The Lost Guard Part 1

Chloe looks over at the water of the lake wrapping her arms around her knees looking at the fish below swim freely in vision of the blue light crystals shining above and below the water. Making ripple reflections of the color towards her with the sing of decaying grass as they pass off for the new season of spring coming soon.  She was wearing a thick coat with a long drape Hunter gear, A Siamese feline with a purple scarf wrapped around her neck. Next to her is a bag will with natural ingredients she used to make bait for certain animals, these things where made by her brother Chase who was a similar twin to her, he usually sits back at home but at times he will disappear unnoticed doing thing she couldn't guess. 

To the opposite, laying next to her shoulder is a Bow with a quiver beside it, showing a full set of maybe 13 arrows of a bunch. She was looking down at a book.  Her eyes drawn to sadness as she reads the title stating, "the Legend of the Jet Blade" By an unknown artist, to her it was the only thing that was left behind from Truss in his room since he disappeared. She read a few chapters and found it inspiring on how the theory of Mayonaka lead them to stay here and become the New Age of today. But the more she read it, the more she missed Truss.

What could have happened to him, She thought, its been about a month since he left, no one knows where he is, not even the Tradition cats. she sneered at the word, Tradition cats, what if they have kept him prisoner? what if he is lost and they failed to retrieve him? Could they have-

She shook her head, no if they had anything to do with him then they would have wanted a negotiation...at least I think their kind people.  

She stood up and picked up her things, giving off a breath to see steam welding from her mouth, her tail flicked as she felt the cold slither into her fur. Giving off a chill from the air as the turns away. Until now she realized she was exhausted, and she gave up looking for animals cause of the drought has scared them off somewhere. She would have gotten some fish but they are a reserve till they breed into a nice farm. 

Nether the less her stomach was growling and from the time of the severe weather her stomach might have shrunk a bit, and soon rib cages will begin to show under her fur. Never the less she chose to ignored the problem and focused on going home knowing that their was nothing to gain from here anymore.

Or was that the very reason she was even their....okay I'll admit it, I came here to Rewind, she thought to herself, looking back at the shrunken lake that is reduced to a mild river leading away towards an unknown tunnel. Before all this the two, meaning her and Truss, a Turkish van who was a great guard for the New Age cat. Played here as Kids and even before he disappeared, it was their favorite spot to be in and Truss loved it because of the wind that passed through here, when the water rose to a perfect height hey would even swim and see who could dive the farthest. 

Now it just felt.....empty....alone...not sure how to properly word it.... but it make her depressed just to think about it only that she cant look away and pretend he was just a dream. 

The others in the city seem to have forgotten about him, almost, Chase tries to talk to her about it, but often Chloe ignores him knowing that he is just trying to help her forget what just happen and cut losses like some wild animal. No she misses him and it tears her heart left and right figuring out if he is dead or not, their was no evidence or a body, nothing!

"Why is this happening!" she yelled echoing in the lake as it bounces back, feeling angered about the spirits thinking they are toying with her, "if their is anything you guys could have done you should have said something!" she yelled almost tearing, "Naka!" she Threw the book in the air her breaths rasping in frustration as she realized a treasure she just tossed. Her frustration went into sadness as she scrambles for the book and brushes the dirt off, "Truss where are you" she mewed, brushing her tear away and getting back up to go towards the cave entrance where it will lead back home. 

These mental breakdowns are getting worse and worse, but part of the reason was because she hasn't been eating well, nor has the majority of the city. The Dry lake has caused the animals their to migrate and it have been consider illegal to hunt on these grounds due to keeping reserves for the fish to start catching up on Breed. Chase has also been working today in and out in his study figuring out a way to help this hunger crysis.

And what of the Tradition cats, they wont have much water to support either, the more water we give them, the dryer the lake becomes....what would happen if we gave them nothing?....The thought drew away from her mind as she focuses on getting home before the crystals dim in color and becomes colder, or better yet if she freezes to death.

------------------------------------- ------------------------ --------------------------- --------------------------- ---------------------------

She finally made it home keeping her thoughts to herself as she rushes over to the house that resides in the opposite direction as Illana the Soothsayer, she wanted to ask her a few things about Truss since the event of his disappearance but she is disappearing just as much, unaware of what Illana was up to.

