The Quest of Catmandu 4 (standard:fantasy, 4808 words) [4/6] show all parts
Author: nightshade	Added: Jan 10 2001	Views/Reads: 3124/2082	Part vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
joyful reunions and happy times, as the clan reunites to aid the Cheetahs

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Parnak, while Karo stepped over beside the Chettah queen and appraised 
her of the health of each member of her clan...and of the forthcoming 
arrival of the Tiger clan. "i can't ask you to do all of that." Cheryl 
argued "the alliance agreement doesn't call for you to go this far out. 
our four-footed ancestors kept to their own and never even considered 
this..." "we are not our ancestors, your highness." Parnak declared. 
"Tigrus eveolved us, and with evolution gave us the divine gifts of 
greater intelligence, reasoning and compassion...not to mention the 
physical gifts he bestowed upon us." "you seem so wise for a holy woman 
of your young age." Cheryn observed with a smile. "i learned from the 
best." "yes, Tromal. your ambassador told us of her passing. i am 
sorry. she was a fine woman." "yes, she was, your majesty." Parnak 
smiled in reflection. "please, just call me Cheryn. your generosity 
more than gives you the right to call me and my family by their names." 
"your family?" Karo questioned. "it's just you and your daughter isnt 
it?" "it is...but i prefer to hold onto the hope that my mate, and 
other family and clan are out there somwhere, whether they be stranded, 
captive or otherwise." "my clan and the other alliance members are 
looking into that also, for your clan as well as our own." "they 
are...?" Cheryn questioned with a renewed glimmer of hope. "we probably 
won't find anything right away, though." Parnak cautioned. "the other 
clans have to send their best trackers into enemy territories and the 
most remote regions of their own lands to explore all the 
possibilities. it will take time to do that and relay the information 
to princess Shae on the postive identification of any of our missing 
numbers..if any confirmation is made." "it doesn't matter how long it 
takes..." Cheryn declared vehemently. "just as long as my clan gains 
some closure and peace of mind some day...even if not the recovery of 
any missing loved ones." "is there any family that you want a 
particular look out for?" karo wondered. "i want word on anyone from my 
clan...not just my family." I didn't mean any disrespect...i was merely 
asking." the medicine woman shrugged. "i know...i'm sorry." Cheryn 
coughed. "it's just the my people been all but wiped out...and i'm 
scared half to death, as are the others." 

as Parnak wiped the sweating brow of Chodac, her eys closed as she
remembered one of her predictions to Shae. "fear not your highness. 
your clan's future holds a bright light at the end." "you see, Cheryn?" 
Karo smiled. "you have only to keep the faith that it will look up from 
here on." "my thanks to you, my friend" "please, you need only thank me 
when when your camp is on it's feet and feeling better. until then, we 
must sleep. we have a week, two at maximum to wait out here until the 
real help arrives." "very well. goodnight Karo." "goodnight...Cheryn." 

a week had passed before the Tiger clan started arriving at the Falcon
River dock, and to the surprise of Shae, Tynak and Charval, Kaeryn was 
the first to show, with the rest if her camp in tow. "it's good to see 
you again." Shae said as she greeted her younger sister. "soon though 
it may be, princess." Lorell smiled. "but, how is it that you're the 
first to arrive? you live on the other side of the lake." "we switched 
with Tyggran and Stripan." "auntie Shae!" four year old Kaetan 
interrupted as she broke from her father's grip and bounded towards the 
princess. "how are you, little cub?" "i'm good auntie. momma, can i go 
swimming for a while?" "okay, sweetie." Kaeryn answered as she reached 
her sister. Shae watched as the girlcub stumble and splash into the 
cool water as if she hadn't a care in the world. ahh...what it was to 
be a cub, she thought 

"on to business, sis." Kaeryn suggested. "absolutely," Shae agreed.
"what did you bring?" Kaeryn handed over a peice of canvas paper with 
her inventory written on it. the elder princess looked the list over 
approvingly before folding it up and handing it back. "the cut meat 
will have to go over immediately." Shae stated. "but how?" Gartan 
asked, coming from behind and overhearing. "we only have the ark-boats 
here." a sharp, peircing whistling flew fom Shae's mouth, and within 
moments, Talon arrived. "it's..." Kaeryn started. "yes, it is," Shae 
smiled. "but we can talk about that later." 

soon, the falcon was flying east southeast...toward Cheetah island.the
situation was explained as far as the need for cut meat transport was 
concerned. it was readily assumed that a response would take a couple 
of days. they had only to wait. 

