(GE Copy)

Chapter 24: A Cat is Fine Too (Part 3)

“...Just, pretend there is a chapter starter for this one too.”

Broken bedrock and brown hills, the tale of the last known sighting foretold the upcoming pond and the ridge above it. Beyond it’s hillside water hole, came a path deeply enclosed between the short rock walls and an utter infestation of bushes. It seemed all had come together as was spoken to them. Their thin deer trail opened up beside a running creek, that degraded their road to a shallow trail beside the bushes. Zack having took point, bravely bore the pathways and it’s many trials. From a settling pond that overtook the old road and a log bridge that had snapped and needed repairs, Zack’s determination lead them forward.

In the crux of a glade, was the last remains of the overgrown road where two bushes guarded the slope into a paradise. Tall grass, it was a forest haven; although the grass hides many hungry means for concern, they finally had the leg space to walk around again. A patch of dead fall once claimed the side of a hill, now sprawled with new growth that thrived on the broken patch. From behind sprung a brown blotch, that speed impeded their sight of it until it’s last ditch beyond the vale of the hilltop. Ah, it was only a deer, as it’s white tail became all they could see of it anymore. Zack sighed.

Patting Zack’s back, Aaron remarked, “You pass ‘fifty percent’ on the ‘furry index’, your on your own Zack...”

“Look at it...” Zack awed, “Sheer wilderness, as far as the eye can see. The overgrowth of eons. The overtaking of the old gardens. Where life has fallen, another has taken root to fill it’s place. Endless fields of lush green leaves and fresh air. The silence of true isolation. Though it were the very first breath ever breathed in this world, it remained to this day, and here we are to suck it in like a scented candle...”

“I kinda envy Felicity,” Aaron confessed, “Seeing the world pass around them for a thousand years, see the rise and fall of nations... I guess not that much, you were stuck in a pond, right? Felicity?” Looking around, “... Fel... Oh, mother farkhouse!”

At the narrow folded end of their open walking space, came a shriek and sign of struggle. Aaron and Zack rushed out to find it, meeting with Felicity at the top of the mound. “Caught her!” Felicity exclaimed, with a rather large care package around his shoulders. “Thirty five pounds of glorified meat, ready for the eating!” Loudly slapping the her fluffy ass, only for more moaning to come from their walking-talking-BBQ steak. “And that’s not even counting the girth on these legs!...”

“We’re not eating her... Remember?” Aaron informed as Zack desperately ran up and rescued the majestic beauty off from Felicity’s shoulder, before proceeding to kick Felicity in the hind quarter.

“I do not take ass beatings from you, Zack!” The snake retort, despite the boy’s tears.

Lowering the furry woman down, she looked up at Zack with heroic seeking eyes, “Should I believe that you have risked your life to save me?”

“Nah, they kinda kidnapped you first...” A feminine voice followed from behind the mound, and another form came in from the side. Their fine furred coats glistened in the foliage piercing sunlight.

“I should have figured as much.” Picking up her feet to leave. “You’re far too inept to have dominion over this beast.” Then walking off, she huffed.

From the woods came another, “Wow, it was real cool of you standing up to your friend like that!” Spoke a fourth furred creature as it poked it’s head up from behind cover, still too shy to approach. The others however still gawked.

Approaching rather socially, a light furred feline woman dipped around, inspecting Zachery from the feet upward. “Don’t mind Sashila, she’s is kind of a softy for that cheap romantic stuff, she just don’t show it.” Until it seemed good to her to come on close. “I’m Enonya by the way...”

Crackling, Zack remarked, in a wavering tone “I-I told you, screw the oranges man, good things happen when you bring Felicity along...” Disguising his overwhelming jitters like a boy who just got a puppy for his birthday.

Standing in the spotlight, another long furred feline beauty approached, with a bright calico’s smattering of patterns. It half bent forward, with it’s twinkling eyes set on the boy. “Uwu?”

Her soft outgoing charm intoxicated Zack as he exclaimed “Owo!”

She blinked repeatedly, cutely leaning back in a windswept daze to cover the embarrassment behind her fluffy cheeks, and then came the unravelling of a protruding barbed... Wait, freaking what? –Hold the damn phone, really? Fucking really? Another one of these damn things, are you for real? “Ewow?”

