2 comments/ 9314 views/ 11 favorites Dania Ch. 01 By: jdjdishere ****Please note that this story has been re-written. While most events have not been altered, some small things have been changed to make the story flow more fluidly.**** Comments and suggestions are always welcomed. Enjoy. * I don't really know who or what I am. I have lived through many winters and have only come across one other like me. I've met a few were-cats, but only one who was truly like myself. Kimber was her name. Though feline, neither Kimber nor I possessed the ability to change from our Cats into humans. We were stuck somewhere in between. But this story isn't about Kimber, it is about me. My name is Dania. I stand about 5'8" and have short grey-ish fur covering most of my body. My face and hands are the exception here. My skin is that same ashy grey color as my fur and it can be difficult to tell where one stops and the other begins. My hair reaches about half-way down my back. My face could be described as mostly human, although my nose and upper lip are definitely cat-like. I have an athletic figure most women would be jealous of. Except for my tail. . . . . I don't imagine that they would welcome the tail. I have no memories of when I was a child; who my parents were, what people I belonged to, how old I am. Nothing. My earliest memory is from when I woke up one morning in what the humans call the Cascade Mountains. I didn't know this at the time. All I knew was that I was hungry and scared. Those first few years there were the hardest. I had to fight for every bit of food that I got. Every day was a struggle. And there were times when I just could not find food and would go for days without eating. But, in the end, I know that it made me stronger. It made me faster. I had to adapt or starve to death. This was life for me. The best part of my days were when I would go into the trees. I loved the trees! There was nothing more exhilarating than to jump from limb to limb, from tree to tree. That sensation of weightlessness as I flew through the air is indescribable. As I waited to hit the next tree, I was invincible. I have often looked back and wondered why it was that I took so well to the trees. Were my people tree-dwellers? Did I spend my time as a child in the trees? Or was it that I was different from my people? Were they more at home on the ground than I was? Was I a freak? Kimber was more at home on the ground. So which of us were the descriptor for our species? I don't know. Maybe I never will. By the time five winters had passed, I was no longer struggling for food. The tree tops were my home and I feared nothing in the woods. I no longer questioned who I was or where I'd come from. Those questions just didn't seem important anymore. Wondering about my past took my attention away from the present, which could have been dangerous. What mattered was that I was alive. As another two winters said their goodbyes, I was queen of my world. The animals did not fear me. I could walk up to any creature without scaring them away. I enjoyed watching them from the trees and then dropping down to be nearer to them, sometimes running my hand along their backs. And as gentle as I was with them, I also had to eat. I never had the urge to kill for fun. I ate what I killed. I'm not ashamed to say that I used their general lack of fear of me to my advantage and when it was time for a meal, I was ruthless. I did not feel guilty about stroking an animals back to calm it before reaching down and sinking my teeth into its throat. I was not at the top of the food chain. I WAS the top of the food chain. Not long after I had been in the Forest for 12 winters, things suddenly became interesting. I was in the far northern part of my territory and found a clearing with a nice watering hole to take a bath in. I didn't come to this part of the Forest often and hadn't been here in two or three winters. The Forest was thick here with the trees much closer together. Running on the ground proved more difficult, but not impossible. But in my trees . . . in my trees it was heaven. I was a flash of gray up there, gone almost before you knew you'd seen me. If you ever saw me at all. I was enjoying my bath and enjoying the cool, almost cold water against my skin. Chills ran up my spine and goosebumps covered my flesh. My hands drifted slowly along my body as I removed a days worth of dirt and dust from my coat. I reached down and grabbed my tail, bringing it up between my legs for its cleaning, making sure that it rubbed against that especially sensitive parting of flesh. My eyes began to close in pleasure after on a moment or two of this and soon I was lost to the sensations rolling through my body. Letting go of my tail, I let a finger take its place while my other hand snaked its way up my body, teasing the flesh along the way. My nipples were already hard by the time my hand made its way to them. One flick with my claw and their sensitivity was evidenced by my inhalation of breath and the purr that followed suit. My eyes were completely closed now. Had they been open, you would have seen that they were rolled back in my head. My hand, the one not playing with my breasts, continued its ministrations by circling my clit and with the occasional insertion. My Cat was beginning to take over now as my mind slipped away into blissful semi-consciousness. Sometimes I just have to let my Cat out to play or I will go insane, and I did so now, falling completely into ecstasy. Reality came crashing back to me when I heard what sounded like footsteps in the Forest. I pushed my Cat away and listened more carefully, ascertaining that it wasn't any animal that I knew of. If I didn't know any better, I would say that it walked on two legs . . . . like I did. Wait! Was this creature like me? Was it one of my people? Excitement nearly got the better of me. I was out of the water and heading towards whatever it was before it occurred to me that it may not be friendly. Even if it was one of my people, there was no guarantee that it would welcome me with open arms. For all I knew. . . . well I didn't really know anything. Caution seemed the better option here so I headed in the other direction and into the Forest on the other side of the clearing. A few steps into the treeline and I stepped on a branch. The creature stopped and the sound of the crack and I knew then that its hearing was as good as mine. If it could hear me, then it knew where I was. I had to make a conscious effort to not make any more sound as I circled around the clearing a bit and then ascended into the trees. Into safety. I made my way through the treetops and eventually found this thing wandering around in my woods. I was more than a little shocked when I found him. Yes, I'm sure it was a him. Not only was it a him, it was a big him. This thing was huge. If I were to have stood next to him, I would come mid-way his chest. His arms and legs could have been mistaken for small trees. His massive hands would have no trouble fitting completely around my waist. His fur was a reddish-orange and covered most of his body. What was this thing? I must have gasped at that moment because he looked straight at me. His eyes were a deep green and I was trapped by his stare. I felt nothing but terror. Not from him, but because I didn't know who or what this thing was and it was in my woods. And although I sensed nothing menacing about him in his gaze, I didn't like it anyways. I had to ask myself if there were more of him, and if so, how many. I took off as fast as I could and he began to follow. The thick underbrush made it hard for him to keep up and I was relieved that he never came into the trees. It only took a few moments for me to get far enough away that I could no longer hear him. I paused just long enough to think to myself that I wanted to get as far away from him as I could. And I did. I traveled the rest of the day, making sure to stay away from my home, and, as night fell, I stopped to rest. The pace I'd set should have gotten me a sufficient distance away. Exhaustion and exhilaration nearly overwhelmed my tired body. A part of me hoped that we would never cross paths again. I would do well to be cautious, this thing walked upright like I did and seemed to be intelligent like I was. But the cat in me was curious. It wanted to know what this thing was. And I couldn't resist my cat. But first, I needed to rest. I fell asleep as the Sun was setting and the Moon rising. I love the Moon. I awoke to the sound of a branch snapping and my first instinct was to panic. I had to get away. It had to be him. What else could it be? But how had he found me? He couldn't have, I was too far away. . . . All of these thoughts raced through my head all at once and it took a second to get my bearings. I took in my surroundings. He wasn't here. And he hadn't been. I saw the skunk and knew what had happened. Some stupid animal and pissed it off and gotten sprayed and then ran off, snapping the branch. What an idiot. Being scared like this pissed me off. These were my woods and I would be damned if something else was gonna come in here without me knowing about it. I had to find this thing and learn about it if it was the last thing I did. I set out immediately even though the moon was only half way across the sky. The night was something I could use as a cover. I retraced my steps back the way I'd come. This thing had come much closer to finding me that I wanted to think about. This could only mean that he was able to track me. My claws did leave marks on the trees, so this was not out of the question. The sheer size of this things feet made him easy to track. Very little effort was required to see where he'd gone. It never occurred to me that something able to track that well should have been more adept at covering his own tracks. It took no effort to follow his tracks back to the clearing where I'd bathed. He left his tracks all over the clearing. There were almost identical to mine; the same shape, but larger and without claws. I could tell that he'd walked around the watering hole a few times, gone in a ways, and then headed into the Forest on the opposite side of the clearing. I'd never been very far in that direction. Was it possible that he lived in that direction? That our territories overlapped? That they overlapped and we'd just never crossed paths before? Or was he just trespassing? No. He'd come from within my territory and was heading out. He was definitely trespassing. I made my way into the Forest the way this thing had gone. I had to be careful. I did not know the area very well and he could be anywhere. The slightest sound would give me away. Stealth was my friend here. For almost an entire day I followed the tracks left by this massive being. When I found him, I quickly decided that I wished I hadn't. He wasn't alone. There were at least a dozen or more of these creatures there with him. They had fur that was a darker brown than his and they were all just a bit taller than he. The orange-ish fur was unique to him. And although he was shorter, he was much thicker and appeared to be stronger than the others as well. I stood there not moving, afraid that if I moved they would know I was there. I couldn't run. I mean, what if one of the others were faster than him? What if they could come up into the trees like I could? What if they could knock the trees down? These and a hundred other thoughts raced through my brain as I contemplated what to do. As I pondered this, I happened to notice that he was directly at me. Again, I was captured by his green-eyed gaze. He gave no signal to the others that I was even there. But he knew. I don't know why, but I got the feeling that he'd been waiting on me. He'd left his tracks for me to follow. He knew I would come. Dania Ch. 02 I could hear the sounds of the Forest as I sat there, motionless, waiting for something to happen. I didn't know whether to be in awe of this creature for tricking me so easily, pissed at him for tricking me in the first place, or pissed at myself for what I let him to do me. My emotional state of mind was in tatters. I felt as if I were being torn every which way but loose. I sat there for what seemed an eternity and stared into his jaded eyes from across the distance. I decided that I hated him for it. Yes, I hated him. My vulnerability hit me like a boulder careening down the side of a mountain. As I stared into his eyes, I knew that none of the others had a clue as to my presence. They were listening intently to what he was saying. This is what I told myself anyways. For all I knew, he could be telling them about the strange and beautiful Cat he saw in the Forest. But if he were actually telling them, I think they would have been a little more excited. I broke eye contact to scan my surroundings. I could see those who were with him clearly, but it was the ones I couldn't see that worried me. There could have been more that I wasn't aware of. I breathed a sigh of relief when I couldn't find any others. When I looked back to him, the group was heading into the Forest to my left. The jade-eyed leader had come towards me a few steps and had an odd look on his face. It took a moment, but I recognized it as the same look I have when I'm hunting and know that I have my prey where I want it. It was a look of enjoyment. I didn't like the way he was looking at me. It made me feel weird. Weird in this situation could get me killed. I was now sure I hated him. Without warning, he stood and barked something to the others and headed off into the Forest directly opposite of me instead of to the left as the others had. One by one they re-emerged and proceeded to follow him in the other direction. I wasn't sure if this was some sort of misdirection and my Cat wasn't curious enough to wait around and see. Well it was, but I wasn't. This was my chance to get back into my trees and ultimately back home. I couldn't let my pride get in the way, no matter how much I disliked the fact that he was letting me go. Make no mistake about it, he'd let me go. He knew I was there and I was clearly outnumbered. So I tucked my Cat in and headed into the trees. My feline mind wandered as I leapt from limb to limb, from tree to tree, moving like a shadow in the night. As my mind did its own thing, my Cat took over and was carrying much faster that I had ever dared to go before. Faster than I'd ever needed to. I found it comforting that I could trust my Cat. With my Cat at the reins, I had time to think back over the course of events and about these creatures in my Forest. I had no idea of what they were or what they wanted. If they wanted anything at all. I wasn't sure if I wanted to know. Yes I did. . . . . No I didn't. . . . . Maybe. The one I'd seen initially was their leader. Of that, I was sure. He wasn't the largest by any means, but he had an air of confidence about him that oozed leader-of-the-pack. There was no doubt that in a fight, he would most assuredly win against any of the others. My Cat agreed with this. And the other thing was that he was smart. This part of the equation troubled me the most. He knew exactly what I would do. He'd set things up almost as if I had no choice in the matter at all. Maybe I hadn't come at the exact moment he wanted, or from the precise direction. But he knew I would follow him. It was as if he knew my nature. Maybe he did. And this brought on a whole new tirade of questions in my head. If he knew my nature, did that mean that he knew of others of my kind? Or just that he knew I was a Cat and acted upon that alone? If he knew of my kind, did he know of me personally? Did he know who I was? When I reached the area of the mountains that you would call my home, well I guess you would call it that, I dropped to the ground near a brook to drink. I drank long, relishing the feel of the cool water sliding down my throat. My body was tired and overworked and the water helped. I sat there a moment letting everything that had happened sink in. I wasn't alone in the Forest. I mean, there were always other creatures, but none who were intelligent. This thing definitely was. The real question was if he were friend or foe. Would he try and hunt me down? That didn't seem likely. He had deliberately called his people to go in the opposite direction of me. If they had wanted me, I would have been outnumbered. I admit that I walked into his little "trap." But it wasn't really a trap. It was more of a message that said that we knew about each other and that we would stay clear of one another. That's what I thought it meant until I noticed the tracks around my home. Some of his people had been to my home snooping around. He'd sent them to spy on me. Their tracks were everywhere. My Cat's anger nearly overwhelmed me and I nearly lost all control. Not only had fallen for his trap, yes I was sure it was a trap now, I had also failed to see the full scope of his deception. "AAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!" The scream escaped my lips before I ever felt it coming on. It was primal, it was base, it encompassed all of the rage that I felt. Rage at him for his deception and at myself for allowing it. I had allowed him to do it. I should have known better to let my guard down. I had gotten careless. Carelessness could get me killed. I knew better. I screamed again. Something about the purity of it seemed to set me at ease. A little. Okay, not very much at all. But it did feel good. It provided me an outlet for the anger. Anger that would have prevented me from thinking clearly when we met again. I would need to formulate a plan of action. One that would either keep me away from these things forever or . . . . The world went dark. ***** I could see myself sitting in a tree overlooking some structure I didn't recognize. It was as if I were watching through my eyes and someone else was controlling my body. I had no control over it; I was a passenger along for the ride. The structure was completely enclosed. I could see light coming from a few windows and at least one door. Their roof was odd, they couldn't see the night sky or the Moon. The Moon was glorious tonight. I saw a figure pass in front of the window nearest to me. I was confused at what I saw: these things wore animal skins over their fur-less bodies! They looked a lot like me, only with no fur. Their skin was tanned and sun-kissed. I wondered where they put their tails. This confused me. But my body didn't feel confused, it felt protective over these things. Just then, a smaller one looked out the window in my direction. My body hugged itself closer to the tree, clearly trying to not be seen. It wasn't afraid of this young one, again, it felt protective. Did I know these things? This family? I somehow knew what a family was and that they were one. Gah!!! What were these things? Without my permission, my body slunk off into the night, avoiding detection by the young one. I watched as I made my way through the Forest (although this was the Forest, I didn't recognize it or any of the trees, this place was much farther away from home that I'd ever been) to a cave. Once inside the cave I made a fire and prepared some food. The fire was something I knew of, but had never thought that it was possible to make fire myself. I thought it was something that the Lightning made when it struck the ground sometimes. And regardless of how it was made, this fire was warm and inviting. I reveled in its embracing warmth. The food was new. It appeared to be a dried meat of some sort. I couldn't tell what kind exactly, but it was good and my body loved it. I searched my mind for what this was. The answer eluded me. Try as I might, I could not remember what this was. But my body said it liked it. After I had finished eating, my body made itself comfortable at the mouth of the cave and looked up at the Moon as it began to fall asleep. This Moon was magnificent and full. I watched it for awhile as it made its journey across the night sky. I attempted to tilt my head just a bit as the Moon, curiously, began to change. It was no longer full. Now it was barely more than a sliver in the night sky. And my head had tilted. I had some control over my body after all. ***** Of course I had control over my body. Why wouldn't I? I had only been dreaming. Wait! My surroundings were unfamiliar to me. I didn't know where I was. I knew that I had to get away. I had the distinct feeling that if I didn't, and quickly, that I never would. The thought of being captive struck an odd chord in me that I didn't know existed. I wasn't sure if it was appealing and ultimately decided that it wasn't up to me at this very instant. I had to free myself. This was easier said than done, however. I found that my feet and hands had been bound, as well as my tail. I also had a gag in my mouth. I didn't like this at all. My Cat's fury threatened to overtake my senses at what these creatures had done to me. It would be useless to try to escape just yet. And my cat was a little curious. So I waited for something to happen. Sometime shortly after dawn, one of my captors brought me some water and something to eat. Well I wouldn't call it something to eat, it was fruits and berries and nuts. I'm guessing this is what these things ate, so maybe they thought I ate this as well. I drank the water, but left their "food" alone. Twice more that day I was brought this food and water and twice more I only drank the water. Sometime in the late afternoon, right before the sun went behind the mountain, he came to visit me. He said something, I have no idea what, and then he left. It occurred to me at that moment that I did not speak their language. I knew how to speak. I was sure of that. An emptiness spread over me and I was suddenly very sad. For twelve winters now, I had not spoken to another living thing. The emptiness grew and for the first time in as long as I could remember, I felt small. Curled in a ball with my tail wrapped around me, I cried myself to sleep. The next morning he was standing over me when I woke. He had a leather strap in his hand which he placed around my neck. A much longer rope was then tied to the strap. All of my other bounds were taken away. As soon as my hands and feet were free, I immediately tried for the trees; this was my chance to get away. I got to the base of the closest one when he snatched on my leash, nearly choking me and causing me to fall on my back. I tried this a few more times and each time he'd snatch me back. He was letting me know just how far I could and could not go. My eyes narrowed as I looked at him, the hatred coming off of me in waves that I was sure he see. He returned my gaze, but not with hatred. There was something different in his stare. Had I not been so full of anger, I might have noticed that it was pity. I nearly starved over the course of the next week. Water would only do so much and I grew weaker and weaker from the lack of meat. Finally, he came back to me and moved me to the edge of the clearing close to some brush. Here I was able to catch a small rodent. It wasn't as good as a deer, but my body couldn't tell the different. I was still eating when I noticed him standing over me. He motioned to himself and said, "Roth." I didn't understand. He did this several more times, apparently trying to communicate something to me. He would point to himself and say, "Roth," and then point to me and say nothing. It took some time but I finally understood that he was telling me his name and wanted to know mine. "My name is Dania." The puzzled look on his face told me that he didn't understand my language any more than I his. I pointed to myself and said, "Dania." This seemed to please him as he smiled. He pointed to the rabbit carcass I had just eaten and said, "Yes," while shaking his head up and down. He then pointed to the fruits and such and said, "No," while shaking his head from side to side. And I understood what he meant. Without another word, he left and I didn't see him again for almost three days. ButI wasn't brought the fruits and nuts again. The next time I saw Roth, he had a rather large bundle of rope with him. He replaced the shorter rope with his. He motioned to a tree and told me what it was. He then made motions as if he were climbing the tree and told me what that was. So these things could climb trees.... What he said next caught me by surprise. "Dania climb tree," and motioned for me to do so. He was letting me climb the tree? I wasn't going to ask why, I mean I loved the trees and wouldn't pass up a chance to be in them again. I was a little wary, though. I knew that I couldn't go far and that if I did, I would be snatched back. If I were snatched out of a tree, I might not survive the fall. Oh how I loathed this creature. The nerve of him to keep me chained up like this. But still I enjoyed the time up in the trees. All except for the rope that all but prevented me from leaping from limb to limb. On more than one occasion I was midair when I felt the rope tighten and had to rely on my reflexes to search out another limb to land on. And then all too soon, I felt Roth tug on my leash, signaling me to come back down. My shorter rope was placed back on me and I was again a prisoner on the ground. I vowed then and there that I would get free and that I would kill Roth. I would get even. I would get him. Dania Ch. 03 "This is a strange creature indeed," Roth thought to himself. Never before in his 85 or so years had he come across anything like her. She was definitely feline. But she was also not feline. She was similar to his people, the Meh-teh, but she was much too small. Her fur was too soft and she had a tail. Yes, she was something new. But what? Roth knew as soon