All characters referred to in this story are copyright Daniel Pering. Any unauthorized alteration, or
distribution constitutes as theft and will be dealt with to the fullest extent of the law. Enjoy but don't mess
with this stuff.
CHAPTER IV
"What should we do now?" Lillian asked Ruth. Ruth sat down and motioned for Lillian and Roy to do the
same,
"How long has it been since he ate?" she asked.
"Since last night, though it was only one bite." Lillian provided.
"What did he eat?"
"Some fresh meat I offered him."
"If memory serves, humans burnt their meat over fires for some reason. I think it was to keep them from
becoming sick. Humans supposedly had weaker digestive systems than furrs. In the future only feed him
burnt meat."
"What do you mean 'In the future'?"
"He is going to stay here with us." Ruth said.
"Why?"
"He may be the last human alive. Until we know for sure we need to make sure he is kept safe from harm."
Lillian and Roy both heard what Ruth said, but they both had severe doubts.
"Are you sure about this?"
"Quite sure." she said slowly standing up, "
and tell them not to move when the human comes out of the hut. Give a yell when they are away."
"I should go too."
"No. You stay here. You are going to untie the human. I have two reasons for this. First, it will further
imprint that you mean him no harm and that you are friendly. Two, you need to protect me while I observe
what he does."
"Ready!"
"Ah, good. Lillian untie him." Ruth said.
"We don't know what he will do."
"That is why you are still here. Untie him."
Lillian grimaced slightly but complied. She crouched down behind him and began untying his
wrists. As soon as the human felt his bonds loosened he struggled free. He jumped up and made a B-line
for the door of the hut. Ruth
yelled toward
"Follow him Roy. Find out where he lives. He will eventually go there, but be careful not to be seen. Come
back here when you figure where he lives."
"Yes ma am."
feline features,
"Why did you let him go? I thought you said we need to protect the human."
"Yes, indeed we do, but he undoubtedly lives someplace out there." Ruth motioned with a wave of her paw,
"We need to make sure he is not caring for a mate or kits, or if there is a small settlement. If that is the case
we need to find some way to persuade them to join with us."
"Why? Humans, according to the legends at least, were very dangerous. What if The Great War actually
happened? They might still hate furrs,"
"Enough!" Ruth said curtly, "That is IF there are more humans, and IF they still remember The Great War.
Did you not notice how feral he seemed?" Ruth paused for a breath, "The possibility of The Great War is
the exact reason we need to keep him safe." Lillian obviously did not understand as was evident by her
rolling her eyes.
Ruth continued,
"O.K. remember how The Great War supposedly ended?" she asked. Lillian turned to face Ruth again,
"Of course I do, the humans lost and our ancestors thought we wiped them out."
"You have most of it. The part you forgot was the part about the half-breeds. The human-furr mixes that
our ancestors hated so much. The same ones that they killed along with their human and furr parents.
Supposedly there was a whole nation of them who wanted to end the battles, and the massacres, and so
forth. The pure blood furrs wanted to destroy everything that was not pure furr,"
"Yeah, yeah I remember all that. So what?"
"So what happened after that? Why are we here? Where did we come from? Where are all the mystical
machines our ancestors used? I think the human may hold the answer to all that. Plus, humans are so much
stronger than furrs, think of what he could do for us especially if we bred him with a female. We could
have a whole army of humans living right along side us. Our clan would be unstoppable." Ruth paused to
slow down for a moment, "Think of it Lillian, no more murderous raids during the winter. We could use the
humans to grow our food while we expanded out territory. The possibilities are nearly infinite! We simply
cannot pass up this chance. We have to have him!"