Dive into the Wild

By Atlantica Stitch

We're Kitty-what now?

Riku took over the controls, steering them carefully round the various worlds. He spotted it an instant before Sora did. "That's it." He confirmed. It looked plain, just a lush valley-a dip in the huge mountain range, bordering a wide ocean. Sora came up besides him, looking at the new world. "What's the name of it?" he asked.

"All it says here is 'The Valley'." Riku replied, steering in for a landing. "Dale said be on your toes, so don't go charging off." He said, looking at Sora.

"Since when do I go charging off?" Sora said, indignant. Riku laughed. "Since when don't you?" Slowly, the Gummi Ship pulled in for a landing.

Sora and Riku stepped out and the Gummi Ship cloaked itself until they needed it again. (A/N: Where else would it go?) Sora looked down at himself. "I feel like I'm back in the Pride Lands." He said, looking at his new, feline body.

Riku, who had never been through a world transformation, was examining himself and muttered. "This is new…" He took a few steps forward, and tripped over his own paws, landing upside-down against a tree. Sora laughed, and then gasped as a flood of scents hit the roof of his mouth.

"Whoa!" he cried. "So many smells!" he opened his mouth, just a little, and let the scents flow in. He picked out several scents. Sora also noted that he could hear tiny, furry things scurrying about in the undergrowth and hear the heartbeats, pulsing quickly. Riku had righted himself, and was looking around warily. "Something doesn't feel right." He said.

"It shouldn't!" called a strong male voice. There was a rustling, and a group of 4 or 5 cats stood up. The one who had called, a pale silver tabby tom, strode up to them, sniffing. "You smell like kittypets." He scoffed.

"Like what?" Sora said, confused.

"Cats who live with Twolegs, mouse-brain!" a tortoiseshell she-cat spat. The first cat turned. "Stay out of this Dapplecoat." He growled.

"Who died and made you deputy, Silverwind?" Dapplecoat challenged. Then one voice rang out clearly.

"Stop!" a young tom, brown with black patches resembling lumps of dirt stepped forward. He looked hard at Sora and Riku, as if trying to recall something. His amber eyes moved down to Sora's necklace, then he turned to his group. "These cats are no threat. They are here to help." He announced. Hisses of dissent and disagreement followed his words. "If you believe that, you're dumber than a fox!" Dapplecoat sneered.

A fox, who had been sitting unnoticed in the back, stood up. "I resent that." His words were distorted, as if they were hard to pronounce, but understandable. Dapplecoat looked embarrassed. "No offense Brushtail." She amended. The fox nodded. "S'all right." He said in his slurred voice, and sat down.

Silverwind turned to the tom. "What gives you the authority to decide such things, Dirtfur?" he asked.

Dirtfur raised his head proudly. "I do not have to answer that to you." He retorted. Silverwind growled, his fur bristling. "Then you'll answer to Breezestar." He growled. He flicked his tail, and the other cats fanned out, encircling Sora and Riku. They led the two Keyblade wielders off into the undergrowth. Dirtfur trailed behind the group, tail dragging in the dust.

The MistClan camp resembled the old ThunderClan camp, with the exception of the Highrock. Instead, was what was called the Treeseat. Long ago, many petrified tree stumps had been piled up, however, there were caught in a mudslide and buried. Wind and rain washed away part of the solidified mud, revealing the stumps. Behind was a hollow in the gorse, protected, like the nursery, by thick brambles. This was the leader's den. Breezestar was sitting on the Treeseat, giving the summons. Breezestar was a black and white patchy tom, his muzzle turned silver from age. His voice was raspy, but still strong.

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather around the Treeseat for a Clan meeting." He called. The cats gathered quickly. Sora noticed an unusually large golden she-cat with white paws and a brown tail trotting out proudly.

The old tom's words rang out strong and clear as soon as the young she cat seated herself at the base of the Treeseat. "I, Breezestar, leader of MistClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice. She has trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend her to you as a warrior in her turn." He turned to the she-cat, who was trembling with excitement. Sora wondered what was going to happen. "Eaglepaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect the clan, even at the cost of your life?" he asked. Eaglepaw nodded solemnly.

"I do." She answered. Breezestar nodded. "Then by the powers of StarClan, I grant you your warrior name. Eaglepaw, from the moment on you will be known as Eaglefeather. StarClan honors your eagerness and strength, and we welcome you as a full warrior of MistClan." He rested his muzzle atop her head, and Eaglefeather crouched lower to give his shoulder a respectful lick, then walked out and sat down among her fellow warriors. They chanted out her name and she drank the words in eagerly. "Eaglefeather! Eaglefeather! Eaglefeather!" Breezestar cleared his throat and the chanting died away.

"In the tradition of our warrior ancestors, Eaglefeather must sit silent vigil until dawn, and guard the camp alone while we sleep." He finished, and hopped down from the Treeseat to push his way into his den.

Sora and Riku had watched this whole ceremony with wide eyes. Dirtfur looked at the two. Could they really save the clans from the black monsters? Silverwind walked up to them. "Dirtfur, escort the two kittypets to Breezestar's den." He said stiffly. Dirtfur sighed, beckoning the two with his tail, and they padded to the brambles. "Breezestar?" Dirtfur called.

The old tom answered wearily. "Enter" and Dirtfur, Sora and Riku pushed their way in. Breezestar looked up at them. "Yes Dirtfur? Who are these 2 with you?" he asked. Dirtfur sighed, sitting down. Sora, feeling like he was in for a long talk, sat as well. "I had this dream." Dirtfur began. "Go on." Breezestar prompted. Sighing, Dirtfur launched into the explanation of his dream. Sora's ears perked up as he heard Dirtfur explain about what happened in the Rock Hollow.

"The monsters came from the shadows-literally- and pinned me down. Then one of then reached out and put its paw in my chest. I felt these icy cold claws, like my heart was being torn out." The young tom paused, shivering.

"It's the Heartless!" Sora said, springing to his paws. Breezestar looked at him.

"The shadow monsters. That is their name? Heartless?" he asked. Sora nodded.

"They show up anywhere there's darkness in people's hearts. They steal people's hearts-not like the ones that pump blood-but their feelings, emotions, their love." Sora explained. Dirtfur nodded.

"I woke up before it happened, but I felt like its grip was draining me away, like I was going to end up an empty shell." Dirtfur said eyes wide as full moons.

Breezestar licked the young warrior's ear. "No need to upset yourself. But, if Firestar has warned you, and these cats are here, I am afraid that we are in grave danger."

A loud yowling came from the clearing, and the sounds of spitting, hissing cats. The screech of a young cat sounded out, ringing out clearly.


Cliffhanger! And Foreshadowing. wink I do plan on a sequel.