The midday sun cracked through the branches and hit a flame-colored pelt lying under a bush.
"Rusty! Wake up!" called a cat farther away.
"Huh? What? Oh! Coming Princess!" said Rusty as he scrambled out
"What could she have to tell me so urgently?" thought Rusty.
Rusty reached Princess to find her and three squirming balls of fur.
"Rusty, look! They came half a moon ago and I wanted to show you as soon as our twolegs let us out!"
"Wow they are beautiful, Princess! What names have you given them?"
Princess pointed to each one in turn starting with the smallest of the three, the she-cat.
"I named this one Hazel, her brown coat reminds me of our mother." said Princess with a distant look in her eyes. Rusty purred approvingly.
Princess then touched the head of a small black tom, "I will name him Shadow and this one..." Princess pointed to the last tom, "I've decided to let you name him!"
"Really! Are you sure?"
"Yeah! I figured I should let you have some part of it since they are your kin after all!"
"Well, he is completely white so why not Cloud?"
"That's a great name, Rusty!" purred Princess happily.
"He is going to be a great warrior someday..." said Rusty, not knowing he was speaking out loud.
"A what?"
Suddenly they heard something scrambling up from the other side of the fence. Another cat plopped down and ambled over.
"Hey Smudge! I thought you were taking a nap!" said Rusty.
"Well I couldn't help but overhear your conversation…"
"Smudge how many times do I have to tell you its rude to…"
" I know! Well I've already heard, so what were you saying? Something about a warrior…aren't they those cats that live out in the forest?"
"Yeah they are..," said Rusty, regretting that he had let his words slip, " But they are not as bad as you think! They live in clans and each warrior protects the other and hunts food for the entire clan! There are even battles between the clans!"
Smudge gave Rusty a sideways look.
"Those are wild cats, Rusty! You are risking your life if you go join them, and my son's!" Princess flicked her tail, clearly annoyed.
"Well..um..I didn't mean to upset you it's just that, well…" Rusty was taken aback by Princess' response.
Suddenly a rustle of grass came from behind and the three cats whipped their heads around to find Cloud pouncing on a tuft of grass.
Princess' eyes glistened with amusement and she went to round up all of her kits.
"I didn't mean to snap at you like that Rusty," mewed Princess apologetically, "I guess I can't bear the thought that one day my kits will grow up and have a destiny of their own."
"Don't worry Princess, I know you will be the best mom for these kits." purred Rusty as he admired the three kits and wondered if someday he would have a family of his own. Rusty knew that his destiny lay outside the fences that had confined him for so long. He hopped up on the top of the fence and gazed out into the distance.
I wonder what it would be like to live in the forest! I am sure its not as dangerous as the rumors make it seem. I want desperately to be part of a clan and have cats that I am willing to fight for till the death! I know I have to do this now because I don't know what other opportunity I will get..
Rusty jumped off on the other side of the gates and realized that what he was doing was insane.
But I have to! I need to find out what truly lays in the depths of that forest!
Rusty began to pick up the pace and soon was sprinting towards the trees. He let out a loud mrrow of excitement as he felt the wind rush against his fur. He finally broke through the brambles and stared at the soaring treetops and dense undergrowth of the forest. He was flooded with the scent of pine and prey and he could make out the faint scuttling of mice under the roots of the trees that surrounded him. Rusty continued to pick his way through the forest and suddenly came out into an open clearing where he could make out four giant trees standing in a group and at the bottom was a large rock. Rusty stared in amazement not knowing that one day he would be sitting on that rock staring out over his clan.