Dawnfire: Hello, hello! I am finally back with a new update. To be honest, I fully intended to rewrite this story. It just ended up taking a lot longer than anticipated. Good news is that since I have most of the chapters at least partially written out, it shouldn't take me as long to update the story. Bad news is that the rewrite is going to be at least three times as long as the original (mostly on account that I added two new parts to the story). Other than that, hope you enjoy!
Thump, thump, thump!
Ember shifted in her sleep, her coal gray fur matting as it rubbed against the ground.
Thump, thump!
"No, Minnow," she mumbled in her sleep. "I'm still sleepy. Go away."
Thump, thump!
A pair of bright orange orbs appeared in the darkness as Ember opened her eyes. She blinked in confusion when she couldn't see anything around her. She wasn't quite sure where she was. As she stood up, her head bumped painfully against the low ceiling and she recalled that she was currently inside a rabbit's burrow. The same burrow she had taken shelter in the day before. The thumping continued overhead.
She gave the roof of her den an annoyed glare. "Blasted rabbits. Keep it down up there," she yowled. "I can't sleep with all of your racket!"
Ember gave a sigh of relief when the thumping immediately quieted. Even rabbits were smart enough to fear the wrath of a little kit like her. She settled down and was nearly asleep when the thumping returned. Ember scowled.
"I thought I told you all to be quiet!"
Silence fell abruptly and remained for a few moments.
"Did you hear that?" a muffled voice meowed.
Ember stiffened.
"Hear what?" a second voice asked.
"I thought I heard someone say something. Was that you?"
"No. I didn't say anything."
Ember's heart pounded in her chest. Those weren't rabbits. They were wild cats. After finding her way to this region, Ember had quickly discovered that the area was inhabited by other cats. These cats were unlike any other she had encountered in the past. They traveled in groups and went by strange names. Most worryingly, they seemed hostile towards any outsider who attempted to pass through their territory. Ember was suddenly glad that she had hidden the entrance to the burrow.
There was a rustle as a third cat approached. "Shadefur. I found a pile of bones nearby. I think someone's been stealing prey from our territory."
Unfortunately, Ember had forgotten to hide last night's meal.
A cat she assumed to be Shadefur cursed. "That's the third time this week. It was only two days ago that Spotfire found that half-eaten sparrow."
Ember remembered that sparrow. It was already dead and a bit maggot-infested when she had found it and she had only managed to down a few bites before she threw up. It wasn't a meal worth them fussing over.
"Search the area," ordered the first cat. "Those thieves couldn't have gone too far."
"I bet it was that Thunderclan scum. That clan is filled with thieves and murderers, I tell ya."
Ember held her breath as the wild cats searched the area. When one of the cats came close to the entrance of her hideout, she pressed herself against the ground and waited for the moment when they discovered her.
"No signs of the thief," the cat finally answered.
"Fine," Shadefur growled. "We will just report this to Icestar later. Let's get back to hunting."
Ember exhaled when the sounds of the wild cats faded out of earshot. She had almost gotten caught this time. She would need to be more careful in the future.
Ember cleared the clumps of dirt and grass covering the entrance to the burrow and climbed out. The afternoon sun warmed her back as she stepped outside and she paused to stretch. A breeze weaved through the tall grass surrounding her and carried the scent of fresh water, rabbits, and newleaf. Her stomach growled at the distinct scent of the rodents, reminding her of her current predicament. She was starving.
Ember had barely eaten anything since her family abandoned her. She had woken up one morning to find that they had completely disappeared without a trace or even a scent trail for her to follow. Several hours of waiting hadn't brought any results and she was soon forced to move on. She wanted to believe that they hadn't really left her, that they had gone out hunting and would return shortly, but that was a week ago. It didn't take a week to catch something. At least she didn't think it did. She'd never learned how to hunt. She had tried hunting after they disappeared and only succeeded in finding a few spoiled remains, like the sparrow. She shuddered at the memory. She was going to starve to death.
"No," she said aloud, puffing out her chest defiantly. "Today is the day when I catch my first prey. I will not be stopped!"
She heard a rustle behind her and nearly leapt out of her fur in surprise. She whirled around, ready to beg the wild cats for mercy when a rabbit scampered out of its hiding spot. It twitched its nose at her, catching her scent, and hopped away.
