Some stories

This page will have stories written by myself, Marissa, and our friends. 

This first story is Cat Rescuers  #1 Over the Mountains by Missa

Chapter 1

It was a bright and early morning, in the middle of winter, and Fluffy went  outside to warm up under the sun. She jumps up onto her fence post and looks around to see if any of her other cat friends were out. Once she didn’t see or scent anyone nearby, she starts to head towards the forest, under the trees. Before she went under the trees, Fluffy went over to the lake to get a drink. Once she was done, she looked around awkwardly. The last time she had been here, she was chased back home to her housefolk. Before she was chased, she thought she smelled her friends that lived in the forest, but then she had smelled a horrible smell; fox. Those fox hearted creatures are so territorial, that a fox catches what it wants. I was one of the lucky ones, Fluffy thought. She sniffed to see if the fox was anywhere near. Instead of smelling fox, she smelled mouse! Fluffy curved her black ears back towards a bramble bush.. There she heard some rustling coming from the bush. Near that bush the smell of mouse was overwhelming! Fluffy crouched where she was and started to creep towards the bush, as quietly as she could. Once she thought she was near enough, she pounced with claws outstretched!

                Instead of landing on a mouse, she landed on a cat! This cat was named Furby, and she was Fluffys best friend. While Fluffy remained shocked, Furby yowled as loud as she could. Her yowl brought Chevy and Sheba , the cats that lived in a house, in the forest, running towards the stunned cats. Once Fluffy saw her two friends, she tried to explain to them what happened, but before she could, Furby rolled over onto her back. The impact took the breath out of Fluffy, so she let go of Furbys blue-gray fur. Furby then took off running home when she felt her attacker let go. When she ran, the three cats stood where they were, watching the bristling, hissing cat. They watched, amazed. Furby never ran from anything, except maybe a dog that she is being chased by.

                There was silence until they couldn’t hear Furbys yowl anymore. So Chevy spoke up to break the silence. “What was that all about”, he asked confused.

                Fluffy stood up and started to explain, “I just getting a drink from the lake when I smelled a mouse. So I started to hunt, but instead of landing on a mouse, I landed on Furby.” She stopped to catch her breath, and then continued. “I would’ve let go sooner, but I was too shocked until the great lump rolled over and squashed me to a pulp!” Then she added, “I hope I didn’t hurt her to bad.”

                “Well you better explain that to Furby and hope she’ll forgive you”, Sheba said, and added laughing, “If the fur ball ever comes out again!”

                “I better get going then, so I can catch some apologize mice and hopefully she’ll forgive me then”, Fluffy answered sadly.  

                “Don’t worry so much”, Chevy said trying to give Fluffy spirit. “Even you should know that Furby forgives her friends easily.”

                “Yeah, you’re right. I should stop worrying”, Fluffy said to Chevy. He just nodded, agreeing. Then Chevy waved his tail in the air in good-bye and left Fluffy watching Sheba and him walk side by side. As she watched them go, it made her remember Smoky. I wish I was that close to Smoky as they are to each other, she thought sadly. So with a sad expression, she left in search of the mice she wanted.

                Finally Fluffy had caught four mice, two for each of them. She headed past her house to the white house behind hers. Fluffy then hopped up on the fence, with the mice daggling from her jaws, and jumped down to the other side while dropping the mice. Once she was on the other side she called for Furby. When she didn’t see her blue-gray friend, she called again. This time a curious head poked out of the cat flap. Fluffy noticed that it was Furby. Her fur was so ruffled that Fluffy almost didn’t recognize her. Furby then slinked over to Fluffy and looked behind her.

                “Hi Furby”, Fluffy greeted, “How are you doing after the attack?”

                “Hi”, Furby greeted back to her, “I’m doing fine but… wait how do you know about the attack?!”

                 “Well to make long story short, I was the one to attack you”, Fluffy explained, then flinched, thinking she was going to get her ears clawed off.

                “What”, Furby asked confused with anger. “Why did you attack me? I thought we were best friends!”

                “I didn’t mean to”, Fluffy explained flinching again. “I was hunting and I smelled an overwhelming smell of mouse coming from where you were. Instead of catching the mouse I smelled, I caught you.” Then she added sadly, “I didn’t hurt you did I?”

                “I fine”, she said with a friendly smile, “I just have some small holes on my back from your claws. Other then that, I’m not hurt to bad. If you wanted me to be hurt, you would’ve torn me to shreds!” Then they both laughed for awhile..

                Fluffy looked at her friend with guilty looking eyes and yowled, “I’m so sorry Furby. I won’t blame you if you never want to be my friend again!” Fluffy had finished with a sob as if she was going to cry.

                “It’s alright, Fluffy. Mistakes happen almost all the time”, Furby said forgivingly.

                “So we’re still friends until the end”, she asked the blue-gray cat.

                “Yep we’re still friends until the end”, Furby answered giving a lick on Fluffy’s head. “Hey guess what I found out today”, she said sadly.

                “What, did you fall into the bathtub, when it was filled with water again”, Fluffy guessed laughing her head off.

                Furby shook her head annoyed, and then lifted a paw and cuffed Fluffy over the ear, which made her fall over into the fallen leaves. “No”, yowled Furby. “There’s a new cat living where Snowball lived,” she continued sadly.

                Fluffy looked at her astonished. “I thought that his housefolk didn’t want another cat after Snowball,” Fluffy said with big green eyes.Furby stared at her in turn and they sat there sulking.

                “What they said wasn’t true, Fluffy,” Furby answered finally. Then she went on, “They got a brown tom with black stripes. I think his name is Streaky. I always catch him watching over Oreo’s fence, and when he sees her, Streaky gets all jumpy and happy. It’s just not right for him to like a cat he doesn’t even know.”

                “Do any of the other cats know about him, other then us,” Fluffy asked angry. Fluffy was mostly talking about the other seven cats that they were really good friends with.

                “Not that I know of,” she answered. “I do think they should know about it though. You should tell Smoky, Stormy and Sassy. While you do that, I’ll tell Chevy , Sheba , and possibly Oreo and Tiffie, if I get around to it.” Fluffy sighed annoyed. She knew that Furby and Oreo hated each other, but she wished they would just get along, but she also knew Tiffie was to far to give her the message.

                “You will tell Oreo, whether you like it or not,” Fluffy yowled as loud as she could. The fighting between Oreo and Furby just made her so mad, that she thought she would blow into oblivion! “When I get back from telling the other three, I will want to hear that you told her. She needs to know what Streaky is doing.”

                “Fine I will. Just don’t claw my ears off over it, ok,” Furby promised flinching because of Fluffy’s anger. “But if we get into a fight it’ll be your own fault for inviting her.”

                “If you do get into a fight, I’ll try to stop it as soon as I can,” Fluffy said taking the blame. After she stopped speaking she opened her mouth wide in a big yawn.

                “We better get some sleep so we can tell the others,” Furby suggested. “You should go to bed as soon as you can because you have to go a farther distance, and you’ll have to go earlier because it’ll probably take you a couple hours to get to the barn.” Just the thought of the barn made Fluffy think of Smoky, the smoky gray tom that lived with Stormy and his mate Sassy. She thought that he was the nicest and cutest tom she ever met, but that was her opinion.

                Furby had noticed Fluffy’s reaction from her talking about the barn, so she said, “You know that Smoky only likes you as a friend.”

                Fluffy looked at her seriously sad. Then she yowled, “Yes I know that, but he is so attractive and brought up so nicely!”

                “You can see to him once you get to the barn, but first we both need to get a good nights rest,” Furby said yawning. They were both so tired, that they almost fell asleep standing up. Fluffy struggled to stay standing up, while Furby looked ready to collapse.

                “See you tomorrow, Furby,” Fluffy replied with sleepy eyes. Furby just nodded and went inside her house. When Fluffy saw the tip of Furby’s tail disappear, she jumped over the fence and headed into her house, so she could rest from the long day. Once she reached her bed, Fluffy just let herself collapse and closed her eyes. Finally she got what she been wanting for a couple of days; a good long sleep.

Chapter 2

Fluffy woke early that morning so she could get a head start on her adventure to the barn, which was full of plump mice. Thinking of the mice made her smell around for prey. When she thought she might have pinpointed the mouse right, Fluffy crouched and crept forward to a beechnut tree, like she did yesterday.

                Fluffy looked around the tree quietly and saw a mouse nibbling at a beechnut. Once she thought she was close enough, Fluffy pounced on top of the mouse. It tried to run, but it wasn’t fast enough. Fluffy grab it by the neck and bit down and killed the mouse. The body of the newly caught prey, started to get cold, so Fluffy gulped down the mouse as fast as she could so she had time to get to the barn and back home in time for bed.

                After another hour or so, Fluffy had finally reached the brown barn. Stormy, the dark gray-brown tom, must have scented her because he came running over to her from behind a bush, with a freshly killed mouse in his jaws.

                Once he reached her, he dropped his mouse and sat down. “What are you doing here,” Stormy asked nicely.

                “I’ll tell you back in the barn, so Sassy and Smoky can hear it too,” she answered him, trying so hard to hide her affection towards Smoky’s name being said. Stormy nodded in understanding and they headed off for the barn together.

                Fluffy and Stormy made it to the barn in few minutes. They would have gotten there sooner, but Stormy had to catch a rabbit and a mouse he found before they made the rest of the journey. Once they entered the warm barn, Smoky and Sassy looked up from their meals.

                “Hi Fluffy,” Smoky greeted her. “What are you doing here in the middle of fall?”

                Sassy also nodded in greeting then said looking at Stormy, “Stormy bring that rabbit over to Fluffy so she can eat,” then turning to Fluffy, “You must be famished coming all the way over here.”

                “No thanks,” Fluffy said politely, “I ate on the way here.”

                “So what brings you to our barn? Did your housefolk kick you out, or are you just visiting,” Smoky asked curiously.

                “You could say I’m visiting, but I mostly have to tell you three something,” Fluffy replied. “You all know how Snowball died a couple a months ago right?” They all nodded, confused on what she was going to say to them next. When nobody said anything else Fluffy continued, “Well there’s another cat living his home, plus Furby and I think he likes Oreo.”

                “What!?” they all shouted. Fluffy knew that the three barn cats would be surprised, but she didn’t know that they were going to be this mad.

                “I can’t believe that Snowball’s housefolk would want to get another cat when they kept on saying they would never get another one,” Stormy replied angrily.

                “When Furby told me, I couldn’t believe it, and if I hadn’t, I wouldn’t have come,” Fluffy hissed.

                “Well, I’m sorry I upset you, but It’s really hard to believe,” Stormy spat. “What does this cat look like anyways?”

                All the cats were looking at Fluffy waiting for an answer. She looked around at them trying to remember how Furby described Streaky to her back home. “Oh I remember now,” Fluffy screamed. When she said that, it made everyone jump. “He’s a brown tom with black stripes.”

                “Thanks for telling us with a scare, Stormy replied. When Fluffy looked down at her black paws he said, “It’s alright, but do you know where he came from?”

                “No, but Tiffie might know,” she suggested. “We should really be discussing this some other time, though. How about we meet at the bridge off the boat road, next week?”

                “That’s sounds like a perfect place, but I can’t go anywhere until sometime after my kits are born,” Sassy told them.

                “Then I’ll stay here with you and Smoky can bring back the information for us,” Stormy meowed to Sassy.

                “No you should go too,” Sassy replied. “I’ll be fine in our barnfolks house for awhile. Plus, what if something attacked all of you? Even though there would be many cats they aren’t as strong as you.”

                “It’s true Stormy,” Fluffy broke in. “Nothing can fight you off unless it’s ten times your size!” With that compliment, Stormy blushed as red as the apples on a tree in summer.

                “Fine I’ll go, but it better be worth it,” he threatened. “I don’t want to miss Sassy having her kits.”

                “I better get going and leave you three mice gobblers alone,” Fluffy said bursting out laughing. She looked at the cats around her and had almost been clobbered on the head by Stormy. Her quick reflexes made her see Stormys’ paw start coming down. With that, Fluffy ran out of the barn and landed in belly deep snow. She frowned at the thought of the snow being on the ground. Looking back at Stormy, she waved good bye to him with her tail and bounded away through the snow.

                It took a couple more hours to get home, because of the snow. But she had just enough time to try and find Furby and see what happened with her news to Sheba and Chevy.

                She was almost half way through the forest, when she heard some rustling from a bush. Then out of nowhere, what looked like a dark cloud, landed on top of her! Claws dug into her fur, but not enough to break her skin. The black cat smiled to herself and rolled onto her back. The claws loosened and then let go. Fluffy jumped away from her attacker and quickly turned around. She was going to fight back, but she couldn’t fight her best friend. I should have known it was her, Fluffy thought to herself.

                “What was the surprise attack for, Furbs,” Fluffy yowled. They starred at each other and then Furby started laughing loudly.

                “Just think of it as revenge for the other day,” she replied smiling. “Did you tell the barn cats about what’s going on?”

                “You mean the mice gobblers,” Fluffy answered. “Yeah I told them and they weren’t happy about it.”

                “ Sheba and Chevy weren’t to convinced either,” Furby told her, “and I couldn’t get to Oreo or Tiffie yet.”

                “You can tell them tomorrow, but we need to get home, its starting to snow again.” Just then a huge snowfall landed on the two friends. They looked and saw a squirrel in the trees and knocking the snow off the branches. “If I ever see that squirrel again, it’s going to have a lesson taught,” Fluffy replied. Laughing the two cats went home with snowy covered pelts.

                A week went by and so it was time for the meeting about the brown tom, Streaky. Fluffy and Furby were sitting a small snow hill waiting for the others to show up. It was the full moon so the snow glistened like the lights on the tree in Fluffys’ house. It was some weird tradition for her housefolk every year. She’s sick of it. Every time she wants to get a drink or wants some her disgusting pellets, she gets blinded by the tree. Once in awhile she climbs up the tree and knocks one of the walnut sized items off of it. Then Fluffy always gets shoed out of the tree and spayed with water. Maybe they shouldn’t have a tree inside a house, its not right, Fluffy thought.

                While Fluffy was rampaging about the tree in her mind, Chevy and Sheba approached panting. Fluffy and Furby were shivering the whole time waiting for them, but the wait was almost over. In the middle of the lake was a small island where the cats liked to play on during the winter. If the ice was thick enough to hold the cats up they would cross with no trouble. There was no snow because there were so many trees which made the island nice and warm. Shivering Fluffy spoke, “Where’s Stormy and Smoky? They should’ve been here by now!”

                “What about Sassy? Isn’t she coming,” Furby asked. Fluffy pawed herself in the head in her own anger.

                “I forgot to tell you that Sassy should be having her kits soon and the barnfolk are going to start keeping her in their house,” Fluffy explained.

                “Good grief, she’ll be having them in winter. Those kits are going to be snow lovers and they’ll want to live in it,” Furby sighed. She just shook her head in confusion. Kits are not usually born in winter, and when they are, they usually want to live in the wintry landscape.

                Fluffy looked up and saw a gray head in front of her nose. She jumped backwards in fright and almost landed on Chevy, who yowled in terror. In the light of the full moon she noticed it was Stormy that had spooked her. Behind him sat her future love Smoky. Right at the moment she saw him that night, shinning in the moonlight, she just couldn’t believe her eyes. What a sight he is tonight, Fluffy sighed to herself.

                 “Sorry to scare the night out of you,” Stormy apologized. “I didn’t know if you knew that we were even here.”

                “Well you were so late that we were about to leave and discuss the matter without you,” Fluffy said sarcastically. “But since you’re here, we can go.”

                They arrived at the island shortly. All they had to do was run and slide across the ice, but the ice never broke. It had frozen from the past cold winter nights, so it was roughly thick. When Fluffy got on the island last, she noticed that Oreo and Tiffie were missing. That intrigued her. “Hey Furby. Do you know where Oreo and Tiffie are?”

                “Tiffie couldn’t come so she’s at home in a warm house and I didn’t think Oreo needed to come,” Furby answered.

                “And why not,” Fluffy asked. This made her mad. Everyone needed to be here. These cats never can get along, Fluffy screamed in her head.

                “Well she’s to interested in that cat, that she had no right to come,” Furby yowled.

                “You never even tried asking her. Maybe she was spying on him, or trying to get information,” Fluffy screeched. “We can’t do this meeting without her!”

                Around these to yowling cats, that were supposed to be really good friends, the others were watching amazed. At least most were. Smoky was pretty scared, and Stormy was ready to blow his anger on these cats. Then he saw the cats leap at each other. He had just got in the fight, at the right time, to stop it. “Stop this at once,” he yowled, “You both have no reason to fight over Oreo not coming. We can manage without her! But either of you could be right. That’s why should meet here again tomorrow.” He paused taking a breath. Turning to the others he continued, “Now who knows what we can do about this Streaky? There has to be some way to get information from him without making him suspicious.”

                “Tiffie might know,” Fluffy said speaking up. Now she was sitting next to Smoky and Sheba , while Furby was over by Stormy. He had separated them so that there would be no more fighting. Fluffy then continued, “She usually can get information from every cat in the hood. Getting to know cats is her specialty. Taking them around the hood and asking all sorts of questions, just to get to know them. And if she doesn’t like a cat, she will show it well.”

                “Where does Tiffie actually live? I can’t leave Sassy again for a long time, she’ll be upset,” Stormy explained.

                “I know!” All the cats looked at Fluffy and then Furby. It had been the two that had answered and at the same time.. Now they glared at each other.

                Stormy looked at them and noticed they were about to leap again. He was going to get in between, but Smoky was quicker. They stopped in their tracks and Smoky yowled calmly, “Stop this nonsense, it’s not necessary. You are the best of friends and friends don’t fight over a simple thing like this. Even if they do, they apologize almost a minute later.”

                “He’s right you know.” Now it was Sheba speaking. “Chevy and I had gotten in a big fight a couple days ago and now look it. We had apologized almost at once.” She looked at Fluffy and Furby. “You two should do the same.” Sheba sat back down and cuddled up to Chevy.

                Fluffy and Furby looked at each other and had tears coming down their cheeks. “Never again will we fight,” they said together.

Chapter 3

It was the next day and Fluffy and Furby were on the bridge off the boat road. They were waiting for the other four cats to arrive so that they could head over to Tiffies’ house to talk about Streaky. It has been about an hour since they had arrived there. In the meantime to make the time go by faster, Fluffy and Furby had caught a small pile of mice for the others to feast on before they left.

                Fluffy was starting to get pretty impatient in their wait. “Where is everyone,” she complained. “It’s almost noon and nobody has shown up yet. Hopefully they didn’t forget.”

                Furby just shook her head, and tried to ignore her friend. She didn’t want to get in another fight like last nights. Remembering that just gave her the shivers. Fluffy and I almost stopped being best friends; just like that, she thought curving her right ear backwards. Furby looked behind her and saw Sheba and Chevy coming up to Fluffys left side. That’s what I thought I heard. Them in the bushes.

                “Sorry were late,” Chevy said announcing their arrival. “Our forestfolk wouldn’t let us go outside, until they left for whatever they do everyday..” Chevy and Shebas ’ ‘housefolk’ were called forestfolk because they lived in the back of the shady forest. Plus the forestfolk were caught cutting some trees down and then were thrown into the indoor fire.

                “At least you can’t be anymore late then Stormy and Smoky,” Fluffy replied madly. It’s different for Stormy to be late, but not Smoky, she thought blazing mad. It was then as if her hearing got twice as good because that minute she heard the two late cats coming. They’re panting loud enough, she laughed to herself. “Finally you’re here. What to you so long?”

                “Sassy had her kits just started coming as we started leaving,” Stormy explained. “I had to wait and see if all of them lived, but one of her toms didn’t make it. We still have a little girl and boy, though.”

                “We’re glad that two of them lived,” Fluffy said, “but how is Sassy getting along?”

                “She’s fine, but sad that the tom we were going to name Coal didn’t make it to see his wintry life as a barn cat.” Saying that small speech almost made everyone cry, but the tears were held back. But there were more important things to do right now.

                The small group of cats was padding up to Tiffies house, with Furby in the lead. Fluffy and Smoky were behind her, fur almost touching, but not quite. Chevy and Sheba brought up the rear. Furby was just about to call Tiffies name when they saw her coming out through a cat flap. Her fur was smooth as if she was just brushed.

                “Hey Furby! What’s a cat like you coming back here so soon,” she asked. Tiffie looked farther behind Furby and saw the other four cats. “Oh and Fluffy, Smoky, Sheba, Chevy and Stormy. You guys came too. That’s so wonderful. I heard Sassy had her kits,” she finished looking at Stormy.

                “Yeah she had them, but Coal, one of the toms, didn’t quite get to see the light,” he sadly replied.

                “Oh that’s so sad. I’m glad for the news.” When Tiffie didn’t see the cats leave she asked, “That’s not the only news is it?”

                “Actually is not much of news, its more of a question, or a few questions,” Furby answered. She looked behind her and the cats nodded in agreement.

                “Do you know about the brown tom with black stripes that moved in where Snowball lived?” Chevy asked.

                “Of course,” she purred, “Very nice cat. He said he came from a small hood over the mountains. Snowball’s housefolk had found him half dead on the boat road a couple days ago. And of course Oreo had finally found someone that she gets along with.” All the cats stared at Tiffie at the sound of Oreo getting along with someone. Tiffie looked around the open-mouthed cats. “Where’s Fluffy and Smoky?”

                “Fluffy told me she had some business to do in the bush over there,” Furby replied, pointing with her tail towards a red leafed bushed.

                “Smoky told me that he had to do the same thing, in that bush,” Sheba said cocking her head in confusion. All the cats turned towards the red bush. Chevy sprinted away from the group and slid under the bush unnoticed. There he saw the two dark cats snuggling, but with their backs turned towards Chevy. Did I just hear them purr and see them snuggling, he thought, as he walked back to the waiting group.

                “So what’s going on,” Stormy asked.

                “They didn’t see or hear me, but I believe they were purring and snuggling together,” Chevy explained.

                “WHAT!!!” Stormy yowled so loud that it made everyone jump. “No wonder he’s been hiding his affection for Fluffy from us,” he said turning to all the cats. “Ever since Fluffy came to the barn about the news about Streaky, he’s been acting very different. Jumping at the name Fluffy, plus blushing. When he dreams, Sassy and I have been hearing him saying something about her. Now it fits all together..”

                “What fits together?” Stormy turned around to see Smoky and Fluffy walking together with tails twined. That just proved it: Smoky had finally fallen for Fluffy.

                “Just that over the past couple days you have been acting different and now seeing you and her snuggling under that bush,” Stormy growled, “it all makes sense.”

                “And is that a problem?” Smoky asked. He was starting to get all mad and Fluffy was worried what was going to happen.

                “It is and it isn’t,” Stormy answered calmly. “Everyone is glad you two have finally got together, but how are you going to see each other?”

                “I decided that I will go with her and live in her and her housefolks house,” Smoky replied.

                “What about Sassy, Soot, Starlett, and I,” Stormy asked concerned. “Sassy will be terribly sad that you left.”

                “And so will I,” Smoky added. “I don’t want to leave, but Fluffy needs me. We both want to have kits and unless I leave the barn, we can’t make that dream come true.”

                “I understand and I’ll make sure Sassy and the kits will too,” Stormy promised.

                “Thanks, Storm,” Smoky said politely. “Try to tell me what’s going on about the kits, ever6y now and then.” Stormy nodded and said good bye to all the cats. He took off with Sheba and Chevy at his tail. It was getting pretty dark and they all wanted to get home before it got any colder. So when the first star appeared in the night sky, Fluffy, Furby, and Smoky said their good byes to Tiffie and bounded away.

                When Furbys’ house came into sight a few moments later, she jumped onto her fence post and waved her tail good night to the new mates. They did the same and jumped over the next fence, which surrounded Smoky’s new home.

                “Welcome to your new home, Smoky,” Fluffy announced.

                “Do you think they’ll want me,” he asked, referring to the housefolk.

                “Sure they will,” Fluffy answered. “They’ll take any cat in, even if they look full fed.” With that the twosome walked through the cat flap in the back door, and walked into the kitchen. Fluffy then meowed pitifully, this brought the housefolk running to her and Smoky. They were mumbling something Smoky didn’t understand as they petted him.

                “What is your housefolk saying,” he asked his new mate.

                “Well, I never really know what they say, but I think they are welcoming you into our house.” And they did. The housefolk got up and brought two collars over to the cats.. One was pink and the other was blue. Fluffy got the pink collar and Smoky the blue. It made Smoky proud that he was welcomed in a house.

                After twenty minutes of being pet, Fluffy gave Smoky a tour of the bowls, beds, and the off zones. She was escorting him past the beds when he exclaimed, “What’s that horrible smell?”

                “It’s coming from the unclean cat toilet,” she answered. “Usually it’s clean by now.” Then all of the lights went out. “It must be time for bed.” They headed towards the beds. There were two beds. Before Fluffy came around there was two other cats, Benji and Tammy. They were golden yellow cats, which had run away for some reason.

                Once they settled themselves in the beds, Smoky and Fluffy muttered to each other good night and drifted off to sleep. Both of them then started to have wonderful dreams about what they hope would happen in the future.

Chapter 4

It was early morning, and Smoky was getting the rest of the tour of the house. This time they would be exploring upstairs. Right now they were in front of a big gray box that had pictures on it last night. Fluffy was explaining to her mate that it was a bright square, as bright as the lights on the tree that was passed earlier.

                After the bright square information was stuck in Smokys’ mind, a loud ringing came from a smaller square.. But this doesn’t have a screen, so it’s not a bright square, Smoky thought.. “What is that ringing coming from,” he asked finally.

                “It’s called a phone,” Fluffy explained quickly, “They talk to other housefolk and sometimes their businessfolk, or the leaders of the job that they work at. Always ringing, day and sometimes at night. Lets go up the ragged hill.”

                “This sure is ragged,” Smoky said, as they walked up the ragged edges of the hill. “Isn’t the hill supposed to be outside though?”

                “Yeah, but its warmer inside,” she said laughing. Now that they made it through the ragged edges of the hill, Fluffy escorted Smoky to a small opening. It had a bunch of pelts hung on what looked like a tree branch. “These pelts,” Fluffy was saying, “are worn by the housefolk, everyday. They are kept in this small room so that the pelts stay clean and unclawed by me.”

                Wow, this cat is smart, Smoky thought, glancing at Fluffy with gleaming eyes. She returned the glance which made him blush. She pointed her tail in the small room and she laid down in another bed that looked like the ones form down the ragged hill. He nodded and lay down beside her, rested his down on his mates back and they both fell to sleep.

                Days went by since Smoky moved in his new home. Fluffy’s life changed and so did Smoky’s. They were so much happier now that they were together. Even though they hadn’t been eating much, Fluffy was getting a big belly. Smoky had thought a couple days ago that she was as big as Sassy was. And it was because of the same reason…

                “You’re pregnant,” Furby exclaimed. Smoky and Fluffy had met with Furby outside. Fluffy had just told her that she was going to have four kits soon. “You now are the second cat to have kits soon.” When Fluffy looked confused she continued, “Oreo is also going to have kits. Hers and Streakys!”

                “They mated?” Fluffy and Smoky were looking at Furby astonished.

                “I asked her the same question when I saw her with him yesterday. I might not like her, but I’m a nosy cat.” They all laughed. “I better get going. I want to tell the others that you’ll be having four kits. I can’t believe it; four kits. Wow.” And she walked off through the gate door.

                When Furby was out off hearing Fluffy sighed sadly and said, “I feel bad for Furby. She has no mate and with no mate she’ll be the only cat without kits.” Smoky nodded in agreement and he escorted the pregnant cat inside.

                Fluffy and Smoky had just walked indoors and let the warmth of the house seep into their fur. Fluffy got up, but almost collapsed. Smoky ran up to her so she could have some support to hold her up. “Lets get you to bed so you can rest.” Looking up at his blue eyes, she nodded and laid down in bed. With a sigh, she fell asleep instantly.

                Once he knew Fluffy was asleep, Smoky padded over to the food and water bowl. After drinking and eating his fill, he walked over to the cat flap silently. Instead of going through it to the snowy outdoors, Smoky was bumped away form it. They locked the cat flap! But why, he asked himself. Shrugging, his tired paws walked him to his bed. He rested his head on his paws and let the eyelids of his sparkling blue eyes, close. With a purr he fell in a rhythmic sleep with his black mate.

                The next day was even a happier day. That morning Fluffy had had her kits! She had first started yowling like a dying cat, which made the housefolk call a vet over to help Fluffy deliver the kits. Helplessly, Smoky sat next to his mate, shaking. She’s in so much pain, and I can’t do anything about it. He had felt the same way when Sassy had her kits, and felt even worse when Coal didn’t make through. I hope these kits make it, he thought sadly. Then silence broke his thoughts. Looking at Fluffy, he saw four beautiful kits. Two males and two females. All four of them had some black and gray on them.

                Fluffy was watching Smoky as she saw him shaking with relief. “Are you ok,” she asked him.

                “Yeah, I’m ok,” Smoky answered with a sigh. “I just never saw such beautiful kits like this before.” He then jumped as Fluffy flinched. The kits had started to suckle, and even though they didn’t have much way in teeth, it still hurt. I just happy that all of them are alive and healthy, he purred to himself. “What are you going to name them?”

                “For the females I was thinking Sapphire and Felicity,” she replied pointing to each one, “and I wanted you to name the toms.”

                “How about Tippy and Booties,” he pointed.

                “Those are wonderful names, and they fit them perfectly.” Tippy was a black male with a gray tipped tail, while Booties was a gray male with black paws.. The names definitely fit. The name Sapphire also fit for the small female.. She was black with a gray face and would have bright blue eyes like her father. Felicity was a name for beautiful, and she was as beautiful as her mother: pure black and she was going to have the brightest yellow eyes that that cat family had ever seen.

                In another house in that small hood, Oreo was also having her kits. Streaky was beside her amazed that a cat her size could deal with so much pain. He had mated with many cats, but all of them would die from the loss of to much blood. Hopefully this vet knows what he’s doing, he thought. Oreo was doing fine so far with three kits delivered. That’s when the vet got up and left. Oreo was left panting with three healthy kits. One white with a brown chest; Simba, another brown with black paws; Sylvester, and the last, black with brown stripes and green eyes. His name was Dusty. Of course all were male, but little did they know, Simba and Sylvester would not make it through the night.

Chapter 5

Fluffy had woke early that morning to check on her little bundles of joy. She was very happy to see them all breathing and alive. She looked around the kitchen and saw that Smokys’ bed was empty. That’s when she heard the snoring on the other side of her bed. “Smoky wake up,” Fluffy yawned. When he didn’t wake up she gently prodded him with her paw.

                “Huh… What?” He blinked at her with half closed eyes. “Oh, morning Fluffy. How are the kits?” Opening his mouth wide he let out a big yawn. Then shaking himself, he got up and went around the bed to see the kits suckling.

                Smiling down at her newly born kits she replied, “They’re all doing just fine. Can you be so nice to watch them for me a bit, while I go do some business in the cat toilet?”

                “Sure,” her mate promised, “but hurry back because they’re still hungry and I can’t feed them very easily.” They laughed and padded off towards the cat toilet.

                Fluffy was just about to climb in the toilet, but saw a shadow coming from her favorite window, behind her. It made her stop. Turing around, she saw Sassy looking through the window panting. Sassy looks serious, thought Fluffy. As if her tail had a brain of its own, it pointed in the direction of the cat flap. Sassy nodded and took off. Leaving the cat toilet, Fluffy went to go meet Sassy at the cat flap. In seconds the white cat was in. “We need your help,” Sassy panted, “Oreo had her kits last night and she doesn’t have enough milk to feed three kits.” She paused for a rapid breath. “She and Streaky were wondering if you could spare some milk for two of them.”

                “Tell her that I’d love to, but I can’t,” Fluffy explained. “I just had four kits last night and I’m lucky to have enough milk for them. What about her housefolk? Can’t they feed them with a bottle filled with a mother cat’s milk?”

                “I don’t know, she wanted to talk to you about it,” she rasped.

                Fluffy signed and shook her head. “Smoky can you watch them really quick?” He nodded, yes, and she and Sassy took off through the cat flap.

                It was only a few moments later before they reached a small pale yellow house, in which Oreo lived. The two females were about to enter the house, but a yowl broke through the house. They looked at each other with worried looks upon their faces. Tearing through the cat flap, Sassy and Fluffy landed in a small room, a bit bigger then the pelt room in Fluffys house, and in this room were Oreo, Streaky, Furby, Chevy and Sheba and of course Stormy. In a bed where, Oreo was crying for her kits, there were two limp bundles of fur. Fluffy prodded one lightly. It felt cold, but still had a little bit of warmth to it. These kits most have just died, Fluffy thought sadly.

                “Don’t tell me they’re dead,” Sassy muttered.

                “Just after you left, Simba, died,” Streaky pointed out, “Then just before you entered, Sylvester died too. That’s when you heard Oreo yowl.” Each of his words came out as a sob. I feel so terrible, Fluffy thought, and even if I did agree, we still would’ve been too late. All the cats put their heads down and some cried, and others sniffled. It was a sad night for all these cats.

                “Everyone you should go,” Streaky announced, “it has been a hard morning and Oreo needs to morn for our dead kits.” He was trying hard to hold back the tears, but didn’t quite make it. Everyone agreed that they should leave, and one by one they jumped through the cat flap.

                Before they all said their sad good byes, Fluffy called, “How about we go in my house for a while. Smoky will want to know what happened and I don’t want to tell him by myself. My housefolk aren’t home right now so it’ll be safe.” With Fluffy in the lead, the six cats headed inside.

                Inside all the cats were telling a share of what had happened to Oreo and her mate. Smoky had started to cry because Sheba was telling the story really sadly. While the cats took their turns, the rest of them went to see the happy sight of four healthy kits, of Fluffy and Streaky. All of the cats were saying wonderful things about them, such as, beautiful, wonderful, cute, and nice looking. All these praises were making her blush. Now they were all crowded around the fluffy kits. This was making her wary of them being around in such a thick circle.

                Smoky noticed her wariness. “Ok. Fluffy needs some space,” he yowled. He then heard the housefolk coming up to the door. “You also should get going because our housefolk are back and they don’t like this many cats in the house.” The door clicked and the cats headed for the cat flap in the back door.

                Stormy was the last one to leave and just in time, too. When Fluffy saw the tip of his tail go through the flap, the front door had opened. Smoky and Fluffy signed in relief. “Now maybe we can get some sleep,” Fluffy whispered.

                “You need it more,” Smoky retorted, “because you’ve been out since early this morning and it’s already noon.” She nodded and rested her head on the edge of the bed. Smoky lay down beside her on the floor. While these kits have their eyes closed, Smoky promised himself, I will not leave their side. With that promise put in place, he rested his head on Fluffys back and fell asleep.

Chapter 6

It had been six days since the scene with Oreo and her dead kits. Now she would have enough milk to feed her remaining kit, Dusty. Her own kits were getting big and troublesome. Ever since their eyes had opened three days ago, they’ve been more trouble then an angry fox. Right now they were sleeping soundlessly. Without waking them, Fluffy headed for the food bowl to eat some the disgusting pellets. She was about to take a mouthful of food, when her name pierced through the air. Looking up, Sassy and Stormy came storming through the cat flap. The noise woke up Smoky and the kits, and of course they had to see what was going on.

                “What’s wrong Sassy,” Smoky asked urgently.

                “My kits are missing!” The house cats gasped. “When I woke this morning, they were gone! Stormy looked outside, but there were no paw prints, just barnfolk prints.” The last three words came out as the starting of her crying.

                I’ve had enough of these problems with kits! She screamed in her head. Without yelling Fluffy demanded, “What can we do to help find them?”

                “Well I was wondering if you, Smoky and the kits could come over to the barn and help look,” Sassy suggested.

                “Sure we’ll help,” the kits squealed together. Fluffy looked at Smoky and nodded in agreement.

                “Let’s get going,” Smoky replied, grabbing Booties. Fluffy picked up Sapphire by the scruff and headed out the door behind her mate. Sassy and Stormy came out with the other kits in their jaws.

                In a couple hours the eight cats were just padding past the door of the barnfolks house. Inside Sassy heard some mewling. “It sounds like they’re inside,” she pointed out. Without an answer from the others, she leaped to the door. Sassy prodded the cat flap to see if it was locked and of course it was. “How can I see if those are my kits I there, now?”

                “How about jumping on these crates I’m leaning on and look through the window,” Fluffy suggested.

                “That’s a great idea!” She jumped up onto the top crate and looked through the window. There on the barnfolks bright square were her kits. She sighed with relief at seeing her kits safe. Then her female barnfolk came up to the kits and picked them both up. She handed them to a male housefolk and he said some that made the barnfolk so happy. He then waved in good bye to Sassys’ barnfolk and he didn’t put down the kits. This worried her. The front door opened and the cats scattered. Sassy stayed on her crate and cowered in fear and hatred. The housefolk got into his green metal wheel and set down Soot and Starlett. They pawed at the window of the metal wheel, in a cry for help. “My kits!” Crying, Sassy tried to follow the metal wheel, but stumbled in pain.

                While Sassy was chasing the housefolk, he saw an eagle in the air above the scared cats. He yowled up to the eagle, “Follow that green metal wheel, until it stops at a house. Wait for the housefolk to go in a house and then come back and tell me what you found out.” The eagle, which was named Free, screeched his answer.

                “What did he say” Fluffy asked confused.

                “Free said that he would find out as much as possible,” Smoky answered, “but we should go in the barn to wait for him to report back.”

                In an hour or so the bright bald eagle came back with all the info they needed. He knew some cat talk so he reported, “Housefolk live over mountain tops and in small hood. By a river in a peach house, where kits are kept. It where Streaky had lived. Just follow dirt trail into mountains and you be in hood faster then I can walk.” With a snort he took flight. The cats stood amazed at how much cat talk he knew.

