Kine looked on at the enigmatic young Myath before him. The tragedy of her young life left him silent and saddened. He knew his inner circle felt the same outrage for what she had experienced for he had selected them carefully. They, like him, couldn’t help but want to comfort her after hearing her talk. No doubt there were many stories like hers yet the way she spoke about it, an odd mix of bold confidence and vulnerability... She deserved justice. Her whole family did. Kine knew the plight of the Myath was dire and never approved of it but he had always assumed it was all rather impersonal. How could anyone, especially an Icanthie, do such things… to kin!?

Looking around at his closest people, friends as well as loyal guards, Kine knew that each member of his elite guard agreed then and there, this was the right decision. Under his guardianship, she would be safe, they both would. This little Myath was like nothing anyone he had ever met before. He could admit to himself that, despite his vague disapproval of persecuting any minority, he rarely gave consideration to the pariah of his world but, when he did, they were often a nuisance that he wanted to see the back of more than anything else. He was always kind to them, but they were not his. They had no place and he didn't understand how they fit. Any he had met were usually miserable and gave off fear and desperation that you couldn’t help but pity. He didn’t hate the Myath but they were like permanent children, they couldn’t achieve maturity so what could they do? What role, what value could they give? He was not heartless, so, when he could, he would ignore their camps on his lands but many of the House Heads did not.

Talking now with Sierra, he could see that much of his thinking on the matter was inherited from his elders and teachers but, he didn't really have his own opinion. He never spent enough time to form one. This brave young Myath was making him realise that, perhaps there was a great deal he didn't know...

His men respected him as a Warrior and he trusted them all. He could see they too were intrigued by the tragic figure before them. Sierra had suffered so much and yet still fought for her kin. He wondered if she fought for herself half as much. His men were just as outraged as he was at the treatment her mother suffered. For one of his people to be treated this way, let alone by her own kin. Something was seriously wrong in House Kuthar. And he had to wonder if House Greer was involved to. He hoped not for he had always respected them. Lady Feenya was a well known mystery among the Icanthie and many were surprised and confused at her sudden mating to the heir of House Greer.

Kine sighed. The story they had just heard was of serious concern. And he felt the pain of the cubs before him. He wasn't sure, but Sierra seemed like the right age to go through maturity, if she were Icanthie. He had sworn to protect them, for there was no doubt that they must return to the capital with him. House Greer would want access to their cub and he had no doubt that Sierra was in danger, both as a Myath and someone who held many secrets. She would be central in cleaning up House Kuthar but Kine acknowledged that there was something more, he felt a tentative bond with the small figure before him. He couldn’t trace the source of the bond or fathom how it could be there unless she triggered a latent protective parental instinct to a traumatised cub. Whatever it was, he wanted to understand it.

He perceived Sierra was closing herself off in the aftermath of such a vulnerable revelation and sought to distract her. After all, she must be used to being strong and capable. He thought back to her tale.

“You believe your parents were True Mates Sierra?”

***

I was still trying to regain my composure when his question startled me. I’d almost forgotten my audience. Glancing around self-consciously, I was surprised to see kindness on their faces… as much as a feline face can convey kindness. If you ever see the toothy grin of the Feline Form, its bound to be somewhat intimidating. Not that they were grinning, but I could see an almost gentle compassion to their expressions.

“Yes. I know they were.”

It was as simple as that. I’d never doubted the bond Mum and Dad shared. But true mates were so rare among the races, no one ever thought it was possible among the Myath. I’d bet no one had ever even considered it.

“Dad always struggled when he was separated from Mum, but at least he knew he could still see her. It was a huge risk but it was possible. When she died in his arms, he knew he’d never be able to hold her again or speak with her, or just be together. He couldn’t live with that. And believe me, he tried. I was surprised he lived as long as he did. It was so difficult watching him die for eight long weeks. Because that’s what it was. For eight weeks, we travelled, we began Seths’ training, worked, but he wasn’t living. He let me handle almost everything, preparing me. Kind of like he knew... he wasn’t eating, or sleeping much and, despite the danger, we’d always return here, where she was buried in the Icanthie fashion. True mates don’t survive long without each other.”

