[Mkguild] New Lessons to Learn and Old Ones to Teach: Part 2 of 3

[Kamau]

New Lessons to Learn and Old Ones to Teach

By Kamau

Part 2
------
Over the next few days Pierga began walking about the room with the use 
of his staff. No one mentioned his strange collapse or what had 
followed. He made use of his prayer beads and a set of the Canticles 
that someone had left for him but also spent considerable time looking 
out the window and watching the street below. In any other town Pierga 
would not have cast more than an occasional glance to the street but 
here it was an endless fascination to him.

Like any good city or market town the street was busy with people coming 
and going. But here it was not people who walked the streets but all 
manner of creature. There were animals of every kind as well as children 
engaged in very adult like occupations. He also pondered with every 
human he saw if they had always been a man or woman.

A knock on his door brought him out of once such reflection.

"Enter," he said leaning on his staff and turning about.

A man he marked to be six foot in height entered the room. He was of 
moderate build with short brown hair and a beard. From his attire it was 
immediately apparent to the former Yesbearn that he was a priest.

"Father, how can I help you," he said with a slight bow.

"Good day Pierga," the man replied moving without hesitation toward the 
cat. "I have just returned to the Keep and wanted to see how you were 
doing."

"I am healing nicely, Father," he answered. "or so I am told. I am 
afraid I'm not a good judge of how this body should feel."

"Quite understandable," the priest replied looking the feline over. "and 
not at all unusual I assure you. I have seen a number of people who 
stayed here too long struggle with their new bodies."

"Healer Coe said I was doing very well adapting to my form considering 
my wound," Pierga explained. "I've regained enough skill with my hands 
now to feed myself and I have mostly mastered my tail."

"If my memory of when you were brought here is correct that is very 
good," the good Father answered with a nod. "When first I visited, you 
were in a bad way."

"You saw me earlier Father?" he questioned not recalling the priest 
having come before.

"Yes, shortly after they brought you to healer Coe the Followers who 
helped bring you here asked me to come and anoint you. I did so just 
before I left the Keep for a few days."

"You gave me Last Rites?" the knight asked surprised that he could do so 
to a creature such as himself.

"Yes, it is a sacrament of healing," he explained seeing the cat's ears 
and whiskers erect. "That is why it is more properly called the 
Sacrament of the Sick. It is Eli's gift to heal in body, mind and spirit."

"But how could you anoint me?" he asked gesturing to his body. "I'm a 
beast not a man."

"Yahshua's love can see through the outward appearance," the priest 
answered, his gentle baritone voice conveying great kindness. "I have a 
number of parishioners who have the animal form of the curse. They all 
receive the sacraments just as they did before."

"Father," Pierga began but halted and altered his question. "Your pardon 
Father but I fear I don't know your name."

"I am Father Francis Hough," he replied. "I have been sent here from 
Ellcaran to minister to the people here at Metamor."

"Father Hough. Yes, now I recall someone mentioning your name," the 
jaguar continued. "Father, how is it that you yourself are not subject 
to the curse? Has the Ecclesia found a way to protect themselves against 
it?"

"No, I'm afraid there is no protection from the curse save time," the 
good Father explained. "That is why I don't stay more than a few days 
whenever I come here each month. Not only do I desire to stay human but 
I am not sure if I were changed that the bishop would allow me to 
function as a priest. I'm certain if I were to be changed into a woman I 
could not."

"Yes, I believe you are correct on that point Father," Pierga agreed. 
"But why have you returned so soon now?"

"To see how you and some others were doing," he replied reaching into 
his cassock and drawing out a small silver container. "And to give you 
the Eucharist."

Pierga stood aghast at what was just presented to him. How could he ever 
hope to partake of the Eucharist with his great sin.

"I'm afraid I can't Father," he said hanging his head.

"But why not?" the priest questioned. "Surely a man in your condition 
could not have committed a sin that would prevent him from receiving."

"I have sinned Father," the cat replied, barely lifting his head and his 
ears low.

"You do understand the anointing I gave you forgives all your sins," the 
priest explained. "Or if you like I can hear your confession and then 
you could receive."

For a moment Pierga considered if this would be the time. He could 
confess all and be done of it. But how could he here? There was no means 
for a priest to level the type of punishment called for with the 
greatness of his sins. Not only that but it was needful for him to 
confess to his Yesbearn brothers as well for the killing of a fellow knight.

"No Father, I can't," he finally said. "My sin is too great."

"You are guilty of a reserved sin?" Father Hough replied his voice 
betraying his shock at the thought.

"No Father," the jaguar answered. "but the penance that I would need to 
perform could not be accomplished here. I do not distain your offer but 
I simply can not accept."

