The Silent Forest [Closed; Chrissy]

[Bluebird]

It was dark.

Nyika stirred in the frosted alleyways of Traverse Town, shivering from the cold and sudden horrible feeling that she had lost something great. Pulling the hood from her head, she looked about herself, sighing in relief when she spotted the crumpled mass of her sister a pawsbreadth away. She blinked her eyes, slit pupils dilating as they tried to focus. There was snow on the ground while flakes drifted around her. When was it last snowing? She drew a paw across the dusted cobblestones, making a short path as she tried to think but there was no answer. Shivering again, Nyika wrapped her cloak tighter about herself, continuing to examine her surroundings. This was not the same forest that she remembered herself to be in; surrounded by snow and stones and soft lights that seemed to hover in the air. Where were they?

It was quiet, too. She hadn't noticed it in her initial confusion, but that constant ghostly wail that plagued her ears had ceased, leaving a hollow absence she never thought she would miss. It was unnerving.

Leaning over her sister, Nyika shook the curled figure beneath the cloak.

"Kali," she whispered.

No answer.

"Kali," she said again, louder. Stooping low, she ducked her head in her sister's hood and licked the bridge of her nose. Kali stirred. Keeping her head inside the hood, Nyika spoke in an urgent whisper.

"Something's wrong."

[Deleted]

Underneath the hood, Kali stirred, a small shiver wracking her body. Upon hearing her sister's voice, her eyes fluttered open, and she blinked her eyes a few times, trying to clear up her sight.

The warmth of another was near her, and she looked up, seeing her sister poking her head inside her hood. Her ears flicked in questioning, and she sat up, shaking some loose hair out of her eyes. As she sat, there was something cold, and she jumped, her backside having gotten wet from the snow. Pulling her cloak tighter, she looked around to see why there was snow in the forest... Then realized this wasn't the forest.

"Nyika... What's going on? Why aren't we in the forest?"

Her sister would be able to hear the fear on Kali's voice, and she backed up against a wall, looking around in horror at the new scene. The cobblestone and buildings confused her, and she didn't like it.

[Bluebird]

"I don't know," Nyika said, pulling herself out of her sister's hood to glance about. She rested on bended knees, the fur on her legs keeping them warm despite the snow she sat in.

It worried her that Kali was afraid, and with her shoulders hunched and her eats pinned back, Nyika cowered in her place, making herself as small as possible.

She remembered the attack, the huge black insects that had hunted them after they had been driven from their tribe. Her body was sore from running and cuts and scratches ached in a fiery burn. To her surprise, it actually felt good to find themselves in such a cold climate, where the frigid temperature eased their swellings. She shivered. It was still cold, though.

There didn't seem to be any insects about, and they were still alive. How they had gotten here, though, she couldn't say. It was a strange new land, and the absence of that constant ghostly wail of a dying lifestream made a hollow void in her ears. Swiveling her ears forward, Nyika listened, but there was not much noise. Whatever this place was, there did not seem to be many plants or animals about. The lifestream, though, that had a voice. Many voices, it seemed, hundreds of them, all talking over one another like a crowded gathering in the middle of a heated debate. Without that ghostly wail, Nyika even imagined it to be pleasant to listen to.

"But listen," Nyika said, turning her head to Kali. She cocked her head, her eyes searching the heavens as she sat deep in thought. "It's quiet, and the lifestream ... it sounds different. As though it's no longer in pain..."

[Deleted]

Kali looked around one last time before going next to Nyika, getting down to her level and hugging her. As she began to focus on the lifestream, she heard the healthy whispers, something that was odd. They had never heard anything but wails and cries of the dying world. This one... It was more like a peaceful song, a collective of harmony. It was new to Kali, and listening to it let her relax from her previous state. She hummed softly while listening to it, then shook her head, snapping back into reality.

"This lifestream... This isn't the one from our world... Nyika, something's not right. How could we be taken away from our world?

Another shiver wracked her. They would need to get inside to be warm soon.

[Bluebird]

Strong arms wrapped around Nyika, squeezing the young kitteh girl and distracting her from her thoughts. She bent her head, her forehead touching Kali's, listening to her sister hum in a harmonious tune with the lifestream. It was peaceful, and Nyika could feel her eyelids droop.

She started at Kali's sudden words. Not of their world? What did she mean by that? But as Nyika continued to listen, missing the ghostly wail, the melody contradictive to what she knew and was accustomed to, somehow, she knew Kali was right. This lifestream was foreign to her, alien, and she felt as though she didn't belong.

"I don't know," she repeated, whispering. Kali shivered and Nyika did too, but it was not one brought by cold. Something terrible had happened. That much Nyika was sure. Leaning forward, the kitteh girl placed both paws on the snow dusted cobblestones, then laid her head flat on the ground, one ear pressed against the stones. Her cheek was cold but she ignored it. Closing her eyes, Nyika sighed, then tried to speak to the planet's lifestream.

