Yeee I'm sorry for not updating yesterday! Stuff came up!
Enjoy!
Spark stopped walking- for the first time in quite a while- when she reached the huge stones all lined up. She wasn't entirely sure what the land formation they were on was called, but it was a narrow stretch of land that the rocks completely blocked off.
It would have been easy for the silver tabby, or any cat for that matter, to climb them if it weren't for the 4 dogs guarding them.
However, Spark had become quite adept in outmaneuvering the beasts, so she managed to get over mostly unscathed.
"Stupid cats," She heard one of the dogs muttered. "They don't know if they want in or out."
It was that which told her that she had indeed reached her destination- a place a cat had told her was called The Outerlands. It was where the Outcast cats lived, but that was all Spark knew about it. She just wanted to leave Shard's Lands and that was the only other place she'd heard of.
As she walked on, the land grew wider and less sandy- the body of water on either side(the "sea" she believed the cat had said) seemed to retreat from the land.
It, at first, didn't seem all that different from the parks she had traversed. There were many trees and there was grass on the ground. However, as she continued on and the trees became denser, she began to see how different it was.
First off and most noticeably, the trees grew very close together in places and very far apart in other. There was no pattern to how they grew, no straight lines or zigzags like there were in the parks.
The ground was also different. Well, not the ground itself, but its coverings. There were wet, dead leaves coating it, with the occasional plant peaking out. Whenever Spark passed a clearing, she could see that the grass was not short as it was in Shard's Lands, but tall and unkempt.
Even the air smelled different. Cleaner, sharper, no putrid scent of humans or their Metal Things.
She wasn't sure why they called it The Outerlands or why Shard didn't choose this to be his domain. It was beautiful.
The further away Spark walked from Shard's Lands, the more a strange, wonderful feeling began to take root in her. She, for the first time in her life, wasn't under the rule of someone else. For the first time, there were no rules to follow or break. Gone was the ever-present fear of Shard in the back of her mind.
For the first time in her life, Spark was truly, completely, and utterly free.
oOo
As beautiful and free this place was, it was lonely and hard to catch prey in.
Spark had hunted since dusk and it was nearly midnight before she caught anything. Just a small mouse, too. Not to mention that she hadn't seen, heard, or smelled a single cat or dog since she'd gotten there. Cats did live there, right?
Her answer came in the form of a rust-colored cat leaping at her, trying to take the dead mouse.
"Give it!" The cat snarled, clawing furiously at Spark.
Deciding it wasn't worth getting hurt, the silver tabby quickly rolled away and watched as the cat ravenously devoured the mouse in a single bite.
As Spark looked over the cat, who appeared to be female and a little older than her, she wondered how hard life in The Outerlands was. The she-cat's pelt was scruffy and dirty, her body was thin and covered in scars and there was a wild, crazy gleam in her eyes.
"You'll never survive like that, kitty." The rusty cat said. Her voice was raspy and sounded much older than she looked.
"What do you mean?" Spark asked warily, eyeing the she-cat. Honestly, Spark had no idea why she was even talking to her.
"You've gotta fight for your food, kitty! It's not just gonna be given to ya!"
"It wasn't 'just given to me'!" Spark cried. "I spent a long time trying to catch that!"
The she-cats eyes darted over Spark.
"I see," She rasped. "You must've just been outcast. Didn't think they still did that, to be honest."
"What? Oh, no, that's not it," The younger cat said. "I came here on my own. I-I wanted freedom."
Admittedly, the last part sounded pretty terrible, even to Spark's ears.
"You chose to come here?" The rusty feline gasped. "Kitty, you have made a grave mistake. We're all dying in here with no way out. You've doomed yourself."
"No, I don't think so," Said Spark. "I had no- well, almost no- trouble getting in here. There were only 4 dogs."
"Only 4, you say?" The Outcast asked. "Then you are lucky. Usually, there are more- around 10."
"Oh..."
The she-cat laughed, which Spark thought was odd. "Don't worry, kitty. I'll take you back to where my allies and I sleep, and we'll teach you how to survive in here."
"Um...I don't think-"
"Nope!" The rust-colored she-cat yipped. "No arguing! Come on!"
She began to walk away, but stopped and looked back at Spark, who hadn't moved.
"Come on," The Outcast called. "Don't make me drag you."
oOoOoOo
"Yep, I'm pretty sure we're lost."
"Shut up, we're not!"
"Mmmhmm. I think we are."
Perky groaned, regretting for the umpteenth time that he'd allowed this dog to come with him.
That was a weird way to put it, Perky thought, because he wasn't going anywhere in particular. Which was probably why they'd ended up wherever they were, with Sam insisting they were lost and Perky being too proud to admit that they were.
"Hey, what's that smell?"
Perky looked at the Border Collie. "What smell?"
The dog looked around, sniffing the air. "It's like...water, with something else, too. It's weird."
If he tried really hard, the mottled cat could smell it, too, but he didn't say that. Sam talked a lot and Perky didn't want to prompt him to say anything else.
Suddenly, Sam stopped walking. Perky did, too, looking at his companion.
"What?" The feline asked.
"I think now would be a good time to admit we're lost, Perky."
"What?" The cat asked, his voice irritated. "Why? We're not lost, dog."
Sam looked down at the cat, his eyes shining with humor. "Really? Then why can I see The Stones?"
"Dog, there are stones everywhere. It's not that unusual."
The canine laughed a bit. "No, The Stones. Y'know? Gateway to The Outerlands?"
"The what lands?"
Grinning, though it looked a bit uneasy, Sam said, "Come on, you've gotta have heard of them. The Outerlands. Where they used to send cats that displeased Shard."