                “That’s the best info he ever gave me that I could at least understand,” Smoky gasped. “And the information was just what I wanted to hear. Now at the full moon we will meet here and put a plan in place, but all of you will need to think up something.” They nodded in agreement.

                “Now Stormy and I need to find a new place to live,” Sassy announced. “We will not live anywhere near kit givers!”

                “Since Streaky moved into Oreos’ house, those housefolk are looking for another cat or two,” Fluffy suggested, “and then we can plan together.”

                “That would be perfect,” Sassy yowled happily.

                “The plan will take about three weeks and that’ll give us enough time to then tell Tiffie, Chevy , Sheba , Oreo, and Streaky.”

                “You mean we are going to go over the dangerous mountains and take all of them with us,” Stormy asked. Smoky nodded.

                “Well we have to take Streaky because he knows this small hood better then any of us,” Smoky explained. “And of course, Oreo has to come with him, possibly with Dusty.”

                “Does that mean we get to go too,” Sapphire asked.

                “I guess it does,” Fluffy advised her. That answer made the kits jump with joy.

                It was the next day and it was the day of the celebration of the Tree of Lights. It was the day that her housefolk would invite friends and family over to open items that were in cubes of, what looked like wood. She loved going into the wood cubes because she could hide from all the folk downstairs.

                Right now she, Smoky, their kits, Stormy and Sassy were upstairs in the pelt closet. Today was the start of putting together a plan for saving Soot and Starlett. The plan was getting put together faster then they wanted. Smoky already had a route for a way through the mountains. He was explaining the partial plan to the kits for the forth time, “When we reach the edge of the mountains, Free will take us on a dirt path that the metal wheel had taken the other day. He is our free pass through the mountains because he will stop any other eagles from attacking us. If Free can help all of us cats befriend a few eagles, this will give us a safer pass. There are dangerous things living there; wolves with fangs; mountain cats with claws as long as a rat’s tail; plus the high cliffs. But Free and his mate will make sure that nobody will be in any danger.” When Smoky said that sentence each time, it made her shiver with relief. “When we get through the mountains, we’ll head for the hood where Soot and Starlett are being held. Free will stay waiting on the mountain tops, while Streaky leads us into the hood he had lived in. Finding the peach house should be easy.”

                “But how will we get the kits out,” Booties asked a forth time.

                “There should be a cat flap in the back door, so that they can go outside,” Smoky continued, “but Free said there was a yippy dog involved. He said it was as small as an eaglet, which if you don’t know, is a baby eagle. One cat can keep it busy, while the rest of us go inside the house. This can’t take place, though, unless all the housefolk are out of the house. Usually there is a garden in hoods, so we can hide in the bushes, if there are any. Possibly if the kits come out of the house, one of us older cats will make sure they’re all right and then grab them by the scruffs, jump over the fence and head for home.”

                “It seems as if you have the entire plan put together,” Fluffy broke in. The kits laughed as their father glared at Fluffy annoyingly. “But have you thought up a plan to counter the unsuspected problems?”

                “Ah…No,” he answered. “We’ll just have to plan as the problems show up.”

Chapter 7

It was the week of the full moon and the plan was finally put in place. The first step was to tell the other cats about it. This time Fluffy was sent to Tiffies’, with Sapphire and Felicity. Smoky went to Oreo’s with Booties. Booties would explain the plan to Dusty in a way he could understand. Sassy was sent to Furbys’ and Stormy decided he would go talk to Chevy and Sheba. It’s working so far, Fluffy thought, but for how long? If any part of the plan failed, Sassy and Stormy would never see their kits again.

                “How much farther,” Sapphire complained.

                “Not far,” Fluffy muttered. “Actually, do you see the smoke up ahead?” They nodded. “Well that’s coming from the smoke tower on her house.”

                The kits bounded up to Tiffie’s white fence and prodded the gate with their paws. As it opened, creaking came from the hinges. Clenching their teeth from the noise, they walked onto the path leading up to Tiffie’s front door.

                “This house is huge,” Felicity mumbled to her mother.

                “It’s called a mansion.” All the cats turned towards the voice and saw Tiffie coming out of the cat flap. “It’s the biggest you’ll ever see.”

                “Nice to see you Tiffie,” Fluffy greeted, “As you know I had my kits, a few weeks ago. These are two of them. Sapphire and Felicity.” When their names were called they stood up proudly.

                “Lovely names,” Tiffie told them. “So what brings you here?”

                Fluffy explained what happened to Sassys’ kits and how they were taken over the mountains. Then she explained the plan on how to get them back. “And we were wondering if you would come and help search for them,” Fluffy finished.

                Tiffie, who had been silent the whole time Fluffy was speaking, answered sadly, “I would love to come and help search for them. No kit should be taken from its mother, unless it is treated badly!”

                “Smoky said that will be meeting with the other cats and Free at the barn where Sassy and Stormy had lived. Hope to see you at the full moon,” Fluffy called as she and her kits ran back home.

                Fluffy was sitting in her garden with Smoky, waiting for Sassy and Stormy to get back. Stormy was sent to Furby so it shouldn’t be taking this long, Fluffy hissed in her mind. Just then on the far side of the garden, they heard a crunch in the snow. Sassy had just landed with Stormy and Tippy.

                “Tippy I thought I told you to stay home, Smoky scolded the kit.

                “Don’t be so hard on him,” Sassy countered. “He was lonely, and sad that he wasn’t included. So I took him along with me. Caught his first mouse in the garden.”

                He just shook his head in anger, “How did it go with the others?”

                “Tiffie said she’d come along,” Fluffy replied.

                “So did Chevy and Sheba ,” Stormy announced.

                “Furby said she would do anything for missing kits,” Sassy grunted.

                “That’s good,” Smoky meowed. “We also have Streaky coming with Oreo and Dusty.”

                All the cats looked at each other, even the kits. “Oreo actually agreed to come on a dangerous adventure like this,” Sassy spat.

                “It took some persuading, but she finally gave in,” Smoky snorted.

                Fluffy shivered from the wind that came through the garden. “We better get inside. The wind is picking up again, and I don’t want my precious kits freezing into kit icicles.”

                “Mom,” the kits squeaked. As they did squeaked, Sassy and Stormy left to go home.

                “Let’s get you inside,” Smoky replied, picking up Tippy. The other kits ran inside to warm up.

                Inside on the floor of the kitchen was a bowl of warm milk. When it was cold like it was today, the housefolk would warm some milk for them and the cats. It’s my favorite part of winter, Fluffy thought, taking a lick.

                In a few minutes the cats were licking the milk off their lips. Then like every night, the lights were turned off. “Bedtime, little ones,” Fluffy announced.

                “But we’re not tired,” Sapphire yawned.

                “We have along day ahead of us,” Smoky replied. The kits cocked their heads in confusion. “It’s the first day of our kit saving adventure.”

                Right away the kits remembered how much fun it would be to go into the mountains. Running to the bed with their mother waiting for them, Sapphire stumbled right into the bed. “Be more careful you klutz,” Booties shouted.

                “And you start being more careful on what you say to your siblings,” Fluffy reminded him. “Now apologize to Sapphire.”

                He went over to his crying sister and grumbled, “Sorry sis. I didn’t mean what I said.”

                “It’s ok,” she sobbed forgivingly. “But I am a klutz.” They laughed together, while Tippy and Felicity found the warmest spots in the bed. Sapphire bounded over to them, with Booties and laid down next their mother. Smoky went to his own bed and sighed deeply before falling to sleep. In a few seconds all the cats were sound asleep with Smoky.

                But one cat was not.

                Tippy was climbing the ragged hill to the upstairs pelt room. Lying down in the extra bed, he kept thinking, should I go, or should I stay. Everyone says that I’m not that useful any ways, so I wouldn’t be any different in the mountains. I’m a runt and that’s all I’ll ever be. That just proves that I should stay! With a grunt Tippy closed his eyes slowly, until sleep over came him.

Chapter 8

“Its time its time!” All the kits were awake and ready for the adventure. Smoky had just gone over the plan for the last time, to refresh their memories. Something was missing though. Smoky looked around and did a group check. He would keep doing this until they all made it home safely with Soot and Starlett. Everyone is here accept, Tippy!

                “Where is Tippy,” he asked all the cats around him. Fluffy went around the kitchen and found him in the cat toilet.

                “What are you doing in here,” Tippy’s mother asked him.

                “I’m not going on this adventure,” Tippy told her.

                “Why not?”

                “I’m not wanted,” Tippy explained, “Nobody ever includes me just because I’m a runt. If I’m a runt here I’ll be a runt there in the mountains.”

                “But honey, you can get in the smallest of places, you’re sneaky, creative, and helpful.” All these things were true about him. Maybe I am useful, he advised himself.

                “Ok, I’ll go,” Tippy decided. He looked up at his mother and she smiled. Leading her wonderful son to the others, he noticed more cats in the house. “Everyone is already here,” he asked Fluffy in a hushed tone.

                “We said we were all going to meet here and then after all the cats knew the plan,” she answered. “Then we would meet with Free at the barn and once he knew what was going to happen, he would lead us through the mountains, without a doubt.” Fluffy finished with a nod at how well she explained this to her son. Tippy nodded to all the other cats, to let them know he was ready.

                “Ok everyone will go to the back of the barn and that’s where we’ll find Free,” Smoky announced. Between him and Stormy, both would be great at being leader in this group.

                “Then we’ll start with what we are going to do first” Stormy finished.

                “And what are we going to do first,” Smoky asked everyone.

                Booties and Sapphire raised a paw. Smoky nodded towards them so that they could speak. Booties started, “When we reach the mountains, Free will take us to the mountains trail that the metal wheel took and then…”

                “Then he’ll make sure that nobody gets hurt and help us befriend some other eagles,” Sapphire finished.

                “Very well put, you two,” Smoky said. “Let’s go now that you all know the plan. We’ll hunt on the way and also bring a mouse or two for Free.” With that Smoky yowled, which meant go. They tore through the cat flap and over the fence. Getting to the forest was the easy part, but finding prey during the winter was going to be harder.

                The cats were almost at the barn three hours later with plenty of food in their bellies. Fluffy and Sassy were carrying a two mice in each of their mouths and Stormy had a squirrel. Tippy was in the back of the group with his brother and sisters. Oreo and Streaky were behind them watching their kit play with Felicity. They were quiet for most of the time until they reached the barn.

                “It’s so cold out,” Oreo was complaining.

                “Don’t worry to much now,” Streaky replied, “because it gets a bit colder in the mountains. If you can find enough small caves or a big burrow, you’ll be as warm as you were in the house. Also there’s more prey there.” Oreo sighed at that thought. She never stops eating, Tippy thought.

                There was a welcoming screech behind them. Tippy turned around and saw a huge winged creature. It had a black body, a white head and had one blue wing and the other was red. This must be Free, Tippy wondered.

                As if Free had read his mind he announced, “Those of you that might not know me, I am Free, your guide through mountains. I have befriend eagles already to help with trip. They say they saw a wolf in small woods in far mountain ridges. But mountain cat not sighted. Trip should be easy.”

                “We are glad you came to help with our trip,” Smoky told Free. “There are some mice for you. It’s our thanks for accompanying us.”

                “No thanks,” Free replied, “I ate before trip here. You need food more. Trip long for cats and it a hard winter this year. Prey getting scarce from big storm that went through last night.”

                The cats thanked their thoughtful friend and ate their fills. Once full, Free took flight and slowly flew above the small group. The cats would run until they reached the mountains then they would climb until the trail came in sight. If the trail was smooth, running was possible, but if it was as bad as the mountains, walking and climbing was needed again. If we can run most of the way thought the mountains, Tippy reminded himself, we could get to the kits in a few days.

                Hours went by slowly and the cats were just starting to see the tops of the mountains. When will it end, Fluffy wondered. Everyone was tired and cold and they weren’t ready for the cold in the mountains. Just then Smoky stumbled over some rocks, but landed on grass. Fluffy looked up and saw what looked a lot like the ragged hill at home. Could it be? It was! They had reached the mountains.

                Free was waiting on one of the smooth, flat rocks, with a couple of eagles. She also saw another cat sitting in the mass of the birds.

                “Welcome to our home,” a female eagle greeted.. “I am Free’s mate and rest of us are helping with your trip. We help you get through territory, we help you get food, and…”

                “I am Hennery,” the golden tom said, introducing himself. “I live in these mountains and I have also been in the hood you are trying to get to. Finding caves will be my job. We’ll travel by day and sleep by night in a cave or big burrow. Most of the eagles in the mountains already know about you and said they will let you pass unharmed. But there have been possible sightings of Bones the mountain cat. He is feared by everyone, so nobody has found out how to defeat him. Caves are the safest way to get away from him. With Bones around, prey is running low and you might have to go without food for a bit.”

                “Now us eagles need to introduce,” an elderly eagle mentioned. “I am Butch. Being an elder, I have learned a lot about cats. I teach rest of the eagles how to speak cat, but I still speak more of it.”

                Now the female eagle was speaking again, “I am Gloria. I’m Free’s mate. I also speak better cat, but not enough. Butch and I will be hunting prey that we can find. One crow up here can feed all you.”

                “That’s so kind and thoughtful,” Fluffy muttered. She was getting bored. There were four eagles to go.  A dark male eagle that was named Glider glided more then flying. Another young male eagle named Swoop had long legs and was great for running. His sister was also here. Her name was Hedwing. She had more white to her head and was the best of the fliers. Then there was a smaller eagle, just barley able to fly. His name was Patch. Patches of missing feathers were all over his pale black body. Without parents he couldn’t take good care of his feathers. It was sad, but he somehow made it by himself..

                 Hennery was now in the lead of the cats. Smoky and Fluffy were behind him. Sassy was on the right side of the group, which the eagles called that side the hill. Stormy was on the left side, which was called the cliff for the eagles. Birds are so much different then cats, Fluffy was thinking. She looked behind her and saw all the kits. They were in the middle of the group, with Oreo and Streaky in the rear along with Chevy , Sheba , Tiffie and Furby.

                Looking up, was the same formation with the eagles, with Free in the lead, Gloria behind, Swoop hill, Hedwing cliff, and Butch brought up the rear. Poor little Patch was made to fly far back. The other eagles thought he had a disease, so that made the poor eaglet feel unwanted. Is that how her son had felt earlier?

                Night was falling fast and so was the temp. The five kits that were in the middle were now being carried because the ground was to cold for their delicate feet. Hennery was trying to find a nearby cave to shelter in. Furby was now in front with him. Fluffy had noticed a change in her attitude, along with trying to be along side Hennery the whole time. She didn’t know if she was right, but Fluffy thought that maybe those cats liked each other. Hopefully all that was true.

                Finally a cave was found. The freezing cats went inside where it was like a heater. Above them were pointed rocks. Rockcicles is what she called them. Then there were breakable ones on the ground of the cave. A puddle, which was awfully cold, was surrounded by the ground rocks. In front of her was the puddle. A small opening, enough room for a cat, was the only way to get to it.

                “On the way here,” Hennery told the group, “the eagles had found some moss, which is great for a bed. They found enough to make seven big beds, one big enough for Oreo, Streaky and their kit, then there is one for me. I will wake you at first bright.” First bright was the time of the sunrise.

                With no problems through the night, all the cats left the cave with the eagles above them again. Before they had left, Smoky had done his group count. Tippy was so sick of the mountains already. He wanted some action and danger. He wanted to explore, and he wanted some signs that said he was wanted around all cats.

                And he was going to get some that danger.

                At least he thought he was.

                The search party was not to far from the cave when they heard a deep growl behind them. The cats curved their ears back toward the noise and the eagles flew in place. One of the eagles, that sounded like Butch, screeched out, “Its Bones! Hide!” But they didn’t have time to do that and they didn’t have to..

                A howl can from the ledges. Then the wolves jumped out, but they didn’t face the cats, they faced Bones. A spotted, gray male wolf jumped on top of Bones. He was clawing at his muzzle from on top of the big cats head. Then a bright, white female wolf went under the belly and racked her claws down it. The mountain cat screeched with pain. While Bones was preoccupied, a young gray, white legged male pup leaped for the treacherous throat. Biting down as hard as he could, Bones stated to go limp. The wolves got away from the cat, just before he collapsed. He’s dead! That fast, Tippy thought shaking.

                In front of Tippy was the male wolf that had jumped on Bone’s head. Free swooped down from the sky and met up with the wolf as he was walking to a puddle. They were whispering something Tippy couldn’t make out. Then the wolf and eagle faced the cats. Then Free announced, “Everyone, this my old friend Mukluk, his mate, Bonita, and then their pup Slush.”

                “I’m so glad to meet you,” Mukluk greeted the cats. “But what are you doing so far out in the mountains?”

                “We are traveling through to get to the hood on the other side,” Smoky replied.

                “You are almost there now,” Mukluk told them. “By morning, you should reach the first house there.”

                “You should really stay to warm up, get some rest and eat though,” Bonita asked.

                “That would be nice, thank you,” Smoky said approvingly. Looking back at Bones body, Mukluk, and Bonita lead the cats to a bigger cave then the one they spent the night in.

                Through the day, eagles, cats, and wolves spent gossiping most of the day. The entire animals were eating together too. All but one cat wanted to do this; Tippy. He didn’t think it was right. Getting into a moss bed, Tippy growled to himself, “What is happening to the animal races? Cats should be eating with cats, eagles should be gossiping with other eagles, and wolves should just leave us alone.”

                “You’re just jealous,” a squeaky voice told him. It was his litter mate, Sapphire.

                “Why would I be jealous,” he asked her, “I just want to get home!”

                “Its just that you’ve been acting different ever since we met with the wolves.” Tippy just laid his head down in the soft moss and closed his eyes.

Chapter 9

It was first bright when Tippy felt a paw push against his side. Opening his green eyes, he saw Fluffys black head. She was saying, “Wake up its time to go.”

                Getting up was painful. All the muscles in his body were sore. Even Tippy’s paw pads were sore. I can’t wait to get to walk on grass, he hissed in his head. Looking up, he noticed an empty cave. The only other cat in there was his mother. She had noticed that her son was limping. Fluffy had marigold at her paws. Hennery had said earlier to her that marigold juice was great for dry, cracked paws.

                Chewing the marigold was the worst part. When it was chewed enough, Fluffy spat it out onto her paw. “Here,” she offered him, “Spread it on your pads and they should start to feel better.”

                “Thank’s mom,” Tippy said lovingly. He spread the chewed pulp on his paws and sat for a bit. She was right, he thought, they do feel better.

                “Come on we need to get going,” Slush called. “If you wan to reach the hood before noon, we need to leave now.” Fluffy helped her son get to his paws quickly and together they ran to catch up to the rest of the group.

                “You must be Tippy,” Slush asked as Fluffy left to go the front.

                “Yeah, I’m the runt,” Tippy hissed.

                “Smoky told me a lot about you,” he said.

                Tippy snorted. “What did he say about me that is so great?”

                “Well he said that you’re his favorite out of the litter because you are fun, adventurous, creative, and smart,” the little wolf replied. “And even your littermates talk a lot about you, practically the same things.”

                “Of course they’ll say things like that about me because I’m family,” Tippy reminded the new friend. “I’d like to know what the others think of me.”

                “I don’t know yet,” Slush yawned, “I don’t like to eavesdrop so you’ll have to find that out by yourself.” Tippy nodded in agreement.

                It was noon by the time the animals had reached the edge of the mountains. Everyone was saying good bye to the wolves and the eagles. Patch was coming with the cats and so was Hennery. Hennery had taken a liking to Furby and Furby still had some affection for the colorful cat.

                Fluffy now was in the back with her kits. Sapphire and Dusty were getting rough if they didn’t have a watchful eye on them at all times. Right she was watching the eagle Free and the wolves. Wolves usually ate the eagles, but those wolves were different. To different.

                “How much farther until we get inside the hood Hennery,” Streaky asked..

                “Only a few rabbit hops,” he called back.

                At least it was getting warmer. Spending two nights and days in the mountains was cruel, but they got through it faster then they thought. If Bones hadn’t attacked, they could be at the house by the river, but the cats might not have made it through the mountains without Bones too. He made the cats meet Free’s wolf friends. Would she ever see them again?

                Then the landscape changed, from rock to soft grass. Finally we’re here, Fluffy yowled in her mind.

                “Thanks for the escort until we got here, Hennery,” Smoky replied.

                “You are quite welcome,” he said politely back, “but I’m not leaving yet. You’ll need help finding that peach house. It’s not far from here. I know because I swim in the river there almost everyday. Speaking of the river, I think I hear it now.”

                “Let’s go,” Stormy called waving his tail in the direction Hennery and Furby went. Everyone took off with Stormy in the lead.

                The cats’ abruptly stopped. In front of them were two hissing and growling cats, and in front of them was a big black dog. Around its’ neck was a collar like Fluffy’s, Smoky’s and their kits. It was growling and showing its teeth, but it didn’t move; yet.

                A bark came from its big, stinky mouth and gave chase. The cats took off in all directions. Fluffy ran along side Chevy, Hennery and Felicity. Sheba , Furby, Booties and Smoky ran in the direction of the house. Stormy, Sassy, Sapphire, Oreo, and Streaky ran over a garden fence. But where was Dusty and Tippy?

                Dusty and Tippy were heading back for the mountains to get help. The eagles were told to stay perched on the mountains until the cats arrived. Free had heard the kits and flew to them with his mate, Gloria. “What wrong,” he asked.

                “There’s… a …dog that’s… chasing us… back in the… hood,” Tippy panted.

                “Yeah, and everyone has scattered,” Dusty whined.
                “Worry must stop,” Free told the kits, “We help other cats. I go after dog, and Gloria find cat friends.” The eagle nodded.

                “Get on back little ones,” Gloria offered. “You can help find cats and you won’t be tired much then.” They ran fast, but lightly, onto Gloria’s black back. Not digging in claws deep, the kits took flight with Gloria. Free took off into the hood in a swift dive and went to go look for the rampaging dog. Gloria stayed above the roofs of the houses until she heard her mate screech. When he did screech it meant that the dog was found and was chased off.

                Mean while in the hood, Fluffy was hiding in the bush with Chevy, Hennery and her kit. The dog was sniffing wildly around the bush. It tried to get under the bush where the cats were hiding, but a branch kept poking it away. Then the dog yipped and growled. Fluffy poked her head out of the bush and saw Free attacking the dog with claws. The big bird was two times bigger then the black dog.

                It had enough. With the tail between its legs, it took off for the peach house by the river. “Thanks,” Fluffy yowled up to Free and he took off. The four cats took off for the house, but had to quickly turn away. The same green metal wheel they saw back at the barn, was taking out of the sleepway. Inside was the housefolk that had taken Sassy and Stormys kits, also there was the black dog. The metal wheel took a left turn quickly and was out of the way in a matter of seconds.

                “It’s perfect,” Chevy cried, “With the housefolk gone and the dog, we can get inside!” With that statement, they tore out of the bushes to the house.

                Waiting in the sleepway were all the cats and Gloria. “I found cats and brought them here,” she said, “Your kit had fun flying on back and can’t wait to do it again. Ta,”  and she took flight.

                Now all the cats were in a huddle in the garden. Smoky was prodding the cat flap with his paw, but it was locked. Then he had Stormy and Sassy try to call their kits names. “Starlett, Soot,” they cried together.

                “Mom? Dad,” came the squeaks from the other side.

                Now it was Smoky’s turn, “Starlett, Soot, this is Smoky. I need you to find the lock on the cat flap. And when you do tell me what it looks like.”

                “It looks like a hook attached to a nail,” Starlett explained.

                “Ok,” Smoky replied, “I now want you to get your bottom teeth under the straight part of the hook. If you have enough strength it should slide off the nail and it’ll open the cat flap.” They waited and waited and waited, but there was nothing. Then there was a shrill squeak as if Soot had fallen over. Smoky prodded the flap and it opened. He waved his tail in words saying,” Come on.”

                Fluffy was the last to get into the peach house. Oreo and Streaky volunteered to stay on guard outside. If there was trouble, they would yowl in fear to let them know that the housefolk was back.. But they didn’t have to worry. The thirteen cats were already out with the two kits in a flash. Soot and Starlett had glossy pelts as if they were brushed before the housefolk had left.

                There just wasn’t enough time though to get away from the house. The metal wheel was back in the sleepway and the housefolk was getting out of it. Hennery lead them to some rocks that aloud them to cross the river. Everyone made it safely to the other side where there was a small forest to hide in.

                There was a shriek and a splash. It was Sassy screaming no when Starlett had fallen into the shallow river. She was the last to cross the rocks when she had slipped. Hennery tore out of the bushes and jumped into the river. It was shallow for housefolk, but it was deep for cats. When Hennery had jumped in his head had gone under the water. Furby had tensed, but when he was in her sight again she was relieved.

                Hennery was padding halfway down the river when falls could be heard. He had to hurry now or Starlett would be lost. So Hennery paddled harder and faster. He saw the little kit and reached out with his paw and dragged her close enough so that he could pick her up in his jaws. Panting, and drenched, Hennery paddled back to shore. The group he had helped all the way through the mountains, was now helping him out of the water. Sassy took Starlett over to some moss where Stormy and Soot were crouched.

                He went over to the wet kit and hoped for the best that she would live, and when he didn’t know it, Starlett coughed up water and it landed right in his face. Shaking himself dry, Furby came up and snuggled up to him. Last night she had asked him if he would be her mate. Of course Hennery said yes. This cat was beautiful, to him and it was hard to resist.

                The cats had stayed the night in the forest, across from the peach house. These cats called this house the capture cell. It was the place where Streaky and Hennery had both lived. Both of them hated it because of the dog and now the kits hate it, but they didn’t flee like Streaky and Hennery.. Hennery fled where the group had met him: in the mountains, and Streaky fled over the mountains where Snowball’s folk had found him.

                The cats were now at the edge of the mountains. The eagles and cats stopped and told each other what happened after they departed. The cats had a harder time, but the eagles had it easy. All they did was help with the dog, and that helped out a lot.

                “Let’s get going,” Smoky announced, “if we leave now and if we travel fast enough, we can be home in about four days.” Everyone cheered, all except Tippy. He was just starting to like this trip and now it was starting to end.

                The day went on and the cats and eagles were now passing small creek that flowed into the river by the capture cell. It meant they were about half way through the mountains already. They might make it in two days, and they wished that was true. Right now, behind every tree was danger. Butch and Swoop had caught sightings of another mountain cat with her two kits. Her name was Diva and her kits were Buster and Demon. She was more of a danger then Bones, which the eagles found out, was Diva’s mate.

                Once in awhile a low growl or hiss came from one of the cats. “The mountains are a dangerous place.” Fluffy remembered this from the day the Tree of Lights. He should have said the mountains are a very dangerous place, Fluffy thought. She shook her head and walked on.  What will happen in the hood if one of us doesn’t make it back home, Fluffy wondered.

                There was then the shacking of the ground. They all heard noises, bushes rustling, prey scattering, big paw steps. “ Its’ Diva and her kits,” Butch called down.

                “We can’t hide anywhere,” Smoky called back. Just like the encounter with Bones, they just didn’t have time to hide. “Where are the wolves when you need them?” Hopefully the cats and eagles could deal with these mountain cats themselves.

                The big cat and her kits were now in sight. Diva was smaller then her mate was, but she was tougher. She growled and swiped at the cats on the ground. Rocks fell from the sky, and onto her head. She leaped and caught Patch on the wing. He plummeted down and fell with the crack of his neck. Diva faced the cats again. Smoky leaped  on top of her  head. Chevy , Sheba , Oreo and Streaky got under her belly and raked at her legs.

                Fluffy looked around and saw all five of the group’s kits and Furby, wrestling with Demon, the weaker kit. Sassy and Stormy were on top of Buster. Where was Hennery? A screech answered it. The screech came from Hennery when he was biting the throat of Diva. She had swiped a paw out, with claws, at him. The fleabag had sliced his stomach open. Furby looked up from the dead Buster and tore away from the dead body. Fluffy had gone to help Smoky when Furby raced pass her, her fur filled with hate for the mountain cat. She leaped for the cats little bleeding throat and bit down, while clawing it with back claws. Diva screeched in pain and swiped at Furby. Fluffy had closed her eyes as she heard another screech. Did the big cat get her best friend? She opened her eyes and jumped off the tensed back of Diva. Looking around one of the legs, she saw Furby crouched at Hennery’s body. If it wasn’t Furby who screeched then… Fluffy looked up and saw the mountain cat starting to wave. The throat was streaming with blood. The cat was losing so much of it that she was dying. Her kits were dead; her mate was dead, now it was time for her to also.

Chapter 10

The cat group was at the edge of the mountains and were close to the barn. They were saying good bye to the eagles that had helped them all the way through. The mountains were safe again now that all the mountain cats were dead, hopefully. The wolves are now roaming the mountain cliffs peacefully and life would go on.

                Furby was left by the patch where her mate laid, along with the little eagle Patch. They were brave, just to get themselves killed. Before her mate had died, he had said that he was happy to find peace in the mountains, but he didn’t want to leave Furby. It was a sad death for all the cats. Hennery was strong, brave and very honest with the ones he called family. If Hennery had lived, he would go live with Furby and her housefolk. They didn’t want kits, so they both could have lived a happy life together.

                 But that dream was now broken.

                And so was the cats’ adventure.

                Now they would be able to go home and see spring approach them slowly. Flowers were already popping up through the snow, which was finally melting. Warm air currents were felt in the mountains not long ago and that was the first sign of life. Prey would become plump and the cats would be able to go outside without freezing.

                “Are we there at,” Dusty asked. He had been asking this for the past hour. Sapphire was close to him and was saying,

                “No not yet Dusty. We have about another hour to go before we all get home.” The two cats were born the same day, but Fluffy noticed that her kits were a bit brighter then Dusty.

                Fluffy looked at her son behind her. Tippy had his head down and the gray tipped tail was dragging in the muddy ground. Before they had left, Tippy had asked if they could all live in the mountains. She told him no, but almost said yes. Fluffy didn’t want to leave her friends behind so soon. She had never even got a chance to say Ta to the wolves.

                “There it is,” Stormy yowled happily, “home!”

                Everyone departed and ran home. Fluffy watched Sassy and Stormy take their kits into their new home. She was glad that everything was back to normal. Jumping off the fence post, she ran through the cat flap where awaiting housefolk were petting Smoky and the kits. A housekit picked Fluffy up and cradled her in her cubby arms. Now they would all need baths. These house cats learned that water was refreshing to swim in. Hennery had taught them that. It’s best to swim in the summer when it’s warm, but you can’t do that in the winter. It was to cold and frozen, so it was more fun to play on the ice.

                The bathtub was running and it was warm. All the cats were put in the water at once. The once clear water was now a yucky brown from all the mud and dirt that was collected in the mountains. Fluffy sighed at being home again. Her fur was nice and clean now and soon it would be glossy black after she got brushed.

                Sapphire was splashing around with her brother, as usual. All of them had been taught how to paddle in water that was to deep to wade in. It was useful if a cat was almost drowning.

                 The housefolk had backed up away from Sapphire’s splashes. Fluffy was taken out and then got dried with a soft rag. Her mate and kits got the same treatment. They were all taken downstairs and were put on the laps of the housefolk. Brushes were found and then used on the ratted fur.

                 In a few hours the cats were back in the soft beds. Their fur was clean again and all the cats were still healthy. The kits were sleeping and so was her mate. It seems as if we never traveled to the mountains, Fluffy thought.

                Happy to be back home, in her own bed, Fluffy laid her head down around Tippy’s small body. He was shivering, so her warm breath would keep him warm. Almost at once the kit stopped shivering, but Fluffy noticed her son was having a bad dream. She shook him awake and told him, “It was just a dream dear, so go back to sleep. And don’t think about the mountains. That’s what was probably what gave you that dream.” He sighed and laid his head back down again along with his mother. Right now that’s all he thought about; the mountains.

Cat Rescuers #2 Through The Woods by Missa

Chapter 1

“Sapphire get down from there,” Fluffy yowled. Sapphire was on top of the table in the kitchen. She was lucky that the housefolk were not home. Ever since the cats got home, the kits were more trouble than before.

                “As your father,” Smoky exclaimed, “I am telling you to get down before somebody gets hurt!”

                “Ok dad,” Sapphire called down. She wiggled her rump and jumped onto her nearby brother, Booties. He screeched in surprise at the attack. Rolling over, the kits started play fighting for the forth time that day. Felicity rolled her eyes and Tippy just glared. Tippy was still mad at his sister for calling him jealous in the mountains. It was true that he was jealous, but he didn’t want to admit it.

                Fluffy was watching him now as he stared on. Lately Tippy had been ignoring everyone, but Dusty. Dusty and he were always going off in the morning reciting the adventure of the mountains. The night before the cats had left the mountains Tippy had asked her if they could live in the caves there. She had said no, but almost said yes. She wanted to live in them, but being a dangerous place, she couldn’t bear to see a small cat group living by themselves. Plus her housefolk needed them.

                The housekit had come down with a bad cough and needed some company now and then. If they had stayed in the mountains, this housekit would be lonely.

                “What are we going to do about these kits,” Smoky asked, breaking into her thoughts.

                “I don’t know,” Fluffy replied, “Maybe they just need some fresh air.”

                Fluffy and Smoky were herding the four kits out into the warm, bright day. Tippy straight away ran to Dusty, who was also out. Oreo and Streaky were sitting on their fence post watching their kit. Fluffy took off for Furby’s house. She hadn’t been out for a couple days now. Fluffy called out her best friend’s name. Instantly, the blue-gray head popped out of the flap.. Furby ran over to her, with eyes shinning.

                “Guess what happened,” Furby asked.

                “What?”

                “Hennery lived,” she screamed.

                “How,” Fluffy said astonished, “He had a huge gash on his stomach. It had to of killed him.”

                Furby suddenly shivered with joy. “My housefolk had gone past where we left his body. He was still breathing, just barley. They had raced him to the vet. He was there for a couple days and he just was brought home!”

                “It’s a miracle,” Fluffy replied. “Let’s go tell the others.”

                Around the play fighting kits sat, Chevy , Sheba , Smoky, Stormy, Sassy, Oreo, Streaky and Tippy. They were all watching the kits beat each other at their own game. Furby raced up to the kits and quickly shoed them away. She jumped on the stump where Tippy was sitting and announced, “Everyone.. You all know how Hennery had died on our way back home.” They shook their heads. “Well my mate still lives!”

                “What!?” The cats all yowled in surprise. They did all think that he was dead, which would make it seem he was brought back form the dead.

            “But when we left him there, lying at the bottom of the mountains,” Sheba replied, “He was dead. In other words, he was not breathing and his body was cold. How could he have made it through?”

                “Well it seems as if the tale of having nine lives might just be true,” Stormy said, trying to make a joke. “Otherwise we’re glad that he lived.”

                “Did your housefolk find him or did Hennery find them,” Chevy asked politely.

                “My housefolk found him,” Furby explained. “I think they said that they found Hennery closer to the barn. He had to of dragged himself all the way there because we left him at the edge of the mountains.”

                “He’s a strong, brave cat Furbs,” Smoky muttered, rolling his eyes.

                “So how is he doing right now,” asked Soot. Soot liked Hennery a lot, as if he was his own flesh and blood.

                “Hennery is doing just fine, youngster,” Furby answered. “He’s doing better then I thought he would’ve.” She sniffed and then continued, “After he was taken to the vets and was all patched up from his wound, Hennery was brought home. He loves where he lives now, but hates the ring square waking him up every hour.” The cats around Furby all laughed.

                Chevy shivered and suggested, “Maybe we should get back inside our homes, its pretty cold out still for spring.”

                “Yeah we don’t want our kits freezing, when they don’t have very thick pelts,” Sassy admitted. “Lets get going you two.”

                “But we don’t want to go back inside,” Soot and Starlett whined together.

                “To bad,” Stormy meowed. He picked Starlett up by the scruff and Sassy copied him. Soot squeaked when she accidentally dropped him in a melted snow bank. Sassy quickly picked up her kit and waved bye to the watching cats, then she leaped over the fence surrounding her home.

                Chevy then complained when a small pile of snow fell from a tree and onto his ginger head. He hissed, but that didn’t help. Some more snow fell on him, and he shook it off. Smoky looked up when he had heard a screech. Above them were two eagles; Free and Gloria. In the clutches of the sharp talons was a heaping of snow. Again snow fell on Chevy and the eagles flew off laughing. He quickly turned around and took off after the feathered friends. Sheba raced away with him just shaking her head in disbelief.

                After Oreo and Streaky took Dusty inside their home, Fluffy and Smoky took their kits over the fence and quickly ran inside. “Well the rest of the snow should melt,” Sapphire replied as she came inside after Tippy. “It’s pouring as if the clouds have been holding it in since fall.”

                “Soot will really be happy now,” Booties chuckled.

                “Why?” Felicity cocked her head to the right showing she didn’t understand what he meant.

                “Didn’t you hear him squeal as Sassy let him drop in the snow?”

                Smoky shook his head at his son. “Now don’t be making up stories. You know as much as I do that she didn’t mean to drop him.. But you are right that he’ll be happy about that.”

                Just then there came as scream from the upstairs room. The cats looked at each other and ran up the ragged hill to the room. The screaming continued and Fluffy understood the word being said by the housefolk, “Rat!”

                Fluffy torn into the off zone. In the corner of the brightly colored room was a huge rat. Her housefolk was on the huge bed and was still screaming. Now she was screaming at Fluffy to kill the rat. Fluffy stalked over to the rat and it showed its white teeth. The rats’ eyes looked red and it scared Fluffy. A thumping sound came from the pink tail; it was flicking irritably. Screeching, the rat jumped at Fluffy and bit her foot. She yowled in pain and tried to attack, but it skidded to Fluffy’s side. Fluffy stumbled from the change of course. She hissed as the pain in her foot got worse.

                A blur of gray fur flew passed her as the rat jumped for her throat. There was a hiss and a squeal, and then it got quiet. Smoky was now taking the rat to the housefolk and laying it in front of her. This was showing that the cats’ job was done. The housefolk, that Fluffy called Amy, patted Smoky on the head and stepped off the bed. Fluffy meowed to make sure that Amy knew that she was hurt.

