FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Catalina sat at on a precipice that overlooked the edges of the Dusk Strip before merging out into the Burning Lands. The ocelot swept a lock of platinum hair out of her face before dousing a long rag with water from a clay bottle, and wrapping it loosely around her head, leaving only a narrow opening for her to see. She gave a soft sigh before leaping from the edge, her long, black striped tail flicking behind her as she dropped nearly 20 feet to land in a crouch on the ground below. Her ears pricked forward as she stood, listening intently for a moment before adjusting her bag across her back and moving forward into the desert before her.

It was a long while before Catalina was able to spot an outpost out over the hot sands. The sight lent her some energy, and she picked up her pace to reach her destination. It was typical of what could be found at the isolated outposts peppering the borders of the Burning Lands. It was a dusty little town, with a local inn, sheriff, bank, store, bar, and a few houses along the outer edge of the settlement. Catalina hated leaving civilization. There was nothing but these small outposts outside of the Dusk Strip, no matter what side of the planet one ventured to. In fact, the Frozen Tundra was even worse for finding a place to bed down while traveling. She hated it when her prey sought refuge in the snow and ice.

Her first stop was the inn to make certain there was a room available. While it was rare for these locations to see many visitors at one time, it could still happen. It took only a few minutes and a few coins to rent her a room to get some sleep in, before she went to visit the local sheriff. The sheriff lounged behind his desk in the main office, staring lazily at the ceiling. An old hound dog, she was surprised to see. Most canines hated the heat even more than felines and preferred to work on the frozen side of the earth, if not within the Dusk Strip. She cleared her throat to get his attention, and make sure he was awake.

"Excuse me. I'm looking for information on the Savage Twins. The posting was said to have come from this area."

The dog stared at her for a moment from beneath the thick folds of skin that mostly covered his tired eyes, before throwing his head back and laughing. Catalina let a scowl cross her face, and waited for the laughter to end. She was used to it. At just over five feet tall and weighing shy of 100 pounds, Catalina did not have a particularly intimidating presence, especially for one in the profession of bounty hunting. The hound finally ceased his laughing and just regarded her for a moment.

"Not twins, 'lil cat. An' Savage is the name of the oldest of the Brothers Damned. They picked their own name, too. They might get mad if you call 'em something else. An' you dun want to make 'em mad, cat."

Catalina sighed and unwrapped the cloth from her head, ears twitching with annoyance. "Look, just tell me what I need to know so I can track them down and bring them in. That's your job, not to give me advice, old dog."

It was true. The sheriff's job was not to hunt and bring in the bounties themselves. They were the liaisons for the Archacy, the closest thing to a government that the planet had. The Archacy maintained order and control in the Dusk Strip regions, where laws were enforced by a small militia that the Archacy funded. Outside the Dusk Strip, however, the lands were far too vast for such a fine measure of control. Instead, problems and outlaws in the Burning Lands and Frozen Tundra were noted and passed to the Archacy by sheriffs in small outposts such as this one. The Archacy would then place bounties forth, to be collected by hunters such as Catalina, who would go forth and take care of the problems such criminals posed. The system was far from perfect, and information from the outer lands to the Dusk Strip had a tendency to get mixed up, and messed up, so that when embarking on a bounty one might find themselves in a very different situation than was advertised.

The dog barked at her, a short deep sound that made her flinch inwardly, though she showed no outward reaction. "Fine, 'lil cat, but when they rapin and whippin your pretty 'lil hide, don't say I didn't warn ya. They brothers, if ya couldn't figure from the name. Three o' them. Savage, Fierce, and Chaos. Big wolf types. They been botherin the diggins around these parts, killin the men and kids, and makin off with the women, smashin up the sites and stealing what dug up. Typical stuffs, s'pose. Last place they hit that I heard 'bout was maybe 25 klicks or so to the right 'o the sun."

Catalina gave a brief nod before slipping back out into the dusty street, and making her way back to the inn. If her prey wasn't here, then there was little use in staying. She would get some rest, and resume her hunt. Back in her room she checked the lock on the door before stripping off her clothing; starting with her small pack and the heavy cloak she wore to conceal her body. Next were her gunblades and the back harness she used to hold them, followed by her knee high boots made of thick leather that was worn enough that they allowed her unimpaired movement. After that was her top, a simple off-white linen shirt, loose enough to give little hint at the curves underneath. Her tail flicked about as she bent over to strip her pants off, made of the same dusty colored leather as her boots.

The ocelot walked silently over to the dirty mirror to look herself over with disdain. Her thin fur was matted with sweat, and she would have loved a bath; a luxury she wasn't likely to find outside of the main cities. Her hands roamed up over her belly to remove the tight band of cloth that covered her breasts and kept them pressed tight to her body, out of the way. As the firm mounds of flesh were released she gave a soft exhale of relief. Catalina had a dancer's body, small and lithe, curves in all the right places with B cup breasts that fit her form perfectly, being neither too big nor too small. Her pelt had the typical ocelot markings, tawny fur with black spots that were a darker reddish-brown in the center. The tan coloration gave way to white fur covered in black spots and short stripes along the front of her thighs, up across her belly and chest, along the front of her throat and ending with her lower jaw. Her long, slim tail had black bands around it, the coloration fading from tan to white near the tip. Three black stripes ran along each side of her face; one starting at the top of each of her piercing green eyes and flowing back over the top of her head, another framing her eyes and running back across her upper cheeks, the last starting at the side of her upper jaw and running back across her lower cheeks. A single white spot of fur was on the back of each of her twitching ears.

Catalina sighed and flopped down onto the bed, staring at the ceiling as she waited for sleep to claim her.

Catalina yawned and stretched as she sat up in bed, looking around the cramped room while rubbing the sleep from her eyes. Despite the dismal surroundings she had a decent enough sleep to feel fully refreshed and ready to go on. She dressed, and paused on her way out of the city to use the outhouse attached to the inn, and restock her supplies from the store. She refilled her bottles with water and purchased some sun dried meats. Once she was ready, she set back out into the desert, keeping the sun to her left.

She had been walking for about three hours, and a dozen or so uneventful kilometers, and was currently gnawing on a bit of dried meat, the cloth once more wrapped loosely around her head to provide relief from the harsh glare of the sun. She felt the ground beneath her feet shift and instinctively jerked away from the spot, throwing herself to the side as a mammoth beetle dug its way up from the desert. The beasts were massive, heavily armored insects known for burrowing into the soft sands of the desert to wait for prey. This particular one was nearly 6 feet long, its pincers snapping at her foot as she dodged; flecks of poison staining her pants. She found her footing once more, drawing her blades smoothly from her back harness as she watched the creature warily. She had tangled with mammoth beetles in the past, but none of them had been as big as this one. The beast hesitated for a moment, giving Catalina a chance to raise her right gunblade outward towards it, her thumb sliding along the edge of the hilt to raise the small switch on the side of it. She took careful aim along the back edge before her thumb pressed down into the top of the hilt, the mechanism within drawing back before lunging forward and slamming firmly into the end of the round within, the report echoing over the sand dunes as a bullet ripped free from the small tunnel that extended beyond the hilt of her weapon, about 6 inches up along the back edge of the blade. The shot missed the left eye where she had been aiming for, ripping away a chunk of chitin from its face. The insect screamed in rage before charging her, its 6 thick legs propelling it across the ground far faster than most would consider possible. Catalina had barely a moment to adjust her aim and fire a second round before leaping to the side to dodge the new attack. She hit the ground and rolled, coming up facing the back of the beetle as it plowed face first into the sand and lay motionless.

She muttered softly to herself as she approached the carcass cautiously, climbing up onto its back and driving her swords down into the insect's neck where it was exposed between the armor on its head and back. Once she had removed its head, she allowed herself to sink to the sand in the shade given by the creature to rest. Catalina took the time to rewrap her face in freshly soaked cloth and closed her eyes, relaxing for a few moments before examining her gunblades. The hilt of the one she had fired had carbon marks from under the cylinder covering, marring the shiny finish of the hilt, and both blades were slick with the yellow blood from the mammoth beetle. She cursed softly, and opened her pack to remove what she would need to clean her weapons.

By the time she had cleaned her weapons, she was feeling the full effects of an adrenaline crash. Deciding it would be best to get some proper rest for a bit she put her things away and managed to drag the beetle's carcass to the edge of the dune, and dug a hole out from under it. She curled up within, lying on her cloak, and let fatigue overcome her.

Catalina awoke a short time later and crawled out of her hole, standing up and dusting herself off as she looked around. She wrapped her head loosely, donned the back harness, and swept her cloak back around her body before continuing on her way.

The small feline had been walking for another couple of hours when she became aware of the sky darkening. She squinted, and carefully looked at the sun from the corner of her eyes, watching as one of the two moons slowly blocked it off. A solar eclipse; it wasn't a rare event. In fact, they occurred almost weekly. Catalina shrugged it off and continued on, simply glad for the brief drop in temperature. The only time the sun stopped burning down into the Burning Lands was during these eclipses. Unfortunately, the phenomena were short lived, often lasting only seconds before the moon sped on by.

Another ten or so kilometers of walking through the sands lent to Catalina the sight of a brilliant flash of reflected sunlight ahead. She gave a grim smile and altered her path slightly to head straight for the light. Out in the desert it was easy to get lost in the never ending sands, so most settlements or archeological digs that weren't near the border with the Dusk Strip erected tall towers with smooth slabs of polished metal mounted at the top. The effect was a beacon that could be seen for a great distance, catching the eyes of travelers and guiding them directly to the location of what passed for civilization out here.

Even with her target in sight now, it was another hour of trekking through the endless sand dunes before the dig itself came into view. Several hundred feet out she took to hunkering lower and moving swiftly, allowing her cloak to act as camouflage against the desert. As she got nearer she could see the planks of wood and metal that maintained the walls of the massive hole dug down into the desert. Approaching the edge she could see it was about 30 feet deep, and about 200 feet in diameter. Various ruins and buildings had already begun to be unearthed, and she could see the barracks, a large concrete building near the opposite edge of the digging site. If her prey were still around, that's where they would probably be, along with anyone else still alive. That was, of course, assuming that anyone from the dig was still alive; the sands were scarlet, and several bodies could be seen scattered within the hole, half buried by the sands.

