Mosskit Book 2: The Journey

Chapter 15

            "Rise and shine!" Ginger yowled from outside of the burrow. Mosskit lazily opened his eyes. The sun was just rising. Snakekit let out a yawn and stretched as she exited the burrow.
            "Come on, Mosskit! We have to move!" Ginger yowled.
            "Of course," he groaned. He padded out of the burrow. Most of the snow had melted from the previous snowfall. Only a few patches remained. "We walked all day yesterday, Ginger. Why do we have to get up early?"
            "I promised your mother that I would get you to SnowClan on time," Ginger said.
            "But my legs are sore!" he groaned.
            "They'll stop soon. Come on," she said, leading the two deep into the forest.
            "Where are we going today?" Snakekit asked excitedly.
            "We're going to be heading up the hills today. After that, we'll cross over the mountains." Ginger said.
            "I'm never going to rest," Mosskit complained.
            Ginger rolled her eyes.
            The two began to walk in the forest. The forest was silent, except for the chirps of birds. "New-leaf is almost here," Ginger said.
            Mosskit continued walking, but stopped when Snakekit spoke. "I'm really hungry," she said.
            Ginger nodded. "I'll find you the next piece of prey that comes along."
            They continued walking. Mosskit tried to ignore his grumbling belly, but he couldn't. "Ginger, we really need to eat," Mosskit groaned.
            "Patience," she hissed. She stopped, spotting a bird on a nearby bush. She crept silently, not letting her feet make a sound. She jumped, catching the bird in one motion. She laid the dead bird at the paws of the kits.
            "Eat up," she growled.
            Mosskit and Snakekit sat in the woods, eating the bird that Ginger had caught for them.
            "I don't see why I have to catch you food," she said. "You caught that squirrel, Mosskit."
            "That was just a lucky catch," Mosskit said.
            Ginger shook her head. "That thing was larger than you at the time! You could catch prey again. The next prey you see, try to catch it. You too, Snakekit."
            The kits nodded. They finished the bird, leaving the remains behind as they continued walking in the woods.
            "We're almost out of the woods," Ginger said. "It's all grassy hills now."
            Mosskit could tell she was right. The light became brighter in the woods as they edged more forward. Soon enough, they were at the end of the woods. Long, grass hills laid ahead of them.
            "Come on!" Snakekit said, running into the grass.
            Mosskit laughed and followed her. The two ran along in the grass, flicking grass at each other, rolling around, and playing. Laughter came from the two kits as they played.
            Ginger laughed. "I know you kits want to have fun, but we have to continue. You can play later at sunset. If you're not tired."
            "I hope not," Snakekit laughed.
            The two stopped their fun and games and began to walk through the grassy hills. The grass came up to Mosskit's torso, trapping him in the grass.
            A steady wind blew across the fields, making Mosskit's fur fly everywhere. He breathed in the lucious air and continued moving.
            All day they walked through the grassy hills. Occasionally, they would stop to eat, get some water, and rest. All the walking through hills tired the kits.
            At one point of the day, they had seen an adder slithering through the hills. But once again, a mysterious blue light flashed, not as bright this time, and the adder disappeared. Mosskit guessed that it must've gone into a hole.
            As the sun began to set, Snakekit sat down, exhausted. "It's sunset," she begged. "Can we stop now?"
            "I guess," Ginger sighed. The only thing that layed ahead of them was the steep, rocky mountains.
            "I can't believe that we'll have to climb that tomorrow," Mosskit said, sitting down next to Snakekit in the grass.
            Snakekit nodded. "I know."
            "Where will we sleep, Ginger?" Mosskit asked.
            "In the grass," Ginger replied. "There's no other shelter here except some bunny and snake holes. And we all know you can't sleep in those."
            "B-But what about the snakes?" Snakekit said nervously.
            "There will be no snakes," Ginger said. "Trust me."
            "Can we at least eat something before we sleep?" Mosskit asked. The sky was already beginning to turn a dark blue.
            "I don't know if I'll be able to find anything," Ginger said. She got up and padded around, looking for a piece of prey.
            Soon, the stars were out. Ginger returned with one measly mouse. "Share," she said.
            "You need to eat to, Ginger," Mosskit said.
            "You'd be surprised by my appetite," she said. "I'm really not hungry. Go ahead and eat up."
            The mouse wasn't enough to fill the kit's bellies, but it kept them satisfied. Lying in the grass, Snakekit snuggled up next to Mosskit's warm fur. Mosskit smiled and closed his eyes, only feeling the wind rustle his pelt.
            He had odd dreams about returning to SnowClan. He had dreamt that Snakekit was not with him and he was all alone. He dreamt about fighting warriors with another she-cat who was much older than him. Who was this she-cat? Was she a real cat? He awoke to see it was still nighttime. Only this time, he couldn't close his eyes. He was too weirded out by the odd dream that had spurred in his mind.
            "It was just a dream," he whispered. But was it? He began to think that it might be the future. He had to make sure that Snakekit was safe. He didn't want to return without her. Then he thought he was overreacting. Maybe she wasn't there because she didn't think SnowClan was right for her. Still, it was odd.