Spirits of the Earth

@Dauphin DaGlobster

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Bored.

She was sooooo booooored.

Grumbling to herself, Kitty gathered her paws under her body and slunk her way through the halls of her master's estate, absentmindedly following his scent. It just seemed like there was nothing to do around here today, and cabin fever was itching under her skin. Sunbasking was boring, play-stalking the kaadir was boring, dancing was boring, everything was boring!

If she was being honest with herself, the werecat knew that this feeling wasn't new, wasn't just today. She'd been feeling restless for a while now, but previously she'd always been able to distract herself somehow. But today...today she just couldn't scratch the itch. A low growl rumbled in her chest, a constant sound that she had almost no control over.

She snapped halfheartedly at a songbird perched on one of the many wide open windows, making her way to her master's parlor where he often entertained guests. That was where his scent trail led.

The panther didn't realize she was stalking, body low to the ground and ears pinned back as she slunk her way around the corner and down the hall to the arched doorway that led into the parlor.

Kitty straightened up and flicked her tail haughtily as she marched into the room, head high, uncaring of who may be visiting Atiq. She thought she remembered him saying something about planning a hunt with some friends, but at the moment she didn't care to remember.

"Rrrrow!" Half glaring, she stalked toward where Atiq sat behind his desk and butted her head firmly against his leg. When that didn't get the immediate reaction she was looking for, she reared up to plant her paws on his lap and rubbed her head up under his chin- surprisingly reminiscent of any house cat demanding to be pet. Her low growl had turned to a steady purr as she essentially attempted to climb into his lap.

"And what will we be using?"

When Atiq heard the question, his expression lit up.

He, a friend, and a few others who'd be going on the expedition were gathered on a collection of chairs around a large, square table in the center of Atiq's parlor. On the table was a large parchment, depicting a map of the continent of Le'Ranna. The room itself was half lounge, half display room.  Several hunting trophies such as sets of antlers, stuffed heads, and even a few taxidermized fish, dotted the walls. At the far end of the room, there was a fireplace with some cozy looking seats with plush cushions dotted around it.

"Well, for the hunt we'll be using crossbows, of course. The secret, you see, is in the bolt. The right kind of crossbow bolt can, er..."

He trailed off when he saw the dark figure of Kitty slink into the room. When she let out her roar, several of the men around the table (save for Atiq, of course) jumped or otherwise startled.

"Angels above, is that a panther?" One of the men exclaimed, and Atiq raised a hand.

"Please, gentlemen. No need for alarm," he said, even as Kitty slunk closer and started to butt at his legs, and before he knew it, her paws were on his lap.

"Kitty, come on. I've got friends here," he said, although his tone was teasing as he passed a hand down her head. His guests were seemingly at awe, and Atiq grinned up at them as they resumed their seats.

"She's quite tame, gentlemen. Usually, that is."

He looked down at Kitty and rubbed the back of her neck.

"What's gotten into you, girl?"

The massive cat arched back into his hand and purred loudly in appreciation of the petting, tail flicking lazily from side to side. Then her form sort of stretched and shimmered, twisted almost, and she was human.

Well, human-ish. Her ears and tail remained, still curled languidly behind her, and when she pouted at Atiq there was a flash of fang. “I’m bored,” she huffed, and let her head fall into his lap to rest on folded arms. Her eyes flicked, then perked curiously toward his guests. “Who’re they?” she asked, shifting around slightly so she could flick her gaze back up to her master’s, feline eyes bright and calculating.

The plated gold collar that remained with her through her shifts was just about the only thing covering her, but it didn’t seem to bother her. She was used to it. Besides, with the way she was curled up, half on Atiq’s lap, and the table hid most of her from view anyhow.

Atiq ignored the confused stares from his guests as Kitty changed forms. When she rested her head on his lap, he sighed, and continued to lightly pet here.

"Well, you can stay here with me as long as you behave," Atiq said, and he looked back up to his guests, giving them a reassuring smile as he motioned next to himself.

"I'll be done soon, and then we'll see about that boredom."

He looked back up to his friends.

"Now, where was I?"

"I believe you were telling us about the crossbow bolts, Atiq."

He laughed gently, and put his hands on the table.

"Ah yes, the bolts. There is no wood in the construction, just metal. It helps it penetrate deeper, and is good for bigger game, like what we're hunting in a few weeks."

And so, the meeting would go on. If Kitty had the willpower to keep still for another hour and a half, she'd find the meeting to be over, provided she didn't cause any more mischief.

[So basically if you want Kitty to get up to more mid-meeting shenanigans go ahead and I'll roll with it. If not, consider this post a light timeskip of sorts. It's up to you.]

[Hehehehe...]

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Kitty wasn't a bad person, really. She just found it incredibly difficult not to keep herself out of trouble when the opportunity presented itself. But she tried, she really did, to keep herself in check for the remainder of her master's meeting.

Atiq was a kind enough soul, and she knew she'd never really be punished for her shenanigans. But she didn't necessarily want to make his life harder, or make him look bad in front of his guests.

Still. She was bored. And in her human form it was a tad more obvious, with her constant sighing and shifting, cutting pleading glances up at Atiq every so often.

Finally, about an hour into the meeting, she just climbed into his lap, not content with the light petting he'd been bestowing on her head and neck. It was a silent but rather clear demand for more attention, and she shoved her head into the crook of his neck as she curled up onto his lap, purring loudly.

There. He could still talk to his friends like this, right? No problem.

She felt quite proud of herself.

About an hour in, the conversation had gone from the weapons to be used, to the location, to finally, the target. It wasn't just spent around the table, either. Atiq and his guests had stood to examine the crossbows, so he could show them to the guests, but by the time the hour-mark had rolled around they were back at the table, drinking wine.

"And so this creature, this... "land shark" as you call it, Atiq... What exactly is it?"

Atiq smirked, took a gulp of wine and set his cup down. By this point, petting Kitty had become automatic. In a sense, he'd almost forgotten he was doing.

"Exactly what it sounds like. Imagine a shark, but instead of fins it has four, powerful legs, and it's the size of a rhino. They dig through the earth to hunt their prey, but they have their weaknesses. It all has to do wi--"

And then Kitty was up on his lap, face in his neck as she curled up onto his lap. Thouroughly interrupted, Atiq sighed, and passed a hand down her back. To his guests, who weren't quite so used to the sight of a near-naked woman acting like a cat, were simply just silenced by her presence, either through awkwardness or fluster.

Atiq indulged her a little, continuing to stroke her back. He knew that she went stir-crazy sometimes, the poor girl, but what was he to do? Let her out onto the street to wander?

The slavers would snatch her up in a heartbeat.

Eventually, one of Atiq's guests spoke up, and they resumed conversation. Atiq tried to nudge Kitty into a position where she wasn't nearly smothering him as they continued to drink and speak of the beast in question

With minor grumbling Kitty allowed herself to be nudged into a more comfortable position, ending up with her head on Atiq's shoulder, golden eyes flicking curiously from one guest to the next as they finished up their preparations.

An idea suddenly struck her. It seemed perfectly reasonable- in fact, she was shocked that it had never occurred to her to ask before. She suddenly perked up a bit, slipping off Atiq's lap to wonder around behind his chair and lean over his shoulder instead. Her tail flicked back and forth in excitement, and her ears had perked forward almost curiously.

But despite her many...unconventional oddities, Kitty had been with Atiq long enough to know that the easiest way to get what she wanted would be to simply wait for his guests to leave, so she could speak with him alone.

She did so, but her impatience was near palpable.

Soon enough, Atiq's friends had left. Many assurances of a good hunt were shared, a lot of "I look forwards to it" and a lot of the usual platitudes. Atiq bid them goodbye, and a few servants escorted his guests out of the room. He sat there, eyes attentively watching the door.

When he heard the door open and close, he sighed, reaching down to the table to pick up his drink and take a small sip.

At some point they'd switched from wine to arak and Atiq's eyes were a bit heavy with drink. He slouched in his seat, and looked to Kitty with a smirk on his face as he stood up from his chair to stretch.

Then, he turned to her, setting his cup down on the table and then leaning on it.

"Well, I'm all yours now, Kitty. What is it?"

The werecat was practically vibrating with excitement at this point, but she managed to hold herself in check until the door had closed and Atoq was holding the drink far enough away from himself that it wouldn't spill all over them when she pounced in him.

Which she did, enthusiastically, throwing her arms around his neck and looking up into his face with wide, pleading eyes. "Can I go with you? On the hunt I mean. Please?"

No matter how ready he was for it, she always found a way to catch him off guard. He could only widen his eyes when she threw herself on him, barely able to catch her when she did so. The drink didn't help.

At her proposition, his eyes widened slightly.

"Oh no, not this one. It will be dangerous, Kitty," he said, and looked at her sternly. He separated from her and sat on the table, although he motioned to the space on the table next to him and even patted it a little.

"I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if something happened to you, Kitty. Who'll take care of Bramble if you get hurt?"

She pouted. "But I'd be careful! I wouldn't get hurt, I promise. I could hang back during the actual hunt- please, Atiq." She flopped onto the table beside him and let her head rest in his lap as she looked up at him with wide eyes. "I can't stand being cooped up here. Please?"

Atiq looked down at her, mouth slowly twisting into a thoughtful frown.

He was too drunk for this.

He met those striking eyes of hers and lowered his hand to pet her, brushing a bit of her hair away from her face.

"Oh, Kitty..." he sighed, and he passed his thumb against the back of her ear. If his intent was to make her stew in suspense, then he was doing a stellar job of it as he ruminated.

"I don't know. I know you're bored and I want to say yes, but... I'm worried. Let me think about it, okay?"

Kitty's eyes fluttered closed and she tilted her head into his touch, a purr rising in her chest as he stroked her ear.

Let him think about it.

She sighed. It wasn't a yes, but it wasn't a no either. She supposed she could live with that, for now.

"Alright." She twisted around a bit to make herself more comfortable on his lap and sort of nuzzled his hip, then let her eyes close again. For all intents and purposes, it seemed she was quite ready to take a nap.

Atiq awkwardly shifted a little when she nuzzled his hip. She might not have any concept of what she was toying with, but Atiq did, and drunk as he was, she somehow managed to fluster him, despite the fact that he'd gotten used to this behaviour from her ever since he was a kid.

Oh, how his parents yelled at them the first time they found them like that.

And just like that, awkwardness was replaced by a fond memory. He continued to stroke her ear as he picked his drink back up.

What am I going to do with you, Kitty...

Whether it was feline instinct or just how long she'd known him was hard to say, but even lightly dozing Kitty could sense as Atiq relaxed slightly. She felt him shift to pick up his drink and smiled to herself, purring loudly.

She liked it when he relaxed. "Stressed" wasn't a good look on him, though she knew she occasionally put it there herself. Her ear flicked back and forth under his touch and she shifted a little restlessly, arching her back in a stretch and yawning widely.

"When are you leaving?" she asked sleepily, eyes still closed. To be honest she hadn't really been paying attention to that portion of his meeting.

"A week or two," came the immediate answer. The hand stroking her head went to her neck. At the moment, he found that he didn't quite care if he had to stay seated on this table. He finished his drink, and then set it down, sighing as the last of the arak settled in him.

There was a cat snoozing on his lap, he was pretty much trapped there until she decided to move. He looked down at her for a bit more, and chuckled.

"You're awful sleepy for someone so restless," he teased.

Kitty pouted. She hated it when he left- not just because it left her with little to do all day but wander the estate, but also because she missed him. It was hard not to miss someone who'd been a fixture in her life since she was barely five.

"Mmph." She frowned and rolled to hide her face in his lap, tail twitching and ears pressed back against her head. "I'm a cat. I'm allowed to be both, it's practically in the job description," she grumbled.

There was silence for several long moments, then she nuzzled into his hip again. "Atiq?" Her voice was suddenly much softer. She didn't try to be, but she knew she was changeable, moods coming and going as quickly as the wind shifted direction. For some reason, thinking of him leaving had left her...oddly contemplative. "Am I..." She trailed off, not quite sure how to finish the question.

Atiq was quiet as he waited for her to finish her question, but when she trailed, he looked back down at her. She had her face in his lap, which was awkward, but Atiq ignored it.

"Are you... what?" he started.

"What's the matter?"

Her voice was soft. He'd heard her voice like this before, but it was so rare for her cattiness to give way to something like this that it caught his attention almost immediately and made him curious.

She frowned. With a sharp huff, she suddenly sat up and drew her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around her legs and bringing her tail around to curve almost to her feet. Her ears drooped and she sort of pouted at the ground.

"...Am I still a slave?"

It had been bothering her for a while, if she was being honest, but never so insistently. Once they'd left Atiq's family home, her master had never purchased a slave. Not one. Which had her inclined to believe that "slave" wasn't exactly the roll she filled.

But...what was her roll then? She huffed again. "I don't work, it's not like I'm useful around here, so I'm not paid. I'm supposed to be just...yours. But you don't-" She looked away, frown deepening. "You don't need me anymore, not like you used to. What am I- am I supposed to be-"

Again she cut herself off, shaking her head with an irritated growl.

He listened to her, and by the time she was done, his eyes were directed downwards, searching for an answer.

When one came, he looked back up to her. He stood up from the table, looking at her with concern in his eyes.

"You were never a slave, Kitty. At least, never to me. You were my friend when I didn't have any and my best friend even when I met others."

he shook his head and stepped a bit closer to her, resting a hand on the rim of the table.

"I'm your master, yes. Master is just a word, though, Kitty. I didn't bring you with me when I left because you were mine, but because I couldn't stand to leave without you."

He looked at her for a bit before he broke eye contact for a few moments. Then, he stood even closer to her. She was sitting on the table, so he could reach ahead of him and put a hand on her knee.

"What do you want to be, Kitty?"

The breath left her body in a long, shaky exhale and she closed her eyes for a moment. The touch of his hand on her knee had her snapping her gaze to his fingers, then trailing slowly up to his face.

"I want..." A small, almost nervous smile tugged at her lips. "Friend sounds good. I like being your friend." She always had, even if she didn't say it as often as she should.

With another little sigh she leaned forward and wrapped her arms around his neck, nuzzling into the curve of his shoulder with a soft purr. Her ears had perked up a bit and the gentle swishing of her tail was calmer, more the gesture of a self-satisfied feline than the irate flicking from before.

Atiq was the most important person in her life- sometimes it felt like he was the only person in her life. It was nice to hear it said aloud that he cared for her enough to bring her into the life he'd built for himself. Kitty snuggled closer to him and licked his cheek, purring louder. Even in her humanoid form her tongue held a bit of the roughness it did as a cat.

Atiq let out a breathless smile when she licked his cheek, happy that he'd managed to lift her spirits.

And he was just drunk enough to ask her something else, too.

"Do you... want to smoke some hookah with me? It might help with your boredom," he said with a slight smirk.

Her eyebrows crept up. He'd never offered that before. "Um, sure. Why not?" Smiling, she tilted her head at him. "In the baths?" That tended to be his preferred location to relax with a pipe, so she made the assumption that was what he'd meant.

"Precisely," Atiq said, and he ran a hand down her back before he parted from her and started to walk there, motioning for her to follow.

He still had one of the pipes there from the last time.

"I think it'll do you some good. Sap away some of that excess energy you seem to have all the time, Gods know how you do it."

Kitty bounced off the table and followed after him, tail swaying behind her. She shrugged and chuckled. "Can't help it, it's just natural," she said with a bright grin and bumped his arm with her shoulder, any trace of earlier melancholy vanished.

Her collar clinked against her chest and she reached up absently to fix it, as she had a thousand times before. The gold plates settled against her skin, their weight familiar, almost a part of her. Pausing a moment to stretch in a shaft of sunlight, the werecat added, "I could probably go for another nap soon, though."

Ah, the joys of a feline's lifestyle. Raging energy one moment, soundly snoozing the next.

Atiq chuckled at that. It wasn't too far of a walk from the parlor to the grove, as they were both on the first floor. Along the way they came across Bramble, who at first seemed curious, only to dart away in a natural bout of feline skittishness.

Atiq had always been able to amuse himself by comparing the two cats in his life to each other.

When they arrived in the grove, Atiq seemed to lose even more tension. At the moment, the arrangement was one wooden armchair covered in cushions and a small table with a hookah on top of it next to the grove's pools, which were two hot-tub sized basins.

Atiq didn't hesitate to plop down into the one seat, reaching over to bring the small table a bit closer. He looked to Kitty and patted his lap.

The panther hissed at Bramble- not unfriendly, just not in the mood to entertain another cat. The two had an...interesting relationship, just as likely to snarl at each other as to groom and purr and snuggle, at least when Kitty was in her fully cat form.

Once in the grove, she allowed the gentle steam and the smell of growing things to calm her, feeling her muscles uncurl slightly with tension she hadn't even realized she'd been carrying. Atiq's small invitation was all she needed, and it took only a moment for her to curl up onto his lap, head on his shoulder.

Feeling affectionate again, she butted the crown of her head up under his chin and wrapped her arms around his waist, purring loudly. "Pets," she demanded sleepily, eyes closed already.

Atiq raised his head, allowing her head to take up the curve of his throat. One of his hands passed over her back, from the base of her neck to the base of her tail, while the other scratched at her ears.

"Always so needy," he said, giving her plenty of attention before he paused the head scratches so he could reach over to the hookah and take the mouthpiece off of the apparatus. He took it to his mouth and breathed deep. He set the mouthpiece down on Kitty's lap and leaned his head back, letting some smoke billow out of his mouth before he sucked it in and blew it out of his nose.

"Oh, finally. Bless Akim's heart, but the man talks too much. Nearly gave me a migraine..."

She chuckled at that and tilted her head black to see his face. “You could do what I do and not listen,” she said with a cheeky little grin.

His one hand had come to rest at the base of her tail and she arched back into the touch unconsciously. It was definitely a favorite place for scratches, in both forms. Eying the hookah curiously, she lifted his hand that still held the pup so she could sniff at it.

Her nose crumbled up and she sneezed. “I still don’t really get this stuff,” she mumbled, eyes narrowed in intense examination.

"What is there to get, Kitty?" Atiq said, relaxing into the chair more as the herbal mix in the hookah's chamber filtered through his body. He scratched at her tail's base for a bit longer before his fingers trailed back up to the base of her neck.

"Smoke goes in and out, good feelings stay."

He shot her a smirk.

Kitty's back arched pleasantly for the scratches and a soft purr started up in her chest. Still frowning curiously, she wrapped her fingers around his holding the pipe to guide it to her lips and breathed in.

Her eyes widened and she sputtered, coughed, then tried again. She sneezed and exhaled a puff of the smoke, then yowled in complaint and glared at the pipe as though it had personally offended her.

Atiq had to stifle a laugh.

When she yowled at the mouthpiece, Atiq rubbed her back as if to soothe her.

"Not so fast, girl! You'll choke like that," he said between chuckles.

"Breath in nice and easy. Here, I'll help you."

He raised the mouthpiece as if offering it to her again.

The shifter glowered at him, though some of the ferocity was lost in the way she kept having to cough every few seconds. With a big show of her reluctance, she sniffed, "Fine," and took the mouthpiece between her lips again as he held it.

She glanced up at him sort of questioningly and breathed in again, much slower this time. Smoke filled her mouth and she pulled back, not entirely sure what else so was supposed to do- so she blew it out, with only a small sneeze this time.

Atiq gave her a teasing look when she glared at him, but he didn't have time to comment, for she was already smoking. When she finished, he pulled the mouthpiece away and watched her let out the smoke.

"There we go, that was much better," he said, and passed a hand from the top of her head to the base of her neck.

"Now, just relax. You'll start to feel it pretty soon."

Her eyes fluttered closed and she tilted her head back slightly into his touch as he stroked her head, a purr rising in her throat. "Mmm..." She made a vague, noncommittal sort of noise and allowed herself to fold against his chest, nudging her head against his hand when he didn't immediately keep petting her.

He kept petting her with the one hand as she folded upon his chest. He took one more puff from the mouthpiece before he set it down on the seat's armrest.

The tension he harbored before was nothing but a memory now. While his one hand kept going back and forth on her head, he set the other to the task of stroking her side.

"You were very patient today. Thank you for that," he said.

"I think... I think I'll let you come along to the hunt."

Kitty's head jerked up and she stared at him with wide, glittering eyes. Her pupils had blown wide, almost completely eclipsing the gold of her iris- though whether that was from surprise of the beginning effects of the hookah was hard to say.

"Really?" She beamed, sharp canines catching the light in a way bone really shouldn't. "Oh thank you, thank you!" She flung herself forward against his chest again, arms around his neck and purring loudly enough to seem to make the room rumble and she pressed several happy, celebratory kisses and licks to his temple and cheek. Her tail swayed in a lazy arc behind her, the tip curled in playfully.

Atiq smiled fully as she flung herself onto him and he held her as she held him. He weathered her kisses and licks as he stroked her sides.

"Yes, really. But you need to promise me something, okay?"

He pulled away from her attentions to give her a serious look.

"You cannot wander. You need to stay by me and do what I tell you to, alright? It's going to be dangerous."

Practically squirming on his lap now, Kitty had to actually take a breath and force herself to focus on his words. His tone was serious, so she knew she actually had to listen, this wasn't one of those times she could just tune him out.

She nodded eagerly. "Alright. Promise." She'd promise anything if it meant she didn't have to be left here alone while he went off. She really tried to convey her sincerity, but she couldn't stop grinning as she fidgeted on his lap to try to get into a more comfortable position.

Eventually abandoning that task, she bounced to her feet and spun to face the bathing pool, glancing at him over her shoulder. "I'm gonna get in. You wanna?" She just needed to move around a bit.

Surprisingly, despite her many other distinctly feline qualities, Kitty actually quite liked water, even in her fully cat form. She prodded the pool with a toe, tail flicking.

Atiq gave her words a few long moments to consider, before finally, he nodded.

"Sure, a short dip won't do any harm."

He stood up, and after a quick glance around, he slipped out of his clothes until he was in nothing but his underthings. Flexing his toes a little, he stepped past Kitty while she tested the water and stepped down into the gently steaming water.

He sighed and rested his head back, letting his eyes wander to the plants around the room.

That wicked glint lit in her eyes again. She took a few steps back- then sprang forward and cannonballed into the water with a bright, happy chirping sound, swamping the sides of the pool with the waves her body made.

She surfaced, flipping her hair, and twisted to face Atiq, floating on her back with a lazy smirk.

He knew her too well.

When she didn't immediately enter, he looked to her out of curiosity. He saw her retreat a few steps, and realization dawned on his features for a moment before he instinctually closed his eyes.

Warm water went splashing all over him when she impacted the water, and when things were still again, he opened his eyes to see her smirking at him. He gave her a wry smile of his own.

"Why're you always making such a mess, hm?" he teased, yet he lifted a hand to beckon her towards him.

"It's a talent." Her smirk widened and she floated toward him. She bumped her cheek against his outstretched hand and purred lightly. Eyes half closed and ears relaxed, she added with s softer smile, "I know you don't really mind. You'd do something about it if you did."

The warm water was making her sleepy again, with a yawn she curved herself around to settle against his side and tucked her head against his shoulder. "Catch me if I start to go under," she mumbled, another purr starting up in her throat.

"My one weakness," Atiq said, smirking at her. He watched the steam curl gently upwards from the water, felt the slight shifting of Kitty against him. Her gentle breathing tickled his neck slightly, but not enough to save him from the darkness as he let his head rest back.