"all of you had to come?" Shae wondered idly. "well...yeah." Kaeryn
responded. "Lorell, Naax and Quintar haven't seen the Cheetah clan and 
wanted this opportunity to visit. i haven't seen them for years myself 
for that matter. and the cubs...they've never met any Chettahs before 
and cried until we let them come along. Lorell and i just didn't have 
the haert tp say no." "point taken. have you heard from anyone else?" 
"we received word from Faelix." Quintar announced as he approached. 
"your camp, and the others as well, are all a quarter day behind us." 
"Tyggra's camp as well?" "yes. their camp had an extended visit with 
yours...so they never even made it home." "what's the word on the 
hunt?" Shae asked. "the other groups should each have as much as we 
do...at the least." "they should be here for the morning meal...you 
think?" Gartan wondered. "it's likely." Kaeryn answered. "more to be 
expected." Shae stated. 

what wasn't expected...so soon...was Talon's return followed by Chevelle
and Rhachyl on a cargo boat. They arrived early in the morning, pulling 
up to the dock as Kaeryn and Gartan came down for an early swim. it was 
still dark, so the couple didn't notice what got the boat there so 
fast...a trio of killer whales. Gartan was unexpectedly alerted after 
he had jumped in the water as he was given a freindly nudge by the 
largest of the three. to his dismay and the laughter of those present, 
the light bump helped him break the laws of physics as he practically 
flew from the water to the dock, his arms ad legs flailing about, 
screaming at the top of his lungs. Lorell and Naax heard the commotion 
and came running only to come upon everyone laughing their heads off. 
Kylan and Kaetan had been playing in the shallow waters further west 
under Quintar's supervision. they investigated the situation soon 
themselves and were swept up by the hysterics also. 

Quintar took particular interest in noticing Talon sitting over on
Shae's backframe. "princess, is that...?" "that's Talon alright. 
complete with nest and eggs." "eggs?" "yes, five days ago.she showed up 
at my uncle Danyx's camp." "ill bet Kylan and Kaeten will love to see 
her." Lorell declared. "they already have." Shae replied, pointing. 
just then, Talon took off for a little hunting expedition. "they've 
really missed that bird since she flew away." Lorell commented. "how 
old is she now?" "about a year and a half." 

the faceless man appeared from the mists again, this time wth the fog
filling a cave in the crook of CatEar mountain. Shae didn't have any 
clue who he was or what he wanted, or why at this mountain's expanse. 
what could it hurt to try again? "who in the name of Tigrus are you?" 
she demanded. no answers were offered...only the green glow of where 
his eyes were supposed to be. "at least tell me why you continue to 
haunt me..." again...no answer, only a finger as the faceless figure 
turned amd pointed northeast beyond the mountain range. inexplicably, 
the shore of Lion territory seemed to draw close, pulling Mixed-breed 
island with it. everything then snapped back into proper perspective 
with sudden speed. the TIger man then turned back towards the mist and 
Shae watched as the unforgettable stripe pattern faded and disappeared. 


Shae was confused and annoyed by the mystery of the stranger, finding
herself thankful for another distraction. somewhere, she heard a voice 
anounce, "they're here." the voice got louder, as is someone was coming 
up to her, but there was no-one. finally it was as if a familiar voice 
was talking right into her ear. "Shae, they're here!" 

Sahe woke to find Lorell watching her with a look of excitement on her
face. "Shae, they're here." "the clan?" "not everyone, but your camp, 
Tyggra's and Karo's as well." "where is Voran's camp?" "they should be 
here by mid-day tommorrow. something about hunting down a little 
extra." 

Shae emerged from her lean-to and viewed the group that gestured
greeting in unison. at the moment, she was looking for only two 
particular faces to welcome. "MAMA!" Lynnar screamed with elation as 
she pushed by everyone's knees and rushed towards Shae as fast as her 
four year old legs could take her. the fireball toddler was welcomed 
enthuisiastically, and the young mother cuddled and cooed to her 
daughter for a few minutes before the cub's attention was distracted by 
her playmates, who had just returned from a swim in the strait. as the 
youngsters went off to play. Shae stood and greeted her mate with 
passionate hugs and licks of affection. 

