Two of a Kind - 14. Chapter 14: Meetings

Cavel held Bashta's hand on yet another flight. This time his mate wasn't medicated or focused on any sick kitlings so Cavel kept talking to him.

"What are we going to do about the baby?" Bashta asked.

"Bring her home of course."

Bashta caressed Cavel's hand, trying to ease the red marks he had left when the plane took off. Cavel pulled his hand up and kissed his knuckles.

"You would do that for me?"

Cavel nodded simply. "Look, from all the evidence and, while not much, what we do have points almost inconclusively to this unknown jaguar to being one of your siblings. That makes this baby your clan, your blood and that makes her part of us, our clan."

"Tell me about these guys we are going to meet. You said he's a bird Carthera?"

"A Falcon actually. He's the leader of all the clans in this area. He is newly mated to a Lynx who was raised by a psychotic Jaguar who actually tried to kill them both."

Bashta blinked and shook his head. "Growing up the clans where I lived did not mix. Each to their own kind only. We lived more simply though."

"There isn't as much room here as you had in the jungle. Humans haven't encroached on the land where your clan lived as much. Here, there has always been the battle for balance between the humans and the clans. In the times before the peace treaties the clans stayed close to each other for protection, though we fought a lot, of course."

The plane began to shake and Bashta grabbed Cavel's hand with a slight whimper. Cavel let him hold as tight as he needed to and rumbled soothingly, pulling Bashta a bit closer to him and under his arm. The plane leveled out and Bashta let out the breath he was holding.

"Just a little bit of turbulence folks," the pilot's voice washed through the plane, "and we might hit a bit more so please make sure your seat belts are fastened."

Bashta's free hand traced over the small bit of fabric. "I can't believe they expect me to think this is going to keep me safe," he muttered.

"It's okay, babe. Planes are even safer than cars."

Bashta shook his head. "I don't think I'm ever going to get used to the speed everyone travels at here."

Cavel rubbed his arm. "You'll get used to it, I promise. It is just going to take some time." He kissed Bashta softly on his temple. "We have plenty of that."

Bashta sighed and relaxed his grip on Cavel's poor hand, the red marks back brighter than ever. "So the clans don't fight each other anymore?"

Cavel shrugged a little. "Not all out clan wars. There will always be dust ups and issues between certain types. Most Snakes are shunned; they are really different from other Carthera clans. The bird and cat clans have not always gotten along well together but since Velaku and Natham mated things have been more settled. The main difficulties come from the more canine clans which can be very dominance focused.

"My father had great respect for Velaku's father. The man held the clans together and did so without trying to control all of us. He listened and helped us form a unique group. Not all the territories are so peaceful or cooperative. Of course, someone killed him and tried to kill Velaku so not everyone is happy with how things are run."

The plane shook a bit and then dropped. Bashta's face went white and he clawed at his seat belt and Cavel, trying to get farther into his arms. Cavel snarled and glared at the pilot's cabin. He knew it wasn't the man's fault but damn, he wanted to beat him for making his mate upset.

"We'll be there soon."

Bashta held onto him and grimaced. "My stomach hurts."

Cavel held up an arm and the stewardess sitting at the front of first class came over to them. "Can I help you sir?"

"Yes, can we get a bottle of ginger ale please? My mate isn't feeling so well."

"Of course sir. I think we still have some crackers." She looked at Bashta and smiled calmly, "Would you care for some of those, sir?"

Bashta grimaced at being treated like he was fragile but it would be worse if he embarrassed himself by throwing up. "Yes, thank you."

Armed with the soothing drink and the dry crackers to settle his roiling stomach Bashta leaned against Cavel. He took small bites and sips. He sighed.

"Better?" Cavel asked.

"Yes."

"Why don't you take a short nap? We've about an hour until we land and we didn't really get any sleep last night."

Bashta yawned. "I might be able to do that."

Cavel caressed him, swirling his fingers in a gentle petting that made Bashta rumbled in contentment. His head leaned down and rested against Cavel's shoulder. His eyes slowly closed at Cavel stroked his head and ears, sending his body into a peaceful doze. Cavel closed his eyes after his mate's breathing became slow and regular. Sleep was slow in coming but it eventually overtook him and he settled against his mate.

