Silent Heroes: Wildcat

Chapter 23: Punishment

At exactly four o'clock, I left Jewel to relax inside the bedroom and made my way up to the top floor to fulfill the first part of my punishment.  I was not looking forward to this.  The birds probably hated me almost as much as the horses right now.  They had spent days and weeks and countless hours preparing for their yearly festival, and I had destroyed it all in a single moment of weakness.  Not to mention the outright panic I had cause, racing straight through a big flock of them while I was in cat-form.  I was probably the last person they wanted around right now.

A short, middle-aged woman with bright orange hair was waiting for me when I arrived on the fourth floor.  She gave me a polite little smile that did nothing to calm my nerves.

"Hello, Eve.  My name is Mia.  Do you remember me?"

I nodded.  She had been the one standing next to Deanna while Kerry tore into me like a rabid dog.

"Come along then, please."

I fell in step behind her.  The tiny woman moved at a brisk, lively pace.

The top floor was bright and airy and so close to the open roof I barely felt like I was indoors at all.  The sweeping branches of the huge oak tree were almost close enough to touch.  The boardwalks on this floor were largely ignored.  People used the tree for transportation instead, flitting between the branches, almost flying back and forth from one side of the building to the other.

Every door I passed was painted a different colour.  Many were decorated with personal touches like mirrors and tinfoil.  The walls were covered in mosaics of stained glass, showing birds of prey soaring through the air, diving with narrowed wings, or regally observing their surroundings.

"Eve, keep up please," Mia said, when I reached out to touch one of the beautiful things.  I gave my head a shake and trotted back into position. 

"Number one rule up here, young lady," Mia said as we walked.  "Do not shift into cat-form.  It will create a frenzy."

"Don't worry," I said.  "I'm not about to repeat that mistake again."

Mia nodded approvingly as we came to a halt outside a bright purple door.  For a brief second after we stepped through to the other side, I saw the room as it had been just before our arrival.  The whole place was bursting with activity.  Tiny bird-shifters were darting all over the place, mixing dyes and powders, pounding what looked like lumps of colorful, dried mud into dust, flinging random objects back and forth to each other.  Their movements were quick and precise, their faces bright as they talked and laughed through their chores.  The sunlight, gleaming in through the rafters, reflected off crazily styled hair in every colour imaginable.

But, the second Mia and I walked into the room, all the activity ceased.  Everyone fell silent.  They rotated their bodies around or looked over their shoulders.  Every set of eyes in the room fixed on me.

I hesitated in the middle of the doorway, as if all those stares had frozen me in place.  I could feel the air thicken and congeal around me.

Okay, this was a bad idea, I thought.  Maybe I'll go see Deanna and ask if I can have my punishment changed.

"This way, Eve."  Mia took me by the arm and led me over to a table near the back of the room.  I found myself following robotically along behind her, my protests sticking in my throat.  I could feel people watching me, following my progress across the floor.  As we approached the table, people scattered out of the way like I was diseased or something.

"Now, you'll be working right here," Mia said, as if she hadn't noticed any of this.  She cleared a space, then placed several items in front  of me.  A green mixing bowl, a cup of water, a bag of bleach white cornstarch and some blue food colouring.