~*Warrior Cats-Family Issues*~

Their Coming

  ~·Lightbreeze·~

(Before Lunar)
  My 'father' is becoming more and more panicked. I don't blame him. Not entirely. It still is his fault though that we are still stuck here! I know for a fact that most cats would love to leave considering what's happening to the forest, but 'father' is stuck on staying here. Normally, people wouldn't see this as a problem. 'Why don't they leave anyway? Its obviously being destroyed. He can stay and die if he wants!' Yeah, good luck convincing these cats to go with you. My 'father' has practically drilled it into their brains that everything is out to get you. I wonder what lies beyond the trees... Well, I kind of do know what lies beyond the trees, but I have never gone there... I am suddenly snapped out of my thoughts by my 'father'. "Are you even listening to me daughter?" Jaggedpeak padded up to walk beside me. God I hate it when he says daughter. "Oh, I was just thinking about the prey shortages." Thank god my mother blessed me with the ability to lie. "Good, we do need to sort that problem out... We could go into the human gathering and see if there are any rats or other small prey..." I could tell that my 'father' was turning this idea over several times in his head. As we walked closer to the Lunar spot, we heard bickering. This did not surprise me. It happened every single time. I wasn't too surprised as to what they were talking about either. My 'fath-you know what, I'm just going to refer to him as my dad. He wants me to call him dad and not 'father' anyways. My dad immediately bares his teeth when he hears what they are talking about. While I calm pad twords the Lunar spot, he rushes in, presumably to scold them all. Although we technically don't have a leader, dad likes to pretend he is in charge. They only let him boss them around because a) they are afraid of him and b) because if they didn't, he would most likely try to fight them, even despite his age. The bickering immediately died down as dad started talking. Well, dad almost never just speaks. He mostly yells or just speaks loudly. I padded to my spot in the Lunar and sat down. I looked around and observed the cats. I forgot there were so many left. I would've never expected so many of us to survive this long considering what's happening. Awww. He just yelled at Ashenslip. I noticed a certain someone also looking at Ashenslip. Slowstorm had a look on his face. His face looked impressive, but his eyes were full of anger. I wonder why... Oh wait. Maybe its because of Dullpaws? I wasn't paying attention and now everyone's staring at me. I look to the side and see my dad stalking back through the undergrowth. That's why everyone was staring at me. That makes sense. I get up and follow my dad out and back the same way we just came not even a minute ago. He's still mumbling to himself about how their all morons. I didn't even listen to what he said or what anybody else said. Now I feel bad. I didn't even look where my paws lead me. All too soon we were back at our lowly camp. Our camp consists of a cave. And that's it. The cave is surrounded by trees, but every spot is, so that's not special. We have no 'fresh kill pile' or whatever you call it. We have no ranks (except for kits. They have to do what we say. Usually they do it), we have no 'clans'. Heck, you'll be lucky if anyone even wants to talk to you outside Lunar time. Heh, Lunar time. Dad gives a very loud, very annoyed sigh and lays down on his moss patch in the cave. He did approve of them at first, but their too comfortable to ignore.  I sit down for a moment before I get right back up. "I'm going hunting father." "Alright, be back before the bright orb comes up or I will tell at you (the sun)." I bound back out of camp. I would normally be ready to collapse at this point because I'm so tired, but I over slept this morning some how. I was aimlessly walking through the woods when I spotted movement in the grass. I instinctively crouch down and ready myself. A head pokes up and quickly looks around. Huh. Its a squirrel. That's a sight for sore eyes. I pounce with out stretched claws and land right on top of the squirrel. I think the sheer impact of my paws on its neck killed it. I broke its neck even more to be sure. I picked up the squirrel and looked around. I didn't recognize this place at first but now I do. I'm on the outskirts of the territory. I'm not that close to the human gathering place, but I can see it. I turn to go back, but my curiosity gets the best of me. I turn right back around and pad to the edge of the forest. There are... I don't even know what to call them.... Their like giant, and I mean giant, squares with a slanted top.

They look much nicer than my cave.

