The Beast Within Us

Chapter 12: ⑄ Chala

⑄Chala watched the wardeness carefully after they'd completed the blood pact and began their way back to where the caravans waited. Though almost imperceptible, the other woman had acted strangely even as she tried to mask it. There'd always been a stiffness to Yara, but there was something different now. The tigress couldn't quite put her finger on it, and the sudden twisting of her gut only frustrated her further. Figuring it best to drop the subject for the time being, she shook off the feeling and continued on.

• • • • •

For a majority of the day, Chala travelled as a tigress, as there were a number of benefits from doing so. While growling and purring are easily replicated in her human form, the same does not transfer over, a fact she learned as a cub when she and her brother would try to speak after changing. Only awkward grunts would escape their mouths when they tried, and their grandfather likened their attempts to the sound of the stray cats in the villages they sometimes visited. Needless to say, the two siblings had been fairly disappointed.

'I'm learning to appreciate this particular aspect though,' Chala thought amusedly as she padded along beside the horses. Being incapable of speech made one unapproachable - being a hewan compounded that tenfold, especially now that the tigress' leash was gone. As far as Yara's banners went, none of them dared to stray too close to the Warden's tigress, for fear of being mauled among other things. Chala's teeth and claws made them fearful, and she liked it that way. The odd growl at foot soldiers that would glance in her direction aided the effect.

Steel eyes raised to look ahead where the wardeness rode silently, taking in her surroundings with a perceptive gaze. Unsurprisingly, Darryn lingered nearby looking very much the stoic, chiseled warrior he was. However, there was a sag to his shoulders that hadn't been there when she'd first met the man and a weariness about his posture that aged him.

An ear flicked as the two began to converse, but Chala remained uninterested for the most part. That is, until Darryn turned in his saddle to look at her measuringly. She gazed quizzically back, raising her head a bit in a slightly challenging gesture as if to say 'What do you want?', and the man surprised her with a smirk, returning to his original position. Brief words were exchanged between the warrior and the warden before he moved his horse away again, and Chala was left feeling very suspicious.

• • • • •   

They'd stopped for the evening when she found out what Darryn and Yara had been discussing earlier.

Chala stood, arms crossed and eyebrow raised, in the middle of a crate enclosed clearing. She'd been requested to change back to her more human form for the moment, and she'd complied easily enough. Her tail swished behind her impatiently as Darryn walked up with a few men at his side, unarmored but not unarmed. They regarded the huntress with sharp eyes, but she paid them no mind, leveling her gaze at Darryn. His dark eyes met her steel easily.

"I appreciate how cooperative you've been today, Huntress. I know this is the last way you'd've like'd to spend your evening," he said easily, moving to stand in front of Chala. He was about a head taller than she, but she was a little short for Hewani females. "The Warden wants you tested - says I'm the best for the job." At this Darryn shrugged and pulled a wooden training sword from the sheath at his waist. "Let's have a good spar."

Chala had been given her choice of weapons earlier that day under the pretense of arming up for her bodyguard duties. A huntress at heart, the tiger hewan chose a spear as her weapon, and she'd been given one of the foot soldier's long spears when Yara learned of her preference, though the warden had promised to acquire one of better craftsmanship when she could. As such, one of the men that'd accompanied Darryn to their sparring spot tossed her a wooden staff to spar with. She caught it easily, holding it at her side and waiting silently. A moment was taken to fix her newly acquired leather bracers, and one of the men standing on the sidelines whispered his curiosity to the one beside him regarding bets being placed on whether or not the hewan girl knew how to speak at all.

The soldier that'd tossed Chala her spear cleared his throat and announced the usual rules. He paused at the end and regarded the female of the group with a hard look, "No shifting allowed," and walked to take his place with the others that were there to observe.

Huntress and warrior alike dropped into ready stances, circling each other while they waited for the other to make the first move, and sharp steel pierced deep navy. In the end, Chala was the one to make the first move, testing the waters with her staff and feeling out Darryn's fighting style. A period of time passed as they traded blows, neither gaining the upper hand. Chala remained mostly unaffected by how long they'd been at it, but she could see her opponent beginning to wear down. Though he was strong and quick for a man his size, the tigress won the long game.

Darryn approached and they crossed weapons again. Just as Chala began to grow restless, her steel eyes caught an opening in Darryn's form. She played against him with the newfound weakness, striking his vulnerable side in an attempt to gain leeway. Unfortunately for her, the warrior was sharp enough to block at the last moment, but it left him unsteady. Recovering quickly, the tigress swung her staff around, aiming for the man's legs, and sweeping his feet from under him.

Without hesitation, Chala pointed the would-be spear end of her staff at her opponent's expose throat while he grimaced. She let it linger and gave Darryn a pointed look before relenting, reaching down and helping him back up. The man chuckled as he rose and clapped a hand on the tigress' shoulder, causing her to raise an eyebrow at him.

"Well fought!" Darryn smiled and removed his hand, "You're quite skilled - sparring with you was an honor, Huntress, we must do it again sometime." Darryn paused, and though his smile remained, his eyes grew serious. "I've no doubt you will protect our Warden well...and it would please me to know the name of my comrade."

Chala hesitated for a moment or two, and met his eyes with a searching look. This man...he wasn't like the other humans she'd encountered, and she felt as though she could trust him. Finding nothing but sincerity, the tigress' steel gaze softened and her lips turned up in an almost-smile.

"Chala."

• • • • •   

Forming a rather quick friendship, Chala and Darryn talked long into the night together. They chatted about a variety of subjects, from mundane things to fighting strategies, and Chala found she enjoyed it immensely. The topic of her past never came up - her sandy haired friend seemed to be avoiding questions like those, making the tigress appreciate his company all the more.

However, time does fly when well spent, and both of them needed their rest. When the time came for them to part, Darryn offered to escort her to the Warden's caravan, which Chala politely declined. He'd nodded, understanding, but his assent was reluctant and almost disappointed as he left for his own sleeping quarters, asking her to pass on the results of his test. The tigress shrugged off the observation.

It didn't take long to locate the caravan in question; Yara's scent was easy enough to follow. The entrance slightly ajar, the hewan girl hesitated to enter. To cross the threshold would be to enter into Yara's territory, and the thought made her tail twitch and her short hairs raise. Nevertheless, Chala stepped forward and greeted the wardeness.

"So," she said casually, attempting to treat her new charge as she had Darryn, "Darryn tested me like you asked him to. He wanted me to tell you it went well and that I passed..." 'Whatever that means.' The tigress glanced about, taking in the Warden's living space. "Nothing else to report at the moment," she finished stiffly, crossing her arms out of habit more than anything else. "Would you like me to retire here or outside?"

Chala shifted right after she posed the question, preparing for sleep wherever it was that Yara wanted her to lay. She looked up at the wardeness expectantly, awaiting her answer with tired eyes. ⑄