Dark Moon: Tell-Tale

Chapter 17

The rain was still pouring by the time Monty woke up. He yawned, stretching his forepaws out in front of him, careful not to prod Marley, who was sleeping beside him. The sun had only just begun to rise, turning the sky a rose pink. The distant trees were starting to become visible, their pink and white blossoms standing out from the dark, verdant leaves.
Monty got to his paws, treading carefully over Marley, who grunted and shifted in his sleep. The two of them could barely fit under Tonks' tail; they were so big, considering they were 7 months old. Monty made his way around the mass of sleeping cats. Venus was curled up neatly in a ball, while Homer was splayed out on his back, snoring with his mouth gaping open. Blizzard lay on his side, his paws twitching as he dreamed, causing his black and white striped collar to emit a tiny ringing sound. Jasper sat with his legs tucked underneath him, sleeping with his head up. Monty still couldn't fathom how he did that.
Monty was surprised to find Kali outside, drinking from a small puddle in the damp grass. She looked up as he arrived, smiling affectionately and flicking rain from her ears.
"What are you doing up so early?" She asked, turning to face him and look down at the kitten.
"I could ask you the same question." Monty smirked back.
"Thirsty." Kali shrugged.
"I guess I'm just not tired." Monty continued after a pause
"Well kittens like you do have a lot of energy." Kali lay down, despite the soaked grass, so her face was level with his. "But once you get to my age, you'll feel like doing nothing but sleep." She chuckled, shutting her dark brown eyes with laughter.
Monty chuckled back. "How old are you?" He cocked his head.
"1 year." She muttered, looking out into the sunrise obliviously. "Dog years are the same as cat years. You're 7 months now I hear?"
Monty nodded his head, playing with the bell on his collar inattentively.
"Is anyone else awake yet?" Kali broke the silence after a while, flicking her tail.
"I don't think so." Monty looked over his shoulder at the still sleeping cats, a blur of black, grey and ginger against the luscious green mountain.
"Should we wake them up?" Kali suggested, standing up. "It's best to get going as early as we can. We don't want to waste any daylight."
Monty shrugged, instantly agreeing with the idea without thinking, and bounded over to the cave. He jumped onto Tonks' head, flipping over and landing with a thud beside Marley, who he poked. Tonks sniffed, flicking her ears, and opened her eyes. Marley let out a tiny squeak, rubbing one amber eye with a paw.
"I was just dreaming I was chasing a mouse." Marley mumbled irritably.
"We need to go, it's morning!" Monty hopped up and raced over to Homer, jabbing his face repeatedly with a tiny paw until his eyes flickered open.
"The sun has only just risen!" Tonks complained, yawning mid-sentence.
"He's right." Jasper suddenly spoke up. He had woken from Monty's yowling, and was now standing in the entrance, his pelt silhouetted against the sunlight. "We need to get going as soon as we can."
"Whatever." Blizzard muttered sleepily, his white and grey striped tail quivering as he stretched. Venus took a little longer to wake. Her cold must have been getting the better of her, and the rain wasn't helping. Homer nudged her up, pressing close to her to keep her standing.
"Come on." Jasper snarled impatiently, exiting the hollow without waiting, completely ignoring the rain pelting at his fur.
Kali followed, her thick paws becoming drenched as they sunk into the muddy earth. Blizzard pursued quickly after, keeping his head low in an attempt to shield himself from the rain, even though he knew it wasn't going to do much. Monty bounded after him, sticking his tongue out to catch rain droplets. Marley stuck close to Tonks, gazing up at the fading stars and grinning with curiosity. Venus and Homer were last, Homer sticking close to his mate to keep her warm as she shivered.
"And we're not going to let any interruptions get in our way this time." Jasper snarled, glaring over his shoulder at Monty and baring his teeth.