Chapter Four - New Journeys

Castalia (?) World

Castalia Kingdom

Draeska State

Tkemali Segment

Very Early Morning

Chirping, singing, and very dim light flooded into the cavern. Kata awoke without a single aching joint. Sight first blurred and then cleared as her memories sank in. A grunt escaping her, she turned to look in the direction of the babies. They were growing fast. Already crawling around and getting into mischief. Kata rubbed her forehead. "Hard to believe a week has gone by."

Today was the start of the new journey. She wasn't sure what the plan was completely. During her days of recovery, Kata explored every nook and cranny of the cavern that she could without being unceremoniously yanked back by hungry cries of children.

One downside to the early birth, she hadn't any milk to give them from her body. Thus, she and Cora created a solution that the babies could drink and still gain the necessary nutrients they would need to survive. Meanwhile, Kata created a portable carrier that would hold all eight of the babies. She made note to create leashes and straps to keep them from escaping once put inside the contraption.

Cora eyed it. "Cute, what is that?"

"A stroller, I guess one would say." Kata surveyed it. "I might end up using it for what supplies can be stored instead." She was glancing at the babies with a frown. "Is it me, or have the accelerated their growth exponentially?"

Cora looked at the children clambering over the various obstacles she created for them to wear out their high energy playing. "Uh, that is normal." She shrugged. "After all, we're talking about felines who can begin breeding within two to three months of birth." Her mouth tightened slightly.

"Were you forced to do that so that you could gain your freedom?" Kata watched her thoughtfully. It struck her that she didn't know much about Cora's background.

"No, I wasn't, but my mother was. She died before she could travel." Cora shook her head. "Someone poisoned her. She was a rebel and didn't want me to remain here either."

Ah, Kata could see where this was going. Nowhere good. "Huh, so now you're taking this chance to leave before you suffered the same fate?"

Cora's shoulders hunched. "I was the poisoner." She muttered. "Though I wasn't aware of having done it until too late." Her mouth tightened. "My family disowned me, and I was sent to this tiny corner of the Segment to die." She brushed her sleeves away from her arms.

They had identical scars and old wounds. Kata blinked at her. "You weren't just an educator or scout, were you?"

Cora shook her head. "No, I wasn't. I did contribute offspring of course, but they have long since gone their separate ways." She shrugged. "I settled into a very staid life and literally forgot who and what I was."

Ah. Kata considered the dilemma. "So, may I ask once more. What is this world I've come to?"

"Our world as the felines know it is Callista." Cora sighed. "However, with each state, country and kingdom you visit, there'll be different variations on it."

Now she understood why Cora seemed oddly baffled with the original question. Kata reassured her with the murmur. "Callista, I like it." Much better than what they'd called it before. "The other information?"

"Is accurate." Cora grinned at Kata's huff of exasperation. "While it is true that the ruling class is currently main coon, the original was a wilder untamable tiger type that didn't have any reason to obey rules of any sort." She regarded Kata. "You're the spitting image of the lost princess from thirty years ago."

Excuse me? Kata was aghast. This couldn't be happening, not again. "Bleh." She stumbled to the toilet and lost her last meal.

"You are so weird." Cora shook her head. "I only said you're her spitting image, not that you were her." She clarified when Kata regarded her suspiciously. "She died when she was sixteen years old from execution because she'd murdered her entire family, even the babes."

Kata grimaced. "Not something I find commendable." Even as a mortal she hadn't done that. Besides, her folks were honest farmers. Kata hadn't seen any reason why she needed to murder them.

She'd refused which had ironically led to her ascending to something else entirely which hadn't suited her at all either. Thus far, Kata hadn't found a way to reconcile what the bitchy-assed fates had in store for her and what she wanted which was a simple life.

"What do you want out of life?" Cora studied her.

"Just a simple life without too many complications." Kata sighed. "A peaceful farm filled with prosperous plantings and creatures that contribute food sources." Was that so hard to ask for? Well, anyway it was time to be off. "Children come down." She waved at them. "We have a special journey to start off." She hesitated. "So, will you be coming or no?"

Cora laughed. "Surely you jest? Of course, I'm coming. Someone needs to watch over them when you or I do the hunting and gathering of resources."

Kata blinked. "Okay. What else should I know about?"

Cora smiled. "Your dream mirrors mine. If I weren't only about two or three years older than you, I'd swear you were my mother."

Hmm, Kata thought over that. "I wouldn't mind having a sister or simply a friend." She stated. "Just something to think about." She smiled when Cora blankly stared off into space.

They would have to consider whether the dream would come true or not. For now, they had to depart. It was something that couldn't be delayed. For her part, Kata didn't want to overstay her welcome within the cavern. "Thank you, guardians, for keeping watch. Once we depart, the request for shielding us will dispel."

Misty figures wavered and then coalesced into a single form.

A lone male stood before them clad in warrior gear. Long white hair hung around him. Eyes gleamed like grey ice watched them from an expressionless pale face.

"Tannin?" Cora stared at him in shock.