                Amy and Smoky ran right to Fluffy as they heard her meow. Amy cradled Fluffy in her arms and hurried down the ragged hill. She ran to back door and put the hard clappers on her feet. As the door creaked open Smoky and the kits stared at Fluffy, shaking. “Don’t worry,” Fluffy told them, “We’ll be back in awhile.” Smoky nodded, while he moved the kits to the beds.

Chapter 2

Fluffy was now in the metal wheel that Amy drove. They were coming home from the vets and Fluffy was feeling better by the minute. The vet had put some stinging ointment on her rat bitten foot. Then he put a bandage around her foot for protection. When Fluffy walked it still hurt, so she would limp every now and then.

                They were just driving up the sleepway of the metal wheel. The roaring of the metal monster died out and Amy got out. She went around the back of it and opened the ear of the thing. She picked Fluffy up and cradled her, more carefully. Amy got out a little pointy branch and stuck it into the back door. There was a click and the door creaked open. It was dark in the house until the housefolk flipped the light switch.

                Smoky picked his head up in a flash. He looked delighted to see his mate back with Amy. Fluffy could hear him purring loudly as Amy put her down in the bed with her kits. They blinked their tired eyes open and started purring with their father. Fluffy moved her foot out of the way of her kits as they moved closer to her. For warmth they cuddled up to Fluffy and fell asleep.

                Looking up, Fluffy saw that Tippy was still sleeping soundlessly. Smoky moved closer to his mate and started washing Fluffy softly. “So how did it go,” he asked quietly.

                “Well… I get to keep my foot,” Fluffy yawed, “but it hurts terribly.”

                “Maybe it just needs rest like you,” Smoky purred. “Night.” And his head and eyes drooped to the floor.

                “Night,” she whispered to herself. Fluffy looked at her tattered foot one last time and wondered, how could a rat get so big and vicious like that? She shivered at the thought and fell asleep.

                “Help!” Fluffy was in a forest that she had never seen before. Rats were everywhere and they were about to attack. They had gleaming blood red eyes and teeth. The claws were even worse: long, sharp and replaceable.

                She was cornered in a rock surrounded area in a forest. The huge rat in front of her flicked its tail towards Fluffy, and as if a command, the rats behind it attacked. But before they had chance to bite through her pelt, a huge, muscular cat tumbled her away. The two cats rolled away from the rats and into a sheltered hole in a tree.

                The huge tom shook himself. “You’re safe now,” he replied, “There’s nothing to worry abo…” Before he could finished, rats jumped on top of him. Then more replacements jumped on top of Fluffy. She was screeching along with the tom. Everything went black and then she felt something shaking her awake.

                Fluffy then started to realize that it was just a nightmare. Smoky was by her side trying to wake her up and he kept saying, “Wake up, it’s just a dream!”

                Finally she woke, panting. Yowling in fear she fell out of her bed. The kits squeaked as her foot pushed them away.

                “Are you okay?” Smoky kept asking this, but Fluffy couldn’t answer. She was to shaken up from her dream. Fluffy looked at the window, as if the rats were lurking outside. It was still dark out.

                After a last time of Smoky padding her with his paw, Fluffy blurted everything out, “It was terrible, Smoky. I was in a forest and there were rats everywhere. They attacked, but a huge tom pushed me out of the way. We were then in a hollow tree, and the rats attacked again, but attacked both of us.” She ended in a gasp as her bitten foot hit the floor.

                “It was just a nightmare, Fluff,” Smoky told her. “Now we should get back to sleep. It’s only been a couple of hours since we laid down for sleep.”

                “Has it really?”

                “Yep,” Smoky answered.

                “Well I guess I should try to get more sleep,” Fluffy muttered. Smoky nodded and lay down in his bed. Right away Fluffy could hear his muffled snores. She laughed to herself and lay down next to her sleeping kits.

                Before she could fall asleep, these thoughts raced through Fluffy’s mind: Why were the rats attacking me? Who was that huge tom? Will that kind of attack really happen?

                Even though Fluffy had slept, the thoughts ate away at her mind, but the dream stayed away.

                It was morning now in the small hood, cold but spring-like in many ways. Fluffy was in front of Furby’s house with Smoky. Fluffy was telling Furby about the horrifying dream she had that night.

                “But why were they attacking you? And who was the huge cat you mention,” Furby wondered out loud.

                “I was thinking the same thing,” Fluffy answered,” And I’m hoping that it will never happen.”

                “Did you see the color of the fur or the color of the eyes,” Hennery asked. He was up and walking again, but he still had a huge scar on his belly.

                “I think the cat had golden eyes, but I didn’t see the fur color,” she explained. “All I know is that he had silky fur before the rats dug in.”

                “Hummm… a silky furred male, with golden eyes,” Furby sighed to herself. “The only cats with golden eyes are Streaky, Dusty and old Hennery here.”

                “But none of them are as big as the one in my dream.”

                “Chevy also has golden eyes, but not that big,” Smoky added. “Do you know where this forest was?”

                “Not really,” Fluffy meowed. “But I do know that there was a fast river behind the rock area that I was cornered in. Then there was the hollowed out tree not far from it. It’s not from our forest though.”

                “I’m stumped,” Furby and Hennery said. “Maybe you’ll have another dream similar to it and you’ll find out more,” Furby continued.

                “I don’t want another like it, but if it wills me with the information I want…” Fluffy stuttered off at the thought and shivered from the pain in her foot.

                “Maybe we should let you go back home and rest that foot of yours,” Hennery suggested. “You’re lucky only that is hurt, because if Smoky wasn’t around you could have been in worse shape. He’s had years of practice with rats and mice may I remind you.”

                “Yeah, I’m glad to have him around too,” Fluffy sighed, “But for more than protection.” Smoky chuckled and helped his mate home.

                “Your foot is burning up,” Smoky replied as he touched her tender foot. “I think you should stick it slightly in the snow bank over here.”

                “I think I should too,” Fluffy agreed. “Do you think it maybe infected?”

                “I hope not,” he replied, “Maybe you should let Amy see what’s wrong.” Fluffy nodded and limped into the kitchen. Fluffy limped over to Amy, where she sat in front of the bright square. She placed her wrapped up foot on her hand and Amy jumped from the heat of her paw.

                                Fluffy was quickly scooped up in Amy’s arms and dragged back to the metal wheel. Smoky watched worried and ran with them, but he was shooed away back into the house. The cat flap was locked so he couldn’t get out and follow.                

                “What’s wrong with mom,” Tippy asked. Smoky looked at him and saw that his son didn’t look worried at all.

                “I don’t know son,” he answered. “Her foot was very hot and so she might be at the vets again. I shouldn’t have let her go outside; it probably got dirty and infected.”

                Looking around Smoky saw Sapphire crying. “What’s the matter, Sapphire,” he insisted.

                “It’s just that… the thought that mom… might die…is unbearable,” she sobbed.

                “Now sis, she’s not going to die.” Felicity was trying to comfort everyone around them. Smoky was watching sadly, Sapphire crying her eyes out, Booties shaking from being scared to death, and Tippy… he was just sitting there like nothing was wrong.

                “Tippy aren’t you worried about mother,” Sapphire sniffed.

                “Why? She’s a strong, young cat. She’ll make it through. What’s a little bite going to do?” That maddened Felicity. She stalked towards her small brother and got ready to pounce, but before she could Smoky got in front of her.

                “There’s no need for fighting,” Smoky hissed. “And Tippy, you should worry about her. She could be in danger of losing her foot or even her life. Now say you’re sorry for upsetting Felicity, because next time she can attack you.”

                “Sorry,” he muttered under his breath. Tippy walked away and up the ragged hill grumbling nonsense to himself.

                “Why is Tippy so mean,” Booties asked. Then their came a hiss from the pelt room.

                “He’s just mad that he couldn’t live in the mountains,” he explained. “Now go get some rest you three. I’ll wake you when Fluffy gets back.

                “If she comes back!”

                Smoky shook his head in anger and told the kits one more time to go to bed. They did as they were told and Smoky headed for the hill. Climbing each point of the ragged hill, he finally reached the top. Quietly Smoky walked over to the pelt room and found Tippy glaring at the floor.

                “What is the matter with you tonight,” Smoky snapped. He knew that Tippy would snap back and was ready for it.

                “Well it’s just that mom never pays any attention to me, just because I’m the runt,” he yowled. “I somewhat hope mom doesn’t come back, maybe then the others will leave me alone!”

                “Do you want to be shoved out on the streets? Because if she dies we all will be sent to the cells or kicked out on the streets. We can then never come home and we could freeze, get killed or starve. Do you want that Tippy?”

                Tippy was crying now from his fathers’ anger. “No! I don’t want that. But could you at least tell them to treat me like I’m not a runt?!”

                “I’ll do my best, but at least try to calm down the grumpiness,” Smoky asked, “that’s what makes them treat you like that.”

                “Sure dad,” Tippy agreed.

                “Now are you going to sleep up here or are you sleeping with your littermates?”

                “Down there I guess,” he said trying to smile.

Chapter 3

It was the next day and Fluffy hadn’t come back. Amy was here, but there was no black pelt. She was crying when she came in and was still now. Smoky jumped up on Amy’s lap to calm her down, it helped, but not enough. Her crying was making the kits worried, even Tippy. Sapphire was crying again and so were the others. Tippy wasn’t crying, but had a sad look on his face.

                Then the ring square, (phone), started to ring loudly. Amy reached for it. She started talking into it and Smoky heard another voice, and then there was purring, purring of his mate!

                Smoky landed on his paws as Amy jumped up with joy. She quickly ran out the door and into the metal wheel. With a squeal it turned and raced down the road.

                The kits were watching, confused. “Is the housefolk going crazy dad?” Sapphire had spoke up from her sobs.

                “No sweetie,” Smoky replied. “It’s just that your mother is alive and is coming home!” The kits squealed with happiness and all ran around Smoky, while Tippy sat in the bed smiling at the thought of having his mother alive.

                An hour went by and Smoky heard the metal wheel turn into the sleepway. Everybody raced to the door and waited. There was a click and a creak of the door opening. On the other side of the door was Amy with Fluffy in her arms. She was purring loudly and she looked very happy.

                Amy set Fluffy down and walked to the couch. She sat down as Fluffy ran to her mate, limping. She rubbed against Smoky and asked, “What did I miss?”

                Smoky smiled. “Nothing actually. Except that we all were worried to death about you!” He looked at the kits and saw all of them race to their mother. “So what happen? Why was your foot burning up?”

                “Well the other night when I had my dream,” Fluffy explained, “I had accidentally hit Booties with my foot. I didn’t feel it, but it swelled up and was burning.”

                “Well at least you still have it attached to your leg,” Smoky replied as he looked at her bandaged foot.

                “ I can go outside too, with this kind of cast!”

                “That’s great,” Smoky yawned loudly. “Sorry didn’t get much sleep last night, what with all the worry going on and everything.”

                “Same here,” Fluffy agreed. “Lets catch some shut eye for a bit.” The kits and Smoky purred in agreement and laid down in the beds. Sleeping was easy at the time, since no one had gotten any sleep the night before. Soon muffled snores were all over the house.

                The cats slept for a few hours until it was getting close to sunset. It was warm out, but gradually getting colder and the cats didn’t want to go outside. Soon there was a meow outside the cat flap that alarmed Fluffy and Smoky. Smoky walked over to the flap and poked his head out to see who was there.

                “Smoky, Fluffy,” greeted a deep voice. He had golden eyes and a shiny pelt. “I was hoping that you would be awake. My name is Coal. I come from a long way from here and I heard you are somewhat the leaders of the Cat Rescuers. And I was wondering…”

                “Wait, what,” Fluffy interrupted, “Did you just call us the Cat Rescuers?”

                “Yes I did,” Coal replied, “Cats around hoods have heard of you saving some kits awhile ago, and they call you the Cat Rescuers. And I was wondering if you could help me and some of other cats in the woods I came from.” When Fluffy or Smoky didn’t answer, he continued, “We have been having some difficulties with some rats, and squirrels that throw walnuts at anyone that passes by. Do you think you could gather your group up and discuss it with them? It would be an honor to have your help.”

                Fluffy had shuttered at the word rats. “Sure we can. If you would be kind enough, would you mind waiting at that bridge, while we get the others?”

                “Absolutely,” Coal meowed and he bounded away to bridge the overlooked the lake.

                “That was weird, but he’s a nice cat,” Smoky replied as they headed to the boat road. They had just finished gathering all the cats of the so called Cat Rescuers and it was only just getting dark.

                “Doesn’t this seem like my dream a bit,” Fluffy asked her mate. “As in, this cat has golden eyes and a silky smooth pelt and he’s asking our help because of rats.”

                “And walnut throwing squirrels,” he chuckled. Fluffy just sighed and ran up ahead. Coal was just getting into sight and the two eagles, Free and Gloria, were sitting with him. They were part of the group, so they had to be included.

                “Hello again,” Coal greeted, “I met these feathered friends of yours. They say that they helped you with the rescuing.”

                “Yes, they did,” Smoky said. “And they were our main advantage too.”

                “Oh really? Please tell,” Coal purred.

                For the next hour, the Cat Rescuers explained their last adventure to Coal. He was really impressed with how strong they were. “If you would be so helpful, could you help me with the rat problem?” Smoky had just finished the story and Coal was getting a little edgy.

                “I’m in,” Tippy answered.

                “So are we,” the rest of the kits announced.

                “There’s no disagreeing with that,” Oreo purred, “Because Streaky and I would also like to help.” The cats stared at Oreo. She never agrees with anyone!

                “I don’t see why we couldn’t help,” Smoky pointed out. “If there’s a cat in need, we should help it and right now it’s many cats in need. So who’s with us?”

                “Yeah,” they all yowled together..

                “Well it’s agreed,” Fluffy announced, “lets meet here again tomorrow and start off with our new adventure; through the woods!”

Chapter 4

“Morning, Coal.” Fluffy was in the pelt room waking Coal up. He had spent the night there, since he had nowhere else right now.

                Coal looked up and echoed back, “Morning Fluffy. Perfect day to travel isn’t it?”

                “It sure is,” Fluffy replied. “We better get going before my housefolk wake up and find you here.” He nodded and the twosome ran down the ragged hill to the kitchen. They met with Smoky and the four kits as they were headed out the cat flap.

                “Furby came by and said that everybody else is already at the bridge waiting,” Smoky explained. Fluffy looked at her mate, surprised and took off through the cat flap. The others followed her quickly.

                “How can you run so fast, with your foot like that,” Smoky asked as they reached the bridge.

                “I don’t know how,” Fluffy answered. “And are they trying to catch fish?”

                The cats behind her look at the gathered cats on the bridge. Hennery and Streaky were digging their paws in the water. Soon a slimy fish flew out of the water and landed on Sapphire’s nose. She squeaked and took off behind Coal.

                “Finally,” Chevy exclaimed, “We didn’t think you were coming. We’ve been waiting since dawn.”

                “Sorry,” Smoky apologized, “Booties wouldn’t get up.” The cats chuckled and turned back to fish catching.

                “How many have you caught,” Coal asked.

                “Just two so far,” Hennery replied.

                Coal walked over to the fishing cats and looked over their shoulders into the lake. Many fish were swimming around, just waiting to be caught. “Here let me try,” he offered. Coal leaned over the bridge a bit and extended out his paw. Quickly his paw and two fish shot out of the water.

                “How did you do that,” Streaky asked with awe in his voice.

                “It takes a lot of practice,” he sniffed. “But here’s a little tip: you have to keep your shadow off of the water and when you see a fish under your paw, swipe the fish out of the water. Go ahead and try.”

                Streaky walked over to the bridge and copied Coal’s moves. Soon the cats, and the newly arrived eagles, had plenty of food to eat. They ate their fill and were soon on their way.

                The Cat Rescuers and Coal were in the deep part of the forest around the lake. There was an eerie silence that made the cats hackles rise. Free, Gloria and the other eagles that went on the last adventure, were with them. They were flying over head to look for danger.

                “Fox, coming way,” Free screeched down to Smoky. “Two foxes. My mistake.”

                “Two foxes?! Now nobody panic,” Smoky hissed.

                “Follow me everyone,” Coal ordered. “I know where we can hide in small badger burrow.” “And yes it’s empty,” he said when the others looked scared. Coal grabbed Soot on the way and the rest of the kits were also picked up. This made the trip faster and safer.

                The cats quickly slid into the burrow. Foxes were Fluffy’s worst fear, because of the one time she was chased back home. It was dark this time so it was even worse. The kits were shivering with fear and the other cats were stiff.

                Sniffling came from outside the tunnel. Fluffy smelled fox and heard one bark. They act like a cat, but look like a dog, she always thought, and they did.

                “Look at what we found,” a soft voice barked. Then all the cats hissed in anger and fear as the head poked in the hole of the burrow. Chevy clawed at the muzzle of the fox and she backed away. “Now we won’t hurt you youngsters. We foxes are very nice towards little kitties like you. Come out now.”

                Chevy, Stormy and Smoky slowly inched out of the tunnel. Fluffy was all the way in the back and so far she hasn’t heard one hiss or growl.

                Finally Fluffy was almost out. She was hesitating at the opening though, scared that it might be a trap. Could these foxes be just waiting to pounce and kill? Fluffy shuttered and limped out. Her foot was bugging her once again, and it was in pain.

                “Are you okay, Mrs. Cat?” It was the female fox that spoke. She was a beautiful orange fox with green eyes. The male next to her was not as pretty: he had scars all over his body and his pelt was knotted in many places.

                “I’m fine thank you,” Fluffy answered. “It’s just that my foot hurts still from awhile ago.”

                “May I have a look,” she asked, “I may be able to make it feel better.” Fluffy nodded and the fox came over to her. She unwrapped her foot and slowly gave the bandage to Smoky. “By the way, my name is Lilac and that’s my mate Todd. He’s somewhat of a fighter, while I’m more of a healer.” Lilac paused for a moment and went into the burrow. She came back with some leaves and ointment looking things.

                “These are rose petals,” Lilac continued, holding up the petals. “The juice from the petals help keep out infections on a wound. Then these are raspberries.” She held up the berries. “They help num the pain from a wound, but it also makes anyone sleepy. Here eat them, you’ll feel better soon.”

                Fluffy licked the juicy berries into her mouth, while Lilac was rewrapping the bandage back on her foot. The berries tasted sour, but in a few minutes her foot was starting to feel better.

                “Thanks Lilac,” Fluffy yawned. The young fox nodded and turned back to Smoky.

                “You are more than welcome to stay in our burrow for the night,” she offered.

                “That’s a very generous offer, thank you,” Smoky replied. With that the kits took off into the stuffy burrow of the foxes. Smoky shook his head and watched as the other cats headed in for the night. The eagles were in the dark branches of trees; asleep.

                “So where are you youngsters headed,” Todd asked grumpily.

                “Coal is taking us to where he lives,” Fluffy explained, “he and some other cats are having problems with rats and walnut throwing squirrels.”

                “Oh really,” Lilac exclaimed, “Well we just came back from there. Todd here got hit by a huge walnut on his head today. That is why he’s so grumpy.”

                “You mean we’re not to far from the woods?”

                “No you are not Blackie,” Todd growled. “It’s just over the fence at the edge of this forest. You have to go under it, and then you have to wade through the fast flowing river. It’s not easy, so I suggest that you carry your kits across.”

                “How about we go with them and help with the scurry of squirrels and the horde of rats. Maybe then they’ll have a better chance of winning,” Lilac suggested. Todd grunted and closed his eyes.

                “We’d love to have you help us out,” Fluffy said. “And what are a scurry and a horde?”

                “It means a group,” she sang. “Much like yourselves. With how many cats are traveling together, I would believe that you would call yourselves a clutter of cats; I think.”

                “Well now I’m really confused,” Smoky sighed. Everyone chuckled and headed for the burrow, when a chilly wind swept over their pelts.

                Once all the cats were nestled in the moss of the burrow, it got very crowded. The foxes slept outside, keeping watch. Kits of all the cats were sleeping next to each other, trying to stay warm.

                “Do you think once we reach the woods, we’ll meet the rats,” Fluffy asked.

                “We might plus we might not come back alive,” Chevy answered from up front. “Even with the eagles and foxes, we won’t win. What we need are the wolves. They would tear apart those rats and squirrels in a flash.”

                “Yeah,” Smoky laughed. “Especially that little Slush. He was a challenge for the mountain cats.”

                “We should’ve gone back to the mountains and asked them to help,” Fluffy suggested. “Then we would win, hopefully with just a few wounds.” She shuttered at the thought of losing one of her friends.  To her, this is just beginning of the journey, for others, like Chevy, they thought it was just coming to end.        

                Fluffy finally was able to fall asleep and rest up for the bloody battle. Who will live and who will die? Will we Cat Rescuers actually win this battle? And will my nightmare come true?  These thoughts raced through her mind. This battle would be the worst of her nightmares, and maybe her last, everyone’s last nightmarish battle.

Chapter 5

It was early morning and it was clouding up fast. Rain was on its way, which was going to make the battle worst. Cats could get stuck in mud and get killed easier or they could fall into the river if they strayed to close.

                “I can’t believe we are actually doing this, Smoky,” Fluffy cried as the Cat Rescuers reached the fence to the woods.

                “Now stop this crying,” he ordered, “The battle hasn’t even started.  We still have a chance to take the rats down, one by one. They can’t that bad.”

                “They’re worse then you think they are, sonny.” They turned to the small voice. In front of them was a golden looking tabby. He was muscular, but skinny. His fur was untidy and dirty from mud.

                “Name’s Benji,” the golden tabby answered. “I guess you youngsters are the Cat Rescuers.”

                “I guess we are,” Smoky replied. “Wait. Did you use to live in a hood by a lake? In a small cream house, by any chance?” Fluffy looked at her mate suspiciously. What he is getting at, she thought.      

                “How did you know? I thought everyone would’ve forgotten my mate and I.”

                “Well,” Smoky meowed, “my mate, kits and I live in that house now. Speaking of your mate, where is she?” Smoky looked around as if she was lurking behind all the trees.

                “Tammy,” Benji asked. Smoky nodded. “She’s out hunting with Simba and Sadie. They are a couple of other cats from the hood.”

                Fluffy finally spoke, “Why did you and the other cats run away? Because I don’t think it’s necessary.”

                Benji snorted. Some other cats came up behind him, in a defensive line. “If you must know,” answered a gray- black striped tabby, “We left because we didn’t want to be taken to the Slasher’s and get cut into.”

                He paused and a silvery female cat took his place of speaking, “Us cats want to be able to live a better life then getting taken to there. We want to be able to have kits and to raise them ourselves.”

                “I left,” replied a brown male, “because my housefolk never kept my food bowl and water bowl filled.”

                “Mine never paid ant attention to me,” yelled a few cats.

                “I had to live in a stinky, unclean house,” hissed a white male with gray paws.

                Benji silenced the surrounding cats with a flick of his tail and growled, “Now you know why we left. Some left just because they didn’t want to be a house cat, but now all of us are sorry we left our safe homes. Rats attack us at night and while we hunt, squirrels throw walnuts and practically bury us in a pile of them.

                “That’s why we sent Coal as fast as we could,” he continued. Turning to him, Benji meowed, “We knew you fast runner Coal, but not that fast.”

                “I wanted to find them quick because I knew that we needed help fats,” he answered.

                Behind the reunited cats, the Cat Rescuers looked down at their paws as they listened. Fluffy could hear Dusty and Tippy muttering something about how great this adventure was so far. Hearing her kit’s voice saddened her even more; losing her kits was going to be painful. If she had to, she would protect her kits with her life and her mate… Who should I protect more? My mate or my kits?

                “Smoky I really don’t think I want us to fight these rats,” Fluffy whispered in his ear.

                “Why not now,” Smoky snapped.

                “I don’t want to lose you or the kits and I don’t think these cats need us.” Smoky looked at big group of cats and looked back at his mate, confused. Fluffy sighed. “They have so many cats with them now. I don’t think rats can populate like they say they can. They don’t need us.” She turned and walked away, running into Furby.

                “What’s wrong Fluffy?” Furby asked.

                “Nothing,” she answered.

                “Well if you’re okay,” Furby sighed. “You wouldn’t have guessed what I just found out!”

                Fluffy rolled her eyes, “What did you find out?”

                “Well you know how Coal looks like a male version me?” She nodded. “Well it just so happens that he’s my brother!”

                “You have got to be joking?” Fluffy yowled.

                “No,” she replied, “I guess when we were kits, our mother’s housefolk were kit givers and Coal and I were given to separate housefolk.” She paused to sneeze and then continued, “I ended in house in our hood, while Coal ended up on the other side of these woods.”

                “Now you are reunited again,” Fluffy meowed. “Do you know if he’s coming back with us?” Then she added, “If we live?”

                “He said he would be delighted to come,” Furby answered, “but he doesn’t trust housefolk after what happened…”

                “I’m sure everyone will understand,” the black cat purred. “Do you know when we meet the rats?”

                She shook her head no, but a deeper voice answered her differently, “Yes. The rats only like to come out at night because it’s easier to kill the cats in these woods. Before you came, at least two cats were gone missing the every morning.”

                The female cats turned just as he was finishing his answer. He was a pure black tom. His name was Charcoal and he had blue eyes, and Fluffy just couldn’t stop watching him. His muscles moved so gracefully under his fur as he walked away, that it was impossible to take her eyes off him.

                “What am I thinking,” Fluffy murmured silently to herself. “I already have a mate and four kits. I can’t like another male like that… Can I?” She quickly shook herself and walked back to her mate, tail dragging in the grass behind her.

                When Fluffy reached Smoky he was talking with Benji and a new golden female. This was Tammy, Benji’s mate. She had green eyes and white paws and tail. Her fur was slick and shiny, like her mate, Benji. How they kept their fur that clean… it was a mystery.  

                “Hey Smoky,” Fluffy muttered as she sat beside him.

                He looked slightly down at his black mate and noticed that she was trying to apologize about earlier. “I’m sorry about earlier too,” he purred. Fluffy looked up at him and purred in tune with him. “So what is the plan with the rats?”

                “Well it seems they retreated,” Tammy replied. “But I’m afraid that they’re not stopping this war yet.”

                “What do you mean,” Smoky urged.

                “It means that the rats are going to look for other rats, from other places,” she hissed. “And the bigger the forest is, the bigger the rats will be. If they do successfully find bigger rats, we’re all going to have to somehow cover each other. Maybe back-to-back defense?”

                When Smoky and Fluffy looked at the two golden tabbys, confused, Benji added, “Back-to-back defense is when four cats put their backs to each other. When battling, each of the cats can get a rat on that side.” He paused, and took a breath. “Go and get Coal, Charcoal, and all of your cats in your group,” Benji added to Smoky. He nodded and ran into the woods.

                “How do you know that the rats retreated to get more rats,” Fluffy asked while they were waiting for Smoky to return.

                “When all the rats leave together, it means there are more rats to come,” Tammy said. “They never leave their den unprotected. There are always ten guard rats outside it, enough to take down five cats. Then inside the den are all the female rats that have to take care of the hairless pups.” She gulped then cried, “But there are no rats anywhere around that den, in or out!”

                “Does that mean we’re going to die?” Fluffy asked.

                “I don’t see anyway we can win,” Benji answered , for hi shaking mate, “The foxes can only take down about three rats at a time while us cat can barley take down two. The eagles can also take down three. So if we have seven eagles, two foxes and about fifty cats, we’ll have… one-hundred-and-twenty-five chance out of five hundred we’ll live.”

                Smoky had just arrived with the cats that Benji sent him to get. Now they were all standing there, awed by how smart Benji was; whatever he just used.

                “What so we can take about that many rats in about a day, when they’ll have more then five hundred,” Tammy asked her mate. “Or does that mean that we have a low chance to live?”

                “That we have a very low chance that all these cats will live after the battle, unless we retreat,” he answered, “and I’m not retreating away form a place I lived almost all my life.”

                “I don’t blame you sweetie,” Tammy mewed. “I don’t want to leave either, but if we want our Clatter to live then we have to retreat.”

                “What do mean by your Clatter?” Smoky asked as he walked up by his mate.

                “Didn’t Benji tell you what we call this group,” Tammy gasped. She looked at her mate and he shrugged guiltily. Tammy sighed and explained, “We call this group the Woodcat Clatter. It means a group of cats that live in the woods. I think there are a Rivercat Clatter and a Junglecat Clatter. The Junglecat Clatter is a group of Tigers or Panthers, and the Rivercat Clatter is a group of cats that live by a river.

                “There was also a few other Clatters, but Benji and I think they’re all gone,” she continued. “Demoncat Clatter was the worst. They were devilish cats that killed for fun and they only had black cats in their Clatter.”

                “How did they die out,” Sheba asked, behind Fluffy.

                “Some Treefolk killed them all off from cutting down the forest they lived in,” Tammy said darkly. “But we don’t know what happened to the other Clatters.”

                “Isn’t there a Freezecat Clatter in the snow caves of Snowfall Peaks ?” Benji wondered.

                “Yes there is,” she replied, “I almost forgot! Thanks.” Tammy sat right next to her mate, and they started purring loudly.

                “We’ll go out and hunt for awhile,” Smoky suggested and without and answer, he led the Cat Rescuers out into the woods.

Chapter 6

It was dark out in the woods. Fluffy was alone so she could hunt quietly, but she thought it was a bit to quiet. Shaking in her fur she opened her mouth and took in a bit of air. She scented mouse, squirrel, birds, and… rats. Even though the rat scent was from hours ago, it was still strong.

                She walked around a big bramble bush, which was dead, and sniffed loudly. Suddenly Fluffy heard something over by some slippery rocks. There was a river behind them and it was moving rapidly, splashing the rocks every few seconds.

                The sound came again, louder. It came from a thistle bush in the corner of the rocks. Then a flashback of her dream came, the part where she was cornered by the rats. Fluffy quickly became alert and backed up a little ways. She gulped in fear and let her hackles rise.

                Before she could back up any more, Fluffy heard many animals growling. She turned her head and of course, the rats were waiting for her.

                “Help!” she yowled as she was cornered. The scurry of rats in front of had blood red eyes and teeth. Their claws were worse; long, sharp and replaceable, just like in her dream. Soon her hero would come and his identity would be revealed.

                The big rat in front suddenly spoke, in a raspy tone, “You must die cat. You are not welcome in the Dark Woods, it’s for rats only!” Then he flicked his tail while Fluffy was stunned. The rats behind him jumped at the startled black cat and she screamed.

                But before the rats touched her, a big cat pushed her away. They were rolling down a steep hill, just as Fluffy heard some of the rats squeal in pain. Her and the big male rolled into a big hollowed out tree. It was quiet again and it made Fluffy feel better.

                “You’re safe now,” the male answered. “You have to worry about the rats to much now Fluffy.”

                She blinked in surprise. “How do you know my name?”

                “I’m in the Woodcat Clatter,” he answered. “My name is Charcoal remember?”

                Fluffy couldn’t believe it. The blue eyed male she saw earlier, was her hero in her dream. “But you had blue eyes when I saw you,” she replied.

                “For some reason my eyes are blue during the day, but at night they turn golden.” Fluffy stared at him with loving eyes. Even though it was dark, she could still tell the color of his pelt. It was blacker then the night of the woods, and it was smoothed down so much, that it shined in the hollow of the tree.

                Then there was a hiss and rats jumped on top of Charcoal. He was soon covered in a mass of rats. She could see him withering in pain as the teeth bit into his beautiful pelt. More rats soon came and swarmed over Fluffy. She hissed and clawed at the rats, but it was no use; there were to many to handle.

                Everything was wet and quiet in the hollowed out tree. The sun was shinning on Fluffy’s black pelt as she laid there in pain. She had bite marks all over her body. The worse bite mark the rats gave her was a huge slash by her neck. They hadn’t gotten close enough to her throat to kill her, but it weakened her enough that she couldn’t move.

                Fluffy slightly picked up her head. She saw Charcoal a mouse length away from her. He had more wounds to his pelt, but he wasn’t breathing. Tears swelled up in her eyes from seeing him. He was just like her in many ways and it felt like part of her had just died. Fluffy had been here for hours, but he never had stirred, and she never thought of him being dead.

                While she was sobbing, Fluffy heard paw steps outside the hollow tree. She tried to move father in it, but she had stiffened up through the night and couldn’t move far. So she just sat up a bit and was ready for any kind of attack. Claws out she waited for the approaching intruder, hoping she would be able to move.

                “Wait the scent is stronger over here,” a male voice called. “I think it’s coming from this hollowed out tree.”

                “Well lets go check it out, and hope Fluffy and Charcoal are somewhere near,” another voice replied.

                Fluffy was still in the tree. She had been able to move closer to Charcoal’s body, to protect it. Once she had heard the voices, Fluffy knew they were from the Woodcat Clatter, possibly from the Cat Rescuers.

                “I’m in here,” Fluffy cried with a raspy voice.

                “Fluffy is that you,” the first voice asked. Fluffy recognized that voice now.

                “Smoky!?” Fluffy stiffly arose from the leafy ground of the tree and limped out of it. Bright eyed she looked around carefully for her mate. She saw him hurrying towards her from out of the shadow of the woods. “Oh Smoky,” she exclaimed with tears welling up in her eyes again.

                “What in the woods happened to you,” Smoky gasped as his mate slithered down to the ground.

                Fluffy reluctantly sobbed out the story. “I was out hunting and I was near the rocks over the hill. There’s a river behind them.” She paused and took a breath. “It’s just like my dream, but fully explained. Well when the rats finally came, the head rat said I needed to die. The other rats attacked, but of course another cat rolled me out of the way. When we were in the tree, I found out who the mysterious hero was... Charcoal.” Smoky and the other cat, which was a ginger male, gasped in surprise. “Then the rats piled into the tree and tore into us. I laid in there since last night. When I awoke this morning though, I noticed that he was… dead.” She had to choke out the last word, because it was so hard to think Charcoal was dead. Then she added, “It feels like I lost a part of me.”

                “Shh,” Smoky whispered. “Do you know where Charcoal is now?”

                “He’s still in the hollowed out tree.”

                “We’ll take him back to the clearing,” the ginger male suggested. “And by the way if you don’t know me, which you probably don’t, I’m Flame. I am always part of the search-and-rescue in the Woodcat Clatter.”

                “Well it’s nice to meet  you, Flame,” Fluffy greeted him for the first time. “Is it okay if get to the clearing now? My wounds are making me stiff again.”

                “Sure, let me just grab Charcoal real quick, and we can get going,” Flame answered. He ran into the tree and Fluffy heard leaves rustling. In a couple minutes, Flame came out with Charcoal’s scruff in his mouth. He nodded, telling Fluffy and Smoky that they could get going. He trotted in pace with them, while Charcoal dragged on the ground.

                Fluffy had slowed the group down, and so the three cats didn’t get to the clearing at the time they wanted to be. It was getting close to mealtime, which was a couple hours before sunset, and they planned to be there for noon.

                When Fluffy entered the clearing with her mate, he helped her over to a pile of cold moss. She lay down and sighed with relief as the pain numbed away slowly. Cats soon crowed around her asking many questions about why she was missing and why she had so many wounds, but Fluffy couldn’t answer any because Benji and Tammy shooed them all away so Fluffy could get some rest.

                “You can tell everyone what happened tomorrow,” Tammy told her, “Right now you need something on those bites.” Then she called, “Lilac! Can you come over and check her bites so that they don’t become infected?”

                The beautiful fox slowly ran over. Her belly had grown big and Fluffy knew what that meant: kits, or pups as the foxes called them. She hadn’t seen her for quit some time, since the Woodcat Clatter hadn’t needed them. From the news that the rats were back, the foxes must have came back as quickly as they could.

                “When I’m here in the woods with you Clatter cats, then I will be of service,” she replied. “Now lets see what we need to do to keep out those infections and make sure the wounds heal well.” Lilac paused and sniffed Fluffy’s pelt. Then she ran back over to the pile of leaves, petals and other wound healing herbs. Lilac brought over some new herbs she didn’t know, one was slimy and one was thin as grass, but longer.

                “What kind of herbs are those?” Fluffy asked.

                Holding up each herb, Lilac explained, “This one is slug slime.”  She held up the slime and slapped it on the wound, carefully. “It holds the rose petals on the wound until the wound is better. Then the grassweed…” Lilac smoothed out the grass like herb onto her shoulder. “That keeps the slug slime on so that it can’t be washed off.”

                “How do you remember all those herbs?”

                “It’s a matter of memory and time,” she replied. “Now all we need to put on your other wounds is a little sage.” She turned around and had a light green plant in her mouth. “Sage will be for your smaller wounds, which will heal really fast.”

                As soon as the sage was put on Fluffy’s smaller wounds, Lilac left to her small den where she and Todd slept. Fluffy saw her mate sitting in the middle of the clearing, watching all the other cats get ready for the upcoming battle. She limped over to him and slithered to the ground.

                “How you feeling,” Smoky asked looking down at her.

                “Better,” she answered sadly.

                “What’s wrong?”

                “Well I want to be in the battle, but my wounds won’t be healed in time,” Fluffy replied, “I need to teach those rats a lesson!”

                He nodded.” Do you know who Charcoal actually was?”

                “Just that he was part of this Clatter,” Fluffy murmured.

                “He was more than that.”

                Fluffy looked at her mate, confused. “How?”

                Smoky gave Fluffy a sad look, and then answered sniffling. “He was you father Fluffy.” She opened her mouth to speak, but Smoky continued. “According to his sister, and your aunt, you two were separated in a Cell Place . Our housefolk took you away form the horrible place, but left Charcoal. He managed to get out, but couldn’t find you.. So then he wandered around different hoods and ended staying here in these woods.

