Chapter 1: Betrayal

It was hot. Foxy Lady had never felt heat like this before. The ground, a smooth but burning black path, singed her soft, pink paw pads and the sky, unobstructed by anything, fried her silky black fur. Her mouth was parted ever so slightly, at times revealing her tongue as she panted and she moved with her head low to the ground in exhaustion. She began to wonder if this had been a mistake, if she should try to retrace her steps and go back to the housefolk who'd betrayed her. Foxy Lady shook her head roughly at the thought. No, never would she return. Because of her once beloved housefolk, she was forever maimed and in a whole new world that was nothing like the chilly city she'd spent her kit-hood in.

Foxy Lady thought back to her kit-hood home, which sat high in the sky overlooking busy roads and other buildings, some tall and skinny and others short and fat. She had a nice balcony with a glass table to sit and watch the smoggy world go by until she either got bored or cold. Then there was a nice, snug wicker basket with a fleece blanket inside where she'd snuggle up and sleep the rest of the day away.

Here, there was no balcony and her housefolk didn't put her basket out for her anymore. The air was hot and thick as opposed to the thin, cold air she'd grown up with and the sun blazed fiercely. There were cars and roads here, but they weren't busy like the city roads Foxy Lady would watch. The cars here were a lot quicker, too and Foxy Lady thought they were bigger, but that may have been because she'd never been that close to the roads before. Sounds in this new place were different as well. Birds she'd never heard before sang strange, loud songs and warbles that had her ears constantly moving and she could hear water somewhere nearly anywhere she went. Any time she scented the air, she was met with the smell of dirt and salt that left her pining for the more familiar scent of car exhaust.

As Foxy Lady traveled along the hot pavement, the wound on her belly and toes stung and she fought the temptation to stop and lick them to sooth the stinging. They were days old now, but they still hurt, especially the toes. Foxy Lady had never felt more pain in the days after her housefolk took her to the cutter to have her feet and stomach ruined in this strange new hot place. Though her wounds had begun to stitch themselves back together a while ago, they were presently at an awkward stage in the healing where they stung and itched whether she moved or rested. Had she not been deserting her housefolk, she may have stopped to pick at them some more.

Foxy Lady glanced around. The rocks around the pavement were black and jagged, sharp looking and uninviting. They made it difficult to avoid the cars that passed her on the road, but the city cat managed.

The black she-cat nearly cried out in relief when she saw trees in the distance and broke into a gallop, uncaring of the pain erupting in her paws. The pain would be well worth a reprieve from the scorching heat of the unobstructed sun. She ran along the road as far as she could, then carefully walked across the burning hot, sharp rocks that blanketed the ground from the road to the trees. Foxy Lady hissed every few paw steps, as despite her caution, the rocks sliced through her paw pads like glass, leaving crimson stains with each step. She ignored the new cuts the best she could, desperate to reach the shade.

When she got off the sharp, hot, black rocks and under the shade of the trees, Foxy Lady purred in relief, flopping over beneath the nearest tree. She closed her eyes and rested for a little, then went to work on her bleeding paws, wincing as she cleaned them. Her kit-hood home in the city never had such terrible things and it left her pining for her old home once more.

Her ears twitched each time a car whirled past on the nearby road, but otherwise focused on the foreign but soothing sound of the water close by. She was parched, once her paws felt better Foxy Lady decided she would go find the water for a drink. Until then, she decided she'd stay put.

Soon, Foxy Lady managed to drift off to sleep with the rumble of cars in her ears and the smell of salt in her nose.

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She was disoriented when she awoke. It was still bright out and Foxy Lady didn't feel that the weather had cooled down either. The stinging of Foxy Lady's paws earned her attention and she swiped her pink tongue gently over the fresh wounds. She shifted uncomfortably on the ground, feeling something sticking into her pelt, glancing over her fur. Long, sharp thorns stuck out from her black pelt. Foxy Lady let out a meow of surprise, abandoning her paws to attempt to pull the wicked thorns from her fur. She hadn't seen or felt anything like them since she got pricked by her housefolk's sewing equipment as a kit.

Once the thorns were removed, Foxy Lady looked around where she rested to find lots more of those long, sharp thorns lying around. Some were alone, but most were attached to fallen branches from the trees she took refuge beneath. She took a better look at the trees around her. They were fairly large with long twisting branches bare of leaves. The only hints of green were at the top of them, but they blocked out the sun effectively. Ants scuttled across the dirt around Foxy Lady, prompting her to get up. In the city, ants would get into her housefolks' nest and Foxy Lady would bat at them with her paws, so seeing them now was a little bit comforting.

