Stalking down the slope, their hunter instincts taking over, they approached the source of the sound cautiously, warmth slowly flooding their veins as they moved. Spreading out, they blocked all routes of escape for the creature and moved in closer for a better look at what was soon to be their dinner.
In the middle of a large clearing, their prey stood – oblivious to their presence – rooting through the dirt for its nourishment most probably. Like a large pig, its six muscular legs and powerfully muscled body looked surprisingly threatening for such an odd-looking beast.
Gesturing for the two largest toms to move in at either end of the clearing, Griddlebone nodded as the pack crept towards the creature, their hunger and instinct overcoming the fear they were all experiencing to some extent.
Whirling around, the pig-like animal stared at its assailants emerging from the brush, a savage light gleaming in its eyes.
"Quick!" McDuff lead the charge, leaping onto the creature's back and sinking his claws and teeth into its neck, ignoring the horrific squeals of agony and rage.
Tackling the beast from one side, Grumbuskin jerked his claws into the muscular chest cavity, hot blood splattering all over them as the dying animal continued to struggle fiercely, squealing and kicking its powerful legs.
Holding two legs down fiercely, Griddlebone grimaced across at Genghis who gave her a reassuring wink. Bill Bailey and Little Dragon were both worrying the creature's neck, along with McDuff, trying to kill it, while Blaze wrestled with the third pair of legs.
It stank. Whatever it was, it stank to high heaven. Worse than anything any of them had ever had the misfortune to smell before. And their enhanced senses made the whole experience ten times worse: the stench, the screaming.
With a yell of dismay, Griddlebone felt a savage hoof connect with her head and collapsed backwards, blood bursting from a gash at her temple and staining her white fur. "What a way to go." She mumbled hazily, sinking into unconsciousness.
*
"Is she going to be all right?" Blaze looked up at Genghis, her expression enigmatic, her paw still resting on Griddlebone's wounded forehead. Bruised, with a large scab peeking through her fur, the white queen looked like she was in a bad way.
"She's going to be fine." The black cat gently stroked her white compatriot's fur, gazing up at her former twin reassuringly. "But she needs to be kept warm. Can a couple of you sleep with her and use your warmth?"
"I'll do it." Little Dragon crept across, nursing the bruises that the attack on their meal had left her with. Wrapping herself around Griddlebone, she smiled tiredly as Genghis curled up on the other side.
Although their first hunt had lasted barely minutes, it seemed like hours and it had taken its toll on their untrained bodies. Although all of them were stronger and fitter than most humans of their own ages, becoming a felinoid and hunter meant they were weaker than they needed to be to survive in this new environment.
Dragging the large and extremely smelly body to the cave that they now sheltered in, they had all practically collapsed to the ground, overcome with sudden exhaustion.
McDuff estimated that he had suffered a broken nose, while the others were cut and bruised from head to foot from the creature's kicks and Griddlebone was still unconscious, her fur matted and tangled.
Returning to the entrance of their shelter, Blaze gazed out at the night sky, the fire behind her warming her a little. Light clouds scooted across the dark of the night, tiny stars twinkling high above them.
Clearer than on earth, the air was pure, the night somehow brighter and more beautiful than she could ever remember it being before. Inhaling a deep breath of the sweet air, she gazed up at the lazy moon that hung overhead like a massive silvery-blue penny in the dark velvet of the sky.
"Whatcha thinking about, Blaze?" Sitting on a rock beside the entrance of the cave, Grumbuskin was watching her. Somehow he had escaped her attention.
Crossing her arms across her chest, she shrugged expressively. "Home, I suppose." She replied. "And here. Why are we here? Why us?"
Patting the space on the rock beside him, he smiled. "Because we're special?" His grey, black and white striped fur rippled in the light wind, thick and wild. "There's something else, isn't there, Blaze? You've been very quiet…you were never this quiet at home."
"I don't know." She admitted, sitting down beside him, leaning on her knees heavily. "We've barely been here half a day and…well, I'm having trouble remembering things…about home. It's like that was a dream and this was always reality. We just needed to wake up."
"Maybe it was like that." He murmured, slipping an arm around her shoulder to protect her against the chill of the night. "Maybe we were all dreaming…who's to say?"
"C'mon." Standing up, she squeezed his large grey paw. "We should get some sleep. It's been a long half day."
"Yes ma'am." Smiling gently, he followed her into the cave. It wasn't much – merely a deep crack in a rock face – but it was shelter until they found somewhere better.
