The Adventures of Olund and Sidon

Chapter 6, The Guest

He awoke to an intruder touching him. The touch carried through the bag and caressed his ears. It was almost pleasant, though he still felt it was an invasion of privacy. He tried to swat away the massaging hand only to be reminded of the extent of his captivity. The quick movement of his hand shook the bed and made a loud noise. The intruder gasped before running out of the room.

Grum rushed from his room and shouted to the cat.

"What's with all the racket?" He demanded. The prisoner tried his best to explain himself and apologize, but a series of moans and grunts were all that were produced. Grum sighed and removed the bag and rope from the cat's head.

"Well? Why'd you shake the bed like that?" "I'm sorry." Apologized Sidon. "Something was touching my ear." Grum spun around and ran to Felicia's room. "Felicia! Were you touching the cat?" he demanded angrily. "Why? It didn't hurt me." She said. "Felicia! I told you not to go near him again and you disobeyed me!" Felicia didn't say anything in response. She angrily sat down on the edge of her bed. Grum watched her for a minute before going into the kitchen.

Sidon remained quiet. Nearly half an hour passed before Grum came into the room carrying a small bowl of water.

"Here," he said. "you must be thirsty." "Thank you." Replied Sidon gratefully. His tongue flicked in and out of the bowl, and after a minute, he had lapped up all the water. Grum smiled softly when the cat had finished the bowl.

"We can give you a fish whenever you are hungry." Said Grum. "Thank you." Thanked Sidon. Grum left quickly and bustled around the house for the better part of an hour doing small chores. Felicia stopped sulking and picked up a book. Sidon could read a few of the words on the cover. His father died before he could finish teaching his sons how to read and write. The skill was useful but not essential in the two cat's line of work.

Sidon lay patiently on the bed waiting for something to happen. Grum paused his chores to ask the cat a question.

"How do you feel?" he asked. "Do you need to see the healer?" Sidon thought this over. He felt sore mostly from being tied down to a bed. Other than that, his hands felt burnt. "I feel a little sore, and my hands hurt a bit too." He said delicately. "Okay," replied Grum thoughtfully, "I think I will ask the healer to see you. You shouldn't have anything to worry about. He's a predator too you know. Granted, he is an insect-eating-lizard, and you eat..." said Grum before stopping himself, "never mind. I will try to get him to see you today." Sidon thanked Grum and returned to lying in silence.

Felicia quickly grew bored of her book and left the house. Grum watched her leave. He wanted to ask where she was going and to remind her not to tell anyone about their prisoner, but he didn't. He shook his head at himself and returned to sweeping.

"Can you eat baked goods? Pastries and things?" asked the beaver. "I don't know." Replied Sidon unsure of what baked goods were. "No one has ever offered. If it's not meat, I don't think I should eat it." He said quietly. Grum thought about that for a while. How could someone not know what baked goods were? Poor cat didn't know what he was missing. The beaver continued to think about what the cat said. Grum couldn't imagine killing for his meals. He laughed darkly at the thought under his breath. Grum had a dozen or so smoked fish in the basement because of Yol. She visited enough times to make it worth while to catch the fish. But fish were not alive in the same way Grum was, were they? Was he as bad a Sidon if not worse for killing those fish? Sidon killed because he needed to, Grum didn't need to kill fish to survive.

"So, what are your plans for when you get out of here?" asked Grum in an attempt to make conversation. "I don't know," replied Sidon, "I should probably try to find my brother. He is the only family I have left. I miss him a lot." Said Sidon sadly. Grum's conscience began slowly speaking. This cat was a predator, but it was no less a person than Grum was. Grum had tied it up like a criminal or a monster when it just did what it was born to do, and it didn't seem to enjoy doing it. Grum was holding it here against its will and keeping it from its brother. It didn't sit right with him, but he couldn't bring himself to release the cat just yet.