Daylight

Chapter 1

Rusty's belly was full with freshly poured kibble. The tom's gingery pelt was neatly brushed, and he was finally ready to go out into the forest.

Months ago, he had had a dream of a mouse, and had nearly caught it... but his dream had stopped before he had had a chance. That was the day he had originally planned to venture out into the woods, but right before he jumped down from the fence his housefolk had brought out his favorite meal: freshly cut ham.

Its scent had overpowered the memory of the mouse, and he had jumped down, eating the ham right out of his housefolk's hand, purring and butting against his leg afterwards.

But now the call of the woods was strong once again, and Rusty was very much ready to venture out.

The mid-afternoon sun was cheery and bright, and as Rusty jumped down from the fence, he felt the familiar draw of the forest. Its oaks and birches, along with its dense undergrowth were calling- and so, Rusty answered the call and trotted into the forest.

The first thing he noticed was that everything was big. Like, giant. Huge, red, trees rose up into the air- something his friend back at the community, Butters had told him.

Rusty could recall her distinct words: "and then there's big, huge, trees that're called redwoods! But usually cats don't climb them 'cause they're sorta tall. I mean, they're great for squirrels, I guess, but I've heard hawks live up there." She had shivered, giving her shoulder a quick grooming.

And looking around, he saw huge clumps of brambles, and bushes and flowers. Everything was so bright and colorful and only slightly dangerous.

A bird call alerted him, and he looked over to spot from where it had come. The bird- a finch, perhaps?- was on the ground, chirping, perhaps trying to get the attention of another bird, or, maybe even, trying to hunt itself.

Wait, birds don't hunt, do they? Rusty's ears reddened in embarrassment at the thought. His pelt prickled, but he crouched down once again, tail sweeping over the earth, not touching any of the fallen leaves, but wildly, it flicked left then right then left again.

He crept forward, until he was maybe the length of a four-ish tails away from it, and then he heard it. It was soft- and he doubted it was anything dangerous. He kept going.

Three tail lengths in, he heard the sound again, this time louder, and more dangerous sounding. His pelt prickled, and he swiveled his ears around, to hear whatever it was more clearly.

And then there was a weight on his back, heavy and dangerous. Needle-sharp claws dug into his back and only dug in deeper as he tried to shake whoever it was off his back.

"Get... off!" he yowled, rearing up, trying to shake whatever cat it was off. He heard a sharp laugh, and then he lost his footing.

He fell down backwards, exposing his belly to the sky. He rolled over quickly, whoever it was off his back, jumping back a tail-length.

"Who are you?" a sandy she-cat hissed, tail whisking back and forth over the ground as the two circled each other. Her short fur was fluffed out as much as it would go and her green eyes were slitted.

"Who do you think I am?" Rusty asked dryly, mimicking his brother, Tommy.

The she-cat rolled her eyes. "I asked first," she shot back, not slowing her strides at all.

"Yeah, but I asked second," Rusty said smartly, trying to cover his fear. A scoff.

"I don't care, the first mouse caught is the most memorable," she said, holding her chin up.