as he'd seen her that first day that he would have to find out what she was. He could tell by the way she'd watched him from the trees that she was curious; and being curious she would probably try and figure him out as well. A plan began to form in his mind. He was fairly certain that she would follow. Watching her would tell him him only so much about her, but a visit to her home would reveal volumes. So he would lure her to him and if he was lucky he might be able to time it so that a few of his men could catch her away from her home and they could see how she lived. This would tell them if she were dangerous or not. As leader of the Meh-teh, it was his job to protect his people. He needed to know. Ha! Keep them safe! That was funny. Nothing in the Forest was a danger to them. His people were a gentle people, but they were a strong people. When they time came, they could be a formidable adversary. But if this thing were dangerous, he would need to know nonetheless. He would find out. Upon reaching the Meh-teh, Roth sent his two best trackers to find out where this she-creature was from and if she were dangerous or not. Roth would wait with some others in a clearing, hoping she would be curious enough to come looking for him. It didn't matter how long it took, he would wait. He was a patient Meh-teh. A full night passed, and the next day was almost over when he finally saw her at the edge of the clearing. He couldn't help but smile to himself, he'd known she would come. And because she was here, she wasn't at her home; and if she weren't home, she couldn't stumble on his men. Roth locked eyes with this creature and he could see that she was intelligent. He could also see that she didn't like him very much. This didn't bode well. An intelligent creature who didn't like you could mean lots of trouble. And what if she were not the only one? Several of these things would be bad news. Roth held her attention for as long as he could, smiling the entire time. He refused to let her know that she had gotten to him. She broke the eye contact and scanned her surroundings. Damn, she was smart. When she returned her gaze, he could see the hatred in her eyes. Roth finally stood and signaled to the Meh-teh that it was time to return to the Forest. Their mission was accomplished. Initially, they headed into the Forest to her left. He wanted to let her know that they were not a threat to her so he had them head directly away from her. As they headed back into the Forest, she darted back inside and was gone in a flash of grey fur. Roth knew that if his men weren't careful, that she would catch them. Who knew what would happen then? Almost a day and a half later, as sunset was approaching, the two men Roth sent out came back, and they were carrying the creature. Nothing could have upset Roth more than this. He was furious! They were sent to spy on this thing's home; to learn about her, to determine if she were dangerous. They should not have brought her back. Were they able to determine if she was dangerous? And if she were dangerous, how much so? Roth suspected that she didn't like him very much already, and now she'd been taken against her will. Anos and Gynon, who were the two that Roth sent to explore her home, explained that from what they'd seen before she arrived, that they didn't think she was dangerous. She had no weapons of any kind and the animals weren't afriad to go near her dwelling. They'd seen her come down from the trees to get a drink of water and when she screamed, they had panicked. Gynon threw a rather large stump he'd found and hit her in the head with it. She was out in an instant. They hadn't known what to do so they'd brought her back with them. As angry as Roth was, he knew that they didn't comprehend the scope of what they'd done. This thing was an unknown. Without information about her, there was no way to make any kind of intelligent decision. So for now, they would bind her hands and feet. That would have to do for now. On second thought, her tail would need to be bound as well. For all he knew, her tail was dangerous as well. Now all that remained was to wait for her to awaken. The moon was halfway across the sky when she finally opened her eyes. Her eyes . . . . her eyes were filled with an intense fury which cooled down into a light curiosity. Shortly after dawn, Rogh had one of the women, Agna, prepare a meal of nuts and greens and take it to the creature. She proved to be ungrateful, drinking only the water, not touching any of the food. The she-creature did this for two more days. It occurred to Roth that she may not eat as they do. Her canines were long and pointed. Was it possible that she ate meat? What a disgusting thing! There was no way on Earth that they would kill an animal for her to eat. None. But they couldn't let her die either. The only viable option would be to allow her into the brush and hope she could find some rodent or small animal. That would have to do. Anything more and they would risk her escape. He would give her some room to move, but she wasn't getting to the treeline. Roth went to her late on the evening of the second day and asked her if she ate meat. But she didn't understand. For a brief instant he thought he saw sadness in her eyes, as if some new revelation had just occurred to her. But it was gone now and he wasn't entirely sure it had ever really been there. The next morning Roth placed a collar and leash on her that he's spent part of the night making from vines and some barks of trees. Once it was on, he unbound her. No sooner than she was undone, she took off for the treeline. Roth had to pull her back, causing her to land on her back. It was important that she know how far she could and could not go. He didn't want her to get hurt. He fully realized that it would take time before she came to believe that. But she kept trying to get away. And as much as it pained him, Roth kept pulling her back, each time resulting in her feet coming out from under her and her landing on her back. Around mid-morning, she finally gave up and gave him a hateful glare. He knew that she could be a dangerous one. Part of his reasoning for putting her on the leash was so that she could move around. The other part was so that she could catch something to eat if it came near her; she clearly was not going to eat their kind of food. She would have starved had Roth not moved her to the edge of the clearing where she could get behind a bush or two. It didn't take her long before she'd killed a rabbit. She had gotten it to come over, held it in her lap and petted it for a moment. And then, without warning, she sank her teeth into its neck and ripped it out. She was a killer, no doubt about it now. Roth had to know if she were dangerous to the Meh-teh or not. He implored her to talk to him...to tell him something. But he may as well have been talking to the trees. No, that's not true. He was sure that they trees could have communicated better with him than she was. The Meh-teh and the trees knew each other. He waited until she'd finished eating before he even thought to approach her. If she couldn't understand him, then he would have to teach her. Pointing to himself, he said, "Roth." He then pointed to her and said nothing. He hoped that she would understand. Again and again, he would point to himself while saying his name, and then at her with what he hoped was a questioning look on his face. Eventually she said, "Dania." So her name was Dania. It was not a name familiar to him, but he liked it nonetheless. Roth then spent some time teaching her the meaning of "yes" and "no." Roth was able to discern that she didn't eat fruits and greens as the Meh-teh did, she ate meat instead. It was a practice that he didn't particularly like, but he instructed Agna to not bring her food anymore. Dania would have to kill her own meat. Roth and the Meh-teh would not be a part of it. What was he to do with this creature? He knew her name, but nothing else about her. Where she came from or who she was remained a mystery. He knew that she could be dangerous; but so could anyone when they were cornered. The question of how dangerous was yet another mystery that needed solving. Roth finally came to the determination that if he could teach her to speak, then it may be possible for them to come to some sort of understanding. She was certainly intelligent enough. He would take things slowly and he would be smart about it. He would use the trees to his advantage. Dania loved the trees and would possibly be more willing to cooperate if she were allowed in them every now then. Anos was given instructions to bring the longest rope they had. He was going to let her into the trees. Dania was looking much healthier the next time that Roth saw her. Meat really did do her well. Without wasting time, he taught her how to say the words "tree" and "climb." The Meh-teh did not climb trees and he must have looked rather stupid trying to mimic this action. He certainly felt that way. But Dania understood his meaning. He attached the longer leash to her collar and instructed her to climb into the trees. Dania wasted no time and began to climb the nearest tree. And to Roth's surprise, she was careful not to go to the end of the leash. He understood that she knew what would happen if she were up in the air and came to the end of it. She would fall. But still, Dania spent the better half of the morning jumping from limb to limb, and sometimes from tree to tree. The Meh-teh were amazed at how she never seemed to get tangled. They had gathered around to watch and were sure that she would forget and, literally, be at the end of her rope. There were a few scares when she would be in mid-air and the leash would tighten. But she would twist and find another branch to land upon. But it had to come to an end. If he were going to use the trees to coerce her into cooperating, then it had to be a privilege he could take away at any moment and it could not be one she enjoyed unless she were "good." He wanted to try something. If he were to snatch, he knew that she would come back. But would happen if there was just a gentle tug? He tried it. Dania looked back and, at first, did nothing. Roth tugged again and still got no response. He tugged a third time, just a little harder, and she glared at him. Keeping the rope taut, he stared right back into her eyes. He was in charge here and she would have to learn this. She relented and allowed herself to have the shorter leash put back on her. She never took her eyes off of his and the look of hatred never left her face. This look told Roth that if she ever escaped, it may not end well for him. Roth couldn't explain why, but he felt the need to make peace with Dania. And when you thought about it, it made sense: She could be an ally and she had to know things that they did not. But how could he make this peace with her if they could not communicate? He would have to teach her, of course. And that's what he was doing now, but at what cost? Would she be willing to make peace after being held captive? Over the next cycle of the Moon, Roth spent the mornings allowing dania up into the trees. Up there she was a thing of beauty. Up there she was in her element. She was the Alpha up there. But it always had to come to an end, and always she gave him that "I'm going to kill you" look. Afterwards, Roth would spend time teaching her how to speak. She was a quick and eager learner, absorbing most of what was presented to her. By the end of the Moon's cycle, Dania could understand most of what the Meh-teh were saying and could communicate a great deal of her needs and wants. When she made it to a point where she could converse with Roth, she did. "Roth, why Dania here?" He pondered the question for a moment and responded, "We thought you might be dangerous and we had to find out. We know you can be, but WILL you be is another matter." "Dania want go home," Dania said. She thought to herself that she no longer wanted to kill Roth. Most of the time. Just when he made her come down from the trees. "I can't let you do that." "Dania no like." She took that back, she wanted him dead and she wanted him dead right now. Fury raged within her and she lunged forward at Roth. She felt the leash tighten but she did not stop. She pulled against it with all her might, determined to get at this beast who kept her locked up. A look of surprise swept across both of their faces as the leash snapped, releasing Dania to do her worst. She was on top of Roth in half an instant, tackling him to the ground and clawing at his face and biting into his muscular shoulders. He let out a scream of pain as she sank her teeth in. Roth didn't know if it was instinct or something else, but he grabbed this tiny woman and flung her off of him. She landed on her feet, his blood still running from her mouth. "Do. Not. Follow. Me," was all she said and then into the trees she went and was gone before any of the other Meh-teh could intervene. Roth lay on the ground too shocked to move and strangely aroused at the same time. What was Dania? Dania Ch. 04 I almost couldn't believe it! I had escaped. And to my immense satisfaction, I had exacted some revenge on Roth. I took a chunk of meat out of his shoulder and clawed at his face savagely. I could only hope that I'd scarred him permanently. I will never forget that look of shock on his face as I warned him not to follow me. I knew that they would though, maybe even Roth himself. But they would follow, that was a certainty. I ran for awhile and tried to think as I ran but it was getting me nowhere fast. I could not concentrate on any single train of thought. I let my Cat take over and let her do the running. I retreated into myself and just floated for a moment. I had to figure things out. They had tracked me home. This meant that they not only knew where I lived, but also that they could track me. This also meant that running was not an option. So I had nowhere that I could run to, which meant I could run anywhere....or nowhere at all. I was hungry. I would need to find food soon. At the very least, I would be able to hear them coming. Then there was the Meh-teh in general. They were generally a peaceful people. But they had kidnapped me and kept me prisoner without provocation. So how peaceful could they really be? They were obviously intelligent: they had a language, a culture, a society and had even taught me how to speak. I found all of this very frustrating. None of this made any sense. Each thing I knew about these people contradicted itself. And I couldn't forget how easily Roth had thrown me through the air; there was little chance I could do battle with them. One on one, maybe. Probably. But there were dozens of them. This was not a fight I wished to have. If they chose to, they could follow me wherever I went and if I chose to fight them off, their numbers would overtake me. I had to stop thinking like this! I needed to be practical. I needed a plan of action. Every fiber of my being knew that this was what I should do. But before I could do that, I needed some food and some rest. The ability to think clearly would be paramount in the next few hours. Living this last cycle of the Moon on so little food had done wonders for my body....I'd lost some extra fat and my body had become chiseled. Be that as it may, i was still hungry and weak. And I wanted to hunt. I'd missed that thrill I get when I'm hunting. I set out to find a meal, momentarily forgetting that Roth and the Meh-teh were probably looking for me this very instant. I'd put some distance between us, but they would be closing that gap. My Cat told me not to worry about them just now. I needed food and rest. I moved silently through the treetops looking for something that piqued my interest. I came across several animals that, luckily for them, didn't appeal to me. Until I came across the fawn......This was dinner. Not only would it be fun to chase, but it wouldn't give up until it was dead. Being young, it wouldn't know to give up. I stalked it for awhile before making my way to a lower branch, and then to the ground, landing in front of it. For a moment, I could see the confusion in its eyes. I could detect the moment when it realized that it was being hunted. It took off without a moment's hesitation. Maybe it was the look in my eyes that tipped it off, maybe it was that I was new to it. I waited for a bit before setting off after it. Oh how I loved this. I repeatedly would run up next to the fawn and bump into it just enough to trip it up. It would fall and then be up and off in a different direction. This one was quick. I liked that. But I soon grew tired of this, I was too hungry to keep playing with my food. I tripped the fawn once more, but was on top of it before it could rise again. I took the fawn's head in one hand and pulled it back to expose its neck. I sank my teeth in and enjoyed the feel of the warm blood as it danced across my tongue. I let the blood run for a moment before ripping out a chunk and swallowing it. It wasn't dead yet. It should have been, but it wasn't. Gripping its head firmly, I snapped its neck. There, it was dead now. No sense in letting it suffer. I drank of its blood once more before finally eating my full. Having a full stomach set me at ease and now all I needed was rest. After that, I could formulate a plan. Resting would put me in danger....they could easily slip up on me....I would need to find a place where I couldn't be tracked to. A river would be perfect. I could float down it. You couldn't track something that left no tracks. It took the rest of the daylight hours before I found a river that suited my needs. The water was icy and after awhile it threatened to overtake me. I'd stood it for as long as I could and now it was time to come back. I could only hope that I'd drifted far enough down the river so as to not leave them any way of finding me. I made my way into the trees and was asleep before I began to dry. ***** I found myself kneeling on top of some furs with a fire burning softly nearby. My head was down. I tried to move my head but found that I was not in control of my body. I couldn't see much of my surroundings. I noted that my hands were clasped behind my back, restrained, somehow, likely bound. But I wasn't alarmed, instead I found my circumstances created a surge of potential. "Dania, look up at me." My eyes raised, but my head remained still. Before me stood another like me. Only it was a male. I knew that I belonged to him and it was the greatest feeling in the world. Potential fulfilled. My loins grew hot as I drank in the sight of him. He was perhaps a full head and shoulder taller than me. His musculature was easily seen beneath his coat of silvery grey fur. And as much of a perfect physical specimen as he was, it was his presence that captured my attention and adoration. No, it commanded. Yes, that's the right word. He commanded my attention. And I gave it willingly. I knew what he was to me, but I could find no name for it. It wasn't love or lust. It was something else. For me, in this moment, it simply was. "Why do you serve me?" I had no answer for this, but apparently my tongue did. "Because it pleases you." He didn't say anything as he walked over and pushed my face back to the floor. He held me there. I'd disappointed him and I was ashamed of that. I felt three very hard slaps on my ass, each harder than the last. When he was done, he lifted me by the neck back to a kneeling position. "Why do you serve me?" he repeated. "Because it pleases you, Sir." A smile spread across his face. "Good girl." Joy coursed throughout my body. I knew that I'd pleased him. I loved to please him, to make him happy. I had to be a good girl for him. I ached to be his good girl. And that smile meant that that I was doing well. He walked over and petted my hair and brushed it back out of my face. "You know that you are mine and that what you do reflects on me. When you behave it glorifies me. When you misbehave . . . . well then you must be punished." He didn't wait for me nod my response. He walked around behind me and I couldn't see what he was doing. The part of me that was "now" was frustrated that I couldn't look around to see, the part of me that was "then" only felt ashamed that I'd let him down. He grabbed the rope that bound my hands together and lifted, which also lifted my arms behind me to a not-so-pleasant angle. I stood as quickly as I could, but even then, he'd lifted high enough to cause just a bit of pain and I felt exposed in this position: my arms were lifted up behind my back in such a way that I was bent over at the waist and my butt was sticking out.I could feel him fumbling, but could not tell what it was. I was focused on the pain that I was in. I could tell that the other me knew what the transgression had been and accepted that she deserved the punishment. "Dania, open your eyes." I hadn't realized that they had been closed.....but they opened on command. He was standing in front of me now. I'm guessing that he'd tied our hands up like that. I felt vulnerable. "Tell me that you know that I will not harm you. That I do this out of love." I could only hoped that the other me remembered protocol. "I understand, Sir." Thank the Moon! She remembered. "Good girl. Now lift your foot." I did and he spread some small rocks where I had had my foot. "Back down now." Again, I obeyed. I was not, however, prepared for the excruciating pain that pierced through my feet at multiple points. Those stones hurt. I am certain that I would have cried had I had any control over my body. He repeated the process with my other foot. It was only now that I realized how this punishment would work. I would endure some kind of pain for however long he deemed necessary. If I chose to not support my weight on my feet, then my arms would be lifted to an impossible angle, possibly dislocating them. If I chose to support my weight, then the stones would cut into my feet. I had resigned myself to this fate when he came up to me with an evil grin on his face. "You don't think this is all of it, do you." "I . . . I . . . . had hoped." Without another word, he reached down and began to massage my sex. I had been wet before and was shocked to find that I still was; perhaps even more so. His hand felt so good that I forgot about everything else. Until I let go with my legs, which caused my arms to angle painfully, which then caused me to stand back up, enabling the rocks to cut into my feet again. My body did not know what to do, and he was not stopping. "Ha ha ha, my pet." Both of myselves loved hearing those words. They spoke to something primal in me. He increased the intensity with his fingers: his fingers circling much faster and with more pressure. I was on the verge. But something told me I wasn't supposed to. Not until he said so. No, never until he said so. I nearly lost my bearings when he inserted a finger in me. It was almost too much to be present with the feelings circulating between my arms, crotch and feet. My body had lost any sense of what it was supposed to do except respond. All I knew was that I didn't want him to stop. Part of me (both of me) never wanted to disappoint him again, but part of me (again, both of me) couldn't help but think that if all punishments involved this much pleasure, it might be worth it every now and again. But not too often. "Dania..." Can it be? Is he going to let me? "you..." He is! He's gonna let me cum! "may..." I can't wait. Go ahead and say it, please. Please, please, please. I'll be a good girl. "c..." ***** You've got to be kidding me. Could I have picked a worse time to wake up? I doubt it. I tried playing with myself, tried to get to completion. But I found that I couldn't. Was I too soon removed from his power? I smiled to myself, hoping that was the case and not sure why. I soon returned to sleep. It was not a pleasant one however. I had a nightmare in which Roth and the Meh-teh captured me again and this time, they weren't so nice about it. I was tightly bound and it was clear that I would be executed. Another of my kind was there to be executed, just as I was. I begged Roth to let her go, but he couldn't hear me. It was as I were underwater and my words were lost to the bubbles. I watched in horror as he literally ripped her head from her shoulders and held it above his head, allowing the blood to drip down onto him. And now it was my turn. I felt him start to pull and the pain begin to build. And then I woke up. While that last bit of sleep hadn't been peaceful, it had been restful. My head was clear and my belly was full. It was time to develop a plan. I knew that there was no way to keep them from finding me; and I was not going to run from them. I was tired of running. But fighting them was not an option either. To fight them would be suicide. Especially all of them together. Even one on one would be quite the task. So did I join them? That was something I had no inclination of doing. To live with them would inhibit the way I chose to live. The treetops were where I loved to be and I wasn't willing to give that up. So that left me with one viable option: A truce. But I really didn't think that a truce was ever going to happen. Roth was the leader of the Meh-teh and also the one responsible for my being captured in the first place. And to top it off, the last time we'd met, I had attacked him, clawing at his face and ripping flesh from his shoulder. There would be no way on earth that he'd want a truce now. Not after that. I knew that they would come after me. I was an unknown for them, a loose end. But I was not going to let them come for me, I would hunt them instead. And I would let them know that I just