* * *
Pluck like a Ghost Panther leaped about the trees, not straying far from the Temple. She loved soaring from limb to limb as if gravity had no pull on her. Freedom and peace engulfed her, erasing her curse at least for a few nals as night spread its wings over the sky. Only the moons, Auror the Greater and Array the Lesser, penetrated its dark hold. Pluck scurried to the top of the tallest tree, studying the heavenly bodies. Even in the vastness of the night, Auror and Array were magnificent and possessed a power of their own. One that affected the tides and her mood. She smiled, taking a deep breath of the pine scented air, mesmerized by the pale blue spheres. Pluck felt a wildness take hold; it was a surge of emotion that ignited her senses. The feral sensations triggered a memory of Fairah hovering above the four cat statues within the temple.
“I was nine then...” Pluck muttered.
“Why do ye cry child?” Fairah questioned the young girl.
Pluck wiped her little eyes while she sat next to the pool in the center of the temple as she replied, “I hate how I look.” She peered at her reflection on the water as she added, “I’m ugly.”
“That is not true,” Fairah told her; she hated seeing Pluck upset. The Protector searched the room, noticed the large cats below her, and then asked, “Did I ever tell ye why these statues are here?” She swiped her ghostly hand through the head of one as she stated, “They guard this temple and each was chosen for their virtues.”
Pluck sniffed as she questioned, “Why tell me?”
“Each of them are within ye,” Fairah explained to her as she floated down and sat next to Pluck. “The strength, heart, and loyalty of the Fire Lion; the speed, enthusiasm, and stability of the Striped Cheetah; the courage, stamina, and dedication of the Woolly Tiger; and the stealth, cunning, and dauntlessness of the Ghost Panther.” She smiled and then added, “They not only make up what ye look like but what ye are inside. Ye’s curse can be a blessing if ye can get pass ye’s appearance.”
“Fairah is right about one thing,” Pluck said to herself as she stared up at the night. “I feel them within me; they're my animal side.” She stretched out on a branch, stared up at the multitude of stars, breathed in the refreshing air as her black tip tail swayed. Pluck felt at home, at least some of her did. A small part yearned for human contact and to return to the Fletching Castle as sorrow enveloped her. She scolded herself, “I’m not going to focus on it. I’ve been sad long enough. I’m going to enjoy the rest of the night.” The moons set as dawn drew near. She climbed down a vine and rushed into the Temple, long tail twitching with excitement.
“Another beautiful night. You should have seen it, Fairah. The moons were blue and full. From the Lofty Pine, I could almost touch the smallest one,” Pluck spoke as she smiled and twirled, dancing around the pool as her white High Guard’s sleeved shirt fluttered with her movements. “At sunset, the sky became amber.” The brown leather pants she wore were baggy from the knees down. Her clawed feet pranced about to an imagined melody. Pluck knelt by the water, studying her reflection by torch light. Since the birth of her beast form, there had been few changes. She had grown eight hands tall, tall as an average man. Her fiery-crimson mane had thickened and flowed just below her shoulders. She had grown a set of breasts and her ears were rounded and cupped. She looked at her hand, at least she still had fingers even if they had retractable claws. Emerald feline eyes stared back at her. “The memory of my human form has faded.,” Pluck said as she frowned.
“Ye better not let Han see ye cry,” Fairah told her as she appeared above her and floated down to her side.
“I’m not crying,” Pluck said as she wiped her eyes. “Anyway, he won’t be here till tomorrow. The letter sent by Courier Pigeon stated he had news for me.” Pluck grabbed her long beige tail, stroking its black tip as she spoke, “I wonder what he wants to tell me. Could it be about the prince or maybe he’s found another way to end my curse?”
Fairah sighed as she threw up her metaphysical hands as she said, “The commander could assist ye much better if ye would only tell him the promise that was made between ye and the prince. Then ye would have no need for any other cure.”
Pluck frowned again as she said, “I fear he’ll try to stop me from receiving the Kiss. That’s why I haven’t told Han all of these seasons.” Pluck lay on the stones, gazing at the ceiling as she stated, “The Kiss isn’t something the prince gives away. It pledges his heart and soul.” She paused and said with a hint of sadness, “Edward may have already given his first kiss to someone.” She rolled over looking at her reflection again and continued, “If this is true, I’ll remain in this accursed body.”
Fairah’s ghostly hand stroked her mane. The Protector wished she had a corporeal form to comfort the woman she’d come to consider her child. Fairah told her, “I know not what to say. There is beauty in ye’s form if only ye would see it.”
Pluck sat up and said, “Even if I did, people would consider me a Necrom. I would be shunned with only an apparition and an old High Guard to keep me company.” She slunk to her blankets on a bed of hay and once she reached them, she requested, “Tell me again about the Creator.”
Fairah grinned as she questioned, “Are ye not a little old for bedtime stories?”
“Are they just stories?” Pluck questioned as she pulled up her blanket, looking into Fairah’s solid white eyes.
“No, child,” Fairah replied a she floated to her. “In an explosion of life, the Creator brought Terra into existence. All was perfect. No wars, sickness, or sadness. One sun’s cycle the Despiser, his real name lost in time, wished to be worshiped like the Creator so he lied to those of Terra. He told them magic could be used for more than helping others, that it could be used to help one’s self and with that, magic became corrupted. So now there is magic of the Creator and magic of the Despiser.”
“Not everyone believes this?”
“No, like the Necroms the Creator has fallen into Myth. Many do not believe.”
“I believe,” Pluck stated as she turned on her side and then she repeated, “I believe. Peaceful night.”
Fairah lifted and she slowly vanished as she said, “Good... Never forget. He shall protect ye.”