The Runner- Ch. IV Aishi
"I remember it now, Clad! If you're heading to the capitol, then we need to hurry!" Shane was ecstatic, his eyes as wide as my own as I stared back at him. I had only just returned to the inn across the north Cheerhan border after three days' travel with Ch'athad through Surtha and we were both tired. The sun was beginning to set and it looked like Shane was ready to leave now. "So, uh," I began awkwardly, still panting a bit. "What exactly is it that you remember?" I had to admit I was a bit curious. Strangely enough, Shane seemed taken aback by my question and flattened his ears back. "Well... I guess it's rather... Not for all ears. I, uh, I need to speak to a Cheerhan authority. Yeah." I leaned back against the wall of the inn, crossing my arms and curling my tail around my ankles. "Look, they don't just let anyone walk into the king's palace. I'm probably as close as you'll get, so you should make due with what you've got." Looking past him, I watched as Ch'athad hugged and kissed his Surthan mate in greeting. I couldn't help but feel a twinge of envy, but at least it sounded like Shane had been a great help to the female snow leopard. I thought I had made a good argument, but Shane still insisted, "No... I'll just... See what I can do when we get there." I let out a brusque growl, "Whatever." and started toward my room. I hadn't meant to be rude, I was just exasperated; I knew I could travel much faster by myself, and I was almost out of muny, which was saying something since I had thought I was well stocked with the muny given to me for the travel to Larxthara and my savings combined. I stalked off to my room and closed the door behind me. I wasn't sore, but still I was tired, and it was some distance to the Cheerhan capitol to make my report. Probably three or four days' journey; a week's with Shane tagging along. I forced myself to undress before throwing myself onto the bed. My clothes were already dirty enough, and I could use a bath anyway.
I was such an idiot. How could I have snapped at Shane? He almost died! I'm such a jerk, how rude! These were the first thoughts to go through my head when I woke up. I sat up, the blankets sliding off to reveal the soft white fur that covered my neck down my chest to my inner thighs. I plunged my face into my paws. Refraining from clawing myself in frustration, I tried to work out how I would apologize as I heard a knock on the door. "Clad?" I recognized the voice as Shane's. "Yes?" He opened the door and peered in, then looked a bit taken aback that I hadn't dressed yet. I didn't think about it too much, I mean, he could only see my upper body for the blankets covering the rest. "I just thought that we should get going; the sun will be rising soon." He glanced away uneasily. I reached over to pull back the curtain and peered out the window. It was still dark, the sun just below the horizon. "We have time, don't worry. Besides, the jungles are dangerous in the dark." Shane nodded. "Right, then I'll leave you to get dressed." Before he could leave, though, I called after him, "Wait, Shane." "Hm?" "I'm sorry I snapped at you last night. It's just I was-" Shane cut me off, "Stop, Clad. You saved my life. How could I hold anything against you?" His tone was soft, and I just stared blankly as he closed the door behind him. I didn't really know what to think, he had been so polite and nice. I guessed I was just too used to others taking advantage of me as I hopped out of bed and pulled on my tan slacks and dark green long sleeved shirt. I grabbed my black jacket that Ch'athad had returned to me last night as I had returned his coat. I thought I felt a hint of nausea and stumbled a bit, but didn't give it a second thought as I knelt down and gathered up the contents of my runner bag which had spilled out last night as well when I had tossed it down on the floor, too tired to care. I scolded myself inwardly. I placed the now deflated coin pouch in it, only having maybe six gold coins left, my almost empty canteen, a couple changes of clothes (all of which are equally dirty), and a scrap of paper that was the letter my sister Kahri had sent me a few years ago regarding some personal matters. Aside from those items were just a few trinkets and snacks: a bag of dried meat, nuts and berries that I had refrained from eating so