The Worst Friend

It was daylight, the sun stood proudly in the sky sharing its luscious light to begin the new day. Wildlife and insects alike rewarded the sun with lively music, a mixture of clicks, ticks, whistling and mewls. Most of the darkness retreated to hide among the shadows, the inhabitants of this valley crawled from where they slept to take in the natural beauty of the landscape.

"Isn't it beautiful?" A young girl beamed, swinging her little paws gracefully from the tree she sat on ten feet above the ground. Two little kittens stretched and yawned as they crept from their little mound of dirt, shaking any dust and pebbles from their fur. One of them followed the sun before rubbing her little eyes with her paws, mewling in a soft tone similar to a cute sigh. Both girls began to stretch and grow, the fur on their body failing to keep up to their enhanced size as it retreated into smooth skin. Their eyes stayed the same along with their paws and ears, however from their more humanoid figure their tail split into two, each one waving without pattern.

The first cat was of a light mocha brown fur, growing into the oldest sibling of the family as she stretched her paws up high.

"Syri, what are you doing up there? You're going to be in so much trouble if Mommy sees you." Dimyri said, reaching out in a vain attempt for her baby sister. "Turn back and jump."

Syri looked down and jumped off, transforming as she descended from a child to a soft, white furry kitten. Dimyri caught her in her arms as Syri mewed and pawed the air in delight. Their middle sister, Nityri, yawned and rubbed her eyes once she turned into her humanoid form. As Dimyri carried Syri and walked out to join the rest of the clutter, Nityri raised her brown paw to shield her eyes from the sun. She squinted, making out the details as best as her feline eyes could manage.

"I think it-it's pretty." Her friend Na'Vi mentioned, standing next to her. When Nityri noticed, her eyes grew and she turned to her friend with concern.

"What's wrong?" She asked, it was clear from the bags in her eyes that her friend hadn't slept that night. Any hint of exhaustion evacuated from her at once as she noticed the irregular breathing pattern of her friend, almost like hiccups as she struggled to speak.

"It's Ma-Mom, she didn't co-come ba-ack." She mumbled, hanging her head as she reached for a hug. Nityri responded, holding her tight and patting her back. "She goes longer each-each time."

"I'm sorry, let's ask Mom. She'll know what to do." Na'Vi nodded as Nityri pulled her away, heading back into their tiny home in the ground.

"Sorry," She gasped, "I didn't meant to make today awful."

"Never, it's just the sunrise. There is always tomorrow."

---

KuliKuli exhaled loudly, pressing her paw to her chest and looking up into the missing brick in the wall facing her. A small window to the outdoors revealed the blue hue of the night sky, it made her uneasy how quiet the night was. Had it always been this calm, this mute? Where Felix lived, she could always make out the moo's of the many cows they tended to, or the sheep or the horses and chickens they had around. In Janette's house, her cat ears would twich every time she heard the cheerful chirp of a nestled bird or the ringing noises from the grasshoppers echoing around, or the rare ribbit from a frog or two outside the window.

But here in the tower, it felt as if the jungle was dead. Nothing sang around here, everything was either gone or hiding. It felt as if a sick evil presence was around and all wildlife was deathly afraid of catching its attention.

"It's sooo quiet." Her voice shook as she heard herself for the first time in hours. She had given up struggling and shouting once fatigue began to settle in. Her muscles ached, her joints felt sore and she had begun to fall ill during her imprisonment with an upset stomach. She held her breath as her stomach growled and twisted suddenly.

"Jeez, I can hear that echo down the hall."

KuliKuli gasped, scooting against the wooden door and whispering rather loudly. "Wolfy?"

"Not yet, the moon tonight isn't quite full." Reta responded, leaning her head back as she too slumped against the door in her own prison.

"It's nice to hear from you." She smiled, feeling a warmth surround her in this cold isolated cave of a room. "I thought I would be alone tonight. I haven't been alone in a long time."

"When you do, you get use to it. There's a comfort to being alone sometimes. Helps me clear my head. When you live in nothing but noise, you want the emptiness to hear yourself think again. Helps me cope."

"Oh, do you miss being alone?" She asked, wondering how she would respond.

Reta snickered and shook her head. "It's funny you ask, the loneliness was only missed when I was alone. When the moon was bright, it would help me see through my problems better than the sun when everyone else was around. I liked that, the idea of being alone. But when I was alone, I would start to wonder why? I was an idiot, Baka, a small girl who didn't recognuze her feelings and emotions. Every small issue felt bigger, looking pretty meant the world to me. Getting a boy's attention was a priority amongst washing clothes and preparing meals. I look back and I wonder, was that really me before? But then again, I look at myself today and wonder how did you become a lone wolf when you fought desperately to avoid it?"

