Rise of Our Clans: Book 1: Parting Gift

10

  It was the fifth day of their journey, tonight would be the full moon. But we won't be home tonight. Tomorrow will be it. Valley River thought sadly of the hailstorm that held her and Shard back a day. But it was lucky, if not for that storm, Valley River would not have recruited Whiskers.
  She was young and excited, and easily proved herself more capable than she seemed. Last night, Whiskers helped Shard hunt and managed to catch something, and the day before she found a safe space to rest the night.
  Shard seemed more comfortable on the ground he walked on as twoleg nests thinned out and the trees thickened until there was more forest than twolegs. He padded along a small thunderpath, keeping his nose in the air and his yellow eyes sparkling. "I know where we will rest tonight." He meowed. "Where?" Whiskers asked. "We're going to be visiting a few friends of mine. I haven't seen them since I was rescued." He spat the word "rescue" bitterly.
  The harsh tang of twoleg scraps hit Valley River's nose, and she wondered if they were re entering twoleg place. But no nests came into view, just heaps of broken wood, leathery bags, and monster paws surrounding the three travelling cats. Shard led the way, not seeming scared at all, unlike his companions.
  Valley River saw a gray wedge shaped head emerge from a torn open skin filled with twoleg scraps. It was very similar to a mouse, but bigger. But they hunted earlier and Valley River wasn't hungry, so there was no point in killing the large mouse. "I've never seen such a big rat." Whiskers gazed at the creature. "Usually the ones I see are smaller than that." She explained.
  The rat disappeared into the garbage once again. As the three approached a large yellow monster with no paws and bushes growing around it, Valley River froze. "You want us to go in there?" She bristled. "Don't worry, it's a hollow shell. It can't hurt us." Shard promised, leading the way to a rusted gap on the metal.
  "Scrappy! Dark! Asp! Fogtail!" He meowed into the hole. Fogtail, it was a tribe sounding name. But it was said quickly, all one word, rather than with a gap as in Fog Tail. Although a proper tribe name would be more like Foggy Tail.
  "Who's their?" A high growl came from inside. "It's me, Shard, and I've brought a few friends so we can stay here tonight." Shard explained. "Bring them in." The voice answered.
  Valley River followed Shard and Whiskers into the hollow monster. Two cats lay in a shared nest of some kind of pelts, as well as feathers and moss. A third cat was stretching from his nest, smaller than the other two. He had thin gray fur and a red vine around his neck, similar to Whiskers. The black cat and gray cat sharing a nest also looked up, the black tom too had a vine, but orange instead of red.
  "Shard! You've been gone far too long! I was worried you wouldn't be back before Fogtail had her litter." The black cat purred. Valley River noticed an empty fourth nest. "It seems my kits aren't the only ones being born soon." The gray cat stood, Valley River noticed her enlarged belly. It seemed her kitting was closer than Valley River's.
  "Is this your mate?" She asked. "No, Fogtail. She's not from around here and is trying to find her group. Like me, she was captured by twolegs, and her friends were following the river from the mountains." Shard explained.
  "And what of the calico?" The small gray tom asked. "I came along because I wanted to." Whiskers lifted her head high. Her soft features showed she was still unaccustomed to life away from twolegs, but it didn't seem that she regretted her decision. "Where are my manners? We need to introduce ourselves." The black cat stood up. His pelt had faintly darker stripes on his dark body.
  "My name is Dark, and this is my brother, Scrappy, and my mate, Fogtail." Dark nodded to both cats. "You'll meet Asp soon, currently he's hunting for prey." He added. "I am Valley River. I was born far away from here. My mate and a few others left our original home and we are following the river to our new home, wherever that may be." She said. "And I'm Whiskers. I may be a housecat, but I never felt quite at home with my housefolk." The calico stated.
  Valley River looked behind her, seeing a golden brown tom with black tabby markings entering the hollow monster carrying two rats, a pigeon, and a mouse. His eyes widened at the sight of guests. "I guess I should go hunt some more?" He asked, setting down his quarry.
  On one side of his face, the upper lip was receded, showing a glinting white fang. "No, I'll hunt for our guests." Scrappy shook his head. "I'll come with you." Shard decided. The two toms exited the monster, leaving Whiskers and Valley River with the other strange cats. "I'll gather bedding for the three of you. Whiskers, would you mind helping?" Dark meowed. "Of course!" The calico purred, following after Dark.
   Asp grasped the pigeon in his jaws and took it to his nest. "We found Asp being chased by a fox and took him in when he was young. He's stayed with us ever since." Fogtail explained. Valley River nodded, remembering Sunflower's description of a fox.
   By the time nests were made and prey was given out, Valley River was feeling tired. She was still unused to not sharing prey like in the mountains. The rat she was given quickly made her feel full, and she curled into her nest, falling asleep.
  In her dream, Valley River walked through an unfamiliar forest beside a river, fish darted through the water and the silver tabby was tempted to swipe at them, but continued on her path. She had to find her friends.
  She smelled the warm and comforting scent of Mossy Oak, and followed it. But sharp pains pulsed through her flank and she was forced to fall. "Mossy Oak! White River!" She cried out, clawing into the leaves.
  Valley River woke, feeling a strange squirmy feeling in her stomach. The kits are moving. She realized. She hadn't felt them move yet, and now that they were moving, she was even more excited to have them.
  The pale light of dawn filtered into the empty shell, and the first cat to rouse aside from Valley River was Scrappy. His quiet grumpy attitude reminded her of Narrow Cliff, making her miss her tribemates even more.
  "You're trying to find cats following the river, right?" Scrappy asked. One of his ears was so badly torn it flopped down, and his muzzle had a scar from lip to nose bridge. "Yes." Valley River nodded. "There's a group of cats that settled in the nearby forest. I've heard they're led by a cat called Mossy something or other." He blinked his amber eyes. Mossy Oak.
  "Thank you. Can you show me the way?" Valley River asked. "No, but Asp will once everyone else is awake." He shook his head. "Thank you, again." Valley River purred.
    In the morning, Valley River brought up what Scrappy told her earlier to Asp. "Please, will you take me to where you saw the cats in the forest?" She pleaded. "Alright. But I'm not sure if they're still there." The tabby meowed. "Even if they're not, I can figure out where they went from there." Valley River insisted.
   "Are your friends coming too?" Asp looked back at Shard and Whiskers speaking with Dark and Fogtail. Scrappy was off hunting. "I... Don't know." Valley River realized. She didn't know if Shard would come to be with her and Mossy Oak, or if Whiskers was going to return to her twolegs now that the journey was over.
   "Shard! Whiskers!" Asp called over the black and white tom and the calico she-cat. "What is it?" Shard meowed. "Are you going to go with Valley River when I lead her to her friends?" Asp questioned. Shard hesitated before answering. "I promised Valley River I would take her the whole way. I'm sticking with her." He meowed. "And I came with to see the forest. I've barely left home." Whiskers agreed.
  Asp nodded. "Well then, let's go. Follow me, and I'll bring you to your friends."