1 *This, I think, was my first esca fic. It's a retelling of Naria and
Eriya's story, and here it is, in all its glory. I'd like to dedicate this
to the twins, because they get hardly any of the recognition they deserve.
I'd also like to thank the Visions of Escaflowne website for having scripts
that I could refer to. It is rather short, I know. Deal with it.*
Enjoy! ^_^
2
3 Gold and Silver Twins
By Stelmarta
sangfee@yahoo.com
It was a typical autumn day, the sun was shining, the leaves were red and gold, and the men from the village were out hunting. About half a dozen of them were creeping through the woods, looking for game. One of them spotted a buck, and signaled to the others to close in. It had a long, bloody gash on one of its hind legs, and was limping badly. The hunters came closer to the young deer, and quietly pulled out their arrows and aimed. It was utterly silent.
Suddenly, a large rock was thrown, landing just in front of the deer. The buck started and ran off through the underbrush. The men swore loudly, allowing the cat-man to creep off practically unnoticed. One man, the one who noticed the buck, heard the faint rustling and shot into the bushes in the direction where he heard the noise. The rustling stopped.
"Those filthy cats were at it again, scaring away our game," he said as explanation.
Another man swore, "That's the second time this week. They'll pay for our loss". He put away his arrow and unstrung his bow. "Do you think you got 'em, Yarrok?"
"I don't know," said Yarrok cautiously, "perhaps".
The men withdrew to another part of the forest.
They returned, unsuccessful, later that day. Most went to the inn to get drunk, and plan the next day's hunt. They were running low on meat, and with was coming soon. All the men from the hunting party were at the inn, in various states of intoxication.
"I think we should get more people tomorrow. Organize a full-scale hunt, dem cats can only be in one place at a time," said a blond man only slightly tipsy.
"If I could get my hands on those stinkin' beasts, I'd -I'd" another man made a wringing gesture with his hands, too irate to finish his sentence.
"If you can actually find the cats, Geran, you should feel free," said Yarrok. Geran grinned and took another slug of ale.
"That's not a bad idea, actually," said Yarrok thoughtfully. He raised his voice, "How many of you men want meat?" He was answered enthusiastically. "Then come with us tomorrow and get a grand feast for all your families!" The men were drunk enough to get exited about this prospect and cheers rang out across the common room of the inn. "And don't forget, cat-men are fair game!" The men liked this even more and many stood up or beat their fists on the table. Yarrok finished his speech with a yell and sat down.
A dark man watched dispassionately in a shadowed corner of the room, shrouded in a dark cloak. He knew what the outcome of tomorrow's hunt would be. He, unlike the rest, never underestimated beast-people. He sipped his wine, and then stood up, leaving a few coins on the table. The dark man slunk out the door, seeking a better atmosphere.
The next morning dawned crisp and cool, and the hunters set out with the sunrise. This time there were over twenty of them, armed with nets, clubs, knives, spears, bows and arrows, and even one man with a pitchfork. The spread out at the edge of the forest, with goals to kill and collect any and all living creatures they discovered. Most men found plenty of squirrels and small birds, but no large game was seen. Neither were the cats. Yarrok's group spotted a herd of deer, feeding and resting near a small creek. Yarrok put two fingers in his mouth and whistled. Several other groups heard and flocked to the watering hole. The deer were unaware of their danger.
Just as the hunters were about to begin capturing the deer, a cat's roar resounded across the clearing, scattering the deer, and taking the men off guard. There were loud crashes behind the men in all directions. Most panicked and flocked to the center of the clearing, brandishing their weapons nervously. The others went to the center as well, knowing there was safety in numbers.
A cloud covered the sun, shrouding the clearing in shadow. The hunters could see faint feline forms stalking in a circle around them, faint growling noises emanating from the shadowy figures. For many men, this was their first view of a cat person, a poor view nonetheless. Some were surprised to see that they walked on two feet, and were not much larger than an ordinary man. However, no one realized that the two cats stalking them could not stand against twenty armed men. Several of them had actually wet themselves.
