Chapter 6
I stared several moments longer at the cat who was on the ledge before sprinting away towards the sound of screeching. Smoke blasted my senses, until I coughed painfully. It only seemed to make it worse. I skidded along a piece of moss before jumping down a ridge and sprinting into camp.
Horror shrilled through my pelt as I saw the fire quickly coming towards the camp. It was like a monster, devouring everything in its path. Unbearable heat blasted my senses, and I wondered if this is how it felt to live in the sun.
"Ferretpaw, get out of here!" Moonpoppy screeched when she saw me.
My heart leaped as I saw her bolting towards the water, I horror-stricken Honeykit hanging limply in her jaws. She eyed me desperately before slipping away into the ocean. She really does care, was all I thought as I looked and surveyed my camp.
Now, the fire was beginning to feed on Aquastar's bracken den. The clan leader was nowhere to be seen, though. He had clearly been one of the first cats to evacuate. I wondered if the cat who had started the fire realised how much it would spread. We'd been having a really dry season, but even then.
"Ferretpaw, over here!" Shadefang yowled to me.
He clearly wanted me to stay until every last true ShoreClan warrior was safely evacuated. I scowled as I padded up to him, gasping for air.
"Look," he grunted. "Don't go in the water." He hesitated for several moments before responding. "It's where ShoreClan warriors truly get their powers, by fully submerging themselves in the salty water I mean. StarClan knows what sort of curse those waters might give you..."
I stared out at the sea, then glanced back at Frogstream. I had passed the lithe tortoiseshell on the way into camp. She was staring numbly at the water cats were retreating into, a helpless expression on her face. She was sprinting around all the dens, making sure every cat had escaped.
My heart lurched as a tree fell in the distance and sparks surrounded her pelt. Even as the blazing embers touched her, she barely seemed to notice, to even grimace. I supposed that having a pelt so hot it would permanently burn everything meant that she was immune to fire damage.
"Look," Shadefang growled to me. "Check the dens one last time, then report back to me. We'll find a place for you to go."
Talk about giving me the most dangerous task, I scowled. Still, I began to wonder if there was more to Shadefang than his rough exterior.
"No!"
My heart lurched as I heard the other Bottom Feeder, Bubbleburst let out a savage cry. Instantly, I sprinted towards him, smoke obscuring my vision. When I finally arrived at his side, I was aware only of flames.
"She went in," Bubbleburst whispered. "Then, the tree fell, and now." His voice broke off.
I was dimly aware of Frogstream at my side. She glanced in the den, then shook her head slowly. As I looked closer, I saw a large shape buried underneath a pile of ashes. I backed away slowly as the embers spread towards the sand underneath my paw, making it agonisingly warm.
"Yellowbelly," Frogstream whimpered, padding into the fire. "You should have let me do it. We're too late."
Bubbleburst shook out his pelt, coughing. Even though he was right beside me, smoke obscured my vision of him.
"We have to leave," he meowed, glancing at me at Frogstream. "Now."
Without any further preamble, he sprinted towards the shore where Shadefang was waiting. I watched them exchange a few short words before he padded into the water, waves crashing over him making him look like a half-drowned rat.
Frogstream had quietly slipped into the burning warrior's den. I glanced around camp before preparing to slip away. Shadefang gestured towards the area of camp that wasn't up in flames, clearly encouraging me to travel in that direction. Then, he leaped into the water, trying to support a drowning Bubbleburst.
I felt the embers hot on my pelt as I sprinted towards the ocean. I ran alongside it for several paces, debating just forgetting what Shadefang had said and jumping in, but the crashing waves intimidated me. There were no cats around me, so I could very well just drown.
But the flames were pressing in around me, like a patrol fanning out to collect a particularly juicy morsel of freshkill. I was about to bunch my quivering muscles and jump into the tides when I heard a faint wailing sound.
I stopped dead in my tracks, glancing around as the voice yowled again, more faintly this time. I twitched my ears, narrowing my eyes at my surroundings. Then, I saw it.
A small light brown tabby was pinned by a fallen mangrove, while the flames spread quickly towards her pelt. I guessed from her size that they must be a kit. Instantly, I switched my course, travelling further inland, eyes slanted to avoid too much smoke. They still watered.
"Hey!" I meowed. My voice came out surprisingly raspy.
The little cat jumped when they saw me, eyes wide. They stared directly at my face, eyes wide. I suppose most ShoreClan cats were used to the way I looked; I wondered what the cat thought of me.
"You're not going to get me!" The little cat hissed, trying to swipe a claw at me. The movement and hiss was abruptly cut off with a spasm of coughing.
I glanced at them, my vision narrowing around me, almost as though I was going to pass out. It would be so much easier to run into the sea than risk my life for a stranger who looked half-scared, half-defiant at our encounter. But, I wasn't the sort of cat who left another.