Catalina skirted around the edge of the dig until she reached the barracks and gave the building another look over. It was simple and drab with small, rectangular windows high on the walls, near the roof. The building was roughly 15 feet high to accommodate even the tallest species, 40 feet long, and at least 100 feet wide. She eyed the walls and tested the rough concrete with her claws before climbing carefully up onto the roof.

She looked around and hurried to the boxy structure on the roof, a large tunnel that ran at an angle down to the roof that faced away from the sun, to vent hot air in the barracks. She peered through the vent, and looked inside.

She could see several rooms in the barracks across one wall, many of the doors smashed in. The angle of her view afforded her no other visual cues, though she could dimly hear things going on down below. She strained to catch snatches of the conversation below, and was able to distinguish two different voices. They seemed to be arguing over whether it was safe to remain at the site, or not. Catalina was so intent on the conversation going on below that she failed to hear the nearly silent approach of someone from behind her. It was only a loose piece of concrete accidently kicked by the third of the wolf brothers that alerted her to his present.

She drew her weapons smoothly as she pivoted around to face a furry wall of muscle lunging towards her. The ocelot slashed out with her blades and was awarded a howl of pain and a spray of blood over her body as she threw herself to the side, out of the way of her assailant. She turned to look over the wolf, holding her gunblades at the ready. The wolf was massive, at least 7 feet tall she judged, and probably weighed three times as much as her. His fur was black as night, dark enough she could barely make out the blood soaking into the fur on his chest from where she had cut her. Chaos eyed her, snarling softly as he hunkered down. From below, inside the barracks, she could hear the brothers calling up.

"So who's the pest up there, brother?"

The wolf snarled at her again, flexing his fists, the claws on his left hand tinged red. It wasn't until then that she felt the pain in her shoulder. Sparing a glance as the wolf replied to his brothers, she saw 4 cuts through her cloak on her right shoulder, tinged with her blood. "Just some little cat. I think she might be tasty..." He grinned as she returned her attention back to him. "How about it kitten? Put down those toys and submit, and we might let you live when we're done screwing you."

Catalina just narrowed her eyes at him, taking a deep breath to calm and center herself. Taking them on head to head was not her plan, but as long as they were willing to go at it one at a time, she figured she could probably manage to take them down. The wolf waited a moment for her answer, before lunging forward again, snarling loudly as he swiped at her with a handful of claws. She ducked, stabbing out with her blades and piercing his side. Chaos gave another howl before lunging at her fully, slashing once more at her face. This time he was ready for her duck and attack, and twisted with her lunge, letting her blades flash by his body as he caught her right wrist in his left hand, jerking it back to fling the blade out of her grasp.

The counter caught her by surprise and she yowled in pain as something in her wrist popped, sending lances of agony through her arm and shoulder. She still maintained the presence of mind to hack down at the hand holding her wrist, severing it from his arm. He jerked away from her, howling in pain as his blood stained the roof. Catalina kept her right arm tucked in against her as she pressed her advantage, darting forward and slashing for his belly, intending to eviscerate him. His recovery and speed surprised her once more however, as he reached out and grabbed her firmly by the neck with his remaining hand, lifting her bodily from the roof and giving her a rough shake. She choked in his hold, struggling futilely as she kicked her legs and tried to stab at his chest. The reach of the wolf was so much further than hers that she could barely jab the tip of her sword into his flesh. He laughed at her, his hold tightening around her neck as he carried her to the vent.

"You should have surrendered, cat."

She coughed and choked, narrowing her eyes as black spots danced across her vision, a soft click heard as she removed the safety on her weapon and pressed firmly down into the switch beneath her thumb. The round followed the back edge of the blade into the wolf's chest, ripping through fur and muscle before piercing his heart, and tearing free from his back in a spray of blood. The jeers and shouts below silenced suddenly as the sound of the shot echoed within the concrete building. The wolf staggered, catching himself on the vent with his bloody stump. Then he lifted her up and pitched her through the tunnel with as much force as his failing body could muster. He collapsed to the roof with the throw, and lay unmoving.

Catalina was falling, 15 long feet to a hard and unyielding ground below. Her right arm still wouldn't function properly, and she was already half unconscious from lack of air. She had no chance at all to brace her fall, and she landed with a sickening crunch. The feline lay there, staring up through a reddish haze at the two wolves walking over to look down at her. She wasn't being choked anymore, but she still had difficulty breathing. Her entire right side was in agony. She tried to look at the damage, and found herself unable to move her head. A movement caught her eye, one of the wolves lifting his foot up. Then the view of his foot filled her vision. The last thought she had before being knocked out was that the old dog had been right.

The smell of something cooking roused Catalina from blissful unconsciousness. No sooner had she woken up than she wished she was knocked back out. Her body was bare, her wrists bound in thick metal cuffs that were attached to the ceiling by a heavy chain. Her feet dangled half a meter above the ground. She could no longer feel her right arm, her shoulder had a dull, throbbing pain. Her right side cramped in pain with each labored breath she took and the fur on her right shoulder was caked with blood. The ocelot's vision was clouded by a swollen left eye, and the coppery taste of blood was strong in her mouth.

The larger of the two remaining brothers seemed to notice that she was awake, and stalked over to her with a sneer. "Looks like the kitten is awake, Fierce."

The other brother appeared from behind her, walking around to her front, and looking her over. "What a mess... should we bother cleaning her up?"

"Why? She'll be dead soon, if not from her injuries..." Savage grinned, reaching out to take a firm hold of her chin, causing her to jerk against the chains at the handling of her injured jaw, "Well. She'll be dead soon." Savage regarded her before releasing her chin. "You killed our little brother, cat. You proud of yourself for that? We'll see how long that pride lasts."

The larger wolf chuckled as he ran a massive hand down her throat to grip her left breast firmly, kneading the soft flesh between his fingers before turning away from her and picking up the gunblade that had fallen with Catalina. He eyed the weapon, running a finger carefully along the edge of the blade. "Normally I wouldn't care, but this blade makes me wonder, just who the hell are you, cat? Obviously not a normal bounty hunter... this gunblade must have cost more to be crafted than you could earn in 10 years of your work." Catalina remained silent, just eyeing the wolf warily as he raised the weapon, carefully holding the flat of the blade in one hand and the handle in the other hand, before bringing it down onto his knee, snapping the sword in half. He just chuckled as he dropped the pieces to the floor. "It doesn't really matter who you are, though, and now its just a piece of junk."

Fierce chuckled at the older wolf's words before moving away, back behind Catalina. "Lets eat, bro. I'm hungry."

"Yeah, sure. But how about we let the kitten see what fate is in store for her?" Savage jerked the chains around, the feline gasping in pain at the strain on her injured body as she was spun around to face where the younger wolf had gone. It took several long moments for the scene there to register in her fogged mind, but when it did she felt like she was going to be sick.

An open fire pit had been created in the back of the barracks, with a large sturdy spit erected over it. A woman had a long pole driven through her lengthwise, either through her ass or pussy Catalina guessed, and back out her muzzle; and had been placed over the fire to slow cook. The rest of the women from the archeological crew that were still alive were also in the room, in various states of condition. All were naked and chained securely, and almost all looked as if they had been beaten severely. Fierce walked over to one, a young bear woman, and grabbed her firmly by the back of her head. It was obviously not the first time one of the women had been used sexually by the brothers as she obediently started lapping at his sheath without saying a word.

Savage grinned and ran his hands over Catalina's firm buttocks from behind, nibbling at the back of her neck. "I'm going to really enjoy fucking you, little kitten. Usually we only cook and eat prey, like that sexy little bunny up there now, but I figure that for you, we'll make an exception."

The feline heard his words, but her mind was elsewhere; the bear had finally managed to coax the wolf's cock out of his sheath and was now licking along its considerable length. As much as Catalina wanted to stop looking, she found herself unable to tear her gaze away from the scene before her. By the time the bear finally took Fierce's dick into her muzzle and started sucking, it was at least a foot and half long, and thicker than both of Catalina's wrists together.

She was suddenly snapped from her reverie by the feeling of Savage's hand between her legs, one thick finger working its way forcefully past her tight nether lips and into her warm folds until it pressed painfully against her hymen. The ocelot tried futilely to jerk back away from the probing digit as she mewled in pain. The massive wolf just barked a laugh as he slid his finger free from her aching cunt.

"Hey, Fierce, the kitten's a virgin. She's never been fucked before."

Fierce raised an eyebrow over at the bound feline before backhanding the bear soundly, knocking her away from him. He grinned as he walked over to the Catalina, his shaft slick with the bear's saliva. "A virgin? Ya don't say brother. Well, hell. That's just a shame for a pretty little cat like her. Guess the civil thing to do would be to take her now, then, rather than wait. It would really be a pity for any critter as pretty as this to succumb to death without ever bein properly fucked."

The younger of the wolves grabbed her thighs firmly, his massive hands almost reaching fully around her legs as he lifted and spread them. The action reawakened the pain Catalina's broken ribs and she cried out, tears forming in her eyes as she struggled uselessly against the canine's powerful grip. Her movements came to an abrupt halt at the feeling of Savage's powerful jaws closing around her neck from behind, biting down firmly as he stroked his hands over her ass. She could barely make out the words he growled around the flesh in his jaws, "Be still cat, or I'll snap your spine so you can't move."

Then she felt it, the thick head of Fierce's shaft pressing forcefully against her unyielding cunt lips. Heedless of her broken jaw, she screamed in pain as the wolf lunged forward with his hips, tearing her open as he plunged his cock into her depths. The pain of her lost hymen was unknown to her, lost amongst the waves of agony she felt as the wolf forced himself into her body, tearing her open relentlessly.

Behind her the elder canine parted her firm little buttocks with one hand, and wedged the head of his own shaft firmly against her puckered little anus. Her gripped her tail in his free hand and yanked it up high along her back, growling deeply as he jerked his hips forward and speared her virgin asshole with his cock. A fresh scream of pain ripped free from her throat as she started struggling again, tears pouring freely from her eyes now. The brothers continued to slam their cocks ever deeper into her body from both ends, blood running freely down her thighs from her ravaged cunt and ass, lubricating their cocks and aiding them in their rape.

Fierce soon pierced her cervix and filled her womb with his dick, and shifted his hands from her thighs to her hips. He started fucking her with long, rough strokes, pulling out of her body until only the head was nestled inside her soft folds, before thrusting back into her, filling her to the back of her womb with his throbbing meat.

