The Tests: Wait 3

The Tests: Wait 3

### Characters Present

Wren, Harnor, Eclipse, Black Bird, Rattlesnake, Pebble, Fringe, Cobweb, Frostsong, Frost, Thunder, Tawny, Fini, Sunny, Tess, Echo, Palm, Chao, Quintessa, Mist, Dune, Luana, Wildflower, Feather, Storm

### Important Events

Palm meets Tess, Wren is confronted, Dune and Pebble fight, Dune fights with Sunny and Storm, Luana and Wren become a couple, Quintessa has a breakdown

**Wait 3** is an episode in *The Tests*.

## **The Tests: Wait 3 (The Desert)**

The cats fell. Simple as that. The wind in their faces, they tumbled towards what seemed to be their doom.

But one cat wasn’t worried about the fall; she was worried about what cats would think about her, and how she would be treated, when the fall ended.

Finally, paws hit the ground, and sand sprayed up. They were in the middle of a desert. There were succulent cactuses with water in them and lizards perching on rocks.

From above them, the cats heard a voice cry, “Let Wait Three begin. . .”

Eclipse landed after everyone safely. She went over to Black Bird. She was getting thinner, as she hadn’t eaten since the first day. So she waited for Black Bird to hunt.

Black Bird went to hunt and brought back two lizards.

Eclipse and Black Bird ate and basked in the sun, and fell asleep soon after.

Rattlesnake rejoiced. Sand! He had grown up right next to the desert, so therefore, he knew the overly-hot temperature and how to hunt there and what to watch out for. But instead of running and chasing lizards, he stayed with Pebble.

Pebble was aching over the sand getting into her paw-wounds.

Rattlesnake made sure she was asleep on a rock before running circles around the group of cats, careful not to hit anything and soaking in the warmth of the sun.

Pebble started to wake.

Rattlesnake tried weaving quickly through the other cats when he saw her waking. He crashed into a she-cat. He avoided her gaze, hoping she wouldn’t hurt him.

With Black Bird asleep, Eclipse walked around the desert area. She was minding her own business when she heard an odd rattling sound.

Out of nowhere, Rattlesnake ran into her and immediately pushed her away and away.

Eclipse looked back at the copper tom and hissed. “What was that for?” she asked threateningly.

Rattlesnake pointed to where they were with his tail. “Rattlesnake. Deadly venomous snake,” the small tom explained.

Eclipse was sorry. She was reluctant to up and say it, but he reminded her too much of Ash. No one wouldn’t apologize to Ash. “Thanks. . .” she trailed off, walking back over to her brother.

Eclipse and Black Bird slept.

Fringe lay curled in the roots of a tree, in the shadows where no cat could see her. Despite her unspoken promise to Perch that she wouldn’t give up on life or her sister, she found herself wishing that the plunge off the cliff had killed her.

Cobweb opened her eyes to find herself perched on a tree. She took a deep breath and drew in the scents around her. At the bottom of the tree, she spotted a she-cat. She jumped off the tree and walked up towards her. “Hi, I’m Cobweb. What’s your name?” she asked her.

Fringe looked up at the cat — Cobweb — who had approached her. “Um, hi. I’m Fringe.”

Frostsong lay dazed in the sand. “Dang it!” she muttered. “I hate deserts. I would survive better in an ice cave.”

Frost wanted to talk to someone. She had no friends and was very lonely. “Hello, anyone?” Nobody noticed her because they were with all of their friends, so she was all alone. Again. So she sat, fiddling with the flower on her tail.

Frostsong saw a cat fiddling with a flower at the end of her tail. *She looks friendly enough. Maybe she’ll appreciate me for who I am.* “Hello, my name is Frostsong, or Song. What’s your name?” she mewed.

Frost noticed that somebody noticed her. “Hi, I’m Frost. How are you?” She was eager to have a new friend.

Thunder’d had a feeling that there would be a traitor among them. He could tell that most, if not all, the cats here had felt grief for one reason or another. Maybe that was why they were chosen; they had felt a pain that couldn’t go away — they were different, vulnerable. What if this whole thing was just a game — they were here for Harnor’s amusement? He shook the thought out of his mind. He needed to find his friend Tawny.

