The Warlord's Kitten Ch. 04

Lin'qa yawned sleepily, the gentle swaying of the airship lulling her further into her state of drowsiness. Gehra's nails scratched that spot between her ears and she purred contentedly, not even fully aware she was doing it. She buried her face deeper in the big Orc's chest, tightening her arms around his waist.

She'd been so tired today. Rugana had roused her early for to "take care" of her morning wood by shoving it inside Lin'qa's ass. And while the Orcess had managed to get back to sleep, she hadn't. When Gehra had scooped her up into his lap during the airship ride to the Clansmeet, she hadn't been able to resist. Maybe she didn't want to. The low rumble of Gehra's voice conversing with his bodyguard was all the awareness of the conversation she had. The words were ephemeral, the head scratches were real. So was the way he playfully stroked her tail.

She snuggled more closely and felt herself starting to drift into a shallow slumber. Her mind drifted back to her childhood home. It was a sprawling manor that, when she was a kitten, had seemed like it was bigger than the rest of the world. The manor and their holdings were built upon a mountain shelf, The city they governed sprawled out miles below them, down a narrow path. The mountain itself, called Kaa, was mostly greyish white but laced with veins of a glassy purple rock. Deeper in the mountains, a purer version of that purple rock was extracted to be used to refine into airship fuel. She couldn't remember what it was called.

She thought of her bitch of a mother, Talvizsa, who'd always rained snide comments down upon her, and told her that everybody else was judging her. In reality, she'd been the one judging Lin'qa at every opportunity. Her father Kitra almost never spoke to her. He rolled his eyes and gave Talvizsa a look whenever Lin'qa tried to address him. 'Why aren't you handling this?' the look always said. She wouldn't see the look sometimes, or perhaps she just ignored him. Other times, she'd acknowledge him and make some snide comment about how much Lin'qa acted like a girl and not a real male. That had all changed when she'd tried to come out to them. Suddenly, she was a male, and no amount of pretending to be a girl could change that.

His little sister Felida was always so polite to him, but there was always a terseness about any interaction they had. Felida always had somewhere to be, something to do. While Lin'qa occupied her time with classes and academics, Felida always had meetings, parties, and various functions to attend with her friends. Visiting nobility and wealthy merchants from town were her friends. Their relationship had always felt somewhat hollow to her, but she still missed Felida. The male pronouns were like a knife in her heart but she still ached to see Felida's face and to hear her voice calling her "big brother."

Her aunt, Na'zsa and her cousin Yasmiya had always been so kind to her. Her uncle — she couldn't remember his name — had run off when she was but a kitten. "He's off to live another life," Na'zsa had told him. She'd worn a bittersweet smile whenever she'd said it. Lin'qa had played endlessly with Yasmiya when they were kittens. She'd liked dress-up the most, and the much older, single child Yasmiya had been ecstatic to have a little sister to play with. Talvizsa had thought it was cute when they were kittens, but Lin'qa had never grown out of it. Ultimately, Talvizsa had forcibly put a stop to it.

Nine lives... her aunts words echoed through her head. The idiom was a silly comment that ranked up there with cats landing on their feet, or hating water. It had an actual root in Rakshasa philosophy. They lived so much longer than any of the other mortal races, even elves. For beings that lived so long in a world that changed so fast, they knew and accepted that the world and the life they knew would eventually change, and never change back. Living nine different lives, one after the other...

She stirred, and was aware that Gehra had stopped scratching her head but was still cradling her gently on his lap. They weren't talking anymore. 'Nine Lives...' Lin'qa thought to herself. She'd always thought it was a silly superstition when she was a kid. A dumb metaphor that her elders had taught her to try to get her to act more... whatever. Not like herself. Now though, a thought stuck into her mind like a burr in her tail. What if this was just her second life? What if her coming out was her attempting to start her second life, and by trying to live her second life in the confines of her first, she'd caused this to happen. Maybe she'd tried to force The Goddess' hand, and She had angrily pushed back?

Gehra tapped her on the head in a way clearly meant to get her attention. "Off you go, Kitty, we're landing soon, go find your Momma."

"Mrrrr... Thank you." Lin'qa yawned and stretched her legs. She went to hop off of Gehra's lap but his arm around her waist didn't budge.

"Thank you?" He asked with an amused chuckle. His tone was the same one Rugana used when she expected something from her.

