A tan tabby she-cat paced back and forth at the roots of a cypress tree. She was trying to calm her nerves, but it wasn't going well. Fresh didn't usually have nerves to calm.
"Fresh?" the deep voice of a gray tabby tom meowed. "It's almost time to start."
Fresh turned to face Fish, her green eyes shimmering with worry. "I know. I'm just, preparing what I'll say."
Fish gave her a disbelieving look. "Come on, you'll be fine. You're pretty persuasive. You convinced me, after all."
"Thanks, Fish," Fresh purred. The gray tabby froze and scoffed.
"I'm only saying that so this works. I don't want my treason to be for nothing," he hissed, regaining his usual demeanor. Fresh laughed.
"Ok, I think I'm ready," the tan tabby glanced around. "Have you seen Fly? I haven't seen her since I got here."
"Which one is she, again?" the gray tabby asked.
"Small, fluffy, tortoiseshell?" Fresh described her friend. "She is very loud."
Fish shrugged. "I think I heard some yelling by the Thunderpath, but it was a while ago."
Fresh shook her head. "I'm sure I'll see her."
Fresh took a deep breath, then padded to the side of the cypress tree facing the Twolegplace. She hopped up on a very low branch and looked out at all the cats.
There were so many. Fresh had never seen so many cats in one place. She could recognize Fly immediately. She was the one jumping up and down in excitement, her blue eyes shining. Fresh smiled to herself. She had needed that boost of confidence from her best friend.
"Hello, all! My name is Fresh, and I'm here to tell you all why we need to fight back against Vex," Fresh started, getting the attention of all the cats in the clearing. "You may think, 'Why should I care? Vex and his rogues don't affect me.' But that isn't true. Vex is ruthless. He will stop at nothing to take over the forest, and he won't be satisfied then. He'll start taking even the kittypets' food.
"Now, you may not believe me. I am just a kittypet. I haven't been there, and I don't know what it's like. But there is someone here who does. He can tell you exactly how Vex impacts all of us," Fresh projected, then motioned with her tail for Fish to join her. He looked skeptical at first, but leaped up on the branch next to her. Fresh heard a few small gasps when they saw Fish.
"Vex has ruined my life. I always thought he was the good guy, and by affiliation so was I. But what I didn't know was that Vex killed my family when I was a kit, just because they were in his way. Everything Fresh says is true. He won't stop for anything, unless we stop him first," Fish spat, his fur bristling. Fresh nodded her thanks, and Fish's copper eyes showed gratitude as well. Fish hopped off the branch. After a moment of debating it, Fresh followed him.
"So join the cause!" Fresh smiled, unsure exactly how to finish. "Does anyone have any questions?"
Fresh saw a few cats step forward. They glanced at each other before a ginger she-cat spoke. Fresh recognized her as Juniper.
"What about cats who have kits? I assumed we would be fighting Vex, but right now I just want to protect my kits," Juniper meowed worriedly. Two small kits wrestled at her paws. A dark brown she-cat gave her a sympathetic glance, then her eyes widened.
"Wait, you're Juniper!" the dark brown she-cat's hazel eyes were wide. Juniper looked suspicious for a moment before realization glowed in her green eyes.
"Wing! I worried about what had happened to you. Does that mean Hazel's here too?" Juniper asked, looking a bit more relaxed.
"Juniper!" a light brown she-cat purred and rubbed her head against Juniper.
"Juniper, you know these cats?" Fresh asked, slightly surprised.
"Yes. I used to be a rogue, but I was cast out. Wing and Hazel were actually kind to me," the ginger she-cat meowed.
"These must be your kits," Hazel mewed.
"I'm Sharp," the flame-colored kit mewed. He gestured to an orange tom-kit who was sitting quietly. "This is Fire!"
"Hello!" Wing purred.
"How are your kits?" Juniper asked.
"Oh, Stripe and Turtle are doing great. Flame is very kind, he always comes in to feed them," Wing purred, and Hazel nodded. Fresh saw Fish bristle out of the corner of her eye.
"Yes, he loves playing with Lightning too," Hazel interjected. "I think he's here now. I bet he would love Sharp and Fire."
"Well, this was a nice little reunion," Fresh smiled, trying to get back to the question at hand. "But to answer your question, Juniper, we would offer you and your kits protection. You won't have to fight if you don't want to."
The ginger she-cat turned back to the tan tabby. "Thank you, Fresh." She dipped her head politely and stepped back. Wing and Hazel started glancing around, looking for Flame, Fresh suspected.
"I have a question," a gray she-cat asked. "It's similar to, uh, Juniper's."
Fresh turned to the pretty gray she-cat. "Yes?"
"What about cats who can't fight?"
Fresh cocked her head, and the bell on her pink collar made a soft jingle. "What do you mean?"
"Well, my friend Ice. She..." the gray she-cat trailed off, then turned to a beautiful white she-cat. Her ice blue eyes shone. The gray she-cat seemed to whisper something to Ice. She then turned back to Fresh.
