Gloria wandered aimlessly around the perimeter of the forest outside her backyard. She had succeeded in driving the humans out and now she just had to somehow penetrate the protection set by the shieldpaws. Every time she rammed into the invisible barrier it ripped like water but did not crack. It had been a day since they had left and she still couldn’t find a way in. There was one last way. If she was lucky.. shoe could do it without too much damage.
The shield seemed to stretch endlessly up but she knew it only curved when it reached the tallest tree that just happened to be the giant oak, its thick branches stretching over the shield like the heart. Silver had come a long way, to find this place. Were the dogs enough to keep her safe in here? Surely she must have forgotten.. even if it was Sunset’s job to make her remember. However if she knew too much too soon the prophecy would make everyone in grave danger too soon. They had about a year, at most before the scorching. She shuddered internally at the name, remembering the last time a fire wreaked havoc. Silver was inside, escaping with everyone else when she had found the base. She was sent to get an amnesia wipe, the best technology they could afford at the time and she had completely fallen into oblivion, becoming the monster the omen has threatened happen. There were two choices. Break it completely and risk- no, enforce the omen’s forthcoming or leave and end it all. If she finished the job led by chaos it would all be over. Every cat’s existence would shatter and become unstable, one day breaking completely into the first stage of parallelinogosis which meant that they were trapped. Stage two caused distortion of the mind and stage three completely erased any trace or change made in the cat’s living, stage one or stage two forms. Thus, the universe would completely unbalance and the prophecy would be transferred to another dimension consisting of similar inhabitants which exist because of the alternate prophecy. Before, in the past she had dealt with another scenario like this, and eventually this was the reason it had happened.
Both choices impacted the prophecy. Both could lead to utter destruction. It wasn’t supposed to happen now. Besides, they were both waiting for her. If she didn’t come, the third choice, the least desirable would happen. She didn’t want to look upon that future so she paced up and down the length of the shield, trying to decide what to do. Why did everything have to be so bleak? If only it hadn’t interfered…
The sky was growing dark now, with the shadows dancing all around her and the shield, making it slightly glow as the others prepared to reinforce it. Act now or lose it all. She had no choice. Maybe one day she would be forgiven.
She stretched out her claws, and r-r-ripped the entire shield open, everything getting used to the expanse suddenly disappearing at once. The shieldpaws appeared just as the burst of light poured from the unraveling shield, blasting them backwards until they flew out of her sight, silhouettes screeching in the darkness.
She had to hurry.
They were no longer safe.
Meanwhile, deep in the forest…
Silver was having a pleasant time. She had managed to put everything about her concerns to the back of her mind for now and was happily bringing back the night meal when a blinding light hit her eyes. Something in the air changed, and everything because a lot cooler. All her senses were blinded as she struggled to breathe, her throat feeling like it was clogged and swollen. Suddenly, fire, the feel of fire on her pelt jolted her and she swung her head, this way and that as her eyes remained unseeing. Where was sunset? Was he okay? She couldn’t lose the only cat, the only maybe-friend she’d known for this long. It was all in the past now. He was the only cat she had left. Seconds or years passed by as the fire raked her body. It felt familiar somehow, as if this had happened before. Surely she would remember this? She was going to die, blood was pouring out, iron to her tongue and red, bright and glossy red. Danger. Dark shadows danced in front of her retinas as they begun to sear, spots appearing and the light somehow blurring as she blinked. The first time her eyelids snapped shut the darkness heightened to maroon, then red and she decided maybe seeing was better. The full force of light hit her again, and as her soft pads began to char, smoke drifted from her fur and pain hit her again and again, as she fought for breath, her silver pelt absorbing all the light it was supposed to reflect.
In the den, sunset felt the walls around him explode as the light hit him as well. Being one of the organisation he was immune to this and he knew that she had disbanded it. No cat could enter or exit this place except him and silver. It would happen now. The omen would fast-forward and chaos would find them in thirty days, giving no time to prepare. He saw her then, Laing a little way away. Her fur was ablaze and she had already begun to transform, her true form appearing in jagged cracks. He had to create the body. Now. The rabbit bones were for emergencies only. This would construct her skeleton. As for her other organs… he had caught a lot of prey and dissected all of them. It had to be enough. He had gone hungry for her. And maybe some part, deep down he could not resist his feelings, for he could have left her and caused small harm compared to his next choice.
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He dragged her by the scruff and took the pelts, bounding out of the streaming light and onto the great oak. It was close to breaking but they had about a minute until it all disintegrated. He peeled back her body until it was a ball of lavender light in a somewhat shape of a cat, curled into a ball. He carefully mended the pelts together and attached the bone properly. She was shorter than him now but she would live. With a final yank, the makeshift body covered silver completely, saving her from the full transformation by mere seconds. She stirred, and before she could wake fully he called out to the stars, and the shieldpaws came with their wings and glowing eyes to take them to Void.
