"Found a river!" Tobias yelled from above, circling above them as he pointed toward the east. "It's about half a day's walk or so. I didn't see any humans around, either." He landed back onto the ground with the rest of the group, glancing over to Naru uneasily as the peacock panted with effort from walking. He was starting to fall behind the others, Althea subtly staying near him so he didn't feel alone at the back of the group.
"I need to take a break." Naru gasped before falling to his knees, trying to catch his breath. "I haven't walked so much since I was captured."
"It's alright." Althea said, signaling to the others to stop as well. Toran walked over, looking down at Naru with a mixture of sympathy and frustration.
"We're almost there. Do you need help getting there? We can rest for a few days once we're there." The tiger winced as he noticed the back wound had opened again, blood running down the peacock's back in a slick mess.
"No, I don't need help." Naru snapped. "I don't want people carrying me. I can walk, I just need a break." He sat on the ground for a moment, his tail splaying out behind him.
"Go easy on him, Toran. He's not used to this- I'm not either. My feet are killing me." Althea glared at Toran, who nodded and turned away without another word. She sighed and rolled her eyes in dismay at him, then turned back to Naru. "The others told me you can use magic. Is that true?" She asked, trying to distract Naru from his pain and exhaustion.
"Yeah." Naru nodded. "I was supposed to be trained in it when I was older- but that didn't happen. I'm not very experienced with it. I pretty much can only do blasts and growing plants." He looked down in embarrassment.
"That's still something." Althea smiled. She handed him her water skin, letting him drink his fill. "I can't grow plants like that, so you know more than I do." She waited a few more minutes before offering a hand to help him stand back up. "Are you okay now?"
"Yeah, I should be good." Naru said, handing the water back to her and nodding gratefully. He took her hand and hoisted himself back up off the ground to continue. "Your friend over there isn't very patient, is he?"
"Toran?" Althea glanced over to the tiger. "No, he's not." She sighed. "But you get used to it."
Naru made a small sound of disbelief at that, but nodded. "Alright, let's keep going." He stretched his talons, flexing them before starting to walk again.
Naru let out a yell of excitement when the river came into view, rushing forward ahead of everyone to wade into the water, dirt and grime floating into the water around him as he walked in up to his waist. He dunked under the water, letting out a laugh of excitement once he was soaked, looking around at the dirty water with a look of disgust.
"Bath time!" Peeps yelled and jumped in as well, the splash making Naru laugh again and splash the little girl back.
"Can I talk to you for a minute?" Toran looked toward Althea uneasily.
Althea looked back up at him in surprise and nodded, walking away from the others with him. "Sure." She muttered, wondering what he wanted to talk about.
He led her out deeper into the forest that bordered the rivers so that the others were far out of sight, and in no way could hear them.
He turned away from her, running a hand through his brown hair uneasily, his stance tense. "I-I'm not very good at this kind of thing." Toran said, glancing at her over his shoulder. "But I wanted to say I'm sorry. For last night."
"Oh." Althea said in surprise. "Thank you. I understand why you were upset, though. If you don't want me to help you with fights, I won't."
"No, it's not that. I just... you can't really defend yourself, and you're..." He let out a small sound of frustration and watched the ground as he spoke. "You're too nice to get hurt in battle, Althea. You honestly want to help us, because it's right. Even if it means you can't see your family ever again."
Althea nodded, but his words seemed to ring through her mind, the realization hitting her again that she couldn't ever go home. "It's... you guys need help." She said, her voice cracking. "I know you do, I've seen it- and..." She winced with embarrassment as a small sob came out of her, turning away so he couldn't see her tears.
"Ah, I didn't mean to make you cry-" Toran held out a hand to her, but dropped it with a deep sigh. "I'm terrible at dealing with people. I'm sorry. You've sacrificed so much for us, and I've just been giving you a hard time."
Althea didn't say anything, just continued to fight back the tears that stung her eyes, hating that she had been crying so much today. It's not like she even knew her family well- why should she be so upset to lose them? Why was she so upset that other humans saw her as a traitor, and she couldn't be seen with the animus?
She tense as warm arms surrounded her, Toran giving her a tentative hug to comfort her. "Thank you for doing all this, Althea. You could have walked away from us- you could have decided to live a normal life as a human. Get married, have kids... instead you chose to help us. Thank you." He said seriously, hugging her tighter for a minute before letting go of her. "I know you're the niece of the king- that makes you royal. I know how much you gave up to be here, sleeping on the cold ground with just a blanket and no bed."
