(Book 1) Warriors: Separations - Six Stars

Chapter 1

    The car bounced up and down as it drove over the road. Cinder looked around at her humans. They seemed to be sad about something. She didn't know what it was, though. The car came to a stop and the door opened. She excitedly jumped out. They'd been driving forever, she thought they'd never stop. She breathed in the fresh air, and relished the grass beneath her toes.

    Just then, she heard the car revving. She looked behind herself to see her humans driving away without her. Horror enveloped her as she yowled after them. She tried to catch up with the car, but it was too fast. Her paws skimmed the ground, her legs and torso were scraped by bushes and thorns, but her terror kept her going. Eventually, she was breathless. She tripped over a branch and rolled over the pavement. Her entire body was in pain, cuts and scratches covering her. But what hurt the most was the utter defeat that she felt through her entire being. It cut her deeper than the obstacles inflicting injuries on her. She feebly dragged herself to the side of the road, the pavement scraping her belly fur. She settled down and waited patiently. Surely, her humans would come back, right?

Cinder woke up, dazed. She felt a paw prodding her in the side. She looked up. Was it her humans? However, her hope was immediately lost. It was just a loner. She sighed.

    The cat poked her in the side again.

    "Hey, what are you doing here?"

    Cinder groaned. "What do you want? I'm waiting for my humans."

    The cat tipped her head to the side. "Humans?" Cinder shook her head. "I don't know, they left me a while ago. They rode me here in a car, and... left me. I think they forgot to pick me up, but they'll notice and come back."

    The she-cat's eyes widened. "Oh... they've abandoned you." Cinder looked at her. "No, they didn't! They loved me, I'm sure of it! They'll be back eventually." she hissed. "You don't understand, do you? They haven't been back yet, they won't come back ever. They intentionally left you behind. To them, we're just another mouth to feed. Once they get bored of us, they dump us off in deserted areas to die." Cinder felt her body shaking with horror. There was no way. Her humans loved her. They wouldn't just leave her to die, would they?

    The she-cat spoke again, softer this time. "My name's Cherry. My... humans... abandoned me a while ago." Cinder curled up into a little ball. Was she going to have to be a loner? Terror siezed her and she could barely move a mustle. Suddenly, she felt her body being lifted off the ground, and teeth in her scruff. She realized that Cherry had picked her up.

    "Where are we going?" Cinder asked her.

    "To the barn." Cherry's voice was muffled with fur, but Cinder could understand her. Her humans owned a barn, she visited it pretty often. Sadness filled her once more as she recalled her humans, but she pushed the memory out of her mind. She didn't want to think about them.

    As Cherry strolled across the road, Cinder spotted the barn. It was really big, and hard to miss. It was a muted red, and clearly needed a new paint job. Cherry carried her across moorland, passing over large rocks and tufts of grass on the barren land. A white fence came into view, and Cherry easily jumped over it. She dropped Cinder. Cinder looked up at her, scared. "Am I gonna live here? It smells weird. And it looks weird too."

    Cherry sighed. "Better get used to it." She flicked her tail for Cinder to follow, and Cinder slowly wobbled inside of the barn.

    Her mouth watered as she caught the scent of a mouse. She'd eaten some in her old residence, it wasn't very well sanitated. She chuckled as she remembered how every time her humans saw one, she would kill it and eat it. They always yelled at her for it, but the mice tasted amazing. Her paws carried her toward the scent, and she crouched down, getting ready to pounce on it. She wagged her tail right before jumping, and caught the mouse in between her paws. She sank her teeth into its neck and picked it up. She turned around to see Cherry standing behind her. Cherry's eyes flashed with surprise. "What is it?" Cinder asked. Cherry chuckled. "Nothing, I just didn't expect a kittypet to be able to catch prey." Cinder shook her head. "I learned in my house. Anyways, there actually seemed to be a lot of mice here. You must eat well every day, huh?" Cherry nodded. "Pretty luxurious lifestyle."

    It had just hit Cinder that she had scratches all over herself. Pain throbbed in her body. She had been ignoring it until now, but it was pretty apparent right then. Cherry caught sight of her wounds. "Need help? I know some about herbs." Cinder nodded. She limped over to a patch of hay next to a stack of wooden boxes near the entrance of the barn.

    Cherry left the barn, and gave Cinder a moment on her own to observe the barn. There was hay scattered across the barn, piles of it in certain places shaped like nests. There was a big block of it next to some sort of wooden contraptions, made out of wooden rectangles. There were more boxes stacked up, leading up to a second story in the barn, which was just a platform scaling the wall high up in the barn. There were chairs, doors, and windows all over the place. Cobwebs clung to every surface, and there were bugs crawling along the wood. Cinder shuddered. It wasn't an inviting place, however bugs, she remembered, were tasty and sustainable. She thought the information might come in handy.

    Cherry came in, holding some sort of green mush. She looked around, then after spotting Cinder, walked over to the nest Cinder was sitting on and crouched down.

    "This herb poultice will heal your wounds. It'll feel better in a second." Cherry told her.

    Cinder sighed in great relief as Cherry rubbed the herb poultice on Cinder's wounds. She settled into the nest. She was more comfortable without the pain of her scratches disturbing her. Cherry grabbed some cobweb and covered up Cinder's wounds, they felt much better since they were properly treated.

    She tucked her nose into her forepaws and closed her eyes, she could finally rest after such a long day. The sun was going down, the light from the brilliant blazing ball of fire dwindling down to but a few rays of sunlight shining through the windows and entrance. She was full, her wounds stopped hurting, she was comfortable, and she could finally sleep.