FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Migratory birds- Chapter 1- Part 1

Roamer

by kodayu

From north, you first cross the giant redwood forest that surrounds Amalkin. Through the tall slender trees just small green rays of light fall onto the earth that's thickly covered with fern that is also growing out of the fallen trunks. You can walk freely below the trees as the soil is almost free of large undergrowth, there're just some moss covered branches in your way.

It is said that a lot of different creatures live in the forest but you never see anything. Rarely one can see a bird that flies below the green limit of the lower branches of the giant redwoods. But you can hear them. There's a constant chirping and rustling in the air that seems to come from everywhere.

People of Amalkin say that you can get lost in the forest and there's no chance ever returning to the civilized world as the forest itself has taken you back to the world of your ancestors. And some people say they really saw the forest breathing when it rained upon it and the trees surged with the wind.

As you walk through the forest you can see a distant light from afar, between the trunks and as you approach on the muddy country road or right through the forest you can see the end of the forest and when you step out of it you're looking down on the outpost called Amalkin, its few roads and the wooden houses and just behind the hollow where the small town has been build in, the forest begins anew as it surrounds the village completely and over there one of the small crossing roads disappears in the green darkness of the redwoods again.

But don't underestimate Amalkin. Between Kastania City and the Silver Coast there's no crosspoint that would be more important. Well, Kastania City is neither the biggest nor most important city of the Midlands but there are quite a lot of travelers that wander between Kastania City's magic bazaar and the strange Silver Coast where the Tide Cruise Ferries are waiting to take the traveler offshore to one of the uncountable islands or right across Lake Moonfire. So there are a lot of travelers that stop in Amalkin on their way to one of the mentioned places. But there's also the road into the Blue Ridge Mountains where some people are living in total liberty of the so-called civilized world who are sometimes also finding a way to Amalkin where they sell some of the strange fetishes they created in their unity with the surrounding nature. Amalkin is not unimportant, even though you may not find it on a map, but within the redwood and its many small settlements it is a well known place where you can get almost everything for a journey wherever you want to go. Since the people of Amalkin are creating the unusual magical navigation devices they call the Silver Arcs, the town has even become a known place to the technicians and city wizards that now sometimes come into town to get a Silver Arc for a special purpose.

Amalkin's shops are specialized in travelers as they can get there new supplies, food and the indispensable maps of the region. There is even a gas station and a mechanic who once got to this town and settled down here. He is the only one between Kastania City and Lake Moonfire's Silver Coast, so he is one of the most important people in town as he has got an absolute essential job to do. During the time he had been living there he did get along well with the original inhabitants. Although they always had been prejudiced against all technical things they had quickly accepted the young stranger as he had been an enrichment for the whole town and he had not been the first one to remain in the village. Regular travelers who came through Amalkin began to like the friendly wolf who- despite his violent species- offered everyone a warm welcome who needed his help with a car or another traveling device. Thus it had not been very surprising that one day a wolf girl who had been traveling with a group of companions stayed with him and became his wife after a few months. One year later, they had gotten a cub, they called Gard, a boy with light gray almost silver fur who grew up with the other kids of the town as one of their kind.

The dark green light shone dimly through the high branches of the redwoods.

Her finger ran over the cracks of the reddish brown bark. She rested her arm on one of the trees, blinked and took a deep breath as she looked down into the hollow of Amalkin. She observed the tiny inhabitants walking through the streets and she inspected the low wooden houses the town was made of. There didn't happen much in town during this time of the day- it was late morning- despite what she knew of Amalkin's reputation as an important outpost.

She tried to catch the smell of the town. But there wasn't anything but the wet resinous perfume of the wood in the air, nothing else. She took off her backpack, sat down at the base of the tree, leaned against its trunk and studied the landscape while she rummaged through her backpack and finally took out a map she had found in there. She unfolded the map and studied it for a while.

