"The cat and the bird - The hunt and the prey" by Sebastian A. Meusel

"One man come in the name of love
one man come and go
one man come he to justify
one man to overthrow.
In the name of love
what more in the name of love."

(U2: "Pride (In The Name Of Love)")



The City of Eschtar.
One of the most feared Citys on the face of De`Rian.
Standing on the southern shore of Lake Soresh, the lake called Anger, it crouched over the surrounding Armycamps like a pack of Bloodhounds waiting for his master to let go of his leash. The constand rain of the season gave it´s best to look like saliva flowing from their great maws. The few lights at this time of the night seemed like horrible dislocated eyes staring down on their prey and the waves crushing against the shore, almost sounded like an eternal, low, angry growl.

Greewl yelped in terror as a sudden gust of wind threw Sh´arr of balance and they tumpled through the sky, falling towards the sharp rocks way down below them. But the Eylos was an experienced flyer. His midnight-black wings beating the air in time with his heart he caught himself. Inspite of Greewls added weight.The cat hanging on desperatly to his Arms. He winced in pain as her claws dug into his wrists.

-"Whoaaarw! Don´lemmego! Don´lemmego!"

-"I will not let go of you if you would please stop thrashing about down there! Just hold on. Yeow!! Not like this!! Just hold on!"

-"Uhu....!"

-"We will soon be able to land on the cathedrals roof. So PLEASE stop wriggling, keep still now and shut up."

-"Do you really think any human could hear us in that storm?!"

-"No, but your squealing really ..... uhm... keeps me from concentrating on our flight!"

-"It was your idea, remember?!"

Sh´arr didn´t responde. He had to work hard to keep them both from falling down into the lake. And he remembered very well. And he cursed himself for agreeing to help that cat and and for leaving his beloved home for this horibble wet land. Greewl now hung limp on his arms, trying to help him keeping the balance. She was strong, that he had to admitt. And soon she would need all her strengh to stand before her nemesis. And to kill the man who had killed her people. To get her revenge.


The day after they had met they took of into the city together. Greewl havingpersuaded Sh´arr Kherdan to help her lokate her prey. And he wasn´t happy about it. The Eylos was not used to staying longer in any city then he needed. In the last years he had simply delivered the goods the merchants were waiting for and then after receiving his payment taken of to Darshelve were he bought cloth and other things for his family. This time he might end up dead he thought gloomylie. He still could not belive how that cat had talked him into helping her. But then he had liked her from the first moment on. She reminded him of his daughter. The thought of his beautyfull Kirys brought equally warmth and sorrow to his heart. Her mother had died giving birth to their only child. Now Kirys was the only thing he had left to return to. She was strong and agile. The Queen had taken her as a handmaiden at an early age and now the Queens General Nénina had taken her under her tutelage. She was the light of his life and would carry her part of the sky as a warrior of their people. He was so proud of her. He had never been a warroir. His mind was on other things. He had been a poet for his wife and a schoolar for the Queen. He had taught the children of Acril the language of their ancestors and later had begun to study the strange cultures of the humans, the Drachier , the Hethenessians, the Haan and many other poeple on the face of Rian. He was away from home often and used the time he did not spend studying to sell and collect items of foreign cultures in the citys he was visiting. From the money he received he bought presents for his daughter.

He did not like Eschtar. This city was to cruel for his taste and he liked to spend as short a time in it as his business would allow. And the weather was nasty, to say the least.
A sharp elbow to the ribs made him stop in his thoughtfull stride alongside the young cat-woman. She looked up at him and then pointed to the right above her.

The Eschtar keep was an impressive sight. Built right on the outer edge of the high cliff reaching out into the lake like the huge tooth of a gargantuan beast. The castle itself was heavily guarded and its outer walls build of hughe stones. The legends told of a race of giants that had dug these imense stones from the body of Rian, the Mother of all, and left in their wake a huge hole wich slowly filled with the tears of pain and anger she wept. Creating the lake. Her wrath struck down the giants but could not destroy the mighty fortress built from her own flesh.
Now it served as the seat of the council of warlords, Eschtars rulers and most accomblished warriors. And they were going to go inside of it, kill one of their best and walk out of it. Preferably in one piece.

He gazed up at the walls the rain streaming down on them like tears from the faces of all the victims in all the wars fought with eschtarian warriors and money. The eschtarian troopers were famous troughout De`Rian for beeing the finest warriors, but were feared too ,for their ruthlesness and their mercyless killings. Everyone who met their price could have them. It wasn´t unknown for both sides in a war to hire eschtarians. They fought nonetheless. The only thing that mattered for them and their warlords was the money they were making. If two warriors had fought side by side one month, it could well be that they saw each other on opposite sides of the battlefield the next. And they were not enclined to show any mercy.
The whole city was built on the bones of dead men, women and children. And it was paid with blood.

