Chapter 3
The human village that K’var liked to frequent was on the far southern edge of the jungle, a good hour’s journey away from the village. It was much bigger than the tiny village near his home, because it was near a major trade road. It was always busy and bustling with people, and K’var looked forward to time spent there because humans were so very interesting. Each one was different and unique. He paused at the edge of the jungle, taking off the pack he was wearing on his back. Inside was a set of clothes that he’d ‘borrowed’ from his cousin Traggen, as they were pretty much the same size. He pulled these on, awkwardly jamming his feet into the boots.
Once he was dressed, K’var rummaged out a belt with a sheathed sword attached to it. He put this on as well, buckling it at his waist. He never went into the human lands without a weapon on him. As a last measure, he tied a length of cloth over his forehead that would shadow his eyes a bit. This would help less people to notice that his eyes were a peculiar amber color. Satisfied with his preparations, K’var strolled out of the jungle and headed for the large village as though he didn’t have a care in the world. He’d blend in with the inhabitants and the many travelers passing through it, and no one would be the wiser about the fact that he wasn’t totally human.
Behind him, the big leopard watched as K’var walked toward the buzzing hive of human activity, and growled low in his throat. This was just what he’d expected! That ridiculous cub WAS putting the tribe in danger! If any of those humans ever discovered K’var’s true nature, then who knew how long it would be before armed humans ventured into the jungle looking for their village? Anger gleamed in the cat’s golden eyes as he crouched among the bushes at the edge of the jungle.
K’var walked through the village, happily greeting people that he knew. many returned his smile and greeting, for K’var was a familiar face around here. Most of the humans who actually lived in the village thought that K’var was a semi-regular traveler who came off the trade road, not out of the jungle. He stopped at a stand that sold roasted bird meat seasoned with a special blend of secret spices that always made his taste buds tingle. He took the wooden skewer from the man, and smiled at him in delight. The merchant grinned back at him and nodded.
K’var walked away, nibbling his treat delicately. He loved coming here. It was a rare treat for him. He always felt that he was getting away with something, since no one knew that he came here. Not even his fathers. He stifled a giggle at the thought of the expression on R’shan’s face if the hunter ever realized that K’var was visiting a human village semi-regularly. His mouth would prune up like he’d been sucking lemons…
He stopped to observe a puppet show being watched by a group of laughing children. Still being something of a child himself, K’var enjoyed the show immensely. There was even a cat puppet, though it wasn’t a leopard. When it was over, he clapped like everybody else and wandered on. He usually spent at least several hours in the village each time he came here, as there were many fascinating things to see and do here at any given time.
Suddenly he heard a loud commotion from somewhere nearby. There was lots of talking and shouting coming from a village square. Curious, K’var began to move toward it. What was going on? There was a large crowd gathered around a clear space, and he had to push and use his deft grace to get to the forefront of the crowd. He saw a dozen large, armed men gathered around an iron cage, talking and gesticulating. When he saw what was in the cage, K’var’s heart sank into his borrowed boots. It was a very large leopard, crouched and snarling furiously at its captors. Blood dotted the spotted coat in places. Oh, by the Spirits!
“Look at what we caught prowling around the village!” one of the armed men roared to the watching crowd. “He’s a big one, isn’t he! He’ll fetch a nice price when the animal merchants come around next week!”
There was much cheering from the surrounding humans, but K’var could only stand there aghast. His worst nightmare had come true! A wereleopard was stuck in an iron cage, unable to Change, because he’d been captured by humans! Worse, there was only one reason that one of his folk would have been prowling around this human village in broad daylight. Him. One of his people had discovered his secret, and was now paying the price for that. He had to do something!
But he couldn’t do anything right now. Not surrounded as they were by all of these humans. He was good with a sword, but not good enough to overcome all of these armed humans. He’d have to wait until nightfall to affect a rescue - if he could. If not, he’d have to go back to the village and confess what had happened, and his people would have to come en masse to rescue their fellow tribesman. And who knew how many would be hurt and/or killed if that happened?
K’var slid away back into the crowd. He had a few purchases to make before night fell and he made his move. He could only pray that what he was going to do worked.
R’shan bared his teeth at the laughing humans surrounding his cage, snarling as one of them poked him between the bars with a stick. “You’re a big one, aren’t you?” the man jeered. “The animal merchants will be salivating over you soon. We’ll make a large sack of gold from your spotted hide.” he went on in satisfaction.
