Disclaimer:
wordswordswords - normal text
"blablabla" - someone is talking
thinkthinkthink- someone is thinking
**BOOMPEWPEWSLASH** - sudden noise, won't see too much of it
-timeandwhere- - time passing or location change, sometimes both
- - indicator of sudden change of scene or pov
Broken Souls
chapter 6: The other side of the fence
-Time: Early afternoon Location: East side of Avarlan-
Askari was a cheetah taught to be determined in his own decisions, yet to be wiseful about other's perspectives and to not listen to his own instincts blindly.
However despite his best efforts of listening to these golden rules, the second part of it always manages to get the better of him, making him regretful of his decisions, whenever such an event occurs.
Such regretful thoughts were currently occupying the cheetah's mind as well, as he walked down the shopping distritcs of Avarlan.
Even when Elora offered the feline an invitation for lunch, he simply turned it down, not out of the urgency to leave to discuss the details of the hearing with his father. It was due to not wishing to spend another minute with... him.
Mind you, these thoughts were not out of malice for the "human". Askari knew they were both at fault for the accident that had occured at Elora's home. What was bothering him was the fact that he was at fault for the human almost dying. Even if Andrew seemed to bare no anger towards him, he still wished to stay away from him, not wanting to be reminded of what had happened.
As he kept walking amongst the crowded streets, the cheetah couldn't help, but to let out a melancholic chuckle at the irony of his own thoughts.
Even when I do everything to avoid thinking about it, I still do. By the Ancestors, what am I suppose to do at this point? What would father say? He would probably sa-
Suddenly his thoughts were interrupted by two passing guards waving at him from the distance, before walking right up to him. At least, one of them was walking. The other one however decided to straight up run towards Askari at full speed.
"ASKARIIIIII!"
Not having time to comperhand what was happening, the cheetah suddenly found himself in the arms of another cheetah. Someone who Askari could recognize immeditatelly just by her bright blue color scheme.
"Hey, hey, hey! Why didn't you say the hearing was over? How did it went? Are you alright? Did you get in trouble for shooting that ape? Did the Chieftain make you-"
"Damn it, Zhanae! I told you already, he hates to be jumped on like that." The other guard, a rhynoc to be precise, stepped between the two and slowly pulled the two cheetah away from each other, much to Zhanae's dismay.
"Oh come on, Alister! You are just as curious as I am about what the elders wanted with Askari!" The blue feline countered back at her rhynoc friend with a whining tone.
"Doesn't give me an excuse to act like a spoiled child about it."
Before the pair would get into a a full blown arguement, Askari would decide to quickly step in. "It's fine, Alister. Really. I knew she was gonna have a lot of questions about what happened during the hearing. You know she can get."
"Yeah, Alister. You know how I can get." Zhanae teased the rhynoc with her tongue sticking out at him, making Alister scoff at her.
"Unfortunatelly, I can't give any major details on what happened during the hearing. The elders orders. And no, Zhanae, I can't give any information unoffically either, so don't even ask about it." Askari said, looking directly at the other feline, already being familiar with how much she loves to know about secrets.
The blue cheetah, although she was dissapointed by the secrecy, she still wore a worried expression looking at her fellow guard. "That doesn't answer if you had gotten into trouble or not, you know..."
Knowing well just how worried she can get, the cheetah placed both of his furred hands onto Zhanae's shoulder pads and gave her a comforting smile. "Don't worry, Zhanae. Prowlus didn't seem too angry with me. I don't think it could result in me getting kicked out from the guards. So please, don't worry about me, alright?"
"It's hard not to worry for you, Askari..." Zhanae answered, putting her own hands onto Askari's shoulders. "But if you say you, than... Than alright. I will try not to."
"Thank you." The red cheetah thanked his friend, by giving her shoulders a light squeeze before seperating from her.
Well, it's not like I can't tell them what is he suppose to be or what's he like...
"If it can help you to feel more at ease, than I might be able to tell you two some minimum amout of information." Hearing that, the blue cheetah immediatelly turned back to Askari with an excited look on her face.
"What I can tell you, is that he's not actually an "ape". He might look similar in ways, but he's far from that. Apparently he's called a "human". A kind that's suppose to live very far from here." Explained the cheetah to his two friends, from which Zhanae looked at Askari with awe and wonder.
"Far from here? You mean somewhere beyond our regions, am I correct? How in the Realms did he end up here in the first place?" Alister questioned, showing his interest in the supposed "human".
