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Post by Maplestone360 on Aug 10, 2016 13:46:33 GMT -5
Prologue It was a sunny autumn morning. A cool breeze rustled the branches of a forest, and a cute little house stood on the outskirts of a small neighborhood. All was calm. That’s how it felt at least, but really, my life was about to change forever. My story began just like any other housecat’s would, but in a way was more different than ever. Let me tell you my story.
. . .
Ariana gazed out an open window, watching the beautifully colored leaves flowing like water, and the birds that flew by on their endless journey to the south where they’d spend the winter. Her dappled tortoiseshell fur ruffled in the breeze, and her blue eyes shone with wonder. Autumn was Ariana’s favorite season, not only because of the beauty and peaceful weather, but also because she was born at that time of year. That day was her birthday in fact. Now, she was finally two years old. She longed to share the good news with her friends. Ariana leaped down from her spot by the window, and the golden tag that, which had her name engraved in it, hung from her smooth black collar jingled. The pretty she-cat padded down the hall of her home and headed for the cat-flap in the front door. As she emerged to the outside world, a sudden wisp of cold air welcomed her. Ariana embraced the air and purred. “Oh, how great it is to feel a crisp fall breeze!” she exclaimed. Suddenly a she-cat’s mew sounded behind her. “I agree, the weather today is quite fine.” Ariana whipped around. “Good morning, Fiona!” she meowed with a smile as she recognized the familiar gray she-cat, who was sitting on the fence that divided their two homes. “And to you too,” Fiona replied coolly. A few heartbeats later a handsome ginger tom emerged from the same house Fiona lived in. “What are you two girls doing on such a nice day like this?” the young cat mewed as he strutted towards the she-cats. “Hi, Oliver!” Ariana greeted with a purr, while Fiona rolled her eyes at the tom. As Oliver leapt onto the fence post next to Fiona’s, the gray she-cat cleared her throat loudly. “Oh yeah! Happy birthday, Ariana!” Oliver mewed as he remembered the day. “Thanks!” Ariana purred. Just as Oliver had begun gazing into Ariana’s eyes, Ariana heard her owner call her inside. “Ariana! Here kitty!” “I gotta go,” Ariana mewed sheepishly. “See you around!” “Bye!” Oliver waved his tail as Ariana bounded away, and she disappeared around the corner just in time to miss Oliver get a cuff around the ear from Fiona. What a great start to a new season! Ariana thought to herself happily as she stepped through the cat-flap. After all, it is my birthday! What could go wrong? Chapter 1 VRRMMMMM… A few days had past, and Ariana was awoken from her spot, curled up on a bed, by an almost deafening noise. The tortoiseshell she-cat peeked an eye open and lashed her tail furiously. There it is AGAIN! She grumbled inwardly. Ariana stretched, leapt down from the bed, and padded down the stairs from the second floor to the first. She saw her owner cleaning the floors with… a vacuum. The third time today! she complained as she leapt the last steps and stormed towards the kitchen where her owner was cleaning. “Hey, you!” Ariana called to the vacuum. “Could you shut it already?! Your singing stinks and I’m trying to sleep!” She grumbled as she knew that of previous tries, the strange creature probably couldn’t understand her. But Ariana’s efforts seemed to work. The she-cat’s owner had a satisfied look on her face as she shut down the machine, seemingly done cleaning the floors. Finally... Ariana sniffed. But her owner wasn’t completely done, as she proceeded to dust, wipe and shine the kitchen and the rooms around it. “Hey, what are you doing anyway?” Ariana asked aloud, curious. Her owner seemed genuinely happy for some reason, happier than the time she received Ariana as a Christmas gift from another human, which made Ariana jealous. After watching her owner clean their house until it looked spotless, Ariana felt extremely bored and anxious. From thinking her day couldn’t get any more boring, with not even having enough sleep, Ariana jumped as suddenly... the doorbell rang.
At once, out of instinct, Ariana dashed towards the front door and through the cat-flap, to see that standing outside her house, was someone awfully familiar. The tortoiseshell cat looked up at the human who seemed to have a close relationship with her owner and had given Ariana to her as a gift. As if right on schedule, her owner came running to the door and opened it, and not stopping until she was in the other human’s arms. She then led him inside the house, and towards the living area where they exploded to blabbering to each other about seemingly random things. Ariana looked on, confused. She had never seen her owner do… this before. As she padded slowly towards the odd couple, and tried to communicate with them, the humans just simply ignored her. But the way they acted around each other... sort of reminded her of how Oliver acted around her. What is going on here…? she wondered warily. Then she noticed something: that both her owner and the other human were clothed particularly nicely, and as they both moved towards the door again, something sparkled on her owner’s hand in the sun sweeping through the window… a ring.
Oh no... How did I not see this coming? Ariana asked herself, growing frantic. She could expect what happened next as her human swiftly packed a few things in a tote, some of which seemed pearly white and delicately laced... and started walking out the door… “No! Don’t leave!” Ariana meowed as the other human began to close the door behind him. She wouldn’t leave me, would she? the torti’s mind screamed at her as she dashed towards the door to follow them, only to have it shut in her face. Ariana slammed into the door with a mrrow of pain, shook her head swiftly, and proceeded through the cat-flap. But by then she was already too late. Her owner had climbed into a large machine... a truck... and it was backing away from the house slowly. “NO! Where are you going?!” Ariana screeched as she sprinted to her fence by the road, but she knew it was no use. Her owner was gone. Ariana watched the truck slowly disappear from her neighborhood, tears filling her eyes.
I can’t believe she just… left...
Chapter 2 Ariana lay sullenly on the porch of her house, staring at the place where she last saw her owner. Dark clouds lumbered on the horizon, promising rain. It had been a whole day since her human left, and Ariana was heartbroken and confused. She’s never been gone this long before, the torti thought. I don’t know what to do! Has she… abandoned me? “Don’t worry, Ariana. Everything’s going to be alright. I’m sure your owner will come back,” Oliver mewed from his side of the fence. But Ariana just ignored him and stared at her paws.
She didn’t look up from her spot on the wooden patio until she heard the gate of the fence opening. Ariana perked up her ears, hoping to see her owner returning finally, but instead saw the lone figure of the human who lived down the street. He wasn’t quite an appealing sight: he looked plump and unkempt, with mismatched clothing and a beanie that hardly covered his long unibrow. Ariana was not happy to see this human. “Hello there, little cat…” the human rumbled, shaking the tin of cat food in his big hands. Ariana assumed that he had come to feed her. But she didn’t like it. Hold on a minute, my owner runs off with some ‘significant other’ and sends the weird guy from across the street to feed me?! The human reached down to pet her. “Hello...” he cooed. I don’t think so, tubby!
“DON’T touch me!” Ariana hissed when the human didn’t stop.
“Ariana…” Oliver mewed disapprovingly from the fence. “I don’t think you should—”
“NO! Leave me alone!” Ariana interrupted.
Suddenly, all the stress, confusion, and pain she’d experienced the last few days came flooding back to Ariana in a rush, overwhelming her with the numbness of sorrow all over again, and she felt her mind couldn’t take it. The loud sound of thunder filling the air didn’t help either. It’s all too much to handle…! Ariana’s mind screamed. “I can’t take it anymore!” she cried, giving in. Ariana leapt up from her spot on the ground, and dashed toward the fence, trying to get away from… everything.