Before he had a chance to stop himself, he was dozing as well, although his arm remained around her as he fell still.

Kitty's lips curved up in a self-satisfied smirk as she dozed off, though unlike her human companion it was not a true sleep.

She was in and out of consciousness for a while, then finally decided she'd napped long enough. With an arch of her back and a little yawn she made to climb out of the bath, trying not to disturb Atiq too much.

By the time she'd climbed out of the bath, Atiq had fully slipped into an alcohol-induced sleep. He snored gently, unaffected by her movements. By virtue of his positioning, he didn't sink into the water.

The panther rolled her eyes and knelt beside the edge of the bath, stroking her friend's hair back from his forehead. "Atiq." She poked his cheek. "Hey. Wake up. You're gonna drown," she teased, prodding his shoulder.

He groaned, and shifted about. He opened his eyes blearily, and looked up at Kitty.

"I shouldn't have smoked. I was already drunk..." he said, shooting her a smile.

"How... how long was I out?"

"No more than an hour or two," the cat shifter assured with a quick smile. "Here's you'll be all wobbly from the hot water. Lemme help."

She held a hand out to him to help him up out of the bath.

"Oh! That's not too bad, I suppose."

He was confident he didn't need the help, but he took her hands regardless, coming up a little wobbly. He was all hazy from the heat and lingering alcohol, and his grip went from her hand to her shoulder, rubbing his eyes.

He was definitely heatstroked.

"I think I'm going to go to bed," he said.

"Sleep it off. Could you help me make sure I actually get that far?"

Kitty chuckled softly and gripped his upper arms to brace him. Once she was fairly sure he was steady, she looped his arm around her shoulder to offer herself as a crutch.

"Course I can. Want me to just carry you and cut out the pretense?" she joked quietly.

Atiq gave a curt laugh at that, but moved along with her all the same.

"I'm not that far gone, it's just..."

He trailed off as they ascended the stairs, utterly focused on making the trip. When they reached the top, he continued.

"Mixing makes me clumsy, is all. You've seen how I get."

"I have," the shifter laughed quietly, nudging him affectionately. "Don't worry, I won't let you do anything silly."

She guided him carefully back toward his rooms, adding playfully, "I don't know how you go on all those hunts without me, honestly. How ever do you manage?"

He chuckled at that.

"Plan drunk. Hunt sober. That's my secret."

As they entered his chamber, he looked at his bed and smiled.

While his dining/trophy room had all of his most ostentatious trophies, his room contained many small things, like curios and trinkets, as well as much of the furniture having comfortable looking pelts.

The room was arranged like a den, with a personal workspace and lounging area present as well.

When he made it to his bed, he let himself flop down onto it.

"Perfection."

Kitty chuckled and tilted her head to the side. Honestly, sometimes Atiq was more catlike than she was, in some ways.

Shrugging to herself, she allowed her body to shift once again into feline form and jumped up onto the bed next to him, purring quietly as she turned in a tight circle and curled up, the tip of her tail twitching contentedly.

(So, is there anything you had in mind for these two at home, or do you want to timeskip to the hunt/before? I'm alright with either one.)

The only activity Atiq performed after his flop was slipping out of his shirt when it got a bit hot for his tastes and stretching out more evenly. He wasn't jacked by any means, but he had the developed muscles of an outdoorsman, smoothed over by noble life.

[I'd be up for a time skip ^.^]

---

The panther didn't move much in her sleep— that attribute of the cat had always been one of her constant characteristics. Her paws and tail twitched as she ran their gah dreams, but for the most part she simply laid curled on her side of the bed, until finally she cracked an eye open and yawned.

(Gotcha! It'll be soon, I just want to get a little more of a handle on their dynamics)

Atiq was still asleep when she came to, thoroughly knocked out. He'd had an arduous day before the hunt meeting, and despite his one-hour nap in the grove's baths he found himself rather comatose. He wasn't usually a heavy sleeper.

Usually.

Kitty's yawn caused him to stir a little, but then he rolled onto his side, settling once again.

A little surprised Atiq hadn't woken with her movement, Kitty rolled onto her side and blinked at him. Her tail twitched, ears perking forward and a playful purr rumbling in her chest-- a cat's smirk.

Carefully, she shifted around on the bed until she was less curled against Atiq than she was crouched beside him. Slowly, painfully slowly, she raised one paw, haunches shifting back and forth, eyes on his face. Steady...steady...now!

With a mock yowl, she brought her paw down lightly on his nose. An incredibly powerful strike that ended with an almost feather-light touch.

Faintly hung over, Atiq groaned slightly, the yowl having stirred him. He didn't open his eyes, used to her morning antics.

"No..." he murmured, and he pulled the covers up over his face more, turning onto his back. He had a faint headache, and when he cracked his eyes open, he found the light unbearable.

"I'm still sleeping..."

Kitty rumbled a chuckle and tugged at the blanket until she could see his face, which she promptly set about licking with her sandpaper tongue, making sure to get a cow-lick into his thick, dark hair.

Satisfied, she sat back with a soft "Prrrp!" and a tilt of her head.

She tugged the blanked away and he frowned. She started licking him and he made a token effort to push her head away, but she was quite the powerful animal. When she cow-licked his hair, he'd finally had enough.

"Okay, okay... Okay!" he said, sitting up in his bed, rubbing her saliva off of his cheeks.

"I'm awake."

The shifter chuffed a laugh, flopping onto her side to blink up at him innocently. As she did, she allowed her form to slip into her more humanoid shape, tail flicking back and forth playfully.

"Morning!" she chirped, entirely unrepentant.

"g'mornin..." Atiq said, rubbing his forehead. He looked down at Kitty and reached down to give her head a short pet. He sat there, body upright but mind not fully awake, until finally he broke his silence with a yawn.

He wasn't mad, and why would he be? He messed with her about as often as she messed with him.

"So, you got me up. What's next?"

"Breakfast!" Kitty exclaimed, sitting upright and perking her ears forward. "C'mon, I'm starving!"

At the mention of breakfast, Atiq nodded. She had a point there.

He slipped out of bed and onto his feet, stretching. He took a moment to step behind a dressing screen so he could put on a different pair of silken pants (he'd been wearing the same ones since yesterday!) and throw on a light, breezy vest.

He came out and smiled at her.

"let's go, then! I heard one of the servants say that Defka bought some crocodile meat yesterday," Atiq said, even as he started to hurry down the stairs. He was lazy, yes, but once he was on his feet he was as active as ever.

"Defka!" Atiq called as he descended the stairs, looking left and right for his live-in cook.

Kitty bounced out of bed with a happy chirp, easily taking panther form again. With a playful “Rrreow!,” she bounded around Atiq’s ankles, careful not to trip him as they hurried down the stairs.

Once they were in the kitchens, she wound herself around her friend’s legs, rubbing against his hip and purring loudly, before leaping away to make a dash for the larder, hoping she could get in before the cook stopped her.

Atiq made an attempt to stop her, but she was just too quick for him. As she approached the open door, Defka appeared from inside the larder, holding the ingredients for the day's breakfast. Defka was a thin, tall man in his early twenties. He spooked easily, but he was also sharp as a whip, and knew that Kitty had a human side to her and at least understood words spoken to her. He also knew that she'd made a mess of the larder the last time she got into it.

He tried to step up and close the door before she got past him.

With a soft yowl of complaint, the panther slid to a stop, letting her ears drop and widening her eyes at the cook.

Knowing that probably wasn't going to work, she upped the charm, collapsing into her side and purring loudly while she batted gently at Defka's leg.

"No." Defka said, flatly, and he went to put the ingredients down on the prep counter. Just as quickly, however, he turned back about to look at her.

"I'll get you something after breakfast, okay?"

At this point, Atiq caught up. He exchanged glances with Defka, and then loosened up considerably.

"So, with all that considered, what's for breakfast?"

Defka sighed, and motioned to the table in front of him. There was long, pale cuts of meat alongside spices, vegetables, and a few eggs.

"Braised alligator, basted in a spiced yolk and roasted over a fire."

He looked down at Kitty again.

"Do you want  to eat it as a person, or...?"

Pouting, Kitty shifted back to her human form, sitting on the floor with her tail twitching back and forth.

"Cooked meat tastes better this way," she sighed as she got to her feet, tossing her hair.

Defka nodded and looked to Atiq, who was glancing over the ingredients. He nudged his hands away with his tenderizer and made shooing motions to Kitty. He tried not to blush when he looked at her, still not accustomed to her nature of dress as a human.

"Alright, you vultures. Gimme some space and breakfast'll be up in no time," he said, and Atiq looked to Kitty, giving her a sympathetic look. Then, he smiled at her.

"Maybe the groundskeepers will share some of the crocodile's breakfast with you? That is, if you're that hungry."

"Oh, no, that's alright." She smiled at him and leaned against his side for a moment, butting her head against his shoulder affectionately. "I'm sure the river lizards are hungry too."

She looked around for a place to settle, then shrugged and decided that where she was would serve well enough after all. With a lazy yawn, she looped her arms around Atiq's neck and buried her face against the back of his shoulder, purring gently as she flicked her tail back and forth.

Atiq gave kitty a few moments of repose against his shiulder before batting at the side of her leg with a hand to get her attention.

"And if I told you I wanted to take a stroll through the grounds anyways?" he asked, turning his head about so he could glance at her.

"Would you still come?"

Defka, not yet accustomed to how close Atiq and Kitty were, gave a short stare Atiq's way while he wasn't looking before starting breakfast.

"Hmmm." Kitty let her head lull from side to side, pretending to mull it over. Then she smiled and purred, butting her head lightly against Atiq's cheek. "Oh alright, I guess I will."

Atiq nuzzled her back, ushering her along with a hand at the back of her hip.

"The keepers are giving Scal a new leather ball today, I want to see how he recieves it," he said as he walked. Scal was Atiq's baby dragon turtle, for which he had an undying love.

The shifter rolled her eyes with a fond exasperation. "I swear, you'd think that thing was your firstborn heir the way you dote on him," she chuckled, bumping her shoulder into Atiq's playfully as they walked.

"I can't dote on him enough," Atiq said. He perked up once the unfiltered sunlight hit him. The day was pleasant, and the burgeoning clouds in the distance promised some light rain later on.

Not wanting to remember how he'd nearly lost his mind when Scal developed rot on his scales, he brushed her comment aside.

"It's going to be a long hunting trip," he started, and he parted from her so he could walk backwards and keep speaking. The gardens beyond the second set of walls that surrounded his home had his own personal menagerie of beasts within. Animal enclosures and paddocks blended seamlessly with the walkways and garden areas, essentially making Atiq's estate a miniature zoo.

"We'll be gone nearly a month, to the jungles down south. And when we get there, I have to help a couple of relatively clueless nobles track and kill an armored beast that digs through the ground."

He slowed to a stop and smiled at Kitty, despite the serious nature of his words. They'd stopped in front of a high-fenced enclosure. The trees within were populated by about five Snalleks, lanky wyvern-like lizards the size of turkeys with varying hues and shades. They roosted lazily on branches, watching the pair as they passed by their enclosure.

Atiq spoke up again.

"It will be nice to have you there."

For he did miss her when he was gone on his hunting trips. Her companionship meant so much to him throughout his whole life and he was so used to having her in his personal space that her absence was felt all the more. In a sense, the idea that she'd be there with him gave him something to look forwards to.

The shifter beamed and bounced forward to wrap her arms around Atiq's shoulders from behind, nuzzling into the curve of his neck with a happy purr. "I'm glad," she chirped as she pulled away, twirling toward the Snalleks' enclosure and looking up into the trees with the absent attention of a lazy predator.

She glanced back over her shoulder at her friend with a small smile. "I miss you when you go. I'm so happy you're bringing me with you this time."

The Snalleks were smarter than they looked, and they returned her lazy look with wide-eyed looks of their own, making throaty chirping noises among themselves. One of the larger ones stretched its wings a few time and gave Kitty the same look.

She'd chased that one before, and it seemed to remember her.

Atiq came up next to her an peered up into the enclosure, before looking back to her.

"I know I won't regret it, and that you'll be on your best behavior."

Feigning indignation, the panther exclaimed, "Of course I will!" She pressed a hand to her heart, eyes wide and innocent. "When have I ever not been on my best behavior?"

Atiq laughed, and started walking again, motioning for her to come along.

"You're right, my precious Kitty is a saint," he teased, although his face straightened out a bit.

"But I'm being serious, Kitty. It's going to be dangerous, no better way to put it. I know you can handle yourself but... well, I just don't want to worry about you. I need you to promise me you'll do exactly what I say, when I say it."

Then, an attempt to lighten the mood.

"Besides, Defka's heart wouldn't be able to handle it if anything happened to you."

Sensing the shift in his mood, Kitty nodded solemnly as she walked just behind and beside him. "I promise," she told him firmly-- although if she was being perfectly honest she probably would have promised anything if it meant she wouldn't be left behind again.

Brightening a bit at the joke, she rolled her eyes and nudged his shoulder gently with hers, before rather abruptly falling forward and landing on all fours in her feline form, evidently bored with walking about as a human. She turned and twined herself around Atiq's legs, purring softly and arching her back to rub up against him, marking him with her scent.

Atiq let her circle about him before he resumed walking. It wasn't a long walk through the gardens, and after they'd passed the zebras and silver-scaled Kaadirs they came up to an octagonal paddock that was set five feet down into the ground. Half of the paddock was dedicated to a swampy looking pond, with the rest being covered over with loose rocks.

Sitting halfway in the pond, basking with its mouth open, was a dark green snapping turtle the size of a carriage. It had a regal appearance to it, with a snout shape, raptor-esque feet, and long winding tail that evoked draconic heritage. There were some handlers cleaning a large leather ball and preparing to lower it into the paddock.

"Scal!" Atiq called out, and the giant turtle gave him a cursory look, snapping it's beak in response. Dragon turtles might've looked big and dopey, but they were as smart as dogs.

Kitty hung back a bit as Atiq approached the enclosure, pouting a bit. She had nothing against the dragon turtle, per se, but her friend was quite infatuated with the creature and she just didn't understand it.

Huffing, she rolled her eyes and turned to find a patch of sunlight for herself, ears and tail flicking.

"They got you a new ball, Scal! Look!"

Atiq, who seemed to have an endless reserve of love and energy for every last one of his animals, had a special place in his heart for the massive beast, who was second only to Kitty herself in his esteem.

Atiq rushed along the edge over to where the handlers were, and Scal let out a throaty grunt. The turtle rose the rest of the way out of the water and followed along, gait slow but stride long enough that it didn't matter. The handlers let the ball down, and Scal immediately struck at it, squeezing it and sending it rolling across the paddock. It bounced back, bumping into Scal's side as it wheeled about to bump it back with it's head.

Atiq laughed, and pointed.

"Look, Kitty! He loves it!"

Sprawled out in her rather excellent patch of sunlight, Kitty barely raised her head at Atiq's call, letting her form melt back into humanoid as she did.

Propping herself up on one elbow, she drawled, "Seems so. Hope he doesn't destroy this one as quick as the last. You'll go bankrupt trying to keep him entertained."

It wasn't that she didn't like Scal, really. She was just...used to being the favorite. And while of course she knew her place in Atiq's life was never truly under threat, cats could finicky about that sort of thing, and sometimes impulse and instinct got the better of her.

"No, this one's got just the right amount of give for him," he said, watching the turtle bite down and thrash the ball about, tossing it out into the water. Scal, seemingly satisfied, set himself down on the rocks, opening his mouth to resume basking.

Atiq took a few moments to just watch, before nodding to the handlers, who then started to lower Scal's breakfast, a huge bundle of desert grass and palm fronds. Atiq observed the turtle start to snack down on the bundle before he returned to Kitty, smirking at her as she laid sprawled on the rock.

He patted her knee, giving it a playful squeeze.

"Don't worry girl, you're still my favorite."

"Well I know that," the panther shifter retorted primly, though she was smiling a bit.

Ego sufficiently soothed, she sat up properly and tilted her head at him. "Where are you going next? Can I come?"

Atiq laughed at her question.

"Well, Defka's barely had ten minutes to himself, so I think I'm going to sit in the sunlight with my hookah for a little bit."

Not that he thought she even needed his permission, or that she'd turn down a chance to laze about with Atiq, who was usually much more energetic than his feline companion.

"I worry for that man, you know. Barely in his twenties and such a talented cook, but I think he might believe you are a human who can turn into a panther, and not the other way around, if you catch my meaning."

"Mmm." She stretched as she got to her feet, tilting her head from side to side. "I don't know why people get so hung up on that," she scoffed quietly. "What difference does it make, really?"

Another little shake of her head and she twisted back into her feline form, padding along beside Atiq.

---

[Time skip maybe soon? Near-ish before the hunt?]

So she didn't catch his meaning.

"People find it a lot easier to believe in the first than the other, I suppose," Atiq said simply. In reality, today marked the fifth time that he'd caught Defka stealing glances at Kitty, and he loathed the fact that he'd have to set him straight with a private talk, just as he'd done so a few other times in the past with bold new servants.

The last time, a new guard had straight up flirted with her, and it went over her head by some miracle.

But not Atiq's.

The panther tipped her head at him and chuffed quietly, ears flicking.

She wasn't entirely oblivious. If nothing else, she could scent arousal in humans as easily as fear. They simply didn't hold her interest, or at least not for long. She'd never really bothered to give such matters much thought.

Panther and girl were one and the same. Most males she'd met didn't seem to quite understand that.

Atiq, it seemed, was the the one who was oblivious to her non-obliviousness.

But, blissful in his ignorance, he kept on walking, taking note of the delicious smell wafting from the kitchen window as Defka worked. He went out to his favorite spot in the gardens and reclined on a nice, long seat.

He felt like it was going to be a lazy day today.

---------------------------------------------

It'd been two weeks since that meeting in Atiq's house, and the young merchant prince paced about nervously. He wasn't wearing his home clothes anymore, rather a sturdier getup more suitable for travelling, complete with a headscarf. His expeditionary wagon was loaded up with everything they needed to make camp alongside a month's worth of food and Atiq's hunting equipment. The wagon was attached via towhook to a long carriage with a canvas top, which in turn was fastened to a trio of sturdy looking kaadir.

"Come on, they're going to be late..." he muttered to himself.

Out of nerves, he looked about, wanting to pinpoint where Kitty was to make sure she hadn't wandered off. Not that he thought he had much to worry about, but he still wanted to calm his nerves a bit.

Kitty was actually wearing clothes, an incredibly rare occurrence for her. Of course, when Atiq had pointed out that traveling would leave her quite a bit more vulnerable than simply traipsing about the estate, she had relented and allowed herself to be fitted in a relatively simple, sturdy knee-length tunic and a pair of loos pants.

She even had sandals on her feet, which just felt weird. She wriggled her toes, looking down at them as she leaned back against the wagon and huffed, tail flicking back and forth as her irritation started to grow.

"We could just leave without them," she noted with a flick of her ears.

"Yeah, as if I'm going to go hunt a land shark by myself," Atiq said, snorting a bit. He went and leaned by the wagon next to her, giving her shoulder an affectionate little rub.

"But hey, here you are! Travelling with Atiq, getting to see the world outside the estate," he said, voice teasing. His expression straightened out and he crossed his arms.

"They think we're just going on a friendly hunt, but what they don't know is that the land shark's liver oil is going to make me nearly five thousand gold pieces per vial."

He chuckled.

"And they've got pretty big livers."

As if on cue, another carriage pulled up. Atiq's friends, who seemed to have met up beforehand to drink in advance, all climbed out looking merry. Atiq greeted them in the usual manner, too polite to call them out for showing up late (and drunk at that!).

Kitty purred happily and leaned into Atiq when he stroked his shoulder, blinking large golden eyes up at him when he spoke of their quarry's valuable liver oil.

Then his friends arrived and she rolled her eyes, straightening up. "Finally," she grumbled with a quick flick back and forth with her tail.

Kitty's comment went mostly unnoticed, although there was one who stood out from the group as sober who caught her words. He gave Atiq a momentary glance as he greeted the others, and when he was done the visitor motioned to Kitty.

"You're bringing your pet?" he said, using a similar tone as Kitty herself, a tone which Atiq bristled at.

"Jalai, I am the one paying for and organizing this excursion. I can bring who ever I want. Is there a problem?"

Gedhi and Pilo, the other two friends, seemed to sense the tension through their addled state, and Gedhi himself rubbed Atiq's shoulders.

"Don't pay him any mind, Atiq. He's just grumpy because he didn't have any wine," the man said. Gedhi was an overweight man in his 30s, sporting a long rectangular beard and cropped back hair. Pilo was his younger brother, who was shaved bald on his head and face and of a wiry appearance. Jalai, the grumpy one, was around Atiq's age but not nearly as worldly, and he sported a short  goatee.

All three of them were not dressed appropriately for a hunting expedition, rather they seemed to have dressed for a party.

Atiq sighed, and then put on a smile.

"Well, hopefully we can fix that during the carriage ride," he started, and motioned up to the carriage. As his friends started to pile in, he looked to Kitty. He had a labored quality in his eyes, he'd spent the better part of the last two weeks stressing over every detail and quadruple-checking all of his supplies and plans.

"Be nice, girl," he said, low enough so his friends wouldn't hear.

Kitty bared her teeth at the antagonistic human, a silent snarl. She was quiet while Atiq calmed his friends.

When her friend tried to usher her into the carriage, she hissed quietly and muttered in response, "I will, if he does."

She did not like the smell of these men, the alcohol and sweat that made her pant for a breath of fresh air. How come when Atiq spent a night drinking he never smelled so awful?

With a huffed, she took her feline form and leaped up into the carriage. She took what she thought of quite plainly as her seat-- right next to Atiq.

"He will. I'll set him straight," Atiq said, giving her back a short little rub before she shifted and lept up into the carriage. The carriage was long and open-topped with a section of canvas stretched over it to provide shade. Atiq never liked to be cooped in when he travelled.

When Kitty came up into the carriage Ghedhi and Jalai couldn't help but to jump a little on instinct, but then she curled up on a seat and Atiq came and sat down next to her, giving the top of her head an idle little scritch.

"Well, if you gentlemen want to help Jalai get in a better mood, there's wine and rum in the cabinets. Cups too."

Pilo spoke up.

"And remind us where we're going?"

Atiq smiled. He always had a genuine passion for these  things and even through his stress the happiness shown through as he spoke.

"This time of year, the land sharks are in their breeding season. They like the soft, sandy dirt of the delta to nest and rest in. It's a bit of a ride to get there with a couple of stops along the way. We should be back in a week, however."

The shifter purred when Atiq rubbed her head, but she pulled away after a moment to wriggle out of her clothes, which now clung and hung oddly from her feline shape. Once the spare cloth fell to the floor of the carriage, she gathered it up in her mouth and set it daintily beside her before flopping back down and resting with her head in Atiq's lap, purring lightly.

The only garment she hadn't managed to keep through her shift was her shoes, left behind in the sand. Ah well. She'd only worn them because Atiq wanted her to, she couldn't exactly say she missed them.

Kitty yawned widely as her friend explained to the others where exactly they were going, feeling the carriage lurch into gentle motion beneath them. She closed her eyes and nuzzled against Atiq's hip, purring redoubled.

Kitty was one of Atiq's dearest friends, but he also loved the looks people gave him when he had a big black panther act so docile with him. He smiled at his friends, watching them stare at Kitty's long fangs as she yawned. He ran a hand down from the top of her head to the center of her back, and he kept repeating that motion as she purred and nuzzled into his hip.

