Dania Beginnings Ch. 01

As promised, here is the story of Dania's past. I hope you enjoy

*****

Its cold out tonight, I think to myself as I make my way through the trees of our Jungle. Colder than I can ever remember it being before. But I am focused on the task at hand and the noticing of the cold is but a passing thought. To say that I am excited is probably closer to reality. I've been given the honor by my people, the Neko, to travel to Human territory and gather information on one of their leaders. My mission is simple: Gather as much information as I can without being seen. It should appear as if I were never there at all.

I should be able to blend into their surroundings well, especially in the night: my fur is an ashy grey, and in the Moonlight, I can be hard to make out.

For as long as our history can recall, we have been at war with the Humans. It is hoped that with the information I gather, we will be closer to putting and end to all of it, possibly even to the Humans as well. It will be a better place without them. Those who take without replenishing repulse me. I can think of nothing more vile. To reap the land of trees, to strip the earth of stones, to burn and put the black smoke in the air...it is unforgivable. This is the nature of the Humans.

Add to those atrocities the fact that they will kill for sport . . . . . ugh!

I'd been chosen for this mission because of my somewhat unique affinity for the trees. Most of the Neko were much more at home on the ground. I, on the other hand, along with only two others, both of which were too young for combat, took to the trees like the Moon takes to the night. The territory of the particular Human I was sent to spy on was surrounded on all sides by dense Jungle. I could travel through the trees and not have to risk someone finding my tracks and following me. Factor in that at night, I would be nearly invisible against the Moonlight, I was the obvious choice.

And I can help put an end to all of this. My Master will be proud of me. His expectations for me will help to remind me of what my task is and to motivate me:

"Remember that what you do reflects directly on Me. You will do this, and do this well. I will accept nothing less. Understood?"

"Yes, Sir."

His words are all that are needed to make sure that I succeed. They were like a fresh brand on my skin, constantly reminding me of my task and its importance. But on top of that, the Neko do not accept failure. To come back without the necessary information would mean dishonor for my Master, Dod, publish lashings, banishment, or even death if the lashings are cruel enough. Being seen by the Humans would mean that I had given away our advantage and the only possible punishment for that would be death.

Death for this reason would be the worst imaginable for a warrior of the Neko, like myself. I would be required to have my hands bound behind my back and then, while on my knees, bend over and drink from a bowl on the ground, like an animal. The drink would be laced with a fast acting poison. While I did this, the Neko would turn their backs on me. My honor would be gone, I would be shunned by my people, and I would die with my hands behind my back, like a coward. No tales of what I'd done would ever be told, save to scare little children. This would not be the death of a warrior. This was the Death Unseen.

I should have been worried about the possibility of failing, but I wasn't. I couldn't be. From the time I could walk, I was trained to be a warrior. I had literally been preparing for this my entire life. My mind was clear and sharp, my body chiseled from years upon years of training, and my Master's expectations would keep me focused.

To fail him, even more so than the Neko, would mean I deserved the Death Unseen.

I would not receive that death.

But before I could bring honor and glory to my Master, I had a half cycle of the Moon's worth of travel before I reached the edge of our territory, and then another full cycle until I reached my destination. Trying to carry enough food and water this far was absurd. I did carry some food, but only a couple of days worth of dried meats, preserved so that they would last until I needed them. I also carried a bow and quiver of arrows, a knife made of polished onyx, a small bladder of water for emergencies, and a satchel made from the hide of a jaguar that I'd personally killed.

We used everything that we killed, nothing went to waste. Stupid Humans.

Knowing that I was well prepared brought a smile to my face and I dug in and increased my pace. I would succeed.

~~~~~

I had been traveling for eleven days when I noticed the smell of meat being cooked. It was faint, and I nearly missed it altogether. I paused, trying to decide whether to investigate or to leave it and keep going. My Cat got the better of me and I had to take a look for myself.

Finding the cooking meat was not difficult and it occurred to me that whomever was cooking it, wasn't trying to hide it or mask the smell in any way. Someone who wouldn't try and hide this out in the middle of the Jungle probably didn't need to hide it, which meant they could be dangerous. Or, on the other hand, they could be completely looney.

A smile spread across my face when I came upon the camp and the cooking meat. Its owner was nowhere to be seen.

"Come and sit," a voice said to me from my side. I hadn't heard him at all and I let out a quick yell of fright. He laughed with that thin and raspy laugh that only the old can have. My moment of fear had passed almost before it had arrived fully and I was immediately on the defensive. Had I been careless? Yes. But did that mean that he didn't have skill and had actually crept up to my side unbeknownst to me? No, it didn't. I would have to be careful around him.

"I didn't think anyone lived out this far..."

"Few seldom do."

"It could be dangerous..." I started to say, but he interrupted.

"Few seldom think, yes, few seldom think," he smiled.

His words had taken the ones in my mouth right out. I'd been prepared to tell him how unsafe it was for someone his age to be out alone and away from civilization, and he'd insulted me. To claim that I didn't think! The nerve of him.

He'd done it again. He had a knack for throwing me off balance.

"Headed to see the Humans?" he had changed the subject. But how could he have known that? Only my Master and a handful of others knew about the mission. He read the expression on my face, "You're near the borders and heading straight at them, where else would you be going? The question is, why are you going there?"

I chose not to answer and he cackled loudly. "Look at this! Brave warrior out for honor and glory. I don't know what it is that you seek, little girl, but be careful what you ask for. You just might get it."

Not caring to listen to any more of his incessant babble, I got up to leave and he motioned for me to stop.

"Don't go just yet, Warrior, one more question and then I would like for you to sit and eat with me. Do me the honor of sharing this meal with one so beautiful as you."

"What question do you have?"

"Have you ever seen a Human? Or know anyone who has?"

I opened my mouth to speak, but not utterance escaped. I had never seen a Human. My earliest memories were of being trained as a warrior for my people. That was how I'd grown up. The training to fight the Humans was all I knew.

"Sit. Eat."

He shared some of his meat with me, and I do have to say that it was delicious. It was boar and seasoned very well. He did me the service of not asking anymore about what I was doing, and, instead, made idle small talk about the Jungle and how to live in it without fear. I was grateful for this.

