The next morning I woke up to the sound of people talking. I sat up and walked out of my room. Rin and Delilah were in the kitchen whispering to each other.
“What are you doing?” I asked quietly
“Waiting for you to get up.” Rin whispered
“Why me?” I asked
“Because you can cook really good food.” Delilah whispered
“Oh.” I said looking over at Kate’s door
“What do you want me to make?” I asked
“Breakfast.” Rin said
“So waffles?” I asked jokingly
“Whatever you want, girl.” Delilah said
“Ok so I’ll make a healthy option.” I said walking over to the fridge.
I pulled out some milk, butter, eggs, and bacon. After I had grabbed the cold things I walked over to the cupboard and pulled out some vanilla. I set that on the table and grabbed the flour and sugar. I also grabbed a bowl and whisk.
“What are you going to make?” Rin asked
“Crepes.” I said grabbing the measuring cups
“So just crepes?” Delilah asked
“No, I’m also going to make some eggs, bacon, and after things are done I’ll pull out the nutella and whipped cream. Plus we have strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries in the fridge.” I said starting to mix the crepe batter.
“Oh so it will be a relatively good meal.” Delilah said
“All I heard out of that sentence was nutella and whipped cream.” Rin said
“Hey can you tell me the time?” I asked
“Oh it’s 4:30.” Delilah said pulling out her phone
“Thanks.” I said turning on the stove and putting a pan over the flames.
I had started to make the crepes and would spread the batter thin in the pan. When it was done I would flip it onto a plate and start the next one. I had Delilah start cutting up the strawberries and I had Rin wash the fruit. After I was almost done with the crepes I let Rin take over making them. I had started to cook the eggs and when they were done I put it on a big plate and set it on the table. Now it was time for the bacon. Rin had finished making the crepes and started to hand me the bacon. After a few minutes the smell of bacon filled the apartment.
“How long does Kate usually sleep in for?” Rin asked
“Till the house smells like bacon.” I said with a slight chuckle
“Wow.” Delilah said giggling
Soon I heard Kate’s bedroom door open.
“Morning.” I said looking towards her door
“Morning.” Kate said yawning
“Do you want some bacon?” I asked in a teasing way
“Are you really asking me that?” Kate said jokingly
“We have crepes too.” I said passing her a plate
“I don’t want to eat if any one else hasn’t.” Kate said
“I can always make more.” I said chuckling
“Smells good.” Lilly said walking into the kitchen
“I agree.” Sage said behind her
“Morning you two.” I said
“Marry and Taran are cuddling.” Lilly said
“I gotta see this.” Kate said walking to the living room
“Same.” I said following her.
When we got into the living room the first thing we saw was a bundle of blankets. I pulled out my phone and walked over to the pile of blankets to see that Taran had his face buried in Marry’s chest. I looked at Kate. Kate looked at me with her eyebrows raised, she was trying not to laugh. I took a few pictures from a lot of different angles. I looked at Kate and mouthed the words. “We should wake them up”. Kate nodded her head. I pointed to the corner of the bottom blanket across from me and grabbed the corner in front of me. Kate grabbed the corner and I counted down from 3.
“3…2…1” I whispered
We ripped the blanket off of Taran and Marry. Marry's eyes immediately shot open and she sat up in a flash making Taran do the same. I burst out in laughter and fell backwards.
“So how, how did you guys sleep?” Kate teased
“Good.” Taran said rubbing the sleep out of his eyes
“Huh, it looked like you were pretty comfy.” Kate teased
“So Marry, how did you sleep?” I asked
“I liked it.” Marry said
“Well I hope you know Taran had his face buried in your chest.” I said in a teasing tone
“N-no I didn’t.” Taran stuttered
“Sure” Kate said giggling
“Well anyway, we have food to eat if you’re hungry.” I said, helping Taran to his feet.
We walked into the kitchen and I watched as everyone got what they wanted. Rin got a few crepes and put whipped cream and nutella in between the layers. Delilah made hers with whipped cream and fruit. She also got some eggs and bacon. Taran got crepes with whipped cream toppings and eggs. Marry got crepes with whipped, fruit, eggs, and bacon. Sage got the same as Delilah. Kate got the same thing as Delilah, she also got some bacon. I grabbed a plate and started to dish up what I wanted.
