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When Laguz Met Furry

Disc.: I don't own Fire Emblem, or Lethe. They are the respective properties of Intelligence Systems and Nintendo.

Ch. I. Points of Strange Arrival

It was cold, the coldest winter she had ever experienced. The cloak Lethe wore did little to preserve her against the elements. She hated it, hated the cold that was like a knife. She hated the land, the land of her enemies, enemies of her people. Her people were the laguz, a race of shapeshifters who were noble and honourable in their dealings. They had been slaves once, but her people fought for their liberation, with their own blood, they had earned their freedom.

The cloak in question was of a brown, indistinguishable material. It covered her from head to foot, leaving only her orange cat ears sticking out from the hood. Thick woolen gloves covered her standard leather gauntlets, and a thick scarf covered her face, leaving only her violet cat's eyes exposed. She was following the rest of the Crimean Liberation Army, moving in columns. This Liberation Army was established to aid the Princess Elincia, heir to the throne of Crimea, in regaining her realm from the Daein armies that took it not a year before. The blinding snow made it hard for her to see her way forward, even with some of the other members of the company in their brightly coloured outfits, or dark, if you took Soren's robes into account.

_Remind me why I was assigned to this detachment, again, somebody._The thoughts that raged within her head were chaotic, to say the least. Lethe had remembered that her assignment to this army, along with that of Mordecai, her Tiger subordinate; Ranulf, her fellow Cat clan member who was her Captain, was on orders of their King, Caineghis. Being the dutiful soldier, and proud Cat of her clan that she was, she obeyed his orders without question.

Despite the harsh conditions that she was subject to, she loved it. The battles, the challenges that they faced, the honour and prestige she would earn when she returned to Gallia. The Greil Mercenaries, the core of the Army, treated her well enough. That annoying, worthless human mage, Soren, was an irritant. The green haired brothers; Oscar, Boyd, and Rolf, were cool, almost nonchalant about the presence of laguz in their company. Titania, now she was a different story. The red headed human woman was a part of an officer exchange programme run by the Crimeans to improve relations with their neighbours. Lethe had wanted to be in the programme, but she was only a raw recruit when it had happened. Despite her hatred of humans, or beorc, as they called themselves, she was curious of Crimean society, their armies in particular.

But then her thoughts were interrupted, and the wind picked up, blowing even more white snow into her eyes.

"Damned snow! I can barely see anything!" Growling deep in her throat, she squinted her eyes and trudged forward.

"Titania! Boyd! Ike! Can you hear me?!" Lethe shouted, hoping to catch the attention of someone, anyone. But no one answered her, almost as if the wind stole her voice. It was said that the frost in this area of Daein was near lethal. As much as she feared death, she would have rather been slain in battle, honourably, rather than die in this wretched cold. Speaking of which, she felt a tingling in her, unexplainable and mysterious. After hearing nothing for a few minutes, she noticed that the snow that she walked on was different.

*

This snow was more compact, a lot more so than the snow of Daein. The skies above her were clearer, less overcast. The air she breathed was cooler, cleaner than that of Daein. She also noticed another abnormality: the tracks of the Army were gone! Looking behind her, she could see that her tracks began at a certain point, and did not extend behind said point.

What sorcery has done this? How could I be here? Maybe it was that Soren. Him and his magic. She had never trusted the mage, not after they had first met at Castle Gebal, a former military outpost abandoned by the Gallian army. She felt that it would not be past him to do this, maybe it was some sort of illusion magic? A new type of spell that worked only on laguz, perhaps? Still, despite this, she marched forward as best she could.

