Animals of Gold

Echo

Jackpot!

Finally, after two years of loneliness, I'm finally with another cat that doesn't want to hurt me!

I was really curious where she and her friends lived.

"Celeste, where are we going?"

"To meet my friends, silly."

I couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"I meant where are they located."

She looked at me with her head tilted sideways.

"Like, where do they live."

"Oh, you'll see. Come on."

I was quite concerned for her safety. She only met me about five minutes ago and she is already leading me to her home. I could be a robber that will steal everything she owns, for all she knows. Obviously I'm not, but just saying.

She paused near a townhouse in a neighborhood with close to no people. Except the so-called townhouse wasn't really a house. Half of the building was torn out and the rubbish from the no-longer walls were scattered inside. I wouldn't dare to go in there. Even the backyard was awful. The grass was about a foot long, which would have been nice, except it was yellow and sharp-looking.

"Um, Celeste, this isn't where you live, right?" I wouldn't have survive a second in that place.

She meowed in amusement. "Do I really look like the type of cat that would live in that. No thank you. This is where Echo usually stays."

"Echo?"

"Yup, he's one of our hunters. He's really good at it. That's why his name is Echo, because he's like a bat that uses echolocation. That's how good he is. He will bring you about 20 mice in a single night! How cool is that?"

"The coolest." I responded. I haven't even met Echo and I was already quite jealous of him.

"Echo!" She meowed really loudly for a cat her size. "Come out!"

I heard a rustle and out came a tom-cat holding  3 medium sized mice with his broad muzzle. His coat was marvelous, tortoiseshell, and his body was fit and muscular. Plus, his ears were huge, which gave his the perfect body for hunting.

He dropped the three mice he was holding on the ground.

"Celeste, I was just about to catch a really meaty mouse, but you scared it away!"

I heard Celeste whisper in my ear. " I forgot to mention, he's a little strict when it comes to him losing his prey."

"I'm sorry, Echo, but there is plenty of time to hunt later. I found someone! Look! His name is Ace."

Echo looked at me with his eyes narrow. "I know someone named Ace." He paused and sniffed me. It was quite scary. "You wouldn't like him."

I gulped. There was an awkward silence for a minute until Celeste broke it. I was glad because the whole time, Echo was closely watching me carefully. Now his attention was on her.

"Well, come on, guys, let's go!"

"How do you know he can be trusted?" Growled Echo.

I replied to him because Celeste didn't really have an answer.

"I'm not really in great shape to do much, and even if I was fit, I couldn't care less about hurting others or stealing. I haven't had company since I was a kitten."

Echo scoffed. "Fine, but remember, one wrong move and you'll be out before you can say 'prey'".

I gulped. I really didn't want to be on Echo's bad side this whole time. He seemed ready to fight every second of our conversation. He also seemed like a big old show off. Male tortoiseshells like him are really rare.

Celeste seemed to notice I was scared. "Don't worry. I know he looks strong and everything, but the only things he harms are rats, mice, rabbits.. You know, food and stuff."

"That's good."

"But really," Celeste said out loud so that this time both of us could hear. "We have to get going, it's almost night."

Echo picked up his three mice and we both followed the pretty she-cat into the city.