Shining of the Four

Chapter 3

Caramel sighed in relief as a bowl of water was pushed towards her. She looked up at her twoleg owner, her bell on her collar ringing at her sudden movement.

"There you go, girl," her twoleg owner said. "You've been through a lot today. Drink up."

Caramel began to lick up the water, thirsty after a long day. She looked at her five kits who suckled from her belly. She had given birth to her third litter today, and she smiled as she looked at her kits. The coolness of leaf-fall brought her comfort, and she sat outside, relaxed.

"We'll name them later," Caramel heard one of her owners say. It was a shame that she couldn't name the kits herself, but she knew the twolegs would choose good names for them.

Caramel looked at her kits, seeing which ones resembled her. Caramel's pelt was a light brown, with the slightest bit of a ginger color. She noticed two brown tabby she-cats who looked the same with Caramel's familiar amber eyes. She looked at the ginger tom with blue eyes who resembled his father. She smiled at the light brown tabby tom with blue eyes, and lastly, the white she-cat with amber eyes. All beautiful kits.

The father of the kits lived a few doors down. He had been Caramel's mate for several seasons now, and he had fathered all of her three litters. She hoped the twolegs would bring him over to visit soon.

As she sat, she closed her eyes, relaxed. She was about to drift off to sleep when she heard the tiniest and slightest mew. She looked at her kits, thinking it had come from them. They were all sound asleep though.

She shrugged, resting her head back down. A few minutes passed, and the same mew came. Caramel pricked her ears, knowing it had not come from her kits. It sounded like it was on the other side of her fence...near the forest.

The forest, a place that scared Caramel. She had heard legends of violent clan cats that would kill any cat that stepped into the woods. She had never dared to go in there before, but now, she was curious what was making the noise.

Caramel hesitated for a moment, wondering if she should get up. She pricked her ears, hearing the noise again. She then got up, a few of her kits wimpering. She only hoped they didn't mew. They'd take away the other mewing noise.

Caramel slowly jumped up the fence, looking down. She looked around, hearing the mew again. She then spotted it. A small, tiny golden and white she-cat squirming near a bush by her fence. It was obviously newly born. Concerned, Caramel looked around, thinking the mother was nearby. No sound came though, just the mew from the kit.

"Hello? Is anyone here?" Caramel asked. The only response was the wind rustling through the trees. Caramel looked at the kit, knowing she couldn't abandon it. It would die for sure.

Sighing, she jumped down, sniffing the kit. It had no scent on it. It surely wasn't any clan cat. Sighing, she picked up the kit by the scruff, jumping back up her fence and down into her backyard.

She knew she'd have to raise this kit from now on. Hopefully she'd blend in well with the others. Her pelt colors would match.

As she laid back down, her kits mewed with excitement, and Caramel set the small she-cat down with the others. She licked it slowly, then heard the footsteps of her twoleg neighbors. She heard more than usual though, and she smiled as her mate ran through the cat door.

"Caramel!" he exclaimed. "You've had your kits."

Caramel smiled at the ginger tom who went by Whiskers. "Yes, Whiskers, here they are."

Whiskers smiled, looking at the kits. He pointed to the two brown she-cats. "Oh, they look like you, Caramel. He smiled at the ginger tom. "And he looks like me." He turned to the light brown she-cat. "Another Caramel clone," he laughed. He curiously looked at the white she-cat and the newly found kit. "I guess the white she-cat got my belly color," he said, showing Caramel his white belly. "And wow, a ginger and white she-cat. Beautiful," he said.

Caramel looked to see her twoleg owners looking around in confusion as they looked at Caramel's kits.

"Six? Wasn't it five?" she heard one say.

Caramel gulped, hoping they wouldn't notice.

"We must have miscounted," another one said. "We should name them now and put their collars on."

Caramel smiled as they began the familiar process. They first picked up one of the brown tabby she-cats. They wrapped a red collar around her neck. There was a bit of discussion, and then the twolegs agreed on a name.

"This will be Holly," they said, dropping Holly back down next to Caramel. They picked up the brown tabby she-cat beside her, and in a few moments, had a name picked.

"She resembles Holly so much," one said, wrapping a yellow collar around her. "This will be Polly," they said, dropping Polly down next to Holly.

She saw Whiskers twitch with amusement, and then she watched as he licked Holly and Polly's foreheads. They squirmed as their father licked them.

The ginger tom mewed as the twolegs picked him up. He was the only tom in the litter, and Caramel was sure he would get the most attention from his father.

They wrapped a black collar around his neck, then spoke a few moments about what they would call the tom. "Tiger," they said at last, dropping Tiger down next to his mother.

"Tiger, my only son," Whiskers said, licking the tom.

Caramel watched as the twolegs now picked up the light brown tabby she-cat with Whisker's blue eyes. They wrapped a blue collar around her, quickly coming up with the name of Hazelnut.

Hazelnut was laid back down with her other siblings while the white she-cat and the she-cat Caramel had found were picked up. She watched as one twoleg wrapped a green collar around the white she-cat while the others wrapped an orange collar around the found kitten.

"The white she-cat will be Snowflake, and the golden and white will be Sunrise," they declared, setting the two down.

Caramel smiled. They had bought it. Sunrise was now officially her kit. Her thoughts were interrupted as she felt Whiskers walk by her.

"They are beautiful kits, Caramel. It'll be a shame to watch them go," he said.

"Maybe they'll let me keep one this time," Caramel sighed. "I'm sure we'd all enjoy that."

Whiskers nodded. "Yes, very much." He looked up, spotting his twoleg owners calling him. He turned back to Caramel. "It seems I have to go. I'll see you later!"

"Good-bye," Caramel said, waving her tail. She the looked at her six kits, smiling. This had to be the most beautiful litter of all, and Sunrise seemed to make it even better. She watched as Sunrise opened her eyes, and Caramel gasped. At first, they were a bright glowing blue. They seemed to dim down, and she smiled as she looked at Sunrise's dark blue eyes. She really could pass as Whisker's daughter.