Meet Me at Our Spot

Leif ran through the trees of Umbra Woods posthaste, kicking up a bunch of clouds of dirt due to his speed. Equipped with a flashlight, he made his way deeper and deeper into the maze of trees. He had to get there as quickly as possible. He needed to get to Iris. He had gotten sent that tree emoji, which meant they needed his support. He was almost at the clearing the two had made a designated spot, but Leif hadn’t seen any evidence that Iris was there yet. Where could they be?

“Iris!” He called out. It was met with the hoots of owls. “Are you here yet?” He tried again, fully stepping into the clearing. The lack of trees in the area did make it easier to see, though it was still visibly dark. Leif scanned the area, guiding his flashlight from left to right. Soon, another figure was illuminated. A purple spacecat, whose back was to him as they looked up at the moon. Iris.

A small sound of confusion came from Leif’s mouth. Iris often called her in here when they were transforming into their dragon form, but they were just in their regular cat form. They were also very quiet right now, seeming to take solace in the moonlight. They hadn’t even reacted to Leif shining a light on them. They must be lost in thought right now. She began to approach slowly, hoping not to startle them.

“Iris?” Leif tried again, and this time Iris reacted with a small ear twitch before turning their head to face her.

“Leif. You came.”

“Of course I did! You know I wouldn’t ignore that!” He responded.  “About that though, why aren’t you a dragon?”

“Are you disappointed?” They asked with a playful smirk.

“N-no!” He quickly sputtered, and Iris lightly chuckled. Leif continued. “I’m just confused. Every time you’ve asked me to come here that way, it’s because you were transforming. So why not this time? Did you manage to calm down before I came?”

‘No. I haven't transformed at all tonight. I just wanted to talk with you.” 

“Just to talk? Why here, though?” The brown spacecat asked curiously.

“This place is nice and calming, don’t you agree?” Iris stared up at the moon again.

“Well, yes. That’s true.” Leif began to speak, sitting down and mirroring Iris’ actions.

“It gives me a feeling of peace and solace.” They broke eye contact from the moon for a second to glance at Leif. “It’s you that’s helped me feel that way about it.”

“Me?” Leif felt his cheeks burning up a bit. “How?”

“It’s all thanks to your help. Whenever I’m transformed, you stay with me no matter what until I change back. You are great at making me feel relaxed. Even when I walk by here on normal days, I can still feel that calm energy over the area without you being here. It’s good for destressing.”

“I-I’m glad I could help you with that! After all, I’m…” A small awkward pause, “I’m your friend. Of course I’d always stay with you.”

Iris smiled. “I’m glad.”

“So, what did you want to talk about?” Leif pondered

Iris’ smile fell.

“I’m nervous about tomorrow. I keep thinking about every bad thing that could happen. I still don’t know if I’m ready…”

“Iris…” Leif spoke softly. “You got this, ok? I’m sure it will go fine. Summer wants to see you. I bet she misses you a lot.”

Iris remained silent.

“Remember, you can call me anytime if you need to. I’m here for you, ok?”

A sigh, followed by Iris wrapped a paw around Leif, bringing him in for a hug, which was returned.

“Thank you, Leif. I guess there’s no backing down from it anyways.” 

“You got this, ok? Just… please know I love you regardless of what happens, ok?”

They nodded, and their hug ended. Iris stood up.

“I guess I should get some rest. It’s rather late.” 

“Do you want me to walk you home?” Leif perked up.

“Thank you for the offer, but you should head home, too. You don’t need to go out of your way to get me home.”

“Ok… Good night, Iris.” Leif said in a slightly disappointed tone.

“Good night, Leif.” 

The two cats embarked on their separate ways, both of them hoping the next day could go smoothly, for Iris’ sake.