This chapter has been edited and added to several months after it was originally posted.

All of a sudden, something nipped his tail. Fern whipped around quickly, but the culprit was already gone…

Fern awoke to blinding light. Hissing a curse at whatever was shining this unwelcome light, he slowly realized it was just the sunshine. He groggily lifted his head. Someone had to catch breakfast. The grey tom stretched where he was on the ground (as all cats do), but stopped when a burning pain suddenly seared throughout his body.

Fern carefully twisted his head to look at his side. A long, sickly gash glared at him.

The memories of the night before came flashing back at him.

0o0--0o0

Badgers.

Fern stood paralyzed for another moment, just long enough for the three badgers to notice him. They shuffled toward him, eager to be the first one to give him the welcoming hug. The stupid creatures were making so much noise Fern was amazed that Ginger could sleep through that.

Ginger! He had to get them away from Ginger!

That single thought snapped him out of his trance. That, and a strange sudden thirst for blood…

Fern zipped away from the clumsy badgers, running as fast as he could.

Unfortunately, he was not watching at where he was going, and crashed straight into another one of the big creatures.

The badger took one long look at the dazed cat and took a lazy swipe at him. The claw hit, creating a long gash along Fern's side. The blow also knocked him out, and he remembered no more.

0o0--0o0

Fern groaned. He hadn't eaten at all yesterday, his side hurt, and what was with these stupid flashbacks?

For awhile, he just lay there, unable to fall back asleep.

The tom looked over to where Ginger was curled up. She looked happy. Although Fern was not sure why; sleeping on a bush full of thorns does not really make someone happy.

After a while, the tom fell back asleep.

0o0--0o0

The warm scent of freshly killed sparrow filled his lungs, and only one thought entered his mind: Food.

His nose twitched, and he cracked an eye open.

There it was, lying helplessly on the ground.

Fern tore at it mercilessly, devouring the poor creature in just a few bites. A couple of mice were tossed in front of him, and he ravenously gobbled down those, too.

Fern looked up once he had finished to see Ginger munching on a squirrel contentedly.

Seeing as she must have brought him the prey, he meowed, "Thanks, Ginger. I was starving," and, remembering something else, "How long have I been out?"

The tortoiseshell replied casually, "Oh, I would say… About a week."

"What!" Fern jumped up, alarmed. His paws faltered, and he fell, having put too much strain on his body. He started to curse, but stopped.

"Oh, Fern. Don't get your fur in a bunch. I was just kidding," Ginger rushed to say these words. A purr of relief escaped Fern's throat.

"It's only been a day," She meowed a bit more quietly.

"Alright. Let's get going then," Fern meowed, anxious to arrive somewhere with less savage badgers. He did not was another run-in with any more of the beasts.

"No way, Fern. You have to wait until your injury is completely healed."

Fern protested, "But-"

"No buts. Now you can stay here like a good little kit, and I will go look for somewhere we can stay at for a while. We can't just sleep underneath a tree." With that, the she-cat padded off into the woods.

It was futile to try to argue with Ginger when she got this way, and Fern could see that clearly.

Besides, this new day was terrible.

There was not a cloud in the sky, beckoning the sun to scorch any unfortunate creature that dared to leave the shade. The weather was horrible: burning hot with barely a refreshing breeze. The birds were shrieking and screeching, like nails on a chalkboard. Daisies and other flowers were everywhere, spreading their annoying pollen everywhere.

To top it all off, his leg muscles refused to move, and his back itched like-

A loud cracking noise interrupted his thoughts, followed by a similarly noisy crash as a thick branch fell on the ground, inches from his nose. Fern stared at it in shock for a while, ignoring the terrible itch on his back, before promptly fainting.

0o0o0

Fern awoke sometime later, to the sound of Ginger's excited voice.

"Hey, Fern! I found this perfect place for us!" She bounced up and down in front of him like a kitten that just caught her first piece of prey. "Come on, come on! Get up Fern!"

"Back off," Fern hissed, already feeling his muscles tensing at the mere thought of walking around. "I can get up by myself." He arched his back slightly as he felt the itching from earlier come back.

Just as his paws found some traction that allowed him to firmly grip the ground, Ginger had to knock over his concentration.

"Come on, Fern. Please, before I'm an elder."

Fern flashed a glare at her. "Jeez, Ginger. You're like a little impatient kitten. This better be good."

Finding that foothold again, the gray tom managed to make it over to her, though weakly.

"Oh trust me Fern. It is."

Then she raced off into the forest, leaving Fern to shake his head at her brash behavior, and limp after her. He took this time alone to enjoy the peaceful, blissful silence of the woods. The far-off chirping of the birds, the soft rustle of the leaves on the trees. He breathed in the lovely, fresh scent of pine, wildflowers, prey… Oh, who was he kidding?! The sounds were all loud and annoying, and all of the smells gripped at his lungs!

Speaking of lungs, Fern wheezed as he limped up the path Ginger had so thoughtfully made for him. He was just crawling over another trampled plant when his ears picked up the familiar sound of rushing water. A stream! And streams usually meant fish! He licked his chops, only to find his tongue as dry as sandpaper. Streams also meant water!

Fern limped as fast as he could to the source, and greedily lapped up water.

After drinking his fill, he found some shade, and plopped down, exhausted. Fern closed his eyes, and opened them again to see Ginger, with fish. It took him a moment for his brain to register that she had been unusually kind to him lately, so he mumbled a "thanks', and dug in.

Fish in his stomach and the sounds of nature in his mind, he fell back to his slumber again.

The warm form pressed against his flank did not go unnoticed.