Chapter 9
Skyefur's POV
When I wake up, it is nearing sundown. I don't even stop to hunt even though my stomach is growling. I get up and stretch. Rump high in the air, I wave my tail back and forth, delighted to be a cat. I sit. It's time to begin my journey, although I don't know where my destination is. I begin running in the same direction I had been last night. I burst into a clearing with a family gathered around a den. I can't control my paws and I slam into a ginger tom. That's when all I see is darkness.
. . .
I could hear soft voices but didn't understand them. I turned over, and fell back asleep.
. . .
"I wonder if she's all right"
"Looks like she had a traumatic experience"
"Is she hurt?"
"Of course she is, mousebrain"
"She's really pretty….. Uh, did I say that aloud?" I could hear voices that seemed like they were yelling. I groaned, flipped on my side, and decided to open my eyes. I was in a large clearing with brambles surrounding it. I looked down at my pelt. It had a million tiny scratches that were already healing.
From the thorns. I realized the voices had stopped talking. I looked at the family. They were all staring at me as if I was some sort of flying hedgehog.
"Uh, I'll be going now," I say as I inch towards the exit.
"No! You must stay!" A young orange and white tom says to me. I recognize him as the one I had ran into.
"I'm sorry that I slammed into you. I couldn't stop my paws from moving, I should have veered off course-"
"It's ok," the tom says. "Besides, you were weak from hunger, so you wouldn't have been able to turn yourself anyways," he explains. My ears burn with embarrassment.
"Is... is that why I blacked out?" I ask.
"Yes," another orange tom answers.
"Well, thank you for taking such good care of me, but I have to get going now," I mew.
"But you can't leave!" the tom I slammed into argues.
"Why?" I ask, genuinely confused.
"Well…because…uh…you're hurt," he finally says, finding reasonable evidence that I should stay.
"What, these scratches? Pfft, they're so small, and they're already healing," I reply. The mother cat-I'm guessing-shakes herself out of her daze.
"Yes, you must stay, you're hurt," she says unconvincingly. The father cat steps forward.
"While you're here, you might as well make yourself comfortable."