Moth Flight’s Vision

Chapter 9

Moth Flight sneezed herself awake. Sniffling, she blinked open her eyes and saw the stacks of hay towering around her. She could see the flattened nests of straw where Cow, Mouse, and Micah had slept. Warmth still radiated from them.

She sat up, wondering where they’d gone. It was light, but no direct sunshine sliced through the barn walls. Moth Flight tasted the air and, through the musty scent of hay dust, smelled rain. She stood and stretched, feeling energy surging through her muscles. She had slept soundly and comfortably, her belly full. As she pressed her chest to the floor, her tail quivered with satisfaction and she straightened and fluffed out her sleep-flattened fur.

She suddenly realized that she hadn’t dreamed at all and wondered, stiffening, if the farm was where the moth had been leading her. She’d found Micah here, hadn’t she? He had dreamed of her. Perhaps the moth had just wanted them to meet.

She frowned, pushing the idea away. That didn’t explain her dreams of the gray she-cat, or the glittering stone, and the spirit-cats who’d gathered around it.

She had to move on. There was still more to discover.

She padded to the top of the ladder and peered down.

Tentatively, she put her front paws on the top slat, then let them bump down to the next. Her heart lurched and she dug in her claws, gripping anxiously to the rough wood. Clumsily, she slithered down to the next slat, then the next, her hind paws trying desperately to catch up so that, in a moment, she was half scrambling, half falling, toward the ground. She leaped clear as soon as she saw the ground was close enough for her to land comfortably, relieved that the farm cats hadn’t been here to see her ungainly descent.

The cows in the shadows behind her swished their hooves through the straw. Hurrying past them, she headed for the small crack in the wall where Mouse and Cow had led her into the barn the day before.

Drizzle sprayed her face as she padded cautiously onto the stretch of stone beyond. She narrowed her eyes, relishing the light rain. It felt refreshing after the dusty air inside. A mild breeze swirled newleaf scents around her. Beyond the stone clearing, the trees were turning green, their branches glowing with fresh leaf buds, ready to unfurl.

“You’re awake!” Cow’s call made her turn. The black-and-white cat was padding across the stone toward her.

Mouse hurried at his friend’s heels. “Did you sleep well?”

“Yes.” Moth Flight purred as they halted beside her.

“You must be hungry,” Cow guessed.

“I’ll catch something on my way,” Moth Flight told her.

“On your way?” Cow tipped her head, frowning.

Moth Flight gazed back at her, searching for words. How could she explain that her dreams were leading her onward?

“There’s just somewhere I need to go.” As Moth Flight finished, green wings fluttered at the far end of the stone clearing.

My moth! Her heart leaped. It was swooping back and forth over a stone wall, as though beckoning her.

She headed toward it, fluffing out her pelt against the drizzle.

Cow swerved in front of her. “You can’t just leave!”

“I have to.” Moth Flight tried to duck around her but Mouse blocked her way.

The tom’s eyes glittered with worry. “You’re too young to be wandering around the valley alone!”

“I’ll be okay.” Moth Flight tried to push past him, but Cow nudged her back.

“Just stay for a few days, until you’ve eaten and rested properly.” There was concern in the she-cat’s yellow gaze.

“I can’t.” Moth Flight glanced anxiously at the moth. It swooped faster, as though impatient. She couldn’t let it get away again! “I have to go now!”

“You nearly got caught by a dog!” Mouse reminded her.

“I’ll be more careful from now on,” Moth Flight promised.

“You’re no more than skin and bone.” Cow blinked at her.

“Stay and let us fatten you up a bit before you leave.”

Moth Flight bit back frustration. I’m only skin and bone compared to you !

The moth flitted suddenly away, heading for the trees beyond the wall. Moth Flight strained frantically, trying to see past Mouse and Cow, who were backing her toward the barn.

It’ll go without me! Anger surged in Moth Flight’s belly. She unsheathed her claws. Was she going to have to fight her way out of here?

The moth fluttered toward the wall once more. I’m coming!

Moth Flight promised silently. “Please let me go!” she begged.

It might disappear at any moment, just like it had done before.

