Chapter 2: A Stranger's Kindess

Chapter 2: A Stranger's Kindness
 

A few days had passed since the Destro assault on Hoshi Village. Shells of buildings smothered in ash remained where the village once stood, and the Demi-cat population dwindled down to the few lucky survivors. There was no reason to stay in Hoshi, where the lingering memories became too painful to bare, so Nya ventured outwards towards another town, traveling on foot. She had neither food nor water, and eventually, the landscape and the sun’s unforgiving rays were becoming a major hindrance. Her strength was fading and she was beginning to lose consciousness. Despite her best efforts to stay awake, the burden became overwhelming, and she reluctantly surrendered to the dizziness. Not too far off in the distance, however, a faint rumbling noise grew louder and louder; a glimmer of hope, sounding like a horse carriage…

Nya woke up to a giant cat staring straight at her, in a room she had never seen before. Still dazed and blurry eyed, she paused for a second or two, until realization finally struck, and in great surprise, she almost jumped off the bed!

“Whoa there! Careful, you’re still hurt meow!” exclaimed the cat with a concerned look on his face.

Nya was surprised because she had never seen this cat-like race before, having rarely left Hoshi Village prior to the Destro attack. He was a big gray cat with black stripes and yellow eyes and was standing on his hind feet.

 

“You haven’t seen a race like myself before?” he asked with a confused look on his face.

Nya just nodded.

He still had a puzzled look on his face but continued to talk,

“My race is called the Furlyn and many of us live around here. When I found you, you were half dead!”

Nya relaxed a little because she sensed that he wasn’t a threat. He went into the kitchen to grab a warm cup of water, mixed with a variety of herbs, some with medicinal attributes. He slowly walked towards Nya and set the cup on a side table next to the bed.

Helping her sit up a little, he handed her the cup and said, “Be careful, it’s hot.”

He brought a chair over and sat down next to the bed. “What happened to you? Why were you so beaten up when I found you?”

Nya just stared blankly at her cup, emotionless, and didn’t let out a single word.

He looked at her distraughtly then sighed, “Stay and rest up ‘til you regain all of your strength,” then gently smiled as he walked away.

A few days passed and Nya had started to regain her strength. Still weak and confused, she wandered around Mr. Theo’s house, picking up anything that looked interesting or foreign to her.

She would briefly stare at the objects in wonder, as if they were treasure, only to toss them aside a few seconds later. Meanwhile, Mr. Theo was struggling to return everything to their original positions and was becoming quite exhausted, unable to keep up with Nya’s rampage of curiosity.When she finally found herself outside, she looked around and noticed that Mr. Theo lived in a small antique house, emitting an aura of a deep historical background. Two ancient Gollem trees proudly stood at the edge of the road that lead to the house. The roof was a dark shade of gray, and brick walls served as the outer layer. Alongside the road, there was an assortment of vegetables and flowers, scattered across fields of gardens, decorating the entire stretch. To the many adventurers that would pass along this route, the garden and the Gollem trees provided quite a spectacle. While it was not the most aesthetically pleasing house, it provided excellent protection against the torrents of wind and rain, due to the overhanging mountain cliff directly behind it.  According to Mr. Theo, an ancient warrior spirit lays dormant inside of the trees, protecting this house from the monsters and creatures that prowl around in the night.

A few months quickly flew by, but Nya still often wandered off towards the road as if in some kind of trance, constantly staring off into the distance. In addition, her mental age was almost reverted to that of a child.

“What could have made her this way? I don’t want a kid, but I guess I got a big one now,” grumbled Mr. Theo.

The next day, Nya was aimlessly wandering outside of the house, so Mr. Theo patiently conducted his daily routine of strolling after her. As she was walking towards a large tree, she suddenly tripped on a branch, and was en route to falling face first onto the mud. Mr. Theo immediately started to chant some words while waving his paw.

“Maga li ka te ke!”

Nya suddenly froze mid-fall and became suspended in air, wiggling in a circular motion, eye-widened of such a strange power.

Mr. Theo slowly approached her, then let out a sigh, “You really should watch where you are going,” as he held his paw on his forehead.

Nya simply tilted her head cutely, eyes sparkling more innocently than ever, causing Mr. Theo to blush as he slowly put her back onto her feet.

“What do you plan to do? Cause I can’t keep you here forever,” said Mr. Theo as he looked down onto the ground and kicked some rocks.

Nya blankly stared at Mr. Theo, as a tear started to roll down her face and her ears sank low. The thought of loneliness brought back a glimpse of the past, causing her to break down.

Mr. Theo began to panic, “Hey, hey… It’s ok… you’re safe here… I’m sorry for saying something wrong.”

He pawed her back trying to reassure Nya, but in grief, she still fell to her knees. She no longer had the strength or mental fortitude to stand back up.

“What the hell happened to make her this distraught?” thought Mr. Theo, letting out another sigh. He carried her back to the house, placing her gently onto the bed and a blanket over her.

