Ahh... I'm so very sorry it's taken me what feels like years to get this chapter up. I know it's not a good excuse, but my life has actually gotten less...anti-social I suppose. And I started my homeschooling thing... In fact, I'm blowing my homework off right now to do this. :] and it's due tomorrow. I'm awesome, aren't I? Anyway, how was Christmas for you guys? Mine was pretty awesome, excluding the fact that I had to wrap almost everything. I got a DS lite, and a remote control helicopter. Annd, how was your New Years? Mine was amazing. Mostly because it was my birthday but...hehe. I'm now 19. My dad actually came to see me, and he bought me almost $100 worth of books. I is a happy girl about that.\
Remember kids, whoever gets the 62nd review gets to ask me to write them something. Or I suppose you could ask for anything...but I'm reallyreally bad at drawing...
This chapter is dedicated to GermanKitties of DeviantArt, Electric Plum of FanFiction, and Person of Anonymous Land. Thank them for reminding me that I have a story to do ^^
Now...READ FOOLS! You've been waiting long enough
~x~x~Chapter 5~x~x~
The next dawn, Matthew didn't say much, just sat there, in thought while Gilbert tracked down breakfast. The younger cat still wasn't talking by the time Gilbert came back with a bloody bird in his mouth. Gilbert tried talking to him, but Matthew didn't even twitch.
"Okay, what the hell is your issue?" Gilbert grabbed Matthew's ear with his teeth when he still hadn't answered. He had to jump out of the way fast as the other cat nearly scratched at him in reflex.
"I'm so sorry!" The smaller squeaked out when he realized who he had taken a swipe at. Red eyes glared back at him.
"Seriously kid? Now you have to tell me what the fuck is wrong." Matthew looked away from his friend, sadness creeping up in his eyes.
"I was thinking about my mom. How I accidently murderer someone who was over two hundred. A new born was able to destroy 200 years of life." Staring at his paws, he tried to keep his tears from falling. Feeling a tail brush against his side, and then a larger body pushing against his made him look up. Gilbert was staring at the rising sun.
"You didn't murder your mother, accidentally or otherwise. You didn't destroy her. Shit like that happens, age doesn't make a difference. The fact that she died isn't your fault or hers. Life just kinda sucks sometimes.." Gilbert didn't look at Matthew the whole time he spoke. He had spent time with Sam during the pregnancy and it wasn't good. For the first few months, she had been fine, but after that, she had been so sick. It was hard to look at her, towards the end, because her life had just been drained so much. It seemed like the once vibrant woman had just give up on life, and only kept going for Matthew.
"I just feel bad. She lost her life when she was giving me mine." Matthew pushed up close to Gilbert, and began to paw at the bird. "...Do you really expect me to eat that?" He asked, nose wrinkling. It successfully broke the tension among the two animals, making Gilbert snicker. He pawed at it as well, and while he was proud of his catch, it didn't look too appetizing to him either.
"I realize how disgusting it seems, but it's the best I can do for now..." After giving the younger cat a quick swipe of his tongue, the two cats started eating. Pretty soon, there was a mess of feathers floating around and two disgusted cats.
"There was so much blood." Matthew whimpered, trying to keep the meat in his stomach from rising.
"Feathers are gross. After this I may never eat poultry again.." They cleaned up the blood they'd gotten all over as best they could before they left. As they were walking, Gilbert tried explaining their heritage to Matthew more in-depth.
"I suppose the easiest way to put this, is while apes were evolving into humans, cats began to evolve like us. I'm pretty sure they were evolving as humans did, and our best guess is a virus or mutation caused them to revert slightly and that somewhere along the way, they were able to shift." Gilbert wasn't very scientifically minded, and he never really cared for what new discovery of their kind added to history. However, Matthew was listening carefully, soaking up the information. It excited him, thinking of how much he could learn.
"Were we always such small cats?" He asked, turning his head towards Gilbert.
