A/N: Here's the first chapter! This was very quickly edited and looked over, so if you spot any obvious mistakes, feel free to let me know.
A small, furry creature skittered across the paws of a ginger pelted cat, its little clawed feet scratching across the concrete.
"Get it, Rusty!" A plump black and white kitten called, his amber eyes wide with excitement. The tip of his tail twitched, brushing against the brown tabby who sat beside him.
"It's going to get away!" The tabby fretted, crouching lower as if she was prepared to leap down from her vantage point and make up for his ineptitude.
Rusty twitched his ears in annoyance, scurrying after the mouse. His pawsteps were sloppy, landing in all the wrong places...until he leapt forward and brought a paw down upon the mouse's tail.
A jolt of excitement struck him. "Smudge, Princess!" he whirled around to face them, eager to show off his first catch. "I - "
"Rusty," Princess groaned, her features furrowed in a mask of disappointment. Confused, the ginger tabby turned back to the mouse only to find his paws empty once more.
"But - but I had it! I swear I had it..."
"There!" Smudge exclaimed. Rusty had to turn once more to see the spot that Smudge had gestured to. "You can still get it - "
Just as the words left Smudge's mouth, a lithe black figure leaped down in a graceful arc, paws landing squarely on top of the mouse that Rusty had failed to catch. The cat finished the tiny creature off with a swift nip, their tongue drawing across their mouth to clean droplets of blood away in a flash. They did not acknowledge Rusty or his friends, too focused on their recent kill to pay any attention to a group of kittens.
"Tiny?" Rusty mewed, recognizing the black tom.
Tiny's head turned so that his bright eyes were on the ginger tabby. He blinked, face furrowed with confusion. He was silent for a few passing moments before he slowly pivoted around to face toward Rusty.
"I was kind of, uh..." Rusty began.
"Was this yours?" He questioned, gesturing toward the now still piece of prey with his tail.
"Yeah, it was!" Smudge chimed in as he leapt down from the brick wall. "Rusty was just about to catch it, and then you waltzed right in here and -"
A second figure appeared over the wall, landing neatly beside Tiny. Smudge jumped in alarm, lowered to the ground in fear.
"And caught it before this clumsy kit had a chance to ruin yet another hunting opportunity."
Even Tiny looked annoyed at his friend's sudden appearance. "Brick…" his tone was cautionary.
"What?" She laughed, stalking forward and flicking her tail across Tiny's nose. "Don't tell me you're going to let a bunch of kits bully you into submission. It was your catch, not his."
Rusty shifted around uncomfortably, unsure as to whether or not speaking up would result in him getting his ears shredded by Brick.
"But Rusty was after it first," He turned to see that Princess had taken up a spot beside Smudge. "and then Tiny came along and stole it from right under his nose."
Brick sighed loudly, tossing his head back in exasperation. "Why are you so insistent upon arguing about this? Tiny is the one who killed it. If Sparky here was so desperate for such a tiny mouse, he should have acted more efficiently."
Rusty forced his fur to lie flat, aware that Brick was trying to provoke him. He knew that he would end up with some nasty scratches if he allowed himself to be pulled into a fight with the much larger cat.
"Come on," Rusty mewed to Smudge and Princess, meeting Brick's eyes for a brief moment before turning to his friend and his sister. "They aren't worth it."
He heard Brick scoff from behind him as Princess nodded, Smudge reluctantly doing the same. He trotted away from Tiny and Brick with the two of them flanking him, trying to ignore the sound of the older pair of cats muttering under their breath as he went.
"What a furball!" Smudge scoffed indignantly, the fur on his neck prickled up. "What kind of cat does that? Stroll right in and force us to give up our catch -"
"My catch," Rusty clarified, whiskers twitching anxiously.
"Your catch, then." Smudge huffed. "You know, if they hadn't shown up like that, you totally would have caught it."
"Really?" Rusty mewed dubiously.
"Of course," Princess piped up, trotting forward and brushing her muzzle against his shoulder. "You nearly had it, Rusty! Maybe you'll get something next time."
Princess' encouraging words made him duck his head in embarrassment.
"Maybe you should try the forest. I've heard that it's practically overflowing with mice and birds…" Smudge's whiskers twitched with excitement. "Can you imagine catching a bird?" He touched Rusty's ear with his nose. Rusty nudged Smudge's muzzle away, flicking his ears back.
"I wouldn't risk it," Princess proclaimed. "There might be lots of prey, but…" she trailed off.
"But what?" Rusty prompted curiously.
"Well, you've heard the stories, haven't you? The wild cats...That's how Tiny's other friend got those nasty scars on his nose."
