John sat on the couch with the letter in his hand and resume reading:

Hello my son, if you are reading this that means that I died, and you probably know about the special gift in our family, so in this letter I will explain everything to you… 

Please do not show anyone any of the information I wrote to you in this letter, your mother only knows I have a gift, only you can read this and learn the full truth.

As you might discover by now, you can understand what cats are saying, this gift is very special for our clan. We call ourselves the thola clan. Our destiny is to crush the other clan and their world that is called “the other".  

Clans, thola, the other world, what does it all mean?

Read carefully, my son, It's time I gave you more about our clan past:

Our clan has always seemed a bit strange, very long time ago our ancestors save many cats and by this we were blessed by the feline spirit, with this blessing every man in our clan were given a gift, ability to understand cats language.

There are other people of our clan on earth, not only us, but I didn't find them, maybe one day you will find the rest of our clan, listen son, our people call themselves thola clan, our clan is destined to destroy another clan called ukukhanya.

The second clan are the protectors of the "other" and the crystals, they look like hybrids between a cat and a human, but in our world they will look exactly like normal cats, but in the "other" they will transform into their true form.

I was sent by my father on a mission to acquire one of the crystals to allow us to travel to the other and, with our knowledge and weapons, destroy the hybrids once and for all. My father taught me how to transform crystals into weapons, but if you're reading this that means I failed and something bad happened to me, maybe I am dead, maybe I have been transported to the other, nobody knows that. 

So if my mission were a success you might find a pouch with a white crystal in it, the crystals have powerful magic inside, but in our world they only seem to have enough power to transport people to the other, BUT you need a special password to active it, only the protector know the password. 

The last protector probability is hiding somewhere on earth, they are cats with white fur, and blue eyes, only the protector know the password to activate the crystal, in “the other" the crystal is more powerful, but I don't know how much, perhaps you will learn that information and fulfill our clan destiny.

 So my time is running out, I am going tomorrow to acquire the crystal and fulfill help you fulfill our clan destiny, Goodbye my son, I love you. Dad.  

Clans, the other world, cat spirit, what does that mean?

Crystal, pouch?

"POUCH!" John said as he stood up and ran straight to trash can

“There it is!" John picked up the pouch and began to tear it.

Inside the pouch was a white crystal, John touched it with one finger, the crystal shone brighter.

Strange…

Wait…, the protector, white fur, blue eyes, it sounds like Alice mother.

That means Alice's mother is a protector?

So, Alice is a protector too?

ALICE!, I MUST FIND HER!

John ran out of his apartment, far into the city in search of his friend. 

Meanwhile…

Alice was curled up in a ball under the bridge, lying on the newspaper.

Suddenly Alice heard a strange, barely audible crack, looked up and saw a blinding white light. From this light came the head of a half-man, half-cat creature with white fur and blue eyes. 

“My daughter, is it really you?" Said the levitating head.

“Who are you?" Said Alice, a little scared. 

“I am your mother" Said the female head.

“What?!, my mother died, you are lying!"

“Trust me my daughter, It's really me, your mother" 

“Prove it!"

"You were born on a human farm and lived with 3 sisters and 2 brothers..."

“M-mother, it's really you?" Said Alice, still in disbelieve.

“Yes darling, it's really me" The head said and smiles.

“Oh, mom, I thought you were dead" Said Alice lifting her paw and touch her mother head, but the paw went through her.

"What?, you're dead, mom?" Alice asked in a sad voice.

“Well yes and no, I am only a projection, I am alive and well, I live in the other"

“Projection, the other, what do you mean?"

“I live in our world, in the other"

“Oh, mother, what happened to my sisters and brothers?"

"They stayed on earth and sacrificed themselves to defend the crystals, unfortunately they paid the highest price for it..."

“So … they … , I couldn't even say goodbye to them" said Alice starting to cry.

“Listen, I don't have much time left, it takes me a lot of energy to maintain this projection, you must know 2 things right now, first you are not a normal earth cat, you are a protector from the ukukhanya clan, and secondly our clan destiny in to stop the other clan called thola, people from thola clan can understand what cats and other felines species are saying, the goal of thola clan is to destroy our world and our people, the war between our clans has been going on for ages"

“If we are cats, we are stronger than them, why don't we win then?"

