Realization settled over Amber. Coal was dead. She would never hear his soft whisper, smell his familiar scent, or feel his warm body close to hers. She didn't want to just leave him there, but what choice did she have? There was nowhere to bury him, and nothing she could do.
She slept with him for the whole night, longing for the warmth to stay in his fur, but as the cold night dragged on, his corpse became frigid. He really was gone.
Amber let out a sob when she saw him as she awoke. She couldn't stand to look at his mangled body. She said a few words to him, licked his fur, and left. Looking back it just appeared that he was asleep.
Her eyes were full of tears, but she held her head high as she walked towards an alleyway bordered by fences. "Coal would want me to do this." She whispered quietly to herself. "I need to do this. If not for me, then for him."
"Him who?" The voice from above nearly scared Amber out of her skin. She looked up to see a fat she-cat sitting on the fence beside her. She had thick calico fur and green eyes. Something pink was around her neck, and a little shiny thing hung off of it.
"Oh, um. You frightened me." Amber said.
"Oops, sorry." The she-cat purred. "What are you doing down there anyway? You look awful."
"Wow, thanks." Amber replied sarcastically, though the kittypet was right; her fur was all messy, she hadn't eaten for ages, she was mourning her mate, and she had blood on her fur. "Do you mind?" She said, gesturing to the fence with her tail.
"Not at all. Come talk to me." The kittypet replied. Amber promptly scrambled up the fence to sit beside her. "What's the matter, hon?"
"Well, for starters..." Amber was hit with a wave of emotion. Catnip was dead. Smokey was alone. Coal was dead. Amber was looking for some mystical group of cats who would, what, fulfil her? Give her a purpose? A pain in her stomach reminded her of the lives inside her, growing. An uncontrollable urge to let out a wail bubbled up, but she fought it back, and instead just sobbed. The calico began to stroke her ears with her tail, whispering assurances to Amber.
"I dunno what's going on, but you can stay with me as long as you want." She spoke softly.
"Th... Thank you." Amber sniffed. "I'm having a hard time." She forced a very poor excuse for a smile.
"You don't have to hold back or put a fake smile on your pretty face."
"I... I know. Coal didn't like when I bottled my feelings." Amber said, putting her head on the she-cat's shoulder.
"Let's talk somewhere else. I'm sure my person will let you in. We can get some food, you can get cleaned up."
Amber nodded, and the she-cat guided her down the other side of the fence onto a hard, gray walkway. It was right beside another road. Amber thought of Coal, how she had just left him, matted fur, laying in the snow. A twoleg would probably find him and get rid of his body soon.
"I'm Silky, by the way." The she-cat said to her as they went down the road. A twoleg walked by with their kit close by, and Amber wondered if she would take her kits for walks too.
"I'm Amber." She murmured. They padded down the road just a little longer and then Silky turned and went right up to a nest.
"This one's mine. You wait here." She said. "Let me just go get my person quickly. I know she'll let you stay." She disappeared into the nest through a flap, and Amber sat in the yard, waiting. A few moments passed, and Silky came strolling out, meowing.
"Come on!" She kept saying to the twoleg who emerged shortly after. The twoleg looked surprised for a moment, but Silky brushed against Amber, showing she trusted her. "My person is really nice, she just needs to know you are too. Go brush against her and purr, she'll love you." Silky said to Amber, and she obliged.
The twoleg reached down to pick Amber up, which freaked her out for a moment, but she remained calm, and when the twoleg began scratching her head, Amber felt like melting into her pink arms.
They went inside and Silky's person got them food to eat. It looked kind of like rabbit droppings, but it tasted so good! Amber ate a whole dish full before feeling an immense amount of exhaustion overtake her. Silky guided her to another larger room and told her she could sleep on the sofa.
Amber curled up, belly full but heart broken, and fell asleep very quickly, but not before reliving the moment that Coal died for what felt like a thousand times.