"Ace?" Smudge questioned. "Nah! He totally had Brick attack him on purpose."
Rusty looked at Smudge quizzically.
"To make him look tough, you know?" Smudge continued. "All ragged and torn up."
A small purr of amusement rumbled through Rusty's chest. "Please!" He chuckled. "He's already such a big, ugly brute. He doesn't have any housefolk because they're all too afraid that he'll maul them and their kits."
Smudge nodded eagerly in agreement. "The scars just make him look even worse."
"Oh, I don't think he's that bad…" Princess mewed. She ignored Rusty and Smudge's incredulous looks. "Tiny is a different story, though. I always feel like he's staring straight through me...and there has to be some reason why Ace and Brick follow him around."
Rusty wrinkled his nose. "I don't know, Tiny doesn't seem too strange to me. It's Brick that you have to worry about. I don't think I've ever met a cat as nosy as her."
Princess shrugged. "Well, that's true. He is rather bossy."
"Bossy, annoying, arrogant little mouse stealer - that's what she is!" Smudge exclaimed, scraping his claws on the concrete.
"Shh!" Princess hushed him, dashing forward to prod him with a paw. "He might hear you, and then you'll be nothing but a few scraps of fur."
"Bring it on!" Smudge yowled, earning a sharp glare from Princess. The black and white tom's enthusiasm remained unaffected.
"You might be willing to risk yourself, but I'd rather my pelt stay in tact!" Princess hissed.
Rusty laughed mischievously, creeping up beside Princess while she was distracted by Smudge. "Grrr!" he exclaimed, pouncing at her and sending her tumbling to the ground.
"Rusty!" She chided, pummeling him with her white paws.
"Rusty?" He growled, deepening his voice. "My name is not Rusty! I am Brick, the most annoying cat in the world!" He continued to scuffle with Princess, narrowly avoiding her blows. "Surrender now, or else - oof!" He stumbled backward when a well aimed kick from his sister caught him on his stomach. The brown tabby molly got to her paws, scowling and shaking out her pelt. "That wasn't fair!" Rusty whined, curled up a short distance away.
"You attacked me while I had my back turned!" Princess mewed incredulously. "That is what wasn't fair."
"I was just doing what Brick would have done," he argued, slowly standing up. "What if she attacked you out of nowhere? You need to be prepared."
"You ambushing me for no particular reason won't help prepare me, that's for sure." She sniffed, licking down an untidy white patch of fur on her chest.
"Will too," Rusty grumbled, pouting at Princess' sudden stuck up attitude. Usually she was more than happy to play fight with him.
"It's getting dark." Princess stated, changing the subject. "We should go home -" she glanced briefly at Rusty " - before Brick actually comes after us."
He narrowed his eyes but did not protest - the thought of Brick chasing them through the night was not a thought that appealed to him. He reluctantly skirted around Princess to stand by Smudge, sure that his sister would hiss at him if he got too close.
As the trio began their trip home, Princess trotted ahead of Rusty and Smudge, confirming Rusty's suspicions that she wanted nothing to do with him. He sighed quietly, lowering his head and hunching his shoulders, trudging along the streets.
It was only when Princess was far enough ahead of them that it was difficult for Rusty to distinguish her among the increasing dimness that Smudge pressed close to him.
"So…" Smudge whispered, cautiously keeping his gaze on Princess. "When are we going to ditch her?"
Confusion struck the ginger cat. "What?" He said, coming to a halt.
"What's going on?"
The sound of Princess' voice made Rusty turn his head. She had also stopped, and was now staring over her shoulder back at the pair of them.
"Nothing!" Smudge called before Rusty had a chance to respond.
Princess stared suspiciously at them for a moment more before simply rolling her eyes and continuing onward.
Smudge let out a breath of relief, turning to glare at him. "Nice going, furball! You almost got us caught!" He hissed through clenched teeth.
"Us?" This time Rusty was clever enough to lower his voice. "I don't -"
"You aren't really going to obediently follow her home, are you? I thought you wanted to go check out the forest, see if you could catch something."
"I never said that…" he muttered.
"Well you were thinking it, weren't you?" Smudge pushed. "Let's go, Rusty - we could leave now."
"We can't leave now," he fretted, his tail moving back and forth at a rapid pace.
"Why not?" Smudge's voice was taut. "Did Princess' story about Ace scare you?"
"No," he mewed immediately. "I don't...I don't even believe it." He ignored Smudge's suspicious look. "I just - if Princess sees us…" His mind started to race. Thoughts of Princess chasing after them and ending up with scars and a bloodied pelt were most prevalent. Even if Ace hadn't gained his scars from an attack, Rusty didn't want to risk it - he wouldn't be able to sleep at night knowing that he'd caused his sister to be harmed.
