The Jetbike sped out a hundred feet above the treeline of the expansive jungle below. Its rapid pace and roaring engines masked by the powerful magic crystal supplying the sound dampers. Still, Cedrick knew these bikes were capable of going much faster.

Cedrick watched the terrain fall away from him. Scanning the horizon, he saw nothing.

“Hey, Dunali.”

“What is it?”, he rapped.

“What were you doing out here anyway?”

“I was on a delivery, what do you think? I'm a member of the Jetbike Pilot Guild of Negav.”

Cedrick paused for a moment, “What were you delivering?”

There was a sharp grumble over the intercom, “I don't know. It's kind of unprofessional to just rip people's mail open, don't ya think?”

Rolling his eyes a bit, Cedrick refocused his attention on the receding landscape in front of him. The bike lazily droned on above the endless canopy. The shadows and turbid colors of Bulvon Woods slowly gave way to lusher jungle and greenery. Far off in the distance to his left, Cedrick spotted the Giant Tree.

“We're headed east?”, the intercom cracked.

“Yeah, just until we can see the ruins on the horizon, then we'll head straight south. It's the safest and fastest route, taking us over Safe Harbor and through the rest of Tolmeshal forest to Negav.”

The ruins.

“You mean Ur-Sagol?”

“What?”

“You said 'the ruins'. You mean Ur-Sagol?”

“What in the hell else would I mean? Are you doing okay back there or are you having some kind of concussion induced delirium?”

Cedrick didn't respond. He was still having difficulty with his memory, but he was merely grasping at anything that hit a nerve. “Ur-Sagol...” He whispered pensively.

“What?!”, Dunali's rough voice cracked through the white noise.

“Nothing!”

***

The two were making great headway. It had been about three hours since they first took flight and there had been no incident. A couple of times Cedrick would scare Dunali, shouting there was a giant naga or some other land predator. Dunali would laugh and ask him if he thought they could jump several hundred feet into the air and grab something they didn't even know was there.

Cedrick would calm down and resume staring endlessly across the sky, dreamily observing clouds and the creeping of the sun as it marched on its path towards dusk. After a while he became comfortable in his seat and was even so brazen as to allow his eyes to droop a bit. Dunali would see this and yell back at him.

“Hey, no cat naps on the Jet Bike!”

Then suddenly, the roar of the turbine engines slowed to a hum. Cedrick opened his eyes, unsure of when he'd last closed them. He remembered seeing Ur-Sagol fading in the distance as they were rushing south.

“Hey, kid,” Dunali's voice rang into Cedrick's ear, “We're taking a quick pit stop.”

Shaking the grogginess from his head, Cedrick ventured a wary eye downward. He could see buildings and people moving about, one of them directing Dunali where to land. The turbine engines were flaying the grass wildly about as Dunali maneuvered the vehicle safely to ground, flipping switches and levers as they descended.

Finally, with a light bounce, the craft landed. The engine's roar slowed to a stop and only then did Dunali turn off the distortion field and sound dampeners.

A rotund man with a jolly smile approached Dunali and shook his hand, “Dunali! Back so soon from your delivery? That must be a record!”

“No, Giles, my machine broke down just outside of Bulvon.”

The man's eyes widened, “Broke down? Your machine broke down?”

“Yeah, I know, and I picked up a straggler along the way, too.”

“You picked up a hitch-hiker?!”

“What can I say, I have my moments of charity.”

By now, Cedrick had dismounted and was standing upright, leaning heavily on the jetbike. Dunali's friend smiled and extended a hand to Cedrick, “How do you-... Oh my! What happened to you?!”

“Yeah, I was hoping you guys could give him a hand with... well, with all that.” Dunali gestured at Cedrick, who looked down at his ragged clothes with a sullen face.

“Of course, Dunali, anything for you!” Giles put a gentle arm around Cedrick, “Come along now, I'm sure you're dying to get out of those rags. My name is Giles, nice to meet you.”

“Cedrick, and yes, that would be fantastic.”

“Ah, Cid! Do you mind if I call you Cid?”

Cedrick shrugged then turned to say something to Dunali, but he was still at the jetbike talking now to a young woman. He stopped to watch curiously as the woman nodded her head at Dunali. She said something in reply and then with a few quick incantations, the Jetbike seemingly vanished. Only a faint glow of its outline remained, shimmering and then finally dissipating.

“It's invisibility magic. Easy for a skilled mage to cast on inanimate objects.”

Cedrick partially ignored Giles' reply. His mind was racing. He was twenty three years old, newly arrived in Felarya. One of his first sights was a merchant demonstrating an invisibility potion. He told the interested adventurer that it would make anything and anyone invisible, lying that it was a prized resource among all Felaryan adventurers. What he didn't tell the poor soul was that its rate of decay was based on the amount of movement of the target as well as a basic timed rate of decay. If used on any living thing, it would only last a few steps before breaking.

