Shining of the Four

Chapter 53

Sunrise paced impatiently in the front room of her house, ignoring the sounds of the crackling fire and purrs of her sisters who were curled next to the warm flames. Outside, a cold wind had swept throughout the town, swinging brightly colored leaves into the air.

It had been a few days since talking with the others, and Sunrise still could not believe how much of an impact it had been made. She was not Caramel's daughter after all. In fact, she wasn't sure whose daughter she was.

She had not told Holly and Polly of this shocking surprise, but she was somewhat glad to know that she was not related to such annoying and wicked cats. But this left her with wonder, wondering perhaps if maybe she was of clan cat descent and that was why she was part of the prophecy.

During the past few days, she'd barely spoken with the others, keeping to herself her thoughts of fear. She'd spoken a little to Boulder, the new tom. He seemed nice enough, but totally unaware of the circumstances. In fact, she enjoyed talking to him because he did not remind her of her dilemma.

Standing now by the fire, Sunrise knew she'd have to venture into the woods eventually...and soon. She was frightened, even if it had been a dream of hers to meet clan cats and live in a clan. But the thought of actually stepping into the woods had been absolutely terrifying.

Sunrise also knew this was a task she'd have to face herself, not with the help of Anna, Fawn, or Frog. This was her destiny she had to discover, and it was going to have to be her that went into the woods to further investigate the truth.

Sunrise shuddered thinking about the experience, but she knew it had to occur soon. Glancing outside, she looked at the gray clouds rolling across the sky, and for some reason, she knew tonight had to be the night.

I have to enter at some point, Sunrise decided. Even if it will be terrifying.

Thoughts came to her of being attacked and killed mercilessly by clan cats as she wailed to them so she could explain. But she shook these thoughts away, knowing she had to try. The plan was to leave tonight. When she would be back...she didn't know.

Dinner was served to her shortly after making this decision, and she gobbled up her dry cat food, wondering if she'd ever eat this cat food again. For some reason, she felt nothing would be the same after her adventure.

Even Holly and Polly seemed to notice something was off as Sunrise remained quiet and unphased by their every move.

Sunrise sat on the couch with the young boy, thankful for his fingers rushing through her fur. She purred, wondering how long it would be before she saw him again. He was so kind, so gentle to her. She didn't want to leave him. In fact, she wished he could come with her out of all people. She wished she could at least explain to him what was going on.

The wind howled as the members of the household went to bed. Sunrise followed the boy into his bedroom, mewing in disapproval as he shut the door. Sighing, he opened it, rubbing her head as he crawled into bed.

"Sometimes, I don't understand you," he said calmly, shutting off his lamp. He was asleep in moments, and Sunrise herself curled up beside him, feeling his body rise and fall beside hers. She decided herself to get a bit of sleep before her journey, and she shut her eyes.

Despite her every attempt to sleep, it was not happening. She kept having visions of what would go wrong on her journey into the woods, and for hours, she tossed and turned before eventually falling asleep on the boy's warm rug.

When opening her eyes, Sunrise found it was not yet sunrise. Her muscles ached, and her eyes stung. Though she'd slept, it had been a rough few hours, and she didn't feel any more refreshed than when she'd gone to bed.