wanted to be left alone, that I didn't pose a threat to them. I was still far from their home when I heard one of them. I stalked him from above, trying to discern who this one was. But I'd never seen him before. I was unsure if this was good or bad. Just like me to them, he was an unknown to me. I jumped down from the tree where I'd been watching him and landed on his shoulders. It caught him off guard and we both hit the ground. I rolled from him and was back on my feet, ready to defend myself if I had to. I tried in vain to tell him to stop, but he never heard me. He was already charging towards me. I ducked to the side and he only barely missed me. Several more times he lunged at me, malice clearly in his eyes. If this continued, I would have to defend myself. This was not going the way I'd hoped it would. I had to get him to stop trying to fight me in order for him to listen. But how? He was a ball of anger. I had to stop him. The next time he barreled towards me, I, again, stepped to the side just a little. As soon as he passed, I pounced onto his back. I had hoped that the sudden shift in weight would have been enough to take his balance away. It was not. He was able to reach up over his head and grab me, slamming me into the ground. I knew that if I stayed down that I would be done for. I forced myself up and charged him, clawing blindly and screaming as if I were mad. This took him by surprise and I was able to tackle him to the ground. I sat on his chest with my knees on his arms so that he couldn't hit me. I knew deep down that he could throw me off at anytime. But before he could, "Wait. I don't want to fight. Listen to me." He responded with acid in his voice, "Roth wants you hunted down and killed. You're dangerous." "I'm not dangerous. I want to be left alone. Go to Roth and ask him to meet me at the place where he first saw me. Tell him to come alone." "Not dangerous? You just attacked me! Out of nowhere, you jumped down from the trees and attacked me!!!" "What else was I supposed to do? You guys took me prisoner before, and kept me. Look, just tell Roth." "And if I don't." "Then you leave me no choice but to kill you. You just told me that you're here to hunt me down. I can't let that happen. I don't want to, but I will." Without warning he both lifted me and shifted his weight at the same time and pinned me to the ground. He held both of my arms with one massive hand and my throat with the other. "Or I could end all of this right here." I twisted my head and bit down on his hand and refused to let go. He howled in pain and drew his hand back, leaving his finger in my mouth. I wriggled from under him and grabbed his neck from behind, squeezing enough to let him know that I meant business. I spit his finger onto the ground in front of him so he could see it. "I don't want to do this," I told him again as I let the claw from my index finger trace lightly across his throat. "Go to Roth like I asked." Knowing it could be a bad idea, I turned from him and began to walk away. I knew that he could decide to attack at any time so I wasn't surprised when I felt his hand on my shoulder and spin me around. As I spun, I lashed out at his face, slicing completely through his cheek. He would need time to heal from that. I smiled. His already bleeding hand went to his cheek. "I'll go to him. I can't promise he'll come. And if . . . ." "Just go," I interrupted. He turned and walked away. I watched him as he all but disappeared into the woods. I had never noticed before how well the Meh-teh could conceal themselves. It was truly remarkable. And I had held my own against this one and had wounded him permanently. If he were typical of the Meh-teh, then I knew I could take them on one on one. Their strength was by far superior to mine, but I was the faster and more agile. If it came down to a fight, I would have to make the fight last as long as I could and rely on my speed and agility. I needed to get back. I had to prepare. I knew he would be angry and that there may be a fight. I had no doubt in my mind that with Roth being the leader of the Meh-teh, he would be much more of an adversary. The question was whether or not he would be too much for me to survive. I reached the watering hole just after Moonrise and I was relieved to be back in familiar territory. My Cat wanted to go for a swim and relax. And I was tempted to give in. But there were things that needed to be done. Roth would see most traps that I would lay for him, so I had to be discreet. I decided that I didn't want to make anything obvious for him, so all I did was gather a few small stones that I could throw if I had to. The Moon was now directly overhead. My Cat would wait no longer, it wanted to swim. I let it take over and I simply enjoyed this moment of peace. I didn't know when I would have another. I didn't know IF I would have another. If things went badly tomorrow, I would either be a prisoner or dead. So I enjoyed this and I slept soundly. When I awoke the next morning Roth was already there. I was crouched down and it was clear by the look on his face that there would be no truce. I found myself almost glad to see him. The shock of this realization froze me for a moment as my mind tried to determine exactly what this meant. I never moved as Roth stood up and walked towards me. I could only watch him as he came near. The kick to my gut brought me back to reality and light flashed before my eyes. My vision was blurred for a moment and cleared just in time to see Roth hurling a stone towards me (one of the very stones I'd gathered). It had nearly struck me in the face. If my reflexes weren't as good as they were, it would have. "Roth wait!" As he prepared to charge, I could tell that he wasn't in the mood to talk. When you thought about things, I couldn't really blame him. The last time we'd met, I'd attacked him, and then I'd injured one of his people. As their leader, he had to take action. I knew that he would win if we both charged. My hope was to jump high, land on his shoulders, and then jump down to the ground behind him. I jumped high enough, but he moved faster than I'd anticipated and I half landed on, half fell down his back. My only consolation was that as I'd done this, I'd dug my claws into his back. I heard a sharp intake of breath as my claws dug in and made their way down his back. I knew that this would anger him all the more and I was ready for that anger to be directed at me. Instead, he turned slowly with a slight grin on his face. What the fuck? How could this be? It hadn't hurt him at all. I stood there, my head cocked to the side. He stood there letting this sink in for me. And then he was on the attack again. For the first time, it occurred to me that I might lose this fight. Dania Ch. 04 We exchanged blows and we were both becoming bloody and tired. His massive hands knocked the air from my lungs every time he struck me. I couldn't tell if I had any effect on him, other than wearing him out from hitting me so much. I used my speed as much as I could and eventually I could tell that I finally had the upper hand. Roth was getting slower as fatigue gradually overtook him. I felt a wicked grin begin to curl itself at the corners of my mouth. I would run in and slash again before he could retaliate. he was now my prey and I realized that I was playing with him, much as I had done with the fawn previously. I had him down on one knee with his head my hands, holding it back and exposing his neck. And then I was completely pinned down. How could I have been this stupid? I thought I'd had victory in my grasp and I got careless. I knew now that he'd been setting me up for it and, once again, I'd fallen right where he'd wanted me to. He had me by the throat and he was squeezing. I couldn't breathe anymore. All I could do was look up into his fury-filled face. He'd cursed me for hurting him, for threatening him. I lie there as this thing was on top of me, letting me know just how angry he was with me. I knew that he was going to kill me and in my current position, I could do nothing to stop him. His weight on top of me felt good. Better than it should have at that moment. I didn't know how to feel. I hated him, I wanted nothing to do with him. And yet I was relieved to see him and I loved the way his body felt on top of mine. There was a rumbling/tickling sensation in the pit of my stomach and I was beginning to feel very hot. I began to purr and became lost in his green eyes. I was completely captivated by him. My world began to fade and I lost track of not only what he was saying, but also that he was even speaking. Seeing me gradually pass out must of done something to him: his words because softer and kinder, and his grip loosened on my throat, allowing me to breathe once again. His voice had trailed off into a whisper now. I could tell that he'd forgotten to be angry with me. Our eyes were locked together and he was now only inches from my face. And then he kissed me. I didn't have a name for it right then, but that's what it was. I purred again, loudly this time, my toes curled and the tip of my tail swished back and forth. It was a deep kiss, a forceful kiss. He tightened his grip on my throat again, but not tight enough to constrict my airflow. I gave in to him completely at that moment. I could feel the longing coming off of him in waves. Some part of me knew that whether I liked it or not, he was in control. He was in control and I liked it a lot. But then something snapped inside me. I didn't know what he was doing and I didn't like the fact that I'd given into him so completely. And without reason. Somewhere inside I recognized the fact that I shouldn't give in to him like this, that he hadn't earned it. I brought my legs up to kick him off and, instead, caught him in the groin. He rolled off of me and I was up and gone in an instant. How dare he touch me like that! And even though I liked it, I hated it at the same time. I didn't like the way he made me feel. No, that's not true. I did like it. I didn't know how to feel. It felt familiar and different at the same time. And judging from recent experience, different could get me killed. But it had felt so good . . . . ***** "Trouble with the Meh-teh" Everything had happened so fast that Roth was scarce sure of what exactly it was that had happened. He'd thought that after spending a full cycle of the Moon with his people, that Dania had proven herself to not be dangerous. But he had been wrong. She had escaped, and then attacked him. He was now missing a chunk of flesh from his shoulder. But as he lie there on the ground watching her leave, he couldn't help but notice the stirrings of arousal within him. She was fierce. He hadn't expected her to be able to take him down. And yet here he was, lying on the ground and there she was, getting away. She'd awakened something in him. Be that as it may, he was still the leader of the Meh-teh, and as such, he had to protect the people. If she were out there, then she posed a threat to anyone who ran across her. On the one hand, he could order his people to stay out of her territory. But that wasn't really protection, was it? That was avoiding the problem. And on the other hand, he could order that she be executed. But he didn't want to do that. He'd felt something and wasn't sure what it was. A further discussion with the people would have to take place before any action could take place. The Meh-teh were gathered in the clearing waiting for Roth to come and speak with them. Many of them were furious, and all of them were scared. Roth recognized that it was this fear of Dania that drove this anger. Most had seen the fight between the two of them and how Dania had attacked Roth and he was able to do nothing in his defense. The Meh-teh were a gentle people by nature and this thing that was by its very nature a predator frightened them. Their leader had been taken out in an instant. How could they feel safe with her out there? Roth hadn't been able to do anything against her. If he couldn't protect them, maybe he shouldn't be their leader. And they more they thought on this, the more convinced they became that he shouldn't. Even those who were most loyal had their doubts. Roth heard these murmurings from just outside the clearing and knew that if he didn't get things under control quickly, the people would have him replaced and he would be cast out. Things were not going the way he'd hoped that they would. He didn't want Dania killed but he didn't know if the Meh-teh would settle for anything less. "Quiet!" Roth yelled to the people as he stepped into the clearing. "You challenge ME? You dare to question if I can protect you from this cat?" "You couldn't protect yourself," one of the Meh-teh asked and several shouts of agreement followed. "How can you protect us?" "Who are you to issue such a challenge? I am your leader and you will respect me as such. Couldn't protect myself? I am standing here. She is not. I am right here in front of you. She is not. Need I say more?" He paused a moment, making sure to stare a few of his people directly in the eye, before going on. "Dania has asked to be left alone. I believe that this is all she wants. If we stay clear of her, she will not harm us." "And what if one of us happens upon her in the Forest? We saw what she did to you, we would have no chance against her. She must be hunted down and killed. For our safety." Roth could see that his people would be appeased no other way. "If this is what needs to happen for you to feel safe, then so be it." Roth had a sour taste in the back of his throat as he spoke these words. "She will not go back to her territory right away so this will at least tell us where she isn't. Gynon and Jun. You will search for her. Split up and be careful. When you have found her, come back for me and I will deal with her. Do not challenge her. Understood?" The two nodded their agreements and trotted off into the Forest. "As for the rest of you, does anyone here challenge me?" Roth asked this as he walked among the people, staring them straight in the eye, challenging them with his glance. He let out a loud roar, showing his dominance within the group before going on. "Never let me hear of you challenging me again. Any of you. It will be your last move." ~~~~~ Things could not have been worse for Roth if he had wanted them to. There were at least two of the Meh-teh who would be challenging him in the very near future. His only chance at preventing this would be to kill Dania. But that was something he did not wish to do. He knew that if she caught Gynon or Jun she could kill them. The question was if she would or not. He fell asleep fearing for the lives of the two Meh-teh. Sometime late in the night, Roth awoke to the sound of drums. It was deep and deliberate; like a heartbeat. With every strike of the drum, Roth felt his own heart beat just harder. He listened as several more drums were added, one by one, with each adding its own distinct pitch and syncopation. The rhythm created was intoxicating. One could not help but fall victim to its spell. Roth was no exception. He found himself drifting off into the rhythm of the drums; his footfalls were in time them, his heart beat along with them, and even his breathing fell into sync. He'd heard the call of the drums many times before while still a child. The last calling of the drums had been when he won the leadership of the Meh-teh. But unlike the other Callings of the Drums, this meant something different for him. This time it meant that someone was challenging for leadership. One of the people he protected had lost faith in him. Roth could hardly believe his eyes as he walked into the clearing and saw who his challenger happened to be. It was Anos, one of his closest friends, and the largest male of the Meh-teh. He had only two options: he could fight Anos and beat him, which meant that the Meh-teh would lose a valuable member, or he could lose the fight and be killed. This second option would allow him to be free of the guilt he would be facing if he had to kill Dania. But Roth couldn't lose a fight like this. This was more than just a challenge for leadership; this was a challenge to him personally and he would treat it as such. He would have to kill Anos. The drums stopped, signaling the beginning of the fight. Anos was big, and he was powerful. But he was dumb and he was slow. He charged Roth, hoping to take him off of his feet and to the ground where he could use his size and strength to his advantage. If that happened, Roth could have lost. But he just stepped to the side at the last instant, grabbing Anos by the head as he did. And then he twisted. Anos' momentum helped to break his own neck in a snap that was audible not only to Roth, but to the rest of the Meh-teh. He was dead before he hit the ground. The fight was over just as soon as it had begun. Roth turned and left the clearing, heading back to his sleeping place. No one followed him. Because of the generally peaceful nature of the Meh-teh, one rarely heard the Calling of the Drums. And Roth was certain they'd forgotten his ferocity in a fight. He was their leader and protector for a reason. But nonetheless, he understood where they had been coming from and couldn't help but wonder if he would have issued a challenge had he been on the opposite side of things. He decided that he probably would have. But in any case, the death of a friend is always a hard loss and Roth wept long into the night. With the rise of the sun came a new found hatred for Dania. If it weren't for her, Anos would never have challenged him and Roth wouldn't have had to kill him. The trouble this Cat had caused him seemed to have no end. Sunset had nearly arrived when Jun came back announcing that he had a message from Dania. Roth was nearly beside himself when he saw the condition Jun was in. He'd ordered that they not fight her and it was clear that a fight had taken place. Jun had been wounded badly and he was missing a finger. Jun's story was somewhat conflicting: She'd jumped down from a tree and attacked him, only to send a message that she didn't want to fight.....that she just wanted to be left alone. Why attack if you don't want to fight? He also learned that Dania wanted to meet him at that watering hole where he'd first come across her. Jun was insistent that he go with Roth, that he be there to help in killing her. It was clear to Roth that Jun wanted revenge. That he wanted to wrap his hands around her throat and strangle the life out of her. Or was that his own wishes? Nevertheless, he ordered Jun to remain behind. This was something he had to do on his own. And without another word, Roth headed off into the Forest, knowing that it would take him nearly until dawn to reach her. He would kill her and then use her favorite watering hole to was her blood off him. The irony of it brought a smile to his face. Roth arrived at the watering hole to find Dania asleep. He took advantage of this to survey the surroundings. It didn't appear that she'd set any traps for him. The only danger seemed to be a few large rocks scattered about. He took note of where they were should he need them. But he found his eyes kept returning to her body. She was unlike anything he'd ever come across. She wasn't large enough to be considered pretty by the Meh-teh. She was just too small. But still....she was intoxicating. She had the body of a predator; lean, well muscled. And he'd seen first hand how fierce she could be. And the more he found himself drawn to her, the more enchanted he became, the more anger set in. He sat in a squat and waited for her to wake. When she finally did, Roth didn't know if she was frozen from shock or if she were just scared of him. And as he stood and walked towards her, she didn't move. Roth took his foot and kicked her in the gut, knocking all the wind out of her. Without waiting for her to get to her feet, Roth picked up the nearest rock and flung it at her head. But she was quick and moved out of the way. "Roth wait!" Roth never heard her. All he knew was that because of this Cat, he'd had to kill his friend. That was unforgivable. They charged at each other and Roth was surprised when she jumped into the air. He thought she was going to land on his shoulders, so he twisted. Her reflexes were fast and instead of falling, she dug her claws into his back as she slid down it. He let out a howl as her claws sliced through his skin. Roth felt a smile come across his face. She wasn't giving up very easily. She was proving to be a worthy adversary, which meant that killing her would bring justice to Anos' memory. Roth noticed that the smile across his face had caused Dania to become furious herself, and he took pride in it. Dania circled him time and time again, coming in for a quick slash here and there. And when he could, Roth would land a massive blow to her body. Soon, they were both covered in blood and it was impossible to tell who's blood was on who. She grabbed his neck and pulled it back, exposing his throat. She was going to bite into his neck. The goal was to rip it out. Roth twisted and pushed savagely with his feet so that his weight shifted and he was now on top of Dania. Roth her her down as he let his frustrations known to her. He told her of the pain she'd caused him by forcing him to kill his friend. He let her know that Jun would never be the same because he was now missing a finger. He let her know that she'd hurt him. But as he was doing this, he became aware that she was purring. She wasn't listening to him, but her eyes were locked on his and she was out of it. As incensed as he was towards her, that purr.....it was driving him wild. It was so primal. It spoke to something deep within him and he couldn't help but to kiss her. It was not an easy kiss. It was full of lust and longing and need. Some inner dam had burst and out flowed a wave of freedom. He took that kiss from her and she loved every second of it. At first her body was rigid with trepidation, but that soon melted away. Her body became soft and he could smell her sex as she became aroused. Roth knew that she wasn't his kind, but he would mate with her all the same. Then the kick to the groin changed his mind and all thoughts of mating with that bitch were gone. They should have never been there in the first place. He lay on the ground, holding himself and trying to catch his breath. Light flashed before his eyes and it felt like his stomach was in his throat. He did not understand this thing....this Cat. One minute they were in a fight to the death, then they'd melted into each other, and then she's kicking him where it hurts most. It felt like his stomach was in his throat. He looked around for her but his vision was blurry. He couldn't see where she was but was able to pinpoint her location by the sound of her breathing. To lie here would mean certain death. She could kill him, he was certain of that. He was about halfway to his feet when his vision cleared enough for him to see her. She was now directly in front of him, bringing a rock down on the top of his head. Everything went dark. Dania Ch. 05 As soon as I'd hit Roth over the head, I froze. He was out cold and had a small pool of crimson-colored blood forming around his head. My first reaction was one of elation. I'd killed him. Then I heard him breathing and noticed the almost imperceptible rise and fall of his chest. He was massive. Maybe he would still die? I didn't know. I walked over to him and pushed him tentatively with my foot. I'm not sure if I expected him to way or not, but he never made a sound nor did he move. I had no idea what to do next. Killing for my own survival was one thing and I could do this no problem. But to have killed another sentient creature turned my stomach. Well, no. It wasn't because he was intelligent, I think it was because it now meant that I was alone. Again. But one thing I did know for certain was that I had just beaten the leader of the Meh-teh in a fight. One of two things was sure to come my way: Respect or wrath. I'm not sure that I wanted either of those things. And wanting to be left alone was something I wasn't sure I wanted anymore either. How had things gotten so bad so quickly? One day I was bathing and letting my Cat play and the next thing I know, here comes this huge beast and now my life was all but over with. He did have nice eyes.....jade. I know that they can come after me anytime they want. But I'm not leaving my home. Its all I have. I can't remember my past, so this is all I've ever known. I will defend it if it comes to that. And with that I walked back into my part of the Forest. If Roth lived, all the more power to him. If he died, it was of no immediate concern to me. Especially after all he'd done to me and put me through. Why couldn't he have just left me alone? I'd made it about two steps into the Forest when I realized that I'd forgotten to wash the blood from my body. The watering hole was right there.....and it seemed only fitting for me to bathe right there in front of him knowing he could do nothing about it. The water felt good on my body. I took my time, letting my hands explore every inch of my dark fur. I loved how soft it was. I did wince, though, every time I came across a would I'd received from Roth. I had to admire how strong he was. It was a hell of a fight, and as much I hated to admit it, I loved it. The struggle to survive, the adrenaline pumping through my veins. To fight like that, to suffer as I was now meant that I was alive. To want to fight like that meant that I wanted to live. I found that I was no longer looking at my scars with disdain. These were something to be proud of. And then the most amazing thing happened....the