Disclaimer: I don't own any of Tammy's original characters, Ideas, plots, or any of those things...
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I sprinted as fast as I could through the streets of Corus. It was hard, trying to keep to the shadows as well.
See, this was why I didn't make plans.
They never turned out well.
No one cared that my plans did not include a three hundred pound lioness sprinting through the most populous city in Tortall, right next to me. In fact, that was a direct disruption of my plans. It was not good. Which was exactly what I had tried to explain to Numuula when she had made the decision to accompany me on my mission.
Giant cats aren't exactly conspicuous.
And I only had a few hours to get out of the city before the Menagerie caretakers went to the lion enclosure, and noticed that Nom was missing. And then, a servant would be sent for me, to have me come and call for her, and get her back in her house. And it would be discovered that I was also missing. While I'd originally planned to have a whole day, maybe even more to get as far away from Corus as possible. now I had three hours. At most.
Most certainly not part of the plan.
But, Nomy wanted to go. And, as earlier mentioned, she was a three hundred pound cat. With teeth, and claws, and a hell of a lot of muscle force behind both. Now, I may not be a scholar, but I know how to pick my fights.
And it's not a smart thing to pick a fight with a lion.
So, Razi had agreed to stay behind. he hadn't wanted to come much anyway. I hurt a bit to admit, but... Well, he wasn't as young as he once was. He'd been old when I'd nursed him back to health, already fourteen, and now he was twenty-two. That was two years older than most hawks lived to be. I've been feeling a sort of clenching on my heart for the last couple of months. He always claimed that he was fine. But I new better. His insides were starting to fail. He was old. And I hated to feel like I was going to loose him. We'd been together for seven years. he was as much part of me as any of the humans I knew. He'd kept me out of trouble, and helped me to grow, and made sure I behaved.
Losing him was going to be hard. My only hope was that he knew exactly how much I'd miss him, no matter all of my grumblings.
But there were more pressing issues at hand.
Nomy wasn't taking things very seriously, while she did keep up, really I was the one struggling to match her cat-leaps, her attention was easily drawn away from our mission. For example, a rat would scurry through her line of vision, and she'd pounce on it, or chase it. And I'd have to get her back on track. But we seemed to manage.
The really hard part was getting out of the city. And we managed that as the palace bells chimed two in the morning. Three hours, if we were lucky.
We moved off of the road, into the cover of brush. The tracks left in the dirt road by the reinforcements was still clear. Once in the cover f brush, I stripped myself of clothes.(bringing the mail shirt seemed silly now, but I hadn't intended to have to keep up with a lion.) They went rolled up into my satchel along with my knives, belt, and money purse. The bag went strapped to my back, so I'd be able to travel without worrying about it.
I had to even out my breathing a bit to change, calm down. I was starting to doubt my decision. all the things that could go wrong were running through my head.
Not the least of which was being accused of the kidnapping of an inhabitant in the royal menagerie.
Because, well, technically, that was what I'd done.
Not that Nomuula seemed to grasp the gravity of that. The way she saw it, her staying in the enclosure was her choice, she could do whatever she wanted. And, well, I saw it that way too, that was the only reason she was here now, but... well, everyone else saw it a bit differently.
At any rate, calming down enough to change my shape was challenging, and took the better part of the next fifteen minutes. But when I managed to, the transformation proceeded smoothly, my fingers shortening and widening, my face lengthening, nose flattening. Bones changing and skin morphing to fur. The change itself was uncomfortable, the results were worth it. When I was a lion, my coat was dark. A red-gold, and glossy. I shook myself, and stretched, claws extended and raking through the dirt, letting myself adjust to my lion form
'Let's Go.'
Nomy let out a little lion-bark of a laugh, 'Yes ma'am! Right away!' She still didn't seem to grasp the importance of this trip.
I wasn't used to having to be the responsible one. In fact, I was usually the one everyone was always telling to calm down, and behave. 'Nom, please. You know how serious this is? We could be killed.'
'Well, ' She said, muscles bunching and loosening as she sprang into a run, 'then we'll have a good adventure before we go, won't we?'
