Season of Bloom - 9. Cats' Claws

He hadn’t slept under a blanket in ages, and Kiba had to admit he missed it.

Sure, he was sleeping on the floor, wrapped up in the warm cocoon of a spare sheet while the dark one owned the bed, but the kobold didn’t actually mind the floor. It reminded him of some of the simpler nests back under the sycamore, back when things were more peaceful, before King Tartuk and his exile.

Hunger gnawed at his belly, Kiba chittering quietly in annoyance. He was never this hungry before; the tribe always kept him fed when he lived there, and even when he had been chained up, rainwater and bugs had been plenty to live off of. But now his body demanded more.

Unrolling from his nest, the kobold looked around warily. This place was too clean; there were no bugs for him to eat here. Even Apsu was skittering around in dismay, the lizard finding nothing to sate his own appetite.

A dimming fire whispered in the fireplace on the side of the room, embers glowing in dying wooden logs as warmth seeped unevenly through the room. Kiba crawled toward the fire, laying beside it as Apsu skittered across the floor searching for something, anything to eat.

Faes grumbled something sharp, and the two froze, staring at the dark man in smallclothes.

“Shh… no noise Great One,” Kiba breathed, looking at Apsu. “The dark one sleeps…”

He felt almost offended at the thought that the dragon had to be silent. Or maybe that was Apsu’s emotions he felt. Either way, one of them was upset, and that was enough to make him upset too.

Creeping toward the door, Kiba winced at the quiet creaking of the wooden barrier as he struggled to pull the heavy door open. He slipped out of the room into the chilled halls beyond, Apsu following at his feet.

“Master Kobold,” a man’s voice said, Kiba letting out a gasp as he whirled around.

His long tail whipped behind him as he grabbed Apsu off the floor, stuffing the squirming skink into the protection of his pocket. Stepping away from the tall man in green livery, the kobold looked up warily.

“I have been assigned to see to your needs while you remain here as consul,” the human said, bowing slightly. “As you can see, I am fluent in your tongue, and I can serve as a translator, should you desire one.”

“The great Apsu needs food,” Kiba frowned, the skink poking out of his pocket.

“I will take you to the dining hall then, sir.”

He could see the frown on the human’s face as they headed down the chilly halls of the manor, toward a set of large doors. Kiba wondered suspiciously if he was upset about Apsu. Most of the softskins didn’t like lizards, or dragons, and a dragon who looked like a lizard… no, he would have to protect Apsu all the more fiercely here.

They moved quickly through the halls, the short kobold having to jog after the human. It wasn’t long before he was standing at the entrance of a large hall, Octavia sitting alone at a massive wood table.

“Good morning Kiba,” the half elf said quietly. “You’re an early riser too?”

“Kiba is hungry,” the kobold replied simply, climbing onto a tall chair.

“Well we have breakfast coming in a few minutes. Today is going to be a long day, and I expect you would be happier away from the council chambers. Tempers are bound to get heated.”

“When is Lapis coming back?”

“I’m not sure,” Octavia replied. “Faes said something about him going to the Verdant Chambers. He might not come back at all.”

The kobold flinched at that thought. He needed the cat to return, Lapis was the one who kept him safe from the dark one.

“If you’re worried about it, don’t be. You’re an honoured representative of Chief Sootscale. We would never let anything bad happen to you. Of course, we never expected anything bad to happen to Cassiel, but… mistakes do happen I suppose.”

The kobold sighed quietly as a plate was carried into the room, Octavia motioning for it to be set before him instead. He stared at it hungrily, Apsu crawling from his pocket unbidden to try to steal a piece of meat from the platter.

“That’s a cute lizard. Reg has one that looks like a salamander. It’s funny, he’s all about lightning, but his familiar is a creature of fire. Probably works well with his hot temper,” Octavia chuckled.

“You won’t hurt Apsu?” Kiba asked suspiciously, a hand held protectively in front of the skink.

“Gods no, that would be evil!” Octavia gasped. “No, your familiar is safe with us. It’s adorable that you named him after the god of dragons though.”

Kiba frowned at the half-elf in confusion. He wasn’t sure exactly what that meant; Apsu was just Apsu. He was the god of dragons, and yet he didn’t appear to mind Octavia’s snub. Slowly, the kobold settled down. If Apsu didn’t care, he supposed he shouldn’t either.

“Well eat up. It’s nice to finally have a paid staff around here,” Octavia chuckled quietly. “It took ages for Theofrid to figure out the pay for them, and he and I had a couple of issues about it.”

Kiba munched on a strange looking sausage, a bit of heat packed into each bite. It was food, and his stomach was grateful for anything it could get. Two days without much in the way of food left the kobold nearly starved, and he was going to enjoy this as much as he could. Doubly so while Apsu was allowed to be out.

Faes stood at the table, glancing at the people around the great oaken slab. He met each one of them in the eye, more than a few glancing away, though most met his gaze with a steely determination, or even active anger, in the half-orc’s case.

“There is much I could say about my companion, in his defense. I know many of you will have qualms about a cat running the barony. He will doubtlessly have a large circle of advisors he can call upon, and it would not be unreasonable to have a follower of the gods leading a barony,” he said, casting a solid look at both Tristian and Jhod, the two clerics meeting his gaze with almost approving nods.

