The Last One

The Last One

Anya dashed through the trees, her bushy tails, all five of them, wrapped tightly around her trim waist. Her breath came in ragged sobs. Her pointed ears swivelled constantly as the sound of pursuit. She was happy her dark brown fur and cinnamon markings helped her blend in with her surroundings as the forest grew darker. The humans pursuing her didn't seem put off by the unfamiliar trees or her natural camoflauge. There were too many of them for her to fully escape their notice. They called to each other when any glimpsed her.

"Come here little kitten!" a male voice called out from somewhere not too far behind her. "Don't make this any harder on yourself that it's gonna be."

Tears of despair stung Anya's green eyes even as her lungs burned for air. The sounds of pursuit were growing alarmingly close.

"Why?" she wailed, ducking under a tree branch. "I'm the last of my kind!"

She swerved away from the beeline she'd been making but still continued deeper into the woods. She'd never been this far into the forest before and thus, wasn't all that familiar with it. She could only hope she didn't brain herself on a low branch or be sent sprawling by an unseen tree root.

Cruel laughter sounded now. Anya,panicky, was alarmed by how it seemed to come from all around her. Fear lent her desperate run more energy so that she raced on, heedless of what she might run into. She only knew she had to get away.

"Come now little kitten," another male voice, further back than the first and off to her left, called out to her," the fact that you're the last one makes this all the much sweeter for us."

"You being female doesn't hurt none either," the first male voice said, and there was more laughter, crueller and more evil than before.

"Yeah," the second voice agreed, "there's that too."

Anya cried harder, unable to help herself. She couldn't understand the savagery of these humans. Her people had done nothing to them, had welcomed the first humans into their dens with open arms infact. In the end, the humans had raided their small villages, committed horrible atrocities on her people, before slaughtering every one they could find, right down to the youngest kits, helpless and blind. Those who fled were hunted down even as she was being hunted. The savage humans took tails and ears as trophies to their barbarity as well.

"I don't want to die," Anya sobbed softly, tears running down her shorn cheeks, a sign of great mourning among her people. "I don't want to die."

She was running on pure instinct now, ducking under and jumping over obstacles without thought. Blinded by the ever growing dark and her own tears, she no longer knew what was really all around her. She only hoped if she fell or ran into something, it killed her instantly instead of leaving her to the not so tender mercies of the humans.

Suddenly, a tiny light zoomed in front of her from out of nowhere. Anya gave a cry of fright, nearly braining herself on a low hanging branch. The humans called to each other energetically when they heard her, the dark making it just as hard for them to see her despite the torches they carried.

"Don't be afraid," a tiny musical voice said, coming from the light that stayed in front of Anya even as she kept running. "Follow me, I'll save you from those awful humans."

The light then darted away, and Anya, scared completely out of her wits, saw she had no other choice except to follow so, she did. They zigged and zagged around, the landscape becoming denser and rougher as they went. Anya nearly fell down into a shallow ravine the light led her right into, her strength flagging. She was happy to no longer be able to hear the sounds of the humans chasing her, but she felt like she'd been running forever. Her lungs worked for air as she continued to run, and her muscles felt like they were on fire.

Suddenly, she tripped over a root and went tumbling into a clearing. She sprawled on the grass gasping for air like a landed fish, unable to rise.

"Are we too late? Is it dieing?" a tiny voice full of concern said from somewhere above Anya's head.

Anya dully noted it didn't sound like the voice of her tiny guide, but she couldn't move to find out for certain. She lay, half curled, on her side her tails spread out behind her limply. Her breathing was labored, and her muscles twitched uncontrollably. The pads on her feet were flayed to the bone beneath the flesh. She kept her slitted green eyes closed, exhausted from her headlong fear driven flight to open them. She never felt so helpless as she did now. She only hoped whoever her captors were they wouldn't be long in killing her.

"She'll be fine," a warm gentle voice, like honey, said from somewhere off to the tired female's right. "She's been frightened for so very long, she needs to rest."

"She runs fast," the voice of Anya's guiding light said now, sounding very pleased. "We left the humans behind quickly. Quick enough to ensure safe passage here, Old One."

