Reluctant Voyages

[icyreflections]

Oshe awoke with a start and quickly sat upright in his bed, panting heavily. He looked around his room warily as his mind shifted into reality. The nightmares that plagued him in his brief moments of sleep were finally beginning to ebb away and he felt slightly less threatened as he realized where he was. He looked down at the foot of his bed and realized that his paws were trembling under the thin white covers; of course, this was nothing out of the ordinary for the skittish cat. Oshe had a terrible habit of jumping at the smallest of noises and cringing at a sudden touch or hovering shadow. He normally kept to himself and tried not to speak unless directly spoken too; he didn’t want to appear rude but he was dreadfully embarrassed by his horrid stuttering, which he had the misfortune of uttering since he was very young.

The Siamese tom normally stayed up late at night, reviewing spells and writing various things in his journal such as notes about his day’s lesson, chores he would have to perform the next day for his sage mentor, Francis, spells he was currently interested in and studying, his success in performing them, and other informative details such as these. He had been going to bed later and later these days not only because he was studious but because he was afraid… He had been having nightmares for a whole week now and refused to go to sleep and get caught in another one.

He didn’t understand why he was suddenly having these dreams about the abandoned mansion at the end of his road… He never really DID feel comfortable with it sitting there ominously but he always managed to cover his eyes long enough to exist his house and head on over to Francis’s without a problem. It was just so suddenly present in his dreams and he had no clue what to think or do about it. He was so tired from being plagued by the ghosts in his head. He sat there, thinking about it for a moment before shuddering and deciding he did not want to go back to sleep. He had enough adventures and mishaps in the abandoned mansion for one night. He hopped out of bed and hurried over to the table in the center of the room. Its surface was heavily littered with pages torn from his journal, which he pushed aside to make a space for his breakfast. He warmed a loaf of bread and grabbed some jam from the kitchen and carried it over to the table to eat. Afterwards, he cleared his space, and tied his rope belt around his waist and fastened his pink cloak around his neck. Maybe Francis was awake- of course, if he wasn’t, Oshe would feel really bad about waking him up so early in the day.

He opened the door and exited the building. The sun was hardly even in the sky. As the young cat looked upwards, the sky was still a deep shade of indigo and near the horizon, the faintest traces of pink and orange were beginning to creep upwards into the atmosphere and brighten night into day.

The early morning air was cool, although later on in the day it was bound to be hot, and Oshe padded quietly from his home, hoping he wouldn’t disturb the neighbors at all. He made sure to look at his feet as he walked so he didn’t have to make eye contact with any other cats that may be up at this hour and to avoid noticing the creepy mansion that haunted his dreams.

[urbangirl98]

Cash bent over his glass of milk. He slowly lapped it up with his rough pink tongue, pressing his paws against the sweating glass. He got up off the soft bed, carelessly knocking his pillow to the ground. It was a late, fitful night, and not unusually he couldn't sleep. Many nights ended up like this, sitting in his bed, drinking his milk, Cash was used to this. He sat at the writing desk, the room illuminated by a single candle flame. Cash stared with tired eyes at the book he had been reading yesterday. The History of the Grimalkin Oath. He picked up the dry inked sketches of humans that he had done earlier. Cash often sketched out the writings in this book, it was practicing his artistic and reading skills. And even though he had never actually seen a human, he thought the drawings were pretty good.
After placing his papers carefully in his book of sketches, he sat back down in his desk, next to the dying candle. He watched the flickering flame for a while longer, its orange fur seemed to dance in the wind, living life, unaware that its light would die. He delayed getting a new candle to the last moment, when the room went dark, the only light coming from the bright moon and the sparkling stars outside.
He padded down the stairs, fumbling, looking for the extra candle. His paw brushed the soft wax, and he pulled back, momentarily startled. He reached back into the cupboard, telling himself softly that there was no such thing as monsters as his mind wandered back to the humans told in the History of the Grimalkin Oath. He shook the thought away, grabbing the candle as he headed quickly up the wood stairs, trying to calm his breathing. He stopped in his room, closing the door, just to be safe. He candle flickered to life in his paws, the wick quickly burning, and turning black with a sizzle. Cash had been practicing his fire magic, and had perfected the art of candle lighting.
Cash stopped by the window, before he returned to his desk. He held up the light to the dirty window, and peered past the glare of the candle and his own reflection into the streets below. He spotted a moving character, walking past. Cash brought the candle near, protecting the flame with his paw and blew it out. He could now look out the window with the early sun's light as his crutch. It was getting too light out for a candle anyways.
The cat was short, young probably. He had a long, slick tail that poked underneath a pink cloak. Cash blinked. It was Oshe, the other Page who was one moon older than he. He was Francis's Page. Why would he be up so early? The sun just came up!
Cash ran to get his brown cloak and leather bag. He slipped on his leather gloves, his favorite ones. The gloves that let his claw tips hang out at the end. Then he raced out the door after Oshe, his cloak rippling like waves behind him.
"Hey!" Cash touched his friends shoulder, gently. "Why are you up so early?" He fell into a walk beside him, rubbing the tiredness from his green eyes.

