After walking a few more miles, Striker, Reign, and the kitten reached another small park. They were sitting in the shadow of the awning in front of a thrift shop, watching people file through before them. While the brothers were watching, the kitten was bouncing around Reign’s paws and trying to climb his forelegs. Striker was more amused by this than his brother, who was staring at one of the trees in front of them with an increasingly stormy expression.
The only reason they were sitting still for so long was because Reign thought this would be a good place to find a good human for their kitten friend. One problem, Reign was suspicious of, well, everyone. That meant that almost anyone who even got close to them got a hard stare and a scrutinous look from a large black dog sitting in front of a thrift shop.
Suddenly, without warning, Reign rose to his feet, picked up the kitten, and started walking towards the park. Striker followed and soon saw what had attracted his brother’s attention. Halfway between them and the park gate was a young woman. At first, this didn’t stand out much, but then Striker noticed that she was holding a small box filled with what looked to be cat toys.
Of course, Striker thought, Might be a good idea to find someone who likes cats.
As Striker and Reign approached the woman she suddenly stopped, turning to watch as they got closer. Then, before Reign could even try to give her the kitten, she shrieked and ran. Reign paused and watched her leave. After a few seconds, he set the kitten on the ground with a sigh and looked back at Striker with a miserable expression. Striker’s ears dropped as he walked over to his brother.
“Well,” Striker started, “We tried? Maybe next time?”
“Yeah. . .” Reign didn’t look at Striker when he spoke, but the edge showed in his voice. “Let’s move before the Catchers get here, I’m sure that lady has already called at least four police stations”
Striker nodded as his brother lifted the kitten off the ground and started moving towards the park gateway. The park in it of itself was already a nice place, but the cover it provided made it all the better for the pair. Especially when they were actively being hunted.
As they strode through the winding pathways, still on the lookout for someone to give their little compatriot to. Striker breathed in the fresh scents of the local flora and fauna, imagining he was walking untroubled through a wild forest in the Northlands. That had always been a dream of his, getting out of the cityscapes, finding somewhere safe. But it was just that, a fantasy.
Suddenly brought down by that thought, Striker followed his brother in silence with his head low and his tail drooping. He couldn’t even think about the kitten they were carrying. He knew that if he did, it would only bring him down more because he knew the odds of it surviving were low, lower than the odds of them being able to find a person for it.
Before long, the two dogs came across a small gathering of people, but before they could get within even a few yards, someone in the group spotted them and proceeded to point, scream, and run, which caused the rest to stampede away as well.
After that, they were more careful, but still, everyone they approached had the same reaction; scream, run. This was disheartening, but Striker and Reign kept moving, kept looking. Eventually, they realized just how long they had been moving. Reign looked up and made a shocked growling sound. The sun was setting and they still had the kitten.
As the shadows spread across the ground, enveloping everything in a blanket of darkness, Reign veered off the trail into the brush. If they were going to be spending the night in the park, they would be spending it hidden safely in shadows. Also, people tended to be agitated when two large black dogs decided to sleep on the trail side.
After stalking through the brush for a bit, Reign finally halted under a massive oak tree. He stood silently whilst Striker got settled then gently set the kitten down between his brother’s front paws.
The trees and brushes provided good cover, but Reign still stayed awake, keeping guard while his brother slept. After a few minutes, Reign was startled when felt something small rub against his foreleg. Looking down, he relaxed as he saw the kitten rubbing against his leg. Reign watched as it curled up against his leg, and soon felt a soft vibration reverberating up his leg from the tiny creature. Purring.
Against his will, Reign felt a soft smile spread across his face. He sighed, annoyed at himself for letting himself grow soft. Yet still, even though they had just found it this morning, Reign felt he was inclined to stand as a guardian over this kitten.
After a few hours, once Reign was sure his closest were safe, he started to drift off and decided it best to lay down before he fell sideways. So, carefully, as not to awaken the kitten, he moved to lay down and curled up around the tiny ball of matted fur, sweeping his fluffy tail in front of him as an extra shield between the kitten and the rest of the world.
Surprisingly, Reign slept well, the peaceful sounds of night singing through the air in an almost lullaby-like way. Wrapped in the cool embrace of silver moonlight, he looked ethereal.
—–
The next morning Reign opened his eyes and found himself staring directly into a large pair of clear blue eyes. Startled, he sat bolt upright. It only took him a few seconds to figure out what was going on. He blinked as the kitten’s small claws dug into the sides of his snout. Reign scowled as the little thing readjusted its grip on his face. Somewhere off to his right Reign heard someone laughing. He looked sideways, without moving his head, and saw Striker sitting a few feet away, snickering at him.
Reign growled at him through clenched teeth then lowered his head to the ground, gently using his paw to detach the kitten. It made a disgruntled squeaking sound and looked up at him mewing its distress. Reign snorted and glared at his brother, who was still chuckling.
Within a few moments after waking, they were on the move again, making their way through the park, still looking for someone to take the kitten. They passed several people on early morning jogs and a few people walking their own dogs, who proceeded to bark and yap at them. Well, until Reign snarled back, then they kept their lips sealed and tails tucked, scampering away with their owners.
Like a repeat of the day before, almost every person they saw ran without a second glance. Some people just continued on, looking sideways at them, but not stopping. After a while, the brothers ended up at the other end of the park. Now back on the open streets all of Reign’s senses sharpened and dialed to the max. In this environment Reign held the kitten safely in his jaws. After watching a few more people gasp and run away, the brothers decided to take a different, though slightly more dangerous, approach.
They found a relatively clean corner of the sidewalk and set the kitten down before hiding themselves to watch from a distance. A while later they saw someone moving towards the kitten. It was a man bearing a tailored suit and fancy looking shoes. Reign watched closely as he got closer to the kitten, hoping he would help it. Just as the two’s hopes were rising, the man raised his leg and stepped towards the little kitten.
Reign reacted before his brother and leaped forward, full speed, putting himself between the man and the kitten.
