Pretend

Something shook the tower as a thunderous noise echoed through the dim halls from one floor to the next. Dust rained down upon three individuals who softly slept in their cages once until the explosion below scared them up. Reta threw herself upward, Na'Vi yelled and pushed herself against the back wall, and KuliKuli lept up on all fours as her tails appeared stiff as two hard poles.

"What was that!" Na'Vi cried out, her paws holding her head from each side.

"That was new." Reta responded in a soft voice, sounding more intrigued rather than alarmed.

Na'Vi didn't react quite so well, her fur standing on its end. "It's unpleasant, like when he found us."

KuliKuli gasped, feeling her body go numb as the explosion shook something within her. Her vision went dark without warning, for a moment she was lost in a vast darkness, cold and wet and forgotten. Something happened to her, something hurt her deeply inside her core. A feeling of immense regret and guilt combined made it incredibly difficult for her to breath. She remembered it was raining, that's what tickled her fur and skin.

Yes, it was raining hard... and it was windy, and she was alone. Lost and alone, with no where to go. That's when she heard it, that explosion of light in the black sky frightened her and made her curl up and cry. It reminded her of how far she had gone away, the memories of being subdued by those shiny hoo-mans, feeling that collar forced upon her and feeling so tight on her neck it was almost suffocating. Her memory felt like a nightmare relived in small fragments, but what broke her down into a mess of tears was the one order she obeyed from him. It echoed in his voice.

Show me where your clutter lives.

No, it wasn't her choice, she didn't mean to. Nityri shook her head and ran forward into the emptiness of wherever she found herself in, her only clues was the sloppy splat of mud and grass each time she ran forward. Cat vision is ideal for seeing into the night clear as day, but each time lightning would emerge the black sky would fill with a flash of white and Nityri would find herself rubbing her aching eyes for the next two minutes.

She felt something against her paw, fragile and trembling in its structure, she didn't care. Whatever it was, she took advantage of its shelter and crawled through the open window. Inside, she could see many gardening tools, hoes and rakes and the like were rattling against the nails they hung on, the image serving as a constant reminder of what had been done to her. Her heart was pounding furiously, her lungs gasping for air as hyperventilation began. She shrunk in size, changing into her cat form and cowering under a wooden stool, eyes frantically looking around as this shed continuously groaned and wiggled under the storm. Then a piercing white light erased her vision once more, and then the shelter collapsed.

"NO!" KuliKuli yelled, closing her eyes and covering her cat ears. "N-Na'Vi! Help me!"

Na'Vi gasped and pushed against the wall closest to her friend, feeling her skin grow cold as she could hear her panic on the other side. "Nityri, Nityri is that you?"

"Na'Vi!?" She shook and fell to the floor, was that Nityri who answered or herself? No no, it's happening again, not right now! It's KuliKuli, right? What am I, I don't know! "I'm sorry I ran away, it was my fault!"

"KuliKuli, listen to me now!" Reta shouted from her own cell. Both cat girls froze as Reta continued. "Stop yelling, clear your head and think of something pleasant."

"I can't-"

"Shut up and you will! You're not going to change on me and be the scared little pussycat I took you for!"

"Oh gosh... I betrayed my friends, I sold out my family-"

"That wasn't your fault!" Na'Vi interjected, "You were under his control, nobody could blame you for that! You didn't do that to us, he did."

"I don't know who I am anymore, am I more KuliKuli or more Nityri?"

"Look, I don't know who Nityri is. But the cat girl I remember stood up for her lover when they were threatened. She gave a wolf a chance even when that wolf refused her friendship! She gave her a chance." Reta replied in quick haste.

Soft whimpering, they could not see her but hoped for the best. For a moment they felt at their worse, when...

"Wo... Wolfy."

Reta broke into a smile. "Yes, yes that's me! That's it KuliKuli. Remember when we went into the market together? Just you and me and Felix and Janette. Remember when your family found us, how you protected Janette when she was attacked?"

"You fought me for your friends when w-we were strangers." Na'Vi's voice cracked. "You didn't care if I could beat you, you just cared about keeping your friende safe."

"Even when your cheery attitude was annoying, even though I hated how happy you looked with him."

Na'Vi touched her head against the wall. "You were always so optimistic and happy, it made it hard to be mad."

"That's you, and if you're still not convinced then just think about your milkman named Felix."

"Wolfy!" KuliKuli gasped.

"Oh shut up and don't play innocent with me! Wolf ears are great at hearing too!"