“Hey!” Dunali snapped his fingers in Cedrick's face for a second time, “You still asleep, neko?”

Cedrick scratched his head, “Yeah... uh, I mean, no...”

Giles stared concernedly at Cedrick. Dunali replied, “He hit his head or something, says he can't remember anything past last night.”

“Oh dear, let's get you inside.”

***

Safe Harbor was a very calm little village, especially considering its location. Deep in the dangerous Tolmeshal Forest, the village was established by an intrepid Giantess who made it her duty to protect all that inhabited it.

Dunali was well-known here, as were most Jetbike Pilot Guild members. Of course, most were not much liked. Dunali was different. His kindness and reserved attitude had earned him respect among most of the inhabitants of Safe Harbor and his presence was thus tolerated by its guardian Giantess Jade. Still, she was wary of him.

Recognizing his Jetbike, she immediately groaned a bit but didn't take much interest in him until she noticed Cedrick. As she was eying the odd pair, Dunali took notice of her gaze and waved comically at her.

Cedrick looked over to see what Dunali was waving at. The sight of a hundred foot tall giantess standing calmly off in the distance was more than enough to startle him. It took a few seconds for his memory to catch up with his instincts and calm his fears. Giles was quick to reassure Cedrick.

“Don't worry, Cid. You never heard of Jade? She protects us here in Safe Harbor!”

The three made their way to Giles' house where Cedrick was promptly bandaged and given a bed to rest. Headed back out to the porch, Giles grabbed a flask he kept in one of the cabinets in his kitchen. Seating himself across from Dunali, he poured himself a glass of amber colored liquid. Dunali laughed, “It's barely afternoon, Giles.”

Giles peered at Dunali from behind his glasses, readjusting them on the bridge of his nose before replying, “Lemme pour you a glass.”

“No thanks! Besides, I got a long ride ahead of me.”

Giles raised his eyebrows, “You really shouldn't be headed anywhere, Dunali. Not with your friend in the shape he's in.”

Dunali was staring off to the south. “He's not my friend. I was going to leave him here.”

Taking a sip of his stiff drink, Giles didn't reply immediately. He methodically took off his glasses and wiped them on his shirt, sighing a bit, “You sure you don't want to just stay here the night? I'm sure you're not expected back in Negav until tomorrow night the earliest.”

“What do you have there?”

“Scotch.”

“Got any ice?”

“Always.”

Giles got up and entered through the front door of his house. In the kitchen, he found Cedrick just entering, “You should probably be lying down. It's only been a half hour at most.”

Cedrick's side had been bandaged and cleaned. He now wore a clean garb donated by one of Giles' slimmer neighbors. “You know,” Gils said, “it's not very often a wound needs to be bandaged in Felarya.”

“I know,” Cedrick replied.

“Well, hey, if you're feeling better, come have a drink with me and Dunali.”

“I don't drink.”

“Suit yourself.”

Giles proceeded to grab one glass out of a cabinet. Heading back towards the door, Cedrick followed him. Once outside, Giles took his seat across from Dunali, retrieving a vessel of water from nearer the railing. Pouring some of the water in the glass, he waved his hand in front of the glass, causing one of the rings on his pudgy fingers to glow. Instantly, the water inside the glass froze solid. Smiling, he then filled the glass with a generous amount of scotch.

“One scotch on a rock, Mr. Dunali!”

Dunali nodded, turning to Cedrick he motioned for him to sit.

“So, here's the deal, neko. Since you're all banged up and dragging me behind, we're gonna stay here a night.” He took a deep sip of scotch, finishing half the glass, “Understood? Good. You're lucky my friend here is so kind.”

With that, he finished the other half of his glass and headed inside. Giles smiled awkwardly, “Well, cheery as usual!”

Cedrick frowned. When Dunali was well out of ear shot, Cedrick leaned in towards Giles, “Can I ask you something?”

“Only if I can ask you something.”

“Uh, sure, why not. What does Dunali have against nekos?”

Giles smile faded into an expressionless line. He let go a seemingly exaggerated sigh, putting one hand behind his back. Finally, he said, “Look, kid, it's nothing personal, but that's not my place to talk.”

“Oh...”

“Okay, so now, what happened out there? Dunali told me about you, but what about that bike?”

“Well, it looks like someone tampered with it. Does Dunali have any enemies? I mean, anyone that would want to see him dead?”

“Does he?”, staring at the wall of his house as if at a loss for words, Giles replied, “I think this conversation is done.”

Confused, Cedrick stood up. “Don't worry, but I'm sorry,” Giles continued, “You're fine to sleep here. I'll set up a cot for you. But if you're feeling fine and you wouldn't mind doing me a favor, why don't you take a look around Safe Harbor? Say for like... twenty minutes?”

“Fine,” Cedrick agreed, none-too-happily. Giles thanked him and went inside to find Dunali. Left on his own accord, Cedrick found himself a bit nervous to take a step off the porch. Dunali and Giles were pretty much the only people he knew, and although Safe Harbor was familiar to him, he could not place why or how, making it feel just as new and unknown as his first day on Felarya.

Fourteen years ago. Yes, it had been roughly fourteen years since he traveled to Felarya as a young man. Cedrick smiled at this memory. It was like a single pin point of light in a dark night sky, giving him hope that he could eventually recover all of his memory.

Cedrick past many buildings, taking his time to meander through the streets. Humans and nekos worked together, gathering wood and tending to crops. Something about humans and nekos cooperating made him feel a bit at awe.

He passed the landing pad for the Jetbikes, a very discreet grass patch. The main building next to it looked only like a normal house. He also passed many plots of land dedicated solely to gardening purposes. Mostly though, Safe Harbor was made up of several houses in a hodgepodge arrangement.

While walking along the path, something caught his eye. It was a stone statue of a little human girl. He recognized it immediately but couldn't remember the name.

“Mercreti.” Came a voice from behind him, “Do you like the statue of her? Some people think it brings good fortune.”

A neko girl stood behind Cedrick, carrying a basket of freshly picked vegetables. She had dark black hair and lightly tanned skin, wearing a simple garb. Cedrick found himself taken aback by her eyes in particular. They were a deep ocean blue and seemed to lock onto his.

“Mercreti?” Cedrick managed to say.

“You don't know Mercreti?” She laughed lightly, giving an inquisitive look with her captivating eyes, “The legendary human guardian, Mercreti. Said to walk among humans from time to time, unbeknownst to them. You never heard of her?”

“Oh yes, she's said to have very striking eyes.” He blurted, as a piece of information hurtled into his brain from some unknown location.

The neko grinned a bit, “Tired eyes, hon, not striking. Are you saying I have tired eyes?”

She was clearly enjoying this. Cedrick realized the girl was flirting with him, a thought that made him a tad uneasy. Though he wasn't sure why, she was very pretty after all, “Um,” he laughed awkwardly, “No, of course not.”

“Well, I would hope not, I only work as hard as I play.” Cedrick swore he heard her meow, “I must be going, though. Maybe I'll see you around?” With that, she smiled and continued on her way. Cedrick couldn't help but watch her leave, her long dress swaying in tempo with her tail, something that made him very uncomfortable.

He could hear someone purring near by. Confused, he thought maybe it was her, but the neko girl had already turned a corner and was out of sight. Turning around, there wasn't another neko anywhere nearby. That's when he felt the warm vibration in his chest. He was purring.

“Gah!” He scrambled a bit at this realization, but the purring was like hiccups, it just kept coming back. It wasn't until he made it back to Giles' house that the purring stopped. Upset and tired, Cedrick took a seat at the table, the scotch flask still sitting outside. Raising an eyebrow at it, he took another second to think about it and then took a swig straight out of the container.

***

 “So you really don't think it was him? What about Lyzur? He's had it in for you ever since...” Giles stopped himself.

Dunali huffed a bit, “No. Lyzur's a dick, but he wouldn't try to murder me.”

“I'm just saying, ya know?”

“Yeah, I know. I just don't see how anyone in the Guild could do something like that to another pilot.”

“But you still have to think of the possibility.”

Dunali and Giles were sitting inside. Giles had poured Dunali another glass of scotch. This time, Dunali was drinking it more casually, “Of course, but I can't ignore the reports.”

“What reports?”

Dunali hushed his voice a bit, “Listen, you're a good friend of mine, Giles. Don't take this out of proporation. But Deborah swears she saw... him." Dunali paused a moment before continuing, Giles shifting uncomfortably in his seat. Giles let go a sigh, as if he knew what was coming. "People have been talking... They say Saumatullen's been hanging around some of the pubs in Negav. The fleabag skulked away when Deb spotted him, though.”

“Ah, fuck... Not this again...” Giles threw his arms up a bit and looked away.

“What do you mean?”

Giles looked Dunali hard in the face. “Samatullen is too fucking scared of you to come back to Negav. Even if he is back, he's not going to come after you. How would he even get into the Jetbike docks?”

“Listen, I'm just telling you what people have been saying. Some of the other pilots say they think he's been renting a place in Nekomura for a few weeks now. Don't you think it's odd the second he shows his face around the city, my shit gets fucked up? I could've died in those shitty fucking Woods, Giles! For fuck's sake! I swear it's no coincidence!”

Giles sat for a long moment contemplating what he had heard his good friend say. His finger slowly tapping on the rim of his cup, his eyes gazing intensely at the floor as his mind searched for a response. Finally, he spoke, “Look, Dunali, you're a good old friend of mine, but you have got to be more rational here. I understand you're upset about what happened in Bulvon, but none of that has anything to do with Saumatullen!”

“I'm just telling you; I'm gonna find out who did this to my bike, and if it was Sauma... I'm gonna do to him what every damn neko in Negav blames me for seven years ago. Mark my words, Giles.”