Dawnkit's Journey

Chapter Two-

Dawn's  jaws parted in a huge yawn. Claw had been gone for a long time now. Dawn's stomach rumbled again, and she sometimes thought she heard a twig snap, or whispers in the bushes. Her mother's scent was becoming a little stale, and the stench of the line was horrible to Dawn. The leaves underneath her body were soft, begging her to fall asleep. So she did.

~+~

Dawn awoke to see the green of the bushes. Her eyes flicked open and closed to brush away the sleep. She yawned as she stretched. Her nose twitched as she sniffed the air. Her mother had not returned. The line seemed more faint. She started to worry. Where is she? Is she okay? Dawn stood up, legs numb from sleep. Her eyes drifted to the sky. A bright blue sky with no clouds and the sun was a quarter way in the sky. Still morning. The bushes shook as Dawn slipped out of the little nest she made. She shook her pelt, and padded along the line, slow from hunger.

The birds tweeted and fluttered above Dawn's head, but she didn't attempt to catch one. It would carry her away. If she comes back, she can find my scent trail. Dawn shrugged. Claw had prepared her if she didn't return. Dawn kept walking until two scent lines crossed paths. She turned, and headed into the place that was trapped by the scents. The place was a deep forest, oak, maple, and a few pine trees everywhere. Little pine needles pricked Dawn's pads, but she kept walking, despite the little trail of blood drops she left behind.

She came to a clearing, with a huge redwood tree in the middle. It reached way up, scratching the sky. Dawn looked at it with awe. Her neck ached at how high she tilted it back. She approached it slowly, and looked for a low branch. It was a tail length above her head. She crouched down, extended her claws, then launched herself up. She caught the branch with her entire paws, and dangled for a moment. Her legs swung up, and she crouched lowly on the branch, tail swishing. She took in her surroundings, scared something might come out and attack her any moment. She stretched her hearing, willing it to reach further. Voices came to her, soft, but close.

"The trail leads to the Sky Tree. Is it a rouge?" A tom's voice drifted to her. She stiffened, and her tail stopped as the bushes she came from shivered. Three cats stepped out. A black tom with golden eyes, a white she-cat with amber eyes, and a brown she-cat with brown eyes. They smelled of the forest, like the scent line. Dawn kept her eyes on the strangers as they approached her tree. Then the white she-cat looked straight at her.