[ Chapter Eight ]

  Fight or Flight

  Sun clamped his jaws over the bundle of herbs, and began to carry them back to camp amidst the moonlit sky. Suddenly, a flicker of white appeared amidst the ghostly trees. Sun looked over, spotting a white pelt beneath a nearby bush. It appeared to be stalking him, but the snowy white pelt gleamed in the dense green overgrowth like a rabbit in a fox den. Sun continued on, hoping the creature would mind its own business. Likely a cat, from its pelt, he thought dully. As he turned around a bend, a flash of pawsteps and the grunt of a cat sliced through the quiet forest air. Sun instinctively dropped his herbs, preparing for a battle. The frosty white cat slammed into him, their paws scrabbling against his pelt. Sun reared back, his claws extended and his mouth open in a silent growl, and felt his claws move through the cat’s pelt, completely missing its skin. The two cats tumbled into a ditch, still fighting aggressively White paws pummeled Sun, tearing off bits and pieces of fur every so often. Sun fought back as hard as he could, trying to pull the cat off him, when the air changed. Time seemed to slow, and a black shape appeared in the distance. Strange whistles and dings silenced the growling cats. Schade leaped at the white cat, his claws slicing into the thick, furry pelt. Everywhere he touched, the white cat’s fur shriveled up, turning black. As soon as it started it ended, Schade disappeared into the darkness. Time seemed to speed back up. The cat flew into the bushes, its head slamming into a tree. A quiet moment passed, Sun pulling himself together as the cat painfully called out into the forest. Sun began to gingerly step towards the injured cat, his hackles still raised. He turned the cat over, inspecting its injuries. At Least it passed out, He thought, now seeing that the cat was most definitely male, but young too. Sun began to pull the cat to his feet, trying to muscle him onto his shoulders. He was young, but definitely not skinny!

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  ~+~

  It seemed like ages before the two cats, both injured, made it back to the camp. Mother immediately began to smother Sun with, “Are you ok?”’s, while Dash just sat back and kept his gaze fixed on the snowy white cat. “Who this?” The old cat said, poking the unconscious body. Sun shrugged, carefully miming out what happened with his paws. The small group had begun to form a makeshift language for Sun, interpreting his gestures with some accuracy, or just an infinite game of charades with each other. “So how was he hurt?” Mother said, pointing at the body. Sun couldn’t put into signs what had happened, so he shrugged again. Sun began to pad towards his den, already searching for herbs that could ease scratches. He picked them out of the little shelves and carried them back. Spreading the pulp into the cat’s scratches and his own.