"Because they were always a few steps ahead of us, they knew how to use crystals as weapons, the crystal turned into weapons looks dark, all its light disappears, and it loses its healing properties, our clan only uses them to heal wounds, we would never use them for bad things"

“So that's means that John is from the thola clan!"

“Who is John?" 

“My human friend I met a few months ago, he saved me and has been taking care of me ever since"

“Listen my daughter, people from our clans can't befriend each other, or  be together we are enemies from decades, we hate each other"

“John doesn't hate me, He cares about me, we care about each other!" 

Alice's mother began to, flickering and vanishing.

“You can't be friends with him, listen, I only have a few seconds left, you need to find the white crystal, your brothers, and sisters gave their lives to protect it, now the humans from thola clan have it, you must use it to transfer yourself to our world, or destroy it if you have no other choice, to activate it you have to do 2 simple things, hold your paw on it and say these words: ngiyise lapho, the crystal will transport you to us, I don't have any time left, goodbye"

“Mother wait!" Shouted Alice, but nobody answered. 

I must find John, only he can help me

But we are enemies…

NO! That's not true, we care about each other and nothing, and nobody can change that!

Alice went to find John.

John spent the next few hours looking for Alice, took a different route home, he was halfway to his apartment when he suddenly heard a familiar sound coming from behind him.

“John?" Asked the familiar voice.

“Alice?" John turned back and locked his eyes on the familiar yellow cat with blue eyes.

“ALICE, IT'S YOU!" shouted John, running towards her.

Alice takes a few steps back. 

John in tears in his eyes kneel in one knee in front of Alice and say: 

“I am really sorry Alice, I was furious I-I don't know what got into me, I am really sorry for all of this, I never do that again, I promise"

“..." she just stared at him.

“Please, come back, I really like you" Said John begging her.

“..." her mouth twitched a little.

“Will you forgive me?" 

“Of course John, I forgive you" Said Alice with a smile.

"R-really, thank you!, So let's go home, Alice, you need to sleep and eat something, and I need that too." John walks home with Alice in his arms.

After a few months, John and Alice are sitting relaxed on the couch.

John has never been happier than at that moment, he finally found Alice, they were both safe, everything was fine in the end.

She turned to him and said:

“John there i something I need to tell you about my past, I am not a real cat, I mean not an earth one, my mother is not dead, she lives in the world called “the other", and I am the last defender of my world and its powerful crystals"

“The other world, crystals, what are you talking about?" Said John with a fake smile.

So she knows her past too

"I'm serious John, I'm special like you, I'm the last defender here on earth, can you show me the crystal"

“I always knew you were special but, protector?, crystal? What do you mean? What did you protect?"

“I protect my world “the other" and its, I mean, my people and my clan of course “ Said Alice with Pride.

“Your… clan?" Asked confused John.

“Yes my clan the ukukhanya, we live in the other"

“I never heard of that" John lied.

“Never?" she asked, surprised.

“Never" He confirms.

"Can you show me the crystal?" 

"Of course, I put it on the nightstand"

Alice and went to the bedroom and John followed her.

John sat on the bed, Alice jumped on the bed, sit on a pillow in front of the crystal, she touched it with the paw, the crystal glowed brighter. 

“Weird right?, if I touch it, it does this as well" John said looking at the crystal.

“Yea, odd" whispers Alice.

"Well, it's getting late, do you want dinner?" John asked her and clapped his hands.

“As if you had to ask" Said Alice with a smile. 

John went to the kitchen to prepare meals for them.

It's now or never, I am sorry John

Thought Alice, she touched the crystal and said: ngiyise lapho.

Suddenly all the lights in John home starts to flicker, the crystal starts vibrating and floating upwards, with Alice still holding her paw on him.

John saw the flickering lights in the kitchen. 

“What is happening there, Alice?" Said John and looked into the bedroom.

“ALICE!" Said John, running towards the bedroom. 

Close to the bed, John saw Alice still holding her paw on the crystal, and hovering a few meters above the ground.

“WHAT IS HAPPENING?" He shouted to her with panic in his voice. 

The crystal began to emit loud noises.

