Day 7: Progress

"One, two, three, one, two, three, one, two, three."

Leone sat down clearing his throat while watching the small spectacle. Shuffling close to the campfire they set outside, he poked at the wood with his dagger to keep it burning well. On his left, several Nekomata girls sat in a circle while two of them danced in the center, cautiously timing their steps. An older woman, a mother by the sound of her voice was standing up and clapping her paws together while counting for them.

"One, two, three. One, two, three. L'uce, stay sharp with your footing. Practice practice practice. Okay, sit down and let's get the next two up here."

Emyri sat beside him, punching his arm and failing to avert his eyes. "You better not be staring for the wrong reasons, pervert."

He moved his arm away, keeping his eyes on them.

"Hey, I was only kidding. I can tell when you're-"

"Why are they dancing?"

Emyri leaned to her side to catch what he sees. "They're practicing."

"For what?"

"For the celebration coming up." He turned his eyes towards her with a look of intrigue. "Right, so once every nine years we have this ritual in place. The girls of age nine are the first to participate, they share a dance with a close friend to emulate the bond they share together. When they reach eighteen years, they are to dance alone to represent their entrance to adulthood, and a mark is place on their tummies. This means they are fertile and ready to seek out a mate. Those who are twenty-seven have the dance of motherhood with a moon marked on their forehead. This represents the.... the..."

She cursed under her breath. "Damn I know this one, uuuhhh."

"It means the Mother is our light in the darkness, guiding us through our hardest moments in life." Cyri mentioned, passing by the two before sitting besides Leone. "Am I interrupting you two?"

"What-no not at all." Emyri leaned back on her paws, her mother smiled and leaned in to their hunter, placing her paw over his hand.

"I wanted to thank you for helping us find food and fresh water. Some of our girls are beginning to recover, and it means so much that a hunter help our kind. You could have left us to die, and instead you saved us."

She leaned in and kissed him on the cheek, leaving him blushing and averting his eyes from her direction. She leaned back and felt herself glowing inside. "Now, I know we have kept you around as a prisoner through all of this. I said I would treat you better for this, and I intend to keep it. Sweety, could you be a dear and remove this collar for me?"

Emyri bared her claws when Leone raised his hands. "O-O-On second thought, better for me to undo it myself! Before you... use that."

Emyri snickered and put her claws away, with him removing the strap and taking the collar off. It felt nice to no longer have that itch around his neck. Now if only he could find a shirt to wear, that would be nice.

"Ah I nearly forgot, we kept your mare well fed and groomed under comfortable conditions. Emyri can show you if you make the request."

Leone smiled. "Does this mean I am no longer a prisoner than?"

"I wouldn't say that." Emyri spoke up. "You got your horse back that's all."

He spun his dagger around in plain sight for them to see.

"The knife too, whatever."

"Dagger." He corrected her.

Cyri stood up. "You will be given your materials back bit by bit when we feel comfortable, I hope you understand why."

"Then you understand that I need a new shirt, preferable something to keep me warm. Something thick and fluffy and soft, maybe... cat fur perhaps?"

Emyri punched his arm as he snickered mischievously. "Jerk."

Cyri chuckled. "Well, the girls will miss the view but yes, of course we need to cover you up and keep you warm there. I... hmmm, I will see what we can do about that."

Leone nodded. "It's weird, it's snowing but you girls are... well..."

"Naked, yes just spit it out." Emyri sighed when something flicked her ear. "Ouch!"

"Ahem, yes well we are very social creatures at heart. Plenty of us find warmth through each other, in fact families often sleep cuddled together to keep everyone warm and safe. Normally we enter our primal stage if we encounter harsh colds with no source of warmth nearby."

"Primal, you mean your cat form?" She nods. "I see."

"Now, I am expected elsewhere but once more, thank you so much for helping us." Cyri beamed and waved before hurrying off somewhere. Leone watched her leave with Emyri taking notice.

"Huh, that's the first time I see you staring without actually staring. Good job, there may be hope for you yet."

"She does have a cute bounce to her butt, doesn't she?" He smiled, accepting the smack to his head and rubbing the bruise tenderly.

"And I'm reminded of how much of a pig you are. Get up, it's time for the next task." He shrugged and stood on his feet before pausing. When he turned to follow he found a little girl, probably around the age of three staring up at him. She looked adorable with a light pout to her, looking away for a moment. Leone followed her gaze to see her mother smiling back, encouraging her daughter to go on. The little girl turned back to him with tears in her eyes before hugging his legs tight, sobbing and shaking lightly.

The look on his face, it was clear he was caught off guard. His hands were raised and his legs locked together by the little girl, her tiny two tails wrapping around his ankles. He looked up at Emyri who smiled back and shrugged. At last the girl let go and ran back to her mother's arms, who lifted her up and smiled at the young man before walking away.

"...what was that about?"

"Isn't it obvious? She's thanking you." Emyri said, tapping his arm with her tail. "Come on hero, we have some more work to do."