"Fang." I growled. The tabby stopped halfway into the light. Shadows covered some of his face. It was full of scorn.
"What do we have here? A cripple?" He looked me over. "A stupid kittypet, at that?" I bared my teeth at him. I shall no loner call him my brother. Only my enemy. He crouched, ready to attack.
"Stop, Fang." I demanded. Surprisingly, he didn't attack. "Why do you want to kill me? Give me one reason."
"I told you before!" he snapped. "Mother abandoned me, and you ran off. Even father died! I had no one. No one to live or eat prey with. Soon my owner kicked me out, because they were moving. Moving away from me." He crouched once again, but I straightened up.
"I guess you will have to fight me then. But I am sorry this is what you turned out to be, Mittens. I am really sorry you turned out to be a murderer." My words seemed to dwell inside him. I braced myself for his teeth to meet in my thoat, but they didn't. I opened my eyes. He just sat there, sadness growing in his green eyes.
"You don't know, do you, Hope?" he murmured. I shook my head, perplexed. "You don't know how it is to not have anyone love you. Not one cat or animal." Fang's voice shook. "But now... now I can make them all pay!' A growl returned to his voice.
"And what good will that be?" I stopped him again. "If you kill me, you will have no one left. I love you, Fang. I always will. Please, Fang. Not for me, but for you." I stared into his eyes. I wasn't afraid of dying. I just wanted him to be happy for once.
Fang hung onto my words. Finally, I've waited for this moment my whole life. Fang stepped towards me and licked my cheek. A sign that he'd forgiven me for whatever I'd done.
"Okay." he meowed.
"I am sorry, Fang. I am really sorry for abandoning you." I returned his lick. "Please forgive me. I want to have my brother at my side again." My thoat tightened as I watched him consider my words.
"I forgive you. But I won't stay at your side. I am going to live in the human place for my whole life. I am not suited for the forest or plains." The tabby dipped his head. "Good luck, Hope. And my name's Mittens now. I will never forget you." He disappeared into the alley once more. I finally had the burden off my shoulders. Ever since I was a kitten my brother hated my guts. Now I am alright, and he is alright. I sighed in relief and gazed at the setting sun. Flicker hadn't made an appearance yet, nor had Midnight.
Suddenly I heard crashing sound. A red pelt showed up and gleamed in the sun. I stood up.
"Flicker!" I meowed, happy. A black cat appeared at his side. "Midnight! I am so happy to see you again!" Midnight rushed forward and licked my cheek and purred. Flicker glared at me.
"I'm not. Why'd you come here? How did you come here?" Flicker barked. "I told you to stay put!"
"No, you told me you would go find Midnight," I pointed out. "And you did."
Midnight drew back to glare at me half-heartedly. "You shouldn't have come all the way here. Now you'll take twice as long to heal! Great, I have a useless cat now." A glimmer of amusement lit his soft green eyes.
"I was worried-" I began.
"It's fine now. Let's just go before it gets dark." Flicker interrupted. "I don't want to have a run in with any rogues or racoons." I did. Mittens, Kink, that Racoon. I had a busy two days. I hopped onto Flicker's back and he started walking into the forest.
"Then tell me the story how you excaped and how you found him," I told them. "I want to hear it."
"Okay." meowed Midnight. "I was in their home. When the humans opened the door, I bolted out. They had to try and catch me for a while. Eventually I lost them. And I had to... live my myself, I guess, for a day or so until Flicker started tracking me. I tried to find a way out, but I couldn't remember how to get to the gate. Flicker nearly scared my fur off when he pounced on me when I entered the alley." Midnight cast a resentul glance at Flicker. I purred with amusement.
"What I wouldn't give to see that!" I purred. "You barely ever get scared." Midnight blinked in embarassment and amusement. Flicker suddenly jumped down and I almost lost my grip on his back.
"Hey, watch the claws!" protested Flicker. I realized I was digging in my claws. I let go as he walked silently on ahead.
"How'd you find him, Flicker." I asked.
"I tracked him." was all he barked. I shrugged and layed my head down on his shoulders.