"so much for not seeing you for the whole journey, huh?" Faelix joked as
they matched gazes. "i don't mind," the princess purred. "it'll give 
afford us the opportunity to update on good news and bad news." "like 
what?" "you'll find out cone everyone is here." "where are..." Faelix 
started in regard to Tynak and Charval when he spotted them both, 
heavily involved with  Karnak and Nharrel repectively. "never mind" he 
smiled. greetings were passed back and forth, but it didn't take long 
for the subject of business to prevail. Shae made it clear that it 
wouldn't be discussed until everyone was accounted for. with that, Shae 
turned to Kaeryn. 

"how is it that Faelix, Karnak and Nharrel were able to bring four
wagons?" "they didn't." Kaeryn replied. "i saw their wagons. they're 
were four. if they didn't bring the fourth, then who did? "Kronat and 
Juno." "but...they're with Tyggra and Stripan." "i know, but their camp 
only two wagons worth of wildlife, so Kronat and Juno joined your camp 
to help bring the fourth." "alright," Shae conceded "where are they?" 
"didn't you see them?" "no." "we're right behind you child." Juno said 
as she came forth with open arms and embraced Shae in turn before 
Kronat. "it's good to see you, young one." the advisor greeted. "as it 
is to see you, old man." Shae replied with a lick. 

attention was diverted as the cubs spotted Talon. Kylan and Kaetan
remembered the majestic bird and patted her feathers. this was Lynnar's 
first meeting, however, and she was tentative to say the least. it took 
some coaxing and a lot of reassurance from Shae and Juno to even get 
the girlcub near the falcon, but once Lynnar saw that the bird wouldn't 
hurt her, she smiled, and petted Talon gently until she flew off, 
probably to search for food. 

the evening meal was delicious and the passing time pleasant for all
concerned. to keep thing quiet, fences were constructed to house the 
livestock using raw material. a corridor was attached to the corral 
with two doors...one on the corral at the connection, the other on the 
side of the corridor at the connection for the clan to enter and walk 
the corridor which led to the dock. the entire contraption would herd 
the various livestock to the dock for loading onto whatever transport 
craft that were capable of carrying them. far ahead of schedule, 
Voran's camp arrived in the dark with four wagons of their own that 
were soon added to the huge enclosure where the animals were now calmly 
grazing. afterward, Faelix voiced concern as they lounged by the 
bonfire, as to how long the animals would stay calm, not to mention how 
they could possibly get them across the Emerald strait and Kaelon sea 
to Cheetah island. "i hope someone over there has a solution, because i 
have absolutely no clue." as Shae lay between his spread legs, with her 
back to his stomach, she rubbed his knees in reassurance. "don't worry, 
my love. we wouldn't have come this far if they're wasn't a suitable 
course to take." 

before everyone bedded down for the night, Shae, Tynak and Charval
walked together down to the mainland's ocean bank and sat in the sand. 
few words were spoken for the first while as each of the tiger woman 
were immersed in their own thoughts. finally, Charval received a gentle 
nudge from Shae's elbow. "have you told Nharrel of your pregnancy yet?" 
Shae asked, as they watched some fish jumping in the moonlight. "no, 
but i will...before you tell everyone else." "i hope you do it soon, 
Char," Tynak added with a grin. "i can't wait to see the look on his 
face." "would he be able to come along Shae?" Charval asked. "i just 
know it would kill him not to be there at the birth of his first born 
cub." "i'll have to consider it," the princess sighed. "i'll also have 
to consult with Parnak and Karo when we see them." "i hope that my luck 
will be good on that score tonight." Tynak smiled. Karnak and i are 
hoping to start a new life as well, but i know he's not the type who'd 
want to follow on a long journey." "he'd miss home that much?" 
"exactly. besides that...he won't like if anyone else finds this 
out...but he's frightened for some reason by the sight of a birth in 
progress." "i'll have to speak with him about that sometime." Shae 
declared in jest. "Nooo, Nononono!" Tynak blurted. "i'll talk to him 
myself." "don't bother." Charval grinned. "if his potency is as great 
as the size of his member, you should be carrying by dawn." "i could 
tell by the way his willy stood out when you two were reunited earlier 
that he's more than anxious to get busy tonight." Shae chuckled. "he 
does have a big one doesn't he?" Charval giggled "it's just too bad 
that his isn't as beautiful as Nharrel's." "hey...no debates one whose 
penis is bigger or more beautiful, okay?" Shae interrupted. "just be 
thankful that they're well-equipped...period." "you're right, Shae." 
Tynak agreed. "besides, we have more important things to worry about." 
"correct." 