Foxy Lady held her tail a little above the ground to avoid any of the thorny branches from tangling in it as she watched the ants, enthralled and nostalgic. Like in the city, these ants were small and black, hardly paying any attention to the lost black cat as they moved about.

Engrossed in watching the ants, Foxy Lady didn't notice the young light gray and white cat who smelled of the sea padding towards her. The cat wove towards Foxy Lady, skillfully avoiding the plentiful thorny branches scattered about until she was just a tail's length away from Foxy Lady. The cat watched Foxy Lady with caution, puzzled that the black cat hadn't noticed her yet. Her whiskers twitched nervously and meowed at Foxy Lady, "Hello? Who are you, are you lost?"

Foxy Lady jumped in surprise, her green eyes widening like full moons and her fur bristling. Her body tensed, she hadn't been in contact with other cats since she lived with her mother and siblings back in the city and wasn't sure what to do. While waiting for a reply, the gray and white cat looked Foxy Lady over, fixing her gaze lightly on her marred paws. Foxy Lady, still stunned by the sight of another cat, meowed nervously. The stranger's gaze softened and looked kindly at Foxy Lady. "Your paws don't look so good, I can help with that if you'd like."

Foxy Lady licked her muzzle nervously, unable to find her voice, and gave a shallow dip of her head, hoping the stranger would get the message and help her. To her relief, the stranger seemed to understand, her tail raising and curling in a friendly manner and a light, reassuring purr rumbling from its throat. "My name's Sealpaw," The stranger told her, slowly approaching Foxy Lady as though anticipating violence from the black she-cat, "I'm Stripedtail's apprentice, so I'm used to treating shredded paws like yours."

She stayed silent, still stiff as Sealpaw dipped her head to sniff at her torn up paws. She glanced up at Foxy Lady, her facial features soft without a trace of the tension that held Foxy Lady hostage. "You're not a clan cat, are you? You don't smell like one," Sealpaw noted, gently nosing one of Foxy Lady's front paws to see the extent of the damage.

As she examined Foxy Lady, she spoke. "My family and I are all ReefClan cats. I'm training to be a medicine cat, my brother Sharkpaw is training to be a warrior, and my parents are both warriors. You know, you might have to come back to camp with me. These are pretty deep, and the kiawe trees aren't going to cut it for fixing these. It's kind of hard to come by over on the beach here, but I bet guava juice would fix that right up! Maybe some kukui sap and aloe flesh too. I know you're not a ReefClanner, but Stripedtail's a kind cat and I'm sure he'll let you use it, at least a little… I don't know though," Sealpaw said, seemingly deep in thought, "Normally the clans around here don't fight, but lately MistClan has been coming all the way from the highlands and attacking us for no reason so Stripedtail might not be able to spare that guava… but we have plenty of kukui nuts and sap so that should help speed things up a little at least!"

Foxy Lady still didn't speak, wary of the strange cat and the things she was saying, but Sealpaw didn't seem discouraged. "Do you think you can walk? I'd offer to leave and get the supplies, but you're on ReefClan territory and with MistClan's recent behavior, I wouldn't put it past my clanmates to attack you. Everyone's really on edge, and normally I would too, but I have a good feeling about you. You're not a malicious cat."

"I… I'll try." Foxy Lady finally meowed, her response making Sealpaw's blue eyes light up.

She raised her tail in excitement, "Oh good! I'm glad you're talking now, too. I was worried that I'd scared you beyond words! What's your name?"

"I'm Foxy Lady." She said, lowering her head in embarrassment when Sealpaw purred in amusement.

"Wow! I'm sorry, I swear I'm not trying to be mean!" Sealpaw purred, "It's just I've met plenty of clanless cats and none of them have had a name quite like yours!"

Foxy Lady flattened her ears and muttered, "Your name is weird too."

Sealpaw's eyes still glimmered with amusement, but Foxy Lady could tell she hit a nerve with her muttering by the way her thick, plumy tail lashed sharply behind her. But to Foxy Lady, Sealpaw did have a bizarre name! Foxy Lady only vaguely remembered her brothers, but recalled them being called Elvis and Metallica, not something like Sealpaw or Sharkpaw.

"Well what does your name mean?" Sealpaw asked, her tone more clipped than before.