"She's blind. She can't fight when she's blind," the gray she-cat said. A gray tabby she-cat stepped forward as well.
"Yeah, and Field is mute. He shouldn't fight either," Far meowed boldly. A sandy brown tom bared his teeth. Far turned to him, and Field seemed to do a few odd motions.
"Field, I know you want to fight, but it's dangerous," Far said. Field turned away from her, and Fresh could see the angry look in his eye.
"Well, we we're thinking about making a camp where cats could stay, so we could all be in one place, for those who want to stay within the safety of a larger group. Ice could always stay there," Fresh offered, putting Far and Field to the side for now.
Cinder nodded and stepped back. A short gray she-cat stepped forward, her hazel eyes looking vaguely annoyed.
"What about cats who have no where else to go? Could they also stay at this camp?" the gray she-cat spoke in a strange, but captivating accent. Fresh stared at her until she felt a small shove from Fish.
"Um, yes, of course! We want to shelter everyone from the rogue group, so all those who oppose them are welcome," the tan tabby stuttered, and she felt her ear tips getting warmer.
"And where will this camp be?"
"We were thinking it would be right here, actually!" Fresh purred and smiled.
The tiny gray she-cat nodded and stepped back into the crowd. Since Fresh saw no other cat step up to ask a question, she called out to the group.
"If there are no more questions, now would be a good time for everyone to introduce themselves to each other! Say hello to someone you haven't met before. Acquaint yourselves with this group, because we are all here for the same reason: to defeat Vex!" A loud cheer rose up after Fresh spoke and the tan tabby purred. She turned to Fish and smiled.
"Did I do well?" she asked. The gray tabby nodded.
"All went smoothly, except when you started drooling over that she-cat," Fish meowed. Fresh looked at him in alarm.
"I did?! Oh no, I've made a terrible first impression. Fish what do I do?"
"I'm just kidding, Fresh. But it was kind of obvious," Fish laughed.
Fresh glared at him. "Well, what about you and Juniper? I saw you looking jealous when they talked about Flame!"
Fish froze. "That doesn't make any sense. Why would they even talk about me? I never hang out at the nursery. Plus, she's just some kittypet now. Why should I care?"
Fresh giggled softly and rolled her eyes.
"Shouldn't you at least introduce yourself to that gray she-cat?"
Fresh let out a sigh. "Alright, I'll do that."
The tan tabby she-cat padded into the crowd, keeping her eyes peeled for the small gray cat. Instead of a small gray cat, however, she found a bright orange tom.
"Hey, Fresh! Great speech!" Flame meowed, his blue eyes looking quite cheerful. Fresh tried to smile.
"Thanks!" Fresh glanced around, hoping to see an excuse to ditch Flame. "Uh, nice night, isn't it?"
Fresh could feel Flame staring her as he spoke. "Yeah. It is."
Fresh noticed a gray pelt that looked quite similar to the she-cat from before, and her ears perked up. "I'm so sorry, Flame, but I've got to go. Talk to you later?" Fresh walked off hurriedly, not waiting for a response.
The tan tabby barged past a few cats, noticing Fall and Maple talking to themselves out of the corner of her eye. But she was focused on the gray cat, and Fresh wouldn't lose her.
"Hey, wait!" Fresh called when she saw the gray she-cat walking away from her.
The tiny she-cat turned around, her hazel eyes wide.
"What do you want?" she meowed in her strange accent. Fresh tried not to purr.
"I just wanted to talk," Fresh meowed calmly. The gray she-cat looked skeptical.
"Promise! I'm Fresh," the tan tabby smiled reassuringly.
"I know."
Fresh stood there in silence for a moment. She shifted her paws awkwardly. "Uh, what's your name?"
The gray she-cat looked surprised. "Maybe you do care. Alright, Fresh, we can talk. But I won't tell you my name until the next time I see you."
Fresh tried really hard not to beam. She wants to see me again!
"Well, what do you think of the rebellion, mystery cat?" Fresh asked. The gray she-cat shrugged.
"I'm not sure. I've only just arrived, and I don't really know anything about Vex. I just know I can't go back to where I used to be," the gray she-cat curled her lip at her last part. Fresh cocked her head.
"What happened?" The tan tabby she-cat sat down, still towering over the standing she-cat.
"I don't want to talk about it," the mystery cat glanced away, her hazel eyes filled with anger. Fresh nodded, not wanting to press her.
"Well, it would be nice if you stayed around," Fresh meowed. Her green eyes widened and she smiled nervously. "For the, uh, rebellion, of course. Heh..." The tan tabby shook her head in embarrassment.
"Yeah. I think I will. I guess I'll just stay here, if the camp will be here," the small she-cat meowed, ignoring Fresh's embarrassing moment.
Fresh nodded and smiled. The two she-cats went on talking like that for awhile, until the mystery cat finally said she wanted to sleep.
Fresh couldn't stop smiling after their talk.