Hello, everyone! I'm back with another chapter. :D
Recently, due to various reviews, I've been trying to work on expressing characters' emotions. I hope that you see that I've done that with this one.
Anyway, on to the chapter.
Enjoy!
Chapter Thirteen: What Can Be Found In The Shadows
"You don't need to know."
She looked at him again, still pressing for information.
"Stop thinking that sitting there staring will get me to tell you. You don't need to know," he repeated dryly with a tilt of his head, then turning back to look at the gray clouded sky again. "If I told you, you wouldn't have any reason to stay."
Outside, dull gray clouds had formed, plodding along, together as one, toward the blue horizon with the pace of a worm, leaving a trail of wet ground, wind, and rain in their wake. This dreary weather had continued for several days, confining them to this cavern: a tumbledown of rock and stone. While he had grown used to it after a couple of days, she never did: incessantly pacing, fretfully drumming her claws on the stone beneath them, nonsensically rambling every now and then about her wanting to find a better place, slyly goading him into speaking.
This annoyed him the most.
She did not need to know.
The she-cat unsheathed her claws and began to tap them on the stony floor harshly. "But now you've got me curious. Why can't you tell me, Birdie?"
The tom huffed and rolled his eyes, shying away from the dull sky and returning his focus to her. "Because it's none of your business. Have I ever once inquired about that small, yellow thing you've got hanging around your neck? No." Stepping closer, he unsheathed his claws just enough that she could see their faint pallid surface. "And please, stop calling me 'Birdie'; you've been doing that ever since you got used to being here."
"There's nothing better to do around here except bother you with the weather like this."
He laughed a bit to himself. "Is that what you're used to then? Lying around all day being a nuisance to those around you?" His laughter soured into a snarl as he continued, noticing that his remark had struck a nerve. "I'd like to remind you that you're not there anymore. You can't just sit around and do nothing when it gets to be like this.."
"But I don't know what I even could do!" she whined, shredding a thin patch of grass with her paws.
The tom gazed at her for a moment, his fur spiking up at her idleness. "I don't care what you do, just do something! Go look for prey in the burrows around here. Go take a walk by the forest. Go find a mouse and act like you can understand its squeaks for all I care!" He nodded to the large hole directly behind him. "Go on."
"But—"
He fixed her with a stare. "Out! Now! I don't want to see you again until the end of the day; I've had enough of your laziness."
Indignantly, obediently, the she-cat stormed out onto the grassy hills, tail lashing angrily, claws unsheathed and tearing up the ground as she walked, hotly muttering her displeasure with him. "Stupid, arrogant fleabag!" He didn't have to be such a jerk! I would have done something after the weather cleared up! And now here I am, out with the wind, and the mud, and the cold, looking for prey that's probably not even there, freezing my tail off while he's all warm and bundled up back there.
She stopped beside a small stone, gazing at it scornfully, seeing nothing but his smug expression as she did, and raising a paw, flung it away into the air, watching as it flew through the air and landed without a sound in the wet grass somewhere beside a neat burrow, a little larger than some of the others she had seen. Maybe— Her legs trembled, and her ears grew flat as a gust of wind passed her by. Maybe there's something in there. There's got to be. . . Right?
Looking for a way to quickly reach it, the gray she-cat let her eyes drift over the moorland. She spotted a worn path of wet dirt, and seeing this as her only option, veered onto and began to follow it. Strangely, a trail of paw prints snaked along the path, their image pressed deep into the surface. Pausing to bend down and sniff them, she recoiled slightly with the belief that what she scented—the sharp, pungent smells of rot and blood—was only a trick of the gloomy weather.
Her legs shook as the mound, which she could see now looked more like a den, loomed closer. The scent became stronger here. She glanced back to the small space that she had left with the expectation of seeing her companion standing just inside the entrance watching her, shielded from the wind and the cold. Clearing her throat, she moved on, away from it and closer to the den.
Poking her head inside, seeing nothing but darkness, scenting nothing but stale and musty air, she retreated and continued on her way, heading for the forest that sat beneath the deep shadows of the peaks, which found themselves surrounded by swarming clouds that slunk past them with painful slowness.