"T-Thank you for the cuddles, Daddy..." Lin'qa blushed, lowering her head so that her hair fell into her eyes and covered her face.

"That's better," Gehra snickered and let her stand up. As she tried to scamper away to find Rugana, he landed a heavy smack on her ass. Lin'qa yelped and jumped forward and out of the passenger room. She rubbed her sore butt and went off to the helm where she figured Rugana would be. When she got out on the deck, she saw where they were before she saw her Momma.

Mountains rose all around them as the airship started its descent. They were landing in a valley which held a single, large, compound. It had a huge circular wooden canopy covering it, with different crests painted all over. After a brief scan, her eyes found the two intertwining spears, the crest of the Singing Spears. Her Momma's Clan. Her Clan.

The building wasn't defensible at all, situated low in the valley as it was. It was made out of wood, and had no clear anti-air options like the massive towers and Plexion Claws that protected the fortress that was their home. It would never withstand an extended siege, but it was well hidden.

"Nice handprint. Gehra's?" Rugana asked her, making her squeak in surprise. She hadn't realized her Momma had spotted her and walked right up to her, she was so busy gawking at the scenery. The Orcess' hand squeezed her still slightly sore bottom and she whined softly at the pain. She didn't pull away, though.

"Y-Yeah. I was napping in his room."

"Oh? Is that all?" Rugana chuckled that same chuckle Gehra had used. The two were probably more alike than they realized.

"No... Daddy cuddled with me. I fell asleep in his lap." She squeezed her eyes shut in embarrassment. It felt surreal that saying this stuff was coming easily to her, now.

A second life... how long until the third comes along? If you fight it, maybe longer? The thought made her shiver in dread.

"Glad to see you two are getting along so well. I'll be busy here at the Clansmeet an awful lot so keep my brother company when you're not with me, okay?" Rugana spoke cheerfully as the airship descended into the shadow of the mountain. They were close enough to their landing pad that Lin'qa could see the thin reed-like weeds growing through the cracks in the rocks.

"Yes, Momma," Lin'qa replied as she placed her leash in Rugana's outstretched hand.

"You're such a good girl, Kitty. Are you happier now than you were when I first got you?" The question caught Lin'qa off-guard and she took a step back, anxiety gripping her.

Yes. That was the answer, just a simple yes. It had only been a week, but she'd been angry and bitter and hateful all the time those first few days. Now she was... sort of numb. It wasn't happiness, or fulfillment, but it was better than feeling so toxic all the time.

"Yes, Momma."

"Hey, don't you just 'Yes, Momma' me to avoid the question. Give me a proper answer," Rugana grunted and frowned at her.

"I don't really feel happy, Momma, but I don't feel sad, either. I feel... kind of empty." She spoke with her eyes downcast. She was sort of afraid of answering the question this way, but it was the truth.

"And how did you feel, before you came here?" Rugana didn't seem upset at her answer, just thoughtful.

She thought about that as the large airship touched down with a soft thump, and people started moving all around. Workers moored the ship and unpacked cargo, the din of their voice replacing the fading sounds of the engine.

"I felt empty before, too," she whispered.

Rugana was silent too for several long moments, her eyes turned out towards the building before them. "You'll feel better in time, Kitty. Trust me." Her hand rubbed Lin'qa's head, stroking her hair. As the two of them stood on the deck, Lin'qa spotted a delegation moving towards their ship. She spotted it more because she sensed Rugana's reaction to it than anything else. "Looks like the audience I requested is being granted. Let's go."

They headed through the interior of the large cargo airship. It was probably a multi-purpose vessel, since the Clan didn't seem to have luxury airships for the important figures to ride around it. In cases like this where the Chieftains of the Singing Spears and Stalking Hounds, Gehra's Clan, came to the Clansmeet, this cargo airship seemed to be the ride of choice.

The two of them descended. Lin'qa's leash was attached to Rugana's belt, but she didn't let it go taut, staying a half-step behind Rugana the whole way. A trio of Orcs approached them, all of them male, wearing scale armor and carrying weapons. They didn't look like they were out for trouble, but Lin'qa could sense Rugana tensing up as they got near.

"Chief Rugana. You had something to show me?" The leader of the group spoke as they drew near. His two tusks had been sharpened to a point, and painted or perhaps stained red in a Clan pattern. He looked mean, but not in the way Rugana could be mean. He just looked like he had a temper.