Althea couldn't help but let out a chuckle. "It's not that bad, really."
"It is, you're just being modest." Toran shook his head. "Modesty is a good trait, but there is a limit to how far it should go, Althea. Think of yourself sometimes and not everyone else around you. I don't want you to get too close to a battle because you can get hurt, or killed. You don't have teeth or claws like I do if you lose your weapon. You only have magic, and not even that much. You said it yourself."
Althea let out a small sigh. "I know... I just don't know how else I can help you. What am I supposed to do?"
"Just be there." Toran smiled. "It's enough right now that you're here supporting us. Jumping into a fight without a plan will just get people hurt when they try to protect you. I should have said that last night instead of just being so cruel. I just hadn't expected someone to find us so quickly so I was worried we were being followed."
"Followed? Were we?" Althea squeaked in alarm. "Do you think they still are?"
"Not that I've seen or heard, but you never know. There are ways to make people invisible or silent with magic. I've seen it before." Toran shook his head. "For now, we just keep alert and be prepared if something happens." He flinched when a raindrop hit his nose, looking up to see rain starting to fall from the sky. "Damnit, I thought it might look like a storm was coming." He looked back toward the river, where everyone was running for the tree line as a steady stream of rain started heading their way. "Come on, follow me." He said, grabbing her wrist and guiding her into thicker trees. The rain soaked them quickly, making Althea shiver in the cold as she was drenched.
"There's a house up ahead." She pointed toward the structure, a small simplistic cabin nestled in a grove of trees.
"I'll ask if we can go inside. If it's humans, then we'll just have to find something else." Toran nodded, running up to the door and knocking his fist against the wood. "Can we seek shelter inside?" He shouted into the door. "Please!"
The door opened a crack and a woman peeked through the door, her eyes wide at the sight of Toran and Althea shivering in the rain. She opened it further, revealing a small cabin with one bedroom. "Please, come in. I have a fire going." She motioned them to come inside, Toran putting an arm around Althea's shoulders to try and keep her a bit warmer as he guided her through the door. He led her to a fire, sitting her down in front of it. She was still shivering, but she seemed to be getting warmer with the flames heating her.
"Thank you." Toran said, looking to the woman in surprise. She was a human... and to the best of his knowledge, no human but Althea had allied themselves with the animus.
"Of course." She nodded her head. "It's the least I can do for the prince of the Taria kingdom. My husband will be honored to see you here."
Toran blinked in shock at that statement, Althea turning her head to look at the woman as well. "W-who is your husband?" Toran couldn't help but ask.
"He should be out any moment. He was resting after hunting most of the day." She walked over to the door leading to the bedroom, knocking on the door gently. "Dear, we have visitors. Can you and Vita come out to see them, please?"
"Of course." The male voice from inside the bedroom called back.
The woman waited patiently as her husband came out, the door opening to reveal a cheetah animus walking out, stopping in his tracks when he saw Toran.
"Majesty!" He bowed his head quickly. "It's an honor to have you in my home."
Toran nodded back in thanks, looking from the woman to the animus. "You two are married then? I have not heard of a human and animus mating."
"I have only met one other couple." The woman blushed shyly. "It is rare, but we exist. Dear, where is Vita?"
"Vita!" The cheetah called back with a smile. "Come meet the tiger prince."
"Prince?!" A child's voice sounded from the bedroom and a small boy ran out, looking up at Toran with wide eyes. "You're the prince!" He grinned.
Toran couldn't help but stare in shock at the boy, who looked human except for the cheetah ears on his head, and a long feline tail and swished behind him happily. Never in his life had Toran seen a hybrid between a human and animus- hadn't even known they could exist. He looked up as the woman chuckled in amusement at his shock.
"Imagine my surprise when I found myself pregnant." She smiled. "I hadn't thought it possible, either- yet here he is." She kneeled down and the boy ran into her arms for a hug. She lifted him into her arms, settling him against a hip. "I didn't know the prince was traveling with a human." She looked down to Althea. "A noble, at that! If you want to be more discreet you'll have to change clothes dear, those are much too rich to blend into a crowd."
Althea looked down at her dress thoughtfully, but realized she was right. She stuck out like a sore thumb in her blue and silver gown rather than the normal peasant attire. "I have an idea if you'd be willing to help." Althea looked up at the woman. "How about I trade you this gown for one of yours? I'm sure it's worth quite a bit of money at a village."