For a moment the priest looked as if he would persist in the offer but 
then slowly returned the container to his pocket.

"When you are ready," he said in a calm and kind voice. "I will be here 
for you Pierga."

"Thank you Father," he replied relieved that the priest accepted his 
response. "I will bare that in mind."

"I must go to visit others," he told him. "I should be back in somewhat 
more than a fortnight. I hope I'll see you at Service then."

"If I am still here I will certainly attend," the former knight assured him.

"Let me at least give you a blessing before I go," Father Hough said 
extending his hand.

Pierga knelt and the priest gave him his blessing, laying his hand on 
the cat's head as he finished. There was warmth in the touch that Pierga 
could not explain but he took comfort in.

"Good bye Pierga," the priest said as he left. "Eli be with you until 
next we meet."

"And with you Father," he replied as the door closed.

For a long moment he remained kneeling where he had been blessed. Slowly 
he stood and moved to the window just in time to see a deer greet the 
priest as he walked up the street. Long after the priest was out of 
sight he stood pondering what course he should take. Some day he would 
have to confess his sins, some day he would have to face the priests and 
his brother knights to receive punishment for all he had done. But how, 
how could he return now that he was a beast and not a man? He resolved 
himself that the answer would only come through prayer and for now this 
is what he would commit himself to. Turning back to the room he picked 
up the Canticles and began to read.

Pierga's plans however were altered the next day as Alayna came and 
examined his wound.

"That's doing well enough that I think I'll have you try the stairs 
today," she told him. "Once you've mastered those you should be free to go."

"Go where?" Pierga asked having not thought about what he would do after 
he had recovered.

"Free to go anywhere within Metamor or the valley for that matter," she 
answered. "I would not go beyond the valley however as those with animal 
forms, such as yourself, are not very well accepted out there."

"Yes," the former knight replied considering what his own response would 
have been to a creature such as himself. "But what am I to do and where 
can I find lodging?"

"As a knight you could easily find employment with the Duke," Alayna 
told him opening the door. "but he also is in need of good soldiers. I 
think Sal could help you get a position in the guard if you wanted. 
First I think we need to get you using stairs."

Alayna guided the big cat over to the stairs and helped him with his 
first few steps. Though it seemed forever Pierga finally reached the 
bottom and stood in the entry way.

"I want you to rest a minute before we go back up," she told him. "Would 
you like to step outside while we do that?"

"I don't think I'm exactly dressed for that," the jaguar told her 
looking at the knee length shirt which was his sole covering.

"No, but I can get you a pair of breaches to wear if you want to," his 
healer offered. "We'll see you have a more proper set of clothing before 
you leave."

Pierga considered the offer. He had not been outside his room for more 
than a fortnight. A bit of fresh air would be pleasant.

"Yes, I think I'd like that," he replied.

Alayna entered another room and returned with an oddly shaped set of 
breaches. Pierga sat down on a nearby bench and began to slip them over 
his fur covered legs. As he pulled them up his fur was forced the wrong 
way making him feel very uncomfortable. Reaching inside the leg he 
managed to settle the fur a bit and continued to raise them to his 
waist. Abruptly they stopped and the big cat knew why instantly as his 
tail was lifted upward.

"Lower them and I'll help you get your tail through the hole," his 
female assistant told him. "Like eating it takes time to become accustom 
to dressing yourself."

With a nod he allowed her to guide his new appendage out the hole in the 
breaches made for just that purpose.

After putting on the breaches Alayna had given him they stepped outside 
to the street. The morning was fresh and bright and the street was busy 
with people going about their business. As he stood there Pierga became 
aware of his size for the first time. As a man he was use to being one 
of the tallest in any gathering but here it was far greater. With the 
exception of an occasional ox, horse or bear Keeper he towered over them 
all. More than once a Keeper who saw him stared as they past making him 
somewhat uneasy.

"I take it there are not many felines in the city," he finally commented 
after a deer had stumbled from not watching where he was going.

"I would say they are as common as any other form here," Alayna told 
him. "But I don't think there's another that's quite your color and 
certainly not with that pattern on their coat."

The feline nodded and leaned on his staff as he watched the people move 
past. Now that he was in the street he also noticed much more of the 
smells that had been assaulting him over the days of his recovery. It 
was difficult to discern one from another. His ears were also getting 
their first real exercise as they swiveled about capturing sounds, some 
of which he had never remembered hearing before.

"Shall we try to climb the stairs now?" Alayna asked after a few minutes.

"Yes, I think I'm ready," the jaguar replied scratching his upper leg.

"Are the breaches too tight?" Alayna asked noting this was not the first 
time he had done this.

