Framed Feathers

Chapter 1

   Parrotclaw's gray pelt looked gloomy against the white shoulders as the sun's rays touched them. The she-cat herself opened her green eyes as the warmth. For moments she was confused at where she was, but it all cake rushing back to her as she stretched out as best she could in the hollow tree.
    'Strike... he's still in ThunderClan and Dapplestar is still weak, and Jayfoot has knowledge of all poisons on our territory. He's probably already taken over! Is Ferretclaw okay? Surely he'd at least give her some sort of better treatment. She's expecting his kits after all!' Parrotclaw wasn't convinced by the thought. No, Stroke wouldn't be in charge, it would be Malice. Would Ferretclaw get batter treatment still? What world would her kits grow up in?
  She shook her head. These were questions for another time. Right now, she needed a plan. The gray she-cat leapt out of the tree. Her stomach let out a pang of pain.
    'Can't plan on an empty stomach.'
    Parrotclaw surveyed her surrounding area. It was blocked by white-chipped wooden stakes poking from the ground, and the inside of the garden had a suffocating scent. Lots of plants of various sizes and colors were spread throughout.
    "Hey! Wild cat, what do you think you're doing here?" Another voice, steady but with a tremor, spoke quietly behind her.
  Parrotclaw turned to see the holder of the sound; a fluffy dilute calico she-cat with dazzling mis-matched eyes. One was a jade-green while the other was a pretty amber.
  "I'm Parrotclaw. I came here to seek shelter and food. I wasn't planning on staying. I just needed to get away from some cats who were chasing me down."
  The calico's eyes glimmered with sympathy.
    "Another victim of those Clan cats?" She mewed.
   "Not exactly..." Parrotclaw mewed hesitantly.
    "Oh, well, whoever it was you were another victim of the cruel wild cats." The calico turned to show Parrotclaw a long, jagged scar across her side.
     "How did you get that?" Parrotclaw mewed, adding quickly. "If you don't mind me asking."
    The calico shook her head. "I don't mind. My neighbors ask me enough! I was friends with one of the Clan cats. She taught me to fight some. See, my owner was having a rat problem and I wanted to help- and we went a little too far in and were caught by a group of cats. I think she called it a patrol. They chased me off, but I tripped and one of them got s hit in. Told me it was to 'Make sure I remembered to stay where I belonged'."
  "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know that happened to you," Parrotclaw mewed sympathetically. "What's your name, by the way?"
   "Oh, I'm Sweetblossom," the molly responded.
   "Sweetblossom? That's a nice name." A thought passed through Parrotclaw's mind. Her mother had talked to her about how she had come up with the name 'Parrotkit'. Houndwhisper had mentioned having a Kittypet friend who told her of the creatures. "What... did your trainer look like?"
    "Um... she was a brown tabby. Pretty big in size but skinny as well. She had green eyes.... quite like yours, I'm fact," Sweetblossom described.
     Parrotclaw smiles, though a pang hit her. "That would be my mother."
    Sweetblossom's odd-colored eye's Kit up. "Really! How is she? How many kits did she have? Did she have multiple litters?"
    Parrotclaw was taken aback by the barrage of questions. This cat wanted to know a lot about Houndwhisper. Perhaps they were really close friends?
    "Well... she has two kits, me, Parrotclaw, and my sister Ferretclaw. She's..." Parrotclaw trailed off, eyes glittering with indecision.
   Sweetblossom's eyes darkened. "Go on, finish."
    "She's.... dead. She died only a moon before my... reason to leave. She died a true warrior though, protecting her Clan."
    "That did always seem to be her wish...." Sweetblossom mewed, her eyes glittering with grief. "I do still wish she could have taken by offer and lived with me... my housefolk would have gladly taken her in."
    Parrotclaw draped her tail over the calico's shoulders. "I'm sorry. I hope you can find peace here."
    Sweetblossom looked up at the gray she-cat, newfound determination sparked in her eyes. "What chased you out? Why didn't you have your Clan's support on your side? You don't seem the type to abandon a Clan. If I couldn't help Houndwhisper, then I'll help her kit instead."
    Parrotclaw nodded, impressed with the kittypet's fierce loyalty to her mother and her kin. "A group of cats led by a tom named Malice have taken over my Clan by now, I'm sure. They framed me and got me exiled and then tried to kill me. I made it here before they could catch me, luckily, but my sister is still in the Clan."
    Sweetblossom flicked her long-furred tail. "What do you need? I have fighting skills, bit two cats can't take down a whole Clan. Even if they see Malice is evil, they may be too afraid to defy him."
    Parrotclaw's tail raised. "We may be able to get the other Clans to help."
    Sweetblossom nodded again. "What Clan are we talking about going to first?"
     "Well. ShadowClan is the nearest, so there should be first," Parrotclaw mewed, eyes thoughtful.
     The gray car could have sworn she saw a flash of an upset emotion in Sweetblossom's green-and-amber eyes, but if it were there, it was gone too fast to tell.
    "Well. We better get going then."