Lanorx sighed as she watched the herd of runners from the back of her own. She turned her head to each side, checking the positions of the other watchmen. She hated this duty, but understood it’s importance and so never complained when it was her turn to watch the runners. Krilkan, her sturdy mount, danced sideways and she steadied him with a twitch of the reins, scanning the trees behind them for a source of the runner’s disquiet. She saw nothing, but Krilkan kept dancing, turning in circles and trying to move towards the herd. There was definitely something upsetting the beast and she waved an arm in the air to alert the others to possible danger.
Lomir rode his own mount over to her and the two runners snorted at each other, each feeding off the fear of the other. Lanorx and Lomir were no beginning riders though and the beasts did nothing more than dance about, chomping on their bits and foaming lightly at the mouth. Lanorx said nothing to the young man, keeping her eyes on the trees. Lomir seemed troubled though and darted glances her way from time to time.
“What do you think it is?” he asked finally, his eyes leaving the trees for a fraction of a second only.
“Cats,” she replied simply, staring intently into the underbrush, searching for some indication of movement, for she knew from experience that none of the big cats attacked from a standstill. They would twitch and bunch up their muscles until they were like a slingshot being released in attack. “It could be nothing else.”
“Cats,” repeated Lomir, his voice shaking with fear as he gazed wide-eyed into the trees. “We should move the herd then, shouldn’t we?”
Lanorx nodded her head, still gazing intently into the underbrush. “But which way? They may very well have us surrounded. We should send a message to the nearest Weyr first.”
“True, the dragonriders would be glad of the sport and the chance to gather such valuable hides,” replied Lomir, turning to look at her. “Have you kept track of the herd’s position? Which Weyr’s jurisdiction are we under?”
Just then Polomin rode up, nodding curtly to each of them and following Lanorx’s gaze into the trees. “Well? You’ve the best instincts of any of us here, girl. What do you think?”
Lanorx didn’t look at him, but Lomir noted the disgust that passed across her face momentarily at his words. “A pride of the big cats, sir. It must be, nothing else would have our runners so worked up except dragons, and dragons would have been spotted in the sky before the runners could get so upset.”
“Aye, sounds like a fair assessment,” replied Polomin. “Well then, you and Lomir stay here and keep watch, the rest of us will work on moving the runners. Your mount reacted first so I’m to assume the cats are on this side only. Once the herd is safely out of sight follow yourselves, eh? We’ll be moving north.”
“Forgive me, sir, but I believe we should contact the closest Weyr before we move. We will need protection to move the herd safely, for the cats are smart enough to follow when the herd is moved, and it is not at all likely that Lomir and I will be able to detect them. Much less that we would be able to stop them.”
“I’ll hear your opinion when I ask it, girl. Count yourself lucky that I chose to leave even Lomir with you,” replied Polomin angrily, swinging his runner around and cantering to inform the other watchmen of his plan.
Lanorx turned a warning gaze to Lomir as he prepared to ride after the man and shook her head. Lomir seemed to struggle with himself for a moment but then sat back in his saddle with a sigh.
“Why do you let him treat you that way?” he demanded, still angry.
“Because I don’t want to lose my job. However good my instincts may be Polomin would have no scruples about firing me, if only because I’m a woman who has the gall to challenge his horrendously stupid ideas.” Lanorx sighed, shaking her head as she looked up at the trees again. “No, Lomir, it will do no good to argue with him. Besides, if you know how to get that dratted flit of yours to come to you here we can send a message to the Weyr ourselves.”
Lomir grinned then and nodded his head, furrowing his brow as he attempted to reach his fire lizard. Before long the blue had appeared over head, chirping loudly as he spiraled down to land on Lomir’s shoulder. Lomir seemed to glow with pride and patted the creature’s head affectionately. Lanorx just shook her head and handed him the note she had managed to scratch out while they were waiting. She winced as she read it over, barely able to read it herself, but it was the best she could do. Lomir tied it to the blue’s leg and told the flit where to go with it.