“2 days till school starts.” Sage said
“Thanks for the reminder.” I muttered
“Raven, I heard that.” Marry said
“Ok I’m glad I got in but I don’t want to start.” I said
“I’m worried about school too, but the one thing that I don’t want to do is wear a freaking hat.” Kate wined
“After the first few days we can take the hats off.” I said throwing a crepe.
It slapped her across the face.
Kate gave a playful growl.
“Did you just growl at her?” Marry asked
“Have you never heard me growl at her?” Kate asked
“No and that was a perfectly good crepe.” Marry said
“You can still eat it.” Kate teased
“You look so surprised by Kate’s action.” I said chuckling
Kate picked up the crepe off the floor.
“I’ll throw another one if you want.” I teased
“Oh really.” Kate said
“Ya.” I said picking up another crepe
“Don’t you dare throw that one, Raven.” Marry said
“Bet.” I responded aiming the crepe at Kate
“You want to try and get it in my mouth this time.” Kate teased
“Sure.” I said ripping it in half and folding it
“Don’t. You. Dare.” Marry warned as I aimed the crepe
“Ooh I wanna see this.” Rin said standing up
“Ybn you got this, girl. Just don’t let it hit the ground.” Delilah said
“This will either end up with Kate catching it in her mouth or it landing on the floor.” Sage said
“I know.” Taran respond
“Ready?” I asked Kate
“Ya.” Kate said opening her mouth
I tossed it and it curved at the perfect spot for her to catch it in her mouth. I watched as it asked and she caught it half way in her mouth. I threw my hands in the air laughing.
“At least it didn’t hit the floor.” Marry sighed
“I would’ve been funny if it had.” Rin said
“That was great. Wanna try to catch the other half?” I asked
“Sure.” Kate said
“Ok.” I said folding the other half tighter
“Don’t let it hit the ground.” Delilah said
“Ready?” I asked getting ready to toss it
“Ya.” Kate said
I threw the other one in the air a little harder and it smacked the ceiling. I watched as it stuck there for a hot minute then fell.
“Nice throw.” Marry teased
I just watched as it fell on Kate's face. I burst out laughing at the sound of it smacking her.
“Are you alright?” I asked trying to catch my breath
“Ya.” Kate said laughing
“How does it taste?” I asked chuckling
“Fine.” Kate said
“Well at least it didn’t hurt.” I said
“Ya and luckily it didn’t hit the ground.” Marry said chuckling
“But it smacked you pretty good.” Rin said laughing
“Ya, it didn’t really hurt. And you really don’t like wasting food do you?” Kate teased
“Of course not. What if someone else is hungry and you are just wasting it.” Marry said with a stern tone.
“Don’t worry.” I said chuckling
“Nothing goes into the trash in this house. I mean unless it is trash.” I said
“Good.” Marry said with a slight pout
“I think she’s pouting.” I said jokingly
“You think?” Kate asked jokingly
“I know.” I said chuckling
“Thanks for breakfast.” Delilah said
“Ya no problem.” I responded
“Oh ya, thanks.” Rin said
“You don’t need to thank me.” I said
“Goon manners is thanking the cook.” Lilly said
“Well I know but-” I was cut off by Kate
“Raven! Just take the thanks.” Kate said
“But I didn’t do anything.” I said
“You fed us.” Delilah said
“So?” I countered
“You gave us a healthy meal that tasted just as good as dessert.” Lilly said
“Ok, and?” I asked
“JUST TAKE IT AND STOP ARGUING.” Marry yelled
“Ok, ok, you’re welcome for the food.” I said
“Thank you.” Marry said with a lot of pride in her voice
I looked at Kate and mouthed “She really likes to yell.” Kate nodded her head in agreement.
“Well, let’s get breakfast cleaned up.” I said grabbing things to put away
“Ok. Also Marry, did you happen to notice some of the boy’s jawlines at school?” Kate teased
“Oh ya there was this guy with this really sharp jawline and it was like mmm.” Marry said chuckling
“Wow.” I said looking over at Kate.
