A New Path

by Xander Jade

"Mom. What’s going on?"

  "Hold on and let me get your father," Mom stated as she went the front of the house.

  "Hey bud! I’m so glad you’re awake," Dad stated as he patted my arm. "You gave us quite the scare."

  "What’s the last thing you remember?" Mom asked.

  "Wade was helping me back to the village after our outing in the woods."

  "Well, that was 4 days ago," Mom said as she held my hand.

  "What?!!" I gasped.

  "Your wounds got infected from the alpha, it evidently was either poisoned or infected with some kind of disease. You developed blood poisoning or scepticemia. From what we gathered from Wade and Olivia you were lying in its blood when you killed it, so with the blood going straight into your wounds and orifices, it sped up the process and I had a tough time getting it out," Mom stated with tears in her eyes. "We almost lost you because your fever was so high."

  Lying flat on the bed I tried maneuvering myself to get comfortable but couldn’t because of my injuries.

  "Lay still. The sutures are still in and your wounds aren’t healed yet," Mom calmly said while making sure I wasn’t moving.

  "How long?" I asked not wanting to just lay there.

  "Until they are healed," Mom said while she was staring at me with that look that said I better not disobey her.

  "Okay mom," I replied defeated.

  I looked down and found the cub was snuggled up against me, purring as I started petting him. He woke up and licked my hand.

  "He has been by your side the whole time and wouldn’t let anybody take him away," Mom stated

  I chuckled at that statement and kept snuggling with the cub.

  "What are you going to name him?" Dad asked while grinning.

  "Reaper," I replied and both chuckled as they left my room.

  I watched and observed the cub as he played with the blanket around me. I never would have dreamed that one of the rare cats would somehow be in my life, and at that moment wondered how much my life would change.

  Reaching out to pick up the cub, being careful of my injured body, I looked him over for any injuries or cuts but didn’t find any. I looked up to find him looking straight in my eyes and something mysterious happened, a strange twinge went through my head for a second and it went away just as quick. I shook my head a couple of times trying to get the sudden ache to go away. Reaper wanted down off the bed, so I carefully put him on the ground, and he went straight for my sandals, growling. Then all of a sudden I started to hear something in my mind, a noise that sounded like a child talking.

  "….mine now!!!"

  "Grrrrrr!" Reaper picked up a boot and slung it to the other side of the room. He jumped and pounced on it. My mouth gaped open trying to figure out what was going on. I just laid there dumbstruck when my mom came in to check my bandages and offer me some food.

  "Mom?"

  "Yes?" Mom asked with a brow raised.

  "Umm… nothing," I replied not wanting to sound crazy about asking her about hearing Reaper’s voice.

  "Here is some breakfast for you," mom said as she handed me the plate of food. I saw Reaper perk up when he smelled the food.

  "Mmmmm… Hungry!" Reaper growled as he ran and jumped on the bed. Mom laughed as he started sniffing at my food. She pet him and told him she would go get him something. I started eating while looking at the cub in front of me.

  "Hey buddy, can you understand me?"

  "Yeah," he said

  "How is that possible?"

  He moved his shoulder in a way that looked like he shrugged and went back to waiting for his food. Soon mom came back and put it on the ground for him. He jumped down and started munching on his food like he was starving. After thinking about it, I assumed he probably hasn’t eaten well since the incident with his mother. I somehow felt his emotions too and was at the moment content and full, but also upset and agitated. I would also be distraught if my mom was gone.

  "Yummy…"

  I laughed and went back to feeding my empty stomach when I heard some noise out front.

  "Max, you have some visitors," mom yelled out from the front of the house.

  "Send them back," I said as Wade and Liv came into view with relief on their faces.

  "Man it’s good to see you awake!!" Wade said as he came up to the bed.

  "How are you feeling?" Liv said

  "Umm… very sore."

  "Hmmm… and you look like crap," Wade laughed.

  "Thanks," I stated flatly.

