fallintofantasy's
if you fall down, you see stars in the middle of the day
featuring the Cat ~
Cat walked through the forest, the twisted trees looming over him. He walked through here every day, yet it always seemed foreign to him; always harboring its own secrets. The path ahead went straight through the trees, only slightly worn from when people would walk through. It usually never looked that way though; the rain always washed the footprints away, so when the storms were over, the path looked unused; forgotten.
Leaves swirled around him, the cold wind starting to pick up. Cat walked past an old wagon with baskets and rotten apples spewed everywhere; there had once been a time when locals would come to this forest to harvest the apples on the trees, but no more; everyone felt a strange, sinister… evil presence that kept them away. They were all too scared to go near the trees anymore.
Cat finally reached his destination; he jumped up onto a tree stump, and cautiously looked at the large piece of wood that covered the well. He jumped down, placing his paw in a crack on the end; he had asked Wybie to leave it open just a little so he would be able to open it with ease. He used both paws to push the wood back, being careful not to push too hard, so he wouldn't slip and fall. He only needed a small space; it would be easier to close and he could still slip through. Once he pushed the cover far enough, he gazed downward, looking at the stones of the well that slowly disappeared into a black abyss.
He slipped through the small crack; landing on a stone that jutted out of the wall. He continued jumping on stones like these, stones that stuck out in many places along the walls of the well like small cliffs. Cat wasn't even scared; with his superior balance and his ability to see in dark places, he was very confident in the fact that he wouldn't slip and fall downward to his death.
After some time; Cat had already calculated how long it would take him to travel downward and ascend back up; Cat reached the bottom of the well. He knew time was of the essence, as a storm was about to begin; the rain would quickly fill up the well, and the water would make it harder to climb back up without slipping.
And, he hated getting his feet wet.
The bottom of the well was piled with pebbles and rocks that children had dropped down to test how deep it was, and small pools of water were scattered everywhere across the plain. Cat slowly walked through the maze of rocks, peering in every nook and cranny. He turned around a mound of pebbles, and his face was illuminated with a soft, pulsating green light.
Cat began walking toward it, squinting his eyes and cautiously peering at the light that was coming from the spherical object. He brought his paws up, untying the knot that held the bundle together, and with a flourish, the cloth surrounding the object fell off and Cat jumped back.
Soft green light glowed from underneath a giant rock, bits of metal jutting out in all directions. A small black key with a button on the end of it lay next to the blanket, fallen on the ground from when Cat untied the bundle. The pieces of metal had a the light as an aura around them, the green pulsating and casting shadows on the mounds of pebbles and the wall behind it. "Hello," Cat said. Instantly, the green light vanished, and the well was cast in darkness.
"Oh, don't try and be sly with me," he said in his purring, deep voice, "I know you can hear me. Not speaking won't work." Slowly, the green light returned, glowing and making Cat's face dance with green light and black shadows.
"I came here for answers," he said, nonchalantly licking his right paw. He placed it down and stepped menacingly toward the rock, narrowing his eyes. "And I won't leave until I get them. What are you planning? I know something is going on." The light continued to pulse, not a sound emanating from it.
"What's the use? You'll never be able to get her again. She's not as gullible now. And, as I recall, you need a certain key to open the door…" Cat stepped over to the black key, looking down at it. "You won't be able to come into this world to retrieve it. You'd turn to dust. And not all your creations can climb down into a well to get it… so why try?" The light simply continued to glow. Not a sound coming from it.
"Unless… you're trying to protect it. Keep it safe. Until you can come and get it." No sound. "Alright, then. I guess I'll just take it with me," Cat said, looping the small cord that was attached to it around his neck, so he was wearing it like a necklace. He turned around, and began walking away, the key swinging from around his neck.
"There are always others," came a whisper from behind him. Cat gave a small smile, and stopped, turning his head around. "Of course there are. But who else can you get? You can't move. You're stuck here, at the Pink Palace."
"I have my ways," the Other Mother whispered in her fragile, haunting voice. Cat turned and stalked back to the rock, his face becoming illuminated. "I know you can't. You're weak."
"That can't stop me from plotting. Designing. I don't have enough energy to make things yet, but I have other… methods."
Cat laughed. "Methods? I've been here a while, and it's always the same thing. Buttons. Nothing else." No sound came from the light, and Cat sneered. "Are you desperate, Beldam? Concocting a plan to try something new?" The green light continued to pulse. "What's so special about Coraline?" he whispered, closing his eyes. "Why do you want her? Or do you just not want to wait until she leaves to claim another victim? Are you just being impatient?" He sighed, exasperated. "I wish I had the answers," he said, and turned around and began to walk away.
"Be careful what you wish for, vermin. You might not like what happens when it comes true."
Cat jumped up onto a stone, beginning his journey upward. Up above him, he could faintly see a few shining lights. He had never believed in superstition; he was a black cat and he helped Coraline, after all. He didn't know if it was nighttime already, or if it; somehow; was another one of the Beldam's tricks.
Cat squeezed out of the small space between the wood and the edge of the well, looking up at the swirling clouds. He carefully pulled the cover back in place, and began walking back through the woods; the key still swinging around his neck; as it started to rain.