Two knifes clashed as Kateo and Maggie fought. Maggie used a jagged stone one for practice, the blade was dull, but would bruise if it ever hit the wolf boy. He had been teaching his friend fighting skills for weeks and she was getting better. She became lighter on her feet and faster, slicing the air in the place Kateo had been before. He had been doing this for years so he was excellent at dodging and sneaking behind defences and knock a full grown boar down in just a few seconds.
Maggie's face was serious, hard and cold like her knife, not showing her plans, pain, or worry. Kateo ducked as she almost slicked his head off. On the ground he swung around and tried to knock Maggie off balance, but she jumped up and flew a little higher than she used to before. Kateo dodged as she came down and slashed her knife at the ground.
The fight had gone on long enough, Kateo was tired and Jet was hungry. All week they had been running from hunters nonstop and it was not helping Kateo's strength so he finally ended it. With two quick steps he stopped Maggie in her tracks with his knife at her throat.
"You are doing better. I think we have had enough for now", he said, removing the blade and sheathing it back in the pouch he kept it in. Maggie agreed wholeheartedly, her shoulders slumping with exhaustion and her face in sweaty relief. Slowly she walked over to a patch of grass and fell on her knees, then her face. Out like a light.
Kateo smiled as she began breathing deeply, eyes closed and face as peaceful as an angel. He was only distracted by the ticklish sensation and growling sound of his stomach telling him he was hungry. Jet heard the sound too and his tail began thumping on the ground. Kateo being hungry means Kateo getting food, that was how it worked. "Alright I will be right back, you stay here and relax".
The week was long and tiring, being hunted by multiple crazy people. They were always moving, sometimes running all day and never getting any sleep. They all were hungry and tired from running the entire way.
Kateo stalked through the woods, keeping an eye on a shadow, slowly sniffling around. He guessed it might have been a lost cow or a bear since it wasn't a rare sighting so far. They didn't have time for hunting those when they were running, but they did manage to kill a thin cow with as much meat on it as an armoured catfish. Kateo knew what it was like to hunt one of those and it he cut his hands up trying to get to the little meat inside of it and was not worth it.
There was a strange sniffling sound coming from the beast and it didn't sound like any of the bears they ran into and the smell was not terrible like the cows. Maybe it was a giant boar that got lost from the herd?
Kateo crept up a tree and sat on a branch, staring down at the fuzzy headed creature in the shadows. It was way bigger than any bear he had seen and a little sleeker. The giant mass of fur on it's head was too poofy to be a cow and its steps almost made no noise, plus they were round and fluffy. A long tail swished back and forth, knocking away leaves and needles in the way. The siffling was a little like a growl, but not like a bears.
Finally the creature stepped into the slight silver moonlight, mane looking silver in its glow. Kateo stared wide eyed at the same lion he saw at the library. Slowly he backed to another branch and jumped from tree to tree back to the camp.
Jet looked up when Kateo landed on the ground as silently as a spirit. Nothing, the wolf thought sadly. Kateo was almost breathless, "No… The lion is back. Wake up Maggie".
They both ran over to Maggie and shook the poor girl awake for the fifth time that week. The girl groaned and Kateo tried to shush her. Finally receiving her memory, she buried her head in her hands in grief. "Not more hunters", she groaned between her fingertips. "No, the lion is back. We need to go now". Even in the moonlight Kateo could see the dark circles under her eyes as she lazily got to her feet and grabbed the only supplies she kept with her. Kateo made sure she was securely on Jet's back, but something leaped out of the brush with a roar and slammed him to the ground. Jet yelped and jumped back, surely shocking Maggie awake as she clung to the black fur in desperation to hold on. The lion's paw lay on Kateo's chest, pinning him and his arms under the golden padded feet. The claws gripped the ground, creating a cage around him so if he could get his arms out, they would still be trapped. He squirmed and kicked in desperation, but it was no use.
Suddenly a stone knife went flying through the air and hit the lion in the face and almost getting it's eye. That target practice was really paying off for Maggie. "Hey you big ugly kitten. It is me you want. Come and get me", Maggie yelled, getting off of Jet. The moonlight cast a dim light on her face, but still revealing that her expression burned with rage from lack of sleep. The creature roared and stepped off of Kateo, letting him escape. Once the lion noticed its missing prey, he roared in frustration and ran at Maggie. She quickly rolled out of the way and grabbed onto its mane. Using the momentum of the giant cat, she was whirled into the air and landed on its neck. It half roared before it began making gagging sounds as the girl's arms locked around its neck.
"Kateo shoot in its mouth". Kateo seemed a little shocked by this. "What would that do. I can't knock off his head by shooting down his throat". "No, it is the only part of it that is penetrable. Your father once defeated one of these by getting it to open its mouth and Zoe shooting it in the mouth so do it NOW"! Her anger was so terrifying the lion winced.
Kateo rolled in front of the creature, boy ready with a nocked arrow. The creature's maw was so pink and vulnerable, weaker and more delicate looking than a fish. He could completely believe that it could die with a well aimed shot. He let go of the arrow and he could barely see it shoot into the lion's throat. With one final choked roar it exploded into that annoying dust. The powder was like a cloud of yellow smoke, getting in Kateo's eyes and lungs and it did not taste good.
When it dissipated, all there was left was Maggie, choking an empty lion skin to death even though it was already dead. "Did you kill it", she yelled, not opening her eyes and grasping for dear life on the golden mane. "Yes it is dead", Kateo said. Maggie opened one eye, then the other, then blinking in confusion. "What's that"? Kateo asked, pointing at the skin. Maggie blinked and looked down, yelping and dropping the empty skin as if it was suddenly blazing hot.
When she calmed down everyone circled it, wondering what to do with it. They couldn't eat it, it was too hard to make clothes out of, and gold was not Kateo's color.
"What do we do with it"? Kateo said breaking the silence. Maggie shrugged, "I don't know. In the myths Hercules wore it around when he fought. You father sacrificed his, mostly because he didn't want to look like Hercules in front of his friend Zoe Nightshade who met that guy. He gave it to Poseidon to grant them safe passage. Although he did use it a little, wore it around as a coat".
"You keep it. You are the one who really needs it", Maggie said, motioning it to Kateo. He took that as offensive, but he kept a straight face because it was mostly true. "Nah… I like what I have now. Plus I am not fond of wearing fuzzy animal skins". "You are wearing a wolf skin", Maggie motioned to the fuzzy thing that usually covered him. "This isn't wolf skin", he said questioningly. Where or why would he get a wolf skin. Most of all Jet wouldn't like it and the fact that it was too heavy and thick. Maggie stared at him in confusion.
"You can wear it, it is still cold and there is still snow on the mountains over there, you wear it to keep you warm. I can take the cold, I mean. I have climbed up the tallest peak in my land to deliver a message to Imaki and the tip rises above the clouds. You keep it". Maggie finally agreed and put it on.
Instantly it transformed into a cape like Kateo's except a little fluffier and gold. Paws rested on her shoulder and a hood hid her hair with small gold plates shaped like round lion ears. The mask she had on was only half, but long white gold fangs dripped down her face. A solid gold tail with sharp edges ran down the center and ended with a sheathed knife at the tip. Kateo agreed that she did look great in it. Gah! Kateo.
"Alright. I have had enough hunters and monsters and golden lions so if you don't mind I am going to sleep now". With that Maggie fell sideways and landed in a patch of leaves. Kateo agreed and just curled into a ball and fell to sleep.
That's it for now, but there is a special surprise next chapter so stay tuned and keep dreaming my friends.