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When Laguz met Furry Ch. 2

Answers Exchanged, Answers Revealed

"So, tell me. What are you?"

It was this question that made Lethe think. What would she tell him? Would she tell him everything he wanted to know, or only satisfy him for the moment?

"I am a laguz. That's all you need to know." She decided to keep it short and simple, tagging him along, if he had the interest.

"Playing the minimalist, eh? In that case, I am a furry."

A what? What did he just say? A furry? What was that?

"What are you talking about?! Hissss... I demand to know at once, beastman!"

"In due time, you'll get your answers in due time. Now, leg up please."

Considering the position that she was in, it would be wise to do as he said. He then began to move his hands up and down her leg. She could feel pads, almost like... Were those pawpads on his hands? And they felt so warm, so soft... She had to stop herself from purring. She had a tendency to purr, especially when she was content. Those pawpads felt so good...

"Can you feel this?" He rubbed her foot through the leather shoe. The thing was; she couldn't feel anything.

"No, maybe if you take them off. That might work." He fidgeted with her shoes, and then the smell of wet leather greeted him. It wasn't as bad as he would have thought. Her right foot, as he supposed, was wrapped in bandages.

No calluses... Even though she's dressed for being on her feet for so long. Her feet looked soft, delicate. He wondered if...

Shing!"Hey! What are you... doing?!"

She didn't know that he had retractable claws. Claws, like her beast form! How could he? His hands, with pawpads, did not have nails like hers. It was a combination of her hands and the paws of her cat form. Those claws were silver and sharp looking. But they should have done something... but nothing. She couldn't feel her feet!

"Damn! Looks like you have frostbite. No wonder you couldn't feel anything. It's a wonder you could still walk. Hang on just a minute; I'll get you something to bathe them in."

Lethe told herself that she couldn't panic. It must have been the adrenaline, that must be it. How could she have been more careless? If only she'd packed more supplies... What did she know about frostbite again? It was this... no, it was that... could it have been... She was confused. If the condition was as bad as it felt, then she would rather die than live disabled. It was a curse, unless the laguz family helped the wounded veteran. Such soldiers received a high pension for the rest of their days.

Her rushed thinking was brought to a halt when he brought a small tub filled with water.

"Here, it's warm. It may hurt a bit. Your nerves are going to be very sensitive, and this is just lukewarm water, not anything too serious."

She tenderly put both feet into the water. First, there was nothing, and then...

"Yowl! What was that!? This is boiling! Are you mad?!" She was flustered, as Lethe wasn't used to this type of treatment. Then again, she never had this type of condition. A common cold among her people called for a vast array of herbal medicine. There were never cold winters in Gallia; it was a humid, warm, tropical forest land.

He looked at her with pity. Then he cleared his throat, and said,

"First, I do have a name besides 'beastman'. It's James. I am a proud member of the species Puma Concolor, but also we go by the names of cougar, mountain lion, or preferably puma. I am what are commonly known as the 'furry' form of the species. Our origins, the idea of our people date back to the late 20thcentury on this world, and the first were created a century later. There was a great war then, the world powers destroying one another. Many species were affected, as mine was nearly destroyed. The current furry powers that be are consolidating their efforts to increase our population. We were built in the image of humans, as you can see."

"Where are the humans, then?"

"To put it quite simply, my dear, they are gone."

"Mmm. Continue."

"Anyway, we developed our own culture. The various regions of the world that recovered from the war contributed to the rebuilding. Many cultures blended, and at the same time, an effort was made to preserve their history. I am one of these historians."

*

A historian? That was going to get her nowhere.

"James, is it? So you are of a people that were created by humans, and then the humans destroyed themselves. But why all of this?" She waved her arms around, indicating the lavish mansion.

He looked up for a moment, and then said,

"When culture was reformed after the war, we really didn't know what preceded it, save in books. Pictures, art, literature, all flourished during the reconstruction. The only thing we have never done yet is go to space. In other words, I am a writer of this new age, and through my work, earned my wealth. My wealth, and my own paws, built this house."