The wereleopard didn’t know what he was saying, but he could get the gist of it. His muscles tensed, and he wished that he were free of the cage. He’d tear this human’s throat out! But he couldn’t do anything, because the metal that these bars were made of was weakening him and preventing him from Changing. Not that there would be any point of that with so many humans around…but his raging terror at his inability to assume his humanoid form was still nearly overwhelming.
The stench of the humans was thick in his nostrils, as were a mélange of awful smells like feces, garbage, and rotted meat. R’shan’s sensitive nose was tormented by this terrible amalgamation. Their loud voices hurt his ears too, and he lay them flat against his head as he crouched. His wounds throbbed sullenly, and he wanted nothing more than to scream a wild cat’s screech of fury and despair. He flinched away from another sharp poke in his side, growling like a demon at the human with the stick. If only he could get free, he’d make all of them sorry that they’d ever been born…
K’var crouched near a wooden box and used his night-sight to scan the square. There was only one bored guard anywhere near the cage, however; after all, no human was going to let a dangerous leopard loose. K’var took a deep breath and began to creep closer to the cage, in total silence. His eyes were fastened on the guard to make sure that the man wasn’t looking at the cage. Fortunately, his gaze seemed fixed on a raucous celebration taking place a few streets away, where his fellow guards were drinking themselves silly over their acquiring a pot of gold in leopard form. Clearly he wanted to be there as well, and wasn’t bothering to look at the leopard sprawled in the iron cage.
K’var slid up to the bars, hearing a low growl from within. “Hush,” he whispered. “It’s K’var. Don’t draw attention to us, or I might end up in there with you.”
The leopard fell silent, waiting tensely as K’var crouched down by the door of the cage and rummaged out the tools he’d bought earlier at a blacksmith’s shop. He didn’t bother to try to pick the lock; he had no skill with them. Instead, he used pliers, a hammer, and a chisel to go to work on the chain holding the lock in place. He was deceptively strong, and the chain was badly made. A link soon parted under his careful jimmying. He nearly held his breath as it finally broke, and caught it up in his hand to muffle any sound it might make and alert the guard.
He carefully pulled the lock away and slid the chain out of the hole. Setting it on the ground, he lifted the latch and began to swing the door open. A creak made him freeze, and he craned his neck to look at the guard. But to his shuddering relief, a loud bout of cheering had broken out, and had muffled the sound of the door creaking. K’var blew his breath out in silent relief, then went back to easing the door open. Finally the gap was large enough for the leopard’s body to get through. He glided through it. "Run to the jungle,” K’var hissed. “I’ll join you there in a moment.”
The leopard growled in soft agreement, then ghosted away into the darkness. K’var crouched by the cage until he was gone, then crawled away back to the crate and the alley beside it. He took off his clothes and stuffed them into the backpack, followed by his sword. Then he Changed, assuming his leopard form. He picked the backpack up in his mouth and ran off into the night, heading for the jungle like a streak of shadow.
Once among the trees, K’var stopped and sniffed at the air. The mingled odors of leopard and blood led him to a large tree where the formerly-captive leopard was crouched. He slowed down as his nose(now that it was clear of all of the mingled odors of the village) identified the leopard. Oh, Spirits! It was R’shan! A furious R’shan, who was glaring at him out of molten gold orbs. K’var cringed. Why was this always happening to him? Whatever punishment that R’shan meted out to him was sure to be a horrible one. With his head low and apprehension in his amber eyes, the young wereleopard slunk forward toward his doom.
R’shan growled lowly at the cowering leopard crouched in front of him. Then he turned and limped away deeper into the jungle, silently telling K’var that they needed to get farther away from the human village before they had their confrontation. He followed miserably, his tail practically down between his legs. He was not looking forward to the inevitable conversation that was going to take place when R’shan was able to Change into his humanoid form. It was sure to make all of the ones that had happened between them before seem like friendly chats in comparison. And worse, he felt horribly responsible for what had happened to R’shan, despite the fact that it was the hunter’s fault for following him to the human village in the first place. If he were badly hurt…K’var nearly whimpered at this thought. He slunk along after R’shan, feeling small and scared and awful.
