Hello my lovely readers, welcome back to All That Glitters, big thank you to everyone who reviewed, followed or favorited!
Swirlspot - I'm not sure whether you're clairvoyant or if this story is extremely predictable, every predition you've made has been almost exactly correct!
Chronicler of Imagined Time - Thank you, I'm glad you like it so much!
Guest - Thank you for your answer!
And without further ado I give you chapter eight of All That Glitters!
Keeping her head down and her eyes half closed against the wind and rain Magpiepaw raced through the streets. The only sound she was aware of was the blood pounding in her ears and the ring of her own paws on the stone paved roads.
I'm going home, back to Mother, back to Dovepaw, back to Thrushpaw, back to Shadowclan. She chanted the words over and over in her head until they seemed meaningless, a collection of sounds playing on repeat.
She slowed her pace, gazing at her surroundings; tall buildings surrounded her on all sides, hemming her in. She turned on the spot, hoping to see something she recognized, some landmark, anything. But there was nothing but unfamiliar streets and cold grey buildings.
She sat down heavily, a conversation she'd had with Mittens floating to the forefront of her mind. It hadn't been long after she'd regained consciousness, when she was still desperate to return home.
"Why won't you take me home?" Magpiepaw asked impetuously.
"Because you're too injured to make such a long journey, I'll take you back when you're healed and no sooner." Mittens replied calmly, turning away from the box to sort through some herbs.
"This isn't fair! I'll go by myself if you don't take me!" Magpiepaw said, raising her voice, her fur fluffing out.
"I doubt you'll have much success with that, it's easy to get lost if you don't know the way there." Mittens responded coldly.
Magpiepaw sighed, of course, Mittens was supposed to take her there and now it looked like Magpiepaw had lost her only chance of getting home. She stood up again and looked around, hoping to be able to retrace her steps and get back to the alley.
All the streets looked the same, identical stretches of stone broken only by the orange glow of a street lamp. Selecting one at random Magpiepaw set off along it, keeping close to the edge of the building in hopes of gaining some shelter.
"Hey!" Magpiepaw looked up at the call, searching the darkness beyond the puddle of light cast by a streetlight.
"Hello?" She said, tentatively, turning to face the direction she thought the voice had come from.
"What are you doing on our territory?" Asked a menacing voice, soon accompanied by a ragged tom.
He stalked into the circle of light and Magpiepaw took a step back, cowering slightly as he approached.
"I didn't know it was your territory." She stammered, her voice high pitched with fear. "I was just passing through, I'm lost."
"You're still on my turf and I intend to do something about that." He growled, allowing the light to catch his ivory claws as he unsheathed them.
"Wait, Butch, she's just a kit." Said a female voice from the darkness. "Are you really going to hurt a kit?"
A cream colored she cat padded over to Magpiepaw, standing between the apprentice and the angry tom.
"You're too soft Angel." Butch hissed but he sheathed his claws and stepped back, assuming a less aggressive stance.
"Hey sweetie, my name's Angel." Said the cream she cat softly, smiling at Magpiepaw who found herself returning the look. "What are you doing out here by yourself?"
"Like I said, I'm lost, I was trying to get home but I think I took a wrong turn somewhere." Magpiepaw explained, shuffling her paws.
"It's okay," Angel laughed, "I can't count the number of times I've gotten lost and I've lived here all my life."
Magpiepaw found a chuckle rising in her own throat; Angel had one of those laughs that invited you to join in.
"What's your name kit?" Butch asked gruffly, obviously trying to be nice so he wouldn't upset Angel.
"It's Magpie, my name is Magpie." She answered without thinking.
"Well Magpie, why don't you spend the night with us and we'll help you find your home in the morning?" Angel offered, shooting Butch a warning look as the tom opened his mouth to object.
"That would be really nice if it's not too much trouble." Magpie responded politely, she'd rather not spend the night wandering the city.
"Come along then!" Angel trilled, leading Magpie over to a hole in a crumbling wall, the cream she cat slipped neatly through and Magpie followed.
From behind them she heard a sigh and then heavy pawsteps as Butch brought up the rear.
"So, where is your home?" Angel asked as she led Magpie deeper into the abandoned building.
"Umm, I live in an alley, it's on this big hill and you can see all the way to the forest from there." Magpie said, realizing how unhelpful her description was.