far since they kept for longer and were good for quick energy and recovering during a break. With a sigh, I put my messenger bag over my shoulder and fastened my belt with my sheathed sword in its holster around my waist. Having readied myself, I left my room and made my way through the hall to the front room where I bade Ch'athad farewell and started off to the capitol with Shane. We didn't really talk since we were busy panting for breath as we ran side by side along the dirt road. We passed a small convoy of Cheerhan guards, some of whom cast suspicious glances at Shane, but if he noticed, he gave no sign of it. When the sun had risen above the trees I was impressed that he was still keeping up, though he was considerably more exhausted than I was, but as a Cheetah I was naturally a good runner and also seasoned in training and practice. I slowed to a stop for a break and we sat leaning against a tree on the side of the road. "So," I began. "You said you remembered why you were here." Shane sounded defensive still. "I really shouldn't tell anyone..." He hesitated before adding hastily, "But I promise it's nothing bad, just... Well, what if you were captured and interrogated?" I decided that he's definitely hiding something. "Nevermind. I was just curious." I didn't want to argue. However, it's not like the guards just let any cougar cross the border. And I had been trained to die before giving away any information. After I had caught my breath, I got up and pronounced, "Let's get going." I kept up a pace to match Shane's stamina for the rest of the day and we reached an inn before nightfall. Nonetheless, though Shane was surprisingly well conditioned, he still didn't compare to a trained and seasoned runner, and the next few days I found that he needed to stop more often for breaks. My supply of muny had steadily diminished over the time period, but I tried my best not to worry about it. We were maybe a day away from the capitol when I made a novice runner's mistake. I tripped. "Oof!" I skidded along the ground and my bag slided along with me. Out of it came Kahri's letter. I blushed in embarrassment. It must have been years since I had last tripped. Shane's voice seemed to echo in my ear as I fumbled to regain my composure. "Clad, are you okay? Hey, what's this?" When I had regained my footing, only bearing a few scrapes from my ordeal, I saw that Shane had the letter in his paws and was reading it. "H-hey, give that back!" I couldn't help but be protective over something so sentimental. Shane handed it to me and I folded it up and swiftly replaced it into my bag. After a moment's hesitation, the cougar inquired, "Clad, what was that about?" Part of me wanted to say it was none of his business, but the other part of me wanted to open up to him. When I still hadn't replied, Shane asked softly, "Clad?" "My mother was killed." I began bluntly. "A thief did it a couple years ago. I was off in Hurshken at the time and didn't find out until this letter got to me. Hurshken was still a hell of a long way from home, though. And when I got there, my older sister, Kahri, told me that dad had left home soon after. He blamed himself for not being able to protect her. He couldn't forgive himself, and, to be honest, I never really forgave him either. He left Kahri all alone and I couldn't be there for her..." I was beginning to sob as the start of tears welled in my eyes. I looked away from Shane, ashamed at my weakness. Then, I felt warm arms wrap around me. Shane pulled me against himself tenderly. After a moment of realization, I threw my arms around him and nuzzled into his neck. I felt one of his arms reach up and stroke the back of my head and ears as I sobbed. "Shhhh..." He soothed, and I was so happy that he didn't pull away. He was warm and strong, and I was also glad to have shared something so personal with him. Having recovered just a bit, I pulled away a little and looked up at him, my paws still on his chest and his on my shoulders. We just stood like that for some time, green eyes staring into yellow, and I took in his handsome face, wondering if he was thinking the same. Wait, what? Am I seriously attracted to him? No way, he's a Cargharan. Just an attractive Cargharan. That's all. I finally broke the silence. "Thank you, Shane." He gave a small nod, his soft gaze still locked on me.
