In Constant Search of the Right Kind of Attention

[DragonSong]

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.

[DaGlobster]

[: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.

[DragonSong]

[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."

[DaGlobster]

"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.

[DragonSong]

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."

[DaGlobster]

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.

[DragonSong]

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..."

[DaGlobster]

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.

[DragonSong]

"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. 

[DaGlobster]

"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.

[DragonSong]

"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.

[DaGlobster]

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..."

[DragonSong]

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?"

[DaGlobster]

"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..."

[DragonSong]

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

[DaGlobster]

"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."

[DragonSong]

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..."

[DaGlobster]

"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.

[DragonSong]

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.

[DaGlobster]

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.