The Runner- Ch. V Kahri
I hummed softly as Shane and I walked down the road to the bath house. The cougar didn't seem to mind it. We each carried a bath robe and towel, and I had my satchel with me as well, if only to conceal my coin pouch."Here it is. Let's go." I mewed, wearing a gleeful expression. The building was ornate and beautiful, a standing work of art. Not surprising considering it was owned by a Pantheran family. Stepping inside, we were greeted by a male panther, "Welcome."Stepping up to the counter, I asked, "We'd each like a bath, please." and gave him eight silver coins.Giving a polite bow, he replied, "Of course. It will be ready in a moment." and left through a door into the hallway. We both changed into our robes behind some floral screens set up against one wall as we waited. The panther soon returned and motioned for us to follow him. "Right this way." He led the way through the hall to a medium size room with a proportional tub built into the floor.Opening the door for us, he concluded, "If there is anything you need, do not hesitate to ask." Then politely closed the door behind us. The room was consistent with the design and architecture of the rest of the building; wooden floors, ornately painted screened walls lacking windows, for privacy of course. The tub was filled with hot, aromatic water. The room was steamy as I took off my robe in front of Shane, revealing the white underfur that stretched down my chest and belly from my neck. The cougar's face instantly turned red with blush as I draped it over one of the screens and stepped into the bath."I-I thought we um... Would be having separate baths..." He stuttered.I chuckled in response. "Don't be silly. Besides, I think we're closer to each other now. It's more of a casual thing for us in Cheerha anyway, so it's okay for you to be a little shy." Though I sounded confident, I had a little blush too. I let myself sink all the way up to my neck in the steaming hot water, sighing as my muscles instinctively relaxed in the warmth. Shane stepped into the bath a few moments later, still looking a bit uncomfortable and sat a little distance from me. I had expected him to be uneasy about this custom but couldn't help feeling just a bit hurt as I set to rubbing my fur clean. Unfortunately, it wasn't often that I had the chance to bathe.Shane seemed to be lost in thought, so I inched closer, hoping that he didn't notice. "This feels nice, don't you think?" I queried, trying to make small talk. The cougar seemed to come back to his senses and more at ease thanks to the relaxing bath. He seemed slightly awkward and looked away as he replied, "Yeah... Um, Clad? Wouldn't it be funny if a Cargharan and a Cheerhan ended up... Mated?"My heart skipped a beat. I kept my gaze focused on him, even though he didn't look up to meet it. This lasted for what seemed like years before I managed to say, "I don't think it would be funny... I think
it would be... Nice..." Now it was my turn to look away in embarrassment, but not long after, I felt his paw turn my chin toward him and his lips meet mine. I stiffened at first, unprepared for the sudden kiss, then let myself melt into it, reaching to pull him closer to my body. He did the same and soon we were pressed together in the bath water. We kissed deeper, and I felt his tongue enter my lips, at which point I pulled away from the cougar, looking away again, though this time in uncertainty."Shane, do you... Love me?"The cougar gave a brief moment of hesitation before answering, "Yes, of course I do."We pulled back together into another kiss and I moved one paw up his neck to hold the back of his head. He seemed to pull away prematurely this time, but I was distracted by the thoughts in my head contemplating meanings and outcomes, anything that could happen next.We dried ourselves off afterwards and got dressed in silence. It wasn't awkward, though, just... quiet. I was lost in thought again when he came up behind me. He wrapped his arms around my torso and pressed his nose into the back of my ear. It was such a tender gesture. I let myself melt backwards into him. Seems we didn't need words.