Kaitlin stood on the rock and watched the water flow down from the rocks above
and into the deep, dark pool. It was said the water beneath travelled straight
on to the home of the gods, but none in her village had dared to take the test
in a great length of time. They claimed the gods had forsaken them, but she
and a couple of others believed that the 'wise ones' of the village feared
failure ; for failure meant death. Many who were not worthy did not return to
the surface and the village.

One day, she would swim those waters and bring the gods back to the village.
The gods were needed, trouble was brewing and they stood undefended against
the darkness.

The sun stood high in the sky, shining down warmly upon her white fur, making
it seem almost gold in the light, her hair was tied back into a tight braid
that fell halfway down her back. The winter leathers were as white as they
could be made, patchy and grey in some places. She argued with the artists
that it made camouflage better.. They just cursed their own imperfection. The
feline woman had little time for their striving for perfection instead of
practicality.

When the sun had started it's daily crawl across the sky this morn she had
stood in front of the elders' tents, she had been awarded the position of
Champion of the village as the old one had not returned from a hunting trip.
Two weeks had gone since they had last seen the ageing man, Kaitlin had the
belief that he had skipped off to another village where he would have greater
respect.

She turned to look down at the village, a sea of tents that looked almost to
be the size of a small human town. They had none of the pollution of the
humans, none of the filth and smell. She smirked slightly, of course with
noses five times more sensitive than that of the humans, it was less likely
they would leave their waste in the streets. The few cattle and horses her
people had, ranged in field corals, unhappy with the three feet of snow on
the ground. She admired the colourful artwork of the tents. Her people were
nomads that travelled all across the north, meeting and trading with the other
clans of humanoid animals and sometimes even the humans.

Few of her people left the north for the warmer, human filled south. Those who
did left to hire themselves out as guides, scouts or warriors. She sniffed the
cold wind disdainfully, how any could wish to leave this beauty.. Even with
the blind, hide-bound elders who were fools the north was Home.

She leaned down to the water and brushed a paw over it. "One day, I shall come
to you and see if you shall embrace me." she whispered to the cold, fast
moving liquid. "One day, we shall dance together you and I."

* * *

Kaitlin yawned and stretched to the morning air, a quick taste of the breeze
told her spring was on it's way. Soon her people would pack up their tents and
load the beasts of burden and they would start their summer of wandering. Fall
would bring forth a search for a winter camp, and then they would start all
over again. It was the way.

She rubbed a paw through her hair, wondering if she wanted to haul water for a
bath before or after she ate. A second yawn followed the tail of the first as
her long canines greeted the air, sunlight flashing off them. She realised she
must look a rumpled mess. Good thing she hadn't had a suitor in over three
seasons, she'd probably scare any of them off right about now.

It seemed that none of the young men she had met in the village (and she knew
almost all of them to some degree or another) were willing to put up with a
female who was a warrior first and a woman second. Almost all of The People
were warriors to some degree or another, but very few chose the path
exclusively to anything else, and fewer more were female. Feh, if those lame
brains couldn't realise there was more to life than birthing kits and baking
bread then she didn't want them anyway. Too bad it was lonely without them.

There was some sort of fuss being kicked up by the Chieftain's tent, so she
decided she should probably wander over. While she was technically an elder,
at the age of 19 she was rarely considered such. She held an elder's position,
but none of their years. She had pleaded with the merchants to buy more
weaponry and armour this spring for the trouble they had heard out of the
south '; it would visit them soon enough, but they had looked at her with
disbelief and like she was a fool. So she would be left scraping together
what she could with the little coin she had. Maybe she should leave The People
for a season or two to offer herself up as a trainer and earn gold.. but then,
who would take her place while she was gone? She was chosen as the Champion
because no one else was suited. That had not changed.

She easily loped over to the Chieftain's tent, trying her best to smooth her
fur and her hair so she didn't look completely disreputable. It seemed the
Chieftain's son was finishing up some sort of argument with his rapidly
ageing father.