pain changed. That sting that I experienced before was no longer associated with pain. Instead it was arousing. I smiled as I traced the cuts now and grew warm as I ran my fingers around the outside of bruises that were just beginning to form. I could tell that I was about to question these things. I shouldn't be feeling this kind of pleasure right now. It was at this point my Cat interjected and reminded me that these were sensations I'd learned to relish long ago. I tried to argue but the Cat had taken full control and all I could do was let go and enjoy the experience. One thing did eventually become clear, and I'm not sure where in my past this came from. But I was proud of the scars he had given me. I had earned them. This whole thing was bizarre. And he had tried to bite me! Why would he do such a thing. I know he doesn't eat meat, but I thought he would at least be able to bite someone without failing. He'd succeeded in pressing his lips firmly up against mine. I can't lie, it was nice to have him do that instead of biting me. I couldn't understand it. Again, my Cat told me that he hadn't bit me, and somewhere, deep down, it was right. When you got right down to it, I had enjoyed it. I had gotten lost in his jade colored eyes. At that moment, at that instant, there was nothing I wouldn't have let him do. I'd felt a strange, yet familiar, stirring in the pit of my stomach accompanied by a tingling in my loins. As I was remembering, I let my hand begin to massage that area and I wasn't surprised to find that I was hyper-sensitive. Words cannot describe how good it felt; the way he felt when he'd did that thing with his mouth....I knew the word for it, I think, the way my body was sore, the way my cuts and bruises ached, the way he felt....male, and then my finger slipped inside. I was nearly overcome with sensation. I was wet, and not from the water. I began to purr as I slid my finger in and out. My Cat wanted to take over here, but I couldn't let it. I wanted to feel this. To feel all of it. I wanted it to myself. I imagined that it was Roth doing this to me. Just like before, the thought of him having his way with me.....no, not having his way, but taking control. Yes, taking control was the right word. Just the thought of him taking control of me set off a tidal wave of sensation, all of which were not physical, and I nearly passed out there in the water. I had to stop. I lied there on the bank and simply enjoyed what had just happened. A thought struck me that stole all of this bliss from me. I'd figured out that I'd enjoyed this kind of struggle....longed for it even. And the only thing that I could ever remember giving me this kind of challenge now lie dying only a few feet away from me. I may never experience this again. There was little I could do about it now. I went over to him and he still wasn't moving and his breath was as shallow as ever. I'd seen things in the Forest in this kind of shape and they always died. Roth wasn't going to make it. I would at least make him comfortable. Once I wiped the blood from his head, I could see that there was a very large and deep gash along where I'd struck him with the rock. How he was still alive at this point was beyond me. There wasn't anything more I could do. I wished there was, but it just wasn't possible. I made my way into the Forest, and, once again, I didn't go far. I was tired. Very tired. But I also didn't want to leave him entirely alone just yet. I knew that when he died, I'd be alone again. I knew that it may be a very long time before I was able to be challenged again. Not like he had. I knew that a confrontation with the Meh-teh was likely going to happen very soon. Their numbers would likely overtake me. But it wouldn't be that one on one survival of the fittest contest that he and I had. I made my way up into one of the trees and instantly fell asleep. I awoke at nearly sunset and I had the feeling that something wasn't right. I could hear a soft moaning coming from the clearing. Roth was moaning. If he was moaning, that meant that he just might recover. He might live! But something about the inflection of that moan told me he was in trouble. When I got back to the clearing, there were three wolves circling Roth. One would come in for an attack and would be swatted away like a fly by his massive hands only to have another attack from behind. They weren't trying to go for a kill, they were wearing him down. They knew that he was injured that it would only be a matter of time before Roth was no longer able to fight them off. It was a feat for him to have been able to do so for as long as he had. I was suddenly very protective of this thing I'd hated only hours before. I couldn't let the wolves kill him. If I hadn't been able to kill him, then I sure as hell wasn't going to let pack of mangy muts do the job. This was MY Forest. I let out a scream and all three wolves turned to look at me simultaneously. The one closest to me charged. I did the same. Once I was close enough I lept into the air towards him with my claws outstretched and aiming for its neck. They sliced through his coat and I ripped out its throat as we both fell. He was dead before we hit the ground. The second wolf was almost on top of me before I got up and he was able to tackle me to the ground. I rolled with him and ended up on top and sank my teeth into his neck, crushing his windpipe. I would have held on, but a searing pain in the back of my neck made me let go. But that was okay, that second wolf would die, just more slowly. But this last one, it was holding on for dear life. I tried as best I could to reach around and grab him, but that didn't work. I was shocked when he let go of me with a yelp. Somehow in all of the commotion, Roth had been able to crawl to us and grab a rock (the same one I'd hit him with) and bash the wolf over the head, killing him. The second one wasn't dead yet so I bit into his neck once more and ripped it out. They were all dead now. I turned around to thank Roth, but he had passed out once again. I went to him and cradled his head in my lap. I would stay with him until he woke. Whatever happened then would happen. The wound on his head began to bleed again and I, instinctively, began to lick it as if it were one of my own. The bleeding soon stopped. It was fully dark now and I soon fell asleep, resting on Roth. ~~~ "Thirsty." I opened my eyes to find that the sun was fully up. My legs were asleep and my neck hurt from the way I'd slept. It took me a second to remember where I was. It took my body only have as long to remember the fight from the day before. I was completely sore. "I'm thirsty," Roth said again. Of course he was thirsty. He'd had no water since at least the morning before. I would have to drag him down to the water's edge and let him drink. Even though he tried to help as much as he could, it was still an effort that wore both of us completely out. I left him at the watering hole to see if I could find him something he could eat. I managed to find him some nuts, but that was all, and there wasn't many of those. Maybe after he was feeling better, he could help find his own food. I returned and he was still drinking. He either had to be drinking slowly, which was a good thing, or he was gonna drink the place dry. If he was drinking too quickly, it would just come back up. "Why do you want to hurt me?" I asked him while he was still drinking. My knowledge of his language was rudimentary at best, but we could communicate. He stopped drinking and wiped water from the fur around his mouth. His eyes narrowed as they closed in on me. "You're dangerous! You bit off Jun's finger and you nearly killed me!" "Wait right there. I tried to talk with both you and Jun. I told him I wanted to speak with you and he attacked me. I tried to speak with you and you attacked me anyways. And you call me dangerous?" "Because of you, I had to kill my friend Anos! Because you attacked me and I let you go, he challenged me and I had to kill him! All because of you!" "I didn't make you do anything. All I wanted was to be left alone. I just wanted to go home and you wouldn't let me. What would you have done, huh? Tell me!" I could feel my anger rising and wanted nothing more than to rip his throat out. I should have let the wolves have him. I could tell that he was thinking very hard about what I'd said and when he finally spoke, his voice was soft. "I don't know. Probably tried to escape as well." I too softened my voice. "Roth, I'm not dangerous. This is my home and I'm not leaving. I will defend it. This Forest is all I know. I'm not going anywhere." "You know the Meh-teh will be looking for you sooner or later, don't you?" "I guessed as much. Which is why you have to go back and stop them." Roth laughed to himself. "Don't you know what will happen if I go back now? I've already been challenged once, if I go back now, someone else will surely do it again. Only right now, I can barely sit up. How can I defend myself? I hated to admit it, but he was right. If he went back, someone would challenge him and he'd be killed. And eventually they would come looking for me. What happens if you don't go back for awhile? You know, give yourself time to heal and then return." "They will wait until the next full Moon and if I am not back, another leader will be chosen. The Moon was only a few days ago, I still have some time? What was I about to do? One minute I hated him, the next I didn't . He was so confusing that I could barely endure it. "Stay and heal. Then go back to them." With that, I turned and went back into the Forest. "Wait, are you going to kill me in my sleep?" "I would have done that last night if that's what I wanted. And besides, you saved me from that wolf. I owe you one." "I was trying to hit you, but I missed. But don't worry, cat. I'm not going to kill you. Not yet, at least." I pounced on him without thinking about it. I spoke very slowly and very distinctly to him. "My. Name. Is. Dania." The nerve of him! The bastard had a smile on his face as he said that to me. Infuriating. I hardly slept for the next two days; I was afraid that he would actually try to find and kill me. He never made the attempt. I spent my time watching him from the trees. I'm sure he either knew or suspected I was nearby. I didn't try to hide. But I watched him. He couldn't stand for very long at first.....he became dizzy and would fall over. But midday, he was only going down to one knee. I was impressed. He refused to ask for any help; he wanted to do it on his own. That doesn't mean that I sat by and let him starve. I didn't understand why he couldn't just eat a nice little rabbit. Or one of the wolves we'd killed. I sure as hell had enjoyed them. All he would eat were his nuts and berries. So I brought him some, but only a few. By the end of the second day he was able to walk around and venture into my Forest to gather some of his food. "I want to thank you for helping me," Roth said at the end of that second day. "I would have died if you hadn't helped." "It was no trouble at all." I lied. It was a ton of trouble. "So what are we gonna do?" ~~~~~ Roth had never been so helpless in his life and he hated it. He hated everything about this situation. Loathed it even. He'd let her get the best of him. And then to make matters worse, she'd saved him from the wolves. He still didn't understand that. It didn't make any sense. She should have either killed him or let the wolves do the job for her. But no, she saved him. But then again, he's saved her as well. In an effort to not feel so helpless he'd told her that the stone was meant for her. It wasn't. He knew that she saw the smile on his face and he hoped that it made her half as scared as it did pissed off. And to top it off, he had to rely on her for food. He wasn't strong enough yet. Every time he tried to stand he would become dizzy and lose his balance. For him, it was a long way to the ground. For two days she wouldn't speak to him. That bothered him. He yearned for her to sit and talk with him. Roth had been fighting with himself ever since Dania had first attacked him. Something about her intrigued him; called to him on some primal level. He loved the soft fur that covered most of her body. He was captivated by the way her tail would swish back and forth, especially the way it would snap when she was angry. He couldn't get enough of the look in her eyes when she was mad. And even though she was so small, her body was exquisite; well toned muscles, long legs, perfect breasts. She was a sight to see. He couldn't help but wonder what it would be like to mate with her. And yes, he did wish to mate with her. Would it be a permanent mating? Perhaps. Perhaps not. His people often mated for life, but not always. And as much as he hated to admit it, Roth knew that it would never work out between them. For one thing, Dania seemed to prefer the treetops and he was partial to life on the ground. Not to mention, his sheer size would make life in the trees impossible. And for Dania to live on the ground, she would have to give up the kind of life she enjoyed most. There were other things which would make it hard for them. Like, for instance, Roth was a vegetarian and Dania clearly ate nothing but meat. There was also the matter of the Meh-teh. He was their leader and custom called for his mate to be the dominant female. While he was certain that Dania was more than capable of that, she preferred a life of solitude. All of this had been on his mind when she'd asked a question he wished wouldn't come for some time. She wanted to know what they were going to do. On the one hand, he was curious as to what a life with Dania could be like. But he knew that wasn't what she was asking. She didn't want to know what was going to happen. Their kiss had apparently been on her mind and she wanted to know his intentions. The only problem was that he didn't know his intentions yet. He would make her ask a specific question and only answer that. He would let her assume everything else. ~~~~~~~~~~ "What do you mean?" he asked. "What I mean is how are we going to play this out?" He was avoiding my question. "Are you going to need me to help you until you're well or are you eventually going to fend for yourself?" "I will fend for myself." "Fair enough. And what do we do about this?" I asked, gesturing to the both of us. "I don't know what it was that happened, but something did. It made me feel.....different. Different can get me killed." "Yes, it could," he agreed. It took me several moments before I could answer. I didn't know what to do. There was definitely something there, what it was I had no idea, but it was there. But I think the risk was too great. "I think I want you to leave me alone, Roth. You go your way and I'll go mine. If we stay clear of each other, there won't be a problem." "And what if I don't want to leave you alone?" "What are you talking about?" What was he saying? What did he want from me? "Do you think there is a way that we can live together and not kill each other?" "If you leave me alone I won't have to kill any of you." "You're missing the point, Cat. Why can't we learn from each other? Live together in peace?" "Live together in peace! You kidnapped me and kept me tied up and you want to live in peace? Its not me who needs to learn to be peaceful. And its Dania. I won't tell you again." He was on top of me with his hand around my throat before I could react. "Listen to me. Cat. You will not raise your voice to me again. When I call youCcat, it is the same as me calling you Friend. Calm yourself down. I will not tell you again. Understood." I could barely breath has he said this to me. I was transfixed. The weight of his body on top of me was painful. But it hurt so good. His hand around my throat should have sent fear racing through my body, but it was electricity instead. I was purring again. And the ferocity of his words! I was his and I think he knew it. I didn't have any words for it, but my Cat did, he was in charge and I liked it that way. It is hard for me to explain. I am at the top of the food chain in my part of the Forest. I live my own life the way I want to live it. Because that's what I want. And then he speaks and everything is lost. Its like I have no control. But around him I don't want the control. Like I said, I don't have the exact words for it, but I know that he is a leader and wouldn't do anything that was not in my best interest. Unless he decided to kill me, that is. And he could do so right now. All he would have to do is squeeze with his hand and I was done. This uncertainty had to play some part in my attraction to Roth. Wait, was I attracted to this animal? Was that what these feelings were? I liked his control over me. I liked his presence. I think I was. I know I was. This surely complicated things. "You think of me as a friend?" I asked hesitantly. "Yes. As a friend." My heart sank as his words sank in. Here I was attracted to him and I was just a friend to him. I know I had no experience in these matters, but my body, my Cat, knew what was happening. Dania Ch. 05 And then he took his other hand and caressed my cheek. I closed my eyes as he did this, it felt like the right thing to do. I felt his body soften as he relaxed against me. He released my neck and I didn't like this so I grabbed his hand and put it back. If he was going to have me, he was going to take me. I opened my eyes and stared into his. No words were spoken. None were needed. We both knew what we wanted. Roth leaned down and his lips met mine softly. I pulled his lip into my mouth and bit down gently, coaxing a slight moan from him. His kiss, yes "kiss" is the right word, immediately became harder, it was full of lust. I wrapped my arms around his neck and my tail around his leg. I wanted his full weight on me. I wanted to be his. I felt his hands on my breasts, kneading them roughly. My nipples were erect and hyper-sensitive. He used his thumb to tweak them. It felt so incredibly good and my purr was noticeably louder. It was at this point that I felt his erection against my leg. Some primal part of me understood what it was and I wanted it inside me. But Roth didn't oblige me just yet. He stopped kissing me and made his way down to my breast. I lost my breath completely when he took my nipple in his mouth and began to suck on it and tease it with the tip of his tongue. I was nearly as surprised when I felt his hand on my sex. Roth leaned up and looked into my eyes as he slid his huge index finger inside me. I hadn't realized it but my juices were already flowing and his finger had no trouble. I was delirious with sensation. Roth continued to watch me intently as his finger slid in and out of me. My body could not keep still. My back was arched and my hips were rocking back and forth. I felt Roth take my nipple into his mouth again, only this time he took the nipple between his teeth and bit down hard. It hurt badly but I didn't want him to stop. I was so confused. Roth's finger was giving me immeasurable pleasure while his teeth were causing enough pain that I would normally have screamed out in anguish. The conflicting sensations only served to drive me over the edge. My body shook uncontrollably as wave after wave of pleasure washed over me. Everything was lost to me in that moment. Roth never stopped as this orgasm shook me to my core. He had stopped fingering me and his finger slid out. "Roth, don't stop," I begged. He smiled ever so slightly as he began to enter me with, not one, but two fingers now . I felt as if he were going to split me wide open. I can't say that it didn't hurt, because it did, but at this point I was enjoying the hurt. I wanted it to hurt. The pain felt good. But more than that, I didn't want him to stop. I wanted him to take me. Inch my inch he slid into me. Stopping every now and then to let me become accustomed to the fingers....and then he'd work me there just a bit before trying to go deeper. I felt it when he had his fingers all the way inside felt completely and totally full. I was rocking my hips in time with him without noticing I'd started. Roth's thrusts were becoming more and more forceful; the pain and the pleasure equal and hitting me simultaneously. He took both of my wrists and held them on the ground above my head with his other hand and looked down at me. This sent me over the edge a second time and I couldn't contain this one. I screamed as loudly as I could from the pleasure that was washing over my body. My legs were now wrapped around his back and I was trying to pull him into me. Roth must have been able to read my mind. He didn't go any deeper, but his thrusts, yes he was thrusting into me with his fingers, became much more forceful and his pace quickened. My mind was no longer functioning at this point and my body didn't know whether it was coming or going. I was filled to capacity and my mind was no longer functioning. Roth had to have sensed this because he stopped and let the full weight of his body on me. we were both breathing heavily now and I enjoyed his body on top of mine, they weight of him on top of me. We lie there for what seemed an eternity before I felt him slip out of me. Seconds later I felt the tips of his fingers on my lips. "Suck" I couldn't comprehend, so he repeated. "Suck." It dawned on me what he wanted me to do, but I had no desire to do that. To taste his fingers after they'd been inside me was something that turned my stomach. "I won't repeat myself again." I couldn't do it. I felt his hand on my throat again, squeezing. I was unable to breathe. I opened my mouth to try and gasp for air and he slid his fingers inside me. I couldn't help but to do as he obeyed. While I was disgusted at this, my Cat gladly lapped my juices from his fingers. To have spoken would have somehow taken away from what had just happened. I couldn't articulate what had just happened, but my Cat knew and was purring softly. I was his and I was clearly not just a friend. Dania Ch. 06 Roth hadn't exactly mated with Dania, they'd come very close, but not quite. Her behavior was something he'd never come across with any of the women of the Meh-teh. She was beyond fierce and was a more than worthy opponent. None of the women he knew could compare to this. And yet when she'd angered him and he'd grabbed her by the throat something had changed within her. No. Change was incorrect. This was another part of her. She'd submitted to him. Completely. Again, this was also not like a woman of his kind. The Meh-teh favored an equal balance in all things. The only exception to this was their leader. As leader, Roth had the final say in whatever concerned the Meh-teh. But in all other things, balance was favored. Mating, while very pleasurable, was . . . . bland. Dania was both more and less aggressive. Puzzling. If totally honest with himself, Roth was angry with himself for what had almost happened. For almost mating with her. He'd known all of the things that could and would go wrong if that ever transpired. And he'd still nearly gone through with it. With that one single act, Dania would become one of the most important persons in a society she didn't belong to. She would have to be the dominant female and would only have to answer to Roth. He knew that his people would not accept this willingly. They saw her as a danger to them and having Dania as one of their leaders would not sit well with them. But Roth had very much enjoyed the near-mating. He'd been able to let go of his inhibitions and fully take control of her. He was very much aware that this would not have been possible with a woman from the Meh-teh. With Dania....with her, there had been lust.....passion.....rage...pain....pleasure....and even playfulness. With her he was able to be completely in charge, which was just not done with his people. Dania's submission to him was unlike anything he'd encountered before with his people, but it wasn't something he couldn't or wouldn't deal with. He would have to be careful, that much was certain. His position as leader of the Meh-teh had, at least a little, prepared him for what was to come. What was to come! He had no idea what would happen between the two of them. An actual mating between the two of them wasn't possible (in the most biological sense). He had no idea of who this creature was or if there were more of her. There was so much that he didn't know. All of these thoughts, and more, passed through Roth's head in only a few seconds as they lie on the ground. He crawled up and was next to her and she wrapped her tail around his leg just a bit tighter than before. She seemed very tired. He pulled her close to him. "Come here, Little One," he said to her and she started purring. She nestled her head into the crook between his chest and his arm and was asleep in almost no time. Roth began to run his fingers through her hair and found that it was very silky compared to the rest of her body. It ran down about half the length of her back and it was a mystery how she managed to keep it out of her face. They lie there as the sun made its way across the sky, Dania sleeping softly and Roth thinking. He must have fallen asleep at some point because Dania woke him up asking him something. "Huh? What did you say?" he asked her. "What was that?" "What was what?" He wasn't entirely awake and didn't understand what she was asking. "What was that that happened before?" "Well....that was something that almost happened." "I know what almost happened. I'm not talking about the sex," she said playfully. "I'm talking about when you grabbed me by my neck." She grabbed his hand and placed it around her neck. "Like this." Roth thought for a moment before speaking. "We