Now Jessie led us as we raced down the sidewalk. I looked around, trying to remember if I've ever been here while I was a kittypet. But I don't.
Jessie was slow, so we had to run slowly, and she was running full speed. Then she skidded to a halt in front of a green lawn. She stared up at the house with wide, sparkling eyes. She turned to me happily with her tail high in the air.
"We're here!" she squealed. "This is my home!"
"Should we go inside?" I asked. Midnight and Flicker appeared at my side. Then i suddenly remembered something. "Um, Flicker..." I meowed. I pushed him back a step and looked behind my shoulder.
"I don't think the humans will like you here." I said quietly. Flicker's tail twitched back and forth.
"Of course they won't." Flicker said flatly. "I'll go to the side of the house. Say good-bye to Jessie for me." I turned around, confused. Then I saw that Jessie was already at the doorstep. I gazed back at Flicker.
"I'm sorry." I meowed softly. "I'll be there in a few minutes." I waved my tail and turned back to Midnight. Silently, we walked up to Jessie. She was mewling and clawing at the door. I signaled Midnight to go to the side in the bush. He did so, and I followed him. Jessie stared at us.
"Go on. Meow." I told her. I snuggled farther inside the bush. Jessie clawed and mewled some more. I looked over at Midnight and shuffled closer to him so our pelts touched. He rested his tail on my back.
Then the door opened. A tall human figure- a female- stood in the doorway. She had tall fur on her head, and a long dress. She squealed in horror and backed up. Jessie puffed out her tail, frightened.
"Oh! Get away from me!" she snapped at Jessie. She reached down to swat her, but I raced forward and bared my teeth at her. I snarled and she ran back inside the door. I picked Jessie up by the scruff and carried her back inside the bush.
I stared, perplexed at her. "What happened? Are you sure this is your human's home?!"
"Y-yes. That was her!" Jessie mewled quietly. "I thought she would recognise me."
I stared more at her, not knowing what to say.
Midnight spoke up. "Maybe we can see inside, and see if your mother is in there. She might still be, if we can get to a window." I glanced at my mate and nodded.
"Yes, we could do that." I said. "But Jessie- why wouldn't she recognise you? That doesn't make any sense." I glanced back at the door.
"She might've gotten too big, and the human didn't know her." Midnight suggested.
"She was gone for not even a week. She couldn't have gotten that big." I reasoned.
Flicker poked his head through the bush. "I just saw what happened. But what did just happen?!" I glanced at Midnight, and I explained to Flicker. He nodded when I was done.
"Oh, that's too bad." Flicker said. "What are we going to do about it?" This time Midnight explained that we're going to try and find her mother through one of the windows, and hopefully she can see us and take Jessie back. I glanced back at the kit. Her face was sad- too sad for a perky kit. I could almost imagine her roaming the streets, all alone.
But that's not going to happen. We're going to find her mom, and get her back. We'll try.
After a long while of planning, we finally figured it out. I will get onto Flicker's back and look through each of the windows. If I see her, I will tap on the glass to get her attention. Then I could signal her to come outside, hopefully. Midnight will stand guard to make sure the human doesn't come back, and to take care of Jessie while we're busy.
We set out on the first window. Flicker stood underneath and I carefully got onto his back. I was unballanced, but I managed to get a glimpse over the window. Nobody was there, though. I signaled Flicker and I jumped off. We walk over to another window, careful so that nobody sees us. I climb once more onto his back and struggle to stay onto his back. I peer over the window. I let out a gasp as I see a beautiful white she-cat with patches of calico walking across the wooden floor lazily. I tap on the glass with my paws, and meow at her. She perks up her ears, and looks around. Her gaze finally finds me, and they lift in surprise.
"Out the door!" I say loudly. She cocks her head, but she walks over the door. I drop down and I meet her by the car door. Flicker disappears through the side of the house, so he doesn't scare her.
Shakily, she steps out. "Who are you?"
I step forward to introduce myself. "I'm Hope, but I won't hurt you. We have. . .something that you might be interested in."
She tips her head to the side and meows, "What is it?"
"Mommy!" a squeal erupts from the bush. She runs forward and hops onto her mother's back. I have no doubt now that she is her daughter, because the she-cat squeals and licks her kit furiously. They both are purring loudly.
"Jessie!" the mother says. I feel so bad for her. Losing her kit after all this time. It must be truly horrible. I watch in happiness at their reunion. "My kitten!"
"I missed you," Jessie says. "But Hope, Midnight, and Flicker helped me come back home after that bad cat took me away!"
For a brief moment, fear flashes in her amber eyes. But then she turns to me. "Who?"
I purr and signal for Midnight to come out. She whips around to face him, putting a tail over her kit protectively. "Don't worry," I meow. "None of us will hurt you or your kit. This is Midnight, my mate." Midnight nods respectively to the she-cat.
"W-who's Flicker?" she asks, her mew still shaky.
I glance at Midnight. "Er, do you mind foxes?"
"What are those?" she asks. I figure since she doesn't know what they are, she won't be afraid of them. I call out to Flicker for him to join us. The she-cat only stares at him quizzically, studing him. Flicker dips his head to her.
"Are you a dog of some sort?" she asks.
"Well . . a wild dog, I suppose." Flicker says, sounding like he's just trying to make it simple for her. "I helped take Jessie here."
The she-cat purrs. "Oh, thank you all so, so much for returning my little Jessie! My name is Clarra." Her purr immediately drops, and her tail goes flat. "I can't." she whispers suddenly.
I flick one ear. "You can't what?"
Clarra wails. "I can't take Jessie!"
I flatten my ears, confused. "Wh-what do you mean, you can't keep her?" Clarra stands to her feet and paces around, while Jessie tries to follow her.
"I can't keep her!" Clarra wails. "Oh, how I wish I could! But my human doesn't want anymore animals here. If she finds Jessie, she will surely take her far away. And there's another danger, too. The tom-- Scar-- which you were talking about, will come and also try to take her away. That's Jessie's father. He thinks that Jessie is rightfully his, and that she will have to live with him forever. . . He took her, and that's how I lost her in the first place."
I share a look with Midnight. Does that mean we came all the way here for nothing?!
"But surely he won't." I say.
"He will! My human doesn't like any other cats, too." Clara looks like she's about to fall to the ground. "I'm a horrible mother!"
I walk toward, resting a tail on the upset she-cat. "No, you aren't. It's not your fault. We. . . we will talk about this, and settle it all out. Okay?"
Clarra whips her gaze behind her, to the door, then back at us. "I have to go. Please, please meet me here tonight, by this bush. Will you please take care of Jessie until then?" Her voice is so pleading and desperate, I can hardly turn her down.
I force a purr. "I've taken care of her until now. Of course I will, and we will see you soon." Clarra flashes me a grateful smile before disappearing back into the cat door.
"Mom!" Jessie wails, trying to jump in after her. But I quickly stop her with a paw.
"Jessie, we will see her later," I meow. "Alright? We just need to go away until tonight, then you can see her again."
Jessie pauses. "Promise?"
I nod. "Promise."
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OMG sorry for the SUPER late update on this!! D: i was so busy with my other things, but it's finally here, and i made it longer. i will continue updating, warrior fans! :D
-Wolfang11