Oh my god, what am I thinking?! Humans are cruel and only care about you until they get bored and then leave you for dead! At least that's what happened to all of the ex human pets in these woods. Oh diddly darn dang it I think one of them saw me because a sudden loud roaring filled the air. I don't know about you, but I was gone. I bolted back into the forest. Unfortunately for me, they were also headed for the forest. They held the loud roaring things and walked up to the trees. They started to cut the trees. I stood transfixed, which is never a good idea, and looked at the humans cutting down the trees. They had other things too. Big yellow things that held the trees fast like they were going to run away or something. Then the trees were gone. They took trees left and right, one by one, and there was nothing I could do. I ran. You would've thought than I would've sooner but no, I had to watch them take over our home. I burst back into my- I mean- our camp breathless. My dad walked out of the cave to ask me what was wrong. I don't like telling him stuff, but this is important, so I might as well. I could still hear the roaring in the distance. Or maybe that was just my ears playing tricks. When my dad spoke, he wasn't scolding me for once. "Why, back in my days this forest stretched on forever. You would not believe it. It seemed endless. There were no prey shortages, there were no humans around, and there certainly no one that was suffering. The kits would run around and play while us older folk would laugh at how carefree they were. Then They showed up. It was like they appeared out of thin air. They took so many of us. They told us to be strong for them. It was... It was hard seeing them go. Despite all our hardships though, we are still here. We are still strong for them." Jagged looked up at me and his eyes held sadness in them. "Who are you and what did you do to my father." He chuckled, something he had not done in a long time. He turned his back on me. "I-I think I have finally opened my eyes and have seen the damage done to the forest. I am sorry to have taken so long for me to see." His voice shook as he said these words. "Seriously, what happened to you? I thought you didn't want to leave? Why are you-". He cut me off with a wave of his paw. "I wanted to stay because I felt obligated to. This is where my ancestors lived, so its where I should live too. Although, its not where you should live. You and all the cats here deserve a better place. They would hate me for keeping you here to die. Like a lamb to slaughter. We will leave next Lunar at the lastest. I do doubt we will have enough forest to survive until then, but we do need to get our rest." I stood in shocked silence. This was happening was too fast for my taste. Why does he suddenly just want to up and leave? I know he told me his answer, but I don't know if I believe it... I am seriously concerned because he would not have said those things back at the Lunar that was just two hours ago. I hope he is alright... Dad started to pad twords his moss pile before turning to me and said "That's a pretty nice squirrel you caught. Don't let it go to waste." Okay, now I'm panicking.

~·Jaggedpeaks POV·~

-In the dream-

  I was walking around in a familiar place. I couldn't tell where, but being here felt... It just felt right, I don't know. There were tall trees and bushes scattered around but it didn't look overgrown. I heard laughter and voices up ahead. I picked up my pace, wanting to know who was so happy at a time like this. As my paws stepped out into a small clearing, faces turned twords me. I felt a little bad for intruding, but my curiosity was too strong. A light grey cat walked cautiously up to me. I recognized that face immediately. It was my daughter, Lightbreeze, who stood before me. "I'm sorry but who are you?" She questioned. I was startled by her question. Surely she remembers her own dad. "I'm Jaggedpeak, your dad, remember?" Her eyes suddenly lit up. "Oh yes! I do remember! Its been so long, I hardly remembered your face!" She was ecstatic. It made me feel happy. It was nice. A strange cat appeared at my side. "Nice, isn't it?" The cat spoke quietly yet clearly. "Too bad its not where you are now..." The ground shook and trembled beneath my paws. The ground, which had been a sort of green color, turned red and cracked as the trees bent and revealed themselves to be humans with their loud machines. They attacked everyone in sight. I tried to move but I couldn't. I watched as the cats tried to flee but were pulled back so effortlessly. I watched them struggle to get free. I watched them die. I watched my daughter be killed and couldn't do anything about it. The cat that appeared by my side sat and watched it all happen. They turned to me. "Just food for thought."

  I woke up shaking and breathing hard. I shook my fur vigorously to get it to lie flat. I sat up and thought about that weird dream. It seemed so real it was unnerving. I sat up and stared fixedly at the ground thinking. The cat had said something... Nice... Its not where you are now... The peaceful trees... The humans... The comfortableness about it... It was unfamiliar... I hate my ancestors so much.

We are going to have to move wether I like it or not.

(Almost 2000 words)