Memoirs of Kitty Siam Ch. 14

I am not sure how or why things happened the way they did but as I lay here entangled with Shilka in a blissful embrace, I searched my mind for the reason that things happened the way that they did and I hope that when she awakes, things will still be right between us. I suspect that the blame for our night of passion lay with the soldier we had watched take joy in the company of his young lady. Ok, that is putting it too politely, he truly shagged her rotten, but the witnessing of the act between the two of them had Shilka and I quite hot and bothered I must admit. For a few waking minutes I thought that maybe last night had been a wonderfully erotic dream, but as I found myself still laying on a soggy bedroll, I knew it was no dream.

As Shilka lay in my arms and snuggled all up against me, I noticed that the sun had climbed higher in the sky than it normally had before the soldiers marshaled us to breakfast. Something was different today. Perhaps the emergency is over and we can slow things down a bit and catch our breath. Speaking of breathing, Shilka had stopped snoring and was stirring to life next to me. As her eyes opened I smiled and bid her "good morning", to which she groaned and pushed herself up to face me. She slipped an arm behind me and pulled my nakedness in close against her and kissed me. My arms slipped around her neck and draped over her shoulders as I kissed her back.

We were both a mess. She looked as much the wild savage as I did, and I knew I was badly in need of a bath. I hoped that she would find some way to make that happen as we both had that early morning walk of shame look about us. We broke our embrace and began discussing the lack of movement of our wagon train, and the need for food and bathing. Shilka picked up my nightshirt and tossed it at me with the suggestion that we go outside and see what was going on and have some breakfast if we had not missed out on getting our morning ration.

We dressed quickly then exited the tent. I have to say that walking was a little bit of a challenge as some of my more sensitive parts felt quite raw. So raw in fact that I skipped the underwear this morning so that perhaps some soothing fresh air would hit some of those sensitive parts. Outside the tent, some of the girls were fully dressed while others were milling around in their nightshirts. I found it odd that most of the women wore the same style dresses, and the same style nightshirts, the same hairstyle. The only difference seemed to be a little lace here and there and perhaps a difference colored thread, but all were white and of the similar style.

Shilka made attempts to get answers from the other girls, but none of them had the answer she was looking for as to why we were not moving on today. Now I have to say that even in her waking hour, Shilka is the model of refinement and beauty and would not normally leave the tent until her hair was done and she was looking perfect. This morning, she looked like me... a wild haired frazzled little savage. One of the girls in our little troupe walked past, looked Shilka and I up and down and made some sort of snide remark that I did not understand before stomping off. I suppose that even on this as yet un named planet, the "walk of shame" was universal. Shilka was a bit disturbed by this treatment by the other girl and my hope was that it was nothing that I did that caused her grief. Shilka leaned into me and whisper, "Keep an eye on that one, she is usually trouble." I nodded and told her that I will be careful.

We managed to track down one of the senior officers and Shilka asked him what was going on, and why the delay in our departure. I did not fully understand the answer as the UT was only up to 66%. What I did get was that a large army unit was moving to the south and needed full access to the road we were on. We were ordered to stay off the road until they had passed. My first thought was that I would like to get a look at this army, perhaps that will teach me more about the culture here and their level of technology. Secondly, it meant that we should have most of the day to hang out at the lake, take a nice swim and relax, and perhaps wash out my soggy bedroll. Mentioning the laundry part to Shilka brought a giggle that caused the young officer to nod politely and walk off.

We went back to our tent, cleaned ourselves up a bit, brushed each other's hair, hung my bedroll out in the sun to dry, then sauntered off to find ourselves some breakfast. The morning meal was the same as yesterday, a small loaf of bread, a bit of fruit, and some fresh water. It was filling but the feline in me was craving some meat. This got me to wondering about how upset these good folks would be if I slipped off by myself for a while and put the survival skills that I was taught at the academy to use to get us some real meat. I put those thoughts out of my head quickly as Shilka acquired a couple of towels, some soap which she dropped into a fairly large shoulder bag she was carrying, then led us off in the direction of the lake and the huge boulder we hung out at the night before.

