novelraw Chapter 170: A Clutter of Cats!
Chapter 170: A Clutter of Cats!
How quickly the day turned to darkness, illuminated by the presence of three crescent moons watching over the forest in the deep blue sky. The glitterbugs sparkled as they buzzed around the torches, glistening like the starry night sky amongst the group. The tree huts were now frequent with traffic, the rope bridges jiggling as numerous elf toddlers ran across, giddy with excitement whilst chased by a cat girl in a game of tag. The cat girls integrated amongst the woodland elves with ease, like they belonged together.
Felix took notice of that. He raised his drink and sipped on the dark fluid mixture, smacking his lips and savoring the fruity taste of this strange new beverage Spi'Reto offered them.
Not bad, he thought as he took another swig.
After the cat girls came out of hiding, things calmed down and grew more hospitable. Now they were brought food and drinks, the kids would play around, and the grown-ups would greet them kindly. The cat girls were of course the most curious, peppering him with questions unto questions about every topic they could think of, and occasionally share some loud-mouthed comments.
"He smells different!"
"What's your name?"
"How tall are you?"
"Oooh he looks strong!"
"And cute!"
"Are you here to save us?"
He glanced down at the seemingly adolescent cat girl who asked, she looked up at him with big beady black eyes and her furry brown paws held up. "My name is Felix." He replied with a smile, only to be bombarded with more questions from the other girls.
"How tall are you?"
"Are you one of those humie fighters, the kind that rescue princesses?"
"Nyah~! I smell Nityri on you, are you two together?"
"Ooooooo~! Nityri found herself a maaa~aaate!" Her friends cooed in unison, giggling.
Felix's face burned hot red with a deep blush, laughing nervously by the attention he was receiving. "It's uhh, we're pretty close-"
"They soooo mated!" A blonde cat girl chimed in, pointing at him with the tip of her two tails.
He jumped as a gray cat landed on his shoulder, mewing softly and rubbing her fur against his ear out of comfort.
"He-hey, that tickles." He chuckled. That was a mistake, he showed weakness while surrounded by a clutter of cat girls. When he glanced around, he saw dozens of mischievous smirks that instantly reminded him of the same look KuliKuli would give him before she would-
"Is this humie ticklish?" A brown-haired cat girl reached out, wiggling her furry tails under his tunic right against his ribs.
"Hey c'mon now," He pulled back, rubbing his side and chuckling. He looked toward the center of the tree hut, where his friend Janette sat watching him. Syri sat on her lap, the two of them each holding their own drink. "A little help here?"
"What do you want me to do?" Janette laughed, "I'm not jumping in there!"
One cat girl reached out and brushed his chest with her paw before pulling back and blushing. "Oooo he feels strong!"
"Easy with the touching." He squirmed, falling victim to these paws and tails brushing his legs, waist and chest. Now he realized that KuliKuli wasn't the only Nekomata who never heard of personal space. He felt another cat pounce atop his head, then a third land on his right arm. It was like he was being attacked by soft furry cuteness!
"Oh man, she's on his head!" Another cat girl chuckled, pointing at him.
Na'Vi leaned back, unfolded her arms and motioned at Nukka to intervene. She was sitting back observing, then at the cock of her friend's head, she stood up and calmly broke through the clutter of cat girls, plucking Felix up by the back of his tunic with ease. He dangled in the air, eyes wide open as he caught the cat that fell off his head and into his arms.
Nukka gave the other cats a look before gently setting Felix back down, patting his brown hair with her large bear claw. "Be nice to the new humie." She warned them.
"Yes Nukka." Some of the girls grumbled and whined, giving Felix some space. He didn't mind the attention, but the questions were overwhelming! Still, looking around was like living through a dream. So many cat girls were present, and only the younger ones were giving him trouble. Janette was chatting with a few older cat girls, possible mothers based on their physical appearance. One thing he was thankful for was the use of clothing they wore to present themselves in a bit of modesty. He worried that they would prefer walking around bare just like KuliKuli would in the first few days of finding her, but they dressed in short tops and brown loincloth coverings.
He looked down as a cat girl tugged at his shin, raising her little furry brown paws. "Up, pea. Up!" She pleaded, wiggling her little claws around.
