The Tale Of Two Kingdoms

Chapter 5: A bond for life

¨Everyone go prepare your Nokoribi for a patrol on the outer border; I will meet you at the east village of Ark Ville. " Kiyoshi barked the orders at the knights before pointing out Omo. It had been a full night since their "argument," but Kiyoshi was still acting as if nothing had happened. "You will follow me to the Nokoribi pen," Kiyoshi said, to which Omo only nodded, much to the prince's delight. "Dawn your armor and treat this as if the enemy is in our territory," Kiyoshi ordered again before the knights left. Kiyoshi was already dressed in light-colored armor with the kingdom's sigil engraved in multiple places on his armor, unlike the knights' armor, which was all gold with only one sigil of the kingdom over the heart of every knight. The sound of jogging footsteps made their way closer to Prince Kiyoshi before his gaze turned toward the noise, his gaze landing on the demon, Omo, wearing the golden armor that fit him well. A golden chain decor connected the two black horns on his head. Kiyoshi's face became hot immediately once he gazed upon the demon that stood before him. His hand made it's way to his face, covering the dusting of rose across his cheeks, turning away from Omo, shaking any thought of the demon from his mind. "This way." He could only mutter as he led Omo toward the Nokoribi pen, where the demon's new furry companion awaited.

Kiyoshi opened the glass doors to the beast's den, revealing the lush greenery inside the huge glass dome that housed the elven war cats, "Leto, Leto." As Kiyoshi's call echoed through the dome, the greenery before the two princes rustled, and a light-colored, horse-sized lynx came bounding out toward them. The purple glowing pattern and horns on the beast were the only things setting it apart from the lynx species, and the purple eyes were staring at the elven prince as it trotted toward him. "You are always a good listener," Kiyoshi says, as the large cat stops in front of him, leaning its head down to press its forehead against its owners before noticing the stranger beside him but not showing much interest. "This is Leto, My Nokoribi, She is stunning, isn't she? " Kiyoshi said, facing Omo once more, to see him focused on the big cat that had come and sat beside the elven prince, cleaning her forepaws. "I-I knew they were real, but to get to see one so close... it's amazing." Omo was lost for words, seeing the giant cat for the first time in his life. "Well, not only will you get to see one, as a knight, you need one for battle, travel, and like right now, patrols," Kiyoshi told him, once again, seeming like the demon had forgotten about the morning talk they had. The demon's tail shot straight in shock and excitement before he calmed himself the best he could while a flashback crept into Omo's mind. When he was young, he wanted a cat, but seeing as hell hounds were everywhere, it was rare to see any other animal, but of course, Omo had his luck. For a short time. He had found a dark kitten in a drain and had taken it in, intrusting his father with it's life for a short time, but on this day, Omo's luck had run dry. Tears brimmed his eyes while his gaze was fixed on the royal hellhound's food bowl. Seeing the tuffs of dark-colored fur with splotches of blood, he felt a hand being placed on his shoulder, "You are the next king. You have no need for such a foolish and worthless thing." The booming voice of his father rang in his ears. That was the day Omo learned the most important lesson: never trust anyone with something you love. Kiyoshi placed his hand on Omo's shoulder as the demon stared down at the ground, his black tail now drooping down to the ground. "Are you alright...?" Kiyoshi's voice dripped with worry, the demon suddenly broke his gaze to look up at the elf. Omo's demeanor changed, and he turned to the prince, "Yeah, of course, I am. Don't tell me you're worried about me." Omo's cocky demeanor was back, much to Kiyosh's dislike. "Come, we can't spend all day here," Kiyoshi told Omo as he walked over to Leto, placing a hand on her fluffy shoulder, grabbing a fist full of her fluff, and tugging as he hopped up, throwing a leg over her back, mounting her. Kiyoshi gave her a signal to move forward, which she did. Omo was walking beside Leto, his hand resting on her side as they made their way into the middle of the dome, going the way Leto had come.

