Between Loyalty and Love

Terra pet his head to try to sooth him somewhat. "Just relax, honey," she told him gently. "And stay still." She put both of her hands on the metal collar and concentrated. It vibrated, cracking in several places. After it had cracked all the way through, it crumbled and fell off of his neck. "There," she said, though frowned. "...He seriously did melt this around your neck.. Your skin has grown into the cracks... Stay still a little longer," she told him. She picked the last bits of metal out of his skin. "There. Let me go get my bag of herbs. They'll help speed your healing," she told him gently.
 
He whimpered and slid back into the water, relaxing as the water soothed his opened sores, the water beginning to suck away the infections and healing it slowly, ears tilting forwards a bit in relaxation and he took a deep, even breath. "Kegan... wh-what are spirits?" He asked softly.
 
Kegan sat down next to Terra. "We keep the balance in nature," he told the tiger. "The Water Spirit was taken away from his element years ago. The lands have become dry, and so Fire must come and burn whatever is keeping Water from doing its job. Much like how droughts and wildfires work," he explained. "The Death Spirit, the crow, has had plenty to eat, so he has not suffered. The Earth," he nodded to Terra," has not had enough water to grow the trees and plants. "I, however, have had plenty to burn. We need Water back. We think you are him," he told the tiger gently.
 
"Me? I just like water... I'm not a part of nature..." He slid back out of the water, neck healed now. "I could help you look... For the person you're looking for." He said softly, shaking himself to dry a little bit faster, tail flicking lightly and ears perked as he now felt freer then he'd ever felt before, and it showed.
 
"I'm sorry to say, honey," Terra disagreed, pointing to his now-healed neck, "That mortals don't heal that quickly. You're one of us. A Spirit."

Kegan nodded in agreement with Terra, studying the tiger's reaction.
 
"B-but... but I..." He reached up, touching his neck. "It... isn't normal?" He looked confused and a little worried. "I don't know how to do anything that you say I have to do..." He murmured softly, biting his lip once again and looking down. He was a slave, not something that seemed so important to the world.
 
"It's alright," Kegan said, dropping down into the water and putting his hand on his shoulder, a motion of friendship and understanding. "Terra and I, as well as the other Spirits, will help you. You have our word."

"Besides," Terra smiled, sliding down into the water as well. "Earth supports water, guides it where to flow. You just gotta keep that guy in check," she playfully glanced up at Kegan, who grinned innocently.
 
He smiled lightly, perking up slightly. "Thank you..." He reached over and grabbed his ragged and only slightly clean shorts and pulled them on, standing and rubbing at his hears to get the water out of them. "What do we do now?"
 
"Well, first, we need to find you a new home," Terra said, looking at Kegan. The wolf nodded and looked at the tiger. "My king has plenty of space. I know he would be honored if another Spirit joined his infantry, or even simply set up residence in his kingdom."

"Maybe he wants to be on his own," Terra said, climbing out of the riverbank.

"He needs to gain more confidence. The only way to do that is be around people. There are none nicer than in the West. The perfect place to start anew," the wolf reasoned and looked to see if the tiger opposed any of it.
 
Mairah shrugged. "I-I don't mind belonging to your king..." He murmured softly. "A-as long as I don't get anymore collars as bad as that one. Not as tight either." He nodded, ears pricked. "M-maybe one of those pretty collars some of the foreign slaves had? They said they loved wearing their collars..." He looked a little wistful for a moment.
 
Kegan chuckled. "You may were a collar only if you wish. But I do not belong to the king. I only serve to protect him and the kingdom. We serve all Kingdoms who honor the Spirits," he told the tiger.

"By the way," Terra looked at the other feline as they began the walk back. "You still haven't told us your name."
 
"Oh! I'm Maidah." He looked at Kegan strangely. "I don't understand, master said I needed to wear a collar... Master never lied." He said, tail twitching as he thought.
 
Kegan shook his head. "No. Collars might be warn by slaves, but my king- our king- does not force us to wear such trinkets. If we choose to where something to show our allegiance to him, he will have the finest clothes made for us, custom-made armor made of dragon skin, for example," he pointed to his own armor. "And he will certainly have a house built for you."
 
He looked a little shocked, dumbfounded. "What...? So many things... I-I don't know what I would do with those kinds of things..." He drooped slightly. "I don't know what to do besides being a slave."
 
"That's what we're here for," Kegan reminded him in a gentle voice. "No slouching. Stand tall," he smiled. "Let's run," he suggested.

"I swear, Kegan, you are such a pup," Terra griped, but she was smiling as she broke off into a run
 
Maidah stared after them then raced after them as fast as he could, which wasn't very fast at all thanks to his poor health and small body, but he struggled on without complaint simply because he was too happy having some one who was offering him a good life.
 
Kegan let out a laugh as he ran, smiling back at Maidah as they ran towards their kingdom. They finally reached the Kingdom of the West, and Kegan smiled. "Home sweet home," he told the tiger. He howled his arrival and heard the answering cheers from the guards as they approached.

"Kega, you're home," the commander said cheerfully, coming to greet them. "Terra, it has been so long," he bowed his head in greeting.

"It's nice to see you, too, commander," she smiled, her tail swishing around her feet.

"Commander, is the king available," Kegan asked.

"I'm afraid he has retired for the evening. We can summon him, if you'd like-"

"No. We will surprise him in the morning," Kegan said. He looked at Maidah. "You can stay in my house tonight. I've got some clothes that will fit you," he assured the tiger.
 
Maidah hunched over, panting heavily and nodded, drooping with exhaustion. He couldn't speak, only swallow and struggle for breath.
 
"Come on," Kegan offered his help. "It isn't very long now. We'll walk slow so you can catch your breath." they walked towards the center of town. The mortals that saw them smiled and waved. Kegan and Terra returned the greetings. They soon arrived at Kegan's house, which was surrounded by a garden, tended to by the king's personal gardener. "I'll show you around," the Fire wolf smiled at Maidah and opened the door, turning on the lights. He took off his weapons and set them by the door at their appropriate hooks and settlements. He sighed in relief to be rid of the baggage. "The bedrooms and bathrooms are upstairs," he said, leading him upstairs. He showed him the guest bedroom with the connected bathroom, and his bedroom which was right across the hall. Both had excellent views of the gardens.

"If you need anything," he said, handing him some of his own clothes, "I'll be right in here. I'll also make breakfast in the morning. Just follow your nose," he smiled.
 
Maidah nodded, sniffing and perked, ears twitching and tilted to get a better handle on the surroundings. "Thank you..." He murmured, hugging the clothes to his chest. "May I have a bath?" He asked, feeling filthy from the exhausting run.