47

Over the next weeks, the trio worked to get the one-room building finished. Orion worked just as hard
if not harder than Liona and Nagari, and the building was completed quickly. The region of Thundera was mild enough, and it would be protection plenty for the cooler months. Orion had actually fashioned a stone fireplace of sorts, with a stone hearth and border, so that he could build a cooking fire, and for warmth if he needed it.

In the meanwhile, he slept on his bedroll from Plundaar outside, with Falcon at his side. Orion usually
had to leave him a ways from the building while they worked, because he got underfoot.
but now it was finished, and Orion thanked his two friends over and over as they stood looking at it. It
was simple, and big inside, so that it did not make Orion uncomfortable.

"Hey come on, now, yer gonna make me all bigheaded," said Nagari with a laugh. He clapped Orion on
the back, and the young man didn't even flinch.

Liona winked at him. "There's a carnival going to take place here in a few days," se said. "We're going
to be there...you should come. It seems a great way to let Thundera know you're back."

Orion smiled at the pair, and shuffled his feet a bit Then he nodded. "O-okay," he said to them. "I'll be
there." He waved at them as they ;left in the truck-vehicle, and then turned to Falcon. he wiped his eyes, which
seemed to be a bit damp, and went inside his home, where he had put his things. There were some shelves for his
things, and an indentation for his bedroll. he grinned broadly. "What do you think?" Orion asked.

Falcon sniffed the wood, looked unimpressed, and ran off to play in the leaves. Orion smiled, and looked around.
It smelled different here. Far different. There had been nights when Orion did actually miss the forests
of Plundaar. Having lived there for so long, one could hardly blame him for missing it. The wilds had become
his home, after all. If only he was a Mutant. Then he could stay there without his life being in such danger.

Orion shook his head, and shoved the thoughts away. He hated when he dwelled on something,
especially when it was something that could not be. He sighed, looking into the sky, achingly familiar to him,
but still so very alien.

He wondered if Hyder ever would have tried running away if Orion hadn't been there. He wondered the
if he would have, if he would have succeeded. That was what Orion thought of most often when he cursed the
Mutants for taking him from his home. he thought about not ever having met Hyder, or he thought bout Hyder
never escaping Blackmoor.

Orion frowned, irritated with himself. Had he not just decided to turn his train of thought from this
subject? but then, what else did he have to do? He didn't have to fear for his life, anymore. He did not have to
watch out behind him twenty-eight hours a day.

Of course he likely still would, but it would be a waste of energy.

Orion followed the sounds of Falcon's playing, and sat down to watch. When night came, he went
inside his little house, smiled, and lay down on his bedroll. as the house was being built, Orion had asked if
they could make an indentation, a rounded, gradual dip in the floor of the room, for his bed. When the
puzzled Thunderian asked why, Orion explained that it would be more comfortable for him to get a lot of
blankets to use as a bed than a regular bed. They had agreed, and now all Orion had to do was get the blankets.

He could get furs to trade, he knew this, perhaps some dried meat once he had hunted. He had a couple
of furs, which he had learned to tan, and some of the dried meat, but he did not want to use his supplies until he
had gotten into a hunting routine on the new planet.

He would figure it out.

But in the meanwhile, he was going to get used to his new home, and the carnival was in a few days, He
was looking forward to that. And so he slept.

Before the festival began, Orion began seeing signs of its eminent arrival. It was a regional festival,
meaning that people from at least a dozen different cities would be coming to attend. That made Orion nervous, but it made him feel excited, also. To see so many Thunderians! It would be strange to him.

As he watched here and there from the edge of the city, he saw booths being set up, and tables ready for
the carnivals. He saw people arriving on foot and by hovercar, and even by wheeled vehicle, some similar to
carts he had seen on Plundaar. He had not ventured much into the city yet, preferring to stay in the woods away
from them. He wanted to get used to his new home before having to contend with so many other people.

But finally the first day of the festival began. Orion woke early that day, watched the sun rise brilliantly
into the orange sky, and dressed.

The young man bit his lip. Plundaarian clothing. That could be a problem. The coveralls that Hyder
gave him were unripped, but they were clearly of Mutant origin, and looked vaguely military. He would not
wear those. He did have a tunic and breeches of the type that the commoners wore, which was less conspicuous,
and had only holes in the knees. He would wear those, and perhaps he would find some at the carnival that he
could trade or buy.

