Half a tail, half a soul
Half a tail, half a soul
a fantasy story by Sharpfang'98
Dedicate to Bagheera
Half a tail, half a soul =========================
There are two ends of this story. They are divided from the rest of the text with marks *-*-* The first one is written for everyone else, the second only for my friend, Bagheera.
Another mission. I'm tired. i hope this time they will kill me. No! Then Hei would have to die too. So i have to live. I wanted to sigh. I wish i knew, how does one sigh. My body forgot it long time ago and if i tried it, it would be as unnatural as standing on hands for most of people. So I just breathed deeper and looked around. My eyes were noticing a lot, but I had better ones. i looked at Hei. The big, black body stood still. The tigress was listening for a moment with her ears hearing everything, then she looked around. She made a few steps forward to see what was hidden behind me and looked at me and i knew. One visible enemy. On the wall of the castle which was hardly visible for me, she noticed a guard. I fell on all fours and began crawling toward the castle. No moon, no stars, perfect night, they can't see me.
The first obstacle. The castle was surrounded with a moat with poisoned water and a lot of traps in it. The other side was visible. i stood up and jumped. All my senses were concentrated on quiet landing. Sand. First noise. For the guard it had to sound naturally, a bird or a snake, but always a noise; I can do such noise only once more, later he'll suspect something and check, what's going on. I stood steady. Hei jumped. I caught her in air and put slowly on the sand. Catching, lifting and throwing heavy objects was always impressing my Lord's guests. Not me. How does one 'feel impressed'?
Now we stalked to the wall. One move of my hand and Hei knew, that she has to wait. I started climbing the wall. Tiny holes between bricks, stones from time to time protrouding from the wall were more than enough of support for me. Soon I was on top of the wall.
I hid behind the edge and waited for the guard, watching. Only this single one. There's one more but but now he went somewhere. The one passed by, without noticing me. I finally moved from over the heights and... two steps, one hand on mouth, a punch into the middle of his back and it was done. I put the corpse quietly on the floor. Then I lay down next to the stairs leading down to the courtyard. Soon I've heard the sound of steps on the stairs. The other guard was coming. I grabbed his clothes with one hand to keep him from falling down, hit his neck with the other smashing his throat, then held his neck arteries - just for a short time - much shorter than needed for choking.
I pulled the corpse next to the previous one, then unbound the rope I had on my chest, tied the corpse to it with a special knot and lifted it down the wall, outside the castle. A jerk on the rope and the corpse lied down there quietly, the knot untied. I did so with the other one, then made a double-loop knot on the rope's end and lowered it. Hei knew, what to do. I lifted her up. Eh, that was always hard. Finally she climbed the edge of the wall, stood beside me and slipped off from the loops. I was wrapping the rope around myself, resting after the hard work, while Hei quietly ran around the walls. When I finished with it, she was back: Two sleeping guards in the watchtower, locked from inside.
I looked at the area: A small yard surrounded with the defense walls, the only buildings were two small barns in the corner of the yard, the watchtower over the gate in the walls and... the inner gate. In the middle of the yard there was a big sculpture of a beast's head, it's muzzle full of sharp teeth was the doorway of human size. It was looking like something between a dragon and a lion. Weak light was coming from between the jaws.
My glance at the yard was enough for the tigress to understand. She ran quietly down the stairs while I headed toward the tower. One quick jump and I was on the roof. I removed one tile from it carefully. Two guards sleeping at the table, a single torch in the wall, and a winch opening the gate. I took my blowing pipe, two poisonous darts and made sure that they won't wake up ever. Then I joined Hei on the yard. Some blood on her claws meant that she had met one guard more.
I crawled to the inner gate from one side, Hei from the other. She sniffed the air. All clean. I examined the teeth of the sculpture (each of them as long as man's arm) and pointed at the one which looked like a switch of some kind of trap. First careful look inside: Stairs, one floor down, a torch in the wall downstairs. Then quick jump over the teeth line. We stalked down quietly. The torch light revealed lighter stripes on the fit body behind me, where Hei's yellow fur was painted black,
The corridor turns to the right. Sniff - clean. Look - next row of stairs. Stalk. I sensed danger. Jump over the part of the stairs which was a trap door, and I lie down while five poisoned darts hit the stone wall over my head and fall at my feet. I look at Hei, she jumps next to me. We are in a few steps long corridor, next stairs to the right, tiny holes in the wall where the darts shoot from.
