"Come on! It'll be fun!" a twelve year old boy tugged at the arm of a girl.
"I dunno Craig," she tugged at her short tan colored hair nervously.
"Don't be such a wimp Era! We'll only be gone for a few minutes!" Craig ginned and continued to pull her.
The entire seventh grade was having a school field trip into the woods. And even though they were instructed to stay with their groups, Craig thought it would be fun to explore.
"Fine! I'll go without you!" Craig stomped off when her realized she wouldn't budge.
After only five minutes, Era couldn't stand it any longer.
"Craig wait!" Era rushed after the fading blob in the distance.
"So you decided to come huh?" Craig sneered.
"Oh, (Pant) shut (Pant) up (Pant)!" Era looked as if she were going to collapse.
"Well, you're here anyway. Look what I found!" Craig flashed a grin as he pointed to a cliff made of Indian clay.
"...Okay," was the only answer that would come out of her mouth.
"Let's climb up!" Craig immediately dug his nails in the dirt and hoisted himself up.
"Wait! You don't know what's up there! It might be a bear or a snake or poison ivy or. Or. Or," Era struggled to think of another one.
"Manzanita!" Craig shouted once he reached the top.
His dirty blond hair had dingy red stains in it now, but he didn't seem to notice. Era seemed to visibly relax and joined him on the cliff.
"Pretty cool huh? Aren't you glad you came?" he nudged her playfully.
"Yeah, it's nice. But I can't shake the feeling were being watched," Era's eyes darted around nervously.
"You are such a wimp! They're is nothing...to be... afraid of," his words turned into a whimper as he heard a snarl coming from a pine tree.
A boy with sandy hair and flame colored streaks poked his head out of the darkness, amber eyes flashing angrily. But his menacing glare wasn't what froze her heart; this strange, young boy had cat ears and a tail to match. In Era's opinion, cat's were the worst creatures ever to walk the face of the Earth. The cat boy slowly crept forward; Era could see his fangs glistening in the sunlight. Era sunk her nails into Craig's arm in fear; Craig seemed completely oblivious to this though. He was currently digging through his backpack.
"What the hell are you doing?" Era whispered angrily.
What in the world did he need out of that backpack so badly?
"Saving our asses!" Craig whipped out a flashlight.
No, not one of those tiny plastic ones; one of those huge metal ones that need two hands just to hold it. Craig raised it high above himself before chucking it foreward. The large flashlight sailed through the air, landing smack-dab on top of cat boy's head. Their was a huge crack as it bounced off of his head. He stumbled around for a few moments in utter confusion; finally stopping in front of the two children.
"Oh StarClan....That so awesome! I mean, the way you tossed that thing! Hey, I have an idea! Try throwing that thing again. I liked they way it sounded when it landed," Cat boy's eyes had lost all their flame, revealing extremely pale amber eyes.
Craig and Era simply stared at the strange stranger. What was with this kid; first he tried to kill them and the next moment he was striking up a conversation. Era looked in disbelief and fear at the Cat boy. Craig, well that was a different matter, he was grinning along with Cat boy in an instant.
"Hi! The name's Craig!" he stuck out his hand in greeting.
"Craig!" Era looked in horror at her best friend and pulled his arm down.
"What?" he asked cluelessly.
Era gave a deep glare to Craig.
"You know what! You can't just go talking to strangers! Especially not freaky cat boy strangers!"
"Uh, freaky cat boy is still standing here. My name is Blazingstripe," Blazingstriped waved at them.
Era gave Blazingstripe the look and turned back to Craig.
"Whatever! Blazingstripe can't be trusted. In case you haven't noticed, it looks like..." Era looked around nervously and leaned closer towards Craig.
"...Like he's part cat."
"Gee, I was wondering what other animal I was. Now come on! You've seen me; and as the rules state, I have to take you back to my camp for interrogation," Blazingstripe motioned for them to follow him.
Craig followed him without a doubt. Era went rather hesitantly and only because she had to make sure Craig didn't get himself killed. The trio walked for what seemed like forever until they came to a small opening covered with poison ivy.
"You're immuned to poison oak and ivy, right?"
The two twolegs nodded. Blazingstripe grinned, letting them pass him so they could go through the entrance. Craig and Era gasped at the amazing site.
"Welcome to LeafClan."