"Gur, so nice to see you," Rugana smiled warmly and greeted him but he just scowled back at her. "Well, I won't waste your time." Rugana made a half turn and banged on the cargo hatch with her fist twice, the booming metallic sound ringing through the air. With a creak, the hatch fell open, landing with a crash right next to Lin'qa and Rugana, making the surprised cat girl squeak. Inside was a dark and twisted hunk of metal that looked like the remains of an airship. Well, certainly a smaller craft than the massive cargo ship, this one looked like an attack craft. "Recognize that? That's a Red Scar design, yeah?"

Gur glared at the twisted wreck of metal, then back at Rugana. He looked very displeased. "Where the fuck did this come from and why is it in your cargo bay?" he growled.

"Came from raids on my shipments. Now if you knew Red Scar was doing that without permission from the Clansmeet, you wouldn't have to ask, huh?"

"Those fucking idiots." Gur growled angrily. "I fucking told them not to... Ugh."

"Hey, I'm showing you this first. I don't wanna go whining to the Clansmeet like a little punk about how the Red Scar are bullying me, and I don't really want another war on my hands either. Was hoping you could talk some sense into them for me, keep it between us."

"I will definitely be having some words with Hakka about this," Gur muttered, averting his gaze from Rugana like he couldn't bear to see her expression.

"Yeah. And if you choose not to, I've still got this here in my cargo bay in case whining to the Clansmeet like a punk becomes my best option." Rugana smiled coyly. She wasn't rubbing it in too much, which was a good thing. Gur shot her a look, then another at Lin'qa. He wrinkled his nose a little bit at her, but didn't say anything. The delegation stomped off, and Lin'qa saw Gur gesticulating wildly at his two aides, or soldiers, or whatever they were.

"Momma...?" Lin'qa spoke up as they left.

"Yeah, Kitty?" Rugana asked as she tugged on her leash, leading them into the building at a healthy distance from Gur and his group.

"That was... my idea...?" She asked.

"What can I say, it seemed like a good idea. Don't go getting a big head over it, Kitty. You're still my pet, not a princess." Rugana spoke cheerfully, but Lin'qa got the feeling she was holding something back. They headed into the compound, and Lin'qa wasn't sure what to expect in there. The inside was a disorganized mess of temporary buildings scattered around a massive concourse. At the center of it all, a deep open pit in the earth went down to a series of seats fanned out around a raised circular podium. It looked like an old repurposed open pit mine.

"You're not allowed down there, just so you know, Kitty. Only the Chiefs go to the pit." Rugana led them through the press of people, around the disorganized sprawl of wooden buildings. Most of them had a Clan crest painted on the side, although there were a few other buildings that looked like they had no specific association. They passed by a little shack selling bowls on noodles and Lin'qa felt her stomach growl at the tantalizing smell. "You're hungry? Honestly I don't know how you eat so much and still stay so small." Rugana rolled her eyes and angled the two of them towards the noodle stand.

Lin'qa blushed but didn't complain about Rugana buying her a small bowl of noodles floating in a delicious smelling broth. The Orcess handed it to her, not buying anything for herself. They resumed moving back through the crowd until they approached a structure painted with Rugana's crest. Lin'qa took every opportunity to slurp up the food without spilling the hot broth on herself or stopping moving. As they walked, out of the corner of her eye she saw a flash of white amongst the sea of greens and browns. Her curiosity piqued, she peeked up over the edge of her bowl of noodles, expecting to see a pale-skinned human or an elf. Instead, she saw a small humanoid with cat ears and a tail She had white fur on her tail with a few small black stripes. Lin'qa froze, and a second later the leash went taut.

"Rest when we get there, Kitty, come on," Rugana growled at her in annoyance. "Is this what I get for spoiling you?"

"I... I..." Lin'qa stammered, trembling. She looked up at Rugana and gave her a quick shake of the head before following along quickly. "...Sorry..." she whispered quietly, unable to stop herself from trembling. The other Rakshasa hadn't seen her, and soon they rounded the corner, going out of sight. It wasn't just that Lin'qa had seen another Rakshasa here, that would have been surprising but it wouldn't have shaken her the way it had. That particular Rakshasa had been Felida, her little sister.

