Chapter 6
FearClan / Lion
Snow crunched beneath their paws as they padded in single file. Moth murmuring directions while Berry looked around anxiously. Lion only flicked her tail tip to let Moth know she had heard him as she plowed through the shoulder-height of snow. The evening air becoming colder and colder. She shuffled forward, pushing through a frosty bush and blinked her eyes open in awe.
The river had a rickety, ancient-looking Twoleg Bridge between Thunderpaths. She glanced to Moth as he pushed his way out of the bush, shaking off snow and ice as his emerald green eyes glanced over the strange and new landscape just outside of FearClan territory. No more than the a long willow branch-length from their camp. Berry squeezed out and pushed her way to be on Lion's other flank, ice and snow glittering before the tiny patrol.
"This is the path we will take to Twoleg Place. It is barely twilight, but if we keep moving we can reach it soon enough." Moth assured them, glancing to Lion.
Lion nodded dumbly. "Let's get moving, if we have to cross we need to be careful."
"No need to tell me twice!" Berry squeaked in horror, "I hate thunderpaths, always have since we had to cross them from the Giant Garden."
"I wonder who took over it by now." The bright ginger tom grumbled, shaking out his fur. "Lead the way Lion."
The reddish-brown she-cat nodded, going back to loping through the snow. She could hardly feel her paws, but she pressed on, her amber eyes glinting as she led the way. Crows cawed high above their heads, heading towards the setting sun despite the chill of the twilight. The clouds were still rolling across the dark indigo sky that was dotted with twinkling stars.
"It's beautiful up there." Berry murmured, yellow eyes wide with awe.
"Don't get used to it." Lion grumbled, "they'll disappear under those Twoleg-suns."
"Agreed." Moth meowed. "The fake-suns have a distinct orange glow that can hide the stars and reveal a cats position. So we must be wary for dogs."
"Not to mention the foxes that could be roaming the thunderpaths." the cream tabby added in, glancing around themselves carefully. "You'd think it would be too cold and snowy for any of them, but they can strut across this with ease, I bet."
"We'll find out soon enough." she grunted, following the strangely straight-cut bushes. "Why don't we get warm under here before we move on? I feel like my paws are frozen right now."
"That would be best." Berry relented, wrinkling her nose. "Much too close to the paths Twolegs usually walk on, but it's the best we can do for now."
"I'll gather some leaves from deep within the bushes so we can use them for nests." The bright ginger tom offered, crawling under the bush with a curious sniff. "It also doesn't smell like anything has been here."
"Well don't forget to taste the air," Lion growled, "We don't have dog-noses."
"Of course." the tom muttered as he wriggled himself under the bare twigs that rattled as he squirmed his way under it.
Lion parted her jaws, letting the dry, cold air bathe the scent glands on the roof of her mouth. She could scent that a dog or two had been in the area earlier, perhaps a cat or two having ran on by. However, the scents were all stale, which was a relief in her mind. Last thing they needed was hostile cats or stupid dogs to be on their pelts.
She took a seat, keeping watch for danger as Berry wriggled under the bush with a grunt. The branches obviously raking through her fur from the sounds of it. Rolling her eyes, she settled down and wrapped her tail around her paws. Her ears pricked for the first sign of danger as she listened to the world around her. The bush was rustling noisily, agitating her since a few crispy leaves fluttered down upon her.
"Are you quite finished letting the whole Twoleg Place know we're here?" Lion snapped impatiently.
Moth grunted somewhere deep inside the bush. "Calm down, we're professionals at making nests in these things. It's supposed to be noisy. It keeps birds away."
"Well maybe I want a bird to be here so I can actually have something to eat." she grumbled, her stomach growling like a starving badger. She couldn't even remember the last meal she had, she had to skip some meals just because Heather decided there wasn't enough to go around despite their luck with hunting.
"I'll go hunting soon." Moth promised, twisting his body down from the spindly twigs. "Here, Berry. Spread these on the dirt and push them into the entwined branches to keep the wind out."
"Will do, Moth." the cream tabby meowed as the noise slowly died down. "I'm almost done Lion."
"Good." she hissed softly, feeling colder and colder as the moon began to rise.
After what felt like moons, Berry was done making enough space for them to hide in. Lion was impressed of the careful work that went into weaving the branches into a beautiful den of leafy tendrils and the like. Blinking, her paws scuffed gently on the fresh leaves that were gathered, covering the ground to give it enough cushion for them to rest and stay warm.
"It's like you plan on living here." Lion whispered suspiciously, casting a glance to the cream tabby she-cat.
Berry blinked, her pale yellow eyes round with innocence. "Well, if we fail, I'd like us to still have some dens we can migrate to so we stay out of trouble."
