Cataindar

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

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Darcius approached the catain that lay in his quarters. He could see she was still stunned from being thrown across the room, but rounded her body as he approached, and sat up, trying to breathe steadily.  Darcius padded towards her. He snatched his long sword up from the side, smiling slightly, he threw his sword from paw to paw, and as he did the sword caught the flicker of the flames from the hearth that lit the room.The young catain tried to push back further into the corner and whimpered. 

"Please!"

"Please what my dear kitain?"

"Don't..." she said closing her eyes shuddering. 

Darcius smiled grimly to himself and dragged over a chair to near where she was cowering and sat down.  He bounced the tip of his sword on the floor nearing it to her hind paw with each bounce. She flinched away from it.  He pulled out a sharpening stone from his pocket.

"What is your name kitain?"

"Flecks," she let out with a sniff,

"Flecksss. Doesn't it sicken you kitain, living down here?"

"I don't understand..." 

Darcius snorted, and ran the stone down the swords length with a satisfying, 'shhhlckt'.

"I remember when I first went in the world above, kitain.  You can't imagine what it was like.  It was like being reborn.  Just breathing the air; each breath was like a banquet, so full of flavour."

Shhhlckt

"And to use my eyes, how catains eyes are meant to be used. To look and to see, not dead cavern walls in these dim corridors but a thousand blades of grass bathed in a light so pure and so golden no flame could ever compare."

 Shhhlckt

"It was the most majestic sight my eyes have ever seen kitain.  I'll never forget it. So my question, doesn't it sicken you, that in your entire miserable and pathetic excuse of a life you will never see these things?"

He watched her swallow, averting her eyes looking anywhere but meeting his own.

"But Cataindar is our home..." she managed.

Darcius could barely hide his disgust. 

"No kitain.  This is not our home."

Darcius thought back to his dear sister. What a wonderful creature she was. He remembered that his sister's stories of the world above had given him nightmares as a kitain. He had imagined a cavern wall so high you could never see to the top, matched with gargantuan roots growing not down but up, grabbing the hind-legs of those that tried to run past. He had imagined ratains stalking these corridors hunting catains to tear limb from limb.

It was impossible for this kitain to understand if she had never seen the world above. He had to open their eyes. He had to show them the truth.

Soon they would see.  

Both their ears heard a beat of four echo along the pipe in the wall. The emergency sign that a contravention was in place.  Darcius' eyes lit up and his demeanour changed.  He quickly placed his sword on his back and darted to his cupboard and pulled out his heavier armour. 

This was the chance!

"Kitain stand. Help me secure this"

Flecks hesitated for a second then cautiously stood and helped Darcius buckle his chest plate.