Tawny tasted the air for the scents of cats she knew. Snow? Or maybe . . . Thunder? Her heart skipped at the thought of finding her friend. It was good to talk to cats, she had realized. The last time she had really been friendly was when she had been close friends with Luca . . . he had died saving one of the rogue kits. . . She was snapped from her thoughts as a scent hit her. *Thunder!* She bounded over to him. “It’s great to see you!” she panted. “It’s really hot here.” He looked distant. “What is it?”

“Hey! Well, I don’t understand why Wren was working for Harnor. He must have offered her something irrefusable. But that means anyone could be a traitor if he offers them the right thing,” Thunder answered.

Fini was shocked that she had made it. Now that the Test was over, she figured it was time to meet the other cats. She stepped over to the she-cat. She looked friendly, so she drew closer. “Hi,” she stammered. “What’s your name?”

Sunny cursed out loud. She hated deserts.

Tess gave a soft hiss as she saw all of the cats weaving around her. *Oh lord, don’t let any of them talk to me. . .*

Echo tentatively stepped towards the she-cat. She almost felt like fleeing back into the tangle of cats when she saw her expression, but she forced herself to root her paws to the ever-shifting sand. “Um . . . hi. I’m Echo. What’s your name?”

*Oh no,* Palm thought. *Not a desert — anything but a desert.* This could be one of the deserts he had travelled over. He saw a couple of bones scattered around and he started to panic. That could be Diamond or Dragon or Mirage or Wolf or Lmanamly. He started to shake and he shook his head. “No, no, no, no, no!” he screamed. “Stop, please. I don’t want to see this again.” He ran from his memories as he saw Diamond’s body in the sand, Cobra’s blood coating the rocks. He saw Miegin— no, he wouldn’t think of Mieginck — but he saw lizard-claw earrings hanging from the cactuses. Running away from his thoughts, he bashed into a gray-brown she-cat who was weaving in and out of the cats. She was twice the size of him and looking down on him with sharp hazel eyes. “Make it stop, make it stop,” he mewed, his ginger tail twitching. Then he realized that she was looking down at him disdainfully and he sat up, pushing his head up as far as he could. “I’m Palm, and your name is?” he started to mew at her. A new friend! But then he looked back and saw that her white spots covered all her body and she had gray spots. “Yrweya,” he hissed, before he realized that this she-cat wasn’t the traitorous mate of Harminbal. “Sorry, deserts hold some bad memories for me,” he mewed.

Fini stepped close to a she-cat. Her ears were flattened to the back of her head. “Who are you?” she mewed in a moderate tone.

Chao still didn’t know what was going on with Wren. He had assumed she chose to be on Harnor’s side, but judging by the look on her face, she didn’t want to be anyone’s enemy — something anyone on Harnor’s side was sure to be. He didn’t know any cats, but he also didn’t know if he wanted to. So he just lay down in one of the few shadowed places and thought about what he would do if he found it. No, *when* he found it. He knew he would. His emerald was glowing. He smiled. It had happened sooner than he had expected. He had never been in a desert. He honestly didn’t think it was as bad as he had heard. He could see that others weren’t doing so well, which made him smile. His gaze fell on Palm, who looked right at home, but must have had several bad memories in a place like this. He also had bad memories, but only one that mattered to him at the moment. He shook his head. There was plenty of time to deal with that later. He had to focus on the task at hand. Not dying, mostly, but also staying out of the brown-and-gray tabby she-cat’s way. He knew trouble all too well when he saw it. He almost wanted to say hi, just to see her reaction. He looked at his emerald, still glowing faintly. He knew that somewhere out there, the cat he so desperately needed to apprehend had one of the most important things he knew about.

Quintessa looked around. Desert. She sighed, instead wishing a cold, windy mountain would appear. She saw another cat, a tom. *He looks . . . meh,* she thought. *Best get acquainted with the others instead of making enemies.* She padded over to the tom. “Hello,” she said confidently. *Deep down, she was cursing Harnor. But also planning. Planning to one day get back at him for what he had done to her and these cats.*

Chao didn’t know anyone, so he supposed it would be a good idea to get to know some cats. “Hi. My name is Chao.” Then he saw a cat he knew all too well. He pretended he didn’t notice.

Mist let out a gasp as he suddenly appeared in an oasis. He had just been walking in a desert, but he was here now. He looked around, noticing a white cat with red eyes who he felt like he had seen before. He shrugged; he was bad at remembering names and faces. It didn’t matter.

“Wren! Feather! You both made it!” Then Dune turned his head and saw Quintessa landing on her feet behind him. “Oh, you,” he mewed. “I was really hoping you would die, but oh well. I guess Harnor is trying to punish us all with your presence.” He stood in front of Wren, worried that other cats would attack her because of what she did earlier.

