The Loner

Rolling hills, territory free of kittypets and twolegs, tall grass full of prey and dangers yet unsen; this was his home, this was his life. His name is Shade; he had dark black fur broken only by dark brown eyes that matches my temper and five years of life filled with experience. In those five years he had grown from a kit climbing trees and chasing mice, to a grown loner traveling from field to field avoiding twolegs and clans alike.

He was proud of his life, but he wanted more. He wanted the company of a clan, the joys of sharing stories with brother and sister warriors, the love of a mate, but mostly he wanted the comradeship of sharing the den with other cats. Having been born a kittypet he'd never had the chance at that, even when he ran away he'd been shunned from the start.

The sun rose behind him as he walked down the ancient dirt road, a road that once upon a time his ancestors had traveled on. In his ears a rhythmic drumming pounds out the heartbeat of my homeland. He purred softly to the beat imagining a land now lost to time, a land full of warriors with war in their blood, warriors who ruled the world for a time. He growled suddenly in aggravation as he reached his destination, a tall sturdy tree that had bark rough with age similar to a dried out water banks.

He settled down at the base of his silent protector, his tall standard heralding the past much as the drums announce and call him to it in his ears. He thought to himself, you my tall friend, saw the victory of my ancestors. How you must have wept when they fell to this weak imbecilic life of being pets to twolegs. He twitched his ears in irritation and flicked his long tail swatting grass and bug alike. "I will awake in my people the fire of war once more." He hissed to the air baring pointed teeth to the fields around him. He nodded his head and then licked his paw three times sealing his vow.

His eyes traverse the ancient gnarled roots he laid amongst, to the scurrying bugs both on the ground and in the massive cracks that must seem like canyons to the bugs. He imagined the city his former twolegs called Dublin, the twolegs even now in the morning light scurrying about like these insects. "Their city is this ancient bark. My Ireland is this tree, ancient and proud. Proud of what? Certainly not the twolegs in the city? For its people have become insects scurrying about like mindless ants intent on imbecilic ideals. HA! What is there to be proud of now? We have no warrior spirit left. Too often I see kits growing into liars and thieves in the comforts of twoleg homes. Too often I see my people lose their warrior spirit to food bowls and kitty treats! We become slaves to the whims of twolegs."

He slammed his tail into the soil kicking up soil and killing a few insects while sending the rest into a hasty retreat. "The twolegs! The twolegs of this land are mistaken! My people, my needy people, they do not need to live in houses and feed out of hands! What they need is a reminder, a reminder of their past. They need to hear these drums, see these hills, feel this bark; they need to remember their gnarled roots." He took a few deep breaths and smiled at his speech given so vehemently to the insects once more approaching his form as if gathering to hear more of it.

Sighing once again he sat up resting his head against that rough bark listening to the drumming that branded his heart with a fire of war. It urged him to become the warrior, to sharpen a claw of words, to bare his teeth with speeches; and to march to battle against the lazy kittypets that had lost their way. These kittypetss who instead of marching like the warriors they were, slept in beds of fluff and ate from the hands of their masters. His tail drummed out the beat against the dirt, which was imprinted by now with the impression of his tail, and stirred up the sweet fragrance of his territory's soil and once more sent the insects fleeing from his tail.

Suddenly his mind reeled at the thought of defeat. His heart races ahead into battle as if his paws bore him forward already. He must remind his fellow cats who they were, he must free his kind from the clutches of the Twolegs. He'd remind them that they were warriors not kittypets, predators not prey, rulers not slaves. He lifted his head to the sky and yowled to the beat an ancient song of battle and victory. In his mind's eye he pictured himself running through the fields of battle and coming forth victorious. With the freeing of his kind from the clutches of the Twolegs he'd create a clan of his own, the greatest clan in Ireland.

However for now he slept under the afternoon sun. The victory could wait until evening, his journey there had been long and he was weary. His ear twitched away an insect that had grown bold and climbed onto him. Suddenly the drums changed and he saw a clan patrol enter the area. His eyes zeroed in on them and a hiss exploded from his throat. How dare they violate the laws of the land and enter his territory. Yowling out a warning yowl he leapt to his paws and charged up to them. "How dare you enter my territory! This is Loner land not your Clan's!" The leader of the patrol turned to him and hissed raising his hackles however he did not speak. Behind him apprentices watched warily for a signal. Then from the shadows of the forest behind him emerged what could only be the clan leader.

"Loner we need your help. One of our kits has been taken by the twolegs, we know you are familiar with their territory. Will you go with Snapstripe and his apprentice Hawkpaw and her sister Briarpaw to rescue the kit?" Her voice was respectful and calmed Shade down enough to relax his stance.

"I will help you rescue the kit if you do something in return for me."

"What would you like in return? Is not the honor of rescuing a kit from harm enough?" She hissed back at him angrily.

"You mistook me. The honor is enough but I do want one other thing if it is at all possible for you to give. I'd like the honor of becoming a warrior myself." He looked at her imploringly.

"I will consult the elders of my clan while you four complete your tasks. Know this if you are to join my clan you must also be able to follow commands. To judge this Snapstripe is in charge and will report to me how well you do in this field. If his report is unsatisfactory you will be turned away." With that she turned with a flick of her tail and disappeared into the forest.

Shade turned to Snapstripe and tilted his head looking at the tawny tom with wary eyes. "So you're in charge. My name is Shade, shall we leave?" Suddenly he found himself pinned beneath claws and a jaw pressed around his throat. He yowled in shock and tried to push the large cat off him, but that only caused the jaws to tighten and the claws to dig in further. He was stuck.