The trees fidgeted and swayed in the breeze, their branches rattling and hissing as the wind moved between them. The she-cat gritted her teeth, even with the den and her uneasiness far behind her. This isn't going to be fun. . . Her shoulders hunched and her head bent to stare at the ground in front of her as she walked, plodding along through the mess of wet leaves and slick mud left over from the previous day's rain.
That same overbearing scent she had found not minutes before met her here among the shadowed canopy of the forest, and she crinkled her nose as a faint whiff of it came to her. The memory of Birdie's harsh, glaring eyes still bore into her mind. She shook herself, needing to find distraction. Looking between the trees, she saw nothing except darkness and shadow, patches of dull sunlight blotting the ground. Opening her mouth to scent the air, the she-cat noticed that she could smell no single scent, as if every one had been muddled by the wet, earthy smells of the forest. She sighed. What does he expect me to do out here? Even if I were looking for something, I can't even tell what's what.
Her body froze, her ears shot up as a low sound traveled through the trees and reached her ears. Backing away, the gray she-cat could not keep her eyes from darting from tree to tree as she tried to locate what she had heard. All the while, the noises grew louder as blood roared in her ears, her muscles poised to run. Still it felt closer with every second, the low rumbling noise, the sickeningly repulsive scent, and now, she could see, a pair of eyes, glinting in the gloom of the forest.
"H-Hello?" she called. A second passed. No response. "Is anyone there? If you are, show yourself!"
Again, no response.
"You're not very good at tag, are you?"
Jolted, the gray she-cat spun around and shrunk away from the sharp, trilling voice that responded to her. Then she realized something. Tag? I wasn't. . . "W-What do you mean? I wasn't playing t-tag with you." She gazed again into the understory, her breath quickening. "What do you. . . want from me?"
The bushes shook with the sound of laughter. "I just wanted to play, silly." A figure emerged and smiled at her, that of a white she-cat, blue-eyed, her face and pelt patched by black splotches. She looked delicate, her short fur clinging to her small, light frame. The cat frowned, scuffling her paws in the grass. "Is that too much to ask?"
"N-No," came her answer. "Just. . . who are you?"
"My name is Shade! What's your name?"
Should I even tell her? The gray she-cat, who still had not bothered to stand out of wariness, gave her pelt a shake. I don't see any reason not to. "Hickory," she replied.
Shade purred, leaning forward and and angling her ears towards the other she-cat. "Nice to meet you, Hickory."
Hickory fell silent and only managed a small nod of agreement. What now? Do I just— No, she looks to young to be left to that. "Do you want to come back with me to where I'm staying? You shouldn't be out here all alone, it's dangerous."
Shade just grinned, "For you, that's for sure. You were scared out of your fur a minute ago." She closed her eyes a moment, opening them in the next heartbeat. "So, where are we going back to exactly?"
Hickory didn't turn to answer, remaining mute and only gesturing for Shade, who bounced on her paws, restless with energy, to follow her. The truth was, she didn't want to answer, didn't want to imagine what he might say. Would he be as quick to accept this young stranger as she had been? Would he allow her to keep them company for a little while, or turn her away without a word. She did not know.
For a while, as they walked beneath the trees out towards the open sky, nothing but birdsong chimed in their ears, a lazy breeze appearing every now and then alongside it. Hickory permitted Shade to run up ahead of her and watched as the she-cat passed between the trunks of the trees without a care. She froze suddenly, her eyes wide. "Hickory, what's this?"
Grunting, Hickory hurried her pace towards where Shade stood, fixed on a slender-looking oak tree. "What is it now, Shade? This the fourth time you caused us to stop. If this is another bird's nest, or even a stupid plant for that matter, I think I'm going to go crazy."
Shade frowned. "Hey. I've only been stopping us because I found things that I believed you would've liked to see, things I thought you've never gotten a close look at. I've been living. . . living on my own for quite some time. I'm not clueless about any of this, Hickory, in case you were wondering. You, on the other paw, acted like you've never set foot outside in your entire life. The least you could do is be a bit more appreciative."
