Book 4: Sol's Revenge & Whisper's Path

Whisper

I'd been getting funny looks all morning. I woke up as I did every day at dawn, feeling unusually stiff. Flint and Shiver were out and about, I was left to my own devises. But as I meandered around the meeting wall the cats who frequent the area, who know my name, kept doing a double take as I walked by.

"Whisper..." one cat, a she cat called Flicka, said in shock as she noticed me.

"Do I have something on my fur?" I rolled my eyes and continued on my way. What was with everybody today?

I headed towards the ponds, a collection of small pools a ways away from the meeting wall. Maybe I could get some peace there. As I walked my joints felt tight and ached and fast movements. I must've slept wrong. I stopped from a moment to lick my chest, my fur felt matted and unkept. I leaned down to give my silver fur a couple of licks when I noticed white hairs dotting the gray.

I was too young to be going white surely.

I hurried on to the ponds.

When I reached the pools of glassy water I leaned over the edge to see my reflection. The face that look back at me was the face of my father. Old. A white muzzle. Wrinkles that could be made out below my fur.

I backed away from the pond in shock.

What is happening?

I left the ponds, not bothering to hunt. I headed deeper into twoleg place, on my way to the city. I avoided going back to the meeting wall. I kept closely to the South half of the city, Shane's territory. If I ventured up North I'd run into Niko's fela, her she cat gang. I didn't like being in the city for any longer than I had too, it was a dangerous place. But I felt differently today, I felt like taking risks. Something was happening to me, and I didn't know why.

"I'm aging," I said aloud to myself. Just saying the words gave it a sense of realism. I'd been noticing the signs for a few weeks now, but I brushed it off. However when I woke up this morning it was as if I had turned into an elder over night. I could feel it in my bones. This was the work of dark forces. Somehow I knew Sol was to blame.

I wandered the city but danger didn't find me. I took that as a sign to leave, this wasn't my place. I went back to the meeting wall, wondering how I would explain my drastic change in appearance, when I myself didn't know what had happened. I didn't have time to worry about what curse had befallen me because Shiver and Flint suddenly appeared, slightly frantic.

"Come, there's a cat who needs your help," Shiver urged and practically dragged me along. She paused for a moment as she got a good look at my appearance. I wanted to tell her I knew I looekd older, but I pretended not to notice her curious stare. She shook her head and continued along, taking me to the cat.

"A Thunderpath accident?" I asked, my stomach tightening. Cats rarely survived accidents on the Thunderpath. I could only give them a poppy seed to ease their way into the next life.

"No. Worse," Flint murmured. I caught his green eyed stare. "I found her, she's really sick. She came from the dark building."

The dark building. That was a reference to the twoleg structure a ways outside of the city, separated by a small forest. The twolegs would come to twoleg palce every so often and take strays from the streets. We never saw them again. We enetred the meeting wall area. A small white she cat was resting on the moth eaten couch, one of the many pieces of discarded furniture.

"This is Blossompaw," Shiver introduced. "Blossomapw, this is Whisper. He is the friend who can help you."

I crouched next to her and sniffed around her mouth, scenting the sickness. I prodded her stomach and throat, feeling the swelling of warm flesh.