[icyreflections]

Oshe jumped as he felt the other page’s paw touch his shoulder. He flinched away and quickly looked to see who had snuck up behind him. He let out a relieved breath when he recognized Cash. “Oh,” Oshe said, clutching the neck of his cloak and tugging it nervously, “I-I’m s-sorry, C-c-cash.” He looked down at his paws and kicked at a small stone embedded in the dirt road. With his teal-blue eyes still focused on his feet, he remarked quietly, “I-I didn’t kn-know y-y-you w-w-were t-there… S-s-sorry if I w-w-woke you up.” Oshe didn’t really know HOW he’d wake Cash up so early in the morning- they lived in different houses but he still felt guilty all the same- he had thought that Cash was a ghost that escaped from the Dusty Mansion! How could he think such a ridiculous thing? And he must have worried Cash when he noticed him getting up so early… He didn’t mean to cause such a stir. He didn’t mean to frighten anyone. He looked timidly at his friend with his ears pinned to his head worriedly. He owed Cash an explanation- it was the least he could do for waking him and flinching away like the fool he was.

“I-I w-was g-going to see F-francis.” He explained, brightening a little and making eye contact with the other tom but quickly averting his gaze once he finished his sentence. He looked over his shoulder anxiously and gazed off into the direction of his mentor’s home. He sighed, disappointedly and shook his head. “I d-don’t kn-know if he is even a-awake y-yet, th-though… M-maybe I sh-shouldn’t b-b-bother.”

The sun was a little higher now, Oshe looked off into the distance towards the sunrise, lost in thought.

[urbangirl98]

"You didn't wake me up!" Cash giggled. "Nah, I was already up. Let's go see if Francis is awake. If he's not, I'll wake him up for you!" Cash grinned walking forward, his fur ruffling in the short breeze. The air was chilling, as all summer nights tended to be, but the peeking sun warmed the tips of Cash's ears as he moved forward.
Cash breathed in the sweet scent of fresh air through his nose, cold air rushing into his lungs like eager water. "Today is going to be a nice day!" he announced. "Do you have your studies today, Oshe?" he asked softly as he turned to face his timid friend. "Perhaps if you are free, we could go to Jasper's beach. I have a favorite spot there, where there is lots of shiny rocks, and shade!" Cash grinned. "I like collecting rocks... and shade."
Cash sighed, his breath barely visible anymore in the open air. "You know what?" he mumbled. He slowly walked forward, his pads hitting the dirt road with a muffled slap as they left little paw prints in the dust. "You should be a little less perfect." Then he grew silent, lost in his own thoughts.

