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Karika My cat is on my lap as I write this and he is very much in the way. I should have started this earlier but hey, who doesn't like writing at midnight.
Red, green... red, yellow, red... Why was there so much red? Lanya's large paws ran stumbling through an unfamiliar forest, her thick furred body struggled to keep up with her feet. She felt like she was flying, but at the same time the ground beneath her feet anchored her with an unbearable weight that beat into her chest and snatched the breath from her already struggling lungs. It seemed the ground beneath her had hardened, and her paws began to ache, but she still ran.
Red... green and brown of the trees were fading now, and Lanya could identify the substance that was clouding her vision. Blood. It surrounded her, the thick ooze spilled over the tops of trees as a torrent of blood rain poured down. Her paws became soaked with the substance, and she glanced down only to see the ground had changed. The soft forest floor was no longer beneath her, instead sharp rocks and shards of glass made up her path and sent stabbing pains up her legs with each step.
There was only red now, and Lanya could hardly see, hardly breath through the stabbing pains in her body. Panic enveloped her, and she did not know what to do, where to go, why to run. Why was she running? She had forgotten, her mind dimly tried to remind her but only succeeded in pushing her to flee with greater urgency. She sped through the blood forest, her tired body begging for her to stop, perhaps it was time for a rest. It was dimly lit, and her lungs kicked at her chest and begged her to stop, but something in the back of her mind shoved her forward.
She began to feel crisp mountain air blow through her fur, but her eyes still only saw red. Finally, she sprung forward, through a break in the trees, surprised to find that the blood that had filled her vision had disappeared. She felt only the crisp mountain winds tugging at her fur, and she glanced around, still struggling to breath easy. The wind howled in the craggy mountain peaks, and the snow that capped the stone giants above her assured her that this was indeed home.
She was home.
And then she wasn't. She was falling, down and down an impossibly long pit into an impossibly dark danger, the wind screaming in her ears. It faintly sounded of something, but she could not figure it out. She flailed her paws, grasping at the air as a terrified yowl ripped from her throat, but none of it did any good. The wind grew louder and more panicked, and the world began to shake and rumble around her, the darkness enveloping her mind.
"...YA!" The wind screeched in Lanya's ears.
"...AYA!.... LANYA!"
Lanya's purple hued eyes snapped open and she gasped in a breath, her lungs felt tight in her chest. She felt a mask being placed over her mouth and nose, and faintly heart the sounds of attendants speaking as she sucked in air, finally finding breath. She pushed the concerned hands off her, and laid still for a moments, enjoying the pleasant lightness of her chest. Finally, she glanced to her left, and her eyes rested on the concerned face of her older sister, her face framed in messy red hair as always.
"G-" Lanya swallowed, her tongue thick in her mouth, then tried again. "Good morning, Sy. Don't look so scared... I'm not dying."
"Actually, Lan," Syia began, "That's exactly what's going on. I don't know what was going on in that clever mind of yours, but you had an attack while you were asleep, and your lungs wouldn't work." Syia grabbed a glass of water and filled it for her sickly younger sister, her concerned frown never leaving her face.
"So says the doctor," Lanya muttered, her grey leopard ears that peeked out from her hair swiveled back, and she pushed herself into a sitting position.
"They're
doctors Lan, they know better than us," Sy swept her fluffy snow leopard tail around her feet, "Besides, I was here, you couldn't
breath. It's getting worse Lan, and I'm worried..."
Lanya took the glass gratefully and let her eyes wander out door to the other were-cats in the ward. She knew her unknown illness was getting worse, the attacks were more frequent and her nightmares were increasingly worryingly, and the blood forest one was quite new. Despite this, she tried to hold out hope, even as Sy stared at her with something akin to pity and terror.
"I know your worried, Sy-"
"I'm
more than worried-"
"Sy," Lanya growled in annoyance, "Let me finish. I know your worried, and I'm worried too, but there's nothing we can do to fix this. We... No one knows what this is, and it's difficult to fix something if you don't know what it is. Yes, things are getting worse, but really... I just... staying here, in this white walled room does something to you. The nightmares, they've changed. Sy... Syia I just want to go
home." Lanya stared at her hands as she fought back tears, her exhaustion with her situation was close to boiling over.
Sy sat in silence for several long moments, her gaze locked on a nonexistent speck of dust on the pristine floors. Finally, she leaned over and gently took her younger sisters hand and tucked the dull red lock of hair behind Lanya's ear. She felt a hopelessness within her heart, Lan didn't deserve this, but they were stuck here now. It was hard, she had watched Lan's furious passion for knowledge of all kinds wane, the spark in her had slowly dimmed and flickered. She didn't know how they had ended up here, Lan fading in the fire of the unknown illness, but she desperately did not want to lose her.
She stood up finally, Lan's hand still gripped in her own, and smiled, putting a single finger to her lips. She didn't know what would come of this, if it would blow out the small flame that was her sister, but at the very least she owed her the kindness of a trip to home. She pulled Lan up and steadied her on her feet for a moment before walking to the open window and smoothly transitioning from her humanoid were-cat form to her snow leopard. Sy leapt out the window and onto the ground, then paused briefly as Lan sprung out behind her with no less grace. She let out a tiny mew, the padded away, ensuring that her pace would not wear Lan out.
Lan followed, her significantly smaller paws had to work harder to keep up with her older sister, but she began to run, her tail streaming out behind her as she surged out in front of Sy. She meowed loudly, and Sy replied in kind as she raced her younger sister down the road and into the crag lands. It did not take long for them to reach the open plains that sloped upwards, giving way to steep mountains of snow and wind. The two sisters slowed their pace once they reached the familiar rocky lands, picking their way up the mountain side.
Sy glanced back at Lan and meowed with soft concern as Lan paused and struggled for breath for a heartbeat, but was quickly reassured when Lan chirped cheerfully and bounced up to her. It had been a very long time since she had seen Lan in such a good mood, despite her illness taking a toll on her. She purred softly, and leaned down to nuzzle her sister only to be lightly swatted by a playful paw. Amused, Sy reared up on her back legs and snatched at the tip of Lan's ears, only to be tackled.
The two sisters enjoyed their time in the crisp mountain air, and frolicked through the rocks and snow that made their home. It was not long before they grew tired, and paused at a stream. Sy let her sister drink her fill as she padded over to a crag point and sat down with her tail curled neatly around her feet. Moments later, Lan joined her, purring, and leaned into her gently. Neither of them were deaf to the harsh rasping that plagued Lan's breath, but neither of them could find it in them to care at this exact moment in time. They were home, and despite the illness that threatened to take Lan at every moment, it was peaceful.
From the red of her dreams and chaos of her mind, Lan had found her solace in her sister. Sy was her hope, and neither of them cared to move from their comfort. For now, they were here, and there was little else that mattered. This was a problem they could deal with, the rest could come later.