***

"It's nice to meet you Bashta." Velaku extended his hand.

Bashta kept glancing at his snowy white wings with crimson tips. He carefully shook Velaku's hand, noticing the sharp talons on the small man's fingers.

"Um, you too."

"Cavel. Always a pleasure."

"Likewise, Velaku. Will we be meeting your mate? I have heard... interesting things about Natham. I've been looking forward to meeting him."

"Looks like you get your wish." A deep voice belonging to a large cat Carthera with long dark hair startled them. He walked over to Velaku and wrapped his arms around the small man and smiled at Bashta and Cavel.

Velaku patted the man's arm. "Natham, this is Cavel and Bashta."

"Nice to meet you both."

Bashta stared at Natham. The man was golden all over except for his long, dark hair and eyes. He should have looked strange standing against the small pale Velaku but he didn't. They were mates and something about the two of them was just right. Cavel could see on the surface why some of the clans had issues with the pair but he wasn't one of them.

"You too. Thank you, for helping us with this. I know this has been an unsettled time for your clan."

Velaku waved his hand dismissively. "You know how worried we were about your clan and how sick they were. I wish we could have helped before this but finding those who were responsible was the right thing to do, for everyone."

Velaku pulled away from his mate and moved to some chairs, gesturing for everyone to sit down.

"I'm sorry we weren't able to find them before your brother and his mate were harmed. We already gave the doctor the medicine you brought and the instructions from your Dr. Waddel for the kitling."

"Thank you. We weren't sure if she was sick but thought it best to be prepared and the doctor said that dosing her if she wasn't sick wouldn't hurt her."

"Is The Snake here?"

"No. Urgent business of his own came up and he's unable to be here for this meeting. There isn't much more he could say that we haven't already discussed over the phone. He did leave something for you though."

Velaku picked up a book off his desk. It was black with a silver scroll work across the cover. He handed it over to Bashta.

"What is this?"

Velaku settled back in his chair. "We don't really know. It was found in the same cell as the kitling and the mother."

Bashta closed his eyes. The fact that she lost her parents the same way as he did affected him almost more than the fact the kitling was his only blood kin in the world. He didn't want anyone to feel the pain and loneliness he had felt.

"The book has writing in it but nothing we could read. I was considering having a specialist look at it but I wanted to get Bashta's permission first." Velaku took a sip of the water his assistant had gotten for him.

Bashta's fingers lightly stroked the warm leather cover. He traced the silver leaves that decorated the front and he bit his lip before looking up at Cavel with wary eyes.

"Open it. If you can't read it we can always ask Velaku's specialist to research it."

Bashta's hand trembled slightly as he gingerly flipped open the front cover. His sharp teeth worried at his bottom lip and he squinted at the page. He touched the page here and there, his mouth moving silently. All three of the other men in the room watched him. His finger began to move faster and faster.

"Can you read it?" Natham asked in his rumbling voice. "Bashta?"

Bashta didn't appear to hear him. He flipped the page and his eyes widened.

"Bashta!" Cavel reached out and shook his shoulder a little.

Bashta jerked a little and then looked up, his eyes unfocused. He blinked a few times and then looked at Cavel.

"His name was Djavan. He was my brother. According to this he left the year my litter was born with his mate."

"You can read that?" Velaku asked this time.

"Yes. It's a language used in our clan. A mix of symbols and words like your English language." Bashta looked up. "Why didn't I know about him? Where were his litter mates?"

"If he was your parent's eldest then he wouldn't have had any," Natham said. "Cat Carthera only have one kitling in the first litter, much like most human pregnancies."

"Why didn't you say anything?" Bashta looked up at Cavel.

"I didn't think about it, honestly." Cavel looked over at Bashta. He really hadn't thought about all the comments his mate made about his litter mates because at the time it just wasn't relevant to what was going on since they met. "I would never have guessed that you had a brother alive out in the world somewhere.

