Frozen Storm
Frozen approached her short garden wall as usual, noticing the sun. "It must be around late morning," she yawned aloud, leaping up onto the wall. She purred as her family followed. "Hi," meowed her mother, Icy, cheerfully. Tony, her brother, groaned as he managed to heave himself up onto the brick wall.
Next was Frozen's two kittens, Dawn and Bird, both female. They were only three moons old, but learning fast. She breathed out a hollow sigh as the memory of her former mate fluttered back to her. Smoky had moved far, far away about one moon ago. The kittens had been devastated.
"Hello early bird," rumbled Frozen's father, huffing as he clawed his way onto the stable surface, planting his paws neatly and firm as if he might fall any second. "Hey Dad," she replied, bowing her head in a quick greeting gesture. "Jake," Frozen's mother called, flicking her tail towards something in the distance.
"Yes?" Jake, Frozen's father, rushed over. His eyes widened and his tail tucked itself under his body, like it always did when he was scared or nervous. "What's wrong?" asked Frozen, protectively gathering her kittens in a huddle.
Her father didn't answer, but turned with an expression of pure fear on his usually bold and courageous face. "The bad cats... a- are here," he stammered finally.
Frozen instantly knew the cats that her father was talking about, and she grimaced. The pounding of paw-steps was far in the distance. "We have little time," she muttered under her breath, straining to see the faint outlines of Death Pack. They had 'pack' in their name to show that they were strong and fearless like wolves.
Tony pressed against Frozen, the beating of his heart audible as he panted with fear. Dawn and Bird curled themselves around Frozen's paw, confused at the sudden fuss and urgency.
A sound came from behind them, and they all jumped. Luckily, it was just their owner clambering about in the den. The owner must have just woken up.
"We could hide in the shed, like before," Tony suggested. Jake shook his head, glancing at the bolted shed door. "The forest?" asked Frozen, panic consuming her usually bright expression.
"But we could get lost," argued Tony. "I don't know..." Icy admitted, staring off into the distance. "We could.." replied her father at last, getting ready to pounce onto the ground. "Wait," squeaked Bird, her chestnut-colored fur bushing out. Dawn looked at her and shifted her golden form so that it almost melded into Bird's light-colored fur.
"What... What about Bunny?" mewed Bird, a frown engulfing her face. "I suppose I could go fetch him while you run," meowed Frozen's father in reply to the little kitten. Bird nodded, satisfied with his answer.
Frozen motioned her head towards the trees close by, and Icy nodded, grabbing Dawn by the scruff. Frozen did the same, gripping Bird gently in her jaws. Jake shivered as the cats came into view, and they leaped. Frozen and Icy sprinted towards the cover of the forest trees, while Jake split from the group and headed towards the neighboring garden on the left.
Bird slipped from Frozen's grip and tumbled onto the path on which the Death Pack was marching. A black cat came into view, his face twisted into a sneer as he hissed at them. "Prepare to die," he snarled as he hurtled towards Frozen. She barely managed to slip sideways as he raced past. She grabbed Bird and hurled herself into the bushes. Icy brushed against her as they burst out of the prickly brush to find themselves in a small clearing.
"Wait..." Frozen murmured. "Tony..?" she whimpered softly. Icy's eyes widened and a tear slid down her cheek as she searched the bushes. "He's with them..." Icy whispered through the bushes, her voice dull. Frozen poked her head through, surveying the gardens, the walls, then finally she glimpsed Tony sprawled out on the path, eyes wide with panic and one paw on his eye.
The paw slowly slipped onto the ground with a thump, revealing an empty eye socket. The cats around him snickered and continued on to the gardens, not noticing Tony flinch.
"He's alive!" Frozen exclaimed, almost jumping out of her pelt with joy. Bird, who Frozen had set on the ground, squeezed into the bushes with them, Dawn trailing after her.
Tony got to his paws, blood spilling out of a gash in his side. He limped towards them, leaving behind a red trail.
Jake came up beside him, a light gray kitten in his jaws. A bulky black tom followed with a worried-looking scrawny gray she-cat by his side. They rushed into the bushes and burst into the clearing. Tony slowly heaved himself after them, panting with the effort.
