Cheep!?

Cheep!?

Chapter 113

Niko had already seen the sabrecats coming with his Aether Sight, but even without it, he could still plainly see the few of their number that chose to walk on open trails that wove through the tall grass. Aside from their number, the bulk of the escort remained out of sight. They did not, however, move to surround the Wyldwalkers, a move that Niko very much appreciated. He doubted most anyone would have appreciated being surrounded ostensibly for escorting purposes without even announcing themselves first.

Yet, one thing that did catch Niko by surprise was that these sabrecats did not have the bluish tint that Sasha had in her fur. The one in the lead, the largest of them and nearly as large as Niko himself was, had a rust-red coat, whereas the four following behind him had more of a yellow-brown coat, closer to what a lion might have. The four were marginally smaller than Sasha was, and Niko wasn’t sure if that was a sub-species thing or if perhaps Sasha was just a bit bigger than average for her species. Each of them wore a plate with a particular carved icon upon it. Idly, he glanced to Sasha’s seemingly nondescript icon that hung around her neck, and noticed that it appeared to be of the same symbol. Albeit, theirs were made of a dull metal, save for the largest of them that had a shinier, silvery metal, as opposed to Sasha’s that was perhaps jade, if the greenish tint meant anything.

The five of them stopped a fair distance away and gave a short bow with one paw forwards and one back, predominantly pointing towards Sasha, with the one in lead saying, “We greet Clan Princess Sasha.” 

‘Holy peck, they actually did greet her as a Princess,’ Niko mirthfully regarded Sasha. She caught Niko’s glance from the corner of her eye, and shot him a brief annoyed glare before her features settled into an imperious mask of indifference.

“Glory to the Clan,” Sasha chuffed simply.

“I am Roan, and at your command by your mother’s order.” The sabrecat spoke, still low to the ground and seemingly waiting for a cue to rise.

“Then you shall escort myself and my honored guests to Riizen.” 

They rose as one, but didn’t approach any further. The rust colored leader glanced momentarily at the group, but whatever he thought of them didn’t translate at all to his expression nor his voice, “If it pleases the Princess, we would be honored to perform this task.”

Sasha gave a small nod, and then the guardians moved fluidly around them, while still maintaining a respectable distance from the group itself. Niko looked off into the grass, seeing the others move about.

Before they finished moving Sasha added, “Also, Roan, you don’t need to keep up the pretentious act around them. They’ve saved my life and are friends to me.” 

Niko was almost impressed with how their escorts' stances immediately relaxed, though they remained alert. It was like watching someone who knew their boss was watching, so they tried extra hard to look as busy as they were, versus someone who had confidence in their ability to perform their role and could do it without looking constipated the entire time. 

“Truly? Well, that’s a relief.” Roan rolled his shoulders, the older sabrecat giving a much more cordial nod to the Wyldwalkers, “Can they understand the beast speech of our kin?” 

Rather than having Sasha answer, she simply flicked a glance back to Skye and Ronald, the former nodding and the latter saying, “For the most part, I can get the gist of what’s being said. I’m Ronald, by the way.”

“Skye,” The half-elf spoke simply while tapping herself on the collar bone.

Stella, Niko realized, was staring transfixed at the carved plate that bore the identical symbol between them and Sasha. Ronald gave her a gentle nudge with his shoulder, and she looked up quickly, “Ah, Stella, you can call me Stella.” The elven woman pried her eyes off of the plates, but judging by the mild grimace Skye had on her face, such was expected from Stella whenever she ran into new examples of craftsmanship.

“Well met, I am Roan, one of the seasoned warriors of the Blue-Claw Clan,” The sabrecat purred, “I had heard that the lowlanders took quite a long time to learn to understand our tongue, did you know any sabrecats before?”

“No, just Sasha here,” Ronald nodded over to the blue-furred sabrecat, “Though, Dachna and Mithel aren’t quite there yet.” 

“Nope,” Dachna smiled shamelessly, “I still barely get the gist of it all!”

“Half? Maybe a little more,” Mithel stated ponderously, “Probably have Niko to thank for understanding any of it at all.”
“Niko?” Roan turned his attention then to the mentioned Phorus, “The thalma here?” 

Before Niko could say anything, Sasha gave a low growl to Roan. The warrior’s eyes widened fractionally and he, as well as the immediate entourage stiffened up slightly.

