Cats World Chapter 3: The Hunt
Cats World Chapter 3: The Hunt Written by Chris Sharkson
I come awake somewhat quickly in the morning, as something jars me from my slumber. Getting up in a sitting position, I look around and notice that Vanessa isn't in her bedroll and is nowhere to be seen.
Checking my watch it reads 9:07, however the sun looks like it has only been up for a little over an hour, that gives me an idea, I could not have been so daft, I pull out my mobile phone from my pocket sliding it out, and press the lock button awakening it, I compared the time on my watch that I had set guessing on the judgment of their sun and comparing it to the time I had on the phone which is the real time where I live on Earth, the phone read 3:30AM, damn everyone's asleep and I'm awake here on another world where it's only just gotten to morning, another thought occurs to me, I look at the battery indicator on the phone, only 60% battery left, there's no power outlets here to charge my phone, I hold the lock button and switch off my phone to conserve power.
Wondering briefly where Vanessa could have gone off to, I hear a jarring sound off in the distance in the woods. This must have been what pulled me so abruptly from my sleep. Sitting there holding my breath, trying to hear the noise again, it once more erupts from the woods, cutting through the stillness around me.
It is a fairly terrifying sound, like that of an animal at prey, and it strikes a chord deep within my psyche, sending shivers down my spine. It obviously is some distance away, but is loud enough to also be a little too close for comfort. As I'm listening, it comes yet again as a series of hissing yowls, each one driving a spike of fear further into my consciousness. "What the bloody hell is that?" I say under a muffled breath. I'm not sure if it's just my imagination or not, but it seems as if the sounds are getting louder. All rational thought has been wiped clean from my mind, as I sit there quivering lightly on my bedroll, I wish I had a weapon of some sort for self-defence in case of an attacker, I have no gun, I can use my fists, but I'm not much of a fighter, I can throw a few good punches, but that won't make me confident that I'll win, even a knife would do, but I don't have one or a sword, I have my powers to ward off any attacker, but that won't do any good as I'm not as competent in them as Vanessa, my powers would probably make the attacker even the more angrier.
Time passes incredibly slowly for me, as each sound is punctuated by the heavy beating of my frantic heart, pounding loudly within my ears. What is probably only a few minutes seems to last for hours, as I scarcely dare to breathe, for some irrational fear of tipping off whatever lies out there to my presence. There are a few more eruptions of those inhuman screeches, each one threatening to force me closer to the edge of my sanity, as I teeter on the brink of what seems like a total mental collapse. Sitting there, struggling for control, I feel it slowly slipping away from me as my mind wants to give in to the terror.
Finally after an agonizing eternity of this, the sounds stop disrupting the silence of the woods, and but for the pounding in my ears, all is silent. My fear ebbs slightly, giving me a little more rationality, but I'm still terrified of the possibility of whatever it was that made those horrible outbursts finding me here cowering on my bedroll. A few minutes pass, and my pulse has died down somewhat, allowing normal hearing to return; I'm still a little frightened of what might happen, and nervously scan the perimeter of the clearing with my darting eyes, as If I were a soldier in the military scanning the vegetation for any enemies lurking. Then when I have almost let go of the fear, a soft padding sound coming from the woods grabs my attention.
Turning to look in that direction, a little off to the left, I don't see anything in the shadows of the woods, and wonder if it was my overworked imagination. Standing up slowly, peering into the woods, I then hear the soft padding sound again, as something is walking towards me at a steady pace. Feeling my fear begin to build again, I slowly and cautiously begin to back away, still keeping my eyes glued toward the woods. As my pulse once again starts to build inside my ears, I see a figure walking out of the shadows. After a moment's confusion, my overtaxed brain recognizes that it's Vanessa. My relief is short lived however, noticing the state she's in. Her fur is somewhat ruffled in several places, and she has bright red blood spattered on her hands, shirt several other spots on her fur, and also dripping from her muzzle as if she had just drank from a bowl of it.
It's then when I notice that she is carrying the carcass of a freshly killed animal in her right hand, letting it dangle limply there. The animal looks reminiscent of a rabbit, but is a little over twice the size of any one seen on Earth. Looking at its lifeless body, I notice that the poor thing's throat has been ripped out. Looking at the jagged hole there, and then at the blood coating her muzzle, the harsh realization of just how she killed this creature flashes across my mind in a terrifying instant. Looking at her, time seems to freeze yet again, as I make contact with her gaze. There is a look of extreme wildness to her, seeing her eyes still fired up from the thrill of the hunt. As she stands there eyeing me, looking quite bestial and feral, I struggle to comprehend the situation.
