The Hidden Mountain Pass

You lost sight of the cat amongst the gem trees and rocks, but that was alright. You knew where you were headed. But just like the climb that brought you up the other side of the valley wall, distances were deceptive and it took much longer to get to the turn in the valley than you'd expected.

Eventually you did arrive and once again you found yourself high above another hunter cat scene. From were you stood, a large stream overflowed a jeweled cliff and turned into a sparkling waterfall. And near the pool of water where the falls ends was a group of...you counted...five cats.

Only one, a dark green one, tilted its head back and noticed you up on the cliff. But it didn't seem to impressed with your presence and returned to the pool to drink. The others played, pounced, occassionally pushed each other in, or sometimes stumbled and fell in, much to their embarassement.

One by one, they had their drink and left the pool till there were none left. You sat on the edge of the cliff, wondering what to do next. Not only did it seem you were trapped in this valley, but you were tapped only in this part.

Then a grey hunter cat sauntered past you, and with a little careful meandering, followed a walkable path down to the bottom of the cliff. At the bottom he paused to look up at you, as if wondering what was taking you so long.

Shrugging your shoulders, you work your way down. It wasn't as easy for you as it was for the agile, four-legged hunter cats. But a few bruises on your bottom and a scraped knee weren't such a bad price to pay for the hope of finding your way out of this valley.

You kneel by the water to get a drink and to wash your cuts. When you look up, the grey cat had gone.