The light in the room was dim and the air in the surrounding area was stale and cold.

Underneath her was a bed, the silky comforters spread under her.

Hushed voices talking about something, one was light weighted but annoyed. The other sounded grave and tired.

The light in the room was dim and the air in the surrounding area was stale and cold.Underneath her was a bed, the silky comforters spread under her. Hushed voices talking about something, one was light weighted but annoyed. The other sounded grave and tired. Sarah slowly looked over towards where the voices were, in the other end of the room.

She stared at the fuzzed out shapes, her vision started clearing as her headache subsided. She realized one of these....things, was the man that had broke into the house. Sarah continued to watch these two cat creatures talk, to be honest with herself; she was terrified. Soon enough the female one looked at her and stopped speaking, this caused the male to look over his shoulder at Sarah. She felt a chill go down her spine when she saw his eyes. The vibrant golden color of them gave her an unsettling feeling and she wanted him to look away immediately.
"Look at her Hazel, she's terrified!" The female stated, pointing her as if to prove something said beforehand. The tom just grunted at that.
"She'll get over it, besides it shouldn't last once you start babying her,"
Sarah realized that these cats had been arguing about something to do with her while she had been out cold. She was going to try and make a run for it while the cats were bickering quietly to each other, but when she stood her vision blurred again and the world seemed to spin. Gentle hands guided her back to bed. "Sweetie, sweetie. Don't leave the bed, you really got hurt when Hazel tried to squash your head against that counter!"
"I didn't try to crack her skull for the last ti-"
"Shhh!" she snapped to him, her bushy tail lashing. Now that she was closer, Sarah could hear the small push of an accent.
"Hazel, go get her some food and water, you owe it to her!"

Once again he made an unimpressed grunt, but left the room as told. As her head cleared again, Sarah got a better view of the woman. She looked like a calico with her multi-colored pelt, she probably was one. Though her attention was now brought to her shockingly purple eyes. "Now I know you're probably scared of me deary, but I would like to introduce myself," She paused, she only continued after Sarah gave her a quiet ok. "My name is Jade, I'll be taking you to my home with your sister in a little bit. The tom who was just here is Hazel, he's the Obsidianite King," Jade explained carefully to her. Sarah was confused about this whole situation, she just wanted to go home with Chryssy.
"Where's Chryssy? Is she hurt?!"
"Calm down dear, she's in the kitchen with my kits, she'll be just fine with them," Jade meowed in an assuring tone. "She said your name is Sarah?" She changed the subject to make their chat more casual and relaxed. Sarah nodded, the conversation change and assurance that her sister was okay calmed her nerves some. But she still felt wary.
"Why did he bring us here?"
The she-cat frowned at her question.
"Rules he's gotta follow, he was in your world when you first saw him. The rules are that we kill you. You're very lucky that he hates rules like that, so he brought you here instead,"
Sarah didn't respond right away. "How long do we have to stay?" Her tone was feverish for the answer. "I don't know.... For your safety, I'm hoping til you pass naturally," Jade meowed.
"L-like a pet?" Sarah asked, scooting away a little. Jade's expression contorted with shock. "No, no, no! Sweetie, it's not like that at all! A pet is an animal some one thinks they own! None of us own you nor your sister, i-it's like foster care or whatever that thing is that you humans made as an alternative to adoption. Except better than that!" Jade said, she seemed somewhat offended by the idea of pets.Sarah didn't dare say anything else as Hazel reentered the room with a plate of food and a glass of water. He set it down on the nightstand without a word, and went to do something at a desk.
On the plate was simple breakfast foods, eggs and bacon. Sarah looked to Jade, then the plate. "Honey, if he were gonna kill you, he wouldn't have cooked for you first," she chuckled. He grunted again, this time the tone seemed much more amused though.
Sarah decided to listen to her whining stomach and eat. Once she finished, Jade helped her to stand up. This time her vision stayed the same but her head still ached. "Hazel, will you get some low powered pain medication and a change of clothes?" She checked the back of Sarah's pajama shirt collar. "Woman's size eight," Jade order Hazel again. The tom looked at Sarah with those daunting golden eyes. "Will anyone be at your house?"
Sarah gulped quietly and shook her head, her hands felt clammy as she replied to him "Nope,"
He stood thinking. "For how long?"
Sarah just wanted him to stop talking to her and go away "For a couple of weeks," she told him. Once again Hazel was quiet.
"Ok," he said simply before long. "Sorry, sometimes he's a man of few words or none at all..." Jade said, excusing his quiet behaviors.

