Broken Code

Chapter 15

Ashpaw couldn't get used to the smells, sounds, and touches of the Twoleg den. The Twolegs constantly tried to pet Ashpaw and he constantly had one eye open to watch for them. He hissed, scratching one of the smaller Twolegs and running to hide underneath... well he didn't quite know what it was. It had four legs like a cat, but it looked and smelled like a tree. It was flat like a rock on top. He hid underneath the object and crouched down, ready to pounce.

"Where did he go?" One of the Twolegs said.

"Under the table." Another one called out.

So that's what the flat tree was called. A table. The word sounded funny on his tongue and he ran out from underneath of it, feeling the soft grass under his paws. It wasn't exactly like grass, but it was soft like grass. He took across whatever it was and ran, not paying attention to where he was going. Until he ran into someone else.

"Oops! Sorry I didn't see you there! My name is Fluffy!" A soft furred grey she kitten was in front of him and Ashpaw instantly flattened his ears.

"I'm Ashpaw." He mumbled, not wanting to get close to this cat, but also realizing she might be his only way out of the Twoleg den.

"Ashpaw? What a funny name." The kitten twitched her whiskers.

"It's a clan name actually." He scoffed, waving his tail.

Fluffy's eyes widened. "Clans? Like the wild cats? You're one of them!" Her tail poofed out in terror. "HELP!"

Ashpaw sighed. "I'm not gonna hurt you calm down. Yes like the wild cats, do you know how to get back to them? I was captured by your Twolegs."

"Twolegs? You mean my owners? And no sorry, I've only heard rumors about them." She titled her head, licked her paw, and ran it over her ash grey fur.

"What in Starclan is an owner?" He mumbled.

"What on earth is Starclan?" She muttered back.

Ashpaw couldn't help but let out a small laugh. The two cats were so different it was crazy. "Starclan is the place of fallen warriors. Warriors are cats who have trained enough to defend the clan. I'm an apprentice. I'm not old or good enough to be a warrior yet." He explained to the little cat.

She nodded. "An owner is the people that take care of me. Right now we are in a house, this fuzzy stuff that's like grass is called carpet." She explained, muzzling the soft ground.

Ashpaw nodded, taking in his surroundings. He noticed that he could see outside through a part of the Twoleg den- or house- as Fluffy called it. "What's that? Can I go outside through that?" He blinked.

Fluffy looked over to where Ashpaw was looking. "Ah. That's a window."

Ashpaw jumped up to it and sat on the part that was sticking out. It was like a tree branch. He put his paw to the 'window' and looked outside. "It's like ice."

She tilted her ash colored head. "Ice?"

"You know, when it's cold and the water gets hard." He explained without looking away from the forest ahead of him.

"Water isn't hard." Fluffy looked confused.

"Nevermind." Ashpaw sighed. "How do I get out there?" He jumped down from the ice square and padded next to the tiny cat.

"I'm not sure you can." Fluffy admitted, tucking her paws under her chest. "I've never been outside since my owners first bought me."

"Bought you? What does that mean?"

"Well, I lived in a cage with a bunch of other cats. The owners come and pick what cat they want and then they give the other owners money so that they can keep me." She tried to explain.