                “Ever since he found the Clatter cats, he stayed to himself. In other words, he never talked to anyone or ever went near anyone. He hunted for only himself and slept away from the other cats. Charcoal was a lonely cat until we showed up. Knowing your face right away, he stopped keeping to himself and tried to get closer to you and then he saw me. Charcoal didn’t think he should be around you with me around so he followed you last night. Of course he had to save you when the rats attacked. But he never had a chance to tell you all of this I guess.” Smoky finished with a sigh of relief that he got it off his chest.

                “So I never could say good-bye to me own father,” Fluffy cried. “Those rats are going to pay!”

                “Yes they will,” Smoky replied. “But first we need to rest up, especially you.”

                “I guess I could deal with a bit of sleep.” Smoky nodded and helped his mate get up. He supported her with his shoulder and together they walked over to a mossy nest. It was warm and soft as feathers. Usually the female cats that were going to have kits used them, but one was made for Fluffy since she was to hurt to sleep on the hard, cold ground.

                “Lie down and get some rest,” Smoky declared as Fluffy lay down. She blinked at him in agreement through sleepy eyes. Her mouth opened wide and curled up into a warm ball. Smoky lay protectively next to her and the nest. The two cats were soon asleep in the cold night. It was quiet except for the scattering of paws in the grass.

Chapter 7

“It’s the rats!” It was only a couple minutes after Fluffy and Smoky had fallen asleep. Cats were screaming and hissing as the rats attacked in big numbers. As the Woodcat Clatter had feared, the wood rats had recruited bigger rats. They were as big as a three month old kit and they were going to be hard to kill.

                “Help protect the kits,” Benji yowled to the other cats. “Fluffy you should hide with them. You’re in no fit to fight.”

                “I don’t care if I’m fit or not. These rats are going to pay after killing my father.” Fluffy stood up and gritted her teeth in pain as her wounds stiffened up, but she padded closer to the rats. Claws out and lips curled back into a snarl, Fluffy waited for a rat to attack.

                Fluffy saw many rats. They were attacking with five rats per cat. It was going to be a deathly battle.

                “Gaaah!” A rat bit down into her back leg. Raged with fury, Fluffy killed the rat with one swipe across the neck. She turned around to see a defensive line of rats in front of her.  Hissing, she flung herself into the rats.

                “What are you doing,” Fluffy heard Smoky yowled as she killed two rats with one bite.

                “I’m getting my revenge for my father!” That was it. She saw no more, but the bodies of many rats scuttling over her. They were biting through her pelt, like a leaf. Squirming under the rats she tried to claw them off her, but there was to many.

                Then, the rats were being ripped off Fluffy. She heard a howl and saw the rats around her scamper away. Fluffy looked up and saw a face of a wolf. It was Slush from the mountains! The wolves had come!

                Getting up, Fluffy lunged at some distracted rats. They were watching the wolves as their brothers were being killed. The rat Fluffy had bit into squealed loudly and the others ran.. Spitting the rat out of her mouth, Fluffy saw five other wolves. They were killing five rats at time with their big jaws and claws.

                Looking through the small crowd of cats filling around Lilac, Fluffy started panicking. She didn’t see her mate, kits or her hood friends getting treated for their wounds. Limping painfully into the thick of battle, Fluffy paced around all the battling cats, rats, and wolves. She even saw the eagles swooping in and out of the air, scooping up two rats at a time.

                The rat number was going down fast, but she had forgotten about the squirrels. They had just started chucking their huge walnuts at the cats. Quickly, Fluffy yowled to the eagles to go after the trees where the squirrels were hiding. She heard Free screech an okay and the big birds started carrying off squirrels into the air.

                With that problem solved, Fluffy returned looking for her mate, kits, and her friends from the hood. Soon she had found Furby and Hennery battling side by side with a couple big rats. The cats were using the back-to-back defense move all the hood cats were taught, but just with two cats instead of four.

                Thinking those two cats had it under control, Fluffy hurried through the crowd. More cats had gathered in the thick of the battle and so it got more crowded. Looking harder, Fluffy noticed a black-and-white pelt lying on the ground. Instantly, she noticed it was Oreo. Running over to the small cat, Fluffy panicked again. Please say she isn’t dead!  Fluffy sighed with relief as the female cat picked up her head.

                “Have you seen any of the other cats form home,” Fluffy asked Oreo.

                “I saw your kits battling a couple small rats with Dusty,” she rasped in pain. “I also saw Chevy , Sheba , Tiffie, and a silver male fighting off a stray badger. I don’t know where the others are though.”

                “I believe the silver male is called Silver. We saw him when we first came here,” Fluffy replied. “Here lets go find the others, and hopefully they won’t be…” But Fluffy stopped, not wanting to think about what happened to her father. Quickly, giving Oreo support, they padded to where Oreo said she saw the kits.

                Fluffy’s kits and Dusty were there alright, along with Soot and Starlett, Sassy’s kits. They were sprawled out across the ground with dirty, matted fur.

                “Tippy,” Fluffy yowled. She had seen that her kit was not moving. As she had screamed his name the other kits jumped and ran to their mother. They were crying, and shaking badly. Did that mean he was dead?

                “Mom,” Sapphire squeaked. “Tippy…is…dead! He died saving one of the Clatter kits.”

                The other cats around them gathered. Fluffy noticed that all of them were from the hood. Coming out of the surrounding circle of cats came out Smoky and a black male. He had golden eyes and a torn ear. Many wounds covered his body. That’s when she noticed it was her father!

                “Charcoal, Smoky! You’re alive,” Fluffy cried. Then her happy tone turned into a raged and sad tone. “Tippy’s dead!”

                “What,” Smoky and Charcoal yowled together. Smoky went over to his son’s body. It was bloody and the dirt around him was wet with his blood. A couple paw steps away was a bigger kit. It was a female kit. She was a pale gray cat with icy blue eyes.

                With a shaky squeak, the gray cat announced, “Your son saved me. A huge rat had come after me and I hadn’t seen it. He pushed me out of the way, but the rat bit his throat.”

                The blue eyed female ran over to another cat, which turned out to be Sassy. “Shh. Calm down Cinder,” she whispered. Then Sassy padded over to Smoky and Fluffy. “Tippy and Cinder had started to like each other quite well. It hurts to lose a friend this way.”

                “All rats are gone,” a shrill voice replied. The cats turned to see Free settling on the ground.. He had just thrown a squirrel on the ground next to him. “Squirrels too. We stacked them in pile near trees.” He pointed with his wing. It was close to being featherless, but it had enough feathers so that he could still fly.

                “Good job,” Benji purred, as he came up. Then turning to Fluffy, he asked, “Would you like us bury Tippy here, or do you want to take him back home?”

                Fluffy looked at her kits then Smoky. They all had the pleading look to take Tippy back home to bury. “We’ll take his body back with us.”

                “I f it would make you feel any better Fluffy, I would like to come back to your home with you,” Charcoal offered. “Your housefolk will be devastated from losing Tippy, but then they’ll have another cat to take his place. I also think you wouldn’t mind to have your father back, now would you?”

                “We would love to have you Charcoal,” Fluffy sniffed. “And so would my housefolk.”

                Smoky leaned into Fluffy and whispered, “Do you think we should get going?” Fluffy nodded.

                “Before you go,” Tammy replied, “Would you like to help us celebrate from defeating the rats?”

                Smoky hesitated and so did Fluffy. They wanted to get home, but they wanted to have some fun after the victory the Clatter cats had just won. “Uhhh… sure,” the mates answered.

                It was afternoon, and the Cat Rescuers were celebrating with the Woodcat Clatter. The sun shone brightly into the woods, and so it got stuffy. Cats were eating prey they had just caught and some were cleaning out the pile of rats and squirrels, before the bodies rotted.

                Benji and Tammy had just got on top of flat rock. They were about to announce something, one thing that hadn’t been done, since the Cat Rescuers had gotten to the woods.

                “Today we celebrate the day of our victory,” Benji announced. “Because of us wining we get to keep our wood and our home. Most of survived and the others that didn’t… we will honor their bravery, but that’s not all, we must honor the Cat rescuers. They had helped us throughout our threat form the rats and helped us win.” Benji paused and let the cats in the clearing cheer for the Cat Rescuers. Fluffy stared at her paws, while the others stood proudly.

                “We must also honor the brave kit of Fluffy and Smoky for saving our young kit, Cinder,” Tammy continued. “He gave his life to her when a rat was about to kill her.”

                “And one more announcement,” Benji yowled above the noise that rapidly arose. He waited until the clearing got quiet before Benji continued. “Charcoal and Coal are leaving to go live in the hood with the Cat Rescuers. We will miss their bravery and strength.”

                “May I speak,” Cinder asked.

                Benji looked down at the young kit and mewed, “Why yes you may. What is it?”

                “I just wanted to say that, I spoke with my mother and the Cat Rescuers about going back with them. You all know that I liked Tippy as a friend, maybe more, but I really want to go back to where he had once lived. I’m pretty lonely here and I don’t have any other kits that like to have fun with a little squirt like me, while Fluffy and Smoky’s kits like me the way I am. Even Dusty does, along with Soot and Starlett.”

                “And this is your final decision,” Tammy asked.

                “Yes,” Cinder squeaked.

                “Then you may go with them,” she continued, “and I hope you find happiness where you will now live.” Turning to Fluffy and Smoky, Tammy suggested, “Maybe you should start your journey back home, so that you can get back to the foxes den before dark.” They nodded and said their good-byes to the Woodcat Clatter. Turning back the way the Cat Rescuers came, they started back home with three new cats: Cinder, Charcoal, and Coal.

Chapter 8

The cats were just slipping under the broken down fence, when there was a rumble of thunder in the distance. The clouds had covered the sky like a dark gray pelt. Drops of rain plopped on the ground and then started getting the cats soaked.

                “Just what we need,” snarled Chevy. “Rain to make our journey even harder!”

                Fluffy wasn’t listening. She was still trying not to believe that her son, Tippy, was dead. She remembered how happy he was when Tippy wanted to fight the rats. Tippy got that chance, but failed to come back..

                “Are you still thinking about him,” Charcoal asked. Her father had broken away form the bickering group and then she noticed how far away they were. Fluffy hadn’t even noticed that the group had stopped walking. They had stopped under some shelter of trees, where the ground was pretty much dry.

                “How can I not,” Fluffy cried. “He might have been grumpy all the time, but he was the most popular among my kits, even I thought that.”

                “You’ll have many more kits, hopefully, in the future. Right now you have to be proud of the kits you still have.”

                “You’re right,” Fluffy yawed. “But maybe we should discuss this in the morning, after we get some rest.”

                “I agree,” her father admitted. “Lets go get some sleep under the trees where the others are at.” Father and daughter padded over to the cover of the trees. It was drier then Fluffy had thought.

                Fluffy lay down next to her mate and kits. Charcoal dropped to the ground a little farther away, closer to Furby’s brother, Coal..  She sighed and listened to the rhythmic breathing of all the cats around her. Fluffy closed her eyes and waited until sleep over came her.

                It was still drizzling when Fluffy woke. She looked around at the other sleepy cats. Seeing all the kits, even Cinder, sleeping together made her think of Tippy. Looking in the direction where his body was, she saw that it wasn’t there. Fluffy gave a loud yowl, which woke the other cats.

                “What’s the matter,” Smoky hissed in alarm.

                “Tippy’s body is gone,” she exclaimed. “But there’s no scent of any other animal that could’ve dragged it off!”

                “What are we all yelling about,” a familiar voice asked.

                All the cats turned around to look at a gray cat. He had blue eyes and a black tipped tail. This cat was similar in so many ways, but was bigger then Fluffy last saw him.

                “Tippy is that you,” Cinder spat in surprise.

                “Yeah why,” he answered.

                “Well sweetie, the last time we saw you, you were kind of… dead,” Fluffy explained to her son. “What I would like to know is how you are alive now?”

                “Haven’t you cats ever heard of cats having nine lives?” They nodded. “You all probably thought that it wasn’t true, but it is. How do you think Charcoal and Hennery lived, even though we thought they were dead?”

                “How do you know all of this Tippy,” Smoky asked.

                “I don’t know,” he whispered. “When I woke last night, I noticed that I was bigger in size and that I was a bit smarter. It seemed that I had a dream about being told that all cats are born with nine lives.”

                “So we all have nine lives,” Cinder asked pointing to all of the other cats.

                Tippy nodded. Then he turned away from the bold group, and asked impatiently, “Can we get going and talk about this when we reach our homes?”

                “We should, it’s getting really eerie out here,” Smoky replied nervously. “Also it might start raining again, and we don’t want to get another soaking like last night!”

                “Can we stop at the foxes den,” squeaked the brown-gray striped kit, Dusty. “I’d like to visit them before we go back home.”

                Oreo chucked and agreed, “Sure sweetie, but first lets get some prey! I’m starving!” All the cats laughed and took off in different directions. Fluffy stayed with the kits, along with Charcoal.

                “You’ve changed Tippy,” Fluffy whispered to her son’s ear. “Is it that nine lives thing?”

                Tippy looked at his mother, somewhat taken aback. “Why what’s changed on me mother?”

                “Well, no offense, but you seem bigger, smarter and less grumpy,” she answered.

                “Oh that! Yeah that’s part of the nine lives thing all right!” Tippy paused to lick his ruffled chest fur. “Hey at least I can’t be made fun of being the runt of the litter!”

                Fluffy smiled at her happy son, and then turned when she heard the bushes rustle. All the kits ran to Fluffy and Charcoal, hiding behind them for protection. Was it the rats or a badger in the shadows of the new morning light?

Chapter 9

Fluffy stood under the trees, her hackles raised and claws out. Her lips were drawn back into a snarl and a small growl rumbled in her throat. The noise was getting closer. The bushes were starting to part farther away and Fluffy was getting ready to pounce.

                A quick whiff of prey brought Fluffy’s fur lower, but she still stood her ground. She quickly crept around the bushes. Looking through them she saw grey-and-white fur. Behind it were two golden cats, both muscular and shaggy.

                The figures soon turned out to be cats. They burst through the bushes and the front cat announced, “Fluffy, Charcoal. I found two cats out while hunting and guess who they are?”

                “I don’t know Tiffie, but do you know where the others are,” Fluffy asked the gray-and-white cat.

                “No I haven’t seen the others, but the ones that I did find are from the Woodcat Clatter.” Turning to the bushes Tiffie called, “You two can come out now!”                                                     Behind Tiffie, came out the golden cats. Fluffy, Charcoal, and all eight kits let their jaws drop. The golden cats were Benji and Tammy.

                “Benji…Tammy,” Charcoal stammered. “What are you doing here?”

                “We decided to come with you all back to the hood where we once lived,” Benji answered.

                “Fluffy do you know if you have enough room in your home for us,” Tammy asked.

                She hesitated. “Well… it’s more up to my housefolk, but I would say yes.”

                “Most likely they’ll remember us and want us back,” Tammy replied.

                Fluffy shrugged and smiled. She sat back down to wait for the rest of the group. Now they would need more prey, since Tiffie only caught a couple pieces, unless one of the cats managed to catch four pieces of prey.

                It was getting close to afternoon and the cats had just got back from hunting. Benji and Tammy had suggested they go hunt their own and had already left.

                Fluffy was nibbling on a huge rabbit when Smoky asked, “So when did they get here, meaning Tammy and Benji?”

                “A little while ago and they might be living with us when we get home,” Fluffy complained.

                “How come you don’t like the idea of having them living with us? They’re great cats,” Tippy asked swallowing the last bite of is mouse.

                “Well it’s just that because they were the leaders of the Clatter, they might try to take over the Cat rescuers,” Fluffy explained. “True it’d be nice to have them with our group, but I wouldn’t want them taking control of what we do.”

                All the cats were agreeing with Fluffy except Charcoal. He was looking at his paws, and his untouched prey.

                “You okay, Charcoal,” Furby’s brother, Coal, asked.

                He nodded then added, “It’s just that I think Benji and Tammy would take better care of this group if they were in charge. They’re more experienced then Fluffy and Smoky.”

                “You are right that Tammy and Benji are more experienced, but Fluffy and Smoky run this group differently then the Clatter,” Furby argued. “We actually all run the Cat Rescuers. Taking turns in different duties and everything.”

                “Streaky and I watch out for the back of the group,” Oreo told Charcoal.

                “Stormy stays on the left side of the group while I’m on the right,” explained Sassy.

                “Then Furby , Sheba , Chevy, Tiffie, Coal, and I fill in the rest of the circle,” Hennery added.

                “We kits stay in the center of the circle,” Soot blurted out.

                “And we always change the group to different parts of the circle, except the kits,” Smoky muttered. Fluffy looked at her mate. He was glaring at Charcoal as if he didn’t like him, which made Fluffy mad.

                Keeping her anger down, Fluffy just walked away and looked up at the sky. The sun was disappearing behind the newly gathered rain clouds. “We better get going as soon as Tammy and Benji get back and after they eat. Otherwise, we’ll be rained on badly.” Smoky nodded once and went back to eating his robin.

                After another hour or so Tammy and Benji came back with more prey. They ate their share and now the Cat Rescuers were on their way to the foxes den.

                It started drizzling lightly and Fluffy sulked. She rather have a bath then be out in the cold rain, having it soak into her pelt and chilling her body.

                The cats were now crawling under the broken fence.  There was a strong scent of dog and it made the cat’s fur crawl.  Quickly, just in case the dog was around, the Cat Rescuers ran the rest of the way to the fox den, with rain still falling into their faces.

                Reaching the fox den was a breeze, but when they reached it, the den was practically gone. Grass and mud filled the entrance to the den, and it reeked like dogs.

                “I have a horrible feeling that a dog was after Lilac and Todd,” Fluffy thought out loud. “And I think we might be next.” She gulped and turned around, and the others followed her gaze. Behind them were five big brown dogs. They looked hungry and they were ready to fight for the stunned food in front of them.

                Yowling and barking arose from around the hills behind the fox den. Cats gripped the dogs with their claws, but the claws couldn’t puncture the skin. Instead of the dogs getting chased off, the cats were. Many of them already ran into the forest around the Cat Rescuers hood.

                “Retreat!” Fluffy tore after Smoky as he kept yowling that. The kits were already in the forest with Coal, Tiffie, Tammy, Oreo and Chevy. The others soon came and ran into the awaiting cats.

                The loud barking continued. Yowling above the noise, Fluffy hissed, “We need to get home as fast as we can before the dogs break through the undergrowth, and we can stop for anything!”

                “Everybody take a kit and we can travel faster without to much worry,” Smoky ordered.

                Picking up all eight kits, the bedraggled group sped through the forest with sore paws. Without slowing down the cats could hear the dogs still clawing through the bracken and trees.

                Fluffy felt relieved when she could start to see a glimpse or two of the lake by the hood. She made her paws run faster, even though she carried Soot in her mouth. He didn’t slow her down as much as the other kits did, for his size was a bit smaller.

                Hearing a yelp of pain and anger, Fluffy and the other cats stopped. Fluffy and Smoky both dropped the kit they were carrying. Smoky ordered the others to keep going, but Charcoal and Tippy stayed. They didn’t argue, about the choice, but kept on going towards the yelping and barking.

                Fluffy could just barley see through the trees. She could see a fox battling one of the dogs. Then she saw another one. Howling of wolves came from the distance and saw that Mukluk had led the pack into the fight.

                Looking at each other, the four cats ran into the forest and leaped into battle. Even though there were five wolves, two foxes and four cats, they were all evenly matched.

                A big black dog loomed over Fluffy. She crouched down in fear. Fluffy still stood there even though Smoky and Tippy were yelling her to run, but she was to scared to move. Quickly out of the corner of her green eyes, she saw her father, Charcoal, run towards her. He leaped onto the dog, while Lilac grabbed Fluffy’s scruff and dragged her to the cover of the bushes.

                Water splashed Fluffy in the face; as if she wasn’t wet enough! “Fluffy you’re okay, you can breath now!” Lilac kept screaming this in her ear, but she finally got out of the trance.

                Fluffy took a huge gasping breath of air. “What!?” She looked around and met the eyes of Tippy. He was bloody and was limping again.

                “It’s okay mother,” Tippy groaned. “We won, and the dogs fled. Come see!”

                Looking at Lilac for an answer, the fox nodded a yes that she could go, but then barked to Tippy, “You stay here and let me look at your wounds.” He snorted and sat where his mother had sat.

                Padding into the forest, Fluffy saw wolves and cats panting on the ground. A couple of the wolves still looked hostile, but Mukluk, Bonita, and Slush all looked pleased.

                The wolves caught Fluffy’s scent and looked up at her. “Fluffy, it’s nice to see you again,” Mukluk howled.

                “It’s nice to see you too,” she replied. “Oh and Slush, thanks for saving me in the rat battle. Without you, I wouldn’t be here.”

                “It was easy,” the young wolf answered.

                “Speaking of that rat battle,” Smoky started, “How did you know we were in trouble there and now?”

                “The eagles found us and said that we were needed,” Bonita noted calmly. “We had just got to the rats in time.”

                “Then there’s now,” Slush continued. “We were on our way from the woods, when we found a strong scent of dog, with your scent.”

                “Bonita              and I heard cats yowling and screeching, so we ran as fast as we could,” Mukluk finished. “It’s just our instincts to defeat and attack other dogs that get in the way.”

                Fluffy felt eyes staring at her, while Mukluk and Smoky were sharing their latest victory. She walked over to Slush, who was washing his ruffled fur, and asked in a whisper, “Who are those wolves, that are staring at me?”

                “Those are two my fathers siblings,” Slush explained. “The reddish-brown female is Jenna. She used to lead our little pack, until her mate died.

                “And then there’s the black male. He’s the worst of all wolves. His name is Shadow, and he’s Mukluk’s older brother. Shadow thinks he’s the alpha male, so he and Mukluk fight all the time. Sometimes he gets me into it by calling me weak and shrimp. I’ve shown him a couple times not to do that, but Shadow doesn’t know when to stop.”

                “Shadow looks like he wants to feast on my bones, from the way he’s looking at me,” Fluffy pointed out.

                “He won’t feast on you young one,” Bonita murmured as she came up. “He thinks you cats are nothing but fur, which is true.”

                Fluffy chuckled. “Are you and the other four wolves going home now?”

                Bonita sat on the wet ground, stuck in thought. Then a sad look came into her eyes. “We can’t,” she answered sorrowfully. “Another big pack of wolves moved into our small woods in the mountains. The eagles said they would help us get rid of them when we all got back from the Dark Woods.”

                “But there’s just to many wolves to fight, mother,” Slush blurted. “Those wolves are so much bigger then us and they are many. How can we beat them, even with the eagles?”

                “That’s why your father and I have been trying to figure where else we could live,” Bonita mentioned. “We were thinking of living in the far part of this forest, where it’s away from the hood and the Forestfolk.”

                “Is it just going to be Jenna, Shadow, Father, you and I?” Slush asked.

                “If that’s all of our pack… then yes.” Fluffy noticed a tear race down the white wolf’s cheek fur. Losing her pack and home must be a hard time for her, Fluffy thought sadly.

                “We better get going,” Fluffy heard Smoky say to everyone. “Hope you find a new home that soot’s you well!”

                “We also hope we do,” Mukluk responded back. “And when we do, any of you cats may come to our new home.”

                “If we find one.” Fluffy had heard the black wolf, Shadow, mutter this under his breath. As soon as Fluffy heard him, Shadow took off running into the forest with Jenna hard on his heels. Bonita watched them go, and pounded after them with a growl rising in her throat.

                “If you ever do come and find us,” Mukluk went on, “watch out for Shadow and Jenna. They don’t like cats and dogs coming on their territory.” With a nod from Smoky and Fluffy, Mukluk padded gracefully into the shadows of the trees. His bushy tail quickly disappeared with a swish among the surrounding bushes.

                It was getting close to the afternoon in the clearing, where the four cats and the foxes, Todd and Lilac, sat and talked about what the dogs did to their den. According to Todd, the dogs had been hunting for foxes when the den collapsed on top of one of them, and now the foxes have no den to live in.

                “There might be an old fox or badger den somewhere her in the forest that you two could live in,” Fluffy offered. “The wolves shouldn’t mind since you worked together fine today and the other day.”

                “You are very generous towards us,” Lilac replied. “We would love to live here near you. Plus if you ever come across any trouble you can find us.”

                “We can come here tomorrow if you like and we can help you find a den,” Smoky added.

                “Sure, we would love your help,” Todd muttered. With his head and tail drooping, him and Lilac went into the bushes and lay down, and with one last look at the homeless foxes, Fluffy, Smoky, Tippy, and Charcoal left the clearing and headed for home.

Chapter 10

In a few more pawsteps, the four cats would be in the garden owned by Fluffy’s housefolk, Amy. It was quiet, as if someone had just died.

                Once Fluffy had reached the cat flap in the back door, her and her companions heard crying from one of the housekits. She went through the flap, but her collar had snagged on a crack that was in the wood.

                Charcoal noticed that she was stuck and started biting at the piece of wood. It cracked the rest of the way and let go of the collar. Fluffy slinked the rest of the way into the house. She sat down by the door and waited for the other three to come through.

                In a couple of minutes, the four cats were in the deserted kitchen. The cat beds were empty and the food bowls were untouched. Smoky and Charcoal looked at Fluffy with worried looks. She gulped and led her father, mate and kit into the living room, where the bright square was.

                They rounded the corner and saw all of the housefolk in the couch. As the cats heard earlier, one of the housekits were crying. Panic started to fill Fluffy’s mind, what happened? Did someone die or get hurt?

                Sliding on the rug in front of her, Fluffy ran to the distressed housefolk. She meowed as loud as she could and the housefolk looked up. The cats that were on their laps pricked their ears and turned their heads towards the new arrivers.

                The housekits screamed in happiness and they jumped off the couch and sent Benji, Sapphire and Felicity flying. Then Amy put Tammy down on the couch next to Booties, and walked over to Fluffy. The black cat was soon in the air, cradled in her housefolks loving arms..

                Charcoal was growling lightly in his throat as he was picked up by one of the housekits. Smoky gave him a warning glare and hissed something at him, which shut her father right up. Closing her eyes, Fluffy relaxed a little and started to purr loudly.

                The bath that Fluffy, Smoky, Tippy and Charcoal got was warm and soothing. All of the cat’s muscles and wounds felt healed.

                Right now all the cats were settled in their beds, sleeping soundly. Benji and Tammy had their own beds back again and were happily chatting among themselves. The housefolk had been so pleased to have them back, that they were cared for before the others, but they all got the same treatment.

                “Fluffy?” The black cat looked at the voice. It was Benji, and he was gesturing her to go over to him. Quietly, Fluffy got up and padded silently over to the golden cat and sat down next to him.

                “You know how you’ve had your kits for a while?” He asked. She nodded, and looked at him curiously. “Well I’d keep a good watch on them. When Tammy had kits, the housefolk gave them to others and we never saw them again. That’s why we left. We just couldn’t take the pain anymore.” He sighed, from getting that off his chest.

                “But why would our housefolk do that? Those kits have been around for almost a year now, and the housefolk haven’t shown any sign of giving them away,” Fluffy explained.

                “They did the same thing to Tammy and me,” Benji muttered. “I wouldn’t be surprised if they did it again.” He snorted madly and put his head down for sleep.

                Tammy and Fluffy sat there for a couple minutes waiting for Benji’s first muffled snores. Finally they came and Tammy lay down beside him. With a big yawn, Fluffy turned around just to see Tippy lying back down in his bed.

                With sleepy paws, Fluffy padded over to her son. “Can’t sleep, sweetie,” she asked him.

                He looked up at his mother and yawned, “Yeah, but also there’s something that keeps bugging me.” Pausing, Tippy licked down his ruffled chest fur. “I heard you guys talking over there about our housefolk being kit givers. Do you think they would do that to us?” Meaning “us”, Tippy meant him, Booties, Sapphire, and Felicity.

                “I don’t know,” Fluffy answered sleepily. “But if Benji is right about it, then I’ll give up my nine lives for all of you…. even Cinder. Nobody is going to separate me from my beloved kits!”

                Smiling, Tippy turned around in his bed several times, until he got comfortable. With one last yawn, he laid his head down and lets his eyes close. Once last lick behind her son’s ear, and Fluffy went back to her bed for the long sleep she craved.

                That night Fluffy had visions of the rat battle in the Dark Woods. She saw her son being killed, plus many others. After awhile she felt like she was back in battle; it was that real. The only thing that confused her was that a new cat was there.  She was a silvery female cat. She had icy blue eyes; like Cinder’s.

                The silvery cat walked over to Fluffy, and she spoke in a serious tone, “If you cross the Green River , you will find a cat in need. There you’ll find him trapped in a cave behind a harsh, tumbling waterfall, but be careful. In the forest you travel through lurk huge bears, vicious foxes, badgers and wolves.”

Cat Rescuers #3 Falling Into Green Water 

Chapter 1

“So what did that silver cat say?” Fluffy, the black female cat that lived with three housefolk and eight other cats, was explaining her dream she had a couple nights before. She hadn’t told the other cats about it until two days later.

                “She said that there’s a cat in danger, behind a waterfall, across the Green River . She also warned me about the forest we have to travel through; meaning watch out for bears, foxes, badgers, and wolves,” Fluffy explained.

                “But where is the… Green River ?” Smoky asked. Her mate was the most concerned. When Fluffy had told him this story, she was frightened terribly.

                “I don’t know. Maybe one of the other cats knows,” she mumbled. “Such as Hennery, Coal or Streaky?”

                “Possibly, they all traveled over the mountains, and the river might be over there,” Tippy, Fluffy and Smoky’s son, mentioned.

                “Then go and see if Hennery or Coal knows,” Smoky ordered. “Take Booties, Sapphire, Cinder  and Felicity too.”

                It didn’t take long for Sapphire, Booties, Felicity, Cinder and Tippy to find Hennery. He was out in his garden sunning himself, with his mate, Furby, but Coal wasn’t anywhere in sight. He had gone out in the forest. Furby and Hennery had looked so peaceful though.

                “Maybe we shouldn’t bug them,” Sapphire, now the smallest of her littermates, whispered.

                “But we need to know if Hennery knows about the Green River ,” Tippy reminded his sister. She whined and slowly slipped into the leaf littered garden. Had they been gone that long, that fall was already here? True there was a chill in the air… but many trees still had green leaves.

                “And if he doesn’t, then Fluffy and Smoky will find out if Streaky knows,” Felicity replied after awhile.

                “Hopefully we’ll find out first,” Cinder, now Tippy’s mate, exclaimed quietly.

                The five small cats slipped the rest of the way off the fence, and over to the sunning cats. Without startling the two cats, Felicity called, “Um… Hennery may we talk to you?”

                The dark golden cat picked up his head. Hennery blinked at the new arrivers with his sleepy golden eyes. Stretching, he got up, with Furby behind him, and sat in front of Tippy. “Yes,” he asked.

                “Hennery,” Tippy began, “we were wondering if you know about the Green River .” When Hennery didn’t answer, the kits took turns telling Fluffy’s dream and surprising message. “Yes I have heard of the Green River , but I have never seen it myself,” Hennery replied after the kits were done.

                “Do you know where it is,” Sapphire asked.

                “The way you told me about the waterfall and the dangerous animals… yes.”

                “I think that’s going to be our next rescue,” Felicity exclaimed happily.

                “And another dangerous one at that,” Sapphire whined. “Can I stay home this time?”

                All the other kits looked at Sapphire, shocked. “Why don’t you want to go, sis,” Tippy yowled.

                “Well… it’s just that I don’t want to see anyone get killed or hurt. I rather be on our housefolk’s lap, keeping them company.”

                “Suit yourself,” Booties shrugged. “I’m going because I want to learn to be brave and not shy!”

                Furby chuckled. “Tell your mother and father that we’ll come if they want us. I also believe you youngsters should get going. A storm’s coming.” As if an answer, there was a rumble of thunder in the distance and a drop of rain fell on Cinder’s gray pelt. She glared at the droplets with her icy blue eyes and took off over the fence in a flurry of fur. A hiss came over the fence and the other kits took off after the gray cat, with quick good-byes being called over their shoulders.

                “So what did you find out, Fluffy asked the five kits, who visited Hennery.  She also was asking this to  Benji and Tammy, who visited Streaky, while she and Smoky visited Coal, who was in the forest talking to the foxes. Luckily Todd and Lilac had found a good den as promised, but was actually near their old den. The foxes were just visiting and telling their good news.

                “Hennery says that he’s heard of it and might know where it is,” Booties told his mother.

                “Streaky said the same thing, but doesn’t have any idea where it might be,” Benji mewed harshly.

                “Fluffy and I found out differently,” Smoky began. “Coal says that before he had found the Woodcat Clatter, that he traveled around many places, including the forest where the river is located. He says that when we’re ready to leave, he’ll escort us there, but the other cats need to know… again!”

                “Then lets go find the others and tell them to meet us at the Boat Road , like usual,” Tippy meowed impatiently.

Chapter 2

A cold rain was falling on the gathering cats.. All they were told was that there was a meeting for all the Cat Rescuers at the Boat Road .  A couple of other cats that had heard of the Green River had also come, such as some of the other house cats.

                One of the house cats was complaining about the rain soaking into his fur. Fluffy knew that was her neighbor, Bosco. He was an orange male cat, with black splotches and hazel eyes. His favorite things to do were sleep and complain, so no cat liked him.

                Another of the house cats that came was Holly. She lived near Tiffie.  Holly was a spotted-golden tabby. She was loved by every cat, except Bosco.

                “Well it looks like every cat is here,” Smoky announced to Fluffy. “Do you know who asked Bosco and Holly?”

                She shook her head and looked off into the distance. Fluffy thought she was in her dream again, for she saw the silver cat yet again. What did she want and why was she here and not in the forest?

                “Fluffy?” The voice cleared her head and brought her back, to where she was rigid with cold. Charcoal was then prodding his paw into her side when she didn’t answer.

                “Huh…what?” she stammered. Looking into his eyes, Fluffy saw worry. “I’m fine, I just had a blackout.”

                “Well if you’re fine then we can get on with the meeting,” Charcoal replied.

                Charcoal nodded to Smoky, so that he could start the meeting. The smoky cat was sitting on the Boat dock when he announced, “You all are probably wondering why you are here.” Everything was silent, so Smoky continued. “My mate, Fluffy has had a dream. She saw a silvery female cat. She warned her that there is a cat behind a waterfall, trapped. He is located in a faraway forest over the mountains. This forest is near a river called the Green River . Hennery is here to explain what the forest and river is like, for he has been in these woods, but never saw the river. Also we have Coal, Furby’s brother. He has also seen it including the river.” Smoky nodded to the two male cats, and they sat where Smoky was.

                First up was Hennery. “It is true that I have been in this forest. It is supposedly called the Death Forest because so many creatures die for some reason. I remember the forest really well; there are bears, vicious wolves, foxes and badgers. You do not want to be near any of these animals, for they won’t hesitate to kill you.”

                Coal stood up to speak. “I also remember the forest; all to well. It is a terrifying place to be. Hennery already told you what lurks in the Death Forest . They won’t just kill you with their claws and teeth, but they’ll use the river to drown you.” Coal paused to shake his ruffled pelt. “The Green River is as green as the grass behind me. It moves so fast that it could break a log in half, because of all the sharp stones in the river. The Green River then empties out into a huge pond. This water travels over the Noisy Waterfall into the pond. Any cat that goes over that waterfall is killed; few have survived.”

                “What happens to the cats that do survive,” Holly asked. Her green eyes wide with terror and interest. “Do they make it out of the forest?”

                “Some do make it out, if you’re lucky,” Coal answered coldly. “Some never are seen again. The creatures usually there kill the cats as soon as they are seen. You can’t run, for the foxes, badgers, wolves and bears are unusually fast! Once you are caught, there’s no escaping.”

                “That’s nothing but tales to keep you away from the forest,” Bosco yowled loudly. “I’ll go with you and prove it!”

                “I’d like to go,” Holly offered. “It sounds scary, but I need some kind of adventure in my life.”

                “Maybe…maybe we should have a vote on who wants to go,” Sapphire blurted out. After she spoke she shrunk back down in her trembling crouch.

                “That’s a good idea sweetie,” Fluffy commented. Walking up to where Coal and Hennery sat, Fluffy turned so she faced the wet and cold group of cats, waiting to go home. “The cats that would like to go, sit on the right side of me. Cats that don’t want to go… sit on the left side of me.”

                A maze of cats did as they were told. Many cats chose the right side. Only two cats chose the left side.

                “Chevy…Sapphire how come you don’t want to go?” Fluffy asked.

                “Well mom,” Sapphire began. “I don’t want to go because I don’t want to see any more cats die…like last time, and our housefolk probably get lonely when we leave, so I’m staying.”

                Fluffy nodded to her daughter in understanding, and then she turned to Chevy, the light orange male cat. “And why don’t you want to go?” she asked.

                “I’m tired of leaving my home,” Chevy answered meanly. “When we leave, I seem to get thin; actually all of us do! I didn’t even really want to become one of the Cat Rescuers. Just because we saved two kits doesn’t mean we have to save more cats!” He snorted and ran into the forest. Sheba ran after her mate in disappointment.

Chapter 3

It was still drizzling lightly as the cats on the boat road disbanded. Holly had come with Fluffy and the other cats of the cream house. She didn’t want to travel alone, for Tiffie didn’t come. Holly had told them that she had come down with some kind of bad cold.

                “Well I better get going,” Holly announced. “It’s after my dinner time and my housefolk are probably worried sick.”

                “Bye Holly,” Tippy called. “Have a nice, safe trip home!”

                “Can we go inside now,” Benji complained as Holly’s tail disappeared. “It’s getting colder and I think it’s raining harder!”

                “You complain as much as a fox without its tail,” Smoky joked. “Will you ever stop?” The bad tempered cat just snorted at the remark and went through the cat flap, where it was dry and warm.

                Before Fluffy went into her cozy home, she went over to her waiting daughter. “Are you sure about your decision, sweetie?” Fluffy asked.

