| The hot Southern sun shone down as a warm breeze rippled
through the leaves of the forest. The swaying leaves cast shadows on the forest
floor, hiding all sorts of creatures from the bright light. The air was hot and
muggy, typical in the summer, on the Southern continent.
A flock of wild
wherries began to break up into smaller groups as they searched through the
forest for seeds and berries, or whatever else the large birds could find to
feast on. A young male wandered off by himself, straying far from the rest of
the flock. He was oblivious to the dangers hiding in the shadows of the trees,
covered by the wide leaves of large fernlike plants.
A pair of gold-green
eyes watched the wherry from the shadowy undergrowth. The rest of the beast
could not be seen, hidden as it was. Its cold eyes watched the wherry warily,
not yet ready to break its cover.
The wherry was oblivious to this spectator,
and simply continued to wander off, in search of more food. Unwittingly, it was
also wandering closer to the hunter in the shadows. The creature watched it,
until it was only mere feet from it. Perfect lunging distance.
The wherry
squawked in alarm as a large golden beast leapt out from its cover, rushing to
the frightened wherry. The beast's gold coat was covered with dark brown spots,
set in a rosette-like pattern over its body, and smaller specks and flecks of
brown lay in the larger rosette shapes.
The large, spotted feline snarled as
it lunged at the startled wherry, which fled in fright. But the feline was too
fast, and its sharp claws sunk into the wherry's flesh as the feline dragged
down its prey. The hunter's strong jaws snapped around the wherry's head, and it
was dead.
The feline purred contentedly as it dug into its meal. When it had
had it's fill, it left the carcass for the scavengers to find, and walked off to
clean itself off before it went home. It wouldn't do to go back to the Hold
covered in blood.
Ryathale was a small Hold far from any Weyr on the
Southern Continent. Fortunately, the area was heavily grubbed and protected
against Thread, and the people there lived in considerable peace and safety.
Their only real problems were the many wild felines roaming about outside
the Hold. Though the Holders drove them back into the forest, they often killed
tame herdbeasts and runners, and occasionally threatened human lives, if someone
was to stumble into the midst of a pride of wild felines.
Cerathu brushed his
dark blonde hair out of his eyes, and the black-tipped bangs fell right back to
where they were, covering his face. He rolled his gold-green eyes and began to
walk back to the Hold. It was almost time for dinner, and he was expected back
at the Hold. Blinking his eyes as he stepped out of the trees' shade, he came
upon the small Hold which he called home. He stared in surprise as a younger
girl, about fifteen turns old, waved to him as her long, chestnut brown hair
swayed in the wind.
Cerathu grinned as he raced up to his younger foster
sister. "Serein, what are you doing here? It's almost dinner time, shouldn't you
be in the dining hall?"
Serein laughed. "That's exactly why I'm here, silly!
I was looking for you!"
Cerathu just grinned and shrugged. "I'll pass, I'm
not really hungry."
Serein just frowned. "Alright then..." She paused,
staring at him for a moment. "Hey, Cerathu? Did you cut yourself? There's blood
on your lip."
Startled, Cerathu licked his lips, and tasted coppery blood.
Wherry's blood. He hastily wiped it off, hoping Serein hadn't noticed anything
strange. He shrugged, and grinned halfheartedly.
Serein stared at him in
confusion, but turned and walked away in silence. Cerathu sighed in relief,
gazing after her guiltily.
With a glance back at the forest, he walked into
the hold. He should at least show up at dinner.
Cerathu sat, idly playing
with his food in boredom. "Cerathu, won't you eat?" His foster father asked him.
Cerathu just smiled and shook his head. "I'm not really hungry."
The Lord
Holder glanced at his son worriedly and said no more. "Shaffing felines attacked
again." He said after a pause. "Took one of the best runnerbeasts, and gave one
of the handlers a long scar on his arm."
Cerathu looked down. "You can't
blame them. After all, they were here before us, and they still consider it
their territory."
His father scoffed. "You shouldn't show such compassion,
Cerathu. Especially if you are going to take over the Hold someday. They're
monsters, nothing but dangers and nuisances."
