Grove Path: The Cat

Flint was now in the inner crook of the cat's haven. No matter where one would look, you would see a cat doing their normal routines. One would say it was a kitty heaven as hundreds of cats were around the glen. It was a nice clearing of red grass and soft clover. The field had many of the star bright flowers generously sprinkled around with silver butterflies tending to them. Around the glen the red trees surrounded the clearing like a wall and next to the edge was a pond. Its surface was so smooth it looked like the water was made of the night sky. The surface reflected the brilliance of the twinkling stars. The pond also fed into a stream that disappeared into the tree cover. A cat grabbed a fish from the river, the fish also gleaming with ethereal brilliance. Cats played in the grass while others were bathing in the moonlight sun or relaxing on the branches of trees. 

In the center of the clearing was a giant tree that towered over everything. It had many branches that twisted and turned into the canopy above. At the base was a shrine of white marble. Fiery opal cat statues decorated the shrine. They were in a tall sit position with their almost illuminated eyes pointed at the sky. Their bodies had golden patterns etched into them with a golden necklaces with many bells attached. The bases that they sat on were a white marble and embedded with smaller rounded opal into the marble surface. A few offerings were littered around of various food and toys. A lot of them seemed to be disturbed as though someone had recently dug into them. A few cats ran up from behind Flint and up to the shrine. Each cat had in their mouth a small item that they dropped off on the base of the shrine.  

Sitting near the shrine was the cat that Flint had been chasing and a rather large cat that seemed to be much bigger than all the other cats. It seemed to be completely black with almost a red glow. On it's forehead a tiny unicorn styled horn poked out from it. It's eyes glowed red similar to his lit Fortune Lightglass. The eyes seemed to flick wave and change color like the fire as well. 

The smaller cat with the white eyes and the bigger cat seemed to have a silent conversation. Neither spoke but you could see the two gesture with a flick of the ear or slight closing of the eyes. The horned cat flicked it tail. The tail in fact was not one tail but many. In one fluid motion they followed the leading tail as one like a cascading waterfall.  

The Satyr tried to catch his breath quickly so he could speak with the cat spirit. A good portion of the cats were not interested in Flint's arrival but a few did stop to look. Flint was relieved that the little cat he had followed was not the true cat spirit. Without a doubt this big cat was the one he was after. Flint stood up and grabbed his bag off his back. A few more cats past him with more gifts. Flint followed the cats while unzipping his bag. He was not about to mess up this time. By the time he got to the shrine all the other cats had left their tokens and scattered off into the plains. 

On closer inspection, the offerings were from different eras. Centuries of toys of different makes and models could be seen. The snacks were more modern however ranging from dried seafood to bags of cat food. Flint even recognized a brand. What was strange was the bag was a decent sized bag that no cat here could possibly carry it. A couple of the bags were torn open and stray cats were eating from it and congregating around it. Food was scattered everywhere. They were making a mess but no one here seemed to care. The cats once again seemed to ignore Flint's approach to the shrine. Even the horned cat did nothing. They only watched with their brilliantly fiery eyes. 

Flint looked for a spot that was empty near the horned cat and dumped the contents of his backpack. "I offer these offerings great cat spirit!" out of the bag came a couple dozen of cat toys, cat treats, food and other merch that Flint had picked up from the tourist trap. In the mix of more obvious cat related things there were cat themed items like T-Shirts, mugs, bowls, slippers and the like. Even the second custard from the bakery. They all came out spilling onto the shrine in a messy pile. Satisfied, Flint backed up and looked at the spirit cat. He was sure the cat would be pleased.

All the cats were at attention now. Flint didn't care or really notice. 

The assistant cat with the white eyes approached the pile. They almost seemed to be inspecting the collection Flint had left. Climbing to the top of the pile it sat and then closed it's eyes. If you listened closely, you could hear a prrr emanating from them.

Flint watched for what seemed like a long time. No one seemed to be moving, not even the spirit cat.

Then without a word the cat grabbed a slipper from the pile and jumped off. As if a signal had been said all nearby cats walked up to the pile and grabbed what they wanted from it. It was quite amazing how many cats were in the glen. They all seemed to get what they wanted as the pile soon dissipated. There were still so many cats that did not get something but they had not approached the pile. While grabbing what they wanted they seemed to all ignore the custard until it was the only thing left. 

At last the spirit cat stood up and approached the custard. Everything seemed to go silent. All the cats watched unmoving. Flint was a little excited with anticipation. Ah that's right, Flint pulled out his fate's focus and snapped a quick photo. The cats all stared at Flint. The guardian even froze and stared at him. Flint was now waving the undeveloped photo. Only now did Flint notice all the cat orbs looking at him. The air was so thick with tension that you could cut it with a knife. It was only a few seconds for the photo to develop but it felt like a century. All you could hear was the flapping of paper and the jingling of his Muse's Treasure. All cats were frozen while Flint just kept waving that photo. 

At last the photo was ready. Flint looked at it. It was a pretty good photo of the cat spirit. As if broken from a trance the spirit dashed toward Flint. Flint didn't even have time to react. In one graceful motion the cat leapt into the air snatched the photo and then used Flint's chest as a springboard to launch themself back towards the shrine. 

Flint was surprised by how light the cat was especially for their size. He barely felt a push back when the spirit made contact with them. All he could remember was the warmth that radiated off the spirit's body. It was comforting and soothing. 

