The hawk swoops closer. Its mighty wings bat against the clear blue sky, where not a cloud is to be seen. Its razor sharp talons, which had taken off many, many cats before me, are stretched, ready to sink into cat flesh.
The moor, which had been my home all my life couldn't help me now.
My only chance was the forest. Fierce rogues who fought and lurked there in the brightest of days and the darkest of nights certainly wouldn't help me, though.
I've heard rumors of clan cats living there, cats who can be the size of a badger and eat smaller cats like myself. I shiver. But what choice do I have? I start to sprint with all my energy, paws thrumming across the coarse moor.
The hawk gives a terrifying screech that chills me to the bone, making me turn around. With a whoosh it plummets to the ground, tawny wings folded against it's back, cruel beak snapping.
I stop. I'm paralyzed with fear. I will my body to move, my paws to continue thrumming across the hard ground. But they don't. It's almost upon me. I brace myself, squeezing my eyes shut as my life flashes before them.
Suddenly, firm jaws grab me by the scruff, hauling me away from those glinting talons.
I turn to face my rescuer, opening my mouth to thank her. She has a sleek black pelt and brilliant blue eyes. "There's no time!" She hisses. "Follow me!" I shut my mouth.
I risk a glance upwards at the hawk. It's already circling, about to fly through the air like the wind itself. This makes me sprint to the she-cat. My eyes are glued to her pelt.
Suddenly she disappears. "Down here!" she hisses. I realize she's gone down a rabbit hole. The hawk's already drawing itself back, ready.
"I'm not a worm!" I hiss. She rolls her eyes. "Mouse-brain! Just get in the hole!" She makes room for me. The hawk is already plummeting down. I slither in the hole.
But I don't make it. The hawk grabs my hind-leg. It throws me up, before catching me properly in the air. It starts to take me higher. I yowl in pain at the sharp talons digging into my back.
I look down. The she-cat is trying to mouth something to me. I watch her fading away, puzzled. Then I realize what she is saying. "Dragon." But what did that me-
The hawk screeches in pain. It's grip loosens. My head snaps up sharply. A creature as pale as ice and silver as the moon looms above me. It's a bit like an eagle, but not really. It has talons, and wings… but where there were feathers, there's scales. A long, blue tail lashes through the air. It has a much longer neck than any eagles, and sharp talons at the end of its wings. Icy spikes rise up behind its neck. It must be a dragon.
The hawk starts to drop like a stone towards the ground. I snap back to reality. "Help!" I screech. The dragon, which is following us to the ground, looks at me in surprise.
Then the hawk drops me. It gives another angry screech. The ice has melted off its wing and now it's just a bit wet. The mouse-brain gains control of its wing and starts to fly off, but slowly.
Thankfully I hit the ground soon after, because the hawk had been dropping so fast. I looked up at the sky. I was sure I had left my stomach up there somewhere.
Then my heart gives a jolt. The dragon!
Tha-Thump. It lands beside me. I's eyes are dark blue- almost completely pupil. It looks at me curiously. I shiver. Then it speaks.
"Say something." I give a start. It can speak? My mouth is dry and I have nothing to say. "Come on!" the dragon urges. Judging by its voice, I assume it's a boy. "Come on!" he urges impatiently. "You said something before! I heard you!"
I blink at him. "I… Uh… I um… Are… I mean, are you… are you a dragon?" He laughs. "You really can speak! I'm an Icewing dragonet. My name is Frost. What's yours?" I'm stunned for a moment.
Icewing? And a real, live, speaking dragon? "I… Uh… I'm Silver." I mutter, shifting nervously. Wasn't Frost going to eat me? "What tribe are you in?" I frown, confused. "Tribe?" The dragon tilts his head at me. "Don't you have a tribe?" When I shake my head he looks at me sympathetically.
"I couldn't imagine life without my tribe." I shrug. He grins. "I've never seen anything like you before." I shift nervously. "Yeah, um thanks. I should probably be going now…" The dragon takes one step towards me. "What kind of creature are you." He's never seen a cat before? I hesitate. "I'm a cat." I reply.
He sniffs. "I've never tasted cat before…" he mutters. Then his eyes light up. "I could be the first dragon to ever try!" I yelp and sprint as fast as I can towards the rabbit hole the black she-cat had taken cover in. The dragon growls and goes after me. I dive through the hole.
But I get stuck. I got in at a wrong angle and now my paw is jammed between my body and the hole. The black she-cat wraps her paws around me, grabs me by the scruff, and pulls me in. I can feel myself slowly going through. My paw hurts but I'm more worried about the dragon.
Suddenly razor sharp talons grip my back. I yowl in surprise and pain as I'm ripped out of the hole. The black she-cat has still got her jaws firmly closed around my scruff. Now her paws are flailing in the air as we are carried off. My scruff hurts like anything and it's starting to choke me.
She sees me struggling and since she can't jump to the ground she digs her claws into my back and lets go of my scruff. I can feel my fur tearing but at least I can breathe again.
"Almost there!" Yells Frost cheerfully over the wind. I grit my teeth.
But then a thought comes over me; If he's going to eat us, why didn't he do it just then?
"Where are you taking us?" I yell. Frost doesn't answer. Maybe he didn't hear me? I try again. "Where are you taking us?" When he doesn't answer, I open my mouth to try one more time. But the dragon beats me to it.
"We're going to my home. There are loads more dragons like me." Uh oh. I turn to the black she-cat. "What's your name?" I ask her, trying to strike up conversation to distract us both. She doesn't answer. She's too petrified to do anything but keep her claws in. For that, I'm grateful. Even if it does hurt and drag me down.
"How much further?" I yell to Frost over the wind. He shrugs. "Not long? There's a tunnel to Pyrria just along… here!" I don't know what Pyrria is, but I assume it's his home.
He suddenly dives towards a hill. I give a little "mmph!" of alarm. But he doesn't crash. He swerves off into a tunnel. It's damp, the wetness seeping into my fur. And then it gets colder.
The tunnel emits wrongness, as though it's not supposed to be here. And it just gets colder and colder, even as we get nearer to the exit, which confuses me; it was a nice warm day without a cloud in the sky, last time I checked.
It is weird, not normal… but then, a dragon swooping out of nowhere who can speak cat isn't exactly normal, either. I mean, a couple of heartbeats ago I was eating an afternoon meal! I shake my head to clear it.
Soon, I'm freezing through my fur. "Wh-Wh-What is…?" I'm cut off when we swoop out of the tunnel. My eyes widen in amazement and my jaw drops. This isn't possible. Instead of the green, grassy landscape of the moor the area is covered in ice and snow. And lots and lots of it. Tall pillars of the frozen stuff tower above us. Frost slows and lands on the ground. I hear the snow crunching beneath his talons.
"Welcome," He grins, "To the Ice Kingdom."