[Mkguild] Long Distance Part 2

[Stealth]

Next part.

Stealth surprised Sir Arenet. None of the knights or soldiers on the
patrolling party believed the cat's suit to be anywhere near as light as he
claimed but the dormouse's horse didn't notice any extra burden as the
patrol galloped swiftly south to the keep's southern outpost.



            Sir Arenet in turn surprised Stealth; if a predator holding the
small rodent by the waist with steel claws troubled him the knight didn't
show it.



            "I've heard of you." The dormouse yelled through the noise.



            "Oh?" Stealth called back.



            "You actually work in animal form."



            "Aye! The curse gives us opportunities doesn't it?" The feline
answered through the sound of galloping hooves.



            "In that case you are the most opportunistic man I've met!"



            Stealth pondered that as he tried not to fall off, "Is that good
or bad?"



            "It's interesting, lad. Interesting." The rodent called back.
"By far you spend far more time in that form then anyone I know."



            "Good!" The cat shouted, "I'm going for the record."



            Sitting on the back of a galloping horse was a trial for the cat
when he'd first gone on patrol, but sitting on one with another person was a
new test in balance. Stealth tried to block out the aches and pains and just
look out to the horizon. It would be a long trip.



            The patrol began to slow as settlements came into view. They
were still quite a ways off and Stealth watched them with frustration
wondering when they'd arrive. Time seemed to slow down more the further they
went until finally the patrol arrived at its first checkpoint.



            Stealth couldn't wait to jump off. He landed in the dirt,
feeling sore from the ride but he stood up again and began trying to get
feeling back into his legs.



            "Sir Arenet..." He said and looked through his backpack for
parchment and a stick of charcoal, "Remind me who I'm to reach at Terreth."



            "Lyng, at the inn, my sister." He repeated, "She's a rodent like
me but more aquatic."



            "Understood..." The cheetah said as he scribbled large letters
with the thick block. "Where should I report back to when I return?"



            "You can send a message to me via the keep's messengers or hand
them a letter from my sister."



            "Understood." He said and folded up the parchment, placing it
back in the backpack. "If I can, I'll try to send the answer to you
directly."



            The knight shook his head, "That may be difficult as I expect to
be in the field for some time this week but thank you, so long as it
arrives."



            "I understand, take care out there Sir Arenet and thank you for
your help."



            The rodent bowed, "You're most welcome, Stealth. Farewell." He
turned and led his horse with the other soldiers to a stable nearby.



            After bidding the helpful Sir Arenet farewell Stealth looked
about for the nearest private area. As the patrol had entered a populated
area, most trees and bushes were cleared for homes and agriculture. He saw a
large barn but many people were moving back and forth through the entrance.
There was more to the barn then first appeared though he had no time to
investigate.



            Near the town and barren fields were rows of trees and scrub.
They'd probably been planted as wind breaks for the farms. The feline jogged
over to them and quickly disrobed. Just like in warmer months, he only
needed place the garments in his pack and then shift to full form.



            Now came the tricky part; a shift into full form with the newly
modified suit. Of course the mages didn't let him leave the Guild Tower
without testing it first and neither had Misha but now he was alone in the
field and it had to work. Stealth closed his eyes and felt himself...
change. Occasionally he wondered what would happen if he got stuck half way.
However it never occurred, he could shift into something halfway if he
wanted, perhaps, but for now he just needed to become a full animal.



            Slowly the cheetah's eyes opened. The first thing he saw were
the leaves and branches but they were no longer shades of brown, rather they
were black and white. What evergreens he could see were still indeed green
but everything else looked gray. He almost forgot about the armour and
shrugged his shoulders to test mobility. The cheetah could move quite well
so he moved about and found that the suit worked as it should. In fact it
seemed to move better then his body as he hadn't yet recovered fully from
the trip down.



            Something else didn't feel quite right. He shrugged his
shoulders again and remembered his backpack. The first time he used the suit
he didn't bring it along and resorted to a pouch on the back plate. The
backpack felt inconsistent with the suit. He would just need to have it
modified later, for now he eagerly started south, getting faster as the
circulation returned to his limbs.



