The Wanderer – Part IV
Suddenly the fog was rising up and the voice in his head got louder “We are the watchers. We watch the tides of time. We wait for the one without a name. He will change the tides of time…”
„Change the tides of time? Me? Why? How?” the tiger stammered. “This can’t be true or serious. I’m just… I’m just the Wanderer, without a name, because it was taken from me.” The tiger shivered as he heard the voice or maybe even voices rise up again. “The coming of the nameless one was foretold. We were waiting for you.” The voices spoke. “But why? What is important about me?” the tiger asked, almost screaming. “It is not for us, to reveal the plans of fate to you. We have waited for you, watching the tides of time. Serving only one purpose, as we have to show you this…” the voices fell silent and a distant murmuring occurred. The tiger looked around, “Show me what?” the tiger asked in surprise as the murmuring got louder, and the fog rose. He closed his eyes, and opened them, as the murmuring subsided.
He was no longer in the forest. He was standing on a balcony. He looked around, everything was blurry around him. He stood on a white marble balcony, above a big city. He could hear sounds from the city below, something seemed to go on, but he couldn’t figure out what. He turned around and saw that the balcony belonged to a large mansion and it seemed the balcony was on the third floor. The mansion was really big, he could see several rows of windows besides the balcony, and although his vision was still blurry, he saw, that the mansion seemed to be fully out of marble. Something was wrong here. The mansion was lit by a strange orange light. He looked up to the sky, noticing it was deep in the night. But why was there so bright illumination…
Suddenly he realized. The city below was on fire. It was burning, and the sounds of the city were not the busy sounds of a busy city. It was screaming. What was going on? Where was he? He turned. Not only the city was on fire, the mansion was too. He suddenly realized he was holding a burning torch in his hand. Did he burn the city and this mansion? A thought crossed his mind. There was something important in the mansion, not only something, someone too. He didn’t know what, but he knew it was in there. He turned and moved into the mansion. He felt the heat of the fire as he got in, he was in a large living room, which was partially burning he crossed it and entered a large floor. The flames rose from all sides of him, the rooms were on fire, everything was burning. The mansion was it was falling down. He heard a scream from the left and saw a blurry figure. He couldn’t tell who it was, if it was a male or a female, he just suddenly knew this person was important. And then he saw, that to his right was something very important, yes he would have to get that. But this important person, the fire. He had to make a decision, everything was breaking down. If he would save the important person, the other thing would be lost. But if he took the other thing, the person would die in the fire. What should he do? What was this all about even? Where was he? Suddenly the floor broke and the tiger fell through it, in the rising flames under him.
The tiger screamed as he opened his eyes, now sitting in the forest again. His heart was beating fast, he was panting and sweating. “What was that?” he screamed. “What just happened?” The voices spoke “That was a glimpse at the tides of time. This might have happened already, this might will happen, this might never happens…” the voices trailed off. The tiger stood up “This might never happens? Why did show me that?” he asked. The voices in his head spoke up again “We don’t question our tasks, we are mere messengers. We have waited for you here. We waited as time passed and now you are here. We have completed our task.” “But what does it mean?” the tiger screamed. “Why me, what is it you want from me? I don’t understand.” “Understanding is not our concern here. You will understand when the time has come. If the time comes” the voices said meaningful. “Remember, you are the nameless one, the one, who’s fate it is, to change the tides of time.”
The fog around the figure cleared slightly. “Your whole life is a test nameless one. This is a test. And now, our time of waiting is over. We finally leave this world. The time of the watchers is over.” With that it started to rain again, and lightnings stroke above the forest. The figure vanished in the the fog. The tiger was alone with the fox laying on the ground. He put his hand on him and felt, that he was still breathing. “He's alive, good....” the tiger thougt. He turned him over and saw a bloody wound on his belly. He knew it would need some treatment or the fox wouldn't live much longer. It seemed, that the fox was unconscious. He looked further and saw a bruise on his head. “He was really beaten down” the tiger thougt. “Well lets get him out of here...” He lifted the fox on his arms and stood up again.
In the moment the tiger stood with the fox in his arms the rains got stonger, lightning louder, yes the weather grew into a storm. Suddenly lightning stuck a tree close to them. It immediately caught fire. The flames burst up, despite of the rain, the jumped over to the next tree, which caught fire fast. The clearing was rapidly illuminated from the fire and the tiger turned around and started running. The flames seemed to follow them. He couldn't as fast as usual, since he carried his unconscious prey. The fire was rising up, the flames spreading in all directions.
