It's said that when you are going to die your life passes in front of you as if it were a movie. I'm not so sure about that, or at least it wasn't my case. However, there is a part of truth in this statement. When you have death itself in front, you question a lot of things about your life, making your greatest regrets reappear in your head.
A multitude of questions filled my head: Why I have to die? Did my life have any meaning? Was my death worth anything? Will anyone care if I die? Will there be something after I die or will I cease to exist? … The amount could completely fill a book of a thousand pages, but among all of them there were a couple that kept repeating themselves in my mind as if someone was constantly whispering in my ear: Who am I and what am I?
I did not understand why these questions were spinning in my head, but it led me to seriously reconsider my existence. Who I was? Probably a simple grain of sand in a desert that did not stop growing. And what I was? To this, I couldn't even find a suitable answer.
In terms of species, I could be called a human, but… what is a human really? A rational being who had been considered the most advanced life form… in his world. After discovering the existence of other similar beings I realized the position in which I was, the lowest.
Rational beings from other worlds seemed to far surpass us in everything. I was a human… a mere human without power, unable to defend himself… unlike Raidha…
'Why of all things did I have to think precisely about her? I hope at least she was able to escape...'
Raidha had saved my life several times, directly or indirectly. Even when I had already given up all hope, she decided not to abandon me for something as a simple and stupid promise. On the other hand, for my part, I had been able to do absolutely nothing to help her in critical moments...
'What kind of man am I to let the princess save me?'
That weakness… was something I could never forgive myself… but it was too late for regrets. After all, there was no human way that my body would have endured that kind of damage. Still, if I could start again if only I had a second chance... then I…
Some rays of light filtered through my closed eyelids. The sensation made my consciousness start to half-awake little by little.
'I'm not dead?'
Although they felt heavy, I tried to open my eyes slowly.
"Ugh…"
The light struck my eyes hard, causing them to ache and forcing me to close them again.
"Meow?! You're really still alive! It's amazing that you could be alive with such wounds."
An excited voice reached my ears… Alive… I really wanted to hear that word… but not with a meaw in front of it!
'Meow? But what the hell…'
I forced my eyes open again, letting them get used to the light. Slowly, a silhouette began to take shape in front of me. Her appearance was that of a person, but something above her head did not fit my concept of "person".
'This can not be real.'
I dropped my lids again, hoping it had been a hallucination, but still the voice didn't stop.
"Wait, you're awake, right? You didn't pass out again, did you? Wake up! Wake up! Wake up! Meow, say something!"
It was an annoying and insistent voice that slowly managed to drag my consciousness back.
"I knew it, meow!"
In the end, still in a halfway state of consciousness and unconsciousness, I could begin to recognize what was in front of me.
"I'm hallucinating… Yes… it sure is a hallucination or a nightmare. Maybe if I fall asleep again I can return to reality… See you in eight hours, or rather, don't see you."
"Meow, wait! Don't fall asleep again!"
In the end, the voice did not stop screaming until I woke up completely. That voice belonged to a girl looking at me from above, leaning lightly on what appeared to be a bed, where I was lying.
"I can't believe it…"
She had a rounded face, with completely black hair, long to the middle of her back. She was emotively glared at me with her also black eyes and a big smile that revealed a feline tusk peeking out from her mouth… Yes, feline tusk. Although it did not differ from other types of tusks, it was impossible for me to think of anything else after seeing the face of that woman...
"A catgirl? A damn catgirl!"
Her face was quite human, but one could see certain feline features, especially at her eyes, whose pupils were identical to those of a cat. Above her head rose a pair of triangular ears, covered in the same black hair, or better-said fur, except for its tip, which was white. Behind her also rose a tail with the same appearance: covered in black fur with a white tip. She wore a simple dark gray linen-like shirt along with light gray pants, which gave the feeling of being typical simple clothes from some old rural town.
'I never expected to find something like this… Well, with everything that happened I don't even know why I am so surprised…'
I couldn't believe that something like this really existed, but I couldn't deny what was right in front of my face. The catgirl was smiling pleasantly when she saw that I was actually fine. It took me a while to react, but finally I discarded all my surprise because there was something more important to attend to.
"Raidha! Where is Raidha?" I stood up suddenly, "What…? Arg…" and pain ran through my body from top to bottom.
"You better not move too much. Your wounds are horrible. Your partner is right here, sleeping normally. She's not in danger."
I turned my head. Raidha was lying right next to me. I sighed in relief. I finally managed to calm down and take a look at my surroundings. I was lying on a bed inside a house whose walls seemed to be made of wood. My whole body was bandaged from top to bottom.
"I see… It's lucky that she has nothing serious," I managed to say more relaxed.
"She has a fairly deep wound, but compared with you, hers is a mere superficial wound. You, on the other hand, are completely shattered. Meow, you have wounds that could be considered fatal! In all my life I have found no one capable of surviving in such a state. It is a true miracle that you did not die."
It was impossible for me to know exactly the state of my body, but it certainly had to be horrible. Broken ribs, a hole through my body… and that was just the visible wounds. Taking into account how I was bleeding from all sides, it was clear that my organs were mush. I paled at the thought and could barely let out a muffled sigh. At least I was still alive and Raidha was fine.
"I'm glad to hear this… By the way, where are we?" I asked the catgirl.
"You are in the village of the Faerain, in the middle of the forest of Fandragoth. I found you wounded in front of the sacred tree and brought you here. My name is Mirthia and, as you can easily deduce, I am a Faerain. Meow, what are you?"
I had no idea what a Faerain was, but it was not very difficult to deduce that it was the name of the cat people.
"You can call me Drayd… I'm a… this… a mere human. I don't think you will see many of my kind around here. She is Raidha, a Silphen… It is probably better if you never see more of them…"
At my answer, she tilted her head to the right and wagged her ears in a clear display of doubt.
"Are you not of the same race? You look identical to me."
"Well, her people usually have wings. Until a few days ago she had a very big and fluffy pair, but… by some incident she has lost them."
"Meow! That has to be painful. Anyway, you can relax a bit. You don't have to keep holding that sword."
"Sword?"
Vurtalis was in my right hand. Until she mentioned it, I didn't even realize I was holding it.
"Since I picked you up you haven't dropped that sword for a second. Is it valuable? Don't look like a very useful weapon for combat."
'Really? Maybe because Raidha gave it to me... No, it's not possible…'
I took a good look at it. Her gleaming blade reflected me perfectly. I saw my face and my almost always sleepy...
"Whaaaaaaaaaaat?! What happened to my eyes ?! Why are they green?"
"Meow?"