"FINE! Close your eyes to truth and reality! It won't help you any!" The boy
yelled, Kaitlin racked her brain to try and remember his name but failed. She
stayed away from the dark, moody youth. It was too bad someone so deep a
thinker had to be so good looking. His dark black fur over a muscular frame,
his deep green eyes that often looked inwards framed by equally dark hair.
She shook her head.

"Such disrespect will NOT be tolerated!" The chieftain returned, managing to
keep his voice down with a minimum of hisses. His barely adult looking son
stalked off through the gathered crowd and looked to be heading out of the
village. "And what are all of you staring at? Do you not have things to do?"
The chieftain asked balefully as he glared at the crowd who decided there
were better places to be.

Kaitlin stayed to the shadows, watching the retreating figure thoughtfully ;
what truth had he been speaking about? Had she found an ally in her cause? She
wished suddenly that she knew more about the chieftain's son, but the lack of
knowledge didn't stop her from tailing him up into the hills where he
eventually found a bolder to sit on and not surprisingly drop into deep
thought.

Kaitlin was annoyed at his carelessness, any number of beasts could come along
and attack him.. and then where would the village be? It would fall to the
council to choose a new successor and that would just be a massive headache.
She decided to teach the boy a lesson. She crept silently along the snow,
careful to stay upwind of him. She waited till the sun ducked under a cloud
and pounced.

She got the surprise of her life when he turned just before she reached him,
a hand grabbing the front of her armour and the other grabbing the side of her
waist and throwing her down into the snow, himself twisting to land on top of
her, already pulling a dagger. Belatedly she tried to wrap her hands around
him to prevent her from stabbing her, but he had managed to pin her arms under
herself, and his weight prevented her from struggling up and away quickly
enough. The dagger was soon at her throat as those deep eyes bore into hers.
She suddenly realised the son of the Chieftain was neither as young or small
as she had first pegged him as. Two fatal mistakes in as many minutes ; she
was definitely slipping.

"Who are you?" He asked, his voice surprisingly deep and calm. The dagger
didn't move from her throat one claw width. His eyes narrowed slightly,
"Aren't you the new Champion?"

She sighed, "Yes, I am." How much did she tell him? How the hell did she
explain why she had attacked him?

He suddenly smirked and sheathed the dagger, rolling to his feet. "I surprised
the hell out of the Champion, huh? I suppose all those lessons did better than
I thought." He held out a paw to help her up.

Kaitlin took the hand and was surprised by his strength ; she was no weakling,
but he was probably twice as strong as her. If he was as capable a warrior as
he was, why hadn't he been chosen Champion until he became Chief? "I ..
misjudged your ability." she finally said.

He snorted, obviously amused. "Most mistake me for a 15 year old boy with no
ability, which is the way I prefer it. If my father has no reason to fear me,
he has no reason to outcast me." He sat down again on his boulder, leaving her
to stand and try to figure out what to say. "And no, before you ask, I have no
plans to harm my father, but I fear that harm will come soon enough. The
People have been careless and strayed too far from the old ways, I do not see
them surviving the upcoming war."

Her ears pricked forward as she heard the word that confirmed her fears, "War?
Then it is definite?" Her whisker's twitched at her sudden apprehension.

"Oh yes, that which you have preached warning of is coming. My father received
a messenger yesterday. He dismissed that messenger saying that a human war has
nothing to do with us. He treats it as a battle between two clans.." the son
of the Chieftain looked down at the village. "..But we both know it's not,
don't we?"

"You've thought about this a lot then, haven't you." It wasn't a question. Her
head was spinning. An ally in the most unlikely of places, but while his place
should have been the second most powerful in the village, he was apparently as
disrespected as herself. It didn't surprise her, he was barely seen, and when
he was he seemed to be sulking about something or another like a five year old
who didn't get his way.