Behind her, Savage was struggling to cram more of his cock into her abused body. Even with the lubrication of her blood he was having difficulty fucking more than half of his 2 foot cock into her small body. He released her tail to let it dangle limply, and slid his hands around her body to establish a grip on each of her firm tits. Using the new leverage he redoubled his efforts, and managed to work a few more inches of his hard cock into her bowels.

After what felt like an eternity to the small feline the two wolves gripped her body tighter than before, sinking their claws deep into her hips and breasts. They crushed her lithe body between theirs as their thrusts grew erratic, and they finally slammed roughly up into her, threw back their heads, and howled in unison as they filled her packed ass and cunt with their hot seed. Catalina could only whimper in pain as she found herself unable to breath with her face mashed into Fierce's chest. She struggled weakly to try and get some air down her throat as dark shadows passed in front of her eyes, and she found herself once more plunging into unconsciousness.

The sound of metal clashing on metal roused Catalina. For several seconds the only thing she could focus on was the pain in her body. A snarl of rage made her crack open her good eye, and she stared blurrily at the scene before her. One of the wolves, Fierce she realized after a moment, was on the ground, unmoving. Savage was wielding a large metal pipe, using it to fend off the blows of his aggressor. As big as the wolf was, even he was dwarfed by the feline that lashed out with a sword easily as big as Catalina herself.

The tiger looked like he was twice the ocelot's height; the sword he wielded with both hands was broad, 2 feet wide at the base of the double edged blade. A 4 inch wide blood channel ran up the middle of the length of the sword, with polished blue glass or crystal layered over it. Each edge of the sword ran to a separate tip that was spaced apart from another by the blood channel, which stopped another 4 inches below the tips. An odd blue gem was embedded into the base of the weapon, a couple inches over the long hilt wrapped in red leather strips that he held in both hands. He was dressed in loose, off-white cloth pants, a thick leather belt around his waist was adorned with pouches of various sizes and shapes, his upper body bare. The ocelot could see his powerful muscles tense beneath his fur with each strike of his blade. The massive feline sliced downwards with the sword, almost cleaving completely through the metal pole Savage raised to block the strike with.

A movement from the corner of her eye captured Catalina's attention. It was the younger wolf brother that she had thought dead. Fierce was dragging himself across the floor, towards her. A red smear of blood trailed behind his body. She couldn't understand why he would be trying to get to her; he didn't even look as if he were capable of standing.

The reason soon became obvious as he grabbed the lower end of her broken gunblade, and fumbled with the hilt. Panic rose in her as she realized that he intended to shoot the tiger. Who the other feline was she didn't know, but the she was pretty certain it would be more beneficial to her for him to be the victor of this fight. She tried to call out to warn the tiger of the attack from behind, only to find that her voice wouldn't cooperate. The spike of pain in her jaw made her certain that she would be unable to say anything. Catalina could only watch as the wolf figured out how to remove the safety on the trigger, and pushed himself up on his elbow to improve his aim. Then she saw her chance as he raised himself; and ignoring the pain in her side and arm that caused spots to dance in her vision, she lashed out as hard as she could with her feet to kick Fierce solidly in the side of the head.

Had the wolf not already been injured, the blow from the weakened feline would have been practically unnoticed by him. In Fierce's current state it knocked him back to the ground in a snarl of rage and frustration, and the gunblade hilt slipped from his paw to clatter across the floor.

The tiger's ears twitched at the snarl and he gave another powerful blow to the pole in Savage's hands, finally rending the metal and hacking down into the older wolf's shoulder. Fierce scrambled for the hilt as the tiger ripped the blade free from Savage's flesh and aimed the tips of the sword at the smaller wolf. The blue gem at the base of the blade glowed briefly before a burst of azure lightning shot up the blood channel and through the air, ripping into Fierce's chest and throwing the wolf against the far wall with enough force to crack the concrete.

Even as Savage stood back up, bleeding heavily from his shoulder, the tiger flipped the sword in his hands and drove it back behind him, slamming it through the elder wolf's belly and embedding it into the concrete wall behind him. The canine choked as he grabbed futilely at the sides of the blade, claws scraping over the now dull stone set in the base. Blood dribbled from the edges of his muzzle as his eyes started to fog over in death, and after a few seconds his body went limp. Only then did the feline remove his sword from Savage's corpse and set it carefully aside, before removing a small metal cylinder from a pouch on his belt.

He looked Catalina in the eyes as he flicked a loop of metal off the top of the canister, releasing the gas inside. As the building filled with the dense yellowish fog, Catalina felt her eyelids grow heavy. Soon she was asleep, along with the hostages that had been taken.

The ocelot woke slowly. She yawned, and started to stretch before pain lanced through her side and jaw at the movements, making her gasp. At the same time, the events of the last few days surfaced in her mind, the fur along the back of her neck standing on end. She kept still for a moment, straining to hear anything from within or outside of the room. When she couldn't hear anything, she raised her head slowly to see where she was, and to take stock of her situation.

She had been bandaged up, her right side taped tightly before being wrapped in strips of cloth, her right wrist braced with wooden splints and secured with more wrappings. Her right shoulder was also wrapped tightly in gauze, bandaging the wounds from her fight with Chaos as well as holding her previously dislocated shoulder firmly in place. Her forehead had been shaved along the edges of the wound there, as well as the other more serious rends in her flesh across her body, and were covered in strips of cloth that was held in place around the edges by tape. Other than the bandages, the feline was still naked, only a thin sheet covering her below the waist.

The room Catalina was in was shared by a few other people that she recognized as the more seriously injured of the hostages the wolf brothers had taken. They had their injuries treated as well. She could only guess that she was probably still inside the barracks, as the walls were the same dusty concrete she had become used to over the last two days. Her ears pricked up as she heard the door open, and turned her head to gaze at the tiger as he walked into the room. She laid her head back down, head turned so she could watch him warily as he walked over and took a seat by her bed.

The tiger just eyed her, looking her over slowly. "So. What am I to do with you, little cat?" Catalina could only watch him, having no answer to his question, as he continued to speak. "You might have saved my life back there. But then again, I have now done the same for you."

Catalina started to open her muzzle to speak, and winced in pain, giving up that idea immediately and just letting her eyes slip closed. The tiger watched her and gave a soft sigh, before shaking his head. "Don't try to talk. Your jaw is cracked. Nothing I can do for that, you just need to try to rest it, and probably eat through a straw." He just sighed again and eyed her some more. "You're a bounty hunter, aren't you?" She gave a soft nod in response to his question. "Then you would know who the Renegades are."

The ocelot cracked her eyes back open, eyeing the tiger. Of course she knew who the Renegades were. An organization that was dedicated to the fall of what small amount of order the Archacy kept in place, a group who maimed, slaughtered, and killed everyone they were unable to covert to their cause. They were known as pirates, thieves, murderers and bandits. Who exactly made up the organization wasn't known. They operated out of the Burning Lands primarily, though they occasionally made raids into the Frozen Tundra as well. The reward for solid information on the Renegades, or the identities of any of the members, was a tidy sum indeed; the reward for bringing in a captive who could have reliable information drawn from him was enough to live comfortably off of for several months. Any information about the Renegades that the Archacy was willing to buy was a bounty hunter's dream come true. The look in her eyes answered the Tiger's question, even before she gave a hesitant nod.

The tiger nodded as well as he sat back, brows furrowed in thought. "Then what should I do with you, little cat? Unlike the diggers here, you can hardly be trusted to return to the government you serve." The larger cat sighed and stood up, pacing slowly by her bed as she watched through slit eyes. Finally the wolf stopped and shook his head before sitting back beside her. "You killed Kar. You survived his elder brothers' not so tender treatment. You're obviously talented, and strong. I do not want to have to kill you, little cat. So I'm asking you to come with me. Forget the Archacy's lies and see what we are really about. I'm not asking you to join us. Only to see who we are, and learn what our goals are. We are not who the Archacy makes us out to be."

What choice did she have? She mused, at least by agreeing, she might have the chance to escape later on. She gave a slight nod as her eyes closed fully, and she drifted back to sleep.

When she awoke again, she was surprised to find that she actually felt somewhat refreshed, and not so surprised to find that she was quite hungry. Carefully sitting up and pulling back the sheets that covered her lower half she found that her right ankle had also been braced and wrapped tightly. She turned her body slowly so her legs dangled off the edge of the bed, and stepped gingerly out with her left foot, testing to make certain it would support her weight. Once she was sure of her ability to at least stand, she pushed herself up with her left arm and stood, using her tail and right leg to balance while keeping most of her weight on her left foot. She looked around carefully to something to use as a crutch, and gave a small sigh when she realized that the room was empty of any such items. She sat back down carefully on the edge of the bed and just waited for the tiger's return.

Catalina experimentally tried moving her jaw and winced at the pain of it, though she was pleasantly surprised to find the pain wasn't as bad as it had been before. That knowledge, coupled with her sudden realization that she was alone in the room, caused her to wonder just how long she had been asleep.

She turned her head to look as the door opened and the tiger strode in, watching her curiously. "You're finally awake again. How are you feeling this morning, little cat?" Catalina gave him a soft scowl, running her right hand through her platinum hair, claws catching on several knots in the process. She talked slowly, and quietly, trying to move her jaw in the least amount possible. "My name is Catalina... I'm doing better." She sighed, very gently rubbing the bottom of her muzzle. The tiger grinned a bit as he sat down by the bed again. "Catalina, huh? Rather unimaginative name. I'm Manyr. You hungry?" The ocelot nodded slowly, and then gave a soft squeal of surprise as he lifted her small body into his arms, carrying her carefully out of the room and back into the barracks hall.

"When you're done, we're leaving. You've been drifting in and out of consciousness for a week now, healing up. We've been here too long and we need to get going." The smaller feline just snuggled carefully against the chest of the larger one, keeping still, though the thought of just who was in danger of being caught here crossed her mind. The Archacy would certainly want his head on a plate, if he was really in league with the Renegades, but she would have nothing to fear from them. The thoughts went unspoken however, as she was carried into the mess hall and deposited gently onto one of the benches at the long tables.

Manyr disappeared into the kitchen, returning a few minutes later with a bowl of hot oatmeal, which he deposited on the table before her. "I figure that should be easy enough for you to eat." Catalina gave a scowl as she started to eat carefully. Easy to eat it was, but appetizing it wasn't. Still, it took the edge off her hunger and gave Manyr time to find her a lightweight metal rod that he was able to bend at the top to form a crude crutch for her. While she hobbled around experimentally she found that she had to grip the top of it under her shoulder as the damage to her left wrist made it too difficult to grip the smooth metal. Fortunately, her wrapped shoulder seemed up to the task and she quickly figured out how to move with relative ease on her own. As she learned to use the crutch, Manyr helped himself to the last of the stew he had prepared a day earlier.

