The Peace of the Wanderer

Chapter Seventeen: Friend Or Foe

Shadow woke up with a start, her green eyes flying open, her heart pounding. She felt as if a dark shadow was looming over her, as if something, or someone, was watching her. She hated it, as it made her feel vulnerable to the world.

A heavy weight pressed against her side, warming her up in the cold night. Shadow raised her head a little to look back and was a bit taken aback to see Midnight's head resting on her fur, a paw draped over her side lazily. Shadow's pulse accelerated, but something told her it wasn't because of the vast darkness.

She still felt as if someone was stalking her, though it was greatly diminished by Midnight's presence. She distinctly heard a soft purr rising from the tomcat as he lay beside her, a small smile on his face.

Shadow gave him her own smile in return and looked to the north, the cool breeze ruffling her fur. It was a cloudy night in the forest, fog cloaking the woodlands. It was unnerving, to say the least, even with the added warmth that was Midnight.

How come I woke up so early? Shadow asked herself, confused at her sudden awakening. She remembered she had been exhausted when she fell asleep-she had expected to be passed out until dawn, at the very least.

Shadow's ears perked up as she heard a vague rustling from up ahead, but she couldn't really see where the sound had come from due to the mist and the empty blackness. She tilted her head slightly, trying to catch any sign of movement. She felt a sudden jolt of fear race up her spine, causing her to shudder.

For once in her life, she was afraid of the dark.

The she-cat shuddered, the breeze seeming a lot more sinister and cold than it had been in the afternoon.

She heard another bush crinkle.

That was the final straw for the she-cat. She felt like a sitting duck, no, she was a sitting duck, just laying there, defenseless.

She gently nudged the sleeping tomcat's head off of her, being careful not to wake him, as she slowly got to her paws. He groaned a bit out of dissatisfaction, but other than that he peacefully went back to sleep in five seconds. Shadow's claws extended, the tips of them splattered with dried blood, an unfortunate side effect from the battle.

She fluffed up her fur in a desperate attempt to make herself look bigger and more intimidating, but still seeming rather small.

About five shadows emerged from the dark, crossing over the forest floor and creating loud crackling and crunching noises.

Shadow's heart, which had began to calm, began racing once more as she backed away, glancing at Midnight's sleeping body and back to the dark figures.

One of the figures took a step forward, not in front of the assumed leader, but close enough to see the tabby marks on it.

"Who are you?" Shadow snarled, caught off guard by this cat. She arched her back in a fighting stance as she scanned the five shadows with wild, panicked eyes.

The tabby cat (she assumed it was a tabby by the glimpse she had gotten from the split-second of moonlight, it was really too dark to be sure) took another step towards the she-cat, tilting its head slightly.

"Shadow? It's me, Tiger. It's alright; just calm down..."

The cat in question sighed in relief, her fur flattening. It seemed that he and the rest of Shadow's siblings had finally found them.

"Why didn't you tell me that in the first place?" she asked, her fear quickly turning into annoyance. "You scared the fur off me!"

Tiger chuckled, the laugh seeming almost sinister thanks to the moon being cloaked by clouds.