Aaaaand, We're back! Sorry for the wait I've been kind of busy lately so I haven't had much time to write. I just want to respond to my lovely reviews and then I'll get on with the story.
MeowMix1028: Hope you like this chapter as well! Also, I did get a cover! My friend drew if and I'm hoping she'll do some cover art for Downstream as well.
Medicine Cat of The Opera: Hey Clover! I'm glad you think Magpie is funny; I want the readers to like her so I gave her a sense of humor.
Pikawarrorcat (Guest): Thanks! I'll definitely keep working.
Fuzzycloud (Guest): I'm glad you like the character, I was a little tentative about bringing him into the story but I think he'll be a good plot device.
That's all the reviews for today, a record number for this story though! Now, on with the story!
Magpiepaw sat patiently with her tail curled neatly around her paws, listening as Mittens went over her instructions one last time.
"Don't leave the alley unless you are in direct danger, you know where to hide in that event, right?" She asked, poised to show Magpiepaw the escape route.
"I've got it!" Magpiepaw interrupted quickly, she'd been listening to the same set of instructions for what seemed like seasons.
"Alright." Mittens said, casting a shrewd look at the younger cat. "You can walk around in the alley but go straight back to the box if your injuries start to hurt again. I've left some food and you can probably see the puddles, so you should be okay on those fronts." The loner paused, trying to think if there was anything she was forgetting.
"It's fine! You're not going to be gone that long, I can take care of myself for a Sunfall." Magpiepaw encouraged, doing her best to hurry Mittens along.
"Yeah, because you've always been a model of common sense and responsibility." Mittens reminded in a reproachful tone, Magpiepaw blushed under the loner's narrowed green gaze.
"I'll be better this time, I promise, you can trust me!" Magpiepaw offered hopefully, waiting for Mittens to respond.
"Fine, I'll trust you but I expect you to be sensible." Mittens finally said, her eyes sweeping over the alleyway one last time before landing on Magpiepaw's eager face.
"Go!" Magpiepaw said, pushing the older cat towards the mouth of the alley.
"Alright, alright, I'm going!" Mittens cried, half laughing and half exasperated, she paused as she reached the end of the alley and looked back. "Take care yourself, okay?" She called over her shoulder, casting a soft look at Magpiepaw.
"Bye!" Magpiepaw called back, also laughing, she turned her back on Mittens and waved her tail in farewell.
Out of the corner of her eye Magpiepaw watched Mittens shake her head, an amused smile on her snowy muzzle, then pad off and out of sight. Magpiepaw watched the mouth of the alley for a few heartbeats longer to make sure Mittens wouldn't come back to remind her where the puddles were.
It wasn't long before she got bored and made her way back to the box. Her wounds almost never hurt when she walked now and she was extremely glad that she could now move around without experiencing intense pain.
The white and black she cat sat down and began to wash her pelt allowing her mind to wander. It flitted among many topics, between tails and tales and other things, finally it drifted on to something she hadn't though about recently. Blowing off the cobwebs and dust that had settled on the thought she found her life in Shadowclan once more in the forefront of her mind.
The particular memory was one of a peaceful; sunlight camp, she and her siblings were playing with a feather their father had brought them. Dovekit had batted the scrap of down towards Magpiepaw's younger self and Magpiekit stretched up to hit it with her paw.
Magpiepaw unconsciously mirrored her kit self's action, reaching up with her paw towards a feather that wasn't there. The idyllic memory shattered as the fluffy she cat's reaching paw made contact with the stone wall. She gave a cry of pain and jerked back, nursing her bruised paw and glaring at the wall as though it had hurt her intentionally.
"Do you often attack walls?" An oddly familiar voice drawled from somewhere above Magpiepaw.
"No I do not, thank you very much." Magpiepaw answered, trying to hide her embarrassment from the stranger by inspecting her paw.
"Could have fooled me Sweetheart, anyway, what's a little kitty like you doing in an alley alone?" The tom asked, leaping off the wall and stalking his way over to Magpiepaw, winding around her.
"I live here and I would suggest you keep your distance." Magpiepaw growled, directing an icy glare that would have made Mittens proud at the tom.
"Why what are you going to do about it? Snuggle me to death?" The tom laughed, flicking his tail under Magpiepaw's chin.
"I'm warning you, stay away from me or I will make you." Magpiepaw responded coldly, swiping his tail away from her face.
"Well, I always ignore warnings anyway. You wouldn't hurt me, would you Sweetheart? You're just a kit." The tom purred, infuriatingly self-assured.
"Just a kit huh? Well, even kit's have claws!" Magpiepaw yowled, swiping her unsheathed claws across the tom's face.
The tom leaped back, instinctively placing a paw to his cheek where she'd her claws had cut into his fur. His pad came back smeared with blood and he stared at it for a second, seemingly marveling at the crimson liquid.
"You certainly do, don't you!" He said, his confidence already returning.
"Well done, you got the right answer!" Magpiepaw mewed sarcastically allowing her ivory claws flash in the light as she cleaned them of blood. "And if you don't want to see any more of them I suggest you leave now."
"All right, calm down Sweetheart, I'm going." The tom called turning to leave, he paused after only a couple of steps and Magpiepaw gave a warning hiss. "Hold on, I just wanted to ask you a question, then I promise I'll go." He said, holding up a placating paw.
"Fine, ask your question." Magpiepaw said, sitting down and curling her tail around her paws.
"What happened to Mitzy?" The tom asked and Magpiepaw's ears pricked up as she recalled where she'd heard the voice from before.
This was the tom she'd heard Mittens arguing with a couple sunrises ago, she realized he was waiting for an answer and considered the question.
"She's gone to out for a while, I'm in charge for now." Magpiepaw answered looking the tom firmly in the eye as she spoke.
"Huh, so Mitzy has a kit now? Wonder how that happened." The tom said thoughtfully, he looked curiously at Magpiepaw as though sizing her up.
"I'm not her kit, I'm just staying with her for a while." Magpiepaw corrected quickly.
"That makes sense, I'd be surprised after what happened." He said, Magpiepaw caught a flash of something in his eyes, some emotion that disappeared almost as soon as it had appeared.
"What do you mean?" She asked, tilting her head to the side, her eyes shining with the curiosity of youth.
"She hasn't told you?" He asked, sounding as though he was half lost in some memory of past days.
"Told me what?" Magpiepaw asked, frustrated by the lack of answers.
"That's not for me to tell, their Mitzy's secrets after all." He said, before turning away and sauntering off down the alley, with all of his previous swagger. He flicked his tail and called over his shoulder as he turned the corner. "Ta-ta!"
Magpiepaw stared at the spot where he had disappeared, wavering between obeying Mittens and getting answers. Making her decision she rose to her paws and took off after him as fast as her injuries would allow.
Let me know what you think of the new character and this chapter in general, feedback is always welcome!
Question of the Day: How do you imagine The Mysterious Tom? What does he look like? What's his back story?
With that I leave you!
~ Feathers