"What else does the book say? Does it tell what happened?"

Bashta looked back down at the page, tapping a mark here and there. "He argued with my father. He felt that the modern world was beginning to make itself felt in the jungle," Bashta paused, "and he was right too. Over the years we saw more and more humans in our area of the jungle. We used to be able to travel for more than a week in any direction and not see the end of the rain forest. When we left it took just a few days. I saw more and more humans.

"He believed that we needed to learn to coexist with the humans to protect our sacred places. We couldn't hide forever. He doesn't say what finally made him leave but he took his mate and left after he was sure that my parents had another heir to lead the clan and be alpha. I can't believe that. They were so young, just my age."

"Can you skip to the end? See if he said anything about the smugglers or their operation?"

Bashta flipped the book to the end and began rifling back through the pages.

There was a knock at the door.

Natham stood up. "I think Velaku's mother has made some brunch prepared for us. Airplane food is close enough to cardboard to be inedible and you must be hungry. We haven't eaten yet so I thought we could all breakfast together."

"That looks good, Natham." Velaku cleared some space from his desk for Natham to put the tray down."Remind me to thank her later."

"Bashta, do you want to eat?"

Bashta was reading intently and he barely looked up. "Just save me something please."

Cavel, Velaku, and Natham made quiet conversation about their clans and at the variety of foods available. Natham and Cavel ate more of the breakfast meat while Velaku savored the succulent melon and berries available along with the whole grain toast.

About a half hour later another knock at the door pulled Bashta from his intense reading. His nose twitched. "Chocolate?"

Cavel laughed. "I see your nose is working just as well as ever."

This time Velaku answered the door.

"I thought your guests could use something sweet, dear."

Cavel and Bashta both stood when Elalera moved into the room. The woman was small as all bird Carthera were but she held herself with the dignity of the wife and mother of the Falcon leader, both old and new. She passed Natham the tray with four cups of steaming hot chocolate. The rich smell filled the room and Bashta couldn't help but take a deep breath and sigh.

"Thank you, my lady." Cavel bowed over the hand Elalera held out to him and kissed it. She blushed and laughed a little.

"You are entirely too smooth for your own good," she said with a smile. "It's a good thing you are mated."

"I think my mate likes you better than me right now anyway." They all laughed at Bashta who had already picked up his cup and was taking a cautious sip and then savored the rich chocolate and cinnamon flavor. An ecstatic look crossed his face and his eyes sprang open.

"This is wonderful!"

Elalera reached up and patted his cheek. "Thank you my dear. I'll make sure you get the recipe before you leave."

His beaming smile caught everyone by surprise as he grabbed Velaku's mother in a hug. "Thank you!"

Cavel chuckled, "Like I said, he really likes his chocolate."

"Well I'll leave you gentlemen to your business. I think someone needs me right about now anyway." A cry from a young one could be heard faintly in the room with the door open. Bashta's breath hitched a little.

The men remained standing until Elalera left the room and then sat back down. Bashta drank his chocolate and ate some of the food Cavel saved for him as he told them about what he read.

"Basically they were looking for the Temple. The humans who were holding Djavan's family hostage wanted him to lead them there so they could steal the treasures in the offering rooms. Djavan's intentions were to lead them into the rainforest and then have our clan force them to release his pregnant mate.

"He... Well, his reaction to the village was horrible and that's just what he wrote on paper. He tried to lead the humans away when he saw the signs but all they saw was a chance to loot. They forced him into the village. He had to watch as they pawed over the dead bodies of people he had known and stole anything they thought they could sell to collectors."

Bashta was very tense and Cavel rubbed his shoulder and urged him to drink a bit more of his cocoa. He didn't want his mate upset or to experience pain from reading his brother's journal but it might have answers they needed. He was the only one who could.

When Bashta calmed down a little he went on.

"He didn't get sick right away but by the time they came back to the United States he was showing signs of the fever and coughing. They forced him to return to the jungle about two weeks after they returned, this time to find the Temple. He never got to see his mate or their newborn daughter. He wrote that he would have refused even if the humans had allowed; he knew what the plague markers around the village meant. He was going to die. He did bribe one guard to slip this book into his wife." Bashta blushed a little. "The last few pages were private messages for her."

