Back at Winnipeg City, Rhodey’s friends were giving the news to their elder, he had been captured by the Street Cats!
“We were lunching at the Cheese Shop, and suddenly they took us by surprise!”
“Then we run to hide, and shortly after we decided to fight them using cheese wheels. We were the victors! However, we noticed that Rhodey was gone!”
“We cannot give him up for dead yet! We have to rescue him!”
“Is that so? The Elder said. “Are you sure you wanna do this, young ones? This can only be done in cases of extreme emergency…”
“He’s our best friend, and the most special member of our clan! This IS an extreme emergency!”
“Very well.” The Elder said “Everyone… Code Catbait!”
Lots of mice showed up and answered to the call:
“Catbait! Boochacha!”
They had war makeup in their faces.
“Our noble friend, Rhoderick, has been captured by our deadliest enemies, the Street Cats. Because he’s a very important mouse to us, we must go save him from suffering a dreadful fate. We’ll track the cats and once we find them, we’ll strike, and we’ll make them hand us our Rhodey. Who’s with me?!”
One mouse between the army said:
“That sounds like a very risky idea, but Rhodey is a very special mouse. He has bigger dreams than any of us, and we want him to live so he can accomplish them. So let’s go!”
All the mice cheered, and moved on.
“Together we’ll rescue Rhodey, or die in the attempt! Charge!” shouted the Elder.
At the same time, at Bruise’s turf, he had convinced his clan to not give up and follow Rhodey and Kate so they could kill them for revenge. And he had accepted Jinx back in his clan. They ran to the street where they last saw the couple.
“Ummm, boss. How are we gonna know the exact vehicle we’ll board?” Jinx asked.
“Relax. I know exactly what kind of vehicle is perfect for us.”
Then he saw a van coming. When the car approached enough, he realized it was the appropriate one.”
“BINGO!”
“You mean the dog? Where is he? I’m afraid of dogs!” One cat said.
“Aw, forget it. Look!”
Luckily for them, the van belonged to a cat lady, and the back part was empty! The Cat Lady stopped her van, saw the Street Cats, and instantly fell in love with them. So she took them on board, started the van and headed to her home, which coincidentally was also in the forest.
Meanwhile, at the forest, Kate and Rhodey kept walking through the woods, in search of an animal that could help them get to their destination easier. On their way, they found a little black bear cub who was playing. Both gasped. He noticed them and asked:
“Wow, are you a bobcat?”
“What? No! I’m just a cat. Specifically, a Snowshoe cat.”
“I’ve never seen that species around here before. Hehe.”
“Of course not. We’re from Winnipeg city.”
“Good thing you’re not a bobcat. My mom hates them.”
This just made Kate even more nervous.
“You know what they say. Where there is a bear cub, Mama Bear is nearby. We should retreat slowly…” Rhodey whispered to her.
“Not now.” Kate said to him.
“Hey, why are you talking to that mouse? Aren’t you gonna eat it?” the bear cub asked.
“NO WAY! In fact, we’re… boyfriends, you know?”
“Yeah, Rhodey and Kate, believe it or not!” Rhodey said, nervously.
“WOW! This is the craziest thing I’ve ever seen and heard! And I love it!”
Rhodey and Kate remembered that he was just a kid. He was still to innocent to understands the situation, so they thought that perhaps he could help them.
“You see; we want to travel to Minnesota. There is a magician unicorn that maybe will help us make our dream come true, a life together with no other mice and cats bothering us.” Rhodey explained.
“A unicorn?!” said the little bear amazed.
“Well, it’s actually a white horse with a technologic horn that can erase memories, hypnotize and control minds.”
“Uhhh… ok.”
“Maybe you can ask your mother if she can help us get there. What do you say, little one?” Kate said to the cub, with a cute face.
“Oh, oh, all right. I’m gonna call her.” He said, and proceeded to make a bear cub growl loud enough for her mother to appear.
“Did you call me, sweetie?” Mama Bear asked. What do you want?”
Then she noticed Kate and Rhodey, and made a confused face.
“Who are they?”
“Mom, she’s not a bobcat, and that mouse is her boyfriend! They want to go to Minnesota, where there is an unicorn that can help them be together forever! Can you help them, please?”
Mama Bear chuckled.
“Son, don’t exaggerate with your stories.”
“It’s true, mom.”
“Yes, it is.” Rhodey and Kate said at the same time.
The look on Mama Bear’s face became serious, and she said:
“Are you two crazy? You are breaking the laws of nature. She is supposed to be your predator, and you are supposed to be her prey.”
“Maybe that’s true, I know. But we’ve found out that deep inside, we’re more similar than we think. We think love is capable of anything.” Rhodey said.