“I think everyone would be better off without you too,” Quintessa snapped at Dune. Then she glanced at Wren. She looked . . . frightful. “Why?” she asked. She didn’t feel angry or hurt. She felt curious as to why the she-cat would do something so terrible. She sighed and decided that Dune would probably not let her get an answer anyway, so she padded off, trudging through the sand.

Luana padded up to Wren. “Why?” she asked, slightly hurt. “What do you have to gain?!” she shrieked softly, her voice cracking. “He . . . he’s horrible! How could you. . .?” She stared into the she-cat’s eyes, begging her to have some answer.

Wren felt tears come to her eyes. “I’m so sorry. He said that if I helped him just once or twice, I could see Dune again.” Her voice was barely a whisper. “I saw how my death broke him, and I couldn't let that continue. But now I’m done. I don’t want to play Harnor’s games. You hear that?” she cried. “I’m done, Harnor. No more!”

Luana looked down at the ground. She slowly leaned towards the she-cat and nuzzled her neck fur. “Okay,” she mumbled. “I know how close you are, and I would do the same for my sister.” She backed away, smiling sadly at the ground. “I mean, that’s why I’m here. I want to help my family.”

Wildflower was confused at first. *A desert?* *Not another Test so soon after the last one.* But as they gazed at the succulents filled with water and the lizards crawling around bases of cactuses, they realized that perhaps this place wasn’t that bad. They padded over to a succulent and started lapping the water. The she-cat — Wren? — and the tom, Dune, were standing off to the side. Wren looked almost frightened, and they definitely didn’t want to be anywhere near her position. *Friends? Betrayed. Gods? Annoyed.* Yup, she was definitely leading the perfect life right now. Perhaps she wanted some reassurance? *She’s kind of cute.*

Feather growled softly. *I know she’s Dune’s sister, but . . . how could someone be on Harnor’s side?* She padded up to Dune and Wren. “Wren. . .”

Pebble woke to no one beside her. She didn’t think much of it. So she went up to the she-cat and the tom who was standing protectively in front of her. “Hi! My name is Pebble.” As she was talking, she tried to wipe the sand of the outer edges of her paws, but she needed water to really relive it. “What are your names?”

Dune looked down at the cats, a bit wound up by everyone questioning Wren. She had done what she thought she had to do. The only thing that mattered was that she didn’t want to work with Harnor anymore. “None of your business,” he hissed, and spat, “Now just get away from here. I don’t need any more cats crowding around my sister. Just leave her alone, okay?” He swished his tail before swinging his paws out at the she-cat with odd eyes. He hoped that he had hurt her; he was done with playing nice. If cats didn’t respect him or his sister, he wouldn’t respect them back.

Luana stared in horror at Dune. “What are you doing?!” she screeched. “Yes, I understand protecting your sister, yes, I understand scaring other cats off, but not everyone knows what happened!” she growled. “I know you love your sister to death, and I know you don’t want her hurt, but she’s not a *kit*, Dune,” she pleaded.

Wren nuzzled Luana, shocked by her affection. She hadn’t thought that Luana felt the same thing. “Please, Dune, stop,” she whispered. “This she-cat, Pebble, hasn’t said anything to you. She didn’t even mention me.” Her eyes pleaded as she stood beside Luana, her pelt brushing the beautiful black she-cat’s.

Dune shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. He hissed at Pebble, making sure his teeth were clearly visible when he snarled, “Okay, but one wrong move from any other cat, and I’m losing it. I can’t believe they keep bothering you.”

After barely letting Dune hook her, Pebble just smiled. “Thanks, random she-cat I don’t know!” she joked. “It doesn’t matter. I’ll leave you alone, if you would like.” She added to Dune, “I know brotherly love. I had three myself.”

Quintessa seethed. *How* dare *he! How dare that — that monster attack her!* she thought-raged. It was a good thing that it was resolved quickly, lest she jump onto Dune and rip out his throat. She looked at Luana and Wren. *Huh. Never saw* that *happening.*

Wildflower stared at the she-cat — Quintessa? She was *absolutely fuming*. They hated seeing cats angry. They caught a lizard and silently offered it to Quintessa.

Quintessa noticed a cat who she didn’t know silently offer her a lizard. She nodded gratefully and took it without a word. She twisted her mouth into what was hopefully a smile, but probably looked like she was baring her teeth.

