Chapter 7:

Fuzzy sound roared against his ears as Feliciano slowly shifted into awareness. As his bleary vision came into focus, he rolled to his back and gazed at the sky above. The dark of night was giving way to the red and purple of dawn. Flames burning from his neighbor's den continued to strike angrily at the stars above, trying to sink its searing fangs into their shining forms. Feliciano moaned and rolled over again, pushing himself upright in the grass by the Black Path. When the brown tom at last got a good look at his home, he was horrified.

Little was left standing, most of the dens' parts were scattered throughout, fences leaned and sagged in disarray and loud wailing echoed through the streets as Nofurs and animals alike howled in terror and desire to find separated family members. Feliciano mewled and curled in closer to his body. He could no longer bare to look at this horrific scene, choosing to focus on what was immediately around him.

To Feliciano's right, the mysterious cat from next door they had rescued was lying stretched out on his stomach, at last allowing Feliciano to get a view of what he looked like. The tom was entirely black with sharply pointed ears. His limbs were long and gangly, his body made lanky and slim. The cat's paws, face, and stomach were splashed with gagged spots of white. The most unusual feature was probably the cat's stubby white tail.

He almost looks part rabbit! Feliciano thought to himself. Suddenly, he heard a groaning sound coming from behind, and the cat whipped his head around to see his other friend struggling to his paws.

"Ludwig!" Feliciano gasped with fear as he rushed to the blonde tabby's side. Feliciano ducked and allowed the weakened tom to lean on his shoulder.

"Feliciano." Ludwig coughed a bit before continuing, trying to rid his lungs of poisoned air. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, just a few scrapes." He reassured. "But you're clearly not! What happened?"

"I was asleep on the second floor, when the ground just, fell out from under us-" he was cut off by a stream of coughing. Feliciano gazed worriedly at his wheezing friend. Remembering something his female Nofur did when her mate was sick, he lifted a paw and rubbed it on the tabby's back.

"Just keep coughing, get all the dust out. Here, sit and lean on this." Feliciano guided Ludwig over to the fence, allowing him to rest on the boards as he finished emptying his lungs. Feliciano turned again to the unconscious black cat.

Now, he was beginning to stir, a quiet sigh emanating from the strange tom as his eyes blinked open, which Feliciano could see were a bright green. The concerned tom leaned forward as the black cat shifted into a crouch, head down and shaking as if to clear it of something.

"Are you okay?" he tentatively asked. The cat flinched and yelped into full awareness, now noticing he was surrounded by unfamiliar cats.

"Hey! No need to be nervous!" Feliciano reassured. "We're the ones that saved you from the fire."

The tom tilted his head into confusion, smoke clouding his thoughts, until he gave another shake and the past events came back to him. His eyes drifted back to the pair before him, a small brown tom and the sputtering blonde tabby behind him.

"O-oh, yes." He stuttered nervously. Conversations were always hard. "T-thank you for that. I would have died had you not been so gracious as to help. How can I ever repay you?" The cat bowed so low that his nose brushed the grass, and Feliciano felt flustered at the sudden formality.

"No, no! There's no need for that. We would have done it for anyone!"

"Well, I still owe you my life, and it is within my family's tradition to never leave a debt unpaid. There must be something."

"Well, I guess you could start by telling us who you are." Feliciano's whiskers quivered with nervousness, and Ludwig's ears perked up in interest. The cat took a moment to clear his throat before bowing gracefully to the ground again, stretching a forepaw out towards Feliciano.

"I am Kiku, loyal bobtail cat of respected dynasty and lineage at your service."

"Yes, well." Feliciano glanced around nervously, unsure of how to react again. "I'm Feliciano, and this is Ludwig. We're your neighbors!"

"Yes, I know." The cat replied blandly.

"Ah, well-" Feliciano was stopped as Kiku got up and began to walk off.

"I thank you again for saving me, but I must return to my- Nofurs." Kiku quieted as he saw his former home. The entire thing was consumed in fire now, flames licking across all the wooden parts of the den, though it had still yet to catch the grass. The blaze was so dense around the center that only orange could be seen.

Kiku fell to the ground in shock, tail going limp and ears flattening against his head.

"Th… they're gone." He was distraught. The Nofurs that he had been with since kithood, had traveled so far to this new home with, who he swore on his family legacy to protect, gone.

