Chapter 192: Concern
Spi'Reto licked his lips and glanced around, stepping lightly as his feet sunk ankle deep into the murky waters. Pressing his back against the redwood tree, he checked to his left and saw his friend No'Vak signaling back with a certain hand gesture.
Feeling secured, the young elf stuck two fingers into his mouth and whistled loudly, alerting the tree huts.
An older elf stood patiently, his long-pointed ears twitching as soon as he heard him.
"Stand by everyone." He ordered through half-closed eyes. A strand of fading blond hair draped over his wrinkled forehead as he signaled the others to turn the crank. Gears began to groan and the gondola trembled as it detached from the surrounding platform before beginning its descent.
Felix looked back at the others, catching Janette and Syri standing together as the youngest Nekomata waved him farewell. His friend locked eyes with him, responding with a smile. He returned the smile and waved, spotting Reta standing opposite of them as she offered a simple head nod. His cheerful expression quickly faded, nodding back before facing forward.
Nukka nudged him, grabbing his attention.
"No worries! Be back sooner than you think!" She beamed, the view of the tree huts fading above them.
"I intend to." He mumbled back.
The gondola settled into the swampy waters below as the group stepped off. Spi'Reto stood there to meet them before taking lead. Once they departed, the elves whined the gears in reverse direction to pull the gondola back up, with Nyitzcha leaning her crossed arms over the rail, watching them fade away.
She sighed in disappointment, falling to her knees while keeping her hands gripped onto the rail. "Jist great. Stay 'ere, she says. You'll b'slowin' 'em down, she says."
Alma stepped in behind her, glancing down in time to see her son leading the group away. "This may be difficult to admit as an elf, but your alchemy is rather useful. The others tell me that your explosive arrows showed great potential as weapons."
The dwarf blew raspberries as she pulled herself back on her little feet. "Course ma shit works, lass. What d'you want?"
Alma kneeled down gently so as to meet her gaze, her dark red hair tucked behind her pointed ears as they flowed down her back and around her shoulders. Drawing back an arrow from her quiver, she held it between them and twirled it around her fingers with finesse.
"If I ask you to produce more of those arrows, how much could you make?"
The dwarf sneered before crossing her arms. "Gunna need a lot more powder, an' I dun think yer lot 'ave dat in storage 'ere."
"Which is why I have tasked them to take any resources they find." Alma responded, passing the arrow to her. "Cannons use powder after all. I figure we can set aside our races history for now, until Perdilius is dealt with."
"Un one condition," She snorted, spitting off the ledge and wiping her mouth. "Keep dem kittens away from me hut. Bad enough dey keep swarmin' aroun' proddin' an' askin' questions. I go un one hunt an' cum back t'find fur all over me dam room. An' I tink a wee wun be suckin' on me pestle cuz dat shit's covered in slob."
"Deal." Alma stood back up, snickering lightly and combing a few loose strands of hair away from her teal blue eyes. She raised her brow when the dwarf adjusted the goggles atop her head, wielding it as a headband to keep her orange kinky curled hair back. Meeting her stare, the dwarf presented a small hand to her, waiting for the elf to reciprocate with a firm handshake.
"Right, le's get to work den." The dwarf beamed mischievously.
Emyri's cat ears perked up, waking up from her chair to the sound of someone falling. One of the Nekomata rolled out of bed and collapsed to the ground, groaning loudly and rubbing the back of her head.
She hurried off her chair and kneeled beside her. "MiMi? Hey, take it slow."
MiMi's drowsy eyes blinked absently, her copper-colored eyes bringing a sense of relief to the mother cat as her natural eye color had returned. Once her vision had focused, MiMi sprung up in a panic and gasped loudly. She kicked her feet away, sliding them across the wooden floors as if she were slipping on ice. She dragged herself in reverse until her back was pressed against the wall, curling her knees up to her chest. Her ears were sprung up, eyes flaring and her panting breath growing more desperate as her heart raced.
Emyri fell back, watching the poor young woman scan around the room when she noticed her two Nekomata friends resting unconscious in their individual beds.
"MiMi, it's me Emyri, remember?" Said the mother cat, stand up and cautiously approaching her. "Look, see? My eyes are fine, no collar."
MiMi flicked her tongue between her lips and gulped, staring down at her paws as Emyri knelt by her side. She reached out and caressed the younger cat's paws, leaning down and kissing them.
"I'm here now, MiMi."
"Emm-em." She responded through mumbling slurred speech, her rising chest slowing down as she locked eyes with her. "Em- Emyri?"
Emyri nodded back, pressing her paw against her forehead. "You're running a fever, MiMi. You need rest, please get back to bed."
"Emyri, wa-what are you doing here? I-I thought-" She sucked in her breath as Emyri helped her back to her feet before escorting her onto bed. "What happened to them?"
"Same thing that happened to you." Emyri answered with a hint of sadness, "But it's over now so don't think about it."
"Over? Are we safe? Is the tall man gone now?" She asked through a trembling voice. She got her response when Emyri kept silent, tucking her in with a banket. "No, we're not safe. N-None of us are safe, not with him still here."
"Ssshhhhh, none of that now." She urged, holding her paw. "You suffered a few wounds but so far you're healing well from the looks of things. Thank the gods, I was so worried you'd have an infection. Your friends are recovering all the same, but healing takes time. Don't change into your cat form or you risk re-opening those cuts."