“That was very unexpected,” Frostsong growled, padding up to stand beside Quintessa. “She never did anything to him! I’m surprised he even knew her name! How dare he attack *her* because he’s mad? How is that fair?” she fumed.

Sunny walked between Dune and Quintessa. “Look at me,” she hissed.

Feather raised her voice. “Dune, there’s no need for that.” She scratched a nearby cactus and drank the precious drops of water. Carefully, she clawed out the middle of the cut-off part of the cactus and plucked out the needles. Now it looked like a bowl. She cut some more cacti away from where most cats were until almost a fourth of the cactus-bowl was filled. She traveled a bit farther. Suddenly, she came to an oasis. A cat was already there. She scooped up water, not wanting to talk, and headed back. Right before getting back out into the empty desert, she caught a big lizard and let out a cry of triumph. Remembering that there was a cat nearby, she snapped her jaws shut.

Fini saw a she-cat. She was quiet and drew closer to the she-cat. This was Feather. “Hi,” she mewed. “It’s Feather, right?”

Feather turned around. “Yes. Now leave me alone,” she snapped.

Storm approached Wren. She didn’t quite know what to say to the she-cat. But she knew that something was brewing within her. She squeezed her eyes shut, thinking of all of the cats who had died going through Harnor’s Tests that he made for his own good laugh. “How could you?” she mewed in an angry tone at Wren. “How could you partner up with a — a *maniac*?”

Dune saw Storm approach Wren and walked up to her, hissing. “Right, that’s it. That’s the last time anyone will say anything about Wren,” he hissed. “And I know she doesn’t want me to fight you, so I’ll respect that — for now. But let me put it clearly for you. *Stop asking questions!”*

Wren pushed her way between the two cats. “Dune, I can speak for myself,” she hissed quietly, knowing that he was the one with the strength, but she had the language that could convince most cats. “Look, I regret what I did, but I did it to be with my brother. Now I see my mistake. I won’t help him again.” She pushed her tail in Dune’s mouth as he started to speak again.

Sunny suddenly slid out her claws and landed a blow on Dune’s muzzle.

Dune jumped back just in time, but had a small scratch on his muzzle. Hissing, he turned to Sunny. “I don’t know what you’re playing at; I saved you in the first Test.” He tried to sheath his claws — he didn’t want to waste the effort on this she-cat, especially as he had saved her before. “Now just leave me alone and I’ll leave you alone,” he mewed, and then huffed to himself, but just loud enough for her to hear, “I can’t believe this. You would have thought that cats would be grateful to the cat who saved them, not attack them. Just as I thought she seemed friendly enough.” Unable to resist the urge any longer, he lashed out at Sunny, aiming to just graze the fur on her cheek. He didn’t want to hurt her, but he was getting mad now. Before even waiting to see what his blow did, he ran over to Feather, hoping to escape this madness.

Feather stalked away, carrying the lizard in the bowl. She dropped it at Dune’s paws. Drops of water escaped, landing around and on their paws.

Dune nuzzled Feather, glad to be away from the fighting. “Thank you,” he mewed. “I’m just so mad that cats keep picking on Wren. Why can’t they just leave her alone?”

Storm glared at Dune. Who did he think he was? A cat who could just spit out whatever the heck he wanted to and get the “oh, it’s for my sister” pass? Her gaze passed over Feather. The nice she-cat certainly didn’t have much sense in picking toms. . . “Dune,” the she-cat growled, assuming her most stern, no-nonsense stance. “I’ll tell you something. *Shut up.* Do you hear me? No one here appreciates it when you make an already bad day worse. *No one* appreciates it when you yell at them and claw at them and always try to guilt-trip them into forgiving you because apparently you lost something. News flash — we all have. Wren is capable of defending herself, and in addition, you can’t just keep on yelling at everyone. We get that you’ve lost something, but I’ll say it again. We all have. You have *no right* to strut around snapping at cats. You’ll just kill some cat one of these days. And Wren did betray us. You can’t say anything around that. She betrayed us, and therefore, we have *every right* to be upset and angry at her. She’ll need to justify herself . . . and prove that she’s better now. So *don’t* whine about us being upset at Wren, especially when you yourself just make things worse for all of us by snapping at us every day and then snapping at us again for being upset.” The black she-cat gave him another glare before stalking away to talk to Wren, and maybe meet Quintessa again. . .

