Memoirs of Kitty Siam Ch. 19

I made my way down the road heading toward the cottage as planned, but was being very cautious that this part of the plan may have been compromised as well, but being in feline form, I had a pretty good idea that if anyone was lying in wait for me there, they would be pretty surprised by the version of me that showed up. I walked for a while then took a detour from the road when I found a small stream that led to a fair sized lake. I crept up to the water's edge and peered at my reflection. As I looked myself over, I was rather proud of the panther that I had become and lost all worry that I would not revert back to human form. I leaned down and let my tongue slip through the water, drinking in quite a bit until I saw a fish swim by. I made a halfhearted attempt with my paw to claw at it, and wondered afterwards why I had done that. I was becoming quite the cat in appearance and in mannerisms I thought to myself.

I slipped into the water to wash the smoke and such from my fur. Most cats would avoid the water but I slipped in without a second thought and paddled around the edge of the lake. I was enjoying my new form as I played by myself in the water until the sun hit its midpoint overhead, then I left the water and moved through the brush to a big tree that overlooked the lake. Extending my claws I scampered up the tree to perch on a large branch two-man heights from the ground. There I curled myself into a furry black ball and fell asleep until the sun was ready to set.

As the light faded and darkness approached, I pounced out of the tree into the soft grass, extended my claws and stretched. Looking around I took a quick survey of the area then went to the water's edge for another long drink. Once my thirst was sated I made my way back to the road and headed in the direction of the cabin. Traveling on four paws as opposed to two feet was much better I thought as I made my way down the road. My heightened senses of smell and vision constantly scanned the road ahead and along the sides for threats, but found none. I suspected that the foul play ended at the carriage, but was not 100% sure.

It was close to morning when I came upon the cabin. There were no sights, sounds, or smells that I could detect that would indicate the need for caution, but still I left the road and crept my way through the trees and under brush to the clearing where the cabin stood. I padded my way around the perimeter of the structure, sniffing at the blades of grass and weeds that grew in abundance. I also approached the door and sniffed along its lower edges, and then standing up on my hind legs I sniffed around the bottoms of the shuttered windows. No threats or chemicals were in evidence after my examination, I was however able to identify the scents of Teela and Sir Tausin but they had not been there in a very long time.

Even though I was in feline form, the PDA was still functioning and as I climbed a nearby tree and made myself comfortable, I went over the path that I took to get here. The road that the coach was on was the same road that leads here. There were no detours or wyes in the road that could cause a pursuer to have to choose an alternate direction. As I came to this realization I chose to remain in my sturdy tree and observe the road for a while rather than enter the cabin. For three days I stayed in feline form and kept to the woods, the lake and stream, and avoided the cabin and roads. I would venture back to the cabin numerous times each day to see if anyone had come by or was camped out there. Several farmers, hunters and children used the road that passed by the cabin but no one paid it much heed other than one teenage boy that threw a few rocks but failed to hit his mark as the cabin sat back a ways from the road. During this time I worked on transitioning back to human form and after two days of failed tries, on the third day I was finally able to figure out how to make the transition happen. I was able to transition from panther to human at will. The change was slow at first until I got the hang of it. I got so good at it that I was able to leap from my perch in the tree, land on all fours, then stand upright as a human. I was so proud of myself. As a panther I was able to teach myself to hunt prey, though I think the skills were ingrained in me to do so but it took some time for me to get it right. I feasted on squirrels, rabbits and small wild boar similar to the one that was stalking Teela when we first met. I knew now that I could hunt in human or feline form.

It was mid afternoon, I had just finished my squirrel lunch and I was perched in my tree when the wind brought a human scent to my nostrils. As the scent grew stronger I adjusted my position to flatten myself against the thick branch to keep myself out of sight as the humans approached. As they rounded the bend a ways from the cabin, I could see three men dressed in civilian attire, but what was strange about the men was that they walked abreast and in step with each other as if they were marching to an unheard cadence. My first thought was that they were military. My thoughts were confirmed as they drew closer. Neither of them wore armor or carried a spear, but their leggings, boots, and gait were a dead give away. As they came even closer, my nostrils picked up a scent that I recognized from being in Grimsod castle, and as they got even closer, I could smell Lord Hetch on the wind. I knew right then that they had to die.

As I pondered my next move the three men stopped in front of the cabin, one of them produced a piece of folded parchment. The document was unfolded and the three of them huddled together and discussed the words and occasionally looked toward the cabin. The document was folded and returned to its keeper's pocket, and then the three split up and circled the cabin then entered through the door. I could hear them walking around inside, which did not take long as it was a tiny structure. When they came out they discussed the directions and diagram on the parchment. The man that appeared to be the leader posted the other two at the cabin and stated that he would go back to inform Lord Hetch that the Reeve and Teela had not yet arrived. Lord Hetch must have been near by, as the leader quipped that he would return in a few hours. He instructed his two subordinates to take up position out of sight and observe only in case anyone should arrive while he was gone. The two men complied as their senior moved off smartly down the road.

Rather than do as directed, the two subordinates stood in front of the cabin for a while discussing what they are going to do and where to hide out. While this discussion was going on I transitioned back to human form and tapped out the set of commands that deployed my bow, arrows, and battle suit. As I readied myself the two men split up. One stayed in front of the cabin, the other walked around the side closest to me, pulled down his trousers and began to relieve himself. He was only about twenty-five feet from me as I notched an arrow, took aim and let it fly. As he was standing sideways to me the arrow penetrated his neck just above his shoulder and the tip exited out the other side just above the opposite shoulder. There was not even time for the man to scream as he released his manhood and grabbed for his neck. The arrow severed his carotid artery and he quickly collapsed to the ground to expire in a pool of his own blood.

The second man realized that it had been a few minutes since he was in contact with his partner and turned to look for him. He took several steps in my direction and was looking every which way but up, which was unfortunate for him as I notched a second arrow and took aim. As he came upon the body of his comrade he reached for his sword, which of course did him no good as I let the arrow fly striking him in the chest. For whatever reason I failed to hit his heart. The arrow sailed wide of my aim and lodged in his left lung. His hand released his sword and the weapon landed with a thud at his feet. His hands moved to the arrow and attempted to pull it out. At this point I was taking aim with my third arrow and fired. The arrow struck in the center of his chest. He took several painful breaths and attempted to pull the arrows out, but failed in his attempt as he fell to his knees, then slumped onto his side. He took a few more labored breaths before he expired.

I waited a few minutes to make sure that their leader did not return unexpectedly before I stored my bow and used the wardrobe collar to remove my weapons and my battle suit. I stood naked in the tree for a few seconds before transitioning back to my feline form. Quickly I jumped from the tree and ran toward my victims. With my teeth I bit down on the arrows one by one and pulled them from the dead men. Then I set about ripping into their flesh with my claws and teeth, making sure to mutilate their throats and chest area to hide any evidence that a human crafted weapon had been used. I gathered up the arrows in my mouth and scampered back into the trees. For a few moments I assumed human form, replaced the arrows in their quiver and returned them to the wardrobe collar before returning to my panther form. From my perch in a tree across the road from the cabin, I looked out over the two corpses in a bloody mess that would appear to anyone that showed up that they had died from an animal attack. The only foot tracks that would be found in and around the cabin were theirs, and the only paw prints would be mine.