The men stood there for what seemed like ages, with the cats still circling around them in the shadows. Suddenly, as if to a call that only they could hear, the cats stopped and straightened. Before the men could react, however, the larger of the two cats threw an object at the ground, releasing a bright light that blinded the hunters.
Before the light faded, a woman's voice said in a deadly tone, "Go hunt in someone else's forest, pigs."
When the men could see again in a few seconds, there was barely any trace that the cats had been there. Just some trampled grass, and a scorch-mark on the ground. The game the hunters had acquired earlier was gone.
The men cursed and threw their weapons on the ground in fury. Most yelled senselessly and tramped off into the forest in the direction of home, scaring away any wildlife that might have remained.
Yarrok, however, remained. He was looking at the trampled grass. He followed the trail the cats had left for a few minutes, then returned to the clearing with a grin. "I know where they are, and they will pay," he stated in a deadly tone.
Yarrok stalked off into the underbrush.
Later, at the inn, where the men had decided to become extremely drunk, Yarrok announced his findings. He told them that he had found footprints left by the cats, which led to a dirt path, no doubt in turn leading to the cheetah dwelling.
The men just listened, unable to follow his logic through their haze of alcohol. But when Yarrok stated he knew where the cats were, they shouted and cheered and banged their fists on the tables.
"There will be blood tomorrow, but not human blood!" Yarrok finished dramatically. The drunks loved it and got even louder.
The only man not jumping on the tables and shouting profanities was the dark man. He had returned to hear of the hunt. He had expected that no game would return with the hunters, but he had not foreseen that one would be clever enough to follow the trail. He gritted his teeth, and his hands bit into the heavy oak table, leaving large gashes in the hard wood. He noticed this, and forced himself to relax. The dark one sat apprehensively in his shadowed corner.
~*~
The next day was cold and cloudy, it started raining at dawn. Yarrok managed to convince the men to wait until the rain had stopped before the final hunt was begun. Most of the men simply sat in the inn, fidgeting and drinking to calm their nerves.
Finally, in the early evening, the pattering of rain ceased. The men cheered and headed out immediately. They were all armed with basically the same weapons that they had had the day before, not having much more in the way of armaments.
Yarrok was leading the group deep into the forest. At first it seemed as if he were leading them nowhere, then they broke out onto a small dirt path. Yarrok paused, then led the group north along the trail to the cats. They were walking for what seemed like miles. Just as the men were about to give up and head home, they stepped out into a small clearing.
At the center of the clearing was a largish hut, surrounded in brambles and fire-hardened wooden spears, no doubt for defense. Yarrok made a gesture for silence, and strung his bow. Feral grins moved across the faces of several men. Weapons were readied.
"We will lure them out where they will be vulnerable," he whispered hoarsely to the men he had appointed his officers. They nodded in acknowledgement.
Inside the cabin, the cheetah-family was asleep. The twin kittens were curled up together near the fire, and the adults were dozing. The male's ears twitched, and he woke up.
"Maaya, wake up, I hear something." He whispered to his wife, who stirred and came to alertness. She froze, listening hard to the sounds outside.
"I'll go wake the kittens." Maaya said softly. She led her half-asleep daughters to the cellar.
"What's wrong, mama?" asked Belubelu. She rubbed her eyes, and yawned.
"Nothing, dears. I need you to stay here, in the cellar, for a little while, okay?" They both nodded. "If someone comes in, run as fast as you can to your fort in the forest."
They nodded again, "Will you come find us, mama?" asked Narunaru.
"Of course, my darlings." She knelt and kissed them on their heads, embracing them tightly.
By now, more noise was coming from above. "I must go now." Maaya said calmly. She stood up and reached for a thick, wooden staff. Then walked up the stairs to the floor above, giving her daughters one final smile.