Some birds could be heard but not be seen as they floated far above the branches of the redwoods. The only other sound in the air was the buzzing of the small insects that flew from one blade of grass to the next. She could quickly feel the wet cold of the earth on her backside, but she did not stand up, but put the map aside, leaned back against the trunk again, folded her arms behind her head and observed what was happening in town.

The people came out of their houses, the traffic in the street increased as some cars and other motorized vehicles appeared as well as a few reptilian mounts and some chariots. In the town center the stores were easily recognizable as the people headed directly for them, coming out of one and going into another. Most people seemed to walk the way from their houses to the stores, just outsiders used their car to stop in front of a store and when they had done what they had to do, they mounted back into their cars, mainly jeeps and a few steam engines, or climbed onto whatever mount they owned and left the town by one of the three roads that crossed there, the car slowly disappearing in the green dark of the forest. Right opposite of her position there was also a very frequented gas station, where almost every car stopped before it was going to leave the civilization for the wilderness of the wood.

She could see a bunch of youngsters suddenly coming out of the gas station. She screwed up her eyes because of the brightness of the strengthening daylight. But she was just able to get an impression of the group as it walked slowly into the direction of the town center.

She stood up, quickly folded the map and threw it back into her backpack, shouldered it and began to walk down into town.

Loudly joking they walked into the store. Walld and Treon playfully punched each other, Gard walked behind them, Hunter and Fleagan were noisily discussing the last fight of the Kastania Warpack.

The dim light inside didn't stop them as they walked in, suspiciously observed by the young squirrel cashier who stood at the cash desk next to the entrance. They didn't seem to care much about him as they went noisily past him and wandered through the lines of the shelves with the food, grabbing something out of it, throwing it back somewhere, still talking. They separated, everyone looking for what he wanted, except Hunter and Fleagan who got real loud, arguing about the advantages of the Warpack's fighting skills who had been defeated during the last three matches.

"What are you talking about? When Skarett and Farthe work together, nobody can stop them!"

"You just don't get it, Fleagan. Skarett and Farthe don't work together. They got the lousiest teamwork in the Midlands. No wonder they loose against every wimp."

"Hey, they got Rampage down, right?"

"But they still lost the fight! Got it, Fleagan?"

"Oh! Shut up! There's still nobody better than them. Or do you think the Moonfire Walkers could challenge them?"

"Forget the Walkers. Nobody's talking 'bout the Walkers here. Just take the Spitfire. They could take the Warpack down in two rounds."

"What? The Spitfire? The Spitfire are nothing but a bad joke since Armagg left them."

"They still've got the best technique in the Midlands. And even without Armagg, the Warpack couldn't win a single round against them."

"What the hell are you talking about? You just want to run them down, right?"

"Come on, Fleagan. They're losers, got it?"

"They are no damn losers like your bloody Spitfire."

"Hey! I just tell you the bloody truth and you just can't accept it"

"Truth!? What are ya calling truth, he?" And Fleagan pushed Hunter away, who stumbled over a stand with cans and fell down.

"You damn asshole." Hunter hissed, jumped up and rammed his puma paw into Fleagan's stomach.

The fox gasped. "You can have your asshole." And he punched his elbow right into Hunter's face who fall back, but quickly stood up again and charged the agile silver fox.

"You dickheads better stop that!" Somebody said with a tone that made Hunter and Fleagan stop.

Leaning on the back counter stood a young slender lynx in shorts and a vest, slowly chewing a stick of liquorice, his arms folded and observing every move the two boys down on the floor made.

Fleagan stood up. "What did you say?" And walked over to the lynx while tightening up his clothes.

"I said: You jerks oughta stop fightin'," said the lynx, chewing his liquorice.

Without warning Fleagan rammed his fist right into the lynx' face.

Gasping for breath, the lynx bend down, holding his face.

"You piece of dirt better don't offend me!" Fleagan hissed, looking down on his opponent.

The feline kneeled on the floor, holding his nose with his paw. When he took it away he stared at the blood in his hand. "No one touches me," the lynx hissed almost inaudibly and it changed into a growl as he jumped up.

