I Always Liked Running

Is there a problem with running away from nothing? I mean, I am a perfectly nice cat. I haven't done anything to tick another rogue off, I haven't gotten into many fights, I don't have some top-secret evil past chasing after me, I'm just always on the run.

From what? I don't know. I can't seem to find a home. Mother died, well, not too long ago I guess. She used to be a vivid memory. Now, the only thing I can remember is her presence, the feeling I got when I was around her.

Two seasons have gone by since the night she caught the sickness. First she couldn't talk, and then she told me vaguely that she couldn't feel her paws. And then she tried to kill me. And then she just died. I ran after that. I tucked my short, boney, dust-colored tail down and ran for it. I didn't stop all night.

So like I said, I'm not running from anything. The seasons have made me stronger. It's not like I was weak when I was with Mother but I was only seven moons at the time. Now, I know how to fight well enough to give me a nice speck of time to make my getaway. Hunting I'm not so skilled at. I can catch a rabbit if I'm really lucky, but most of the time I have to rely on a stupid mouse to come blundering into my paws.

Hunting isn't everything though. Mother taught me a few this-and-that's about plants and which ones stem hunger. That's survival knowledge in the world of rogues.

It's close to the SnowFall now. I can smell it on the wind. Maybe in a few days I'll get lucky and find a place to hole out in for the long season. I love snow, but I don't love sleeping in it.

Today, I finally cleared this really big, flat, area. I had never seen anything like it before. The place was full of rocks and tufts of grass and lots of abandoned rabbit burrows. Today, just as the darkest part of sun-up came on, I managed to heave myself in one piece to the top of the hillside I had been climbing. What I saw up there I am still staring at now.

The ridge went all the way around in a sun-shaped circle, like the top of a water bowl. The ridge sloped downward gently and right in the very middle of the bowl was a shimmering lake which moved and lapped and whispered like a living thing. I was standing on the edge of a forest. On one side there's another expanse of grasses but it's not as broken up as the ones I just crossed. On the other side I can smell a stream somewhere amongst the great oaks. Beside the grassland there's a barn of some sort and I can tell from the distant smell of it that it's occupied by Two-Legers.

I narrowed my eyes in a weak effort to see across the lake but it was too dark out to see anything. Suddenly I found myself yawning, and with that came the familiar groan and ache of my light bones and muscles. I hadn't realized I was this tired. That's what happens when you're running. You forget to remember the reality of your own body.

My wavering paws led me down inside the edge of the trees. My nose led the way to the stream I had heard. When I found it, I lapped sluggishly at the snow-cold water. I stared at the water for a moment, focusing on the reflection of the cat staring back at me.

I know this is going to sound stupid but I hate my nose. My fur is dust brown with intermixing, wave-like white stripes. My nose is the same brown, maybe lighter, but right in the corner there is this really annoying splotch of white. It looks so, so, deformed. When you're a rogue, looking strange does not help your life expectancy. Probably the only thing to distract cats from the nose is my eyes. They are light amber with dark flecks of brown and I think they're a little too big for my face.

I stared at myself, at my small ears, the small scar on the top of my muzzle, my nose. Suddenly I realized just how small and insignificant I was. You forget about your worthlessness when you run too long, too.

Head down and tail dragging in the dirt, I continued deep into the forest. I wanted to hide in the dark somewhere. Just curl up and sleep, maybe dream. Then tomorrow morning I guess I'll explore the place more and find somewhere to stay for the winter. Maybe that barn could help me out…

I found a warm place between two knarled tree roots, curled up, and fell asleep at my third heartbeat.

-Dawn Patrol, Lionpaw's POV-

Ashfur's tail on my shoulder drew me back yet again. I held in my frustrated growl and pulled back. What's the point of going on dawn patrol if you're going to take two moons to complete it?

Recently, there seemed to be a lot of holding back in the Clans. The trip to the mountains was still embedded in my mind. There, at least, I could do something interesting. I just wished there would be a battle soon. What with ShadowClan becoming independent all of a sudden, tensions are bound to amount to something.

And what about that Sol guy? Wasn't he supposed to be teaching us or something? What good has he done since he came here?

All of a sudden a strange cat small wafted into my nose. I froze and sniffed a couple of times. Ashfur stopped too, tail twitching angrily.

"What now?"

I sniffed again then announced, "There's a trespasser on our territory."

Ashfur, Sandstorm, and Honeypaw all raised their noses to the breeze. A flame of anger ignited in my gut, just trust me! I yowled in my mind.

Ashfur took the lead, slinking up behind a big oak and motioning for Sandstorm and her apprentice to go the other way. I followed close behind Ashfur, hackles rising in excitement. It smelled like a fight was about to go on.

Ashfur poked his head above a root jutting unnaturally from the ground. The stranger's scent was really strong now.

We must be right on top of him!