She looked over at the house, not the best in the world, make completely of stone and wood with a large metallic shed like set that would make you think this was a forgery knockoff, but really it was Chases Study or AKA "the laboratory". 

You see Chase is a Tutor and as a tutor you need to know a lot like a scholar, if anyone knows much about history or even about particular species. He would be the one to know as Both of them kinda study them as a hobby to understand how they work, figure out their burrow locations and how they interact in their environment. He even made a way to breed rabbits and farm them as a small source of food. It became pretty effective but they need food and water just as much when rather they can feed on their own wildly. So instead he Tags them and sends them off to create a new breeding ground for when the tie comes they can farm them out using traps, the tagged ones that get trapped are free to go back home as the new ones get captured, but at a certain time the old ones have to go as well but the children will be tagged next. 

Sounds a bit messed up if you think about it but if you needed a way to shy away from hunger this was the best way to do it and Chloe was always thankful that she had a brother who was so smart and intelligent to find a way to help not only her family but most of the city. 

Chloe heard the clambering of glasses as she opens the door seeing Chase making a drink using Glowbumpkin seeds, his eyes tired as he pulls around papers mumbling to himself as he recite the notes about the lowering task of hunting grounds due to the dry season of the lake. And now that he has lost half of his breeding ground they ran off somewhere to migrate for more water and he is trying to pinpoint them. 

He sighed and sat down with his reading glasses on and looked over to see Chloe who was looking at him worried, "Oh Chloe, I did not see you their" he looks at the papers on his hands and sets them down to a nearby counter, "how was the hunting?" 

She shook her head in disappointment and placed her things next to the door with her coat sliding off and hanging against a chair, "the same as yesterday" she sighed sitting down next to the furnace, feeling the warm soaking into her fur as the chills brush away, "how is your research going, got any new assignments for the Kittens?" she asked enlightening the mood. 

Chase rose his head up with a laugh, "ha, I already finished that hours ago" he take a sip from the drink and lowers his guard, his tail drooping as his eye grew tired, "I need to find a way to fix this mess were in, if the city goes into danger over this hunger crysis then their is going to be problems" he mewed swishing his tail slightly as the took another sip of the drink. 

Chloe Crossed her leg and placed a hand on his, "Chase....you need to rest" she said kind kindheartedly, "your working yourself out to exhaustion, anymore and your going to get sick-" 

Chase Snapped, "Well who is going to fix this problem! I Don't see anyone else doing it!" she jumped in surprise of his anger and he saw it in her eyes as he looked down, "sorry...its just, things don't feel the same as before" he placed his hand on his forehead and put the drink on the table. 

She gets up and places a arm over his shoulders and helps him up, "come on, Ill lead ya to bed, I can keep an eye on the creatures here. You need to sleep" she mewed lightly to his ear, Chase hasn't slept in the last two days working overtime with the Parliament and helping Rexcer with the same problem but in two different ways. Of what they're doing Chloe wasn't too sure but in all reality, pulling himself like this is the right path for him.

Suddenly he started to drag on, feeling the relaxation pulling him into a drifting sleep as he mumbles mathematical calculations into gibbering words she could not pronounce. Thinking his Brain must be out of power to function anymore, as they made it to the next room she places him on the bed as he helps himself with the covers and she shuts off the lantern from the side, "you know, I feel it a bit empty without Truss" he mewed as she looks at him with surprise when he drifts off into a dream. 

She wanted to say something else about it, but held it in as she walks out of the room, "Yeah me too" she whispered seeing her brother snooze, "Good night brother" he closed the drapes and went off to care the animals then went to bed. 


------------------------------------------------------------ ---------------------------------------- 


She woke up with a headache today,  making tea early in the morning as the chill found its say into her home, giving off shivers in her fur. Rushing over it the furnace the heater was burned out. Noticing this, she had to stash more coal into it and churned it up with a tool from the side. Slightly feeling the warm she could not help herself but wrap up in a blanket, and head on over to the small living room. 