"Aye, Cora." Tannin bowed his head. He slowly gained more substance and hair turned dark brown. His grey eyes remained the same, but his skin tone darkened to beige. "Your new acquaintance broke the binding curse that held me for many years." He faced Kata. "I thank you for that release."

Kata blinked. "You're welcome." This was an unexpected development. "What of the others?"

Tannin smiled. "They're still here. I'm just now in physical form which I'd long lost." He shrugged. The children gaped at him curiously but climbed into the small contraption that did indeed hold them securely. "Can they escape from this if it breaks?"

Kata nodded. "Yes." She'd built in failsafe's just in case something did happen, and they needed to escape quickly. However, she wasn't going to demonstrate it while inside the cavern. That would simply allow them to wander freely. Not something she wanted happening right then and there.

She was wondering what the relationship was between Cora and Tannin.

Cora glanced at her. "He's my twin brother. I thought he'd died long ago in a plague."

Oh right, Kata remembered Cora mentioning something about why this cavern was mostly shunned and abandoned. "Hmm…well, I hope that we can get along." She regarded them both calmly.

"If you two argue about something, don't involve the children or me in it unless we're the reason for the dispute. In that case, make sure that I know all sides of the problem before making me party to whatever issue you have to have a mediator for." Kata knew just how out of hand arguments could get just from the examples she'd seen recently.

Cora and Tannin laughed. "We'll abide by your request. It is reasonable." Tannin readily agreed.

Cora shrugged. "I'll voice my thoughts regardless." She warned. "It is just in my nature."

Kata nodded. "I understand. Just be considerate of the children." Her mouth twitched. "I'll try ad mind my manners and language around them as well."

Cora eyed her in askance, "I think they've already learned the worst there is from you already."

Kata winced. "You may be right." She smiled ruefully. "We're ready to leave now?" More than ever she wanted to depart the cavern with its morbid history. She rubbed a hand along the wall. "Take care and guard the innocent while deceiving the deceptively nice ones." She murmured without thinking about why she said it.

Tannin sucked in his breath. "Wow, that is…interesting."

Kata didn't look back. "We need to leave. That isn't going to hold much longer." She said wearily. "There is a small possibility that someone is going to try breaking through and while we're in here, the sources are being split to cover us all."

She didn't want that. Neither did Cora or Tannin. They quickly hurried down the main path. Kata went with her gut once it wasn't so clear where the path led. So far it hadn't led her astray yet.

Several hours passed and they stopped to eat.

It didn't take them long to finish before they headed out again.

Much to the shock of Cora and Tannin, Kata led through several tight passageways. She dismantled the contraption and they each carried a child with them. Two perched on Tannin's shoulders, much to her surprise. They didn't complain, they simply endured until the passageways widened and the contraption was assembled once more. The children clambered in and they were off on their way once more.

At last, Kata took a deep breath of air. "Can you smell it?"

Tannin and Cora paused in their walking to register what she said. "Oh, we're by the ocean, somewhere." Cora murmured.

"We'll have to care from here on out." Tannin looked around cautiously. "There won't be easy paths going out as there were inside."

Kata had known that possibility existed. "I'm not sure what I should do to make it easier." She admitted.

"Don't worry about it." Tannin muttered. "I've a few things that'll get us safely through this nest of treachery."

Nest of treachery huh? Kata supposed it was time to pay attention to the footing rather than simply relying on her gut instinct. Now that she thought about it, it seemed that he was more used to the area than she was. "I'm willing to let you or Cora take over from here." It would be a challenge getting the offspring up through some of the passageways. There was no telling what awaited them on the outside.

"Here we go then." Tannin took the lead without hesitation. "We'll soon be out of here, mark my words."

It wasn't the upward passage that bothered Kata so much as what they would find awaiting them on the outside. So far, the journey progressed rather well. She wasn't sure what to think of what to find beyond the outer walls.

Another half hour passed, and they made it to the upper cliffs without undue hardship. They discovered another area where they could rest and camp. A good thing too because one nasty storm was on its way.

"I don't know whether or not we've found a good place to end this morning's progress or not." Kata stared at where she saw heavily gathering clouds in the distance.

Cora and Tannin looked at where she stared and winced. "Oh, my that isn't good." They glanced at each other. "We'll have to get closer to another town away from this part. This area could be torn off by the winds far too easily." Cora murmured with concern.

Kata grimaced. She wasn't sure she wanted to face a town already. However, they were accosted by a traveler who'd spotted them from below.

"Hello, up there! Are you insane? We've got a bad storm blowing in. Get Yer asses down here and take shelter!" It was an old man who waved at them urgently.

Not one to ignore good advice, Kata sighed. "I'm going to take him up on the offer. If there're any regrets later, I'll pay my dues when it comes time to take hindsight into account."

Tannin laughed. "That is old Huey. He won't hurt a fly. He's been a lookout for crazy travelers for as long as this place existed."

Kata grunted. She would simply wait and see what happened. For now, they needed to get off that cliff before the storm hit. Every joint in her body screamed danger very loudly.