Battlecats - The Path to the Trees

Chapter 4

          Gingerkit awoke slowly, blinking the sleep lazily from her eyes. She gazed around blearily at the mostly dark suckle den. She noticed Scorchbird was still sleeping, her breathing slow. Goldenkit was also asleep, turned over onto his back and snoring quietly.

Gingerkit sat up slowly and stretched, keeping quiet so as to not wake her mother and brother. Across the den she saw Palebelly, sleeping with Ratkit and Viperkit. She also saw Shiloh with Tankit sleeping closely next to her. The orange tabby she-cat had arrived, cold, hungry, and suffering from guilt of losing her other three kits. She was allowed to stay but decided she would raise Tankit in WebPod until he became a battlekit, then leave once he had. She had made it clear upon her arrival that she did not wish to live the life of a pod cat despite her circumstances. Shiloh didn't understand their lifestyle but tried her best to be as helpful as possible during her stay. The she-cat had hoped Tankit would be able to learn their ways and survive within the thriving pod cats.

Gingerkit glanced around once more, letting her eyes get adjusted to the darkness of the den. She peered at the entrance and noticed that moonlight was pouring through the leaves , not sunlight. She hadn't slept through the night. She didn't know if the moon had started to set or if it still hung heavy in the sky. Around dawn, patrols would start to head out for the daily hunting and border patrols and there was something she wanted to do. She glanced back at her sleeping mother and sleeping brother before carefully making her way passed Scorchbird's legs and making her way to the entrance to the den.

She was about halfway to the entrance when a quiet mew echoed from behind her, "Gingerkit?" She whipped around, her fur bristling with terror. It was Goldenkit. His pelt was ruffled from sleep and his eyes were half closed. "Where are you going?"

Gingerkit sighed, letting her fur lie flat, "Oh, you're awake." She shook herself to relieve the tension in her shoulders. "I...," she mewed back quietly, looking at the ground. In all honesty, she wanted to explore. She didn't usually get the chance to with Scorchbird always watching her but she was asleep now. She could go anywhere she wanted. Anywhere...

"Let's go to the Grand River!" The calico she-kit mewed quietly, holding her tail high. Goldenkit's eyes stretched wide, tiredness immediately leaving his body in place of pure shock.

"Are you grass-for-brained?" He hissed quietly. "We'd get into so much trouble if we did that!"

"Not if we don't get caught!" Gingerkit mewed slyly, waving her tail. "If you don't want to come you don't have to, I'll just go by myself." She turned on her paws and pushed her way out of the suckle den. Her paws lead her directly to the entrance to the podgrounds before someone tugged roughly at her tail. She almost gave a yowl of surprise before a brown tail was placed over her mouth.

"Shhh!" Goldenkit hissed. "Did you forget a battlecat is on watch every night?" He cautiously looked side to side, his green eyes glowing in the moonlight. He sighed, "We'll have to go through the dirt tunnel to the dirthill if we don't want to be caught."

"But I thought–" Gingerkit began but Goldenkit didn't stay to listen as he began quietly picking his way across the grassy clearing, avoiding all the stones and twigs that lay strewn about the grounds.

Over to the far-right side of the clearing, a large half stump stood against the podground wall. It had a hollowed out opening through it, which led to another opening in the ground walls and dipped into a tunnel, dug out by ancient WebPod cats.

Goldenkit slunk into the stumps tunnel, easily getting past the patchy bushes that made up the walls of the grounds clearing.

Goldenkit suddenly disappeared, following the dip into the ground through the dirt tunnel. Gingerkit followed suit, keeping close behind her brother. The darkness that encased them made Gigerkit feel uneasy. Her neck and shoulder fur bristled with anxiety. She couldn't see if something was ready to crawl over her face or paws.