by Davis Ashura
Jaresh shook his head. “No. But I imagine it has to do with finding the final MalDin.”
Rukh grunted in disgust. After Ular Sathin had killed himself, his position as a MalDin of the Sil Lor Kum had come to light. It was still hard to believe. Ular had been both a highly respected Muran—a member of the Society of Rajan, no less—but also the worst kind of scum. How had he managed it? How could any man, evil or otherwise, have so proficiently and consistently betrayed everyone who loved and knew him? Rukh couldn't imagine the self-deception and discipline required to have lived Ular's life of lies.
Regardless, after the man's death, his journal—the one describing his role as a MalDin—had come into Nanna's possession. It had been anonymously mailed to him, and after the code in which it had been written had been deciphered, the Sil Lor Kum had been eradicated. All except for the MalDin representing Caste Duriah, and maybe a few lower-ranking members of the so-called 'Hidden Hand of Justice'.
“What does Nanna want me to do?” Rukh asked.
“He wasn't the one who actually asked for you,” Jaresh said. “Bree asked him to ask you—”
“I thought she had her hands full helping out the OutCastes?” Farn interrupted.
“After the contract Bree was able to hammer out on their behalf with Clan Weathervine, they don't really need her assistance any more,” Jaresh explained. “Nanna wants her to help the City Watch find the final MalDin and the rest of the Sil Lor Kum.” He turned to Rukh. “And Bree wants your help.”
“Why? What does she think I can do that she can't?”
“Nothing,” Jaresh replied. “It's more about Rector Bryce. Nanna asked for his help in finding the rest of the Sil Lor Kum, and when Bree found out who she would have to work with, she said the only person who could keep her from hurting Rector was you.”
Rukh snorted. “So she expects me to protect Rector from her?”
Jaresh grinned, clearly enjoying himself. “She says that while others could stop her from hurting Rector, she thinks you're the only one with the skill to do so without killing her in the process.” He laughed. “She must really hate him.”
Farn chuckled. “She still hasn't forgiven him?”
“I guess not,” Rukh said.
“But you have?” Farn asked.
Rukh shrugged. “He was a large part of the reason why I was exiled from Ashoka, but I also remember what he did for Jessira at the Magisterium. After the Magisterium, it wasn't too hard to forgive him.”
Farn shook his head. “Not for me. I'd still want to smash his face into the pavement.”
Rukh smiled, thinking of something Jessira had once told him. 'You aren't a man made to hate,' she had said.
“I thought you were the one who thought first and fought second,” Jaresh said to Farn.
“I guess your stupidity is rubbing off on me,” their cousin replied.
“If it's my stupidity rubbing off on you, then you're still gaining in intelligence,” Jaresh countered.
“So you're saying that even at your stupidest, you're smarter than me?” Farn said with a scoffing snort. “You must have bathed in an open sewer because I smell bilge water.”
“Well you'd know that fragrance better than anyone,” Jaresh said before turning to Rukh. “And just what exactly are you smiling about?”
Rukh coughed into his hand, not wanting to admit the truth. It would only set the other two men laughing. To hear them talk, they seemed to think that Rukh believed that the sun rose and set based on Jessira's presence. “I was just thinking how it's nice to be home and hear the two of you bicker,” Rukh lied. “I missed it when I was in Stronghold.”
“You had a look on your face just then,” Jaresh noted, sounding skeptical. His eyes narrowed.
Rukh mentally groaned. “What look?” he asked, trying to keep his features placid and curious rather than guilty.
Jaresh's eyes widened. “You were thinking about Jessira!” He burst into laughter.
“No I wasn't!” Rukh exclaimed.
“Yes, you were,” Farn said, joining in Jaresh's laughter.
Rukh sighed. “Why don't we get back on topic?” he suggested.
“You mean you don't want to tell us about the wonderful qualities your wife possesses?” Farn asked with a straitlaced, innocent expression.
“Or maybe we can talk about Laya?” Rukh said, giving his cousin a challenging stare.
Now it was Farn's turn to smother a cough. “So why can't Bree forgive Rector?” he asked in an obvious attempt to change the subject.