"Of course." He turned back to her, "I thought of approaching you several
times.. but I could not think of an excuse as to why. We must make plans if
we are going to save our people from slaughter. In wars in the past the humans
have come for us for slaves in their wars, they will come again and this time
we do not have the protection of the gods we supposedly once had. We will have
to make our own protection."

* * *

Her head hurt, it had been another long trading session with a human.
Thankfully she could generally scare them with a flash of fang into a good
deal, but this trader had been around the north a few times, he knew the
honour of her people and how she would not attack him without due cause. He
had also plenty of information on the war that brewed to the south-east.

Apparently some Lordling Knight had tired of his status and decided he wanted
to rule the land he was in, he had gathered men and trained an army, stealing
enough money to pay for the equipment and letting them loot for their pay.
After capturing the kingdom he settled down for a couple of years, but he had
been unsatisfied with just a kingdom, again he gathered an army and took the
next. This time he didn't disperse his army, he gathered more troops and made
it bigger, again on the march. He had apparently taken over six kingdoms and
was in no sight of slowing down.

He had mages, he had knights, he had priests of dark gods and he had all sorts
of foul beasts, the people of the human lands didn't know how to stop him with
what they had and the Kings and Lords were branding together to stop the
monster. The trader had warned Kaitlin to be on the watch for both the armies
of the dark Lord and the armies of those who fought them. Both would wish The
People for their slaves for their armies and both had the mages to mind
control The People into it.

Myrrik and she had been discussing at some length what they should do ; they
had all sorts of plans, but so few ways to get them into action. He had given
her more money than she could have ever seen on her own to buy decent weaponry
and armour. She now wore a fine set of chain and plate that had been crafted
with the greatest skill. Leather and silk muffled the chain so it didn't make
the merest muffle while she hunted, and the sword she acquired was of such
quality she almost swore it was magical.

She had handed out the weaponry to the warriors of their village that would
take them, she continued to train the younglings and she had even managed to
convince the elders to set up the village in a more defensive manner.. but
they refused to set up the proper defences and boundaries each night, claiming
them to be more a hassle than they were worth.

Myrrik for his part had been the one subtly pressuring his father into getting
the Elders to do things that would help them if they were attacked, but he was
constantly frustrated there was so little he could do. Like she was doing so
much better. They were just two children barely into adulthood in most minds,
and why should people listen to those with so little proven wisdom?

Sleep would make the next day arrive, and perhaps they could accomplish more
on the morrow. And if not the morrow, then perhaps the one after that.

* * *

She awoke to sounds of screaming, metal on metal and ripping canvas. She was
on her feet before her heart managed another beat, her sword in hand. She
looked forlornly at her nice, new armour, but there was no time to don it. She
grabbed a leather jerkin and pulled it on over her head as she headed out of
the tent.

The attackers were human, goblin and ogre. Almost all wore some sort of dark
armour and their weapons were long, sick blades with serrated edges and weapon
breakers on the hilts. She whirled on the first one before it could realise a
true warrior had entered the fray.

The sun was barely peeking over the mountains, they must have attacked as
false dawn came across the sky ; when the guards were mostly asleep and
careless. They were well organised and moved as a unit ; better than her own
people were doing. Most were in small family groups trying to defend their
own tents, not gathering together to repulse the superior force that
seriously outnumbered them.

Kaitlin spent what seemed like hours trying to organise the people, to rouse
them into proper combat and field manoeuvres, it was barely two hours later
when the army retreated back across the red splattered snow due to amount of
losses. They had no captives to speak of and now must be considering if a
second attack was worth the effort. Their own camp was much too well
protected and guarded for a counter-strike.

Myrrik found her not much later after the retreat in the gather tent that had
been changed into the healer's tent. She was wrapping bandages, bring water to
the injured and doing her best to help those who had been hurt in the raid. He
wore the amulet of leadership. He looked like he'd gone from 18 to 50 in the
last two hours. "We have less than one tenth of the village unwounded, we lost
a quarter of our population, and you are the healthiest elder." he stated
without preamble.

