Sky High

For a long time, people had been going missing. After they respawned, they could not explain what happened. Salmonberry investigated, linking the disappearances to a local cable car up in the mountains. Salmonberry packed her trusty backpack and set out to the cable car. Salmonberry looked unassuming. A white and brown pathy feline with messy pastel blue hair, large circular glasses and tattered outfit. She was an Item Leech. She knew her place was below others. Her girlfriend was trying to show her that Salmonberry was better than all of the horrible people that hurt her in her past life.

The terrain was like her girlfriend’s place with lush mountains, hiking trails and plumes of mist curling up from the plunging valleys. Salmonberry loved forests, nature and adventure. She hiked up to the cable car tower and climbed into the cable car to see if she could find whoever or whatever was causing such a large number of respawns and the startling reports of amnesia.  

The ride started off normally enough for the intrepid feline. She sat down on the squeaky upholstery and dropped her backpack onto the seat beside her. The cable car lurched forward, gliding down the cable over the ocean of ancient pine trees, unseen creatures and blankets of mosses below. Salmonberry kicked her legs as if she was seated on a tyre swing strung from a tall tree rather than dangling precariously above the leafy canopy. She stretched her arms above her head until her joints popped. After rolling her head and shoulders, she started to drift into a slumber as she thought about cuddling her mate once she closed this case. Where was Lullaby? Who knew? Lullaby loved to roam, using her powers after they were sealed for so long. The feline propped her elbow against the widow. Gears above her whirred and hummed as the cable car inched down the incline. Her eyelids drooped. Her cheek fell into the palm of her hand.

Salmonberry was jolted from her seat and onto the floor alongside her backpack. She picked herself up and looked around for a hatch or an emergency button. Old cable cars were prone to breaking down. Maybe this was how the spirits died? They fell out of the cable car while waiting for someone to repair the issue. That would not explain the amnesia. Everyone respawned after far more brutal deaths with their memories intact.

Uh…That was weird.

She sat back down, but something had changed. There was no more noise. All sound inside the cable car was muted. Frost had formed on the corners of the windows within the cable car. Salmonberry shivered and pulled the sleeves of her rumpled jacket back up into its proper place. It was jostled during her initial fall. The temperature had dropped. Something or someone was slowly materialising in the corner of the car.

Salmonberry was frozen for a moment, squinting at the figure. Trying to bring its features into focus. She adjusted her glasses with her paw. The spirit rapidly lurched forward with malicious intent. Without thinking, Salmonberry dodged the attack. The cable car swung dangerously from side to side from all of the commotion. Salmonberry stood up again as the spirit prepared to swing at her again. This time she was too slow. The spirit’s limb connected with her, sweeping the feline out of the door of the cable car.

With a yelp, Salmonberry managed to cling to the doorsill to avoid plummeting down into the valley below. The spirit approached her, hovering inches above the floor of the cable car. Watching the feline struggle and verbally panic as she struggled to pull herself back into the safety of the cable car.

While the spirit was perplexed by Salmonberry’s sudden grin, Salmonberry’s tail summoned her Hook Pickaxe from her bag of holding and discharged a disbursement spell tag towards the malicious spirit. The spell hit! The spirit staggered to catch itself. Salmonberry cheered internally as her hands were occupied. She tried not to kick her legs too much as she dangled helplessly whilst dodging the spirit’s volleys of attacks.

Out of the blue something large appeared from thin air above the cable car. Something very large and not of this world. It was larger than any bear with a large eel like tail. Its hair was speckled with star shaped jewellery. The creature gently lowered itself into the cable car, closing its claws around the shapeless spirit, throwing the spirit from the car.  

Then the abomination turned its head and crawled towards the feline, grabbing the smaller female back the back of her jacket, easily pulling her up into the cable car.

“Thanks.” Salmonberry panted, shaking from head to toe. “Did you…enjoy yourself…?”

Lullaby nodded with a grin from one side of her jagged maw to the other. Lullaby could easily go toe to toe with any paranormal spirit or monster. Lullaby licked her mate until Salmonberry had to smooth down her fur and scooped the smaller female into her lap for cuddles. Lullaby loved cuddles. Lullaby was one of the gentler Demigoddesses. The Demigoddess were the sweetest towards their wives and girlfriends but otherwise feral.

Salmonberry slowly calmed down in the lap of her lover. The feline was always a nervous wreck, but something about the softness of Lullaby’s fur and her scent was calming like a warm blanket and comfort food at the end of a long, exhausting day.

With the spirit dealt with the cable car lurched forward. It zoomed down the rest of the route. Not that Salmonberry noticed. Her face buried deep in Lullaby’s chocolate coloured chest fluff. Lullaby took up most of the cable car due to her sheer size. The case had been closed so no one else would get hurt and the unlikely couple had the bonus of cuddling as they soared above the sea of pine trees and amongst the clouds. Salmonberry fell asleep. Her heartbeat slowed to match the purring of her girlfriend.