Sarah was drinking some of the water when he came back with folded clothes and a petite white bottle. "I couldn't find the weaker meds, just give her one of these... they work for an hour per capsule," he said, referring to the bottle. Hazel set down the items on the bed and pointed to a door off to the side. "That's the bathroom, you can change or take a bath, no one will disturb you in there," he meowed before returning to the desk. Jade popped one of the pills out of the bottle and handed it to Sarah. She swallowed it with the water and grabbed the clothes, she got up, and carefully walked to the bathroom. She locked the door and changed into the clothing Hazel had grabbed for her. It was a plain grey shirt, jeans, and a white jacket with a fuzzy hood.
Sarah stayed in the bathroom for a little while, she didn't want to be out there with those cats. Eventually she decided to come out, discouraged completely when she saw she was alone with Hazel. "Jade is checking on her kits and the other human... she'll be back in a moment," He said whilst doing paperwork. "Would you like a book to read? There are some over here... not really stories of grandeur... just history and things like that... books are books though," he rambled distractedly, lightly tapping a small bookcase next to him with the end of his pen. Sarah slowly made her way to the bookcase, when she got there Hazel grabbed a small section of books out and put them on his desk. "These aren't for your eyes," he explained simply.
Sarah didn't pay mind to them as she sifted through the book titles. One of them caught her eye, she knows she heard him say these books were factual but the one in front of her was titled 'The Properties Of Magic'. She already knew the whole talking cats that stood upright and talk was insane enough, but now this cat thing expects her to believe magic is real? Fat chance! "Hey um, are you sure it's only facts and not fairy tale?"
"Are you breathing?"
"Of course...."
"There's your answer Sarah," Hazel grunted, still working. Sarah noticed that his tail was swishing irritably, she'd try to make her next statement brief.
"Isn't magic imaginary?" She asked skeptically as she flipped through the pages of the book. She then looked up from it to him where she crouched at the bookcase. Hazel grunted in annoyance before snapping his fingers, slowly Sarah noticed his fur and eye colors were changing. He looked at her with blue eyes. "Is it imaginary now deary?"
He sounded bothered, like he was upset with her.
Hazel then went back to work, his fur and eye color changing back to how they originally were. Sarah felt frightened by him once again and she put the book back. She picked up a different book that was basically a list of names, probably of the cats who were to have a meeting with Hazel, he is their king after all. There was a small group of names set for a meeting in a few hours, Crane Braedy Skalenhide, Swirl Rachel Skalenhide, and Duck Mallard Clawsender.
Sarah put this book down as well, looking around the room. Suddenly she heard a knocking and Hazel told the person they were always welcome. Afterwards, Jade walked into the room holding the hand of a grey she-cat, she had soft green eyes and a large smile. "Ready to go Sarah?" Jade asked as the smaller cat watched her. "I'm Haze!" she chirped, Haze seemed to be around Chryssy's age group.
Sarah quickly joined Haze and Jade, glad to finally be getting away from Hazel. Though, the more she looked, the more she noticed the similarities between Hazel and Haze. The thought occurred that they might be related. Once Hazel and Jade exchanged farewells, the three left him in the room. Jade led Sarah and Haze through a long corridor, a few cats were walking around them as well, starring Sarah down. They either looked curious or angered of her, which was alarming because they could easily crush her by the looks of the muscle underneath the dirtied up fur. "Don't worry... the miners are just tired and are going to complain to Hazel..." Jade explained quietly. "If they really took a look at the situation, they're one of the jobs with the biggest pay, they could quit if they hated the work so much," Jade sighed, shaking her head. Sarah watched the rest of them pass by, a few even had children with them. Soon enough they were out of the castle.
"Didn't you say they were in the kitchen?" Sarah asked, looking back at the castle. "Yes I did, but they've gone home since then," she meowed as she lead them onwards on the path. Sarah realized they were underground this entire time, the air was chilly which made her grateful for the jacket Hazel brought her. Though, her eyes were trapped watching the ceiling of the monstrous cavern. The only light came from thousands upon thousands of crystals simulating daylight. "Amazing right?" Haze meowed proudly to her. "Y-yeah..." Sarah replied, now bringing her gaze to the grey she-cat beside her. Haze droned on "The architects styled those with some of the most complex enchantments and the crystals the miners collect, they're the most beautiful lights in all the kingdoms! I can't wait to show you all the amazing stuff here! Hazel arranged everything, which means it's amazing cause he's the BEST King! I can bring you to Opal Falls, Raspberry Library, or the best place known as the Primrose Gardens!"
Jade soon interrupted Haze's large spiel. "You'll have plenty of time for that later niño, but you have work to do," Haze instantly gasped. "I ALMOST FORGOT ABOUT THAT I CAN'T BELIEVE I DARED TO FORGET TO HELP SPOTTED!" she yelled in distress as she ran away from them, probably towards wherever she worked. " What kinds of jobs do cats have?" Sarah asked, genuinely curious. Jade laughed lightly "Same jobs as you humans deary."

