Waters on the Mountain

Chapter Six: First Impressions

Rain Splatter's POV~

I practically tripped into my bed at the end of the day. It had been a lot of work at the jungle tribe, but then again, first days were always the hardest. I had only managed to give a little speech and attempt, not succeed, to teach the cats a song or two. I figure they probably would be more of the dancing or painting type. I kept thinking about what to do with the jungle tribe cats as I slowly drifted into sleep.

-Next Morning-

I opened my eyes to the sun barely peeking over the mountains. I had a few hours to spare before I had to go to the jungle tribe tree, so I decided to go scout around the cave I was resting in. I had already investigated one pace worth of land around my cave, but I had seen a cluster of different caves a little farther than where I had explored, and I wanted to check them out. I grabbed my bag that was loaded with a mouse wrapped in leaves, a few herbs for in case I got hurt, and my lucky paintbrush that I took with me everywhere. A dear family member, I can't remember if it was my mother or father, gave it to me when I was still requiring a nurturer to take care of my all day.

When I got all set, I headed out of my temporary home to explore the caves I had seen. I walked through the forest, careful for anything that might be out there, and finally arrived at the caves. I went into the one at the far right, and carefully scented the air and listened for noise. I heard nor smelled anything, so I went inside. The search yielded a few patches of jump grass (catnip) that were growing at the edges of the cave.

I put them in a second bag I had brought with me. I fought the urge to eat some, and went on to the next cave to the left. With the strong smell of jump grass, it was hard to make an accurate decision on if the cave was empty, but since I heard no noises, I decided to check it out. I collected the patches of jump grass as I continued down the long cave. I eventually reached the end of the cave, and turned to go, when I heard something next to me. I whipped my head to the side to be face to face with a winged and feathered wolf. I turned to flee. I probably couldn't outrun a flying wolf, but it was worth a try. I ran as fast as my paws could take me to the mouth of the cave.

"WAIT!" The wolf said behind me. I looked over my shoulder to see her not trying to follow me or anything, just looking at me. She had a small look of longing in her eyes, only for a moment, but I know it was there. I was worried it might be longing for her next kill, but I was hoping not as I turned around and walked back to her cautiously.

"You aren't going to hurt me?" I asked.
"No! I don't want to hurt anyone! Please..." She said.
"Oh... Ok." I said, feeling a bit more relaxed. "What is your name?" I asked.
"My name is Feather Flight." The wolf said.
"Why are you in this cave?" I asked.
"Why are you?" She asked back.
I looked around. "Because I wanted to explore here."
"That doesn't seem like a reason a cat would go venturing into caves." She said flatly.
"Well, it is." I said. "Exploring new places is interesting."
"It is." She said, not seeming very convinced.

"Why don't you want to hurt me?" I asked tentatively after a pause.
Feather Flight sighed, and looked down. She looked back to me.

"You should sit down, I am going to tell you a story."
~~~~~

Everest's POV~

I told Silver Dapple and Fir everything from about two years ago to today. For nodded slowly. "You have been through a lot..." She said.
I nodded. "But I am ok."
"Which is good." Silver Dapple said.
"Yah..." I said. After an awkward pause, Fir spoke up again.
"Those cats at the bridge... Could you tell me anything else about them?" She asked.
"There isn't much to tell other then what I already said. They were creepy, they seemed to have strange powers, one was black, one was grey, and one was white, and they wanted me to give up my chain." I said.
"Yes but what kind of strange powers?" Fir asked.
"Well I mean, they seemed to have the ability to create and destroy things, because they did make the bridge disappear before I got on it. Well, more of crumble away, but you get the point. I did think the bridge was back when I left though." I replied.
Fir seemed disappointed, and I frowned.
"Don't feel bad, she just is a little sad because she really wanted to know more about those cats. Don't ask me why, but she does, and what you gave her was about the same as what I told her." Silver Dapple said. "Now you said something about trying to find a... Rainbow cat?" Silver Dapple asked.
"Yes. Her name is Rain Splatter." I said.
"I thought I remembered a cat matching that description come through here." Silver Dapple said. "I might be able to point you in the right direction."
"Well maybe instead of telling me which way she went, you could tell me what the way is to Stormhand Ledge?" I suggested.
"Well that's easy!" Silver Dapple said.
"Ok good." I said.
Fir looked at Silver Dapple. "Maybe you should go with Everest." She said.
"Why? I am perfectly fine here!" Silver Dapple said.
"Because you need to do something other then stay here in this forest for the rest of your days!" Fir said.
"I already saw the world enough. I don't need to see it anymore." Silver Dapple said.
"Don't you want to do something with your life? Help someone other then yourself?" Fir asked. Silver Dapple got a distant look for a moment, but then shook his head.
"I am not going, and that closes this conversation." He said firmly, and then finally remembered I was there. "Sorry if that disappoints you." He said.
"No it's ok..." I said, though I would probably feel sad saying goodbye to them.
"You both should get some rest." Fir said.
I nodded, yawning. I hadn't noticed how long it had taken to tell them my story. Silver Dapple looked at me. "I guess we probably should." He said. "You can sleep in my nest, I can take a night at the roots of my tree." He said.
I looked at him questioningly.
"Oh of course. I normally sleep in the hollow part of that tree- my tree." He said, pointing with his tail to a tree. "Fir normally sleeps at the roots, but I think there should be enough room for me to join her there." Silver Dapple said.
Fir nodded.
I thanked him, and walked over to the tree. I jumped into the hole at the lower part of the tree, and found it to be quite roomy. I almost didn't notice the nest though, because I was standing right on top of it. I curled up in a ball, and slowly drifted off to sleep.