"Oh, well, do you live with anyone? I might know them." Angel asked giving Magpie a hopeful look.
"I live with a she cat called Mittens, she's black and white with green eyes." Magpie told Angel, remembering the anger in those green eyes when she'd last seen Mittens.
"I don't know anyone by that name but that description sounds a lot like Mitzy, you sure it isn't her?" Angel asked, a flicker of sadness in her eyes as she said the name.
"Mittens sometimes got called Mitzy by this tom who was always hanging around the alley." Magpie said, "he's sort of dark ginger with a white paw." She added as an afterthought, in case Angel knew him.
"That's Norway." Angel identified immediately, "if he called her Mitzy, I wonder." The she cat paused as though lost in thought. "No, it couldn't be."
Magpie eyed the she cat, wondering whether it was worth asking what she'd though of, ultimately she decided against it. Instead she asked, "Could you take me to the tom, Norway, I mean? He knows the way to the alley."
"Oh sure!" Angel purred, her blue eyes lighting up at the prospect of being able to help Magpie.
From behind them Butch cleared his throat, "Angel, I know you're excited but I thought I'd let you know that we just passed our den."
"Oops, sorry dear, I got so caught up in chatting with Magpie!" Angel apologized, bounding back to where the tom stood in front of a boarded up door.
"You go on in Angel, I'm going to see if I can find us anything to eat." Butch said, Angel padded up and touched her nose to his with purr.
"Thank you darling, stay safe!" She called before disappearing through a gap in the boards. "Come along Magpie!"
"Wait." Said Butch, stepping in front of the entrance. "If you harm a hair on her pelt I will make you wish you'd never been born, understand?" He asked, glaring at Magpie and flashing his teeth.
"Absolutely!" She responded, trying to keep her voice from squeaking.
The tom nodded with satisfaction and loped off along the hallway, Magpie watched him go until the darkness swallowed his white form before slipping through the gap.
She found herself inside a cozy room; it contained a lower level with a small pond fed by a pipe protruding form the wall. Above was a wooden platform accessible by a rotting ladder; it was from there that Angel's voice issued.
"Magpie?" She called, poking her head over the edge. "There you are! I was getting worried, Butch didn't scare you did he?" She asked.
"No, he just apologized for threatening me earlier." Magpie called, having a feeling that Butch would be in trouble if Angel knew what he'd really said.
"That's nice of him, you know, he acts tough but inside he's just a big softie. Why don't you come up, I'm sure you're tired form wandering the streets." She said, her head disappearing again.
Magpie eyes the ladder dubiously; it didn't look particularly sturdy, she doubted it would hold her weight and she wasn't particularly keen to test it.
"Don't worry about the ladder silly!" Angel called from above, "I promise it's sturdier than it looks!"
With that assurance Magpie took a deep breath and placed a paw on the first rung, slowly putting her weight onto the paw she lifted the next one up followed by the other two. Now with all four paws fully on the ladder the fluffy she cat looked down in surprise, wondering how the ladder hadn't broken yet.
She shrugged and began climbing again, one paw then the next, always on the alert for the sound of breaking wood.
When she reached the top Angel was fluffing up a pile of feathers and scraps of cloth in one corner. In the opposite corner was a larger nest with the clear indents of two cats imprinted on it.
"Here we go! I thought you'd never make it up!" Angel laughed, beckoning Magpie over to her and patting the nest with her paw. "You can sleep here tonight, I made nice and cozy for you!"
"Thank you, this is really nice." Magpie said, genuinely grateful to the cream she cat.
"It was nothing dear, just promise me something, okay?" Angel said, moving out of the way so Magpie could settle down in her nest. "Promise me you'll try to give the same kindness to others."
Magpie smiled up at her, "I will, I promise."
"Thank you." Angel purred, springing to her paws she crossed the platform to her own nest and flopped down in it. "Goodnight Magpie! Sweet dreams!"
"Goodnight Angel." Magpie purred back, laying her head down on the soft bedding and closing her eyes.
Hope you enjoyed the latest update, don't forget to favorite, follow and review, feedback is always welcome!
AOTD: I chose the name early on in development, since then the plot of the story has changed.
QOTD: Should I change the title of this story? If so what do you think it should be?
~ Feathers