She shatters my train of thought by opening her mouth and growling at me, uttering a quick burst of hissing sounds. Startled by this, I take another couple of steps backwards, damn if only my phone could dial triple zero in an emergency. She looks at me questioningly, but also still a little wild, and again yowls at me, sounding quite like a predator getting ready to strike, actually to put it bluntly, she's talking the way she did when I first met her, but why now for all of a sudden. "Vanessa, what's going on?" I manage to stammer, taking another cautious step backwards, and feeling panic threatening to take control.
Dropping the body of the creature she approaches me, holding out a bloody paw with her claws slightly extended, and again growling at me. Losing all control of my mental processes, my only thought is of the fright and flight scenario, quickly turning and running frantically from her, pumping my legs with every ounce of energy they could muster, as if I was running the one hundred metre sprint. I manage to get about three or four steps in before feeling the wave of energy hit me, knocking me off balance. Losing my footing, my frame of reference changes as the ground comes up to meet me; my mind struggles to understand what is happening. I seem to fall in slow motion, my mind saying 'ooh shit' as my neurons spastically fire, filling my head with vivid images of her ripping open my neck and feasting on my still-warm flesh. Coming in contact with the ground is jarring, and slamming into it, my consciousness flicks out as if someone had thrown a switch inside my head.
*** As my senses come slowly back to me, I cautiously open my eyes to see her kneeling over me, with the blood from her kill drying on her fur and clothes. Snapping to attention, my eyes fully open, quickly trying to sit up, as her hands dart out and press firmly against my shoulders, forcing me back onto the ground. Struggling briefly against her for a moment, I then feel the familiar wave of tranquillity passing through me. The first burst helps somewhat to soothe me, but still some of the fear remains as I continue to fight with her, just with a lesser force. Within moments, another blast of calming washes over me, totally reducing me to putty in her hands, as if she has given me a shot of morphine. Even if she plans to harm me, there is nothing I can do about it now, and even those thoughts cause me no concern. Releasing my shoulders, she peers down at me with warmth and compassion. "James, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to scare you like that. Are you okay?" As rational though seeps back into my mind, I pause for a few moments, feeling out the situation before replying, "Yes, I think so, but what happened? You were so wild Vanessa; I thought you were going to hurt me." "I'm sorry. This was the first time I'd been hunting in quite awhile and had forgotten how it affected me. We still enjoy the thrill of the hunt, even though we no longer need to do it to eat. For us it's somewhat of an occasional recreation. It feels nice to let things go and for a short time and act like our ancestors did." "But you were so savage. With that look in your eyes, I didn't know if you saw me as fair game or not." "I know James. It had been so long since I'd enjoyed the thrill of the hunt and let those forces flow through me like that. I'd forgotten what it was like, and allowed it to take me over, more so than usual. Now that I'm used to it again, I will be a bit more reserved the next time I hunt. And no matter what you might have though; I can assure you that I had no intentions of harming you."
"Then why did you growl at me like that? It seemed like you were still chasing your prey, and when you started towards me, with your claws out and growled again, I was sure that you'd forgotten who I was." "It's not what you think James, but it was my fault. I should have paid closer attention last night, and checked to make sure it didn't happen. I'm so sorry this had to happen..." The confused look that I'm giving her, prompts her to continue, "James, I wasn't growling at you, at least not in the way you were thinking. I wasn't growling like when I was stalking my prey. I was simply talking to you like I'm doing now." "But... I don't understand?" "It's the necklace James, remember?" she explains. "I told you that it should last for a couple of days, but my expectations were wrong and it wore off sooner than I thought. I should have checked it last night, just to make sure. Then this whole mess wouldn't have happened." "So you mean that your speech is just those growls and screeches I heard?" "Yes, it sounded frightening to you because it's different and unexpected. Your speech sounded pretty weird to me, but more amusing than terrifying. Again, I'm sorry this happened, and I hope it wasn't too bad of a scare for you. I'll strengthen the powers of the necklace every night now for the next few days, just to make sure it holds this time. Now, are you okay?"