Up above, the men had forced their way in to the hut, when they couldn't lure them out. Durin, the male cat, had been able to hold them off for a time at the door. He, however, had no weapons but his claws and his teeth, and was losing ground. His wife came running up just as the door was forced open.
Both cats let out a sound that was half scream, half roar as the men barged in. Both put up a hard fight, Maaya gave several men concussions with her staff, and Durin left bloody gashes on many. Gradually, they were separated to opposite sides of the cabin, hopelessly outnumbered.
Durin fell first. He was ripped open on the side with an ancient broadsword, and simultaneously knifed in the stomach. He fell to the ground, blood soaking the hunter's boots. The men cheered and those who hadn't gotten a shot in while he was alive, stuck their weapons into his corpse.
Maaya lasted only a few seconds longer. Her staff was whipping its way in a circle around her, effectively keeping close-range weapons away. Then someone pulled out his bow and let out a shot. At the same time another let loose a dagger. The arrow hit her shoulder, pinning her to the wall. She let out a roar/yell of pain and fury, until a dagger in her throat cut it off. Once again, the men, raised to a frenzy, rammed their weapons into her corpse.
As quickly as it had begun, the men stopped. They let out cheers of triumph, and raised their bloody weapons over their heads.
"That will teach those filthy beasts to interfere with our hunt!"
The men yelled some more, and finally left the forest for their homes.
Belubelu and Narunaru had clung to each other in the dark after their mother left, and the noise began, shaking. Belubelu was the first to snap out of it.
"Come on, aneki! Remember? Mama told us to hide!" Naurnaru shook herself out of her paralysis, and gripped her twin's hand tightly.
They scurried silently through the back door.
~*~
Later that night, there was another visitor to the cabin. The dark man had come to see the results of the hunt. He pushed open the door, which promptly fell off its hinges and clattered to the floor. The dark man, though he was no stranger to violence, was shocked by the carnage. The single room of the cabin was wrecked; splinters of wood and pottery lay strewn on the floor. The cottage had been set on fire, but the damp wood had saved it from total destruction. Then he saw the two brutalized, practically helpless, cat people, a male sprawled on the floor and a female pinned to the wall. Both were covered in blood and had looks that were a mixture of pain, fear, rage, and deep sadness frozen on their faces.
The dark man took the female off the wall, removing the dagger and the arrow and laid her next to her husband. He laid the staff at their feet and closed their eyelids. He looked around the room once more, and spotted some dolls, no doubt for the kittens of this misfortunate family. He scanned the room for the bodies of children, but saw none. He went down the small stairway to a root cellar. There was no sign that the men had even noticed this place. And no kittens.
The dark man felt satisfied that he had done all he could, and left the cabin in a swirl of dark material.
~*~
The next morning the hunting party went out again, confident that they would find game with no problem. The group was smaller this day, just six men were out in the forest. The others were farmers, and needed to take in their harvests. Progress was slower than usual, most were bruised and scratched from the night before.
Once again, Yarrok was leading the group. They had caught a hedge pig and several rabbits, and were looking for something larger. Suddenly, Yarrok spied a flash of color and a whispered work. He followed, signaling the others that he had seen something unusual.
He closed in, and pushed through some bushes. He came face-to-face with a
cat-person, or kitten to be exact. The cat shrieked and scratched Yarrok on the face before running away as fast as it could. Yarrok was furious.
"One got away, you morons!" He shouted at the others and ran after the kitten. He noticed that he was following it toward the village. This would be to his advantage. He started trying to herd the frightened kitten towards the ravine that bordered the town.
"Gather the other men! Tell them to go to the ravine as fast as possible!" he shouted back to the others. He smiled grimly and continued after the cat.
Narunaru had no idea where she was running, just away from the man as instinct dictated. When she had seen him, she did the only thing she could; grabbed Belubelu and went as fast as she could.
