“MICHEALA!”

Micheala was – very abruptly, might she add – tackled and flung to the ground by a blur of fur and yapping, and with no time to really recover or add a perspective to what was going on, she simply laid on her back while flapping her legs in a panicked flurry, squawking all the while.

“Micheala, Micheala, oh my god!!!”

Is … that…  Through slitted eyes, Micheala let out a soft groan and tried to lift her head to connect her very confused brain to the voice she was hearing. Wait.

Stella?!

“Micheala, Micheala, c’mon!!” With a yank and a tug, Micheala let out another alarmed squeal as Stella barked and sunk her teeth into the she-cat’s scruff, pulling her upwards and off of the ground. The tabby’s tiny legs scrambled helplessly against the ground as a result, and when the she-dog let go, she simply came careening back to the ground in a mess of legs.

“Wait, wait, what’s going on?” The tabby grumbled, laying uncomfortably on the grass for a few dazed moments before sliding to her paws reluctantly. Jeez, Stella sure is strong. And passionate. “Weren’t you, like… really upset yesterday…?” Also… I haven’t seen Stella be this excited in such a long time… What’s got her so worked up about…??

“Hahaha, no no no, you silly goose! Remember? Me and Catty woke you up and brought you that gift to make you feel better?” Stella responded eagerly, her eyes bright and wide with excitement.

“Oh, yeah!” Wow, I’m even more forgetful than I thought. Eef.

“But, the reason I’m so excited is-“ the she-dog rambled on, her paws drumming against the earth like a chorus of chattering birds. “-Well, I don’t have many neighbors, right? Except for Catty across the street of course-“

Micheala slowly blinked. “Yeaaah..?-“

“—And, well, guess what, guess what, oh my god!!!!”

“Umm…”

“There’s a new neighbor, Micheala, a new neighbor!!” Bouncing around in circles now, Stella gave Micheala a wide, excited grin. “I know nothing about them or anything, but they’re just down the road from my house, near the river, and isn’t that just so so cool?! Neighbors, Micheala, and they have a dog! A puppy!”

“That’s… really cool, oh my heavens!!” Catching onto the reason for excitement, the tabby found herself smiling along with Stella. It’s really neat to see her so happy… it makes me happy to see her happy, hehe! I wish she were more happy like this but like, all the time, but she’s good no matter what!!

“Yeah, it totally is, and that’s why I need you to come with me like, right now, C’MON!!” As Stella pounced forwards and gave Micheala a hard nudge before racing off herself, the tabby noticed how the she-dog’s vocal range didn’t exactly account or do well with her excitement, causing her voice to stop or get stuck on a note while attempting to go higher.

These blunt and abrupt stops made Micheala want to laugh, but she held in the giggles regardless and instead replaced them with a friendlier smile. I don’t wanna be rude to Stella. It wouldn’t be nice of me to do that to her, I don’t think.

“Hey, wait up!! My stubby legs make me short, and I’m not very faast… Stellaaaaaaa…!!!!” And with that, she chased after the golden she-dog.

The two raced along the grass – giggling and chirping with excitement, kicking up dirt and bugs and chasing eachother through the long stalks of grass. Even though Stella was always ahead of Micheala and had no plans of slowing down, the tabby tailing her only felt pure joy and happiness, her hunger even forgotten in her dash of cheer.

Dodging through a group of trees and bushes and through old, collapsed trees and rotten down houses, the two finally came to a crossroad. Micheala could spy Stella’s house from here – a long, wide white house that had this antique daintiness to it, looking expensive and old all at the same time. Her eyes wandered amongst the surfaces, analyzing how big and long and huge the house was, equilateral yet… a bit gray, almost. Only one person lived in that humongous place, after all, and apparently, they felt no need to wash up the place every once and a while. Not that Micheala had ever been picky about that, anyway.

“Micheala, c’mon c’mon, hurry up!!” Annnd obviously her mind had taken her elsewhere, as Micheala realized she had come to a complete halt as she danced along in her head. Not even time to look at Catty’s house, huh? Oh well, she’d peek at it later – with a smile, she shouted a ‘I’m coming!!’ and dashed after Stella, taking a left.

Finally, she caught up to the she-dog, panting and sweating and gasping for air alongside her companion, who looked completely fine and even energized by the run. “So, this… this, this… is-“

“This is it!” Stella finished cheerfully, her tail wagging at unimaginable speeds. The she-cat took a step away to avoid being hit and bruised by such a powerful tail. Jeez. “C’mon, let’s go explore it!! See if the dog’s here!!!”

