The Peace of the Wanderer

Chapter Nine: The Leader Of The Pack

Shadow had been training with Midnight for two weeks, and over those weeks she had learned to hunt and fight. Midnight, surprisingly, was a good teacher.

One foggy night, the pair settled down in a bush, trying to get away from the cold and mist.

Shadow turned her head to look at her mentor. "Er...Midnight?"

"Hmm? What's up?" Midnight asked, cocking his head, his eyes glowing in the darkness.

"Why are you out in the forest if you're an alley cat? I've always been curious about that," Shadow said, twitching her tail.

"Good question, Shadow!" Midnight exclaimed, grinning. "Well...I hated the streets. I was attacked nearly every day, and my territory was taken away from me countless times. One time...they...they chased me out of the Plaza into the forest. I loved it so much I just decided to stay for awhile, in self-exile. So basically, I'm a former alley cat."

"Ah."

Suddenly a wolf howl resonated throughout the forest. Midnight's claws extended and dug into the ground as he winced.

"I really hope that wolf doesn't find us," he mewed in fear. "If what I heard was true."

Shadow looked at Midnight, curious. "What did you hear?"

The tom gulped before continuing. "I heard a fox was partnering up with a wolf pack to...to launch an attack on the Hind-Walkers by killing cats...specifically housecats, but no doubt they will kill others to get their way."

Fear trailed up Shadow's spine. "A-a fox?" she stammered.

Midnight nodded.

Shadow immediately thought of the fox with the yellow eyes, the fox that had murdered her sister and father. She felt a surge of fear and rage. If she could find that wolf pack, she finally could wrap her jaws around the killer that was...what was his name again? Shadow knew that her father had once warned her about him... Oh.... his name was Reagan! Just the name made her shudder.

"We have to defeat the alpha, Midnight! Then the others will back off!" Shadow hissed, though killing the alpha wasn't her true intention.

Midnight rolled onto his back, pawing a bush leaf playfully. "Not our problem."

Shadow scowled in anger. "It's my problem! I'm a housecat! I'll die against the leader by myself, but we're both great fighters. Together, we can beat him!"

Midnight frowned. "I hate to disappoint, but even together, it would be very difficult to get rid of the alpha," he said, sounding hesitant. "Also, you aren't living in a house anymore. You've been living in the forest with me."

Shadow was reminded of her promise to Mowgli and a sense of dread filled her. She had definitely been gone for more than two days... She wondered what he was doing now.

She jerked back to reality as a black paw rested on her shoulder. She turned her head to see Midnight sitting next to her, staring at her intently with his blue and gold eyes.

"Look, Shadow," the tom began in a soft voice, "I know why you want this. You feel like you need to protect your fellow cats. However, is it really worth it to be killed over something like this? Please Shadow..."

The she-cat shuffled her paws, feeling terrible. She didn't want to make Midnight feel this way... he seemed just like a kitten in this particular moment...like he couldn't be left alone.

"Midnight, I..I need to do this. Even if it means wandering this place for months by myself, I will find that pack."

Midnight looked terrified as his pupils dilated and his fur fluffed up. "No, no, it's fine! I'll take you, but I don't know about fighting...I've never been much of a warrior. Though I did hear some cats are partnering to battle against the pack. They plan to attack in about two weeks. If we leave now, we'll arrive to the pack's territory in that time. You could always help them out, but me... I'd rather stay out of it."

Shadow nodded. "I understand. Thanks for taking me, anyway. If there are others... I'm sure we'll win. I hope."

Midnight nodded. "Well, we better get going. C'mon." He leaped away to a nearby rock, looking back at Shadow, gesturing her to come over with his tail.

The young she-cat padded over, brushing her fluffy tail against Midnight's flank, and gave him a reassuring smile.

"You ready to go, Midnight?" Shadow asked softly.

The tom sighed. "As ready as I'll ever be. Let's go."

And thus, tom and she-cat began making their way towards their destination. What difficulties will they encounter? Will they become closer? These were the thoughts of me, the writer, as I wrote their story as they told it.

It was a beautiful night. The stars were beautiful, and the fog had cleared. Fireflies flew all around the pair, and the crickets were awake and singing their evening song.

Shadow chanced a glance over to Midnight, who to her surprise, was just staring at her, his blue and gold eyes sparkling with a new sense of hope.

Shadow cocked her head and narrowed her eyes in confusion. "What are you looking at?"

Midnight seemed to click back into reality, looking shocked at himself before quickly looking away to the ground. He looked rather embarrassed.

Shadow felt her fur growing hot. What am I doing? Why am I getting worked up over him just...looking at me? Shadow shook off her strange thoughts and tried to focus on the task at paw, but she couldn't help it. She kept on thinking about the way he had been staring...

Stop it, Shadow.

But she didn't listen.

She gave herself a small smile.

Stupid tom.

Author's note: Yeah, this was a shorter chapter, but this is pretty much a transitional chapter. Get ready for these two's trek across the forest! :P

Also, thank you guys so much for all the support! You're all awesome! :D