"You're not alone Wolfy, you have us!" KuliKuli's voice said in a cheery high pitched tone.

Reta scoffed. "Yea, I tried to steal your boyfriend from you when we met."

"Boy-friend?"

"Sorry, your mate." Reta corrected, rolling her eyes.

"Ah. You can borrow him, but he's mine."

"Arigatō haha, I am going to hold you to that."

"You better." KuliKuli giggled, tapping the door with her paw enough to create a thud. "He's mine but you can have your fun too."

Reta bobbed her head back, banging the door just hard enough to nudge. The hinges were rusty and squeaked under the trembling effect along the aged wood, slowing down before going still just as it was before.

Reta sighed as she forced a curioue thought out of her mind and into words. "I shouldn't bite the hand that feeds me, but why let me use him? You're not worried I could take him for myself?"

"You're beautiful, and he does love you too."

"He does?" She heard Reta's voice crack then, bringing a subtle grin to her face.

"Of course, he loves you in a different way. You're our friend, he loves you like that. He loves making you happy, bringing a light in your eyes and seeing you for being you."

"Gross, not my style. Nevermind, he's all yours."

"Your loss, I know you like him back. He would never hurt you. He loves you too much for that, we all do."

"Agh, if you're trying to push my nerves..."

"I'm not." KuliKuli giggled as she could hear her friend shuffling her feet along the smooth stone floor. "We're lovers, it's what we are inside."

"I've tried to love. It didn't end well."

"To love is something. To be loved is something. But to love and be loved is everything."

Reta smiled and shook her head, laughing. "You are full of annoying words, kitty. I like that."

"Thanks hehe."

Reta cleared her throat, closing her eyes to inhale. "Aisuru koto wa nanimo arimasen. Aisareru koto wa nanika ga arimasu. Demo, aisurukoto to aisareru koto wa subete desu."

"What?"

"It's what you said about love, but in my language."

"Your language sounds funny."

"Pfft, thanks." Reta smiled, leaning back. "For what it matters, I'm glad to have met you kitty. It's nice having a... a friend."

"Thank you, for calling me a friend. I knew I could convince you." KuliKuli chuckled.

"I got tired of your whining, that's all. A wolf and a cat, what a pair." Reta laughed along with her, smiling and looking outward as the moon peeked through their little window, a sliver of light sneaking into their dark cells. As the silence remained too long for comfort, Reta sat up and scooted along to be at the center of the room where the moonlight shined brightest. KuliKuli could hear her friend take a deep breath, her heart pumping at a higher rate indicating nervousness. For a moment she feared for her friend and stood up on her paws, but what came next shocked her to a state of speechlessness.

Norowa Reta had started to sing.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=LlxzscUUgL8

It began with a soft humming, the beginning of a lullaby almost through its gentle tone slowly rising in volume. Against her rough demeanor, Reta's voice had always held a high pitched tone in her calm days, in fact KuliKuli sometimes wondered if she deepened her voice as a way to intimidate others, a sort of pretend image of a rough woman. But her singing proved to carry her natural voice, a beautiful sound belonging to a traditional singer, the kind you would find worthy of a performance for many to witness. Words had accompanied her melody, the tone of voice varying from high to low, all in her own language.

Numerous guards traded looks of surprise as they could hear singing passing down the murky brick walls. From the lower floors, many Nekomata's opened their eyes as their cat ears twitched, their fur softening at the relaxing tune of the melody. Some even began to mewl, despite their hypnotic state as apparent by the eerie pink glow of stone attached to their collars, they began to sing back in their own way.

And from an unknown position within the tower, a hunter spun around in awe as he listened to this native folk song, a beautiful melody carried with a subtle hint of sorrow within.

Moments later, Reta cleared her throat and scooted back into the corner closest to where her friend was, her knees pressed against her breasts as she folded her arms on them to hide her face.

"Ringo Oiwake, something to soften your hearts. It was my Mother's favorite song, she sang it when she was little and when the village was having difficulties... and now I'm here."

KuliKuli smiled wide, feeling a most awkward blend of emotions struggling inside. Hanging her head enough for her hair to drop down, she felt a tear roll down her face as she giggled in delight.

"Thank you, Norowa Reta. You're a good friend."

Reta closed her eyes, grinning back. "The worst."

"The absolute worst." The kitty agreed, both girls giggling together to end the night.