It was a warm afternoon: the sun was casting threads of light through the treetops and the wind was gently swaying the branches back and forth. Curled up under one of the trees lay a creature that could probably best be described as an anthropomorphic cat. It wore a black colored robe and its fur covered body showed a black and a white body half, which ran in a wave-like line to each other. Single white and black dots were found on opposite sides, and five black dots formed a pattern reminiscent of a paw print above the cat's left eye.
Attomorian scholars referred to this humanoid species as "Felinae" when they first advanced deeper into the north "Their bodies resemble those of other humanoids. Their bodies are covered with fur, which may well represent different patterns and colors. Their head resembles that of the common domestic cat. So does the anatomy of their legs and feet. Their hands seem to be a mixture of feline paw and human hand. At first contact they showed no signs of aggression. They live in clans, some of which are focused on specific professions," they wrote.
The cat, or rather the tomcat, who was now lying and sleeping there under a tree somewhere in one of the old and large forests of the north was not interested in scientific descriptions of its kind. In general, he was not very interested in people. At that moment he was interested only in the silence. He felt the warm sun shining a little warmer on the black half of his body, the light breeze that caressed his fur almost like the grass in the clearing, and he heard the sounds of the forest. He heard the birds in the trees singing their songs, insects buzzing through the air and he heard the rustling of leaves. Everything was as he knew and loved it. He sat there and listened, something his cat-like ears probably made easier for him to do than a human.
Because of this advantage, he also heard something that most humans would not have noticed. At first it sounded no different than the light rustling of leaves, but slowly, very slowly this rustling grew louder and stood out from the usual sound of the trees. It could have simply been gusts of wind, but something didn't fit. The cat raised his head and pointed his ears in the direction of the sound. He closed his eyes and listened. Too regular, he thought. That sounds too regular to be natural. Those are footsteps. At that moment, the footsteps stopped. For a few seconds the familiar sounds of the forest returned until suddenly a bush next to the cat burst open and a cat about 1.70 tall pounced on him. Astonished for a split second, he instinctively jerked up his arms and managed to stop the animal. At that moment, he also noticed that it was not a wild predator. Another anthropomorphic cat was kneeling in front of him. The fur on her head was gray and streaked with black.
She held her black hands in front of her mouth giggling; an almost purring sound. "You should have seen yourself Dust. Your eyes were so big!" she said, gesturing to one of her big green eyes.
Dust tilted his head and smiled, "I should have expected something like that. You didn't exactly sneak up on me very well, Ash. You should definitely practice that.".
Ash put on an exaggeratedly offended expression and said in a provocative tone, "And you're the one who's always skipping practice. You'd rather sit around daydreaming," she took on a more serious expression and tone, "That's actually why I'm here. Grandfather wasn't too pleased that you weren't here again. If you keep this up, even Hope will be better than you." With these last words, she lightly poked Dust in the side and winked.
Now Dust smiled too, "Oh, come on. The little girl is a fast learner, but not that fast. That being said, you know how I feel about it" his smile faded and gave way to a bitter grin, "I'd be at training more often, but I feel like it's not getting me anywhere. If I want to be better than our brother, I need to get out into the world and... well actually do things."
Ash sighed and put a hand on his shoulder, "We've had this discussion too many times. Without training, you're screwed out there and you know it. Or do you have other relationships with people?" She raised an eyebrow teasingly.
Dust shook his head and the corners of his mouth lifted again, "You might have ideas. Good let's go to the others." They stood up and walked in the direction Ash had come from.
After winding their way through the thicket, they came to another clearing. In its center was a currently extinguished fireplace, and at the edge of the clearing were two elongated buildings and a tower. The smell of freshly roasted meat emanated from one of the buildings towards them. The clearing also had three targets made of branches, grass, and leaves with countless arrows stuck in them.
Dust and Ash walked toward the first building on their left. In front of the door, Ash held Dust back and said in a lowered voice, "Please don't make this into another drama." Dust looked her in the eye and realized she was serious.
"Alright. I just hope HE doesn't get involved," he said, nodding.
Ash seemed relieved, nodded as well and said, "Don't worry, he's out hunting and won't bother you for now." She opened the door and they both entered.
They were in a long room set up with two long tables, much lower than normal tables, and a few pots full of herbs and plants. The back right corner was hung with blankets and hunting trophies decorated the walls. In addition to the usual antlers and boar skulls, other horns from larger, far more dangerous creatures hung on the wall. A particularly large pair caught Dust's attention. A devil bull. Or at least that's what Grandfather claims, he thought as he looked at the pair of slightly curved horns, which measured at least 30 inches in length.
