Spirit's Journey

CHAPTER 43- Storm: Hunting Interception

I rose my head to follow the scent of rabbit, getting stronger as I carried myself sideways down the mountain.

I jumped from a rock down to another one, thinking how critical it was to make this catch.

The little kittens needed to eat, and we ourselves were only running on a mouthful of prey's worth for two days... My paws had been rubbed sore from the rocks but were starting to adjust.

This journey to 'Cheetah Pride' had been proven to be a difficult one from the start, but I was glad I was traveling with a pride now- Even though sometimes they treated me like an outsider.

I couldn't really figure why. I mean, Hannah had started talking to me a bit at first but then latched onto Blaze when he'd shown up... Fallan was in her own world and Spirit wouldn't throw me a second glance. Even Midnight was too busy with Spirit to talk to me that much. I had nobody.

So, it was that; I was treated like a shadow, but it was alright. This is how it had been my whole life anyways- Even as a kit, my mother and father paid attention to my other litter-mates, not me.

I would be fine on my own, I thought, and really believed it. Of course I knew how to live on my own! I was just tagging along with this pride until I found a new territory... Since I couldn't be trusted by any of them.

I wished that Spirit could trust me the most, to be honest, because her trust mattered more than anyone else's. Since she didn't associate with me, it wasn't a wonder why nobody else did. And, I thought, it wouldn't be bad to have her as a friend. I didn't know why she resented me that much.

Was I really so bad?

I figured me and Spirit could get along- I could help her hunt and train the others to fight if she'd let me. I wanted to help the others, and show her I could play a part in the pride, if someone trusted me enough to...

Well, maybe Midnight. Maybe just her. But if I did decide to stay in the pride...

I hope their place is real.

If it was real, I'd imagine Cheetah Pride as a bunch of rolling hills with cheetahs everywhere running about it. But where was the fun in that? It seemed a bit un-natural to me. Cats needed to have their own territory to prowl and protect, otherwise there'd be arguments over prey and space.

I could choose to be alone again, or I could choose to take the chance of not fitting in. Was it better to be alone, or to have company and still feel lonely?

My head felt strained from trying to figure the out.

I bent my legs as I jumped down from another high rock, near the base of the mountain now. I could move around them easier than the others- but I didn't know why. It seemed kind of natural moving around the rocks; thought of course I wasn't a pro at it.

I'd lost a lot of prey just from messing up while running around and over rocks and stones in my way- It was so hard to make a catch, even if you did see any animals...

Anyways, the rabbit scent was strong now. I realized I'd gotten a bit lost in my thoughts, blindly following the trail and now I was probably far from the rest of the pride... But it was all right. This catch would be worth it.

I rounded the stone and came out in front of an out-cropping of rock, casting a long shadow on me. The rabbit scent was making my jaws water here.

I decided this would be a good place to pounce, and peeked out from behind the stone to see a plump brown hard sitting, nibbling on some grass from a crack in the rock.

This would surely give everyone a few tasty mouthfuls of food. I could almost taste in on my tongue already...

I crouched, and wiggled my quarters, getting the perfect position for a perfect pounce...

And pushed my back legs off of the ground, in the air for a momentary second- I could see the rabbit right below me, right in front of my outstretched claws-

"Mrrwowr!"

"Ow!" I winched and moved away from a writhing, crazy biting and scratching body as my head rung.

"Why did you do that!" I spat, angry at the pounding of my head, throbbing pain throughout it.

"You were trying to ruin our hunt!" Another voice hissed. I moved from my half-slumped position and stood up on my legs- They bent under the pain.

There were two bodies in front of me- but they were clearing up. My head still spun but I forced my legs to straighten as their figures came into view.

One was the sandy-colored mountain cat from earlier. The other one was darker tan, and a male just a bit larger than her. He started at me with hatred, and briefly I wondered whether this was their territory or not. Had I crossed their scent line without noticing?

"You're going to pay for that!" Spat the tom, still advancing on me. His mate stepped forward with him.

My fur fluffed out in alarm. They were going to attack me! How could I fight both of them at once, when I had barely eaten the last few days?

"No-Wait! I didn't mean to-"

There was no point in trying to save myself.

The two mountain cats jumped on me and I tumbled backwards, my spine briefly hitting a rock as they bowled me over. I cowered away in pain, fighting off the darkness, as multiple claws and teeth sunk into my body.