Cat Island, Chapter 1
#1 of Cat Island
Mohawk Puma here, got a fanfiction piece for you. It contains the laguz of Fire Emblem, Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn. Now, I've seen only one or two pieces related to this race of shapeshifters, and I decided to put up something. This first chapter is rated clean, and the rest will be adult for content. I don't own Fire Emblem, or Lethe, Lyre, or Ranulf. They belong to Nintendo and Intelligent Systems.
Forgive me if this is a bit short, it's just the first part. Hope I did a decent job of explaining the lore. Once again, comments are appreciated, thanks!
Edited for clarity; I took out the large 'info dump' paragraph about the plan, should flow smoother now.
Chapter 1: Stormclouds and Mist
Mist, mist, and more mist. That was all she could see. An endless sea of fog, with no determinable end. Lethe chuffed, the laguz warrior leaning on the railing on the bow of the ship, a tiny thing. Along with her sister Lyre, and Lyre's mate, Captain Ranulf, she had been sent on a mission. She wore her outfit of a green tunic vest, sleeveless, with her gloves, hard leather. Her skirt was attached to her tunic by a leather belt, held by silver buckles. She wore her regular shoes, brown leather, good for hiking, or anything else she wanted to do. She stood there, staring out into the grey, the grey fog that surrounded them. Her violet cat's eyes blinked, every so often, and her orange hair, cut into a short style, moved slightly in the wind. Her ears twitched, wanting to hear anything other than the endless sound of waves, and her tail thrashed. She remembered the day that they were given this mission, to find a new land.
The Court of Caineghis, King of Gallia, several weeks earlier...
"My Lord Caineghis, what do you want of me?"
Lethe kneeled before the throne of the Lion king, ruler of Gallia. The Lion king was extravagant in his blue and gold royal robes, with his nephew Skimir, heir to the throne, by his side. Lethe had served under him during the recent Goddess' War. With the two goddesses Ashera and Yune reunited, peace would return to the continent of Tellius. But then, there was a dark portent, priests and other holy folk suffering visions, and a prophecy came from the mouth of Mist, Ike's dearly beloved sister:
"And when the Goddesses become one,
The realm shall be sundered,
and the Black Dragon shall reign."
Caineghis looked down upon his loyal servant and smiled.
"You know of the plan that the laguz royals have decided upon? You, your sister, and her mate will be the first scouts, consider it an honour."
Lethe nodded. "Of course, Your Majesty. When do we leave?" She looked over at Lyre, and her mate, Ranulf. The two stood with each other, with that contented glow that a mated pair had. In truth, Lethe was jealous, despite being the firstborn twin. She would be honoured indeed, to find a new land for her people. The royals of the laguz nations had decided to flee the continent, and thus it would be done.
"You leave within a fortnight. The Goddess protect you." Lethe bowed again to her king, and turned to her sister and her mate. They both nodded, and went to prepare for the long journey ahead. The three would consider this an honour, indeed. They were given enough provisions for three months, and a special banner to plant on the new land, claiming it for the kingdom of Gallia.
The Present
Lethe chuffed again. They were at least a third of the way through their provisions, and the first few weeks were spent getting their sea legs, and fighting seasickness. The last time they had been on a ship, save Lyre, was during the Mad King's War. She remembered the friends that she'd made, the mercenaries... They would be dead and forgotten, which was tragic. Regardless of the rumours, she never loved Ike, and he never loved her. She would never give up her birthright, her beast form, for something so trivial. She would rather die than bear a Branded, or so the hybrids between the two races were called. For her people were shapeshifters, able to turn from a half human form to a beast at will. They were sailing west, and it had been fine for the first few weeks... then this mist showed up. A deep penetrating fog that covered everything.
Stuck out in this mist, this damned fog!
"Not much to it, eh Lethe?" Lethe turned to find Ranulf, her superiour officer and mate to her sister. The Gallian tomcat was in his demihuman form, and wearing his regular outfit, a dark brown vest trimmed with orange, and a set of trousers, dyed dark blue, with a bit of teal and orange on the legs. He still had that ridiculous orange headband on, along with a thick brown cloak. It had a habit of bringing out his sky blue hair and fur, along with his two coloured eyes. One was a sea green, the other matched the twins', a rich purple. Granted it wasn't cold, otherwise she would be in her own cloak, but there was a chill...
