In Constant Search of the Right Kind of Attention

[DragonSong]

"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.

[DaGlobster]

"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.

[DragonSong]

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.

[DaGlobster]

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."

[DragonSong]

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.

[DaGlobster]

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.

[DragonSong]

"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.