~*~

By the time night descended upon the world, Matthew had finally gathered up enough courage to bury his mother. The whole thing still felt unreal. With each shove of the shovel he found himself trying to wake up from the nightmare he was living. But no amount of will could undo what time had sealed. The past remained immovable.

So he sat there beside his mother's grave, trying to figure out what could have possibly happened. He was slowly fighting to collect his mind and deal with one thought at a time. Only one thing was clear and it was that the human girl would know. This had happened because of her and he was certain of it. There was no other person he could point his finger to. The feline hated his mother but as long as the chief lived, none would dare go this far. She was his only lead and if anyone was going to explain anything it was her. The only problem was finding her.

He stood up and looked at the house. The fire had died out by now and only a few smoke tendrils trickled into the sky. He looked down at the spot where he'd laid his mother to rest, whispered a silent goodbye before turning his back upon everything and walking down the path that would lead him straight into town. If he was going to find this girl. He'd need supplies.

As he'd expected. The butchery was already closed at this hour. He made sure that there were no feline too stuck on their nocturnal roots to still be wandering about the streets. There was no one, at least no one who could see him right there and then. He edged closer to the store's door, scanned the streets again before trying it and cursed. Of cause it was locked. He had no experience with breaking into houses and the most he'd ever stolen was a taste of his mother's cooking before it was ready. The memory sent a wave of warmth down to his chest which was quickly sucked into the void that was his heart. He shook his head. Looked around again to make sure no one had decided to arrive uninvited. He decided he'd have to walk around the store if he was to find a way in. When he turned to walk to the back he saw a window and an idea came to him.

It was the most obvious thing to do but thinking is not of of the easiest things to do when your mind is filled with sorrow. He stalked his way to the window. It was built into the wood with the sole purpose of bringing light into the store and nothing more. Basically, he could not open it even if he was inside. He smashed it in instead but the hole he made could only barely fit his head. Its wooden frame stopped him from breaking the rest of the glass and opening a large enough hole to wriggle through. He held the frame with both hands, fitting his fingers in through the one square he had smashed in and pulled. The frame held. He pulled once more, this time even using the wall to support one of his legs as he pulled back. The wood gave a small groan that brought with it a little hope. With a few more heaves the frame finally collapsed and the unsupported glass fell onto the ground in a series of loud clangs and shattering. Matthew was sure he'd just woken the whole town but he could not give up just then.

He lifted himself up and squeezed through the window. As his body went through he searched for something to grab hold of on the inside but nothing was close enough to reach. So he allowed himself to fall onto the shards of broken glass that now littered the floor.

Inside the store was too dark even for a feline to see instantly. The little light that trickled in through the broken window only lit up the spot on which he stood and nothing more. Using what memory he had of the set-up he walked towards where he thought the dried meat was kept. He felt about the air for some time until he found it and started to unhook it from the line on which it hung. His vision was slowly coming back as his eyes started to adjust. Though everything still seemed dull he could at least make out a few objects. He walked to what looked like a weaving stand hoping he could find some fur. Before he could reach it he stumbled upon something soft and almost fell. He narrowed his eyes at the spot and saw that he had stumbled upon some animal hides that were stacked into a pile. He quickly wrapped his stolen strips of dry meat in one and went to leave when he heard the call.

"He went in there!"

He'd been seen. He had no idea where the people were and there was only one exit and he was sure that they'd be headed for it first. Squeezing out of that window would take too long anyways so he could not even consider that option. He heard footsteps approach the window before he saw the butcher's face come into view.

"Get out of my shop. You thieving-!" he snarled at the boy and left the window. Matthew heard keys jingle as the butcher tried to open the door. Several other feline men rushed past the window to the door. He was trapped.

He tightened his grip on the hide and faced the door. He was not about to fail his quest. Not this early and definitely not before the ones responsible for his mother's death were dead. As soon as the door burst open Matthew pounced at the butcher. The big man stumbled back into the other men in surprise as Matthew crashed into them. Before they could regain their wits and catch him, Matthew was already up and running.

~*~