  "I’m just kidding," Wade said as he looked at Reaper eating. "Are you going to keep him?"

  "I was thinking about it."

  "He is so cute. Can I pet him?" Liv asked excitedly.

  "Sure," I chuckled as she walked over where Reaper was and crouched, asking him if she could pet him. He looked up at me like he was asking if she was safe or not. I nodded as he walked to Liv and started purring when she gushed over him. Looking up I saw Wade staring at me in an odd manner.

  "What?" I asked

  "Nothing," he said while still giving me a confused look.

  "So, how long are you out?" Wade asked.

  "Until General Fira lets me out," I stated with a huff and roll of the eyes.

  He laughed and stated it was in my best interest to obey that order. I looked at Liv laughing and playing with Reaper, they were in there own little world at the moment when Wade cleared his throat.

  "Please don’t do anything foolish like that again," he whispered as I looked at his concerned eyes and nodded.

  "What are you guys doing today?"

  "We were just out to see if you were up yet. Then checking in with Liv’s dad to see if he needed some help. I’m caught up at the shop with my chores," he stated.

  "Okay. I’m going to be fidgety for a while since I can’t move around much. I’ll probably be studying with my mom, if you guys need me."

  "Sure. We better get going Liv," Wade suggested watching the pair still playing together.

  She came over and spoke out as she patted my arm, "Ok. Take care of yourself and your new roommate." I laughed and nodded as they left.

  As weeks went by I healed and got stronger, Reaper was growing too. I learned many things from my mother through those months, she was a very good teacher. When getting to the point that I could run without wincing, my father took it upon himself to resume teaching me with blades.

  "Why are you going to teach me on the blades that I don’t use?"

  "It’s always better to know how to handle yourself with any kind of weapon that you can handle," he stated with emphasis. "What do you think the outcome would have been in your altercation if you had throwing knives? Mace or an axe? A long bow or even a crossbow?"

  "I’m not sure," I replied to him while sulking. "Probably better than the outcome I had."

  "Exactly. So today and until the near future, you will train with weapons that you can handle and use efficiently," he responded cheerfully.

  "Yes sir," I saluted.

  "This is not a joke, son. There will come a day when you set out on your own or find yourself in a bad situation. You will know what to do when that time comes," he firmly admonished and continued sternly, "Now, it’s time to start building strength and character. I want you to start working with me at the shop. You will learn to repair armor and equipment. It may be something as ordinary as a horseshoe but you will be able to repair them efficiently.

  Chapter Three

  My days in the shop at first were boring and hot, but as the time went by it became a challenge. My dad ingrained in my brain to be the first one there to fire up the forge and keep it hot, no matter the situation. My thoughts about that were good and bad, but decided to keep those opinions to myself. I learned how to repair small items in the beginning, from horse shoes to shovels and pick axes. We had customers come in and state what they wanted and one in particular bellowed they needed the work done the same day. Of course my dad advised we would do our best to accomplish the task. The peacock dre
ssed looking man didn’t like that statement.

  "Do you not know who I am?" The nobleman sneered.

  "No sir, but I’m sure you’re going to tell me," my dad responded flatly.

  "I am Barric Caldwell, son of Lord Alston Caldwell," he bellowed, spittle coming out of his mouth and some even landed on my father.

  I smiled to myself wondering what dad was going to do in this situation. I didn’t recall a Lord Caldwell in the kingdom, but then again I never cared to delve into the politics of the kingdom since I was a commoner. For some reason the nobles turn their noses up on us and think we are gutter trash.

  "Okay Lord Barric, just because you are a nobleman I can’t just put you in the front of the line," Dad said wiping spit off his tunic.

  "I can make you live in poverty for the rest of your life," Barric snarled.

  "Look around you sir and tell me what you see," dad stated in a calm manner. "I am a blacksmith in my village. I’m not saying that it makes me wealthy to your standards, but I am an honest man that does honest work."

