Alone (A Warrior Cat Story) (Book 1)

Chapter 8: Not Alone

"Mint! Why are you here?! Have you been following me this whole time?" I asked her. She ran over no me with a big smile on her face. There was nothing all that funny to me, if she was out here she would most likely die. I didn't really know how to make, and I had cats in my dreams... She didn't have that.
"Of course! Now you want tell me to not follow you, its already dark." Mint told me. I shook my head, I would have to carry this cat on a quest I wasn't sure I could do in the first place. This might be some kind of dream, it might not even be real. I still hadn't met a single cat that actually lives out here, Owl told me there were, but he also told me he never heard of them again.
Which to me signafide that they were dead. And I didn't know if I could just risk the life of another cat like that.
"Im going back in the morning, I don't think you understand what I mean. You will die out here Mint, this isn't me trying to be mean, this is me just trying to save your life." I said to her. She lowered her head a bit sadly, I just told her it wasn't me trying to be mean... She had to understand that she would die out here with me, and she would be slowing me down from my destiny too.
"No! I'll go follow you again! I'm coming with you whether you like it or not, know matter how many times you try to get me to stop." She said to me. I knew that the poor cat had said that she had liked me from the moment she met me, but she had no idea what she was getting into. I just sort of just gave up, there was really no point and trying to stop her, she had made her decision and she was probably right saying she would just follow me again.
"Fine, but odds are you will probably die out here. I gave you your chance to leave, your a sweet cat, I'm not trying to be mean I'm just trying to save your life." I told her. She nodded and I just grunted and continued walking in the other direction that the sun was in right now.
"So can you teach me how to catch one of those? Im super hungry and I want to learn how you do it like you were trying to do with the rabbits yesterday until those coyotes came after us." She said, I threw her back the mouse I had caught and just sat back waiting for her to eat. But she just sat there with the mouse in her hand just staring at me.
"I thought you said you were hungry, eat it or I will, Im going to go catch another one so don't worry about me, worry about yourself." I told her. She sat down beside me and then just shook her head.
"No... I said, I wanted you to teach me how to hunt mice not feed me... I know that you don't want to bring me on the journey because you don't want to have to catch twice as much food." She told me. I rolled my eyes, whatever, I suppose I would teach her how to hunt mice if she was going to be with me, that would just make it easier for me.
"Okay fine, if you don't catch one that's not my fault, Im eating." I said to her. I was so hungry I just pulled the mouse from her mouth and began eating it. It was actually surprisingly almost as good as the one at the barn. I hadn't eaten in almost 2 days and I was basically starving.
"Can i try at little piece of it though? I tried catching so many of those things and never got even close, I've only ever eaten some dry food and a bit of wet food that my owners gave me." She said to me. I had no idea what wet food was but there was no point. She would most likely give me a long description that would take up more of our time. And I could already see that we didn't have much time left.
"Alright, so like Squirrelflight had told me you have to lower your body once you see it, that way they will not hear you, they have eyes in the back of their head." I told her, she looked at me a little upset, which actually kind of confused me, and I wouldn't be able to continue training her unless she told me what it was because she would more than likely not be listening. "Hello? Are you not listening, what did I say?"
"Something about your mate..." Mint said to me. Looking a little jealous, which I thought was actually really funny.
"For real? That cats long gone by now, she died a while ago, way too old for me." I told her. She looked a little bit better but still didn't look 100% certain that I was not lying to her.
"Still, whatever..." She said to me. I knew she would continue not listening, I didn't want to tell her the full story because she would most likely think it as if I was joking.
"C'mon look at me, Im way too young, and you're even younger to even get jealous that I would even have a mate." She said to me. She pulled out her claws which actually kind of startled me, there's no way she would beat me in a fight but it still kind of scared me.
"Whatever, just continue telling me how to hunt mice." She hissed at me. I don't know why she was getting so jealous, even if I did have one, clearly the weren't with me, so we would not be together anymore. I grunted at the thought but then just continued to tell her how to hunt mice.
"Like I said earlier, you have to lower your body... They have eyes behind the back of their heads... They'll hear you coming from several tailengths. Make sure not to step on anything. And once you get close enough go at them before they hide behind somewhere and then bite down on them for the kill." I told her, she nodded but she also looked a little confused.
"Do they actually have eyes in the back of their heads?" She asked me, I shook my head then rolled my eyes again. She had so many stupid questions that absolutely made no sense to me.
"No its a metaphor, anyways you have to smell them, because odds are if you see them, they would have already heard you coming." I told her. She nodded and then began to sniff the air. Looking a bit confused, I realized that she had no idea what half of the animals would smell like at all.
"Look, it smells like this." I told her. I then threw the carcass of the mouse that we had eaten earlier towards her. She sniffed it and then began sniffing at the air again. I smelt at least 4 or 5 nearby, I thanked Squirrelflight in my head for learning how to hunt. I would be starving right now if I hadn't have learned, she soon would be able too eat as well.
"Oh I think I smell one from over there." She said to me. I sniffed again and then knew she was right, it wasn't exactly the closest one nearby but it would do. It also disappointed me that we would be heading in the opposite direction of where I was supposed to go.
"Alright go ahead... Once you get close by, remember what I told you." I said to her. She nodded and then we began heading in the direction of the mouse. We were almost to the point we could see it and Mint lowered her body.
I nodded, she couldn't see me but she was doing well for her first time. It would be awesome if she caught that the first time.
She began heading towards it and I just stayed back and watched every move she was making. It seemed like she was doing it perfect. And oh, she was such a beautiful cat, but I closed my eyes and shook that thought from out of my head. At least I was not alone, that's the only thing I should be thinking about her right now besides if she could actually catch that mouse.