I rolled my eyes and followed suit, loving the feel of my large paws pushing forcefully off of the dirt road, pushing me forward. 'I guess we will.'It was a much better way to look at things than I was. I liked it better. That was a good way to see this. Not as a way to protect the ones I loved by putting myself in danger. Not as a way to prove I wasn't just a distraction. No, a way to see Tortall. A way to find my own self. A way to have a bit of fun. A way to help. An adventure.
Damn plans. We'd just follow the tracks, and the smell of horses, dogs, and men, and find our way to the battle field. This was an adventure, and no good adventures followed plans.
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"How far from Pearlmouth?"
Sergeant Domitain of Masbolle ran his fingers through his dark hair, and tugged on the tip of his nose, as if in through. "Another two days ride, if we keep going like we have been." His mare's hooves trod heavily in the muddy road, throwing up the muck behind her. The men were all dust covered, and the horses' coats sweat-streaked. They'd been riding hard since the night before, and the sun was now high in the sky, beating down on them. The stormy clouds creeping across the field of blue was both dreaded and welcomed.
Thom pushed his red bangs out of his eyes and nodded, mouth set in a grim line, brow furrowed. It was impossible to tell what the younger man was thinking. Probably something much too old for him to be thinking, not that it mattered much. Thom's mind never seemed to have fit in with his age. It must have been one fo the oddities that came with having the Lioness's blood, as well as the former Rouge's, running through your veins. It was an odd combination, and their children had turned out dully odd. "Dom... do you honestly think Kari will be able to keep out of trouble without us?"
Ah. so that was what was eating the red-head. He should have known. Kari and Thom were attached at the hip. It had been Thom's job to teach her and keep her out of trouble, and he'd done a damn good job of it. The girl was a handful, and the prospective suitors she'd gained the attention of were no doubt two handfulls, but Thom seemed to get along fine. Then again, not many men wanted to tangle with a Blackrobe Mage. Perhaps this was the secret behind Thom's success. "Oh, no, I doubt it. She'll be a mess, sleeping in 'till noon, and staying out 'till dawn." Dom laughed wearily, giving his nose another tug. "Alas, the woes of men in love with women who are too rambunctious and capable for their own good. They'll never stop worrying." He said, slyly sneaking a peek at Thom through the corner of his blue eyes.
At first the mage had smiled, ever so slightly, even a tiny smile was rare for him now-a-days, and the beginnings of a nod, then his eyes widened, and his head turned sharply, to glare at Dom. "Stop that. You lot are being completely absurd. You know, Daine and Kel have said things about something between me and her before as well?" His voice was sharp, world-weary, and embarassed, and his ears were red.
Ah, see, he knew there was a tad of young man in there, under all the middle-aged persona. "Well, you know, Daine and Kel are women, and women have a way of knowing these sorts of things. And, I am Kel's most trusted confident, so she informs me of the goings on of our friends, and I know every bit of your and our dear Kari's relationship. As analyzed by my best-est buddy."
"You're the last person who should be talking about secret pinings. What about your and your 'best-est buddy'?" Thom snapped back in return, ears still pink. "You don't seriously believe that you're fooling anyone with your, 'Kel and I are simply friends act', do you?"
Dom shrugged, "I'm not fooling anyone, because there's nothing I'm trying to fool them with. Kel and I arejust friends, contrary to your suspicions might be. We're both much to busy for a relationship, and I am not looking to give up my position in the Own any time soon, neither is she willing to settle down enough to have a bundle of little ones. And with the war that's bound to start, well, neither of us will have much time, and I don't want to raise little ones in a war-ridden time." He shrugged, neither denying nor confirming Thom's accusations. Let him interpret the answer how he saw fit.
Thom didn't answer immediately, but instead pondered this answer. "Romance is overrated." He concluded, eyes back on the muddy road ahead as the long anticipated clouds finally rolled in, blocking out the sun and a faint drizzle, causing a collective groan from the men behind.
Lerant, no longer Lord Raoul's arms bearer, but now an actual soldier, urged his horse up next to them, "That it may be, my friends, but the fruits it bears are very much worth the trouble."
