Life at the Lake

Life in the town of Bluefort was so quiet it was almost dreary. Nothing exciting ever happened, be it petty thievery, kidnappings, or even the invasion of ancient primal beings capable of levelling an entire metropolis, nothing of the sort. The citizens of the town often wished for more action, but none of them knew the truth about their homeland. The reason their lives were so "boring" was because a lizard-like deity had sworn to protect the town, and he was pretty good at his job.

None of the criminals ever put up much of a fight, not when they saw him in all his tall and muscular glory. It wasn’t until one fateful day, when a creature who looked like a cat with human anatomy and red fur showed up and challenged him to a duel.

“Hey! Old man! I heard you’re the strongest in the area, and I want to fight you!” The cat wasted no time, as cats do, and the deity knew the risks of angering cats. He reached for his spear and used it to lift himself to his feet. His bones ached as he trudged to the entrance of his cave; a nice spar would bring him to his senses. He reached his makeshift door and his eyes grazed over the cat’s fire colored pelt. His yellow eyes glittered with determination, and a similar glint reflected off the knives at his waist.

“You’re… Ember, correct? I’ve heard of you,” he said, reflecting on the one or two opponents who had mentioned a cat who fit the description of the one in front of him. The cat clapped his paws together earnestly and grinned. “Ah, you know my name! How refreshing! Don’t worry, I know yours too, Pike. Not a very majestic name for a majestic beast like you, eh?”

“You came here to duel, not to insult me, I take it. Shall we?”

“Oh, so formal! Please, it’s less shameful if you lose in a casual match.” Ember unsheathed his knives and twirled them gracefully.

“Very well. If you submit, then you--”

“Whoever submits first is killed by the other! That’s how we do it back home.”

Pike’s eyes widened, more from curiosity than fear. “I do not kill my foes,” he said in a voice much too serious, given his expression.

“Geez, you can’t take a joke!”
“That was hardly humorous.”

“Whatever. If you lose, I get to be your apprentice!”

“What would be the point in that? I’ve lived hundreds of years; if you can best me then you can best anyone.”

“You didn’t say no, I like that. But obviously I don't want fighting experience, I’ve got enough of that.” He stopped twirling his knives to look Pike straight in the eyes. “I want to be a hero, like you.”

“Oh?” Pike raised a scaly eyebrow.

“You’re an inspiration to my people,” was all he said in response.

Pike nodded with a touch of confusion, though he was touched that such a strange cat thought he was a hero. Too bad he would beat the tiny thing in minutes.

Or so he thought.

The duel began and Ember was on him in an instant. Though they had started on opposite sides of the duelling island, Ember moved so fast he seemed invisible when he rushed forward. Pike held up his spear and took a step back to brace himself against Ember’s surprising strength. The moment it lessened, Pike shoved himself forward to knock the cat off. Ember disappeared again and Pike felt a sharp kick between his shoulders. He tried to turn around and right himself, but his momentum sent him sprawling on the ground. ‘I’m lucky he was only joking about killing me,’ was his last thought before Ember pounced on him and sent him spiralling into unconsciousness.

Pike awoke to the feeling of wet grass sliding under his back and a strange sensation in his arms, like they were slowly being detached from his body.

“Oh good, you’re awake,” Ember’s breathless voice rang in his ears as he forced himself to his feet. Judging by the tracks in the mud, Ember had tried to drag Pike’s unconscious body down the hill and back to his cave. He twisted around to check his back and, as he suspected, the backs of his clothes were clogged with mud. He glanced at Ember, but the cat seemed too distracted by his own thoughts to notice.

“So, I suppose you’re my apprentice now?”

“Yes! Finally, someone honors their deal!” Ember threw his paws up in victory and fell onto his back, cackling through his exhaustion.

“If I didn’t, I’d be no better than the foes I swore to protect Bluefort from.”

“Yeah, that’s why guardians like you are so cool,” Ember said. He stood up and procured Pike’s spear from somewhere in the grass. Pike took it from him and used it to scrape some of the mud from his back. He felt Ember’s prickly gaze as the cat shifted his weight from foot to foot. 

“Uh, mostly cool,” Ember muttered. “Are we gonna… go back to the cave or something?”

“Well, I haven’t eaten yet. I was planning on getting some food, but if you wish for me to starve, I suppose.”

”Oh. Ah, well… I’ll wait for you, then. What do you eat? Beetles?”

“Fish, usually. Sometimes the older humans leave food offerings, but not much anymore.”

“That’s not very majestic! But I haven’t tasted fish in a while, so go on ahead.”

Pike rolled his eyes and turned to the lake. He caught a few fish and watched as Ember struggled, then the pair brought them all back to the cave. Ember talked so much as he ate, it was a wonder he didn’t choke.

“So, you’ve lived your whole life here?”

“Has anyone ever gotten past you and into the town?”

“What’s your favorite kind of fish?”

Pike answered in the barest fashion he could muster.

“I grew up here.”

“Had you insisted on raiding the town, you would have been the first.”

“They all taste fine.”

Eventually, Ember started asking about his new apprenticeship. He interrogated Pike on what he would be learning, although Pike was unsure of that himself.

“If you want, we could start by catching fish,” Pike offered, remembering how Ember wasn’t doing that great.”

“But we just ate?” Ember’s tail curled indignantly.

“I feel like you could use some practice.”

“Fair, fair, but what do we do with the fish?”

“Put them back in the water.”

“Oh.”

They set off for the shore, prepared to use up the rest of the day.