don't have a word for it in my language. My people don't behave like you did." "I didn't know I behaved like that." "What do you mean, 'you didn't know?'" It was at this point that she told him how she'd woken up in the Forest one morning and had no memory of anything that had happened before. She'd woken up cold, hungry, and alone. Learning how to hunt was something she'd had to learn. If she hadn't, she would have starved. She obviously had learned how to do that by now. But in her world, she was at the top of the food chain. She was the master of her own world. For her to have given into him like that made no sense to her. "Well, it did to my Cat, but not to me." Her Cat? What did she mean by that? She was, herself, a cat. She saw the look of confusion on his face. "She's a part of me. I don't know the words to explain. Its like there are two of us in here," she pointed to her head, "and she knew what was happening. Welcomed it even." Two people inside her head? This thing was crazy. "I don't pretend to understand. I have no language for this. But I do know that you wanted to have no control at all. The Meh-teh are not like that. We live in balance. As couples, with one another, with the Forest. Everything is balanced." Still feeling the effects from earlier, she curled up even closer to him. "Tell me more about your people. How long have you lived here? How many of you are there?" Roth began telling her the legend of the Meh-teh. "The Meh-teh" "There is a legend among my people of how we came to be. Back when the world was young, a great storm threatened to destroy everything. In an effort to save themselves and the world that they had created, the Elements, as they were called, came together to fight off the storm. The Elements of Air and Earth and Water came together at the top of a tall mountain but they were not powerful enough to ward off the storm. "Seeing that they were not strong enough alone, they made the choice to take a part of themselves and make something new; something that was a part of all of them, but belonged to none. They called this thing the "Meh-teh." This Meh-teh is not the same as I am today. It was not alive. This was a vessel designed to absorb all of the energy of the storm until it was no longer a threat. "The Meh-teh was placed at the top of the mountain and the storm attacked it immediately. A great bolt of lightening came down and struck the vessel and it was given life. The Elements had never expected this. The Meh-teh writhed in pain as the storm continued its assault. But the storm was not weakening. "Instead, a strange thing happened. The storm took pity on the Meh-teh. This newly-living creature had done nothing to the storm. It had not abused the planet for its own amusement. The lightening struck the Meh-teh again, this time in the chest. In place of pain, the Meh-teh received an awareness of itself. The lightening stopped and the first Meh-teh stood and let out a mighty roar. "The lightening struck him again and he was split in two. This other Meh-teh was different. It was female. "The storm called down to them and called the male Lore and the female Yule. It said to them, 'I want you to be my protectors. Protect this world. As long as there are Meh-teh, I will never destroy it. But do not fear, I will return and return often, as my water nourishes and the fire from my lightening makes way for new growth. Go now.'" "And with that, the storm ceased and the Meh-teh made their way down from the mountain top. The Elements saw the two Meh-teh as abominations and left them, refusing to have any contact with them. The Elements have not contacted the Meh-teh to this day and no one knows if they are still on this world or not. But we continue to protect these mountains. We are so few now that this is all we can protect. "After leaving the mountain top, Lore and Yule mated and had many offspring. The spread throughout the world and lived in peace. They treated the world with respect at all times. Life was good. "Many years and many generations passed without much changing. One day we noticed a new creature walking about. He was much smaller than us and the only hair he had was on his head and his chin. Other than this, he was naked. Upon seeing us, he became fearful and fled. We decided that it was best to stay away from these creatures, not for our own safety, but for theirs. A scared animal can be very dangerous. Should they prove dangerous, we would defend ourselves. So we stayed clear of this animal and let him have his space. We called him Man. "We chose to live in areas that man did not, so there was less chance of running into them, and therefore, less chance of anyone getting hurt. We saw this as protecting Man. We went back into the mountains where we first came from. "Another thousand generations or so passed before we came in contact with them again. Man had not chosen to live of the earth as we had. Instead, they lived off of it, taking what they needed, never replacing anything. They had developed technologies and had advanced by leaps and bounds. They were like a disease. "At first we tried to reason with them but it did no good. They were still fearful of us. But now they had weapons and they began to hunt us down. We had been created out of violence but had known none until this point. We were not prepared for them and they nearly wiped us out. Eventually we had no choice but to fight back and man was no match for our size and strength. "Many lives were lost before man retreated and left us alone in the mountains. It only took one or two generations for us to become a myth to them. Few remembered the battles and the bloodshed. After another generation, no one believed that we had ever existed. Those that caught glimpses of us were called crazy. Man had grown arrogant and believed that nothing on earth was more powerful than they were. We were content so we did not remind them. We kept to the mountains and made an effort to stay away from man. "Mas was like a virus let loose upon the earth. They spread beyond what they needed while our territories receded. With less space, there was less food so our numbers began to shrink. Many tribes have died off completely. As far as I know, we are the last in this part of the world. "I know what you're thinking. If we were sworn to protect the Earth, why have we let man damage it so? There are a couple of reasons. Man simply has too many numbers for us to overcome. And on top of that, when man sought us out to destroy us, they came into the Forests and the Mountains, destroying it as well as us. Both sides lost. We've convinced them we aren't here and they don't come into the Forests anymore and it remains safe. In my lifetime, man has not been seen in this Forest." Dania sat with a thoughtful expression on her face. "Man sounds evil." No sooner had she said this than her Cat screamed at her that she was wrong. Man was not evil and she knew this. She should at least. Roth also corrected her. "Some are, but most are not. Most are peaceful. But all are fearful of us. And Man fears what it doesn't understand or know." Dania felt that this was true and her Cat confirmed. "Kind of like the way your people feared me?" "Exactly like that," Roth said as a hint of a smile crept onto his face. "Please accept my apologies. You do know that you were never meant to be kidnapped right?" "W-what are you talking about?" Dania managed to say, stuttering slightly. She was clearly shocked. "Anos and Gynen were only sent to spy on you, to learn what they could while you were gone. Your arrival spooked them and they panicked." Roth's eyes were glued to the ground. He was clearly ashamed of what his men had done to the woman who he was now getting to know. He was even more ashamed of how he'd treated her, knowing she'd done nothing wrong. "And . . . .?" "And when you were brought before me, part of me didn't want to let you go so I had them bind you so that we could learn about you. The other part of me thought that you really could be dangerous. And you can be." "But I'm not," she said. She couldn't help but smile to herself at the memory of being bound. The experience then was terrible, but looking back, she almost wished it would happen again. "I know. But you can be. Which is why I'm happy that we're getting to know each other." "We almost did more than that," she said playfully and she was suddenly struck by the knowledge that if they had mated, it would have been for life. She was unaware of where this knowledge came from, but she knew that it was true. "We can't go farther than we have already, Roth. I can't do that." He'd wanted to avoid this for awhile, but there was no doing so now. "I know," he said with his eyes on her face, reading it for the slightest response. "But there is more to this than mating. There was something else. You gave in to me. You submitted. It felt good to me to have you give over like that." "I don't really know what was happening then. I only know that it felt natural, like it was something I was used to doing. Like it was what I was supposed to be doing." She was sitting up next to me facing my direction. "You liked when I took control? You needed me to be in charge, didn't you?" She was on top of him in a flash, her hands at his throat and her claws threatening to dig in. "Don't think that makes me weak. I am anything but." Her eyes were fierce and her teeth bared. He nodded that he understood and she released him. "Did you?" he asked tentatively. Dania bowed her head. "Yes." She hated to admit it, but he was right. She liked him having control. She somehow knew that he'd take care of her. But she was jumping ahead of herself. Take care of her? That would mean she'd have to go back with him to his people when he went. What would happen with that? What would she have to do? This was becoming too much for her. This was too much change in a short amount of time. If she weren't careful, this would overwhelm her. "Roth, I'm scared. This is too much." He pulled her close and began to stroke her hair again. "Don't worry, Little One. We should get some sleep. But first I want you to go and get me some water. Use one of the larger leaves from that tree over there to carry the water. It won't hold a lot, but I only want a little." "Why don't you go get it yourself?" Dania asked him, a little annoyed. He didn't say anything at first. "Because I want you to do it. Now go." Dania could tell by the look in his eyes that she shouldn't push him any farther. It wasn't because she was scared of him or anything like that. So much had already happened that day that it just seemed like a fight that wasn't worth having. If it would help avoid a fight she would have no qualms about doing this one little task for him. So she did as he had asked and got him the water. Roth drank the water, what little of it there was, with a smile. "Thank you, Cat." She couldn't help but smile. He motioned for her and she did not hesitate before coming to him and curling up next to him. Her purr started soon after he began stroking her hair. She decided that she liked this and wouldn't mind if he continued stroking her hair. ~~~~~~~~~~ "Meanwhile back at the Meh-teh camp . . ." "He's dead!" Jun told the people of the Meh-teh. "I saw her kill him with my own eyes. She hit him over the head with a rock. I saw the pool of blood that formed around his head. I went up to him after she'd left. He wasn't breathing! He's dead!" Jun was well aware that this didn't bode well for the Meh-teh. Roth had by far been their best warrior. As a way of life, the Meh-teh were peaceful and only a few males were aggressive enough to be warriors and even then, all paled in comparison to Roth. And Dania had killed him! And what was just as bad was that they still had nearly a full cycle of the Moon before another leader could be chosen. If she attacked before then, there would be no hope for them. Chaos would ensue because they had no leader. "Listen people!" Jun shouted. "If we wait here, she will come for us. And she is strong! We would eventually kill her, but how many of us would die first? We have no choice but to move on. We can't stay here." The only sounds you could hear were those of the Forest; no one disagreed with Jun, but no one wanted to lend their voice to his plan to leave either. They would follow, yes, but to say it out loud somehow seemed like the wrong thing to do. It took the Meh-teh seven days to have everything ready to move on. There would be no signs that they had even been there in the first place. Most of the efforts were led by Jun. He pretty much told everyone what needed to be done and his judgment was good. In those seven days, he earned the respect of the Meh-teh. He was sure he would be considered for leadership when the time came. The night before they were to leave, Jun was awakened by the sound of the Drums. He listened a moment before he realized that the Drums were signaling that a new leader would be chosen. It was still a half a cycle of the Moon before that should happen. He hurried to their meeting place hurriedly only to find that most of the Meh-teh were already there. He began to cross and be with his people, but was motioned to stop. A large wooden staff was placed at his feet. This meant that the Meh-teh had chosen him as their new leader. To accept he would have to accept the gift of this staff. And he did, reaching down and then raising it towards the Moon and letting out a roar that could be heard for miles around. "We leave in the morning," he said and then returned to go to sleep. He couldn't help but ask himself if this was really happening. It was and he was glad because of it. ~~~~~~~~~~ Roth had already positioned himself behind me and I was down on my hands and knees, waiting for him to begin. The past few days had been a whirlwind of pleasure. As much as I loved to be free and do my own thing, I loved having someone around to keep me company. We had gotten to know each other much better and I was glad that it was him that was around. And submitting to him became easier, too. I didn't trust him completely and there was no way I could give myself over to him entirely. That first time had been an accident, a mistake, because it had caught me off guard. That wouldn't happen again. So while easier, it was more controlled. I have to say that he was not bad to submit to; he was very patient and took the time to teach me things. I'd made it clear to him that we wouldn't mate. Not only was it physically impossible, but also I didn't know who I was. If I had another mate somewhere, I would be betraying him. I wouldn't do that. That being said, there was an attraction there that neither one of us could ignore. The pleasure that Roth gave me was beyond anything I'd known possible. If I'd known you could experience the heights that he sent me to, I would have sought this out a long time ago. But now that I'd found it out, I hoped to make up for lost time. Physically, the he gave me pleasure in amounts that made it hard to walk afterwords. My legs wouldn't be steady and my knees would be weak. I didn't want to eat and I couldn't sleep. But this went deeper than that. Emotionally, I got pleasure from giving him pleasure. It felt right to do this. And then there was the whole matter of me being a "submissive." My Cat certainly understood what this meant, but on the whole, I only knew how it made me feel. Maybe if I go back to the Meh-teh, I will see other women who aren't submissive and this will help me to see the difference. To me this feels normal, but my normal may not be normal. Whatever it is or whatever you call it, I like it. The only conflict I seem to have with the whole thing is that when I go out to hunt, I am still the apex predator in the area. I am in complete control and I like it that way. When I'm up in those trees, I am the master of my fate and nothing can touch me. And whenever I decide to hunt, nothing can stop me. I do seem to toy with my food a lot more, but in the end, the result is the same: they die, I eat. Dania Ch. 06 But back to this conflict . . . If I am so submissive, as Roth says, then why do I enjoy the control so much during my hunt? This train of thought stopped as Roth's tongue began to lick my sex. He was not gentle, but I didn't like it gentle. The harder and more forceful he was, the better it felt. I began to push back against him. His tongue was rough and the fur on his face tickled in ways that can only be described as delicious. It was almost no time before I was on the verge of an orgasm. But he told me not to. I was dumbfounded. "What?" "You heard me, not yet. I'll tell you when." With this, he grabbed my hair and pulled back, forcing my face into the sky. I fought against my body with everything I had. It was a losing batter and soon I was shaking both from the pleasure I was receiving from Roth as well as the impending orgasm. I knew that for the first time, I would disappoint Roth. I had to fight harder. I couldn't let this happen. But he felt so good and while he could control me, I was finding out that he was better at it than I. I closed my eyes and gritted my teeth. I would have put my head down, but he only held onto my hair more tightly. "Roth, I can't stop it!" He stopped and pulled me by my hair even harder so that I was on my knees but sitting up. And while breathing heavily said to me, "Dania, I told you not to, and you're not going to. Understood?" I couldn't speak at the moment, afraid that I might cry, so I just shook my head yes. He pushed me back down, only this time instead of on my hands, he had my face to the ground. This was slightly more painful. I think that because of the added pain and the fact that he'd stopped for a moment, I was now able to hold the orgasm at bay. At least for the moment. I was fighting off sensation so readily that I didn't notice that Roth was going to make himself orgasm and he startled me when he told me to cum with him. The result was earth-shattering. At some point during my orgasm I passed out, vaguely aware that he had shot on my back. I woke up to Roth asking me if I were okay. I could do nothing but smile. This obviously confused him. "What are you smiling for?" I said nothing, all I could do was smile at this man who'd literally made me pass out from pleasure. "I won't ask you again." Crap! I was starting to piss him off. "It just felt so good Roth. I don't know what happened, but it felt amazing!" I could see the worry disappear from his face in an instant. "I was worried. You just kind of fell over, I was worried that I'd hurt you. And with that, Roth lie down next to me and pulled me close. I nestled into his chest and I began to purr. Dania Ch. 07 Flashback ***** Death was in the air and the scent of it hung there like a fog. Mutilated and bloodied bodies were everywhere. These people hadn't stood a chance against us. From the looks of things, they hadn't even known we were coming. No. This was wrong. I hadn't been with the Neko when they'd done this. They were my people, yes, but I wasn't a part of this. This was a masacre. I found myself unable to control my body once again. I was just along for the ride. I hated not being able to do anything. I'd come to realize that these "dreams" were not actual dreams. Memories? Maybe? In any case, I knew that I was repulsed by the murder of these people. It wasn't that I was upset by the multitude of dead bodies. The death of others wasn't a factor for me. Somewhere deep down I knew that our reasons for war with this people were wrong. I'd known they were wrong for a long time. I'm pretty sure that the "me" that was in this time had attempted to tell her superiors that Man wasn't the barbaric evil that they'd thought they were. They had family and cared for one another, just like the Neko did. She was reminded that she wasn't the one who made decisions. When she attempted to protest further, her mate grabbed her by the back of the neck and forced to the ground and into a kneeling position. Her body reacted instinctively and instantly submitted to him. She didn't need to be told that the conversation was over, nor did she need for him to continue to hold her neck, but he did so anyway. "Any further discussion from you on this matter, Dania, will be treated as direct disobedience and disrespect to your mate." She couldn't see who had spoken, but could tell from the sound of his voice that it was the High General. Her mate squeezed her neck tightly and his claws jabbed into her neck, not enough to break the skin, but enough to convey the message. Our mate.... I had only begun to realize what "our mate" meant to me when the weight of disappointment came crashing down. The thought of disrespecting our mate made her feel ashamed. I felt it, too, and cried to myself as we sat there on the floor. If I could have picked my head up to look around, I don't know that I would have, so my eyes stayed focused on a spot just in front of me. The council got up and began to file out. Our mate whispered to us to remain where I was and the he would come back and get me. I was not to move, under any circumstances, until I was ordered to move. Mere moments after the room cleared, I felt him behind me. I could tell by his presence alone that it was him. I wanted him to take me home so badly that I didn't recognize his displeasure. I wanted to be anywhere but here. *Crack!* The sting of the whip erased all cognizant thought in my head. I began to cry again, even before she did. The pain coupled with the whip was too much to bear for me. Only it wasn't. I found that as much as the whip hurt, it was his feelings at that moment that cut into me. "Count! You know better than this. I taught you better!" I counted his first lash, and the second, and the third. By the time the fourth one came I was beginning to feel light-headed and could feel the blood oozing down my back. When the seventh and eighth lashes came down, I couldn't even understand the words I was trying to say. The ninth was accompanied but nothing more than a soft whimper and the knowledge that my back was a bloody mess. We passed out as the tenth lash connected. ***** It wasn't as late as I thought it would have been when I awoke. The Moon was directly overhead. I was restless and felt the need to be primal. My Cat needed an escape for awhile; to be free. I lifted my head slightly so that I could see Roth's face from where I was lying near his feet. It appeared that he was sleeping softly. In that moment, the sight of his chest rising and falling with each breath reminded me of the fight that we'd had; and of how I'd nearly killed him. I shuddered at that thought. Only a few days ago I had been ready to kill him, and now I would fight to the death to prevent that very thing. A small smile crept into the corners of my mouth as I thought that it was funny how things turned out sometimes. It occurred to me that tonight the rise and fall of his chest was different. Tonight there was a quiet power inside of him that said he was no longer balanced on that thin line between life and death. I'd known that he would survive for days now. But he wasn't fragile anymore. Tonight he felt like he was becoming Master of himself again. As much as I reveled in the thought of him being in control, tonight I needed to let my Cat out to play. Even though my kind cannot turn into cats, we are feline nonetheless, we still had primal urges every now and then. These were the times when I'd go out into the night, not really having any direction in mind. I'd just go. "You've referred to 'our kind.' You're remembering." My Cat said this to me on some subconscious level that I didn't register at the time. But she was right. I was remembering. I loved to hunt when I was like this. Not for the kill, but just for the thrill of the hunt. I'd find some animal and stalk it for hours, never letting it know I was there. It filled me with joy when it would finally realize that something further up the ladder was stalking it. That joy intensified greatly when they would run. Not all of them would, you see. Some would just stand there, not moving a muscle, their fear having taken over completely. Those were boring and I lost interest. But the ones who ran! Oh, they were fun. I never killed during these hunts. But chasing them down and letting them go, and then chasing them down again, and then letting them go again. And chasing....you get the idea. This was when my Cat was at its happiest. I know its not nice to play with your food, but if you're not eating it, that's not really what you're doing. Is it? I eased myself away from Roth and was about to head into the Forest when I hear, "Stay close enough you can hear me when I call." I had never realized he had been awake and was, therefore, startled. I froze. Should I stay or should I go? I was relieved when he made the decision for me and motioned for me to go. In a flash I was up in the trees making my way away from Roth. I wanted to get far enough away from Roth so that he wouldn't see me behaving as I planned. Something told me that he wouldn't approve of me "playing with my food." I could be wrong, but I didn't want to take the chance. I wanted to play with something big tonight. Something that would at least give me some sort of fight. I found myself waiting on a low-hanging branch for something to catch my attention. My greyish fur allowed me to blend in with the Moon's light and I was all but invisible. Add in my feline tendencies to stealth and I was all but a ghost in the darkness. I lie motionless for the better part of the night before I heard something coming my way. It smelled like a bear, probably a grizzly. And judging by the amount of noise it was making, it was quite large. No small animal would dare