Chapter 10

I stumbled, not knowing what to do. I grabbed the bluejay and dropped it at her paws. "You guys should eat it..." she mewled. "We can find something else. And besides, no one else is that hungry. Just please, eat something." She sighed, picking up the bird and quickly eating it up like she had been hungry for two weeks. "How else can I help? What do we do?" I asked Windy, still looking worried as I watched her eat. "I'll wake up Zach. He would know how to help her.

You go and look for more prey, he might need it if he'll be scavenging for herbs." I nodded and took off, looking for more birds or whatever else I could find. I had to move quickly, as I knew that Zach, or maybe Sally would need to eat more. As I ran, I prayed that we could help her. I didn't like seeing my sister sick. She deserved to be okay. I stopped and took another deep breath, but again, only the strong smell of rain, just like before.

I kept running, trying to find anything that could help. I didn't know if I would be able to find what they needed, but I had to try. I just wanted my sister to get better. Finally, after a few moments, I spotted a rabbit hunched over, nibbling on clovers. 𝘗𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵. I slowly approached the rabbit, my steps light and silent. I was attentive to not scare it away before I could kill it.

As I crouched close enough, I wiggled my tail, leaped in the air, and did exactly what I did with my first catch. I sunk my teeth into its neck as hard as I could, landing on my head and falling on my side. I continued to sink my teeth into the rabbit's neck until it stopped squirming in my mouth.

I panted, blinking as I realized I was soaked in the mud. I got up and shook myself off, running back to the den with my paws splashing in the muddy grass even more than before. As I entered the hollow, I felt cold and miserable. "Alright, I got a rabbit." I dropped the warm creature before looking up. Windy trotted up to the rabbit, looking happy.

Zach was talking to Sally, looking worried.

"Are you sure?" He asked her. "Yes," she groaned. "Go eat whatever Oreo's got. I don't want you staying too close to me and getting whatever I have." I watched as he hesitated for a moment, but then turned and padded towards the rabbit. Windy and Zach both started eating it, the smell of the rabbit filling the den.

"Save some for Sally," I sighed, my paws patting on the floor as I walked to my bed. "We will," I heard Widy say. I carefully lowered myself onto my bed, my eyes drooping with tiredness. I yawned widely, sighing again as I cleaned myself up. There was so much mud... ugh. Eventually, I managed to clean myself up a bit. Any more cleaning and I'd have a mouthful of mud.

I slowly closed my eyes, the exhaustion hunting and cold rain washing over me like a gust of wind. I felt the soft cattail fluff and vines on my fur. 𝘐 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘚𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘰𝘬𝘢𝘺… Soon, I was dozing off, my body finally succumbing to the lull of sleep.

A few hours later, I woke up.

I drowsily opened my eyes, my gaze shifting to Sally's nest as I regained awareness and membered that she was sick. Zach was talking to her, and he gave her some weird plants and she started eating them. 𝘔𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘣𝘴? 𝘞𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘧𝘧... 𝘐 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘞𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦. I noticed Windy wasn't there. I sat up and yawned as Zach padded to the den entrance and sat down. 𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘐 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘴𝘮𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘵.

I felt that my throat was dry, smacking my mouth a bit. 𝘏𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘺, 𝘐 𝘸𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦... I got up and began to walk toward the entrance of the den. "What are you doing?" Zach asked, licking a paw and swiping it over his ear. "You'll get soaked out there after a minute or two." I looked back behind me, seeing Sally curled up, trying to rest, and the memory of Windy not being in the den came back to me as I didn't see her in her bed. "Where's Windy?"

I asked, sitting down next to him. I could feel the dirt under my paws was a bit wet, as it was next to the entrance where it was raining. I could feel the vibration of the rain pattering on the ground. I sort of started kneading my paws into the damp dirt a bit, looking at Zach. Was he guarding the den or something? "She went hunting, so don't worry about it if you were going to."

"I was heading to the stream for a drink," I meowed, looking outside at the stream about seventeen feet away from me. I could smell it, too. It smelled like rain. Just like everything else. "Don't worry all you have to do is go out there and open your mouth," he joked. "Go ahead, then," he meowed back, continuing to groom himself. "Well... before I go--- What's wrong with Sally? Will she be okay?" "Oh, sure. It's just Greencough, and she doesn't have it that bad. Some catnip and feverfew should help her feel better, I think." What sort of plant language was he speaking... I simply nodded, getting up.

I trotted outside, feeling the cold rain patter on my fur, the heat in my body fading away as I shivered. My ears perked up as I heard thunder rumble in the distance. I trotted faster, wanting to hurry. I wonder why Zach was guarding the den... maybe to make sure there are no threats to Sally? Or is he waiting for Windy to come back? Or, he's just feeling really territorial... I feel like that sometimes, I guess. My paws took me to the stream, the water rushing by.

I lapped up the water eagerly, the aqua water cool and refreshing. As I gulped down the cold liquid, I felt a thirst I didn't even realize I had until it was quenched. I jumped and hissed, frantically looking around as lightning crashed and thunder roared in the sky above. I scrambled back into the den, almost slipping into the muddy grass with shocked adrenaline pumping through me.

I sat down at the den entrance, panting as I realized I just got myself all muddy-- again. My fur has been stained too many times! I remembered that cleaning the blood of that rabbit was hard enough, then cleaning mud out of it, then mud again! It really needs to stop raining... I sighed, feeling the sticky mud cling to my fur. I heard Sally let out a raspy chuckle from behind me. Zach still sat at the den entrance next to me, analyzing the outside world.