“I have to get out of here or we will both die...” he kept running. The flames were behind him, but the spread fast. Suddenly another lightning hit a tree in in way, which fell down. He ran and jumped sling under the falling tree, before hastily getting back on his feet, almost dropping his prey.
Was he running in the right direction? He had no time to think about that. Was he running towards the border? Or was he running in circles? He could not say it. He had not time to watch for anything familiar and the smell of burning wood he just kept running. The fire was rising fast behind him, burning trees were falling spreading the fire faster. He was sweating heavily, from the running and the heat of the fire. Lighting stroke close to him, another tree caught fire, he tried to pick up speed, but carrying the young fox was making this hard for him.
He ran and ran, jumping over fallen trees, hurting himself on dead old bushes with thorns his only goal escaping out of this hell. The fire was close behind him, and he knew he was unable to go on much longer. He felt his his strength was drained from the flames and the running. Soon he would fell over and be unable to stand up again, him and his prey would then be consumed by the flames. Suddenly he burst out of the forest, crossing the border. He was on low grass, he kept running to get away from the forest, now wet from sweat and rain. He turned back, the forest was burning down, the flames roared high and the consumed everything in it. He run more and as he thought he had reached a safe distance he fell on his knees, panting heavily. He looked and watched the forest burning down within a few minutes.
The fire extinguished as soon as the forest was burned down, leaving nothing but a great plain of ash behind it. The tiger couldn't know yet, but in a few years the new name of this region would be the Fallen Ashes.
He took a close look at the unconscious fox he had been carrying. He was still breathing and that quite regularly, so far so good. The tiger checked the wound, it was still bleeding a bit, but it seemed not so strong. He looked at the head and the bruise on it, as suddenly the fox started wriggling in his arms. The tiger loosened his grip around him, and suddenly the fox opened his eyes, looking directly in the eyes of the tiger. He was weak, very weak and just was able to ask “What happened, Where...” before falling unconscious again.
The tiger had looked in the eyes of the fox and had been caught in them immediately. The sort moment the fox had his eyes open lasted for him for a lifetime almost. “Green eyes,..” the young tiger thought, “green eyes, just like him. Its exactly the same green.” he thought, before he returned to reality. He looked around closer trying to figure out were he was and in which direction the inn was. Then he looked again, in the face of the young fox, “So beautiful...” he thought and then dismissed that thought. That was his prey. He looked again and found that he must have left the forest at almost the same place, where he left it. He laid the fox softly on the grass, pulled out his waterskin and take a few good mouthful. Then he tried to give some of the water to the young fox. He sat there for a while recovering, as the sky cleared and the sun was visible again.
When he saw the sun he realized that it was late on the afternoon. He must have been longer in the forest then he thought. He picked up the fox again, carrying him and made his way towards the inn. He soon reached the road, which led to the inn, and he followed it faster and after about 2 hours in the early evening he reached the inn.
He entered the Bar and called out immediately: ”Anyone here, who know more about the treatments of wounds? I need help here.” The guest room was quite filled. Several people from all species were eating or drinking. The Innkeeper and the young girl approached him. “What happened?” the innkeeper asked, the young girl just stood there. “That’s none of your business unless you are skilled in medics.” the tiger responded. “Please get my key, and bring me some fresh water and a meal.” louder he said “Anyone skilled in medicine here?”
A young hyena stood up. “Well yes, I am rather skilled. My name is Ran.” the tiger noded. “Ok come with me, please.” The went towards his room, taking his key from the innkeeper. “Come, he needs your attention...”
He went and carried the fox up to his room, the yena following them. He unlocked his room and carefully placed the unconscious fox the bed. “Please take a look at him, I'll light a light a fire.” the tiger said to the yena and went over to the fireplace. The yena went over to the fox and looked at him. He started to undress the fox to have a better look at the wounds, and at the bruise at his head. The tiger watched over the two after he had lit a fire. He took a good look at the young fox, once the yena had his shirt taken off. The fox had red fur, while his chest fur was almost white with a slight touch yellow.
