His spine tingled as a hand was stroked across his back. Rusty lay in the sunshine on the back porch while his owner stroked him lovingly. He had, had a wonderfull dream. He was the leader of some sort of group of cats. He had two daughters but had only seen one. The other he imagined was off hunting or prowling. He turned to stare at his owner. It was only a week ago that they had picked him up from a shelter where he had been for as long as he could remember. Strangley though he remembered very vaugely a beautifull cat with a pelt similar to his, only with a great white patch on one eye. Her fur was also longer than his and she had sparkling blue eyes. He saw her whenever he dreamed but didn't know who she was. He imagined she might be his mother and maybe she too had been a part of this group of cats. Rusty rubbed in the dirt and fliped onto his paws. His owner was a twoleg kit who had hair similar to his pelt, and a strong slender figure also like his own. She looked at him and said something in twoleg that he could not understand. Ever since he had come to his new home this two leg never left him. She was always by his side talking to him and petting his fur. He much enjoyed it when she rubbed behind his ears and usally let out a purr of satisfaction. Rusty often felt as though this two leg was a litter mate of his who shared the same disire to be free and wild. He watched as the sun began to set and his neighbor Smudge jumped down from the fence where he had been gazing at a flock of crows. Giving Smudge a tail flick he said goodnight just before he was picked up by his owner and carried inside. He much enjoyed the two leg nest. It was warm and comforting. There was always food for him and a fire that he could lay by. Rusty knew the rutine. The two leg kit would go off and then come for him later to take to her den. There she would sit and talk to him as he listened. He liked the sound of her voice, he didn't understand it but somehow it was comforting. Curling up on her pillow he slid off into sleep and dreams. Once again he was standing on a high rock over looking a series of dens and fences. These fences weren't made of wood like the two leg ones. They were clumps of gorse bunched and tied together. There were a series of cats all looking up at him as if he was ment to say something. He spotted the cat in the crowd. The one he had seen so many times before. She was looking at him and she smiled as if telling him everything was alright. Leaping down from the rock he walked over to the cat and nudged her affectionaitly. She purred with delight and licked his ear. " U will be great. It will soon be time for Fire to return to the forest ", she purred in his ear while nipping it. He looked up at her confused and began to ask what it ment as she began to fade. "NO! please come back! ", he screamed frantically. He turned to the other cats looking for anwsers. They stared away as if nothing had happened. Then in den close by the high rock a gleam of eyes looked at him. He couldn't see a pelt or a face but it was a huge dark figure. It lifted its paw to reveal blood, as the tail of a gray cat ceased to wave through the sheet of vines that acted like a door. Rusty didn't know what was going on rapidly the camp was encircled with flames and screams were every where. He didn't understand. What could it all mean. His mother had mentioned how fire would return to the forest and it would be great. This didn't seem great at all. What was fire? Why would it return?