IMPORTANT CHARACTERS:
APPLEKIT—brown tabby she-cat with white paws and blue eyes
ZACK—red fox with a skinny tail and yellow eyes
Zack sat obediently as his mother smoothed the fur on the top is his head. Father waited by the entrance to their den, bushy tail flicking back and forth.
"Now, we'll be back soon," Mother said, licking him one last time. She stood up and went to her mate. With a nod back to their son, both foxes walked out of the den.
"Bye!" Zack called after them, then lay down, fidgeting uncomfortably. He was not enjoying being alone for the first time ever.
Rolling onto his back, he rested his muzzle on the soft leafy floor of the den. He sighed. How long would he have to wait? It had barely been five minutes, and already he was bored out of his mind.
Grunting in annoyance, he stood and began to pace, trying to let his thoughts occupy him. This tactic lasted less than a minute before he flopped back down on the floor again, growling.
A scrape of claw against stone made Zack's head jerk up. They're back!
Blue eyes glowed from the entrance. Fear made Zack's fur prickle, and he let out a low whine. That's not Mother or Father...
Applekit waded through the stream, paws churning. Her hind paws brushed the bottom of the water, but she drew her legs up. She had wanted to practice by herself, without her littermate's scathing comments, or Rootpaw's disdainful expression. Not my fault I'm a drypaw!
When her legs grew tired, she dropped onto all four paws, standing neck-up in the shallow stream.
She was only one moon old, and wanted to learn how to swim by two. She needed extra time since she hated water at first, but now, it was kinda pleasant. She was making good progress, but Leopardkit was currently better.
Sloshing her way out, she shook out her fur and started to pad back to camp. Then she halted. Was this the way back to camp? She couldn't remember.
Turning around, she glanced around her. Swallowing, she realized she didn't know. So Applekit picked a direction at random and began to travel that way.
A while later, her paws ached. She eyed some reeds; it looked a nice place to rest. Padding over, she suddenly fell into a hole.
Swallowing back a screech of shock, she looked up. The entrance was at a shallow slope, and Applekit could leave if she wanted. But curiosity overwhelmed her instinct to run, and she turned to the dark tunnel.
A funny and rather bad scent reached her. She wrinkled her nose. Unsheathing her claws to grip the tunnel floor better, she edged forward cautiously.
A low whine sounded. Applekit froze, staring in. She caught sight of two yellow eyes, gleaming dimly in the darkness. She gulped.
She couldn't go back now. She had to find out what this was! Her fur prickled with excitement as she imagined herself chasing a fox out of RiverClan territory. She'd be a hero! Leopardkit and Rootpaw would have to respect her.
Creeping forward, she lost her balance and skidded into the den clumsily. The eyes at the back widened.
Fear suddenly lanced through Applekit. Why had she done this? She flattened herself to the ground, hoping that it wouldn't notice her.
Zack shrank back against the wall, barely daring to breathe. Terror clutched him, so strong that he could barely move.
"Wh-who are you," he squeaked, shaking.
The creature mewled something. Zack jumped, just narrowly avoiding braining himself on the ceiling. He skirted forward cautiously, sniffing.
"Hello?" he called.
The thing flattened itself even further, if that was possible. Zack, his fear fading and curiosity slipping in to take its place, prodded it was one paw. In the dim light, he saw a brown pelt.
A cat! Zack pulled back in shock. Father had told him about cats. He called them savage, codeless murderers, who mauled any creature at the slightest provocation, such as placing a single paw over their scent border.
He lashed his tail, the fear returning. Glancing anxiously at the entrance, he retreated to the back, where his nest lay, whining. Mother and Father will know what to do.
Applekit curled tightly into a ball, stiff and frozen with fear. She wished some cat was here, even arrogant Leopardkit. He would know what to do!
Warily peeking out from under her paws, she saw the yellow eyes at the back of the den once more. As they disappeared in the shadows, she bolted. Uncurling herself, she scrambled up the sloping tunnel.
As she burst into the foliage, a fox appeared. It froze, a sparrow hanging from its jaws. Then it dropped the prey and let out a low snarl.
Zack, seeing the cat leave, crept out of the den. His Father stood there, a bird at his paws, glaring at the cat. Seeing it in the light, he saw brown tabby fur and cloud-white paws. He also realized it was a kit, young, likely no older than Zack himself.
The cat ran. Father lunged after it. Zack knew Father didn't actually mean the kit any harm, but Father wanted the cat, kit or not, away from his den—and Zack.
Charging after him, he brushed past Mother, who was leaning down to pick up the sparrow. Glancing at her, head tilted, she nodded, and Zack chased after Father.
Crashing through the undergrowth, the young fox tripped over a root. Scrambling to his paws, he pushed his way to Father, coming to a stop just in time to see four full-grown cats converge on Father, fangs flashing, claws raining blows on him. He froze, horrified.
Father backed away from them, but they followed, snarling savagely. One cat, a particularly broad-shouldered one, tore his claws into Father's nose.
Zack's eyes widened. Father batted a cat that was lunging for his nose away, and sank his teeth into another one. But the cats were forcing Father back. Father stumbled, dropping onto all four paws, then turned and fled.
A cat darted forward and nipped Father's hind legs. Father yelped, but in anger rather than pain. Still, he didn't turn around.
Zack slunk after Father, sticking to the sparse growth, horrified by what he had seen. These cats, they were vicious, savage, and honorless. They didn't deserve to live.
Zack arrived at the den just as Father collapsed in the middle of the clearing. Mother crouched low over him.
"Father!" He shot to his side. Father's flanks rose and fell shallowly, and his thick orange pelt was damp with blood. He pressed his nose against Father's cheek, hearing his raspy breaths. He knew, without a doubt, that Father was dying.
"Help him!" he cried to Mother, who stood stone-still, gazing at her mate sadly.
Father opened his mouth and something rasped out of it. His eyes flickered to Mother, and she stepped forward to rest her tail on Zack's back.
"There's nothing we can do," she whispered.
Zack shuddered. No...
Father looked back at Zack. His eyes sought his, and for a second, Zack saw the whole multitude of his father's emotions gleaming within them. Love, regret and pain were the foremost among them.
Then the moment was over. Father's tail twitched once, and his limbs spasmed briefly, then stilled. Zack let out a cry of anguish. Father was dead.
And it was all their fault.