‘Please be safe and protect her’ he prayed silently to it, even though it was very unstable. He made the decision as they laid her in their arms, to protect her always, even if it meant at the cost of his own life.
That was the cost of true love.
Silver’s everything hurt. Her mind and even her soul felt ruptured. Was she still in the forest???
Slowly, she could see as her eyes adjusted to the forest but everything was off somehow, again. Sunset’s pelt was glowing but that couldn’t be true. Pelts didn’t glow. There was something wrong with her vision. As she raised her head slightly, whiskers flicking this way and that she realised her own silver pelt shone like cold stars in the night sky. What was wrong with her eyes? Everything else seemed normal.. or was it?
Sunset’s eyes were like the sun setting on the forest itself. They seemed more beautiful than ever as he peered down at her anxiously like she did to him when he was injured. She seemed taller and shorter at the same time, and when she pushed herself to her paws she felt more energised than ever. Even though the shine, however Sunset looked exhausted. It couldn’t have been ages. The sun was still where it was before.
‘Sunset, what happened? I should have told you before but I had dreams about you… was it our memory? I don’t know anything… did you experience the light? My soul felt like it was ripped from my body… can I still live?’ She asked, her worried expression causing sunset’s eyes to flash with pain and was that.. something else reflected on the inside? Maybe she was hallucinating again. Was this all real? Sunset stared at her for a few more seconds, then whispered into her ear. His voice was deadly quiet when he said ‘trust me.’
This time, empty blackness consumed her vision as something, *something* pierced her heart. All of a sudden, it disappeared, leaving her mind wandering in search of a lost body. It was darkness, and suddenly she craved for light, even if it was blinding, even if it tore her apart. Sunset disappeared again, and this time Silver really started to panic, because she felt senseless. She *was* senseless.
Sunset faced the black figure floating ominously in front of him. This was all happening too early. He had just taken the oath-shouldn’t this be happening later? Violet had made sure this would happen at least a year after the weaving. Silver was not ready for it. He wasn’t ready to lose her just yet. His oath would keep her safe. As for him, they had created his body for a reason. It was time. The chip secured to his left paw revealed the agency. It was time for plan B.
He pressed the chip.
The shield expanded before them, surrounding them with glitter. The black figure was still, observing with causal interest as they slowly dematerialised in front of its eyes. It remained after, the sparkling world not bothering it. It had been here too many times. Always watching. It was immune now.
The darkness faded finally to blotchy red, then silver finally felt the coldness of snow melt into her skin until the very bones as everything stopped ringing. She knew she wasn’t in the forest any more because a cold wind blew through wherever she was. Was she ready to open her eyes? What else would she face? For the first time since he arrived, she did not think about Sunset’s safety. However much she trusted him she would not sacrifice her life. He was simply someone who had just walked in her life. The most important thing was her survival. Sure, she felt bad about putting herself before him, but she was so focused on the sensations around her she shrugged it off. He would be fine. He was different. She was but in a different one. What did he mean by ‘trust me?’ Silver finally had the common sense to open her eyes, and she was indeed on a mountain. The forest was nowhere ins sight. Drifting balls of hail pelted around her, each the size of her paw. It was night, and bats flipped overhead, black wings and ears blocking the moon. Gloria. Gloria was supposed to be at the forest. She wouldn’t find her here. Or did she? What if.. what if she was like Sunset? He was nowhere near. She was alone.
Why was it winter? The forest had previously been summer, a vibrant multitude of colours for her eyes. Now she begun to worry. Where was sunset? The wind was so cold… was she going to freeze to death? Her paws turned cold not from the blizzard of hail sweeping her tail but from worse things. This was not normal. First the dreams, then him and now this? What did the world want with a cat like her? And the prophecy.. was this all connected somehow?
As the night wore on, silver trudged against the everlasting snow, each step feeling colder and colder as she fought against the white storm. When would this ever end? By one time, she was crying with desperation to go back, to be anywhere but here and her tears froze on her face, icicles leaking from her eyes and onto her stiff whiskers. Every part of her was battered and she had began losing the feelings of her limbs which were sore. Her injury slowed her down as she stopped to rest, panting near a mountain. A mountain would surely have shelter right? How did she know this? Then again, she could worry about this later, when she was curled up on a cold stone floor. Away from the wind and overcast skies, hiding the stars from sight.
With each step, the lumps of jagged rocks grew higher and soon towered over her, the frozen mist hiding the peak high up in the sky. A shrill hoot echoed in the distance, with the howling of wind growing louder and louder. What was happening? Now the mountain, as close as it was had disappeared from her sight, all that was left was the mist clogging her view, the sky a mass of cloud pouring down lighting and thunder and waves of never-ending grey flakes. Was she going around in circles? Was this even real?