The fire that McDuff had managed to build at the entrance still flickered warmly, casting a familiar glow on the bare walls of the cavern. Pieces of the carcass of their first kill hung above the fire on a makeshift skewer, the flesh being effectively smoked for later use.
Bill Bailey and McDuff were curled up together, already fast asleep in the darkest corner of the cave, while Little Dragon and Genghis were still snuggled around the sleeping form of Griddlebone.
"Would you care to join me?" Gesturing to a vacant spot on a smooth part of the floor, Grumbuskin raised an eyebrow at her, squatting down and pretending to pull back a blanket for her. "I don't bite…much."
"Strange as it may seem," She sank down beside him, nestling against his warm body. "I actually believe you!"
"Silly woman." He smiled fondly, his legs twisting around hers, her soft breathing puffing the fur on his chest as she fell asleep. "Such a pretty silly woman."
*
"Someone pass me the paracetamol." Griddlebone groaned, blinking her heavy eyes open, rubbing her face with one paw, pushing tangled white locks of fur off her face.
"You're awake!" Genghis' face gazed down at her, his blue eyes gleaming with relief and delight. "We thought that thing was going to kill you!"
"Thing?"
"Yeah," Yawned Little Dragon from her other side, her head pillowed on the white queen's side. "It kicked you so hard we thought you were dead…but you're okay and we have a lot of meat left now."
Sitting up, Griddlebone shifted Little Dragon's head down to rest on her thigh. She felt Genghis slip a supportive arm around her waist and smiled weakly at the cream coloured tom, nuzzling his chest as she curled against him, still astoundingly tired.
Kneeling up behind her, he carefully started to groom her blood-matted fur with a gentle tongue, loosening the tangles with his paws and claws. Sighing contentedly, she closed her eyes and sank back against him, her own paw gently stroking Little Dragon's smooth fur.
"How are you feeling this morning?" Blaze tilted her head sleepily up to look at the white queen anxiously, her body still firmly entangled with Grumbuskin's sleeping form. "Does your head still hurt?"
"A little." Griddlebone acknowledged, as Genghis rough tongue ran up her cheek warmly. "What happened to me? I remember being kicked…how did you kill it?"
"This little tyke found the bugger's jugular." McDuff looked over from the re-stoked fire, where he sat with Bill Bailey. "The ugly critter died within seconds." Hooking a piece of the charred meat off the fire with his claw, he tossed it lightly to Griddlebone. "We've all eaten. You need to eat some."
Gnawing eagerly on the chunk of flesh, she felt her stomach crying out with relief. "Who butchered it?" She asked around mouthfuls.
"I did." McDuff answered modestly. "My dad…I think it was my dad…he taught me how to hunt and how to butcher what we caught. I skinned it first…we might be able to use the hide for something." He nodded out of the opening of the cave, where the skin was stretched out on the branches of a nearby tree.
"What are we gonna do today?" Bill Bailey asked eagerly, his brown eyes twinkling naughtily. "Can I go explore?"
"We should explore." Grumbuskin muttered, his voice muffled by the fact his face was still buried in Blaze's fur. "I'm sure we're not the only ones of our kind that live in this place. We're not the first to leave our world through CATS."
"What do you mean?" Genghis looked up suspiciously. "You knew this would happen to us?"
Raising his head, Grumbuskin shook his head slowly. "I said no such thing…but don't you remember? Not even slightly? This has happened several times before…every time without warning…"
"The American tours…" A look of comprehension flooded Griddlebone's face. "So they came here. I always wondered…but I can hardly remember it…our world…Grumbuskin …why can't I remember? Why can't any of us?"
"This is our world now." The tabby replied softly, resting his head on Blaze's shoulder. "We can't go back, so we will forget it. Everything about it."
"Everything?" Little Dragon sat up, tears in her eyes. "But my family…I can't forget them…"
"Be honest, Dragon." McDuff whispered chokingly. "Can you even remember what their faces look like? Can you even remember what you look like?" She lowered her head sadly. "We can all remember the thing that brought us here though." He added sharply. "We have to remember what made us what we are."
"The music." Blaze nodded. "The songs. The dancing."
"We will remember." Griddlebone nodded firmly, her face determined. "If its only the songs, we have to remember. No matter what happens to us."
Exchanging glances, they all nodded. "Agreed."
"Now," Bill Bailey leapt to his feet eagerly. "Are we gonna go try and find the others? Or are we just gonna sit around being pathetic all day?"
"I'd say we get out and do something." Little Dragon grinned at her friend. Her wide Siamese-blue eyes were devoid of tears now. They had accepted their fate…now to see what would become of them.