I sighed, stepping outside just enough to where it was raining on me. I flattened my ears, letting the cold rain clean my fur. I closed my eyes and enjoyed the feeling of the rain washing away all the dirt. I felt lighter when I opened my eyes again and saw Sally and Zach looking at me with amusement. I stepped back inside the den, a shiver sweeping over me. "Are you feeling any better, Sally?" I asked her, licking myself vigorously to get myself dry. "Not much... But it'll probably take a while for the herbs to work.

As I groomed myself off, Windy trotted into the den, her short fur soaked, with... something in her mouth. I squinted, trying to see what it was. The object had warty, bumpy skin and a mottled mix of brown and green. Its weird, round eyes were bulging, and the corners of its mouth drooped into a sad expression. Its bumpy feet were webbed and its back was decked with two rows of bumps. What kind of alien did she catch outside? It didn't have any fur...

Was it some sort of fish? I watched her shake herself off, sitting down. She dropped the creature and began cleaning herself off, seeming annoyed that she was soaked. After cleaning herself for a while and swiping a paw over her ear, she looked at Sally, who was still in her bed, curled up with the tip of her tail covering her nose.

As Windy was about to pick up the alien again, curiosity took over me and I got up from my sitting position, asking, "Windy, what is that thing?" Windy looked at me strangely, her face confused as she tilted her head and held a paw up. "It's a frog, Oreo..." she answered, her expression turning to one of slight annoyance but still confused. "They live in streams and creeks?" I looked at the alien again, this time with more confusion. "I've never seen a 'frog' before..."

What a strange creature. Its bulging eyes were almost creepy! But also dumb looking?

I had no idea 'frogs' even existed. "Frogs are amphibians," she said, her mouth curving into a slight smile, now understanding the situation. "They lay eggs and once they hatch, they are small fish-like creatures called 'tadpoles', I think." I tilted my head, fascinated at the information on toads. "Then, they eventually grow legs and lose their fish tail and live on land when they are adults. How have you never seen one before?" "Well, I don't blame him,"

Sally said from behind us. "We've lived in the town for our whole lives until moving into this den-" Sally coughed, her ears flattened. Zach whisked past us and sat by Sally's side, ready to assist her if she needed anything. I couldn't help but think that Zach would make a great mate for Sally. He was so kind and caring and seemed to always be there whenever she needed him. I could tell he really cared about her and wanted to be there for her. "Sorry. Anyways, I've only seen a frog once, but Oreo never has. Frogs don't really come into the town often."

I smiled to myself, feeling certain that Zach was the perfect person for Sally. I could tell from the way he was looking at her that he really cared about her. I knew that they would be happy together. I was probably ignoring whatever Sally was saying, but I was just so lost in thought. I shook myself off. 𝘐'𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴."Well, that makes sense, then. Would you like any more information about them?" Windy asked me, smiling.

"Hmm... Well, what do they taste like?" I asked, looking at the warty creature with interest, wondering how good it really was. "Well... it kind of tastes like a bird.. and a fish. Here, why don't you try a bite?" She pawed the 'frog' to me, and I leaned down and took a bite. Surprisingly, it was quite delicious. It tasted like a combination of those chicken scraps we got from the trash bins, and salmon, and it was juicy and moist. The only thing I didn't like about it was its bumpy skin... yuck. Still, I couldn't believe I had never seen a frog.

I got up, shaking myself off again, and nudged the frog back to Windy. "You're not going to eat any more?" "Definitely not. I- I like it, I do, but you should give it to Sally. She needs it more than I do." Windy slowly nodded, with a hint of a smile on her face. She scooped up the frog in her jaws and trotted to my sister, dropping it next to her bed. "How are you doing?" Windy asked her, looking at her weak body. Sally nodded weakly. "I'm doing okay," she said. "Just a bit tired."

I could tell she was more than 'Just a bit tired', but I kept my mouth shut. Sally feebly picked up the frog, placed it in the bed with her, and began to eat it. Zach looked at her lovingly, his eyes full of adoration and admiration. He quickly glanced away, embarrassed at being caught staring, but I could still see the tenderness in his gaze. I smiled to myself, feeling certain that they would be great mates. Zach stayed comforting Sally until she fell asleep.

I watched silently from the corner, my heart aching for my sister. I just wanted her to be better. I wished I could do more to help her, but all I could do was watch as Zach took care of her. Not only did my heart ache because she was sick, but because... She was growing up. My little sister...

Oh, what happened to that tiny, sweet calico kitten that came out of the portal? I remembered playing with her as Jen watched us in the alleyway and the joy we both shared when we bonded. That little kitten snuggled up to that grey cat and nursed from her... Now she was falling in love. She was no longer a kitten... She was a full-grown she-cat now.

She was such an elegant she-cat now, her calico fur shining. We had come so far... She had come so far... She didn't even realize how far she had come already. I smiled, proud of my little sister. I knew she was destined for greatness, and I was honored to be a part of it. I knew she would accomplish so much. Zach was a great tomcat for her... Now I started wishing that they could just live with us.

That little calico kitten...

For the rest of the day, we all rested in the den, but my mind was restless.

How could we be almost two years old already?