"Bold of you to think we won't succeed." she growled, "I have faith that we will."
"What are you going to do? Start spouting nonsense like Hawk does about those Star-cats?" Berry huffed. "Like such things even exist. I could hardly believe in that kind of stuff."
"Well all cats believe in something to have faith at times." Moth replied evenly.
Lion only listened, looking out the den with her stomach cramping from no food. At last, she spoke. "I believe in myself and my abilities. Sometimes it doesn't feel like much, but Hawk does often say that Clan-cats may believe in StarClan so they can also believe their ancestors are also on their side."
"It still sounds like cloud-fluff to me." Berry shook her head.
Moth lowered his head, "Regardless, we will have a hard time finding prey."
"What should we do? We will be too far away to find even kittypet food to steal." Berry whined softly.
Lion flattened her ears, annoyed. "Moth you said you were going to hunt."
"It's too dark." he meowed defensively.
Her tail lashed. "Then don't complain about finding food. We can deal with it when dawn breaks."
"Why must she always be so bitter?"
Moth flicked his ears. "Wouldn't you be bitter if your home was overtaken twice by cats you didn't know?"
That seemed to shut Berry up as Lion tucked her tail close to her nose. Desperate to keep any body heat to herself. She wasn't particularly tired, but she was feeling as cold as she felt from that odd dream she had before they left. Soon, she could hear the snores of her two companions as they slept deeply. They had given up being FearClan-cats, something she wished she could do. However, that willow was a piece of her fading memory of kit-hood. A piece of her mother was left in that clearing.
Her eyes kept closed as she replayed the events that lead up to this moment. From the talk she had with Hawk about Cedar, her first born kits, the failed first litter and discovery of Timber and Frost. Back then she never questioned it, simply thinking that Cedar was as kind as she appeared to be. Now, she wouldn't think twice about if Timber and Frost were her kits and was all an elaborate lie.
Her eyes opened into the dark of the den. Warmth from their breath and bodies making the make-shift den much more comfortable. Her thoughts were racing like rabbits again. Yet, it also felt like fish swimming upstream, but going nowhere. She had so many questions and no answers. Her heart fell at thought of failing Heather and proving that she belonged.
If I don't belong there, then where do I belong? Lion thought as she peered out of the swaths of branches. The moonlight glowed faintly on the white expanse of snow, making it glow brightly just outside of the den. Desperately, she wanted to look to the skies and feel comfort, but lowering her chin onto her paws, she knew it was a feather-brained idea. She could never find her place, no matter how much she wished she could.
.
A noisy chatter of a chipmunk startled Lion awake. Her amber eyes flying open as she sat up, bewildered. After a moment of looking around the empty den, she realized where she was. She was on a journey to find one of the fragments of BloodClan. Relaxing, she stretched her limbs with a massive yawn, before standing onto her paws. Her tail tip twitched as another pang of hunger soured her stomach. She was positive it could be trying to eat itself by now.
Shaking it off, she loped out of the den, letting the thin branches scratch her back satisfyingly as she squeezed out into the open. Looking around, she parted her jaws, tasting the air for where Moth and Berry had gone. The snow was still on the ground in heaps, but the drifts had shrunken. Squinting, she checked the position of the sun, finding it was nearly sun-high. Lashing her tail in frustration, she realized she had slept in.
Lion barely sat down when the familiar bright ginger tom and cream tabby she-cat bounded up to her. Moth had nothing, but Berry at least had a scrawny squirrel. She scowled as they padded up to her, the cheerful glint in their eyes gone as they noticed. Her tail tip flicked to and fro in agitation. Berry placed the squirrel down, her pale yellow eyes dark with guilt.
Lion twitched her whiskers wryly. "So, why is it that I wake up abandoned in a den while it's nearly sun-high?"
Berry looked to Moth sheepishly. "We thought you would need more sleep. You didn't wake up at dawn and-"
"So, I don't wake up at dawn and you two think it's a great idea to let a sleeping cat stay in the den when some dog or fox could come in and kill them?" she snapped angrily.
Moth took a pace forward, his mew diplomatic, "Look, we only did it in the best interest of you getting more rest."
"That's no excuse!" Lion hissed, before cold dread filled her straight to her paws. "That is what you wanted, isn't it?"
"Lion, we would never." the bright ginger tom tried to reason.
She shook her head. "If that was the case then why was I not woken up?" Pain seared her. She couldn't trust them, not even for a mouse's tail.
"We honestly didn't think about dogs or foxes getting you." Berry tried to explain, but it was no use.
Lion didn't believe them. She knew she should give them the benefit of the doubt, but the treachery could be all too real. Feeling unsafe, she backed away from them. Her heart pounding and thoughts whirling inside her head. She needed to get away from them and fast. Without speaking another word, she turned and pushed through the snow, which was only up to her belly now.
