It's Over, Isn't It? ::Leath Update::

Within his cozy log den, the gray, masked tom his ringed tail in frustration. He glowered sullenly at the pieces of crystal in front of him. Leath was intending to make stars out of them and hang them on the branches that remained on the fallen tree. He was decorating the place to getting his shop ready. Safe Haven was entering a golden age of sorts, and that meant all the crafters would have time to start crafting. He had to be ready—business meant competition, and as one of the newest crafters, he felt even more driven. Narrowing his eyes, he tried to focus on the task at hand. But while Safe Haven might be at peace, he wasn’t. The events of Babylon were still fresh in his mind, and even the trial of Skinner before that. He remembered the look of pure wrath on the Skinner’s face as he declared he was leaving the Gang. His ears pressed against his head. I was so sure she was the murderer…. When he joined the gang, he had thought he was starting over again. He had thought he was finally leaving everything behind, emerging stronger and better than before. But he hadn’t even lasted three moons.

I probably would have left anyway, he tried to reassure himself. Soon after he joined, he was immediately against most of the laws. No matter which angle he looked at them, they just seemed cruel, and he still thought they were.

But while his opinion hadn’t changed, he wondered whether he would’ve been happier staying. Sure, it was awful; but it was something. He had someone to follow, a like-minded group surrounding him. It was better than this empty hole in his stomach that had taken place after Babylon.

He tried to shove his emptiness aside. They had defeated Nick! Everything was well! No murders, no terrifying nightmares haunting everyone, he had survived Babylon…

Thinking of Babylon, Floor Seven came to mind. “Safe Haven isn’t your prison, but your new home,” his mirror self had said, “this is where you belong.”

But how could that be? Leath buried his masked face into his paws wearily. No matter what he told himself (literally), he just couldn’t shake the feeling that he didn’t belong here. The walls surrounding them all felt confining, suffocating. If he was really home, why did he feel so lost? He had completely disregarded his duty to Safe Haven before now. Did he really deserve the responsibility?

He would’ve known what do do, longing seared his heart. The image of a large, silver tabby danced across his mind. He could have sworn he felt a long, fluffy pelt pressing against his. The wind felt like breath on his ears… his breathe. Come outside, it seemed the say, You’ve done nothing but sleep since you’ve come here…

NO! Agony and anger stabbed his chest. He muttered, “Leave me alone,” trying to get rid of the painful memories.
Great. Now he was talking to himself.

That did it. Not even bothering to put his work away, he walked stiff-legged to his bed of leaves. He curled up, trying to smoothen his bristling fur. He could swear still that he felt a warm presence in the room. His ears seemed to pick up every sigh in the wind, every lonely bird cry. Even the light snapping of twigs crackled to his suddenly sensitive ears. He covered his tail over his nose, heart beating faster. He tried to ignore it, but it was still there… he was still there, haunting him…

Eventually, his eyes started drooping. He started to fall into a feverish sleep.

“Come on, you’ve done nothing but sleep since you’ve got here. Please, come out. Just a few minutes outside will do you good…”

Leath was curled up in another nest, this one of springy moss. “I really don’t want to…” he whispered.

“What’s wrong?”

He forced himself to look up at the silver tabby that had taken him in. His broad head had a distinctive ‘M’ over his stunning turquoise eyes. Darker stripes and spots faded down to his white belly, resembling mackerel. His long fur rustled against the ground as he padded to Leath’s side. “Why are you sleeping so much? I know this is all horrifying, but you survived. Do you really want to stay cooped in here for the rest of your life?”
Leath merely shrugged in response.

Breeze sighed. He lay next to him, pressing his pelt comfortingly to him. Static energy seemed to jolt through Leath as his fur touched his. Startled, he looked into his companion’s eyes. Breeze smiled at him, before looking away. His brow was furrowed in deep thought. “You know,” He finally spoke, “I had a family before all this. I had a little sister and a big brother—Lily and Carter. My mother was a house-cat. I never knew my dad, but my mom said he was a very strong, brave cat. When I was four moons, I had to move to a new house with new housefolk. Luckily, Lily got to come with me, and I wasn’t far from my mom and Carter. My new housefolk were a happy old couple… they loved my and Lily so dearly. They would pet us and hold us, cooing down at us. I couldn’t understand a word they said, but I knew they loved me and my sister. Then…” he stopped, wincing, before continuing shakily, “the… ground started shaking. Everything started crumbling around me, and the next thing I know, everything is in ruins. I could never find Lily in all the wreckage, but I found…” He paused again, eyes flashing with pain.

Though Breeze didn’t say anything else, Leath got the gist of it. As Breeze recounted the events, so very similar to his own, Leath felt the same terror and hurt pounding through him again. But he was also touched that Breeze had shared so much with him.

He let the silence drag on for a few more minutes.

Then, “I had a sister and brother too.” Leath didn’t know what made him say it. Just because Breeze had opened up didn’t mean he did! But he felt an unbearable urge to talk about it. He had to, no matter how scared he was. “Their names were Grear and Cecil. My mom was Cathryn, and my father was Douglas. But I didn’t just live with them. We had aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, great grandparents… we didn’t live in one camp, we were spread out throughout the territory. But they all came together to raise us. My dad and I…” it was his turns to pause, voice cracking. He shook his head, pushing himself to resume, “we didn’t always get along. We had a massive fight one time… I don’t think he ever forgave me for it. I’m not sure if I apologized, either, we just kind of pretended it didn’t happen… but then the—thing—happened. Grear was still alive, but my parents and Cecil were crushed by a tree.” He could do nothing to stop the tears. It was like it had happened yesterday. “Grear died a while afterwards, she was killed by one of those hellish beasts…”

Breeze rested his head on Leath’s. Leath’s heart skipped a beat. His ear tips felt like they were on fire.

“I’m really sorry,” Breeze whispered.

“I’m glad I met you,” Leath blurted without thinking.

Breeze was smiling again. “I’m glad I met you, too.” Then he rose, beckoning Leath with his tail, “C’mon.” He went to the den’s entrance. He twisted his head over his shoulder to look over at Leath. His face was outlined in light.

Leath took a deep breath.

Forcing himself to his paws, he padded to Breeze’s side.

He blinked. A rare patch on sunshine was shining through the ashy haze.

The thorns encircling his stomach seemed to ease, uncurl. He let loose a sigh, and as he did so, his depression faded away, replaced by a deep feeling of peace.

He looked over at Breeze. His brilliant blue eyes were looking at the sun in wonder. “Isn’t is beautiful?” He spoke to Leath, “I never thought I’d see it again.”

Leath could only nod. This was the first time in moons he had even seen any light. And he would have missed it, if Breeze hadn’t convinced him otherwise. He found himself staring at the large cat again. The same strange feeling of electricity sparked through him, setting his heart aflame. Was it gratitude? Hope? He couldn’t name it if he tried.

He leaned closer to Breeze, and whispered, “Thank you.”

Breeze’s eyes widened in surprise, “For what?”

“For showing me the sun.”