"Thanks for the help."

"You're welcome."

"Are you planning to leave tomorrow?"

"Yes. I'm going to find more work."

"If we come across you again, we'll tell you where to find some."

"All right."

Finally. I was asked by these cats to track down a troublesome stray who was stealing their food. I found him in 2 days of hunting him, and after what happened when I did find him, the stray was never going to be a problem again. I obviously saved these cats from starvation, and that helps my reputation in these parts.

"Again, thanks for your help, Magnum," the lead cat, a rugged grey tom tells me.

Magnum. A strange name my father gave my before he left. I never understood his reasoning for the name, but I admit it sounds powerful.

I merely nod at him and turn around to exit the abandoned Twoleg nest they live in, feeling pride for what I've done for them.

I now stand in front of the den in the middle of Twolegplace. For the past few moons, this is where I've lived. Not by myself, but with whatever cat I'm working for. Taking one last look back at the den, I begin to set off.

The sun was beginning to set. I decide to go over some of the white fences to get to the forest behind them. The brightly colored grass and small shrubs slightly sway with the afternoon breeze. I soon happen to come to a sufficiently large one to sleep in and begin to make a sizeable enough hole to fit myself in. I preferred the soft yet firm Twoleg grass, but the dirt floor will do just fine. I get myself settled down.

XXXX

"No," I whisper to myself.

It is sunhigh, in an alley crowded with cats, with me among them. Some Twoleg rubbish was to one side of the alley, with a small black cat crouched on it. In the center of the mass of the scarred cats were 2 more toms. One, a skinny light brown, was whimpering quietly while lying on the ground slightly bloodied with teeth marks around his scruff. The other, a young and slightly gray cat with piercing blue eyes, stood over him. The grey one looks expectantly at his leader.

"Do it." The black cat commands.

The grey cat eagerly raises one paw over his hunched prey, who was now more audibly whimpering.

"No…" I breathe. I wanted to move, to intervene and save the little brown cat. But my legs wouldn't obey my commands.

In one swift motion the tom threw his outstretched claw into brown fur and belly, letting out blood.

"NO!" I scream, and all of a sudden the images of murder vanished.

I violently wake and sit up while heavily panting. I give a bewildered glance around me. I'm still in the bush-den, and the dark blue hue of moonlight still poured into where I am. Sunrise will take some time to come forth.

I shake myself to loosen my ruffled fur. These nightmares have to come to an end. I probably won't be able to sleep the rest of the night after that. Mouse dung, I could have used the sleep. Oh well…

My belly rumbles. I haven't eaten anything since yesterday afternoon, and that was a measly mouse caught by one of the client cats for me. I'm going to have to go hunting, and I'm horrible at hunting. Amazingly, all my skills amount to hunting cats, but not prey. Maybe it's because I never had to hunt for myself most of my life.

I reluctantly exit the bush-den and begin to sniff around. Nothing. Maybe there'll be some in the clearing beyond Twolegplace.

I move away from the forest and toward the flats behind the edges of Twoleg territory. The ground below my feet is beginning to turn to a hard reddish-brown color, in contrast to the soft brown dirt in the forest.

I smell vole.

I'm downwind from the source, and the smell's coming from farther up front. I slow my approach and begin to cautiously proceed forward.

Up ahead, the ground seems to disappear. I spot the tiny critter along its edge, scuttling along the now-rocky terrain.

The sun's starting to rise. If I don't hurry the vole'll see me. I quicken my pace.

And that is what alerted my prey.

It takes a quick look at me before scurrying away. Dung! I pout a little bit before deciding to see why the earth ended by where the vole was.

A gasp escapes me as I stare down this… gorge. It was filled with rocks, rocky terrain, and boulders, as well as the occasional tree and grass patches. A narrow river begins its mouth in within the canyon. But while this scene beheld by the rising sun was beautiful, that wasn't the main reason why I stopped in my tracks.
It was the smell. It is a mixture of independent smells combined together to make one strange identity of a smell. I've always encountered something like this before, but not at this scale.

There are cats, a lot of them by the smell of it, living within the gorge!