Dream Venture 0.5: The Dream Dazzles (Chapter 2)

    As soon as I stepped on the grass, I noticed my feet sunk in a very tiny bit, kinda like walking on a mattress.  It wasn’t noticeable enough for me to worry about, and it wasn’t dragging me in, so I just put it aside for now and kept walking.

    I decided that I’d meet the purple kitty first.  His tail didn’t have any real distinction of what he was about, and I wanted to know what his deal was.  Besides, he was closest to me at the moment.  The yellow one must’ve told him to go long and got bored or something.  Either way, I knelt down in front of him and smiled.  “Hi there, little buddy!  How are you?”  I spoke to him not as if he was a baby, like how lots of people talk to their pets, but as if I was talking to another human.  A young human, but a human nonetheless.

    The violet feline looked up at me and his eyes seemed to grow even bigger now.  He promptly reached behind him and pulled out an especially thick book.  His face basically said, “Can you read this to me, mister?  Please?”  Well, with a face like that, how on earth could I say no?  I sat the little cat on my lap and opened it up, and together we read “Stanley the Jerbil with Terible Grammer; the Complete Serees”.  And yes, that is exactly how it was spelled.  And while I won’t dare spoil how it ends, I will say that it was actually a pretty fun read!  I read it aloud while Purple fervently paid attention and turned the page when it needed turning.  Time just flew by, and before I knew it, we finished the whole book!

    “Heh…what an engaging read.  You have a good choice in literature, little buddy,” I complimented as I scratched his head gently.

    He just smiled back and meowed in appreciation.  That meow quickly turned into a yawn and he curled up, laid his head in my lap, and shut his eyes.  I could do nothing as the little purple kitty tried to take a nap on me, except reply with an “Awww…I love you too, little guy,” and lay my hand on him as I stretched out on the grass.  My head sank a little into the ground as I laid my head down.  But soon, I heard something coming over to me.  I looked to my side and see the yellow cat run up to me with a tennis ball in his mouth.  “Oh, hi there!  Nice to meet you, too,” I responded as he approached with the ball.  He must’ve heard me “playing” with Purple and wanted to get in on that action, if those expectant eyes were any indication.

    I easily put two and two together and held my hand out to take the ball from Yellow, who promptly let it fall in my palm with no resistance whatsoever.  “So, you’re up for a game of Fetch, huh?  Well, don’t expect much movement from my end, what with him on my lap and all,” I reply, indicating Purple on me.  “Either way, I’ll do my best!”  I pause for a bit, and then throw it at the lone tree.  Yellow makes a mad dash after it, as if he’s running for home plate.  The ball bounces right off the tree, but cats aren’t known for being so bouncy.  He slams right into the tree and falls flat on his belly.  I think he was used to that kind of thing though, because he quickly gets back up, shakes the stars from around his head, picks up the ball and heads back, smiling as if there wasn’t a large bump on his head.

    “Awwww…you silly little thing!  Here, let me help with that,” I chuckle as I remove his helmet and kissed his boo-boo.  His smile seemed a little bigger now, and he put his helmet back on and gets ready for another toss.  This time, I made sure to aim away from the tree so that nothing too bad could happen this time.  Thankfully, the second throw went without incident.  Yellow caught the ball in his mouth and ran back to me excitedly; dropping the ball near my feet and panting like a puppy.

    I gave him a nice petting and picked up the ball, ready to give my all for this next throw.  “Okay then, champ.  Let’s see how you handle…THIS!”  I threw the tennis ball as hard as I could, and he makes another mad dash for it.  The ball soared through the air and seemed to land in some kind of grounded, smooth, cylindrical cloud.  Yellow quickly dived after it, and seemed to get stuck in it!  His hind legs and tail were just stuck flailing in the air as he tried to get himself out of it.  Chuckling at the silly sight, I carefully cradle Purple into my arms, stood up, and walked over to where Yellow was flailing about.  I put my hand on the cloud to see what I was dealing with, and it felt…squishy and dusty.  Wait a second…I know that feeling!  That was no cloud; it was a giant marshmallow!  Mmmm-MMM!

    I quickly took a bite, and the taste confirmed that it was indeed a marshmallow.  As soon as I pulled away from my bite, something popped out from the other side of it.  It was the orange cat!  He meowed and walked up to me, licking the white stickiness off of his smiling face.  I kneeled down and pet his head, then grabbed Yellow’s leg and pulled him out.  Yellow flopped on the ground panting, with his legs sprawled out and his tongue hanging out on the grass.  He must’ve really been giving his all during that game of fetch or trying to get unstuck.  “You should rest, champ.  You’ve definitely earned it,” I said as I pet the exhausted kitty with a smile.

    The Orange cat walked up to Yellow and started licking the bits of marshmallow that got stuck during Yellow’s struggle.  “You must be a pretty big eater,” I remarked.  In response, the cat puffed out his chest and lifted his head as if to say that he was proud of that fact.  I was somewhat reminded of another cat that was orange, fat, and ate a lot…but any resemblance to that one vanished when he scooped some marshmallow with his spoon-like tail and offered it to me.  That is, after taking one more bite for himself.  The one I was thinking of wasn’t that generous as far as I knew.  “For me?  Awww…thanks, buddy!”  I quickly knelt down to his level and ate it, smiling and petting his head.  “Yum!  That tail of yours sure has some uses!”