[icyreflections]

Oshe began to pad after Cash, he felt a little guilty about his companion’s promise to wake up Francis and wanted to tell him that it wasn’t necessary; the action would probably put his mentor in a bad mood and Oshe didn’t really feel like facing his wrath for an entire day. But as he looked into Cash’s eyes, he realized that the younger tom was looking out for him and he didn’t want to seem ungrateful for Cash’s friendliness so he kept his mouth shut.

He somewhat reluctantly walked along with Cash. Every once in a while, he realized that he was falling out of step and scrambled to catch up. He kept his chin low, sometimes brushing the neckline of his cloak, which laid over his arms and hid the majority of his body from view like a turtle’s shell. As the two pages traveled through the streets together Oshe’s constant fear revolving around his nightmares seemed to vanish. He was grateful for Cash’s company, even though he wasn’t quite used to having a friend and may have seemed withdrawn. He spent the majority of his life alone, hidden away in his family’s large estate so as not to cause his father any sort of embarrassment. The brief moments he walked the streets alongside his father were disastrous- his shy quirks (such as his fidgeting and stuttering) made his father look like an incompetent fool in front of his wealthy friends and acquaintances and he decided it was best if no one knew about Oshe. Oshe wasn’t allowed to leave the house for a long time and often occupied himself with reading. At seven months, Oshe was given a mentor and sent away from his father’s home. When Oshe turned one year old, his father bought him his own house because he felt Oshe was too old to be living with another cat like a kit. Oshe hadn’t heard from his father since.

He blinked and turned his attention to Cash, suddenly alert by his direct question. He smiled shyly, “um, I d-don’t kn-know w-w-what F-francis is p-planning t-t-today. We have b-been s-s-studying the a-ast-t-trologic-cal zo-zo-zdiac for d-d-days. He m-may have s-something n-new p-planned.” He paused for a moment as he thought of all the possibilities that could be included in upcoming lessons plans. He grinned pleasantly and shrugged slightly, “I’m in-interested t-t-to s-see w-what else h-h-he h-h-has in s-store.” He padded along with Cash and considered his thoughts on the beach. Oshe thought the beach was too hot so the prospect of finding a shady spot seemed beneficial to him. He wasn’t one to really go out and have fun so the idea scared him a little… but he didn’t want to look like a kit in front of his friend so he nodded his head and mewed politely, “th-that w-w-would be n-nice.”

He looked down at his feet again as he treaded along beside Cash and didn’t notice his friend’s sudden halt until he nearly bumped into him. Oshe jumped again and looked around. Why did he stop? What was wrong? He looked to his friend for an explanation, worry clouding his teal gaze. “C-cash?” He began but was drowned out by the other page’s words. He suddenly felt holt with embarrassment and dipped his head apologetically. “I-I’m s-sorry,” he said, trembling a little, “I d-don’t m-mean t-to b-b-be h-haughty.” He looked at his feet, fidgeting and trying to think of a way to fix the situation. Did Cash really think he was perfect? Or was he being sarcastic? Oshe could never tell… He wasn’t around others enough to pick on lingual cues like that. If he was joking- did that mean he really WAS a bother? His head spun.

“Y-you kn-know,” Oshe began, still looking down but playing with the tone of his voice to sound like a person posing a joke and hoping for a laugh that he assumed he’d never hear. “Y-y-you are the f-f-first c-c-at t-to e-e-ever call m-m-me p-perfect.” He looked up at Cash, his head still bowed but he fixed his gaze with him. His expression was like a puppy’s that was just punished for misbehaving and wished to get back on better terms with its master. “I h-h-have a speech i-i-i-impediment, y-you kn-know.” He said, crack a small, nervous smile. It was his first stab at light hearted humor. It was a big day for him indeed.