~~~~~

After the meal and resting a bit while the old one talked of nothings, that kind of talk that communicates no message and instead serves only to prevent silence from overwhelming you, it was time to continue on my mission. Enough time had already been wasted. He gave me some dried meats and, again, made the comment that I should be careful what I wished for because I just might get it.

His words haunted me as I traveled long into the night. Those few words plagued me at first. "I just might get what I was looking for."

So what was it that I was looking for? What was it that I would be doing? I was to observe the Humans and learn all that I could about them. I was to look for weaknesses in them that would allow us to defeat them. I was to search for any and all of their strengths that would prevent our victory and determine how to overcome their defenses.

The implication in "I just might get what I was looking for" was that if I completed this mission, what I learned about the Humans would somehow negatively affect the mission. The implication would be that I would fail my Master.

And then there was that whole part about never actually seeing a Human. I was taught that we had always fought the Humans. That they were the enemy. But he was right: I had never seen one; or known of anyone who had claimed to. I had always assumed that someone had. They had to have.

~~~~~

I reached the border at dusk two days after leaving the campsite and slowly sank into the River to cross it. I had thus far performed well and even gotten ahead of schedule. I'd made good time. While inside our territory, I could feel free to let my mind wander and dwell on his words. But now that I was in the land of the Humans, I could not lose focus for even a moment. Even as I made my way across, I could feel the danger rising.

I couldn't help but notice that from the middle of the River, I could tell no difference in our territory and theirs. Had someone come here and not known it was a the border, there would have been no way for them to discern that fact.

I would make camp here for the night...in Human territory, but still on the bank of the River. I had no idea if Humans would be guarding their border or not, but if they were, the closer to escape I was, the better. Sleep came easily for me that night. No patrols came.

~~~~~

I knew that I had about a full cycle of the Moon to travel before I reached my target. I'd been traveling for more than half of the cycle since crossing the River and I hadn't seen the first Human. I was headed in the right direction. And I could tell that this part of jungle was mostly uninhabited. It was much too thick to have had any sizable population inhabiting or running through it.

"Careful what you ask for..."

After three weeks of travel, his words now came back to me. Where was this threat? It certainly was nowhere near the border. All I could do would be to continue with my mission.

Another week passed and the cycle of the Moon finished before I finally saw my first Human. Funny looking things! They stood upright like the Neko and were about the same size. But they were bald all over except for on their heads and some of the males had hair on the face, too. It took me awhile to figure out just what they looked like. Kind of like a howler monkey, but with a flatter face and no tail.

I reached back and grabbed my tail and pulled it around and up to my chest. They didn't have tails! I almost couldn't believe it.

These Humans were not dangerous and, obviously, never saw me. They were gatherers and had cleared an entire space of trees to allow some crop to grow. I'd never seen it before: It was tall and thin and green. They pulled off some of the buds and pull the skin back to reveal a yellowish inside. Very curious.

Now that I'd seen a Human, I knew that I was on the right track. Now for the hard part: I had to locate their city and watch to see who the leader of their army was, and then follow him to his dwelling. It was here that I would be able to learn the most about him as well as where he was most likely to keep his deepest secrets.

It took only another day of passing near small villages before I found the city. I have to say that there were significantly fewer trees than I would have liked. But I managed to find one near the city gate that allowed me to watch without being seen.

My next few days were nothing but "let's hurry up and wait." I had enough dried meats and water to last me.

The Humans and their city were odd. At night, they closed the doors and almost no one came in or out. The one exception to this was this one Human who came and went as he pleased, it seemed, and always had a few others with him. The people with him changed, but it was always him. It was him, I determined, who was the leader of their army.

I would spend another week or so following him as much as I could to figure out his routines. This did not prove to be difficult. Throughout the day, he would patrol the areas surrounding the city and at night he would leave periodically, always returning with someone bound in rope. He would then leave about midway through the night and then not return until the next morning.

His dwelling was not far from the city. Far enough away to avoid the noise from it, but close enough to get there quickly if need be. This was a nice balance. With so much responsibility, it was understandable to want solitude at home. I approved.

Now that I knew something of him, it was time to find a place from which to observe him. The Jungle here was dense (just as my people had said it would be) and there were many spots that fit my needs. I did manage to find a small cave on the side of the mountain, overlooking his dwelling. This gave me a place to store my things and not have to carry them with me everywhere I went.

I slept for the night.