Checking myself over, this time a little more thoroughly, knowing that I don't require first-aid, I reply with a simple, yet still a little nervous "yes." "Good" she answers, as she helps me up to a standing position. Then she continues, pointing at the fallen carcass of her morning kill, "I need to clean off, which will be a little harder since I had to help you and the blood has started to dry. While I'm doing this, gather some wood for a fire and clean that nirmala for breakfast." Before I have a change to answer, she walks over to her pack, pulls out a clean shirt, and also a knife which she hands to me. As I'm looking at it a bit dumbfounded, she doesn't seem to notice my hesitation, and turns and walks off down toward the stream, then behind some bushes and out of sight. I go about the simple task of gathering wood, and finish that in a matter of minutes. Then I turn to look at the fallen beast as it lies there with its glassy eyes and gaping throat wound. I have never been hunting, the idea was too repulsive to me, and even when going fishing when I was younger, I never could stomach cleaning the fish. So not knowing what to do, and not really too eager to find out, I stand there just looking at the body in front of me. Less than ten minutes later, Vanessa returns from the stream, wearing a clean shirt, with most of the blood cleaned from her fur. There are still remnants of it, dying her muzzle a light shade of pink, barely visible to the naked eye as for the colour of her fur, which looks both a little comical and also a bit grotesque.
Seeing that I haven't begun gutting the fallen beast, she looks at me with cold eyes, and demands in a slightly harsh tone "why haven't you cleaned it yet? Do you expect me to do all the work?" Backing up half a step and stammering as I try and explain, "I don't know what to do... I've never done this before... I don't know how, look I'm sorry Vanessa, I'm used to making my own food with ingredients bought from a grocery store or having the dinner served to me at a restaurant." Her gaze softens in understanding as she quietly asks, "okay... give me the knife and I'll show you." Taking the knife from my loose grip, she leads me to a kneeling position and quickly slits the beast from neck to legs. Reaching in, she deftly grabs some innards and extracts them with a quiet slurping sound.
Repeating the process, she then turns to me and grabs my hand, and even against my squeal of protest, brings it into the belly of the animal. Feeling the slimy warmth surround me is almost too much to take, as my stomach ties itself in a mille knots. Fighting against her grip, I pull my hand out of the innards, and struggle against the urge to vomit; I surely don't see this at five star restaurants, even though they certainly do not exist in this quantum universe. Looking at her disapproving gaze, I jump to a standing position and stagger down to the stream washing my hands as a couple of dry leaves rack my body. Recovering from my revulsion, I hear her footsteps coming up behind me. Not wanting to face her, I turn my head even further downward and to the left, as far away from her as possible. She kneels down beside me, and after quickly washing her hands, places one of them on my shoulder, petting my reassuringly. Fighting back tears of shame, I slowly turn my head to face her, and look into her understanding gaze.
After a moment's hesitation, I finally blurt out "I'm sorry Vanessa; I just couldn't do it..." "It's okay, and I should be the one apologizing. You're not a hunter are you?" As I slowly shake my head she continues, "I handled that poorly. That is how we teach our young to learn to hunt, by forcing them into it. I should have realized that it wouldn't work for you." Pausing for a moment, she finally adds "there's nothing for you to be ashamed of James, and I shouldn't have expected that much out of you so soon. If you'd like to learn how to fix the kill properly, I'll teach you slowly. We can start tomorrow, if you want. But if you don't that's okay... Are you going to be okay?" I mutter an affirmative reply, and she finishes with "okay, you just rest here while I get breakfast ready for us. When I'm all done with the messy work, I'll let you know." Then giving me a final tender pat, she withdraws her hand from my shoulder, rises and walks slowly to the campsite. Watching her go I feel a jumble of emotions run through me, then turning once again to the stream I wash my face in its cold and refreshing water.
She finishes the cleaning quite quickly, and in less than fifteen minutes calls me over to the fire to see the beast skewered by a stick and roasting on the fire. Its fur and head has been removed, but its legs are still attached to the body, still leaving it with somewhat of a gruesome look. However, smelling the aroma of cooking meat, I feel my hunger awakening and pushing out the nausea from my stomach. When it's finally time to eat the morning's kill, she takes it off the fire, and ripping its two hind legs off with her strong hands, she hands one of the legs to me. Holding it in my hand and looking at it dubiously, I feel my nausea resurface slightly, but the smell of the meat is enough to coax me into taking a cautious bite. Trying not to look at the leg of the animal in my hand, I bring it to my mouth and bite into it. It is well cooked, but is also somewhat stringy and tough; I have to chew on it a couple of times to work the meat away from the bone.
The taste of the animal is really like nothing I have ever tasted before, although it does have a hint of poultry to it. 'Tastes like chicken, go figure' I feel myself thinking in the recesses of my mind, stifling a brief chuckle. Vanessa has been watching me with interest and concern and after my first bite has been thoroughly swallowed she asks, "How is it?" Pausing briefly to consider it, I finally answer "it's not too bad. That is as long as I don't look at what I'm eating. We've come to the point where we don't really want to let ourselves think that we're carnivores. So I tend to like my food to appear as far as possible from its natural state. I'll manage though... and it does taste okay. It's tough and a bit dry, but it's fresh and hot, so I can't complain too much." Smiling at me, she warmly replies, "I'm glad you can eat it James. I realize this morning has been pretty hard on you so far, and it's nice to know you aren't totally repulsed by it."