***The next day it seemed like nothing had even happened. I tried to bring us closer, tried to show him affection, but he brushed me off as if he were embarrased or overly conscious of Kahri's prying eyes. Even when we were alone he kept any meager attempt at intimacy brief. I wondered why he was acting this way. Didn't he already tell me how he felt?Things only worsened the day after. I awoke feeling sick, and when I stood up, I stumbled."Are you feeling alright?" Shane queried from across the room as he got to his feet, starting toward me."I feel..." I began, but the resurging nausea came back that instant with a vengance and I collapsed. I heard a couple rapid footsteps and then felt the warmth of Shane's arms supporting me. "Kahri!" He called urgently, at which she came rushing down the hall."What is it? Clad?""He must be sick." Shane responded.Kahri looked disbelieving. "But so suddenly? He was just fine yesterday!" She then glared at Shane accusingly, as if he'd had something to do with it."Don't be unreasonable, Kahri." I managed before they had the chance to start an argument. I shivered in Shane's arms, unable to tell if I was too hot or too cold. "I was in Surtha just a week or so back, maybe I caught something there and it just... remained dormant?"With a frustrated growl, Kahri turned and muttered, "Why can't you just take better care of yourself?" Before leaving.We were silent a moment after she closed the door, until Shane observed, "Your sister seemed very upset over your sickness.""Don't worry about her." I explained as Shane helped me up onto the bed. "She's always like this when I get sick."Shane cocked his head as he
remained leaning over me, laying down. "You make it sound like you get sick often."I sniffed, "I was a sickly cub, and Kahri's always been a bit overprotective."When Shane didn't say anything, I just went on since he was listening. "I'm not sure why I was chosen to be a Runner, but the selection process itself is confidential, even to me. I knew I couldn't pass up the opportunity, so I left home to begin my training at a young age." I chuckled a bit. "As you can imagine, Kahri had a fit, but then I wasn't her only family.""Hmph." Shane pulled the blankets over me. "You should just rest now, and talking so much will give you a headache."***Several days later I had only gotten worse. I sat up against the wall on my bed, feeling too dizzy to stand up. Kahri spent most of her time searching books for a disease that matched my symptoms and responded to treatments the way I did, but nothing seemed to match up.Faintly, I heard the sound of a knock on the front door. I perked my ears, feeling restless. There was the sound of the door opening and Kahri's voice, then a foriegn, unfamiliar voice. I carefully stood up, holding onto the side of the bed, then stumbled over to the doorway, grasping onto it. Succumbing to a rush of nausea, I crouched down to the floor with a paw on my head until it went away a few seconds later. I must be more ill than I thought. I slowly got to my feet again and made my way down the hall. As I neared the entrance, I could make out the words being spoken."He's sick. I'm not letting him out until I can diagnose it." Said Kahri sternly."I just want to see him... He's been requested for another mission.""No. I don't even know if he's contagious, and whatever he's got is pretty bad. Whatever it is will have to wait. Come back in a week maybe." Kahri wasn't usually this brusque. She must be frustrated at my condition.As I came around the corner, they both turned to look at me. The visitor was a female panther with a white silk headdress that covered her left eye, and she had a messenger bag on her. She had an unreadable expression. Did I really look that sick?"Clad, You're supposed to be in bed." Kahri pointed out, exasperated. "Sorry, I just wanted to see who it was."For some reason, the female panther looked disappointed, but only for a brief second. "I'm a messenger here to deliver orders from King Ferris himself to court runner Clad."I sighed. Ferris... You don't have time for such trivial things, you should really just let your stewards handle this. I explained in a strained voice, "Thank you, but I really have fallen ill. Please inform King Ferris of my condition."She looked taken aback at this, and I supposed she wasn't a court runner, just an in-country messenger. "Or, uh, one of the stewards." I added.She gave a small bow, "I will." then turned and left. We were quiet for a moment until