"That is good," the warm honeyed voice rumbled. "She can rest safely now."

This sounded like a good thing to Anya, and she gave in to the weariness tugging at her like an impatient kit wanting attention.

# # #

When Anya next awoke, she found herself on a bed of spongy moss, covered by a blanket woven from soft grasses. Stretching out on her back and yawning wide enough to show her pointed canines, she saw a leafy canopy of entwining branches bigger around that she was tall overhead. She stared at it for a moment blankly before memories of the most recent events came back to her in a blinding rush. She sat up with a cry of dismay, her tails wrapping around her as she wrapped her arms around her drawn up knees. She considered crying again, but a creaking sound caught her attention instead. She leapt to her feet, looking around wildly as fear made her veins run with ice. She didn't notice that her feet didn't hurt any more.

"Easy there young Catani, you are safe here, " the honeyed rumbling voice Anya had heard in the clearing now told her, its tone soothing. "Old One won't hurt you. None will harm you here."

Anya's eyes widened as one of the trees appeared to grow eyes right in front of her. It was tall and very thick around the middle. To her continued surprise, it pulled up its roots and moved aside to reveal a path through the trees surrounding her.

"What are you?" Anya blurted, looking around fearfully lest more trees sprout eyes and move.

"I'm a Forest Guardian," the tree said, its mouth a hole in its trunk. "I am called Old One by those of your kind."

"I've heard stories about you, but none of my village have seen you in a long, long time," she said. "I...I'm Anya."

Loneliness wrapped around her like a wet blanket as she remembered sitting with the other kits of her village in front of the Wise One's den. The silver furred female with her trinkets of bone and shell would tell them stories of the old times, using her paws to demonstrate grand events. Now, there were no kits to listen, even if there was a Wise One to tell them stories. They were all gone, she was the last one.

"There, there, Young One," Old One said, its voice filled with gentle understanding. "I remember your kind from long ago. It's why I'm helping you now."

"I'm the last of my kind, how can you help me?" the young female asked, a lump in her throat making her voice catch. "The humans have hunted us all down and destroyed us. They seek me now, and I fear they will find me."

"This is a grave injustice indeed," Old One said, "but there is hope yet. I can help you find others of your kind who still live."

Anya stepped up to the tree, paws clasped against her bosom even as her eyes shone with unshed tears and a bit of hope.

"How?" she asked. "There is none left but me. The humans said so."

Old One silently pointed a leafy branch at the path it had shown her. Anya glanced at it and then, at the tree before heading down the path. Wise One had always told her the Forest Guardians were pure of heart and helped those they found in need, as long as they didn't endanger the forest.

Anya stepped into a much larger clearing that she'd left. As she looked around, the air became full of tiny dancing lights. Tinkling laughter came from the lights as they all swirled around her and then, they flowed away again to dance around the ring of large standing stones in the middle of the clearing.

One light left the others to come dance in front of her. It was a beautiful shade of pink.

"I found you and saved you," it announced in the musical voice of Anya's guide.

The Catani smiled at it.

"I am truly grateful," she told it. "I may be the last of my kind, but I have no wish to die at the paws of the humans."

Anya slowly walked around the standing stones, they towered high above her head. It looked like some kind of ancient writing was carved deeply into each one of them, not leaving a single inch untouched. Filled with awe and a touch of fear, she turned to Old One when she completed the circle.

"How can I find those of my kind here?" she asked, her tone full of longing, and she waved at the clearing with a paw. "What is this place? What are these lights?"

"Those 'lights' as you call them, are the Intari, beings from the beginning of time," OId One said. "Ever young, they are far wiser and more powerful than any beings other than the gods themselves."

Anya turned to stare at the glowing Intari now surrounding the ring of stones in a circle of their own. They danced and sang as they moved around the stones, their multi-colored lights blinking and winking in the twilight gloom of the forest.

"They've always been just stories," she breathed.

"This place is an ancient place, a place of great magic," Old One saif now from its place amongst the trees behind her. "The Intari found me and brought me here. They told me I would be needed. Do you have a knife, Anya, last of the Catani?"

