Fan Fiction ❯ Freedom's Little Slave ❯ The World ( Chapter 1 )

Freedom's Little Slave

Written by and copy write

FleeingFaith (January 2005)

This story may not be used without my permission. Charges will be filed on those who steal or claim the characters portrayed are theirs. Characters MAY be used on cascade-mountains RPG (www.cascade-mountains.com) upon talking to a player within the game going by the name of Fi.

Freedom's slave is a taken character.

Suggested music for this chapter:

The World by See-saw, (from the show .hack//sign)

Ojos Asi by Shakira (Laundry Service)

Anything with a desert/Arabian feel to it. ^_~

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Flicking her black whip cord, orbs like chips of ice watched without emotion the large grouping of other cats below her in the valley. From her vantage point in the rugged cliffs above, the panther could make out ten, maybe fifteen of the enemy cats in their so called `hidden' base. Well lookie here, doesn't seem so hidden anymore.

How ironic that they should be hiding in this ravine, and expect that they shouldn't be found. Oh sure, it had taken the Hassirn cats almost two weeks to track down the other felines, but they had been found. It was her job to report back on what she had found. And from all she could tell, the cats weren't doing much better then the last time her side had engaged in combat with the Laseni clan. They were spending their hours now working solely on not being found.

Pitiful. Utterly sad.

These cats weren't even worth the rebels' time anymore. They were battered, broken, and hopeless now. She could dispatch the whole group herself if she so pleased.

"Madri! Madri!" A child's voice called franticly, breaking her of her musings. A tiger cub had burst into the group from nowhere. "Madri!!"! It cried, chasing up to a cheetah. "Madri! There's a cat! There's a black panther in the cliffs! I seen it with my own eyes!!" There's a black panther in the cliffs... Shit. She had been spotted. Backing away she glanced tentatively down upon her `prey' and awaited the reaction to this little cub's claims. The cheetah glanced up, scanning the cliffs with a face that stung of simply humoring the child. "No Kree, there is no black panther up there. Look," She said gesturing upwards with her head, "There is nothing up there." "But Madri!! I seen it! I seen…" "No. You didn't Kree. Now go play. We don't have time for cries of panther from a child. This is serious work." And she sent the observant cub on his way. Shaking her black crown she reflected on how cubs weren't ever given enough credit. That one little cub, Kree, had just almost been the savior for his clan. But no, he was ignored because he was young.

Turning, the spy made for Harnell, to report on her findings, the Black Panther made note that Kree would be under her protection when the attack was underway. The cub had seen, and gone so far as to report what would have saved the group. He deserved to live for his effort, and the others, especially Madri, would suffer for their disbelief. She would make sure of it herself.

Up the sheer rock wall without the slightest effort on her part, she began the long trek through the arid and sun-blanched dunes of the Farele desert. True, for one such as her the miles could be crossed in four hours, but oh how she hated it. The heat licked at her pelt like flames, and made her sweat so.

After the first two hours her body reminded her she had gotten nothing to drink since she had left for her intelligence mission before the moon gave way to the flaming orb that illuminated the landscape so now, though she had stopped to fell an antelope of the neutral side by the time it had reached the middle of the sky.

She hadn't noticed her bodies cry for liquid for so long, as she had been otherwise engaged, but now the thirst was apparent, for her tongue felt like sand paper in her mouth. Or it could have been the massive build up of actual sand from being in the desert for so long, and the light was turning to shadow again.

She knew the desert well, despite how much she detested it. [You have a job to do. Finish it and you can rest.] Her internal voice said, reminding her of her task. Watching the northern horizon darkly, she slowed her run to a sprint, then from sprint, to walk, then a solid stand still.

She was damn tired. Thirst and hunger conquered her thoughts of her job (though she knew deep in her bottom most of thoughts this was folly), and after a little thought, she altered her course ever so slightly, and headed eastward, towards a small oasis she knew was nestled in the sands.

If she hurried, she would still make it back to Harnell before mid-night.

A jagged rock formation that shattered the sands, breaking up from the terra-firma surrounding the hidden refuge came slowly into sight and the lone black shadow stopped, looking on it with distaste. For a moment, the rebel panther even considered abandoning the visit to the old resting place, and simply returning to the rebel pride lands as originally intended.

[You never listen to me do you?] Her mind asked itself. No, it was true. Freedom didn't listen to Freedom, and the other Freedom didn't really listen to Freedom either. The hate was mutual, and so it was just a stupid inner monolog which kept her occupied in the moments of ennui that came with the Kingdom wars.

Freedom one told her to go through the rocks, get her deserved rest, and then take her leave for Harnell. Freedom two told her Freedom one was a moron and to get the hell back to work or else.

All in all, Freedom one won out.

Slinking through the darkening grounds, the shadows blending with her black coat and making her appear simply an apparition in the coming night. The rocks were high, forming a ring around the watering hole, and in the day giving shade to weary travelers. But now it simply made the area as foreboding and dark as it truly should be considered. [Just get your drink and go. Get your drink and go. Drink and go.] How questionable, that a great war-lady and spy of Harnell should be distressed by something as simple as a rock shrouded watering hole. But that she was, and she saw ghosts in every crevice. This place was haunted after dark, and everyone knew it.

Lowering her maw to drink from the small pool, (which had always been a mystery to her, for it never rained in the Farele, nor was there a river of any sort to feed the small pond) she gazed around ever frightful of what ghasts may have been awaiting to take her soul, or what little she had left of it. There were things in the wilds, always looking for a soul to steal, or a bone to gnaw. And though she could take many a living thing, but a haunt? No she would not bat claws at these other-worldly terrors.

"Well what do you know. Slave, Slave, Slave. You live, you live. I would have never guessed."

She had been caught.

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A/N: well, chapter one of my little tale is finished. Woo. Go me. Anyway, if you please review I'll be much pleased