"…. And you wouldn't believe the weird accent he picked up."
Pearlpaw licked her forepaws clean while her unnamed friend continued the story. She'd apparently been adopted just after Pearlpaw, and escaped from the Human soon after. The stray had invited herself to travel with them, much to Cavvile's annoyance. She was worried about the gold dragon losing his patience and harming the spotted cat.
But Pearlpaw was beginning to realize that her birth realm's ruler wasn't nearly as powerful in feline form. So the journey continued. The stray seemed able to tell what was happening, yet remained strangely unconcerned. She thought that her friend knew something she wasn't sharing.
The breeze brought with it a familiar smell that caused both cats to stop what they were doing. Dog. It was nearly undetectable among the many odors of the Human garbage field, but it was there. Close enough to smell. Fur standing up, Pearlpaw got to her feet and looked around for Cavvile. When her eyes fell upon her captor's resting figure, she called to him, surprised at the steadiness in her voice.
"Cavvile, we need to find somewhere else to sleep."
Her friend jumped onto the ruins of a car and stared at their shadowy surroundings. The gold dragon barely opened his eyes. "What?"
"Cavvile, wake up. We need to leave." The wind picked up once again. The scent was stronger now. "We have to get out of here now. There's danger."
"There is no danger here," he replied with a dismissive flick of his tail.
"Yes there is! We have to go!"
He glared at her, struggling to stand and opening his mouth to yell. A growl from the darkness silenced any argument. With all the debris around, and the noise of the city, their attacker had managed to sneak up on them. She turned toward the sound, claws instincively sliding out. A huge shape stalked in the direction of the two felines.
Her heart was pounding. Her tail twitched and her ears drew back against her skull in anticipation of battle. She hissed, and the stray was at her side a moment later. The canine's focus shifted between the two. Before long, it would decide who to go for first and chaos would erupt.
She looked behind her at the terrified creature. He'd never seen anything as insignificant as a dog as a threat before. A cat's body was still a foreign thing to Cavvile, and he hadn't had a day of battle training with cat claws. A thought manifested in her mind that she couldn't possibly have prepared for: Cavvile's reign of terror could end right now.
He couldn't run, not with his pads in that condition.
"You ready, Pearlpaw?"
She hardly heard her friend speak. The world seemed to have gone silent. They didn't have to fight. They could easily outrun the clumsy mutt and let Cavvile fend for himself. Which he couldn't. She felt nothing but a burning rage, actually considering this idea. A problem could be solved. Revenge could be hers.
Staring into the gold dragon's red eyes, her silent mockery might as well have been spoken aloud. What's wrong? Can't handle a little pest like this?
Turning back to the dog, she noticed a cloud had moved away from the moon, and her pelt glowed in its light. Just as soon as this dark version of her took over, it was gone. She felt different somehow. There wasn't time to think about it. Pearlpaw's mind was made up.
I'm a warrior, not a rat-hearted Tribe cat!
"Cavvile, go find somewhere to hide."
She fought alongside her friend. Cat blood fell to the ground, mixing with their enemy's. Dull claws tore through her skin. Her sharp fangs ripped flesh from a foreleg. Its teeth found her hind foot and she was in the air. She gasped as metal pierced her side. Her frantic attempts at escape only seemed to worsen the problem.
She had to help her nameless friend. She had to make sure the other two cats were safe. Why did her paws feel so cold? She barely felt the metal as she tried to push herself away from it. The longer she struggled, the weaker she became. It didn't make any sense. The fight was still going on, wasn't it? Adrenalin should be giving her strength.
What was that liquid coming from her mouth? Why did she no longer feel her injuries? Wakefulness was quickly leaving her, but she could still faintly understand that she was supposed to be getting away from something. So she moved in a vain struggle for freedom.
"Stop! You're making it worse!"
Making what worse?
She must've fallen asleep for a minute because when she opened her eyes again, she was somewhere different. A belligerant voice rang in her ears. Who was screaming? Why were they so angry? The world was fading again, and some part of her understood that it might never reappear.