"Grandfather? We're here!" shouted Ash into the room. A moment later, the blankets at the end of the hut moved and a completely gray cat stepped out from between them. Its slightly shaky movements and sunken face suggested it was much older than Dust or Ash. It wore a robe similar to Dust's and a necklace made from the claws and teeth of various predatory animals.
"Ah yes thank you for bringing him here Ash. I knew he would listen more to his sister. Well Dust, you didn't go to practice again. What's your excuse this time?" the old tom spoke in a surprisingly firm voice for his age.
Dust crossed his arms in front of his chest, "Honestly, I have no excuse. I needed my rest, so I found a quiet place in the forest." Beside him, Ash sighed audibly and rubbed her temples.
"Listen, I know you'd rather explore the world and not choose the same path our tribe has taken for generations. My predecessors would be very disappointed."
"You'll never give me a chance! If only you would send me out there just once, then I could prove to everyone that I am better than my brother," Dust blurted out. Behind him, he heard his sister inhale sharply, but his grandfather remained calm. Grayhaze looked down for a few seconds and when he looked at his grandson again there was a strangely mischievous smile on his lips.
"Well," he said and began pacing a little in front of Dust and Ash, "I'm not my predecessors and that's exactly why I consulted with your parents. Because I share your view, at least in part, and we have a suggestion for you."
Dust raised an eyebrow and kept his eyes on his grandfather. "And what kind of suggestion would that be? I'm not going back on kitchen duty?" he asked suspiciously.
Grayhaze paused for a moment, laughed, and replied, "No no don't worry, I think you should like that. A merchant is arriving at the trading point in a few days and we need someone else to accompany Flare to pick up the goods. Your father wanted to send Smoke and Ash first" When his grandfather mentioned his brother Dust's mine darkened. "But your mother and I were able to convince him to send you and Ash instead" the old cat continued. He stopped and turned back to his grandchildren. Ash looked contentedly back and forth between her grandfather and her brother, who could barely get his mouth closed. "Based on your inconspicuous expression, I'm assuming you'll accept the assignment. Well then, you have four days to prepare. Congratulations on your first assignment my grandson!", Grayhaze announced with a grin and shook Dust's hand, who was still standing in the room in a daze.
He only regained consciousness when Ash slapped him somewhat uncomfortably on the shoulder from behind and said with a broad grin, "Congratulations brother. Come on there are still a few things to do."
As they left the house, Dust turned to his sister and asked, "Did I just imagine the whole thing? I could swear he just gave us an assignment."
"No, actually he did. All right, we have enough time to get ready and...", before Ash could finish the sentence Dust had already started walking in the direction of the other building.
Once there, Dust immediately began throwing all of his possessions onto his bed, trying to somehow tie them into a compact bundle. As Ash entered the room he sighed, "It just doesn't fit. To be honest, I don't even know what I should take with me."
His sister joined him on the bed and looked at the pile. "Now let's start with the fact that you definitely don't need one of these," she said, pulling a winter coat out of the shapeless pile and holding it between herself and Dust. "Look, I know this is very exciting for you and you'd love to get going right now. But first of all, this whole thing isn't for another four days, and second of all, we're going to be on the road for two days at the most. So just take your time and think about what you really need. All right?" She looked at him partly amused and partly caring.
Dust rubbed the back of his head and nodded slightly. "I guess you're right. I really should get my act together." He was about to say something else, but when he raised his head he saw his brother standing in the doorway with his arms crossed and tensed. When he was spotted, the jet-black cat walked slowly toward Dust and Ash.
"Are you finally moving out, little brother? I thought you were going to hide here forever. Although that would probably be best for you," he said in a mocking tone.
Now Ash also tensed up, turned to her older brother and hissed at him. "Get the fuck out of here, Smoke. Nobody needs your comments."
Dust also joined in and hissed: "Exactly, besides, I'm not moving out yet, but preparing for my first job. Well, it seems I'm the better of the two of us!" An evil growl escaped from the throat of the black tomcat.
"Guys take it easy. Smoke, what are you doing here? You've got your own quarters," Ash interjected soothingly.
Smoke gave Dust one last angry look and then turned to his sister. "I've been looking for you Ash. I need that bow I lent you. I want to do some training and apparently I'm the only one who takes it seriously."
