A World Apart

Thank you guys for the reviews! It's so nice to see reviews when I check back on my story. If you're wondering where the slash is, it's coming, it's coming. Please stay tuned. It will be well worth the wait!

Chapter 6

A while later I heard a brief knock at the door, but didn't even acknowledge it, fearing it was my father with more "cat school" news for me. I just needed some time to myself and I never get it!

"Raven?" One of my brothers asked softly from the other side of the door.

I figured he wouldn't go away, so finally I yelled "Come in."

Robin entered and stood a few feet away from me, holding his own stack of papers," Did you get these, too?"

"Unfortunately," I grumbled.

He looked down at the ground, where I had purposely let the stack fall from my hands," Are you mad?"

"This is ridiculous," I spat, shaking my head again.

"It's not dad's fault, you know. It's a law here. We have to go to school," He said, blue eyes staring at me.

"Well then, I don't want to be here!" I argued.

Robin walked a little bit closer and began picking up the papers I had dropped," I know you don't like this, Rave. If I were you, I wouldn't want more school either. But, everything is so different here. Their way of life is totally opposite of our own, but this is how they function everyday and they all get along fine."

"Great for them," I remarked.

He signed openly and watched me for a moment," Well, the real reason I came is because I was wondering if you wanted to go shopping. They have a lot of nice shops downtown. And, you really need some clothes."

I glanced down at what I was wearing, an oversized cotton t-shirt and too short shorts. I did need to get some clothes whether I wanted to, or not. I suppose I should probably get them myself, instead of letting Robin pick them out for me. I'd end up in some girly ensemble with flowers or something crazy like that.

My little brother placed my stack of papers near the bookshelf and waited for me," So, will you come with me?"

"Fine."

Before I left the house, I changed into a pair of my dad's clothes. The pants were too big and the shirt wasn't my style, but it was better than being naked. It felt so strange, my tail being out and not hiding my ears. Robin knew better than to say anything and only smiled at me when I came back fully dressed. Another strange thing that I soon found out was that cats here in Kingsdale don't wear shoes! True, our feet were wider than the average humans, but not wearing shoes seemed odd. Mom told me that the pads on our feet keep from getting injuries, just like a real cat.

"Ready?" He asked.

I nodded and we left the house. I was getting ready to go towards the car, but he was ready to go the other way.

"Where are you going?" I asked.

"They walk here. I've hardly seen any cars. The town's not that big, though. The main part of town's that way," Robin said and pointed the opposite direction.

I sighed," Okay."

We walked down the road and my brother would point out things, like the six story library, taller than it was wide. He seemed absolutely amazed by it. On the way I saw lots of cat people, and it was so strange! I hadn't seen so many cats before and was surprised at their differences. Some had black and white tails and some had brown. It was just like hair color and was all genetic.

"That right there is a club where all the teens and young adults go. They have dancing and food on the weekends. I want to try it some time!" My brother said and pointed to a bright red building.

I just nodded.

"How are you feeling, Rave? You seem to feel better today, but you aren't really saying much at all," Robin asked from near me.

"I'm okay," I said, noticing a park was coming up.

"Rave? Did you even look through that pack of papers dad gave you?" He asked.

I shook my head," I'm not really interested."

"Well, most of it is a list of classes that the school offers. They have really different classes, like Feline History and Feline Physiology. You have to take one required history class, a math class, and an English or writing class and the rest are electives. We'll go by the school too. I haven't been there yet, but I hear it's really interesting."

We continued walking until we came to the park. Children. I had never seen cat children. I stopped completely at the sidewalk and looked over the white picket fence at the little cat children playing a game of tag. They looked funny with their big, fluffy ears on top of little heads. A little girl giggled and jumped up, eager to chase after a little boy nearby. Their tails were long, almost too long for their bodies. Trees were lining the park and flowers. I noticed cat mothers sitting on benches while their little toddlers sat on blankets in the grass.

"Raven? What...oh. Aren't they cute? It's weird seeing little cat kids. Yesterday mom and I went grocery shopping and we saw all sorts of families. I still can't believe this place has always been here and we didn't even know about it. I love it here."

"Why?" I suddenly asked and we began walking once again towards the center of town.

He shrugged," I just...feel more comfortable here."

"More comfortable? I sure don't. I can't believe I have to give up my old life for this," I said.

"I know you don't like it, but things here are different. The people are warm and friendly. They aren't fake. They're real. Real people with real lives all together. It's amazing. Ever since last year - when I came out - I had been given odd looks and people would whisper behind my back. It was horrible. I was an outcast. But here, they're more open. I'm reading a book that I got at the library right now. It's about the history of Kingsdale. They say that the option of homosexuality is welcome here, simply because they think that if two people are in love, then they should be together...and it helps with population control."

I was so close to telling him what was really on my mind, but figured I didn't need an enemy right now. I hadn't really had a conversation with Robin in a long time. He had changed. He seemed happier, being here and not so quiet as usual.

"Oh, and you know what? I didn't know this, but twins are as common as having one kid. You know how cats have "litters"? Well, multiple births are still common in cat families. I never knew that. I'm a litter! I told Ren and he thought I was crazy, but I think it's neat. Actually, they even call normal siblings "litters" here. So, you and me, we're from the same litter."

We had arrived downtown soon after. The sidewalks were so clean, no litter in sight, although I did notice several trash cans. There were old fashioned street lights along the road and blocks of stores. A couple of cafes with outdoor seating lined the street.

"Where do you want to go first? Most of these are small stores - specialty stores. There's one down the block that is pretty big. It even has three levels of clothes. It's more like a department store. We could go there and then go to the others if you don't find anything there," He said and already was walking that way.

I raised an eyebrow, but followed him. He was too excited for this. I had never seen another guy get so damned excited about shopping before. So, I followed my younger brother through the various streets and came upon several small stores. Storekeepers were outside, cleaning and picking up trash. I was amazed at how clean the town really was.

"It's so clean here," I said to myself.

"Oh, I know! Isn't it nice, though?" Robin said, spinning around to look at me," Did you know that you get a huge fine if you litter? And if you have excess trash on your property, then you can get fined and they make you clean it up - even on your own property!. They're all about the environment here, but I think that's good. That's how it ought to be."