As they pushed the greenery aside, many thundering paws steps with meows and purrs. Many gray-horned, multi-colored big cats were either playing or sleeping. Omo's tail began wagging. Seeing so many cats in one place, Kiyoshi made a call and multiple tiny Nokoribis came running up to them. Omo gazed up at Kiyoshi with a glint of happiness in his bright crimson eyes. Kiyoshi gestured to the dog-sized Nokoribis at his feet, meowing and rubbing up against the demon, even playing with his wagging tail. The demon leaned down, picking up one of the Nokoribis and cradling it like a baby. Omo examined the cat in his arms. It had nubs where it's horns would soon be. A roar echoed through the dome, spooking the baby Nokoribi as one of the male Nokoribi came trotting over to Omo. It was one of the unowned ones. "U-uh, what do I do?¨ Omo asked Kiyoshi with a worried tone as the Nokoribi came closer. "Just wait, you'll see, and stay calm. This is one of the Nokoribi that were caught, not born in captivity, and he's a male.¨ Omo remained motionless as he listened. The Nokoribi was a dark brown, almost red. It's gray eyes looked over Omo before pouncing on him, pushing him on his back and laying on him, making sure that he wasn't crushing its soon-to-be new owner. Soon, his large horns and eyes began to glow bright gold. "It seems he finally found the owner he needed." A female voice came from in front of the two princes, "Ah, Kinoko, I didn't know you were here." Kiyoshi said, turning his attention to the red-headed fairy. Her hair was pulled into a very loose ponytail while her black and lavender wings folded down as she held a normal small black cat with splotches of orange breaking up its inky pelt with red and white mushrooms sprouting from it's back and tail. The fairy's light green dress was tightened around her waist with a brown leather corset, and she wore brown boots to match. "She's not the only one that's here!" A lunar moth fairy with four arms, brown hair, one strand of her hair braided as her orange dress swayed, and a corset that was a slightly lighter color than the other fairies' corsets, but with no shoes to match. yelled from close behind the butterfly fairy, spooking her and the mushroom cat in her arms, causing it to run away. "Hailee!" Kinoko yelped before turning to the moth fairy with an angry look that was starting to hit the moth. "YOU AIRHEAD!" Kinoko yelled. "Oh, and Izumi, of course, you are here," Kiyoshi said with a sigh.

Omo pushed his furry friend off of his chest and onto his legs, where the big cat rolled onto his back, all four legs in the air as Omo rubbed his chest and tummy, Kinoko stopped hitting Izumi and rushed over to the big loveable cat, helping Omo pet the lovable giant "You're the legendary Jigoku right?". Omo looked perplexed for a moment before recalling his aliases. "Oh yeah, I am." Omo gave an awkward laugh while Kinoko laughed. "You don't need to be awkward, It's nice to see more than just elves and fairies," Kinoko said with a smile before she got even more excited, almost jumping in Omo's face. "Have you decided on a name for him yet?" She yelled, meaning the fluffy cat below them had begun purring and was almost asleep. "U-Uh, I was thinking of the name Hakko," Omo mumbled, looking deep in thought as he turned his gaze to his newly found friend. "That sounds great, it fits him." She said this before standing and looking up at the prince on his Nokoribi. "I dought that you just came here to find him with a Nokoribi. What's happening?" Kinoko asked with her hands on her hips. "Patrols of the borders," Kiyoshi informed her making her shake her head. "You are always working, your majesty. It might kill you before any enemy," Kinoko said the last part with worry. "Can I come with you?" Izumi had yelled, and an annoyed look covered Kinoko's worry. "You dummy! You're not even a knight!" Kinoko turned and yelled at the moth girl.

A tap came to Omo's shoulder, making him turn to see that it was Kiyoshi, signaling that they needed to leave. Omo quietly got up, much to the disliking of the lazy Hakko. Omo mounted the big cat, while the two girls kept yelling, not noticing as they left, the demon burst into laughter when outside of the dome. "Those two were quite the characters," Omo commented as Kiyoshi chuckled. "Yeah, they are, but they've always been that way, as long as I've known them," Kiyoshi replied as Omo followed him toward the east, heading into a green forest. "What I don't get is that I thought fairies and elves were at war," Omo said with confusion, feeling the atmosphere of the conversation becomes the slightest bit heavier. "Yes, we were up until two years ago when the stone giants stomped their way through the fairies' land. Many of them tried fleeing into Hithlum for safety, but most were crushed or taken captive. Most of the butterfly fairies, dragonfly fairies, bee fairies, and pretty much all the day fairies had made it out... but the night fairies were... crushed or taken while they slept. Izumi was saved because Kinoko had woken her up early for help. Kinoko can't fly well and Izumi had to choose between saving her family and Kinoko. Izumi's family didn't make it to Hithlum..." Kiyoshi's tone dropped lower and lower as he went on. A heavy silence fell over the conversation before Omo broke it. "King Junichiro was upset about how long it took the giants to get to the kingdom, so he told them to take a shortcut through the fairies' land... I promise you and the fairy people. When I am king, I will give them back the land and homes that the king has taken." Omo's tone was determined, with a twinge of anger as he spoke.