Spirit's Journey

CHAPTER 41- Hannah: Good and Bad Things

I sneaked a glance over at Spirit through half-closed eyes, letting the thoughts turn over in my head. She was being so weird lately.

Like, well, the cheetah had been being like this for awhile now- but it wasn't right. It was like she'd forgotten me and Fallan altogether, because of that snotty little black kitten. I mean, Great Skycat, she was only a kit! Why did Spirit take so much interest in her?

I stepped over a small pile of rocks, twitching my whiskers.

And, plus, she'd just been welcoming random cats. Almost like she was inviting them, even. Why!? It made no sense. This wasn't the Spirit I knew, and just a few months ago she would not have let any of this happen. Aspen would not be an asset to us in any way- He'd used to live with humans! Their smell still even clung to his fur.

Ugh. My sister was changing so much, because of Midnight! The way I saw it, that little black cat had no place here. She'd shown up, changing everything, turning things around for the worse, just ruining it all.

I felt like clawing the smug look off her face that I could see in my mind right now.

"Ugh!" I finally exclaimed to Blaze, not able to hold it in anymore. It just wasn't fair.

"Me, her, and Fallan used to be so close. Until that little menace had to show up! Now look at us." I flattened my ears, still looking away.

"Now we're seperated."

"I'm sorry," he meowed thoughtfully.

"But maybe if you spoke to her about it, she would understand."

I looked ahead, past Fallan and Storm. Spirit and Midnight walked close together, with Aspen at their side, the twine still around his neck with the ball that made the little jingly noise as he walked.

"I don't think so," I sighed, and fell back into step beside him.

"At least I have you to talk to, though," I said, and actually meant it.

I was greatful for Blaze. The odd blotch-pelted cheetah had been there for me more than Spirit had in the past few days, for sure, and I was thankful.

And yeah, Fallan still came around, of course, but Fallan was Fallan. She was my sister, and she didn't understand certain things.

Like how betrayal was happening right under our noses. I wondered if it really came down to it, would she pick us or Midnight?

Obviously us, I told myself, and made myself believe it with a firm shake of my head. No way would she turn her back on us after all we'd been through, forever, for a puny little black cat.

Right?

"Are you okay?"

I turned my head suprisingly, to see Blaze's concerned amber eyes there, and felt his tail on my back.

"Yes, I'm fine," I said, but didn't step away.

He kept staring as if he was genuinely concerned, so I looked away and at the ground, feeling an odd, but warm feeling arouse in my belly at the realization that he was so worried.

"I'm fine, really; it's just so weird here." And that wasn't a lie; the setting really did make me a bit uneasy. The weather was very nice, but we'd never been on terrain like this before.

As he agreed, I swiveled my head around, tasting the air and observing as we stepped farther into the stone valley.

It was hard to describe just what the mass of gray stone looked like.

There was huge stone rocks everywhere, all abnormally shaped, some pointy on top, in the distance, that was whitened out by fog, probably.

Some of them seemed to loom as tall as the Skycat herself in front of us.