Nepeta wondered what to tell John. The whole story of his death? It might help clear things up... but it had been an emotional time for Nepeta, and she would have to explain all the details to this boy. She decided to let the story wait for another time. She shrugged slightly. "Well John, it's not much." She sat up. "What are you going to do? I mean, you don't remember where your hive is or your friends, or anything!" she stared at John as he also sat up. "I suppose it wouldn't be too much of a bother to let you stay here if you like." she turned the slightest shade of olive and smiled. John stared blankly back.
Stay here? Was she barking mad? John knew that he had a home somewhere; he couldn't just take up residence in a "hive" with a strange white jaguar and a horned "troll". But then again... Nepeta was a very nice troll. "Well... I don't want to inconvenience you in any way Nepeta." Nepeta frowned and shook her head. "Not at all, you'd be fine staying here!" John smiled. "Well... I will stay then, and try to be as helpful as I can!" John stood up and smiled. "What needs fixing?" Nepeta laughed. "Oh relax John... first we need to catch some supper!" "Catch?" John lost his smile. "What do you mean Nepeta..."
"oh you know what I mean! We have to go hunting!" Nepeta raced out of the pile and re-attached her claws. "I don't suppose you have a pair of these do you?" She twiddled them in front of her eyes. "Brilliant they are!" John stared at her claws, his eyes widening and he edged away slowly. "I suppose you don't..." She sighed. "We'll have you at least hunted before?" "No... if I did I can't remember." John's eyes never left Nepeta' claws. "Well in order to live here one must be able to hunt, that's how the pantry is stocked for rainy days." "Oh. Well I guess I will have to learn." john smiled. "so... what kind of animals live around here that you eat?" Nepeta looked up. "Well there are squirrels, rabbits, songbirds, owls, a few turkeys, crabs and shellfish, and a few badgers. I usually go for rodents but whatever floats your boat!" She laughed and flexed her claws.
John couldn't pry his eyes away from the claws. They were long and sharp. "Well... I don't remember anything about what I liked, but I don't want to eat rabbits for some reason, they are precious to me." He finally managed to stare at his feet. "So whatever you want to hunt. I, I think I'm too tired to learn anything tonight Nepeta, I'm sorry." John looked up at Nepeta, hoping she would be ok with it. "Well... ok, for one night only." she smiled at him. "I'll be back in about half an hour John, feel free to wander around or get to know Pounce." She pulled her hat over her head and opened the door. "See you in a bit!" She called over her shoulder as she pounced away. John sat still, staring around the room until he could no longer hear her footsteps padding away atop the stones. "How are you Pounce?" Pounce sat up and began to rub on John's leg.
Nepeta pounced down the path, hardly containing her excitement to sink her teeth into a succulent crab. She pounced from tree to tree grinning wide. She stopped suddenly, her eyes opening wide. "Equius..." She never made such huge decisions without consulting her morail. She couldn't make the boy leave now, she welcomed him into her home. Equius would never approve of this. After a quick thought she came to a decision. "I will get John some food and tell Equius in the morning, that way John can at least stay one night." She hardener her gaze, and commenced pouncing from tree to tree. Her stomach growled with anticipation, anxiously awaiting the food. Nepeta spied the beach, this time without a small something or rather washed up on the shore. She grinned once more and leaped to the ground in search of some ocean delicacies.
John had been petting Pounce for about 15 minutes. "You're a good kitty aren't you Pounce?" "PUUUUUUuuuuuuuuuuuuurrr" John laughed then lay down. When was Nepeta coming back? He stared at the ceiling. Nepeta seemed nice; after all she did take him in and was currently bringing him food. John thought about her, he did remember her vaguely. She was carrying him, he thought, and he was in this very cave, dying. She had done all she could to save him when suddenly it seemed as if the end was inevitable... "Hi!" Nepeta was back, she was swinging her soaked hat in her hands, small crab legs jutting out from it. "Dinner is here! I got home early; they were all too trusting of predators tonight." She slung the hat on a counter-top. "Want to help cook them, John?" She took the first one out, and examined it carefully. "Do you eat crabs?" "Yeah... I think I remember those." John stood up and went to the counter. "Here, you get a pot out of the drawer over there and get some water from the falls." She continued to check each crab.
Nepeta finished checking every crab; every one of them was alive and edible. "Have you got it yet John?" Nepeta turned her head toward the pot cabinet. John held a pot in his hands, staring around the hive with a blank expression on his face. "hey... hey Nepeta? What falls?" Nepeta threw her hand to her head. "I forgot to show you around the hive!" Nepeta tied up the crabs with an increasing swiftness. "Come on!" She grabbed his hand and led him down a corridor. A smile spread across her face, she never had never given a tour of her hive before. She stopped at the opening to her Respiteblock. "This is where I sleep; I'll set up a spot for you after dinner!" She let John stare into the room for a few seconds before becoming too excited to stand still and races with him still holding hands to another opening. "This is the wash room; in here is the source of water!" She gestured toward the falls. "All natural water, clean as a porcelain teapot!"
John suddenly felt the pot on his free hand grow heavy. "Oh, ok Nepeta, hang on I'll go get some." He let go of her grip and walked with awe toward the falls. They glistened with the moonlit from the windows. He stood about three feet from it, already feeling the slight spray of cool water on his skin. He held out the pot and the water came crashing into it, spraying everywhere. "Arrrrg!" He turned around, pot in hand. "Was that the way to do that Nepeta, because that didn't work out too well!" He stared down at his soaked golden clothes. At least the pot was half-way full. "Hehe not exactly, John. Let me show you!" She leaped to him and held his hands together on the pot. "Now we just tilt it like this..." She led him to the falls, the pot tilted away from them. "Wait, Nepeta... we're going to get soa-" Suddenly the water hit the pot, making their hands droop. The water started to spray toward them, but then it hit the opposite end of the pot, ricocheting it back into the falls. "Wow. cool." was all John could muster up.
Nepeta smiled at John. John smiled weakly back. She then pulled back the pot, once again half-way full. "See? It's easy!" She laughed. John showed a bit of embarrassment. "It's ok John, I've lived here a lot longer than you." She let go of his hands and pranced back to the corridor. "Come on back to the kitchen, we need to get those crabs eaten before they crawl out of here!" She watched as John carefully walked back to her. John and Nepeta walked back to her kitchen. "Well... that's my entire hive!" She looked up, trying to remember if she left anything out. "Well thank you for showing me around Nepeta." John smiled at her as he continued down the corridor a tad gracelessly.