Feliciano's attention turned with a snap towards his own den, and he shrieked as he ran towards the pile of fallen scraps in the midst of his yard. The brown tom bounded over the broken fence and into the center of the mess, digging around in the dust and grime while yowling for his Nofurs to speak up. Ludwig, still out by the fence, struggled upward and stepped carefully into the yard.

The tabby watched his friend's frantic search, sadness leaving a rock in the pit of his stomach. His mind drifted to his own Nofur, crushed under a rock in his nest. Feliciano shouldn't have to see what he did again, and he hobbled closer, about to call out his name, before a metallic scent caught his nose. His gaze shifted to the ground, and his eyes widened.

Feliciano was shifting a particularly large piece of wood, before he stopped. There was a circle of blood staining the floor below, the edges splatting out as if something had been hit in this spot, but a section was smeared, like something had dragged itself through the bloody ring.

"Feliciano!" Ludwig's stern voice called from behind.

Turning around, the tom's eyes caught a scene he had missed in his desperate attempt to claw through the rubble. A trial of bright red blood was smudged across the grass leading towards the Black Path, where it stopped at the curb and disappeared. Feliciano dumbly followed it out, and sat at the edge, gazing out at the path, following it with his eyes to where it turned out of sight. As Ludwig limped over, he saw Kiku walking towards Feliciano was well, gaze numb and full of sadness. Soon all three were looking dully out towards the denning place, focused more on their thoughts than the world around them. Kiku sighed.

"Where do I go now?" the question was directed at no one, but Ludwig felt a sting of empathy towards the new cat.

"Yes." He muttered. "All three of us are without home, without Nofurs… what other option is left?" a dead silence hung in the burning air. Feliciano bolted upright from his hunched position.

"No!" Ludwig and Kiku looked towards him in surprise.

"What do you mean 'no,' Feliciano?" his tabby friend questioned.

"My Nofurs aren't dead!"

"Oh, Feli…" Ludwig sighed in depression.

"No, I mean it! He turned to Ludwig, hope shining in his eyes. "The trail of blood must have come from them, and it went to the Black Path." The brown tom hopped along the gruesome red trail again. "Where it disappears, they must have left in a Metal Beast! They have to be somewhere in the denning place, just waiting to take me home!" Feliciano gazed in longing out in the distance. Ludwig shook his head.

"Feliciano," he would have to break the young cat's delusions. "The Nofurs are-"

"No, wait! He's right." To both of their surprise, Kiku spoke up.

"Back at my last home, my female Nofur took a very bad fall and got herself injured." Ludwig looked confused.

"Where is this going?"

"Just stay with me. The wound was so bad, that the male called in a special Metal Beast. It had a white pelt, with a red cross on its side, and these big flashing eyes on top of its head."

The cats stared at him like he had grown a second head.

"And they made this high pitched, whining sound. It sounds… just like that!"

Kiku stood and angled an ear towards a high wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeee emanating a few paths down. Feliciano perked up and leapt to his paws.

"So if my Nofurs were injured, a white Metal Beast must have taken them!" the cat was jumping with pure joy.

"Where do they go?" Ludwig questioned.

"I think they all go to the Nofur healer." Feliciano was a few steps ahead, already trotting down the path side.

"So we follow the whines, we get to the Nofurs! Then we can meet up with them, and they'll take care of everything after that!" Feliciano was much more cheery now. But Ludwig still had his doubts.

That's great for you, Feliciano, but what about us?

Ludwig felt something brush against his ankle. Looking down, he saw a strange, white thing that flapped in the wind like a torn bird's wing. Curious, he flattened it to the ground with a paw and smoothed it out on the grass. To his shock, the page contained many black scratches etched into it with that strange smelling black liquid. But they weren't random marks, they were definitely arranged in a specific patter, like the things his Nofur used to make. Could this be one of his pages?

Happy thoughts flooded to the tabby; a warm desk, the scratch of a pointed stick on paper, swatting at the moving object, being scolded by his Nofur, only to receive a small rub behind the ears to show no hard feelings. Then interrupted by flashes of darkness, dust, and blood; a figure crushed in a nest. Depression almost swept him to the ground. That life was gone now. What was the point of looking?