Looking up, he found an older cat woman whom the toddler resembled, likely her mother. She smiled and egged him on with a quick nod, flashing her white teeth and cheek dimples. Nervous, he scooped up the little cat girl and cradled her in his arms. She giggled and hugged his neck, bouncing up and down in his hold.
"She likes you." Her mother giggled, reaching out and holding her little girl's paw. "Forgive them, humans are so rare a sight here in Faehorn."
"Is that what this place is called?" He asked, bouncing the toddler as she buried her head in his neck. "I thought it was called a Leaf Tribe?"
"The Elves are named the High Leaf Tribe," She explained, "These lands are called Faehorn Forest."
"I see. It's quite a long travel away from any close settlements." He remarked.
"The elves keep it that way, they prefer to live amongst mother nature on their own."
"Really? You guys seem to be the exception."
"Yes, Emyri came across Alma and they had an agreement, allowing us to live within the forest. In return, we would help them with their tasks and offer protection."
Felix raised his brow. "Emyri did that?"
He jumped by a slap on the back when Spi'Reto snuck up behind him. "Indeed, we've worked with the Nekomata since I was a child. My apologies for the interrogation and imprisonment, finding that banner had us convinced that you worked with Perdilius."
"I understand but couldn't you have recognized their scent on us?" He questioned.
Spi'Reto seemed puzzled. "Um, we don't share the sense of smell that the Nekomata do, or that you seem to have gained."
As they were talking, they re-entered the tree hut where Janette and Syri were engaged in a conversation with some of the cat mothers.
"So tell me Felix, how did you come to meet Nityri and grow close enough to bond with her?" He asked, offering a wooden stool for him to sit.
"Well, I found her during a rough storm and took her in." He explained, passing the toddler cat girl back to her mother's arms.
"Just like that, you weren't bothered by her being a monster girl?" He asked, somewhat surprised and impressed.
Felix shrugged, rubbing the back of his neck. "Erm, I was unaware of her true form at the time. She was disguised as a cat then, that changed later that night."
"Aahh haha, I see." He laughed, shaking his head. "But still, you kept her despite revealing her true form. That takes courage."
"Or stupidity." Na'Vi added in, announcing her presence as she strolled in. "Maybe both."
"You don't know the half of it," Janette laughed, having eavesdropped from her chair and now chiming in, "When I first met him and Kuli, they were on the run."
"From Perdilius?" Spi'Reto asked.
She shook her head. "No, from the guards."
"KuliKuli was in disguise in a public setting, but she slipped and they took notice." Felix explained.
"And then they snuck into my shop, begging for help. I had them hide under the table until the guards ran off. I should have known they would be a handful by that first impression alone!" Janette snorted, laughing while reliving those memories. Her eyes settled on Syri as she smiled. "But I'm glad I stuck around; it eventually led to us meeting each other."
Syri blushed, keeping quiet but placing her paw over Janette's hand as the pair exchanged smiles.
"Hey!" Felix jumped up, rubbing his butt and spinning around. An older cat girl looking to be of early adult age waved back, smirking and scurrying away to meet her giggling friends. Felix blushed, his enhanced hearing catching their gossip over her friend slapping his ass and commenting on how it felt.
Spi'Reto seemed upset, turning toward his elf friend. "Let's have the girls behave around our company, please?"
"Of course." His friend nodded, moving forward with a few more elves to keep the cats away. Only a select number of cat girls, most of them mothers, were permitted to stay. That didn't prevent the Nekomata from changing into their cat forms and spying on them while hiding in the trees.
"Sorry," Spi'Reto apologized.
"It's fine," Felix sat back down, looking around the room. "Hey Jay, where's Nyitzcha?"
"The short one, yes?" Spi'Reto asked, "Once we returned your belongings, she chose to stay in your private hut."
"Yea, something to do with alchemy." Janette added, "Plus you know how she feels about... well."
"Right," He frowned, "I don't understand, why does she have a disliking?"
Spi'Reto scratched his cheek, shifting uncomfortably. "The feeling is... somewhat mutual for the elders. What do you know about Woodland Elves?"