“Now we’ll just have to wait, I suppose,” said Lanorx, sighing as she saw the herd beginning to move to the north. “Let us hope the beasts do not choose to follow the herd.”
As these words left her lips she and Lomir turned their heads as shouts and a ferocious growl could be heard from the other side of the clearing. The terrified scream of a runner was cut short just as Lanorx’s mount began bucking in terror. The herd was quickly scattering, as the herdsmen were unable to control their own mounts enough to funnel the herd in a safe direction. Lomir shouted out and Lanorx turned just in time to see a huge cat leaping from the nearby trees straight at herself and Krilkan. She had little time to react but she released her hold on Krilkan’s reins, encouraging the beast to run for both their lives. The beast grunted as he shook his head and bunched his powerful hindquarters, ready to run. But before the runner took half a stride pain lanced through Lanorx’s side and she cried out as a heavy crashed into her and knocked her to the ground. She landed painfully on her side, her arm caught beneath her. She gasped at the pain, getting a vague image of hooves thundering past as blackness closed in and she slowly lost consciousness.
Lanorx woke. She vaguely remembered being attacked by cats and the pain in her side as one of them had knocked her from her horse. But now there was no pain and she shook her head to clear it of the muddled thoughts there. She remembered being attacked, but strangely she also remembered attacking. She shook her head again and groaned at the conflicting memories flashing behind her closed lids.
“Lanorx?” said a grief-stricken voice and she remotely recognized the voice as that of Lomir.
She opened her eyes to see the young man gazing down at her, his eyes red and swollen from crying. “Wha-?” she said, starting to ask what had happened but he shook his head and interrupted her.
“I’m so sorry, Lanorx. I didn’t know what else to do,” he said, horror in his voice and tears flowing down his cheeks. “I only did it to save you.”
“What did you do?” she asked but he shook his head and stood up, turning his head this way and that as if looking for an escape. Only then did she hear the sound of dragon wings and approaching hoof beats. While she was distracted by the noise Lomir took off running. Startled Lanorx sat up fast and watched the young man sprint away with unbelievable speed. “Lomir!”
But then there were hands pushing her back down to the ground, telling her not to worry, that she’d be alright. She shook her head and tried to fend them off, assuring them she was fine but they didn’t listen. Finally she closed her eyes in frustration, feeling anger well up within her and a slight dizziness overtake her. She heard a gasp just as she realized an inhuman growl had escaped her throat.
Her eyes fluttered open and she found herself on all fours with a ring of disbelieving, fearful faces staring at her. Something instinctual inside her screamed at her to flee and before she could think it through she leapt through the ring of people and dashed off in the direction Lomir had gone, determined to get away, but also determined to find out what Lomir had done. Only when she reached the trees did she notice anything strange with the way she ran, on all fours, like a cat. She stopped just within the safety of the trees and looked down, seeing furry cat paws where she should have hands.
Her anger left her then to be replaced by shock and the dizziness she’d felt before returned. When she managed to once again open her eyes she held up perfectly human hands and she curled up in a ball, tears leaking from her eyes as she tried to figure out what had happened. What had Lomir done?
Lanorx walked slowly through the trees, keeping just on the edge of the forest, deep enough not to be seen, but not so deep that she lost sight of the edge. She’d been walking for almost a full day, never stopping. Her eyes were dry and heavy and her limbs were sluggish in their movements but she dared not stop. This was big cat country and the last thing she wanted to do was fall asleep and wake up as one of the big cats’ meals. She’d seen no sign of Lomir, but she continued walking in the direction he’d gone, scanning the trees for any sign of his passing. Oddly her vision and hearing were much improved; she found herself able to see clearly for much farther distances and though she didn’t understand it she used it to her advantage.