Jaresh took a moment to glance between the two men and mutter something about OutCaste women under his breath. Rukh couldn't quite make it out. “I'm not sure why Bree still dislikes Rector so much. I mean, Rukh has already forgiven the man, and I would guess Nanna has as well since he's willing to entrust him with this.”
Rukh smiled. “Our sister is a complicated woman.”
“Hating someone isn't complicated,” Jaresh observed.
Rukh shook his head at his brother's lack of insight. “Bree doesn't hate Rector. She hates how she misjudged him, and now, she isn't sure if she's doing so again with her mistrust.”
“It's a conundrum,” Farn agreed.
Aia was laid out on her back with her hind limbs stretched out behind her and her front ones tucked up so her paws were under her chin. From her current position, in the distance she could see a row of tall homes made of red brick and cold, dead wood. She sniffed at the sight. There was no beauty to the hard-edged straight lines and stiff stones that made up the city of Ashoka. Even the occasional edging of grass and trees dividing the roads wasn't enough to soften this Human hive of rugged rocks, noxious noises, and strong smells.
She turned away from the view and let her gaze linger upon the place where she was to meet her Human, Rukh. They always met here. This was one of the few places in Rukh's home where she truly felt comfortable. The fields between the city's massive walls would have been fine, but for some reason, the Humans who dug up the land there—farmers were what Rukh called them—always seemed to take offense whenever Aia or her brothers decided to show up and roll about on the ground or dig in the dirt. They would yell and shout, running about and gesticulating wildly like fearful ostriches. It was most annoying. Some even flung dirt at them like a monkey hurling feces.
Aia snorted. How typical. Humans did look a little like monkeys, so maybe it was only natural that they would act like them as well.
Of course back home, if a monkey—or any other animal—had dared disrespect her, Aia would have made sure they never repeated the error. She had been tempted to teach an unforgettable lesson to the rude Human monkeys who had thrown dirt at her, but Rukh had told her in no uncertain terms that harming one of his kind was prohibited. Aia snorted at the thought. She wouldn't have actually hurt any of them. She would have only pretended to, just enough to get the pesky Humans to leave her alone.
Aia sighed. Rukh would probably still have been mad at her.
She set aside her annoyance with her Human and returned to studying this place Rukh had found for her. Dryad Park was what he named it. It was so quiet and subdued here, at least in comparison to the riot that was the rest of Ashoka. In some ways, it even reminded Aia of her own home.
Rolling hills of grass and wildflowers cupped blue lakes and ponds full of delectable, fat fish. And while Aia knew just how succulent those scaled beasties were, once again, Rukh insisted on ruining her fun. He wouldn't let her splash about and try her paws at catching the slippery fish. He said she'd only scare them away.
What foolishness. Fish had no minds by which to feel fear. And they were so delicious.
Aia frowned, a flattening of her ears, wishing Rukh could see reason. But he had been steadfast in his refusal.
Once again, Aia set aside her annoyance.
Instead, she glanced at a number of old Humans as they moved rocks of various shapes about on strange, flat piece of wood made of colored squares. What were they doing that was
so fascinating? There they sat beneath the arms of a small grouping of oak trees, as still and unmoving as Human-shaped boulders. It looked so pointless. Rukh said it was a game called 'chess', but Aia wasn't sure if he was playing a trick on her.
Kesarin games relied on running, hiding, leaping, and rolling, not staring at pieces of rock and moving them fractionally every few minutes.
Stupidity. Not to mention boring.
Aia then turned her sight to a group of large globes of various colors hanging from the branches of the oaks. She smiled. Finally, a Human creation that made sense. She loved the firefly globes. They were so beautiful, hypnotic even, especially when they waved in the breeze and spooled out bright pinpricks of moving light and shadow. It was like something alive then. Shon and Thrum loved to chase those pinpoints, racing after them, all along the ground and even leaping into the trees. Aia, on the other hand, maintained a dignified air while her brothers played their silly games.
But when her brothers weren't around, she, too, would chase the light and shadows. It was so much fun.
Aia settled herself deeper into the warm ground, lost in pleasant memories.