Sunny looked at the blood dripping down her cheek. “And look what you’ve become!” she yelled at Dune. “Maybe you can see what’s right in front of you for once! The world isn’t just comprised of you and Wren!”

Storm spun around to look at Sunny, her electric-blue eyes flashing at the sight of the she-cat just clawed by a tom that she thought had been her friend. “You monster,” she growled at Dune. “Can’t even look out for another cat without causing her to bleed.”

As Dune heard Storm’s words, he had a flashback. He saw Wren laying on the ground, the glowing, purple monster-wound slowly eating away at her strength. His breath quickened and his eyes narrowed, his claws sliding out. His body stiffened. But instead of pouncing at Storm, he felt tears hot on his cheeks and he collapsed into a fit of sobbing. He saw Sunny and Feather and Luana with the same wound as Wren had and he started to panic. What if he couldn’t save them? What if he was such a monster like the thing that had killed Wren that he would be the one to kill all his friends? He turned to Sunny, and made sure to kick sand into Storm’s face as he went. “Sunny,” he mewed. “I’m so sorry. It’s just, Wren has died once before, and I can’t help but think that every day will be my last day with her.” He spoke between sobs. “And she’s my little sister, and I just feel that . . . I’m the only one who can help her. And she can’t fight well, so when we lived in the broken city, she used to always try and talk to city cats, but they would attack her if she said something they didn’t like.” He paused for breath, his tail swishing from side to side. “And I always had to fight her battles because she was smart with words, not claws. And I guess I still act like we’re in the city. But why I hurt you? I don’t know. It’s just — I want my sister to be happy, because we never know when her last day will be.” He smiled up at Sunny, hoping that he had gotten back on her good side. He had rambled a bit, but he didn’t need any more enemies like that Quintessa cat, thinking she was so smart.

Wren saw her brother start crying, so she ran over to Storm, fur bristling for the first time in ages. “What did you say to him?” she cried. She unsheathed her claws and took a blow to Storm, but she was so bad at fighting, she was sure she would miss.

Dune padded up behind Wren and lay his tail over her back in an attempt to calm her down. “It’s okay,” he mewed. “It’s all sorted out now.”

Feather licked Dune’s cheek where Sunny had scratched him. “They’ll forgive her eventually. Just let them sort it out with Wren. Let her talk and tell the reason.”

Storm glowered at Wren. “Stay out of this. You’ve done enough harm.” She turned to Dune, dipping her head once to acknowledge his words. “We’re all suffering, fearing for our lives here, Dune. But I think we would all be better off if we didn’t try to claw each other, correct?”

This was the cat named Dune Fini had seen dead last time. She then saw a she-cat and gave a hiss at Dune. *“Leave her alone!”* she shouted, the others looking at her.

Tawny heard the voice as she turned with Thunder. She turned to her friend, feeling herself grow with concern. “I-I’m Tawny,” she said as cooly as possible. She didn’t want this she-cat to think her friendly. The only cat she wanted to be friendly towards was Thunder. “This is Thunder. We’re working together. You could . . . I don’t know, come with us for now, if you wanted. . .” She wasn’t good with new friends, so she just hoped Thunder was. “Anyway . . . you could come with us. We’re going over to them—” She nodded angrily toward Wren, Dune, and Storm “—if you tell us your name.”

“Alright,” Fini mewed. “My name is Fini.”

“Hi, Fini,” Thunder replied, eager to stop the fight.

“Hi.” Fini looked doubtful.

Tawny sighed. “Thanks,” she muttered to Thunder. He was good at making new friends. “Right, let’s see what these cats think is right and wrong . . . wow. Let’s . . . not.” She gazed straight at them. They were bleeding, bristling, and crying. She knew that Thunder would definitely help in a situation like this — and maybe Fini could too — but she would probably make it worse. “Let’s just find somewhere to rest, shall we?” Without waiting for an answer, she alerted her senses. A lizard was close by. With a single pounce, she leaped on top of it and killed it. With a purr, she brought it over to her friends and dropped it at Thunder’s paws. “For you. I’ll get something else for you, Fini. . .” Again, she didn’t wait. She quickly found another one and caught it. “This one is for you. Now let’s rest.” She padded over to the twisted roots of a big, dead tree. “This is more like it! Some shade!” She rested her burning paws in the cooler sand and curled up.

