Warriors: A New Hope

Chapter Three

The bright morning sun glared down on the old, deserted barn; the sunlight flickered through cracks in the barn roof, warming the inside. The loud call of a rooster made all four cats jump to their paws. Ravenpaw and Barley both let out a mrrow of laughter as the two sisters looked around frantically for danger. They crashed into eachother as they rounded the hay pile. “What was that?!” Shimmer squealed as it let out another loud, shrill call. “I-is it a big animal?” Both of the sisters screamed so loudly that Ravenpaw and Barley had to cover their ears. It was the funniest thing to see the two toms crouched on the ground, covering their ears, and laughing hysterically at the same time. The shadow of the rooster shown into the opening of the barn, and that nearly scared the fur off the sisters. They screamed so loud that it drove the rooster off, as well as some surrounding birds.

“For StarClan’s sake!” spat Ravenpaw, cuffing Shimmer on the ear playfully. “It’s only a rooster. Come see.” He led the two sisters out into the clearing, the sun warming their pelts. A big brown animal about the size of Barley stood on two legs, flapping its humongous wings. The rooster ignored the four cats and continued pecking the ground in search of food. The red flabby thing that hung off its beak flopped weirdly; Shadow and Shimmer couldn’t help laughing at the odd looking animal.

“Look at the sun! We’ve overslept!” Shadow kneaded the ground, her paws twitching as she swished her two tails. A thought suddenly came to her, a thought that made her feel like she had known the two loners for much longer than just a day. They were the first cats to never judge her just because she had two tails. They didn’t stare at it like they strangest thing in the world, like most others did. A sense of security overwhelmed her, making her feel a bit of self-confidence well up inside of her.  Without another word, all four cats rounded the fence and out into the open grass. A bright flurry of orange, red, and yellow dappled the sky above them. She absolutely loved this time of year; every breath was leading her farther and farther into a distant memory. The first time she seen a tinted color leaf had startled her. She was very young then, and the memory lasted only a couple of heartbeats. Our mother is in a better place. She reassured herself, as she remembered feeling this overwhelming sense of comfort and security as her and her young sister pressed against their mother. She sang them a song; Shadow knew that for a fact. If only she could remember the words…

“Shadow! Look out!” Her sister’s worried mew snapped her out of her thoughts. She froze, flicking her head left and right in search of what her sister had made such a fuss over.

“What?!” She snapped, only to mutter “Sorry…” as she realized that she had yelled at her sister so fiercely.

 “Look right in front of your paws, idiot.” Her mew was hinted with laughter; obviously she had forgiven her sister.

A wave of embarrassment flooded over Shadow as she realized that she was only paw steps from stepping into a rabbit hole. Her ears flattened as she stalked her way around the hole. She padded up between Ravenpaw and Barley as they continued on towards their destiny. “Doesn’t it bother you –or at least make you curious about me- that I have two tails?” she asked them, an anxious feeling gnawing at her belly.

“Why should it?” Barley mewed back, his tone mysterious.

“Well, most cats just stare at it, shy away from me, and some even laugh at me for it. That is why I only have my sister as a friend …” a pang of sadness stabbed at her heart as she looked back at her tails.

“It doesn’t matter what a cat looks like, you see. It’s what’s on the inside that makes them beautiful.” Ravenpaw’s sweet voice made Shadow long to press up against him like a kit seeking the warmth of their mother.