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The human village that K’var liked to frequent was on the far southern edge of the jungle, a good hour’s journey away from the village. It was much bigger than the tiny village near his home, because it was near a major trade road. It was always busy and bustling with people, and K’var looked forward to time spent there because humans were so very interesting. Each one was different and unique. He paused at the edge of the jungle, taking off the pack he was wearing on his back. Inside was a set of clothes that he’d ‘borrowed’ from his cousin Traggen, as they were pretty much the same size. He pulled these on, awkwardly jamming his feet into the boots.
Once he was dressed, K’var rummaged out a belt with a sheathed sword attached to it. He put this on as well, buckling it at his waist. He never went into the human lands without a weapon on him. As a last measure, he tied a length of cloth over his forehead that would shadow his eyes a bit. This would help less people to notice that his eyes were a peculiar amber color. Satisfied with his preparations, K’var strolled out of the jungle and headed for the large village as though he didn’t have a care in the world. He’d blend in with the inhabitants and the many travelers passing through it, and no one would be the wiser about the fact that he wasn’t totally human.
Behind him, the big leopard watched as K’var walked toward the buzzing hive of human activity, and growled low in his throat. This was just what he’d expected! That ridiculous cub WAS putting the tribe in danger! If any of those humans ever discovered K’var’s true nature, then who knew how long it would be before armed humans ventured into the jungle looking for their village? Anger gleamed in the cat’s golden eyes as he crouched among the bushes at the edge of the jungle.
K’var walked through the village, happily greeting people that he knew. many returned his smile and greeting, for K’var was a familiar face around here. Most of the humans who actually lived in the village thought that K’var was a semi-regular traveler who came off the trade road, not out of the jungle. He stopped at a stand that sold roasted bird meat seasoned with a special blend of secret spices that always made his taste buds tingle. He took the wooden skewer from the man, and smiled at him in delight. The merchant grinned back at him and nodded.
K’var walked away, nibbling his treat delicately. He loved coming here. It was a rare treat for him. He always felt that he was getting away with something, since no one knew that he came here. Not even his fathers. He stifled a giggle at the thought of the expression on R’shan’s face if the hunter ever realized that K’var was visiting a human village semi-regularly. His mouth would prune up like he’d been sucking lemons…
He stopped to observe a puppet show being watched by a group of laughing children. Still being something of a child himself, K’var enjoyed the show immensely. There was even a cat puppet, though it wasn’t a leopard. When it was over, he clapped like everybody else and wandered on. He usually spent at least several hours in the village each time he came here, as there were many fascinating things to see and do here at any given time.
Suddenly he heard a loud commotion from somewhere nearby. There was lots of talking and shouting coming from a village square. Curious, K’var began to move toward it. What was going on? There was a large crowd gathered around a clear space, and he had to push and use his deft grace to get to the forefront of the crowd. He saw a dozen large, armed men gathered around an iron cage, talking and gesticulating. When he saw what was in the cage, K’var’s heart sank into his borrowed boots. It was a very large leopard, crouched and snarling furiously at its captors. Blood dotted the spotted coat in places. Oh, by the Spirits!
“Look at what we caught prowling around the village!” one of the armed men roared to the watching crowd. “He’s a big one, isn’t he! He’ll fetch a nice price when the animal merchants come around next week!”
There was much cheering from the surrounding humans, but K’var could only stand there aghast. His worst nightmare had come true! A wereleopard was stuck in an iron cage, unable to Change, because he’d been captured by humans! Worse, there was only one reason that one of his folk would have been prowling around this human village in broad daylight. Him. One of his people had discovered his secret, and was now paying the price for that. He had to do something!
But he couldn’t do anything right now. Not surrounded as they were by all of these humans. He was good with a sword, but not good enough to overcome all of these armed humans. He’d have to wait until nightfall to affect a rescue - if he could. If not, he’d have to go back to the village and confess what had happened, and his people would have to come en masse to rescue their fellow tribesman. And who knew how many would be hurt and/or killed if that happened?
K’var slid away back into the crowd. He had a few purchases to make before night fell and he made his move. He could only pray that what he was going to do worked.
R’shan bared his teeth at the laughing humans surrounding his cage, snarling as one of them poked him between the bars with a stick. “You’re a big one, aren’t you?” the man jeered. “The animal merchants will be salivating over you soon. We’ll make a large sack of gold from your spotted hide.” he went on in satisfaction.