Finally they were ready to leave the dig site. The tiger donned a dusty tan cloak similar to what Catalina had worn while traveling, while the ocelot was forced to improvise. She had to settle for wearing a large piece of torn sheet tied around her waist to form a skirt, with another wide strip of cloth tied around her chest. It offered little modesty and even less protection, but there were no clothes to be found in the barracks that could be made to fit her. Manyr insisted on carrying the smaller cat, his sword across his back, under the cloak, with her 'crutch' dangling from his belt. He held her small form easily against his chest in his left arm, under the cloak, while he kept hold of the large bag slung over his shoulder with his right hand.

Despite the mixture of feelings at being carried, ranging from embarrassed to annoyed to coddled, Catalina had to admit that they moved quickly, and she couldn't help but feel impressed at the larger cat's strength and stamina. At some point she had dozed off against him, the long and unbroken stride of the tiger taking them farther out into the desert, towards the sun and away from the Dusk Strip. He traveled tirelessly for hours, covering about 40 kilometers before he stopped for rest. The ocelot woke as she was lowered into the soft sand.

Manyr settled down to munch idly on some dried meat as he passed a food bag to her from inside the duffle bag he was carrying. Catalina blinked, and accepted the bag, nosing through it until she found some soft bread that she felt she could manage to chew without much pain. They ate in silence as the unending sun beat down on them. It wasn't until they had fulfilled their hunger and quenched their thirsts before she carefully got to her feet and hobbled over to sit next to the tiger. "How much further?" Manyr just shook his head and stood back up, stretching. "It'll be a few more hours still. Lets go."

She blinked at him in surprise, having expected him to get some proper rest before continuing, and marveled once more at his seemingly endless stamina. Shortly after she found herself again cradled against his chest in his left arm; covered by his cloak as he trekked through the desert.

They had been traveling for another 4 hours or so when he stopped, and gently set her down on her feet. She frowned, and stuck her head out of the front of his cloak to look around, only to have him pull her back within the confines as he kneeled down. "There's a sandstorm coming, little cat. Might be a decent time to get some proper sleep before we get home."

She nodded a little as he removed several short poles from his bag, connected them together to make 2 longer poles, and drove them into the sand. The tiger draped his cloak over the poles to make a small shelter that was about 3 feet high at one side, and sloped down to the sand on the other. Once he was done with the improvised tent, he lay down on the elevated side and proceeded to fall asleep. Catalina sat beside him, listening to the howling wind that whipped at the outside of the cloak as she wondered just how long the storm would last. It was common knowledge that they could blow for days before finally subsiding. The storm still had not stopped by the time Manyr woke back up. The sand being blown onto the cloak had lessened the intensity of the wind striking against the shelter, but it could still be clearly heard raging outside.

The tiger scowled, rubbing under his chin as he sat and seemed to consider their options. Finally he shook his head and reached into his bag to pull out a pair of tinted goggles. "I'm not gonna sit around waiting for this thing to let up. We should only be about an hour from the base." Catalina frowned at that a little. "Won't you get lost in the storm? You can't see anything out there." Manyr only grinned at her a little, showing his teeth before wrapping his head and face loosely in cloth, obscuring his features. With the goggles covering his eyes, his body would be completely hidden once the cloak was worn again. "We'll be okay. Trust me." The ocelot could only shake her head in disbelief, and sigh. She didn't have a choice in the matter, it seemed.

A bit later they were on the move again, the small woman yet again held in the larger feline's left arm as he trekked slowly across the desert, forcing himself onwards against the force of the wind. Sand whipped around them so thickly that they could see no more than a few feet before everything ended in a hazy wall of orange and brown. The sun was completely blocked out; the temperature had dropped about 20 degrees within the storm. Progress was much slower than it had been before, and from within the safety of the confines of the tiger's cloak, Catalina had to wonder how he could possibly find his way. Yet find his way he apparently did, as nearly two hours later he came to a stop, the storm still surging around them.

Catalina frowned up at his neck where the cloak ended at, wishing she could see his face, to find out whether he was conceding that they were lost, or they had actually arrived at their destination successfully. She let out a surprised squeak as the ground started moving under them, and she stared wide eyed at the ground under the tiger's feet. Yet, the sands there were still, despite the fact she could definitely feel the force of them moving downward quickly. As quickly as it had started, the feeling of falling stopped, despite neither she nor the tiger having made any movements at all; and then she was being carefully put down on her feet as Manyr drew the cloak back with his right hand.

They were inside a small room, with walls made of concrete supported by metal beams embedded in the corners. Looking up she saw the ceiling for the half of the room in front of them was about 10 feet; the roof above the part of the room they stood in went much, much higher. She had to strain to see the metal ceiling in the darkness above, at least 80 feet up.

She blinked as Manyr handed her the crutch and walked forward, stepping out of the area of the floor they were on that was covered in sand. She hobbled slowly after him as he walked over to the far wall. She could see no door there, just an odd rectangle on the wall, about a foot wide and high, covered in what looked like dark glass. The tiger pressed his palm firmly against the glass, and Catalina could see a green glow emanate from behind his paw. After a few seconds she heard a low rumbling and grinding sound, like metal rubbing hard against metal, from both behind her and in front of her. She couldn't see anything happening ahead of them, so she glanced back to see the floor they had just been standing on rising straight up into the air, moving up into the higher ceiling of the room.

Manyr gave the wall in front of him a hard kick, catching the ocelot's attention and bringing her head back around in time to see a door slide open before them. The smaller cat was stunned as she hobbled through the door after the tiger. She had never seen anything like this before, floors that moved and doors that opened, or were supposed to open, on their own; it was as if she had just dropped into another world. The hallway they walked into had clean metal walls in contrast to the dusty concrete of the previous room. It was brightly lit, with doors set into the walls at even intervals; some with the same glass panel that she had seen by the first door, and some just had a simple button on the wall beside them.

The tiger strode purposefully forward, leading her down the hallway, and down another, and then down several more. Catalina had no idea if he was purposely leading her in circles simply to make her feel lost and confused, but that was certainly what she felt like was going on. Most of the doors they passed simply had numbers on them, but some were labeled with the name of the section behind the door. Most of those doors were only one or two to a hallway, an indicator that they were much larger on the other side than the simple, numbered doors.

Finally they came to a single door set into the middle of a hallway with a large red cross etched into the center, with the word 'clinic' near the top of the door. Manyr activated the switch and the door slid open smoothly to admit them inside.

The doctor seated behind his desk inside, an old graying fox, glanced up from the paperwork he was filling out. His eyes briefly glanced between them as Catalina limped up to stand beside Manyr, leaning heavily on her crutch. After a moment the doctor gave a soft sigh and shook his head. "If you keep just bringing in strays all the time, you're gonna get booted out by the boss. You know he hates it when you do this." The tiger just grinned, and shrugged. "He'll probably hate this one even more than usual, actually. Mind patching her up a bit more while I go get him?" The fox gave a non-committal shrug before waving off towards a curtained off section. "Go lay down and I'll be there in a minute, miss."

Catalina gave a little nod as she moved to do as she was told. Manyr just grinned a bit more, and strode back out of the clinic to go find his boss. A few minutes later the elderly fox slipped through the curtain to eye her, and went about removing the pieces of sheet she had used to cloth herself, followed by her bandages and splints. He made quiet tsk'ing sounds as he looked over her injuries, and proceeded to take her wrist in his hand, followed by her ankle. He rubbed his fingers gently over her broken bones, checking that they were set and healing properly before reapplying a splint to them. He examined her ribs, again running his fingers over each one on her left side, accompanied by several winces and whimpers of pain from Catalina. Lastly he examined her shoulder and jaw, the latter bringing more pained cries from the young woman as he turned her head side to side and slowly worked her lower jaw open and closed. Finally he finished marking down his findings on the clipboard he carried with him, and just sat by the ocelot fem, pushing his glasses up his muzzle.

"Would you like the good news, or the bad, miss?" Catalina frowned at him a little, and just gave a little shake of her head. The fox apparently took this to mean the bad news first. "Your not gonna be doing very much for a couple weeks. Most of the ribs on your left side are broken, your shoulder hasn't quite finished healing up, nor has your ankle or your jaw, and your wrist is fractured. The good news is that you should heal fully, probably with no permanent damage from your injuries." The fox gave another shrug as he stood. "Assuming of course the Boss doesn't just have you killed. But if he Okays you, then I'll be back in to change your bandages and clean you up." Then the fox was gone, slipping back out of the curtain and returning to his desk, leaving Catalina lying back on the bed. She sighed, and pulled a sheet over her naked body before relaxing in the bed to wait.

Her ears perked at the sound of the door opening again, and she again wondered how they opened on their own like that. She could hear muffled words exchanged with the doctor before Manyr pulled back the curtain to look at her. He had changed into clean clothes, a pair of baggy, black cloth pants, tied at the waist with a white sash. However her attention was quickly diverted from the tiger and her eyes went wide as she beheld the creature standing immediately behind him.

The dragon was easily 12 feet tall, his body mass exceeding anything she had ever seen in her life, including the typically large creatures such as bears and equines. The color of his scales made a smooth transition from black to a deep scarlet along his lower arms, tail, neck, and legs. Long black hair fell straight back over his shoulders, flowing down to the middle of his back. Deep yellow eyes, almost orange in color, peered at her intently as if burning straight into her very soul. His black wings were folded snuggly against his back, arms crossed over a chest that looked as if it had been chiseled from stone. He wore only a pair of baggy black pants similar to Manyr's, though his was tied with a sash of crimson that matched the color of his scales where they faded.

The tiger flashed her a grin, offering a half bow. "Catalina, meet our boss. He'll decide what's to be done with you." With that he ducked around the dragon, and disappeared from her view as the reptile took a couple steps forward, the length of his stride bringing him to the edge of her bed.

The dragon continued to regard her silently, and Catalina felt sick to her stomach. She couldn't block the waves of fear rising through her body, the fur on the back of her neck standing on end as she shivered, but continued to force herself to meet his amber gaze.