For some reason that seemed to bring us closer together, and by the time we reached the capitol palace, we were walking closer to eachother and were definitely more relaxed. Now he clenched his paws in frustration as the guards blocked his way through the gate. I had already been let in, mostly because of the emblem stitched onto my jacket. But also since most of the palace guards knew me, something I was a bit proud of, and also an argument a few other runners had used to complain about the king favoring me. Though I had maintained that he treated me equally, I could see their point. Giving Shane an 'I told you so' look over my shoulder, I continued into the ornate palace. In all honesty, I thought that Shane should just be glad he made it over the border, but really? He thought they would actually just let him walk right into the capitol? Yeah right. I walked down the center of the throne room to where the Cheerhan king seemed to be arguing with an adviser. At my sight he broke off and dismissed the adviser with a flick of his tail. I bowed down, taking a knee and wrapping my tail over my ankle. "King Ferris." I addressed him formally. "Now Clad, there's no need for formalities. Stand up." I stood, my posture erect. "But sir!" I protested. "Don't worry about it. It really starts getting old after a while. And it would be nice to have a relationship that's not based on authority or dominance." The cheetah was growing old, and it was evident in the slight rasp of his voice. "As you wish." I was glad Ferris saw me as more of a friend rather than a subordinate, but I persisted out of respect, and realized that he really did favor me. This reply elicited a sigh from the king. "In any case, what did you find out on your assignment? How did it go?" "It took longer than I expected, having had to travel with a translator. But the Surthan king was reluctant at the thought of lending us more warriors, though we have his sympathy regarding the recent hostilities on the Cargharan border. He worries for his own country's sake, that there have also been reports of strange activity on the western ports to Larxthara, similar to the ones on the Gerren boder in Lihara to the west. That is to say, more have gone missing. I think this can only trace back to Gerr-shtefen." "Hm... Of course. And I don't expect it was easy infiltrating Larxthara?" "It wasn't, unfortunately. There were no actual passenger boats, just a couple carrying cargo. There were some boats carrying some suspicious looking cargo, but they were guarded day and night and I couldn't get close. It took... A lot of muny to pay off one of the sailors so he would let us on." "And how much muny do you have left?" I looked away as I held out the meager 6 silver coins that remained in my paw, expecting king Ferris to take them, but instead felt something heavy drop onto it, almost making me lose my balance. Seeing that it was a rather large muny pouch, I gaped. "Wh-What is this?" The king seemed a bit adamant as he explained, "Your payment. It was my fault for not preparing you properly for that last assignment, and it was a potentially dangerous one at that. Take it, it is yours to do with as you wish. It should be more than enough to see you through until your next assignment." "I..." "You are dismissed." Ferris hadn't even given me a chance to argue, so I just humbly accepted, placing the lofty pouch in my bag. "My deepest gratitude." "I'll send for you when your next assignment is ready. Until then." I nodded, bowed, then turned and left. I couldn't believe his generosity, though he is no doubt a good ruler, I just had not expected... As I exited the palace, I wondered if his favoritism was because he knew I lived so meekly. The guards stepped aside to let me out the front gates, and I made my way to where Shane sat with his tail swept off to one side on a bench. My mind was too preoccupied with all the money I had just been given to think to inquire about whatever it was that Shane had wanted to tell the king. He didn't bring it up either.
"There's someone I want you to meet." I proclaimed excitedly as I quickened my pace. We were running off a path up a hill, close to our destination. "Who?" Shane queried, speaking in Cheerhan. Having been in the country with me for a bit over two weeks, he had picked up some new vocabulary, making his Cheerhan considerably more fluid and understandable. I looked back at the struggling cougar, my tail swishing from side to side with impatience. "My sister, Kahri. It's been months since I've been home." I paused to look up at the sky in reminiscence. It was about midday. Catching up to me, Shane huffed, "Where does she live?" "She lives at my family's clinic. You can see it from the top of this hill, come on!" There was a single oak tree at the top. I leaned against it, breathing out as I looked across the expanse of jungle below. Hearing Shane's approach, I murmured, "I remember we used to play here as cubs." Images of our small bodies running around the oak gleefully flashed through my mind and I couldn't help but smile. "This was her favorite