“Cat?” the human said, confused, just as Oliver cried out, “Wait!” But Ariana had already scaled the fence, and was sprinting down the road, away from the comfort of her home. She could just make out Oliver’s helpless cry: “STOP!” as she disappeared out of sight.
. . .
It had begun to rain. The skies were opened, and Ariana was now drenched from head to tail. She sat next to one of her distant neighbor’s gardens, and was shivering with not only cold, but fear of being so far from home. But she wasn’t alone. A large shadow suddenly loomed over Ariana. “Wha...?” she mewed to herself, and slowly looked up to the figure. It was a huge dog, and it was growling with hunger and didn’t look at all friendly. “Oh... Is this your yard? I had no idea...” Ariana mewed nervously, not making any sudden moves. But the dog didn’t fall for the trick. "Rrowff! Rrowff! Rrowff!" it barked loudly and lunged at Ariana. With a screech of fear, Ariana leaped away from the dog and sprinted away.
Ariana looked back. The dog was pursuing her, still barking, and was close on her tail. Just keep running... hah... hah... hah... Holy sugar cubes, he’s fast! The rain was now pouring down on Ariana, threatening to stop her. But unfortunately for her, the dog’s sleek pelt had no effect from the rain. Growing tired, Ariana frantically looked for a way to escape, and saw an alleyway between two houses. The heavy rain blurring her vision, Ariana mistook it as a way out. So she dashed into the alley, but soon regretted her decision. She skidded to a halt in front of a wide dumpster blocking the way. Oops! They HAD to put a dumpster THERE?! she grumbled inwardly. There was no escape. The dog had closed in on Ariana, growling and drooling with delight. Ariana trembled with fear, and closed her eyes, expecting the dog to rip her to sheds. But nothing came. Ariana slowly opened her eyes, confused, just in time to see… three cats coming to her rescue. One of them, a gray she-cat, leaped onto the dog, claws unsheathed, with a loud MEEEEOOOOW. Another, a silver and white tabby, dashed Ariana’s direction. “Stand back!” she mewed, standing in front of Ariana, claws out, ready to protect her. The last one, a little light gray tom, stood tense and watched. “What’s going on?” Ariana asked the silver she-cat who she was cowering behind. “Just stand back, okay?” the cat responded without looking back, and quickly changed the subject. “Pond!” she meowed to the small tom who was watching. “What are you waiting for? Go back and tell the others!” Ariana watched on as the tom named Pond raced off, and the dark gray she-cat skillfully fought off the dog single pawed.
Soon, the dog looked like it’d had enough. It threw the she-cat off of him, backed away, and growled with defeat. “Go away! Leave us alone!” the gray cat who’d fought the dog hissed.
The dog snarled, turned, and left the cats to be alone. Ariana let out a breath she hadn’t known she’d been holding. “Y-you saved me!” she stuttered in astonishment to the cats surrounding her. “Who are you, kid?” the dark gray cat sniffed. “My name’s Ariana…” the torti replied, not saying any more.
“I’m Lily, and this is Berga,” the silver and white cat mewed, pointing to herself then to the dark gray she-cat with her tail. “Let’s get you back to where you belong,” Berga meowed, turning away from the others to pad away.
Ariana’s face fell. She certainly didn’t want to be taken back! After all that had happened…
“What’s wrong?” Lily asked, seeing Ariana’s crestfallen expression. “It’s just that… my human left…” Ariana sighed miserably.
“We don’t want to be involved in your personal stuff. C’mon,” Berga meowed harshly. Ariana couldn’t help but cry out. “Please don’t take me back there!” Lily looked at Ariana with sympathy, and then her face lit up, as if she’d had an idea. “How about we take her with us?” she asked Berga. Berga looked as if she disapproved. “Pleeeease?” Lily begged, making a cute face.
“Fine,” Berga gave in. “Just don’t tell any of your kitty friends where we live,” she instructed to Ariana. “It’s classified.” Chapter 3 “Classified, huh?” Ariana asked Lily curiously. The three she-cats were headed to the mysterious meeting place in the woods, and the torti just had to let it out. By now the rain had been reduced to a trickle, and the sun was peeking out of the clouds once more.
“Yes,” Lily replied. “We live in what’s called a colony, a group of cats. Not many others know about us, only those who are fortunate enough to catch a glimpse of one of us on a patrol.”
Colony...? Patrol? Ariana thought to herself, getting lost. And who’s ‘us’? She figured that when they got to wherever they were going, her many questions would be answered.
Ariana hadn’t been nervous at first, but now she began to doubt her decision as the cats padded out of her familiar neighborhood. The street veered off to merge into a bigger road, but the cats went the opposite direction, straight to the edge of the forest.
Ariana looked up at the huge trees looming in front of her, and gulped. She had always stared into the forest from an open window, wondering what it’d be like to go there, but she’d never gotten this close. But Berga and Lily had already disappeared into the undergrowth.
“Coming?” Lily’s head poked back out of the ferns.
“Yeah...” Ariana replied, taking a deep breath, and following Lily into the woods.
The forest wasn’t as bad as Ariana thought it would be. She got used to the trees towering over her: it actually felt safe and comforting. Small birds flitted through the branches, and the leaves were of crimson, orange, and bright yellow. Ariana let out a deep breath, relieved.
After taking many twists and turns, the cats reached the heart of the forest. Here, the underbrush grew much more densely. Ariana wondered why, but her thoughts were interrupted as suddenly Berga and Lily disappeared into the brambles. What in the world… her mind protested, but Ariana had no choice but to follow them.
Careful not to get thorns stuck in her pelt, Ariana maneuvered her way through the brush, until finally she stepped out into open space. She saw Berga and Lily already waiting, and smiled nervously.
“Here it is,” Lily mewed contentedly. “Our home.”
“WOW!” Ariana exclaimed in astonishment.
A large clearing stood before her, with a huge oak off to one side. Brambles surrounded it making a wall of protection. An endless mountain range could be seen far beyond the forest, outlined against the sky. There were dens on the edge of the camp made from some of the brambles for cats to sleep in, and even a pile of prey near the center. But the most amazing thing of all was all the cats, at least thirty, mingling, doing daily duties, and chatting.
“Pretty great, huh?” Lily mewed with a smile.
“Yeah..” Ariana replied, still breath-taken.
“C’mon! I’ll show you around!” Lily meowed happily, beginning to pad into the clearing. Ariana jumped up excitedly and followed Lily, then looked back to see if Berga was coming, but the dark gray she-cat hadn’t waited for the two, and had padded off. She’d probably gone to get her wounds from the dog looked at.
Ariana shrugged, and padded the rest of the way into the camp. She looked around, excitedly taking in all the sights. There were cats talking, kittens playing, and others snoozing all around her. At first she felt a little nervous with all these other cats, but she knew that she’d get used to it eventually.
“Here, we cats live a very restricted life, in order to survive the wild,” Lily began. “We get our jobs done a certain way: each cat has his own rank that suits his talents and abilities, and we don’t protest, because our leader is the one to choose what we’ll do for our lives.”