Foxy Lady lowered her gaze and answered quietly. "I don't know, my housefolk named me."

Sealpaw looked smug, puffing her chest out and raising her head high. "I was named after the seals that come up on the beach every so often. They're good omens, you know. I'm honored to have my name, it doesn't sound like your name brings you any honor. I would never bow my head in shame if my name was mocked like that!"

Intimidated by the fluffy gray and white cat, Foxy Lady felt herself lower back to the ground, unable to meet Sealpaw's gaze. She heard Sealpaw sigh and crouch down herself so she was eye-level with her. "Sorry, I know that was cruel of me. You're already in pain and clearly lost, I shouldn't have said all that." Sealpaw apologized. "If you can stand up again, I'll guide you to camp and Stripedtail and I can help you."

Foxy Lady nearly said no, but decided she wasn't in any position to be denying help. Sealpaw was odd but had a friendly way about her that eased Foxy Lady's nerves somewhat and encouraged her trust. She gave a subtle nod of her head and rose back to her paws, wincing as she pressed her cut up paws into the dirt. Sealpaw gave a purr of encouragement, seeming relieved that Foxy Lady was accepting her help.

"Be careful of the thorn-branches, they're everywherehere! Once you spend more time around here though it gets easier to avoid them though, so don't worry. Just watch where I put my paws, alright?" Sealpaw said, eager to bring the newcomer to camp.

"Okay," Foxy Lady murmured, training her eyes on Sealpaw's paws with such an intensity that Sealpaw purred in amusement.

She flicked her tail in a friendly gesture, but doubted Foxy Lady noticed. Sealpaw began to move towards camp, careful to move slowly for Foxy Lady's sake. The black she-cat seemed to appreciate the leisurely pace, agonizingly pressing each injured paw directly where Sealpaw had previously stepped in a feeble attempt to keep things from getting worse.

"How far away is this place?" Foxy Lady asked, unsure of how much farther she could stand to walk. Despite her nap, she was still exhausted and the pain from her cuts wasn't ebbing even in the slightest.

"Oh, not too far, you actually managed to get pretty close! I'm actually not sure how no one found you before I did." Sealpaw told Foxy Lady cheerfully. "Just a little longer, don't worry!"

Foxy Lady swished her tail slightly in skepticism. Though she hadn't been around other cats since she lived with her mother and brothers, Foxy Lady still retained some social skills by nature and something told her Sealpaw wasn't being entirely truthful. Sealpaw seemed to catch onto Foxy Lady's hesitance and purred in amusement, swishing her tail as she gracefully moved around the thorn-branches. "Honestly, I promise we're almost there, I know you just met me but you've got to believe me."

Foxy Lady didn't respond, but felt her pelt flush with embarrassment over her transparency. She did her best to ignore the pain and skepticism and to simply focus on mimicking Sealpaw's movements.

As they walked, Foxy Lady caught the scent of other cats, but couldn't find it in herself to focus further on them as the scent and roar of water grew stronger with each paw-step. The smell reminded her vaguely of Sealpaw's scent, but sharper and fresher in a way that both peaked her interest and made her afraid. By the sound of it, there was a great amount of water, far greater than the little bit her housefolk kept out for her in the little glass dish. Sealpaw, however, didn't seem bothered by the ever-present sound of the swaying water nearby, really she just looked more and comfortable the closer to the water they got.

"Um, Sealpaw?" Foxy Lady asked.

Sealpaw glanced back at her, concern in her eyes. "Are your paws okay? If you need to stop and rest for a bit that's okay, really."

Foxy Lady shook her head, "No, no it's fine, if I stop it's just going to be harder to start again. I-I was just wondering, how much water is there where we're going? It sounds like a lot. And who all lives here? Just you and Stripes?"

Sealpaw purred loudly at her question, amusement replacing any concern in her expression. "Stripes? Oh, I'm going to have to call him that! It sounds like a kittypet name, he'll hate it! His name is Stripedtail, and no I live with a whole bunch of cats! There's our leader, Tinystar, and Dolphintooth the deputy, and there's a ton of warriors that live with me too like my parents, Seasong and Eelfang and lots of apprentices too!

"As for the water, there's so much of it! Like, you just won't believe it! I still have a hard time comprehending how much water there is and I've lived right next to it my whole life! But it's awesome, once your paws start healing up a bit, I'll have to teach you to swim it's so much fun! You even have the right fur for it, Foxy Lady, really you have no idea how jealous I am of your coat, it's not too short but not too long either and sleek-looking, I'd bet if you started eating a bunch of fish it'd get water-proofed easily! You'd be an amazing diver, you really have no idea!