I didn’t expect them to understand, most Courtier matings were political anyway and I was pretty sure that few, if any of them, had encountered a True Mate pairing. But Kine seemed to understand. He’d watched me attentively ever since we’d met and it seemed he’d decided to believe me. It felt weird. For so long, I’d had to be wary of everyone I met. I’d had to fear for my family, our safety... I don’t think I know how to trust anymore. Not since Dad died. No one but my family had ever accepted me. All of me. I kept trying to figure out. How did this benefit him? What is his angle?... Who is he?

“I’m sorry you lost them Sierra. Kin is everything and when we lose them, there is a raw, aching chasm that never quite leaves you.” The sadness in Kine’s voice was evident though none of his body language betrayed his feelings. He had such control. I admired that. I wish I had such control. He unfolded himself and stood before me, waiting. I pushed up, uncrossing my legs, and stood, gently shaking out the threatening cramps that tightened my calves. He caught my eyes with his and I stood straighter, projecting confidence. Something in his eyes made me believe he was genuine. I wanted to trust him no matter how hard I tried to fight it. Something sparked in his eyes, and he seemed to come to a decision.

“May all here bear witness, I Kine of house Den, King of the lcanthie, take as my ward Sierra of house Kuthar. As such, she and her Legarian, Sethairoth of House Greer, are under my guardianship. They are mine to guide, protect and care for... my kin.”

I felt my eyes grow wide and my mouth dropped nearly to the floor. To say I was surprised was like saying the surface of the sun was a bit warm... He was the king. King!!

It seemed that his men were almost as stunned as me. When no acknowledgement was forthcoming, Kine’s face darkened and his eyes glinted with his cats ferocity. “Any objections?” he almost growled.

Rather than jump into obedience, as I expected, each of his men looked their King in the eye and one by one, lowered their heads in a nod. As one, they shifted to their Warrior forms, sank to a single knee and snapped out the traditional salute, claws out ready to fight, right arm parallel to the ground at nose level, eyes fixed on the King.

***

The tension left Kine’s face as his most trusted men chose to accept her as he did. No words were needed, they all understood. She was now royalty and would be protected. Kine nodded his thanks. Turning he addressed the fierce, mistrustful young woman he had adopted. She seemed… dazed. His face softened.

“Sierra? Are you happy with this? You have no objections?”

“I… I accept Your Majesty. Thank you.” She stuttered. Kine grinned. He was truly happy she had accepted him… and relieved.

“Good. I will protect you Sierra. Both of you.” He made sure she saw his resolve in his eyes. “But you have a choice to make...” Her face suddenly became almost blank, neutral and Kine knew he was on rocky ground. “I have to take Seth, I have no choice. He is Icanthie and your life among the Myath is not safe. In addition, despite your rights as his legari, his father has rights too and will most likely fight for more. Your position as my ward will help but so would living in The Capital where they cannot claim your position endangers or deprives him. I will not force you to leave your people. But I must take the boy. Do you understand your choices?”

Kine watched as she slowly nodded, eyes darting rapidly with her thoughts. Already he knew how protective she was of her kin, it was evident in every word, look and touch. So what was the delay? Was it her fear or was there something that held her back??

Finally she gave her answer. “I will accompany my brother and accept your House as my own...” she paused before finishing. “Thank you.”

Kine nodded with relief, a smile warming his face. “Thane, Kaylor.” He called over two of the warrior guard. “Sierra, these are my right-hand warriors. They will always be available to you, should you need them.”

Sierra nodded to each warrior. Turning to Kine, she said “As long as they are willing.” Each man smiled at her. Kine knew they would protect her for his sake but he suspected that, before long, she would win their loyalty herself. They already felt protective of her considering all she had been through.

“Thane, are we almost ready to return to the capital?” Kine turned to his men, knowing that Sierra needed time to absorb this turn of events.

“Yes Kine. The clean-up is almost finished. I’ll have the men shift and perhaps, one of the pods readied.” He eyed Seth and Sierra. They would not be able to travel as fast as the warriors in Feline form.

Kine nodded. “Thank you Thane.” Sierra remained quiet.

