Arva excitedly bounds up and down the nest, knocking over her fellow cats in the colony in the process and narrowly dodging a swipe at her ankles by
Isaz.
“Settle down pipsqueak, or I’ll smother you under my tail,” the larger tom growls at her. Arva is much too energetic to truly stop fidgeting, and she knows that Isaz is only teasing and would never actually hurt her, but she doesn’t want to test that theory just yet. She bounces up to the other two cats in their little colony,
Shoko and
Muko, and practically vibrates while stealing glances up the passageway towards the entrance.
Waiting for Isaz to settle down again, Muko prods Arva with their paw,
“What’s got you so…a lot today?” “It’s the weather! It’s starting to get warmer! And the sun stays up longer, and there are more birds and animals around, and so many new plants." Arva leaps to her feet,
“And and -!” Shoko stops her mid-sentence,
“That’s pretty typical though, it’s springtime after all.” Arva sighs and sits, tail twitching involuntarily.
“You two wouldn’t get it, I just feel so connected to it all. Like there’s magic in me and all around me and I can’t help but get caught up in the energy and life.” A subtle huff from Isaz gives away that he’s not sleeping and is paying attention to the conversation and his tail gives a slight twitch at Arva’s words. She continues,
“I guess, I am just nervous because the world is changing and I can feel that I am changing, but I just don’t know what will stay the same.” With a sniff and a quick paw across her eyes, Arva bounds out of the nest and into the forest beyond.
“Arva wait!” Cries Shoko, but she does not return or slow her step. Giving a sigh of her own, Shoko rises to follow Arva outside but a long front paw from Isaz stops her and she gives him a quizzical look. Isaz slowly lumbers to a standing position, his head bowed to not hit the roof.
“Stay here, I’ll talk to her,” he rumbles, and with a flick of his tail over Shoko’s nose, he pads out to the entrance.
He takes a moment to breath in the cold air, heavy with the scent of last night’s rainfall. It’s been a couple moons since it snowed last, but the air is still frozen at night and the prey is scarce on a cloudy day. Catching Arva’s scent, smelling strongly of the den and easy to distinguish against the mud and frost, he follows her through the forest. After a couple minutes of walking, he finds her sitting on a lone tree stump at the crest of a hill, overlooking a shallow stream below. He sits on the ground next to her and together they silently take in the view. Finally, Arva breaks the silence,
“You’re going to make fun of me too, that it’s silly to get excited over something so mundane.” “No, I will not make fun of you, little Arva.” Isaz murmers.
“I am reminded of my own youth and how excited I could get over the simplest of things. One time, before I had discovered my magic, I experienced my first snowfall. It filled me with such wonder, and I stayed out so long in the snow that I caught a cold.” He chuckles, perhaps remembering a fond memory of his own nest.
“I had never lived somewhere cold enough to see snow, but I now know that I’ve always longed for it. It is calming and cleansing, wiping away the past and paving a path for the future. You, Arva, are the future.”“But I don’t even know what magic I have yet! I’m afraid, Isaz, what if I don’t like the spring? What if I never discover my magic? What if-?” She trails off, shuddering in a stiff breeze blowing up the hill. Isaz gracefully leaps onto the stump and curls himself around her,
“Oh kitten, the future is not made to be known, it is meant to be experienced. And from what I can tell and what I’ve experienced, you are going to love spring.” Arva settles back into his fluffy coat, instantly warm again.
“I’m going to love spring…” She whispers, her energy exhausted as she falls into a deep nap.