Then, Feliciano called. Ludwig looked up to see his longtime friend and Kiku already halfway down the street. Other thoughts swarmed to his mind; a small kit struggling over the fence, inviting him to share in the feather toy he was eyeing intently, other cats across the way teasing his size, only to be shoved away by the bigger tabby. Feliciano, the fragile yet energetic cat who was always by his side. There was no way that he would survive out in the feral world on his own, and if any cat deserved a happy ending in this sea of tragedy, it was him. And it was Ludwig's responsibility to get him there. With new found strength, he folded the paper, taking it in his mouth as he ran to catch up with Feliciano, the new purpose in his life.

The day was in full swing by the time the trio had traveled more than a few paths into the denning place. Though most of the dens were still in pieces, Ludwig could tell from the closeness of the ruined piles that they had reached the more scrunched part; where so many Nofurs wanted to live they pressed their dens right up against one another. Kiku and Ludwig were eyeing the streets carefully, watching all possible hiding spots for danger to leap out at any moment. Ludwig had seen the world outside his fence, it was wild, solitary, and ruthless. He had never wanted to step beyond his boundary, but now that he was forced to, he was not going to let it catch him off guard. Feliciano was not so worried.

He gazed wide-eyed in wonderment about him. This place looked so different! And smelled different to! He closed his eyes for a moment, sniffing and sniffing as he bounded forward from between the two anxious felines. Ludwig was the first to notice his absent minded wandering.

"Feliciano!" he yelled, startling the care free cat. "Get back here before you get smushed!" The tom was getting dangerously close to the Black Path that ran beside him. Though deserted, Metal Beasts could appear practically out of nowhere and take a cat out before you can blink.

"Oh, sorry!" the tom pranced back to his last spot between his two friends.

The monotonous walking continued, the only sound the rhythmic beating of paws on gravel and tails swishing in the air. Or, almost all of them. Feliciano looked back and saw his and Ludwig's tails waving high in the wind; but a third was missing. Kiku's tail stump merely twitched as he walked, as if the tail wanted, and was trying to wave proud and high like the others, but just couldn't.

Aww, poor tail! Feliciano thought. What was with that tail, anyway? It was short, and fluffy, and just un-tail like in all respects. The curiosity itched at his fur until he couldn't hold it in.

"Hey Kiku!" he asked.

"Hm?"

"What happened to your tail?" Ludwig almost gagged on his paper at the bluntness of his friend's question.

You stupid idiot! He scolded internally. Now you're going to offend him, and we'll lose a valuable ally! But to his surprise, Kiku took it well.

"Oh, this? I was born with it." Ludwig twitched in surprise, and Feliciano gasped.

"What? Really? I thought it got torn off! Tails can really be that short?"

"Why yes." The black cat fluffed his fur a bit. "Actually, it's a symbol of my heritage."

"Heritage?" Feliciano questioned.

"Yes. All the cats in my family, from my father, to my father's father, and his father before that, all the way back to the noble cats of the wild, have had short tails. It is the sign of the warrior blood that runs through our veins." Kiku's chest was puffed out in pride. But then, the cat deflated, his ears drooped and paws dragged as he slowed his pace.

"Though, now I guess I don't have the right to call myself that."

Ludwig was confused. What was he talking about? Feliciano slowed to walk beside Kiku, demonstrating that everlasting kindness for all cats in pain that Ludwig knew him so well for.

"Every cat in each family litter is to be given to a new family, and are sworn to protect them with tooth and claw to our very last breath. And I failed to do that."

"Hey," Feliciano spoke calmly. "Don't think like that. No one could have stopped an earth growl, or put out a fire-"

"But I should have tried." Kiku interrupted. "They were my responsibility, and impossible though it may seem, I should have tried, and died trying." That's when Ludwig stopped.

The tabby turned and stood towering over Kiku, and the cat gulped slightly at the outraged look on his face.

"That's enough." He spoke sternly and with finality. "I hate it when cats think that. You should never be ashamed of picking life over death in combat because what good is your so called 'honor' if you're dead?" Kiku flinched at the last part and averted his gaze.

Feliciano pressed closer to the black cat, wrapping a tail around his back. Though he hated when Ludwig got riled up like this, such words were needed sometimes; he was the voice of comfort, Ludwig the voice of harsh reality. Now that he thought about it, the two made a very good team.