The rest of the meal isn't too bad on me. The meat is okay once I get used to it. It takes me awhile to eat it since it is so stringy and I have to chew it a lot, not having teeth as sharp as Vanessa's, but it does satisfy me on a basic level, and with the long and heavy chewing I suffice with it. I am still somewhat nervous about gnawing on the leg of a dead animal, but I'm hungry enough, and also a bit numb from all that has happened this morning, that I'm able to deal with it. Between the two of us, we manage to devour the whole thing, and after the meal I find myself fairly satisfied, and my stomach seems to be handling the new food okay.
After breakfast, I am suddenly reminded that it's been over twenty-four hours since I've brushed my teeth, and running my tongue over them, they feel a bit slimy, it's a shame I can't go to the nearest store here and buy Colgate toothpaste or even a tooth brush for that matter. 'This vacation is starting to lose a bit of its lustre and vibe,' I think to myself as I'm rinsing my teeth with water from the stream. Luckily since I won't be eating a lot of food with refined sugars and preservatives, I should be okay, at least for a month, if I try and keep my teeth as clean as possible. So by a little after 11:00 on my watch, we are on our way. Putting on my pack, I realize how sore my shoulders are, and am slightly hesitant to burden myself like this. After a minute though, I'm able to adjust to the load, and deal with the soreness, slightly comforted by the thought that the soreness will eventually go away.
We spend all of the morning hiking along the road through the wilderness, again not meeting anyone along the way; it felt so different and unusual, on Earth where ever you go you're bound to run into someone, with as in to a population of six billion of us on Earth, the chances are very high to encounter another person. It is another beautiful day, with perfect weather, although my mind is too preoccupied with other thoughts to fully appreciate it. 'Damn, she really scared me this morning,' I think to myself, muddling these thoughts over in my mind. 'She was almost like a wild animal stalking prey. If she had wanted to she could have torn my throat out. But she didn't, and part of it was that I was hearing her true language, which of course is a lot like a cat's growls.' 'Still, how can they live like this, being civilized enough to live in houses, have powers and how to develop simply technology, but still enjoy hunting with such ferocity? Well, I guess there are a lot of humans that enjoy the adrenaline rush of blowing a deer full of lead even when they don't need to, when they could just go down to the supermarket and buy ground beef... So is this really all that different?'
'They act a hell of a lot more like their ancestors than we do though. You don't see us swinging from the trees and eating bananas, or beating on chests when we're challenged... One thing for sure, she's not as human as I thought she was yesterday.' 'But then she can sit and talk with me just like anyone else, using rational thought and displaying emotions and everything... Perhaps they just act like cats when their adrenaline gets to certain levels, shutting off part of their higher functions.' Spending most of the morning in quiet thought, I try and work out most these problems, running into a few brick walls on the way. 'I guess she's right,' I finally concede, 'I can't judge them like humans, I've got to learn to take their civilization at face value... which is going to be a bit difficult at times. I wonder what other surprises she has waiting for me?' Then stealing a look at her, and realizing I still have some of those feelings I was having yesterday, my thoughts turn to my performance this morning. 'Damn, she must think I'm some sort of a spineless coward for the way I acted. I hope I can stomach the kill the next time she does it, if I only of had taken up hunting at an earlier age and had the benefits of acquiring a firearms license to do some hunting, but then again like usual, work got in the way. If I try hard enough, maybe I can learn how to clean it, and manage to make up for almost throwing up on her... at least she's trying to understand me as a human, and hopefully she'll cut me some slack until I can handle things better.'
Then my thoughts finally turn to the most difficult aspect of the situation, my still present attraction towards her. 'How can I still find her attractive, when it's obvious that she's not just a human with fur and a tail? I mean she could get pissed off and try and claw me if I don't watch it.' Then looking at her again, as she's conveniently a step ahead of me, I let my eyes peruse her definitely feminine form. 'Damn, she's not a human, but maybe she's close enough to make me happy. For an alien she looks pretty good... In fact maybe that's why I can't stop thinking about this, maybe it's her exoticness that's got me going.' Realizing that I shouldn't be letting myself think this way, especially not having known her too long, I really begin to feel like somewhat of a lecher for leering at her like that. Part of me really is intrigued by all those ideas, while another part reprimands me for letting my mind wander down those darkened corridors.
