Legacy: Timeless (Book 2)

Chapter 1: Mirages

Chapter 1: Mirages

Scorch laughed gaily as she chased after the black cat in front of her. Her dark green eyes sparkling in mischief as she swatted at the tail in front of her face, never catching or even managing to touch to fluffy black tail.

"Scorch! What are you doing?" a call made Scorch halt in her tracks, her tiny red and black paws digging into the hot sand at the sudden stop as she looked over her shoulder at her mother who watched her curiously from near the ocean.

"I was playing with the cat," Scorch mewed, blinking and noticing how the colors around her got more vivid as she stopped looking at the black cat. Weird.

"What cat?" Rainstone asked, tilting her head to the side, puzzled.

"That one," Scorch mewed, looking back to where the cat had been, but frowning when all she saw was the sandy beach and roaring waves. "I guess he went home," she frowned and shrugged her tiny shoulders, bounding back to her mother and touching noses with her.

"I didn't see a cat, what did he look like?" Rainstone questioned; dark blue eyes wide and gentle.

Scorch frowned, trying to think about him. She hadn't gotten a good look at him; she'd just noticed a cat running along the shore as she played with the waves and had chased after him for fun. He had black fur and dark eyes and had never once turned to look at her as she tried catching his tail.

"He was black and tall, taller than even dad, and he had a long fluffy tail and dark eyes, I think they were amber," Scorch described, looking up at her mother's intrigued expression as she waved her tail.

"If he comes over again, we'll invite him for a meal," Rainstone purred lightly as Scorch finished. But the kit noticed that Rainstone's dark blue eyes were wary. She knew her mother was wary of strangers, no matter how hard she tried to get used to the cats that passed by every once in a while. But she knew her mother would always feel most comfortable all alone or with her small family.

Scorch sighed and squinted as she looked up at the sky that was wreathed in clouds. She was different from her mother; she could never get enough of their visitors and loved hearing stories of far away. Her parents were happy staying where they were, but she wanted to travel and learn more and more.

However, at only three moons of age, she couldn't even climb to the top of the cliff, so she had to content herself with this stretch of sandy beach and unending water. She looked out at the water now, it was blue-green today and the waves were lazy as they curled white and rolled onto shore, washing over the wet sand again and again.

She laughed and bounded onto the wet sand where the water rolled over her paws, wet and warm and tickling. She could feel her paws sink down in the sand as wave after wave rolled by, pushing and pulling sand over her toes.

"Scorch! Be careful!" her mother warned. Scorch nodded to show she'd heard, she'd once gotten swept out in the water with the waves, and her mother had to swim to rescue her. Rainstone had been terrified, but Scorch had found it fun as the waves had rolled them back to shore over the water.

But she didn't go deeper in the water then half-way up her short legs anymore. The salt water had stung her eyes and nose and made her taste nothing but salt for days. That hadn't been so enjoyable. She looked out at the ocean, she could see far-off waves with white caps and where the water merged with the blue sky.

This is the edge of the world, but what's in the rest of the world? The thoughts crossed her mind once more and she flicked her black paw to touch her black ear, reminding herself that she would one day travel far from here, when her legs were just a bit longer.