--------------------------



            Stealth hustled to reach his destination, all the way down to
Terreth on foot. Though he wasn't built for endurance and Misha knew it, he
had more versatility in the field than someone on horse back of course he
still had to stop after every 3-4 hundred meters or risk overheating....



            It still felt odd that he had the trust of the Longs. Just under
two months ago, Stealth thought the fox scout was nothing more than a
brat-noble who had explosive temper tantrums. However one that fought for
the keep.



            Yet in that time, Misha had personally welcomed the cheetah to
his party, helped pay off his debt, rescued him from the wild and granted
him access to Long House. The only others who had that level of trust were
the people who worked in Long House and old, experienced soldiers.



            Ironically Stealth had more trust then some of those soldiers.
Rickkter had access to Long House of course but only with an escort and
Misha would always be informed. Rickkter was Misha's friend but the fox
didn't fully trust the raccoon's greedy nature. The Long's library and
armoury held several items that Misha had no intention of letting Rickkter
get his paws on. The most harm the cheetah would ever do the Longs would be
stealing from the kitchen, though given the warmth they've shown him he had
no desire to do so.



            All in all, Misha was no pompous, stuffy noble as the cat
thought; Long House is a military fall back point manned by ordinary people
like Stealth. And it's just as well, otherwise Stealth would find himself
avoiding such a place; the cheetah felt uncomfortable in the vicinity of the
ductile chambers for one and found that he wasn't too fond of nobles...



--------------------------



            Stealth looked over the large open fields with satisfaction and
tired relief. Ever since that turn off past the signal tower he'd been
running in sporadic bursts on a narrow path through dense woodland for some
time. It didn't entirely consist of enclosed forests; for brief moments the
woods opened up and the trail became a large field that took him past a
village and then cut across the lowest reaches of the barrier range before
dipping back into the forests.



            That shortcut seemed to never end and now looking over the
barren farm fields the feline knew the trees were behind him and couldn't
wait to dive into the grass for another run... he just needed a moment or
two to cool off first.



            The courier eventually cleared the distance of the field at a
slow pace and found an empty barn at the end. He trot over to one side to
get a glance past the structure and slumped when greeted with the sight of
another large field. Somewhere beyond the next plain he could faintly make
out a settlement. It must surely be his destination. For now though he was
much too tired to continue another step. Stealth looked at the barn and
fancied the idea of resting his eyes. Just a breather, very short... he
sniffed around for danger and searched for an entry point.



            The most obvious sign was the barn door so he shifted, perhaps
naively into taur form despite his armour. It felt like his hind legs were
sliding out of the armour though in reality they were dividing. The rest of
the shift felt normal (normal for a transformation) and soon Stealth had a
humanoid upper half again, his lower half however appeared as the body of a
very large full cheetah. Stealth looked over his new body and the suit which
attempted to cover it, the suit still covered his front and upper half but
they sat awkward on his forelegs and were absent from most of his taur body
which made up the bulk of his new form.



            His sizable taur torso and hind legs were only protected by a
thin spotted pelt however his tail maintained its 'scorpion tail' covering
though it stretched to cover a larger area. Connected to the tail, some
plates from his lower back sat above his rump and connected to the rest of
his suit via two stretched and strained cords. If they perfect it he could
probably attach a saddle over the top and give someone a ride.



            For now though he just needed hands to open the barn door and
with a grunt did just that. The interior stank of sheep and cows. The
animals in question nestled together for warmth and nibbled on hay. Stealth
closed the door behind him and looked about. He didn't fancy nestling with
farm animals so he looked up and saw a hayloft. It was for the most part a
large net holding up a bundle of hay. Oh, he yearned to perch up there; he
imagined the loft to be very soft and cosy. If only he knew how to get up
there.



            Still in taur form the cheetah managed to rear up quite a ways
and rest his fore paws on the wall slightly higher then the netting. He
turned his upper body to get a better look... after a moment to prepare he
attempted to clench a beam on the wall with his metal claws and shift back
to full form. He hadn't even tried to shift back to full form from being a
taur in the suit yet he did so now =96 hanging against a wall. The method f=
or
climbing was harebrained at best, he realised as while his fore paws rested
above a groove, his hind paws didn't and the two would now merge.