A cloud passed above her, and she wondered why the sky was blue. Was it like the nearby sea, but instead of washing about on the ground, was it water floating high above the world? It made sense. After all, where else could rain come from?
Aia mentally shuddered. She loved swimming, but for some reason, she hated the rain. It was a miserable experience, and just imagining the water falling on her head was enough to make her whiskers wilt in imagined melancholy.
*Sister, why are you sad?* Shon asked, coming up to her and touching her nose with his before he licked the side of her face.
*Rain.*
Shon pulled up short in startlement. *Where?* he asked in consternation.
Aia laughed. She reached up and grasped her brother's head in her paws. She kept her claws sheathed as she pulled him down until he flopped next to her. He lay beside her, and she groomed the top of his head.
The affection Aia felt for her youngest brother sometimes surprised her. After all, she hadn't always liked Shon, but in the past year, he had grown, not just in size—he was bigger than Aia now and almost as big as Thrum—but also in wisdom. He was no longer the sun-addled pest she had to continually bat on the nose for his silly behavior. It was entirely unexpected, especially since his older brother, Thrum, was still prone to foolishness like galloping about and trying to catch snow in his mouth.
Aia wondered what had caused Shon to change in the ways he had.
Perhaps it was through the influence of Jessira, his Human. She was Rukh's mate—his wife as Humans called things—which meant she had to be someone special. Aia couldn't imagine Rukh settling for anyone ordinary of wit and wisdom. In addition, Jessira was female, and as everyone knew, males were improved through their association with a female.
*Why were you sad?* Shon asked again.
Aia yawned and rolled to her side. *Why is the sky blue?* she asked. *Is it because the heavens are like the sea? Are they full of water, and rain falls when it slips free of the clouds?*
Shon sat on his hindquarters and tilted his head in thought. *Or maybe the heavens reflect the water.*
*Then why don't they reflect the mountains and the grass?* Aia challenged.
Shon shrugged. *Do you suppose our Humans could tell us?* he asked.
Aia snorted. *Humans don't know everything,* she said. *They only act like they do.*
*Not mine,* Shon disagreed. *Jessira is sensible enough to admit when she doesn't know something.*
*Rukh is the same,* Aia replied, unwilling to concede that Jessira might be better than Rukh in any way. It was simply inconceivable that there was a finer Human than her own. *Which of them do you suppose taught the other humility?* Aia asked.
Her brother cast her a grin. *Whoever it is, I hope they can help Thrum. Ever since he took Jaresh as his Human, our brother has been insufferable.*
Aia nodded. *On this we are agreed,* she said. *Jaresh should teach Thrum proper manners.*
*Unlikely. I think it's Jaresh who is feeding our brother's arrogance. Thrum keeps going on about how smart his Human is. How clever he is. How no one can solve puzzles like his Human. How everyone bows before his Human's great intelligence.* Shon rumbled in annoyance. *I would like to swipe Thrum across the nose.*
*Just be glad he is with his Human and not with us,* Aia advised with a smile. *I doubt he would like your notion of swiping him across the nose.*
Shon sniffed. *I'm not afraid of him.*
Aia rubbed her head against his. *Not so long as I'm around,* she said.
Shon rumbled his affection before flopping to the ground and curling up next to Aia.
Soon, both of them were asleep.
Rukh approached the drowsing Kesarins as softly as he could. He didn't want to disturb Aia and Shon's slumber. Both cats were the size of an ox and could be as fierce as a raging ice storm. But not when sleeping. Then they appeared as peaceful as newborn kittens.
Jessira walked just as quietly. They were downwind of the cats, and her mild cinnamon scent wouldn't carry. Of course, other than Shon, no one else seemed to be aware of the faint fragrance wafting about her.
“They're so cute when they're asleep,” Jessira whispered.
Almost as if on cue, Aia and Shon's eyes opened, and their heads swiveled as they focused on Rukh and Jessira.
Aia uncurled from where she was scooped around her brother, and she arched her back in a shuddering stretch before she reached forward with outstretched paws and lengthened her hind legs as well. When she was done, she sat with her tail demurely curled before her.
