A tan tabby she-cat watched her two friends go. She felt guilty about lying to Fly and Holly about where she was going, but she couldn't have told them. They would want to go with her, and another time, Fresh would've welcomed them. But something in her told her to go by herself.
As soon as the black she-cat and the tortoiseshell were out of sight, Fresh turned and headed back the way Flame had originally brought her. Back to the Thunderpath. Back to the wilderness.
The tan tabby she-cat could not deny that she was excited. Going out into the grassy plains had always excited her, but once she had been once, she couldn't stop thinking about it. She wanted to go out and see it in the day.
Fresh was wary about the Thunderpath. She had heard of cats who died at the paws of a monster. But thankfully, Fresh couldn't find a trace of any monsters, so she ran across.
The tan tabby headed for the cypress tree, even though she knew no one would be there. Flame had headed back to the rogue group, and Fall and Maple had gone home as well. Far and the mystery cat had decided to go back to the mystery cat's den, which Far had politely invited Fresh to stop by any time, which had made Fresh happy.
The she-cat was not expecting a mysterious gray tabby tom to be sniffing around the base of the cypress tree.
The gray tabby tom did not look very healthy. He looked well fed, but he had scars covering his pelt, and one of his ears was shredded almost completely. The tom had brown tabby stripes, as well as gray, and copper eyes that were narrowed in suspicion. He was tall and quite muscular, but Fresh wasn't afraid. She padded right up to the tom.
"What are you doing here?" the she-cat meowed. The gray tabby jumped up, immediately alert. His eyes first glanced down at her pink collar and sneered.
"None of your business, kittypet," he hissed. "You shouldn't be here. Don't worry, I'd be happy to teach you your place."
Fresh was startled. This cat was not at all like Flame. I suppose I should have assumed that not all the rogues would be as nice as him. This certainly wasn't the smartest thing I've ever done. The tan tabby did not back down, however. She had to prove she was not afraid.
Before either side could move for an attack, Fresh's bright green eyes glazed over, and she couldn't see the gray tabby anymore.
Before her, a tall and muscular orange tabby was standing before a gray tom and a cream tabby she-cat, who were protecting several small kits. The orange tabby's claws were unsheathed, and it appeared they were stained with blood.
The orange tabby leaped forward, faster than a snake. The gray tom was now underneath him, and the orange tabby quickly clawed his stomach and throat. Blood was gushing everywhere. Fresh felt sick, and she wanted to look away, but she couldn't. She needed to know what happened next, but she felt like she already knew.
The orange tabby looked to the cream tabby she-cat, who still stood before what Fresh assumed were her kits.
"Fish, Rye, Wild, I need you to run," the cream tabby hissed to her kits. I guess they can't see me, Fresh thought. Otherwise I might be dead.
The she-cat leaped for the orange tabby tom, who Fresh turned away from. She knew the she-cat's fate.
Despite their mother's words, the kits did not run. Fresh didn't know how they could get very far anyway. They looked like they were just under a moon old.
After the orange tabby had let the cream tabby drop to the ground, he turned to the kits. Fresh was horrified. What kind of cat would hurt kits?
Fresh couldn't watch. She didn't want to see the death of the three kits. Surprisingly, the orange tabby tom spoke, and Fresh turned around.
The bodies of two small kits were lying on the ground, but the biggest kit was still alive, and, shockingly, unharmed.
"Your name is Fish, huh? Well, Fish, come with me, and I'll make you strong. Stronger than you could ever imagine. Cats will respect you. Just come with me," the orange tabby coaxed. The gray tabby kit looked frightened, but he padded toward the orange tabby tom nonetheless. The orange tabby smiled, and the two padded away.
Fresh was sickened. She didn't know who this cat was, but he was despicable, this Fresh knew. No decent cat would kill kits.
Fresh entered the present and stumbled back, shaking her head. The gray tabby tom stared at her in confusion. Fresh stared at the tom, noticing something.
That tom and the kit from what I saw look very similar. Does that mean my vision was real?