As the yena turned the fox, he could see the fluffy tail of the fox, with a snow white tip. He murred. The fox was slender, he had even a few well defined muscles on his chest. Yet the mind of the tiger drifted again away, and he thought of the beautiful eyes of the sweet young fox. “The eyes, just like him...” he shock his head and returned to reality seeing that the yena was examining the wound of the fox. In that moment it knocked on the door. The tiger opened and the innkeeper entered the room, carrying a jar of water, the young girl behind him carrying a tray of food. She winked, when she made eye contact with the tiger.
The Inkeeper put the water on the table, and took the tray from his daughter and put it beside the jar. “Anything else, Sir?” the innkeeper asked. The yena spoke up, “Yes please bring me a jar of boiled water and some bandages.” The Innkeeper looked at the tiger “You have heard him,” the tiger said, “and please bring me something sleep on, the bed will be occupied, I fear.” The innkeeper sighed and turnerd around and took his daughter with him, which winked again to the tiger and waggled her ass, when she left.
The tiger sighed and went over to the yena, “how is he?” he asked. The yena looked at the tiger and said. “The wound is not to deep and it seems nothing vital is hurt. He was lucky. He had lost some blood, but he will survive that.” the yena pulled something out of his bag, which was hanging on his girdle, it looked like a knife.”Still there is something in the wound. I need to get it out, or the wound will get infected I fear.” He stood up. “I will heat this up and wait for the boiled water, before I will get it out.” He looks at the tiger, which nods. The yena walked to the fireplace and started to heat up the knife. “by the way,” the yena started, “what is your name?”. After a short moment the tiger answered “I have no name. My name was taken from me, I am called the Wanderer.” The yena responded: “Sorry, I didn't want to offend you.” “You did not Ran,” the tiger said, ”you could not have known.” It knocked on the door again and as the tiger opened, it was the innkeeper bringing a bowl of still steaming water and some bandages. “Thank you” the tiger said, handing him a silver coin.
The yena took the slightly red glowing knife out of the fire and said “please splash some of the water of the knife.” The tiger did so and with a hissing the knife cooled down. “Okay, I'll remove what is stuck in the wound. When I tell you, clean the wound with the water.” The tiger just nodded. The yena went over to the fox and muttered to himself, “this will hurt now a bit, be glad you're unconscious...” He took the knife and inserted it in the wound. He pressed the knife in the wound, and pushed it deep in. The tiger looked closely what the yena was doing. He was obviosly cutting in there and suddenly he pulled something out. It was the barbed tip of something, maybe a sword? The tiger looked closely. Yes a sword or a dagger, with barbs at the tip. He looked closer... There was something, a reservoir or something. Yes and it was broken, God this dagger was possibly poisoned he thougt.
“Clean the wound” the yena said. “I'll bandage him after that.” The tiger nodded again, and started to clean the wound, thereby caressing the soft fur of the fox. ”So soft,” he thought, as he cleared and washed the wound, “and his eyes..” his mind drifted away, and was brought back to reality as he heard Ran say “Are you finished?” and was pushed away. “Well its okay,” the yena commented and started to bandage the fox. “The wound is clean, and it should heal nicely, but a scar will remain I fear..” the yena said, after finishing the bandagin. “I will leave you now, I'll look back in tomorrow to change the bandages, and then you will have to do that, since I have to leave.” The yena went to the door and opened it, as the Innkeepers daughter was just about to knock, carrying a few blankets and a pillow. She quickly passed the yena and placed the blankets and pillows on a place close to the fireplace, wagging her ass good visible to the yena and the tiger.
“I hope you will sleep well, if you want I can try putting you to bed...” the young girl said smiling. The tiger sighed, nodding to the yena, which left. “Thank you, young girl, but I had quite a hard day today. If you would please leave...” he said. “But I can help you carrying the last of the day”, the girl cooed coming closer. She she moved around the tiger and put her hands on his shoulders and started to massage them. “You see, I can help you...” The tiger sighed again and grabbed her hand, pulling her in front of him. “Thank you,” he said, “but please leave, now.” the now had a sharp tone in it, which took all the confidence out of the young girl and she walked of out of the door.
The tiger closed the door and locked it. He looked at the young fox, and sighed. The fox was breathing regularly, it seemed like was sleeping now. He knew, even if the fox would awaken in the night, he would be to weak to escape or to do anything. And the tiger needed some rest after the escape out of the forest. He snuggled himself into the blanket, and and let himself warm by the fire. As the warmth consumed him, he fell asleep, thinking of the eyes of the fox...
