Abbernathy and the Cat Kingdom

(3) -The Persimmon Grove-

The briny scent of the sea invaded Abby's senses as she ran over the trimmed grasses of the house's expansive lawn. Lucy was at her heels, enjoying the chase, watching the last hints of sun down caress the girl's hair with fingertips of fire, staining it a warm amber.

Her lungs burned as she ran through the trimmed shrubberies of the formal garden, prickly bushes shaped like lions roaring as she flew past them, thick manes of yellow leaves rustling in her wake. Marble statues of men and women, weathered and moss-covered, dappled the garden, watching with cool gazes as Abby's heels clicked over the smoothed grey stone pathway. They smiled at her with their angled mouths, their shadows spilling out over the path and mimicking oil slicks- ones that made for delightful summer naps.

Right before the hill where the grove was, sat an oval lake that always glowed blue come nightfall. The first hints of its colorful glimmer clung to the mist that rose off the water's surface, the lake in the early thralls of a most enchanting spell. Abby rushed along over the lake's arched bridge, her hurried footfalls punctuating her excitement as the first hints of Laos crept into view.

"Ho- hold up!" a voice yelled.

Abby whirled around to see Crum hunched over and gasping for breath in the middle of the formal garden, his hair slick and shiny with sweat reminding Abby of a handful of slimy eels. She chuckled at the new, disheveled and red-faced Crum she'd never before seen, and then turned back around and continued her run.

"Catch me if you can!" she yelled back, finding enjoyment in the exhaustion she felt in her aching muscles.

She always felt alive when she ran, fire burning in her lungs, breaths escaping her without replacements. Running brought a smile to her face, especially when there was something worth running toward.

As she crested the hill, more and more of the city of Laos revealed itself. Pausing to catch her breath before her climb grew too steep, she eyed the eroding sandstone structures of the massive port with a loving gaze.

Thousands of white lights sparkled like diamonds in the distance, hung from every boardwalk and rooftop in the city; a tiny star-scape that draped over the port, making residents and visitors alike feel as though they'd found a piece of heaven on earth.

Abby turned her attention back toward the grove, finding a pair of golden eyes peering out at her through the darkness. She stopped, Lucy stumbling into her calves at the abruptness.

"What is it love?" he meowed. "Why'd you stop? We haven't yet reached Simon."

The girl ignored the cat's meow, holding her gaze on that familiar pair of gold eyes. A few yards further up the hill, another cat with fur as rich and opaque as the night stood in front of her, a small green snake wriggling in its mouth.

"Sebbi," Abby whispered, hands squeezing at the lace trim of her dress, desperately trying to calm the aching that had settled in her chest.

It had been weeks since she'd last seen Lucy's brother, though she'd heard about him plenty from the oral reports Mrs. Seiver had delivered to her father, aggravated lectures about the cat terrorizing her herb garden, digging up newly planted seeds and feasting on the tender blades of maturing sea-grasses.

Both cats looked similar with their black fur and gold eyes, though they had one distinct physical difference; Lucy had a patch of white nestled between his eyes that always made Abby think of a waning moon. Sebbi, on the other hand, was completely black, not a single speck of white anywhere; creatures of the moon and night sky respectively.

Their personalities, however, couldn't have been more opposite. Where Lucy openly sought out the adoration of humans, Sebbi couldn't have cared less. Instead, he took to torturing them the only way a cat could, digging up gardens, attacking drapes and fine linens, and knocking over the dusty heirlooms of Abby's ancestors.