Spirit Life: Chapter 1 -RD-

Chapter 1
The More the Merrier

     "So, do you understand?"
     "Huh?" A grey tabby cat asked blankly, spacing out, looking at the huge brown longhair tabby. He flattened his ears, and looked up at him with wide, innocent yellow eyes. "Ummmm.. no?" Suddenly he was on his side, barley stalks flattening under his bulk. He swiveled his ears back, looking indignant. He was on his feet in a moment, barely avoiding another cuff from the longhair's huge tawny paws.
     "Damnit Kaito, when I tell you something I expect you to listen! The rabbit that leaps too quickly from his nest, is the first to be eaten." The huge longhair towered over him, easily four times larger than Kaito, his two tails lashing in hostility, the barley waving from the force of it. Kaito rolled his eyes, earning another cuff from the Nekomata.
     Kaito growled, and wrinkled his nose nose at him. "The day that I listen to your boring lectures is the day that you get a girlfriend." He meowed with a grin, leaping back to avoid the tabby's tackle. "I mean, look at yourself, Takeshi! Tall, brown, handsome, what kind of female Nekomata WOULDN'T want to date you!" He laughed gaily, dodging Takeshi again.
     It was Takeshi's turn to be indignant. "This isn't just a lecture. This is the history of what I am, and of what you may become!" He glared at Kaito's one tail, grey tabby with a black tip, until Kaito licked his white furred chest in discomfort.
     "So what? You said you would protect me until you die, for whatever reason you have. And that won't be any time soon - you still have eight lives! And it's not like I can learn any of what you can do - I'm just a cat!" He jumped back skittishly after saying that, not wanting another cuff from Takeshi's huge tawney paws, as it felt like hitting his head against a tree.
     "Just a cat." Takeshi mocked, not moving, staring at him with knowing eyes. "And that may be sooner than you think, Kaito." He stared at Kaito aggressively, until Kaito gave up, and looked away in submission, staring at his white paws. Takeshi looked satisfied, and stood up, pawing at the barley stems broken by Kaito's fall, getting them to stand straight again, almost taller than the large stems.
     "Come on, we've stayed here too long." Takeshi rumbled, staring distrustfully at their surroundings. They were in the middle of a huge golden field of barley, their stalks golden in the autumn sun. A gentle breeze sent ripples across it, like a vast golden ocean. The cat and the cougar sized Nekomata sat beneath the shade of a huge oak tree, the expansive branches filled with leaves in their autumn colors, the breeze occassionally pulling the leaves off their branches, to fall to the field like small embers from a dying flame. Beyond the field, to the west, the occassional trees become more and more closer together, forming a forest of oak, ash, aspen, maple, and others. Beyond the forest, are distant mountains, blue from the distance, white already capping their peaks. To the east, the field gives way to grassland, which gives way to close, low mountains, dark clouds clumping just behind them. The sun is leaning to the west, sunset not far. A cold bitter wind blows from the east, bringing the clouds closer, heralding the storm.
     Kaito sighed, following the huge Nekomata, weaving through the stalks of barley, grumbling under his breath. He was tiny compared to the large Nekomata, despite being the largest and strongest of his litter. He was a proud cat, confident of his strength, unafraid of fights and pain, his torn ears testaments to his adventurous life. It was demeaning for him to always be sneaking around. Takeshi was always being a stickler for always moving about, never settling, and never leaving a trace.
     Takeshi wove through the barley stalks with surprising grace, despite his size. He kept slightly crouched down, so his bulk would be hidden beneath the stalks. He flicked his ear at Kaito, to let him know he could hear his grumbling, his tails curled up in amusement. He knew exactly what the young cat thought of him. He thought he was a senile and paranoid old fool. If only he knew of the danger they were both in. But, he would not tell him. There was a time and a place for everything. And now was neither. He could only tell Kaito history and lessons, to prepare him for what was to come. He kept his eyes on the forest that was slowly drawing closer, eager to be under the shelter of the wide canopy when the sun set. As after sunset was always the most dangerous time.

     The moon soon rose, its pale light casting shadows from the dark towering shapes looming over them, the wood creaking in the cold eastern wind, ruffling the two cat's fur, some leaves scattering from the force of the wind.
     "Watch." Takeshi instructed, and stood on his back paws, a unique skill that all Bijuu shared. He moved his paw through the air, shadows collecting on his tiny paws. Takeshi stared at the shadows that he had collected, and they lengthened around his paw, until the shadows formed three huge claws extending from his paw. "As long as you keep concentration..." He spun on one paw, and slashed the old aspen tree behind them, deep gouges left by his shadowy claws. "...Shadow claws will never dull."
     Kaito just looked at the marks left by his claws, placing his white toed paw on the shredded wood. He looked up at Takeshi's rough meow. "Now, there is something I want you to practice. Standing on your back paws."
     Kaito flattened his ears, glaring rebelliously. "I can't do that, I'm a cat, not a nekomata! What is the point of this?!"

(MORE TO COME)