The Boy And His Promise
#2 of Shahira and Zariah
Shahira set the young human down on her bedroll. She wasn't sure why she was doing this, it just called to her. She was never one to get into anyone else's business. She stayed to herself and did what she wanted. She tried to avoid responsibility and reliability. It was a time for survival. It was time to be realistic. Nobody was an idealist. Nobody understood why people did evil things or cared for their lives. And most importantly, nobody had hope. Nobody except for the boy.
The dark blue pantheress was crouched next to the man, watching him sleep. He was pale. At least she thought he was. She hadn't had much experience with humans before. But she'd heard that they usually have a pinkish hue. The lighter ones that is, and this one was missing his. He's going to need water, food, and a fire. She sighed. He's already being a nuisance and he isn't even conscious. She stalked off to fill her canteen in a nearby stream. She noted to herself that she would need another. She could buy it when she got to town, she decided.
The fire was easy enough to start. It was mid-summer; the air was dry with little chance of rain. She had set a number of traps earlier in the day for catching small game. Never anything significant, but enough to survive. Getting to them wasn't a challenge. Shahira had always prided herself on her excellent night vision and keen sense of smell. Her traps were successful: Two mice, a snake, and a rabbit. She got back to camp and started to expertly skin each animal. She didn't even have to think about what she was doing; her focus was on the boy.
Soon Shahira had the meat roasting on the fire. She was almost disappointed that she filled herself on the bandit's food as she inhaled the smell of the meat before her. The human tossed and turned in his sleep. He was sweating and occasionally could be hear muttering. It angered the pantheress. How could anybody justify slavery and torture? After the meat was cooked, she became restless. Thoughts swirled through her head; she was almost beginning to second guess herself. She started to sharpen her hunting knife to distract her when nature called.
When she got back the boy was awake and sitting up. He looked savage. His hair was a mess, his pale face and hands were covered in dirt. His shirt was torn and caked in blood. He was hungrily staring at the food in front of him.
"Could I please have some," he croaked, pointing to the food. His voice was dry and scratchy. He desperately needed to drink something. Of course, the pantheress had a hard time saying it so nicely.
"Are you stupid? You need some water before you do anything. Drink this." She tossed him the canteen. He opened it and started drinking quickly, stopping for a second as he coughed a bit back up. He wiped his mouth on his arm then thanked her.
"Now, I can have food?" He beamed at her, his eyes turning to dance over the roasted meat. She sighed, covering her face with her palm, and nodded.
"Yes. You can eat now." Again the young human started wolfing down the sustenance before him. "Hey, kid - slow down. This ain't a race and that took me awhile to catch. The least you could do is taste the damn stuff." He looked up at her and makes some muffled noise. "Damn it boy, I can't understand you," she snarled.
He gulped before saying: "I said - My name isn't kid. Or boy. It's Zariah. And yours?" He looked so innocent and calm. Doesn't what happened bother him? She gave the human a long stare before reluctantly answering.
"My name is Shahira." He nodded, putting his hand out to shake hers. But she simply sat on the opposite side of the fire and started to sharpen her knife.
"Alright then... Well, it's nice to meet you Shahira. I can't say how grateful I am that you saved me."
"I told you, I didn't save you. I just wanted what those men had and I didn't. Don't make me out to be any kind of a hero." She focused on her knife, not looking up. He frowned for a second before speaking up again.
"So, where are we headed?" This caught her attention and she looked up at him.
"We," she inquired. "What we?" The boy looked down and blushed.
"I'm just a human. As you can imagine, those aren't the first people to ever 'own' me. In fact, I've never been on my own before. I don't have any friends or family. I've never been on my own before. I assumed that we would be sticking together for a while. I'd appreciate it. And, I won't just be a burden. I can cook. I can gather firewood. I'll do whatever I can to make it worth your while to keep me. Just... please don't leave me alone." He looked down at his hands. The pantheress stared at him for a while, weighing the pros and cons.
She never planned to make him leave. She knew what life was like for humans. She'd heard the stories. She just wasn't expecting to hear the term we before. It'd been a long time before she'd considered herself part of something more than just a loner, more than just a blade and a body. She realized that the boy was waiting for a response.
"I guess you can stick around," the boy looked up at her and smiled. "But! You'll have to make yourself useful. And first of all, you need to take a bath. You reek." She made a disgusted face.
"Thank you. Thank you so much. You won't regret this really."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Look. There's a stream over that direction," she pointed a clawed finger, "go wash up in it. You can dry in the air. I don't have a change of clothes, so you'll have to put those same ones on. But it should help at least a little bit." He nodded and got up to make his way through the woods.
Zariah struggled to find the stream in the dark. He looked around the woods in awe of all the sounds. He hadn't been allowed to walk freely in years. The woods were unique to him -teeming with life and sound. His bare feet stepped on fresh grass and leaves. When he finally got to the water, he splashed a bit in it before actually bathing. He honestly couldn't remember the last time he bathed. He swam lounged in the water. It was colder than he would have preferred but at least it was water. He could feel the dirt loosing and flowing away. He cupped his hands and let them fill with water, bringing them to splash his face.
