A small cloud of dust rose in the distance, betraying Viper's pursuer's position. The cat glared at Viper from his stand on the horizon. Viper turned to retreat once more, but the cat cast a spell before she could move, "Still!" he cried.
Instantly, Viper's feet felt stuck to the ground. She couldn't move.
The black tom ran up to her. Viper stood, helpless, as he approached. Soon, he was standing so close that she could feel his hot breath on her muzzle. "Hello, Viper, witch," he said coolly. "Prepare to die."
*****
*****
"No not worry," a black tom meowed, walking toward the she-cat. "We can always prepare more troops. There are so many villages that you lead. We can always find more able-bodied solders."
"It is not the quantity that I am upset about, Shade," the white cat replied. "It is the loss."
"I know that we have lost many cats, but there are so many others," Shade meowed.
"Shade, we have not just lost cats, we have lost our courage. Or fighting spirit, our loyalty, our fearlessness and determination to fight for our cats. Look at the villagers. They all look sad and unhappy. Everything used to be so full of life and joy."
The two cats turned to the village that the cliff looked over. Cats milled about, trying to earn tokens from the packed-dirt streets. They all looked sleepless and sad. There were few that had a stable job, and some that had no home. Many motherless kittens stood huddled in corners of the village, sadly begging for food or tokens or shelter.
"I know," Shade confessed. "But no one was always happy. Nothing is perfect."
"Yes," the she-cat sighed. "But how many mothers and fathers were lost in that war? How many kittens made orphans? How many mothers made widows?"
"Sapphire--" Shade began.
"The war has killed too many. It has been a great loss. We morn for the dead and those who have lost their loved ones."
*****
Viper woke with a jump. What a terrible, lifelike dream, she thought. But an uneasy feeling was building up in her stomach. Was that a dream? Or was it a warning or a message or a glimpse into the future or past?
Viper shock her head to clear it of the thoughts jumbling together in her mind. That was imposable. It was just a crazy dream.
Viper forced herself to think that, but something inside of her told her that it was more than just a dream...
*****
Later that day, Viper was by the stream, attempting to catch a fish for her midday meal. Then, she saw Fantasy walking towards her.
“Viper!” her best friend called to her.
“Hello, Fantasy!” Viper called back. “What are you doing here, by the stream? Usually you’re at the Lake, where your den is.”
“Yeah, I know,” Fantasy sighed unhappily. “A bunch of cats just swarmed my cave and took it by
force. They nearly killed me while I was fleeing.” Fantasy showed Viper a long scratch extending from her neck to her sixth rib.
“What?” Viper gasped. “They took your home? Where are you going to stay for shelter now that your cave is gone?”
“I don’t know,” Fantasy admitted. “I was thinking that I could stay in the Forest. The trees will shelter me from the worst of rain and snow and wind. You know, until I can find a new home.”
“You can’t live live like that!” Viper exclaimed. “There are so many dangerous animals in the Forest! Badgers, foxes, cats, and not to mention a number of other animals that could threaten your food and health.”
“I know,” Fantasy meowed, sounding defeated. “But the Forest is the only place that I know of that has shelter. Where else could I live?”
Viper thought for a little while. “You could live with me,” she offered. “I’ve got a nice little hollow in an oak tree with plenty of space for another cat.”
“Really?” Fantasy gasped in disbelief. “You would let me live with you until I can find a new home?”
“I will share my home with you for as long as needed,” Viper announced. “For a few days, or even forever. You need a home, and I will provide one.”
“Thank you!” Fantasy cried tearfully. “Thank you, thank you, thank you! You could never guess how much this means to me!” Fantasy leaped toward Viper and licked her merrily several times. “This is to good to be true!”
Viper smiled. “Well, you can make yourself at home in the oak. Come on, let me show you were your new house is.”
They sprinted away from the stream for a quarter mile, Fantasy occasionally whispering, “This is to good to be true,” and once she broke out in tears. Viper found it hard to stop Fantasy’s weeping, but then discovered that they were not tears of morning or sadness, but tears of pure joy.
“This is it!” Viper declared once they had reached a towering oak.
“Where do you get in?” Fantasy wondered after a while of gazing at the massive tree that towered over the she-cats’ heads.
