Changes In Taste

When it comes to entertainment, no person's taste is completely set in stone and Yours Truly is no exception to this rule. Certainly, there are plenty  works of fiction whose plots, characters, themes, etc will always resonate deeply with me and which I revisit regularly without finding that the love and admiration I felt for them when I first encountered them, has in any way faded. That said, there are also plenty of works of which is not the case. These are the works that I used to be really into at various points in my life, but that do not resonate as strongly as they used to back in the day. "The Day" in question can refer to any time in my life, from childhood and adolescence to just a few years ago.

TV-shows, whether animated or live-action are particularly prone to falling victim to this, especially long-running ones, which is why the majority of my favorite shows tend to be comparatively short, either by design or due to cancellation. Now, there are of course long-running shows that avoid this, Mad Men being the first example to come to mind. I actually thought that that show got more interesting in its later seasons, but again, its an exception.

Then there are shows like The Simpsons, South Park, Archer, Adventure Time and Steven Universe, among others. All of them clear-cut examples of this. Out of these, Steven Universe is the only one that I'm caught up with and even there, I can't say that I'm as invested in the show as I used to be.

Moving away from television, there is the Star Wars franchise. Now, I'm too young to have seen the original trilogy when it came out, but it  was nonetheless a part of my childhood. As time went on though, my interest in Star Wars as a whole, became more and more casual. These days, I've come to the realization that I find the setting in which Star Wars takes place more interesting than any of the actual movies or shows. This also applies to the Harry Potter books, by the way.

Let me provide one final example, this time from the 9th artform. Jacques Tardi's Adele Blanc-Sec comics was a favorite of mine when I was in my teens, but upon revisiting some of the albums recently, I found that it didn't quite hold up to me. Still entertaining, but not in the same class as some of Tardi's other work.

There are other examples I could mention, but I'll stop here. I should point out though, that I do not dislike any of the works I listed here. No, at worst, I'm simply indifferent towards them and even when that's the case, there are parts of them that I will always be fond of, but none of them are works that I consider to be indispensable to me, even though, at some point, they might have been.

Chapter 42

Risha pinched herself hard in the arm. The Pain she felt was real enough; meaning that she was awake and not having a very lucid dream. Though in this case, nightmare might have been the more apt description.

She stared at the bed in front of her: The Traces of drool on the pillow and the creases in the mattress was proof that her brother had slept in it and yet, the bed was completely devoid of Leorin.
With this established, the question then became as follows: If Leo wasn't in her bed, where could he be? He could not have left the room during the night. After all, the door had been locked and the window was shut. Besides, even if her brother could be a bit of a daredevil, Risha did not think that he would climb out a window and go on a stroll in the middle of the night, in a foreign city.

Taking all of this into account, logic dictated that Leorin must be somewhere in the room. Knowing him, he had probably woken up early and, being in a mischievous mood, had hid himself in order to play a prank on his sister. Once she had reached this conclusion, Risha could not help but feel a bit annoyed with her brother: Of all the childish....She had a good mind to twist his ear.

"Leo!" She called out. "We know you are here! You can stop hiding!"

There was no answer.

Meanwhile, Merees had pulled the curtains aside, to see if Leo might be hiding on the window-sill. No such luck though. She decided to try a different approach to lure the young rascal out:

"Leorin! If you come out right now, I will buy you a treat, but if you don't your sister and I are going to go eat breakfast without you!"

"Yes!" Risha said, addressing the wardrobe in which, no doubt, Leorin was hiding.
"A-and I am going to get the treat that was meant for you and I will take it back to the hotel and eat it in front of you and you can't have any! You'll have to eat broccoli! You hear me? Broccoli!"

She crossed her arms, as the corner of her mouth curved upwards into a confident smirk. There, she thought, that should do the trick.

Or not. Despite the threat of having to eat the vegetable he despised the most, Leorin persisted in his silence.

Risha could feel a tiny hole begin to grow in her stomach. She turned to Merees in the hope that she might be able to offer some support.

"Perhaps he fell asleep while hiding" the Princess suggested.

"Of course! That must be it!"