Fini thought about how she once was close to the brink of death — when she almost fell down the splitting ground. Would a thing like that happen again — but this time, she died? A shiver ran down her spine, giving her an uneasy feeling.

Thunder saw the fight end and sighed with relief. “So, Fini, how did you find the Tests?”

Tess rolled her eyes at all the drama around her. *Nothing matters except for winning. It’s pointless to make friends.* She turned her head to the side and noticed a cat staring expectantly at her. “Did you say something?” she hissed. She noticed cats fighting, crying, and chatting. What a load of mouse-dung. The only cats she had ever grown close to had failed her, and all of these cats would do the same. She couldn’t wait for the next Test to come so that some of these cats could be gone already. With that thought, she pushed herself onto a rock and closed her eyes, soaking up the warm sunlight.

Chao, as he always did, stayed out of the fight. He also knew that there was very likely going to be another starting soon. He was tired of all this fighting. He had about had it with the small tussles breaking out in the oasis. He almost wanted the next Test to come faster.

Mist was completely oblivious to what happened next. The fight seemed to come out of nowhere, and just as quickly as it started, it stopped. He couldn’t say he was relieved, however. He found he was actually disappointed that he hadn’t been a part of it. He was sure he could take the tom in a fight. He had never thought he could feel so tense. He had no idea what the Tests were like or if any of the other cats had powers. Then he saw the red emerald on the white cat’s front right paw, and he decided that he could use another one.

Rattlesnake slowly padded over to Palm. This was his first chance making a friend, and he would run away from the whole thing if he ever blew it over. So he just waved the fluffy bit on his tail and tried to smile without cringing at himself. “H-hi! I-I think we met before? I’m Rattlesnake . . . I grew up in the desert too. Or right next to one, rather. I’m sorry about your friends; my sister died when she was bitten by a rattlesnake . . . ironic, I know. . .” he stuttered. This cat would probably make fun of him, but he tried.

Luana decided to meet some new cats and padded over to two toms. “Hi! I’m Luana. Palm and . . . Rattlesnake, right?”

“Um . . . yeah! That’s my name!” Rattlesnake held back some nervous laughter.

Quintessa walked. She walked away from all the cats, walking over the scorching sand with ill-disguised agony as it burned her pads. She unfortunately found no comfort in shade anywhere, so she dug up some sand to get to cooler sand. Ah, she thought. Better. She looked down, finally able to process her thoughts for the first time since she had landed in the desert. Wren, the kind — or so she had thought — soul, had made an alliance with him. She couldn’t grasp as to why — she didn’t understand the bonds between family members, because she herself had no such thing as family itself. The closest thing she had to family was the old shelter she had that had protected her from snowstorms when she was but a kit. She growled instinctively, trying to comprehend the reason behind making a deal with Harnor. She knew why she herself made the deal to do the Tests — to become immortal and get back home. There, she had no worries, problems, or anything. She had something prized by many: freedom. Freedom to do what she wanted. She didn’t need friends, she didn’t need a mate, she certainly didn’t need family — especially when they betrayed you. So she lay there, letting the desert heat come down on her and burn her.

Palm saw a brown she-cat laying out on the ground, her darker pelt warm in the sun. “Woah there,” he mewed. “Quickly get out of the sun. Your pelt is quite dark. Staying still isn’t a good idea. Come under this cactus shade.” He gestured to a larger cactus with a small slither of shade under it. “Oh, and don’t worry about me. My pelt is really thin; I’m made for the desert heat,” he mewed quietly, fiddling with his earring, hoping that the memories didn’t come again.

“Quintessa, are you alright?” Frostsong mewed gently. “I know what it feels like to be abandoned and betrayed. While we were falling down the trench, I was thinking. I was worried what cats would think of me. I’ve been abandoned many times, betrayed even more. I’ve been guarded and cold ever since, not wanting to break again. But you have to keep going. You have to move on from this betrayal. Wren formed an alliance with Harnor, I know, and it’s shattering everyone. Including me. Please get up. Move somewhere cooler. I wouldn’t be able to stand it if another one of my friends died. I’ve been betrayed too many times. This last time might completely break me,” she said, her voice breaking. She lowered her head, not wanting Quintessa to see the tears rolling down her cheeks. *Haven’t I lost enough? I won’t be able to stand it this time. If Quintessa dies, I won’t be able to go on. Please, Quintessa. Please.*