“There,” Viper meowed, pointing to the base with her tail. There, there was a small hole, hidden by tall grasses. “That’s the entrance.”
“Wow,” Fantasy murmured. “It’s so well hidden. And it’s so small...You picked a great den. Mine was really out in the open, but yours looks like an oak tree and nothing else.”
“Yours was a very study den, though,” Viper reminded her. “We both picked good dens. They both had their ups and downs, like all dens.”
Fantasy nodded in agreement, but nothing else was said. The two silently squeezed in through the small hole and entered a large, almost empty, space. There was a bed of moss, ferns and feathers--”You can sleep with me on it tonight, it’s big enough,” Viper had meowed. “But I’ll make you your own tomorrow morning.”--in one corner.
In another, there was a dip in the earth. Viper explained that that was where she kept her prey until it was time to eat. Sometimes, she said, she would catch two or three pieces of prey to saver
for the other remaining meals of the day.
In the third corner, there was another dip in the packed-dirt ground. In this one, there was a well-stocked supply of clean, fresh water to drink.
In the last, there was another small exit. This, Viper explained, was the emergency exit. If there was danger--like a badger or fire--blocking the main entrance then you cloud flee out it. It was very important that it was never blocked and always assessable, Viper explained to her friend, who thought that the emergency exit was the most amazing thing in the world.
There was also, in a little misshapen nook in the tree, an empty space. This was for when you wanted to just think, or when you wanted to discus things that were not to be overheard. It was very small, but had just enough space for two cats to sit down. Just barely, though. It was more meant for one cat then two.
“And that,” Viper meowed. “Is our home. Do you like it?”
“Yes!” Fantasy exclaimed. “It’s marvelous! You thought of everything when you were moving in, and when you picked it out! It’s so well planned out. The food and water stores, the emergency exit, everything!”
Viper purred in content. “I’m glad that you like it, Fantasy.”
“I love it,” Fantasy whispered.
And so, the two set off toward the stream once more, in hopes to catch a fish for a late lunch.
*****
They returned with two minnows, one for each cat. While they were eating, Viper decided to tell Fantasy about her strange dream. When she finished telling the story, Fantasy sat up. Viper copied the motion.
“What do you think it means?” Fantasy questioned.
“I think--” Viper hesitated. “I think that it’s a warning. A glimpse of something that is happening or happened somewhere else. I keep on telling myself that it’s just a crazy dream, but I know that that’s a lie.”
Fantasy nodded. “I think that must be a warning of some sort also. But--by the looks of it--you’re in for an adventure.”
*****
The days turned to a week quickly. Time seemed to flash past. On the same day of the week that she had had the first dream, Friday, she had another.
A brown and white she-cat looked down at her with a mournful, sad face. Viper realized that the cat was looking at her, it was not a vision of something happening to other cats, it was like a message, but in her dreams.
Then the she-cat spoke, “Hello, Viper,” she meowed. “I am Mocha. I am here to tell you that you
have a mission. Even I don’t know what the mission is, exactly, but I do know how to help you find out. Go to the barn. There is weathervane atop the roof. Climb the roof and spin the weathervane three times. In whatever direction that the weathervane points to, you must travel. It
is up to you to decide the fate of the two sides. Who will win? That is your--and yours alone--decision to make. You leave at midday, today.”
“Wait--What do you mean? I have a mission? This is so sudden... What about Fantasy? She won’t want to be dragged on a journey that isn’t her’s to take,” Viper augured.
“She is not allowed to go with you. You have to take this trip alone. I’m sorry, but that’s the way things are. You must travel alone.”
Viper blinked, about to reply, when the whole dream vanished. She was awake on her little bed of ferns, moss and feathers. She was alone, presently. Fantasy had gone out to hunt for today’s breakfast, but Viper didn’t notice.
“You must travel alone.” the words echoed through Viper’s head.
Viper had always been the kind of cat that liked being around other cats. She had never liked being alone. Even at night, Viper had always wished for a companion to sleep with. She was usually depressed when she was alone. She liked helping others and she liked the companionship.
“You must travel alone.”
-KittyLover8
© 2012
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