As brightful as ever with figuring things out. "We are not quite sure. The elders are still trying to figure things out. What we do know however, is that he's not a threat. Far from it. He's actually... a kind man."
"Oh! Oh! Do you think we get to meet him at some point? Maybe we all get to hang out someday!" Suggested Zhanae with an enthusiastic smile on her face.
"You haven't even met him or seen what's he like and you already wish to make friends with him? I swear by my mother, your kindness will be your downfall some day." Snorted the rhynoc while shaking his head.
"Hey! I'm just trying to be friendly." Countered back the blue cheetah, pouting at her friend. "Besides, Askari said he's a kind guy. And I believe Askari."
"Never meant you shouldn't. I just want to make sure that you won't stick your hand into fire." Alister corrected himself. "Which reminds me, where are you headed, Askari? Hope we are not keeping you up."
"Oh, not at all. Don't worry." Reassured the red cheetah. "I was just on my way to my father to tell him about the recent developments. At least, what I'm able to tell, that is."
"Your father, eh? Well, Meadow was always an insightful man. Wouldn't be a candidate to be named the next chieftain for nothing. I'm sure he will understand why you can't give out too much details regarding this situation."
Meadow. His father.
The man was known for his perceptive nature across the villages and even in places, such as Warfang, resulting in the cheetah gaining a sort of a political following. Many already speculate him to soon become part of the elder's council and become the next leader of the cheetah tribe.
Which was part of why this accident makes Askari feel such a melancholic way. How could someone who is suppose to be the son of the future chieftain make such a horrible mistake as attacking a civilian? And mistaking one as an enemy, none the less. That kind of mistake carries heavy punishment with itself. But that punishment can barely compare to the burdening feelings which reside in Askari's heart.
"Say, Zhanae, weren't we suppose to head to southern gate for the guard shift?" Asked the rhynoc to which the blue cheetah could only gasp as an answer.
"By the Ancestors, your right! The captain is going to kill us if we are late!" Zhanae yelped, as she gave Askari one last hug, before parting away from him. "We will catch up later on our shift brake, Askari! See ya soon! Come on, Alister! We need to hurry!"
"You can run up ahead. I still have something to discuss with Askari." Explained Alister as he nodded towards the red cheetah. Noticing the implication in Alister's sentance, the blue cheetah nodded as she quickly began to jog down the street.
"So... What is it that you wanted to talk about? Is something wrong?" Questioned Askari with curious look on his face.
"I don't know. You tell me." Countered back the rhynoc as he crossed his arms in front of his armored chest.
The cheetah found himself confused, before the sudden realization had hit him what Alister was talking about, making him let out a tired sigh. "Look Alister, I'm-"
"Oh no. Don't go "Look Alister, I'm fine" on me." Alister quickly interrupted the cheetah. "You are always extremely quiet, whenever something is bothering you. And I think I have an idea just what the exact problem here is."
"Great. And what will your magical advice will be this time?" The cheetah asked with a chunk of his irritation managing to coat his words.
"First of all, take deep breaths and calm yourself. If you remain like this, you might end up exploding on your father. And I'm sure you don't want that to happen." Answered the rhynoc with a neutral expression. "Second, don't guilt trip yourself over what had happened. We already went over this."
"But-"
"No buts." The rhynoc had cut him off again as he placed his hands onto Askari's shoulders, making him look directly into his eyes. "Askari, one mistake won't suddenly make you the worst cheetah in the world. Or will it make your father disown you. Was it a foolish mistake? Indeed it was. But that doesn't mean you deserve every punishment the Ancestors could possibly throw at you. Please, stop trying to be perfect, because that's just impossible."
But... That's not what this is only about...
Knowing how his friend wouldn't let up with his lecturing until he would "agree" with him, the cheetah would let out a sigh, and would decide to drop trying to bring up his reasonings and just go with what Alister says. "Alright... Alright I will try to keep myself calm."
"And?"
"... And I won't try to be perfect."
"Good to hear." Alister cheerfully said, petting the shoulders of his friend. "And besides, your efforts should be focused elsewhere. You really need ask Zhanae out at some point. She has been way more friendlier with you than she usually is with other people."
"Yeah... Wait, what do you mean ask her ou-"
"May the Ancestors watch over you, my friend!" Alister waved goodbye to the cheetah with a chuckle as he proceeded to run after his other cheetah friend to catch up with her.