  "Does it look like I care what you do in this dump of a village?" Barric replied angrily, throwing his arms up in frustration. "I am from Swangrove and you are a dime a dozen."

  "My apologies Lord Barric, that our village doesn’t live up to your expectations. If we are a dime a dozen then you can go back to Swangrove and get your repairs done. Good day to you," Dad stated evenly as he walked back into the forge, but the nobleman was frantic and worried.

  "I can’t go back to Swangrove. I am supposed to meet with Lord Blakely by nightfall!!" Barric hurriedly responded.

  "What exactly are you needing repaired sir?" I asked, wanting to get this idiot out of my sight.

  "I need the shoes on my horse repaired. He is riding with a limp," he responded, gritting his teeth.

  "Let’s have a look to see how badly the situation is," Dad suggested as we walked out to look at the horse. We came upon the creature and noticed right off that it was worse than the moron advised. "It definitely needs some work, you’re lucky the horse didn’t break something. Look, the leg is starting to swell," dad stated, pointing out that the animal was in pain.

  "I told you I need some repairs!!" Barric bellowed at my father again angrily.

  "No, you demanded service to be done right now," Dad steadily replied to the nobleman.

  "Please, I need to be going, swiftly," he pleaded with the annoying blacksmith. He was a noble, who did this commoner think he is?

  "What do you think son?" Dad asked me, which surprised both of us.

  "What are you asking him for?" Barric sneered.

  "He is going to make the decision to help you or not," Dad replied in a monotone.

  "What?" He gasped not wanting to wait.

  I thought about the issue and situation for some time. A nobleman in our shop can be construed as good or bad, so we need to get this altercation handled quickly.

  "Let’s do it so he can be on his way," I said looking at Lord Barric.

  Dad chuckled and went to get his tools. We got the work done but not as quickly as we hoped.

  "Thank you," Lord Barric stated to my dad like it was a foreign phrase to him, handing him payment.

  "Don’t thank me. Thank my son. He made the decision to help you."

  "Thank you lad. If you are ever in Swangrove let me know," Barric said.

  I nodded at the Lord as he was riding away, thinking about the situation we were just in, and was confused with dad letting me make the decision.

  "You’re growing up son," dad smiled and patted me on the shoulder. "You will be making decisions like this for the rest of your life. I was letting you know what is expected to be honorable. I’m proud of you son, helping the horse was the right decision."

  "Umm… I was just trying to get him out of the shop," I stated sheepishly.

  "That’s okay. It was still the right decision," he chuckled.

  For the rest of the day it was quiet and we got numerous projects done. I was finishing the day and asked the question that has been bothering me all day.

  "Are all nobles so demeaning and obnoxious?

  "Not all but most. Some are friendly and have proper etiquette," he stated.

  "Let’s hope the next one that comes by is a little friendlier."

  We closed up shop for the day and walked home. I saw Reaper in the yard by the house playing with mom, he perked up when they noticed us coming down the road, and after a few moments he sprinted to us and jumped in my arms. The couple of months that I had taken to heal, Reaper took it upon himself to be mom’s helper. He was growing up fast, already at least 3 ft. long and weighs about 30 pounds. His orange body was covered in black stripes, his yellow eyes were glowing with intelligence, and his paws were almost as big as my hands. Siba’s are full grown after 3 years of age. That means he is going to be huge.

  "Hey buddy, helping mom with the garden?" I asked while scratching his head. Our bond was growing but he wasn’t talking much, just sending emotions to me. I still haven’t told anyone of our bond and really needed to talk to mom about that, but haven’t felt right discussing it. I didn’t want to be labeled crazy or a loon. Dropping him, we ran up to the house for dinner since mom had it ready for us. Our family ate and talked about our day and when dad brought up the noble, we had a good laugh, but mom didn’t think it was funny though, she was worried about the horse’s health.