Quintessa opened her eyes to find two cats over her. One, Frostsong, was crying. She hated seeing cats cry. It made her feel like it was her fault, because she remembered when she saw her mother cry. Her mother, crying because of *her*. She got up, shaking off the memories. She then remembered the other cat. It was a tom; a tom talking to her. *This world really is nuts, she thought. Toms usually are disgusted by me at the very least.* She realized he was talking about shade. *Shade!* She wanted to hurry over to the shade — but first, she needed to comfort her friend. *Friend.* She sat down next to Frostsong. “You’ve been betrayed many times, maybe,” she said quietly. “But I’ve been betrayed by my own family.” Her breath caught. Her tears formed. Tears, always waiting to come. “My own family, Frostsong. They left me, not for some noble reason like they couldn’t take care of me. No, they never cared about me. Never.” She felt her hot tears slide down her muzzle. She started sniffling, then it turned to crying, then it turned to sobs. Ugly sobs. “I can’t . . . I just can’t. I’ve had nobody to care for me.”

Palm wrapped his tail around the she-cat’s back, almost flinching away with the heat of her pelt. “Hate to rush you, but your pelt is boiling. You need to get out of the sun now! I can’t believe how thick your pelt is!” He guided her to the shade and turned around to her, hoping to comfort her. “I’m Palm, by the way. Don’t worry; I’ve lost cats too. You see this earring — the bit of a palm branch with scratches on it? Those scratches are for each friend I’ve lost. But I know that their spirits are guiding me, even now,” he whispered into the quiet of the desert. “You see how the cactus bends, making this shadow that keeps you alive? What I can see is Kinkaroy — she’s a ginger she-cat, by the way — holding down the cactus because she doesn’t want to see another cat die. She tried to save my friend even though she knew it would kill her.” He placed his paw over Quintessa’s, tears welling in his own eyes. “If you look around — not with your eyes, but with your mind and heart — you’ll see them too.” He closed his eyes and opened them again, seeing his friends' spirits around him. He was never sure whether or not he was simply hallucinating, but in times when he didn’t panic about the deaths, he liked to watch the spirits all around him. “Look,” he mewed. “Right in front of us, bowing her head. Quixgee. I’m not sure whether you can see her or if she’s inside my mind.” He looked up at Quintessa as the spirits vanished. “But I know that she doesn’t want you to cry.” He looked at Quintessa one more time, hoping that she didn’t think he was mad or crazy.

“I lost my family too. My Twolegs, my only family, left me in the forest to fend for myself. But I’m still here. I’m here for you. We’re friends, after all,” Frostsong murmured gently in Quintessa’s ear. “I’m still here.”

Quintessa smiled. Not a baring-teeth smile. Not a fake smile. A genuine smile. She had friends. Deep down, she felt happy for the first time in months. Years, even. She purred.

“Come on. Let’s get to some shade,” Frostsong mewed.

Wildflower watched as Quintessa smiled. It was the she-cat and the tom. They hated seeing cats crying and sad like Quintessa just was. They hurriedly caught two more lizards by a small cactus and padded over to the group of cats, their paws scalding on the hot sand on the way. They placed the lizards in the middle of the cats and nuzzled Quintessa, who was closest. “Please don’t cry,” they meowed. “I won’t pry, but please. You have to live on. Everyone here cares, and we wouldn’t forgive ourselves if you died.” They nudged a lizard towards the group. “Now eat. I don’t care if you just ate, and deserts don’t care if you die.”

Harnor dived towards the ground and landed in the sand, sending it up into the air in a sandstorm. He scanned the cats, looking for a certain cat. There. He saw the white-and-brown she-cat with strange, odd eyes and walked over to her, sitting down right in front of her. “Thank you, Wren,” he mewed. “You’ve been very helpful.”

Wren bristled and hissed at him, *“I’m done, Harnor. I’m not helping you anymore!”*

Harnor laughed at the she-cat.

All the other cats stepped back apart from a gray-and-white tom and a black she-cat.

“Oh don’t worry,” Harnor meowed. “I won’t ask you to help me anymore. I just want to say thank you.” He lifted his black gem from around his neck and placed the gem briefly on Wren’s head. “Thank you,” he quietly mewed to her. Then he put the gem back around his neck and took off into the sky.

Wren suddenly felt unbalanced and dizzy. “Guys, I don’t feel so good,” she cried out before she collapsed to the ground.

*“Wren!”* Dune and Luana screamed, before the world turned black for them as well, and they collapsed.

Slowly, one by one, all the cats fainted.