Fresh Starts: A Diamond in the Dust

Chapter 6, A Cheetah and a Song

"Get back here you insolent rat tail!" Bhuta roared enraged. Was it the best decision? No, as the cheetah looked back in terror as their ears folded and they ran off like the wind.

Bhuta took chase after the cheetah, doing her best to keep up. They both ran through dirt streets and between den houses. The Cheetah also seemed to be ahead by several tail lengths, but Bhuta was either too angry or too stubborn to give up.

The cheetah made a sharp turn down an alley. Bhuta tried to follow, but ran into a fruit stand. A lynx berated her about destroying their stand, but she ignored them. She retook the chase with as much speed she could muster. Cries of, "My Melons!!" fell behind her.

The cheetah looked backed and seemed to be surprised and scared that Bhuta was still behind them. Den house and shops passed by on infinitum. The cheetah swerved between alleys and crevices and on top of structures and homes.

The two were locked in an endless battle of running. One trying to get away and the other trying to catch up. Bhuta's large form did make it harder. She couldn't make as sharp turns or go as fast. But the snow leopard had enough stamina to maintain her chase.

The cheetah jumped onto several stands and den houses. Their lithe form only being on each for a second.

Bhuta just barreled through whatever was in her way. She tried to dodge some to maintain speed. Her stubbornness wouldn't let her give up.

The Cheetah made great care to not injure anyone. They swiveled and dodged like a fish in a stream. They never seemed to show down.

Bhuta had great stamina, but the mouse was beating the cat. She was too frustrated and too stubborn to try to talk. So the chase continued through Treeburrow's streets.

The cheetah eventually ran down another alley. Bhuta followed in hot pursuit before she came across a river running through town with a cobblestone bridge going over it. There was no sign of the cheetah, it was like they were never there. A phantom on the wind. Bhuta searched and sniffed, but there wasn't even anything for her whiskers. She saw a large fish swimming away in the corner of her eye, it's tail disappearing down stream.

The spirit's frustration reached a fever pitch. She had lost her bag, lost the cat which accidentally took it, and had already lost her temper. Why does someone run away when you yell at them? Bhuta contemplated trying to calm herself down.

It was now getting later into the afternoon. She had calmed down, more frustrated at herself than anything else. Bhuta, a tad bit curious and wondering if she could use anything in it, looked in the other cat's bag.

There wasn't much in the bag. It was mainly trinkets and a large long ribbon. There was also some gold and dancing fabrics. The Cheetah was apparently a big performer.

Bhuta closed up the bag and continued looking around for any traces of the Cheetah. She wouldn't be beaten again, but in a way she was. It reminded her of that leopard in black, and her blood boiled once more. It hadn't even been a day and she had been beaten by two mortals and shown up by another. For the mighty spirit of the Startouched Mountains, she so far wasn't very mighty. It was in direct opposition to everything she prided herself on.

She walked into an alley so no one could see her after having found nothing. Her fur was on end and her ears bent back. She clawed at the ground in anger and frustration at the mortals, at herself. She came out here to not be bored, not for her self image to be beaten into the earth and urinated on. Bhuta bared her teeth in anger, though no one else was there. She was a spirit, higher than mortals, stronger than even most other spirits. If she wasn't strong, wasn't the greatest, who was she? This thought terrified her. And here where none could see her, she cried.

It's a fluke, I'm just not used to this. I'm not lesser, I'm not weak, I'm not alone. I can't be, I can't. Echoed throughout her mind. Stubbornness told her that this was nothing. Pride told her that it was indeed just a fluke. But there was another voice in the back of her mind, that she was wrong. Wrong in her self worth, wrong in her pride, wrong in her strength. That she was a cub that thought she was mighty before facing an adult, and was being put in her place. That she was the fluke.

She tried to push away the thoughts like they were rocks that could be rolled away, but they only became louder. Shame and anxiety crept more and more into her mind. It almost became overwhelming until something seemed to blot it out.

She heard music and what sounded like a story being told. Bhuta poked her head out the alley and saw it was evening now. The music and sound seemed to come from a lit up spot. The thoughts quieted in her mind, but lingered ready to strike when given the chance. She walked through the much less busy streets towards the music's source.

It took a bit for her to reach it and it was approaching evening. It was coming from a large theater which looked like a repurposed cave. Torches lined it and the seating area in front which was filled with cats. It seemed also some magic was used to focus light in certain areas. An orange cheetah along with some other cats were preforming some kind of play. The cheetah specifically was dancing, quite well actually.

Bhuta noticed it was the same cheetah that took her bag. Now once again filled with determination to reclaim her bag, she went down towards the stage area. She went around the setting area towards the cave once she got there, but was stopped by a lynx.

"Hey! Ya can't just go on da stage. Only performe's who a'e actin a'e allowed." He stated in a gruff authoritative voice. He had light armor and was likely a guard.

Bhuta thought for a bit, before getting an idea. "I want to do a singing act."

"Der is a spot left. What's ya name ma'am?" He responded getting out a paper from a pouch.

"Crys. My name is Crys."

"Guessin dat's sho't fo' Kristala. Ya'll be up afte' dis group." The guard stated while writing something down and walking off before Bhuta could correct him.

Bhuta was guided be a she-lynx guard to the backstage area. There was a bunch of props and costumes. Bhuta found a black cloak which she thought looked good and put it on. She took a look in a mirror and saw it actually looked really good on her. She didn't really see anything else and instead groomed herself waiting for her turn.

She didn't see the Cheetah or the cats that preformed with them, but then she heard a cat announce something.

"Y'all a'e gettin a goud show, we got one mo'e performance. Give it up fo' for Kristala an he' singin!" They exclaimed.

Bhuta heard feet padding and several other applauding sounds as she went up on stage. A couple hundred cats filled the seating area and the all looked expectedly at her.

"Greetings everyone." Bhuta opened. There was a large applause.

She then began singing a song she thought of while back stage.

"Travelers from near an far
Walking under the midnight star
Grab a partner
Grab a friend
As we go across the land again

Marching on
Carry on
Towards the sun
Along the path
Your paws carrying you to home

Far and wide, east to west
Filled with pride in our chests
Never stray
No delay
As we roam

Once you reach the end
The day you find home again
Find your cub
Kiss your mate
For tomorrow we're off once more"

When she finished her song, the audience shouted and tapped their applause. It seemed they all loved it. The flowers around the area also seemed to bloom magically from her song.
As she left the stage she saw two green eyes of a cheetah staring at her happily.

"Hello! Your Kristala, right?"