spot because she could see so far, it didn't matter that we were little up here." Turning around, it almost looked like Shane envied me for my youth. I couldn't help but ask, "How did you grow up? If you don't mind my asking, that is." "Hm..." Shane looked at the ground, growling softly as he contemplated. "I could sit here and complain about how awful my youth was, but in all honesty, it wasn't." Did I detect a note of scorn? Was he being sarcastic? "I was born to a rich family. I got whatever I wanted, so long as I stayed in my room, kept quiet, only spoke when spoken to..." He trailed off, looking to the side, so I inquired further, "What happened later?" "I ran away." I was a bit shocked. "Why? "It was boring. I took to sneaking out at night, but I still wasn't satisfied with the life I had. I found out I had had siblings, but that my parents had sold them into slavery in Gerr-Shtefen. None of us were wanted, and I was only kept to be a servant. I thought that I would be stuck in that room forever, bending to my parents' will, or risk a beating. One day... I jumped off the top floor balcony of the mansion." My breath caught in my throat as he went on, "I was bruised badly all over, only thanks to the branches of a tree that broke my fall. I ended up just breaking my foot and blacking out from the impact. When I came to, I wailed in pain, of course. I couldn't move. I was so scared..." He had managed to keep his voice steady so far, but I could tell it started to quiver and he started trembling. I walked closer to him. "It was hours before anyone came to get me. My parents had simply sent out a maid who just told me to stop making such a racket. I tried to get up but couldn't, and she ended up just dragging me across the ground back inside. I wasn't conscious long. My father yelled and beat me. He was so angry. I just cried at the pain until I blacked out again." His paws were clenched at his sides and I could tell he was holding back tears. I wrapped my arms around him and pressed myself close. His arms tentatively reached up around me, shakily. He continued on and I thought: Oh God, there's still more? "My parents paid for a great doctor, since I couldn't walk I couldn't do my chores or work. As soon as I had recovered, I got up the courage to confront them. I shouted, 'I hate you!' and ran. I lived off the streets for a while since then, only eating maybe once a week, twice if I was lucky, and then..." He was shuddering but still not crying. I hugged him tighter, close to tears myself, and murmured in his ear, "It's okay, Shane. You can let it out. I understand." "No.. I can't. It's not that I won't, it's that I am unable to. I feel like I used up all my tears back then." "You're stronger now because of everything you went through." "I think you're right." Shane agreed. "You were the first person who ever showed me kindness. Clad... I think..." He backed up a bit and looked me in the eyes. "I think... I think I..." He blushed a bit, then looked away. I leaned forward, my black ears flattened back; did he whisper something? But, looking at the horizon from the top of the hill, us holding each other in our arms beneath that tree, he just finished, "I think we should get going." I nodded, and my voice sounded forced when I agreed, "Yeah." I couldn't help but wonder what he was really going to say.
Our somber mood had lifted as we stood outside the clinic. My heart raced, and not just because we had been running all day. "It's been so long since I've been back here. I wonder how Kahri is doing." I knocked on the door and waited anxiously, my spotted tail twitching from side to side. After a few moments, the door opened. A familiar female cheetah stepped out and exclaimed, "Clad! You're back!" "Kahri, I missed you." A deep male voice came from inside, "Who is it? A patient?" Then a black panther pulled the door open further. He was an inch or so taller than Kahri and had a large, muscular build. He took her paw in his, and I noticed a slight bulge in my sister's belly. "This is my mate, Zai'aku, but he goes by Zach. Zach, this is my younger brother, Clad." "Pleasure to meet you." He said politely in fluent Cheerhan, though with a heavy Pantheran accent. "Likewise." I responded, shaking his paw. "Well, what are you waiting for?" Kahri scathed jokingly. "Get in here! You're awkward friend too!" Stepping inside, I only then realized how uncomfortable Shane looked and remembered that this was his first time in Cheerha. Kahri was wearing a rather revealing top, only covering her breasts, and leaving the nipples on her stomach in full view, though she wore a pair of grey slacks. In Lihara, Cheerha, and Panthera, it was acceptable for females to dress this way, but I guessed that in Carghara things were different. "This is Shane. I met him on my last assignment and we just sort of stuck together." I introduced the cougar, who smiled and lifted a paw uneasily. "Awww, don't tell me you took a mate, too!" Kahri teased, nudging me in the side. I protested, "No! I just.. We-We're good friends is all." I was afraid I might insult