He didn't see the lynx' left arm coming up from below that hit him right onto his muzzle. As he slowly fell back his opponent's knee hit him in the crotch. He fell forward and instantly the lynx rammed his hand's edge against his chin so that the fox was hurled backwards again and slammed into a shelf. With a long deep moan Fleagan collapsed.

Hunter instantly kneeled down by Fleagan's side who lay moaning on the floor. Walld and Treon quickly come along, trying to help their mate.

Gard came out of the shelves' rows too and but he walked over to the lynx who covered his face with his hand and laid his arm over him. "Everything alright?"

The lynx violently repulsed the arm but Gard grabbed his shoulders and tried to get him up.

"Hey, Gard! You better watch out who your friends are!" Walld shouted, while he, Treon and Hunter tried to get Fleagan onto his feet.

"Damn! He was the one who has been attacked!" Gard shouted, trying to help the lynx who was still occupied with his nose.

Walld, Treon and Hunter carried Fleagan out of the store. "You'll pay for this! And Gard... better watch out next time you leave your house."

"JERKOFFS!" the lynx cried as loud as he could throughout the whole shop while the three just left the store, holding their powerless mate in their arms.

The squirrel cashier had come from the front and held out a handkerchief.

"Thanks!" Gard said, took it and gave it to the lynx who grabbed it violently and held it at his nose.

The door chimes rang as somebody walked in. The squirrel looked to the door, said: "Do you get along? I've got customers."

"I'll take care of him. Thanks!" said Gard. "Could we use your toilet?"

"Sure! Just ask if you need anything else." The squirrel said, eyed the strange two for a moment and then he already went to his cash desk. "I'm coming!" he cried as somebody called out for him.

"Come on! Better we get you to the toilet." Gard grabbed the lynx' shoulders and led the stooping feline behind the counter and through the back door into a narrow corridor and through another door into the windowless toilet.

Gard led the lynx to the white ceramic wash basin where the lynx supported himself with his left arm, pressing the handkerchief at his nose, not even looking into the mirror just in front of his face.

Gard opened the wooden door to one of the closets and grabbed some toilet paper and held it out to the lynx. The lynx dropped the bloody handkerchief, took the toilet paper and pressed it at his nose. With silent anger he hissed curses through his gritted teeth which Gard was unable to understand.

He fell silent. Just the regular but still heavy breath of the lynx who stood motionless at the basin was audible.

Gard leaned on the thin wooden wall and scrutinized the other one: He was slender, smaller than Gard, dark brown hair, light brown fur with the typical darker marking and lighter chestfur, he had a muscled back, a very slim belly, a firm, muscled backside, a short fluffy tail, well trained legs and the typical pointed ears which twitched nervously. He wore a ragged vest which could once had been white that reached down to his navel, blue jeans shorts and- to Gard's surprise- instead of boots feline spats[1](%5C). His face was hidden behind the toilet paper he held under his nose.

The lynx slowly raised the toilet paper, sniveled and then lowered his head.

"Alright?" asked Gard.

"Yeah, thanks!" the lynx answered with a hoarse voice. His articulation was somehow awkward and slurred. "Got anythin' more of that paper?"

"Sure!" Gard grabbed more of the toilet paper and held it out to him, who took it, opened the water tap, soaking the paper in the rushing stream and began to wash the blood from his furry muzzle.

"Damn motherfucker shouldn't've got me," he hissed. He leaned towards the mirror.

"Fleagan is an amateur ballfighter."

"Don't save him from bein' a brainless jerk."

Gard chuckled nervously. "That's for sure."

The lynx, having finished his business, turned around. He had a very muscled chest and belly, his was face was mainly straight and regular nothing but slightly tempered by his juvenile soft features. There was an almost invisible scar on his left cheek. The big brown slanting eyes were almost hidden by strands of his felted hair. His long pointed ears shivered faintly while he eyed Gard.

"Did you take my backpack with you?"

"What backpack?"

"Shit!" The lynx rushed out of the toilet. Gard followed close by.

