The Dreamer

Chapter 2 - Names

 The dens surrounded a clearing, or rather a dip in the ground at the edge of a forest. Serena led Soñador to one of the dens.

 "I keep all my plants in here." she meowed, putting the leaves she was holding in a pile of similar leaves stacked in a corner. "Don't eat the juniper berries, I got them from a creeping juniper and I'm studying the difference between regular juniper berries and creeping juniper berries."

 "Which ones are the juniper berries?" Soñador asked, suppressing the urge to growl at the sound of his own meow.

 "Dark blue, sort of greyish tint, very sharp distinct smell. Just avoid eating any of my plants in general unless I tell you to."

 Serena turned to face him again. The eye-contact made Soñador a bit uncomfortable. "I don't know exactly how I'm going to examine you but I'm thinking I'll just have you sleep in my den for a few nights and keep an eye on you while you sleep."

 Líder poked his head into the den. "Soñador, since you'll be staying for a while why not come meet some of the colony?"

 He looked over to Serena, Soñador wondered if she would mind him leaving her den. Serena nodded as if to give permission and turned back to her plants.

 Soñador stepped out of the den, blinking in the sunlight as his eyes adjusted. The clearing was now filled with cats.

 A black molly came to greet him, holding a mouse. "Hey, newcomer." She purred, setting the mouse down at Soñador's paws. "I caught this for you as soon as I heard we had a visitor. My name's Espíritu. What's yours?"

 "Soñador." Líder spoke for him. "He's not used to talking so I figured it'd help if I could answer any questions I can." He added in reply to Soñador's questioning look.

 "Dreamer, eh?" Meowed Espíritu. Soñador shifted his questioning look onto her. "That's what your name means. It's an old language the humans used to speak before they went extinct. Everyone's name has a meaning. Mine means Spirit."

 Líder got called away and Soñador settled down to eat his mouse.

 After a moment he noticed all the other cats had their eyes on him. "Chew with your mouth closed!" Called an elderly looking molly.

 Soñador paused, stunned. Cats couldn't chew with their mouths closed. Mwotaji had tried when he was a kitten. But here he tried and... It worked. It felt unnatural because he had never done it before but it worked.

 "Sorry." He meowed. "Where I come from it's more polite to chew with your mouth open."

 The answer satisfied most of the cats, but the elder kept watching. "Don't mind Viejo." Espíritu whispered. "She's acted like a grumpy old lady even since she was a kitten. So much that they changed her name."

 "Oh? What does her name mean?" Soñador asked.

 Espíritu snickered. "Old"

 Soñador laughed with her. "What was it before they changed it?"

 "Silver." She replied. "For her silver-grey tabby fur."

 "She's so grumpy that they renamed her from Silver to Old?"

 Espíritu nodded vigorously, now struggling to catch her breath through her giggles.

 The moment began to feel awkward as Espíritu's giggles died down. She stared into the distance with a goofy grin on her face. "The sun will set soon. Want to watch it set before we go to sleep?"

 Soñador's ears twitched back. "I usually fall asleep during the sunset, I think I'll just go find somewhere comfortable in Serena's den."

 "Alright." Replied Espíritu. "If you decide to stay, I can help you dig out your own den!" She waved her tail up in the air as she whisked off to wherever she watched the sunset.