Outcasts

Chapter twelve

“Why out of both of us, do I have to get sick?” Storm grumbled.

                “Your pelt is longer and a lot thicker than mine. It probably took longer to dry off.” Fox answered. Storm sniffled.

                “Curse your short fur.” He mumbled. “What about Bianco? He was out there twice as long as us” He asked.

                “Maybe he just got lucky.” Fox said.

                “But his fur is as long as mine!” He wailed.

                “You’re unpleasant when you are sick.” Fox said and walked over to Angel. She was sorting through a pile of leaves and twigs. “What are you doing?” He asked.

                “I am picking out something that will help Storm get over his cold.” She answered without looking up at him.

                “Are we still going to be able to leave in a couple of hours?” Fox asked.

                “Yes, we shouldn’t have to wait for him to get better when it’s his own fault he got sick.” Fox flinched at her harsh words.  

                “I’m sorry I lied.” Fox said.

                “Ok.” She said and walked away. Fox sighed. He hated the way things were going between him and Angel. He just wished that things were like they were before. He turned around to see Scar smirking at him.

                “What are you looking at?” Fox snapped.

                “Nothing.” Scar answered innocently and looked in the opposite direction. Fox slouched over to where Bianco and Jellicle were sitting.

                “Are you going to be ok to leave this morning?” Fox asked Bianco. Jellicle looked questioningly at Bianco, then at Fox.

                “What was wrong with him?” He asked. Fox forgot that Jellicle didn’t know and hissed under his breath at his stupidity.

                “Nothing is wrong with him. I was just asking his opinion.” Fox said calmly. Jellicle nodded and got up.

                “Ok, I’ll talk to you later.” He said and walked away.

                “Sorry.” Fox said. Bianco wafted a paw at him to signal that it was ok.

                “In answer to your question, yes I will be ok to leave soon. I’m just angry that Storm got sick and not me.” Bianco said.

                “It wasn’t your fault, you weren’t to know that anyone would get sick. You had other things to worry about.” Fox comforted him.

                “Yeah I guess.” He said.

                “Anyway, Storm was getting away with too much. It was about time life caught up with him.” Fox added. Bianco smiled then frowned. “What’s wrong?” Fox asked.

                “Don’t you think this is too easy?” He answered. Fox tilted his head.

                “What do you mean, easy? Have you forgotten what we have gone through these couple of days?” Fox asked.

                “No I haven’t, but all we have to do is climb over the mountain to get to a place of serenity. Doesn’t it seem easy?” Fox thought about what he said. It wasn’t exactly a challenging journey, why would the humans not inhabit it in the first place?

                “Can I interrupt?” Bonzo asked. Fox nodded and allowed him into the conversation. “I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but have you ever climbed a mountain before?” He asked.

                “No.” Bianco admitted. Fox shook his head.

                “Climbing a mountain is not that easy. At the top is so cold it would probably kill us in less than two minutes. It’s still colder on the sides of the mountain, which is what we will be climbing. The rocks are so sharp they could cut through even my paws. And it’s not just one mountain we are climbing, it’s several.”

                “Several?” fox repeated

                “How do you know this?” Bianco asked cautiously. Bonzo met Bianco’s gaze.

                “Because I have been there before.” He answered simply. His reply was met with silence.

                “What?” Fox asked shocked. Bonzo opened his mouth to explain himself when he was interrupted.

                “Fox!” Jazz called. Fox sat up and ran over to her.

                “What’s wrong?” He asked. Jazz pointed to outside.

                “It’s snowing!” She said. “I’ve never seen snow before!” Fox padded to the cave entrance to see that the snow was falling at a fast rate and if they didn’t move soon, they would get stuck for even longer.

                “We need to go now.” He told everyone. They got up and came over to the entrance and one by one left the cave and made their way up the mountain.