to make such a racket. I grew excited at the thought of what was about to transpire. I knew that I wouldn't be able to knock him to the ground by pouncing on his back, but I did it anyways. I dug my claws into his shoulders and bit down on his neck. I knew that this would do nothing more than anger him. His hide was thick and I wouldn't do much damage. He raised up on his hind legs and I threw myself backwards, throwing him off balance. I let go and rolled and he fell back. By the time he was back up, I was already crouched and in position to attack again. I wanted him to see who it was he was fighting so I delayed long enough for him to get a good look at me. I could tell by the look in his eyes that he didn't know what I was, but he didn't care either. I had attacked him and he would kill me for it. Maybe even eat me later. I came at him slowly. I had to show him that I wasn't afraid of him. He raised up on his hind legs again, determined to show me his power. I took this opportunity to take a few quick slashes with my claws, leaving a few deep gashes on his thighs, and one on his abdomen. He roared out in pain and swiped at my head, missing, but not by much. I grabbed his arm with my hands and scratched the entire length of his arm. He was making this too easy. I never saw the other paw as he hit me with it. His claws opened me up on my shoulder. I was looking up at him from my back now and he was getting ready to do whatever it is bears do when they attack when I saw two massive hands grab the bear by the head and twist. The bear was dead before he hit the ground and in his place was Roth. "What are you doing?" I was completely enraged. "You were in trouble, Cat." "I was doing just fine on my own. Why do you think I came out tonight? For a stroll under the moon?" "Well you looked like you needed help. I was just trying to protect you." "Get over yourself. I'm perfectly fine taking care of myself." I was up and attempting to be in his face, but his height prevented that, so I was basically yelling up to him. Rationality was not something that was taking place here. I'd come out tonight to let my cat play and he'd ruined it. "Listen Roth, I know this thing we have here is new and all, but sometimes I have to do things like this. I have to let my Cat out to play or I will go insane." "So what, you need to be challenged or something? Is that what you need" With that, he pushed me back, causing me to land on my ass. At this point my Cat took over and attacked Roth. It was like I was sitting back observing this. And as much as I hate to admit it, I wanted the Cat to win. I tackled Roth to the ground and attempted to slash his face, but he grabbed my wrists. With him still holding onto me, I jumped up and pushed off of his chest with me feet which caused him to release me. I flipped over backwards and landed on my feet. Before I could recover, he was on me again. He grabbed me and picked me up and flung me. I hit a tree and slid to the ground. Not wanting to give him a chance to do this again, I climbed the tree a few feet and jumped from one tree to another, gradually circling Roth and then pouncing on him. I dug my teeth into his shoulder as I clung to his back for dear life. He managed to grab my hair and twist his hand in it and then snatch me off and slam me to the ground. My breath was knocked out of me and for a brief moment I couldn't see anything. The next thing I felt was Roth's massive foot on my stomach. He pushed down on me so hard and he was so heavy. I clawed at his foot and punched as hard as I could, but it had no effect on him. I had almost passed out and had let my hands fall back to the ground. One of my hands landed on a small branch. I stabbed his foot with this and he let go. I scrambled to my feet and managed to put some distance between the two of us. I had to get my breath back. I made my way into a tree and into the branches, concealing myself as best I could. I hoped that he wouldn't find me right away. Roth searched for me for a moment and quickly became agitated. He stopped right up under my tree and let out a guttural roar. I could feel the waves of anger coming off of him. It wasn't anger towards me, but anger that he couldn't find me. I didn't let him finish. I descended from the tree landing on his head, knocking him to the ground. Before he could get up and attack, I kicked him in the gut and then jumped on his back again. This time, however, my head was towards his lower back and my feet towards his head. I used my tail to wrap around his throat and hold on. I wasn't chocking him by any means, but it did distract him a little. I bit into his lower back several times and dug my claws into his sides up to my first knuckle. I wasn't surprised when he was able to grab me and throw me off. He was, however, surprised when I held on with my tail, preventing me from going far at all. I let go and crawled through his legs to get behind him and I kicked him in the ass as hard as I could. He stumbled a step and then kicked back with his right foot, catching me in the mouth and splitting my lip open. The taste of my own blood shocked me long enough for him to turn around. I stood up ready for his attack. Everything in my posture told him that I was ready for whatever he threw at me. Only I wasn't expecting him to really throw something at me. The log hit me in the gut and knocked me back into a tree. Before I could fall to the ground Roth had me by the throat. The look in his eyes told me that he was enjoying this as much as I was. He then kissed me and threw me to the ground. I can't tell you why, but that kiss sent me into a frenzy. I began hurtling insults at him while I tried my best to slash his eyes out. I never got to his eyes, but his arms were a bloody mess. I took some satisfaction in that. That satisfaction was soon taken away when he told me that I was "cute" when I was angry. I didn't know what cute meant, but I didn't like it. To me, it sounded like something weak. And I was not weak. I wanted nothing more than to rip his throat out and piss down the hole. And I tried. But I couldn't get close enough to him. He kept throwing limbs, and logs, and stones at me. And the few times I got close enough to do any harm, he would throw me. I finally managed to grab hold of him and I was determined to not let go. I even had my tail wrapped around his leg. He shook me from left to right, and up and down, but I would not let go. Finally he just fell on top of me. His weight pushed the wind out of me and my grip loosened enough for him to be free. He stood and kicked me in the gut one last time. The next thing I know, Roth is twisting his massive hand in my hair again and using it to pull me to my feet. He pulls me over to a gigantic boulder and bends me over it. I thought he was going to bash my head into it or something. Surprise cannot describe the sensation I felt when his hand made contact with my rear. I knew I'd become excited from the fight, and this did only served to increase my arousal. Each blow felt like I'd been punched and knocked the wind out of me. I was becoming light-headed, both from arousal and pain and I needed to hold onto the rock to keep me upright. My knees were beginning to get weak so I told him I needed to stop. That if I didn't, then I would fall. "You will stand where you are until I tell you you can move," was his only reply. I trusted that he wouldn't cause me any real harm so I kept going. I continued to stand. As light-headed as I was, I still couldn't deny the fact that this felt good for me. I'd already orgasmed once and was well on my way to another. I had the feeling that I would pass out from the next. I did have that orgasm and briefly passed out. My head hung limp for a moment before I came to and realized what had just happened. In the most base, fundamental way, this felt good for me. It felt right. Cat: "Of course it does." I loved it. At this particular moment, there was no rationale, there was no clear thinking. This was as basic as basic can get. Roth pulled me to him and wrapped his tree-like arms around me. My knees began to buckle and I told him that I couldn't stand any longer. His only words as he lowered me to the ground were, "I know." The last thing I remember before falling asleep was him saying, "Good Kitty." ***** Off in the distance, near where the Meh-teh have now settled, there is a small rumbling of thunder in a cloudless sky. ***** "Dania, wake up." It took me a second to open my eyes. Roth was telling me that it was raining and that we should find some shelter. We managed to find a nearby cave before we were completely soaked. "Where did that come from?" "It does rain sometimes, Roth." "No, I head thunder coming from a ways off, but there was no cloud in the sky that I could see. And then here, clouds seemed to form out of nowhere and the rain came down. Very odd." I had no idea how he wanted me to respond to his, nor how I would if he had. I was asleep and hadn't seen what he did. But even with how strange he thought things were, I couldn't help but think about the night before. My Cat had been sated and then some, but I was still a little steamed about the whole thing. "Roth, can I ask you something?" "Anything." "Why did you follow me last night? I mean, you knew I was getting up and even told me to stay close. But why follow me?" This clearly wasn't the question he was expecting. "Well for one, you didn't stay close. And . . ." "But the only way you would have known that was if you'd followed me." I cut him off. "And I guess," he continued, "a part of me was curious to see just where you were going and what you were up to. Cats aren't the only curious things, you know." "Then why not just ask me. It kinda feels like you didn't trust me to be alone." The fact that he didn't trust me in my own woods upset the hell out of me. Cat: "Why are you wanting his trust at all?" "Would you have told me? I have to admit, following you didn't really do me much good. I stood still for half the night and I still don't know what it was you were doing." "If you must know..." "I must," he interrupted. "Every once in awhile I have the urges to be wild....primal. I call it letting my Cat out to play. I'll usually stalk some animal for awhile, maybe play with it some and then let it go. I hardly ever kill it though." "So you picked on a grizzly? That doesn't exactly sound too smart. And it looked like it was ready to kill you." "I had everything under control." With this, I leaned into him and put my head on his chest. "I was only trying to help," he said as he wrapped his arms around me. I couldn't see the smile on his face. "Look Roth, I know that. But if I don't let go every now and then, I will go insane. I'm talking about going bat-shit-crazy." I was surprised to hear him laugh and at first I thought he was laughing at what I'd said. "Listen Cat, I think you missed what I did tonight. As soon as I'd killed the bear, I kinda knew what you were trying to do. And I knew that you wouldn't find another worthy animal tonight, so I filled in. I pushed you into the fight because I knew that's what you needed. You needed that struggle." I had no words to respond so I just listened to the beat of his heart. Sometimes it caught me off guard at how well he knew me. I mean, was I that easy to read? At last I said, "What if I'd hurt you?" "You did a little. But I learned from our first fight. I knew what to expect from you. I just wasn't expecting you to be so fierce. But at least you didn't hit me over the head with a rock this time." "So are you going to follow me the next time I let my cat out to play?" "I've actually been thinking about that and the answer is no. But when that time comes again, let me be that animal. There is nothing in this Forest that can give you the challenge that I can, and you know that. So, no I'm not going to follow you. You're going to stay with me and we'll have it out." "And if that doesn't work?" "It will. But if by some chance it doesn't then we'll try something new." Part of me didn't think it would, but I wanted to trust his judgment. "Its time for us to go back to the Meh-teh. By now they must have assumed that I'm either dead or not coming back and the Moon cycle is almost complete." "Roth, you just assume that I'm going back with you......I don't know that I want that. I like my life the way it was. Why would I give all of that up to live with a people who don't trust me and will probably never accept me?" Dania Ch. 07 "Because you're lonely." Those three words cut like a knife. He, of course, was right. I was lonely and the opportunity to live amongst others was more than tempting. He knew I would go. "Don't worry, Little One. I am still their leader and they will accept you because I have accepted you. There will be no trouble from them. We will leave at sunrise. You should get to sleep; the next few days are going to be long." We were up and gone with the rise of the Sun. It took us about a day to get back to the Meh-teh camp. I could feel Roth tense up as we neared the camp. Something was wrong. I climbed into the trees so that I could get a better look. I could see before Roth that they were gone, but somehow he'd known before me. For some reason or the other, the Meh-teh had packed up and left, leaving no trace that they'd been there. Roth was very quiet now and I could feel how upset he was. "This is worse than I thought. The only way they would leave is if they feared for their lives. I'm guessing its you they fear. They probably think you killed me, which you nearly did. We have to track them down, and quickly. But until I can find out what is really going on, I need to you to stay up in the trees and not let them see you. Can you do that for me?" I nodded my head that I could and immediately went back into the trees, prepared to follow him from above. He set out at a pace that I would have never expected to be possible from him. The pace was quick even for me. We traveled well into the night before stopping to rest and then set off again. Roth's abilities to track were truly a sight to see. Even at a full run, he could pick up on the smallest sign. We never slowed until sunset of the next day. He motioned for me to come down and he told me that we were at the edge of their new camp and that it was imperative that I stay out of sight. They were scared, and a scared animal is dangerous. I climbed back into the trees as Roth walked into the camp. I found a place where I could not be seen and listened closely to what was about to happen. What little noise came from the camp stopped the instant that Roth was noticed. None was more surprised than Jun. Roth could see that he carried a staff which meant that he'd been elected their new leader. I thought to myself that he would soon fix that. Roth walked up to Jun and stared him in the eyes and it was Jun who lowered his gaze. "Roth. . . . you're not. . . you're not . . umm....dead. . . . " Dania Ch. 08 "Roth. . . . you're not. . . .you're not . . . umm.....dead...." I could hear the trepidation in Jun's voice. I wondered whether or not he would give leadership back to Roth or if Roth would have to take it back. I secretly hoped that Roth would take it. I longed to see him take control of a situation, like he had taken control of me. "No Jun, I'm not dead. Whatever gave you the impression that I was dead?" "But I saw her.....and there was blood...so much blood..and...and..." "And nothing." Roth grabbed him by the throat and pulled him close. When he spoke next his words were low but full of anger. "You followed me when I told you to stay. And now you've taken what is mine. Explain yourself!" "I told everyone about how I'd seen Dania hit you over the head with that stone and that you were dead. We were scared. . . . We decided to move on so that she couldn't find us. You weren't here, Roth, so they chose me to take over." "And you accepted." From where I was, I could see two large males slowly circling around behind Roth. At first, I didn't know if he knew about them or not, but it soon became clear that he'd seen them. While still holding onto Jun's throat with one hand, he pointed at them with the other and never broke eye contact with Jun. "Remember who I am." I had readied myself in the tree, poised for attack and swishing my tail back and forth. I wanted them to try something so Roth would call me. I was angry at the fact that they had taken from my Roth. I smiled just thinking about how much fun it would be to take them apart. But Roth's snarl had backed them off. I was impressed. It was clear that Roth was in charge of this situation without ever having to let go of Jun. "So we have a little problem here, Jun. I'm not dead so your claim has no grounds. But the Meh-teh did choose you. We have two leaders and one people. How do you propose we solve this issue?" Jun struggled to speak. "We don't. You're our leader. Do you hear that, people? Roth is our leader....not me." With that said, Roth threw him to the ground and then grabbed his staff and broke it in half and threw them beside Jun. Roth turned to the Meh-eh and said, "My people, I want you to all know what has happened. But now is not the time. All will be explained tonight at sunset. There is much I need to discuss with our elders." I watched from a safe distance as Roth stopped and talked with several older members of the Meh-teh. He was gracious and warm but still secure in his role as leader. I see why many of the Meh-teh respected him. I could not hear what was happening but Roth shook several hands. Only one of the elder's seemed less than forthcoming. After conversing with the Elders, Roth walked among the people. He greeted everyone with a smile on his face and called them by their names. I got the feeling that most of this was for Roth to reassure the people that he was really back. I noticed that there were some who avoided him almost entirely. It was as if they were unhappy that Roth was back. How any of the Meh-teh could not want a magnificent leader like Roth back seemed shocking to me. Later in the morning Roth found an alcove and signaled me down. I came to his side immediately. I was full of questions about the Meh-teh and his return. "Why were some of your people avoiding you?" "My guess is that they were loyal to Jun. In their eyes, he is still their leader. After all, I never bested him to take over." "But he never bested you either." "No, but I was 'dead' and he was chosen. And being chosen by our people in the absence of a leader, is acceptable." "So what are you going to do." ~~~~~~~~~~ I told Roth that I was a little scared to go out and meet everyone. That because of all that had happened, I was sure that the Meh-teh would hate me. I had attacked their leader and wounded him. They thought I'd killed him. It wasn't a far stretch of the imagination for some to think I'd taken him from them. "I am the only one you need to worry about right now. The others don't matter." I steeled my resolve to match Roth's instruction. I knew that when it finally came time for me to be around the others, their looks of jealousy and contempt would mean absolutely nothing to me. I would merely note who they were because they might pose a problem later, but what they thought actually would mean nothing to me. I was here because Roth had asked me to be, not the Meh-teh. I promised myself I would only give them a smile that said, "Yes I am here." I wanted the Meh-teh to know that I was no danger to them, I felt that was important. I whispered as much in his hear. He pulled me close said "Up in the tree's, my kitty. We have one more meeting to go to today. You will attend this one and I will introduce you to the Elders, but keep yourself hidden until I call you." I thought we were headed to the central clearing where the Meh-teh seemed to gather to socialize, but we headed straight through and out the other side back into the Forest. We went far enough that the sounds coming from the clearing were no longer audible and we waited. We were soon met by the elders of the Meh-teh, including the one who would have rather not been there. He spoke first. "Roth, Jun has a claim to be leader of our people. He was here when you were not." "Dak, I was never beaten. And I came back before the cycle of the Moon passed. It is Jun who has no claim." So Dak was his name. He sat down in a huff, obviously displeased with the logic that Roth had just presented to him. "Still the people chose him, that has to account for something." Dak was loyal to Jun, that much was clear. It was a much older Meh-teh named Dren who spoke next. His fur was completely gray and close to white in some places. "Roth, while you were reuniting with our people today, we spoke long about the situation at hand. There has never been a happening like this before." Dren spoke very slowly, making sure that every word was understood. "I was afraid of that," Roth said. "I had hoped that your many years would provide us with a solution for this. I know that both of us have a legitimate claim to leadership. And it must be settled. The only way I know of in which respect of the people will be earned is to have the Calling of the Drums. I don't want to kill Jun, but I fear that is what would happen." "Oh what, you're so mighty that you couldn't be defeated? Big bad Roth can beat anyone now?" "Dak, I did not mean it that way. But let's face it, Jun isn't exactly the best warrior out there. He's far from it." "Roth..." "Enough!" Dren interrupted. "You will not do this. Not here! Not now! We are here to find a solution, not to bicker like infants. Have I made myself clear?" No one made a sound. I could hear them breathing. It was eerie. Dren spoke, "More bloodshed is not needed. But we need a solution. Does anyone have any suggestions?" I didn't know who Dren was, but it was clear that he was someone who meant what he said and said what he meant. All of the Meh-teh present respected him enough to accept what he said, almost without question. The tension in the air was palpable. I watched as they all looked at each other without saying a word. No one wanted to speak first. That or they just didn't know what to say. It was Dren who spoke first. "We could choose to have Roth as our leader again, but that would mean that Jun would have to be exiled. And if he ever came back, then we would be in the same position we are now." "Unacceptable!" Dak screamed. "I agree," Dren countered. "So what do you think we need to do?" "We do nothing! We chose Jun as our leader. We have satisfied tradition." "But you didn't. I had until the cycle of the Moon was complete to be back and you chose before then," Roth corrected. "I earned my place as your leader and that has never been taken away. As much as I hate to say this, if I have to earn it again I will." "Roth, that is not necessary. It is a credit to your leadership that you have asked for this council. What is needed is a test of some kind. One that will not give an advantage to either of the two." "What kind of test, Dren?" "A test of Will. Both Roth and Jun will stand atop a platform. This platform will be large enough for them to stand on only. If at any point they sit or fall, they will lose. They can choose to come down at any point and this will result in the other becoming leader. No food or water will be allowed for the duration." "This is unfair to Jun. He has done nothing to that warrants he relinquish his leadership!" This was, of course, Dak who objected. Dren narrowed his eyes, "And neither has Roth. Our only other option will be that Roth challenge him with the Calling of the Drums." Everyone waited for Dak to respond to Dren. "Alright, if there is nothing else . . . " "Dren," Roth interrupted. "There is one more thing. It concerns Dania. I have chosen to bring her here with me. Come down here, Dania," Everyone gasped at once as I leapt down to him from my spot in the tree. "She is my responsibility and will be of no danger to anyone here, unless provoked, in which case she would defend herself. I would expect this from any one of our people. "So you come in here and try to steal Jun's leadership and now you bring this . . . thing and tell us she's your . . . " Roth seized him by the throat and when he spoke his words were vicious. "I've tolerated you because I wish to do what's right for our people. Something I thought was the right thing to do. But I will not listen to you disrespect her. By disrespecting her, you disrespect me. I will not tolerate this, do you understand." The Elders were attempting to free Dak from Roth's vice-like grip, but it was to no avail. They were too old and weak to do more than bother him. To Roth, they were flies. It was only when Dak nodded his head that Roth released him. "Roth," Dren said at last, "As far as tradition goes, you would have to choose a mate who is of the Meh-teh." I could literally feel Roth's heart sink. "But as leader, it would be your choice to abide by this or not. I will say this though, if you are successful and become leader once again, she will need to be educated in our ways. And if she is ever a danger to our people, she will be removed whether she is your mate or not. Do you understand this, Roth?" "I understand and accept this. I thank you for your wisdom," Roth said as he smiled. "But she is not my mate. She is very special to me, yes. But not my mate." There was a small rumbling of thunder, although there were no storm clouds that could be seen. "Dak, go back to our people and see to it that the platforms are built." "But. . ." "Just go. Roth, I'd like to speak to you alone for a moment." We waited for the Dak to leave, and then the others. I could tell that there was something definitely on Dren's mind. Something was troubling