He was rewarded with gaining new knowledge into swearing by Kaitlin. "What the
hell are we going to do? We can't withstand a second attack, and it's not
going to take them long to figure that out."

Myrrik looked cynical, "At least they're listening to my orders now. I think
most of our people are too stunned to think twice about them. We have a proper
defence set up but who knows how long it would stand ; I have people burying
the dead, and the elderly are watching the children.. We have more orphans
than I want to think about. We need help."

Katlin ran a bloody hand through her hair, trying to figure out what they
could possibly do. "And no help within days. The least we can do is send
messengers to the other clans, let them know of the troubles.. and hope to
everything that they have yet to be attacked. We're the furthest south.. but
not the furthest east.."

Myrrik nodded and headed from the tent. It wasn't long before Kaitlin saw
messengers atop the great eagles heading to the four winds. She wished they
could still *talk* with the birds.. could still train them to fight alongside
The People.. could still call forth upon the animals of the hills.. were
still in contact with the Dwarves.. So many things had been lost, so many
things that so many now considered unimportant and unnecessary. If the eagles
had fought with The People today like they had been said to in the past, the
losses wouldn't have been nearly as horrible. If wishes were fish, no one
would ever go hungry.

* * *

It was long after sundown when she finally crawled into her tent. The main
pole had been snapped so it was more of a lean to than a proper tent, but it
was still warm, dry and her's. Many had to scrounge up new sleeping quarters..
mostly from those who would never have a use for them again. What the hell
would they do? Chances were tomorrow morning the army would attack again and
this time the village would fall and her kin would become slaves or dead. She
could hear Myrrik still giving orders and directions, his deep, calm voice
muffled by the skins of her tent. She had no idea how he could still be going,
her eyes were blurry with weariness.

She wasn't quite sure what woke her, everything sounded still, a few night
birds chirped. She lay and stared at the murky darkness, brain going full
blast even though her body cried for sleep. They needed help, Myrrik had said.
They had gotten help in the past from the gods. The entrance to God's Home
wasn't that far by eagle flight.. She was dressed and in her armour before her
brain truly realised what she was doing, and she was at the eagle nests before
she started to have doubts.

She ignored the doubts as she approached one of the eagles trained to follow
The People and to fly the messengers. She held her paw out for the great bird
to see and held the harness in the other. She hoped it would agree to fly at
this time of night. She had only flown once before.. she was no expert.. it
could say no.. The huge bird bobbed down it's head for her to place the
harness on then held out it's wing so she could clamber up on it's neck.

The flight was blessedly less frightening than her first. She couldn't see the
horrible distance down to the ground, and while it was colder than the last
time she had flown, it was no where near as turbulent. She directed the bird
towards the mountains and hoped it would set her down somewhere near God's
home.

She then only realised she hadn't told Myrrik that she was leaving and where
she was going.

* * *

It was midnight by the time she climbed up the dark pool. The stars were the
only light on the night of no moons. Her transport had let her down an hour's
climb from the pool, but unfortunately on the side away from the trial. It had
meant literally climbing up the side of the mountain to the pool.

She sat at the side of the pool and cleared her mind. Was she worthy? Was the
need of her people enough? Would the gods answer after her people had turned
their backs upon them? Surely they would still care about their children..

She stripped off her armour and underclothing before thinking about the cold
wind that ruffled her fur. She shivered but glad she wasn't one of the furless
ones of the south. Before she could let her fear take over she dove down into
the depths.

The water was mind numbingly cold. Colder than glacier water. Colder than
thought. Her muscles didn't want to answer as she tried to kick deeper and
deeper into the water. Part of her mind asked what if the gods weren't really
down here.. What if they had left and moved elsewhere.. What if they didn't
want to have anything to do with her..? It wasn't too late to swim back up..
She still had air and even in the swift, stormy current she should be able to
fight back to the surface.