Suddenly or heard a little pop and the mouse then began to run off, Mint began to chase after it and I followed her.
By the time I caught up to her she had her head lowered and she looked fairly disappointed. I went over to heard and rubbed against her soft pelt. Smiling at her, I was just proud of the white cat, with black paws for trying.
"Im sorry Moon I failed, if you want go take me back tomorrow I will understand." She said to me. I then pushed up against her even closer, smelling her beautiful pelt up against me. I felt bad for her but I didn't want to be alone of this journey, even if I had Squirrelflight leading the way. At this point there was no way I would be taking her back, she had already followed me this far, and if she cared about me that much already I couldn't deny her love.
"Its okay, I couldn't catch one the first few times I had tried." I told her. I knew it didn't make her feel any better but it was at least worth a shot. She turned around and it seemed like she was about to start crying. "Look, we don't have enough time tonight, but I will show you how to do it and you will catch one tomorrow."
She then lifted her head up the moment I had said tomorrow and it gave me a bit of a smile to see her so happy. She pushed back up against me, I don't know why the cat loved me so much already but it seemed like we were just destined to be.
"Thank you Moon, I won't let you down, I promise." She said to me. I nodded and then began to sniff the air looking for any scents nearby, I only smelt one from a bit further away. "There's one over there."
I hadn't even realized it but as soon as she said it I smelt it. "Good job Mint, I hadn't even smelt it. See you're already learning so fast." She smiled and then watched as I did every move she had done. I was just doing it a lot quicker and smarter. Which I couldn't blame het, I wasn't as great as a teacher as Squirrelflight but I had tried to do everything that she had told me.
"Im proud of you Moon, you will need her..." Squirrelflight said from inside of my head. I hoped that she would teach me how to hunt something new in the dream I would have tonight. I didn't want another dream about dogs and coyotes trying to kill me like the one from last night.
As soon as I got as close as possible I jumped towards the mouse. It didn't even have time to react. I killed it and then headed over to Mint happily. I was still slightly hungry but I would give this one to her.
She smiled and then began to eat it, looking at me a few times, she was so sweet and made me smile. I dreamed of getting older with her, and like she had asked me earlier if Squirrelflight was my mate maybe she would be mine someday soon. But I couldn't think like that, if she died out here that would hurt me so much and I would feel so bad about letting her follow me.
"This is way better than the food that my owner give me, and I thought that wet food was good. Thank you Moon, I promise that I will catch one tomorrow morning. If I don't I will go back to my place." She told me. I shook her head and she looked at me a bit confused.
"No I want you with me, you would have caught that if you wouldn't have stepped on that stick. I did the exact same thing my first time." I told her. I could tell it made her feel a little bit better. It was already dark at this point and there was no sun left to feel up the sky. At some point I would have to tell her who was actually teaching me how to hunt. But I would save that for a later day. At least Owl believed me but I wasn't too sure if Mint would.
If someone would have told me that a few days ago, I would have thought that they were straight up crazy. Cats in dreams made to sense, Tristan had told me the only dreams he had were the ones where he was just walking around the house. At least I had dreams of me trying to catch animals and stuff.
Suddenly I heard a howl from not too far away. I instantly new what that was, they were wolfs, way more faster and way more dangerous than a coyote. I looked around for a place to stay the night, Tristan had told me all these terrible stories about these things. And if the coyote ones were true then I didn't want to find out if these ones were.
"Oh, those are coyotes! We have to hide Moon!" Mint said to me. I shook away the thoughts from inside my head and then sped up a little bit looking for a place to hide. Odds are they wouldn't find us but I didn't want to stay back and find out.
"No those are wolves... They are 10 times worse than coyotes." I said to her from behind my back. She screeched a little bit and I told her to be quite, if they were nearby us now they would have heard us. I heard some more howls from a bit closer too us.
"Oh no... They know we are hear, we are going to die, I love you Moon." She told me, I grunted and continued looking for a place to hide.
Suddenly i saw a bit of a hole in the ground which looked like a rabbits nest just a bit bigger. No way a wolf could catch us in one of those.
"Come on, we have to get in here quick." I told Mint. She nodded and then we ran in there really quick. I smiled, it had scared me so much but I was just happy to be with another cat at this point. To share a little bit of my feelings with them. I could do that with Squirrelflight I suppose, but at the same time I was about 100% sure that she was dead.
We hid in there and I heard a bunch of noises, and the pack of wolves ran right past us. I lowered my head grateful, I was grateful to be with her and grateful to not be dead at the same time.
"Mint is it true, how can you love me when you just met me last night." I asked her. She looked at me and smiled, she was so beautiful. I smiled back at her and I saw a little glint in her eyes.
"There's a such thing as love at first sight you know Moon." She said to me. I was so happy to have her with me, and I smiled the moment she said that. It made me feel so much better and happier no matter the situation that we were in right now.
"Thank you Mint, I love you too, you are such a sweet and loving cat, I am happy that you decided to come with me, I don't know where I would be at mentally if you weren't with me right now. I needed someone no matter how many times that I denied it." I told her. For the first time in my life someone actually truly cared about me. Tristan cared about me, but not anywhere near the status that she did.
"Thank you for letting me stay. I promise to listen to you, Im sorry that I failed you earlier." She said to me. She didn't really fail me earlier I felt bad that she really thought that about herself. Maybe Parrot was telling her things, but I shook that out of my head, he was a nice cat too, and I felt bad that he had lost his friend.
"No problem, and you didn't fail me earlier Mint... Its like I said, the first time I tried I did the exact same thing that you had just done. Im just happy that im not alone..."