The First Tiger (Countryhumans Fanfic)

Chapter 4

" Do we really have to cuff him?" Mal asked Indo as the two sat together with the unknown nation. " He's been through a lot. It doesn't seem right."

" Mal, look at your arm. It's for the best, we don't know if he'll strike again. And, chuffing does not always mean it's okay." Indo added before Mal could speak up. " It's weird that I'm saying this but I feel like I've seen him before."

" Right? It's like this feeling," Mal began before Indo cut him off.

" No, seriously. I think I've seen him. Like, way back. I was pretty small, I think I was still with my Dad at the time. And, then one day, I saw this guy come over..." He gestured to the unconscious man. " With a tribute." That's one information down, he was a tributary state to Majapahit. " Dad called him...Lang-" The man sat up immediately with a gasp. Indo and Mal screamed as he sat there, watching them. He backed off a bit from them and started to growl when he found himself cuffed. Mal nudged Indo to hand him the keys, to which Indo refused.

" I told you not to cuff him!" Mal hissed.

" He could kill us at any time. Were you not paying attention at all?" Indo hissed back with his Komodo dragon tongue. " He hurt you and tried to kill Phil too."

" But he doesn't even know it. He doesn't know who either of us are. All he knows is that he's been locked up and possibly tortured for centuries by Thai's family. Wouldn't you be afraid of whoever came down down those stairs after starving for decades." Mal asked his friend, Indo reluctantly handed over the keys and readied his Garuda wings just in case. " Hey, uh, bertenang." (Calm down.) The tiger watched him approach calmly as he spoke the more classical Malay. " Tuan hamba, patik bersumpah tidak akan mengapa-apakan Tuan hamba." ( Sir, I promise I'm not going to hurt you.) He said gently as he approached the tiger. He flinched as Mal held up the key. " Tuan hamba, bertenang. Patik akan membuka ikatan pada tangan Tuan hamba." ( Please calm down. I'm gonna unlock the cuffs.) Very slowly, he unlocked the cuffs and threw them at Indo. The man wrung his wrists with a hiss before looking back at Mal. " Apa nama Tuan hamba?" ( What's your name?) The old nation looked between Mal and Indo with his dull orange eyes, a glint of hope seem to shine in them. He opened his mouth to speak but faltered. He placed a hand on his neck as he tried again.

" L..Lang..ka..suka..." He managed to say despite how hoarse his voice had become. His throat stung when he spoke, cracked and felt terribly dry. Both Mal and Indo stared at him with disbelief and interest. This was the Langkasuka, one of the oldest and most mysterious of the old Malay kingdoms. There's always been limited information about him, especially the nation's disappearance around the 12th century. It's kingdom still lived to the 15th before eventually becoming apart of Kedah Tua and Patani Sultanate. He looked at them with confusion as trough his eyes, these two look like they were amazed in some way. How long had he been away? And this young man they call Mal, he reminded the old nation of his children. His children. " ..M.Mana...Se..ri...ngan...Ked...Kedah....?!" He struggled as he neared Mal. " ...Ta..hun...!" He wanted to scream but it would do him no good. It'll only make his throat worse.

" Bertenang ya pak," ( Calm down, old man.) Indo said as he neared him. " Perlu pergi berawat dulu sih." ( We need to get you treated first) He gestured to some of the wounds on Langkasuka's body and the man sighed and nodded. Mal tried talking to him but it wasn't any good. He either couldn't answer them or refused to.

When they arrived at the hospital, most of his wounds had healed up on its own. There were a mixture of stripes and scars on his abdomen and many scars along his arms and legs. One wound close to his stomach was identified to be done by a spear or two. The other wounds made by knives were healing poorly, some better than others. Mal informed his states about the situation and asked if there was anyone that would be able to help identify the old tiger. If it was truly Langkasuka himself. The old nation seemed to have lost some of his memories over the centuries and could barely remember his own children, though he asked of them often. He still doesn't speak much even though his throat has gotten better. The city view always overwhelmed him when he looks out the window and he'd always turn away from it. As days passed, he started to get used to the view and was eventually able to leave the hospital.

" Are you sure you wanna take him with you?" Thai asked Mal as they were getting ready to leave at the airport. Langkasuka wore a plain black shirt with some black trousers, he stayed close to Mal as he looked around the airport with nervous eyes. " I mean he's still unstable and he can't even communicate that well."  Langkasuka looked at Thai with a raised brow.

" I can speak English, Siam." Langkasuka said in the clearest voice they've ever heard.