Everyday Heroes [Torn/Kei FINISHED]

The sopping orange tom gagged and coughed up more water. He rolled to his paws, let out a particularly sharp cough that sounded pained, and fell back down. Brilliant green eyes looked up to his savior and...

By the Lights.

Kei stared up in amazement at a face so horrendously scarred and mutilated it was difficult to discern if the creature was a cat at all or just a stunted bulldog.

"How beautiful," he breathed in wonder.

A Demon Slayer. A true Demon Slayer. It had been moons upon moons since Kei had laid eyes on one. Trained even more strictly than Knights, Demon Hunters were the ultimate force for good in the world. They took on cats that even Knights could not purge alone. They were silent, trained killers that drove fear into the heart of darkness and where honored above all but Brother Son himself. To have met one now... Kei almost worried someone would pinch him and wake him up.

The orange Knight stared up at the most beautiful shecat he had ever seen. Scars covered every inch of her body. Beautiful, proud scars that showed her dedication to her cause and her strength on the field of righteous battle. They were what marked her as a Demon Slayer. No other cat would have fought such a ferocious beast time and time again and survived to bear the scars this shecat bore. Even her eyes.... Kei could not look away from them. One orange. One blue. The surest sign in the world of Demon Taint. And yet she had not lost her cause. She had not given in to the Demon that Lived Within. Kei knew this as surely as he knew the sky was blue, for no Demon would ever have saved the life of another cat. To live with a Demon and yet continue down her Holy Path...

"You are amazing," he mewed softly, still starstruck.

Then he remembered how to breathe and remembered the water in his throat and began hacking again but his mind was a whirl of thoughts. The Demon Slayer had saved him! Saved him! That meant a Blood Debt. Kei felt a trickle of fear, but it fled in a heartbeat. This was a Demon Slayer. It would be his honor to act as her shield and die at her side. Kei was not afraid of death, but he was having trouble remembering the Words of Binding. He had never owed a Blood Debt to anyone before. Oh, Brother Sun would surely smite him if failed to properly honor this Demon Slayer who had so valiantly risked her life for him. He tried desperately to remember the words in a panic as the last of the water was hacked out of his lungs. It was a few seconds before he could regain his composure but the second he did, he kneeled before The Demon Slayer.

"Gentle Goddess," he proclaimed, his voice now strong and clear. "I thank you for saving me. I owe you my eternal gratitude and a Blood Debt I will work my life to repay. I-" The tom continued on without breaking a beat or giving the stranger a word in edgewise although sweat did start to break out all over his body as if he was fighting an intense pain. "-Kei, Knighted son of the Kinsfolk of the Holy Lights, hereby pledge myself to you as my Master, until such a time as my debt is repaid. May I-" The tom's front leg started to quiver where he was putting pressure on it. Actually, if a cat looked at it, the wrist of the paw was starting to swell rapidly at an odd angle. Had he broken it? And he was still standing on it? And not yowling in pain? Talk about a strong will. Yeesh. "-honor and pride you, my Master, with the life you have bestowed me. By Brother Sun I swear this."

The tom collapsed over to his side, breathing heavily. Yup. He had broken it. Then strained it. And now he had probably made the original injury ten times worse with that little stunt. Even so, the Knight smiled. Ha. He had remembered the words. Thank the light.

"I don't have a clue what you're talking about. Or who you think I am. But whatever it is, I'm pretty sure you have the wrong cat."

Kei looked up at the larger cat, his Master, who seemed to be quite confused as to what to do with him. He felt a momentary stab of guilt. Did she think him not worthy to serve her? Although he swept the errant thought away at her words. She thought him confused? He offered her a smile from where he lay on his side. Calm. Patient. Accepting.

"I hardly think I could confuse you for another magnificent calico that valiantly leaped to my rescue when my body sank and the blackness of the pond attempted to tug me down into oblivion. I was breathless when you saved me, but not sightless -something I am very grateful for, if it is not too forward for me to say."

Then the shecat tried to tend Kei's paw and, for the first time with all the drowning, and paw breaking, and pain, the small orange tabby actually showed genuine alarm and discomfort. "M-Master, you need not tend me," he sputtered, green eyes wide and uncertain. 

Kei had never owed anyone a Blood Debt. He had known a few friends that did, but never himself. Even so, he was quite certain this was not the general proceeding of how the Debt should be paid. Still, the shecat did seem to be somewhat disgruntled. Perhaps... she was worried for him?

The small tom's heart warmed as he realized how kind a Master he had been chosen to serve. How gracious and saintly. He reached out his uninjured paw to rest it on his Master's, a grateful purr in his throat and his green eyes glowing with warmth.

"You are truly a kind-hearted soul. It has been long since I met such a thoughtful, gentle shecat with a heart as beautiful as her form. But, please, do not trouble your heart over this. It would pain me to think I had hurt so sweet a creature. This paw will heal before the second new moon crests the sky, and I have suffered far worse in my time. I would not trouble you with it, Master, but, pray, were you injured as you came to my aid? Is there something I could do for you? It would be my honor to help as best I can. These rocks are treacherous and I would not want you to suffer them."

The words of warning were not chiding in the least, nor belittling, rather it seemed Kei had every confidence in his Master's abilities, but genuinely wanted to help ease her path in anyway he could. The tom was like a giant ball of adoration and loyalty that had suddenly rolled into the shecat's path. Although, truthfully, she had been the one to save him so she hardly could complain for what she brought on herself in the first place. Except, Kei was not doing a single thing to complain about... exactly. He was just being... nice. Adoring. Loyal. Sweet Star Clan, if a cat could figure out how to bottle even a tenth of the loyalty that practically oozed off his pelt, any leader would give half their tail for it.