Cerathu felt his ears grow hot,
and struggled to control his temper. He didn't answer, and stood up to leave.
"I'm not hungry. I'll be up in my room." He said as he
left. |
A
sevenday later...
| Cerathu's
gold-green eyes gazed up at the clear blue sky. It was cool and pleasant, with
hardly a cloud in the sky and the barest cool breeze.
He walked through the
forest, careful to make sure nobody was following him. When he was several
dragonlengths away from the Hold, he looked around to make sure no one was
around, and changed.
Golden fur, marked with dark brown rosette patterns,
rippled across his skin as his ears grew pointed. He fell forward onto his
arms-his front legs, now- and his tail twitched behind him. The large feline
loped off deeper into the forest, and didn't notice the soft, startled gasp of a
human.
The feline's slitted eyes stared down at the chestnut-haired girl
as she wandered through the forest below him. He lay, concealed from view, in
the lower limbs of a giant tree, staring down at the girl.
Cerathu growled to
himself. What was Serein doing out here? He hurriedly transformed back into a
human. Scrambling down the tree-very noisily, to his distaste-he emerged behind
Serein.
Serein gasped, startled. She turned and relaxed when she saw Cerathu
standing there. "Oh, Cerathu. There you are."
"What are you doing out here?"
Cerathu asked her.
"Looking for you. Father wants you back at the Hold. I was
searching for you, but I didn't think you'd wander so far from the
Hold.
Cerathu shrugged. "C'mon then, let's-" He looked around, eyes
narrowed.
"Cerathu? What is it?"
"I don't know, but...I don't think we're
alone."
Serein stared at him in confusion, until a pair of amber eyes began
to stare at them from the shadows.
A large, jet-black feline crept out from
the underbrush, staring at them hungrily. Cerathu paled, how could he have not
noticed it earlier?
Serein gasped from beside him as the feline approached.
Frightened, she set off running back to the Hold.
"Wait! Serein!" But the
feline was already chasing after the girl. Cursing, Cerathu quickly changed into
a feline again, chasing after the black feline and his sister.
Serein turned
as she heard wild snarls and growls behind her. Another feline, this one golden
with dark brown spots across its body, leapt on top of the snarling black
feline.
She gasped, looking around for her brother. Where was Cerathu?
The
two felines were furiously fighting now. The black snarled again as the gold
feline's strong jaws bit into its front leg. It retaliated by striking its claws
across the other's face. The golden feline cried out, and the black glanced at
Serein.
Hurriedly, she grabbed a large fallen branch to protect herself. The
golden feline snarled, its gold-green eyes narrowed. It lunged at the black
feline, catching it by surprise. The black growled, throwing off the other
feline, and stalked off into the forest.
The gold feline watched it leave,
still bleeding from several slashes and bites itself. Serein stiffened, unsure
of what this feline would do.
She gasped as the feline shifted, and slowly
began to change into her brother, Cerathu. "Cerathu...?"
He grinned up at
her, gasping for breath, as he wiped off his left cheek, where the claw marks
from the black feline still bled. "Gotta be more careful..." He said, and sat,
panting.
Serein knelt beside him hesitantly. "Cerathu, what happened? What,
how long have you been able to do that?"
Cerathu looked away. "Long as I can
remember. I've always been able to do it...I think it has something to do with
my parents." He said. "My real parents."
Cerathu had appeared in the forest
one day, just a baby. He had never known where he came from, or who his real
parents were. The Lord Holder had taken him in as his own son, and heir to the
Hold.
Serein shook her head. "You're saying your parents were...They could do
that too?
Cerathu nodded. "I think so."
He stood up, dusting himself off.
"Geez, I'm a mess." He grinned.
Serein gasped, seeing the various small cuts
and bruises across his body. "Cerathu! Are you okay?"
Cerathu shrugged, then
winced. "Yeah, I'm fine. It's just a couple of scratches."
Serein frowned at
him, and he shrugged again. "Trust me, I'm fine. C'mon, I can clean up when we
get home."
