Magic Cats: Fall of the Stars

Evening of Adventure

 Misty yawned, entirely out of boredom as she had just finished a long nap.

She stretched briefly, glossy silver fur shimmering in the dimming sunlight, before leaping onto the arm of the couch, glancing through the window out of habit – a habit which used to tell her what time it was – and dropping onto the wood floor, heading for the door.

She nosed her way through the cat flap soundlessly, flinching at the snap as the flap closed again.

The small cat drew in a deep, relaxed breath. The scent of her friend, Shadow, hit her nose as in the distance Misty could see the shape of the large black cat.

Shadow was an intimidating, fluffy queen with sapphire blue eyes, and had been creeping along the sidewalk, seeming to be searching for something.

"Hey Shadow!" called Misty, bounding across the street.

"Oh, Misty!" Shadow exclaimed, straightening up. "I was just on my way... to go for a walk!" she spoke slowly, Misty mentally shrugged it off, why Shadow needed an excuse for going on a walk wasn't anything of concern.

 "I was going for a walk too!" purred Misty, "We can go together! I've just gotta be home before the humans go to bed, ok?"

Shadow didn't reply.

Misty followed Shadow down the sidewalk, Shadow walking a few steps ahead of her.

If Misty knew Shadow at all, something was probably following her. If something happened, Misty's return home would be delayed, her next nap would have to be shortened and she would be tired for the rest of the day.

At the first corner, a nearby dog howl put the two cats on alert. Misty's tail twitched, expelling the excited energy which dog howls had always given her. Shadow bolted out of sight as Misty tried to remember why dogs exhilarated her.

She momentarily panicked, wondering where her friend went, but a snap from the tree beside the path alerted her to Shadow's position. Looking up, she tried her best to make eye-contact through the leaves. "Why's that dog sound so excited?" she wondered aloud.

Without waiting for an answer, Misty turned to follow the sound, both to locate the dog and to find out the answer.

"Don't go towards the-" Shadow hissed, but was interrupted as a foxhound mix ran right by Misty, nearly knocking her over, and started barking at Shadow, jumping up and snapping at her tail.

"Why's he after you?" asked Misty. She had always been curious about the reason behind all the dogs who followed Shadow around, now was the perfect time to ask.

"Dogs just hate me, I guess. Never even seen that one before." explained Shadow, yawning on purpose.

"Get - down - here!" snapped the dog between jumps.

"No, I don't think I will, thanks." Shadow replied in the same unchanging tone.

She tried to leap up to the branch above hers, but her back paws slipped off and she barely managed to catch herself by her forepaws.

 "I'm lucky this is such a high branch." Shadow remarked, panting.

Suki, a brown tabby cat with white paws, a white muzzle, and purple eyes, came towards them. Drawn by the sounds of the dog howling and barking. Her long tail held high in the air, with a curled tip like a question mark, showing her curiosity.

"I thought Shadow might be in trouble." She mused to Misty. "The dogs on our street only howl like that when they've got her cornered."

"Hey Suki," Misty waved her tail in greeting. "Would you mind helping Shadow out of the tree?"