With a yowl, Ashfur launched himself over the root. There was an answering caterwaul from the unlucky cat beneath him. I skidded around the root just in time to see the stranger-cat twist out of Ashfur's paws and hurtle right into Honeypaw. Honeypaw hissed and bowled the cat over. I twitched on the sidelines, waiting for a chance to get in on the fight.

-Stranger's POV-

When someone attacks you when you're asleep, the one thing I usually do is scratch and run. Unfortunately, with the tree behind me, and four angry cats in front, it seemed like I was trapped. My fur stuck on end. I glanced wearily around for an escape root. A male cat's snarl drew my head back around.

"Can I chase her out, Ashfur?" the tom-cat glared at me.

Great, I thought. Just what I need, a cat who wants nothing more than to see me run. Well, he'll see that soon enough.

"Hold on there," the oldest of the four spoke. She was a she-cat the color of sand with specks of darker colored sand in her pelt. She looked moderately controlled, at least.

Relax. I forced my ears up and my fur flat. I retracted my claws and curled my tail calmly around them. Using the upmost care and respect I mewed quietly, "I'm sorry. I didn't know this forest belonged to you. I was going to leave in the morning after I slept. I'll leave now and you won't see a whisker of me again."

I'd come in contact with territorial cats before. I'd long since learned to smell for them but I guess I'd been too exhausted to notice. Cats as organized as this pack must be careful enough to leave scent-markers.

Three of the cats relaxed. That tom before still stood alert. I wondered if he was going to attack me anyway.

"You're a little small to be on your own," the she-cat said slowly.

I could see what she was getting at. "I'm sorry," I repeated. "Take my word, there's no one with me."

"She's a rogue," the feisty tom from before spat. "Why should we trust her word?"

"Calm down Lionpaw," the older tom soothed. "She's barely as old as you, I don't think she's any threat to us, do you?" Lionpaw didn't reply.

What a strange name, I thought. Lion, I can understand but "paw?"

"Then, I guess we'll just let you go." The she-cat sounded uncertain about letting me leave. I didn't really want to leave either and briefly considered begging to them to let me sleep here for the day, but I'm not so sure that would receive the best reaction…

"What?" Lionpaw yowled. "We're just going to let her go?"

I'm starting to lose my patience with this tom.

"Lionpaw," the she-cat started.

I tried to make my escape then, so that I didn't have to hear the heated fight about to take place.

"Look!" he called. "She's trying to get away!"

I turned on him; a hot retort already at my lips before three claws dug into my ear and dragged themselves across the side of my face. I yowled in pain and launched myself at him, claws unsheathed.

He darted away and bowled me over. I leaned up and snapped my jaws hard around his forepaw before it could inflict any more damage. He screeched and started to wriggle frantically to get out of my grasp. One of his back legs kicked my stomach, knocking the breath out of me and releasing Lionpaw's leg.

I scrambled up and darted away in the few breaths he took to regain his balance. I leapt over the roots and raced through the undergrowth, intent on getting as far away from that psychotic cat as I could. I could hear their pawsteps drumming after me, getting fainter and fainter as time went by. Without slowing I turned to look behind me. Suddenly my whiskers alerted me of something ahead.

There was a bush directly in my path, a whole line of them in fact. It would take too much time to go around so I jumped-

And all of a sudden I swear I was flying, until I started falling. I scrabbled for the edge of the cliff desperately. My claws tore at rock and my descent slowed by the smallest of heartbeats. Then my flank struck a large rock and I spun three times in the air before landing heavily on the ground.

For a moment, I wavered in and out of blackness. And then I blinked and forced myself to stay awake. I couldn't feel any pain, which was strange. I could move my paws though, that was good. I tried to heave myself up and then rolled over again, ripples of agony forcing me to moan out loud.

Well, at least if I die, I won't have to worry about finding a place for the SnowFall.

Up until now, I had never wondered where I would go when I die. I guess I'll find out pretty soon, huh?

I closed my eyes and relaxed for a moment, thinking about all the things I wouldn't have to worry about anymore.

Then, another yowl woke me up from my happy dream.

"A cat just fell out of the sky!"

"Nonsense, she fell off the top of the ridge. Cats don't fall from the sky."

"What clan is she from?"

"Is she dead?"

A nose poked my hurt flank. I groaned, "Oww…"

"Listen, cat, you, what's your name?" this new cat seemed to be addressing me.

"I…I don't…have one." I murmured into the sand.

"Of course you do. What did someone call you once?" This cat sounded impatient. I wondered if this was the question I would have to answer before I could die.

"Ah…Race. Once someone called me Race." No, okay, no one called me race. Some cat yowled at me to race them, but I'd never been called anything.

"Okay then Race, I'm Leafpool. We're going to give you some seeds that will make you sleep so that we can heal you, okay?"

Who's we? A leaf was shoved under my nose. I opened my eyes and sniffed at them. "Poppy," I muttered before licking them up slowly.

This time, the impatient cat let me fall asleep.

A/N- Read and review if you like. The next chapter's here so feel free to go on.