After he felt significantly clean, he got out of the water. He walked naked halfway back - drying in the air. He got a bit lost and was beginning to worry when he saw the light of their fire. He quickly put his clothes on and remerged into the clearing.
"So, do I smell better?" He cracked a toothy smile at the pantheress. She looked him over and then took a quick inhale of air.
"A little bit. Could be worse. What took you so long?" He blushed and scratched the back of his head.
"Well, I had a bit of a hard time seeing in the dark. And I got a bit lost." He chuckled nervously. "I'm sorry." She had forget that he couldn't see as well as her. But she couldn't let him know that.
"Yeah? Forget it. Get some sleep. Tomorrow we have a long way to Imirdon. I suspect there to be some work I can get." The boy settled onto the bedroll.
"Are we going to help people," he asked.
"I'm going to do what it takes to get some coin." She poked at the fire, turning a log. Zariah wasn't sure what to say to that, so he just lied down and tried to sleep. He didn't notice that there wasn't another bedroll or he wouldn't have taken the only one. The pantheress would have said something, but she knew he needed it more than she did. Instead she put the fire out and curled into a ball, her tail wrapping around her. She breathed in deeply, smelling the boy again. He does smell a lot better. It's a bit enticing, actually. Stupid kid...
The pantheress was already up and packing their things when the boy opened his eyes. He tried to start a conversation but Shahira made it clear, with the help of a few grunts, that she didn't want to be bothered. So instead he tried to help by rolling up the bed.
"Here you go," he said with a smile. She took the bedroll and placed it into her backpack. It was a bit heavy with some of her weapons, extra clothes, and various tools. She handed it to the human.
"Carry this." He almost dropped it when she let go. She's a lot stronger than she looks, he thought to himself. Looking her over again he noticed how tone she actually was. It was near impossible to guess her age. She kept calling him boy, so he assumed she was a good bit older than him. But he'd never guess accurately. He knew better than to ask.
The pantheress started to walk toward the road, leaving the boy behind as he was lost in thought. He threw the bag over his shoulders and half jogged to catch up.
"So, are you familiar with this town?"
"No." The pantheress kept her look straight ahead. Her posture was very strict.
"I overheard the men that had me talking. They were headed there themselves. They were hoping to, well, sell me. Apparently it's a small town. But the inhabitants are well off. Good money to be made if you could provide the right service or product. I'd always wondered what it would be like to be a merchant myself. Traveling the world and selling various goods. Being free in the open air. But I've always wanted a family too. It would be nice to just settle down somewhere and live the rest of my life with people that love me."
"Do you EVER shut up?" She snarled. "I'd like to walk in peace." The boy went silent, for a few seconds. That started up again. This continued the whole five hour walk to Imirdon. The pantheress would tell the human to be quiet, and then he wouldn't be able to hold it all in as the words burst from his mouth. He couldn't help it. He'd never had a friend before and he wanted to bond. She knew that. But it still irritated her. Something she would have to get used to.
When they entered the town, they saw a vixen pleading with a Doberman militia enforcer.
"Please! Please. They took her. They took my little girl. I need to get her back. I can't live without her. They have her, I just know it." She grabbed the Doberman's uniform. He shoved her off of him.
"Look. Lady, I told you. We don't have time to run around the forest looking for your kid." He started walking off as the vixen collapsed onto the dirt - tearing rolling down her face. Zariah immediately went over to her, bending down and putting a hand on her shoulder.
"Excuse me, miss? What's wrong?" She turned to him and hugged him. Crying into his chest she told him the story. She was recently widowed and was now a single mother. Her roof had been damaged in a storm and needed repairs. She paid a willing group of men to fix it for her. One day her daughter didn't come home from playing with a friend. That same day, the men didn't show up to continue their work. They'd been gone for over two days. Then she received a mysterious letter explaining that she needed to leave five hundred gold pieces in a hollow tree near town, or she'd never see her daughter again.
"I can't afford that much money. I just can't. I don't even have a job, my husband made all of our money. And he didn't make much. I can't live without my little girl." Zariah held her close to help her calm down. The pantheress stood with her arms crossed behind the boy, waiting. She knew what he would ask. She was preparing to turn him down.
"Look, miss. I'll find her for you. I'll bring her back." She wiped her eyes and looked up at him.
"You mean it? You really will?" He smiled back at her.
"Yes. I do. Nobody should ever have to go through what you are right now. Nobody should ever need to suffer like this. I'll do whatever it takes. "The vixen thanked him over and over, telling him where she suspected them to be - an abandon coal mine to the east. Her told her to go home, drink some water and rest.
He walked right passed the pantheress, surprising her. "Hey, what are you doing?" She asked as he walked away.
"You heard what I told her. Either you'll help me or you won't. I won't argue with you. But you should know that I'm going, and you can't stop me." Shahira watched him walk toward the woods, her mind trying to decide what she wanted to do. Finally, she slouched her shoulders and followed him. After all, he does have my backpack. And I can't afford to lose that.