"Was there anything about who was behind all of this?"

"He only mentions humans. He was forced to submit to them when they grabbed his pregnant mate from a doctor's appointment while he was at work. He couldn't risk her life nor that of their unborn kitling." Bashta looked sad as he stared at the door, remembering that faint wail earlier. "Turns out he lost them both anyway."

Velaku leaned forward and put his hand over the one clenched on Bashta's thigh next to him. "Losing a parent is hard and losing both is tragic. I know how much pain you must carry with you. But your niece will have you; she will still have family, a clan. She will have parents and love."

"You're right. I just can't understand why people do this. Why do humans hate us so much?"

Natham spoke up. "It's not just humans, there are good and bad Carthera just as there are people. Was there anything in your brother's book about who was in charge? David killed a few guards to get in to the building and your brother's mate killed the man outside her cell but they were all killed too fast to question."

"I just skimmed it really." Bashta ran a hand through his hair. "I do remember one thing. He said that he overheard a phone call one day when the human's left the small slot in his cell door open. He said the humans seemed very afraid and the voice over the phone sounded strange and he could hear animal sounds in the background but unlike anything he'd ever heard before."

Velaku looked thoughtful. "Your brother probably wasn't exposed to that many different clans as a loner. He might not have recognized the sound of the voice if he didn't know the type of animal the Carthera was."

Natham nodded. "Davis did say he thought that a Carthera had to be behind this. There were artifacts in that building that weren't just from the Jaguar clans. They are targeting holy places to the clans, places that no outsiders would know. Temples, ancient worship halls, hidden villages... no human would be trusted with that knowledge, much less from the four clans we found that had artifacts stolen from them."

Cavel raised an eyebrow. "You think this went beyond what Bashta's brother knew?"

Velaku stood up and paced around the office a little. "I do. I don't want to seem paranoid but I've wondered if we managed to catch all of the Carthera involved in my father's killing. There have been other things happening to clans in my territory that don't seem significant when taken alone, but all together?" He shook his head. "I just have this feeling there is something we are missing."

Natham stood up and stopped Velaku in his pacing. "That may be true but we can't see it right now. We have to wait until we have more evidence and a direction to investigate. We have done all we can right for the time being."

Cavel nodded his head. "My clan has only prospered under your family's rule." He stood and held his fist to his chest in salute to Velaku. "You helped my clan and dealt with The Snake so that my people would be safe. You eliminated the danger to us from the artifacts from Bashta's village and you have cared for his niece in your own home. If you ever have need, call on me. Anything my clan or I can do to help will be done."

Bashta hurried to stand beside him and copy his stance. "My mate speaks for both of us."

Velaku saluted him back. "Thank you, my friend."

There was a moment of silence. Very faintly a cry was heard through the closed door and Bashta's ear twitched.

Natham smiled at Bashta. "I would guess you'd like to see your niece now."

Bashta took a deep breath and nodded. "I think I'm ready."

***

Velaku led the pair deeper into the house to the personal living space areas.

"I'm sorry Natham couldn't join us, he was scheduled for another modified Jintue lesson with Dorvan. My best friend, Alseliol found his mate and bonded as well so they can take turns replacing me for the lesson. We've found the combination of fighting styles, cat and falcon, is particularly lethal."

Cavel looked impressed.

"Bashta has been showing us his techniques for guerrilla style fighting when time allows. He's almost impossible to spot when he tries to blend in with nature, it's eerie."

Velaku looked at Bashta with a thoughtful expression. "That may be useful. Perhaps we should consider pairing our fighters for some cross training. Now that my clan has seen just how much more effective Natham and I are we might be able to get the more conservative warriors on board. Then Bashta could teach our men at the same time."

Cavel looked over at Bashta, who shrugged. "I'm willing to help however I can. If there is someone out there, some unknown Carthera plotting against the clans here it would be good to be able to work together. The easiest way to defeat an enemy is to isolate him."