("Where are we?")

[Deleted]

Kali soon joined her sister on the ground, brushing a patch of snow away and trying to listen to the Lifestream through the ground. And hear something she did, though it was very faint. She lifted her head in confusion, then put her ear down to listen again.

"Nyika... I think this stone is preventing us from hearing it. This is weird... The ground isn't natural, though. There's no life in it at all... Could it be solid stone?"

She sat up, her legs underneath her, and looked around. Stone everywhere, from the weird huts to the ground...

She scooted next to her sister, and wrapped her cloak around the timid Kitteh, with a smile.

"It might not be our home... But at least we've still got each other, right? Plus, the Lifestream isn't as volatile as before."

[Bluebird]

Raising her head, Nyika frowned. What was wrong? Didn't the Lifestream want to speak to her? Had she offended it with her presence, with her attempt at communication? She wrapped her arms around her legs, hugging them tight against her body as Kali offered a theory.

Solid stone, Nyika bit the inside of her lip, her eyes taking note of their surroundings. It was so quiet, as though there was not much life around at all. Growing up in the forest had made her accustomed to the constant cries of nature. To be subjected to so much silence was unnerving.

She was quiet as Kali wrapped her cloak around her, warming her slightly in the frigid temperatures. The longer they stayed out in the snow, the colder they'd be. They needed to make a fire, or seek shelter. Shelter first; a fire would attract unwanted eyes. Glowing, yellow eyes that belonged to creatures with sharp teeth and deadly claws. Nyika's body wracked in a terrible shudder.

Leaning against her sister, she closed her eyes, loosing a single tear that left a freezing trail down her cheek. She was right. They did have each other, and the Lifestream wasn't as volatile, if conflictive and faint. From what she could hear, it didn't sound as though it belonged to just one voice. She wondered what it meant.

"I'm cold," she said, shivering.

[Deleted]

"I know, Nyika. I am, too. Maybe one of these weird huts empty..."

She untied her cloak and placed it over her sister, before looking around to make sure no one was around. Then she ran into the square, and then to the houses, peeking in the windows briefly as she did so, stealthily. As she returned to Nyika, she had a small smile, and took her sister's hand.

"They're all empty, and seemingly uninhabited. Let's go inside and make a fire."

She led her sister to one of the houses, and pulled a small piece of metal from her pouch, inserting it into the lock. After a few careful seconds, she heard a "click" and the door opened. She ushered her sister in, followed, and shut the door. With a small shiver, she looked around, bewildered.

"Whoever or whatever lives here is sure odd... Do you see a fire pit anywhere?"

[Bluebird]

"Kali," Nyika hissed, pulling her double layer of cloaks tighter around herself. "I don't think this is a good idea."

Yet despite it all she allowed herself to be ushered in, standing by the threshold as her sister scouted out the hut. She had to admit it was warm inside, and being out of the snow and cold was soothing to her nerves and her skin.

Huffing a nervous sigh, she figured she might as well make the best of it, and began scoping out the hut along with her sister. Potions and shards were arranged on shelves, weapons, too, but they all seemed too extravagant and difficult to use for Nyika's sake. She'd stick with her dagger, but she didn't see one that called out to her. Her tail started swishing as she looked over the wares. She had to admit they were very pretty.

Amidst her searching she came across a huge firepit, the embers emitting a warm glow. It took up a rather good portion of the room and for a moment she wondered how they could have missed it.

"Kali," Nyika called, turning her head and spotting the dead wood set in a pile nearby. Grabbing a few logs, she placed them on the embers, then turned to take in the entirety of the room. "I think this is supposed to be some sort of alchemist's shop."

[Deleted]

The phrase "curiosity killed the cat" would come to mind as Kali explored the shop, looking at the various shards, and she pocketed ones that caught her eyes. Then, after a bit of exploration, she joined her sister near the fire, warming her cold paws next to it.

"Interesting... Well, we know they can at least make weapons and such... But where are we? The Lifestream sounds different, it's unfamiliar... Could this be another world? I'm so confused..."

She looked around again, out the window to the snowstorm that was going on. It was one of the more intense ones she had seen, and though it was cold and wet, she found the weather phenomena... Beautiful. With a smile, she rested her head on Nyika's shoulder.

[Bluebird]

As the fire grew in size and Nyika's body warmed along with the rest of the hut, she found herself in deep contemplation. Another world… How could it be possible? Why would Kali suggest something so ludicrous? Yet she could not deny the strange voice of the lifestream, one she could not recognize, argumentative and conflicted as it was. It was different, too different. Could it be true?