Ariana had some doubts. That seems a little unfair… what if someone doesn’t like the role they’ve been assigned to? But when she looked upon a cat sitting on a root of the Great Oak, and his stature made him look like the leader, she knew she wouldn’t want to protest either!
Lily went on about how there were three important ranks, called the Hunters, Fighters, and Runners. Hunters provided food for everyone, Fighters fought to protect the colony, and Runners basically reported dangers and news to their official. This is quite a lot to take in… Ariana thought to herself.
After Lily had shown Ariana whose den belonged to who, a pitch black tom seemed to notice them chatting and padded up to confront them. Oh no… Ariana fretted, while Lily didn’t seem to notice.
“Could you please stop babbling and get on to something useful?” the tom ordered Lily with a glare from his green eyes, and in a way that made Ariana assume that he was probably quite important.
“Yes sir!” Lily replied warily as the tom nodded and turned away, not before he shot Ariana a glance of question, as if demanding who she were.
Lily gave a flick of her tail to motion Ariana to come. As she obeyed and followed, she couldn’t help but ask, “What’s up with him?”
“Oh, Coal? He’s just still mourning the fact that his mate left the colony years ago! It's made him cranky!” Lily replied with a laugh. “Apparently her name’s changed to Bobbi now, whatever that means.”
“Bobbi? I know her!” Ariana mewed when she heard the name of the little gray tabby that lived down the street.
“You do? How is she?” Coal came dashing back over when he heard his former mate’s name, demanding to know how she was doing. But before Ariana could give an answer, a large ginger tom, the same one Ariana saw earlier, came padding over.
“What is going on here?” he asked, his eyes narrowed.
“Oh, Flame, this is Ariana,” Lily said nervously, pointing her tail to the tortoiseshell she-cat. “Berga and I found her in the neighborhood. The dog was about to finish her off!”
“So you brought her here?” Flame questioned.
“Was that alright? She needed a place to rest. She was… lost.” Lily had stretched the truth on the last part.
Ariana looked on, anxiously waiting to see if Flame would let her stay.
“It’s alright. She can stay as long as she doesn’t get in the way of our lives,” Flame meowed.
“Yes sir.” Lily bowed her head respectfully and dashed off.
Ariana turned to follow Lily but whipped around again as she felt a tail touch to her shoulder.
“And Ariana, welcome to the Colony,” Flame purred.
Ariana nodded to Flame, and turned around swiftly to follow Lily. She then noticed that she had been blushing. She struggled to mask her pink face, but had to look back at Flame before padding away and smiled sheepishly.
“Coming?” Lily called from behind her.
“Yes,” Ariana mewed, and turned to pad after Lily, still blushing.
Chapter 4 This has been one of the most exciting days of my life. Ariana thought as she sat in one of the bramble dens, cleaning herself. There’s so much to remember, and yet so much to learn. The tortoiseshell brought up her hind leg to scratch her ear.
“Hey, Ariana! C’mon out!” Lily called from out in the clearing.
Ariana pushed through the entrance to the den, and saw Lily sitting, waiting for her. All around her, cats were sharing prey and chatting, and the sun was sinking behind the trees.
Lily padded over to Ariana and dropped something triangular and crumbly at her paws. “Here. You must be hungry,” she meowed.
The strange object splattered as it landed front of Ariana. “Ewww! Gross!” she hissed in disgust. “What is that?!”
“I believe humans call it pizza.” Lily replied, a sly grin on her face that dared Ariana to try it.
“I am not eating that!” Ariana protested.
“Suit yourself.” Lily smiled, and bent her head down to dig in to the mouse she’d brought for herself.
Ariana’s stomach grumbled in protest, reminding her that she hadn’t eaten since the day before. Well… I am kind of hungry… she reasoned, giving in.
“Fine. I’ll take it.” Ariana mewed, scowling at Lily.
Lily looked up from her mouse, triumph gleaming in her bright blue eyes, and pushed the pizza toward Ariana with her paw.
Hesitantly, Ariana bent her head and took a mouthful off the pizza, distaste gleaming in her eyes. She chewed slowly and finally swallowed. Then she realized something: it wasn’t all that bad. “This is actually really good!” she mewed with surprise.
“See what you’ve been missing?” Lily laughed, and returned to her mouse.
“Mmn hmn!” Ariana agreed, licking her lips.
. . .
The sun had set. Cats were finishing their meals, and heading off to their nests, yawning. Lily and Ariana were lying in the grass, enjoying the cool of the night. Ariana gazed up at the sky, seeing stars twinkling like jewels tossed across the indigo depths. She’d never glimpsed anything quite as beautiful.
“My mother and I used to do this every night,” Lily sighed. “We would just look up at the stars… never worrying about what might happen tomorrow…”
Seeing Lily’s serious face, Ariana decided that right then was a good time to thank her. She took a deep breath. “Hey,” she began, glad to see Lily look down at her. “Thanks for saving my life back there.” Ariana mewed, gratitude shining in her eyes.
“No problem!” Lily smiled.
Ariana and Lily stared at each other for a few awkward heartbeats, unsure what else to say. Finally, Lilly broke the silence. “Hmmpf…” the silver tabby grunted as she rose from her spot in the grass and stretched her cramped muscles. “I’ll make you a place to sleep,” she mewed to Ariana before padding away towards the dens.
“Okay. Thank you,” Ariana mewed thanks to Lily before she disappeared into one of the bramble bushes.
Ariana sighed contentedly. I can’t believe I never even knew about this place!
. . .
“So if you want to catch a mouse, two of the most important things to learn are patience and stealth.”
A day had passed since when Ariana first found the Colony, and Lily had taken her into the forest on a hunting lesson with a cat named Alder. The golden brown tabby tom was now teaching her how to catch prey.
“…And you have to know how to stalk,” Alder instructed, his yellow eyes gleaming.
“Like this,” Lily mewed from her spot beside Ariana, demonstrating a perfect hunter’s crouch.
Ariana dropped down, doing her best to copy Lily’s crouch.
“Not bad,” Lily meowed with approval.
. . .
“What’s this place?” Ariana asked. Later in the day, Lily had taken her to a place with no trees, just tall grass and flowers.
“It’s the Meadow,” Lily replied, gazing around her at the butterflies flitting around and the rabbit or two munching on the clovers.
In the middle of the meadow, stood a huge, twisted willow, and as Ariana’s eyes laid on it she gasped with awe. “Wow! That’s one of the biggest and weirdest trees I’ve ever seen!”
. . .
“We Hunters gotta know the trick to scavenging.” The next day, Lily’s mew was muffled, as her face was half buried in a trash can deep in one of the neighborhood alleyways. “This is where you find plenty of food.”
“Yuck!” Ariana protested, finding it unappealing to go searching through the garbage.
“You gotta know, Ariana,” Lily meowed through a chicken leg she’d found, “this stuff is way better than any old cat-food!”
. . .
“…and he was just stuck in that trash can, and we had to take like six cats to pull him out!” Lily relayed to Ariana.
“Hahahahaha!” Ariana laughed.
. . .
“Know how to climb a tree?” Lily asked, her claws in the bark of an oak.
“No, I’ve never really tried.” Ariana replied.
