Despite the fact that my collar had been removed, despite the fact that my Blessings and Marks had been unsealed, despite the fact that I was finally both hale of health and free, despite all these advantages, when compared to the Kaiva, I was falling behind.

We had quickly fled the camp, the mikuya, the humans, the toxic chemical weapon unleashed by the alchemist. I, running as one normally runs, and quite quickly as well, easily setting a pace to rival olympic athletes.

And yet, the Kaiva were bounding ahead, loping on all fours. They were heading down a slope between two small mountains, entering a valley of loose scree and slate.

I followed. While I focused more upon the two cats, I failed to mind my footing, and I slipped upon a flat piece of slate, sending me tumbling. I caught myself with an early step, overbalanced, and went face first down upon the sharp rocks.

The collision tweaked my left arm and neck; but while painful, these were not disabling.

After sensing my tumble, Kissen paused first; Larissen kept running for ten yards before slowing to a stop.

“Kitten?” Kissen asked, coming back towards me, radiating concern.

“We might need to slow down though,” I said, easily swallowing any false pride I felt. If I could not keep up, then the pace must be reduced. The biggest threat I faced was that the Kaiva would abandon me, although that failed to match with my model of Kissen. I doubted she would actually allow my pace to separate us.

Larissen scoffed aggressively from where he stood. While I doubted he would seriously abandon me as well, he was the one I was least certain of. However, I assumed he was putting on a gruff front.

But then again, perhaps I should reconsider their characterizations, I thought, especially as their elder brother had just perished earlier that night.

My inner thoughts unbeknownst to them, Kissen was the one to deign and answer my worries of lessening our pace.

“Perhaps,” Kissen said, considering me, with her eyes lingering on my left side. “A slower pace may be required.”

“And let our pursuers catch their prey?!” Larissen demanded. “This is–”

“-do we even know where we’re running?” I asked, cutting him off as politely as I could and changing the subject away from his likely valid concerns. “What is our planned destination?”

Larissen bit his tongue and gave a frustrated hiss.

“Southbridge,” Kissen answered. “This is the only way back home.”

Larissen hissed in disagreement.

“Yes, Southbridge is impossible, but what other direction should be taken?” Kissen asked her brother.

“Not suicide,” Larissen said.

“No, Of course not that…” Kissen growled. “Why even suggest this?”

Larissen failed to respond, instead continuing forward in silence, descending further into the valley. The walls had begun steepening, although they were still wide apart. I began to suspect we were entering a gorge. The only redeeming feature of this interplay was that the pacing was reduced, if slightly. I still jogged at a quick pace, though my sides no longer ached.

Thinking that I could earn favor with Larissen without spending much effort, I finally voiced what I thought his point had been earlier, though he had not spoken it clearly. “Why would traveling through Southbridge be akin to suicide?” I asked.

“Oh,” Kissen said, while Larissen grunted in satisfaction. “Well, the city belongs to the furless, and the bridge crossing the chasm is well guarded.”

“That does not sound impossible,” I said, already thinking of potential solutions, or ways to sneak through. “If we pretended to be slaves, or collared, maybe?” While I lacked detailed knowledge of local customs or the city of Southbridge itself, I felt confident that I could figure something out.

“So eager to wear a collar again?” Larissen sneered. And just like that, the moments’ worth of goodwill evaporated due to a careless comment. But I did not back down, as I thought that weakness would be only punished further by the male cat.

“If it’s easily removed?” I asked, cocking an eyebrow with a bout of false bravado. “Then what’s the problem?”

Larissen scoffed, while Kissen seemed intrigued.

“Perhaps the subterfuge has merit?” Kissen said, sounding more as though she was thinking aloud than anything else, and this likely for her brother’s sake. “Already Kitten demonstrated abilities–think of the cage that Kitten unlocked… this is perhaps a solution?”

“Fine,” Larissen growled. “For lack of better options, the hysob eating Kitten can–”

Hysob… I thought that was the fragrance from the Kaivan Jungles that alerted the cats to the presence of the mikuya? But why would he refer to me as hysob eating? Unless that was an insult, but even then–

Kissen hissed and ran towards Larissen, tackling him in a yowl. Both siblings clawed and rolled across each other, scratching and biting, until Kissen ended on top, with her feet perched on his stomach, ready to claw his belly.

“Apologize, brother.” She hissed into Larissen’s face, nose to nose.

Larissen hesitated several seconds as Kissen’s claws sank further in. Finally, he relented and groused, “Apologies. That should not have been said.”

I knew then that he had insulted me, based on the tone alone. But the insult itself lacked any significance of any sort, and other than knowing I had been insulted, I had no inborn feelings on the matter. I would have waved off the apology, but for the fact that Kissen had just gone through lengths to secure that apology for me. And so, I duly considered it for a moment, ensuring that my face showed a mix of feigned emotions. Finally, with a shuddering breath, I said, “Forgiven.”

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Kissen nodded and let her brother up.

It was then that I asked, “But what matters most is our next step. Where are these ones heading?” I gestured at the gorge we had traveled into.

Kissen gave her brother another nasty look before jumping off him, driving the air from his lungs in her takeoff. When she landed, perched on a rock, she pointed forward. “This path leads south… ish.”

“Ha. It heads many directions…” Larissen muttered. “But how would these ones know which without a map.”

