A Catian's Dream Ch. 03

"I can imagine it." Jon murmured, thinking of Felicia's fearless charisma.

"Well, early in the evening, while the kids clustered around their big sister, I managed to steal a few minutes alone with her Father. You'll like him, she's the spitting image of him: all smiles and warm welcomes." Rikka hopped over a small boulder, huffing as she flitted from sight, rounding the opposite side of a tall jungle tree.

"He led me to his workshop in the garage, and told me stories of how Felicia would stay up late with him after work and try to learn the ins and outs of these little toy robots she used to collect... Zi-On-Yii's, I think they're called?" Rikka shook her head, "I never was very interested in them really, but Felicia was wild about the little droids. She loved to buy broken ones on the cheap, take them apart and then piece them back together."

Rikka swept her arm out as if gesturing at an invisible shelf. "He showed me her entire collection, still sitting there gathering dust in his workshop, years after she'd moved out. Not one of the Zi-On-Yii bots was fully repaired. Some were missing arms, others had half-rebuilt head chassis. A few were even missing their eye-cameras. As soon as Felicia had figured out what was wrong and how to fix it, she lost interest in the rest of the renovation and moved on to the next project."

"I'll never forget what her father said to me that night." Rikka stopped on the trail and turned to face Jon. He came up short next to her. Her eyes glimmered in the light. "He said: 'I knew you were the right fit for Felicia the second she introduced you, because your Pryde was the first thing she ever bothered to finish."

Jon chewed on her words for a moment. "I think I'm in love with her." He admitted to the looming trees around them.

Rikka let out a loud laugh that echoed through the natural alleyway of the trail. "Of course you are! I never thought it was anything less. If it was, I'd have shaved you from head to toe myself to save my flighty little Pryde-mate the heartache."

"But what do I do then?" Jon asked, "This isn't... I don't know how I feel about sharing Felicia's affections with the rest of the Pryde."

"You are taking an altogether Human point of view of what is fundamentally a Catian mindset, Jon." Rikka said. She tilted her head. "Which, I suppose is the real crux of the problem: Felicia is in love with you. More than you are even aware, I think... but she's also in love with Beimei; she's in love with Zanari; she's in love with the Pryde, because a Pryde is all she's ever known. The thought of having the two of you be an exclusive couple is as alien to her as having multiple partners is to you."

Jon shifted back and forth, feeling suddenly hot and stifling in the jungle heat. "What am I supposed to do?"

Rikka smiled, "I can't answer that question for you, Jon. I can only tell you that the person you love, and the person who loves you are never, ever the same person. But you shouldn't judge her because she's not who you thought she was. At the very least, give Felicia some credit: she cares about you, she just doesn't understand you."

"...And you do?" Jon asked.

Rikka laughed again. Something about the laugh made Jon's chest flutter. He was charmed by her easygoing demeanor. "Unlike Felicia, I paid attention at the briefing. I expected something like this to happen. Now come on: tonight was supposed to be a fun getaway for you, not a dreary mope session."

The voluptuous Catian's small ear twitched, and she let out an appreciative cry. Her hand shot up, pointing to the canopy above. "Look! Can you see it? A Yalnoi!"

Jon squinted his eyes and scanned the trees. Despite his best efforts he could see nothing but shadows and black shades of green. "What?"

"There, between the boughs of that Sri-Ji-Do tree!" She pointed to a particular plant with a long, green trunk and bluish leaves. It was difficult to make out, but Jon could spy the creature's shape and color through the porchlight glow of the moon above.

It was lithe and squat, moving through the branches with the careful canter of a monkey through foliage. As Jon looked, he espied tantalizingly familiar features to creatures from his own, faraway homeworld. It had the head of a bird, with a long, thin, daggerlike beak that stretched nearly the length of the rest of its body. Black, beady eyes regarded him for a moment before turning to stare into some indeterminable distance, its thin, wispy ears twisting in the wind.

In a rush the Yalnoi leapt from a high branch above to one on the other side of the trail, stretching wide its membranous patagium, like a bat's wings from its wrist to its ankles. Plumed, blue and purple feathers glistened in the night sky, its beaked mouth opening wide to express a caw of elation. As it swooped by in its gentle glide, Jon could see three fingered hands, including a thumb, as well as prehensile toes that stretched and wriggled as they grasped the tree above them for purchase. Its long, fluffy tail skittered behind it like an agitated snake. With another caw, the creature took off up the tree, climbing with its stumpy arms and legs higher into the trees.