"No, not every cat was small. Some were very large. Dunno why we didn't stay big... Would have been a lot more awesome." The albino mumbled, clearly not too happy about it.
"I don't mind being small... It makes me feel safer." Matthew nodded his head happily, reigning in the urge to start skipping. Rolling his eyes, Gilbert stopped them and announced he was going to go look for lunch. Matthew looked at him nervously.
"I know it's disgusting, but we have to eat." Gilbert wandered off, leaving Matthew alone. He curled up in a patch of sunlight, and sighed. He lied there for a few seconds before he felt eyes watching him. The fur on his tail began to fluff out, and he was nearly ready to panic. When a paw came down on his stomach, he jumped and turned, a growl spilling from his throat.
"I'd feel offended, if I wasn't impressed." Francis's voice floated over Matthew like a warm blanket, and he settled down a bit.
"What are you doing here?" The young cat was confused.
"Well, you know all those people you met the other day? Yeah, their all here. We've been 'silently' keeping you two safe. All of us are somewhere in these woods, keeping an eye on you two in case there is trouble." Francis explained, nuzzling Matthew. He'd missed the child he'd helped raise. He had come to see the young one as his son. "I can't stay. But just know nothing will happen to you." And with that said, Francis disappeared into the trees. Gilbert showed up a minute later, dragging a large rabbit with him. He dropped it with a huff and nearly laughed at the horror on Matthew's face.
"I'm sorry, but it was either this or another bird." He explained, nudging Matthew towards it.
"Blergh."
~x~x~x~x~x~
That night, the two cats curled up together, ready to sleep after such a long day.
"Matthew... There's something else I have to tell you..." Gilbert slowly said, butterflies filling his stomach.
"Mm?" The sleepy sound came from Matthew, as he turned his attention to the prince.
"You're, uh, well... Technically you see... Hm... One day we have to get married." Never had the albino been so flustered or at a loss for words.
"..." Although it was true he already knew, it was still a little shocking to hear it from Gilbert. The pure white cat had his eyes closed tightly, praying Matthew wouldn't freak out on him. "Gilbert... I like you. Like a lot. I think maybe I love you. I know one day I could definitely love you. But I'm not ready yet. This is so new to me. I've never been in love. I've only ever read about it. " Matthew explained, hoping the prince would understand.
"That's fine! I don't mind, at all. I just thought you should know." The relieved cat spoke. And even though, technically his brother and Feli had told him he needed to tell Matthew as soon as possible, he didn't mention it to Matthew. After whispering their goodnights, the two fell asleep..
~x~x~x~x~x~
Days continued in the pattern of dead, bloody animals for meals, and history and entertaining stories being told to Matthew.
"So, the little girl squealed and picked Ludwig up. She nearly toppled over because he's a large cat. Almost as big as her. Toddling over to her father, she asked if she could keep the pretty kitty. Lucky for Ludwig they already had a cat, so he said no. My brother was so horrified. He won't let people pet him anymore." Matthew was giggling, unable to erase the image of such an intimidating cat like Ludwig being forced into a bonnet. When the two heard a faint hissing from the tree's, they burst into more laughter.
"When will we be at the next town?" Matthew questioned, as he was a little tired of having to sleep outside. Rarely leaving your home kinda did that to a person. Gilbert made noise that Matthew took to mean he was thinking.
"Depending on how fast we go, either today or tomorrow." He finally answered." We'll preferably stay there for a few days. It's one of our more used safe house, so it has clothes and such, so we can stretch our human legs. Honestly, I'm surprised you've gone this long without having to change. You're a strong one." Gilbert told him, nudging Matthew gently.
:"How do you figure?" He asked, nudging back.
"Well, not many could have just learned to change, and the spend so long without shifting back. Only someone strong could do that." The smaller cat was shocked. Him, strong? Even he realized now how weak he really was. Circumstances had made him that way, sure, but still. If he were strong, he could escaped his fathers home on his own. And he told Gilbert that.