The gray tabby tom lunged, toppling Fresh over. The tan tabby yowled. She knew she wouldn't be able to overtake the tom, so she decided to test out her theory.
"Fish! Stop it!" she hissed, her green eyes bright with hope. The gray tabby flinched and stared at the she-cat with shock and suspicion in his copper eyes.
"How do you know my name?" he hissed, pressing his paw into her throat. Fresh was just as shocked as he was. So it was real!
"Get off of me, and I'll tell you!" Fresh hissed back, trying not to show weakness. In truth, she was ecstatic.
The gray tabby tom was hesitant, but he stepped off of her after a moment. Fresh let out a sigh of relief.
"If you put a whisker out of line, you'll be dead before you can say 'fish'," he hissed, unsheathing his claws. Fresh took a deep breath before speaking.
"Well, you might not believe me, but I had a sort of... vision?" the tan tabby meowed, uncertain if Fish would trust her.
Fish stared at her, disbelief in his copper gaze. "Are you serious?" he snarled, taking a menacing step forward.
"Yes, I am serious. How else would I know your name? I'm just a... a kittypet," the tan tabby meowed, trying to appeal to the gray tabby.
"Fine. Say you did have a vision. What else did you supposedly see?" he hissed, rolling his eyes. He did sheathe his claws, at least.
"Well... I saw you, as a kit. With your family. That an orange tabby tom slaughtered," Fresh closed her eyes, trying to get the image out of her head. It was relentless.
Fish scoffed. "I don't have a family. They abandoned me when I was just a moon old. Who told you these lies? Was it Flame by chance?" the gray tabby tom had a disgusted look on his face when he said the orange tabby's name. Fresh was shocked. How could anyone hate that friendly tom?
"No, it wasn't Flame. It wasn't anyone. I just saw it, just now, when I stumbled."
"Prove it, then," he snarled, unsheathing his claws again.
Before Fresh could respond, she felt the same feeling as she had when she saw her first vison. Please don't let it be of misery and death.
When Fresh opened her eyes, she did not see anything that might hint at a horrible vision. In fact, she didn't see any cats at all. Before her stood a tree.
It wasn't a very large tree. In fact, a better description of it would be a bush. It was hidden by a circle of long grass that Fresh was standing inside of. If she wasn't standing in the circle, she wouldn't have been able to see the small tree at all.
The tree was strange. It was unlike any tree Fresh had ever seen. It was silver. Not just the bark, but the leaves as well. The small berry-like fruits that were hanging from its branches were also silver. The whole tree just seemed to glow. Fresh felt it was important.
And suddenly Fresh was floating. Going up, above the tree, until she was high enough to see her surroundings.
And there it was. Not very far from the small tree was the cypress tree where Fish and her stood. It looked as if it was only around one house away.
What is this tree? Fresh wondered. She had no idea why she was even seeing the tree, let alone what it was.
"Show Fish," a mysterious voice echoed in Fresh's mind. She looked around, but couldn't see where the voice was coming from.
Fresh's green eyes blinked open. Show Fish the tree? What good would that do?
She turned up to face the gray tabby, who looked very confused. "Follow me."
With that, Fresh turned in the direction she had seen the tree, hoping Fish was following her. The tan tabby broke into a run, getting ever closer to the small, silvery tree.
Fresh slowed down as she approached the long, tufty grass that surrounded the tree. She slowly nudged through the grass until she saw it. It was just as beautiful as she had seen in her vision. Fresh wondered who the cat was that had spoken to her.
"Here it is," Fresh meowed, glancing around, hoping Fish was there. Luckily, the gray tabby was right behind her. He looked in awe of the glowing tree, but he tried not to show it.
"And? What is this supposed to prove? It's a tree," he hissed, still suspicious. Fresh sighed.
What am I supposed to do now, spirit voice? What's the point of the tree?
"Eat the fruit." Fresh was shocked she was given a response. She turned to the tree, staring at the fruit. She took one of them in her jaws and ripped it off of the tree, setting it by Fish's paws. She then picked one for herself.