Her heart beating faster with excitement, Risha approached the wardrobe and flung the doors open.

The Next moment, the triumphant cry the lynx-girl had been ready to deliver into the world, died on her lips: The Wardrobe contained all the things you would expect to find in a wardrobe; clothes and three pair of shoes, but no Leorin.

Risha could feel her legs give way underneath her. She was about to hit the floor, when Merees caught her.

"He's not here" she muttered silently, all the color drained from her face.
"He's not here!" She repeated, louder this time; her voice shrill with fear. She pointed at the empty space where her brother was supposed to have been.

"I know, Risha, I know. Calm down."

"Calm down?!" Risha spun around and stared at her girlfriend with eyes like saucers."My brother has disappeared! Disappeared from a locked room, might I add and I'm supposed to calm down?!"

In her excitement, Risha  had took hold off Merees' collar. Upon realizing this, she immediately let go.

"I-I'm sorry" she stuttered. "I'm just..." She looked down at the carpet, unable to finish the sentence as tears cascaded down her cheeks.

"I understand", Merees said. "I'm worried about Leorin too."

She wrapped her arms around Risha, holding the lynx-girl close and kissing her on the forehead. Caught in that loving embrace, Risha began to calm down; her breathing regained its usual rythm and Merees could feel her body, which had been taut as a bowstring, relax.

"Feeling better?" Merees asked.

Risha nodded.

"A little, thank you." She looked up at Merees and smiled, then the smile vanished and was replaced with a look of grim determination.

"We need to find out what happened to my brother. Obviously, someone took him from this room while he was sleeping. I don't know how they did it, but perhaps we can find some clue that will lead us to the culprit."

"Good idea."

They immediately began to search the room, fin-combing every inch of it, sometimes checking the same area twice, just to be on the safe side. Alas, after an hour of searching, the two girls were forced to face that their efforts had yielded no results.

"I just don't understand it" Merees said, as they walked down the stairs to the hotel lobby. "Why would someone kidnap Leorin?"

"Yes" Risha agreed, furrowing her brow. "It is a mystery."

And then, just as she uttered that last word, realization struck Risha like a sledgehammer between the eyes. She was so unprepared for this that she staggered and had to grab onto the stairs' railing for support.

"What is it?" Merees asked.

"I know who the kidnapper is" Risha replied. "Damn it!" She added a second later, causing a pair of richly dressed ostriches who walked past to give her a couple of disapproving looks. "This is my fault!"

"Your fault?" Merees stared at Risha in confusion. "What do you mean?"

Risha sighed and sat down on the steps, Merees did the same.

"When we first came here and you were at the bank, Leorin thought he saw someone he recognized...a tiger."

"A tiger? You don't mean..."

"At first, I didn't think so. I figured that Leorin was simply mistaken. After all, he had only caught a brief glimpse of them and there must be plenty of tigers living in this city. What if Leorin had seen correctly, though and Cerewan really is here, in Tiraliros?"

"If he is" Merees said, while rubbing her chin. "He would be the most likely suspect."

"'You see? This is all my fault" Risha wailed, burying her face in her knees. "I didn't take my brother seriously and now, look what happened. Poor Leo, he must be so frightened. I am the worst sister ever."

"Risha, look at me."

Risha lifted her head, surprised at the tone in Merees' voice. Just as she did, she received a slap across the face.

"What was that for?" She asked, more taken aback by the fact that Merees had slapped her than the actual slap itself.

"I'm sorry, Risha, but you need to stop talking such utter nonsense. You are not the worst sister ever. Trust me, that position has been filled...permanently."

Her features softening, the dragon leaned closer to the lynx and kissed her on the cheek.

"I guess I can't argue with that" Risha replied. In spite of everything, her lips began to pull upwards, forming a smile.

"Exactly. Now, we are going to get Leorin back, I promise. We'll go downstairs and see if the kidnappers, whoever they are, have left us a message. Then, we will discreetly inform the local police and perhaps Eramus and his troupe as well."

She stood up and as she did, her stomach let out a rumbling noise. Immediately afterwads, Risha's did the same.

