Alongside those who are sinful.

Chapter 22

He had gone a different route through the forest on his scouting trip to Springs Bloom, following a barely established game path through the trees and brush. It would take him around the back side of the town, where The Mississippi ran its closest course to the town.

"Fourteen Thrask kittens. Three adults watching." Dietrich was crouched behind a bush, viewing what appeared to be a field trip from the school to the river.

Even though the temperature was consistent with Autumn's chill, the cubs still played in the river and on the shore while under the watch of the same school teacher from the village and her two helpers.

It was a sunny day, and Dietrich could see the rays of the sun poking down through the treetops. The river narrowed a bit inside of a little gorge of sorts that the river had eroded into the land over time.

Even though Thrask hated water, the kittens seemed to be having a fun time, their excited calls and words bringing a sense of peace to Dietrich.

"Peace. I haven't felt this since before the war." Thought the man. He wished he could merely walk up to the group with a wave and then continue his way to Springs Bloom.

But, as was his way of life and the fate of being a human, it would never be the case. Him walking to the group would spell disaster. They would see a large and unknown creature wearing clothes while walking towards them.

Mix kittens into the equation and they would certainly do something drastic. He was not keen on killing teachers and assistants trying to protect kids.

But truth be told, he did not know why Thrask society believed in their kids. He had forgotten to ask Kasma about that piece of information and made a note to ask him later.

However, as he crouched there, Dietrich realized that he could just see the tips of the ears of a Thrask below him. Standing up from his couch slowly, he peered over the bush to see that one of the kittens had wondered a bit further from the group and was sitting on the opposite river bank from them.

She appeared to be playing with the mud and was facing upstream. It put Dietrich on her left and the others on her right.

He had thought the river was a little deeper, but if she could traverse it, then it obviously wasn't. She wasn't very far from Dietrich, perhaps twenty or so meters away.

She appeared to be older than some of the other cubs due to her height. Dietrich's eyes drifted over to the teacher, inspecting her.

She wore a piece of clothing which looked like a kilt for her lower clothes. It came up just short of her knee caps. Tied into the kilt-piece was her top, which seemed to be a shawl of sorts that wrapped up to cover her chest in an appropriate fashion.

Her assistants were similarly dressed, although upon closer inspection, their attire differed slightly.

Dietrich was not worried about the small details of their clothing. What he was worried about was the sudden breeze at his back. His eyes widened under the goggles he wore, realizing that he was upwind of the group.

No bath or deodorant would be able to stop his natural smell from permeating the airwaves and betraying his hidden presence to those below.

The first ones to notice were the children. They stopped messing around in the water, looking around the land in confusion. Then, the assistants noticed it. They too looked around and finally set their gaze on the teacher.

And when his own eyes focused on her, Dietrich could see that she was staring right at him. Time dilated and Dietrich locked eyes with her. It was dead silent and one of the assistants gasped when they noticed Dietrich.