When we got to our spot we found that we were not alone. Other girls were there already, as were a few of the soldiers. Most were bathing and frolicking around in the water. My attention was on the others around us and I had not noticed when Shilka has slipped behind the rock until she returned wearing an awful baggy looking outfit that spanned from her shoulder to her knees. This is what passed for a bathing suit here as I noticed the girls not washing themselves were wearing something similar. Shilka pointed behind the rock and suggested that I put on something appropriate to swim in. Unfortunately I had nothing like that in Victorian nightmare my bag, or in my wardrobe collar. I would need to connect the collar to a data terminal to design something that would be acceptable.

I thought quickly about what I might have programmed into my collar that would be acceptable and I found nothing to my dismay. Everything was too futuristic, and the fabrics and designs were just too high tech to wear here, though I thought that someday an occasion would arise that I will have to wear something not made of a natural fiber, but today was not going to be that day. Then an idea hit me, after all I was the little savage girl, so I selected an outfit that was light tan in color and made of a natural chamois type hide that was very thin and would cling to my body tightly in all the right places before and even more so after it got wet. The top was a halter but was smaller than the one I wore a few days ago and this one looked similar to a bikini top. The bottom was constructed similar to a bikini bottom but had a skirt component sewn into it at the top that hung down about 3 inches below my butt. Pretty much it was a loincloth with built in panties. It covered all of my private areas... well, just barely.

When I came out from behind the boulder Shilka looked me over for a minute or so, shook her head, did a proper face palm then mentioned something about getting me some lady like clothing very soon. She was not the only girl at the lake that did not approve. I got a few stern looks from the other girls and mostly long leering looks from the men. The look that Shilka gave me had upset me a bit. After the way things went the night before, this look was a bit unexpected. It was almost as if now my sexuality and attire embarrassed her now, when just a few days ago she did not mind. Maybe I was thinking too much about things now. I was thinking that I should be alone for a while to think things through so I ducked back behind the rock put my backpack on and tapped a bit at the wardrobe collar. The backpack was converted to a billion tiny balls that rolled up toward the wardrobe collar and was gone. No sense leaving that on shore for someone to wander off with I thought as I climbed the huge boulder near by, took a long look around, took a deep breath then dove into the water.

The water was cool on my skin as I sunk toward the bottom of the lake. After a few seconds of intentional sinking, I started swimming under the water toward the center of the lake. The water was fairly clear and there were an abundance of fish for the catching. I tried several times to grab a few of the trout looking fish but they were too fast for me and darted out of reach quickly. It would have been great to catch a few fish. I had been growing bored with bread, fruit, and water. I kept swimming until my lungs were painfully crying out for air which was somewhere around the four or five minutes mark, and then I rapidly kicked for the surface. As my head cleared the surface of the water I wiped my eyes, brushed my hair back out off my face then looked back toward the shoreline. Shilka was huddled with a group of the other women in the water and it looked like they had shed their clothing and were doing the community-bathing thing.

Since Shilka and the other metallic collared snobs seemed to be entertaining themselves I thought I would just continue swimming. I dove down several times under the water and made a few more attempts at snagging a fish but to no avail. At least I gave it a good try. The sun was past the mid point in the sky and I decided that I would make for the shoreline. I had drifted closer to the western shore and away from Shilka and the girls. I could see them all reclining on the shore now, drying them selves in the sun and brushing each other's hair. I knew I could probably find a way to fit in with them but not being blonde haired and blue eyed put me at an immediate disadvantage. Oh well, I can give it another try later I thought as I swam for the western shore.

I came ashore in front of a small clearing at the base of a rolling hill that swept gradually up from the shoreline. I looked around and seen that I was alone. I tapped at the wardrobe collar and instructed it to drape my shoulders with a large soft towel suitable for a day at the beach, and sure enough, just as ordered, the little nano balls delivered. I started at my head and dried my hair, stripped out of my wet clothing and hung them up on the branch of a nearby tree to dry then toweled off. I spread the towel out in the soft grass in the shade of a huge tree then spread myself out on top of the towel to take a little well deserved nap.

