Ska ran through the forest in a panic. He had been out in the deep hunting when he spotted something coming from out of the abyss. He fled immediately, knowing the creatures that dwelled within were well beyond his level. He ran to his village to gather up a war band to deal with the threat.

His graceful feline legs propelled him through the dense forest with ease, allowing him to speed through the underbrush and towards his village.

Ska burst through the final stretch of forest and into the village. He was stopped almost immediately when Ni'Sha stepped out to block his path, he was forced to come to a halt or run into the larger female.

"Ska... you return early and without a kill, why the hurry?" she said calmly, but her eyes bore into him, causing him to squirm like a newborn kit.

"I greet you Ni'Sha but my business is urgent. I was on a hunt when I spotted something coming from the abyss."

She hissed in denial, "that's not possible, the creatures are incapable of climbing the sheer walls."

"Still, something came out. We must gather a war band and deal with the threat before it finds us in the night."

Ska watched Ni'Sha flex her hands, causing her claws to extend and retract as she thought.

"Fine," she eventually stated, "but if you are wrong you will have lost my flame."

Ska gulped at this as he had tried hard for years to enamor himself with the feisty woman. Still, he did not relent.

Ni'Sha snorted but uncrossed her arms, heading into her hut to retrieve the caller. She returned a minute later with the long tube. She gave the item three quick blows, causing Ska to flick his ears in discomfort from the high pitched sound.

"The call has been sent, now we must wait and prepare."

Ska could already see other females and young unblooded males coming out from other huts to see what the call was about. Ska stepped aside and let Ni'Sha gather the village to explain what was happening.

"We gather the fighters to deal with a threat from the dark. Something has crawled its way out of the depths."

There was some soft growling at the news. When they had first been transported to this world some hunters had found the abyss and made their way down. Only one had returned, speaking of the evils from below. Since then any hunter near that area was asked to keep a lookout for anything escaping.

Soon the village was teeming with returned hunters. There were hisses of complaint as they were forced to wait for the rest to return before an explanation was given. They weren't forced to wait long as the rest rushed back to the village. As the hunters gathered, Ni'Sha stepped up to explain the situation.

The hunters acted predictably, hissing in alarm and worry. Some even roared in outrage, as much as a Grimalkin could roar. The few hunters that had spears waved them in anger. The weapon wasn't popular among the Grimalkin, well no weapon was really, other than their claws. It was difficult to hold weapons with their padded and fur-covered paws. Only those that practiced with them daily had been able to master them to some extent. There was also the fact that none of those were considered the top hunters of the pride.

After the posturing was done the hunters sprinted off, Ska in the lead.

***

Fiona raced back to alert Paul and Martin. She hadn't seen the beastkin in her initial search through the area, only spotting one as it rushed through a field. That wouldn't have been a concern for her as it was moving away but three more had followed it less than a minute later. Then she heard the roars in the distance, followed by the sounds of a large group getting closer.

"Paul, Martin, we have company coming!"

"Huh," I said, looking up from my repairs.

I had moved around to fix the back of the house. I reacted quickly, donning my armor and producing my staff from my ring. I heard Martin come running out the front door as I ran around the house.

"What's happening?" Martin asked.

"There is a large group of feline beastkin heading this way. They sounded angry about something."

"Shit, hows the power level on the pedestal look, Martin?"

"Barely over seven hundred."

"Well, we can't leave then, that would only take us half a mile with the cost to elevate the house," I added.

It was too late anyway, I could already hear the large group closing in. It wasn't more than thirty seconds later that a large group of beastkin ran out from the forest into our little clearing. The three of us stood near the front of the house, weapons at the ready. Even from a distance, I could see their lithe bodies. Standing at around five and a half feet tall they were more reminiscent of a leopard or cheetah than a lion or tiger.

They didn't have the same markings as the earth creatures though, sporting more nuanced color gradients that seemed to blend with the forest. Other than a few straps and a loincloth, they were nude other than the fur. A few held crude spears, pointing them our way.

The group of twenty stopped, seeming confused at our appearance.

"Humans... why are you here?" one of them hissed out.

"I could ask you the same," I said, eying the group.

The creature hissed in annoyance and took a step forward, flexing his claws. He pointed towards the house.

"That's what I saw coming from the abyss, they came from the dark."

I watched as some flicked their ears in confusion.