Just then Lanorx heard the sound of a twig snapping up ahead. Something in her made her crouch down on all fours and she peered through the brush in the direction the sound had come from. She focussed in on a human form and her heart jumped as she realized it was Lomir. Stumbling along much as she had just been doing. Anger welled up inside her giving her renewed strength and as a wave of dizziness passed she sprang forward on all fours, only vaguely noticing her cat’s claws as she rushed through the underbrush toward Lomir.
He heard her coming; she’d made too much noise in her anger, but she was swift enough that as weak as he was he was still turning to see what the noise was when she tackled him. Her claws extended as she leaped at him and she growled menacingly. Realizing that her tackle would be lethal from that position she retracted her claws belatedly and closed her jaws so that she merely knocked him to the ground. Lanorx shuddered as she stood over him on all fours and a wave of dizziness accompanied the draining of her anger.
“Lanorx?” cried Lomir incredulously as she once again opened her eyes and found herself on all fours on top of him. Lomir’s eyes were wide in shock as he stared up at her. Lanorx shook her head to clear it and stood, dragging Lomir up by the collar as she did so.
“What did you do to me?” she demanded as she tried desperately to beat down the anger that welled up in her as she spoke those words. Lomir’s eyes filled with tears and he shook his head. She shook him, a cat-like growl rattling her throat as she did so and his eyes widened in shock and fear. “What did you do?”
“I’m so sorry, Lanorx,” he started as she loosed her hold on his shirt, no longer able to hold him up. He fell to his knees before her and bowed his head as he stammered. “It was the only way I could save you. You were bleeding so badly and I could tell that you would die before the dragonriders could get there. I only did it to save you. I’m so sorry!”
“What did you do?” Lanorx demanded again, another growl rattling her throat as she looked down on him.
“I merged you with the cat that tried to kill you,” he said quietly, so quietly that it took her a while to decipher what he’d said.
“You did what? How?” she asked, sinking down to sit in front of him shocked by what he’d said.
“I don’t know how, it’s a power that comes to me at times of need,” he said sniffling as he looked up at her. “I knew that you would die and the cat would live. But by merging you the cat’s destiny changed yours. It kept you alive, but it also leaves you with the cat’s memories, and apparently it’s temper as well.”
Lanorx’s mouth twisted in wry acceptance of that and she shook her head in disbelief.
“But the transformation, that was unexpected. I never thought you’d be able to transform into the cat.”
Lanorx snapped her head up to look at Lomir, but his gaze was settled ponderously on the ground before him. She frowned then, wondering if there was a way to control it and as she thought about it she could feel the anger, simmering there just below the surface of her consciousness. She reached for it and it engulfed her in dizzy anger so fast that she gasped and lost it. When she reopened her eyes Lomir was staring at her in concern. She looked down and saw human hands resting in her lap. She gritted her teeth and tried it again. This time she found the anger and rather than reaching for it she let it float slowly into her consciousness. She felt a moment of dizziness and opened her eyes to see Lomir staring at her with wide eyes.
Lanorx looked down and saw cat paws resting on the ground before her and she turned her head around to look down her sleek tan colored back to the long tail, its black tip twitching back and forth. She tried to smile but her cat muscles didn’t work that way and Lomir gasped as she bared her fangs at him. She quickly closed her lips over her teeth and stood, looking this way and that before darting off into the forest.
“Lanorx!” called Lomir as she dashed away but she paid him no heed, instinct was taking over and she sensed game nearby. Not big game, not like that runner she should have been able to devour, but at least food enough to nourish her.
She stopped, her lightly pointed ears twisting this way and that as she listened. She crouched down as she sensed the approach of a small animal, probably a rabbit. Making herself as invisible as possible in the underbrush she waited, her muscles bunching spasmodically as the rabbit hopped into view. It stopped, suddenly aware of danger and it’s long ears twisted about in an attempt to catch a warning. Lanorx leapt from her hiding spot, claws extended as she landed on her prey. The rabbit had enough warning to take two frightened bounds before she landed on him heavily and broke his back. A shriek escaped his throat as she fell on him but it was cut short as her claws ripped into him and he died.