Sniff - look - stalk. I lie down. The stairs are half as long as all the previous ones and lead to a chamber. I crawl down the stairs with head lower than the rest of the body. The chamber reveals its secrets: Many doors in side walls, one old skeleton in the middle and a big two-winged gate on the end. Hei sniffs. We both look to both sides of the room near the wall in which the stairs end. Only two sculptures of half-human half-bird creatures with eagle heads, one with a two-handed sword in hands, the other with a big axe. I noticed the skeleton was broken in many places as if it had received many hard hits before its owner died.
Hei trotted to the closest door. 'smells with death' - her face meant. I ran to the gate, watching my steps and the roof. While Hei was checking the rest of the doors, I was examining the gate.
If somebody is behind it, there's no way to hide my presence while opening it. Hei threw me a glance from the end of the row of the doors on the other side, meaning 'same everywhere'. 'Guard me' - I replied, then sat in front of the gate in 'lotus' position, closed my eyes and cleaned my mind.
Soon I began recognising life around me. Strong, active, young shape of Hei was sitting behind me. A lot of tiny, mean creatures on the bottom of the trap door on the stairs. The vision was sharper. I recognised a presence behind the side doors. No, I couldn't recognise it. It was somewhat... asleep?...or rather dead...but not quite... I couldn't understand it. There were many such beings, behind both walls, reaching to the limits of my inner look range. They were cleaner now... I saw them better... asleep so strongly that almost dead... and I saw more. Hardly recognisable beings, vivid, shapeless, behind the walls, on the stairs, behind the gate... in the room! One stood in front of Hei. She stood up and walked toward it....and through it! I understood: souls of people who died here... I could be the next one. Then I concentrated on something that was pressing against my mind all the time, from behind the gate. Far in the front there was a strong presence. Inactive, asleep. The shape was out of my range, but I felt it was evil... yes, this was terribly evil. I heard a quiet growl of Hei - something is going on: Nothing bad yet, but something.
I opened my eyes. The gate was open! A few steps forward there was a stone table covered with ancient writing. The Gem was lying on it... I looked at the rest of the room - and saw nothing. Two floors high... and no walls, except of the gate's one. Darkness as far as I could see. Hei was seeing nothing too. I walked slowly in. The gate wall was vanishing in in both directions, in the distance, where the strong light of The Gem couldn't reach. I walked to the table. Hei at my side. I saw no traps. If there were any, I couldn't see them. I reached for the gem. It was ice-cold in touch. I put it quickly in a black sack at my side, which I immediately closed. The darkness surrounded us. Last look and.. oh...
Two big, BIG glowing yellow eyes were gazing at me from the distance. A Growl shook all the chamber... then I felt a vague draft on my back. I knew what's going on. Arching my body I jumped back, landed on my hands, on legs, on arms and I was in the chamber, with the gate closing in front of me. Hei jumped after me, but the gate was closing so quickly! She'll do it! I saw the beast with big eyes. It was the monster which's head sculpture of natural size was the entrance to the tunnels!
A snarl of pain! Hei's tail was squashed between the door. She, imprisoned, tried to reach to it. I noticed the side door open. One, then more... Quick swing of my sword, snarl of pain again, and Hei was free, over half of her tail left in the door. We hurried toward the stairs. Hei's blood was marking the floor and walls. A jump over the trap... I heard many, many feet behind me... and bird-like screams!
Here's the exit! Hei jumped out before me, then I pulled the switch-tooth behind me. The jaws of the sculpture beast closed behind me loudly. We ran toward the wall stairs, then to the wall top. Jump over the edge, soft landing three floors lower, jump over the moat... I heard a low, loud growl under me. An earthquake began! Half of the castle collapsed as well as a large area of land in front of me, reaching to the horizon. A noise of water filling the area, which was now a mile wide, two floors deep and no one knows how long valley, came to my ears. Soon we saw a great wave, the collapse reached the sea which was filling the hole. The water ran over its end and a wave reaching to my knees ran under us to the plains, but soon retreated. We were standing on a shore. We turned away from it and walked slowly toward my lord's home.
When we got to the dry grass I took a bandage from one of my pockets and bandaged Hei's tail. She licked my hand while I was doing it. I sat down looking at the stars. I was given time to the sunrise to complete the mission and go back. I had some free time yet... I put my hand on Hei's neck. First time for... for very long time... since I had time after a mission... I felt pleasure of this kind: No training. No discipline. No killing. 'Freedom'. Hei put her head on my knees. I was stroking her politely and thinking... I have so little time for thinking... I remembered one scene. My lord invited a woman to one of his 'shows'. My task was to slaughter thirty armed people, just to show how good I am. I did so easily, they weren't trained in fight. I bowed in front of the audience which was applauding, the lord which was proud and the woman, which said 'Why? They didn't have any chances! They had to die! And... they had their life... each of them had his family, history, childhood... Maybe one of them knew how to repair this world... and now... just like that... Everything stopped by this death machine!'