The tiny orange tom rose to his paws easily, holding is injured front limb up in the air. He could walk quite effortlessly on his own. He would truly not wish to do anymore kneeling or crouching though. He could if the situation required. In his years as a Squire before becoming a Knight, the Masters had broken his entire leg in three places, left it unmended for a week, and still required him to carry out his regular duties. Broken bones had a distinct, sickly feel to them that made a cat's head spin and body tire far faster than other injuries. Unpreparedness for such an event could be deadly when in a battle or an ambush, such a thing would be unacceptable. A Knight must know exactly the limits of his body and, when those limits were reached, to have the strong will to overcome them. 

That had been a very bad week, Kei recalled with an internal wince. This would be nothing compared to that.

When the shecat turned away, seeming to almost talk to herself, he hopped in front of her, peering curiously into her face. Something in her passing comment had unsettled him, as if a great Slayer such as herself was not used to cats being honored by her mere presence. The idea was alarming and disheartening.

"Do cats not normally talk sweet to you, Master?" he asked, concern in his tone. 

Green eyes saw the shecat's reaction and looked over her pelt once more, closer this time. Her scarred skin was tough and baked by the sun, although the pawful of Slayers he had met acted mainly at night, in the Witching Hour when Demons were at their most dangerous. Her fur, what little remained, was ragged. Not neglected exactly, but not well-kept either. Another anomaly. The Demon Slayer he had met as a child had a coat that practically gleamed. His companion cats had groomed it for hours on end to soothe his soul and mind, truly bringing out a shine to the fur. Her paws, the last thing Kei looked to, had ragged, chipped claws to them from overwork. Nothing like the Demon Slayers back home who had finely sharpened claws, deadly and primed for the kill. It now dawned on him that he had not seen any companions for this Slayer either. Perhaps she had sent them away for a time. He looked at the beautiful cross-work of scars and bubbled tissue that adorned the Slayer. Perhaps... perhaps they had all perished in her journeys and she had been forced to continue on alone. Perhaps there had been no one to remind her of her greatness and her beauty.

"I will amend my oath," he said aloud, his eyes coming back to meet the calico's. "I am sure Brother Sun will honor my change though. It would be too callous to call a pale beauty such as yourself a name as bland as 'Master' for the duration of my Debt. Instead," the tom reached forward, gently brushing his face against the shecat's skinned shoulder, letting his fur lightly soothe the open skin. "I would call you my 'Mistress'. For no tom could hold such grace and Light."

The tom pulled back with a warm smile. Or hobbled. It was difficult to be graceful with a broken paw. He could certainly do it, but it seemed his gentle Mistress did not wish him hurt further so he kept his paw aloft.

"Now. This 'Eveningblaze', does he mind late visitors? I can set the paw myself, but lack the curved bark or knowledge on how to cast it. If it would not trouble you Mistress, I would enjoy sitting by your side as you, er, fish. To keep you company would bring me great joy."

He said the word 'fish' in the same way a certain hyperactive tortoiseshell that he had yet to meet might say the word 'mud' or 'muck'. Clearly, he was not a fan of the action, but wanted to stay with his Mistress just the same.

The tom nodded and looked down to his paw. He settled himself down on the ground and started taking deep, slow breaths. It would help steady him when the pain kicked in. Not that he could not feel pain currently, he did, but this would feel like a tickle compared to what he had to do next. Gently but firmly, he placed his mouth on his paw and felt the bones.

Normal.
Normal.
Normal.
Normal.
Nor-
Ah. -fiery pain- That was the one.
A small sharp little bone, one of the Master's probably even knew exactly what it was called but Kei had never gone that deeper into Healing Arts than what was absolutely mandatory, was broken off at the end. It had been snapped and pulled out of place when he accidentally twisted his foot in a rock, which had nearly led to his demise in the pond upon falling in. He bit down into the thin strips of muscle that surrounded the bone. Shards of fire broke off in every direction to angrily eat their way up his arm. He ignored it. It was nothing. Water under the bridge. He readjusted his jaw. Then did it again, just to be sure. He definitely only wanted to have to do this once.

Finally, knowing it would do no good to put it off, he viciously yanked the muscles taunt for a fraction of a second with his jaws and snapped the bone back into place. He stiffened for a heartbeat, unable to think or move or even breathe past the pain that overloaded every sense in his body. Then he let his paw go. A few lines of blood dribbled out to the ground, but just a surface wound was beyond the tom as pure agony tore through his pelt still. His entire limb felt like it had caught fire and his teeth clenched through the pain of it. Setting a bone was more painful that breaking one, by far, but if it was not set, it would fester and misform. It would never heal properly and would pain him increasingly until every step had him crying out to beg for release from the torture. Kei knew this. He had experienced it first hand.

Kei had definitely hated bone lessons as a Squire. All cats did.

It was a long minute before Kei's heart settled back down and he no longer felt compelled to growl in agony. He could have gotten up sooner, but his Mistress seemed to be in no hurry. He let himself recover for a moment or two longer than he actually needed.

He looked up to the Demon Slayer before him and offered a kind smile, lacking any hint of the pain he had endured shortly before. "It will heal now. To brace it with something would be helpful, but I do not need it right away. Shall we sit? You have fishing to do, Mistress, and I will ensure loneliness never dares to impede on your light."

He padded, or hopped rather, over to the side of the pool and settled down, leaving his injured paw spread out limply in front of him so as not to curl it and chance moving the bones or muscles further.