Chapter 2: Complicated
"You're sure you heard a dog last night?"
"I...I think I did. Can you n-not smell it?"
"Yes, and I smell something else, too."
The sound of voices caused the lithe female to blink open her sleepy eyes, nostrils tingling with the scents of cat. The first thought that crossed her mind was that her mother or maybe even her siblings had come to find her, but the probability of that happening was very low. Plus, the voices were foreign to her, as she hadn't yet picked up the familiar tones of her family members, so she stayed put, staying as still as a stone.
"Hey! Hey, look up there! Someone's up there!"
Oh, no, thought the she-cat, they've spotted me!
Her first instinct was to run, but the female noticed that two of the cats were larger and more muscular than she. Rising to her paws, the female would glance around, pondering on what to do, when out of the corner of her eye, she saw something charging up the trunk of the tree.
Obviously bewildered, the she-cat backed up a few steps, hovering on light paws as the opposing feline landed on the base of the branch, blocking her off from the rest of the trunk. Great, now what, she asked herself, baring her teeth at the alabaster creature advancing towards her. Flashing a paw out in the young clan cat, the female would watch as she emitted a hiss of annoyance.
Backing up another step, the ginger-and-white cat growled as the cat flung herself at her. Down, down, down they fell and landed in a mass of writing fur with a thud. Scrambling to get to her paws, the female was about to turn and run when another, larger cat stepped in front of her, blocking her path. She looked up at him, fear glistening in her cobalt orbs.
"What's your name, and where did you come from?" he asked, voice quiet and authoritative.
Gulping, the fiery-shaded feline stood up tall, trying to meet his stern gaze.
"I-I'm Holly," she responded. "And I don't know what happened to my m-mother or siblings…"
"Holly?" snorted the white cat, getting to her pale paws. "Well, Holly, you nearly killed me!"
The male before Holly dipped his head to her, while the other full-grown cat stalked over to the feline who had spoken out. After pulling her aside and speaking to her privately for a moment, he turned around and looked back to Holly.
"I'm sorry," he answered, flicking his tail. "But my apprentice here can't learn how to control herself before charging at loners. Hi, I'm Birchwing, and this is Swanpaw, my apprentice," he motioned to the apprentice standing beside him, who seemed to be grumbling under her breath.
Then, he turned to the male looming before the ginger female, who had backed away and regained his place beside yet another young cat. "This here is my brother, Cypressfur, and his apprentice, Frostpaw."
"Who happens to be my sister, so if you do anything to her, I'll be on your tail!" Swanpaw growled, fluffing out her bleached white pelt and turning her head away from Holly with a humph.
Curling his lips upwards in annoyance, the dark tabby silhouette of Cypressfur would flicker his eyesight back to Holly, his amber eyes glistening with uncertainty. Without taking his gaze from the young cat, he slowly circled her, making a full round before calling out to Birchwing. "Hey, do you think Partridgestar would accept her?" he asked.
"He might," the paler brown male responded, turning to head back into the forest. "Bring her with us, we really need to get going."
Bring her with us? What was that supposed to mean? The white splattered she-cat's tail lashed in nervousness at the warrior's words. What were they going to do to her? Nothing bad, she hoped, maybe just give her some advice or directions. Slinking after Frostpaw, who was lagging a little behind her mentor at the end of the group, Holly would glance back in the direction of the tree. What if her family traced her scent and she wasn't there? Oh, things were going to be complicated…