The wereleopard didn’t know what he was saying, but he could get the gist of it. His muscles tensed, and he wished that he were free of the cage. He’d tear this human’s throat out! But he couldn’t do anything, because the metal that these bars were made of was weakening him and preventing him from Changing. Not that there would be any point of that with so many humans around…but his raging terror at his inability to assume his humanoid form was still nearly overwhelming.
The stench of the humans was thick in his nostrils, as were a mélange of awful smells like feces, garbage, and rotted meat. R’shan’s sensitive nose was tormented by this terrible amalgamation. Their loud voices hurt his ears too, and he lay them flat against his head as he crouched. His wounds throbbed sullenly, and he wanted nothing more than to scream a wild cat’s screech of fury and despair. He flinched away from another sharp poke in his side, growling like a demon at the human with the stick. If only he could get free, he’d make all of them sorry that they’d ever been born…
K’var crouched near a wooden box and used his night-sight to scan the square. There was only one bored guard anywhere near the cage, however; after all, no human was going to let a dangerous leopard loose. K’var took a deep breath and began to creep closer to the cage, in total silence. His eyes were fastened on the guard to make sure that the man wasn’t looking at the cage. Fortunately, his gaze seemed fixed on a raucous celebration taking place a few streets away, where his fellow guards were drinking themselves silly over their acquiring a pot of gold in leopard form. Clearly he wanted to be there as well, and wasn’t bothering to look at the leopard sprawled in the iron cage.
K’var slid up to the bars, hearing a low growl from within. “Hush,” he whispered. “It’s K’var. Don’t draw attention to us, or I might end up in there with you.”
The leopard fell silent, waiting tensely as K’var crouched down by the door of the cage and rummaged out the tools he’d bought earlier at a blacksmith’s shop. He didn’t bother to try to pick the lock; he had no skill with them. Instead, he used pliers, a hammer, and a chisel to go to work on the chain holding the lock in place. He was deceptively strong, and the chain was badly made. A link soon parted under his careful jimmying. He nearly held his breath as it finally broke, and caught it up in his hand to muffle any sound it might make and alert the guard.
He carefully pulled the lock away and slid the chain out of the hole. Setting it on the ground, he lifted the latch and began to swing the door open. A creak made him freeze, and he craned his neck to look at the guard. But to his shuddering relief, a loud bout of cheering had broken out, and had muffled the sound of the door creaking. K’var blew his breath out in silent relief, then went back to easing the door open. Finally the gap was large enough for the leopard’s body to get through. He glided through it. "Run to the jungle,” K’var hissed. “I’ll join you there in a moment.”
The leopard growled in soft agreement, then ghosted away into the darkness. K’var crouched by the cage until he was gone, then crawled away back to the crate and the alley beside it. He took off his clothes and stuffed them into the backpack, followed by his sword. Then he Changed, assuming his leopard form. He picked the backpack up in his mouth and ran off into the night, heading for the jungle like a streak of shadow.
Once among the trees, K’var stopped and sniffed at the air. The mingled odors of leopard and blood led him to a large tree where the formerly-captive leopard was crouched. He slowed down as his nose(now that it was clear of all of the mingled odors of the village) identified the leopard. Oh, Spirits! It was R’shan! A furious R’shan, who was glaring at him out of molten gold orbs. K’var cringed. Why was this always happening to him? Whatever punishment that R’shan meted out to him was sure to be a horrible one. With his head low and apprehension in his amber eyes, the young wereleopard slunk forward toward his doom.
R’shan growled lowly at the cowering leopard crouched in front of him. Then he turned and limped away deeper into the jungle, silently telling K’var that they needed to get farther away from the human village before they had their confrontation. He followed miserably, his tail practically down between his legs. He was not looking forward to the inevitable conversation that was going to take place when R’shan was able to Change into his humanoid form. It was sure to make all of the ones that had happened between them before seem like friendly chats in comparison. And worse, he felt horribly responsible for what had happened to R’shan, despite the fact that it was the hunter’s fault for following him to the human village in the first place. If he were badly hurt…K’var nearly whimpered at this thought. He slunk along after R’shan, feeling small and scared and awful.
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