"Oooph!" the lynx uttered in relief when he found the backpack still standing at the counter in the store. It was a huge backpack, completely filled up with whatever might be inside, a rolled up sleeping bag was tied up on the top and at its side dangled heavy walking boots. The lynx slowly took it up.

The squirrel cashier came from the front. "Everything alright now?" he asked.

"Yeah, thanks!" the lynx answered as he shouldered his backpack. "Do you've got more of the liquorice? Lost my stick durin' the fight."

"Certainly!" The squirrel got behind the counter, took a big jar from the shelf and put it onto the counter. He opened it and took a handful of liquorice sticks out of it. "Here!"

"I don't wanna have that much!"

"Just take them. I'm sorry you've been attacked in here. So accept them as a compensation." He added as he saw how the lynx held his head to the side: "Nobody is eating liquorice anymore. So it's better you take them all."

"I don't want no presents!"

"It's no present. It's a compensation."

"OK! But I'll pay at least one blue stone!"

"Alright!" the cashier said, put the sticks onto the counter, took a paper bag out of the shelf and put the the sticks into it.

"Thanks!" the lynx said while he put the small gem on the counter and took the paper bag, grabbing a stick out of it and putting it right into his mouth. "Want one?" he asked Gard and held the bag out to him.

"No, thanks! I don't like liquorice," Gard answered.

"So, where do you go now?" Gard asked when they stepped out onto the street.

"Dunno. Camp somewhere... somethin' like that." The lynx looked into the bright sun that shone on the dusty road and the low wooden houses at its sides. He blinked. The green darkness of the redwoods looked down onto the town.

"You could come with me."

"No, thanks!" The lynx chewed slowly on the stick of liquorice in his mouth.

They stepped onto the street and walked side by side up the road.

"I'm Gard," Gard said.

"Name's Jiddy," the lynx answered.

"Strange name for a guy like you," Gard mentioned.

"Yeah, a guy like me!" he said with such bitter sarcasm that there was no way to misunderstand what she had meant.

Gard raised his head in surprise and looked straight into her angular face while she responded with a self-confident smirk. Now the soft expression, the big eyes with their long eyelash, the regular muscled legs, her slender shape suddenly made sense and maybe the chest wasn't that muscled at all...

"I... I just thought..." Gard blushed.

"Never mind! I'm used to it," Jiddy said.

Gard remained silent, looking onto the the road as they walked on.

"Where do y'live?" Jiddy asked.

"My father owns the gas station." Gard waved his hand into the general direction, up the road. "We live in small cabin next to it... You really don't want to stay with us for the night?"

"Sorry. Ain't the gal for that."

"No! Don't get me wrong..." Gard said hastily, trying not to blush again. "I don't want... I mean: I have no interest in you! I just want to offer you a bed for the night."

Jiddy's features hardened as she looked into the dust that swirled up from her feet. "No! I already found a place in the forest. Thanks."

Gard stopped and looked at her. "You want to sleep in the forest?"

"Yeah! Why?" Jiddy stopped too and glared back at him, taking the liquorice out of her mouth.

"I don't advise you to do that! It's quite dangerous!"

Jiddy kicked her tiptoe onto the earth. "I can defend myself."

"Hey, people are the least you should worry about! There're worse things out there."

"I've been sleepin' in the forest on my way down here. 'Nother night out there doesn't matter."

Gard looked bewildered. "You mean: You came here on foot?"

"Yeah." Jiddy put the liquorice back into her mouth, observing Gard while slowly chewing on the stick, its bitter taste filling up her mouth. "All the way from Kastania City."

"You must be crazy!" Gard said seriously, turning his face away.

"Why? Just 'cause I walk the country by myself?"

"No! But what could happen to a girl like you alone out in the forest?"

"Yeah, a girl like me..." Jiddy smiled scornfully.

"You know what I mean!" Gard looked up with an angry expression.

For a moment they stared at each.

