Inside>Out! Ch4 A New Start Pt 1
*************************4 Days Later***************************
"Shinta, we can't afford to stop. We have to reach a town so we can hide."
"That doesn't mean I have to kill myself running, does it?" complained Shinta. She was doubled over and breathing heavily. Her tongue was hanging out and her paws were sore, to say nothing of the shoulders that had been carrying her bags. Iwako sighed heavily, and shook her head.
"Fine. I guess we can rest for about five minutes. Shinta...you're such a wimp. You have to learn to be tough! You have to be so strong that people think twice about messing with you. That's what it takes to be a successful female."
"Um...Iwako, I don't think--"
"Now, let's check our map." Iwako sat with a thump next to Shinta who had begun to rest her back against a nearby tree and had deciding to drop the point she had been about to make. _She never listens when she's like that anyway. _
"Let's see..." Tracing their path with her paw, Iwako pointed to a small town at the base of the Leering Mountains. "That's where we're headed." She then moved the paw back the way it had come to indicate a general area in the forest bordering the mountains. "And we are probably somewhere here. So we can't be more than half a day's run from our destination."
"It's still early morning. We can't expect the people to wake up just for us to walk into town."
"Well maybe...maybe..." Iwako glanced down at her footpaws for a moment and then looked Shinta in the eyes with a bright smile. "Let's just walk for a bit then." She knew how much Shinta enjoyed walks early in the morning, and trees made everything better according to Shinta, who's eyes lit up as she heard Iwako speak.
"Well then what are we waiting for? Let's get moving!" Standing up and striding a few paces, Shinta turned to wait for Iwako to rise. She did, stuffing their map back into her bag. And off they went.
The forest was dazzling in the grey just before dawn. Trees with thick, green foliage on them, roots and bushs strewn about here and there, and dew drops decorating the points of leaves. Losing herself in the wonder of nature, Shinta ran ahead up a hill and stood at the top. "I can see it! I can see the town ahead!" She excitedly turned to look back at Iwako and smiled warmly. And suddenly behind her, the sun rose and temporarily reduced Shinta's head to a silhouette. Then, as it continued to move up the sky in its daily path, it became a golden circle around Shinta's face, which was still smiling down with a beauty that seemed to outdo the sun behind her.
There stood Iwako, stunned at the beauty of her friend in the morning dawn.
"What's wrong? Let's go!" Shinta's happy exclaimnig knocked Iwako out of her reverie, and she raced up the hill to her best friend's side.
***************************Sidestand Village****************************
"This place isn't as big as it seemed on the map. Are you sure we're in the right place?"
"How should I know? You're the one reading the map." It was indeed alot smaller. There were houses sprawling out from two or three central points, but they were small homes, barely big enough to fit a single family. More than a few of them were abandoned and run down.
"Does this village seem...shady...to you, Shinta?"
"Yeah...maybe we shouldn't stay here."
"We don't have a choice Shinta. The council's hunting groups are after us, and in a place like this we have a better chance of hiding."
"If you say so. But I really don't--" At that second, a raucous cry hit them from behind. It caused them to spin around. On the very hill from which they had beheld the village entrance, stood a tall leopard with a scarred ear and a nobleman's coat.
"Oh...no..." Shinta's stomach fell through her as she saw Leo's father personally leading the hunt. Pausing only a second to look at each other, the two girls began sprinting to the more shabby side of town.
Everywhere they looked, the houses were too destroyed or too vulnerable strategically to defend. They were running for over 20 minutes and still had found nothing when they heard a deep voice call out somewhere behind them.
"Now now girls, don't keep me waiting. You're not cubs anymore, so let's not play hide and seek. Let's just get this over with, shall we?" The comment only spurred the two of them forward, until finally they found a house that had metal plates nailed to it in various places. It had only two windows and one door, but two storeys. It was perfect.
"Shinta! In here!" Iwako grabbed her by the paw as she passed the door and yanked her inside the entryway and bolted the steel-reinforced door. They dashed upstairs to the top floor's largest bedroom which had a small viewstrip cut in the wall facing the street. The morning sun, which just a short time ago was a source of joy for the both of them, now sent in a stream of light that only served to heat the already stuffy room. Iwako and Shinta peeked out of the viewstrip and watched in horror as Leo's father walked camly down the street and ordered his soldiers to disperse. He then turned and looked directly at them.
"I'll give you girls fifteen minutes to prepare yourselves. Either you come out on your own, or I'll come in. It's up to you. Either way, neither of you leave here alive." Iwako sighed heavily and looked into Shinta's eyes for what seemed like the last time.
"So...should we go now and face our fate, Shinta?"
"Who are you guys?"
"Who said that?!" Shinta and Iwako spun around for the second time that day in total shock. Behind them stood two lions, presumably brothers. One was wearing a battle jacket with many pockets and a pair of long and loose white pants with gold emblems on each leg. Around his neck he wore a red cape that was old and worn with many holes. The smaller of the two, approximately the age of Shinta and Iwako, wore similar pants but no shirt. His cape seemed newer as it had less damage, and it was a deep forest-like green as opposed to the deep noble red of his companion.
"W-we're...we're from the village southwest of here. It's a few days' journey. What about you?"
"I am Gloan. This young one was a servant of my family. He has no name as of now."
"If your family had servants, then what are you doing in this part of the village?" Iwako had decided to chime in with her own questions.
"Look at this place. This town was bustling with activity 4 years ago. But then a rockslide destroyed the richer half of the village. My home and family were destroyed as well. And without jobs and men to enforce law, the town degraded. These houses were only partially built, or ransacked a short time after completion. This young boy is the only family I have left. And now, after we scraped out a place to live in peace, you bring soldiers on your heels." As he said these last words, he pointed at the girls with a single claw.
"We're sorry. We didn't mean to!" Shinta appologized in earnest--she felt truly sorry at having disturbed these two, who had already suffered so much.
"I think I have a way out of this..." Iwako said. Shinta turned to her, as she always had for help. "If we leave, the soldiers will follow us. If you two can distract them, we can escape and they'll leave."
"...I don't like working with strangers. Why shouldn't I just turn you over to them right now?"
"B-because you...you wouldnt' do that...would you?" Shinta pleaded with the lion using her eyes. He simply closed his and responded.
"...very well. I shall assist you."