"Lion, where are you going? We caught this for you!" Moth called after her.
She ignored him, her ears pinned back as she pressed on. She would have to find her own food. They left her to die. She knows they did. They were smart cats, if they wanted her dead this was exactly what they would do. She had to hunt or steal from a kittypet, as much as she didn't fancy the idea. She needed something to sustain herself. How would she know that those two didn't put something dangerous inside of the squirrel? Was there anything dangerous to put inside one?
She shook her head, willing herself to focus. The sooner she found a hint of any kind of food, she could think much more clearly. She parted her jaws as she walked, willing some scent to find it's way to her. Anything that wasn't rotting she would gladly eat. Her stomach yowled with hunger, sounding like an angry cat as she picked up the faintest traces of kittypet-food. Swallowing dryly, she leaped onto the strange red-colored stone cliff. It was as vertical as a tree, but strangely straight like Twoleg den-walls.
She sniffed around, her eyes locking onto a shiny crater that had strange dark colored pellets inside it. Without a second thought, she leaped down and landed bone-jarringly on the flat gray-stone on the other side. Jolted, she limped over to the crater, sniffing the food incredulously. Deciding it was safe, she started to dig in awkwardly. It was like gnawing on the bones of a water shrew. They cracked between her teeth into smaller pieces that she could swallow. They tasted somewhat bland to her, but still satisfying.
She began to relax as she ate as much as she dared to. She turned to a second crater where half-frozen water was kept. Carefully she lapped up the icy water, recoiling at the strange taste that reminded her of sinking her fangs into another creature. A strange metallic taste that she didn't like. Nonetheless, she lapped it up before heading back to the wall and jumping onto it. Her pads felt sore from the rough landing she had before, but she felt better.
Her stomach was comfortably full and cold from the water. Her once racing mind had calmed itself as her ears grew hot with embarrassment. She had been too rash to judge Berry, let alone Moth. Guilt clawed at her as she half slithered down the red-stone wall. She padded back the way she came, glad to see that her companions hadn't left their first den. They perked up, their eyes still worried and full of guilt, the squirrel had been torn into, leaving a haunch for her if she wanted it.
Feeling a little more than nervous, she lowered her head as she padded up to them. Eyes downcast with shame. She had made them feel guilty when she was going wild-brained with hunger. They didn't deserve that, no matter what they had said or done, it was a simple mistake. She could see that now for certain. She slowed to a stop, her shoulders hunched as she nearly tapped her nose to the snow. Her tail tip curled in a friendly greeting as she tried to find the words.
Strangely, she didn't have to. Moth took the first step towards her, rubbing his cheek against her own in a loving caress. A warm purr rumbled in his throat reassuringly. As she felt the vibrations, she listened to his words. "All is forgiven, Lion. We know you had it the hardest when it came to food. We are terribly sorry for not waking you, we had only wanted to surprise you with prey when you woken up. We just didn't think it would take so long."
Lion shook her head. "You don't have to be sorry, just don't ever do it again. That's all I want out of this. Besides, I should be sorry. I was wild-brained from hunger, but I should have still trusted you both."
"You have no reason to trust us." Berry reminded her gently, "We understand that, when you needed our support most we drifted away. From now on, we will work together with you." she touched her nose to Lion's forehead gently.
With a shuddering sigh, the reddish-brown she-cat took in their scents. Comfort found her at last. Perhaps, she didn't have to be alone to feel lonely, but it certainty felt much better to finally let others have her trust. Feeling at peace, she looked to them, warmth filling her chest as she knew the greatest sacrifice she had to give.
"I already found food to eat, so you two can enjoy the last of the squirrel." Lion meowed confidentially.
The two nodded and shared it among themselves. She kept watch, feeling a little less wretched now that she knew she could have friends. Moth was always someone she could confide into before Hawk, but only Hawk truly understood how she felt. They were outsiders and, now, she could see she made Moth feel like one as well just because she struggled to cope. She managed, but not very well until now. Looking ahead, she knew that they would have a lot of ground to cover. Especially when they had to keep to Heather's demands or be slaughtered for coming back at all.
Author Note:
Writing 2,000 word stories are very difficult, but I love the challenge. It's fun and helps me pack in more for each character. Some comes easy and others do not.
Perhaps, I should write a Lost Stories short story about Cedar, Timber, and Frost?
Hmm, that's something for me to think about as I keep trying to reach the middle of this story that I see so clearly. I wish I could brainstorm normally so I can plan these things out better.
Oh, well; I hope you enjoyed this new chapter today/tonight! - NightSky
