Like I said, I was too surprised to really be scared. It was kinda a relief when I blacked out, just before I hit da ground.
I musta been out fer quite a while. Without openin' my eyes, I started twitching my tail and paws, to find out if I still worked. As I became more awake, I started to feel sore all over. Falling down a mountain will do that to ya.
I wondered how long it would take Jessi an' James to find me. I had no idea how far I'd gone, and even if I did, it wouldn't help 'em find me. It had taken a long time fer us to drive up to da foot of da hiking trail; who knew how long it'd be before I was found?
I heard a moan, an' realized it was me. I was scared to move; I'd prob'ly panic if I found out dat I broke a leg or somethin'. After sittin' for who-knows-how-long without movin' a muscle, I drifted off into an uncomfortable sleep.
***
Dere was a weird noise comin' from right in front of me; I heard it even in my sleep. Something was rustlin' around. With some effort, I roused myself from my sleep, enough to remember where I was an' why.
I tensed, waitin' for whatever-it-was to attack me. I struggled to suppress a gasp when I felt somethin' cool an' damp push up against my face. Da creature- whatever it was- squeaked happily. It sounded familiar. I opened one eye just a tiny bit, barely enough to get an image of the creature.
Da bright, black eyes of a Furret stared back at me.
I opened both eyes wide and blinked a couple times. Da Furret imitated me.
As an experiment, I twitched my ears. Da Furret squeaked happily an' did da same.
I frowned. So did da Furret. I gave a frustrated sigh, an' sure enough, da Furret did, too.
Dis was beginning to annoy me. I slowly outstretched my paws, carefully, so my poor, sore muscles didn't take too much stress. Every move I made was mirrored by da Furret. Growling, I moved a little faster, realizin' dat I could move all my legs without too much trouble. I guess it's true dat cats are naturally graceful; I'd hafta remember to tell Jessi an' James dat when dey found me.
Pushin' myself up onto my hind feet, I wobbled for a second, feelin' a little dizzy. Da Furret stood up too, swayin' its long body almost mockingly. Takin' a step backwards to steady myself, I narrowed my eyes and unsheathed my claws, prepared to give da disrespectful Furret a taste of my Fury Swipes. But to my shock, it imitated my pose pefectly, right down to miniature versions of my claws. It bared tiny fangs, then grinned and waited for me to move again.
"Why you little..." I muttered, and pounced at it. I landed, flat on my face, in the dirt. Da Furret was a few feet away, giggling.
Brushin' dirt off my fur, I looked sideways at Furret, who, not surprisingly, was carefully copyin' my motions. Without warning I rushed at it again, intendin' to hold it down an' try to get it to show me da way back up da mountain.
It seemed to know exactly when I was gonna move. A flash of brown stripey fur in front of my face, an' den I got a mouthful of dirt. When I turned to glare at da Furret, it was rollin' on da ground laughin'. Hopin' to take it by surprise, I leaped again, an' dis time I managed to touch da tip of its tail before fallin' facefirst on da ground.
Yowlin', I got up an' run flat-out towards da Furret, who seemed ta sense dat it'd gone too far. It snaked between trees an' over rocks, tryin' to lose me, but I kept up, to my own pleasure. It had been a long time since I'd been able to just go on my instincts an' chase a rodent- dat is, a rodent dat didn't zap me when I looked at it funny.
Dis Furret didn't seem to be too smart. It kept up a quick, steady squeakin' as I chased it, allowin' me to keep behind it even when it disappeared over a rock or into da underbrush. As I scrambled over yet another fallen log, panting, I realized dat I was going up da mountain.
I almost ran into da Furret. It was sittin' on its haunches on da other end of da log, staring quizzically at me. When I took the moment to catch my breath, it squeaked at me an' blinked. I pounced at it in one fluid motion, gettin' a mouthfull of da fur on da tip of its tail.
Da chase was back on.
***
I wheezed and panted, tryin' to get a full breath while I ran. It had to've been an hour, an' da distance between me an' da Furret hadn't changed at all. Dis wasn't workin'.
