CHAPTER 2

At evening, the six cats padded back home with their prey dangling from their jaws. Splash with her sparrow and Darth Vader with his vole. Silver had caught a thrush, but it was young and small. Fluffy carried his mouse and a vole; to catch the mouse he had ran through a thorn bush and earned several thorns in his fur. Pepsi and Milkshake came home empty-pawed, but not too discouraged.

They shared their food just outside the monster-den with little talk. When they finished Fluffy meowed, "Leave some of our fresh-kill on the porch, as an offering to the housefolk in return for the food, water, and shelter they give us." He left the entrails of his vole on the porch as he had instructed.

"We should also bury some with a prayer to StarClan, to thank the prey for its life." Silver added. The other four cats chose one or did both.

Fluffy was the first to go in the monster-den. He was going to remove some thorns from his pelt. Silver mentioned something of being tired and went into the monster-den as well.

Milkshake finally voiced what had been on his mind since he woke up, "So are we going to the clans?" They were all silent.

"That sounds a little bit…crazy," Pepsi thought. "I mean, would they accept us? And why would we leave our twolegs and shelter here in the monster den for the harsh, unpredictable weather of outdoors?"

"It would be exciting!" Splash exclaimed, "We could hunt and train and be part of the legends in the tales Silver tells us!"

"But what about Silver?" Pepsi countered, "And Fluffy? Would we really want to leave them? They're practically our parents!"

"They could come with us," Milkshake reasoned, a little bit too optimistically. Then added, "If they wanted to, of course."

"Not to be rude, but Silver is old," Vader meowed carefully, "He might not be able to make the distance or survive in the rough life of a clan cat."

"He did it once, but this time he would return as an elder, so it would be even easier," Splash commented beginning to bristle with anger.

"I think going to the clans is a stupid idea," Pepsi concluded and held his chin high as if it were his job to make the final decision.

"That's just because you are too scared!" Splash spat. "A real cat would love to join the clans!"

"You're wrong! You want to go the clans because Silver makes it sound better than it really is! Why do you think he left the clan life to become a kittypet in the first place?" Vader spat, lashing his tail. He smiled when no one had a response.

"Good. I'm glad I settled that. I am going inside to go to sleep now." He declared arrogantly. A rumble of thunder rolled across the sky. Simultaneously, all four cats looked up, startled. The sky was covered in angry, gray-black clouds. Partly to avoid the predicted rain, and party to follow through with what he just announced, Vader stomped inside. Pepsi gave the other two an angry glare and followed his brother.

"They were so negative about it!" Splash complained. She glanced nervously at the sky. The only reason she wasn't inside was because of Pepsi and Vader.

"I know," Milkshake agreed, then admitted, "Last night I had a dream. But it wasn't just a dream and a cat from StarClan talked to me. She told me a long prophecy; about going to the clans. I think it was important." He stared at Splash, she appeared to believe him. "Now, I think they are angry with us. Sending another storm, I think they wanted us to leave now. But Vader and Pepsi won't come."

"Maybe it didn't include them!" Splash spoke crossly, "They would never come to the clans! I want to go to the clans now!" She sprinted to the edge of their yard.

Milkshake struggled to stop her. "We can't just leave, can we?" He looked back worriedly at their home.

"Why not? It's not like our brothers would care!" She growled. Milkshake stood torn; he badly wanted to join the clans, but he couldn't just leave, he might never see Vader, Pepsi, Fluffy, and Silver again. The choice was too hard, too pressuring, too life-changing! The last factor to influence his decision was when Splash took off, furiously bounding in the woods, going to the only place she knew she could find at the end of the woods, the park; Milkshake could lead them the rest of the way.


Splash stopped when she reached the park. By now, it was down pouring rain. Her fur was soaked and she was chilled to the bone. A streak of lightning lit up the dark sky, followed by the boom of thunder, causing Splash to flinch. Milkshake slowed next to her, now caught up.

Starting to feel regret, Splash asked, "Which way now?"

Milkshake glanced around and spotted the target. He signaled with his tail, "Over there; the red barn." Splash's eyes followed the direction he pointed in and through the thick mist of rain, she could just make out the red speck in the distance.

"Let's go!" Splash called out over the crash of rain and thunder. The two ran, slowed by the wetness, but hurried by the urge to get out of the weather. A loud crack of lightning struck out in the distances. Both jerked back to look at the louder noise and instantly turned back to continue.

"Splash." Milkshake murmured worried.

"What?" She yelled over the noise, not hearing him. She turned to her right, where he was staring… and a huge dog burst from the shroud of rain barking with fury. Splash screamed and sprinted away with newfound energy. Diving through a grove of bushes in someone's yard, losing the dog, she searched for her brother, "Milkshake! Where are you?"

She flicked a glance in a direction of a rustle in the bushes, "Milkshake?" She stepped towards the noise, but it was not Milkshake; it was the dog. It barked and snapped at her, then squeezed into the bushes. She quickly backed-up, but she found that there was a fence behind her. Letting out a caterwaul, she clawed at the dog's muzzle. It yipped and stepped out of the bushes.

"Splash, get out! Now!" Milkshake yowled and leapt at the dog's side, raking his claws down it. The dog yipped again and decide that was enough, it scampered off back where it had came from.

"Yeah, run you piece of fox dung!" Splash, shaken, but unharmed stepped out from the grove of bushes.

The two cats stood panting and shivering in the storm, "That was too close," Milkshake breathed. "Let's hurry." They ran, muscles aching, soaked to the bone, and numbingly cold until they reached the barn. The barn door was closed, but there was a small crack underneath the door. They slipped under the barn door, finally safe.

Milkshake took a deep sigh and his sigh was echoed by a huge animal in the barn. He whipped around and stared in its long face. "What is it?" He whispered to Splash, who was in the same frozen, wide-eyed stance as himself. The large creature made a loud, neighing sound.

Splash spoke softly and nervously, "It looks gentle. And I hope it is because I am too tired to do anything else." It snorted and turned around, its tail flapping carelessly. It stood long-legged on four legs with a barrel-body. It was rather short-haired and brown.

"See that?" Milkshake pointed to a pile of straw. It was stacked up like the stairs he had seen inside his twoleg house. "And it leads to another level, I doubt that thing can get up there; we can sleep there."

They stumbled tiredly up the straw and when they reached the top, they found a nice dry, warm spot to sleep, and collapsed to the ground, asleep.