"Here-here!" Agreed another man, grinning and thrusting his gauntlet clad fist in the air with a chuckle, "Nothing get my woman more willing than a few flowers and pretty verses!"
Dom laughed, clapping Lerant on the back, "See, Thom? There we have it, women like ours really are worth the trouble."
Thom simply nudged his little mare with the insides of his heels, speeding up ahead of the embarrassing conversations. "You're all mad. Kari is like a sister. Nothing more."
The men chuckled and nudged each other, as if sharing an inside, and rather funny, joke at the mage's expense, while muttering little comments on how they never put up with nearly as much from their sisters as Thom put up with from his, and how Raoul would have to be informed that his little girl was in danger of seduction by way of mage-craft.
It was going to be a very long trip.
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'Go on, change. no one's too near, and you need some food. I wouldn't mind a nice hunk of meat either. And some shelter from this horrid water. I hate it.'
'Fine.' I answered, letting myself return to my natural state of being. It felt good to be back in my human skin again, however, the cold droplets of rain hitting my bareness was chilling, if a bit refreshing. In lion state I felt the natural disgust to the water, in human, I cherished it slipping and sliding down my skin. It woke me up a bit, washing away my weariness, yet the purple bags under my eyes remained. That was what resulted from a night of no sleep, all running.
I got dressed, breast band and loincloth, mail shirt, tunic, and breeches. They were all wet, regrettably, and my knife belt went on as well. I was even colder once dressed, oddly enough. I feet and hands were aching, the skin on them raw and sensitive. That was something inescapable. I groaned at the though of having to continue in the morning. We shouldn't even have been stopping, but the rain wasn't something lions enjoyed, and I wasn't going to risk either of us catching cold. Besides, we'd covered a lot of ground, and I had no doubt that we were catching up quickly. And I was hungry.
We entered the town with some reluctance. Luckily, due both to the late hour and the weather, the streets were bare. People had their shutters closed, to keep out the wet and the thieves. Good. Nomuula and I couldn't attract too much attention. It didn't take long to find an inn, although it may have felt like it, trudging through the mud coated streets, and jumping from shadow to shadow. It was a small, il kept building. Not falling apart or rotting, just not pleasant to look at. I high doubted that the beds would be clean, or the roof free of leaks. The thought of both scenarios slightly repulsed me, and I had to mentally scold myself.
I had been spoiled in my years at the palace. How long ago was it that I would have been happy to have a bed at all, let alone one with bugs in it? Not so long ago. I could sleep here for one night. Leaks, bugs, and all.
I knocked once on the door, firmly.
" 'M com'n, 'm com'n. Keep yer trous'rs on." Grumbled a guttural voice from within. I stepped back hurriedly, wary of someone who sounded so large. And, to be honest, grumpy. Possibly even drunk. The man who opened the door was indeed very large. Well, not so much tall, but very wide, with bleary, baggy, eyes, that reminded me of a hound's, and a rippling belly that sagged over his belt. I was amazing to see that his neck, if he even had one, was completely hidden by the fat on his face. It amazed me that a man this... huge could really exist. Well, I suppose there was plenty of over-weight lords. He inspected me wearily, "Wha'chu want boy?"
He was gruff, and blunt. And, I decided, at least a little drunk. He had to be. Or otherwise had very bad vision. Or maybe I was to dirty to be recognized as decidedly female. That made me grit my teeth. Was I really so mud-coated and wet that I looked like a boy? What did I say? Should I make it clear that I was a girl? Or take the blow to my pride? "A room, please, sir, and- um, a hot meal, I can pay..."
He looked at me again, and on hand reached up to scratch the unsightly scruff around his chin and the fat overlapping his neck. " 'Yer damn right you'll be pay'n, I don' give no char'ty rides 'ere." The predatory swing of Nomuula's tawny tail caught his bloodshot eyes. " 'irthos be bless'd, what the 'ell?!" His left hand flew up to make the sign against evil. " 've 'een drink'n more'n I should've, 'm see'n things!" He rubbed his eyes, apparently expecting that to make the giant golden cat disappear. When it didn't he backed into the room violently. " 'ou get that thing outta' 'ere an' ma'be I'll let you stay!"