Greewl walked on curiously studying the steep outer rim of the keep. No one noticed her behavior as unusual for there were many doing the same. Hundreds of people were milling about, ocashoinally looking up to the stronghold. Many of them were warriors of some kind. Hoping to get a chance to proove themselves to the warlords and be admitted into the eschtarian armys. It paid to be a mindless killer. Or so they thought. There were mostly humans and some hybrids, even the ocassional proud werecreature. Everywhere though were the beautyfull Haan. This nomadic people was always there were it could gain money with its tricks and shows. And the ocassional stolen bag of coins. He followed Greewl trough the crowd. And just not to be silent anymore he muttered more to himself then to his companion.

-"You know, I could fly up there and watch out for guards...."

Greewl turned and grinned at him. What did he say?


He lowered his burden on the roof of the large cathedral to Aran. It was the best piont for their landing for the building stood without any space between them next to the tower in wich were the privat quaters of the warlords. A gaurd at the main gate had been so friendly to point it and other parts of the keep out for them, after Greewl had innocently asked for it. And had involuntarily tickled him with her tail in some private places.
They stood on the windbeaten slippery roof, the rain making it hard to see even the lit windows in the tower next to them. A few yards above them was an unlit window. Greewl planned to climb trough it and then search for her prey by its scent. The scent wich had burned itself into her conciousness on that day. The day her race had died.

The scent of burning flesh hung in the air above the village like a dark blancet of death. The steel mask of Aran, Dark Lord of War, seemed to form in the clouds of painfilled smoke. Grinning viciously he regarded the destruction and carnage his unwitting minions had wrought upon the peacefull village. Greewl and her surviving sisters looked up at his face and howled out their anger and pain. They would make every last one of them pay.

Sh´arr caught her just before the wind could blow her over the edge of the chasm that yawned beneath them. Down there on the wet pavement guards made their rounds. Never bothering to look up to the roofs of the buildings they were protecting. Noone could come from above in their experiance. The guards on the towers were looking out over the surrounding camps and the far away woods, or were busy staring at the lake and the rain. Greewl heavily drew breath back into her numb lungs. Concentrating on the task ahead she crouched low on the slippery roof and then, with all the strengh her muscels could muster, jumped up to the dark window. Sh´arr watcged in apt fascination as she arked through the rain like a silver arrow. Time seemed to slow down to a trickle and he could see every drop of rain clistening on her silver fur like she was flying through a waterfall. With a soft thud she landed on the floor behind the window.
For moments everything was silent and then he saw her slender form in the opening beconning him to follow.
With a migthy beat of his wings he pushed himself up in front of the window and grabbed her outstreched hands. The window was to small for him to fly through and hovering this close on the stone wall his wings were more of a hindrance then an advantage. He quickly folded his wings and let himself beeing pulled inside the room. His momentum carrying him much too far and he landed right on top of her. Gasping for breath she growled.

-"Well done my friend. But... would you be so kind and keep your hands to yourself and get up from me."

-"What... uh... sorry. I ... I did not ....mean to ... ah...."

-"Yeah, that´s what all of`em say. Now get up and keep shut your trap. You made enough noise for the whole garrison to hear us. Not to say the folks in the next room."

He climped to his feet. His face turned a slight blue with embaressment. She regarded him with a suspicious gleam in her eyes. Why did these humaoids always change color? Scent was so much easyer to understand and he right now smelled quite embarassed. She could not help but grin. He was cute this bird. In a human and birdlike fashion. But she pushed the thought aside. She had other things to do. For the most part finding her prey. She silently walked to the door of the large room. Her sensitive eyes showing her despite the darkness that there was no one with them exept for a large fourposter and two chairs. The door was not locked and she quietly opened it an inch. Letting her nose stick out into the hallway to search for one particular familliar scent.

YES!

He was here! Somewhere within these halls he resided. She was sure now. That scent she would never forget. The scent of that man had burned itself into her mind. It was the scent that had lain on the charred corpses of her kittens. It had been but a trace of the strong odor she know detected but it was HIS scent. There could be no failure. Her children needed her.