"But before we do anything else, we'd best eat some breakfast."

******

Upon coming down to the lobby, Risha and Merees were greeted by the owner of the hotel, who was standing behind the desk.

"Good morning, ladies. I hope you had a good night's sleep?"

They returned the greeting and assured him that they had slept well. Leaning forward, the stag gazed at a spot behind Risha, as though he had expected to find someone standing there.

"The Young lad who arrived with you, I assume he is still asleep?"

Risha and Merees exchanged looks.

"Yes" Merees replied. "It got pretty late yesterday, so we figured we'd let him sleep in."

"By the way, a letter arrived at you earlier this morning."

The Owner vanished behind the desk and then popped up like a dignified jack-in-the-box, holding a letter.

"You wouldn't happen to know who delivered this?" Risha asked. She tried to keep voice calm, even though her heart was pounding against her ribs.

"I do, the letter was delivered by an otter. I must admit that his looks did not exactly inspire confidence, but once he opened his mouth, I could find no fault in his manners."

Again, Risha and Merees' eyes met. One name was on both of their lips:

Samuel.

With that, the last traces of doubt as to the identity of Leorin's kidnapper vanished. Struggling to keep her paws steady, Risha opened the letter and read it. As she did, a look of utter despair was sketched across her features.

"We can't go to the police" she whispered, grabbing Merees' arm. "Read this."

She handed the letter to Merees. Its contents read as follows:

Greetings, ladies.

I can imagine your surprise upon reading this letter. I must confess that I, too, was surprised, finding you alive and well. Me and my crew all thought that you had perished at sea, but evidently not. I suppose that that traitor Luke was less fortunate. Or perhaps, he was; I can assure you that the fate I had in store for him was much worse than mere death by drowning, or being eaten by a shark or whatever fate befell him. 

Anyway, let's get down to business: Risha's adorable little brother is currently in my custody. Do not tax your feeble minds trying to figure out how I pulled it off; the important thing is that I did, with a bit of help from my crew and a couple of newfound allies. 

Here's what you will do: This evening, you will come to the harbor. Unarmed and, I must stress this, alone. I strongly advise you against contacting the police, or anyone else. I will find out and the consequences will be very detreminal to poor Leorin's health.

I am looking forward to seeing you again. 

Best wishes, Captain Cerewan.

*****

Not feeling like going out, the couple spent the day at their chamber, counting the hours until it was time for their rendez-vous, leaving it only to eat dinner at the hotel's restaurant.  The Food served at the hotel was first-rate, but to the two young women, it might as well have been prison slop. What a dark turn their sojourn at Tiraliros had taken!

Finally, the time had come. With their hearts heavy, Risha and Merees left the hotel and set off to the harbor. A thick fog had swept in from the sea, making navigation quite difficult, but they soon reached their destination. Risha and Merees had barely stepped into the harbor area, when a rough voice cried out to them:

"Stay right where you are! Remove your clothing!"

The Lynx and the dragon could feel their faces heat up with both embarrassment and anger upon receiving this humiliating order. Reluctantly, they obeyed and stood there, shivering in their underwear, gazing anxiously in the direction the voice had come from.
Then, two figures stepped out of the fog. Risha and Merees recognized them immediately: The First one was a member of Captain Cerewan's crew. The Second  was none other than...

"Isso!" Risha exclaimed, staring at the ocelot. "You traitor!"

The Ocelot met the lynx-girl's basilisk glare with one of his own.

"As far as I am concerned, Eramus and the others betrayed me when they agreed to let that vile creature aboard our ship."

Risso turned his head and spat in Merees' direction, a glob of his saliva struck the dragon-princess on the cheek. Enraged, Risha took a step forward, but Merees shook her head.

"Don't" she said. "Remember what's at stake."

Risha stepped back, though in her head she made a vow, that come what may, one day she'd make Isso pay.

"To think that I almost felt sorry for striking you that time" she said, shaking her head. "Now, my only regret is that I did not strike harder."

Isso's lips curled up in a twisted grin.

"That's right, I do owe you one punch..."

He stepped forward, his paw balled into a fist.