  During those days it was great fun and adventurous, Reaper and I would go out into the woods exploring and to collect the herbs mom needed. We would run around and chase each other, sometimes Wade and Liv would join us though mom was strict to a certain distance from the village. She was still concerned for us even though it’s been months since the incident. One of those times that Reap and I were out, my dad showed up to discuss hunting.

  "Max, you and Reap need to start hunting together. His instincts will start showing sooner or later. Better to be prepared and proficient in hunting and gathering when the time comes that you set out on your own."

  "How do you know I will leave the village?"

  "You forget Max that I know your dreams and ambitions. We all have them, but yours will take you away from here." He stated cryptically.

  "What makes you think that will happen?"

  "It’s just a gut feeling that I have. Once you are ready; we will have a discussion about this so don’t ask more about it."

  "Okay Dad, I’ll trust you," I reacted, confused about the last statement.

  "Tomorrow we will start training with the bow and then daggers," he advised with no hint of joking. "When you get proficient then we will move to swords and staffs,"

  "Why now? Why are you wanting to train me?"

  "Because I want you to be ready for anything when the time comes."

  Chapter Four

  The next day started out normally, Reap and I went to the forge and started getting ready for the day. When the work was done we went to the back of the shop, Dad was there with a bow and quiver. He had setup some targets at different locations and lengths.

  "Alright son, we will start out with the short bow and eventually you will use the long bow. Here take it and get familiar with it," he said handing me the bow.

  I took it and started pulling back on the string to see it wasn’t easy. My strength still hasn’t come back from my injuries. Dad saw this and stated, "We will need to build up your strength and agility."

  Yeah, no kidding, I thought still confused why dad is in this mind set. So I practiced with the bow for the rest of the day. It was slow going from the start, missing the entire target or barely hitting it, but dad had me practice every day. He then had Wade come in and practice with me. After what felt like forever, in reality was a couple weeks, I could hit the center of the target. Dad came by and saw the progress and told me good job. Then he handed me a long bow and walked off. Three weeks later, I was able to hit targets at a fair distance away. The next day dad took the bow away gave me a dagger that he made, it was very lig
ht and sharp.

  "It’s time to learn the dagger. The most important thing to remember is that daggers are made for close combat. We will go over all the techniques that I know."

  "When did you learn all this?" I asked, hoping to find out why he was doing this.

  He smiled and shrugged like that was all the answer I needed. There is evidently parts of my family’s lives that I knew nothing about. We went over the techniques and started with light sparring. A couple weeks went by before finally I was able to score a hit on dad. Of course we were using practice sticks. Didn’t want to end up with scars over our bodies, actually it was just for my benefit.

  "Good, Max, but one hit won’t win the fight unless you score a fatal one. Now, let’s go again."

  Another couple of weeks went by and I was beginning to get numerous hits in and winning the bouts. One morning while coming back from getting some herbs for mom, I saw dad talking to someone I’ve never seen. He was dressed in brown trousers and a green tunic, the stranger had some light armor on, and a bow on his back.

  "Ah, Max there you are. Come over here, I want you to meet someone," Dad said.

  We walked over and shook hands with the gentleman. "Max, this is Will, he is a ranger in the king’s army and also a good friend of mine."

  "Nice to meet you, sir."

  "Very nice to meet you, Max," replied the ranger as he shook my hand.

  "Max, Will is going to take up your training for a few weeks. He’s in town on some other business but has agreed to help you."

  "Umm… why?"

  "He is going to teach you the right way to hunt and how to survive on your own," Dad calmly stated.

  "Okay… Can Reaper come with us?" I asked.

  "Who’s Reaper?"

  "He’s Max’s siba," Dad said.

  "What? He has a siba?!" Will gasped out, startled with this information.

  "Ha, that he does," Dad chuckled.

  "Why… Who… How can that be?" Will stammered.

  "That story will have to wait, but let’s go meet him."

  We left the shop and headed home to get my gear, and as we came up the road Reaper saw us. He ran down the road toward us and leaped, knocking me over while licking and purring. I laughed and started chasing him around the garden.