Chapter 7

I opened my eyes, and looked around. My memory came back when I realized I wasn't in the apprentices den, or warm, or safe. I didn't panic just observed what was around me with an icy, unexpected calm.

My eyes adjusted to the surrounding darkness, and I saw I was in a tall, circular, black thing. It looked like a monster's round paw, only I was in the center instead, and it was kind of, well, dead. Cautiously, I stood to see over top of the strange...thing, and squinted. Behind me, was the green box from before, filled with Twoleg trash and Starclan knows what.

Suddenly, I saw a dark movement from atop the box thing, and I gaped. Quickly though, I shut it, and regained my composure. He leapt down and looked at me, his eyes seemed to almost glow in the darkness, and he meowed suddenly, "You shouldn't come over here without reason. I've told you before, it's dangerous for a clan cat in these parts."

Shocked, I stuttered, "A-and who are you to care about a clan cat?"

He went silent, and sat down. He turned his brilliant gaze to the stars and didn't answer me. I looked up too, and for a moment I wondered if StarClan was angry with me. Fawnpaw's leg was broken, and he may never use it again, all because of me.

I took a deep breath, and sighed. My life as a clan cat hadn't disapeared from my memory as soon as I had hoped.

Crashing my train of thought, he meowed, "I didn't know you were a clan cat, at least not before. I was trying to sleep when you loudly approached on the other side of this fence," He gestured with his tail to the big wooden thing I had climbed to get here."making me assume you were no threat- otherwise, you probably would've tried a little harder for stealth.

"But, this all causes me to wonder, what are you doing here? Did your curiosity send you over?"

'If you mean why am I still here, it's because you tried to kill me. I woke up afterwards here and was suddenly talking to a mysterious cat who asks me a bunch of questions."

He looked at me with some sort of expression I couldn't make out, but seemed to be a mash of 'What?' and 'okayyyyyy...'. Feeling awkward, I cleared my throat and slowly jumped into a story.

"Well, in a clan, assuming you don't already know, cats have ranks. Ranks that show skill and age. We have a leader, a deputy, warriors and apprentices, and kits. I'm an apprentice of ThunderClan, one of four in the forest. We all live under our ancestors, called Starclan- You can see them now, in Silverpelt. Each star is a noble warrior spirit watching and protecting us with knowledge and experience of the past."

How's that for poetry?

I continued, "When I was younger, my father died. He had a weak shoulder since he was younger, and he drowned in the river. I don't remember much about him, just the happiness I'd feel when he came in the nursery." I had no idea what I was doing. Hopefully, you're thinking the same thing, and you know this isn't like me. Especially not with a stranger.

I thought I saw the tom's whiskers twitch, but he was still looking up at the stars, away from me, so I couldn't tell.

"Since his death, I guess I just haven't been the nicest cat. My clan mates really didn't seem to like me anymore, I was just too short-tempered."

It was embarrassing really. Talking about myself, like this, to a stranger. "Just as I though I was getting happier, and doing things right for once, I hurt another apprentice by accident. My clan really wouldn't believe me, Lilypaw had lied, right to their faces, and they ate it up like the fools they all were-even my own mother!"

My rage was building, and my heart sped like a monster down the thunderpath. "Why would she do that to me? I don't understand why she hates me so much, or any of them at all? What did I do wrong?"

I stopped because I couldn't continue, and I realized that I had been standing. I collapsed to the dirty, unnatural ground, and really, actually broke down for the first time. Ever. (Again I'll say it: In front of a stranger.)

The little black cat with one white paw and a purple collar with a tooth, turned around and climbed onto a box that I hadn't noticed until now. He used it to leap onto the green box, and before he disappeared, I asked, "Wait, I never got your name!"

He hesitated, so I added, "You owe me, I told you mine."

His eyes, those amazing, beautifully stunning eyes, looked into mine, and he mewed, "My name is Scourge."

Then, he jumped to the other side of the green box, and vanished.