I manage to beat myself up over this for quite awhile, trying to reconcile these conflicting thoughts and impulses. This really bothers me, especially the way I'm thinking about her like this. I can't believe how quickly my thoughts have become clouded by hormones; in a way I feel like a raging teenager again. Having been kind of lonely lately, I finally decide that's what's causing these feelings; being suddenly thrust into a close quarters with a strangely attracted woman like her is enough to get me going down that road. 'I just hope I can keep things in perspective and don't do anything stupid,' I think wryly to myself. I spend most of the four hours hiking lost in these thoughts, and for the most part Vanessa is either content in letting me do that, or is extremely polite and leaves me alone. Finally when we sit down to lunch and a breather, she speaks to me for the first time in quite awhile. "James, are you okay? You've been pretty quiet this morning." "Yes... I guess so. It's just that this morning really upset me, and I realize I didn't handle it too well." Looking at me with concern, she lightly takes one of my hands in hers, and softly replies, "Is that why you've been so quiet? Did you think that I was disappointed in you? I'm sorry for how I acted. I wasn't thinking and couldn't think past being a felinese."
"No it's not that... it's just that the way you acted after hunting was pretty scary. You acted more like an animal than a person..." Then realizing what a stupid statement I just made, I quickly add "damn, I didn't mean that..." Dropping my gaze slightly I finish with "it's just that I wasn't expecting you to act that way..." Taking my chin in her other hand, she guides my head back up to meet her understanding gaze. "I'm sorry Vanessa... I didn't mean that I thought you're an animal or anything like that... It was a stupid statement... I don't know what I meant." "No, James, I know what you mean, and it wasn't a stupid statement. From your point of view you have every right in saying that... that is if I was a human. Just like I was angry with you at first for not being able to clean that nirmala for me... But, we've both got to realize that I'm not a human and you're not a felinese. If we can't get beyond this, we're going to run into a lot more problems."
"Now, I realize that this is all extremely strange and hard on you, and unfortunately you're at a disadvantage since you're the alien here. However, right now we're by ourselves, so we're somewhat on equal terms... I'll try and keep from judging you by my terms; do you think you can do the same for me?" Looking back at her, sort of dumbfounded, I manage a simple nod. "That's good... I think we'll both do okay. It's going to be a little tough on both of us, to learn how we operate differently, but if we can try and keep these things in mind, we'll get through it." Then taking her furry hand and gently stroking the back of it against my cheek and smiling warmly at me, she continues "besides, it won't be all bad... there's got to be differences between us that we'll find intriguing too. It will be fun learning more about each other over the next few weeks." I have to agree with her on this point, and although I am still extremely confused, she has managed to calm my jumbled mind somewhat, as least for the moment.
Returning her smile, I take her hand which is still holding mind and stroke it gently, "I guess you're right about that... and I guess if you're willing to give me the benefit of the doubt, I can try and do the same for you... Just as long as you promise not to mistake me for prey in the middle of the night." She flashes me a wounded look at the mention of this, and I quickly force a smile to patch the situation. She recovers quickly and then retorts, "fair enough, as long as you'll give an honest effort to trying to learn how to help me clean my kills." Pausing and swallowing a small lump in my throat, I reply "okay... if you'll let me go slow... I can't just jump in there like you wanted me to this morning. I'm not a natural-born hunter like you..." "Okay, we can work it out..." After that, there doesn't seem to be much more to say, as we sit there, looking into each other's confused, yet well-meaning gazes. As I sit there with her hand in mine, I am reminded of my less than pure thoughts about her, but discretion, and a little bit of fear keeps me from pushing the situation any further than it's gone already.
We sit there in each other's warmth for a couple of minutes, until I finally become a bit uncomfortable and break the silence a bit awkwardly. "Well, I suppose we should eat lunch and then get back on the road..." She seems to notice my uneasiness, but doesn't comment on it, instead moving to our packs to retrieve some more of the dried meat that I am becoming rather accustomed to.
We eat lunch pretty much in silence and after a brief rest, we are back on the trail again, moving at our easy, yet steady pace. She lets me alone with my thoughts for awhile, but then interrupts me, drawing me into a conversation with her. "James, are you upset with me for bringing you here?" It takes me a few moments to answer her, as I'm not totally sure myself. "I don't know Vanessa. At first I was really annoyed and a bit angry. Then I was still a little uneasy, but also excited and intrigued. Now I'm not sure... I mean yesterday was fun. It was nice getting away from the daily grind and all, but things are coming too fast for me... hopefully once I can come to grips with everything it will be a lot easier on me." Then pausing again as we walk several steps, I finally add "I guess I'm really not sure how I feel about everything... I wish I could give you a better answer, but I'm a little overwhelmed right now."
