A Prytian's Pride

I stood slowly.

The whiskers of it twitched in the sun as it circled the area. Large paws fell silently on the cluttered forest floor.

I put the paper back in my pocket with great care as I stepped backward in a opposite circular stance.

What do you remember about these things? Not much, really. We weren't supposed to encounter anything in groups.

You're not in a group now, focus. The tan fur blended in so well with the shaded areas, I wondered if it knew that or was just born capable of the masking and naturally did it.

Focus god damn it!

I stared at it as it stared back. What did they say to do when faced with a giant cat? Running would instigate a chase I had no hope of winning. Staring it down might delay the chase, but it would pounce soon, and I was beginning to shake with fear.

I needed to be threatening somehow, but my throat was tight, and I was almost frozen if not for my constantly moving feet. I reached for my bag, inside was the knife I took from Grysn. It was all I really had to defend myself.

The moment my hand went over my shoulder to reach for it, the cat lowered to the ground further, hissing at me.

"Hey, buddy," I said at a moderate level, dropping my hands to down to a defensive position. "I don't want to hurt you, so maybe you just don't hurt me, yeah?"

It stopped pacing, its four feet close together, as it's back half swayed back and forth.

I shook my head, moving straight back now. "Please don't."

It's eyes didn't seem angry, I found no malice in them. And at this point being food for some beautiful, wild beast would be more than I deserved. And yet I ran.

I barely heard its swift movements behind me as I used everything in me to propel myself forward. A swipe at my leg and I was screaming as I fell to the ground, a proper meal ready for consumption.

The heat in my leg increased to a burning that was hard to bear, but my throat remained in tact.

"What in Dylikna's grace are you doing?"

I looked up to the beast chewing down on the forearm of Grysn who was fighting to get it off. My mouth was open but I had no words as I watched him finally kick the large feline away from him. His torn shirt dripped with blood under his elbow as he pointed his dagger toward the threat.

That knife was way bigger than the one I'd taken from him. I wonder where he stored that one.

He flipped the knife in his hand as blood ran down his elbow. "I thought you said you'd gone through training to be out here!" His comment made less sense than his anger in this situation.

The cat's white cheeks drew up as it opened it's big toothy jaws in a loud, miserable shriek.

Grysn yelled at it back, then kicked a chunky pebble at the thing's head which it swiftly ducked under.

It gave another, quieter sound, but circled in place, unsure of attacking.

"Get up and start moving up the hill to your right."

I gave a nod he couldn't see, and with great help from my hands, managed to get to my feet. I stumbled up the hill, sliding down several times in the loose dirt. After several paces, I found myself at the top of the small embankment and turned to see Grysn following me, still staring down the wild animal, kicking debris at it as he went.

It paced back and forth, hesitantly staring back at him. Once Grysn was up the hill, it hopped away, glanced back, then ran into the shadows far ahead of us.

I collapsed to the ground, panting. My leg was on fire. Looking down, it was clear why. That thing had torn right through the soft layer of clothing and left several large gashes in my lower leg. Blood soaked into the material around the wound, clinging to it.

"What were you doing?" Grysn shouted as he came over to me.

I really didn't think he was going to follow me. I didn't take much of his stuff. Maybe they were just vengeful creatures by nature? Or maybe something I took had sentimental value to him. Or maybe he really did want to find out where we lived. Then again, if they wanted that, they would've let me go much closer to where they found us, not dragged me almost off the-

"Nal," he said. "Why did you stop?"

I shook my head, mouth hung open as I took in large breaths. "I don't know what you-"

"You stopped," he cut me off, pointing in the general direction I had come from. "You stopped moving and you sat down in the middle of cougar territory. What in the stars were you thinking?"

He was so angry, angrier than I'd seen him so far, and while it was upsetting, it was also frightening. I couldn't think of any reason that he'd be so angry, and thus no options to quell it. I shook my head again.

His mouth twisted into a sour expression before he let himself rest against the trunk of a thick tree in front of me. He closed his eyes.

A bird sang above us, high in the branches. Another's song joined it from several trees over.