"Not tight," he answered. "They just seem to irritate my fur."

"It's the first time you've worn any since your change," she told him 
opening the door. "I'll mention it to Richard but I think you'll get use 
to them in time."

"Perhaps but I must say even my shirt has bothered me," he said stepping 
back inside. "Not as greatly as the breaches are but enough to be annoying."

"Give it time," she counseled. "we all had to get use to different 
bodies after the curse."

Looking at the well endowed woman who had been born a man the former 
knight's ears went hot as he blushed beneath his fur. Undoubtedly she 
must have found her body very foreign to her in the beginning.

Pierga found going up the stairs was easier than the descent had been 
though somewhat more painful. Alayna was pleased with how he had handled 
them and after a brief rest had him make two more circuits of them. At 
the end of the last climb she told him that she expected him to start 
using the stairs as part of his daily exercise.

This he did quite willingly and would stand out in the street between 
each repetition. After a few days some of the faces became familiar to 
him though he did not talk to anyone who passed. He also found that his 
hip was feeling better with this added exercise though he continued to 
be troubled by the breaches irritating his fur. Alayna gave him a tunic 
to try but this only raised the irritation to his shoulders and chest.

As he was resting outside between his exercises he spied a familiar 
feline coming up the street. Seeing the large fangs he knew it had to be 
Sal but he was clothed much different than before. He was carrying a 
halberd and wore leather and chain mail armor. Raising a paw he hailed 
the big cat who immediately altered his course.

"Good day Pierga," the Smilodon greeted him. "You're looking well today."

"Thank you Sal," he replied. "I'm told that I'll be able to leave in 
just a couple of days."

"That is good news. What are your plans after that?"

"I must confess I don't know what I will do. I do have some money but I 
don't know where to find lodging here nor do I know what I will do to 
earn my keep."

"Lodging is easy to come by. I know there's a room open in the place 
where I live, that is if you don't mind having a big long toothed feline 
as a neighbor."

"I think I could handle that," Pierga said with a smile. "The price 
would be the greatest difficulty for me."

"Most rooms are less than fifteen golds a month and you'll not fine 
better in the lower keep."

"That may be but it still doesn't solve the problem of how I pay for 
them. Even if I could find work I'm not going to be worth much for a 
couple weeks yet."

"You have a skill that is much in demand in Metamor," the saber-tooth 
told him.

"Does memory grow shorter with the length of your teeth?" the jaguar 
snarled. "I would think after the other day you would understand that."

"I understand that a well trained soldier, no matter what you call him 
is valuable here," Sal replied. "How many here could boast of the years 
of training you have? How many have the experience you possess? We need 
people like you to defend this place."

"And what am I suppose to do," Pierga said, a growl still in his voice. 
"Stand there and look menacing? Until this hip heals I can't even fight."

"Do you need to fight to train people?" Sal asked continuing to ignore 
the other felines tone. "We need someone with your skills to train 
people in the guard and the militia. I do what I can but my duties are 
now with the scouts. You could teach these recruits now and enter the 
guard when you were fully healed."

"I don't know," the big cat said shaking his head. "I'm not even sure 
how well I can fight in this body."

"Wait here just a minute," Sal said entering healer Coe's house.

Moments later he reemerged a smile making his impressive teeth even longer.

"We're going for a walk," he announced gesturing down the street. "I've 
got something to show you."

"But my hip," Pierga objected.

"Alayna said you were more then well enough to walk as far as I need you 
to," Sal insisted. "And she added it would do you good to see more of 
the city."

The jaguar opened his mouth ready to object but relented and allowed Sal 
to guide him through the city. They had gone no more then a dozen houses 
when a raccoon Pierga recognized from standing in the street smiled and 
waved as he saw him walking. The feline waved and returned the smile.

"Oh but just one thing to remember", Sal told him after seeing a boar 
Keeper scurry to the other side of the street.

"What is that?" the big cat asked.

"Try not to smile quite so broadly," Sal told him and pointed to his 
fangs. "For predators like ourselves a smile can reveal a little too 
much of these for prey species to be comfortable with."

Along the way the big cat pointed out several areas that were still 
being repaired from the battles fought in the Keep. Soon they reached an 
open green where several pairs of combatants were practicing.

"This is what we have to work with," the long toothed feline sighed. "I 
do what I can as do others but many times they are simply left to train 
themselves."

A yip sounded as a dog Keeper was struck along side the head, not far 
from where they watched.

"Guard!" Shouted Sal. "Guard first, attack second."