"What's going on out here?" A curt female voice asked, appearing behind the man. "Mirt'os bless me, what is t'at?" Her voice was certainly less slurry than the man's, alert and surprised.
I shifted uneasily. "I'm very sorry, um... She's house-trained, and she won't hurt anything..." Not entirely true, but I was fairly sure I could convince her not to go inside...
The woman's face, however, had gone from shocked to pleased in a matter of seconds. "Well, ain't t'is just the icing on the bun? Come in, come in! Wipe your feet, girl, I don't want any mud in here! And make sure the kitty does'n eit'er!" She nudged the man out of the door way quickly and beckoned us in with enthusiasm that was borderline psychotic.
The man grumbled, " I don' wan' that mon'ser in my inn...." However he didn't stop us when we took hesitant steps, and I wiped my bare feet carefully on the woven straw rug.
"Shake good before you come in..."I told Nom, "Try and get all the mud off." She complied, crouching low on the steps and shaking her fur out, before stepping in lightly after me, eager for the warm and dry.
The woman had shoved the man through a door, with a, "Heat up some of t'at stew I made for supper! And see if you can't find some meat for the kitty!" Before turning back to us, and tutting. "Poor dears, soaked to the bone! And my man bein' all gruff and humphy! No no no, if you can pay you're more t'an welcome." She was making disapproving noises, and running about. "Now come sit by the fire an' get warm, until he gets you some food..."
Nommy had already curled up in front of the source of warmth like and over-grown house cat. "How much for the meal, breakfast, a night's stay and a hot bath?" I asked her, as I sat on the rug next to the lion, reveling in the heat from the fire.
The woman's answer was automatic, like she'd said it countless times before, which she probably had. "Five coppers. A fair 'nough price."
I noded and counted the money out, placing them into her waiting hands. "Thank you."
"No, no, the pleasure's all mine." She shushed hurriedly, smoothing out her apron and sitting carefully in the care opposite the fire. "You're a little too young an' pretty ta be travel'n alone, aren't you girl?" She asked suspiciously, trying to keep her voice casual.
I shrugged. Well, at least she could tell I was a girl. It must have only been drink influencing the man's vision. "I'm old enough." Was the simplest answer I could think of. "Any news on Pearlmouth?"
One of the woman's untrimmed eyebrows shot up, "You know, you're the third guest ta ask me about Pearlmouth tonight? I suppose it's the hot topic though, ain't it? No, I've not heard anyt'ing. Alt'ough a large portion of the King's Own passed t'rough town a little before dusk. T'rough the rain and all, poor lads." She made a tutting noise.
I shifted uncomfortably, and stroked Nomuula's large tawny head, "There's been no news here then? Have the Riders come through as well?"
She shook her head, "No, 'm surprised to say, they hav'n't. What with The Commander's man in the tight spot he's in, you'd 'ave thought she'd 'ave been charge'n through. I heard the Lady Knight say'n ta 'er travel'n partner that the Queen gave express ord'rs for th'm ta stay put, an' be ration'l like-"
"Lady Knight?" I asked, feeling my body tense. Lady Knight?
"Oh? I did'n say? We're putt'n The Lioness up t'night as well!"
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So, er... It's a little late.... Thanks to the anonymous reviewer who reminded me about that... hehe... Um... Yeah... My mom's been getting on my hide about this. Thinks I'm being stupid and stuff. says to me, "You're all caught up in your little fanfiction world, and you need to start being serious, and doing stuff that will actually get you somewhere, blah, blah, you're going no where in life, ect. ect..." SO I've been at a bit of an impass. But I'm hoping to get back on track, so don't worry. Thanks to all you guys that are reviewing!
And to those who don't my threat of PMing anyone who adds to alerts, but doesn't review STILL STANDS! I'LL GET YOU!
All my love, and oodles of thanks for even taking up your time to read this chapter, Karissa M.
PS! REVIEW!