Zack’s eyes widened. “OH NO!”

“Leave him alone!” Enonya, pushed her pretty brother out of the way, “He’s my delectable taboo!” Pressing her light fluffy kitties against Zack’s shoulder as she inspected him.

“Well, actually, I’m kinda here for someone else...” Zack muttered, sheepishly, trying not to enjoy his shy sinking descent into a melted fluff puddle.

“Wow...” Aaron stood half jealously jaw slackened, “Fucking... WOW... So that’s what my Father told me my teen year were supposed to look like? There really is nothing hornier in the world than a cat in heat... Or a teenage girl... It’s really gonna be difficult beating them off my legs after all –Especially when I finally get old enough for it to get me in trouble... I mean, damn, that’s thucking visceral dude...”

“What are you bitching about?” Felicity returned to the conversation, pouting at the lost dinner.

“Man problems...”

Walking cutsily, the fluffy playmate strolled up to Aaron, inspecting him also. “Uwu?”

“Nah, I got enough penises in my life already, thank you...” Holding the effeminate furred man at arms length, as it desperately couldn’t manage the double rejection.

“Famillia!” Sashila commanded, “We have no time for mingling with our pretenders.”

“But Sashie, They’re so cute! Can we keep them!?”

“You sound like a child!” She cried back like a wounded animal trapped in a corner, then furiously ran out of sight.

“Please!” Zack called out to her, “Let me speak with you!”

Aaron gripped his face, “I have no idea what he sees in that moody chick, he’s got three babes right here, one of them is probably even from Athens...” Being stifled as the ‘assumed’ girls surrounded him and Felicity with their overbearing intrusiveness. It was oddly adorable, if a bit awkward; especially when sniffing, and where their noses went. One even seemed to clue in that it was uncomfortable for him, as she assured Aaron it was alright, and lifted her tail for him to take part. “A’ight, shit’s too weird, I’m tapping out...” Aaron resigned, leaving Felicity to the talking stake buffet.

Finally having caught up to the moody princess, you could hear her apathy digging a wall between her and Zack, “The fact is that no matter how long man tries to reconcile, there is no atonement without change. Mens’ hearts do not change so easily, neither do ours. If it were born a generation ignorant of our wages and turmoil, perhaps they could kindle what we will not, but the pain and rage will not subdue the iniquity. We are as we are, our pride is all that can sustain us, because it is what sustains them. Blind, prideful, engraved. As long as there is enmity among men, there shall be enmity among all creatures.”

“Please,” Zack begged, “All I’m asking is, give love a chance...”

“Love accompanies those who leave their backs open to the fangs of wolves and pretend nature will simply not abide it’s course...” She left, again, continuously distancing herself for the world. A thorn visibly etched into her heart, brought her to tears, even in the sparkle of temperate sunlight.

Peeking up from the bush, where everyone else was also hiding to watch the drama unfold, Aaron sympathized. “Ow, the edge...”

“WHY ARE YOU STILL HERE!?!” Zack cried a sore and broken man.

Walking sympathetically, Enonya knelt down to console Zachery, “I wouldn’t exactly confuse being able to use big fancy words and putting them together with intelligence, we all learn a couple fancy tricks for getting our treats every now and again. Seems the more stubborn she gets, the more she tries to hide the truth with more infallible sounding words and convolutions. Smartest things she says, take the least amount of words. In the end, it’s her intelligence that gets the better of her, not the people she uses it on, and that’s really dumb.”

“So, what hurt her?”

Breathing deeply in the obvious silence, Aaron bit off his pride solemnly, “It was herself... Wasn’t it?”

“In the end...” Enonya admit, “But even if she has the will, it takes a spark to destroy a forest.”

