Darkness surrounded her, in an endless void, and Princess lay silently on what felt like the grass in her housefolk's garden, but softer. H-huh? Where am I? She sniffed the air, sensing a small movement nearby. The small she-cat opened her wide green eyes, and immediately recognized the tall, towering trees, and fell into comfort with the dimly lit clearing. The musty, damp smells of the fallen leaves and dew on the slightly quivering blades of grass filled her nostrils, and she padded further into the forest, gazing up at the trees in wonder.
Her belly growled quietly, reminding the brown tabby how hungry she was. She sniffed the air again, only to have the scent of rich, tantalizing mouse waft towards her. Her mouth watered, and she instinctively crouched low to the ground, making sure to tread lightly.
In a flash a small grey rodent whisked past her, burrowing itself in a pile of dead leaves not a tail-length away. Princess's ears pricked, and she froze before creeping slowly toward the leaf pile. Princess could sense that the creature was innocently unaware of her presence, and licked her lips.
The brown tabby pushed off of her hind legs, landing with a thump on the leaf pile. She hooked the mouse out with one curved claw, and threw it into the air, ready to clamp down on its flesh with sharpened, white teeth-
Rattle, rattle.
Princess froze, and the mouse landed hard on the ground. It squealed and took off running, but Princess smacked a paw down on its tail, smiling in amusement. She picked the wriggling creature up, staring at it, her eyes curious, and shining-
Rattle, rattle, rattle.
What was that infernal noise? It shook on, louder and louder, becoming more and more familiar as the wet, mossy ground beneath Princess's paws turned to cushion, and the cool forest air became hot and scented with chicken, and the stale smell of dry pellets. She blinked open her eyes, and as they adjusted to the light, stared around, confused.
What? Was it all just a dream?
Pale moonlight shifted through the cold glass pane on the wall, striking the flowers on the ledge next to it with nearly invisible dust motes. The rattling noise continued, and Princess realized that it was the dry pellets being poured into her food dish. She wrinkled her nose in distaste as her housefolk nudged the metal dish towards her.
Her collar shifted as she turned to smooth out some fur on her shoulder, making the silver bell tinkle and ring slightly. The brown tabby stretched out on her soft bed before slowly clambering out of it, and padding towards her food bowl. Her nose wrinkled again, and she looked up at her housefolk with large, pleading eyes.
The twoleg murmured something before puling a tin can off of the counter, and spilling half of its contents into the bowl alongside the pellets. Tuna! Princess thought with glee, gulping up mouthfuls of pellets and fish, purring all the while. When her stomach was full, she leaned towards her water dish, and lapped up a few drops of the stale liquid.
The humid air inside the kitchen was beginning to irk the brown tabby, and she jumped up onto the window ledge, pawing at the glass pane, and mewing. Obediently, her housefolk opened the window, and Princess leaped out onto the harsh, tickly grass outside. It was cut short, and her pads itched as she headed toward the wooden fence.
Once there, she scrabbled at the splintery wood for a claw hold, and hefted herself up to the peak of the wooden structure. Hhhhh! She stifled a gasp as her eyes met the looming forest trees for the first time that night. The stars twinkled, suffocating in the darkness, but the moon lit the trees up with a cold light, making them impossibly more beautiful than before.
A cool breeze swept through her fur, making her whiskers quiver slightly. She closed her green eyes, taking in a deep breath, catching some of the scents of her dream. For a moment, she felt herself become one with the sky, stretching over everything, wild. And free. Her eyes snapped open, narrowed. She was going to explore that forest. And she was going to do it now.
She jumped off of the wooden ledge, taking off towards the forest, letting out a squeal as the wind madly ruffled her fur. The bell on her collar shook, and Princess squeezed her eyes shut against the whipping of the wild grass, which was tall and soft in comparison to the chopped blades in her garden. The brown tabby made it past the barrier of trees and breathed in the musky scents of the undergrowth, halting, and panting heavily. She had never run that fast in all her life. Her ears pricked and the hairs on the back of her neck stood up as she realized that there was no turning back now.
The undergrowth twinkled in the moonlight from early evening's rain, and the wet mulch gave off a rich scent that Princess was drawn to. A rustle in the leaves caused the tabby's head to swivel around silently, like an owl's, until she was facing the source of the sound. The silver bell tinkled. She sniffed the air excitedly, catching a whiff of mouse, and... Was that... Cat?!
"Mrrrrooow!"
A dark shape flew out of the bushes, and Princess spun around on her heels, meeting her attacker with fore-paws to the stomach. The cat oofed, and flew backward, clambering to its paws and running full speed toward the brown tabby she-cat. The bell rattled as she jumped over the figure's head, landing squat on its tail. She tumbled as it let out a masculine yelp. (If yelps could be in any way masculine, that is).
"Ach! What's wrong with you?" The small tom grumbled, sniffing at his tail as Princess got to her paws. "What's wrong with me?!" She scoffed. "You're the one who attacked me for no apparent reason!"
"It was just a bit of harmless fun!" He whined. "I think you've crippled my tail."
Princess sniffed haughtily. "Well maybe you'll think about that before you go scaring the fur off of some cat."
The tom's amber eyes twinkled, and he let out a mrrrow of laughter. "I scared you?"
The tabby she-cat's fur grew hot and she turned away. "No, you startled me- that's all!"
"Who are you anyway, and what are you doing in this part of the woods?"
"It's rude to ask a she-cat her name before you have even introduced yourself." Princess crowed.
The tom sat himself down, wrapping his tail around his paws. "Alright then. I'm Dustpaw. I live here. Now. Who are you, and why are you here?"
Princess also sat down- though a fair distance away from the unruly tom. "I'm Princess. I've come from TwolegPlace, to explore the woods."
The young tom snorted with laughter. "P-Princess? Do you even know what that means? That's like calling yourself FAVYDAYH." He spluttered the unknown word into the air like a flightless bird.
"Hey," Princess growled. "You don't see me poking fun at your name. What is a Dustpaw anyhow?"
Dustpaw grew quiet and somber, a distant look upon his face. "It's a tradition." He said softly, so Princess had to strain her ears to hear him. "I live with a group called ThunderClan. We've lived in these woods for generations upon generations. When a kit is born, it is given a first name, followed by -kit.
Once they reach six moons, the suffix of their name, -kit, is changed to signify that they've started training as a warrior, or medicine cat. This change is what you hear in my name, -paw. When a cat finishes their training, their name changes again, with something completely different , like -foot, or -leaf. If a cat is lucky enough to become a leader, their name gets a new suffix, -star, to show that they have a connection with our fallen ancestors, StarClan. "
The small tom finished quietly, his eyes shining with pride, leaving Princess dumbfounded and confused. But just as she was about to speak, a look of horror crossed Dustpaw's face, and he sniffed the air.
"What is it? Is something dead?" Princess wrinkled her nose in distaste.
"Shhh! Hide! Quick!"
"Wha-"
"No time to explain! Hurry!" Dustpaw flailed at the tabby she-cat with his paws, trying to shove her into a bush.
"Dustpaw. I sent you out to hunt, not to frolic with some she-cat." A mottled tom and a blue-grey she-cat leaped down from an overhanging branch, their eyes narrowed with disapproval. It was the large tom who had spoken. "And a kittypet, at that."
