The war with the vampires, if one could call it that, had bubbled to a close. The vampires were too few in number and the Chokwe’s numbers had swollen. From where he had stood, Nash had overseen much of the battle alongside his misses and while the buildup had been fairly strong, the battle frizzled to nothing within days. One cub had been recovered and the other still remained missing. It was a pity, but there was hope he was alive. The vampires themselves had claimed innocence in the matter, and the cub that had been abducted hadn’t known what became of his brother, only that he himself had been kidnapped. How unfortunate.
It had been months since then. Perhaps it was really none of his business. On the other hand, Sierra was exceedingly worried about the situation. She had been a vampire once, or perhaps she still was? He was afraid to ask. She’d bite him. On purpose.
…again.
If they got out of hand again, it could reflect very badly on her and the clan that she once represented- whatever happened to them anyway? It was hard to say. What would become of the new vampires? Old? Who knew.
Nash shook his head. Whatever. If he didn’t come back with some kind of status report, she would worry herself into a frenzy. And then he’d be hurting for three days. Who knew someone so small packed such a punch? Oh but he liked her. She was fun. Painful! But fun. It would ease her nerves a little to know that the Chokwe was weathering the after-effects of the little event. Event. It was hardly a battle and far from a war. Event sounded better somehow.
He approached in perhaps the flattest, most open part of the border. No one could say he was trying to sneak up on them but then, he made little effort to halt and wait politely at the border. He’d rather face hostile guards for trespassing than a cranky Sierra for not having looked in on pride. She wouldn’t be able to rest, and…strangely neither would he. While it had been none of his business, it was hard to watch and not do anything about it. To hear about a conflict and sit on his paws.
He stepped lightly, shaking his head to clear his thoughts. It wasn’t until the large bay came into view that he was stopped by someone. His stomach tightened a little. One of the siblings to the kidnapped cub, the strange hybrid youth, was making his approach. That was… distinctly odd. He knew that there were larger, stronger beasts that patrolled the border. This creature was all legs, thin as a cheetah, with only a little ruff of blonde hair as a mane to protect him from bites. He didn’t look like a fighter either. His eyes were sharp and focused but he hardly had a scrap of muscle to him.
“Let me guess- halt?” Nash came to a stop and raised his head.
“Relax.” The cheetion shook his head as he made his approach. “I know who you are.”
“What?” The lion frowned and took a slow step backwards. He’d been so good! Keeping out of sight, covering his tracks, using vague excuses at the border- oh hell.
“You’ve been standing at the border a lot..”, the cheetion pointed out. “And you don’t exactly blend in.”
“….so no one came to drive me off?”
“Nope.”
“…or welcome me in?”
“Nope.”
Nash snorted. “Well then. I suppose I don’t pose much of a threat.”
“……nope.” the Cheetion smiled an apology and bobbed a boney shoulder. “Sorry, but father says you don’t carry yourself aggressively enough. Everyone figured you were just curious. That or too afraid to actually make an approach to become a proper member.”
Nash scoffed. “I guess those pretty much sum me up.”
“…do we get a name?” Liu lifted a brow.
“…right, yeah. It’s Nash. Do-” He waved a paw. “I get a name?”
“Liu.”
“….isn’t that a girl’s-” He stopped himself short as the cheetion lifted a lip and growled. Touchy subject, he filed that away for later. “Right. Anyway-” He held a paw up. “Look, I don’t really belong to…any place. Joining things? It doesn’t end up well for me most of the time. I’ve been a part of armies, prides, coalitions… long story, it’s a little boring so we won’t go there. But that doesn’t mean I don’t get curious.”
“So a curious busybody is stalking my pride for amusement.” Liu summarized.
“Yes and no. Mostly no.” He took a seat, slowly so the ‘border patrol’ wasn’t alarmed by any sudden movements. “My superior-”
“But you just said…”
“My misses,”
“Ah.”
“Anyway, my misses was curious about the other cub. Did you ever find him?”
Liu’s expression wavered and he looked away, his eyes troubled. “….that was my brother.” He said quietly. Nash sat upright a little and raised his brows. “…I…we’ve not heard anything. The vampires are clean, we searched the perimeter. From what we-wait a second.” He snapped his attention back to the stranger. “What business is this of yours?”
“Let’s just say I am party to someone who feels a little responsible for the affair.” Nash said gently, seriously. “She is not a part of that coalition but once, she held similar beliefs and lived a similar lifestyle. She fears that her clean is the root of this belief that seems to have picked up a bit. Now that it’s damaging…she wants to try to mend it. Mostly so good sorts, such as herself, don’t get any back lash but also to show that they can be reasoned with.”
“They?”
“Vampires.”
“You work for a vampire?”
“I don’t work for her!” Nash sat upright defensively. “Look, we’re off topic. I’m here to help.” He offered. “I don’t look like it, but I got a good, strong set of paws on me. I’ve traveled around, I know my way around. I know how to lay low.” He held a paw up before the cheetion could protest. “I let myself be seen when it doesn’t endanger whatever I’m doing. I wanted to be known.”
“… alright… but…”
“I can try to find him. I have connections. If anything, I can find out what became of him.”
Liu made a face and turned his head slowly. There wasn’t much to loose here. They had their own search teams out but they were growing increasingly discouraged. There was no trace of his brother… no trace of his kidnapper. His mother was beside herself and his father had become, somehow, more protective and paranoid since then.
“…if you could find anything, we would be eternally grateful.” Liu said quietly. “But…why help us?”
Nash smiled. “That’s my affair.”