“Why did you get her started on jawlines?” I asked
“Sorry, I just had to, okay. It's so funny watching her be obsessed with guys' jawlines.” Kate said laughing
“Fair.” I said chuckling
“Ok so who wants to go and do something fun?” Lilly asked
“Like what?” I asked
“Let Marry stare at guys with sharp jawlines and let her say all she wants about them.” Lilly said jokingly
“Raven, we should totally take them out on a hunt. That would be so much fun!” Kate said
“How about we teach them how to track animals because I don’t think they want to see the blood.” I said looking at Delilah and Lilly
“They're going to see blood either way even if they just want to stand back and watch.” Kate said
“Does that sound good to everyone?” I asked
“Ya I’m fine with it.” Delilah said
“Ok.” Lilly said
“As long as you don’t eat it in front of us I don’t care.” Sage said
“So it’s settled, we can take them hunting.” I said
“It was really just a suggestion. If you guys really don’t want to go then that is fine.” Kate said
“Well they already agreed so don’t give them a chance to back out.” I said chuckling
“I’ll open the gate.” Rin said opening the portal to her realm
“Thank you.” I said walking through
When I got to the other side I saw the same thing as the time before. I looked to see who followed me through the portal. Kate, Marry, and Taran were the first people to follow me through, then I was Rin dragging Sage and Lilly. Delilah was helping her pull them through.
“Well now that everyone’s here, let's start with the track.” I said looking at Kate
“Ok.” Kate said
“You know what you want to hunt so I’ll let you lead this.” I said to Kate
“Ok. I planned on just going to that same meadow we went to last time.” Kate said starting to walk into the forest
“Ok, everyone follow us.” I said following right behind Kate
“Ok.” Rin said as everyone started to follow
Not long after Kate stopped when we ran into some tracks.
“We just need to follow these tracks, if me or Raven pick up a scent we need to be really quiet, alright.” Kate said looking back at everyone
“And she means not a whisper.” I said
“If we lose the deer, we will have to track them all over again.” Kate said
“Ya and it’s not as fun.” I added
“Ok.” Rin said
“Understood.” Lilly said
“Sounds good.” Delilah whispered
So we started on our way again. We followed the tracks till the scent became fresher. I looked at Kate.
“Okay, we are really close to the deer so try not to make any loud noises. I’m going to go up further and see if I can see anything, can you guys stay here for a second?” Kate asked quietly
“I’ll keep an eye on them down here while you scout.” I whispered
“Okay. I’ll be right back.” Kate said following the tracks and scent
I listened to the group and in your direction waiting for you to come back. No one made a sound for a few minutes. I had my concentration in both directions waiting for Kate. After a few minutes Kate came back.
“Okay, the deer are just a little ways up here.” Kate said looking at everyone
“Ok that means not make a sound the further we go.” I whispered
Everyone nodded their heads in understanding. I looked at Kate.
“Ok, let’s go.” Kate whispered and started following the tracks again
We finally got to where the deer were.
“We should shift.” I whispered looking at Kate
“Ok.” Kate whispered shifting into a lynx
“Ok we are going to kill a deer now so we will be back.” I whispered to the others, turning into a panther.
The others nodded in agreement. I looked over at Kate, she looked like she was dying to kill something.
“Which one?” I whispered
“Let’s just do that small buck over there.” Kate said, looking at a small buck that wasn’t close to the herd.
“Ok.” I said crouching, getting ready to kick off the ground at any moment to catch the deer.
“You indicate when.” I whispered
“Now.” Kate said
She leaped off the ground like she would never be able to run again. I followed springing into action. Kate was fast running straight toward the buck. It had scared the other deer and they started to scatter. I started to curve my run. The buck was starting to run into the denser woods and I would be there to meet it. Kate slashed at its hind leg and got a good cut. I had reached the trees the second the deer tried to jump over a fallen tree. I had the perfect striking point of the revealed stomach. I lifted my paw with the claws extended. My claws racked through its flesh, ripping its stomach open. It fell to the ground, not quite dead yet. I slashed at its throat and watched as life slowly escaped its body. I looked around for Kate and she was standing on the fallen tree. I could see the adrenaline rushing through her veins.
“Hungry?” I asked jokingly
“Should we drag it out or go get the rest of the group?” Kate asked trying to settle down
“Let’s drag it into the open ground then get the rest of the group.” I said grabbing it’s hind leg in my mouth
“Ok.” Kate said, jumping off of the tree and helped me start dragging the deer.
We got it back in the meadow and it left a trail of blood. I looked toward the direction of our friend group and saw 3 pairs of terrified eyes. I looked at Kate and shifted back into a neko. Kate turned back into a neko too, and she started to giggle at the rest of the friend group.
