Behind Jaded Eyes

Chapter 2

 Jay immediately jumped between the two of them. "Now hold on just a second."

"Do you really need to bring more random cats into our territory? We all have to support ourselves, and every time you make a new friend, our food sources are the ones that we struggle to maintain. Make her leave here."

The gray tom stood his ground and just blinked at him. "I don't bring anyone here. She was lost and found us on her own. Her name is Felicity, and I suggest you get used to her presence, Kink. You'll be seeing her around here for however long."

Kink gave a disdainful sniff and narrowed his orange eyes. "Whatever. Just keep her away from me. I have enough to worry about without another pest stepping on my tail." With that, he whipped around and stalked off. Disappearing into the alley they had just stepped out from, he was gone.

Jay turned to look at her sympathetically. "I'm sorry about that. That was kink. He's just a grumpy old man. Don't take it personally, he acts like that towards everyone. Even to me."

"Alright, if you say so." Felicity just wanted to keep moving after that exchange. I don't see why everyone here can't just get along. I mean, we all have the same goals for the most part. Eat, sleep, survive... Why can't we all just work together?

"We're almost at Trixie's. Come on, just a couple houses down, and we'll be there. Maybe we'll get lucky, and Birch will be there too. I think they'll be mates soon. There could be kittens around here in a few seasons!" His eyes sparkled for a second before he turned away and made for their destination.

She followed Jay for a few more strides. The house they stopped at was very tall, made from red layered stones. Bushes with bright pink and yellow flowers lined the pathway that led to the front door. Two decently sized grassy areas were on each side of the bushes. The right side had a circular structure that had a roof. Inside, there seemed to be a table and a couple chairs surrounding it. It reminded her of the dining room that was in her owner's house, just shaped differently. Screens encased the big windows that were on every side. The left side had a small human made pond, its small fountain spraying mist into the air. Next to it were two cats gazing into the water. A brown tabby female had her large yellow eyes fixated on whatever was beneath the surface. However, the fluffy brown tom had immediately looked up when he heard their approaching footsteps. He had tried to conceal his fear by sitting up tall and meeting their eyes, but Felicity caught a scent of fear on the breeze.

Jay was the first to speak. "Hello, Birch. Hi, Trixie. I brought a new friend to meet you two. This is Felicity."

Birch nodded to her. "Greetings. My name is Birch."

It seemed to take Trixie a moment to look away from the pond. She finally looked up and saw Felicity, taking just a second for her wariness to turn into excitement. "Hi! I'm Trixie. Your name is Felicity? That's such a pretty name! It works so well for you. Your eyes are so pretty, and your pelt just glows in the sunlight. I wish my pelt was as beautiful as yours. But at least I can hide reallyyyy good in the shadows and in the woods. I bet you couldn't do that! Oh, but wait! You could hide so well in the snow. I could never do that. I'd stick out like a thorn in sheep's wool! I bet you could hunt so well..."

Trixie seemed to go on and on with her compliments and everything that popped into her mind. Felicity gave Jay a quick look; both of them were clearly amused by Trixie's rant. She was still barreling through her words when Birch covered her mouth with his tail.

"Take a breath. You're gonna overload her with your never-ending words," he said humorously.

Her eyes widened in embarrassment. "I'm sorry... It's just been so long since we've had a new face come through here. Anyways, it's nice to meet you. I hope we'll be friends!" Yellow eyes sparkling, she turned her gaze back to the pond and tucked her paws under her chest.