"Rusty -"
"Why don't we wait?" He blurted, hoping to put an end, however brief, to Smudge's urging and prodding. "I'm hungry, I'm sure you are too - why don't we just go home for now? We can eat. Princess won't worry or try to come with us." He could barely see his sister now, she was so far away. "You can get out tonight, right?"
"Of course," Smudge nodded.
"Then that's when we'll go."
Smudge stared at him silently. Rusty worried that he wasn't going to accept the offer, and then: "...Okay."
Rusty was swamped with relief. He leaned forward, brushing his nose to the top of Smudge's head. "Come on," he mewed, strolling forward. "We need to catch up."
"Race you!" Smudge exclaimed suddenly, dashing ahead of him.
Rusty straightened up, taken by surprise. A moment later he was running after Smudge, determined to catch up to the black and white tom. "Not fair!" he called between breaths, paws skimming the concrete. Soon enough he was rushing past Princess, having just enough time to see her confused expression and hear her mutter something imperceptible under her breath before he had passed by her, racing forward in pursuit of his friend.
The flap of the entrance to his housefolk's den scraped against his spine as he slipped inside, making his lip curl upward in distaste. He didn't understand why they couldn't just leave the door open for him like they had during the sunny season. Sometimes they were so nonsensical.
He meowed loudly as he strolled toward his food bowl, hoping that his housefolk hadn't yet gone to sleep. Sometimes when he stayed out too late they would forget to leave food in his dish, leaving him to go hungry for the night, no matter how persistently he scratched at the blockades they'd set up outside of their rooms.
Rusty's ears perked up at the faint sound of footsteps, his tail waving happily in the air when he spotted one of his housefolk approaching. He meowed once more in greeting, nudging them affectionately. A purr rumbled in his throat when they reached down to run their hand down his back, scratching behind his ears before setting out to fetch his dinner.
Rusty settled down beside his dish, licking a paw and running it across his face while he waited. He thought of Smudge, wondering if he had also reached home by now. He'd likely be curled up at his housefolk's feet as they prepared him a meal of steaming bits of meat. Rusty had always been jealous of the special treatment Smudge received from his twolegs - he had the best food, the kindest housefolk, and he was even allowed to curl up on his housefolk's bed without punishment.
If I ever tried that, my housefolk would leave me in the yard and never let me back in!
The noise of food clinking softly as it was poured into his bowl pulled Rusty from his thoughts of Smudge. He instantly turned his attention to it, crunching at the small, hardened pieces, occasionally pausing to lick his lips clean of crumbs. At first he ate quickly, gulping down the food, but as his mind began to clear and he remembered the promise he had made to Smudge, his pace began to slow.
Now that he was at home where it was safe and comfortable, the reality of venturing into the forest - a completely foreign and unknown place - was catching up to him. What if Princess' story had been right, and he and Smudge were attacked by a group of vicious forest cats? The thought made him shiver with uncertainty and fear.
I can't even catch a mouse. If we were attacked, I wouldn't even be able to defend myself.
There was little that Rusty was unwilling to do - Princess had once said he was the bravest cat she knew after he'd tried to catch a fish from a pond in a neighboring yard and had ended up simply pulling himself out of the water after he had accidentally gotten too enthusiastic and fallen in - but with thoughts of wild cats and shadowy forests running through his mind, he couldn't deny that he was having doubts about following Smudge under the cover of the trees in search of prey, especially when he couldn't be sure if he would be capable of catching something.
Rusty paused, staring down blankly at the food that remained in his dish. His appetite was suddenly lacking. With a sigh, the ginger cat turned away from his unfinished meal, his paws pattering quietly against the floor as he weaved his way through the mess that was his home. Eventually he approached a wide pane of clear, solid material that allowed him to gaze outside without ever truly experiencing what was going on on the other side.
The ginger kitten stared up at the surface, preparing to leap up onto the ledge that rested up against it when hesitation caught him once more. He worried about Smudge waiting on the other side, ready to lead him away from the protection of his home and right into the clutches of the forest cats.
Would Smudge listen to him if he said that he didn't want to go? Rusty frowned. Probably not. Smudge was persistent - once he had decided upon something, he never bothered to look back.
A second sigh escaped him as he attempted to formulate an explanation that would convince Smudge to leave him alone and allow him to stay home. As he rifled through his options, Rusty came to the conclusion that Smudge would pester him no matter what he said - and if he tried to back out of the journey into the woods, Rusty was sure that he'd have to endure constant teasing and jabs from Smudge about his lack of courage.
