Warriors: FlightClan's Beginning

Chapter Two

A gray tabby she-cat padded across the plains, her blue eyes traveling along the grasses in front of her. She had been traveling for three days. Her body and mind were very fatigued. Far had never been away from her home. She knew this was a terrible idea; she could never go back.

Yet here she was. Headed for home. Far didn't know whether she was excited or filled with dread. A horrible memory echoed in her mind.

Fire. It was everywhere. Far couldn't see, couldn't hear, couldn't do anything. She felt hopeless and lost. It surrounded her. The smoke was choking her mind and her throat. She couldn't see, couldn't breathe. Far was standing, petrified, begging someone, anyone, to make it stop, to end it, to end her suffering...

And then it was over. Far blinked, coming back to reality. She shook her head, trying to shake away her memories. But they were cascading through her mind.

The smoke and fire were there again. An orange tabby raced towards her. He looked as if he was about to leap into the fire, but instead he slowed to a halt. Before he could stop, the orange tabby stumbled and began rolling toward the fire. Far wanted to cry out, to do anything to save her father. All she could do was cough. Smoke surrounded her, trying to drown her, to suffocate her. Everything was hopeless. Her father was getting closer and closer to the fire.

The gray tabby shook her head. I need to rest. I'm delusional. Far decided to walk a little further to find a den, but there was nowhere. There were only plains for as far as she could see. So, she just decided to settle down in the long grass.

...

Everything was dark. Far squinted, but she still couldn't see anything. She started walking in a random direction. Soon she started running and yelling for someone to help her out of this torture. But nobody was there. Something green flashed in front of her. It was a leaf. The leaf was soaring over her head, despite there being no breeze. The flew away from the gray tabby, so she chased after it. The leaf finally settled and Far was about to catch it...

...

Far shot up, panting. She slowly calmed down. Far stared at nowhere in particular, in shock. Why had she had such a horrible dream? Does it have something to do with me coming back? But I don't remember anything about pitch blackness and an odd leaf...

Far shook her head. She decided she would keep traveling. It was almost dawn anyway. She slowly stood up and began to walk toward the sun. But something interrupted her before long.

Coughing. Incessant coughing. So much coughing that Far's throat began to ache. Eventually, it stopped. Slowly and painfully, it stopped.

Far started on her journey again. The coughing didn't interrupt her again, so she began to think about her dream. What did it mean? Did it even mean anything, or was it just a manifestation of her deepest fears? Far wasn't sure. She didn't want to think about it, so she decided to think about where she could hunt for some prey.

Another bought of coughing overtook her. Her memories swallowed her up again.

Flames, everywhere. There was another cat who looked like her father, but who was he? He looked as if he was trying to save her from the fire. The tree branch she just realized she was standing on bent toward the fire. Suddenly, it snapped and the orange tabby tom looked petrified. Far was falling, falling, falling...

And then Far was back. She felt an aching pain in her stomach. She was so hungry. These dumb fields have no prey! Far decided she would walk a little farther in hopes of finding something to eat. She traveled until the sun went down, but to no avail. Far collapsed in the long grass and went to sleep.

Thankfully, her sleep was dreamless. But her reality was nightmarish.

Far needed water. She needed food. But the gray tabby couldn't find either. Far continued on her journey, but only because she might find water if she continued forward. Her vision was blotchy and she stumbled as she walked, almost tripping multiple times.

Eventually, Far couldn't walk anymore. She was too dehydrated. I should have prepared for this. No, I shouldn't have come at all! This was a mistake, and I knew it, and I knew bad things would happen. I shouldn't have come.

A shadow fell over the gray tabby and she collapsed, hoping it was a cloud. It was definitely not a cloud. Far blacked out before she could see who her kidnapper was.

...

Far opened her eyes groggily. She was still parched, and she was still stuck in the fields, but this time, she was on the back of a large tom. Far could only see his back and ears, but his pelt was mostly sandy-brown.

Far could hardly move. Her white tail was dragging on the ground. She opened her jaws to speak.

"Who... are you?" Far meowed. Her voice sounded rough, and it was painful to speak. The sandy-brown tom did not respond; he just kept on walking. Far passed out again before she could ask anything else.

...

The gray tabby she-cat found herself in a large cave-like den. Her throat was still aching. She didn't have enough strength to lift up her head. She noticed the sandy-brown tom messing with something across from her. Suddenly, he turned around and Far got a good look at him for the first time.

He was a large sandy-brown tom with a darker brown stripe going from his nose down to his back. His left ear was torn to shreds, and his shoulder had a small scar. His chest and underbelly were a lighter shade of his fur color. His eyes were the color of grass; not the grass in the field, real grass. Lush, newly sprung blades of grass.

The tom padded over to her with some dripping wet moss in his mouth. He squeezed as much water as he could into Far's gaping mouth. Far instantly felt better. Not completely alright, but the water soothed her throat. After she had swallowed that and more, she finally spoke.

"Who are you? Why did you take me here? Why are you helping me?" the gray tabby she-cat got all of the questions that had been racing through her mind out into the open. The sandy-brown tom looked at her with his sad green eyes. Then he stared at the floor. Still he didn't answer.

"You need to speak to me!" Far was beginning to get angry now. She tried to get to her feet, but she was still too weak and she flopped to the floor. She snarled at the tom when he went to help her.

Why won't he say anything? And why does he look so pathetic?

The sandy-brown tom turned away from her, but only for a moment. He gently set a large mouse at her feet. Far wanted to turn away his offer of food, but she was too hungry. She ate the mouse in only a few bites.

After she finished it, Far realized she was exhausted. She closed her eyes to sleep.

"You don't have to talk to me today, but I want some answers eventually," Far growled softly. Far let herself drift into sleep. The last thing she remembered was the warmth radiating off of the sandy-brown tom after he curled up beside her.