"If your Nofurs really loved you, they would be glad that you at least got out safely. Now don't waste this life you've been lucky enough to keep. Pick up your paws and keep moving!" Ludwig put all the truth and belief that he had into these words. He had figured this out a few hours before himself, during the revelation with his paper. His eyes drifted to Feliciano for a moment; the cat who was like his own brother. There's always a reason to keep going.

Kiku was looking intently at the ground, and sighed. Then he stood, meeting Ludwig's steady gaze with his own green eyes.

"Thank you." His face was stone, his voice monotone, but Feliciano knew he meant it. A smile stretched across his face again, and the tom bounded up to walk beside Kiku once more.

Ludwig padded behind, a rush going through his body after the confrontation. His heart bounded against his chest like he had just run from one side of the denning place to the other.

Did I pull a cat from the brink? The brink I had been so close to falling into myself? The tabby smiled to himself, watching Feliciano gab on to Kiku, no doubt trying to distract him from those past ruinous thoughts. Though it was such a small exchange, the group felt closer than they had before.

Kiku and Feliciano dropped to the grass covered ground in a huff of exhaustion. They panted heavily as the world cooled off while night covered the area. Ludwig settled down to his stomach, looking around at the trees that surrounded him. The group had walked aimlessly through the denning area, following small glimpses of white Metal Beasts through the streets, before they had stumbled across this one section that was left wild, untouched by Nofur dens and tools. By then it was getting late, Feliciano was whining, Kiku was not complaining but looked tired, and Ludwig's paws ached like crazy.

Giving in, he led them through the trees until they found an open clearing with soft, spongey grass, perfect for resting in tonight.

A growl echoed through the open space, and Ludwig bristled nervously, preparing for an attack, until Feliciano spoke up from the ground.

"Ehheheh… That was me. My stomach's talking." It growled again. "It says 'moooooooooooouse.' Hahaha!" Feliciano chuckled at the last part, and Ludwig's fur flattened in relief.

"I guess we should go hunting then." Feliciano started whining.

"But I'm too tired to hunt! I don't even know how!" Ludwig rolled his eyes and started trying to nose his friend to his paws.

"Come on, lazy bones! It's just like catching that toy in the yard." But he just held his ground and whined in protest.

"Alright!" Ludwig shouted in defeat. "We'll hunt, but you have to do something!"

Feliciano jumped to his paws.

"I know! I'll make up a place for us to sleep!" and he dashed off to look for possible bedding.

"Well, he can sure pick and choose when to get up." Kiku spoke from where he sat behind Ludwig.

"Yeah." The tabby sighed in exasperation. "I'll never understand him." Ludwig turned to Kiku.

"Can you hunt?"

"A little." The cat stuttered, nervous in the spot light.

"That's good enough. Let's go."

"Wait, do you even know what you're doing?" Kiku ask as he ran after the blonde.

"How hard can it be?"

The answer? Very hard.

Ludwig and Kiku scoured the forest, and though there were plenty of mice and birds, catching them was an entirely different story. They prowled more like clumsy badgers then graceful hunters; snapping twigs beneath their paws, stirring leaves with their tails, misjudging their leaps and landing with mouthfuls of dirt rather than juicy meat. It was a lot harder than Ludwig had heard it described. Why couldn't they just stay still like the fake mice in his yard? The answer was obvious and rather silly, but Ludwig still found himself wishing for a few frozen mice to leap into his paws.

Kiku was nowhere near skilled himself, but he had better luck than Ludwig. He had managed to corner and kill a rather fat looking rabbit that dragged the ground as he carried it along. The most Ludwig had gotten was a thin looking sparrow. His fur was hot with shame as the two padded back to Feliciano. What kind of protector couldn't provide for the one he was protecting? There was nowhere near enough meat on this sparrow for the two to share. Ludwig stopped and put down his bird before looking to Kiku.

"Hey, Kiku?"

"Hm?" the black cat mumbled around his rabbit.

"This might sound strange, but, do you think you could… share that with Feliciano?" the tabby scrapped at the ground with a paw, embarrassed that he had asked in the first place. Kiku's eyes glinted with an understanding humor as he set the prey down.

"I would be glad to, Ludwig." The tabby sighed in relief, and the two kept walking.