I watched Grysn's shoulders rise and fall with his breathing. "Why did you follow me?"

He opened his eyes, staring up into the leaves and limbs above us. "I wanted to make sure you'd be able to get back where you belong safely."

I flinched at his wording. Getting back unharmed would probably only make things worse.

"You were making good enough time, and seemed to have a general direction to follow. I was about to head back, confident you could handle yourself." He let out an exasperated sigh. "Then you just sat down and started reading like you were out on a picnic."

I glared at my feet at his accusations of ineptitude. He was the last person I needed to hear criticisms from. I didn't need him to remind me of what a failure I was. And I didn't need him to watch over me like some demented guardian angel of death. "Why does it matter to you whether I get home safe?"

"I just..." He paused. "Tians were important to my mom, and I've always been fascinated by them. I just wanted to ensure you wouldn't get hurt. I don't like seeing anything suffer."

"You're a hunter, killing things is all you're good at."

His gaze immediately shifted to me, his forehead knit together as he tilted his head to the side. "I'm not that kind of hunter. I don't kill for sport. It's my occupation, nothing more."

He waited for a response, perhaps even an apology. But I remained silent, not breaking eye contact.

"I've never killed any of your kin," he finally said. "If I had known tians would be out that far, I would've taken us around Mount Tript instead of Buum. You haven't been seen this far out in decades. I-" He groaned, rubbing his temples with the hand connected to his uninjured arm.

I listened, enthralled by all the things he was saying, making very little sense of most of it.

He slid down the tree roughly, so that we were almost at the same eye level, both sitting on the bare ground. "Nal, are you returning to your kind or not? I need to know."

"Why?" I asked, quietly. He no longer seemed angry, but I was hesitant to bring him back to that emotion.

"I don't want you to go back," he said, his eyes drifting away from mine. "But I know that is your home. It is your normal, and it is not an easy thing to turn your back on." He grimaced. "Despite how bad normal may be."

I looked down at the tiny ants trailing to a small hill near the base of his tree. Home seemed like such a strange word to call it. But I didn't know it as anything else.

"If you decide to return, I will leave you to your devices. You should have enough in there to make it all the way. But if you don't want to return to that, if you trust me enough to take care of you to the best of my ability, I won't let you go again. So I need to know your decision."

The first night away from the town as we began our scouting mission had been nothing short of breathtaking. More than that, it had felt like the first full breath I'd ever been allowed to take. Despite how the others began to treat me once we were away from the rules and regulations given by the council, it still felt like I was finally alive. There were so many new things I discovered and witnessed.

And it seemed like every single one had gotten me reprimanded. And the last one, well...

Sitting here, in front of this beast I'd understood to be beneath me, talking almost like equals, with no binds, no weapons pointed at each other, no outside influences- it felt very similar to that first breath of fresh air away from the town.

"I don't want to go back." My words came slowly, but strangely clear and steady. "I'm terrified to go back. But I don't trust you."

He nodded, his face turned downward. "I understand."

This choice felt more significant than joining the scouts. Yet no one but us two would ever know about this conversation. If I chose one way or another, I could pretend as though this never happened. Pretend like the path I take was the only one I'd ever been given to walk down. Was that the reason I was so scared? That I was the only one who'd ever hold myself accountable for this betrayal to my people? Or maybe I just didn't want to feel so sure of the choice I wanted. It would feel better if I was more conflicted.

But I knew which one I'd prefer. And I knew it was the wrong choice.

"Trust isn't built in a day. So you may not trust me now, or maybe ever, but," he said, "would you like to try?"

_______________________________

Hanging onto Grysn's neck, my legs held up by his forearms, we trekked through the woods.

I didn't want him to carry me, but he was insistent.

"Nal," he'd said with the return of his patronizing tone. "I sent most of the group home on ahead, but I have people waiting for me and we won't make it back before sundown with you limping the whole way."

"You're bleeding, too," I said in my defense as I forced myself to take another step.

"I am built far tougher than you are, Naldi. And you need to begin listening to me now that your choice has been made."

And that was the end of that conversation.