"Over there next to my bed. You should change the tendon, by the way. Your aggressive pulling has almost worn it through in some places."
Smoke gave an annoyed grunt as he walked over to Ash's bed and pulled a short bow from under the frame. Just before he left the room again, he half-turned and said, "Good luck with your mission, then. Brother." He almost spat out the last word.
"Don't take it too much to heart. He's just jealous," Ash said when they heard the door close outside.
Dust made a dismissive hand gesture and replied, "Oh, come on. Of course he's jealous. He just won't accept that his younger brother is better than he is!"
"Why do you two have to see everything as a competition anyway? You both know I'm better than you two put together," Ash teased, sticking her tongue out at Dust. A relieved smile spread across his face and the two began to laugh. They spent the rest of the day, at Dust's insistence, assembling suitable equipment for the journey ahead.
That evening, after eating, Dust went to his favorite spot in the village; a small platform on one of the large trees that formed the natural barrier of the village. He jumped from branch to branch, using his claws to keep from slipping. At the top, he sat down on the platform and watched the sun set in the green sea of the jewel forest.
After about half an hour, he heard someone else climbing up the tree but didn't bother. Shortly after, a brown, black and white spotted Felinae sat next to him. She stuck her black and pink spotted nose in the air and let the evening breeze blow through her fur and began to purr softly.
"I figured I'd find you up here. You really have good taste when it comes to places like this, you know?" she said without moving or stopping to purr.
Dust looked over at her for a moment and then back at the now dark sea of trees in front of them and said, "Thanks I guess. I always come up here when I want to think. It's nice and quiet up here and I think the view is nice. But what do you need Even?"
Behind him, Dust heard Even giggling softly. She moved closer to him, so that he could now clearly hear the purr coming from her. The spotted cat now looked directly at him, smiled softly, and said, "Ash told me what happened today. I came here to congratulate you and wish you good luck. This must be very exciting for you, and I want you to know that you can always come to me if you need someone to talk to." She put a paw on Dust's shoulder.
"Come on, you can do it. You're the most capable of our year. Your brother may have a big mouth, but that's just to hide the fact that he's not as strong as he pretends to be." Even slowly began to stroke Dust's shoulder, whereupon he too began to purr softly.
They both turned back to the forest and watched the stars for a while. The only thing that broke the silence of the night was the chirping of the crickets, the calls of the night birds and the other sounds of the forest.
After a while, the two got up and climbed down the tree. At the bottom, Dust turned to Even and took her in his arms. When they broke away from the embrace, Dust said a bit cautiously, "Thank you for what you said earlier. That really helped me. I should get some sleep now." With that, he rubbed the back of his head and turned in the direction of the buildings.
"I'd be happy to, and my offer stands. You can always talk to me if you want. Besides, I know some good hides that I'm sure even you haven't heard of." Even winked at him.
"Thank you, I appreciate that," Dust replied.
The two then headed to their quarters and soon Dust was in his bed going over his packing list one last time for the day.
The next three days went by without any other peculiarities, except that Dust was much more engaged in the training than before. It was almost impossible to get him away from the training area. In his head, Dust played out all sorts of scenarios and implemented them on the straw mannequins and targets. He spent the evenings on his platform thinking about the upcoming trip.
On the last day, Dust practiced hitting a moving target by bumping a target he had hung on a branch and then shooting at it. He wore a top with the left sleeve missing so the string wouldn't catch on the fabric. The exercise worked only moderately, as the target almost stopped swinging again by the time Dust was at the appropriate distance to shoot, which frustrated him quite a bit.
As he bumped the target again and walked back, he saw his mother coming toward him. He stopped and raised his hand in greeting. "Hello mother! Can I help you?"
The snow-white cat greeted him back and when she came a little closer she replied, "Hi, big guy. I just wanted to tell you that I put some provisions on your bed for tomorrow."
"Thanks. I would have made my own, though."
"Yeah right, and then you would have wondered why it was rotting after just one day," laughed his mother, who was now standing right in front of him.
Dust looked around for a moment and then said a little more quietly, "Is it just me, or is Father in a worse mood since I told you about the assignment."
His mother's smile faded a bit, most evident in her blue eyes as she replied, "He's just excited, too. Everyone always processes something like that a little differently, you know?"
"He probably would have liked it better if Smoke had been sent," Dust now said somewhat bitterly. He could almost see his father's condemning face in front of him. His father had always preferred Smoke until now.