as the clan was retiring for the night, Parnak returned from Cheetah
island, having completed her present task. Shae was informed that 
Chevelle would be arriving by mid-day tomorrow with three other members 
that were sufficiently recovered on four transport crafts for the work 
ahead of them. 

the following morning, before the crafts arrived, a complete count of
all that was collected was done, and the final numbers were 
astounding...far more than originally asked...though it seemed less 
than what anyone felt that the Cheetah's needed in the long run. two 
hundred wildebeests were gathered. elk, antelope, caribou, moose, musk 
deer, red deer, reindeer, roe deer, white tail and mule deer...all of 
equal numbers...totalled two hundred and sixty. Shae was dumbfounded 
amd wondered how how it would even be possible to get such a huge 
amount of animals across on four crafts alone. 'forget it' she told 
herself and just smiled at the fact that her clan was so successful. 
what was amzing at this point was that the animals weren't going wild 
with agitation and trying to break loose. maybe they sensed the purpose 
of their predicament and accepted it. "i can tell what you're thinking, 
princess." Parnak said as she approached the young ruler and joined her 
at the fence. "you can?" "i may be young, but i can sense your 
wonderment at the calm that passes among these creatures." "you assume 
correctly, calugah*(*eminence)" Shae replied. "it is quite likely that 
they sense a need and don't fear it. then again, it could be a sign 
from Tigrus that we're doing his bidding well." "Parnak..." Shae 
questioned, 'you told me some time ago when you were still under 
Tromal's tutelage that we don't do his bidding but follow certain paths 
among the many that he puts before us." "you...are right." the holy 
woman agreed. "we are born free to make our own decisions, whether they 
be right or wrong. should we walk a wrong path, he may give us signs of 
one form or another to help us find our way back to the right one. the 
fact that our clan was so successful with the gathering and is 
providing so much help for the Cheetahs is...i feel...a sign fom Tigrus 
that we are definitely walking the right path." "you know, Parnak." 
Shae observed with a smile and raised brows. "my family and it's 
lineage have been known to not be the firmest believers in the holt 
realm of Tigrus, but...i really believe that what you said holds true. 
Tromal would be proud of you." "thank you, Shae. that meas a great deal 
to me to hear that from you. i just hope that i can continue to tey and 
fill Tromal's role until the day i die as well." "you'll fil the role 
well." the princess declared with stoic confidence. "it's your role 
now, and you can only do as well as Tigrus wishes you to." "Kronat was 
right about you. you are wise for your age." "you know, i wouldn't be 
surprised if you ended up exceeding our expectations." "princess! 
calugah!" Voran's daughter, Oren, yelled from camp. "the food is 
ready!" "we're coming!" Shae replied before turning to Parnak again. 
"oren is quite beautiful is she not?" "yes" Parnak agreed. "she's only 
seven...but she's already showing promise of catching a lot of 
attention from the males when she gets older." "let's hope that our 
numbers increase enough by that time so she'll have a lot of choices." 

the morning meal was a very happy one in atmosphere and almost as
festive as a clan gathering. it went quickly though, and everyone had 
soon gathered in a circle round the fire as requested. 
"everyone...attention, please!" Shae called as she stood and stepped 
closer to the fire. shortly after, all were watching and waiting to 
hear her words. "it's great to see everyone here...almopst everyone, 
although i hadn't expected to see your faces until after my journey was 
completed. i also hadn't expected that everything i would have to tell 
you would be good or favorable news, but thankfully it is." the crowd 
pounded the ground in applause upon hearing this declaration and were 
keyed with anticipation. "first of all, i must direct the first news 
towards Charval and Nharrel who, two days after our gathering, have 
been found to be expecting their first cub." roars of elation and more 
ground pounding became almost deafening at this announcement. as for 
the reason, the happy couple beamed with pride and their own inner 
happiness as they embraced. Tynak had winked at Shae during the racket, 
indicating that she and Karnak had gone at it heavily during the night 
and had ruffled their covers a lot. 