“C’mon! It’s easy!” Lily mewed, dragging herself to the first branch to wait for Ariana.
Ariana padded forward and dug her claws into the bark of the tree. Slowly, she hauled herself up to the first branch, then the second, then the third, but suddenly she slipped. Ariana let out a mrrow of fear and surprise.
Before Ariana could fall, fast as lightning, Lily darted a paw down from her spot on the tree, grabbed hold of Ariana’s slipping paw, and pulled her back up. The two then burst into laughing, nervous and relieved.
. . .
“Wow…” Ariana mewed, sitting next to Lily on a riverbank, watching the sun set. “This place is amazing.” She turned to face Lily. “And with you guys, this has been the best week of my life."
Lily looked Ariana in the eye. “How long do you think you’ll be staying here?” she asked.
Ariana’s heart sank. That whole week, not a worry about her pet life had been on her mind, but now she was forced to think about it again. The torti sighed. “I don’t know… Honestly, I don’t even know if my human’s coming back…”
Unexpectedly, Lily laid her tail on Ariana’s shoulder comfortingly. “Don’t worry, I’m here for you." Chapter 5 The weather grew colder. A month had past since Ariana and Lily had sat by the stream, and now puddles were scattered abroad the forest floor from the late autumn rain that’d just past. The last leaves of the season were beginning their descent to the ground, and the sun was finally poking through the dark rain clouds.
Now, Ariana was on a hunting patrol with Lily, Alder and his new apprentice Night, and two other cats named Badger and Cocoa. Alder was in pursuit of a large bird, a turkey, which he was trying to catch for the Colony.
“Yeeee haw!” Alder howled in excitement as he gave an enormous leap onto the turkey, landing squarely on its back. “Yes!” he mewled in triumph.
“I love this time of year!” the golden brown tabby meowed. “It’s the perfect time for turkey hunting."
“You can say that again, Alder,” Lily agreed, padding up to see Alder’s catch.
“The Colony won’t go hungry tonight!” Alder purred.
Suddenly, Badger spoke up from behind. “That should be enough,” she meowed, nodding to the other two turkeys that Night was dragging behind him. “Let’s head back to camp.”
“Whae’er you say, Baher!” Alder agreed, his mouth stuffed with turkey feathers.
As the cats started to finish up their hunt, Lily padded over to where Night was struggling to pull the weight of two turkeys, Ariana on her heels.
“Here, let me help,” the silver tabby offered, taking one of the turkeys from Night.
“Thanks!” the tiny black apprentice squeaked.
As Lily began to drag the turkey along after the others, Ariana peered over the she-cat’s shoulder at Night. “Hey, Night, what’s it like being an apprentice?” she mewed, curious of how it felt to train hard in the ways of the Colony every day.
“It’s great!” Night replied, looking up from his turkey. “I’m so glad Flame picked Alder to be my mentor! He’s the best hunter ever! He says he’s gonna teach me to hunt turkeys!”
“Cool!” Lily meowed, looking behind her at Night. “I hope you’re fast enough.”
“I sure am!” Night mewed proudly, puffing out his chest.
Ariana and Lily chuckled at Night’s cute behavior.
Alder seemed to notice his apprentice trailing behind chatting and swiveled his head around. “Keep up, Night!” he meowed sternly.
“Coming!” the little tom replied, and picked up his turkey, flashed a smile to Lily and Ariana, and sped off to meet Alder.
The patrol padded on without a word for a while, then finally Badger broke the silence. “We’re almost at camp,” she notified.
Suddenly a screech of pain set the group’s fur on end. Ariana’s ears flattened to her head just as Badger mewed, “What’s that, Cocoa?” Another yowl pierced the air.
Cocoa’s one working eye lit up with fear as if he recognized the yowl. “Sky’s kittens are coming!” The brown-and-white tom gasped and sprinted the rest of the way into camp to get to his mate.
The remaining cats in the patrol swiftly made their way into camp after Cocoa, and Ariana found her heart beating just as fast as Cocoa had run. “Will she be okay?” she asked Lily, fear in her mew for the white spotted queen.
“She should be,” Lily replied. “She’s healthy as a hawk, and if anyone can help her, Robin can. She’s the best healer around,” Lily mewed as Ariana saw the russet healer make her way to Sky in the nursery, pushing Cocoa out of the way with her tail. “And her apprentice, Willow will be a big help too,” Lily added as the speckled gray she-cat dashed after Robin into the nursery with herbs in her jaws.
Lily seemed to be pretty confident in Robin and Willow, so Ariana let her fur lie flat again. “Ok…” Ariana agreed, and settled down to wait and see what would happen.
. . .
Ariana watched as Cocoa paced back and forth outside the nursery, an assortment of cats sitting around, anxiously waiting to hear news of Sky’s delivery.
“Why can’t I go and see?” a young apprentice named Lark complained.
“Because I don’t want you disturbing Sky,” the tom’s mother, Taupe, replied sternly.
“But I won’t…”
Ariana stopped listening to the conversation as she saw Robin poke her head out of the nursery. She perked up her ears as she heard Cocoa meow “How is she?” anxiously.
“She did wonderfully!” Robin replied with a joyful gleam in her eyes. “And now she has three healthy kittens, two toms and a she-kit!”
At this news, the cats gathered around broke into a cheerful murmuring.
“Can we go see them?” Ariana asked Lily, her tail twitching excitedly.
“Sure, but we’ll have to be gentle.” Lily mewed, and rose from her haunches and padded toward the nursery, Ariana following.
Ariana and Lily peeked into the bramble den, to see that Robin and Willow had just left Sky with some herbs, and Cocoa was beside the spotted queen, purring loudly. Suckling at Sky’s belly were three tiny kittens.
“Aww! They’re adorable!” Ariana exclaimed with joy at the sight, but quietly as to not disturb the kittens.
“They’re perfect!” Cocoa agreed passionately, with a look towards Sky. “What should we name them?” he asked, his one working eye twinkling.
“How about… Holly, Fish, and Oak,” Sky mewed softly, pointing first to a black she-kit, an orange and white tom, and then a brown tabby tom with her nose.
“Wonderful!” Cocoa meowed, obviously agreeing with the name choices.
“C’mon, let’s give them some privacy.” Lily whispered to Ariana, nodding and leading the way out of the den.
When they emerged, they saw that Flame had the cats gathered and was about to speak. Ariana perked her ears, interested.
“Let us have a feast to celebrate three new lives!” the ginger leader announced, motioning to the turkeys that were piled in the middle of the clearing, and mews of agreement erupted throughout the gathered cats.
Lily joined the crowd waiting to get their share of fresh-kill, and soon was padding back to Ariana with a couple scraps hanging from her jaws. “Here,” she mewed, dropping some for Ariana.
“Thanks,” Ariana meowed, and began to eat her share, enjoying the delicious flavor of the bird. But the oddly familiar taste brought memories flooding into her mind, of being a tiny kitten and eating scraps of turkey off her owner’s plate… “This brings back old memories…” Ariana mewed solemnly, her throat choking up as if she had a piece of prey lodged in it.
Lily met Ariana’s gaze sadly, as if not knowing whether she would choose her human over the Colony.
