Spirit's Journey

CHAPTER 40- Spirit: Changed Decisions

I padded over to our quiet spot with Midnight as my Pride-mates roused, and sat my mouse down on the ground.

"What did he say?" I asked, and she didn't give me an answer straight-away, chewing the flesh of the mouse before she swallowed and spoke softly. Her eyes were tired and she seemed to be moving slow at the effect of being up with her friend all night.

"I haven't asked him yet."

My fur almost fluffed out, but I stopped it. It was dawn and she hadn't asked the tom, after having all night to? We were supposed to leave in a few mere minutes- I'd even decided to skip training today, because it would make all the difference in letting the wolves catch up.

I swallowed down my anger, knowing Midnight did everything for a reason. It was odd because I'd never felt mad at the black cat before; usually she thought in the way I did.

"Why?" I asked, and suprisingly there was no anger in my voice. Wasn't it weird that the wise little purple-eyed cat brought a natural calm upon me?

"Because he needed to think it over," she meowed tiredly.

"He'll be here any minute now; he said he would at dawn."

And it's dawn and he still is not here, I stopped myself from saying out loud, and stood up, licking the blood off my lips.

"Everyone finish eating, say your good-byes, and we're leaving," I meowed loudly to everyone, my voice causing many to raise their heads.

Diamond came padding over to me then, with a mouse in her jaws.

"Look! Hannah helped me catch it," the small kitten meowed, clenching it between her jaws tightly.

"Good job," I said absent-mindedly, guessing it wasn't the kitten's first actual caught prey.

Diamond scurried off after seeing that I was busy, and I continued to look at the opening that Aspen would be coming through. Sure enough, in another minute of my watching for him, he came through and padded over to me and Diamond.

"Good morning." The thing around the orange-and-white tabby's neck jingled as he sat, and began to lick his paws to clean his face, which I could smell from my spot (it was human food for cats).

"Good morning, Aspen. We're planning to head out soon," I said because Midnight had stayed silent. I gave her a glance, and she returned it with a stare that made me feel like maybe she would feel more comfortable asking him in private. Aspen stared up at me, until Midnight shifted her paws in awkwardness.

"I'm going to go outside and try to determine the time it will take for us to get around the mountains," I mewed, and got up to leave. There was a mouse on the ground still, one that I had caught earlier but hadn't eaten.

Not feeling any appetite for some reason, I padded over to Hannah, who was laying with the female barn cat, Sarah, I think it had been, and conversing while Diamond played close by.

"Well, I don't think I would trade the opportunity for anything, either way-" I heard Hannah say as I approached, but her voice fell silent.

Of course I didn't bother wondering about what they had been talking about, and got to business right away.

Whether it bothered me or not that she'd stopped speaking because I had come up to her, I didn't know.

"Give this mouse to Diamond, or eat it yourself," I said after dropping it at her feet. The pregnant calico looked up at me with wide, but welcoming eyes, a small smile on her face.

I returned it, simply to be nice, and flicked an ear.

"Thank you for letting us stay," I mewed, and the she-cat's smile got a lot bigger.