~Chapter 3, Beware The Hidden~
Rose's POV~
The door swung open slowly and I gasped. Rozalyn got ready in a defensive stance and I just stood, not realizing that I was shielding the food from view, not realizing anything except this cat was going to hurt me. The cat looked at us. "The door's unlocked." He mewed, shrugging his shoulders.
"Go away Raider!" Rozalyn hissed.
"I prefer Rider." The raider mewed smoothly.
"Don't harm us!" I squeaked finally.
Then in a low and more serious tone, the raider replied. "I won't. Personally, I'm against it." Rider flinched as if someone was listening. "Don't tell anyone or I'm as good as cats in the Punished Realm."
"What's that?" I asked cautiously, yet curiously.
The cat pondered for a moment. "The junkyard as you might call it."
"How should we trust you raider?" Rozalyn shot the question at the raider tom.
"You don't I suppose." Rider replied quickly.
"Which one of them do you work for?" Rozalyn shot back.
"Smoke is the leader of my particular group. But I've heard there are many more." Rider responded as quickly as before.
"Not Master?" Rozalyn demanded.
"You know him?" Rider asked curiously.
"Just answer the question raider." Rozalyn snapped.
It looked like the tom wanted to snap back but he didn't. "Fire would disapprove." He meowed under his breath but I caught it. Who was Fire and why would she disapprove? I wondered. "No. I am not True yet." Rider spat the word true.
Rozalyn nodded her head with approval and then started to hammer Rider with questions again. "Who is this Fire? Is she True? Is she related to Master? What do you know about her?"
"First of all, she's my mate. And yes she is. Yes again. I know she's daughter of Master and cousin of Smoke."
"Unheard of, a True mating with a housepet?"
"She likes to test us and have the privilege to leave us without shame." Rozalyn nodded thoughtfully.
I quietly dragged the food over to a hidden spot. Then I padded back to the pair. "Are you going to harm us or not?" I asked impatiently.
"No, I suppose not. Fighting is not worth food, especially if you can get it by other means." Rider replied, moving towards the door. "But beware the hidden." And with that, the raider disappeared from view.
"Hidden?" I turned to Rozalyn.
"Get the food in the attic. I'll lock the door." Rozalyn turned away.
Who was there to trust? I thought as I dragged the food bag up the stairs.
I was woken in the night by a loud scraping sound. There were shadows all around. Mary was crying for help and I was alone. "Mary!" I yowled, running towards the sound.
"Rose, you must save me! Find me!" Mary's voice echoed in the darkness.
"I want to! Where are you?" I screeched helplessly.
"Save me Rose! Save me!" Mary cried out.
Suddenly, the world was bright again and I could see. Mary was being dragged away by other humans. "Help me Rose! Save me!" She called in distress.
The image faded and I was again submerged in darkness. I ran towards where I last saw Mary. A memory from the previous day crowded my view. There was Rider, whispering his final message. "Beware the hidden." Then Rozalyn turning away. The feeling of mistrust and hopelessness.
There was a sudden spark of light, like the moon shining on a night of no stars. It came towards me, bright and safe looking. It was a fairly large cat, padding towards me softly. "Who are you?" I asked in confusion.
"Call me Moon my friend. I have come to warn you." The white she-cat mewed, crystal blue eyes shining in the darkness.
"Why?"
"Because there are hard times coming. Times of mistrust and hopelessness, like you felt earlier. To avoid detruction and death, you must beware."
"Beware what Moon?" I asked quietly.
"Beware things hidden. Beware the hidden." She mewed as the dream faded to darkness once again.
I woke up from my dream, shivering despite the warmth I felt in the room. Rozalyn moved beside me. I turned towards her face. She looked down at the floor, and I looked at her worriedly. "Are you sick?" I asked.
"No Rose. I'm just thinking about something that raider said earlier." Rozalyn answered quietly.
"What is it?" I asked softly.
"Oh, n-n-nothing Rose. Go back to sleep." Rozalyn said firmly. I shrunk back, hurt. "Please?" She added quickly. I nodded, standing up and padding over to Charon. I curled up beside my doggy companion and closed my eyes, part of no further discussion. After a few moments, I opened my eyes a slit. Rozalyn was sitting upright, staring into the darkness.
Then I turned my gaze away from the she-cat to rest on a small rocking chair. The one Mary used to rock me in, soothe me when I was scared. I wish she was here. She would rock me in the chair softly, pet my fur, and sing a small lullaby. I waited a long while, thinking of a plan. I would get in Mary's rocking chair and dream when Rozalyn's gone to sleep. Rozalyn finally laid down and gentle snores filled the room. Time for action. I thought, standing quietly. I padded towards the chair, careful not to step on anything as to wake my companions. Then I leaped into the padded chair, curled up as the chair began to rock, and softly sang Mary's lullaby until all worries were washed from my mind.
"Dream, little kitty, dream,
Your papa rides the wind, high and free,
Your mama raises the dreamland tree,
And from it fall sweet sleep for thee,
Dream, little kitty, dream,
Dream, little kitty, dream,
Dream, little kitty, dream,
The moon shines, gentle and kind,
Stars fly amongst the green,
Drawing snowy clouds, so fluffy and soft,
Dream, little kitty, dream,
Dream, little kitty, dream."
An: Thank you Ravenstar0 and thank you Pumpkinfur once again for voting on the last little poll! I hoped you like this chapter! Any ideas for this story may or may not be excepted! Please review!
Meow! ;3