"Hmph, of course there isn't, Captain." She did the traditional laguz salute, right hand over her heart.
Ranulf let out a little laugh. "No need for that, Lethe. His Majesty had us honourably discharged from the Army, remember? We're all equals here on this ship."
"What does that have to do with anything?" She gave him one of her looks. One of those angry looks that would make a tiger run in fear, as a matter of fact.
"We're scouts now, Lethe. We're no longer soldiers. Servants of our King, on his mission..." Ranulf almost sang this, despite their surroundings.
"Can't you imagine it, sis? We'd be heroes to everybody!" The two turned to see Lyre, Lethe's younger sister. She had her outfit, matching her sister's, the tunic was largely the same, but it was red instead of green. Unlike her sister, Lyre wore long trousers below her skirt, and longer boots; her trousers were a dark black. Her collar matched her sister's, Lethe's was a green ribbon, with golden bells. Lyre's was a bright red, with silver bells. She wore her hair in more of a braided style, and it was the same orange as her sister's, same with her eyes.
"Well, Lyre, glad to see you back on your feet. Before we left, Mother said she wanted grandchildren. Have you and Ranulf..." She let the question hang, looking at her sister. It was a tradition that a mated couple provide kittens, after the first moon after the ceremony.
Lyre shook her head, "No, Lethe, not yet. We... haven't had time to talk about kittens just yet." The female laguz blushed, embarrassed to talk about such things. However, considering that Ranulf had wanted to go with Ike, it was a good thing that he stayed with his mate. It was known that they were both warriors, and it was felt within the clan that it was a good match. The Gallian male had good traits, and so it was approved. It had been a relationship that her mother would go on and on about, much to Lethe's chagrin. "See, Lethe! Your sister has a mate, now why don't you go out there and find one, hm? It would make me happy to see both of my daughters having grandchildren!" Such was the price of being the eldest twin. But she loved her sister. Sure, Lethe thought, she had her moods, and was very stubborn. She could count the times that Lyre had gone off to sulk on both hands, and double for those that she helped get her sister through those times.
"So, how much longer do you think this mist will last?" Lyre broke Lethe's thoughts. The younger sister was looking out into the grey, and Lethe stood beside her. Their ship was going in a western direction, the winds were calm, no storms... yet. Lethe was no sailor, but she knew that storms were ill tidings.
"I'm not sure, sister." Lethe shook her head. "If you need me, I'll be in the cabin." She went down to the cabin of the ship, where they slept. They had three pallets, one for each. There was a desk here, a small one. The helm was unmanned at the moment, as they let the winds decide their course. She went to where she slept, her tail moving about as she looked in her leather bag, a item she always kept with her. Sitting at the desk, she took out a small leather bound book. Her travel journal, she called it. Those that dared call it a diary in her presence got her claws in their faces. She took out a quill, a brown feather, and a bottle of ink. Sitting down at one of the only chairs on the ship, she began to write:
"I'm not sure what day it is. This mist stretches on and on... I fear we have sailed for the edge of the world, never to return. All around us is this mist, and I feel uneasy. The winds have favoured us, so far... I hope that we find this new land soon, or we are lost, forever..."
"But if we are at the end of the world... what then? Will there be an endless void, or is it just this fog, this blindness that marks our way? I fear that our quest is a fool's one, and we are doomed..."
She paused, hearing the winds picking up. She went up to the deck, only to see Lyre and Ranulf rushing to where she was. She was about to say something when Ranulf interrupted her, with words she dreaded to hear.
"We've hit a storm! Get inside, quickly!"
The winds raged, howling and whirling about the tiny ship, all the while the crew huddled belowdeck, fearing for their lives. Where it would take them, they did not know...
What awaited them in the aftermath of this storm... What could it be?
To be continued.