Ariana sighed, knowing that being there put a lot of pressure on her decision.
. . .
Later, Ariana was sleeping in the Hunters’ den, snoring softly until she heard Lily call her out.
“Hey, Ariana, check it out!”
Ariana trudged out of the den, her eyelids drooping with fatigue. “What is it…?” she mewed groggily. It was very early in the morning to be up.
“Look, sleepyhead!” Lily prodded excitedly, pointing up into the air. “It’s the first snow of the season!”
Suddenly Ariana noticed what Lily had brought her out about, and her eyes widened. Delicate snowflakes were drifting down from the sky, and now she noticed why she’d been so cold when she woke up. There were snowflakes clumping into piles in some places as well. Ariana padded to one of the clumps, and stuck her paw in it. A bolt of freezing cold zipped up her foreleg and she shivered with delight. “Wow!” she gasped.
“Really cool, right?” Lily prompted.
“Yeah! Cool!” Ariana laughed.
“Hahaha!” Lily grinned at the joke.
. . .
As the moon ended, Ariana walked through the snowy forest, staring at the beautiful pale blue sky. Wow… I’ve been here for so long, I don’t even remember the taste of pet food! Chapter 6 “Hey, Ariana, want to go on a patrol with us?”
Ariana awoke to Lily’s mew. Time had passed, and the season was coming to a close. The pretty torti arose early from her makeshift nest and met Lily, ready to go, along with a few other cats, Sand, Turtle, and Blossom, along with two apprentices Cloud and Spark.
The group headed out of camp, leaving small paw prints in the fresh snow, and made their way towards the neighborhood. By now Ariana had gotten used to the everyday checking of the borders, and had even agreed to go along with a few of the patrols, especially if Lily was among the cats going.
The houses she passed hardly seemed familiar anymore, and as the group sniffed about trash cans and checked their borders, Ariana felt as if maybe, just maybe, these cats might consider her as a Colony-mate. She certainly felt as if she belonged.
“Betcha you can’t catch me!” the white apprentice Cloud mewed, striking up a game with her friend Spark.
“Oh yeah?” Spark challenged, and sprinted after Cloud, her ginger fur fluffing up in excitement.
Seeing the young cats acting so friendly towards one another, Ariana chuckled. She’d become quite attached to them over the days, especially Lily, who she’d spent every day with since she came to the Colony.
But still, there was something missing… as if Ariana hadn’t noticed something she should’ve. As the group of Colony cats chatted and joked with each other, Ariana felt herself trailing behind. What am I missing? she wondered, confused. I feel like I’ve left something incredibly important behind…
When the cats neared the side of the neighborhood where her house stood, Ariana felt her neck fur bristle and her heart beat faster each step. Lily seemed to notice Ariana’s discomfort and dropped behind next to her.
“Ariana? Is everything alright?” the silver tabby mewed, concern flashing in her blue eyes.
“I’m fine,” Ariana lied. She didn’t think Lily would understand her feelings right now, even though she’d stood by her side ever since she’d left her home.
“Okay…” Lily mewed, looking let down, and padded back to join Blossom who was scavenging through a recycle bin by the road.
Ariana sighed, and looked up from her paws. A few car-lengths down the road stood her house, just as she’d left it. She stood frozen on the paved street, staring, shock and fear in her eyes. There it is...! she trembled, although the Colony cats padding by seemed completely oblivious to her homesick fear.
After staring for a few more heartbeats, a familiar ginger tom pushed solemnly through the catflap the next house over, and then looked up to see Ariana. Instantly Oliver froze in his tracks and looked Ariana straight in the eye, a ghostly look in his yellow gaze.
After breaking from his trance, Oliver sprinted towards the fence and seemed to be calling Ariana over.
Just then, Lily noticed that Ariana had stopped, and turned to pad over. “Are you coming?” she asked warily.
“I… I’ll catch up,” Ariana breathed, and headed over to Oliver’s fence, leaving behind a confused Lily.
“Oliver?” Ariana mewed as she reached the fence. “What a surprise,” she added, plastering a fake smile on her face.
“Ariana! I missed you so much!” Oliver chirped, sheer happiness in his eyes. “Where were you?”
“It’s a long story—” Ariana replied.
“Guess what?” interrupted Oliver, who seemed to have no interest in long stories. “It’s not that bad after all! Your owners are back!”
They’re back?! Wait, owner’S’? I only had one owner…
“Fiona says they were only on some kind of trip, but they’re back now!” Oliver continued.
“That’s… really cool, Oliver,” Ariana mewed, not liking where this was going.
“But do you know what that means?” Oliver meowed. “You could… come back!” he suggested, a meaningful tone in his mew.
Ariana hesitated. “I don’t know… I met these really nice cats while I was gone; they’ve taken care of me… Oh I can’t just choose like this!” she cried.
“But… I missed you…” Oliver choked up. “You were gone for so long.."
“It wasn’t that long!” Ariana huffed.
“Ariana, you were gone for almost three months!” Oliver was beginning to look hurt. “Please. Come back.”
“…I’ll think about it…” Ariana sighed, turning away from the fence.
“Wait,” Oliver rasped. “You have to come back…”
“Why?” Ariana asked sadly.
“Because… Because I love you,” the ginger tom replied.
Ariana’s heart skipped a beat in shock. Oliver… loves me? She hadn’t known. “I’m sorry… I didn’t know…”
“Go think about it.” Oliver sighed, turned away, and padded back into his house.
Ariana’s eyes were still wide in shock. She didn’t feel the same way about Oliver, but she still didn’t want the young tom heartbroken…
Ariana trotted swiftly back after the patrol, but soon noticed that they’d already finished and were back in camp. As she emerged through the ferns guarding the entrance, she saw Lily sitting with Blossom and waiting for Ariana to return. The silver tabby’s ears pricked up as she saw Ariana enter the camp.
“What happened?” Lily asked as Ariana padded over to the she-cats, still shaken from shock.
“I just found out... that my owner’s back,” Ariana replied, staring at her paws.
Lily seemed to pick up what this was about, and her neck fur bristled. “So…?” she asked, almost defensively.
“And they want me to come back.” Ariana finished, bracing herself for Lily’s reaction.
“Go back? After all we’ve been through?” Lily gasped. “And you’re gonna do it?!”
“I didn’t say that!” Ariana meowed swiftly, surprised by Lily’s tone.
“But you’re thinking it!” Lily fumed.
Ariana was speechless. Look at the mess I’ve gotten myself into… all because I ran away from home!
“Fine!” Lily hissed, assuming things due to Ariana’s silence. “Go back for all I care!” she yowled, tears filling her eyes, and ran the other direction.
“Lily!” Blossom called and dashed after the silver and white she-cat, while Ariana just stood there, too stunned to move.
Finally, what Lily said got to her head, and Ariana began to tear up. Am I not wanted here anymore? Maybe I should go back… Or should I?
Ariana was stressed and hurt over the hard decision, and felt the need to get away from the Colony, and her house, and everything. She sprinted out of the camp and out of the forest. She ran straight through her neighborhood without a glance around, and before she could realize where her paws were taking her, she found herself standing in the alley where Lily and Berga had first found her and saved her from the dog.