"I think you need to check your eyes, I built this house here," I said, bullshitting hard.

It seemed that the hunters weren't in agreement as they argued quietly. A sharp hiss brought them to silence. The one that led them stepped forward again.

"You lie..."

I shrugged, staring hard at the creature. "And if I did, what does it matter?"

"It matters...," he growled, "because, you came from the abyss. You could have brought one of the creatures from below with you."

"Do you see any creatures here?" I asked, gesturing around the clearing.

"Not now, but you could have released them into the woods."

"Why would I work with something that wanted to kill me? The answer is I wouldn't."

"You lied once, you would lie again human."

"I don't have time for this. Fight or leave," I said, getting angry.

That seemed to set the leader off as he launched himself at me. I noticed the others stayed back to watch. Hell, he wants a fight he can have it.

With a mewling roar, he pounced at me. I noted that he was significantly faster than me.

I managed to block one of his claws as the other scraped across my shield. I used his momentary surprise to kick him right in the balls. The high-pitched mewl of pain gave me time to smash my fist into his face, causing the cat to stagger backward.

I used the time to reposition and use Identify.

Ska | Grimalkin Hunter | Level 14

Ska brushed the blood from his nose with his paw, looking at it, before looking back at me.

"Insolent human, you will pay for blooding me!"

I smiled, I could have easily dealt with this testosterone-riddled fool using magic but it had been a long time since I had a good brawl.

"Hollow words, come at me ya overgrown cat."

Ska readied to leap at me again and I readied myself for him to launch at my upper torso. Instead, he launched himself low. The move surprised me as he knocked me from my feet. My staff flew from my hand as I landed hard. I felt his sharp claws rip jagged rents across the back of my legs. I screamed more in anger than pain as we fell to the ground.

I smashed my fist into Ska's head, trying to dislodge the hunter. The punch caused him to hiss but he retaliated by latching onto my knee with his jaw. Now I screamed in pain.

I heard a feral laugh as I saw him release my knee with a bloody maw and eye something much more important.

"Oh fuck no!"

Now I had learned a lot of dirty fighting techniques during my time as a slave. My favorite was the ol ear clap. Before Ska could latch his jaw on something more sensitive I smashed my open palms against the cat-like ears.

He shrieked in pain, releasing his grip around my legs. He used one arm to try and lever himself off the ground while he tried to relieve the pain with his other.

I kicked his arm out from under him and used my other leg to knee him in the chin. Unfortunately, that was the same knee he had just bit into and I howled and rolled off to the side grabbing my wounded leg.

I decided I suffered enough pain, using Rejuvenate. The pain was dulled as the wounds started to close and I managed to hop to my feet. It was more than I could say for Ska. The grimalkin was moaning on the ground, holding his ears.

Even though the fight had been quick and bloody I hadn't taken all that much damage health-wise. The other grimalkin hadn't so much as moved since the fight began. I turned to look back, Martin was still there and Fiona was staying hidden.

"Are we done here?" I asked, spitting out some dirt.

The other grimalkin talked amongst themselves before one asked.

"You are certain that nothing followed you out of the abyss?"

"Yes, I'm certain."

"Then we are done," the other grimalkin said, looking at Ska. "Foolish kit, spouting baseless rumors to impress a female. She will hear of this travesty."

After that proclamation, they turned around and headed back into the forest, leaving Ska to pitifully moan on the ground. I had work to do and didn't feel like listening to his moaning so I cast Healing Touch on him. Then I stored my staff and headed back to finish my work.

***

After the pain receded, Ska got off the ground and fled back into the forest in shame. He could explain this to Ni'Sha, he just needed to get there before the other hunters.

Ska hissed in pain as Ni'Sha threw him to the ground.

"I warned you what would happen, and to top it off you were bested in single combat... by a human. How could I ever mate with something so pathetic?" she spit vehemently.

"But Ni'Sha..."

"Don't but Ni'Sha me, leave before I am forced to make you."

Ska didn't need to be told twice, running back into the forest with his tail tucked between his legs.

***

I was finishing up the repairs on the back porch when Martin came out, Fiona had gone back to scouting.

"You have a visitor," he said coyly.

"Huh... who?"

"Go see, I'm going back to filling the gem."

"Ugh, fine," I replied, standing up and brushing the dirt off my clothes.