A dragon! The dragon race was exceedingly rare, though not because of being of particularly low numbers. They kept to themselves, inhabiting the furthest reaches of the Burning Lands, the center of the desert where the heat was strong enough to kill a normal fur within minutes. Hence, they were almost creatures of legend, known to exist, but the stories and rumors of who they were and what they could do ran across the spectrum of the imagination. Catalina had never seen one of their kind before, most never did, but now there was one before her, and he would be making the decision whether she lived or died.

For his part, the fire lizard simply regarded her emotionlessly, easily picking up her feelings and emotions. It wasn't difficult; the smell of her fear permeated the air. After several moments he took a seat on the floor by her bed, sitting cross-legged. There was no way the available chair would hold his bulk and besides, even seated on the floor his head was still higher than Catalina's as she lay on the bed. When he finally spoke, she was almost surprised at the soft rumble of his voice. It was decidedly un-serpent-like, with no hint of the typical underlying hiss that most reptiles had.

"You are a hunter. We have every reason to assume that if you were ever released from here, you would report to the Archacy everything you have seen. Obviously, we can't allow that. So it comes down to me to make a decision on whether or not I think you are a danger to us. Manyr wants to teach you about us and our cause in the hopes that you will become a member." The dragon paused to gauge her response, and finding none he continued. "Truth be told, you don't know anything about us that is particularly harmful. If we blindly released you into the desert near a town, I doubt you would ever be capable of finding your way back here. Thus far you have seen a tiger, a fox, and me; and you only have the name of the tiger. There is really no way the Archacy could use what little you have to tell them, against us. So; I leave you with a decision. You may either be released, near what you call the 'Dusk Strip' and civilization, to find your way home from there, or you may stay and see what we are truly about. If you stay, however, it will likely be a very long time before you will be allowed to leave the base again; until we feel that you are fully trustworthy. I will give you until tomorrow to make your decision, Catalina."

He didn't give her the chance to ask any questions. The dragon simply rose from the floor and walked silently past the curtain, and out the door of clinic to leave her alone with the doctor.

Another few minutes passed, as Catalina ran the dragon's words through her head, considering his offer. Then the doctor once more entered the curtained off area, a roll of tape and several rolls of bandages in his hands, which he set aside. "Seems I'm bandaging you back up after all, kitten." He worked from top to bottom, tightly wrapping her shoulder and applying a new brace to her wrist before taping up her broken ribs. A piece of tape ran from her spine across her side, between each rib, to the middle of her chest or stomach. It applied pressure to keep the broken ribs securely in place, to allow them to heal properly. He finished by wrapping her torso in bandages, more for her modesty than anything. They couldn't be wrapped too tightly, or it would constrict her breathing and risk causing further injury to her ribs, and possibly her lungs. The new brace for her ankle was last, the rest of her flesh wounds he had decided had healed enough by now to go without bandages.

"I'll see what I can find for you in the way of clothes, and bring you back something to eat. Don't leave this office. I would hate to have to bother security to have you watched over." The doctor gave her a pat on the head before leaving the clinic, the door swishing quietly shut behind him. Catalina wrapped the sheet around her body before sitting up carefully, and sighing. She had spent the majority of the past week sleeping, and she was starting to feel restless. She needed to get up and do something; though she had no idea what. Her injuries severely limited what she was capable of doing, and the restrictions on her in this place more or less eliminated the remaining options.

She was still considering and discarding ideas when the fox returned. He pulled back the curtain to her room and pushed in a simple cart. There was some clothing on the lower half, and a large bowl of soup on top, steam still wafting lazily upwards from it. "Eat up and get changed. No idea what your clothing preferences are, but there's no real dress code around here. Most go for these loose, lightweight clothes like the boss and your tiger were wearing." Then he was back at his desk, once more filling out paperwork, paying her no mind at all.

Catalina pulled out the clothes, and laid them over the bed to see what had been found for her. As the fox had said, the pants were of the same baggy, cloth type that had been worn by Manyr and the dragon. Hers though were off-white, and much smaller to fit her body, with a sash of the same color. The ocelot pulled them on quickly, finding they fit her well, and allowed relatively unrestricted movement. In all honesty, they reminded her of what she would typically wear while working out. The top found for her was the same off-white color, a tank top with no sleeves that ended at midriff. If she bounced around too much, the bottom of her breasts would be visible for anyone watching; but that didn't seem too likely to be a problem with her injuries. It was cut low enough to show some cleavage as well, though not enough to be considered particularly flashy or improper.

Catalina lay back down and gently lifted the bowl of soup from the cart, sniffing it curiously. Soup seemed likely to be the wrong word for it, as it was actually a meat broth of some sort. She drank carefully from the bowl, being cautious of her lower jaw. The broth was mildly seasoned and actually tasted quite good. The ocelot let out a soft purr as she drank it down, the small bits of tender meat floating in the broth providing her no difficulty in swallowing. Once the bowl had been drained she set it back onto the cart and laid back down on the bed, staring at the ceiling as she considered the dragon's options for her.

Being a hunter, for her, was only the means she had chosen to arrive at the end she wanted. She had no true loyalty to the Archacy, and the money she made from her profession was only a bonus on the side. On the other hand, joining a bunch of criminals and terrorists wouldn't help her to achieve her goals either... would it? The dragon and the tiger had both said that they weren't what the Archacy made them out to be. So perhaps these rebels would be able to help her towards her own goal. After a bit she drifted to sleep, her decision made even as the different pros and cons continued to weigh back and forth in her mind.

When Catalina awoke the next morning, she was surprised to find a covered plate on the bedside table. She stretched in bed as only a feline can before sitting up and uncovering her breakfast. A simple affair, eggs and oatmeal; while she wasn't enthusiastic over the oatmeal she had to acknowledge there just wasn't much out there that could be eaten while trying not to chew. The feline was about halfway through her oatmeal, having already downed the eggs, when she heard the clinic door open. A few moments later the dragon pushed his head through the curtains to look at her, and seemingly satisfied that she was awake and dressed, he pulled the curtain open. The ocelot eyed him, remaining silent as she continued to eat, leaving it to him to be the first to speak. However, the reptile seemed content to just watch her, and wait patiently for her to finish her meal.

When she had finished eating she set the plate and bowl back onto the bedside table and frowned up at the dragon, ears twitching, waiting for him to say something. The lizard smiled down at her and seated himself again on the floor. "So, what have you decided?" Catalina smiled a bit and bowed her head slightly. "I would like to stay." The dragon nodded a little, seeming unsurprised by the answer. "When your jaw has healed, I'll want to know why you wish to stay. At the moment, I suspect it would cause you discomfort to explain it all to me." He stood, and eyed her, then the doctor. "She needs a crutch. I'm giving her a room in the base." The fox nodded and rose to walk over to a closet and retrieve a simple, lightweight metal crutch, returning to hand it to Catalina. The dragon turned and strode purposefully out of the clinic, though he kept his pace slow for the feline to keep up with him.

They walked through more of the same hallways she had seen when she first arrived, the difference now being that while the halls she had walked through before had been empty, now there were the occasional furs walking down them. She was starting to wonder if the first area was left intentionally vacant to prevent newcomers from seeing too much when the dragon came to an abrupt stop in front of one of the smaller, numbered doors. "This is your room. Put your hand on that panel over there and it will learn your hand print. Then you can put your hand on it again to open the door."

The ocelot did as she was told, pressing her left hand against the panel, watching a red glimmer of light pass underneath her paw before she removed her hand. The second time she pressed her hand against the panel, a gleam of green light flickered under the darkened glass, and the door slid open. The dragon nodded slightly and beckoned into the room. "This is your new home. Make yourself comfortable. Manyr will be by in a bit to show you around the base." Then he was gone, striding back down the hallway, leaving Catalina to herself. She hobbled into the room, the door sliding shut behind her as she looked around.

The room was simple, small, and undecorated. There was a bed for her, and some simple furniture; a bedside drawer, a larger dresser, and a chair with a small table in the corner. She peeked into the small room that was connected to it and looked around curiously.

This one was tiled on the floors and walls instead of being made of metal like the rest of the area. There was what looked like the seat of an outhouse there, with a high up bowl beside it that had a curve of metal arching over the top of it, and then there was a small curtained off area with a hole in the floor that also had an arch of metal emerging from the wall of it. Built into the wall beside the curtained off section was a small closet. All of the items had handles of different types, the bowl and the curtained area each had two, the ones on the left had a circle of red on them, and the ones on the right had blue. The handle on the outhouse seat was attached to a large porcelain box fixed to the back of the seat. She glanced down into the seat and gave a soft frown, the hole was far too shallow to be of practical use, unless one was expected to remove the waste from it and put it elsewhere. Still, she desperately needed to relieve herself. Once she had done her business she dropped the lid on it, and left the contents for the moment to continue exploring the small room. She stepped into the curtained off area and examined the handles there curiously before reaching up and twisting the blue ringed one.

The surprised, and slightly enraged, howls of the ocelot could be heard far up and down the hallway outside her room, turning the heads of the few furs in the area curiously towards her door.

Manyr activated her door and stepped inside, blinking as he looked around to find Catalina sitting on the bed, knees up against her chest with her arms around her legs, soaked and shivering. It only took a moment to figure out what had happened, it actually wasn't all that rare a thing for newcomers to be unused to how to work the bathroom; somehow though, the petition to put instructions in the bathrooms kept getting buried. He gently lifted the smaller feline into his arms and took her back into the bathroom, ignoring her yowls of protest at what she thought was the coming torture.

After a brief crash course on using the bathroom, including flushing the toilet which had sent her scrambling back into the bedroom and hiding under the bed at the sound, he stepped out of the room to let her get cleaned up and changed.

The ocelot had no idea that simply learning a new way to clean up could be so tiring; or so terrifying. Still, once she'd learned to regulate the water temperature she'd found the shower to be rather nice as it warmed her flesh and gave her body a much needed cleaning. The towels were equally delightful, the large fluffy patches of cloth much better at drying her fur than the thin rags she was used to using after a bath in a large bucket of often stale water. She mused that already life seemed to be a bit of an improvement with these rebels, and yet she couldn't help wondering how it was they had so much going on here that didn't seem to exist elsewhere.