“Guys you can come out.” I called watching the other come into the meadow
“They are looking at the deer as if we ripped it to shreds.” I said to Kate
“That's the funny part.” Kate said giggling
“What do you guys think?” Kate asked everyone
“You two are very scary.” Taran said looking at the deer
“Ya I agree.” Lilly said
“Same.” Delilah responded
“Could you kill me next?” Marry asked jokingly
“You guys are awesome.” Rin said
“Thanks.” I replied
“I’ll give you a head start, Marry.” Kate said playfully
“How did you guys come up with that strategy without even talking to each other? The only thing you guys communicated on was the timing and which one but how did you know about each other’s moves?” Sage asked kicking the deer's hoof
“Don’t disrespect the dead.” I said gently punching her shoulder
“And I’ll let Kate explain how we communicate without talking.” I said looking over at Kate
“I don’t really know how to explain it. It’s just like instinct for me, and also from past hunts we kind of memorize each other's moves, and we don’t have to worry about running into each other.” Kate said looking over at me
“For the people I have to dumb it down for it means that we’ve hunted together for so long we know how each other hunts.” I said looking at Taran who looked zoned out
“Oh, gatcha.” Delilah said
“Oh ok.” Taran said
“That explained so much.” Sage replied
“Ok.” Lilly said
“Sounds fun.” Rin said
“Can you just kill me already?” Marry asked jokingly
“You better start running.” I said jokingly, dropping into a crouch.
Marry started to run and I looked at Kate and smiled. I could tell that Kate wanted to run after her but was trying to hold herself back. I nodded then started to run after Marry. Kate took off after her too. Not only 3 seconds later we had Marry pinned to the ground.
“Well I guess we can see who the slow one is now.” I said jokingly
“Ya.” Kate said hurrying and climbing off of Marry
“Awe, I’m not dead.” Marry said jokingly
“We wouldn’t kill you unless you were prey.” I said helping Marry to her feet
“Thanks.” Marry said brushing off her pants
“Um, can I talk to you Raven?” Kate said looking at the ground
“Ya, sure.” I said
“I feel like I’m slowly losing myself.” Kate said
“What do you mean?” I asked my tone becoming a little more concerned
“When Marry started running, I wanted to go after her. If I didn’t have you hear or have not as much control of myself, I’m afraid I would have actually killed her. I don’t know what's happening.” Kate said
“Then I think it’s time we take a break from hunting for a little while. No I don’t mean forever but I mean till we can get back in touch with what’s prey and what’s a friend. If you ever just crave hunting and it’s uncontrolable to where you’d hurt me or one of the others then just ask and we can go hunting for something small like a rabbit. Is that alright with you?” I asked
“Ya. This also isn’t the first time it's happened, but I didn’t want to worry you. But this time it got worse.” Kate said drooping her ears
“Then I think we really need to take a break from hunting. We have enough meat to last us at least 4 weeks and we can always turn into street cats and go hunt for some mice.” I said giving her a hug
“I’m sorry.” Kate said
“Don’t be. It’s natural for our kind. The first time it happened to me I was thrown in a cage for 3 weeks without any meat whatsoever and a shock collar every time I got an adrenaline spike.” I said lowering my voice
“Let's get back to the others.” Kate said
“We can talk more about this later, ok.” I said walking towards the other gently holding Kate’s hand
“Ok.” Kate said
We got back to the others and they were studying the deer’s body.
“It looks like they beat it up.” Rin said jokingly
“It’s dead.” Marry said
“Taran, you look sick.” Kate teased
“I feel sick.” Taran said
“Well that’s what a dead deer looks like so let's put it in the freezer.” I said
“Ok.” Kate said crouching down and petting the deer
“Respect the dead.” I said jokingly
“Is she not respecting it?” Sage asked
“No she is but it’s funny to make fun of her when she pets the dead animals.” I said jokingly grabbing one of it’s legs
“At least I’m not tearing it apart.” Kate said standing up and grabbing the other leg
“Rin, can you open the portal?” I asked
“Sure.” Rin said, opening the portal back into the apartment.
Me and Kate dragged the deer into the apartment and into the empty room with 2 chest freezers. I opened up the first one and we put the deer inside of it.
