Opposite Views

The wagon bumped and wiggled as they slowly proceeded to their destination, its passengers quite aloof. Something was running through a Nekomata's head, well two Nekomata's to be exact. Both KuliKuli and Dimyri had... troubling thoughts with the question they carried. Only, it was Dimyri who had the courage to ask first.

"You mention a ritual," She began, turning to Raz, "And your lunatic stated he needs us to complete it. What ritual are you guys talking about and what do we have to do with it?"

This had skipped over Syri and KuliKuli's heads as the former was reminded of that. KuliKuli's ears had perked up and twitched, the word seemed familiar to her. "Did you say ritual?"

Raz's eyes glanced at his passenger before facing the path up ahead. "Volunt Impletionis, the ritual of fulfillment. Father Perdilius has long dreamt of a word of purity and happiness, I would say one devoid of demons and monsters. During an unpleasant time in his life, Father Perdilius had received a vision as he slept. In his dreams, he saw a path to enlightenment which led to the gateway to a better world. But to pass through, he would need a way to restore the corrupt back into its purest form. And after many years, he found it."

The Nekomata girls stayed quiet, wanting him to presume.

"He calls it a temple, its walls are encrypted with an ancient language left behind by the first age of man when the gods bestowed us with the gift of their presence. It was forged in their honor, and they rewarded us by gifting a touch of their essence. Perform the ritual as the gods ask, and you will be granted inner purity and begin anew."

Dimyri frowned. "That sounds rather vague, what does that mean really? You guys think theirs a magic temple that can do this stuff?"

"Are you in disbelief of magic now?" He replied with a smug look.

She shook her head, brushing her hair away. "No, but you still didn't answer me really. Why us, and why not mom too?"

Leone lifted his head, joining them in intrigue and keeping silent.

"Don't know." Raz shrugged, "That bit escapes me, you'll need to ask Father about that. But the goal is to convert you back."

"Back? Back into what?"

"To normal, the way you are now only permanent."

"What!" She huffed, sitting up in her seat. "I don't want to be converted as if I was sick, what's wrong with being a Nekomata?"

"Well, you're monsters of course."

"What makes us monsters?" Syri joined in. leaning off the side with her head between Dimyri and Raz. "We never hurt people or hunt them down."

"Or burn their houses." KuliKuli added.

"Or that!" Dimyri growled. "You people are the worst to be preaching about peace and harmony right now!"

"I admit we could have done things in a more diplomatic way, but your actions share the blame too. Was it not the little one who crashed our carriage and tried to kill us a few days ago?" He mentioned, looking at Syri. "And was it not your pack who were stealing from the villages nearby enough to warrant the contract of a hunter to find your pack?"

"What?" The girls cried out, with KuliKuli rubbing the temple in her head. Sitting back, something hard poked against her butt making her wince and feel around with her tails back there.

Raz continued. "You monsters are odd though, I must admit. I was unaware your kind could talk before we took you in."

"Captured, don't spin it around as if we were lost kids that you people graciously took in out of the goodness of your hearts. We were just fine without you!"

"Who were the fathers."

"Huh?" Dimyri seemed startled as he repeated.

"Who were the fathers in your tribe? I saw many women in there but no men in sight, and unless I am mistaken your monster biology demands you can only bare children by entrancing and capturing men to take advantage of. Curious to know what happened to the fathers of those girls, where is your father right now?"

"I... I-"

"I see, so you have no clue. Did you not wonder, was it not something to take note of? You know, Succubi share a similar trait with Black Widow Spider Girls in that they select a prey before trapping him, mating with him, and disposing of him. They call it a feeding, sucking us dry of our life essence before tossing us aside as if we were dinner scraps. Do Cat girls do the same?"

Dimyri shook her head. "No."

"So do you know where you father is?"

"No!"

"Absolutely no clue to the whereabouts of any men in your tribe at all?"

Dimyri rubbed her face feeling stressed, it was a question she and her sisters asked for a long time. Lots of them asked, with Na'Vi paying the price for that same question. KuliKuli and Syri were looking up to her for answers, both of them also clueless with no response.

"The men were hidden and often left."

The girls looked back at the hunter who had been silent up till now.

"Come again?"

"The men of the tribe, you'd be surprised but plenty of them came from the villages surrounding their tribe. Lots of natives or travelers that moved on when I had asked around, seems in the end they preferred keeping each other safe by being distant and often revisiting in secrecy. Nekomata's do not kill, they are quite territorial in fact. Do not compare them to succubi."

His words left the boy in silence, unable to retort in any manner of speech, only fumbling in response. Leone took his cue to lean back and shut his eyes, feeling something fall into his hand. Looking up, he saw the young Nekomata looking back at him, her paw retreating from his hand.

"Mom gave this to us, I think it belongs to you. She... She said some things about that, I don't know if they're true."

As she spoke, she gazed into his eyes, scanning his facial features, feeling a tickle on her cheek. Brushing it off, she saw a silver hair strand stuck to her paw before it whiffed away, her eyes returning to the hunter.

He looked down to see his hunter emblem, his eyes widening at the sight of it.

"What did she tell you?" Leone asked, feeling vulnerable by this possible revelation.

"She told us to trust you."

He pressed his lips tight, turning his head before looking down, bobbing slightly as the wagon slowed to a halt.

"Welcome back." An unwelcomed voice spoke out to them with an eerie feel of confidence.