The Land Of Purgatory

Chapter 5

 "CETIA!" I call to my cheetah friend while carrying a bauscat rabbit- her favorite food. I see her gallop towards me at a mind boggling speed and then screech to a halt, inches away, with her eyes fixated on the tasty treat before her. I smile at her comicality and toss her the small animal which she begins chomping down on immediately.

Andy comes up behind me and grabs my shoulders forcefully while yelling "boo" in my ear. I shriek and then blush in embarrassment.

"Don't do that! I'll push you into the lake again if you do," I warn Andy with a chilly tone. In response, he give me a look that clearly says, "I'm going to pretend that doesn't bother me, but it actually does." I give a short laugh, letting my elongated canines show. Andy flicks my furry ear with his thumb and forefinger in response to my mockery and I cringe.

"I'm not planning on ever entering that lake again. Because my clothes were wet I had to turn into a cat again and cats don't like water because we get really freaking cold when we're wet. As a cat-ish human-ish creature of sorts, I don't think I'll ever like water again." Andy declares.

My lips curve upwards in a nearly invisible smile. As time has passed, we've learned much about each other and grown close, but I've simultaneously kept my distance as a cause of my fear. Andy never seems to notice when I crawl back inside my shell of cold isolation and just continues his cheery life as normal.

Since the last incident, there hasn't been much problem, except for a cat freaking out from time to time because of a leap in transformation. It's a good thing that a cat's short term memory, but that's only if the memory is pleasurable, otherwise it's a shorter time span.

I wonder if now is the time for us to try to get the cats to leave? Andy and I have become very close with them: Hunting, cuddling, playing, and all the other activities we do together. They're almost like family now. It would be weird to have them gone. I look a Cetia with a sad smile. I don't want to say goodbye, not that she would even understand. Maybe, we can leave them be. Andy's friends must be close to the people that they live with by now.

No! I can't believe I would even think that. Andy and I have been trying so hard for so long to complete this quest. I can't be that selfish. I just need to find these lovely creatures a home that's even better than this one. Then I can still visit them. But where am I supposed to find a place and wonderful as this one? This town is nestled in a valley with a beautiful forest surrounding it and a sparkling lake in its center, filled with the biggest fish you've ever seen. The cats use the furniture in the abandoned houses to sleep in often, and enjoy exploring all of these foreign objects that they've never seen. While I really want to find a home for these cats that's as wonderful as this one, I don't know if I can.

I look up at Andy and realize, maybe I can't, but we can. I'm not alone, and I won't be any time soon. Why do I still try to hide from him? He's been there and cared for me all this time and never wavered, yet I still worry that one day, he'll just be gone. Besides, I don't think it will make a difference anymore how I act towards him, because I've grown to care for him too much. I might as well enjoy our time together while we have it.

Andy's hand falls on my shoulder and surprises me. I turn around to look at him and he looks happy. "Remember when I asked you to trust me?" I nod my head, not sure why he's asking me this. "Well, then trust me again when I say that I think we can move the cats now. We've gained their trust, just like you said we'd have to, and I bet that if we started playing a game of chase with them and just kept running until they're too far away to find their way back that they would stay!" Andy exclaims to me and I force a smile. I feel guilty for thinking that we could let them stay here, but I still care for them and I feel guilty for what we're going to do.

I decide that I'll help the cats a little bit by saying this: "I think they'll only stay at whatever place we bring them if it's a better home than this one." I look at Andy and see the determination in his eyes.

"Then we'll do exactly that!"

"Alright. Since the cats really like this place, maybe we can look for another abandoned town near here."

"That's a good idea, but how are we supposed to know where the towns are?"

"The map feature," I pause then I jokingly add, "Duh!"

Andy looks slightly embarrassed that he didn't think of that and scratches his head while smiling. My tail wags in amusement as I look at him. He's pretty cute when he's embarrassed.

"I see seven different towns here, but I can't see the population of the towns. I guess we'll just have to visit them until we find a good one," I tell Andy after pulling up the map.

"That's totally okay! Then we might actually go into civilization by accident and I'm telling you, after seven and a half months, I'm up for that!" Andy exclaims.

"That sounds nice. I adore cats and all, but all I'm seeing is cats, cats, and more cats."

Andy laughs and says, "Well then, we'd better hope that whatever town we go to doesn't have any cats."

***

"This strawberry cheesecake is amazing!" Andy says excitedly. "I can't even remember the last time I had strawberry cheesecake. I will never take strawberry cheesecake for granted again."

"Would it be a different story if it were blueberry cheesecake?"

"Of course! The flavor is what makes it or breaks it. You cheesecake ingrate," Andy says with his mock serious face. I laugh at this and go back to eating my ice-cream. I adore ice-cream. I look at Monie who's enjoying a bowl of milk on the ground. I almost feel bad for the poor waiter that I scared into letting Monie come in with us. Oh well.

"Excuse me? Where are you two from?" A man asks.

"We just came from an abandoned village not to far from here?" Andy tells the man freely. I will never understand how Andy can be so trusting. Our situation is fragile. What if this man is an adventurer and finds that we have tamed these cats and wants to take the quest rewards for himself?

"Alright. I was just wondering, because it didn't seem like you were from around here. I think I would've noticed if one of us had a large cat with them." He pauses momentarily and adds, "Why are you staying in an abandoned village?"

I respond right away so that Andy can't give away what we're doing. "We're there to complete a quest. Speaking of which, do you know if there are any other abandoned towns nearby?"

The man ponders this and says, "There's a village called Namia, seven miles southwest of a village that's infested with cats, called Felia. Namia was the home the once ruler of this land and the city is filled with marvelous buildings, fountains, and foliage, but nobody has been able to make it there in years. The trek to get there is very dangerous, unless you can fly. That's why so many people have been trying to find and tame the dragon of the flight quest, but nobody can find it. As far as we're able to tell that's the only way to get to the city. There were sightings of the dragon flying in this direction about seven months ago, but nobody has seen it since."

"Well that's too bad. I bet that dragon's a beauty. Thank you for everything that you've told us. It's been very helpful. My name is Irina by the way."

"I'm Ivan. It's been a pleasure."

"Likewise."

I look at Andy with a sly smile. "We just got all the information we need! This is great!" I set down the money for our food on the table. "Come on. Let's get out of here and put that plan into action right away!" I grab Andy's wrist and start pulling him out of the restaurant in my excitement.

"Wait. Wait! WAIT!"

"What?"

"I want my strawberry cheesecake!"