                Looking down at her paws, Sapphire replied, “It is mom. I just don’t want to get hurt on the inside or the outside.”

                “I understand, and if you do stay… don’t worry too much about us,” Fluffy advised. “We will make it back home… all of us.”

                Jumping through the flap, all the cats were shaking off all the water on their pelts, but leaving small puddles on the floor of the kitchen. Ignoring the water, the tired and cold cats went to their beds.

                Morning came as a cold wind broke through the unlocked cat flap. It stirred the cats sleeping, except Benji and Tammy. They were used to the cold winds of fall.

                “Is it time to get up already?”  Felicity complained. She stretched and yawned then padded over to the water bowl.

                Fluffy also got up and followed her daughter to the bowls. They were filled to the top and they were clean again. The black cat to a couple of bite of the food and padded over to the cat toilet. It was also cleaned out.

                Smoky came up beside his mate. “Have you any idea when we are going to leave? I don’t want to leave to late, but I need to talk to Free first.”

                “We can have one of the wolves go to the edge of the mountains and talk to him,” Tippy suddenly said from his bed. “He can possibly help us again like the first time.”

                “You might be right,” Fluffy replied to her son. “Would you and Felicity like to come with me and Tammy to the forest and look for them?”

                “We would love to,” Tippy and Felicity yowled together. “Can we leave now,” Felicity wined.

                “Of course,” her mother muttered.

                Fluffy padded around the corner of the kitchen to the beds. She noticed that Tippy and Felicity were already at the flap with Tippy’s mate, Cinder. They were no more than seven months old and they were already mating.

                Fluffy led the way through the cat flap and jumped over the fence that surrounded the garden. Tippy and the other two kits followed closely, but Tippy started to out run his mother.

                “Hey wait up, it’s not that safe remember?” Fluffy called. The black cat was slowing down, and started to pant. She stopped all together and sat down to catch her breath. “I’m getting to old to run that fast,” she panted as Tippy padded up to his mother.

                “And don’t forget the threat Shadow has on us in that forest,” Cinder warned. “He won’t like us intruding and he could kill us.” Cinder’s blue eyes widened and Tippy came over to his mate to comfort her. She shivered as a cold wind ruffled her gray fur.

                “Lets keep going,” Fluffy meowed. Cautiously the four cats entered the canopy of trees. Tippy brought up the rear, while Cinder and Felicity walked in front of him. Fluffy had stiffened the farther they walked on and it made the kits skittish.

                The wolves’ new home was in the small forest behind the moors. They caught straying sheep for prey and sometimes a fox or badger.

                “So where is your den or are you  using the open?” Fluffy asked Mukluk beside her.

                “Well it’s actually a small cave that we live in,” the gray mottled wolf explained. “But its big enough for all five of us and the prey pile. Shadow and Jenna sleep outside because they hate cramped areas; at least that is what they say. I think they really mean that they don’t like any of us, which is usual.”

                “What are you doing here?” The cats jumped at the hostile voice. Behind them the bushes opened up to reveal Shadow, the black wolf with blue eyes. He didn’t like cats or anything straying into his territory and would attack for no reason.

                Mukluk stepped towards Shadow. “These cats are here to ask us a favor,” he told the black wolf. “I was just taking them back to the cave so that they could tell the others. You should come with us too. If you were hunting go and collect the prey and bring it back.”

                Shadow snarled and ran through the bushes. His heavy pawsteps faded after awhile and the group leapt across a small stream. This marked the boarder of the forest and the moor.

                Cinder still had short legs for her age. When she leapt, the gray kit fell into the stream and got swept down closer to the lake. After the rain last night it had risen and had a strong current.

                “Cinder,” Tippy hissed as she went under the water raging water. He took off after her, but had to stop abruptly, or he would’ve fallen in the lake, which was the end of the stream. “Cinder!” he called out over the quiet water.

                Fluffy, Felicity, and Mukluk came up to his side. The big wolf padded into the lake and sunk half way. Farther and farther he went the less of him you could see of him.

                Some white objects came closer to the wolf. He snarled at them and splashed through the water, with an impact of going under.

                Fluffy could see that these newcomers were geese. She and her comrades saw them on the island they met on now and then. They would chase them away and send them off scared.

                Suddenly Tippy called out, “Cinder!” Fluffy looked where he looked and saw that one of the geese had picked up a wet cat out of the water. The white goose was holding Cinder by the scruff in her beak.

                The wet gray scrap of fur was heavy for the goose holding Cinder. The weight made the neck of the swimming bird hang, and she was struggling to not let go of Cinder. The other goose, a male, swam under Cinder and the female goose let the gray cat slip onto the white feathers of the male.

                Now the geese were moving quickly to the shore where the three cats and Mukluk were waiting. The wolf had finally retreated out of the water, once he knew what was going on. Mukluk still was growling in his throat, but was not going to attack.

                The male goose let Cinder slip off his back and onto the dry ground. She coughed up water and started to gasp for breath. Tippy ran over to her and muzzled her side. Cinder opened her eyes at his touch and lifted her soggy head.

                “Cinder you’re okay!”  Tippy yowled.

                “Of course I’m okay, you stupid hairball,” Cinder teased her mate.

                “I’m so sorry that you fell in the lake,” he apologized. “I should’ve stayed by your side, and made sure-.”

                It’s not your fault,” the gray cat interrupted. “I’m alive and safe. That’s all that matters.” Cinder turned to Fluffy and asked, “Can we keep going? I’m not too tired to keep going.”

                Fluffy nodded. “If you’re sure you want to keep going.”

                Before leaving Cinder went over to the geese that were getting ready to go back in the lake. “Thank you for saving me,” she replied nicely.

                “It was no problem, little cat,” the male goose honked. “What’s your name by the way? Mine is Birch. This is my mate Gussy.” He pointed to the female goose.

                “My name is Cinder,” the little gray cat answered. “The black cat is Fluffy. The gray cat with the black tipped tail is my mate, Tippy and his sister, Felicity, is the gray cat and the wolf is Mukluk.” After Cinder introduced everyone she was completely out of breath.

                The wolves den was really big. There was enough room for all the wolves, the whole of the cats in the neighborhood, and all of the eagles from the mountains. In the middle of the cave was  place dug out for prey.

                Crouched by the prey pile was Jenna, the red wolf. Her red eyes shone with hatred at Fluffy and the others. Bonita and her pup, Slush were sleeping together by one of the cave’s walls.

                “This place is perfect for you,” Fluffy admitted to Mukluk. “It’s huge!”

                “We had better in the mountains, where no pesky cats roamed,” a voice growled behind her. Fluffy jumped around to see Shadow just entering the cave, with his mouth full of prey. He went over to the prey pile and dropped his catch. The black wolf then lay down next to his sister, Jenna, and ate his choice of prey.

                “I just hope these fur balls won’t be coming here all the time now that they know where the cave is,” snarled Jenna. “Otherwise we’ll never get any peace again.”

                “Don’t worry,” Tippy hissed to the wolf bravely. “We’re only coming this one time! You can leave now if you want since us cats are pesky. This probably won’t concern you that much anyways.” The gray cat ended with a snort and sat down.

                Fluffy looked at her son, mouth gaping. His sister, Felicity, looked at Tippy, surprised that he would ever confront the big wolves so open.

                “And is you don’t want to get torn apart,” Shadow snapped, “I suggest you to keep your mouth shut!”

                “I think I can imagine you getting out run by me pretty easily,” Tippy growled. “Try me, I dare ya!”

                That did it. Shadow and Jenna both got up and left their prey. They had huge teeth shining out from in their mouths, and a growl was growing inside the hollows of their throats.

                Tippy didn’t hesitate the time he was given. He took his chance to run and as he torn out of the cave, Fluffy heard a small joyful laugh come from her son. This just made the two wolves game more fun when they saw their prey run away, but the cat’s laugh agitated them also.

Chapter 4

“No!” Mukluk’s howl echoed through the cave, just as Shadow and Jenna practically flew through the cave entrance after Tippy.

                Bonita and Slush were at Mukluk’s side in a flash. With his tail, the gray wolf sent Bonita and Slush to go after Shadow and Jenna.

                “I’ll be back in bit,” Mukluk noted the cats. “I’m the fastest out of the others and I might be able to catch up to your son before…”

                Fluffy knew what the wolf was going to say. She just sat there with Felicity as Mukluk ran after the others.  When the wolf went out, Fluffy heard the wolf greet someone and then left.

                Fluffy heard paw steps outside the cave entrance. Her fur bristled with fear and she drew back her lips in a beginning of a snarl. Fluffy unsheathed her claws and crouch low getting ready to pounce.

                The intruders padded forward into the cave. The black cat pounced while Felicity crouched in fear behind her mother. Fluffy’s claws met fur and muscles, while the enemy screeched in pain and surprise.

                Then Felicity started yelling at her mother to stop. Fluffy looked at her daughter and relaxed a little once she noticed that the enemy wasn’t fighting back. Is this a trick, Fluffy wondered. No it can’t be if my daughter is telling me to stop.

                The black cat listened to Felicity and quickly jumped off the furry animal and landed in front of her kit. She turned to the intruder and leapt back in surprise to see two of the Cat Rescuers’ friends!

                “Todd”, Fluffy exclaimed. “Lilac! What are you doing here? I thought you lived near where your old den used to be!”

                “It is,” Lilac, the beautiful fox, replied. “We- meaning Todd and I- heard that the Cat Rescuers were going to the Green River to save yet another animal in need of help.”

                Todd snorted lightly. “A very bad place to get yourself into, but we know our way around the killers in the forest. We’ve come to help.”

                Felicity and Fluffy looked confused. “Who told you about this?” Fluffy asked the foxes. “None of the cats said a word, for they just found out.”

                Chuckling, Todd answered curtly, “Your mate, Smoky… well he went to Gloria and Free and told them to try to get all the help they could find.”

                “They came to us first because all the other eagles already knew”, Lilac finished.

                Fluffy was baffled that her mate didn’t think that the Cat Rescuers couldn’t take care of themselves with the wolves. Before she could say anything, Felicity echoed her mothers’ thoughts. “But why would why you risk your lives with this dangerous task?”

                Todd hesitated.  “Well we thought from the last rescue… that we were all part of the group.” He sounded a bit taken aback from Felicity’s question.

                “True we could use some more help if we ran into some trouble”, Fluffy meowed. “Of course you can come Todd and Lilac.”

                “Also since Gloria didn’t tell us what is actually going on fully,” Lilac mentioned. “Could you tell us everything in full detail?”

                “Sure”, Fluffy gulped not wanting to explain the dream again. “Lay down and listen.”

                It was getting close to dark by the time the foxes had been told the whole story.. They were shocked that Fluffy got a message in dream that another cat was in trouble.

                “I see why Sapphire doesn’t want to go”, Todd realized. “She’s a shy cat that doesn’t want to go into dangerous places.”

                “The thing is”, Fluffy whispered. “Is that I don’t think Sapphire is telling the whole truth. She’s out of the house more often and is never back until it’s almost dark.”

                “Ya and she always smells of the forest,” Felicity mewed. “She’s always happier when she comes home and is well groomed.”

                “Sounds like she’s trying to hide a scent that she doesn’t want you to smell,” Lilac barked.

                “You might be right, Lilac,” Fluffy growled half to herself. She was getting oddly curious of her little daughter.

                “By the way I keep getting whiffs of your son… Tippy, right? Is he here?”

                “He was here, but Tippy started to get a little mouthy with Shadow and Jenna today”, Fluffy explained. “He took off and the two of them took off after him. Bonita and  went after them first and then when you saw Mukluk run out of the cave, he went to go and try to catch Tippy before Shadow and Jenna did.”

                “I wonder if he did,” Felicity wondered out loud.

                “If who did what?” The voice was muffled, but it was recognized right away when Fluffy heard complaining come from something the voices’ mouth.

                “Tippy you are in so much trouble for doing all you’ve done today,” Fluffy yowled. “I thought you became smarter when you lost your first life?”

                “Well I’m sorry, mother, but the stupid wolves were making me angry and I wanted some fun,” Tippy snapped at his mother.

                “Is almost getting yourself killed fun?” Fluffy hissed. “Because that almost happened! You had me and your sister worried sick. Then when I told Lilac and Todd about you running your mouth and running off, they got worried.

                “When I tell your father what you did today,” Fluffy growled. “He’s going to give you such a scolding and he might possibly take your chance away to go on the rescue. Then you can stay home and take care of Sapphire, keeping her out of trouble and making her happy.”

                “But mom-” Tippy started.

                “No butts,” she interrupted. “Start marching your butt home with Felicity while I apologize to the wolves for your bad behavior.”

Chapter 5

“What were you thinking?” Smoky yowled. Fluffy had come home a little after Tippy and Felicity. Felicity and her mother had taken turns telling about what happened and Fluffy talked to her mate about what their sons’ punishment should be.

                “The foxes also told me that they came because you told the eagles, which they then went to the foxes,” Smoky’s mate reported.

                “We need all the help we can get,” Smoky replied angrily. “Cats are going to die unless we have more help.”

                “Please say that the eagles didn’t go to the Woodcat Clatter too,” Fluffy pleaded.

                “Ummm…well…I never told them to… but they might have,” Smoky stammered. The gray tom shuffled his big paws on the ground embarrassed.

                “You bird-brain! Why didn’t you talk with me about it first?” Fluffy hissed. “The Clatter shouldn’t get involved with something that has nothing to do with them. Plus they are still recovering from the rat attack.”

                Fluffy turned and stalked away from her mate and son, fur bristling. Instead the silky black cat padded over to Booties.

                “Sweetie can you go and get Coal,” Fluffy asked calmly. “Tell him it’s urgent and that it’s about the Clatter.” He nodded and burst out the cat flap with his gray tail streaking out behind him.

                Coal and Booties were back in a flash, but panting heavily.

                “Drink some water first,” Fluffy told Coal and Booties. When they finished drinking the stale tasting water Fluffy continued. “Coal I have an important task for you and Benji.” Just then she yowled “Benji” and he came into the kitchen from outside.

                “The Woodcat Clatter are coming here on a couple of days and I’m counting on you two to turn them around. They should not be involved, but if they insist send me Silver and I’ll talk to him about it.”

                “Can we take Charcoal too,” Benji asked Fluffy. “He would want to see his sister, Midnight.”

                “Of course,” Fluffy agreed. “Take Sapphire too since she’s not going with us in a few days.” When the black, gray bellied cat heard her name she bounced right over to her mother. “And I hope you behave better than your brother did earlier.”

                “I’ll behave mother,” Sapphire assured her mother. She seemed happy to go; to happy.

               After the group of four cats left to turn the Clatter around, Fluffy had other matters to settle. With her green eyes shining with anger, Fluffy approached her mate trying to calm herself   down.

               “So what are we going to do about Tippy?” she asked Smoky. “He almost got himself killed today and he knows it.”

                Without looking up to meet Fluffy’s eyes he answered, “I don’t even know if there’s a way to punish him for what he did. We could not let him go on the rescue, but Tippy would find a way to get there by himself.”

              “You have a point,” Fluffy confessed. “ I also want to know if you have found anything strange going on with Sapphire,” she continued.

              “Why? What’s wrong with her?” Smoky cried.

              “Well you know how she’s been going out every day and coming back late very happy?” Smoky nodded. “Lilac told me that she thinks that our daughter is sneaking off to do something she isn’t supposed to do. She always smells of the forest and Felicity also said that Sapphire is well groomed each time, like she’s hiding a scent.”

               Smoky looked distant when Fluffy finished speaking. She didn’t know if he was thinking about what to do or if he wasn’t listening.

              “I don’t know,” he meowed.

               Fluffy sighed. “Do you know when we’re leaving? I think we should leave before it starts to snow and freeze,” she meowed, changing the subject.

              “I told the eagles that we are leaving in a couple days at dawn,” Smoky replied. “Benji and I were going to go and tell all the cats and wolves tomorrow.”

              “Good idea,” Fluffy hissed through her teeth. “But why am I never included anymore? I’m your mate and it seems like I’m not able to help! Next you’ll be saying ‘stay home when we go on the rescue’ and I might just do that!”

               Fluffy stomped away to the ragged hill, crying with anger. Why is my mate doing this to me, she thought. Am I not important anymore?

                Night fell on the neighborhood quickly, and Fluffy had finally fallen asleep in the pelt room. She had moved over some of the hard clappers that her housefolk put on their feet, and went to the back of the room.

                 Now the black cat was dreaming. She was a lush green forest. She could hear water, and first she thought she was back in the Dark Forest.

                 Then Fluffy noticed the silver cat in front of her. I’m in the Death forest again, Fluffy told herself.    

                 “Greetings, Fluffy,” the silver cat greeted her.

                  Fluffy dipped her head in her own greeting. “Who are you?”

                 “My name is Diamond,” the silver cat said.

                  Fluffy looked closer at Diamond. “I understand why you are called that,” she mewed. “Your fur looks like a bunch of diamonds in the light. But why are you here in my dreams?”

                  Diamond smiled, her bright golden eyes shining brightly with amusement. “Do you know who I am, Fluffy?” she asked. Fluffy shook her head. “I’m your mother.”

Chapter 6

“What,” Fluffy gasped. “But how when you’re dead!?”

                      Fluffy’s mother chuckled lightly, then her smile faded into a frown. “Charcoal never told you about me and what happened did he?”

                       “Just that you died giving birth to me and my littermates,” Fluffy replied. “Mother why are you here?”

                      “I’m here to tell you that you need to go on the rescue,” Diamond began. “Fluffy… Smoky needs you and so do the rest of them. What happened today shouldn’t change any-”

                     “What happened today changes everything,” Fluffy interrupted her mother. “He’s acting like that I’m not able to help with anything anymore! He is planning everything without me. He doesn’t want me to go and I’m not going to; that’s final.”

                     “Do what you want; I see I can’t make you,” Diamond said, giving in.

                    “What happened to my littermates?” Fluffy asked. “Are they still alive?”

                    “Does the name Silver, mean anything to you,” the silver tabby meowed. “Or maybe Star?”

                     Fluffy shook her head, clearing her thoughts. Silver is the name of the Woodcat Clatter leader who was newly made after Benji and Tammy left it. Star was the name of the healer of the Clatter. “Yes,” she finally answered. “They both live in the Woodcat Clatter, but how can they be my brother and sister?”

                     “When I died, there was another cat with us,” Diamond started. “Midnight, who is your fathers’ sister, was the one. She is in the Clatter now as you know.” She stopped and sniffed. Fluffy knew this would sound sad, at least to her mother because she talking about her kits she never got to see when she was alive.

                      “Where I died is where the Green river is… the Death Forest,” Diamond continued coldly. “I was badly injured by a small fox cub that had attacked us out of nowhere. Midnight and Charcoal chased it off and we went to safer ground. Just as we got there the kits started to come. I had lost too much blood and I died just giving birth to you.” A quiet gasp came from Fluffy.

                     “Midnight told your father to wait before they kept moving; at least until your eyes were open,” she added. “A couple weeks passed, and Charcoal was still grieving. Only your eyes weren’t open. He carried you and Midnight carried Star. Silver walked by himself; he was strong even then.

                    “On the way you all met three other cats…Coal, Furby’s brother, who is much older than her, their mother, Misty, and Furby herself. You all headed to the neighborhood, but Charcoal avoided it. He hated housefolk, for his had tortured him.

                    “Instead he led the way to the Dark Forest, where the Woodcat Clatter lived,” Diamond went on. How long was this story? “Coal, Charcoal, Silver, Misty, and Star stayed with the Clatter and had started feeling that they all belonged somewhere, but you and Furby started to get sick and the clatter didn’t know what to do. So your father took his chances and had Misty help him take you two to the neighborhood. They put you both in separate houses because Misty wanted to stay alone with her daughter.”

                    “Mother how do you know all this?” Fluffy asked, but she never answered. Her body started to fade and her dream faded with her.

                    Fluffy woke up in the pelt closet. It was morning and she knew that Smoky had gone to tell everyone when they were leaving. “I’m still not going,” she mumbled to herself.

                    “You’re not going where?”

                     Fluffy jumped at the approaching voice. She turned around to see her kit’s sitting outside the doorway to the pelt closet, looking concerned.

                    “You startled me,” their mother exclaimed. When her kits said sorry she continued. “I’m not going to go on the rescue. I don’t feel needed enough to go and I want to spend more time you guys. I don’t want any of you  to go either.”

                    “Actually we thought it over mother”, Tippy explained. “All of us kits are deciding to stay home, along with you, Oreo and Streaky.”

                    “I’m glad you are doing that,” Fluffy sighed. “But why are Oreo and Streaky staying?”

                     “Well Oreo is going to be having kits again and she can’t go on a dangerous rescue like that,” Booties replied. “And Streaky won’t leave her side.”

                     Sapphire suddenly turned her ears toward the ragged hill. “Father is home. He left last night to tell everyone. He’s got Benji, Charcoal and Coal too. There’s also someone else, but I don’t know who.”

                     “I’ll go down and see what’s happening,” Fluffy growled lightly.                        

                     When Fluffy got down to the kitchen, she heard the group of cats that just arrived, talking urgently to each other. Once she rounded the corner, Fluffy saw someone that she never thought she would see again, two some ones.

                     “Star… Silver,” Fluffy exclaimed. “What are you doing here?” Fluffy went over to the two silver cats and touched their noses with hers in greeting.

                     “A couple nights ago we had a dream about our mother and said that you were our sister,” Silver mewed. “Also the Clatter came to help with the rescue.”

                     “You shouldn’t go on that rescue, it’s too dangerous,” Fluffy hissed. “        I also had that dream, but it was last night.”

                     “The Clatter is going to help sis,” Star argued. “But Silver and I were wondering if we could stay here, until everyone gets back.”

                    Fluffy hesitated a bit, but how could she object? These cats were family. “Of course you can, and all our kits are staying here that are in the Cat Rescuers.”

                   “That’s good,” Silver meowed. “It’s just too dangerous. Our kits are back in the forest with Midnight watching them with some protection.”

                   Fluffy got up and beckoned her brother and sister to come outside. She didn’t want to be in the house with her mate right now.

                   “So where is the Clatter right now?” Fluffy asked.

                   “They’re back in the forest with the foxes and wolves” Star replied. “I think the eagles were going to be there to later.” 

            “Oh,” Fluffy said nervously.

                   “What’s wrong Fluff?” Silver asked his sister.

                   Fluffy looked down. This is my fault, she thought. Everyone is going to die because of me. “Well… it’s just that I’m worried about everyone going into the Death Forest,” Fluffy mewed. “It’s got ‘death’ written all over it.”

                   Silver and Star both looked at each other then Fluffy, looking worried. “We’re worried about the Clatter the most,” Silver confessed. “I’m sending them possibly to their deaths, but they want to help.”

                   The three cats sighed and Smoky, who sat behind them, looked a little crushed. His mate was glaring at him when she saw that he was listening to the conservation.  Right now he was wishing that whatever he did, that he could fix it.

                    Smoky started to pad over to Fluffy. “Fluffy can I talk to you,” he began.

                    “What, Smoky,” she snapped. “What do you want?” Even though she was mad still, Fluffy went over to her mate. He got ready to get his ears clawed off, but it never happened.

                    Instead she sat there, waiting impatiently. “Well? I’m here,” she hissed.

                   “Umm…well I just wanted… I’m sorry for whatever,” Smoky stammered.

                   “Spit it out already,” Fluffy growled lovingly.

                   “I’m sorry for what I did,” he started. “I don’t know what I did though, but I wish there could be a way to fix it and make us happy again.”

                   “You can start trying to on the way to the Death Forest,” Fluffy pointed out.

                   “How when you are going to be here at home?” Smoky asked surprised.

                   Star and Silver walked up to Smoky and Fluffy. “She has made up her mind and wants to come on the rescue,” Silver replied. “Star and I are coming too. We can’t stand seeing our family and friends get hurt without any revenge.”

Chapter 7

“Bye!” The Cat Rescuers were just leaving the Boat Road as all the kits said good-bye to their parents. Hopefully this rescue was going to be a safe one when the Clatter, wolves, foxes, eagles and the Cat Rescuers were going together.

                   Fluffy waved her tail to the kits and turned back to Star. “I just hope I’ll see my kits again,” she meowed.

                   “We’ll all see our kits again,” Smoky reassured his mate. “They’ll be fine and they’ll take good care of each other.”

                   “I hope so,” Fluffy groaned. “I’m just not used to not being without the kits.”

                   “Let’s get in front,” Smoky noted. “We have to take them as far as we can then let Coal, and Charcoal take over.” Fluffy nodded and they quickly raced to the front.

                    “Keep on running,” Smoky yowled. “Help the others!”

                    The large group of cats was too noticeable. They were racing across the barnyard, but the cats hadn’t seen the barnfolk. Stormy’s, and Smoky’s old home was now too dangerous, for the barnfolk could see their old cats in the crowd.

                    The barnfolk were still young ones and they had little ones with them, the cats were losing speed and the folk had already started to reach out and catch Sassy and Stormy.

                   “We have to help them, Smoky,” Fluffy hissed. He nodded and they took off to help the old barn cats.

                     Fluffy approached Stormy in a flash. She pushed him forward, but wasn’t quick enough to get herself moving. The female barnfolk had grabbed her!

                     Yowling and hissing, the barnfolk had noticed that she would regret picking her up. Fluffy dug in her thorn sharp claws in the hand of the two legged creature. She screeched in pain and let Fluffy drop onto the ground.

                     Fluffy saw her chance and took off running after the others.. Smoky was at her side quickly, his fur bristling in fear and anger.

                     The safest place to hide was in the far away bushes and shrubs, which put them closer to the mountains where the wolves, foxes and eagles were waiting.

              “Fluffy are you okay?” all the cats meowed to the black cat.

                      “I’m fine,” she howled. “Just let me rest for a bit! Go and find some prey for yourselves and then we can keep going.” She never felt so crowded in her life.                                                                  

                      “Here.” A piece of prey, a shrew, was dropped in front of fluffy. She looked p to find Star and Silver looming over her.

                      “Thanks,” Fluffy panted. “I need some prey to bring back some of my energy.”    

                      “No problem,” Silver replied. “That’s what sisters and brothers are for.”

                    The next minute Smoky came up in front of Fluffy. “I caught you some-”but Smoky stopped in mid sentence when he saw Fluffy already eating some prey.

                     “I’m taken care of Smoky,” Fluffy meowed. “You can have it.”

                      “Okay…” He picked up the mouse again and walked over to Stormy and Sassy. He crouched down and listened to the cats’ conversation.

                      “I think I should’ve stayed home,” Sassy advised. “I think I’m going to be having kits again.”

                      “When did you realize that?” Stormy asked. “If it was before we left I wish you would have told me.”

                      “I didn’t find out until today when we were going past the barn,” Sassy moaned. “I wish I had known before we left… I’m going to slow us down.”

                   Smoky decided to invite himself in the conversation. “Don’t worry, Sassy. We’ll all help you throughout the journey to the forest and back.”

                       “Thanks Smoky,” Sassy mewed. “I appreciate it.” She purred loudly and then set her head down on the ground sadly and sighed. “I just wish Soot and Starlett were here.”

                       As Smoky watched Stormy try and comfort his mate, Smoky felt lonely. Is this what Fluffy had felt when I excluded her in all of the plans? Smoky wondered.

                       Walking over to a high stump of a tree, Smoky called around the clearing, “Is everyone ready to go?”

                       “I believe we are all ready,” Fluffy called back. “Everyone has eaten and rested well, so let’s keep going.” She turned around and took her place in front of the group, where Smoky soon joined his mate.

                        The eagles, wolves and foxes were defiantly waiting for the cats at the edge of the mountains. Shadow and Jenna, the wolves that had chased Tippy were far away from the others and Mukluk was keeping an eye on them.

                         The wolves nodded to the cats and took their places around the group, and the foxes brought up the rear. Of course the eagles flew over head, to keep a lookout for danger.

                          “We still have to keep a lookout for the other wolves that chased us out,” Mukluk growled. “Maybe then we all can teach them a lesson.”

                          “How many are there,” Sheba asked who was next to the wolf and Fluffy.

                          “Wolves? Well I think Slush counted,” Mukluk said. “Ten.”

                          “Ten other wolves!?” Fluffy hissed.

                          “Why do you think we left,” Bonita growled, coming up on Smoky’s side. “I actually think that they said they were from the Death Forest.”

                          Fluffy and Bonita sighed with relief and some of the others that were listening sighed too. “Then we won’t have to deal with them?” Smoky asked.

                     “I wouldn’t be so sure about that,” someone called above them. “Wolves in coming down below on your hill!”

                     “That means left, right?” Fluffy howled up to the eagles just as they started to plunge down the mountain.

                      Butch hovered in front of Fluffy. “Yes it does,” he screeched. “Now look out!”

                      Fluffy quickly turned around just in time to see Butch fly into a big, bulky black wolf. It snapped at the eagle’s wing, but missed and only bit the air.

                      While she was distracted, Fluffy heard a growl close by. “Die puny cat, die!” She turned her head and saw Charcoal batting at a brown wolfs belly. The wolf was aiming a death blow to her father’s neck, but Fluffy wasn’t going to give it the chance.

                      She launched herself at the brown wolf and landed on its back with claws fully out. It howled in pain and gave Charcoal just enough time to get away and run under the wolf’s legs and clawed them on the way. The wolf fell from the pain and Fluffy jumped away.

                     “Leave my father alone!” she hissed in its face. Fluffy raced away once she knew that the wolf wasn’t getting up any time soon.

                 “Fluffy behind you!” Charcoal yowled.

                     “Wha-!” But she stopped abruptly because she was knocked off her feet by a blow from a paw with claws out. It was a black wolf.

                     “I should’ve killed your son when I had the chance,” the wolf growled.

     “Shadow?” Fluffy gasped. “What do you think you’re doing?”                        “Revenge on cats,” he snarled. “Cat’s get in the way of everything. Now it’s time to show who is better!”

He raised a paw, claws out, and got ready to kill Fluffy. I knew I would never see my kits again! 

Fluffy felt pain run through her spine and neck as Shadow pounded his paw down on the black cats back. Everything started to spin as she started to run out of breath. The wolf had broken her back.

Chapter 8

“No!” Smoky yowled as he saw Shadow’s paw come down on Fluffy’s back. The gray tom leaped away from his attacker and ran to help his mate, but before he could a light gray streak flew past him.

                Looking back to Shadow, Smoky saw the gray streak. It was his son Tippy. What was he doing here? Smoky thought. Shaking his head, he ran to help his son attack the traitor wolf.

                 “Now’s it’s time for you to die!” Tippy hissed in the black wolfs ear. Many cat’s heard his words and stopped licking their wounds. Everyone was gone, but shadow and the others came to see what was happening.

                “Stop!” Mukluks bark rang across the mountain air. Tippy sprang off of Shadow and padded over to Smoky. He left Shadow panting and bleeding from many wounds he left on the wolf.

               “Tippy why are you attacking him,” Mukluk demanded. “I know that he had gone after you a few days ago, but that was then… and aren’t you supposed to be a home?”

                “I wanted to come with mother,” Tippy explained.  “And when I got here the stupid wolf was throwing down his paw on my mother’s back. That’s why I attacked!”

                “Is this true,” Mukluk asked Shadow.

                “It’s true,” Smoky hissed before the wolf. “I saw it myself. He said that he wanted revenge on cats.”

                “Why would you do that Shadow? I thought I could trust you.”

                “What you’re going to believe the word of a cat, Mukluk?” Shadow growled.

                The gray mottled wolf hesitated. “Actually yes I am. These cats have never meant us any harm and they helped by giving us a new home! Have you been planning this somehow, or were you just hoping for a chance? You killed a cat and we can see Fluffy’s fur between your claws so you are busted.”

                That set off the black wolf. He leaped at Mukluk and they rolled around, getting closer to the edge of the cliff on each roll. They were a rolling ball of fur, teeth and claws. Their growls and yelps echoed throughout the mountains and sent mice into their holes.

                The cat’s and eagles just watched as Lilac, Todd, Bonita and Slush went up to the fighting wolves. It took all four to get Shadow off of Mukluk, and he was still fighting back and giving the others a hard time.

                While Mukluk had a chance to get away, he limped away to one of the caves and sat down and licked at his wounds, muttering to himself angrily.

                “Is Fluffy going to be okay?” Charcoal asked Smoky.

                “If she had more than one life, I’m sure she’ll be fine,” Tippy answered for his father. “I just wanted to get my claws on that wolf, Shadow!” Each time the gray cat said the wolf’s name he said it coldly.

                Smoky looked at his son. “Why don’t you go and see if you can find some prey for Fluffy when she wakes.”  If she wakes, he thought. Then he thought of one more thing before his son got too far. “And don’t go after Shadow or Jenna if you see them,” Smoky called.

                “Whatever,” Tippy snorted. Smoky just shook his head as he saw his son’s black-tipped tail disappear.

                “You need to teach that son of yours how to behave,” Charcoal laughed. “He causes more trouble than those two banished wolves put together.”

                “I’m just glad that Mukluk and Bonita both agreed of getting rid of Shadow,” Smoky growled. “I’m also glad that Jenna went with him. They did cause too much trouble for us.”

                “Why don’t we go and see if Fluffy is awake,” Tiffie suggested, coming up from behind. “I think she was stirring before I went hunting.”

                “Okay,” Smoky and charcoal agreed.

                Fluffy was set down over by a dried up shrub. She was sitting up and was eating a piece of prey with her brother and sister next to her.

                “Fluffy how are you feeling?” Smoky meowed. He went up to her and nuzzled her shoulder and sat in front f his mate.

                Fluffy still looked beat up and tired like she was up all day fighting wolves all by herself. “I’m feeling better. Only if I could get my claws on that wolf,” she added.

                “Tippy already did that,” Smoky told her. “He went after the wolf when we saw you collapse.”

                “Tippy’s here? How did he get here?” she asked. “I thought I told him to stay home.”

                “He… said that… he knew you were going to be in trouble and knew that you needed him. Or something like that,” Smoky added.

                “I think he just doesn’t want to be in the house with his sisters and miss all the action,” Fluffy chuckled. “Did he come with Cinder?”

                For a second Smoky was confused. “His mate? No she didn’t come. I wonder why.”

                “Are you talking about Cinder?” Smoky whipped his head around and saw his son standing there with a rabbit in his mouth. He dropped the rabbit so that he could talk. “She told me to go alone… she’s…pregnant.”

                “Oh great,” Fluffy puffed. “Our housefolk are going to be having a fit!”

                “We could always go live in Tiffie’s part of the neighborhood and live in one of those mansions,” Charcoal suggested.. “There I this one huge one that would be perfect.”

                “Oh and I think that Sapphire has been going off and seeing a male,” Tippy continued.

                “Why’d you think that Tippy?” Smoky asked alarmed. “Did you catch her or are you guessing?”

                “I saw her in the forest with a black male,” Tippy explained. “He smelled of the Woodcat Clatter. I think he was one of the ones to stay behind and protect the kits and Midnight. I believe his name is Jet.”

                “Jet is one of our most trusted cats,” Silver told them. “Did he have a right white paw and dark blue eyes?”

                “Yep, and my sister was snuggling to him,” Tippy finished.

                “I was wondering if she was sneaking off,” Fluffy thought out loud. “Did you find out anything else, Tippy?”she asked turning to her son.

                “Ummm… yeah,” he stammered. “I think she’s also pregnant.”

                “Why do you think that?” Smoky exclaimed. “Did you find proof?” The shocking report startled him. Cinder was old enough to go through having kits, but Sapphire was way too young.

                “She has a huge stomach and she isn’t eating so much that she would get so big,” Tippy meowed. “It’s evidence. Also she won’t leave the house except to go out in the garden.”

                “Just like I did,” Fluffy sighed. “Is she sleeping a lot?”

                Tippy started to chuckle. “Does she ever! Sapphire is mostly in bed every day and night.”

                “I’m going to need a word with her,” Fluffy growled.. “In fact I’m going to head home right now, and talk to her about she has done.” Fluffy turned around and stumbled a bit then continued walking.

                Smoky shook his head.. “But we need you on this rescue. You can’t go when we are halfway there.”

                Fluffy sighed. “I guess.” Tail drooping and head down she headed back over to her mate, brother and sister. “I’ll stay, but when we get back… Sapphire is getting such a scolding…”

                Star stopped her sister in midsentence. “How about I go back and have a word with your daughter. She might not think as me as threatening as you.” Fluffy nodded in agreement. “Then I’ll be going. Be careful,” Star added to Fluffy and Silver. “And save the cat behind the waterfall.” She left tail waving in the air, and padding away delicately on soft paws.

                “Bye,” all the cats and other animals called after Star. She was pretty popular among everyone

Chapter 9

“Can you keep going?” Smoky asked.

                “Of course I can,” Fluffy hissed. “I’ve rested long enough.” She stood up on wobbly legs, but slid down again. “Maybe I’ll rest until the others all get back from hunting.”

                Fluffy’s rest lasted half the day. By the time all the hunters came back it was noon. The extra rest did help though because when Fluffy got up her legs were stiff, but also perfect. All her wounds were healed and she was ready to finish this rescue with success.

                Fluffy was just finishing up a mouse when Benji and Tammy padded up to her and Silver.

                “So how is the Clatter doing since we left,” the golden tom asked. His green eyes were shinning with pride at Silver as if he were his own son.

                “It’s been doing better than ever since the rats were chased away,” Silver replied. “Of course that’s all thanks to the Cat Rescuers,” he added to Fluffy.

                “It wasn’t I a problem,” Fluffy said. “It was just really dangerous, that’s all.” Turning to Smoky, she meowed, “Can we get going?” He nodded and the two cats yowled at the others from a rock, saying that it was time to go.

                Grass was under the cats’ paws again. The rock had made their paws raw and scraped, but the grass softened them up. Prey was plentiful and there was shade and shelter. Everyone was able to rest and eat, with a stream to cool off in. Okay a river, rethought Fluffy.

                “Doesn’t this place remind you of our first rescue?” asked Smoky.

