In a heavily forested area, a bloody catling was carefully sneaking through the undergrowth. She'd been slowly moving in Kane's direction for several hours without rest, but the condition of her body had only improved.
She wasn't sure why, but with each step she took her weakness had improved until she felt better than ever before. Her body was caked with dirt and blood, but there was no proof left that she'd ever been grievously wounded.
Even her clothes were no longer in tatters, as she had left them behind and pulled a combat outfit from her tactical backpack instead.
So now she moved in Kane's direction with a combination of speed and stealth. Her master's sword was slung over her shoulder. Unfortunately, this was the only way for her to carry it right now, as the blade's sheath had still been on Kane's back when the elves carried him off.
Right now, Luna was frowning as she looked at the ground, "Why am I seeing so much proof of wildlife having been here, but no actual life? It's like they're avoiding me…"
She had no idea that Mána was using her influence to steer any beasts away from her. Unlike on Earth, where most animals in the wastelands had died out, Alfheim's wilds were far more dangerous, as even the mindless beasts had ways of keeping up with Mystics.
Shaking herself free from useless thoughts, she decided to move on. Her face was grim with determination as she muttered, "Whatever. I need to find Master first…"
She knew she was getting closer to the spires, and thus the elves, but what other choice did she have? She at least needed to do some recon. She couldn't just wait around in the forest, hoping for something to change.
Suddenly, she started hearing voices speaking in a language she didn't recognize.
Frowning, she carefully made her way in that direction. The voices were between her and Kane, so she had little choice. Besides, perhaps she could find out some more about this world, even if she couldn't understand the language yet.
Suddenly, the forest opened up, and Luna realized she was standing at its edge. Seeing people move about in front of her, she quickly ducked behind a tree and peeked around the side.
What she saw reminded her of the workcamp she grew up in on Earth.
People walked around with collars fitted around their necks, blinking with lights and doing who knew what. Some simply sat on the ground staring at the sky with hopeless expressions. Others talked in groups, seemingly trying to make the best of things. Most depressingly, some kids played around in the dirt, most of whom still had the spirit of youth, despite having their own collars.
The main differences started with the buildings, which were admittedly better than those in Earth's workcamp's, but that was likely a simple consequence of living in a more technologically advanced world.
The second difference was that there were no beastlings here, but rather a strange mix of apparent humans and elves.
The loudest noises came from a kind of arena where she noticed a large wolf-like creature walking on their hind legs fighting a savage battle of teeth and claw with a handful of ragged looking elves.
Surrounding the arena were a large number of people, yelling, screaming, and cheering. One section was cordoned off by elven guards, and filled with elves watching the blood sport with cruel expressions.
Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
Luna watched with anger and disdain, remembering how the guards back on Earth had done much the same thing. She suspected they were filming this as well. In Riftshade, bloody arena fights between beastlings were a regular part of tv programming.
Suddenly, one of the larger white vehicles Luna had seen zooming around those spires landed not far away from her. Guards streamed out and started beating people into the transport, likely to cart them off to some manual labour that needed doing.
"Always the same thing," the catling growled softly, before spitting on the ground. But then she shook her head. She didn't like being reminded of the workcamp, but she didn't actually care about these people either. She had far more important things to do.
Like finding the person she actually cared about.
Unfortunately, she couldn't continue. "I don't have a collar, so I'll be singled out the moment I walk in there…" she growled to herself in annoyance. "I guess I'll have to go around."
Yet before she could start, she suddenly frowned, "Wait, Master is… moving? Very quickly, too." Her eyes inched across the horizon, as if she could actually see him move.
Suddenly, her bloody lips curved into a happy grin, "He's coming closer!" But then she frowned again, "Not exactly in my direction, though… But whatever, at least he's moving away from the spires. Now I don't even need to go through this place!"
She adjusted her direction to try and intercept her master's new movements when she suddenly halted. She heard a zooming noise again. Looking up at the sky, she noticed another sleek, car-like flying vehicle coming her way. Exactly her way, in fact.
Immediately, her thoughts started racing and her heart started pounding. 'Fuck!' she cursed inwardly.
Quickly turning around, she started running back the way she came, deeper into the forest, with a determined expression on her face. It was better to remain free and alive than to be captured, even if she had to run away from Kane for now.
Unfortunately, she didn't get very far. Suddenly, the air around her froze, and she was forced to remain in place, unable to move. 'Dammit!' she roared in her mind as she struggled against the force keeping her in place, her eyes blazing with fury and helplessness.
She seethed and thrashed, but remained in place, her eyes scanning the surroundings, looking for the one responsible.
Suddenly, the flying car landed in front of her, and out stepped a tall, rugged looking man with a full head of brown hair and a beard. He had round ears, and didn't appear to be an elf.
But before Luna even had the chance to glare at this man, sure in the assumption he was responsible, a trio of elven guards suddenly appeared in the vicinity, clearly arriving from the work camp Luna was spying on.
"/You! You're a volfar! What are you doing without a collar, and where did you get that hovercar?! Kneel for your betters, beast!/" one of them immediately cried out in anger, while the other two readied their staff weapons.
Luna had no idea what they were saying, but she saw the gruff man's eyes scoff as an angry glint passed through his eyes. He didn't even look at the elves, yet as if out of nowhere, they all combusted.
Their screams echoed across the surroundings as they were reduced to ash. More guards quickly came to be alerted, but as soon as they reached a certain distance from Luna and this man, they combusted just the same as their previous comrades.
Meanwhile, Luna had to admit she enjoyed the sight of those elves blowing up, but that changed nothing about her current situation. Just because this man and those elves appeared to be at odds, didn't make him her ally.
Suddenly, she found herself able to move again. Her first reaction was to lift Kane's sword and take a combat stance, facing the man from the car.
"Who are you?!" she growled threateningly and full of determination, despite suspecting he couldn't understand her, and knowing he could likely make her explode just like he had done to those elves.
Indeed, the man didn't understand her words, but the tone and stance were clear. He raised an appreciating eyebrow and chuckled a little.
Then, he spoke in a heavy voice and with a strange accent, "Luna?"
The catling couldn't resist blinking a little in surprise, but then quickly tried to hide it by narrowing her eyes instead. She didn't answer, however. He may know her name, but she still didn't know what he wanted from her.
Now, the man frowned, before opening his mouth again and speaking very slowly, carefully pronouncing every word, "You… need… to groom… your tail?"
The words were distorted by a heavy accent, but Luna still recognized them. The familiar phrase sent a jolt of recognition through her mind.