Still looking at the path they took, Mina felt something wet on her paws. She felt another drop but she ignored it. She only looked up when she heard the general"s voice."Rain. Let"s take cover."
Mina followed the general halfheartedly. She was too sad to mind the conversation going around her. Instead of milling around with the rest of the party, she looked for a nice and warm spot. She was about to rest her eyes when she heard the rustling leaves.
Her ears instinctively pointed upward. Mina could barely make out the sound of movement because of the rain.
"Could it be?"
Restraining her excitement, she made her way towards the direction of the sound. Her eyes focused on the gra.s.s behind the trees. Coincidentally, food was also laid out in the area.
"Tarou!" she thought. "That mouse only cares about food!"
Mina"s lethargic mood was gone instantly.
"It should be him."
Mina smiled while thinking about her naughty plan. Crouching low, she moved without making any sound.
"I"m going to scare that mouse to death!"
Mina saw something grey. Focusing solely on the moving object, her eyes narrowed. When she found the perfect timing, she let out a toothy grin before catching the animal with her mouth.
Instead of a warm and furry mouse, Mina felt a cold, scaly thing on her mouth. Before she could think, she came face to face with a grey snake.
The startled animal hissed at her with a mix of anger and surprise. Mina had no idea what to do.
"There"s a slimy tail in my jaws."
For fear that the snake will come closer, she twirled it around fast enough to avoid the approaching head.
"This is too revolting!"
Mina only released the snake when the animal became limp. The snake took the opportunity to get away from her and slithered towards the clueless princess.
"Argh!!! These humans are too troublesome!"
After groaning inwardly, Mina stalked the snake and caught it again. She gave it another twirl to fend off possible attacks. She had no idea if the snake was venomous or not but she didn"t want to take any chances.
"Arghh! I just want to get rid of this slimy thing."
Mina finally caught sight of the general at the edge of the clearing. She ran as fast as she can towards the man. She laid it on the general"s feet and meowed to catch his attention.
"Deal with this servant! The taste is eew! Too abominable."
After depositing the animal to someone reliable, Mina made her way towards the princess to grab something to
Still shuddering from the taste, she snacked on the closest plant with the most tolerable scent.
During the entire scene, the bandits and the princess were speechless. They saw how the cat brought the snake to the general as if it was some kind of offering. The man dealt with the snake quickly and before they knew it, the cat approached them and snacked on their food.
***
After the temporary excitement, Mina was back in a somber mood. She was secretly hoping that Tarou sneaked inside one of the bags. After all, it was the most sensible thing to do!
With her tail tucked between her legs, she continued to listen for any movement. But there was nothing unusual.
Minutes pa.s.sed but there was still nothing except for the sound of the raindrops.
For the first time, Mina felt alone since she arrived in this world. She felt tiredness creep into her little body and her eyes closed involuntarily.
***
When Mina opened her eyes, tents were up, the ground was dry, and darkness already crept into the forest. She gazed up at the night sky with a lazy yawn. To her amazement, everything was just too beautiful.
Thousands of stars sparkled in the heavens and Mina felt overwhelmed. In the city, stars were barely visible but even then she never had the chance to observe the night sky long enough to enjoy the view. She was always in a rush or dead tired.
Tonight, she had all the time in the world. When Mina lowered her gaze, she saw dancing lights over the trees and bushes.
Fireflies!
Against the darkness, everything glowed and sparkled. The forest came alive and it was magical.
The scene took Mina"s breath away.
It was like a fairytale.
Getting closer to the dancing fireflies, Mina couldn"t help but reach out with one paw with glee.
Forgetting everything else temporarily, she played with the insects and chased them around until a tasty scent caught her attention.
"This smells divine!"
While making her way towards her meal, she heard two voices.
"I had no idea the general likes cats."
"Apparently, he likes rabbits better."
Mina felt offended.
"How could those white, fluffy things be better than me?"
Her tail moved quickly from side to side and her ears were flat against her head. She was about to claw the rabbit-loving man when she saw what the dinner meal would be.
"Oh!"
Sheathing her claws, she saw white, fluffy fur on one side and the gutted animals over the fire.
Rabbits.
Finally calm, Mina sat quietly on the side until the sound of horse hooves disturbed her vigil over the grilled meat. Her tail moved from side to side. With her ears up, she realized that the horse is running on breakneck speed.
Fully alert, Mina stood up on all fours and looked for the general. Her human was with the bandit chief and they were on their way out of a tent.
When the horse slowed down to a walk, Mina knew that the animal was making its way to their camp. Everyone became tense while looking at the direction of the approaching horse.
When the animal came into view a shout rang out from across the clearing.
"Rohan!" the bandit chief called out while running towards the rider who gripped the reins with great effort.
When he looked up, Mina saw a familiar face. He was the young man who fell off his horse earlier.
"Chief," the man spoke in a labored voice. The man almost fell off his mount but the bandit chief steadied him. "Ambush."
"Where?"
"Last fork before the hideout," Rohan answered, pausing after every word.
"The rest?"
Rohan stammered in pain, unable to speak coherently.
"Let"s tend to your wounds first. Tell me the rest later."
While looking at the bandit chief leading the man into a tent to treat his injuries, a realization dawned on Mina.
"In this world, there is danger everywhere."
At that exact moment, her ears caught another sound. Bracing for a threat, her pupils dilated and she crouched down while waiting for something else to appear.