"Clara?"

The Jaguar warrior wiped his tears away. Clara inspected his facial features closely, but nothing came to mind. Then she stared at his arms, his chest, and his legs (which she spent the longest looking at). She shook her head sadly. "I'm sorry, I don't believe we've met."

"It's me! It's Tizoc!" He immediately reached for her hands and held them together with his. "After all these years, we finally meet again!"

"Clara, you know this guy?" Lenoria was ready to sock the guy just in case he was another creep.

"His name rings a bell," Clara lamented. The elf felt goosebumps all over her body, but not out of fear or anxiety.

"You haven't forgotten about me, have you?" Tizoc released his grasp. "You helped my family when a pandemic hit my village. You didn't have much on you, yet you and your parents went out of your way to get medicine for my sick father. And you comforted me, even when I thought my father was going to die. You didn't stay for long, because our village was just a stop to your true destination. But I haven't forgotten you these past fifteen years."

"Fifteen years?!" Lenoria and Alistair looked at Clara, who was just as perplexed as they were.

"I didn't know where you were headed, but that didn't stop me." Tizoc bent over to pick up his club. "When I came of age five years ago, I said goodbye to my family and set out to look for you. I asked the mountains where you were, but they were too proud to answer. I asked the trees, but they only spoke in riddles. I asked the crows and vultures, but they only spoke about our eventual demise. I even prayed to the Moon Guardian at the roadside shrines for your safety." Tizoc raised his club. "Every victory was dedicated to you. I wanted to be strong enough to protect you so you and your family didn't have to wander anymore. But I came so close to giving up so many times." He smiled. "And now we finally meet again. And for the second time in a row, you arrived in my time of need."

Alistair did the math with his fingers. "They met fifteen years ago, and he reached adulthood just five years ago. He must have been a kitten when they met and waited to leave his home for ten of those years."

"That has got to be...one of the most romantic things I ever heard! Clara, I had no idea!" Lenoria shifted her gaze at Clara, whose face was red with embarrassment. "When were you going to introduce us?"

"Clara, please say something," Tizoc pleaded.

"T-this is happening awfully fast!" Clara pulled herself away from Tizoc. She turned around and hid her face from everyone. "Tizoc, right? I-I appreciate the things you said, but I can't accept your feelings."

The smile Tizoc had displayed was flipped upside down in a single instant. His strength helped keep him in a firm posture, yet his knees wobbling for a single second was the only indicator Lenoria needed to determine his true feelings.

"You traveled far just to find me. I appreciate that, I really do. To tell you the truth, I think it's romantic."

Unable to understand, the confused catfolk warrior bent a knee before Clara. "Then...why do you refuse?"

"It's been years since I last saw you, Tizoc. You were just a little kitten back then. Elves like me age differently from everyone else, and I'll look the same as you grow older. We're adults, you and I, but...I need time to adjust."

Saddened, the man nodded. "I understand. It's enough for me to know that you're safe." After a brief pause, he looked over at Alistair and Lenoria. "I'm sorry for attacking you two."

Lenoria seemed surprised by Clara's response, but she wasn't going to question its authenticity. "No harm, no foul. We came here because we heard a scream."

"Ah, yes. I have to thank you for your help against that poacher earlier."

"Poacher?" Lenoria had more questions now. "It'd be best if you started from the beginning."

***

The four of them returned to the clearing, where the corpse of the bugbear came into view. Blood oozed out from an opening from the back of the head as the face, with its eyes rolled upwards, bore a terrified expression. Meanwhile, one of the adult jaguars feasted on a leg torn off from the corpse while the other adult played with the cubs.

Tizoc took the initiative and alerted the jaguar family by voicing an incomprehensible sound. The two animals were immediately alert, but once they saw Tizoc, they went back to what they were doing.

"We should be fine now. Feel free to investigate as much as you want."

The girls decided to search the body of the bugbear while Alistair took a closer look at the goblins first. "You have my thanks, Tizoc." Alistair turned his eyes to the jaguar family. One of the adults swatted its claws playfully to one of the cubs, while the second cub could be seen pouncing on the tail of the bigger animal. He noticed the stab wounds, which had been healed but not completely, and wondered if it was okay to finish healing it. "How did this happen, Tizoc?"

The catfolk warrior, still gazing at the jaguars, backed away into a rock slowly and sat down on it. "I arrived at Ezmestli not too long ago, and the villagers immediately came to me with their problems. Many jaguars had been found dead recently and they asked me to look into it. It didn't take long until I met these poachers."

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

"Are these animals endangered?"

"No, but they nearly faced extinction many, many years ago. Back in the old days, my people would hunt and kill jaguars because they believed the jaguar's pelt granted a warrior the animal's strength. Nowadays, we only fight them as a means of training. Never to kill. It is our nation's sacred animal."

"I see. We were ready to defend ourselves if it came to that, so it is fortunate we met you." Alistair stared at Tizoc firmly. "But I'm afraid these aren't your ordinary poachers. The one with the blue cape is a member of the Blue Jay."

"The Blue Jay? Is that why there's a bird stitched on the cape?"

"Yeah, they claim to be righteous but in reality, they're a bunch of power-hungry thugs," Clara said. "If they say the sky is green, they're ready to punch you the moment you show them some evidence."

Alistair nodded. "I have no idea why they're here, but this isn't a good sign. If the jaguar is sacred, what do they have to gain by hunting them?"

"I would like to know, myself. This is the second group I met today." Tizoc let out a tired sigh. "They must have a base nearby, but I have no leads."

