Ruth lay out in her garden, the emerald green grass tickling her shocking orange coat. One of those mouse dreams had come again and the desire to venture into the woods was killing her. She forced herself to her paws and shook her back leg painfully. The stupid thing had fallen asleep on her and now it hurt.
Slowly she stretched until the blood flowed properly to the sleepy limb. She walked confidently across her yard and sprang onto the fence.
"Where are you going, Ruth?" a familiar voice mewed. Ruth looked over to the young lack and white she-cat balanced unsteadily on the fence beside her.
"Hello Smudge." Ruth replied.
"You aren't going into the woods are you?" Smudge's amber eyes eye huge.
"Just for a look" Ruth promised.
"You would never get me in that place! It's dangerous!" Smudge squeaked, black nose wrinkled with distaste. "Henriette said she went in there once."
"That fat old tabby never went in there." Ruth scoffed. "She's hardly been anywhere in forever! All she want's to do now is sleep and eat."
"No, she caught a robin in there."
"Well if she did it was long before the vet. Now she complains because they wake her up!"
"Anyways, Henriette told me there were all sorts of dangers in there! Monsters and wild cats who eat their prey while it's still alive and sharpen their claws on the bones!" Smudge's amber eyes became wider with fear.
"I'm only going to go and look! I won't be gone long, I promise." Ruth said to her friend.
"Don't say I didn't warn you." Smudge said with a shrug and jumped down into her garden. Ruth jumped down from her fence and padded cautiously into the thick trees. She watched a mouse scramble into the open and dropped into a crouch. She pounced and flung the mouse into the air.
A soft rustle and the crack of a twig told Ruth she was in danger. She froze and before she could do anything she was thrown into a clump of nettles. She tried to throw her attacker off but couldn't. She writhed and squirmed as sharp teeth met her neck and thorn sharp claws raked her side. The idea stuck fast and she instinctively rolled onto her back. A small uff could be heard as the air rushed out of the attackers lungs.
Ruth jumped up and spun to face her attacker. It was another kitten with long, dark grey fur. Ruth could smell it was a she-cat. She skidded to a halt and began washing a delicate, slightly bloody fore paw, all signs of aggression had vanished.
"Hi there kittypet." She meowed cheerfully. "You put up quite a fight!"
"I'll fight you again if I have to." She growled and allowed her spine to unbend.
"My name's Graypaw, by the way." She said and ignored Ruth's threat. "I'm training to be a ThunderClan warrior."
Ruth stayed quiet, confused, but she knew the threat had gone.
"What are you doing out in the woods Kitty?" Graypaw asked. "Don't you know it's dangerous?"
"If your the most dangerous thing there is I think I can handle it." Ruth lied, her bites and scratches stinging.
"I'm far from the most dangerous. If you'd met someone from one of the other clans they'd give you some real wounds."
"Other clans?" Ruth asked, confused. Graypaw his impatiently.
"You must have heard of the four clans!" She hissed.
"No, sorry." Ruth replied. Graypaw began ranting but Ruth only half paid attention. This must be one of the wild cats Smudge was talking about!
"So your not a warrior yet?" Ruth interrupted Graypaw's rant. She purred loudly and shook her fluffy grey head.
"Why don't you find yourself a nice cozy house instead? You wouldn't have to worry about-"
"No way!" Graypaw cried. "I'm not some towleg toy!"
"You should go." She mewed suddenly. "Cats from my clan are close by." Before they could move two cats stalked out of the bushes. One was a blue grey tom with an ugly scar on his shoulders and white hairs on his muzzle, the other was a massive she-cat with long gold fur.
"Bluestar!" Graypaw gasped and crouched lower than a snakes belly. Ruth copied the move and pressed herself against the cold forest floor.
"You shouldn't be so near towleg place Graypaw." The golden she-cat meowed evenly, green orbs shining with anger.
"I know Lionheart. I'm sorry." Graypaw whimpered and looked at her paws.
"Wjo's this?" the blue furred tom cat asked.
"She's no threat!" The grey kitten replied quickly. "Just a twoleg pet from beyond out territories."
Ruth became enraged at Graypaw's words. She was not just a twoleg pet!
"You fight well for a twoleg pet." The tom cat meowed.
"That's Bluestar, the leader of my clan. The golden she-cat is my mentor, Lionheart." Graypaw murmured in Ruth's ear.
"Thank you for the introduction." Lionheart said coolly.
"We've been watching you, both of you." Bluestar said. "It was very brave to turn and fight back, kittypet, we have not yet seen a kittypet do that. We wanted to see how you handled an intruder, Graypaw."
"Sit up now, both of you." He said.
"Bluestar this is a kittypet. We should send her home to her twolegs." Lionheart hissed.
"I have a name you know..." Ruth muttered, before saying a bit louder. "I've only come to hunt a few mice or two. I'm sure theres plenty to go around."
"There's never enough to go around! A kittypet like you could never hope to understand this!" Bluestar hissed angrily. Shocked by Bluestar's sudden rage she instanly knew she had said the wrong thing. Both warriors loomed over her now and Graypaw stood looking horrified beside her. These were not the cozy house cats he'd known all his life, but hungry, mean cats who were most likely about to finish what Graypaw had started.
Yes I copied quite a bit from the book, but I'll start making things really different soon enough. Promise. Please review!