The Formation Of Butterflies

Chapter 1

Small scurrying paws padded over the grass, tumbling over leaves. It was making its way towards another young cat who was also scurrying around charging at a not so quick pace when it yowled. Loudly he said "I'm going to get you!" One small sentence and yet it made the other one screech in fear and delight.
"There's no way that's going to happen!" She replied back, skipping over a twig, running as fast as her tiny paws would let her. Another cat sighed watching the two and another one let out a call bringing their chase to an end. "Flower." It was her mother's name and the young cat couldn't help but frown. The kit's face dropped and in that moment so did her running. Unsurprisingly, her attacker charged into her, sending her to the ground.
"Mouse!" She moaned, scrambling underneath him. One paw placed firmly down on her as he stood with an overwhelming look of triumph on his face. The young kit was fully grey giving him the appearance of foggy mist but he was also a small build and the runt of his litter. It only took two pushes from her to shake him off sending him rolling on the floor.
"Butterfly that hurts." Mouse complained, pulling himself onto his paws. Before Butterfly even had the chance to apologise she was interrupted by an all too familiar voice.
"Butterfly, what do you think you're doing playing a dangerous game like that?" A brown tortoiseshell she-cat came rushing over, her eyes alert and in panic.
"I was just playing a game,Flower," she replied, staring up at her in defiance. Her mother was a beautiful short haired she-cat with specks of brown and white that clashed all over her body. There were small bits of grey in there too which Butterfly couldn't help but wonder if that was just her getting old or if it had always been there. Vole had said that was a rude question to ask so she had just kept it to herself. Her snout though which was completely white was also annoyingly opening once again in criticism.
"A dangerous game," she mewed, her voice harsh but starting to get softer. "Sunrise wanted to show you how to hunt today but I said I wouldn't have it. So I'm just going to show a few places where prey might hide." What?! Butterfly was forced to resort to deep strong breaths to withhold her rage. Her mother had just turned down her chance to learn to hunt. She couldn't believe it, well actually she could. Flower was by far the most overprotective cat within the clan, she never saw Mouse's mother act like this. Thinking of him made her glance a quick look at the younger tom who seemed to have come up at her side, his wide eyes glaring at Flower. His head was tilted though and Butterfly couldn't help but wonder that he didn't have the faintest idea as to what was going on.
"I think Sunrise might be right," she spoke slowly, reasonably, trying to soothe her mother and prevent herself from surging into a screaming fit. "It's important that a young cat learns to hunt and he is the leader of the group. I'd suppose he knew what he was doing,you haven't hunted much lately." Butterfly braced herself for a response like she was getting ready for a storm.
"I know that," frustration was edging into her mother's voice but the she-cat took a long deep breath. "You and your brother are still young and it's best to take these things slow." Flower looked at her. Her voice was trying to be gentle but there was no hiding the agitation in her eyes. Butterfly dug her small claws into the ground and tried to make herself stand up straighter for the reply, she was not about to give in to her mother's antics. Before she could speak though Mouse jumped in giving his not so helpful thoughts.
"My mother says it's important that we go out on adventures," he said, his head tilting even more than it had been. Butterfly winced.
"You're mother is hardly older than a kit herself and has hardly any experience in the world," Flower snapped looking at the small kit harshly. Mouse seemed unbothered though and just looked up at her with wide confused eyes as if she'd just completely rocked his world.
"How can she be that young? She's 28 moons, that's a long time from being a kit... I think." He glanced at Butterfly for reassurance so she nodded stiffly. Smiling now he looked back up at Flower as if he had completely defeated her, his face gleamed with triumph.
"She acts that young," Flower justified, a little baffled. "Now shoo," She hushed the kit off. While he was being chased away the kit took one long glance back at Butterfly. Questions ingrained deep into its depths. Butterfly sighed, why did her mother insist on being so awkward about everything? She wished she had a mother like Mouse's, Squirrel could be heaps of fun and always found a way to make something interesting. Why did Flower always have to make Squirrel out to be a reckless idiot? She frowned.
"You shouldn't talk about her like that, it just makes Poppy upset." To Butterfly's frustration she didn't reply and ignored the statement all together, trudging off back in the meadow.