him. I had an idea that it was me. I'd messed things up for Roth yet again. I mean, if it hadn't been for me, Roth wouldn't be in this position right now. And here I've done something to make things worse for him. "Roth, I don't know if you've realized this or not, but there are those among us who have become loyal to Jun in the short time you were gone. The way they see it, you abandoned us. And it was Jun who spoke up and took action. To them, he went above and beyond." "I have noticed this. As I walked among our people there were some who avoided me. And then there is Dak. He has made it abundantly clear that he doesn't want me back." "I just wanted to make sure that you were aware. And keep an eye out for Dania. He's not fond of her either. If you like, I can make sure she's safe while you and Jun settle things." "I really appreciate that. I can't thank you enough." "It is my pleasure, my son." ~~~~~~~~~~ I had no doubts in my mind that he would be victorious. There was no way that Jun would best Roth. It just wouldn't happen. I personally thought having to prove himself again was something he shouldn't have to do. But I also wanted to see him be leader that he was. Couldn't I have both? Dren explained to the people that there would be a test of Will to determine who the leader of the Meh-teh would be. As each had an equal, and rightful, claim to leadership it was only fitting that they should be given a challenge that would put them on equal grounds. When the time finally came for both of them to begin their test, I could clearly see how divided the tribe truly was. Dren had explained to everyone what was going to happen and all but a select few agreed that it was the best way to choose who should be the real leader. No one thought that Roth could be defeated physically, but this would put them on even ground. There were quite a few who were clearly in favor of Jun coming out on top. I couldn't help but smile. I knew that Roth would win this. He had to. As they were about to climb atop their respective platforms, a female Meh-teh I'd never seen before ran past those chosen to watch and up to Jun and threw her arms around him. This seemed to shock everyone, Jun included. I wondered if this woman had feelings for him. Her behavior seemed to indicate that she did. Some small part of me was happy for her. But at the same time, because it was Jun, I felt a little spiteful. Right now Jun was an adversary. And the two of them would be stronger than just him. I couldn't help but think to myself, "I could take her." Wait. Was I jealous of this woman? No, that wasn't quite it. She wasn't a threat to me. But maybe she would give Jun some extra inspiration and that was not good. I walked over to Roth, making sure to sway my hips and swish my tail. I had no idea why I was doing this, but it felt like I should. I stood on my tipped toes and cupped his face in my hands and kissed him. I felt him harden and reached down grabbed his erection with one hand and purred loudly enough for everyone to hear. "When you win." I released him and walked over and stood next to Dren. Roth was grinning. He knew what I'd done and was happy with me. Was it a little petty? Maybe. But it showed everyone that Roth and I were together, and that I aroused him. Dren cleared his throat and spoke three words: "It has begun." Thunder rumbled nearby. Gossip about me rumbled in the throats of the other Meh-teh. ~~~~~~~~~~ If I thought that being away from Roth would be pure agony, I was wrong. It was worse. It was more than I could endure. I missed his strong presence and demanding sexuality. I craved his touch. I thought of touching myself, but I didn't want to near Dren and I didn't want to touch myself without Roth either. It would only reinforce his absence. I was alone that night. The only thing that kept me sane was the fact that Roth insisted that I stay away. I am pretty sure that I never slept that first night. Dren was patient with me. I must have woken him at least a dozen times as I paced back and forth. I apologized for being such a nuisance, but all he would say is that it was no trouble at all and then lay back down. I would try and speak with one of the watchers and ask if I could sleep at the bottom of Roth's platform. At least this way I could be near him. As soon as the sun rose, I went and asked. They were not given a chance to answer as Roth interrupted them. "Dania, as much as I would love to have you near, we cannot take the chance of calling into question our integrity. If you don't come near, there is no way you could sneak me help." And then he turned and glared at Jun who had a smug look upon his face. I was too disappointed to take in fully what he'd just said. But I did hear him connect his integrity with mine and that made me feel treasured. For the next three mornings and the next three sunsets, I would go and visit with Roth, always keeping the watchers between the two of us. These were the only times he would allow me to see him. He assured me that he was fine. But I could tell that he was fatigued and looked as if he would eat the first thing that got near him, even if it was meat. Jun, on the other hand, seemed to be faring much better. While he looked a little tired, he did not appear to be in as bad of shape as Roth. This puzzled me. There was no way he had more stamina than Roth. I couldn't quite figure it out. Something wasn't right. Or was it that Roth wasn't 100%? There was a storm that night; very little wind, but lots of thunder and lightning. It kept me up most of the night worrying about Roth. As the sun was coming up, the storm abated and I headed out to speak with Roth. My heart sank when I saw Roth's platform and he wasn't on it. And then I saw that Jun wasn't on his either. One of the watchers told me that it had ended just before the storm ended. Roth was on the ground next to his platform, kneeling on one knee. He was clearly exhausted. Jun, however, was ranting about how he hadn't given up and that it wasn't fair. Apparently, right at the end of the storm, Jun had fallen from his platform. Roth had won! I was so excited that for a moment I didn't stop to think that he might like some water or something to eat. I cupped up some water in my hands and took it to him. It wasn't much, but it was the first drink he'd had in a few days. Jun was still ranting and raving. Roth motioned for me to help him up. He walked over to Jun and said something in his ear. I couldn't hear what it was, but Jun didn't say another word about anything being unfair. "I need to eat, Cat. Please bring me some food." Dren was already a step ahead of me and had some prepared for him. I brought it to Roth and he sat and ate in the clearing. I could tell that he was tired, but he refused to leave his people for the moment. I wanted to have him to myself, because I wanted to know what happened. How it was that Jun fared so much better than he did. I knew that something wasn't right, but I just didn't know what. It was nearly mid-day before Roth would let himself be torn away. "Dania, if you're wanting what I think you want, it will have to wait. I don't have the strength to do anything properly." "Roth, I know this. I want you to lie down and get some rest. Here, let me help you.........But I do have a question or two if you can stand it. I mean, if you're too tired I can wait." "No, go ahead, Kitty." "How did Jun do so much better than you?" Roth's face grew dark. "If I tell you this, it can never leave here. You can never tell anyone. Understood?" "Yes." "Jun had someone helping him. I couldn't tell who it was, but late in the night, someone would bring him some food and something to drink. I think at least one of the watchers was in on it too." "Roth, that's not right!" I was furious. The nerve of him to cheat like this. "Dania, I told you that you would tell no one. And you are not going to." His voice was stern and I knew that he meant what he said. He wouldn't allow me to tell anyone. "Jun knows that I know he had help. He also knows that I don't care. He still lost. But if he attempts to take my leadership again, I'll kill him." I not-so-secretly hoped that he would. "If he does, can I help?" I continued, "So how did you win?" "With all the rain, the platform became very wet, and slippery. There was a sudden gust of wind and Jun fell. It was odd because there had been no wind at all during the storm that night. I almost fell myself. But when he fell, the test was over. I am the leader of the Meh-teh." Dania Ch. 09 Roth could barely draw himself up to his full height he was so weakened with hunger. Jun was sprightlier, having been given food and water by an unknown Meh-teh. Roth had seen and heard him or her come up and bring Jun food and water, but in the darkness, he could not discern who it was. Jun had many who were loyal to him so pinpointing just who it was would prove difficult. What made it more tricky was that if Roth started asking around, it would be known that he was looking for whoever it was, and that person would know that they were being looked for. And if they knew, they surely work that much harder to conceal themselves. Not being able to identify someone who would flout rules bothered Roth's sense of leadership and threatened his ability to ensure Dania's safety. He did not relish either realization. But the latter released a rage in him that he'd never known before. This situation was delicate and must be dealt with delicately, Roth reasoned. At least until he could figure out who it was that had betrayed the Meh-teh and interfered with the trials. At that point it would be Jun and his accomplices necks that would be delicate. But until then, all he could do was gather information and then let the evidence speak for itself. And more importantly to him, he decided he couldn't let Dania know what was going on. She'd worry. It would make her acculturation harder. It was his to make and he'd made it to protect her. ~~~~~~~~~~ Over the next few cycles of the Moon, things returned to a relative normality and complacency. Roth worked every day to earn back the trust of his former constituency and the Meh-teh once again felt safe. Roth continued to consider who might have helped Jun. Roth and Dania too fell into a comfortable pattern of routine. It did take some time for the Meh-teh to accept Dania as Roth's significant other, however. They didn't feel as if she were capable of the political position given that she was not one of them and had limited knowledge of the culture and its customs. Dania eventually proved she was up to the challenge and although she made mistakes initially, she learned quickly and the mistakes became infrequent. She hunted early in the morning before the others awoke to show respect to the Meh-teh's dietary habits. While Dania wasn't Roth's mate, she was his other, and it was suggested that she should take on the role that his mate would have: Alpha Female. This was a political position which she had not known about when they'd discussed her coming here. In that role she would be responsible for making sure that the women of the tribe were heard and that no injustices were thrust upon them by others, intentionally or not. This sounded like a wonderful thing, but in reality it wasn't. When one of the women had a problem with their mates, they came to Dania for advice. When they felt that their workload was greater than someone else's, it was Dania they came to. Mose of the time her day consisted of listening to complaints and trying her best to offer a solution to the problem. This proved to be dreary work. Her solitary life, the one before the Meh-teh and one she thought she'd miss, turned out to be an asset to resolving various issues. Because she'd been self sufficient, she expected the other females to be able to be that way as well; but because they'd also grown up in a culture where cooperation was the way to go, working collaboratively was required as well. Further, her decisions were not clouded by favoritism as she had no history with these Meh-teh to draw bias from and she soon had a reputation as one who was fair. Inexperienced, but fair. Roth was ecstatic when Dania's work led her to her first friend among his people. When she wasn't busy with the Meh-teh or with Roth, she spent time with Tiber. Roth would often see them during the day talking and laughing. She says it was Tiber who helped her with things the most. She took time to explain things, sometimes over and over. It was through Tiber that Dania learned much about the Meh-te, and Tiber seemed genuinely interested in Dania and her life before. Roth was please to see that the two got along well. Deep down, he wasn't entirely thrilled that Dania's first friend was Tiber, Jun's mate, but he ultimately decided that she had nothing to do with what had happened during the contest, so his feeling towards her were unwarranted and he decided to be happy for the both of them. Roth's feelings about Jun were, unsurprisingly, more complicated than for Tiber. Roth still considered Jun someone to keep an eye on. He knew the depth of pleasure a mate could bring could be life-changing....in any direction. Tiber's relationship with Jun made him even more of an x-factor to Roth's mind. On the one hand, Tiber seemed good and maybe she would have a positive effect on Jun. After all, she was a large female and was considered to be attractive by most of the Meh-teh (a real "catch" to anyone but Roth, who didn't think she was ugly or anything, but in his eyes, she paled in comparison with Dania). On the other hand, whatever their problem was, it was clear that they didn't relate to each other very well when it came to intimacy. Sometimes Jun would come out after mating looking pleased with himself, but Tiber would follow shortly thereafter with an unpleasant look upon her face. When she hadn't been pleasured, you could tell. And then there times when they would both come out looking like this. It was at those moments that Roth grinned inwardly for his enemies poor relations, but he also feared that it made Jun prone to acting out. In practical terms, Roth only expressed the conventional pleasure of a Meh-teh leader; that he was proud that two of his people had "found" each other and were mating. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Roth and Dania's relationship was anything but conventional. For one, she wasn't his mate. Dania's Cat insisted that she already had a mate and she couldn't overcome the Cat. And the other thing was that the Meh-teh didn't require that you mate for life. You could be with someone and everything be great....but if you decided to go your separate ways, you were free to mate with someone else. This was not the case with Dania. She'd mated before and was still loyal, even though she had no memory of it. What they wouldn't have been called mating, at least none of the Meh-teh would have recognized it as such. For one, Dania's screams of pleasure could be heard by all. This mattered to her now because she was Alpha and the others would look to her for leadership. Well she hoped they would eventually. Right now they didn't fully trust her. And if they didn't trust her, it would make her job much harder. But Roth didn't like for her to be quiet. He loved the sound of her being pleasured. It was music to his ears. The kind of music that you can't stop listening to, the kind that just makes you want more of it. So she was not quiet. If someone asked why she was so loud each and every night, she was to tell them that she was sorry to have kept them awake. If they persisted, she was to tell them that Roth pleasured her in such a way that it was impossible to be quiet. That the pleasure took over and her Cat couldn't help but let everyone know how good she felt. When hearing this last part, the women of the Meh-teh would either look away or look down at the ground, almost as if they were embarrassed by the candor in which Dania spoke. This, of course, told Dania that they didn't receive a fraction of the pleasure that she did, and if the weren't getting the pleasure, the pain that went hand-in-hand with her pleasure was nowhere in sight. Take all of this into account as well as the fact that Roth had never actually penetrated Dania. More than a few were envious of her. And then there were the mornings when the both of them would come into the clearing leaning on each other, looking as if they'd just escaped death by mauling. In truth, they'd spent the night entertaining Dania's Cat and its need to hunt and be aggressive. And as intense as these fights between the two of them could be, there was never any malicious intent. Injuries were common and were never serious. Roth's injuries tended to consist of mostly deept gashes left by Dania's claws and hers were mostly bruises from where he'd thrown her against a tree or the ground. The Meh-teh were always confused on these mornings. They had clearly been in a fight with something. And yet they were always smiling and holding each other. Did they fight whatever it was together? Did one save the other? No one knew for sure, but many speculated. The favored rumor that spread was that she had wondered off alone and had been attacked by a bear and Roth had to risk himself in order to save her. Her "carelessness" would cost them one day. ~~~~~~~~~~~~ This is not to say that Dania was without incident. There were times when her Cat would come to the surface and she would be more playful; usually when she was socializing. Roth thought this was, perhaps, necessary for her to be around others. She had been alone for so long. But at the same time, he didn't find it acceptable for her to forget her place. Usually, her behavior was mild enough that he could deal with her later, in private. There were times, however, in which he had to deal with her in public. Her punishment needed to be swift. She wasn't his mate and he knew that she never would be. But she was his other and had taken on the role of Alpha Female. The others initially rejected the idea, but soon saw that even though she wasn't Meh-teh, she was, by far, the most dominant female. Period. Dania's first public punishment came when she was with Tiber and a few of the other females. The winter was soon approaching and they would need to decide where the tribe would go so that food would be readily available. Food during the winger wasn't a factor for Dania; there would always be game for her. But the Meh-teh did not eat meat....their food sources changed with the seasons. "Dania, I need to speak with you for a moment." "I'm busy, Roth, can it wait?" "No, it can't." Her demeanor changed. "But I want it to wait." She stared him directly in the eyes, a small smile creeping into the corners of her lips, and the tip of her tail swishing back and forth slightly. Her Cat had come out to play. Roth said to the other females, "Ladies, I'm sorry about this." And to Dania he gestured for her to come to him. He knelt down to one knee and motioned for her to lie across. He let her lie there for a moment, letting the anticipation of what was to come do more damage than he actually would. Finally he began, moving her tail out of the way and stopping to talk to her between each strike. *Smack* "Dania, you are here at MY request and serve as MY Alpha Female. *Smack* "I am your leader." *Smack* "You will do as I ask you to." *Smack* "You." *Smack* "Will." *Smack* "Not." *Smack* "Disrespect." *Smack* "Me." *Smack* "Understood." Dania didn't respond for a moment. But finally with her eyes to the ground, she simply replied, "Yes." "That's my good girl, come here." Roth held her for a moment, caressing her and talking to her; tell her that no matter what, he still loved her. Roth had his attention so focused on Dania that he hadn't seen others come to what they thought was her rescue. Upon looking up there were several males and many more females around. There were many shouts of "What are you doing" or "Hey! Stop that!" and "Please don't hurt her." It was Dania who first piped up. "He hasn't hurt me." A needle falling from a pine could have been heard in the following moments. No one could believe that she would say that he hadn't hurt her after the public spanking she'd just received. In their eyes, she was clearly delusional or living in fear. Dania could see the moment of shock had passed and that their anger was quickly coming back to the surface. "Things are different for Roth and I than they are for the rest of you. I have given control to him. I didn't do this because I was afraid of him. I did this because I trust him. This is something I need from him. I can tell..." "That you do not understand the dynamic of our relationship." Roth intercepted. "I will be more than happy to discuss anything with you. But now is not the time. There are things...we need to talk about ourselves." He picked her up as easily as one might pick up a child and walked away. The rest of the Meh-teh didn't see what happened next, and they didn't hear about it. Dania was instructed to never mention it. As far as the Meh-teh were concerned, she'd been punished and that punishment was complete. It wasn't. Roth ordered Dania to sit on her haunches with her hands behind her back, with her shoulders back and chest out, with her ankles crossed. While she waited patiently, Roth fashioned a crude structure that was not quite up to Dania's waste. He had her bend over it and then tied her feet to each of the legs. He placed a collar and leash around her neck (the same one she'd been tied with in the beginning) and affixed the leash to a stake in the ground. At this point, Roth had her place her hands behind her back, where they were tied. "Do you know what's about to happen, Dania?" "N n n nn no." "Quit stuttering and talk. Do you understand or not?" "Yes." "Tell me what you think it going to happen." "You are going to punish me." "Yes. Now, why am I going to do this?" "Because I didn't listen to you." "Is that all?" "I think so." "That is part of it. I expect you to listen whenever I tell you to do something. While we are in private, some playfulness is acceptable. In fact, I enjoy it. I might even tolerate a private joke in public; something that only the two of us would get. But I cannot and will not tolerate something in public that challenges my leadership with the Meh-teh. Do you understand how you did this?" "No." "When you said that you wanted something different than what I'd just told you to do. Do you realize what would have happened if I'd gone along with that? I would have lost all credibility with the Meh-teh. If I had gone along with you, it would have told them that you are the one in charge in our private lives, and while that is irrelevant, that would have led to them thinking that about me leading the tribe. Someone would have questioned if it was me leading them in public or you leading them behind the scenes." "I understand." Roth carefully lifted her tail out of the way and began to spank her. Dania was ashamed of what she'd done to Roth, although she hadn't realized it at the time. She never wanted to hurt Roth. And so she accepted he punishment willingly. She winced in preparation for the first strike....but never felt it. ***** Flashback: I opened my eyes and I wasn't with the Meh-teh any longer. I was remembering something again. I found that I was in a room dimly lit by candles with the smell of honey in the air. I loved honey. I closed my eyes and let the fragrance fill me with serenity. "Dania.....come to me." My head turned towards the sound of his voice. My Cat and myself had the same thought: Mine! He was my mate, my dominant, my master....and so much more. I knew this. I can't tell you how, but I knew this. He had his back turned to me so I couldn't see his face. But we knew it was him. The command in his voice assured us that it was him. I found that my eyes were taking in his body from the bottom up. I hated not being able to control anything here! I wanted to see his face, to see into his eyes. He had a great body! He looked as if he'd been carved out of granite. Just looking at his body, I could tell that he was strong; and the memory of my Cat confirmed this. And he was tall. His body was very long.....elongated. I was glad that we were finally moving towards him. I wanted to touch him. Just like myself, his body was covered from head to toe with fur. While mine was grey, his was a light brown with it growing very dark down his arms and legs. The brown was so deep that it almost appeared black by the tips of his fingers and toes. His head and tail also followed this pattern. I half expected his fur to be short and bristly because of how rock solid his body was. Instead, it was incredibly soft and silky. I wanted to run my hands up and down his back through his fur and feel the muscles of his back. And I wanted to see his face and look into his deep green, almond shaped eyes. The other me was taking her time. This was clearly something she was going to do slowly. Deliciously slowly. This wasn't my thought.....well it was in that it was the "me" that was here and now....not to say that I wasn't here. It occurred to me that I couldn't remember his face. The fact that she so clearly knew it didn't allow me to draw the image into my mind. This was so frustrating. My Cat, who had been silent up until now, whispered that this was no time to try and be in control.....It whispered that I should let go and enjoy the experience that was being provided for me. Letting go completely was something I thought I would have trouble doing...but I didn't. It felt quite natural. The sensations, while strangely familiar, were bizarre, to say the least. The first thing I noticed was that a stillness came over me. My mind wasn't busily