            As his taur fore and hind legs fused into his regular full form
hind legs they dislodged from the wall and fell just as the cat became a
regular animal again. He flailed and kicked off the wall in a panic while
his former arms reached out to the net. He caught it with his sliding metal
claws and swung his lower body to climb up. Stealth managed to shred the
netting quite a bit as he scampered up, some of the net fell away after
being cut and a good amount of hay fell but he eventually climbed up into
the loft, rolling on his side to avoid shredding any more of the ropes.



            The feline shrugged about a bit to shift the armour suit back
into place then he let out a sigh of relief and caught his breath. Stealth's
eyes began to shut, he could finally rest.



--------------------------



            The cheetah skulked through the tall grass with intent eyes. It
sniffed at the air but could detect no scent. Fortunately, although it found
no animal to prey on, neither did it encounter rival predators. Just those
hoofed animals and strange primates with them that it would catch a glimpse
of.



            The male cheetah came out into another clearing, one devoid of
mobile termite mounds. But out from the other side of the clearing appeared
a large predator! The spotted animal jumped back and hissed at the thing
which gave no reaction of it's own to the feline.



            After a moment of fear and shock, the cheetah sniffed at the air
but could smell nothing of the canine-like thing. Cautiously, and with ears
still folded and hackles still raised, the cheetah slowly began to walk
around the thing. Whatever it was, it didn't smell like a predator so it
probably wasn't a predator.



            The feline's hiss mellowed into a long chirr; it held a
remaining suspicion of the not-canine thing but curiosity too. Slowly the
thing crouched low to the ground and lowered its eyes from the cat in a
disarming gesture. The cheetah eventually ventured closer and closer where
it began to sniff at the not-predator for some sort of scent, it smelt
almost like blood but not quite.



            After some intense sniffing, the cheetah began to rub its head
against that of the animal-without-a-scent to 'claim' it and give it some
sort of recognisable smell. As the cat began relax and appear more
comfortable the thing got up and licked the cheetah's nose. The cheetah
quickly stepped back and chirred uncertainly but did no more.



            The not-canine thing cocked its head and playfully pawed at the
cheetah, which too cocked its head and looked confused but slowly began to
mirror the movement of quick paw-swipes. After a few moments the cat stopped
and looked about the clearing, loosing its interest in the creature which
seemed to pose no threat.



            Suddenly the not-canine bounded toward the other side of the
clearing, then stopped and looked back. The cat stood confused, but then
slowly it too walked toward the end of the clearing. As it approached, the
furless, scentless thing bounded off again which gave the cat pause, though
a moment later it trotted along after it.



            The cheetah chased the thing about then stopped to pant when the
not-predator stopped, then the cat bat at the scentless creature and pounced
it. The two play-fought for a bit before the not-canine ran off again, the
cheetah giving chase. When they got tired of the chase, the animals explored
the fields and woods. They leapt over logs and scampered up and down larger
obstacles like mounds.



            The furless thing made noises that the cat didn't understand,
only that the sounds were directed at it in some sort of social hail. The
feline pounced the not-animal and play-bit it's tail. Oddly the tail didn't
move when bitten but remained the same shape but it didn't hurt to bite
either. The feline rolled on its back and continued to swipe at the
canine-like thing which in turn nipped at the cheetah.

* *

            The feline sat up in the dirt and looked at something off to the
other side of the clearing. The cheetah bolted and pounced a spot in the
grass. The metal creature cocked it's head and could hear some sort of
noises. The cheetah reached it's head down and bit into something, then the
noises ceased. The cat returned to the metal animal and dropped a dead
animal in front of it.



            The canine-like thing looked at the dead ferret then up at the
cheetah. The cat sat on it's haunches and waited expectantly for the other
animal's approval. The canine-like thing wagged it's tail.



            Suddenly, play ended when a number of hooved animals with
half-primate-scent-things above appeared.



            "There it is. Flank it!" The animal that made the call pointed a
claw while others both above large equines and standing on the ground held
out large bags with the intent of throwing it over the cheetah's head. They
were attempting to herd it into a corner and restrain it.



            As it did earlier that day the cheetah hissed in fright and
confusion, its hackles raised and fangs bared menacingly. Before anyone knew
what happened or how, the animal evaded the throng, startling the horses as
it bolted off to safety.