Catalina looked through the dresser that had been stocked with clothing for her, finally settling on a tan pair of the now familiar loose cloth pants that matched her fur well, and a matching tank top that actually covered her torso completely, though it was a little tighter and showed the curves of her breasts more than the looser and shorter top had. She finished it off with a white sash that matched her hair and hobbled to the door, wincing with each step. Her bandages had come off in the shower, and her ribs were protesting her every motion more than ever without the support of the tape holding them in place. Obviously these 'showers' were going to be a rare thing for her until she finished healing up, or else she'd have to be getting new bandages applied daily.

Manyr led her to the clinic on the main side of the base, a much larger and more heavily used facility than the fox's clinic near the entrance. As such Catalina had to wait nearly a half hour before it was her turn to hobble back behind a curtain, and get patched back up. This doctor was also kind enough to provide her with a sheet of plastic with a velcro like edging that she could put over her bandaged ribs while bathing, to prevent them from getting wet. The edging stuck fine to her fur on it's own, but could be easily removed without taking her fur with it.

Her crutch was being carried in Manyr's right hand, his left keeping a gentle grip around her upper arm, helping to steady and support her as they moved through the base. This allowed for her to be able to move much easier and faster than she could have with only the crutch to aid her. They had started the tour with the cafeteria, sitting down for a quick lunch that consisted of more broth for the smaller feline, and steak and potatoes for the tiger. She'd practically drooled over his meal, but the knowledge of how much it would hurt to try and eat that steak kept her silent and grateful for her broth. As it had been a bit later than the normal lunch hours, they had been left alone to eat undisturbed.

Their next stop had been something he called the library. It had been an absolutely massive room, lined inside with wood paneling instead of the metal plating she'd seen everywhere else. On one side of the library walls were lined with shelf after shelf of books, most looking as if they were ready to fall apart at a moment's notice from old age. The other side had shelves full of slim boxes made of metal and some other material, lighter than metal, a little more pliable, but still sturdy and not easily broken. Each of the boxes was about a half inch thick, 4 inches wide and 6 inches high. There was a panel of glass that covered almost all of one side of the box, and they had a small switch on their left side. She could see someone in another corner of the room, a rabbit, staring intently at the box as a soft glow lit up his face. The tiger explained to her that they were similar to the books, but instead of being made of paper they were made of metal and plastic, and the words were hard coded into it. The display on the front would cycle the words line by line, allowing for the book to be read. They called them E-books, short for electronic books. The E-books were available for reading, but the real books were there more for show than anything. They were hundreds of years old, and therefore were very delicate.

After the library she had been taken the gym, another massive room that had been separated into two parts. The larger side contained all kinds of equipment she had never seen before, as well as the more standard weights she was used to. That area itself had its tour as the tiger showed Catalina the different pieces of equipment and gave her a description of the use of each. There were treadmills for running, and other bulky pieces of metal and cables that seemed to each be designed for exercising any specific portion of the body.

Manyr paused outside the door that separated the two parts of the gym, giving a soft sigh as if he were apprehensive about what lay beyond. "This is the training room, where our mistress conducts her combat training with her students. She should be finishing up with her current pupil about now. Make certain your polite with her, or she'll use training as an excuse to give you a good thrashing." The smaller feline could have sworn from the way he said it, that he knew this from experience. Then the tiger opened to door and ushered her inside. It was a good sized room beyond the door, about 40 feet square, the walls and floor padded with mats. In the middle of the room stood a mouse and a wolverine, talking to each other in hushed tones.

Catalina took back the crutch from Manyr and hung back, waiting until they were done talking before approaching, and offering the wolverine female a brief bow of her head. The mouse just raised an eyebrow, stepping back to watch with a humored smile. "Mistress, my name is Catalina and..." She was cut off by Manyr dropping his hand onto her shoulder, clearing his throat softly. "Ah... that's the pupil, kitten." The ocelot jerked her head up in surprise at the giggling wolverine, then stared dumbfounded at the grinning mouse. She heard the wolverine girl move off and wander out of the room, and continued to stare at the mouse. The rodent was even smaller than the ocelot, she couldn't be more than four and half feet tall, and that included her ears! Admittedly she was muscled, but it was lean and subtle muscle, not the bulging biceps like the tiger had. Catalina shook her head slightly, unable to believe that the petite woman in front of her was someone to be so feared. "Is this some kind of joke?"

Manyr groaned inwardly, why did it seem like no one ever took this seriously? He just shook his head and sighed at the smaller feline. "No... it's not a joke Catalina. This is Kaley Marie, our primary hand to hand combat instructor." The black furred mouse just giggled softly as she walked over to look up at the ocelot. "Everyone calls me 'mistress' though. At least, until they can beat me; and only the Boss has done that. Buuuuuuut..." She paused to give Manyr a rather evil looking grin. "Obviously you need a demonstration." This time the tiger didn't bother to hide his groan.

Catalina found herself seated near the door, Manyr and Kaley Marie spaced a few feet apart from each in the center of the room, facing each other. The ocelot girl just shook her head; she couldn't believe that the mouse could defeat the tiger. Even though she herself was smaller than the majority of those she had fought and defeated, at least she had the added benefit of her fangs and claws, and her weapons. Then the spar started and she jerked her head up to watch.

Manyr seemed obviously hesitant to go on the offensive, and it was the mouse that made the first attack. She lunged inwards, her speed catching both felines by surprise as she closed the distance between them in a heartbeat, twisting her body around the tiger's attempt to grab her shoulder with his left hand, and slammed her foot firmly into the side of Manyr's knee. He snarled in pain, jerking around to slash at where she had been a moment ago, to find her gone, a few paces off to his side, hopping idly from one foot to the other with a grin plastered across her face. "That's strike one, Stripes."

Kaley Marie gave him a moment to resume his combat stand, and they circled one another slowly, each watching the other for an opening. This time it was Manyr who struck, feinting a lunge before falling back and sweeping his legs at her feet. The petite woman leaped nimbly over his legs and onto his chest, pushing him firmly to the floor before she leaped clear of him, her tail whipping down and giving him a firm strike across his nose. Once more the cat yowled in pain as he pushed himself back up to his feet, rubbing his sore nose. Kaley Marie giggled at him maliciously. "Strike two, Stripes."

Wearily Manyr again adopted his stance, but this time the mouse didn't give him a chance to rest. She lunged in once more, sidestepping his defensive strikes until she was close enough slam both hands firmly into his stomach, palms outward. Whatever happened at that moment, it happened too quickly for Catalina to see. One moment Kaley Marie was stepping up to the tiger, the next the tiger had been pitched quite forcefully forward through the air, to slam firmly against the padded wall as she called out triumphantly, "Strike Three!"

The ocelot girl could only gape as the mouse straightened up, and went through the motions of dusting her hands off against each other before sauntering over to the smaller feline with a grin. "Any more doubts about my qualifications?" Catalina just shook her head, at a complete loss for words as she realized that the mouse hadn't even broken a sweat beating down the larger cat!

Manyr scowled softly as he sat down to rest in the weight room portion of the gym, the smaller feline sitting beside him, gazing up at him curiously. "What did she do in there, Manyr? HOW did she do that?" The tiger blinked down at her, and offered a shrug. "She's been enhanced. But I'll explain more about that later, along with what the Renegade's purpose is. After the tour. Trust me, you want to get the less confusing stuff out of the way first..." Catalina could only sigh, and nod. Once the larger feline had caught his breath, they were on the move again, walking through seemingly endless hallways.

It seemed to the ocelot that they had visited the most interesting places first. The rest of the tour was a bit of a blur to the feline. They had visited the laundry where she had been given another crash course in how to operate the machines that cleaned and dried clothing, and Manyr had taken her by the recreation area where furs milled about, playing card or board games with each other. The tiger had conspiratorially whispered to her that she should join them for strip poker on Friday nights; a thought that had caused the insides of her ears to burn red as she blushed at his provocative statement.

Catalina stifled a yawn as they left the rec room, and Manyr took a moment to count off locations on his fingers. "Mess, Clinic, Laundry, Library, Rec, and Gym... that's about it for the non-business areas I think. Mmmm... let's go get a bite to eat, relax a little and I'll answer the questions I'm sure you have." The ocelot gave a little nod and nuzzled her head against his left arm as he helped her back to the Cafeteria. Honestly, with so many turns and hallways, she wasn't sure if she could find anything any better now than she could before, but at least she knew what she would be looking for.

They had finished eating their dinner in the cafeteria, more broth for Catalina with some soft bread and a heavy stew for Manyr. The tiger seemed content to take his time getting comfortable, propping his feet up onto the table they were at as he leaned back in his seat. The smaller feline watched him curiously, and a little anxiously. She was about the find out just what it was she had joined here, was about to be told just what her new purpose in life had become. As for Manyr, he simply seemed to ignore her for a few minutes, a look on his face as if he were trying to organize his thoughts, and figure out just where to begin the story.

Finally, he looked at her, and gave a soft sigh. "Before I begin, I should warn you. You'll need to keep your mind open about what I'm going to tell you. Most, if not all, of what you're about to hear is unbelievable sounding, at best. At worst, your going to think we're a bunch of crazies who have been collectively hit in the head a bit too hard, a few too many times." Catalina gave him a brief nod of understanding, and waited for him to continue.

Manyr spent another few moments collecting his thoughts, staring absentmindedly at a blank spot on the wall as he started talking. "This planet was not always as it is now; and we are not the original species inhabiting it. Long ago, we were simple animals, crawling across the earth on all fours, much like the prey we now hunt, and the herds we breed for food. Our kind is the result of the dominant species before us, before the world underwent cataclysmic changes. We, Catalina, were bred. Created from animals long extinct now; manipulated to give us a form like that of our creators."

Catalina stared openly at him in disbelief. Heedless of her reaction, he continued speaking. "This all happened at least 800 years ago. When it was exactly, we don't know, but we know that was the earliest it could have been. For reasons we don't know, the planet was going to undergo changes that would wipe out all life on it; that would devastate it and create the planet we live on now. We can only assume that the previous species knew this would happen, and decided to create us; a species that would be capable of surviving on the new world." Manyr gave a grim smile. "We don't know why. If they had the ability to create us, one would think they could have... altered... themselves to survive as well. But they didn't. Instead they resigned to their fate, and left a world that is barely inhabitable for a race that would be capable of living on it."