Just then, Isso's associate put a heavy paw on his shoulder.

"Wait!" He exclaimed. "Remember, the captain's orders: They are not to be hurt."

"I know that!" Isso growled, slapping away the crewman's paw. "I wasn't going to hit her in the face. Besides, your captain is not my boss: He and I are associates, remember that."

He then ordered the crewman to search Risha and Merees for any concealed weapons. Grinning lecherously, the crewman went about his task, starting with the Princess. Risha could only watch in revulsion as those coarse paws defiled her beloved. She knew that she was next, but somehow, seeing it happened to Mer was even worse than enduring it herself.
 Once the body-search was done, Isso opened his coat and took out a syringe, which he proceeded to fill with an amber-colored liquid from a vial.

"What are you doing?!" Risha screamed as the ocelot plunged the needle into Merees' arm, causing her to wince in pain.

"Just a little mixture I've put together in my spare time" the ocelot replied. "Don't worry, its not lethal. I just wanted to see what its effects are on dragons. "

Cold sweat running down her spine, Risha looked at Merees, wondering what the effects of the drug that had been injected in her system would be. She got her answer almost immediately, as the dragon called out in a voice, so frightened and confused that the lynx-girl could feel her heart break:

"Risha, where are you? Everything turned dark all of a sudden. I...I can't see."

"Monster!" Risha yelled, horrified. "What have you done?!"

"Just a small preview of what's due to her and all other dragons" Isso replied, his face like stone. "She'll get her sight back, or maybe not."

Risha looked as though she wanted to turn Isso's Adam's apple into applesauce. Then, she walked over to Merees.

"I am here, Mer" she said. "Lean on me, I'll be your eyes."

With the blind Merees leaning on her shoulder and Isso walking behind her, Risha followed the sailor until they arrived outside one of the harbor's warehouses.

"Get in" Isso said, giving Risha a shove which caused her to stagger a few steps before regaining her footing. Her pulse quickening, Risha obeyed.

The First thing that greeted her upon stepping inside was the sight of Captain Cerewan lounging on an upturned crate, surrounded by several members of his crew. However, it was the person standing slightly behind the captain who caused the lynx-girl to let out a gasp of surprise.

"You!" She shouted, hardly believing her own eyes.

"I told you, we would meet each other again" said the jackal. "Sooner than you think."

"I recognize that voice" said Merees, her own voice trembling. "Who is that? Risha, where are we?"
Risha told her.

"So all  our enemies are here?" Merees asked.

"Except for one.

Rolling her veiled eyes, the dragon let out a snort.

"Almost makes me glad I can't see anything. Must be a veritable horror-show in here."

Upon hearing this, the captain let out a loud, jovial laugh.

"True, most of these ruffians are not much look at. You two ladies on the other hand are looking positively radiant, given the circumstances. Evidently, the air of Tiraliros agrees with you."

"Where is my brother?" Risha said, having no patience for the hollow pleasantries of their host. "I want to see him."

"As you wish."

Cerewan snapped his fingers and two crewmen stepped forward with Leorin between them. The Siblings looked at each other.

"Leo" Risha said. "Are you alright? You are not hurt?"

Leorin shook his head.

"I'm fine" he replied. "Risha, what's going to happen to us?"

Upon hearing that her brother was unharmed, Risha felt a wave of relief wash over her. Tears made her vision blurry, she blinked them away.

"What is it you want, Captain?" Merees asked, addressing a stack of crates. "Is it money? Let the boy go and I'll give you all the money I have."

Crossing his arms, the tiger let out a low, sinister chuckle.

"Oh, I already have what I want, Princess. I have you three...right where I want you."

He made a gesture and his lackeys  closed in around Risha and Merees.

"This time" Cerewan continued. "You are going to the slave-market in Kaluba, as originally planned.

I expect to get a good prize for all of you, especially Her Highness. After all, one does not often see dragons standing on the auctioneer's podium."

"What!?"

Isso stared at the captain, his mouth hanging open.

"The Dragon is mine, to do with as I wish. That was our deal" He protested, voice shaking with anger.

The Tiger shot the ocelot a contemptuous look.