Making sure he had his credits in his pouch, his dagger at his waist, and the hooded tunic, Orion took a
deep breath and looked towards the town. Already he could hear the faint noises of much merrymaking, and
had to smile. A real Thunderian festival! He never thought he would see a real one.

"Come on, Falcon...let's go."

Orion was nearly to the main festival sight when he realized that he had his hood up. He felt a little
embarrassed, but also felt loathe to take it down. However, he was discovering that he was getting strange looks,
and would be far less conspicuous with it down. This clashed with every nerve in his body, after so many years
of hiding his face in public. But when he took it down and got hardly a second glance, he relaxed a little bit.

His clothing was getting a few odd looks, but as many people were dressed colorfully for the festival, he
did not draw as much attention as he'd feared. And that was also good.

The young man gazed around raptly as he looked down the aisles of tables and booths. There were
shows going on here and there, and games and contests. Some of the sudden noises and boisterous
game-vendors startled him, but he did not mind. The fascination of the festival was far more immediate than his
familiar timidity.

There was a choir of children singing traditional songs, and this Orion listened to in its entirety, standing
off to one side a little bit, away from the main group of spectators. He smiled as he listened, enjoying the cubs'
voices. Falcon seemed to be listening too, as he sat with his head cocked, one ear perked forward, the other
listening to the interesting things going on behind them.

He spent the whole day wandering around and seeing what was there. He almost tried buying a jug of
milk, but realized that the credits in his pocket were Plundaarian, and would not only not be accepted here, but
likely seen as suspect. Grateful he had remembered in time, Orion walked away from the stall.

This was his permanent home now, he realized. he was so used to being a nomad, traveling wherever he
could be safe, and have food to hunt down. He would not be able to steal here.

But then if he was here permanently, he could get a job to buy the few things he needed or wanted.

No one said more than a polite hello while he was there, and Orion didn't answer aloud. He only
smiled, or nodded somewhat awkwardly. He was shocked at the sheer variety of breeds that were there. he saw
many that seemed to be of mixed heritage like himself, and even the purebreds were diverse. Cheetahs, and
lions, ocelots and servals. Wildcats and even smaller ones that the legends say were once domesticated.

Yes, he had learned some of the legends of his home planet. The workers that had helped with
his house knew where he came from, and were eager enough to fill his head with stuff they thought he should
know. he didn't mind, he was as eager to learn, as they to tell.

When Orion left the festival grounds, the parties and festivities were still going. They would run
through the night, he had been told, just like on Plundaar. That was an oddly comforting similarity. He was
finding that things that were similar to the Mutant planet were comforting for him. A bit of familiarity amid so
much that was different.

He was tired by the end of the day, and Falcon was even so droopy that Orion had carried him for the
last hour. Falcon did attract a lot of attention, but he did not mind, and he had been able to avoid questions
about where he had gotten him. He briefly thought about leaving the cub behind, but decided in the end not to.

The next day, Orion returned, this time with his backpack with him. He had left behind most of his
things, but carried his few furs, and some of the things he had gotten in his travels. There was a wooden dagger
of sorts he had carved at one point, and not done too bad a job of. He had a regular dagger, a common enough
style in the universe, that he had stolen from a Plundaarian town. There was the stone game he had gotten at
the fair, although it was a Plundaarian game, and he would think twice about trading it. There were a couple
three very small trinkets here and there that he had found or stolen, and it was with these that he went into town.

This time, he did have to talk some. He expected there to be problems with his accent, but
surprisingly, hardly anyone said a word. What Orion did not know was that Claudus himself had notified the
village's mayor, and he in turn had warned the citizens that Orion would in all likelihood speak like a Mutant,
even act like one, to an extent, but he was solidly of Thunderian alliance.

There were some that avoided him, Orion saw, once they realized he had lived on Plundaar, but none
attacked him or arrested him, and for that the young man was endlessly grateful. He asked of one of the
vendors to tell him what the date was, and when he was told, he thought for a long time, struggling to remmeber
when his birthday was. he couldn't remmeber the day, but the cycle... "I've been twenty for months now..."
and he'd thought he had just turned twenty.