The woman smiled happily. "I'd be happy to! I think I have some in your size from before I had Vita." She set the child down, who was still staring at Toran with eyes full of awe. She strode over to the bedroom, coming back with a simple blue skirt and white tunic. "This should do nicely- and good for traveling." She handed her the clothes and motioned toward the bedroom. "Feel free to change in there. Let me know if you need help with lacings."
Althea smiled gratefully to her and went into the bedroom to change, leaving Toran alone with the couple. He looked down at the child again, still shocked at the sight. "I-is he healthy?" He asked.
"Oh yes, very healthy." The woman chuckled. "Gets into all kinds of trouble, just like any child."
"We haven't brought him out much without wearing a hat and keeping his tail in his pants... for obvious reasons." The cheetah said. "He would attract unwanted attention without the proper precautions."
"I bet." Toran nodded. "He'd be a shock to most people. Humans don't think it's possible for animus and humans to produce children, and I'll be honest and say I've never heard of such a thing happening before today."
Althea came back out of the bedroom, dressed in the much more simple clothes of a peasant. She looked far more comfortable as well, the dress flowing freely around her so she wasn't confined into a corset and bustle like her noblewoman's dress. "That is so much better, thank you." She sighed, breathing deeply as if it was a novelty.
"Not a problem, dear." The woman chuckled. She looked out the window of the cabin as the rain started to die down, finally ending in a light sprinkling. "It looks like the rain has stopped. You're welcome to stay, but if you need to go now would probably be the best time."
"No, we should get going." Toran nodded. "Thank you for your hospitality. It will be remembered." He nodded in thanks to the cheetah and his human mate. He gave one last long look at the small boy before smiling and walking out of the cabin, Althea saying her goodbyes before following close behind.
"I've never seen a human-animus child before." She said in shock. "He... was rather adorable." She chuckled.
Toran glanced over to her in surprise but grinned. "He was rather cute. Let's find the others and make sure Naru gets his healing. I'm sure he's not too happy at being caught in the rain like that."
Althea nodded, looking over to Toran to see him still drenched and couldn't help but laugh. His fur was plastered against his skin and shining with the wetness, drops falling from his tail and ears. "You don't look very happy yourself."
"I don't have to preen my feathers if they get wet like he does." Toran reminded her and caught sight of Naru, who was muttering angrily and smoothing out his tail feathers in the distance. "See?"
"Where have you two been?" Xicro asked, looking at Althea's new dress. "Where did you get that?"
"We saw a cabin in the woods and sought shelter there. There was a couple inside." Toran grinned at Xicro's surprised expression. "A human- animus couple."
Xicro put a finger up to his chin thoughtfully. "Interesting. I didn't think there would be many human and animus couples considering the stigma between the races right now."
"Not only that, but they had a child." Toran said, everyone around him looking at him in surprise. "I know, that was my reaction too. He looked human, but had ears and a tail. Perfectly healthy."
"Well." Xicro let out a shocked breath. "That will certainly change things. If humans and animus can have children..."
"Then we're really not all that different after all." Naru said softly, his eyes wide as he stared at the ground.
"Right." Toran nodded in agreement.
"I could have told you that." Althea rolled her eyes. "All you guys are just humans with some fur and a tail. Okay you have strange legs too, but otherwise you're just the same. Same problems, same drama." She shrugged. "It makes sense."
Xicro grinned and rubbed Althea's head teasingly, messing up her hair. "You're a good kid, Althea. Now let's take care of Naru so we can get going. I don't want to get caught in another storm."
Althea smoothed her hair back down as best she could and walked over to Naru, who was still sitting on the ground trying to smooth his tail feathers out. "You ready for me to wash your back and heal you some more?"
"You've already used a lot of magic today." Naru looked at her skeptically. "Shouldn't you take a rest first? We can heal my back tomorrow. Just wash it for now."
Althea shook her head. "I'll only heal it a little more, I promise. It should have a bit more healing, because it opened back up when we were walking for so long."
"Fine." Naru sighed, walking over to the river and wading back into the water.
Althea hiked her skirt up around her knees, wading in after him, and sighing when the bottom of the skirt got we anyway. Oh well. "Now hold still, this might sting a bit." She brought some water and cupped it in her hands before letting it run down over the jagged flesh of his back, the rivers running red with blood as they ran through the wounds. Naru arched his back with a hiss of pain, but otherwise held still. "Sorry." Althea said, tentatively taking her hand away in hesitation before continuing.
