Willow That Shines At Dawn finds herself and her best friend, Dandelion Like The Sun, exiled from their tribe in the mountains. The Tribe Of Rushing Water. After being separated from Dandelion, she ventures further than any cat could possibly imagin...
She had turned around after staying by the lake, and headed back to the mountains, as she had caught no scent of Dandelion. Now padding carefully over rocks and cliffy trails, she kept an eye on the kit, whom she had named Sunny. He was very pleased with his name and was singing his name to himself while he scrambled up rocks. She had decided not to give him a tribe name, as he wasn't a tribe cat. And neither was she.
Dandelion like the sun. She thought to herself as she looked at the kit crawling up large rocks. She had named him after Dandelion, for both their ambition and kindness. She continued walking, limping slightly. She heard a scrape of claws and fur on rock. She spun around in time to see a distressed Sunny disappear from view. Leaping into action, she bounded over the large rock, leaning over it to find him getting to his paws just under it. She exhaled loudly, and Sunny looked up at her in confusion.
''Are you okay?'' He asked kindly, looking up at her with bright turquoise eyes.
''Yes, are you?'' She asked back, and he smiled up at her.
''Of course!'' He began to try to scramble up the rock again, and Willow leaned down, grabbing his scruff gently and hauling him up. As soon as he found his footing, he wriggled out of her grip, and bounded away, tail high. She had grown fond of the abandoned kit and watched him now pounce around, continuously checking he wasn't straying too far from her, as if thinking she might leave him. She smiled at him reassuringly, and he smiled gleefully back and bounded into some bushes. She followed slowly.
She heard a rustle in the bush and pricked her ears, thinking he might be trying to scare her. But then heard his voice further away than the bush, humming his name to himself. Her audits perked up in alarm and scented the air. She could smell something but couldn't tell what. But it wasn't Sunny. She leapt into the bush, paws pounding on the earth, calling his name.
''Sunny? Sunny?!'' She panicked, and when a dark, mud-coated face peered out a bush at her, she hissed anxiously, springing away in surprise. She watched the cat half emerge and snarled at it. The cat widened its eyes and seemed to see her for the first time.
''Wait I-'' the cat burst into a hacking cough and tried to step closer, his paw outstretched. She slashed its face, slicing under its eye, and ran, calling Sunny again. He appeared out of a bush with a scared expression as she was heading for him, and she slewed to a halt, grabbed his scruff in her jaws, and sprinted away, the growing kit bouncing off her chest. Her heart pounded with a strange fear, a surge of protectiveness wrapped around her heart as she ran. Just as she was running out of energy, her paw slipped and she skidded to an ungraceful halt. Looking around, she hadn't realised where she had run to. She dropped Sunny distractedly, and padded forward, while he grumbled at the way he was ''Treated like a kit.''
She approached a caved-in hollow, paw marks printed on the untouched earth. Untouched for five moons. She saw dried, black stains in the sandy dirt. She used her plumy tail to shield Sunny from the sight.
That's more blood than I remember. She looked around to where she and Dandelion had last seen each other. And probably the last. She added to herself, turning around, seeing where she was chased into the forest. Anguish flashed through her as she remembered Dandelion dragging himself, while she ran for their lives. She backed away. Sunny pressed against her side, looking up at her with pale blue eyes.
''I'm alright. Just not feeling great.''
''Okay, we should rest. It's getting dark.'' He padded over to the caved-in tunnel.
''This'll do.'' Before Willow could protest, he pushed aside a large lump of sandy dirt, with small roots sticking out at all angles. Her fur prickled uncomfortably, but Sunny padded inside and made himself at home, sniffing around. He curled himself into one of two dips and reached his head up to see her over the rise.
''Coming?'' His ears disappeared again, followed by a loud yawn. She gulped and padded to the entrance. She hesitated outside, sniffing for any trace of Dandelion. Nothing. She sighed and peered inside. She saw Sunny curled up in the dip Dandelion had been in, and an image of him flashed across her mind. Cold claws traced her heart, eyes wide as she stared around the dead-end tunnel, remembering the ominous moments of before. She stared hoarsely at the dip next to Sunny and relived the moment where they both woke up and stepped outside, determining their fate. She continued inside, ducking her head.
It feels smaller than I remember. She thought as she settled next to Sunny. He snored softly, his back falling and rising slowly, and deep, tired sighs came from him. She closed her eyes, ignoring the howls of herself screaming at Dandelion to run.
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