The shopkeeper gave him an odd look as Orion left the stall, but the strange cat did not seem to notice.
This time around, there were things that Orion could buy.

He traded two of the furs, skins of Plundaarian animals that were highly difficult to get on Thundera,
and got a decent set of Thunderian clothing. He had seen one in a booth that looked achingly like his favorite
tunic as a child, and had stayed away from that one. He couldn't dwell on the past, or his heart would simply
snap in half. And so he had gotten a dark green and tan tunic, and a pair of breeches that reached below his
knee. His boots would do him fine for winter. With his last fur, that of a dehata, he got a nice warm blanket.

Pleased, he stuffed both into his backpack, and continued enjoying the faire.
he got only one more thing there that day; the jug of milk he'd tried to get the day before. He decided
that he would not go the next day, as he had had far too much exposure to other people. He needed some solitude
to keep hold of his sanity.

Still, most of the Thunderians had treated him warmly enough, and some had welcomed him back.
more memories of home had drifted back, seeing his town and his people again, but that was okay. They were
good memories.

Orion did go one more time, on the last day of the faire, which had lasted a week. The mayor had made
a speech about being glad to see so many people from out of town, and how good a festival it had been, and
that they expected a fine harvest. he made some citywide announcements, then bade the citizens to enjoy the last
day of the regional fair.

There had been cheers, and even Orion was grinning, standing off to the side by himself.

He traded his trinkets and the wooden dagger for a child's book of legends. Thunderian legends. It
was in Basic, but he had vowed to learn how to read it someday, and the artwork in the illustrations was beautiful. He decided not to trade his game, as he found himself loathe to part with it.

It was late in the afternoon when it happened. Orion was trying to discourage Falcon from licking the
bread on a vendor's cart, when a voice behind him said, "Orion?"

Frowning, Orion straightened, and blinked, looking into the eyes of a leopard, or a jaguar. He still
couldn't tell which was which. Pulling Falcon away from the bread, he said, "Do...I kn-know you?"

The spotted cat, sporting a wild, red mane spotted with black, blinked. He stared at Orion for a few
moments, and then said, "It is you...the mayor described you to everyone and explained somewhat of what
happened, but...I never thought..."

And now Orion was frowning, trying to catch the glimpses of memory that were flitting about his
mind. The startling green eyes, the unusual red mane...

The spotted cat frowned a bit. "You don't remmeber me, do you?"

"I-I do...I-I..." but then it clicked, and he remembered a day not long after he had gotten into the fight
with the other children, talking to his best friend about it. "J-Jaguarin. Right?"

Jaguarin, now a tall, willowy young man of twenty-one, smiled. "Yeah...it's me..." Both men looked a
little uncomfortably at each other for a moment, and then Jaguarin offered his hand.

Orion took it, shaking a bit from a flood of memory concerning his childhood friend. Jaguarin and his
family had always accepted Orion, and made him feel welcome. "I-I don't believe it," Orion said.

Jaguarin smiled, almost embarrassed, and shrugged. "Yeah, it's me... Jeez, Orion, you sound like a
Mutant." at the dark look that fluttered over Orion's face, Jaguarin winced. "I'm sorry, that didn't sound quite
right...I just meant...you must have been there a while."

Orion nodded, and let go of Jaguarin's hand. It was strange, being with a friend from so long ago. He
wasn't sure how to react to him. He couldn't help but think of Hyder, and wish that he was there. "Yes...a long
time.," He was quiet then.

Jaguarin frowned. Orion was a completely different person than the spirited child he remembered being
best friends with. Jaguarin could se it, he could feel it. he could tell his friend had gone through hell and back.

He saw the wariness and the pain in Orion's eyes. "Hey, come on, there's a dance-show on one of the stages,
you know those traditional dances? Want to go watch?"

Orion smiled a little. "Sure."

The two young Thunderians walked over and sat on one of the benches in front of the stage. The
dancers were getting ready behind the wooden construct. Orion asked quietly if they could sit towards the end,
as he didn't like being around a lot of people at once.

That too was very different than Jaguarin remembered, but he nodded and sat down near the far
left-hand side. "So what's with the...what is that, anyway?" Jaguarin asked, pointing to Falcon. The cub was
sniffing him out intently, wondering at the strange smells. So many that had the cat-smell, like Orion!