"I'm afraid you won't be going home." A steely voice said from the
trees around them.
"Huh?" Serain and Cerathu turned around, looking for the
intruder. A tall man stepped out from behind a tree. He was dressed in
dark browns and greens, and his short, dark hair was also brown. He had a
crossbow in his hands, leveled at Cerathu. |
| | |
| "I don't know what kind of freak you
are," The man said, keeping his weapon pointed at Cerathu as he slowly walked
towards them. "But normal people don't turn into wild felines. So, it is my duty
to the Hold to destroy any dangerous threats. That includes wild felines, and
you."
Cerathu gasped, dragging Serein out of the way as he barely dodged the
first arrow, which stuck quivering in the tree behind him. He silently berated
himself for twice having missed the danger. He glared up at the hunter, who was
busy readying another arrow. "The hell!? What are you talking about, I'm not a
danger. I'm the heir, for Faranth's sakes!" Then, to Serein, "Serein, get out of
here, hurry!" As she paused, he added. "Go! I'll be fine, don't worry about
me."
Cerathu dodged another arrow as he watched Serein run away. Shifting
into a feline, he began to follow her.
"It won't do you any good running back
to the Hold." The hunter called after him. "They'll all know about you by
now."
Mentally, Cerathu cursed, darting off into the cover that the forest
undergrowth provided. He was content that Serein was in no real danger. It was
him the man wanted. Why the man was so sure he was dangerous Cerathu didn't
know, he'd never caused trouble before. Faranth, he'd thought most of the people
in the Hold had liked him! Now he was dodging arrows, trying to save his
life.
He darted off into the trees, and the hunter followed after him,
somewhat slower, now not bothering to waste arrows. Cerathu growled in
frustration, he had nowhere else to go. He burst out of the underbrush, into the
bright light of a fairly large clearing. But it was far from empty.
A dark
blue dragon stood in the clearing as his rider looked down in confusion at the
large golden-brown feline. A short man with light blond hair and blue eyes,
wearing a long black cloak, climbed down from the dragon's back as the hunter
burst out behind Cerathu, leveling his crossbow at the feline.
Cerathu darted
behind the dragon, and quickly shifted back into a human. The dragon's rider
looked somewhat startled by the sudden appearence of a human, but not really
surprised. The dragon, still shielding Cerathu from the hunter, glared at the
man, who had now lowered his crossbow and was glaring at the boy.
"What's
going on here?" The dragon's rider asked angrily.
"The boy's a freak, and an
obvious danger to the Hold." The hunter spoke up.
Cerathu rolled his eyes. "I
already told you, I'm not dangerous or crazy or whatever, though I certainly
can't say the same about you. I'm the Lord's son, for Faranth's sakes!"
The
dragonrider frowned, looking up at his blue. The boy's telling the truth, G'vin.
The
dragonrider, G'vin, sighed. "Alright then." He scowled at the hunter. "You. Get
out of here. The kid's under my protection now."
The hunter hesitated, but
then the blue dragon glared at him, eyes tinged with red, and he quickly made up
his mind. He left, grumbling to himself. Cerathu blinked, watching him leave,
then looked up at the rider and his dragon.
"And as for you..." The rider
said, turning to Cerathu, who gulped nervously. He looked up at his dragon.
What shall we
do with him, Aavaanaath?
Do? Search him, of course. The dark blue answered, rumbling
amusedly. Go
ahead, we'll drop him off at Ryslen.
Raising an eyebrow as he stared at his dragon, G'vin
shrugged, turning back to the boy in front of him. He smiled reassuringly.
"Well, Aavaanaath says you've been searched, so who am I to argue? Hop on." He
said, gesturing to the dragon.
Cerathu blinked in surprise. "Really?"
The
bluerider nodded. "I'm G'vin, rider of blue Aavaanaath, by the way." He said as
he helped Cerathu onto the dragon's back.
"Cerathu." He answered. The blue
dragon spread his large wings, and jumped into the air. With a last glance down
at the forest, and Ryathale far away, the dragon jumped between. | | | |