Na'Vi scoffed and leaned her back along the wall, so she does still have feelings for the man. What does she see in him that makes him so special? Was it the sex? Was it the nature of coupling between a man and a woman? Was it his lean build and naivety?

That's right, she hardly took the time to know him. Instead, she endlessly challenged him, mocked him for his weaknesses and belittled his efforts and contributions. He took her love away, but he also saved her. When she was lost, she had the fortune of finding a man who cared for her, fed her and even... even teach her how to survive. That's... but humans aren't supposed to be nice, that's how she interpreted it. Humans are ambitious and selfish, they take what they want and run away, leaving the world in a flithy state, abandoning a little Nekomata with no mother to care for her.

"Na'Vi?" She held still as KuliKuli's voice whispered to her. "Are you okay?"

"I... it's you I should be asking. You were having an episode."

"I was... I'm scared. But I just remembered... I never spoke with you about this."

"There isn't much to really talk about. You chose him, I just need to get over it."

"Na'Vi, that wasn't-"

"It wasn't you, I know. I just... I know."

The sound in her tone, it felt like a dagger grazed her heart. KuliKuli slumped to the floor, how was this happening to her? How was she doing this...

It's okay you never loved her, I never loved Felix either. But unlike me, you get to have your pretend fantasy still. So you pretend you are someone else. You break me bit by bit everyday, stepping on what I was just to prove that you're not me. You'll hurt Felix just like you hurt Na'Vi, you know it's true. Do you know much she is hurting everyday since she found us? It's the only thing I can see in her eyes everytime they meet ours. You may ignore it but I can't.

"That's not fair."

No, it isn't. It's beyond being fair, I lost my life so that you can live yours. And just to see it end the same way mine did! Stop killing us. Stop hurting Na'Vi, please. Just lie for my sake and tell her it will be okay.

"But it will be, it has to be."

"What has to be?" Na'Vi asked, lifting her head.

Nityri's voice went silent, leaving KuliKuli with a welcoming sound of silence and clarity. KuliKuli shook her head and forced herself to smile. "Hey, we can talk about it later if we make it out."

"When we make it out." KuliKuli added as a loud annoying groan echoed from the other cell.

"There's that damn attitude of yours again." Reta muttered, banging her head against the wall. Suddenly, she jumped to her feet as they could hear the door squeak loudly. "Someone's coming!"

Both Nekomata's held their breath as a parade of stomping feet grew louder until arriving at their location.

"What are those imbeciles thinking, that kind of blast will bury us alive!"

The cell door twitched and croaked as the bolt was undone and the metal door was pushed open, revealing Perdilius and his men glaring down at KuliKuli.

"Little beast, let us commence with our ritual."

"This doesn't feel right." Dimyri muttered under her breath, feeling the air around her growing cold. Her soft warm hands grazed along the icy brick wall next to her, with a lack of vision this would substitute for that. She could hear the soft whimpers from behind as her clutter gently scooted with her. Judging by their irregular breaths it seemed they too were just as frightened.

One such Nekomata yelped and fell back, causing most of the other girls to scream and shake. Dimyri felt her heart nearly jump out, spinning around to find herself facing multiple pairs of glowing cat eyes looking at each other. The sight was enough for her to lose her footing, hitting her head against the wall as her body slid down to a sitting position.

One Nekomata moved in with her paws stretched out, trembling slightly as they hovered around her head and back. Dimyri hissed and rubbed her head, shaking her head side to side. Two of the Nekomata's offered their tails, pulling her by her arms and brushing her arms and back.

"I'm fine, thank you." Dimyri said, feeling a soft bump in her scalp. It burned when she felt around for it, she imagined it would swell up like a balloon and pop before shaking the silly thought from her head. "I can't see a thing in here, I think we should turn back. Going in blind leaves us vulnerable to attack."

Like hide and seek, you don't want to move around in an environment unfamiliar to you unless you have no other choice. Stick to what benefits you in order to advance. That was the advice both her mother and Alma shared when she was younger. With her head high, she calmly began walking the way she came from.

When she bumped and nearly fell over one of her friends, and suddenly she heard the other girls look over and gasp simultaneously.

"What is it, what's wrong?" Dimyri asked, picking herself up while holding on to the Nekomata she nearly pushed over. "It's okay to be scared but I'm blind here, you know? I don't want to step on someone's... tail..."

The Nekomata stared back at Dimyri with a cold face and an empty glare, as visible from the pink light glowing from her collar.

"Oh no." Dimyri looked back to catch sight of a couple dozen pink lights staring from the black void ahead.