The compound itself was mostly just a big lounge with a bedroom for Rugana and a little kitchen off to the side. Her envoy would be sleeping on the airship or on a variety of cots arranged around the edge of the room, it seemed. Rugana unhooked Lin'qa's leash from her belt and Lin'qa fell to her knees, trembling. Felida... she must have been seeing things. Why would Felida be here? It must have been someone else and she'd just mistaken them for Felida. She was homesick, and seeing things.

"The fuck is up with you, Kitty?" Rugana asked, towering over her. The big Orcess' voice had a mixture of concern and irritation in it.

"That, umm..." Lin'qa's mind raced. Rugana knew something was up, she had to tell her something. "That Rakshasa girl out there..."

"If you think you have an actual chance to stick your little cocklet in another cat girl then you're going to be very disappointed, Kitty." Rugana snorted in amusement. The rest of the Rugana's retinue in the compound made a point to look away from the two of them, talking amongst themselves.

"No! That's not...! She kind of reminded me of my sister... I just thought..." Lin'qa lowered her head, squeezing her eyes shut. Momma was mad at her. She'd messed up.

"That girl is named Smoke, she's an arms dealer. She's been around for years. Does that sound like your sister?" Rugana's tone was suddenly a tiny bit softer, but still somewhat patronizing.

"...No it doesn't," she answered honestly. Why would Felida be here? She was at home.

Rugana sighed, and reached down to scoop Lin'qa up in her arms. She carried her over to one of the thin little cots laid out against a far wall. "Don't be too upset, Kitty. You're coming a long way but a relapse now and again is to be expected. Still, I don't like seeing you blabbering about your old family, or about going home. I know that you know that you belong here. Try harder to accept it."

"Sorry, Momma..." Tears rolled down Lin'qa's cheeks as she laid on the cot, clutching her legs to her chest. She wasn't sure why she was crying.

"I'll see you tonight, get some rest. I have some people to see before the Chiefs descend tonight. Don't any of you get any ideas about fucking my bitch without my permission, yeah?" She cast a glance around at the other Orcs, who all gave her nervous affirmations.

After Rugana left, Lin'qa couldn't help but think about Felida. The image was burned into her mind, his sister talking to another Orc agitatedly, waving her hand at him in short, sharp movements. Felida had done that all the time. Had she imagined that? Had missed her sister so badly that she imagined her down even to the body language?

Troubled, she rolled over onto her side and tried to catch a quick nap.

"Damn, Chief's really ruffling some feathers, huh." Voices from inside the compound.

"Yeah, people are worked up. I don't blame them, Chief is one scary-ass bitch."

"Won't stop the Clans from uniting against her. That doesn't worry you?"

"Nah. Chief's smart. Classy. You see the way Chief Gur was shitting his pants? Gur! I ain't never seen the Black Fangs act like that."

"Well... yeah... Should we really be pissing off the Black Fangs AND the Red Scar though? Chief Gehra is an awesome guy but the Hounds aren't really the biggest military ally you know."

"Pfft, nobody wants a war after the fall Clansmeet. Who the fuck wants to fight in these mountains over the winter?"

"So short sighted..."

"Oh go fuck yourself. Better yet, fuck the Chief's pet and she'll rip your balls off."

"Almost worth it, but not quite." The two faceless and nameless voices laughed, and Lin'qa felt a ripple of embarrassment wash over her.

She tried to ignore them, and the rest of the voices there, and to maybe catch up on her sleep properly. The nap had taken the edge off, but after seeing Felida or Smoke or whomever she was, Lin'qa was ready to call it a day. The cot was also quite nice, or at least, it was a fair bit nicer than sleeping on the floor. She'd only been allowed to sleep in the bed with Rugana twice over the course of the week.

She awoke after what felt like a few hours with a yawn. She sat up and saw that not much had changed since she'd dozed off. Rugana's escort still milled about. Four were playing cards and two others were sitting at a table eating bowls of noodles that had definitely come from the same shack as the ones she'd had. Some of them glanced at her, a few gazes lingered lewdly but they seemed mostly disinterested. She knew that part of the disinterest came from being told they could look but not touch.

She had a brief moment of wondering what exactly she was supposed to do. It was obvious, of course, she was supposed to wait here for Rugana to return. She was not a person who was used to being idle, however. She certainly liked her naps and sleeping in, but in a way that was doing something too.

"Umm, excuse me?" Lin'qa stood up and walked over to one of the two Orcs who were eating noodles.

"Bathroom?" She asked with a frown. She acted like it was a job that was expected of her, but not one she wanted.