I woke the next morning to the rhythmic beating of rain, opening my eyes and pausing for a few heartbeats before I realized where I was, how I had gotten there, and most importantly, why. Last night, I had made what ground I could manage in the darkness, which was relatively far, I supposed, compared to how little I had ever set foot out of Sorrelclan territory. I had cut through the land outside of Cavernclan territory, and had been traveling through the pine forest. Sometime nearer to the rising sun, I had collapsed in a small, empty burrow that smelled faintly of many different animals. I guess that faint fox scent hadn't mattered much when I was so tired. The scent was anything but fresh at least, which was good, even though I planned to move out as soon as possible.
My gaze turned to the frightful weather outside. I wasn't sure when it had started raining, but I figured it couldn't have been long. After all, though the den was not exactly warm, it was dry. As much as I wanted to stay and rest, I knew it was in my best interest to travel through the rain. Even if I was tired, I had to make more ground, especially while the rain would mask my scent and prevent the others from discovering where I had gone.
And on top of that, I knew what was coming. The drop. The drop when I finally collapsed and realized what I was doing. As of yet, I was still in shock, and I planned to keep myself that way until I was far, far away from home.
My slim, grey figure slipped hesitantly out of the dry den and into the miserable cold outside. The rain assaulted me from above, and at the sides when the winds kicked in, which soon drenching my spotted coat, silver underbelly blending into the same wet darkness as my charcoal grey pelt and jet black spots.
Of course, I wasn't exactly sure where I was going just yet. I just knew that I was going very far away. As far away as a cat of my blood should. I trudged on, stumbling - literally - onto a vole, which of course, scared it away before I could catch it. I cursed my lack of attention, knowing that even with the rain, I was close enough to have at least scented something. And still, I trudged, the dreary landscape unchanging. For as far as I could see, there was just pine tree after pine tree, grass surrounded by grass, and ever so often, a rock or a burrow.
I kept going after the rain stopped, and it was only until after I was dry and the clouds had already begun to part, revealing the silverpelt gleaming above me, that I stopped. My green eyes scanned my surroundings for a burrow. I found myself lucky, locating another at the roots of a tree. Dead tired by that time, I crawled into the hollow. It was smaller than the last one, but I had to make due. I wasn't going to risk staying out in the open. Even if I wasn't an extremely important warrior, I was sure they would come looking for me, like they would for anyone else that went missing. I was well out of Sorrelclan territory by now, but I still worried. Just in case.
I curled up in the hollow, closing my eyes and willing sleep to take me, but it did not. After I while, I quietly stole out of the hollow, squeezing through the entrance and taking in a breath of fresh, wet-grass scented air. I sat down, and my gaze drifted up, watching the clouds move slowly across the sky. Though they were rather thick, the clouds were like patches, and though they were not the reddish hue and white, it still reminded me of Dapplestar's pelt.
And that's when it hit. The drop.
I let out a sigh, turning my green eyed gaze up to the stars, past the clouds with which I had been so interested in. Did... Did I make the wrong decision? Nothing. Just silence. A few crickets chirped here and there. My tail curled around my paws, and I purred, trying to comfort myself, though it wasn't working. Though I told myself that I was going to be fine, one thought reigned supreme. I don't even belong anywhere anymore. The thought hit me like a badger strike, and I shook my head, eyes returning to my paws, knowing it was true. There was nothing for me back there. I didn't belong in Sorrelclan anymore. I never did, I just didn't know it at the time. I loved Sorrelclan, but that wasn't where I belonged. I reminded myself over and over, hoping that one day it would sound true. It wasn't where I belonged. It wasn't where I belonged. There would be a world of places where I could belong somewhere else, not as a clan cat. There was a silence before I glared up at Silverpelt once more.
"Whatever." I hissed, "I don't need Sorrelclan, and I don't need Starclan either." I sat there, waiting longer than I should have for a sign that Starclan had heard me before I turned, giving up and lying down. I closed my eyes, and soon, fell asleep.
When I woke the next morning, my stomach growled, but I didn't feel like eating anything. Something about running away really destroyed my appetite. Upon slipping out of the den, I surveyed the scenery, realizing something I hadn't noticed before. A few foxlengths away, the pines began to grow a little more crooked, and their needles became brownish. Upon further inspection, the grass began turning a yellowish color as well. For a cat who had didn't remember any time where she had ever been anywhere but the Sorrelclan forest, the change in scenery was quite drastic.
