Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Chanirra ❯ Chapter 3

“I don't know what good you are to me drunk,” Roekler said as Sayorr fell out of his chair. He struggled to stand and Roekler shook his head. “Listen. I have a question to ask you. The stranger you found, what did he look like?”

 

“He wore a coat with a hood and gloves,” Sayorr replied as Roekler reached down and picked him up by the shirt collar.

 

“What did he look like? What color hair did he have? What color eyes? How tall was he? Tell me!”

 

“Hair color? Purple I guess. I don't know. I couldn't see his eyes because he wore his hood. His height...well he's a bit taller than you. He had a dark coat on and gloves. He wore gloves. I showed them to you.”

 

“I know you did. Argh! You're useless to me in this state! Well hello there little kitty. Who's your friend?”

 

Midnight mewed hopefully and Roekler grinned as he placed a saucer of milk down on the floor. She ran towards it and Chanirra mewed as Roekler picked him up. He stroked Chanirra's head and Chanirra growled in annoyance. Roekler lowered his arms and Chanirra jumped onto the floor.

 

“Your friend's a feisty one,” he commented as he picked up a knife and cut off a piece of meat. “I like that. I don't know if cats like deer but here's a piece from one we killed earlier today.”

 

He threw the piece of meat onto the floor and Chanirra pounced upon it. He lived for the taste of raw red meat. Midnight watched him for a moment then raised her nose into the air in a huff. Roekler glanced at her and grinned. He threw a piece of fish her way and she gleefully ran towards it.

 

“Our little gourmet prefers fish, Sayorr,” he commented and Sayorr muttered something unintelligible. “Where do you think this one came from? I've never seen him around before.”

 

“Maybe he's lost,” Sayorr replied and Roekler frowned.

 

“But from where? It's at least a day's walk to the next town.”

 

“Don't gypsies keep cats?”

 

“Why would gypsies be around here?” Roekler asked and Sayorr shrugged his shoulders.

 

“Why not?” he replied and Roekler shook his head.

 

“Ah just go to sleep you drunken fool. I wonder when Turath's preparations will be finished. I'm getting anxious for my piece of the world.”

 

“The energy from the townspeople aren't enough. He needs more,” Sayorr said and Roekler frowned.

 

“If you're gonna talk sense, be sober. I'll make you my special drink,” Roekler said and Sayorr stood up in fear.

 

“No! I'm not that drunk, honest! Besides, you don't want to be cruel to me in front of a couple of animals, do you? I know you've got a soft heart when it comes to animals.”

 

“Don't you go spreading that about town now.”

 

“Why would they care anyway? They're all underneath Turath's control. They just think they have freedom. Remember the one that tried to leave town for some silly reason? He was found dead, murdered by some mysterious beast in the forest.”

 

“It wasn't that mysterious. It was me. I was only doing what was ordered.”

 

“Well we know that. We also know who it was that cut off their link to the main road,” Sayorr said as he picked up an empty bottle. “Damn. The bottle's empty. Is there another one up there?”

 

“You've had plenty. Any more and you'll be dumber than you actually are,” Roekler said and Sayorr slammed his fist down on the table.

 

“I take insults from no one!”

 

“You think you can hit me in your state?”

 

“Don't you dare gang up on me!”

 

“And I thought these two would be a threat,” Chanirra whispered as he walked over to the saucer of milk. He took a sip and frowned. “How can your kind drink this?”

 

“What do you drink Mr. Wolf?” Midnight inquired then licked excess milk off of her whiskers.

 

“Water is fine with me. It's also more abundant than milk. I also drink wine and other alcohol when I am in my natural form.”

 

“I thought your wolf was your natural form.”

 

“That's my true form. I do not use it unless absolutely necessary. I am much stronger in that form but I cannot easily control that power. My people prefer the human form because it is much more readily accepted. Unfortunately, because of our beast tendencies, a lot of people from other tribes have been sold across the land as slaves. We are also looked down upon because humans think we're...mutts. Humans can be so annoying. My people have lived on this land many years before the first human ever surfaced.”

 

“Why do you work for humans then?”

 

“Not all of them treat us poorly. I'm sure even you have experienced animal haters. Most people are open to all species if they truly understand how the world works in harmony.”

 

“People are funny, aren't they?” Midnight inquired as Roekler walked up to them.

 

“Not thirsty anymore? All right, I'll put it away,” he said and Midnight mewed pitifully. “If you want it then drink it. Cats can be so fickle.”

 

“When are we going downstairs?” Chanirra inquired as Midnight lapped up the milk.

 

“Soon. Milk is a rarity here. The town doesn't get fresh milk much anymore. I wonder how he always manages to have some for me? I never see any cows. I'm not even sure I know what a cow looks like. Do you know what a cow looks like?” she asked then began washing her paws.

 

“I've seen a few and I think humans do them a favor by eating them. Cows are not the most glamorous species out there. Why must you be so prim?”

 

“I like to look my best whenever I can.”