Askari could only watch as Alister ran down the market district, before a chuckle managed to escape from his lips. Looks like Zhanae's personality rubbed off of you...
The cheetah stared off into the distance for a while, before deciding upon turning around and be on his way to his father.
It took him roughly 20 minutes to arrive back at his house. The home which Askari and Meadow shared was sitting right next to the river that was flowing across the village. Meadow was always fond of the fresh air the river would bring, therefore it was an easy choice where the cheetah wanted to settle down.
The building itself didn't look too far off from its view either. It was actually quite a wealthy looking home made out of a mixture of wood and bricks. A two story building that would be considered way too huge for only two individual to live inside of.
Slowly, the red cheetah walked up to the platform on which the house was set upon and stood right in front of the front door of it, contemplating on just what is he suppose to say to his father.
Better to be simply straight forward, than anything else. tip toeing around the subject would just make me feel worse. Deciding that he had already pondered on this issue enough, Askari took a deep breath and entered his home.
The interior itself only reflected the house from the inside. Beautifully crafted furnitures sat around the rooms, with breathtaking paintings decorating the walls. On of those paintings depicted a family of four, which managed to catch the attention of the cheetah, making him stop in front of it.
He stared it somberly for a while, before turning away from it to announce that he has arrived.
"Father! I'm home!"
.
.
.
No answer.
"He must be in the garden..." The feline concluded, before walking across the hallway of the house and exiting through the back door.
And there he was, just like Askari thought. Meadow was currently crouched down in his small garden, right in front of one of his herb bushes, pondering and mumbling something unintelligible as he examined the leaves.
"Father, I'm home." The cheetah declared once again, but despite that, he still recieved no answer from the older man.
Not at all feeling phased by this, Askari had let out a sigh as he walked across the small garden over to his father. Slowly crouching down next to the still mumbling man, he tapped his shoulder gently, to which the older feline almost fallen over out of suprise.
"Huh, wha- Oooooh, Askari! You're home! Did I-"
"Get consumed in your own work again? Yeah. Don't worry, you didn't do any harm with it." Askari answered with a small smile as he helped him up from his croutching position.
"Hehe... You know how I can get with medicine research. It makes me loose my sense of time." Meadow said sheepishly as he looked at his son.
"Did your medical research made you forget about your walking stick as well?" Askari questioned to which, his dad only waved his hand dismissively.
"Nonesense. I can walk just fine." Meadow declared as he walked across the garden with a very obvious limping in his left leg. "... Mostly fine." He admitted with a chuckle, before slowly walking up the porch and reaching the bench next to the door. Slowly, the older feline sat down onto it with a tired sigh escaping from his lips.
"You tell the same thing to Adama, whenever she comes to check upon you and your injury. You know you won't be able to keep distracting her with your medicine talk every time she's here." Askari countered, crossing his arms in front of his chest.
"Hey, as long as it works?" Meadow countered back with a small laugh, to which Askari couldn't help, but to chuckle along with him, before both of them would settle down.
Soon, a short silence followed, both felines staying quiet as they were waiting for the other to start talking about the uncomfortable subject. Eventually, it was Askari's father who decided to finally bring it up.
"Well... How did the hearing go, hmmm?" Meadow asked with a natural tone, without any hostility lingering behind his words.
Askari however felt himself becoming increasingly nervous as he stood in front of his father. Not out of what his father would say, but out of the burden he felt within himself. Knowing how his son must be feeling, Meadow stayed calm and collected while he waited for Askari's answer.
"... It... It went well... I... I can't share exact details, but... The man who I sho-" The red cheetah suddenly had to pause himself for a moment to swallow his words.
"... The man that was involved in the accident turned out to be a civilian... And also a human. He's from a... a species that lives far from our lands."
"Fascinating... And what about Prowlus? Did he... punish you harshly?" The older feline questioned with uncertainty betraying his tone.
"N-no. No... He... He said he wished to talk with me later. But other than that, he didn't give me any punishment for what happened." Upon hearing that, Meadow had to let out a sigh, along with a relieved chuckle.
"Thank the Ancestors... I was fearing he would judge you way too severly for the accident."
"Father... I-"
Before Askari could say anything else, Meadow held up his furred hand, halting the young cheetah in his speech.
