Cat leaned against a tree and shut her eyes, listening to the sounds of the forest. She tried to ignore the throbbing in her side. Birds tweeted but the warm winds were low today and the forest was otherwise almost silent. She listened to the direction that Kass’s footsteps went until she could hear them no more. Kass was good at blending into the forest. She didn’t just walk quietly, she knew how to match the sounds of the forest. No one could walk perfectly quietly among the leaves and undergrowth after all, but by knowing what sounds to make and when, you could sound as if you belonged, as if you were nothing more than just another bird. There was a reason she had nicknamed Kass ‘mouse.’ Okay, that was a lie, sort of. The nickname was more to do with how seldom Kass spoke compared to everyone else, that and Cat liked it because it also made fun of Kass’s fear of rodents in general. Cat liked to tease, all in good fun of course. Sure sometimes she could push things a little too far but it was when people were pushed that they grew stronger. Or they crumbled, but either way it was a true test of character. Helped you figure out who you could trust and who you couldn’t in a tight situation.

The name didn’t really suit Kass once you considered that mice really weren’t all that quiet but if it was just the idea of mice that one was comparing her too then it suited perfectly. She had this uncanny ability even in those little black heels she usually wore of being able to sneak up on you when you least expected it. You’d turn around and there she’d be, ice blue eyes and unreadable pixie like face. Quiet as a mouse. Cat hated it. She prided herself on being perceptive and Kass was probably the one person in the whole world who could sneak up on her. Well, Kass and one other, her brother.

At least if it came down to it Cat could take her in a fight. Of course it didn’t help Kass that Cat probably had almost 60 pounds of muscle and half a foot on her. And while Kass was fast she wasn’t as fast as Cat. Occasionally they sparred for practice, usually hand to hand but sometimes with plastic knives. They’d rub chalk along the edge and try to knock the other out of the circle without getting ‘cut.’ Cat always won in hand to hand combat, and the knife fights as well but Kass was good enough with a knife that she could usually get a few good swipes in. Enough that Cat wouldn’t want to get near her in a real knife fight. Knife fights tended to be like that, even a novice will usually manage to cut an expert somewhere. It was the where that mattered, and Kass knew where to aim.

Cat went over past fights in her head, including the earlier one in the forest. Thinking about where she had gone wrong, what she could have done better, and what she should focus on in training. The mistake she had made she decided was not acting fast enough after Kass had taken her first shot. But then, she hadn’t known it was Kass at the time. And there had been that weird voice across the clearing from them, the one that had sounded like the dead hiker. She’d forgotten about that. She should ask Kass once she got back. Speaking of Kass…

Cat opened her eyes and the forest seemed darker. How long had she been day dreaming? She hadn’t dozed off had she? She looked up at the sky. The sun did seem lower. How long had Kass been gone? Surely she should be back by now.

Cat got to her feet and listened to the forest. Not a sound, even the birds had quieted down. Something didn’t feel right. Amanda would have told her she was being paranoid but to Cat it was just being cautious. Maybe Kass was lost? It was unlikely, not Kass, Kass was too good at direction finding. Getting lost was more likely to happen to Cat or Indi, neither of whom spent much time in the forest, but Kass had once lived in the wilderness for months on end, and in the snow too. There was no way she was lost here. This place had crevasses and large hidden holes near the top of the cliff though so it was possible she’d fallen in one but still, Kass was always so careful where she stepped.

Worried that Kass hadn’t returned Cat started packing up the rope into the remaining pack. She also checked through for a torch just in case. She found two, as well as one headlamp. She sat the second one near the top for ease of access. Finally she checked her bullet wound. It had stopped bleeding as much since reaching the top of the cliff, since she’d been sitting still, but her singlet was still soaked through. It shouldn’t’ matter much, the weather was pretty warm. She swung the pack onto her back. She should probably yell out in case Kass could hear her but something made her hesitate. Yes, Amanda would definitely call her paranoid. She justified it by the thought that if Kass was close enough to hear her then she probably would have yelled herself. Cat set off in the direction she’d heard Kass go earlier.

Cat’s pack was dark green and blue and she was very much regretting that choice of colouring. Had it been Kass’s pack that they had lost it would have been easy to spot with its bright orange and red colours.

The ground was rocky and Cat was careful where she placed her foot. Deep ankle-twisting holes lay buried beneath the foliage. She hoped Kass had just lost track of time rather than fallen into one of the holes. Cat could probably carry Kass out if needed but there was no way she was carrying Kass and two packs, not over this terrain. In fact, if Kass was hurt it would probably be easier to leave her and come back with Indi and Amanda.