He gave a sudden wink, and added, "And don't let anyone tell you otherwise."

By then, it was late afternoon. He decided then to see if his unfortunate guest would like something to drink, or at the very least, snack on.

"While you're sitting there, do you want anything, tea, hot chocolate?"

What was this hot chocolate that he spoke of? "The 'hot chocolate' will be fine."

"Of course. Give me a few minutes. And I expect your full answer when I get back." He then turned and left the room. Lethe looked around at her surroundings once more. There were the paintings again, some of them were now in slightly better detail. One was of a cat like him, sitting at a desk made of metal. This other cat was dressed in brown. As she was looking at this painting, she noticed a plaque.

Are these the names of the paintings? She thought to herself.

"So you noticed the paintings? I have your hot chocolate, careful, it may scald a bit." He had returned, with something steaming in a white, large looking teacup.

"Yes, I have." She took the cup in both hands, and lifted it up to her face. She took one sip... and it was good. It wasn't like anything she had before. It wasn't like tea, and this chocolate... It was wonderful!

"What is this? This is delicious!" She noted that the drink's warmth coursed throughout her body, warming her insides. The water was starting to cool down, she noticed. As long as she could tell if the water was getting colder, Lethe knew that she would be fine.

He sat down next to her, looking at her. It was then that she noticed his eyes. They were rounded pupils, not like hers, traditionally slit eyed cat's eyes. They were a dark green, contrasting with his red fur. He had procured himself a cup of tea, and drank it in small sips.

"Now," he said, looking at her intently, "I want you to tell me everything about you. Is that not fair enough? I will not judge you in any way, so please, be as open as you like."

She took a breath. She looked at him and said, "Where do I begin?"

Clearing her throat, she held on to the cup that he gave her. "My people are the laguz, proud shapeshifters. And my name is Lethe. We are divided into three tribes. I am of the beast tribe, and there are birds as well as dragons. These tribes are further divided into clans. I am a member of the Cat clan. We are renowned for our speed. We are agile fighters, and are usually used as light assault units, mainly to scout. I am a member of the Army of Gallia, and Gallia is a kingdom, ruled by the Lion clan. The Lions are renowned leaders, and the people trust them to guide the realm. Our people have suffered much under the humans. We were once slaves under them, and it took over two hundred years of war to earn our freedom. With slavery ended, the beast tribe made its home in what would become known as Gallia. The humans, or beorc, as they call themselves, have nations that border ours in the north and east. The bird tribe is to the south, and we are friends with them."

"Hmm... Wait a minute."

"Yes?" She had this quizzical look on her face. It highlighted her proud violet eyes.

James reached down for the medical supplies again. He fiddled around until he came up with a small bottle of pills. Headache relief, cold symptoms...

He popped open the bottle and shook out a pill. "If you are feeling sick, take this. Unless you're not, of course."

"I have a slight pain, here." She put her hand on her head. Lethe hadn't taken stock of herself. Stupid, stupid Cat that she was! She knew better than this, but the damned cold had taken her senses away. Still, a new world... She didn't want to take any chances. She reached out with one hand and took the small white object. There were no markings on it, and no scent. Without warning, she popped it into her mouth. When she did, she noticed that he made a gesture to drink. She took her cup, and washed down the object with a douse of hot chocolate.

_If I ever come back home, I have to bring this with me! I just have to._Getting this 'hot chocolate' recipe would be a momentous task, nothing that she couldn't handle...

"You were saying? Your people are shapeshifters; can you show me this ability?"

"Once I've healed up, yes. I'll show you my power." As soon as she was able to walk, she'd show him the power of her people. Until then, she would sit here, her feet bathed in cold water... wait, cold?!

"The water's gotten colder... Does that mean something?"

"Either the numbness is starting to die down, or you never really had a serious case of frostbite. I'll get another pail of warm water for you." He got up and walked away, leaving her to look at the fireplace. She noticed that his tail was around the same size as hers, the fur was a bright, vivid red, but the tip of the tail was black. It was swaying from side to side, did that mean something? She wanted to get up to see the paintings, but not in her current state.

