Night and Day

Night looked up at his mother, his royal blue eyes round in fear, almost looking like his pupils were dilated. “You must run, sweetie. You must,” Said his mother’s gentle voice, edged with a little fear as she surveyed her surroundings. “But why?” Night asked, rubbing his furry black head against his mother’s silky white leg. “Just run. Now!”

The little black tom ran as quickly as he could, the surroundings blurry he was running at such a speed. Why he was running, he did not know. Why his mother told him to leave, he did not know. What is going on here? He thought to himself, but continued running.

Night’s legs couldn’t take it any longer; he had ran about 2 ½ miles, and he was merely a kit. But the fear of what was going to happen had pushed him to go much farther then he normally would have been able to go. Heart pounding, legs aching, panting, the little black tom collapsed where he was, asleep.

Luckily the strong kit had made it to a safe place; unlike his mother…

Day screeched and bit the furry beast that was attacking her. “I won’t let you hurt anyone anymore!” She yowled at the top of her lungs before biting down into its neck. Blood flowed, red and sticky, from its neck into the white she-cat’s mouth. Gagging at the taste, she nearly let go, but immediately strengthened her grasp again.

After what seemed like an eternity, the large, furry beast fell to the ground, dead. “Finally,” Day heaved, “I have defeated Night.” She may have injuries and she may not make it, but she had saved her kit, Night.

Night woke up in a tree, under a blanket of leaves, with another cat just sitting there, watching him. Immediately he jumped up, claws unsheathed, hackles raised. “Calm down,” said an elderly voice, “I’m not going to hurt you.” For some reason, Night didn’t believe him. Maybe it was the… sarcastic edge to his voice?

Using his common sense, Night decided to not think the negatives of this cat, but still be precautious. “Well, thanks, but I really need to go now.” He said, jumping up and shaking the leaves off himself. “Huh, fine. Guess Day’s kit won’t make it, if he never learns to trust.” The dark gray tabby said sarcastically, returning to whatever the heck he was doing. “What? Day? Who’s that?” Night decided to play it cool, still not sure about this cat. Those royal blue orbs of his were narrowed in suspicion; how did this cat know all of this information? Surely his mother wouldn’t give out this kind of information to just anyone.

“Don’t play stupid with me,” The elderly cat humphed, “I know she’s your mother because I’m her father.” He said, finally turning to Night to see his reaction with an amused face. I’ll trust this cat… for now, he thought grudgingly. After all, he does have the same gray-blue eyes that are ringed with a forest like green. “Oh so I finally earned the mighty Night’s trust. By the way, I’m Silas.”

Silas… Silas. The name ringed a bell. “So…” Night tried to start a conversation, uncomfortable with the awkwardness in the air. “So what?” Silas asked, licking his paw, once again avoiding eye contact with the night black kitten. “Just trying to start some ‘small talk’.” Night growled to himself, but his eyes widened as he realized he said it aloud. “I’m going to go hunting. See you in about an hour.”

An hour… what am I supposed to do?! The tom had lost his patience with this cat. He missed his mother; she was sweet, fair, caring and this cat was sarcastic, impatient and rude. How is he related to her in any way?! I’ll go explore… maybe I’ll find my mom’s mother. He thought to himself snappishly, itching to get the frustration out of him.

As he walked out of the den, he had a look of distaste covering his normally happy face. “Ugh,” he complained, “this place is ugly as heck.” But he decided it was better than being cooped up in Silas’ stupid cave-den thing.

There were leaves and twigs scattered across the forest floor, along with the bulky tree roots. Hmm… what to do, what to do… The trees were big enough that the leaves covered some of the sun’s rays, providing a lot of shade. It would be hard to climb the trees without falling, so that’s a definite no. Plus he’d never learned to climb a tree.

Then he heard a noise… it sounded like something flowing and crashing violently, yet gracefully. A river! His eyes brightened up in excitement, he pricked his ears, trying to follow the sound. It got louder and louder if he continued going straight, but quieter and quieter if he went left or right.

Soon he found himself two ladybugs away from the river. The water was clear, fish jumping out of it. The sight of some prey made his mouth water, so he decided to try and catch some. Uh… I don’t know how to catch a fish. Oh, well! A black paw swatted at the silvery fish, batting it out of the water, sending the fish flying onto the swampy grass behind Night. The young kit ran and grabbed his catch, biting its neck until he felt the bone snap.

“Lucky catch,” Silas muttered, suddenly appearing behind his grandson. “That fish didn’t have the brains of a darned grasshopper.” Night’s tail whisking back and forth in irritation was Silas’s only response, but Silas, as usual, was amused by his grandson’s annoyance of him and snorted. “Let’s get back to the den.”

Night bit down into the fish flesh, but was surprised by the slippery flavor. Silas noted Night’s expression, so to make Silas mad, he acted like he was enjoying every bite; he took as long as possible, savoring each and every bite. “Sheesh, I heard of enjoying your dinner, but seriously…” Night couldn’t help it anymore. He burst out, laughing. Silas’ ears curled back. Silas’ reaction just made Night laugh even harder, which resulted in him lying on his back, laughing his heart out.

Once Night had gotten over his fit, he realized something. How long had he been with Silas, an hour or two? The tom had influenced him in that little time. Shaking the disturbing thoughts out of his head, he sat down across from Silas, a fire flickering in between them. Through the golden flames he could still make out the dark gray cat with lighter more silver-like stripes. “Yes?” Night asked with a smirk. Did Silas really think he was going to forget that that easily? “Shut it! This is important.”

“Your mother, Day, has been attacked and killed by a beast—“ Silas got cut off by Night. “What?! No! I should’ve stayed!” He growled, mostly to himself. “Let. Me. Finish! She would’ve been angered if you’d stayed. You wouldn’t have lived. Her life goal was for you to live. You’re a miracle, Night.” Night was having trouble comprehending this. But how could he easily accept it? I mean… “Wha? How? That’s not true. This isn’t funny.” Night growled, glaring at the tabby tom in front of him. “It is. I know it’s hard to believe, trust me. You were named after the most evil creature, but he was strong, and your mother wanted you to be strong. Night is also your father.” Night just sat there, waiting for Silas to finish. The elderly cat got the hint, and continued, “I’m also a Miracle. Your mother knew where you would go. She’s had this planned out forever. I’m supposed to teach you to use your powers.” Night didn’t know what was going on… this must be a dream! How could it be true?! “I’ll, uh, leave you alone now…” Silas said, exiting the room and heading into his.

How… that was all he could think of. One word. “How.” He repeated it during the night, getting no sleep.