***

Stunned. I’m just stunned. What just happened? I didn’t know what to expect but it wasn’t that! I’ve always tried to keep judgement out of all my dealings, because being judgemental causes bias and past experiences can creep in and colour the truth. But I’m not always successful. I’ve seen the best and the worst from Pures and Myath alike and sadly, the worst seems to be more prevalent. I’m so happy that this time, I saw some of the best.

Ugh, no time. I had no time to process this. Could I trust him?... Not completely. But enough. Enough to know that he won’t hurt or separate Seth or I. That’s all that mattered for now. He seemed honourable, I believe he’ll honour his oath and allow me to honour mine to my Mum. There was something about him, about his scent… it calmed me. It felt familiar. Always trust your nose. Almost everyone underestimates their instincts, we all put so much significance on thinking, but instincts are fed by your senses, whether you recognise it or not.

Decision made, I now had a lot to do before we could leave. I stood and carried Seth forward. “Your Majesty” I called. He had been watching me as he made plans so it was easy to get his attention. “If you intend for us to go with you now, I need to pack and organise some things.” Although it was a statement, there was a hint of questioning in my voice. He said he would protect us but could he really intend to take us to The Capital, to his court? My goodness, he was the King of the Icanthie... This was so surreal.

Kine smiled, his incisors peeking out. “Sierra, you are officially my ward. We’re kin, so you can call me Kine. I’d like it if you always called me familiarly. If you wish to.” He added as an after thought. I nodded shyly. It was hard to think of him as royalty. He seemed so down to earth. He grinned happily then seemed to remember my question. “Of course you will come with us. It will be best for the situation with Seth and House Greer as well as your safety. You will probably need to testify against House Kuthar at some point too.”

I nod but say nothing. It wasn’t easy to suddenly be at the heart of everything we had been avoiding. It was easier to just focus on the present. For now that meant packing. Seth wiggled to get down so I placed him on his feet and watched him scamper down the hill, I followed and Kine flicked his tail at his entourage. As one, the group began to move off down towards the village. It was just another reminder of how well trained and powerful these warriors were. Kine fell in beside me as I kept an eye on Seth.

The village was busy. It looked like they would be moving on soon. Things moved swiftly. The prisoner had been dealt with and the warriors were busy checking their equipment and security after the mad dash that brought them here. I went straight to our little shelter and began the short process of dismantling it. We didn’t have many possessions, just basic clothes, two pillows, a large quilt and a home made blanket. Seth had some toys, though not many, and we had some small equipment. We didn’t bother to grow any structures because they would make it obvious that we had been there and you couldn’t uproot them to travel with you. Food was always a communal effort and it wasn’t safe to keep records. Everything was in our memories. Our whole community was about secrecy and the ability to pack everything up and be gone as quick as possible. This time was more leisurely but that wasn’t the norm.

Once everything inside was packed up, I collapsed the shelter and added it to the travel bag. When I was happy everything was done, I went around to my neighbours and helped them with their packing. It was a part of our community, we helped one another with anything we could. It also helped me touch base with everyone. It had been an unusual day for us all.

I spotted one of the Myath leaders and made my way to her. “Namada! Are you alright?”

She smiled as she looked up and saw me approach, relief clear in her eyes. Seth tumbled along beside me, playing with four other cubs and pups.

“Sierra. Good. We weren’t sure what had happened to you both.” She smiled down and the young ones playing around us, practically melting into a gooey mess. Namada always loved kids and had made sure Seth never felt awkward being a pure blood among Myath. “We’re all fine.”

I sighed with relief. “I’m just thankful it didn’t turn out to be a hunt”. I hadn’t realised that I still didn't quite trust that the Icanthie had been restrained in their pursuit. I had seen hunts before.

Many of the races had hunts. The flood of Human refugees into the various kingdoms was approaching epidemic proportions and they were now seen as pests. They were a drain on resources and presented a security threat as many Human factions were openly resentful of non-humans. Some Kingdoms had refugee camps or some provision if asylum is sought but mostly Humans were not favoured so they simply intruded. Not that I blame them, considering the state of the Human Kingdom. My contacts said it was getting worse all the time.

