The Beginning

Chapter 29

It's been a while since she felt this way.

Haphmoun sat on the beach, gazing at the glittering water. The water reminded her of her mate, Jhaufyther. The way he gazed at her with those beautiful eyes, his luscious fur shining in the sun, and the kindness that she fell in love with.

Haphmoun felt broken inside when she saw Jhaufyther's injuries. She was mad at herself for not being there right away as soon as he got injured. After she stormed off, she glanced back to see Jhaufyther sighing, his eyes dull with sadness. I'm sorry, Jhaufyther! she thought guiltily. And to make things worse, she knew that his mind was being destroyed right now. Her mate struggled with self hatred-and she would be there, curled up beside him if she wasn't so mad.

She first met Jhaufyther when she was five thousand years old. At that point, Jhaufyther was already seven thousand years old, and he often walked in with his twin sister and brother every morning. Every Catwing knew how beautiful the Triplets were. Their fur color came from the patches on their mother's fur. They also were half Windwing, and the slim yet strong bodies clearly showed that. Haphmoun would frequently watch in awe as Jhaufyther recounted his adventures to a bunch of laughing khithood friends. She wished that she could be part of that friend group, but she was too shy to join in, and Jhaufyther barely noticed her.

Haphmoun always loved the fact that his fur was just so soft. It was long but not too long. It was soft but too soft. She always saw the kindness radiating off him, and she hoped that that kindness could be shared with her.

Jhaufyther finally noticed her after a particularly hot day. After he came in with wet fur, he flung himself onto the ground and sighed. "COMET, it's so hot today. Why did the sun have to be blistering today?"

Cloodhot laughed. "It might as well be mocking us, saying stuff like 'HA! You're not going out onto the sand today! Let me BURN it for you so you can suffer."

"Yeah, with an expression like," Clauchice put on an exaggerated smug expression, and everyone started rolling around in laughter.

That was the first time Haphmoun ever heard Jhaufyther laugh. His laugh was the sun itself, so bright and contagious that Haphmoun giggled to herself. Klickhaze- who was the same age as her, maybe a century younger- noticed her. "Haphmoun, you wanna join?"

Haphmoun shook her head. "I'm fine, thanks."

"Come on," Jhaufyther said. "We can teach you how to fish."

Haphmoun blinked up at him. "Really?"

"Of course," Jhaufyther said, and the others nodded. "You can learn how to smack Hazefhur on the head whenever he's being annoying."

"Rude!" Hazefhur said, gasping dramatically. He staggered around and flopped on his back, covering his eyes with a paw. "Oh, my heart! You pierced it with your unkind words."

"Oh my gosh, Haze, get up already," Jhaufyther said, dragging him up. He laughed.

"Let's go out into the lake," Jhaufyther suggested. "Let's teach Haphmoun how to fish."

Haphmoun had a brother who wanted to come with them. Flicklitte was a white tabby male with brown stripes on his back and tail. He was the extroverted and adventurous one, and he stubbornly insisted on coming with them.

After splashing around in the lake for a bit, Jhaufyther raised his tail for attention. Haphmoun could see Slaughlitte's blood running through him. He was kind and helpful, and was able to get others' attention extremely quickly.

Clauchice dove into the water and raised her head. "No fish here," she called out.

Jhaufyther nodded. "Okay. Lhrioun?"