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Cat tried to remember what Baz had told her about tracking but either she hadn’t been paying enough attention or Kass was just too good at traversing the forest without leaving a trail. Cat suspected it was probably a bit of both. Kass was in the habit of moving around the shrubbery delicately as if she didn’t want to destroy the plant life. Cat did the opposite now and every now and again she’d snap a twig on a nearby branch. She was probably already too deep into the forest but just in case something happened and they needed rescuing Cat didn’t want to make it too hard for someone to find them. At the very least it would give Kass a trail to follow if she somehow got back to the top of the cliff to find Cat gone.

Cat paused to listen for a bit and thought back to when Kass had sent the pack flying. How fast had it been going? She was pretty sure she was going in the right direction and straight for the most part but so far there had been no sign of it or Kass. Cat gave a whistle, one that could have been mistaken for a bird, but she didn’t think Kass would make that mistake. Anyway the birds of the forest were weirdly quiet right now. She glanced up at the sky, it was getting on evening. Hadn’t Indi said they liked coming out in the evening? Or was that just the phoenix? There was maybe just under an hour before sunset she guessed. Damnit! Where was Kass?

She was just thinking of calling out Kass’s name when she spotted something next to some dead logs up ahead. Was that? Yes it was. Cat had found her pack. It had gotten wedged between two logs. Cat gave it a good pull and it came right out. She gave it the once over. It still seemed to be in pretty good nick. It had actually been easy to see once she’d found the right location, which made her remaining problem that much more concerning. Why hadn’t Kass seen found it? And where was she now? The hairs on the back of Cat’s neck stood on end as she tried not to think of all the worst case options. She gave the surrounding forest a careful study but found nothing unusual other than the lack of bird song. She sat down on one of the logs and inspected her wound. It was throbbing a bit but nothing she couldn’t handle. She needed to think this through. Kass would have gone in a straight line. That was the most logical thing to do to not get lost. Cat had pretty much done the same thing; at least she thought she had. It was possible she had wandered off course, but still the pack hadn’t been that far. Even if her line diverged from Kass’s she should have seen or heard her off to the side, unless she’d fallen into a crevasse or something. Even the larger holes could be easily hidden by the surrounding bush. And if Kass had fallen then she might be unconscious which gave Cat a new idea.

Dreamwalking let you enter another person’s dreams. Some dreamwalkers could even put a person to sleep against their will. That was outside of Cat’s abilities but what she could do was use her powers at a distance and the person didn’t have to be sleeping, they just had to have a relaxed mind. Someone willing and meditating would work, as would someone who was unconscious, and if she could find a mind in that state then she could gauge approximate direction and distance. If Kass was unconscious and not too far away then Cat could just her powers to find her.

Cat moved to the forest floor and made herself comfortable between the two packs. This was going to take some focus. She closed her eyes and tried to put herself into a dream state. She reached out to the nearest mind she could find, pleased that she was able to find one. That was a good sign at least. Slowly a new world formed around Cat. She found herself sitting on snow although she did not feel cold at all. The snow too was a good sign. Kass often dreamed of her time in the north where most of the year it was winter. Cat stood up in this new dream world and headed in the direction of the mind she had found. As she got closer she would have more control over the world.

Even though it was a new world Cat knew which direction she was walking compared to that of the real world. Her body would stay where it was sitting on the floor but her mind would travel. She didn’t have to walk in the dream but Cat preferred it unless it was for a short distance, flying weirded her out if she did it for too long. As she walked a white rabbit burst out of a nearby snow bank and dashed across her path. It faded away once it was on the other side and was soon followed by the disappearance of the world itself. Cat wasn’t worried, sometimes the dreams were less solid. This would be especially true for someone who was unconscious rather than dreaming or someone who was drifting in and out of consciousness.

Cat eventually found Kass. She was sitting on the dark ground. Her hands were moving in front of her as if she were conducting an orchestra but they interacted with the air as if it were water coated with dye. Every time her fingers moved a new ribbon of colour would flow behind it. Dreams were weird sometimes. Kass continued to paint in the air as Cat approached. She did not seem to notice Cat. Cat could hide from a dreamer if she chose, but other times a dreamer wouldn’t see Cat even if Cat wanted them too.

“Kass?” Cat spoke her name but Kass didn’t look up. Kass rubbed her head and then she disappeared for a moment and Cat felt like she had gone far away. But then she popped back again and continued playing with the colours. It was likely an indication that Kass wasn’t completely unconscious. That was probably for the better. It didn’t matter that Kass couldn’t see Cat either. All Cat needed was an approximate direction and distance and now that she had that she could return to her own body and track Kass down in the real world. It was a pity that Kass wouldn’t be able to warn her about whatever she was going to be walking into. She’d just have to be very careful where she stood. It was no good if they both ended up in a hole in the ground with no way out.

Cat exited the dreamworld and gave herself a few minutes to readjust to reality again. Even in the short time she had been in the dreamworld the outside world had gotten a little bit darker. The sun was likely dipping below the horizon. Cat needed to move fast.