trying to take in everything around me or to force "myself" into looking at his face. I was calm. All of my senses were heightened. I could feel the ground beneath my feet, even that small pebble that was slightly larger than those around it; large enough to be felt, but not large enough to hurt. My vision was focused on him and everything else was non existent. Every detail of his body etched itself into my mind. In the distance I could hear the murmurs of the Neko as they went about their business, most so encompassed in their own thoughts to give any attention to anything else. And then there was that sweet combination of taste and smell. His scent was power. Not powerful, put power realized in the physical form of this Neko male who was my mate...my dominant. Just one whiff of this caused me to begin salivating. I could taste him from where I was behind him....close enough to touch the fur on his back, but still far enough away that my eyes were drinking him in. But for me, his scent and his taste were one and the same. They were not separate, but a joining of two senses into one. Mine. As the process of letting go completely completed, I found that I was there! I was here in this moment, inside this memory. There was no separation of time any longer. I wasn't in the present experiencing something in the past. There was no past. And conversely, there was no future either. There was only here and now. This moment. This is all that there was. This was all that I wanted it to be. I came to him and knelt as his feet. I knew this would be what he wanted and I longed to please him. The tips of my toes were together with my knees spread. I needed to be exposed for him. The weight of my body rested on my feet. My back was straight and my shoulders slightly back. Posture was very important here and I was a good girl....his good girl. Pet. My arms rested on the tops of my thighs with my palms facing upwards. My head was up, but my eyes were down. The agonizing part of this was that he turned to face me as I got into this position. Agonizing is the wrong word.....It had been a few moments before, but I was now serene. Completely at peace. I made sure that I was posed as perfectly as I could for him and then waited for him. Dania Ch. 09 With my eyes down, all I could see were his feet. I wasn't expecting him to grab my hair and pull it, forcing my head to angle back, which in turn positioned my eyes slightly higher on his frame. He wasn't rough, but not exactly gentle either. He was firm. "Stand." A single word. A single command. Until I was up as instructed, that was the only thing that existed in my world. He released my hair and grabbed a ring on the front of a collar I hadn't noticed before. I wondered if it was there before. It didn't matter if it was or not. It was now. And if he'd wanted it on before, I'm sure that he would have made sure I wore it. I was led into another room that I knew to be his private space. "Down," was all he said as he pointed at the furs on the floor. I quickly got down on my hands and knees, but I knew this wasn't exactly right. I needed my face to be down on the furs and my arms out-stretched above my head. My ass needed to be up in the air. I did so. I expected him to take me from behind like he usually did. Instead he knelt down and straddled my arms. Again, he grabbed my hair and lifted my head. My eyes were wide, wondering what he was going to do. That heightened sensitivity I'd been experiencing for the past few moments allowed me to feel each of his fingers separately as the were entangled in my hair and the sharpness of the claw of his thumb on my scalp as it dug in ever so slightly. I began salivating again and realized what was about to happen. I was going to get to taste Dod. His name is Dod! I was so overcome with the excitement of remembering his name that I nearly choked when his cock entered my mouth. He wasn't terribly large and I was able to take him entirely into my mouth. Not paying attention to what was going on around me distracted me. I would need to not do that again. I closed my eyes and sealed my lips around his shaft, using my hand to keep the sheath out of the way. I began to move my head so that I took him in and out of my mouth. He thrust his hips slightly so that I knew what pace he wanted. There was something primal about his taste....gamy. I recognized it as similar to how my food tasted, only this had lust written all over it. I could feel the veins that stood out on his cock and the velveted mushroom shaped head tickled the back of my throat. I had to be careful that I didn't let my canines scratch him. He only liked that sometimes and hadn't indicated that he wanted it now. I hoped that the roughness of my tongue felt as good to him as it felt to me. I was in heaven. I became completely lost in the moment. There was no sense of time as the minutes passed and he approached his release. There was only here and now. No tomorrow, no yesterday, no "back in my own time." Only now. I never felt his orgasm. I was only aware of turning into a warm ball of goo with a tiny ball of "warm" in my belly. The world faded away and the ground fell out from under me. I felt like I was flying without ever having left the ground....the ground that was no longer under my feet. I was vaguely aware of his praise and the embracing of his arms as he held me tight. I knew that I was purring and trying to bury my head deeper into him. He began to pet my head and I soon fell asleep. ***** Having witnessed one of these blackouts before, Roth wasn't as overwhelmed with this one. When she blacked out, he simply untied her and laid her on the ground. Relief washed over his face when she began to smile in her sleep, if this was, in fact, a kind of sleep. If it was relief he felt before, what he felt when she finally awoke was something altogether different. "Roth, I'm a Neko." "I . . . . ," Roth began to say. "I know you're curious, but I can't talk about this just yet." ~~~~~~~~~~ The public spanking was the first instance where the Meh-teh witnessed; it didn't prove to be the last however. Curiosity was common. Every Meh-teh seemed to want to know all about their relationship. Roth left it up to Dania to explain things to the females, and he would handle the males. Of the females, Tiber seemed the most receptive to the idea of someone being submissive. But even she, Dania's closest friend, could not fully understand. This was a concept foreign to them. But as a whole, the females accepted that Dania was a little different, but she was their Alpha and they did not lose any respect for her. There were some who gained respect for having that duality: Being submissive to Roth, yet still being their Alpha. The males had an equally difficult time accepting that someone would wish to be submissive. To them, it sounded like something a weaker person would do. To them it was the embodiment of weakness. But they recognized that Dania's own strength of character was anything but weak. Roth did his best to explain the levels of trust and respect that had to be there to make their relationship possible. To make it where they could both be happy and not hurt the other. Eventually, most came around to his reasonings. Roth went on to explain to them that just because Dania was submissive to him, that she was not submissive to anyone else. And that she had been instructed to defend herself accordingly. At least one of the males was taken aback by this. Roth had the feeling that he would have tried something with her, not knowing the trouble he would have gotten into, from both Dania and himself. As Roth watched Dania integrate herself into the group, he could only smile with pride at how well she was progressing. There were still times where she was lost. But she had gained a confidence that showed itself in everything she did. He was confident that she could handle any situation that arose. ~~~~~~~~~~ It was customary for Dania to go out hunting before the Sun rose. As much as she was accepted by the Meh-teh, they still found it uncomfortable to see her eat meat. So for their comfort, she would have her main meal early. This morning was no different. And as usual, she spoke with Roth to see if he needed anything before she set out. As soon as she was gone, Roth set out to ready the tribe for the final preparations before they would move for the winter. The morning was filled with tasks such as gathering food they would need for their journey, paying respects to the Forest, and making sure that there was no trace left of them. Roth knew that they would be able to find food along the way, but to stop give the Meh-teh a chance to get comfortable and it would only take that much more effort to get them moving again. Roth would keep them moving until nightfall, and they would sleep and then be up and off with Sunrise the following morning. It would take them about one full cycle of the Moon to make the trip. The tribe had been gathering food for nearly a half cycle and as Roth inspected the stockpiles around mid-morning, he was satisfied that there would be enough to last. Now the task of dividing the food out to the families was something he wasn't required to do, but he still liked to oversee the process all the same. Roth became so engrossed with all of the chaos that the Sun was directly overhead before he noticed that Dania had not come back from her hunt. She should have been back not long after sunrise. He wondered if she was back and he just hadn't seen her. As much as he would hate to have to do it, he would need to find Jun and ask if Tiber knew where she was. Jun beat him to the punch. "Roth, have you seen Tiber around anywhere this morning?" "No, have you seen Dania?" There was something about the inflection of Jun's voice that Roth didn't like. The flatness of it. As if he were only going through the motions of asking where his mate were. Almost as if he knew where she was. So if he knew where his mate was, and he was asking for her, he might know where Dania was. Jun hadn't responded, he just sat there with a dumb look on his face. There could have been a hint of a smile at the corner of his lip. But Roth couldn't tell. "Jun, I won't ask you again." Hatred rose into his voice. "Roth, I don't know what you're talking about." Again his voice was monotone. "If you know where she is, I suggest you tell me." "Roth, I came to you because I don't know where my mate is. I'm worried about her." This time there was pretend concern in his voice. Roth had a sudden thought to snap Jun's neck. But he knew that would do nothing more than make him feel better for a few minutes. And besides, if he knew where Dania was, he needed him alive. With a thunderous voice Roth called to the people of the Meh-teh. "Come my people. Dania is missing! We must find her." One of the elders, Dak, responded, "Why should we look for her? We must get ready to move. Winter will be here soon. If we stop to look for her, we might not make it ourselves. And besides, we've seen how she'll go wandering off in the night and you have to go rescue her. And you both come back bloodied and bruised!" "Dak, once again, you speak when you don't know the whole truth. I say again, we need to find her! I can guarantee that whatever has her will be a danger to all of us! She is a more fierce warrior than anyone in this village, myself included. If something is a danger to her, its a danger to us. If we don't take care of it, it may take care of us!" Roth was desperate. He didn't think some animal had her, but he couldn't come right out and accuse June and Tiber of having anything to do with it. After all, Jun had come to him looking for Tiber. A few of the males came to Roth and offered to help look for her. The quicker they found her, they believed, the faster they could get back to their preparations. They quickly set off in all directions into the Forest looking for any sign of the Alpha Female. Most of the rest of the Meh-teh eventually followed suit. There were a few, however, who stayed behind and kept on with the preparations. Roth despised them for it, both as someone who was missing a loved one, and as their leader. Roth was searching furiously and was having no luck. He knew that he couldn't panic because then he would miss something. "Roth," it was Gynon, "I think Jun knows where she is." "What makes you say this?" "I've heard him and Tiber talking a few times. They really don't like her. I've heard Tiber say that she wishes Dania were out of the way." "Gynon, I can't thank you enough. Continue searching as if nothing is wrong. I'll follow Jun. If all of this is true, then he'll go to her eventually." Gynon smiled and went on his way while Roth zeroed in on Jun. It didn't take him long to find him. Jun was literally searching in a circle. He did this for quite some time and then headed off toward the setting Sun. Roth followed him at a distance, careful to not make a sound. With ever step, his anger grew. He would kill Jun once Dania was safe. They finally came to where Tiber had help Dania captive as the Sun set behind the mountains. Dania and Tiber were locked in battle. Jun would have called it a fierce battle. But Roth recognized the look in Dania's eyes. She had let her cat out and was playing with Tiber. Tiber was furious and had all but lost control. No attack she tried had an effect on Dania and Dania did not attack at all. She just dodged them with ease. Jun seemed ready to interfere. Roth opened his mouth to speak, to let Jun know that he was there. But before a word could be said, a large branch hit Jun across the back and Gynon and another male, Feruk, grabbed him. Roth had never heard them following him. He'd been concentrating so intently on Jun that everything else had been blocked out. Roth looked around to see over half of the tribe already there or approaching. Even Dania and Tiber had stopped to look over at them. Tiber knew that she and Jun had been caught in their plot to kill Dania. "Roth, you told me I wasn't allowed to hurt anyone so I didn't attack her back." Roth smiled, "That's my good girl. But I also told you to defend yourself. She has threatened your life. Defend yourself." "Can I kill her now?" Roth didn't speak, but slowly nodded his head. Dania Ch.10 ***This is the last chapter in this part of Dania's life. When I began writing this, the story was small, but it soon became much larger than I could have possibly dreamed. So large, in fact, that I had to go back and rewrite parts of every chapter so that I could allow room for events that haven't been written about yet. Eventually there will be both a prequel and a sequel to this story. The prequel will deal with her time with the Neko and her eventual fall out with them. There will also be a sequel which will deal with Dania finding another of her kind named Kimber. The two will eventually find their way back to the Neko. What happens then? You'll just have to read to find out.*** Chapter 10 Tiber wasn't a match for me; her attacks where wild and unfocused. She was flailing more than striking and throwing herself off balance in the process. More than once she fell to a knee, angering herself further in futile attempts. I heard some of the others come to where we were. I looked up to see Jun, and behind him, Jun. Gynon and, I think his name was Feruk followed a half a moment later. Jun was hit in the back with a branch and then grabbed by those two. "Roth, you told me I wasn't allowed to hurt anyone so I didn't attack her back." Roth smiled, "That's my good girl. But I also told you to defend yourself. She has threatened your life. Defend yourself." "Can I kill her now?" He didn't speak, but slowly nodded his head. If you were expecting to hear a long tale about the battle that Tiber and I had, I am sorry to disappoint you. It was over in a matter of moments. As soon as he nodded his head I charged her and lowered my shoulder into her stomach and we both tumbled to the ground with me on top of her. It took some struggling and twisting about, but I was able to pin her shoulders to the ground with my knees. Cat: "Do it." "Do what" I thought to myself, although I didn't need to. I knew what I had to do. My flashbacks had released memories I didn't even know I'd lost. I shifted my body forward so that my ankles were now on the shoulders and I straddled her face. This was protocol for my people, the Neko. I grabbed her by the hair and pulled her face into my sex, moving it around to make sure she was covered with my scent. I knew this was not the custom for the Meh-teh, but I wasn't of them. I lived with them for now and I was their Alpha Female. But she attacked me; and I had to deal with her....my way. I didn't kill her. What I was doing was much worse. Marking her like I did did two things. It was not something they Meh-teh had ever seen before so they were naturally wary of it. In addition to that, I was dominating her in front of everyone; which was something the did understand. In the eyes of the Meh-teh, Tiber would never again be able to make the claim that I wasn't her Alpha Female. Without realizing it, I reached down and grabbed her with my other hand and rubbed her face into me even harder than before. I allowed her to breathe every now and then, but continued to work her face into my pussy. I held her head still as my orgasm swept over me. She was now marked with my juices. I climbed off of her and she rolled over onto her side gasping for breath. I leaned down to her ear and whispered so that no one else could hear. "You belong to me now." I walked in Roth's direction, ignoring her completely. She was no longer a threat and turning my back on her not only reminded her of this, but also let everyone else know as well. I let him wrap those massive arms around me. ~~~~~ It was only natural that Roth had many questions; and he was not unlike all of the other Meh-teh. Tiber was the exception to this, but I'll get to her in a moment. I promised him, and his people, that I would tell them everything in due time. But for now, we needed to prepare for the coming Winter. And to be quite honest I couldn't have told him everything right then anyway. I had all of these memories in my head and no sense of what order they may or may not go in. I needed some time to let things fall into place. Rest assured that I did tell him everything. There were few things I knew for certain: I had a people, the Neko. We were much more warlike than the Meh-teh in that instead of retreating into the Mountains to avoid humans and protect the Forest we fought them with everything we had. I also had a mate. Ours was a relationship based on communication and trust. Many of the romantic notions the Meh-teh held in high esteem were shunned by my people. Having experienced both, I didn't know which was better....or if one really was better than another. I just didn't know. The last thing I was sure of was that I wasn't welcome to go back to my people. The reason for my memory loss was that my people had beaten me and left me for dead. I remembered several of our warriors surrounding me and using their feet to kick and stomp me until I lost consciousness. Dod, who was my mate, was nowhere to be seen. Our culture dictated that he was to protect me. He was my dominant. That is not to say that I generally needed protecting. I was one of my people's warriors and had much training. But in either case, he wasn't there. There were other things I knew, but was less certain of. I didn't know why I needed protection if I were a warrior. I knew that I'd done something to anger my people, but no idea what that was. The humans in the story Roth told me were real, but why we hated them was a mystery. Where the humans lived was unknown to me as well as Roth and the Meh-teh. They'd not been in the Forest for nearly a hundred Winters. I briefly entertained thoughts of finding the humans. If I found them, I might be able to find my people. I wanted to think that forgiveness was possible. But I knew it wouldn't be. They'd beaten me and left me for dead. Perhaps the biggest mystery to me was how I'd gotten to the Forest. Here the Winters were cold, the summers temperate, and there were different kinds of plants and animals. Where my people were it was hot all year long and it rained a lot. The animals in our Jungle were more dangerous and many had poisons in them. These were two very different worlds. How I would have been able to make a journey of that kind of distance as injured as I was was something that was hidden from me. The one thing that seemed to be the same in both places was the reverence for the night and for the Moon. Both of these cultures were very close to nature and nothing from nature was ever taken for granted. They had respect for that which gave them sustenance. But the Moon had a special place for them. Roth and I had had many chances leading up until now where we could have mated. He'd respected my want to wait. The feeling that I'd had before had turned out to be correct. I was somewhat torn now. I had a mate who didn't protect me from the beating I'd received and yet I was still loyal to him. That was a part of me I couldn't bring myself to give to Roth. I had no qualms about anything else, be it a physical act or submitting to him and letting go to have the experience he gave me. I could do all of that, but I had no desire to mate with him. I, in fact, had an aversion not only to it, but to the very idea of it. I half expected Roth to want to push me further, to want to mate with me. But he was patience incarnate. He pushed me to the edge of my limits but never beyond. I was happy to have the relationship with him that I did. In many ways it made me happy and we continued to grow. What developed was a relationship based on trust and communication; much like the one I'd had with Dod. But this one wasn't about the sex. We didn't need it. Unlike the rest of the Meh-teh who were curious about everything that had happened as well as about my past, Tiber spoke very few words after that day. She performed her duties, but with an air about her that said she was a broken woman. Whenever I asked her to do something, she would always lower her eyes and reply, "Yes." And then the task was always completed. I felt sorry for her and wondered occasionally if death would have been better for her. If it would have been better for me to have killed her that day. I would never know. I awoke one morning before sunrise two Winters later for my hunt and found that Tiber had left. I thought that she'd gone off by herself for awhile, as she sometimes did. She hadn't. She'd left. I tracked her as far as the river, but there were no tracks on the other side. I immediately went back for the others and we searched for her for five days and never found a trace of her. With Winter approaching, we weren't able to search any longer than that. It was decided that she had probably gone off to die. And if she hadn't, then she would have to find her way back to us. We found her the following Spring as the snows began to melt. She'd gone into the river and made her way upstream for what would have taken two or three days on foot; longer in the water fighting the current. Once she'd gone far enough, she'd dug out a place at the foot of a giant tree, went to sleep and never woke up. None of us, including myself, thought to check upriver. It never occurred to us. The Meh-teh were deeply saddened by this. We'd all thought she'd died, but having that certainty stare you in the face was entirely different. I felt something other than sadness for her, and it wasn't pity either. I found myself looking at her with more respect than I had before. She had been determined to die. It wasn't something that happened while she sat idly by. She did this on her terms. While I can't respect taking one's life, I can, and do, respect someone not being willing to allow their lives to continue in a direction they don't want it to go in. That is something to respect. I cried for her that night. And we can't forget about Jun. His story is nowhere nearly as tragic, nor interesting, as that of Tiber. Unlike the death of Tiber, this does make me sad. There is no honor in it. Jun was never trusted among the Meh-teh again, so when he started complaining to others about how he should be leader and that all in due time, he would get it back from Roth, he was exiled. He spent the rest of his days wandering around the Forest, careful to stay away from the Meh-teh. I don't know when or where he died, but I'm sure he has by now. ~~~~~ Once upon a time, I thought I wanted what Roth and I had to continue forever. What we had together was great: mutual respect, good communication, real trust, and intense pleasure. As the Winters passed, I became increasingly aware that Roth aged much faster than I did. I aged, don't get me wrong, but nowhere near the pace in which the Meh-teh did. Roth's fur began to slowly turn white and when he reached the point where he could no longer lead, he passed the position on to Gynon, who proved to be wise beyond his years. Roth became an Elder. And this brings me to the end of this part of my story. This part. And before you say anything, I know that I didn't go into detail with the last few events I told you about. Those details were irrelevant. What you should take from this is that I was happy. My relationship with Roth ended when he died and I made the decision to move on to somewhere else. Was his death sad? Was I sad that he died? Of course I was. But we had something that was fulfilling for both of us. Take from this that not all relationships have to end on a bad note. They don't. Take from this that a relationship is what you make out of it, we certainly did. Dominari est amare. ~Dania