Eventually, they crested a hill in the landscape and Kiku stopped once more, eyes trained on the sky. Ludwig looked up in confusion, trying to find what he was staring at. The stars were dense and bright tonight. Away from the Nofur lights, they shined more numerable and with more passion than he had ever seen it before, and Ludwig let out a gasp as kit like wonder sparked emotion in his gut. A band of clustered stars weaved across the sky like a river, shifting in curving bends above their head. Kiku had dropped the rabbit to the ground, and bent his head so the black cat's pink nose was touching his forepaws. The tom appeared to be muttering something under his breath. Ludwig was very confused, and shifted a bit closer to the cat before speaking up.

"Um, Kiku?" He interrupted. "What are you doing?" The cat took a break from his stream of words and looked up at Ludwig.

"I'm praying." He stated like it was obvious.

"Praying to who?" He questioned.

"The star cats of course." Ludwig looked even more confused now. Kiku widened at him in surprise.

"You don't know of the star cats?"

"Can't say I do."

"Wow." Kiku was genuinely shocked.

"I thought all kits learned of the star cats back in their mother's nest. Well, sit down and I'll tell you." The cats settled close on the hill, placing the prey between them so that no scavengers would think of getting too close.

"It has been said, passed from cat to cat through generations, that when cats who have led noble and honest lives die, their spirits leave their earthly bodies and go to run in the stars, alongside the powerful ancestors who came before us." Ludwig looked back towards the sky.

Cats in the stars? Sounded a bit like jay-jabber to him. Now, Kiku had turned back to his paws in the same position as before. Ludwig couldn't help but interrupt again. Perhaps Feliciano was rubbing off on him.

"What are you praying about?" Kiku stopped and looked up again.

"I'm… I'm praying for my Nofurs."

"Your Nofurs?"

"Yes. I figure if cat souls go to the stars, then Nofur souls must go somewhere too, and maybe the star cats can look after them." Kiku turned to Ludwig with guilt in his eyes.

"I know what you said earlier, but I still feel really sad and guilty." He looked away again, voice becoming quiet. "There was something I never told Feliciano, because it was too painful to dwell on then… The female Nofur… was a few moons from kitting."

Ludwig reared back in shock.

"I swore when I found out that I would work twice as hard to save them, but now, I not only let two souls die, but three. One that didn't even get the chance to start." The black tom was choking with emotion by the end.

No wonder he was so torn up about it. Adults dying was sad, but kits? Nofur or not, that was even worse. His pride had taken a larger hit than Ludwig expected, but his point from last time still rung true. He leaned closer to his new friend, and talked in a gentler tone.

"It's still not your fault. The world is an unfortunate place, with so many unknowns that no one can really prepare for the future. Not even the bravest, wildest cat in the forest." Kiku was still sobbing. "And besides, if that whole 'souls in the stars' thing is true, I bet they're watching you right now. All three. Wishing you luck, and hoping you find a better home." Though Ludwig was not a firm believer in his friend's statement, it was what he believed, so maybe that's what he needed to heal.

After a few sniffles, Kiku got up again, looking a bit better than before.

"Yeah… I bet you're right. The blessing of the stars got me here, and it'll get me through tomorrow, too." He turned back to Ludwig. "Come, I bet Feliciano is even hungrier now."

The cat bounded off into the forest. Ludwig sighed happily at Kiku's turn around, and got up to leave. Just out of the corner of his eye, he thought he saw a flash of light from above, and a peculiar wind tickling his hear fur with the distinct tone and inflections of a whispering voice. But as he turned, he saw nothing and heard nothing aside from the still trees and grassy hill around him. The tom shrugged and walked off. Cats in the stars… ridiculous!

When they got back to the clearing, Feliciano was curled in the center, snoozing away. At the sound of paw steps crunching through the wild grass, the brown cat's head popped up, and he bounced towards where his friends were approaching.

"Hey, guys!" he mewed cheerfully. "You were gone for a while! I had more than enough time to gather moss for three big nests; oh, and you'll never guess! I sniffed out this great hallow tree that's big enough for all of us to fit and- Whoa! That rabbit is HUGE!" he picked up his pace and skidded to a halt in front of Kiku.

"Did you catch this yourself?" he asked admirably.

"Well, yes." Kiku's pelt grew hot with embarrassment.

"That's amazing, Kiku!" The two wandered farther into the clearing, allowing Ludwig to silently creep around to the opposite side. The tabby had no desire for Feliciano to see his meager catch. Compared with Kiku's rabbit, it was more of a twig than-

"Ludwig!" The tabby gulped, preparing for his friend's shock and horror. Feliciano bounded up to where his friend sat hunched in the corner, trying to hide something from his view. The brown tom pushed his paw aside and gasped.

