Chapter 9
The moon was a milky dot in a sea of ink, with Carmen's guiding star gleaming brightly in the sky as if trying to drown out all else. The Clan said their farewells, for real this time, to their home.
Rippling pelts glided through the shadows of the night, shadows few and far between in more than a few spots. Even the most barren patches of the City still held streetlights and humans and prowling dogs. Little by little, bit by bit, the cats would slowly make their way along this unseen and meandering path. No kit nor elder found themselves left behind. A Clan took care of its members whether weak or slow or injured; such was the warrior code.
Carmen walked alongside Darkwood, eyes to the sky. The farther away they got from the old camp, the better she felt. That night had gotten off to a horrifying start. Now though, her journey would at last begin. Carmen told herself that this would all be worth it in the end, when she was living in luxury once more, surrounded with adoring human faces. She was to be a Show Cat. It was her destiny.
The ancient ghost Clan had promised her her destiny… The ancestors of wild mongrel cats… who felines like Carmen had no right nor interest in claiming. The ancient feral ghost cats who by all angles that Carmen could see, had no reason to claim her.
But it was fine. It would all be fine. Clearly, this phantom Clan had seen her potential and known that Carmen was robbed. Clearly, helping the Clan was a means to ensure her safety along the way as well as helping their mongrel children. Clearly, these forces were at work for Carmen's and the Clan's benefit.
Clearly.
Clear as the dense, misty fog that soon began to fill the streets.
The moon would fade from full to half, and during that time, the season only grew hotter and hotter. Food was scarce as ever, and being in unknown land only made hunting more difficult. Cats like Hawktalon, Steelclaw, and Stainpelt worked overtime to get everyone a bite to eat and dutifully keep track of every cat's whereabouts.
It was a strange thing to Carmen, walking alongside Darkwood, leading this Clan of mongrels. It was even stranger for everyone else. Their whispers were not lost to her ears, or Mosspaw's, still unfortunately bound to this outsider until further notice.
Mosspaw heard the complaints loud and clear. Heard the jokes behind her back about her running away to be a pet, too. She shook the words off as she would flecks of dirt from her pelt. She knew where her loyalties stood. Everyone who thought otherwise could take a mouthful of roach food.
The air was hot of course, but humid, and a thick blanket of fog settled into the land every dawn and dusk.
Progress was slow. They watched as the moon would slowly fade until it didn't show at all. During that time, Carmen would find that her paws were adjusting to the harsh stone they traveled upon. Their soft, pink pads suffered cuts and scrapes and painful pebbles until they grew rough enough to stand the terrain. The memories of home were still fresh in her mind. She dreamed often of cool floors and soft beds and of times before she knew the feeling of going hungry.
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Rustfang, Stainpelt, Hawktalon, Lilyfang, and Fallfur had scouted out a few blocks around their shelter for the day. Once deemed safe enough, Darkwood began sending out the usual hunting parties and warriors worked to train their apprentices with the little time they had. Morning was upon the City, and they needed as much rest as they could get in the day's summer heat before setting out again in the evening.
They were cramming themselves together in and around a backyard shed behind an abandoned house. Not far was a small stretch of trees to separate one neighborhood from another. There wasn't much prey from what Carmen had heard, but she'd grown so ravenous over the past few days that she'd take anything the mongrels could offer.
Some of the Clan were hidden beneath the human den, choosing to sleep there rather than the crowded shed. Others were lingering in the overgrown grass of the yard. The sun hadn't risen high enough to bask in, so Carmen settled for a nice clump of moss beneath a grass canopy. She knew that she'd likely get too hot too quickly anyway if she tried to find a bright patch, and this little hollow was pleasantly cool on her feet. She crouched there and pulled her tail around her legs, eyes closing softly.
Rustling. Close. Closer, closer, and- Mosspaw's head popped out from the green curtain. "Hey. Come on. We're going hunting."
"What? No, I'll get myself all dirty!"
"Do you want to eat or don't you?"
"It's your job to provide for me. That was the whole agreement. And you've been awful at it, by the way."
"Well excuse me, your majesty, but food hasn't exactly been running into our jaws lately and we could use some extra help."
"Do the queens and elders have to hunt, too?"
Mosspaw took a few steps forward, shaking herself off. "That's not the same and you know it. They can't hunt. Or at least, they shouldn't be trying to. The queens are still nursing so they need their energy, and the elders were already stiff and sore before we even started this trip. Your excuse? You just think you're above us."
"I do not!" she argued, fur bristling. "It's just that… well, my-my blood is cleaner and I… My parents and their parents and-and it's… we were chosen. The humans-"
"Whatever," Mosspaw interrupted, tail already vanishing into the untamed foliage.
"I… Wait!" her pained stomach made her call, driving Carmen after her as it did.
She followed the dark tabby past a broken fence and to the edge of the woods. Rubyheart was waiting impatiently for their arrival. Steelclaw's eyes raked over Carmen like claws, and Glasspaw was crouched a little ways off. Barbclaw and Slagpaw were there as well, along with Rattail. Between the eight of them, they were bound to round up a decent haul of prey. Carmen certainly hoped so, at least.
Without much hunting knowledge, Carmen would have to rely on Rubyheart's quick beginner's lesson and her own feline instincts. Yes. Instincts. She had those, probably.
She'd the option of sticking close to Mosspaw and Rubyheart or branching off on her own, and she wanted to spend as little time around that snappy she-cat as possible. Pawsteps slow and quiet, she padded beneath the towering trees in search of her next meal.