Worms In A Hamster Cage

Chapter Five: In the Eyes of a Raincoat, part one

Marbles did not return home to the Raincoats' base.

Her colleagues contacted her last night and she was willing to go until she heard the duck-like laughter in the background. The others were at it again, causing mischief and wrecking the hideout. Every day, the place was a mess; every corner except her bed chambers, which she kept to herself and had forbidden anyone from entering. She hated the antics of her colleagues. She hated how her species was meant to be anarchic and always following the herd. And she hated the fact that she was the only one in her faction who noticed how illogical their lives in the Garden were.

She stood quietly against the wall, arms crossed, watching the catfaces doing parkour on the obstacle course. Her Dragunov was leaning beside her. Every cat was screaming, yowling, laughing, and whooping with each stunt they pulled on the equipment. She did not like noise or craziness but found this better than her colleagues. At least the catfaces did not do this very often.

Marbles looked up. She saw Winter falling from the balcony and onto the thick layer of mattresses ahead of her. He was laughing with relief, and then Rascal fell upon him with a mattress to soften the impact. Rascal also laughed but shrieked when Sparrow did the same thing, sandwiching both him and Winter between mattresses.

Marbles searched the gym for Checkers and Inky. The bi-colored catface leaped from the balcony on the other side and spread his limbs wide as though to glide, landing on twenty stacks of mattresses. Getting up swiftly, he did it again on another stack, then hurried towards a diving board hanging over a pit of colorful softballs. He dived into them; Denim, a puma, and Blizzard, a bobcat, joined him.

Where was Checkers, though? Not that she cared. It was just strange to not find her here, given how she frequented the gym despite saying she hated working out. That tigerface fancied showing off her feline reflexes on the obstacle course or playing ball like a cat.

She turned to the entrance and waited for about an hour. Eventually, Checkers turned up. A bit shaken up and drained. Their eyes met and Marbles waved at her. Checkers went to her, head and shoulders drooping. Marbles sat down on a mattress and invited her to lie down on her lap, and Checkers did so gently. Before closing her eyes, the tigerface imitated a tiger's chuffing, greeting the Raincoat.

Yowls and laughter persisted in the obstacle course. Winter, Rascal, Inky, Denim, Blizzard, and the ocicat Atlas's voices dominated the space. But all Marbles could hear was the relaxing sound of Checkers' purring. It could mean the tigerface was enjoying her presence or soothing her own pain. Marbles stroked Checkers' hair and the purring grew louder. She caught a whiff of smoke and frost—the scent of Ashmoor.

The tigerface had gone to Ashmoor this morning. For what? Marbles guessed she met with Polac there. She remembered seeing her outside the fence. That Entity had been behaving oddly, going out of her way to become more human. Fate knows what good that would do her. Polac meant no harm, sure, but she was overstepping her limits, which could bring serious consequences.

Marbles listened to Checkers' breathing—normal, though there were moments when it sounded shallow. The purring was steady and calming; the vibrations spread to her body, massaging her skin. Checkers turned to her side and, opening her eyes, spoke.

"You thought it right. I got back from Ashmoor with Polac."

Marbles waited.

"She...showed me things."

She scratched Checkers' temple. "Save that for later. You need rest."

The tigerface stopped talking and closed her eyes; her purring resumed.