Pools story

Prologue(page 1)

    A small white she-kit with gray splotches lay curled up in a dark leafy den. The bush above her had been woven with fallen tree branches and ferns to create a warm nursery for her to stay in when her mother left to hunt.

The fluffy kit was less than a moon old but she scrambled out of her nest, tripping over her own paws well she made her way to the narrow hole that led out of the den. "Moma?" she called out as a flash of lightning lit up a stormy night. She stuck her head out for a moment, barely making out the sparse trees and bushes around her home before rain soaked her head.

"Pool?" A worried voice called out as a black she-cat with a white underbelly appeared, illuminated by another flash of lightning.

"Mama!" The tiny kit mewed, taking a step toward where her mother stood, a rain soaked mouse lay at her paws.

"Back inside, little one," her mother purred, gently nudging her daughter back before picking up the prey and squeezing into the dry den.

Pool bounced around her mother as she settled into their nest in the back of the den. "You're so cool mama! You caught a huge mouse all by yourself!" the tiny kit boasted, scrambling into the nest after her mother.

"Maybe, but you're the bravest cat I know. I would have been too scared to go out in a storm when I was as small as you." she mewed, wrapping her sleek tail around the kit. She pulled the scrawny mouse closer and sank her teeth into the soft flesh.

Pool leaned forward, sniffing the mouse eagerly. "Can I try some? It smells really yummy!"

"You're still a bit young for prey," her mother mewed, nudging her away from the mouse.

"Aww, ok.." she mewed sadly, turning and curling up beside her mother's soft belly. Her tiny jaws stretched wide in a yawn as she nodded off to sleep.

Her mother finished the mouse and pushed the bones away from the nest. "You're so brave, my little kit. Just like your father" she murmured, curling her body tighter around the kit. Glancing at the entrance to the den, a longing look in her eyes, she sighed before laying her head on her paws and closing her eyes, allowing a dreamless sleep to engulf her.