Smallcats ◭ Living Myth ◭ Book 1

Chapter Three - "It All Leads Back to Me."

   "I guess Hey! Wake up! Is something wrong with you?" Dew groggily opened his eyes as he heard a voice meowing near him.  Almost immediately bright sunshine blinded him, and he squinted. His vision soon cleared and he noticed the shape of Furius standing over him, looking down. The guardian's expression more joyful then of last night, and Dew could see an orange tabby tail lashing in excitement. Great fantasies, what is this tom up to? Dew thought to himself as he sat up, wrapping his tail around his paws. "Are you ready for some fire?" Furius continued, his tail still lashing and hitting the sides of the cardboard box.

     "I'm not?" Dew meowed, beginning to groom himself. Though many depicted him as a tom with pale stripes, they were really just extra streaks on the lighter underbelly, muzzle, and paws. He didn't completely understand why they would even call him 'that tom with pale stripes'. There was always rumors and gossip that his fur didn't make sense, out of the ordinary, or that he was a fake cat. Fake cat? How would that even work?

    Dew drew away from his thoughts and noticed that Furius was beginning to walk away, giving him a backward glance and shrug. Has a night's sleep really made a tom woozy, crazy, out of his mind, and just not himself? He wondered, twitching the tip of his tail as he pondered about the theory for a moment or two. Finally, he shook himself and decided no, that sleep wasn't the answer. Besides, Furius hadn't looked grouchy because of sleep deprivation.

    Sighing to himself, Dew stood up and stretched, feeling his sore and tight muscles begin to loosen. He padded out of the cardboard box, giving himself a moment to adjust to the sunlight before taking a look around the camp. Most of the cats were gathered around Aeriality, a brown tom, and a white she-cat with an orange tabby ear. "Wonder what's up with that?" Dew meowed to himself out loud, making sure it wasn't within earshot of any cat.

    "Oh, they're just waiting for their orders, whether to "hunt", search for water, scour the rooftops of where we Soarians mostly dwell!" Dew hissed as he jumped into the air, his fur fluffed out in fear. He landed awkwardly, and he took a few moments to regain his balance. He looked up and sighed with relief as he noticed that cat who had spooked him was Mistea, not any other Soarian.

    "Ooh. Sorry about that. Stonerye tries to get me off the habit, but I don't think it'll ever be completely gone," Mistea meowed guiltily, her tail drooping slightly. Then she brightened up again, obviously wanting to change the subject.

    "While you're here, do you know why Furius is a little over the road?" Dew meowed, shooting a glance at the orange tabby tom. Mistea purred in amusement, curling her tail. He gave her a questioning look, but she replied before he could go on any further.

    "Oh, Furius? Please. The Bonding Ceremony is for him and Fenanda tonight. Haven't you heard? Ooh! I hope I'm on the candles team today!" Mistea mrowed in excitement, flexing her claws in and out.

    "Candles team?" Dew echoed, not sure what that meant or what it was for. A bonding ceremony sure did sound important, though.

    "Well, I mean. It can't be proper," Mistea meowed. "the candles team goes out into the human world of Fantalinc and searches for scrap candles and something to light them up with."

"And I'm assuming that it's for the ceremony? Why not use the ones around here?" Dew asked, angling his ears over to the candles that sat dimly on the patio tables and umbrellas.

"Oh, no. Those ones are fake if you haven't noticed. So we go out and find real ones, even though those ones only last for a day or two at the most," Mistea mewed. "Sorry, I have to go. Flightew's calling me." She trotted away waving her tail in goodbye. He took a quick glance around to make sure Stonerye wasn't around, watching ominously. He didn't think that the black tom would be happy to know that Dew had gotten Mistea to kind of like him as a friend already.