He did seem to be in less pain than I was, for some reason. But he still grunted and huffed occasionally. I didn't like seeing someone in pain because of me. I did my best to not move around too much and keep most my weight off his wounded arm.

His soft hair brushed my cheeks as we moved. I couldn't believe how soft it was, and it took a lot of willpower to keep myself from burying my face in his thick locks. But surely I hadn't gone that mad.

The sun was high in the sky when I'd finally had enough of the silence. "I still have questions."

He sighed, but then chuckled softly. "I suppose you are entitled to a few more questions." He readjusted me on his back as the trees grew tighter together. "What's question one?"

Numbering it like that, made me wonder if there would be a better question to ask first. "Can you read?"

He stumbled, but regained his balance quickly as he stuttered out a response. "Well yes, of course. Can't you?"

I nodded, leaning my cheek against his head for some comfort. "The small words."

"So... that paper-"

"Do you know what it is?"

He nodded. Then shook his head. "I can read it, but I'm not a chemist. That method of writing formulaic structure is rather archaic, regardless."

It was worthless then. I gave away my whole team for trash.

"Why did you give it to me then?"

He didn't immediately respond, focusing on his footsteps. "It seemed important to you. I thought you would want to hold onto it." He sounded as though that statement was no longer true.

It felt fitting, though, to keep such a momento of my failures. It weighed heavy in my pocket, pulling my heart ever lower as we marched toward my new disapproving fate. Despite consciously deciding on this path, I couldn't feel anything but hatred for it. How sick were the stars that they'd solve my biggest fear by making me betray everything I knew. The papers folded into themselves carried more weight in their creases and indecipherable symbols than all the stones in the stream we passed. And I felt it dragging far behind me, urging me back to where I belonged.

I rested my head on his shoulder, hoping it didn't make him uncomfortable.

"What is your home like?" I whispered.

It was one of the first times I've ever asked questions and wasn't immediately reprimanded for it. I took it as a small comfort that he was so willing to answer them. And this time, he didn't ask any in return.

As we walked, he spoke often, leaving me to close my eyes and focus on his words. He told me of his 'small, but modest home,' as he put it. He told me of the new library being built to replace the old one that had apparently grown too small for the city. Many of the buildings, he said, were being upgraded or replaced. They were having a boom of growth, apparently. Many of his words weren't ones I completely understood, but I could get the gist of most of it.

It should have been difficult to keep myself from crying, hearing about their good fortune at the price of ours, but it was so much new, unexpected information, it rendered me blind to the jealous emotions it normally would've given me.

After telling me about his city, I asked him about other things. How long he'd had his horse- eight years, and they were very close now. How often he went hunting in the mountains- a couple times a month in the spring and summer, but it seemed to vary year to year. I asked him about their time keeping, and about his long knife, and about how they made their tents. And after I realized he would give me answers for things, even if he didn't have the fullest answer, I began to throw him simpler questions I'd never gotten closure on. Like why the sun went down earlier in the winter, and where the sky got its color from, and why the black, blobby mushrooms always seemed to grow on the north side of trees. The time seemed to fly by as I bombarded him with every conundrum I could think up.

And before I realized it, that weight I'd felt dragging me into the dirt, was almost unnoticeable.

"Do you know what's down the other side of the mountain?" I asked next, head high and a smile on my face.

He groaned as I accidentally nudged his dry blood covered arm. "Alright, I need a break." He helped me down off his back, and then bent over with his hands on his knees, breathing roughly. He didn't seem to be coddling his arm, that was good. "We're almost there. Will you be okay to walk the rest of the way?"

I looked down the path we were heading, not seeing any distinction from it and all the other directions, but I nodded.

He took a moment, scanning the ground before walking past me to pick up a fallen branch. He held it out to me expectantly.

I took it slowly. It was almost as tall as me, and slightly less thick than my arm. It seemed like a poor walking stick, twisting harshly out of a straight line in three places, but I could still make use of it.

We both drank from the half empty waterskin before starting again.

I followed closely behind him as he weaved his way swiftly between branches. Only a few steps later, I started again. "Do all grayskins track things really well?"