Tears were streaming down her face, dampening her long tunic, her lungs were bursting, and she had twisted her ankle. Suddenly, the trees thinned out, and the twins were faced with a deep gorge. They came to a halt just at the edge of the cliff, panting and clutching their sides.
Yarrok stopped when he saw that the kitten, no, there were two of them, came to the ravine. He veered off toward the direction where the villagers would come from.
The dark man was eating lunch in the inn, when a breathless hunter gasped that the cats were back and to come to the ravine. The dark man got up quickly, almost knocking over the table in the process. He ran out the door, following the hunter.
When he arrived at the ravine, there was a crowd of the villagers around two kittens. One had taken a defensive posture in front of the other who was clutching her ankle.
"I finally found you," growled Yarrok.
"Gold and silver twins... how rare. They'd be worth a fortune!"
By now, both kittens were standing up and snarling at their attackers.
"Any cat is better off dead!" shouted Yarrok furiously. He shot an arrow at the kittens. He missed, but the others took his cue and hurled their weapons at the twins.
They fell, screaming, into the abyss.
The dark man shouldered his way through the crowd, and ran to the ravine. He threw off his cloak and jumped after the kittens.
Even those who hadn't seen the dark man's metal arm fell silent. Even Yarrok could only stare, gaping at the unpredictable act.
The cloak wafted to the ground, and lay there, limply.
No one saw the man sprout the wings of an angel on his descent down. The kittens were caught in the dark man's steel embrace and were let go when they reached the bottom. The kittens immediately sprang away from him as he stretched out his left arm towards them. They leapt forward and sunk their teeth into his arm. The man winced, but said nothing. He had known far greater pain then their milk teeth could inflict.
Feathers drifted through the air. The twins froze, and the man spoke.
"Such a pity. Your lives must have been hard." They looked at the man who had saved them in shock. They saw his silver-blue hair, his metal arm and his tattoo of a single tear, and let go of him.
He continued, "I'll give you new names. As of today, you are reborn...to lead more fortunate lives."
He stood up, "My name is Lord Folken, and you will come with me."
The kittens followed blindly, grasping each other's hands for reassurance.
Enjoy! ^_^
2
3 Gold and Silver Twins
By Stelmarta
sangfee@yahoo.com
It was a typical autumn day, the sun was shining, the leaves were red and gold, and the men from the village were out hunting. About half a dozen of them were creeping through the woods, looking for game. One of them spotted a buck, and signaled to the others to close in. It had a long, bloody gash on one of its hind legs, and was limping badly. The hunters came closer to the young deer, and quietly pulled out their arrows and aimed. It was utterly silent.
Suddenly, a large rock was thrown, landing just in front of the deer. The buck started and ran off through the underbrush. The men swore loudly, allowing the cat-man to creep off practically unnoticed. One man, the one who noticed the buck, heard the faint rustling and shot into the bushes in the direction where he heard the noise. The rustling stopped.
"Those filthy cats were at it again, scaring away our game," he said as explanation.
Another man swore, "That's the second time this week. They'll pay for our loss". He put away his arrow and unstrung his bow. "Do you think you got 'em, Yarrok?"
"I don't know," said Yarrok cautiously, "perhaps".
The men withdrew to another part of the forest.
They returned, unsuccessful, later that day. Most went to the inn to get drunk, and plan the next day's hunt. They were running low on meat, and with was coming soon. All the men from the hunting party were at the inn, in various states of intoxication.
"I think we should get more people tomorrow. Organize a full-scale hunt, dem cats can only be in one place at a time," said a blond man only slightly tipsy.
"If I could get my hands on those stinkin' beasts, I'd -I'd" another man made a wringing gesture with his hands, too irate to finish his sentence.
"If you can actually find the cats, Geran, you should feel free," said Yarrok. Geran grinned and took another slug of ale.
