The Search for Jetfur

Chapter 21

            Tigerstripe and Krait, meanwhile, traveled farther and farther from the two strange cats they had met, finding themselves going deeper and deeper into the forest. Tigerstripe kept his nose high in the air, hoping that he'd catch a whiff of Snakepelt or Jetfur, but so far, he'd had no luck.

"So let me get this straight,"Krait began to speak when they were a bit far from Harly and Riley. "You befriended a fox?"

"Yeah," Tigerstripe responded, guessing it was an odd thing to tell other cats. But then again, hadn't Harly just coaxed that badger into leaving them alone?

"How is that even possible?!"Krait exclaimed. "You've already seen my relationship with foxes. Well, then again, cats and foxes aren't exactly meant to be friends, now, are they?"

"Perhaps I just have a better attitude," Tigerstripe teased.

Krait rolled her eyes. "Foxes don't just cling to cats, you know."

"Well, this fox literally clung to me," Tigerstripe continued.

"What are you even blabbering about?" Krait wondered.

"I ran into Rain when she was just a small kit. I thought a kitten had grabbed ahold of my leg, but when I looked down, there was a bundle of ginger fur there. Actually, I tried to ditch her for a long time, but she kept following me, and soon enough, we just became friends, I guess," he explained.

"Ah, of course. Friends from kithood. And how big is your fox friend now? Who's to say she won't become vicious?" Krait asked.

"She won't," Tigerstripe responded a bit too quickly. Krait looked at him, a bit alarmed, and then he turned his gaze back down to his paws.

"I mean, I don't think she would. She's grown, and she's nearly taller than me now, but she's still gentle. She's still looking for me, isn't she?" he reminded her.

"Also that. If she's such a good friend of yours, why are you neglecting to go after her?" Krait wondered.

Tigerstripe began to feel himself getting angry. It was a question that was continually circling his mind. He knew Rain meant a lot to him, but he knew also that Jetfur meant so much more, and the last thing he needed was to go on two wild goose chases.

"I have to find Jetfur!" he growled.
"Feisty, much?" Krait questioned. "Well, do you have any idea where Jetfur and her friend may have gone?"

"I have no idea. That's why I'm keeping my nose high in the air," Tigerstripe told her, lifting his nose high to demonstrate.

Krait chuckled a little. "Well, I'll try my best to be of help."

"Before we get too comfortable with each other, are there any other enemies I should know about?" Tigerstripe asked. "You don't seem to make friends that easily."

Krait laughed and shoved Tigerstripe a bit with her tail. "My friend, you have nothing to worry about. While you are right about the friends part, my poor relationships with other creatures should have no effect on you."

"Are you sure? Because if we run into a wild dog next that you've made a poor acquaintance with, I'm taking off," Tigerstripe warned.

Krait rolled her eyes. "As if. You want company, and so do I. Now, we shouldn't run into any wild dogs...hopefully."

Tigerstripe groaned, knowing this would be a long trip.

And so the two traveled together for the next several sunrises with no sign of Jetfur or Snakepelt. Tigerstripe had even been hoping to run into Rain along the way, but so far, they'd come across no familiar faces.