“Niko is a fully sapient, intelligent beast who is capable of understanding anyone he comes across. He is also a warrior that I personally respect, and one that fought on the frontlines with his team against the Massacre Hornets massed swarm.” Sasha’s tone held a dangerous edge to it as she spoke to Roan.

“I–Yes–” Roan swallowed hard, “I have no excuses for my misconduct. I offer my apologies to the Princess and Niko.” 

Sasha affixed him with a glare a few moments longer, seemingly just to hammer the point home, before looking back meaningfully to Niko.

He took that as his cue to intervene, “I have a pretty thick skin, and besides I don’t even know what ‘thalma’ is. If you explain it to me, I’ll call it even.”

Roan looked supremely uncomfortable at that, but Niko had somewhat hoped for that reaction. That, to him, at least, meant that it was probably more along the lines of a cultural slip of the tongue. “A thalma is… generally a tamed beast of the lowlanders. It is… not viewed in a positive light.” 

Niko blinked at that, but instead of pecking at the man for more details, turned his attention to Thokk and Sasha with a questioning tilt of his head.

Thokk happily supplied, “It basically calls you inferior, unskilled, probably dumb as rocks, and with no future. It is borne of an old stigma that was brought on by our separation from the people of the lowlands and not true besides.” The big beast shrugged his massive shoulders, “But, unfortunately, the truth doesn’t always matter. It is a backwards term brought on by ignorance.” 

Niko could see that Sasha was still upset, but honestly, he wasn’t that bothered by the term. It wasn’t that he was immune, but it simply didn’t matter to him what someone else thought of him, especially when, admittedly, he’d been called and subjected to much worse abuses on Earth. 

“Good to know.” Niko clucked, before turning his attention back to Roan and making a point of staring through the grass to the others that were as of yet hidden from sight, “So, that’s forgiven. And with that out of the way, can we start moving on? I’ve heard impressive things about this Riizen City of yours, and I’d like to see what it’s like.” 

Roan and the other sabrecats breathed in relief, but Niko could also tell that there was a different way they were eyeing the group now. Whether that was from the news that they’d fought on the frontlines against the hornets, helping Sasha, or simply how they were seemingly at ease even in foreign territory, Niko didn’t know. 

Skye put a hand on Niko’s side then, rustling a few of his feathers. Niko saw the expression of slight concern, almost invisible for anyone who didn’t know her. He chirped at her, as if to say that he was fine, but didn’t move away from the contact. She kept abreast of him, listening to the environment around them as they moved through the tall grass. Niko heard Ronald and Stella were making small talk with Roan ahead, and while he wasn’t terribly interested in the contents of the conversation, appreciated that the two were trying to smooth over any ruffled feathers that might have cropped up.

Traveling under guard wasn’t anything particularly new, but it was  somewhat unnerving to know that they were surrounded by people–or beasts, he supposed–that he didn’t personally know. On inspection, Sasha appeared completely unbothered, so Niko tried his best to put it out of his mind. There wasn’t much else to do, then, but to take in the environment they were moving through. The grasslands were more like plains than anything else Niko had seen so far in this world, the light green of the vegetation obscuring his line of sight beyond what he could see on the path ahead. If Niko didn’t possess the vision he had, he would have been much more uncomfortable with the situation.

Ahead of him, Dachna and Mithel both stayed close together, warily glancing into the grass around them. ‘Hmm… I wonder if there’s some kind of item that can emulate what I do with my eyes. Maybe not, though, that seems fairly high-end.’ 

Thokk took up position behind Niko, unbothered by the grass that obscured even the giant’s sightline. Judging by what Niko knew of him and his abilities, he figured the beast was more than capable of detecting most threats that came towards them through the earth itself. 

A whimsical thought of attempting to procure such an ability for himself passed through Niko’s mind, but he disregarded it quickly. His eyes and other senses were much more important to him, and while it did seem vaguely appealing to be able to bend and work earth to his will whenever he wanted, it didn’t exactly call to him like the other things he’d already created did.

Unlike what Niko had expected, it only took an hour to clear the plateau and approach the next passage upwards. Then again, it wasn’t as if that was representative of the entire size of the hunting grounds. 

This passage was much more carved and worked than the prior, the stone layered in such a way that there were clearly areas above in which beasts could stand and attack intruders. With his vision, he could make out the presence of some living things within tunnels in the walls, but if they were agitated by their presence, they showed no signs of it. He wasn’t entirely certain what they were, either, their presence obscured by what Niko figured was an essence pattern dedicated towards stealth. 