Jade continued to lead Sarah towards a large, plain, monochrome building. As they walked up to the door, there was a loud beep and someone started speaking. "Who is this?"
"Jade,"
"State your business,"
Jade looked slightly annoyed. "I'm here to pick up my son, Duck, I think you know this Swirl,"
The voice sighed, she sounded bored.
"Show your I.D card to the scanner..."
Slowly, Jade held up a small card, the size of a driver's license, and the door slowly popped open. She took ahold of Sarah's hand and brought her into the building, door closing behind them. She looked around the dark hallway, the lighting was almost crimson. "Where are we?..." Jade eventually answered. "Well, we're in the lab, it's the closest thing we have to a hospital... the only real hospitals are in the Viperite kingdom... which is too far away for us, so the head scientist, Crane, went and trained for a medical license... Swirl's still working for hers... fourth attempt. I need to pick up Duck, he wants to join their career, but I also wanted them to take a look at your head and disinfect those scratches on your face,"

"Oh... I'm being checked on by Crane, right??" Jade laughed at that, "Of course dear!"

Soon enough a ginger striped she-cat walked over to Jade and froze, staring at Sarah.
"What. is. THAT,"
"She's a human!"
"yes , yes, I know what it is, but what is it doing HERE?"
"I'm having Crane check her injuries, be nice Swirl,"
"Down the hallway and to the right, he's in the chem room," she huffed, done talking to them. Jade rolled her eyes and lead the way to the directions Swirl gave. Once they were at the door, the she-cat knocked and waited, she was looking down as the door opened and Sarah now understood why she did that. The tom that opened the door was shorter than a fifth grader.
"How're you holding up Crane?"
"Fine, so Hazel wasn't kidding about humans,"
"Yeah...do you think you could check her up,"
Crane grunted and nodded, motioning to follow him out of the room. He brought them to a room that looked like a normal doctors office, he climbed up onto a swivel chair and pointed to a table. "Go ahead and take a seat,"
Sarah slowly did what he asked and he began looking closely at the scratches on her face, he had a cloth and a bottle of Isopropyl alcohol, he got the liquid on the soft towel and dabbed around and on it. Sarah did her best not to make a noise or flinch at the strange stinging. Crane did a few more things and looked to Jade. "She just needs to take things easy for a few days, Duck is trying to hide in the breakroom by the way,"
Jade huffed at that and thanked him, grabbing Sarah's hand and leading her towards another room, assumingly the breakroom. Inside there was a fridge, chairs, a microwave, stove, and coffee machine. The calico started looking around, soon dragging a grumpy tom out from under a loveseat. "Duck Mallard, why the heck were you hiding under there? It's probably filthy, you're taking a bath when we get home,"
"I'm almost an adult, I don't have to listen to you!" he protested.
"Key word is almost Mallard my dearest," Jade snarkily replied to him. "A bath and no buts about it, you're buried in dust bunnies!"
Duck huffed, but said no more back to his mother, looking to Sarah, he looked intrigued.
"Now, this is Sarah, as far as you're concerned you're now siblings,"
"What?" Duck snapped to her, losing the intriguement in his eyes. "Duck, be polite,"
Another huff was made.

The three of them were walking along, soon making a sharp, downwards turn into a flat, crystal surrounded area. Inside this area was three more cats, a brown tom, a lighter brown tabby she-cat, and a chubby ginger tabby. The ginger tom was happily talking to the younger cats, though they seemed older than Duck. Next to these cats were roughly made scarecrows, they seemed to be worn with age and seemed to have been hit at a lot. As Sarah, Jade, and Duck got closer, the dark brown tom noticed and looked over the brim of his sunglasses and got the she-cats attention and pointed with a combination of a smirk and happy grin. Now the ginger tom was looking at them, he had the brightest expression of the three, and not because he had the lightest pelt color.
Quickly the three strangers met up with them, the cats around her age, probably older, hugged Jade while the ginger tabby went to Sarah.
"I haven't seen you around before! What's your name? I'm Gorse! Do you like waffles? I know I like waffles!"
Duck rolled his eyes at Gorse, who seemed not to notice. She giggled a bit "I'm Sarah... and I guess I like waffles,"
Gorse had now the most happy expression Sarah thought she'd ever seen. Jade smiled as well.
"Sarah, this is Stump and Tawny,"
Stump chuckled "Nice to meet ya!" he pulled Sarah, Tawny, and Duck close. "Soon enough we'll all be birds of a feather!"
Duck stiffened at that. "Stump, don't say that ever again,"
Tawny just started laughing, tail curling while Gorse just smiled.
"Get it Sarah? Cause Duck and Tawny are named after birds," Stump chuckled with a playful smirk and an expectant raise of his brows. Sarah slowly realized that, having originally thought Tawny was named after the color, she started laughing with them.
Jade rested her hands on Stump's shoulder. "Now now, calm down mi niños, it's time to get going, say goodbye to Gorse,"
Sarah slowly waved bye to the tom while Duck grumbled his. Tawny and Stump hugged him quickly and said their goodbyes, as well as thanking him for helping with their training.
As they walked, Jade looked to Tawny and Stump. "Where's Chrysanthemum?"
"We left her at the house, she told us she could handle herself,"
Jade looked unpleased with that but also seemed relieved, saying nothing more.