It was more of a grassland than meadow. The grass reigned high blocking all of the sights around her. Flower weaved in between glancing back at her with every step she took. The dirt underneath her paws was rough and littered with little stones unlike the soft dirt of camp. Despite how regularly cats probably went down here it seemed untouched making it uncomfortable to walk on.
"Where's Vole?" She asked, noticing her brother's absence. Did Flower forget to bring him? Sometimes she felt it was easy to forget her brother's existence with just how timid and quiet he could be.
"I left him with Leaf. I don't think he's quite ready for this." While Butterfly didn't exactly approve of this it made sense and she could understand why. The Tom was practically afraid of everything, still though wouldn't this just make it worse when he finally did leave? On top of that I'm counter to his fear he'd be absolutely fascinated by this.
"That's not really fair," she stated. The tortoiseshell she-cat ignored her, coming to a halt.
"Much of the prey we eat live in burrows, so when you're out hunting it is usually hiding away," she explained. Her long brown tail pointed towards a small opening in the ground in between the long grasses.
"Is that it?" She said, her tone was harsh and a little rude from the frustration of being brushed off like that. It was also hard to see the point in this little adventure of theirs when she wouldn't actually be able to do anything.
"Pretty much," she replied, her ear flicking. Annoyingly her mother looked uninterested and her eyes flashed back to camp with much longing. "You just wait for the mouse to come out."
"What about birds and squirrels?" She asked curiously. She was certain that they didn't grow up underground.
"You're too young to worry about that." Butterfly hated it when she dismissed her like that. She was 6 moons old and this was starting to grow aggravating.
"I'm not and it's not like I'm actually going to hunt them." She persisted on,placing her paw firmly into the ground.
"I said no and we need to get back to your brother. I don't like leaving him alone for this long."
Butterfly sighed, she'd forgotten about that and the sun had begun to set on the land, leaving a beautiful pink and orange sky blooming on the horizon. Knowing that she had won, Flower began making her way back to camp, leaving Butterfly trailing behind.
Flower's tail twitched a lot on the walk back. Her head hung a little and it wasn't long before she whipped it back round to look at her kit. "There aren't any trees to find squirrels." Butterfly supposed that her mother must have felt guilty about her harshness today and was trying to justify herself with lies.
"I had a squirrel just a couple of days ago," she told her, suspicion coating her voice.
"Yeah, a couple of days ago. They came with their big monsters and took them away. Just ask your father." Befuddled, Butterfly's head tipped what was she blabbering on about? She decided not to question her though, while it was a rare occasion for her mother to lie she was pretty sure this was one of them occasions. Monsters aren't real.

They were greeted with a large tom lying in her mother's nest. He had thick but not long fur and large light brown patches scattered all of him. His deep green eyes shined through the dark. Butterfly recognised him almost immediately. The cat's name was Leaf and he was the well loving brother to Flower. Butterfly liked oppythe tom. He was a lot more loose than Flower although he was a complete push over when it came to her wants and needs. A downside in Butterfly's mind, especially when she knew that without it she could do so many more spectacular things.
Smiling,her mother walked towards him. She stopped to nuzzle his forehead thanking him for taking care of Vole. Silently as if not wanting to disturb anything within the nest he made his way out. His paw steps were careful and precise, he nuzzled Butterfly on the nose before he exited out of the den.
Butterfly sighed heavily,heaving herself into her mother's nest where Vole lay soundly asleep.. Soft moss and feathers weaved into the brambles making it comfortable to nestle into. Flower then followed casting one distasteful but yet longing glance towards a cat sleeping a few fox lengths away. Poppy and Squirrel She realised as sleep began to take.