My little catnap was interrupted by a rustling of bushes, the sounds of loud animalistic grunts, the sounds of cloven hoof beats against the dirt, and the sound of a girl screaming. The scream really did it for me; I came fully to my senses and tried to quickly assess the situation. I could not see anything from the ground but there was a tree nearby and climbing it seemed the best move. On the way to the tree I grabbed my clothing which were now dry, I tapped out a change of clothing on my wardrobe collar and changed into my brown rip stop cargo shorts and black t-shirt. I did not have time to select shoes and I knew I could climb just as good in my bare feet. I did however tap out the sequence to deploy my bow and quiver of arrows, and with in seconds they were packed comfortably on my back as I started my climb.

I scampered up the trunk of the tree to the first set of thick branches, the second set where a bit higher up and off to the side. Carefully I balanced myself then pushed off, leaping for the second set of branches. My right hand caught hold of the branch but my left hand landed in a slimy spot of something or other that oozed from the tree branch and had slipped off, and there was no perch for my feet to land on. My right hand began to lose its grip and I struggled to push myself up with one foot on the tree trunk and the other hand reaching to grasp the slippery branch. Just as I was about to slip off the branch I felt a searing pain in the tips of my fingers and toes and my hand stopped slipping and was now grasping the branch firmly. My foot that was trying to push up on the tree trunk dug in and I was able to dig my fingernails into the branch with both hands and push then pull myself up to sit cat-like on the branch.

I was in a near panic when I looked down at my fingers and toes. Some how my nails had transformed themselves into claws about an inch and a half in length, the same had happened to my toenails. This cannot be possible I thought as I knew of nothing that has been programmed into me to allow this to happen. This got me in a tizzy and talking out loud to myself, discussing the possibilities and probabilities with myself and whatever deity might exist on this planet. How do I stop this? How do I turn this back to normal? How do I get these claws back again if I want to were the thoughts running through my head? Once I was able to still my mind, I thought of the words the Kamaloids passed to me in the dream-like state during my anti-agapic conversion... they are shape shifters, the anti-agapic serum was created from their blood, and I was created with cat DNA!

Holy crap on a cracker, it all made sense now! Ok, what to do now... have to think clearly. I can change my eyes to feline-like night vision that is part of the cat in me, how do I do the claws. I closed my eyes and concentrated... nothing happened. I held my eyes open and stared at my claws and willed them to retract and with in a fraction of a second they were gone. My thoughts turned to how to make that happen again when I want it to happen. I was about to try to will my claws to come out when I heard the human scream again, except it was much closer now.

With feline grace I quickly darted up the tree until I could see the screaming girl. I could see that she was dressed in the same manner as Shilka and her group, and she was running up the trail that led her right past me. The girl was being chased by what looked like a wild boar or perhaps a larger Thracian razor beast. I yelled to the girl in her language as best as I could, "run to the sound of my voice then run to the water!" I do not know if she heard me but she was running in my direction as fast as she could and the beast was gaining ground on her.

I pulled my bow off of my back, pulled an arrow from the quiver and took aim. The boar was closer to the girl now as I took careful aim so as not to hit her. When I let the arrow loose it struck the boar in the right shoulder causing him to pitch forward and tumble head first into the ground. The animal made a terrible noise as the arrow struck and lodged deep in his muscle, but this did not stop him. With his front leg crippled and tucked up under him, the huge animal got up and his three functioning legs and continued after the girl who by this time had passed under me and made it to the water's edge.

As the boar lumbered towards her on three legs and came closer to my tree. I retrieved a second arrow and aimed it for the center of his back just behind the animal's skull. I took aim, taking care to lead the boar as it charged. I let the second arrow fly. The arrow struck the boar between the shoulders at the base of his skull and sunk in deep, which severed his spine, disconnecting his brain from the rest of his body. The beast pitched forward and crashed down onto his belly. He was still breathing and in terrible pain, and also in a panic as none of his limbs would function though it could still whip its head from side to side. The four inch tusks on his snout could still do some damage should it hit a leg or torso.