Was it a little wrong to intimidate people this way? Yes, maybe a little. But that was how Atiq liked it. Be known for your kindness, but also let people know that you had power behind everything you did.

Even Jalai, who had been prickly towards Kitty, suddenly found himself quiet when presented with her panther form.

"You gentlemen all remember the method? We'll be reviewing the equipment in the field but I want to know if any of you remember anything of what I said before."

His friends all gave each other glances. The silence was all Atiq needed to hear.

And so, as their carriage ride got going, it was almost like a recap of that meeting two weeks ago. His friends started drinking again, but Atiq remained cold sober.

While Kitty was almost deliberately unaware of many aspects of human social interaction, she knew by the way that Atiq held himself and the subtle shift in his scent-- perhaps a rise in testosterone? She'd never been quite sure-- that he enjoyed it when she acted the pet with him in front of others.

Which was hardly a problem. She liked being petted and fussed over, and Atiq had been her friend long enough to know all the best places to scratch. She stretched out a little more languidly over the carriage seat and rolled half onto her back, reaching up to bat at Atiq's cheek with a playful little mew, purring all the while.

When she batted his cheek, Atiq paused his talking to chuckle and give the bottom of her jaw and neck a good rubbing with one hand, using the other to catch the stray limb and hold her paw. Oh yes, if she wanted to she could've run amok and torn out the throats of everybody in this carriage, but instead...

"Be calm, my snuggle panther," he said in a low voice, tone playful.

"Look, I've got your little toes."

"Mow! Mow-wow. Prrrp!" Kitty wriggled and pulled her paw back, ears perked forward and eyes narrowed in playful affection. Her tail flicked back and forth before she rolled over and sat up beside Atiq. Purring like a thunderstorm, she stuck her muzzle into his neck, pressing her cold nose against his skin before dragging her sandpaper tongue against his cheek.

She could feel the stares of his friends on her, but didn't care. In fact, she got a strange kind of satisfaction out of knowing she held their attention. Almost smirking to herself, as much as a panther could, she allowed her form to melt back into humanoid.

Still crouched beside Atiq, she licked his cheek again and butted her head gently against his temple. Her purring redoubled.

And once again, looks of intimidation or wonderment turned to fluster when suddenly presented with a very sparsely dressed woman.

Not that it stopped them from looking.

Atiq couldn't help but feel the slightest bit embarassed when she licked him, an act that had his friends  exchanging glances at each other. Atiq sensed the mood in the room and spoke up.

"But regardless, gentlemen, we'll be acquainting ourselves with the crossbows once we make camp. For now, let's enjoy the ride over," Atiq said, taking everyone's mind off of things by pulling a wide bottle of bright red wine and started pouring cups.

"But, before we toast, gentlemen... I want to make something clear."

Everyone paused, and turned their attention to him, taken in by his suddenly serious tone.

"I want you all to understand that this is not a day trip, or that safety is guaranteed. These are extremely dangerous animals, so we can't be mess-"

"Ah, come on! Atiq, you gave us the same talk back at your house. Have a drink, you look like a nervous wreck," said Pilo, who snatched the bottle from Atiq to pour him a glass first.

Atiq, ever weak to an offer of wine, refrained from quipping back and merely accepted the glass. They toasted, and Atiq took a light drink from his. He lowered it a bit, and offered it to Kitty.

"To celebrate your first trip?"

When she sensed the shifting tension of the place, Kitty sighed and leaned around to pick up her clothes, wriggling back into them halfheartedly. She really did prefer to go about nude, it was more comfortable. But she knew it was making Atiq tense, so she tried to be "presentable".

With a quick smile for her friend, she nodded and reached out for the glass of wine. "Thanks." Almost carefully, she took a sip. She'd had wine before, but never much. Normally just a sip or two from Atiq's glass when he was feeling like sharing.

She sipped on the wine, and there was a look of silent gratitude on Atiq's face. He personally didn't mind when she was naked. Essyrnis were infamous on the continent for their comfort around skin and they'd both grown up as kids.

Over the years they'd seen every inch of each other, there was nothing to be embarrassed about between the two of them. It was when Atiq saw other men (and sometimes women, too!) giving her flustered glances and sometimes shameless staring that he got really weirdly defensive about it.

He gave her leg a little rub as she sipped on the wine. When it seemed she was done, he took the glass back and kept drinking.

They had at least a few hours in the carriage, and it seemed Atiq and his friends were more than willing to talk and drink the ride away.

Kitty was a naturally adaptable creature, and she was fine lounging about in the wagon for an hour or so, switching between her feline and human forms, normally with her head in Atiq's lap.

Of course, an adaptable nature meant that she grew bored easily. In panther form, she began pacing the small floor of the carriage. With every pass, the flicks of her tail grew more irritable and her ears pinned further back against her head.

One of the others, Atiq's friend, drunker than the rest, reached down to pat her head, and she went very still.

No one interacted with her that way, save Atiq. She honestly wasn't sure how to response.

Atiq had to give Pilo some credit. For a scrawny guy, he certainly had some balls to just stroke an irritated looking panther like that. Then again, he seemed too drunk to notice or think that she was anything but a large cat.

Atiq went still, the others went still. The only one who didn't notice was Pilo, who had started to stroke her head rather drunkenly, mistaking her stillness for compliance. Atiq wasn't necessarily opposed to people petting Kitty. Everybody just seemed to either notice Atiq's slight jealousy or be intimidated by Kitty, so he'd never had to deal with anybody who did.

But Pilo hadn't given Atiq time to object, or possibly warn him, so the only thing Atiq could do was look at Kitty.

It was completely up to her how to respond, but he seemed to almost beg with his eyes for her to let it slide and just return to him.

"Let's stop the carriage for a little bit, hm? I've got to take a piss," Gedhi said, and Atiq latched onto it. He spoke, still looking at Kitty.

"Yes, let's."

The panther was practically vibrating with suppressed tension. For the first time in her life, she felt...feral. Fierce. Wild. She wanted to turn and bite and tear and claw, to feel blood run between her jaws. How dare he presume to touch her without her permission?!

Her eyes locked on Atiq's, a low growl building in her chest. Slowly, very slowly, she stepped away from Pilo, toward her friend.

Then, in a sudden burst of movement, she leapt up onto the carriage seat and took her human shape, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and burying her face in his neck. That predatory urge faded quickly, but in its aftermath she was...frightened.

She'd never felt like that before.

The growl was what did it, and even Pilo retracted at the noise. Gedhi raised a hand over his brother's chest a little protectively. Everybody jumped when she wheeled about suddenly and was in Atiq's arms.

"Hey, hey, it's okay..." he said, stroking her back. The carriage came to a stop and Atiq's friends were all too eager to step out. He wanted to scold them, but he had a feeling Pilo had learned his lesson. The carriage had stopped on a trail surrounded by sparse forest. The ground was dark and silty, and Atiq knew that they were really close to their destination.

He remained there with her, and kissed the top of her head.

"We've stopped, Kitty. Let's step outside, hm?"

Kitty whimpered quietly and nuzzled in closer, lapping her tongue roughly over Atiq's neck and collar in an effort to soothe herself.

"I wanted to hurt him," she whispered, trembling. "I've never wanted to hurt someone, Atiq, never. I-- I don't know what's happening..."

Atiq had to be honest with himself, he'd never seen her like that before either. Sure, she'd get annoyed and yowl when pestered enough, he'd even seen her swipe with her claws sheathed.

But when she looked at him then and growled like that, he could see the predator in her clearly more than ever. Not that he'd ever lost sight of that in the first place, but...

Either way, she needed his attention, so he just held her tight and exposed more of his throat to her, hands soothing along her back.

"You were angry. Defensive," Atiq said, no judgement in his voice.

"You shouldn't be ashamed of your instincts."

Slowly, very slowly, Kitty began to relax. She nuzzled and licked at Atiq's neck to calm herself, curling up into a tight little ball on his lap, but the shivers and trembling began to subside.

With a soft sigh, she let her head come to rest against his shoulder and closed her eyes for a moment. Her ears were still pinned close to her head, but she seemed much calmer.

"Thanks," she mumbled. Don't be ashamed of your instincts.

Was she? She didn't know. She was scared, frightened by what she'd almost done, but... But it was also exhilarating, in a way. And she thought that might scare her more.

With a low growl of frustration, one of her companionable licks turned to a nip, then a bite. Her teeth dug into the flesh of his neck-- not quite hard enough to draw blood, but well over the edge of gentle.

Then she realized what she was doing and pulled away with a gasp, eyes wide. "I-- I didn't-- I'm sorry!"

With a panicked yowl, she threw herself off his lap and out onto the ground, hitting the silty earth on four paws as she shifted and scrambling away, trying to find a place to hide. 

"Ow! Kitty!" Atiq said, rubbing the dark spot she'd left on his neck. She'd nipped him before, but that one smarted a little bit more than the usual! It also didn't help that Atiq... kind of really liked being bitten like that, so to have Kitty of all people do that to him confused him more than anything else.

Flushed and rubbing his neck, he looked out over the side of the carriage.

"What's gotten into you today, Kitty?" he called out, rubbing the new spot on his neck, but not that mad at her. He frowned.

"I think you've got too much energy, climb and run around for a little bit," he called out to her, trying to spot her. When he couldn't locate her, he stepped a bit further out, away from the carriage and into the trees, out of sight from the others.

"...Kitty? It's all okay, you didn't hurt me that much," he called out, omitting how that bite to his neck had sent much more arousal shooting through him than anger.

The shapeshifter was nowhere to be seen, though she had definitely fled in the direction of the trees.

But Atiq was not alone. In the trees above him, another hunter waited, golden-green eyes glinting dangerously in the dim light. Not many jaguars ventured this close to the edge of the jungle, but it seemed this one was either young and bold, or incredibly desperate.

And perhaps a little foolhardy. Most jungle cats did not bother hunting humans; it was a high risk endeavor with very low chance of success and thus reward.

But this jaguar didn't seem to care. His shoulders bunched up, haunches wiggling back and forth, and suddenly he exploded down from the tree, claws extended and teeth bared.

With a wild, vicious yowl, a streak of black knocked the hunter away from his prey. Teeth flashed silver and her collar flashed gold as Kitty and the wild cat rolled through the undergrowth, tearing and clawing at each other savagely. Blood spattered the ground and one of the cats howled in pain, though it was nearly impossible to tell who the injured party was with how closing entangled they were as they ripped into one another.

Atiq looked around, struck by the silence. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up. He was in no way a truly worldly man, but he had a true affinity for the outdoors and the natural world itself. He was an experienced hunter, a man of the jungle trapped inside of a nobleman's skin.

Was she stalking him?

"Kitty?" he said again, softer this time. His ears were primed, muscles tensing.

What happened next was almost too fast for him. He heard the shifting of leaves, the creaking of a branch. He looked back and up, and when he saw that the large shape bearing down on him wasn't a panther, but a jaguar, his hand went for the knife at his belt.

He didn't have enough time to draw it, but almost as quickly, a black shape and a flash of gold collar took the jaguar off its feet.

She was larger and stronger, but the two cats tangled together. There was a spatter of blood, and Atiq sprung into action.

"Kitty!"

With the confidence of a hunter, he ran towards the tangled felines. Quickly, before he lost his nerve and the jaguar wasn't distracted by the tangle, he advanced with his knife drawn. He tried to grab the jaguar to give it a very brief pull, intent on striking it on the head with the base of his knife to stun it while giving Kitty some space to breathe.

As Atiq struck, Kitty managed to get her back paws in the hostile jaguar's gut and gored downward, feeling her claws tear through skin. Screeching, the massive feline rolled to the side, his blood dripping onto the foliage.

Taking the moment of respite, Kitty changed swiftly back into her human form, staggering to her feet and shoving at Atiq's arm. "Run! Run, I'm right behind you, go!"

The words were barely out of her mouth when the jaguar charged with another yowl and Kitty pushed, yelling, "I'll hold him back, run!"

The words were barely out of her mouth before she was in panther form again, panting and smacking the male cat away, her ears pinned and teeth bared as she tried to scare him off.

The first instinct that he acted on was to help her, and even as she shoved he advanced to stand by her. Jaguars were ambush predators, if two opponents stood against it Atiq was confident the gravely wounded hunter would retreat and look for easier prey.

Then, she shoved him. He sometimes forgot that she had the same strength in both her forms, and so he was completely unprepared to be shoved back like that.

She was right, though. Just thirty feet away there was a wagon with crossbows in it! Crossbows for hunting land sharks, but still!

Acting as fast as he could, he turned about and sprinted out of the sparse jungle. His friends were there, talking as they stretched their legs. It hadn't even been a a few minutes since they'd stopped, and they looked shocked when Atiq came sprinting out of the jungle, blood spattered onto his clothes.

"Atiq, what--"

"No time!"

He ran to the wagon and pulled out one of the crossbows and a handful of bolts. Panting, he set the crossbow down and held it there with a foot as he pulled the string back. He loaded the bolt as he started running back.

"Hey, wait!"

And so his friends followed, unclear of what was happening but wanting to see what the trouble was to begin with.

"Hold him Kitty! Hold him!" he yelled out ahead of him.

When Atiq returned, it was clear that Kitty's rather pampered lifestyle was beginning to show. Adrenalin had been enough for that first burst, but despite her instincts she was, had been raised to be, a pet.

By the time the hunters arrived, she was pinned beneath the more practiced hunter, the jaguar snarling down at her.

And they were both in human form.

It had happened in a flash, an instinctive movement between the two of them. First they were tearing into each other in the foliage, then Kitty was pinned beneath him, his hands holding her wrists as they both panted.

Both their eyes widened. It was as though neither of them had quite realized what was happening until it happened. The male just stared at her for a moment, breathing heavily, bleeding on her from where she'd gored his stomach.

"You--"

"You're a--"

Then Atiq, calling for her to hold the jaguar, and Kitty twisted toward his voice, straining against the other shifter's hold.

A hold that suddenly disappeared. Utterly bewildered, she scrambled to her feet and saw the jaguar-- once more in feline form-- sprinting away into the trees. Kitty swayed on her feet, feeling blindsided. "Atiq..." She turned toward him and took a step, and her knees buckled.

The jaguar had managed to claw her side pretty good, and had taken a sizable bite of her left shoulder. She whimpered as she collapsed to her knees, curling in on herself.

It had all happened in a matter of moments.

[:0]

"Kitty!"

He arrived just as the jaguar had disappeared into the bushes, and he stopped to fire blindly through the bushes, hoping to at least scurry it off with a scare. Then, the focus was on her. He dropped the expensive crossbow to the ground and knelt down by her. He whispered to himself, fervent prayers that she'd be okay.

"Oh, thank Hakeshna, Kitty! Give me your hand, girl, come on," he said.

"Come here, into my arms, let me take you to the wagons."

He tried as best he could to get her moving so he could just carry her, ever conscious of her wounds.

"One of you, grab the crossbow," he said, and while the others hesitated, Jalai managed to act as ordered.

"Atiq, what is go--"

"Jaguar. I was out here and Kitty protected me," he said, and then looked back down at her.

[heheheheh]

---

"A-Atiq..." Kitty curled her fingers into the collar of his tunic, pulling herself against him. "He...he was...I--"

Her voice cut off and she pressed her face against his chest, whimpering softly. Her wounds hurt, but she didn't care. She just clung to him, silently asking to be held as his friends fluttered around them, asking questions.

"We need to get back to the carriage," she managed to mutter, her voice muffled against him. "We need to leave-- please, Atiq, I want to leave."

"Yes, yes we're going to leave," Atiq said, looping his arm under her leg and holding her close as he stood up. His friends rained question after question but he ignored them and he took her to the wagon. Jalai opened the back for him and he laid kitty down on it, climbing aboard to fetch the medical supplies.

"Don't speak, Kitty, save your strength."

She was alone for only a few seconds, and then he returned, crouching down to pet her and soothe her.

"Here, I've got medicine," he said softly.

"I need to treat you, but it's going to hurt," he continued, spreading herbal anesthetic onto two outstretched fingers.

The panther whimpered quietly as she was laid in the wagon, though she followed her friend's advice and didn't try to speak.

She ached. She was confused. She was angry. She didn't know what to do.

When Atiq returned, she tried to struggle into a sitting position and hissed quietly, clenching her eyes shut. "Just do it," she bit out between clenched teeth. "Please. Hurry."

He helped her sit up, setting the surgeon's kit down to do so. He was familiar with wounds from animals, having received plenty of his own. He started with her shoulder, spreading the anesthetic on the surface and into the wound before he gently lifted her arm and started doing the same for her side.

As he did so, he leaned in close and rested his head on her uninjured shoulder.

"I... if you hadn't been here, Kitty..."

He spread the anesthetic onto her side.

"I'm so glad you're here with me..." he said.

Kitty winced and hissed at the sting of the anesthetic, but she relaxed slowly under his care. As his head came to rest on her shoulder, she reached up with her good arm and draped it around his neck, nuzzling against his temple.

"You're mine," she whispered, unsure where the words came from but knowing they ran true. "I'll keep you safe, Atiq. I promise. Always..."

He just held her like that for a moment, waiting for her wounds to numb over. "And you're mine," he repeated, wanting to return the feeling. He let her nuzzle him before he parted from her and laid her down.

"Rest, girl. Rest. I need to stitch you."

Then, he looked up at his friends, who were just staring.

"Give us a moment, gentlemen. Keep your eyes open for jaguars," he said, and his friends left them alone.

He looked down at her, speaking as he threaded the stitching needle.

"You did good, Kitty. You scared it away. I'm so proud of you," he said, smiling, although it was mostly to hide the fear that had gripped him and still had a hold on him now.

An ambush from a jaguar was brutal, and Atiq would've gladly gone home with a few injuries, but he'd been in worse spots. But the thought of Kitty in danger had completely zapped his composure, and it scared him a little.

"He," she replied without thinking. "He was a male. He--"

She bit her lip and stared up at Atiq, eyes wide and pupils blown round, almost eating away the color of her iris. For the first time since she could remember, she realized she had a secret; the hunters hadn't been there when the jaguar shifted, she was the only one who knew.

He was like me...

She shook her head and looked away. "He was stronger than me," she mumbled, frowning. Her stomach clenched uncomfortably-- she didn't like keeping things from him, but for some reason she felt almost compelled not to tell him what had happened. "If I were a better fighter he wouldn't have--"

Kitty huffed and let her head loll back slightly, going quiet. She knew she still needed the stitches, which she was hardly looking forward to, but at least it would be a distraction. 

"Hush, now," Atiq said, and he gave the side of her head a stroke.

"You saved my life, Kitty. That's all I need to know,"

Then, he started to stitch up her side, as gently as he could. He hummed her a little song as he did so, a song they used to sing when they were children.

"Ah--!"

She knew Atiq did his best not to hurt her, but there was only so much that one could do to distract from a needle plunging in and out of your skin, regardless of anesthetic.

With a quiet whimper, she clutched at his shoulder and closed her eyes, just breathing. "I'm sorry," she mumbled after a few moments. "You told me not to wander of, and I..."

Her voice trailed off in a pathetic little whimper, ears pressed close to her skull. She just allowed the quiet to reign, trying to focus on the sound of his humming.

He was quick, experienced with the procedure. Utterly focused on making her feel better.

It didn't take him long to stitch the scratch marks there, and he inspected the bites on her shoulder.

"We'll clean these at camp," he said, and he gave her head a stroke. He stood up, and spoke to Jalai. "Tell the boys to get back in the carriage. Let's finish the ride to camp, the driver knows the way," he said.

"What about you, Atiq?" Jalai said. Atiq shook his head.

"No, I'll ride back here with Kitty. It's only twenty minutes or so from here," Atiq said. He looked back down to her.

"Here, sit up against me. I'll bandage you at camp. Rest now, my sweet girl..."

Kitty sat through the stitching, eyes closed. She simply listened to the mellow lilt of Atiq's voice as he set their little group into motion again.

When he sat beside her, she tucked herself into the curve of his body and let her head rest against his shoulder.

"Are you alright?" she murmured quietly. "He didn't hurt you, did he?"

"No, Kitty. Because of you, he didn't even touch me," he said, and he held her closer, inviting her to get as close as she wanted, knowing she needed it now more than ever.

"But I should've stayed. Even if I'd gotten hurt maybe I could've protected you. We could've taken him together..."

"No." She nuzzled against his neck, her brow furrowed. "No, Atiq. I don't think...he wasn't going to hurt me, not really."

"He was a wild animal," Atiq said, looking out over the landscape as they rolled along.

"But I am not a cat like you, so... maybe..."

He closed his eyes, sighing.

"I'm just happy you're safe, girl."

But he wasn't. He wasn't a wild animal, he was like me.

Did-- did that make her like him? In his place...would she have hunted Atiq?

Kitty shuddered and twisted to press more firmly against her friend's side, squeaking quietly as her wounds protested. "I'll be good," she whispered, trembling again. "I'll be good, I promise. I won't wander off, I'll look after you, I'll be good..."

"You're already good," Atiq said, stroking her hair as she leaned in. The danger had passed, and he was just focused on soothing her.

"Rest," he continued.

Kitty released a soft breath and her body sort of slumped into his, her eyes closed again.

She didn't exactly sleep, but she did doze a bit, the motion of the wagon lulling her as they moved along.

Atiq held her like that until the wagons came to a stop. There was a grassy knoll overlooking the wetlands close to where the Niafi Delta met the ocean, the top of which was flat enough to set up camp on.

Atiq looked down at the gently dozing Kitty and gave her a little shake to rouse her.

"Kitty? We're here," he said.

The shifter stirred slightly and raised her head. "Oh." She yawned and flicked her ears back. "Okay."

She started to get down from the wagon, then winced, her stitched side protesting painfully. She whimpered quietly and blinked up at Atiq, lost. "What do I do?"

"Don't worry about it," Atiq said, answering immediately. He got down from the wagon and offered her his hands to help her down.

"Just keep an eye out while we pitch up."

Kitty nodded a little desolately, taking his offered help gratefully as she slipped down from the back of the wagon. "Okay."

With nothing else to really do, she leaned back against the far side of the wagon with a sigh and let her gaze roam over their surroundings, both familiarizing herself with the terrain and on guard for any dangers.

It didn't take long for the four hunters to set up their base camp. Dark coloured, neatly arranged tents, a sunken fire pit, and then a taller, canvas-sided square tent to hold their equipment. All in all, it took them about an hour. While the three friends moaned and groaned, they got it done under Atiq's direction.

As darkness settled down, bellowing animal calls could be heard in the distance, spaced out widely but loud enough to issue over the flat terrain. Atiq smiled, and stepped past the tents o look out from their knoll.

"They're out there. We just need to find the right one."

Kitty allowed her form to shift back into that of a panther as the last touches were added to the camp, and she paced the outskirts warily several times, mouth open as she constantly scented the air.

She couldn't find anything suspicion, but she still felt on-guard. Growling quietly, nervous, she paced to Atiq's side and butted her head against his leg, almost trying to herd him back to the tents.

Atiq was there, listening to the sounds of distant land sharks, when Kitty approached and started butting at his head.

"Ah, okay okay," he chuckled, leaning down to pet her. Then, he re-entered the camp, speaking to her as he walked.

"Come into my tent. We need to clean and wrap your wounds."

The panther grumbled to herself as she followed behind him, but she was honestly so relieved that he would be inside and relatively safe from danger that she didn't protest the fussing too much.

