Snow

Chapter 4

As I entered through the cat door, bright colors and weird things suddenly flashed everywhere. I almost slipped on the floor, which seemed so white and shiny.

The air immediately got warmer, and I felt a lot more comfortable. Staying in a house wasn't so bad.

"Be careful. Don't slip on the tile and make a mess." Grace meowed.

I nodded, and I moved forward a bit, sliding across to a floating wooden platform on four legs. I sniffed it, and there was a strange smell, but it wasn't the good smell from trees.

It was a more fragranced smell, almost making me suffocate. I blinked, then I was about to touch the wood and jump on it, when another hiss sounded, making me stop in my tracks.

Frost was exploring near me, sniffing some weird flowers in a container. She paused too.

It was not that Grace's hisses were scary, she looked too soft for that. We didn't pause because of the look on her. We paused because her voice was dripping with malice and aggression. We also paused because Mother was nearby, and we might get a long, boring lecture, which we hated!

Grace hissed, "Do not touch anything! Stay away from all items, and try staying respectful and mannerly." She mumbled something else under her breath, and Mother seemed to have heard it.

She nodded and gazed up, her eyes lit with burning flames. "I do need to teach my kits better. Sorry for the trouble."

Mother looked at me, angry, then at Frost, still angry. "Get over here and don't go causing any more trouble!" She snapped.

I glanced at Frost, gulping.

What's wrong with exploring and being curious? I thought. There's nothing wrong with the way we act! Mannerly shouldn't mean acting like a heartless person without any feelings or curiosity!

I sighed silently, then trudged over behind Mother, being careful not to slide on the floor anymore. Frost did the same.

Mother still let out another hiss, this time it was more annoyed. "Get in front of me so I can see if you two are up to any good. Now, come on! We don't have forever!"

I shuffled quickly in front of Mother, feeling more self-conscious now that Mother's eyes were burning her back.

We walked and passed so many long floors, passing door after door.

Suddenly, Grace made an abrupt turn, and paused at a cat door. I almost ran into her, if it wasn't for Mother biting into my tail and dragging me back. I couldn't help but let out a tiny yowl of pain.

Grace didn't even blink. In fact, it almost seemed like she smirked. "Here's my den. You can only stay in here. Do not exit or make any noise, or mess anything up!" She meowed sharply. "Understood?"

I nodded. "Understood." Frost and I meowed evenly.

Grace nodded, and she pushed through the cat door, Frost and Mother following. I hesitated, then hurried in with them.

Grace padded through the huge den as if nothing seemed to amaze her. Maybe that was because she had been in her den for such a long time, but I wasn't too sure, since everything seemed to get my attention.

I almost padded away to investigate, but one look from Mother, and I paused.

"Come," Grace meowed, padding to a dark corner.

We followed, and I looked around. Cushions were everywhere, and two bowls were ok the ground, smelling of the hard pellets Mother sometimes brought when she wasn't able to hunt anything.

Grace paused at a box filled with sand. "This is where you can relieve yourself." She kept on padding to a big cushion on the ground. "This is where you're supposed to sleep."

I nodded slowly.

"You may only stay in this corner so that when my humans come, they most likely won't be able to spot you. They won't come for a bit now, and they don't check my den, just me, as long as there is no noise or disturbances." Grace meowed. "I have my own sleeping nest elsewhere, but I'm going to leave you be, now." She turned away and headed for some other part of her den, but I couldn't see where, for a large stick wrapped with rope around it, I think Mother once told me it was a 'scratching post', blocked most of my view.

I sighed, crawling into the new nest along with Frost, tired after the day, and shuffled a bit, uncomfortable with the cloth, and I already missed the feeling of the moss, and the scent of the forest. I closed my eyes, too tired to think any more.