    Orange smiled, then dug his tail into the soft ground and pulls it up, like a shovel in a sandbox.  Once he lifted it up, I noticed the mound he dug had multiple layers.  There were mostly brown ones, and a white one splitting them up.  It still looked solid, yet the softness of it defied its appearance.  Before I could recognize what it was, the tangerine tabby nudged the glob he had just scooped under my nose, giving me the distinct smell of…chocolate.  So THAT’S why the ground seemed so squishy; it was made of cake!  And each blade of grass was a small strand of frosting!  With that mystery solved, I promptly opened wide as the “airplane” came for a landing in my mouth.  “This is incredible!  It’s just so neat!” I gushed.

    I felt Purple stirring in my arms, and I looked down to see him looking at his own, plain, ordinary tail sadly.  I held him up to my face, kissed his little nose and said, “Hey…it’s okay, pal.  Just because your tail isn’t special doesn’t mean that you yourself aren’t special.  Cheer up, little buddy!”  With that, Purple smiled brightly and relaxed in my arms again.  He must’ve looked very comfortable in there, because Orange sat up on his hind legs with his front paws in the air, revealing his chubby frame.  “Oh, you want to get in on some of this action, huh?  Well, okay then!”  I carefully put Purple on my head and hoisted Orange up with surprising ease.  Orange quickly licked my cheek in thanks and curled up in my arm, patting his belly as he settled in for a snooze.  I leaned my head down and snuggled his tummy as he began to doze off.  And I could feel Purple getting sleepy as well, seeing as he seemed a little heavier than normal.

    Just as the two fell asleep, I felt a weight on my leg.  I looked down and saw Green leaning onto it to try to balance himself.  Before I could even ask if he was okay, he promptly slipped off my leg, fell flat on his face and rolled over on his back, looking up with swirls in his eyes.  He didn’t look hurt at all, so I just crouched down and rubbed his belly.  Green started wiggling around and smiling a rather goofy smile as I rubbed, and Orange started sucking on one of my fingers as he slept in my other arm.  After a good bit of rubbing, I started to stand back up to move on, but then Green wrapped his twisty tail around my legs, and then started to run.  He went faster and faster all around me like a gravitron.  I was struggling to stay standing straight, but I felt like I was wearing a Skip-It that went on both legs.  Eventually, the centrifugal forces became too much to bear and his tail slipped from around my legs.  He went hurtling toward the same tree that Yellow hit earlier, still twirling like a top as he slammed into it with his back and slid down the trunk to the ground, completely disoriented.

    The cats that were on me didn’t seem to notice any of that at all; they were still asleep!  Orange licked his lips before continuing to sucking on my finger, and Purple slipped off my head and landed on his back next to Yellow.  I wanted to pick Purple back up again, but I decided against it; he was so cute where he was and I couldn’t bring myself to ruin it.  So, still carrying Orange, I walked over to Green to check on him as he clumsily failed to stand.

    As soon as I got near the tree, I heard a rustle in the leaves above and saw the gray cat with the arrowhead tail waving hello from the end of a branch.  I responded in kind by holding my hand up to him and waving.  He replied by holding onto the branch with his hind legs and swinging upside down to touch my hand with his paw.  He was a natural acrobat, this one!  Gray seemed to think so too, because he flipped off the branch and landed on his front paws in a handstand, then waddled around in place with his back legs still wiggling in the air in a full 360 degree spin.  I would’ve applauded, but my hands were full.  He must’ve understood that because he clapped his back paws together for me!  He then got back to all fours and leaped onto my head, covering my eyes with his tail.  Playfully, I blew his tail off my face, and it swung down into Orange’s sleeping mouth…right as he bit down on it!

    Gray jumped up with a screech and dashed back to the tree, waking up Orange in the process.  Gray glared down at him and meowed angrily at him.  “Oh gosh, I’m so sorry!  Here, let me get that for you.”  I immediately reached a hand out to Gray’s tail to try to smooth it out for him, but he snatched it out of my grip and turned his nose up at me.  “I’m sorry…I didn’t mean for that to happen…” I said meekly.  He either didn’t hear me, or didn’t care.  All I could do in response was sigh.