Her freezing body did not help her movement. Her ears felt solid, and her tail, contained within her cloak, was stiff. She knew that the cold was affecting her in ways that she did not understand. She knew of frostbite, but she carried a set of herbs that was supposed to keep her warm. Unfortunately, she had used those at the last checkpoint the Army had stopped at. Shifting to her other form would be a good idea; her fur would be enough to stop the cold, at least until she could find shelter. Taking a breath, she focused, concentrating on her other half. Despite the numbness that threatened her, she managed to find the spark that enabled her to shift. Her power flowed through her, exhilarating her, and in a signature flash of pink magic, she shifted in an instant. Now she stood on four paws, the only article on her was her signature green and gold bell collar, which rung in the cold air. She began to run forward, her paws making a distinct beat on the hard packed snow. Her size was around that of a standard mountain lion female, her fur a beautiful sunset orange. Her cat's eyes were dilated due to the sunlight, showing more of the gorgeous violet iris, and less of the black of the pupil. Sprinting forward a few more kilometers, she eventually came to a rise that led to a gorgeous view of the landscape.

Sitting down in cat form, Lethe paused to gaze upon the landscape in front of her. It was an alpine environment, tundra to her left, and desolate snowy plains to her right. Mountains surrounded her, and in front of her was one such mountain. The mountain in question was taller than the rest. She saw some sort of structure, seemingly embedded into the mountain itself.

She ran forward, her breath escaping in puffs as she exerted herself. Her muscles flowed lithely under her fur. Normally, such strenuous travel would have drained her of energy, but she felt, once again, this feeling of being alive. This served to counteract the unease which she felt when the realization hit that this was not her world. This world did not seem like Tellius, this area did not feel like the Daein landscape. It felt different to her, somehow.

A feeling of despair came over her, as she was running towards the structure in front of her, its features coming clearer as she ran on. Would she ever see the forests of her motherland, Gallia, again? Would she remain stuck here? Questions raged through her head, until she finally reached the structure.

Panting, she gazed up at the place. It was huge, a vast structure. Resembling a castle more than a manor house, it looked to be some sort of palace. Maybe a house of a great master of magic. Maybe this master sage can find a way to get me home. If they even know what and who I am, that is. Lethe thought thus to herself as she shifted back to her half human form. The doors in front of her were of a marble material, grey and black being the dominant colours. A strange device was near the right side of the door, a black box with a set of smaller grey boxes, sort of like a puzzle underneath. What caught her interest was the door knobs and knocker. The knobs were of black iron, which was confirmed by the strong scent that they gave off. They were designed to look as if there was a great paw clutching them from above, claws embedded into each sphere. The knocker itself was a golden cat's face, indistinguishable from other great cats. In the typical fashion, the cat held the knocker in its mouth, fangs surrounding the ring in a fierce grip.

Knowing how a door knocker worked, she reached up and grasped the knocker. Lifting it up, she knocked it three times in succession.

_Boom! Boom! Boom! _

*

"Day 471:

Today I finished the last preparations on the house. Everything's been installed but the security system. The vast works of occult knowledge have been stored away in a locked section of the library. It seems that there is someone knocking..."

He looked up from his journal. He wasn't expecting guests. His housewarming party had gone well enough. The young anthropomorphic puma was dressed in a violet button up shirt and matching slacks. Being digitigrade, he didn't worry about footwear, and was quite proud of the way he cleaned his hand and foot-paws. He was around five foot six inches tall, with a slim build. He had red fur, and it turned black around his muzzle, on the tips of his ears, and on the end of his tail. The only white fur was around his muzzle, as was typical of the species.

When he finally reached the door, he wondered why whoever it was did not use the buzzer. Opening it, he found a figure dressed in a long brown cloak, with a light dusting of snow on the hood. All he could see of the figure was that it was at least an inch shorter than him, and possessed striking violet cat eyes. There were also feline ears sticking out of the hood, orange with a white interior. The poor figure looked chilled, judging by the shudders that wracked it.

It was only midday, it was not even that cold out, he mused. So why was this figure even-

"Are you just going to stare at me, whatever you are, or are you going to let me in?"

Her voice sounded feminine enough. It was angry, yet her pronunciation was smooth. Considering how he so rarely had female furs at his home, it would only seem right that he treat her with the utmost courtesy.