"Psh, please. You survived the best you could. Not many people could have the will to leave, like you did. You left behind the safety of your home to come with a stranger. You're very strong. Or crazy. But we'll just say strong. Sounds better." Gilbert grinned as best he could, flashing off his teeth. Matthew started to look offended, but in the end, he just giggled.
"Gee Gilbert, you certainly know how to woo someone." An amused female voice spoke, scaring both felines. Gilbert growled and turned in a circle.
"Where are you?" He hissed, eyes flicking to the sides. A beautiful cat jumped down the from the tree, and Gilbert stared in shock for a moment before hissing again.
"I see you remember me." She laughed.
"You're bitch. Of course I couldn't forget you!" Matthew was confused, and the female noticed that.
"Hm... Poor little kitty." She purred walking around Matthew dragging her black tail along his body. "Hasn't dear Gilbert told here told you about his lovely little scar?" She asked, laughing as Matthew attempted to avoid her tail.
"You're the awful girl who nearly clawed his eye out?" The young cat asked, horrified. He couldn't comprehend how proud she seemed of it.
"Tsktsk, it's awfully rude to call me names little boy. Respect your elders!" She growled, snapping her teeth at him. Gilbert broke between the two when he saw that.
"What do you want, brat?" He growled, keeping his eyes trained on her. She moved around the two cats, chuckling to herself.
"Now that you've seen your little 'bride' over there, I'm here to offer myself again." She settled herself, staring at Gilbert with nearly hypnotic orange eyes. Matthew knew he didn't really hold a candle to this type of beauty, and began to feel heat prickle his body in shame.
"...Really? You think you look better then Matthew? Not really. Sorry." The pure white cat feigned a yawn, holding his paw to is mouth to hide his smirk.
"But we look so good together! My lovely black against your white looks amazing!" She said, staring Gilbert down.
"So? Matthew looks way better then you. And he's sweeter then your fake ass." Gilbert growled. She hissed back in response.
"Fine then! If you like him so much, you two can have matching scars!" She ran at Matthew, but before she got close to him, a furry blur knocked her down. Alfred, Francis, and Ludwig were all on top of her, nearly crushing her bones. Gilbert and Matthew sweat dropped and gave a weak laugh. "Jerks." The cat under the three heavy cats wheezed out.
~x~x~x~x~x~
By the time the sun set, most of the young court was curled up in a tiny clearing. After they had tackled Priscilla to the ground, the three cats had realized what they had done and looked guilty at Gilbert. Said cat had just sighed and shook his head.
"Hey Mattie, you're not mad at me for not telling you, are you?" Gilbert asked, looking at the cat curled up next to him.
"Of course not! I just don't understand why you didn't tell me they were out there." Matthew snuggled closer to Gilbert, partially for warmth, and partly to show he wasn't mad..
"Well, at first I didn't want you to feel awkward or focus on the fact there were others watching us... and then it seemed like you knew...but I still didn't want to say anything in case you didn't." Gilbert explained.
"Ahh... I completely understand. And yes, I did figure it out." Matthew giggled softly, and soon afterwards, the two fell asleep. By the time all the felines were awake, the sun had barely broken passed the horizon.
"Do we dare catch our own food... or wait the hour it'll take us to get to the safe house?" Someone questioned, which lead to a moment of thought.
"I'm willing to wait." Gilbert didn't feel like eating something so bloody again for a while. Nods quickly followed his words, and then they were off. They were all running, wanting to comfort of four walls around them.
"STOP!" A cat came rushing at them screeching. "His father has set up what seems to be a blockade into town!"
~x~x~End Chapter 5~x~x~
My back...is killing me. It hurts so so bad. I got a cramp in the shower earlier, and now I'm in such pain. ;.; someone make it stop...
I'm not the fondest of this chapter. I'm trying to so hard to make it come out good...and I think I'm just messing it up. I dunno... Not much seems to be happening yet. But, I promise you, almost everything has some kind of point.
Reviews make my gloomy days all the more brighter! Pretty soon, they won't be gloomy at all, thanks to you guys *heart*