Suddenly exhausted from the run and the cold, Ariana plopped down under the safety of the dumpster. Now being still, her bottled up emotions spilled out of her, and she began to sob. “Why did I think I could live with a paw between two worlds?” Ariana cried out despairingly.
. . .
“Ariana?! Oh my gosh!”
Ariana lifted her head when she heard a she-cat’s mew. She recognized the tortoiseshell as a cat from the Colony named Turtle.
“Are you okay?” Turtle asked, sounding rather startled. “And don’t tell me you’re fine, because you're not.”
“Turtle…” Ariana grumbled, half of her wanting to be alone, the other half desperately wanting the company.
Turtle shuffled over to Ariana and settled down next to her. “Tell me, what did Lily say to you?”
Ariana sighed, glad to be able to talk to someone other than Lily or Oliver. “She told me to leave, because I told her that my owners came back."
Turtle’s eyes displayed disapproval. “Don’t let anyone tell you who to be, even Lily. She’s just hurt, you know. She really cares for you. That’s true friendship indeed,” she ended with a smile, in a way that indicating that the way she was often treated as a weirdo didn’t suit her.
“But I don’t know who to choose!” Ariana cried.
“You will know in time,” Turtle meowed. “Just know that who you are makes a difference, whether you are a Hunter in a Colony, or a pet in a human house,” she advised. “Now, I must go, or I will be missed!” Turtle said with a chuckle. “Now, if you need anything, just find me and let me know.” The tortoiseshell rose up from the snow and padded away swiftly.
Ariana sighed, and suddenly felt very tired. It wouldn’t hurt to just take a small nap… she thought, and drifted off to sleep. Little did she know that a harsh snowstorm was boiling on the horizon, and was beginning to come her way… Chapter 7 "Oh my, is that Ariana?”
“We have to get her back to camp!”
“Steady now… There. She’ll be alright.”
. . .
Ariana awoke later and was greeted by blinding daylight. She blinked her eyes against it, and then noticed with shock that she wasn’t in the alley anymore... but in Robin’s den!
The torti sat up abruptly. “Wha… Where am I?!” she meowed at no one in particular.
Willow, who was in the back of the den sorting herbs, heard Ariana’s startled mew and padded over quickly. “You’re awake! Good,” she sighed.
“How long was I asleep? And why am I here?” Ariana asked urgently.
“Five days, I’m afraid,” Willow replied. “A patrol was out and they found you, half buried in the snow, and they brought you back to camp. Turtle told us that you’d been out, but she hadn’t seen you leave that alley since she left you,” the speckled gray she-cat relayed. “She’s really worried about you, y’ know. She’s all guilty: thinks it’s her fault this happened to you.”
“What happened to me…?” Ariana asked hesitantly, half not wanting to hear the answer.
Willow sighed, and then gave in. “You had frostbite, a serious case of it, when they found you. Robin says if it’d been even a bit later… you wouldn’t have survived.”
“Frostbite? B-But why? How?” Ariana asked, beginning to panic.
“Things happen when you’re out in the cold too long. Especially in a blizzard,” Willow replied, looking down at Ariana sternly even though the gray she-cat was younger than her. “But we, Robin and I, fixed you up well,” Willow added, pride in her eyes.
“Anyways, I have to get back to the herbs or Robin’ll get mad!” she giggled. “If you need anything I’ll be on the other side of the den! And DON’T pick at those bandages!” Willow chirped and dashed off.
Ariana, still dazed in shock, looked down when Willow mentioned ‘bandages’. She saw that two of her paws and the end of her tail were wrapped in cobwebs. She tried to move a foreleg, but a bolt of pain seared up her paw. She almost shrieked in pain, but held it down by gritting her teeth. Gently she placed her paw back in the nest. Ariana sighed. At this rate she wouldn’t heal in a while.
After her paw stopped throbbing, she felt pain somewhere else as well. It wasn’t from any of the wrapped places that she could see, but then she noticed that her ear was bandaged as well. Crumbs! Not my ear too! she grumbled inwardly.
Ariana sighed, and plopped her head down on her paws. How did this happen to me?!
. . .
Ariana was in a deep and troubled sleep, dreams of her kit-hood flashing through her brain, when Robin padded into the den, awakening her. “Robin…” she croaked. “Why did this happen to me…?”
Robin swiveled her head around when Ariana spoke. “Oh, so you’ve been awake, I see,” she observed, “Willow must’ve told you,” the russet healer meowed, shooting a disapproving glare at her apprentice. As Willow met her gaze innocently, Robin sighed and turned back to Ariana. “I don’t know why, other than that you slept in the cold for too long, why this happened. But it’s life, and we have to learn to live through it,” she meowed. “I learned that a long time ago, when I was barely an apprentice myself. My brother and I learned that,” she finished with a gaze out the den to where Flame was seated on the Great Oak’s roots.
Ariana followed her gaze and gasped. “Flame’s your brother?” she asked curiously.
“Yep,” Robin replied. “The stupid furball,” she chuckled, and turned away to pad out of the den.
Ariana found herself staring in Flame’s direction, her cheeks growing hot again.
Willow, seemingly finished with her chores, padded over to notice Ariana’s pink face. “Ooh, got a taste for a certain type of toms ‘eh?” she joked.
“Willow!” Ariana gushed, feeling embarrassed and flabbergasted.
“Oh, take no notice!” Willow replied with a wink. “There’re plenty of toms here who’re handfuls to look at,” she laughed. “Especially that one!” she added, pointing to Coal.
“Him?” Ariana chuckled. “Naah. He and Bobbi are too obsessed with each other.”
“You don’t think I know that?” Willow giggled. “That’s what makes it all the more fun!” She then rose up from sitting next to Ariana. “Well, who am I kidding? You and I are chatting about toms!” she chuckled. “Anywho, I’m gonna get a bite to eat. Want me to bring something back for you?” the she-cat asked.
“No,” Ariana replied. “I’m not hungry.” Then suddenly something clicked in Ariana’s mind. “Hey… I haven’t seen Lily lately though; do you know what’s up with her?” she asked Willow, a concerned look in her eyes for her friend.
“She hasn’t said much about you since you were found,” Willow replied. “I don’t know what’s been up with her, but she hasn’t been herself lately, that's for sure,” she mewed before padding out of the den.
Ariana sighed, and then looked past Willow to see that the Healer was right. Lily was sitting with Blossom and a cat named Dragonfly, and chatting with them as if Ariana didn’t exist. A strange ghostly look was on the silver cat’s face, but then she laughed hysterically, and in almost a fake way, when Dragonfly said something supposedly funny into her ear.
Ariana wrinkled her nose in distaste. This was not the Lily she knew.
. . .
Snow drifted softly from the sky, unlike the day Ariana had been in they alley. Now she sat in the entrance of the Healers’ den, having recovered enough to walk, and was staring at the snowy landscape of the camp. The torti sighed. Over the past weeks, Lily’s odd behavior had only gotten worse. She’d seemed to have become attached to Dragonfly in particular, but Ariana could only assume that from watching from a distance. She longed for the long lasting friendship she’d had with Lily before her frostbite incident. Now she seemed further away than ever.
