Chapter 51: Honeymoon
There is something you must understand about the Darkforest before I continue. You see, the Darkforest's main aspect is that it creates from intent. Any creation in the Darkforest is intent made manifest. This intent can become infectious. This is due to the amount of spread soul or essence in an area. Given a large enough or strong enough source, the surrounding area will often grow to match it. When we returned to the marble cat head that I had a mental breakdown within, the area looked vastly different. Instead of just a large grassy field with the cat head cave at the center, we found a field filled with flowers, flowering bushes, and even some small animals that somehow escaped the hunting zone and made their way here. Given that they had no predators in the area, they were even more plump and complacent.
The cat head cave had undergone a transformation as well. It wasn't as large of a change as the surrounding area, but the desire of the prey here must have influenced the area as well. From the eyes of the cat head streamed water which crashed at the base below making a fine white mist. The water then branched off, one eastward and one westward. The eastward one seemed to end by crashing against a golden colored boulder before disappearing. The westward one ended in a pond with a four-tone boulder in the center. The boulder reflected oddly in the water giving the illusion that there were four boulders instead of one.
With the discovery that just the existence of a creation could infest an area with effects and features of similar intent, I had a burning question in my mind. The fact that it took us so long to discover the effect clued me in to the possibility. Had the Darkforest in fact always been a dark forest, or was this the result of some event so torturous and miserable, the change rippled across the entire landscape of the Darkforest, consuming all previous creations and manifested intents under a muddy wave of misery and mindless agony? I felt the second theory more likely, but that strangely filled me with hope. If my current creations weren't getting overwhelmed, that meant they might start spreading soon. I'd have to check the hunting grounds more closely next time we visit them to see if they expanded or changed at all.
I shook my head. Now wasn't the time to start planning and conspiring. I was here on break with Splitpelt and Frecklewish. A trick Sunflower taught me was securely tucked in the back of my mind. Today was about having fun and enjoying ourselves by whatever means we felt inclined to. Speaking of inclination, Frecklewish wasn't paying attention, busy studying a batch of wildflowers. I slowly sunk into a crouch and let my haunches give a calibrating wiggle. Then I leapt, flipping her over before bolting with a kittish giggle.
"Mapleshade!" Frecklewish screeched in a childish squeal.
I could hear her pounding after me as we tore across the field. Splitpelt looked on slightly amused as two full grown cats were playing like they were two moons old.
"You both are just overgrown kits." He meowed loud enough for Frecklewish and I to hear in a fake annoyance.
Then he noticed our eyes lock on him. Suddenly we weren't so interested in chasing each other. Splitpelt looked faintly worried as we turned to face him. He quickly spun and began sprinting off. We were in hot pursuit. Splitpelt then had the brilliant idea to use his powers to become five cats running off. Frecklewish and I looked to each other and nodded. I moved left and used constructs to begin turning two of Splitpelt's parts back. Meanwhile Frecklewish began sprinting harder, drawing in the energy of the grass to fuel her stamina, leaving a trail of dead grass in her wake. She soon managed to herd two of the parts back inward. Splitpelt wouldn't usually fall for a ploy like this, but this was just a game, so he let his parts be herded back into unity before he was tackled to the ground by both of us.
We were all laughing in the tall grass, the adrenaline and joy of the chase making its way out of our systems. Frecklewish faintly peeked up at the mess we made in the chase.
"Do you think we should clean that up?" she asked, gesturing to the trail of dead grass and walls of stone I conjured in our little game.
"Nah. This place seems capable of taking care of itself." I mewed in a dismissive tone.
If one had as keen senses as I, they'd realize the dead grass was already starting to grow back and those walls I made were beginning to grow moss and climbing vines over them. Some parts were already wearing down to give more free passage to the area. I guess the strong intent from my mental breakdown and its resolution were extremely powerful since they were integrating changes so quickly.
After playing some more, we travelled into the mouth of the cave to settle down. Within was an already premade nest just large enough for three. As Frecklewish and Splitpelt made themselves comfortable, I closed the mouth of the cave leaving only the light filtering in from the eyes of the cave. The water made a rippling rainbow of muted colors dance across the area. It was both beautiful and romantic, perfect for what I planned next. With a genuine and flirty grin, I turned to my companions.
"I've thought about what you told me so long ago Splitpelt, about having kits. While I don't have the time to handle a pregnancy right now, we have a perfectly good she cat right here." I mewed playfully.
"Oh, Mapleshade. I'm not sure I want that. Don't get me wrong, I like Splitpelt, but I don't want to cut you out by bearing his kits." Frecklewish replied apologetically.
I looked to Splitpelt and winked before saying, "who said you'd only bear Splitpelt's kits?"
What I learned from Sunflower came into full display as I modified myself into a tom. Both Splitpelt and Frecklewish looked slightly shocked at the display.
"Oh. I didn't know you could do that. I mean…" Frecklewish sputtered out.
"You know I mean no harm. I just thought we could change things up occasionally. I learned this from Sunflower. Maybe next time we'll let you be a tom or we'll make Splitpelt be the molly."
Splitpelt looked slightly indignant at the suggestion, so I gave a reply to his look. "You can't pretend you aren't a little bit curious at what a molly feels."
He looked away with a huff, but I could tell he was blushing under that mismatched fur. He likely knew exactly how it felt since not every founder was male, but his pride deemed he conceal the temptation.
That night was honestly the best night of my afterlife, and by morning, there was no doubt Frecklewish was pregnant. Not like there ever was a doubt. The Darkforest doesn't really do accidental pregnancies. We were already making up names as we made our way back to the Unseen Stars.