Orion smiled. "His name is Falcon, he's a hyena."

Jaguarin blinked. "A hyena? I thought that...that they were sentient."

"They are. but there are feral ones around, also, that the hyena Mutants evolved from."

"Oh..." He reached out hand towards the little creature. Falcon sniffed it curiously and then looked as if
to say "Okay, now what?" Jaguarin chuckled a bit and pet the hyena cub. "He's a strange little creature. But
cute."

Orion nodded.

The pair watched the show for a while, neither of them speaking, and the Jaguarin turned back to his old
friend. "What happened, Orion?" he asked. "The Mutants attacked, and I saw you and your parents running... We tried to catch up, my mom and dad, and Kailee, but we couldn't. We had to run the other way when a group
of the Mutants cut us off. We only barely got to a transport."

Orion's content expression vanished, and he bit his lip, suddenly remembering the horrible day. Remembering the flames that reached high into the sky from his house, remembering the snickers of the Mutants as they took his father down...

Jaguarin winced again. "Sorry, Orion...I seem to be putting my foot in my mouth today. If you don't
want to talk about it, that's all right."

Orion didn't say anything for a few moments. Then, "Do...do you still live in town?"

Jaguarin nodded. "Still with my parents, actually. Kailee's moved out, though." he frowned. "Why?"

The smaller cat smiled a bit sadly. "We...we can talk. Sometime when we're not around so many
people..."

Jaguarin nodded quickly. "Okay, good enough."

They watched the rest of the show in silence, and when it was over, the carnival was winding down. It
was nearly over, and many Thunderians were leaving to get an early start to head back home. "Well...I'm going
o head back home," Jaguarin said. He seemed uncomfortable. "Did you want to come over?"

Orion was tempted. But he decided he was not quite ready to meet any more people from his childhood.
His mind was already whirling with Thunderians. "No...not...not yet." he sighed, standing up. "It's weird,
Jaguarin...it's weird talking to you,. saying your name. it's weird seeing Thunderians everywhere...hell, it's
weird not being Plundaarian anymore. I need...I need some time to adjust."

The jaguar smiled, and nodded. "I understand, Orion. Maybe in a few days...would that be all right?"
It still felt strange even to have other people ask if something was all right with him. Orion laughed a
little bit. "That would be great," he said softly.

"If you'd feel weird at my house, maybe I can come to yours...where do you live?"

"Um, in the woods, actually...there's a little house there that some of the workers from the village
helped me build."

"Oh! Oh, that's you that lives way out there... The townspeople were talking about it once." he laughed
a little at Orion's surprised and somewhat dismayed expression. "It's all right. Orion. The king himself sent notice that you are not to be disturbed. That you had helped the military, and were under protection." he sighed. "That, and you went through a lot."

Orion bit his lip and looked down, nodding. in that moment he looked so haunted that Jaguarin got a
small glimpse of the Orion that lived under Blackmoor's cruel ownership. But then Orion looked up again and
the disturbing image faded. "Yes... Well, in a few days, then." he smiled. "If I am not there, I'm out hunting,
and shouldn't be more than a couple of hours... But if you come in the evening, I should be there."

Jaguarin grinned. "I'll see you then." The to shook hands, Jaguarin grasping Orion's arm like the king
had done. Orion returned the gesture and watched his old friend leave.

That night, Orion sat next to the campfire, in the firepit outside his home. Falcon lay curled up next to
him, waiting for the meat to cook, so that he could have some. Oddly enough, the cub like cooked meat just as
well as raw. Still, Orion had given him some of the raw meat first, since it had more nutrients that way.

He thought a great deal. This was an awful lot to happen to him in just a few short weeks. His entire
existence had been turned upside down and shaken, and he felt a bit surreal, disoriented. Meeting Jaguarin
again had him feeling oddly discontent. Jaguarin had been his best friend as a child. he always made him feel
better when Orion was feeling low, or sad. but now, he seemed a stranger...stirring only the vaguest of memories in the young man's mind. He almost felt like a traitor to Hyder.

Sighing Orion took the meat from the fire, gave some to Falcon, and ate the rest himself.

Chapter 48

Table of Contents
ThunderCat Stories Page
Main Page