Holly leaped onto the window of her housefolk's countertop, her paws lifting her gently into the air. I've done this enough times to know precisely where to land my paws. The dark tortoiseshell padded softly along the surface, careful not to knock anything over. She gracefully sat down on her haunches, with the window right in front of her. This is the best thing about being a house cat. The window. But what's even better is staring out the window! Holly's eyes narrowed, watching every movement out of her reach.

From the corner of her eye, she could make out a starling chattering merrily away to all the other starlings. Meanwhile a squirrel darted between the bushes, its pouches filled with acorns. Is autumn coming sooner this year? I hope not. The cold really bugs me. Holly swallowed the thought and continued watching the outside world. The tree's leaves were a dark crimson or a chocolate brown, shivering in the chilly blast of air from the sky. I'm glad I'm not out there.

"Holly, what do you think you're doing?!" Holly jerked her head around to see her mother, Sarah, glaring intently at her. "Stay away from that window!" But why? It's cool. "That's how I met your…father." Sarah choked, her voice filled with pain. "Get back down here."

"But mom-" Holly protested, her meow pleading. Sarah shot Holly a cold glare before stalking over to her basket. I'm not budging. Holly turned back to look out the window. Why can't I just watch? It's amazing out there. She glanced back at Sarah, who was now asleep in the basket. Cranky she-cat. Rustle. Holly whipped her head towards the window, hoping to find what had caused the noise. A white tabby cat leaped out of the bushes, chasing for a squirrel. Is that...a wild cat?

The white tabby missed the squirrel, making it run up a nearby tree. The cat spat something in anger, but Holly couldn't tell what it was. The wild cat shook to its paws and looked up. Holly winced. Can it see me? It looked Holly directly in their eyes, their light blue eyes glittering. Maybe I should've listened Sarah after all! The cat and her gaped at each other, which to Holly felt as if it lasted an eternity. Soon it padded away, their light blue eyes gleaming teasingly in a playful matter. What was that about? Holly leaped down onto the cold tiled floor, relishing the stony feel to it. Grass is a lot nicer to walk on. She lightly walked over to the door flap leading outside the kitchen. I'm going to see what this is about. Padding outside of the house, she was greeted by a freezing gust of wind. M-Maybe I should go back in…

"Oh. I see kittypets have some guts after all." Holly realized the white tabby was talking to her. From what she could tell from their scent, the tabby was a tom. Her fur bristled. How dare he suggest I have no guts?!

"K-Kittypets can have guts!" Holly snarled. Half expecting the wild cat to attack her, she took a step back. Instead he grinned and laughed. What's wrong with you?

"Well, I know for sure that you do!" He laughed. "I'm Jayson. I live over there." Jayson pointed his tail tip towards the area with the large rocks and flowing river. How come I've never seen that before? "You are…?"

"H-Holly." She meowed, her fur standing on end. What is this cat doing here anyways? "Why're you here?"

"Well, I strayed a little too far from my territory while I was hunting. I saw you staring out the window, and I guessed you saw something you liked out there. So then I decided to you a favor and come talk to you myself." Jayson purred. His light blue eyes gleamed in amusement. "You're quite beautiful for a she-cat, I must say." Jayson complemented her, now sitting right beside her. Is he flirting with me? "And fiesty. I like that. You know Holly, there's not many cats in my group the Ten Flames that I like. You, on the other paw I like. Can I come tomorrow? I'd like to get to know you better." S-Should I? I-I don't even know him…but he does seem quite nice. Better than Sarah for sure.

"F-Fine. But don't do or say anything you'll regret, Jayson." Holly snapped. Jayson chuckled to himself before licking Holly on the cheek and padding away. I-I…

"See you tomorrow!" He called to her. He wants to see me? Why? Holly shook her head and sighed. There was no point in staying out here. She walked back into the cat-flap to be greeted by Sarah.

Sarah glowered her. "You imbecile! Why'd you go outside?! It's freezing out there, plus you could've ran into-"

"I'm not in the mood." Holly hissed at the cat she called mother. Padding towards the window, she leaped back onto the countertop. Jayson's much better than that snotty old fleabag. The cold, hard glass reflecting her face made her step back a few paces, but not enough to make her fall off of the counter. Sarah's always said I take more after my father…and called me a monster for it. Holly's fur bristled in anger. I'm not him. But Sarah acts as if I'm him. S-Should I…leave? Where would I go to, then? Where Jayson lives? No. It's too dangerous.

"Hi, Sarah!" A young tom mewed. Holly turned to see her cousin Spirit, who was an albino tom with striking red eyes. His red eyes scare me, actually. Spirit looked up in Holly's direction. "Oh, hi Holly! Whatcha doing?" Holly forced her fur to lie flat, not wanting to scare her kin. He's the only decent cat in this household. His brother Delmar is a jerk, and before their mom died she just flat out ignored me.

"Do you want to see?" Holly asked, her whiskers twitching. Spirit nodded and leaped onto the counter, sitting right next to Holly. Sarah grumbled under her breath.