"Hey! You! Get off the road!" The huge bear driver of a big noisy steamtank yelled as his engine heavily climbed the road, slowly getting closer.

Gard and Jiddy simultaneously looked up, got aware that they stood right in the middle of the street and walked to the side, to let the huge rattling, screeching machine pass by.

"Seems like my father has got something to do tonight," Gard said thoughtfully as he watched the engine as it rumbled into the direction of the gas station. They looked after the engine who occupied almost the whole street and was nearly as high as the houses with the bear on the

top of it.

"OK! I'll push off!" Jiddy said, turning back to Gard. "Still gotta do somethin'."

Gard looked back at her. "If you change your mind, you know where you can find me!"

Jiddy made some steps backwards. "OK...!" She paused and looked at him for a short moment before she lowered her head again. "I think I'll stay 'nother day. You can find me in the forest behind this standin' stone," she added then.

"The shaman monolith!?" Gard made a sign with his hand that he had understood.

Jiddy nodded, made two more steps back, turned around and walked through two houses into the direction of the stone monolith at the limit of the town.

Gard observed her until she had disappeared behind a corner. Then he slowly turned around and headed for the gas station.

"Hey, Gard! You gotta help me here," his father said as he saw his son walking into the garage.

The whole building was occupied by the steamtank Gard had seen earlier.

The iron engine with its massive chain drive and the enormous boiler on the top stood right in the middle of the wooden building, over the pit where his father could access the engine from below. The bear driver leaned at a barrel, a cup of hot coffee in his paw.

Gard walked over to his father, who jumped into the pit. "Give me the mechanics 12 and 13!" Gard searched for them on the workbench where all kind of rubbish was scattered. As he had found the big mechanics, he bend down and gave them to his father who began to unscrew the downsideo of the engine.

"So that's your son," the bear in his heavy leather clothes said.

"Yup!"

"Better watch out for him! If he'll always stand right in the middle of the road, he won't live much longer."

The wolf removed a heavy plate. "He doesn't normally do that."

"I'd bet! But he was quite occupied with some roamer[2](%5C), a lynx or some such feline." The bear drunk some of his coffee.

"Who was that, Gard?" His father now scrutinized the inner machine of the tank.

"Nobody," Gard answered, his hands in his trousers.

"But you seemed to be quite close to him. Roamers are usually no one a young guy like you should waste his time on," the bear mentioned.

Gard didn't answer, observing his father who began to tear some pipes out of the engine.

"That's right!" the older wolf in the pit agreed and sniveled at one of the pipes. "It seems to be the oil pipes!"

"Dear Spirits, not again! I already had problems with it in Kastania!"

"Yup! A steamtank is quite robust. But when something brakes, it's a hell of a job to fix it." He tore more of the pipe out.

"I can tell ya, I can tell ya!" The bear walked over to the pit and observed how the wolf began to unscrew the pipes.

"Where's mom?" Gard asked suddenly.

"She's gone hunting. She'll be back for dinner."

Gard observed the two man who began to discuss the advantages of a steamtank. Then he walked out of the garage, past the gas pumps and up the small staircase into their house.

He stood in the small kitchen, looking at its simple furnishings: the small table with the red plate, the four wobbly chairs, the old iron hearth, the dirty sink, the small shelves, the crammed full side-board and the three years old calendar on the wall. He sighed and went over to the side-board to get something to eat.

The bells above the door ringed when she opened the door and stepped inside the shop.

It was a small shop almost completely filled up by showcases and shelves around the wall. The shopkeeper, a heavily built stag, stood behind a counter in the back of the shop and was busily discussing with a couple of foxes.

"No, no," the shopkeeper said. "It's not that difficult. The usage of such a talisman is no mystery. After you have correctly executed the ritual, you have to wear it during mating and afterwards of course. But I can guarantee you that you can be expecting soon. Just wear it!"

The woman had blushed slightly and she and her husband exchanged a quick glance.

Jiddy eyed the interior and made some steps inside. She looked into the showcases where all kinds of differently shaped pendants were exhibited.