Thinking this over, she finally looks at me with a deep concern on her face. "Well, if I were able to send you home today, just pretend that I could... Would you want to leave right away?" That certainly is a hard question to accumulate an answer to, when I think about it, it's half and half, some of me does want to go home to go back to the human way of life, but the other half of me says 'no, stay here and enjoy the adventure with Vanessa and see what happens' then again, if I were to return who knows what crap is going on, police would probably be out searching for me with the SES and fire brigades, helicopters are probably roaming the skies for any trace of my whereabouts, police tape probably would be webbed around my work van, after it has been discovered by police or just by an anonymous tip, treating it as a crime scene, and my disappearance would be plastered all over the six o'clock news nationwide, and say if I did return, the media and police will be asking me all sorts of questions of my whereabouts, I'm gonna have a pretty hard time telling them I was on another world that has evolved anthro cats that can walk and talk like us and have a civilization, they will probably think I'm delusional and throw me in the nearest psych ward.
"I don't know... since it wasn't an option, I hadn't considered it... but I guess I wouldn't... I think I'd stay here. Even with everything that has happened, I don't think I could pass up this adventure... and I hope I'm starting to understand things better." Pausing again for a few moments, I then continue with "Now that I know what to expect when I see you hunt or fight, I think I can deal with it. Just as long as I know you won't come after me and that you'll be here to help me if anything happens make it a lot easier to take..." "The powers are another incentive too. I'd never even dreamed about being able to do something near as powerful as that, and now that you've given me a taste of it, I can't walk away now... and finally, I'd like to get to know you better. It probably sounds stupid, but I really mean it. I find you really interesting, and I hope we can get a chance to become friends. Some of your customs really floor me, but I'd like to learn all that I can about you and your world. I'm sure there's a lot about you that I'll really like... this doesn't sound to corny does it? I do mean it, even it does sound a bit made up... plus on the other hand, we have only just basically met each other in a sense, there's still so much I don't know about you, and so much that you don't know about me..."
"No James, I believe you, and I'd like to get to know you better too. We have a good amount of time ahead of us, so we should become good friends. You have some qualities to you which I like, and I think it will be good for both of us to learn about each other's worlds. This is defiantly a wonderful experience, for both of us since I'm a scholar and you're someone who wants to try something new..." We spend the rest of the afternoon in comfortable conversation, as I feel my uneasiness draining away. I'm still a bit uncomfortable with how alien she can be at times, but her mind is also significantly human, so it is easy to talk with her.
She asks me about my life and work, and I do my best to explain it to her, given how primitive their technology is compared to ours. She listens well and is amazed at all that we can do with our advanced technology and electricity. She is a very attentive and appreciative audience, and that makes even some of the work I have been doing seem a little more exciting. I gloss over most of the details, but even the simple concepts fascinate her, and it helps me to feel a little better about my work. I had been in knees depth full of work, wiring houses that are newly built or are getting built and installing many electrical products, it fascinated her that I literally worked with electricity, something I tell her that can kill you if you're not careful or make the wrong mistake, beaten down by the grind of the hours I worked trying to finish things up and make clients happy and to the everyday customer when they call me wanting to install a light fitting or an air conditioner, and if nothing else, this vacation, no matter how odd it may seem, will defiantly recharge my batteries.
After she has quizzed me somewhat in depths on all the wonders of my work, I finally turn the tables and ask her all about her life. She tells me how she's been practicing her powers for close to ten years and how she loves her work and the freedom it gives her. Hiring out her services to the towns people she's made herself quite a comfortable living, and has a good amount of spare time to devote to her studies. She is somewhat of a Renaissance woman, since she not only is skilled at controlling such powers, but manages a little bit of painting, and is also interested in some of the areas of science. Their science is still not too advanced, and she only reads about it now and again, but it is obvious that she is very scholarly and intelligent.
She tells me that she chose to stay in the town where she was born because she likes the smallness of it and the fact that it is out near the wilderness which she also really loves. She also tells me that her parents live in the town we're heading to; they packed up and moved away from the town she was born and raised in to start a new life, and she says she visits them every time she makes the trip there to stay in contact. She sometimes feels a little isolated, since it's hard to get a lot of books and journals without going to the big city, but since the railway has been put in, she goes there on excursions a couple times a year. Some of the townspeople think she's a little odd for spending as much time as she does in the books, but given her talents, she has enough respect to make up for what they consider to be her quirks.