He had done his research, he knew his audience. These were all people who appreciated a ruler who helped the people of the land in their own way. Regongar was the outlier here, and Valerie wasn’t far behind, a fighter who served the law alone. Faes had his own ways to deal with them.

“He is bold, brave, and willing to do what it takes to serve the people. At this moment, he is out meeting with what I can only assume is a representative of the land itself, working tirelessly to bring about peace in this new barony so that it may grow. From what I’ve heard of your Baron Cassiel, this is exactly what he would have strived for. Not only that, but Lapis defeated the troll menace, and put the kobolds on the run.”

His eyes fell on Linzi, the bard blinking rapidly under his stare.

“When you met Cassiel in Jamandi’s hall, you didn’t take long to decide to make him the hero of your tale. Your hero is gone. Tell me Linzi, you have spoken with Lapis longer than you did with Cassiel that first night. You have been there for a trial by fire, or trolls. Is Lapis the hero you would have written about, had you the chance? Would he be a worthy replacement for Cassiel?”

“I think that is a question better left for later,” Octavia said quietly, interrupting the halfling before she could speak.

“Octavia, Lapis has been throughout the lands. He has seen Misery Row in Absalom, he has worked to free people so they might free others in turn,” Faes continued, as though he had not been rebuked at all. “Jhod, a man of Erastil, you cannot deny that Lapis has a connection with the natural world few of us could ever hope to achieve, even you. And Ekun, he aided you in your quest. Not only that, he is Garundi himself, his ways are close to yours.”

“This is not true,” the ranger said darkly. “Osirion is not Thuvia, nor are its people Thuvian.”

Swallowing past his error, Faes bowed his head slightly.

“Regardless, he aided you in your time of need. He helped you kill both Kargadd and Hargulka-”

“And yet he let the mastermind go. Or are we just going to forget how he was so weak he nearly denied a man justice, unleashed monsters upon the world, and let a sworn enemy flee?” Regongar snapped, slapping the table with a loud thud. “I would have the strength to do what needs to be done! He is so tied to that cat, he would let the barony die if it kept his pet alive and safe.”

“Yet he has done what he can to help those around him. Giving you that whip, for example. We made him our leader in the raid, he had full rights to demand that whip. A whip I am almost certain belongs to a man named Delgado,” Faes said coolly.

“Then he should have taken it and returned it to its rightful owner,” Valerie interrupted. “A baron who cannot rule themselves or their companions has no right ruling a land.”

“He rules himself just fine,” Faes said. “No more than a pinch of catnip in his tea each night, and a strict schedule of prayer morning and night.”

The half-drow left out the part where Lapis’ praying seemed to consist of masturbation. He figured that wouldn’t go over with most of the room, though it might actually win some points from the half-orc.

“Lapis is no stranger to a strict lifestyle; he lived in a temple for much of his early life,” Faes continued. “He knows how to balance desire and discipline. How else would he be able to keep a tiger by his side without leaving wreckage behind him everywhere he goes? I am of the opinion that anyone who could keep a tiger in line could certainly keep a barony in line.”

“If that is all that you wish to say?” Octavia questioned as Faes fell silent.

The elementalist nodded.

“Then we will deliberate.”

The amurrun stumbled out of the bog, legs covered with mud and clothes scratched through. He blinked blearily at the sight of a campfire, the smell of cooked food in the air. Posting his horse to the ground, Lapis moved into a small thicket, just barely remembering to check out the strange camp before charging forward in search of food.

“Hey! You asses are leaving some food for me, right?!” someone called.

“Shut it Shorty, just watch the road before someone appears,” another voice snapped.

Lapis’ stomach growled ferociously, the catfolk creeping forward uncertainly. He needed food, and these people had some. Hopefully they’d be the helpful kind of people, and not the stealing kind…

His hopes died at the sight of a massive broken wagon, several figures poking around in the back as another sat over a fire. There was no doubt they were bandits, and the amurrun strung his bow silently before stepping out of his hiding spot. He would still try to salvage the situation, but he had little hope of that.

“Shorty, you nitwit, you were supposed to watch the road!” the second voice snapped as swords were unsheathed.

“Oh… uh… someone’s coming?” the smaller man said off to the side of the bandits camp.

Lapis set a hand on Khemet quietly, adopting a haggard, weak appearance that wasn’t nearly as much show as he would have liked.

“I’m just looking for some food and rest. Please sirs, I just need a little something to fill our bellies and then we’ll leave,” he mewled piteously.

“He has a fucking smilodon!” one of the bandits hissed.

“But they’re both limping. We can take them easily, six to two,” the bandit leader smirked, striding forward with his weapon raised.

Lapis pressed a hand to Khemet’s side, his last prayer said, his magic depleted. An arrow was nocked back; there was no talking with these people, and he needed to protect himself.

Khemet charged forward as the magic settled over him, his teeth tearing off an archer’s arm as his clows ripped her to shreds. The group of bandits ganged up on the tiger, Shorty turning his attention to Lapis instead. An arrow turned his assault to the dirt, acid dripping through his twitching corpse as Lapis sent another arrow toward the melee. Khemet yowled as blades broke through his hide, Lapis moving rapidly into a better position before sending an acid coated arrow into one of the bandits’ side.

Claw and missiles met the next bandit, and the one after, tiger and amurrun working in concert to bring each opponent down until only the bandit leader remained. And two arrows saw his corpse dissolving away, the entire camp left to the two weary travellers who had only wanted a moment of respite.