Having been lost in thought, Ariana jumped as she felt a tiny paw on her back. She turned her head to see that Fish, Sky’s little kitten, was looking up at her. Of course, he wasn’t that little anymore, a month had passed since he and his littermates had been born.
“Happy Christmas!” Fish squeaked, his stubby tail wagging. Ariana then realized that it was the day of the human holiday. She was surprised that a month old kitten would even know about Christmas.
“Well, thank you,” Ariana responded, gently giving the young kitten a lick on the ear.
“FISH!” one of Fish’s littermates, Holly, called him from outside the den. “It’s merry Christmas, not happy Christmas!”
“I can say happy Christmas if I want!” Fish replied indignantly, and dashed out of the den to meet his siblings.
Ariana chuckled, love for the adorable kittens shining in her eyes. Then she sighed. When can I spend time with them again, instead of lying around in a nest all day?
. . .
Ariana was in her nest in the Healers’ den, snoozing calmly while her body was at work healing itself. Deep in sleep, her dreams were memories of her kithood, many months ago… “C’mon Ariana!” Oliver mewed, his kitten fur fluffed up in excitement. “It’s time to play!”
“I’m coming!” Ariana squealed happily. “Where’s Fiona? Is she coming?”
“Yeah! She’s just finishing up her milk! It’s taking that slow poke forever, though!” Oliver chirped.
The two young kits scrambled over to where Fiona was drinking her breakfast from a bowl. “Hurry up, Fiona!” Ariana mewled. “We wanna play!”
“I’m coming,” Fiona grumbled at the younger kits. “But what exactly are we playing? It better not be anything dumb!”
“Nope!” Oliver mewed. “It’s gonna be EPIC!” The handsome ginger kitten then led the she-kits over to where their neighbors were selling a bunch of chickens in a pen. They were extremely plump, and didn’t see the kits coming.
“Now, when I say to, jump in and yowl REALLY loud!” Oliver whispered. “…NOW!” he yowled and tore off toward the chickens, startling them and sending them running every direction. Ariana and Fiona chased after him, squealing with laughter and copying his move of scaring the chickens.
“This is SO MUCH FUN!” Ariana mewled as she leapt onto a chicken, sending it running a rampage. Fiona laughed and followed the kits’ lead. Ariana felt like she was having the time of her life.
Ariana awoke with a start, her cheek fur wet with tears. “Are you ok?” Willow had prodded her awake. “You were twitching in your sleep. Were you having a nightmare?”
“N-no, I’m fine. It was just… sad memories,” Ariana replied with a tired sigh.
“Ok,” Willow let out a breath in relief. “I guess… I guess goodnight, then.”
“Yeah. Goodnight,” Ariana sighed, and curled up again in her nest, hardly feeling the sting of her wounds anymore. Chapter 8 Months passed. The coldness of winter soon melted into a warm spring, and Ariana could already see the new growths of flowers and plants, as well as many baby animals and such. Four apprentices: Cloud, Spark, Heron and Pond graduated fully in their ranks, and fortunately Ariana had the privilege of watching their ceremony from the Healers' den.
Now, the torti awoke with a yawn, not feeling even a tinge of pain from her once horrid wounds, and gave a large stretch. Almost instantly, she was greeted by her friend Willow, who had dashed over from her nest to check Ariana's wounds.
"Robin, come check it out!" The gray she-cat mewed excitedly as Robin rose from her nest groggily.
"What is it?" The russet healer sighed, and padded over to the she-cats.
"Her wounds! They're completely healed!" Willow gaped, her fluffy tail swishing behind her with excitement.
"Well then," Robin meowed. "Let’s remove these bandages."
The two Healers set off to work unwrapping the cobwebs on Ariana's paws, tail, and ear, while Ariana twitched with excitement. Are my wounds really healed?! she wondered.
"Well..." Robin purred, inspecting Ariana to make sure all last traces of frostbite were gone. "Willow's right. You are completely healed." She smiled. "Except for one small part."
Ariana looked up at Robin, fear in her eyes. "Where?" she asked.
Robin chuckled. "Just a small section of your ear, is all."
"But at least you'll have a souvenir!" Willow added. "If... if you left, that is." The speckled Healer's eyes welled up with sorrow, indicating that she'd grown fond of Ariana in the time she'd spent healing.
Ariana felt her soul fill with heartbreak as the thought of leaving again came to her mind. But this time I can't put off the decision, Ariana thought determinedly. And from all this time to think, I now know for sure my choice.
"Oh, Willow," Ariana sighed. "You, and Robin of course," she winked at the russet Healer, "have been so good to me, and healed me to the point where any cat wouldn't think I was out in the snow, and for that I can't thank you enough. I can't thank the Colony enough. You saved me, and took me in when I didn't exactly need it." Ariana stood up in her nest. "And I will be grateful forever..."
Ariana turned and padded out of the den, but not without saying her heartfelt goodbyes to the Healers. She swiftly dashed out of the Colony camp, a bittersweet memory, and disappeared into the forest.
. . .
With a deep breath, Ariana walked boldly up to her house. She had made her decision. She pushed through the cat-flap and breathed in the scents of her old home, but strangely they didn't satisfy her anymore. The feels of the forest flowed deep in her soul, and the tortoiseshell cherished the feeling for a few heartbeats before pushing it away. She padded into the kitchen, and was surprised to see that her little cat bed and food bowls still stood exactly where she left them.
Hmn. Ariana thought. I guess my owner wasn't too intent on me leaving after all.
Ariana turned away from the sight, not daring to even take a taste of the food that once filled her belly. The bland, flavorless texture on her tongue could wipe away any delicious memories of mice forever.
Ariana padded away from the kitchen, soaked in the sights of her once safe home for the last time, and made her way towards the door again. She hesitantly pushed through the cat-flap, and stopped before stepping off the porch. She looked down to the collar around her neck, a trinket once symbolizing the warmth and safety of her home, and with a deep breath, tore through the shiny black fabric with her teeth and claws until finally the collar was lying at her feet. She pushed it aside with her paw until it sat on the welcoming mat in front of the door, relishing the feel of her neck fur free from the collar's restraints.
Finally, Ariana felt free from everything she was about to leave behind, her house, her owner, her friends...
Speaking of friends, Ariana heard a distant sound to her left. She padded away from her porch, turning her head to see what had made the noise.
It was Oliver. The handsome tom was sitting on his fence, staring into the distance. He had grown quite a lot since Ariana had seen him last, but he didn't seem to notice that she was there. But he sure looked like he wanted her to be.
Ariana felt her heart break again. Not because she had any feelings for the tom, but because seeing him look so heartbroken made Ariana feel such remorse for leaving him.
"Oliver...?" Ariana mewed, slowly padding towards the fence.
"Ariana!" Oliver gasped as he saw the she-cat and jumped down from his fence to greet her, rubbing his cheek against hers. Ariana did her best not to look uncomfortable.
"I missed you so, so much!" the ginger tom rasped, his voice cracking with emotion. "Your owners aren't here, they're out shoppi—” Oliver stopped when he saw Ariana's bare neck. "What happened to your collar?" He asked hesitantly, although the look in his eyes told Ariana he already knew the answer.
"Oliver... I'm so sorry..." Ariana mewed, genuine regret in her eyes. "But I decided to live with the Colony."