“Now we wash our hands.” I said
“Ya.” Kate said
“So sad.” I said sarcastically.
While I walked past Kate I gently slid my hand on her forehead leaving a red handprint of blood.
“How dare you.” Kate said playfull
y
“What’d I do?” I asked jokingly
“Come here and I’ll show you what you did.” Kate said
“No way.” I said running out of the room
“I’m going to tackle you then.” Kate said running after me
“No you won’t.” I said dodging her hand
Kate’s hand accidentally hit Taran in the face. So now he had a red hand print, he looked like he was going to be more sick then he already looked.
“Taran! Are you okay, I didn’t mean to get you.” Kate said trying to hold her laugh in
“I don’t know if I should be disgusted or to laugh.” Taren said
“I mean it fits you.” I said laughing
“At least the blood is not totally in your mouth.” Kate mumbled
“What was that?” I said chuckling gently putting my hand around Kate’s throat
“If you look at his face then you’ll know what I’m talking about.” Kate said putting blood on my nose
“Ya.” I said laughing
“Quit making a mess and go clean up.” Marry said walking through the portal
“Awe, but we’re having fun.” Kate wined
“We can make a bigger mess later.” I said gently punching Kate’s shoulder
“Fine.” Kate said
After we got cleaned up and cleaned the blood the deer dragged into the house I could tell that people were getting tired.
“Does anyone want tea?” I asked
“What kind do you have?” Delilah asked
“Let me go see.” I said walking into the kitchen
“Do you have chamomile?” Taran asked
“Ya.” I said pulling out a box of it
“I’ll have some of that.” Taran said sitting down on the couch
“Kate, do you want some?” I asked
“Sure.” Kate said
“I got a new one the other day and I think you might like it.” I said pulling out a box that was nicely wrapped
“What is it and can I get some?” Lilly asked
“It’ll be really bitter to you.” I said
“Why?” Lilly asked
“You’ll see when Kate tries some.” I said putting water in a kettle
“Oh ok.” Lilly said
“So what kinds do you have?” Delilah asked
“Oh right, we have mint, rose, spearmint, chamomile, irish breakfast, berries, wild berries, raspberries, and some orange spice.” I said
“Oh um…I’ll try the orange spice.” Delilah said
“Can I have the raspberry one?” Lilly asked
“Sure.” I responded
“I’ll take the wild berries.” Sage said
“I think I’ll try the Irish breakfast one.” Marry said
“Ok.” I said
I got everyone a different type of mug and put the tea packet in them. After a few minutes of waiting the water came to a boil and I poured the hot water in the mugs. I waited for them to cool down a little before I brought them out to anyone. After they cooled and were handed out I gave Kate her last.
“Take a sip and see if you like it.” I said handing her the mug
“Ok.” Kate said taking a drink
“The berry ones smell good.” Sage said
“Ya and they taste better.” Lilly said
“So how is yours, Kate?” Rin asked
“Sweet.” Kate replied
“You lied.” Lilly said
“No I didn’t lie, it's just not for you. You’ll find it to be bitter and in a few moments Kate might start to get tired so…” I said
“So what is it then?” Sage asked
“Catnip. Or to be more specific, concentrated catnip.” I said
“Catnip!” Kate said
“Would you rather have me say vodka?” I asked jokingly
“It calms your nerves and helps release stress and muscle tension.” I said
“Ok.” Kate said
“Trust me on this.” I said
“Alright.” Kate said taking another sip
“If you fall asleep, I hope you start purring.” Lilly said jokingly
“I don’t want to purr. Raven have you heard me purr?” Kate asked
“It’s been a whole since you’ve purred while asleep but I have heard you purr in the past.” I said chuckling
“I don’t want to purr.” Kate wined
“I didn’t say you had to purr.” I said
“I’m going to go to my room.” Kate said
“Ok, see you later.” I said watching Kate walk into her room
“I think we are all tired from hiking or hunting I guess.” Delilah said
“Ya, I’m honestly planning on going to bed.” I said walking towards my room
“Ok, see you later.” Delilah said
I opened the door to my room and walked in then closed it. My room was relatively messy but it was still clean enough for me to get work done. I walked over to my bed and lay down in it.
“Wow, that was fun. I guess I should keep an eye on Kate for a while though.” I thought as I slowly drifted off to sleep.