"Eat it."
"Are you trying to poison me," Fish growled, shaking his head.
"I'll eat one too. If you want to know how I knew your name, eat the fruit."
Fish growled and mumbled something that Fresh couldn't hear, but he took a bite of the fruit. His facial features immediately lifted. Fresh copied him and took a bite herself.
The taste of the fruit was indescribable. It was the best thing Fresh had ever tasted, which she had not expected, as it was fruit. The fruit was so juicy and sweet, unlike anything Fresh had ever experienced. She finished the rest of the fruit off in one bite.
A feeling of tiredness washed over her and she laid down. Fresh noticed the gray tabby doing the same thing. I wonder how this will help prove to Fish I'm not a liar, Fresh thought before she closed her eyes too.
Fresh opened her eyes to see a cream tabby she-cat and a gray tom, as well as two kits, standing before her. All of them looked as if they had stars in their fur. They were the same cats Fresh had seen murdered in her earlier vision. The cream tabby she-cat padded up to Fresh.
"Thank you, Fresh, for listening to me and bringing Fish here. I couldn't have done this without you," the she-cat purred and nuzzled Fresh.
"You're the cat who has been showing me these visions? But you... you're dead!" Fresh was in shock. In the corner of her eye, she saw Fish looking just as surprised.
The cream tabby chuckled. "Yes. My name is River, and this is Birch, Rye, and Wild. I'm sorry you had to see our deaths."
"So, you are Fish's family, I'd assume?" Fresh asked, trying to take in the situation.
"Yes. And speaking of..." River turned to the gray tabby tom. "You son, have had quite the life."
Fish looked terrified. His fur was fluffed up, and his tail was low to the ground. "M-my parents are gone. They abandoned me..." he meowed, but his eyes were unfocused, and he looked as if he was trying to convince himself.
"Fish, my son, Vex lied to you. He killed us and brought you up under his lies," Birch meowed, stepping forward. Rye and Wild padded up behind him.
"Hey, big brother! Do you remember me?" Rye meowed. He stood, wide-eyed, looking up at his older brother. Wild nudged the cream and gray tom sadly.
"Of course he doesn't, Rye. Why would he?" the cream she-kit meowed bitterly.
Fish couldn't continue looking at the two kits. He turned back to River. "If you're my family, prove it," he meowed, getting some of his fire back.
"See these brown stripes on my back, Fish? They are the same as the markings on your back," Birch meowed, sitting down so they could see his back. There were indeed brown stripes that Fresh had not noticed before. Fish turned his head sideways so he could see his back, which also had the same brown stripes. He stared, copper eyes wide, back at Birch.
"So, everything Vex told me, it was all a lie?" Fish whispered.
"Yes."
"And, he killed... all of you?" Fresh turned and rested his gaze on Rye and Wild.
River padded up to her son. "You know what you have to do."
Fish's copper eyes were wide, and he began to fade away. His mouth was open, as if he wanted to say something, but he was gone before he could. River turned back to Fresh.
"Fresh, I want you to know something," she spoke softly. Fresh nodded, still slightly confused.
"Your path will not be easy. In fact, it will be anything but easy, especially for you. I wouldn't want to be in your paws for all the prey in the forest. But I believe that you will get through it all. And remember, we are always with you," River rested her chin on Fresh's forehead, and the tan tabby began to fade.
She blinked her green eyes opened, suddenly feeling choked by her pink collar. She stood up and look at Fish, who was staring at the ground.
"Are you alright?" Fresh meowed, trying to help the gray tabby. He stared at Fresh, something she couldn't describe in his copper gaze.
"My mother was right. I do know what to do," Fish hesitated before continuing. "And I believe I'll need your help... uh..."
"Fresh. My name is Fresh, and that depends on what you need help with," Fresh meowed, slightly suspicious. Earlier that day, the gray tabby had wanted to kill her, although Fresh felt that something had changed between them. Fresh felt closer to the gray tabby, almost as close as she was with Fly.
"I want to start a rebellion."