"Who are you, and what do you want?!"
Fay called out to the felines gathered around his bonfire, all of them staring up at him.
They only tilted their heads slightly, as if he were speaking a different language.
"Feyfay kitties!" came the cheerful voice of his sister from behind.
"Yes, I know. Now let me concentrate... why are they looking up here?" he muttered, eyes narrowing.
"No! Kitties!" his sister insisted again. Fay felt her release the grip she'd had on his leg.
He turned slightly to check on her—only to notice someone else behind him.
Unlike the rest of the cat folk below, this one looked different.
More human.
She still had feline ears and the same piercing eyes, but her features were smoother, less hairy, and far more expressive.
"What are you doing here?" Fay asked.
In an instant, he shifted his stance and aimed his spear at the stranger—a cat-eared girl crouched silently on all fours atop a nearby branch.
She hissed at the sight of Fay's aggressive posture, causing him to lower his spear slightly.
He hesitated, then tried asking again, this time without the threat of attack.
"What is it you want?"
The girl raised one hand toward her chest, reaching out for what seemed like a necklace—
a simple cord with a tooth pendant, inside of which a small gem was embedded.
The necklace began to shine with an amber light as the girl whispered something to it.
Suddenly, Fay and Mira heard an ethereal voice echoing all around them.
[Child… of the dead world… you have arrived… You have no voice here… so it is for the best that you follow the Ravari tribe.]
Fay turned toward the cat girl, noticing how she seemed to understand what was being said.
"Where will they take us?" the boy asked, wondering if they would be safe.
[Better than how you are currently are. You will need help to survive here… Now… go.]
The power the voice carried seemed to stop Fay in his tracks—he had never felt anything like it. But somehow, he knew it would no longer speak.
As for the girl, she tucked the necklace away and jumped down from the branch. A few seconds later, she looked up at him and growled.
Fay turned to his sister, who was still looking up at him.
"What do you think… Mira?" he asked, wondering what she felt.
"I think… safe. The voice said so," the girl replied with a small nod.
Fay looked back down, tightened his grip on the spear, and jumped to a lower branch. He then helped his sister down after him.
They repeated the process four times before finally reaching the ground.
As soon as they settled near the forest floor, the girl stomped her foot once.
The rest of the pack nodded in response. Without a word, they began collecting the meat, putting out the fire, and clearing everything away.
"Hey, what are you—!"
Before he could finish, the girl raised her hand to his neck. Her sharp nails pressed gently against his skin as she hissed in warning.
Fay didn't take kindly to that. He immediately lifted his spear, pointing it at her chest—
but before he could react further, a small hand grabbed his wrist.
"Stop, Feyfay. We need to be good," Mira said softly.
Fay hesitated, then lowered the spear. The girl's grip on his throat eased in turn.
The tension between them seemed to dissipate…
But just then, a distant, thunderous roar echoed across the savanna.
All the cat-folk's ears perked up and turned toward the sound. Fay turned too, eyes narrowing.
"What was that?" he muttered.
Without hesitation, several members of the group dropped to all fours and sprinted in that direction.
Only the girl and two other young ones remained behind.
The two positioned themselves behind her, each holding pieces of the impala Fay had hunted earlier.
The girl let out a low growl, then began walking away.
At first, it seemed like she didn't care whether they followed—but after twenty steps, she glanced back for a few seconds.
"I guess we'll follow… Come, Mira. Get on my back. We'll need to run if something happens…"
Fay hoisted his sister onto his shoulders and began trailing after the group.
The five of them moved for a long while. At times, Fay had to put his sister down and stalk behind the group from the underbrush at times, staying hidden.
They continued like that for nearly an hour… until they arrived at what looked like a miniature canyon.
By now, Mira was asleep on his back. Fay was exhausted, but he refused to set her down until the group stopped.
Ahead of them stood what looked like a makeshift fence, built from sharpened logs arranged vertically into a crude barrier.
The trio ahead called out in their strange tongue, and a gate slowly opened. It wasn't much of a gate—just a large slab of stone dragged aside by a group of the demi-humans.
Fay scratched his cheek, puzzled. Why wouldn't they come up with a better way to make a gate?
As they passed through, he took in the sights of the small enclosed settlement.
In the center, dozens of beast folk moved about—some working, others resting. Fay was reminded of the emergency shelters back on Earth: improvised, temporary, filled with people just trying to live.
At least these people knew how to make torches.
There were tents made from hide and woven material, small campfires dotting the area, and organized zones: one for drying food and leather, another for weaponry—stone spears and crude blades—and a third filled with supplies like wood, clay, and other raw materials.
Fay's gaze drifted to the people themselves. Their clothing ranged from simple loincloths to elaborate ceremonial wear adorned with colored patterns.
They didn't all appear to belong to the same feline species either.
Some were dark-skinned with spots like leopards, others had manes and bore a resemblance to the lion-like girl from earlier.
The biggest in terms of size out of the group had striped patterns, resembling tigers.
Those in ceremonial clothing gathered around the central fire, communicating in that same strange tongue made up of growls, roars, and hisses.
Then Fay noticed his impala—what he had hunted—being laid out near a flat table.
Immediately, others rushed over, tearing off pieces of the meat with urgency.
Fay felt a flash of anger and moved forward to get at least a portion for himself.
But before he could reach it, the lion-like girl from earlier blocked his path, pressing her clawed hand firmly against his chest.
Her grip was gentle enough not to injure—but firm enough to halt him completely.
"Damn it… have it your way," Fay muttered, glaring at her. He stepped back.
Not seeing any other option, he found a shadowed corner near one of the tents and carefully set Mira down. She stirred faintly but remained asleep.
As Fay sat beside her, unease began to settle in.
What if we were brought here to be eaten?
He gulped, now questioning why he had followed the voice of a strange artifact… or the suggestion of a four-year-old.
Still, no one seemed to care about him. Everyone was busy, focused on their own tasks—
as if he and Mira didn't matter at all.