Chapter 4: Attraction?

The kitten was hiding under the hollow of a copper tree, trembling in fear. Terra slowly approached, his hand raised for transparency. The kitten backed away till it couldn't move further. Terra, conversely, didn't move.

He pitied the kitten, that had just lost its mother. It was just like him, sad, angry and alone.

"I'm not going to hurt you. Don't be scared." He said gently. The kitten seemed less scared of him. It looked into his eyes, and Terra felt as though his soul was being searched. The strange ritual lasted for about 3 minutes.

Then the previously timid kitten climbed out of the hollow gingerly, and climbed into Terra's arms, and sat. It completely trusted him.

'what was that?' He thought as he made his way for the carcass, hoping to skin it and earn a few bronze rings. He didn't seem too bothered, since there didn't seem to be a side effect.

When he arrived at the body of the thunder cat, as he took his knife to cut the carcass, the kitten jumped down and tipped at him cautiously, as if warning him to back off. He quickly understood.

"Oh....right, right." He said. Though he felt pain in his heart, he couldn't eat this cake and have it. The kitten was much more valuable than the carcass, and he was in dire need of a companion. Who knew when his mental health issues would intensify?

He turned to go but the kitten didn't follow. It yipped at him again. It placed its paw on its mother and yipped again. Then it patted the ground. Terra felt cheated.

"You aren't actually telling me to bury your mommy, right?" He asked suspiciously. His response was another quick yip.

There Terra toiled under the sun, burying a murder victim under duress by a kitten.

********************

Diane sat at the window, her eyes were tired, as if she hadn't slept for days. Because she hadn't. The urge to escape was becoming unbearable. The environment around her was starting to suffocate her. And she wanted above everything, to be free.

The city was as lively as ever. The flying mounts and the mechanical chariots, plying the roads of the land and the routes in the skies. The great buildings gleamed in the sun, and the city appeared golden. The air was gentle and it seemed like a weather that could make a man smile.

At the heart of the city, was the monolithic statue of her father, Lord Gray. Her eyes were fixed on it. She loved and hated him at the same time. He was her father, but he was also her jailer, her captor. She gently stroked her pet squirrel as she sighed.

The squirrel, sensing his mistress's state of mind, simply lay in her arms, it's tail waving carelessly. It jerked up suddenly as a gentle voice called. Diane, however, was oblivious to it.

"Diane?" It called again. She heard this time.

"Oh...teacher. welcome..." She saluted.

Her teacher was sitting in a big mechanical wheelchair, that seemed to be a part of her body. She had a chestnut brown hair, and a smile that could cause two cities to war with each other. She was Swift.

"Is something troubling you, child?" She asked, very patiently. She seemed to have perceived her sadness from the brief lapse in response. Diane was usually a happy girl, but of recent, she was getting quieter.

"It.... it's nothing." She denied. She had been having some strange thoughts ever since her father's last denial. She didn't know if she had the courage to take the first step through the gates of the mansion.

"I've known you since you were a baby, child. You wish to leave the mansion, don't you?" Swift asked, with that knowing smile. She didn't seem to plan on dissuading the child.

Diane hesitated. Denying wouldn't change anything, because it was written all over her face.

"Do you know how I lost my legs?" Swift asked. Diane mentally prepared for a speech. Swift seemed to notice her action by the way Diane's eyes wavered slightly. She smiled.

"I'll be brief. it started with a desire for adventure, just like you." She said softly.

Diane's eyes widened. She tried to process the new information. She knew it was going to be dangerous, and even with this witness, she didn't get scared. Her eyes still held that conviction.

Swift, seeing that the witness only bolstered Diane's desire to escape, smiled.

"I never said I regretted the decision. In fact, I would have made the same decision over and over and over again. I see that adventurous spirit in you. I have decided to help you get away."

Diane was exhilarated, and extremely joyful. She hugged her teacher, letting her tears offer their appreciation to her deliverer.

Swift looked through the window, reminiscing. She smiled gently as the wind raised the locks of her hair, almost like the gentle stroke of a long forgotten lover.

*********************

Terra had been feeling very strange ever since his near-death day. He felt the same feeling, that a bathing lady would feel if she was watched by perverts. He couldn't put a finger on it, since he had never felt that way before.

The kitten wasn't a new born, but it wasn't old enough to walk long distances and eat meat. It was tucked into his mantle, and it had fallen asleep. Terra looked around to be sure he wasn't being watched by a pedophile.

When he was sure that there was no one there, he turned towards his shelter, hoping to gather the hides he had kept two days ago. He would sell them and buy some food for himself, and a lot of milk for his new friend.

As he walked, he hummed to a tune his mother had taught him, when he was still a toddler. He used his polearm as a walking stick, carelessly walking towards his shack. Anyone seeing him like this would instantly conclude that he was an irresponsible and lazy person.

The bushes beside him rustled. He turned just in time to see a big rabbit jump at him. It was a wind rabbit. It had huge teeth, which definitely wasn't for carrots. It formed a little hurricane as it jumped him.

He blocked with the polearm, and the impact tossed him back a few steps. Terra's eyes flashed as he twisted through the air. He stamped into the ground, stopping the recoil.

The rabbit already took the initiative, and was already in front of him just as he got his balance. He could barely raise the polearm before the rabbit knocked into him, sending him flying.

He landed on his buttocks, and he broke a sweat. There was something different about this wind rabbit. It's eyes were full of desire, like it was looking at the most expensive carrot in the world.

Terra searched his memories. The wind rabbits he knew mostly ran away from attackers. He didn't usually hunt wind rabbits because they matched him in strength, and they were much faster than him when running away.

The rabbit came at him again, this time it's mouth was open to the widest, as if intending to engulf him whole. He dodged to the left, polearm raised. The rabbit bit into air, and the snap alone caused a small shockwave.

'This desire is too strong! Did I kill it's girlfriend? Why does it want me so bad?'

Terra thought with widened eyes.

The rabbit pounced on Terra again, and Terra grimaced, calculating the best possible arc to swing. But right before it reached him, the kitten jumped out from his embrace.

A symbol like a lightning bolt shone, and electricity covered the projectile that was the rabbit. The rabbit was stunned. Even Terra was stunned, but he quickly recovered.

He stood over the wind rabbit, which was still trembling with arcs of electricity appearing frequently. I stabbed the polearm into the rabbit, and the life in the rabbit's eyes faded.

The kitten climbed into his embrace and went back to resting. He stood there, staring into space.

'why did the wind rabbit attack me? It look at me like I was dinner.... Maybe it's just one that went lunatic. Right right, that's the only explanation.' Terra tried to convince himself.

He looked at the little kitten and stroked it's head. It responded with a satisfied purr. Terra noticed it's symbol had disappeared. Judging by its figure and the long eyelashes, this kitten was female.

"Let's call you... Mei." He said to the kitten.

The kitten yipped twice as if it was accepting the name. Terra took it as an affirmation. Stroking the newly named kitten, Mei, he looked towards the path home.

He had been totally unaware to the dozens of eyes that had been watching him throughout his face-off with the wind rabbit.