"Luca." Lisa tried to get its attention but the little black cat kept on whining.
"Will we wait until we're old before we can even go back? What if thvtfmpth..." Luca's voice was muffled when Lisa covered its mouth and shifted its face back to the house again.
"See! Now they're five in there again! And it's night time now, they will sleep..." Then it's eyes widened in realization.
"So we'll wait until they fall asleep and then..." But Lisa kept her hands clamped over its mouth.
"Luca. The gateway has opened." She continued on her solemn voice as Luca struggled to speak.
"And the now the gateway has opened and we still haven't. Wha- What did you just say?" Luca blinked its round eyes at Lisa and saw her eyes gleaming with repressed tears.
She gestured on the screen and Luca saw the five hear signatures on the screen. Not noticing anything abnormal, it gave her an inquiring look. Lisa pointed on the smallest heat signature on the screen.
"That one. It just appeared out of nowhere. Nothing got inside the house since the other three arrived." She explained then continued.
"It just walked out out of nothing. If the gateway wasn't opened then where did he go to?"
"You mean?"
"Yes. They must have been waiting for the gateway to open as well. Look at their rushing figures." She pointed out and there was a uniformed movement on the heat signatures as they walked towards the back of the house. Then as if to confirm her suspicions, the heat signatures disappeared.
Unable to see anymore, they saw the five hear signatures disappearing from their screen. Elated, Luca stretched its little paw to walk out and follow them but it felt its body being dragged back inside the tent.
"Not too fast!"
"We're almost there Lisa. Let's go!" It urged at the woman.
"Yes, we're almost there. Let's wait for a bit."
"But they've gone in. We have to hurry." It tried to struggle but Lisa hardened her gaze.
"Remember, there as six of them and we've only seen the other five. Let's not risk getting discovered."
"Lisa."
"Trust me. We will go back to Toradashi. We will." She said with a determined look.
When a tear escaped her eyes, Lisa raised her hand to carefully press and wipe it as she nodded with a dampened smile. As she breathed in, her tears kept on gushing down and she sniffed a couple of times to calm herself down. Luca looked at her with a sorrowful look.
How long must she have waited for this to finally come? How many hardships and tears she endured. It saw it all. Luca blinked away its own tears and stood on its four legs. The once little black cat has now transformed into a large panther, its head towering over what their tent's entire height.
Lisa saw the little black cat transform and she grabbed on its fur. When the huge animal turned, it saw her shaking her head.
"We need to prepare, Luca. We can only move once they're gone." Luca gazed at her sternly, unwilling to budge.
"Lisa, you do know that the gateway does always not remain open right?"
"I know." She softly replied.
"I also know that if we move now, you'll do everything to make sure I go back even at the expense of being discovered. But Luca, I can't lose you. Will you let me experience that?" She pleaded. Yes, she's desperate to go back. But it doesn't mean she has to sacrifice the life of her companion. She already lost a lot, she's not willing to lose any more.
Luca felt its heart ache as it saw her pleading look. It gave in to the woman's earnest request and sighed heavily. It understood why Lisa acted like this. She has been through so much torture and it can't bear to see her suffer again. Luca willed and shrank its size into the little black cat again.
Lisa saw that Luca agreed, albeit reluctantly, and mouthed a 'Thank you' before she grabbed it for a hug. Luca sighed again.
"What can I do but trust you." It said finally. Yes, it trusted her. They can go back. They will go back.
A swift, rustling sound made them take a look back at the empty house. The screen showed one heat signature moving inside the house in a very rushed manner while two shadows bolted out of the house.
"That's the wolf. I can't make out the form of the other one." Luca recognized the jet black wolf form on Zari as he passed by their tent.
"They must be looking for the last batari. Luca, get ready. We will follow them once all six of them enter the gateway."
'Miaow!' Luca answered in the bravest manner that it could.
After almost an hour, the black wolf came running back towards the house but the pair of woman and cat did not see anyone else that came.
"I'm ready!" Luca announced, ready to go back to Toradashi. However, Lisa kept her gaze in the house.
"Let's wait." She said. Luca wanted to argue but it did not take longer before they heard the front door of the house forcefully open and out came four attractive people decked on what looked like an armor.
The eldest male wore a white suit and armor as he pressed his temple and a frosted visor covered his eyes. A white frame lined the visor and enlarged to cover a part of his jaws on the side. His long, white hair is tied up, and flowed freely on his back. The two women and young male are also wore their own suits and armors as they rushed out of the house.
They ran swiftly that it seemed like they flew in the air. The pair of woman and cat watched from the hidden tent and tried to keep a steady breath. When almost an hour has past and there are still no signs of the residents returning, the pair finally relaxed.
"What an overbearing pressure. He must have held high status among their kind." The little black cat exclaimed, gulping down the blood that surged on its throat. When the family of four adults came out with their suits and armors, a tremendous pressure is released for a short time before it was retracted. It happened only in a few seconds but the little black cat felt like its bones are being crushed. Worried of the little woman with her, it enlarged its body and covered her from the force.
Lisa spat out a small amount of blood and worriedly looked at the now large panther in front of her. She saw it give her a playful grin but its clenched jaw told her otherwise. Lifting her hand to caress its fur, she fought back her own tears and spoke.
"Let's go now. Let's go back to Toradashi."