"That's not a bad idea, actually," said Yarrok thoughtfully. He raised his voice, "How many of you men want meat?" He was answered enthusiastically. "Then come with us tomorrow and get a grand feast for all your families!" The men were drunk enough to get exited about this prospect and cheers rang out across the common room of the inn. "And don't forget, cat-men are fair game!" The men liked this even more and many stood up or beat their fists on the table. Yarrok finished his speech with a yell and sat down.
A dark man watched dispassionately in a shadowed corner of the room, shrouded in a dark cloak. He knew what the outcome of tomorrow's hunt would be. He, unlike the rest, never underestimated beast-people. He sipped his wine, and then stood up, leaving a few coins on the table. The dark man slunk out the door, seeking a better atmosphere.
The next morning dawned crisp and cool, and the hunters set out with the sunrise. This time there were over twenty of them, armed with nets, clubs, knives, spears, bows and arrows, and even one man with a pitchfork. The spread out at the edge of the forest, with goals to kill and collect any and all living creatures they discovered. Most men found plenty of squirrels and small birds, but no large game was seen. Neither were the cats. Yarrok's group spotted a herd of deer, feeding and resting near a small creek. Yarrok put two fingers in his mouth and whistled. Several other groups heard and flocked to the watering hole. The deer were unaware of their danger.
Just as the hunters were about to begin capturing the deer, a cat's roar resounded across the clearing, scattering the deer, and taking the men off guard. There were loud crashes behind the men in all directions. Most panicked and flocked to the center of the clearing, brandishing their weapons nervously. The others went to the center as well, knowing there was safety in numbers.
A cloud covered the sun, shrouding the clearing in shadow. The hunters could see faint feline forms stalking in a circle around them, faint growling noises emanating from the shadowy figures. For many men, this was their first view of a cat person, a poor view nonetheless. Some were surprised to see that they walked on two feet, and were not much larger than an ordinary man. However, no one realized that the two cats stalking them could not stand against twenty armed men. Several of them had actually wet themselves.
The men stood there for what seemed like ages, with the cats still circling around them in the shadows. Suddenly, as if to a call that only they could hear, the cats stopped and straightened. Before the men could react, however, the larger of the two cats threw an object at the ground, releasing a bright light that blinded the hunters.
Before the light faded, a woman's voice said in a deadly tone, "Go hunt in someone else's forest, pigs."
When the men could see again in a few seconds, there was barely any trace that the cats had been there. Just some trampled grass, and a scorch-mark on the ground. The game the hunters had acquired earlier was gone.
The men cursed and threw their weapons on the ground in fury. Most yelled senselessly and tramped off into the forest in the direction of home, scaring away any wildlife that might have remained.
Yarrok, however, remained. He was looking at the trampled grass. He followed the trail the cats had left for a few minutes, then returned to the clearing with a grin. "I know where they are, and they will pay," he stated in a deadly tone.
Yarrok stalked off into the underbrush.
Later, at the inn, where the men had decided to become extremely drunk, Yarrok announced his findings. He told them that he had found footprints left by the cats, which led to a dirt path, no doubt in turn leading to the cheetah dwelling.
The men just listened, unable to follow his logic through their haze of alcohol. But when Yarrok stated he knew where the cats were, they shouted and cheered and banged their fists on the tables.
"There will be blood tomorrow, but not human blood!" Yarrok finished dramatically. The drunks loved it and got even louder.
The only man not jumping on the tables and shouting profanities was the dark man. He had returned to hear of the hunt. He had expected that no game would return with the hunters, but he had not foreseen that one would be clever enough to follow the trail. He gritted his teeth, and his hands bit into the heavy oak table, leaving large gashes in the hard wood. He noticed this, and forced himself to relax. The dark one sat apprehensively in his shadowed corner.
~*~
The next day was cold and cloudy, it started raining at dawn. Yarrok managed to convince the men to wait until the rain had stopped before the final hunt was begun. Most of the men simply sat in the inn, fidgeting and drinking to calm their nerves.