I walked around to the front of the house and saw one of the grimalkin standing there. It took me a few seconds to realize it was Ska. His ears were flattened against his head, he was hunched over, and his tail was tucked between his legs.

I didn't own cats before the system but I could recognize the signs of distress.

"Ska, I thought we already settled this?"

He looked up, finally noticing my approach. "Human, I... I wish to ask something of you," he said, forcing the words out.

"Um, ok."

"May I join your pride?"

"Huh..." I replied blankly.

"Your pride, group, family, whatever it is you humans call it."

"Um... why?" I asked, extremely confused at his request. I had, after all, just beaten the cat senseless.

Ska clenched his paws before replying. "Because of my defeat in single combat and my mistake about the abyss, I have been kicked from my pride."

"But why is that my problem, why not just go solo?"

"I cannot... grimalkin do not fare well alone. After no more than a week alone our minds revert back to their bestial state and I would lose everything that makes me, me."

"Sounds awful," I replied coldly, "and what would you do if I said no?"

Ska turned his head to look in the direction of the abyss as they called it.

"I would choose the manner of my death before that happened."

I honestly didn't know what to think. I had no reason to trust Ska and the only thing I knew about him was he was quick to temper.

"So... you want me... to just accept you? Why?"

"It is true, our initial meeting was... problematic. But I can pledge my life to you and you will never have to worry about me," Ska replied, going to his knees.

I had to stop him. "No, stop, that sounds like voluntary slavery."

"Not slave, life partner," he added.

"That's not any better," I mumbled.

Ska hissed, "I would do nothing against you but if you asked me to do something against my beliefs I would refuse, that is the difference."

I chewed my lip in thought for a bit. "Fiona, what do you think?" I asked, having seen her return.

"He seems sincere," she replied from behind Ska.

The Grimalkin whirled in surprise, flipping a complete one-eighty while kneeling on the ground. It was an impressive display of acrobatics.

His eyes darted from side to side trying to find her. He let out a startled hiss when Fiona finally materialized.

"You have a spirit companion?" he asked in astonishment.

"She's a friend. Fiona, can you keep Ska company while I go speak with Martin?"

"I would be delighted," she replied, floating around, while Ska tracked her.

I shook my head and headed inside.

"Oh hey, Paul, our guest leave?"

"No, he wants to join me or us," I said with a shrug.

"Why?" Martin asked in confusion.

"He got kicked out of his pride. It was partially his fault and partially mine."

"How so... oh you mean because you beat him in combat?"

"Yup."

"Hmm... well, he seemed like a decent fighter. Bit of a hothead but he did manage to wound you and that isn't easy. That and we could use another person to watch the house and help with security. That would also give Fiona a break for a bit."

I rubbed my chin, "so you're for him joining?"

"It's your call, this is your house. But I think the three of us can keep him in line."

I blew out a breath, "alright, I'll go let Ska know."

Most of the stuff Martin had brought up was stuff I had been thinking about. Especially someone else to patrol around the house and alert us to danger. Fiona was great but she sometimes took on too much. I suspected it was an aspect of the kind of specter she was.

As I stepped outside, I saw that Fiona and Ska were having a conversation. It seemed to stop as I was spotted. If it was important she would tell me about it later.

"Alright, Ska... you can join," I said, the grimalkin's posture almost immediately changing at these words, "but, none of this life debt bullshit. The three of us are friends and you will be a friend as well. Respect us and we will respect you. That's all I ask."

While I let Ska join, I didn't fully trust him. I had been burned too many times in the past. He would have to earn my trust if he wanted to stick around.

"Ska understands, I will endeavor to learn your ways."

"Oh, and you need to get a handle on your anger issues."

Ska hissed, but it didn't sound like an angry hiss, "I will try, it is always a struggle for the Grimalkin to step farther from our animalistic roots."

"That's all I ask. Now, I have work to finish up. Fiona was patrolling around to make sure nothing surprised or attacked us. Can you take over for her until nightfall?"

"Yes... but there are no dangerous creatures near here, other than in the abyss. Still, I will be vigilant," he replied, dashing off into the forest with grace only a feline could manage.

"I always wanted a cat," Fiona said jokingly.

I rolled my eyes, "please keep an eye on him, if he proves to be competent, come back and rest."

She left with a parting smile.

'What a motley band we were,' I thought.