Cloud, his mother, reached out and held him by the shoulders. "It's unusual for someone to get a job before their older siblings, and not everyone is so...open to new things. Don't hold it against him. He's not mad but just a little... confused. That will subside when you return successfully."
Dust hung his bow over his shoulder and raised his arms in a helpless gesture. "I hope so. Well, I shouldn't worry so much about it and concentrate on the mission," he said more confidently than he really was.
Cloud smiled wider again now, shook her son lightly and said cheerfully, "That's my big boy! All right, I won't bother you any more. Just make sure you get a good night's sleep tonight."
"Thank you Mother," Dust said, giving his mother a big hug.
When Cloud left, Dust tried his hand at the exercise for a while before deciding it wouldn't work and headed back to his room to put his bow away.
The target would have to move on its own. But it would need magic or something like that, it went through his mind as he unhitched the bow and packed it into a leather bag that he stowed under his bed. Then he looked up, stretched his back and sighed. He took off his top and said quietly to himself, "Or you could build something to move the disc without magic. But who knows about something like that?" He was just holding his top in his hands and winced when he heard Even's voice behind him.
"What do you want to build?" she asked, and when Dust turned around she stood leaning against the doorframe, looking him up and down.
Dust was visibly surprised and embarrassed that someone had heard his soliloquy. "Oh, nothing important. I was just trying to figure out how to move a target without bumping it myself," he said, somewhat sheepishly.
Even walked slowly toward him without taking her eyes off him. Stopping just before him, she turned to the nearest window, which pointed directly to the practice area. "I have to admit, I watched you practice earlier and I think you're already really good." She looked at Dust again, and her gaze wandered up and down little unobtrusively. "I hope I'm not interrupting," she said, a brief smile twitching across her face.
Dust realized all at once that he was still just holding his top in his hands and hastily pulled it over his head and said, "No all good. Thanks for the compliment, I want to get even better." He pushed past Even and went to his closet where he started to pull out some clothes. "I don't want to scare you away but I wanted to go down to the creek and take a dip.
"I can come with you if you need some company. You must be extremely tense about tomorrow," Even said in a tone Dust couldn't really place.
"Thanks but I need some time to myself to relax," he replied a bit confused by the offer and started walking towards the door.
Even sighed softly and said, "All right. If you do need me, you know where to find me."
"I'll see you then," Dust said goodbye, somewhat relieved to finally have his peace.
He walked to the eastern end of the village and about 100 meters from the ring of trees reached a small stream that divided into two runs in front of him and flowed into two small ponds a little further downstream. One pond is used by the Felinae of Home-Grove to wash their clothes and the other to bathe. There was no one else around at the moment, so Dust relieved himself of his clothes and got into the cool water. It was a pleasant change from the oppressively warm air of summer in the Jewel Forest.
Dust sat down on a stone slab that was placed in the pond so that one could bathe without standing in the mud of the pond. He closed his eyes and listened again to the sounds of the forest. After a while, he submerged his head briefly. When he resurfaced he opened his eyes and saw a black Felinae, whose body was covered with white spots, squatting at the edge of the pond.
"Well, may I come in with you? I could use a cooling down too," said the cat with a deep and friendly voice.
Dust smiled and nodded as he replied, "Of course Flare. The water is pleasantly cool."
Without waiting long, Flare slid into the pond across from Dust. He rolled his eyes back exaggeratedly and began to purr. "That's just what I need right now. As nice as summer is, everything is exhausting with this air."
Dust chuckled softly. "You're right about that. Well, hopefully the trip tomorrow won't be too tiring," he said.
Flare waved it off, flinging a few drops of water in Dust's direction. "Aw, shucks. We'll take enough water with us and then we'll be fine. And then in the evening we'll treat ourselves to some honey mead from the delivery two weeks ago," he replied, leaning back on the shore.
The two cats lay in the pond for a few more minutes until Dust climbed out of the water, dried himself off with a piece of a shirt he had outgrown, dressed, and then said to Flare, "Well, see you tomorrow!"
"See you tomorrow Dust. And don't oversleep!" replied Flare with a wink.
Dust brought his sweaty clothes inside, ate dinner, and then climbed back onto his platform and watched the sunset. He let his mind wander, thinking about tomorrow, his moving target idea, and Even's behavior, which was still strange to him.
Later, as he lay in bed, all he could think about was the upcoming trip, and the last thought he had before falling asleep was the question he had often asked himself over the past few days. What will await me?
