Smallcats ◭ Living Myth ◭ Book 1

Chapter Five. "Another Feline's Eye."

    Mistea sighed, pawing absently at the patio table surface. Dew hadn't returned since his private meeting with Aeriality, the two admirals and Cation. It had been a day now, and if he didn't return by nightfall, he would be gone for two days. I worry about him. Where did that tom go? Is he going to return? I liked his company, definitely better than Stonerye's, she thought to herself. It was noon, and she wasn't very busy today, only having a shift for guarding at night.

    Looking up from the patio table that she was sprawled out on, Mistea realized that her colony wasn't acting any different than it had yesterday, or the day before, or for the entire week. It was almost as if they barely noticed Dew was gone. Great. And I was just about to make a friend that Stonerye wouldn't chase away. Him and his stupid 'suitors'. To be honest, she didn't really love the black tom. He was okay, but being with her somehow made him happy. And she definitely didn't want to get on the bad side of Aeriality, Stonerye's father.

    Mistea yawned, stretching her legs and unsheathing her claws briefly. She relaxed again and noticed that Stonerye had appeared from the edge of the rooftop, most likely coming back from a scavenger-hunt patrol. The tom was followed by Astron, both carrying two pieces of prey. The food was somewhat scrawny, though there was a plump pigeon in Astron's jaws. Mistea watched as Stonerye padded over to the prey pile and dropped his catch into one of the stone bricks. The tom caught her staring, lifted his tail, and padded over. Oh, great. Now he's coming. Rolling her eyes, she sat up, neatly curling her tail over her paws.

    When Stonerye leaped up to sit beside her, he meowed, "Hey! How are you doing?"

    "Oh... I'm fine. Why?" Mistea mewed awkwardly. It certainly was easier to talk to Dew than Stonerye, another reason why she missed the friendly-ish tom.

    "Well, I don't know. You were staring at me, so I figured I would come and see if you needed anything," Stonerye purred, twining his tail with hers. She cringed slightly and forced a fake purr back. Yeah right. You just wanted to be with me again. It was strange, knowing that whenever other cats were around, Stonerye was so cold. Yet, here he was, being as warm as a forest fire towards her.

    "Now that you know I'm fine..." Mistea started, drawing away from her thoughts. "I guess I'll go back to lying down. I have the midnight shift, and I should be resting as much as I can." Stonerye nodded, looking at his paws. She wasn't sure if he was disappointed or not, probably hoping for a chance to spend some time at the creek or whatever.

    "Oh, uh. Okay. If you ever, you know, want to spend some alone time... I'll make some space on my schedule," Stonerye murmured, glancing at Mistea. He sighed and leaped down, padding over to where the kits were frolicking.

    "Did I do the right thing?" she meowed to herself. "What else could I have done? I do have a midnight shift tonight for guarding, I shouldn't be wondering if rejecting Stonerye again was a good idea." Or was it?

    Evening was beginning to fall, and she and already slept for a couple of hours in the afternoon. Mistea sighed as she pawed absently at the two quail wings that lay in front of her. She hadn't eaten much since morning, and her appetite had been spoiled since Dew left. "You know, you should really eat something. You can't eat anything when you're at your shift," a voice behind her caused her to mrrow in surprise, standing up abruptly.

    When Mistea turned around, she noticed that it was only Astron. The handsome young tom was standing calmly, his tail tip twitching. "I just don't have an appetite," she muttered, looking away from Astron.

    "Ever since that friend of yours left?" Astron guessed, padding up to stand next to her.

    "He's not my friend. Or, he was going to be, anyway," she sighed, looking up at the sea-blue eyes of Astron.