While Stella ran along to another angle of the house, Micheala found herself dozing off again, staring at the enormous house. Unlike Stella’s house, it was at the very dead end of the road, surrounded by trees and bushes. Moss crept up the wooden walls, and the household itself looked almost like a modern-day cabin. The she-cat almost felt… sad looking at it, for a reason she couldn’t exactly place her paw on. It seemed so alone, so sunken in solitude out here, in the middle of nowhere while being already in the middle of nowhere. She frowned, and took a look over at the empty driveway.

Padding up to her vibrating friend, Micheala threw a confirming glance over her shoulder. Okay, no truck or car or anything for sure. I hope… Stella’s not disappointed. I’d hate to ruin her day already. “I don’t think… she’s here.”

“Yeah, I think you’re right. But… I do smell a dog!! And it smells good, like, a good smell…!” Stella replied, her tone luckily still elevated but at the same time, obviously dulled. “Well, hey, we can just wait here, right?”

The tabby was confused on what a ‘good smell dog’ exactly was, but wasn’t curious enough to actually ask. “Um, we could check back later, too…!” Micheala added slowly, not too keen on the idea of sitting around and waiting all day.

“Well, I’m going to stay here!! And wait!! Forever, if I have to!!” As if to accentuate her point, Stella plopped herself down right in front of the driveway with a grunt. Realizing she didn’t really have much of a choice, the tabby gingerly sat herself beside her friend.

And now her stomach was growling again. Urgh.

However, some sort of otherworldly creature must’ve heard Micheala’s silent suffering, as she could hear a distant rumbling in the distance that most definitely wasn’t her stomach. She perked her ears and sat herself up eagerly, angling her head towards the sound.

“Do you think that’s them?” She said excitedly.

Stella lifted her head as well, starting to smile in anticipation. “Well, it has to be!! I doubt anybody else would be driving on this side of like, a practically abandoned town… oh, oh oh!! There’s the truck, there it is!!!”

Sure enough, as Micheala blinked rapidly and focused her vision, she could see a vibrant, muddy red truck rolling across another dirt road alongside the river, tires carelessly bouncing and grinding against the uneven pathways. It suddenly jerked aggressively to the right, driving off the pathway and through the trees until it finally came to the driveway, where it came to a sharp stop. Micheala even inched further away, scared that the vehicle’s dusty breaks would fling it forwards and run her over – meanwhile, Stella stood up and gave an enthusiastic bark.

“They’re here, they’re here, oh my gooood!!!” With the energy Micheala currently lacked, the she-dog rounded around the truck. She shot a glance over her shoulder, beckoning her reluctant tabby friend over with a wag of her tail.

Micheala found that it was less that she was reluctant, and more so that she was jarred by Stella’s sudden and VERY EXTREME  excitement over the new neighbors. The tabby was, well, absolutely thrilled to possibly have a new friend, but something about the bluntness of the she-dog’s excitement kinda… dulled her own. Also, she was starving.

She wobbled forwards. Stella, I love you, but can we please please please get some food soon, oh my heavens.

Like a golden gate sliding open and letting in a billion saints to a heaven unimaginable, the red truck door was kicked open, and out came a tall, young man. With tan, dirtied skin and dark auburn hair, the person looked like he had had… a rough day; Micheala watched with slight fear as the guy got out, slammed the door behind him, and then turned to see Stella and her anxious tabby friend sitting there, almost ominous in their waiting.

“Hello!!!” Stella yapped immediately, jumping to her paws and wagging her tail. Micheala gulped.

For a few seconds, the man stood there, looking absolutely baffled. Then he fumbled about his belt, grumbling under his breath, and when he came up emptyhanded he lurched forwards, lashing his hands out in the air.

“Get outta here, get out, you greedy bastards!!” As the man screamed and sent one foot flying out towards the pair, Micheala shrieked in alarm and, acting on the first impulse she had, leaped towards Stella and sent the she-dog tumbling off the path. “Get out, get out!! I’m not afraid to… to… call the police, or shoot you bastards, get outta here!!”

“Shit!” Stella yelped, and quickly she rebounded back to her paws, grabbing Micheala tightly by the scruff and thrusting her forwards. “Hell – we have to get out of here!”

Speeding fear on adrenaline-powered legs, Stella and Micheala dashed forwards with racing hearts, terrified and horrified and mortified by what the guy behind them could do. The tabby felt a rock hit the back of her leg and rocket off – which made her cry out in fear and slight pain – and soon, the two had made their way up to Stella’s house, where they quickly hurtled themselves into the nearby bushes. Cramped and gasping for air, Micheala’s mind whirled as she squeezed herself into the bush, trying her best to not get too close to Stella.

However, it seemed the tabby didn’t have to worry about such things for too long, as in mere seconds the she-dog wrestled her way out of the bush. “Wait, Stella, what’re you doing?!”