Shifting back into her human form and hissing quietly at the strain that put on her wounds, she settled herself in the middle of the tent and waited patiently, ears ever alert for a change in the status of camp.

Some of that wildness still seemed to tingle under her skin. She felt at once both far too energetic and strangely at peace.

He showed up after a minute with a bucket of water and a cloth, as well as some bandages.

"Your wounds are looking so much better. I knew my strong Kitty would be fine," he said, giving her a playful smile before sitting down behind her.

"I'm sorry this had to happen on your first trip to the outside," he said, tone wry.

Trying for a smile, she shook her head and offered, "Better now than during the hunt, right?"

Though she was trying to cheer him up, her tone lacked the usual flippancy that she'd been aiming for, her carefully cultivated apathy toward the world around her that she could use as a shield for her friend when Atiq found himself caring too much.

She couldn't quite manage it. She was just so tired, and she hurt, both states of being that she was rather unfamiliar with.

He could feel her tension, her discomfort. He washed her wounds gently with a white towel and wrapped her side and shoulder with bandages. When he was done, he gave her stomach some little rubs and smiled down at her.

"You should sleep. We're all going to get some rest before we get started tomorrow."

"Okay."  She tried for another small smile and turned to climb into the bedroll that had been laid out for her.

Then she paused, seemed to consider, and rather abruptly unfolded the bedroll before grabbing his and laying it on top; a makeshift cot that would fit two people.

Without another world, she climbed on top of the slapdash bed and curled up, wrapping her tail around her own leg the way she used to when she was a girl, still afraid of sleeping alone.

Atiq smirked, and couldn't help but smile when she put their beds together. Some nights she was needier than others, but tonight Atiq was all hers.

He didn't need to say a word, so he slipped out into his underclothing and set himself down on the bed next to her. He passed a hand along her shin to her ankle, dusting over her tail.

"It's okay girl, I'm here," Atiq said, beckoning her closer.

"You're not alone."

Kitty whimpered quietly again and snuggled back into him, as close as she could manage. Her tail unwound from her own leg to flick back and drop across his hip, curling slightly to stroke the back of his thigh once or twice before she forced herself to relax.

A long sigh escaped her and she closed her eyes, drifting into sleep.

Atiq let her snuggle in however close she wished, especially since the night's chill had start to set in. He pet her head until he felt her go still, then he closed his own eyes to settle in.

Though she didn't expect to, Kitty managed to sleep through the night.

Sometime before dawn she managed to twist so she was sort of flopped across Atiq's chest-- not an unusual position for them to wake up in, though usually she was in panther form when they did.

Snuggling closer, she mewled quietly as her eyes flickered rapidly beneath their lids, lips slightly parted while she panted in the throws of her dream.

Atiq was roused from his sleep by Kitty's panting, and when he opened his eyes, he couldn't help but blush. She was sprawled out over him, with their chests flush against one another and one of his legs between both of hers.

And while he didn't want to disturb her dream, he passed his hands along her uninjured side and back in an attempt to gently wake her.

"Kitty?" he said softly, looking at her face.

"Mmm-- nng!" The shifter twisted, one hand gripping the material of the bedroll beside his head, claws tearing into the fabric.

"No...no--" Her brow furrowed, back arching and pressing her more firmly against him as her dream taunted her, whispering dangerously in her ears. She whimpered, then yowled quietly, tossing her head back and drawing in sharp, ragged breaths.

The bedroll by his head was torn by her claws and he went a little still. He knew she'd never hurt him on purpose, but he couldn't help but think about how she'd left an accidental hickey on his neck the day before.

It had certainly been a confusing day, and the morning was going to be no different, it seemed.

"Hey, it's all right..." he said softly, trying to ignore the feeling of her naked body pressing up against him. All the more embarrassing that he was used to sleeping naked...

He started to pet her head, shushing her gently as the other arm hugged her, conscious of her wounds.

"It's all okay..."

Kitty came awake with gasp, finding herself looming over Atiq, the bedding shredded beside his head, his hand smoothing gently over her head. She panted, open mouthed, just staring down at him with wild eyes.

Then she was halfway across the tent, drawing her knees up to her chest and wincing as she tugged at her wounds.

"You-- are you-- did I hurt you?!"

He sat up immediately.

"No, Kitty, no..." he said, waving her back to him.

"It's still really early. I was just trying to settle you back down," he said, and he rubbed the back of his neck and yawned.

"Were you having a bad dream? You tore up the bedroll pretty good..." he said, glancing down at what she'd done.

He didn't want to mention that if she'd done so just a little bit more to the left, she would've clawed his throat out.

He didn't need to say it; it was clear by the stricken look on Kitty's face that how close she'd come to hurting him was all she could think about.

"M-Maybe I should...sleep in my own tent," she whispered, feeling her gut twist uncomfortably as she said the words. She and Atiq had been sharing a bed since they were children-- sure, sometimes one or the other needed a little space, but separating herself into a different tent would...

It would be different.

Atiq frowned at her words.

"No, you can still stay in mine," Atiq said. He knew that sleeping alone scared her to death, and he didn't want her to subject herself to that just for his sake.

"Kitty, I'm not mad at you. What's gotten into you lately?"

The shifter hunched in on herself a little more and shook her head. "I-- I hurt you," she whispered, eyes fixed on the floor. "Yesterday. I didn't mean to, but I--"

She swallowed thickly. Her gaze moved to the bedding, the shredded fabric, how close she had come. "What if I'm...not safe?"

Atiq remembered her neckbite with a small blush and he rubbed his neck.

"That didn't really hurt, you just got a little rowdy is all," he said, trying his best to smile at her without letting her see how flustered the memory made him.

His smile faded, but he stood from the bedroll. He slept naked, but him and Kitty were comfortable with one another like that, so he didn't make much of an effort to cover up as he crossed the very short distance between them and sat by her, giving her leg a pat.

"You're always safe, my dearest Kitty," Atiq said.

"I know you'd never hurt me. A lot happened yesterday, but that will all pass."

Kitty whimpered quietly, but she couldn't stop herself from reaching out to him, wrapping her arms around his neck and twisting so she was half in his lap. Her side burned in protest but she didn't care, pressing her face into his shoulder.

"I'll be good," she promised softly. "I'll get better, I will."

"You're going through a lot," Atiq said, forgetting their nudity to hold her closer.

"You've never been to the wild. It can be a stressful, dangerous place," he continued. Stroking along her back, he stopped where her tail started and stroked back up.

"But you're not sick, you're just a little rattled. I was the same after my first hunt."

She nodded a little desolately into his shoulder. The stroke of his hand against her back was familiar, comforting, and she pressed into his touch.

"Atiq--"

She wanted to tell him. About the jaguar. About what he was. It was right there, on the tip of her tongue.

But she just couldn't say it. Not now. She just wanted him to hold her, and to pretend that everything was normal. They were back home, and everything was fine. She huffed out a breath and murmured, "Never mind."

"It's fine girl, you can tell me," Atiq said, noting her hesitance.

He was tired, so he opted to just have her close, setting his head on her shoulder and closing his eyes. It was still incredibly early in the morning, he wasn't due to be awake for a few hours.

"No, it's nothing." She shook her head. "We should just...get some more sleep. It'll be a long day...'

"Okay," Atiq said, and he loosened up on her, motioning back to the bedrolls.

He didn't know what had her so troubled, and that is what bothered him. He knew it had something to do with her encounter with the jaguar. Perhaps she'd been shaken up by her experience with a cat that wasn't friendly, or the openness and newness of the outside had stricken her rather potently.

In the end, he just didn't know. The best he could do was comfort his greatest friend.

He took the lead, doing a quick little crawl on his hands and knees to reach the bedroll before turning over and flopping onto his back, groaning as he got comfortable. He patted the spot next to him, giving her a smile.

Kitty tried for a smile of her own as she crawled into the bedroll beside him, wrapping her arms around his middle and hooking one leg over his hip. She nuzzled into the crook of his neck and pressed a light kiss to the bruise she'd left there the day before, then licked it apologetically.

She settled quickly, her eyes falling closed and breath evening out as sleep claimed her once more.

And then she was kissing and licking at his neck and throwing her leg over him like that. Atiq was too tired to be embarrassed though, and he pulled her in, groaning agreeably as she licked at the sore spot on his neck.

He stroked her until he was sure she was asleep, and then let himself fade out along with her.

Evidently content to sleep the day away, now that she was more relaxed Kitty sprawled out against her friend's side, her arms wrapped tight around him as her ears flickered and her tail twitched in her sleep.

Once sunrise arrived, Atiq stirred awake, happy to see that Kitty was comfortable. He gave the leg draped across him a stroke before he sighed and kissed the top of her head.

"Hey..." he said, and he his hand went from her leg to her chin, where he gave her a little scratch.

"Rise and shine, girl..."

"Prrb?"

With a yawn Kitty leaned into his scratching, blinking her eyes open sleepily. "'S it mornin'?" she murmured, still half asleep.

"It is," Atiq said, giving her more scratches as she accepted them.

"We're going out into the delta today," he added, and he stroked along her neck and and throat with one hand while the other played with her tail.

Purring softly, Kitty arched her back and twisted her head to bare more of her neck to him. She sighed happily and stretched her arms up over her head, groaning quietly as her whole body bowed toward him.

"We should get up and eat," she noted through a yawn.

"We should," Atiq said, passing his hands down her back. He pressed his face to her throat, nuzzling her as she nuzzled him.

"Sleep well?"

"Mhm." She smiled, still a little sleepy, and nodded. "Much better. Thanks."

A laugh huffed out of her as he nuzzled into her throat and she shoved lightly, playfully at his shoulders. "Atiq, that tickles!" she complained through a giggle.

"Now you know how I feel," Atiq chuckled. Before he could even think about it, he gave her a little kiss on the neck just as she'd done to him.

Then, he held her close, resting his chin on her good shoulder.

"How are your wounds? Feeling better?"

Kitty's purring redoubled and she grinned, twisting her head so her chin rested against his crown. It was soothing; cats often nuzzled and butted their heads against those they considered family as a way of accepting their scent. With the position Atiq was in, the shifter instinctively felt that he was accepting her scent, allowing her to mark him. It felt nice.

"A bit," she answered softly, rolling her injured shoulder cautiously. "Y'know I heal faster than humans. Should be fine in a day or so."

Atiq had grown up with Kitty and her feline ways, and so to show affection to her he'd learned the best way to do it was to just do what she did. Her head was on top of his again and he took the opportunity to blow some air against her throat.

"We've got to get dressed. The others aren't up yet but I've got to start breakfast," he said with a sigh.

"Spoiled bastards have never cooked a meal in their lives," he said with a grin.

Kitty giggled again and rubbed her chin back and forth over the time of his head with a deep, happy purr.

At his words though she sighed and nodded, finally disentangling herself. "Why do they even come on these trips with you?" she asked with an eyeroll. "Surely they could just as successfully drink themselves into a stupor back in Essyrn."

"Well, they came because they're paying me for the privilege to come on an exclusive hunting trip," Atiq said, giving her a final look before he stood up next to her.

He stretched, and started searching for his underclothes.

"I should be thankful. I usually have to pay for assistant hunters. And Jalai is prickly, but he has some experience as well," he continued.

She shrugged. "Hey, they're your friends. I'm not here to pass judgement," she replied easily-- a complete lie, of course. She was a cat. She was always passing judgement.

"A cat that doesn't judge?" Atiq teased as he slipped on his clothes. He wore a darker outfit today. No frills, all business. Dark brown cloth splotched with green and orange, with a brown cloak to go over all of it.

"How lucky, I have one of a kind," he continued.

"Damn straight." Kitty crinkled her nose up at him as she pulled her own clothes on. She winced once or twice as her twists tugged painfully on her stitched side or bandaged shoulder, but for the most part she felt worlds better than she had the day before, or even earlier that morning.

"What time will we leave camp?"

"After breakfast," Atiq said. Once she was dressed, he gave her a nod before he stepped out into the fresh, early morning air. The sun had just barely started to rise and the delta was silent.

Atiq glanced around, and saw that none of his friends were out of their tents. He smirked, and got the fire pit going. Setting a couple kettles of coffee to boil alongside a stew that Defka had packed into a sealed pot.

He took a moment to just admire the view, watching the delta slowly light up as the sun rose.

Kitty followed him from the tent, and while his attention was turned to the wider view hers was fixed on their immediate surroundings. She might be feeling more like her old self, but the jaguar's attack the day before had awakened a wariness in her that she thought might be prudent o cultivate.

When she was satisfied that they were quite alone however, she made her way toward the fire and sat beside it, content to simply watch the flames as breakfast cooked. It was rather like sitting in front of the hearth back home, in an odd way.

Atiq watched the view, and then returned to the fire. He gave Kitty a warm look, patting her leg. Once the coffee was done, he took the liberty of pouring himself a cup and enjoying a few sips before he stood.

He went tent to tent, smacking the fabrics with his hand.

"All right! This is what we came for! Waking up nice and early to do some hunting!" He said, spreading out his words so each tent got a sentence.

Soon enough, his friends were all awake, coming out of their tents in their smallclothes or sleepwear.

"Get your breakfast, boys," Atiq said as he sat back down by the fire. He looked to Kitty.

"You too, girl. Get some food in you."

"I will," she assured him with a smile and a nudge of her shoulder against his as she scooted up beside him.

She made no move to take any of the food though, waiting until Atiq and his hunters were eating first. Habits instilled in her as a girl sometimes raised their head at unexpected times: a  slave would not dare to eat before her master.

Atiq didn't notice her hesitation, too busy herding his tired friends to the food and then making sure they all got a bowl and a cup of coffee.

He also didn't really give her the chance to act on her habits either, because as soon as his friends were tucking in, he spooned her a bowl and poured her a cup of coffee before he set about doing so for himself.

Kitty took the bowl and tucked in after only another moment or so of hesitation, but she cast the coffee a wary look. She'd never really cared for the stuff, but she knew it did help one wake up.

Worth the risk?

Deciding to wait for the moment, she tucked herself more securely against Atiq's side and ate her breakfast in silence, eyes drifting lazily over the other three hunters.

The hunters still remembered her moment of anger from before, but for now they seemed to just want to eat breakfast and finish waking up.

"So, what are we in for, Atiq?" said Gedhi.

Atiq nodded.

"We're going to find the mating grounds today," Atiq said, eating a nice spoonful of warm soup and shuddering at how delicious it was. He needed to give Defka a raise...

"The females compete for the alpha male's attention. When the defeated land shark slinks off to recover, that's when we'll strike."

The hunters nodded except for Jalai.

"Doesn't seem to be a lot of sport in that," he said, shrugging.

"We're hunters, Jalai. And land sharks grow to be as big as a carriage. We need the edge, trust me."

Kitty couldn't help a vindictive little tingle of pleasure that went through her as Atiq cut his friend's protests short. She really wasn't sure why she disliked Jalai so much, she just knew that she did. At least the other one hadn't been intentionally rude when he'd pet her the day before.

She pressed a little closer to her friend's side and nudged her head against his arm. "Don't worry, I'll protect you," she told him quietly.

Atiq continued.

"I'll show you guys the crossbows after breakfast," he said, adjusting himself to present Kitty with a chance to lay against him more comfortably.

"Those crossbows look heavy as hell," Pilo commented, smirking as he drank his coffee.

"Well, we're not hunting deer," Atiq said with a chuckle.

Kitty was content to snuggle against her friend and simply listen to the conversation, picking absently at her food every so often.

There was a bit of tension to her form though, a wariness that she did not often hold, but out here could not seem to rid herself of.

Atiq could feel her tension. When she relaxed against him, she usually slackened and put much of her weight on him. To soothe her he gave her head a little scratch, stroking behind her ears and rubbing at her neck.

The hunters chatted, joked, and otherwise had themselves a calm breakfast. Once they were all done, however, it was time for business.

Atiq gave Kitty a nudge, indicating that he wanted to stand.

Reacting almost instinctively to his touch, Kitty instantly got to her feet, brushing herself off and automatically reaching a hand down to help Atiq to his feet.

"Thank you," Atiq said cheerily, and he motioned for the group to follow.

He clambered aboard the supply wagon and procured five crossbows (One for each hunter and a spare), picking them up one by one and passing them out until each of his friends had one. Then, he jumped back down holding two more, offering one to Kitty.

"You too, Kitty. Just in case," Atiq said, holding it by the handle as he offered it to her.

Carefully, Kitty hefted the crossbow in her hands, feeling the weight of it and examining the mechanism closely.

Atiq had taught her how to use the weapon, more to keep her from boredom than anything else, several years ago after returning from a hunt. She'd never used one on anything but the target range at the manor though.

Clenching her jaw, she nodded firmly, her eyes meeting and holding his determinedly.

It wasn't too different from a regular crossbow.

"So, the first thing you'll notice is the two sets of bowstrings. The weapon needs the tension, because this is what we'll be shooting out of it," he started, and he showed one of the bolts.

Bolt was a bit of an understatement, it was more like a foot-and-a-half long steel spike with air fins on it.

"Now, first is the load. It comes with a crank here..."

---

By the time he was done, he'd geeked out over the crossbow and given a ten minute course, going through safety, loading, how to read the sights, all the essentials needed for safe crossbow usage.

"...And so, once you have your target and the firing line is clear, you raise and shoot."

As he said so, he raised the crossbow and fired it at a tree. The spike went clear through, stopping once the fins made contact. The crossbow looked like it had a hefty recoil and it made a loudish thwack as the bowstrings slammed the spike out into the air.  He turned back to his friends, resting the crossbow on his shoulder and grinning widely.

"Any questions?"

Kitty tried to hide a smile at Atiq's enthusiasm, though she didn't quite manage it. Her eyes skimmed over the other three hunters, almost bored, but there was still that hint of wary tension to her shoulders and spine, hidden beneath the lazy relaxation of a predator in wait.

Her tail flicked forward to brush against her friend's leg, a silent gesture of camaraderie as he stood before them all lecturing.

And that earned her a little smile from Atiq. There didn't seem to be any more questions, so he finished off the lecture.

"And just some final tips," he said, and he set the crossbow down on the ground and cranked the bowstrings back into place.

"If the strings are drawn, never, and I really do mean never put your hands anywhere on the top of the crossbow. The trigger is very sensitive and one wrong move means you could lose fingers. The draw strength on these things is massive," he said. He uncranked and let the tension back out of the weapon.

"So that being said, get out of your sleepwear and into your hunting clothes, we leave in ten minutes."

As his friends went off to go get ready, Atiq looked to Kitty and smiled a little wider. He motioned to himself.

Tilting her head curiously, not quite sure if she was reading his cue correctly, Kitty stepped closer to his side, brushing her arm against his as she looked up at him. "I'm ready," she tried to assure, leaving the crossbow hanging at her side in the relaxed position he'd taught her.

"I know you are," Atiq said, smiling as he gave her shoulder a short pet.

"It's the other three I worry about. Gedhi's never even been out of the noble district," he said with a crass smile.

He leaned in and put an arm around her shoulder to give her a hug.

"I'm glad you're here. I'm glad you asked to come," he said.

Purring happily, she turned in his arms to wrap her own around his neck and leaned up to peck his cheek. "Me too," she told him quietly with a small smile.

And she was. Despite the wariness and strange rising instincts being outside of the city seemed to plant in her, she was glad she had come along. If nothing else, she was realizing exactly how dangerous these hunting trips were, and she was glad she was there to protect her friend.

Atiq happily leaned in and accepted the cheek kiss, giving her a kiss on her temple in return.

He parted from her at the sound of a tent opening, and his friends had started to gather. Pilo was the last one to be ready, and Atiq nodded.

"Well, it seems we're all set," Atiq said, and he pointed.

"Delta's siltlands are that way. Let's get going."

He started to walk, and Gedhi cleared his throat.

"We're going to walk there?" he said, looking out into the distance incredulously. Jalai scoffed and answered before Atiq could.

"Of course we're walking. How else are we going to sneak there?"

And despite the misgivings and complaints, once Atiq started going the rest followed. Pilo remained quiet, content to observe the scenery as they started to move. They'd camped close by, but it was still a slog.

It was taking a great deal of willpower for Kitty not to drop her human form for the convenience of her cat over such terrain. She knew Atiq would be perhaps a little miffed if she simply dropped the crossbow he'd spent so much effort teaching her to use though, so she walked on two feet among the other hunters as they crept forward.

As they hiked towards the mouth of the delta, more deep calls could be heard ahead, carried by the wind. All of Atiq's friends looked at him as they walked.

"They certainly sound big," Jalai muttered, and Pilo stifled a chuckle. Atiq smiled, and looked back to his friends.

"That's a male, calling out for females. They'll gather in groups to compete for him," he said, eyes scanning forwards as they walked among the knee-high grasses.

"They'll mate and then go build a nest on their own. That being said, they're very defensive of their young. If you see anything that looks like a nest out here we're probably already too close and you should let me know."

Falling back a few steps so she walked closer to Atiq's side, Kitty murmured softly, "We aren't...going to kill any babies, are we?"

It was clear from her tone that she had no small amount of distaste for the idea, though she hadn't wanted to say so where everyone could hear. She could just imagine comments about a "woman's bleeding heart" and her jaw set in irritation.

"No," came Atiq's immediate answer.

"That's the absolute last thing we want to do," he said to her. "What thing?" Gedhi said, and Atiq rolled his eyes before he looked back.

"Like I said, no getting close to any nests. And if you see any small land sharks, don't even raise your crossbow at it as a joke. Female land sharks are some of the most protective mothers on the continent," he said, looking forwards again.

Kitty let out a small breath and nodded, but otherwise kept her piece. She continued to walk beside Atiq as they moved forward though, eyes and ears perked and alert, waiting for even the barest hint of a signal of danger.

[Sorry! This thread slipped my mind.]

The group moved on in silence through a light gathering of shady palm trees. The trees broke ahead and they found themselves on top of a grassy rise that looked over the muddy silt lands that spanned the gulf itself. They were home to bumps and islands of tall grasses and moist dark soil that frequently was muddy. Pools of stagnant water abounded here and insects buzzed about freely.

Several hundred feet ahead, there were large grey shapes gathered together in a group of about five. The land sharks were thick, armored looking quadrupeds as large as an ox. They had long, shark-like tails and prominent fins on their back, while their heads tapered into strong, thick snouts. They had reptilian feet but the front two leg bore sloth-like claws for digging, and their tails and sides looked rather sharp as well.

The lone shape was braying and hooting into the surrounding landscape, walking in circles.

Atiq lowered himself down onto his belly to look over the scene, and smiled, taking his binoculars off his neck to peer down at the creatures.

"Two males. One's got an audience of three females competing for him," he said, pointing with his finger and passing the binoculars to Gedhi.

"The females have sharper, pointier sides and extra ridges on their back. To help fight other females. Like deer with their antlers," he whispered.

"The females have come from miles away to mate, so they'll picker, push, and butt at each other for a long time. The losers will leave tired and vulnerable. Maybe even wounded, if we get lucky."

One of the competing females dove away from the group, diving into the earth and looping back around to leap out of the ground and slam into one of the others. It stumbled back but held its ground, pushing back against the assailant.

"Or maybe we could bag a male instead. They'll return to their dens sooner or later," he offered.

"But aren't they magnificent?"

[No worries! ^.^]

Every instinct in Kitty's body told her to grab Atiq and haul ass in the other direction. These creatures were huge, and bold, and dangerous. The hunter in her recognized this challenge for what it was, far too great a piece of pray for a lone panther to take down.

