-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-
-::VENOM::-
As soon as her paws touched the stone Twoleg path beneath the fence, an earsplitting yowl and a barrage of barking met her ears. Cobra flinched and tried to flatten herself to the ground, closing her eyes and trying to block out the noise. Those rogue dogs…they've caught some poor cat! And now they'll…
Ragged breathing and the rapid pounding of paws made her open one eye. Then both of them flew wide with astonishment. It was a gray tabby she-cat, and she was actually managing to stay ahead of the pack! But she looked tired…how long had the stranger been trying to escape?
I can't just watch this, the young she-cat thought. They'll catch that cat eventually… Her muscles tensed, and a growl rumbled in her throat. I won't let her die! As they neared, she braced herself. Then she opened her mouth and yowled, "Up the fence – I'll distract the dogs!" She sprang to the stranger's side, fear and adrenaline lending speed to her paws.
Leaf green eyes, dull with exhaustion and yet burning with an inner, determined fire, met hers. "Are you insane? They'll rip you to shreds, kit!" the tabby snarled. "Besides, I've gotten this far – I won't give up now!"
"Don't be stupid! You won't get much farther in that state." When the tabby just went on running and glaring, she added, "Jump! I'll be fine! Meet you back here later!" Without giving the stranger a chance to reply, she veered away. The dogs, predictable brutes that they were, broke into a new round of excited yaps and switched their target. She was a smaller, weaker cat – she'd never be able to keep this pace up for long.
That's what you think, mutts! I'll keep this up for as long as it takes…and it won't take long at all to lose you!
She turned a sharp corner, hearing the dogs' claws scrabbling as they fought to stop and follow. They lost time, and she gained some distance – but that wouldn't last long. She needed to outpace them and confuse them long enough to get away.
Funny how much this situation is like my dream, Cobra thought, taking a running leap. Her claws sank into the top of a wooden box and she quickly hauled herself up. She sprang to the next, and the next, and finally made it to the top of a stone fence. This she ran along until she reached the side of a Twoleg nest. Another fence – a good distance away – stretched away from it.
Can I make that jump? She looked down, narrowing her eyes as the dogs' barking grew more high-pitched. They'd seen her. They thought she was trapped. I have to make it!
She tensed her muscles, pushed back on her haunches…and sprang. Her forepaws stretched out in desperation, claws extending to the fullest.
The tips of those claws caught the edge of the fence. Her chest slammed into it, knocking the wind from her. Though she tried to get a better grip, she could feel the lousy one she had sliding… I'm gonna fall!
"Cobra!"
She knew that voice! "Arsenic! Help me!" Her voice rose to a high, desperate yowl.
"Hold on, kit!" A deeper, male voice. She didn't recognize it. Instinctively, she tried to turn her head enough to see who it was, but the movement just made her claws slip again.
"Khaz, we're not going to make it!" Arsenic's voice sounded frantic. She was Cobra's mentor, protector, the one who'd practically raised her… And now I'm gonna die right in front of her, Cobra thought, letting out another wail as her grip slipped even more. "Don't let go, Cobra! We're coming!"
"I can't hold on, Arsenic! I'm gonna fall!"
"Just hang on a little longer, Cobra!" Khaz's voice called. He sounded closer – did he plan to catch her? I'd end up killing him!
"I can't!" Cobra wailed, scrabbling for a hold with her hind paws with no success. "Arsenic…I'm sorry!" Her claws were sliding over the edge…this was it…
"Hang on, Cobra!" Arsenic yowled. But Cobra was already starting to fall. "No!"
"I've got her!"
Sharp teeth sank into Cobra's scruff. Pain stabbed into her as her fall was abruptly stopped. She couldn't help but let out a gasp as she glimpsed pale gray tabby fur. "It's you…" she mewled. "The cat from earlier…"
The she-cat grunted, trying to haul Cobra to safety. At first, she slid forward and it seemed Cobra's weight would take them both over the edge. But the tabby stranger dug her claws in, heaved backward, and managed to lift the kit to the top of the fence. "A favor for a favor," she meowed briskly. "I owed you one."
"Thank you," Cobra meowed, her voice shaky. Actually, she was trembling all over. She'd come that close to dying… "I owe you my life."
"Nah," the gray tabby mewed. She licked one forepaw and swiped it over her white muzzle, smoothing the fur on her nose. "You saved me first. It was the least I could do."
"Cobra!" Arsenic called as the white cat easily managed the leap to the top of the fence. With her tail, she swept Cobra into the shelter of her warm flank and started washing the younger cat's face and ears with the urgency of a worried mother. "I thought…I thought…" Arsenic's voice broke and she fell silent.
The quiet thud of paws on the fence made Cobra look up. The tom who had joined them smiled at her, panting. "Hi, there, kitten," he mewed. "You're quite the daredevil, for someone as small as you!"
Cobra, suddenly struck by shyness, looked down at her paws. "It was stupid," Arsenic growled. "If this cat hadn't been there…" She paused and Cobra felt her move, probably looking at the gray tabby. "What's your name, by the way?"
"Venom," the she-cat replied. "Really, it was nothing." She dipped her head. "I'm glad I could help."
"Thank you, Venom," Cobra piped up, looking at the gray tabby she-cat.
"You're brave, Cobra," Venom meowed. Her green eyes searched Cobra's ice blue. "First you saved me from the dogs, and now this. You're really something else."
"Dogs?" Arsenic bristled. "Not the rabid ones?"
"The very same," mewed Venom with a dip of her head. "They might've caught me if this kit didn't come out of nowhere and lead them off."
Khaz chuckled. "I agree with you. This kit is something else."
Cobra ducked her head, embarrassed. "I couldn't watch any cat die," she mewed. Her ears twitched self-consciously. "And I didn't have time to think. I just…decided."
Khaz shook his head, meowing, "That's brave. Not many would help out a complete stranger like that."
"It was terrifying!" Cobra shivered, snuggling into Arsenic's fur for comfort. "I kept thinking the dogs would catch her!"
"Catch me?" Venom scoffed, but her tone was light. "I thought they'd tear you to shreds! You're too small for that kind of thing."
"Fun as this is," Arsenic interrupted, "Cobra needs to get home. It'll be sundown soon."
"Aww, Arsenic," Cobra mewled. "Just a little longer?" But right after she spoke, her jaws gaped open in a massive yawn.
"You've had a long day." Venom's voice was gentle as Cobra was lifted by the white she-cat. "Sleep well, kit. Maybe we'll meet again some day."
"'Bye," the tiny black cat meowed, yawning again. Arsenic allowed her to touch noses with Venom before she leaped from the fence and started for home.