"Just that you live in forests, I guess." He shrugged. "And that you know nature magic. I've never seen your kind back in the market or the city. I mean, I've seen other elves there, but I don't think they were Woodland Elves."
"For good reason. We've no quarrel with other species or our cousins, but we prefer keeping the practice of old beliefs and staying in tune with nature. We are all lives living in this ecosystem, we feed and grow from the land only to return when our time comes. Those technological advancements like alchemy and science, they break away from what we know."
"So why the mutual disdain toward dwarves?" Felix asked.
Spi'Reto slumped forward. "Dwarves carry the opposite believes, they create, invent new technologies, and tamper with the lands through mines and deforestation to find rubies, jewels, gold or any shiny rock that they see value in. Where we preserve the old ways, they look toward the new. We keep it simple, and it's less problematic when straying away from others. Before, we would harness the forest and grow its resources, but since Perdilius' betrayal Faehorn has grown out of hand. The predators were checked in population thanks to our interference, but with so little of us left, the circle of life is in turmoil. Slimes grow bigger and multiple by scavenging off the wildlife livestock, spiders have begun to spread through the surface, and Perdilius' followers have scorched parts of the forest to set up these concrete forts."
"Ah, so was it you guys who attacked that fort" Felix asked, leaning forward. "When we entered the forest, we crossed through a fort that lies in ruins. Some of the arrows resemble the ones your tribe wield."
Spi'Reto looked to his friend who nodded in return. "I see. I was not privy of this, but likely this was an encounter led by my mother Alma."
Nukka yawned loudly, laying on her side and curling up. Spi'Reto reached out, running his fingers through her brown hair with a smile.
"It's getting late, we should get some rest tonight." His eyes locked onto Felix. "Will you be staying?"
"Sure, we'd love to."
Spi'Reto eyed him close. "Well then, rest well. Nukka, let's go."
"Murr." She grumbled, lazily standing on wobbly legs, following behind him. The others retreated down separate rope bridges, retiring for the night. Felix sat back and gazed up at the stars, believing himself to be alone as he finished his drink. When he got up, he froze upon seeing Na'Vi leaning over the rope bridge alone.
"Hey." He called out, making his way to her. "You've been quiet. Something on your mind?"
"Same thing that's on your mind," She responded, looking across onto the opposite tree hut. There were a few cat mothers tucking and kissing their daughters in for sleep at the other end. "Same people, that is. I wanted to thank you."
"Huh?"
"You followed the tracks I left behind, that's how you found us. I'm right, aren't I?" She turned to him as he calmly nodded. It brought a subtle grin to her face. "You know, I hadn't the faintest clue that you would be on our trail."
"Why is that?"
"We caused your friend to lose her home. I don't know many others who would still fight for their loved ones after sacrificing so much."
He shrugged in agreement. "Seemed like a no-brainer, we already lost something more valuable to us then a home."
"Then I owe you an apology."
Felix gave her a look. "For what?"
"For doubting you." She calmly replied back, looking up into the blue night, the stars reflecting off her pretty eyes. "Trust is a hard thing for me to give onto others, Felix. When we met, I thought only the worst of you. I doubted your feelings and affection for Nityri. Forgive me, for KuliKuli. Seeing you here, I'm glad to say I was wrong about you. You're not bad for a human, no that's not right. You're a good man, Felix. It's not fair for me to judge your species because of the actions of several. Thank you."
Felix didn't know what to say, offering a warm smile and a hand for her. She cocked her head and snickered, giving him a look before raising her paw. "Felix, we don't do handshakes."
"Oh, pfft. Right." He chuckled, caught off-guard when she swept in and held him tight. He cautiously patted her back before gradually returning the hug, holding her close. When she let go, she gave him a warning look.
"That's a one-time thing, got it? Maybe if we get out of this alive, I'll hug you again." She teased, brushing past him and walking over to their hut.
Felix sighed and looked up at the stars, his smile slowly fading. Despite the warmth he felt that day, he knew it would be short-lived. KuliKuli, Emyri, and Dimyri were still out there.
And he wouldn't stop until he rescued them and stopped Perdilius.