Small Cats ⇧ Above the Forsythia ⇧ Book 4

One. Arrival.

Palm Spray twitched her ear casually as they padded through a quiet neighborhood. She tensed up slightly at the sight of a human that was mowing its lawn with a loud machine. It looked up from its work and narrowed its eyes at her and the rest of her group. Flightew as true to her word about splitting the Soarians up for travel to not arouse suspicion.

Palm Spray walked in the second group, about fifteen minutes behind the first, with Flightew in the lead. "How much longer?" Rodna meowed, breaking the silence that had spread through the cats. From the corner of her eye, she saw Stubs and Astron twitch their whiskers in acknowledgment, but only Mocha answered, Wildflower looking curiously at her trainer.

"Soon. See that meadow there? Flightew said that the Cliffsiders would be there to greet us. The first group should be there already," Mocha meowed, flicking her tail. Rodna didn't reply, instead, nodding slowly as he took the information in.

They walked along the pale gray sidewalks of the quiet neighborhood, the scents flooding Palm Spray as she caught grasses, flowers, and other trees. Bright, yellow-green meadows stretched far and wide in front, maybe a couple of minutes walk more. In the distance, the jagged outline of the mountains blocked the setting sun from lighting up the flowing fields. The tall, intimidating skyscraper-like natural formations were probably only a couple of miles away from where she stood.

I wonder what it would be like to climb there one day? She frowned, suddenly remembering Flightew saying that they would take the neighborhood and only a "small" stretch of forest to hunt in. Twitching her whiskers, Palm Spray dropped her head as she suddenly remembered home. But that's not home anymore. I left the Naturnesians... Now that the topic had floated into her mind, she furrowed her brow as she pondered why. I left them. The reason, though? I'm not sure...

She didn't realize that she bumped into Mocha's hind, and she growled in mild annoyance, peering past the older she-cat, who didn't take to Palm Spray. "Ugh, what now?" Palm Spray snorted.

"We're here," Mocha meowed darkly, turning her head around and eyeing Palm Spray warningly. Palm Spray wrinkled her nose at the older she-cat and sneered, lashing her tail. Mocha held her gaze for a long moment before turning away and padding forward, the coffee-hued she-cat padding into the meadow. Long grasses cut off from the dark black asphalt parking lot. A few cars lay lifeless as their engines rested, slotted into the white borders that had been painted across the black tar.

Palm Spray sniffed and padded forwards, the yellow-green grass brushing her shoulders as she padded through the long undergrowth. She heard the rest of her group following close behind, Astron trotting past her with a spring in his step. She shrugged to herself and followed the two older felines, and after a minute or two of walking, they arrived in a clearing where the grass shortened slightly and a twisted cypress stood in the middle.

Flightew sat calmly on the roots of the centerpiece tree while a strange and unfamiliar trio of cats stood next to her. One of them, an exotic looking pale gray tom with darker streaks, was talking to the Soarian leader. My leader, now. Palm Spray sighed but allowed her eyes to flit to other sides of the clearing. The rest of Flightew's group was visible, but there appeared to be more Soarians than what should've been.

Palm Spray spotted Moxx, Myphoon, Stonerye, and the trainee's pad into the clearing, and if her memory was correct from a three days ago, they were the last group. I guess we did have a little detour on the way, she thought to herself, flicking her tail. They'd stopped and visited Andor's grave-- or at least one that they'd made since the young she-cat's body was never found.

"Hey!" Palm Spray looked up and saw her littermate, Deep Ravine, pad up to her and purr in greeting. She nodded stiffly, unsure how to greet him properly. "How was the trip? Gosh, I haven't seen you for..."