and deadly predators there. The Owl King hoped this would distract them so much that the owls would be able to take over the plains from the weasels permanently and completely.
As the Owl King was finishing up his plans, still in Weasel disguise, he met one night a charming Weasel maiden. She struck up such intriguing conversation with him that he found himself smitten. So after completing his plans and returning to his own kingdom, he kept thinking about her. Finally he decided to invite her to come live with him in the Owl Kingdom. He sent an invitation to her to come as an emissary from the Weasels to the Owls, offering the possibility of a truce as lure.
The Weasel maiden showed the missive to the leader of the Weasels. He assented to her paying a visit to the Owl King, but was very suspicious of the invitation being specifically for her, and not to an emissary appointed by him. So he insisted she take a companion. But the Weasel maiden was wilful, and slipped out alone to pay a visit to the Owls."
Diane stopped for a moment, sweat beading on her forehead. Mouse whispered to her, "Danger. But not what Weasel thinks it is."
"Once he had her in his power, the Owl King commanded the Weasel girl to marry him. But she loved another, and refused his suit. He was not even her species. So the Owl King locked her up in a treetop cell where no Weasel could hope to rescue her."
Diane wiped her forehead. "I don't understand it, Mouse, but this story frightens me. I can't go on. I'll have to just summarize the rest, it's the best I can do." She didn't look at the girl's face, afraid of what she might see there. "Anyway, the Owl King puts a spell on the Weasel girl, sends her home and she ends up causing the destruction of all the Weasels. Then when they're all dead he comes back and gets her and she agrees to marry him, but she kills herself on their wedding night and there are no more weasels, forever."
Diane's eyes were shut tightly and she was shivering. She hoped very hard that she had not hurt Mouse by telling her this, very hard indeed. But she did not open her eyes.