Lethe mulled over the information that he told her. He and his people were created by the humans, but managed to succeed and thrive long after the humans were destroyed. They were beasts in their own way, like her people and their beastforms. They had their struggles, yes, but there was something about them, something that... made sense. It's almost as if... She thought. Her thoughts were interrupted when he came back. He held a purple towel in his hands.

"Lethe, is it? Here's a towel for you to dry off with, and another half pail for your feet." He rolled the 'l' in her name, drawing it out. He took away the tub, and went to the other room to dump it out. She noticed that there was not a drop of water on the floor, that it remained dry. Granted, she didn't move around much, but how was that possible.

"Okay, tub's filled again. If you can still feel anything, I'll give you a tour." He placed the tub back down so that she could put her feet in again. This time, she could feel prickling, pins and needles, as well as the warmth of the water. If this kept up, she would be able to walk, or at least stagger anywhere she wished. So, she sat back and relaxed on the thing that she was seated on.

*

James was satisfied with what his mysterious guest had told him. So she was from another world. That explained her disbelief when he told her what he was. She didn't seem hostile to the motion that furs were the successors of humanity. Her disdain for humans, he supposed, was in good reason. Her people were slaves once, and they would have to make sure that they would not repeat the same mistake twice.

Seeing his guest sitting back, relaxed, he decided to put on some quiet music. Much of the music was digital, but there were some relics that were holdovers from humans. Case in point being his antique record player. The thing was at least two hundred years old, by now, but it still worked. If she could walk again, he would have to teach her how to dance, to say nothing of the popular art of rave. Wonder what she'll look like with glowsticks on her... Her outfit looked like what a raver would wear; all she would need is some glowsticks. Soon, quiet violin music began to come in from the surround sound system he had installed throughout the house. All he had to do was to keep the record playing, and the sound would follow him throughout the place.

She heard the music, and wondered where it came from. Her head looked around, and her ears pricked up, twisting and swiveling to and fro. It was music, music like the beorc played. Where was the musician? Her eyes darted about, but found nothing. Lying back, Lethe closed her eyes and sighed. She was not in her world, in a mansion of wonders, and her host was a beast, a furry as he called himself. She wondered if she could...

*

When he returned, he was surprised to see his guest attempting to stand up. There were spatters of water on the floor, but that would clean easy. There was a determined look in her eyes, and she was obviously trying not to fall down. It was obvious that she was not used to recovering from numbness, and apparently knew little of frostbite. Rushing over to her, he caught her just in time.

"Hiss! I don't need help! I can walk on my own." She struggled against him, trying to break free. But he held her upright, and pulled her towards him. She's stubborn, and angry. She looks cute when she's angry. Wait, what am I saying? He could feel her skin, warm against his fur, he noticed she had a high body temperature. He hoped that she didn't have a fever. And still she struggled against him, as he led her back to the long couch.

"Now, now, I can't having you just stagger about. You could get hurt even more, or break something."

"I said," she continued to struggle against him; "I don't need help! Let me stand!" A stubborn one, isn't she?

"Grrr." She growled at him, low in her throat. He was shocked, he'd taken her in, and this was what he got?

"You dare?! Why are you so stubborn, Lethe?"

She had a look of surprise on her face. She didn't mean to growl at him, what would he do to her? Lethe looked exasperated, drained. She let him lead her back to the... whatever it was she was sitting on.

"I- I'm sorry. I didn't mean to do that. It's just that... I am independent, I was raised that way. In the Gallian army, you need to be in order to survive. And stubborn. I thought I didn't need help."

"Shh, I'll get you some tea, then I'll give you a tour. How's that sound, hmm?" She went silent after this. She wondered what he could do, she regretted growling at him. It was considered very bad form in Gallia for one to growl at their host. She saw him go to get some tea, and then she sat back, exhausted. She didn't know what to do, she could learn, but he would have to teach her his ways. This wasn't her world; his ways would be different from hers after all. And so, Lethe, a lost laguz of Tellius, sat in a mansion in a strange world, attended by a strange beast, a furry. And still she wondered.

E.O.C.