Golden-furred Shon mimicked Aia's posture, but the swish of his tail gave away the truth of his budding excitement.
*JESSIRA!* he shouted, sounding overjoyed. He bounded forward and rubbed his head against her chest, almost knocking her off her feet.
Jessira laughed and rubbed at Shon's ears, forehead, and the corner of his mouth. The last had him trailing after her fingers with his head until he fell over on his side. He quickly stood up, and the entire sequence played out again.
Rukh watched all this with a smile before turning to approach Aia. The calico Kesarin who he had first met in the hills south of Ashoka switched her tail as he stepped closer. She leaned into his hand and rumbled.
*You're allowed to act like you enjoy it when I come to see you,* Rukh told her.
Aia sat back in confusion. *Why would you think I don't enjoy it?* she asked.
Rukh gestured to Jessira who sat on the ground and had Shon's great head in her lap as she rubbed vigorously at his chin. The tawny Kesarin had his neck arched and his eyes closed as he purred like thunder. *You're always so reserved now,* he said. *You were more like Shon when we first met. Even last summer.*
Aia laughed. *Would you like me to be more kittenish?* she asked. She mewled at him before falling over on her side and pawing ineffectually at the air. *Is that better?*
Rukh chuckled. *I think I prefer the noble version of you.*
Aia righted herself and sat on her belly. It was a thoughtful gesture, which Rukh appreciated since in this position her head was now no higher than his own. *I don't act like Shon because I am his older sister. I have to set an example for him.* she said, somehow sounding regal and self-effacing at the same time.
Rukh stared into her guileless eyes, but a slight widening of them told him that she wasn't being entirely truthful. *That's not true. When we're alone, you're . . . friskier,* he said. There was a moment of strained silence as Aia appeared to dismiss his explanation with a haughty raising of her chin. Rukh studied her for a moment before he broke out in a delighted grin. *You just don't want him to see you as anything other than his prim and proper sister. You like lording his immaturity over him.*
*Quiet,* Aia hissed. *Do you want him to hear you?*
Rukh laughed. Strangely, it was nice to see how alike Kesarins and Humans beha
ved toward their siblings. *He'll never learn your secret from me.* he promised the worried Kesarin.
*Do you promise?* Aia asked, still appearing concerned.
*I promise* Rukh replied, knowing how much this meant to her.
Aia seemed to study him for a moment before she smiled with a flicking of her ears and blinking of her eyes. She rubbed her forehead and the corners of her mouth against Rukh, purring when he rubbed her favorite spots: under her chin and the soft space just in front of her ears.
*Was there a reason you came back so soon?* Rukh asked, still rubbing Aia's chin.
*There are important matters we need to discuss,* the Kesarin said with a dissatisfied sigh.
*We can play some more if you like,* Rukh said. His lips twitched. *And when it grows dark, you can even stalk the lights and shadows from the firefly lamps.*
Aia sat back, appearing stricken. *You promised not to tell anyone.*
*And I won't,* Rukh said with a grin even as he tried to mollify the Kesarin. *I promised, remember?*
Aia rumbled her annoyance.
Shon sat up from Jessira's lap. *What's wrong?* he asked, mistaking Aia's rumble for concern or fear.
*Nothing,* Aia answered. Rukh tried to keep a straight face as she glowered at him. *We have to tell them what we learned.*
Shon stood up with a sigh. *Why is it that having a Human is so much work?*
Jessira patted him on the shoulder. *I'm sure you'll survive the few minutes of conversation that you'll have to engage in.*
Shon blinked at her. *Can work kill a Kesarin?* he asked in worry.
Jessira laughed. *No,* she replied. *Let me hear what Aia has to tell us, and then we'll go play in the sea.*
Her words seemed to perk the mood of the tawny Kesarin, who now wore a smile of anticipation.
*What happened?* Rukh asked.
*Li-Choke learned of a Human who lives in the Wildness and is protected by the Demon Wind Herself,* Aia explained. *He lives just north of our lands, surrounded by a great glaring of the Nocats, the Tigons.*
Rukh shared a look of surprise with Jessira. *Did Choke learn this person's name?*