Forest's Fate

Chapter 12

         The training is finally finished for today. Well, the test fights against Mirage used to see our level of fighting, that is.

        After Branch's test fight, he and I decided to sneak to the side of the den we were training by. We stayed there for the rest of the time we were there and chatted about cats we met so far in Gardinia. I was going to ask Branch about his past life when he was in Earth, but then I remembered that his memory was taken away. That was a lovely reminder of who I was talking to.

        During the short time Branch's new self was in Gardinia, he befriended two cats: Night and Sky. Those were the two cats that came with us to this training place. Night and Sky are both newcomers who were taken here together just recently. Branch said they are in a relationship. He didn't talk much about them, but something tells me they are deep in love.

Oh, and Branch also informed me that Name told him to not talk to me much because I'm close to getting the punishment and "irrationally rebellious." I laughed out loud at that part, and I still chuckle at it as I think of it now as we walk back to the camp. Does he think I'm some strange animal or something? That's what it sounds like.

That tells me that Mirage was right about Name warning Branch about me. I don't know what to think about that. I want to be mad because she always seems right, but something else sparks in me for a moment. Maybe she didn't want me to get interested in Branch, only to get rejected by him because of Name. She somehow cared about my feelings.

But that optimistic, warm feeling gets popped out of my mind when the image of Mirage murdering the young cat creeps up on me. No, she can't care about me. She's a monster, that's what she is. She even admitted it herself.

        Ugh, why do I keep thinking about Mirage?

Anyway, Branch said he wanted to be friends with me because he thought I was cool. Oh well, even though it's someone with no sign of a past who finally accepted me for who I am, at least it's someone. It feels nice to have another cat to be with. Maybe I can abandon Stripe so I can stop embarrassing myself with her. Too bad she actually seems to like me.

        When we get to the camp, I notice that all of the other cats that didn't get taken by Mirage are already there. My gaze scans the crowd for Mirage. I eventually see her talking to Name near me. They're talking in low voices, so I can't eavesdrop on them. My ears slightly tilt towards my head in suspicion when I see Name look slightly troubled as he listens to Mirage growl something to him. His ears are flattened, and his tail is flopped down. That's unusual of him; he seems more of a type of cat who hides his emotions. Instead, he's showing them to everyone around him.

I watch Mirage and Name converse with each other for a couple of minutes before I get bored and look around for someone else to talk to. That's when Branch, Night, and Sky catch my eye. They're talking next to the entrance of the den all of us normally sleep. I think it would be good to know more about Branch's friends, and anyway, I have nothing else to do, so I stand up and walk towards them.

         On the way there, I slowly brush past Name and Mirage. That's when I manage to catch a quiet phrase from Mirage: "Although Forest doesn't have proper fighting skills, he's pretty clever, but.."

         I have no idea how I caught that sentence, and I almost stop walking, both from surprise of being mentioned by Mirage and curiosity of Name's response. At the same time, I have the logic that if I pause even for a second, they'll suspect that I'm listening to them, so I keep strolling near Branch and the others.