"It's okay." Naru gritted through his teeth. "As long as it gets healed, that's what matters."
Althea nodded and tried to finish as quickly as possible, washing and closing the wounds again so that they at least stopped bleeding. When she was finished the flesh was still an angry red, but much less festered. "That looks much better." She said, patting his shoulder to signal to him that she was done.
He looked over his shoulder at her and smiled gratefully. "Thanks- it feels better, too." He tried to look at it, but didn't dare twist any further for fear of it opening again. He sat in the water, closing his eyes and enjoying the feeling of the water running past him. When he opened his eyes again, he saw Althea sitting on the shore of the river, her bare feet dangling in the water after she took off her shoes. He looked down at her feet in interest, glancing at his own talons to compare just how very different they were.
"Um..." He looked over to her sheepishly. "Can I ask a strange question?"
"I can give a strange answer." Althea joked back with a grin.
Naru chuckled and continued. "I was wondering about something the humans had talked about in the prison. I never knew whether they were just joking or being serious." He fidgeted with a tail feather nervously. "Do the mystics really exist?" He sighed with relief that his question was finally out in the open.
"The mystics?" Althea looked to him in confusion. "I'm sorry, I'm not sure what you mean. Maybe I haven't heard of them."
"Well, the story goes that after the humans made my kind- the peacocks- they wanted more of a challenge. They gathered three of the most rare and magical creatures of the world and made animus." He explained. "Do you think that's possible? Do you think they exist?"
Althea shrugged. "I've never heard of them, and my family was pretty close to people who knew some very powerful sorcerers. I suppose if someone did make something like that, they would either keep it a closely guarded secret, or brag about it to whoever would listen depending on who they were."
"Hmm." Naru tapped his chin in thought. "I'm surprised something like that wouldn't be known more widely. It sounded pretty interesting."
"It may just be a myth." Althea suggested. "Something to show how strong the magic the sorcerers used to create the animus was. To change something that's already magic is very difficult."
"I didn't know that." Naru raised an eyebrow. "I didn't learn much magic before I was captured. Only basic things my father taught me- like growing things and illusions."
"You can make illusions?" Althea sat forward in excitement. "I've never been able to do that! Can you show me?"
Naru flushed happily at her excitement and nodded, raising his hands and letting his golden magic fill the air around him. His appearance slowly changed from his peacock form to that of a normal human with brown hair and green eyes. "I practiced this a lot when I was in the prison- and used it to try and escape the first time. It didn't work very well because it's just an illusion so if anyone touches me they'll still feel feathers."
"That's very impressive, though!" She smiled, looking him over with wide eyes. "It's so realistic- I would never think you're an animus unless I knew you beforehand." She gasped with a realization, splashing the water with her feet. "Maybe you can come into the village with me, that way I can have someone to watch my back in case something happens."
Naru let out a small squeaking noise in fear at the idea of being around so many humans. "I-I'm not sure I'm ready for that." He stammered, the illusion falling when he lost his concentration.
"Oh- right." Althea said softly. "Sorry, I forgot." How could she forget he had been tortured by humans for the last 6 years? Of course he was afraid of them. She was rather shocked he was so at ease around her.
"I'm a human, why aren't you scared of me?" She asked, admittedly curious to why he would suddenly not be afraid of her after he had shied away from her in the prison cell like he had.
Naru blinked in surprise and thought for a moment. "I suppose it's because you seem very genuine. You don't hide your emotions like some other humans, and you try to help others when you can. I'll admit sometimes I get nervous when you get near me, still." He shook his head. "But that's just a reflex at this point."
"I understand. Don't worry about it." Althea stood, shaking the excess water off of the hem of her skirt. "We should get back to the others. I don't know how long they're willing to wait before we keep walking again."
"Right." Naru hoisted himself out of the water, dragging his heavy tail with some effort before he got into the bank. He fanned out the wet feathers behind him and shook them violently, water flying in all directions from the feathers. Althea squealed and laughed as water splashed onto her, her arms going up to guard her face from the spray.
"Sorry." Naru snickered, not sounding very sorry at all. He walked past her, a smile on his face as he went over to the other animus, feeling much more like himself. He may have had a bad past... but perhaps it was time to move on. He would help Toran regain his kingdom, and then...
Well, he'd think about what to do after that when the time came.