“I MUST DO IT JOHN, THIS IS MY MISSION, I MUST PROTECT THE CRYSTAL"

“WHAT? YOUR MISSION, WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!"

“OUR CLANS WERE RIVALS BEFORE WE ARE EVEN BORN, I DON'T HAVE A CHOICE, I MUST DO MY DUTY, I MUST PROTECT MY WORLD"

“BEFORE WHO?"

“BEFORE YOU AND YOUR CLAN!"

“ME?! , BUT I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING TO YOU, WHY YOU JUDGE ME BY MY CLAN PAST?!"

"SORRY, I HAVE TO DO IT JOHN WHETHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT!"

"I WILL NEVER LEAVE YOU, I PROMISED IT, I WILL COME WITH YOU!"

Shouted John now also touching the crystal, after a few seconds everything around them disappeared, they found themselves in a white space, it was just them and the crystal.

After a few seconds, John felt the ground under his feet again, and everything went black.

John woke up after a few minutes lying on the ground, he felt dizzy and nauseous, he slowly rose to a sitting position and looked around. John saw trees, nothing else, next to him, he saw the same white crystal as before.

But where Alice should have been, there was lying a woman wearing a leather tunic.

This woman was unlike any woman John had ever seen in his world, she had very long yellow hair, and instead of human ears she had cat ears, and on top of that she had a tail.

John got up and started calling out: “Alice! , where are you?"

“Where do you go? , please come back!"

“I am right here John" Said the catgirl still lying on the ground.

"What? Miss, I don't think you're the one I'm looking for, she is smaller, and fluffier…"

"Oh "miss", you never called me miss before, what happened to you John?," Said the catgirl with a smile.

“Alice?!" Said John, still looking at the blue eyes catgirl.

Wait, blue eyes, yellow hair, IT IS ALICE!

“Alice, it's really you!" Said happily, John helping her stand up.

“W-Wow, y-you look beautiful" Said John with blush. 

“Do you really think so?" Said Alice, blushing as well.

“Yeah… I mean yes, yes of course" He confirms, and smiles.

“Thank you, John" She said, also smiles.

“So, where are we?" He said, and looked around.

“Probably in the forest" 

“Yes, I see trees a lot of trees, but I mean, I never saw a forest like that on earth this fauna and flora seems different“

“Maybe we are not on the earth anymore?"

“So we are in “the other"?"

“I think so, I am finally home" Alice said, and smiles.

They were staring at each other and at the surroundings a few minutes.

"Look John, I'm really sorry to do this, but I have to protect the crystal and my people, I have to take it so that you or any of your clan never used it again"

“Why do you judge me for doing something wrong with that stupid rock?!, why do you judge me because of my past, why can't we just be friends and not care about the past?"

“Because we are enemies, we cannot be friends!"

"But we lived together for so many months, and we never did anything bad to each other!" He said, and flings his hands up.

“Never, you say?, did you remember that time you shouted at me?!, I was terrified because of you!" She said, with tears forming in her eyes.

“I was terrified to! If you might know, I learned that my father left a letter, last message for me, and later because of that freaking gift he probably died, and later I learned about the clans and the past, and about crystals and about other things too" 

“So, you knew it! You lied to me!" Shouted Alice at John.

“Yes, I knew it, I am sorry"

“So do you know now why we can be together?"

“I think so…"

"That's good. So you won't be mad if I do this!" Said Alice, standing and grabbing the crystal, and running out straight forward with it, deep into the forest.

“WHAT?!" shouted John. 

“COME BACK!" shouted John, trying to catch up to Alice, but in this form she was a lot faster than him.

John ran for a few more minutes, completely losing his sense of direction. John felt betrayed, sad and overwhelmed, so much had happened in the last hour. He was alone with no equipment, no supplies, with no one, in the middle of a forest he didn't know how to get out of… 

Meanwhile… 

Alice ran ahead after a few minutes she finally ran out of the woods and she continued running untill she finally reached the cliff.

In the distance below she saw a small village a couple of primitive houses, not as big as the houses in John's world.

She looked around, finding a path down the cliff and calmly step by step along with the crystal she set off towards the village.

I am really sorry, John, but there was no other way…

END OF CHAPTER 2