"Did you catch this?"

"W-well… You see I…" he sighed. "Yeah…"

"Wow, Ludwig! That's amazing!" His ears twitched.

"Really?"

"Yeah! I mean, with how quickly those things can jump up and fly away, I'm surprised you managed to catch one!" The cat was bent over the prey, studying it closely. Disbelief sparked in Ludwig's mind.

"You honestly think so?"

"Yeah," he replied without a trace of sarcasm or doubt. "And I bet this tastes great!" He leaned over to snatch up the bird, but Ludwig interrupted.

"Oh! No, sorry Feliciano." He swiped the sparrow out of reach. "That's for me. You're sharing the rabbit with Kiku."

"What? But I was looking forward to taste what you caught!"

Ludwig was at a loss of what to do. He was glad Feliciano was so impressed by his lackluster offering, but there was nowhere near enough to feed even one cat; but Kiku had enough for two. And he was not letting his best friend go to bed hungry. He'd have to think of something to deflect his interest without wounding the other tom's pride by making him believe Ludwig thought he could not care for himself.

"Yes, well… So was I!" Feliciano looked confused.

"See, this is my first catch, and I was looking forward to tasting my efforts as well."

"You don't want to share?"

Sorry, Feliciano. Ludwig thought.

"That's right. I'm in no mood to share tonight." Ludwig quickly snatched the bird in his mouth to emphasize his point.

"Aww, Ludwig!" Feliciano chided. "Someday, I'll have to teach you how to share!" With a good humored huff, he walked back to Kiku and settled beside him to eat.

Ludwig padded over and sat close by, ripping off mouthfuls of bird meat. It was surprisingly good. He had heard rogues and strays rave on and on about the taste of real flesh, but he had not expected it to be so tasty. It was flavorful and juicy, a bit stringy but that might have just been the fact that it was a bird, and was gone far too quickly for Ludwig's liking. Once he had licked each bone clean, he settled on his paws and watched the other two finish up. His stomach growled in protest to not being allowed to partake in the rabbit, but Ludwig's pride was unwavering. He caught the smallest bit, so that's what he deserved.

I'll try better tomorrow.

It wasn't long before Feliciano and Kiku flopped to the ground on either side of him as full darkness settled on the park. Though Ludwig guessed it was very late in the day by now, he was in no hurry to go to sleep. The thoughts of both today and yesterday at last had their opening to lay heavily on his mind, and now his thoughts raced in circles with no signs of slowing. The silence pressed in on him as he felt the true fruitlessness of their situation take hold. And though no cat spoke a word, Ludwig could tell the other two felt the same, all anxious and wide awake as the past horrifying events came to a close. None of this felt real anymore; where they walking through a dream? No more than a fake reality? If their past lives had really died within their dens, how where they here now? And how was the rest of the earth for that matter? It was all too much. Ludwig felt water brim to the ducts of his eyes as emotions ruled all thinking.

Then, he heard a whisper. A voice, soft and light through the breeze. It danced and shifted to the form of a melodious tone. The cat to his right was the source. Feliciano was singing. The tom was sitting upright, head tilted back towards the sky where tree tops could be seen outlined by the light of the stars. His voice wafted over Ludwig's ears. It was the same song he always sung, that melody that drifted across the yard and over the fence so often, it was like the only piece of home they really brought with them. Ludwig could remember the lyrics by heart. He felt a hum building in his chest, eventually bubbling into a voice as he joined the cat in song, his lower voice adding a nice contrast to Feliciano's high tones.

The daaaaaaaaay has set,

The night feeeeeeeeeeeeels so long,

My heeeart lies hea-vy,

Dropped downnnn to my paws,

The toms continued in this manor, the song drifting and filling all corners of the clearing. The words started slow and sad, but as they continued, they became brighter, full of hope, like the sun rising again after a day of rain. To both their amazement, a third joined in their choir. Kiku was singing as well, rolled on his back, eyes closed to their shocked faces, he picked up the tune, continuing on with all the right words and inflections.

But it's not- too- bad,

Cus' I can smell- it~ on the breeze,

This happiness I lost,

Oh, darling, it's running back to me!