Just a rabbit, she thought, relaxing slowly. Not a wild cat.
Ember could hear other rabbits climbing out of the nearby burrows as they realized that the wild cats had left. She smirked. This would be the perfect opportunity to catch one.
She padded through the tall grass to the other side of the warren and happened upon a rabbit absently munching on a dandelion. Her ears twitched in excitement. Her opportunity had come. She unsteadily got into a hunter's crouch like she had seen her parents do before. Ember was about to take a step forward when she realized something.
Her hunting skills may have improved slightly over the past week, but there was no way she would be able to sneak up on this rabbit without it noticing her. It was bound to run the instant it saw her and she could not match a rabbit's speed in her current form. If she was more like her mother, then speed would be the least of her problems. Her mother's long legs and lithe form could carry her across the ground with the speed of a lightning bolt. Her prey only had a split second to see her mother's claws before they were gone.
The thought of her mother sent a tingling sensation through her body. The tingling started in her chest and slowly crept down to her limbs. Her legs lengthened and thinned. Lean muscles filled her frame and strengthened her paws. Her fur lightened from dark gray to beige and filled with spots. Within a few moments, the tingling faded and Ember had completed her transformation.
She lifted a paw and examined it curiously. Her paws had grown larger and she had lost the ability to fully retract her claws, but she also felt stronger and lighter than she had before. With fierce determination and pride at her accomplishment, she returned her attention to the rabbit.
The long-eared rodent had yet to notice her. Apparently, keeping an eye out for predators wasn't as important as devouring every dandelion in sight.
Ember took a small step forward and paused warily. The rabbit yanked up another mouthful of flowers and chewed leisurely. Ember relaxed and continued to creep forward. She was nearly within pouncing range when something crunched obnoxiously loud beneath her. She glanced down at the dead leaf crushed beneath her paw. She glanced up to see an extremely horrified rabbit meeting her eyes.
Ember smiled awkwardly. "Um...hi?"
The rabbit was hurtling across the moor in the blink of an eye. Ember gasped in surprise and scrambled after it.
The rabbit initially outpaced Ember, it being a rabbit and all that, but she quickly gained speed and closed the distance between them. She sprinted past the rabbit then whirled around to block its path. The rabbit couldn't slow itself down before it tumbled straight into her outstretched paws. With a swift bite to the neck, the chase was over.
Ember sat in a shady spot behind a small bush and took a moment to bask in the glory of her kill. It was only a moment, however, as her stomach quickly reminded her if its impatience with a loud growl. She eagerly complied with its demands and devoured the rabbit in a few bites. She was so caught up in the pleasant feeling of a full stomach that she nearly forgot to bury the bones.
Once the bones were buried beneath a pile of dirt, Ember yawned and licked the last scraps of meat from her paws. Now that she had solved her hunger problem, she could use something to drink. A large lake bordered the moorlands and Ember made her way towards it. She followed the scent of water and fish and quickly found herself at the lake's edge. The vast blue lake was filled tiny silver fish which dispersed as she approached the lake. She lapped up the cool water and paused when she spotted an unusual sight. A large white object was floating on the other side of the lake. It was long and round like a leaf and floated across the lake's surface, but had a large white wing stretching above it. Ember wasn't sure what it was, maybe some kind of giant duck, but it was too far away to be a threat.
Beyond the leaf duck, on the lake's opposite shore, was a thick forest. A forest meant more prey and shelter, Ember thought, recalling her parents' words of wisdom. She also hoped the forest held no more wild cats. It was only a matter of time before they finally found her and she was inclined to wait and see what they would do to her.
Ember sighed. She wouldn't have had to worry about wild cats if her parents were here. Her father was large and fierce, as a cat like him should be. His roar would easily scare the wild cats away. Then there was her mother. She was not as strong as her father, but the wild cats would not have stood a chance against her either.
Ember stared at her reflection in the lake. Her fur was still tawny with dark spots. Dark lines ran from her fiery orange eyes down to her chin like tear streaks. If it wasn't for her kitten fluff, she would look just like a smaller version of her mother.
Tears welled in Ember's eyes. She missed her family. She missed her stern father, her level-headed mother, even her annoying older brother. She didn't know what she had done wrong to cause them to leave her behind like this. All she wanted to do was find them so she could apologize for whatever she did.