"Son... I'm neither angry, nor I'm dissapointed. What happened was foolish accident, which shouldn't have happened in the first place... But I'm sure others have already talked to you regarding this... Something different is bothering you... Is it... that?"
With a heavy sigh, Askari could only nod to his father as an answer, admitting his feelings regarding the situation.
The elder cheetah looked down onto the ground once his theory was proven to be correct. They already had this conversation many times in the past. But it wasn't getting any easier to find the strenght to talk about it.
"Askari... I-"
"Father." This time, it was Askari who interrupted his father. "I know what you wish to say... I know... But you know just as well as I do that it won't change my view on it. No matter how many times will we have this talk."
"Doesn't mean it isn't wrong how you feel about it..."
"I know..."
Another silence followed between the two. The somberly tone continuing to linger in the air, making the atmosphere that much harder to break through.
Eventually however, Meadow decided to try and change the topic to a more lighter one. "By the way, Askari." The cheetah began. "What is this "human" actually like? Personality wise, I mean."
That took Askari a minute to answer to, as he was gathering his gathering his thoughts regarding him as whole. After rubbing his chin for a bit, he finally spoke up. "Andrew is... interesting, to say the least. He's polite and... weirdly understanding."
" "Weirdly understanding"? What do you mean?" Meadow questioned, the human perking up his interest.
"Well... He seemed to immediately accept that what happened back at the forest was just an accident... He even asked the council to not judge me harshly for what had happened... Which is something I didn't really expect."
"He's quite an insightful man than." The elder feline concluded with a smile on his face.
"Insightful, but also overthinking. He seemed to be always in his head and slightly spaced out, whenever I glanced at him."
"Did he now? Sounds like someone I know quite well." Meadow teased the other cheetah, to which Askari could only groan as an answer while he rubbed his template.
"Dad..."
"I'm just jesting, don't worry." The older man chuckled to himself. "But it is true that the two of you seem to share quite a few things, based on what I'm hearing about this Andrew."
Everything, except for the insightfulness part... The cheetah thought to himself with a sigh. "Elora did ask me, if I wanted to join them for lunch, but..."
"You turned them down, out of feeling awkward about talking to him?" Meadow asked, already knowing the answer to his own question.
"More or less, but... yeah." Askari admitted as he leaned against the wooden pillar of the porch.
"Well... I'm not going to tell you what you should do, but I feel like talking to him at least would help you feel better regarding the accident."
"What am I even suppose to say? I don't even know how to start the conversation with him."
And do you believe he does?" Asked Meadow, slowly standing up from the bench and walking back into the garden. "From what you told me, he sounds to be around the same age as you. And quite similar personality wise as well. Overthinking, timid around certain subjects, stubborn..."
"Thanks, dad."
"The point I'm trying to make..." Meadow looked back to his son. "Is you should allow yourself to be more open minded with people. And with yourself as well. Who knows? You might just end up finding a good friend in him."
Askari stared at his father for a moment, unsure of what to answer to his proposal. "Well, I doubt I will find a friend, but..." Huffing to himself, he stepped away from the pillar and nodded to his dad. "Alright... I will try to talk to him in the upcoming days."
"That's all I'm asking." The elder cheetah gave an appreciative smile to Askari, before looking up to the clear blue sky. "What a nice weather we are having. Oh! Which reminds me... Have you visited your mother and your sister today?"
Hearing the question resulted in Askari freezing up on the spot, words getting stuck in his throat. The cheetah stared at his father for a few moments, before he was finally able to answer to his question. "N-no... No, not yet."
"Well, you should. I already did today. I think they would be quite happy, if you gave them a visit. Oh, and also when you go, make sure to pick up some flowers for them as well! Bring them some of those... What was it called... Dragon Dance! Yes, that was the name of it. Your mother was always quite fond of those beautifully colored ones."
"Yes... Yes, she has always been..." The young cheetah seemed to trail off with his words, his mind wandering away for a few moments, before quickly returning back to reality. "A-anyway, I should probably get going. I don't wanna get there late."
"Well than, I shall see you around dinner." Meadow concluded, telling goodbye to his son. "If you happen to meet Zhanae or Alister, be sure to tell them they are welcome to come over for dinner as well!"
"Not sure when their shift will end today, but if I come across them again, I will them." Askari said and just before he was about to reach for the door handle, he looked back to his dad with a smile. "Also... don't forget about your walking stick."
