Unprecedented (Feline Hybrid Version) [UNEDITED]

Chapter 6

               I never got to see Leo the next week or so. He was pushed into classes just as I had. Then again, he had had a meeting with the Chief and some Elder. Perhaps it had to do with the prophecy he'd told me about. I had not chosen to disbelieve him. I knew him all too well. He hated lying to me. It was one of the things I learnt about him when he became friends with me.

              My curiosity about my busy life brimmed and I asked the Elders. They gave me a suspicious glance and knew that they couldn't hide anything from me any longer. Curiosity was a trait of all hybrids had and it was one of our weaknesses. The Chief sighed.

                "Let me start from the beginning. This is Elder Valentina. She is the oldest hybrid and thus a wise cat. Respect her as you should," he warned me. A robed lady came forward, her bottom half in cat form. I bowed politely, as a muscle in my arm tensed.

                "Ah, I was not feeling the best the other day when you changed for the first time, which is probably why you're feeling tense around me. A hybrid with age like mine does not have the best of health." She promptly coughed to prove her point. "Unfortunately, it was also the first anniversary of my vision."

                "You have the power of visions?" I asked, rather quizzically.

                "Why, yes, of course. You are here, are you not? You were in my vision. Along with a war that would tear down a nation," her voice echoed in the room, creating an eerie atmosphere. A light flickered in the background, casting ominous shadows on the walls. Candlelight.

                "What about this war?" I questioned, almost too quickly. By now, the butterflies in my stomach had formed yet again, in a mixture of excitement, anxiety and bile, amongst a hope that I would not disappoint the Elders. 

                Valentina shushed me instantly. "I was asleep one night, sucked into pitch black darkness. I could barely see anywhere around me, something like a fog. It was a haunting emotion. I recall it well. I heard voices in the distance and I turned feline, pouncing over. It was easier, for I wasn't physically there.

               When I found the people - or should I say creatures? - that had made the noise, the scene before me changed to one of war. Soldiers were morphing. Others firing and lunging with weapons. I was unsure of who was fighting who. It turned dark around the edges and then, one voice cried over them all. My head twisted to hear who it was and it was a brown-black hybrid.

            At the time, I had no idea who it was, but now..." She cast a glance over me, as she paused for breath. "Now, I can distinctly say it was you. You were shouting battle commands to the Elders with such a fierce and determined cry. You acted like a well-oiled machine, but then again, like you were trying to weed someone out for yourself to fight. Some sort of enemy.

                   We were winning, pushing them back, but then... you ran away for some strange reason. After that, the world went dark again."

                  My jaw dropped in awe. "So that's why," I muttered to myself.

                "That's why we've been gearing you up for war and been pushing you forward," the Chief explained. "We fear that this is going to happen very soon. In fact, that's also the reason why I've been urging my son to stay away from you. I've been preparing him slowly, knowing that he would probably end up following you on your journey."

                He continued. "Unfortunately, we have to bump you up a little more and soon you'll need to seek a few things for yourself. They are sacred objects that have helped to protect us for centuries, but recently they have vanished. We believe it's the work of our enemy in this war Valentina has predicted. Although we're not sure who they may be, we're fairly certain that the time is upon us. I want you to train for one more week and then, you may set off next week to find the lost objects."