As we talk, I realize that I'm still physically attracted to her, but that is coming under control, and now that I'm getting to know her better, I'm appreciating her for the person she is, not just as a furry piece of meat. I think our academic interests and career interests will be enough in common for us to become quite close; I'm getting to know her quite well, and I hope we do become really good friends. I'd also like us to become closer than that, but I'll try not to push it too much. Finally after walking all day, we stop for the night a few hours before sunset. I'm tired from the long day's hike, but it's also a good sort of exhaustion, almost a feeling of accomplishing something well done.
My back is still a little sore, as I stretch myself after removing my pack, but I can feel the kinks working themselves out. This is defiantly going to get me in better shape. Realizing I've been sweating all day, and without deodorant or after shave, and trying to be discrete as possible, I take a quick whiff of my shirt underarm and am appalled at the overpowering smell from it, I've smelled like this before many times after a hard day's work in summer, especially crawling through the roofs of houses to do wiring and it gets increasingly hot with the installation in the ceilings of the houses. Letting out a quick and disgusted gag, I quickly reach in my pack for a new shirt, giving it a once over, it was a Star Wars shirt, huh how ironic and head down to the stream. Trying to get out of sight from Vanessa, who seems a little surprised by my behaviour, I reach the stream and strip off my shirt, my good Ford branded t-shirt, I remember paying sixty dollars off eBay for this, looking at it, knowing its basically ruined now and really dirty, and I will have to wash it eventually, I toss it in the water.
Rinsing under my arms, I realize that I don't smell all that bad, since most of the sweat was absorbed by the fabric of the shirt. A few splashes of water, and I'm feeling a lot better. Putting on my clean shirt, I rinse out the dirty one, and return to hang that up to dry next to my pack. Coming back to our campsite, Vanessa is quite bemused by my actions. "Why were you in such a hurry to bathe like that James?" I must give her a look like she's crazy, since her question absolutely floors me. "What do you mean, why did I want to wash up like that? I didn't want to stink, that's why... I know you bathe since you have a tub in your house, so why does this surprise you so much?" "Of course I like to bathe, doesn't everyone? But since we have no decent facilities here, and we aren't getting too dirty, I can wait until we get to the town and I can have a proper bath... and why would you want to totally remove your scent like that?" "Because it's too strong, and it smells... didn't you notice it? I hope it didn't offend you?" "No of course not... and it wasn't really all that strong. It doesn't smell bad anyway; at least not from a distance... it's just your natural scent, why should you dislike it so? It's different from ours, but it doesn't bother me."
Then looking at me with curiosity, she asks a rather odd question. "Do humans produce scent all over their bodies like that?" "Ummm... I guess so. Yes, we tend to sweat everywhere like that, but do it more in certain places, like under our arms... I guess you can't sweat through your fur can you?" "We produce scent in our hands and feet, and some in our cheeks too, with the strength and smell depending on the mood of the individual." This whole discussion is getting a little too strange and personal for me, so I drop it, not wishing to go further in depth on the subject of pheromones, human or felinese. She notices my embarrassment, and doesn't push the subject. It has given me something to think of though.
'I wonder how they keep from overheating then with all that fur. It must just be like cats where they pant and I guess sweat through their feet. I'd never thought about it, but it works for the big cats with just as much mass as them, and they're just as active, if not more.' As we're setting up camp, getting some firewood, and unpacking our bedding, Vanessa stops suddenly. She sits down on the ground, grabs her leg and hisses with pain. Alarmed, I rush to her, kneeling down and ask what's wrong. Clenching her teeth slightly, she replies "muscle spasm" hissing again, as her muscles continue their game of tug-of-war. Having had some of these from running, I know how painful they can be, and offer "try and relax your leg, don't clench it up so," which of course isn't much help to one who's in the midst of these contortions. Unfortunately, all I can do is sit there and watch as the spasms run their course for several more seconds. As the pain dies down some, she tries to stretch her leg out, emitting a few more slight hisses of discomfort. Gazing up at me, looking just the slightest bit vulnerable, she quietly asks me to help her remove her boot.
Taking her somewhat large boot in my hands, I slowly undo the laces, trying not to pull on her sore muscles, also a bit nervous by the situation. Her boots come up somewhere between halfway and a third of the way up to her knees. Since her feet are slightly different to what a human's would look like, they are fairly different from what I'm used to seeing every day. In order to remove the boot, I have to undo the laces to about halfway down it, so it can come off from her large foot and not get caught on the ankle. It drops off her foot, having most of the top opening up, rather than pulling the boot down, like I'm used to. Removing her boot, I see that the fur of her foot, and that up to just below where her boot had fit, is a light shade of black, just like her hands, giving her "boots" markings on, I assume, both her feet.