Hickory looked away, her ears hot. She's right; and now I feel bad. Great. Turning back, she asked, "What is it that you've found this time?"
Shade glared at her for a moment then gestured to the trunk of the tree. A crisscross of small, jagged marks scored its bark, getting deeper and deeper as they headed for the base. "We should get out of here," she meowed, leaving the question unanswered. "Before we meet something that wants us dead."
Confused, Hickory watched the tree for another few moments. "I don't see anything wrong with this. It was probably another cat marking his or her territory."
"That is exactly what we should've tried to avoid." Shade turned on Hickory, tail lashing. "Why didn't warn me about what we were walking into?"
"Oh I don't know, 'I've been living on my own for quite some time', I thought you knew where you were going!"
Shade bared her teeth, growling, "I'm not perfect; okay! And right now, we don't—"
A loud call jolted the pair. "You'd better leave now, before I find you and send you off without your tails!"
They took this in and ran, bolting towards the treeline they were headed for. Bursting out onto the moors, they stood, shocked and gasping for air.
Shade turned to Hickory after she caught her breath, narrowing her eyes slightly. "Now can you tell me where we're going? Since you still haven't even done that. Or am I just going to be your unwitting captive?"
The gray she-cat rolled her eyes and pointed off in the distance, over the hills. "You see that big, gray, rock-looking structure past the next few hills or so?" Shade nodded but kept silent. "That is where we are going." With a sigh she added, "Happy now that you got your answer?"
Shade puffed out her chest a bit, beaming. "Yes I am."
"Well, good. I'm glad." Hickory replied gruffly, continuing on, with or without the white she-cat. I'm starting to regret giving her the chance to come back with me. She's growing into a real pain in the tail.
As the sun sank down towards the horizon, past the endless forest of trees and clouds, Hickory and Shade came up to the place Hickory had described, which now lay in a fog of light and shadow. Moving past Shade and disappearing around a corner, Hickory ducked inside and glanced around for her companion, calling for him quietly.
"You're back late," a voice meowed. "That's good. Did you find anything?"
Hickory paused to scratch at her ear. "Yes."I don't suppose you actually did anything while I was gone.
"Well, where is it?" he meowed eagerly, licking his lips. "Come on, bring it inside."
With a small nod, she exited, returned to Shade, and asked quietly that she follow her.
She had expected this reaction from him, a scowl of disappointment and anger. Despite that, his the light brown tom's voice remained steady. "Uh. . . Hickory, who's our guest?"
Ducking her head, she remained quiet for a heartbeat. "She's a cat I met out in the forest. I invited her here."
"And why did you do that?" he inquired with a tight smile.
Hickory sighed. "I thought it was too dangerous for her to be out there alone."
"And you think you're any safer? I thought I told you to stick by the moor!"
The she-cat glared at him, flicking her tail. "You're. . . You're not my mother! You can't boss me around!"
The tomcat frowned, flicking his tail dismissively. "Let's continue this outside, please."
Hickory watched him go, his tail vanishing around a corner, leaving her and Shade alone in the darkness. A moment later, she followed, a frown tugging at her mouth, and sat across from him, beside a trampled heather patch. "I thought you'd be okay with this. I thought she could help us."
He stretched, his paws flexing in the grass. "Well, I'm obviously not. I hoped that you would bring us back something we could have used, like food; instead, all you done is brought us back another mouth in need of it. And how exactly do you think she could help us? Hickory, it's been horrible like this for quite a while now. If we allow her to stay, it's only going put more of a strain on us, now, and in the future. She is not staying with us. That's final."
"Hey! Don't I get any say in this?"
He smiled and shook his head, eyes focused on the ground. "Oh, I don't know. Maybe you should've thought about that." Rising to his paws, he skirted past her and went back to where Shade was left to wait.
Hickory sat outside, expecting a loud argument between the two of them. Nothing, only what sounded like quiet whispers, came from the den. Soon, the sound of paw steps made her turn to see Shade emerging from the tall structure, padding on towards the forest without so much as a glance in her direction. Getting up and dragging herself back inside, Hickory slumped down into a pile of bedding: heather and tall grasses taken from the surrounding area. "Why did you have to do that? She didn't have to—"
"Sometimes, Hickory, to do the greatest good means doing nothing at all."