I observed the animal for a minute or so then tapped out a new command on my wardrobe collar. The nano balls worked their magic and my Bowie knife and scabbard appeared strapped to my upper right thigh, and my quiver of arrows and bow were stowed safely away for another time. I scampered down the tree as fast as I could, not wanting the animal to suffer anymore than he already had. I pulled the knife from the scabbard attached to my leg and dove from the lowest branch onto the beasts back. I landed on his back and reached under his neck with my left hand to steady myself, then drew the knife swiftly across his throat with my right, cutting it from jowl to jowl severing his windpipe and main arteries to the brain. It took about a minute or so for the creature to stop moving, and in that time I retrieved the arrows from the body of the beast, tapped the wardrobe collar and sent them into hiding before the girl came back to see what had happened.

I pushed myself off of the beast, his blood stained my clothing and skin, and I even had some in my hair that plastered the wet strands to my face. I pushed my hair out of my face, which only left a streak of blood across my cheeks. I bunched my hair together and tossed it off my shoulders to hang freely down my back. It was then that I felt arms circling me and a female form pressing against my torso. It was the girl, and she hugged me tightly and over and over again was thanking me in her language, most of which I understood. She kissed me on the lips and thanked me a few more times.

She pulled herself from me then looked me over as she stepped back. Her hands ran over my arms, legs and torso, then as a smile crossed her lips. Thank the maker you are not hurt, she said. I was so worried when you jumped out of that tree and on to that huge choragi. She introduced herself as Teela, and as I looked her over I did recognize her from the wagon train. She appeared to be the same age as me. She wore clothing similar to the knee length dress that is popular with Shilka and her group. She was a little shorter than Shilka by a few inches, which made her much closer to my height but still taller. Her build was slender and her chest was a few sizes smaller than Shilka's as well. (I figured you guys would want to know this) The collar she wore was made of black leather and was about a half inch in width with a silver clasp. As I noticed her collar she noticed mine and began to bow, which I quickly cut her off in mid bow and explained that this is not necessary or expected where I come from. And again, I got hugged and thanked. After adding a few more words to the UT, the meter had climbed to 83%.

Teela was not the pampered pet that Shilka was, and was much more athletic with a sort of tomboy quality. She suggested that we gut the beast and take it back to the camp. She took the knife from me and set about slitting the belly and removing the internals. She was quite adept with the blade and worked quickly. Obviously she had done this before. This sort of thing was covered in survival training back at the academy but only in simulators, and on video. I learned more from watching and assisting Teela than I had back at the academy. When she was done we buried the entrails and other parts, used a few sections of vines to tie the feet together to allow us to carry our dinner home on a pole.

Teela cautioned me about returning to camp with a knife as such things were forbidden to females except in the preparation of food. She said that she would not tell anyone that I had it and while she was hefting the pole up on her shoulder, I tapped out the code that sucked the knife and scabbard back into wardrobe collar and feigned as if I had tossed the blade into the bushes. At the same time I used the wardrobe collar to put the backpack onto my back, and a pair of ankle high moccasins on my feet. I shouldered my half of the burden and we set off into the woods along the path that Teela had traveled before.

It took us about an hour to get back to the beach where Shilka and the other girls were still lazing about and gossiping. They were in the process of brushing and braiding each others hair when one of them caught the first sight of Teela and I covered in blood and carrying this huge wild and very dead beast over our shoulders. Shilka like Teela checked me over for injuries and found none then did the same to Teela. Shilka tended to be the mother hen type with the other collared girls. I explained to her that the blood was from the animal and that I had killed it with a knife that I had somehow lost on the way back to the camp. Hopefully this would be enough of an explanation that neither of us would get in trouble for having a weapon, though being the little savage that I appeared to be, having knife of some sort would be easy enough to explain away.