Velaku nodded. "Very true. I will make sure to bring that point up at the next council meeting." He paused outside a door and Bashta was suddenly extremely nervous. Cavel wrapped his arm around him.

"Ready?"

Bashta took a deep breath and nodded.

Velaku opened the door and the first thing Bashta saw was a small body on hands and knees on a soft rug. The baby was playing with a soft block and her long black hair hung in ringlets almost to the floor. When her chubby little face turned toward the movement of the men in the door Bashta fell against Cavel as his knees gave out.

Tears streamed down his face and he rubbed at his eyes trying to clear them so he could continue to stare mesmerized at the little girl. Cavel rubbed his back and soothed him with a deep rumble in his chest. He began to get worried when it felt like Bashta wasn't breathing.

"Bashta?"

Bashta didn't answer Cavel, barely blinking as he stared into space with a frown. Cavel could feel the same sadness that had permeated Bashta since they mated, but blanketing everything was a profound sense of shock.

"Bashta, what is it?" Cavel shook his shoulder a little and Bashta finally blinked and drew in a quick breath before letting it out in a small sob. He shuddered and then pulled away from Cavel to drop to his knees a few feet from the solemn baby. The two of them seemed to be ignoring everything and everyone around them.

Suddenly the kitling crawled over to Bashta and began patting his arm. She babbled at him. Bashta held out his hand and she pulled herself up onto her feet while clutching the slender fingers with both of her chubby little hands. When he scooped her up and pulled her into his chest and began rocking her, she cooed and grabbed his shirt in a firm grip to snuggle in even closer. Velaku, his mother, and Cavel just watched the intimate scene that was so clearly a reunion of two family members, even if they had never met before.

Elalera moved slowly to avoid disturbing Bashta who was singing under his breath in a strange language to his niece. He dropped kisses on her head and spoke to her in broken whispers. Elalera urged Cavel forward as she and Velaku stepped back and moved away to give them some space.

Cavel took a step toward his mate and the beautiful baby he had snuggled in his arms. He sat down behind Bashta and gathered his mate into his arms. He slid his hands down Bashta's arms and together they held the baby that meant so much to both of them.

For a moment Cavel didn't realize Bashta was speaking to him.

"She looks like my sister."

"She does?" Cavel used one hand to gently smooth the curls back from her face. Her little rosebud mouth opened and shut a few times as her lips smacked together and her eyelids quivered at the touch before settling back into sleep with a small sigh.

"Her eyes are just like Velli's. Shiny and black like obsidian with those long dark lashes so thick they look like her eyes are smudged all around with soft black charcoal." She was a beautiful little girl, a black jaguar kitling. Cavel couldn't take his eyes off of her and when he touched her hand all he could do was stroke the skin that was softer than anything he had ever felt.

"She's perfect," Cavel whispered. "What's her name?"

"Caliopa."

"What does that mean?" Cavel continued to stroke her hand and she let go of Bashta's shirt and grabbed his finger. "Oh, she's strong," he marveled. Her fingers clutched at his and he felt a wave of tenderness.

"Beautiful. Her name means beautiful."

"Hmm," Cavel rested his head on Bashta's shoulder. Together they held the baby that already felt a part of them. Cavel would do anything in his power to keep her safe. With one touch of her hand she had touched his heart.

Bashta leaned his head back and turned to look at Cavel's profile. "Can we take her home?"

"Yes." Cavel turned his head to kiss his mate tenderly on the mouth. He pulled back and smiled. "Let's go right now." He stood and carefully helped Bashta up, steering him for the door.

Bashta let him lead the way, glancing down frequently to the sleeping kitling. "Velaku won't be upset?"

Cavel shook his head. "I don't think so. This need to bond is biological. He will understand."

Bashta frowned. "I don't just want her because it's biological. I love her, Cavel. She is my blood."

Cavel soothed him with a hand on his back. "I know, love. I didn't mean it like that, I love her too. I just want to be together at home with our new kitling. I want to spend some time alone as a family with you and Caliopa."

Bashta leaned up and kissed Cavel back. "Me too."