"But—"
"Shade, was it?" Hickory nodded. "Shade explained her situation. I didn't see anything that made it sound at all like she was in need of our help. For her age, based on what she told me, she's certainly capable of handling herself."
What if she wasn't? He probably just killed her!
"I'm pretty sure you're itching to say something, but don't. Just get some rest, Hickory. It's been a long and very frustrating day." With that, he ambled to the far corner of the space which he called home and curled up, tail over his nose, closing his eyes and falling asleep.
Sighing, unwilling to stay awake, Hickory sunk down into the bedding beneath her and dreamed.
She dreamed of memories.
She dreamed of home.
She dreamed of her.
That horrible feeling of grief never went away. It loomed behind her like a shadow. She tried to dream of happier memories, of her life when she still saw her mother Tara. She remembered the warm glow of light that watched over them all at night, the encouraging words of her mother and father as they watched her grow. Hickory knew she could not return to those times, yet she dreamed of them anyway. They were her escape.
Tara was sitting by the far wall, on a brightly colored pillow. Hickory sat across from her, listening as she explained something. She could not hear her words. She must have forgotten. Then another memory came, of her mother and father standing beside the garden's old fence as she looked on from the safety of the steps, much younger than she was now.
"Hickory, sweetie, nothing bad is going to happen. What's got you so worked up?" Tara meowed from where she stood beside Everest, wide-eyed.
"I-I don't w-want to leave."
"We're not goin' to make you leave, Hickory," Everest had said, padding closer to her and smiling. "We just want t' make sure you know what's out there."
"Wh-What is past the fence, Everest? M-Mean cats? Dogs? Bad housefolk?"
Everest had purred and touched his nose to her ear. "None of that. Only the world."
After that day, everything left her. After that day, she had started to leave them. After that day, a new chapter in her life had begun to be written.
She wanted to leave the dream behind, to tuck it away in the shadows. But that memory still haunted her mind, always finding a way to return.
Then she dreamed of something else.
A great storm lashed at the world, rain pouring down from the clouds outside in an endless tide and thunder bellowing a war cry from the gray sky, while she sat watching it with her mother and father. She remembered this: her first real experience with a thunderstorm, when she was only two moons old. But this time Tara and Everest were not there to protect her and calm her fears. She could not search for them; her eyes were fixed on the white bolts of lightning that dashed from the clouds, which cast the world in white.
For several long moments after her sight came back she could not see through the pelting she spotted a distant figure padding through the storm, looking unaffected by the harassment of the water and the boom of the thunder. She could not see them clearly, only their faint outline visible in the gloom, yet she knew they were there.
Hoping to reach them, she bounded outside into the rain, feeling the stinging little claws dig into her fur. Hunching herself, she pressed on towards the figure, clenching her jaw.
"Hickory." She turned back, startled, seeing nothing.
"Hickory!" The word, the voice, came again, more urgently, yet still she could not see a thing within the gloom.
Then the ground shook, tossing her to her side forcefully and plunging her back into darkness.
Then there was light; and she bolted upright, awake, stunned and confused.
"What are you doing here?" she growled through bared teeth.
"I wanted to come back to see you."
Hickory locked over to the far corner across from her and leaned forward for a heartbeat. "You should leave."
"Why? I don't—"
"Yes," she meowed, locking eyes with her visitor, "you do. You know what you were told. If he— If he finds out that you came back. . ."
The cat puffed out her chest. "I promise you he won't."
"I wouldn't make that promise so quickly if I were you."
Both started at the sudden interruption and turned to the far wall. Only his eyes were visible from within the darkness, and Hickory began to wonder if he was smiling. "Sparrow, please just leave her be," she cautioned.
He padded out to meet them with a smile on his face. "I think we need to have a talk. Both of you."
Thanks for reading! I hope you liked it.
Please review if you did. It lets me know what you think and what I can improve on.
And before I go, I have one more thing to say:
~Each memory is a trail to follow. Every word is just another step towards where we roam.~
:3
Have a good day/night guys,
Rain