"I can do it," Rusty mewed to himself. He felt a bit silly for talking to himself - out loud, no less - but he brushed it off quickly. Setting his sights once again for the front door, Rusty continued forward with his head held high, doing all he could to ensure that he exuded confidence and bravery.
The scrape of the flap barely caught his attention this time. He was far too focused on the task in front of him to care for anything unrelated. As he crossed his yard, he imagined that the grass he felt underneath his paws was the tall, unruly grass of the forest. The fences that surrounded him were trees, tall and intimidating but still conquerable.
Moonlight made the scenery in front of him pallid with silver light. He supposed that once he was in the forest, he would no longer have the light of the moon nor the stars to guide him. He would simply have to rely on his instincts.
That's not too difficult. I can do that.
Rusty crossed yards and leapt over fences as he made the short trip to Smudge's residence. He knew automatically where to turn, what paths were the best to take. This made him more comfortable - clearly navigation came naturally to him. Perhaps finding a way to get through the forest wouldn't be so challenging after all.
"Smudge!" he called as he approached the black and white tom's house. "I'm ready, Smudge!"
There was silence, and then the sudden sound of rustling as Smudge poked his head out from his own door. "Geez, Rusty!" His voice was hushed but pointed. "You don't need to be so loud!"
Rusty looked sternly at Smudge. "If I hadn't been, you'd still be curled up inside." Smudge looked vaguely annoyed by his comment, but Rusty pushed onward. "Now hurry up. We need to go before our housefolk find us missing and start to call for us."
"Alright, alright." Smudge groaned, wriggling outside. He clearly didn't appreciate Rusty's snappish tone. "Why are you so eager all of the sudden? I thought I was going to have to drag you by your tail to get you to come along."
Rusty lowered his ears. Smudge had doubted him. "Why would you think that? I've always wanted to go see the forest."
"Really?" Smudge asked skeptically. "Cause -"
"Really," Rusty insisted, cutting Smudge off before he could say anything else.
Smudge fell silent, making Rusty fear that he would call him out on his bluff. Finally, the smaller tom grinned, his eyes lit with excitement. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!"
A breath of relief escaped the ginger tabby. There would be no more pestering from Smudge - he could finally relax and focus on successfully making a trip to and from the forest.
Rusty tailed Smudge as he led the way out of his yard and out onto the streets. He occasionally glanced behind himself to check that no one was following them - after all, one of the two had to be diligent, and Smudge was busy chattering away about all the possible discoveries to be made deep within the woods.
As the pair came closer and closer to the edge of the forest, an impending sense of dread began to grow within Rusty. He continually pushed it down with reassuring words to himself - it's fine, you'll be fine, you're going to have a great time - but it resurfaced whenever he allowed himself a break from whispering words within his own head.
Smudge and Rusty passed house by house, winding through the streets. When they passed a house with a tall white fence with barely a gap between the planks, the harsh noise of a dog barking and yelping made both young cats jump in shock. The fact that Smudge also seemed to be at least slightly on edge provided a minimal source of comfort for Rusty, but it did not do much to relieve his worries.
After what seemed like both a lifetime of traveling and the briefest of moments, the two finally arrived at the spot they had paused at earlier while walking with Princess.
"We're here," Smudge announced, as if Rusty was oblivious to the fact.
"We're here." Rusty nodded, hoping that his voice did not tremble and betray the nervousness he truly felt. They stood beside a fence much unlike the one that had obscured the noisy dog from them - this one was made of a hard, cold material that shone brightly underneath the moonlight. The forest that laid beyond it was completely, utterly clear. Rusty was so aware of its nearness that he swore he could have counted each blade of grass that sprawled out in a messy field in front of them.
Smudge gestured toward a small gap at the bottom of the fence where the material was torn and frayed, tinged with a faint crimson shade. "We can make it under here," he said, glancing back at Rusty. The black and white tom's eyes were just as wide as Rusty expected his were. "Then we'll be there. We'll really be there." He mewed, voice colored with disbelief.
Rusty gazed ahead at the break in the fence, focused in on where the grass reached up to brush the broken concrete. Once he and Smudge slipped underneath the fence, they would be transported into an entirely different world. Gathering all of the courage he possessed, Rusty mewed quietly, "I'll go first."
Smudge did not protest, although Rusty wished that he would. He simply watched with those wide, starstruck eyes that seemed to urge Rusty forward.
With one last glance back at the rows of houses and fences, Rusty stepped forward before he had a chance to turn back. He slid neatly underneath the fence, away from all he had ever known, venturing forward into the wild.