    Before I could get too worked up over that, I heard a loud “REOWR!!” in front of me.  I instinctively jumped back and looked directly at the noise at my feet.  Stuck in the ground, with his paws up in the air in a “BOO!” gesture, was the red cat.  Any fear I had from his little scare evaporated as I knelt down and gave him a nice scratch behind the ears.  “Heh…you really got me good there!”  As soon as my hand made contact with his head, his mouth grew into a dopey little grin as he submitted to my scratches.  “You’re not so bad, aren’tcha?” I cooed.  “You’re actually quite nice!”  I probably shouldn’t have said that, because he immediately pushed my hand back and flashed his claws at me, meowing in an offended manner.  The claws scared me so much that I dropped Orange to the ground, and I backed away even more.  “Crap.  I screwed up again, didn’t I?  Darn it…”

    Orange looks up at me, as if to ask what’s wrong.  “It’s nothing.  It’s just that first impressions are a really important thing, and I messed up on two of them.  And I don’t want to pick a kitty that doesn’t like me,” I replied.  I begin walking back to where Purple is so I can bring him along again.  Orange walks with me, but each step he takes seems quite draining to him.  “I think you and Purple are the best so far,” I confessed.  “ Yellow seems a little too lively for me, and the same goes for Green.”  As if on cue, I hear Green fall over to my left in another dizzy daze.  “No offense to either of them, obviously.  But Red seems a little mean, and Gray doesn’t look like he gets along well with others.”  I reached where Purple is snoozing and cradled him gently in my arms.  Orange flopped on the ground in exhaustion and started eating more ground cake.

    I felt a soft tap on my leg again and heard a soft meow.  I looked down again and saw a sight that immediately knocked me out of my glum stupor.  The pink cat was looking up at me.  He had a great big smile and was holding a plush bunny like a toddler.  He meowed again, tugging on my leg with one paw and holding the toy rabbit with the other.  His tone was like a child asking permission from a parent.  I couldn’t help but smile at the little cat standing up like that.  I knelt down and held his open paw.  “Awww…nice to meet you, little guy!”  His smile seemed even brighter and he put his bunny down, gripped my hand with both paws and started dancing around.  I recognized this dance as ring-around-the-rosie and joined in with him.  After we all fell down, I placed Purple in my lap as Pink jumped up on my head and began to nuzzle his head against the top of my own.  I reached up and pet him gently as he snuggled me, causing him to purr and raise his head so I can scratch his chin.  He was just so cute and affectionate!

    In his sleep, Purple started moving his paws in a manner one would turn the pages of a book, and Orange was still nearby, stuffing his face with ground cake.  I carefully lifted Pink off my head and kissed his nose.  He giggled and then started reaching for the stuffed rabbit he put down earlier.  I reached over and picked it up for him, and he happily scooped it into his paws.  He then dug his teeth into the head of the plush bunny, tore its head off, and offered it to me.  I was a little freaked out by this sequence of events, but I didn’t want to be rude, so I accepted his little gift.  That must’ve made him real happy, since he licked my face all over with his tail wiggling about all over the place.  Unfortunately, that wild wagging was kinda smacking Purple in the face, causing him to wake up.  Once he recognized Pink right above him, his hair stood on end and he shot off my lap, hiding behind Orange’s larger belly.

    “Huh?  What’s with you, Purple?” I asked, concerned.  “What’s gotten into you?  That tail thing was just an accident!  Or is there something I don’t know between you two?”  Purple just peeked out from behind, shaking.  Did Pink scare him or something?  I looked back at Pink to see him with his front paws wide open toward Purple in the telltale sign of wanting a hug.  I sighed and said, “You know, I wish I could understand you all so I could hear the whole story from both ends.  Now, how about you go hug Pink for me?  He can’t be THAT bad, right?”  Purple just started backing away from Pink, with his ears flat and his tail between his legs.  “Come on, can you please give him a chance?” I asked him.  “For me, at least?”  He still looked nervous, but he stopped backing away.  He tried to make himself smile, causing his tongue to hang out, but he still looked uneasy about this.  I decided to give him a little more reassurance.  “It’ll be okay, I promise.  Hey, pretend you’re just hugging a smaller version of me!”  That seemed to do the trick.  His smile grew more confident as he walked forward and wrapped his front legs around Pink’s neck.  Pink promptly returned the hug, squeezing softly and thumping his tail on the ground happily.

    “There you go!  You did it, Purp!” I cheered, and picked both of them up in a bigger hug.  I just couldn’t sit and watch the adorable scene any longer and not join in!  And it seemed like Orange had a similar thought process, because he wanted uppies as well!  He also looked really tired, seeing as his eyes were drooping, and he was struggling to hold his front legs up.  Plus, he looked a little heavier than before.  I definitely needed both hands free if I wanted to pick Orange up.  I set Purple and Pink down gently, then heaved Orange up to my chest and started rocking him like a baby.  The tubby tabby lost consciousness in less than five rocks!  I carefully laid him back on the soft ground, and then resumed my hugs with Purple and Pink.

    Okay, that just leaves one more, I thought.  “Now where is that last kitty?”  As if on cue, I felt something brush on my leg.  I looked down to see the magenta cat circling my legs, looking like a lion stalking his prey.  I started to say hello, when he suddenly crouched down.  He pounced, leaping onto my shoulder and brushing my nose with his weasel-esque tail.  “So, you must be the more traditional cat, huh?” I guessed, trying to hold back a sneeze.  He responded to that by jumping on my head and tapping my nose with his paw, smearing cake over it.  Before I could wipe it off on my shoulder, Pink leaned himself up and started licking it off.  I started to laugh at the sight, but the tickling on my nose was just too much to bear, and my sneeze couldn’t be held in any longer!  “Aah-CHOO!”  Thankfully, Pink dodged just in time, and then went right back to licking the cake off my face.