 

Chanirra watched Roekler pick up the saucer then walked around to inspect the kitchen. He could still smell the fresh meat on the counter and he wondered if there was a way to get a second bite of it. It had been at least eight hours since his last meal and a small bite of meat and a lick of milk was not enough to satisfy him. He turned his attention to a chair that had been pushed away from the table and tried to judge the distance. He was not completely comfortable with this form but he would use it if it meant giving him a decent meal. He backed up to the wall then began running as fast as he could.

 

Curse this small body, Chanirra thought as he leaped up onto the chair. He then jumped onto the table and gazed hungrily at the meat sitting on the counter.

 

“What's wrong with this damned cat?” Sayorr asked as Roekler picked up the meat. Chanirra hissed as Roekler approached the table then watched in confusion as Roekler dropped the meat in front of him.

 

“He's still hungry. He was planning on jumping over there to get it. You can't jump that far, little kitty. You can have that but nothing else. We've got to eat too,” Roekler said and Chanirra glared at him. Little kitty indeed. Oh if only he could change into his true form...He instead picked the meat up and jumped off the table. At least he got a good meal out of it so he supposed he could endure a few insults.

 

“That was stupid of you,” Midnight said as he walked back over to her.

 

“I was still hungry. I'm not really a cat, you know,” Chanirra replied, once he had dropped the meat.

 

“But if you had missed, you could have been hurt.”

 

“I wouldn't have missed. I have exceptional agility.”

 

“I think you're slightly touched.”

 

“You're entitled to your opinion. I needed more to eat. I can't function properly when I'm hungry.”

 

“I think I need a nap.”

 

“You can nap after you take me to the cellar. I have to know what Turath is up to. If he is planning on releasing that demon, I'm going to have to stop him as soon as possible.”

 

“Oh all right. Finish your meat and we'll go down to the cellar. I must say you act a lot like a dog. A cat would take things one at a time. We wouldn't want to jump into anything. Unless of course, we're working for our supper,” Midnight said as she lay down.

 

“Sleeping and eating are a cat's favorite hobbies,” Chanirra commented as he licked the blood off of his paw.

 

“And what do you dogs do for fun? Chase your tail? How idiotic is that?”

 

“I am not a dumb animal. I am a noble beast.”

 

“I'll only believe it when I see it.”

 

“Stick around and you just might get your wish. Now which way do we go?”

 

“First we get out of the kitchen. Hopefully we can get down the hall without that big one noticing. I've tried to get down to the cellar before when the sorcerer was in it but that big one always caught me and locked me in his room.”

 

“So we've got a bit of a challenge. Good. I like challenges,” Chanirra said and Midnight shook her head.

 

“The big guy is pretty loyal to the sorcerer. He expects to get something from this deal I guess. I don't know how we're going to manage to get past him,” she replied and Chanirra glanced at her.

 

“We're just going to have to try.”

 

Chanirra swallowed the last of the meat then waited for Roekler to sit across from Sayorr then began running for the kitchen door. Midnight followed him and Chanirra closed his eyes as he forced himself to run faster. A large hand wrapped around his body and Chanirra yelped in surprise when he felt himself being hoisted up into the air. Midnight mewed indignantly and Chanirra glanced at her.

 

“Sorry to do this to you two but you can't go down to the cellar right now. The boss is working on something important and he doesn't want to be disturbed. Besides you know what they say. Curiosity killed the cat,” Roekler said and Midnight glared at Chanirra.

 

“Nice going,” she hissed and Chanirra looked confused.

 

“How did he move so fast? He was sitting at the table a second ago,” Chanirra said and Midnight glanced up at Roekler.

 

“He can move quite fast when he wants to. I never get too far down that hall when the sorcerer is in the cellar. I could have told you that blindly running forward wouldn't work if you'd only asked.”

 

“I thought it was worth a try.”

 

“Well I've already tried it. Now we're going to get locked up in his room until he's done with whatever it is he's doing in the cellar.”

 

“Can't we go down there afterwards?”

 

“We won't be able to see what he's up to then,” Midnight whispered and Chanirra frowned.

 

“We might be able to find some clues as to what he was doing. It's worth a try,” he replied as Roekler placed him beside Midnight so that he could open a door.

 

“I know you don't like it but you've got to stay out of the boss's way. You might as well tell your friend it's not worth losing one of his lives to find out what the boss is up to. Everyone will find out soon enough. Once his plans are done, I'll take you with me to my share of the world. There you'll be able to live like true cats,” Roekler said as stepped into the room. He placed them onto a bed then left, securely closing the door behind him.

 

Chanirra grumbled as he stretched then looked around the room for a means of escape. He jumped on the floor and poked his nose around the edges of the room. Midnight watched him for a moment then curled up on the pillow and yawned.

 

“Well it seems as though I'm going to get my nap in,” she commented as Chanirra crept underneath the bed.

 

“I don't want to live like a true cat. I'm not a cat,” he muttered as he searched for an opening.

 

“You can't get out. Don't you think I've looked before? All we can do is wait for him to come back. It shouldn't be long.”

 

“If I were something stronger we could get out.”

 

“Then change.”

 

“I don't want to raise any more suspicion. They're already wondering where I came from. If I turned into something larger, even they would know I'm the person they're looking for. I don't like waiting but I guess I have no choice.”

 

“Take a nap. It might help.”

 

“I don't have any other choice, do I?”