“Love? Capable of anything? Oh, please. Don’t make me laugh more than I should. I’m sorry, but I don’t help looneys. Now, if you excuse us, we have to go back home.”
She grabbed her cub with the mouth, and prepared to leave.
“But…” Kate said.
Mama Bear put her cub in the ground and said:
“DON’T insist. Today I’m not in the mood to fight…”
Then she picked him up again and moved on. The little bear threw a sad glance at the couple and whispered:
“Sorry, guys…”
With their hope crumbling down, they kept walking, praying there could be another animal that helped them.
In the afternoon, it was already very dark in the woods. Suddenly, they heard something. It sounded like leaves and branches movement, and quick footsteps. Then they saw glowing eyes, staring at them from the dark.
“A-are they wolves?” Kate asked
“I- I think so.” Rhodey answered.
Growls were heard, and the eyes jumped at them, reveling themselves to be six wolves! For some reason, each one had a color of the rainbow on its fur.
“Kate, run! RUN!”
And that’s what she did, not before picking up her boyfriend with the tail and putting him on her back. The wolves chased them until they arrived near a rocky mountain, and Kate climbed with Rhodey up a low ledge.
“STOP!” She cried.
Interestingly enough, the wolves obeyed, and then sat.
“Why can’t anyone leave us alone? Don’t you understand? When I met Rhodey, I admit, at first I saw him as a meal, but then, I realized how much we share in common. We both lost our parents and promised them to make them proud, we both like to sing and dance, we both love to have fun and eat the beast leftovers from the highest class restaurants. Can’t you see? Even though we’re supposed to be natural enemies, we love each other. We think every creature can do the same, no matter the species.”
Curiously, the wolves began to cry happy.
“It’s… beautiful!” The orange one said.
“Maybe you’re right, kitty.” The green one said.
“I know we haven’t met yet, but we’ll confess you something. We’re not wolves, we’re… Wolfskies!” The female purple one said.
“You’re… what?” Rhodey asked.
“Wolfskies. A mix between wolf and husky.” The female blue Wolfsky said.
“Wait. Isn’t husky a dog breed. I hate dogs…” Kate said.
“KATE! Sorry, sorry, guys. Excuse my girlfriend.” Rhodey said.
“Eh, doesn’t matter. She’s a cat after all. But what we’re trying to say, is that we’re siblings born from what could be a forbidden relationship. Maybe you’ve heard lots of cases of wolves attacking dogs.” The female yellow one said.
“Because of this special moment, we will not hunt you. Allow us to introduce ourselves” said the red Wolfsky, who appeared to be the leader. “I’m Denahi, the orange one is Atka, the green one is Luk. And here’s our ladies, the purple one, Tamarak, the blue one, Kula, and the yellow one, Hokani.”
“And together, we are the Southern Light Six!” they said at the same time.
“I’m Kate, and this is my boyfriend Rhodey.”
“Excuse me, but why do you guys exactly have colored fur?” he asked.
“Well, my friend, I’ll explain. Our colors represent our favorite fruit. Mine is the red cranberry.” Denahi said.
“Blueberry.” Kula said.
“Mint. Though it’s not a fruit.” Luk said.
“Peach.” Hokani said.
“Blackberry.” Tamarak said.
“Mine it’s obvious.” Atka said.
“And they’re also colors you can see in southern lights, hence our team’s name.”
“Cool!”
“Well, Southern Light Six, since you like us, could you please help us make our dream come true?”
“Ooh, a dream! What is it? We’d be pleased to help you.” Hokani said.
“We want to travel to Minnesota. There is a circus in which the main attraction is a unicorn with a technologic horn with the capacity of erasing memories, hypnotize and control minds.” Kate explained to them.
“Wow, is that even possible?” Kula asked.
“I guess nowadays everything is possible with technology.” Rhodey said. “A bunch of crazy evil cats is following us and tries to kill us, and her “magic powers” can make them forget everything and leave us alone forever, so that we can be together and without problems.”
“Well, fellas, you are in luck. We’re also sled dogs. Of course we can take you there, but we’ll have to ask our master about it.” Denahi said.
“You have a master?” Kate asked.
“Shak Nool, the shaman of the American Indian village we live in. He has a sled, and the best part is that with his spiritual powers, he can find out if your love is worth it!”
“Interesting. We’ve heard of shamans, but we never knew if they were real or what could they do! So let’s go!”
And so, the Southern Light Six, Kate and Rhodey headed southest, to the border between Canada and Minnesota, where the shaman that could help them on their way lived.
TO BE CONTINUED