I jerked awake and retracted my claws from whatever they had been gripping, promptly falling into the water, paws flailing. The water tossed me back and forth, shoving me deeper and flipping me upside down while I struggled to get my head above the water.
Suddenly I was thrown upward, out of the water and straight up into the air my back riding on the crest of a wave, and then I hit the surface with a slap.
Seeing a thin slab of wood floating on the water, I dove for it, claws outstretched before the water could push me under again.
My claws met wet wood as I gripped the slab. I choked up cold water, dragging myself onto the board and collapsing. My chest heaved and I stared up at the gray sky.
Wait. What was I doing here?
I sat straight up and scrutinized my surroundings – or surrounding. Water. Cold, blue, and empty. No land in sight, no cats, no trees, no prey.
No home.
I desperately grasped the wood as another wave sent it flying, and I landed upside down, the board over my head and my body submerged in freezing ocean-water.
Letting go, I swam out from under it and leapt back onto the board – the only comfort I had now.
What could I do? Slowly, the realization that I was going to die soon crept over me, and I took it in with a detatched acceptance, knowing that it was nothing that could be stopped.
Without food or clean water, there was no way I could survive.
The board flew up as the water surged up from beneath us, sending my back paws soaring over the wood and into the water.
I didn't try to get back on this time. After half-heartedly making sure that my claws were lodged securely into the wood, I let my muscles relax, my mind clear, and my eyes close. Water lapped visciously at my back, but I didn't notice. Cold, unforgiving sleep washed over me as I nestled my shivering nose against the wood.
What else was I supposed to do?
When my eyes opened for the second time, the sky was still gray. The water was calm and smooth, only the slightest ripples rocking the slab of wood. I slid myself up over the edge, gently laying down in the very center and I reassessed my surroundings.
Water.
My stomach growled violently, possibly the worse thing that could happen to me at the moment. I kept my eyes on the water, hoping I could spot a fish – any fish – swimming around near the surface, but there was none. Nothing that even vaguely appeared edible.
I flexed my claws and racked my brain for any possible solution. It was while realizing that I was going to die of starvation, one of the most painful deaths I could think of, that the bird alighted on the edge of the wood.
I froze. Not even a whisker moved. The bird was just a few whisker-lengths away, staring out over the water, its dark, beady eyes twitching in every direction. After a several moments of careful contemplation, my muscles began to ache in vague anticipation. This was most likely the only chance I had to catch any prey, and I didn't want to blow it.
Very slowly, I lifted my hindquarters and bunched my muscles, preparing for a lunge that basically equaled life or death, and pounced.
The leap between where I had been and where I planned to be seemed to last ages. Everything unfolded in slow motion, whole thoughts forming in the space of time. The bird's terrified squawk came out muffled, it's wings gradually unfurling as it attempted to escape, it's tiny claws just barely lifting from the wood.
But my claws sank into the thick feathers, and the prey was mine.
A/N: Hello! It's been a few days since I updated, and it will be another few until I update again! I'm going camping, starting today and ending on Wednesday morning, so my next update won't be until then. Thanks for reading, and sorry for the wait!