Her "foot" is equal to that of a human, from the large equivalent of an ankle to her toes. However this "foot" is shaped almost the same as ours, since it is as equal to our own feet, thus having four toes instead of five, she has an arch on the soles of her feet, whilst her feet have fur on them as a lighter shade of black, she has pink padding on the soles of her feet and underneath her toes, as I know that most animals do either for gripping, or they sweat through them. Her "toes" are the same as ours, but the difference is all four of them are the same size; her foot looks pretty much what you'd expect to see as her version of one of our own feet, she has lighter fur on the soles of her feet also. Each one of her toes has a retractable claw, much like the ones on her fingers, which are just barely visible beneath her dark fur.
Once her boot is off, I take her foot in my hands, feeling a little awkward, and try and straighten out her leg while causing her as little pain as possible. Her foot is a little moist, as I'm reminded that they sweat down there, in fact she did tell me she prefers to wear sandals than boots as they air out her feet more and make them less sweaty, which cause's a momentary revulsion. However, her foot isn't nearly as wet as under my arms had been, the fur on the soles of her feet including the padding of her toes and forefoot, was sweaty, and although I can smell her scent, it's very slight and smells different, with a hint of animal to it and just the slightest bit of that smell that some cheeses give off, but not repulsive. It defiantly smells better than human feet, and at this distance from my nose, it isn't too noticeable. Her fur is drying, exposed to the air but her padding on her foot is still slightly damp with her sweat, and I try to ignore this and focus at the task at hand.
Straightening her leg out slowly, she lets out one or two really small hisses of pain, but I'm doing my best to minimize her discomfort. Putting her foot across my legs, I move my hands up the fur of her legs, coming to the middle of her calf. "Is this where it hurts?" I ask, gently squeezing her firm muscles. "Yes," she answers, with a little hiss. "I can try and work out the knot; it will hurt a little..." She nods, and I begin to slowly palpate her muscles, finding their tightness, and gently manipulating them, trying to work it out. She lets me work for several minutes, as I feel them softening. I think I hurt her a couple of times in the beginning, but after that she seems to enjoy the attentions, as she leans back on the grass and even lets out a little purr. Finally sitting up, she leans forward, and places one of her hands on top of mine. "Thank you James, you did that well, and it really helped... but I think you've done as much as you can to get rid of the tightness, and there's still some pain lingering. It's a good opportunity for you to learn about healing anyway."
Again, it's like with my other lessons, she focuses her energy through my arms, and directs it to my hands placed on her legs. As before, I feel the energy building inside me, but can also discern the subtle difference in how it feels this time. As the energy flows through me, I feel it concentrate in her sore muscles, then dissipating along her leg. I don't quite understand it, but I'm able to feel the tightness and pain drain out from her, as if the flow of energy extends my sense outward. As with the other powers, this is phenomenal, especially the first time. Releasing my hands, she smiles warmly again, and thanks me once more for my attentions.
I squeeze her muscles once more, surprised at how the knot has completely vanished. Then in a moment of bravado, I glide my hands down to her foot, and gently run my fingers along its furry contours. Glancing at her, she looks surprised, but not upset. Tracing my fingers along the bottom of her foot, I again elicit a couple of satisfied purrs from her. I continue my exploration for a couple of minutes of her amazingly different foot, quite enjoying the feel of her fur beneath my fingers, and the wonderfully new shape of her foot and toes. Then looking up at her again, she looks a little troubled and confused. 'Perhaps I've gone too far,' I think, 'but how to stop this without looking too stupid?' Finally I just run my fingers along the underside of her foot, feeling across the pads of the underside of her foot and toes one final time and detach myself.
Trying to act nonchalant, I look at her and simply ask "does it feel better now?" "Yes James... thank you again," then pausing she finally continues, "we should continue with your lessons and then get dinner and get to bed." My lessons are pretty much like the night before, first making sure that I can still remember how to do the powers I'd mastered yesterday, then continuing with her showing me a few different types of energy, so I can learn their differences. Then finally we start the fire, I try to do it a couple of times by myself, but can't even get it to smoulder. It's somewhat frustrating, but she intervenes before I let it totally stress me out, and once again helps me to use the power I deep within me, as the wood before me jumps into flames.
We have another simple, yet satisfying dinner of meat and fresh fruit, then settle off to bed, watching the stars and twin moons coming out in the darkening sky above us. She falls asleep much quicker than I do, for there are a lot of things I have to muddle over, trying to comprehend everything I'd experienced today. Finally tiredness overtakes me and I fall once again into a peaceful sleep.