The Cat Of The Prophecy: The Origins Of The Clans- Part 1: The Original Treeclan

Chapter 2: Tippie

     The purrs in my throat grew louder as I explored the clearing. The clearing was not very large but it appeared much larger than it was. The taller grasses were nearly up to my chest, while the other much shorter grasses barely covered the tops of my paws. I crawled under a low lying bush that was near by and sat under it to rub against it with the length of my face. A leaf caught the corner of my mouth and touched my tongue causing it to make me gag in an attempt to spit out the leaf. A piece of the leaf came out of my mouth from where it had broken off of its stem.
     I slowly came out from under the bush and turned to stick my claws into the wood of a tree like I had done with the dirt. I stretched out my paws and hooked my little claws into the bark, but unlike with the dirt I could not get my claws to release as easily. I thought for a moment and tried to think back to when I had seen my cats retract their claws from the trees outside and the cat tree inside. Frustrated I attempted to retract my claws and ended up getting them stuck in even further. I pulled against the trunk with my claws still in and eventually they retracted themselves and I fell backwards onto the ground.
     I stood up and shook the dirt and grass out of my fur, flinging it several feet in every direction. I began to pad forward, but felt what appeared to be heat on the orange and black portion of my fur. I paused to looked up at the trees and the sky above me as the sunlight soaked through my long calico fur. Of the small amount of the sky that I could see through the trees, I could tell that is was a beautiful blue with small fluffy white clouds, but there was just something different about it that I couldn't pinpoint. After gazing at the sky, I sat there with my eyes closed contently purring in the sunlight. After a little while of sun-soaking, I had this overwhelming feeling that it would be a good time to head back the way I came. 
     To my own dismay the forest looked the same in every direction and I stood there for a little while glancing nervously for any clues as to which way I had come. After a while it was finally decided that it would be best to pad forward and try to locate the river. I swiveled my ears and carefully glanced around me looking for something that was some what familiar to me, but so far nothing was even close to looking familiar. I lowered my head to my chin, closed my eyes, and pinned my ears against my skull. A long deep exhale tumbled out of my nose as I stood there. I allowed my ears to become alert again and I swiveled them in several different directions. I took in a deep breath in and focused on the sounds around me.  A faint trickling sound caught my attention immediately, it was almost guaranteed that this was where I would find the river.
     I opened my eyes and headed in the direction of the trickling water. I padded through the woods with my head held high and my ears forward. I was determined to find the river and I strode through confidently, knowing without a doubt that it wasn't far from me if I could hear it. I began to pick up the pace as the trickling became louder. After several short strides I arrived to a point where I could see the river and I began to remember and recognize the landmarks that I had previously not noticed. I padded towards river and I stood away from the river marveling at the sights once more until it felt like someone was watching me as if their eyes were burning into my pelt with their gaze.
     I turned around to see a cat standing a few feet away from me just across the river that cut through the clearing. I jumped a little bit because I was not expecting a cat to be standing there in front of me. I didn't know quite what to think of this longhair gray and white cat that stood before me, but at the same time my overly curious nature, lead me to realize that this cat was very familiar. I somehow felt that I knew this cat, but as the forest had looked different so did the cat.
     "Tippie?" I asked recognizing the old cat, her soft green gaze didn't leave mine, but she just gave a gentle nod. She stood up, flicked her tail, and then started padding off into the woods.
     "Wait! Come back!" I anxiously called after her. I was going to run after to her, but stopped myself mid jump reminding myself that the river separated me from the other side. I paced the bank for a moment before realizing it was too deep there to wade across so there was only one way to the other side. I readied my haunches, as I had seen cats do before, by swaying side to side and jumped to the other side. My back feet landed in the water with a splash that sprayed water up into the air.
     I, after a moment of shaking my back paws off, began running after her in the direction I had seen her go just moments before. I darted through the forest dodging the trees as I weaved through them back and forth. After a while of this constant zig-zagging through the forest I stopped to lay on the cool forest floor. I was extremely exhausted and panting as I was nearly out of breath. Though I struggled, I kept my eyes open no matter how tired I was, I didn't want this dream to end.
     I stood back up and continued to run after her. I needed to find out what was so different about this dream, why it was so lucid and almost plain and empty. There wasn't action or a lot going on just a peaceful serene forest, where I could go anywhere or do anything. It wasn't the reflection of the day that I had, unless I randomly thought about her, although I am not sure where the forest fits into the mix. Most of all I wanted to know why one of my very first cats was in my dream and why she didn't look like the Tippie I remembered. The patterns were the same, the fur was the same , the eye color the exact same, but I didn't appear to be looking at a twelve year old cat. She looked young and youthful, the polar opposite of how I remembered her. I was too young at the time, so I only remember her as an older cat.
     I feared with one blink, that this would all be over, and this would all be just another memory. I had to find out why Tippie was here, why I am here, and what this dream means. My lungs felt like they were collapsing in my chest, my heart was already beating loud enough that my entire body was jarring with every beat. My legs collapsed beneath me flailing as I hit the solid ground. I laid there for several moments to regain my strength and to slow my heart rate back down to the rate it is supposed to be. My vision blurred from the pounding of my heart beat and the strain of the run on my lungs. I wanted to close my eyes and wake up but I needed answers and I planned to get them at what ever cost it takes even after all it is a dream it won't hurt me to push myself further. I gathered my breath enough to force myself to stand up and there, in front of me, stood Tippie, green eyes and the gray patch on her nose just as I had remembered. "Tippie?" I asked again.
     "Hello Jada."
     My eyes widened to their widest point and I meowed shuddering. "Y-yo-yoou-you can talk?"
     Tippie narrowed her eyes and flicked her ears in what appeared to be slight annoyance. "You aren't freaked out that you are a cat,  but a talking cat freaks you out? What were you expecting? How are you expecting to get the answers to all of your questions?" She asked me with a serious look on her face. 
     "I don't know." I replied a bit embarrassed and I slunk low to the ground. The old she-cat laughed at me and I sat up puzzled, unsure why she found it funny. 
     "Come on follow me." She meowed to me.

     I put my ears back and cautiously followed her without questioning her further into the woods.