The Adventures of Olund and Sidon

Chapter 4, Prisoner

Warmth. Warm air was the first thing he noticed as he woke up. It embraced his feet and loosened him from the frigid cold that ensnared his body. He couldn't see anything as there was a bag over his head. His hands were wrapped tightly in bandages and tied down to the bed. There was a warm blanket on top of him, and on top of the blanket were several more ropes securing him to the wooden frame. He was completely immobilized. His hands, feet, head, mouth and even tail were tightly secured.

The bed was tiny. His feet hung far over the edge of the bed. Although the size was not ideal, the mattress and pillow were soft. This bed was more comfortable than a bed roll and certainly more comfortable than the ground. Despite the softness of the accommodations, he was very sore. Every muscle was stiff, and every inch of his skin burned.

He could hear a large fire nearby, water boiling and the bustle of a kitchen. A delicious scent greeted his cold nose and he realized how hungry he was. Two sets of feet could be heard. He pretended to sleep as one of the two approached the bed slowly.

"Wow, its bigger than I remember. I think its time we fed it. We should wake it father!" Whispered the voice of a young girl. "No! No, let him rest for now. Besides, he's dangerous. I don't want you around when I feed him." Replied another voice. "But father, I've never seen a snow leopard before!" pleaded the first voice. "Felicia, I've made up my mind." Replied the second voice. "It's bad enough you are friends with that fox girl, now you have to go and catch interest in an extremely lethal predator." The second voice paused. "No! Absolutely not, we are not keeping him!" he said. "Why not? It could stay in the cellar! We could keep it chained down there and throw it bits of people we don't like! No one would bother us ever again!" said the first voice happily. "Felicia! Your mother will be here within the month. Think of what she'll say when we tell her we have a monster in the basement, or even tied up in the other bedroom. We will either have to kill it or let it go before she gets here."

The cat let out a low groan which startled both the voices. The two didn't make a sound for a few minutes.

"Father, I think its awake. We should feed it now!" said the first voice excitedly. The second voice sighed and cautiously approached the bed.

"I am going to take the bag off now. Easy does it." Said the second voice. The bag was slowly removed from his head and he could see his two captors. They were two beavers, a big one and a small one. They were in a large wooden room. He could see two other rooms out through the door way: a kitchen and another bedroom. His room was empty except for the bed on which he was tied and a small end table with a few lit candles. The smaller beaver stared him straight in the eye. Her look was that of curiosity and a touch of exited fear or awe. The bigger beaver looked much more worried and a lot less curious.

The cat's eyes were half closed with fatigue, and his face was covered with cold burns.

"Are you hungry?" asked the bigger beaver. All he got for a response was another groan.

"Its mouth is bound father! It can't talk!" said Felicia eagerly. "I am not untying his mouth! Do you not what it is we have here?" Said the father. "This is a snow leopard! He is an apex predator! It can kill a full-grown moose with that jaw of his!" "It won't hurt us! It can't, we saved it!" said Felicia. "Besides, we'll have to feed it eventually." The father sighed. "I am going to remove the rope around your mouth, okay?" asked the father. The cat groaned again. "It says yes, father!" "And how do you know what it's saying?" demanded the father. "Just take the rope off!" she answered impatiently.

The father slowly untied the cat's mouth before withdrawing quickly to a safe distance.

The cat tried to speak but the words were garbled and not understandable.