She had been out hunting when it happened. She and her sisters had just brought down a large hooved creature and were preparing it to be taken back to the village when they had smelled the smoke. At first none of them thought anything strange about it. Fires where nothing unusual at this time of the year. Somtimes the woods burned for days, even weeks and more then once in her life they had to leave the village and build a new one. They hoped that this time the fires would not reach the clearing. But as they came nearer they heard the first screams. The screams of their dying poeple.

Greewl swallowed hard and cramped down on her own fists. Her claws digging deep into her own flesh.

This to remind her of the pain that had been inflicted.

Blood dripped down on the floor. She looked down on it a wild gleam slowly filling her eyes. Calmly she held up her palm to her face. With one silent, sensual and deliberate motion she let her tounge glide over the trickle of red liquid.

This to remind her of the blood that had been shed.

The pain and the taste brought back her instincts. Awakening them from their long forced slumber. Now she was a true cat again. She let herself down on all fours and silently padded out of the door. Leaving a starteled Eylos behind her and clawprints of rainwater mixed with blood. Now the true hunt begann.


She was a mere shadow. A silver flicker of light in the dark hallways of Eschtar keep. A flowing apparation, a ghost only seen from the corner of an eye and if seen clearly then only for fleeting moments and belived to be a mirage. Too much wine too late in the evening. Softly she slipped from one dark corner of the huge rooms to another. None of the guards ever noticing anything was amiss. Finaly she reached a door from wich the scent protruted like the oily black liquid seeping from the ground near the burning fountains. It nearly drove her mad. The memorys were now flooding her mind like cruel, vengefull ghosts from the past.

They ran the whole distance leaving their game behind. As they reached the village horror gripped their hearts with its iron claws. Everywhere was fire. The whole village was ablaze. It was a monster made of heat and flames its red and yellow tounges reaching high above the trees. The air was filled with the screams of the dying. The ground littered with the bodys of the dead. Their faces twistet by heat and agony their eyes screaming for revenge. Human bodys were lying next to some of them.Some still struggling with death for their miserable lives. Within moments she and her sisters were upon them. Ripping and tearing their souls from their bodys. They died screaming and in agony. Then covered with the blood of those they had caught they swore revenge. They would become hunters and those who killed their people would become their prey.

A hand touched her shoulder. Greewl spun around to bite but stopped herself short before the throat of Sh´arr. The Eylos had followed her. But how could he not have been seen by the guards? Then she noticed a faint blue glow emenating from the orb he still carried and covering his whole body. On his forehead small beats of sweat were showing and his breathing was hard and faster then usual. A slight tickle overvame her and her fur bristled with energy. He was working magic. She did not know that he could do such a thing. She resented magic.

-"What are you doing here?", she whispered.

-"I want to assist you in your task. I am convinced that it is just and that you my need some help."

-"I don´t need your help. Go´way! Even if you´re a magicworker what good will you be to me in a fight? Go´way!"

-"No! ... Uhm, I will not go away. You need me, I know it....and I need you....If you intent to survive this you will need my assistance."

-"Who told you I intended to survive this night?!"

Greewl had a bad feeling about this. She really did not think of surviving this night. But if this strange feeling was what she feared it to be they both had a big problem, but that was a matter for another hour. Now she had to kill a monster. Or be killed trying.

The door was locked. Damn!
She looked around. What know? She was so close to having her final revenge and every fiber of her body was tense with anticipation of the kill, she nearly couldn´t conventrate anymore. The door was much to heavy to break trough and it would make too much noise to open it by force. She needed a key or something to open the door for her. She looked at the Eylos questioningly. He shook his head he had understood what she wanted him to do but he had to disapiont her. His magic could not open the door. The scent from beyond the door was enough to nearly drive her into a frenzy. She needed that door open. Now!
Just as she had considered trying to break it she heard something. The sound of metal against mettal soft but coming closer. She smelled leather, metall and wine. A guard. She had an idea.

The guard came around the far left corner of the hallway, walking casualy towards them. Sh´arr was hidden from sight by his magic she had shrunken back into the shadows of a heavy, fine rug covering the opposite wall. As the guard walked past she could see that he had spent many an uneventfull night within this halls. His leather shirt and finely polished armor seemed to be a little too tight and his walk was that of a man who was used to spend his nights like this and had learned to sleep while walking. Rellying on his intricate knowledge of his nightly route as to not bump into anyone or anything. He was perfekt. She tanked the gods for this twist of luck. He walked past her.
With a sudden rush of speed she was behind him and had her left claw at his throat. She whispered to him.

-"Hello my pretty piggy. Don´t squeal and don´t try to run. You won´t get far. I just need your help. Do as I say and you´ll live, do anything eles and I´ll carve you up like the pig you are..."

