Forest's Fate

Chapter 29

"Where exactly are we going?" I ask as I catch up with Rain and walk in pace with her.

        The afternoon sky is still as gray as usual, and the green, treeless fields still flatly stretch out before us, but somehow, I can tell that we are out of our rebel group's territory. Here, the grass isn't treaded on as much, and the stench of other cats is getting fainter. In fact, by now, I only smell our presence here, no one else's.

"We're going to Silver Lake," she meows, stepping closer to me so that the sides of our bodies are almost touching. "It's where two of the major rebel groups live, and it's the only major body of water in Gardinia. They have to share the lake, so we always hear stories of their fights over it."

Rain glances behind her and halts. "North, are you coming, or are you just gonna hang around back there and be left behind?"

Everyone else stops walking and watches North as he stays in a bent-over position around fifteen tails away from us. A moment later, he straightens up and ambles back toward us. When he finally reaches us, I notice water dribbling down his chin.

Gesturing his tail toward the pond he was drinking at, North growls, "Great heavens, I was just thirsty. Don't look at me like I murdered someone."

As we begin walking again, one of the cats I don't recognize mutters, "Who's looking at you like you murdered someone?"

"All of you," North replies. He cleans his chin with his tongue.

        "Well, to be fair," another cat says, "you do kind of look like a murderer. I mean, you look like you haven't groomed yourself in days."

        Rain snorts in amusement, and as I turn my head to look at North, I nod my head in agreement to what that cat just said. He does look like a killer. His long, silver fur is knotted, partially covered in dirt, and sticking out so much that we could barely see his ears. His eyes look wild. It doesn't help that he also has that slow, purposeful gait that reminds me of a hunter stalking towards his or her prey.

         North glares at the other cat. "Shut up. Do you think I have time to wash myself these days, especially with this brat that I have to train?"

He points his tail in my direction while giving me a dirty look.

"Hey!" I hiss, staring back at him. "What do you mean? You barely teach me anything."

        It's true. He trained me a little yesterday, but most of it involved his shouting insults at me when I did something wrong.

"Yes, I do," North shoots back. "Maybe if you would listen to me once in a while, you would learn something. But I guess Earth cats don't even know how to follow directions, so maybe it's no use."

Fuming, I lash my tail as my ears flatten to my head. With my fur ruffled, I whip my head back around so that I'm facing away from him.

Then, suddenly having enough of North's presence, I bolt past Rain. I keep running until I'm at a fair distance from everyone else. My nostrils flare as I slow down and stalk ahead of everyone else.

Shortly later, Rain comes by my side again. She's alone with me; everyone else is still behind us at a distance.

"Sorry about North," she pants, slowing herself so that she's walking at my pace. "North aggravates everyone like that. He doesn't like anybody."

I stare down at the ground with my ears still flattened. "It's fine. What I don't like is how he keeps reminding me of where I came from. And my stupidity, of course."