Nen Feaster; Part 2: The Cat's Journey

Chapter 20: Chance

Nef spent three months travelling. She didn't dare go to Eli's island. She didn't want to face all of the disappointed people; she didn't want to face Eli's family, and the promise she broke; she didn't want to face Cheetu, as she felt she had failed him and everyone else. Least of all, she didn't want to face Komugi. She was relying on Nef to bring back the King, to reunite the two of them. She was so scared that everyone would hate her because of her failure. Reid called her dozens of times trying to get in touch with her. The only time she picked up was the first time he called after Nef fought with Razor. She explained to him what had happened, how Cloak stole away her hopes, and how she paid him back. Reid tried his best to convince her to come to the island, but she didn't listen. Reid still tries to call her once a week. Again, she doesn't answer. She just hangs up and lets it go to voicemail. She never listened to any of them.

During her travels, Nef found a small, obscure town in the middle of nowhere. This was one she stayed at. She helped people who were wounded using Dr. Blythe. She was a sort of, free-lance surgeon. She didn't charge much for her operations. She charged only enough for her to eat and have a place to stay. She kept to herself, and the people knew why. They made sure to leave her alone. She had spent a full month here, and it started to look like it might have been the place she'd stay for the conceivable future.

She was at a spot where she liked to stay, a cliff just outside of the town. The cliff overlooked the ocean, giving anyone who came a wonderous view of the sea. Nef stood at the very edge of the cliff, feeling the cool sea breeze flow by her. She always went there to think. She thought of fond memories. She thought of Misha, of Eli... of everyone. She thought about how simple things were before Eli came. She thought about how she didn't have to make the decisions; it was always up to the King. She let out a sigh as she looked down to the bottom of the cliff. She looked at the large, deadly stone spikes at the bottom. Anyone who fell off the cliff, even Nef, would die on impact.

"I was told I could find you here." Said a voice from behind. She turned around to see Toshi.

"Toshi?" Nef asked.

"Yep... you're a hard woman to find, did you know that?"

"I was just trying to keep ahead of the association." Nef said.

"We both know that's not true."

Nef sighed then said, "I'm running away from the disappointment... I just... can't face my failure."

"I understand..." Toshi said. He went over and stood next to Nef. He looked out to the view and said, "It's gorgeous."

"Yeah... it is..." She looked down to the bottom again. "I sometimes think about jumping... joining Misha and Eli." Nef said.

"Don't say things like that." Toshi said.

"I can't help it... it's just how I feel."

Toshi frowned at her. He turned back toward the town and said, "Why here? You've never stayed in a place more than a week, but you've been here a while. What's so special about this place?"

"The night Eli died, he started describing this life we could've had together. He talked about opening a diner in a town where all the people didn't care about me being a Chimera Ant. He talked about serving food to everyone, building relationships with the town and even getting a little brown cat named Peanut. When I came to this town, I actually found an old diner that had been abandoned... and on top of that... my hat flew off, and everyone saw my ears... they know what I am, and... they don't care. They still welcomed me like I was one of their own. This town is almost exactly like the one Eli described... it was like he knew it was out here." Nef said.

"Well, that's the thing about optimists... they just know that something better is out there, even if it seems impossible." Toshi said. Nef smiled for the first time in months when she heard that. She then thought about something and looked to Toshi.