The governing bodies of the Kingdoms felt that, to keep the populace happy and safe, the hunts were necessary to “be rid of the problem”. Not that many cared how brutal it was. Humans had been despised and excluded ever since the near disaster and many secretly thought that their planet would be better off if the Humans disappeared. And so, over time, hunts had simply become… accepted.

I shook off my thoughts and focused on my goal. I had a lot to organise and very little time. “I’m glad everyone’s okay.” I had a quick look around for alert ears. “Namada, can you get a message to all my friends?”

Namada frowned a little and looked to my belongings. It was understandable that she was concerned. Seth and I had only rejoined her group recently and, under normal circumstances, it would be odd that we were leaving again so soon. Though it wasn't unheard of.

“All of them Sierra?” I nodded. “Do you think this incident warrants that? It doesn’t really affect any other group.”

“No, you’re right that this is a minor incident. But it has led to a rather large issue for Seth and I.” Namada looked questioningly at me, true worry creeping into her expression. “The leader of this group is a member of a prominent House. He knew my mother and when he found Seth and I up on the hill, he found out about my parents and decided to extended guardianship to me...”

The look on Namada’s face was horrified. Very few people knew the truth of what had happened to my family but Namada knew enough.

“Sierra. You can’t possibly go to The Capital. It’s not safe for you. You or Seth. Can’t you run? You’ve eluded them this long.”

I shook my head. “Namada, they won’t let us. It’s not just me, Seth’s kin want him back and this leader can’t know this and just let us walk away. I don’t mind going, I believe he will honour his word and keep us safe. He was horrified at what happened to Mum. He wants me to testify against House Kuthar.”

Namada scowled. “That’s not much better, Sierra. It puts you square in the line of fire from House Kuthar. They already despise you, but if you do this, they’ll want you dead. And they’ll do everything they can to make it happen. Can your Icanthie friend protect you from that?”

I looked earnestly at Namada, pleading with my eyes. “I’m doing what I think is best Namada. Will you help me get messages to my friends? Please?”

Namada watched me for a while, trying to decide if she could convince me. Finally, she nodded with a soft whoosh of air. “Yes, I’ll get it out there.” I smiled in relief and reached out to brush her wrist, pinging my message for her to copy and send out. She nodded to let me know she’d received it. The tech the Myath used regularly was almost always salvaged and could be unreliable. “So, who will take over the network for you?”

I considered my old friend. She was like kin to me considering she was so close to my father but she had always made sure to keep a distance from his, and my, work. As a group leader, she couldn’t afford involvement with anything the Kingdoms could hurt us for. The less she knew, the safer she and all those under her care were. But she needed to know a little or she couldn’t benefit from my network.

“No one will take over from me. I still plan to be involved from The Capital. I know it may be more dangerous for me but I can’t just drop everything. Besides, Dad and I designed the network to be more independent now that it’s been going a while. I have reliable hubs in place who I trust and they have been doing a good job.”

Namada nodded slowly. “But how will you keep in touch. Myath don’t go to The Capital all that much. Not enough to keep you in the loop regularly.”

I smiled a mischievous little smile. “Ohhh, I’m sure a little bird will keep me in the loop.”

Namada smiled back and me. “Ah. Yes, that would work.”

My smile beamed back at her briefly but slowly faded. I was going to miss her. I was going to miss my freedom too. “I need to talk to Lest. I think we’ll be leaving soon.” I glanced around briefly before remembering something and turning back to my friend.

“Where is the next one on the list Namada?”

Her brow puckered in thought, “S4. Why?”

I rubbed my tired eyes, everything suddenly catching up with me. “I’ve had reports of flooding, especially around the estuary. Something to do with a spring tide or something. Go to the next one on the list. I’ll need to send out a notice about that too.”

“Okay, thanks for letting me know. This is happening a lot lately. Are you going to close the affected sites?”

I shook my head, “No. I’ve broached it with some of the leaders but they’re all adamant. The coastal Houses are far more oblivious or willing to ignore us. The communities don’t want to give that up. It would mean far more moving around and higher risks of encountering hunts and hostile Houses or rogue guards. They’d rather deal with floods.”