(A moon later)
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Cally, Bunny's mother, hurried after the kitten. "Don't fall into the water!" she warned. "Don't worry, he'll be fine," purred a large black cat who came up beside her. The ground started sloping downwards into a hill, and they quickly trotted down. Soon they reached a glossy lake. "Wow," rumbled the huge tom, staring in awe at the shimmering, calm waters of the lake.
"So how is the Boulder Group doing?" asked Stripes, bounding up behind them. He was a skinny ginger tom with faint dark stripes. They had found him almost starved to death by the lake.
"Quite good," rumbled Heavy, the bulky pitch-black cat. They stopped in front of the lake and sat down, watching Bunny scream in delight as he splashed about in the water.
"Would you mind if my family joined this group?" Stripes asked cautiously, shifting his paws. His lithe, just-washed fur gleamed as he twisted to look at them, hope daring to sparkle in his emerald green gaze.
"Of course, there's no need to even ask," Heavy replied before Cally could protest. The light gray she-cat glared at her mate but glanced away to look at Bunny. The kitten was still sloshing around in the lake.
Ten cats emerged from the undergrowth to the right, and Heavy's jaw dropped. "You... have a lovely family," he stammered. Called swiveled her head to see what the fuss was about, and gaped at the crowd.
"Introduce yourselves like I said," hissed Stripes, leaning towards a dark brown tabby. He nodded slowly and stepped forward.
"I'm Brownie," he announced proudly, puffing out his chest. His look-alike shoved him aside with a 'hrrmph'.
"I'm Clam," he meowed, before calmly walking towards Stripes.
"I'm Allie, and these two cats that look like me are Lily and Rose," said a golden she-cat. Another cat stepped forward when they were done bowing their heads and grinning.
"I'm Ted," whispered a nervous dark ginger tom-cat. He quickly stumbled to the side.
"I'm Spot," meowed a sandy orange she-cat with a few spots on her tail.
"I'm Elderly," huffed an old light-gray tom. Rose snickered, but Spot quickly silenced her with a glare.
"I'm Puffy," squeaked a tiny bright ginger she-cat, tucking herself into a bundle of fur. Stripes laughed and made his way towards the kitten, whispering coaxing words into her ear. Puffy reluctantly let Stripes guide her to a shady spot in front of an oak tree.
The last cat was a white cat with a black front left paw. His name was Cloudy.
"So that's it, right?" inquired Heavy, astonished at the number of cats. "Yep," Stripes replied, flashing him an amused grin. "We could split them up between the Lake Group, which is us, and the Boulder Group, who lives across the river. They are behind those giant boulders," meowed Cally.
"Yeah," Stripes agreed, nodding his ginger head. Puffy wrapped her front paws around his paw in a soft hug. "Can Puffy stay here?" he asked with a laugh. "Sure, why not?" mewed Heavy, smiling at the tiny kitten. "She sure is cute."
Bunny pounced onto an unsuspecting Heavy's shoulders, receiving a grunt of surprise. The damp kitten shook himself, flinging wet droplets everywhere, especially onto his father, Heavy. Everyone in the clearing chuckled, including the little kitten himself.
After much arguing and fuss, the ten cats finally decided where they were going to stay. "Allie, Lily, Rose, Ted, and Cloudy are going to the Boulder Group," announced Stripes, weaving in between the cats to reach the quickly forming group of five. He nodded at them and gestured to the lake with his tail.
They swam across and skillfully leaped over the boulders. The Lake Group could hear several shouts of surprise from the other side. "That was a lot of action," huffed Heavy, settling down by the lake, his tail-tip touching the cool water. Cally shifted so that she sat beside him, and Bunny curled up in the middle, his ear-tips twitching.
Puffy scrambled to her paws and pounced onto Stripes' back. She curled up and heaved a squeaky yawn. Stripes smiled and sat his head on his paws, eyes sleepily scanning over the clearing.
Elderly was already asleep by the lake, while Spot, Clam, and Brownie were curled up beside a bush. Stripes yawned and let his eyes shut, eventually drifting into a heavy sleep.