The Crazy, Red Cat

Revak Feykro Short

"Let me in!" Maple urged, her hands on Myrkr's shoulders. They both were panting with the mental effort, Myrkr defending and Maple invading. "You've got to let me in, Myr!"

"No!" Myrkr cried out, weakening. She could feel the memory that Maple was so close to seeing, she couldn't let anyone know about the orders —

It was the day Myrkr and Sanguine were setting out. She barely heard them, but with Maple being the reason she was there, she heard herself say, "Get going, Romeo."

The pressure on her mind lessened, and Myrkr realized she was on the ground, Maple too. She hastily got to her feet, sweat running down her forehead and making the back of her shirt wet. A moment of relief shot through her — Maple never saw the orders! — but Maple got to her feet, too, and stared at Myrkr with a new glint in those pale green eyes.

And she laughed.

"You — the most important person in your life — isn't even a blood relative?"

Myrkr growled, tail flicking a little, but said nothing.

Maple suddenly launched herself onto Myrkr. They were in an old cave just below the castle, no one would notice anything. "Yet you don't declare your love! Secrets are a dangerous thing, Myrkr," she purred. "You ought to tell him before something ... happens."

"What the hell are you talking about, you overgrown cat?" Myrkr attempted to kick her off, but Maple was stronger than she looked — and Cí'mehia were made for speed, not strength. "Of course I love him, that's not new —"

"Oh, cute courtship, Myrkr," Maple purred. "Oh, amidst such an important time in the war, you found love! Cherish it, because that is always such a burden."

"What?" Myrkr croaked. So she knew after all. "Sanguine is —"

"Could you imagine if he were to die?" Maple's voice turned hard and low, as if she were tensed in pain. Her claws started to dig into Myrkr's shoulders. "Could you imagine what would happen if he ever thought you betrayed him?"

Unbidden, Myrkr did start to imagine the first scenario. The very concept, not Maple's claws, started tears. "Courtship?" Myrkr shook her head. "I don't have time for love, not when I'm focused, every waking moment, on trying to keep everyone I've ever cherished from dying!"

Maple seemed slightly confused, behind her now-fierce expression. "Liar —"

"Get off me, you blasted house cat," Myrkr snarled, trying again to push Maple off. Then she remembered the rune around her neck, looking like a decorative pendant. She grabbed it, hissed, "Luce," and a flash made everything white. She was ready for it, throwing Maple, who was not prepared for such a situation, off with difficulty. "You should have done what you'd originally had to do, Maple. You won't get another chance." Myrkr shifted into her cheetah form and ran off, leaving a half-blinded Maple growling in anger behind.

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September 6, 2017
Idea/vent, I suppose.