The ocelot growled softly, and shook her head. "That's not right. It can't be right. The Archacy..." Manyr chuckled quietly at that and shook his head. "We know what the Archacy preaches. We are an unnamed god's chosen children, sent to tame and inhabit this wild planet as a test of faith. If we should remain loyal to their god, and therefore to the Archacy itself, we will one day be blessed, and taken from this life of hardship to one of eternal bliss and content in a land of green and blue. Now you know why we are dangerous to the Archacy, kitten. If we were to get the proof we seek of our existence, if we were to make public our true history; the Archacy would fall. They would lose their power; lose their influence over the people. They would lose their control over the masses."

"What would you say, Catalina, if I were to tell you that we could have left this planet decades ago? Maybe even centuries ago. The technology exists, we just have yet to learn to harness it, to manipulate and use it. This very underground compound that you sit in now, is left over from before our creation. This building was created by the species that also created us. Its advanced technology is apparent in as simple a thing as the very doors in its walls. Just think what we could do if we learned to use and copy it." He paused, to eye her curiously. "...and we can learn to use it. We were left ways to learn what those who created us knew."

"You recall earlier when I told you that Kaley Marie had been enhanced?" The ocelot gave a brief nod of her head as Manyr continued. "We have our own archeological digs out here in the desert, and even a few in the Frozen Tundra, but we need more artifacts from the past. That's why we continue to raid the digs supported by the Archacy. They sponsor digs so they can do one of two things, either destroy what's found so it can't be used against them, or they hoard the technology found and increase their own power or comfort with it. Most of the time, if anything important is found, they wipe out the diggers to make certain they can't spread the tale of it." Manyr just shook his head with a sigh. "It's ironic, that the Archacy labels us as murders and thieves. Perhaps we are thieves, but when we do attack their digs, we do NOT kill their people. We will try to convert them, or set them free to do as they wish. It's often easy to convert them to our cause, as the things they have seen and dug up fit in well with what we have to say. But in either case, more often than not our 'attack' on the site saves the lives of those diggers."

"Anyhow, I've strayed off the topic... among the artifacts that are pretty regularly found in laboratories that we dig up, are what we call enhancement shots. We don't know how they work, but when injected into a fur, they... bestow... knowledge, and sometimes other abilities, on the fur. Kaley Marie is an... extreme... example of this. It seems like the most common form of these enhancements is combat related. They often result in greater strength and flexibility, and knowledge of different fighting styles. But we've never seen an effect like the one on 'Mistress'. Her knowledge of fighting styles far exceeds what we typically see, and ranges from the basics to the most... bizarre moves and stances you could imagine. And somehow, she's now able to generate... energy. You saw what I did with my sword?"

Catalina nodded again, frowning a bit. "You shot lightening out of it. How did you do that, anyway?" Manyr shook his head a little, tapping a claw idly on the table. "It wasn't lightening, it wasn't electricity. It was some sort of energy. The crystal in the base of my sword is a battery; another artifact of the race that created us. We're not entirely sure of how to properly use them, hence we wind up only being able to use them once, draining all of the energy out in a single burst. Even learning how to release it like that took a lot of time and effort. Anyway, Kaley Marie is now able to generate that energy within her body and release it. It's a much smaller amount than would be found inside a battery, but as you saw earlier, its still quite effective." The smaller feline blinked up at him curiously. "So THAT'S how she knocked you across the room?" Manyr just nodded a little, absentmindedly rubbing his stomach where the blow had landed.

"There are other types of enhancements of course, but they are a bit less common than the combat ones. They are also far more valuable to us. These would be the ones that contain the knowledge we need to use and advance the technology that has been left behind. We have managed to get a few of them, but they aren't quite as advanced as what we want. Mostly they've enabled the injected to perform basic maintenance on our base and keep it running smoothly. It's still no small accomplishment but we really want... more. Someone who can fully use what we have available to its maximum potential and advance our understanding of it."

The tiger grinned as he leaned over the table towards her, whispering quietly. "We want off this rock. We were created to be better than the ones who made us, able to survive in environments that they couldn't. We are faster, stronger, and more adaptable, and we were meant for far more than just inhabiting this planet. We know there are other worlds, other suns out there. We want to see them."

He continued to grin as he sat back from her, running his claws through his hair, watching as the ocelot fem digested what he had told her. "So. Any questions?" Catalina nodded a little, tracing his claws along the table. "If the Archacy is lying about their religious beliefs, then what does that mean? Are you saying that there is no such thing as religion, that there is no God?" The tiger shook his head quickly. "Not at all. In fact, we're not necessarily even saying that the Archacy's religion is wrong. All we're saying is that they are abusing it to maintain control over the masses." He sighed quietly, seemingly trying to think of the right words to convey what he wanted to say. "Under the Archacy, you must believe what they tell you to believe. Here, we each are free to believe what we want. Some of us don't believe in any religion; others do. Our digs have unearthed many different religious texts. They are in the library; those that are in electronic format are free to be read by whoever wants to read them."

Catalina nodded a little at that and asked her next question. "So what exactly ARE our goals then? You've told me a lot about what our ideals are... but not so much straight forward on our goals." Manyr frowned at that a bit, thinking it over for a moment. "We want to make our true history known to everyone. Perhaps not necessarily overthrow the Archacy, but make their lies and deceit public. We want to fulfill our potentials, to gain the knowledge we need to advance to the next step of what we were meant to do. Right now, the Archacy has held us back from the society we should have. They've kept us in a primitive state of being, so that they could control the people, and keep themselves in power. We want to be able to live moer confortably, to make public use of the technology that is available, and even to advance it ourselves." He sighed, and rubbed his forehead gently. "It's probably not exactly the answer you were looking for, but it's the best I can give. I suppose when it comes down to it, we each find our own goals within the organization's goals."

The ocelot fem let a grin spread across her face as she looked up at him. "Then what are YOUR goals, Manyr?" The tiger chuckled at that as he stood up and stretched. "Private. Maybe I'll tell you, someday, when you've proven your trust to me. For now, it's late. Let's get to bed. You can sleep on what I've told you, and tomorrow I'll show you the proof this base has to offer, to support our cause."

Catalina stood carefully, reaching out to hold his arm to help steady herself, before letting him lead her back to her room. Now that he had mentioned it, she was feeling rather tired, and ready for sleep. They said good night at the door to her room, and Manyr left to head to his own room. He wasn't far down the hallway when he heard a yowl of fright from her room, and chuckled as he wondered how long it would take her to get used to the sound of the toilet flushing.

Catalina jerked upright in bed, her chest heaving as she gasped for breath. The nightmare she had been having was fresh in her mind, ripping at her thoughts and intruding into her emotions. Sweat matted her fur to her flesh and her jaw was aching for some reason; it was several long seconds before she was able to seperate the sound of someone pounding on her door from the throbbing of her own heartbeat in her ears. As the haze cleared from her mind, the feline lunged from the bed to answer the door and fell to the floor in a tangle of soaked sheets. The fall sent a jolt of pain through her ribs, and her howl of agony joined the pounding on the door before she managed to untangle herself from the sheet and wrap it around her naked body, limping over to press her hand against the panel in the wall. The door slid open to reveal a wall of tawny fur with black stripes in front of her.

Manyr scowled down at the smaller cat, crossing his arms over his chest "Why the hell are you making all that noise in there Cat? I could hear your screams from down the hall! It's the middle of the night and people are trying to..." He was cut off by Catalina lunging against him and burying her face in his stomach as she started sobbing. He blinked confusedly down at her, his scowl softening as he gently picked her up to take her back into her room. Once inside he was easily able to identify the overwhelming smells of fear, pain, and anger.

The tiger cradled the smaller feline in his arms as he sat on the edge of her bed, and simply cuddled her in his lap. She lay there against him crying for almost a half hour before going quiet, and cuddling against his larger body. Manyr sat there for a bit longer, listening to the steady rhythm of her breathing until he was certain she had gone to sleep, and tucked her gently back into her bed.

Catalina woke with a yawn and stretched out across the bed with a wince at the pain of her protesting injuries. She blinked sleepily around the room, and jerked upright in surprise at the sight of the tiger sitting in a chair beside her bed, still fast asleep. She sighed quietly and slipped out of bed to drape her sheet over him before hobbling into the bathroom to take a shower. After putting the plastic over her bandaged ribs, she stood under the hot water, letting it soak into her fur and ease the tension in her muscles. The feline lathered the shampoo thoroughly into her fur before rinsing it away; and shut off the water and dried off before taking some time to brush her fur. By the time she left the bathroom after getting cleaned up, Manyr had already woken up and left. She sighed as she dropped the towel from her body and got dressed, opting for a light tan chest wrap that blended with her fur, and green pants with matching top that complimented her eyes well.

A short time later Manyr stopped by her room to pick her back up for breakfast. The meal was eaten in silence, and it wasn't until they had already finished that he spoke to her. "What happened last night, Cat? What's going on that has you screaming in the middle of the night like your being attacked, and breaking down into tears?" The ocelot stared at the top of the table in front of her, and for a moment the larger feline thought she was going to start sobbing again. "I just... its silly, Manyr. I'm sorry for the trouble I caused last night..." The tiger sighed, and shook his head at her a bit. "There's no reason for you to be sorry, or embarrassed. Just tell me what's going on." Catalina lifted her head to look at him, her eyes edged with tears. "I had a nightmare..." He frowned at that, and rubbed the back of his head. "Ummmm... what was your nightmare about?" The tiger winced after asking the question as tears ran down the smaller feline's cheeks. "It was about what the brothers did to me. I dreamed I was being raped again."

Manyr had to sit and think about that one. He didn't know what to say to her, or how to console her. Finally he just shook his head and sighed quietly. "I'm sorry, Cat. I don't know how to help you with this one." The ocelot blinked up at him through her tears, before silently slipping out of her chair and limping around the table to sit in his lap and cuddle with him. "Just stay with me, Manyr. Please..." The larger feline nodded a little and held her close, snuggling her in his lap. He let her relax and calm down before speaking again. "We need to get going. I still need to show you what I was talking about yesterday." She nodded a little and smiled up at him. "Carry me?"

Catalina purred softly as she cuddled into Manyr's arms. She had lost track some time ago of the hallways they were walking through, but she could tell by the smell and look of the areas around them that they were heading into a less used part of the base. They descended into an area of the base where the metal walls gave way to raw rock and stone when he finally stopped in front of a door that looked similar to the one at the entrance to the base. He pressed his hand against the panel and the door shuddered open with an audible grinding of gears.

