Rain padded up a steep hill, quickly tiring. She stopped to catch her breath and licked her swollen belly. She continued to trot up the hill, hoping to see something useful beyond it. Exhausted, she reached the top.
The pregnant she cat examined her surroundings, opening her mouth and breathing in. The sun was to her left, indicating she was facing north from the sunset. To her east there was dense forest, and to the west were rolling hills and open valleys. She inhaled again, opening her mouth. She smelled no cats but a strong scent of mouse.
Rain crouched down, trying to ignore the uncomfortable feeling of her belly, and waddled towards the scent. She saw the little brown mouse huddled by some leaves a few fox lengths beyond her paws. She couldn't pounce now, so she moved closer, moving her paws silently and not making a sound. She checked the direction of the wind, made sure she could make it to the mouse in a single leap, and pounced. She caught it successfully and sat down. Rain ate her prey and examined her surroundings again.
"I must hurry," she muttered to herself. If her kits were born before she reached the clans then she wouldn't be able to carry them and she would die along with her babies. She sighed, frustrated.
The small valley before her was very rocky and difficult to get through. Gazing over the land, she spotted two large boulders next to each other and went to examine them for an opening. She padded down the other side of the hill and sniffed the two rocks. Nothing strong, and there was a hole between them just wide enough for her to get through, so she crawled through the aperture.
The inside was just big enough for her to stand up and move around. She smelled a faint scent of an animal, maybe a cat, but it was from many moons ago. She made sure she was alone, found some bedding and made a small nest, falling asleep almost right away. It was dark, and then:
"RAIN, WATCH OUT!!!" Rain heard a commotion behind her and then felt hard paws slamming into her back. "Wah?!" She struggled to get up, confused about what just happened. When she managed to get up, she saw Bramble, laying behind her, motionless. "BRAMBLE!?" she cried, touching her nose to his soft brindled fur. "Bramble, say something!" she wailed. She franticly looked around trying to figure out what happened. They had been walking along a cliff wall. She looked over the side, seeing a large boulder laying on the ground. "No!" She cried. "My mate! Bramble! No!" She cried in despair. She layed down beside him, never wanting to leave his side.
Rain awoke with a gasp. She was afraid of sleeping after what happened. She sniffed and slowly got up. Stretching her legs, she crawled out of the small cave. The moon was starting to fade, but the stars still shined brightly. Scrambling onto the boulders, she gazed upward. Ever since she was a kit, she heard many stories about the clans. They believed that when a cat died, then he or she would join the stars and live forever. "I love you, Bramble," she whispered. The wind blew gently and ruffled her ear fur. "What will I do without you?" she whispered. A star shot across the sky and vanished behind the trees. She made a wish, and curled up into a tight ball. She tried to fall asleep again, for the kits, but it didn't come. She finally sat up in defeat and jumped off the boulders. Looking at the sun as it rose from the horizon. She decided that today she would try to cover as much distance as possible. She wasn't tired and was filled with energy from her thinking of Bramble. She thought back to them chuckling and having fun-she needed it, but sometimes, you can't have fun alone.
Thanks for reading! Please review! I really need nice critics, maybe if you think I should tweak things, or you find a mistake. Only nice reviews please! I will report any bad ones without hesitation. I am a new writer so I need some confidence =). Thanks!
