There was no wind. The tide was low and quiet. Even the bird songs were no longer within ear-shot.
Total silence.
Unless, that is, if you exclude the pounding in my chest.
My face was flushed. My eyes were wide. My nose was flaring. My heart was pounding in my rib cage, I wouldn't have been surprised if it beat right out of my chest. It was exhilarating, and I was running fast. What had brought me to run was actually a funny story. You see, I was running from the Clans.
I lead a quiet life, I fit right in, I didn't speak to much, I didn't make too much of a fuss. I lead a boring life. In the Clans it was quite exiting to fight rival Clans, but there was no point behind it. Those who stole prey, who trespassed, who accused the other Clans, there was no point behind it. When a battle was over, there truly was no winner. The fallen, the deceased, whatever you'd like to call them were all gone. They knew what it was like to lose their lives over something as mouse-brained as the Clans.
Yet, they still watch over the living.
What I do not understand is how these innocent cats could grow up to do so much harm. Whenever I see a kit or a cub of another creature, I see a blossoming threat. Their mothers, their fathers, all the people around them shape their future. And if you grew up in the Clans like I did, then you may never find a way out of the chaos. The code made no sense. I saw flaw after flaw in the code, and I never once tried to follow it after my warrior ceremony. What was I waiting for? Why had I waited until I was a warrior to leave? Because it wasn't until then that I found the love of my life.
Moonlight…
My fragile, yet dangerous Moonlight…
No, not the light emitting from the moon above me, my mate. She ran beside me as we bolted through the forest, her white pelt glittering with the light of a thousand stars. Her eyes mirrored my own, shining with excitement, exhilaration, and fear. Fear for what was to come. We had made the hardest decision of our lives; leaving the Clans.
Eventually we slowed down to a jog and she trotted beside me. "I still can't believe we're doing this!" she said with a hint of glee.
I beamed at her. "Me neither. We will be missed, but it was worth it."
"I know, I know, but won't you miss the Clans?" she asked me.
I shook my furry brown head. Unlike her, I was a plain tabby with white spots dotting my belly. My eyes weren't as unique as Moonlight's, hers were a pale blue outline with a deep sea blue with specks of gold whereas mine were simply brown with a hint of red. "I was never welcome there. I grew up as a runt, and I still cannot shake that title until I am far away from the territories."
I was the smallest of the litter, and my mother hated me. I was treated like a burden that she could not get rid of for my entire life, up until this point. But out of all the kits in her litter, I was the only one to survive. In a raid on our camp, the other Clan destroyed our home, killing many cats. My littermates, when we were apprentices, died because a large white tom burst into the apprentices den, slaughtering all of the apprentices. I alone survived because I was the smallest, I hid in the back of the apprentices den. I am smart and cunning and very clever on my feet. But in pressured situations, I failed to be able to do anything to get myself out. But Moonlight, she was amazing. She could do anything, in my opinion. Moonlight was brave, daring, and an adventurous cat. Why do you think I fell in love with her? But the funny thing is, most cats in the Clans who ran away when they were in love ran away with cats from other Clans. But Moonlight and I were in the same Clan. We had never spoken to each other before, until she joined my Clan.
Moonlight was a rogue who was trying to survive. Her rogue name was Little, she too was a runt. She was cast out by her father one fateful night, and I was the one who found her. She had been so scared, so fearful, and I was so fierce and ready to rip her to shreds. If you compared her to who she was back then, you would have been blown away by how much she changed. She turned from a small and timid kit to a bold and dangerous cat who was looking for a place in the world. And if she never found one…
...she'd make room.
"Right..." she said, shaking her head. "But where are we going? Do we even have a plan?"
I grinned. A big smile spread out across my face as I took in my surroundings. The trees zoomed by us, thinning out to moor land. She burst out of the forest, our paws drumming on the soft heather. "That's the thing. We don't."
She gave me a confused look. "What? Why-"
"Moonlight, we have each other. We have the world at our paws. We can do anything!" I shouted with glee, bounding ahead of her. She picked up on my antic, racing after me with a big smile on her face.
I skidded to a halt in front of a large stone pile. I scampered up the rocks, my paws slipping occasionally. Once I got to the top, Moonlight took the spot beside me. Her fur ruffled in the wind, and then is when I realized how truly gorgeous she was. She rested her head on my should, and I took a moment to relish in the warmth that radiated off of her. We both tilted our heads up to the sky, the stars shining down on us as if they approved our decision. And, frankly, I didn't care whether or not they did.
"Not even the stars above can separate the two of us..."