Kahri murmured, "Off again so soon, Clad?""Yeah, the way I hear it.""...Alright then." She lightened up. "I just hoped you would have a bit more time. So where do you think you're off to?""I'm honestly not sure..."Kahri nodded. "You should get back to your room. I'll have Zach bring you some tea.""Yeah, thanks."***A few days later, I was sitting on my bed against the wall, my head to one side and eyes bleary with drowsiness. I certainly hadn't improved, and we still didn't know what ailed me. It was late afternoon, but it was only later that night that Shane returned. He'd been disappearing off since i'd become bedridden, but I wasn't suspicious; he was probably running errands for Kahri or Zach or just getting fresh air. "Aren't you tired?" The cougar prompted."I can't sleep..." I muttered, laying down and pulling the blankets over me. A moment later I heard a soft sigh, then felt warmth at my back as Shane slid under the sheets and hugged me close. I blushed. "Shane?""I hate seeing you like this." Was all he said. I closed my eyes and let myself melt into him. After a moment, he queried, "You know, I've seen some cheetahs that look very different from others...""Hm? Oh, You must have seen a Jaguar or Leopard."I felt Shane shift at my back, and felt his breath on my neck as he spoke, "The cheetahs rule over them?""Well, no. It goes all the way back to before the Great War but, this jungle area was solely home to the leopards and jaguars- the leopards to the north bordering Surtha, and jaguars to the south bordering Panthera, and the cheetahs shared part of the plains to the west that is now all owned by the lions. I'm not entirely sure of why the leopards didn't fade into Surtha with their snowy counterparts, but they haven't been known to get along- maybe it's religious. But before the war, there were territories dividing each of us into pseudo countries roughly only the size of Surtha, but the lions were being pressured on their border by the Gerrens, so they felt the need to extend their territory east. The Gerrens never gained ground, but the lions did end up pushing us into the jungle and marsh with the other two races. To avoid conflict, we united into this single territory: Cheerha, but even so, very few of the jaguars and leopards ingratiate themselves into Cheetah society and continue to live in isolated 'clans' in the deep jungle away from civilization." My throat was sore, but I was still glad to explain some of Cheerha's history with Shane, if only to have something to do since it did get pretty boring being sick. It took me a while, but eventually I succombed to sleep.When I awoke the next morning, I turned over with an arm outstretched, expecting Shane to be there, but he was gone. He must have gone off again. Slowly, I sat up, a bit disappointed that I didn't get to see Shane this morning. As I was thinking to
myself, there was a knock on the door. "Clad?" It was Kahri's voice."Come in."She entered the room holding a book and closed the door behind her. "Shane found a book at the library on foreign illnesses that I must have overlooked. I think I know what you're sick with."I perked up a little, interested. "What is it?"She opened the book to a page near the back. "Draconian flu.""What!?" A draconic disease?Kahri sniffed sceptically, as if she hardly believed it herself. "Yeah. I know you couldn't tell me where you had to go on your last mission, but I know you weren't gone long enough to travel half way around the world to the Draconian Isles.""Heh, that's true." I remarked.She went on, "Well, however you managed to catch something like that, it can be treated with herbs that aren't particularly rare or difficult to obtain. The virus can infect a feline or canine body but it stays dormant for a decent amount of time before symptoms really start to show. It's not fatal and can't survive long- quite different to how it affects a dragons body."Exasperated, I let myself fall backwards down onto the bed. Larxthara... What could dragons have to do with somewhere so far away? That cargo was kept under high security- guarded by Gerrens. How could they be mixed up in this? Or are they the ones orchestrating it all? Surthans and Liharans are disappearing- the disappearances occuring closest to the western coast of Surtha which faced Larxthara and Gerr-Shtefen as well as the western border of Lihara, closest to the border with Gerr-Shtefen as well. It would be easy to assume the Gerrens were stealing them away, but if so, why? Canines have never been particularly fond of felines, and vice versa, but even if their hatred ran that deep, they wouldn't do something so obviously noticeable- the Gerrens have always been sly and discreet, manipulative. If it's true, then I need to find out exactly what they are gaining from it. I wasn't positive, but I was pretty sure where Ferris had his sights set on next. I'm sorry Kahri, but it looks like I'm heading far this time: to Gerr-Shtefen.