I set my claws in da ground an' skidded to a stop. Lookin' around quickly, I saw a convenient, low-hangin' tree branch which I quickly shimmied up. Perkin' my ears up an' spreadin' out on da branch, I saw da Furret standin' still, lookin' confused. Prob'ly wonderin' where I'd gone. Da little rodent.
As quietly as I could, I pulled myself out further onto da branch until I was directly over da Furret's head, about eight feet up. I gathered myself up to pounce, but as I did, I saw the Furret look up at me an' squeak happily as it shot off once more into da underbrush.
I landed squarely on all four paws, staggering for a moment before runnin' after it. If I ever caught dat thing, it was gonna wish it'd never found Me-owth...
***
I crouched in da underbrush, tryin' not to sneeze as a leaf brushed my face. Da steady squeakin' of da Furret had stopped a second ago, an' I assumed it was waitin' for me to show myself. Well, it was gonna get its wish.
I waited 'til I heard rustlin' around within my pouncin' range. Da Furret musta been lookin' for me, da stupid thing. With a growl, I propelled myself outta da leaves, an' suddenly found myself face-to-face with Jessi. I withdrew my claws just in time, an' she managed to catch me, takin' a step back with da momentum of my fall.
"M-meowth?!" she stammered. "Y-you're... you're not hurt? But..."
I laughed, a little giddy from findin' my way back. "Don't ask me how, Jess, but I'm fine!"
She grinned. "Believe it or not, you mangy furball, we went out of our minds worrying about you. James was sure you were either hurt, lost or being eaten alive by a colony of carnivorous Weedle."
"Funny how ya went out of yer mind, an' ya aren't actin' any different," I smirked. Jessi dropped me abruptly watchin' me stumble back with a look of satisfaction on her face. Without sayin' another word, she turned around an' called for James.
I don't think I'd ever seen him move so fast. I was duly impressed. Jessi pointed at me, and with more than a hint of sarcasm, asked "Now, does he look like a Meowth who's been gnawed on by Weedles to you?"
James' eyes widened an' he pounced at me, huggin' me so tight I couldn't breathe. I managed to struggle hard enough to make him loosen his grip.
"Meowth I'm so sorry I dropped you are you sure you're not hurt you look tired come on I'll carry you back to the car I'm so glad you're alright-"
"J-jimmy..." I gasped, "I won't be okay no more if ya don't let go of me..." James immediately let me go. "It's not yer fault I fell," I wheezed, one paw over my crushed ribs. He looked immensely relieved an' I realized dat Jessi had meant it when she'd said dat dey were worried about me.
Suddenly a thought crossed my mind. "Hey, Jess, did you see a Furret run by right before I pounced on you?"
Jessi an' James shot each other a glance dat plainly told me dey hadn't.
"Meowth..." James began, lookin' a little worried again, "are you sure you didn't fall on your head?"
I frowned, ignorin' James' question. I had seen da Furret go right through da bushes where I'd hid a few seconds later, an' Jessi hadn't seen it? How could dat be possible?...
"But I was chasin' it, an' it came... right... past..." I trailed off when I saw da looks my friends were givin' me. With a sigh, I just gave up an' put my paws behind my head. "We'd better get goin' if we wanna get outta here by dark," I said glumly, startin' to walk away. I could almost feel Jessi an' James starin' at me.
A familiar squeak reached my ears. I looked up quickly an' grinned. Da Furret was sittin' on a branch, its tail wavin' smugly down at me. I pointed up at it an' looked back at Jessi an' James, "Dere! It's dat Furret! On da branch, see it?"
Da Furret winked an' leaped off into another tree, seemin' to disappear.
"Okay, Meowth," Jessi said reluctantly. "I guess you aren't completely insane, after all."
James blinked in da direction da Furret had disappeared. I smirked an' jumped up onto his shoulder, takin' him by surprise.
"Ya promised to carry me back to da car, remember?" I asked, givin' him a cute-kitten look. He sighed overdramatically, but obliged.
I hoped da rest of our vacation wasn't quite so exciting. I wondered if it'd be possible to take another vacation to recover from dis one.
