Katrina

Chapter 11 - The Ruins of Sao

The three of them started to walk and didn't speak for a while until Katrina couldn't take it anymore.

"Hey, Muuqe. Why'd you have red eyes when you kidnapped me?" She asked.

He was surprised by how she had asked the question and he made a strange grimace.

"Do they change color when you change dimensions?" She continued, without even looking at him.

"Yes... That's why. But it doesn't happen to me in all dimensions. I still don't know exactly why it sometimes happens and sometimes it doesn't. I suppose it's because of some component that's in the air... I don't know." Answered the horse, finally.

They continued walking for a long time in silence. Katrina, again, couldn't take it anymore.

"Hey guys, what about your families? Do they live here too? Hey, and why isn't there anyone else around? I've seen only a few creatures, but not many."

"Ever since Xer started his rebellion, some creatures went into hiding and some have joined him out of fear, coercion and blackmail..." Said Aerdnah. "We'll see some more... In fact, we have to go through the ruins. It's been a long time since I've been around there, so I don't know exactly if the refugees are still there or not."

"The refugees?" Katrina asked, curious and scared at the same time.

"Yes, they're creatures that escaped Xer's clutches and now live hidden in the Ruins of Sao; afraid that he will find them and want revenge."

"Revenge? For having fled his control?"

"Exactly." Answered the panther, in a serious tone.

Katrina snorted. "Things are becoming more turbulent." She said.

"Don't worry, Katrina." Said Muuqe. "We're a team. You're not alone. You have us and more creatures that are on our side."

She nodded and a smile escaped. She felt protected.

"Listen, in the end you haven't told me about your families. Where is your family, Aerdnah? Do they live here?"

Katrina could see that the panther was uncomfortable.

"Well, if you want to tell me, of course. If it's okay." She said again, not to bother Aerdnah more.

"No, nothing's wrong. They died when I was yet a cub."

Katrina expected her to tell her something else so she let a long silence continue. The panther realized that.

"I don't know what else you want to know, Katrina. I don't know what happened. They just left me on this island, so for me they're just dead."

"But Aerdnah, then you don't know exactly if they're dead or not. Maybe they're looking for you!" She said excitedly.

"If they were looking for me, they would've found me. They know where they left me." She answered.

"But are you originally from here? From this dimension? From this island?"

"Katrina, that's enough. I don't know. I don't know where I came from. The only thing I know is that I grew up here. This is my home."

She nodded without saying anything else about the subject.

"And yours Muuqe? Where is your family?"

"Oh, my family lives on this island. Beyond the mountains that you see there at the end."

How far away. She thought. "And you visit often or do they come to visit you?"

"We haven't been seen each other for a long time. This land has become dangerous in recent times. It's not very safe to go back and forth as we used to do. Although some of us use Ticud to keep in contact, but that's it".

"Dangerous... Because of Xer, right?"

He nodded and they didn't cross another word for another long moment.

Katrina could see it was getting clearer to see in the distance. It was dawn! "Look there! It's dawn!"

They looked away and they could see it too and a sigh of relief escaped them.

"Do you want to rest for a while?" Aerdnah asked.

They both shook their heads.

"Do you want to rest, Aerdnah?" Muuqe asked.

"I hope I didn't offend you, Katrina." Aerdnah said and she looked at her with a grimace. "I don't know how enduring humans are. Maybe you need to rest more times than we do."

"Don't worry about that. When I need rest, I'll tell you." She said, a little annoyed.

"We're getting closer to the Ruins of Sao." Muuqe said.

Katrina shuddered. She didn't know what could be expected of that place. They walked a few more meters and finally her sight reached to see that place. Even in ruins it was wonderful. It looked like an Aztec ruin and Katrina was speechless.

"You've never seen ruins?" Muuqe asked in a kind tone; proud of having that wonder in his land.

"No... Not like that." She answered, still amazed. "This... This is incredible."

She turned around and looked at her two friends. They could see in the expression on her face how much it had impacted her.

"Come on." Said Aerdnah. "Let's not waste time."

They started to walk when suddenly they heard something behind the bush.

"Who's there?" The panther asked in her usual, authoritative tone.

Muuqe and Katrina didn't move a muscle.

The creature came timidly from behind one of the giant trees.

"Xoféh!" Exclaimed the horse and the panther in unison.

"Xoféh, what a joy to see you!" Said Aerdnah, approaching him in a hurry as they embraced.

Muuqe also approached and embraced that being as Katrina slowly approached them. Xoféh was a kind of fox, but was extremely small sized. He walked on two legs, wearing a green hunting tunic that highlighted the reddish color of his coat. Katrina thought it was adorable.

"Aerdnah! Muuqe!" He said, surprised. "What're you doing in these lands? It's not safe to go through the jungle at night."

"Well," The horse replied, "it's already dawning." He continued, smiling.

Xoféh's voice was very sweet and Katrina was very pleased.

"Xoféh, we're on our way to Xer's castle. Last night we saw a greenish light from our house coming from there." Said Aerdnah.

"To Xer's castle?" He answered, surprised.

"Yes, we want to find out what he is up to and the reason for that light. Do you know something about that?"

Xoféh lowered his head and gathered his tiny claws. It seemed that he was going to give a speech. "I'll explain everything." He said. "But not here, follow me."

The little fox turned around and picked up a couple of mangos on the ground and started walking toward the ruins.