Meeting with a Stranger

It had been just around sunset. The sky had been rimmed with pinks and oranges, and stars were beginning to appear in the sky. She hadn't had a home then - she was trying out a wanderer's life, still young and seeking adventures. Born a housecat, she'd always wondered what living wild would be like. To fend for herself, catching her own prey, making her own rules. It had only been a few moons since she'd struck out on her own, but the thought of adventure still made her pawpads tingle.

Unfortunately, her flank had a more unpleasant tingle to it. She still remembered the fox attack well. But that's a story for another time.

Still sore from her wounds, although they'd started to heal by then, she'd given up on finding a meal before darkness fell, and settled in a scratched together nest by the sea. She thought it would be a nice, nearby source of water (unfortunately not), and the sunset looked beautiful over the water.

She didn't remember exactly when the stranger showed up, probably because she'd drifted off before they'd gotten there. But she did remember the prodding in her side, and the irritation, and the sudden face of another cat looming into hers when her eyes begrudgingly opened.

"Hey!" She'd yelped, half-jumping and half-stumbling to her paws. "What do you think you're doing?"

"You're hurt." The other cat had gestured to her flank. Warmth ran down her fur - she must have reopened it when she'd shot out of her nest.

"So that gives you the right to just stroll up to my nest and prod me while I'm asleep?" She lashed her tail, annoyed. She was hungry and sore and tired, and this cat was eyeing her weirdly.

"I was only trying to help." The cat wrapped their sleek tail delicately around themselves as they sat, still eyeing her in that odd, detached way.

"Well, I didn't ask for it." Leafshade, though it wasn't her name back then, huffed, sitting back in her nest before her legs gave out.

"I'm sorry."

Leafshade flicked an ear in surprise. This cat certainly didn't look very sorry, but at this point she was too tired to argue.

"...Good." She replied after a moment. Another beat. "...You know how to heal?"

Maybe she was remembering wrong, but the cat seemed to perk up at that, returning to her flank with a mouthful of herbs, and not another word.

She didn't think they spoke another word at all after that. They'd applied the herbs, given her some to eat (perhaps it was foolish to actually eat them), and then they'd sat together a while. By the time she awoke, the stranger had gone.

Maybe not her most exciting memory, but one she thought about a lot - they had been very calming, she'd later realized. She'd been rather lonely since leaving her housecat life, and it was something she'd actually rather needed. It was most certainly one of her favourite memories.