As I traveled this new land, the grass grew thinner and thinner, and the sun's rays became blazing hot by sunhigh. A few times, I had to stop and rest in what meager shade I found. I hunted a bit, and caught a pigeon, which was nice, though I wasn't hungry. The heat of the day brought something even worse than hunger though: Thirst. Without a river or a storm in sight, my throat had become parched.
The first night, I gathered enough of either courage or stupidity to sleep under a seemingly abandoned monster out in the middle of this new territory. I learned strange new sounds that night. Frightful wailing noises that would sometimes come too close for comfort would periodically sound, waking me every single time.
The next morning, I woke from a restless sleep and continued on my way. I continued on like this for a while, traveling by day and cowering into sleep. At one point, I managed to find some water, in the form of a dirty puddle shaded from the sun. I was desperate. I lost track of the sunrises that went past, just going through the motions and never daring to look back. Never daring to let my eyes trace the stars once more. It continued on in the way... until that one fateful day.
Tired, hungry, and thirsty, I searched for a place to rest until sunup, seeing no place to do so. After so long being out in the heat and sand and dirt, with the scraggly plants and few trees, I finally had gotten desperate. I sneaked into a twoleg yard.
I wasn't there to see if they had any of that crowfood they feed kittypets, of course. Even if I wasn't a clan cat anymore, I still had my morals. No, I was going for a patch of grass outside of the twoleg nest. It being dark, I had no trouble in getting to the area and begin drinking. The water didn't taste nearly as good as the water from the river back in... the forest. Still, I was desperate. That night, I also managed to work up enough speed to catch a hare, or something that resembled it. I went to remove myself from the yard, the same way I had entered: A hole under the caging. And that's when it happened.
My normal, stealthy nature had failed me, or I had failed it rather, for I had made no attempt since the drop to try and keep myself hidden. But now, in a single heartbeat, I was snapped out of the daze that for so long had had a hold over me.
For, not a foxlength away, the wailing sounded. It was not a screaming as a fox's howl, or a cat's yowl, and it was long and drawn out. I tried to sneak back, but the animal had already seen me. I wasted no time. I ran.
The hole was large enough for the animal to get in, as I could hear behind me. My heart was beating out of my chest as I threw myself across the land, having to deal with the pain when I stepped on something sharp. My eyes darted back and forth, searching through the darkness in a futile effort to find somewhere this beast couldn't get me. It growled and barked, snarling as it chased after me. Once or twice, I heard it's jaws snapping at my tail.
And then, out of nowhere, someone shouted, "Over here!" I could just barely see the figure, but I angled towards it, quickly throwing myself forward with an extra burst of speed and letting my quick reflexes take over when there was a sudden steep slope. However, the hunger and tiredness had dulled these reflexes, and I stumbled a little at the middle. Whoever had spoken earlier grabbed me by my scruff, helping me to the top. The beast growled and snarled below us, at the bottom. Apparently it couldn't get up.
Breathing hard, I looked to the cat that had saved me. He was breathing a little hard as well, but chuckled a bit, looking down at the animal. The male was off-white with black patches on his coat, though his cheeks and a little up from his nose were all white. Golden eyes looked back to me as he said, "What a way to meet, right?" He stretched, walking away from the opening. Some cracks in the ceiling of this 'nest' were present, but I knew I would see the stars through them, so I didn't examine them closely.
"Thank you." I called after him, not really sure what else to say.
"Don't worry about it." He replied, purring a bit. "It was my honor to save your life."
I paused, watching this stranger. He didn't smell like a kittypet, but not like a loner, or rather, not exactly. "I never thought about it that way." I murmured, watching as he sat in the corner. "Who are you, anyway?"
He gave a purr. "My name's Aspen. And you?"
I paused, unsure what to answer. Should I answer with my name, 'Stealthbreeze', or since I wasn't a clancat, should I change it? In any case, he was a stranger, maybe I should give him a fake name.
However, he seemed to pick up on some of this. "I did save your life, so you do owe me a name, at least."
So, I just said my name, "I'm Stealthbreeze. It's, well, it's good to meet you I guess. After all, I would be dead if we hadn't."
"Very true," He replied. "Does that mean that you're from a clan as well? Your name, I mean."
I hesitated, but then shook my head. "Can we not talk about it?"
He nodded a little, lying down and saying, a little quieter, "Alright then, and you can stay if you want. I don't mind. Unless you want to chance that coyote."
Coyote. Is that what attacked me? I paused, watching him fall asleep. Or at least, I was pretty sure that he was asleep.
I didn't exactly trust this 'Aspen', but I figured it was the only kind of shelter I was going to find right now. So, I padded to the opposite end of the seemingly adapted twoleg nest, curled up, and soon drifted off to sleep.