She kicked down and down, her vision fading with each kick as there was less
and less light in the depth. She swam headlong into a rock outcropping that
had thankfully been smoothed by centuries of water. She swore she felt blood
falling into the water around her.. But she couldn't give up.. somewhere down
there were the gods.. the saviours of her people.

Her lungs strained painfully, asking her to breath in, telling her she had to
have air.. Her eyes burned from the cold and searching for light, her
movements limited. The current pulled her along as her mind faded into
darkness.

* * *

She felt the warmth before she realised there was light on the other side of
her eyelids. She fluttered them open to see a kindly young vixen-woman
bathing her forehead. The woman was an incredible beauty for her kind, her
fur thick and plush, not a scar marring her hide. Her eyes held infinite
kindness and her touch was gentle.

"Wh-who are you?" She stuttered, her tongue seeming swollen and useless after
her ordeal.

"I am Shayllan." The woman answered, her voice musical and soothing.

"The goddess of the hearth?!" Kaitlin yelped, trying to scramble back from the
deity. The great gods shouldn't be nursing a mere mortal! Her muscles still
hadn't recovered and she only managed to come to a half-sitting position, her
head swimming.

"I have been called that yes," Shayllan looked at her with curiosity and
sympathy. "Do not worry, you will be well enough soon. I managed to get some
healing potions down your throat. You took a rather drastic route to
communicate with us.."

Kaitlin blinked. "There.. There are other ways?"

Shayllan chuckled kindly, "Of course daughter, we don't expect our children to
try and kill themselves to talk with us.. While the Prayers are not always
heard.. The method you chose was only to be used in the direst of emergencies,
when two way conversation was needed and no priest was available.."

Kaitlin sighed and looked down, "There are no priests. Our people turned away
from you.. and now we have paid for our foolishness. Quarter of the village is
dead, only one tenth is still healthy.. We are doomed."

"Oh my." Shayllan said, biting a knuckle. "We had not heard from the Felines
in so long.. we had thought that things were fine.. Sometimes centuries go by
with no word.." The vixen goddess stood up, "I shall fetch Kilgarn, he is much
better to deal with this than I."

Kaitlin sank back down onto the soft bedding of furs, wondering why a goddess
would be unable to deal with a minor thing such as an army.

* * *

She awoke to a different face looking down at her. He was of amazing size,
muscles that a wrestler would envy, height that would make riding a Great
Eagle impossible.. She supposed he would have been incredibly handsome with
his midnight black fur and dried blood coloured hair if it weren't for all
the scars.. A pang suddenly struck her heart for Myrrik and she wasn't quite
sure why.

"I am Kilgarn. I am the Warrior. You are in need of me?" He asked. His voice
was harsh, like a blacksmith's. Perhaps it was because of the scar across his
throat? But were gods affected by such things?

"Very badly.. My village has been attacked.. war brews.. we're unprepared.. I
tried to warn them.." Everything started to fall out in a chaotic babble,
tears came to the corners of her eyes. Even in years of being ignored she had
never felt so small and insignificant, never felt so useless.

Kilgarn rocked back on his heels, his feline face impassive as he studied her.
A huge paw came to rest of her shoulder. "Shush." He finally said, "Start at
the beginning and take it slowly."

She spoke to the god of warriors about her people, how they had turned away
from the gods, and how they had damned themselves. She spoke of the rumours
from the south and how the elders ignored them. She spoke of how she tried to
warn them of war and impending doom, and how the elders had ignored her. She
spoke of everything she and Myrrik had tried to do and how little they had
accomplished. Then she spoke of their attack.

