1685
"Please, Marie," Katherine begged.
"They could kill you," Marie answered back, "and I can't have my only friend die..."
"You could train me," Katherine urged, "If there are years to wait before this battle, I have plenty of time to learn."
"Learning the basics wouldn't protect you," Marie answered.
"I could learn to use a gun," Marie offered, "we Felmen aren't so large like the Lupmen and Leomen that we can not use firearms."
"Father Gabriel taught me to used bladed weapons, swords, daggers, knives, as well as spears and a staff, which technically doesn't have a blade, but still, all are designed for close combat," Marie spoke, "and unless you suddenly become a Lupman or Leoman female, I doubt any army would train you as a rifleman... and they don't use fire arms for some reason."
"You'll need someone to watch your back, Marie," Katherine spoke, "you even told me that yourself. And I can't have my best friend die either. Do you know what I would do in a world without you?"
"Hopefully you'd power on, and tell my tale to those who ask," Marie told her and then hugged Katherine, "I'm not THAT important."
"You are to me," Katherine purred, "I can learn, really I can."
"We don't the time," Marie said weakly, making sure Katherine didn't see her eyes water at the feel of trying to push her only friend away, "we don't have the time."
++++++++
"Marie wouldn't train her?" Maddex asked, "if she was so willing to help, wouldn't she have been willing to do the training."
"Remember that Marie was still looking for allies," Marie sighed, "If she was to train Katherine, she would have to train her at far more vigorous pace then what her godfather trained her... and Marie truly didn't want to see Katherine hurt. She feared she would hurt the Felman in training her, which was something she didn't want to do... though Katherine had her own determined streak about a mile wide..."
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That night Katherine quietly left the Vatican and moved through the streets of Rome as quickly as she could. Her brightly colored fur made her rather obvious for anyone on the streets to see, but Felmen were not known for their hunting prowess the way Lupmen and Leomen were. And like most mundane cats, Felmen were often ignored by humans, leomans, and lupmans, and the fact that she carried no money with her made her little of a target for a criminal, and she was sure she could escape one that wanted her body, though humans rarely attempted such a thing.
Her goal was a Lupman pack that had somewhat legendary status around Rome. According to legend, many years, the Pack's Alpha Female had come across twin boys abandoned by the river. The she-wolf adopted them and took them back to the Pack. They were raised by her, and of two, one would go on to found Rome, setting the stage for the rise of the Ancient World's best known superpower, a superpower whose power was based almost entirely on the strength of its army.
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"A lupman founded Rome?" Cassandra interrupted.
"No, Romulus founded Rome," Lawrence told her, "Marie is referring to the legend of the She-Wolf. A lupman female found Romulus and his twin brother Remus as infants and raised them. There are various statues of a female lupman cradling two human boys to her breasts... though some of the legends say it was a mundane she-wolf. The statues made to honor those legends have twin boys rising to suckle from the wolf's teats."
"Whatever happened to Remus?" Cassandra asked.
"Romulus killed him when they got into an argument over how Rome would be laid out, according to legend," Marie spoke up, "though the whole thing should be taken with a grain of salt. Most archaeologists believe that "Rome" is actually far older then the traditionally accepted founding date, in the sense that people lived there. But it was the legend that made Katherine seek them out..."
++++++++
Outside of Rome, Katherine was far slower in her movements. Her eyes could easily see in the dark, but she knew that the Lupmen could as well, and if they saw as a threat to their pups, she could be attacked without warning.
"Hello!" Katherine called out into the darkness, "Lupman Alpha! I must talk to you..."
Her triangular ears twitched at the sound of something rustling from the side of the road behind. She turned to find herself staring into the chest of a golden brown male lupman.
"What brings you here? Felman?" the wolf snarled gruffly. His pack was commonly employed by the Vatican to serve along side the various guardsmen to protect the city from various threats.
"I need your help, Lupman Alpha," Katherine said weakly.
"I am not the Alpha," the Lupman answered, "that would be Alberto."
"I still need help," Katherine spoke, "I have a friend, an Inquisitor... and well, she will have to face something really evil and she needs help..."
"Alberto is not about to move his pack to follow an Inquisitor, whomever he may be," the lupman answered.
"I'm not asking you to go with the Inquisitor," Katherine spoke, "I want to go with the Inquisitor."
"So why do you come to us, Felman?" came a new voice as a grayish brown male emerged from the darkness, and he was larger then the male that Katherine was talking to.
"This Pack supposedly raised the Founder of the Eternal City... trained the Roman Legions... had the longest line of victorious gladiators that won their freedom, and you presently help protect Rome," Katherine spoke, hoping she could play to their sense of pride, "I was hoping you could train me so I could help the Inquisitor."
"Inquisitors commonly face death, Felman," the grayish brown one rumbled, "not a place for a cheery Felman."
"I can be fierce if I want," Katherine hissed back, though it wouldn't impress the Lupman much, "the Inquisitor is my friend. Please, I need your help."
"Has the Pope or the Inquisition agreed to this mission?"
"I do not know, but the Inquisitor only has a few years before the mission begins, I must go with the Inquisitor," Katherine spoke and dropped to the ground and hugged the feet of the grayish brown lupman, "please mighty Alpha, help me help my friend."
The grayish brown lupman, Alberto looked to the sentry wolf that Katherine had met first.
"It is most unusual for a Felman to care much for someone else," Alberto commented.
Unlike Lupman, Leoman, and Humans that were highly social, Felmans were commonly loners, much like mundane house cats, but again like mundane cats, it was not like they were intolerant of one another. But their solitary nature gave others the commonly false opinion that Felmen couldn't be bothered with the affairs of others.
"Not everyone is as they seem," Katherine answered, "we all care. The inquisitor is my friend. Please, let me help my friend."
"And how long until your friend's mission starts?"
"Four or five years," Katherine answered, "I do not know when my friend plans to leave."
"Might be an interesting challenge," the golden brown male commented, "but she doesn't have our strength. She'll need to taught to use some sort of weapon."
Alberto nodded, "Very well, Felman. You'll get your tutors. Come here every night for the next three years and we'll get you in shape... starting tonight with some endurance training."
"Endurance training?"
"Yes," the golden brown male gave a laughing growl, "I will chase you, and you will run from me. Once exhausted, the chase will stop to let you catch your breath, and will then be repeated."
Katherine could only gulp.
++++++++
It was well after dawn when Katherine slowly made her way into the Vatican and to her room. She was exhausted and sore beyond all belief. She also had a few bruises from where the golden brown male, Armando, had taken some swings at her as they ran. Katherine managed to dodge several of them, but as she tired, the lupman landed more and more blows knocking her down each time he connected, though Katherine also had the sinking feeling that the lupman was holding back.
"Please, Marie," Katherine prayed as she crawled into bed, "stay long enough so that I can prove to you that I can help..."