Warriors: Cloak of Time

= Chapter 4 =

Fresh rays of moonlight danced upon the tall grass that gave life to many creatures of the land. A pleasant breeze warmed the air and tickled the grass, swaying and capsizing to every gust.

In the sky, soft streaks of lilac and gold replaced the blue as the sun was readying sleep, sinking into its resting place. The mice all scuffled and gathered in their burrows, along with the pitter-patter of random paws and the flaps of birds; though some are just awakening. To the same 'some', when the sun set, they wake.

A yawn was the first sound of the night, beating the howling owls or the crack of a tree. Such yawn came from an older, green-eyed cat, just waking from a lengthy nap.

The cat poked another one with her tail, who then makes a same sounding yawn. It only made sense, as they are siblings. The older she-cat sat up, and the moonlight is absorbed into her silver and black fur, almost making it appear to glow.

She cleaned her fur with strong, steady licks as her brother just awoken. His dark fur blends into the shade of the night, but his charming hazel eyes, flecked so kindly with pale green and amber, glow as he gazed upon the moon.

A pang of loneliness and regret clung to his heart, pulling it down as he remembered who he was, and what he had. Nothing; and nobody.

"Cricket." The older sibling meows, in a tone that sounded quite unpleasant, as she tried to "un-distract" the young tom. He snapped his head around, looking at her with wide eyes, sprinkled not only with an array colour, but with discomfort.

"Sorry..." He mumbled, glancing to and fro, embarrassment caressing his fur as the wind would. Within a few heartbeats the she-cat's stomach roared, as they had not eaten for quite some time.

"Hungry, Leopard?" Cricket teased lovingly as Leopard glared at him, confusing emotions pooling in her eyes.

"I'm afraid quite so. Let's fetch some prey near the trees." Cricket hesitated, as he had seen on multiple occasions the "Clan" cats walk around there, but thought nothing more of it and followed Leopard.

A satisfying crunch rang in Leopard's ears as she clamped her jaw down upon a fluffy squirrel, silencing it before it could shriek. The fresh, delightful scent of squirrel made Cricket drool slight, as he set his eyes upon the tawny creature.

"That looks - and smells - really good, Leopard," Cricket commented, glancing at his sister. "May I have a part of it?"

"Of course," Leopard nodded, pushing the squirrel towards Cricket. "Just leave some for me."

Cricket sank his teeth into the squirrel, savoring the juicy flesh and sweet scent. He slowly felt his hungry ebbing away and stepped aside to let Leopard finish the rest.

As Leopard ate, Cricket glanced around the spruce forest, his eyes sharp and ears alert. I hope we don't run into any trouble... That would be bad for us, he thought, shifting his paws slightly.

Cricket and Leopard were rogues with no parents and only had each other. They constantly live in fear of hunger and danger, and that caused them to move closer to the forest, where no other rogues resided.

The dark brown tom sighed, pushing away his loneliness. Although he had Leopard, he could not help but feel empty, like a part of him was missing. He felt no warmth, no comfort, and most importantly, no love.

When Leopard finished her meal, a soft breeze swept by and tickled Cricket's nose. He stiffened abruptly and tasted the air. Turning to Leopard, he nudged her urgently, trying to get her to move.

"What is wrong with you?" Leopard questioned, batting him away with her paw.

"I smell forest cats. They're coming!" Cricket exclaimed, panicking. "They're probably looking for trouble. We have to leave."