Namada nodded again. Strange, she usually had more to say. Before I could second guess myself, I wrapped her in a hug and held on before pulling back. “Bye Namada. I’ll stay in touch.”

It worked out really well. Namada, as head of this group, managed to talk with everyone, checking that they had everything packed and solving any issue that arose. She also directed people to others for help and managed to get Lest and others in my network to briefly touch base, sending my message with a single thought.

By the time the camp was packed up and the Pod that Kine had requested had arrived, the camp knew the basics of what had happened and that Seth and I were leaving. Many came to say goodbye to us and, a fair number expressed concern about going to The Capital with the Icanthie warriors. I had to reassure them over and over again that I would be alright and the reason Seth especially, needed to be there. Even we among the Myath understand the importance of Kin, despite the fact many of our own reject us. Besides, most didn’t know about my network, or rather that it was my network. I could take care of myself.

Lest gave me one last hug, looking worriedly at me. Though she was not very strong, she managed to push a brief thought at me as she grasped my hand. Are you sure Sierra? I nodded and smiled reassuringly. I hoped.

The warriors that Kine had brought, including his personal guard, had finished organising and were resting after their long pursuit. Kine approached, though he had not been far from me the entire time. I suspect he was concerned that I may try to make a last minute run for it.

“Sierra, are you ready?” At my nod, he smiled and nodded back then turned to Namada. “Nethannear, thank you for co-operation. I am sorry you must move you group so soon after arriving. But I do think it is for the best.”

Everyone with in hearing distance was slightly gob-smacked. Kine had afforded Namada the title of community leader. No Myath was shown such courtesy. Not often anyway. But Namada, being Namada, pulled herself together admirably fast and addressed Kine.

“My lord, forgive me, I do not know your proper title. We are well used to moving on. We’ll find somewhere safe. Thank you for dealing with the interloper so swiftly.”

Kine smiled. “A pleasure Nethannear.” He leaned in and spoke in a low voice. “I hear, the Jace valley was recently swept and, with harvest so close, they may appreciate some extra hands. It’s so sad but the Lord of that land is a trifle blind.” A knowing sparkle lit his eyes. “Fare well Nethannear Namada.”

Namada bowed her head to hide her smile and replied, “Thank you My lord. Farewell. You have precious cargo.” And with that last word, the group turned and, gathering their possessions, set off on their path.

I watched them go until Kine gently touched my elbow. The pod was waiting on the grav-line. Everyone had shifted to their feline forms, ready for swift travel, so I gathered up Seth and moved towards the pod. I’d seen them plenty of times but it was my first chance to ride in one. Myath tended to avoid the grav-line, despite their speed and convenience. It was too dangerous because travellers came up on you so quickly that it was almost impossible to hide.

Moving carefully onto the grav-line, I made sure not to use too much force, just a quick hop to propel me towards the pod. I felt the low-grav take effect, almost like floating. The pod wasn’t far from the edge of the line and I manoeuvred softly so as not to disturb it. Lifting Seth in and ensuring he was secure, I noticed that our belongings were already aboard. I felt my eyebrows arc in surprise. When had they done that? I climbed in and secured myself upright. Though you could lie down, I wanted to see the sights and savour my first pod ride.

I half turned to signal that we were ready and watched the Icanthie, all in their feline forms, ready for the plunge. They would want to travel at speed so that meant a run up. That’s why we were in the pod, Seth was too young to run very fast and I couldn’t shift into my Feline form. Kine led them and as they sprinted towards the grav-line, leaping effortlessly to enter, Thane close beside him. Coming up behind us fast, I braced myself. Thane caught the pods tow line and we we're off!

It was exhilarating and Seth scream his excitement beside me. I nearly screamed with him. Instead, I laughed with joy. Now we had momentum, Thane dropped the line and everyone settled into a comfortable pose for the journey, though none were complacent. The grav-line was designed to be intelligent so if there was an impending collision or anyone triggered an emergency, then the grav-line’s low gravity was manipulated to slowly increase until the passengers stopped. There were also higher gravity eddies at regular intervals to allow exit from the line. It really was a brilliant system.