Hope ✓

Chapter Four

I awoke to a weird light. I was laying on something soft, but it wasn't anything I recognized. I sniffed it and wrinkled my nose when I smelled a strong scent of twolegs. In fact, almost all I could smell was twoleg scent.

I examined my left forepaw. It was wrapped in something white and soft. When I tested it on the ground, I noticed it didn't hurt as much. But, why would a twoleg heal me?

The ground started to shake and the male twoleg walked into the den. I hissed at it and backed away. I puffed up my fur to make it bigger.

"Get away from me!" I hissed.

The twoleg smiled at me and opened something only he could reach. Cool air seemed to come through it. The twoleg then put it in something else.

Still wary, I stopped hissing and watched with curiosity.

I jumped when the thing made a sound. The twoleg took the something out and set it down in front of me. It smelled like . . . freshkill? How? What kind of freshkill was it?

I waited for the twoleg to walk away before I cautiously walked up to the "freshkill." My stomach growled, I couldn't remember the last time I had eaten. So I took a small bite of the meat. It tasted and smelled of twolegs, but it tasted fresh, more or less.

Before I knew it I had eaten the entire thing. I then groomed myself and looked around, taking in my surroundings.

The light I saw was definitely not the sun, that was for sure. It was too dull to be the sun. I jumped up onto a ledge and saw something. It lead to outside! So I walked over to it, but hit something. What was blocking my way? Why could I not go outside?

After a few times of trying, I sighed. It was no use, I was never going to see the blue sky or breathe the fresh air again. I was going to die in this twoleg den.

All day, I paced the hard, cold ground. I needed to find a way out, I couldn't just do nothing. When the light outside was starting to fade, I heard the twoleg approaching again. I ducked behind something and narrowed my eyes at the twoleg.

Following the twoleg, was a cream and white she-cat. Something around her neck jingled and I realized it was a kittypet. The twoleg grabbed something before leaving, the kittypet looking at me.

"What do you want?" I asked defensively.

The kittypet looked surprised. "You shouldn't be scared, you know. He's just trying to help you. He knew your paw was hurt bad, so he fixed it up for you."

"Why in the name of Starclan would a twoleg help cats?" I asked, not letting my guard down.

"That's just what he does. Not all twolegs are bad, you know." The kittypet started to approach me.

I sat down but my eyes narrowed. "Tell me your name." I said.

"Bella. I don't belong to this twoleg, but I often like coming here. He gives me food and I get to help the cats that get brought in here. What's your name?" The she-cat answered.

"Lavenderpaw." I answered and sat down, beginning to calm down. I realized there was nothing harmful about Bella, if anything she could be helpful.

"Do you know if any big groups of cats live nearby?" I asked, hoping it was the twolegplace near the clan territories.

Unfortunately, Bella shook her head. "Sorry, I don't know of any groups around here. Do you live in one?"

I nodded sadly. "Shadeclan is where I live. I need to get back to them." I said.

"Well, I can't bring you to Shadeclan, but-"

The twoleg walked in, breaking Bella off. She smiled at the huge creature and it stroked her. I wrinkled my nose in disgust. How could a cat stand that?

The twoleg bent down and set down something filled with water. It then walked out without even reaching for me.

I crept forward and sniffed at the water. Ugh, of course. It smelled especially of twoleg.

"Don't worry, it's not poisoned." Bella said with a smile. "I drink it all the time."

I lapped gingerly at the water, drinking only as much as I needed. "Ugh, I'd rather drink out of a mud puddle. Isn't there a stream nearby?" I asked.

Bella nodded. "But you aren't allowed out of the den yet, sorry. The twoleg won't let you out until your paw heals. Besides, aren't you a little young to be on your own?"

I narrowed my eyes. "I'm six and a half moons old, thank you very much."

"Exactly. You need someone like me to help you. I could try to convince the twoleg to let you out, but you would have to cooperate with me." Bella said.

I sighed. "Fine, but only if you promise it'll result in me back outside."

I leaped back up onto the ledge and gazed out the invisible wall. I placed a paw on it, wishing I could move it.

"It will, don't worry. Oh, and the window doesn't open. At least, the twoleg doesn't ever open it. I think it's just there to see outside." Bella said and leaped up to sit beside me.

I didn't answer. Instead, all I could think about was Shadeclan. Home. The clan would be settling down to sleep right now. Pinepaw and Cloverpaw were probably worrying about me. Did they tell Lionstar? Did the leader send out search patrols?

I looked up at the moon as it slowly rose. I would've gone to my first gathering tomorrow. Why didn't I just listen to Skybranch when she told me to go back to camp? Tears came to my eyes as my mentor came to mind. She must blame herself for not convincing me enough to return to camp.

Bella rested her tail comfortingly on me. "Everyone who comes in here has a story. I've never heard one involving a clan. I wish I could help you return to them. A young cat like you needs to be surrounded by her family, not by strange surroundings." She said wistfully.

"You sound like you know a thing or two about that." I responded.

Bella sighed. "I had a litter of kits, a season or two back. They would be about your age now. The twolegs have a rule, though. Once your kits are old enough, they go off to new twolegs."

I looked up at her in surprise. "Really? But that's terrible! Why would they take kits away from their mother?"

Bella shrugged. "They must not want all those cats in their den." She said.

I looked out the window, thinking of Willowmist. She would be frantic, I was sure. Barely out of the nursery, and taken by a twoleg.

We said nothing else as we gazed out the window. I wished I could see the stars, but I could barely see the other twoleg dens. I could only just see the moon. Does Starclan even walk these skies? I knew the answer, and felt farther away from home than ever.

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//Word count: 1203//