"You both are messed up in the head for looking out there. At least Delmar has some brains." Sarah hissed, her voice filled with scorn.

"Ooh, this is cool!" There's all of that stuff out there, and there's that and that-" Spirit beamed, his squeaky meow echoing throughout the house.

Holly's whiskers twitched in amusement. "Okay, I can tell you're excited." Spirit nodded aggressively, his red eyes gleaming with excitement. Holly quickly glanced behind herself to see if Sarah was watching them. Good. She's gone. "Spirit, do you wanna hear about something that happened to me today?" The albino tom smiled, his tail lashing eagerly. "Well, today I met a cat who lives in the wild. His name is Jayson."

"That's awesome! Can we go see him?" Spirit meowed, his voice bubbling with vim. Tomorrow, maybe.

"Tomorrow. You can come with me." Holly sighed. Spirit purred, wrapping his tail around his paws. Hopefully Jayson won't mind seeing an extra kittypet, as he calls us.

"So you've finally arrived, Jayson." Holly grumbled. Jayson chuckled awkwardly and licked his shoulder fur. "I've been waiting all day!"

"It isn't easy getting away from Healer duties, lemme tell you…" Jayson sighed, a hint of laughter in his mew. He glanced at Spirit, who was standing beside her. "Who's this? A friend of yours?" Holly nodded. She opened her jaws to speak, but was cut off by Spirit.

"Holly told me about you yesterday! She said you live in the wild and that's SO COOL! Do you catch your own food? Do you really fight each other? How do you manage winter?" Spirit burst out the words faster than a lightning strike, which seemed to put Jayson off a little bit. Jayson was a little overwhelmed, but didn't rebuke him. "Oh, I'm Spirit by the way."

"W-Well, yes, yes and we have dens that are similar to your Twoleg dens." Jayson stuttered. He glanced back in Holly's direction. Her pelt was prickling, and her dark green eyes glittered with nervousness. "Hmm? What's wrong, Holly?" He asked gently. I need to tell him. I want to go with him to his group. I can't handle living with Sarah any longer.

"J-Jayson, I…don't want to be a kittypet anymore." Holly choked out the words. "My mother is always glaring at me because of my father, and I don't want to deal with it anymore. I'm coming with you to your home." Jayson opened his jaws to protest, but Holly cut him off. "Whether you like it or not."

Jayson sighed. "I guess I'm not going to be able to change your mind. What about Spirit here? How'd he feel if you just up and left him?" Spirit looked over in Holly's direction. I can't leave him here…Sarah doesn't like him that much, either.

"He's coming with too." Holly growled. Spirit brightened up, his tail swishing back and forth. "Any problems with that?" Jayson narrowed his eyes, but didn't say anything. "Good. Take us to your group." He trudged slowly in the direction that he'd pointed to yesterday. "And no dilly-dallying."

Holly wearily blinked her eyes open. It had been moons since she'd joined the Ten Flames along with Spirit, who was now named Spiritmask. She lay in her nest, her flank synchronizing with her steady breathing. I'm now a full Healer of the Ten Flames along with Jayson. I'm so glad I left when I did… Holly looked down at the little kit who was suckling her for milk. Me and Jayson's kit. Dylan. The young tom-kit was a white tabby like his father and had a fluffy pelt like Holly. They weren't sure on his eye color yet, since most kits' eyes are blue when they're newly born.

"Holly? May I come in?" That was Spiritmask's meow. Holly nodded as the albino tom padded into the nursery. A small kit was dangling from his jaws. The kit smelt like a she-cat, and it was clear this kit wasn't born to one of the cats in the Ten Flames. Then who…? The little she-kit was a brownish gray tabby, and by the looks of it she was no older than Dylan. "Me and Hazel found this adorable little bundle while we were out hunting. She's really weak and it looks like she's been half starved to death. Hazel would love to feed her, but, as we've discussed-"

"Hazel's barren. Yep, I'm well aware." Holly murmured. "Are you asking me to raise her?"

"N-No, that's not what I meant. You see, me and Hazel really wanted to have kits of our own. But since she can't have any, she can't give milk. What I'm asking is that you nurse her, and me and Hazel will be her parents." Spiritmask explained. That makes sense. She stared at the tiny helpless kit, who was wailing at the top of her lungs. Aw... "Please, Holly."

"I'll do it for you, Spiritmask." Holly whispered warmly. Spiritmask set the little kitten down nearby Dylan. The she-kit began feeding at once. She must've been really hungry. "What did you name her?"

"M-Me and Hazel named her Blaze, if that's alright with you…" Spiritmask mumbled. That's a wonderful name.

Holly nodded. "It's a beautiful name." She looked back up to Spiritmask. "You know, this reminds me of when we were young. I'm glad I kept watching out the window."

Holly is a young kittypet, along with her cousin Spirit. One day while she's watching out the window, she meets a young wild cat named Jayson. After this meeting, she begins thinking about her life as a kittypet and her overprotective mother Sarah. Her heart longs for freedom, but is she willing to take that risk? (Challenge for TorrentClan, takes place in my Flames of Fury AU)