Small labels explained the effects of the jewelery. There were almost all different kinds of favorable charms: Cure for different diseases, improvements for any characteristic, protection against illness or magic, simple lucky charms or even charms for fertility. Most of them were carved wooden pendants decorated with pieces of leather, cloth, feathers, leaves or bones. Some were made of stone and a few of them were bizarre metal wickerwork that was supposed to contain small pieces of Orichalkum[3](%5C).

Jiddy looked through the shelf until...

Jiddy looked up from the showcases and scrutinized the shelves until she seemed to have found what she had been looking for. She went over to this shelf. There lay small Silver Arcs, hanging on thin threads of silk, inside the arc hang a small silver replica of an animal. The whole arcs were covered by runes, small pictures and decorations most of them showing animals and plants.

Jiddy looked through the shelf until she carefully took up a much simpler Arc, hanging on a simple leather strap. The silver was of poor quality, it had darkened due to its age and the small fish which hang inside the arc was just recognizable from its shape. The arc itself consisted of the misshapen replica of two strange birds of prey and some wickerwork.

"Hey, you!"

Jiddy looked around.

The shopkeeper was glaring at her, ignoring his confused vulpine customers. "Put this down! Now!" he shouted.

Carefully Jiddy put the arc back into the shelf, suspiciously observed by the shopkeeper who just turned around of his customers when Jiddy had made some steps away from the shelf.

When the shopkeeper had turned away Jiddy glanced at him, her eyes filled with hatred.

The foxes suddenly seemed to be in a hurry, paid for the talisman and left the shop, giving Jiddy a compassionate look when they passed by.

Jiddy still looked into the showcases, observed by the shopkeeper. The she turned around to him. "How much's that Silver Arc?"

The shopkeeper laughed shortly, leaning on the counter. "More than someone like you could ever be able to afford."

"I need it," Jiddy replied.

"Bad luck!" the shopkeeper said, took up the cloth where he had displayed the talisman to his customers and turned around.

Jiddy gritted her teeth and swallowed the knot that had formed in her throat. "You aware that I'm a girl?" she asked.

The stag turned his head around, his eyes mere slits in his face. "What do you want to express?"

"Maybe we can have a deal," Jiddy answered.

The stag fully turned around, slowly eyeing her inch by inch. "OK!" he said after a while.

It was nothing but some kind of brown flashlight in the corner of his eyes but it was everything his lupine senses needed to get attentive and thus he raised his head and looked down the dusty road.

There he was, a slender feline figure, his hair fluttered in the wind, the small tail wagged with every step and the pointed ears were laid back as he ran as fast as he could. And it was fast. His feet hammered against the ground, pushed him so quickly forward that he dragged behind a small cloud of dust. He ran down the sloping road, evading different people which looked after him with screwed up eyes while he did not pay any attention to them, instead dodged a car which drove up the hill, swirled around a couple and then he already reached the lowest point of the clearing, he was nothing but a small figure between others but he ran so fast that he still got everybody's attention.

The wolf sniffed and although it was very faint he could still smell the strange feline scent. Without taking off his eyes from the person, vanishing in the distance, he tipped onto the shoulder of the one who sat next to him. "Look!" he said simply and pointed out the fleeing one.

The puma next to him leaned forward. "Holy shit!" Hunter exclaimed. "It's this damn bastard roamer."

Walld just nodded. "Wouldn't have expected him to dare to show up again," he stated lowly.

Coming out of the shop where the bench stood next to Treon joined in on them. "What are you staring at?" he asked, trying to make something out in the direction where the two others had turned to.

"See that running one next to Sherfon's house?" Walld asked.

"Yes," Treon answered after a moment he had needed to find what the other wolf had meant.

"It's this fucking roamer," Walld said.

"Really?" Treon screwed up his bad vulpine eyes, trying to recognize the figure which just turned around a house and disappeared from their sight.

"Yup!" Hunter answered. He was still leaning forward, supported himself on his knees with folded paws.

