So hello guys this is Crystalshine of LightClan. Happy St Geneviève Day (I'm goind to say the French saint day or whatever it's called every time since I'm French and have no idea what the English or American saints are) This is my first fanfic, I don't really care if anybody flames cause it just helps me get better. Also English is not my native language so if I make any mistakes please let me know in a review. I also changed the cats' vocabulary as I wanted to make this story as independent as possible from the actual series, if there's anything you don't understand just ask me in a REVIEW they are the most important thing for the writer, you inspire us to keep writing!
Crystalshine-Ivy, say the disclaimer
Ivy-I don't wanna
Crystalshine-OK you'll say it at the end
Read, review, and, hopefully, enjoy!
Chapter 1
Creeping slowly among thick undergrowth, Ivy caught up on the unsuspecting shrew, her cream-and-tabby pelt melting perfectly into the arching fronds of fern.
She tried to set her paws down lighter than leaves, but her tail, sticking up straight and swishing in nervous excitement, disturbed the plants over her, and the tiny animal raised its head, looking for danger and turning gradually around to check its surroundings for it. Before its scanning eyes could reach the spot where she was concealed, she sprang as far as she could to try and catch the prey.
"Missed!" She hissed, with a curse.
She had misjudged the leap and the shrew scuttled away to the safety of its hole.
Frustrated, Ivy cursed and gave up the hunt. She stomped off into the bushes, fuming, crushing fragrant herbs beneath her feet, then stopped suddenly. She had heard something. A rustle. But it didn't seem to be coming closer, and she was not in the mood for trying to hunt again, so she quickly lost interest and continued on her way, sure that she was steaming at the ears and not caring a fly's wing about it.
Then she felt something soft brush her nose and wondered, outraged, what had dared to interrupt her fury. She sneezed once and suddenly woke up in her own basket in her Townfolk's kitchen. Her Townfolk's kittens were tickling her with a pigeon feather that smelled as if its owner had been dead, rotting carrion for sunrounds, with high-pitched, mocking sounds of joy.
She knew that they were trying to have fun, but she wished they'd notice how much more she liked it when they hung something in the air and she could chase it.
Ivy was annoyed but she couldn't just scratch the kittens, so she got to her paws and stalked off through the cat flap into the garden. It had drizzled in the night and dew sparkled on every blade of grass, leaf and delicate cobweb that stretched precariously across the empty space between two branches.
She clawed her way painstakingly up a tree that overhung the fence to settle on the post and stare at the emerald leaves that filled the forest. Her Townfolk's den was right next to the woods, and she sat there gazing into the green. She was struck by how beautiful it was.
She had heard tales from her mother, Bella, and other Town cats, about fierce cats who killed others of their species, grew to the size of dogs when they were angry and ate foxes. She shivered, but lifted her chin and puffed out her chest to challenge whatever was out there… watching her, maybe.
Pushed by a sudden urge to see what lay beyond the walls that had encased her for as long as she could remember, Ivy dropped down to the ground. She landed clumsily, fighting for balance by thrashing her tail, and hissing in annoyance. She flicked a glance back at the house. As she hesitated, old Mitten's words flooded back to her mind: "Keep away from these woods youngster. It's crawling with wild cats, badgers, foxes, snakes and other things you don't want to know about."
What was she thinking? The forest? Had she gone crazy? Ivy searched for a route back up the fence, but there was no helpful tree this time to offer an easy path over the wooden wall. There was no way back; the only option was to go forward. She shook her head clear of the old cat's ominous warning and padded into the trees.
Scents from her dream drifted around her, quickly making her feel more at ease. Birdsong came from all sides, briar roses blossomed everywhere and catmint sprouted in the garden of an abandoned Townfolk dwelling.
She dived into it, purring, and rolled around on her back, savouring the smell and crushing the catmint into a sweet-smelling heap.
But an icy chill trickled down her spine as she heard unfamiliar voices not far away.
"I can smell a kittypet, Redtail! And I think it's ruining our catmint patch!" meowed a cat she couldn't see. Someone - Ivy guessed it was Redtail - answered.
"You're right, Dustpaw. I hope you've practised your fighting moves lately."
Suddenly, Ivy heard something hurtling toward her, rustling the crackly undergrowth. It landed on her back and she instinctively unsheathed her claws to fend him off. But her opponent was too strong for her and had her pinned down in heartbeats. Dust-coloured tabby fur filled her vision and she was choking on the cat's pelt. Pain like a fierce forest fire flamed through her as her attacker started pummelling her pelt.
Redtail's voice rang out clearly.
"That's enough, Dustpaw. Let it run back to its Twolegs. It won't trespass again."
"And if it does…" the younger tabby slid out his claws and and showed his teeth in a menacing snarl, and Ivy shivered. She was well aware that this cat was threatening her and she would rather not find out what he would do should she 'trespass' again, whatever that meant.
The other cat let her up and she backed away. The grey-brown tomcat was still growling, his pelt sticking up in aggressive spikes. His tail was slashing through the air as if he wanted to scare her enough, just by looking as if he wanted to claw her tail out, to make her leave without more fighting. Redtail fixed her with unflinching, unblinking, unfazed, amber eyes. Ivy turned and fled.
She raced through the strange forest, noisily cracking twigs beneath her paws. She ran on, snagging her fur on bramble thickets and crashing into trees. She continued for as long as she could.
The tabby expected to see the familiar red walls of the Town rising around her but, instead, cold grey trunks closed in on all sides, imprisoning her. She had surely run the opposite way.
I'll never find my way back! She soon started panicking. How would she find anything to eat? Would she die? She knew that, here, she wasn't home, and that she couldn't take care of herself alone. She wanted to yowl her mother's name. Bella would have an idea what to do. Bella always had the solution to Ivy's problems like, for example, that her Townfolk would not let her sleep in their bed, or that they gave her less tasty food than usual… but this time, would she? Her mother didn't even know where she was!
She couldn't fool herself. Nothing good could come out of this.
She searched and searched for home more desperately every heartbeat. She poked her nose in every bush and every hole, hoping the Town would be on the other side, in vain. She wanted to go on looking, but the sun was going down in a blinding, bloodstained blaze of bright colour, and night would soon come. Ivy had to admit defeat. Head low and tail drooping, she was sure she was truly lost.
That's it for the first chapter! I'm quite busy but it's still the holidays, so I might even update before I have any views...
Tell me what you think in your review!
Crystalshine-Ivyyy... *raises a paw threateningly* say the disclaimer...
Ivy-I don't wanna
Crystalshine-You do unless you'd like to stay in the forest foreve-
Ivy- *rudely interrupts Crystalshine* *speaking very fast* Crystalshine only owns her OCs and the plot, the Warriors world belongs to the Erins as well as the cats from the original series!
Crystalshine-This A/N is already waaay too long so...
Crystalshine and Ivy- See you guys next time!
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