"Meow." A soft purring sound of a cat could be heard from the darkness. Kiyro whipped his head towards the sound and saw a pure white cat that stepped out into the light where his Alive gear had illuminated.
It was an odd-eyed white cat that he had never seen before. One eye was green, the other gold with short hairs. Its slim body walked gracefully towards him and once again meowed softly.
"Hey. Hey. Hey. Get away, cat." Sylph scorned the cat. He was not happy seeing it near him.
"It's not like it's going to eat you. You're a hologram. Did you forget?"
Sylph stood silent on his shoulder and puffed up his feathers. "I hate cats. They shouldn't even exist. Do you know how many of my kind die from their grasp? Thousands!"
Kiyro peered at him funny. "Calm down. It will not harm you, and you're not even alive. What you're saying doesn't make sense. You're an A. I, for crying out loud."
"This A. I am not just a bird. I am the great legendary being. You don't see someone like me running around all the time, do you?" Sylph boasted out loud, puffing up his chest for Kiyro to see. Kiyro shook his head in disbelief. He did not believe a single word coming out of Sylph and ignored him.
"If you say so." He rolled his eyes and bent down to pat the cat. The cat purred out loudly, letting Kiyro scratch it by the chin.
"Woah. Woah. Woah! You're too close!" Sylph backed up toward his head, trying to get far away from the cat.
"It's not bad. You'll like it."
"What are you talking about? I'll have lunch. Can't you see the look in that monster's eyes?" Sylph fluttered around worriedly. "Let's go. Let's go. We don't have time for this. Our next spot is under the slides."
"You're so boring," Kiyro replied as he got up. Wiping his hands free of cat fur, he smiled. He didn't mind animals, especially after getting used to Tempest. He probably was sleeping on his bed as always. Walking forward, he had begun to move toward his next destination.
"Do this quickly so I can go and eat my favorite almond porridge meal," said Sylph.
"You're kidding me, right? Almond porridge doesn't sound appetizing at all," replied Kiyro with a blanch.
"No. You just have bad taste."
"Hardly; you should try something different. Possibly try an Asian dish."
"I could, but I like what I already have."
"You're kind of boring, aren't you."
"It's called stability and being safe."
"Here, right?"
"Yep."
Kiyro stopped before the peach-colored slide where the paint was heavily worn off. Then, leaning his hand over the slide, he peered behind the slide, where a considerable amount of wood chips scattered on the ground. "I'm not too sure being safe all your life would be considered moving forward."
"Psh. When it comes to your life, it does." Sylph turned his body away from him and scoffed at Kiyro.
"That is a matter of opinion. Let's get this over with" Kiyro rummaged through his pocket and pulled out a rune stone. He leaned over and dropped it behind the slide. "This should be fine, right?"
"Yea. That'll do." Kiyro pushed himself off the slide and turned around. What lay before a couple of feet away were a couple black cats. In the middle of the two black cats was the same white cat he had patted a few moments ago. Each one was frozen in their spot, watching his every movement.
"There are more?" Sylph said in alarm. He hopped closer to Kiyro's face as if it would make it any better.
"They're not going to do anything to you."
"Cats. Cats. Cats." Sylph had begun to mutter under his breath like a lunatic.
Kiyro sighed and shook his head in disbelief. He did not understand where this hatred for cats stemmed from, especially because Sylph is a hologram. It wouldn't matter if he was attacked because they wouldn't be able to harm him.
A soft meow could be heard from behind him; he whipped towards the sound of the cat and noticed two more different colored cats appearing out from the dark.
"Hey. Hey. Hey. Where the hell are they all coming from? This is not funny," said Sylph, his voice wavering with a bit of fear.
One-by-one, more cats started to appear around him. Each and every one of them sat a good distance away.
"Where did all these cats come from?" Kiyro stepped back a couple of steps but stopped short when he heard more cat's behind him. He was cornered from all sides and unsure where to go next.
"We should run. These monsters are trying to kill us all!" Sylph said with a bit of hysteria in his voice. "I can't die like this. I'm too young and pretty."
"Don't scream in my ears. You're not helping me right now." Kiyro covered the ear that Sylph yelled in. Then, he scanned around, trying to find an exit. "Where is the next one located?" He asked in a hurried tone. The number of cats was already exponentially increasing by the second, making him slightly uncomfortable.
The map on his Alive gear zoomed towards the next destination leading him slightly into the dark woods away from the park.
"It's up. Go!" Sylph ordered.
"Let's get this over with," Kiyro whispered underneath his breath. He did not like the sudden large crowds of cats surrounding him.
With quick steps, Kiyro walked forward. The cats parted ways for him to pass and followed right behind him. Some of them were close to his heels as Kiyro tried not to trip them. Then, like a dog following its master, the cats walked in unison with him towards his destination.
Kiyro wasn't so sure why the large group of cats were even there. In the beginning, it unnerved him to have so many around him, but when they did nothing, he felt oddly comfortable. At least he didn't feel like he was utterly alone anymore.
Once again, the wind began to blow softly like a high-pitched whistling sound. The leaves rustled, and the soft sound of his feet landing on leaves made crunching sounds. Then, he saw shadows darting out of his visions. From left to right, more than one flashed around him.
A full chorus of alarm from cats burst around him, startling him. The cats hissed and arched their back as they all faced the direction of the moving shadows. A couple flipped backward in fright as they screamed and hissed in anger.
"Are these cats insane?" Sylph cried out in a bit of hysteria and fear. He was not enjoying the full onslaught of cats increasing in numbers every minute. Their howling spats and hissing made his feathers stand on edge as he flew up onto Kiyro's head.
Another dark humanoid shadow ran by and blended back into the darkness.
"Don't you see them?" Kiyro whispered. His steps became light and weary as he walked into the dark forest. His only light source was from the Alive gear, casting out a small bubble effect of light around him.
"The cats? I see them perfectly well," said Sylph. He was slightly breathing heavily, as if he had asthma. "What's causing them to make such a fuss? Are they fighting amongst themselves or something?"
Kiyro shook his head. "No. Can't you see there's something else besides the cats?"
Sylph cocked his head in confusion, "I only see cats. Are you sure you're not hallucinating? Do you have a case of schizophrenia? Give me a second while I look up your medical files. If I'm right, we need to get you to a mental hospital as soon as possible. I have already searched up and am ready to go." His eyes glazed over as he looked for all the needed information.
"I'm fine. I don't have any mental illness or anything like that." Kiyro rolled his eyes. He didn't mind the help but to be sent to a mental hospital over something like this was something he did not want to go for.
In moments, Sylph came back to reality. "I was hoping you had some kind of mental instability. I was ready to push the call in seconds." Instead, he pouted and ruffled his feathers. "I don't know what you're seeing, but your health seems top-notch. You have no fatigue, you've got your recommended sleep for the day, and you also have all the calorie intake that you need. I don't get it."