4
Milk shrank under the scrutinizing one-eyed glare of River. They were in an abandoned twoleg den's meadow, alone. The tiny she-kit, Illusion, had almost blinded the muscular tom. One eye was infected, and Milk was sure it was rotting inside his skull, while the other had recovered from the wound.
"You told me there was only one kit," River mewed calmly. Milk shivered with fear. River was only calm when cats were about to die.
"I only saw one kit," Milk meowed. River's glare intensified before he struck her across the face. She reeled back, seeing stars as she staggered to the side. River sank his claws into the side of her face, bringing her face so close to his she could taste his rancid breath.
"You will find me this kit, and bring her to me, alive!" he hissed, releasing her. "You have seven days to find her, and then report back to me. I'll decide how she dies. And if you don't you die." River looked at her. "Why are you still standing there?" he screeched. "Find that kit!"
Milk stumbled back, scurrying over the fence and bounding away from the twoleg den. She decided to return to the place she found Burn, racing through twoleg place, through a fence and into the forest. She managed to pick up a faint scent of Illusion, but it cut off abruptly, replaced with an unfamiliar scent of horse and twoleg.
"Will you teach me how to hunt?" Illusion bounced down to the floor, Coriander racing after her. Mice were thriving underneath the hay bales, and Illusion could hardly resist the tantalising scents any longer.
It had been a week after Illusion was first brought to horseplace, and although the horses still scared her, she grew to love her new home. She had heard of the wild cats that lived just beyond the horseplace, in Clans, but she never dared to step foot outside of the horseplace.
"Ok," Coriander mewed, dropping into a crouch. "Copy me." She crept forward silently, before springing, lifting her paws clear off the ground and slamming them against the ground.
"I bet I can do that," Illusion quickly twittered, falling into a crouch perfectly imitating Coriander's. Waiting patiently for a mouse to crawl tentatively out from the enormous hay stack, before creeping forwards stealthily. But a horse neighed, and Illusion jumped a fraction too late. The mouse shot back into the hay, and Illusion slammed her paws onto the floor. "Mousedung!" she spat angrily.
"That was really good," Coriander purred, flicking her tail over her shoulder. "It wasn't your fault it got away."
"I'm going to catch one!" Illusion said confidently. "And I'll bring it you when I do!" The she-cat trotted away, out of the entrance of the barn. Scampering past the wooden pen, Illusion caught a whiff of mouse. Excitement whizzed through her veins, and she raced after it, forgetting that she was leaving the horseplace.
Suddenly, something struck her from behind, sending her flying off of her paws. She was turned around, seeing a pale cream she-cat snarling at her. "Back off," she hissed, bristling.
The she-cat growled, leaping at her. She sank her claws into Illusion's face, throwing her to the ground. Illusion lunged, sinking her teeth into the cat's lower jaw. She yowled in pain, pulling away, but Illusion held strong. The cat sank her claws into Illusion and ripped the cat away.
"Help!" Illusion yowled as the cat lunged at her again. The she-cat was suddenly ripped from Illusion by a muscular, blue-grey she-cat. They wrestled on the ground as three more strange cats raced over, before the pale she-cat ran away, screeching.
"Why are you here?" the she-cat growled, approaching Illusion and the other cats, before widening her eyes, staring at Illusion.
Illusion shrank under her gaze. "I was hunting," Illusion squeaked fearfully.
"She needs help, Mistystar," a light grey tabby tom said. "That cat hurt her badly, and she's only a kit."
The she-cat was quiet, seeming to consider the possibility. "I am Mistystar," she finally mewed. "Who are you, and what's wrong with your face?"
"I'm Illusion," Illusion mewed quietly. "And I don't know what my face looks like."
"We'll help you," Mistystar announced. She flicked her tail at two cats. "Mintfur and Splashpaw, take Illusion to Mothwing," Mistystar ordered.
"Immediately," the light grey tabby tom replied. He looked at her. "Splashpaw, make sure she doesn't fall behind," he growled.
The small dark grey tom, Splashpaw, fell in next to Illusion as she followed the tom, presumably Mintfur.
"So you don't know what you look like?" he asked her curiously. Illusion shook her head.
"Why do you all have funny names?" Illusion asked, puzzled.
Splashpaw smirked. "I'm Mintfur's apprentice, so I have paw on the end of my name," he explained. "Mintfur is a warrior, and my mentor, so he teaches me everything he knows. Mistystar's a leader, which is why she has star on the end of her name, because Starclan accepts her as leader of Riverclan."
"What?!" Illusion asked, shocked. "Starclan? Riverclan? What are you on about?"
"Mothwing will explain," Splashpaw reassured. The three cats reached a stream, with clear burbling water.
"That's Riverclan camp, on the other side of the river," Splashpaw flicked his tail over the other side of the stream.
"How do you get there?" Illusion asked.
"We swim," Splashpaw replied.
Mintfur and Splashpaw slid smoothly into the water, and struck for the other side of the stream. Illusion anxiously followed them, the cold water biting through her fur. She gasped, kicking fruitlessly at the water as it carried her away.
"Help!" she yowled, but the water flooded into her mouth as she disappeared below the surface.
Sorry I haven't uploaded for so long! I've been drowning in schoolwork.