Kissen growled in warning, but had no true justification for how she knew one direction from another. I had assumed that the beast person would have some innate sense of direction, but perhaps that had been erroneous on my part.

“Is this route safe?” I asked.

As I asked that, I was considering the gnoll-like hundeor, the ooze monster, the bandits, and now, the mikuya. The wastes were hotly contested, despite their lacking desirability.

Kissen shrugged. “Larissen shall keep threats away with his pleasant disposition alone.”

It took a moment to realize she had joked. By the time I realized it, it was too late for even a polite laugh.

Larissen, meanwhile, scoffed at the attempt.

“This One gives thanks for the confidence” he said dryly, before taking the lead.

We continued through the gully, which was almost a valley with how broad the bottom was, and continued meandering at a steady pace for several hours.

I remembered that I had wondered at Kissen’s inherent sense of direction, and how she had ‘known’ where the gorge led. When we were three hours in, and the gully curved away from the south at a sharp angle, I found a concrete answer to that inquiry. She did not, in fact, know where we were going.

The southern wall of the gully was a scramble and then a near vertical of at least fifty feet. All three of us craned our heads looking up. It did not need to be said, but our best bet would be to climb. This would pose no difficulty for me, but I could not say the same for the siblings.

“This way is South,” Kissen spoke softly, her voice barely audible over the wind.

“Foolish, sister.”

“I don’t know about that… How’s your climbing?” I asked them.

“Were this obstacle made of wood or bark? Good.”

“Not so much with cliffs of stone,” Kissen finished for her brother. Both of them appeared ill at ease with the idea of climbing.

I could abandon the Kaiva. Leave them behind, and continue my journey alone. But there was safety in numbers, and to be honest, they were the first two people I had met since Nick who had treated me as a person. And while that friendship alone would not have swayed me, it definitely weighed into my decision.

“Then we keep moving,” I said, starting a light jog North East, following the gully along. The two siblings followed, until Larissen overtook me and led the way.

As we traveled, we kept our eyes open for any signs of enemies, but that was not the sole thing we sought.

“Is there no water in these lands?” Kissen hissed.

“Not that I’ve found,” I said. I had already given this some thought, as I had yet to come across any source of natural water, but I had seen other sources. “I think most people use artificed devices to extract water.”

Larissen scoffed. “Then how would animals drink?” he asked.

Kissen nodded. “There must be water–perhaps hidden–but there must be.”

We continued on, still not seeing any signs of vegetation. Only gray and black stains, slate, and rock. In the distance, there were plumes of black smoke, and above us, the ever present overcast. It was approaching evening when Kissen and Larissen finally relented and agreed with me.

“This is a land of death,” Kissen said.

Neither Larissen nor I disagreed.

The gully took several more turns as we went, but it hardly moved us any further South. It seemed that other than our initial luck, we traveled in a more Easterly direction. When night began to settle in, both of the Kaiva turned to me. Their lips were already chapped.

“Kitten survived these wastes before joining the caravan,” Kissen said.

“-How,” Larissen butted in. “How is survival possible here?”

“I struggled,” I told them honestly. “But I was able to steal supplies. The bandits had water.”

“Then bandits shall be found,” Kissen said, Larissen agreeing.

An hour after night fell, the clouds above only illuminated by the orange flames in the distance beyond the horizon, we found a recessed cavern along one of the gully walls. As we required rest, we made our way for it. None of our senses revealed any recent activity, so we guessed that the cavern was free to use. Not that inhabitants would have stopped us.

We made our way in. The cavern itself was short, hardly more than a room with a dusty floor. As there were no stalagmites present, I could only guess what forces might have caused the creation of the cave. The walls lacked any of the waxy appearance that the artificial caverns had. We decided to rest there until morning, and then seek out bandits that we could raid for resources.

As I slept that night, I startled awake. A clawed hand had hit my shoulder. In the near darkness, I could barely see more than an outline. But the scent belonged to Kissen, and it carried the hint of distress.

Worried of a potential attack, I froze, refusing to make a sound, at least until I knew the reason.

If Kissen was remaining silent, despite her wary behavior, and despite the manner in which she woke me up, then there had to be a good reason. I similarly saw her rouse her brother; he jerked awake, and grunted a question before she pinched him with her claws, causing him to sulk silently.

I kept my ears wide open, seeking for any source of alarm. I dared not speak, and it seemed the Kaivan siblings shared the same though.

It was not a moment later, when I heard a hushed voice from outside the cavern, from the gorge. The voices sounded familiar. They were human.

Outside the cavern, the humans from the caravan were huddled in conversation.

Had they tracked us? I wondered, in a near panic. Would they attempt to capture us? Did they blame us? So many questions rushed through my mind, but I knew that I would not allow myself to be captured. I had my Blessings, and my Mark. I had my magic. And while the humans did as well, I would have the element of surprise, and my wits…

But why were they there? I needed to know before I knew how to respond.

Blessings: Rank (1/9)

* Body: 59 (+1)

* Mind: 68 (+4)

* Spirit: 46

Talents:

* Athleticism (3/9):

* Climbing I (1/9)

* Featherlight (1/9)

* Stealth (8/9)

* Trackless Tracks (5/9)

* Eschiver (1/9)

* Evasion (3/9)

Spells:

* Illusion I (2/9)

* Touch (5/9)

* Closed

* Closed

Gifts:

* Obsession (3/9)

* Closed (0/9)

* Closed (0/9)