Rikka smiled, putting the full breadth of her fangs on display as she stared in wistful delight at the creature's passing. "They're beautiful, aren't they?"

"That's one way to put it." Jon said, a wry smile coming to his lips. "So those creatures are the focus of the festival? Are they sacred to your people?"

Rikka laughed, "Sort of. Catians evolved to hunt the Yalnoi hundreds of thousands of years ago. They used to be our primary food source." Content that they had seen the last of the creature, Rikka and Jon continued their gentle stroll. "This ritual is one of the oldest known to the City-borne Catians, one we practiced before our ancestors gave up living as nomads in Mother Garden and decided to follow the ways of civilization instead. It gives thanks to the bounty of the jungle, and also serves as a great communal feast."

Jon folded his hands behind his back as he walked, soaking in the cultural details. "...I'm assuming then that the 'guests of honor' are more of those Yalnoi?"

"Not much of a feast if we don't eat, is it?" Rikka teased. "There is a particular tree that grows in this part of the jungle, whose fruit is a potent attractor to the creatures. The Yori tree. If you crack open the outer shell and drench yourself in the fruit's juices, Yalnoi will be attracted to the scent of it. Many of them will come right up to you to lick the juices off your skin." Rikka grinned, "-And that's when we strike. Its an ancient hunting technique, saved our ancestors a mess of trouble."

"So what's the deal with the ritual then?" Jon asked.

Rikka looked a bit sheepish explaining the next part. "Well, imagine what happens when the Priestess of Uidano cultivates a grove of these plants. At any other time of the year, it is forbidden to hunt the Yalnoi that live in this section of the jungle, so large numbers of the Yalnoi will tend to live in the area. You'll see plenty more of them when we do the march to the Temple. It's basically their home."

"The old ritual involves the tribe all taking the fruit off the trees and collectively drenching each other in the juices. The combined stench makes the Yalnoi flock from miles around. Each petitioner is then expected to grab and - er, consume one of the Yalnoi . Depending on the plumage and color, the Yalnoi you catch can mean different omens. Red ones with purple plumage is good health, for example. Gold with silver trimmings means wealth and success, Blue and sea-green feathers blesses Prydes with healthy children."

Jon swallowed, feeling his throat constrict. "Uh... is eating the Yalnoi a requirement for the ritual?"

The little diplomat inside his head was screaming at him for not researching the cultural habit closer before agreeing to it. As the human ambassador he couldn't be seen backing out of such a valued tradition of the Catian people. But a raw feast of an alien bird was not the most palatable outcome in his mind. Just what was he getting himself into, here?

But Rikka just laughed at him, "No, not anymore. The Yalnoi used to be our primary food source, now we see them as a gift from the Heart of Catia. You'll get the occasional gourmet Catian dish that calls for it, but for the most part they're left alone by City-borne Catians. The Jungle-Kin still hunt them, obviously. But this is just a watered down version of the old ritual."

"So... no eating live Yalnoi?" Jon asked, staring down at the trail beneath him as if he had suddenly become interested in the going's on of grubs squirming on the forest floor.

Rikka smiled. "No. We we just pick up the first one that comes up to us, give thanks to Uidano for her bounty of food, and then let it go." Rikka chuckled, "Really, its more of a fun excuse to throw fruit at each other."

"Just catch and release." Jon said, letting out a sigh of relief.

"You'll be the first human ever to get hit in the face by a Catian fruit." Rikka teased.

Jon let out a chuckle, staring off into the distance at the vine-covered stone pillars of the temple complex. The circuitous trail had led them back to the start of it again.

"I'm the first Human to get hit by a lot of Catian things." He murmured. Rikka laughed as she weaved her way through the trees next to him.

* * *

"Daughters and Sons of the Heart, we are gathered here beneath the sacred boughs of our Mother Garden to give thanks for its bounty, and its gift." The Catian Priestess lifted her hands into the sky, her chin tilting upwards as she took on the solemn tones of a preacher at the pulpit. A native Kryll bird let out a whooping call in the distance, its voice echoing and rebounding off the thick, mossy walls of the outer courtyard of the Temple. "Aeons have passed since our people outgrew our own home, seeking refuge amongst the stars. But neither time nor distance can separate us from who we are, where we truly belong."

