Sable's Bane

Parallel Worlds

Sable’s Bane

Chapter 1  

“You are not living unless you are running to or from something ” - Sable

 The under-trade was as the name described. Things not to be exchanged and sold, including the living, were brought here. Services, spices, slaves, weapons, charms, techs, artifacts, trinkets, foods, everything one would need could be found here. Nestled in a pastoral silver valley, far from the eyes of the queen, it brought great fortune or great despair. Using the nearby boulders and blue sea cliffs and strange rock formations, the Sayinyueh draped fabrics of every texture and color known to allure nearby inhabitants and prey. The scent of exotic herbs and dishes drifted by the nostrils of performers and traders alike. Noise and voices and music were trapped within the encompassing tents. Bodies of every size and shape and tone pushed and pulled against the next. It was a glorious chaos. There were winged Dashnew, hooved Frasczi, horned Jasxops and many more species scurrying and wandering beneath the tents. It was freedom and entrapment and alive.    

Sable glanced around the cages and tents and growing crowds. Her acute senses sifted through the chaos, searching and probing for what she sought. As she ducked beneath a massive Frasczi, her ears perked at a familiar sound. A fight was brewing. And if there was one thing a Felis couldn’t stay away from, it was a fight. thirty meters ahead, tails and wings and haunches created a  tight barrier between a merchant selling squealing Hascins and a Hush tent, the nomadic home of females of night services.  Several of the Hush stepped out of their lavish tent with wicked eyes and innocent smiles. A couple pointed at Sable, sparked with heated interest. 

Quickly, Sable dodged behind a couple and circled the crowd.  She had to get closer. Her rust eyes narrowed to slits as she evaluated her surroundings. To her left a Dashnew-Gunti male stood below hung banners bearing the queen’s insignia. An ironic joke among the under-traders.  Sable continued to scan the area. If she could use the inattentive male’s height and reach the banners at just the right angle… Her legs began to move before she finished the idea. Silently, Sable sprinted past the beasts and lunged as if in a hunt. It was like breathing for her. The air was just an extension of her body. Power roared within her. 

The male barely had time to process what was happening. Sable was on and off him before his three eyes could blink. The only proof of her presence was a number of small needle size holes upon his robe. Above him a shadow flew. Sable had just scarcely gripped the edge of the transparent banner when she was flying once more. From twenty meters in the air, Sable could see within the barrier. Familiar white fur stood out against the assembly of scales and metallic feathers.

 Sath.   

Sable landed quietly on all fours, tail curled and ears alert. Dust rose to her nostrils, making her sneeze not so gracefully. Wiping her clawed hands on her things, Sable stood.

She shoved her way through the crowd, elbowing bystanders ruthlessly as she sliced her way towards her cousin. Out of all the Felis cousins, which were a lot, Sathiny and Sable were the closest. That’s why when Sable was told by her friend Azna, a water elemental, that Sathiny had gotten herself into yet another fight Sable ran out of a weapons seller’s tent to join the action. That was the problem with the Felis Clan, it fed off its own recklessness. Everyone in the lands knew by now not to associate with a Felis, not on good terms or bad. The result would relatively be the same.   

“Sath! Sath! You Lesser lover, why didn’t you get me?!” Sable called out over the crowd. Through the gaps between horns and antlers, Sable could make out her tall white cousin in front of what she could only describe as a beached Halish. It only took a second for Sathiny to locate Sable through the crowd. Sathiny’s calm countenance brightened as she jogged over and yanked Sable into the circle. Oh, make that two beached Halish. Across from the Felis girls were astoundingly large aquatic chimaeras.  They were so obese it was hard to determine where one limb began and another ended. They were both possible eight feet tall. Their grey filmy hide was adorned with crustaceans and parasitic elementals. The stench of ocean water attacked Sable’s nostrils. She bit back a gag.