Their voices got louder, joined in raised volume by one another, and the cats got up to prance and dance in a circle around the clearing, all sense and hesitation swept away in the joyous throws of song and company. They danced and danced as the song's beat intensified, reaching the climatic lyrics.

Yes, hope is here!

My hope is great!

So much is gone,

But I won't wait!

For days may pass,

Sea-sons may change,

But I will al-ways,

Brave this winter!

Yes with a song in my heart,

And light at the end,

With the stars as my whitn-e-e-e-eeeeeees, *a pause*

Oh I will dance agaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaain!

As the last words left their lips, the cats collapsed on the ground in a fit of laughter, staring at each other wide-eyed as if they could not believe what had just happened. As if they had all been on the same wave length in those few moments, Feliciano's joy had spread to them all like wildfire, and now their pelts itched with it, and their eyes lit with a glow neither had in years. At the same time, the excitement left like a broken dam, and all three felt heavy eyed and pawed. Feliciano yawned.

"Well," he turned to them with his familiar bright eyes. "Let's head to the nests." All three filed into the hallowed space within the sturdy trunk, anxious to sleep.

Ludwig settled down first, and Feliciano curled up next to the blonde tabby, back snuggled safely into his side. Kiku however, still unsure of his place in the group, settled down in a clump of moss farther away from them. Ludwig gave him a curious look.

"You know, we don't bite." Kiku gave him a look that showed he did not understand. Ludwig rolled his eyes at the cat's ignorance of sayings.

"You can come sleep over here. It's cold outside, and you're sure to get frozen paws on your own." Feliciano picked up his head from where he slept beside Ludwig and gazed at Kiku with bleary eyes.

"Yeah," he muttered sleepily. "We don't need a friend catching a cold. Besides," He yawned again. "It always feels good to sleep by friends. Always… nice and safe…" The brown cat trailed off as he drifted into sleep, his quiet snores filling the small tree cleft.

Kiku smiled in spite of himself, surprisingly relieved and glad to be accepted. He got up from his lonely place by the wayside, and settled around to the other side of Feliciano. He looked towards the other two.

"Hey, what happened outside…" he began, capturing their attention. "You knew that song?"

"Yeah!" Feliciano marked cheerfully. "I forget where I first heard it, but the knowledge of it has been with me since I was a kit. I used to sing it when I was sad, when I was happy… Come to think of it, I just sang it all the time!"

"And I've lived next to him most of my life. Thanks to him, I know it by heart myself." Kiku nodded in understanding.

"I first learned it from my female Nofur, actually. My mama knew the song, and told me what the words where. I was captivated by its tone and sound. It's such a good song. All about how to move on from such tragedy… I never thought I would be able to relate, until now."

Feliciano made a noise of agreement.

"Hey, what luck, do you think it is, that three cats who knew the same song all came together to help each other like this?" It was quite a remarkable stroke of luck.

"Maybe it's not just coincidence." Kiku murmured. "Maybe it's fate." The other two cats turned back to him. "Perhaps the star cats have willed this." Kiku closed his eyes and gazed towards the sky again. Feliciano followed him in wonder, though the stars could not be seen from within the wood shelter.

Ludwig felt a bit uncomfortable again. The conversation had come back to those weird cats in the sky, and he had no idea how to feel. Feliciano seemed intrigued; though with his kit like excitement, star cats was hardly a stretch. Ludwig, however, could not believe in such a thing. If they did exist, and could do as Kiku claimed, why where they just sitting there above them? Why were they not helping?! But, Ludwig forced the outrage to leave him. If Kiku choose to believe such a kittale, he would say nothing to try to change his mind.

The black tom rested his head on his forepaws before closing his eyes and falling asleep. Ludwig gazed fondly at the two younger cats beside him. With all three pressed close together, small sounds filling the space, it almost felt… homely. And they like a family. It brought warmth to his heart, and really made him believe that everything was going to work out.

Then, lighting flashed outside, thunder crashing overhead as rain came down in a torrent. The heavy drops flattened leaves, grass, and soaked the entire outside world in a matter of seconds. Ludwig flattened to the floor, startled by the sudden noise.

That… that doesn't count as a bad omen, does it? Ludwig felt his fur rise in uncertainty.

No… of course not. Sometimes rain is just rain. Right? Ludwig shrugged it off and tucked his head into his side. Sleep now. Tomorrow later.