"Oh, off with you now!" The older cheetah huffed at his son dismissively out of semi annoyance. "Over 20 years with this injury and nothing has changed about it. Don't think I would need to start worrying for it now."
"Alright, alright." The red cheetah chuckled. "Just make sure Adama won't see you without it again."
"I can't promise anything." Meadow answered back with his own chuckle, as he watched his son walk through the back door and close it behind himself.
However, once his son was out of sight, the joyous expression on Meadow's features disappeared in an instant and got replaced by a worried and stressful one.
"Oh, Askari... May your heart be able to find peace with itself one day..."
"Hey mom. Hey sis. Hope you guys are doing alright."
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"I'm really sorry for not visiting the two of you earlier today. I had to attend a... rather complex hearing."
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"Don't worry. It was nothing major... well, that's actually kind of a lie, if I'm honest..."
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"You two remember when I talked about the "bad call" I made? Well, the hearing was about that... More like about the other person, who was involved with the accident. He turned out to be a human. Some sort of a kind from another world, if you can believe that."
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"He's actually a polite man from what I can tell. I haven't talked with him, because... Well, I think you two can already guess why. But I will probably try to do so in the upcoming days."
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"Dad already thinks that two of us are similar, much to my dismay... I think you would gain a liking to him as well, mom. Knowing you, you would immediately want to invite him over for dinner. And sis would probably annoy him to no end. Asking questions about why he looks the way he is, what is his world like and a whole lot more."
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"Oh I almost forgot. I brought you two some flowers. Dragon Dance specifically. Dad said you would love these mom, so... I hope you like it."
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"Well... I think I should get going. Sorry for the short visit. I promise I will come by tomorrow and stay a bit longer. Until than... I... I hope the two of you can take care of each other... Dad and I love you two so much..."
Once Askari was finished with his goodbye, with a heavy sigh he slowly began to walk down the dirt path and go back to his home.
One would ask, where exactly was Askari's mother's and sister's house located at? Why were they living seperatly in the first place? Why won't they visit Askari and Meadow instead?
The truth to the matter was, that there was no house for Askari to visit. In fact, there wasn't anyone for him to visit at all.
There were only a grave stone amongst the countless others he could get to see on a daily bases.
A grave stone, that has been beginning to show its age by the discoloring of it and the vines growing around its base.
An aged grave stone with the following sentences carefully graved into it:
-In loving memory of a dear mother and her daughter.-
-Always in our thoughts.-
-Forever in our hearts.-
End of chapter 6
Author's note: I'm so sorry for the delay with this chapter. I was feeling pretty under the weather last week. And I didn't wish to publish a half assed chapter either.
But hey, at least this one is out! And we got a bit of a look into Askari's life! This chapter turned out to be shorter, than what I planned it to be, but I think it's better for it to be shorter, than to make it feel like a drag to read through.
Now, let's see the reviews!
l Sir. Unknown l: First of all, HOLY SHIT what a massive review! I would be lying if I said I didn't got intimidated by it at first, lmao. But I'm really thankful for these types of reviews, since they actually go into detail with their critics!
I actually took your advice with how to set up the time change and the font stuff! It really does make it much more readable and distinctive from the other fonts. I originally started going with *this* because I was expecting the site to have lots of different font options and such. Than I kinda just stuck around with it, because I wasn't minding it. Looking back, the new font makes it look so much more nicer!
Another idea was to use the bold thinking text for Andrew, so people could notice how his thoughts are way louder, than other people's thoughts. Idk, might go with it, but the italicized ones look way better.
I do plan on going back to chapter 1 and update it, because the song part... yeaaaah, you are correct. Dunno what I was thinking with it, lmao. Plus updating the other other chapters as well for better quality.
As for the swearing, yeah he likes to do it a lot. But I'm planning on utilizing this aspect for character development, so you were correct on this!
One more thing I want to add is that I'm thankful for the advice on how the site operates and such! Tbh I kinda like the lower review counts for now. It doesn't make me anxious about people's thoughts and such. Also, I'm tip toeing around changing the age rating, ever since you mentioned it, but I honestly might end up leaving it as it is. It's better for tone perspective and allows me to be more creative with my wording and descriptions.
Once again, thank you so much for taking so much time with your review! I truly appreciate it! And I'm looking forward to your other reviews as well for the future chapters!
If any of you have the time, be sure to leave a review on the story! Good criticism and reviews are always appreciated!
Have a good day or night, people!