The cat made it back to the shrine in no time and placed the photo down. They seemed to be observing it. The cat then spread out all their tail like a peacock and then meowed. It was a surprising regal yowl for a cat.  All the cats seemed to relax. 

Flint hoped that was a good sign. 

The cat spirit then focused on Flint. The eyes were that same flaming intensity as they were before. The fire in the fortune light glass flickered and then burst into a raging crazy fire. The fire burst from the many eyes on the cats decorating the lantern. 

Flint dropped the lantern in surprise and it hit the ground with a loud bell like clang. The gong sound seemed to echo and time slowed. The spirits eyes glowed brightly and then Flint could hear a voice. "We accept your tribute Satyr" the cat spoke in a voice that was somehow one but many at the same time. It was a powerful and intimidating voice that gave Flint chills hearing it. "What is it you want?"

Flint could not feel any portion of his body. He couldn't walk, blink, or twitch. He wanted to speak but no words came. 

The spirit waited. As if hunting his mind the cat spoke again "You would like the gift of the cat" 

Flint wanted to nod and confirm but once again could not move. He was frozen in place. This must be how a statue feels.

"To become a cat you must sleep." the spirits eyes flickered again and their tail waved "and when you wake from a deep sleep you will have the gift of the cat" The dream state stopped and the world unfroze again.

Flint moved all their limbs and sat in the grass "Sleep? Is that it?"

The spirit did not reply.

"This will be easy." Flint crawled over to a patch of grass and tired to use his bag as a pillow. The bag was mostly empty so he folded it a few times to get some volume. The grass was really warm and the moonlit sun was nice. Flint rested his head on the bag and closed his eyes. He kept thinking about all the cool things he would do. Climbing stuff and landing on his feet. Flint turned to get comfy. He could fit in a vase that was smaller than him. Flint felt a backpack clip dig into his head so he readjusted his bag. Catching fish with his own hands and teeth. Flint lay there with his eyes closed trying to sleep. See in the dark. Any second now. The lumps in the backpack were starting to bother him so he moved the bag from under his head. The grass was surprisingly much more comfy. Flint curled into a ball position. Being able to jump far distances. Sleep dammit!

Flint flopped onto his back. "The sooner you sleep the sooner you'll be catman" he thought. He lay there for a few minutes but it felt like an eternity. He just wasn't sleepy. Maybe he was already a cat? Flint opened his eyes cause he was curious to check.

SMACK SMACK! 

Two cat paws whapped him in the face. 

"AH!" Flint saw that his attacker was the cat that had led him to the shrine. It flicked an ear and looked a little annoyed.

"Okay okay! I'll go back to sleep!" Flint closed his eyes again. He then felt tiny jabbing sticks climbing onto his stomach. Flint opened his eyes to check again.

SMACK! SMACK! The cat was now sitting on his chest with squinted eyes.

"OK OK!" Flint closed his eyes again. "How do I sleep with you on my chest?!"

The cat purred 

Flint sighed. He wasn't able to get full breath with the cat on him. Flint tried to concentrate on sleeping but his rider was super distracting.

The cat seemed to settle and curl up. It made it slightly easier to breath now that the jabbing paws were not pressing into his chest. The cat was purring which felt nice.

Flint squirmed a little. He just wanted to sleep but he just wasn't tired. A little while longer more cats curled up around Flint. They felt really nice and warm. Each cat seemed to find every available nook and space around his body. Now he was really distracted. One cat even decided to knead into his stomach. Flint wanted to chase all the cats away but thought the guardian would be displeased. This was the challenge and he would not blow it. Flint tried counting sheep in his mind.

After some time, all the cats settled and began to purr in unison. Flint couldn't help but focus on it. It was kind of pleasant. Without realizing it Flint tuckered off to sleep. It was a peaceful and deep sleep. 

When Flint awoke it felt like he had been asleep for years. He felt revitalized and also somewhat groggy. Flint sat up and looked around. All the cats were still gathered around him asleep. They looked so soft and peaceful. Flint then spotted the spirit cat. Next to them was the lightglass still fully lit. How long had he been asleep?

SMACK SMACK! 

"AH! Will you stop doing that!?" 

The white eyed cat smacked him again.

"Okay I'm up!" Flint stood up disturbing a few cats in the process.

The cat lead him up to the spirit and the lantern. With one paw the cat tapped the lantern and yowled.

Flint squatted in front of the lantern "okay okay" then he too touched it.

Suddenly he could feel himself shrink as a red glow enveloped his body. When everything faded in again he was a full fledged house cat. Flint looked himself over and then stood up excitedly. "Ha! I'm a cat!" 

The white eyed cat yawned "This way Satyr. I'll lead you home."

Flint followed the cat excitedly "Thank you spirit guardian!" he yowled but when he looked the spirit was nowhere to be seen.

"Come satyr!" the cat commanded.

Shrugging Flint followed the cat all the way to the gate. It was much easier keeping pace this time. Maybe he would run all the way home this way. When they got to the gateway the white eyed cat told him how to get to a catdoor that would take him home. Flint excitedly ran all the way there. He popped out on the other side into the observatory again. He had a little run in with the lore keeper before she realized he was the satyr from before. She didn't appologize for almost scooting him with a broom. Flint was too happy about his form to care and left the library in his new cat form.