Lanorx was about to rip the rabbit apart right then and there when her humanity came back to her. She lifted the limp body in her jaws and headed back the way she had come. She would share this kill with Lomir; after all, he was indirectly responsible for this catch.
Over the next few days Lanorx got better and better at shifting in and out of the cat form to the point where she could shift in motion. She took great delight in breaking into a run, shifting into cat form mid-stride and bounding up a tree. She would then leap from one tree to another until she finally dropped back to the ground, shifting as her feet hit the ground. When she did so Lomir would trail behind and she would have to wait until he came up running and gasping for air. The cat personality trapped within her had improved her speed and endurance and though Lomir was in good shape, he couldn’t compete with the cat.
In fact, it was getting to the point where Lanorx was having trouble competing with the cat. She had had a name for herself and Lanorx found herself thinking of herself as She-Na more often than Lanorx. The more the cat asserted herself the more time Lanorx found herself spending in cat form, to the point where Lomir was starting to worry about her. She shrugged it off when he confronted her about it though and he was forced to deal with it.
The two of them had been travelling the forest, steering clear of the herdsmen and their horses as much as possible. Lanorx didn’t want to have to explain anything and Lomir would rather no one know of his strange ability, so they kept to themselves for the most part.
“Lanorx!” called Lomir as he jogged up to her and dropped to the ground gasping and heaving from trying to keep up with her.
“What?” she asked, turning her head to look down at him in disgust. She was in human form but her eyes remained the orange-yellow of the cats and he winced as he realized he once again would be conversing with the cat and not his friend.
“Do you think we could take it a little slower? I mean it’s not like we’re going anywhere in particular.”
“You expect me to slow my pace for you?” she asked arrogantly, hardly focussing on him for more than a moment. “You just need to learn to keep up.”
“It’s not a matter of learning,” he growled angrily and was shocked as the cat was suddenly in front of him growling menacingly.
As fast as the cat form had appeared it vanished and Lanorx was squatting in front of him. She arched a brow at him, the cat still looking out of her eyes, and stood. “Come on, there’s a clearing up ahead that I want to reach before dark. There’s a stream not far from it so I should be able to catch some dinner.”
With that she jogged off and Lomir struggled to his feet and stumbled into a weary jog as he followed her.
That night Lanorx went off to hunt and Lomir remained in the small clearing, staring into the light of the fire. He concentrated hard and before long his little blue flit was circling above his head. The creature didn’t enjoy travelling with him, but it came when he focussed on it so he didn’t mind. The little blue landed on his shoulder and he gently scratched the flits eye ridges for a moment before he looked deep into the flit’s eyes and sent him a message. The blue chirped as if he understood and Lomir sent him off on his errand. He only hoped the little blue had understood.
She-Na padded back into the clearing carrying a rabbit in her jaws. She dropped it by the fire and moved into the shadows just outside the clearing where she proceeded to clean herself. She had killed three rabbits tonight, choosing to eat two of them before catching the third to bring back to the human. He was getting to be a nuisance, whining all the time. She considered leaving him behind but something in her refused that idea. She-Na tossed her big head once and laid it down on her paws to rest. She watched the human as he put the rabbit over the fire, her yellow-orange eyes glinting in the light. He glanced at her nervously from time to time and she licked her lips once, just to make him nervous.
“Lanorx, it’s almost ready, do you want some?” he asked after the rabbit had cooked for a time.
She-Na growled softly deep in her throat. She wished once again that her vocal cords could make the sounds the human form’s could. It would save her a lot of time and she wouldn’t have to shift into human form so often. But it pleased part of her to be in the human form and so sat up and shifted so she could reply. “I already ate.”