A chilling wind blew over the trees, seeing his friend crippled in heartache. It were as though the whole world just fell out from under him, at the separation of the cold and jaded. It cut into Aaron’s heart, like it were rubbed sorely with the dry essence of a deeply bitter herb. The sorrow of seeing his friends’ sadness overwhelmed Aaron with frustration and powerlessness. Though a darkened sympathy came over him, Aaron pondered to himself... ‘perhaps it would be easier to save Zack from his suffering if he never knew a man like me.’ Even so far as to wonder, if Zack could turn his pain towards Aaron and hate him that it would make easier the sorrow his friend felt now; if only he had somewhere to pass the blame. Aaron shook his head frantically, feeling himself fall back into his own skin again, and shuttered “What the heck was that?” Hearing the wind blow through the trees again, sense returned to his numb body. Looking back to the weeping boy, Aaron grit his hands and breathed deeply before walking onward to seek his audience.

Upon the last bastion of their solitude, Sashila sat atop the bolder, a throne that overlooked the forest from beyond the cliff. She looked to the approaching sound, but turned away, “Have man no such honour as to leave the forest to her own? You give us not a moment’s peace in your pursuits, what gives you the right to come here and approach me in my special place?”

“Well, for one, I’m not clingy...” Aaron sat himself distant from her upon the edge, “Trust me, I’m the last person who wants to come here. If it were me, I’d be well gone myself... The whole thing is strange, and I prefer to keep alone myself... I’m just powerless to do that. I’m friends with nut jobs and weirdos, but that’s all that will accept me, and I wonder if I’m any different with my nose in the air... You got your reasons, I get that, I’m wondering myself what the state of man even is. Everywhere you go, they let you down, offload their guilt and blame you for shit when that previous fact bothers you.”

“So why impose yourself here?...”

“Because Zack is my friend; he cares about people, even if the world has beaten him down from even trying. They’ve given him every reason not to, even me, yet he still does. I wish I had that kind of strength. Every time they beat me down, it makes the rage inside all the stronger... I wish to kindle that decency in people, before it’s all extinguished for pride and entitlement. I don’t have a right, really. Actually my reason for being here is rather shitty in and of itself... But that’s why. To maintain some spark of decency...”

“You’re clearly not ready to accept it yourself, so why should I?”

“I’m trying... I keep failing, but I’m trying: Because deep down, no matter how much it scares me to keep going, something else scares me even more than the effort of picking myself up again... What if the best opportunity for joy that we have is standing right in front of us, and we miss the last chance we’ll ever get to hear it? No one to blame but ourselves, and never know what could have been... That frightens me even more than life itself.”

“And what if you know, deep down inside, just how pointless it is? That you won’t find what you’re looking for? That you’re just hopelessly looking for what you will never find? I won’t have it, the instinct knows when others do not care for you, and when it’s time to walk away. It’s not like you could ever understand... Men’s only urges are for themselves, even you admit that.”

“We all hear voices, there is nothing new about that, never will be. Only good a whim is, is to carry us without direction. One day we’re gonna have to plant our feet in the ground to figure out where we actually ended up, or accept being lost forever. When yesterday is no longer there to haunt us, what are we really running away from?”

A long silence lasted between them until she spoke as a defeated and weary beast, “Bring him here...”

And with those words, Aaron risen slowly and walked back to the encampment. “Zack, I’ve acquired you an audience with the queen, better be on your best behaviour.” Watching Zack’s eyes light up. “So, how are you gonna reach her?”

“The only way a guy like me can...” Zack stood, brushing himself off “With all his heart... And even more complicated words that not even she can compete with.” Aaron smiled, as Zack recited a short following of fancy words he knew, about four or five of them on his way for the summit at a good pace.

Pacing slowly, Zack approached the overlook and hesitantly tried to find the words. Her ears following the sound behind her, as Sashila uttered first. “Your friend is a talker, please don’t bore me with more philosophy... I do not wish to change. He bought you a moment with me, nothing more.”

“But... What good is a moment if it never meant anything? How can I reach you, if you’ve already closed yourself up? No different than talking to a rock or a tree, yet here we are; so I say that you haven’t closed yourself up. You believe it, don’t you? That there is a place in your heart that means something, that still listens when your words say something else; somewhere that wants to hear, but can’t accept it unless it’s what you wanted before hand...”

“You know much of the hearts of men... Perhaps you’ll be a great man among them.”

