Felis (Hiatus)

Chapter 2

I woke up the next morning and sprang out of my bed. It consisted of wood posts with woven vines stretched in between. I put my arms above my head and stretched my body as far as it would go. Then I grabbed my hunting armor and strapped on the leather arm and shin guards, and a several plates making up a full breastplate. These protected me from animals horns, and my vitals from the snakes. Finally I grabbed my bow, arrows, knives, and Naginata, and strapped all of the knives to their spots on my shin and arm guards.

Rushing out the door, I grabbed a small chunk of meat of the table shoving in my mouth on the way out the door. My older brother was gone, and my mother and younger brother were still sleeping. I went to the specified meeting place, the giant tree in the middle of our village. There were a few others there already, my brother included. I was the last one. We left about five minutes later, a silent signal from the flick of Atsushi's tail told the rest of the group and me that we were to travel silently.

My ears flicked in the direction of unnaturally rustled bushes. I flicked my ear again, and stopped abruptly. There was something down there. Then I heard voices in a tongue that I distantly remembered.

"This is the place. She will be here, somewhere. We just have to find her," a female voice said. I understood a bit of it. Two figures pushed their way through the brush underneath my group. They were vaguely familiar. Three more figures moved through the brush, on edge.

"They could be watching us right now," one said.

"They probably are. Do you have the video cam recording?" another whispered.

"Yes," said the third.

Again, I only understood a bit. But judging from their fear-scent and the way they whipped their head towards every sound, I could tell they were watching for us. I turned and looked behind me at the rest of the group which included my brother, Atsushi, Mai, and Sakura. It was no surprise that my two best friends had been chosen. Sakura, while not the most stealthy in trees due to her weight as a tigress, had amazing ears (when she used them instead of her mouth. Since Mai was a black leopardess, she was just a dark splotch and moved faster than a lot of the others. My brother, being a jaguar, was very strong for his size, and me, being a clouded leopardess with unusually long legs, could jump and climb faster than any one else in the group. Atsushi was a tiger, and only came because he organized the patrol and was Deputy in training.

I flicked my left ear at Atsushi, a gesture that asked, Well, what's your move, leader?

He gestured to all of us with his hands and got the point across: Sakura and him would follow on the ground, while my brother would cover me as I continued through the above, and Mai go right beside me, as well as relaying instructions from the tigers.

I let my long canines show as I smiled.Then with a burst of speed bounced to the next branch, my long tail streaming silently out behind me. I heard the soft beat of my brother's paws, and the light swish of leaves from Mai. The tigers dropped to the ground with two thuds that the humans were too far away to hear. And we were off again, following the clumsy sounds of ignorant human footsteps.

I was right above them, hanging down from a branch that my feet and tail were hooked over. I saw that they were just behind me, turning. That's when I saw the flash of a golden pendant that lie on the female's neck. I looked closer, and to my disbelief realized that I recognized it. My early years rushed back to me, and I remembered that was a gift from my father to my mother on their anniversary. I almost fell, but my brother grabbed me just in time.

"That's my human mother!" I whispered urgently to him. "I think she's looking for me."

He sat in thought for a moment before responding, "Go, keep following them. Atsushi, Mai, and I will separate her from the others."