The next day, while Nya was sitting down by the table in Mr. Theo’s tree house, she finally opened up to Mr. Theo a little and muttered softly, “Thank you...for helping me,” while staring at the floor.

Mr. Theo was cooking a pot of mushroom stew using ingredients he had found the night before, but was uncertain of its edibility.

“I’m pretty sure this isn’t poisonous,” he muttered to himself, before taking a sip to test it. “Well I’m not dead so that’s a good sign!”

Content with himself and the stew he had made, he scooped the steaming cuisine into two wooden bowls and carefully walked towards Nya, who was patiently sitting at the table. Mr. Theo placed the bowl in front of Nya and then turned to set his bowl on the other side of the table.

They dug into their meals while an awkward silence filled the air until it reached the point where it became too unbearable for Mr. Theo. He sparked up a random conversation to try and ease the atmosphere.

“Well I’m glad you started to talk to me! How are you feeling now? Are you comfortable enough to talk more?” he asked as he put his paws together and looked at Nya.

“I’m from Hoshi Village.”

“Isn’t that where the demi-cats live?” asked Mr. Theo, intrigued.

“I was born and raised there.”

Mr. Theo seemed a little confused from her response and blurted without thinking, “Why would you leave then?”

Nya wanted to cry but she held back her tears and said, “I don’t remember much but… soldiers came and pillaged our town and then burned my entire village down. They took my mother, and everything else was kind of blurry… the only thing I remember is a dumb old crystal  my father gave me before he passed… but that’s the only memento I have left of him.”

Mr. Theo had sensed that a past event was bothering her, but could not have imagined it to be as horrible as Nya described.

“I’m so sorry,” he said.

Nya stared into her mushroom soup looking at her reflection while pondering what to do next. She knew she couldn’t stay at Mr. Theo’s place forever. While she was lost in thought, Mr. Theo suddenly jumped up.

“I will be right back!” shouted Mr. Theo, running out the door.

He remembered that there were some flowers growing on the side of the road, called the Yumi Blossom, that possessed soothing and healing abilities. He approached a nearby bush and excitedly picked off a branch. The flower was a magnificent bright magenta with a golden yellow outline. A sparkling yellow aura surrounded the petals, faintly illuminating at the touch of his paws. He flinched as the thorn filled stem pricked on his palm. His paws were all scratched from reaching into the bush, but he didn’t care. Mr. Theo smiled as he grabbed a few more then sprinted back towards the house.

Mr. Theo came charging through the front door and Nya alarmingly noticed he was bleeding from the scratches on his paws. Panicking, Nya fell off of her chair as she rushed towards the bucket of water outside and started soaking a towel. Amidst all this, Mr. Theo blew the flower pollen onto her face. Her face relaxed as she inhaled the pollen, and her frenzied movements slowed. She collapsed eventually as the pollen took over, causing her to fall into a deep sleep. Her mind was still active, however. She was floating inside a dark space and watched as a glowing orb approached her. A warm and fuzzy sensation ran down her body, as she saw her mother and father walking together outside of the village and everyone was waving at her. All of her friends at the village waved and even the grumpy old Elders waved. The kind old blacksmith and granny Gonz were present as well.  In reality, she was fast asleep with a wide smile stretched across her face. Mr. Theo picked her up and gently tucked her into bed, then slowly walked away.

A couple days passed and Mr. Theo had just woken up, preparing to start his daily chores. He let out a yawn and strolled over to the poolside to examine his reflection, ensuring that his fur was all neat and groomed. There was a beautiful grain aroma in the air, but he could not recall cooking anything that morning. His fur stood up as he realized he may have left something on to catch on fire, but instead he stumbled across Nya making some corn pancakes. The aroma of the pancakes was heavenly. Suddenly filled by hunger, Mr. Theo briefly hallucinated that the pancakes were sparkling like the moonlight on an ocean surface on a beautiful starry night.

Mr. Theo began to drool a little as he looked at Nya and said, “I didn’t know you could cook.”

“I’ve always been able to cook silly Theo,” said Nya proudly, smiling. She blew out the fire and placed the pancakes on a leaf plate. “Hope you don’t mind, I used some of your food. I just wanted to say thank you for everything you’ve done for me.”

Mr. Theo’s mouth was full of pancakes and before he knew it, he had eaten all of them.

“I’m glad you enjoyed it.”

She looked at the ground and was shuffling her feet. “I won’t be a bother for you anymore. I will leave and look for my mother! I can’t thank you enough for what you have done for me.”

She had already prepared a traveling bag for herself. She hugged Mr. Theo and said goodbye, then walked towards the door.

“This is for the best! I should leave her alone and finally I’ll have my own free time again,” he thought to himself as he watched her leave. He tried to reassure himself but instead, he began to frown.

“Nya should be fine alone…” he told himself, again trying to suppress his true feelings.

He paused for a few more seconds, but finally let out a long sigh. Mr. theo grabbed everything he could find and followed Nya out the door, a journey into the unknown.