Ashes of the Fallen

I was on par with the fastest human sprinter without the detrimental endurance issues. Here, I could sprint for quite some time, really.

I thought to myself, what am I even doing?

Realizing the futility of chasing a wild cat without a purpose, I started to wonder what exactly I was trying to accomplish. A part of me thought it would be fun to chase after the animal, that maybe it would lead me somewhere, yet so far... I was lost in the middle of the woods. Looking up at the sky, the setting sun at least gave me an indication of direction for now. Once the sun had set though, I would be in a bit of trouble. Sure, there were constellations and stars that I could use as markers but I was hardly knowledgeable enough to recognize the right ones, or how to even use them.

Before I could decide if I wanted to turn around or continue to follow the cat, a loud screech pierced the air, a sound I had heard before. Steadying myself, I swiftly increased my pace to a quiet jog as I struggled to hear noises far off in the distance. The sounds were familiar to me, a low growl, and a higher pitched roar of sorts.

The kind of noise a cat makes when it's about to die.

A last ditch effort to attempt to scare off a predator… one I had heard a few times before. The low growl could be heard, muffled, as the loud hissing and screeching had ceased. I was familiar with that growl as well, all too familiar really.

Increasing my pace, I ran towards the direction I had last heard noises coming from and as I turned the corner around the last tree that was obstructing my view, a wolf, bleeding across its face could be seen with a large cat collapsed before it.

"Arc lightning," I said softly as I outstretched my right arm and connected the tether between us. In an instant, the channeled electricity poured into the wolf and it violently shook in an attempt to break free. It was no use. In a matter of seconds, the beast collapsed to the ground next to the cat, sharing its fate.

The scene was a strange one, the cat should have been able to climb to safety. It looked powerfully built, with a larger than normal frame, thick paws, and a very muscular stature. There was little reason for it to die on the ground with all these trees around. Something didn't quite add up, especially its position.

It looked, as if it were guarding something.

Well, I couldn't see anything in the surroundings.

Leaning over and inspecting the corpse of the cat, it was a [Northern Forest Cat]. That made a bit more sense, especially in context. It was a Skogkatt after all… hah. To think, the developers even put in the Scandinavian house cat, but more in the form of its ancestral heritage and the one from lore. The kind of cat that pulled Freyja's chariot… to think they would be roaming the forests here.

"Too bad little guy, you would have been a fun pet," I said to the cat, as I pulled out my skinning knife. "Sorry buddy, can't let the goods go to waste."

A few minutes had passed as I finished skinning the cat and started to work on the wolf's pelt when I heard some soft mewing in the distance. At first, I thought it was all in my mind as I had been daydreaming while semi-focused on the task at hand.

Then the sounds came again.

"Ah," I muttered to myself. "I get it now."

Everything made sense, there were kittens.

Ceasing my skinning of the wolf, I sat still while listening for the next noise as I fixated my view in the direction of the prior mews. Another soft noise followed, of a slightly different tone than before but from the same direction.

I stood up, lowering my gaze to a patch of long grass at the base of a tree that had rather large roots growing out in a V-shape. Walking towards the location, I was standing nearly on top of it but couldn't see anything out of the ordinary. The noise though, was certainly there.

The sounds of kittens moving about, barely audible but there nonetheless, I had found them. Crouching down, I parted the grass that was blocking the tree trunk and almost choked on the cuteness that was in front of me.

"Oh man," I said while cracking a smile. "Jackpot."

There was a small den, completely hidden from sight, recessed into the tree trunk and protected from nearly all sides by the roots and tall grass. To think such a nook was here. The sight though, was one that melted hearts… even one as corrupted as mine.

Seven of the cutest, fluffiest looking balls of fur were snuggled up together, gnawing on each other's paws as if they were waiting for their mother to bring them food. They were awfully large for their apparent age, but damn, they were cute.

They were waiting for their mother.

I looked at the pelt I had finished skinning, the one lying next to the wolf, then back at the kittens that seemed to be staring at me with their pleading eyes. I guess, I was their mother's replacement now.

They were hungry.

Well I didn't exactly have fresh milk… if that was even what wild kittens needed.