The day has been a long and tirin one, starting with the invasion of thier home by a large black dragon in the early afternoon. It tore into the home. Aussa and Koopling managed their own escape. Koopa, however, stayed long enough to grab Calico, Wolven,and a small black velvet bag and get out in time before the dragon was able to get a hold of any of them. The dragon tore apart the home as Koopa took the entire crew into the mountains and to a cave near the top. As the sun began to set, what was left of their home was slowing become less visible. Koopa sat on a small ledge about a yard from the cave's entrance and stared down into the greenlands. Aussa set herself down next to Koopa and stared up in worry. She mewed and tugged on Koopa's shirt.
Koopa said in the most comforting voice she could, "It'll all be all right. ok? It was probably after that blood gem. Don't worry about it."
Aussa's eyes opened wide and she shouted back, "The Blood Gem! Where is it!?"
Koopa smiled and held up the small velvet bag. "Right here with us. Although...Maybe it wouldn't have been a bad idea to grab some of the food as well."
Aussa giggled and pointed over at the others. "Me and Koopling are fine, and wolven ate before that dragon came."
Koopa glanced over at the lot and saw Calico pulling a nearby fern up by it's roots and munching on it.
"Cali seems to be fine for now as well." Koopa handed the bag with the blood gem in it to Aussa. "Keep this safe, and for God's sake, don't open it. Last thing any of us needs is you running around here like a maniac."
"Yes, Cat Goddess!"
"And how many times have I told you to stop callin me that..." She smiles as she heads down the mountain.
"Wait! Where are you goin?"
She yelled without looking back at Aussa, "To check on the thread and get us some food. Watch the others 'til I get back. Oh! And I left my DS up there in case you get bored."
Aussa meowed and skipped into the cave.
Later that night.
Koopa sat up on that same ledge looking down at her home with Aussa and Calico perched next to her, Calico on her right and Aussa on her left. Koopa had brought back several bags of cut up steak and a sack of chocolate with her after her visit to the thread. Aussa was currently eating the chocolate while Koopling finished off one of the bags of steak. Calico was staring off into the night sky and Wolven had already turned in early.
Not much was seen due to the time of day it was, but they still saw something lurking in the night's darkness around the ruins of their home. She informed Aussa that Chazu would take care of their dragon problem and that they would rebuild and fix the house tomorrow.
After getting everyone to bed, Koopa sat up in the darkness of the cave.
"I can't sleep..."
She looked over at the others, fast asleep and huddled up to each other.
"I'm sure they can take care of themselves."
She slid out of her shell and searched through it and retrieved a mangled piece of paper. Then, she put the small velvet bag with the gem into the shell as well as one of the remaining bags of steak that was left. Opening and flattening the piece of paper, which was actually a map, she headed to the other side of the mountain and began her journey.
She ran on all fours and walked when she was out of breath and traveled following the map as the sun rose high into the sky. The sun was directly over her when she entered strange lands. The land was unusually dark and the plant life seemed as if it were all dying or dead already. The air wreaked of a strange charcoal smell and it seemed as if there wasn't another living creature around.
Koopa put the map away and started to explore the area. Eventually, she ran across some strange huts. They were all in ruins, and even though the sun was high overhead and shining bright, the area seemed dim. As she approached one
of the ruined huts, flash backs hit her in waves. All of them from her dream. First of the other neko children that might've been siblings to her, then of the dragons that were attacking, and finally, of the last moments of her parents.
When the scene of her parents death appeared in her mind, she shuttered. That's when she felt as though something was pulling on her shell. When she saw no one was around, she immediately took the shell off. The black velvet bag tumbled out, and the blood gem's glow shown through the fabric. She picked up the bag, and tightened it so the gem wouldn't come out.
"Damn gem. So...this is where I was born...here..." She said with a sigh, "Not much to see now..."
After taking in the scenery, she retrieved her shell and dug out her bag of steak bits and began to have lunch.
After eating, she was getting ready to go, but something caught her eye. Two shady figures stood in the remains of the largest hut. As she got closer, the actual colors of the shadows were seen. One seemed a bright yellow, the other was more of a greenish color. Both of them immediately surrounded her when she drew near and made her levitate a few feet off the ground. She flailed in the air and screeched. Just as she began to blow fire, the yellowish shadow absorbs her flames and giggles. It shortly after took the form of a young women wearing a red kimono and a flowery tiara. Koopa only stared with her mouth hanging open. That�s when it spoke.
"Darling, no need to be afraid, you couldn�t be in safer hands."
The other shadow took the form of a young looking male with dark hair. He didn�t speak, but had a warm smile on his face.
Koopa recognized them from her dream and stuttered, "...Mom? ...Dad?"
Both of them nodded and embraced her. Koopa felt their fur, and smelled their scent. It was all coming back to her. She couldn't even talk anymore. She was crying so hard into their arms, that her eyes turned a bright red. After the
sobbing moment was over, she asked questions. Like, what was life like for their family, and how bad she was she as a kitten. The couple cheerfully answered all of her questions and asked a few of their own. Including ones about Lex.
Koopa found out that what she and her friends had but together about her tribes demise was true. She also learned that Lexuis Shouyo was indeed her brother. She learned what her real name was, and even her parents name. The
mother was Latia, and the father was Kyou.
The parents learned of Koopa's upbringing and of the Death of Lexuis.
"I'm really sorry about Lexuis...if I knew, I wouldn't have killed him..."
Latia merely smiled and said, "It's OK. You aren�t the blame for his actions, and he deserved his fate."
Kyou spoke with a stern tone in his voice, "Besides. He was always a little off. I don't even know why we gave him the pendant out of the litter."
Latia interrupted him, "Cause he was the only one the gem couldn't overtake for some reason."
"Oh..." Kyou turned back to Koopa, "So, Zeneeba...You have the gem now?"
Koopa nodded slowly. "Yeah. I'm slowly but surely gettin used to it, nearly lost it once already...but I�ll look after it! I swear! I promise you..."
"We know, we know." Latia said with a smile. "We trust you, Zeneeba, but...just be careful."
"I will. Don�t worry."
Kyou tugged on Latia's arm and whispered, "Time to go."
Latia looked back sadly, clearly wasn't ready to leave, but knew she had to. She hugged Koopa on last time, tears in her eyes, and said good bye.
Koopa tried her hardest not to cry, but couldn't hold it in, she said good bye to her parents and slowly descended onto the ground. They turned back into shadows, and slowly faded, all the time, waving at their daughter, until they were no longer visible.
Koopa lowered her head and gathered her things, ready to leave. A small breeze blew past her, carrying her parent's scent. She dropped everything and followed it. It lead her to a pile of rubble from a collapsed hut. All at once, the breeze, and her parent's scent completely disappeared. However, she picked up on a new scent. It came from under the pile she stood on. After several minutes of digging, she freed a cat girl from the fallen hut. The cat girl's fur and skin were white, and she had red eyes that were half open. Koopa immediately recognize her as 'Tina' from her
dream, and pulled her free. The girl was still alive, but seemed completely worn out.
Without giving it a second thought, she put the remainder of her things together and transformed into her tiger form.
Carrying her shell in her mouth, and Tina on her back, she headed north, back to the mountain where she left Aussa and the others.