The dog nodded, still rubbing his ear and turned back to his opponent. 
The two had no more then reengaged when Pierga's attention was drawn to 
another pair working off to the side. A tall young man, he assumed had 
once been a woman, was showering blows on a small raccoon about half his 
size. While the raccoon launched repeated counterattacks he never came 
near the man who was able to hold him at arms length. Looking at each of 
the others who were engaged Pierga could see what Sal was talking about.

Finally a firm thump drew the former knight's attention back to the 
human raccoon pair. Turning he saw the coon holding his side where 
undoubtedly the man had just laid a firm blow.

"Len, keep a high guard and press the attack," Sal shouted over at the pair.

"But I can't get near him," the animal Keeper objected. "his reach is 
too great."

"On a battlefield you can't pick the size of your opponents," Pierga 
said in a commanding voice. "You have to play their weakness against them."

"How can I do that when I can't even reach him?" Len objected facing the 
big cat.

"By using your size against his," the jaguar told him.

Both of the combatants looked at him puzzled by what he meant.

"Both of you come here," he ordered. "Lad, give me your cudgel."

The young man obediently surrendered his wooden weapon to the cat.

"Now, half speed, come to me," he directed the raccoon.

"But you're even bigger than he is," the small Keeper objected looking 
up at the feline.

"And I'm also standing with the aid of a staff," came the growling 
reply. "Do it, half speed, now!"

As before the small creature moved in and made his attacks. Pierga, even 
with his injury, fended them off with ease. Then he abruptly shouted.

"Halt! Look where you are."

Looking the raccoon saw that the big cat had taken his wooden blade with 
a low guard while he himself was high.

"Now, step toward me," ordered the cat.

"But…" the raccoon began but was cut short by a growl order.

"Act, don't talk!"

The Keeper obeyed and as he did so Pierga's blade was pushed back and to 
the side.

"Now, step under and lift my blade."

The Keeper complied finding himself now under the feline's arm.

"Disengage, turn and draw," the jaguar ordered.

Not questioning the order the smaller combatant drew back his blade and 
turned, his nose inches from the feline's body. Suddenly he realized 
what was expected and drew the wooden blade across his opponent's stomach.

"That is how you use your size to your advantage," Pierga instructed. 
"Close on your enemy, press your attack from close quarters and use his 
own force to clear his blade then finish it. Now practice that."

The big cat tossed the wooden weapon back to the lad he had taken it 
from and the two resumed their sparring. This time the smaller of the 
two was not as outclassed as before though he still had much to learn.

"Well done," a deep voice came from behind him. "Even with one leg you 
handle yourself like a master."

Turning to Sal he nodded in agreement to his comment.

"Do you really send these people out against an enemy?" he asked looking 
about at the practice once more.

"Not often, thankfully," he replied with a sigh. "but there have been 
times that it was needful. That is one of the reasons I hoped you might 
help."

Shaking his head the big cat looked at the saber-tooth and replied.

"How much latitude will I have in their training?"

"As much as you need is my guess," the Smilodon told him. "I'm not the 
one to give the final say, that will be up to Jack DeMule our training 
master. Once I tell him of your experience and training I'm sure he'll 
agree. The method will be up to you. Just try not to break any of them."

"I doubt I could do more harm then they are doing to themselves," he 
replied as another howl of pain rang out.

"I wouldn't say that," Sal said with a smile. "Once you have your feet 
under you again I think you could do considerable harm from what I just 
saw you do with that wooden sword."

The jaguar's ears perked to their full erect position at the comment. It 
struck Pierga that indeed he had wielded a sword of wood without even 
thinking about it. Whatever the curse against his using a sword was it 
did not appear to extend to his use of these training devices.

"True," he said to his fellow soldier. "Let us return to Coe's before I 
witness any more of this mockery of sword play."

On the way back Sal explained the basic composition of Metamor's 
military and their chief enemies. Pierga listened intently and by the 
time they reached the healer's house he was fully aware of why the Keep 
needed so strong a defense.

"Sal, there is one thing I do ask you." Pierga said as the Smilodon was 
about to take his leave. "Do not make mention of my station to those you 
must speak to."

"Pierga, I told you this yesterday," the saber-tooth replied. "I know 
the pain you are enduring. I will not inflict more on you by any action 
I take. You are a soldier who has been exceptionally well trained and 
battle tested, more than that they need not know."

"Thank you," the jaguar said. "I am grateful to you for that and for 
your help."

"Send word when you are ready," Sal called out as he began to leave. 
"I'll come and show you the way to your new lodging."

Reentering the house Pierga retired to his room where he reflected on 
the day's events and what might lay ahead for him in the Keep.

End Part 2 of New Lessons to Learn and Old Ones to Teach


!DSPAM:4beb5119167461804284693!