He was silent for long moments, as he seemed to think upon her words. "Know
that a soldier is not to blame for his officer's terrible orders. You did your
best with what little you had to paw." His fist clenched a couple of times,
each times his claws appearing. "This should not have happened, your elders
and their's were fools. They do not have to pay us to guard them, but they
could have guarded themselves. You wish my help, no?"

"Please? Anything.." she pleaded.

"I shall help you. I do not know if all of us will return to those who turned
us away, but know I shall. I chose you Kaitlin, daughter of Filgarth and
Meyana, to be my Paladin. I give you my gifts and the abilities to call for
me for more direct help."

"And I shall help your healers," Shayllan said from a distance away. Kaitlin
focused on her surroundings for the first time to find herself in some sort of
sandy cavern, the ceiling was high and was well lit even though she could see
neither torch nor fire. The goddess stood at the entrance to the cave,
carrying a bundle. "What is the name of your chief healer?"

"Kaymar.. But he's dead.. and closed minded.. his second.. Hyrga, is healthy
and young.." Her mind whirled. What help was she receiving? Would it be
enough? She chastised herself quickly, How could she doubt the gods
themselves?

"I will bespeak him." Shayllan said softly, placing the bundle at the entrance
and turning back into the darkness beyond.

"You will return. You will fight. You will win." Kilgarn said in the silence.
He stood easily and walked over to the bundle and picked up what Shayllan had
staggered with under two paws with one. He easily brought it back to her. She
then realised it was her clothing, armour and daggers. She hadn't brought her
sword with her, it's length made riding impossible. "When you touch your sword
again, it will be blessed by my hand."

"Th-Thank you." She stammered. It was starting to really sink in that *she*
had been chosen by a god to be his representative and that the gods would help
the people who had ignored them until they had needed them.

"We do not punish the children of selfish fools, Kaitlin." Kilgarn said
surprisingly softly, "Consider yourself my daughter now. I appreciate great
courage and wisdom" He leaned forward and kissed her forehead and the world
once again became dark.

* * *

Myrrik watched false dawn approach, he rubbed his grimy, sticky eyes and
wished he could have gotten some sort of sleep. He limped through the
remaining village to Kaitlin's tent. They needed her tactics and war wisdom if
they were to try and survive this day. He had wanted the village to retreat
into the mountains, to make a run for it, but Kaitlin had pointed out the
impossibilities of it. They would have had to leave the severely injured
behind, they would have had the enemy hounding their tail and more of them
would have fallen. She had said better to fight and die as one than to run
and die one by one. He could only agree with her.

He had been amazed by her range of compassion, wisdom and courage. While he
could lead people, while he could read people and dance diplomatically and
could take charge and keep it, she knew what to do with those people and what
to do to keep them alive. In the dark days the two made a good team. He
couldn't imagine their surviving this mess with anyone else at his side.

He could only stare when he found her tent empty. He started to panic and then
realised she had probably already gotten up to deal with the day, prepare for
the attack. But as he made his way through the village he didn't see her and a
sinking feeling was gathering in his stomach. When he found an Eagle gone, he
hung his head. Surely she couldn't have abandoned them. Surely she wouldn't
have just left them..

How would he deal with the attack without her?

He shook his head. It would do no good for the remaining morale to be seen in
a panic or depression, he would say Kaitlin went for help, and he would pray
to himself that it was true.

* * *

She could remember vaguely in her youth being envious of the messengers as they
flew across the skies, right now she wished she could empty her stomach. She
didn't dare pry open her eyes or let go of the neck feathers, she feared she
would go plunging down to the rolling ground below. She had given the Eagle
the commands of 'home' and 'speed' and it had taken her very seriously. She
suddenly wished she hadn't taken this all upon herself and she had someone
else to blame.

It seemed like a life time later when the Eagle touched ground and gave soft
keels and chirps to its nestmates. Kaitlin pried open her eyes and met her
mount's golden eye looking at her in slight confusion. She had claimed speed,
but yet she didn't dismount. She snorted at herself and swung off the Eagle.
She pulled the harness from his head and unlocked the special seed to feed it.
No matter how much of a hurry she was in, she had to pay proper respect to the
one who had helped her be successful.

