Chapter Six

"So…you're sure your Twolegs will be okay with you just…leaving?"

Owl nods, amber eyes focused straight ahead, never breaking stride. "They didn't care about us too much…not as much as we would have liked."

"Ever since the mother brought home a new little one," Rose interrupts, her eyes wide but somewhat forlorn, "they haven't played with us nearly as much." Her tortoiseshell tail droops; her eyes flicker to the ground and do not move.

Looking back at his sister with worry in his eyes, Owl continues, "So we've decided it's for the better if we go off on our own."

I don't say anything. I've never understood how Twoleg ways work, and I don't intend to start now. I just need to find the Clans and all will be well. I just have to see if I can put up with an insanely shy and crazy she-cat and a suave and irritating tom.

Let's all play the game "see how long Ara lasts in this madness!" My bet is on less than a sunrise.

Rose straightens up, eyes slowly hardening like chips of ice again. "Well…what should we do now?"

My ear twitches. I don't want to do anything but find the Clans, which has been my main goal all along. Why can't we just walk in silence? What's wrong with that?

…all my life I've desired for friends, but now that I have actual travelling companions, I'm starting to wonder if being alone was a better idea after all. Now my ears are ringing from the chatter of the other two and my head hurts. All I want is for them to just be quiet.

Owl looks at his sister, eyes glinting. "We can tell Ara all about our amazing stories!"

"That sounds like a wonderful idea!" Rose gasps, eyes alight with joy; she even hops a little off of the ground. I groan as she launches right into the tale of how she chased a butterfly into a patch of nettles. Their rambling continues on and on as we walk through the Twolegplace.

Oh, Widow, I groan in my head. When will it end? I just want to get to the Clans – is that too much to ask?

Apparently, yes. I have been cursed with insane, chatterbox companions.

I've changed my mind. "See how long Ara lasts in this madness" is now down to a few more heartbeats. Because I know I can't take this anymore.

Moaning in frustration, I head forward, Owl and Rose chiming in all the while.

I don't know how long we've been walking – at least one sunrise – and the strip of Twoleg houses hasn't ended yet. "How long does this place go on for?" I mutter, under my breath, but am surprised to hear Rose answer me.

"We should be getting out of it soon, don't worry!" she chirps like a little bird. "We've sometimes traveled back and forth between the Twolegplace and the woods…we've never gone into the words, though."

Owl nods in agreement. "We've come close," he snaps though, as if I might have been having second thoughts. "We just needed…"

"A push!" Rose smiles. "And you were our push into adventure and into a new life."

I am about to answer – to tell them to just be quiet – but I don't have to. My blood goes cold when I realize that another voice, just behind us, has said it for me.

"Hey, little girl. Why don't you just shut your mouth right now and there'll be no trouble later on."

The voice is cold and dark, undoubtedly male. It's gritty, like stone scraping stone, and makes me want to cry out, shiver, or maybe both. I don't want to look to see what kind of horrid cat must bear a voice such as this one, but I know I must. I have left my home to prove that I am strong, and even if I'm scared out of my wits, I have to be brave. Heart shaking nervously, I turn to face the stranger.

As I suspected, he is not pleasant looking. His smile reveals dirty, yellowish, crooked teeth, and his eyes are as dark as night. His pelt is ragged and, in some clumps, torn off. It's so dirty I can't even tell what color it's supposed to be. The unpleasant tom takes another pawstep forward. "Come on, little sweetie."

Rose's tortoiseshell fur bristles along her back, and she hisses, revealing sharp fangs. "Get away from me, you creep!" Owl nods, looking equally intimidating. Oh boy, I haven't had much practice with this yet. I try my hardest to look intimidating, unsheathing my claws and letting out a weak hiss.

The cat laughs. I don't even want to describe how he laughs – all I can say is that it brings a shudder throughout my whole body, even more so than anything Tara ever did to me. "But this little pretty…and her friends…are marching around on my territory."

Owl stiffens. "The Twolegplace is no cat's territory!" His amber eyes are flaring with horror and disgust.

"Oh really?"

This has upset Owl, I can tell. I want to intervene, but I'm not sure what I would say without croaking like a frog, so I decide to shut my mouth and let it go.

"Yes! Yes, really!" The white tom is spitting in rage now, claws burying into the fence like it's his last resort. Rose is hissing also, showing her support for her brother. "Leave us alone! We're just trying to get to—"

He is not going to reveal where we're going.

"—to the fields!" I burst in for the first time, feeling all eyes on me. I feel strangely self-conscious as I continue, rambling in a dreamy voice and trying to sound as foolish and carefree as possible. "Where we can play all day and chase butterflies and count clouds and…"

The cat snarls and lunges at me before I can say anything more; yelping, I am flung to the ground and screech as my shoulders dig into the dirt. This is just like what Tara and Wolf would do to me…

Rose screams and Owl dives at the cat, claws extended. "Leave her alone!"

"No cat is allowed in my territory," the tom snarls back, claws digging into my skin, drawing small scarlet beads of blood. I cry out in pain and struggle, but this opponent is more experienced than my sister has ever been.

Owl growls, his white fur puffed up along his neck. "How many times do I have to ask you?" He takes one wild swipe at the tom. "Let—"

The tom dodges with ease, and by doing so, presses a little harder into my coat. I yelp, brown eyes wide as I feel the wind generated by Owl's paw whistle pass my ear, less than a mouse-length away.

"—her—"

Snarling, the tom kicks back at his opponent; Owl shrieks as he is flung into the fence and is momentarily stunned. I press into the ground, shaking. I am doomed I am doomed I am doomed

"GO!"

The last word comes from the last cat I would have expected: Rose. When I had been walking with her, it had seemed like she had no physical capability, but now she is like a great lion, atop her opponent like a cat to her prey, she is ripping and clawing and shredding and she will not stop and pretty soon the cat is yelping as blood pours from his shoulders and his ears and I realize he has been pushing on my chest with his claws and I don't feel so good…

All of a sudden the weight is removed; I feel a cold, dark liquid running down my fur and clotting it together, leaving painfully obvious crimson splotches atop my white fur. Rose noses me to my paws, amber eyes concerned. "Quickly, quickly, Ara. He won't stay down for long!"

"Owl?" I croak in a voice so weak I can't believe it belongs to me.

She silences me with her tail. "Shh, he's okay, he's coming, but we have to run now." The tortoiseshell looks back over her shoulder nervously.

Finally I am upright; I can hear the moans of the rogue cat as he stumbles to his paws as well, groaning and growling. Suddenly thankful for my new companions, I turn and flee as fast as my paws will take me.

I do not look back once.

AN: Okay, guys, if you couldn't tell, I sorta left for two weekends because…I banned myself from the computer. I was getting a little obsessed with both this website and another forum that I'm a part of, and so my parents – and my conscious – told me I had to take a break. However, I managed to work on several things, including this brand-new chapter! I hope you enjoy! Thanks to all of you who have reviewed, favorited, and followed so far.

~Driz