            The other animal on the ground turned from the runaway feline to
the woman on horse back. "Burned-corn-lady! You mean!"



            "That was a mad keeper, Madog, we have to catch him!" The bear
cat insisted to the automation.



            Madog stomped in protest, "You scare friend away!"



            Teague ignored the metallic fox and motioned to two of her
people on foot to pursue the feral keeper through the scrub, which they did
in just a moment though failed to catch up again.



            Madog stuck his silver tongue out at the binturong, "spots
gone." The large metal fox sighed, collected the cheetah's gift and trot out
of the clearing.



            The wild cheetah hadn't gone far but hid in a bush watching the
strange animals.



            Teague scanned the scrub for a moment and- "THERE! Catch it!"
She pointed after finding it. Two more of her people pursued it and the
animal darted a few yards to safely. The soldiers chased it again and the
feline darted off again remaining just out of reach. The cheetah continued
to evade it's pursuers who began to literally snarl and growl in
frustration. Somehow the animal slipped away entirely leaving Teague's team
in it's dust.



--------------------------



            The cheetah stirred and slowly his eyes opened.



            'Was that just a dream?' He asked himself. Shuffling about, the
cat noted that his backpack still rested firmly on his slender back,
strapped down. His furs and armour, custom fitted to his form sat in place,
the amulets glowing with power to keep the suit functioning. It was a dream.



            Slowly, Stealth stood up to stretch and yawn. 'No, not a dream.'
He began after closing his muzzle from the gaping yawn, 'could it have
been... a memory?' The cheetah's eyes widened in recognition; he'd played
with the metal fox, Madog.



            Going feral was never a case of simple amnesia, though still
vague in places, a bit like recalling a dream. Ironic, he felt as THIS dream
brought back the memory and it was clear as day!



            "I see nothing." A voice said. It didn't belong to the cheetah.
He couldn't speak as he was.



            "There could be scouts in the trees." A second unknown voice
responded.



            Stealth stiffened in his place and turned his head down to the
hay he lay on. This barn had no other occupants when he arrived save the
putrid smelling farm animals.



            "I doubt it, they should all be up north." The first voice
answered.



            "The other town out here is flanked by two castles and a tower."
A third voice said, "If there are any other defences we would have seen them
by now. This place doesn't even have a wall."



            "We've already scouted the area, we don't need to go any further
north then this..." The first voice agreed, "Let's just sack these
monsters."



            Ah, non-cursed humans. Bandits from the south. Wonderful, well
he'll just remain still and quiet until they leave, he mused. He'll warn the
town and those thieves will be in for a surprise...



            The three bandit scouts unsheathed daggers and swords when a
metal leg dropped through the hay net in-between them. While the surprise
Stealth had in store for the thieves wouldn't eventuate now, they were still
very surprised as they stared at the feline's hind leg.



            "What... is that?" One of them asked.



            "Farming equipment." Another answered.



            Stealth felt a tinge of relief-



            "That's a foot paw! It's one of those things, kill it!!!"



            -which was quickly dashed. He tugged his stray leg free of the
net before the bandits could grab it. His steal claws cut through the ropes
in his haste, a bundle of hay fell on the thieves just as the cheetah jumped
out the opening in the hayloft.



            "Kill it! KILL IT!!! Don't let it warn them!" The man screamed
as he removed hay from his shirt. The other two scurried for their bows as
they climbed out of the pile.



            As soon as Stealth hit the ground he tried to ignore the sting
in his legs from the impact and ran on adrenalin from sheer terror. Arrows
flied and landed on either side of the cat as he ran and zigzagged toward
the town. While he did wear armour it only protected his sides and front,
only his tail had armour protection in the rear though one arrow nicked the
armour covering his left foreleg. He ran, he ran so far away, he ran faster
and faster as each new arrow hit the ground near by.



            "Idiots..." The third and most vocal of the scouts said as he
began to chant something and raise his arms toward the fleeing cat.



            Stealth ran and ran and... He stoped, sniffed at the air and
looked around. After looking about for a bit and scratching an itch with a
steel claw the creature wondered at its surrounds. Not knowing what else to
do, the cat walked in the direction he had been heading.
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