Shane, and I couldn't even tell if I myself was lying. In a way, I hoped I was. Kahri leaned up close to me, an accusing look on her face. "You sound a little defensive..." She just stared at me intensely as I tried to back up, but was already next to the wall, my ears back. She let out a laugh and flicked my nose with her tail, backing up. "Come on, lighten up! It's been forever since I've seen you!" "Kahri told me about you." Zai'aku cut in, stepping up behind Kahri and putting his paws on her shoulders. "She also told me that you're a messenger, so you're probably tired from your journey." Both Shane and I were visibly exhausted, and the prospect of rest sounded like heaven. Kahri growled in mock frustration. "Oh, fine. You can have the room with two beds." With a nod, I led Shane to the right side of the building, since the patients stayed on the left. There were two rooms on the right side, each with two beds. Peering into one, I saw that the beds had been pushed together and assumed it was Kahri and Zai'aku's room. I heard Kahri shout after me, "Hey it's the one with TWO beds! And you'd better not try anything either you hear me cougar?" I smiled, rubbing the back of my neck with one paw as I looked at a somewhat confused Shane and opened the door to the other room. Walking up to one of the beds, I dropped my bag at the foot of it, took off my jacket, and sat down on it, setting to unbinding my feet. "Make yourself at home, since you'll be staying with us for a while at least." I wasn't sure of what Shane would do once I got my next assignment. "Your sister's a bit strange." Shane observed cautiously. "Are you kidding? She's the best big sister I could hope for." After a few minutes, Shane and I were both dozing. I stared at the ceiling with half closed eyes, my paws behind my head as I let myself relax. Kahri came in carrying a plate with four cups of tea, Zai'aku following, and set it down on the table between our beds. I shifted to lay across my bed on my stomach so I could drink and Shane sat up. Kahri and Zai'aku sat on pillows on the floor. "We decided to mate for life, Zach and I." They looked at eachother with tender happiness. "That's wonderful!" I mewed. Kahri had always wanted to mate for life. The idea of intimacy appealed to me as well, and once again I felt a twinge of envy. I took another drink of the refreshing, hot tea then asked, "How did you meet?" It was Zai'aku that answered, "I worked as a guard back in Panthera and was on a border patrol when we got caught up in a skirmish between some Cargharan and Cheerhan guards. We all knew that the cougars were the ones causing trouble like they always have. I mean, no offense, of course!" He raised his paws defensively toward Shane, who responded, "it's fine." That made it obvious that he didn't consider himself like the other Cargharans, and I didn't either. Zai'aku went on, "We helped the Cheerhans fight them off. They were tough and some of us were badly wounded, myself included. The cheetahs led us here, the closest clinic maybe half a day from the border. My friend from long ago, Aishi, Aishi Teru, was stabbed straight through, but he was still alive. I carried him in my arms. I remember I just kept up a one sided conversation about how he would be hospitalized and cared for by a bunch of cute ladies, then he would get paid leave and his family would rejoice for the honor he had brought them." Zai'aku was by no means getting worked up, maybe in part thanks to the calming tea, but I could still tell he was upset. Kahri leaned into him and rested her head on his shoulder. "He was dead by the time we got here." How terrible, I thought as I looked down into my emptying tea cup, sharing the panther's grief. We've all had our share of heartache. "Kahri treated all seven of us. After a couple days, we were fit to travel and we headed back. I couldn't stop thinking about her though. Her smile, her cute face..." "Pssh yeah right!" Kahri teased lightheartedly, flicking Zai'aku's ear with one paw, but he insisted, "it's completely true. I knew I was in love with her. I quit being a guard so I could come back here." Kahri giggled cutely, "He showed up at the door in the pouring rain with a bouquet of Pantheran flowers. I thought I would be treating him for a cold for the next month." Zai'aku gave her a lick on the muzzle. "She's been teaching me how to heal since then." "There is always a need for healers." Shane put in, and I nodded in agreement, then asked, "So how far along are you?" I was referring to her pregnancy. "Just about a month." Was her reply. Zai'aku ran his paw gently over her belly. "Our cubs will be beautiful." He said before kissing her lovingly. I smiled up at Shane. "Oh yeah, just one more thing." Kahri objected, breaking away from Zai'aku. I listened closely. "You both need a bath!" We all laughed, and my heart skipped a beat. Communal bathing was part of both Cheerhan and Pantheran culture. It would be perfect for me to make a move on Shane, to tell him how I feel. I hoped he would finish what he was going to say at the top of that hill.