Magic Cats: Fall of the Stars

The Informant

As Jade searched for a good branch in Shadow's tree, movement out of the corner of her eye caught her attention.

A group of dogs was gathered in Shadow's neighbor's yard. Jade leaned in closer to hear what they were saying.

"This is Cloud, she just moved in."

A white dog was surrounded by friendly sniffing and wagging tails.

Deciding to ignore it for now, Jade got back to work.

"Suki, I've found a good branch." She called down. "Can you pass me the first board?"

She had gathered materials quickly with Suki's help and had enlisted her friend to help with the building.

A plastic board with a hole in the bottom was lifted up, carrying tape on top. Jade pulled it into a balanced position, guiding it as Suki gently dropped it so that part of the tree was sticking through the hole to help it balance. Jade used her hind claws to grip the tree as she taped it to the board with her forepaws and teeth.

She leapt up and down in each corner to test that it was secure before asking Suki for the next one.

One by one she taped the boards to the sides, making sure there were gaps in places for the water to get out of when it rained, until finally the box was complete.

"It looks like a plastic version of Misty's human's tree house." Suki noted, climbing the tree to get a better look.

"That's what inspired it." Jade replied. "Now Shadow can have a high place to escape to whenever she feels like it, and she's not visible in it from the ground."

"The only thing we have to worry about is whether a bird will decide to use it as a nest."

"And whether Shadow will like it."

"Well, my work is done here." Suki turned to leave.

"I smell cat." Said a dog on the other side of Shadow's fence. She was watching from the roof of her own house as a group of dogs welcomed her new neighbor. Caramel was among them.

Below, Jade and Suki worked on something plastic in her tree, they had said it was a surprise. Shadow tried to ignore them loudly talking about how they intended her to use it. She had no use for it, it was no more sheltered than her roof. But, she guessed, it would make a good shelter if she lost her collar, assuming the tape would hold and she could climb in.

She flew over to her neighbor's roof to get a better view of the dogs, creeping as close as she possibly could without risking being seen herself.

"There's cat scent all over this place," Caramel was saying. "The neighbor is a cat."

"But it's closer" said another, smaller dog.

"Yes, I know it's closer." Caramel prowled along the fence, sniffing. He picked up a scent and ran back to the group to whisper to them.

"It's my informant." He said. "She can give us more information on the black cat, Shadow."

"Ah, the one who found her house and told you her name." Said the smaller dog.

"Exactly, act friendly." He ran over to the fence.

"I'm sure I smell cat closer than the fence." the smaller dog murmurred.

Cloud, the fluffy white dog who had just moved in, nodded to him.

Shadow crept further backward, trying to inch toward the fence to see Caramel's informant.

"Can cats climb houses?" another dog wondered, wandering closer to Shadow as he sniffed the air.

"Don't be silly, cats can only climb trees."

"Can they jump very far? There's a tree over there."

A silence followed as the dogs thought. Shadow backed away further, until she couldn't see anything but the roof and the houses beyond.

She could see Suki and Jade leaving her yard now, having finished their work. Shadow leapt into the tree, hoping the hideout that Jade had made would work. She'd have to find out who this informant was later.

"Was that the cat you're smelling?" came the voice of yet another dog.

"It looked like a squirrel."

"Quite a large squirrel then."

The dogs seemed to lose interest and Shadow sat up to see over the wall of the plastic box. The sun was in her eyes but she could see that the dogs had turned to face the opposite fence, wagging their tails. Caramel obscured Shadow's view of whoever they were looking at.

Caramel's informant, who was it? She hadn't seen a cat when he had arrived at her house, and she couldn't see a cat now, but any animal that knew much about her had to be a cat. Which of her friends had betrayed her? Why would any of her friends even bother talking to the dogs? They knew they were agressive toward cats.

It couldn't be Jade, the dogs hated her fellow black cats in particular. Ebony too would never betray her to the dogs, she told him everything. Delta was too shy, though she may have been gullible enough. Misty was annoying, sure, but clueless.

That left Suki and Irony. Irony knew nothing of the dogs, and both she and Suki were smart. Irony could've unknowingly become an informant, or Suki could've been conspiring against her the whole time. Irony was probably too smart to be manipulated, but Suki...

Shadow would have to be wary of Suki.

Suddenly the treehouse Suki and Jade had made felt unstable. Shadow leapt out of the box. Suki could've done something to it so that it would fall at just the right time for the dogs to attack. She could've loosened the tape after Jade had left, or brought the wrong type of tape on purpose, one that wouldn't last very long.

Lashing her tail, Shadow leapt from branch to branch as she made her way down the tree. Who could she trust anymore besides Ebony?

Sunlight. Could she trust her own daughter? What if it was her kittens who were conspiring with the dogs.

Absent mindedly she clawed at the door, meowing for the humans to let her in.

Would she be safe inside anymore? Sunlight could climb as well as Shadow, and their humans took her collar off when she came indoors.

She had no choice but to come inside at night, the humans wouldn't leave her alone if she didn't, but her friends were allowed outside as well. She wouldn't be safe anywhere.

Could she even call them friends anymore? Were they even friends in the first place? She had never truly considered Misty a friend, never known much about Suki, always loved Ebony, and hardly interacted with the others.

She would be safe with Ebony. Would Ebony's humans allow her to stay with him at night?

She hadn't come in when the humans had opened the door, the human had petted her and given her a few treats before now closing it again as she turned away.

She would head for Ebony's house.

Willow was sweet, she wouldn't be any bother, and Oak had his new friend.

Although, could Oak's new friend be trusted?

She'd have to find out, Shadow didn't know much about him.

Shadow was almost too tall to fit through Ebony's cat door. She confided everything in Ebony and he invited her to share his bed.

"If only we could speak to the humans." Ebony said, "We could explain everything."

"What could they do?"

Ebony sighed, lost in thought for a moment.

"They could lock up the dogs, maybe, or help you figure things out." He said at last. "Or..." He trailed off, not wanting to say the other option.

"Or what?" Shadow hissed.

"Or move you away." Ebony felt his ears lowering in sadness at just the thought of his mate moving away.

Shadow seemed to sadden at the thought as well, he felt her ears twitch beside him, though she tried to hide it by licking her paw and washing her ear.

"Let's hope it doesn't come to that." She said at last.