Spirit's Journey

CHAPTER 25- Spirit: Letting Go

"Keep low," I whispered, putting my tail on Midnight's back and pushing it down so that she was fully flattened against the ground.

"Now pull in your legs some more, to give your pounce extra strength."

The black kitten did as she was told, narrowing her eyes.

"Now... go!" Midnight sprang into the air, and I couldn't help but admire the perfection of the pounce. The small black bird that had been trying to yank a worm out of the ground flew up with an alarm call but was quickly cut off as Midnight brought down a paw on it's body and pinned it to the ground.

"Good job," I padded up as she gave a swift nip to it's neck. But when she sat up, she looked disapointed.

"Yeah, but it's a measle haul. We haven't caught anything else. Prey is so scarce out here!"

I nodded, and could understand why, too.

There wasn't any undergrowth for protection, no source of water besides dirty puddles, and nothing for plant-eaters to survive on.

"Yes, well, it's better to have one crow than no crow," I said tiredly.

My paws were starting to wear me down. Well, more than they already had been, you know.

"We still have a couple of minutes left. It might be possible to find something else."

"Okay," I muttered in reply, trying to push away the sleepiness.

As we continued on, it turned out we couldn't spot or scent any signs of prey. I found myself tasting the air multiple times but it was empty. The sooner we made it to a forest or a grassland or something, the better. But for now all we had to show was a skinny crow.

"Come on, let's head back. There's nothing here," I said, feeling miserable that our time was now up and we barely had anything to show.

How were we supposed to last the next day (or days) out here with no food?

Midnight was an excellent hunter yet she'd only caught one bird, and I had nothing to show for myself. I flattened my ears, frowning. I should've been the one to catch something, and bigger so that it could feed everyone in my pride. Now, I felt bad.

"What's wrong?"

I ignored Midnight's question for a moment before muttering uncertainly around the measley prey.

"Nothing..." Really, I was fine. Or so I told myself that... It was just all of these worries that clouded my brain and... Okay, maybe I wasn't fine.

Midnight was smart enough to know, though, thankfully. But it still embarrassed me.

"No, you're not fine. Tell me what's wrong." I looked away, uncertain of what was building up in my chest, trying to push it away. But it kept clawing and tearing it's way through, making my eyes sting.

It wasn't like she would understand- she was just a kit right now.

The world had turned against me- everything that could gone wrong, had. And I had no control over it- how would I feel if Diamond died because I couldn't provide for her? How would I feel if the same thing happened to Fallan, Hannah or even Midnight?

"I'm not moving until you tell me, if that's the only thing that will get you to speak."

She stopped in her tracks stubbornly and I muffled a growl of frustration, stopping as well.

I turned to look at her, feeling a lot older than I really was and choosing to let my feelings go for once. To let them out, to be heard.

"How am I supposed to keep all of these cats safe? How am I supposed to provide for them when I can barely support myself?"