"I really don't see why I am the only one who has to go into this village," Barnaby mumbled under his breath, riding horseback along a dirt path. The blond knight shifted slightly, trying to get comfortable in his armor in the warm spring air. On top of that, this request was in a village that took nearly a day's worth of travel without stopping. Why did he take this damn job in the first place?
He knew full well why he took the job.
Barnaby lived in the grand kingdom of Sternbild, one of the largest empires in the world. Scattered throughout the empire were tribes and clans of Fauna Borns, people who were half human and half some sort of other animal. There were all sorts of Fauna Borns; Feline, Canine, Aves, and so on and so forth. Usually these Fauna Born tribes stuck to what they knew and didn't cause any trouble. However, there were the few rogue individuals-very rarely, whole clans-would step out of line. Like the Dragon Born.
The Dragon Born typically lived away from the civilization of the rest of the Fauna Born. They possessed traits of, you guessed it, a dragon. But what traits depended on what kind of dragon they descended from. Some were born with wings, others were not. Most had knarled, twisted horns sprouting from the sides of their heads and most had claws and reptilian tails. But the trait that almost all Dragon Born possessed was the ability to breath fire.
Barnaby's grip on the reigns of his horse tightened as he remembered the night his little village had been set ablaze by a Dragon Born. He had only been the tender age of four years old as he had watched all the people he had ever known burn to a crisp right before his eyes. He had caught sight of the Dragon Born who had caused the damage, had seen the glint of its slit-pupil glare, but couldn't remember it's face.
After his village had been pretty much burnt to the ground, Barnaby had been taken in by a local lord, Albert Maverick, a friend of his family. By that time, he decided that he had wanted to become a knight to rid the empire of the Dragon Born once and for all.
So, there he sat, riding atop his horse, on his way to a village of a Feline Born tribe. The castle had been receiving complaints from them that a Dragon Born was slinking around and about their territory. Barnaby had practically begged Maverick to let him go on the mission. He hadn't thought that he'd be going in alone.
As the day wore on, Barnaby's posture slowly deteriorated until he was practically slumped against the neck of his dusty-pelted mare, Tempest. He groaned. The sun was beginning to dip below the horizon, and he was certain that he would not reach the village until at least the moon was at it's climax.
The blond sat up straight again, rummaging around in a pack slung across Tempest's side. He grabbed an apple and bit into it. He was starving.
Barnaby hadn't really noticed, but eventually the familiar fields of the heart of Sternbild turned into woods, and then into a dense forest. The moonlight was blocked out by the thick foliage, but Tempest stuck to trotting along the dirt path even in the darkness.
The knight was pretty sure that the moon was in its descend from its climax by the time he heard the faint traces of voices. Barnaby internally sighed in content. Tempest seemed to perk up as well, as the blond couldn't even begin to imagine how tired he was. The mare began go canter towards the sounds of the Feline Born villagers.
Tempest rounded a corner on the path, and was brought to the entrance of the village. There were tents and huts and actual buildings scattered throughout the village, torches lighting the paths. The dusty mare slowed to a trot as the two entered unfamiliar territory. Barnaby could hear the whispers of the Feline children. Things like "Who's that?" and "He must be the one who's come to slay the Dragon Born!"
The mare turned left on the main path which seemed to lead into the main square of the village. The Feline Born had started to gather as they had seen or heard of Barnaby riding through the village. There was a large bonfire that roared behind what looked like to be the Tribe Leader, the Deputy, and the Healer. Out of respect, Barnaby dismounted his horse, grabbed its reigns, and walked over to the Feline Born gathered in front of the bonfire.
The Fauna Born in front of Barnaby stood over him, and the blond had to look up at him. In the dim light of the fire, Barnaby could tell that the Leader was tanned and was started to age. The subtle lines under his brown slitted eyes and the startings of gray at the roots of his mousy brown hair gave him away. He was clad in robes and sashes, a tiger-like tail poking out of the back of his robes. He also had the ears of a cat where a human's ears would be. The Leader also had thick black lines, like tiger stripes on almost every visible stretch of skin Barnaby could see. As the blond looked around, he noticed that the leader was really the only Tiger class Feline Born in the tribe.
"I assume you are Muramasa Kaburagi," Barnaby had broken the stifling silence. He gracefully brought himself to one knee and bowed his head.
Muramasa only continued to look down at the knight. "And you must be Barnaby Brooks the Younger. Welcome to our village. I hope your travels were not too horrendous."
Barnaby had something to say about that, but kept his mouth shut. He rose to his feet, the clinking of his armor the only noise above the crackling of the flames.
"I've come to take care of the Dragon Born that keeps appearing in these parts. If you would permit me to, I would like to reside here until the job is taken care of." Barnaby knew it was pretty risky to be asking so much of the Feline Born Leader, but where else would he go? He definitely didn't want to be in a cave near that of the Dragon Born.
Muramasa dipped his head in a nod, his brown eyes not betraying any emotion. "Of course. You'll be staying not too far from where my family resides on the outskirts of the village. We have set up a tent for yourself and supplied you with necessities. My brother, Kotetsu, would be more than happy to show you to your quarters."
The Leader held his hand out to the side to direct Barnaby's attention to Kotetsu. He was noticeably younger than Muramasa, but still older than Barnaby by at least five or so years. He was clad in a deep green tunic that clasped only at one shoulder, just barely hiding claw-shaped scars on the upper right side of his chest. He too had the black stripes of the Tiger class on his tanned skin, the same orange and black striped tail and ears of the Tiger class as well. His bangs were unruly and almost hid his left eye. A lopsoded, toothy grin stretched across his features.
For the love of Hades, Barnaby groaned inwardly. He had the feeling this man was a complete idiot.
Chattering amongst the villagers erupted and they started to disperse, heading home.
"So your The Barnaby Brooks the Younger, huh?" The blond had turned to find that Kotetsu was talking to him. "It's such an honor to finally meet you, uh, sir."
Barnaby rolled his eyes and tightened his grip on the reigns of Tempest. "Sure. Could you just lead me to where I'll be lodging? I've been traveling since before sunrise today, and I'd like to get some rest." His voice sounded clipped and laced with an edge, but what could he do? He was exhausted and didn't want to chat.
"Oh, right, of course." Something flashed in Kotetsu's eyes, but Barnaby was too tired to read him. The Tiger class turned and followed the dirt road around the massive bonfire, and continued down it. The knight pulled on the reigns just a bit to get Tempest going. He trailed behind Kotetsu.
They walked in silence until Kotetsu motioned to Barnaby. "This way; it's behind all the other tents and houses."
Without replying, the blond turned with his steed down an alley. The alley opened up into a small clearing. A rather large tent was set up. Torches stuck up from the ground a good distance away from it, and light came from inside; a lantern, the knight figured.
Kotetsu held his arms out to it and smiled "Ta da!"
Barnaby sighed. "Thanks." He walked past The Feline Born to take off Tempest's gear. Kotetsu noticeably deflated, his cat ears pressing against the sides of his head and his tail drooping to the dirt.
"Hey, uh, if you need anything, I live right here." Barnaby looked over his shoulder at Kotetsu, who was pointing to a tent that was smaller than his own. The blond furrowed his brow.
"Don't you live with your brother and his family?"
Kotetsu blinked a few times, and once he registered the question, he grinned sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck. "You would think so, right? But I, ah, married a few years ago. I live with my daughter here. Muramasa said it would be better."
"Oh." Was the only thing Barnaby could say in response. He felt Kotetsu's uneasiness on the subject and turned back to his horse. "Well, thank you, Kotetsu."
And with that, the Feline Born slunk back into the village.