Finally, in the early evening, the pattering of rain ceased. The men cheered and headed out immediately. They were all armed with basically the same weapons that they had had the day before, not having much more in the way of armaments.
Yarrok was leading the group deep into the forest. At first it seemed as if he were leading them nowhere, then they broke out onto a small dirt path. Yarrok paused, then led the group north along the trail to the cats. They were walking for what seemed like miles. Just as the men were about to give up and head home, they stepped out into a small clearing.
At the center of the clearing was a largish hut, surrounded in brambles and fire-hardened wooden spears, no doubt for defense. Yarrok made a gesture for silence, and strung his bow. Feral grins moved across the faces of several men. Weapons were readied.
"We will lure them out where they will be vulnerable," he whispered hoarsely to the men he had appointed his officers. They nodded in acknowledgement.
Inside the cabin, the cheetah-family was asleep. The twin kittens were curled up together near the fire, and the adults were dozing. The male's ears twitched, and he woke up.
"Maaya, wake up, I hear something." He whispered to his wife, who stirred and came to alertness. She froze, listening hard to the sounds outside.
"I'll go wake the kittens." Maaya said softly. She led her half-asleep daughters to the cellar.
"What's wrong, mama?" asked Belubelu. She rubbed her eyes, and yawned.
"Nothing, dears. I need you to stay here, in the cellar, for a little while, okay?" They both nodded. "If someone comes in, run as fast as you can to your fort in the forest."
They nodded again, "Will you come find us, mama?" asked Narunaru.
"Of course, my darlings." She knelt and kissed them on their heads, embracing them tightly.
By now, more noise was coming from above. "I must go now." Maaya said calmly. She stood up and reached for a thick, wooden staff. Then walked up the stairs to the floor above, giving her daughters one final smile.
Up above, the men had forced their way in to the hut, when they couldn't lure them out. Durin, the male cat, had been able to hold them off for a time at the door. He, however, had no weapons but his claws and his teeth, and was losing ground. His wife came running up just as the door was forced open.
Both cats let out a sound that was half scream, half roar as the men barged in. Both put up a hard fight, Maaya gave several men concussions with her staff, and Durin left bloody gashes on many. Gradually, they were separated to opposite sides of the cabin, hopelessly outnumbered.
Durin fell first. He was ripped open on the side with an ancient broadsword, and simultaneously knifed in the stomach. He fell to the ground, blood soaking the hunter's boots. The men cheered and those who hadn't gotten a shot in while he was alive, stuck their weapons into his corpse.
Maaya lasted only a few seconds longer. Her staff was whipping its way in a circle around her, effectively keeping close-range weapons away. Then someone pulled out his bow and let out a shot. At the same time another let loose a dagger. The arrow hit her shoulder, pinning her to the wall. She let out a roar/yell of pain and fury, until a dagger in her throat cut it off. Once again, the men, raised to a frenzy, rammed their weapons into her corpse.
As quickly as it had begun, the men stopped. They let out cheers of triumph, and raised their bloody weapons over their heads.
"That will teach those filthy beasts to interfere with our hunt!"
The men yelled some more, and finally left the forest for their homes.
Belubelu and Narunaru had clung to each other in the dark after their mother left, and the noise began, shaking. Belubelu was the first to snap out of it.
"Come on, aneki! Remember? Mama told us to hide!" Naurnaru shook herself out of her paralysis, and gripped her twin's hand tightly.
They scurried silently through the back door.
~*~
Later that night, there was another visitor to the cabin. The dark man had come to see the results of the hunt. He pushed open the door, which promptly fell off its hinges and clattered to the floor. The dark man, though he was no stranger to violence, was shocked by the carnage. The single room of the cabin was wrecked; splinters of wood and pottery lay strewn on the floor. The cottage had been set on fire, but the damp wood had saved it from total destruction. Then he saw the two brutalized, practically helpless, cat people, a male sprawled on the floor and a female pinned to the wall. Both were covered in blood and had looks that were a mixture of pain, fear, rage, and deep sadness frozen on their faces.
