There was no mistaking the heavy tread of a strong, able-bodied male. Even less likely was the thought that one wouldn't be able to hear the anger in the scratch of his claws against the hard-packed dirt. Though it had been nearly two full years since his arrival, the broad-shouldered tiger prince never seemed to smile. His garrison was the fittest and best-trained in living memory for the denizens of Felinis Ford, but nothing his soldiers did or said could please their young commander. It was rumored that Prince Tygra had left Thundera under duress, and his garrison was merely a stepping stone in working his way back toward the throne. There was little doubt in the tiny village that the strong-willed commander was fit to rule. Even in harsh anger and hard drills, the cat and his soldiers had eliminated the threat of predators and enemies. Their fields were safe, their waters clean, and it was all thanks to him.
The dusty hot sun was burning down on them today, and Prince Tygra was searching among the adobe huts for a young soldier that had wandered from his post. No one was to leave their post unless ordered by a superior, and the boy's captain had been baffled when asked where he was. Now it was his job to return the boy to his post or give him a sound thrashing for attempting to desert. He'd nearly run into the petite cheetah before he saw her, arms full of large bundles of grain from the fields. She and two others seemed to be taking their harvest to the mill to be ground into flour, and as Tygra stopped in their path, their feminine chatter died away. He could only assume they were too awed by his presence to dare speaking to him.
"Have you ladies seen a soldier about?" He may as well get the information that he needed from them, if they had it. "He'd be about sixteen winters, a jaguar." There was a short pause as the females exchanged glances. Softly, they each murmured a negative, but as they tried to move on, Tygra stopped them again.
"If you've seen anything at all," he pressed, unaware of the dark scowl that lined his handsome muzzle, "I'd appreciate hearing it now." Again, they traded looks.
"No, Commander."
"I'm sorry, Commander, we haven't seen anything."
The two taller females scurried off, but the smallest one- the cheetah that had been walking in front of them, stayed where she was. Large, dark brown eyes stayed fixed on his face for a long, silent minute before she sighed faintly.
"He helped us harvest the last of the wheat in the south field," she confessed, looking away. "Last I saw, he was heading for the jungle after a big... thing..." The female gestured vaguely south, toward the protruding finger of the massive jungle that isolated them from the nearest village. "He wouldn't say what it was." Tygra was surprised by her firm tone and lilting, musical voice. It was as though she were singing the words, rather than saying them. Taking minute to look her over, he found that, unlike many of the spotted females he'd encountered recently, she didn't remind him of a particular back-stabbing cleric he'd left behind. She was small, lithe and wiry from the work of the field and of surviving in this desolate place.
At last, he spoke. "Thank you, miss...?" It was easier to let her feel compelled to introduce herself than to ask for her name. Though his days as a lady's man in the Thunderian court were behind him, that didn't mean he couldn't appreciate rare beauty when it stood in front of him. At least, that was what he told himself.
"Soemmer, of Felinis Ford." She offered him a brief curtsy, either unwilling or unable to show proper respect to Thunderian royalty because of the heavy bundles in her arms.
"Tygra, of Thundera." He bowed slightly, then stepped aside to move around her and let her pass. He didn't look back, though if he had, he might have smiled. Soemmer stared after him, looking rather as though he'd announced he was the incarnation of the Earth Spirit itself. If he'd cared to listen and watch, he may have seen her mouth the word 'prince' and laugh nervously before walking toward the mill, moving as though in a dream. When the world turns upside-down, just go with it. Or at least, that's what she tried to tell herself.