Anya's left paw dropped to the bone handled dagger tucked into the woven belt around her middle.

"Yes, I have one," she said, turning to look at the Forest Guardian in puzzlement.

He waved a branch at her.

"Good. You need to connect each stone to the ones across from them. Each line must connect perfectly with the others in the centre of the circle so, don't rush," he told her. "Simply draw the lines in the dirt, taking care not to smudge them."

Anya drew her dagger and eased between two of the stones, gazing up at them with some trepidation. They were easily three strides apart and sunk deep into the ground and yet, they made her very nervous looming over her as they did. Moving slowly and carefully, tails wrapped close around her waist just in case, she drew the lines, cutting deep into the firmly packed earth. She carefully stepped over and between the growing number of lines meeting in the middle. As each stone connected with its partner, Anya felt a tingle of energy flow through her until she lifted her dagger from the line.

The Intari's dancing and singing grew more intricate as she worked. They now flowed in a series of waves, loops and knots as they continued to rotate around the circle of stones. Their music was full of such joy it made Anya happy despite all her suffering and loss.

"What is this tingling, Old One?" Anya asked finally, slowly drawing the last line between the two remaining unconnected stones. "I've never felt anything like it before."

"That's the energy lieing in the ground beneath the stones, beneath the forest itself," Old One told her. "Two lines of great energy meet in the middle of the stones."

Anya touched the last stone with the end of her drawn line, and the energy she'd been feeling flared, invisible yet warm. Anya put up a paw, clawed fingers open, and she felt the energy flow past her fur like a soft breeze.

"Stand in the middle, where the lines connect," the Forest Guardian told the now bemused female. "Make sure your feet are together so you don't smudge more than you have to."

Anya slowly got to her feet, wiping the blade of her knife clean before sheathing it as she went to the middle of the circle. Mindful of the lines, she placed first one foot and then, the other, squarely in the center of the connecting lines. Her fur immediately fluffed up, and she could feel the circle's energy flowing through her as well as around her, as if she was in a warm bath. She'd become part of the lines and the stones.

"You're doing fine, Anya," Old One said to her, sounding further away than it had before.

Anya looked over at the tree creature and was relieved to see he hadn't moved.

"I sure hope so," she told him, looking down at her feet a moment. "What do I do now?"

"Do you have anything special with you? Something for each paw if possible?" Old One asked.

Unwrapping her tails from around her waist and draping them over her slender arms instead, she rummaged through the half dozen pouches and sacks hanging from a second woven belt tied around her waist. Her tails had kept them silent and in place during her flight.

She felt a pang in her heart as she pulled out a fluffy tail with a bloodied end. It was tawny with chocolate stripes. It had been one of her mother's nine magnificent tails, and the only one she'd been able to keep from the humans who'd murdered her. She pulled out a gorgeous eagle feather from another pouch. All gold except for the black on its tip, it had come from the one and only eagle Anya had ever killed. After felling the regal creature as a young kit, she'd been filled with such regret she'd never hunted another one. The feather was a testament to her commitment. Holding the tail in her right paw and the feather in her left, she looked at Old One for further guidance.

"These are my most special things," she said, her tone a mite defensive.

The Intari gave an enthusiastic musical cheer even as Old One chuckled softly.

"You're doing fine, Anya. Now, for the easy part," he said, waving a branch at her when she frowned at him. "Just spread your arms out wide on both sides, close your eyes and pray."

"Pray?" Anya echoed, looking confused. "What do you mean 'pray'? Pray for what and how?"

"Haven't you ever prayed to the gods before?" Old One asked.

Anya shook her head, ears drooping.

"Wise One took care of talking to them for the tribe," she said. "She knew them best."

"Just talk to them the way you talk to me and be sure to be respectful, " the Forest Guardian instructed her."Ask them for what you really want."

Anya looked at the Guardian dubiously, and it waved its branches at her encouragingly. The Intari began to hum a song. It sounded happy yet full of longing as well. Anya looked up at them, and they twinkled their bright lights at her. Sighing, she closed her eyes.

