The Big Cat Can Not Let Go

"Do you have any specific plans, Kyo? I don't know what was actually happening around me." Renet seemed to fade.

"What's wrong?" I asked, worried.

"It's all my fault you're here, that I got caught, that Sevia attacked…" he began to list.

I squeezed his hand tighter to let him know he should stop, and I didn't mean it at all. Although I don't know if he even felt it, because I didn't know if the force of my pressure had any effect on the scales that covered his body.

I watched him for a long moment, noticing how far he was from the stereotypical prince. Now he sat before me, dejected, wasted after being in a cell, covered in rags. His goal had been me before, and everything was starting to fall apart. I hadn't expected it to look like this either, but I knew one thing: I couldn't let him blame himself. In the sun, his scales shimmered beautifully, now resembling the shade of his hair; I understood where it was coming from. I stared at this phenomenon with fascination for a moment.

I wondered how I could reject his true form. After all, Tifia had already proven to me how gentle her touch could be despite her claws. They weren't monsters as people assumed; they were simply themselves. The Dragonids were the same way; instead of dialogue, they chose a more aggressive path when they felt even the slightest threat. A solution so simple, yet so far from practical, and perhaps we wouldn't be in such a drastic situation. In any case, I had to do something, and that meant moving. This time, I was leading the way, and following the army wasn't difficult.

"Renet, can you move?" I asked, once again making sure there was no one nearby and no need to transform.

"What are you planning?" he asked, confirming he would do as much as his strength would allow.

"I don't know exactly yet, but we need to be on the battlefield," I muttered.

"Do you want to fight?" Renet stopped and forced me to do the same. "Why? On whose side?"

"Not if I don't have to," I replied arrogantly. "But I feel like I have to be there and that I have something important to do there."

"No..." I smiled at him; clearly, I wasn't the only one struggling to express my feelings after all this. There was an unspoken I don't want to lose you feeling in the air.

"Let's not assume the worst right away."

I wanted to reassure myself of this, I think, most of all. I had a bad feeling, but I was also going to change, and that couldn't stop me. Renet reluctantly followed me, but he was quickly tired. Now I was certain that Michael hadn't treated him well or was deliberately ignoring certain facts, meaning that probably none of the servants had even received orders from him to provide the prisoner with even a little water and food. We didn't have time to deal with that, but fortunately, someone had lost a backpack with provisions.

"How will your sister act?" I asked, trying to understand the situation but also to break the awkward silence.

"Slowly," he replied after a long moment. "She'll revel in the destruction, wanting to participate in everything herself. Besides, she thinks she'll win easily, so she won't rush. Even if Michael meets her quickly, she might delay the battle, giving the humans time to rest."

"Really?" I was surprised. "Isn't it better to finish off the enemy if they can barely stand after the march?"

"You don't know much about us, Kyo." Renet chuckled. "And I'm not exactly a representative of the Children of Heaven and Earth. We value combat; we want to fight it honorably and enjoy it, and that means not slaughter, but the risk of getting killed yourself while fighting an opponent of similar skill."

"I understand, but I think you have a significant advantage," I mused. "You have fangs, claws, wings, and thick skin," I began to list.

"And you have weapons and armor," he noted, asking for a moment's break.

"Hey, since you're wearing clothes, you can wear armor. I don't see any problem with grabbing things either." I demonstrated my point by grabbing his hand. "Wait." I looked at him. "Can you breathe fire?"

Renet burst into loud laughter, the blush burning my cheeks. I didn't know where the question came from, but the reality was idiotic. The sound touched me; it was probably the first time since we'd met that he'd laughed so disarmingly sincerely. Strangely enough, it rubbed off on me, even though we were supposed to be chasing the army, stopping the war, and we were standing in the middle of the road, just laughing, as if we needed to get rid of our worries and tension, even for a few seconds.

"I don't know where you got that idea, but thank you. I needed it."

My knees gave out. Not because I was dealing with a smiling Dragonid, but simply with someone I'd given my heart to already. Okay, I remembered; time to get back to my duties, although he'd definitely prefer to seize the moment. I didn't come here as a hero; I set this noble goal, which was peace, myself. Unless…

"Renet, did you want to bring me here?"

I surprised him with this question; he was clearly confused and couldn't look me in the eye. I didn't take it the wrong way; I just started thinking about it. Maybe Renet couldn't answer my question or wanted to keep it to himself. He debated for a long moment whether to respond to my question at all.

"A little." I raised my eyebrows, not fully understanding what he meant. "I wanted to, but I didn't do anything to make it happen."

"Why?"

"I don't know if…"

"One thing at a time." I reassured him; I didn't want to tire him out unnecessarily, although I'd like to learn as much as possible. "Why did you want to bring me here?"

This question was probably even harder for him to answer, but I saw hesitation, and perhaps I would have heard the most important answer—all of them—if we hadn't had to hide. Renet had noticed a pair of those big cats, a breed we'd encountered earlier on our journey.

"They took advantage of the confusion," my companion muttered. "We can't get around them; they'll notice us immediately. We have to wait and hope they don't notice us. I don't have the strength to fight them, but my presence might be enough to deter them."

"We don't have time for that." I tightened my grip on the crossbow; if necessary, I intended to use it. I made sure it was ready to fire.

"Kyo, this is dangerous." He gripped my sleeve desperately.

"Just like participating in the fight everyone was heading for now." I tugged the sleeve and his claws ripped the fabric. Renet glared at me furiously. "Don't you dare!" I hissed. "No exploiting the prince's aura."

Unfortunately, our actions attracted the attention of the cats, who stared at us with amusement. They exchanged glances as if deciding something. I felt fear creep into my muscles, paralyzing them, just when I should have acted, when I should have been the one defending, the one deciding my own fate. Apparently they were supposed to verify this, and a second later they charged at us.