'Please, don't spoil one of my best warriors', replied my lord., 'he can hear it. He best when he knows nothing about such things.' Since then, every time I kill a man I think if I killed a chance for the world... to have no such people as me. I breathed deeper... and sighed, for the first time in my life. I though that if my master saw that, he'd force me to fight with our best warrior, Lano - and die. Master... So strange personality... He serves the lord but he despises him! Why? I don't understand. 'You don't have to understand. You have to fight' - he said once.
I was stroking Hei's head slowly, scritching her behind her ear. It was pleasure for both of us. So different kind of pleasure from the one we were taught to feel when our lord or master enjoy what we do.
Hei... We were taught to understand each other, to be able to recognise each other's feelings... I wish this moment lasted forever. I wish i could live together with Hei, alone, only we two. I wish I mustn't kill anymore. My master didn't intend that, but the bound between me and Hei was very strong. I was told to run away as fast as possible when I get The Gem, but I released her instead, risking getting killed and loss of The Gem for my lord.
Hei... The lighter stripes of paint were visible in the moonlight. Her small, round ears listening to the voices of night... I imagined she could die during the action. I couldn't continue then. I'd stay with the corpse and die there too.. I felt her warm tongue on my cheek. No, she won't die!
The moon was setting. The night end is soon. I had to go. I stood up and went toward the hills, where my home was. Hei at my side, so I was holding my hand on her head. I was trying to imagine, how would our life be - Hei's and me together, alone in a big forest... but I couldn't. My imagination refused to display images of such lack of discipline.
The home was behind the nearest hill... but why is the sky red there? From top of the hill I saw the home on fire. People on horses riding around it and sticking torches where it wasn't burning yet. I didn't understand! A scream of a woman sounded from the fire for a short time, then I knew she died burnt alive. The riders regrouped. One of them pointed at me. - it was quite far, but I knew it. They rode to me, surrounded me... I wasn't fighting. I didn't knew, what to think! Two men on their horses stepped forward. One of them was my master, the other was lord's neighbor, which he didn't like very much.
Give me the gem - said master. I did so as I was told to give it to the lord or to the master when I complete the mission. Master handed the gem to the man, which in return gave him a sack, which I recognised was full of money.
You're free. You can do what you want. Ah, and of course: Well done! At those master's words I felt the known, taught pleasure with the characteristic wetness in my pants. The people surrounding me laughed at me, but I was ignoring them. I was thinking about master's words, confused.
Shall we kill him? - asked the man.
*-*-*
No, he could fight and cause trouble. Leave him, he's harmless now.
Good - the man looked at Hei - Ah, a black tiger! I'd like to have it's skin. Mo, kill it!
A man from the surrounding circle swung his spear. Hei's head fell down to the grass. The man rode to the tiger's corpse. - You idiot! Not like this! I'd have to sew the head to the rest! - he looked at Hei again, touched her with his spear. - What? - he laughed - A fake! This tiger is painted! Let's go, leave this corpse to the crows. - he turned the horse and rode away, the rest followed him, master first.
I was standing alone, confused. I began understanding, that Hei is dead. Why did they do that? Why didn't they leave us to live together? I knelt by her. I was stroking the body. Then I held my breath for a minute, pressed against my heart with my hand, stopping its beat, as I was taught... and joined my beloved Hei in the country of no tears, leaving this world for people like master.
*-*-*
No, he could fight and cause trouble. Leave him, he's harmless now, and so confused, that he will commit suicide in a few hours, when he finds out that he can do nothing. He'll only kill his tiger first.
Good - the man looked at Hei - Ah, a black tiger! I'd like to have it's skin. Mo, Come back here in a few hours and get the skin for me!
Yes, my lord - answered one of the men in the circle.
The leader turned the horse and rode away, the rest followed him, master first.
Master was wrong. I turned my face to the north, to the great forests from where Hei came. I smiled to her - for the first time in my life.
Let's go, Hei! Before they're back we'll be far enough that they'll never find you. Will you teach me, how to be a tiger?
Murrow! - She answered and began purring as I was stroking her head, walking to the forest of no tears, leaving this world for people like master.
. . . . Sharpfang. Fri Mar 13 19:32:26 CET 1998