“But what of your heart?” Seeing the shocked stutter in her breath, “You regard so much yet openly discard your own. What good is a label if it doesn’t match the jar? You can separate yourself all you want, but you still have to live with yourself at the end of the day; anyone can see the scars in the heart, wouldn’t you rather find happiness?”

“The world does not give you such luxury...”

“Things happen in places, sometimes the only way to find peace is to find somewhere that will accept you. The rest of the world won’t hate you, not all of it. Somewhere, there has to be a place where you can live free from your fears.”

“And who would do that? Every man kin bares it’s fangs to us, how can you be so certain?”

“Because I care about you!”

“Fool, you haven’t even met me and you care about a stranger?”

“Some man kin love unconditionally; they’re good hearted people that don’t judge by the grudges of others, who see you brand new. Some even withstand the abrasions of others because they understand the hardships we go through just to care for another... Something I never thought I’d be myself, but even I can change... People are shit, but they have the potential to care, and somewhere they do.”

Sniffling her weary tears, Sashila wiped them away. “You’re sweet...” Reaching out and hugging Zack, “Your friend sees great things in you, as do I... But these woods have no love for me, and it’s inhabitant are a wall for that freedom... Even my kin bares no respect of me.”

“Come with us...”

“No, my path is one I must see for myself.” Sashila parted, separating herself from the fear of her throbbing heart. “I’m not swayed by kind words, but I’ve been touched by your own...” Increasing the bold exterior of her persona as she distanced herself from Zack, “Should we meet again one day, I would like to abide your company, if these claims you make truly come true.” But her pride could not bare the load and she turned to hide the shame of her dramatic cracking resolve, “I’ll think of you often, pray it is in good faith, else a heart does not rekindle a second time... You’re friend is a lot like me, he treasured you well, but he also knows his own weakness. You may tell them that it is time for my descent from the mountain. I have burdened them long enough... Please, take care not to become as the men of this world, or there will not be hope anyone after all.” Turning her head to bow before Zachery, she left down the steep face, and dashed into the forest where instances of her could be seen darting from the trees out of sight.

The love Zack felt may not have given him the pain relief to run, but the passion to speak forward sure overcame his weakness of heart... Even if it were for only a little while. Still heart broken, Zack stood a hero without a maiden, a victor without a prize, a man of valor with empty hands. He knelt down, a lemon upon his heart, squeezing the blood through his veins as his eyes rained upon the earth. Aaron came up quietly, having overheard the proceedings enough to piece together what she meant earlier. Solemnly he laid his hand upon Zack, and consoled his weary mate. “Sometimes all we can do, is plant the seed... Sorry, old farmer philosophy. You gonna be alright?”

“Yeah...” Zack confessed, as his new admirer nuzzled up against him, with the rest of the party. “I guess a cat is fine too...”

“Less moody, too...” Aaron admit, guiltily, “Guess that means I should break it to everyone, in case you’re as confused as I am. I... I think she left.”

“Psh! Oh, what will we do without her?” One girl remarked, as another smirked and said, “What a surprise? Did you see that coming?” With all the subtle surprise as a man walking into a divorce clinic.

“What the heck is with you guys?” Aaron remarked, stunned in shock.

“This is like the tenth time she’s done it.” Enonya explained, “People that want to leave you will just do it. She’ll come around. Some just take a little longer to come to terms with their troubles than another. When she’s ready, we’ll be there... Like she was for us.”

Aaron wondered about himself, and what he saw in her, before walking off to leave Zack in capable hands, “Great as this is, I gotta bleed the lizard...” As he left, with Felicity following in behind.

Opening the valves, Felicity smirked, jesting at Aaron. “You sure pulled in your pride back to help him there... Admit it, you like them.”

“And you took an elevator boot to the tailpipe, I’m starting to think Zack is growing on you...”

They both laughed

“So,” Felicity turned to Aaron “What's it like to piss with only one dick?”

“Alright,” Aaron zipped himself up, “This buddy buddy ending is getting real old, I’m tapping out.”

“Ha! I see what you did there...”

Sternly returning his gaze at Felicity, Aaron returned more seriously, as though fed up with that part of himself “I don’t know what kind of story you think this is, but it’s starting to get really uncomfortable.”