off-white | wlw

roots

"What was that?"

Ryn looked around but stopped when she saw Delilah giggling

"It's probably just my cat."

She stopped giggling, and looked at the rustling in the bushes, and wasn't surprised to see Artemis come out of the bushes meowing. She smiled and rubbed the small cat's head.

"See?"

Delilah gestured towards the cat walking towards Ryn and she chuckled a sigh of relief and pushed back a strand of hair.

The small, fluffy cat walked over reluctantly to Ryn, and she smiled a bit, putting out her hand for the cat to walk to. The cat walked away and ran back towards Delilah.

"She doesn't really like new people, she'll probably warm up to you eventually."

She smiled at Ryn who was still watching the sunset.

"I don't mind, I understand how complicated cats are."

Delilah looked back and smiled at her, but quickly turned back. As she watched the sun fall down the sky, she couldn't help but admire how beautiful Ryn was. She couldn't even imagine being that pretty, and living here. Delilah was surprisingly loving it. much more than she was expecting.

Ryn was also watching the sun, not as intently as Delilah was though,  she was letting her mind wander a bit more than usual. The catchy beat Delilah had played was stuck in her head, and she couldn't get it out. She was close to asking her what it had meant, but it was clear the two weren't big on talking.

She looked over at Delilah and the odd cat that didn't want to be near her. The cat was purring in Delilah's lap while Delilah was leaning on a tree with her eyes closed. She seemed so at peace, Ryn wished she was able to feel as chill as her.

The girls didn't even need to talk, they just liked the presence of another person near them, as it made them feel safer. The only sound was the tiny noise that was the purring of Artemis in Delilah's lap and the cracking of the large oak that they used for comfort

The cat slowly stood up, and Delilah got into a more comfortable position without the small cat on her lap. The cat began scratching its claws on the tree, still purring. Ryn watched the cat as it began scaling the tree, hopping up and down the many branches until it was up about 3 branches.

Delilah opened her eyes and saw the cat and quickly sighed.

"Aw shit, what is this some kind of movie, what kind of cat casually climbs a tree!"

She began gesturing towards the cat, who was starting to realize how far up from the ground it was. The cat started meowing and Delilah started to try to reach up to it. Ryn stood up next to her and tried to help.

"Shit, I might have to go get my dad or something."

Delilah looked up at the tree towering over the two, and Ryn quickly spoke up.

"I used to climb this tree a lot when I was younger, maybe I could help?"

She offered up quickly, remembering the times when the old lady would take her outside to help teach her how to climb the giant tree. She used to always say that their generation needed to learn what hers did.

"Really? I mean, the cat isn't that high..."

The cat began meowing from its perch on the thick branch, telling the humans below it to hurry up and bring it back down the floor level.

Ryn nodded and grabbed the familiar branch and hoisted herself up.  She steadied her feet on another branch and took a deep breath, as she hadn't climbed any type of trees in years.