                Fluffy looked around. The river was shallow, but fast flowing and flash backs came to her. She saw Starlett falling in the river as the cats crossed it and the housefolk shouting at them as he saw his new cats getting away. “Yeah, it’s the river we crossed to get away from the housefolk that had taken away Soot and Starlett,” she meowed, shivering.

                “It also was after we became mates,” Smoky reminded her. “And  when you had kits. It was the most exciting time of my life; my first adventure with old friends..”

                “It wasn’t just your first adventure, you know,” Tippy reminded his father. “It was also all of the other kits and mine. Dusty and I had fun riding on an eagle, while you guys tried to get rid of the dog.”

                As her son kept going on about the very first adventure that had made these cats the Cat Rescuers, Fluffy padded away, walking beside the river. The water lapped at her feet as the shore got rockier. Looking across the river, she saw the house where Soot and Starlett were saved from.

                Just as Fluffy got closer to the house, he heard barking. It came from the garden. She just shrugged and kept on walking.

                “Fluffy where are you going?” It was Coal. He was running up to her just as she fell in the river. She let out a yowl of fear that rang out through the forest and neighborhood.

                Water splashed all around Fluffy. Her paws worked in the water as she felt no ground under her feet. Once in awhile she could see cats’ racing to her aid, but she would be underwater again in no time.

                Fluffy’s eyes got round with fear and worry as she heard a roaring come from up ahead. Looking, she saw the water filing downward into a never ending drop.

The current got stronger and water still lapped at her face. She once felt a claw snag on her fur and heard a splash. Did someone else fall in? Her thoughts were then concentrated on something else.

What happened to the water that was once around her… and the roaring of water in her ears? Well it was over head now. She was now falling down from the river and now being sprayed by water from the waterfall in front of her.

As she looked up, Fluffy saw another cat falling down with her. It was yowling very loudly; louder than her..

Her mind was then distracted by cold water hitting her back, and then she started to sink. Failing with her paws paddling madly, she reached the surface. Gasping for breath she saw the other cat splash into the pool of water..

Diving down and swimming the best she could, Fluffy swam towards the mound of fur that was sinking fast. She grabbed the scruff of the silver cat and struggled to get both of them to the surface, but it was too heavy for her to handle. Instead she pushed the silver cat up with her back legs so that it could resurface.

Just moments before she saw the silver cat gasp for breath, Fluffy started to run out of breath and she was starting to black out. Knowing that she would never see the light of day and the stars of night, Fluffy let herself sink to the bottom of the pool.

“Is she going to live?”

Fluffy could hear voices all around her. She felt pokes and licks on her soaked, drying body. Her throat hurt from yowling from the waterfall drop, and her back hurt from the hard splash of the pool.

“She’ll be fine if he’s breathing,” a sweet voice said. “I got as much of the water out as I could and her fur is drying nicely.”

“I owe her my life,” the first voice groaned. “If she dies I’ll never forgive myself.”

“Stop your worrying, Silver,” a sharp, annoyed voice hissed.. “Lilac said she did all she could and that Fluffy is going to live. You may be her brother, but you don’t have to be breathing down her back all the time.”

Opening her eyes, fluffy saw cats crowded around her. She saw her brother and noticed that his pelt was wet and ruffled from the argument that she thinks was with Tiffie- only she had enough sharpness to ruffle someone’s pelt that good.

“Hey guys, she’s awake.” Fluffy looked over to her right side and saw Tippy standing beside her. “How are you feeling mother?” he asked..

“I’m fine,” she rasped. “What… what happened?”

Smoky and Coal came up to her. It was Coal who spoke. “You weren’t looking where you were going and you fell in the river. The river was too fast for us as you neared the waterfall. Silver once tried to grab a hold of you, but he slipped in. You both fell into the pool and a nice cat helped get you back up here.”

“Who was this nice cat?” she chocked. “I would like to thank him.”

“Not he, her,” Smoky corrected his mate.

“Is she still here?” fluffy asked, struggling to sit up.

“I think so.” Smoky paused and looked around then called, “Gremblin? Are you still here?”

The call came back. It was the sweetest voice Fluffy had ever heard. “Yes? Oh she’s awake!”

Fluffy strained to see through her blurry eyes. She blinked a few times and her eyesight came back better than ever. Padding up slowly, the female cat that saved her life was more beautiful then she thought. Her pelt was a verity of three colors; black, tan and white; lots of white. She had eyes were a bright gold and her white paws almost seemed to shine.

“Hello,” the white  tortishell greeted. “My name is Gremblin, and you are Fluffy right?”

The black cat nodded. “Thank you for saving my life. I... don’t think I was ever going to see the light of day again, but thanks to you… How did you do it?”

Gremblin chuckled. “It’s quite easy if you swim in this water so much. I also sometimes jump of the waterfall for the fun of it. When I was coming up to go in swimming, I saw you and the silver one fall in. I couldn’t let you both drown.”

“I’m glad you came at the right time, Gremblin,” Fluffy replied.

“Please, call me Gremmy,” she insisted. “And you are very welcome.”

“Are you here again?” a annoyed voice called from behind the group of cats. The cats parted to let four male cats come through. Right away they went over to Gremmy and greeted her.

“Well who else is going to save drowning cats here in the Death Forest,” Gremmy laughed. “Remember I’m trying to rid the name of this place.” Turning to the group of cats she introduced the newcomers. “This is Milo, Devie, Nathan and Jasper.”

The tortishell pointed to each cat as she said their names. Milo was a orange tabby, with white paws and belly. Devie, who had spoken earlier, was a blue-gray male with icy blue eyes, like Cinder. Nathan was a black male, which looked like Fluffy did when she was a kit, and Jasper was a tabby with white paws and belly. His fur was long and well kept, with his gold eyes dull with boredom.

“Hello,” the Cat Rescuers meowed in greeting.

“Gremmy did you say this was the… Death Forest?” Fluffy gulped.

“Yeah, why?” Gremmy asked cocking her head to one side.

Getting up, Fluffy walked around the pool and approached the waterfall. “Is this the Noisy Waterfall?” she asked the new cats.

“Of course,” growled Devie. “What else would it be?”

Chapter 10

“We’re here,” Fluffy yowled. “This is the place from my dream!” She ran up to the shaking group and wondered why they weren’t happy that the journey was safer than the first and second one.

“So the cat must be behind the waterfall?” Smoky muttered. “If we are in the Death Forest… where are all the evil killing animals?”

“Well we know that the wolves are in the mountains,” Sheba meowed. “But I don’t know about the others.” Her fur suddenly bristled at the thought of every tree hiding a killer.

“Are you talking about the badgers, foxes and wolves?” asked Milo. “They all went to the mountains because the wolves were I guess beaten by a bunch of cats, and other wolves.”

Everyone relaxed that instant. “Okay lets go and help the cat behind the waterfall before they all come back,” Smoky ordered. “Free, take the other eagles to the tops of the trees… keep a lookout and call if you see anything we haven’t already.” The eagles nodded and flew up to the highest branches of the trees, making the tops sway a bit.

Looking confused Jasper came up to Smoky and growled, “You’re not actually going near the waterfall after Fluffy fell in, are you?”

“We have to,” Fluffy stated. “I had a dream that there was a cat behind this waterfall that needs our help- the Cat Rescuers help.”

Mouths dropped and eyes sparkled with happiness and surprise. “You all are the Cat Rescuers?” Gremmy gasped. “We’ve heard about you, when you saved those two kits from the bad housefolk.”

“So you are here to save Cody from the waterfall?” asked Milo.

“Is that the cat behind here?” Tiffie meowed. “What does he look like? So that we know it’s him.”

“Cody is a golden male,” Devie began. “He has blue eyes and is small. I think he’s only a couple years old and he is very shy. Ummm… I think he was with another cat… his mate, Ginger, I think.”

“They were with Cleo and Bianca too,” Milo added. “They never leave Ginger behind.. Always being her shadow, I always say.”

Fluffy looked at the fast flowing waterfall. It looked dangerous and it was moving to fast to go through it without getting killed. “Is there a way around the waterfall?” Fluffy asked Gremmy. “I don’t think we would get through and then come out again.”

Gremblin took awhile to think.” I think so, but a rock is blocking the path, and its very mall in the cave behind it.”

“Then we shouldn’t take all the cats with us,” Smoky insisted. “The wolves, eagles and foxes should stay here too.”

“We should take, Charcoal, Tippy, Tammy and Benji,” Fluffy called out the names. “Milo I want you to come too. Also Furby, Sheba, Sassy, Hennery, and Silver.”

“Can I come too?” Gremmy asked. “I was close friends with Cody, his mate and her sisters.”

“Of course,” Smoky agreed. “Maybe we should take some more of the Clatter too?”

“Yeah, probably,” Fluffy nodded. “Silver who should we bring from your group?”

Looking around the Clatter, he called the names. “Blizzard, Basil, Copper, Jade, China, and Alice. That should be enough.” The cats came forward and joined the others going into the waterfall.

Smoky and Fluffy nodded. “The rest of you, keep alert and ready to fight if the other animals come back from the mountains,” Smoky ordered. “Let’s get moving I want to be out of the cave before dawn.”

In the rock that was behind the waterfall there was a crevice, small enough for a cat to get through. It looked broken, as if something had been hitting it.

The ground was very cold when the entire group of cat’s climbed through. How long has it been since the sun had shined through the roaring waterfall t make the cave warm, wondered Fluffy. There was also a stream coming from the pool outside the cave. The cats had to walk through it and when they did it felt like ice.

“I feel bad for the cats that got trapped in here,” Fluffy meowed coldly. “It’s the worst place to be. No prey, no warmth, no nothing.”

“What I would like to know is why they didn’t try to get out through the hole in the rock,” Smoky wondered out loud. “It looks like the rock had been that way for awhile. There was moss growing around it.”

“Maybe they are trapped farther in the cave.”

“Possibly,” Smoky agreed. “Or maybe they are just too scared to come out. The badgers, foxes and wolves of this forest might’ve been the ones to trap them here in the first place.”

“Hopefully they might stay in the mountains,” Fluffy hissed. “I don’t want any more trouble, especially in this forest.”

“How much farther, mother?” Tippy complained. “My paws hurt, I’m hungry and tired. Plus how do we know where we are going when we can’t see in front of our own noses?”

Her son had been complaining the whole time. Though it did feel to Fluffy that it seemed that they have been in the cave for days.

“Wait is that light ahead?” Fluffy replied, ignoring Tippy.

“Come on everybody,” Smoky ordered. “We’re almost there!” The cats set their pace to running and in no time they were out of the cave and into the-.

“It led us to the mountains?” Tippy yowled. “What use is that? We must have missed a turn! Let’s go back.”

“There were no other turns,” Sheba hissed. “We all were skirting the edges of the cave and nobody felt anything.”

“Wait, I don’t remember this part of the mountains,” Fluffy pointed out.

“Who are you and what do you want?” a voice growled behind the cats.

Turning around Fluffy saw a male cat. His fur was wet and was a pale gold. His icy blue eyes were filled with fear and his claws were digging into the hard ground.

“We are looking for a cat called Cody,” Fluffy explained. “Are you him?”

“Yes my name is Cody,” the golden cat said. “But why are you looking for me?”

In Fluffy’s dream, Diamond had said that this cat needed there help, that he was trapped behind a waterfall and this cat didn’t look like he needed help.

“Cody!” Gremmy and Milo yowled. “You’re alive!”

“Well look at this,” Cody purred.. “I didn’t ever think I would see you two again. What are you doing here?”

“The Cat Rescuers came to help you out of here and back home,” Milo meowed. “We suggested coming with them.”

“These cats are the Cat Rescuers?” Cody shouted. “But how did you all get in when the waterfall entrance is covered by a huge rock?”

“There’s a crevice that is big enough for a cat to get through,” Fluffy explained. “It looked like it was broken by something.”

“Probably one of those ugly animals,” hissed a ginger cat.

“Ginger, how could it had been them when they think that we’re dead?” Cody asked. Turning to the Cat Rescuers he mewed, “This is my mate Ginger. The two fur balls behind her are Cleo and Bianca, her sisters.”

“Maybe they don’t think we’re dead,” Ginger argued.

Cleo a cream female uncurled from her sleep. Her pale fur was recently washed, and her blue eyes showed anger and tiredness. “Would you two stop that,” she snapped. “That’s all you do is bicker all the time!”

“Oh leave them alone,” Bianca hissed to her sister. She lifted her head and raised a brown paw and started to wash her face. “It’s not like we don’t do it all the time,” the cream cat went on.

“Look do you want to get out of here and back home r be stuck in here forever?” Hennery snapped.

“Of course we do,” Cleo hissed.  She got up and stretched, kneading the ground as she went.

“Then lets’ get going,” Smoky meowed. “It’s starting to get dark.” Pushing his way through he reached the front and led the cold cats toward the rock blocking the path..

Chapter 11

“You made it!” Tiffie exclaimed as the last cat crept over the crevice of the rock and out from behind the waterfall. “Did you find the cats?”

“Yes we found Cody, Ginger, Cleo and Bianca,” Smoky answered. “And we found a way to the mountains.” He let the cats that didn’t go into the cave crowd around him as he explained what happened, even Tippy’s complaining through the cave.

Padding away, Fluffy saw Benji and Tammy sitting with Cody. Creeping around them, she slid into a bush behind the golden cats, and listened in.

“Cody do you know who we are?” Benji asked the young cat.

“I know that you are cats of the Cat Rescuers,” Cody meowed confused. “Why?”

“Well sweetie,” Tammy began. “Can’t you see that we have the same colored coats and the same attitude? Can’t you see that we are your parents?”

“I never knew my parents,” Cody growled. “So how do I know that you are mine?”

“We’ll tell you,” Benji responded bitterly. “You were our first kit we ever had. We all used to live in a cream house, and our housefolk were taking very good care of us, but one day when you were about six weeks old, the housefolk gave you away to someone else. Tammy and I knew that we would never have kits again because of that so we left and started the Woodcat Clatter.”

“But then we heard that Fluffy had four kits and that they weren’t given away,” Tammy continued. “We decided to live in the cream house again. But we still hesitated on having kits again.”

“Then when Tammy and I heard your name said when the Cat Rescuers got to this forest and we knew that you were still alive,” Benji went on. “I just thought that you would have remembered us.”

                “I do remember now,” Cody replied. “The housefolk kits would also play with me and we always slept in the kitchen. When I was given away, I didn’t think you guys cared because you didn’t come to help me, so I forgot who my parents were.”

                “We’re sorry that we didn’t come to get you, but-” Benji began, but a screech interrupted them.

                “They’re coming!” Free screeched. “They know they’ve been tricked, and they are coming to kill.”

                “Head for the waterfall, and climb over the rock,” Smoky ordered. “It’s our only way out of here!” Right away the cats headed for the rock. Fluffy burst out of the bushes as the golden cat family left for the rock.

                Running up to Smoky, Fluffy suggested, panting, “Why don’t each of the eagles carry a cat and they could fly over the mountains and meet us.”

                “That’s a great idea,” Smoky howled. “But shouldn’t the eagles go to the neighborhood so we can take the cats that live there home?”

                Fluffy nodded just as the wolves came up. “We can carry cats too,” Mukluk offered.

                “Okay,” Smoky replied. “Eight cats come back,” he called. Smoky’s call rang out around the waterfall and eight cats’ came back, Tippy being one of them.

                “Why,” Holly exclaimed. “I thought we needed to get out of here?”

                “We are getting out of here,” Smoky told the spotted golden cat. “But some of you are getting rides.

                “Tippy you can go with Slush,” he went on. “Holly with Gloria, Fluffy with Bonita…” the list went on as everyone left when they were given their safety rides. Fluffy went last watching as Gremmy went flying away with Hedwing, Milo riding away on Mukluk, Jasper howling as Butch took flight, and Glider swept over the waterfall in a flash with Cleo and Bianca’s fur bristling.

                Fluffy and Smoky took off at the same time, but Free and him took a different route as Bonita climb up the rocks. He wasn’t going the way the others took. Where is he going, she wondered.

                Whispering in Bonita’s ear, fluffy asked, “Can you follow Free and Smoky?” The white wolf nodded and almost seemed to glide over the ground on fast, soft paws.

                They reached the hood where the others were waiting in a bush. Smoky and Free’s scent lingered in the air, but they were not there. Their scent went a different way; heading behind the enemy animals that wanted to kill.

                Jumping off Bonita, Fluffy ran over to the bush and called Gloria’s name. She poked her head out of the tree above her. “Follow Free’s scent, please,” Fluffy insisted. The beautiful eagle was about to take flight, but Fluffy protested, “Wait! I’m coming with you.”

                The eagle came down from the tree, flapping her huge wings from crashing into the ground. She crouched down low for Fluffy so that the black cat could climb onto her black, feathery back.

                Once Fluffy had scrambled onto Gloria’s back, she took flight after the scent left by Free and Smoky. It had defiantly headed for the animals, as Fluffy feared, but then the trail turned.

                The scent took them over a raging river. This must be the Green River, Fluffy thought as she looked down. It definitely was green.

                As she watched the river, Fluffy thought it seemed to get closer. She noticed that Gloria had lowered herself, still following the scent, which had suddenly mixed in with wolves and foxes. The wolves also carried a familiar scent; Shadow and Jenna.

                Fluffy heard a gasp come from Gloria. The eagle was looking down at the river and so did she. It was covered with floating feathers, and the water had turned from a green to green- red. What had happened, Fluffy hissed inside her head.

                “Don’t worry,” a voice muttered. “I spilled more wolf and fox blood then feathers.”

                Spinning around in the air, fluffy saw Free. Feathers were missing from his wings, which made it harder to fly, but he was still whole.

                “Where’s Smoky?” Fluffy yowled. Free suddenly looked sullen, and sorry.

                “I am sorry,” Free apologized. “He fell as I flew away from wolves. Brave cat fell in river, and couldn’t reach him in time.”

                “Smoky is gone?” she snarled half to herself.

                “Whoever told you that?” someone coughed.

                Almost falling in the river herself, Fluffy half jumped, half scrambled off Gloria, who was still in flight and almost into Smoky. He was soaked and had moss hanging off his head, still dripping water.

                “Don’t move!” Fluffy exclaimed. “There’s a fox behind you!”

                “Don’t hurt him,” Smoky replied calmly. “His name’s Dakota. He pulled me out of the river.”             

                “You look familiar,” Dakota barked at Fluffy. “And I know why. Please I didn’t mean it. I was going to get killed if I didn’t do what I was being told. I was young and scared. Please don’t hurt me!” he pleaded.

                “What are you talking about?” Fluffy asked the fox.

                “I killed your mother,” the fox said. “You don’t remember me, do you?”

                “You killed my mother!?” Fluffy howled. “Why did you do that?”

                “I had to,” Dakota cried. “Shadow told me to kill the silver cat, and if I didn’t he would kill me. I was young so I only cared about myself, but now I feel really bad about doing that.”

                “Shadow told you to?” Fluffy echoed. “Is this Shadow a black wolf?”

                Dakota nodded. “You know him?”

                “Yeah,” Fluffy replied. “He was in our group when we were traveling across the mountains. A group of wolves from here attacked and he turned on me.”

                “Do you know the way out of here?” Smoky asked the young fox.

                Dakota nodded. “Follow me.”

                Once Fluffy and Smoky were on the backs of the eagles, Dakota took off under the bushes of bramble and leaves. They flew after the fox, dodging trees and other birds.

                The five found the others in the clearing across the Green River, near the house with the bad housefolk. Fluffy and Smoky had found out that Dakota was Lilac and Todd’s son that they thought had died.

                With everyone united the cats started to disperse that lived in the hood near the Green River; all except Gremmy and another newcomer. The newcomer was a ginger male with gray stripes.

                Then it hit Fluffy like a rock. “Hennery!” she called. When the golden cat turned around Fluffy continued. “It’s your brother Tiger! He’s here!” At that second Hennery took off from the group and looked around, looking for Tiger.

                But Gremmy found him first. Tiger and Gremmy touched noses, with lots of affection in their eyes. Hennery reached them, but stopped when he saw that.

                Tiger glanced away from Gremmy’s golden eyes and greeted, “Hennery it’s so good to see you again! I’ve missed you so much.”

                “It’s good to see you too,” Hennery replied as he padded up to his brother. “At least I know why I haven’t gotten an answer from Digger. Every day that mole has been digging up to my homes garden and saying that he hasn’t been able to talk to you.”

                “Yeah… about that,” Tiger stammered. “I wanted… no Gremmy and I wanted to know if we could come with you and the others. It’s just too dangerous here.”

                “There are a lot of homes still without cats,” Fluffy mewed. “Unless you wanted to live with Hennery and his mate.”

                “Well our own home sounds nice,” Gremmy purred. “Does that mean we can come and live in your hood? I’d like to travel with the cat Rescuers, and Tiger just wanted to be where he can keep in touch with Hennery easier; and to be with me.”

                “I guess you can,” Fluffy decided.

Chapter 12

The Cat Rescuers started on their way home shortly after the next day. It was cloudy for the first time in a while; at least the cats think that.

                They were extremely happy to be out from under the constant cover of the trees, and Hennery felt right at home as they all entered the mountains; again.

                The returning home journey was taking too long though. Gremmy and Tiger had slowed down the group and refused to ride on a wolf or eagle. Their paws were cracked from the lack of rock walking, unlike the Cat Rescuers who had been here many times and who walked all the time on hard rock at home.                                                                                                 “I really don’t like the feel of the mountains after what happened earlier,” Fluffy hissed quietly to Smoky. “I feel as if we are all being watched by something that’s about to attack.”

                “Don’t worry we won’t be here much longer if some cats would hurry up and stop being stubborn,” Smoky said, raising his voice.

                Suddenly there was a rustle in a bush up ahead and the scent of rabbit came strongly to Fluffy’s nose. Crouching quickly and quietly, Fluffy started to pad over to the bush. The bush was still rustling loudly, and another scent approached her. Fluffy jumped back and ran over to Smoky, neck fur bristling and tail fluffed out twice its size.

                “What’s wrong?” Smoky asked.

                “That isn’t just a piece of prey in that bush,” Fluffy hissed. “It’s Shadow.”

                Gasps rose from the Cat Rescuers and the others. At once growls started to form in everyone’s throats and they all bared their teeth, showing white, sharp teeth. Hackles rose and claws scraped the rocky ground.

                Shadow stepped out of the bush, looking relaxed as ever. His sister, Jenna, was by his side. The bushes rustled again and more wolves pushed around the black wolf.

                “Didn’t we already beat you wolves once?” someone growled from the group. It was Tippy, of course, but he was right: they had already been beaten and would be again.

                “I don’t think we’ll be beaten so easily this time, small one,” Shadow snarled. “I have brought many more.”

                This time it wasn’t wolves. It was all the badgers and foxes from the Death Forest. The Cat Rescuers seemed to be out numbered as even real dogs came behind them.

                “Is that Bosco?” Holly screeched. Her paw was pointed in the direction of the wolves. There between Shadow and Jenna, stood the ginger cat. His hazel eyes glowed with hatred and his green collar that he had gotten from his housefolk was gone.

                “I told you that I would prove that cats didn’t did in the forest,” he growled. “But I believe that none will be living here.”

                “Thanks to this cat,” a dark russet wolf barked. “We know your weaknesses as well as your moves.”

                Fluffy looked behind her. All the cats, eagles, wolves and foxes were ready to fight. It would just feel like the rat attack in the Dark Forest where the Clatter lives. These teammates were strong and brave, as well as skilled and determined.

                “I’m done waiting,” Jenna snarled to her brother. She lunged at Furby and Coal, and as Shadow gave the signal, the rest sprang at their enemies. Fluffy went around the wolves and took ten other cats and the foxes with her. She wanted to get to the sneaky foxes. They were the weakest along with the regular dogs.

                A screeched told her that one of her foxes got attacked. Fluffy whipped around to see Shadow standing over Todd. The fox was kicking at the wolfs belly, ripping fur out, but it didn’t even phase the wolf. He just bared his teeth and prepared to kill.

                But the foxes didn’t have nine lives like her. Fluffy wouldn’t let one of them get killed when she could spare many of her lives. She lunged at Shadow’s head. He howled in pain as she scratched his eyes. Her tail had just moved out of the way as he bit the air.

                “I’m done with you!” Todd barked. He rammed into Shadow’s side and they went tumbling down the rock cliff. Their howls rang out through the fight and everybody stopped, went to the edge of the cliff and watched as wolf and fox sailed downward.

                “Todd no!” Lilac cried. She reached out a paw, as if she could catch him by snagging a claw into his fur, but he was already lying at the bottom of the mountains, lying in a shallow pool.

                With their leader dead; hopefully, the evil Death Forest animals retreated. Lilac was still crying over the cliff, tears running through her beautiful, orange face. Then another cry came to her ears.

                Padding over to where she heard the cry, Fluffy saw golden fur on the ground. It was Benji. His fur was torn badly and face would be badly scarred.

                “He’s never coming back!” Tammy cried. “It was his last life, and I’m never going to see him again!” She pushed her muzzle into her mate’s fur and continued wailing.

                Claw marks on Benji’s pelt showed that he had many badgers and wolves attacking him. Now he would never have to go through that gain, for he would be at peace forever. It was a horrible sight to see an important cat die in front of their eyes.

                What are we going to do without him?” Fluffy asked Smoky. “He was so helpful… and it must be hard for Cody to see his father die just after he met him.”

                Smoky nodded. His tail had drooped, and it dragged in the dirt of the mountains as he limped over to the cliff where Shadow and Todd fell. “I just would like to know how we are going to reach Todd, so that we can bury him.”

                “We’ll have to worry about that later,” Fluffy meowed. “Right now… we should try to comfort Tammy and Cody, like what Ginger is doing.” Padding away from the edge Smoky and Fluffy went over to the golden cats.

                Other cats started to crowd around them giving their thanks to helping the Cat Rescuers. Then they walked away and lay down to watch the sky as it grew dark sharing prey with each other.

                When Fluffy and Smoky had reached Benji’s body, Fluffy noticed something different in Tammy. Stretching to the golden cat’s ear she whispered, “Are you going to be having kits?”

                Tammy looked up, tears in her eyes. “I never got to tell him,” Tammy sobbed. “I was going to tell him when we got back home, but I guess I won’t be.” Tammy paused for a few seconds as if in hesitation. “Can we get going?”

                “We will in the morning,” Fluffy promised. “It’s t dangerous to be walking in the mountains in the dark. Right now Cody and Ginger can bury Benji.” She nodded to the two cats and they picked him up carefully carrying the body slowly over to a patch of loose dirt.

                Morning seem to come fast. The cats were still sleepy, but they pushed their paws to keep going. After beating the evil animals of the Death Forest, the cats would all be able to go home.

                Fluffy’s wounds were hurting her and she was limping. The rocks didn’t help for they dug into the pads of her paws. Luckily she could hear a stream up ahead.

                “Why don’t we stop at the stream,” Fluffy suggested to Smoky. “Everyone can get a drink and cool off.” He nodded and stopped to holler that they were stopping soon.

                The cats reached the stream a few moments later. The found plenty of prey and many went into the water to soothe the pain in their paws.  Some even had lain down in the water to just cool off.

                Fluffy was eating a mouse as a cat approached her. It was Holly. The spotted cat was looking worried.

                “What’s wrong, Holly?” Fluffy asked.

                “It’s Bosco,” Holly started. “Why did he turn on us? And is he still alive? Did he know something about the forest and its killers and why didn’t he tell us?”

                “Holly we can’t answer these questions,” Fluffy mewed. “Only Bosco can and he is a traitor because of what he did. We’re hoping that he is dead, but nobody found his body anywhere.”

                “I think these mountains should be called the Death Mountains, instead of the forest,” Holly groaned, changing the subject. “I think there has been more death here than the forest, big time.”

                “She has a point you know,” Tiffie growled, coming up to the two cats. “Two foxes, a wolf and a fox died here and no one died in the forest. The forest should be the Haunted Forest and the mountains what Holly suggested.”

                “Why the Haunted Forest?” Fluffy demanded. “There was nothing haunting about that place at all.”

                “I don’t know about that Fluffy,” Tiffie stated. “While you were in the cave with the others, some of the cats were complaining that they were seeing ghosts, and that they were being replayed what had happened to each one.”

                “Really?” Fluffy exclaimed. “Did anyone see a silver cat?”

                “When Bosco was with us he said he did,” Holly muttered. “That’s when he must have left.”

                “I wonder if he will ever go back to his housefolk,” Tiffie hissed. “If I ever see him again… I’ll… I’ll rip him to shreds!”

                “You wouldn’t even do that to him,” Fluffy reminded her. “Don’t forget you do have some softness in that heart of yours.”

                “Whatever,” Tiffie snarled. She walked away at that instant and Fluffy could’ve sworn that the gray-and-white cat blushed.

                Fluffy had gotten a nap in before her mate had come up to her. He was here to tell her that everyone was ready to go and that he didn’t want her to get left behind.

                Her legs had stiffened up and it hurt to get up, but Fluffy just gritted her teeth against the pain and got up and raced after Smoky.

                What felt like days, the Cat Rescuers finally reached the second level of the mountains, and close to where Todd laid. Lilac had started toward the pool where her mate was, just as it came into sight. Shadow still was close, but the wolf still seemed to be breathing.

                His pelt was soaked, but raggedy. He snarled as Mukluk had come close to him. The black wolf couldn’t see! He was scared because he couldn’t see the enemy.

                “He’s not much of a threat,” Tiffie growled from the back. “Let him just die here.”

                “No we aren’t like the killers he led,” Bonita advised. “Lilac can you find something to help Shadow?” The fox hesitated, but eventually went out to find some healing herbs.

                “What are we going to do with Shadow?” Tippy hissed to the white wolf. “He tried to kill all of us, and here you are trying to help him!”

                “True he did try to kill us, but there is some good in his black heart,” Bonita growled, annoyingly. “It didn’t help when I think Jenna was a bad influence on him when he was a pup.”

                “How? Aren’t they the same age?”

                “No Tippy,” the white wolf answered. “Jenna is older than Shadow. She wasn’t the best pup as she got older either. When Shadow was born, I think Jenna got jealous. Their mother was with shadow more and so she started to be bad around her brother.”

                “What did she do to make him like he is now?” Fluffy asked.

                “She killed cats, brought them back as prey, and told him how filthy they were,” Bonita explained. “He no sooner started to ask how to kill, and she showed him. That’s when he got bad. He started to attack his own kind, with Jenna encouraging him. Shadow listened, but look where it got him now.”

                “Were you with the pack when that happened?” Gremmy muttered wide eyed.

                “Yes I was,” Bonita whispered sadly. “I was Shadow’s mother’s sister.”                           “Is that why you are caring about him so much, because of that? Tiger meowed.

                “No… I’m doing this because she asked me to take care of him. From the way I see him… I don’t think I did a very good job.”

                “What happened to your sister and her mate?” Smoky asked. “Are they still alive?”

                “Of course they aren’t alive, bird-brain!” Tiffie growled. “I don’t see them here!”

                Before Bonita could answer, she turned around to talk to Lilac, who had just got back. She had some rose petals, lily petals, and slug slime in her mouth. She went over to Shadow and bent over his head to look at his eyes.

                Fluffy walked over to the fox to see if she needed help. Lilac nodded to her offer and Fluffy sat next to the fox’s stack of herbs. The fox hooked a lily petal with a claw and put it in her mouth. She chewed it a couple times then spat it out on an oak leaf.

                “Can you let some of the juice on the petal drip onto Shadow’s eyes?” Lilac responded after a few seconds. “It’ll soothe his pain.”

                “Okay,” she mewed. Fluffy looked into the leaf and saw water at the bottom of it. The lily pieces had absorbed some it and it was cool and wet when she picked one up in her mouth.

                Leaning over Shadow’s eyes, Fluffy squeezed the lily piece a little and cool water dripped and soaked around his eyes. He sighed in relief as the water cooled down the soreness out of the wound.

                Once fluffy had soaked both of the black wolfs eyes, Lilac turned to her helper. “That looks really good,” the fox replied. “Now can you put the rose petals in the leftover water? Then let them soak for a bit. Then you can put them on his eyes and I’ll put on the slime. It’ll hold the petals in place.”

                Fluffy did as Lilac said. All the water was gone in a couple minutes and Fluffy hooked a petal on one claw of each foot. She gently let them lay on Shadow’s eyes. She prodded Lilac in the side to let her know that she was done.

                Fluffy walked away from the healing fox and back to her group. All the cats were talking amongst themselves.  Finding through the maze of cats, she found her way to where Smoky and Tippy were talking.

                They picked up their heads to look at Fluffy. “Where did you go off to?” Smoky asked.

                “I was helping Lilac take care of Shadow,” Fluffy answered.

                “Oh yeah,” Tippy yowled. “Bonita told us that Shadow had killed his mother! And even his father!”

                “Are you serious?” Fluffy exclaimed. They nodded, fur bristling at the thought. Fluffy couldn’t even imagine a young a black wolf attacking two full grown wolves. It was just too horrible to think of.

Chapter 13

After Lilac had treated Shadow and she and Bonita had buried Todd, the tired bedraggled group kept going. They had left the eagles to fly among the mountains and to live at peace now that the evil wolves had finally left.                                                                                                                 It was now almost sunset and they had just reached the bottom of the mountains, with Shadow in the middle of them.

                The near death experience had taught Shadow that he can’t always get his way. He now knows that everything he had done wrong was bad. If he had seeable eyes, Shadow said that he probably could act like a happy puppy again.

                “I can’t wait to get home and see Cinder!” Tippy replied to his mother. “I wonder if she had our kits yet.”

                “If she had our housefolk will take very good care of it,” Fluffy said. “I can’t wait to get home to find out why Sapphire was hiding her mate from us and not telling us that she was going to be having kits.”

                “Give her a break mother,” Tippy retorted. “She has a much right to have kits just as you do. I don’t see you complaining about Cinder and she’s almost the same age.”

                “Your son has a point,” Stormy noted who was standing beside her... “Everyone is free to do what they want. You should be happy that your stubborn daughter found a mate.”

                “I suppose…,” Fluffy hesitated. “But I’m still going to talk to her.”

                “Now let’s hurry up,” Tippy pointed out. “Before we get left behind!”

                Stormy and Fluffy yowled with surprise when they noticed how far away the others were. They took off after Tippy, tails streaking out behind them. Everyone was in such a hurry since were almost home, Fluffy thought.

                By the time Fluffy reached the rest of the group, she was out of breath. She wanted to stop, but didn’t want to slow everyone else down. They would defiantly start complaining about wanting to get home then.

                “Why are you so out of breath?” Shadow asked.

                Fluffy looked around and noticed that she had ended up next to the black wolf. “Sorry Shadow,” Fluffy apologized. “I was talking with Stormy and Tippy. We noticed that we were getting left behind so we had to run.”

                “I see. Wait no I don’t see,” Shadow joked. “You sure do have sharp, strong claws Fluffy. I probably deserved it after trying to kill you and your son.”

                “It’s okay,” Fluffy replied. “You were being driven on by Jenna and her evil heart, but Tippy did deserve a bit of a scare after being so rude.”

                “Kits will be kits,” Bonita barked beside her. “They always get into mischief when they get at this age.”

                “Mom…look the lake!” Slush howled up ahead. “We’re almost home!”

                “It’s great to be home again… as the normal me,” Shadow sighed. “You should come and visit sometime,” he offered turning to Fluffy. “You know just get to know each other better.”

                “Sure,” she agreed. “And I’ll bring my other kits too.”

                Saying good-bye to Shadow and Bonita, fluffy went up to the front of the group where Mukluk was saying his farewells to her mate. The mottled gray wolf turned to the other wolves, howled an order and they all took off for their home in the forest.

                The Cat Rescuers watched the wolves for awhile and then turned towards their home place; the hood. It looked peaceful as the first snowflakes fell on the cats. It was cold, but it made everyone feel like kits again. They had once saved cats again, and most of them had lived. There will be more kits to come and the Cat Rescuers are hoping that they won’t have any more rescues: meaning that there are no cats in danger.

                But they also know that won’t happen.