She had to take a few breaths, fists curling at her sides and eyes closed for the briefest moment as she forced the feeling back. She wasn't alone. She wasn't just the panther. She had a whole group of hunters with her, and Atiq knew what he was doing-- he wouldn't have dragged them all out here if he didn't.

Hunkering down beside her friend, she parted her lips slightly to scent the air, then jerked her head back and crinkled her nose as the smell of the creatures assaulted her: mud and blood and musk.

"They're huge," she growled quietly, her ears flicking back to pin against her skull and her tail lashing once from side to side.

Kitty's reaction was not unique. Jalai looked on through his own looking glass and brought it down, eyes wide, while Gedhi and Pilo exchanged glances, as if just now realizing the gravity of what they were doing.

Atiq looked like he couldn't be happier as he watched the females jockey and ram for the male's attention.

"They might look big, but we're going to bring one down like it's made of dried palm leaves. You'll see,"

Kitty glanced sidelong at her friend, almost disbelieving. But...well, he seemed confident...

She swallowed and pressed a little closer to his side, but tried for a smile. "Sure we will."

"We will," Atiq said, putting a hand on his companion's shoulder.

"But for now, we'll watch and learn. I doubt we'll bag one today, but it's comforting knowing I picked a good spot to camp," he said, and Pilo chuckled.

"Yeah, I'll sleep super tight knowing these things are just a mile away," He said, and the other hunters (Atiq included) snickered at that.

Kitty rolled her eyes and bumped Atiq's shoulder lightly, giving him a look. "If one of those things kills me in my sleep, you're the one I'm coming back to haunt," she informed him.

"We're in the same tent, so you won't be haunting me for long," Atiq retorted.

Below them, the solitary male recieved a visitor, a female that arrived digging through the earth and burst up out of the silt in front of the male. Immediately, she started to rub her snout against his side, desperate to court him before others arrived. The other group was still in the heat of conflict.

Atiq seemed totally engrossed by the creatures and their displays, and only snapped out of it when Gedhi spoke up while looking through the binoculars.

"The arena would pay a fortune for these. Why aren't we out here capturing one instead? Or stealing an egg?" he said, and Atiq frowned.

"I like to think they'd be too hard to contain," Jalai said.

"The arena's ground is made of sand, half the city of Essyrn is paved with loose stone. Hakeshna only knows what'd happen if one got out," he continued.

The panther shuddered at the thought, her eyes fixed on the animals before them. The very tip of her tail began to twitch back and forth, her ears flickering around to catch the sounds of the competing animals as her pupils dilated, black almost entirely eating away the gold of her iris.

Her whole body seemed to change briefly-- not a true shift, as when she took her cat form, but her edges seemed abruptly sharper, almost feral. The hunter rising up beneath her skin.

Atiq noticed her partial change, and actually took his eyes off their quarry for a little. The other hunters were watching intently. There understood that for now, it was time to wait silently.

He'd never seen her do that before, in all the time he knew her. She'd play stalked him before, but this?

Oh Hakeshna, what had he just started?

As if feeling her eyes on him, Kitty glanced sidelong at Atiq and titled her head slightly. Just like that, the hash edges fell away and she seemed once more the pampered pet, ears perked curiously at her friend.

"Something wrong?" she asked, voice low so as not to alert the others.

"No, nothing," he murmured, and he shifted to pass a hand over her head.

"I just think you look different, all dressed up like a hunter, but you're still my dear Kitty."

The shifted purred quietly and butted her head up against his hand while her ears flickered back and forth. "Course I am," she rumbled softly, and she gave his shoulder a gentle, playful bump with her own.

Atiq smiled and gave her more pets before he settled back in to watch the land sharks. The lone female courting the male seemed to be making progress, but another female arrived just as the male was starting to acknowledge his suitor.

A battle broke out, and they started to go at each-other rather savagely.

As soon as the two massive animals started to attack one another, Kitty tensed again, her lip curling back over her teeth to show a flash of fangs and a low growl rumbled in her throat. She shifted in the tall grass, her whole body rocking back to keep her weight balanced between her haunches and the palms of her hands.

"This could be our chance here," Atiq said, motioning to the two females going at it. The other hunters nodded, watching as they collided with one another and went rolling around in the silt, making those booming yowls and honks at one another.

"The loser of this fight's gonna be vulnerable."

Kitty's growling only grew in volume, the pupils of her eyes narrowing to almost hair-thin slits as she watched the two animals slam against each other in their fierce battle.

"We should flank," she whispered, and the growl was so present in her voice it startled even her.

She wasn't the only one surprised by the sound of her voice. Atiq and Gedhi, the two immediately next to her, gave her a surprised sort of look, even if the underlying emotions differed. For Atiq, it was the srprise of seeing a part of someone that you've never seen before.

Gedhi's was much simpler, it was fear. Atiq pushed through his surprise to speak.

"We should, but not right now. We don't know which direction the loser's going to go," he said.

"We don't want to position ourselves in the trees down there by the silts just to have her go straight up this hill we're on. We'd lose the trail right then and there..."

Kitty nodded, her eyes still fixed on the warring animals. In her crouched position, her tail lashed once to either side, and her hips sort of rolled from side to side, a motion very reminiscent of the way a cat might wiggle her haunches before a pounce. Her whole body seemed to tremble with the effort it took to remain still.

The battle seemed to turn. The female that came from the treeline bordering the siltlands faltered and the other headbutted her and sent her reeling back.

"This is it, this is it..."

He rose up onto his knees and elbows and started to move along the ridge line, carefully going over Kitty and continuing on.

He got the attention of the other hunters and they turned their heads to him.

"Down the hill, keep it low." They nodded and started making their way down. He didn't immediately follow them.

He looked to Kitty.

"Feel up to climbing a tree?"

Kitty forced herself to stop growling. She looked up at Atiq and gave a quick, sharp nod. She rose slowly to her feet and crept along behind her friend, her grip on the borrowed crossbow so tight that her knuckles had gone white.

"Where?"

"Soon, come with us," he whispered, and he put a hand on her forearm.

"Easy girl, don't hold it so tight," he added. Then, he turned back to the way ahead.

"Follow me."

He took the group of hunters down the hill. They couldn't see the creatures anymore, but they could definitely still hear them all crashing together, even as the sound of more males started to come in from farther away.

"They have bad eyes, and can't look up. Having a hunter up top is gonna be a game changer."

Gedhi nodded, and Jalai spoke up.

"And the rest of us?"

Atiq nodded.

"If you're up to it, do the same."

Kitty followed in careful silence, every line of her body sharp as her eyes flickered about and she periodically scented the air. She did manage to relax her grip on the crossbow slightly when Atiq touched her arm, and she took a breath in a rather futile effort to perhaps bleed some of the predator from her stance.

She waited quietly while Atiq gave his directions, ready to move on his signal.

He'd never seen her this focused, this ready. He was halfway between scared and impressed, although he leaned strongly towards the latter.

Beneath the hill, the muddy siltlands turned into muddy forests with thick-leafed plants and stubby, bushy palms. Jalai grimaced at the mud, but otherwise kept quiet.

Atiq led the group until he found the female's tracks, the path she'd used to reach the mating grounds. It looked like a shallow trench in the mud about a foot deep, with the trees around it having been splattered with mud in the wake of the land shark's passing.

"Here. Get in the bushes. Jalai and Pilo, get on the other side,"

He looked around, and knelt down to examine the trail.

"Their eyes are really bad. They navigate and hunt by sound, smell, and vibration. She will follow her own scent trail back home, right back along this path."

He turned to Kitty and waved her over.

"Think you can climb that tree that overlooks the path?" He said, motioning to a droopy-leafed palm that bent slightly in the trail's direction.

The panther was nearly vibrating with tension now, though when Atiq indicated the tree she smiled a little tightly and nodded once, firmly.

"On it." She hefted the crossbow and moved easily toward the tree. With a quick jump and a few shimmies she managed to pull herself into a fork in the branches and settled into a hunter's crouch, crossbow once more in hand as her eyes trained intensely on the path below.

Atiq nodded, and turned his attention to the other hunters.

"The three of you on one side of the path, I'll be on the other. I'll fire the first shot and open it up for the three of you," he said, and he put his hand on Gedhi's shoulder.

"If she's facing away from you, shoot for the legs. If you have a shot at the side, aim lower for the belly. You'll want to dodge, or move, but if you sit still and keep low and silent she'll have a hard time finding you," he said, looking back up to Kitty as he finished.

"We'll need time to reload, once all of us fire. You'll fire the fifth shot to keep it confused. Should be ours after a second volley."

Kitty gave him another quick, sharp nod to indicate that she understood as she settled into a crouch in the crux of two branches. Her tail lashed back and forth and her lip was curled in a silent smile as she waited, eyes darting warily back and forth over the ground below.

Atiq nodded, giving her a thumbs up before pulling down his hood and lifting his face cover. Just like that, he was Atiq The Hunter. The lion hunt had put a halt on his career, but it was exhilarating to be back in the saddle.

"Remember, wait for my shot. You'll know it when it comes. Don't move and don't panic, find a good, comfortable place to hunker down in the brush," he said to the novice hunters. They spread out and ducked down, and Atiq carefully stepped over the trail and settled down on the other side.

A victorious, trumpeting roar came from the mating grounds, and before ten minutes had passed the heavy breathing and dragging gait of the wounded loser was audible. Atiq tensed, but remained cool. He glanced across, noting that Pilo and Jalai were steady. Gedhi looked about ready to shit his pants.

He steeled himself. He was ready.

From her perch across the game trail, Kitty snapped her eyes up to train on Atiq. She allowed herself to rock back on her haunches slightly, adjusting her grip on the crossbow as she waited.

She was the last shot. Simple, easy. She could do this.

It was the longest three minutes of his life. The defeated female, easily twice as big as a warhorse, came shuffling along into the are of the hunters. She literally had her nose to the ground, following the ruts and trenches she'd carved as she tunneled her way over to the breeding grounds. Her tough outer scales were covered in scratches and a fresh stream of blood dripped from the middle of her left front leg, where she'd been bitten.

She was almost in the perfect position when she suddenly stopped, and lifted her long head from the ground. It seemed to have smelled one of them, or at least something unfamiliar, as it turned its head over to the three novice hunters so it could peer in their direction.

Atiq slowly rose from the bushes, crossbow raised and otherwise absolutely still.

With a stiff, metallic crack! he fired his hunting crossbow and landed a clean shot to the creature's side. The custom metal bolt went in deep, all the way to the fins. The Land Shark's reaction was quick, and the creature wheeled to the side, swinging her tail out behind her to face Atiq's direction.

The three novices lowered their heads as the tail shattered some of the thin trees they were using as cover, and Gedhi fell backwards onto his ass, dropping his crossbow in the process.

Pilho and Jalai did their best, aiming their crossbows and firing. While Pilho grazed the creature's side, Jalai landed a nice hit on the back of the leg that made the creature stumble.

Gedhi took off running, and his loud footsteps gave him away to the Land Shark's keen hearing. It turned to look at him and snarled.

Idiot. Kitty gave the fleeing Gedhi a brief, contemptuous look before she took aim with her own crossbow, narrowed her eyes, and fired.

The shapeshifter had never been a particularly good shot when practicing at the manor. She hit the target almost every time, but typically her attention was just lax, and she rarely made a bulls-eye.

Apparently what she had been lacking was something to hold and focus her attention. Something like living, fighting prey, for instance.

Her bolt flew true, lodging itself in the side of the creature's neck. The massive animal roared and thrashed; it wasn't a mortal wound, but she had certainly distracted and hurt it. 

The other two hunters could only keep their heads down and reloadas the shot from above caused the creature to wheel about and strike Kitty's tree with her head. Atiq rose up and took aim again, waiting for her to stop thrashing before landing a shot into the creature's collar that sunk in deep and caused fresh blood to weep from its neck. Two more cracks came from the novices, and this time both landed bolts into the creature's side.

It reeled, trumpeting distressed pained noises as it retreated from the barrage. The creature had lost so much blood and it seemed to linger at the very edge.

It stood defiant, roaring and smashing another tree with its tail before tipping forwards. The Land Shark caught itself for a moment before falling to the ground, too weak to stand and soon to be dead.

The novices stood in awe, covered in stray leaves and twigs and dirt but feeling alive. Atiq scurried up to them and helped them up.

"Holy shit," said Pilho, and Atiq clapped him on the shoulder.

"Come on down, Kitty!" Atiq said, and looked back to his friends.

"Where's Gedhi?"

It took Kitty a few moments to heed Atiq's call. She still felt...wild. And she didn't want to get down out of the tree until she had better control of herself.

Eventually she managed to quiet her breathing and heart rate, and she climbed carefully down out of the tree. Now that the hunt was over, the sight of the dead land shark was just...sad. She averted her eyes.

When Kitty climbed down from the tree, she'd spot Atiq standing over the fallen land shark. It still convulsed and twitched, breathing raggedly as it lay dying. Swiftly and without fear, Atiq got in close amd plunged his large hunting knife into the creature's sternum, finishing it mercifully. He put a bloodied hand on the creature's hard head, leaving a smear of blood.

"You did good," he said to the beast, almost silently. Pilho and Jalai had gone off to search for Gedhi, so that left only Kitty to hear him say that. Then, his eyes were on her. He wanted to be excited, but he caught her sad expression and just approached her normally. He put his unbloodied arm on her shoulders and leaned in to hug her.

"And you did excellently, Kitty. I'm proud of you. I don't know why I was ever worried."

She purred quietly for the hug and his praise, twisting slightly so she could nuzzle into his shoulder. "Thanks."

The smell of blood coated the inside of her mouth. Without thinking about what she was doing, she reached for his bloodied hand and lifted it to her face, dragging her tongue up his palm in a long, precise lick.

Then she rather abruptly seemed to realize what she was doing and dropped his hand again, looking up into his face with big, round eyes. "Ah--oops."

Atiq was too stunned to pull his hand away. Of course he'd seen her eat captured birds and the chunks of fresh raw meat that were here occasional treats (she ate human food more often than not, if only for the flavor). But there was a different sort of intent when she'd licked the blood off his hand.

Then again, Bramble liked to lick the blood off of the cook's counter at times, so how was this different? Maybe it was the look in her eyes that set it apart. Still, ever the understanding one, he merely took his clean hand and wiped away a small smear of blood on her chin.

"Is it tasty? It's the blood of your first hunt, after all," he said, tone returning to playful. Then, he looked back to the Land Shark.

"We can't take the whole thing with us but we can at least get it to camp so we can get the meat and trophies from her," he said.

"It's a miracle we bagged one on the first day."

It did taste good, better than the raw meet from the larder back on the estate. It was still warm.

That... She probably shouldn't say that.

Instead, Kitty smirked at him and licked her lips, cuddling up close to his side. "A miracle, huh? You seemed awful confident when you were putting this whole thing together for someone who calls a success a miracle?" she teased lightly.

"Well, usually it takes longer. Stalking the animal, tracking. I had a hunch that the siltlands would be a good place to start but I never quite expected it to be this good of a spot," he explained. Perhaps she'd be able to sense that slight hint of disappointment in his voice.

He'd hoped to have at least a couple of days for this excursion, but it seemed that they'd be going home earlier than he'd wanted.

Still, he held her and pet her head until rustling took his attention away. It was Jalai and Pilho, with a pale and sweaty Gedhi in tow.

"Finally! Where'd you get off to, Gedhi?" Asked Atiq, and Gedhi stammered for an answer.

"I... uh... hiding. I was hiding," Gedhi said, looking anxious, and Atiq shook his head.

Kitty purred as he stroked her hair, nudging her head further into his touch. She could sense the slight tension in him--a hunter's energy not quite spent.

Guessing at the source of disappointment, she noted, "We could always stay out an extra few days. There might be smaller game on our way back to the city, right?"

Then the rustling of the leaves grabbed her attention as well and she snapped back into the mode of the huntress, subtly shifting her body to place Atiq behind her as she pinned her ears and curled her lip--

It was just his friends.

Well. That was almost disappointing.

With a huff, she returned to her place under Atiq's arm, eyes still narrowed slightly at the other three. "He smells nervous," she noted of Gedhi, bored--and not exactly trying to keep her voice down. The disdain was clear; if he was too scared of the hunt, then he shouldn't have bothered to come along.

"'Course I was nervous! That thing's bigger than the wagon we came on!" Gedhi answered, and looked about at his friends.

Jalai could only smile shallowly. He took his eyes off Atiq and Kitty, not finding their closeness odd, and instead approached

"I was nervous too. And you should've heard the cursing from Pilho." Then, Jalai cuffed him on the shoulder.
"We didn't scamper now, did we?"

Defeated, Gedhiwas silent for a few moments before he spoke further.

"I lost my nerve. Let's just... put this behind us? Look, the damned thing's dead already anyways, so we can go home."

He looked at Atiq.

"Right?"

Atiq smiled.

"Maybe a day or so more. Who knows, we might even land another. But before that," he paused, and then pointed to his friends.

"Go get the trophy tools, they're back at camp half a mile away. Should take the three of you ten minutes to get back, so get on it. Scavengers don't mess around out here and this is a big kill."

The three started off, the matter seeming to have been settled for now.

Atiq settled on a gnarled root, and even rested his loaded crossbow down on the side of it.

"I know we humans don't have as strong instincts as you," he started, then smiled wryly.

"But I have a feeling Gedhi's gonna be a pain in the neck."

"Mmm..." Kitty watched the three scamper off, then shrugged and moved to sit on the ground just in front of Atiq, laying back against his legs.

She considered his comment for a few moments, turning it over in her mind with a small frown. But rather than respond, she twisted slightly to fold her arms in her lap and rest her chin on them. "I think...maybe I should go back to the wagon, while you take trophies," she murmured, uncharacteristically pensive.

If the smell of just a hint of blood had been enough to make her lose her sense long enough to treat Atiq's hand like a tasting menu, she rather thought she'd do better to remove herself from the situation if they were going to be butchering the animal.

When she laid back against his legs, Atiq was struck by a memory from their childhood. He crossed his feet over her lap and pet the top of her head.

"Well, we'd only be taking the head for trophies, maybe one or two of the legs for meat," he started, and bent over so he could look down at her.

"If you want to eat, you've definitely earned it," he added, and uncrossed his legs to let her go free if she desired.

"Just not too much that you get sluggish, alright?" He teased.

The suggestion alone was enough to make her twitch slightly, automatically starting to get to her feet--then she stopped herself and slowly sank back down to settle between his legs again.

With a soft huff, she turned her head and plopped her face down onto with thigh. Voice muffled, she replied, "I don't...want them to see me eat."

Honestly, it was more than that. It was him, too. Atiq knew she preferred her meat rare, or raw, and he'd never had a problem sharing meals with her before... But something told her if she just tore into that carcass, still warm, it would be a much different experience than eating beside a docile panther chewing on butchered steak or venison.

Atiq was quiet, not disappointed but... understanding. With her face on his thigh he stroked the back of her neck and her head. He would be lying if he hadn't been worried about her recent bouts of primality, if only for her comfort. But he still wanted to reward her!

"We'll take a cut or two for you, then?" He offered, giving her shoulder a rub.

"One for now, and one for later? For my best Kitty in the whole world?"

"Mmrrmmph." Kitty rolled her head to the side slightly so she could peek up at him. "...Okay."

She didn't seem all that interested in letting him get up to actually approach the kill though, evidently content to just lay there with her cheek pillowed in his leg. She actually shuffled a little closer and tilted her head back slightly into his hand to encourage the attention.

"Then that's what it'll be," he said. He was content to just be there with her as well. Besides, there wasn't much he could do with just his hunting knife, the tools were needed to get through the creature's sturdy anatomy.

He strategically pet her head in a way that kept her from resting it somewhere too embarrassing all the while humming a small tune to himself.

"How are your wounds feeling? All better?" He asked, peering down at her.

"Mmm..." She curled herself into a crescent and pressed even further into his hand, starting to purr. "Yeah, mostly. Still a little sore, but not too bad."

Her mind wandered back, thinking of how she'd earned the wounds. The leopard. "Atiq..." She bit her lip, once again beginning to shy away from telling him why she'd seen, what had actually happened.

"Yes, my Kitty?" he answered, able to see that something was troubling his dear friend.

He stroked her head, and slid down from the log so he could sit down there with her, smiling warmly. Atiq beckoned her towards him, knowing a Kitty that needed some pets when he saw one.

The second he was on the ground beside her, Kitty curved her body around him and turned her face into his shoulder, nuzzling insistently with the kind of soft, grumbling growl she only gave when she was frustrated or overwhelmed.

“I, um...” The shifter licked her lips, inadvertently stroking her rough tongue over the curve of Atiq’s collar, then let her head tilt slightly as she huffed out a heavy breath. “I...I just...”

Another sigh and she turned her face back against his chest, snuggling closer until she was essentially half in his lap. Vaguely she knew that the other hunters would be returning soon, and while she didn’t relish the idea of allowing others to see such vulnerability she also found that in the moment she didn’t much care what they thought.

“...It’s nothing.” She closed her head and pressed closer, allowing his scent to drawn out everything else. She hated lying to him. “I...I’ll just be happy to be heading home soon, that’s all.”

It hadn't been too long, so they still had some moments of quiet to themselves before the others returned. Atiq made a soft noise when she licked his collar and he glanced down at her.

"That tickles," he remarked, giving her a smirk.

"You'll eat well tonight. And maybe we'll go hunt something smaller tomorrow. Although, it's been a day and a half, I wouldn't mind returning in the morning."

Then, he pulled her a bit more onto his lap, giving her hair and back gentle strokes to ease her frustration.

"Go on and shift back, so I can pet you better," he said softly.

Kitty smirked a bit herself and gave his neck another pointed lick, letting the touch linger a bit this time, the rough texture of her tongue hovering and tickling against his skin.

Then she settled herself more firmly into his lap and butted her head up under his chin. "No," she decided, feeling fickle and...strange. Jittery, almost the way she had when those "hunting instincts" tried to take over but not quite the same. Fickle, jittery, and possessive.

"No, I want you to pet me like this. I like it."

She pressed her nose to the curve of his neck and shoulder, allowing his scent to drown out everything else, as she arched up slightly to press her body against his. For the first time in a long time she found herself irritated with her collar, the fraction of space it forced her to maintain as she tried to nuzzle into him. With a low growl of frustration, she lapped at his neck again, but the lick quickly turned into a caress that was closer to a kiss.

Well...

That was a new one. Kitty was usually so quick to switch over, knowing that Atiq pet her much more vigourously when she was shaped as a panther. When she was like that, the awkwardness of touching certain body areas didn't exist and Atiq could also treat her like a big kitten.

But Atiq found an involuntary rush go through him as she properly licked his neck this time and his pace picked up, and not out if fear either.

"Kitty..."

He started to stroke her again but then she moved fully onto him and pressed up close, body-to-body in a way he'd never been with her before, she gave him what felt like a kiss on the neck and Atiq found himself shivering at the contact. What was this? She was like a sister to him, and yet that short bit if heat that shot through him could not be denied.

A hand stroked along the back if her head and neck, and he scritched at the base of her neck while his other hand went from stroking her back to her side

"Did you like the hunt?" He asked, trying to find her eyes.

Kitty felt the shiver--how could she not, with how close they were pressed together?--and quite despite herself she felt a flash of pride. Her lips flickered briefly into a smirk and she arched her back, letting her head press back into his hand as he stroked her hair.