Kali's head had a soothing weight on her shoulder. Nyika turned her own, licking her sister's cheek in affection. Despite everything that had happened being in a warm place with her sister was comforting, and her woes ebbed with the chill. Bringing a paw to her face, she rubbed at her eyes, drooping from exhaustion and fatigue. It had been a long night, and without the lifestream's usual screams of anguish, perhaps she could find a good night's rest for once in her life. Nyika couldn't remember the last time she was able to sleep through the night.

Moving away from the fire, Nyika found herself at the window pane of the alchemist's shop, looking out onto the strange clearing lit with soft lanterns. Snow fell in heavy flakes, coating the ground in a blanket of white. So different from what she knew and loved. There were no trees, no bushes, just white snow and stone. Perhaps Kali was right. Perhaps they really did find themselves in a new world.

From the corner of her eye there was a flash of light. Turning her head, Nyika watched as a girl with bright white wings stood at the threshold of another stone hut. The girl took two steps before unfurling her wings and lifted off from the ground.

"Kali, look. A birdeh," she said, beckoning her sister to her side. Together they watched the winged girl fight the blizzard's gale, the strong winds buffeting her about until one of her wings curled up beneath her. Nyika hissed in a wince as she watched the girl plummet to the ground, her wing bending at an awkward angle. She could almost hear the snap of bones. There the girl laid in the snow grieving, and Nyika felt an intense desire to go to her side and provide comfort and healing. Just as she was about to turn away, though, more movement caught her eye.

It was a boy with cat ears and a tail, so very like their own, with a fiery bird and a magnificent cat creature at his side. Her heart quickened in her chest as she gazed at him, admiring his soft features from afar. Who was he? She had never seen him before.

Nyika watched in curiosity as they went to the poor, crumpled birdeh, the kitteh boy sitting atop a fiery steed. All four of them hovered around the broken girl for some time until the kitteh boy picked her up and rushed off to sanctuary. Nyika put her hands on the window, pressing her face against the cool glass as she watched them go. A frown grew on her face; she had missed her chance. Who was that girl, and that boy who followed her? Nyika needed to know, but she had hesitated too late and now they were gone. Maybe she and Kali could track them before their prints disappeared into the snow…

"We have to follow them," Nyika said, turning to her sister. Removing the cloak Kali had given her, Nyika offered it back and made for the exit.

[Deleted]

Unlike her sister, Kali was leaning more towards the side of passing to the realm of sleep. To her, the gentle lifestream was a lullaby, a low whisper of voices that coaxed her to dream, to join the realm of the imagination. Kali's arms curled around one of her sister's as Nyika licked her cheek in affection. A low purr sounded from her throat, and she came so close to passing into the void of sleep, until Nyika decided to get up. She rubbed her eyes in protest, sitting straight and stretching, before she joined her sister at the window, curious as to what had caught Nyika's attention.

The sight of the birdeh girl was enough to rouse Kali from her exhausted state, and she wiped some moisture from the window to get a better look at the girl. She let out a small gasp when the birdeh crashed, and had a longing urge to go and help the girl. For some reason, Kali found herself looking for the birdeh's voice in the lifestream, but to no avail. A feeling of pity for the winged girl filled her, and she almost turned to leave, until the movement caught her eye.

She saw the boy with the cat ears and tail, as well as his animal companions. She pressed her paws to the window, and watched in wonder as he helped the girl out of the snow and into safety.

That was another kitteh... We're not alone here.

Suddenly, Kali was aware that her sister had placed her cloak on her again, and as she turned, she saw her sister getting ready to leave. She opened her mouth in protest, to say they would never catch up with them, when a trapdoor opened to their right. Kali froze as a strange creature popped it's head through, with an expression of shock.

"Thieves, kupo. Get them!"

Without hesitation, Kali was out the door from which they had came in, and she knew Nyika wasn't far behind. She took but a split second to look around, then saw some boxes she could use to jump onto a rooftop with. with quick strides, she jumped, landed atop the box, then bent and sprang upward, her claws extending as she clung to the rooftop. After she dragged herself up, she watched Nyika do the same, and grabbed her by the arm, swinging her up.

Then, she looked around.

"I think that other kitteh and the birdeh went... That way!"

She pointed in the general direction of another district, and gave Nyika a short look before she started walking in that direction, careful not to fall off the snow-covered roofs. Her footpads muffled any noise she made when walking, and she kept an eye out for the creatures that had caught them, though she had only had a fleeting glance.

And, as she walked, her thoughts went back to the winged girl, and she secretly hoped she was alright. She couldn't tell Nyika how she felt about those things, not yet... It wasn't natural. And it could definitely wait. Right now, they had to see if the birdeh and kitteh were okay.