"B-but—" Oliver protested.
"Deal with it, you kitten," Fiona's mew sounded suddenly around the corner of her house. A few heartbeats later the gray she-cat appeared and leapt the fence. "You know she's following her heart."
Ariana glared at the incoming she-cat, indicating that she didn't need the help. She then looked back to Oliver. "I'm sorry... but my heart was meant to be in the wild... not here... or with you..." Ariana had much difficulty getting the last words out. "I have a wild spirit, Oliver, and it can't be tamed!" She meowed, the wild light of freedom lighting up her eyes.
"Yeah... I get it... and as long as you're happy, I'm okay," Oliver mewed.
"That's the spirit!" Fiona chuckled, and flicked her tail across Oliver's face. "Now go, Ariana, and be the wild cat you were born to be!" She joked. When Ariana had a look of doubt in her eyes, Fiona added, "Don't worry, he'll get over it," loud enough only for Ariana to hear.
Relieved, Ariana turned and bounded far away from her old home, unable to wait to be back in the forest. Chapter 9 Ariana was sprinting towards the edge of the neighborhood, her breath coming in large pants, when suddenly, even though her eagerness to be back in the Colony had fueled her this far, she had to stop for a moment to take a rest. Letting out deep breaths of exhaustion, she plopped down on her haunches next to a puddle that had formed from the recent spring rains to take a drink.
Before she got up again, Ariana realized something she hadn’t yet before. She hadn’t seen her reflection in a long while since she had been living as a pet, and now as she gazed at herself from the puddle, she saw that she had grown and matured a great amount in the past few months. Her muzzle had grown sharper and more defined, as well as all hints of kitten fluff had disappeared from her cheeks. Just then did she notice that Robin had been right, and that half of her right ear couldn’t be salvaged from the frostbite’s icy grip, and was now gone.
Her scars made her ponder the fact that the Colony did indeed save her life twice, from the dog and the winter cold, which made her even more confident in her decision.
Having had a long enough rest, Ariana rose from her spot beside the puddle and trotted further into the heart of the forest, where the Colony’s campgrounds lie. Up ahead she saw the bramble walls of the camp, and confidently pushed through the opening.
Aware of the surprised murmurs around her, Ariana headed straight for where she saw Lily, chatting to Dragonfly, as usual.
Hearing pawsteps behind her, Lily whipped her head around, and Ariana could see the look in her eyes that made her seem as if she’d seen a ghost.
“Ariana...?” the silver she-cat breathed. “You’re… back?”
“Yes. I’ve decided to join the Colony,” Ariana replied.
“Really?!” Lily mewled, pure joy in her eyes. “You are?!”
Ariana gave her a knowing, forgiving look, and padded away to the Great Oak where Flame’s den was intertwined with the roots. She could still hear the curious whispers shared among the cats as she poked her head determinedly into the ginger leader’s den.
“Flame?” she mewed, not a twinge of doubt in her voice. “I’ve decided to join your Colony, if that’s fine with you.”
“Of course it’s fine with me,” Flame purred as he stepped out of the shadows of his den. “If you’ll see me outside, please,” he meowed, and padded out of his den, leaping onto one of the roots of his tree.
“Cats of the Colony!” Flame yowled, quieting the cats that were already gathered below. “As you probably already know, this she-cat,” he glanced at Ariana, “has requested to join us. And of course I shouldn’t turn down a meaningful offer, yes?” he asked the cats. They all let out a few murmurs of agreement. “Well then,” he began. “Ariana, please step forward.”
Ariana’s eyes widened in surprise: she hadn’t known Flame would call her forward. At least my pelt’s satisfactory, she thought. Taking a deep breath, the tortoiseshell padded forward, glancing proudly up at Flame.
“Are you sure you would like to forever dedicate yourself to serving this Colony, even if it may cost your life?” Flame asked.
“Yes, I’m sure,” Ariana meowed determinedly.
“Then I, and every cat that’s ever lived in this forest, welcome you as a full member of the Colony. And to represent your bravery, persistence, and endurance, from this moment forward your name will be: Autumn.”
Autumn blinked at Flame in astonishment and awe. He changed my name… Oh, well, I love my new name! she thought, turning her head as the cats called her name loudly, honoring her choice.
Lily dashed forward from the crowd. “Autumn now, huh?” she purred.
“Yep,” Autumn beamed, her tortoiseshell fur ruffled in excitement. “And now I never need to leave my new home again!”
Chapter 10 Autumn was wolfing down a mouse in the middle of the camp, in a rush to be on the dawn patrol. Her tortoiseshell fur was ruffled against the morning chill, and her eyes shone with excitement.
Just as she'd finished, she heard Lily call out to her, "C'mon Autumn!" and she dashed off to meet the silver-and-white tabby.
The group of cats Lily had gathered with followed Autumn and Lily as they bounded out of camp. They headed for the neighborhood to check the borders, and Autumn bounded along happily, the feeling of finally being a part of the Colony making her heart swell with joy.
As they passed the house where she used to live, many months ago, Autumn didn't even glance it's direction, for she was sure of where her loyalties lied now.
Soon after, they passed a light post that had something taped to it, and Autumn looked up to see that it was a flyer with a picture of her on it, that said in human words: MISSING CAT. Autumn sighed. Even if she wasn't coming back, her former owners still wouldn't stop searching, would they?
"Coming Autumn?" Lily called from in front of the torti.
"Yep," Autumn replied, dashing forward to meet Lily.
When I was younger, I thought that my human home was this perfect place, where all my needs would be met, and I could have all the friends I wanted... But I know I'm wrong now! I couldn't just live cooped up in a big box forever! Like I said, I have a wild spirit! And nothing can hold that back now, because finally, I truly am home.
Epilogue Autumn sat on the edge of a steep cliff, near the outskirts of Colony territory. The place seemed abandoned, and the torti wondered why Flame had asked to meet her there. But it had quite an astonishing view; it overlooked the forest and was high enough where one could see most of the territory, as well as the red, orange, and purple colors of sunset splashed across the vast, cloudless, sky.
Autumn pricked her ears as she heard movement behind her, and she turned her head to see Flame padding towards her. "Hello, Flame," she purred. "May I ask why exactly you wanted to meet me here at sunset?" Months had passed since Autumn had joined the Colony, and since then she and Flame had struck up a close friendship. She could almost assume Flame's next move, she was just waiting for him to muster up the courage to ask.
"Oh, no reason in particular," Flame meowed. "I just wanted to... maybe spend some time with you, if that's alright."
Autumn knew from the look in Flame's eyes that that wasn't the whole truth. "Alright," she mewed, a mischievous look in her eyes, scooting over to make room for the ginger leader to sit next to her. "Now what's the real reason?" she chuckled.
Autumn's efforts had worked. Flame's cheeks flushed a bright red, and Autumn tried to muffle a little laugh.
"Autumn..." Flame mewed reluctantly. "I just want you to know that I-I... appreciate you... and care for you very much—"
"I like you too, Flame," Autumn interrupted, purring loudly.
"...More than friends?" Flame asked, suddenly looking childish.
"Yep," Autumn purred, resting her head on Flame's broad shoulder. "More than friends."
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