She was a stunning creature to behold. Her hair was bone white, her eyes a piercing yellow. The Priestess was strikingly beautiful, her heart-shaped face a proverbial fountain of youth. She was naked, draped only in long vines that clung to her person like a makeshift robe. Vines were woven into her hair, and spiralled up along the length of her white and black-fringed tail in complicated knots, creating a tribal, almost otherworldly look. Her upper thighs were tattooed with dozens of red spirals each flowing into one another in a dizzy, disorienting optical illusion that made Jon's eyes hurt the longer he looked at them. She stood at the top of the short stairwell leading into the Temple, addressing the crowd of Catians and Jon with passionate fervor. "Today, we give thanks to Mother-Cat Jiaali, whose first, curious question to the Jungle birthed the Goddesses and Gods. We give thanks to the Tall-Tree Thinker: Asaiyai, who learned how to learn, and thus also learned how to teach, passing his knowledge on to our ancestors, who have passed them onto us."

"And - most of all - we give thanks to Uidano, Shadow Huntress of the Green Leaves, who killed the first creature and thus created the cycle of life, death, and rebirth. Today, we replicate that process in our prayers and deeds, and in turn accept the heavy burden of being the Queens and Kings - but not the true masters - of the cycle. For to sit atop the throne, we must also be cognizant of the dangers of upsetting such a delicate balance." The Priestess lowered her head, her eyes sweeping across the assembled crowd. She extended her hands as if to implore them to run to her.

"Sisters, Brothers, join me as we make our procession to the sacred grove."

Temple attendants of both genders wearing similar, revealing vines appeared from within the greater temple complex, carrying silken cushions in their hands. Stacked atop these cushions were tiny, golden bells tied to vines. They rang softly as the attendants walked up to the assorted temple goers, forming a line to either side of the Priestess. She stepped down the heavy stone steps alongside them, approaching the crowd. There was a buzz of anticipation in the air.

The Priestess went to each Catian in turn, taking a lone bell from the cushions and tying it around the top of the Catian's tail. Each bowed their head and twitched their tails when she did so, causing a silent ring of approval. The Priestess blessed each of them before moving on.

It was only after she tied her latest bell to Rikka's large brown tail next to him that Jon realized the problem in the ritual. The Priestess came to the same conclusion moments later, as she turned her smiling face in her direction before pausing, her face scrunched with confusion.

"...You are the Human Diplomat." She said, in a hesitant voice. Jon nodded. Her eyes flicked down to the area where his tail should be. There was an uncomfortable pause. Someone in the crowd coughed. The two stared at each other for a long moment, the Priestess seeming to be uncertain what to do. Finally, she simply handed the bell to him, planting it into his outstretched palm and whispering: "May Uidano give you bounty, love, and meat."

"Thank you, Priestess." Jon said, and she smiled at him, flashing her fangs. Catians really were good sports about these kinds of awkward situations. She continued on to the next attendee.

Once the bells had been affixed to their respective persons (uncertain what to do, Jon stuck his own into his suit pocket), the Priestess gestured towards the long, stone corridor leading from the Temple entrance into the sacred grove on the other side.

"Sisters and Brothers! Join me in our procession as we give thanks to Mother Garden. Let the Festival of the Yalnoi begin!"

A great cheer arose from the assorted guests, and as one they moved to climb the stairs to follow the Priestess as she led the way down the long pathway, flanked by her loyal attendants chanting a strange, lyrical song in their native tongue. Jon's translator failed utterly to make out the specific words, but the sounds they made with their throats were wonderfully exotic to him. Mixed with the ringing of the dozens of bells, it created a magical sort of chorus. Jon stood for a moment, transfixed in awe at the sight. Rikka flashed him a grin as she took him by the hand and together they followed the path of the crowd.

As they walked along the wide, mossy boulevard, Jon glanced to his left and right. Atop the tall, roofless stone walls of the Temple vestibule scurried dozens of the Yalnoi, attracted by the sound of the ringing bells. They chittered and cawed in excitement, appearing to be well acquainted with the specific nature of what was happening. They grew more numerous by the second.

