Virtue looked up at the other three cats as they slowly made their way deeper into the forest. They were looking for a place to wait out the rain storm that was supposed to be coming soon. It sounded intense, with the way the occasional rumbling of thunder shook them to their very cores. Eventually, they found a huge tree with a hole in its' trunk. Maybe this could be the third tree... she thought briefly before shoving that to the back of her mind. It didn't matter if it was the third tree. Right now all they needed was a safe place to stay the night.
The smaller cats went in first, so they wouldn't have to wait for the lions to squeeze into the hole in the trunk. It was surprisingly spacious inside, with enough space to fit the entire Tribe of Clear Skies at least, likely all of them. But Virtue had never actually visited any of the other three tribes in the area, so she wasn't the most reliable judge. Helios lit a small fire in the center of the hole in order to keep everyone warm. Everyone curled up together around the fire, singing and telling stories. Well, Virtue wasn't participating. Despite the fact that she and Vice likely had the most interesting experiences and stories to share. She just curled up into a ball, her fluffy tail tip resting on her nose. She slowly began drifting off to sleep, lulled by the sound of the fire, and everyone's voices.
Vice looked down at the sleeping cat warmly. He didn't quite understand his feelings for her, but he could guess that they were something akin to a sort of affection. I wonder what she thinks of me. She probably still hates me after our argument earlier... He was startled out of his thoughts by Helios, snapping his claws in front of his face.
"Hmm? Sorry, I got lost in thought there, what'd I miss?" He asked sheepishly.
"Well if you could get this ball of anger and violence out of your head for one second," Helios said exasperatedly, "I was asking you where you and Virtue came from. I've never heard of your home before."
"Oh," Vice said, "We're from a really huge enchanted forest. There's a group of cats that call themselves the tribes, but most of us are just wanderers like me. Others, like Virtue wander occasionally, but make rest stops in one tribe in particular. This is the first time I've actually never been outside of that forest before this. It's just too big. She might have, but I have no idea."
"I thought you two knew each other pretty well?" Kosa asked.
"Oh, no. We met on our first or second day through the portal."
The lions eyes widened slightly, "But you seemed like such good friends. Or at least like you'd known each other for ages," Kosa said, confused.
"Heh, nah. I think I just have that affect on others," Virtue said, "Well, I'm gonna go to sleep, have fun, you two," He said, curling his body around Virtue.
"Huh, they're an odd couple," Helios noted after Vice fell asleep.
"And we're not?" Kosa asked jokingly.
"Not at all, my dear," He said, "We didn't act like an old married couple a few days after meeting."
"That's not the only thing that makes a couple weird, Helios," She said, playfully bopping her mate on the nose with her paw.
"Hey!" He exclaimed, scrunching his nose up.
Purring, Kosa stood up and started heading for the entrance.
"Where are you going?" He called.
"Hunting," She replied as though it was obvious, "We need food if we're staying in here until the storm's over." She slipped through the hole into the forest, not giving him a chance to respond.
She sighed heavily as she stepped out into the cool forest air, the slight breeze relieving herself of the heat that seemed to suffocate her while she was trapped in that tree. She walked through the woods, trying to find something that she could eat. But she wasn't used to the territory, and soon she found herself back at the clearing where the battle took place.
However, there was something very different from when she was last there. Something very wrong. Peeking her head through the bushes, she noticed that another full fledged battle was just about to start. What do I do?!? I don't think I'm strong enough to stop this on my own, but I don't think I'll be able to get to Helios and back here quick enough. I'm not good at thinking on my feet. I don't know what to do! Meztli help me. She thought, her mind racing as she tried to think of some kind of solution to this. Wait, I don't think fighting them will work. We have nothing to go on, and they likely won't listen to us. She reasoned. So what should I do instead? Do I just go on about my day, and go back to the tree pretending as though nothing happened? I don't think that will work. I've never been too good at lying. Especially not to Helios. So fighting's out, going back as though everything's fine is out, what other options are there?
She was pulled out of her thoughts by something forcefully headbutting her side. Gasping in shock, she turned her head to see...
"Nyx?" She asked, tilting her head to the side in confusion.
"Finally. Do you have any idea how hard it is to get you out of your own head?" The small blue cat asked.
Kosa's mouth simply opened and closed repeatedly.
"You look like a fish. Never mind that, you need to listen. Just go back to hunting. Here, I caught you something to make up for the lost time," She said, handing the lion a small bird.
"Is there anything, um, bigger?" Kosa asked, trying her best to ignore the sounds of the battle.
"Hmm. Maybe? I've never seen anything too much bigger than the kind of prey we eat," She said, thinking, "You might be able to find some if you head that way," She gestured deeper into the forest with her tail.
"Thank you, Nyx," Kosa said gratefully, turning to follow her directions.
Nyx simply nodded back at her, and ducked away into the bushes.
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