"Don't they just kill cats who do that?" Perky asked.
"Well, nowadays, yes," The Border Collie answered. "But a long time ago, when Shard first became king, he thought it was a good idea. As he got older, he realized how impractical the whole thing was and scrapped it. Still has dogs guard the entrance, though."
Perky was glaring at the ground in front of him.
"He can't do that," He hissed. "He just- can't!"
The dog was silent as his friend-even if the cat didn't see him as such- fumed. Really, it was an awful thing to banish all who displeased him to a harsh, wild, isolated place where they would almost certainly die, but Shard had stopped. Everyone made mistakes. Now, Sam didn't support Shard- though he didn't oppose him, either- but he still found Perky's animosity towards him rather annoying.
After the mottled cat had stopped raving, Sam asked, "So, do you want to try and cross The Stones? I hear the guards there are the stupidest among Shard's army."
"No," He said. "There's no reason. Spark and Venus aren't in there, and remember, our goal is to find them."
"Don't you want to at least look?"
"No," perky said again, his voice sterner. "They're not in there. We have to be practical."
"Please," Sam besought. "I really think we should just look. I promise it won't be very hard or take very long."
Normally, Sam probably would've been embarrassed to talk like that, sounding like a little pup. He could almost hear Boromir telling him to be more mature, but Sam knew they had to go looking in The Outerlands. He couldn't explain it if he tried.
"Please," He asked again.
"Fine!" perky relented, glaring. "But if we get killed, it's completely your fault."
oOo
"Well," Sam said once they'd gotten to the other side without any serious injuries. "That could have gone much worse!"
"Could've gone a lot better, too," The feline grumbled.
"Oh, lighten up," The black and brown creature chastised, his voice ever happy. "You could certainly stand to be more positive!"
Perky didn't answer, save for a glare and barely audible, "Shut up".
They walked from dusk to a bit after midnight- which Sam informed his friend that dogs called Moonhigh- until they heard something.
"It sounds like talking," The Border Collie whispered. "Weird talking, though, like-"
"Must you be so loud?" Perky hiss/whispered.
"Oh. Sorry." Sam tried to be quieter, but it was still loud to a cat.
Slowly creeping forward, Perky thought he saw the figures of cats below him. Wait, below-
Whoosh!
With a yelp of surprise, the pessimistic cat felt the ground under his paws slide down, taking him with it. He tumbled down a short slope and found himself surrounded by cats. Almost immediately, they were upon him, clawing and biting.
"Hey! No, stop! That's my friend!" A familiar voice screamed.
The cats slowly moved away and Perky got to his paws, favoring one of them.
"Spark?" He asked, staring at the silver tabby in front of him. "What're you doing here?"
"I could ask the same about you!" She cried, but it was apparent that she was relieved to see him. "I came here and Shanal took me to-"
"Who's Shanal?" Perky asked, his green eyes narrowing.
"Her," Spark replied, nodding her head at a rust-colored she-cat. "The black one is her mate, Tosar, and the grey tabby is his sister Marley. The plain grey one is their brother Vari."
"Oh..." The mottled tom said. "I'm Perky...nice to meet you all?"
"Charmed," The grey tabby- her name was Marley, right?- said.
"So...you're all family, then?" Perky asked. Really, he was hoping they'd tell him how they all got exiled. If Sam was right, then they were much too young.
"Yes," Vari said, but he did not expand on it.
"It's nice to see you again," Spark said. "How've you been?"
"Good," Perky answered honestly. "In fact, I've met-"
"Dog!" Tosar yelled, and everyone was instantly on guard.
"It's outside," Shanal growled. "Let's get it."
Realizing what that meant, Perky ran in front of them.
"No!" He cried. "That dog is my friend! He won't hurt you!"
"Friend?" Spark hissed in disgust. "Friend? Perky, have you gone mad?"
"Listen, I know it sounds crazy, but-"
"Perky?" Sam called. "Are you alright?"
"Attack!" Tosar hissed, barreling up the slope, towards Sam.
"No!"
The black cat stopped and turned around at the sound of his mate's voice.
Shanal looked over the mottled tom. "You said your name was Perky, right?"
The tom nodded.
"And you're an ally of Spark, correct?"
He nodded again. Shanal seemed to be thinking. No one, even Sam, said anything for a long while.
"Well," Shanal finally rasped. "Then we will not kill the dog if you do not wish for us to. Spark has told us of her adventures and I trust she has picked good allies."
"Oh," Perky said, a bit shocked. The Outcasts were weird. "Thank you."
"However," the rust-colored she-cat continued. "I do not wish to see it again. I do not trust dogs."
"Yeah," Marley jeered. "Send 'im away, like they sent our parents away!"
"In that case, I will be going as well," Perky said. "And I believe Spark will be joining us."
"Uh, no?"
"What?" Perky asked his friend. "Why not?"
"Because I live here."
"No," The tom said. "You don't."
"Yes, I do," Spark said, her green eyes blazing. "I'm sick and tired and done with Shard's Lands. I'm never going back. I'm free here, Perky. That's all I ever wanted."
"But what about Venus? Or all the other cats under Shard's rule?"
"They can come here if they want to," Spark shrugged.
Perky stared at her, his mouth agape. "But you were a rebel, Spark, we were rebels."
"And I have gotten what I wanted. I never wanted to change the world, Perky. I'm not like Casper, with his Rebellion. I just wanted to be free. And now I am."
"Oh," Perky said for the millionth time that day. "Well then...goodbye, Spark."
This took me SO LONG TO TYPE.
Have a great day/night, please review, and check in on Tuesday for an update.
See ya,
~KitKat