Disclaimer: I don't own Warriors. Though it would be pretty awesome if I did...
This is the story of a human girl.
A human girl who hated cats.
She had a reason, I suppose. Her parents cared more about their award-winning show cats than their only daughter, after all. Yes, I know, sad but true.
She was a pretty girl of fourteen. She had shoulder-length chocolate brown hair with a bright pink stripe on the left side. Her eyes were an almost violet color, vivid and her most impressive feature. But of course, her parents had much rather discussed their Russian Blue's green ones.
Her beginning began to end when her uncle decided to take her and her cousins camping. Initially she had been against this, but when she realized it got her away from her parents, she started packing.
Falene Juniper watched the trees that flew past her window with an air of indifference. She was mildly irritated by the sounds of her rowdy cousins, so she kept her eyes gazing at nothing.
"We're almost there!" her Uncle announced cheerily.
A frown pulled at the corners of her mouth. She had to make sure she behaved. It wasn't like she was a delinquent or anything, but she did have a tendency to do things to get attention. She didn't want to be sent home. Yes, she hated camping, but she hated those cats more. The fat Persian who shredded her shirts, and the Burmese that shredded her. Out of the ten cats at her house, not a single one hadn't destroyed something that belonged to her.
"Falene, what are you looking at?" A tiny voice chimed in her ear. She glanced once to her cousin Mabel before looking back out the window.
"Isn't it obvious?" The five-year-old continued to stare and Falene sighed. "Out the window."
"Why?"
"Because I feel like it."
"Why?"
"Ask one more time and you'll be feelin' it for a week, Mabel." Falene turned to glare at the little girl. It wasn't that she had a problem with Mabel. In actuality, she adored the little girl. Falene was just in a mood.
"Threatening people isn't nice, you know." Her other cousin, Dylan, admonished. She turned her withering stare to him.
"And you think I care?" Her almost violet eyes burned into Dylan's pale blue until the car jolted to a stop.
"And we're here!" Uncle Ned hopped out of the car. Aunt Jennifer, Mabel, and Dylan followed. Falene waited until everyone else was off before climbing silently out.
The campsite was set up quickly. A happy conversation sparked between Ned, Dylan, and Mabel. Aunt Jennifer was mute, but even she gave a certain flare to the conversation. Falene allowed herself a small smile as she felt her tension fade a little. Her cousins' laid-back attitudes coupled with Uncle Ned's humor always made her feel wanted, even when she was acting moody.
But even in her 'nice' state, Falene still held her extreme resentment towards cats, and that would throw her into something she never would've expected.
Five days into the family's trip, Falene was bored out of her mind. She sat on a rock, staring aimlessly into the trees. Several times her thoughts strayed to her parents and their cats. They probably don't even notice a difference… Then she wondered which one of the ten was the 'favorite' that day. Probably the Bengal.
"Whatcha' doin'?" Mabel chimed, startling Falene off of her rock.
"Nothing."
"Well then how about we go exploring?" Dylan grinned.
"Yeah, maybe I'll find a bear to feed myself to." She answered (most people would've qualified her tone as happily, but there's no way she would ever admit to that).
"B-Bear?!" Mabel squeaked. A soft look came into Falene's eyes when she realized she had scared the girl.
"There aren't any bears around here. I was joking."
"O-Oh…" The girl still looked upset.
Falene got up and brushed leaves off her clothes.
"Okay, lead the way." A surprised look fluttered across Dylan's face.
"You don't want to lead?"
"You know as well as I do that I have no sense of direction." Falene rolled her eyes. She hated being told what to do, so it was natural that Dylan would be surprised. A light smile played across her lips. "Just this once though!"
Dylan's smile widened and he began to lead his way through the woods. Mabel grabbed for Falene's hand, and although she wasn't happy with the invasion of her space, she didn't shoo the child away. Many times Falene tripped over roots. Jeez, I'm such a klutz… She thought irritably as she ran right into a low branch.
After several minutes of walking (and tripping), they came upon an abandoned house. Surprisingly, there was a thriving herb garden along the side. Falene had to stop Mabel from stepping into a puddle.
"Hey, Dylan, nice leading!" Falene let go of Mabel's hand and ran up to the house. "This is so cool! Help me look for a way in!"
Dylan looked around warily, not even caring that Mabel had attached herself to his arm. He bent down next to the herb garden, naming the plants as he went along. A few of the plants moved, causing the three kids to jump.
"Dylan, something's in the plants!" Mabel exclaimed and clung tighter to his arm. Falene brought her focus to where Mabel's finger was pointing. Sure enough, there were two bundles of fur crouched in the garden. Falene scowled.
"They're cats." The way she said it was akin to how most people say cockroaches. She bent over, picked up a small rock and threw it in the cats direction.
"Hey!" Dylan and Mabel objected.
The cats ran out of the bushes. One was a silver-gray tabby, the other a brown tabby. The brown tabby's amber eyes locked on her while the silver's shining blue gazed unseeingly past her.
"Go on, get , you stupid felines!" Another projectile flew their direction and they scattered. Dylan and Mabel were glaring at her.
"What?"
"That was a bit unnecessary, don't you think?" Falene's eyes burned into Dylan.
"Cats are stupid, pointless creatures. Why should I give a damn what happens to the? Hell, if you ask me, they can all just go die." Her poisonous words hung in the air a moment. Dylan's eyes were narrowed.
"I'm taking Mabel back to camp." Falene turned back to the abandoned shack.
"Whatever. I'm staying here a bit." She didn't move again until their footsteps had faded to nothing. She circled the house a few times, hoping for some way into the old building.
"You want every cat to die?" The voice was soft yet powerful and Falene nearly jumped out of her skin at the sound of it.
"Who's there?" She twisted back and forth, looking for the source of the voice.
"Cats are the same as you. They live, they die, just like you. They feel pain, joy, betrayal, loneliness, just like you! And you have the audacity to believe yourself better!" This voice was different, but it had the same sound of power.
"You even dare threaten our Clanmates!" Finally, Falene had the sense to look down. Dozens of cats surrounded her. Each and every one, though normally colored, looked as though their pelts were dotted with stars. A single cat with blue-gray fur walked ahead of the rest until it was standing directly in front of her.
"Perhaps you should walk in another's pawsteps."
Falene's nerves exploded with pain and she fell to her knees. The last thing she saw was the she-cat's intense blue eyes.
Well, there's the first chapter! And this is without a doubt going to have a lot of Jayfeather (though I'm starting when he was still Jaypaw), because I have a soft spot for the grumpy little kitty! ^-^
And there's probably going to be Hollyleaf hating, though I'm going to try to keep it to a minimum.
And tell me if any of the cats get really out of character, it's been a while since I last read any of the books and I don't feel like rereading them.