"the second thing i wanted bring up," the princess continued," is my
surprise and overwhelming pride in everyone's success in aquiring the 
huge amount of wildlife for transport to Cheetah island. it is credit 
from Tigrus to the efficiency of our people in performing such an 
arduous task as i can only assume this to have been." "it can only be 
by the grace of Tigrus, princess." Tiggra offered. "the wildebeests and 
other animals are on the move and their numbers are huge." "Kaeryn said 
something almost the same thing to me yesterday." Shae observed with an 
air of humor. "but before we get too distracted, i must address my 
third item of business whicj concerns Cheetah island." "there are other 
details?" Darnec questioned. "in case Darnec didn't mention it in the 
message that each camp had received, our spotted allies had all taken 
ill with cat stratch flu. however, upon Parnak's return i have learned 
that they are recovering quite nicely...as nicely in fact that Karo was 
returning with four of them and their four transport vessels. i only 
feel it to be sad that their numbers cannot recover as easily." "what 
do you mean?" Carnac, Voran's mate, asked. "because of the wars in our 
history, we lost many lives. but they have suffered the worst with 
natural disasters devastating their land on top of all other things." 
"what about their numbers?" Quintar, captain of the guards, asked "how 
have their numbers suffered?" "there are only...a mere eight left." 
Shae heaved. gasps of horror and disbelief were voiced as well as many 
tears of sympathy. how could that be? no-one could believe what they'd 
just heard. "despite this," Shae added "they are more than determined 
to persevere. their ambassador, Chevelle, is pregnant. it is only 
natural, though it holds more meaning than it actually does. they need 
more good news like this." "but what's this about natural diasters?" 
Nharrel asked, as his fingers intertwined with Charval's "yes," Naax 
concurred. "how can natural disasters cause an entire race to be almost 
wiped out?" "it can't." Shae responded. "it does, however, almost 
finish the job that the wars had started." "we realize that Shae." Umax 
declared "but the question is...what happened to the island?" "while in 
the process of trying to rebuild their lives, the island was devastated 
by tidal waves and resultant floods which wiped out more than three 
quarters of their food and medical sources." "how long ago was this?" 
territory guard Naket wondered. "eight moons ago." Shae declared. "and 
they've been able to survive to this point?" Yontar, Naket's father, 
asked in amazement. "that's remarkable." "yes it is, Parnak agreed as 
she stood. "and i have been informed by their ambassador...Shae, Tynak, 
Charval, Karo and Rhachyl know this as well...it is believed to be 
quite possible that many of theirs numbers are either lost in other 
territories or being held captive, which is an issue that Shae has 
asked the other members of our alliance to look into and help in 
confirming." "what about our own clan?" Narcat. Maxet's mate, probed. 
"what if some of our own people are being held as well?" "i will see if 
that possibility holds true and rectify the situation by their own 
judgement." Shae replied. "and i say to all of you this morning that if 
any of our people are in fact in captivity by any of our known 
enemies...they will be freed whatever the cost." "Princess Shae..." 
Parnak interrupted. "we will have to open negotiations to free any that 
may be held for justifiable reasons as well." "why would they 
intentionally do wrong?" Clawd demanded. "why does anyone ever do 
wrong?" Parnak countered. "it is very simple. they are either born good 
and are led astray on the wrong path...ot it bred into their souls, 
which i refuse to believe about anyone, even our enemies." "Parnak 
speaks true." Juno said. "even our enemies are not born to be our 
enemies. i'm not sure about most of the other clans, but i do know that 
the Panther clan was part of our alliance generations ago, before 
unknown circumstances broke their ties and guided their spirits against 
us. "the Panthers were our friends?" Oren asked in surprise. "when?" 
"in the time of king Khayne, our king Rae's great, great, great, great 
grandfather." "that's seven generations ago." Shae explained to Lynnar, 
who was sitting in her lap and listening intently. "anyway, clan, some 
of us still have some preparations to make before the crafts arrive. 
the rest of us who have nothing to do can find some receational uses 
for your time." no sooner had Shae said that before Lynnar was off and 
running around with Kylan and Kaetan in and endless game of tag. 

the princess and Faelix stood up together and Shae found herself in
Faelix's arms as she had her back to him. it was then that she 
discovered her own solution for finding something to ocuppy her time.   
                                                                        
                    later, after having made love, they rested in each 
others loving arms, and fell contentedly to sleep. 

continued in chapter 5 

----------------------------------- if you liked this story (and/or the
preceding chapters, please let us know at karlw@telusplanet.net. thanks 
----------------------------------- 


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