"I am altering deal" he announced, a touch of frost in his voice. "Pray I do not alter it further."

Isso's eyes looked as though they were about to pop out of their sockets.

You treacherous son of a bitch" he hissed. "In that case, I will kill it here and now instead!"

A shot rang out, the smell of gunpowder filled the air. Isso stared down. A crimson flower had appeared on his chest and was rapidly expanding. The Knife, which he had intended to plunge into the defenseless Merees, dropped out of the ocelot's hands and onto the cold floor. Isso fell backwards, his eyes staring into eternity.

Cerewan blew the smoke from his gun and put it back in his belt.

"Do not insult my mother" he muttered quietly. "What a sad little man" he said out-loud, nudging the corpse with the tip of his boot. "So full of anger and hate. Honestly, how can a person live like that?"

He shook his head in puzzlement and then turned to his other associate.

"I trust you have no problems with this arrangement?" He asked.

The Jackal shook his head.

"Not at all. The Way I see it, being able to profit off of your enemies' suffering is a most satisfying revenge."

Cerewan showed his teeth in a wide grin.

"Ah, you're a fellow after my own heart"

Risha, who had positioned herself in front of Merees, stared at what once had been Isso. From the moment they had first met, she had despised the ocelot and his demise brought her no sorrow. Despite this, she found herself sickened by the cold-blooded way in which XXc had murdered him.
The Smell of blood assaulted the lynx-girl's nostrils, causing her to feel dizzy.

This can't be it, she thought. I have to find a way to get us out of here. Or at least get Leorin out. He's my responsibility. I'm his older sister, I have to protect him.

Risha swallowed, forcing the bile back down her throat. She taxed her mind, searching for a solution, but to no avail. What could she do? Their situation was truly a dire one. Here they were, unarmed and surrounded by foes. Not to mention one of them being temporarily blinded. Risha could feel herself sink into a bog of despair, never before had she felt so completely powerless.

In that moment, a short, sharp cry pierced the air. Her heart beating faster, Risha looked in the direction the cry had come from, as did all the others. Standing there, clutching his bleeding fingers, was one of the two sailors who had guarded Leorin, but off Leorion there was no trace!

"You buffoon" Cerewan growled, shooting daggers at his crewman from his eyes. "Can't you even guard one measly kitten?"

"The little beast bit me, Captain" the crewman wailed. "Its bleeding, I think I need a doctor."

If the sailor had counted on the sympathy of his employer, he was obviously barking up the wrong tree.

"You'll definitely need a doctor if you don't catch that brat, you mutt" Cerewan retorted sharply, delivering a blow to the back of his crewman's head.

 Whining, the sailor wrapped his handkerchief around his bleeding fingers, while the captain barked out orders to the others. Soon, everyone was busy chasing Leorin, including the sailor who had kept watch over the two other captives.

Risha observed what was going on with the feeling of a drowning man who had just spotted a buoy within arms-length. With a growing sense of excitement, she let her gaze sweep around the vast room, searching for her brother. It did not take long until she spotted him:
there he was, running zig-zag across the warehouse floor.
The Sailors tried to catch him, but their efforts were in vain; just when they thought they had managed to get ahold of their prey, Leorin slipped out of their grasp. What's more he showed no sign of fatigue either.

"Leorin has gotten loose" Merees observed.

"You can see again!" Risha exclaimed, the sheer joy in her voice was such that it pained Merees to have to disappoint her.

"Unfortunately not" she replied, shaking her head. "Isso's drug did not do anything to my ears though, I can hear everything that's going on. Where is Leorin now?"

During her conversation with Merees, Risha had briefly lost track of her brother. It didn't take long for her to find him again though.

"He's heading for the exit, that means he'll be coming toward us. No!"

Risha's shout was due to the fact that Samuel had just positioned himself in Leorin's path. With a triumphant grin on his lips, the otter stretched out his arms, ready to catch the troublesome kid.

He never got the chance; something slammed into his side hard, causing him to loose his footing and hit the floor. Before he could get up he found himself staring up at the face of a dragon, who was sitting on his chest.

