I was about to leap into the canopy but then a bush rustled. I didn’t look at the bush, instead, I sniffed the air and felt around the earth.

“Jasmine? What are you doing here?”

“Wait, it’s you? Furballs! I really though you where another cat.” 

The familiar figure of the maine coon appeared not long after, a disappointed look on her face. This made It crack up.

“Now THAT is comedy gold!” the painted dog laughed.

I rolled my eyes and sighed, “We… need to go…”

“Wait, what?! Why?” Jasmine asked, her face written with confusion.

“There’s a storm coming and there’s no way you’ll be able to find a cat in a storm. Plus, it’s way too dangerous to travel in a storm.” I explained. I shot a glare at It, who was just silently mocking me while I was talking.

“Oh…?” Jasmine said, dumbfounded and confused at the same time. “So… We just go back to our dens or something…?”

I hummed and leapt onto a tree branch, “Yes but also no, you’ll be staying in The Hollow Tree. The place where I went after abandoning you at your grass den.”

“Oh… interesting way to explain that place.” The maine coon said, looked up at me.

“What are we waiting for? The longer we stay here, the chances of us getting caught in the storm get higher.” I said quickly, leaping onto another tree branch not far from the one I just stood on.

Jasmine nodded and followed me by ground. We traveled through the forest until I landed on the branches of a large, Sequoia tree. I jumped down onto the forest floor and guided Jasmine into a hollow that lead into a cave-like tree hollow system. It was large- HUGE even, 3 two-legs could stand in the network and there would still be enough space for cats to move. I lead her into what used to be my storm-room, the one where I’d sleep in when there’s a storm. 

“Stay here, if you need anything, tell me.” I said strictly, “Enjoy your rest, Jasmine.”

Jasmine sighed and paced in the hollow, “Alright… night.”

I cocked my head, Jasmine sounded disappointed, how come? “Is there something wrong…?”

“It’s just… you seem to push me away a lot and…” Jasmine trailed off.

My left ear flicked, “What do you mean…?”

“This morning you told me to do one thing while you did another and now you’re…” The maine coon hesitated the breathed in, “It-it just feels like you don’t like me.”

I looked at her, pity written in my eyes, “You have to get used to it. It’s just how I work, it’s how I live. Sorry, I’ll leave you be now. Have a nice rest.”

As I left the future-leader’s hollow, thunder roared in the background, I peeked out the exit of the hollow-network to see how much rain was pouring. There was a lot… fat raindrops fell from the dark grey sky in large clusters. I turned my head and paced towards my parent’s hollow. The writing they left on the hollows still sat within the bark. 

“Goodbye, Leafcatcher. We need to leave, we must run, our old friends are back to catch and scold us. We must run, but you must stay and keep our plans on track. Careful with what you do, treat other cats the way you want to be. Be careful, be happy, goodbye, Leafcatcher.”

My neon green eyes laid on the writing for a few more seconds before I pulled my focus off of the walls. ‘I’ll cover up the writing tomorrow,’ I thought to myself as I sighed. I laid on the patted floor of the hollow as thunder continued to rumble. I was tired but I couldn’t sleep. It was surprisingly quiet today, I wondered what they were up to. I continued to stare blankly at the message engraved into the walls of the large hollow, I was tired, but I can’t sleep...