"I found one!" All eyes turned to Lenoria, who waved around a bloody parchment. "Says here they made a temporary base at a nearby keep."

"Let me see!" Tizoc snatched the parchment away. His eyes widened the more and more he read it. "It's true, all of it. I know this location. It even has directions on how to get there."

***

Grabbing his macuahuitl, Tizoc signaled everyone to leave the clearing in a slow yet orderly fashion. They got back on the road in no time, where they reunited with Chestnut and Tsukuyomi.

"This is where we part ways." Tizoc used his club to point to the road ahead. "It's only another mile to Ezmestli, so you'll be there in no time."

Lenoria gave Alistair a worried look, which he immediately acted upon. "Tizoc, are you sure you can handle this alone? The Order doesn't exactly play fair."

"Even if I go alone, I must do so for the sake of the jaguars and all other wild animals. I don't want to put your lives at risk for my problems, especially Clara's."

Clara broke eye contact after that declaration, fixing her adventuring hat to conceal her eyes. "It's a-alright, Tizoc. We don't mind."

"That's right. Those Blue Jay clowns got us kicked out from Hammer's Reach back in Helix." Lenoria pounded her fist into her palm. "If they're doing something wrong, then I don't mind going out of our way to stop them."

"I've already accounted for another delay during our trip, so it's alright. We'll visit Ezmestli first to drop off Chestnut and the wagon, then go the rest of the way on foot." Alistair went back to Chestnut and fed him a sugar cube. The girls already made their way to the back, and Alistair seated himself on one side to give Tizoc enough space for him to sit. "Hop on."

A droplet of sweat quietly landed to the ground all the way from Tizoc's eyebrow. "Are you sure? I don't mind going alone. You must have urgent business to tend to."

"Nonsense. You traveled far from home to see Miss Clara."

Lenoria peeked out the little window. "Besides, that map says the keep is somewhere beyond our next destination, so we're headed the same way, anyway. We'll help you out with this."

"You made some good friends, Clara. I'll protect them as well." Not wishing to turn it into an argument, Tizoc accepted the group's help and sat next to Alistair on the wagon. With a flick of the wrists, the whipping reins told Chestnut to move forward.

***

On the back of the wagon, Lenoria was pressing Clara for more information. "What do you remember from your last trip here?"

"Not much. I remember there was a disease going around and the village was placed on quarantine. We were unfortunate enough to be there when it reached its peak, so we were forced to stay until it was neutralized. To speed up the process, Mom and Dad helped the villagers however they could. All I was asked to do was to play with the children."

"And that's where you met Tizoc."

"More than likely. I just can't remember their names." Clara covered her eyes. "I feel so stupid and embarrassed. It was just a trip to me. I didn't know we made a huge impact there."

"Hmm." The girls dropped the subject for a little while as the wagon shook from a bumpy section on the road. A potion tipped over from Lenoria's backpack and rolled its way towards the back. Its owner caught it just before it could roll through the flap and break on the road behind them, expressing a sigh of relief afterward.

Lenoria could hear the boys converse outside. Alistair had asked Tizoc if he knew any good recipes, but the latter's terse responses prevented the possibility of any bonding time. Alistair tried to be polite, but ultimately Lenoria could relate to how Tizoc was feeling.

"Having to carry on like nothing happened after the love of your life recently rejected you? I get his pain."

She hoped Alistair didn't take it the wrong way and planned to chat with him before doing anything else once they arrived. She returned the potion to her backpack and grabbed her notepad from there. She opened the page to her latest idea: A wooden box where people could store food. The box would have cooling and freezing compartments, allowing people to store their food for longer periods of time. Meat and vegetables would take longer to spoil, and it would be bigger on the inside just like her bag of holding.

After drawing some more, she glanced at the potion one last time, after which she came up with something to say to Clara.

"You saved so many lives there, Clara. Tizoc seems grateful for that, at least."

"Mom and Dad did that, not me."

Lenoria smiled. "And you helped him and the other children get through it, just like how you helped me get through those horrible days at the Guild. Maybe he would have been alright without you, but even the thought of losing someone can be a little too much. For all we know, he could have turned into a completely different person if you hadn't been there."

"Gratitude, I understand. But love?" Clara blushed at the thought. "I mean, he seems nice. I don't sense any malice from him at all, and I admit I had a hard time looking away from him when he wasn't looking. But it feels like I just met him." She sighed. "If only I could remember what happened in those days."

Lenoria set her notepad down. Hands behind her head, she leaned against the wall of the wagon. "Why don't you just ask him?"

"Ask him? I-I can't. It's too embarrassing."

Lenoria smiled slyly. "Why not? I saw the way you were looking at him when we first met. Don't you want to know?"

"T-that's different!" Clara hid her face with her hat. "You don't have to be head over heels for something to appreciate it. It's not my fault he looks like a sculpture right out of a museum!"

"Is that what we're calling it?" Lenoria giggled. "Besides, he couldn't stop looking at you, either. If the feeling is mutual, what's the harm?"

"The answer is still no." Clara sighed. "I'm not going to say yes just because he sounded genuine with his confession. It's not right to accept someone's feelings when you don't feel the same way they do."

A familiar feeling washed over Clara, a stream of salty water that reopened past wounds. The same dreadful feeling she felt on the night of her own confession had returned, and the irony of the words she just spoke was not lost on her. Lenoria dropped the smirk and sat next to her, but Clara refused to make eye contact at this point. Nevertheless, Lenoria pulled her closer for a hug and let silence hang in the air for as long as Clara needed it.

"Instructor..."