‘There could be more that I don’t see,’ Niko mused, looking back and forth across the walls with interest, ‘Maybe those are lower tier beasts without as much experience in their patterns.’ 

Moving up through the channel through the stone, Niko began to sense the essence in the air build up, thickening and becoming something more. The heavy scent of earth and dampness began to fill his nostrils, and even before they crested the top of the path, he could easily see treetops overhead. Very much like the forest they’d left behind, the only thing that jumped out as being different to Niko was the abundance of fruiting trees. It seemed that of any three trees he looked to, at least one was full of fruit. Bushes heavy with berries hung low to the ground, or crept up the flanks of winding, healthy wood. 

Niko didn’t need his Aether Sight to become aware of the onlookers. Several beasts, many that Niko only knew by what had once been fantasy, eyed their procession warily. They all appeared to have a wooden plate of sorts with an icon of many different varieties tied to their bodies in an openly visible location. A scant few had some made of stone, though, and Niko briefly saw someone with what looked like a copper metal plate before they vanished in the treeline. 

“Is that identification of some sort?” Niko asked, gesturing loosely at the plates, “Different families, or houses, or whatnot?” 

“Families or clans,” Sasha answered, “Generally families. Only the largest associations, such as multiple families, are referred to as clans. And while there is cooperation, the one considered to be in power is the Blue-Claw Clan, though it is referred to as the Riizen Clan when you’re speaking amongst the various families to refer to the whole. It’s less confusing that way.”

Niko blinked, before nodding slowly, “Sure, if you say so.” 

Sasha snorted amusedly, “The Blue-Claw Clan has many members, often doing much of our own pursuits. It is important to distinguish when one of the other families is speaking of the clan, rather than The Clan Head, Riizen.” 

“So basically it’s to make sure no one unwittingly says or does something that might reflect poorly on Riizen and probably make some trouble come down on them?” Mithel half-way posed the statement as a question. Given that was roughly along the lines of what Niko was thinking, he figured that was a fair guesstimate. 

Their escort briefly cocked his head to the side, and after glancing at Sasha, said, “That is at least part of it. The Clan Head also believes that his family should be capable of holding their own power without relying too much on his own. We do not, and we are stronger for it.” 

Sasha nodded her head at that proudly, “My mother is one of the more powerful beasts on this mountain, though it isn’t as though there isn’t any competition. For the most part, the families do not experience… too much, in the way of infighting.” 

Thokk rumbled a chuckle at that, and Niko tilted his head questioningly. Skye asked directly, “I realize this might be an insensitive question… But do you all hunt one another? “ 

“No, not as such,” Sasha answered quickly, “It is taboo on our mountain to directly hunt one's kin, and all clans under Riizen are considered kin. That said, fights and competitions are not uncommon. Not all beast clans do as we do, in fact I’m certain that there are many who relish in the hunting of one another.” 

“Not a mountain I would want to be a part of,” Roan spat with disgust, “That oversized pigeon can keep his ways.” 

Whatever it was that Roan said, the atmosphere amongst their escorts most certainly became more prickly. Niko guessed that whoever it was that the reddish sabrecat was talking about, they were most certainly not well received.

“Oversized pigeon?” Niko ventured a question, “Is that another leader of a mountain near here?” 

“They are of no matter here, but, yes, they are the leader of a neighboring mountain. If you’re interested, perhaps we can tell you what we know of our neighbors, but for now, we should make speed.” Sasha then pointed her snout forwards in a loose gesture, “If we return before it gets too late–” Sasha then smoothly stopped what she was saying, and were it not for Niko paying attention, he would have missed the change of subject “–There is much that can be experienced in Riizen.” 

Niko shared a slow, considering blink with Skye at that, but aside from being curious, Niko didn’t believe they were in any danger. “You think she really missed the home cooking?” 

Skye snorted, before responding mentally, “My bet is comfort, maybe a hot bath?” 

“Ohh, that’s a good point,” Niko warbled quietly and nodded, “Yeah, who doesn’t like a hot bath? I’d do a lot for a nice bath right now.” 

While the half-elf didn’t say anything, he got the feeling that she wholeheartedly agreed. Niko amused himself with thoughts of what they might see, and a potential bath, all the way through the Orchard. It was, admittedly, a very beautiful place, full of life and many varieties of fruit, and no small part of Niko was glad that it looked like Greenleaf might actually be able to be supported should the relief efforts be negotiated…