Not even my mother, I guess, I thought as I nipped at the branches of the tree. The kit had gone silent, and all I could feel around me was the pounding of my heart in my chest, and the salty scent of blood. Blackness pressed in around my vision as I worked. They say that I ran after her, and she scarred me. Still, I was loyal to her. I feel that loyalty in my heart, even though I don't know why. I want revenge for who killed Seastar, and for whoever destroyed her life.
I nipped coarse fur, and the kit started squirming again. That was a good sign. I had made a little opening, just enough for her to squirm through. She left a pool of scarlet blood where she had been.
"Follow me," I rasped, feeling as though no air would come.
The two of us sprinted towards the ocean. I had no clue what I was doing, but all I knew was that I had to escape the blaze. More questions could come later.
It wasn't long before the two of us reached a small cave, waves crashing against it.
As soon as I touched the dark grey rock, I felt my paws give way underneath me.
The last thing I remember was the little cat crying out, and then everything went black, and all I knew was the roaring of the sea beside me.
"Hey! Can you hear me now?"
Everything throbbed in a painful sort of way as I tilted my head towards the voice that had spoken to me. It was the brown tabby cat. A faint smile flashed across their expression as I stared warily back at them.
"Wha-" Was all I managed to croak out before I succumbed to a painful spasm of coughing.
The pale brown tabby glanced down at me calmly as my hacking subsided. They padded towards the edge of the dimly lit cave that we were in, and retrieved a rather large frog. It wasn't the most appealing creature, but my stomach growled hungrily as they tossed it towards me, then settled down to share the prey.
"Thanks for saving me," they mumbled, staring at the ground. "I...er, I mean I really appreciate it. Like, a lot." They hesitated. "I've been alone for a while, so it's weird having company."
They tore off a particularly meaty piece of the frog with their claw. While they did, I noticed the leaf bandages that were wrapped around their side and around their forepaw. They followed my gaze.
"How'd you get those?" I asked, my voice hoarse as I pointed at the bright green leaves. I then realised that I had one of my own around my forepaw.
"Two toms came around," the cat meowed. "Puddle and Bubble were their names. They were friendly guys, especially Bubble. If I recall, he said that they hadn't had company in a while. Heh. So a bit of a loner like me, if you will. Puddle dressed and wrapped our wounds in aloe leaves. But, when they heard you were clan, they said they had to leave."
I had a billion questions roaring in my head as I stared at my companion. All I managed to say to them was, "how'd they know?"
They shrugged. "It was kinda obvious, given your scent. Everycat knows that ShoreClan warriors loathe outsiders. But there seemed to be something deeper about their relations to the clan..."
The brown tabby kit seemed to be getting more talkative, but I could still see the uneasy look on their face. They looked very alone. They also looked as though I was somehow her saviour.
"You're brave for a she-kit," I commented.
A faint smile spread across the brown tabby's face as they heard what I had just said. "That statement is not entirely true."
"Are you not a she-cat?" I meowed awkwardly. I'd heard of cats that didn't identify with being a she-cat or a tom. Honeykit, for example.
"Nah," the cat bit heartily into the prey, and they met my expression, a bit of the frog dribbling down their face. "I may look quite small, but I'm actually somewhere around six to seven moons, I think! But, I am a she-cat. I was born a tom, but I never really felt like one. I met a passerby named Rocko, and he told me that it was who I felt I was that mattered. So, yeah. You can call me Little. What's your name?"
"Ferretpaw."
Little blinked at me for several moments before responding. She seemed to be eyeing me up and down, almost expecting me to admit that that was some sort of joke. At last, she nodded slowly.
"I guess I have a name for the way I look too."
I nodded, slowly getting to my paws. The food Little and I had been sharing was now hardly more than some fat and bone. I glanced towards where light was seeping into the cave.
"How long have we been here?" I asked cautiously.
Little stared at her paws uncomfortably. "I'm not sure," she admitted softly. "A few days? A quarter moon? You inhaled a lot of smoke."
"I know," I blinked at the dots which still filled my vision. Even now, I was swaying on my paws. I wondered what I should do now.
"Are you going somewhere?" Little asked.
I stared towards the light. Some cat had tried to kill me. Some cat in that clan had killed my mother the same way, I just knew it. And I wanted my revenge. I flexed my claws in and out.
"I need to go back to ShoreClan," I responded at last. "It's the only home I know." I glanced back at Little. "Thanks for staying to help me recover," I blinked, trying to show my appreciation for all my small companion had done.
Little stared down at her paws as I padded towards the exit of the den. I wasn't really sure what I expected as I left. After all, I had only known this she-cat for several heartbeats. But, just as the exit to the cave came into view, I found myself stopping, and turning around.
And I found Little right beside me. She met my gaze.
"I'm coming too."