Inside the living room it was pretty much the area were they would study up on  collected materials around the area, its not a library or anything but if your looking for a genre of wildlife and plants then this should be a good collection. Most of the things here were bought and some written by Chase himself. Im surprised he hasn't patented these documents yet and it almost made her want to read up on one of them.

Speaking of books, she looked over to the table were it had her travel bag filled with her small hunting gear. Inside was the jet blade book that belonged to Truss that had the worn out marks poking out from the corner. Truss was always talking about those things and by some annoyance she believe he was obsessed with the idea of the spirit linking into this story. Shockingly the stuff in the book from the first five chapters she has read were very detailed, so detailed you'd think it was part of a rare collection from Augitha's library. 

One think you got to know is that Chloe is no hard core study girl but she does take things like fiction into interest, weather this book is true or not it is still holding some key knowledge of morals and ethics. In fact the very way this book is set up makes her think this is what helped Truss get his good personality, he was never a cat who would become an ambitious tyrant like the ones Mayonaka has to faced in the story.

She paused, and placed the book down, she held her head in frustration as she forced herself to get up and pulled out a piece of paper, writing down a note saying she will be out and going to Krystal's Merchandise to get some supplies. Placing it on the table she grab her bag and reached in to  heck how mu h she has, one  two, seven, twelve, seventeen. 

Seventeen Crysis, should be enough to get some gear and common goods,  but not the best, a good two weeks worth of food usually would  cost her much more than that. But due to the hunting season bringing in nothing around, business has been short and tiring.

She sighed and opened the door feeling chill air rush in. She reached for the coat placed on the chair from yesterday and walked out. And she jumped when the first thing she saw was a little rat pass by, she gave out a short breath and continued following the path near the fountain that is connected to Illlana's house, the fountain was all dried up.

The structure reveals a statue of an unknown New age cat in the figure of one of the Spirits, but it has decayed so much their was no proof of what it was anymore, or at least she didn't know, maybe Chase knew but it wasn't really much of an importance. Just an inheritance from Illana, wherever she is these days. 

She shook her head and turned right towards the path that lead to a wide but short tunnel that will lead directly to Krystal's Merchandise, now the name actually implies the owner their, a young woman named Krystal Evelyn. Now she inherit it from a line of family members when it was called something else back then but since their passing the shop was passed to her and she renamed it as the Krystal's Merchandise, you know it kinda has a good ring to it and it is not a bad shop when you go their. They have all sorts of assortments that range from hunting gear, guard parts, simple decorative and jewelry, to packaged food, hunters catchings of the day, and clothes which Chloe find them very nice. 

And this is where Chloe herself actually gets paid, she hunts for fur or animals, she doesn't have to skin it but she does have to open it up and analyze it to make sure it is healthy to share, send it over to Krystal's and she pays Chloe a lump sum for a trade as she skins them and sells them herself. Reasons why fish isn't always caught is because they go bad overtime and are best served fresh in the market so their is a time of the week when she will rent out a net and capture a bunch of them to sell for the city.

During her walk she frowned, looking at a sign that was worn out. Her mind was a bit fuzzy but the knew she had to turn left towards the long tunnel that will lead her straight their but for the others out her....well they might get lost, either way the other way just lead them to a longer path that leads to the spirits pools, the largest collection of pools that have a deep connection to the spirits. But Illana only knows how to do them best. Plus ever since the drought the spirit pool seems to have lost all its water and she has to go look somewhere else for a source. 

It pains Chloe to think, what if this doesn't recover over the next few months, what will they all do and how far ill they go to make sure everyone is comfortable again. 

Only time will tell.


-----------------------------

A few moments have passed as Chloe steps through the front door of Krystal's house which is almost the same build material as her own, Wood and metal place together with a wooden sign showing a cat in a bag....hehe thats always funny. 

"Hehe, Cat out of the bag..." she repeated as she pulls the drapes over her head and headed inside. and the first thing that she notice was the smell of herbs that cling to her nose in irritation, looking to her left she saw the bags of supplies that haven't been opened up, probably was a recent trade this morning. Down the middle was an assortment of five shelves carrying random items she couldn't tell up close, and above them were crystals that tower the ceiling that glow to create light with a few lanterns to brighten up the nice things like jewelry and such. 