She threw herself onto the ground, any sense of joy at her hunting exploit now forgotten. The little fish, which had been hesitantly returning to the lake's edge, darted away again at her sudden movement. At least the fish still had their families. Ember had no one left to turn to, and she was too young to know how to care for herself.
Ember watched her reflection waver as she returned to her original form. Her spots were absorbed into a solid gray color and her body shrunk down into her usual form. She sighed. If this was to be her new life, she should at least try to make the most out of it. She forced herself to stand up and look back across the lake at the forest.
If she was going to get there, she would need to come up with a plan. She knew how to swim. She could probably try to swim across the lake. And most likely drown. The lake was longer than any pond she had ever swam in and she wasn't too confident in her ability to make it all the way across. Especially with the current that seemed to swirl around at certain points in the lake. She frowned. She needed to come up with a better idea.
She examined her surroundings, eventually noticing that a stream connected to the lake appeared to section off the moorlands from the forest. Ember bet that if she simply followed the stream, she could locate a point where the stream narrowed and could simply jump across without needing to actually do any swimming. Once she was across, she only needed to walk around the lake to reach the forest.
This, Ember thought, was a much better idea than trying to swim across the lake. Satisfied with her plan, she made her way up the stream, leaving the lake behind.
It took Ember some time before she found a point along the stream where she could feasibly cross it. However, there were a few complications. First, the stream was still much too wide for her to be able to make it across in only one jump. Instead she would have to rely on a series of stones and half-submerged branches to make her was across. Second, and probably most importantly, the current was pretty powerful at this point of the stream. The sound of the water racing past her nearly drowned out the sounds of everything else around her. One slip and she would be carried away by the current. This issue almost made Ember reconsider her plan. Almost.
"Looks like I have no other choice but to cross here," Ember sighed. "It's not like swimming across the lake would be any easier. I just have to stay on the branches and I'll be fine."
At that moment, a large log that had been resting in the stream suddenly gave way with a loud crack. Bits of wood were tossed each way and the fast current sent them tumbling downstream.
Ember blanched. "Stay on the rocks. I need to stay on the rocks."
She eyed the stream until she decided on an appropriate path to take. Fourteen hops and she would be on the other side. With that, she began her crossing. The first jump was the hardest. The surface of the wet stone was smoother than she had anticipated and she almost slid head-first into the churning waters below her. Thankfully, the next couple of stones were easier to manage.
Ember finally made it to the last stone. The jump from the stone to the other bank would be the longest. Ember took a deep breath, wishing that she could reach across the water like an inchworm. She took a couple of steps back until her hindpaws rested on the back edge of the stone, then she raced forward and jumped with all her might.
Ember soared over the water like the eagles that soared above the mountains. She let out an excited yowl as the air rushed past her ears. Her paws were only a tail-length away from the bank.
Splash!
So close, Ember screamed mentally as the water sucked all of the excitement out of her body and replaced it with terror.
Occasionally, her family would stop beside a pond or brook and spend the day swimming and splashing around in the water. Ember and her brother, Minnow, had quickly learned how to swim during their journey and took advantage of their skills during these rare breaks. In fact, on most days, Ember considered swimming a simple pastime if anything, an activity that she did for fun rather than survival. This was not one of those days.
Water rushed into Ember's nose and fur and dragged her beneath the surface. Ember reached out for the bank, but the current yanked her away before she could dig her claws into the sand. The current bashed her small body against rocks as it sent her tumbling head over tail downstream. The sharp stones tore at her pelt and left behind wounds that burned as they filled with grit. A branch snagged the corner of her mouth and filled her mouth with the metallic taste of blood.
Ember fought hard to get back to the surface, kicking her paws frantically against the current.
Unfortunately, her efforts proved fruitless and she gasped as her bit of oxygen left her body. Soon, exhaustion took over and stole away her consciousness.
The stream dumped Ember into the lake. By the time she washed onto shore, her body was covered head-to-tail in bruises and open wounds. She gasped, fresh air rushing into her lungs and pulling her out of the depths of unconsciousness. Without the water to support her weight, Ember's legs were too weak to carry her and collapsed when she tried to stand. Instead, she laid on the muddy shore vomiting up lungfuls of water and some unidentifiable object that she suspected had once been a fish. With one last burst of energy, she dragged herself a step further up the beach and passed out where she lay.