With a twist of her claw she direckted the stunned guard to the door.

-"Now, get your Master to open that door. Maybe there are some assasins reported and you are here to search them.... think of something.", she grinned visciously.
Sweat dripped down the neck of the guard mingling with the rain still in her fur. His breath came in rugged forced heaves. He knocked.

-"Eh,... Mylord!? There has been a disturbance at the main gate... and the comander wishes to speak with you..."
Behind him Greewl nodded.

-"Aw.. Why can´t he handle it on his own?! I´m kinda occupied in here!", came the somewhat muffled answer.

Greewl pushed her claws a little deeper into the skin of her unfortunate victim, one after the other drawing little beads of blood.

-"Yes,....Mylord,.. but...uh... He says it´s important and you should see it for yourself and someone´s making a real rucus down there."

-"Aaaww ,waitaminute.... Dear would you be so kind..."

Damnit! He wasn´t alone. But that could not be changed anymore. She had to deal with the situation the way came. Someone was coming for the door. Sh´arr had posted himself behind her and laid a hand on the guards shoulder. She apreciated his help and gave the man over to him. With a quick knock to his head with the lightcarrying cane the guard was send to the floor. Greewl eyed her companion in mild surprise. He simply gave a loopsided grin and steped over the limp body the faint blue glow around his body dying away. The door opened.

A woman in her 40th looked out at them. She wore a white nightgovn and no shoes. Surprised she stared at the two looming figures outside of her door.

-"Um... What may I do for you. Where´s the guard?"

Greewl grabbed her and spun her into Sh´arrs waiting arms who quickly put a hand over the womans mouth. Then she leapt inside the room. It was an antechamber. Two doors leading to other roms of the large suit the left one was opened and heavy panting and squealing noises emitted from it. Greewl jumped into the opening freezing in inner terror as her mind took in the sight that was laid out before her.

She recoiled, turned and bolted. Her eyes filled with tears and whimpering in pain she rushed past the starteled Eylos into the hallway. The woman stoped strugling and both looked after the fleeing figure. Sh´arr forgot to cover her mouth but no sound came from it. She too just stared after the running cat.

-"Who are you and who was this catwoman?!"
A strong voice used to giving orders and having questions answered emediatly bellowed behind Sh´arrs back. He turned to see a man, upper body bare but covered with tatoos and scars nearly indestingushable from one another. Strong muscles that belied the age of his face marked him as a formidable warrior.Sweatting he stood in the doorway expecting an answer his gaze shifting between the Eylos and the woman.
Sh´arr was speachless. Then he saw something behind the old man. And understood.
He slowly walked to the door and while shutting it said smiling mildly:

-"Sorry, wrong door. Farewell."


He found Greewl outside on the roof of the cathedral. Luckylie noone had seen her running by. And so she stood now on the roofs highest crest. Her body soaked in cold rain and beaten by the firce winds. Surrounded by the merciless darkness and the dangerous lightnings. She screamed against the thunder, threw her fists to into the unresponding heavens. Cursing the gods and herself. She raved on, despite the cold and the hard rain. Shouting out the Names of the dark lods and Gods, cursing them all. Only to be heard by the thunder who seemed to mark every new curse with lightning. Then she finally slumped down into a crouching position all her strength and fury gone. All her anger had left her body all her rage had been thrown at the careless, dark sky.
Sh´arr slowly walked up to her placing a hand on her right shoulder. She turned and with tears of rage and pain in her eyes looked up to him.Her gaze seeming to lock their minds.

-"Tell me, is what I feel for you... IT?"

He wrapped his wings around her and held her close. He understood perfectly. And although he knew the answer to her question he did not respond. He was sure that she knew it too. Gently he strocked the wet fur on her head.

-"Tell me!"

-"Yes, it is.... Its the bonding. It is Ennar`Rin. It is the one force that no one can overcome. Our lives are now bonded. If you live I will live and if you die I will die. Our souls are bound by fate to be more then friends, to be more than lovers. And to die together. We are soulmates."

-"Then you must know thatI didn´t kill him? Tell me that it wasn´t my fault! Tell me that I havent led my live the way I did for naught! Tell me why I coudn´t do it?!"

Again he gave her no answer. He just held close her quivering body. She sobbed against his breast. He knew all too well. Knew what she must have felt the moment she saw her enemy, her prey, the man she had hated more than anything in the world for letting his men kill her kittens and her people. The man she had thought merciless and unfeeling.
Saw this "monster" happylie playing with his own children.



--- The End ---