"I...did," she murmured, considering her answer even as she voiced it. She shifted on his lap, letting her knees slide to either side of his hips so she could settle herself more comfortably. After a moment, she added with a small, huffed sigh, "I know I never could have taken down something like that as a cat, but I just... This made me want to, Atiq. Not--"

She frowned, trying to think of how to put the strange mix of emotions in her chest into words. "Not the land shark. Not like this. But I..." She exhaled sharply again and pressed her face into his neck again, using his scent to ground herself. "I feel wild out here. I'm...hungry."

"You want to hunt," Atiq said simply, smiling a little wider. He had a feeling that she'd want to hunt something while they were out here. He understood.

You'll get your share of the meat. Can even have some of it freshly cut if you want," he offered, stroking down her head and neck while the other hand held her.

"I'll take you hunting one day, maybe for gazelle. Just you and me," he whispered, smiling wider.

Kitty lifted her head to look at him, tongue flicking out to wet her lips. "I--"

Her brow furrowed and she growled low in frustration, her hands tensing where she gripped his shoulder and back so her claws pricked dangerously at his skin. "No. No, I don't want to--I mean I do, I want to hunt, I'd love to hunt with you, but that's not... I don't know!"

She snapped her eyes up to his, frustration, confusion, and something approaching fear warring for dominance in her expression. "I'm just hungry," she whispered. Her voice sounded strangely distant to her own ears. Almost feeling as though she was watching someone else move, she saw her hand slide down to grab his still bloodied hand and raised his wrist to her lips, dragging her tongue against his pulse.

A low, rumbling growl echoed in her chest and her eyes fluttered. She licked again, her other hand dragging down his back, scratching none too gently, though she didn't seem to realize it.

When she whispered to him that she was hungry and picked his bloody hand back up he wasn't necessarily against it. Her tone had been starting to get a little intense, yeah, and watching her lick the blood off his hands with a human face, seeing the delight in her eyes...

...It was a little unsettling, he had to be honest. But he did start objecting when she clawed his back. Not the pricks of a cat flexing their claws but an honest, three-lined scratch accompanied by a small tearing noise from his fabric.

"Ah! Kitty!" He said, and arced away from the pain, but he didn't pull his hand away, for fear she'd bit down out of instinct.

"Claws, claws!"

For a long, elastic moment she didn't seem to hear him, a low rumbling sound that was something between a purr and a growl thrumming deeply through her chest as her fangs grazed lightly against the pulse of blood in his wrist--

Blood.

Not the land shark's. Atiq's. The smell of his blood hit her nose and her eyes suddenly cleared, whatever fog she'd fallen into lifting away. Kitty simply stared at him for half a moment that felt like it lasted an eternity, her eyes wide while her claws still pressed into his skin.

Then she jerked away with a cry, scrambling to her feet. Her chest heaved with sharp pants and she looked down to see a hint of red at the tips of her claws.

"Oh goddess." The shifter pressed her other hand over her mouth, feeling the world tilt sideways under her feet. "I-I didn't--I never meant to...I didn't want--"

She staggered back, shaking her head in useless denial. She couldn't even look at him, shame and guilt choking her voice in her throat as she tried to gasp, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

By the time she'd pulled away Atiq was positively writhing with pain as she'd managed to claw his still-fresh scars from the lion hunt that had put a temporary hold on his hunting expeditions. He doubled over once she'd given him the distance and clutched for his back with one hand.

He tried his best to hide the pain, for her sake, but he couldn't quite pretend that he wasn't in agony.

"You didn't mean to, he said, and he would've said something else had he not brought his hand back and paled at just how bloody it was.

Kitty blanched, all color leaving her face, almost a sympathetic reaction as Atiq paled himself. She staggered back. She felt sick, she felt wrong.

She'd hurt him.

She'd hurt him!

"I'm sorry," she sobbed again. She hadn't even realized she was crying until she tasted salt on her lips. And she hated it, hated both the weakness and the fact that she was the one crying when she'd caused Atiq pain. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I--"

A rustle in the grass, the other hunters returning.

Kitty wailed, the sound more beast than girl, and turned to flee into the tall grass.

When she wailed and Atiq looked up all he saw was a flash of black disappearing into the bushes, and he got to his feet. The pain made him sweat but he took a few steps after her.

"Kitty! No, come back!" He said, but it was useless. He couldn't hear her, she was already gone.

When the others arrived on the scene, there obviously were some questions asked and Atiq did his best to explain that Kitty had a moment and scratched him by accident, and had gone to get some space. He tried not to sound as desperately worried as he was on the inside but he wasn't sure if the others had completely bought it, even if it was the truth.

He spent the subsequent butchering work and walk back to camp worried, staring off into space as if searching for a sign of his Kitty. It wasn't long before the land shark's head, several rolls of skin, dorsal spines, and a several big cuts of meat wrapped in cloth were loaded up on a small cart and they were headed back.

His mind was somewhere else, so maybe that's why he didn't notice the suspicious bulge in Gedhi  pack.

When she finally stopped running, it was near dark--and she didn't so much choose to stop as her legs simply gave out from underneath her; confusion and guilt combined with her lack of true experience outside of Essyrn to produce a bone-deep exhaustion.

Collapsing back into her human form, Kitty simply curled up on the ground where she fell and cried, knees drawn to her chest and one arm wrapped around her legs while the other was thrown over her eyes in an effort to hide her face--from who or what she didn't know, it was almost more an instinctive reaction than anything else.

The smell of Atiq's blood was still thick in her nose and she scrubbed her hand at the earth in an effort to mask it, teeth bared in a snarl even as her vision was continually blurred by tears and she had to bite back sobs.

I never should have come, she realized desolately as she attempted to sit up and look around, get her bearings; she seemed to have stumbled into a rather lush part of the grasslands. She must be close to the edge of the jungle...

He should have left me at home. None of this would have happened if I'd just stayed home.

She didn't know how long she might have stayed there, drowning in the shame and self-pity, if a soft rustle in the undergrowth hadn't brought her attention snapping around, a growl in her throat and her eyes flashing dangerously.

Her eyes widened when she saw the source of the noise, her fight-or-flight reflex caught between the two and leaving her frozen, unsure. "You..."

The man that had been a leopard raised his hands in a universal gesture of peace, bright green-gold eyes flicking over her with a mixture of curiosity and--and something else. Something she couldn't name.

"I don't want to hurt you," he murmured, his voice a low, growling rumble, hoarse as though he wasn't used to speaking with a human throat. Slowly, he approached, step by step, pausing with each inch forward as she tensed. He crouched slightly, closer to her level, and held out a hand.

"I can help."

It must have been an hour or so when they got back to camp. Everybody got busy loading their spoils onto the cart and despite his steadily rising anxiety Atiq was calmed by the fact that his friends seemed to be in better spirits. After everything was bundled, tied down, and the meat was put to roast the sun was already setting and Atiq was stewing in it. The sounds of the land sharks had receded, and they'd no doubt be returning to their dens to wait for the next day.

She hadn't come back yet. Why didn't she come back?

A shove to his shoulder snapped him out of his worrying and Gedhi was handing him a cup of wine, from the bottles they'd brought. Atiq looked up at the offered cup and took it, and then he noticed the others start laughing

"Whiter than a ghost, he was!" Pilho chuckled, and Atiq scowled and took the drink, having almost half of it. "Woah woah, slow down there tiger," Gedhi said, and Atiq lowered the cup with a practiced smile.

Jalai spoke up then, leaning in with his own cup.

"He's probably just worried about his lovely panther," he sneered, and Atiq gave him a very genuine frown. "She's my friend," he cut in, and Jalai laughed a bit more.

"Could have fooled me," he said, and he would've said something else had he not interrupted himself to slap a mosquito on his neck.

"Gedhi, let me see your mosquito salve," he said, and picked up Gedhi's pack. Jalai was definitely slighter of frame than the plump Gedhi and he made a strained noise as he lifted it. "Hakeshna, did you put a stone in here?" He said, and before he could do much else Gedhi stood and snatched the bag.

"I ran out," Gedhi said quickly and Jalai looked up at him. Pilho, ever faithful to his brother, scoffed. "Crocodile shit, I saw you use it an hour ago on that thick neck of yours," he said. Atiq stayed quiet, watching the exchange, watching the way Gedhi clutched his bag and how the others were starting to tease and press him for the mosquito salve. He stood from his log.

"Hey!"

Everybody looked at him. He pointed at Gedhi, more specifically his bag.

"What do you have in your bag?"

"My bag? Just my things!" He retorted, wheeling about to face Atiq, who was stepping closer. He reached out for it and Gedhi staggered back, nearly tripping on one of the seats by the fire. Atiq caught a strap and tried to gain possession of the bag and Gedhi didn't relent.

"Let go of my bag letgoletego!" Gedhi said, nearly yelling. Pilho was there to break them up and Atiq ended up with the bag, but he hadn't yet opened it.

"Guys STOP! Do you feel that?" He said, and Atiq gave him a weird look as he opened the bag. Gedhi was paralyzed by fear. He looked down and saw the pebbled texture of a land shark egg, and that was when the faint vibrations in the ground turned to full on rumbling.

He didn't have time to be angry or shocked because just as the situation dawned on him the ground behind him exploded in a shower of dirt and rocks. He just started running, shoving the bag back into Gedhi's arms as he sprinted past the stunned man. His first instinct was to run to the cart and get one of the crossbows, and he did it like a man posessed. Pilho went to go shield his brother and found himself caught in the jaws. It slammed Gedhi out of the campsite with its tail as it thrashed around.

Atiq clambered onto the cart just in time to see Pilho finally stop screaming as the monster finished biting down all the way. He spotted Jalai in the corner of his vision, sprinting into the jungle like a madman. He took a crossbow out and started loading it but when he looked up to find his target the enraged female was already charging him.

It flipped the cart like it was made of straw and Atiq went tumbling downhill with it. Darkness took him and the last thing he heard was the land shark's mournful wails as he laid at the bottom of the hill. He felt broken and something was definitely sitting wrong in his ribcage.

"Kitty..." he murmured, and not knowing if he was going to wake back up or not he drifted away.

"So you're with them. Intentionally?"

Kitty sighed and leaned back on her hands, brow drawn into a slight frown as she tilted her head at the jaguar sitting with one leg drawn up toward his chest for some modesty. Considering between the two of them the only bit of clothing was her gold collar, it didn't really help all that much, but she supposed it was the principle of the thing. They'd been sitting together for the better part of an hour, just...talking.

Once she was convinced that the jaguar wasn't actually going to hurt her, she'd found herself babbling the entire story to him: who she was, who she was with, why she was out here on her own, everything.

Of course, some of it still seemed difficult for the other shifter to process. "I'm with Atiq," she corrected, glancing back out over the grass in the direction she'd come from as she said his name. "I don't care about the other three. They're his friends, not mine."

"But they didn't catch you," the jaguar--she still didn't know his name--persisted. "You came here with them."

She huffed out another breath. "Yes. I've said that. Twice now."

Her strange companion snorted and shook his head. "Yeah, I know. I'm just having a hard time wrapping my head around it. You're a panther, how're you with a bunch of humans?"

"He's my friend," Kitty snapped, frowning at him. Why had he said "panther" like that? It felt like...more than just pointing out the difference in species.

"He's your owner," the jaguar snapped back, eyes narrowed and a growl in his voice. "You aren't friends with property. With a pet."

Kitty surged to her feet, her own growl rising up into her chest. "It's not like--!"

Both their ears shut up, tails going ramrod straight as they whipped toward a sudden sound, almost like an explosion, back the way she had come, back toward...

The camp.

She went pale, felt the earth shift sickeningly beneath her feet. "No..."

Atiq was in danger. She didn't know how she knew, she just knew. Without another word for the jaguar, she threw herself forward onto four paws and took off through the grass, traveling by scent as much as by memory.

"Wait!" The other shifter's voice rang out behind her. "You said you were hunting landsharks, you can't-- At least don't go alone!"

She didn't so much as slow her pace, but still within a few strides the jaguar was running beside her, spotted pelt rippling gold in the fading light as they raced back toward the hunters' camp.

---

They approached from the southeast, which Kitty would later be inclined to call a minor miracle. The landshark had thrown the cart in that general direction, and with that done and no sign of her egg she seemed more concerned searching the main campsite than finishing off the human who'd tumbled down the hill.

Kitty had to stifle an instinctive cry when she saw him, smelled the blood. The jaguar paused, taking up a guard position at the base of the hill, and she darted forward to Atiq, sniffing and mewling and whimpering pathetically.

He was breathing. He wasn't responding, but he was breathing. Oh thank gods.

No, no time for that. They had to get him out of here.

Shoving down the combination of both relief and shame that threatened to swamp her, Kitty melted back into her humanoid form and slipped one arm delicately beneath Atiq's shoulders, wincing as she heard the faint crunching of bone when she tried to lift him. Snapping her head toward the other shifter, she hissed as loudly as she dared, "Help me."

The jaguar glanced back at her, up toward the hill where the land shark still bellowed mournfully, then back. With a low growl, he spun and darted forward, human once again. He growled, clearly frustrated, almost...resigned. Then, jaw set and eyes snapping warily, he easily lifted Atiq from her arms.

"This way," he muttered, starting off through the grass again, back toward the jungle, hunched slightly in an effort to hide their passage. Kitty hurried after, barely one step behind, and panted, "The others--"

"Dead." The jaguar's eyes met hers for the breifest moment before flicking away again. "If they're back with that thing, they're dead. Now come on. If we don't move fast, your human will join them."

She fell silent, following him into the trees.

---

She wasn't sure how long they ran through the jungle, the jaguar darting easily over roots and undergrowth while she had to scramble through the unfamiliar terrain, but it couldn't have been more than an hour. Finally, out of breath, both shifters had more or less collapsed in the knotted roots of a massive tree, a place the jaguar deemed "Safe enough, for now".

He laid down Atiq and stepped back, ears perked and tail flicking as his eyes scanned the jungle around them. Kitty scrambled forward to kneel beside her friend, feeling frantically for his pulse and then giving a quick, dry sob of relief when she found it. She slumped forward over Atiq's unconscious form, careful not to put any pressure on his wounds but curving her body around his as much as she could.

"He needs healing," the jaguar rumbled. She looked up, saw he was watching them both, his expression unreadable. "I know some herblore. Enough to get him through the night, but beyond that..." He shrugged.

Kitty just nodded frantically, her throat tight. "Please," she rasped, feeling tears begin to sting behind her eyes. "Anything you can do, please. I-I promise I'll repay you--"

The jaguar tsked and looked away. "Stop that,'' he muttered. "I'm no human, I don't need payment for basic decency." He paused, then sighed and turned, starting off into the trees again. "I'll find those herbs. Bandage him as best you can."

"Thank you," Kitty sobbed even as she set to stripping off Atiq's vest so she could rip the cloth for makeshift bandages. Even as she began searching for the worst source of blood loss, a thought struck her and she raised her head, looking after the other shifter.

"Wait, I... What's your name?"

The male cat paused, glanced back over his shoulder at her, and tilted his head, considering. After a long, elastic moment, he replied quietly, "Wayrin."

"Thank you, Wayrin."

He nodded, and then he was gone, gold and black pelt blending into the shadows beneath the trees.

The panther set to her task as quickly and as gently as she could, wincing and whimpering every so often when she saw just how bad Atiq's wounds were. Gods, what if he was bleeding internally? She didn't know how to fix that!

She didn't know how to fix any of this. All she could do was stop the bleeding.

"Please." Without realizing she was doing it, she'd dipped her head to rest her brow against his gently. "Please don't die. You can't die, Atiq, you can't. You can't l-leave me here, please..." Stomach and throat tight, she tilted her head to kiss his brow gently. "I love you," she whispered softly against his skin. "You're my best friend, and I love you, and you can't die, please, please..."

And with nothing else she could do, she prayed.

He was vaguely aware of what was happening around him. His first dip near consciousness was with two figures over him. One of them tried to lift him but all it did was make him feel broken. He was too delirious to even cry out or react, and slipped back under afterwards.

Then he was being carried. All he could really do was look out towards the jungle through barely open eyes and catch glimpses of a black tail as they walked.

Kitty...

He faded away again, only to return when he felt his back rest against a tree. He had cracked ribs and gashes on his shoulders, legs, and back from falling down the hill, some of which were deeper and nastier than others. The worst was an open cut on his right thigh, as if he'd been slashed by a sword.

Still, he felt himself coming back a bit more. There was the feeling of bandages wrapping around his wounds and finally a familiar weight against his brow and Kitty's voice in his ear. It was good to have something to focus on, something to keep him from falling back into darkness.

"I'll never leave you," he murmured quietly, and he forced a tiny smile.

"Kitty..."

"Atiq!"

Relief swamped through her, so powerful that she actually swayed on the spot for a moment, just staring down at him with wide eyes and slightly parted lips. Then she gave a soft cry and swooped down to kiss him full on the mouth.

She didn't even realize what she'd done until it had already happened, and even then she was just too damned happy to hear his voice for her to worry about the sudden surge of conflicting emotions in her chest.

"You're alive," she sobbed quietly, letting her brow drop to rest lightly against his chest, fingers gripping his shoulders gently but firmly. "And you're awake. Oh thank gods, thank gods..."

"Hey girl," he said, voice weak. He lifted his uninjured arm to stroke and cup the back of her head and he nearly felt like he could cry as well

"I thought I-mMM!" he cut off when she kissed. Eyes blown wide, and then suddenly not so much. What worried Atiq the most was how it didn't feel like kissing his sister, and instead he noticed how sweet it was to feel her lips after he'd resigned himself to a slow death beneath a wagon. Maybe it was his injuries, combined with his sheer relief to see her that had him succumbing to that touch, even if was only for a couple moments.

When their lips parted, he was shocked and overjoyed.

"I thought I was going to die," he whispered, and he held her head to his chest, smiling with relief. He wanted to ask where they were and how she'd gotten him here, but not now. Right at this moment, he just wanted to hold her.

"That I'd die and never see you again, Kitty..."

The shifter shook her head, turning her face into his chest so her voice was muffled when she said, “Don’t say that, don’t even think it. We’re together now, and everything is going to be alright. I’m going to take care of you, okay?”

She sat up, pulled back just far enough that she could help him sit up slightly against the massive roots of the tree. Though she’d managed to bandage the worst of his injuries, when she’d been pressed against him like that she’d thought she’d felt at least two broken ribs. Maybe more.

Her eyes were suddenly hot and itchy, the threat of tears shimmering in the green-gold. “I’m sorry,” she rasped, reaching out hesitantly to cup his cheek. “I’m so sorry. I—I hurt you, and then I ran away so I wasn’t there when you needed me and I—“

The tears were no longer a threat but instead a very real presence, and she dropped her eyes in a rather futile effort to hide them, biting at her lower lip. “I’m sorry,” she repeated in a whisper, throat tight.

"You're right. We're together, girl. Gods I'm so happy to see you..." he said weakly. He held her as tight as she could until she lifted him to prop him against the tree better. He appreciated it but he couldn't hold back the pained gasps as he came to rest in a new position.

He couldn't stop thinking about the kiss that she'd given him, even as he pulled her closer into a tighter hug. He didn't care that it strained him and sent fresh pain through him, he just wanted someone to hold onto.

"No, no don't cry. I love you girl, I still love you and always will," he started, wiping the tears away with his thumbs.

"I'm glad you weren't there. It was... it was horrible and it was all that idiot Gedhi's fault. There was nothing I or we could've done," he said, and he buried his face into her shoulder and just shook and breathed for a moment.

"Pilho's dead, i don't know where Gedhi and Jalai are. We need to get out of here, Kitty..."

"But I should have been there," Kitty whimpered. She held him as tight as she dared, not wanting to hurt him but desperately needing the reassurance of contact. "I should have been with you, I should have..."

There were a lot of things she should have done. But she hadn't, and now here they were.

She whimpered quietly and tilted her head into his touch as he wiped the tears away, catching his hand before he could pull it away and pressing her lips to his knuckles. She was just so glad he was alive.

"...I'm sorry about Philo," she whispered after a moment. It didn't matter if she meant it or not, it didn't matter that she would have traded all three of their lives for Atiq's in a heartbeat. "But we--we can't go anywhere, Atiq. Not yet. You shouldn't move, you're really hurt and Wayrin said you can't--"

As if speaking his name had summoned him, the other shifter came cautiously out of the foliage, holding a green, leafy bundle in the crook of his arm. He paused when he realized that Atiq had woken, looking from the human to the panther.

"...I see your human is awake, Melisandre."

Kitty winced. A part of her still couldn't believe she'd told him her real name. Trying to keep her voice clipped and even, she asked quickly, "You said you could help him."

Wayrin nodded and slid a few steps closer, eyeing Atiq warily. "I can, but it'll hurt," he warned, eyes hard and mouth a tight line.

He didn't scold her or judge her. Atiq didn't know what would've changed if she was there or if that would've only made it more tragic. They were alive now and that is what mattered.

"Me too. I don't know what I'm going to tell his sister..." Atiq murmured, holding her for comfort in a way that made him feel extremely vulnerable, like he was clinging to her for life itself.

"I just want to go home and lay in bed," he confessed, smiling even a little bit through the tears as the hand she was kissing cupped her head so he could lean in and give her a kiss on the forehead. And before he could say much else, the bushes rustled and Atiq tensed, which relaxed when he saw a humanoid form.

Then Wayrin stepped out and he was... confused. He'd called her Melisandre, that... she'd only told that name to him! Regardless, the surprise seemed to disarm him and he looked to Kitty.

"Who is this? He... do you know each other?" he asked, looking from Kitty to this stranger. He didn't trust him, something about Wayrim seemed familiar, something in his eyes... WAIT A MINUTE! The realization dawned on Atiq's eyes as soon as he saw the spotted ears and tail.

"You! It's you!" Atiq scowled, and pointed at him. The immediate knowledge that he was a cat-shifter took a backseat to the recognition in Atiq's eyes.

"You tried to kill me, you whoreson! And you hurt Kitty! What the hell are you doing here?" He growled, too weak to yell but not delirious enough to just trust him outright.

Wayrin growled immediately, ears pressing back to his head and tail lashing, fur puffed out. Kitty scrambled to put herself between them, curling her lip at Wayrin with snarled, "Back off, he's hurt!" before she turned to Atiq and her expression softened instantly.

"Atiq, it's okay," she tried to assure him, grabbing for his hand again, her other hand bracing gently against his shoulder. "It's okay, really, I promise." She tried to keep her voice calm and soothing, though guilt and worry twisted in her gut.

She never should have kept this from him.

"He helped me save you," she murmured, meeting her friend's eyes and holding his gaze, hoping he could read the truth on her face. "Before, when he attacked you--he was protecting his territory. He didn't mean to hurt me; there was so much happening, so many smells from the wagon, he didn't even realize what I was until I shifted, and then I attacked him."

The jaguar snorted, eyes still narrowed as he glared at Atiq. "She's got fire for a house pet, I'll give her that," he muttered. Kitty glowered at him, but before she could say anything he continued, "And I'm perfectly content to let you bleed out in the jungle. I don't have to help, so if you'd rather I leave, I will."

"Wayrin, don't, please." Kitty looked up at him imploringly, the glower changing to earnest desperation in a heartbeat. Much as she wished she could take care of Atiq on her own, she knew she couldn't.

He hated seeing Kitty beg on her behalf. But Wayrim had a bundle of herbs in his arms and Atiq wasn't stupid or naive enough to deny that his chances were very slim without help. Kitty could protect him but that'd only prolong his death.