"Nal, you need to stop calling us that," he said. "The Guardianship won't respond well to it. It's bound to make someone angry."

"What else would I call you?"

He looked back at me, checking my expression for any signs of playfulness. There were none. "Drygsons, if you need to address us that way, though you shouldn't need to. We will need to work on your etiquette. "

I repeated his word in my head, trying to commit it to memory. "But do the other grayski-"

He shook his head in front of me with a loud sigh.

"Do you all know how to track things?"

"No. I've been hunting and tracking and trapping since I was young. My father taught me well."

I nodded. "I was surprised you found me."

I jumped back as he burst out laughing. Not sure what happened, I waited, looking around to see if something funny had mysteriously taken place. When he straightened, his body still shook, as though he was forcing himself to quiet. He turned to me, then laughed again turning back and continuing forward.

"What?" I demanded.

He wiped his face as his laughter slowly died. "I just- you made such an obvious trail. Even with the hour or two of sleep, I managed to catch up with you not long after sunup. "

I frowned. "You were there that whole time?"

He nodded, taking deep breaths to recover from his episode. "It seemed you turned yourself around in the dark for a while."

"Why weren't you asleep longer?" I recalled my plan and tried to figure out what I should've fixed. Every step had worked out exactly as I had wanted. He shouldn't have been up in time to track me down even if I did leave a trail.

"Oh, Nal," he said. "You were adorable. I loved that you attempted to seduce me. Even when you got angry. You really believed I hadn't planned on you running off."

I glared lazily at his feet as I used the branch to support my weight as I walked. My face felt hot and I was glad he wasn't turning around, despite my silence. I could have chosen much worse captors, I suppose. Still, did he have to rub in my failures like that?

"You were playing me?"

He finally did turn to look at me, a big smile on his face that dipped when he saw my glum expression. "No, not at all. I figured you wouldn't want that again. I thought you would just go to bed when I suggested it and run off once I was asleep." His smile softened as he looked ahead, remembering last night with warmth I found quite distasteful. "But you were so insistent. And I knew you would be leaving, so I figured I could enjoy you while you were still with me. Especially when you made that face when I said no." He sighed, contentedly.

I was blushing harder now, wishing he'd stop reminding me. Seduction didn't come naturally to me like it did some. I didn't want it to, under most circumstances.

A familiar curved rock formation wrapped inside of a large fir tree's twisted trunk caught my eye in the distance. We'd be back at his camp rather soon then.

"I'm your pet now?"

He didn't immediately answer, but nodded after a brief thought. "Yes."

My dark reality began to creep back in on me. "Will you make me act like an animal?"

"What?" He stopped momentarily to stare at me with his brows raised and close. "No, of course not." He kept walking at a much slower pace, keeping me next to him now. "You will need to behave a certain way, though. I will keep you safe to the best of my ability, but I can't go against the will of the Guardianship."

"Oh, okay." I knew I'd have to adjust to their way of living, that wasn't surprising. I wasn't excited about it, but it was the obvious next step with the path I'd chosen. "Behave how?"

He considered for a moment. "Speaking openly with anyone should be avoided, unless you and I are alone. You should address me as Master, others will be fine with the typical 'sirs' and 'ma'ams'." I made a face at his use of 'typical' there, but didn't interrupt. "I will likely prevent you from being around many people. There are few reasons you'd need to interact with anyone." He continued on about eye contact and table manners and mumbling.

I took a deep breath, trying to stay positive as I listened. This was what I chose, and I'd deal with it. I could survive with this beast. And if it ended up not being better than home...

Well, at the very least, there was always one sure fire way out. Nothing he'd said so far made it sound like it would be that bad, though. Nowhere near that bad, in fact. The way he spoke of his home, he genuinely loved it. Which was far more than I could say for mine.

"I'll have you ride the rest of the way in the cart. It's small, but it will be easier for you with your leg injured the way it is." We rounded a tree to find ourselves in front of the same tents that had been set up last night, minus a little more than half. "I'll leave you untied, also. Now that the troublemakers are gone, it should be fine." He glanced at me. "Just promise not to attack anyone."