“Let her go if she wants.” Micah’s deep mew echoed across the stone. He slid out from beneath a monster that was sleeping on the far side of the clearing and strode toward them, tail high.

Moth Flight felt a surge of joy, tinged with admiration. Wasn’t Micah scared of the monster? It could wake up at any moment!

Micah stopped beside his friends and shook the rain from his whiskers. “Can’t you see that she’s desperate to leave?”

Moth Flight looked at him gratefully. “The moth from my dreams is trying to show me something.”

Micah nodded solemnly, as though he understood.

Cow looked startled. “What if something happens to her?” she fretted. “I’ll never forgive myself.”

“You can’t protect every cat, Cow,” Micah reasoned. “She’s old enough to look after herself. She was traveling alone when we found her.”

“She was nearly ripped to shreds by a dog,” Cow pointed out.

Micah looked at Moth Flight. His bright green gaze burned into hers. “She has to go.”

Moth Flight nodded, her gaze flicking toward the moth. “I have to go now!”

Micah turned his gaze, softening, onto his friends. “I could go with her.”

Mouse’s eyes widened. “Go with her?”

Micah met the old tom’s gaze. “Then Cow won’t have to worry.” He turned to Moth Flight. “Can I come?”

But this is my journey! She opened her mouth, expecting the words to come out, but they froze on her tongue. “Come with me?” was all she could manage.

“You’ve been in my dreams since I can remember,” Micah told her. “I need to find out why as much as you need to find out about the moth and the spirit-cats.”

Moth Flight shifted her paws. “I think I’m supposed to do this alone.”

“Then why did you appear in my dreams?” Micah stared at her pleadingly until she felt caught in his green gaze. “Please let me come.”

She knew what he was feeling—the tug in his belly as his dreams called out to him. Now that he’d seen his dreams become reality, he couldn’t just go on with his life as though nothing had happened. Besides, she felt deep beneath her fur that they were connected in some way. Micah must be linked with the moth and the spirit-cats. Slowly she nodded. “Okay.”

The moth lifted into the air and began to zigzag toward the trees. “But we have to leave now.”

“You can’t go, Micah!” Cow’s eyes shimmered with sadness. “You’ve grown up here.”

Micah touched his muzzle to hers. “And you’ve been like a mother to me. I will always remember you. And you’ll see me again.”

Mouse’s eyes were dark. He dipped his graying muzzle.

“I’ve heard many cats say that, but once a cat wanders, they rarely come back.”

Moth Flight’s heart ached for the farm cats, but her paws itched to race after the moth. “I can’t wait,” she told Micah.

“Cow and Mouse, thank you for everything, but I need to go.

Micah, catch up with me.” She glanced at the moth. Its bright green wings were nearly camouflaged against the budding trees.

Bounding away, she chased after it, crossing the stretch of stone and leaping onto the wall at the end.

She dropped down into soft grass on the other side and began tracking the moth. She could just make it out as it flitted through the woods. She ducked into their shadow, relieved to be out of the rain.

The moth dropped low to bob over ferns that were just starting to unfurl among the trunks.

Paw steps sounded behind Moth Flight and she glanced over her shoulder. A striped yellow pelt showed between the trees.

Micah was racing after her.

He caught up to her, panting. “What’s the rush?”

Moth Flight nodded toward the moth. It had stopped, resting for a moment against the bark of a beech. “Can you see it?”

Micah followed her gaze and his eyes widened. “It’s beautiful! Is that the moth you dreamed about?”

“Yes!” Joy sparked beneath Moth Flight’s pelt. She hadn’t been sure if the moth was real, or just a trick of her imagination.

But Micah could see it too!

Micah purred. “So you know what it’s like when your dreams suddenly show up while you’re awake?” His green eyes shone as they met hers.

Before she could answer, the moth took off again, and began to weave once more among the trees. Moth Flight followed.

“Where do these woods lead?” she asked as Micah fell in beside her.

“They open onto a slope where a track leads past another Twoleg farm,” Micah told her.

Moth Flight stiffened. “More dogs?”

Micah’s pelt brushed hers as he trotted beside her. “Don’t worry,” he purred. “I can handle dogs.”