"Alright, alright," he said finally, reaching up to take Kitty's hand.

"That was your territory, fine. Give me enough time and I might forgive you for what you did to my sister," he said, squeezing her hand.

"Look, let's... let's start again. My name is Atiq. Thank you for agreeing to help me, you've done a lot already and, well... Kitty trusts you, it seems," and he finally looked up to meet his eyes.

"So please, help us."

Kitty squeezed his hand back automatically, holding tight, but for some reason her chest tightened uncomfortably when he spoke. Sister. That was...well, it wasn't really wrong, was it? They'd grown up together after all, yet they were closer than just "childhood friends" might indicate.

Still, somehow it made her...uncomfortable. She wasn't entirely sure why, but she had a sneaking suspicion--but it wasn't exactly the time or the place to address that just now.

Wayrin, oddly, seemed similarly put off by Atiq's words, though for a different reason. Ignoring the human entirely, he met Kitty's eyes and demanded, incredulous, "He calls you Kitty?"

The panther shifter felt a strange combination of defensiveness and shame that she didn't understand wash through her. "It's my name," she snapped back.

"It's the name of a pet," the jaguar snarled. He finally did look to Atiq, just long enough to curl his lip and scoff, "Sister my ass."

Kitty growled at him, shifting again so she was crouched over Atiq protectively, as though worried Wayrin might suddenly pounce. One hand braced next to his hip with her legs on the other side of him, holding her body across his lap without quite touching, her back to his chest so she couldn't see his face.

She knew her nickname could be considered...condescending, but it had never felt that way. When she and Atiq met--well, when his parents had bought her for him, she always assumed she was a birthday present--they'd both been so young that not even she could pronounce her full name properly. She could still remember the tiny boy Atiq had been, utterly delighted the first time she'd shifted in front of him, stroking her silky fur, still kitten-soft then, and calling her "Kitty". She'd liked the name, and it had stuck.

She'd never felt ashamed of it before.

"If you're not going to help, just give me the herbs and I'll do it myself," Kitty finally snapped, ears pinned flat to her skull.

Wayrin scoffed again, but he knelt a few feet from them and started laying his bundle out on the jungle floor. "Would you even know what to do with them, Kitty?"

She winced, growl swelling louder, but didn't answer. She figured all three of them knew that she wouldn't, there was no point digging this hole deeper. "Just...help him. Please."

The jaguar glanced up, met and held her eyes. Then some of the posturing seemed to bleed from his stance and he sighed, nodding. "Alright. See if you can get him comfortable--well, as much as you can. I only know enough herblore to keep infection at bay, I'm not going to be able to do a thing for his broken bones. And this is gonna sting like all hells."

"I don't need to defend us from your ignorance," Atiq said, not willing to fully back down on the issue, and he looked away. He sighed, and sat up under his own power. "Not broken, but... I'm definitely messed up, Wayrim. I know we disagree, but..."

He slipped off one of his leather gloves and bit down on it, meeting Wayrim's eyes.

"'C'mon then," he mumbled.

"Atiq, don't--!"

Kitty tried to protest him sitting up on his own, but by the time she managed to scramble out of her protective crouch and reach out to help him he'd already managed it. She frowned, but managed to bite back a sharp reprimand.

She was still near sick with worry for him, and a small, logical part of her brain knew it was putting her more on edge than perhaps she should be.

The other shifter just huffed out a breath as he knelt cautiously in front of Atiq and began sorting through the herbs he'd found. "We don't have the right supplies to make a poultice," he said, meeting Kitty's eyes be refusing to look Atiq in the face, "but we can wrap these under the bandaging to prevent infection. Try to crumple the leaves a little so the pulp comes out, like this."

He showed her, and Kitty followed his instructions as best she could. The best they could do for "bandaging" was longer, thinner leaves that Waryin had scrounged up, which the two shifters used to tie the medicinal plants into place and stop the bleeding as best they could manage.

Kitty winced with every motion, constantly glancing up into Atiq's face, worried that she was hurting him, though she knew it had to be done.

Oh it hurt, but aside from that this situation was something he wasn't too unfamiliar with. He'd been in a similar state after that run in with the lion that put his hunting trips to a brief end, but he'd been able to at least walk away from that one...

He hissed through his teeth when they got to stuffing the makeshift bandages with those healing herbs, and he couldn't help but think that the new scars he was going to have were going to look pretty badass, all things considered.

The hardest part was the look on Kitty's face the whole time, the poor girl looked almost queasy, so he was quick to meet her eyes. Her hands were busy, so when she leaned in to work on his wounds he laid a hand on her leg, giving her a stroke and a smile.

"It'll be okay, Meli," he said, a name he used only when he was being serious or knew she needed comfort.

"We'll be back in the estate before you know it. We just need to find the others, wherever they are..."

Once the bandaging was done Wayrin got quickly to his feet and moved away from them, the tip of his tail twitching with either wariness or irritation--even Kitty wasn't quite sure which. She watched him for a moment, hands pausing as she finished tying off the last leafy bandage.

Then Atiq had laid his hand on her leg and she started slightly, jerking her head around to look at him. Her ears flickered back against her skull at his use of her name--her proper name--and her tail curled in tight against her thigh, inadvertently brushing his fingertips for a moment.

"Right..." She tried for a smile and leaned in to nuzzle his cheek gently as she finished with the last makeshift bandage. "We'll find them. But first you need to get better, okay?"

Honestly, she didn't give a single fuck about the surviving members of the expedition. All she cared about was Atiq. But she knew it just wasn't in him to leave Ghedi and Jalai behind, not if there was a chance they might still be alive. So she would stay out here, with him, and do everything they could.

But only once he was at least partially recovered.

Almost in answer to her thoughts, Wayrin suddenly commented from where he stood with his back to the large tree, "If he makes it through the night, we can keep moving with him tomorrow. I can...I know a proper healer we could get him to."

[I just realized I've been spelling Wayrin's name wrong for like... several posts in a row. I'm sorry for any consternation that may have caused  :-X ]

---

"I will," Atiq said, and then he looked to Wayrin.

Wayrin was a wild shifter, and Atiq had a certain way with animals. Nothing magical or special, just sort of intuition he'd built working with animals and monsters the world over. He knew that creatures of the wild could detect more than even the world's most skilled conversationalist and he'd learned how to truly keep his cool around them.

Or maybe Wayrin could still tell that he was absolutely terrified on the inside. Mangled like he was, in the middle of unforgiving territory during one of the most dangerous times of the year. He was trying to act tough and confident for Kitty's sake, knowing that if he was scared then she must've been absolutely besides herself. Maybe Wayrin could also tell that Atiq wasn't quite ready to relax around him just yet.

"Not Gedhi," he murmured, holding her close. Now that he'd been conscious for long enough, the weight of what had just happened was starting to set in.

"But Jalai and Pilho. What's left of him... Gedhi stole an egg, must've found it when he ran off during the hunt," he continued, wanting to tell someone, anyone.

"...You know the rest."

Then he relaxed, feeling his burden lifted just a little. Well, it seemed simple enough. Just make it through the night, right?

"So, we're staying here for the night? If we go to the cart, we can find weapons and supplies. How... how far away did we go?"

He looked up at Wayrin.

"Where are we? and where is this... healer?"

[Lol it's totally fine, I figured it was just an honest mistake haha; and it's not a particularly big deal anyway ^.^]

---

Kitty nuzzled into the curve of his neck, trying to be comforting, as he held her a little closer. But when he told her what had happened, why the animal had attacked...

Her head jerked up, pupils narrowed to tiny slits and a low growl thrumming in her throat. "He what?" The growl was even in her voice when she spoke, echoing beneath the words, though she didn't seem entirely aware of it. This, all of this, Atiq being hurt, his friend's death--it was all that idiot's fault?

She was going to tear him apart.

Kitty didn't even realize that she'd pushed away from Atiq and gotten to her feet until a foreign hand came down gently on her shoulder. She jerked around, snarling, to find Wayrin looking at her, one eyebrow raised. He looked...almost impressed. Amused, but impressed.

"Easy, housepet," he muttered, squeezing her shoulder lightly, but firmly enough to show that he could force her to calm down if he needed to. For some reason, rather than just riling the predator in her more, that actually snapped her back to her senses a bit. "Save it for later," the other shifter told her before he removed his hand.

"I--" Kitty blinked, and finally seemed to realize what she'd just done. Her eyes widened a bit, pupils returning to a more human shape, and she glanced down at Atiq, stricken.

Before she could say anything, Wayrin spoke again--to Atiq, this time, his evident distaste for the human either ignored or fading slightly. "No point going back to your cart now. By the time we got back out here it would be passed dawn, so unless you want to sleep by day and travel at night--not something I typically recommend for something like you--we're better off waiting out the night and continuing on tomorrow." He glanced away into the jungle, apparently considering, then added, "We're a little less than a full day's journey from the closest outpost. In your condition...I'd say we'd get there just after nightfall tomorrow, if we leave at dawn."

Atiq narrowed his eyes at Wayrin behind his back when he called Kitty "housepet", clearly still not completely comfortable with him around Kitty. There was something in the way he glanced at her, but yet Atiq realized more and more that if he wanted to make it back home, Wayrin was going to be critical to that.

However, it was the mention of an outpost that truly got his attention. He reached back out for Kitty, and though she'd stood away from Atiq he was able to brush his fingers against hers before sitting back against the tree with a pained sigh.

"You're right, we should rest..." Atiq finally conceded, and he allowed himself to truly relax where he sat. "This outpost... we can't be that close to any Essyrni ones, we're in the middle of the delta. This place, is... there are more of you? Your kind, that is?" He said, truly curious.

Because that had been something he'd wondered ever since he was a child. Where exactly was Kitty from?

The moment his fingers brushed hers, Kitty turned from the other shifter to kneel by Atiq's side again, one hand on his shoulder to help settle him back against the roots of the tree, a low purr that couldn't be heard but could still be felt thrumming through her whole body. She didn't even consciously realize she was doing it; Atiq's nanny back in Essyrn had called it a "healing purr", noted that it was something she'd seen cats do when they were hurt in an effort to comfort themselves or their partners.

Wayrin watched them, expression stony, though no longer quite condemning. He seemed to be considered how to answer.

"...I suppose you'll just have to see tomorrow," he said finally, once more turning to put his back to the two of them. "Melisandre? Tidure nyenyek, istri'suri."

Kitty went very, very still. Why...why do I know that? Where have a heard that?

The young panther wasn't doing it consciously, but she was simply too overwhelmed to think about the implications of everything Wayrin was saying. About the idea that there were more of them, that they had things like outposts out in the jungle, about...about any of it. Even that strange-familiar language.

She had been so small when she was taken from her mother, when Atiq's parents gave her to him. But...but she thought...

"...Dahn kamu, ma'prajuriit."

Wayrin stiffened, jerking his head back around to look at her with wide eyes. Clearly, he hadn't been expecting her to respond. Kitty just stared back at him; she wasn't entirely sure what she'd said, but she knew it meant something. Maybe something important. She could--she could almost remember, could remember hearing the exchange between two adults when she was so, so small. 

The jaguar and the panther stared at one another for a long moment. Then, slowly, he smiled, dipped his head, and turned to move back into the shadow of the trees. "I will keep watch. Rest with your human, istri'suri."

Not "housepet". Not anymore.

Kitty licked her lips and looked back to Atiq, wide eyed. "We...you should sleep," she murmured, stroking her fingers absently through his by now rather tangled curls. She curved her body beside his and rested her head on his uninjured shoulder, hoping he would listen and rest, trying to ignore the strange fluttering in her stomach, the way she could still feel Wayrin's eyes on them.

And trying to forget that she somehow knew that istri'suri meant "princess".

The purr is what helped him start to succumb to sweet sleep. He'd been fairly out of it already, what with his injuries and lack of sleep. The return of Wayrin (and Atiq's temporary fit of rage at seeing him) had caused his adrenaline and alertness to spike only to start crashing back down, as that had also been the last of his energy.

He held Kitty close, arms around her and hands gently stroking, finding that he didn't care how it looked, that he just wanted her close to him. He didn't catch all that much of their words, and even if he wanted to ask Kitty about the strange words she'd spoken with Wayrin right then and there he didn't have the strength.

They were alone, then. When Kitty asked him to get some sleep, he smiled at her, cracking his eyes open so he could stroke her face and hug her tighter, almost like they were children again.

"I will..." he murmured, and turned his head so he could rest it against hers and kiss her goodnight on the forehead

"Just... stay close to me, Meli. Please, I... I don't want to be alone again..." he whispered, still terrified by how close he'd come to death.

"Shh, shh." She nuzzled into his temple, still dancing her fingers lightly through his hair where she could. "You're not alone, Atiq, I'm here. I won't leave you alone again, I promise. Not ever."

The warmth of his hand against her cheek was both comforting and heart-wrenching in a way that she didn't know how to explain. She allowed him to pull her in as close as he could manage, trying to be careful of his injuries but more than willing to become a tangle of limbs on the jungle floor, even her tail stretched out to lay gently over his hip: like kittens sleeping in a messy pile.

"I'm here," she repeated softly as she felt his breathing begin to even out, and her own mind traveled swiftly into sleep.

---

It wasn't the sunlight that woke her the next morning, though the flash of bright gold through cracked eyelids at first made her think it was. Then the gold shuffled back, resolving itself into the form of a large, spotted, clearly exasperated cat.

Kitty groaned and turned her face into Atiq's neck.

"None of that, istri'suri." Wayrin had shifted back to his humanoid form, evidently. He reached out to prod her shoulder, trying to herd her to her feet. "C'mon, we're burning daylight. The human has a better chance of surviving if we can get him there by nightfall."

That was enough to snap her properly awake. With a halfhearted growl for the other shifter--which only earned an amused huff in return--she twisted where she lay and tried to sit up a bit, one hand on her friend's cheek.

"Atiq? We have to get up now. Can you stand?"

Atiq startled awake, no longer in a dreamless void.

"Y-yeah, I'm up. I'm awake," he said, rising a bit on his elbows to match Kitty's movements. Normally he'd be more conscious of their very familiar cuddling around a stranger but somehow he didn't quite have it in him.

Because even then, he was remembering the past day's events. The attack on the camp, his near death, Kitty...

He glanced up at her, reassured to have her close, always there for him so he wouldn't feel alone. And he couldn't help but pass his gaze over her lips for a moment, remembering how surreal he felt in that moment.

Just as quickly, he looked to Wayrin, for fear of blushing.

"I can walk," he said, and he motioned for Kitty to give him some space. The rest had done wonders, even though his chest was still in pain and he still felt all the bangs and bruises from before.

He patted himself down to see what he had, happy to see his large knife had survived intact and remained in its sheath. Apart from that though, much else.

Shit...

Though it only lasted a moment, Kitty was so hyper aware of her friend's current state—worried he may be hiding how hurt he was—that she actually did notice the way his eyes lingered on her mouth for a moment. Atiq may have avoided blushing by turning his attention to Wayrin, but she didn't quite manage it, ducking her head in an attempt to hide the flush even as she got to her feet.

She moved to place herself at Atiq's side again, slipping under his uninjured arm to act as a crutch despite his assertion that he could walk.

Wayrin watched them with a furrowed brow, but he didn't say anything. He just shrugged and turned to start heading into the trees. "Keep up, housepet."

Kitty glared at his back. "Housepet" again. "What happened to princess?" she muttered to herself as she started to follow, careful to keep herself tucked against Atiq's side.

Wayrin's ears twitched, a clear indication that he'd heard her, but he didn't react.

Despite the situation Atiq managed a little laugh at Kitty's consternation about how Wayrin addressed her. Once he got to his feet and managed to stay steady, he seemed to be in brighter spirits. Maybe it was the blood loss, or maybe it was because it happened just as he was coming back from the grasp of death, but he couldn't shake that memory.

No, no time for distractions. Instead, he forged on with Kitty's help. He didn't want to mention how Wayrin's persistent watching gave him second thoughts about his willingness to help, or how he looked at Kitty...

"Where we're going, is... are there more of your people?" Atiq asked.

Wayrin didn't answer for several long moments--long enough that Kitty began to think that the silence was his answer.

Then he huffed out a sharp breath and jerked his head in a single, sharp nod. "Yes."

No further information was forthcoming. Just that. Just the confirmation.

Kitty glared at his back. "And...they'll help us?" she prodded, not bothering to keep the exasperation or wariness from her voice.

"They'll help you," Wayrin replied easily enough. He held up a hand to stop them, glanced around at the greenery of the jungle, then nodded to himself and continued forward again. Kitty's ears and nose twitched, trying to figure out what had stalled him.

She couldn't sense anything. She may have the panther's instincts, but she'd been raised in Essyrn. Her skills were dull. It occurred to her, rather abruptly, that Atiq probably wasn't the only one who owed his life to the other shifter; if she'd been out here on her own, she had no idea how long she'd last.

A thought she kept very firmly to herself.

"Well, if they'll help me, then they'll help Atiq." She said it firmly, as though it wasn't a question.

Wayrin scoffed and muttered something in that strange-familiar language under his breath. "You can hope, istri'suri."

Kitty's hackles raised, though she couldn't explain why. "Oh, now you're calling me that again?" she snapped, harsh and irritated and confused.

Wayrin paused, just long enough to look back at her for a long, tense moment of silence. Then he continued on again without another word.

Atiq was confused, to say the least. He caught the tone and what had happened but he was perplexed by the words, by how Kitty seemed to be expecting it.

"What is that word?" said Atiq, mostly curious but also a little indignant on Kitty's part. He'd asked it to nobody in particular but then looked to Kitty and spoke much lower.

"What does it mean?"

Kitty jerked slightly, as though for some reason she hadn't been expecting Atiq to comment. Which was stupid, really--she certainly would have said something, if their situations had been reversed.

"It, um..." She blinked, then looked to Wayrin's back, chewing on her bottom lip with a line furrowed between her brows. "I don't...really know? I mean, I do, sort of, but it's...old. Old memories. From before--before we met--"

"Princess," the jaguar cut in without so much as bothering to turn his head. "It's not an exact translation, as our people don't have what humans would consider a monarchy. But the closest word in your tongue is princess." He paused, glanced back to give Kitty a quick look up and down, then shrugged and added, "Perhaps young empress."

Kitty blinked. Wide eyed, she looked to Atiq once more. "Um...yeah. That." She glanced at their guide, then lowered her voice to hiss, "I've really no idea why he's calling me that. He doesn't even seem to like me all that much..."

Ahead of them, Wayrin's tail twitched, but he continued on in silence.

Princess?

"E-empress!?" Atiq gasped. Wayrin's second explanation was even more bombastic than the first! Too surprised and tired from his rough night that he didn't resist the urge to open his mouth. He fell quiet, and gave Kitty a look that was part awe, part curiosity, and just a little shame. If she really was an heir to something... part of him now felt responsible for what she'd potentially lost.

Then it struck him. Her mother. Neither his parents or Atiq himself had known a single thing about her parents.

"You know her, then. Or you know about her parents," Atiq managed, and he laid a hand against his injured side as he struggled to keep up with Kitty.

"Please, Wayrin..."

No, don't.

Don't look at me like that.

I'm not what he says.

I'm not...

I'm just...

I'm yours. I've always been yours, whatever that means. I don't--

I don't know what I am.

Kitty swallowed her tongue and fixed her eyes on her feet to avoid meeting Atiq's gaze. But then he asked about her parents, and her head snapped up again.

How had the thought not even crossed her mind? She was just...it was too much to process. All of it.

Wayrin glanced back at them again, making a face at Atiq's question that conveyed pretty clearly that he thought the human was a bit simple. "How old do I look to you? The last raid that actually managed to do us any harm was roughly twenty years ago. No, I don't know her." He glanced at Kitty, and something in his eyes softened a bit. "Didn't," he corrected. Then his voice was brisk and sharp again. "I don't need to. She's a panther. That's enough to mark her special, if not istri'suri. Even if she wasn't--"

He stopped, glanced at Kitty again. This time she got the feeling he was...biting something back. Hiding something. "I shouldn't be the person to tell you this," he muttered eventually, ducking under a low branch. "You can speak with the elders when we arrive. They'll know more."

Kitty stared at his back. She couldn't understand any of this. It was all just so much. Feeling strangely detached, she asked softly, "What do you know?"

Quiet. For several long moments. Then: "I know a high priestess was taken in the last raid. I know she was pregnant. I know her mate was a panther. I know she was...beloved. By all of us." He glanced to Atiq, emerald eyes hard and cold. "I know our people have lost much to yours."

He kept walking. Kitty found herself frozen, eyes clenched shut. She swayed on her feet again, caught herself just in time by remembering she was acting as Atiq's crutch, then forced herself to take a step.

Just a step. Then another. Another. Just...keep walking.

"I..."

That was a lot. So much more than he could really respond to at the moment. What was he really supposed to say to something like that? He clutched Kitty's hand tighter as she slowed her pace. He could feel the tension coursing through her with every heartbeat.

"Easy, easy..." he whispered to her, then he slowed his pace so she could go more comfortably. even as he used her as a crutch, he wanted to ease her burden as much as he could.

"Whatever happened in the past, Kitty is the warmth of my life. We met when we were only children," Atiq said, stroking Kitty's back ever so slightly as he walked with her.

"So please, save your spite. We just want to get back home to Essyrn alive."

"And how did you meet?" Wayrin's eyes snapped back toward him, lip curled. "She was gifted to you."

"Stop..." Kitty's voice was so soft she barely heard it herself. She was leaning into Atiq as much as he was her, and she had to fight the urge to turn her face into his shoulder, seeking comfort as she would have when they were children.

Wayrin didn't seem to hear her. "I don't care what happens to you, human, or where you go. But she does. So I'll get you to a healer, and then you can fuck off back to your slave city."

"Stop."

"And if you could do your best to forget everything you see in this jungle, it would be for her sake as much as yours." Wayrin's eyes slid from Atiq to Kitty and back. "If she even wants to return with you."

"Stop!"

Her voice rose to a yowl and she wrapped her arms tight around her middle, curving forward. Wayrin fell abruptly silent, eyes going a little wide. Kitty hardly noticed, ears pressed flat to her skull and a low keening strangled from her throat as she shook her head uselessly. This was too much. It was too much, too much, and all she wanted to do was help her friend, but here this stranger was--this stranger who she was starting to suspect knew more about her than she did--and half of her wanted to rail against him while the other half whispered, He's right. That's all you are. That's all you can be if you go back. Housepet.

When she opened her eyes, Wayrin had taken his cat form to draw closer. He shot Atiq a wary glance, but his attention was mostly on her. Slowly, he dropped his eyes and lowered his body to the ground, ears and tail held submissively. An apology.

Moving on some unspoken cue, some instinct, Kitty reached out to brush the back of her hand over his head. He arched into the touch, eyes flickering up to her face for an instant, before he pulled away and shifted smoothly back into his two-legged form. Without a word, he kept walking.

Kitty released a shuddering breath and wrapped one arm carefully around Atiq's waist in an effort to support him as she followed. "Come on," she whispered, butting her head lightly against his shoulder. "Let's get you fixed."

Atiq's personal opinion of Wayrin had not really worsened or improved, not really. He always found a way to balance just how much pain and heartbreak he was causing Kitty with how useful he was being. Still, the sheer intensity of Kitty's reactions, how she nearly doubled over with emotion... it was almost too much for Atiq to bear.