The dark man took the female off the wall, removing the dagger and the arrow and laid her next to her husband. He laid the staff at their feet and closed their eyelids. He looked around the room once more, and spotted some dolls, no doubt for the kittens of this misfortunate family. He scanned the room for the bodies of children, but saw none. He went down the small stairway to a root cellar. There was no sign that the men had even noticed this place. And no kittens.
The dark man felt satisfied that he had done all he could, and left the cabin in a swirl of dark material.
~*~
The next morning the hunting party went out again, confident that they would find game with no problem. The group was smaller this day, just six men were out in the forest. The others were farmers, and needed to take in their harvests. Progress was slower than usual, most were bruised and scratched from the night before.
Once again, Yarrok was leading the group. They had caught a hedge pig and several rabbits, and were looking for something larger. Suddenly, Yarrok spied a flash of color and a whispered work. He followed, signaling the others that he had seen something unusual.
He closed in, and pushed through some bushes. He came face-to-face with a
cat-person, or kitten to be exact. The cat shrieked and scratched Yarrok on the face before running away as fast as it could. Yarrok was furious.
"One got away, you morons!" He shouted at the others and ran after the kitten. He noticed that he was following it toward the village. This would be to his advantage. He started trying to herd the frightened kitten towards the ravine that bordered the town.
"Gather the other men! Tell them to go to the ravine as fast as possible!" he shouted back to the others. He smiled grimly and continued after the cat.
Narunaru had no idea where she was running, just away from the man as instinct dictated. When she had seen him, she did the only thing she could; grabbed Belubelu and went as fast as she could.
Tears were streaming down her face, dampening her long tunic, her lungs were bursting, and she had twisted her ankle. Suddenly, the trees thinned out, and the twins were faced with a deep gorge. They came to a halt just at the edge of the cliff, panting and clutching their sides.
Yarrok stopped when he saw that the kitten, no, there were two of them, came to the ravine. He veered off toward the direction where the villagers would come from.
The dark man was eating lunch in the inn, when a breathless hunter gasped that the cats were back and to come to the ravine. The dark man got up quickly, almost knocking over the table in the process. He ran out the door, following the hunter.
When he arrived at the ravine, there was a crowd of the villagers around two kittens. One had taken a defensive posture in front of the other who was clutching her ankle.
"I finally found you," growled Yarrok.
"Gold and silver twins... how rare. They'd be worth a fortune!"
By now, both kittens were standing up and snarling at their attackers.
"Any cat is better off dead!" shouted Yarrok furiously. He shot an arrow at the kittens. He missed, but the others took his cue and hurled their weapons at the twins.
They fell, screaming, into the abyss.
The dark man shouldered his way through the crowd, and ran to the ravine. He threw off his cloak and jumped after the kittens.
Even those who hadn't seen the dark man's metal arm fell silent. Even Yarrok could only stare, gaping at the unpredictable act.
The cloak wafted to the ground, and lay there, limply.
No one saw the man sprout the wings of an angel on his descent down. The kittens were caught in the dark man's steel embrace and were let go when they reached the bottom. The kittens immediately sprang away from him as he stretched out his left arm towards them. They leapt forward and sunk their teeth into his arm. The man winced, but said nothing. He had known far greater pain then their milk teeth could inflict.
Feathers drifted through the air. The twins froze, and the man spoke.
"Such a pity. Your lives must have been hard." They looked at the man who had saved them in shock. They saw his silver-blue hair, his metal arm and his tattoo of a single tear, and let go of him.
He continued, "I'll give you new names. As of today, you are reborn...to lead more fortunate lives."
He stood up, "My name is Lord Folken, and you will come with me."
The kittens followed blindly, grasping each other's hands for reassurance.