Losses

While Ryne was focused on looking for and asking the spirits in the area, the other two, Nini and Prauza, went on their separate tasks. The mother, along with her son, went to where the stray colony was.

Or used to be.

When the two of them got to where they remembered it was, they did not see anyone. They tried looking in various spots near the trash bin, but they weren't able to locate the group.

Oh, dear… Nini started to mutter to herself. I hope we're not too late.

Just then, a voice was heard from behind one of the trees nearby. It sounded as if someone wanted to shout, but didn't want to be heard.

"Over here."

Nini went in the direction of the voice, with Fonmi behind her for safety. Thankfully, it was one of the cats in the area.

"Thank goodness. I almost thought you were all caught," said Nini.

"We're thankful too, actually," said the cat, a white, skinny, and harried-looking thing. "You're from Hugma's group, aren't you?"

"Yes, I asked about one of our members a while back. I'm glad that we found him. Thank you very much."

"I'm glad you did," said the thin cat. "In that case, you'd want to talk to Hienea."

"Yes, please."

The cats went on their way to an underground area near the fountain of the park. All the while, they remained on alert for the killer. Thankfully, no one suspicious appeared and attacked them.

"Ah, Mopfhert, you're back," said the leader of the group, Hienea, a black mackerel tabby, as the three cats approached the center area of the underground site. "I see the ones from Hugma's are back here as well. Your name is Nini, correct?"

"Yes, it is."

"You've found this Ryne character?"

"Yes, thank you for your assistance."

"We weren't able to do much, however. I apologize."

"It's all right. We did find him in the end."

"I see… He still has that human form of his, right? Can he help, as you've said?"

"Yes and absolutely," answered Nini. "He's helping us right now, as we speak."

"Amazing… and thank goodness," said Hienea. "A few of us have been taken by a cloaked human roaming around. I don't know what became of them… I feel as if I've failed my family."

"We tried hiding in our usual spots above ground, but that human found us," said Mopfhert. "It's as if they could smell us like a dog would. So we came down here."

"And speaking of dogs, they kept barking at the human, but couldn't do anything but try to scare them off," continued Hienea.

"It's true, then. Even us strays were…" said Nini, realizing the grim truth.

"I've heard that several of those living with the humans have gone missing. Is it true?" asked Hienea for confirmation.

"Unfortunately, yes. Even the humans noticed it, according to what Ryne found out from the humans."

Hienea sighed, then said, "Either way, poor things…"

"We can't let their disappearances be in vain," said Nini, getting to the matter at hand. "As of now, we're trying to find out what had happened to the rest of the strays. By the way, if you're still willing, we would like your cooperation so that we can catch this human."

"I admire your initiative," said Hienea, becoming hopeful from what she was hearing despite being obviously in grief. "Of course. What would we need to do?"

"We would need to figure out a way to communicate any future incidents we encounter. We figured, with the size of the city, it can take forever for us to even get to run into the cloaked human.

"But if we work together, we could…"

"That's it."

"I see… I think I have an idea," said Hienea, her eyes lighting up with her bright thought. "Did you know that these underground passages run throughout the city? We could use them to travel around to spread the news."

"They do? I never quite knew," said Nini.

"It seems quite a bit of the knowledge that we had of the city back in the day was lost over time," admitted Hienea. "To be honest, we only found out about this because Mopfhert here was in a rush to find a good hiding spot from one of the wandering tomcats out there. As you can see, he's not exactly the fighting type."

"I see," said Nini. "If that's the case, then could we ask your group to send news of our findings to the other colonies in the city? That way, we could progress faster."

"Seems like an excellent idea."

"Thank you so much."

"Oh no, we should be thanking you," said Hienea. "This is merely support for your efforts. If you need us to act more aggressively, please let us know."

----------

Prauza, on the other hand, went out to look for some of the wandering cats. They were mostly bachelors who were on the lookout for their own food, shelter, and females in heat, whether it be a pet or feral.

"Gynmee! Oh, where is my Gynmee?!" cried one of them.

He was a large cat with several scars that would have looked tough, if not for the fact that he had been helplessly begging for his lover. There was no other conclusion from the tone that he was using in his call.

"Hello there, fellow gentleman," said Prauza as he approached the distraught tomcat.

Almost immediately, the other cat bristled up, ready to fight him. He did the same in return, mostly for self-defense.

"You! You're also here for MY Gynmee, aren't you?!" the lust-crazed feline said.

"I don't get what you're going on about, but if that female you're calling for is a beauty, then I don't mind!" said Prauza, going for the first strike with a flurry of scratches.

He knew he wasn't supposed to waste time fighting anyone, but he didn't think that this other cat would listen to him if he simply talked.

The other cat was surprised, but didn't back out, giving a few retaliatory swipes of his own. "You can't have her, she's MINE!"

"All the more exciting a prospect she is!" verbally answered Prauza, as he went in to try and pin the other cat to the ground as he scratched.

A few more bouts of scratching and loud threats, and the other cat was finally tired out. Prauza was also feeling a bit worn out, not having fought in so long.

"I'm not…" said the other cat. "… going to…"

"Give it up, brother," said Prauza while catching his breath. "And calm down."

The other cat didn't say anything, but started wailing.

Prauza, feeling sorry for the dejected-looking fellow male, approached him and asked, "Is there something wrong?"

"She…" said the former adversary, his eyes in tears. "She… The human in cloth… was too strong… I couldn't even fight."

"HOW AM I A STRONG CAT NOW?!" he cried.

It seemed to Prauza that the tomcat's encounter with the cloaked human was a large blow to his ego, hence the rage that didn't have an outlet. He thought that he might also have been the same, if he wasn't well-traveled.

"You have to live on and be tougher than your circumstances," he said to the wailing mess of a male, in a manner that was unlike his usual. "We all have our end, brother. It just so happened that hers came at a time of your bliss."

"I suppose…"

"Also, if you truly desire to make up for your previous lack, then you could help us," continued Prauza. "Let us catch that human and bring him to the Universe's justice."

The other cat thought for a while and agreed. "Yes, let us. The name is Nacse. I… am fortunate to meet you."

"As am I. The name is Prauza, and we have plans to make."