"Get off me, you bitch!" Samuel spat, his face contorted by impotent rage.

"You know" Merees smirked. "I remember you being a lot more polite when we first met."

While Merees held Samuel pinned down, Risha crouched beside him and confiscated the knife he wore in his belt. Standing up, she turned to her brother.

"What are you standing there for?" She asked, her voice sharper than she had meant it to be. "Go!"

Leorin looked as if he was about to say something, than he turned around and vanished into the fog. Cerewan took a step forward, only to find Risha blocking his way.

"Not another step, Captain" Risha warned, her grip tightening around the knife's hilt. "Tell your men to stand down. If you don't, there won't be a vacant position in your crew."
Lifting his head slightly, Samuel looked up at his captain with pleading eyes.

"Cap, please" he begged pathetically, as a dark spot appeared on his groin. Merees wrinkled her nose in disgust, but did not move herself from the otter's chest.

Ignoring his crewman's pleas, Cerewan grit his teeth in frustration. He considered pulling out his gun and simply shooting Samuel, thus depriving Risha and Merees off their only bargaining chip. He knew though, that such an action would have a most adverse effect on his men's loyalty and besides, Samuel had been useful in the past. With rage in his heart, he ordered his crew to stand down.
Risha helped Merees to her feet and she in her turn, pulled Samuel up and forced his arms behind his back.

"You'll get your right-paw back when we are out of the harbor" the lynx-girl said, relief and triumph mingling in her voice. "Now, if you'll excu..."

A blow on the back of her head interrupted Risha mid-sentence. There was an explosion of light and colors. She could hear Merees cry out her name and then, everything was dark.

*****

Two members of the night-watch were marching down the fog-enveloped streets. They had their halberds slung over their shoulders and the taller of the pair was whistling a joyful tune.

"The Streets are quite tonight" his shorter colleague observed. "You'd think that all the riff-raff in this city would take advantage of the weather."

"Maybe they decided to take it easy" said the tall one. "At any rate, I'm glad if we can finish our round without any incident, for once."

"I hear ya...Hey! There's someone there!"

Through the fog, a figure came walking towards  the two guards. Immediately, they lowered their halberds and pointed them at the  approaching form.

"Who goes there?" The Short one cried out.

The Figure took another step forward, stepping out of the fog. The Two guards breathed a sigh of relief: Standing before them, his paws on his knees, was a small black cat.

"What are you doing out at this hour?" The Taller guard asked, pointing his hilebard at the sky.
Leorin looked up at the two men before him.

"Please" he gasped. "My sister and a friend...They are being held captive. A Red warehouse, in the harbor..."

In that moment, the physical and emotional exhaustion that Leorin had managed to ignore, finally took their toll, the two guards barely had time to catch him before his face made contact with the cobblestones.

******

Slowly, Leorin opened his eyes. To his surprise, he found himself lying in a bed.

How did I end up here? He wondered.

Leorin flung away the covers and put his bare feet down on the floor. Just then, the door opened and Griselda stepped in, carrying a bowl filled with water and some towels. She was followed by none other than Sara.

"Leo, you are awake!" The Porcupine squealed in delight and pounced on Leorin.

"Ow!" He exclaimed, for Sara had accidentally pricked him with one of her quills. "Watch it!"

"Sorry" Sara apologized. "I'm just so happy to see you up, you've been out for two days."

"Two days?!" Leorin could hardly believe his ears.

"It seems that you contracted fever" Griselda said as she put the bowl on the towels down on a chair.
"This one" she continued, indicating Sara, "has been watching over you ever since. With a bit of help from me. How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine" Leorin said, still trying to wrap his head around things. Then, another thought came into his head:

"My sister and Merees, what happened to them? They are fine, right? Where are they? Why won't they come in and say hello? Sis! Sis!" He begun calling out, then he stopped as he saw the look on Sara's and Griselda's faces.

"Leorin" Sara said and held his paws in hers. "We are sorry, but..."

She was unable to finish the sentence, so Griselda did it for her:

"The Guards stormed the warehouse" the female pig said, staring down at the floor. "But there was no-one there. Not a soul."

End of Book I