"I am lucky for both of you." I meowed faintly.
"Feeling sentimental?" guessed Midnight.
I nodded. I remebered the time when I first met Flicker. At first I thought he was one of those horrid dogs, but he turned out to be my best friend. I sighed and closed my eyes.
I woke with a jolt. Flicker had stopped. Stopped in the forest next to my ravine. Our ravine. I happily hopped off his shoulders and looked down into our home. It was the same as usual. Plain and steep.
"Come and see our home, Midnight!" I meowed. "Your new home!" Midnight peered down with surprise.
"This?" he meowed.
I felt a little hurt at his comment. "Yes, this. This is my home. You get down by those vines. I'll show you." I took hold a vine and slowly made my way down to the first tree. Then on I carefully placed my hind legs on the trees and rocks. When I reached for another tree, I felt nothing but air. I slipped and slid down backwards on my stomach. I landed with a thud on my hindquarters.
"Are you okay?" Flicker called down.
"Y- yeah!" I stammered. My head spinned for a moment. "I'm fine. Come down now!" Midnight appeared at my side a few minutes later. He landed gracefully at my side. Flicker also jumped down.
"Look!" I pointed and walked over to the middle den. "Yours! And mine's right here-"
"It stinks!" Flicker scrunched up his nose and looked inside. "Hope! Did you bury the extra food?" I suddenly remembered I didn't do that. My ears went hot.
"No." I meowed sheepishly.
"It's rotten now." Flicker grasped a mouse, a bird of some kind, and a vole in his jaws. He dug a hole on the far side and dropped the prey in and buried it.
"Maybe you can sleep in my den until the smell comes out." I meowed.
"I'd rather sleep in your den than in that one anyway." Midnight rubbed his muzzle against mine. "I would get lonely without you."
"She has to sleep in her own nest," Flicker pointed out. "until her leg gets better, anyway. You might hurt her. And she needs the room. That reminds me..." Flicker dug out some herbs in his den and put them down beside me.
"Pebblepelt told me to put these on your leg." he told me. I took them in my mouth and chewed them. They tasted bitter. I spat it on my broken front leg and spread it on the wound. It felt much better. It was aching before.
"Let's go to bed now, Hope." Midnight yawned. "I'm pooped." I purred and limped in my den. I settled down in my moss and curled up. Midnight settled on the sand. I thought about it, then stood up. I tore some moss from my bed and put it by him.
"For a nest." I explained. "Lay on it." Midnight did and mewed a thanks. I nodded and curled back up and fell asleep. My dreams were dark, and I didn't know where to go. I thought I saw a cat in the edge of my vision, but every time I turned it disappeared.
I woke to the sun shining in my den, casting a beam of light on the wall. Midnight was still asleep, his sides rising up and down gently. I relaxed and layed my head back down. There was no use waking up- I was only to sit in my den. I got a comforting feeling while Midnight slept in here. It was like I finally had someone to talk to all the time, or curl up with. I purred myself back to sleep.
The afternoon brought trouble. Flicker stormed into my den, waking me.
"I just saw a cat today!" Flicker growled. "It attacked me for no reason! And boy, he was a fighter though. I had to teach him a lesson. It was a big tabby. But I chased him away from here. He was so arrogant, I just wanted to claw his other ear off."
"Other?" A picture formed in my mind. "Was one of them already ripped?" He nodded. "And it was a big tabby? I think I know-" It was too late. The words were already out of my big fat mouth. Flicker gazed at me, suspitious.
"You know him?"
"No! I mean, he fell in here. I helped him out so he wouldn't come back and I guess he did but I didn't mean to! I couldn't fight him-" I rambled on until Flicker silenced me with a wave of his furry tail.
"I'm not mad. Just as long as you didn't fight him or anything like that. You say he was trapped in here?"
I nodded.
"He seems tough. And arrogant. Too arrogant for his own good." Flicker observed. "Just make sure Midnight doesn't find out about this, or he'll be mad."
I nodded and looked at my feet. "He won't."
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nother reminder THERES A CONTEST!!! a naming contest! look at chapter eleven for details. please enter!