White feathers, green feathers, gold and crimson and platinum blue feathers, a hundred combinations and floral patterns on the Yalnoi turned the procession into an impromptu riot of color and sound. Jon found himself laughing along with the chanting and singing, watching as the Catians grew more and more celebratory, dancing and twirling in their graceful ways as they made their way down the thoroughfare towards the locus of the ritual.

Rikka bounced up and down, her tail curling and twisting about, ringing her bell in a bobbing rhythm as she tugged at Jon's hand to hurry him along. It was everything he could do to not stop and stare at the festival as it grew into a boisterous celebration. But the Catian's insistent tug at his hand was a hard thing to refuse.

Large torches lit the way, casting everything into a warm, colored light. Particularly brave Yalnoi flitted to and fro between the legs of the temple-goers. None reached down to grab them, and they moved fast enough that such an effort would likely end in a clumsy tumble to the ground. The walls were now packed with the creatures, the ringing bells and chanting voices acting as a clarion call for the whole area.

The clamorous parade reached its apex as they reached the grove itself: a huge, rectangular space crowded with tall Yori trees, surrounded on all sides by low stone walls. The center of the space was punctuated by a great stone statue, its features worn down from centuries of existence and overgrown with vines and moss and small flowers. However, it seemed to be the exact image the Catians were going for: a creation of their own being slowly worn down into its constituent parts and reclaimed by the wild.

The trees were tall, with wide-leafed, drooping branches that hung like the hems of a long skirt down the face of the trunk. Sheltered beneath these large leaves, gathered in great clusters like a grapevine were the fruits. They were as large as a coconut, with pale brown shells of a delicate complexion, almost like a chicken egg. The attendants left the Priestess' side, taking up long pruning saws attached to poles and setting themselves in positions around their respective trees.

Both the assorted attendees and the Yalnoi watching from the rafters seemed to take this as a sign, as the crowd surged forward, breaking off into groups and pairs around different trees beneath the fruit bunches. Rikka tugged at Jon's wrist, half-dragging him along as she took a spot near one of the largest trees alongside five or six other attendees in a circle.The ringing of bells rang in the air as the attendees readied themselves with their pruning saws, still singing that high, happy song in their indecipherable tongue.

The words built to a crescendo, and as they sang the Priestess joined in, adding a lyrical undertone to the proceedings. Bells bobbed from tails, the Yalnoi gathered in droves, bunching up together in places so crowded that some toppled from the stone walls and down onto the ground in front, rolling about in excitement as they added their own caws to the mix. The Priestess lifted her hand, and as one the Catians around all the trees lifted their arms into the air, as if to extoll the sky itself for the bounty to come.

"Ado-Na-ni, Loe-la-Zai!" The Priestess shouted.

"Ado-Na-ni, Loe-la-Zai!" the crowd roared back in response. The attendants sawed madly against the bushels of fruit.

There was a loud snap, and piles of fruits began to fall like rain onto the reveler's heads. Jon just managed to avoid getting beamed by the falling sack of fruit as it fell to the ground. The parts of the bushel that impacted the ground directly broke and spilled their juices, a pinkish substance that flowed like jam from its interior. An immediate stench arose from the fruits, delightful and aromatic, like a perfume of sugary sweetness.

A heartbeat's pause, and then the Catians as one let out cheers and leapt to the fruits. Immediately the attendants began to saw at the next bushels, bringing more crashing down onto their heads. Taking this as their cue, the Yalnoi leapt from their perches, some gliding across the courtyard, others simply leaping to the ground and rushing towards the nearest bushel of fruits.

-But the Catian's were too fast for them. The crowd dived for the bushels, snatching fresh fruits off the fallen bushels and pelting one another with them. Jon watched with the dumb bafflement of an unwitting bystander as a Catian woman in the circle around him took one of the fruits full to the face. Its shell cracked like an egg on her person, splattering its juices across her head and chest. She cackled and flung her fruit at the Catian who had dared to try to hit her.

Jon was knocked from his silent reverie by the feeling of a similar shell striking him dead in the chest. It took him a moment to realize he'd been hit, the scented juices seeping into his fancy suit and staining his clothes. He looked up to see Rikka with a wide smile on her face, hefting two more fruits in her hand, tossing them in the air and catching them like a baseball pitcher from home. She tossed one of the fruits to him, to give him the semblance of fairness, then flung the second one at his stomach.