Big Follower

It was tourist season again and Mephistopheles was once more pushed out of his usual roaming spots up in the old temples and left to simply wander the town streets where seeing a Shi’vali of any sort was nothing unusual. He had done this many times before, over many many tourist seasons and many many years. He’d come to know the streets well and sauntered along sometimes with his eyes closed, just enjoying the nice breeze and the smell of freshly cooked food.

He was much more keen on the serenity out in the ruins but the pitter patter of young humans and the adults working hard wasn’t nearly as unpleasant as the gaping pests that were ‘tourists’. He groaned just thinking about it. Mephistopheles did what he could to pay little mind to the world around him, but the sound of rippling water eventually caught his attention.

The town was built right on a small river, and the water ran straight through the length of the town. It wasn’t the prettiest river and often times was murky with who-knows-what but it sounded just like any other river and there were plenty of gardens surrounding its banks. The Hinshu picked up his pace, eager to seek it out.

He flicked his red eyes open as he drew closer to the sound. He wanted to make sure he was seeking out a good spot to lie down. Sure enough it didn’t take long for him to seek out a garden right next to the river, with trees and flowers all around. Whatever human took care of this place ought to be proud.

Mephistopheles wasn’t alone however. Sitting by the river side and flicking her long silken tail was a Hinshu with a colorful bow wrapped around her neck. She had no remarkable stripings nor scars to tell her apart from any other beige Shi’vali, but Mephistopheles recognized her in an instant. Kinpaku. They had met before. Years ago.

With wide eyes, Mephistopheles drew closer to her. She was a cub the last time he’d seen her. Now she was full grown, now it was nearly a decade-and-a-half later. Of course she had grown.

Kinpaku was docile and quiet, not paying attention at all to the other Shi’vali. Her chin was dipped down a little and her eyes darted this and that way. She was watching the fish move under the murky surface.

He took up the spot next to her, resting his haunches down so that he was barely an inch from the edge of dry land, just as she was. Mephistopheles was still busy watching her, studying her. It was rare to get to see a cub all grown up. She was luckily both healthy and without that obnoxious babysitter of her’s before--the one that was attempting to get a cub to jump in a town’s river. Mephistopheles took it to mean Kinpaku had smartly decided to ditch that babysitter.

It took a bit of staring before Kinpaku looked up. She was perplexed by his company at first, but soon enough her eyes softened. She undoubtedly recognized him too, and gave a small groan of as greeting. She didn’t hold her gaze for long however before turning and looking back at the river again, and the fish swimming around before her. Mephistopheles found his own eyes drawn to the river, and for minutes he just watched the fish as well.

At some point in watching, the older Hinshu gave into his temptation and raised a paw up slowly. He waited, looking and looming quietly over the water’s surface. When a fish foolishly swam too close, he swiped his paw straight through the water. It hooked the fish up and knocked it straight into the grass. There it flopped around helplessly until it finally lost the strength.

Mephistopheles watched the fish die. When he'd last seen Kinpaku, she had pounced on all the fish he had caught, killing them quickly lest they escape. He was hesitant to look her way again, expecting her to be bored with his actions. However she wasn’t, she was looking, and gleeful. Kinpaku raised her own paw up and when the fish returned to their side of the river again, Kinpaku knocked one straight out of the water just as Mephistopheles had caught her to do so long ago.

The second fish flopped around on land and Kinpaku watched, satisfied. It was then that Mephistopheles got up to his paws and padded straight over to the fish. He put a big paw over the fish’s head before snapping down a good bite on the tail. It went still immediately in his jaws. The fish tasted awful, honestly, but Mephistopheles felt all too satisfied all the same, and proudly held the fish in his mouth when he looked back Kinpaku’s way once more.