"And once you've learned to swim, maybe I can help you hunt in the tide pools, there's easy pickings for beginner hunters like you. I know you're a kittypet and probably don't eat much more than those dry pellet things, but once you taste prey that you caught yourself you'll just love it! Maybe then Tinystar will let you become a ReefClan cat like me! It'd be nice to have another friend, Sharkpaw, Sleekpaw, Coralpaw, Wavepaw, and Coconutpaw don't spend a whole lot of time around me… although I'm making progress with Coralpaw since she's been stuck in the medicine cat den with me and Stripedtail. Either way, I bet we'll be great friends if you stick around! And, if you join ReefClan, Tinystar will give you a better name." Sealpaw purred enthusiastically, a bounce in her step as she talked about her life by the water.

Foxy Lady wasn't sure about what she was saying, all the strange names confused her very much, but for now, she would stay with Sealpaw. After what her housefolk did to her, Foxy Lady knew she couldn't go back to them and she clearly didn't know how to properly look after herself. Sealpaw and her ReefClan seemed to be her only sensible option for the time being, but she wouldn't know for sure until she got to wherever Sealpaw was taking her to.

A series of low growls and snarls and paws thumping hurriedly across dirt suddenly filled the area around Foxy Lady and Sealpaw. Three cats thundered into view: a golden tabby she-cat, black and gray tom, and mottled tortoiseshell she-cat. None looked pleased to see Foxy Lady and the hostile yowls and hisses made her cower and fluff her fur out in terror. Sealpaw had frightened her at first too, but these cats were far more intimidating and didn't look like they would be offering help like Sealpaw had. These cats stalked towards her, hackles up and lips peeled back to reveal sharp fangs and pink gums. Sealpaw wasn't scared of these cats at all, keeping her friendly disposition and purring in greeting.

"Hi everyone, don't worry, she's just a kittypet who hurt herself. I promise she won't hurt anyone!" Sealpaw told them, earning the three cats' attention.

The golden tabby spoke first, her voice firm and hardly pleased by Sealpaw's declaration. "Sealpaw, what are you doing out by yourself? You know Tinystar doesn't want you out here unguarded, yet here you are bringing a stranger to our camp!"

Sealpaw's expression deflated a bit and she lowered her head in shame and respect. "I know, I'm sorry, Risingsun, I'm just not used to needing a guard. As for Foxy Lady-"

The tortoiseshell snorted at Foxy Lady's name, making Sealpaw falter a bit in her explanation, but she continued.

"-she's safe, really! I found her in with the kiawe trees with shredded paws. She's lost and doesn't know what she's doing out here, when she saw me she was so scared she couldn't even speak! I'm just taking her back so I can patch her up. Please let her come to camp, I promise she's harmless." Sealpaw finished, looking at the golden tabby, Risingsun, with hope in her eyes.

Risingsun hissed lowly, her tail lashing behind her in annoyance. "Well considering how far she is into the territory and Tinystar's new policies are, she has to come to camp now. Tinystar will decide what to do with her then." She looked sharply at the young gray she-cat, "Next time, do not assume that all are welcome to ReefClan to use our resources and until further notice, do not leave camp unaccompanied again, do you understand, Sealpaw?"

Sealpaw stared at her paws, "Yes, I understand Risingsun. Sorry, Risingsun."

The black and gray tom looked smugly at Sealpaw, seeming to be pleased about Risingsun's verdict. However, he did not say a word and that unnerved Foxy Lady. Risingsun and the tortoiseshell didn't seem to notice the younger-looking tom, their attentions fully focused on Sealpaw and Foxy Lady. Foxy Lady noticed the tortoiseshell she-cat studying her the most, seeming to otherwise ignore Sealpaw. Her gaze wasn't threatening though, merely thoughtful, as though she saw something in Foxy Lady that she couldn't pinpoint. The black she-cat was grateful that at least one other cat from this new group didn't seem to automatically hate her like Risingsun and the tom.

Risingsun seemed placated by Sealpaw's response and turned her stern attention to Foxy Lady. "You will be escorted to camp and Tinystar will decide your fate, kittypet."

With an authoritative swish of her tail, Risingsun lead the four cats in the direction of camp.