Tales of Raiverin: Mayflower

Chapter 2

After the two had finished their meal, they lay in the dirt patch for the night. While the moon shined dimly onto Paris' silver fur, he had his eyes shut while his chest rose and fell gently, although he was not sleeping just yet. He did not want to sleep, he didn't want to dream. Paris hadn't properly slept since he was released from containment, but he knew his mind would try to remind him of his old home. Part of him just wanted to move on and enjoy the family he had here, and the other wanted to reconnect with his past and live in it.

As he kept his eyes closed, he heard shuffling, followed by footsteps that were getting further and further away. He opened one eye slowly, being able to make out the vague shape of a cat walking from where Leon had lied before. His mind yelled at him to investigate, getting a heavy sigh in return from him. Paris stiffly stood up, stretching out his paws and arching his back as he yawned, licking his jaw before taking slow steps in the direction of the figure. He was tired, he couldn't deny that, but he had to know what this creature was doing.

The figure was dark but short, walking quickly through the grass. Paris kept his body low, sneaking behind it and following the sound of its steps. As it continued to travel, he began to wonder where it planned to go, and what made it so determined to move.

Was it like him, someone who was lost and trying to find what they had lacked for years? What was it looking for? He didn't know what it was doing, but he had to know, he had to find out what this creature wanted out of this night.

The shadows encapsulated the path, hiding the figure away from view, but Paris could hear just fine. Autumn nights were cold, and tonight was no different. He shivered with every moment that his paws lay on the frosted soil, the ground crunching beneath him at the slightest touch. He thought it was snowing, he could feel small particles hitting his fur, and it was far too light to be rain. It had been ages since he had felt snow, it made him happy, yet he was not a fan of the temperature. His breath slowed, and he took smaller steps, lifting his body, his ear twitched as the creature stopped alongside him.

He still could not see what the figure truly was, but he knew that it was some sort of animal. The moonlight shone listlessly through the trees, giving Paris a brief view of it.

Its eyes were a bright pink that pierced through Paris, his heart dropping as it stared back at him. He couldn't tell if it saw him, but he dove down under the grass to stay hidden from the creature. Through the pasture, he could see brown paws, but they could have been black as well. It was too dark to tell. Paris heard the creature turn away, now facing the night sky with its head turned up to the moon. It began to whisper, he couldn't make out what it was saying, but its voice was low and grave, yet it sounded like it had been through years of pain and hurt. Paris wanted to step out and comfort it, but he was afraid that it would hurt him if it knew that he had followed it.

The creature seemed to grow more emotional, its voice growing louder and hysterical.

"The world is nothing like we think it is, but the goal is not to erase what we have created... I want to restore it, put it all in a state where it cannot be harmed again!"

The words echoed into Paris' ears, what the hell was it talking about? There was no way he could let this world be taken as well. He wanted to fight it, but he had little idea as to how strong the creature truly was. He stayed hidden as it continued to rant about the world's flaws and its inhabitants being blind to the truth behind it all. Paris tried to understand what it meant, but nothing would connect for him. As the voice calmed down again, Paris got lower, feeling a sudden wave of drowsiness hit him at once. He tried to crawl away from the scene, but the lethargy took over his mind, pulling him away into unconsciousness.

His fears of being launched into a dream were confirmed, he lay by a muddy riverbank, his paws submerged in the cold water. He took a deep breath, savoring the hazy memory he had of home, nobody was ever around in his recollections, and he expected his dream to be empty as a result. It didn't seem like anything would happen in this daze, he simply remained still, he worried that if he went anywhere, his memory would fade away. He stared at the water, at his reflection. It was odd, he always found it interesting how he could never see himself except through dreams. He looked into his own eyes, trying to get a read on his feelings and thoughts, as he did, the water forced his reflection away.