The Last Clan by Missa and The Dark Poet

The Last Clan

Part 1

Leader      Leopardstar- leopard tom with gold eyes and white chest

Deputy      Rosetail- pink she-cat with clear eyes

                Apprentice- Maplepaw

Healer      Spottedfur- leopard she-cat with gold eyes

                Jayfeather- blue-gray tom with blind blue eyes; Thunderclan

Warriors  (toms and she-cats without kits)

                  Tigerheart- ambitious tiger she-cat with amber eyes

Mothbeam- pink she-cat with clear eyes

                Apprentice- Cherrypaw

                Stormfire- blue-gray tom with green eyes

                Cloudflare- white-and-ginger tom

                Blizzardstripe- white tiger with blue eyes

                Apprentice- Sharppaw

Halfwhisker- gray she-cat with blue eyes, white paws and half of whiskers

Rainstripe- gray tom with darker stripes, white paws and blue eyes

Blackheart- black tom with one white paw and blue eyes

Leafstorm- leopard she-cat with gold eyes

Sharkbite- gray-and-white tom with light blue eyes and black tail

Apprentice- Willowpaw

Lionblaze- golden tom with amber eyes; Thunderclan

Apprentice- Redpaw

Dovewing- gray fluffy she-cat with blue eyes; Thunderclan

Apprentice- Robinpaw

Shallowheart- white she-cat with a blackened heart and blue eyes

Foxcatcher- reddish tabby tom with amber eyes; Thunderclan

Flameclaw- ginger tom with amber eyes; Shadowclan

Apprentice- Sunpaw

Dawnmoon- cream she-cat with blue eyes; Shadowclan

Cinderheart- gray tabby she-cat with blue eyes; Thunderclan

Berrynose- cream tom with gold eyes; Thunderclan

Brambleclaw- dark brown tabby tom with amber eyes; Thunderclan

Apprentice- Grasspaw

Heathertail- light brown tabby she-cat with blue eyes; Windclan

                Breezepelt-black tom with amber eyes; Windclan

                Minnowfur- gray tabby she-cat

                Copperflower- dark ginger she-cat

                Apprentice- Petalpaw

                Frostflower- blue- gray and white she-cat with green eyes

Blossomspots- brown tabby she-cat with white blossom shaped spots; Thunderclan

Apprentices (kits more than six moons old, training to be warriors)

                Maplepaw- reddish she-cat with gold eyes

                Cherrypaw- pink she-cat with blue eyes

                Sharppaw- colorful tom with gold eyes and sharp claws

                Willowpaw- black-and-white she-cat with blue eyes

                Robinpaw-tortishell-and-white she-cat

                Grasspaw-white she-cat with green eyes

                Petalpaw- white she-cat with gold eyes and gray tail

                Sunpaw- tortishell she-cat with gold eyes; Windclan

                Redpaw- mottled brown and ginger tom

Queens     (she-cats expecting or nursing kits)

Brookstream- gray she-cat with white paws, chest and belly and blue eyes (Nursing Stromfire’s kits; Darkkit, Graykit, and Silverkit)

Daisy- cream furred she-cat with brown eyes (Expecting Dirttail’s kits); Thunderclan

Icestorm- white she-cat (Nursing Sharkbite’s kits; Whitekit, Snowkit, Polarkit, and Artickit); Thunderclan

Elders               (retired toms and she-cats)

                    Otterheart- dark brown she-cat; lost half of her tail

                Mintfur- light gray tabby tom; retired from fail sight

Purdy- tabby tom with gray muzzle; Thunderclan

Rowenclaw- ginger tom; Shadowclan

Brakenfur- golden brown tabby tom; Thunderclan

Cloudtail- white tom with blue eyes; Thunderclan

Thornclaw- golden brown tabby tom; Thunderclan

Oakfur- small brown tom with gold eyes; Shadowclan

Whitewater- white she-cat with blue eyes

“We’re being attacked!” a spotted tom yowled. “Brace your selves!”

The camp went from silent to being loud with claws sinking into fur of other cats. The clan had not been ready and could easily be beaten, but Riverclan was strong.

        “Leopardstar, look out!” the leaders daughter, Sweetpaw warned him. The spotted tom whipped around and saw Tigerheart, his mate, coming towards Leopardstar.

“Tigerheart what do you think you are doing? You are fighting the wrong side,” Leopardstar shouted at his mate as she knocked him to the ground.

The young she-cat snarled at her mate. She looked at him with blood thirsty eyes and growled, “You don’t deserve to live anymore! I’m taking over this clan, just as I already had with those rouges.”

        “Try it and see what happens,” Leopardstar hissed. He kicked out with his hind legs at his mate’s stomach. She flew into the air and landed with a thud. Other cats around their leader saw this and gasped with surprise, but Leopardstar ignored it.

        Instead he lunged at Tigerheart as she started to get up. Leopardstar knocked her back onto the ground and stood over her with claws sinking into Tigerheart’s legs; to hold her on the ground.

        “I’d banish you, but you will just come back for more,” Leopardstar hissed. “I guess I have to kill you, so that you can cause any more trouble like Tigerstar had all those years ago.”

        “You’d do that in front of our daughter?” the tiger asked with a gustier of her head to show that Sweetpaw was behind them. He looked back at his daughter, but with a good clawhold of Tigerheart still.

        When Leopardstar looked at his daughters face, there was anger, fear and as she looked down at her mother she nodded at her father. Leopardstar looked back at Tigerheart pleased that his daughter was on his side. “It looks like she agrees with that suggestion. Say hi to the dark forest for me okay Tigerheart?” he spat. “This is for trying to kill me.” With that now said, Leopardstar sank his teeth into his mate’s neck.. She howled in pain, until they all heard a crunch of bone. The last breath left the body of the evil killer and Leopardstar was soon out of breath himself as a big paw slapped the side of his head.

        It was cold wherever Leopardstar was, but he could feel fur against his side. His head was still pounding as he laid there hurting. At first Leopardstar thought the battle was just all a dream and he was starting to come out of it, but he could smell blood on his paws, from when it had drained from Tigerheart’s throat.

        “Father,” someone squeaked. “Father are you okay?”

        Leopardstar slowly opened his golden eyes. His vision was blurred at first, but cleared and in front of him he saw his white tiger daughter. Her yellow eyes glowed with relief as she saw her father get up.

        “Where are we?” he asked. Looking around he saw trees swaying in the wind, blue skies, birds flying overhead and the many scents of prey wafted around them.

        “Riverclan kicked us out because they saw you kill Tigerheart and since I’m your daughter they wouldn’t trust me,” Sweetpaw explained. “We can never go back, we are banished.”

        “Who’s going to be the new leader then?” Leopardstar mewed with fear.

        “Rosetail was your deputy, but she got killed,” Sweetpaw muttered. “Leafstorm is the most popular and I think she was made the new leader. She’s going to destroy the clan, father. She acts just like Tigerheart, Thistleclaw from long ago and Adderfang.”

        “I know, but there’s nothing we can do, Sweetpaw,” Leopardstar sighed. “Riverclan is in the paws of Starclan now. Let’s just hope that the last clan can manage through Leafstorm’s leadership.” His daughter nodded. “Let’s get out of here,” he added. “If the clan finds us they’ll kill us.”

        “I can’t go on, Sweetpaw,” Leopardstar panted. “I’m on my last legs and I’m just too weak to go on. You’ll need to keep going and get out of Riverclan territory.”

        “I’m not leaving you,” Sweetpaw retorted. “You are all that I have left of family and clan, you can’t go.”

        Leopardstar sighed. He hated lying to her, but he had to somehow convince her to go on by herself. He wasn’t on his last legs, he still had all nine left, but he felt like he was about to lose one now. “Go now!” Leopardstar hollered at his daughter. “I don’t want you to die too! Just go and leave me here. I’m about to join Starclan anyways!”

        “But… I,” Sweetpaw stammered with fear. Leopardstar looked at her in anger. He had mentored this cat from the time she could walk and she said that she would do what he wanted, but now the white tiger stood there not knowing what to do. It was frustrating.

        “Go!” he repeated so loudly that it echoed in the forest. Sweetpaw ran, afraid, and Leopardstar could hear her pawsteps fade into the sounds of the forest just as his senses were.

        Leopardstar now stood in a sparkling forest. It wasn’t anywhere he remembered, but as he saw four huge oaks standing in front of him, he knows he was in the old forest where the clan’s fist started out.

        The leopard spotted tom stood there in awe. It was a beautiful place that didn’t exist anymore. It was destroyed by Twolegs years ago, from when Brambleclaw still lived along with Firestar of Thunderclan.

        “Welcome, Leopardstar. You have lost your first life..”

        He turned around to see a blue she-cat with stars in his fur. “Bluestar?” he mewed.

        “It is I Mistybreeze,” the she-cat replied. “Bluestar’s granddaughter, silly.”

        “Oh the old deputy before Pearlstar, right?”

        “Yes,” Mistybreeze said. “And I am sorry that you were banished from the clan. Leafstar won’t even believe me that you had to do it, but at least I tried.”

        “Thanks, but that is not the same clan I had known before I became leader,” Leopardstar hissed. “I shall travel alone for the time being, by going with my old name Leopardflame.”

        “You will not be traveling alone,” Mistybreeze growled. “You will have to find your daughter and travel back to the clan, because by the time you come back, the clan will need your help, for destruction lies in its fate.. Find Sweetpaw at a Twoleg home past the forest boundaries, I will help you on the way. You also have a prophecy surrounding your Clan.

        “A sweet dappled tiger, a flame from a leopard and a moon lily will save the Clan from the fate it is going to face.”

        Before Leopardflame could say anything else, the Starclan cat disappeared from his sight. The old forest faded away and he was back in his own forest. Leaves cracked under his paws as he got up stiffly and a bird rang out a warning call to the other animals of the forest.

        Leopardflame padded away from the place he had rested. As strength started to flow through his blood, he trotted then he ran after the scent of his daughter. He needed to quicken the pace though, for night was falling faster every day, showing signs of leaf-fall approaching.

        As night fell on the forest, a few days later after he had been traveling, cold clawed at Leopardflame’s pelt. It was still Greenleaf thick and it wasn’t ready to keep out the cold. Right now he wished for the comfort of the camp and his daughter.

        The trees started to thin out as Leopardflame padded over the unnoticed boundary of Riverclan and the Twoleg home where Sweetpaw would be.

        “My paws are about to fall off,” Leopardflame muttered to himself. “But I can’t stop I must find Sweetpaw and save the clan.”

        Ignoring the tiredness that nipped at his paws and legs, Leopardflame pushed on and he knew he was getting closer to his target because there was close to being no trees and Sweetpaw’s scent was still fairly strong.

        The sounds of the forest faded away to snoring. He didn’t know what it was so Leopardflame went to investigate. Creeping behind a big boulder, Leopardflame quietly padded to edge of it. Looking around its edge he saw a big nest for Twolegs. A little farther away he saw a barn where the scents told him that sheep, cows, horses, chickens, ducks and a fawn lived in it.

        Leopardflame didn’t realize that he was hungry until his belly growled. It grew louder the more he ignored it and the noise woke a creature that slept a little away from the nest.

        It looked like a big cat, but it had stripes from the looks of it. Its fur shone beautifully in the moonlight and the tail of the cat swished back and forth. The muscles moved strongly as the cat leapt on a mouse. It ate the small creature in a second then laid back down.

        Before his belly had another chance to growl, Leopardflame killed a vole and a rabbit as they passed by his tail. They satisfied his hunger and he was able to fall peacefully asleep.

        A good night sleep on the cold ground made Leopardflame’s wounds stiff again, but he was woken now and then when he heard a voice from below him. He had been snoring louder than a lions roar again. He had kept the cat awake with him.

        Now the big bulky animal was prowling around on the ground with a few of the barn animals and what looked like…. Sweetpaw!

        Leopardflame knew he had the Twoleg nest now. He had gone down and sees his daughter; if she would talk to him after he shouted at her.

        Leopardflame made the mistake of leaping down behind the cat with Sweetpaw. He startled it and it had swiped at Leopardflame with huge claws that even he didn’t want to mess with.

        He went back behind the boulder where he hid last night. He needed to think up a plan to get Sweetpaw away from the orange tiger that protected his daughter.

        Then Leopardflame decided to just attack the orange she-cat. It reminded him of Tigerheart to much so this time he’ll demand Sweetpaw and take her away.

        He waited until sunhigh when Sweetpaw wasn’t outside. Leopardflame had found out the name of the tiger and she didn’t seem like a Lilly; at all.

        Leopardflame jumped down from his peeking post and landed silently behind Lilly. The grass felt soft under his cut paw pads, but once he was back in the forest that’s when he can enjoy it.

        A growl formed in Leopardflame’s throat as he leaped onto the female tiger. She yowled in surprise as his claws dug into her back, but Leopardflame didn’t think that a cat knew that drop-and-roll countermove and he got crushed under the tiger’s weight.

        Then he felt teeth meet in his spotted scruff. He waited to lose a life, but instead Lilly’s teeth let go and he was soaring in the air. His back suddenly hit a tree trunk and everything blacked out.

        Leopardflame didn’t know how long he was out, but the smell of prey meant that he was still alive. He opened his eyes and looked around. He could see the nest a few feet away from him. On either side of Leopardflame were big boulders, bigger than the Great Rock from the old forest.

        A pole stuck out from o the boulder to his right, and a chain was tied around it. It traveled to the collar that was clipped around his neck; the cold metal sending shivers down his neck to his tail tip.

        “You’re finally awake, you lump of fur.” The voice made him look up. Leopardflame got to see Lilly up close; she had leafy green eyes and scar over her right eye. Her paws were big compared to her body size.

        “Here.” A mouse landed in front of his nose. “My humans said that even though you tried to kill me, that we still have to feed you,” the she-cat snarled.

        “Thanks, but I need to take Sweetpaw and then we need to go home,” Leopardflame explained. “Can you let me go and go and get her?”

        “I can go get her, but I’m not letting you go unless my humans say I can,” Lilly noted. “And how do you know Sweetpaw?”

        “If you go get her you’ll find out,” he growled as he watched Lilly pad away her fur swaying in the breeze. Wow she’s a pretty cat, he thought. Though her being an orange tiger bugs me.

        Then Leopardflame heard a clip clop of the fawn from the barn. It was trotting towards him. He crouched lower and out of sight as the prey came closer.

        Leaping from the shadows, Leopardflame almost had the fawn until the chain pulled back on him. It chocked him and made it hard for him to breathe. His silent screams of pain scared the fawn as he struggled to get it. The spotted deer took off back to the barn where some horses neighed angrily at Leopardflame.

        He just swished his long tail and ignored them. Leopardflame went back the mouse Lilly had brought earlier. His hunger was unbearable and his nose picked up the fresh scent. He crunched down on the flesh and tore it apart and swallowed. It tasted better then the prey back in the forest and Leopardflame wanted more when he finished the small mouse.

        A familiar scent suddenly hit the roof of his mouth.. Looking behind him and over his spotted shoulder, Leopardflame saw his daughter, Sweetpaw, padding over to him with Lilly at her side. They seemed close as if Lilly was her mother instead of the killer Tigerheart.

        Sweetpaw saw her father, but looked at him like she didn’t know him. Leopardflame looked at himself and saw that his fur was ruffled and dusty. His pelt was pale from being in the sun for too long and Leopardflame’s once nicely kept claws were long and ragged.

        Being out of the forest took a great toll on his body form leaving him looking different from when Sweetpaw last saw him.

        “Sweetpaw it’s me, Leopardflame,” he purred. “Starclan didn’t make me go to Starclan and instead gave me back nine lives and told me something.”

        “And what was that?” she asked, not believing her father. She did not seem pleased to see Leopardflame. Did she guess that he had lied to her?

        “Mistybreeze, the deputy before Pearlstar,” Leopardflame started, “told me that you and I need to go back to Riverclan. She said that the Clan needs our help or it’ll be destroyed. Mistybreeze also said that the clan is going to be scattered by the time we are back home,” he added. “Will you come back with me?”

        “No,” she said right away. “The clan kicked me out because of you killing Tigerheart. I’m happy here now, father, living with humans and Lilly. Nothing you say will get me back there.”

        “You’d rather let your clan die?” Leopardflame asked astonished. “That’s not the Clan loyalty you said you were going to give the clan when you were made an apprentice.”

        “I don’t need that loyalty when I’m not a part of a Clan now is it?” she countered. “The Clan doesn’t want me so I’ll stay here where I am wanted!”

        “Sweetpaw wait,” Lilly called over her shoulder as the white tiger stormed off, but she stopped as Lilly gave an order. She’d make a good Clan cat, Leopardflame told himself. If the Clan gets saved I’ll have to ask her to join.

        “What?” Sweetpaw asked sweetly to Lilly.

        “From what you’d told me about the Clan, I’d say that the Clan is like your family,” Lilly observed. “Shouldn’t you keep that promise and help the Clan? If it’s okay with your father, maybe I could help you,” she added, looking at Leopardflame.

        “We could use an extra set of paws, but,” Leopardflame advised, “first you have to let me go. I can’t go anywhere chained up like this.”

        “Fine,” Lilly gave in. She went over to the chain and started to fumble with it with her claws and teeth. “By the way, I was wondering if I could join the Clan as a warrior.”

        “That’s up to the leader,” he noted. “We can see if Leafstar…”

        “According to you there will be no leader when we get back,” Sweetpaw reminded him. “Did Mistybreeze mention what makes the Clan scatter?”

        “No she didn’t actually,” Leopardflame thought over as the chain fell from his neck.

        “Can you give me a warrior name now?” Lilly asked out of nowhere. “Sweetpaw says you used to be leader… so why couldn’t you?”

        “Well… I don’t think that has happened before though,” he breathed. “I guess I could try it, but don’t get your hopes up.”

Leopardflame paused for a moment trying to think how the ceremony went again. It had been years since he made a warrior. Now he was about to make two.                He looked up to the sky and recited, “I, Leopardflame, the old leader of Riverclan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on these two cats. They have learned the ways of your noble and I commend them to you as warriors in their turns.” Leopardflame looked back down at Lilly and Sweetpaw. His daughter had a surprised look as she waited; he never told her that she would be made a warrior too.

        “Lilly and Sweetpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code, to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your lives?”

        Sweetpaw spoke first so that Lilly knew what to do. “I do.”

        “I do,” Lilly echoed.

        “Then by the powers of Starclan I give your warrior names. Lilly from this moment you shall be known as Lillymoon. Serve your Clan well as we train you to become a full warrior.” Then Leopardflame turned to Sweetpaw. “Sweetpaw from this moment you shall be known as Sweetdapple. I am happy to name you as a brave loyal warrior of Riverclan.”

        “Thank you Leopardflame,” Lillymoon purred. “I’ve always wanted to be something important.”

        “Now remember. You can’t live a paw in each world,” he explained. “You must choose between Clan loyalties or to be loyal to your Twolegs..”

        “Of course,” she mewed. “I’ll be the best warrior as I can be. Now what are we taught and when am I going to be taught?”

        “She’s going to need to be trained before we go back to camp,” Sweetdapple noted. “She would seem weak to the Clan… if there is one.”

        “Yes,” her father agreed.. “We can take turns training Lillymoon for at least a moon.”

        “Sure that’ll work,” Sweetpaw purred. “How do you like that idea Lillymoon?” she asked turning to the beautiful tiger.

        “That sounds… wonderful.”

        “Good,” Leopardflame nodded. “But Sweetpaw can you take over for a few days? I need to check on something back home.”

        “The Clan right?” Sweetpaw mewed. “Never mind I’ll take over. Just be careful father and don’t get caught.”

        “You sound like my mom,” Leopardflame joked. “Then I’ll be off. Take care you two I will be back as soon as I can.” They nodded and waved their tiger tails good-bye. Leopardflame ran off without looking back and headed back into the cover of the trees.

Part 2

Leader      Leafstar- leopard she-cat with gold eyes

Deputy      Blackheart- black tom with one white paw and blue eyes

Healer      Spottedfur- leopard she-cat with gold eyes

Warriors   (toms and she-cat without kits)

                Mothbeam- pink she-cat with blue eyes

                Stormfire- blue-gray tom with green eyes

                Cloudflare- white-and-ginger tom

Queens     (she-cats expecting or nursing kits)

Brookstream- gray mottled she-cat with blue eyes and white paws, belly and chest (Nursing Stormfire’s kits; Graykit, Silver kit, and Darkkit)

Elders               (retired toms and she-cats)

                Whitewater- white she-cat with blue eyes

                Frostflower- gray-and white she-cat with blue eyes

It took longer to get back to the place near the camp of Riverclan. Leopardflame had to dodge many foxes and Twolegs with their dogs. Once he had scented a fadger and had to climb up a tree as it lumbered past him. The smell from the animal was intense and it made Leopardflame so dizzy that he almost fell out of tree.

        Once it was safe to go, Leopardflame stalked through the bushes and behind and in trees. There was no Clan scent anywhere; except the very stale scent of what smelled like Leafstar. Was the Clan okay? Or did they just not care about their borders and the prey that needed to be caught?

        The brambles shook as Leopardflame chased after a squirrel. It had darted right of the tree as he had approached it and ran with knowing of his presence until it heard his pawsteps.

        The squirrel had rounded a sharp corner and over a tree root that was sticking out of the ground. Leopardflame tripped and landed with his mouth in the dirt. He got back up and shook the dust out of his pale fur along with spitting the dirt out of his now hurting mouth.

        “Who’s there?”

        Someone must have heard him and now is looking for the intruder. Leopardflame kept low in the small amount of undergrowth that was given. Slowing down his breathing and his heartbeat, he could clearly see the approcher. It was another leopard, like him. From the sound of the voice he knew the cat was a she-cat, but whom?

        “Show yourself,” the she-cat growled.

        He had no choice, if he didn’t move Leopardflame would be caught off guard and killed most likely, but showing himself to this cat might save his life.

        Standing up slowly and padding out of the undergrowth, Leopardflame showed himself to the other leopard. She saw him and looked surprised and Leopardflame did too.

        “Spottedfur!” Leopardflame yowled happily.

        “Leopardflame!” Spottedfur yowled back. “What are you doing here, brother? You were banished. You shouldn’t be here.”

        “I know, but Starclan sent e a message a couple days ago,” he explained. “Mistybreeze came to me in a dream saying that the Clan was going to scatter, but she didn’t say when. I wanted to make sure you and the Clan was okay.”

        “Well I guess that Mistybreeze was right,” Spottedfur confessed. “It has already happened.”

        “What? That can’t be true!” he hissed in alarm. “Tell me what happened.”

        “It’s hard to explain, but Leafstar is back at camp and can probably explain,” his sister suggested.

        “Will I be welcome though?” Leopardflame asked. “I was banished by her remember.”

        “Oh well, the Clan needs help and all the cats it can get right now.”

        Willingly he followed his sister, though Leopardflame was extra cautious now. They were very close to camp and the Clan scent was fading. Did the cats already scatter? All of them?

        “So who is still in camp?”

        “Just Leafstar, Mothbeam, Cloudflare, Brookstream, Stormfire their kits and me,” Spottedfur told Leopardflame. “It’s definitely not enough for hunting and patrol.”

        “No it’s not,” he agreed. “If Leafstar will let me, I have two warriors a ways out of the forest that would like to join along with me.”

        “You do… who?” she asked rapidly. “Is your daughter one?”

        “Yes her name is Sweetdapple now by the way,” Leopardflame told Spottedfur. “The other warrior that I met is training to be a warrior before she comes to camp, because she was a kittypet, her name is Lillymoon.”

        “Who named them? You?”

        “Who else could, Spottedfur?” Leopardflame pointed out. “Leafstar couldn’t from that far away so I did it considering I was leader before her.”

        “I hope Starclan will except that, Leopardflame. Did you use the proper ceremony?”

        Uhhh… yea, he thought to himself. “Of course I did,” Leopardflame gasped. “Any cat that was once a leader would know that.”

        “Okay, good,” Spottedfur replied. “Let’s go and see Leafstar now.” She went through the entrance to the camp, as Leopardflame nodded. He went through after her and as he did, his fur was tangled and pulled by bramble thorns.

        When Leopardflame stepped into camp, he followed his sister to a crevice in the ground. It went down a couple mouse-lengths and then went in a big opening underground being two fox-lengths wide. It could hold four cats and moss beds in there.

        At the top of the den Spottedfur called a greeting. He heard Leafstar call from underground, “Come in Spottedfur.”

        Spottedfur went down and ordered her brother to stay by flicking her tail to the ground. He sat down on the dusty ground and waited.

        Over the few minutes Leopardflame sat, he could hear Leafstar’s and Spottedfur’s voices.

        The talking stopped and Spottedfur came up. She poked her head out and looked at him. “You can come down now,” she told him. He nodded and followed down into the ground where he once had lived..

        “Greetings Leafstar,” Leopardflame mewed before he even saw the she-cat. “I am sorry that I have intruded on you and the Clan, but…”

        “Its fine Leopardflame,” she interrupted. “Your sister told me that you wanted to speak to about a message from Starclan. I won’t kick you out with a message from Starclan. So what is it?”

        Leopardflame sat down and took a breath. “First I want to explain why I killed my mate…”

        “Ahh I see,” Leafstar sighed after he was done. “I am sorry we didn’t know this before you were banished. Now can you give me the message?”

        “Yes,” he mewed. “Well after I was banished, Mistybreeze came to me in a dream saying that the Clan would have scattered by the time I came back. Though she hadn’t said when or why.”

        “It only happened two days ago that the Clan started to leave Riverclan,” Leafstar began. “They were losing their belief in Starclan saying that they should live free instead of living by the rules. So they left. Stormfire wanted to leave, but wouldn’t leave his mate. Brookstream has helped us keep an extra warrior.”

        “I have two cats would like to join,” Leopardflame blurted out. “Back where I was camping for the past moon there is Sweetdapple and Lillymoon who are willing to join. Along with me.”

        “Is Sweetdapple the old Sweetpaw?” she asked.

        “Yes and Lillymoon was once a kittypet, but is training to be one of us.”

        “Then yes they may join,” Leafstar decided. “We need as many warriors as we can get.”

        “Then I’ll be on my way and go find them,” he replied. “I’ll have them back with me in three to four days.” She nodded and Leopardflame padded through the tunnel, up the hole, into the camp entrance and back running through his forest home.

        “We can come home?” Sweetdapple yowled. “I can’t believe it!” Once Leopardflame had explained that what he had done was forgiven by Leafstar, everyone got happy.

        “Leafstar is desperate for some warriors,” Leopardflame explained. “The Clan scattered like Mistybreeze said.”

        “Can we leave right away?” Lillymoon asked. “I’m anxious to go and see my new home.”

        “First I want a day to have training with Lillymoon; so that she is ready. Did you train her well while she was gone?”

        “I did my best, father,” Sweetdapple announced. “She knows how to hunt very well, even with fish, and she knows the warrior code by heart. I also taught her a few fighting moves, but I wanted to leave some for you.”

        “Thank you, for doing a well done job and leaving something to do with this new warrior,” Leopardflame purred. The spotted warrior turned to Lillymoon. “Are you ready for some more training, brave warrior?”

        “As ready as you want me to be,” Lillymoon replied. “But first I’ll get us some prey to eat before we practice. Leopardflame would you like to watch?”

        He nodded and followed the ginger tiger over to some bushel of trees and brambles. Strong scents of prey was coming from them and as he watched Lillymoon stalk quietly around the bushes, Leopardflame went with her.

        She was downwind of the mouse, which was good, but her pelt stuck out without the cover of the forest. Though the mouse didn’t see her, a rabbit would’ve, but as she pounced and killed the prey, Leopardflame was impressed of her speed and stealth.

        “Very good,” he congratulated the warrior.. “Now watch this.”

        Leopardflame stood where he was and curved his ears backwards to a birch tree. There was a sparrow hopping around the bottom on the roots, searching for bugs. Leopardflame pinpointed the bird by using his ears and nose, but he also turned his head slightly too.

        Without the bird taking any notice of the big cat, Leopardflame leaped into the air, slightly and somersaulted in mid air. He landed squarely on top of the feathered prey and killed it with a swift bite to the neck.

        He had learned this move when he was coming back to the Twoleg home when there was a dog nearby. He caught the prey and had taken off up an oak tree with his catch, both safe from the dog.

        “How did you do that?” Lillymoon asked. “Sweetdapple never showed me that move!”

        Feeling proud, like some leaders would, Leopardflame explained, “I never taught her that because I just taught it to myself on my way back here.”

        “What didn’t you teach me?” his daughter hissed behind him. “I was your apprentice and I’m your daughter and you---”

        “Sweetie,” Lillymoon sighed. “He just learned it so he couldn’t teach it to you. Give him a chance to explain before you start running your mouth.”

        Sweetdapple looked a little taken aback. Lillymoon at first seemed like Yellowfang the very old medicine cat of Thunderclan before Spottedleaf, but at this moment she seemed like the sweet Spottedleaf, or his sister, Spottedfur.

        “Don’t be too hard on her, Lillymoon,” Leopardflame mewed. “I would’ve done the same thing if I was her age.

        “Now let’s go and train over in this clearing by the trees,” Leopardflame ordered. As he padded over to the training area, Lillymoon and Sweetdapple followed. Leopardflame’s daughter sat down by some rocks and watched as her father and Lillymoon started.

        “Show me what Sweetdapple taught you.” She nodded and Leopardflame leaped before she had time to get ready for an attack.

        Lillymoon leaped off to one side and swiped at his paws. Leopardflame flipped in the air and landed on his stomach, his mouth full of dirt and grass.

        “Very good, Lillymoon,” he spat, but only to get the dirt out. “Now let’s see if you know how to---”

        Before he had a chance to finish, Lillymoon leaped on him and pinned him to the ground.. He tried to kick out with his back legs, but those were pinned too. If Lillymoon was an enemy, Leopardflame would be dead by now.

        “Never let your guard down,” she meowed in his face. “I learned the back leg pin down from your daughter. You aren’t the only one not teaching someone something, now are we?”

        “Yeah, now let me up you great lump,” Leopardflame muttered. “You’re squishing me flat!”

        For the first time, Leopardflame got Lillymoon to laugh; well chuckle.. She let him up and swiped the dust of his spotted pelt with her tail.

        “Sorry, but we are training.”

        “True,” he agreed. “Now let’s continue.”

        It was almost sunset once Leopardflame thought Lillymoon knew enough to survive in battle with little help from clan mates. He and the tiger were tired and flopped down a mouse-length away from each other and Sweetdapple collapsed on the ground, almost on her father.

        “Why are you so tired?” he asked his daughter.

        “Lillymoon and I were training very late last night to impress you,” Sweetdapple yawned. “I hope it was worth it.”

        “Oh it was,” Leopardflame mumbled sleepily. “You did a great job as a mentor and Leafstar will know about it.”

        He heard a mumble from Sweetdapple, but she must have been asleep most of the way. He left her alone and fell asleep himself.

        Leopardflame was in the forest again. He was dreaming, for a cat with stars in her pelt was walking up to him. It was Florashade, his mother. Her pelt was dotted with big dark spots, like he was, but she smelled of flowers. She walked lightly on her paws, like she was floating.

        As she reached her son, she nuzzled Leopardflame’s side. Her sweet scent reminded him of his days of a kit again. Sleeping in the nursery with his sister, Spottedfur and staying warm and snug next to Florashade.

        “Mother it’s been so long! How are you?” Leopardflame purred.

        “I’m doing great sweetie, and I can tell you are too,” she replied. “You are so strong and handsome since I saw you be made an apprentice. You’ve changed so much,” she added.

        “Thanks, but what are you doing here?” he asked. He was very happy to see his mother, but she was from Starclan and that means news.

        “Yes… well I am here to tell you to hurry back to camp,” she explained. “Leafstar is on her last life and she is dying as we speak.... well as you sleep. The remaining cats are freaking out and are ready to leave like the others. You must leave tonight.”

        “Even if we do leave tonight, I can’t help Leafstar,” Leopardflame told her.

        “I know that, but you can be the one to take over the Clan again, and make them strong, proud and safe.”

        “Would they trust me though?”

        “I believe they will be desperate enough to accept you as leader again,” Florashade mewed. “Now I want you to wake the others and get moving before it’s too late. I’ll be with the whole time, paw by paw.”

        She nuzzled her son farewell and her shape began to fade along with her scent. He felt as if her spirit had gone inside him and gave him a new strength; one of a leader again. Then the forest around him started to fade and he found himself waking in the real world.

        “It’s too early to be going home,” Sweetdapple complained. “Why couldn’t we wait until dawn to leave?”

        “Because Florashade told me we had to g o now,” Leopardflame meowed. “Leafstar and the Clan need help right now. And Lillymoon don’t worry you’ll be accepted.”

        “What told you that I was worried?” the she-cat asked bitterly. “I’m perfectly fine right now.”

        “I was just making sure so…” Leopardflame sniffed the air. He caught a scent of dog in the air.. It was stale right now, but as they moved the scent became stronger. Quietly he mewed, “Find a tree and climb to the closest branch you can get to. I’m going to have a quick look around. I’ll yowl if I need help.”

        He left before any questions could be asked, but as he looked back the two cats did as they were told and Leopardflame went back to his dog hunt. It smelled like many dogs and that made his tail puff out twice its size.

        Leopardflame thought he heard some snarling, but turned around and didn’t see anything but brambles and trees. Then he turned back around and ran into a tree trunk, but turned out to be the dogs.

        “Oh crap,” Leopardflame whimpered. “Starclan help me!” The dogs gave chase as he ran to his two warriors. Seeing them in a big oak tree, he leaped for his life and dug in his claws as they landed on the bark of the tree. He could feel the hot breath of the dogs and pulled himself up onto the branch with Lillymoon and Sweetdapple.

        “Is that what you were investigating,” Lillymoon hissed. “Because that was really mouse-brained of you.”

        “I know, but I wanted to find them and see if they were with Twolegs,” he explained.

        “Well what do you suppose we do now?” Sweetdapple growled. “The dogs have us trapped like mice.”

        “Leap over to the tree branch over there,” he ordered as he pointed in the direction of a birch. “Then walk along on top of the fence on the other side.”

        Lillymoon and Sweetdapple looked at each other and nodded. They ran along the branch and into the next tree without looking back.

        Turning his attention back to the dogs, he saw that they were retreating from the tree. They had given up on the chance and Leopardflame let them. Instead he chased after his daughter and Lillymoon.

        He met up with the near the camp of Riverclan. They were anxiously waiting outside the entrance and their tails flicked irritably. Without saying a word, he beckoned them to follow and went inside the camp walls.

        The camp seemed to be empty, except for Graykit, Darkkit, and Silverkit with their mother, Brookstream and their father, Stormfire. They were relaxing in sun and Leopardflame didn’t bother them and instead went straight to Leafstar’s den.

        There was enough room for all four cats. Leafstar was happy to see them earlier then she expected, but she didn’t complain. Her raspy voice and pale fur showed how bad she was getting and Leopardflame was worried about her.

        “I’m glad to meet you Lillymoon, and I’m glad to hear that you were made a warrior, Sweetdapple,” Leafstar rasped. “We could use you in the Clan.”

        “Thank you Leafstar,” Lillymoon and Sweetdapple replied together. “We would love to help and live in the Clan again,” Sweetdapple added.

        “And don’t be too worried about me,” Leafstar told them. “I knew I was about to join Starclan soon and they say that I must do this quickly.” She paused and took a breath then mewed, “I say these words before the spirits of Starclan that they may hear and approve my choice. Leopardflame will be the new deputy of Riverclan.” Before he could speak she added, “I trust you to take of the Clan again and I forgive you for what had happened. Take good care of this Clan and I shall watch you from Starclan.”

        “Thank you Leafstar, and may Starclan light you path,” Leopardflame purred sadly. “We shall miss your leadership.”      

        Without knowing that Leafstar was already dead he said one more thing. “You were once my mate and I didn’t ever trust you, but I am sorry that I hadn’t.”

        He turned to Lillymoon and his daughter and ordered, “We need to get her body outside for a vigil and I’ll tell the remainder of the Clan what happened.” The two warriors nodded and lifted the old frail body of Leafstar into the center of the camp.

        As Leopardflame padded out of the den, he heard a gasp from Brookstream and saw her shoo her kits back into the nursery. Then she raced out and hissed to the spotted cat, “How could you kill her!?”

        “I didn’t Brookstream,” Leopardflame told her. “I will explain in a minute what happened. You have got to trust me. She has no blood on her fur; she died from her illness and old age.”

        The gray she cat was about to counter him with something else, but she closed he mouth shut and nodded. He bowed his head and leaped over to the RiverRock and called from its top, “Let all those cats old enough to catch their own prey, join here beneath the RiverRock for a Clan meeting.”

        Many heads poked out of the weedy dens of the warriors. Brookstream was still standing where he had left her, but she then went back to the nursery to fetch her kits and mate.

        Leopardflame saw his sister pad out of the healer den with a look of surprise at seeing her brother on the meeting rock, which was for leaders and deputies only.

        The clearing in the camp had only about twelve cats waiting. Two were the elders Whitewater and Frostflower. Then there was Spottedfur, Mothbeam, Stormfire, Brookstream and her kits, Cloudflare and then Lillymoon and his daughter. They needed apprentices badly.

        The small Clan looked very surprised to see the banished leopard back and on the leaders’ rock, but they waited for his next words.

        “I am here to take over the leadership Leafstar had left me,” he started. “Before she died, she named me deputy of the Clan, trusting me, just as you should all now. With me I brought two warriors, Sweetdapple, my daughter, and Lillymoon, a cat desperate to prove her as warrior material.”

        “Why did you come back?” Mothbeam growled. “Starclan would have sent a sign to Spottedfur for a new leader.”

        “Starclan didn’t come to me,” Spottedfur admitted. “They came to Leopardflame; twice they did it.”

        “How do you know?” Stormfire countered. “He could have lied you know!”

        “He’s my brother and healers trust her clan mates. You need to trust Leopardflame, like you had once before.”

        “Spottedfur speaks the truth,” he yowled over the disagreements. “When I had been kicked out, Mistybreeze the old Riverclan deputy came to me telling me that the Clan was in danger and would scatter. This happened.

        “Then my mother, Florashade, came to me last night saying that Leafstar was dying and that I needed to come home and take back the leadership,” Leopardflame finished. “Starclan do not lie, unless needed.”

        Whitewater, a snowy white elder spoke up. “Former leaders and healers do not ever lie unless need too,” she rasped. “If they still dream and walk with Starclan, they are to be trusted by their Clan, not be called liars.”

        “Whitewater speaks the truth,” Brookstream mewed. “She was always a great leader before Leopardflame and Leafstar and she had even lied, but only to not upset the Clan in any way. She had all our trust and we should give our trust to Leopardflame now. He is to be our leader by the warrior code.”

        Agreements rose from the small crowd, but Leopardflame silenced them with the rise of his tail. “Then I shall travel to the Moonpool tonight; again, and receive my lives and name from Starclan..”

        He jumped down from the RiverRock and padded over to his sister. “Can we go now? The Clan will be calmer with a leader that was received by Starclan.”

        “Of course, let me get the traveling herbs ready and then we can go,” she answered. He nodded and walked away as Spottedfur went to her den.

        Leopardflame went over to the gray queen, Brookstream. She was the only young warrior to speak in his defiance and she was to be respected by him. “Brookstream?”

        She young cat turned her head. She was eating a piece of fresh-kill. She sat up and licked away the prey taste around her mouth. “Yes?” she said. “What is it, Leopardflame?”

        “I’m going to travel to the Moonpool tonight and I would like to watch the Clan tonight. Also when I come back, your kits will be made apprentices at sunset.”

        “Of course and thank you,” she replied happily. “I’ll do my best to watch over the Clan and wait for your return.” Leopardflame bowed his head and ran to his sisters den for his herbs.

