Chapter 5

There was this silhouette of two cats playing in the sunset. The two seemingly looked golden pink in the light. They chased each other around, batting paws playfully. They seemed so happy. But then, a dust storm came and violently swept them up, their anguished yowls ringing in my ears. I opened my eyes, looking around in a sweat to realize I was dreaming.

....

𝘖𝘩 𝘨𝘰𝘥.

𝘋𝘪𝘥 𝘐... 𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘰𝘶𝘵? 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯… 𝘋𝘪𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨?

I saw Sally curled up next to me, our backs touching. I got up, panting, and poked my head out of the den. It was night. 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘐 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘴𝘭𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘧𝘰𝘳? The familiar firefly-filled forest seemingly watched me as I peered around. A firefly caught my attention as it landed on the ground. 𝘐 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧𝘧 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘧𝘧. I quickly pinned it down with my paw. Then I let go, and it flew away a few feet, landing on the grass again.

My tail lashed, liking this new game I had created. I tried to catch it again, but it was too quick. I spent the next few moments chasing the firefly, an enjoyable distraction from my worries. I pinned it down again one last time, and it didn't seem to care anymore as I let my paw go and just stayed in the grass. I sighed, crouching into a loaf position next to it and just enjoyed the sound of crickets chirping and the gentle flowing of the stream nearby.

I felt a sense of contentment wash over me, and I smiled, feeling grateful for the moment of peace. I closed my eyes and just listened to the night, allowing my worries to disappear.

After a moment, I was eased from my troubles and padded back into the den, curling up next to my sister. I purred as I closed my eyes, drifting off into slumber. In the morning, I opened my eyes drowsily to see Windy, Zach, and Sally munching on a squirrel in front of me. I slowly sat up, groaning. "Oreo!" she exclaimed, running up to me.

"H-how late is it? It's morning, right?" I asked, seeing how bright it was outside, even though it was cold and still raining. "It's mid-day, Oreo. You've been sleeping for almost a whole day," Sally mewed, her face anxious. "What happened yesterday?" She asked. "I don't know… My legs went weak, and then everything just went... dark." "I hope you're not sick or anything," she meowed. "Come eat with us," Zach said. "I'm sure you'll feel a bit better."

Oreo nodded. He was still a little dizzy, but the squirrel was good. It was still raining outside as we finished and it was getting cold. "Sally, how did you manage to catch anything out there when it's so wet and cold?" I asked, plopping myself down on my bed. "Well, I couldn't smell anything, but eventually I saw a squirrel and caught it," she admitted. "We'll mostly need to stay together for today since it's so cold."

I saw that Sally had finished Windy and Zach's beds, and she got the bush vines under the cattail fluff. The two cats were both on their beds, grooming themselves.

I snuggled into my den and fidgeted with my paws. I was bored. The memory of the dream I had last night came into my mind. Who were those two...

They were both golden pink, with some... gray?

Dreams are weird...

I sighed. I should just ignore it, I had weird dreams all the time.

𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘧 𝘪𝘵 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨??