Lemonsplash's Acceptance (#Wattys)

Chapter 10

That night, Lemonpaw found an empty Twoleg box in an alleyway and decided that it was safe enough to sleep in. Her shoulder ached from the heavy jumping and she quickly fell into a deep sleep.

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"What are you doing here?!"

Lemonpaw woke with a start; she saw a large gray-and-white tom glaring at her as she stepped out of the box.

"I...I..." She stammered unable to explain.

"This alleyway belongs to me! Your on my territory!" The tom yelled.

"That's enough Storm!" A tortoiseshell tabby she-cat appeared from around the corner of the alleyway. "Can't you see she's injured?"

The she-cat pushed the tom backward away from Lemonpaw.

"Its okay, they're just old battle wounds. They're nearly healed now.." Lemonpaw mewed though her shoulder was still slightly cramped from yesterday.

"Anyway, there's no need to attack this young cat Storm!" Her yellow eyes looked deep into the tom's sky blue ones.

"I wasn't going to Jenny! I... I was... Just defending my territory!" The tom yowled indignantly.

Lemonpaw narrowed her eyes at the cats that reeked of Twolegs. Oh so now kittypets feel like they have to defend a preyless spot like this? She thought to herself.

She looked around the alleyway and saw Twoleg food and strange objects that didn't look edible, scattered about the ground. Everything about the objects also stank of Twolegs.

"You don't belong here, do you?" The she-cat asked, noticing Lemonpaw's uncertainty of the objects on the ground.

"N-no, I'm a wildcat from the forest." Lemonpaw stammered.

"A wildcat huh!" The tom laughed, "Then I guess it should be me who should be scared of you!"

"I can fight you, if you want me to!" Lemonpaw stood, resolutely, her tail held high; despite her size disadvantage to the large gray tom, she unsheathed her claws.

"There will be no fighting today, thank you!" The she-cat stepped between Lemonpaw and the tom as they continued to stare at one another. The she-cat's gaze then softened as she turned to Lemonpaw.

"Hello dear, I am so sorry about Storm's behaviour, he can get quite arrogant at times..."

"Mother!" The tom screamed.

"Hush Storm, let me continue." Storm had no choice but to listen to his mother's command, he shrugged and sighed before the she-cat went on.

"Now, my name is Jenny, and as you already know, this is my son, Storm. Don't let him ruffle your fur. What's your name, my dear?"

"L-Lemonpaw," Lemonpaw replied, shyly.

"Yeah, yeah mum, this is all very well, but you still haven't told us what you are doing here in the first place! Why are you in OUR alleyway?!"

Jenny glared at Storm and he shuffled his paws before continuing.

"W-what I mean to say is... Why is a wildcat in the middle of Twolegplace?"

"I... I didn't feel comfortable in my clan anymore. I feel like I have let them down..." Lemonpaw gazed down at her white paws.

Storm didn't say anything after that, he turned away and started scavenging in the bins and scattered Twoleg food.

Jenny came up to Lemonpaw and rested her tail on her shoulder."It's okay, dear, you are welcome to stay around here till you find out where you want to be."

"Thanks Jenny, but I don't hope to stay in Twolegplace for very long."

Lemonpaw sighed, and settled in the Twoleg box again. It was a while before she finally fell asleep, as she thought back to the events that had led up to this point.