The human just nodded and took the rabbit from the flame, using his belt knife to carve off bits for himself. Once in human form She-Na remained so, that other part of her seemed more comfortable this way and didn’t struggle so much when she stayed in human form. She didn’t like not having fur she could clean when she got bored though. She sighed and lay down on the hard ground, finding it incredibly uncomfortable in this human form, but she didn’t dare sleep in the cat form. The other part of her wouldn’t sleep and last time she had done that she had woken to find herself in the human form and walking through the forest. She had been angry then and had refused to sleep for two days, forcing the other part of her to stay awake as well as punishment. She had had little trouble from her since then, but She-Na didn’t want to risk it.
In the morning she woke before the other part of her did and purred contentedly as she shifted abruptly. An abrupt shift always jarred the other part awake and She-Na enjoyed discomfiting that other part as much as she could. But she had a surprise waiting for her that startled her so much that the other part of her grabbed control and shifted back. There were two other humans sitting patiently in the clearing, talking in hushed tones with her companion. She-Na snarled and stood, but remained in her human form. It would not do for her to be unable to speak to these new humans.
“Ah, you’re awake,” said the female, standing up quickly and walking over. She-Na regarded her warily and did not respond. The female extended her hand forward and the other part of She-Na urged her to clasp and shake it. “I’m Danelle, rider of Green Moranth, and my friend there is B’wen, rider of Blue Tuzuth.”
Dragonriders then, she had known there was something distinctive about their style of clothing. Still she said nothing, merely watching them, wondering how on earth they managed to get here.
“And you are?” asked the woman, Danelle, politely, though She-Na knew the boy had already given her his name for her. She sneered and decided to give them her real name, no use going by a false one anymore.
“She-Na,” she said, flashing them a toothy smile. “I call myself She-Na.”
Danelle looked startled and she turned to face the boy for a moment, her gaze questioning. Even the boy, Lomir, looked startled, but not entirely surprised. The woman turned back to face her again and frowned. “I’m sorry, but what did you say your name was? Because Lomir here told us your name was-”
“My name is She-Na!” she interrupted fiercely and she cocked her head in surprise and confusion as the woman’s eyes suddenly went blank. She-Na didn’t know what that meant and so she was shocked and frightened as a voice suddenly spoke directly into her mind.
If you are She-Na then who is Lanorx? Said a decidedly feminine voice. She-Na screeched and tried to lift her hands to her head but the other part clawed her way to the surface as She-Na panicked.
“I am Lanorx!” she cried, gasping as she forced the cat personality back. “I am Lanorx!”
“Nice to meet you Lanorx,” said Danelle with an understanding smile. Lomir explained what happened to you and asked us to help. Are you okay now?”
“For now,” said Lanorx with a sigh; her breathing slowly going back to normal as She-Na stopped fighting. Lanorx could feel Moranth’s mental touch hovering in case the cat tried to rear up again. “She’s so strong!”
“I can tell. But I think Moranth scared her,” replied Danelle, turning to exchange a glance with B’wen. “I think we’d best take you back to Draco’s Inferno Weyr with us. There are enough dragons there that you shouldn’t have any problem. And if Moranth and Tuzuth are right you may even impress at our upcoming hatching.”
“What?” asked Lanorx, forgetting her problems momentarily as she stared in wide-eyed astonishment at the two dragonriders. “Me? A dragonrider?”
“What better way to fight off the cat than with your own dragon?” laughed B’wen as he walked up behind Danelle.
Lanorx could only nod her head in agreement as she found herself speechless. She felt the cat clawing at her internally then and she gasped, but Moranth was there. Perhaps we should have you stand for the gold; it will take a queen to help you keep this cat under control.
Lanorx just grinned as the cat subsided and shook her head in disbelief. Then she saw Lomir coming up behind B’wen and she sighed. “I’m so sorry Lomir. I’ve treated you horribly.”
“It’s okay, I know it wasn’t really you,” he said shyly and Lanorx heaved a sigh, nodding her head in weary agreement.
“Come on, the dragons are waiting,” said Danelle and the four of them headed through the forest to a larger clearing not far away where the green and blue dragon were waiting.
Not yet...
Duh! Not yet!
Obviously not yet! :o)