Not because it hurt to see her in pain, but because of just how strong her reaction was. Did... did she want to leave? Was she torn between two places, like he once was when he was young and unsure of himself?

"Both of you, please..." he managed to breathe out, but he was lost in the moment and his voice was too weak to breach the moment that both shifters were having.

He didn't have the energy to return Wayrin's wary look, but he was pleasantly surprised to see the shifter apologize. Not a verbal one, either, but pure physical deferrence.

Atiq supported himself against a tree until Kitty returned to support him, and he nodded along with what she said. His energy had been sapped by the emotions and events of before, and he was back to limping along silently alongside her.

Kitty started up that low purr in the center of her chest again as they hobbled along after Wayrin, nudging her head against Atiq's shoulder or the crook of his neck every once in a while if his pace started to flag.

Neither she nor Wayrin spoke again for most of the trek; eventually, as the jungle began to grow dark around them once again, Wayrin finally broke the silence. "We're almost to the outpost," he said quietly as he suddenly drew up short, glancing back over his shoulder at them. "There will be a healer, maybe half a dozen others as well--none of them are going to be pleased to see him." He jutted his chin toward Atiq to indicate "him". Then his eyes flicked to Kitty. "But they'll help him if you're the one who asks. I'll go ahead and tell them I've brought visitors. You two stay here, I'll be back in a minute."

"I--" She sort of wanted to argue, but she didn't really know which part of that she could object to. There was nothing she could do about the other shapeshifters disliking Atiq; she'd just have to hope Wayrin was right and that they'd help him anyway. She snapped her mouth shut and nodded sharply.

Wayrin returned the gesture, spared Atiq another quick, calculating glance, then shifted into his cat form and loped off into the trees. Kitty sighed, leaning back against a nearby trunk and helping Atiq prop himself up beside her. "I think we can trust him," she muttered. It sounded more like she was trying to convince herself than she was her friend.

She settled in to wait beside him, keeping her shoulder under his arm to offer support and turning her head to nuzzle into his shoulder gently as she gave a quiet, consoling purr.

At being told that nobody there would be happy to see him, Atiq simply chuckled, glad that he was able to get out the light sound through his pain and weakness.

"I can survive being controversial. These ribs, though?"

He slowed down, but then Kitty was nuzzling into his neck and it reminded him that she was still very much supporting him. Desperately not wanting to slow the both of them down, Atiq pressed on until she deemed it fit to stop them again.

He watched Wayrin go, wary of the silence immediately after his departure, but ultimately relenting once his back hit the tree trunk beside Kitty. She leaned against him, supporting and familiar as ever, and he let his head rest against hers. His eyelids remained low as he stroked the top of her head, occasionally following the shape of one of her ears with a thumb before returning to the pets he knew she liked.

"We've already followed him off of the trails and into the jungle. It'd be a little late to start distrusting him now," he said.

Kitty snorted lightly as she tilted her head into his touch. "Fair point." With a sigh, she allowed her eyes to slide closed and leaned a little more heavily against his good shoulder.

The jungle was painted a dim twilight around them now, and that pacing, feral part of her seemed to be waking up again. She was the only protection Atiq had right now, if something happened, if something attacked them--

She made herself go still, take a breath. Calm down. She could be wary without being...wild. Just breathe.

She glanced up at Atiq's face, bottom lip drawn between her teeth. She was still worried for him, of course, but she knew there was nothing more she could do in the moment, and worry certainly wasn't going to heal his ribs. "Atiq, you--"

The words were out of her mouth before she'd fully processed what she was going to say, and she cut herself off quickly, eyes going a little wide. She'd been about to ask about that kiss--she wanted to ask about it, but now hardly seemed like the proper time. She gave her head a quick shake and looked away again. "Nothing. Never mind. Sorry."

when she glanced back up at him, he had his head rested backwards against the tree, resting his weight against the tree so Kitty wouldn't have to support him while they waited. He was tired and all of his wounds complained. Most of the ones they'd stuffed with herbs were fine, but the large gash on his leg pulsed painfully with every heartbeat. Even if it was at a limp, he'd been walking on it all day and he took the opportunity to take his weight off that leg.

Head back and eyes basically closed, Atiq didn't notice her teeth worrying at her lip or how she looked up at him. He heard his name and perked up, only to catch her wide eyes and to see her look away.

"I..." he started, almost as if she'd never said nevermind. He had a very strong feeling that he knew what was floating in her chest. It was his turn to glance at her, and with a sigh of defeat he let his temple rest against the back of her head, just behind her ear.

"I don't think I've ever been kissed like that before," he said, before he could stop himself.

Kitty found herself leaning into him a little more when his head came to rest against hers, an automatic purr rising in her chest.

A purr that cut off abruptly when he spoke and her whole body tensed for a moment. She took a breath, forced her muscles to relax--and her stomach to return to its proper place, because really now, the butterflies were deeply unnecessary.

"I don't--" She paused and licked her lips, her heart suddenly pounding in her ears. "That...can't be true," she muttered after a moment.

Which wasn't what she'd wanted to say. What she'd wanted to say was that she'd never been kissed at all, let alone done the kissing. The affectionate pecks and licks she sometimes gave him didn't seem to count, just then.

But he knew that already. She'd never bothered to ask Atiq about any trysts he may have had--she had always been jealous of his attention, but it had never felt like this. At least, she didn't think it had. Not until she'd been afraid she'd lost him.

"I..." Her throat went tight. "I...shouldn't have. I know I shouldn't have, it wasn't--I'm sorry." She turned her head slightly to look at him; they were so close together that her nose bumped his, and she caught her breath. "I'm--I'm sorry," she whispered, so close that her lips nearly brushed the corner of his mouth when they moved.

"Don't be sorry," came his immediate response. Again, he only wanted her to be comfortable. One of his hands drifted from his side and brushed along Kitty's forearm before taking her hand. It felt bizarre, to suddenly tread new ground with someone that had been his lifelong companion. Atiq had thought there was nothing else they could share, but... this was altogether way too much.

For the both of them, it seemed, because despite his attempts to force it down, his cheeks were steadily coloring, his heart picking up in his chest as Kitty turned her head and they all but kissed once again.

He turned the brush of their noses into a nuzzle, fully butting his forehead to hers like she was oft to do to him when she wanted him to wake up or pet her.

He certainly felt like he was in a dream, suddenly warm and light-feeling.

"You should never be sorry."

She could actually feel his heartbeat against her own chest, and her breath hitched as it picked up. They were so close she couldn't not notice the flush to his cheeks, and quite without her meaning to, a low, rasping purr started up somewhere beneath the hollow of her throat.

Oh goddess, what was wrong with her? This was--they shouldn't be--this was wrong. This was wrong, wasn't it?

...It didn't feel wrong.

"We--I--" She swallowed, purr hitching in her throat. She wanted to look away, but it felt like her eyes were physically locked on his. "Y-You're hurt," she managed to rasp after a breathless moment. "I don't...we shouldn't--"

"Ah-hem."

Kitty nearly jumped out of her skin, a startled yowl strangled from her throat as she whipped her head around to find Wayrin leaning back against another tree several yards away down the game trail they'd been treading. His brow was furrowed, but there was the distinct hint of a smirk at the corners of his mouth as he cocked his head at them.

"Do you two need a minute, or...?"

She started purring in that rasping, obviously pleased tone, and that served well to make a crack in Atiq's resistance. She was right to think that he'd had his trysts, his encounters with other people. None had really stuck, for various reasons. One had even asked him to pick between her and "the panther" and it was one of the easiest choices he'd ever made. None had ever been there for him like Kitty had always been, comforted him or hell... even loved him like Kitty did.

But it had never bothered him. Humans were mostly shallow anyways (even himself, at times). Atiq was a man who mostly enjoyed the company of the open wilderness, his pipe, and his pets...

...this is not something you do with a pet, he thought as he gazed into those feline eyes, so familiar but now so very, very new. She was never really a pet, was she?

"Hakesnha preserve me..." he said, so very quietly that truly only Hakeshna herself and Kitty could have heard it. His prayers were answered when Wayrin made a sudden appearance. He felt a little woozy as his face went bright red and he broke away eye contact with Kitty.

"No," came Atiq's quick answer as he tried to center himself. He put more of his weight on the tree and made a bit if distance between himself and Kitty.

He let his injured leg bear some weight again and he groaned. He met the other shifter's eyes.

"Will they help?"

The other shifter looked lazily back and forth between the two of them, giving the sudden distance Atiq had placed between himself and Kitty a deeply unconvinced look, then shrugged away from his own tree carelessly. "I suppose we'll have to find out, won't we?"

Kitty, for her part, had tried to shuffle a few awkward paces away from Atiq when he'd leaned back, some uncomfortable combination of shame and disappointment roiling in her belly, but then he'd groaned when he put weight on his injured leg and she was at his side again unthinkingly, her hand braced against his shoulder as she searched his face with concern.

"The healer posted here knows I'm bringing strangers," Wayrin told them, carefully bored as his eyes sharpened on the contact between them. Kitty felt his attention like a prickle on the back of her neck and went still, tense. He flicked his eyes over Atiq's face and added with a deliberately careless shrug, "She doesn't know you're human. But she'll help if a panther asks. Can you walk? It's not far."

Kitty opened her mouth to say that it didn't matter, she would help him--then abruptly closed it. She realized just how close she was pressed against him--again--and took a quick, awkward step back. "Can...can you manage?"

Atiq stepped away from the tree, lingering in place for a moment on his feet. He listed vaguely to the side and he instinctively reached out for Kitty's support as he limped along. He decided that he'd never been ashamed of being close to her before, he wasn't going to start now, even if it had a new, conflicting twist to it.

"Just barely. I've done my best to not walk on the leg too much," he murmured, a little thankful for the change in subject.

"Wouldn't mind something real to lay down on either," he said.

"Don't press your luck," Wayrin snorted as he turned and beckoned for them to follow.

Kitty was there the moment Atiq reached for her--like she always was--despite the strange lurch in her stomach.

The tiny game trail they'd been following twisted through the trees, then suddenly came to an abrupt end at a trunk that was at least three times as thick around as the span of Kitty's arms. She looked up at it, wide eyed, attention drawn to the sprawling branches that seemed to stretch forever over their heads, then gave herself a little shake and looked around before turning a frown on Wayrin.

"Okay. Where is this outpost, exactly?" Had this been some sort of trick after all? She didn't really believe that, but...

Wayrin flashed her a grin that could only be described as playful and nodded upward. "Look again."

Glowering, she did--and her jaw dropped. Her arm around Atiq's waist tightened instinctively as she took in what before she had assumed were stretches of matted leaves, but on closer inspection could see was a series of platforms woven into the canopy itself. "Whoa..."

Wayrin, smirking properly now, tipped his head back and gave a short, high chirp. There was a beat of silence, then an answering chirp from one of the platforms directly overhead, and the branches rustled as someone started to lower a--a stretcher of some sort toward the jungle floor.

The jaguar nodded at it, then at Atiq. "They'll get you up there. Kitty and I can climb." His mouth still twisted sourly around the nickname, and Kitty dropped her eyes instinctively, wincing.

"Been pretty lucky so far, all things considered. Even to be alive..." he groaned, voice trailing off as he found himself needing to breathe. All this exertion, physical and now emotional, was starting to take its toll on him. He was hungry, tired, and really could not have gone much further once they reached the tree.

Atiq looked up into the branches, and recognized the platforms built up there before Kitty, having much more experience in bushcraft than the pampered panther.

The stretcher lowered down, and Atiq lowered a hand to place it on top of Kitty's

"It's okay, Kitty. You can let me down," Atiq said, ignoring Wayrin's barb towards her. With a sigh almost of defeat, he let himself down into the stretcher as best he could without just falling into it. He looked up to Kitty, searching for her eyes.

"I'll see you up there?"

"Careful," Kitty murmured as she reluctantly released Atiq to allow him to sink down into the stretcher. She took his hand and squeezed it gently with a small smile. "Of course you will."

She leaned in as though to kiss his cheek, the movement habitual to the point of automatic--but she drew herself up short. Awkwardly, she changed the touch to a quick nuzzle against his temple, then pulled back.

Wayrin, still watching them with that odd combination of amusement and irritation, gave another sharp call, and the stretcher started to rise back up into the trees, lurching slightly in a way that made Kitty's heart seize before it evened out.

"C'mon, princess," Wayrin said, and as she turned with a frown to ask him why he was suddenly calling her that in Essyrni rather than his own tongue, she saw he'd already shifted over. She rolled her eyes and fell forward onto four paws, giving an affirming little huff when he cocked his head at her questioningly.

She may have been a pampered "housepet", but she could still climb a damn tree.

Wayrin's eyes narrowed and his ears perked forward in a feline grin, then he was leaping up into the lowest branches, gliding up the trunk of the tree so smoothly his pelt rippled like liquid gold. Kitty had the unfortunate feeling that she did not look quite so graceful as she bounded up after him.

Despite her unfamiliarity with truly wild surroundings, they were still up to the first platform before the stretcher. Kitty was so concerned with making sure that Atiq was getting to the top safely that she actually didn't notice the people around her until she'd padded over to the pulley system being used to winch the stretcher back up into the tree and peered over the edge with a low, concerned growl in the back of her throat.

Then the whispering started.

"Melisandre."

She started as she felt a hand between her shoulders, and turned her head to see Wayrin had knelt beside her in his human shape, his touch light and cautious against her fur. He jerked his head to indicate the group of half a dozen or so people that had gathered around them--one a man probably ten or so years his senior who was still winching up the stretcher even as he stared at them with wide eyes.

She shrank back against the jaguar's side instinctively, fur and fangs melting away to soft human skin as she wrapped her arms around herself. "Why--" She licked her lips and glanced up at Wayrin before she whispered, "Why are they looking at me like that?"

Before he could give an answer, the stretcher came to a slightly jerky halt, and her attention once more snapped to Atiq. She moved forward quickly, already reaching to help him up--and every other shifter in the tree lurched back, some with their teeth bared, as they realized he was human.

Atiq didn't notice the hesitation or awkwardness on Kitty's part, having closed his eyes now that he was finally allowed to lay down. She nuzzled against his temple and his smile grew a little wider, feeling somewhat comfortable for the first time in what seemed like weeks at this point.

Atiq let himself sink into a temporary darkness as the stretcher inched its way up, pull by pull. Despite the fact that he was now suspended several feet above the air on what was essentially some matted leaves and vines, he felt oddly safe.

Even when the stretcher gave sudden lurches or made minute rocks to the side, he just... laid there.

Happy to be safe. The stretcher finally came to a stop and Atiq let out a short sigh. He tried to right himself with a hand on the platform, but the stretcher held him too deeply and he ended up floundering slightly. Kitty came up to him, and he took her offered arm so she could help him up onto the platform.

As soon as he sat up, he heard several pairs of feet suddenly shift and retreat, and he looked past Kitty to the many shifters arrayed behind her. They were all looking at him! Some even seemed like they were about to pounce right then and there, and Atiq couldn't help but feel discouraged.

Tighter, he gripped Kitty's hand.

"They can let me back down," Atiq said to Kitty, eyes wide. He still had a hunting knife in his boot, and while that offered eight inches of sharpened steel, it would not help him against a tree full of Panthers. Or panther-folk, in this case.

"They look like they want to kill me..."

"Quite a few of them do," Wayrin said blithely, pushing himself to his feet and casually brushing imaginary debris off his shoulder. A threatened cat trying to appear unbothered. "But they won't," he added, with a hard look around the small group of shapeshifters. He said something else in that strange-familiar language, but Kitty couldn't make sense of it.

Whatever he'd said, the others seemed to be...not exactly placated. But at least they no longer seemed to be on the edge of either fleeing or ripping Atiq apart.

Wayrin smirked, his eyes hard, and barked something else. He turned back to the two on the ground as a handful of the other cat-shifters peeled off, and the rest began to melt back into the shapes among the trees that Kitty could now see were more woven platforms, some supporting small huts. "They'll get the healer. I told her we'd need her, but she doesn't move so quick these days. Think you can stand, with some help?"

The last was directly solely to Atiq, grudgingly. Kitty wrapped her arm around her friend's shoulders, still looking around at the other shifters as they slowly began to resume what she assumed were their normal tasks--though most continued to sneak curious and wary glances in their direction.

"Walked all the way over, didn't I?" Atiq said, keeping his tone light as he set about rising from the frondy stretcher that he'd been hauled up in. It was a little more precarious than he'd liked, but he held up an arm for both Wayrin and Kitty so he could haul himself up onto the platform.

Even then, it seemed like it might give out under his feet, but Atiq ignored that and the now placated crowd of shifters and focused on the two he did know.

He seemed to be able to support himself fine on the many vines that intersected the oven paths and  supported some of the larger hut structures above, but every one in a while he'd take Kitty's shoulder to balance.

"This place is incredible," Atiq commented, looking around in wonder. He tried to peek curious looks at the locals as well, but after another had caught him looking and bared his fangs, he decided to keep his eyes on his footing.

Wayrin snorted and muttered something about Atiq using Kitty as a crutch the whole walk, but to the panther's mild surprise he stayed at her friend's side even after Atiq had gotten his feet under him and she could have taken his weight herself.

Just behind Atiq's back, she arched an eyebrow questioningly at the other shifter. He wrinkled his nose and rolled his eyes, grip on Atiq's arm tightening momentarily as he steadied the other young man on the platform. Vaguely, Kitty noticed that when they were both actually stood to their full height beside one another, they were almost exactly of a height.

Seeing that was the only answer she was likely to get, Kitty returned her attention to her friend, nodding and murmuring a quiet agreement as he looked around.

Wayrin huffed as he started to tug Atiq, and by extension Kitty, along a narrow path through the branches. "It's just an outpost. The cities are more impressive. Hells, even the villages are."

Kitty's eyes widened. "Cities?"

Wayrin flinched, froze, then shook his head briskly. "We can talk later," he said shortly, and the way his eyes darted around the few other shifters still within earshot made her snap her mouth closed. She helped him guide Atiq into one of the leaf-and-branch-woven huts in silence. It was almost entirely bare inside, save for another frond mat that was a little thicker than the stretcher, and barely large enough for the three of them to stand inside together.

"Sit him down," Wayrin said gruffly, finally releasing Atiq--snatching his hand back quickly, actually, as though he'd forgotten he was touching something mildly unpleasant--and taking a step back. "I'll go see what's taking so long with the healer."

He turned, paused in the doorway, then glanced back to add over his shoulder brusquely, "You might want to stay with him. The others are...scared. But they won't try anything if you're on guard."

Kitty stiffened, her arm around Atiq's waist as she'd been trying to lower him down onto the mat. Her tail flicked and her ears pinned back. "I'm not going anywhere." The words were almost a growl.

Wayrin nodded once and stepped back out of the hut. Kitty gave a sigh that was part relief and part exasperation as she lowered herself and Atiq to the floor.

"You doing okay?" she murmured, eyes flicking over him with concern as she tried to get him settled.

For what it was worth, Atiq silently (and a perhaps begrudgingly) accepted Wayrin's support. He was strong for someone his size, at least. Regardless, Atiq found it better to focus on the ground and not his mouth as he was guided through a den of frankly hostile shifters.

His worries were not soothed in the slightest when Wayrin warned Kitty to stay on her guard, and Atiq bristled with tension once he was gone.

Once Kitty had him, he leaned fully into the support and held her own waist. He let himself down on his good leg with her help, and leaned into her and kept his eyes on the entrance.

"Somehow, I'm not exactly comforted now that we've arrived," he said, and then drew in his good leg so he could have the large hunting knife in his boot closer at hand.

"As soon as I'm well enough to leave, we should make for home as quick as we can."

Kitty sat with him, leaning into his uninjured side once they were both settled. Her eyes flickered to the movement of his leg—she knew where he kept his knives as well as he did—and for a brief moment her mouth formed a thin, tight line.

It wasn’t like she could blame him; he had every right to be cautious. She was wary of these strangers herself, but…but there was a part of her that absolutely burning with curiosity. Before Wayrin, she’d never met someone like her—she’d never even heard of them, outside what she’d been told of her mother, and that was precious little. And now here they were, a dozen or more shapeshifters scattered through the trees around them, and there were more further into the jungle, villages, cities—

“What?” She couldn’t stop the question from blurting out in response to Atiq’s urging them home. “I mean—yes. Of course. We…should hurry home…” She trailed off, frowning down at her lap as the tip of her tail twitched back and forth. Then she shook herself and lifted her head to give him a small smile. “Once you’re well enough. I promised I’d keep you safe, Atiq. You need time to heal.”

Maybe…maybe that would be enough. Maybe staying here while her friend healed, asking questions when she could…maybe that would be enough.

Atiq winced when Kitty had such a strong reaction to his desire to go home. His own eyes were downcast, but somehow, he knew he was right. Still, seeing the conflict in her eyes when prompted with the idea of returning home sent conflicting waves of emotion through Atiq.

"Kitty," Atiq started, tone lowered. His eyes were drawn tightly closed, afraid that she'd see the fear welling up in them. He let himself lean into her side before he finally sighed and let himself relax. He lowered his neck and head onto her lap, and looked up at Kitty with a defeated smile.

"I'm sure I'm not going to be back on my feet immediately," he said, raising an arm to stroke along the side of her jaw and then up to the back of her head to stroke behind her ear.

"And I'm not going to pretend that all of this isn't just... incredible. What this place means for you, for us," he continued. After a brief moment's hesitation, he propped up off of her lap briefly to nudge his head against hers, genuinely and instinctively, before lowering himself back down onto her legs. It was one of the few gestures they both completely understood, and Atiq didn't care that there was this new, odd tension between them now. A tension that felt like it should have always been there, but was only now rearing its head.

"Maybe they'll warm up to me?" he offered, wanting to lighten his companion's mood.

"We could stay a little longer if nobody wants to eat me," he said with a growing smile as he gazed up at her, the understanding shining clearly in his eyes.

"Oh, I..." She blinked down at him when he settled his head in her lap and bit her lip, ears pressing back flat against her head. "I didn't mean..."

He nudged his head against hers and an instinctive purr settled low in her throat. She returned the touch cautiously, still warry of hurting him--and honestly a little wary of whatever it was that had seemingly sprung into being between them, afraid that if she pulled away he would think her cold, but if she pushed too far the delicate balance they were currently operating under would shatter.

So she settled for smiling and leaning into his touch when he stroked just behind her ear, returning it by drawing her fingers through his curls a few times before she let her hand rest lightly cupping the nape of his neck. "I'm not going to let anyone eat you," she assured him with just the barest hint of a laugh in her voice, nearly hiding the quiet gratitude.

"Well damn," a by now annoyingly familiar voice drawled from the doorway. Wayrin smirked. "There go my dinner plans."

Kitty curled her lip at him, but before she could say anything a crackling sort of voice barked something in that strange-familiar language and Wayrin suddenly winced as a hunched, gnarled older woman cuffed the back of his head before marching passed him into the small hut.

"Ow," he grumbled, then waved a hand airily at the woman and said, "This is Neeya, the healer here. She'll help."

Kitty eyed the old woman warily, but she shifted back a bit when Neeya knelt beside them and waved a hand over Atiq's prone form. Kitty noted with some interest that her nails were curved and black, more like claws, and the black tear tracks of a leopard's natural markings stayed with her even in her humanoid form. "What's the worst?" she asked in heavily accented Essyrni, dark eyes sharp as they looked Atiq over, though not with quite the same hostility as the other shifters had shown.