The rhythm of a thousand heartbeats seemed to
hang in the air, suspended in time, a warm blanket that shrouded this magical
forest from the outside world. Whispers of times long passed, dreams let free
to glow in the midst of the night. Tendrils of ivy laced with the gentle scent
of a mother's tender love, tall red oaks holding in their bark a man's secrets.
Silvery birches shone with the dew that glistened off their smooth surfaces.
Spider webs were nets of trapped light. Cupped leaves dipped precariously
before a fat drop of water would slide from their grasp to the forest floor
below.
A small hiss drifted up from a passerby in this
immense place. A drop of water splashed on top of the shadowy figure's head.
The feline shape shook its head impatiently to try and propel the water off his
fur, which was ruffled up against the cold of the morning. The tomcat lifted
his head, staring up at a thin streak of pale blue sky through the dense canopy
of the forest. He'd been following this route for days now, traveling by the
slanting golden light that glowed on a strangely well-worn path. Despite his
irritation at the moisture that seemed to cling to everything, he was quite
enjoying his journey here. He found beauty in the dapples of sunlight that
sprinkled everything, the magical array of colors from birds overhead and
flowers that bloomed along the path.
Why he was traveling, he really wasn't sure. It
certainly wasn't his choice. The young tomcat would have been perfectly content
to stay in one place, lie in the sun and relax. But a perplexing yearning to
keep moving tugged at his paws, told him to keep up with the life chosen for
him. He couldn't even remember a time when his paws weren't sore… his stomach
not empty… his body not cold. All too often he found himself stumbling along on
bleeding pads that screamed with every step he took, an infuriating
restlessness burning in his veins. Keep going. Just keep going.
A sudden screech overhead stopped him in his
tracks. With a start, the young red-furred tom looked up and froze, fear
completely immobilizing him. The largest bird he'd ever seen was upon him in an
instant, a whirl of tawny-brown feathers and huge hooked talons that dug into
his flesh as it attacked. He cried out but the breath was ripped from him as the
massive creature hefted him into the air. Completely silenced by shock and
pain, he could do nothing, not even struggle as the bird's wings propelled huge
gusts of wind underneath them. Suddenly, they were clear of the treetops, and
everything around them was a startling array of light.
His eyes narrowed at the blinding sunlight, and
he was momentarily distracted from the sharp, merciless grip around his
midriff. He'd never seen mountains before. Sure, he'd heard of them, but never
in his wildest dreams had he imagined they were so beautiful, so majestic.
Great silver towers of glimmering stone that clawed at the sky like some
monster's sharp fingers that had frozen in time. A stiff, cold breeze buffeted
them, and the bird struggled violently to keep its grip on the young tomcat. He
hissed in pain as the beast's talons shifted their position, finding an area of
unmarked flesh where the points dug into the skin.
"Could you possibly let me go?" The young tom
snapped, glaring up at his captor. So surprised was the massive bird to hear a
cat speak its own tongue, the iron grip of its talons subsided. In no time, the
cat was plummeting to earth, air ripped from his lungs as he whipped through
the dense canopy of branches back into the dark woods. He tumbled and struggled
against vines that wrapped around his limbs and spider webs that tickled his
noise. Finally he crashed to the ground, in a path of bright forget-me-nots
that cushioned his landing considerably.
Grumbling under his breath, the young cat sat up,
shaking his head to get rid of a leaf clinging to his fur. "Well," he huffed,
glaring up at the hole he'd made in the shield of branches to where the bird
was circling, searching for new, less frightening quarry. "That was rude."
He stood slowly, checking himself for injuries
by stretching one limb at a time. Besides the pinpricks of pain in his sides,
no wounds to be found. Sighing, he began to walk again, before a sudden voice
interrupted him.
"How'd you do that?"
Stopping in his tracks, the red-furred cat
examined the trees around him, scouring for the source of the voice. "Who're
you?" He answered coolly, lifting his tail.
"Don't answer a question with another. Just
answer me."
Eye twitching in annoyance, he growled. He could
now determine that though the voice was gravelly and had a strong, tough edge
to it, the source was indeed a female. "First of all, I don't know what you're
talking about. Second of all, shouldn't you introduce yourself before
questioning me?"
There was a long pause before the voice
answered. "Very well." The tom spun around, and standing behind him was a young
calico she-cat. Her patched pelt was cloaked by the shadows of broad leaves but
he could still make out the misshapen splotches of white, ginger, and black.
One nicked ear twitched as she watched him through clear blue eyes. "My name is
Lovesong. I am deputy of EarthClan, a Clan that lives and hunts in the very
lands you are trespassing on. Care to give me your name, stranger? And tell me
how you talked to that eagle?"
For once in his life, no smart comeback could be
found. He simply stared at the she-cat, not much older than himself, and tilted
his head to the side. What was this talk about a 'Clan'? And what did she mean
by calling herself 'deputy'? Finally, he relented and answered her question
without further stalling. "My name is Griffin." He told her. "And that bird
back there… an eagle, you called it? I'm honestly not sure what you're asking.
It's a bird."
"…Yes. And?" Lovesong blinked, obviously not
understanding his explanation.
"So… I talked to it." Griffin explained slowly,
as though instructing a very young kit.
"You're telling me you're able to talk to
birds." She processed this information painstakingly, never once taking her
skeptical gaze from the red-furred tom in front of her.
"Of course." Griffin grumbled. The she-cat then
dropped the subject, which he was grateful for. He didn't want to be told that
it wasn't normal, that a cat shouldn't be able to talk to birds. In the manner
of a human refusing proof of a Godless existence, he denied it, told himself
this she-cat didn't know what she was talking about.
"You'll have to come with me." Lovesong finally
said after a long moment. "You were trespassing on our land, which isn't
allowed. Surely you found our scent markers?"
He had; he'd just chosen to ignore them. When he
told her this, she snorted.
"Quite the charmer, you are." She grumbled.
Brushing past him, she flicked her tiny stub of a tail. "Come on. We need to
get back to the Clan."
"Now hold on!" he protested. "I never agreed to
go anywhere with you!"
"And I never asked your opinion." Lovesong
answered ominously, looking back at him with eyes narrowed to slits.
Suddenly Griffin was aware of countless points
of light, small glowing orbs of blue, green, and amber watching him from the
dense canopy. Nothing stirred, but the eyes that watched him were enough to
make him feel his skin prickle underneath his fur.
"Sur cette terre, le sang a été répandu. Sur
cette terre, vous avez scellé votre destin." Lovesong spoke, amusement
tingeing her words. "On this land, your blood was spilled. On this land, you
sealed your fate."
WaitI'mnotdeadyet.
Seriously though, if you were waiting for my other stories, I apologize. DX They're on hiatus until I get my inspiration back.
But this. This is going to be my pride and joy. I've had this story planned out for so long. It's gonna be huge. XD
So, welcome to a Brave New World. Enjoy, and don't forget to review!