As soon as she released her paw and stood up, MiMi reached out with her gray-furred tail against her leg. "Please, don't go."
Emyri looked back with a pained look, sighing before smiling as she returned to her motherly affection. She reached out and caressed her cheek, kissing her on the forehead. "I'll be here, promise."
MiMi smiled back, closing her eyes and getting comfortable in bed.
Satisfied, Emyri walked around and briefly checked on the other two girls, getting a feel of their temperature and replacing the bonds that covered their injuries. Both of them were resting peacefully, with MiMi falling into a nap to join them.
Brushing her paws feeling proud of herself, Emyri retreated back to the table and held up an empty bucket. Frowning, she turned around and jumped by Raz's presence as he stood watching her from the door frame.
"How are they coming along?" The young man asked with a hint of concern, looking across the three cat girls in their beds.
Emyri remained tense, clutching onto the bucket with both paws while her white tails curled around her waist. "Better." She answered shortly.
"Good." He stepped around, leaning over the nearest cat girl and studying her face. "Take away the ears and they closely resemble us."
Emyri stepped closer, setting the bucket aside. "What do you want?"
He turned to her. "Just wanted to check in after your first night staying here. Any side effects from the collars?"
"They're malnourished, dehydrated, and stricken with fever. And they haven't slept in days." She hissed under her breath, unable to conceal her disgust.
Raz flinched, looking back at the other girls. "I grew up believing your kind to be ravenous, lust-driven animals that only faintly resemble man. I did not expect our resemblance to be further than shared appearance."
He reached out onto his belt, spotting her reaction as she tensed up and her eyes danced between him and the other girls.
"Easy now," He warned, pulling back a leather waterskin pouch, curled up in an arch resembling an eggplant. He removed it and held it for her. "Seems like they'll need this more than I."
Emyri kept her eyes on him, stepping lightly before reaching out and accepting his offer. "Should I be thanking you?"
"No, just feed it to them." He said calmly, stepping aside as she plucked the cork off and held it under her nose.
He chuckled. "It's not poisoned, I assure you. Then again, I can't blame you for distrusting me."
"Forgive me for being weary around a man soaked in blood." She remarked, stepped around him and offering the pouch for MiMi to take a sip.
Raz glanced down, unaware that he had yet to clean his uniform from the spider guts and juices after the other night. "Crud. I'll be on my way, but erm... I meant to send you food. What do your kind eat, exactly?"
"Same thing you do." She answered briefly, focused on the girls as she tended to each one with water. "We're not very picky. Meats and fruits, that sort of thing."
"No mice?" He joked, catching a glare in return. "Right."
"Where are my daughters being held?"
Raz breathed in. "Father took them on his return to Faehorn city, same with your hunter."
She looked down briefly, letting that information sink in before placing the pouch aside and tucking the girls in.
"Speaking of, how did that come to pass? You and a monster hunter."
"It's none of your concern."
Raz gazed around before shaking his head. "Right, right. I'll send food your way shortly-"
"Will I see them again?" Emyri interrupted, staring out the barred window where an ivory tower could be seen far in the distance, it's tip poking just above the forest. "My daughters, that is."
"Once we're done with the ritual, you and your daughters will reunite. Should be in a few weeks when the red moon passes. It's all we ask for."
"You really believe that?" She asked, leaning forward into the sunlight. "As Monsters, we're use to hiding ourselves and resorting to living in clutters to keep safe. We lived far away from here when I was a kitten, until food grew scarce. Had to travel through large mountains where it snowed so deep that the little ones were carried so that they wouldn't be lost. Those that survived adjusted to living here, until Perdilius arrived."
She spun around to face him. "You can lie to us all you want about borrowing us for some time, make it sound like an arrangement or cooperation, maybe even spout that it's for the greater good. I know what we are, and why you need my children. You need to convince yourself of that lie first before saying it to the others."
Raz kept silent, breathing out and choosing to leave them alone. Once he stepped out, he found Mesa leaning against the wall shaking her head as her blonde curls bounced.
"Like daddy said, you can't reason with them. Why torture yourself with them?"
Raz scowled. "Does it not bother you that they seem more like us then we were led to believe?"
"You're not having second thoughts, are you?" She eyed him, crossing her arms.
"Perish the thought. I just... I suppose I wanted to believe they were..." He sighed, shaking his head. "Call it interest, I suppose."
"Well compose yourself and keep dad's interest first." She urged, "They're monsters, doesn't matter how they look or act. We should depart while it's early."
"Right, right." He nodded, stepping back as Mesa's familiar hulking Golem crept up around the building, casting a shadow over them with its size. "The men will be grateful to finally be able to breathe with this thing gone."
"You leave Big Brother out of this!" She shouted, climbing up the Golem's arm and sitting comfortably on his shoulder. "Where I go, he goes. You got that?"
"That thing will slow us down. Just leave it behind and go on horse." He grumbled, waving in front of his nose.
"He's just jealous because he's not as strong as you. Such a good brother! Yes, you are! Yes, you are!" Mesa swung her feet idly before leaning down and petting the Golem's rocky head, giggling to herself. "Now get your horsey! It's past time we grab ourselves a cat girl!"