"Of course." He gave a short bow and gestured inside. "Come right in."

*

When the beastman let her into his home, she was shocked at the grandeur of the manor. She noted his lack of footwear, and the black pawpads that were on his feet. Around her, the foyer was a grand affair. The dominant colours she could see were violet, black, and white, with a little red in for good measure. The walls were a solid, dark brown wood, and looked thick enough to keep out the cold. There was a set of hooks on one side of the entrance foyer that was used for coats; this was where he put her cloak.

If the foyer was a grand affair, then the main hall of the house was even grander. A large chandelier, as the humans called it, hanged above her head, and there were strange lights that lit the walls at certain intervals on either side. The carpets matched the colours of the house, violet, black, white, and red. It gave the appearance of a grand ballroom, in fact. The room seemed bare, empty even. The only windows were large, grand windows, on only one side of the room. They were garnered with thick, violet curtains, which were currently open.

"What is it? Is something the matter?"

The beastman turned to look at her. She had never gotten a good look at his face, and she was fascinated by it. A cat's face looked back at her, with rounded green eyes, red fur, and a short muzzle. He seemed male by his scent, which was buried under the clothing that he wore. These matched the house, bearing the colour violet. His face held a look of concern.

"I... I'm just cold, that's all."

After leading her through the main hall, they came upon what seemed to be a sitting room. There was a large fireplace here, and a few long couches. There were bookshelves, two by two, on either side of the room. To her left and right, Lethe could see two hallways going in either direction. He bade her to sit down in front of the fireplace. Dressed only now in her standard outfit, she shivered, chilled to the bone.

"I'm going to get something for those chills, and I may need to examine you. I'll be right back."

With that, he walked away, going to an area that looked like a pantry. Lethe looked around once more, curious. Now that she had a closer look of the room, there were portraits hanging on the walls. Many of these were of beastmen, like the one who had just taken her in. She couldn't make out details, a closer look would be needed. She heard him rummaging around in some sort of room, and then the sound of something falling down. After some muffled curses, she heard him begin to move back to the sitting room.

*

Finding the spare medical supplies was a chore, and he hated it when it was hidden. It was probably during the housewarming party that someone must have hid it. Toting the supplies he needed, he moved back to the room that he had her sit in. She was a strange one. He'd never seen anything like her. She was cat; that much he could tell from her scent. Her human features scared him at first, but he sensed that there was more to her, that she was not tainted with humanity just for show. He would find out more about his guest, and that would be that.

Finally reaching the room, he once again took stock of her. No wonder she was so cold, wearing something like THAT under such a thick cloak. Her outfit was... sensual, to say the least. A sort of tunic with an attached skirt, with a series of belts that ran just above her hips. The belts looked to be a light brown leather material, with metal loops that kept the arrangement together. The tunic and skirt combo were both green, the top itself yellow, the straps of the top were green, and well as the midsection. The skirt itself was absurdly short, and was a darker green than the rest of the outfit. Her legs, from what he could see, had no fat whatsoever, and had defined muscle. He noted a series of bandages around her right leg, starting at her ankle and going down. The shoes she wore were like a pair of small leather boots.

He reached to lift up her legs to examine her when he saw a blur of motion. Within seconds, he felt the blade of a dagger at his throat.

"I'm warning you. You so much as think you can do what you want, I'll have your throat." This was accompanied by an angry growl from deep in her throat. He looked to her violet eyes, and saw that she was serious. She was an angry cat, that was certain.

"Not to worry. Now, please, put the dagger down, and let me get a look at you." His chest heaved under his shirt, heart pounding. His own muzzle was drawn back in an instinctive grimace of fear.

She gave him another rage filled look, then relented. He noted that she kept the dagger in a sheath on her left thigh, tied with a brown leather loop.

As he once again went to examine her feet for frostbite, he kept talking to her.

"So, you want to tell me who and what you are?"

That gave her pause, and he wondered what the answer would be to that pivotal question.

E.O.C (End of Chapter)