She resisted the urge to kiss the ground and jogged through the village to her
tent to fetch her sword ; she was already wearing her armour and daggers. She
was pleased to notice the archers were already set up behind the barricades and
the pikemen were ready for the horses that would try and jump them. She
stumbled into her still half collapsed tent and wished she could do what it
had tried. She grabbed her sword and planned to turn back the way she came but
she was paralysed. Her nerves tingled one and all, and her fur stood straight
out. A strange humming sound filled the air and her sword glowed blue beneath
the sheath. Then it was gone.

She felt rejuvenated and full of energy. She gave her sword a suspicious look
but it wasn't humming or glowing, so she strapped it on to run out of her
tend and straight into Myrrik. He gathered her up in his arms and kissed her
more passionately then any of her lovers ever had. Then he held her at arm's
length and studied her. She tried to get words to form straight inside her
mind. "Don't *ever* scare the hell out of me like that again." he finally
said.

She laughed weakly, "I'll try not to -- but I got help.. The gods.. the gods,
they will help us, the answered my dive.."

He blinked at her as he realised her errand in the night, "You fool!" he said
with surprising vehemence, she realised he had no faith in the gods and their
ways.. Well, he'd learn. "You gorgeous, sexy, wonderful fool!" He kissed her
again, leaving her completely confused. "I never would have believed.. But you
have so much faith.. so much belief.. It will be because of you we will
survive.."

She smiled, "It will be because of *us*. Your leadership, my faith." She heard
a lone trumpet sound, warning of attack.

"Live through this. I do expect children out of you at some point." He then
disappeared into the villagers as they gathered to defend around her, his tail
disappearing between two warriors.

She blinked. Did he mean..? He wanted to be her mate..? She blinked a second
time. She never did get a better proposal.

* * *

The battle was long and bloody, many villagers swore they saw strange fighters
whenever they were faced with death, strange fighters who stopped a fatal
blade, a deadly arrow and then disappeared back into the fray. Kilgarn had
sent his children.

As the sun set on a red field of snow, Kaitlin helped her group of skirmishers
harry the depleted and retreating army. They followed it till it was definite
the army would not turn back and they urged the long runners back to the
village.

She found Myrrik was lying in the healer's tent, his leg housing a long gash
down the side of his leg, bandages bled through were being unwrapped by Hyrga,
the young female healer. "I don't know if this work yet again.." she mumbled.
She stood hunched over, her soft grey fur splattered by blood and gore, a mean
looking club tied at her belt was about as clean. Weariness radiated out of
the poor woman as she held out a strange golden medallion with a hand and a
tear on it. She pressed the medallion to Myrrik's leg and Kaitlin looked in
amazement as the leg and medallion both started to glow golden. The leg slowly
closed and the bleeding stopped. Fur grew around the wound white, and a scar
was visible underneath. Kaitlin barely had time to catch the young healer as
eyes rolled up and she collapsed.

She easily carried the small woman to a spare bed and put her down, pulling
the blankets up to her. She turned to find Myrrik standing and testing his
healed leg. He looked to Kaitlin with wide eyes. "I will never doubt again.
Tomorrow we move, we go to find the Equines, the keepers of knowledge, and we
find out how we repay the gods. And never, ever again will we turn our backs
on them."

She came up to him and wrapped her arm around his waist, her tail entwining
his. "And after that?"

"We go south and we teach that bastard Lord of theirs what it means to try and
enslave The People."

"And with your Leadership, My faith, and the help of the god's, we shall teach
him a lesson he will carry to his afterlife." She agreed strongly.

His paw found hers and their fingers wrapped around each other's. "Together,
we shall."

SAUCE00Return to Faith                    Spirit Wolf         Hallucigenia        

P