The tiger stepped into a room unlike anything Catalina had ever seen before. It was a massive circular room, unpolished and dirty steel walls covered in what looked like claw marks. Metal boxes filled half the room, the surfaces covered in buttons and switches, some of which still had dimly glowing lights beneath them. The other half of the room was full of glass cylinders that extended from the floor to the ceiling, most of which were broken. The entire room was covered in a thick layer of dust, and the smell of static electricity and decay was heavy in the air. Manyr gave her a minute to look around the room before speaking softly to her. "This is one of the rooms that our species were born in, Cat."

Catalina whirled to look at him in disbelief as he started a slow walk around the inside of the room, continuing to speak. "We've preserved it more or less as we found it, only coming here to show it to the new members of our group. These tubes you see were used to breed our kind, to create our ancestors who would later awaken and inhabit this destroyed planet in place of the humans who made us. Not all of them woke though... if you look into the unbroken tubes, most of them still have the occupants within." He walked over to run his hand across one of the glass cylinders, brushing away layers of dust to reveal a rabbit within. She was suspended in a thick, translucent green gel, a mask of some sort affixed to her face with a tube that ran down into the floor of the enclosure. Her eyes were half open, glassy and lifeless.

The Ocelot stared in open shock at the sight before looking around and approaching one of the intact glass tubes herself, wiping away the dust to reveal a male mouse, suspended within the same gel as the rabbit had been. "Why didn't they survive along with the others?" Manyr shook his head silently, standing back and simply watching her. "I don't know. We assume the computers keeping them alive simply... failed, for some reason." She sighed, feeling sorrow for her ancestors who had never known life, and walked over to look into another enclosure. This one held a male fox, again suspended in the fluid with a mask over his face. The feline peered closer at him to get a better look at his face when his eyes snapped open to stare at her.

Catalina screamed in terror and jerked back away from the glass tube, slamming her injured ankle into the corner of a terminal behind her. She howled in pain as she fell onto the hard metal ground, even as Manyr snarled in annoyance and walked over to check on her. "DAMMIT JOEL! How many times have you been told not to do that shit?" The tiger sighed in frustration as he kneeled to look at the smaller feline's ankle, the sound of the fox's chuckles in the background as he pulled himself out of the top of the enclosure. "Settle down stripes, it was just a joke. I didn't mean any harm."

Manyr just shook his head and sighed as he looked up at Catalina. "You didn't damage the brace, and I don't think you injured yourself further either. Can you stand back up?" The Ocelot whimpered quietly as the larger feline gently helped her up to her feet, and let go so she could test her weight. She nodded after a moment, when she was certain she could get around on her own again, and regarded the fox suspiciously.

The tiger sighed as he shook his head, gesturing to the fox who had stopped laughing, and was now simply watching with a mild look of concern across his face. "Cat, this is Joel, the Organization's own little prankster. He works in the kitchens, preparing food and what not." Joel smiled a little as he padded over to Catalina and bowed deeply before her, taking her hand in his and kissing it softly. "You have my apologies for hurting you, Catalina. I sincerely meant no harm with my joke, and it is to my utmost relief that you are uninjured. If you would perhaps let me make it up to you, I'd be delighted to treat you to a homemade dinner, perhaps followed by a romantic night together..."

He was cut off by Manyr pushing him aside. "Leave her alone, Joel. She's still getting used to how things work around here." The fox frowned up at him, ears twitching. "You don't usually wait this long to fill in the recruits with the juicy details, stripes. What gives?" Catalina frowned between them as the tiger growled a warning, cuffing the canine on the back of his head. "And stop calling me stripes." The Fox snickered at him. "I don't hear you complaining when K.M. calls you that." He ducked another cuff aimed at him and slid around the ocelot to run out the door, calling off behind him to Catalina. "When stripes finishes filling you in, let me know."

The ocelot gave Manyr a puzzled look, rubbing the back of her head slightly. "What's he talking about? What haven't you told me yet?" The larger cat sighed as he shook his head and leaned back against a computer consol. "Just that... well. Most of us in the Organization are very sexually active. There's not a lot of modesty around here, Cat. In general, the life expectancy is a few months for operatives, and in reality this base could come under attack at any time. Few of us are deluded enough to believe we might actually achieve our goals, and we're well aware that any day could be our last. So we live with no regrets. We don't hold back, we don't go slow or easy. We do have rules of course, to keep us in check. But yeah... when it comes to sex, around here, it's pretty much if you see someone you like, ask them. Worst that happens is they say no."

Catalina frowned up at him, blinking a few times. "...Why were you hiding that from me? Why didn't you tell me all this already?" Manyr sighed as he shook his head. "After what you went through with the brothers, I didn't want you to feel pressured to be like most everyone else, and hop into bed with the first person who proposed to you. I guess I just wanted to give you some time to settle in and get used to the feel of everything on your own."

She nodded, ears drooping a little at the mention of the werewolves as she limped slowly over to him. "The brothers... they took away everything I had, Manyr. Everything that I was, they stripped from me; everything I took pride in was ripped away from me." She sighed as she slid her arms around his stomach and rested her cheek against his belly, half closing her eyes. The tiger watched her curiously, gently resting his hand against the back of her head to stroke her hair as she continued talking. "You've worked so hard to help give me back everything that was taken from me, Manyr. To restore my hope, my dignity, my sense of self..." She went silent for several long moments, and when she did speak again, Manyr had to strain to hear her words. "I think I might love you Manyr. I know I care about you. But I can't... I can't love you like that. Not yet... theres just too much pain."

He frowned at that softly, gently sliding his hand from the back of her head to cup her cheek and raise her gaze upward. Her brilliant green eyes were edged with tears, and filled with... hope? as he looked into them. He nodded after a moment and slid his hands around her slim waist to lift her up, being careful of her ribs, and kiss her softly on the muzzle. Her purr filled his ears as their eyes slipped closed, and she let her hands rest on his chest, feeling his heartbeat beneath her fingertips. His tongue gently parted her lips, running across her teeth before he felt her respond in kind, her smaller tongue caressing along his own. The tiger's left hand slid down to cup her firm ass, keeping her aloft as his right arm encircled her waist, holding her a little more snuggly against his body. Catalina's hands slid slowly up his chest and over his shoulders to wrap her arms around his neck, pulling herself up, deeper into the kiss. She pushed the dull ache of her jaw into the back of her mind, ignoring it for the moment and immersing herself in the kiss.

After a couple minutes, Manyr let his own deep rumble of a purr join hers as she broke away to catch her breath. He gave her cheek a long, rough lick before gently setting her back down on her feet. She frowned up at him a little, giving him a questioning look as he shook his head. "In that case, would you settle for a date with me tonight?" The ocelot gave him a smile before nodding slowly and resting her head against his stomach again. Manyr nodded as he patted her gently on the head. "Great. But for now, we have a few more places to go before I take you back to your room to get ready."

Catalina gave a little nod before turning and hobbling out of the room, the tiger following closely behind.

Manyr took the lead again soon after leaving the room behind. They hadn't gone very far before Catalina's ankle started bothering her, and she once more found herself cuddling up against the tiger's chest as he carried her. The walk back was as long as it had been on the way in. The ocelot had the distinct impression that there was pretty much nothing else of interest this far under the base besides the room she had been shown. Most of the doors they passed looked like they either didn't work, or had been permanently sealed shut.

Once they reached the main apex of the hallways in the base he turned down a corridor that Catalina hadn't been down before. He chuckled at her confused expression and offered an explanation. "Down this part of the base are the specialty areas of training, goods, and general work. For instance, right now we're going to the blacksmith here." She nodded her understanding and nestled her head under his chin, purring quietly. The doors they passed were all clearly labeled, and it didn't take long for her to completely understand what he had been talking about. It seemed that everything that wasn't logistical such as the Intelligence Offices, or a standard necessity such as the Mess Hall or Gym, was located in this new area. One door was marked 'Sniper Training', while the door next to it several meters down was marked 'Theatre'. There seemed to be no real organization to the location of the different rooms and what was meant to go on inside them.

The door labeled 'Blacksmith' was a massive slab of metal that towered over even Manyr's head. As it swooshed open the felines were struck by a blast of hot air coming from within the room. The tiger set Catalina back onto her feet and led the way inside, gently holding onto her arm to help keep her upright. She started sweating immediately, the air was as hot as the desert, but much more humid. It made her feel light headed as her body struggled to adjust to the new temperature. As she looked around, couldn't help but marvel at the massive instruments within. The anvil was almost as tall as she was, and the size of the smith's hammer made her certain that she would never be able to wield it. Even as Catalina started wondering just what species would use such heavy implements, a wall of gray muscle detached itself from the haze shrouding the far side of the room.

Manyr watched the rhino approach them with a bit of a grin. "Catalina, meet Mephist; Mephist, this is Catalina." Mephist gave the ocelot a brief looking over before nodding to her in greeting. He looked to be about 2 feet taller than Manyr, his broad body a solid mass of chisled flesh. There didn't seem to be a trace of fat on him, and his leathery skin was tightly bound over powerful muscles. His voice was a deep, lazy rumble that sounded akin to rocks being ground together. "You can call me Tank, Catalina. Everyone does. I take it you're the one these steak knives belong to?"

She gave him a confused look, that turned to focus on Manyr as he chuckled. "I didn't tell you, did I Cat? I found a couple small swords at the site, and figured they were your's. One was broken in half, so I figured I would give them to Mephist to see if he could fix them." Mephist nodded a little as he handed over a small, wrapped bundle to Catalina. "Yeah, I fixed them. Hope you don't mind, but I also modified them a little... they'll use some new, experimental rounds being made down in R&D. Manyr can take you down there." He didn't wait for an answer before turning away from the felines and going back to work.

The Ocelot stared at the bundle in her hands for a moment before removing the cloth coverings to reveal her gunblades. The blades shone brilliantly, and no matter how hard she looked she was unable to distinguish which blade had been broken. She noticed that the barrel of the gun had been elongated, and was tipped in the blue crystal that filled the blood channel of Manyr's bastard sword. The cylinder locked out more steady than it previously had, and pressing down on the trigger had a much smoother feel to it than before. She wrapped them back up into the cloth and leaned against Manyr, resting her head against his side.

The tiger picked up the smaller feline again and headed out of the forge, taking her back to her room. "If you're still up for a date tonight, I'll pick you up in a couple hours?" Catalina nodded to him a little, leaning her head up to kiss him softly before slipping out of his arms and limping into her room, cradling her gunblades carefully in her arms as she called out behind her. "Alright Manyr. See you in a couple hours then."