"And I already picked up his trail," Walld added. "This time he won't get away."

"Damn right!" Hunter mumbled.

"Sure!" Treon whispered while they all stared at the distant house where the lynx had disappeared and they got silent for a moment.

Now that Walld had mentioned it, Treon was able to smell it too: It was a very faint feline scent, almost completely drowned out by the present scent of the puma next to them. but nevertheless it was there. It was a faint scent which resembled a strange mixture of dry leaves and freshly broken grass and another component the wolf was unable to classify although he was certain that he knew it. "He's heading for the shaman monolith," he summarized the obvious facts.

"Yeah! And that's where we'll get him." Walld stood up and Hunter too.

They did not need any agreement to walk down the street. The three boys, two wolves and a puma, went past the houses of their hometown and no one of the people on the street did pay any particular attention to them because they were quite well known as what they were. The sand and dust faintly crunched beneath their feet and the small stones they pushed aside rattled while everyone gave way for them.

There were no clouds in the sky, there was nothing but a profound blue from horizon to horizon which was formed the surrounding forest. Now wind was blowing and beside the noises of the town every other sound of life had died down because of the heat as all the animals had escaped into the deeper parts of the woods where the last remains of coolness had retired to.

"Hey! You! Get out of the way!" somebody cried and now the boys noticed the large steam tank which drove down the road for the very first time although they could surely have heard it before as it rattled, puffed, roared and whistled with such a deafening volume that they were rather surprised to see it just there behind them. Quickly the boys went aside and let the huge machine pass by, a huge bear sitting at the very top in the driver's seat. They stared after it while the hammering noise slowly vanished and disappeared as the steam tank descended the road furthermore and then headed directly for the town's edge as fast as it could.

"He's coming from the gas station," Treon stated rather disconnectedly.

The boys went on. Now they did not stop anymore but headed directly for the shaman monolith, walked straight through the gardens of several houses, not caring for the disapproving glares of their owners and they did neither pay attention to the large boulder which formed some kind of spiritual center of the town. The two wolves sometimes sniffed to get an impression of the trail again but they were so focussed on this scent that they did not really need to reassure themselves anymore. The puma followed them close by. Now that they left the confusing mixture of scents of the settlement and its inhabitants the trail got much more intense.

They broke through the light undergrowth of the forest and penetrated into the greenish light beneath the large slender trees. They did not pay any attention to their surroundings, hardly noticed the obstacles in their way which consisted of small trees, bushes and overgrown fallen trunks while they went on. Cool refreshing air flowed around them, dried off their sweat, carried along the different smells of the wood but they did not let themselves be distracted by anything.

Suddenly Walld which had been in lead stopped. He rose his head and sniffed strongly. "He's got to be close by," he whispered to his companions. "The smell is very intense now."

Even Hunter did smell it too and he had to agree that it was much stronger than anything else now even though the intense presence of the forest. "Where's he?" He whispered.

Treon quickly put a finger against his lips and thus indicated the puma to stay silent. Walld signaled them to go on but now they got went on as silent as they could. But nevertheless the bushes rustled when they past by and small branches cracked beneath their feet.

"Lookin' for me?"

They rose their heads and instantly recognized the lynx who was sitting on a low branch of a redwood nearby. He leaned against the trunk and looked down onto them with these strange slanting eyes of his. The branch he was sitting on was growing at least at three times his own height.

The boys glared up from below without knowing what to reply.

Walld bared his teeth and snarled. "Damn right, smartass. Now we'll give you what for!"

The lynx hit his hand against the branch he was sitting on, pushed himself upwards and then hit against the trunk and thus hurled himself off and hit the ground beneath before the boys had even been able to notice. "But this time you don't get me unprepared!" the lynx hissed and then bared his sharp feline teeth and snarled at them from the deepest bottom of his chest.

Without much enthusiasm he picked at his meal. He supported himself on the table and stared at his fork how it arranged and rearranged the meat and the vegetables.

"What's up, Gard?" His father had laid down his fork and looked at his son.

