Shadows of Stars

Chapter 2: In to the Woods

Tendrils of colour began weaving themselves into visible patterns, into a scene, one it remembered well. It smiled. The day everything began.

They sat on the low, wooden fence that marked the edge of their territory, a cool breeze sending their whiskers into a merry dance. With it came the rich, earthy scents of the forest, a masterpiece of delicate blooms and heavy loamy earth. Each gust brought a new smell; fresh sap, now leaf mold with a small hint of fungus. A brief flash of confusion lit up the tom's mind. How did he know so much about the forest?He had never set a paw inside it. But his confusion was quickly overridden by the overwhelming sense of right-ness. They lifted their head and drank in the beckoning forest scents.

It was later that day when they finally moved off the fence, driven inside by the cooling sun-down air. A fine blanket of mist had settled on the short, twoleg cut grass, coating the blades with dew which clung to their paws like many glittering stars. With practiced ease they nosed aside the cat flap and dropped to the floor the other side. Momentarily blinded by the harsh twoleg light, they blinked several times before continuing down the tunnel to their nest. Curling up in their basket, they felt a pang of loss, as if they had left something unimaginably important behind. It was an...unsettling sensation. That, however, did not bar them from sleep, and within heartbeats, they had fallen into comforting darkness. Their dreams were filled with the forest.

                   ~~~~~~~~~~~~

The light was jaded in the forest, dappling the ground with gold, green and dark. Loamy soil and fallen leaves carpeted the floor, soft under paw. Every sense buzzed. Now for a challenge. They stood perfectly still, ears straining for the slightest hint of their quarry.

Eventually, they heard a soft scrabbling sound coming from the base of a tall oak. Approaching as silently as they could, they stalked the mouse. It felt brilliant, so unbelievably natural, sliding lithely across the ground to the tree roots.

They crouched paw-lengths from the prey's hiding place, suddenly aware of a presence behind them. Indecision tore at them, the mouse, or the more, direct threat? Grab the mouse quickly, then face enemy? They shifted hesitantly, and set their bell ringing. Its clear, bright sound sent the mouse scurrying. Rusty pounced, paws slamming down on air. Scuffling behind them told the other thing was about to attack, they whirled around and bolted back into the open.

It was like running from the wind. Chest heaving, paws aching, they struggled through the long grass. Behind them, the other thing crashed through stalks, gaining fast. Perhaps they might have a better chance facing it head on. Without warning, they span and leaped at the cat behind them.
Closer and closer, soared towards the surprised tom, soon they would hit its grey, fluffy face....

But it never came, instead the cat's face, Greypaw's face, exploded into a nimbus of brightness, and it flew into oblivion. The first meeting of two firm friends, it reflected fondly. And it was blind again.