The best part about this place is that its always warm around this season and it had her favorite bait materials that were collected by other hunters. Some hunters want to just collect herbs and steals items that certain animals contain in their nest like eggs or natural ingredients only they can make. Not many people enjoy the fact we steal eggs but a lot are grateful that they exist in stores and make a wonderful meal if your looking for a quick protein.

To the right are the weapons, all sorts in bulks between parts and upgrades, to swords and shields. usually every feline around here has some sort of defense in their home, Chloe for one is equipped with a bow and arrow as her main focus weapon when her side arm is just a short blade, basically for cutting skin from slain animals to eat.

It not always an easy job being a hunter, if you want to make the big tokens of crysis, you need to be brave enough to take an animal down to feed yourself.

"Hello?" she called hearing only the clatter of the furnace nearby as it pops the flames of coal and wood.

Then in the back behind the counter she heard rustling as a White ear poked out from the bottom, "I am sorry about that I was putting up some new things I ordered from the Traditional Market" she mewed sit up against a tall chair, "Oh! Chloe, one of my favorite clients! What brings you over to the Merchandise! I have so many new things to show you!" she said excitingly as she pulls up a few materials like a cage contraption and a line and pointing at things from the back, "you see with this premium kit you will e swarming with new rabbits with this trap, and with a line to hook it up, it can be remote triggered!" she mewed, "Just sent the ideas from the Blacksmiths, all for 70 Crysis or 5 an hour. If you don't then tell your friends"

Chloe shook her hand with a wave of her hand, "No, no, I was just here to try to grab a few food materials" she mewed as Krystal stared with a hint of dissatisfaction. 

"Oh...Alright then, well" she points, "we don't have much but their are dried packaging near the cooler end" she mewed as Chloe gave a nod and walked over. The hunter kinda felt bad about the offer but its what you expect from a merchant, and she doesn't have much use for them right now. 

Over at the counter with the available dried goods and they were all available in small pieces....but the price, "10 Crysis...for these?" she mewed and picked one up to bring it over to the counter, "Umm is this price right? 10 Crysis?" she asked as Krystal blinked and looked over. 

She gave a nod, "Yeah since the lack of livestock and materials, I had to up the price for the supply and demand" she gave a frown, "why do you think I pressure hunters to go out more with this gear, the Drought has caused some losses for my store" 

Chloe gave out a sigh, just great, first no water now higher price charts? whats next!, she started to think to bargain, "so...ummm..." she looked around trying to think what else she would want, until a certain scent caught her nose, it was placed around the side of the counter and were in a small hand full size bag filled with leaves, Hey I know that scent, "okay hows about those Varian Leaves and this for 10" she asked. 

Krystal Laughed, "your going to have to do better than that, that bag is 7 Crysis, but since I like you hows about 13" she countered and raised a Brow.

Chloe Challenged, "are you sure?, may even 11, you might not sell these again?" her mew made Krystal give off a face, thinking through as she looks around in her store.

Krystal nodded, "Hmm...alright 12 Crysis, Final offer, wont go one short" her voice was more stern as her tail was flicking left and right. Waiting for Chloe to answer.

She nodded, "deal" she reached into her bag as Krystal prepares it and puts them into a Burlap sack, With Chloe's Earning she pulls out her 12 Crysis, leaving five left, enough for one day work of fishing gear. 

"Thank you for your contribution, hope thing go well with the hunting, I could really us something on my shelves this season" she asked, "Oh and dont forget to tell your fellow hunters about my offers, I could really sell this gear out, and the price range of hunting food is raised by 40% income" she mewed, "Ill pay big money for big edible creatures, you get me that and I will pay you handsomely, say 3 Crysis per Pound?" 

Chloe Blinked, "wow, that much? The food supply is that short?" she asked looking shocked as she lifts the bag over her shoulders.


Krystal opened a book and placed an elbow against the table as she read through it, "you have no Idea sister, anyways off you go then, I need to know how Frenda gets back with Chalice" she mewed looking at a book that reads some things on Drama. 

Chloe rolled her eyes and smiled as she exits through the Drapes and back home. 


To be continued.....