She envisioned The Goddess as the Wise One had always described her. She was a beautiful Catani wiuth the softest gold fur anyone had ever felt. Sleek and graceful with amber eyes and twelve magnificently fluffy tails, she watched over the tribes from her den in the sky. Next, she envisioned The God. He was the perfect male Catani with fur black as night and eyes as blue as the sky above. Muscular and swift, he , too, boasted twelve tails, the sign of ultimate perfection amongst her people. He kept watch over his people from his den in the depths of the earth below them.

Anya then put the pair in front of her, not too close to be rude but not too far away either. Eyes still closed and feeling nervous, she tried not to fidget and mess up the lines she was still standing on. Somehow, she knew those lines were very important to what she was trying to do.

"I've never done this before," she said aloud to the pair in her mind," so please, don't be mad at me." She waited a moment for something bad to happen to her and then, she went on with a bit more confidence. "My people, the entire race of Catani, have been wiped out by the humans. All except one. Me."

The Intari's humming rose a notch as she swallowed a lump in her throat, and she gave her special things a gentle squeeze as she imagined herself looking pleadingly up at the pair of immortals before her.

"Please, help me find others like me," she begged aloud, tears filling her still closed eyes. " I don't want to be alone, the last one."

Grief overcam her now, and she fell to her knees in the dirt, the tail and feathers clutched to her chest as she cried.

"Please," she sobbed over and over again. "I don't want to be alone."

After a moment, she felt a paw touch her hairless head. She'd kept her head and ears shaved as a sign of ritual mourning and respect for the dead.

"Don't cry, Kitling," a soft female voice said to her from somewhere above her head.

"You're not alone," a male voice added, also from somewhere above her head.

"Rise and meet your destiny," the female voice told Anya.

The paw left her, and Anya dared to lift her head. Something soft brushed one of her shoulders, and she grabbed at it instinctively. She stared at the mass of hair she'd grabbed, unsure of what she was seeing. An experimental tug told her it was her own hair. Bewildered, she felt her ears and found the hair had grown back on them as well.

She was still trying to figure things out when someone politely cleared their throat.

"What do I look like?" she demanded, thinking it was the Old One talking to her.

She wouldn't allow herself to believe the God and Goddess had actually spoken to her. She kept her hair in her face, feeling it.

"I think you look beautiful," a strange male voice said, closer than the other had been.

Anya yelped in surprise and backed up against a nearby stone pillar before she dared to look at the speaker.

Surrounded by a soft shimmering circle of light was a very handsome Catani male, and he was looking very concerned. The Intari still whirled around the outside of the stone circle, and they made a triumphant trilling sound now.

"I didn't mean to frighten you," the male said, his pale brown ears drooping.

Six tails flicked and curled behind him in response to his distress.

"Oh, you only surprised me," Anya assured him, taking a couple of steps closer to him, trying hard not to stare. "It's been hard lately."

The male tried to look behind her, frowning.

"Where are your people? Where's your Wise One?" he asked, frowning. "I was told to be here to meet my future mate, and we can't be mated without your Wise One."

Anya visibly drooped her eyes filling with tears, and her tails wrapped around her as she crossed her arms over her chest protectively. It had been so close.

"They're all gone," she managed to husk, throat burning as she tried not to cry in front of the handsome stranger. "They're all... dead. The humans...killed them."

She choked on the last, and the tears flowed. The male made a noise of dismay.

"Don't cry, please!" he begged her, his voice full of concern. "I'm called Bretik. I'm the clan leader's son. I'm sure if I asked, you could come live with us and, with great hope, we can be mated."

He held out one paw and smiled encouragingly at her. Anya stared at the paw when it emerged from the light. She'd not really thought of mating, the pain of so many deaths had numbed her to her future. Now, she had a chance, a real chance.

"It's your destiny, Kitling," Old One rumbled, and she shot the Forest Guardian a look of relief.

"Thank you so much for this, all of this," she said to him.

He bowed, smiling. Anya looked back at Bretik, her whole body seeming to tingle. Shyly, she gave him a smile and reached out a paw to take the one he offered her. He took her paw gently but firmly.

"I promise you," he said as he drew her to him through the shimmering light's edge, " you'll never be alone as long as you're with me.

The End

TOP

Previous Home