Gard rose his head and blinked at his father without any understanding.

"Come on, Gard, we know there's something wrong with you," his mother said, observing his reaction from the corner of her eyes.

The boy pulled a face, hesitated. "I got an argument with the others," he mumbled.

His father rose his eyebrows. "That's something new?" he asked ironically, instantly receiving a disapproving glare from his wife.

"Don't worry, Gard. You know they don't bear grudges," the lupine woman tried to encourage her son.

"Except that they were wrong this time. Fleagan beat up a lynx without any reason and got his share from it."

"This roamer?" His father asked. The woman looked inquiringly at him but he just waved his hand.

"Yes!" Gard said shortly.

They fell silent and slowly the adults went on eating until they were interrupted by the noise of steps on the stair to their door.

"Speaking of the devil," the woman said.

In the door frame appeared the brown and gray fur of Treon. The boy had a severe cut at his forehead and blood had flowed down onto his entire face but seemed to have dried by now. The boy held his right arm with his left and was just able to knock clumsily against the door.

Gard stood up. "I'll be back in a minute." And then he was already out of the door which shut behind him.

Rather unwillingly his parents observed like the two youngsters walked down the stairs and started talking at its edge. Instantly Treon started to talk insistently to their son. His blood covered face was distorted by disgust and hardly restraint anger as he seemed to explain something, seemed to besiege Gard who just replied shortly. But Treon did not give up and talked on. Then Gard said a little bit more and in this moment the other wolf stared at him in absolute bewilderment and then cried at him as loud as he could. Despite the shut door the two wolves inside were able to hear the echo of his voice, even though they did not understand what he shouted. Treon went on yelling then spun around, holding his wounded arm and then walked away without caring for Gard anymore. The boy looked after him for a while then walked up the stairs and came back inside and wordlessly sat down on the table again.

"What's wrong, Gard?" his mother asked.

"Nothing!" he replied, staring at his plate.

"Don't try to fool us," his father added.

Gard pulled a face. "They want me to lure the lynx into an ambush."

"What?" The woman looked at her son with disbelief.

"Yeah. They attacked him, to pay back for what he had done to Fleagan and something went wrong and as I am the only one who he seems to be involved with, they wanted me to..." Gard fell silent.

"Stay out of this!" his father said.

"Sure, I won't do that," Gard reassured him.

"No, you misunderstand me. Stay away from them and this roamer as well."

"Hey, what's wrong with the lynx?" He looked inquiringly at his father.

"He just defended himself after all."

"Roamers are nobody you should get mixed up with."

"What's wrong with roamers?" the young wolf asked. "You used to be roamers too."

"That's something different," his mother intervened.

"It's not!" Gard contradicted.

"It is!" His father glared at him. "When I had your age you could travel from Dyaamar to the west coast and the biggest menace you would have encountered would have been a thunderstorm. Now you can't even get from here to Kastania without arming. So remember that! I don't want to know who that guy is and I don't want you to get mixed up with him. Look at what he did to your friends..."

"They're not my friends!" Gard suddenly interrupted his father.

The older man was startled for a moment. "Whatever! You stay away from this roamer and that's it!"

Gard glared at his father for a moment and then lowered his head and picked at his cold food.

Annotation 1: As feline furrs are strongly perspiring by their furless pads lots of them prefer not wearing shoes. They so-called feline spats look like knee-length socks with the parts for the toes and the ankle cut out.

Annotation 2: Roaming is an old custom which goes back to long forgotten times. A roamer is a young furr who leaves his or her hometown in order to search his or her own place in the world. It is said that it has something to do with wild animals which are searching for their own hunting grounds. But no one knows for sure.

Annotation 3: Orichalkum is a magical, metallic element that looks like bloodstone with an oily, prism like surface. It is extremly rare and thus very valuable too as it can store magical power and is being used for many spells.

End of Chapter 1/Part 1.

Copyright 2002 by kodayu. All rights reserved.

Thanks for reading...

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