[urbangirl98]

Cash grinned, delighted. "Oshe, you are my bestest friend!" He gave Oshe a small hug, then stepped back, a friendly smile playing on his lips. He started forward again with a small skip to his step. "I'm scared of the dark." he admitted, in an attempt to make Oshe feel a bit better. "Like, really afraid. I can't sleep without a candle to scare away the monsters from under my bed..." He turned to his friend, grinning. "Don't tell anyone though! You're the first one to know." He walked now, a little quieter. "I used to live in the orphanage. All the older boys were really mean, they told me all sorts of stories to us younger kits. They were scary." Cash shuttered, then turned back smiling. "A little dumb, I know."
His eyes widened. "I just had a brilliant idea." he announced, clapping his hands in determination. "We could go to the beach now and have some fun, and be back before anyone even knew." His brilliant plan was already unfolding in his mind. "We'll sneak to the beach all sneaky like, then we would stay until the sun reaches the highest point in the sky: midday. We could come back through the back streets!" He grinned. "You up for it? Oh, or do you need to see Francis?" Cash smiled. "That's okay too."

[icyreflections]

Oshe shook his head as Cash admitted his fear of the dark. “No,” Oshe said understandingly, “it’s okay to b-be a-afraid of the d-dark.” He smiled in a friendly manner as he continued, “I also do n-not l-like the d-dark, although I use the m–m-moonlight and stars to c-comfort m-me… I wouldn’t want the c-candle to t-tip over in the n-night and c-cause a h-house fire.” He fidgeted nervously at his comment- he must sound like a paranoid fool.

“Sorry,” he said quietly. “But I w-won’t s-say anything to a-anyone- you c-can t-trust me.” He grinned, feeling a little joyful that Cash considered him a good friend. Oshe never had anyone that called him a friend before and he had to admit- it was a nice surprise. It was like receiving and unexpected gift and he knew in his heart, he would treasure the word ‘friend’ forever and always. If Cash trusted him enough to bear his secret, Oshe would keep it. He would never betray his friends.

As the two carried along the path, Cash suddenly brightened and asked Oshe to go to the beach with him. He said it would be ‘fun’. Oshe again began to fidget nervously and averted his eyes under Cash’s gaze. He didn’t HAVE to go see Francis- he just had a bad dream and wanted to see if maybe it meant something wicked. But Francis might still be asleep and Oshe didn’t want to wake him. Of course, Oshe had hardly ever been to the beach before and the thought of visiting it made him nervous. What was it like there? What would he do when he got there? Were there sea monsters lurking in the depth, waiting for him? Did he even HAVE to go in the water? He didn’t know if he could swim…. He looked at Cash nervously, he didn’t want to go to the beach because he didn’t know what to expect and that made him anxious. However, he didn’t want to disturb Francis so early with something as silly as a bad dream. Why did it seem so urgent to get out of the house before? Oshe cursed himself for getting out of bed at all.

Slowly he sheepishly met the other page’s gaze. He thought of how happy and excited he seemed to go on this trip and couldn’t shake off the fact that he called him a ‘friend’- friends were supposed to hang out and have fun right? They were supposed to take risks for each other, right? Oshe didn’t like the situation at all. He felt extremely overwhelmed with negative emotions and just wanted to forget the entire morning and crawl back into his bed and wake up again to start the morning all over. Reluctantly though, he finally sighed and mewed quietly, “I s-suppose I c-c-could c-c-come for a little while…”

‘Oh God, Oshe,’ he thought to himself, panic-stricken, ‘what did you just get yourself into?’

[urbangirl98]

Cash smiled. "It's okay if you're careful with candles." he said, then frowned, wondering if Oshe had a point. Maybe he was being careless this morning. What if the house burnt down? The head Sage would kill him! Unless the fire did...
Cash made a mental note to be more careful with fire. He blinked, grinning again. He kept getting lost in his own world.
He waited while his friend made his decision, frowning inwardly. What if Oshe really didn't want to go? He said he did, but others often told Cash that he was very demanding. Then sensing his friends discomfort, he added. "The beach is very beautiful, you'll love it! I have the best spot." he looked up at the sky. "Looks cloudy." he mumbled. "It's to early to swim anyways." he said, mostly to himself.
"Come on! Lets go!" he said, running down the road. "I'll race ya!"