        “Are they ready?” he called from the entrance.

        “Yes,” she answered. “Hurry so we can leave.”

        He nodded and gulped down the disgusting herbs. “Let’s go,” he said after he was finished.

        They ran out the camp entrance and headed for the moorland, staying by the lake. Looking at the moorland reminded him of the big fire that had spread through the forest, moorland and the riverbeds.

        The fire had wiped out all the Clans, but Riverclan because they could swim far out into the river where the fire couldn’t reach. Some cats from the other Clans had made it, but there weren’t enough to make three Clans so they had just joined Riverclan.

        It had been a horrible sight for Leopardflame when he was just a kit. He was five moons old and he had to hear the violet screeches of dying cats. This was where he lost his mother too. She had gone back to shore on the Thunderclan side and tried to save some struggling cats into the water. The other cats had made it, but as the leader of Shadowclan tried to push her back into the water, Russetstar and Florashade burned and died.

        As Leopardflame was replaying the day over in his head, Spottedfur could see something troubling him.. Only that one day had troubled him, like now, this bad where he would stop and tears would flow into his fur.

        “Why are you thinking of the fire?” Spottedfur asked concerned. “You know what it does to you.”

        “Everytime I see the moorland or the forest it makes me think of it,” Leopardflame sobbed. “I can’t help it when I see the burnt ground and still feel the ash under my paws.”

        “I understand, but what happened, happened and you can’t change it,” Spottedfur replied. She was calm though she had a motherly look in her eyes as she looked at her brother. “Now let’s keep going and mother might come to you and father too.”

        “Okay,” Leopardflame sighed. “I’ll just look straight ahead and not down for now.”

        “That’s the spirit I was looking for,” Spottedfur purred. With this said, they walked forward towards the Moonpool, following the stream that flowed into the star-like pool.

        As Leopardflame followed his sister over the rocky hill, he could feel the spirits of Starclan welcoming him. They swirled around him and he felt a little crowded so he ran ahead of his sister and almost fell in the pool. It had flooded from the stream rising.

        Almost right away, without waiting for Spottedfur, he lay down and lapped at the water. It sent shivers down his spine and he was sent into a dream.

        Leopardflame was back in the old forest where the Clans had started out life. He looked up and saw nine stars in the sky. Those were the cats that would make him a leader again.

        Then the stars started to move towards him and they disappeared. Instead on the ground were nine cats. His mother and father, Dottedtail, where both there along with the newly added Leafstar, they all had stars in their pelts that made them shine.

        Luckily he didn’t see Tigerheart or the rosy pink she-cat, Rosetail. They were both ambitious and couldn’t be trusted. Why he had chosen Rosetail as deputy, he doesn’t know why.

        Leafstar padded out of the line of cats. Her spotted pelt glimmered in the light and her muscles rippled under her fur. She looked young again; when they were mates.

        “Welcome Leopardflame,” she greeted him and they touched noses in greeting. “Are you ready to receive your nine lives?”

        “Yes, but wouldn’t that give me extra lives added on to the old ones?” he asked.

        “Yes and that’s what makes you the strongest cat in the forest for now,” Leafstar said proudly. “Leopardflame I am here to give you the life of justice. Use it well as you judge the actions of others.” She touched her nose to his head. Pain didn’t come for he was accustomed to it.

        Leafstar returned to her spot in the line of cats. Mistybreeze stepped out and padded up to Leopardflame. She bowed her head and touched her nose to his head like Leafstar. “With this life I give you loyalty to know what is right. Use well during troubling times of you Clan. And thank you for going back.”

        This time a cat he never seen before stepped out. He was leopard like him, but this cat had a white chest and brown instead of gold.

        “My name is Bramblewing, your father’s brother,” the leopard explained. “I died before you were kitted, but I watched you grow into the fine warrior you are now from here.

        “I now give you the life of courage. Use it well during battle and to defend your Clan.” The cat padded back and said, “I will now walk with you your dreams.”

        A brown calico touched his nose to Leopardflame’s head. This cat was an elder when he was a kit. Chipclaw had died though in the fire with his mother.

        “With this life I give you hope,” Chipclaw mewed. “Use it well when your clan has given up on life or in battle.”

        The next cat was Florashade. “I am proud of you and with this life I give you love. Use it well with your Clan and the queens and kits. Also with Lillymoon.”

        Leopardflame looked up surprised. How did she know the feelings he had towards the tiger she-cat?

        His father came next. “With this life I give you wisdom. Use it, this time, and son… I’m also proud of you and Spottedfur. Please tell her that.” He turned around and went back to his spot. His life Dottedtail had given him had sorrow. He died before the fire happened and never had met his son, but Dottedtail had seen him only in dreams.

        “With this life I give you trust,” Pearlstar the leader before him meowed. “With it you will be able to give all your trust to your clan mates and they will give it back. Just don’t mess up again.”

        “Of course,” Leopardflame replied.

        The healer before his sister padded up to Leopardflame. “I give you the life of healing the wounds of rivalry and words. You’ll need it for the future,” Willowshine said. “You have dark times coming.”

        “Wait tell me more,” he called to the white she-cat, but she had already sat down. Instead he waited for the last cat come p to him.

        Florakit, Leafstar’s and his kit, came up. Happiness showed in his eyes at seeing his daughter again. She had been their only kits and she had died when greencough hit the camp.

        “With this life I give you protection and tireless energy,” the small spotted kit purred. “Use it well to care for your Clan as a mother cares for her kits.”

        Once Florakit had sat down, Leafstar called out, “I hail you by your new name Leopardstar! Welcome back as the leader of Riverclan.”

        “Leopardstar! Leopardstar!” the Starclan cats called. More and more lined up to call his name. These cats were from all four Clans and even from Skyclan. As more cats piled up into the clearing, it got louder.

        Florashade padded up to her son one last time. “Why are there so many cats mother?” Leopardstar asked.

        “You are one of the cats to save the Clan and change Clan future and the warrior code someday. Lillymoon and Sweetdapple too. Take good care of the Clan and Starclan will send back extra warriors for later troubles.”

        “Thank you everyone for making me back to what I was,” Leopardstar meowed loudly. “I cat ready to give away his lives in the protection of his Clan and a proud, strong one too.”

        The cats of Starclan took up his yowl and they started to fade away. He no sooner woke up at the edge of the Moonpool. It was dawn and he was a full leader again.

        “There were a lot of cats at the meeting this time,” Spottedfur replied beside him. “I could feel them; many more than I ever thought possible.”

        “Do you know how many cats are even in Starclan?” he asked. “There were cats from all five Clans there all cheering. I have never seen so many cats. Florashade said I’m the strongest cat to live and that I will change Clan future and the warrior code.”

        “Really? That’s really strong,” Spottedfur mewed. “Come on; let’s get home. The Clan will be waiting.”

Part 3

Leader      Leopardstar- leopard tom with gold eyes

                Apprentice- Graypaw

Deputy      Brookstream- gray mottled she-cat with blue eyes, white paws, chest and belly

Healer      Spottedfur- leopard she-cat with gold eyes

Warriors   (toms and she-cats without kits)

                Mothbeam- pink she-cat with blue eyes

                Cloudflare- ginger-and-white tom

                Apprentice- Silverpaw

                Stormfire- blue-gray tom with green eyes

                Sweetdapple- white tiger she-cat with gold eyes

                Apprentice- Darkpaw

                Lillymoon- tiger she-cat with amber eyes

Apprentices       (toms and she-cats more than six moons old)

                Graypaw- gray, striped tabby tom with blue eyes

                Silverpaw- silver, striped tabby tom with gold eyes

                Darkpaw- gray, striped tabby tom with blue eyes

Elders               (retired toms and she-cats)

                Whitewater- white she-cat with blue eyes

                Frostflower- gray-and-white she-cat with blue eyes

Leopardstar and Spottedfur had met up with the dawn patrol and went back with them. Spottedfur had picked some herbs on the way and so she couldn’t talk, though she did try.       

        Once Spottedfur had set her herbs outside her den, she asked, “You do remember to appoint a new deputy before Moonhigh, right?”

        “Yes, I’m going to do it after I make three kits into apprentices,” Leopardstar explained.

        “Good idea,” she agreed. “If you need me I’ll be in here.” Picking back up her herbs, Spottedfur went back into her den and started to sort them.

        Leopardstar went back to his den, but was met up with Brookstream. She welcomed him home, and so did a couple others.. Many still didn’t trust him, but they should now that he had gotten his name and understanding from Starclan.

        Moonrise came fast and Leopardstar called the words from the rock. “Let all those cats old enough to catch their own prey join here beneath the RiverRock!”

        All the cats came and sat around the rock. Brookstream came out with her three kits, all of them having their pelts cleaned to a glossy shine.

        “I am have called you here to name three new apprentices,” he announced. “Cloudflare, you are ready for your first apprentice. You will be mentor to Silverpaw. Teach him everything you learned from Stormfire.

        “Sweetdapple you are also ready for your first apprentice. You will mentor young Darkpaw. Teach him everything Frostflower and I had taught you.

        “And Graypaw will be mentored by me,” Leopardstar finished. “Work hard apprentices and you will be warriors in no time.

        “I have another ceremony to perform,” Leopardstar continued. “I say these words, before the spirits of Starclan so that they may hear and approve my choice. Brookstream you are free of kits, you will be the deputy of Riverclan.”

        “I never expected to be deputy!” she mewed in surprise. “Since I am I will work my best at this honor I was given. You can trust me to do the duties to the Clan.”

        The call was started by her kits. “Brookstream! Brookstream!” It seemed there were more than the cats in the clearing cheering. He must be remembering the leader meeting.

        Leopardstar walked over to Brookstream. “Would you like to help with Graypaw sometimes and see how he sharpens up into a great warrior I know he will be?”

        “I’d love to and thank you,” she purred. “I never thought I would go this far!”

        “I knew the Clan has a lot of trust in you and I knew you would make a great leader one day,” he replied.

        He let Brookstream go give the patrols to the cats. He went back to his den and stopped at the entrance. Lillymoon was sleeping in a far corner away from the other cats, a little nervous looking.

        “Are you okay?”

        She looked up, startled by his approach. “Just a little nervous around so many cats and the ways of life here,” answered. “Oh and congrats on becoming leader.”

        “Thank you,” Leopardstar purred. “Would you like to come to my den and sleep in there? There’s an extra nest that used to be my mates, but you can use it as you get used to being here.”

        “Thanks,” Lillymoon mewed calmly. “I would love to.”

        She followed him into his den. It was cozy and a warrior had changed his betting and left a big rabbit on the ground. Pointing to it he asked, “Share?”

        “Sure,” Lillymoon purred.

        They ate together and laid side-by-side on the floor of the den with full bellies.

        “Lillymoon I want to ask you something.”

        “What is it?” she asked.

        “Well… I know it might be a little t soon after meeting you, but… would you like to be my mate?” he stammered.

        There was silence. That was answer enough, but she finally did say something. “I would like that very much, you dumb- furball,” she sighed.

        “Really? You want to?”

        “I like you a lot Leopardstar,” Lillymoon meowed. “And I know you do too.”

        He nodded and she laid closer to him. Her sweet scent went to his head and it made Leopardstar think. “What if I combined the two moss nest together and we could sleep together.”

        “That sound like a great idea,” she agreed. “Go for it and I’ll help.”

        The two cats worked together by moving the two nests together and made it big enough for the two of them. It was cozy and warm, and Leopardstar didn’t feel lonely any more. Him and Tigerheart never did this, but he Leafstar had and that’s how Florakit had come to be.

        It was moonset by the time they fell asleep. They were talking and sharing tongues until then. He was extremely tired from the night before and need rest..

        It seemed like only a few minutes before a sound erupting him from a deep sleep. He looked up from his nest and saw Sweetdapple looking with a shocked expression. Lillymoon stirred showing that she was awake and saw the same look.

        They looked at each other then back to Sweetdapple again. “I asked her to be my mate,” Leopardstar admitted. No lie could get him out of this.

        “So I see,” she muttered. “Well I guess I’ll leave you two alone for now.” Before her father could say anything she took off and heard a, “YES!” come from up ahead. This sighting made Sweetdapple very happy.

        “At least she wasn’t upset,” Lillymoon said reading his thoughts.

        “I didn’t think she would be,” he lied. “You two are really close. More than I was with her.”

        Leopardstar got up and stretched. He nuzzled his new mate and licked her forehead. “Would you go on patrol with me today and help me look for the scattered cats?” he asked.

        “I would like to help and look for them,” Lillymoon agreed. “First let me get something to eat and then we can go.”

        “I’ll come with you. That rabbit didn’t keep my hunger down for long,” Leopardstar groaned. “We can hunt for the Clan while we look for Clan cats.”

        “That sounds good. I’ll meet you back here,” she added. “I want to see if Sweetdapple is okay.” Leopardstar nodded and watch her leave. He headed out after Lillymoon and went straight to the prey pile, but before he could pick some prey for him and his mate, a screech came from the entrance to camp.

        Mothbeam, Cloudflare and his apprentice, Silverpaw came storming into camp. They bore wounds of big, long claws of either a cat or dog. Mothbeam was limping badly and Cloudflare had to give some support to Silverpaw.

        “What happened?” Leopardstar yowled. “Who were you attacked by?”

        “We were doing a hunting patrol and this big hug tiger came out and attacked us,” Cloudflare gasped and panted. “He said his name I Claw. He has huge claws and is huge.”

        “Where did this cat go?”

        “I don’t know, Leopardstar,” Cloudflare said. “We retreated as quickly as we could from the cat. He said we should’ve been all killed the first time, meaning-”

        “Meaning that he had sent the huge cats here when I was banished!” Leopardstar exclaimed, interrupting the white-ginger tom. “Brookstream!” he called.

        The mottled she-cat came out of the warriors den ad trotted over to the leader. “Tell all patrols to watch out for a big tiger named Claw.”

        “All right,” she mewed.

        “You’re in charge of the camp while Lillymoon and I go and look for the scattered cats,” Leopardstar replied. “We’ll be back as soon as we can.”

        Without looking back at the battered patrol, Leopardstar beckoned for Lillymoon to follow him out the back entrance. He looked around before running fully into the forest and reeds.   

        “What had happened to those cats?” Lillymoon asked.

        “We have a big rouge attacking cats so we have to keep a lookout for him,” he explained. “In the mean time let’s look for our missing cats.”

        As they padded through the forest, Leopardstar could scent many cats, some going I together others separating in some areas, but there was no sight of them or Claw..

        “It’s almost sunhigh,” Lillymoon groaned. “Where are all those cats?”

        He didn’t answer. Leopardstar caught a close and strong scent of an old Riverclan cat. Maybe more. He told Lillymoon to stay where she was and he crept around the tree where the scent was coming from.

        Leopardstar saw five cats crowded together between three big bramble bushes.. They caught his scent and looked. Happiness glowed in their eyes and they leaped up to come over to Leopardstar.

        “Leopardstar you’re back!” a gray she-cat yowled. Her blue eyes glowed and her white paws kneaded the ground.

        “I sorry about what happened to the Clan, Halfwhisker,” Leopardstar mewed. “I came looking for everyone I could and bring them back.”

        “We can’t go back, though,” a pink apprentice, Mothbeam’s old one, whined. “Leafstar was dying and Blackheart was already dead, so we left.”

        “Leafstar wouldn’t appoint a new deputy, saying that the right cat was coming,” Copperflower claimed. “Is she still alive or are you the leader again?”

        “Leafstar appointed the right cat just before she died,” Leopardstar explained. “I think I’m that cat, but I’m not sure and don’t worry I was accepted by Starclan.”

        “Then can we come home?” squeaked Snowkit, Icestorm’s kit, where ever the white she-cat was at.

        “Of course,” Leopardstar purred. “We need warriors and apprentices badly. We have no kits and only two elders. Do any of you know where anyone else is?”

        “We’ve seen some of the other warriors roaming around the territory,” Brambleclaw meowed, who was sitting close by Leopardstar. “But we don’t talk except to the ones in our group.”

        “Why are you all like that?”

        “We think like rouges,” Halfwhisker answered. “Some of us stuck with the warrior code, but not many.”

        “I’ll deal with that later, but right now I want you to go with Lillymoon back to camp,” he ordered. Turning to his mate, “I’ll stay here until you get back.” She nodded and led the rouges back to their real home.

        While Lillymoon was gone Leopardstar started to get hungry and decided to hunt. He passed a mouse and killed it quickly and he also caught three voles, a squirrel, rabbit and two shrews to take back to camp. He saved a vole for his mate and laid down for a quick dose in the bushes.

        Leopardstar was awake by the Thunderpath that separated Riverclan and Shadowclan territory. Mistybreeze was there waiting for him.

        “I am here to help you find the remaining Clan cats,” she mewed in her sweet voice. “They have scattered in all four territories and must be found before leaf-bare brings the snow. Follow me.”

        The blue-gray she-cat led him across to Shadowclan territory. The pine needles from the trees poked his paw pads and made them bleed. He stared to limp until Mistybreeze had them stop at a birch tree.

        The tree was still burnt and charred even in a dream. Mistybreeze went behind it and showed him three sleeping cats. They had a little bit of a Riverclan scent left to them. Then Leopardstar recognized them as Dovewing, Flameclaw, and Foxcatcher.

        He nodded to Mistybreeze and they left the cats in search of more. In the hollow where Thunderclan had lived were about ten more cats, sleeping together except for Lionblaze. He had Jayfeather a little closer to him, but these were cats that had gone through a lot.

        They had a couple apprentices and one kit; another of Icestorm’s, but she was still nowhere in sight.

        Behind some bushes in the moorland were eleven more cats; three elders, three apprentices, and five warriors. They all looked hungry, but all the cats did at this time of year.

        Mistybreeze left him there, where the dream would start to fade, but it didn’t fade back to the real world. Instead he was taken to a dark, black forest, where you felt lots of evil. He heard voices up ahead and went to check it out.

        Without making any sound, Leopardstar crept into a soft fern and hid there looking out at the meeting cats. There he could see many cats that were evil. So this must have to be the Dark Forest.

        On a rock in the middle of the clearing was sitting a dark brown tabby. His amber eyes shined and his claws flexed in and out on the rock. He looked like Brambleclaw. Tigerstar, he thought.

        To the side of the rock was sitting hi son and Brambleclaw’s half-brother, Hawkfrost. Darkstripe and Brokenstar sat a little ways away from them with Tigerheart and Rosetail in front of the rock.

        Leopardstar didn’t recognize some of the cats like a big muscular lion, who’s tail flicked irritably. A big black tom sat next to him and Scourge was nearest to Leopardstar’s bush, with his back turned to him. Thankfully there was no wind in this place.

        Tigerstar started the meeting with a blood-curly yowl. “We have come together for the first time to discuss what to do with the last remaining Clan.

        “Claw was sent down and failed to destroy all the cats, and now the Clan is being rebuilt again. There is only one creature that can do better.”

        “Deathflame?” Darkstripe asked. “She’s very strong and she can kill very well.”

        “No Darkstripe, she isn’t the cat to do the job,” Tigerstar meowed. “No cat is going to be doing it. Instead there is a creature that no cat has ever seen before… a T-Rex.”

        “But they are supposed to all gone, never to be alive again,” Rosetail growled. “Those creatures were so dumb that they couldn’t even stay alive.”

        “But they were once the most dangerous killer on land,” Hawkfrost spoke. “There are right now two on earth, one expecting kits. The Clan doesn’t stand a chance.”

        “In case the plan might fail, I am sending Scar, Scourge, Hawkfrost, and we need two more cats,” Tigerstar announced.

        “We will go, whether you say we can or not,” someone growled. The voice sent shivers down his spine and Leopardstar crouched lower to the ground. 

        A night black tom and a black she-cat with white paws and chest padded out of the bushes on the other side of the clearing. They both had icy blue eyes and had an overwhelming scent of death on them.

        “Deadwhisper… Bloodclaw,” Tigerstar stammered. “What are you doing here?”

        “We weren’t invited and we had to know the reason why,” Deadwhisper, the she-cat, growled. “When some plan has to do with that last Clan, my mate and I finish it. When your plan fails, we’ll make sure it doesn’t.”

        Hawkfrost leaped to his paws, fur standing on end. “You don’t even know what we are fully planning! So butt out!”

        Deadwhisper and her mate didn’t even flinch. She padded over to the brown warrior, who had started to move backwards. Tigerstar sat on his rock and didn’t move. The other cats scooted farther away from the black cats and flicked their eyes to and from the cats.

        Looking back at Hawkfrost he saw that the warrior was on the floor of the forest. His side had huge claw marks on his side, where they bled, it spilling on the leaves.

        “Back sass us and you get hurt badly,” Bloodclaw snarled. “You’ll all fear us once your plans fail Tigerstar. We were the first cats to be sent here and we will kill all the cats that believe in Starclan! You will be able to do your plans, for now, but when they fail…”

        That was the last thing Leopardstar heard. The dream was wiped away and Leopardstar was back in his sleeping spot. When he looked up, Leopardstar saw Lillymoon padding up to him with Sweetdapple.

        He got up and nuzzled both of them. “I just had a dream from Mistybreeze. She showed me where the other cats are.”

        “Then we better hurry for it’s getting close to sunset,” Sweetdapple mentioned. “It’s going to be a cold night and we don’t want to lose any of those cats.”

        “Right,” Lillymoon agreed. “Show us the way Leopardstar.” He nodded and headed the tree in Shadowclan territory, where Dovewing, Flameclaw, and Foxcatcher would be waiting.

        Pine needles pricked at the cats paws like they did in Leopardstar’s dream. Luckily the cats they were looking for were still there. Sweetdapple prodded them with her paw and when they woke, she took them to the Riverclan camp.

        Lillymoon and Leopardstar ran to the hollow of the old Thunderclan camp. It was the only thing not to be burned for it was rock and stone, but the grass and trees were blackened.

        As he and his mate went through the entrance to the hollow, where no ferns blocked the way, Leopardstar noticed that most of the cats were once Thunderclan.

        Remembering seeing Lionblaze and Jayfeather in his dream, he slowly went to the shadows and looked around the hollow. He saw Daisy and Purdy close by and Cinderheart was near the fresh-kill pile eating a mouse, but there was no sign of Icestorm or her snowy white kit that he had seen in his dream.

        Finally Lionblaze and Jayfeather appeared. They had been hunting for the cats in the hollow and a second later two apprentices, Maplepaw and Sharppaw came in carrying herbs for Jayfeather, most likely.

        As Lionblaze and Jayfeather placed their prey down on the prey pile, Maplepaw and Sahrppaw each grabbed a mouse and carried it over to two elders that were sunning themselves.

        Otterheart lifted his head and his eyes lit up at the sight of prey. He prodded Rowenclaw and he also looked up. They thanked the apprentices and they left the elders to eat in piece.

        “I’m going to go talk to them real quick,” Leopardstar whispered to Lillymoon. “Watched my tail for the signal to come out.” She nodded and let him do his thing.

        Leopardstar padded out of the shadows to where Lionblaze saw his movement. He yowled in surprise and alarm, which made all the cats look at Leopardstar. Their fur didn’t rise in defense, but instead came up to their old leader and called his name.

        “Leopardstar you’re back!” Maplepaw, Rosetail’s old apprentice, squeaked happily.

        “Yes I’m back and I’m here to take you back home,” he explained.

        “Really?” Jayfeather questioned. “But how can we without a leader?” Lionblaze looked at his brother as if he clawed hi nose. Lionblaze would make a good leader, if he tried hard enough, but he would drive the Clan to battle a lot, without a reason.

        The golden toms’ fur flattened down a little when Leopardstar explained that he was leader again. The apprentices jumped around his legs in excitement at going back home and the elders purred in comfort from the idea of having a den again.

        Leopardstar at that moment curled his tail in an order to Lillymoon. She came out and walked warily over to her mate.

        “This is my mate Lillymoon,” he explained to the Clan cats. “She is going to take you back to the camp while I go to Windclan territory to find some more cats. She will take good care of you, so don’t worry. Just work as a Clan and you’ll make it back home.” They nodded and watched Leopardstar run off and out of the hollow.

        Wind pelted his face as Leopardstar entered Windclan territory. This territory was burnt the worse, with no prey to feed many cats let alone a Clan. The only scent Leopardstar could smell was ash and some Riverclan scents.

        Leopardstar couldn’t find the Windclan camp, though he saw old, blackened bracken where the camp might have been. He went from there and followed the scent of Riverclan to some ferns and bushes where the other cats would be.

        The bushes rustled as he approached them and Breezepelt padded out. His fur rose and he snarled his teeth until he saw it was Leopardstar. He yowled in happiness as the cats before had and he led his leader to the other cats.

        More had joined the group. There was still only three apprentices; Redpaw, Sunpaw and Willowpaw. The three elders from his dream became five; Thornclaw, Brakenfur, Mintfur, Cloudtail and Oakfur. That meant all the elders were found!

        There were now six warriors, including Breezepelt. The warriors included Heathertail, Breezepelt’s mate, Blossomspots, Minnowfur, Copperflower, and the old deputy, Blackheart.

        Two kits were added to the group, both of Icestorm’s. They were Polarkit and Artickit, both having their mothers snowy white fur. They slept close to Heathertail, who was expecting kits.

Part 4

Leader      Leopardstar- leopard tom with gold eyes

                Apprentice- Graypaw

Deputy      Brookstream- spotted, gray tabby she-cat with blue eyes, white paws, chest and belly

                Apprentice- Willowpaw

Healer      Spottedfur- leopard she-cat with gold eyes

Warriors   (toms and she-cat without kits)

Mothbeam- pink she-cat with clear eyes

Apprentice- Cherrypaw

Stormfire- blue-gray tom with green eyes

Cloudflare- white-and-ginger tom

Apprentice- Silverpaw

Blackheart- black tom with one white paw and blue eyes

Halfwhisker- gray she-cat with blue eyes, white paws and half of

Lionblaze- golden tom with amber eyes; Thunderclan

Apprentice- Redpaw

Dovewing- gray fluffy she-cat with blue eyes; Thunderclan

Foxcatcher- reddish tabby tom with amber eyes; Thunderclan

Flameclaw- ginger tom with amber eyes; Shadowclan

Apprentice- Sunpaw

Cinderheart- gray tabby she-cat with blue eyes; Thunderclan

Brambleclaw- dark brown tabby tom with amber eyes; Thunderclan

Apprentice- Sharppaw

Breezepelt-black tom with amber eyes; Windclan

Minnowfur- gray tabby she-cat

Copperflower- dark ginger she-cat

Apprentice- Maplepaw

Blossomspots- brown tabby she-cat with white blossom shaped spots; Thunderclan

Sweetdapple- white tiger she-cat with gold eyes

Apprentice- Darkpaw

Lillymoon- tiger she-cat with amber eyes

Apprentices (kits more than six moons old, training to be warriors)

                Maplepaw- reddish she-cat with gold eyes

                Cherrypaw- pink she-cat with blue eyes

                Sharppaw- colorful tom with gold eyes and sharp claws

                Willowpaw- black-and-white she-cat with blue eyes

Sunpaw- tortishell she-cat with gold eyes; Windclan

        Redpaw- mottled brown and ginger tom

                Graypaw- gray, striped tabby tom with blue eyes

                Silverpaw- silver, striped tabby tom with gold eyes

                Darkpaw- gray, striped tabby tom with blue eyes

Queens     (she-cats expecting or nursing kits)

Daisy- cream furred she-cat with brown eyes; Thunderclan (Nursing Dirttail’s kits; Creamkit, Brownkit, Sandkit, and Dreamkit)

Elders               (retired toms and she-cats)

        Mintfur- light gray tabby tom; retired from fail sight

Rowenclaw- ginger tom; Shadowclan

Brakenfur- golden brown tabby tom; Thunderclan

Cloudtail- white tom with blue eyes; Thunderclan

Thornclaw- golden brown tabby tom; Thunderclan

Oakfur- small brown tom with gold eyes; Shadowclan

Whitewater- white she-cat with blue eyes

Frostflower- gray-and-white she-cat with blue eyes

The group of sixteen cats from Windclan territory followed Leopardstar into camp. Most of the old warriors of Riverclan were found, but some were still missing. The important thing was that Riverclan was strong again.

When the cats entered the camp it was silent. The Clan was huddled together in the middle of the camp, bowing their heads in sadness.

“What happened here?” he called to his Clan. Brookstream stepped out of the group, tail and head drooping.

“A pack of wolves attacked Lillymoon’s group on the way back,” the spotted she-cat explained. “They killed Jayfeather, Purdy and Otterheart.”

“You are sitting vigil then?” She nodded. “Then I will sit with them for the rest of night. Tell everyone else to get some rest. My group can sit with me.”

“I’ll sit with you along with Spottedfur,” Brookstream insisted. “She has to send them to Starclan with the right words.”

“It’s been so long since someone has died,” Leopardstar reminded her, “I hope Spottedfur remembers them.”

“She’s a smart cat, she would never forget them,” she told Leopardstar.

“I know,” he replied and then he nodded towards the Clan still in the clearing. Brookstream then padded over to them and told them Leopardstar’s order. Most of them left, but three of them stayed; Lionblaze, Dovewing and Flameclaw, who were all kin to Jayfeather.

When Leopardstar approached them, he didn’t say a word, but just sat down by his three fallen clan mates. As he bowed his head, Spottedfur sat down next to her brother.

“Though two of these cats were not once our own, Starclan shall still receive them with honor and pride,” Spottedfur recited. “These cats have served their Clan well and have made the Clan great. They had lived through dreadful times and now they shall be at peace with Starclan,” she finished. She bowed her head with everyone else and stayed silent from there.

The night was cool as the six cats sat vigil for Jayfeather, Purdy and Otterheart. Dovewing and Flameclaw had left in the middle of the night, as dawn started to approach. Lionblaze had fallen asleep near his dead brother, the last of his family. He had no siblings, mother or father, and only two of his kin, and few Thunderclan warriors. Lionblaze had been through the hardest times ever, but he had almost stayed loyal to his two Clans.     

Dawn came and Mintfur, Cloudtail, and Lionblaze took the dead warriors to the burial place. Leopardstar got up and went to his den for a quick nap, then he would check on all his warriors.

Before he had the chance to lie down, hissing came from the entrance to the camp. Leopardstar ran to where he heard the noise and saw that Brambleclaw and Lionblaze had a male lion cornered.

The big cat was cowering with his teeth back in a snarl. “All I want to do is see Leopardstar!” he hissed to Brambleclaw.

“What do you want with my leader?” Brambleclaw growled. “Who are you?”

Leopardstar walked calmly over to his warrior and rested his tail on his brown tabby shoulders. “Let me take care of it and you can go out on a hunting patrol. Take four other warriors.” The brown striped tom nodded and ordered Lionblaze to come with him.

The lion was still cowering, but his fur flattened out..  “I’m sorry about my warriors,” Leopardstar mewed. “Tell me what is your name and your business with me.”

The cat stood up and bowed his head and looked back up. He had a scar above his right eyes and his tail was wrapped around his leg. “My name is Scar,” the cat replied. The name seemed so familiar. “I was hoping I could join your Clan,” Scar continued. “I have heard great things about it.”

        “Then you have heard right,” the leader said. “I would love to invite you to join the Clan, but do you know the costs you would have to pay?”

        “What do you mean?”

        “You must hunt for your own food as well as the Clan,” he began. “You will give your own life to the Clan in battle when a clan mate is hurt. Do you think you would be able to handle that?”

        “I do that already,” Scar meowed. “I’ve lived on my own for some time, and having to do all those things.”

        “Then you are welcome to stay with the Clan.” As Leopardstar said this, he could have sworn that he saw an evil glimmer in the lion’s eyes, but he just shook it away and showed Scar where he would be sleeping.

        Scar found a nest in the warriors den which had been moved closer to the entrance for security and protection. It was warm inside and many warriors were sleeping in the den. Cloudflare looked up and gave a curt nod to his leader and then looked at the lion.

        “Who is this Leopardstar?” the white and ginger tom asked.

        “This is Scar,” he replied. “He is a new warrior looking for a home and to become a Riverclan warrior.”

        “Welcome,” Cloudflare dipped his head. “I hope you make a great warrior someday. Work hard and you will.”

        “Thank you,” Scar mewed with the dip of his furry head.

        The nest next to Cloudflare was never used by a warrior yet, so Scar circled around in it and then laid down for a nap. Leopardstar left his warriors for sleep and left Cloudflare in charge to tell the other warriors about Scar.

        As Leopardstar padded into the clearing of the Riverclan camp, he heard squeals of joy coming from the nursery, which was between to the warriors and apprentices dens. He saw Cremakit and her only brother, Brownkit, play fighting. Dreamkit and Daisy sat a little ways inside the nursery walls and watching.

        Leopardstar admired the little cream she-cat. After Graypaw was a warrior, he thought about taking her as an apprentice. She seemed to listen very well and learns fast, but she was always jumpy and in the way of the warriors.

        Though she might mature with him mentoring her. Since her sister Sandkit was carried off by a hawk the young kit and her siblings were more careful then before. With their mother now always watching them, and not letting them out of her sight, the kits were fairly safe.

        “Hi Leopardstar!” squeaked Creamkit as she came over to him. She ran and half tripped, half stumbled over to her leader. He balanced her with his front paw and she sat down in embarrassed, but she still looked up with pride.

        “How are you, Creamkit?” he asked her. “You look very well.”

        “I’m great!” she squealed. “I’m practicing on becoming a warrior with Brownkit! Do you want to watch?”

        “Let’s see your moves,” Leopardstar purred.

        The little kit crouched into a hunter’s crouch and pounced on her brother. He squeaked with surprise and tried to kick Creamkit off, but she had his legs pinned to the ground. She purred with delight and let Brownkit up as he started to squirm.

        “Good job, Creamkit,” he congratulated. “You’ll make a great warrior.”

        “Really? Can I be your apprentice?” she outburst.

        “We’ll see in three moons, but I don’t have any doubts.”

        She ran happily back her den then suddenly started to chase her tail in a circle. She fell to the ground with a grin of happiness on her face and watched as Leopardstar walked away and back to his den. He looked back and saw her bouncing around her mother and then going to the prey pile with Brownkit and Dreamkit behind her.

        Suddenly the ground started to rumble and shake. A roar sounded outside the camp and a huge monster burst through the entrance. Screams of terror came from the warriors in the camp, but they got enough courage to escort the elders, queens and their kits to the elders den safely. Then they made a protective line in front of the creature with huge claws and teeth. Leopardstar arn in front of them.

        “Run!” he yowled. “There’s no way to defeat this thing! It can kill as quick as lightning.”

        His warriors scurried back to the elders den. He noticed that Sweetdapple, Lillymoon, and Spottedfur were nowhere to be seen. That worried him, until pain rna through his left leg.

        The monster had swiped out at him and threw Leopardstar against his rocky den wall. He heard a crunch and his side hurt worse than his bleeding leg.

        Leopardstar watched as the monster; which turned out to be the so called T-Rex from his dream was going after the straying Creamkit. She was about to run right under the legs of it, but before it could hurt the kit, Leopardstar raced and shoved the kit out of the way, just as the T-Rex’s foot landed on his left leg.

        His leg felt like it had been snapped in half as it lifted it’s blue leg. Water rained in Leopardstar’s face as the monster opened its mouth and chomped it on his broken leg and side. Its teeth scratched on his fur and dug into the skin.       

        Leopardstar was running out of strength and blood fast, but as soon as the creature had entered the camp, it left almost as fast. Sweet scents told him that someone had come to the rescue.

        Before Leopardstar could see who chased away the killing blue creature, he blacked out into nothingness.

        “Is he going to be okay, Spottedfur?”

        “He’ll live, but I don’t know if his leg will be ever used again,” Spottedfur replied.

        “Look! He’s waking up!” someone squeaked.

        As Leopardstar tried to move pain raced through his body. He smelled herbs and cats from his Clan and he knew he was safe, but what did his sister mean?

        “How are you feeling?” someone asked him. Leopardstar opened his eyes and saw that it was his mate, Lillymoon who had talked. She was standing over him with Spottedfur sitting next to her. Creamkit was jumping around Lillymoon until she had rested her tail on her cream coat and then she settled down.

        “I’m in much pain,” he cringed. “What had happened? All I can remember is lunging at the monster before it hurt Creamkit.”

        Lillymoon and Spottedfur looked at each other and there was a long silence before Spottedfur spoke. “I’m sorry brother, but neither of us was there at the time. Though when we had returned, the creature had your back leg in its mouth and Lillymoon startled it enough to drop you and it ran.”

        “I’m sorry we weren’t back here sooner, sweetie,” Lillymoon said dipping her head. “You almost were killed while I was gone. For now on I’m staying in camp until I know that the forest is safe.”

        “I have more bad news, Leopardstar,” Spottedfur added. “The monster crushed your bones in your leg and ripped the muscles terribly. I don’t know if you can ever use your leg again, but we can wait a few days before I can know for sure.”

        “Thanks Spottedfur and you to Lillymoon. If it hadn’t been for you two… I’d be in Starclan most likely.”

        Nobody said anything else. They think it was their fault that he had almost died, but it was his. He was mouse-brained and attacked, instead of hiding like the rest of the Clan. It was his job to give his lives to the Clan is needed, and at that moment it was needed. He saved a kit of his Clan and they both survived.

        Lillymoon had left with Creamkit after a few more silent moments. Spottedfur had gone back to her den for more herbs to somehow help his crimpled leg. If it would work and heal the leg, it’d be a miracle, but Leopardstar didn’t think his leg would heal all the way; just enough to use it.

        Leopardstar started to feel sleepy and closed his eyes, but as so as sleep came to him, Sweetdapple’s scent entered it. He reopened his gold eyes and saw her curled up next to him like she had as a kit.

        “How are you doing, father?” she asked. Her eyes glowed with fear and revenge as if wanting to go after and kill the one who had hurt her father. The fear was all for him, thinking that he might die in the night.